Posts tagged ‘Andy Pettitte’

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October 10, 2010

Oh How Sweep It Is!

by Jamie Insalaco

That’s a delicious pun, right?  Pretty sure that being the guy that uses ‘Oh How Sweep It Is!’ as his title goes hand and hand with using ‘delicious’ as an adjective…

But to the games…  Thursday night’s ALDS game 2 was relatively stress free for Andy Pettitte and the Yankees against the Twins.  Sure, Pettitte had that one inning that he had the bases loaded, but he got through it while only allowing one run.  I admit, I was pretty concerned with what he’d come back with after that inning, but he was good to go.  The only thing that kept that game from turning into a laugher was the Yankees inability to drive up the score.  Still, a win is a win, and in the playoffs, all that matters is you win the game without any of your best players getting hurt.

Now Saturday night’s game turned into a laugher.  I had the most unusual experience watching the game…  I was on vacation at Disney World, and our hotel TV does not seem to have any of the Turner stations… well, we have CNN, but no TNT, and most unfortunately, TBS.

Fortunately, the 21st Century provides other options, so we fired up ye olde laptop and went to MLB.com and purchased that playoff.tv package that lets you choose from eight different camera angles and watch up to four at once.  I should point out that I have a half dozen years experience as a media services professional before I start complaining that I could barely get this shiz to work.  I tried Internet Explorer, I tried Firefox and that didn’t seem to be an issue.  I wasn’t using wifi, so  even tried a different Ethernet cable to the same shizzy results.  Finally, I reduced the video quality to its lowest level and restarted the machine a few times before I finally got the desired effect – that is, video playback with minimal skipping.

Watching a game from one angle is totally impossible because different camera operators are supposed to cover different things, so a minimum of two angles is required.  This doesn’t seem to help the processing side of things.  In any case, it worked and we were able to watch the game and listen to the TBS broadcasters (unlike that product they sell with game day, you can’t choose different audio options, which is weak), and that wasn’t always so great – they were getting bored as the game went on.

Phil Hughes dominance over 7 innings made life pretty sweet for Yankees fans and seemed to irritated the broadcasters as the Yankees offense ran up the score and Hughes shut out the Twins.  Kerry Wood got into some trouble in the 8th and a run scored, but Boone Logan and David Robertson nailed the 8th down and efforts against Mariano Rivera in the 9th were futile.

Between Phil Hughes and the home run Marcus Thames hit, the game felt over quickly.  That’s all there was to it.  The Twins can’t handle the Yankees and the next round is looming.  Who will it be?  Who would you want it to be?  Tough questions, and maybe tougher answers.  It’s going to be hard for the Rays to come back against the Rangers, but we’ll have to wait and see.

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September 30, 2010

Projecting Yankees 25 Man Playoff Roster

by Jamie Insalaco

Now that the Yankees have clinched a playoff berth, I can have some fun and speculate on the Yankees 25 man playoff roster and talk about how I would use them if I were managing the Yankees.

Round 1 – best of 5 against the Minnesota Twins. I don’t feel the Yankees need to use 4 starting pitchers in this series, so I left AJ Burnett off the roster. For the best of 7 rounds, I dropped a backup outfielder (this could also be a relief pitcher in that 25th spot) and put Burnett back on there.

