Wrapping up another night in Tampa
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 19, 2009 
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Let’s see …
· Nick Swisher fouled a ball off his left calf and left the game after going 2 for 2. He was scratched from tomorrow’s game against the Twins. “I’m going to be fine, it’s just a bruise,” he said.
· A.J. Burnett’s plans were changed and he now will face the Red Sox at Big Stein Field on Tuesday. The players will attend a charity luncheon for the Tampa Boys & Girls Club that day and they want Burnett and Jorge Posada to be there as opposed to playing in a game at the minor-league complex.
That charity event is a long-time tradition that the Steinbrenner family organizes.
· Burnett said that line drive hit him on the back of his left triceps. “Thank God it was Johnny Mac,” he said, poking fun at light-hitting Blue Jays shortstop John McDonald.
Because his arms are covered with tattoos, Joe Girardi couldn’t tell if the ball left a mark. “I made a joke with the Skipper. I’ve got Bruce Lee on my triceps. If it wasn’t for Bruce, we might have been in trouble,” Burnett said.
· Burnett sort of liked the idea that he got in a little, saying he needed the work. “They’re not all going to be like the first two. I’m a human being,” he said. “The good thing is I made the pitches when I needed to and it gave me a chance to work with Jorge (Posada) for the first time, which was good.”
Burnett said he needs work on his curveball. Or “the hook” as he called it.
· Mariano Rivera’s two innings so far this spring:
K
1-3
K
Foul-2
F-9
F-8
16 pitches, 11 strikes.
He wanted to pitch another inning but the Yankees instead sent him down to the bullpen to throw 10 more. I’m fairly sure he’s not a normal human being like the rest of us.
· Posada will receive an award from the Ted Williams Museum tomorrow night for his community service work. There is a dinner in St. Petersburg.
· I’m bitterly disappointed my upset call of American over Villanova didn’t come true. But it looked good there for a while, didn’t it? There was some good news, however. I recorded the reader Q&A with Joba and it was a lot of fun. The transcript and audio will be on the blog on Saturday.
Thanks to everybody for reading today. There were some really good discussions on the blog.
If I rooted for Villanova am I anti-American?
Since the Yankees organize the minor league games at their own complex… couldn’t they have coordinated it so that Burnett/Jorge could do it after the charity event (or before)?
AJ Lee
Pete,
As an American Alum I appreciate the support!
Lets Go Yanks
Poor Swish, but at least he’s going to be ok.
Lots of good quotes from AJ – I really agree with him about the positives coming out of his struggling a bit. He did a good job without much stuff tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing Jorge and AJ working together some more….. I love the idea that Joe couldn’t tell if AJ was bruised or not because of all the tatoos, lol – thank you, Bruce!
I went to a Boys and Girls Club function a few years ago when I went down to ST and it was a lot of fun in addition to being a very worthy cause. Absolutely AJ and Posada belong there………
As to American – (a) I had Villanova winning and (b) my college application was rejected by American………So, no – I was not rooting for them, lol
They sent Mo to the bullpen to throw 10 more pitches.
In other words 2 more innings.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/yankees/
Nice to see some Yanks reaching out to Aaron Boone……..
Mo is absolutely unreal – I was an English major in college, I love words – and yet I run out of them when trying to describe him.
Mo is an alien.
I agree MO isn’t a normal human being. The discussion of old players was a lot of fun today. I really think AJ is a good guy and can’t wait to see him in action this year, he is looking good so far.
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/
Pete,
As a senior at American, thanks for supporting liberty and freedom. Anything less is simply unpatriotic
“They sent Mo to the bullpen to throw 10 more pitches.
In other words 2 more innings”
LOL… word.
That’s the thing that always bugs me with the inning limitations on young pitchers.
If a young pitcher has good control – and averages 20 pitches an inning – throws 125 innings – that’s 2500 pitches.
Another pitcher could be Wild Thing reincarnated and average 40 pitches an inning. In 65 innings – he’s thrown more pitches than “good control” guy.
With the craziness of pitch counts these days (it’s even in the box scores) – why do they measure young pitchers by total innings for the season and not total pitches?
Those inning limitations also don’t measure how many times a reliever has to get up and throw in the bullpen before they get into a game!
Good game?
Random Thoughts:
-Nunez? Who the heck is that? Looks like a keeper.
-Bruce Lee tattoo? He had me at 98 mph.
-If Bruney struggles in the regular season, helllooooo Phil Coke. Come on down!
-I’m glad AJ struggled. Wouldn’t want him to get a big head or anything.
-Players dropping like flies. Chubby face from Tampa Bay replacing Youk.
I was really impressed at how AJ handled himself without his good stuff tonight. He was facing a decent Blue Jay’s lineup and only gave up 1 run in 3.1 IP. Sure, he threw 60 pitches in those 3.1, but that is still a good enough rate that he would likely make it through 5 in a regular season game with only a couple of ER; that’s pretty good for a “bad” outing.
I remember watching a game on YES last season (I think) when the announcers were talking about pitchers grinding it out. IIRC they were talking about Clemens and how he loved to pitch those games where he had to grind it out. That is what makes the best pitchers IMO; the guts to get out there and throw strikes when you don’t have your best stuff and find a way to get your team some outs and leave them in a position to win.
I think the aspect of AJ’s game tonight that I was most impressed with was how he didn’t start trying to throw 98mph heat to blow hitters away when he struggled with location. He knows that maxing out every pitch could land him on the DL again and he is finding ways to succeed and keep his arm intact at the same time. I didn’t really think much of him being signed when it happened (I was kind of hoping for Sheets; but mainly I was worried that signing AJ would keep the Yanks from pursuing Tex); now I am really excited to see him pitch. He’s becoming one of my favorite Yankees (behind Joba) and hasn’t even pitched a regular season game for them. I just love his personality.
Pete,
I understand. Good luck with the rest of your picks. I love your your work so I can’t be too upset with you.
American over Villanova? Come on Pete
god bless mo
“K
1-3
K
Foul-2
F-9
F-8
16 pitches, 11 strikes.”
sick. just freaking sick.
I’m assuming everyone is as impressed with Burnett as I am. The more you read about him, the more it’s apparent he’s really grown up. He’s always been a very talented pitcher, but I think (if healthy) he’s growing into a legitimate Cy Young candidate.