Posts tagged ‘Marcus Thames’

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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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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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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 30, 2010

Marcus Thames goes deep and other stories from Chicago

by Jamie Insalaco

Before I say anything about the Yankees series win, I think we should all take a time out to praise the offense of Marcus Thames. Thames hit 3 home runs over the weekend in Chicago and 5 in the last week. Game Log. The second home run hasn’t landed yet. "Anything that travels that far ought to have a stewardess on it." Indeed it should, sir. Thames is doing a great job making up for A-Rod and Teixeira.

Ozzie Guillen set a new record for fastest ejection from a game; he came out to contest a call, walked half way to 1st, threw up his hands in disgust and turned around and started walking back toward the dugout. Guillen was promptly thrown out of the game before he said a word. Not sure why he felt the need to non-verbally show up the umpires, but it got him tossed, which I assume was the desired effect in an effort to pump up his team, down by 1 run at home. As we know, it didn’t work.

How do you solve a problem like AJ Burnett? Despite all of Dave Eiland’s pitching coaching success stories this year, he just can’t get Burnett straightened out. The Yankees will keep running him out there; what else can they do? Burnett makes a fortune. If he still stinks in the playoffs, Girardi will keep him on a short leash. Maybe they can skip him a start when Pettitte returns, see if that helps. They’ve tried just about everything else. I’m remembering a game in the playoffs from a few years ago when the starter got knocked out early and Aaron Small came out of the bullpen and the team suddenly started to play much better… I’m feeling a situation like that coming soon.

CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova righted the ship – OK, CC wasn’t great, but then, he didn’t get hammered as bad as the White Sox staff did. STAFF, as in, everyone who pitched for Chicago that day, as I recall. Nova didn’t get out of the 6th inning, but he only let up one run and got his first MLB win, an achievement for anyone.

The Yankees are starting their constantly mentioned by YES longest home stand of the year – I’m hoping to go to the day game on Thursday and take some photos to post in this space.

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August 25, 2010

Bronx Bombers go BOOM

by Jamie Insalaco

After a dismal loss the night before, the Yankees opened up a can of home run all over the Blue Jays to the tune of 5 bombs, including 3 homers in the 3rd inning by Mark Teixeira, Marcus Thames and Jorge Posada. Curtis Granderson and Derek Jeter were at the party later, delivering some homers of their own. So that’s 5 homers for… 8 runs? I lost count. The Yankees left 9 runners on base and plated 11. Coincidentally, the Blue Jays also left 9 men on base. Box Score.

Dustin Mosely kept the home run happy Blue Jays in check to the tune of 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 hits and 4 walks, the latter of which he is lucky didn’t come around to hurt him. Mosely hasn’t been setting the world on fire, but he’s been more than serviceable as a bottom of the rotation starter, and between himself and Ivan Nova, some valid competition has begun in the Yankees rotation. Javier Vazquez will go to his bullpen after a dismal string of recent starts and he’ll have to fight his way out, like he did earlier in the year, if he wants back in the regular rotation, but I don’t see a spot for him on the post season roster right now.

Wrapping things up: the Rays won last night, so the are still tied with the Yankees for first place with a big series this weekend against the Red Sox, who are 6 games back. I still think Johnny Damon will end up with the Tampa Bay Rays, but we’ll have to wait and see. Like the Red Sox staying relevant, time is running out for wavier wire deals.

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August 19, 2010

Yankees send Lance Berkman to the DL for ankle injury

by Jamie Insalaco

If you didn’t see Lance Berkman roll his ankle when stepping on a fielder’s foot on first base, well, that’s what landed him on the DL a few days later. The Yankees have called up Eduardo Nunez, much to my surprise. He’s listed as a short stop, but I’m betting he’s going to get some time at 3rd base while A-Rod is recovering from his own leg issue. Nunez is having a decent year with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at AAA, hitting .284 with 4 homers and 50 RBIs – oh and 23 bases stolen, so he must have speed. I assumed the Yankees would call up Juan Miranda, who has seen time with the Yankees as a DH and is sporting a .307 average with 13 homers. But again, I think Nunez is going to take time from Ramiro Pena and another Yankee will DH – probably a combination of A-Rod, Marcus Thames and Jorge Posada. But lets see how the line up card looks tonight…

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August 12, 2010

Chuck Norris furious after Texas Rangers blow lead to Yankees

by Jamie Insalaco

After five innings of play, hope was dwindling that the Yankees were going to escape Texas with a split in the two game set. It was 6-1, and Javier Vazquez had already been knocked out of the game. A-Rod’s double to score Marcus Thames was the lone Yankee run, and it was starting to look like it was going to stay that way. Box Score.

But the tide began to turn in the 6th when Derek Jeter tripled and then scored on a wild pitch in the 6th. Then Lance Berkman doubled in Robinson Cano followed by Brett Gardner’s line hugging bloop single the other way to plate Austin Kearns, and suddenly, it was 6-4 Rangers, and the Yankees were in striking distance. Marcus Thames, in the middle of things all night, crushed a home run to deep left, a no doubter as soon as he touched it in the 8th, and then in the 9th, he plated the winning run after Derek Jeter singled in the tying run. Game Day.

On the pitching side, things were all over the place. Cliff Lee had 11 Ks in 6.1 IP, which is outstanding, but gave up 8 hits and 4 ER. Javier Vazquez was a 4.1 IP nightmare for 6 ER, but he’s pitched so good since April that his ERA is still under 5. The victory really belongs to Sergio Mitre and Kerry Wood, who combined for 3.2 IP of shut out ball.

On to Mo: Mariano Rivera converted his 24th save, and it was a very interesting one at that. After almost hitting Elvis Andrus in the head, Andrus responded with a triple. Got that? You already know the Yankees won the game – Mo pitched around a lead off triple. This is why I worship no Gods before Mariano. He never ceases to amaze me. The man is not infallible, but he is totally amazing. Being short handed with Mark Teixeira still being out for maternity leave (or should that be faternity leave, because he’s the dad and not visiting with frat brothers?), Joe Girardi pitch ran my boy Curtis Granderson (I know, he’s not having a good year, but I can’t help it, he’s awesome anyway) for Fat Elvis himself, Lance Berkman. This might Nick Swisher came in from RF to play 1B, Austin Kearns shifted over to play RF and Granderson took CF while Brett Gardener moved to LF. So after Andrus’ triple, Michael Young hit a ball off the heel of Kearns’ glove, which stuck in the webbing and kept Andrus at 3rd, which he might as well of sat down on, because he wasn’t going anywhere. Mo fell behind Josh Hamilton 2-0 before getting him to ground softly out to himself. Vladimir Guerrero also enjoyed some chin music before grounding out to Jeter. I can’t emphasis that enough – Mo’s control last night was not good. And he pitched around a lead off triple. How amazing is that?

So after a tough two games in Texas, the Yankees head to Kansas City to take on the Royals in a four game set that I insist they take a minimum of four games from.

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August 11, 2010

Depleted Yankees lose to Rangers in extra innings

by Jamie Insalaco

D’oh!

The Yankees had Marcus Thames batting third last night. I’d usually say, ’nuff said,’ but where’s the fun in that? Robinson Cano sat for most of the game with the flu. I think Jorge Posada sat just because he needed a day off – and wouldn’t you know it, but Francisco Cervelli had a clutch RBI, showing shades of April. Mark Teixeira was home in New York celebrating the birth of his son. Brett Gardner sat against the lefty starter. So Thames was the DH, Ramiro Pena started at 2nd base and Austin Kearns started in left field.

In the top of the first, Derek Jeter was first called safe at first by the umpire, despite the appearance of being tagged out, and the call was reversed by the home plate umpire. I do agree that Jeter was out, but how the home plate umpire, who is so far away, can see the correct call and the guy standing right on top of it can’t, I don’t know how to explain.

AJ Burnett pitched a pretty good game; not great, but good. He tired as the night went on and gave up a 2 run bomb that made it 3-2 Yankees, but A-Rod had his back. Alex Rodriguez smashed career homer 601 into center field to tie the game back up. Burnett gave up the lead as soon as he got it, but I guess we should be pleased that he pitched decent in a home run hitting park.

David Robinson pitched well in multiple innings and worked with Cervelli to get out of jams. Mariano Rivera gave up some ground ball sinkers and nearly walked in the winning run in extra innings as he had to throw the ball right down the middle 3 times in a row after falling behind in the count 3-0. For all of Mo’s genius, he is almost always one of those closers who doesn’t usually do well in the non save situation – at least I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. Still, he’s Mo, so he’s allowed to blow it once and a while. I believe his ERA is still under 1.00 and he’s allowed less than 20 hits in nearly 50 innings. Again, I know he blew the game last night, but BOW DOWN TO HIM! Now! He didn’t exactly get smacked around, but the ball was hit hard enough to get the job done for the Rangers.

Michael Kay referred to last night’s game as a possible playoff preview, and if he’s right, it could be exciting. However, you’d hope the Yankees would play all of their regulars in a playoff game. Also, I don’t think Kay needed to mention the possible playoff game preview ten times, but it was an exciting game. The Rangers did look better than they did in April, but they committed more errors, so they’re not that much improved in terms of defense. Tonight, Cliff Lee faces off against Javier Vazquez in what could be a serious mismatch. Lee through a complete game against the Yankees last time and surrendered 3 runs, so we’ll have to see what he does. Both bullpens sent out their best guys last night, and most of them threw a ton of pitches, so both starters would be wise to go long – something Lee is good at and Javy is not.

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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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