  1. CC Sabathia

    • game 1 starter
  2. Andy Pettitte
    • game 2 starter
  3. Phil Hughes
    • game 3 starter (AJ Burnett isn’t really giving me a choice here)
  4. Mariano Rivera
    • closer.  Mo saves: for he is the power, the kingdom, and the glory, forever and ever…
  5. Kerry Wood
    • primary setup man
  6. Joba Chamberlain
    • RH RP – comes into the game at the beginning of innings (preferably)
  7. David Robertson
    • RH RP – the fireman, comes into tough situations in the middle of innings to deliver us from evil with Ks
  8. Boone Logan
    • LH RP – primary lefty out of the pen to get the big bat out in the biggest match up situation
  9. Royce Ring
    • LH RP – extra match up lefty, used early in the game – especially useful against all those Twins left handed bats; if the Yankees don’t get the Twins at some point, maybe you fill this spot with another backup outfielder
  10. Sergio Mitre
    • emergency long man; Mitre has decent numbers out of the pen this year.  Javier Vazquez’s sample size for relief outings is too small and Chad Gaudin’s numbers stink.
  11. Jorge Posada
    • starting catcher
  12. Mark Teixeira
    • starting 1B
  13. Robinson Cano
    • starting 2B
  14. Derek Jeter
    • starting SS
  15. Alex Rodriguez
    • starting 3B
  16. Brett Gardner
    • starting LF
  17. Curtis Granderson
    • starting CF
  18. Nick Swisher
    • starting RF
  19. Austin Kearns
    • 4th outfielder
  20. Ramiro Pena
    • pinch runner/backup infielder for every position but 1B, unless absolutely necessary; haven’t seen him play there
  21. Francisco Cervelli
    • backup catcher, not an awful option for punch runner, but then we’re out of catchers, so only in a game ending situation
  22. Lance Berkman
    • DH/PH against right RHP, backup 1B
  23. Marcus Thames
    • DH/PH against LHP, emergency outfielder
  24. Eduardo Nunez
    • pinch runner, emergency middle infielder.  I went with Nunez over Juan Miranda because with Berkman and Thames, I feel like the Yankees bench has enough bats, and I don’t have a ton of faith in Miranda’s bat, anyway.  Besides, Nunez can play more than one position and has speed, which I’d like to have off the bench, say in the 8th inning after Posada walks…
  25. ALDC:  Colin Curtis/Greg Golson/Kevin Russo //  ALCS/WS:  A.J. Burnett, 4 starter
    • I haven’t seen enough of these guys to decide who’d be the most valuable as a pinch runner and/or as a backup outfielder; in fact, I considered putting a reliever in this spot, but who?  I like Ivan Nova a lot, but let’s face it, he’s a kid and has hardly an MLB experience
    • I know, I know – nobody wants to see Burnett in the playoffs.  Sorry, folks – you’re going to have to get over that.  If the Yankees make it passed the first round, Burnett is going to start.  Experience counts in the playoffs, and really, when it’s all on the line, who would you rather have out there?  Vazquez?  Gaudin?  Nova?  Mitre?  In your heart of hearts, you know Burnett and his 95 MPH fastball and nasty curve ball are the way to go.  All starters will be on a short leash, anyway, so at the first sign of trouble, Joe Girardi will more than likely go get him anyway – or anyone else

That’s the way I see it. I know some folks want to give Nova a chance, but I think that’s asking too much, too soon of an inexperienced kid. It’d be a bold move, and I don’t see someone as calculating as Girardi doing it. Joe Torre wouldn’t even consider it; he loves his veterans.

Wild Card or AL East Division winners, it’s all the same. The Yankees are in the dance, so they’ve got a chance. This is what we wait all year for, and we’ve had the opportunity to watch October baseball for 15 out the last 16 years, and it never gets old. No matter what happens, this has been a great year. Let’s see if they can go all the way and get number 28! I’m predicting a rematch of last year’s World Series and despite Philly looking a little better than last year (although I don’t know who they have in their bullpen), I’m also predicting the same outcome.

LET’S GO YANKEES!

NOTE:
Nice job by David Price for calling out his fan base – it might not have been the best business decision for the Rays organization, but they have a good team and it deserves it’s fan’s support. If they can’t get it, they should move – I’m sure Las Vegas would welcome them with open arms.
An even better job by the Rays for giving away thousands of free tickets in the wake of Price-Gate. Maybe they can win the fans over yet

Check out my post at The Fowl Balls on Mariano Rivera’s tough outings in September.

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September 27, 2010

Yankees magic number down to 1

by Jamie Insalaco

I took a few days off from blogging and I’ve returned to find things pretty much where I left them. The Yankees are a half game behind the Rays and still haven’t clinched a playoff spot. Still, the Yankees have reduced their magic number down to 1 – that is, 1 Yankees win or 1 Red Sox loss, whichever comes first. While the Yankees will get into the playoffs easily, winning the east is going to be tough: they’re facing the Yankee killing Toronto Blue Jays and then going into the hostile Fenway Park environment for another series with the Red Sox. Combine that with Rays schedule, and I just don’t see the Yankees winning the east. Sure, I don’t expect the Baltimore Orioles to lay down for the Rays, but Tampa has four games left with the Kansas City Royals. Nuff said.

