Robbie:

Joe: 

Thunderstorms are in the forecast…could be a long, damp one for the Yanks and Twins.

According to Ken Rosenthal, Jarrod Washburn isn’t likely to land in the Bronx.

Whew.

Over at the Times, Harvey Araton has a blog post on former Yankee announcer, Tony Kubek, who talks about why he walked away from broadcasting in 1994:

“I had two years remaining on my contract with MSG at the time,” Kubek said. “But it struck me that day that I just didn’t want to be in or around baseball anymore. I remember that I called Bob Gutkowski, who was my boss, and I told him that I wasn’t going to finish the contract. He said, `Wait a minute, that’s pretty good money you’re going to walk away from,’ but I had made up my mind and that was it.

“Part of it was that I didn’t like what was happening in the game, or what was going to happen. But part of it was that I had been around baseball my whole life. Everyone around me had been in baseball. I decided I didn’t want to be in it anymore, to go home and spend time with my family. I said goodbye, and that was it. I haven’t seen a major league game since I retired, even on television. I’ve never seen Derek Jeter play, though I do recall seeing him work out when he was very young and still in the minor leagues.”

Kind of hard to imagine never having watched Jeter isn’t it? Good stuff from Araton.

Jeez, tough loss for the Mets last night, huh?

Yanks roll over Twins 8-2, win fifth straight. 

Rays lose.  New York just three-and-a-half games out of first place.

Say word.

Darrell Rasner pitched well on Tuesday night at the Stadium and Bobby Abreu got the big hit, a two-run homer in the sixth that put the Yanks ahead for good.  It was close early but the Bombers scored three in the sixth and four in the seventh to put it away.  Contributions from many but man, is Robinson Cano ever back or what?  The dude is in a flat-groove right now.  Speaking of which, let’s all feel good: 

 Gotta love the grooves…

Right, Ike?

Why not?

Joba Chamberlain popped up in a few Dunkin Donuts around town today.  It’d be fun to run into that kid on the street, don’t you think? 

For all of the things that have gone wrong this season, Mr. Joba sure ain’t one of ’em.

It’s free week over at Baseball Prospectus, where Will Carroll weighs in on Jorge Posada’s predicament:

Posada does not have a full-thickness tear (or rupture,) but according to sources there was significant damage in at least two of the four muscles, though there will be another set of images taken on Tuesday to gauge whether playing for the past few weeks has aggravated the issue. Most of the damage was focused in the subscapularis and was described as "moderate," a diagnosis that was agreed on by Andrews, David Altchek, and Yankees team physician Stuart Hershon. Posada is scheduled to see Dr. Altchek again after this imaging to make a determination about surgery. All indications are that that’s what will be necessary, but there’s still some question about whether he’ll have it now and be ready for next season, or wait until after the season and put part of 2009 in jeopardy.

There continues to be some question about how Posada’s situation has been managed. He appears to have tried to play through it, with Joe Girardi—the former Yankees backstop who started ahead of Posada earlier in his career—not ‘allowing’ Posada to play through pain. Yet Posada told the press that "it hurts to throw, and I can’t catch like this" on Monday. He can hit, but if his or the team’s insistence on catching has caused an exacerbation, it’s clear that this was mismanaged. For a team willing to sign Richie Sexson, playing Posada at first base or designated hitter should have been an option. If Posada elects to have surgery, he should be able to return, though the impact on his throwing will be seen well into 2009, raising these same questions again.

 Most of the Yankee fans I’ve heard from agree: time to go under the knife, Jorge.

Can a great player be underrated?  Perhaps.  They can at least be under-appreciated.  Such is the case with this guy, Frank Robinson:

As well as this guy, Stan the Man Musial.

Joe Pos has a great post on Musial this week.  Check it out.

I don’t get this one at all.

Update: From Pete Abe.

