"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

On the Bright Side…

bbbhfj;l

…Michael Pineda is starting tonight.

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter DH
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Stephen Drew SS
Martin Prado 2B
Ichiro Suzuki RF

Never mind the summertime blues:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Bags]

Categories:  1: Featured  Game Thread  Yankees

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116 comments

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1 Alex Belth   ~  Aug 20, 2014 3:59 pm
2 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 5:20 pm

Mo'ne Davis is pitching tonight. Little League might be the better option

3 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 5:24 pm

Draft Mo'ne!

4 MSM35   ~  Aug 20, 2014 5:47 pm

Mo'ne is a fully grown young lady. Her 70mph. fast ball is a big advantage in little league. Danny Almonte has some advice.

5 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:18 pm

Buck Showalter to protest that Jeter hit.

6 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:23 pm

We're not going to score a run here, are we ...

7 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:26 pm

Nope.

8 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:26 pm

Nope.

Sigh.

9 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:43 pm

Come boys, get a couple in for Big Mike.

10 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:44 pm

Christ, Brett.

11 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:47 pm

You're in the city and you're eating national chain pizza?

Grrrrrrrrrr.

12 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:50 pm

Papa John's really is utter shite ...

13 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:53 pm

Wait, there's replay in Little League???

14 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:55 pm

[13] I know, it's like a sign of the apocalypse.

15 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:55 pm

This gives new meaning to "you throw like a girl."

16 mhoward120   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:55 pm

If Pineda remains healthy (and that's an earth-shattering if), he would be an MLB Top 5 pitcher.

17 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:56 pm

Damn, there's a player on the Philly team with a ... MUSTACHE!

18 Boatzilla   ~  Aug 20, 2014 6:58 pm

NHK has stopped showing the Yankees games on their satellite channel, which is odd because it makes sense.

So we got the Fat Sosas vs. the Pawtucket Sox today or Koshien.

My MLB Premium has been bitchy at home of late.

19 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:00 pm

Looks like Richards just got carted off the field in the Angels game. Guess that might matter if the Yankees ever get around to showing a pulse ...

20 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:04 pm

Ohhhh, too bad.
Well, let's get a shut-out.

21 Boatzilla   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:05 pm

The Angels pitcher just got carried off on a stretcher. A no collision leg event.

The fans gave him a big hand for getting himself hurt. Why do the fans always clap when a guy gets carried off on a stretcher?

I get it in football, when it becomes clear that the guy ain't dead or brain dead. You clap because he's OK. But this pitchers' season is over. Nothing to clap about.

22 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:05 pm

ALEX PARKER GOES FULL EDMONDS!!!

23 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:05 pm

Still no runs off of Feldman (from across the hall)?

24 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:05 pm

Whoa.
That's a tough catch that little Nevadan just made.

25 seamus   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:06 pm

need to make fantasy team move now...

26 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:07 pm

[24] great catch.

27 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:07 pm

Carter has 30 taters??

28 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:07 pm

Eat it, Carter.

29 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:08 pm

I missed it, why the hell did Altuve bunt?? Was there any explanation?

30 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:09 pm

Every time I see Pineda I think he should posting up Ewing. The ball is like a marble in his hand.

31 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:11 pm

Fug.

About both games.

32 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:12 pm

[20] I have confidence that this Yankees offense could get shut out.

33 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:14 pm

Mo'ne ... getting hit hard.

34 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:19 pm

They're even doing "pitch sequences" at LLWS!

35 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:20 pm

He's out

36 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:21 pm

And so we gave up a run

37 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:21 pm

Oh, for fuck's sake. Stolen base wasn't even close. Nice homer, though.

38 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:21 pm

Hey, Stephen! Look at that!

39 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:25 pm

Pine tar sticking on Prado shoulder a brilliant camera capture, especially since Kay had just started discussing pine tar...

40 Boatzilla   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:28 pm

Wow. Just read Schilling fighting oral cancer. His oratory has always be an cancer to me, [sorry] but dang, what a shitty disease. Sounds really awful. He said he can't taste or smell anything.

I suppose the morality police will be calling for a ban on snuff next year.

