It’s dem O’s again.
C.C.’s on the hill.
Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
Curtis Granderson LF
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Reid Brignac SS
Austin Romine C
Never mind the dampness:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Illustration by Frank Miller via This Isn't Happiness]
Over at Deadspin, Barry Petchesky brings us back to this week in 1998:
An appealing rainy spring day here in New York. Cool and breezy. Unless, of course, you are at the Stadium to watch a baseball game. But if you’re home, it’s a fine day to make some food, sit back, relax, and cool out.
1. Granderson CF
2. Cano 2B
3. Wells LF
4. Hafner DH
5. Overbay 1B
6. Nix 3B
7. Suzuki RF
8. Brignac SS
9. Romine C
It’s our man C.C. against the knucklenerd R.A..
Never mind the drizzle:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[UPDATE: Never mind all that--this one is called. No Yankees today.]
[Photo Via: Think Different]
David Phelps vs Brandon Morrow this afternoon at the Stadium.
I’m headed out early and the line-ups aren’t posted yet.
Be back later with the recap.
Enjoy this fine–if overcast–spring day, y’all.
Never mind getting complacent now:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Painting by John Musgrove]
It’s our man Hiroki against the hot-hitting Blue Jays.
Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Ben Francisco DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Austin Romine C
Never mind the band aids:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: Melissa Wahler]
David Wells threw a perfect game 15 years ago today. Jay Jaffe remembers…
The Yankees have more injuries? No, it’s true, I swear.
This time it’s Andy Pettitte (minor) and Chris Stewart (troubling). Chad Jennings has the notes. The Mariners beat the Yanks 3-2 last night and it was one of those nights were the Cinderella Bombers looked as if they were morphing back into a pumpkin. Brett Gardner, Ichiro, Jayson Nix all had lousy at bats in big spots.
Bummer. And now they host a Blue Jays team that is hitting the crap out of the ball. Could be a long weekend.
It’s good ol’ Andy.
Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Curtis Granderson DH
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Stewart C
Dellin Betances has been called up.
Never mind last night:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Via: Remiel]
Phil Hughes got his tits lit tonight to the tune of seven runs in less than an inning of work. Our old chum, Raul Ibanez, hit a grand slam against him–and later hit another one–as the Mariner’s sailed to a 12-2 beat down in the Boogie Down.
Nothing but hurt feelings for the teetering Hughes.
Let’s just move on, shall we?
[Illustration by Paul Kuczynski]
I’m turning into a sap, but I get bummed when guys are designated for assignment or optioned to the minors. Yesterday, Brennan Boesch was sent down; today, Chris Nelson was cut. And Lyle Overbay might not be long for the Bronx either.
Tonight gives Phil “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” Hughes.
Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Stewart C
Alberto Gonzalez SS
Eager to see Hisashi Iwakuma pitch.
Never mind the comings and goings:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Featured Image by Jasper James]
When I waited tables in my early twenties I used to fly into a rage near the service bar of the restaurant anytime I got under-tipped. But there was a veteran waiter who would look at me and say, “How many times have you made triple tax?” And that was the end of it. I shaddap.
Let’s keep this mind mind when the Yanks start losing, when things stop going their way. Because right now, they are catching all the breaks. Top of the 8th inning, runners on first and second with one out, and a ball is smoked up the middle. But instead of going into center field and the game being tied, Jayson Nix caught it and stepped on second for the double play. Or say the third strike call that Mariano got against Michael Morse in the 9th. The ball was a foot inside–it wasn’t even close to being a strike–but Mo got the call and his 16th save of the season.
C.C. pitched a decent game, he kept them in it once again, and Robinson Cano got the big game-tying hit in the 7th. Lyle Overbay drove in the go-ahead run a few batters later with an sac fly and the Yanks won again.
Yes, this has been a fun week. Something to remember when things inevitably go south.
Final Score: Yanks 4, M’s 3.
[Image Via: Adara]
It’s C.C. vs. King Felix in what promises to be a good one tonight at the Stadium.
1. Gardner CF
2. Cano 2B
3. Wells DH
4. Granderson LF
5. Overbay 1B
6. Nix SS
7. Suzuki RF
8. Nelson 3B
9. Romine C
Yes, that’s Curtis Granderson! What fun he’ll have against King Felix. And, right on schedule, Joel Sherman reports that Travis Hafner is headed for an MRI.
Never mind the crown:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
The second game saw the tables turned with the Yanks nursing a 1-0 lead for the first six innings. They broke it open with six runs in the seventh inning, good enough to earn the split before heading home (and the daunting task of facing King Felix tomorrow night).
Final Score: Yanks 7, Indians 0.
Chad Jennings has the notes. With more from Mike Axisa over at River Ave Blues.
[Photo Credit: Elliott Erwitt]
Justin Masterson out-dueled David Phelps as the Indians beat the Yanks in about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon in Cleveland. Masterson went the distance and a Jason Kipnis solo home run in the first was all the scoring. Tidy.
