Game 157: Yankees at Devil Rays
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- September
- 25
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Here is the lineup:
YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Mientkiewicz 1B
Cabrera CF
Igawa LHP
Pregame chatter: Yankees are facing Jason Hammel (2-5, 5.88). … A win would clinch the wild card for the Yankees. … The Yankees are 15-6 this month and 47-23 since break. … Could Ross Ohlendorf challenge Edwar Ramirez for a spot on the postseason roster? Ramirez has allowed five runs in the his last 2.1 innings, Ohlendorf has allowed one run in 3.2 innings and fanned six.
UPDATE, 6:46 p.m.: Clemens will probably not pitch again before the playoffs. But he seems optimistic that he will be ready to start a game in the first round. He threw off a mound yesterday. “We have the ability to play it safe,” Brian Cashman said.
A few other notes: They will celebrate tonight with a win. … No Viz today. … Torre wants to see Edwar Ramirez in a game soon as they have corrected a mechanical flaw. He was opening his front shoulder and his control was a mess as a result. … George Steinbrenner is expected in the house today and he, Torre and Cashman could get together at Legends Field tomorrow. … Once they clinch, Torre said he plans to get Jeter, A-Rod, Cano and others some days off. … Joba will get a chance to go back-to-back days this week. … Ian Kennedy’s back spasms seem to be on the move, which is a good sign. But he’s effectively shut down.
UPDATE, 7:00 p.m.: This is my favorite e-mail of the day. Thanks to Kathy in Rochester:
My son (who just turned 10) scratched his cornea last night playing outside (he is fine) so today his eye is blurry from the medicine. When I told him tonight that Igawa was in for Rocket, his response was “good thing I can only see out of one eye” Thats my boy!
I sense faith in the K-Man is not high. But perhaps he will surprise us.
UPDATE, 7:26 p.m.: That was a huge wasted opportunity there for the Yankees. With these downtrodden teams, you have to try and end the night early. They scored a run but that could have been two or three or more.
UPDATE, 7:33 p.m.: 1-0 lead, walk two of the first two batters. Excellent start by Igawa. Hold on tight, this is going to be a long night.
UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: That ball hit the second catwalk above left field. It was the third slam of the season and 16th of his career. A-Rod now has 53 homers and 151 RBI. He had gone 55 at-bats without a home run, his longest stretch of the season.
If they go on to win, it’ll be fitting if A-Rod has the big hit given the season he has had.
UPDATE, 8:48 p.m.: Igawa is on pace to throw 176 pitches and walk 11. But he is throwing a shutout. If he gives them 5 innings and Tampa Bay doesn’t score, he’ll have done his job.
UPDATE, 9:25 p.m.: Have we finally seen enough of Edwar Ramirez? The one-trick pony seems to be fading. Ross Ohlendorf has to be under serious consideration.
UPDATE, 9:36 p.m.: What a travesty. Edwar Ramirez and Brian Bruney – the darlings of the stat geeks – walk four and give up two hits to lose the lead in one inning. Well, they were each released before. They won’t be surprised when it happens again after the season. The Yankees would be crazy to put either of them on the postseason roster.
All that said, the Yankees will win this game 9-7.
UPDATE, 10:34 p.m.: Boston has won, so a loss tonight pretty much would cook the Yankees in terms of the division. Now we’ll see if Al Reyes can be as bad as he was against Boston over the weekend.
UPDATE, 11:01 p.m.: The Yankees have walked 11. That’s 11 Devil Rays. I think next season I’m going to ask to get paid by the number of pitches seen.
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on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 3:54 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
This is going to be a 6 hour game, that is one thing for sure.
This is a wonderful opportunity for Igawa to prove why the Yankees spent $26 million just to negotiate with him. I’m convinced that he has an ability that we just haven’t seen yet. It would be hilarious and perfect if he threw a gem tonight and clinched a playoff berth for the Yankees!
Finally, a game I can see the entire thing of! (Yes, I know that sentence is grammatically horrible)
I want to clinch tonight in the worst way…
IGAWA THROWS A NO HITTER…..YANKEES6 DRAYS NADDA 9IP 0H 4BB 1HBP 10Ks….GUARENTEED
Every year my season-ticket package contains Tie-Breaker Game 1 and Tie-Breaker Game 2. They are currently sitting on my dresser.
I hope to light a cigar with them this evening.
A question.
Is my name abusive, libelous, or defamatory?
“Finally, a game I can see the entire thing of!”
It’s ok, it’s not like you are a writer or anything.
Peter, thanks for brining up Ohlendorf, I have been singing his praises since he first came up. He is overlooked and by the way there is room for both he and Edwar.
Infielders 8 (A Rod, Jeter, Cano, Dougy, Giambi, Betemit, Posada, Molina)
Outfielders 5 (Matsui, Damon, Cabrera, Abreu, Duncan)
Starters 4 (Wang, Pettitte, Clemens, Mussina)\
That leaves 8 relievers (Mo, Joba, Viz, Farns, Edwar, Hughes, Ohlendorf, Kennedy) You can switch out Kennedy for Villone.
Joe seems to have a thing for Veras though, but I don’t see it.
Is anyone elses afternoon going as slow as mine?
Hey Todd,
What does “A liberal, leftfield view” mean exactly?
Are you a Eugene Debbs fan, a communist, or just a Democrat? LOL
“Is anyone elses afternoon going as slow as mine?”
Yes!
Clay:
Ouch. Man, that hurt. A lot. Like, that was below the belt.
Tonight, at last, I can watch the entire game.
There you go.
When I’m doing schoolwork, my ability to use proper grammar evaporates everywhere else. I apologize.
They only need 10 pitchers for a 5 game series. They don’t need 12 pitchers, its too many and it limits bench options.
Its more important to have bench options (pinch hitting/pinch runners, defensive switches, etc) than to carry two extra pitchers.
Let’s look at their options:
Locks: Wang, Pettitte, Clemens, Viz, Farnsworth, Rivera, Villone (they need a lefty in the bullpen and he’s the only guy standing), Hughes (they need him in case a starter can’t go or they need a long guy) and Chamberlain.
Kennedy has been shut down for the season and won’t be on the roster.
That leaves one open spot. Could be a pitch off this week between Ramirez, Veras and Ohlendorf for the final spot.
It seems Torre has used the past week to hold open tryouts for the final spot. It will probably continue the rest of the week.
Lets go Yankees!
We clinch tonight, regardless of who’s pitching
This will make a great trivia question in a few years:
The World Champion 2007 Yankees used 13 different starting pitchers. Who started the opening and clinching games of the season?
Answer: Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa, respectively.
Rebecca,
Just kidding.
Looks like we need a Detroit loss with Igawa pitching
Miller-
Come on! Stay positive right? =]
Yanks win!
Hammel shut us down a few weeks ago.
We may win tonight, but this is gonna be an ugly game I’d bet.
I am trying to imagine a playoff situation where Farnsy is the best option. . .
This is what I came up with – Big lead or big deficit, before an off-day, only need one inning of work where we can afford to walk the lead-off hitter?
Who needs him?
Bronx: Haha! It would be a BRILLIANT trivia question
Clay: Haha! Got me good!
*BREAKING NEWS*
ST. PETERSBURG (AP) Roger Clemens was scratched from his start for the New York Yankees on Tuesday night at Tampa Bay because of a lingering left hamstring injury.
The announcement was made about four hours before game time. The team said Clemens will not pitch in the three-game series with the Devil Rays that runs through Thursday.
Kei Igawa was picked to replace Clemens for Tuesday night’ start.
Farnsworth has no business being on the PS roster. If they put him on they will be showing that they have learned nothing.
The key to clinching a playoff berth could be to have a mediocre left-hander start the game. Remember last year, on the night that we clinched the division, SEAN HENN was the starting pitcher!
This would be my post-season roster. Maybe you add Duncan or another position player for depth / speed.
Position Players:
Catchers (2): Posada & Molina
Infielders (6): Mientkiewicz (replaces Phillips), Cano, Jeter, ARod, Betemit, Giambi
Outfielders (4): Damon, Cabrera, Abreu, Matsui
Pitchers:
Starters (4): Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Clemens (hamstring doesn’t look good)
Relievers (9): Rivera, Joba, Farnsworth, Viz, Ohlendorf, Hughes, Edwar, Bruney, Kennedy
Manny back for Sux tonight, batting 2nd
Mediocre? You’re being way too kind referencing Igawa or Henn that way.
He won’t be left off the playoff roster. He may not pitch much, or may not pitch in big situations but, he will be on the post-season roster. I don’t have any doubt about that.
Even struggling, he is a better option than other guys in the mix.
TKinDC- The other situation in the playoffs when Farnsworth is valuable would be when a fight breaks out. Nobody lays a hand on him or Shelley or there will be big trouble!
Bob- I had to use mediocre, I don’t believe in using bad language! LOL!!
…Speaking of Shelley, maybe he should be starting tonight?
Optimistically speaking, of course!
If Ollie has more than 1 pitch, I vote for him. Edwar’s great…when he’s great. It’s either feast or famine with him. Pun intended.
Something’s amiss here. Roger scratched because of lingering hamstring issues, but he was out on the field fooling around with Koby. So either it’s a ploy or he’s just a numbskull.
SJ – I know you are right, but I’m not happy about it. He is the relief pitching equivalent of Russian Roulette.
Contrary to popular belief Farnsworth hasn’t been that all that bad this season.
this is a test of our resolve…and to that ….I say…
.
NINETY SIX and SIXTY SIX !!!!!!!!!!!!
.
Sometimes, ya just GOTTA BELIEVE !!!
.
OPTIMISM WILL PROPEL us to the most unlikely of victories tonight……Let’s Go Mr. Igawa !…..YOU CAN DO IT !!!
I don’t want Brian Bruney anywhere near the playoff roster. He has been awful the last 3 months. He can’t throw strikes and is actually worse than Farnsworth and that’s saying something.
I would say, there is little or no chance Bruney is on the post-season roster. Friday nights outing may have finalized that decision.
Its too early to annoint Ohlendorf for anything yet. If he has a good week, he may make the cut.
It seems to be shaking out (based on Torre’s comments and usage patterns) as Veras, Ramirez and Ohlendorf pitching off this week for the final spot on the roster.
One thing to keep in mind about Farnsworth. Since Joba’s arrival, Farnsworth has pitched 13 times and has had scoreless outings in 11 of them. That means, he’s on the post-season roster.
Shelley Duncan will be on the post-season roster, IMO. Even though he is hindered with a hernia, he still gives them a RH bat off the bench and can pinch run for Giambi.
Since Betemit can’t hit righthanded, you need Duncan’s bat off the bench against lefties in the post-season.
SJ44- Right on about Bruney. He doesn’t throw strikes, he’s immature, selfish, and he doesn’t listen when someone is trying to help him. The Yankees tried to get him to pitch from the windup and he refused. I also find it hard to believe that the Yankees would be foolish enough to put him on the playoff roster.
I haven’t seen enough of Ohlendorf to have a really strong feeling about it, but whenever Edwar makes a mistake with his fastball/changeup approach it ends up in the stands or off the back wall. Bruney walks people too much and seems like a bad apple.
But Ohlendorf with a sinkerball seems more likely to keep the ball in the ballpark. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of him before the decision has to be made.
Who would you rather see starting a game:
Kei Igawa
Brian Bruney
Sean Henn
I would never predict K-IGGY to throw a NO NO.
BUT…
Yanks in a slopfest 9-7 to clinch the card.
What I like about Ohlendorf is imagining what he will be like in the bullpen next year. He has only been a relief pitcher for 3 months.
He was bringing it the other night. Sinking fastball at 97 and had serious tilt on the slider.
He is going to be in the bullpen next year, IMO, and will be a weapon.
He has the kind of stuff that can shutdown lineups. Just not sure if he is ready now to do that in the post-season.
Quite ironic if Kei Igawa clinches the wild card for the Bombers
SJ44 – I agree about Bruney, that’s fair, it comes down to who is left and how many pitchers can Cashman shift onto the playoff roster due to an injury claim (the KRod rule).
Hey Peter – this might be a good topic of discussion. I think you talked about this a few weeks ago, can you or anybody on this board figure out how many spots are available for the post-season roster for position players / pitchers who were not on the active 25 man roster as of Aug 31st?
My guess is Carl Pavano and Andy Phillips are players that can be removed due to injury.
SJ,
I don’t think Ohlendorf’s fastball sinks. He sacrificed movement on the fastball for velocity when he went to the bullpen, and I believe it is a four seam fastball that he now throws.
Yup, Bob
It would be a snapshot of our season where it took 39 1/2 men (guess who’s the half and that’s being generous) to bring the Yankees back from the brink of (gasp!) no playoffs.
Kei Igawa will be found on I-4 after the game hitch hiking a ride back to Japan.
As usual, I think SJ44’s assessment of the Post Season roster is right on. The only caveat – and its a long, long shot – would be if Igawa pitches lights out against Tampa Bay tonight, earns another start against the O’s and finishes with a flourish to rest the “lefty” spot from Villone. Torre will definitely opt for a lefty reliever if the Yanks face the Indians, since they have more lefty hitters that are weaker against lefty pitchers. LA Angels only have Kotchman who has weakness against a decent lefty.
No way Torre even considers Bruney after his performance this season.
If it comes down to Ohlendorf-Veras-Ramirez, I bet it’ll be Ramirez since Torre has seen him more often. Even with all his warts, he has that really good change-up which gives batters a different look than the hard stuff thrown by the rest of the Bullpen.
His fastball still sinks. At least it was in his last outing.
The roster rules for the playoffs have changed. If a player gets hurt during a series, you can now replace him on the roster. In previous years, you could not.
SJ44…No chance they take only 10 pitchers in the post-season…zero chance. In fact, I don’t think they even have 15 eligible field players. It’s either 11 pitchers with Gonzales or 12 pitchers without him. And to be honest, Gonzales has been pretty shaky in the field (contrary to his reputations)…I would not be shocked to see them go with 12 pitchers.
C: (2) Po, Molina
IF: (6) A-Rod, Jeters, Cano, Minky, Giambi, Betimit
OF: (5) Matsui, Abreu, Melky, Damon, Shelley
Starters: (4) Wang, Pettitte, Rocket, Moose
Pen: (8) Mo, Joba, Viz, KF, Villone, Hughes, Edwar, Ohlendorf
SJ, one thing, you mention the Yankees should take two more position players for the bench then my list. I take it you are talking about Gonzalez and Sardinhia. I personally don’t see it. I mean I understand Gonzalez in case Jeter and A Rod get hurt, but do the Yankees ever really need pinch runners? Maybe just that one time in the 6th after a Giambi hit, but can’t Minky just run for him? I still think Torre likes having extra relievers so he would take 7 or 8, not the 6 you are saying. By the way your list misses Moose, guess you are counting on the long series.
Well, all this being said on a pitching end, let’s not forget the bats.
Can only *just* remember the last time A-Rod went yard…
What is it with our offense, anyway?
It seems that every time another team brings in one of their “sloppy seconds” to start a game in place of a big name pitcher, they shut us down. Can’t we hope for the same thing from Kei?
Ok, we can hope. Let me re-phrase: do you think we’ll be so lucky?? These are the DRays. All Kei has to do is keep us in the game and let us get to their bullpen.
GO YANKEES – PLEASE.
Kevin, I posted the exact same roster above, great minds I guess.
You might have to put Sardinha on the roster over Duncan b/c Duncan is not the greatest defensive player, and Duncan is limited w/ his recent injury. Duncan is only going to be a pinch hitter for the pitcher if we make it to the World Series so it’s not an awful move going with Sardinha (not a signficant spot anyway).
2090: Yes the idea of Igawa coming back to pitch the game where the Yankees clinch is about as surreal as that other guy (speaking his name could only damage our karma, here) pitching the opening game of the season. See, that’s the trouble – with Clemens and Kennedy temporarily out, it seems Torre can’t rest the starters without risking wearing down the bullpen, which has already been used heavily over the last week.
i don’t know that you can say there’s zero chance of anything happening with the lineup. plus, when we make the ws, some of the games will be in a national league park, with national league rules, right? much more likely to use a pinch runner in that situation, which is why it makes sense to carry at least one.
If Igawa wins the clincher tonight, the irony would somehow come full circle from when Mr. Unmentionable pitched the opener back in April.
If the season ended right after that, NY would face Cleveland and our dear, admirable, charming, well-mannered friends up in Boston would be the ones who have to face Anaheim rather us.
I vote to keep it that way rather than race the Sox to the regular season’s finish line. Let Bawstin and the Angels wear each other out in the ALDS. Then as long as our ALDS goes about the same as how our season series w/Cleveland went, we’ll be ready to roll.
That being said, taking Cleveland for granted (especially w/CC on the mound maybe twice) would be a fatal mistake.
Hey, anyone hear how bad Clemens’ hamstring injury is? Is it more serious than first reported?
Or are the Yankees being overly cautious because they don’t want to pitch him on turf and are convinced he needs only one more start before the playoffs begin?
“Who would you rather see starting a game:
Kei Igawa
Brian Bruney
Sean Henn”
I would rather see Torre choose from:
Tyler Clippard
Chase Wright
Matt Desalvo…..
who are also on the 40-man and also with the Yankees right now!
Sorry Tom P … you type faster than I do.
I have fanagled a plush squirrel and Velro-ed it onto my NY Yankee hat so I too can stand up in a crowd unashamedly and yell GO SCOOTER! GO YANKS! We Wanna Ring! We Wanna Ring!
You people are all living in the past, there is so much room on the roster this year, it is trim, no fat. There is room for both Duncan and Sardinhia if Torre takes 7 relievers instead of 8. I think the last spot comes down to Sardinhia or Villone.
I think Gonzalez makes the post-season roster. He has speed, can bunt and is a better fielder than he has shown.
If they go to 11 pitchers, then its between Veras and Ohlendorf for the final spot. Going to 11 pitchers means Ramirez makes the cut.
They only really need 10 pitchers. If they don’t feel they have 15 position players, they certainly have 14, counting Gonzalez.
I don’t see the value of 12 pitchers for a 5 game series. You really limit your bench and I don’t think Torre wants to do that in the post-season.
Bruney can’t be on the post season roster. You see nothing but disgust on the coaches faces when he pitches. They have lost all patience with him. I also don’t think they are going to go into the first round with only 10 pitchers.
I see them taking Wang, Pettite, Clemens, Hughes, Mussina (with Hughes getting the start over Mussina since Mussins has proven in the Clemens game against Seattle that he can come in and relieve”.
After those 5, Mo, Joba, Viz, Farns, Villone with the last spot going to Ohlendorf. I think Edwar has pitched himself off the roster with his propensity for HR’s. It really comes down to Ohlendorf vs. Veras — whoever has the better week gets the last spot. I think it will be Ohlendorf since his stuff is a bit more dynamic and whoever they face in the first round will never have seen him before.
I don’t think he’s pitching the 7th or 8th, mind you, but he can be weapon.
Well, we’re #1 on SI’s Power Rankings. Doesn’t prove anything, but amazing that we were once 18 earlier this year.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....index.html
As much as I like Sardinha cuz he’s a Hawaii boy, I don’t see him playing in the post-season. He’s a September callup remember?
You may have to go pitching heavy in the first round. Calling all arms. Too many rules and “issues” (ahem, Farnsworth).
Torre’s revenge. “Fine you don’t want me to ride guys, you want to trade away my toys, I’ll show you how to manage a bullpen. One out at a time.” HaHa.
Good thing I RSVP’d for that documenary tonight. Otherwise, I would be sitting at home watching what looks to be a throw-away game. On the bright side, maybe Kei shows a little something tonight that he can carry over into next year when he starts at AAA.
I wonder in this means that I will get to see a Rocket tune-up in Baltimore this weekend. Assuming he isn’t injured more than they are letting on….
I hope I am wrong but IMO when this lineup is facing strong pitching day in and day out during the postseason that they will be hard pressed to provide 5+ runs a game to overcome the suspect starting pitching not to mention the less than stellar bullpen save Joba and Mo.
Of course, they could get hot and be this years version of the St. Louis Cardinals.
After the Yankees imploded last year, I didn’t watch more than a few innings of last years world series. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of a Cardinals team being the WORLD CHAMPION of baseball given their so so regular season record.
What’s the purpose of the regular season if its all about which team gets hot for the postseason?
hopefully they give ohlendorf a chance to establish himself this week. he’s a sleeper. unfortunately, as things stand now, kyle’s spot is wasted, due to inflexibility, unless he can jettison the rules, inspired by joba. i keep ramirez, perhaps wishful thinking that he’s ramiro. no bruney, though he is more flexible than kyle, he lost himself and his magic this year. not keen on villone, sentimentality aside, lest we confuse him with mike stanton, same side different guy. ohlendorf is the sleeper…
SJ,
Generally speaking, I am with you on the PS roster, but the odds of a starter throwing up a complete stinker loom large with Moose and an injured Rocket slated for postseason starts right now. With the lineup locked in, except for the Damon/Giambino/Minky/Zilla platoon, I think you need the extra arm or two to eat a few outs in case they get smoked one game.
J-Dawg..we won the division last year because boston lost..not because The Yanks won! the yankees actually lost their game on the night they clinched!
Sara- I know, I just think that there might be something special about starting a bad lefty when the playoffs are close.
Has anyone gotten the confirmation email from the playoff ticket lottery?
G Love,
Torre has already said that Mussina is the number four starter.
Fred-
Yah I don’t think any of us are comfortable when we see Kyle jogging in from the pen.. Ugh.
Farnsworth will be on the postseason roster. Torre is obsessed with the notion that he can be the reliever they signed him to be even though everyone else seems to believe the contrary.
Adam –
Nope. Nada.
We also have a share of a partial season plan and can get tickets through that. But with only 2 home games (at most), not sure if I’ll get them (missed out last year).
Whenever Farnsworth is in during the playoffs, I’ll have flashbacks to the 2005 NLDS when he was a Brave and he imploded against the Astros in Game 4. I trust that Torre will pull him quickly when he starts to crumble, though. The leash should be VERY short. It’s up to Joe.
my playoff roster
LF Damon
SS Jeter
RF Abreu
3B Rodriguez
DH Matsui
C Posada
2B Cano
1B Mientkiewicz
CF Cabrera
Bench
Betemit
Duncan
Molina
Giambi
Gonzalez/Sardinha…..Pinch running purposes
Rotation
1. Wang
2. Pettitte
3. Clemens
4. Hughes/Mussina
Bullpen
1. Rivera
2. Chamberlain
3. Vizcaino
4. Farnsworth
5. Ohlendorf
6. Hughes/Mussina
7. Kennedy
I dont understand why some of you think they need more than 11 pitchers in the postseason, do you really think ramirez, villone, etc. will contribute? i sure dont
People seem to have forgotten Mike Mussina. Unless something has happened while I was at work today, I would be SHOCKED if he were left off the post-season roster. Regardless of the opinion of the masses on this site, both Joe Torre and Cashman have expressed faith in him, and he has done better since his layoff. I don’t think another pitcher will be left off, rather, there will be 11 pitchers.
Kennedy has been shutdown.
YESSSSSSSSSS! Igawa is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I, for one, want to see Igawa pitch.
Let’s lose Detroit!
Luigi: We need Villone–it’s too dangerous not to have a lefty in the ‘pen in the postseason.
Just have to remember not to put him in when there are no runners on base…
I heard that Kennedy had been shutdown for the regular season and may be considered for the Post season. True or not?
Luigi:
I can’t see Torre going into a Playoff series against Cleveland without at least on lefty to face either Hafner,Sizemore,Delucci,Nixon or Lofton in a late inning situation.
Keeping poor relievers on the team just because of the arm they throw with is never a good idea. It’s why the Yankees stuck with bums like Sean Henn and Mike Myers for as long as they did. Villone is not a good pitcher.
And Mussina is a lock for Post Season.
Right now he’s their No. 4 and possibly No. 3 depending on Rocket’s health.
SJ: Going to 11 pitchers does not mean Ramirez definitely makes it, I think you have the math wrong.
4 starters (Wang, Pettitte, Clemens, Mussina)
Pen (Mo, Viz, Joba, Farns, Villone, Hughes)
That’s ten. Last spot goes to Ohlendorf, Edwar, or Veras. Pretty sure this is how it will shake out.
Latham,
Are you saying you’d trust Villone in a late situation against ANY of those hitters? Villone sucks.
They just announced that Clemens will NOT pitch until the post season on the Fan. He will work out ONLY for the post season. If he can pitch then he will.
This Clemens saga keeps getting worse. They better not count on him.
You guys are over emphasizing the lefty in the pen angle. Late innings – if its Ortiz or Sizemore or Hafner or Garrett Anderson in the game… who would you rather want facing them Villone or Joba?
Think about it. Close game – late. Joba or Viz will be in there.
They are the two primary relievers.
There won’t bee too many instances where its Villone or Edwar or Farnsworth in the late innings unless its a blowout or extra inning marathon affair.
I think they’ll go with 12 position players and 13 pitchers.
I can’t imagine they will need to give anyone in the starting lineup rest at any time unless someone gets hurt. They are covered at every position anyway.
Torre will use Villone as he is a veteran, a lefty and has experience there. I also think they’ll use Olendorf and Ramirez. Veras could be the odd man out.
Someone correct me if i’m wrong but i was under the impression that there were only two spots available for guys who weren’t on the 40 man roster prior to september 1 (replacements for Andy Phillips & Pavano). If that’s correct, Luigi’s roster would be impossible as it has 4 guys who weren’t on the 40 man (Minky, Gonzalez/Sardinha, Kennedy & Ohlendorf). Minky gets one of those spots those Kennedy or Ohlendorf could make it but not both. There is no way in my mind that Gonzalez or Sardinha get a spot. One of those pitchers is needed. I also don’t really know who on this team you are going to see get pitch hit for. Molina won’t play unless there is an emergency and Minky will be in the game for defense late in the game. I’m don’t even think Shelley Duncan is a lock to make the roster. I just don’t see how he would get used. He’s not fast enough to warrant a spot as a pinch runner. He’s not a defensive replacement and who would he pinch hit for in a playoff pressure situation? If he gets the spot its a reward more than him being more valuable than another pitcher.
so, if we can’t COUNT on Clemens, then who fills that spot? Hughes, Kennedy? Just pitch Clemens on more rest?
Seriously 13 pitchers? Are you out of your mind!? 13 pitches for a 5 game series? Where you may only need 3-4 starters at the max?? Are you serious?
You’d much rather have a deeper bench instead of a scrub like Edwar or Bruney or Veras in the pen.
I say carry 10 or 11 pitchers. 13!!? Where do you get your ganja?
How many times do people have to be reminded that KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHUTDOWN. NOT PITCHING ANYMORE THIS YEAR.
vinny, its not about giving players rests, its about having flexibility late in games
Some just don’t pay attention
Al,
If they need to get one out they aren’t going to Joba for just that one out. A guy like Villone is more likely in a very short instance.
rbizzler,
apparently Roger won’t pitch until the playoffs now. which, by the way, is next week!!
Al, I don’t think it’s overemphasizing the issue- if they can get by with using no one but Mo, Joba, and Viz, then that’s great news for us…and yes obviously, those will be our guys in the close and late situations.