Jerome Holtzman passed away yesterday. He was 81 and had been ill for some time. Holtzman is best-known as the Hall of Fame’s first “official” historian and for his involvement with the "save" rule, but his lasting literary achievement is the oral history "No Cheering in the Press Box."  (If you don’t got it, get it.)  Here is John Schulian, remembering his old colleague:

I always called him Jerome.  I’m not sure why.  He answered just as readily to Jerry.  And then there were some young bucks who called him the Dean, as in the dean of the press box.  By any name, however, Jerome Holtzman was a classic — a first-rate reporter, an amiable companion on the road and a man who backed down to no one.  If I have the story straight, he came out of an orphanage on the west side of Chicago and was a marine in World War II, which is to say he was in the thick of it in the Pacific.  "One tough Jew," in the words of my old friend and fellow Holtzman fan David Israel.

 

Long before I met Jerome, I reviewed his brilliant book "No Cheering in the Press Box" for the Baltimore Sun.  Glowingly, I might add.  The next time whichever Chicago team he was covering came to town, he called to thank me personally.  I had a hunch then that he was aces.  My hunch was confirmed when I went to Chicago as a sports columnist, first at the soon-to-be-dead Daily News and then as Jerome’s colleague at the Sun-Times.  If I had a question about the game, Jerome answered it whether we were on the same side or not.  If I wanted to meet someone, Jerome took care of the introduction.  And trust me when I say Jerome knew everybody.

 

In the obituaries that will hail his passing, much will be made of the fact that he invented the save.  But I think it is far more impressive to think of the knowledge that he took to the grave, for this was a man who understood far more than hits, runs and errors.  He was a master of the business that baseball became, the finances and the labor struggles and all the scheming and backstabbing that went with them.  That, more than anything else, is what separated him from the pack.

 

He had a great library too, one with every book on baseball imaginable, and I felt like I’d joined a very special club the day he let me see it.  He even loaned me a couple of books — Eliot Asinof’s "Man on Spikes" was one — because that was the kind of guy he was.

 

He had a big heart, he liked a good cigar (or even, I suspect, a bad one), and he hummed when he wrote.  The tune was of his own making, and that was as it should have been.

 

Rest in Peace, Mr. Holtzman.

There’s no crying in baseball, and rather than sit around and mope about having likely lost Jorge Posada for the year, the Yankees went out and put a whuppin’ on the Twins, winning the game in this series that they seemed least likely to win on paper, 12-4.

Sidney Ponson wasn’t great, but got more groundballs (9) than flyballs (6) and held the Twins to three runs over 5 2/3 innings thanks to a sixth-inning assist from Edwar Ramirez. That left room for the offense to do it’s thing. Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez got things going with two outs in the bottom of the first with a single and a bomb into the Yankee bullpen. Ponson promptly gave those two runs back, but in the bottom of the second the Yankees blew things open with a barrage of singles and some help from some sloppy Twins defense.

The rally got started with one out when Twins shortstop Brendan Harris made an unnecessary dive to stop a Melky Cabrera grounder to the left of second base and then couldn’t get a handle on the ball to make the throw, allowing Cabrera to reach (headfirst, to the aggravation of many) with an infield single. Legitimate singles by Jose Molina and Brett Gardner then loaded the bases. Johnny Damon followed by hitting a potential double-play ball to second, but Alexi Casilla, perhaps thinking the ball was a bit to slow to turn two, threw home, short-hopping catcher Joe Mauer, and allowing all the runners to advance safely. A single by Derek Jeter plated another run, and Bobby Abreu beat the relay on another possible double play to make it 5-2 Yankees. Alex Rodriguez then singled off the glove of third baseman Brian Buscher to push it to 6-2 and drive Twins starter Nick Blackburn (unfairly, in my opinion) from the game.

After reliever Boof Bonser struck out Jason Giambi to end the rally and Sidney Ponson retired the Twins in order, Robinson Cano led off the bottom of the third by wrapping a towering home run around the right field foul pole and well into the upper deck to make it 7-2. Melky Cabrera then reached on his second infield single in as many at-bats (this one off Bonser’s ankle) and was later plated by a Johnny Damon flare into no-man’s land in shallow left that hopped into the stands for a ground-rule double.

