It’s time to take the gloves off.

The Yankees should feel thoroughly humiliated after losing two of three games to the worst team in baseball. It is unfathomable that the Yankees could muster a mere seven runs in three games against the poorest pitching staff in the major leagues and arguably the worst bullpen that has ever been assembled in the history of the game.

If this atrocity of a series against the Nationals, who had a won a total of six road games prior to this week, had been an isolated development, I would have been willing to cast it aside as a blip on the screen. But it is not an isolated occurrence. When attached to a lackluster series against the Mets, another sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, an embarrassing 0-8 record against Boston, mediocre play against the Orioles, and another abominable April, it becomes a symptom of a larger disease.

So what exactly is wrong with the Yankees? Having followed them closely through their first 66 games, I’m not convinced that the real problem is a lack of talent. Oh sure, their bullpen and bench could use upgrading and the absence of overall depth remains a concern, but those are problems that can be fixed relatively quickly from within. I’m afraid that the Yankees’ malaise has roots in other areas, principally a low baseball IQ, a lack of toughness, and a general complacency that can happen when too many players have multi-year contracts and no fear of losing their status on the team. (more…)

Father’s Day is this weekend. Anyone looking for a last-minute gift should consider these new baseball books:

Miracle Ball by Brian Biegel. One man’s search for the shot heard ’round the world. This one is a keeper.

Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, by Marty Appel. The definitive work on Thurman Munson.

Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, by Larry Tye. The great Paige gets the big biography he deserves.

Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story, by Curt Smith.  Scully, the best of the great old time broadcasters.

And finally, while we are talking about the Dodgers, don’t sleep on our old pal Jon Weisman’s classic guide to all things Dodgers, 100 Things Dodger Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

Today’s news is powered by . . . Goofy!

• What is it with the Yanks and unknown pitchers?:

In three of the last four games, the Yankees have been squelched by starters who they had never faced. John Lannan allowed two runs in eight and a third innings in powering the Washington Nationals to a 3-2 victory on Wednesday. Shairon Martis permitted one run in six innings as the Yankees halted Washington, 4-3, on Tuesday. And, on Saturday, Fernando Nieve surrendered two runs in six and two-third innings to help the Mets stop the Yankees, 6-2.

The only time that the Yankees opposed a familiar pitcher in the last four games, they destroyed Johan Santana for a career-worst nine runs. So how can the Yankees batter Santana and get baffled by pitchers with lesser pedigrees?

“I don’t really have any concrete theories,” Girardi said. “We talk about it as a staff. I think everyone loves to see something that they’ve seen before because they’re used to it, in a sense, no matter what walk of life you’re in.”

• Leaving Wang where he is:

After review, Joe Girardi’s ruling from the field stands. Chien-Ming Wang will remain in the Yankees rotation.

Girardi caught a television re-broadcast of the right-hander’s start following his five-inning outing on Wednesday, confirming what the manager believed he had witnessed from his vantage point in New York’s dugout.

“I thought he threw some really good sinkers,” Girardi said. “His slider was really good last night. He mixed his pitches well. I thought he threw the ball pretty well. I just wanted to watch it on video to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing.”

[My take: Having been at the game, I’m left to wonder if Wang’s extremely slow pace leaves his defense a bit “back on their heels”.  If Wang pitched as quickly as his opponent that night (John Lannan), maybe his defense might be a bit more alert.]

• Slumping A-Rod bothered by hip?:

Rodriguez has seen his average dip to .219 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs, and he has looked progressively worse during the past few weeks. He has clearly been favoring his hip while running the bases and playing third base lately, and he has been seen limping around the clubhouse after games.

Rodriguez has not had more than one hit in a game since May 25, when he went 5-for-5 in Texas. Since then, he is 13-for-70 (.186) with two homers and nine RBIs.

“I’m seeing the ball well. The big issue is the body and responding,” Rodriguez said on Wednesday. “I can hit. I’m always going to be able to hit, I know that. … There are some days where your body’s just not bouncing back the way I like it to.”

The injury may have affected the Yankees’ strategy in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Nationals. Rodriguez was on first with one out when second baseman Robinson Cano bounced into a game-ending double play. It seemed that it might have made sense for Rodriguez to try to steal second in that situation to try to stay out of the twin-killing.