Final Score: Indians 1, Yanks 0.
Game 2 will start shortly after 3 p.m.
Never mind the disappointment:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: Howhof]
Yanks drop by Cleveland for a make-up doubleheader today.
Game 1
RHP David Phelps (1-1, 5.02)
vs.
RHP Justin Masterson (3-3, 2.63)
12:05 p.m., YES Network
Game 2
LHP Vidal Nuno (0-0, 0.00)
vs.
RHP Trevor Bauer (1-1, 2.70)
Starts approximately 20 minutes after Game 1, YES Network
The first game also gives the big league debut of Corban Joseph.
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Brennan Boesch RF
Chris Nelson 3B
Corban Joseph 1B
Chris Stewart C
Alberto Gonzalez SS
Never mind the snooze alarm:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: Fabio Ruffet]
Boy, Hiroki Kuroda handled the Royals’ hitters on Sunday. Gave up a run in the first and another in the eighth; otherwise, they didn’t give him much trouble and hit a lot of ground balls. Kuroda is a pro, man. His time in New York will be brief (even if he does return next year which seems unlikely), but we’ll remember him with fondness for his professionalism and effectiveness.
Robinson Cano (10) and Vernon Wells (9?!) wasted flat sliders from Ervin Santana in the third–both were shots–and Wells added an RBI single in the fifth. That was more than enough. Mariano faced three batters in the ninth (a single; ground ball double play..on the first pitch, thank you very much; fly out to right), good for his fifteenth save and the Yankees’ fifth straight win.
Final Score: Yanks 4, Royals 2.
Today gives our man Hiroki.
Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Travis Hafner DH
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jayson Nix SS
Lyle Overbay 1B
Chris Nelson 3B
Chris Stewart C
Never mind the riffin’:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Via: Running Amuck]
I was too young to remember Ali in his prime, or even Dr. J. I watched Bird and Magic and then Jordan, so I know from watching greatness, admiring it, even when–in the case of Magic or Jordan–I rooted against it. But I’ve never rooted for anybody as great as Mariano Rivera. After the game was over last night and Rivera had recorded his 14th save of the season I tried to articulate my feelings when it hit me–I don’t have any idea of what it’s like to watch Rivera as a Yankee-hater. Every time I’ve seen him pitch, I’ve wanted him to succeed.
With Rivera, discussions of the value of a closer compared with the value of a starting pitcher or an everyday player are mind-numbingly boring. And they miss the point. Sure, his numbers provide their own proof and satisfaction (Looking at Rivera’s post-season statistics is like watching a parade of zeroes). But greatness is a singular thing Rivera’s aesthetic brings a touch of myth to the discussion. Mike Francesca was right when he dubbed Mo “The Great Mariano,” a nod to Hemingway and “The Great DiMaggio.” With Rivera, we’re talking a modern myth: The Silver Surfer.
More than any player I’ve ever rooted for, Rivera makes me appreciate the moment, the now. This has something to do with the dramatic nature of his position, coming in a the end of the game, but also his stubborn calm–I’m always reminded of the phrase “mulish imperturbability,” which James Agee used to describe Buster Keaton.
There’s an old sports writer’s cliche that says it is easier to write about the losers than the winners because winning isn’t that compelling. How do you explain what Rivera does? He chalks his gift and success up to the Lord and what can you do with that? We can dream up our own theories but they amount to the same thing: He’s blessed by something deep and profound. We know he works hard and appears to posses humility.
Last week he told reporters:
“When you respect the game of baseball, you respect everything that comes with baseball–the guys that are my peers, the other teams, you have to respect them…You’re not bigger than the game. You’re finished and the game will continue, so take into consideration, you always will keep that line and say humble. Because the game will always be bigger than you. Always. So it’s nothing you can do that will be better than the game.”
He’s said things like this for years and he seems sincere, even though we can never pretend to know a public figure intimately by what they say for print. We do know that opponents flock to him as if he were a Holy Man like this scene a few weeks back against the Blue Jays.
And we know that his pitching motion is as beautiful and fluid as any that we can remember. Dr. J once said, “When you reach a level of greatness, there’s a certain added element that goes into making it look easy.”
What we can do is talk about what it means to watch such a performer, how they give us a sense of assurance and peace in our imperfect and unpredictable lives. For Yankee fans, that feeling goes away at the end of this year. There will be other great players, more artistry to come, but nobody will ever do it quite like this.
[Photo Credit: David Zalubowski/AP]
Yanks face their old friend, the always-tough James Shields, tonight in KC. After a couple of lousy starts in a row, Andy Pettitte looks to regain his early-season form.
Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Travis Hafner DH
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jayson Nix SS
Lyle Overbay 1B
Chris Nelson 3B
Chris Stewart C
Never mind the standings:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: James Kao/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest]