But like it or not, I’ll bet we see our starters falter in the 5th/6th (maybe more times then not) and we’re gonna need other guys to get people out. Villone has been throwing well as of late and at least gives you another look when playing matchups- that’s all.
You’re missing the point. If it’s a close game in the 7th or 8th. Joba will be in there.
Plus Ron Villone’s not exactly Graeme Lloyd.
Barbados – if the Yanks starters falter in the 5th or 6th… then Joba, Viz, and Mo all become a moot point. You need good starting pitchers to get you to those guys.
If the starters can’t get past the 6th – the Yanks probably won’t make it out of the first round.
sure, but what if it’s 4 to 4 with 2 outs and runners on the corners against Wang (who’s at 90 pitches) in the 5th inning? Then who’s in? This scenario is not at all unlikely.
bill, the yankees can put up to 5 guys on the postseason roster who werent up before september due to mientkiewicz, pavano, humberto sanchez, darrell rasner and andy phillips all being injured prior to sept
First off, it’s my thoughts, right or wrong. Secondly, who needs to be replaced hitting on the regular lineup ? What better option other than Giambi is there hitting wise and even he isn’t hitting well now. It’s not like the beginning of the year when the second string was playing. These are the regulars, our best guys.
More pitching gives them options if the starters get pounced on in a game, which has happened before. Giving an inning to an Ohlendorf or Ramirez isn’t as bad as it’s being made out to be.
Be prepared, we will be seeing heavy doses of Edwar and Ohlendorf this week. And maybe even Hughes in a relief role. If Moose is the #4, then Hughes has to be able to pull his weight.
so Kennedy isn’t even a possibility given the unstableness of Clemens, is that right?
xryanx:
I have as little confidence in Villone that I have with every reliever on the Yanks not named Chamberlain or Rivera, so ‘pick yer poison”! Even Viz is a risk.
Sometimes its the threat of facing a lefty reliever that can influence a manager’s decision not to bat a lefty hitter in certain situations. Innings 8 and 9 are not the only critical times in ballgame ( Joba and Mo), especially a 5-game or 7-game series when every game is critical. It also discourages managers from stacking 2-3 lefties in a row knowing that there is none in the BP to counter their moves.
BTW, Villone’s lifetime splits are a little better against lefties than righties (.241 BA vs .258 and .707 OPS vs .780)
I just hope they look alive and want to clinch tonite, contrary to yesterday, that was horrible.
Regarding Clemens, Rocket has a history of painting himself as the White Knight – he’s done it for years. Consider his signing announcement from the booth, his trip to Texas where he claimed a DR. (not the Yanks’ Quack, mind you), indicated that he had ligament damage, whereupon he then promptly spun a gem with those damaged ligaments against the Red Sox with a big green wall 200 feet behind him. It all makes for great drama, doesn’t it – it all paints him as a great savior – the warrior George always said he was.
My guess is his hammy is tweaked, yes, but given our lead, another start is too much risk/no reward.
But don’t discount the drama – Roger knows what he’s doing, and alot of it is setting the stage for his own show.
I’d be highly surprised if Wang doesn’t make it through 5 IP. How many times has that happened this year. I get your point – but look at Ron Villone’s career stats. He’s below average and he’s not your classic lefty specialist.
In that spot you turn to Farnsworth or one of your other relievers. I don’t think its NECESSARY to use a spot on Villone as a lefty specialist. He’s more of a long guy.
In ‘96 the Yankees had a great pen with Nelson and Lloyd for those situations + Weathers (who pitched well in October) – and then Mo and Wetteland.
We have three reliable relievers. If our starters struggle – it won’t matter who pitches those 4th, 5th, 6th innings – the Yanks are in trouble. Unless a Phil Hughes becomes a real solid reliever in October.
They need the starters to hand off to Joba, Viz or Mo – if that doesn’t happen with alacrity – then it will be an early October.
“How many times do people have to be reminded that KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHUTDOWN. NOT PITCHING ANYMORE THIS YEAR.”
I don’t think I ever saw that news in such black and white terms. I saw Pete’s post that he was shutdown for the season but that could mean shutdown for the regular season only to preserve his innings for the postseason. I may have missed an article or other news item which clarified that he was done for the year and wouldn’t be on the playoff roster but without that being explicitly said I am not jumping to that conclusion. It wasn’t that long ago that Torre was talking about him as a playoff reliever. Its still an open question to me.
JFW,
If Clemens is Option C and if something happens to Option D & Option E, then you might see Kennedy if his back strain is resolved.
I don’t know if I’m anxious or apprehensive. Either way, Go Yankees.
Great news out of Boston
PapelBomb is on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
http://tinyurl.com/2t9g5y
YES! They saddled them with the SI jinx!!
remember how they put the whammy on ARod at the end of last season.
Pete,
did Kevin Long provide any pre-game chatter with the lineup as to patience at the plate?
mel,
then that would mean that Kennedy would have to make the playoff roster then
who do you guys think will be in the ‘pen next year? after mo it’s tough to predict
did you all see Manny is back in the Sox lineup in the #2 spot?
Al,
It’s more of a thought that “IF” they need to use someone they have options. They don’t need more hitters off the bench, they don’t need pinch runners if the regulars are in. Who is better on the bench than the regulars ? Giambi is probably the only player who would get pinch run for. How many guys do they need for that ?
Extra pitching can’t hurt to have, just in case.
Let’s play a little game:
WHAT’S EVERYONE’S STARTING PLAYOFFS LINEUP AGAINST CC SABATHIA?
Here’s mine:
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Arod 3b
Posada C
Cano 2b
Duncan DH
Mientsandwich 1b
Cabrera CF
I leave Matsui and Giambi out…more important to have a RH bat in there – plsu, what has Matsui done lately to impress anyone?
A few random comments.
1) I know they need Hughes to start a game in the regular season now, but I want to see him out of the pen. He could/should be the #3 or #4 guy out of the pen.
2) If Clemens can’t pitch, we may need another long man. Clippard or Igawa I guess.
3) If we get the 8 day series, we don’t need 4 starters.
4) Sardinha and Gonzalez aren’t fast enough to carry them as pinch runners.
5) Ohlendorf should be an absolute lock. I can’t believe he’s even on the bubble for some of you. He should be ahead of everyone in the pen aside from Mo, Joba, Viz, and Hughes.
Dr. Acula,
Thank you for making my day. I really respect Pap’s talent, but that picture makes him look…I can’t say it because people have been chastised for saying it…o.k. it’s the ‘r’ word…
I’m curious as to why so many of you are convinced the Yankee starters won’t make it past the 6th inning? Pettite and Wang have pitched in the 6th/7th consistently this year. Even Roger and Moose consistently pitch into the 6th. Call me crazy, but shouldn’t other teams be worried about having to face the highest scoring offense in the league? Have the Yankees only beaten subpar pitchers this year? The negativity is amazing considering the current strength of the Yankees.
It’s dispicable that this blog looks more and more like a Red Sox blog than a Yankee blog. Red Sox fans are known for being panicky. Guess you can paint the Yankee fans as panic stricken as well……
Next year’s pen. Mo assuming he comes back. Farnsworth is under contract. I assume he comes back barring an offseason trade. Bruney and Henn will be gone – I think the Yanks have run the course with those too. I’d imagine Ohlendorf gets a shot. Viz too if he’s resigned.
The rest of them will probably be arms from the system. Which is better than splurging on FA arms (see: Karsay and Farsnworth).
Humberto Sanchez – when healthy figures to get a shot. JB Cox, Melancon, Whelan if they progress maybe too.
You even have to think of turning some of the pitching prospects in the minors to the pen. Maybe Clippard? Wright? Marquez?
The thing is – the Yankees have options and flexibility with the pen. And youth!
as far as next year i could see something like
Rivera, Vizcaino, Ohlendorf, Lefty FA (Joe Beimel?), Farnsworth, maybe Humberto Sanchez depending on his recovery, Edwar
GO Oakland!!!!
JFW,
I thought that they could replace an injured pitcher. And can’t they make new rosters for each round of the playoff? Am I wrong? Roger would qualify as “injured”.
you ask what has matsui done, but what has duncan done?
raymagnetic, I don’t think folks are “convinced” that the yankee starters won’t make it into the 6th/7th innings, it’s just the knowledge that baseball is a strange game and you need to be prepared for the scenarios when building your playoff roster, that’s all.
Anybody hear anything about the lottery for playoff tickets?
can we not talk about next year and focus on this year please???
matsui is a streaky hitter. if he gets on a hot streak during the playoffs, they’ll be forced to pitch to arod. that’s a huge plus for us.
Steve Howe,
They aren’t starting Duncan over Matsui or Giambi.
Matsui has 25 HR’s and Giambi has the potential to hit them. No way Duncan starts over either one of them.
Okay, guys:
Let’s just concentrate on the game at hand. Let’s WIN this game first, so we’re OFFICIALLY in the postseason.
And then we can ponder the playoffs.
I am at a loss to remember where Veras came from. It seems I went away for a vacation at the end of August, and when I came back in early September there was this guy in the bullpen named Veras. I don’t know who he is or where he came from, and so I certainly cannot understand why his name is mentioned as a possible candidate for a playoff spot. Can someone fill me in? Apparently, though I’ve been following this blog for what seems like forever, I missed something!
I have full confidence in our starting pitching….here’s hoping Mussina really is back….other teams have their ailing issues now too, it’s not just us.
Vinny 5743-
Take a look at Matsui and Giambi’s career numbers against Sabathia. Steve Howe knows what he’s talking about.
i’m with you Rebecca, all this talk about the ‘pen next year! geez!
did anyone see the picture of our rookies in costume? Kennedy was Dorothy from Wizard of Oz.
Doreen – Veras pitched with the Yanks last year. Got hurt – was on the 60 day DL to start the year.
MJL,
Do you really think Duncan is going to start over those two guys on Torre’s team ?
Not likely regardless of how they hit against CC in the past. They protect Arod and pitchers have more fear of them than a 2 month rookie, no disrespect of Duncan. I don’t see that happening at all.
Clemens shut down for remainder of season
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....p;c_id=mlb
no matter the matchup matsui has to be in the lineup, don’t make the same mistake that was made last year with sheffield
Whew yah.. Clemens shut down.. Alright thats ok.. He’ll come back for the post season
Al, why can’t I remember him???????????? (Veras, that is) Total, total blank.
Anyway, Dr. Ac, that is, well, I just finished dinner and, that picture of Papelbon is, well, um, well let’s just say my stomach did a turn. Mel, thanks for not using the word outright, but I would say he looks certifiable.
At least A-Rod is photogenic.
The Yankees will win tonight. Clemens is probably being precautionary, but I’d say this is his swan song. Can’t imagine he’d want to go through this again. So, I’d figure he’ll go out big.
Vinny 5743 -
Yes, I really do. Giambi is 2-11 against CC and Matsui is 0-9…they’re not really protecting A-Rod at all when CC knows he owns then, while Duncan is not only a power-hitting righty, but CC’s never faced him and might not know how to pitch to him.
duncan is gonna be this years arron boone…
The Yankees haven’t face Sabathia since ‘03. I don’t know if Damon faced him since then with the Sox but Giambi certainly hasn’t.
Do you think they’ve been getting Igawa ready just in case? I mean, Clemens has really been day-to-day, and if there was even the slightest possibility he wouldn’t pitch, don’t you think they’d have prepped someone (in this case Igawa)?
P.S. Sabathia has allowed 41 hits against lefties all season! 41!!!!! In 33 games!!!!
Aside from that, how many .300 hitter have not hit in the playoffs and how many great pitchers have gone bust in them ? Can you say Arod ? A three time MVP, after this year, stunk up the place last year but would you want him gone now ?
Regular season stats go out the window during the playoffs.
It’s a totally different animal.
I like Ohlendorff and if you make me Manager/GM for the playoffs, he’s on the roster. But let’s not get carried away, he’s got 3 2/3 innings of MLB experience. Regardless of how he’s done in those innings, he’s far from a lock to make the roster. If he makes it, its because someone played themselves off the roster in the last week. Otherwise, I have to think they would have used him more to be able to better evaluate him.
Also, I agree with the idea that keeping a lefty isn’t critical especially when Villone isn’t a situation lefty. Nonetheless, does anyone really think that Villone being a lefty and having the most experience of anyone on the bubble doesn’t give a huge advantage with the decisionmakers to make the roster. I think he’s a near lock to make it.
I do think they will take a big bullpen so many of these guys will make it. I’m not even writing off bruney’s chances yet.
Well guys,all I have to say is may the chapaigns flow tonight and 3x after that.
XXVII IN O7
Right then. It’s almost GAME TIME!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
shelley duncan has no business starting a playoff game
Doreen-
I’d think so yes.. They have had to know this whole week that he might not be ready to go.. They just kept it quiet..
which would be more of a miracle: a kei igawa shutout or winning the division?
I’m gonna bet on igawa lasting NO more than 5 innings tonight…
Aside from CC’s #’s, this year, who’s to say how he pitches in the post season. He could be a bust too. No one knows.
And #’s don’t always tell the whole story. Even the best can be bad and the worst can be best when playoff time rolls around.
Torre will not start him over those two. Very highly doubtful.
addendum to my previous comment: i DO think the yanks will win tonight… but it will be in spite of igawa, not because of him
c’mon, kei, prove me wrong!!
So close to game time! Come on Yanks, lets clinch this tonight!
What time is it? Game time, hoo!!
We’re talking about the likely AL Cy Young Winner here, whom the Yanks are likely to face twice in the ALDS. You can talk all you want about numbers being thrown out the window but the truth of the matter is that CC OWNS LEFTIES. Against a lefty-heavy lineup, I’m pretty scared of what could happen.
by the way, the wizard of oz outfits are CLASSIC! they just showed them on YES
Okay. Game Time.
Let’s go Yankees!
Excellent.
You guys really are amazing, you know that?
….so WHEN they overcome the K-Man and WIN tonight, and BoSux loses..putting us only 1 game away from the division championship, they are gonna COAST ?…IF they do that and get bounced in the 1st round as the #4 seed, you’ll ALL know why…
Against a tough lefty I think Giambi is on the bench with Minky playing first. Duncan is not part of that decision. Damon and Matsui would hold the LF/DH spots. In a regular season game, maybe you give one of those guys a day off against a tough lefty. In the playoffs, guys don’t get a day off. You win or lose with your best players. There is no way Duncan gets a playoff start unless there are multiple injuries.
Oh nose!
Tamba Bay network on MLB.TV..
That makes me sad.
MJL,
Being scared is normal against a high quality pitcher.
I’m sure the players would rather not face him either but the point is they will and will do everything they can to beat him.
For experience alone, Matsui and Giambi will start over Duncan, a 2 month rookie. They may fail and we may lose that game but Duncan won’t start over them.
We’ll see what happens. I’m sure CC has lost games before against lesser hitters than our’s too ! He isn’t infalable or a God or something is he ? He can be beaten just like every other pitcher has been before and after him.
….G-d hates me, doesn’t he?
what happened to the YES broadcast?
28 million flushed down the toilet.
Roger Clemens (hamstring) will not pitch again during the regular season after being scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday.
Clemens still expects to be in the rotation for the ALDS. If he’s not 100 percent, the Yankees might be better off with Phil Hughes in his spot. Still, manager Joe Torre will be sure to pitch him if he says he can go.
Source: Yankees.mlb.com
The color and setup and such of the Rays network reminds me of games from the 80’s that you might see on ESPN classic…
Much better.
YES isn’t showing any images… and the audio quality sounds like its being broadcast over a phone line. WTF?
Vinny -
You’re right, I just want a championship so bad that I’m probably overthinking and micromanaging. Obviously I’ll trust whatever Joe does, I just think it’s something interesting that I’m sure he’ll be considering. Either way LETS GO YANKEES HERE COME THE PLAYOFFS
Way to start it off Damon !
Lead off base hit. Alright alright alright
Nice start, Johnny!!
Go Johnny Go!
YEAH JETER!
MJL,
You can’t always go by the #’s, and especially so in the post season. Funny things happen to the meek and rotten things happen to the great.
My advise to you is to just watch and ENJOY the game !
WOO HOO JETER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Schill on the hill. Oakland up 1-0.
I actually gave up tickets to the game tonight because of Igawa. The thought of him on our mound is absolutely sickening.
BJ
1-0!
Lets go Yankees!!
CAPTAIN!! Great players step up in big games!!
there we go!! give kei something to work with!
Jeets!
That would be advice.
Oakland AND NYY both up 1-0 in the first inning…get the lead…hold the lead…get the lead…hold the lead….
.
96-66
.
DIVISION CHAMPS HERE WE COME !!!!!!!!
.
Lets go AROD!
Give Kei 5 or 6 runs and he’ll be good to go for 5 or 6 anyway. Let’s hope so anyway.
One last point on Sabathia, his career record against the yankees is 1-7 with a 7.13 ERA. I could think of guys i’d rather face but let’s not be all gloom and doom. We’ve historically hit him pretty well and I doubt its just Sheffield who is responsible for those numbers.
gotta love this patience at the plate…I SO don’t want to believe we lost that last game because we lost our patience wanting to see Wizard of OZ characters !
not quite yet, A-Rod, but you’re getting close.
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Ah, A-Rod. You were on your way to a free base.
They want to clinch it tonight! GO YANKEES!!
fudge…………..
we need to score like… i’d say 10ish in the first, maybe Igawa can hold that
Good evening all!! Here’s to drinking after the game!! WOO HOO.
Mets down 3-0 (giggle)
I hate the cowbell sound on TV.
MATSUI SAN WOO HOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good eye’s, even tough slanted, Ha Ha !!!!
Let’s go Jorge, bases crammed!!
put’em away EARLY….POUR IT ON !!!
BASES LOADED!! HIP HIP JOR-GE!!
Great start!!
Pat – it’s even more annoying when you’re at the game…. and I really should be there, it’s an hour and a half drive
– i’ll be there tomorrow though if we don’t clinch tonight (i don’t plan on being at the game tomorrow)
We could be looking at that Tampa bullpen pretty early tonight.
At the ballpark where my son plays (little league), they have banned cowbells…but who knew you would need such a rule!?!
I won my fantasy football week!! Reggie came thru and got me 15 points!!!
GRRRRUMBLE. what a waste
dang…blue likes to give the corners to this pitcher…better call it both ways, SIR !
Ach, Jorge!
Ah, we got one run, and the way he’s pitching, we’ll get more. It’s great to see them NOT swinging at first pitches.
LET’S GO KEI!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Nuts. More next inning.
Let’s go IGGY !!!!
I hope they didn’t just miss there chance to put up a big inning.
Ahhhhh damn
Jennifer – I saw that last night! He did you right! Congrats!
We’ll bust out with a big inning soon and everything will be O-Kei!!
My fault. I turned on the game with Jorge at the plate. Should have waited till the inning was over.
Upton should win rookie of the year, but of course it will go to Pedroia
that was just wrong
Not so fast Yankee Chick – have you seen the TB bullpen this year? We are now 28 pitches closer to seeing that clusterbomb!
Did I mention this game will last forever?
Has Anyone heard anything about the playoff ticket lottery?
Deep breath, okay, here we go…c’mon Kei. You can do this…please.
Thanks SHerri!!
*HOLY COW!! HE GOT AN OUT!!*
Hi all, just tuned in…nice to see Damon & Jeter aggressively getting down to bidness early. Would have been great if we’d have gotten more than 1 run out of it, but I think we will get to this guy.
Meanwhile…Kei Igawa?? Yeah, can’t say I’m thrilled to see him! I gotta wonder, why not give Clippard or Wright a chance? I am hoping Kei proves me wrong tonight, and if he does I will never talk smack about him again! Or at least, not for a while
LET’S GO YANKEES!!!
That was about an inch away from a HR for Iwamura.
He always plays us tough.
Sigh…
Wow Kei is weird. Stood on the mound and just stared.
This is probably a ridiculous question, but what keeps a team from announcing a lefty starter (with the opposing team arranging their line-up to face a lefty) and then having the lefty pitch 1 pitch and bring in a righty.
Its gonna be a long game . . . discuss
Kei UGH!! 4 pitch walk!!
He ran before the game? WTH, he is an idiot!!
I really don’t want a game lasting forever, I’ve a paper due tomorrow…
theres about 50 million reasons why they are giving this start to igawa and not clippard/desalvo/wright
I think we should let each pitcher in the pen pitch an inning. we do have 16 of them.
Kei stinks!! UGH!!
C’mon throw strikes!! I don’t wanna see Igawalk!
This ump’s strike zone is pretty narrow.
Well at least we know Kei won’t make the post season roster! Who is going to take this piece of junk off our hands?
cmon Kei…throw strikes!
The bases would be loaded if Iwamura didn’t swing.
And there are 220 million reasons why he shouldn’t be.
I don’t know Rebecca, seems like this game might be on till midnight at this pace…
Kei Igawalk…
Another classic Igawa start. A quick Guidry talk in the 1st, not too promising.
Kei is in midseason form!
I cant believe we let them off with one run in the 1st. You often see a pitcher settle down after escaping a rough start.
I was really hoping that the KMan would come throgh with a good start tonight to give us a decent return if we flip him in the offseason. Doesn’t look like his stock is rising though.
Rebecca, then you should not be a Yankees fan!
They shouldn’t have told Kei is was pitching tonight!
Get Chase up!! Anyone I want us to win the wild card tonight!
yuck-ei…throw strikes…
If we were determined to start a lefty I honestly think Wright would have been a better choice!
Maybe it’s just a shaky first??? (She said sheepishly.)
well, he IS sitll throwina ho-hitter…
sorry. my typing was all off on that one. I must be distraught.
We should have given him away for pine tar!
Ok, next? Wonder what Clemens is thinking right about now?
same crap different day….NYY pitcher gets squeezed and the other team gets a K zone expanded….total BS…this better not carry over to the playoffs…
uuuugh you suck!!!
Eh. It’s a five page paper and I’ve done three pages, so I’m not really that worried.
It’s actually kind of fun to write, so I’m not like dreading it, but I would prefer to go to sleep before four AM…
We should have traded Igawa for the San Diego chicken!!
1-0 Tigers!
We must win tonight!
holy crap.
I nominate Andrea for optimist of the evening award:
“well, he IS sitll throwina ho-hitter…”
you meaning Igawalktheballpark, of course, lol (good name!)
I’m still giving him a chance to prove me wrong though…
And another bases loaded DP by the Yankees to cringe over.
Iggy adding to the misery but gets a K. Maybe he’s just got 1st inning jitters ?? I hope so.
what the HALE was that ? the ump called a strike a STRIKE ??? did he not read the handbook for umping a Yankees game ??? jerk !
Rebecca what is the paper on?
There’s a K for Kei!
Gonna be a looooooooooooong game.
haha, I could be optimist of the evening. I’m just definitely not “good typer of the evening.”
whew that was CLOSE
Troll is back…obviously vulgar posts are not me…
Michael Kay has no clue Delmon Young has no shot of Rookie of the Year. There are a couple guys in Boston who are way ahead of him imo
that was a close one….too close.
HOLY MOLY!! 2 strike outs!!
hey, thats better than we thought he would do!!! pat the kid on the back
tampa bailing the running man out
Okay, come on Yankees, we need RUNS tonight!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Phew, he gets out of it!!
2 K’s for Kei!! All right!!
OMG – he got outta that one!
Hey a strikeout!
2 K’s ??? God is good to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
The next inning will be better. WHEW !!!
And everyone jump back on the KMan bandwagon!!
I’m still thinking that a Detroit loss is going to be the way in tonight.
that the loser troll would take the time to learn all the symbols in my username, shows how empty his insignificant life actually is….I’ll be back with another code for the idiot to crack…
Next inning, put a different pitcher in.
He’s like watching Farnsworthless pitch – except 100 times worse and 6 innings too long.
I would love to understand why the Yankees chose Igawa, of all the young minor league pitchers they promoted, to start this game.
Quite frankly, I would have preferred to see De Salvo, Clippard, and/or Chase Wright.
So much for the so-called mechanical changes Gil Patterson made at AAA. Not a single pitch Igawa threw was down in the zone. He worked out of the 1st inning but if he can’t keep the ball down in the zone, the Rays’ hitter are going to crush him. It will only be a matter of time.
Start it off Robbie !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
K’s are not Kei’s problem. The fact the he absolutely NEEDS them is.
Question: Joba cannot be ROY next year, could he? Phil probably can’t. Ian Kennedy?
Uncle Vito – cut and paste probably.
Yankees Chick, how do you pat someone on the back when you’re on your knees wretching?
Matt, there are many reasons $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Now its time to get him out of the game. They have enough pitchers out there. Just throw 9 guys one inning each.
He’s too petrified of the strike zone to ever be any good. He only got out of that inning because Young swung at a pitch two feet out of the strike zone. It certainly wasn’t because of any pitching brillance.
Its really amazing how bad Igawa is. He’s awful.
The scout who recommended him to the Yankees shouldn’t just be fired, he should be shot.
46 million wasted dollars. I don’t care how much money the Yankees have, that’s a lot of money.
Thank God he won’t be on the playoff roster. Kyle Farnsworth is Cy Young compared to this guy.
Matt: Very carefully.
Well this inning is going great.
Tigers and Mariners both have to lose tonight to help us clinch. Much easier to just win it themselves.
ew
meh, can we work counts here PLEASE? Don’t make Igawa come back out so soon!
sunny – you don’t have to worry about having to watch Kei Igawa pitch 6 innings, he only knows the 6th inning from the showers
Melky is going to take enough pitchers for the last two guys. Woo Hoo !!!
Not the inning we wanted, but we’re still winning.
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Go at bat, Melky.
Well that was quick…
“meh, can we work counts here PLEASE?”
Well at least Melky heard me! We will get to this guy soon!
BBB–we should learn Japanese so we can use some of our Johnny Damon magic on Kei Igawa.
Maybe they should have dressed him up as a squirrel.
Kim Jones swimming with the Devil Rays?
cue massively inappropriate comment about the last famous person to get a ray barb…
Still haven’t heard anything about the lottery, although I noticed the registration page was still up today, maybe the extended the deadline?
Good thing that was Navarro or it would have been gone.
Igawa’s throwing frizbees out there. Enter Matt D, please.
3 walks so far in 2 innings. Tough night.
WOW he just threw a strike. AMAZING !!!
Kay just said he came up with the whole reason why the Red Sox have more avg attendance on road than Yankees. I bet he stole it from Pete. lol
gaaaah he can’t go ONE inning w/o giving up a walk?!
ok, REALLY stupid question–but there is NO difference between mounds in the minors and major league mounds, right?
That is my assumption, otherwise rehab starts wouldn’t make sense…but that doesn’t explain why, to me, Igawa doesn’t look comfortable still.
I heard Damon was warming up in the pen to replace Igawa.
Great Double Play!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
WOW!!!! WAY TO GO!!!! Things are looking up!
That was a much better inning.
They are all the same height, but can have different slope, they have different dirt, so they feel different.
Just another shut-out inning by my main man!!!!
(not!)
Andrea: The only Japanese word I know is Konichawa – think it would work if I just said “konichiwa” followed really quickly by “you suck?”
Speaking of, Guidry doesn’t speak Japanese either does he? I’ve always wondered, what does he say when he goes out to the mound to talk to him?!?
