Daily Archives: July 27, 2009

I didn’t feel good about AJ Burnett going into tonight’s game. For no other reason than I figured it was time for him to have a bad outing, get the snot knocked out of him. I’m pleased to report that didn’t happen. Burnett was strong once again as he allowed just one run over seven innings. He didn’t John Blaze the Rays to death–just five strikeouts–but he was effective (only two walks) and a-mighty fun to watch.

The Yanks put three early runs on the board against James Shields. Robbie Cano and Nick Swisher hit back-to-back dingers in the sixth and Alex Rodriguez added a two-run double two innings later. Derek Jeter had three hits and a walk and is now battting .325. I wax poetic about Mariano Rivera on the reg, I love rooting for Alex Rodriguez, but man, has it ever been wonderful to watch Jeter play all these years. He’s truly one of the great Yankees.

Johnny Alphabetsoup allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and left two runners on base when he was replaced by David Robertson. What looked like a laugher got tense for a minute–but Robertson struck out Carlos Pena on a breaking ball in the dirt to escape further trouble.

Then Swisher added a solo shot–this one righthanded–in the ninth, Johnny Damon wacked a three-run dinger (his 200th career homer) as the Yanks beat the Rays 11-4. The Bombers remain two-and-a-half ahead of the Sox who beat the A’s in Boston.

Nice way to start the week, wouldn’t ya say?

The Yankees made the most of their recent ten-game homestand, going 9-1 against the Tigers, Orioles, and A’s. That’s good, because now things get tough. The first seven games of this nine-game road trip are against the Rays and White Sox, both contending teams. Then, after a two-game stop in Toronto, they come home to play four against the Red Sox. That’s 11 of 13 games against contending teams.

The Rays are 6.5 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East, but the Pythagorean standings look like this:

BOS 56-41  –
NYY 56-42  .5
TBR 56-43  1

The Rays still aren’t getting much from B.J. Upton or Pat Burrell, and their catching duo of former Yankee farmhands Dioner Navarro and Michel Hernandez is almost single-handedly keeping them out of the Wild Card race. Jason Bartlett has cooled a bit since returning from the DL, but is still contributing a solid .296/.354/.417 from shorststop and fellow flukester Ben Zobrist is hot as ever, hitting .379/.463/.500 since July 7.

In the rotation, Scott Kazmir is back from the DL and with pitch Tuesday night, but he’s not been that much more effective since his return, going 0-2 with a 5.08 ERA and just one quality start in five tries. Wednesday night starter Matt Garza, however, has been his usual inconsistent, but often dominant self. Tonight the Rays throw James Shields, who is turning in a season that looks a lot like the one he had last year plus a few extra hits.

The Yankees counter with A.J. Burnett, who is looking for his eighth-straight quality start. A.J. already has two quality starts against the Rays in as many tries this season, including an eight-inning, three-hit, nine-strikeout effort a the Trop back on April 14.

One other thing about the Rays: they’ve made lefty reliever J.P Howell their closer. Since June 1, Howell has posted a 1.14 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 11.03 K/9. His only two blown saves during that stretch came in the eighth inning against the Yankees the last time they were in Tampa. In neither case did he allow a run, and in one he didn’t even allow a hit (though he did walk in a run).

The Yankees are sticking with the extra reliever for now rather than calling up a replacement for Brett Gardner. Everyone’s in his usual spot in tonight’s lineup.

(more…)

Over at SI.com, I follow up my look at the five biggest offensive holes on contending teams with a look at the five contenders most in need of pitching help. When I started writing the piece, I had no idea that number five would be the New York Yankees. As a fan, I’m optimistic, encouraged by the team’s 9-1 start to the second half, Joba Chamberlain’s “rejobanation,” Andy Pettitte’s two strong home starts, CC Sabathia’s ability to battle, even A.J. Burnett’s string of quality starts and Sergio Mitre’s ability to keep his team in the game. As an analyst, however, I see this:

Joba Chamberlain is quickly approaching his innings limit for the season (assumed to be 150, he’s already over 100 and has been pitching deeper into games since the break). If the fragile A.J. Burnett or the 37-year-old Pettitte (currently sporting a career-worst 4.67 ERA) should break down, the Yankee rotation could fold like a cheap card table under the weight of CC Sabathia. Hughes lurks in the bullpen, but he’s been so good there (he has an active streak of 23 1/3 scoreless innings in which he’s struck out 28 batters), the Yankees seem reluctant to restore him to the rotation, particularly given the chance that they won’t get much more than the production listed above. For now, their fifth starter is Sergio Mitre, another Tommy John reclamation case who hadn’t started in the majors since 2007 (and in his case didn’t start much in the majors before 2007 either). Prospect Ian Kennedy is out for the year following surgery. Alfredo Aceves is an uninspiring alternative. Like the Angels, the Yankees are riding high (9-1 since the break), but their rotation may not make it all the way to the finish line as currently assembled.

Meanwhile, the top story on SI.com’s baseball page has John Heyman speculating about the Yankees chasing after Jarrod Washburn yet again. The only trouble with all of this is, what exactly would you be willing to give up to get another starter? I could have parted with Melky before Brett Gardner got hurt, but that’s out the window now. I wouldn’t trade any of the team’s top young’uns (Hughes, Chamberlain, Jackson, Montero, though I’d be most willing to part with Jackson). What else do the Yankees have to offer? Low-minors catchers? A struggling Andrew Brackman? The deadline is Friday. Stay tuned . . .

One of my favorite movie scenes of all time:

Today’s abbreviated NOTD is brought to you by anagrams (“A DARN FEMINIST”, “I’M A DAFT SINNER”, “I’M SATAN, FRIEND”)  and Robitussin:

• Thumbthing in the way he moves . . . :

(Brett) Gardner fractured his left thumb during Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Athletics and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. He will be in a cast for approximately two weeks. . . .

A 25-year-old rookie, Gardner injured himself while breaking up a double play in the first inning on Saturday, sliding into second baseman Mark Ellis and reaching his left hand out to touch the base.

“I’ve done it hundreds of times,” Gardner said. “Usually, my hand slides over the base, but for some reason, my thumb didn’t get up high enough. It’s one of those freak things that happens.”

Gardner knew that something was not right after the play, but he figured that he might have strained a ligament and did not mention the pain. He stroked a run-scoring triple in the sixth inning and earned applause with a throw to third base in the seventh inning, preventing a runner from advancing.

“It’s part of what I love about him,” Girardi said. “He played at a pretty high level after he broke his thumb. Players are going to have things that happen all the time. During the heat of battle, you don’t feel them a lot of times as much.”

• The Yankees were well-represented during yesterday’s Hall of Fame inductions.  There of course was Rickey Henderson.  But let’s not forget Joe Gordon, the second baseman on many stellar Yankees teams of the ’40s.  Last but not least, former SS and Yankee broadcaster Tony Kubek received the Ford Frick Award.
• The Yanks are scouting the enigmatic Pirates starter Ian Snell.
• Birthdays today: Alex Rodriguez (34), Enrique Wilson (36), Shane Rawley (54) and Johnny Kucks (76).

Back Tuesday . . .