• The Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi didn’t appreciate the playing of Thursday’s game after an all-day rain:

Despite a forecast that showed no signs of letting up during the afternoon, the team kept its fans waiting. At least they could say they were almost part of something historic: The delay apparently was the second longest in baseball history, behind only the 5 hours, 47 minutes on Oct 3, 1999, for a Reds-Brewers game.

That was the final game of the season to force a one-game playoff for the National League wild card. This was a mid-June interleague game that has absolutely no significance, and the Yankees fell back on the excuse that the two teams did not have mutual off days the rest of the year.

• The Yanks will be watching Pedro Martinez:

The Cubs and Rays are not the only teams in contact with free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez.

Those clubs, plus the Yankees and Angels, will watch Martinez throw on Friday in the Dominican Republic, according to major-league sources.

. . . (however) The Yankees, too, would benefit more from the addition of a reliever. They believe Chien-Ming Wang made progress in his start against the Nationals on Wednesday night, and currently have an extra starter, righty Phil Hughes, pitching out of the bullpen.

(more…)

How embarraskin’.

The Nationals arrived in the Bronx having won just 16 games all season, in large part because they were allowing 5.81 runs per game. Over the past two nights, the Nats increased their win total by 12.5 percent by holding the Yankees to a total of two runs over two games. That the Yankees and their fans had to wait through a nearly five-and-a-half-hour rain delay for the capper on that embarrassment only made it all the more painful.

Despite switching catchers, Joba Chamberlain wasn’t sharp again last night, but he wasn’t awful. Despite four walks, he escaped with a quality start (6 IP, 3 R) and six Ks. Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke, and David Robertson each added a scoreless inning. Unfortunately the offense failed to show up.

Perhaps showing their frustration from the long delay, the Yankees came up hacking against rookie righty Craig Stammen. Stammen needed just 82 pitches to get into the seventh inning, didn’t issue a single walk, and just one of the six hits he allowed went for extra bases, that being the last he allowed, a double by Nick Swisher with one out in the seventh. Swisher’s double also gave the Yankees two men on base at the same time for the first time in the game as it followed a Robinson Cano single and drove Stammen from the game.

Manny Acta brought in ex-Yank Ron Villone to face Hideki Matsui with one out and two men in scoring position. Needing only a productive out to get the Yankees on the board, Matsui struck out. Joe Girardi sent Jorge Posada up to hit for Francisco Cervelli; Villone stayed away from Jorge and walked him on five pitches. Girardi then sent up Derek Jeter, who hadn’t played since the opening game of the series, to hit for Ramiro Peña. Acta countered with Julian Tavarez. On the 1-1 pitch to Jeter, Tavarez pulled a full Luis Tiant, turning his back on Jeter in his delivery. Jeter was badly fooled on the ensuing pitch, but managed to foul it and the next one off before grounding to short to end the inning.

If there was a turning point in the game, that was it. The Yanks got the leadoff man on in the eighth and ninth, but failed to advance him either time, going down meekly by a final score of 3-0.

Blame the offense. The pitching and defense did their jobs, even if Chamberlain’s outing wasn’t pretty. The organization also came through for the fans who stuck out the third-longest rain delay in major league history by opening up the rattle-your-jewelry seats to those who remained in the park after the top of the first and giving all ticket holders a rain check for another game later this season or next. Good on them for that. Waiting five and a half hours to see the home nine get shut out by a historically bad team has to rank among the worst fan experiences of all time.

(more…)

The Yankees are going to try to get today’s game in despite the rain. I don’t much like their chances, but just in case, here’s a quick look at the pitching matchup.

The Nats are starting Craig Stammen, a 25-year-old rookie righty out of the University of Dayton. He’s nothing special. Though he posted a 1.80 ERA across seven triple-A starts before being called up a few weeks ago, he was doing it with a 3.2 K/9. He’s made five major league starts since and has yet to turn in a quility start (though he’s not had any real disasters either, lasting a minimum of five innings each time and never allowing more than five runs). His best outing was his last, 5 1/3 innings, 3 runs (2 earned) and a whopping five strikeouts against Tampa Bay.