So let’s see, what did I miss? Thursday night, CC Sabathia got a butt kicking from the Rays. Friday night, Andy Pettitte got a butt kicking from the Red Sox. Ivan Nova on the FOX Saturday Baseball Game of Death? Butt kicking by the Red Sox. Detecting a theme here? The starting pitching has been dreadful of late. Hence, Joe Girardi went with Phil Hughes last night rather than Dustin Mosely. Hughes pitched well: 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, 4 ks, 4 BB. Girardi sent him out there for the 7th inning, which I thought was a strange move: I can’t remember the last time Hughes pitched 7 innings (that’s because he hasn’t done it since July) and every time he goes out there in the 7th, he always seems to leave a runner out there.

Enter the bullpen: David Robertson, the man the kids call D-Rob, came out and picked up the pieces in spectacular fashion and finished out the 7th. Kerry Wood got two outs in the 8th, and then Girardi wen to Mariano Rivera to get the last out. Strange; he had Wood walk David Ortiz instead of bringing in Boone Logan. Mo got it done against Adrian Beltre, and I’m sure Mo was feeling strong since he hasn’t pitched since Monday, but it seemed like a risky gambit, especially given the lefty v lefty opportunity that Girardi passed by, which I guess was his way of saying that he doesn’t trust Logan in that situation…

So Mo blows it in the top of the 9th. It’s another ugly one as Mo’s September of Horrors continues. The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 9th against Jonathan Papelbon but don’t win it, despite having the bases loaded.

The Yankees sent out Joba Chamberlain to keep the tie in tact and wouldn’t you know it, Girardi wen tot Logan to get Ortiz after all, which he did. So it’s fair to say that Girardi puzzled me in this game – but not as much as Terry Francona did in the bottom of the 10th. Francona brings in Hideki Okajima to face the lefties Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner, despite the fact that Granderson already homered off Okajima in the series, but Fancona is managing by the book – fine. Then Okajima fails to retire either batter, and he sticks with him, much to my delight. He’s still got Daniel Bard down there – he said so during his stupid mid game ESPN interview. There is no tomorrow – losing this game pretty much ends the season for the Red Sox because the loss put them in the situation I described at the opening of this piece… what the hell was Francona thinking? I’m sure he had to answer this quesiton after the game, but I didn’t hear what he said – I went to bed. Note to ESPN: starting a game at 8 PM EST is TOO LATE. In the most anti-climatic win ever, Okajima walked in Juan Miranda for the Yankee win. Yep – Okajima saw three more batters after that.

Sorry I didn’t talk about Matsuzaka – he was awesome last night.

So that’s pretty much that. The Yankees can still win the east, but the Red Sox are done – unless the Yankees lose all six of their remaining games and the Red Sox win all six.

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September 20, 2010

Yankees Road Trip From Hell Ends

by Jamie Insalaco

Swept by Texas; lost 2 of 3 in Tampa and took 2 of 3 from the Orioles. That’s a 3-6 road trip for the Yankees, the worst of the year, as far as I recall.

How’d it happen? Injuries played a big part; whether players were unavailable or resting, the Yankees were never at 100% during this road trip. True, few teams are at this point in the season, but missing two of your corner outfielders is pretty tough, and that just scratches the surface.

I’ve already commented on the debacle at the hands of the Texas Rangers and the tough series loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays, so today I’ll be focusing on the series with the Os, which, like the series with the Rays, could have gone either way.