Well that was not too bad at all. Keep it up Kei!
There we go !! Go Yanks
Now only if we can work this pitcher again and get into their pen.
Gil Patterson, Nardi Contereas, Sandy Koufax, you pick the guy, nobody can help this guy.
He just isn’t any good. No coach can make somebody good who isn’t.
I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the meeting in which somebody actually pitched this guy to the Yankees. I can’t imagine that person being employed any longer.
That’s a lot of money to throw away on a guy who doesn’t have a single pitch you look at and say, “that’s impressive”.
He says “THROW STRIKES”
BBB,
Guidry speaks Cajun. Matbe Iggy is multi-lingual ????
BBB – I’ve wondered the same thing before!! Seriously! Does he understanding some English or what?
IN YOUR FACE
I will continue to be negative, that way i’m not disappointed if he blows up.
Same start this inning. I’m hoping for better results this time.
Congrats to Jeter on another 200 hit season.
I would be curious if anyone knows whether or not Matsui has been asked about the performance of Dice-K or Kei Igawa (or Okajima for that matter)
Given the scrutiny that these Japanese stars get from their native media they are probably very careful about what they say but it would be a good quote to know.
Go Yanks! Jeter for 200 hits!
200 hits for Jeter.
Pete:
I totally disagree with your assessment. Kei’s on fire and this is the ultimate reverse lock. 21 outs to a no hitter!
Bronx Expatriate Living In Boston (sigh)
13 years in the playoffs. OUR LUCKY NUMBER !!!!!
Bases juiced NO OUTS for AROD!!
C’MON A-ROD!!!! Let’s see #53!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (is that the number we’re on…it’s been a while).
BBB: i know how to say sweetheart in Japanese. I don’t think that would work either.
I think Guidry is just saying “stop it. STOP IT.” Seriously though, you watch, you can see Guidry and Posada pushing their hands down. So I assume they’re just saying “stay down.”
I think I saw some of the kids teaching him some English the other day. They’d show him something, say something, and he’d point at it and say something. My seat at the Stadium are right by the bullpen. It was fun to watch. He and Matt DeSalvo (love him) were getting chummy.
My goal is to one day be Pete Abraham’s “favorite e-mail of the day”.
WOO HOO 53 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!
WOW ALEX!
WAY TO DO IT!
WAY TO BREAK OUT! WHOO!!
YUP
asdfjasodiuxzckljawerlkj !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
150 RBI’s!!!
WOO HOO Nice job Alex. Step on their throats, make them give up early!!
Can Alex do it? Can he break the “real” homerun record?
Did you see how quick that swing was on the replay simply amazing
BOOM!!!
You knew that was coming.
PERFECT!!!!!!!
AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP!!!!!!! Woooooo!!!
A-ROD!! GRAND SLAM!!! # 53!!!!
16th career GRAND SLAM 5 to 0!
They’re doing their best to help KEI!!
GO YANKEES!!!
YAY-ROD!
I hope we don’t need all those runs to win tonight !!!!!!!!
That has got to be one of the hardest hit balls ever
I bet they were teaching him all the good words. LOL
Yankees Chick – I couldn’t have said it better myself! HA!
Yankees Chick – that “asdfjasodiuxzckljawerlkj !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
comment was:
unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent
soo ahh… yeah that would be the definition of “go big or go home”
The best part about this, hopefully, is that Torre pulls Igawa if he gets anywhere close to giving up five runs!
As Pete might say, “That A-Rod guy is having a pretty good year, huh?”
MVP MVP MVP OH SO SWEEEEEEEET!
AN A-BOMB FOR A-ROD!!!
UGH give them two easy outs!!
This guy really (vulgar) and I think he’s nothing but a (defamatory) who should be (obscene, abusive) like a little (libeluous) who (pornographic) with (defamatory).
Demanding someone pay all that money just to talk to him is (constitutes a criminal offense) and those who got the money are (libelous) who really know how to (pornographic, vulgar, abusive) someone in the (profane or indecent information of any kind) when they’re not looking.
After that (profane) first inning I’m convinced this (abusive) guy is a (vulgar) liability and any time he’s performing well is because he’s (obscene) lucky.
That there haven’t been any opponents hits is a (obscene) miracle, partly because they’re not (defamatory) enough to swing when a guy can’t find the (vulgar) strike zone on 2/3 of his first inning pitches. We’re lucky the Yanks are beating the living (obscene) out of the (vulgar) ball or we’d really be (pornographic) tonight.
Yanks fans should voice their opinion by screaming (abusive) or (defamatory) or (vulgar) whenever this guy plays.
Thanks Pete for kindly the listing a cheat sheet of suggestions above the ’submit comments’ box so we can edit our thoughts in a more civil manner.
The timing for A-Rod breaking out couldn’t be better…
I actually agree with Michael. Keep the bottles away from SHelley.
Amazing!
Wasn’t that the fourth batter of the inning? Was that the Grand Slam Inning? If so, someone won a car.
The best part of these Tampa games at the Trop….the way the crowd erupts for Yankee HRs….damn, they were loud for A-Rod’s HR!
Is that really 16 GS HRs for A-Rod? Gehrig’s record (the MLB record) is 23.
Cano – base hit! Still going…
My Gameday isn’t working. What’s happening?
Ranting Guy,
You have wayyyyyyyyyy too much time on you’re hands !!!
We still need more runs, because Kei Igawa is Japanese for “severe test of Yankee fan optimism”.
Bob good question? I think it might be the 4th inning, not sure though.
I think the grand slam inning is the 4th – but I could be wrong…. anyone know for sure??
Yanks up 5-0. A-Rod GS, top 3.
we play today, we win today, we clinch today, dasit….mariano duncan, where have you gone?
Andrea: I love Matt DeSalvo too. Apparently he is quite intelligent, almost Moose-style, so that actually doesn’t surprise me too much! Maybe Shelley will even step in and teach him how to say Red Sox suck
My guess would be that he knows some English that relates to pitching and maybe Guidry even knows a few words of Japanese, although either way, “stay down” is certainly always good advice for Kei!
ranting guy = my idol
Try espn game cast. I have gameday on, but it is for the tigers game.
Thanks Bobcat.
Ranting Guy made my head hurt.
Thanks Jennifer. I’ll give it a try.
I feel better, thanks.
Okay, so we’re only getting production from the top of the order today.
No biggie, we’re still up!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Eh, wow, anyone else notice Igawa somehow has a no-hitter thru 2 innings? Normally, this is unimportant, but it is Igawa we’re talking about here.
Glavine is giving the Mets just what they need a quality start.
Ranting guy-
Hah, very nice, very nice.
Plus Hammel is at 73 pitches through 3, which is also always good news!
Rey22 you just jinxed it. Now if he loses we can blame you.
Um do we need to jinx him? LOL sorry but I believe it, laugh all you want.
So I know it’s still VERY early and Igawa is still on the mound, but I’m thirsty, can I crack open a victory beer?
BBB-
Yup! Gota love that Tampa Bay bullpen
Igawa is pitching a no hitter and Glavine has given up 6 runs by the top of the 4th? God is a Yankees fan.
BTW, now that A-Rod has his HR swing back, other than Clemens’ health, all the pieces are in place, not just for this year, but for a long, long time. All the right things will happen in the offseason, so that this group will be together for another 2-3 years, pending options of certain players.
It’s an exciting time to be a Yankee fan. The nearest parallel I can draw, is when other franchises have a few young players about to hit the MLB roster (like the Brewers with Prince, Braun, Gallardo), and their fans get excited because they are about to “break through”. That’s the feeling around the Yankees, not for a “break through”, but for another dynasty run of 4-5 years.
SEE!! JINX!!
So much for the no-no….
…Nevermind.
Joe go for it, have one for me, since I don’t drink during the week.
and there it goes – jinx!
Nats over Mets 6-2 (giggle, giggle)
How can people talk about Matty DeSalvo when our main man on the mound is dealing?
bobcat, i like your thinking. you are right, there is a lot to look forward to. its going to be a lot of fun watching all these youngsters!
JoeT,
You’re way behind !!!!!
Drink up.
Aw man, there goes the no-hitter. It’s ok.
Thanks Rey22 … you happy now???
96-66
I knew I liked you Vinny….
yes, did really expect a no-no! no biggie!
Good catch, Melk-man!
grrr – meant did NOT really expect…
Michael Kay is the kind of guy that sees a cute baby and roots for a messy diaper…
Do you think Joe T can thin out the green tea with a little hair o’ the dog tonight?
Today in yankee uni numbers useless info: Igawa wears number 29, as did catfish hunter, jesse barfield, gerald “ice” williams, mike stanton and tim redding, who pitch a total of 1 inning with the yankees and gave up 6 runs (ERA of 54.00). We suggest that Igawa change his number next year for better luck. Having 29 just didnt do it for the K man
JoeT,
You didn’t think I could make my stupid comments straight did you ?
I started drinking when I heard Iggy was pitching.
TKinDC: I was flipping, and I caught the end of the 1st inning and the Mets fans actually booed Tom Glavine as he was coming off the mound. I couldn’t believe it.
I mean, I think it’s bad enough when Yankee fans boo Farnsworth and Igawa, but booing your veteran pitcher who’s been one of your best all year is unbelievable.
An out here would be really nice.
YIKES!!
migames –
I recommend a position change for Kei as well, from LHP to Left Out!
(lame, I know, but if he is at the spring training I hope he rooms with Farnsy)
Kei Igawa may be the worst pitcher in the history of this franchise.
He is to pitching what Tony Womack is to offense.
They have to get him out of this game. I am surprised he lasted this long.
Having him pitch to Delmon Young is a huge mistake.
Only way I would have him pitch to Young is if they had a 10 run lead.
TKinDC … Maybe the camera man will catch Jetes thinning out Joe’s green tea with a little nip of vodka each time Joe puts the cup down. A little early celebration by the Cap’n.
“Dang, Gator … sheventh inning and thith teee cupth thtill full…”
I’ll be the first to say that the K-man stinks…but WHEN he throws a strike, it would be nice if it was CALLED a strike…HOW THE (BLEEP) that the 3rd pitch to that last batter was NOT A STRIKE is just a bunch of %^%^&*%*&!!!
i recommend that Kei stay in japan next april
Booing Glavine is moronic (but typical)
He has had a very good year for them and won his 300th in their uni. It isn’t his fault that Reyes has had an awful 2nd half, that the bull pen is a mess, and the GM didn’t get more help.
good catch Andrea
Igawa’s pitching so well it’s tempting to re-post …
Bruney and Karstens up in the bullpen…hmmm…wouldn’t be my choice. WTH
Could Igawa be any more brutal to watch?! He takes a century between every pitch (or should I say ball) that he throws, and his body language is terrible. I see he has learned NOTHING in his time at SWB…
Andrea… thats exactly what people did to A-Rod last year! I hate it too
Did Kei ever give up a 5-run HR in japan?
WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is this guy lucky or what ???
so sweet !
Okay, everyone, we’re still winning!
I have to go in a little bit, so you’ll all have to keep the OPTIMISM flowing for me, but it looks like you’ve all been doing a pretty good job!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
whew- got out of that one TOO!!!
SJ44.
Carl Pavano?
Wow, I can’t believe he’s still working on a shutout.
Livin’ On The Edge !
I hope A-Rod has a few more HRs in his bat tonight…’cuz we’re gonna need ‘em!
He’s thrown three scoreless, but it’s been heartstopping every step of the way. He keeps you on the edge of your seat!!
Somehow Igawa just has the ability to get out of the jam in every inning!
id like to see clippard and wright get starts this week, provided we clinch tonight
This may have already been posted, but did you hear that manny’s back tonight?
“Kei Igawa may be the worst pitcher in the history of this franchise.”
Ummmm…..no. They’ve had much worse. As walk-on-a-tightrope as the first three innings have been, the Yanks have had a bunch of pitchers who couldn’t get through one shutout inning.
The scary thing about the future is, the position players are starting to emerge.
Tabata, Austin Jackson, Juan Miranda, Alberto Gonzalez, Jesus Montero (who is a beast!), and Mitch Hilligoss are just some of the guys beginning to show promise.
Guys like Damon Sublett, Justin Snyder, Carmen Angelini and Brad Suttle from this years draft are also worth keeping an eye on.
The next wave of pitching prospects are also exciting to follow. Humberto Sanchez, JB Cox and Mark Melancon (who is pitching in the Hawaiian League this fall) are coming back from injuries.
Alan Horne and David Robertson are two more stud pitching prospects.
It really is a great time to be a Yankee fan. They have finally struck a balance between developing their farm system and being aggressive in the FA market.
Damon on fire at the end of this year. GREAT NEWS !!!!
BTW – Kei puts his defense to sleep as well. A-Rod looked totally bored and back on his heels at third that inning. Who could blame him, though?! It’s hard to imagine Kei getting more starts next year…but I have a feeling it’s going to happen (one way or another), nonetheless. At least Irabu threw strikes from time-to-time!!!
Kei will be a good lefty to lefty guy out of the Pen. Or he will be trade bait…Believe it or not some teams actually like the guy. SD almost traded for him. low salary plus strike out stuff…Good National League (AAAA) pitcher…
Nice Game, Johnny !
My opinion of Cashman from the beginning of the season to now has totally changed!!! Talk about rebuilding on the fly!
I think it’s a bit difficult to pick the WORST pitcher in Yankee franchise. He was definitely not the best signing, but look at Loaiza’s numbers with the Yankees. Sure, he’s better than his 2005 half with the Yankees shows, but as a Yankee, he was HORRIBLE(though good in the playoffs). I’m satisfied with Igawa so far. Yeah, it’s not the ideal outing despite the shutout, but I appreciate the fact that he didn’t walk Delmon Young after he kept fouling off pitches. He didn’t give in which has been a huge problem for him all year.
Pete
Is Mr. Steinbrenner in the building tonight?
Does anybody know the all-time records for most base runners allowed in a shutout, or most walks allowed in a shutout?
imagine if damon plays like this in the playoffs
Sorry, I meant 2004 for Loaiza.
lets not forget Irabu was once “Pitcher of the month” in 1999. Don’t think Igawa can top that!
Ranting Guy- A.J. Burnett had 9 walks in a no-hitter, but that might not be the record.
Does Tampa have the ugliest turf in history, or is it just me?!!!
Ranting Guy:
Not sure, but my guess would be Nolan Ryan holds it. He used to walk a lot of batters, even in his no hitters.
i nominate jeff weaver
Could someone shove a sock in the hecklers mouth. I wish Johnny would turn around and pop him.
Nine walks in a no-no. Wow.
andy hawkins pitched a no hitter for the yankees, and we lost 4-0. Those were the days.
William – Was he really?! Wow, I must have forgotten that.
Regardless, Irabu was a much better pitcher than Kei…which we all know isn’t saying much!!!
How would you like to sit near that baffoon. UGH.
jennifer, if we pop him, the devil ray fan base would be reduced by half
At least Ryan could be excused because he had 7 no hitters and 12 one hitters and could probably come close to throwing one at his current age. He was just wild enough to scare the (obscene) out of hitters.
That guy makes me miss the cowbells
Manny lifted for a pinch runner after only 2 ABs..
Chicago – since I live in Orlando now going to UCF, I’ve been to the Trop a few times – the turf is definitely the ugliest turf around, but TV does the stadium NO justice. It’s actually VERY nice once you’re in the stadium, and since i’m in central Florida, I’m a huge fan of watching a game inside (going to Marlins day games.. even night games some times is AWFUL).
migames – How can you be sure the heckler is actually a D-Rays fan? Maybe he’s just a Yankee hater (a.k.a. Red Sox fan)?
Oh yeah, Ryan was as dominant as anyone, but like you said could be as wild too. I BELIEVE he once walked 12 in a no hitter. I could be wrong and have nothing to back it up, but I think I recall reading that.
baseball is a game that was meant to be played outdoors
tampa bay was just too cheap to put in a retractable roof, im sure if they had one they would sell a hell of a lot more tickets
JoeT – Yes, I imagine the climate-controlled environment of Tropicana is a relief…But, still, you have to sit there and stare at that turf for nine innings…Is it really worth it?!
This has been ugly, but at least he hasn’t given up a run.
I am loving the Terms of Service there Pete.
Was anyone at the game on Wednesday night??? There was a guy who must have been louder than this heckler. He was sitting behind the yankee dugout about 20 rows back.
It was pretty funny I must say.. I am nt going to try and explain what he was saying, but he had the whole section cracking up….
aflac trivia question: who is worse dioner with his 223 ba or ivan rodriguez and his 9 bases on balls?
Ryan’s 383 K’s in a season was amazing. I think he threw about 380 innings that year too.
With all the conditioning they do now, I still don’t know why guys can’t be that durable these days.
again..no WAY the 2nd pitch of this AB was not a strike…it is unbelievable that the K-Man has not given up a run yet…
Sorry, I did make it up. The most he walked in a no hitter was 8 on September 28, 1974.
Maybe he’s just a Yankee hater (a.k.a. Red Sox fan)?
In tampa bay, they take anyone they can. They would retire OJ’s number if he played for one game
I’d rather they stay focused on the glove surgery (than watch Kei keep missing the plate)!
Tropicana may not have good looking turf, but Ricky Ricardo always had fun performing at the Tropicana. Here goes wild Kei again! Buckle up!!
MIN 0 DET 3 BTM 6th
OAK 1 BOS 2 BTM 5th
SJ –
I got a kick out of the hoopla when Maybin was called up by the Tigers this year. Congrats kid, now that you’re with the big club we’ll compare you to Willie Mays (on Fox).
That said, it seems to take position players longer to develop and the only one in your list I have heard a lot about it Tabata.
Do we have any first basemen in the pipeline other than Andy P.? I guess that and the corner outfield spots are where I would focus if I was Cashman. (assuming Jeter is SS for life, which might be a reach)
Luigi – while I agree that it’s an outdoor game, the weather down here is brutalllll – the A/C makes the game so much more enjoyable, otherwise you sit there and sweat the whole game. They also have an outback in the stadium so a blooming onion and baseball actually go together pretty well
8? Still …
smoke and mirrors
Got out of that one again — amazing!! GO KEI!
Whoo! Four innings, Yanks up!
I’ve got to go for a few minutes…keep the Optimism flowing!
Kei Igawa is awesome!!!!
who is this pitcher and what have they done with Igawa?
Trying to guess how this team will celebrate if the clinch tonight. I know its HUGE that they made the playoffs after the first half of the season, but i bet they just shake hands, and a few hugs etc….
They havent taken the division, but I hope we see some enthusiasm. They deserve to celebrate. Although I havent quite given up on the division…. lol
Lets go Yankees!!!!!!!!!!
Mets are losing AGAIN!!! 6-3
Chicago Dave: They showed the heckler. He was in D-Rays garb.
After this start, Kei will feel insulted if the Yanks don’t put him in the playoff rotation…Seriously, I bet he says something moronic like that…He is completely out-to-lunch! He actually believes he has talent…
maybe the yankees dressed igawa up as a teletubbie and secretly swapped him with Matzusaka
Igawa has a shutout through 4. Maybe he should dress as a flying monkey more often.
Carmine – 2 nominees –
Jeff Weaver (what he lacked in mound poise, he lacked in performance)
Jack McDowell – didn’t he flip off the Stadium? I forget the circumstances.
Andrea – Clearly he was wearing a disguise!!!
update:
Detroit 4
Minnesota 0
Boston 3
Oakland 1
haha check out the sign behind home plate, i first glanced at it and thought it said “gay clubs”
Maybe it was the flying monkey costume. They should have thought of that in April.
STFU, Kay!!!
I can’t find who asked the question, but first baseman in the pipeline is I think Juan Miranda. I remember reading somewhere that Cashman was all smiles a few weeks ago when someone asked him about Miranda playing first.
Also, anyone here about playoff ticket lottery yet? I wonder if they wait until late tonight to send the emails.
Oakland packed it in a long time ago…
are you guys claiming we have found a new ugly japanese man that can aparently pitch? lol
TKin DC
Yeah, McDowell did do that. But he did win 15 games in 95. Jeff Weaver on the other hand is a good nominee. I’m only 21, so my first-hand judgments are pretty limited. The other thing about Weaver is we gave up Ted Lilly for him.
If you combined the names of Michael Kay and Kei Igawa you could have Michael Kay Igawa.
Sorry – dumb question time – so if we win and Detroit wins, do we still clinch?
Sherri- yes
Eric Duncan also plays first base. He was our top prospect prior to Hughes, but he’s really fallen off in the minors over the past few years. I’d still like to see him get some sort of an opportunity on the major league level at some point because he has shown flashes of being good.
Sherri, it’s “any combination of Yankee wins or Detroit losses totalling 1″… so, yes.
I can’t believe Saru-chan is still shutting them out.
McDowell was fine by me until that last game against Seattle in the Division Series (in ‘95).
I also saw McDowell quoted as saying that people didn’t realize how much of a burden he had to take on with the Yanks. Basically, he said he was the designated innings-eater (with the clear implication being that his overall performance suffered as a result).
Thanks, guys! I thought that was right, but I just wanted to make sure.
Sherri –
We win one, we clinch no matter what they do.
They lose one, we clinch no matter what we do.
Just goes to prove that anything is possible in the Land of Oz…
whats iggy’s pitch count?
Nice catch Johnny!!!
Anyone else love Giambi siting on the bench, Minky at first, Damon in left…
This should be our every day lineup, depending on matchups…
I do not want to see Giambi blow the playoffs for us by botting balls at first…….
(sp) booting balls at first…
In the 95 regular season though, McDowell was probably our second best pitcher behind Cone and arguably our #1 before Cone was traded from the Blue Jays. Pettitte had a good season too, but it was his rookie year and he wasn’t quite the Andy he’d become yet.
I also saw McDowell’s bird
Ranting Guy – Now, that’s funny when you put it that way!!
pitch count – 85
whoa 2 outs in the 5th.
why is oakland so useless
Kei Igawa…5 shutout innings!!!
Who would have thought Igawa would pitch a shutout for 5 innings tonight. The line must have been a 1000 to 1.
Kei Igawa has given us the lift that we need, even with the walks. Good job!!
Partial season ticketholders have until 10 tonight to get their postseason tickets. I bet lottery winnners won’t find out until then so that they don’t try to buy tickets (even though they can’t until the 27th) and clog things up.
I got an email last year informing me that I was NOT selected, so I’m sure they’ll tell you either way.
Great play Dougie!
a 5-inning shutout….well, I’ll be!!! :0
MINKY!!!! I want him at 1st!!!!
I kinda wondered if something like this might happen tonight. It just seemed like it would because of all the doom and gloom!
Life’s funny like that.
OK – I withdraw Black Jack McDowell and submit Kenny Rogers and Hideki Irabu!
87 pitches through 5 innings…A model of economy! HA!!!
If Igawa wins, does Torre get the optimism award for today just for putting him in and leaving him there?
Igawa has cleary been blessed by Guiseppe Franco. Because he doesn’t own the strike zone. He doesn’t known anything about it.
Think he will come out for the 6th?
Lets go Yankees, keep it up
I would like to nominate Joe Torre for sainthood – he has obviously performed more then 2 miracles, this Kei Igawa start definitely qualifies
Well, with all the crap we were talking about Igawa, of course he came through!
TKinDC – Totally with you on “The Gambler.” God, I wanted to murder that guy during the ‘96 WS. So totally brutal…
Makes me wonder how he became so great with the Tigers…Maybe he’s saucing it, too?!
Hes walked 5, but only given up 2 hits? Not bad I suppose.
Yankee Chick,
There’s still time for the Sox to implode.
I nominate Denny Neagle
(Anyone else watching the Rays feed on Sopcast?) “Rays Fandemonium”…LOL!!!
Igawa can help from the bullpen in post season…hes got good stuff,just got to work on control..Who was in doubt about Arod? Without him wed be figthing at the cellar of AL east.GO YANKEES
Also,lets forgett the Rocket and bring Hughes and Kennedy in action.
Anyone else live upstate and see Torre’s house on Lake Mahopac???
It is the funkiest green/blue color ever… not cool…
Chicago Dave: I have no doubt in my mind that Kenny Rogers is on steroids. Did you see the unnecessary rage in him during the playoffs last year? Ridiculous.
Kei has definitely been “effectively wild.” It’s not easy to watch him pitch, but I’m thrilled with the five scoreless innings!
Go KMan, is 7 scoreless innings possible?
I think what Cashman does with him this summer is one of the most interesting subpplots of the winter. He is clearly capable of being a starter somewhere. We have virtually no leftys in the system, esp if Pettitte retires. But even without Andy there isn’t a spot for him in NY. His reluctance to throw strikes makes him less than ideal for bullpen duty, and his contract means he is unlikely to play another season in AAA.
Be interesting to see how the market rates him in an offseason with virtually no decent FA pitchers. There have been rumblings of Atlanta being interested, but I’m sure others will see the potential there if they can get him to throw strikes and work down in the zone.
Stay tough Robbie !!!!
Andrea – thanks. I forgot about the season ticket thing and I’m glad to hear that the no ticket people also get an email.
Andrea it is working though.
Worst Yankee pitcher not named BBrian BBruney or Carla P****o?
Ed Whitson?
for worst pitcher we can put the corpses of pitchers like Protor, Quantrill, Karsay, etc…. not the real them, but their remains just before they left
kenny rogers head is bigger than bonds. juicer
Oops getting ahead of myself there. Possibly 6 scoreless for KMan
Protctor**
WAY TO GO, ROBBIE!!!
Nice Robbie. Way to get a hit after taking 20 pitches.
worst reliever has to be jesse orosco
Chicago Dave -
No! I am sure he just tried harder! Just like Barry Bonds tried harder and Brady Anderson tried harder for one season and then cycled down, I mean tried less hard.
Just because the Tigers catcher has been linked to “B12″ shots doesn’t mean that “the gambler” is (cough, cough)
Andrea – Yeah, and he had that rage going long before that as well…Remember that incident he had with a camera guy down in Texas (at least, I think it was Texas)? ‘Roid rage in full effect! He used to be such a mellow putz… Now he’s an obnoxious putz!!
So any guess what Dougie was saying?
Maybe it was posted, but Manny was taken out of the Sox game tonight
OH ROBBIE!! they sniffed that one out. Too much talking with larry.
Andrea, Becca, bad things to say to Kei Igawa a la` Johnny Damon’s treatment [but in Japanese]?
Igawa-san ga dai kirai desu yo!
[Roughly, Iggy is really bad, y'know?]
One of my moms-in-law was from Kobe, so I am
very little more than illiterate
TK – “B12 shots”…Oh, that’s truly hilarious!!! If B12 worked that well, we would all have been major leaguers, right?!
Boston have gone to Delcarmen for the 7th inning. He is their best set up guy right now but they have put him out there about 30 times since the all star break. They must REALLY be scared of losing the division right now to keep putting him out there when they are already in the post season.
Kenny Rogers is by far one of my LEAST favorite pitchers. I just can hardly stand the sight of him.
Oh well, which clown is coming in now?
I hate it when we hit into DP’s.
Meanwhile – Miggy had that one great game and now he’s back to struggling. Come back, “Leche”!!!
MGW-san … Saru-chan baka desu
“Oh well, which clown is coming in now?”