The Yankees counter with Joba Chamberlain, who has been frustratingly inconsistent since leaving his May 21 start after being hit with a comebacker. Joba walked four and lasted just four innings his next time out, then dominated the Indians over eight innings the turn after that. He followed that with a quality start against the Rays, but his last time out he again lasted just four innings and walked five Mets while struggling to get in rhythm and in synch with Jorge Posada.

Chamberlain will throw to Francisco Cervelli if they play today. That’s a day-game-after-night-game thing, and also a protect-the-fragile-veteran-in-bad-weather thing, but given the meme about Posada’s game calling and Cervelli’s success with A.J. Burnett the last time out, it will only feed the fire if Joba has a good game this afternoon. Of course, the flip side to that is a series loss to the historically awful Nationals. Sometimes you just can’t win.

Speaking of protecting fragile veterans, Derek Jeter (ankle) will sit again in favor of Ramiro Peña at shortstop. Brett Gardner gets the draw in center and leads off in Jeter’s place.

Rain all day. Game isn’t called…yet. Hard to imagine they’ll get this one in.

I never went to a game with Todd Drew. But I can imagine what it would have been like–focused, alert, serious. Todd’s wife Marsha has filled me in on what the experience was like. They’ve been season ticket holders since 2003. In that time, Todd never missed a pitch. He went to the bathroom once before the game and once when it was over. And he kept score. Of course.

Last night I sat in Todd’s seat, a seat he will never see (for those who don’t know, Todd Drew was a contribuor at Bronx Banter who tragically died earlier this year; you can find a collection of his writing on the sidebar). It is located high above home plate, an ideal bird’s-eye view of the field. Fitting, I thought, for Todd to be presiding over the season like this. I could imagine Todd’s kind face, big in the sky like a Bill Gallo drawing.

Diane joined me and there was a good crowd around us. In the fourth inning, one of my dear friends, Johnny Red Sox, came up to me. He just happened to be sitting in the row ahead of us–what are the odds? In Todd’s seats, not so great.

Chien-Ming Wang and John Lannan were a contrast in styles. Wang was deliberate, soporific, while Lannan worked so quickly that he reminded me of the old Billy Crystal routine, where he mimicked ballplayers from the 1920s having a catch. Wang was up against it; if he could not handle the worst team in baseball surely he would not get another start. He wasn’t great but was certainly improved. Adam Dunn launched a solo home run against him in the third, and then Wang was done in by some misfortune in the fourth.

Ramiro Pena, playing for Derek Jeter, dropped a throw from Jorge Posada on a steal. Then, the first base umpire blew a call at first base. We could tell that he missed it from where we were sitting. The jumbotron did not show a replay, but moments later we heard waves of outrage from the areas in the park that did have access to a TV replay. As this was happening, a drunk kid caused a ruckus in the row behind us. Security was called and the dude left without an incident–just some disoriented, angry words. Before it was over, Nick Johnson hit a sinking line drive to left. Melky Cabrera raced in, dove, missed the ball and two runs scored.

Lannan threw strikes and got outs and the game zipped along. Robinson Cano hit a Yankee Stadium homer to break up Lannan’s no-hitter in the fifth, and in the ninth, Johnny Damon added a chippy of his own. With out one, Mark Teixeira singled to left. Brett Gardner replaced him as a pinch-runner and Alex Rodriguez, 0-3 to that point, came to the plate.

I hadn’t thought about Todd for most of the game but now he was present. Todd loved rooting for Rodriguez even more than I do, and I clapped more forcefully, hoping that Rodriguez would deliver. Mike MacDougal came in for Lannan and threw to first three times before Gardner stole second and then third. Rodriguez walked when he checked his swing on a full-count pitch.

First and third, Yanks down by a run, one out in the ninth. They were going to win. Robinson Cano fouled off the first two pitches he saw, took two balls, and then fouled off five or six more. He put good swings on the ball. The crowd was loud, only pausing to hold their breath as each pitch was delivered. I looked around our section at the friends we had made–clapping, rocking in their seats, clutching their hats, gasping at each foul ball–and realized that the meaning of Todd, and of the game, isn’t the outcome.

It is being there.