AJ Burnett pitched decently in the first game, but every time he gives up a homer, its hard not to think, "Here we go again." But we all know how this one went; A-Rod saved the day with a 3 run homer with 2 strikes and 2 outs in the top of the ninth, which was largely made possible by Jorge Posada’s 11 pitch at bat to lead off the inning with a single. As soon as A-Rod’s bat touched the ball, it was gone. Mariano Rivera came in and got the save, and all seemed right with the world. The next afternoon, CC Sabathia earned his 20th win as the Yankees offense mowed down the Orioles pitching. No one was able to win 20 games last year, which makes you realize what a special accomplishment it really is – so hats off to CC! But Sunday’s blown save by Mo rained on the parade – perhaps one of the fastest blown saves ever as the lead off batter came on to hit a game tying home run. It was all over after that. But then, the game started out so promising with the return of Andy Pettitte, making his first start on the MLB level in about two months. Andy looked pretty sharp and didn’t seem especially fatigued; if he’s fresh in the playoffs and Burnett is decent, the Yankees could be dangerous this fall.

The Yankees can’t seem to win an extra inning game on the road this year – it’s a tough feet, but I feel like they’ve lost every one of them in 2010. Maybe it’s just the recent loses to Tampa and Texas in extras that are haunting me. Given Friday’s come from behind at the last second win, the Yankees could have easily lost this series. I hope all the resting of players and cortisone shots will pay off this week.

When all is said and done, the Yankees are still in first place. How can that be? They’re 3 for they’re last 9! But there it is. With four huge games against the Rays that may decide the fate of the AL East and possibly home field advantage for the playoffs, there’s a lot going on this week. Get pumped. Oh and the Red Sox are coming at some point… whatever, those guys are done. =)

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September 15, 2010

Yankees reclaim first place from Rays

by Jamie Insalaco

Just like that, all the bad feels get washed away.

It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it? After Monday night’s extra inning loss to the Rays, the Yankees were amidst their first four game losing streak of the year and coming off their first sweep of the year courtesy of the Texas Rangers. Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner are banged up; A-Rod isn’t 100% yet. Andy Pettitte still isn’t back (although he’s probably only days away now), and Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves are never coming back. The road trip had been a disaster up to this point.

And by the fifth inning, things weren’t looking much better. Rookie right hander Ivan Nova has essentially dominated the Rays over the first four, but suddenly, like in his other starts, he began to falter in the fifth. Why this keeps happening, I don’t know; he’s a young guy and maybe he’s never pitched hits many innings before, or maybe you just have to work that much harder at the MLB level, and it’s tiring him. The bottom line is, after throwing about 50 pitches in the first four innings, the Rays put up a 7 spot in the 5th. Nova let four runs score before Joe Girardi finally lifted him for Boone Logan; I think Girardi wanted to see if Nova could wiggle out of trouble, and it didn’t happen. I don’t think he would have gotten that opportunity if the Yankees didn’t have such a big wild card lead and AJ Burnett wasn’t struggling the way he is. Logan came in and gave up a 3 run homer that gave the Rays a 7-6 lead, and all the optimism generated by Nova’s early performance and the home runs by Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez was whipped away. Logan was dominate after the home run, but the damage had been done… or so it seemed. Game Day.

The Yankees immediately tied the game on Robinson Cano’s double, scoring A-Rod, and it became a duel of the bullpens. Joba Chamberlain, Kerry Wood and David Robertson held the Rays in check until the top of the 11th, when Jorge Posada came up with a pinch hit homer that hasn’t landed yet. OK, maybe it didn’t go that far, but it was still pretty awe inspiring.

Mariano Rivera came on to get the save, and Carl Crawford got on board immediately, but was a base running disaster in the bottom of the 11th inning. He failed to tag out on a ball that was either going to be a home run or an out, and he made the last out at third. These are two fundamental no-nos that I wouldn’t expect Crawford to make, but he did, and the Yankees won the game because of it. Box Score.

I believe Girardi left Nova in to see if he could get out of a tough spot, as aforementioned, and he didn’t. I’d say that this eliminates any chance of Nova getting a start in the playoffs, despite Brian Cashman saying that they were going to start their best four guys and salary didn’t matter. Nova could be a candidate for the long man role in the pen for the playoffs, but if that’s something he’s never done, the playoffs might not be a good place for him to start.

Tonight’s the rubber game, and the Yankees really need to win this game, more for their psyche than for anything else. Sure, winning the AL East will get the Yankees home field advantage in the AL playoffs, but getting to the dance is what matters. Phil Hughes will match up against the one they call Big Game James, aka James Shields. If Hughes brings his A game, this could be a close game… They skipped his last turn, so who knows how that’s going to effect him – he might be fresh… or he might be rusty. I don’t know what to expect, so all we can really do is tune in and pray that our Lord and Savior, Mariano Rivera, gets an opportunity.

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September 2, 2010

Yankee fans grab brooms after AJ's redemption

by Jamie Insalaco

AJ Burnett turned in a line of 6 IP, 6 hits, 3 R (ER), 2 BB, 8 Ks (wow), and 1 HR. Not spectacular when it takes 100 pitches to get through 6 innings, but the strike outs were impressive. He was throwing a breaking ball in the low 80s… I guess that’s what he usually throws, but something seemed different about it last night.

I don’t want to get too excited about Burnett’s performance against the lowly offense of the Oakland Athletics, but he got through 6 and didn’t get hammered, and after his awful August, that’s good enough. But the bottom line is Burnett is not coming out the rotation unless he’s hurt. He makes too much money.

Speaking of the rotation, Javier Vazquez is going back into the rotation and Dustin Moseley is going back to the bullpen. It’s hard to argue this logic, given the current trends of both pitchers, but I long for the day when Andy Pettitte returns from injury. Nobody adjusts on the fly like Pettitte. Still, Moseley will join Chad Guadin and Sergio Mitre, who have served invaluable rolls as long men as the starting rotation has struggled.

What an awesome job by the Yankees bullpen. If its not a long man pitching 4 innings in relief, it’s the short guys kicking butt. Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera combined to protect the 1 run lead over 3 innings. That’s pitching. If the Yankees get their rotation figured out, they’re going to be all but unbeatable in the playoffs. But that’s a pretty big if!

The Yankees left 9 men on base. Yeesh. After the second inning, they never scored again. Mark Teixeira continues to swing a hot bat, and fresh from the DL, Lance Berkman joined Teix with a double of his own. Derek Jeter got his first hit of the series, so he’s 1-12 so far this time against the As. My boy Curtis Granderson went 2-4 as he continues to try and improve his 2010 numbers, but it’s probably too late for that.

What can I say about the As? They stink. I don’t know if they’re kids and the big bad Yankees scare them or what, but from what I’ve seen this season, they just don’t play very well. Cliff Pennington has been a menace over at short stop this series, whether he’s missing the first basemen by a lot (leave the pivot-360-jump-throw to Jeter, buddy) or kicking the ball, he just reinforces the fact that Oakland is fielding a team of kids who just aren’t ready to compete at this level. The As overall defense and offense are pretty stinky, and their much heralded starting rotation isn’t very good away from home, as any sabermetrically minded Yankees blog will illustrate to you. I know the As came into this series over .500, but playing Seattle and Los Angeles 30 times a year will do that. Today they’ll have to deal with CC Sabthia, going for his 19 win of the season.

Good luck with that.

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August 31, 2010

Bats, Vazquez save the day for Yankees

by Jamie Insalaco

It’s good to have 3 long men in the pen. Last night, it was Javier Vazquez’s turn.

Dustin Moseley made his 7th start of the year for the Yankees against a less than formidable Oakland Athletics offense, and it was not a good one. As ye olde game log reveals, there is just no figuring out Moseley. Last night, he couldn’t get out of the 5th inning as he walked 4 and allowed 5 hits in 4.1 IP. Yet last time out in Toronto against the home run happy Blue Jays, Moseley held them down to 2 ER in 6 IP. He still walked 4 in that appearance, so it doesn’t seem like his control was that much better in Canada, and the Athletics aren’t exactly setting the world on fire with their 528 runs scored on the year. I guess Moseley just didn’t have it last night.

After the As put up a 3 spot in the top of the 1st, the outlook was a bit bleak, but the Yankees don’t play that. No sir. The Yankees responded with 3 runs of their own and Trevor Cahill, the As young ace, looked like he was on his way to getting his butt kicked by the Yankees again, and sure enough, his final line of 4 IP and 8 ER is indeed a foot landed squarely on his backside.

That, and Javier Vazquez’s 4.2 IP, 1 ER outing, was pretty much the game. Vazquez has gone to the pen and found something for the second time this year; whether its rest or not, I can’t say, but it seems like the velocity is up and he’s hitting his spots. What this means for his playoff options on this team, I have no idea.

The big bats were out last night: homers by Teixeira, Cano, and of course, Marcus Thames, of yesterday’s posting fame. Derek Jeter, on the other hand, put up an 0-4 and saw his average dip below .270, but didn’t take his troubles with him out into the field as he made several jump-spin-throw plays that kept the As in check. Its strange to see a guy have such a great night in the field while not getting it done at the plate. Jeter even through up an unsuccessful bunt in an effort to get himself started. Maybe he likes hitting in day games; I hope so, because the Yankees have 5 in a row coming up starting Thursday. Meanwhile, Nick Swisher put up 2 doubles for 3 big RBIs.

The Yankees are still tied with the Rays for 1st place, which is a record of some kind that doesn’t interest me at all. In any case, the Yankees have continued to win without A-Rod and Andy Pettitte – I doubt most teams could solider on the way the Yankees have without their cleanup hitter and number 2 starter, but the Yankees are just that good. Suck on that, Tampa.

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August 23, 2010

Yankees take 2 of 3 from Mariners

by Jamie Insalaco

Some quick thoughts on the Yankees winning the series against the Mariners and other points:

FRIDAY – AJ Burnett was as awful as the Yankees offense. However, the offense was facing King Felix Hernandez; Burnett wasn’t exactly pitching against an All Star team. Or a playoff team. Or a team with a .500 record.

SATURDAY – Javier Vazquez didn’t have it again, and he all owed a home run into the upper deck, the first homer to be hit up there. Ah, Home Run Javy: if anyone could do it, he could. The bullpen and the offense weren’t taking it lying down and the Yankees recovered after an embarrassing loss the night before, which was good to see. It felt like the Yankees were getting their asses kicked, but it was actually tied at 4 before the Bronx Bombers took the lead for good.

SUNDAY – With rain looming, CC Sabathia put together a great start chuck fulla Ks. The offense was also out and about: the Mariners decided that with runners on 2nd and 3rd, they’d walk Mark Teixeira and load the bases. With a lefty on the mound and Robinson Cano coming up, who was 0-2 and 1 out on the board, I still questioned the logic; Cano had been K’d once already, but he’d also seen the pitcher twice before on that day, gotten a good look at his stuff, which was diminishing. Cano immediately rewarded my faith with a first pitch fastball grand slam. If the game wasn’t already out of reach, that killed it for the Mariners and gave the Yankees the series win – and the season series win.

Burnett is, by far, the biggest concern on this Yankee team. It’s clear that the Yankees are going to get into the playoffs one way or another, despite their injuries. I still believe Andy Pettitte is going to come back from his injury and pitch effectively, if not at the insane level he was at before the injury. Phil Hughes is good enough to be the fourth starter, which I believe won’t come into play until the ALCS. Javier Vazquez is hurt or exhausted or finished; I’m not sure which, and it doesn’t really matter, because I can’t see him starting for the Yankees in the playoffs this year. I still think bringing in Vazquez was a worthwhile risk, but it just hasn’t worked out.

Back to Burnett: check out his game log. April was good, May was ok, June was horrible, July was great and August has been bad. You just don’t know what you’re going to get out of this guy. I know I should be more concerned with Pettitte, who isn’t even on the mound right now, but Burnett is so hit and miss that its hard to trust him. In the 2009 playoffs, he lost one of the biggest games of the year – and also won one of the biggest games of the year. I don’t know what to think about Burnett, and that tells me that he can’t be counted on, which scares me in October..

The Yankees finally put A-Rod on the DL. They probably should have done this two weeks ago, but whatever. Cano is a more than capable clean up hitter, and the Yankees will manage for the 15 days. Besides, the Yankees are undefeated in games that A-Rod has missed this year, and he probably wasn’t going to play until around August 27 anyway.

The Yankees are going to Toronto to face the Blue Jays, and Ian Nova will get his first start, which should give the other guys an extra day of rest. No idea if this will help Vazquez and Burnett, but it couldn’t hurt. Nova has appeared out of the bullpen this year for the Yankees, and his starting numbers at AAA are pretty good – a sub 3.00 ERA.

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August 19, 2010

Power, Bullpen create Yankees win

by Jamie Insalaco

Jeremy Bonderman just ain’t what he used to be.

After a fairly quick inning by Dustin Moseley for the Yankees, Bonderman served up back to back bombs to Mark Teixeira (scoring Brett Gardner) and Robinson Cano, which was followed by the Miguel Cabrera show, who blasted solo jacks in the 2nd and 4th inning. The Yankees quickly responded with 3 more runs of their own: Ramiro Pena (aka Scrappy Doo) tripled and scored Austin Kearns, Gardner doubled and scored Pena, and Gardner came around to score on the throwing error by somebody… Santiago. Box Score.

Don Kelly hit a 2 run homer to make things interesting and chase Mosley from the game, but there was no stopping the Yankees. Curtis Granderson, the student of hitting coach Kevin Long, hit another homer to deep right, and in the bottom of the 7th, as much as the Tigers mixed and matched, they still payed the ultimate price as Austin Kearns doubled in 2 more runs. The Tigers managed one more run on a sacrifice fly, but it was too little, too late.

Now how about that Yankees bullpen? Moseley left after 5 IP, giving up 4 ER, and then the Yankees decided to bring the pain: Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, Kerry Wood (I still can’t believe Brian Cashman got the Yankees Kerry Wood), Chad Guadin, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera combined for 4 IP of 1 run ball. Robertson was especially effective pitching out of a Guadin made jam, and Mo restored order to a game that was pretty wild.

So what did we learn last night? The Yankees can score runs without A-Rod – if it’s against a pitcher they’ve seen before. Their bullpen is looking pretty good, but it would be nice if Andy Pettitte could make it back by September 1st to sure up the rotation. Mosely isn’t a horrible fifth starter, but I don’t see him being on this team next year. The Yankees look like they’re starting to turn the corner again, although Derek Jeter put up another 0-4. There are a lot of ifs right now surrounding the Yankees, but they still have a better team than everybody else.

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August 10, 2010

Yankees split series with Red Sox

by Jamie Insalaco

I hate to say I told so, but, I did. It sucks being right.

But not that hard. It’s too bad the Yankees didn’t sweep the Red Sox, but then, with Jon Lester pitching one game, I never expected them to. Once they lost the Friday game, taking 3 of 4 was all but impossible as not only would they had to of beaten Lester yesterday (which is impossible, because, again, cancer can’t beat that guy), but also win 3 games in a row against the same team, which I’m sure is nearly a statistical impossibility. Nearly.

So it’s almost like the series never happened, accept a few games ticked off the schedule. The Yankees are still 6 games ahead of the Red Sox and 1.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. I’ll take that. And with the Texas Rangers coming in, its time to turn the page. Last time the Yankees and the Walker Texas Rangers faced off, the Yankees swept them… by winning 3 games in a row… yeah. Oh, and Cliff Lee will be starting for the Rangers this series, and perhaps we’ll see him again when the two teams battle in September. Joy. I haven’t seen the Rangers since the last time they were in the Bronx and I’m curious to learn if they figured out how to field since then. They sure were sloppy in that series. But, the Rangers are not to be dismissed, despite the last series they played against the Yankees – they’re near the top in both pitching and hitting categories this year, so it’s time to battle.

Oh, and I heard it was Joe Buck who was insistently calling A-Rod when he turned his back and was struck in the leg with a ball during batting practice by Lance Berkman before FOX saturday baseball, which is one of the worst damnations every put on man, by the way. I also heard Mr. Buck has denied this while speeding away in a National Car Rental: it was his choice. He also said something about buying the Avatar on DVD and Blu Ray…

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