So harsh, Jennifer! I’m not used to seeing such abuse coming from you!! HA!!!
)
i’m looking forward to watching Joba pitch on back to back days
and aparently Edwar was opening up so they aparently fixed that so that would be nice to see how he does too
Brian M
I am also curious to see what happens with KI,
We have too much starting rotation talent to have a place for this $46M investment (ugh) I expect Wang Pettitte Hughes Chamberlain and Moose with Kennedy knocking on the door.
We have no, zero, nil, nada left handers in the entire system as far as I can tell but I don’t see KI as a major reliever.
It is an ugly baby, we’ll just see if Cashman can get anything of value back.
Edwar’s up
Here’s Edwar!
Tampa Bay anoouncers metioned that with 155 RBI’s Arod is still not in the top 10 in Yankee franchise history………Does anybody know who is #10
Any word on Manny? Pray he pulled his oblique again while high fiving someone so he has to miss half of October.
Bruney after Edwar?
Sorry Chicago
I was at Saturdays game, and that is what it seemed like. The organist should have played clown music every time the door opened.
Melki is my concern for the playoffs,hes not batting at all,our outfield should be damon,cf…matsui..lf and abreu.
May bring Cabrera as defensive sub in the late innings.
Kaye and Leiter said that Carlos Pena is a FA after this year. He’s look good in pinstripes. Lefty hitter, great glove, and look at these stats:
Avg HR RBI Runs
.276 42 116 94
Home run derby time: Edwar Ramirez is now pitching.
nomination for worst yankee pitcher:
neagle
chuck cary
tim leary
dale polley
willie banks
felix heredia
and just cuz: Karim Garcia, i know he played RF, but he sucked that much
awww, cmon Edwar!
migames –
You have to give Karim Garcia a break because he kicked ass in the fight in the boston bullpen! He was a great hot-head, didn’t he charge the mound once?
A leadoff walk…optimistically speaking, I thought that Igawa wasn’t pitching anymore.
Edwar still needs another pitch or two to be a consistently effective reliever. Oh, and it goes without saying that he needs to learn control as well!
Wow that was a long foul ball
my friend is a sox fan (i know i know) but he said they planned on having Manny play 1/2 a game today
I went to one of the games during the NLCS at Shea (don’t hate me) and they showed KenneY Rogers on the screen for some reason (update of some sort) and the whole place booed louder than I’ve ever heard in my life.
It was awesome.
Can Edwar get anyone out!? Better get the pen up!
So what was up with Igawa tonight? Was he throwing the ball with his right hand and the only reason he didn’t give up any runs was because they were still looking for pitches coming from his left?
edwar is spanish for kyle farnsworth
I”m back, I tried posting and it wasn’t showing up.
Eh teams are laying off that change up now..
jeff weaver, kevin brown
Bruney’s up in the bullpen…shocker.
I hope Ohlendorf sneaks into the playoff bullpen somehow. I’d much rather see him than Edwar…
There ya go, one out.
all Edwar has to do is keep his shoulder from flying open
Ranting yeah he didn’t give up any runs, but I think he just got lucky. Maybe i’m wrong, but that is just what I thought watching the game.
OK, why are we piecing the bullpen together for 4 inning again? Why not try a split-start and put Desalvo in for 4 innings with a 5-run lead and get him some experience!!!
It really does kill me that Joe won’t look beyond the 2-3 guys he trusts.
Don’t lose faith in Edwar yet!
Al Leiter, in his last year.
say goodbye to your playoff spot edwar
Yeah they need to give Ross some time.
I’m guessing Edwar won’t be making the post season roster. He still looks terrible.
we shout at Kei was he screws up, so let’s give him a _shout out_ for a good job.
5 shoutout innings, two hits, 90 pitches. If he can eliminate the walks, he could be something.
yeah these were the D-Rays, but still, he hadn’t thown at this level in months.
Brown definitely is one of the worst ever…
Talk about pitching yourself off of the playoff roster… Oldenhorf you’re in!!
KEI is looking better all the time….
Ick
rob, im pretty sure that Torre doesnt trust Edwar…god this guy scuks
com’on wicked witch find your happy zone
Guess they didn’t fix that flaw in his delivery.
Rob,
Torre will do that once he clinches the playoff spot.
We need to win tonight, just get it done we don’t want to score board watch.
Someone answer the bullpen phone
edwar has to be pitching himself out of the post season
Pete was right…There was a reason the Angels dumped Edwar.
edwar=domingo jean
The Devil Rays definitely have Edwar’s number. This is at least the third time that they’ve knocked him around. Let’s get some outs quickly!!
Edwar sucks…Igawa is far better than ramirez.I dont want ed. on the post season roster
Rob – definitely a great idea – I really liked Desalvo when he was up, 4 innings for him could not have hurt the rest of the pen.
The thought of Edwar on the mound against the Angels, Indians or Boston scares me silly. The same goes for Villone and Bruney.
Yanks better get great, consistant 7 inning starts in the postseason.
How many good innings has he thrown for us. I”m going to guess more bad than good. We can’t let this game get away from us!! Joe wake up!! Use your best!!
Why does Torre think Ramirez is a major league pitcher? 1 pitch is not going to get it done in the majors. Sometimes you will fool batters with it which equals his strikeouts. But the other half of the time he is batting practice. His fastball has absolutely zero movement on it. If he is on the post season roster he will get tattooed.
it’s funny, a few weeks ago you figured Edwar was a lock for the playoff rotation…now he almost certainly looks not to make it, though there is still time.
man, i hope edwar won the lotter for playoffs tickets, its the only way he gets to see baseball in oct
ohh man this is nervewracking…would like to see Ohlendorf soon pls!!
what the fudge is goin on here
Worst Yankee pitcher ever…Steve Trout!!! Come on, it’s no contest!
Well that sucked. And now it will suck more. Hello Bruney.
OH god, now he comes Brian “the world owes me” bruney.
You better get this done!
Bruney??? BRUNEY?! Why???
Edwar was less than spectacular tonight.
Awe thats sad, I like Edwar.. I was rooting for him this season..
TK, I think Chase Wright is a lefty but he’s about all that I can think of. Even relievers are virtually all righthanders.
But, I think we’ll get a lot more for Igawa than you’d imagine. He was a big initial investment but now teams are looking at a 4 yr $16M deal. For a guy who has a legit shot at being a decent 4th or 5th starter in the NL, that is a pretty good deal.
If he can start to work down in the zone more, and a lot of teams will think they can help him there, then you could get a fairly cheap lefty starter for 4 yrs. And his AAA numbers were pretty good. His main problem is the no of HRs he gives up because of throwing high fastballs. Get him to work down a bit and he could give you 10 wins and a 4.20 ERA.
Consider if that is a gamble worth taking when your other options are guys like Jeff Weaver (who will get a $7M 1 yr deal from someone). I’m hoping for a quality lefty set up guy. If Atlanta is interested (and loses Jones) we could package someone like Gardner and try to get Gonzales from them.
Cash might decide to keep him as insurance if noone meets his price. If we make it to the All Star break next yr without an injury crisis then you can throw him on the market in which at least 6 or 7 teams will be DESPERATE for starting pitching. That will no doubt include the Mets who seem to be 2 starters shot every yr!
Oh, and I CALLED Bruney after Edwar, didn’t I?!
Not fpr nothin, but Igawa’s performance, although ugly, was better than what we probably would have gotten out of Old Man River
Well Dave, when nobody is willing to throw a strike, you have to look to Brian Bruney, or BB as I like to call him.
Brian it is called a strike!? THrow one, just not too good of one!
Where is Clippard? They could try him right about now…
Ok, somebody throw a strike.. Ready… Go.
torre must really like guys who cant throw strikes tonight
Put up or shut up time for Bruney right here. Time to show some maturity.
Are you guys forgetting Ed Whitson? He was so bad, Piniella only started him on the road because the Yankees fan let him know how bad he was. Kenny Rogers may be my most hated Yankees pitcher, though. He outright s*cked.
OH GOD, this is horrible!! Brian get an out!
well, that’s 2 guys that won’t see October.
Brown was actually good for a little while as a Yankee but after something like a 7-1 stretch in the middle of his next-to-last year he was utterly awful.
Cone, of all guys, wasn’t the same after his perfect game. Check out his pre-perfect stats vs his post-perfect stats. But after that game and all the clutch performances before it, he’s immune to any knocks.
Oh great…here comes Bruney for another few walks….
Actually, I think the postseason pitching roster should be fairly simple: 4 starters (Wang, Roger, Andy, and Moose) 7 relievers (Hughes, Kyle, Viz, Ohlendorf, Joba, kennedy, Mo)
Didn’t Carlos Pena play for the Yanks a couple years ago?
Larry is ticked!! I think Larry should go and tackle him!
Bases loaded.. Fantastic.
Bruney LOL
bruney looks like my dog
BB gets to work!!
Oh, that sucked more. Grr. Bring me Ross.
aaaaaauuuuurgh
why is Bruney pitching?!? For the life of me I cannot understand!!
Really smart move Torre…Bringing in Bruney with 2 men on when Bruney is the king of walks. With the people they are bringing out of the bullpen the Yanks will not clinch until the Baltimore series.
Leaving Bruney in is like practically begging (or goading) the Rays to tie this game.
I don’t think he ever made the big league roster, but he was done in the minors. He had a clause that he had to be brought up by a certain date. He wasn’t so he was granted his release.
Come on Brian, you’re still one pitch away from getting out of this!!
yankees clinch WC tonight. don’t worry.
The fact is, duds like Bruney, Edwar and Igawa will never see one postseason moment.
at least I hope not…
Ok, Im pretty sure we should issue a mandate, where was Igawa has to wear a flying monkey suit the day before every start..
Who’s with me?
Sorry- I zoned out and then heard that some knucklehead walked the bases loaded.
I assumed it was Farnsy.
I’m watching the Tampa Bay broadcast and when Torre took out Edwar, the Devil Rays broadcasters noted facetiously that Torre was making a bullpen switch and that he leads the league in that department.
K by Bruney
there pen are a bunch of strikethrowing stars….
again they have 3 guys in the pen…
What is torre thinking?Bruney NOW…Is he tryning to lose tonite..
Wow, Edwar and Bruney are on the verge of turning this into an out and out crap-festival. I miss Igawa. Nice K by Bruney. Edwar just pitched himself off the postseason roster, I believe.
Jorge is the MAN!! Called out the runner at second for stealing signs.
Ranting Guy –
The truth is Cone wasn’t the same after he pitched over 140-something pitches against Seattle in last game of the ‘95 Division Series. Cone has even said as much himself…
posada is a genuine bad ass
Whitson. Jeez.
After signing Whitson, didn’t Steinbrenner tell the manager at the time (forgot who) something to the effect of “I just won us the pennant … I signed Ed Whitson”
It’s the tunnel vision that kills me – OK let’s squeak through the 6th somehow and hand it off to Joba for 2 and Mo for the clinch. That’s how you manage a 5 run lead?
I can’t take it! No excuse here even if it works out perfectly that way – wrong strategy.
Replace a guy who walked too many with a guy who walks everybody. Bruney’s learned a lot in the minors… keep throwing that straight fastball with nothing else to offer he’d get destroyed by patient hitting teams.
Where is Ross Ohlendorf? If Torre doesn’t use him in the 7th he’s crazy for not using him in the 6th.
“I miss Igawa”
Me too, which is downright frightening…
UNBELIEVABLE SHOT BY AROD
I just got home from the game in Tampa, had to leave early since I brought my 2 year old daughter.
I was sitting 3rd row on the left field wall.. right under ARODS BLAST! I can tell you this.. it seemed like it was going to hit the wall at it’s highest and farthest place in Tropicanna field! I have never ever seen anything like it. If you guys saw where this thing was looking from the view below, you would be in shock too. Something you would look up and say was impossible. Wow!@
The TB left field didn’t even move when it was hit, when the ball game down he didn’t even throw it to the fans.. then again it must suck to play for TB when the stadium is packed with NY Yankees attire.
I think the Yankee’s home is in the NY, but there away home is in Tampa! We do have Legends Field here.. so it sorta makes sense.
So, can we throw a chair at Bruney???
BBB: I would say let’s trash talk Bruney, but I fear for the fate of chairs everywhere.
throw. STRIKES!!!
If this game is good for nothing else it should at least show Torre that Edwar and BB can’t get onto the post season roster. I like Edwar and he’ll get a shot again next yr but we don’t want him in Oct.
As for Bruney, after this month he is toast.
We could see Kennedy and Hughes in the pen instead or Ohlendorf could make a late sprint finish and sneak in there. At this point even Villone looks better than Bruney and Edwar though.
Walked in a run, I guess it is better than giving up a gs. All Ross needs to do is throw a few nice innings, and he’ll make his way on the roster. Brian is working his way off.
way to make them earn it!
uuuugh this is hideous!!!
this is ridiculous – I know it’s all but wrapped up – but lets wrap it up before we ahh “mess” around
Awesome… Just…. Wow.
Both Edwar and Bruney should be cut immediately after this game. Seriously…
Geez Bruney….
you gotta be kidding me…
why not just wear a sign around your neck that says,
“I don’t wanna be on the post-season roster”
Walk in a run and bring the potential lead run to the plate. Maybe the clubhouse attendant could help out and start emptying Bruney’s locker now.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME
holy crap
BYE BYE BRIAN!! YOU STINK!! I HATE YOU!!
you have got to be kidding me joe ! what the hell
That’s why you take someone out after they walk in a run.
we are still gonna win this game
Goodnight everyone
omfg i want to cry right now
klrkjgeajglkhjnbkgstr
If Edwar or Bruney are on the post season roster… I don’t even know..
At least now we know that Bruney can attend Ian Kennedy’s wedding ceremony.
Maybe he can be the flower girl.
I hate to say I told you so… but
what the hell…
I hate Bruney right now. Full on hate. Give back the uniform now.
I hope the chairs in the visitor’s clubhouse aren’t too expensive.
So…. Igawa’s 5 IP 2H 5B 0R is all WASTED…
Such a confident builder = =||
what a nightmare!!! GOOD GRIEF!! Can we DO something here????
Holy crap. Can Igawa come back in now?
Well at least the Tampa pen stinks, or so we think!
seriously, Bruney should walk in to a an empty locker. Break all the freakin chairs you want in AAA where you belong.
Forget cutting Bruney…Blindfold him and put a bullet through his head.
I had a feeling something bad like this would happen. It goes back to when Robbie Cano was caught hanging out between first and second base.
FIRE TORRE
why didn’t we just leave the flying monkey or wicked witch to finish this inning
My favorite song of all time…
.. hint – it’s by the Beastie Boys….
cmon… cmon…
SABATOGE!!!
We’re still going to win because we are now in the Tampa Bay bullpen. Playoffs here we come!!
Rebecca will be so disappointed…..
I almost went to that perfect game too. Two of us arbitrarily chose to switch to the other game that weekend, so we weren’t there. Watched it on TV though.
We missed Wells’ perfect game because we switched our plans to a game before it too.
Since the second one if he and I choose a game to go to, we don’t switch.
This is why Joe Torre needs to be gone after this season.
An absolutely moronic use of the bullpen tonight and he flushes the lead away.
Pathetic.
You don’t put in garbage with the game in doubt.
An absolutely pathetic performance.
Edwar Ramirez and Brian Bruney can forget about being part of a playoff roster. They shouldn’t even pitch another game again for this franchise.
Five run lead and they walk the ballpark. Worse yet, Torre leaves Bruney in to blow the game.
He may be great with people but, he is the worst manager of a bullpen in the game.
He doens’t have any idea what he is doing when it comes to bullpen decisions. Not a clue.
Igawa >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bruney.
At least Igawa didn’t give up a run…
Bruney…. way to go, dude. Way to show you belong…. in the minors. You suck.
this is such f^%* nonsense. WHY LEAVE HIM IN TO BLOW THE GAME!!!!!!!!1
Ramirez and Bruney are terrible. There is no way Ramirez should be on the postseason roster.
if Torre is bringing in Villone i’m going to drive the hour and a half to Tampa and slap Joe across the face
Can someone explain to me what Joe was thinking? You go with your best, you play around with the garbage relievers after we clinch!
Looks like the Hanshin Tigers want me to close next year!
awful
He should be NOWHERE near a post season roster.. Ugh
Edwar, Bruney, Farnsworth.. Yikes….
They must have dialed the wrong bullpen, I thought only Tampa Bay’s pen is this bad…….Last week of the season & the bullpen is as much an issue now as it’s been all season……Not promising
It doesn’t really matter, as a matter of fact it clears Bruney out of the way for the post-season roster.
We got Bruney for nothing and he is worth it.
Good news for Ohlendorf and El Cambio.
WHAT ON EARTH IS BRUNEY DOING?!?!?!?!?!
That was totally unnecessary. We’ll still win this one but Torre should have taken that bum out right after the walk.
I SECOND THAT, FIRE THAT SOB!!!
GREAT FUC..NG JOB MR.TORRE..KEEP PRACTICING WITH A TEAM ON THE VERGE OF CLINCHING..HOPE THE YANKEES DONT GET FRUSTRATED BY THE STUPID PITCHING MOVES OF THE MANAGER..MAYBE WE CAN CLINCH IN TAMPA THIS WEEK.MAYBE
Is it too late to say I’d have preferred Ohlendorf there?
Great managing by the way, Joe. You only have a trillion extra pitchers sitting out in the bullpen… But, yeah, clinching a playoff spot can wait…Let Bruney stay in and butcher the game entirely. Wake up!!!
Is this a comedy? Igawa pitched five scoreless innings and Edwar and Bruney together has given up six runs in one inning!! This is insane!
HE SHOULD HAVE KEPT IGAWA IN!!!
there whole pen sucks.. I love Kay who forgets that Edwar starting the wreck..
there whole pen sucks…..
all you posters get it thru your heads they have 3 arms the rest all suck..
there are different degrees of suck but they all SUCK.
EDwar has an 8 ERA where I come from that sucks…….screw the K’s
nice job garbage….
I LOVE how people think Torre is a good manager. How many guys are you going to let this moron walk before you take him out???!!! Torre has sooo far cost the Yanks 5 games this month..Britton, 2 Henn, 2 Bruney…Torre when the guy is garage and walks everyone how can you bring him in with men on base?? Dont you know your players? Villone has more talent and balls in his pinkie then his loser does in his whole body…
Its
I think Torre pitched these guys tonight to force them to step up to the plate, see if they could handle a playoff roster spot. They can’t.
3 pitchers for 3 outs
magnificient
I never thought that I would EVER say this..but how the (beep) to you take out Igawa, who is pitching a shut out and does NOT have a high pitch count, and bring in 2 complete Bums….Torre has to go…that is just terrible…not only are they not trying to win the division,,,Torre just left himself open for this loss and got what he deserved for again not having clue ONE about how to manage the pitching staff…I, for one, will be happy to see some changes on the coaching staff next year….to let the freakin Devil Rays come back on us like this….total 100% BS !
As inevitable as night following day . . . sigh . . .
SJ44, I am with you.. win or lose the WS this year.. Joe has to go! I have said it all year and last year.. this team needs a motivating coach.. not someone who sleeps in the dugout. It’s obvious he has been sleeping or he would see the same we all see with the bullpen.
Now we take the lead back. Cash should be telling Edwar and Brian to pack their bags, they can take Greyhound home!
This is truly nauseating. I dont know who I am angrier at Bruney or Torre. I really wish I could drop kick the both of them right now. What a load of crap ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING HUMAN FILTH SUB MEDIOCRITY. TEH SUCK.
THE GOOD THING…BRUNEY AND RAMIREZ WONT BE AROUND IN OCTOBER…I HOPE
I HOPE STEINBRENNAR’S BYFOCALS ARE CLEAN SO HE CAN SEE FOR HIMSELF
Just remember that this is Tampa Bay. Al Reyes is the closer. This will just allow for more A-Rod awesomeness. Right?
It’s just like what we were mentioning earlier today. Bruney doesn’t throw strikes, he’s still immature, selfish, and many other things that I won’t mention.
You guys wouldnt believe the way the Devil Rays announcers went nuts when Velandia hit that grand slam. The funny thing is last week when Carlos Pena hit a three run shot to give them a lead against the Red Sox in the bottom of the 8th, they sounded down right depressed. I thought they were upset because they figured they would have to see Reyes blow the lead again. I think my ears might start bleeding before this game is over if I continue listening to Staats and Magraine.
Well, on the bright side, at least some of these difficult to make post-season roster decisions are becoming not so difficult.
The shame of this is that Igawa deserved better. Joe must be in the looking forward to the post season mode.
D***n these MLB blackout rules, can’t watch the game here in Jax but now maybe just as well….
I got a feeling Edwar will find himself, he’s slumping at the right time & if he corrects himself could be big, don’t lose hope in him people.
Everyone calm down. It was already reported he is trying out guys in different roles. No need to overreact.
now raul and the other morons post it is Torre’s fault…
does it ever get old for being a moron Raul,matthew reed, and the other mental midgets!!!!!
so much for that
If I were Igawa, I would be very upset not to get the win with a five-run lead.
Great, you couldnt have brought Villone in 2 batters ago to do that a-hole?
GREEN TEA TASTES LIKE AZZ.
The Yankees can come back here… But man.. That was a poor poor performance…
you only pitch veras and the other blind men in the playoffs if the game is a blow out else they have only 3 options…
SJ –
You can’t possibly be upset about this performance by Joe. It is better we determine now who can do what.
You and I had both written off Bruney, now it is a no-brainer. This game is meaningless so at least we can whittle down the roster with some certainty.
Now it starts!! Johnny on first!!
We’ll still win.
Well the bullpen will be a short list to pick from….As two were eliminated tonight….
You still want Joe Torre back in 2008?
time for the comeback
I really can’t even be mad at Bruney. He must know he sucks right now. Once he walkes the bases loaded THEN walks in a run, you take him out. TAKE HIM OUT.
Damon has been an on base machine tonight.
Let’s get those runs back now, please.
Couldnt he wait till we clinched a playoff spot to experiment with guys in different roles?
What role exactly did he think Bruney would succeed in once he walked in a run?
Ok, the hysterics are getting and have always been annoying. At the all-star break most in the business had the Yanks nowhere near the playoffs. We’ve got the best record since that break, and because of a grand slam (yes, they happen in baseball) some people here who get way too emotional are back to calling for Joe Torre’s firing.
All I can say is: THANK GOD NO ONE HERE AT THIS BLOG MANAGES THE YANKEES.
I am waiting for the “Brian Bruney should pitch 8th innings” crowd to show up.
Worse yet, Ramirez can’t walk a guy to leadoff an inning.
Unfortunately, Torre was asleep at the wheel again and it cost them.
You want to roll the dice with Ramirez, fine.
But, once he crumbles again, Bruney cannot be the choice.
You put in a guy who can’t pitch, can’t throw the ball over the plate, and can’t get outs. Its not a surprise he blew the lead.
Its just a joke. Nine walks in 6 innings. Pathetic.
Just send Ramirez and Bruney home for the rest of the year. I wouldn’t trust either to play catch, let alone be on a playoff roster. Both guys are incapable of getting outs.
I agree that we still win, but man.. Bullpen..
ok new inning. damon on in lead off. LETS GO SPANKEES!!!
Way to hustle, JD. Let’s start bailing the bullpen out right now!
One has to wonder if Torre is that bad of a manager, or if he is just doesn’t care….
TKinDC I’d rather Joe play with this guys after we clinch, this game matters, you want to clinch and be done with it.
Nice Job Joe – agreed with others – bullpen management has been NONEXSISTENT this year – embaressment
At least the 7th is always our inning!
How the heck does Bruney live with himself? And when does he start logging important innings when he wasn’t used much to begin with. I just saw NESN sox game and they screamed when they saw the scoreboard. 6-5 Tampaa.
I think we were all scratching our head when the B team relievers came in the game. Maybe after we clinch, but not before. Man, we should have seen Viz/Joba, etc.
SJ44,
I agree, I don’t like Torre’s bullpen moves either. But right now they have a magic number of 1 to clinch the wild card. Torre has wiggle room to try relievers and see if they have anything. Both Edwar and Bruney have had great flashes. Torre gave them a chance and they spit the bit. That will likely keep them both out of post-season which is good.
If this were a must win, I’d agree, but tonight in the long run isn’t an important game.
I still think Edwar can be a decent reliever but he doesn’t have anything right now.
Well the Tigers won, Must win for us.
A Tampa Yankee in King George’s Court:
The Devil Ray announcers are clueless.
They also said that the Yankees spent $46 million just for the rights to negotiate a contract with Igawa. (They spent $46 total)
It’s moments like this that make me leave this board for days at a time.
This is when we see the whining and belly-aching from know-it-all wannabe GMs and managers who, preposterously, think they know WTF they are talking about.
Incredible.
There is a big difference between being a baseball fan and a baseball person. (Hint… you’re fans.)
“Edwar Ramirez and Brian Bruney – the darlings of the stat geeks –”
Yo, what? Edwar maybe, but it’s the stat geeks who have been against Bruney this whole time. We kept telling you he walks too many guys to be good, but you kept believing in him, and now look.
I think they should have made Brian dress up as a donkey.
The players are going to be sooo exhausted by the time the play offs come because of Torres joke managing. If they lose tonight, then you have tomorrow, then Kazmir on Sunday.
I don’t think it’s fair to blame Torre here. He is clearly auditioning pitchers for the post-season roster. Unfortunately for Edwar and Bruney, they both failed miserably. Especially Bruney. Walking in a run and then giving up a slammer…Can you possibly do worse??
THE ALDS WILL DETERMINE IF BLOE’S DECISIONS WERE RIGHT – I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE RESULTS ON THIS FORM WHEN ITS THROUGH
It’s not Joe’s fault that Edwar and Bruney couldn’t get anyone out. It is, however, on Joe’s shoulders that he left Bruney in even after he had already managed to clog the bases and then walk a guy in. Most any manager would pull a reliever who was struggling that badly…
at least he got Damon over to second lol
Moved the runner up.
Now Bobby can hit one.
All that said, the Yankees will win this game 9-7.
.
Peter, we are sending you your King Optimism Badge !
.
Let’s smack around this totaly awful Devil Dogs Bullpen, THEN bring in the BIG GUNS to finish this off.
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GO YANKEES !!!
.
( oh, and BaBye Torre ! )
.
I’m not calling for Torre’s firing at all. No way. He tried Bruney there, and it didn’t work, so the good news is, Bruney will not be in that kind of spot again.
Come on Abreu lets even it up right here.
Sj44..
While your pumping your chest out, you do realize that you are part of the “Yankees are done & won’t make the season” crowd. So maybe you should take it easy on everyone else.
I really don’t understand how anyone can defend Torre here. It is almost like defending Bruney.
As much as that sucked that mightve been Velandias first Home Run…..Didnt see that coming.
But you wait to test guys out till you clinch. We haven’t clinched anything.
Sure, all the Torre apologists will say it is the players, not Torre. Wake up guys!!!!
After having a five run lead and the starter giving five shutout innings, you go for the win, clinch playoffs and then experiment and rest guys. Joe once again proves he is clueless. It is not just this game. It is amazing how many times he does things like this. Irrespective of what happens in the playoffs, Torre does not deserve to be brought back for next year.
