Jered Weaver has been the Angels’ best starter this year but inconsistent of late. He was 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA on June 14, but in his four starts since then, he’s posted a 7.23 ERA with the Angels dropping two of those games. He’d not allowed a home run in his previus six starts, but has allowed five taters in those last four. On the season, Weaver’s home ERA has been more than a two and a half runs lower than his road mark, but he’s been succeptable to lefty bats, allowing them to slug .484.
That’s one reason that Eric Hinske is getting the start in right field this afternoon and Brett Gardner is starting in center, though both are replacing switch-hitters. The rest of the Yankee lineup behind Andy Pettitte is the usual suspects, with Hideki Matsui batting fifth followed by Jorge Posada.
Andy Pettitte starts for the Yankees. Andy’s been alternating good and bad starts since May and is due for a good one after walking five and giving up six runs in six innings to the Blue Jays in his last outing. Pettitte’s road ERA is three runs better than his home mark, which is another reason to feel good about his chances this afternoon.
Pettitte and Weaver faced off in the Bronx on May Day. Neither was sharp as they combined to walk seven men and strike out four. Weaver was slightly better, but the Yankees came out on top by scoring six runs in the final two innings for yet another walk-off win. Of the three Angel relievers who gave up those six runs, only closer Brian Fuentes is still on the Halos’ 25-man roster.
Moving this from earlier thread:
Monkey: "But the evidence from this season seems to indicate that meaningful, multi-inning opportunities are frequent, especially in this era of starts averaging around 6 innings/start. "
I hear you. I also have a feeling there's gonna be some changes made...
I do believe the plan is to get Hughes up towards his 130-140 innings, and that WILL require not just longer relief, but a return to the rotation. It is also possible he and Joba could flip roles. Flip back roles. Back flip roles. Roll into back flips.
[1] As long as he doesn't start flipping roles with Joba in the score truck.
.
.
.
I'm not ever sure what that means.
Ah, Mudhens double header tonight, followed by fireworks. IIRC, most 2xs are split so I should see at least one win.
I've got no idea about Joba anymore, unless it really is growing pains.
well, let's get this score truck started!
GO YANKS!!!
the Muts traded Church for Frenchy and signed Angel Berroa for their triple-A squad. i'm sooo glad i'm NOT a Muts fan! : )
[5] One potential negative--if someone picked up Berroa, then surely Ransom would be claimed (the Yankees will thank), so we better not DFA him.
pretty silly to boo Tex. whatever.
score truck!!!
he crushed it. sounded beautiful off the bat!!!
A-Rod's on that score truck!
SCORE TRUCK!!
#569. ties Palmeiro.
A-Bomb!
[9] [10] my truck gets better mileage than yours! ; )
i hope Andy's a golden god today! (hi weeping!)
Excellent!
When the game's on FOX (so I'm watching actual television instead of my computer screen) I sometimes forget to check in at Banter. But as soon as that A-Bomb went off, I suddenly wanted to see if anyone mentioned the score truck... not disappointed!
[14] i'm the opposite. my computer is completely free to type away!
score truck?
Man, this is the first game I've been able to watch since last Sat. mmmmmm.......live Yankees.
I just noticed--no Buck/McCarver. Score Truck for me!!!
Apparently, there are troubles getting and staying ahead in the count these days...
Not Excellent!
Never walk anyone named Chone.
[13] Well, it's certainly faster, though I'm not sure that's a good thing for the score truck.
I got Cubs/Cards on FOX here... click, so it's Ma and Pa Pinstripe today.
Woohoo Gritner!
Gritner!
nice play!
Wow, he was out! I really didn't think so until that definitive replay angle.
yeah, it's sooo nice to actually get to see the yankees live on tv. i'm also thankful for no buck/timmay.
[15] get with the program, will ya?! ; )
someone (Hank?) wrote "score truck" in a post, then an addendum stating he had NO idea what he even meant! it became an instant classic. i think it's gonna stick!!!
WEB GEM for Gritner. shoulda been a DP. that sucks. i hope we get a call in our favor later in this game.
here's boBBy
Did he actually catch that? Yep, replay looks good.
But, bad call at 1B. He was out two ways: foot on the bag and Teix inadvertently tagged him. Par for the course in recent days.
LOL @ Disagreeing Umpires...
Speaks volumes, doesn't it?
