Yanks Jays.

No frills, just banter.

Ivan Nova, the World is Yours.

[Picture by Bags]

Sorry about this folks, but the Banter is taking the day off on the count of I’m sick at home. I twisted my lower back over the weekend and am in no position to be doing much of anything.

To keep you busy with baseball news, don’t forget to check out these spots:

Baseball Think Factory, Hardball Talk, The Pinstriped Bible, River Ave Blues and Was Watching.

Oh yeah, and check out this piece by Glenn Stout on Josh Beckett’s historically bad season:

How bad has Josh Beckett been? Using ERA and a minimum of fourteen starts as a measure, every other pitcher in Red Sox history – with one notable exception – has been NABAB – Not As Bad As Beckett. Matt Young in 1991? Sixteen Starts and a 5.18 ERA, but Not As Bad As Beckett. Danny Darwin in 1994? Thirteen starts and 6.30 – NABAB. Frank Castillo in 2002? NABAB. Ramon Martinez in 2000, Jerry Casale in 1960, Gordon Rhodes in 1935, Frank Heimach in 1926? You can look ‘em up, NABABs all. Even the immortal Joe Harris, who went 2-21 for the 1906 Red Sox, was NABAB – his ERA was a sparkling 3.52, a number Josh Beckett and Theo Epstein would both kill for. And the list goes on and on and on and on.

Somehow this historic achievement has gone unnoticed. In a season best defined by the disabled list it has been easy to overlook Beckett’s expressionless appearances on the mound. Then again, they’ve often been so brief he’s been easy to miss. The fact is even with all the injuries, if Josh Beckett was pitching like an average starting pitcher, rather than a historically bad one, the Red Sox would be making plans for October.

We’ll have a game thread up tonight for the game…

[Picture by Bags]

Much has been made of CC Sabathia’s prowess in Yankee Stadium.  Here was what Sunday’s Yankee “Game Notes” had on Sabathia’s hometown hammer:

CREATURE OF COMFORT: Is undefeated in his last 19 starts at Yankee Stadium – dating back to the 2009 All-Star break, posting a 14-0 record with a 2.27 ERA (135.0IP, 34ER) and a .207 opp BA. (100-for-483)…the Yankees have gone 17-2 in those starts…according to Elias, it is the longest active home winning streak in the Majors.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the longest undefeated streak of starts by any pitcher at any stadium since Johan Santana’s 24-start undefeated streak at the Metrodome from 8/6/05-4/2/07.

Elias also notes it is the longest undefeated streak of starts by a Yankee at any stadium since Ron Guidry did not record a loss over 19 starts at the original Yankee Stadium from 5/4/85-4/29/86…should Sabathia not lose today, it will mark the longest home winning streak by a Yankee since Whitey Ford from 8/8/64-8/18/65 (21GS).

So, with his win today, he marches up the list of longest streaks without a loss at home.  Yes, that is *the* Kenny Rogers topping the list, with an amazing 38 consecutive starts at home without a loss, spread over four different teams over a nearly three year period.

Wet and damp in the Boogie Down today. Yanks look to win the series.

Go git ’em, boys!

[Picture by Bags]

It started ugly but ended, if not pretty, than well enough for the Yanks today in the Bronx as they beat the Mariners, 9-5. Ichiro! led off the game with a home run against Javier Vazquez and then Russell Branyon became the first man to hit a home run into the right field upper deck at the new Yankee Stadium (Branyon is also the only player to hit the Mohegan Sun bar in center). The Yanks scored four in the bottom of the first (two-run single by Robinson Cano and a two-run dinger by Jorge Posada) but Vazquez gave it back and didn’t last long–three innings. This after not making it into the fifth in his previous two starts.

Right now, it’s CC Sabathia and pray for the Score Truck…

Jason Vargas, meanwhile, retired fifteen straight Yankees after the tough first inning. The score remained tied at four until the bottom of the sixth when Eduardo Nunez got his first big league hit–punching a high change-up, well out of the strike zone, through the hole in the right side of the infield for an RBI single. The ball came back to the infield and was passed over to the Yankee dugout. On its way, Nunez, briefly held it. He was standing on first, smiling. He kissed the ball, smiled some more and tossed the ball to Gene Monahan, the Yankee trainer, for safe keeping.

The Yanks added a couple of more runs, then another one in the ninth on their way to the win. Mariano Rivera, that bum, that zero, that dog, allowed a run in the ninth raising his season ERA to 1.18 (bum!). Otherwise, the Yankee bullpen was terrific, especially Chad Gaudin, who pitched three scoreless innings.

A nice win for the Yanks, though another rotten outing for Vazquez does nothing to help the digestion. On top of that, Alex Rodriguez is headed to the DL. “We’re going to play it safe,” Joe Girardi said after the game. “We don’t think he’s any worse than the time before.”

Right-handed pitcher Ivan Nova will take his place on the active roster. Nova will make his first major league start on Monday.

* * * *

Elsewhere, around the majors, Cliff Lee got beaten about the face and neck again today, this time by the Orioles (eight runs in 5.2 innings). The Red Sox and Jays play at 7, the Rays are in Oakland again later tonight.

[Picture by Bags]

The summer is almost over. The city is relatively quiet. The farmer’s markets are bursting with corn and tomatoes and peaches and all that good stuff.

Javier Vazquez hasn’t impressed lately. Perhaps he turns it around today. We’ll be root, root, rootin’ him on.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Taking the Mrs downtown for a bite today. We’re gunna go slurp some soup dumplings.

[Picture by Bags]

Earlier this summer, former Yankee left-hander Dennis Rasmussen visited the Cooperstown area to play in the annual Hall of Fame Classic old-timers game. A six-foot, seven-inch left-hander with a good overhand curve, Rasmussen won 91 games and posted a 4.15 ERA over a 12-year career in the major leagues. The Yankees liked Rasmussen enough to trade for him twice–once as part of a deal for Tommy John and later as part of a package for Graig Nettles. At his best, Rasmussen won 18 games for the Yankees in 1986, one of five seasons in which he won in double figures. After a four-year stint with the Yankees, Rasmussen pitched for the Reds, Padres, Cubs, and Royals.

Approachable and friendly in spite of his intimidating size, Rasmussen talked about his previous visits to Cooperstown, the way that he dealt with being traded, and his feelings toward the Yankees.

Markusen: Dennis, coming to Cooperstown, this is very much Yankee country, and you’re wearing the pinstripes, a recognizable figure from the 1980s. What does it feel like when you see so many fans who remember you from 25 years ago?

Rasmussen: Well, it’s very refreshing and humbling at the same time. New York fans were the greatest fans ever. I was fortunate to play there my first four years in the big leagues [after a brief debut with the Padres]. And they haven’t forgotten me. I was just in the city, and I ran into a couple of people that recognized me. It’s kind of amazing. It probably has to a lot to do with my size. They figure I must have done something and then recognize me.

It’s a lot of fun coming to Cooperstown. I haven’t been here since ‘98, when I was coaching in the Red Sox’ chain. And then before that, I pitched in the ’87 Hall of Fame game against the Braves, which was a big thrill. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was a make-or-break game for me. I was told to bring all my stuff to meet the Yankees and join them on a road trip. I pitched well enough to join them, I pitched seven innings, gave up one run. They told me, “Kid, you’re on the bus. You’re joining us back in New York.” So that was a big thrill.

Today was great. The clinic we did yesterday [in Cooperstown] was great. We had about 150 kids who came out for a free clinic. A great weekend.

Markusen: What did you work on with the kids at the clinic?

Rasmussen: I happened to be at the pitching station, but I’ve done a lot of different parts to the clinic. Just teaching them some of the basics, like we always do [with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association]. We showed them how to throw the ball, depending on how old they are; I stressed to them the importance of going to school, getting the job done in the classroom, and being a good sport.

I always enjoy asking them the question, “What is the best pitch in baseball?” They normally can’t answer. Of course, I tell them, “It’s a strike.” They like that!

Markusen: Tell us what it was like for you after you had success here, winning 18 games, and then I believe it was the following year, you’re traded to the Reds for right-hander Bill Gullickson. Was that a devastating thing that happened, was that real difficult?

Rasmussen: I wouldn’t say it was devastating. I looked at everything as a new opportunity. I was looking forward to that. I guess when you’re getting traded, somebody wants you. And I always looked at it that way.

I was there a brief time, in Cincinnati, and then went on to San Diego. I had some pretty good years there and continued to develop as a young pitcher. I looked at every place, and every release, and surely every trade, as an opportunity, and took advantage of those opportunities. That’s the nature of the game, and most of the guys will tell you that you’re going to get a series of jolts. It’s going to go up and down. You take advantages of certain opportunities at the right time, and you’ll look back at it, and you’ll have played 10, 12, 14 years.

Markusen: You can’t have too many bad feelings for the Yankees, because you’re wearing the pinstripes today.

Rasmussen: Oh, I have great feelings for them. They treated me great. I enjoy working Yankee fantasy camp. It’s a lot of fun wearing the pinstripes, plus they’re probably slenderizing. [laughing] So that might be part of it. But no, it was my first true opportunity to play in the big leagues. When I got called up in 1984, [manager] Yogi Berra said, “Kid, you’re here. You’re gonna get the ball every five days. Show us what you can do” And I did. I took every start–one pitch, one hitter, one inning at a time–and didn’t want to give up the ball every fifth day.

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The Mariners are in town for a three-game series this weekend. As usual, our man Cliff has the preview over at the Pinstriped Bible.

Felix Hernandez has pitched thrown two complete games against the Yanks this year, allowing just one run. 

Here’s hoping to woim toins tonight and the Yanks show the King who is:

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

[Picture by Bags]

The Red Sox are playing the Angels at home tonight. They are 9-0 against the Halos this year, my Goodness. Later on, the Rays play in Oakland.

Free free to fall through and banter.

[Picture by Bags]

Fresh direct from the Lo-Hud Yankee oven, today’s line-up:

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Austin Kearns DH
Ramiro Pena 3B

Also, Lance Berkman has been placed on the DL. Drag. Eduardo Nunez was been called-up.

Meanwhile, tough day for Mr. Clemens.

[Picture by Bags]

From his first pitch, which nailed Brett Gardner on the right leg and prompted some pointing (and possibly a warning, more on that later) from the home plate umpire Eric Cooper, Jeremy Bonderman exhibited the disposition of a dull teenager enduring the facts-of-life lecture from prattling parents. His annoyed expression and frequent shoulder shrugging suggested he wanted to anywhere else but on the hill at Yankee Stadium. Despite his best efforts to the contrary, he managed to stick around for five innings, seven runs and three homers. In fact, after he drilled Brett the Jet and let up back-to-back jacks (courtesy Teixeira and Cano) in the first, it crossed my mind that Bonderman just might rear back and fire one at Swisher’s melon to earn the automatic heave-ho and the warmth of an early shower. With times being tough all over, I guess the probable suspension was too much of a financial risk, and luckily for the Yanks, he stayed in the game.

As soundly as the Yankee hitters pounded Bonderman’s weak offerings, Dustin Moseley prevented the game from becoming a laugher. For awhile, he was holding the non-Cabrera portion of the lineup at bay, surrendering “only” two solo homers to Miggy through the first four innings. But when Don Kelly brought his .279 career slugging percentage to the plate in the fifth and deposited a hanging breaking ball a few feet over Austin Kearn’s outstretched glove for a two-run home run, the game took on an ominous, too-close-for-comfort feeling that persisted (for me anyway) until it was over.

The battle of the bullpens got interesting in the seventh when Boone Logan and Kerry Wood loaded the bases on three singles. With one out, Wood dug deep and produced big-time strikeouts of Santiago and Raburn. (Other than a few too many walks, Wood has had a really fine first nine innings for the Yankees) Then the Tigers tried to walk the same tight rope, but Austin Kearns played the bully and sent them spilling to the earth with a booming ground rule double to plate two runs and increase the Yankee lead to five.

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Having scored just one run over their last two games despite getting solid pitching from the entire staff — even the Meat Tray has allowed just one hit and no runs over his last three outings, spanning 5 1/3 innings — there was still a sense of unease among Yankee fans heading into Tuesday’s matchup against Detroit. Derek Jeter bounced into a double play to stifle a ninth-inning comeback attempt. The Yankees, as has been the case for what seems like the past 15 years, continue to make pitchers they’ve never faced before look like a combination of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. Andy Pettitte’s timetable for return remains uncertain; first he suffered a setback in a simulated game, then the news of an MRI following his latest bullpen session “basically to set his mind at ease.” A-Rod was out of the lineup due to a strained calf muscle. Lance Berkman’s still on the shelf with the ankle injury suffered in Kansas City.

And oh yes, there’s that small matter of the Tampa Bay Rays winning two straight while the Yankees lost two in a row, to climb into a first-place tie.

Amid Hope Week, fans were dialing the Batphone.

But the Yankees had two things going for them: 1) They had CC Sabathia, unbeaten in his previous 18 starts at home dating back to last season, on the mound. 2) At least they had faced Justin Verlander before, so there was a chance that their luck would turn, despite their lack of success against him. The fact that he had an ERA of over 7.00 in the first inning was a clue that if the Yankees didn’t get to him early, they might not get to him at all (a point that was beaten senseless by all Yankee commentators, both on TV and radio).

Things didn’t look too good after Austin Jackson yoked CC Sabathia’s first pitch of the game into the left-field seats and then surrendered two loud outs. Curtis Granderson made two tremendous catches to bail him out and minimize the first-inning damage to just one run.

In the bottom half, Brett Gardner (leadoff single) and Derek Jeter (walk), set the table for a two-run inning. The Yankees had a chance to pile on, loading the bases with one out, but Marcus Thames grounded into an inning-ending double play. Granderson’s leadoff home run in the second provided more of a cushion for Sabathia, who cruised through the next five-plus innings, until yielding a solo home run to Brandon Inge in the seventh. After Triple Crown and MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera, there was no one in the Tigers’ lineup to pose a threat to Sabathia. Save for the Tigers’ 13-run explosion on Sunday, they had scored more than four runs in a game only two other times since August 1.

The Yankees’ offense, meanwhile, applied constant pressure to Verlander, advancing runners to scoring position in each of the first four innings. They were as patient as Verlander was wild, drawing five walks and forcing him to throw 114 pitches. There was a prevailing sense of uneasiness, however, because the Yankees didn’t capitalize on many of those opportunities. They had chances to blow the game open and did not. The Yankees did manage to eat up Detroit’s middle relief, scoring three runs against Daniel Schlereth — one in the sixth and two in the seventh — but again missed an opportunity to tack on runs in the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, they only managed to score one run in that situation, courtesy of a Ramiro Peña’s sacrifice fly. The Yankees finished the night 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

A four-run lead heading into the eighth inning is a little more secure these days, with David Robertson and Mariano Rivera teaming up to shut the door. The tandem did just that on Tuesday to preserve the 6-2 victory and keep the Yankees tied with the Rays for first place in the division and the best record in baseball. CC Sabathia became the American League’s first 16-game winner.

Wins aside, Sabathia has to be considered among the frontrunners for the AL Cy Young Award. He’s in the top 10 in seven major pitching categories, has a 2.34 K/BB ratio, 7.08 K/9 ratio, and has already thrown 181 2/3 innings. Perhaps most impressive, CC Sabathia has pitched at least seven innings in 18 of his 26 starts. That’s an ace.

And that’s what we saw Tuesday night.

MATCHUP LEFTY
At some point, opposing managers will learn that keeping a left-hander in to face Robinson Canó means nothing. Canó’s frozen-rope home run in the seventh inning off Schlereth was his 22nd of the season and 12th off a left-hander. He is now slugging .585 versus lefties this season.

CLASS ACT
Nice move by the Yankees to pay homage to Bobby Thomson, who died Tuesday at the age of 86. Thomson’s “Shot Heard Round The World” on Oct. 3, 1951, put the Giants into the World Series, where the Yankees defeated them 4-2.

Open skies! Pour forth your cleansing draught. Purify this field, this team, this season. Wash away age and rust. Leave gleaming life where spread decay and rot. And quietly, gently carry away the dead in your bubbling floodwaters. Give us the promise of a new day, with blazing sun, clean slate and the hope of…

What’s that? It stopped raining? Oh crap, they kept playing.

Javy Vazquez discharged pus for 105 pitches through four innings and made Sergio Mitre’s appearance a welcome sight. Until the ninth, the Yanks best offense was either a dropped pop-up or Francisco Cervelli’s feeble attempt to drive in the tying runs in the seventh (Granderson did have three hits, but batting in front Cervelli nullifies anything but a home run)

Just as Cervelli was failing in the seventh, Tampa was mounting a gutsy, late-inning comeback against Cliff Lee, the blazing sun, to settle the Rays into a first place tie in the AL East. They needn’t feel claustrophobic sharing the penthouse, the Yanks won’t be staying there long playing like this.

The ninth inning deserves its own paragraph. After Miguel Cabrera padded the lead to a really daunting 3-0, Valverde completely lost the strike zone and walked Cano, Cervelli and Gardner (none of them even took the bat off their shoulders) around one of Granderson’s singles. Derek Jeter’s season-long battle with his strike-zone judgment and weak ground balls reared its ugly head at the worst possible time. Instead of simply not swinging, he flailed at a 2-1 pitch out of the zone that would have made the count 3-1, and then tapped weakly into a game ending double play (amazing turn by Carlos Guillen) after the count ran full. By simply not swinging, I bet he would have walked and given the Yanks a real shot an undeserved victory.

Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher left the game with injuries. It seems the Yankees are really going to attempt to win the World Series with only a couple of guys having decent seasons. Color me skeptical. In losing to the reeling Tigers 3-1, they looked like a tired, broken-down mess.

After a herky-jerky motion Max Scherzer issues sick stuff from odd angles, so given the current state of the Yankee offense, he presented an insurmountable challenge. So much so that I was happy to see Curtis Granderson get a hit early, dispelling the very real chance of being no-hit. They looked slightly more comfortable against the bullpen, though they couldn’t break through until Valverde walked the park. As it was, that’s back-to-back games with eight total hits and one run. I ask that I be relieved of recapping duties until the Yankees produce a double-digit victory.

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[Picture by Bags]

Yanks look to win the series today. AJ Delight is on the hill.

C’mon Score Truck, bring ’em home.

[Picture by Bags]

In the Summer. In the City. In the Summer…

[Picture by Bags]

The Yanks prior series with the Royals this season, back in July at the Stadium, featured nearly four hours of rain delays.  Apparently the rain likes these teams . . . a lot.

It was 98 degrees with a Heat Index of 106 at the start of Friday’s game.  Nasty clouds were just off to the west.  The wind was blowing in hard from left to right.  Thunderstorms were in the forecast.  The Royals’ Kyle Davies, with a 5.21 ERA, a 1.544 WHIP and less than 6K per nine innings was taking on Dustin Moseley (he of the pitch-to-contact, 4.7K per nine).  It had all the makings of a looooong evening.

Moseley struggled mightily with his command in the first two innings, laboring through 55 pitches, allowing three runs on six hits.  Given the lack of command, Jorge Posada was pretty much helpless to stop the Royals aggressive baserunning, as KC stole four bases (three by Gregor Blanco).  It could have been worse, had Blanco managed to dislodge a tag from Posada at home on a hit in the first inning (credit to Brett Gardner for a nice one-bounce throw).

Meanwhile Davies spaced out two walks and a hit through two.  But then, he remembered he was Kyle Davies, and the third inning resembled one that sends Joe Posnanski into fits of depression.  After a Derek Jeter groundout to short, Curtis Granderson singled to center.  Mark Teixeira doubled sharply down the RF line, sending Granderson to third.  Alex Rodriguez scorched one to Royals 2B Mike Aviles, who couldn’t handle it, and it was scored a hit, driving in Granderson.  Robinson Cano then lined another single to right to score Teixeira and  cut the lead to one, with A-Rod advancing to second.

Jorge Posada then grounded a ball down to 1B Billy Butler, who forced out Cano at second.  Yuniesky Betancourt’s throw back to first base appeared to beat Posada to the bag, but 1B ump Fieldin Culbreth ruled that Davies missed the bag as he fielded the throw.  (Replays showed Davies may have caught the edge of the base with his right heel)  So, with first and third and two out, Lance Berkman mashed a long double to right field, scoring Rodriguez and tying the game.  Austin Kearns struck out to end the inning, and then the rains came.

31 minutes later, it was 23 degrees cooler, but Moseley was apparently heating up.  The command on his breaking stuff was improved, and his fastball didn’t sail out of the zone like it had the first two innings.  He breezed through the next two innings in 17 total pitches.

Unfortunately for the Bombers, Moseley’s gas gauge seems to hit empty around 85-90 pitches.  Pitch #84 of this evening, with one out in the fifth, was banged off the right field foul pole by Butler, putting the Royals back in front.  After a walk to clean-up hitter Wilson Betemit (yes, you read that batting order assignment right), the rains came again.

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I got tired just watching the Yankees’ rather epic pair of games in Texas, so I can only imagine how the players felt when they dragged themselves to the extremely hot and humid ballpark in Kansas City tonight. They were showing signs of wear – Nick Swisher was pulled late in the game with incipient heat exhaustion, as was the Kansas City center fielder – but the Yanks built a little lead and then clung to it for dear life, eventually staggering home with a 4-3 win. Of course, it probably helped that they were facing the Royals, who are now 47-68, but never mind.

Fun fact: in the seventh inning, Mark Teixeira faced Kansas City reliever Kanekoa Texiera, and flew out.

C.C. Sabathia was in near-ace form tonight, and by pitching to within one out of a complete-game Yankees win, he was exactly the horse the team needed. He flagged in the ninth, quite understandably, but prior to that he scattered his hits and gave up just one run, when Alex Gordon doubled and Mike Aviles singled him home. But that came in the fourth inning, and by then, the Yankees had earned themselves a little wiggle room – all of which they’d eventually need.

Curtis Granderson and Austin Kearns (!) were the main hitting stars tonight. As is often the case when a slumping player breaks out, much of the credit for Granderson’s turnaround seems to be going to hitting coach Kevin Long, who worked with the outfielder on some widely-publicized changes to his swing; but whether it’s related to his work with Long or not, Granderson seems to be returning to decency. His second-inning single scored Robinson Cano and gave the Yanks a lead they’d cling to til the end. They tacked on another in the third, when the much-missed Teixeira hit a sac fly that scored Derek Jeter, and another in the top of the fourth, on Austin Kearns’ homer. (Granderson hit a double in that inning too, for good measure, and walked once as well, just to show off). Their final and eventually crucial insurance run came in the seventh, in rather unexciting fashion, when Derek Jeter – that guy again – scored on an A-Rod groundout.

The bottom of the ninth was a stressful little mini-game in itself. When C.C. reached 110 increasingly laborious pitches, accompanied by an alarming amount of sweat and baserunners, David Robertson was called in to mop up with two outs and Royals on first and third. The last out played hard-to-get. Willie Bloomquist doubled in two runs, and suddenly it was a one-run game. Wilson Betemit, refusing even to ground out properly, instead ended up on first base. Finally, Jason Kendall, after a determined 8-pitch at-bat and numerous fouls, struck out and let everyone go off to bed. Robertson eventually got it done… and then did not punch any older relatives or, so far as I know, anyone else in the face, so the Yanks have that going for them.

 The Finer Things in Life

[Picture by Bags]