Things were quite for a while after that. The Twins picked up their third run in the fifth when Jason Kubel followed what looked like a rally-killing double play with an RBI single. The Yanks then went back to work in the sixth against reliever Craig Breslow. Derek Jeter led off with an opposite-field home run into the front rows of section 37 of the right-field bleachers. Bobby Abreu then singled, moved to second on a balk that initially looked like a successful pickoff, then moved to third and scored on a pair of wild pitches. The latter moved Alex Rodriguez, who had walked on the first, to second where he was able to score on a Cano single. The Yanks made it an even dozen in the eighth and the Twins picked up a run against LaTroy Hawkins (who could lose his bullpen spot to Brian Bruney by the end of the week) in the ninth.

With Posada back on the DL, Jose Molina went 3 for 4 with a run scored. In his first game off the DL, Johnny Damon went 1 for 4 with that flared RBI double and a run scored. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera stayed hot, going a combined 4 for 10 (though neither of Melky’s two hits left the infield, while Cano’s homer nearly left the earth’s gravitational pull). Jeter, Abreu, and Rodriguez went a combined 6 for 12 with a pair of homers and 6 RBIs. Even Brett Gardner got a hit (1 for 4). Only Jason Giambi failed to pick up a safety, though he did walk. Giambi is 2 for 7 since the break, but has six walks in that span for a .615 on-base percentage.

The Yankees are now just a game behind the Twins for second place in the Wild Card chase, and stand a decent chance of sweeping their way into Boston this weekend. Not bad considering how the evening began.

Having opened the second-half by sweeping the A’s, the Yankees are now just three games out in the Wild Card picture, but they’re still in third place. The next team on the ladder is the one coming to town for the next three nights: the Minnesota Twins. The Twins just took two of three from the Rangers, but with the Yankees’ sweep, that closed the gap between the two teams to two games. With another sweep, the Yankees could take second place in the Wild Card chase, and the next team on ladder, the slumping Boston Red Sox (they were just swept by the Angels), are the next on the schedule.

The problem is that, having burned their top three pitchers against the A’s, the Yanks are left with Sidney Ponson (tonight) and Darrell Rasner (tomorrow) starting two of three games against Minnesota. Also, despite sweeping the A’s, the Yankees only scored four runs during regulation during the last two games. Meanwhile, the Twins’ rotation is deeper, and their worst starter, Livan Hernandez, won’t pitch in this series. Still, taking two of three would bring the Yankees within one game of the Twins, and with Mussina pitching on Wednesday and Minnesota’s Tuesday night starter, Kevin Slowey, having allowed 11 runs in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts, a series win is well within reach.

Tonight, the Yankees send Ponson against Nick Blackburn. Blackburn pitched 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Yankees on June 1–when the Yanks and Twins were in the midst of splitting a four-game set at the Metrodome–but was forced to leave the game when a comebacker off Bobby Abreu’s bat broke his nose. Blackburn struggled in his next start (which he did make), but has a 3.05 ERA since then with five quality starts in six tries, and a 1.74 ERA over his last three starts, in which he’s walked just three and allowed just one home run.

Amazingly, Ponson has allowed just one run total in two of his three Yankee starts, shutting out the Mets for six innings on June 27, and holding the first-place Rays to one run over six frames in his last start before the All-Star break. Ponson’s 3.96 ERA on the season is something of a shocker, but there’s something real behind it. Much like LaTroy Hawkins did in Colorado last year, Ponson’s been getting the job done with an unprecedented (for him) groundball rate. Ponson had never had a GB/FB rate over 2.00 before this year, but his 2008 mark thus far is 2.42 (by comparison, Chien-Ming Wang’s career GB/FB rate is 2.78). Ponson’s one dud start as a Yankee saw him allow eight fly balls against five grounders, but in his two quality Yankee starts, he’s induced 23 grounders to just 6 fly balls. It will take a great deal more of those starts for me to have any sort of faith in Ponson, but at least there’s some legitimate and repeatable reason for the success he’s had this season. That means it’s not a fluke; he might have actually figured something out with his sinker. . . and now that I’ve said that, he’ll stink up the joint tonight.

