Not much worthwhile to put up today in terms of audio. But here are a few statistics and observations:
• It’s interesting how much more confident Phil Hughes looks as a reliever. For his sake, hopefully he is learning lessons that will help him as a starter. Hughes is challenging hitters with his fastball and curveball and pitching with the “go ahead and try and hit this” attitude everybody saw back in 2007. Hughes has walked three in 13.2 innings as a reliever. He walked 15 in 34.2 innings as a starter. Part of it is abandoning his change-up in favor of only four-seamers, curveballs and splits. “I don’t want to get beat with my fourth-best pitch,” Hughes said.
I wrote back in spring training that Hughes would throw 100 innings in the majors and be a huge factor. He has thrown 48.1 innings so far. Joe Girardi would be smart to use him two innings at a time once in a while, sort of like Mariano back in the day or Ramiro Mendoza.
• Speaking of Mariano, he has allowed one run on two hits in his last 10.1 innings while striking out 14. He has converted 35 straight save chances at home going back to 2007.
• Of A-Rod’s 14 homers, half have come in the sixth inning or beyond with the margin no more than two runs either way.
• Robinson Cano is a .348 career hitter in July. That said, he is 0 for his last 15 with runners in scoring position.
• A.J. Burnett’s last four games: 27.1 innings, 16 hits, 3 earned runs, 12 walks, 33 strikeouts. That’s an 0.99 ERA. He was 8-2, 2.86 after the All-Star break last season. I asked him if he felt like he was building toward that again. “I do,” he said. “I really do. It’s all confidence.”
• Quote of the day is from Brian Tallet: “It’s a little different but they spent a billion dollars to build the same ballpark.”
$1.5 billion, actually.
• Toronto has lost five of six. If they don’t make some sort of move before the break, J.P. Ricciardi is putting out a “For Sale” sign.
• Scott Rolen is not the hitter he once was. But he is every bit the third baseman. He is a pleasure to watch out there.
Thanks to everybody for reading today. Back at it tomorrow for another day game.
A very happy birthday to Brian Cashman. C-Money is 42 today, although in George Steinbrenner years he is 67.
YANKEES (45-33)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Matsui DH
Cervelli C
Gardner CF
Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (6-4, 3.93).
BLUE JAYS (42-38)
Scutaro SS
Hill 2B
Lind DH
Rolen 3B
Overbay 1B
Wells CF
Rios RF
Dellucci LF
Chavez C
Pitching: LHP Brian Tallet (5-5, 4.47).
TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES.
STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees had their seven-game win streak snapped last night. They are three games behind Boston in the AL East. Toronto is seven games back in fourth place. The Yankees are 2-1 against the Jays this season.
THEY MEET AGAIN: Burnett faced the Jays (and Roy Halladay) on May 12 at the Rogers Centre. He went 7.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts. He had a no-hitter for three innings before Toronto scored three runs in the fourth inning.
LONG DROUGHT: Mark Teixeira’s last home run came on June 12. He has gone 65 at-bats without one.
CANO’S GOOD: He is 16 of 26 with six extra-base hits in his last seven games at Yankee Stadium.
CANO’S BAD: He has not driven in a run in 12 games.
CANO’S HISTORY: He is 4 for 6 this month. He is a .349 career hitter in July. This from the Feinsand Sports Bureau.
LEFTY KILLER: Left-handed hitter Hideki Matsui has 11 homers this season, seven against LHPs.
RESTED AND READY: Three relievers did not work yesterday who are riding hot streaks: Mariano Rivera (9.1 2 1 1 1 12), Phil Hughes (13 5 2 2 3 16) and Phil Coke (13.1 5 1 1 3 15).
ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW:Oye Mi Canto by Daddy Yankee.
That’s it for now. Back with more later on.
UPDATE, 11:20 p.m.: Posada has swelling in his left thumb. It’s in the joint. The concern is if he gets hit again. He’s day to day.
UPDATE, 11:27 p.m.: A-Rod may get a day off this weekend.
UPDATE, 1:07 p.m.: Party cloudy and warm as we’re set to get underway. A.J. Burnett warming up to Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva. Good choice. Welcome to the show, indeed.
UPDATE, 1:09 p.m.: First pitcher is a heater up. We’re underway. Hope you’re off work and enjoying the game.
UPDATE, 1:12 p.m.: The Yankees (and every other team) will be wearing the ridiculous red stars and stripes caps all weekend. Ostensibly it’s for July 4. But in reality it’s to sell different hats.
Burnett (47) and Tallet (45) lead the AL in walks. This could be a very tedious affair.
UPDATE, 1:36 p.m.: A.J. has fanned three of the first five batters he faced. No score to the bottom of the second.
UPDATE, 1:37 p.m.: Cano homers, his first RBI since June 17.
UPDATE, 1:53 p.m.: The continuing misadventures of Johnny Damon in left field.
UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: Two guys dressed like umpires are sitting in the front row behind the plate mimicking all the calls John Hirschbeck makes. They even have masks on.
Seriously, you have nothing better to do? And you spent $1,250 to annoy the people sitting around you?
UPDATE, 2:10 p.m.: Bases clear, Cano hits ball very hard. People on base, bats are afraid.
UPDATE, 2:12 p.m: Several e-mailers now say the umpire were given their seats and invited by YES. They’re also apparently Blue Jays fans. I still don’t get it.
UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: First and second, speed on the sacks, nobody out and 2-3-4 up. Time to take the lead.
UPDATE, 2:47 p.m.: Sacrifice for Damon, E-1 loads the bases for Tex.
UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: A bad call was changed and Damon was given a single.
UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: Toronto in chaos. Tallet walks in a run, passed ball scores another. 3-1 Yankees. Can Cano get a hit with men on base?
UPDATE, 2:54 p.m.: Man, Cano is brutal with men on base. Just brutal. He is 20 of 96 (.208) with RISP. Good thing he’s not hitting fifth.
UPDATE, 2:57 p.m.: Wait a second, he is htting fifth. How can that be?
UPDATE, 3:07 p.m.: A.J. gives one back. This could be the last inning for Tallet as he is at 87 pitches. Yankees 3-2.
UPDATE, 3:24 p.m.: Nice work by A.J. Burnett. 7 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.
They’re playing Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran. Great song.
UPDATE, 3:33 p.m.: Phil Coke to start the eighth.
UPDATE, 3:37 p.m.: Wait a second, isn’t Brian Bruney the eighth inning guy? Now it’s Coke and Hughes.
That makes perfect sense, of course. But when reporters asked about it the other day, Girardi acted like it was a stupid question because Bruney is the eighth inning guy.
Guess not. Big spot for Hughes as he’ll get Rolen and Overbay.
UPDATE, 3:47 p.m.: The Franchise gets the ball to the Sandman. Hughes: 1.31 ERA in relief.
UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: There he is again, No. 14 for Alex as he goes to right field. He now has 567 for his career. He needs two more to to tie fellow loosey-goosey slugger Rafael Palmeiro for 10th place all-time.
UPDATE, 4:02 p.m.: Here comes Mo with a 4-2 lead to face the bottom of the order. Mely in right. How about Melky in left instead?
UPDATE, 4:04 p.m.: No messing around for Mo. 1-2-3. Yankees win 4-2. Another impressive game for the pitchers.
The Yankees signed three Dominican prospects including catcher Gary Sanchez. This notebook also has updates on Jorge Posada, Jose Molina and Nick Swisher.
————
If you’re fired up about getting here early for batting practice, take your time. The players don’t have to report until 11:30 a.m. and the Yankees are not hitting. The Blue Jays are, however.
Looking for something to do on Sunday? Here’s the answer.
I’ll be at the Triple-A Scranton game with about 75 or so blog readers for our annual outing. Four tickets became available this week if you want to join us.
The game starts at 5:05 and the outing will be held in the Right Field Bullpen Field Box. The cost is $32 per person and includes the game ticket, program, hat, all you can eat food (hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ chicken, pasta salad, cole slaw, baked beans, watermelon, cookies) and unlimited soda and water. The bullpen field box will also have a dedicated bartender servicing a cash bar.
There will also be plenty of door prizes including baseball books and assorted other stuff. We had a great time last season and there are even more people coming this year.
That didn’t take long. Before I had left the clubhouse, this e-mail arrived about CC Sabathia:
Giving up 6 runs and leaving with the bases loaded in the 6th inning to a horrible hitting team in Seattle is pretty lame. He’s not a bust (yet) but he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that he will shut down the opposition, either.
Really?
Sabathia was 6-1, 2.82 in his previous 10 starts. What else would you like him to do, juggle flaming torches and chainsaws between batters?
CC is 7-5 with a 3.85 ERA. The Yankees are 8-9 in the games he has started. But in four of those games they scored four or less runs for him. He got hurt in another.
I’ll still take him on my side seven days a week.
Oh, and the Mariners came to New York having won eight of their previous nine series. The other team does try on occasion.
The Yankees are on a pace to go roughly 94-68 and that’s after all the injuries that limited them in April in May. Factor that in and they’re probably a 96-66, maybe 97-65. That’ll get them to October.
Here is CC Sabathia, explaining his night:
Oh, and Posada is iffy for tomorrow. He did not pinch hit in the seventh inning as he was not sure he could catch because of a bruised left thumb suffered yesterday when he got hit with a foul tip.
Thanks to everybody for reading tonight. Back it tomorrow morning for the day game.
YANKEES (45-32)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF
Cervelli C
Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.55).
MARINERS (39-38)
Suzuki RF
Branyan 1B
Lopez 2B
Sweeney DH
Gutierrez CF
Johjima C
Langerhans LF
Woodward 3B
Cedeno SS
Pitching: LHP Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.79).
TIME/TV: 7:05, YES.
STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have won seven straight and are 30-15 in their last 45 games. They trail Boston by 2.5 games in the AL East. The Red Sox are idle today.
BRONX BUMMER: The Yankees have won nine of their last 11 games against Seattle. The Mariners have dropped 10 straight in the Bronx, last winning here in 2007.
RELIEVERS ON A ROLL: Check out these stats (IP, H, R ER BB K):
• Mariano Rivera over nine appearances: 9.1 2 1 1 1 12
• Phil Hughes over eight appearances: 13 5 2 2 3 16
• Alfredo Aceves over nine appearances: 12.1 9 1 1 2 8
• Phil Coke over 15 appearances: 13.1 5 1 1 3 15
CC BACK ON THE HILL: Here’s where pitching depth comes into play. The Yankees won the first two games of the series, maybe the sweep will be tough to get. Instead Seattle has to deal with Carsten Charles. He is 6-1, 2.82 in his last 10 games and has a 2.95 career ERA against the Mariners.
JOE GIRARDI IS A GENIUS, I TELL YOU, A GENIUS: The Yankees have scored 49 runs in the 57 innings since he was ejected in Atlanta on June 24.
THE O IN CANO IS FOR RBIs: Robinson Cano has done 11 games without an RBI. His last one came on June 17.
JOHNNY’S MILESTONE: Damon has 198 homers. He is 10 of his last 24 with seven RBI and five extra-base hits.
THE COMEBACK: The Yankees have a 4.44 ERA, 11th in the American League and getting lower all the time. They are second in the AL in strikeouts with 588. Boston has 589. They are also second in opposing BA at .252. Seattle leads at .250.
HOME COOKING: The Yankees are 23-14 at home.
SCOTT BORAS NEVER MENTIONED THIS: Mark Teixeira has gone 61 ABs without a home run. His last blast came on June 12 off Livan Hernandez.
Back with more later on.
UPDATE, 4:41 p.m.: Yankees confirmed signings of Sanchez, Arrendondo and Cabrera.
UPDATE, 6:04 p.m.: Joe Girardi was asked this afternoon why Cano is hitting fifth given his .213 average with RISP and the fact that he hasn’t had an RBI since June 17. Girardi said it was because he hit “two rockets” against the Mets the other day with runners on base.
At any rate, here is the manager:
Not much else going on. Here is the plan for Jose Molina:
Tonight: 5 innings for Scranton.
Friday: 5 innings for Scranton.
Saturday: Day off.
Sunday: 7 innings for Scranton.
Monday: 7 innings for Scranton.
Tuesday: Join Yankees in Minnesota if he feels good.
Back later with more. If you’re interested in voting for the All-Star Game, you have until midnight. Go to MLB.com.
UPDATE, 6:59 p.m.: Jack Nicholson is sitting right behind home plate wearing a white Yankees hat. When they showed him on the scoreboard, he stood up and waved to the crowd and extended his arms. Gotta love Jack.
UPDATE, 7:05 p.m.: We’re looking at a delay here. The bases are not in and the mound and plate are covered up. The grounds crew is also standing around. We’ll keep you posted.
That they’re playing Billy Joel’s Storm Front Coming also seems like a clue.
UPDATE, 7:07 p.m.: It’s official, game is delayed. Thunderstorms coming.
UPDATE, 7:19 p.m.: This is odd. It hasn’t rained, the tarp never went down and now they’re saying a 7:40 p.m. start. CC is warming up.
Probably some scam to sell more beer.
Meanwhile, the scoreboard keeps showing Disco Stu, who is some old man who dances around wearing sunglasses. Sophisticated entertainment here in the Bronx.
UPDATE, 7:43 p.m.: We’re underway after a 36-minute “it might rain” delay.
UPDATE, 7:58 p.m.: Yankees down 2-0. First time they have trailed since June 24.
UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: 3-0 as CC isn’t fooling anybody to this point. He has already allowed four hits.
UPDATE, 8:14 p.m.: Yankees are in business with runners and second and third with no outs for Swisher. Down 3-0, they can get right back in it.
UPDATE, 8:19 p.m.: There you go, 3-2 on two sac flies. Ichiro lost Matsui’s fly ball and his countryman is on first base.
UPDATE, 8:24 p.m.: Ichiro is hilarious. Cervelli popped to right and the crowd was hooting after his previous error, trying to get him to make another error. After he caught the ball, Ichiro went to flip it to the crowd and instead held onto it.
UPDATE, 8:38 p.m.: Backup catcher Jose Molina was 0 for 2 with an RBI and caught five innings for Triple-A Scranton in his first rehab game. Molina has been out since May 8 with a torn left quad.
UPDATE, 8:57 p.m.: Wait a second, I thought Francisco Cervelli was infallible? How has CC allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings?
Once again, just goes to prove that basing opinions on a handful of games is really quite silly in baseball, along with the idea that catcher’s ERA is a worthwhile stat. The pitcher has to execute the pitch and he has the final say on what pitch is thrown. The idea that Posada had somehow lost the ability to call games was just ridiculous.
At any rate, Yankees trail 6-2.
UPDATE, 9:11 p.m.: Godzilla goes deep and the Yankees trail 6-4. First one for Matsui since June 14. CC needs a quick inning or two to give the sticks a shot.
UPDATE, 9:13 p.m.: Russell Branyan is 1 for 10 in the series with nine strikeouts. He has whiffed seven straight times.
UPDATE, 9:17 p.m.: This can’t be true. Cervelli has one hit in his last 12 at-bats? I thought he had enough energy to light up a small town?
It’s a long, long season folks. I love Cervelli and I think he’ll be a good player down the road. But like Pena, he has developing left to do. He has barely played in AAA. Those who wanted him to be the catcher RIGHT NOW !1!1!!! got a little carried away.
UPDATE, 9:21 p.m.: Teixeira should have handled that ball like The Big G. Just pretend he didn’t see it.
UPDATE, 9:29 p.m.: He walked Branyan? Really? See ya, CC.
UPDATE, 9:51 p.m.: The Yankees are down 6-4 and people are mindlessly doing the wave.
UPDATE, 10:03 p.m.: Let the record show that Jack Nicholson, who is still here, is too cool to do the wave. Good for Jack.
UPDATE, 10:16 p.m.: Aceves is giving them a chance to get back in the game but the Yankees haven’t cashed that so far. What a pickup that guy has been.
UPDATE, 10:22 p.m.: First error in 106 games for Teixeira. Then Branyan goes boom and it’s 8-4. People are fleeing the Stadium. The winning streak appears to be kaput.
If you’re a fan of baseball history, you had to appreciate watching Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run at Yankee Stadium last night.
It was No. 621 in his career, 39 shy of Willie Mays. The new Stadium also became the 44th park he has homered in, one short of the record held by Sammy Sosa,
On the clean home run list, Griffey trails only three legends: Aaron, Ruth and Mays. Had Griffey stayed a bit more healthy, yesterday could have been 721. But he’s 39 and aging the way players used to before they sought out Victor Conte and his ilk.
It’s hard to believe, but Griffey has received only one vote in the MVP balloting in the last 11 years and has been an All-Star twice in the last decade. He’s like a cameo of his greatness.
Griffey is a guy that the young players in the clubhouse were thrilled to see, much like Chipper Jones. In a game lacking heroes, those are two players you can respect.
Even Joe Girardi seemed a little tickled to have seen Junior hit one. Back in 1988, Girardi played for Pittsfield (Mass.) in the Eastern League and Griffey was with Vermont. an 18-year-old kid with all the talent in the world.
So if you’re at the Stadium tonight, cheer Griffey. It might be a long long time before we see somebody hit 621 home runs the right away again.
If you watch Jorge Posada closely, he always blesses himself before the start of the game. Last night, he got a little extra assistance.
Father Joseph McShane, the president of Fordham University, threw out the first pitch and bestowed a blessing on Jorge before giving him a hug. Jorge didn’t get any hits, but he called a nice game and the Yankees won 4-2.
• Today is the start of the international signing period. In essence, teams are allowed to sign 16-year-old Latin American kids. Some will get huge signing bonuses, others a few thousand. The Yankees will announce their deal with Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez, a kid who reportedly can really hit. They also are said to have a deal with a speedy shortstop named Damian Arredondo and RHP Chris Cabrera.
Be careful getting too excited about this stuff. Projecting how a 16-year-old kid will fare against vastly better competition in a different county six years down the road is an inexact science at best and a complete crapshoot at worst. Oakland invested millions in a pitcher named Michael Ynoa last year and all he has done is come down with a sore elbow.
Quite often, it’s the players who sign for the smaller bonuses who end up making their way through the system. There are a few analysts — particularly Ben Badler of Baseball America and Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com — who really know this market. Most everybody else is just guessing.
• MLB announced that that All-Star rosters will now have 33 players each. They added an extra pitcher. At some point soon, they’ll pull fans out of the stands and let them take an inning at second base. While the game “counts” because it determines home field for the Series, it really has become a farce with the convoluted voting process and assorted sideshow activities. How much of an honor is to be an All-Star when 66 players get selected?
• Interleague play isn’t going away any time soon. According to MLB, the games drew an average of 33,351 fans, well above the intraleague average of 28,727. There are plenty of reasons for this, particularly the amount of games played after school was out in different parts of the country. But, nonetheless, the owners love it.
If you’re interested, the AL held a 137-114 edge, the sixth straight year it won the series. The White Sox and Cubs still have a game to play.
It was a sad sight last month when Leyritz was at Land Shark Stadium, pressed up against the wall next to the Yankees dugout imploring players to come over and say hello to him. It’s unfair of Leyritz to do that, putting his old friends in a position where somebody could snap a photo of them shaking hands with an accused felon. He did the same thing in 2008 when he showed up at spring training just a few months after being charged with DUI manslaughter.
At some point, the Yankees need to tell this guy to stay away from their players until or unless he gets his life straightened out.
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If you’re a fan of baseball history, you had to appreciate watching Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run at Yankee Stadium last night.
If you watch Jorge Posada closely, he always blesses himself before the start of the game. Last night, he got a little extra assistance.
Peter Abraham