Having said that, we will still win this game in spite of clueless manager.
Hi Peter, I’m sorry but Bruney was never, ever a darling of the stat geeks. His BB/9 has been consistently bad, and even last year when his ERA was down his peripherals like his WHIP were atrocious.
Edwar seems to have gone bust right now. I remain convinced he can be a serviceable middle reliever, he was too consistently good at the AAA level and has shown flashes up here. We’ll see if he works it out.
I don’t agree with people who say tonight isn’t a big game and in the “long run” won’t matter. Why would you not want to clinch a spot AS EARLY as possible. It is obvious guys need a rest and the sooner the better. I also would have serious reservations of putting in a reliever that looks like he is in 4th grade..
Sj44..
While your pumping your chest out, you do realize that you are part of the “Yankees are done & won’t make the playoffs” crowd. So maybe you should take it easy on everyone else and eat some crow.
gameday says injury delay?????!!!!!!
Wow. I leave for an hour, and I come bak and find this?
Shudda come back sooner.
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Tony Gicas
I know they are clueless but I believe their cluelessness is worsened by their blatant anti Yankee bias. I know both of them at one point worked for the Yankee organization and it is clear that they didnt fit in with the Yankee definition of professionalism so they are trying their hardest to bias their commetary against the Yanks.
my god I know it looks bad now but Edwar will put it together he’s struck out too many big names to be a bust, Morneau, Guerrero (twice) etc.. he will get it together.
is kennedy goin to be able to pitch in the post season?
BBB – I agree with you. While I don’t think Torre is an awful manager (far from it, actually!), leaving Bruney in to pitch to Velandia was absolutely indefensible.
You don’t play games with a 5 run lead in the game you can wrap up a playoff spot. You just don’t.
Its a moronic job of managing and all the Torre apologists can’t make excuses for it.
EVERYBODY can see Brian Bruney can’t pitch. Once he walked in the run (as if he Torre needed more evidence of his ineptness) you don’t keep him out there. Its just dumb.
At some point, the dumb managing reaches a point where you don’t have patience for it anymore.
This guy better win it all this year. If not, Cashman has to pull the plug. Enough is enough with this lunacy.
He blows 15 games a year with his inability to run a bullpen. Way too many to last any longer.
another bomb for A-Beast please
Well Alex can hit another one now.
100 bucks they walk a-Rod
Come on Arod. You have to do it once again.
How many times can he bail this team out ??
awesome now were rolling over.
there is not enough alcohol in the world for this one.
jennifer -
the magic number is 1, one, uno, un, ein.
If we can’t manage that, then take me home Lord!
I just get the sense you folks are treating this like game 7 of a series when you have to admit that any game where we start Kei Igawa has more of the feeling of a split squad game in April.
The same people who brought you Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Derek Jeter, Robbie Cano, Andy Pettitte, IPK, Melky, Jorge, Mo, et al are looking to assemble a roster for the playoffs with the obligation of winning one of the next 5 games.
It’ll be ok.
I agree with SJ – this game matters – It matters alot actually – this game we need to win.
How much does that first inning hurt now? Should have been another 4 or 5 run inning for us.
Brandon – Yes, but look at the walk total as well… His control is certainly not improving! And we don’t have time for him to “find himself” at this late stage of the season.
What’s really bothering me right now is that Igawa had a bleedin’ shut out…
“the darlings of the stat geeks”
It seems that you need to start censoring your own material. What a closed-minded comment. Those words are just as offensive as blatantly insulting someone with typical words like “Stupid” or “Idiot” etc…
Papelbon in for a four out save for the Sox and gets out of a jam started by Gagne in the 8th. 4-1 Sox.
dirty pansy a$$ biatches with the IBB.
make these commies pay Matsui!!!
Let’s go Matsui!!
You can easily defend Torre. He wants to know who can get the job done. The Yanks have a spot in the playoffs and they need to know who can handle the last few bullpen spots. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Edwar, Bruney(well not anymore), Veras and Ohlendorf a lot this week. Joe wants to know who he can trust besides Viz, Mo and Joba. I think it’s clear he isn’t playing for this one game.
I am sick to my stomach right now! We had this game in the bag, but Joe had to get cute and see if the garbage in the pen could get outs.
GODZILLA !!!
Kennedy & Hughes must be counted upon as postseason bullpen options…Hell Olendorf needs to be given a seriuos look this week…..
After seeing Tampa’s bullpen choke away every lead to Boston, you just know they’ll find a way to hold a one-run lead over 9 outs against the Yankees. Baseball is too crazy for that not to happen.
Like I said above, Ross Ohlendorf pitches that 6th inning for me without hesitation. See if he can come through the inning unscathed and then use Edwar, Bruney, Villone. Nothing’s been clinched yet, but he somehow puts a walk-machine into a situation after Edwar walked too many.
Great stuff Joe.
Some of you were begging for Ramirez, Bruney, and Britton to get into games in non-mop up roles. Now you same people are screaming at Torre for using them. Go figure.
Everyone needs to calm down. Before the game they said he was auditioning pitchers in different roles. The wild card it basically locked up. Calm down, you are making this board unbearable.
Anyone who knows my posts here knows that I have been exceedingly hard on Torre’s bullpen management all year. I can’t kill him tonight.
Bruney and Edwar were both valuable pitchers earlier in the season. Bruney gutted out 2 innings back in August against Oakland to lead us to a win. Edwar has pitched some very important innings in August and September. They deserved a shot to show what they had in what is a relatively meaningless game. The Yankees will get the wild card. It hurts because this could kill our hopes for the division and it annoys me. But it is far from a disaster and imo not worth killing Torre on.
I told you Rebecca wouldn’t be pleased…..
TKinDC i’m just saying get it done!! Than play around with the guys in the pen.
Abreu and Matsui have looked awful..That is why you want to rest people. Instead of resting Viz and I cant believe I am saying this Farns. NOW, clinch and then they can rest. Torre doesnt realize that his AAA pitchers are more like AA pitchers they will not get major leaguers out. Everyone from the AAA team besides the “kids” are garbage…not prospects.
outside?
The only reason for this to be a Yankee must win is to calm the nerves of those on here losing it right now. Must win means lose today and go home.
still slumpin
in what world was that a strike?
holy ^(*T&T(&*! how was THAT pitch a strike ???
Didn’t I tell everyone it was like clowns coming in from the pen?
OK STUART,
MY APOLOGIES TO TORRE AND TO YOU…GREAT MOVE BY JOE AND GUIDRY..JAJA
DONNIE BASEBALL WILL BE THE MANAGER NEXT SEASON..HOPEFULLY
“The wild card is locked up”. Last time I checked, we needed to WIN before we get that far.
Phil-
Very well said. Edwar was the only one of those three that intrigued me, and I stand by it. I am glad Joe gave him a shot. based on his performances, I’d agree he belongs nowhere near the post-season roster. Still, I was glad to see him given the chance.
Of course it was a strike, the ump doesn’t want us to win.
Yanks are done, will now lose all the remaining games on the schedule. Thank you Joe Torre.
Chicago Dave, I understand that but when he’s on, he is nearly unhittable and if he finds that he can help us big time, I take it your thinking move Hughes to the BP, see the thing w/ that is Roger Clemens might be done, they have skipped a few starts w/ him he’s no guarantee right now. Kennedy being shut down w/ no extra work would be a risk. They need Edwar to turn into K-RAM again
Can the Yanks win in the postseason with this bullpen? That’s an honest question…
Never mind that he gave up a gs, how the heck did he do it to a guy who never hit a homerun before!??!!
It’s moments like this that make me leave this board for days at a time
AMEN!!!!!!!!!
This is sick, disgusting and wrong. I absolutely cannot believe we are in this situation, thank you f’n Clueless Joe. OMG I am absolutely seething right now.
Phil and yankee josh, you are two of the few sensible people on here right now.
All of a sudden the srike zone became the size of a postage stamp? One of those pitches was a strike!
Here’s the issue about Torre. You have a 5 run lead with 4 innings to go. Why do you begin mixing and matching at that point? Why are you managing to make it to Mo for the close? Why not put a long guy like Desalvo in and see what happens? You begin mixing and matching with 12 outs to get and you’re juggling with dynamite. Just aweful bullpen management – I can’t get over it.
I don’t agree with the knee jerk “Fire Torre” crowd – but this is a legitimate issue.
edwar and bruney were not–as many have already pointed out–the “darlings of the stat geeks.” more accurately, edwar and bruney represented young, live arms, who deserved a chance when guys like farnsworth, proctor, and early season viz were getting lit up on a regular basis. it didn’t work out, but it was painful earlier this year watching torre mismanage the bullpen with guys rotting away who had proven, at least, that they deserved a shot in the bullpen.
your thirst for the chance to say, “i told you so,” is painfully arrogant and transparent. you were practically pissing your pants with joy when phil hughes went down earlier this season after you pleaded about how it was a premature move to bring him to the bigs. and now you’re thrilled to see edwar and bruney fail after you’ve bashed them all season. why don’t you just come out and tell all your groupies you’re a sox fan? see link: http://metsforever.blogspot.co.....chive.html
dhgakjfdsdjfgdkjf
this is unfnbelievable.
Gagne was pulled with runners on first and second with two outs? To put Paps in? In the 8th? That I don’t get. Are the Sox that worried about the Division? Seeding?
Why does he need to “audition” Bruney. He has no chance of making the post-season roster.
He wasn’t auditioning him. He just blew the situation. Its not uncommon for him to do it.
Why play games when you are in control of the game? Just win the game, THEN hold tryouts.
It was an awful display of managing. If it was the only time he has mis-managed the bullpen, you can overlook it.
But, it isn’t. He is so bad at managing a bullpen, the GM had to institute rules in place so he doesn’t burn out his prized prospect.
Its just an awful job tonight and it will probably cost them the game. It was senseless, needless and dumb.
Ralph September 25th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
“the darlings of the stat geeks�
It seems that you need to start censoring your own material. What a closed-minded comment. Those words are just as offensive as blatantly insulting someone with typical words like “Stupid� or “Idiot� etc…
stat geek.
Do you guys think the Yankees would hire me to be a relief pitcher? I can walk guys on four straight. How much does a job like that pay these days?
good start villone. it’s not going to be a one run lead for long.
look at something else, do you really think we can do anything in the playoffs with dead bats and a dead bullpen?
Also nice shot of Joe nodding out looking at his Gold Rolex.
Like he has somewhere to be or something..
(Matsui is horrible) How many stranded runners for him this month?
Make all the arguments that Torre is seeing who he can use in the playoffs now by *testing* arms.. BS if you ask me. You do that AFTER you clinch, not before.
10 walks! Wow. Funny thing with Boston Vs Tampa.. Tampa gets a lead and then destroys Tampa’s Bullpen in the later inning.. Us, well.. we get a lead and then Tampa destroys are BP. I am not feeling all that optimistic right now obviously@!
Joe Torre has been the Yankee mgr for too many years.
Capt.
Matsui has been very good lately, or maybe you missed those dingers he hit last series.
I assume when you say AAA pitchers, you don’t mean the A pitchers (Kennedy, Hughes, Chamberlain) who are now among the best pitchers we have.
Keep it real.
Villone is still in. Unbelievable
Torre should have been canned in May.
is sean henn seriously warming up
Chicago Dave,
The key to the post-season for the Yanks will be starting pitching. If they give any sort of decent outings, the pen will be enough with Viz, Joba and Mo. Throw in Hughes and possibly Mussina (depending whether we need a 4th starter or not) and there is talent out there to avoid using the back-end of the pen.
I GUESS BLOE IS FEELING OUT VILLONE, WHO’S NEXT WORTHLESS?
Joe Torre is a BUM
Brandon – Edwar is like K-RAM right now…Always putting guys on base and coughing up runs (or, at least, making things very exciting – for all the wrong reasons – when he takes the mound).
Edwar’s ERA is near 8 now, isn’t it? I know people say you can’t judge a pitcher simply by his ERA, but in this case I think it’s very telling. Edwar’s bad outings have outnumbered his good…
Come on Villone, keep us within one and we’ll undoubtedly rally to win! I know the sixth was bad, but folks we’re only down by one.
Why isn’t he using Ross?
This one is 100% on the manager. They needed to win and rest some players– yet Joe continues to give away 10 games a year due to poor managing skills. He is so hard-headed. It is just surprising there are so many apologists for him on here.
time to pack it in Torre STINKS
Green Tea Torre September 25th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
edwar and bruney were not-as many have already pointed out-the “darlings of the stat geeks.� more accurately, edwar and bruney represented young, live arms, who deserved a chance when guys like farnsworth, proctor, and early season viz were getting lit up on a regular basis. it didn’t work out, but it was painful earlier this year watching torre mismanage the bullpen with guys rotting away who had proven, at least, that they deserved a shot in the bullpen.
your thirst for the chance to say, “i told you so,� is painfully arrogant and transparent. you were practically pissing your pants with joy when phil hughes went down earlier this season after you pleaded about how it was a premature move to bring him to the bigs. and now you’re thrilled to see edwar and bruney fail after you’ve bashed them all season. why don’t you just come out and tell all your groupies you’re a sox fan? see link: http://metsforever.blogspot.co.....chive.html
You’re such a geek you searched the web for an articlle from 2004 to try and prove a point.
Stat Geek.
Oh, I forgot, BLOE is SENIAL!
sj44, come back from the ledge. All is good. Dont you people understand that a) we are playing against tampa bay and b) odds of probability that there almost a 0% chance that we DONT make the playoffs.
bruney just destroyed any chance of him making the post-season roster. Worst relief appearance of the season – walk, second walk scores a run, grandslam, out of game. Can u do any worse than that? Abreu has four rbis in his last 55 at bats and got his 94th rbis on sept. 8th ( two and a half weeks ago) as he now has 98. Since sept 8th, melky has six hits and only one for extra bases (a double.) He is 6 for his last 54 with one double and 3 runs scored. Giambi is being payed over 20 million dollars this yr. In the last ten days, he has been up at bat ten times with 236 at bats total. He has 56 hits. Thats 85,000 dollars per at bat and 357,000 dollars per hit – carl pavano money. How bout we bench our fourth outfielder for the rest of the season – play damon in center, matsui in left and dh the guy we r paying over 20 million dollars this yr to sit on our bench. Then, they can start getting used to playing what theys should be playing for the majority of the playoffs. I like melky but his offense kills us.
What was worse tonight…
Edwar Ramirez
Brian Bruney
Torre’s Managerial decisions
.. I am not a Torre hater at all, i just bringing a walk-prone Bruney in at that point made no sense. But I also hope that the Edwar love affair people finally get the point…and the Chris Britton fan base follows suit.
It is a strategic disaster to “play around” with the bullpen one win away from the wild card. I will calm down when the yanks are in and there go to guys are beyond well rested.
I just heard that the D-Rays have 10 walks tonight. I honestly believe they dont have 10 walks all season versus Boston. There is a reason why Tim Wakefield usually dominates them and that is because he usually doesnt throw strikes and the Rays are the definition of an impatient hacking team except when they face us. For some reason, they decide to be infinitely more patient against the Yanks then against any other team. I am stuck watching their games most of the time and I can tell you they are among the most free swinging teams I have ever seen.
Yanks are going going going GONE.
indeed, the wild card is not locked up and the team shouldn’t act like it is. if we lose tonight then all it takes is 5-0 by DET and 0-5 by NYY and we’re out. Improbable but possible. Baseball’s too unpredictable a game to be comfortable with any of this. This game, if we lose, is on Torre. No need to stretch out the drama with another experiment in awful pitching- just make the playoffs.
Definitely would like to see guys like Ohlendorf and Kennedy in the playoff pen than clowns like Villone, Bruney, Farnsey, etc.
Hey we will come back! We need to hold the score here, and we will com eback!!
I look on the bright side. Now there’s no chance they’ll do something idiotic like carrying Bruney over Ohlendorf.
I still say Edwar has to make it, mainly because who else are you going to take?
let’s hope a squirrel craps in the TB dugout
Hey Kay, Leiter meant 2000. Geez, can anyone know less about the team he covers than this guy?
at this point, i’d put the squirrel into pitch over edwar.
Hey Bob Michaels….get a life and go away, you bother us !
making the playoffs isn’t a concern, its how far we get after the fact that should
Hey Joe,
Heard City College is offering a course in Bullpen Management. I strongly suggest you and Guidry both attend.
What exactly the point of yanking Igawa ?
Why hasn’t Bruney been relegated to cleaning the clubhouse ?
A DP would be nice here.
Go away Bruney!!! Get away from this team, that was unacceptable. I still like Ramirez.
“f we lose tonight then all it takes is 5-0 by DET and 0-5 by NYY and we’re out.”
Best post of the season
Our ole buddy Tom Gordon, just helped the braves blow their game open.
Edwar is horrible.. just because he added a change-up after getting fired from the Major League twice.. doesn’t mean he is any good. Just sit on his change-up and VROOOOOM!
I am going to be positive now.. I sware.. GO YANKEES, You have defied the odds all season and you are going to do it again!!! I Know it!!
Let’s see… watch the rest of the game OR marital activities with my GF??
TV OFF *POOF*
When Torre is gone and we start playing like the Mets, you guys are going to bitch to the high heavens.
Fortunately, that won’t happen for a year or two.
People who bring a college football mentality to baseball just have no clue. The best teams lose 50 to 70 games. It is frustrating. Deal with it.
HELLO – WE STARTED KEI IGAWA TONIGHT. THAT IS A LOSS.
It has been all year. It was just more interesting tonight the way it happened. And by the way, it is TB, we’ll probably win anyhow.
So relax you panicking people and stay out of my fox-hole.
SENIAL? If you can’t spell it don’t use it.
“It is just surprising there are so many apologists for him on here.”
Do we really have to go down Torre’s accomplishments over the years? He’s not going anywhere because his team gave up a grandslam. He wanted to see what Bruney could do and with an overcrowded pen with little time left he had to see for himself what he has available.
Had Torre taken Bruney out one pitch earlier he might have been considered for a playoff spot because he did get a strikeout tonight.
I hope we see all the scrubs this week.
That works as well, come on Ron, one more!
Get rid of Torre
Fat Arse Britton, while Villone is doing well…this is disgusting..
Wait, who are the bringing in?? Did I see Henn??? ARE YOU F’IN KIDDING ME!!
Uncle Vito – †his ¡s ®eallÃ? mÊ
September 25th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Oakland AND NYY both up 1-0 in the first inning…get the lead…hold the lead…get the lead…hold the lead….
.
96-66
.
DIVISION CHAMPS HERE WE COME !!!!!!!!
.
for those who talk about bullpen management, honestly, who do you want picthing> Outside of Joba and Mariano, who do you throw out there>? I hate to quote Rick Patino, but Jeff Nelson is not coming out of that bullpen, Mike Statnton is not coming out of that bullpen. Honestly, who does he pitch?
The g-man will hit a homerun when he ph for dougie
Lets go Yankees.. 2 runs for us in the 8th. Lets do it.
Teflon Joe`s days are numbered.
The whole “Torre is trying out guys” is such BS. He had a FIVE run lead. How about winning the game? Then, you have FIVE GAMES to “tryout people”.
It was just an awful job of managing and it may cost them this game.
If it does, its 100% on Torre.
If he was actually “trying out” people, how about trying Ohlendorf in that spot? Wouldn’t that constitute more of a “tryout” than Bruney, who has NO chance of making the playoff roster.
Its a BS excuse from the Torre apologists. The guy is a nightmare managing a bullpen. Always has been, always will be.
The post-season? They better score a ton of runs and take all of the decisions out of his hands. If not, he will find ways to lose games rather than find ways to win games.
Oh great!!!! Britton!!! The only thing worse is that guy Dane Cook doing the “Actober” commercial. He is about as funny as Torre is good at managing.
Wow.
(I’m crying inside and it hurts)
Does Britton have a watermelon under his shirt?
this game doesn’t mean anything… the real season starts next week… why are people getting so worked up about it?
as long as the pitchers who will be on the playoff roster are rested, who cares who Joe T puts in???
It’s officially crappy reliever tryout night. Clearly Joe is aware that the Yanks only need one more win to make the playoffs.
Can the Yanks win with Matsui swatting at flies against left-handers in the post-season?
Matsui swings like he he’s wearing a backpack full of bricks – he falls backwards – I cant remember the last time he drove a ball to left field.
The lineup I posted against Sabathia was a question posed to you all – and the point is that with such a lefty-heavy lineup, a guy like Matsui, who provides protection for Arod, needs to be effective. I’d rather send a RH batter up there and take my chances.
we score 3 runs this inning
PB in DC ….yes that was me projecting positive,,,you got a problem with that ?????????
Man Pete, I love the blog. But calling Bruney a “darling of the stat geeks” shows such ignorance of the stats themselves. If anything, he is the complete antithesis of the type of pitcher the stat geeks like: good raw stuff, poor control, low HR/FB rate, awful K/BB rate despite the high strikeout numbers.
Edwar I’ll give you, but Bruney? Nobody likes Bruney except the “anti-stat geeks” who only care about how fast you can throw.
OK, let’s get some runs!
Offense should have tacked on earlier this game but they went to sleep after A-Rod’s granny. Let’s keep the pressure on Boston even though quite happy in second place and a first round date with the Tribe.
Luigi on a Gman homerun.
Jennifer,
The “G-man” uhm.. have you noticed that he is horrible? have you noticed after his meeting with Selig.. he even stopped the HGH since they can now test for it?
Man, he looks soooooo skinny… I am gone for real.. Got something better to do than get more upset then I am already.
Who does he pitch?? why not start with the guy that pitched 6 scoreless innings? Or the Villone who just had a respectable showing on the mound? Start drumming up your playoff roster AFTER you are officially in.
All right Britton! This game is still ours for the taking!!
P.S. I choose not to fuss about Torre, because his moves aren’t perfect, but there’s really not anything that I can do about it! His four championships speak for themselves. I just sit and watch the games, nothing else!!
I was going to post. Jorge double, Cano walk, Gman homerun.
Let’s see if we can play fundamental baseball and get Jorge over and get him in. I would even consider pinch running for him.
Is Britton that bad? I always thought he was pretty good. Thsi is an actual question–I think I missed the games he blew or something…
Okay, Yanks, let’s bring Jorge in! We score this inning!
WE WIN TONIGHT!
LET’S GO YANKEES!
I’m not on St . Joe for tonight…Postseason is in the bag, Division certainly is not….I think the pen is loaded with hope so’s & maybe’s that the process of elimination must take place…It is disturbing that this late in the season that the bullpen is still an issue….I much rather go with the guys who have been effect and contributed this month or so than the up and down guys….Roll the dice with Hughes, Kennedy. and maybe Ross O. along with Joba & Mo…..Offer flexibility at least…
Hip Hip Hoor-hay!
I have a problem with setting yourself up for disappointment… who cares what the red sux are doing? who cares about the division? who cares about some unrealistic record (96-66) for the regular season?
they have a ticket to the dance, now the Yanks should rest up, get focused and come out guns blazin’ NEXT week…. NOT this week. Everyone chill. You’re acting like a bunch of amateurs.
Dave –
you were paid (not payed) $0 for that entry. Divide that by the time it took you to type that entry and you get what your entry added to the conversation.
Just like Melky, you’re killing us.
so how underrated is it having Jose Molina…. with Nieves you could NEVER pinch run for Posada…. great job Cashman….
HIP HIP JOR-GE!!!!
JoPo, NYY MVP
Nice. Have to PR here even though you know there’s a good chance we’ll bemoan this in extras.
com’on Robi
_Get rid of Torre_
Great idea! Let’s fire the manager a week before the post-season!
J-PO!!!!
Um, I don’t think Bruney was ever a darling of the stat geeks. Edwar certainly was; a computer reading of his stats accounts for how the Yankees discovered him in semi-pro ball.
The Yankees signed Bruney last year because he threw 95mph and the Diamondback released him, largely for the same vice he’s demonstrated this year, wildness.
Bruney certainly doesn’t deserve to make the post-season roster but I hope the organization doesn’t give up on him. Someone fixed his mechanics once before and he was instrumental to their bullpen last year. A similar correction might restore Bruney’s control and confidence next year.
I don’t know what the bullpen is going to be, and yes, some guys have stunk recently. But go back to September of 1996 and look at how bad David Weathers and Grahme Lloyd were. Weathers ERA with the Yanks was 9.35 or so and Lloyd’s was 17.47. Look what they did in October.
I’m not saying that is what is going to happen. Just trying to give some perspective. No one knew going into October if Joe would take them or not. Brian Boehringer wasn’t the greatest either at that time.
Tk,
As long as this team has the payroll they have, there won’t be much slippage Post-Torre. They will always be competitive.
He’s FAR from the sole reason the team has been successful. That’s not minimizing his accomplishments. Its just that, on the pecking order, he isn’t the sole reason the Yankees have had success.
You could make a pretty good argument though, his decisionmaking in the ‘03 WS, last 4 games of the ‘04 ALCS, and last years ALDS played a role in their losing those series.
He’s done a great job here for a long time. However, his bullpen management is a joke. Even his staunchest apologists agree that is his weakness as a manager and its reared its ugly head again tonight.
Win or lose this game, that’s the biggest fear of a lot of Yankee fans in the post-season. His bullpen management.
from this point forward, i think torre needs to drop matsui to 7th or 8th.
That was a bullet by Robbie.
Jorge could have done that!!! See he pinched ran for him 0 outs man on second??? WTF?
Runners on the corners!!! Way to go Robbie!
YOU CAN ON JORGEEEEE!
sj44, you cant have it both way. You formulated that torre was trying out people based on the comments on this page. Speakin of BS, what do you know what torre is thinking about? Then you say, he should have tried Ohlendorf. I swear, you are the type of person that would be chewing out Torre if Ohlendorf would have given up the lead. I can see it “why not bring Bruney in that situation.
haha I love how many ppl were obsessed with bruney last off-season wat happened to all you guys that were bashing me for saying last yr was a fluke? Ppl love to take 15 inning seasons and extrapolate the $#@% out of it. Bad stupid idea. Cant kennedy just pitch a couple of games out of the bullpen in the post-season? All they want to do is win the world series but wont allow a rookie to pitch four innings out of the pen with two days off between appearances. COME ON! I would like the rotation to be wang, pettitte and clemens in the ALDS with mo, chamberlain , viz, kennedy, hughes, moose and ohlendorf in the pen. four rookies in the pen – how can u go wrong? LET KENNEDY PLAY – The sixth and seventh inning relief may make the difference between another ring and another miserable winter.
Sardinhia should have scored, no?
I hope Dougy bunts. Very surprised Giambi is hitting here. I would have preferred to squeeze with Doug. He bunts well.
Jeez enough already. We hear ya SJ and even feel for ya but will ya climb off that whiny horse and give us all a break.
Once everybody just admits there are only two reliable arms in the bull pen everybody can calm down. The yankees have the worst ERA of any of the teams in the AL playoffs, especially their bull pen. This has been their MO for 157 games do you think its going to stop when theyre facing boston, cleveland or LA? I love this team but we all know they are going to have to score runs to win this year.
com’on Jason
SJ,
Ohlendorf pitched yesterday. Edwar and Bruney have shown flashes throughout the year. I can’t fault Torre for giving them a shot in a relatively meaningless game. I am in no way a Torre apologist. I have screamed louder than anyone everytime Vizcaino came into a blowout game. Torre makes a lot of bad moves but this is nowhere near the top.
~Adam.
“Does Britton have a watermelon under his shirt?”
No, he is just happy to see you –
drum roll.
[cough]
I agree with PB in DC. I’m pretty sure we’re going to win a game this week. Joe is using the scrubs. Why do people blame him when releivers blow a 5 run lead? Why blow out our best bullpen arms to secure a 5 run lead? If he had put in Viz, you’d be killing him for putting in Viz in a 5 run game!!
Edwar, Brunny, Villone, Britton ALL suck, they’re not going to be pitching next week…. AND we still will probably win this game.
All the Torre haters need to stop looking at everything through Torre Hating Glasses. Chill out. I don’t remember people saying he couldn’t manage a bullpen when he had Mendoza, Stanton, and Nelson. They were just WAAAAAAAAY better pitchers than half the idiots we have now.
TK – Just to clarify, who were you talking to? Or, should I say, which “Dave”?
C’MON GIAMBI!!!!!
the drugs are catching up!!
sonofa**** shut up about playing time Al !!
this is crazy – we’re out hitting them 11 to 4 and losing 6 to 5.
nice job giambi
Okay I guess I was wrong about the G-man.
Terrible AB by Giambi. Pick him up Melky.
Ugh. Come on Melky!! You can do it!!
Its so sad to think I actually preferred Minky in that situation over Giambi…
Torre ruins bullpen arms. Torre’s a bum because he pitched these guys.
The hypocrisy on this blog is sometimes astounding. Can’t have it both ways, people. There are three reliable arms in the bullpen: Mo, Joba and Viz. It’s the sixth inning in a 5-0 game. He should be using one of those guys in that spot? With the playoffs days away?
Torre used the guys at his disposal. They failed, big time. If this had been the playoffs, those guys wouldn’t be in. Cause they won’t be on the roster.
I mean, even Mo gets no respect when he runs into trouble. Thank God Joba is infallible, or else I’m sure he’d hear it too.
It’s whining like this that give Yankee fans a bad name. Torre’s won 4 championships. For those of us who lived though the Yanks of Bobby Meachum and Andy Hawkins, we don’t take that for granted.
They are gonna appeal.
MELKYYYYYY
Wow that was lucky!! That was a good play at the plate. tie game 2 out, we can still take the lead on a base hit.
AWESOME – MELK MAN!!!
Okay. Game tied.
Let’s pretend it’s 0-0, whole new ball game.
LET’S GO YANKEES!
tkindc – and what a brilliant comment you made. Im so sorry for the time you lost reading my comment.
Giambi didnt even see 1 strike. His contract has to be the worst in the history of baseball.
melkster.
They just showed the replay and he clearly left on time but the Rays are gonna appeal.
1st and 3rd nobody out, agaist this bullpen …if we don’t at least tie this game..i am gonna be ill !
He was out if Navarro didn’t drop the ball.
~Adam
I for onewould have been much more upset to see Vizcaino there.
Not sure pnch hitting for Minky was wise given that all we needed was contact (Minky is better at Giambi at that) but no harm done.
god that why Brett Gardner is better for this pinch running thing
Johnny, Please get another hit!!
6-6.
It’s not 96-66, but I’ll take it.
damon singles…. joba, mo, win !!!
Tie game!! That’s what great teams do, bounce back from adversity!!
anyone who thinks ohlendorf will make the post-season roster is delusional. have you paid any attention to the way joe torre operates a bullpen or a post-season roster? do you really think he’s going to take a guy who just joined the major league team over the many other choices. i’m not saying it’s the right decision, but if i were a betting man, i’d say torre will not be using ohlendorf as a post-season weapon based on a few innings’ work.
Which clown pitches the 8th?
Dan Wheeler…If Tampa would have only left him in to pitch the ninth of their second game against Boston, they would have won that game!
great, they tied it… if they can clinch tonight, I’m aaaaaalll for it, but enough with the bashing of Joe T and worrying about the division and some arbitrary 96-66 number… focus on getting to the world series. period.
well, boston is going to win, and detroit already has – so if the yanks want to win a playoff spot, it’s on the team (as it should be)
“His bullpen management” is english for crappy bullpen. We have a crappy bullpen people. Stop blaming torre.
If tie game bottom 8, does Joe go for the win to clinch and bring in Joba? Doubt it. They would have shown him warming.
96-66 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS GO YANKEES!
Johnny Damon is 5-5.
He wants the postseason pretty bad, doncha think?
Captain clutch up. 5-5 for Johnny b good.
How do you not score on that?
Damon is BIG TIME TONIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damon should pitch the 8th..
jeter, joba, mo !!!!!!!!!!
Johnny’s got to go. They won’t throw through.
Joe might go to Rivera if the Yanks get the lead by the bottom of the ninth. Otherwise, I don’t expect to see Joba or Viz out there. It’s tryout night!
Would have been a close play…
5 hits for Johnny!! Captain, this is your time!!!!
Damon 5 for 5!!! GO JOHNNY GO!!
Let’s go JETER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shallow fly ball, on a deeper ball he had the runner dead at the plate, but navarro dropped it.
Damn, if only Cano had Reyes-type speed!
I think Viz is unavailable.
I think the bullpen try out is over for tonight.
I like how people feel the need to make comments about others spelling in a blog comment section to feel better about themselves- tk keep doing that your not a loser.
SJ –
As always, I respect your opinion.
My opinion is that NYC is a town where it is unbelievably hard to manage. I think that just about any other manager whose team had started out the way the yanks did this year would have either crumbled or would not have enough “street cred” to survive.
This year is his best job, i think. Bill Madden made the point on the FAN today that this was Torre’s best year and that the pressure on this team (and Cash, and Torre) was greater than it has been.
With your boy A-Rod flourishing, and all the HUGE egos on the team clearly balanced, I don’t see how you can possibly call for his head when Mattingly or Girardi are the managers-in-waiting.
JMHO
Dave:
What does the term “shut down” mean to you?
Because that is what Ian Kennedy is.
Pitching around Jeter to get to Abreu.
Cashman will decide who’s on the postseason roster…I think Torre’s input is decreasing as his his clout…..Looks like Damon wants to play in October
We better see Joba.
Abreu, A-Rod, Matsui – as long as someone half way reliable comes in now I’m feeling pretty good
Yow…That hurt!
All right, we tied the game, let’s hope our ‘pen can actually pitch a scoreless inning now…
What was he looking at? I hate when he does that lean thing.
Guess not.
So will we see JOBA?
They continue to take pitches down the middle of the plate with 2 strikes and RISP. Man, when the Tampa Bay bullpen can get outs for almost 5 innings, that’s saying something.
Its why you can’t flush five run leads down the drain. You don’t always score 10 runs a night to overcome managerial incompetence.
_He’s done a great job here for a long time. However, his bullpen management is a joke. Even his staunchest apologists agree that is his weakness as a manager and its reared its ugly head again tonight._
_Win or lose this game, that’s the biggest fear of a lot of Yankee fans in the post-season. His bullpen management._
His bullpen management may be Torre’s weakness, but tell me exactly which managers in MLB are known for greatness in that department?
I don’t know of any. It all depends on the horses you have out there and the number of innings the starting pitching eats every game.
Managers who have the luxury of great starting pitching and solid arms in the pen are geniuses in that department because they have the horses. It’s not about their decision-making.
Tom Verducci said it best last week when he posted the number of games Yankee starting pitchers have thrown 7 IP during the Joe Torre era.
Truth be told, nobody was questioning Torre’s bullpen management throughout the late 90s dynasty when he had 4-5 horses in the starting rotation eating tons of innings and not making the pen work night after night.
I suggest you read it.
what was that ??????????????????????
Come on now, a scoreless 8th, we score in the 9th, Mo closes it out and we are in the playoffs! How does that scenario sound?
ok, took a walk, feeling a little bit better now, sorry all for flippng out before but geez that was just the most frustrating thing in the world.
Deep breath, let’s go Yankees…let’s win this!!
Keep your collective fingers crossed that the Rays bring in Reyes for the ninth!
Mike S.
But for how long? I heard Kennedy was shut down, but didn’t hear if it was for a few days, the regular season, til next spring?
I doubt we’d see Joba tonight. He pitched 2 innings, had one day off and then went 1.2 innings and has had one day off. Think he gets a second day today and then goes back to back tomorrow and Thursday 1 inning each game.
OH NO!!
Go for the win Joe. Let’s clinch this thing. You’ll then have all week to toy around.
Oh no, Krazy’s in!
…
Farnsworth in a close game that means something?
Umm.
Right.
wait Farns in? OK maybe I’m not feeling better about this after all…
tk keep doing that your not a loser.
I think you mean you’re not a loser. LOSER.
And the tryout continues!!!
well seeing that torre wanted to see if joba can got on back to back nights why not start tonight
We are just going to repeat the early exit with Torre as the mgr. Give him a 300 million payroll and he still will find ways to lose.
back to back for farnsworth?
Ian Kennedy is not in the conversation. He is shutdown for the season. He won’t be on the post-season roster. He isn’t pitching anymore this year.
They are probably looking at Ohlendorf and Veras now for the final spot in the bullpen. Bruney is out and I can’t see Edwar on the roster now. That’s 4 straight awful outings. He isn’t good enough to be on the post-season roster.
7-3 final at fenway…
while we are at it, we should get rid of jeter. i can’t believe he struck out there. his clutch at bats are the worst ever. this team blows.
you guys need to relax
if torre took bruney out and put in one of our many other clowns in the bull pen, then you guys would have gotten angry about that move.
it never ends with you guys. you are all experts at managing after the play is over, amazing stuff.
exciting to see farny pitching from the windup again haha i guess? except kay and al forgot he did that last time he pitched
MIKE SCOSCIA HANDS DOWN!!
Duh… Farnsworth pitched from the windup last time out.
Giuseppe, no need to convince them. their minds were made up.
is he pitching from his wind up ?
Mike S my point was – he shouldnt be shut down if he is fine. We need someone to pitch the seventh inning in the post season and the eighth when joba isnt available. We rnt winning the world series with mo and chamberlain as our entire bullpen. Hughes has been horrible in his first inning of most appearances. Viz is an enigma. Farnsworth shouldnt be on the post season roster. Moose is a decent long man. But we need another shutdown reliever. If kennedy is fine, we really need him on the roster to win. We r talking about ten innings tops and at the minimum every other day off. He has four months to recuperate.
Farnsworth pitched yesterday. I thought he didn’t pitch back to back days. And he struck out the lead off hitter. I’m so confused!
My god…I just got home from an exam and what’s this I see. Arod hit a slam but our relievers give up the lead as quick as that. One-pitch pitchers don’t work when your only pitch is the change-up.
And Bruney is just horrible. No more of him, please.
With that said, we will win and clinch tonight. Because I am sure that TB has a worse bullpen than we do (it’s VERY hard to get worse than TB)
I feel that Kyle Farnsworth is like Rex Grossman…. Good Rex/Bad Rex…. Good Kyle/Bad Kyle
i’m glad to see farnesworth get some work in so we can see what he has for the postseason… b/c that is where all of my focus is already (and Joe T’s too)
Come on Farnsworth, one more out!!
Greg S.,
Amen
Why exactly was Kennedy shutdown? Is his so-called “back strain” really something worse? I read somewhere today that he was feeling better and would like to try pitching again (I think it was Newsday online).
It’s a shame, really. He was pitching so much better than Hughes, and I have a feeling Roger isn’t going to make it (so we really could use an effective replacement).
Love that Krazy Kyle wind-up. Becca, you all over the New Kyle?
farnsworth gets out of the inning. No word
farnsworth gives up a run: Why wasnt joba pitching
You cant win with this crowd
Come on Farnsy !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Farnsworth for two days in a row?! What is Torre thinking? Fool.
Good point, Andrea. I too thought they never used KKK on back to back days.
farnsworth has looked good up until the last 3 pitches…
I have heard the term “effectively wild” before but I think Kyle Farnsworth embodies the term “ineffectively wild”.
Nice Job Kyle. Now we take the lead,and gotta go to Mo.
…
Okay. So of ALL the pitchers to have a 1-2-3…Farnsy?
Irony is the spice of life.
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Beautiful. It must haunt him that he can’t do that more often with his stuff.
holy crap. back to back days with 1-2-3 innings for Farnsworth.
Oh, wait, Farnsworth was successful. That must mean that the posters would’ve made that move, too.
Woah. Can this be possible?
1-2-3 inning from Krazy Kyle, 2Ks!
AND IT’S GOOD REX…. I MEAN KYLE
one run please
JoeT YANKEES- Very good comparison and now it’s backup Rex or 2nd string Rex!
Good Kyle showed up. Thank you Farns.
I actually like what I saw
why not try farnsworth out as a starter, i know he broke into the majors as one, he seems to have the arsenal to do so and he just looked great there pitching out of the windup
He looked very good in this outting.
“I feel that Kyle Farnsworth is like Rex Grossman…. Good Rex/Bad Rex…. Good Kyle/Bad Kyle”
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. – If IPK can dress up like Dorothy, then I say he’s still good to pitch, too!
Anybody hear about the lottery yet????
123 Krazy inning…..
We have to win now.
A Rod wins it. Mo Finishes it. Done and Done.
Did I just imagine that?
Good job, Farnsy!!
A-Rod Wins this with one swing!!
KYLE WINS CLINCHING GAME? bank on it
PLEASE give us Reyes!!!
His first season he was a starter and not very good
http://www.baseball-reference......ky01.shtml
Sad that Sox fans have more dignity when their team is on the losing side. It’s almost comical the way people meltdown on this blog.
y can kyle only pitch like that every ten appearances or so
I don’t care who is pitching – if you blow a 5 run lead during a game you can clinch a playoff spot, something should be said…
Let’s get it started Candyman.
That’s 12 out of his last 14 outings that have been scoreless. I’ll sign up for that.
Uh, oh, though… that means if he pitches in 7 playoff games, he’ll be successful in only 6? Darn, what will the experts say then?
Yes Reyes!! You did it agains the soxs, do it against us!! Blow this game!
Damn, Farns was savage. With his stuff, it is infuriating that he doesn’t pitch like this regularly.
+1 Farns for the playoff roster.
BTW, Me thinks KK is anti-Semite. I have no basis for this conclusion. But why not allege it? The press rarely has any better sources for its conclusion than pure conjecture.
BTW, as opinion, that’s protected First Amendment expression.
Besides, I really don’t care what KK thinks– I don’t even care if he kills dogs in his spare time– as long as he throws strikes.
Just throw strikes, Baby.
Yes, Reyes!!! If they can’t beat up on good old rope-a-dope Reyes, then I have to wonder about this offense…
Farnsy was dealing tonight once again. 2 nights in a row ?
WOW !!!!
Farnsworth is definitely better than Bruney.
Darnit, so close yet so far.
Torre gets the credit for catching lightning in a bottle ans Farnsy having that inning…NOW…the heart of our lineup against the very WORST CLOSER in baseball….Let’s get some runs Dang it !!!
just imagine if farny had given up a run there,
“farny in back to back days??? that should never happen”
“torre is a moron, worst move ever”
instead
….
I did read Verducci’s story. I also read Buster Olney’s piece a while back that listed all the pitchers Torre blew out with his bullpen (mis)management. Frankly, Olney’s story has more substance.
We can agree to disagree on the subject.
On the subject of second guessing the Bruney decision, that’s a FIRST guess, not a second guess.
Why in the world would you put in a guy who can’t get outs? I guess Kansas City, Friday night, his last 15 outings as a Yankee relief pitcher was not enough. The guy hasn’t been good in months. He wasn’t going magically find it tonight. Especially after he walked in his 6th run of the year. Not exactly, “lights out”.
Brian Bruney has as much of a chance of being on the post-season roster as Jose Tabata.
It wasn’t a tryout, it was a bad decision. Even though those who think Torre walks on water will never admit it.
Bobcat, he is thinkin lets get an out without using Joba, Viz or Mo.
I’d like to see Britton or Ohlendorf up next. Whether we put up a run or not.
Hehe it is Al ‘there is no game I cant lose’ Reyes
MJL- Have not heard about the Lottery.Doubt they’ll send out emails during the game, much less until they count up how many seats are left from the Season Tix holders. Probably will happen over night.
Come on Bobby. Start it off.
Jose Veras is warming. We score or we lose. Plain and simple. No Viz tonight?
i think torre is holding open reliever auditions for the playoffs today. It is so obvious that he has no clue yet who we should be taking into october with us from the pen. Besides Mo and joba they all suck
We can’t let a pitcher who blew 4 games to the soxs beat us!!
MVP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hmm, is it too much to ask for the Yankees to win in nine innings?
LET’S GO YANKEES! YOU CAN DO IT!
i think it’d be worth it to try farnsy as a starter in spring training, if it works it dramatically increases his trade value, if not just send him back to the pen
A-Rod sandwiched between two slumping hitters… Come on, guys, snap out of it already!!!
OH
Almost!! another so close yet so far. Sui’ you are due!!
Brian,
My last few posts have been sarcastic, targeted at the “experts” on this board who think they know baseball. They know who they are, as they are all-knowing.
SJ44- WHO do you suggest he puts in there? Viz? Mo? or Joba? Those are the three reliable arms. It would have been mis management to put them in… in a 5 run game…. in the 6th… against TAMPA BAY.
son of a ^%*&^%^&%*! Matsui..it is up to you, PAL !
Who plays on the warning track?
The wind must have got that one.
This freaking blows…
I’m tired of losing to the g-damn D-Rays this year!
if al reyes gave up those winning homers to boston, he’ll probably shut us down tonight… go figure.
sj44,
here is my thing though… you blow up on torre for leaving him in there.
let’s say after the second walk he pulls him and puts farny in there…
and farny is the one that gives up the grand slam…
then S*** hits the fan anyway because he pitched yesterday and is frightening in tight spots overall
this is what i am saying. anyone can say, well he should have left bruney in there, or he should have put farny in there, after that pitcher gives up the runs…
com’on Reyes you aren’t this good !
How about Ohlendorf or Villone to start the 6th Adam? Or, start with Edwar, then go Ohlendorf or Villone? How about Karstens?
You mean to tell me the only option he had in the 6th was Bruney? Sorry, I am not buying that.
ok, so MVP Arod doesn’t come through here, but don’t you just get the feeling that he is having one of those seasons that will carry through to the playoffs and win an ENTIRE series for this team???
Everytime he comes up, the anticipation just builds… this is one of the most outstanding MVP seasons I’ve ever seen, no exaggeration.
Adam is right, you would complain about the overuse of the good arms if he used them. Then you would cite Quantrill, Sturtze, Proctor et al.,
SJ44,
Your argument is contradictory. You cite Torre mismanaging the bullpen and blowing out arms. All very true. Then you argue Bruney shouldn’t have been in. This whole billpen outside of the big 3 (Viz, Joba, Mo) is unproven. there really were no great options. I myself would have gone to Villone but it’s not like he’s so much better than the alternatives.
Jose Veras or Mo? We want MO!! Score a run!
Bruney had an outside shot until tonight. All of you calling out Torre, aren’t you the Bruney same people calling him out for not using Bruney in the 8th only a couple of months ago? If he’d come in and got a quick out there you would be screaming for his inclusion on the post season roster. I’d rather he was put to the test now instead of October. He failed so we dont need to worry about him anymore.
Dont forget he came in with men on base but a 4 run lead as well. He outdid himself to blow that one.
And we have time to put up runs against one of the worst pens in the league.
Trying out the fringe guys was the right move.
com’on Bet !!
Speaking of guys who are “due” and/or really need to show something right now… Betemit!!!
“Joe Torre would like to get it done tonight.”
Then why is a Sept callup warming up to pitch the bottom of the 9th?
Heres a K
great comment adam.
bring in someone you can actually count on…
then these guys complain, “here goes joe again, he only uses 3 relievers, they are going to be exhausted come playoff time.”
“why would joe bring him in when we are up by 5 against the devil rays? what a waste”
i could go on for days about this, but i’m just gonna watch baseball
Did anyone else just lose sound?
Here’s come the 10th inning.
that reminds me – where is that spanky fellow who was all up abut bruney being better than farsnworth?
I would’nt be screaming at all because we would be winning the game by 4 runs in the ninth all things considered. Most of you are missing the point. This is about winning the game with a sizable lead against a bad team, not who should have/could have/would have pitched.
SJ44
Sorry, I’m not buying that Ohlendorf, Villone, or Karstens are any better choices there. If they’d given up a grand slam, you’d say “what about Bruney?”
I’m not buyin’ it. If you want someone to blame, blame Bruney.
Betemit is due. He should hit a “due” run homer
Does anyone know if we are carrying a third catcher while the rosters are at 40? Because to me, there is no reason not to carry a third catcher just in case you get into an extra inning game you can freely pinch run and such with your primary catcher without worrying about having only one catcher left?
Uh, guys, if you think the Yankees game is odd, check out the Mets…
I couldn’t stand to see Wilson K again…
this is pretty spankorific.
nooooo
dammit
I woulda let Molina hit….
Here we go again. It’s worse than being a manic depressive.
“Sorry, I’m not buying that Ohlendorf, Villone, or Karstens are any better choices there. If they’d given up a grand slam, you’d say “what about Bruney?â€?”
No, Ohlendorf and Villone are MUCH better options. Who would ever blame Torre for NOT putting Bruney in? He is good for at least a homerun each outting. I would rather see Shelley Duncan pitch over Bruney.
who is coming in?
A Tampa Yankee in King George’s Court-
No 3rd catcher. Too many pitchers on th 40.
Betemit is complete and utter garbage. The guy makes Wil Nieves look like Shoeless Joe Jackson. Absolutely disgusting. And this is the guy that is potentially supposed to take over third if A-Rod bolts after this year? God help us…
fudge….fudgin’ son of a switch !!!
Well hopefully Wilson played himself off the roster too. And hopefully johnny gets to go for a 6-6 night.
adam, you are 100% right.”Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door. Robert Parish is not walking through that door”
If there is no save situation why not mo? or viz?
VERAS WARNING!!!
o there will be a save if they get ahead my bad
Someone please tell me what Betemit has done for us LATELY???
I was never calling for Bruney as an 8th inning guy. You have me confused with somebody else.
In fact, I used to argue with the statheads who thought it was “obvious” Bruney should pitch 8th innings.
They sent him down for a reason. He couldn’t get outs. He still can’t and yet Torre keeps using him. No idea why.
It would be nice if one time Betemit doesn’t strike out. I am not expecting him to get a hit or anything. Just don’t strikeout. It seems all he does is strike out. I can’t remember the last time I have seen a ML player strikeout as much as he does.
Damn does Betemit ever not strikeout? Instead of knowing the strike zone and just walking to 1st on ball 4. This will probably be the end of the game right here…Veras on for the bottom of the 9th. Do we have to see every AAA pitcher that the Yanks have in this game??!?!!!??!
MEts loss in a real bad way ..oh god why don’t I have a good feeling tonight …SCREW YOU BRUNNEY !!!!
Sj44,
Why don’t you start naming managers whose strength is managing the bullpen?
I’d say the odds are those same managers have great starting pitching that saves the pen a lot of innings.
Can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
Here’s the aforementioned Verducci argument for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about:
“Mailbag”:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/09/20/thursday.mailbag/1.html
lets go jose give us a good inning
This game has a bad vibe to it……I’ll go on the record, Wang, Pettite, Clemens, Mussina ( he’ll be the # 3 damnit ) Hughes…..Mo, Joba, Viz, Villone, Ohlendorf ( I hope )…..No Farns ……
There could be a situation for Mo to pitch
for a save
Hope I’m wrong, but I forsee a walk off by the comeback POY Pena. Hope i’m wrong
Stop the insanity
Hopefully, tonight’s game is a blessing in disguise:
Edwar and Bruney should be removed from any postseason consideration, and Wilson “K” Betemit should bat only if every other option has been used. Pathetic.
I pitch Joba regardless of what happpens I do not agree with this move.
clinc and then play around with guys. there closer pitched the 9th and is done.. the go to extra innings the yanks are in good shape..
bad move
Jose- One objective, get us to the 10th! You can do it!!
Veras ? I’m gone…Good Night, All…if this is how they are gonna treat the last 6 games of the season…I’ll tune back in for the first game of the ALDS ( assuming there is one for the Yankees ) See ya !!!
Wow, the game is clearly not a big priority to the team. Even on the road I would expect someone of some quality to pitch.
This is clearly an organizational decision to hold try-outs tonight. Earlier gripers please take note.
Get past Pena and he has a chance to put up a zero here.
the probability of winning a game tied with Joba or mariano in there is higher then a game from scratch..
Pena against Veras es no bueno.
dammit i cant stand pena, this dude hits a homerun everytime against us
We need a much larger bench ?????
RIGHT !!!!!!
We need more like 10 position players and 15 pitchers.
who ever was calling SJ44 a Bruney as an 8th inning guy is wrong. SJ44 was the one saying that we should get rid of Arod and sign Mike Lowell
we are enamored with Veras he has a 8 ERA..
so he looks good giving up runs, whoopy didooo
Darrin
September 25th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Hopefully, tonight’s game is a blessing in disguise:
Edwar and Bruney should be removed from any postseason consideration, and Wilson “K� Betemit should bat only if every other option has been used. Pathetic.
————————————————
see this is the type of comment that pisses me off did you see Betemit in the Dodgers when given time, or in Atlanta, he is a very good late innings batter , he just can’t do it when he’s regulated to the bench every day and batting 1 or 2 ABs every 2 weeks
Veras staying away from Pena…Walking him is better than giving up the game-ending HR!
I know why the Yankees traded Proctor but games like this are when you miss him. He wasn’t a dominant reliever and Torre abused him but he was certainly more effective than the Bruney’s of the world. He’d have made a nice back-end of the bullpen guy behind Joba and the Viz.
And I am not at all impressed by Betemit, haven’t been since day one.
And we’re off.
this isnt the inning for tryouts – cant torre pitch the entire pen tomorrow once we clinch. He is playing with fire right now.
Find the plate Veras. Don’t get into hitter’s counts.
Yes I agree Chi Dave, I was so relieved he didnt throw him a meatball the BB doesnt even bother me as much.
WTF happened? I’m on the road I hear that we have a 5-1 lead. Next update I hear we’re down 6-5. TG we tied it, but WTF?
See that Igawa threw a 2 hitter in 5 innings.
Joe, enough of the open tryouts, is one of the Farnsworth rules that he not pitch more than an inning?
Sometimes I really hate how Torre manages late tied games.
That’s o.k. a hold here will set it up for our baby bombers.
And why does Velandia look like Gerald Laird of Texas?
And why did Veras just walk the 11th man of the game?
Veras is now pitching for the third time in four days.
Anyone that says that Bruney is one of the “darlings of the stat geeks” in an attempt to try to prove that stats are no good must be an absolute moron. Firstly, “stat geeks” hate walks. Secondly, to use an example of 1 pitcher that stat people like (when they don’t) to prove something is beyond retarded. Then again, given the source, it’s not a surprise.