All of the above is further complicated by the news this afternoon that Jorge Posada’s shoulder has forced him back to the DL and could require season-ending surgery (as opposed to the offseason surgery that was expected). Posada only played in two of the games against the A’s, only caught one (in which he was removed for defensive replacement Jose Molina when the A’s started running on him late in that game), and only had one hit (a single), but he got on base four times in nine trips.

Johnny Damon returns from the DL to take Posada’s roster spot tonight, but he’s starting out slow by DHing. Jason Giambi plays first. Betemit and Sexson will wait for the key moment to pinch hit for catcher Molina or left fielder Brett Gardner. Surprisingly, given Posada’s inability to catch with any frequency of late, the team could actually be improved by swapping Posada for Damon, assuming Damon’s able to return to the outfield in short order. With Damon in the lineup in place of Gardner and the Sexson/Betemit platoon in place of Posada, the Yankees could upgrade from Posada’s production to Damon’s, Gardner’s to Sexson/Betemit’s, and Molina’s to Molina/Moeller’s while hoping Cano can stay hot and gaining depth on the bench by dropping down to two catchers, giving them power (the inactive member of the Sexson/Betemit platoon), and speed and defense (Gardner and Christian for now, who can run for the catchers or sub into the outfield corners late in close games the Yankees are leading) in reserve. Swapping out one of the speedsters for Alberto Gonzalez in order to increase position flexibility would only make the bench deeper.

How’s that for shining up a turd?

(more…)

According to Tyler Kepner in the New York Times, Jorge Posada could be out for the year.

Still hard to imagine that Bobby Murcer is no longer with us.  Hey, check out these two tributes to Murcer by Jon Lane over at YES. 

Since 2002, the Yankees have the best winning percentage in baseball after the All-Star break, at .638 (240-136, including their 3-0 mark so far in 2008). Maybe it’s because with each passing year, the team gets a little older, and it takes four months to loosen up. Or perhaps by mid-July, the collective group remembers how to shrug off the media distractions (see Rodriguez, Alex), and win ballgames.

Contrary to last year, when the Yankees were 43-43 at the break, the Yankees began post-All-Star play this season five games above .500, with fewer teams to leapfrog in the Wild-Card race. But this year, there seems to be more riding on the last two and a half months of the season from a performance standpoint, with it being the final year of the current incarnation of Yankee Stadium, a 13-year playoff streak to maintain and a new manager trying to place his imprint on the franchise. At least, that’s my interpretation based on the media coverage of the team. Fewer pundits are writing the Yankees off, whereas last year at this time, broadcasters were giddy at the thought of a Yankee-less October.

Some of the stuff is mind-boggling, though. Is consistency too much to ask for? On Sunday morning’s SportsCenter, within 30 seconds of endorsing the Yankees’ Wild Card chances based on their second-half surges, Tim Kurkjian placed Joe Girardi on the “Hot Seat,” because, “He couldn’t think of anyone else” to put there. Huh? Tim Kurkjian, you’re better than that. Without concrete information, how can we take that comment seriously? If nothing has been printed or broadcast about Girardi being fired, don’t arbitrarily put him there during a five-minute filler segment; not unless you want to continue feeding the theory that ESPN has a company policy to hate the Yankees. For what it’s worth, I’d think that in Detroit and Cleveland, Mark Shapiro and Dave Dombrowski are keeping a close eye on Jim Leyland and Eric Wedge.

There is consistency on one level: broadcast teams habitually repeat the same meaningless banter on a game-by-game basis, and espouse the theory that this Yankee team is like the playoff and championship teams that came before it. It’s gone on for years, and it’s wrong. These exchanges add nothing to the broadcast, and they insult the intelligence of the fans who eat, sleep and breathe the team and know better.

Some myths need to be dispelled, and the broadcasters hold the key. I say this because the writers — when not shadowing Star, Globe or the Enquirer for the latest dish on A-Rod and the Queen of Kaballah — are growing savvier in using the Internet(s) as a viable research tool for their stories. More beat members and columnists are scouring cyberspace to create angles and complement their articles with the numerous stat categories at their disposal. How difficult is it to take 10-15 minutes to provide a series of stat lines that could enhance the game and make the broadcasters sound smarter? Who cares if the numbers outline certain deficiencies? Numbers don’t lie, and they reflect the big picture.