I felt humbled. Todd will never sit in his seats but he is there with us. The Yankees may not know it, but this is Todd’s season. (And there were plenty of moments to appreciate–two strong innings of relief from Phil Hughes and fine fielding plays by Rodriguez and Cano, and the customary brilliance of Teixeira.) I soaked in the last ten minutes of the game–that’s about how long the Rodriguez and Cano at bats took. My hands hurt from clapping and my heart raced. The excitement rattle through me and wished that I could bottle the sensation. I think it was Carlton Fisk who reflected that the 1978 playoff game between the Yankees and Red Sox should have been suspended when Yaz came to bat. It was a perfect moment, both teams were winners–baseball nirvana.

Last night was a June game pitting one of the best teams in baseball against the worst.  Of course I was disappointed when Cano hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end it, but I felt, for those precious moments in the ninth, in touch with why we watch every night, why were are moved, and crazed and driven, and why in the end, baseball matters.

Final Score: ‘Nats 3, Yanks 2.

Chien-Ming Wang again…

Dude, it’s got to start somewhere for our man. Baby steps, Money, baby steps. We’re behind you.

Diane and I will be sitting in Todd Drew’s seats tonight. We’ll raise a cup in his honor.

Damn, is that man ever missed around here or what?

Nearly 30 retired major leaguers will congregate at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown on Sunday for the first Hall of Fame Classic. The list of ex-Yankees who will participate includes Mike Pagliarulo, Kevin Maas, Phil Niekro, Jim Kaat, and Lee Smith. In the latest installment of “Card Corner,” we take a closer look at the man known as “Knucksie.”

Like fellow Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson and Billy Williams, Phil Niekro exudes gentlemanly class. Frankly, Leo “The Lip” Durocher was wrong when he said, “Nice guys finish last.” Some guys, like Niekro, might have played for a lot of last-place teams, but 318 career wins and a permanent residence in Cooperstown hardly qualify as “finishing last.”

During my tenure as a full-time employee at the Hall of Fame, I had the privilege of engaging Phil Niekro in several casual conversations and a few formal interviews. Whether Phil was in front of a microphone or not, he always behaved the same way. He didn’t like talking about himself—I never heard him brag about anything—but preferred steering credit in other directions.

On a Saturday night in Cooperstown in 2006, I watched Niekro behave in his typically dignified fashion. Along with several other retired ballplayers, Niekro was taking part in a roundtable discussion about the game in the Hall of Fame’s Grandstand Theater. As he sat next to his beloved brother Joe, who would pass away unexpectedly only three weeks later, Phil expressed only words of fond praise for his two-time teammate with the Braves and Yankees. “To get to play with your best friend, that’s an experience,” Phil said that evening. “I wish all brothers would get a chance to have that experience.”

(more…)

It’s still early, I know, but I have to share this with you…

A friend took me to a place called Five Napkin Burger last night for dinner. I prepared by eating a lowfat yogurt for breakfast and a light salad for lunch. Still, by the end of our meal, I practically rolled my ass back up to the Bronx.

The layout of Five Napkin Burger, which is located on 9th avenue and 46th street,  is very much like the open dinning room space at The Odeon downtown. The service was indifferent but not rude, the vibe hip but not edgy. The place was filled with yuppies, buppies and well-dressed gay men.

Smart pop music is piped into the three neat, individual bathrooms. It’s hard not to feel like you are in a music-video as you pee. It has that kind of self-conscious, provocative feel. I thought I was in a movie, and also wished my wife was with me so I could have my way with her right then and there.

Instead I had my way with this, the original five napkin burger (photo courtesy of Time Out New York): 

Dude, believe it. Hellacious. And it tastes even better than it looks. Cruel and unusual to post this picture, I know, but I could not resist. Oh, and if you like cheesecake, the light, fluffy kind, uh, well yeah, that’s slammin’ too.

Away we go . . .

• Bruney up, Veras DFAed:

Brian Bruney rejoined the Yankees’ bullpen mix after being activated from the disabled list on Tuesday, and the right-hander isn’t looking for any adjustment period in working his way back in. . . .

“I feel really good; ready to go,” Bruney said. “I don’t envision him taking it easy on me. I think if there’s a situation where we need to get some outs, I expect him to call on me.”

In a corresponding roster move, the Yankees designated right-hander Jose Veras for assignment. Veras was 3-1 with a 5.96 ERA in 25 appearances, allowing 23 hits and 17 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings. He walked 14 and struck out 18.

• A.J. Burnett has had a very tough road to hoe thus far in 2009:

A.J. Burnett was supposed to avoid being a victim of Yankee Stadium v2.0, but that was before he stopped inducing significantly more grounders than fly balls. This year has seen Burnett’s G/F drop to its lowest point since 2002, and to go along with that he has also stopped getting hitters to pop up on fly balls. Sure, it doesn’t help that he’s faced the stiffest competition in the league according to this stat report (composite of batters he has faced have the highest OPS in the majors), but at the same time, Burnett’s not doing himself any favors by handing out free passes to 4.6 hitters per nine. Combine that with the homer rate, and it’s easy to see why Burnett hasn’t had an easy time of it for his new team. I’m not so sure Burnett is going to have a serious rebound during this season, as he’s fooling fewer hitters—his strikeouts have dropped by over one full K per nine, and opponents are swinging at fewer pitches out of the zone while making more contact. Getting his walk rates back under control would be a good first step, but as it is he has actually been a little lucky, as his FIP is over a half-run higher than his ERA; improvement would move him from the level of a 5.00 ERA pitcher down to his current level.

• Would Matsui go back to play in Japan next season?:

Comments made by an unnamed member of the Hanshin Tigers front office about the possibility of Hanshin going after Hideki Matsui this offseason are making the rounds in the Japanese media. Here’s what was said in Sponichi:

“There’s a feeling that if he comes back to Japan, it will be with Hanshin. He’s had knee issues, and if he’s going to play in Japan the natural grass at Koshien would be good.”

(more…)

Aw, Joe Girardi seemed so cheerful and carefree after tonight’s game. Playing the Washington Nationals: better than Swedish massage.*

C.C. Sabathia pitched very well over 7.2 innings; the only blip was a what-the-hell moment in the fifth when  Anderson Hernandez doubled his lifetime home run total with a three-run shot. That gave the Nats a 3-2 lead, but  it was short-lived once manger Manny “Dead Man Walking… Out to the Mound” Acta turned to his bullpen (hi Ron Villone!). Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano had the big RBIs, helped out a bit there by Elijah Dukes’ fielding choices. Final score: Yanks 5, Nats 3.

Meanwhile, I can’t decide if I want the Nats to break the 1962 Mets’ loss record or not. On the one hand, I’ve often felt that if your team’s going to be bad, they might as well be epically, historically bad. That way you get that mesmerizing car-crash factor. (For example, I actually watched the Knicks more often a few years ago, because they were such an unbelievable mess that you never knew what was going to go mind-bogglingly wrong next; now that they’re merely pretty bad, they’re not that interesting).

On the other hand, though, I don’t really see D.C. embracing the Nats as a bunch of lovable losers, like New Yorkers (or at least the New York media) did with the Mets in ’62. And those Mets had an excuse – brand new team and lousy expansion draft players – that the Nationals don’t; there’s nothing particularly charming about chronic front office mismanagement. Plus I like Manny Acta.

So basically, I’m rooting for them to lose 120 if it’d be fun and zany, but not if it’s going to be all soul-crushing. What do you guys think? Want to see the Nats go for history, or should we pull for the record to stay in New York, where it belongs?

—

*Just in case they go on to take the next two games from the Yankees, I’d like to apologize in advance for the hubris.

Washington Nationals

2009 Record: 16-45 (.262)
2009 Pythagorean Record: 23-38 (.377)

2008 Record: 59-102 (.366)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 62-99 (.385)

Manager: Manny Acta (for now)
General Manager: Mike Rizzo (acting GM)

Home Ballpark (Park Factors): Nationals Park (101/102)

Who’s Replacing Whom:

• Adam Dunn replaces Lastings Milledge (minors)
• Corey Patterson is filling in for Josh Willingham (bereavement list), who replaces Wily Mo Peña
• Nick Johnson reclaims his playing time from Aaron Boone
• Josh Bard is filling in for Jesus Flores (DL)
• Anderson Hernandez replaces Felipe Lopez
• Alberto Gonzalez replaces Emilio Bonifacio
• Jordan Zimmermann replcaes Tim Redding
• Shairon Martis replaces Odalis Perez
• Ross Detwiler replaces Shawn Hill and Collin Balester (minors)
• Craig Stammen is filling in for Scott Olsen (DL), who replaces Jason Bergmann (minors) and Matt Chico (DL)
• Joe Beimel, Ron Villone, Kip Wells, Julian Tavarez, and Mike MacDougal replace Jon Rauch, Luis Ayala, Saul Rivera (minors), Garrett Mock (minors), Steven Shell, and Charlie Manning

25-man Roster:

1B – Nick Johnson (L)
2B – Anderson Hernandez (S)
SS – Cristian Guzman (S)
3B – Ryan Zimmerman (R)
C – Josh Bard (S)
RF – Austin Kearns (R)
CF – Elijah Dukes (R)
LF – Adam Dunn (L)

Bench:

L – Willie Harris (UT)
R – Ron Belliard (IF)
R – Alberto Gonzalez (IF)
R – Wil Nieves (C)
L – Corey Patterson (OF)

Rotation:

L – John Lannan
R – Craig Stammen
R – Jordan Zimmermann
L – Ross Detwiler
R – Shairon Martis

Bullpen:

R – Joel Hanrahan
L – Joe Beimel
R – Julian Tavarez
L – Ron Villone
R – Jesus Colome
R – Kip Wells
R – Mike MacDougal

Bereavement List: OF – Josh Willingham (R)

15-day DL:

LHP – Scott Olsen (shoulder tendonitis)
RHP – Kip Wells (strained adductor)
C – Jesus Flores (fractured shoulder)
1B – Dmitri Young (back)
OF – Rogearvin Bernadina (broken ankle)

60-day DL:

LHP – Matt Chico (elbow soreness)
RHP – Terrell Young (shoulder inflammation)

Typical Lineup:

S – Cristian Guzman (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (1B)
R – Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
L – Adam Dunn (LF)
R – Elijah Dukes (CF)
R – Austin Kearns (RF)
S – Josh Bard (C)
S – Anderson Hernandez (2B)

(more…)

“Where is she from?”

That’s what people, mostly friends and family, have said to me in private after meeting my friend Shannon Plumb. It’s her accent, you just can’t place it.  They ask, wondering if she’s a put-on artist.

She’s not. But she’s also the only true bohemian I’ve ever known. Completely unaffected, out-of-her-bird, inspired. Turns out she’s from Schenectady–by way of Pluto.

I’ve known Shannon for almost twenty years. We met at college. She used to wear a trenchcoat and carry around a thin boom box, playing Prince. Guys were bewitched by her.

She painted and acted and when we left school, she modeled, and hipsters and cool people were betwitched by her. Now, she’s married with two kids. Over the past decade, she has made a name for herself in the art world with her short films.

Shannon is a true original and one of my favorite people of all time. Loves Harpo, loves Buster, and even once had a nice jump shot (or so she says).

Here’s a mess of her movies.  Check ’em out.

I watched both the SNY/PIX and YES broadcasts of the games on Friday and Sunday, flipping around to hear how each covered the game. It was amusing. Both teams are solid (Al Leiter and David Cone joined Michael Kay on YES) but both lean towards their team. The SNY/PIX guys thought a called strike three to David Wright on Sunday was a terrible call; over on YES, David Cone said it was “borderline,” but close enough.  The SNY guys chided the new Yankee Stadium, chuckling and sneering. And they killed Joba Chamberlain and Jorge Posada on Friday night. Here’s Bob Raissman, writing in the Daily News, with the skinny.

Today’s news is powered by Red Barber and Mel Allen.  We lost Allen on this date in 1996:

• Tyler Kepner wonders if the Yanks pitching hiccups are tied to who is behind the plate:

One unsettling fact for the Yankees is the difference when Jorge Posada catches. With Posada behind the plate, the Yankees’ pitchers have a 6.31 E.R.A. The combined E.R.A. with Francisco Cervelli, Jose Molina and Kevin Cash is 3.81.