41 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:33 pm

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

42 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:33 pm

Has Mo'ne got an out on a ball hit in play yet? I know she has a ton of strikeouts, and there was the nice play on the foul pop bunt.

43 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:34 pm

Yeah, I think the Nevada BABIP is 1.000.

44 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:36 pm

She gone ...

=(

45 Boatzilla   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:37 pm

Nice play by the Capt...uh, Prad, uh Horace, uh Drew. That's it!

46 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:40 pm

[44] Whoa I, be the to replace her, she's gone etc.

47 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:41 pm

[46] whoa they edited out the synonym for Satan.

48 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:42 pm

What a gun by Ty!

49 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:44 pm

Wow!!!
Do not run on these guys.

50 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:45 pm

Oh, interesting timing -- I meant the Little League game.

51 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:47 pm

How about that?

52 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:47 pm

A PLAY!!!

53 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:47 pm

Very cool, Jacoby.

54 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:47 pm

[52] The play giveth, and the play taketh away.

55 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:48 pm

Gutsy bunt by Ellsbury, with a rare RBI to boot!

56 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:50 pm

Hurray! Teix didn't strike out again!

57 Boatzilla   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:56 pm

I wonder if anyone will ever hit 50 homers again.

58 cult of basebaal   ~  Aug 20, 2014 7:56 pm

Ebb and flow, ebb and flow ...

59 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:03 pm

McCann's looking good.

Last night he pulled a ball hard foul before adjusting and hitting a home run.

Just now, he hit it hard foul and adjusted and just missed a double down the line.

I don't know if it's indicative, but on the face of it, that looks like the sign of a very good hitter.

60 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:04 pm

Mo'ne up with two ducks! No pressure, girl...

61 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:04 pm

[57] For whatever reason, I associate the concept of 50 home runs with George Foster.

I remember being astonished as a kid that George Foster, of all people, hit 52 home runs. It was all but unprecedented back then.

It should be nearly unattainable.

62 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:07 pm

This is just a great game. I usually find Little League too fraught, but this is just great.

63 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:09 pm

Yankee game not too bad, either

64 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:12 pm

Nice job, kid!

65 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:14 pm

Nice, Pineda

66 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:15 pm

David Huff?

Is this a good idea?

67 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:16 pm

[61] Yeah, especially as Foster looked kind of skinny.

Brady Anderson has to be the most unlikley 50 homer guy though.

68 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:16 pm

Oh, man, what a shame for Pennsylvania. Hit that heater hard but right at the 2B.

69 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:24 pm

Esmil Rogers. Is this a good idea?

70 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:25 pm

Held up? Capitalize! Double play please.

71 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:26 pm

Are there any good ideas for the Yankees at this point?

Aw fuck!

72 rbj   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:28 pm

Orientation for the new students. Semester starts tomorrow, night all.

73 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:28 pm

[67] Yes. The difference is, when George Foster did it I thought it was an incredible, not to say implausible feat.

When Brady Anderson did it, it diminished the integrity of the game in my mind.

When he did it, it meant that obviously 50 just didn't mean 50 anymore.

74 RIYank   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:28 pm

Not the best ideas.

75 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:29 pm

Suddenly it's 5-2.

For fuck's sake.

76 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:29 pm

These guys are fucking shitty.

77 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:29 pm

And you, Altuve, run, you fuck.

Fuck you and your showboating single.

78 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:30 pm

I turned the channel at 2-1 and I turn back to 5-2. W.T.F!

79 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:35 pm

I feel for Pineda. Dude's been working his ass off to get back in the rotation and the bullpen has blown 2 great starts. Fucking bollocks!

80 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:39 pm

(To my point yesterday about whether Kay is mellowing in his dotage, I just caught an example: re: the seventh inning stretch, he used to go, "At the end of six and a half, GET UP AND STRETCH!"

Now it's a matter of fact, "It's time for the seventh inning stretch.")

81 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:43 pm

[80] Doesn't he have a baby now? It takes energy, as we know!

[73] I never was bothered by that, the game always changes back and forth. You could argue the 'No-O' era in the late 60s, huge pitching mounds and awful middle-infielders was an unfair advantage to pitchers.

82 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:43 pm

Brett Gardner's such a fascinating case to me. He seems like he has the potential to be a .300 hitter yet he never is. I can't quite figure out what his problem is or why he consistently seems more promising than he turns out to be.