(more…)

Andy Pettitte pitched a terrific game on Sunday out-dueling Justin Duchscherer at the Stadium as the Yanks completed a three-game sweep with a 2-1 win.

Duchscherer is an interesting-looking guy. He has a gaunt, narrow face with pointy features–he could be a spy in a WWII movie. He is a likable pitcher because he thows junk but has excellent control–he’s thinking out there. He was under-the-weather on Sunday but still went seven innings allowing both runs–one on a sac fly by Alex Rodriguez, the other on a solo homer to Jason Giambi. But he wasn’t as good as Pettitte who was a horse, going eight, allowing a run on four hit and no walks. Pettitte also tied his season-high with nine strikeouts.

The game moved along briskly, a welcome change on a scorching hot day. It took just under two-and-a-half hours to complete. Robinson Cano continued to hit the ball hard. But it ended on a strange note.

With Mariano Rivera on the mound and one out in the ninth, Ryan Sweeney on first, Bobby Crosby lofted a fly ball to right field. Bobby Abreu camped under the ball, and at the last moment held up his hands, like Count Dracula meeting the morning light. The ball landed in Abreu’s glove and then popped out. He picked it up and launched the ball over second base where Ryan Sweeney was a sure out. Fortunately for the Yanks, Rodriguez snagged Abreu’s wild throw and flipped the ball to Derek Jeter who side-stepped his way to the bag just as Sweeney arrived. The Yankees got the call and the second out.

Rajai Davis replaced Crosby as a pinch-runner and was thrown out trying to steal second to end the game. Jose Molina was hit with the bases loaded to win Saturday’s game and he throws out a runner to end Sunday’s game.

That’s twice as nice.

 Question:

Answer: A sweep would be nice.  Tough to do, but still, nice.

Hey, they don’t need to be pretty to count, right? The Yankees left 7436 men in scoring position on Saturday while their pitching staff whiffed 632 A’s. A long, frustrating day in the heat at Yankee Stadium.  And it all came down to Jose Molina batting with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Molina entered the game as a defensive replacement for Jorge Posada who allowed two stolen bases in the ninth  (Rivera was at much at fault for the swipes but Posada’s arm has nevertheless become a liability).  Lenny DiNardo, Oakland’s side-arming lefty almost hit Molina with the second pitch of the at bat. A few pitches later, another slider got away from him inside, Molina froze, then carefully leaned his right knee into the ball, which grazed him, allowing the winning run to score.

“José did a good job of letting the ball hit his leg,” [manager, Joe] Girardi said.

Yanks 4, A’s 3.

"I was never so happy to see someone get hit," Derek Jeter told reporters after the game.

As one of the Banterites mentioned, it was a "fitting end to a maddening day." A day, incidentally, where David Cone, the YES analyst, invented a new word–"Variates." As in "He does a good good of variating his pitches." A pitcher doesn’t vary his pitches, he "variates" them. I guess Coney is really becoming an analyst after all!

Mariano Rivera gave up a run in the ninth and Huston Street blew the save in the bottom of the inning. Robinson Cano had a terrific day, collecting four hits. He’s hitting the ball squarely now, a good sign for sure.  And the much-maligned Wilson Betemit got the game-tying hit against Street, lofting a single to left on an 0-2 pitch.  Joba Chamberlain had another solid start too.  Man, has it ever been fun watching this kid–first as a reliever, now as a starter, or what?

Gunna be another warm one today.  Dude, it’s roasting right now.

Having started things off right with their first-half ace last night, the Yankees give the ball to the man they hope will be their second-half ace this afternoon, Joba Chamberlain. As a full-fledgedstarter, Joba has a 2.57 ERA in 35 innings with 38 strikeouts and just 32 hits (only five of which have gone for extra bases as opponents are slugging .302 against him). His 4.11 BB/9 remains a small concern, but he didn’t walk anyone in his last start, which saw him strike out nine in 6 2/3 innings (108 pitches). The Yankees are 4-2 in Joba’s six full-length starts, but Joba is only 1-1, both the result of the fact that Chamberlain has received more than two runs of support just twice in those six outings.