Posada has caught four starts by Chien-Ming Wang, whose job status is now evaluated on a game-by-game basis. Even removing those starts, the staff’s E.R.A. with Posada is still high, at 5.47. . . .

. . . Burnett, in particular, seems to struggle with him. In Burnett’s four starts pitching to Posada, opponents have batted .330. In nine starts with the other catchers, the average is .223.

When he lost a six-run lead in Boston in April, Burnett questioned the pitch selection, though he blamed himself, not Posada. Asked Sunday about the difference in pitching to the rookie Cervelli, Burnett gave a careful but revealing answer.

“I think it’s just a matter of — I don’t know if it’s the catcher — but we threw curveballs in fastball counts, we had them looking for something and they had no idea what was coming, I don’t think,” Burnett said. “That’s huge.”

[My take: Hmm . . . come 2010, could Cervelli see 100+ games behind the plate, with Posada at DH?]

• Cervelli serves notice:

Cervelli has provided the Yankees with an unexpected spark, after he was summoned from the Minor Leagues to lend a hand as the club waited for the returns of injured catchers Jorge Posada and Jose Molina.

Posada has since reclaimed his starting role, but Molina suffered a setback while on a rehab assignment and re-injured his left quadriceps, extending Cervelli’s big league stay for the foreseeable future.

“Sometimes, for one person to shine, something has to happen to someone else,” Yankees bench coach Tony Pena said recently. “Defensively, Francisco Cervelli is as good as any other catcher. There are very few catchers who can move behind the plate the way Francisco Cervelli moves.”

The Yankees were always high on Cervelli defensively, believing that he at least would project as a big league backup catcher, capable of spelling a starter for an extended period if absolutely necessary.

But Cervelli has exceeded expectations at the plate, especially considering he was batting just .190 at Double-A Trenton when he was called up. Cervelli’s three hits on Sunday raised his batting average to .298 (17-for-57) with two doubles and six RBIs in 19 games.

[My take: I don’t think the league has a “book” on him yet, but he sure doesn’t seem over-matched at the plate to date.]

(more…)

Who comes up short?

Over at River Avenue Blues, Joseph Pawlikowski considers what roster moves the Yanks will make once Brian Bruney rejoins the team.

I had the day off last Friday and had to run an errand at B&H Photo. It was an overcast, muggy morning and I was overdressed and soon sweating. With time to kill before a lunch date, I strolled up the north side of 34th street when I was done at B&H, walking east, listening to an old song talking about “Tonya, Tamika, Sharon, Karen, Tina, Stacy, Julie…Tracy” when I thought I recognized somebody. I stopped, and back-peddled, removed my earphones, and sure enough, there was Adam Reid from America’s Test Kitchen.

For those of you who don’t know, America’s Test Kitchen is the PBS show that sprung from the minds of Cook’s Illustrated. Chris Kimball and his crew are the sabermetricians of everyday cooking. Their approach is to empirically test and re-test recipes until they arrive at a practical and approachable solution for the typical American home cook. They also test equipment and products as well.

They’ve been a huge success. I can’t recall anything that I’ve ever made from them that wasn’t good.

Adam Reid handles the equipment rating and he’s the most cheerful personality of the bunch. Turns out he’s just as friendly in person. When I saw him, Reid, who also writes for The Boston Globe, was waiting for a bus back to Boston. He had been in town to do a spot on The Today Show promoting his new book, Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes. 

Now, how can that book not be awesome? I chatted with Reid for a couple of minutes before his bus began to board. I left him feeling better about the day and with a sudden craving for a milkshake, a “guggle-muggle” as my grandmother like to call them.

Took the train uptown, and still with time to burn, got out at 72nd street and decided to casually walk up Broadway. I had the headphones back on as I crossed Broadway and 78th street and saw what looked like Abe Vigoda on the east side of the block. Is Abe Vigoda still alive? I thought. Only one way to find out, so I removed one earphone and yelled out, “Hey, Mr. Vigoda.” And the old man, bent, wearing a beige cardigan, raised his right arm, cane in hand, nodded at me and continued walking down the block.

Adam Reid, Abe Vigoda, and then a few minutes later, one of the Zabar brothers, I’m not sure which one.

Rub-a-dub-dub.