I'm suddenly reminded of "Dueling Banjos"...
great ... even the Angel announcers state that he was out, "no doubt about it"
can we go a goddamn game without the umpires fucking up a call???
I love an OFer who can make plays like that.
And the guy whose mom can't spell "Shawn" should be out.
[21] oh man, that sucks. sorry 'bout that...
[26] ah thanks. i apologize deeply for being off score truck program. :)
[29] "Can we go a goddamn game without the umpires fucking up a call?"
LOL
You're serious, aren't you?
Choad.
[30] i know. and there's THREE legitmate ways to spell it - Shawn, Shaun, Sean - Chone, just strikes out...not walks!
Maybe the Fangraphs data are right, about Gritner's arm.
Gasp @ handling adversity, bad call style...
: )
well, no harm, no foul. still, i'd like a call in our favor one of these games...
[35] Exactly! I mean, just throwing random letters out there his mom had a decent chance of some correct spelling of 'Sean'.
Fortunately that blown call did not precede an Andy meltdown.
[36] when i watched him warming up in Atlanta, i thought he had a strong arm with some giddy-up on it. but that's just me...
[41] Anything not a "Skittles Rainbow" or a "Damon 12-Hopper" is acceptable!
: )
[39] i don't understand. did she not know the correct spelling? I actually like the Chone spelling.
[39] well, his real full name is actually: Desmond DeChone Figgins
he's from Georgia and they're not too swift 'round these parts, i'm afraid!
i'm still not used to FOX 5, being channel 4... : ~
[43] Okay, fine, Chomus.
[41] I was talking about this:
http://tinyurl.com/gritner
Not sure whether you were around for the earlier discussion.
Aha, so here is the makeup call?
[46] Doesn't matter as Po K's.
[45] cool. how'd you make the tinyurl go "gritner"? that's awesome!
[47] You wait and see, that one extra on JW's pitch count will make a difference later.
[45] thanks Chyank.
Hammerin' Hinske!!!
HINSKE!!!!
give girardi an extenstion! ; )
Cashman, you dope. : D
Hinske hops on the score truck!
And somewhere, Bum Rush shakes his head in disbelief...
Hinske!
What is John Sterling's call for a Hinske homer?
[48] Oh, that was just a coincidence :-)
Woohoo Swisher, I mean Hinske!
: )
sounds like there's a goodly amount of Yankee fans there. i like that! : )
[56] swinske?
[55] "It's a ba-da-bin-sky...for Hin-ske!!"
That's my guess.
[59] Doubt it.
You can't predict John Sterling. I don't know why people think they can predict him. You can't predict him.
[60] well played!
[58] Sounds good to me, Seamus! I have to come up with a nickname worthy of Eric...
How about "Swingske?" That's good for both hits and misses...
: )
[60] I will, however, stick my neck out and predict a slowly paced game this afternoon.
[62] i like swingske though it sounds a bit like his porn name.
[48] TinyURL lets you make custom URLs, using any text string you want (as long it's not already used). The option is on their main page.
Interesting article on Gardner. I love the guy, but his arm is not that good. I think the stats are mistleading in this case.
Interesting that Melky's arm is not that good according to their stats...
[65] Oh, come on, I was going to convince thelarmis that by a cosmic coincidence, TINYURL just happened to come up with that url.
Anyway, yeah, that's the consensus, and the real question is, why do the data seem to demonstrate that he has the best OF arm in all of baseball? One possibility is that the ARM stats are just crappy.
[65] I think Gardner's arm is better than folks realize - to the infield. Not necessarily to home. he doesn't have the distance, but he throws a good ball to to the basepaths.
[64] Porn Name?
LOL!
Then it's perfect!
Score Truck for the "clean" porn name!
: )
[65] Consensus in the comments for that article is that Melky's arm is strong but inaccurate.
Interesting that Melky’s arm is not that good according to their stats…
biggest gun in the world doesn't do you much good if you don't have much aim ...
[66] i'll buy that! ; )
Weaver having ANY success is irritating. : /
Yeah, I agree. Melky's got a strong arm, but he's not accurate. I thought he was, when he first came up, but it was just a fluke. Kinda like Tim Wakefield, he has no idea where the ball's going to go when he lets go of it. ;-)
Gardner... Defensive stats are always problematic, and you need a pretty big sample size before they mean anything at all. So that could be it. Or maybe he's being helped by his speed. Gives him more time to get in position and get set up, even though he doesn't have Melky's arm strength?
STOP walking the leadoff guy!!!
aaarrrggghhh
[73] Helped by his speed: that sounds right.
Small Sample: don't think that's it in this case, because that small sample is saying his arm is great, and we're looking at that small sample, and we know its not true. So, it's not a case of a guy who's on a really good streak but can't be expeced to maintain it, or anything like that, attributable to small sample.
[73] speed was ID'd as probably a huge part. Technically, the stat doesn't measure arm strength. It measures the ability of an outfielder to prevent runners from moving an extra base. Arm strength is only a component of this. Quickness to the ball is probably even more important I would argue (I'm thinking that the differential between time of good thrower v bad thrower is less than the time it takes a fast runner to get to the ball vs slow runner). Also, the ability to cut off balls in the gaps. Finally, accuracy is critical. And as I said above, I think Gardner throws a good ball everywhere but home.
nice DP!
Ah, nice turn, very nice.
Andy and Swisher are really Road Warriors this season...
Astounding differences really...
Two completely different sets of digits.
Considering Yankee Stadum and all of its creature comforts for the players, I don't get it.
*shrug*
that was a NICE Uncle Charlie! : )
Nice...
Good Andy.
Very strange how his starts have alternated so reliably this year.
[79] It makes sense that Andy performs more poorly in NYS, since it is playing as a pretty good hitter's park this year. Now, why Swisher is not taking advantage of that tendency is puzzling.
[76] Why is Melky so bad, then? I thought he was pretty good at keeping runners from taking an extra base. They respect his arm (even if it's not that accurate). He's got decent speed. He's gotten better at reading the ball hit over his head.
I was wondering. Does anyone sense that we sometimes panic whenever our team loses one game? I mean, I went to bed feeling like it was the end of the damn world last night and that we could never beat the Angels. But actually, it's just one game and if we win today or tomorrow that's a 4-2 road trip heading into the break on the heels of a sweep of the Muts and a 5-2 home stand.
On the other hand, how are we going to blow today's game?
[84] yeah, i'm not so sure about why Melky is so low. Accuracy certainly plays a factor but as you say, a lot of runners simply don't even try to run on him. I wonder if there aren't other factors we're not realizing are there. Or maybe the metric isn't very good.
[74] why? I love Weaver's leadoff walk of Alex!! ;o)
[74] Ban against walking lead-off man suspended for the top of the inning!
[87] [88] Oh, curse you, Evil Empire!
[89] Hah!
nice!
The A-Rod induced error...
: )
Posada actually hasn't seen a strike yet, according to the Pitch f/x at Gameday.
Jered looks so much like his brother it's scary.
Don't think he deserved that error, though. It wasn't that bad a throw.
"Ok, Jerrod. Just get Robbie to roll over to 2nd base here." : )
They're actually going to pitch around Robbie? That's really stupid.
hell yeah, robbie!
Fuck the Ducks!!!
Oh, they didn't, and they should have!!!
Awesome. Sometimes I just love being wrong.
Reverse jinx. Yipppeee.....
Steve Lombardi has an interesting wild thought over at Was Watching today....He thinks the Yanks ought to go get Cliff Lee from Cleveland instead of Halladay. I like that idea mainly because
1. Lee's a lefty which might work better in the Big Band Box in the Bronx***.
2. Lee's $8 million cheaper in terms of salary.
3. Lee's got a 129 ERA; Roy is 151, but that means he's much more expensive
4. Lee's 30 years old; Roy is 32
Given the fact that Roy will be much pricier in terms of prospects, salary and possibly having to take on a bad contract like that of Vernon Wells, I really like this idea.
***Unless someone else has used this before, I am officially coining our ballpark the BBBB
[94] Jerred's pitching like Jeff today too!
Hinske's a BIG dude.
[94] yeah, i thought the error was charged to the first baseman. shoulda been...
Oh, there goes the no-no.
[102] Yeah, but this way it's an Earned Run. :-)
well, there goes the no-no. let's keep the shutout in tact!
[105] Jinx.
Root beer for me!
damnit, boBBy.
and there goes the shutout...
Crap!
Settle down, Pettitte.
Ruh-roh.
[104] Nope...an error on the pitcher still makes the run unearned, I'm pretty certain.
hey Cult - are you at the game?!?!?!
if not, are you going tomorrow? did you go last night?