Yeah, I’m with the rest of you who have a “bad feeling” about tonight (and this inning, specifically). I want to stay positive for Rebecca, but it’s kind of hard to do at the moment…
Get a DP!!
double play?
Give him that 2-2!
Vito,
Assuming there is one for the Yankees? Are you serious??? Their magic number is 1….
make your mind up, is this team going undefeated the rest of the way (ie your whole 96-66 routine)? Or are they going winless. lol you’re all over the place now…
chill man, they’re in the dance… rest mo, rest joba, rest roger, get ready for next week!
omg a strike in a 3 ball count what a concept
i was about to say i have a headache from all these walks, nice pitch by veras, one more to go
Go NYR-
Puuhhhhh lease.
Villone? Ohlendorfe? You’d think they were Cy Young the way you describe them. Bruney needed 1OUT!!!! 1 OUT people. He walked two and gave up a slam. He sucks.
Villone has a 4.35 ERA and 1.3 WHIP. BAD.
Bruney has 4.62 and a 1.6 WHIP. equally bad
Ohlendorfe has 3.7 innings pitched in his MLB career.
Gimme a break.
Keep it up, Jose…Make me lose these late-inning blues!
Ugh, 11 walks. I would be willing to be the Rays dont get 11 walks in a three game series against any other team.
besides joba, mo and viz who else is in the pen? If its still tied in the tenth thats who will be in – i guess ohlendorf.
com’on lets fight for this one !!
ANyone know where Veras is from? That is, how did the Yankees acquire him? Was he an international signing or did they draft him?
Come on Yanks!!! Lets treat there bullpen like the garbage that it is.
going to the 10th
Phew. Not a bad job by Veras at all. Good call staying away from Pena and exploiting Young’s impatience.
Let’s go Yanks!!!!
Too good a pitch for 0-2. He got away with one. That’s why guys like Veras with decent stuff don’t make it in the long run.
~Adam.
The more I drink, the smarter you sound! The Yanks go to extras with the nay-sayers crying in their seltzer.
Veras does get us to the 10th! To quote the late great Mel Allen- “how about that!”
okay. Yankees, I would so love a Yankee win in extra innings, specifically, in the 10th, though I can handle 11 if need be. Like, you get one (or two or three runs), we get Mo up, get Mo in, win game, have champagne, and I go back and write the rest of my geography paper, and go to sleep before 2 AM.
Sounds reasonable, no?
OK, now pinch-hit The Attorney General for Giambi! I’m serious!!!
PB in DC …i was trying 2 project neg. 2 see if that would work !… LOL….
migames-
THanks for the compliment, but I could do without Celtics allusions. I HATE the Celtics, I’m all Knicks.
The KNICKS!!!! THAT’S WAHT A POORLY MANAGED TEAM LOOKS LIKE!!!!!!!!
Really, when did I say “get rid of Arod and sign Mike Lowell”?
I never said that, ever. But, keep trying. Doesn’t cover up the fact our clueless managed a sure win into another extra innings game.
Who handles bullpens better? Tony LaRussa for one. Bobby Valentine for another. Mike Socisica is another. That’s 3, how many more you want?
Rebecca – Geography?! They still teach that subject?!!!! Wow…
michael kay is really a moron. yeah veras with his stuff if he could get the pitches over the plate and throw strikes he would be effective..Really what aconcept a guy with good stuff and has control, that is called a good pitcher…
The Veras pitching was still a bad move, end it here, make the playoffs tonight and then figure out your 10th and 11th pitchers…
Joba now if we do not score and the tampa pen stinks and there 2 best relievers were used already. I will take our chances with Joba against there junk….Do not use our junk also.
I’ll take Veras’ breaking ball over Bruney’s 4-seamer and Edwar’s changeup any day. Veras has good arm action and uses his body well.
Oh…Just realized Molina took Giambi’s spot. I’ll take it!!!
How many runs do we need to spot the opposing team before our bullpen is efficient?? 7,8,9?
Quality inning by Veras.
Oh Robbie.
Come on Jose.
Karstens is up in the pen.
The defense rests, we don’t care.
Didnt Jose Molina hit a home run against the Yanks in a playoff series? I would like to see just one homer hit for us.
haahaha, good Vito, you had me worried there… they’re going to make it, don’t drive yourself nuts lol
We need a lucky swing resulting in a lucky homer this inning…
sorry adam. I cant stand the knicks. but people still want Jeff Nelson coming out of that bullpen.
Another anology, which i hate to use, but true, is Rumselfs, you go to war with the army you have, not that army you want
This just in: Brian Bruney can’t throw strikes. Nice job blowing the lead.
Shame Veras couldn’t have gone another inning…
i guess its karstens not ohlendorf how silly of me? Are managers supposed to go from worst to best relievers in extra innings? I guess thats why we are 7-4 in extra innings and have more one and two run losses than everyone else in baseball.
Yeah SJ44, where’s Bobby Valentine when you need him!!?
Karstens warming?
I hate the message that Torre is sending. He’s saying “oh well, Detroit is bound to lose a game or we’re bound to win one sooner or later, so tonight’s game isn’t very important.” He’s probably right, but I hate that message.
glad i was wrong about pena HR, but i was thinking….
you can agree or disagree with this theory : (it’s hard to quantify) but the reason torre/guidry/cash might be using some of the back end guys tonight is to see them pitch in a game that means something. once they clinch, it’s a moot point. i often think the psychological aspect of baseball is overrated by the columnists, but tonight’s game can approximate some of the postseason pressure, and with only 1 gm to clinch, they’ve got some games to play with.
i’d rather they’d have gone for the jugular tonight, but i also want to give the yanks braintrust the benefit of the doubt.
I’m really glad Vinny gave me the ok to have a “victory” beer before…. 4 hours later in a 6-6 game.. I should’ve known…. come on Molina, give me a reason to have another lol
Tampa Yankee,
You’re late, he already did for us.
“SJ44 June 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 pm. I’d take Lowell and let Arod walk.”
Google yourself. You always say to stats heads to take your head out of the stat book and watch the game. I say to you sir, take your head out of the baseball game and search the internets. You will find great stuff
Chi Dave–Actually it’s the only class I’m in that I bother paying any attention to!
It’s kind of like poli sci meets sociology.
C’mon Yankees, can you win this, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?
Kay: “There no advantadge to winning the division…except for home field.”
Uh, I’d say that’s an advantadge I’d like to have. See Boone, Aaron 2003.
Rebecca -
A geography paper? How many pages about the Nile, the Himalayas or the continental divide?
com’on we need a run Karstens pitching the 11th
At this rate we will have to depend on Wang to come through tomorrow (although his numbers against Tampa have not been great this year).
migames-
sorry, necon analogies are worse than celtics analogies.
THE IRAQ WAR!!!! THAT’S WHAT POOR MANAGEMENT LOOKS LIKE!!!!!
JoeT,
Never waste time by waiting is my motto.
Karstens… why would they use him, they have clinched nothing????????????????He stinks..
Throw your studs for an inning…….
All torre talks about is how important it is to clinch early and set up our roster and he is doing everything within his power to lose this game. Keeping out our three best relievers, taking out bats for pinch runners in a tie game. Keep going torre we might win one tomorrow and if we dont, who cares? We still have four more tries after that. When we are in a game five in anahiem again we’ll remember this apathy.
I hate pointless classes…. they cut into time that could be spent doing much more important things, such as watching bonus baseball, and hopefully at least 11 innings of it
Watching this game from the beginning I never thought it would go extra innings, should have been a cruiser.
oh, Melky. Why did you swing at that?
…
Well, in the 11th we’d have Damon, Jeter and Abreu…
LET’S GO YANKEES!
Yanks AAA pitchers have men on base every inning but there garbage 9 era pitchers get people out 1,2,3. Reyes sees Boston and he craps his pants…Cant the Yanks get 1 run???!!!! Its soo frustating!!
Darrin, do you prefer J Torre puts Mo in?? Yeah, lets do our best to burn out the most important arm on our team b/c our fans don’t feel like waiting a night or two to clinch a playoff berth… if Torre managed like that, then I’D BE calling for his head.
Karstens, Bruney, Jose et al are the right moves.
_Who handles bullpens better? Tony LaRussa for one. Bobby Valentine for another. Mike Socisica [sic] is another. That’s 3, how many more you want?_
First off, I didn’t ask you who manages bullpens _better_ than Torre. I asked you to name managers in which bullpen management is one of their _strengths_.
Secondly, you partially made my point. Scioscia has great starting pitching and a very good bullpen and that’s been the case ever since he’s been managing the Angels.
LaRussa is about to be run out of town in St. Louis.
Oh yeah, and Bobby Valentine hasn’t managed a major league game in 5 years.
qhy throw a game away?? really karstens pitching in the post season????
He stinks….I do not know why you give away a game you can win late when who knows what will happen tommmorrow…
I cannot believe this stupidity..
what in gods name is joe torre doing
They’re 4-7 in extras this year. Don’t like their approach in these games. Everyone is going for the HR instead of working their way on base and manufacturing a run. This team scores in bunches or not at all.
Next inning is our’s, if we last that long.
Chi Dave: Not only that but it’s also Wang pitching on turf. Don’t think he’s opposing anyone too impressive, though.
aww crraaaaap Rat face pitching the 11th
They obviously don’t care about this game tonight, and I’m wondering why. Is it just assumed we will clinch? Shouldn’t we clinch first and do away with assumptions? I’m just a little confused, but I’m not MLB manager.
Rebecca,
You made me smile. I was a geography major back in the day in college.
Sciosa pitches Shields or Rodriguez right now..
no Bootcheck pitching for the angels with these same circumstances…
stuart –
The white flag has been flying for hours. We are begging to lose this game. Please review the starting pitcher and relievers – all suck all the time.
10 ERA, he is a joke..
35 baserunners in 14.2 innings
marvelous
oo 26 hits in 14 innings – the nine walks in 14 innings and his god awful era doesnt look too pretty either.
the position players should thank edwar for his wonderful outting tonight by taking him out to dinner, have him pay for it, and leave him there.
the last time karstens was solid was spring training.
oh god, I cant watch.
At least TRY Ohlendorf, sheesh.
It worked last inning, I’ll try it again. Karstens, your objective- get us to the 11th. Come on!!
ouch
Pete’s a lifelong Red Sox fan?
I just read the linked interview from 2004 where Pete expresses his love for all things Red Sox.
This whole blog is complete reverse psychology started by a Sox fan. I feel violated.
And where’s Lynn with the inside poop on Bruney? I want to know how he’s emotionally handling his latest screw up. I predict he’ll be closing next season. Closing bars that is. He looks like he’ll make a good bouncer.
If he throws another pitch this season, it’s a disgrace.
And Edwar has successfully removed himself from the post season and most likely the 2008 roster.
Garbage loss tonight Pure garbage.
Jeff “Batting Practice” Karstens.
How obvious was that??????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW THE F*** DO YOU PICK KARSTENS !!!
WE LOST!!!
game OVER
thank you karstens – all over three pitches to end this pathetic game
Karstens? Yankees lose.. D:
karstens. thanks a lot.
screw u torre u blew this game intentionally. What a dumb@$$
Oh well. And from all people a former Yankee.
Nice pitch Karstens. You are loved by someone, somewhere, just not now.
Well that just goes to show that you don’t hold open tryouts when nothing has been clinched. Not that we won’t win at least 1 of the last 5 but COME ON!!!!
WHY???
Joe Torre better hope he never meets me in a dark alley. What a disgustingly, pitifully managed game. I am nauseous right now at the incomprehensible level of suckitude.
I can’t wait to see the Torre interview on this one…. maybe he can explain what the FFF he was thinking…. wrap it up joe geez
ONLY JOE BLOE!
This just in: Karstens stinks.
Hey Vito…let’s hear all your trash talking now.
*NEWSFLASH*
*KARSTENS ISN’T a MAJOR LEAGUER!*
I HOPE THE ALDS IS QUICK SO WE CAN FINALLY SEE THE LAST OF HIM!
This team can’t beat the worst team in baseball, and we expect them to be competitors in the playoffs?
Absolutely pathetic!!!!!!
How utterly demoralizing. How many of those 9 Navarro homeruns are off the Yankees?
I hate Karstens, Bruney and Torre with the fire of a thousand suns right now.
To call this game a farce and a disgrace would be an insult to farces and disgraces.
I knew this game was over the second I saw Karstens coming in to pitch.
Vito, so much for the 96-66 dream you helped to spread… but like I said b4, IT DOESNT MATTER… this team is STILL going to the dance… Now can we all focus on NEXT week and not THIS week?
Pathetic but they deserved it. Offense went to sleep and Joe surrendered this game.
Hey Joe, if you have one game to clinch then play to win the game. You don’t piss a way a 5 run lead and get this team rolling in the wrong direction. Get a feel for the moment. This is a bad loss regardless that the magic number is 1.
I MEANT BLOE, NOT KARSTENS!
why not give desalvo, clippard, or wright another shot instead of karstens
we know what he’s gonna give you
Can someone explain the strategy behind treating this game like a spring training game? Was it because it was in Tampa?
Did the Yankees try to lose this on purpose? If so, they did a fine job.
Navarro has 10 HR this season. 3 against yankees.
Thank you AAA Karstens…3 great pitches and it is over…He tried to cost the Yanks 2 games in 1 week, instead he only cost them 1..If they dont win tomorrow or Santana cant help them out then they will wait until Balt.to clinch. With Kazmir pitching the last game of the series.
So they got beat by 2 scrubs in extra innings in 1 week. Zaun and now Navarro.
Torre — That was awful.
I saw Karstens warming up, left the room, because I knew the inevitable was about to occur.
and heard/saw the results… maybe 3 minutes later…35 seconds later, not including the commercial break.
What a terribly managed bullpen by Joe…absolutely inexplicable.
I take full responsibility for the loss tonight. I was at work on Sunday and Monday, being unable to comment during the games, and we won. I’m here tonight and we lost, so maybe I should step aside for good luck tomorrow. Don’t blame Joe Torre, Brian Bruney, Jeff Karstens, or anyone else. Blame J-Dawg!
Anyone not named Joba Chamberlain or Mariano Rivera that comes out the Yankee bullpen might as well be called meat.
It’s like an endless parade of futulity when this bullpen is involved in a game.
Keep the champagne on ice…
again as I stated WTF are they pitching him?
The announcersd are morons they never question anything.. Karstens stinks he has been healthy for 2 months..
the 3rd pitch.. Torre is an idiot and I usually do not get so riled up.. WHen you can win a game that will allow you to then rest and get ready for the playoffs you do it………..
WHy wait till tommorrow, when no one knows what can happen tommorrow….
Sciiosca and others end it tonight..
good news amriano and joba got rest today, ooopss they will have to pitcvh tommmorrow.
THERE IS NO LOGIC TO NOT TRYING TO END THIS TONIGHT, NONE………….
IS Karstens a candidate for the postseason roster? No so why pitch him in a tie game late, there is no friggin reason……
joba and mariano were of yesterday and so was Viz…
throw the white flag up when you are getting killed or once you clinch not in a tie game in extra innings, no logic, NONE..
People cannot see the stupidity of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karstens 1 and 4, newsflash he sucks………
We pitched a bunch of crappy pitchers who are NOT going to the postseason with us. Oh well, we lost. But it looks like the guys who didn’t pitch tonight are going to the postseason. Ohlendorf included…. to be determined. I’m pretty sure the Yanks will win another game.
“Can someone explain the strategy behind treating this game like a spring training game? Was it because it was in Tampa?”
Two words: Joe Torre
Four words: Joe Torre is overrated
“I said it walk off win. Magic number 3! Go Sox!”
Good call… I mean once it goes to the bottom of the 9th all the Rays can do is walk off.
hey joe likes karstens approach so everyone relax
Pete, when u do the post game interview – ask torre why he is a moron. Ask him why he wanted to lose this game and did everything in his power to do so. Ask him when he plans and actually trying to clinch the pennant.
Well at least next year the Yankees will have a better draft pick than the Sox. Should be a stud, hopefully! lol Seriously though, I’m glad they are out of the division race. Now they can rest their players and gear up totally for the Red Sox. One thing I can’t understand though, why can’t the Yankees whip on Tampa’s bullpen like the Red Sox seem to do religiously?
blech…what a waste
I will never believe that Torre didn’t try his hardest to lose this game. There is simply no other excuse for the decisions he made. He is a joke when it comes to the bullpen and whatever “strengths” he has no longer compensate for his massive in-game idiocy. I really, really want him gone after this season.
“HELLO – WE STARTED KEI IGAWA TONIGHT. THAT IS A LOSS.”
It is not IGAWA who lost the game. It is clueless who casued the loss.
Vito; please shut the phuck up now.
Pathetic pitching by the bullpen…
Man…why not go for the jugular and the win/clinch?
Bruney, Edwar, Britton, Henn, Karstens…. Embarassing! Mostly Bruney.. can you release him tonight please?
Seriously, how many chances do you get? Give up a grand slam first-time MLB homer? I wish I had a phone number to call him and tell him that McDonalds is hiring.
stuart, RELAX
torre and everyone with half a brain and an ounce of baseball knowledge knows they’re in. Why are you getting so worked up?
Isn’t the magic number 1? Det trails by 5 w/5 games to go so 1 and done….
It’s hard to believe that Igawa could pitch a shutout game for five innings, and it’s even harder to accept the fact that with a five-run lead, the Yankees eventually lost the game. This is frustrating, though I know they will still make it for the playoff.
If pitching Bruney tonight means we never see him in the post-season, something good was at least accomplished tonight.
Brilliant Bullpen management…waste a 5 inning shutout by Igawa and a Grand Slam by A-Rod….accept a Wild Card spot instead of playing to win, WHEN YOU ARE UP 5-0 !!! Whoever made the decision to do this for the last 6 games of the season is a MORON…and when it backfires and bites them in the @$$,,,,they deserve what they then have coming…As a fan for over 40 years….I am sickened by this….Unless Torre wins the World Series…he needs to be gone…even if he DOES win the World Series,,,maybe he does us ALL a favor and leaves on the high note. ALL FREAKIN’ YEAR,,,he has NO CLUE how to manage the pitchers….and PITCHING is what we are having better and better players at that position….I’d say 95-67 at this point, but that would be laughable…more like 92-70 now that they have shown this “hand” ! If we get matched up against LAA in the first round and THEY get not only the Home Field advantage, but get to PICK THE SCHEDULING…we are gonna be at a HUGE DISADVANTAGE….that rested players will do little to overcome….too bad…the Yankees were on a great run and had the freakin’ Devil Rays down 5-0 and DECIDED NOT TO EVEN TRY TO CLOSE THE DEAL….yes, backing into the playoffs is the best way to go in….MORONS…TOTAL MORONS are the people that decided this is the best way…IDIOTS !!!
Dioner Navarro would be a sure-fire HOFer if he could only play the Yanks all 162 games a year.
Oh well, at least this seals off all hope of taking the division. Now, to at least clinch the WC. Joe, you’re going to have to bear down and cut out this tryout crap…At least for one more win, OK? Pretty please?!
Pb in DC.. they are in when they clinch not before then.
once they clinch we can relax……………….
things can happen………
clinch it then let these bums pitch…
i dont understand torre, when you have a chance to clinch a playoff spot you go for the jugular and get the job done with the players that got you into the position in the first place, its almost like he thinks they already clinched
Positive things- Wang is pitching tomorrow and I don’t care if it is on turf, he’ll do what an ace does and make the necessary adjustments. Also our top three relievers are rested and available for tomorrow. Tomorrow is when we clinch!!
Does Torre not realize he had a team that was white-hot and they were a no-show yesterday (I guess they don’t get up for games in front of 12,000 fans) and gave a way a 5-0 lead today by going to sleep?
Baseball can turn on a dime. You don’t take the pedal off the gas especially when you have a team this hot and one that hasn’t clinched anything yet. Now tomorrow becomes a big game not for the WC but for keeping this team from going the wrong way. Jeez, he’s become complacent.
It was only a matter of time – as soon as they failed to re-take the lead in the 9th, the only question was who would give up the game-winner to the Devil Rays.
i remember the game joe brought out viz when the yanks were down something like 10-3 in a complete blowout when he had pitched the day before. Joe abuses him in those situations but when we actually have a shot to win like a tie game in x tra innings he cant bring viz in. TORRE GET OFF OUR TEAM – U R WASHED UP.
George must be livid. He was at the game tonight.
Torre was showing him what a good pitching staff he has.
Cashman is probably hiding.
BBB please don’t say anything sensible. Please just act irrational like the rest of the fans in this forum. Joe Torre tried to lose this game, of course he did. The offense went to sleep although they had 12 hits, of course they did.
I am going to look at this as a positive:
Edwar and Bruney for sure are off the postseason roster so we wont have to depend on them in any kind of situation when it really counts
Farnsworth might have found something with his delivery
Veras looked good (not sure that matters much)
We didnt use Joba or Mo so we have them for tomorrow
Viz was not going to pitch topday so we also have him for tomorrow meaning we have our A team out there for relief pitchers rather than the D team
We only have to win 1 game out of the next 5 this loss is not going to keep us out of the playoffs
It wasnt a 14 inning marathon
You knew with Igawa you were not going to get a long start from him so I am not suprised by the outcome most of the people here thought (including me) we didnt have a chance as soon as he was named starter so I will think of this as what I thought it was going to be anyway rather than what it turned out to be
With that I am peace out until tomorrow
Bite me, trolls !
At least I won the post season ticket lottery! Just got my email and code. Now what do I do?
Round 1 or round 2 and hope for Red Sox/Yanks?
Vito…could you explain to me again how the Yankees will go undefeated the rest of the regular season and how the Red Sox will lose today and tomorrow. Just wondering.
Navarro – is now officially a Yankee Killer, right up there with best and the likes of Ortiz, Millar, etc. How many big hits has he had against us this season? 5, 10, 15 ?
Fast, please, someone round up this band of losers – Farnsworth, Bruney, Ramirez, Karstens – and shoot them in a backyard somewhere.
People-
Tonight we had Clemens scratched last minute, so we had to pitch Igawa. Clearly, this was a day off for our best pitchers. We have Wang, then Pettite going. We can go for the jugualr then… and just think our best pitchers will be rested.
We’ll be fine.
Let me first get this out of the way. We shouldn’t have lost tonight. Games like these can end up being momentum killers.
But for the last one week I wasn’t able to decide whether the yankees should push for the division or not. If we pushed for the division and won it, it would have been great. But I was worried that, if we tried hard but just came up short that would have us end up with no set rotation for playoffs AND no division. Atleast now we can give up on the division (being realistic) and line up our pitching and rest our vets once we clinch the WC (trust me guys, tomorrow is the day).
I’m so ticked at this joke of a game and the joke known as the back half of the bullpen….Bruney et al.
DEAR GRUMPY FOLKS, (and you know who you are)
As a self-appointed member of the Yankee Nation, I would like to refer to the standings:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/wildcard.jsp
It is laughable to get upset about the failure to clinch tonight when we have to win 1 game in the next 5 against the D-Rays and the L’s. We need to find out who can pitch and who can’t. It is better to find out in a pressure situation (clinching) than some miserable mop-up farce.
Please save your panic for the post-season if we go down a game. We are the best franchise in sports and your current panic is embarassing to yourselves, your pets, your neighbors, and me.
I dont understand how some people dont think it matters if they clinched tonight or 3 days from then. The offense can use the time off. Abreu and Matsui have looked like they are sleep walking. Arod also besides his 2 at bats today. The longest it draws out the worse it is…They cant even set their rotation until they clinch. Torre is just plain AWFUL with managing the bullpen. The other 3 teams in the A.L will have extremely rested players and the Yanks will be sleep walking.
Hopefully theirs a chance Ian Kennedy can pitch out of the bullpen in the post season and lets hope Olendorf gets a chance and maybe try Britton for more than a third of an inning and i still like Edwar Ramirez so lets take a nice long look at him next year in spring training i’m just surprised Torre didn’t bring in Sean Henn
All this complaining about Torre…
These are the players he has to choose from. As we’ve seen, nobody can get outs except two or three guys in the bullpen. That’s not Torre’s fault.
If he went to DeSalvo and DeSalvo gave up a walk-off HR, people would be saying he should’ve used Karstens.
With this bullpen, Torre has to make decisions between bad and worse on a daily basis. Bad didn’t work out tonight, would worse have been any better?
I’m not thrilled with the loss tonight, but I know that we’ll rebound like always. I’ll never stoop to being irrational. I prefer to leave that to others. I have no right to question this team or Joe Torre, and so I just don’t do it.
Stumbling to the finish line (in the regular season) worked for the Yanks in 2000. Could happen again, right?
“hey joe likes karstens approach so everyone relax”
This is a ridiculous comment.
people have such low standards. Veras pitches 1 good inning and he looks good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Now we look at our advantages for tommorrows game, we had the advantage tonight in a tie game late we have the 2 best relievers on the field and they do not get in the game which causes us to use more bad relievers whom sooner or later will fail..
Someone can explain to me how this is SMART???
This is idiotic, again Torre is trying out guys for the end of the pen spots now. He could do it tommorrow after they clinched tonight~~~~~~
what is the difference? You win a game that he can…………..
stupid………………….
It’s OK, at least we’ve seen the true colors of most of our reliever guys. We’ve been merely weeding out guys who are going to ruin games for us like this. Bruney’s out for the post season roster.
AL East is pretty much gone, no optimism’s gonna save that one.
But tomorrow I have absolute confidence that we will win the game because Wang is pitching – Wang will go out and dominate the Devil Rays like he has been for his 19th win (tying his record from last year), and we’ll clinch the wild card spot.
These guys are playing with absolutely no heart. A-Rod hit the grannie, and the rest of the team went into cruise control. After yesterday’s abysmal performance, Torre’s continuing baffling misuse of the bullpen, and today’s moon shots by Navarro and What’s-his-name, can anyone honestly say this team is not headed for another first round fizzle?
Teams lose games. It happens all the time. But the Yankees have been losing too many games badly.
“All this complaining about Torre…
These are the players he has to choose from.”
It’s as if some people think that if Torre doesn’t have 25 All-Stars he bears no blame for anything.
yea but you never know whats gonna happen tomorrow, wang could get rocked and we could get blown out
baseballs a funny game, you take it 1 game at a time, especially when its a game where you can clinch
“All torre talks about is how important it is to clinch early and set up our roster and he is doing everything within his power to lose this game.”
Well said. What else can you expect from clueless? Interesting to see how he will smooth talk out of this during the postgame interview. I hope big Stein is seething right now.
I hope Brian Bruney is shining my f***ing shoes come Monday.
I only saw the end. Why wasn’t Igawa stretched one more inning? He walked 5, but gave up 2 hits. Was it open bullpen night at the comedy club.
I usually don’t complain, but this one blows. Was it payback to Igawa?
Instead of Player of the Game, how about Loser of the Game
Text your vote to LoHud Yankees Blog:
a)Torre for taking out Igawa after 5 innings.
b)Torre for letting Edwar practice his new mechanics in a game that could have been a real pick-me-up for the team.
c)Torre for letting Bruney stay in after he walked two guys.
d)Bruney for giving up a grand slam on a rookie’s first homerun.
e)Torre for being afraid that the Farnsworth 1-2-3 was a mirage.
f)Torre for putting in a pitcher with a 10+ ERA in a game that his team fought back to tie.