Perhaps concerned about wasting a Justin Duchscherer start by pitching him against Chamberlain, the A’s have moved their remaining ace to tomorrow’s game and will instead start Sean Gallagher, the pitcher obtained from the Cubs in the Rich Harden deal. Like Joba, Gallagher is a 22-year-old righty who’s built like a brick shithouse (both are 6’2″ and roughly 230 pounds). Unlike Joba, Gallagher doesn’t have overwhelming stuff. Still, there are a lot of things to like about Gallagher. He dominated the Angels in his first AL start (7 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K). In 11 major league starts dating back to May 11 of this year, he has a 4.23 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP, solid numbers for a 22-year-old rookie starter. Even more impressive, he has allowed just five home runs in those 11 starts and none in his four starts at Wrigley Field. Opponents are hitting just .235/.314/.385 against him and he doesn’t show much in the way of a platoon split. Perhaps most importantly, Gallagher hasn’t had any real disaster starts. His shortest outing after his first start has been 4 2/3 innings, and he’s never allowed more than five runs in a game.

Jorge Posada is back behind the plate, clearing room for Jason Giambi at DH and Wilson Betemit, who appears to be Richie Sexson’s platoon parter, at first base. The A’s, meanwhile, have made a few roster moves that have made my series preview out of date. Bobby Crosby was activated before yesterday’s game. He returns to shortstop with Donnie Murphy riding pine and Gregorio Petit getting optioned to Sacramento. Today, first baseman Daric Barton was place on the DL with a strained neck and Wes Bankston was recalled to play first. Finally, it is lefty Lenny DiNardo who will wind up taking Joe Blanton’s spot in the rotation, making fellow southpaw Dallas Braden, who gave up Alex Rodriguez’s home run yesterday, the replacement for Chad Gaudin in the bullpen.

Everything the Yankees needed to go right in their first game of the second half of the season did. Mike Mussina pitched six innings of one-run ball, the bullpen pitched three innings of perfect relief, and the offense got in gear, dropping a seven-spot on the A’s. As a result, the Yankees pulled even with Oakland in the AL Wild Card picture and gained a game on the Red Sox (thanks to the Angels who beat up on Clay Buchholz; not cooperating: the Rays, who beat A.J. Burnett 2-1).

Mussina scattered nine hits, walked none, struck out six, and threw 69 percent of just 93 pitches for strikes. David Robertson struck out the side on twelve pitches (all but one strikes) in the seventh. Edwar Ramirez threw nine of 11 pitches for strikes while striking out two in a perfect eighth. Even LaTroy Hawkins was dominant, getting two groundouts on his first four pitches, then striking out pinch-hitter Matt Murton to end the game.

As for the offense, new addition Richie Sexson got the Yankees on the board in his first pinstriped at-bat by plating Bobby Abreu from second with a single up the middle off A’s lefty starter Greg Smith. Sexson struck out with two on and one out in his second at-bat in the third, but Robinson Cano picked him up with a game-breaking three-run homer. The Yanks then tacked on two more in the fourth on a Derek Jeter walk, a Bobby Abreu RBI double, and an RBI single from Alex Rodriguez, all of which came with two outs. A sixth-inning Alex Rodriguez homer off Dallas Braden pushed the final score to 7-1 Yanks.

Sexson’s final tally was 1 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, a strikeout, and a double play. Abreu, Cano, and Melky Cabrera combined to go 6 for 13, each contributing a single and an extra-base hit. Alex Rodriguez went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, two runs scored (as well as a loud out at the plate on a reckless, first-inning-ending send by Bobby Meacham), a home run, and a stolen base. Derek Jeter and designated hitter Jorge Posada combined to walk five times in nine trips. Jose Molina and Brett Gardner combined to go 0 for 8, each with a strikeout (at least they were hitting eighth and ninth). Molina and Gardner (and that pesky Rays win) may have been the only things that didn’t go right for the Yankees last night.