They are hitting rockets off Andy this inning.
[104] The run was scored as unearned.
[110] You're right, I just checked.
Love how Andy settlted down after those bullets.
Tack on some more in this frame please, Yanks...
Love that sound.
<>
Captain is a Hit Machine!
All I ask for is one win in this series.....that's all
Probably Yogi Berra, right? (The trivia question, most all-star selections as a Yankee.)
wow. nice play. : /
Oh, man, nice play. The score truck stalled.
Walk Teix. You remember what happened when you pitched to Rob in a similar situation...
Oh, come on, Teix, they're trying to walk you!
deuces wild. 2-2, 2 outs.
damn.
[116] Or not.
*sigh*
That sucked.
Oh well, Weaver's thrown 98 pitches. Bet we get him out of the game next inning.
weaver maybe goes one more inning. he has 97 pitches.
How do the Angels always do this?
[120] Nope. It's the Mick.
[111] sorry, my eyes got heavy there for a while ... sheesh, i shoulda stayed asleep to wake up and find this ... again.
gah, why can't the score truck just run over that damn monkey and have done with these pesky sand fleas
anyway, to answer the question, not last night, or today, but maybe tomorrow.
i had weekend plans that fell through at the last minute, so i'll have to go and scalp if i want to see the game.
not sure if i want to suffer these kinds of frustrations in public though
alright ... i'm going back to my nap, i'm obviously in one of those you-wake-up-from-your-nightmare-but-you're-really-still-dreaming nightmares
right???
This sucks.
[85]...well, now we know how we're going to lose today.
crapola. i get outta the shower and now we're losing? FUCK!!!
robertson is frustrating.
i HATE the Halos.
CC better shut these fucking monkeys down tomorrow...
total fucking bollocks.
on my way home it was 4-0 - now i'm home to this clusterfuck?!?
screw this ... i'm going for a walk.
[139] careful, bro and stay away from bridges! ; )
just our luck... : /
losa angeles, anahaeim, orange coutny, ca - where not even an out is an out
jesus christ. i've switched the channel...
Three stinkers from Pettitte in a row. That is really, really bad. We have an injured Wang, regressive (tip of the hat to Tyler Kepner) Chamberlain, and an ineffective Pettitte. It may be that the Yanks need to trade for a pitcher, and soon.
Yanks continue to come up short against tough competition, however you slice it. Worrisome.
It's nice that the Yankees can beat up most teams, but if they aren't going to show up against Boston or LA, what's the point of even making the playoffs.
Just like Joba yesterday, Pettitte simply choked this game away. For some reason, the threat of the stolen bases caused both Joba and Pettitte to implode...despite having 4 run leads. Thats mostly on their severe limitations as pitchers, but also on Girardi and Eiland.
Finally, Posada is now a major liability behind the plate against teams like the Rays and Angels.
With these two deplorable, shameful efforts by the Yankees, they have pretty much extinguished any good feelings generated by the last three weeks.
[144] They definitely need to either transition Hughes back to the rotation or make a deal. Joba has proven that he is either injured or not ready to start. Not only has his performance been subpar, but his attitude has been even worse. A wakeup call in the minors might be in order.
The weakness of Joba/Pettitte has been evident for some time. The Yankees seriously need to consider alternatives because there is no reason to think either will be productive in the second half.
well, that's cool. still losing though...
Two-run homer for Hinske. Do the Yanks have a comeback in them?
just as i was going to chnage it 2 run hr - hinske is a slight bright spot here
I hate this team, especially without Pena and Cervelli. Without them this group is "Plate Tectonics Slow" when compared to their contempories, who passed them by years ago, '02 for this particular opponent. They will never learn. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Lata folks...
[150] The one thing the Yankees don't need is another OPS+ of 70 off the bench. Unless Pena and Cervelli can teach Joba to throw the ball over the plate and Andy not to, I don't see how your point is relevant.
did Jeter just say something to his bat??? it looked like held it up and say, "Come on Bat"!!!
[152] He should have been telling his bat to take the 3-1 pitch because baserunners are desperately needed.
alright, i'm out. got a loooong gig tonight...
see youze people tomorrow...
and that's it - brett tomko best not be around after the asb
[146] I agree completely about Joba/Hughes. Hughes could be godawful but he just seemed ... steadier? I don't know the word but you're right about Chamberlain's attitude - it's starting to get a little bizarre. Having Hughes be a shut down presence in the eighth is swell when they have four legit starters; not so much when they have only two - and god knows Burnett could go bad at any moment. I'll take a 4 ERA and 6 innings per game from Hughes right now if we could get it ...
These games seem to be down to the pitchers simply losing it so in a sense it's not the same kind of losses as the Red Sox or Phillies series. But ultimately some part of the Yankee machine seems to consistently break down in "post season preview"-type games, and that is no bueno. I particularly lament losing early, good-sized leads in the opposition's ballpark. Ugh, painful.
literally *just* got back from my walk, turned on the radio and ... there goes the baseball.
Rikki Tikki Turdbowl
fuck tomko. and the lucky bastard gets to be married to a smokin' hot blonde playmate centerfold. asshole.
Hughes be a shut down presence in the eighth is swell when they have four legit starters; not so much when they have only two
true, true ... and as MP would surely say (if he were here) Hughsey in teh 8th *is* swell, but Hughesy for 2-3 lock down innings today could have been the difference
Ugh.
Well, Mets game is starting soon. Cueto vs. Santana should be good.
Of course I'm not 100% on this, but my sense is that Chamberlain will be traded within a couple years. I just get the feeling he's damaged goods.
you see, Nostralarmis, if I went to the game tomorrow and somehow CC and the team didn't manage to avoid another meltdown like this tomorrow ... well, why risk that sort of thing, right?
I will point out, without sarcasm (lest anyone take offense) that I predicted there would be ample opportunities for meaningful "long relief" innings. I will also point out this game marks the second consecutive game to reveal the follow of stashing the best BP arms for eight and ninth inning leads that may never come, while lesser pitchers fritter the game away or let it get out of hand.
Finally, I wonder aloud if the Yankees will consider the loss of Wang and the ineffectiveness of Pettitte and Joba to be adequate justification to think about using one of their top starting pitching prospects as...a starter.
[159] I'm here. Like you, I dozed off (at 4-1) and woke up (at 8-4). And yes, that is one of several things that I would say!
If CC melts down tomorrow, I'll take that as a sign that this is not a championship-caliber team. That's just how I roll.
Tomorrow is must-win.
They are going to score at least seven runs and likely lose this game. It may be time for me to go prepare dinner. Cooking..therapeutic.
Well hello, EIGHT runs.
Matsui, Hinske and Arod doing their best to make Girardi look bad for saving Hughes for what figures to be maybe 1 inning tomorrow, which will then be followed 4 days off. Talk about an awful allocation of resources.
[162] then again, maybe i'll scalp tickets behind the vistor's dugout and heckle Girardi all game long
Say one thing, the bats on this team don't quit often.
Just think if Joey had used his best non-Mo reliever to put out the fire when Pettite was struggling ...
Holy guacamole. They really might come back.
c'mon Hinske, Hammer one more!
Now we have to hope that whatever non-Mo, non-Hughes reliever is deployed for the eighth-inning-without-lead can keep it close, then maybe the bats can mount one last comeback. Swisher is still waiting in the wings, no?
There is even a chance that Girardi uses Hughes here, since he can still reserve him for the eighth inning tomorrow.
Or Phil Coke.
Imagine if Girardi had gone at least to Coke for two innings, rather than Tomko.
Great job by Girardi keeping Hughes out of this game so far. Otherwise, the Yankees may have tied this game or even gone ahead, which clearly isn't worth sending Hughes into the All Star Break with a little bit of fatigue. This way, if Hughes plans to go fishing, he should be able to get maximum distance on his cast.
This is unbelievable.
This is too ugly to watch
It truly is mysterious why they didn't keep Hughes semi-stretched out by giving him multiple inning appearances. I suspect it is an overly strict adherence to convention, sticking him in a pre-defined role as the 8th inning guy.
How many times will Girardi and Eiland watch their pitchers make the SAME mistakes before intervening? A better prepared manager would not allow his pitchers to become completely flustered by basestealers.
Jorge Posada is now a DH who plays catcher.
And since Mo is certainly able to go back-to-back days (especially followed by the AS break), why not roll the dice and go to the big gun here?
The Yankees overwhelming talent is why they clean up on the likes of Minnesota, Toronto, Baltimore and Seattle. The Yankees poor manager is why they struggle against better teams like the Angels and Red Sox. With such a good record, it would take enormous courage to make a managerial change, but the alternative looks to be early vacation plans.
Cokey gives up a game ending hit to a right hander, while Phil Hughes goes unused. If anyone has a sensible explanation for that, please let me know. Two runs against Fuentes was still in play, but horrific managing has put the game out of reach. The Yankees will not win a World Series with Joe Girardi. If the inevitable first round exit saves his job, the Yankees would be better off in the long run finishing in third place and finally hiring someone with a clue about how to run a game.
Meanwhile, Phil Coke, who has been so good, is forced to take a beating when he doesn't have his best stuff. Girardi is an absolute joke.
Well, what are you gonna do. Coke has been one of the more effective guys and now he's getting battered.
My parting sarcasm:
1. At least no Yankee reliever's savev% went down,
2. At least the eighth inning is locked down tomorrow, just in case.
Jebus, what a debacle.
Guess if you were to describe the Yankees 2009 (so far) as a book title, you'd have to go with "New York Has 2 Daddies"
[182] All the more reason why he didn't deserve to be hung out to dry by his clueless manager.
well, *that* was appropriate
Christ on a cracker. I'm starting to think the Halos just like to spot us a few runs, to keep it interesting for them.
Needed a chuckle following a 2nd consecutive terrible Yankees pitching performance. Figured you boys would be blaming/firing the manager again. Someone actually said something like, "When they win it's because of the players, when they lose it's because of Girardi". Now I'm smiling again...
[187] well I for one am not calling for the manager to be fired or blaming him specifically for this or that loss. My complaint is more systemic, about the way BPs are built and handled in general. I am also accutely upset with the way Hughes is being, er, deployed. But this too is (I think) an organizational fault.
Ugh, that's an ugly loss to wake up to..think I'll skip the Gameday and go enjoy the sunshine here..damn Angels, I hate them!
[188] Agreed. Hughes situation baffles me..
first half over though and can't help be pleased with the results so far, considering CMW's collapse, A-Rod being out, and the ongoing Joba-stinka-thon..i'll take 2 games out of first at the ASB!
From Pete Abe:
Hmm. I have one, very obvious suggestion for how to stop. I'll let y'all figure it out, but I bet most of you know what I am thinking.
[190]hmmm...i just...can't..guess.....any clues?? :)
Boston 9 - KC 0..Jose Guillen in the 1st inning made an error and then forgot how many outs there were...I'm so glad I was rasied a Yankee fan!
Kepner at the NYT seems to really have a bee in his bonnet regarding Chamberlain. I agree with what he's saying, though. I find those recent pieces he wrote on the subject gratifying.
I forgot the Angels were without Hunter and Guerrero. The Yanks absolutely should have won two of three in Anaheim.
[190] Go out and get more OPS+ and less pitching and defense?
Did I win? Did I win?
: )
[193] Nope. Try again.
OK, I have been wrong about Robertson, but I am not wrong about Girardi. The idea that you can only use Hughes in the 7th or 8th is nuts. He could have used him earlier in the game for a couple of innings when the game was still close and begun the process of stretching him out, because he's needed in the rotation.
The rotation is more important than the pen.
Pettitte may be close to being done as a starter. Maybe he can be a long reliever.
Tomko has no place on this roster. Sending Alby down and keeping him is idiotic.
Royals came back from 9-0 to 9-7! Then Daniel Fireball Bard came in for Sox to end the rally..Go Go KC, get 3 more and steal a win!
And we drafted Kennedy instead Bad. Sweet...
Sox will win this game but their pen gave up 9 runs to the Royals..
[190] let me guess, does it involve returning a mediocre young starter to the rotation so he can throw 5 innings and help Joba and Andy burn out the pen?
[199] Well, that would be five innings more than he throws by rotting in the pen while Brett Tomko or similar burns the game in the sixth.But actually, no that's not the answer.
Rather, it involves using the best pitchers in high level situations or when the game is contested. That means not sitting on the best relievers to preserve a lead in the eighth inning that will never come, so that lesser pitchers can blow the game up in the sixth.
In short, it means using your pitchers to win games, not to accumulate as many saves as possible for one pitcher.
On the bright side, Hughes and Mo are well rested after watching the last two games, so they should be ready to go when the Yankees' best starter pitches tomorrow.