He strikes out a lot, doesn't he? Like, maybe his swing is a .300 swing but he just lacks the talent to make contact with enough balls?

I don't know. I really have no idea but it's maddeningly confounding to me.

83 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:44 pm

[81] I know, I was actually wondering that too. Maybe he's just fucking spent.

:)

84 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:45 pm

[81] Oh, wow, I never heard that about awful middle infielders. Really?

85 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 8:54 pm

[84] Sure, in the NL you had SS routinely with OBPs under .300 and slugging about the same. Add in pitcher's in the 9th spot and that's almost two free outs out of 7. Not to take away from Gobson and Koufax, but they did have a huge advantage.

86 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:09 pm

[82] Or maybe BA is not all that important? He leads the team in OBP, OPS, OPS+. Seems like he's doing just fine.

87 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:10 pm

Just tuning in and checking the box score, from which I take it that Esmil Rogers has returned to form.

88 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:12 pm

[87] don't blame Esmil, it was the guys before him (not Pineda, allowed 1 run in 6 innings).

89 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:13 pm

[85] Ohhh! Sorry, I thought you meant awful *fielding* middle infielders (though on reflection, that would have worked to raise, of course, rather than lower batting averages).

hahahahah! For a minute there I thought there was this whole facet of baseball history I was oblivious about!

90 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:14 pm

[86] Whether he's doing "just fine" by your measure is not relevant to the point I'm trying to make.

91 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:16 pm

[88] Boy was I wrong. Just checked box score on Gamecast, and Esmil did allow last 2 runs.

92 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:18 pm

Laughing

Talk about a circus catch!!

Great play!

93 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:19 pm

[90] I'm not sure the point you are trying to make, other than to comment on his "problem" or on "why he consistently seems more promising than he turns out to be." He's beentheir best player easily this year, and yet you gripe that seems more promising than he is. You wonder what his problem is...I reject that there is any problem to wonder about.

94 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:23 pm

[93] Hey Monkey, I agree...

95 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:24 pm

Riveraveblues had a short bit on Gardner's changing approach this season: http://tinyurl.com/mzbkw3w. Basically, they contend he's intentionally become more aggressive and tried to pull the ball in the air more---which has resulted in a significant power surge. He did this, they say, in reaction to pitchers challenging him and his slap-hitter approach in the past. In other words, he's traded some BA for SLG (and probably some K), and has become a more valuable offensive player as a result.

96 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:35 pm

C'mon, Snozzberry! Hit one in the seats.

97 Ara Just Fair   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:39 pm

Sigh.... : (

98 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:39 pm

I thought it was a tie game off the bat...stupid wishful thinking.

99 coleman42   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:41 pm

That's what this years' all about.

100 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:41 pm

[93] I guess we just approach it differently. I'm not arguing he should be benched or that he sucks, just that I've seen things in him over the years that have suggested to me he's capable of having a higher batting average than he seems to have. He seems pretty good at slapping the ball around which, coupled with his speed, is a quality that seems a necessary ingredient of hitting for a (relatively) high average.

Another such ability he seems to have is that of fighting off pitches, spoiling pitcher's pitches, waiting for mistakes or more hittable balls.

Not every player seems to be able to do these things, but he does.

And yet, his average doesn't seem commensurate with relative mastery of these kinds of skills/qualities.

I'm simply asking why that is.

Show/Hide Comments 101-116
101 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:45 pm

[95] Thank you. That's a sound answer.

Of course, I'm still going to ask whether it's not possible for him to do both (like a Mattingly, e.g.), and if not, why not?

Strength? Batspeed? Batting eye?

I'm just trying to figure out, I guess, how you account for the difference between him and someone at the next level, who both sprays the ball around and hits home runs.

Maybe it's just a matter of strength?

I'm just curious.

102 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:47 pm

[101] Interesting Q. It's all in the swing/bat speed isn't it?

Meanwhile, Yanks may get swept by the Astros tomorrow...

103 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:51 pm

Also, his average is the same as it's ever been, isn't it? He's never hit higher, so he's not really sacrificing anything with a new approach.