Love my HOF manager, but this one really blows. I’ll put this one on Bruney. His job is to get outs.
Great prediction there Pete! 9-7! You should be a weatherman or a fortune teller!
Let’s keep telling ourselves that the title means nothing. It will make evryone feel better!
If we clinch tomorrow, we should not send out Andy, Mike, Joba, Mo or Viz on to the field until ALDS. May be we should even sit our position players every other day.
listen to these bumblers on the postgame show they are idiotic. 6th or 7th relievers, are critical!!!!!!!!
Lieter is a moron also………..
It’s Joba and Mo and then just say noooooooooooo . . .
“BBB please don’t say anything sensible. Please just act irrational like the rest of the fans in this forum. Joe Torre tried to lose this game, of course he did. ”
Oh, so he was trying to WIN by leaving Bruney in after he had walked in a run?
Yeah that makes sense. If I want to win, I absolutely leave a guy who cannot throw a strike to save his life in to pitch with the bases loaded. And if I want to win I definitely put in Karstens (with Ohlendorf and Viz available not to mention Mo) in a give up a run and you lose situation. Especially considering Karstens epic failed the last time he pitched in extras and was only bailed out by Melky.
“Please don’t say anything sensible” – take your own advice bro. Torre screwed us over with complacency and stupidity, to say otherwise is uber nonsensical.
The Yankees are not stumbling to the finish line. They just went 2-2 against a Toronto team that swept Boston. Now they lost an extra inning game to the D-Rays. I’m beginning to hate panicky Yankee fans I tell ya.
Im just wondering if all the Edwar Ramirez apologist are going to apologize to the people who said he wasn’t major league quality “yet”. Now maybe in the offseason he will improve his fastball or develop a 3rd pitch, but as of right now he is useless. And if you haven’t noticed, teams are swinging at his change up at all anymore. When Jonny Gomes, the definition of a free swinger, takes a 3-2 change up, you know you have problems.
Also I wish I can go back in time and bitch smack all the people last year that wanted to annoit Brian Bruney the closer of the future after 15 sucessful relief appearance. He is worse than Jay Witasick, and thats saying something.
Well anyways, now that Torre has gotten the crap out of his system by pitching every scrub we have in the pen, maybe now we can focus on winning the division tomorrow. Because I’m not counting on Santana to beat Detroit because Santana beats nobody so far this month.
Also, I know Damons ball just squeaked through the infield in the 8th, but why wasn’t cano running on contact!!!
Oh and Abreu, when you have a 3-1 pitch, its okay NOT to pop up the ball to an infielder.
And finally it would be nice if Matsui could get one big hit in his yankee career!!! And melky, take more batting practice!!!
Rant over, god what a frustrating game.
Hey, Pete was right about the Devil Ray’s score. He just had that 9 upside down for the Yankees!
Since Joe is auditioning pitchers, maybe Cashman can audition managers for the postseason. Torre out did himself today…it’s time to put Torre out to pasture. Hopefully, he doesn’t cost the team yet again in the post season. I really wish Cashman would just fire him now.
“All this complaining about Torre…
These are the players he has to choose from”
This is bunch of BS. When is he going to be held accountable for his incompetence?
whoaw
yeah i was making fun of Torre and the nonsense he comes up with to justify pitching people who have no business being in a game like this
OK…who are the pitchers for the postseason?
Starters:
Wang
Pettite
Clemens
Mussina
Bullpen:
Mo
Joba
Viz
Krazy Kyle
Phil Hughes
Pitcher X
Pitcher Y
Pitcher Z
Assuming there are 3 slots open to fill out the rest of the bullpen…who would you put in?
I supported Edwar. I was wrong. The question is: Why does Torre keep using him?
_I hate Karstens, Bruney and Torre with the fire of a thousand suns right now._
I think u forgot EDWAR “there’s a reason angels realesed him multiple time & I cry like a baby” RAMIREZ
raymagnetic – I was being tongue-in-cheek with the “stumbling” comment. Maybe you need to lighten up a bit yourself?
There have been times this season when I have been in full agreement with the Net’s nattering nabobs of negativity concerning Torre’s pen management. But not during these past few games. It has seemed to me that Torre has a proper understanding of what is important and what is not. Getting to the playoffs is important–and in a game or two, either the Yankees or Tigers will achieve this for us. Taking the division would give us some added bragging rights, but it is not important. Personally, I’ve liked the that Torre is giving all of the second-tier bullpen guys a shot to prove their mettle. After a season of middle relief disappointments, it’s scouting time again. No mid reliever can say he didn’t get a shot to earn his way into the postseason.
BBB my post to you was sarcasm. I thought you were sensible when you said the Yanks only needed to win 1 game to make it to the playoffs and not panicky like most of the other posters in this forum. Obviously I spoke to soon……
Brian Cashman did an AWFUL job with the bullpen this year and should be fired if the Yanks get knocked out in any postseason series including the World Series because of it.
He was sooooo bad in putting it together this year, 5/7ths of the postseason bullpen assuming a three-man rotation of Wang/ Pettitte/ Clemens will be made up of 5 past/ present/ future starters: Mussina, Hughes, and Kennedy (present), Ohlendorf (former), and Chamberlain (past & future). Vizcaino is the ONLY pure reliever besides Mo in the pen. I guess they could add an eighth reliever (3 starters, 8 relievers, 9 regulars, 5 benchplayers). This hurts the Yanks because as talented as all the starters are, they have little to no experience as relievers. Also the Yanks are putting Hughes and Kennedy at risk for injury.
Nevermind Chamberlain cuz it was a no-brainer to call him up and Cashman lucked out with him. The R.J. trade was also a no-brainer on shedding $11M alone ($16M – 3M to Vizcaino = 13M – 2M towards paying part of R.J.’s 2007 salary to Arizona).
Holding one inning auditions against Tampa is more stupid then not trying to win games when you can still take the division. I don’t care what Bruney does in one inning…he has 120 walks in 150IP. That’s plain awful and should not only disqualify him from the post season, but also prevent him from ever being brought into an inning with men on base. Bruney is awful…Torre is worse for using him.
Holding one inning auditions against Tampa is more stupid then not trying to win games when you can still take the division. I don’t care what Bruney does in one inning…he has 120 walks in 150IP. That’s plain awful and should not only disqualify him from the post season, but also prevent him from ever being brought into an inning with men on base. Bruney is awful…Torre is worse for using him.
Chicago Dave – my bad!
Just to clarify. I am not grumpy…ok well I’m a lil bit grumpy. I’m not panicky though…I’m just incredibly mad about losing a game that should have been in the bag. More frustrating than anything in the world to just watch it get away from us. I do not think we will NOT make the playoffs because of this game, but I do think it’s head-spinningly and staggeringly idiotic to play around ‘auditioning relievers’ when we’ve not clinched anything yet. Save the experiments for after we clinch & besides what exactly was Bruney auditioning for?? We KNOW he’s not gonna be on the playoff roster and we know he’s currently a garbage time reliever. What’s left to find out, other than whether he can deliver us a semi-heartbreaking loss or a VERY heartbreaking loss?
So much for bringing in Karstens rather than Bruney, as someone suggested….I do feel for Karstens, he was # 1 out of Spring Training and then injuries washed away a promising season…..Tough break….No playoffs for you though….
Eric Young you make a good point, Torre is giving these guys chances, and they are clearly failing. Now I called out all Edwar apologist, so will admit as a usual Torre apologist that I still didn’t like the way he managed the game tonight. Okay maybe I can rationalize leaving Bruney in, since I see he was hoping Villone would get Pena for the 7th, but going with Karstens was stupid, and he dodged a bullet with Veras.
Im not gonna freak out since we still have like a 80% chance of making the playoffs, but it was a frustrating loss since I cleared my schedule tonight to watch a celebration. But tomorrow I don’t want any BS, go wtih Wang, then go with Joba, and then go with Mo. Get this done already, because we haven’t clinched anything yet, stranger things have happened in this game.
For those who care…Seattle is currently losing to Cleveland 3-1 in the 6th. Seattle (like Detroit) was one game away from elimination at the start of tonight’s action, so if the score holds they’ll be eliminated. Detroit will be the only team left with a chance to catch us.
raymagnetic: I knew you were being sarcastic but I think I just interpreted your sarcasm a little more nefariously than you seem to have meant it. My bad dude, emotions are kind of running high tonight and I’ve been drinking.. thought I’d get an early start on my celebration once we got up 5-0, but Torre and Bruney weren’t having it.
again I can even understand Edwar and Bruney but in the 8th and a tie game.. Even Kyle becuase he will be in the postseason but after that his choices are idiotic…
Torre is a fool…..he just said Igawa gave him more then could be expected then why throw it away????
Why…………Bad bad Joe…. ANd no one calls him on it, why karstens? Why Veras? Why Britton 1/3 of an inning.. He is not on Torre’s good side but look at his #’s they are way better then these other guys…………..
Really people, relax.
Igawa only gave up 2 hits and no runs, yes. But he also walked 5 and threw 87 pitches.
When Bruney needed one out and Jorge Velandia was up, who was really expecting a slam? A walk, maybe. But a slam?
I like Ohlendorf, but the way people talk about him on here, you’d think he was Sparky Lyle. Of course the same could be said for Britton, Bruney and Ramirez at different points this season.
Yes, we scored 6 runs. But we also left 9 on base, 3 in scoring position.
The opportunities were there. The b-team bullpen (mostly) and offense (to a lesser extent) didn’t get it done.
That’s not Torre’s fault. To say it is is foolishness.
Cashman’s Bull Pen
Mo is a former starter. Kennedy is done for the year.
You are a moron, please tell your parents to keep you from posting again.
I’m glad Joe can experiment but next week is going to be stressful enough so I’m sure everyone (fans included) were looking forward to a week off where they can get some time off and rest up. But Joe, you do that AFTER you clinch. Now tomorrow’s another game where you have to play your starters and everything.
Herm Edwards is on the line Joe. He has a simple message for you.
“Igawa gave him more then could be expected then why throw it away????”
Exactly. Igawa pitching 5 shutout innings = the impossible happening. After a near miracle like that, how does he in good conscience just let this one slip away?
Oh btw I’ll elaborate on why Cashman “lucked out” with Joba:
Joba was a compensation draft pick when Tom Gordon left the Yanks to sign with the Phillies.
Also there was no guarantee Joba would do what he’s done.
Next year’s bullpen:
Mo and Viz re-signed, 4 new guys signed (ideally 2 lefties),
Ohlendorf given the chance to keep or lose the final bullpen slot in spring training.
As frustrating as it was to lose Becketts no clemens is right, they beat our crap, not our best. I prefer we go for the win with our best just to lock up a playoff spot officially, but after we lost that 5 run lead I think Torre decided to save Joba and Mo for tomorrow.
Oh and I’d like to send out a big FU to Jason Giambi. Yes he does hit a lot of homeruns, but he is getting paid 22 million dollars to pinch hit late in ballgames, where he either grounds into the damn shift, hits the occassional homerun or strike out. Nice life you’ve got there Jason.
Also…everyone saying the division matters…history lesson.
2006 AL Champ – Detroit (AL Wild Card)
2005 NL Champ – Houston (NL Wild Card)
2004 WS Champ – Boston (AL Wild Card)
2003 WS Champ – Florida (NL Wild Card)
2002 WS Champ – Anaheim (AL Wild Card, BTW Giants were the NL Wild Card)
Point is all a team has to do is make it to the playoffs. It doesn’t matter how they get there. Nobody remembers it anyway.
Yeah it would’ve been nice to win the AL East and it was fun to watch the Sox squirm but the reality is this…The Yankees have to win one more game this week. If you don’t have faith the Yankees can win one more game against the two worst teams in the AL, then we don’t really need you as a fan of the team.
Is everyone back in from the ledge? A little perspective people. A loss but one that can result in future wins by weeding out who you don’t want to see in post season play.
Man, I wish Joe would be abducted by aliens or something.
Well, wild card isn’t that bad. Looks like we’ll be playing Cleveland first, and we have done much better against them than against Angels, so I’m not going to complain about that.
Cashman’s Bull Pen, there is a reason why your not a major league GM. Buying bullpen arms almost never works, see Baltimore for proof. Cashman is doing the right thing and building his pitching staff from within. Next year the Yankees will have plenty of options from within for the bullpen. Igawa will probably be the lefty out of the pen. Hopefully Igawa will become similar to what Okajima has been for the Red Sox.
Hey Pete, remember all the crap people gave you when you called out Edwar after that Tampa game back in July? Why do I have the feeling that somewhere inside your smiling right now. Admit it, just a little.
Amen, Jonathon, Amen
TKinDC
Real balls running your abusive mouth behind the safety of a computer, punka ss.
Kennedy is done for the year? Since when? Where was it reported If he is, o.k., now Torre has to choose between the bums Bruney, Ramirez, Villone, Henn, Britton, and Farnsworth and potential bum Veras who isn’t all that (he might the least of the evils). Farnsworth has pulled his “looks great” act one too many times to make me believe he’s anything more than a mop-up man and not even since he can’t pitch > 2 innings.
Edwar has one pitch…in small doses he was effective. But now he’s exposed. If he wants to be an ML reliever he has to develop at another pitch.
Cashman’s Bull Pen says:
“Joba was a compensation draft pick when Tom Gordon left the Yanks to sign with the Phillies.
Also there was no guarantee Joba would do what he’s done.”
So your argument is that there was “no guarantee” that Joba would do well, but Cashman is a moron, even though he picked Joba-who is GREAT.
Please stop posting, you are not good at it.
Good point about the division not completely mattering. I know that this is baseball and not football, but ask the Pittsburgh Steelers a couple of years ago if being a Wild Card team was such a bad thing. They defeated the Bengals, Colts, and Broncos all on the road. There’s no reason why the Yankees can’t respond when the chips are down and they are on the road. Home field advantage is very overrated in this day and age.
pat,
I think most of us are aware that the team can not win every game. But this one was in the bag. They just had to protect the lead. It was like you’re almost home, but you take wrong turn after wrong turn until you end up on the wrong side of town.
You’re right about weeding. Pluck out Ramirez and Bruney. I’m open to Olie and Villone. Can’t see Igawa as reliever in the playoffs. Too many walks.
Standing O – I actually was surprised that Villone didn’t stay in. I think Torre’s attitude is that he is not going to burn throu his post-season relief staff during any of the remaining regular season games. That would change, of course, if we haven’t clinched by Friday. But the Torre bashers seem to want to bash Torre regardless of the big picture–and regardless of their own past complaints. With 10 days to go before the second season begins, isn’t this the most essential time to not overwork our post-season relievers?
“All that said, the Yankees will win this game 9-7″
Good call
If you wanna laugh, think what it must be like to be Joba and Mo and sit in that bullpen everyday. You ever think they look around and say to themselves, “god you guys all suck”.
Clemens – hamstring
Kennedy – back
Viz – tired arm
Farnsworth – neck, back, shoulder
Hate to say it, but I’m a little nervous here. Cleveland and the Angels look pretty good and will have home field advantage. At the same time, our pitchers are battered (or stink), and many of our hitters look worn and are slumping. Hopefully they can get some rest and straighten some things out this week.
Home field advantage is a little over-rated especially when you think about how easy it is to take it away.
Plus how much did home field advantage help the Yankees in 2004?
Honestly Eric, of all the guys he brought in Villone is the guy I trust the most. Grant there are times when he gets smacked around a little, but I just feel that he’s not going to walk the bases loaded, or give up the big grand slam.
I was hoping to see Villone after Edwar failed, but I think Torre was holding him for Pena if necessary, which it eventually was, just too late.
But yes your point is well taken. I would bet the plan was to use Joba in the 8th if we were up, then go to Mo. But since it was just tied, Torre probably figured, what if I pitch them and we still lose, then who goes tomorrow?
welp guys, I’m out. Ridiculously disappointing loss tonight, and one that could have been avoided, but gotta just shake it off and look for a W tomorrow. Hopefully the team will do the same, turn the page. Goodnight all.
Hey it was a great year. All the starters played practically every game and now have nothing left. We should be happy the Yanks had a good summer after a dreadful 20-29 start. The Red Sox were just too good to overtake in the standings and they will be the AL East Champs for 2007. It just seems since the last WS in 2000 every year gets worse and worse. Hopefully ARod goes to the Didgers in the off season so this curse is broken of him not doing anything for any team that he is on!
Please help us break the AROD curse. Opt out of your contract! Please!
Cashman’s Bull Pen:
I know it is hard to find this kind of inside info-but you might try scrolling up to the top of this page (if you have an opposable thumb)
Here, I’ll even help you out -
“Ian Kennedy’s back spasms seem to be on the move, which is a good sign. But he’s effectively shut down. ”
I’ll wait 10 minutes so you can find it. . . .
Tick
Tock
No really, just scroll up, it is on this page.
tick
tock
please just get some basic knowledge about what is going on before trying to jump ugly with other people. Maybe a year or two and you’ll be ready.
RSM,
What’s really scary is that this is April all over again. Injuries to the starters, bullpen blows, offense tightens up. But, I have every confidence that they’ll clinch sometime in the next 5 games and have a great first round because these are the Yankees and they’ve been there, done that.
Jonathon- That’s right. Home field advantage failed us in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006. It may be a blessing that we can try our hand at winning this year without home field advantage.
Are you talking about the curse that kept the Yankees season from being a battered heap on the side of the road early in the season. Is that the same curse?
G’night y’all. We’ll clinch it tomorrow.
Please help us break the AROD curse. Opt out of your contract! Please!
Wow I hating calling people out since I’m only sitting behind a computer, but your a moron. Yeah its because we traded for arod, thats why we haven’t won in 3 years, good call dumbass.
Hey if anyones to blame for the curse, how about Jason Giambi, or Mike Mussina.
Or go even further back, how about Don Mattingly. Have we even ever won a playoff series when he was our coach or a player?
Tru dat Vinny – night y’all
Bullpen:
Mo
Joba
Viz
Krazy Kyle
Phil Hughes
Pitcher X
Pitcher Y
Pitcher Z
Assuming there are 3 slots open to fill out the rest of the bullpen…who would you put in?
=========================================================
Pitcher X= Ross Ohlendorf
Pitcher Y= Matt DeSalvo
Pitcher Z= Kei Igawa / Jose Veras
Darlings of the stat geeks? Geesh. Put down your pop-gun! Those are the same folks who barracked for Joba and Kennedy — and did so, I’d wager, a good while before most beat writers.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Bruney cost this team. I hate this team which no reliever available except for Mo and Joba.
I just got back from the ER with my girlfriend who is a Red Sox fan and saw what happened. She had some flare-up with her kidney and I spent 12 hrs with her and all I had on TV was NESN. She actually gloated when she saw her Sux win. Go figure.
Next time she takes a cab.
Yeah so long everyone. At this time tomorrow night we should be celebrating the clinching of another playoff berth. Good night!!
What’s really scary is that this is April all over again. Injuries to the starters, bullpen blows, offense tightens up. But, I have every confidence that they’ll clinch sometime in the next 5 games and have a great first round because these are the Yankees and they’ve been there, done that.
Come on Mel, did you see the statistic Michael Kay put on the screen early in the game. We are on pace to have our best month yet. The last two days have been frustrating, but if we clinch tomorrow and win the series against Baltimore September will actually be our best month, so saying this is April again is going a bit far.
J-Dawg…exactly…it’s too late to do it now but if you go back you’ll see that home field ends up being a wash.
I think it still matters in sports like basketball and to some extent football.
But baseball is a different animal. It’s all about pitching.
Jetes
What about the Mattingly curse or the Giambi curse or the Matsui curse or the Mussina curse? We could work up a package deal for those guys plus A-Rod? Not sure who we would get back but the curse would be broken so who cares.
X = Ross O.
Y = Villone
Z = Veras
And even though it seems Im the last person remaining i want to add one last thing (im venting here, its been a long night) –>
Now I still approve of the Proctor trade, it made sense then, and it still makes sense now despite Betemits plate troubles. Now I know he is better than Miguel Cairo in every way possible, more power, younger, probably slightly better defensively (or at least equal), however in a big spot, if I need a hit to win, I take Cairo over Betemit!
Until I see Betemit get a big hit when we need it, instead of striking out, my opinion probably won’t change. Cairo at least puts the darn ball in play. Come on Willy I’m pulling for you, prove me wrong.
You can love or hate AROD, but we would not be where we are now without him.
Besides, it’s Mattingly that’s cursed!
RSM I agree wtih your picks. Although I would like to see a tad more of Britton, who could bump Veras in my opinion. Or maybe try Chase Wright in a lefty only situation. But I put Villone in, and it may be early for Ross since he’s barely proven anything, but hey I like the kid (for now lol)
Curse…gimme a break…a team has to go a long time without a championship before fans can even start talking about curses. At least 50 years…and even then I’m little hesistant to grant the team ‘cursed’ status.
Look at the Indians. They haven’t won since 1948 and nobody goes considered them cursed.
The Yankees draught of (gasp) 6 years is a blink of an eye compared to some teams.
StandingO’neill:
I agree. I’ve never understood fans apathy about Cairo. He played very well in his time with the Yanks. Additionally, he was the only one that didn’t fall asleep after game 3 against the Sox in the 2004 ALDS.
Jonathan,
Obviously these people weren’t around in the 80’s. And we wonder why other teams fans hate us.
Thats also the reason I hate Steinbrenners, win or its a failure attitute. Your not gonna win every year, this isn’t the 50s where your best players don’t leave and all you need to do is win the division and your in the series.
You could win 140 games and lose in 3 straight come playoff time, sometimes luck just plays a very key role. Now I know some people will say this season is a failure if we lose in round 1, but 4 months ago I would of killed for a playoff appearance, and we are 1 win from achieving that. We have seen the emergence of Joba, Hughes, Kennedy, Duncan, and enjoyed an incredible season from Arod.
This season has already been deamed a success by me. Winning a world series will just make it a bit sweeter. Disagree all you like.
RSM,
Cairo is a winner, he played hard and I always appreciated him for that. Plus I’ll never forget his hit against Leskanic in 2004 when the yankees beat Boston in 13 innings. I was at the game and thanks to Cairo I left happy. He was a scappy guy, but still had value to this team.
For some reason Torre just does not like Villone. I do not know why. Villone, Olendorf and tonight Veras have been the only people out of that clown bullpen that have gotten people out when asked to do so. Why couldnt Villone start the 6th inning he doesnt just get lefties out?? He said we have to get Ramirez mechanically fixed?? Huh..how are you going to fix a straight fastball…? Also he should know better then to bring Bruney king of walks into an inning with men on base or into a game at all. When you do that you are asking to lose the game. I would like to see more of Olendorf.
StandingO’neill:
I completely agree. Cairo sorta took over the Luis Sojo role. Not a big star, but always gave 100% and usually came through in the clutch.
RSM,
I could be wrong, but I think it was the “stat geeks” who hated Cairo because he hit .220 and his OPS was under .700. But to me, a bench players stats mean nothing. Thats why Iam not riding Betemit for hitting .220, because he has pop and can still be dangerous off the bench. I love guys who can do a little of everything, and that was Cairo. He could bunt, steal a bag, hit and run. He just couldn’t hit for pop.
I guess the Cairo haters are the same guys who love Edwar and Bruney, lol.
But again I will add I like Betemit, I just need to see him make more contact.
She actually gloated when she saw her Sux win. Go figure.
Next time she takes a cab.
Considering you use the ’sux’ like your still in grade school you should probably be happy you even have a gf.
Show me one “stat geek” who would love Bruney’s 1.62 whip, and 39:37 k:bb…or Edwar’s 1.76 whip and 8.38 ERA… Come on Pete, be reasonable!!
This board gets worse by the day…what’s needed is not registration, but an IQ test.
I see folks asking why Igawa didn’t stay in…that you can’t succeed on two pitches (um, there’s a reliever in San Diego who seems to have done well with the same repertoire…he just doesn’t pitch 1-0, 2-0 behind the batter all the bloody time)…asking why Edwar is in when months ago when they were lambasting, and I mean LAMBASTING Torre for letting Edwar sit on the bench…and saying Villone should’ve stayed in when they probably killed him on this board when Villone was on his run fairy run in August… The Yanks had a 5 run lead, it was the 6th inning, it’s not Torre’s fault that his relievers can’t throw strikes.
I get it…if you let the posters on this board manage, Joba, LViz (who isn’t exactly reliable nowadays) and Mo would be trotted out every night until their arms get Quantrill’ed/Proctor’ed off, and Villone would pitch all the time in key situations.
Well im off to bed, this board is great for venting minor things.
Before I go does anyone want to take bets that Santana doesn’t beat the Tigers tomorrow? He’s been bad in September and I believe has already been outpitched by Jurrjens once this year. Sad but I have no faith in him or that Twins offense to help us out tomorrow. I really hope we do it tomorrow because we get Kazmir on Thursday and I don’t want our season to come down to the Orioles series.
Also the yankees biggest problem isn’t the bullpen, its their inability to win close games on the road. That may hurt come playoff time, gotta get over that.
Ken September 25th, 2007 at 11:10 pm wrote:
“glad i was wrong about pena HR, but i was thinking….
you can agree or disagree with this theory : (it’s hard to quantify) but the reason torre/guidry/cash might be using some of the back end guys tonight is to see them pitch in a game that means something. once they clinch, it’s a moot point. i often think the psychological aspect of baseball is overrated by the columnists, but tonight’s game can approximate some of the postseason pressure, and with only 1 gm to clinch, they’ve got some games to play with.
i’d rather they’d have gone for the jugular tonight, but i also want to give the yanks braintrust the benefit of the doubt.”
I thought the same thing. Throw in a 5 game lead over Detroit and maybe Joe figured it was a good opportunity to see how some of these guys pitch w/ something on the line. Once they’ve clinched, that “stage” disappears for the remaining regular season. I’m not a Torre apologist BTW.
Too much panicking on this board. 1 game to win with 5 left against TB and Baltimore–really quite doable. Breathe deep, everyone!
Standing,
I guess my reply to you is stuck in the spam filter.
No, I didn’t see the graphic.
But, I do know that we’re shuffling starters like we were in the beginning of the season, the bullpen ERA minus Mo/Jo is astronomical in the last 2 weeks, and the offense sometimes tightens up. Deja vu.
But, I still believe.
As for your bet, I’d really like to win rather than back in. You’re right about Santana who is just a tad worse this year than last. Lots of homeruns this year.
I am a stat guy – but Igawa, Ramierez, Bruney, karstens do not have major league heads, major league stuff or control
Sit middle in fastball you’ll get it from three of them if they don’t walk you first
– sit change up and you’ll get several, just be patient — Anwar’s fastball is so flat that I see you can sit Change and be late FB and still be on the picth foul it off or to Oppo filed — MLB ers will adjust – have adjusted the film is now there for all to see – Anwar needs another picth
Jim Kaat and Maddox are right – and especially with a 5 run lead — stya low outside corner and they can’t get enough hits to overcome that deficit — but if you can’t throw strikes the balls not in play (BBs)are killers
But that wasn’t the only issue the Yanks got 12 hits unfortunatley there were only four guys jitting — if Arod had flied out in that GS AB — the Yankes would have had two runs against that se of pitchers –