Daily Archives: August 23, 2009

When Josh Beckett allowed seven runs in his last start I thought, Drag: he got the egg out of his system. Beckett pitched eight innings against the Yankees on Sunday night, usually a sign that things are going right for the Red Sox. But he also allowed eight runs. The Yanks scored in the first five innings and smacked five home runs off Boston’s ace (Jeter, Matsui, Cano, Rodriguez, Matsui), the most Beckett has ever allowed in a game. 

Derek Jeter swung at the first pitch he saw in the top of the first and deposited it into the bleachers in right-centerfield. It was the 2,700th hit of Jeter’s career (and, as Tom Boorstein noted, things are going well for the Yankee captain these days). Jeter should break Lou Gehrig’s mark for the most hits in Yankee history before the end of the season. If he remains healthy, he should reach 3,000 in 2011.

CC Sabathia wasn’t dominating but he delivered what is commonly known around these parts as a “gritty, gutty” performance. He gave up eight hits but only three earned runs (Robinson Cano made two errors), pitching until two men were out in the seventh inning. He also whiffed eight without walking a batter (Beckett didn’t issue a base on balls either). Phil Hughes relieved Sabathia, got out of the seventh, and worked around a lead-off single by Victor Martinez to toss a scoreless eighth.

Mariano Rivera, making his first appearance of the series, came on in the ninth and walked pinch-hitter JD Drew on four pitches. Catcher Jose Molina went to the mound. Drew took second on the first pitch–a called strike–to Jason Varitek. The next pitch was a cutter inside for a ball and Molina went to speak with his pitcher again. Rivera located a strike and then got a generous call on a back-door cutter for the strike out. Varitek waved his hand in disgust at Sam Holbrook, the home plate umpire and returned to the dugout (Holbrook had a wide strike zone). Casey Kotchman was next, also pinch-hitting, and after fouling off four pitches, he grounded out to Mark Teixeira. Rivera carved-up Jacoby Ellsbury on three pitches and the Yanks had the series, as well as a 7.5 game game lead over Boston.

Final Score: Yanks 8, Red Sox 4.

Let’s all applaud again, let’s all applaud again.

Sabathia v Beckett.  

Should be a good one.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

My mother and step-father were over for a cup of tea late yesteray afternoon. When they left, I checked the score (okay, I checked the score before they left too), turned the TV off and took my wife into Manhattan. So I missed the whole damned mess. AJ Burnett got bombed by the Red Sox for the third time this season and this was the worst beatin’ yet as Boston rolled, 14-1.

According to Tyler Kepner in the New York Times:

“I didn’t have a lot of conviction behind some pitches today,” Burnett said. “I threw a lot of balls that I didn’t want to throw.”

Burnett stressed that he did not blame Posada, holding himself responsible for choosing each pitch. That is the job of the pitcher, he said.

“We throw what we want to throw; he’s there to aid,” Burnett said. “It’s definitely not him. I had a good hook today and I feel like I should have used it more.”

Burnett added: “He calls it fine back there. It’s just a matter of me throwing what I want to throw. You don’t throw a pitch unless you’re 100 percent behind it.”

Posada said the hitters seemed ready for Burnett’s curveball early, so he called different pitches to keep them off it. His signals are suggestions, Posada said, and it is up to Burnett to accept them or not.

“He was shaking me,” Posada said. “I tried to get on the same page. It seems like at times we were, and then we weren’t at times. It’s frustrating because obviously he wants to throw a certain pitch and I want to throw another one. When they hit them like that, it’s tough to get on the same page.”

So the Yanks and Sox have split the first two games with tonight hopefully giving us a real pitcher’s match-up. Andy Pettitte and AJ Burnett were awful this weekend. Time for CC to make like an Ace, wouldn’t ya say?