Daily Archives: July 5, 2010

Trevor Cahill, the A’s lone All-Star this year and CC Sabathia’s opponent Tuesday night, was on the disabled list with a scapula problem when the Yankees took two of three from the A’s in Oakland in April. Since then, he’s gone 8-2 with a 2.47 ERA while three other members of the A’s rotation (Brett Anderson, Justin Duchscherer, and Dallas Braden) have landed on the DL. That leaves tonight’s starter, the brittle Ben Sheets, as the only member of the A’s intended Opening Day rotation not to hit the DL this year.

If that wasn’t troubling enough for the A’s, Sheets has been struggling through his worst major league season (3-7 with a career worst 4.98 ERA and 1.85 K/BB). Mind you, Sheets hasn’t been awful, he has just been consistently unimpressive. Out of his six June starts (1-4, 5.11 ERA), he lasted six innings in five (seven in the exception) and allowed four runs in five (five runs in the exception). When he faced the lowly Pirates, he struck out nine against no walks. Against everyone else he struck out 14 against 11 walks over five starts, and he has allowed a home run in each of his last seven outings.

Consistently unimpressive pretty much describes this A’s team as a whole. They’re scoring just 4.1 runs per game, but in this pitching-dominated year there are seven teams that score even less often, including the Yankees’ next opponent, the Mariners. The pitching has been solid when healthy, though even Cahill isn’t particularly threatening or exciting, their ballpark helps, and 31 of their games (37 percent of their schedule to this point) have come against the Mariners, Orioles, Indians, Cubs, and Pirates, five of the teams below them in runs per game.

The A’s enter this series hot because they just played three of those teams and went 7-2 against the Pirates (sweep), Orioles, and Indians (two of three, each). Tonight they face Javier Vazquez, who struck out eight Mariners in a futile quality start against Felix Hernandez his last time out. Javy posted a 3.23 ERA in June and his first win of the season came in Oakland back on April 20. With the Yankee bats having shown some life the last two days, the all signs point to a good series for the Yankees this week. If only they could bring that glaring summer afternoon Bronx sun with them to these three night games in Oakland.

With Jorge Posada day-to-day with a sprained left ring finger, Joe Girardi tries a new look lineup tonight. Brett Gardner leads off with Derek Jeter batting second and Nick Swisher hitting in Posada’s vacated sixth spot. I can dig it. Swish is the DH tonight, Colin Curtis plays right field and bats ninth behind Francisco Cervelli.

Oh, and it has nothing to do with the game, but Andy Pettitte is indeed going to the All-Star game, as Clay Buchholz’s injury replacement.

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The Yankees make their final west coast trip of the season, and we’re not even at the All-Star Break yet. Go figure that.

Sox and Rays are playing tonight, so have at it if you’re just kickin’ around before the late night game in Oakland.

We Keep the Light On…

[Picture by Bags]

It is supposed to be in the upper nineties this week in the Rotten Apple. Oy and veh. I’ve got the day off and I hope you do too. Blogging will be light, but we’ll be back tonight (if not sooner) when the Yanks take on the A’s.

Phil Hughes took the mound against Brandon Morrow on Sunday, trying to put his last start, a flu-and-skipped start-dogged subpar affair behind him.  For a while, the only thing in his and the rest of the Yankees’ way were gopherballs and the outfield arms of the Blue Jays.

Hughes cruised through the first two innings on 20 pitches, featuring three swinging Ks.  Leading off the 3rd, Lyle Overbay launched a Monument Park homer, the ninth homer Hughes has allowed at home this season (strangely, Hughes hasn’t allowed one in his road starts).

The Yanks put two on the board in the bottom of the inning on a single to left, an infield single to third, a Jeter sac bunt in which Lyle Overbay tried and failed to get Brett Gardner on a force out at third, a Mark Teixeira sacrifice fly and an Alex Rodriguez RBI single.  While it didn’t match the Bombers’ 11-run 3rd inning outburst from Saturday in terms of clout and duration, Hughes was pitching well enough that one thought it might be enough.

The Yanks tacked on a gift run in the 4th. With one out and Curtis Granderson on first, Grandy was allowed to advance to 2nd on a Gardner called swinging third strike/wild pitch, even though the ball appeared to nick Gardner’s leg, which would have made it a dead ball.  Ramiro Pena plated Granderson with a 2-out single.

The Jays got to Hughes again in the 5th, with the big blow coming from DeWayne Wise, a 3-run doink high off the right field foul pole on a floating breaking ball mistake from Hughes.  Wise was only starting in center for the Jays due to Vernon Wells getting a day off in the midst of an 0-for-18 slump.  Mr. Wise’s day would get more interesting soon thereafter.

Nick Swisher led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to center, and then Teixeira boomed a double over Wise’s head (Wise plays a notoriously shallow centerfield).  Swisher hesitated rounding second to make sure Wise didn’t catch it, then was waved around third, and was gunned down 8-6-2, with our old friend Jose Molina deftly blocking the plate and applying the tag.  Teixeira took third on the throw home.

Then Rodriguez lofted a flyball to medium center, and Wise threw a one-bouncer to Molina, who tagged Teixeira as he was trying to hook his arm around home plate.  End of rally.

Hughes served up yet another homer (his 7th in the last four starts) in the sixth, this time a bullpen blast off the bat of  Adam Lind.  Hughes’ day would be done after the sixth, having allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk, with seven Ks.

Down 5-3 now, Jorge Posada knocked a one-out single and after Granderson K’ed (one of four on the day for him), Gardner belted another ball over Wise’s head.  This time though, Wise caught up to it in time enough to put up his glove, only to lose the ball in the tough sun, and have it tick off his glove as Wise fell to the ground in self-defense.  Gardner circled the bases on a debatable inside-the-park homer, tying the game at 5.

Damaso Marte pitched a perfect top of the 7th, but the Yanks lost Jorge Posada with one out in that frame due to a foul tip off the edge of the glove that bent Posada’s fingers back.  It was eerily reminiscent of the recent injury to the BoSox’ Victor Martinez.  (Fortunately, x-rays proved negative, and a sprained ring finger makes Jorge day-to-day).

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