Inside the ninth inning
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jul 06, 2009 
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Two interesting decisions late in the game today:
• Melky Cabrera has been Mr. Clutch for the Yankees this season, hitting .362 in “close and late” situations this season and driving in 11 runs that have either tied the game or given the team the lead after the seventh inning. Gutsy call by Joe Girardi sending Hideki Matsui up. Matsui was 5 of 10 with five RBI off Jason Frasor.
• Meanwhile, Frasor throwing a 3-2 slider to Eric Hinske was pretty gutsy, too. Hang that pitch up in the zone and maybe Hinske deposits it in right field. Props to Frasor for having confidence in the pitch. That said, it was high and away and was probably ball four.
Extending Andy Pettitte into the seventh inning was a mistake. This was one of those games where you can look back at 101 things. Bottom line: They lost and it’s off to Minnesota. You take the 5-2 homestand and move on.
Was Joe G still managing from the club house? I’m not familiar on how it works when the manager gets ejected.
Yes, the manager communicates with the bench.
Those fake umps were conspicuously missing…
Maybe they paid their way onto the field? Hmm….
Thanks Pete
Joba and Andy better step up as I will be seeing them in Anahiem.
id like to see gardy play atleast 2 games on the turf…should be fun…its gonna be interesting cause matsui is going so good but his knees on turf=bad
the umps hurt them but the Yanks still could and should have taken this one.
if they can go 4-3 on the trip, all is forgotten.
If they’re within 2-3 of the Sox at the break, considering 0-8 head to head, they’re in great position.
and then there’s the trading deadling…
Joba and Andy are fine on the road. Angels Stadium is a fairly big park… they’ll be fine.
Girardi’s YES post-game reaction:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/623150197cc59822/
“if they can go 4-3 on the trip, all is forgotten”
6 game trip
I am in traffic leaving the game- sat behind Baudista and heckled the whole game, it was so great when he dropped the ball. Tough loss though
The fake umps were given FREE tickets to the game. Do your research before making comments like that. The Yankees gave it to them as a courtesy because of the attention they garnered on YES when they were in Toronto that series.
They are not rich guys who bought the tickets and went there to make a mockery and annoy everyone. They were invited guests who most certainly would not be buying those tickets on their own.
Miggs, you can direct your post to me if you think I’m off line. You don’t think the rotation is in shambles? Well, ok – maybe I was being dramatic, but be honest – do you not think there are issues here? We’ve got 2 reliable starters in CC and AJ. Obviously a ? with Wang’s spot. Andy is what he is and he’s not going to get better – he’s mediocre to poor. Joba is a 4 or 5 inning pitcher. Let’s analyze this -how does this rotation as presently constituted stack up against the Sox or even the Rays ?
Tough loss. I’m tempted to say I’d rather lose 7-1, but I don’t think I’m going there. I’d much rather the team come up short fighting all the way than go down quietly. Had they done the latter, it wouldn’t have been a big deal – just not their day. This team never gives up, even if they don’t always come through. It’s frustrating that bad calls by the umps may have cost them the game, however, I do not excuse Andy for not being able to make the pitches to overcome those calls (same thing as I didn’t excuse Joba for not picking up Cody Ransom yesterday).
5-2 homestand? 3-1 against the Jays? I’ll take that any day of the week.
>6 game trip
The umps owe us an extra one.
“They are not rich guys who bought the tickets and went there to make a mockery and annoy everyone.”
actually they are wealthy stock brokers…enjoy
Matsui’s been big lately. Too bad the Yanks don’t have space for a full time DH next year, with so many oldies on the roster needing DH stints.
Of course the umps cost them this game. You can say they should be above blaming them, but they indisputably cost them 3 runs (Jeter would have score, Rios hits at most a solo HR to lead off the 4th instead of a 3 run HR) and probably Hinske scores as well if he’s safe. It would have been an ugly win leaving men on base and with Bruney sucking, but an ugly win is better than an ugly loss.
Why do people care about the fake umps?
People are making a big deal out of nothing. Just like everything else involving th new yard.
At least Andy is taking responsibility for his outing.
Joba, take notes.
Umps 7
Yankees 6
No further explanation needed.
Hard to win when we have to play 9 vs. 13.
It sucks to come up short but then again only great gritty teams come up short, the bad teams would of given up… Lets go 4-2 on the trip and finish up strong the first half…
In a one run game, teams can definitely pin some blame on terrible calls by umpires. They control the game to a degree.
Puts a lot of pressure on the team to win CC and AJ’s starts… just like the Mets with Santana, they can’t lose his starts because they have no idea what they are getting in the next 4 spots. In our case, the next 3 spots.
We can’t expect them to score 10 runs everytime Joba, Mitre, and Andy take the mound, or expect the pen to pitch 4-5 innings back to back days.
The Indians signed Angel Berroa second cousin:
“The Indians got on the board for July 2 with a pair of signings, agreeing to terms with Dominican righthander Noel Cabral and shortstop Jorge Martinez.
Cabral throws in the mid- to high-80s and is a second cousin of Angel Berroa”.
link: http://www.baseballamerica.com.....ts/?p=5376
He is 16 years old (they say)
Matt,
I have been nothing but respectful to you. Would appreciate if greatly if you’d return the favor.
And whether or not they bought their tickets (I heard they were comped, but later heard that was wrong) doesn’t change the tenor of my joke.
“Wealthy Stock Broker” is completely irrelevant to the point. They were INVITED by the Yankees to come see a game in those seats for free. You can’t criticize them and say they were “conspiculously missing.” They were invited for one game to a ballpark that is not their team’s home ballpark. Wealthy Stock Broker does not mean “will waste $1250 on tickets every day.” They have season tickets in Toronto, who is going to spend thousands on tickets like that when they still have a job and a life outside of baseball?
Dont worry Pettitte will NOT be back next year.
Pettitte’s YES post-game reaction:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/62315567f2d7aa2b/
Those fake umps were not even funny. I dont get it.
Just stupid.
Pettitte is by all accounts a nice guy and was great in his prime, but the fact of the matter is that he’s just done as a good starting pitcher in the AL East.
Hoping he can latch onto a contending NL team and prolong his career a couple more years if he chooses to do so.
Hinske’s YES post-game reaction:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6231559058796e0a/
Welcome to the major leagues.
Almost every team in the bigs has a soft back end of their rotation.
The Yanks will have to battle like anyone else.
Also, and this is important to stress, the Yanks are 23-10 in games started by Pettitte and Joba.
The Red Sox are 23-10 in games started by Beckett and Lester.
“Pettitte is by all accounts a nice guy and was great in his prime, but the fact of the matter is that he’s just done as a good starting pitcher in the AL East.
Hoping he can latch onto a contending NL team and prolong his career a couple more years if he chooses to do so.”
Yeah, let’s get rid of Pettitte and get Sergio Mitre or Kei Igawa up here right away.
Not.
Matt,
Are you kidding me? You don’t even get the joke. I was saying that the fake umps were in the field of play. Like blowing calls. Get it? Joke? Haha, I wasn’t asking why they were missing. I was insinuating in a joking matter that they paid the real umps to take the day off so they could call a real major league game.
Yanks lost today….That’s it..Move on….m, you’re too clever for most here…..
anyone got the jeter audio?
m,
My fault, I didn’t read the last bit of the post, and with everyone bashing these guys I figured the first part insinuated the same. Sorry about that.
The rotation is in shambles… doesn’t mean the team is though. The rotation has been in shambles for us every year since 03 and it hasn’t stopped us from making the playoffs.
Heck, we won 89 games with an awful rotation last year.
Just as long as the offense doesn’t go through a prolonged slump like we did a couple weeks ago, we should be good. Pettitte, Joba etc. are not going to be awful everytime out.
Matt July 6th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
The fake umps were given FREE tickets to the game. Do your research before making comments like that. The Yankees gave it to them as a courtesy because of the attention they garnered on YES when they were in Toronto that series.
They are not rich guys who bought the tickets and went there to make a mockery and annoy everyone. They were invited guests who most certainly would not be buying those tickets on their own.
==================================
Actually, according to Sweeny(he tweeted it), they purchased those ticket from stubhub and had no help from the yankees.
There were fake umps calling the game today?
What like Naked Gun?
ticket=tickets
S’aright, Matt. This place turns into a crazy house when the Yankees lose. Usually sane people turn wacko.
Hopefully, CC can pick the team up tomorrow.
Anyone know who CC does against Minny?
M,
The fake umps were at the game today.
They just happened to be working the game, sad to say.
It may not have cost them the game but, that was a brutal performance by the boys in blue.
Must have had a tight connection at LGA.
“Yanks are 23-10 in games started by Pettitte and Joba.
The Red Sox are 23-10 in games started by Beckett and Lester”
That’s pretty interesting.
“Ordinarily those seats, located in the Legends section, would cost more than $1,000, but they were such a hit on a YES Network broadcast last month that the Yankees arranged to have them fake ump the July series.”
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/0.....ht-of-fan/
From the interview with these guys.
Preview of Holliday at Fenway tonight. Let’s hope he and his cohorts have a good game.
Don’t blame the umps. Yanks get their share of wrong calls over the season. We lost because of bad pitching (not limiting the damage) and not hitting with RISP (the dirty little secret of the recent winning streak).
AT THE END OF THE 6TH,Andy had 96 pitches.Never thought he would see the 7th,but what do I know.Wouldn’t it be great if Andy could only pitch(this year)in away games,Yankee stadium spooks him? Surely I jest.
“Yanks are 23-10 in games started by Pettitte and Joba.”
And they are 8-9 in games started by Sabathia and have won just 2 games started by Wang.
I can’t complain about CC, but the only pitcher who has hurt the Yankees this year has been Wang. Pettitte and Chamberlain have to be looked at as #4 and #5 starters, nothing more. They can’t be faulted because Wang has pitched poorly and they’re the defacto 3 and 4 starters (and even then, their numbers are pretty solid).
haiku: I agree. And maybe Bruney has a better outing coming in to start the inning.
Pete,
The point is not blaming the umpires for the loss but why aren’t these highly paid officials getting the close ones right. The guys in the stands can call most of the plays on the bases. You only need the pros for the close ones. That’s why they get the big bucks. They should be fined for their work this weekend.
hornblower: the fans in the stands would give every close call to the home team. It’s a hard job. They are human and will make mistakes. This game was lost mainly due to bad pitching and untimely hitting in the early/middle innings.
Nothing annoys me more than when an umpire’s error affects the outcome of the game. You had several times today. Blown call on Jeter’s slide at third, blown call on force out at second, and blown call on jeters grounder to third. Yanks were set up for a big inning in the first and with that blown call at second, Rios doesn’t get the chance to belt a YS homer.
If I’m Pettitte, I’m pissed. But, hey, that’s baseball.
Great call pinch hitting for Melk Dud. I don’t care what his numbers were, he always hits a wall in June after a promising start and it’s nothing but down hill for him from here.
Considering the umpire basically told Jeter he is completely unaware of the actual rules of baseball, maybe we will see some action here.
How can you tell a player that the fielder isn’t required to tag him for an out on a non-force play and keep your job?
Ken,
I respect the job that umpires do but they are paid to get the call correct. When the replay shows that they are clearly wrong they have to take responsibility. Replays on those 2 calls at second should embarrass them. The one yesterday at the plate was a joke. The catcher’s hands never came together and the ump. didn’t wait long enough to see the ball.
Stop making excuses for them.
No one is saying they care who wins just that they are pros and they should be big league level everyday.
Has the time come for instant replay, obviously beyond the home run calls we have now? Maybe give each team 2 calls per 9 innings and 1 for extras.
3 calls like that in 1 game is insanity.
Gutsy call sending up Matsui, a former superstar in Japan and one of the Yankees most clutch hitters since he’s been there, over Melky Cabrera? Yeah. Right.
“Great call pinch hitting for Melk Dud. I don’t care what his numbers were, he always hits a wall in June after a promising start and it’s nothing but down hill for him from here.”
What a stupid post. Par for the course, apparently.
I saw the Jeter on ESPN talk about why he argued. He was right, but clearly he pulled his hand back and avoided the tag, but Jeter is a pure spokesman kinda guy.. It was funny!
I thought the phantom tag was by far the worst call of the day. Manute Bol couldn’t have put that tag on that far away!
How about a blackball system to flush out the incompetent umps? Each team has 2 blackballs, say, to award to the 2 worst umps. Any ump getting 5 (pick a number) blackballs is out of a job, period. Bad umps affect the integrity of the game.