So my question remains, why did his old approach never add up to more, based upon the skills as a batsman he seemed to display.

104 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:51 pm

I don't know, sorry, I just find him a puzzle.

105 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:53 pm

I just always sort of expected him to grow as a hitter and now that he's thirty am struck that he really hasn't.

106 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 9:57 pm

(He's also always struck out a lot. That's part of the riddle to me, he seems good at fighting off pitches, going deep into at bats, yet he also K's a lot.)

107 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 10:01 pm

[100][101] I get what you're asking, but I am asking you why higher BA is so important? I mean, haven't stat guys and general managers spent the last fifty or sixty years coming up with better ways to evaluate offensive performance that batting average? He fights off pitches, true, and that lets him walk a lot, which is why he has a high OBP. That's more important than whether he manages to turn 3 out of 10 ABs into a hit, so he can reach the magic BA number.

He is currently about 20th in the AL in BAbip (.327), and far above the league average of .298. So when he hits the ball, he hits it with authority and so gets hits with relative frequency. Thus, I don't think it's a matter of his strength. Rather, it would seem that he doesn't put the ball in play enough to be a .300 hitter, which presumably results from his relatively high number of K's (ranked about 17th in the AL).

You wonder why he can't get to the "next level." He's the best player on the team right now...what next level are you talking about? He's around 25th in the AL in OPS+, so I guess you're asking what's the difference between a very good batter and one of the top batters in the league. Who knows?

108 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 10:05 pm

[105] I just always sort of expected him to grow as a hitter and now that he's thirty am struck that he really hasn't.

What are you talking about? He most certainly has grown as a hiter: his SLG has improved significantly, especially teh last two seasons, and so his OPS+ this season is better than ever. You are simply fixated on BA, so you ignore his clear development as a hitter.

109 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 20, 2014 10:08 pm

[107] Thanks, mp, that's very helpful.

[108] Yes, perhaps so.

110 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 10:21 pm

[106] Why is that a mystery? That he goes deep into counts probably contributes to his high K rates. In fact, his K's are up the last two years. Yet he is this year he has a higher than average BA with two strikes (.192 v. .181 league average). Didn't they run a graphic a few days ago that he leads the league in 2-strike hits this season? About half of all ABs this season go to two strikes (to date there have been 71,000+ PAs and 36,000 of them led to two-strike counts). Gardner has gone to two strikes on 314 out of 519 PAs before tonight, or about 60% of the time. So, he takes lots of pitches and gets to two strikes a lot. Sometimes he works a walk (at a fairly good rate), sometimes he gets a hit (a little more than average), and often he Ks. No mystery there.

111 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 10:36 pm

The thing that I like about Gardner, in fact, is that he was developed in the system---and that he developed as a player). He moved slowly and deliberately through the minors, often spending two years at the same level, struggling the first then mastering it in the second. He had to fight for playing time when finally called up to the bigs. And now he's slowly transforming his offensive game in response to how pitchers have approached him. We're probably seeing the best of Brett Gardner---at 30 y.o. he's probably not going to get much better, and may even decline quickly---but it has been fun to watch him become an important part of the team, even as a late bloomer. Far more enjoyable than watching the Yankees sign some mediocre Proven Veteran™.

Now, should they keep Gardner on his bargain contract (maybe Cashman's best offseason move?), or should they trade him while his value is probably the highest it will ever be?

112 Mr OK Jazz Tokyo   ~  Aug 20, 2014 10:52 pm

[111] You stop disparging 'Proven Veterans' right away or I'll sick a Professional Hitter on you..

113 monkeypants   ~  Aug 20, 2014 11:32 pm

[112] : )

114 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Aug 21, 2014 12:41 am

:)

Thanks, mp, cheers!

And agreed, I have enjoyed watching him over the years too.

I'm quite fond of him.

115 thelarmis   ~  Aug 21, 2014 1:10 am

damn, i missed the thread, per usual...

[61] weeping - i'm the same way with george foster!

oh, and, btw...we suck and are cooked.

116 Boatzilla   ~  Aug 21, 2014 2:39 am

[115] Thank you for mentioning that. Picture your ugliest Met-fan friends, and join with me now in saying....

The Yankees SUCK!

Rinse and repeat.

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver