Daily Archives: July 22, 2009

The Yankees  scored four runs in the first inning against Baltimore starter Jason Berken Wednesday afternoon, A.J. Burnett held the O’s scoreless through the first six innings, and that was about that. Jorge Posada added a solo home run in the third and an RBI double in the eighth. The O’s scratched out a pair of runs against Burnett in the top of the seventh and got two more on back-to back homers by Adam Jones and Nick Markakis off Brian Bruney with two outs in the top of the ninth. Mariano Rivera came in to get the last out and nail down the 6-4 win, and with that the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Orioles and ran their second-half record to 6-0.

For Burnett, it was his seventh-straight quality start and his ninth out of his last ten starts. The Yankees are 8-2 in those ten games, the two loses coming against the Red Sox and the Marlins’ Josh Johnson, the later by a score of 2-1. As for Bruney, he struck out Robert Andino and Brian Roberts before giving up the two homers and both he and Joe Girardi said they though he was throwing the ball particularly well. Said Bruney, “two outs in the the ninth, four-run lead, of course I’m gonna throw a heater.” To his credit, the homers were hit by the Orioles two best hitters. Baseball men always say it’s better to challenge a hitter in that situation than to walk him and Bruney didn’t allow the first homer to force him to start nibbling to Jones. Still, I’m a long way from convinced that Bruney’s back to being a viable late-inning reliever.

Given the fact that the Yankees salted the game early, the highlight of the game came in the top of the third. Brian Roberts led off by lifting a fly to deep right. Nick Swisher trotted over, lifted his glove, and just flat missed the ball, putting Roberts on second. It was a flat gaffe, and a humiliating one at that. Adam Jones followed with a single, pushing Roberts to third, but Burnett got Markakis to foul out to shallow left and struck out Aubrey Huff to put him on the verge of getting out of the Swisher-created jam. Ty Wigginton then worked the count full and laced a pitch to Swisher’s left in deep right. It looked like an easy two-RBI double that would cut the Yankee lead in half, but Swisher raced over and made a fine, inning-ending leaping catch, allowing his momentum to carry him up the right-field wall in celebration. A.J. dropped this one on him in response:

I wonder if A.J. realized how well he and Swisher fit those roles.

AJ Burnett likes to mash pies in his teammates’ grill. Let’s hope he gives them reason to return the favor this afternoon.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

I had some fun over at SI.com yesterday taking a look at the 2008 Gold Glove winners through the lense of UZR and The Fielding Bible. Along the way I name the best and worst defender at every position on the diamond according to those metrics and point out some surprises. Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Jose Molina, and Mike Mussina all make appearances. Derek Jeter comes up too, but only in passing.

Let’s get right to it:

• Hello Mitre, Goodbye Tomko:

Needing to clear roster space for Tuesday’s starting pitcher, Sergio Mitre, the Yankees designated Tomko for assignment, likely ending his time with the club. Tomko, a 13-year veteran of eight big league teams, posted a 5.23 ERA for the Yankees, pitching just 20 2/3 innings — many of them in lopsided games — over the span of 2 1/2 months.

“A lot of it was circumstance,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We played in a lot of tight games, and we went with the guys that we were using in those innings. He didn’t pitch a lot. There were times when he had a lot of days off, and it can be hard to stay sharp that way.”

Tomko hadn’t pitched since July 11, giving up runs in five of his final eight appearances with the team. After earning a callup thanks to a strong Spring Training showing and some sparkling Triple-A numbers — namely a 0.64 ERA in 10 games — Tomko began to crumble with irregular use around mid-May.

• No Halladay in the Yanks future, it appears:

A Blue Jays official involved in the Roy Halladay discussions told The Post that both New York teams are not serious pursuers of the ace right-hander.

The official confirmed what several Yankee executives already had told the Post: That since an initial phone conversation about two weeks ago between Brian Cashman and his Blue Jays counterpart J.P. Ricciardi to let the Yankees know that Halladay is available there have been no further discussions. Yankees executives have told the Post that the finances in adding Halladay don’t work, especially if it means giving up the best of their farm system, also, which is what keeping Halladay in the AL East would necessitate.

• Loosey-goosey Matsui?:

Out of the corner of his eye, Hideki Matsui caught the sight of several teammates frantically using their arms to make a tossing motion. The gestures seemed foreign at first. But as Matsui jogged toward the plate, moments after slamming a walk-off homer in the Yankees’ 2-1 victory against the Orioles on Monday, it all started to make sense.

“I was just going to step on home plate, normally,” said the typically reserved Matsui through his translator. “But they told me to throw my helmet so I threw my helmet. I’ve never done it before, so in that sense, it felt a little uncomfortable. But I like to follow whatever the team rules are.”

So, Matsui fired his helmet into the air the way a newlywed bride would toss a bouquet. And Melky Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada — the three giddy teammates who waved frantically at Matsui — all leaped after it like a group bachelors at a wedding reception diving after the garter belt.

• Will Carroll on CMW:

Between the foot, the hips, and now the shoulder, Wang has undergone a full-system breakdown in just a year. That’s very unusual, and points strongly to some sort of mechanical issue. With all the money the Yankees spend on things, you’d figure they’d be at the front of everything, including biomechanics, but they’re not. They used to have a real edge in how they managed rehabilitation, especially with Tommy John recoveries, but while they’re still very good, the rest of the league has caught up. . . Wang seems to be done for the season, with the question being whether this is a permanent or temporary stop.

(more…)

I missed Sergio Mitre’s Yankee debut last night. By the time I got home, Alfredo Aceves was pitching. But Mitre kept his team in the game and left with the Yanks ahead 6-4. Aceves, Phil Coke, and Mariano Rivera did not allow a run and that was how the score stood as the Yanks moved into sole possession of first place (the Rangers beat the Red Sox 4-2 in Texas).

“We don’t get caught up in who’s in first place, who’s in second place,” Derek Jeter said. “Yeah, it’s great that nobody’s in front of us. But it doesn’t mean anything at this point.”
(Kepner, N.Y.Times)

The Bombers didn’t hit much but they took advantage of eight walks issued by Baltimore’s pitching staff. Alex Rodriguez had a productive night. In the second, he led off with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball and then scored on a sac fly. The following inning, with two out, Rodriguez drove in two runs with a single, putting the Yanks ahead for good.

That’s five straight for the Bombers who play an afternoon game today. Looking at the standings, it sure seems as if we’re going to have some excitement on our hands this summer. The Rays, Sox, Yanks, Angels and Rangers are all having fine seasons–only three will make the playoffs. Ya gotta love it.