Posts tagged ‘Dustin Moseley’

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October 16, 2010

Yankees comeback against Rangers seals the deal

by Jamie Insalaco
brett gardner alcs

the beginning of the end

If you read my ALCS picks, you’ll see I had the Yankees winning in 6 games, but I’m probably wrong, and Michael Kay is probably right – Yankees in 5 games.  But after last night’s late inning collapse by the Rangers, it’s almost difficult to expect them to win any games at all. 

I mean, what else do the Rangers need to go right for them to win a ball game?  CC Sabathia was terrible (again), CJ Wilson pitched a great game and they had a 4 run lead to start the eight inning.  Then it all came undone, starting with an infield single by Brett Gardner, during which he slide into first base.  I still have no idea why guys do this – again, to invoke Michael Kay, if sliding was faster, then Olympic sprinters would slide over the finish line, right?  I guess it did make him more difficult for C.J. Wilson to tag, and it turned out to be the start to a great rally for the Yankees.

Following Wilson was a parade of relief pitchers who just couldn’t get anybody out.  This isn’t all that shocking to me – although the Rangers have a zillion relievers that throw 95 MPH, none of them seem to be that great.  Darren Oliver, Darren O’Day, Clay Rapada and Derek Holland all combined to stink up the joint - not that they got clobbered, but the Rangers needed these guys to come in and restore order against the Yankees best hitters, and the blew it in spectacular fashion, with walks and singles for anybody who wanted one. Holland was able to stay on after he gave up a run and he did keep Robinson Cano from scoring, but that’s all the praise one can heep on him.

And speaking of Robinson Cano, I think he gets our ‘keep hope alive’ award for the lazer beam home run off Wilson in the 7th, which was the first home run Wilson has allowed to a left handed batter since June of 2008!  That’s some streak, and a fantastic way to end it.  Derek Jeter doubled Gardner in, then Swisher walked, Alex Rodriguez singled in a pair, then it was Cano time again for another RBI and Marcus Thames singled in the winning run.

But without Joba Chamberlain and especially Dustin Moseley giving the Yankees a chance after Sabathia’s bad start, this never would have happened.  The bone head award of the day goes to Ian Kinsler for getting picked off by Kerry Wood after he walked him on 4 pitches.  He didn’t even move as Wood fired the ball to Mark Teixeira, he didn’t even try to dive back to first, he just conceded to a run down.  Was Wood’s move that good?  It sure was fast, but Kinsler can’t allow himself to be put in that situation.  Suddenly, Wood had things going his way after a tough start.  The Rangers might have thought they had a chance against Mariano Rivera since they got to him in August, but honestly, that was Mo being crappy, not the Rangers being great.  Mo got it done, and there it is – an improbable Yankees win.  But that’s what great teams do – beat inferior teams.

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September 28, 2010

Burnett woes

by Jamie Insalaco

A.J. Burnett got crushed last night – again.  His velocity is still there, but his location is awful, and his curve ball wasn’t very good.  I still believe the yankees will use Burnett in the playoffs – there isn’t really a viable alternative:

  1. Ivan Nova is too young, too inexperienced
  2. Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre probably shouldn’ t be on the post post season roster.  These guys just can’t get it done
  3. Dustin Moseley is OK, but I don’t think I want a playoff game in his hands
  4. Javier Vazquez is… well, Javier Vazquez

Burnett is still throwing hard, and I don’t think he’s forgetten how to pitch forever.  I’m not saying he’s going to pitch brilliantly, but his ERA was over 5 in the post season last year, and they still managed to win a few of his starts – and lose a few.  It certainly didn’t break their back.

Let’s have a quick shout out for Bomber banter favorite, Curtis Granderson.  As we all know, he’s really come on since working with Kevin Long, but his September game log is just amazing:  9 HR, 23, RBI, .287 batting average.  That’s getting it done!

curtis granderson

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September 23, 2010

Girardi goes to B relievers after rain delay

by Jamie Insalaco

Once Joe Girardi found out how long the rain delay was going to be (over two hours), I guess he made a decision. It must have been the kind of decision he’s been making a lot during this month of September, and that’s been the decision to protect the relievers he needs in the playoffs.

After AJ Burnett lost the rest of his start to the elements, Girardi wasted no time showing the Rays and Yankees fans that his bullpen was going to be protected today. Royce Ring took the mound for an inning and two thirds and surrendered a run. Next up was Dustin Moseley, who pitched an inning and a third and gave up one run. Moseley made way for Chad Gaudin, who promptly destroyed any hopes the Yankees had of winning the game by giving up 2 home runs in an inning and two thirds. Jonathon Albaladejo finished the night over an inning and a third and surrendered a run while walking three and striking out two. (I just don’t get Albaladejo; he has good stuff, but he can’t put it all together.)

What do all of those Yankees relievers have in common? None of them will be on the playoff roster. Not one. Once he lost his starter to the rain, Girardi decided that either these guys were going to do it, or they were going to lose the game. That’s it. It was a close game until the 7th, when Gaudin had his misadventure of serving off long balls into the night, but then, down by only 1 run to your division rival (suck it, Red Sox), I would think that under normal circumstances, you’d put in a higher quality reliever than Gaudin, but not this time.It might not have been the rain that effected Girardi’s decision after all; I believe he has a rule about relievers pitching two days in a row and then getting two days off, so a better reliever than Gaudin might not have been available last night.

Tonight, the Yankees should have a full complement of their best relievers available, but with CC Sabathia starting (against David Price), the Yankees might not need many relievers. This is also a rare opportunity for the Yankees to win a four game series; I feel like these four game sets usually get split. The last time Sabathia and Price matched up, it was an epic battle – hopefully the Yankees will come out on top this time.

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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 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 4, 2010

Jays take the series

by Jamie Insalaco

Can the Yankees salvage the last of 3 with the Blue Jays?

The way they’re swinging the bat and throwing the ball lately, it looks like no. But the Yankees have a ton of talent, and despite the bad feeling we’ve got about this, the Yankees are more than capable. Sure, losing two series in a row is bad, but its not the end of the world. But falling out of 1st place is bad, make no mistake.

How’d we end up here? I missed the game, but a visit to ye old box score tells me plenty. Things started off in a promising fashion with Dustin Moseley throwing a scoreless first and Mark Teixeira hitting a two run blast the scored Derek Jeter (walk, 0-3 on the night – yeesh), but then, silence from the Yankee bats. The Yankees managed one more hit for the rest of the game, from Marcus Thames. Ricky Romero throws a completed game on 118 pitches. Romero is a good pitcher and he’s having a good year, but still… something feels off about that. As for Moseley, well, 5 ERs in 7.1 IP is nothing to right home about. How much longer until Andy Pettitte comes back? Kerry Wood and Sergio Mitre combined for 3 ER, well done there… Chad Gaudin is in the box score, but I don’t understand why.

A-Rod failed to hit his dinger again and was 0-3 and is now sporting a robust .264 BA. It’s not true, but it feels like the Yankees recent struggles are tied up in A-Rod’s slump. I say its not true because take a look at how many runs the Yankees have given up in their last 5 games – even the game they won against the Rays. The Yankees pitching needs to get back on track, but then, if the Yankees don’t score any runs, what’s the point?

But lets not get too excited. It’s not like they’re the Mets.

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July 30, 2010

Dustin Moseley picks up the win

by Jamie Insalaco

After a first inning during which he threw 30 pitches, it looked like Dustin Moseley’s start had disaster written all over it. Yet Moseley showed some grit – granted, he wasn’t facing the most powerful offense in the league, but he bounced back and turned in a line of 6 IP, 4 H and only 1 ER. If Moseley can keep the Yankees in the game Sergio Mitre can get back to some of he form we saw earlier in the year out of the bullpen, the Yankees should be able to weather the Andy Pettitte injury storm just fine.

Then there’s the Yankees offense – what a strange game. The Indians had to use seven pitchers, including a position player, to get through last night’s contest. After Talbot left in the top of the third with an injury and was replaced with Perez, the Indians proceed to parade out a seemingly never ending cornucopia of ineffective pitchers. Still, the game was tied at 1 until Derek Jeter’s RBI single in the 6th, which finally injected some excitement in between Alex Rodriguez quest-for-600 at bats. The pace was awful, with tons of walks and the Yankees failing to execute – leaving 14 runners on base! Still, the Yankees finally opened a can of whoop-there-it-is-ass on the Indians bullpen in the seventh inning – by dropping a seven spot, and then two more runs in the eighth. Suddenly, it was 11-1, and I was moving on with my evening…

Until Chan Ho Park came into the game. His first inning was fine, but the 9th was another story. Park lost the plate; he looked like Guy Pearce in Memento. Three walks in the ninth inning… if you can’t throw strikes with a ten run lead, I’m not sure there is any place for you on this team. Francisco Cervelli went out to check on Park – he seemed to be asking him if he was OK. Let’s just say he’s not OK and DL him and bring up Jonathan Albaladejo again. He can’t be any worse than Park, right?

The Yankees are in Tampa this weekend for what will surely be an epic battle for control of 1st place in the AL East. After Matt Garza’s no hitter in his last start, I’m predicting the Yankees will CRUSH HIM. Just watch.

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