Daily Archives: March 27, 2010

Ex-Tigers Curtis Granderson and Marcus Thames got the job done against Detroit’s lefty starter as A.J. Burnett and the Yankees beat Nate Robertson and the Tigers’ starters 2-1.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (LF)
L – Nick Johnson (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Marcus Thames (DH)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
R – Kevin Russo (2B)
R – Brandon Laird (3B)

Subs: David Winfree (1B), P.J. Pilittere (C), Jon Weber (RF), Abraham Almonte (CF), Austin Krum (LF)

Pitchers (IP): A.J. Burnett (6 2/3), David Robertson (1/3), Chan Ho Park (1), Joba Chamberlain (1)

Big Hits: A solo home run by Marcus Thames off lefty Nate Robertson leading off the fourth inning. In his other three trips, Thames walked once, also against Robertson, and struck out twice. Doubles by Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson (both 2-for-4), also off the lefty Robertson. Granderson’s was an RBI double in the first and an encouraging sign for the left-handed-hitting outfielder. It’s worth noting that every Yankee outfielder who could find himself in a platoon was in the otherwise-thin lineup against the lefty Robertson. In addition to Thames and Granderson, Randy Winn and Brett Gardner combined to go 0-for-7 with a walk taken by Gardner. Posada was on the trip to catch Burnett. Lefty-hitting Nick Johnson was the only other Yankee starter on the trip.

Who Pitched Well: A.J. Burnett walked more men than he struck out (three to two), but allowed just one run (scored by Johnny Damon after his third-inning double) on three hits and those three walks. Burnett didn’t throw any changups and said after the game that his curve wasn’t working. Kudos to Burnett and Posada for their success despite those handicaps. Chan Ho Park pitched around a double for a scoreless eighth. Joba Chamberlain, in his thrilling return to short relief work, worked around a pair of singles for a scoreless ninth. Throwing only fastballs and sliders, he struck out one and topped out at 94 mph on the gun. David Robertson faced two men and walked the first, but he only needed on out and he got it before that runner could advance.

Nice Plays: I didn’t see the game, but reportedly Randy Winn made a few nice ones in right, including one sliding catch after which he popped up and fired to Posada at first base to double off aptly named pinch-runner Michael Rockett.

Oopsies: None. Have you noticed that as we get closer to Opening Day, the players get closer to regular season form, and the minor leaguers get farmed out, there are fewer and fewer errors? It’s as if spring training actually serves a purpose and major leaguers deserve to be where they are.

Other: Spring training stats are largely meaningless, but for what little they’re worth, here are the hitting lines on a couple of 2010 Tigers who played in this game:

Johnny Damon: .341/.396/.568 (2 SBs in 2 tries)
Austin Jackson: .339/.413/.554 (3 3Bs, 3 SB in 4 tries)

Also, Ian Kennedy has made the Diamondback’s rotation, but with Jayson Heyward officially the Braves’ Opening Day right fielder, Melky Cabrera has been bumped out of Atlanta’s lineup, thus beginning his career as a journeyman fourth outfielder.

Also, note on the Upcoming Schedule on the sidebar that CC Sabathia will pitch the road day game against the Braves while Sergio Mitre will start the night home game against the Blue Jays (I originally had their assignments the other way). I assume this is to prevent the Jays from getting an extra look at Sabathia with the season almost here, but it’s just as likely to let CC have his evening off. I can’t imagine the Yankees are that worried about Toronto. The unfortunate side-effect is that Mitre will now be pitching the televised game. Unfortunate for most, that is, I’m curious to watch him pitch given how well he’s been doing this spring and the fact that he’s still in competition for the Opening Day roster.

My in-laws got my wife and I some “Bomber Bucks” for Christmas, including with the gift their babysitting services so that Becky and I could get out to at least one game this year. It was a very thoughtful gift. Unfortunately, it turns out that Bomber Bucks can only be cashed in for tickets (not concessions or merchandise) and only at the ticket windows at Yankee Stadium. Adding insult to the difficulty of finding babysitting (thanks, Mom!), spending $25 on trains, and taking a three-hour round trip from suburban New Jersey to the Bronx simply to purchase tickets, the Yankee Stadium ticket windows didn’t open for business until five days after tickets went on sale to the general public via phone and internet.

When I finally got there on Friday, piggybacking the journey on a trip to mid-town for a “Bronx Banter Breakdown” taping (three segments coming Monday through Wednesday), I was informed that there were no bleacher seats left. Period. That the only seats to Red Sox games remaining were north of $300 a piece, and that of the six Sunday games my wife and I could both make, none had two available seats together in the grandstand. After playing what amounted to a game of battleship with the amicable young woman on the other side of the glass (“May 16” “miss” “August 18” “miss” “July 25” “miss” . . .), I was finally able to use up the gift certificate on two pairs of nosebleed seats to weeknight games and a single ticket in the grandstand for a Monday night game in May against the Orioles. Remember, tickets had only been on sale to the general public for a week. Frustrated and disappointed, I stuck my tickets in my bag, wheeled around and was greeted by this:

It is a monument to corruption, greed, and the failures of our municipal and state governments to act in the best interests of the people they are supposed to represent, and a vile and disgusting insult to all but the wealthiest of Yankee fans.

. . . what they’ve really done is take affordable seats away from the common fan who can only afford to sit in the upper deck or bleachers of the current Stadium and relocated them to parts of the ballpark only the wealthy can afford. To make matters worse, the new Stadium will hold 4,561 fewer fans, and you can surely guess which seats are being slashed. With a smaller bleacher capacity, a smaller upper deck, and an increase in luxury and outdoor suite seating, the new Stadium will be spitting out fans of modest means to accommodate the organization’s target audience of free-spending fat cats.

That was what I wrote about the new Yankee Stadium back in September 2008, three days before the final game in the real Yankee Stadium, a game Becky and I would watch from the right-field bleacher seats that were ours every Sunday, Opening Day, and Old-Timers’ Day for the old park’s final six years. Yesterday, I felt the harsh reality of those words.

To be honest, my fanaticism has receded in recent years, in part due to professional necessity and in part due to the team’s stadium shenanigans, which have soured me significantly, but I still consider myself a Yankee fan. I inherited it from my grandfathers. I paid my dues as a kid growing up in the ’80s when the Mets were hip and Yankee hats were about as cool as bell bottoms and mutton chops. I indoctrinated my wife in the ’90s, and I’m not about to abandon her or that familial tradition now. I hope to introduce my daughter to the joys of baseball through her inherited Yankee fandom. I just wish the team my family and I root for wanted or even needed us just a little.

Dude, what happened to the spring? The sun is out but man, it’s winter cold again.

Might as well warm up with some of this: