Postgame notes: Doing it the hard way
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 18, 2010 
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In honor of John Sterling: Two you-can’t-predict-baseball twists from tonight’s walk-off win against the Red Sox.
1. Javier Vazquez could have started this game. He and Phil Hughes each pitched that doubleheader in Detroit, and either could have gotten the start tonight in the Bronx. Vazquez was skipped, he was called into emergency duty out of the pen, and he picked up his first home win of the season on four pitches. “I was watching from afar last year, all of the pies in the face from A.J.,” Vazquez said. “I was glad to finally see one in person.”
2. If not for the injuries to Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher, chances are Marcus Thames wouldn’t have been in the lineup tonight, and he almost certainly wouldn’t have been in there against a right-handed closer. “If I would have those two guys available, Marcus probably wouldn’t have been in the game,” Joe Girardi said.
Sometimes things just work out.
Of course, it looked like this one wasn’t going to work out at all. After that early five-run lead, Yankee Stadium was in a state of stunned silence heading into the ninth. One night after Mariano Rivera blew a save, the Yankees were three outs away from blowing a massive early lead. Then Alex Rodriguez went deep. Then Thames crushed the first pitch he saw.
“We did it the hard way today,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously yesterday was devastating for us, but we’re at home and we feel like, until the last out is collected we have a chance.”
Here’s the man of the hour, Marcus Thames, talking about the first pie of the year.
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• Vazquez is still the scheduled starter for Friday. He threw four pitches tonight, and Girardi said he could have gone up to 45 or 50 and still had a chance of making that start.
• Joba Chamberlain and Dave Robertson were not available. That’s why Chan Ho Park had to go two innings and that’s why Vazquez had to pitch in the ninth. Robertson had pitched two days in a row. Chamberlain had pitched Sunday and he’d gotten loose twice on Saturday. “It’s hard to look at that card and not want to use guys,” Girardi said. “You have to understand it’s a long season and it’s my job to protect guys in the bullpen.”
• Girardi called down to the bullpen early in the ninth inning and told Vazquez to get ready in case Youkilis came to the plate. “We weren’t going to let Marte go beyond J.D. Drew,” Girardi said. After that, Vazquez had 100 pitches and he was going to use them all. It was his game the rest of the way.
• Girardi got upset when it was suggested he had skipped Vazquez’s start to keep Vazquez out of the pressure of a Red Sox game. “I want to make this clear,” Girardi said. “He was not skipped because of that situation. Our bullpen is a mess. We needed a long guy. We could not activate Chan Ho Park if you didn’t have a long man. You couldn’t call up some of the guys we sent down, you couldn’t recall them, and you did not have Nova. We wanted Chan Ho Park back in our bullpen, and that’s why Javy had to do it.”
• Park said going two innings was not a factor in giving up the home runs. He had enough stamina, just didn’t make the pitches. It was a slider to Youkilis, a fastball to Martinez. “Make the right pitch in the right spot, you get out of it,” Park said.
• Although he seemed upset at the time, Francisco Cervelli said he was not angry at being hit by a pitch in the ninth. “Not angry, I think it was adrenalin,” he said. “Nothing was on purpose. He tried to go in and missed his spot.”
• Hughes was pretty down on himself, probably too down on himself. “To blow the early lead like that was pretty embarrassing,” he said. Truth is, Hughes pounded the strike zone, but the Red Sox had some great at-bats and took advantage of two cutters — Ortiz and Drew — that Hughes said he didn’t get far enough inside.
• Rodriguez went out of his way to praise Gardner, who Rodriguez said had a great at-bat for that lead-off double in the ninth. Three runs for Gardner was a career high. Against Papelbon, Gardner is 4-for-4 with two walks. “Without Gardy getting on base, the home runs are solo and we probably lose,” Rodriguez said.
• Burnett said he always has the whipped cream and towel waiting just outside of the dugout, just for occasions like this.
• This was the second walk-off home run of Thames’ career, but we’ll leave the final numbers for Rodriguez. Of the past 16 Yankees walk-offs, Rodriguez has driven in the game-tying or game-winning run in seven of them.
I lol @ the people on here (and you know who you are) that said one of the following things:
1. The Yankees would never win a World Series with Alex Rodriguez on the team
2. Alex Rodriguez will always choke in the clutch
I hope to God I never, ever hear that again.
Chad, thanks!
Joe had every right to get mad at the reporter (Wally?)……of course Wally will say that Joe was lying just so he can pursue his agenda.
If those guys were unavailable, then I guess Joe really had no choice to use the pen the way he did, but I will never understand his obsession with Logan. Logan stinks………
Aww, poor Phil; I hope he’s not TOO down on himself. He’s picked the team up several times already and I’m sure they appreciate it. I’m also sure they tried to buck him up after the game; if not, I’d be disappointed. It’s ok, Phil – just no more cutters, lol.
The guy from Summer Catch Is a great CTU Agent.
Aww, poor Phil; I hope he’s not TOO down on himself.
–
You saw the interview, I don’t think he was too down
I liked what he said “That was nice, that was fun…” for the game, then kim jones asks about his performance and he just smiled, “Not nice, not fun.” and laughed.
Pete said he misses ny. It was cool seeing him.
And boy what a game stadium went nuts with those homeruns.
LOL Freddie Prinze is awful!
I just saw CC come out of the dugout on a replay jumping like a wild man!!! LOVE IT!!
yeah I know.
Mr. Blonde is good though.
Well, I’m sure he was down immediately afterwards, but the team winning the game helped his mood I’m sure. Definitely Phil did not seem despondent – more very annoyed. I wonder if it’s easy to say you’re going to do such and such in the future (or not do such and such) and then when you actually get in game situations you end up doing the opposite of what you wanted. Phil knows he uses his cutter too much, but he can’t seem to help it. Hopefully he can break the habit, lol.
He’s awesome!
CR9
I just saw that myself. Loved it
A-Rod sure hasn’t been very clutch.
Wow amazing game! A-rod is so clutch he has had so many big time homeruns the last couple of years its ridiculous.
Saying and doing are often very different , when i go shooting i always say I’m going to make a conscious effort to straighten out both arms but i always slip back into the classic ‘movie shooter’ pose which messes with accuracy
Carl
That’s what so great about sports. You get to see grown men act like children, and with the Yankees, it’s like one giant family!
I don’t even know what Summer Catch is, but if you’re talking about Freddie Prinze, he was terrible in the beginning.
And I couldn’t tell if Starbuck was good or not because her character was so ridiculous.
It was good to see the Slumdog Millionaire guy though.
When I go shooting?
The scale tips a bit more towards The Face being a serial killer.
summer catch is baseball movie – pretty badbut a guilty pleasure
Son of Jerkface?
hey kelvin,
You saw Pete in person? I don’t think he’d admit that publicly.
Mr. Franco, it’s always a pleasure when you come visit the neighborhood…..Tough place as of late……You feeling better I trust
Nice #s for Alex in the walkoff stretch.
As for Freddie Prinze. He’s just awful. Period.
Is there video of the pie-ing? yankees.com cut it off as Kim was getting ready to interview Thames.
# LGY May 18th, 2010 at 1:10 am
When I go shooting?
The scale tips a bit more towards The Face being a serial killer.
———–
I guess the scale tips towards serial killer for me as well. I’m a gun collector myself and I don’t mind squeezing off a few rounds on occasion, either.
It’s not as frowned upon in flyover country.
You saw Pete in person? I don’t think he’d admit that publicly.
–
I once spent the better part of 3 innings heckling Pete for eating a couple of hot dogs at tropicana field during the game when i sat press level. He wasn’t amused.
Son of Jerkface?
–
But who is the mother?
# Pat M. May 18th, 2010 at 1:15 am
Mr. Franco, it’s always a pleasure when you come visit the neighborhood…..Tough place as of late……You feeling better I trust
———–
Feeling good, Pat M. Thanks for asking.
I lurk around these grounds everyday for the most part. I just find myself shaking my head in disgust a little more often than I used to after reading a lot of nonsense and downright stupidity.
Gardner is a precious gem that the Yankees have found and is a keeper. Got heart, soul and talent to match.
It’s very hard to find those and when you do, you DO NOT EVER let go.
He is special and will be one of those when all is said and done, we will look back with fond memories one day like we do for Jeter, Bernie, Mo, Cone, Tino, Andy, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmEhvSI_Or0
A-Rod off Papelbon from a camera at the stadium.
http://www.thesharkguys.com/wp.....of-sam.jpg
GF,
Unfortunately for The Face, there are other red flags. Shooting on its own is fine, but in conjunction with the other clues, we may be in the presence of a very dangerous man.
This is of course in my completely qualified expert opinion.
Looks like trouble brewing in Florida between Manager Fredi Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez. Gonzalez pulled him from the game at the end of the 2nd inning for lack of effort. On a pop fly to short left, he didn’t make the catch and then kicked the ball down the left field line and then trotted after the ball. Ugly time.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play&.....k%3D264373
He did admit missing Ny. He was really nice which was different then his alter ego blog persona.
Atleast everything is going well for him, so that was good news.
http://www.thesharkguys.com/wp…..of-sam.jpg
–
Thats the ugliest broad I ever saw, no way she is the mom
Heckling puplic figures, living in an apartment in Florida, owning a blue shirt or lying about owning a blue shirt…
All troubling signs.
Something to monitor.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play......k%3D264373
Mr. Franco, you must make some posting just to ward of the invaders, we need numbers……More to the point, your insight is top shelf stuff……..By the way, HOF Dodger Manager Joe Torre has his Dodgers on a roll ( 8 straight ), as they charge back into NL West contention……In the final analyse, it’ll be the Dodgers & Giants come September……LeBron mey be the MVP, but Kobe is still the best player on the planet
Does anyone else think that if the 2001-2008 Yankees had a Gardner on them, would have came away with a few WS rings than they had?
Those teams were very good and came extremely close in a few of those years, which leads to me to think that having someone like a Gardner would have been just enough to put them over the top.
They had a lot of big boppers but no one close to being like a Gardner.
OMG, Pete is saying Dice-k almost cried during the press conference.
Martinez throws Dice-k under the bus, Pete seems to think they have a disconnect.
Brett Gardner never would have ran into Gary Sheffield in Anaheim. Sheffield would have known better
Dice-K trapped in a world that wasn’t worth its posting fee?
Pat M,
I appreciate the kind words, and needless to say, you’re insight is pretty sharp as well.
You’re right. We do need numbers here. Unfortunately, we are outnumbered by a wide margin – especially when the Yanks have the gall to lose.
OMG, Pete is saying Dice-k almost cried during the press conference.
Martinez throws Dice-k under the bus, Pete seems to think they have a disconnect.
________________________________________________
Lost in translation?!
Don’t be a stranger Mr. Franco !!!!!!! Nick in SF. Lakers look real good, really really good
Pat M, someone tried to con me into taking the Suns and the points tonight… I didn’t bite.
Nor did I bite on a Double-Double.
I’ve always been a Gardner fan. I always liked him for his potential. More specifically, I liked him for the potential his speed could have as a big weapon for this team if he utilized his other tools to go along with his speed.
But let’s not put him in Cooperstown anytime soon.
He’s been outstanding for this club. No question about it. We all have to be ecstatic for the job he’s done thus far.
But can we stop the overreacting with streaks?
The guys who are in good streaks are HoF bound and those who are in bad streaks should be benched, traded, released, or shot at sunrise.
I don’t know if Gardner is worthy of such company.
But, it’s been great to see Gardner grow into a pretty decent ball player. The expectations were quite low, especially in the Lo-Hud.
Nice to see him reward Girardi & Cash for their faith (gamble) in him.
If he keeps this up, he’ll have fulfilled the Shane Victorino prophecy. The little guy who does a lot of little things and contributes in many ways.
I honestly NEVER want to hear any CLOWN say A-Rod isn’t clutch or isn’t on par with Jeter. A-Rod has had too many clutch moments to even count for this team over the years, it’s insane.
Martinez throwing his pitcher under the bus is not acceptable. You would never see Posada or Cervelli do that to a pitcher, because unlike the Red Sox, the Yankees are a classy organization.
What did Martinez say to throw Deuce-K under the bus?
CR9,
“He’s the one,” Martinez said. “I’m just back there trying to help him go through the game. At the end he’s the one who has the ball in his hand. I’m just behind the plate trying to help him. At the end, he’s the one who has the last word. He’s the one who has the ball in his hand. I just put down suggestions and he can say yes or no.”
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....tra_bases/
Martinez will out of Beantown the day he files for emancipation come November
That’s not so terrible. Not good, but not horrific.
Pat M
Glad you enjoyed the Lakers game tonight! What a thrashing!
# Pat M. May 18th, 2010 at 1:52 am
Martinez will out of Beantown the day he files for emancipation come November
——–
As much as he’s underachieved since the trade last year, he’s hurt the Yanks quite a bit in that short time.
That said, he hasn’t done enough damage because his team hasn’t won very many games against the Yanks since the deadline last year
Martinez went on to say “it sickens me that Daisuke calls that flavorless lettuce ‘kimchee’ when we all know they stole it from Korea… you ever had Korean kimchee? Yowza, that’s the real stuff… Japanese kimchee is weak… kind of like Daisuke was tonight. I just suggest which kimchee to get, he can say yes or no to them”
CR9,
I really don’t like that response. The first thing you learn in little league is to never throw your teammate under the bus. The way Martinez tried to put all the blame on Dice-K, even if its true, is very unprofessional in my opinion.
Absolutely unprofessional. No doubt about it.
Martinez was distancing himself from why Dice-k didn’t throw more fastballs. He said you have to ask Dice-k, because he’s the one with the ball, and makes the final decision. Victor said, he only makes suggestions.
Dice-k is on a team he doesn’t want to be on, the sports writers, and fan base trashed him last year.
Nick
Kimchi is fermented napa cabbage,laden in extremely hot spices, and will scorch your vocal cords.
Oh you did not just do that to nick
Carl I loved that youtube video of A-Rod’s at bat. Nice. What a game.
How many more years in Dice-K’s sentence in Boston…He and his Gyro-Ball are homesick
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9.....462431417/
Pat M
Bosox never let him throw the Gyro, it’s only seen on youtube.
Seeing Marcus Thames smile like that is awesome. He was trapped in our minors for a loooong time and I bet it was dreams like the one he lived tonight that kept him going.
In that video Carl posted Gardner gives A-Rod a serious butt slap.
I’m surprised CR9 is not talking about it
I continue to be pleasantly surprised at just how good Gardner is becoming at putting tough pitches in play. He is even exceeding my expectations.
Man I want to hear some audio of Joe G getting mad at Wally.
Rich in NJ…..Once again I must bring to light that you called Gardner’s improvement during the hot stove season…..So far you shine
Carl Crawford in left, BG in Center, Granderson, in right Swish at DH. Lets do it.
Thanks again, Pat, but I did whiff on Thames.
You, otoh, supported the signing. So I return the compliment. I am happy to be wrong, and I hope I continue to be.
We don’t need Carl Crawford.
http://forums.nyyfans.com/show.....38;page=57
Guys, on this page there is a video on A-Rod’s swing and I want you to focus on his front leg. Great stuff
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....ide-051710
Great story about Thames and his clutchablity
I wonder what pistol pete will have to say later today about Marcus Thames & Brain Cashman ) signing him now !!!!!!
Pete is so disgusted with the sox, probably nothing!
This game was so exciting of a finish, that you could see the Yankees wanted it badly.
Pete’s wrap thread was telling, he’s sick that in the next ten days (because of their schedule) the sox season might be over!
I hope he’s right!
Very telling numbers on Hughes’ struggles in Monday’s game against Boston. That’s a tough line-up to face for anybody.
“The Red Sox made Hughes work for all of the 15 outs he recorded. His 1-2-3 first inning required 19 pitches — 10 to Drew before he flied out to center. Hughes threw 71 strikes on the night, and he induced a season-low five swings and misses; he had averaged twice that number in his first six starts. Overall, Boston fouled off 28 pitches — 16 of them with two strikes — and put 18 more in play on the night, meaning it made contact on over 95 percent of its swings.”
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
Best post of the game thread
Ace May 17th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Cashman has killed this season. If signing Thames was his best move we are dead
Here are some interesting stats from Number 13:
RISP: .405/.490/.757 3 HR 28 RBI 1.247 OPS
Bases Loaded: .571/.556/1.000 1HR 12 RBI 1.556 OPS
# Al Rivera May 18th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Here are some interesting stats from Number 13:
RISP: .405/.490/.757 3 HR 28 RBI 1.247 OPS
Bases Loaded: .571/.556/1.000 1HR 12 RBI 1.556 OPS
Thats my boy
My sox fan buddy wants to Sox to trade Papelbon for a catcher and make Bard the closer…not a bad idea really although it would spread their bullpen even thinner.
I’m being pleasantly surprised by Gardner. Ill admit I was one of those thag didn’t think he had this in him…I’m happy he is proving me wrong however.
Only in NY could the game play out like it did last night and a member of the media ask Alex postgame about not running hard out of the box on a ground ball……
“Rodriguez started the game as the designated hitter, and he didn’t exactly explode out of the box on a couple of ground balls. He would explain that he didn’t want to hurt himself, that DHing can leave a third baseman’s legs cold. Given A-Rod’s intensity and — once again — his work ethic, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
classic text from my red sox lovin sister talking about her team “why can’t they just lose? why do they have to break our hearts doing it?”
For all the folks crying about Girardi, “not knowing what he is doing” re: bullpen usage, what was he supposed to do?
Joba and Robertson weren’t available. I know some of the children can’t understand why so, let me explain it to you.
Girardi wants to stay away from using guys 3 days in a row in games. Unless of course, you don’t mind “Proctor-ing” your bullpen in May, its a pretty smart thing to do.
Joba threw 14 pitches on Friday. He warmed up twice on Saturday (some teams consider that “using a guy”. I’m sure the Yankees have a formula similar to that), and threw 23 pitches on Sunday. That makes him unavailable last night, regardless of the opponent.
Robertson pitched in games on Saturday and Sunday, making him unavailable.
Mitre threw 5 innings in a start on Sunday. He was unavailable.
He had Logan (who threw 40 pitches in a game on Saturday), Marte, Park (first game after being on the DL for a month), Vazquez (only in an emergency) and Rivera. That’s it.
He can’t clap his hands and add 2 more relief pitchers to the roster.
Unfortunately, last night was not a night to get length from Hughes. So, he has to find a way to get quality innings out of what he had. Not easy.
That’s why he tried to extend Park an extra inning. He didn’t want to burn Vazquez too much because he wants him for the start on Friday night against the Mets.
In other words, his options were limited and he was doing the best he could under the situation.
Sometimes, instead of carrying on like imbecciles, its wiser to look at what options he had last night and realize they were few under the circumstances.
There are times during a season a team is shorthanded for a game or two out of the bullpen. It happens to EVERYBODY. You deal with it and find ways to win a game. The Yankees did so last night.
Pat,
I got a kick out of Wally Matthews last night trying to get into it with Girardi.
His schtick is so apparent. He is a drama queen who wants to be the story.
I’m glad Girardi crushed him. He made him look like an idiot last night.
even worse were all the complaints about the line up
Papelfool will get no consideration from the Yankees when his free agency comes due at the end of 2011. He definitely isn’t the Yankee type of player.
Wonder what got into Hanley. I read an article about that and it said he was also shaken up in the first after fouling off his shin. But I do agree with the manager that that doesn’t excuse his lackadaisical attitude after punting the ball. Is then endemic or a one time thing? I was hoping he’d be the next great acquisition after Jeter retires, but if his attitude is going to be “meh” – I’m not sure if he’d be worth the get.
Run support in Phil Hughes’ last 4 starts: 12, 10, 8, 11. He has been given 41 runs in his last 4 starts.
Why is this relevent?
Those 4 games have sparked the most complaints on this blog re: the lineup.
Tons of, “Hughes has to pitch a shutout to win this game with this lineup”. Its even morphed into video game territory yesterday with folks suggesting Tex move to third, call up AAA guys not ready for the bigs, etc.
Yet, somehow, this lineup is averaging over TEN runs a game in Hughes’ last 4 starts starts.
The moral of the story?
This is a TEAM and everybody contributes. Sometimes, its getting a great pitched game and winning 2-1. Sometimes, its picking up a starter who struggles and you score 10 runs.
Either way, its about finding a way to win and this team is doing so.
One last point…..I think we can stop the Marcus Thames Bashfest now. Yes, the guy is a butcher with a glove in his hand.
However, when you are hitting .365 with 2 HR, 10 RBI in 52 AB’s, and playing much more than expected, its pretty tough to ask for much more from the guy. He’s done an excellent job for the Yankees, given his role.
Joe Girardi said yesterday that he didn’t want to reveal his bullpen usage for last night’s game but it was easy enough to know that Robertson, Joba, and Mo wouldn’t be used.
Depending on how much length C.C. gives tonight, Girardi will not let the bullpen get overused with the Rays series in mind.
Question – when was Melcancon sent down? I know you have to wait 15 days before recalling someone – has that time expired? The pluthora of injuries makes it difficult to balance the needs of the team – OF being one (Granderson/Swisher (along with Posada and with Golson/Winn/Thames) and the bullpen (Aceves hurt, Mitre emergency starting, Boone ineffective, Joba and Robertson pitching almost every other day, etc). Who is available in AAA or even AA that the Yankees can bring up without making a 40 man roster move?
You sure it was Wally? I thought it was Joel Sherman
Sounds like the Sox making contact 95% of the time means Hughes was going to his cutter a little too often last night and the Sox were just sitting on it. I hope Hughes and Cervelli start integrating that changeup more often in the future as well as the curveball.
5 Runs in 5 IP isn’t good, but I think Hughes pitched better than his line. He was 1 strike away from going 5IP 2 ER, not great but decent. He manned up in his postgame using the word embarassing to describe his outing. He acknowledged that maybe he went “to the well” once too often with his cutters to Papi and Drew. I thought he had a pretty good changeup. He threw some nice ones to Drew & Papi earlier and Kd VMart on one. He also got a lot of strikes with his curve. 20-20 hindsight but maybe he should have gone with one of those pitches. The reason he developed the change was to have another way to get out LHB. He’s a smart guy and he’ll learn from this and be ready to go vs the Mets. If after 7 starts someone said Hughes would be 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA, .98 WHIP and .182 BAA every NYY fan would sign up for that.
Too bad they can’t use Thames in a DH position more often…
Jennifer,
I think it was Matthews and then Sherman chimed in.
Sunny,
It wouldn’t surprise me if they sent for an arm tonight to help in the pen.
I can’t see Vazquez, Marte, Mitre, or Park being available.
Personally, I’ve had enough of the Boone Logan Experience. I don’t know if Girardi feels the same.
A fresh arm from Scranton tonight wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for this bullpen.
SJ but haven’t most of those games been close became blowouts?
Sunny I think it is 10 days not 15
Mo would have been used in a save situation. He was up stretching at one point. Joe specifically said Joba and Robertson were unavailable.
Giuseppe Franco May 18th, 2010 at 1:06 am
“A-Rod sure hasn’t been very clutch.”
Nice to see you back, Giuseppe! You were always the best poster over at the old Newsday Blog and Pat M is right, you’re one of the the most insightful and most SANE over here at Lohud.
Anyway, do you remember that character, Rick? Well, he now posts ocassionally over at Feisand’s Blog. In Spring Training he was still carrying on with the same nonsense about Arod not being clutch, they’d be a better club without him, blah, blah, blah. I don’t read Feisand’s Blog that often, but I did this morning and there was no sighting of our friend, Rick.
I’m a long time reader, rare poster, who is glad to know you’re back. Lohud needs your contributions, and I know that I, at least, enjoy reading them.
Phil is going to have cut down on his long innings – way too many foul balls against him. He either doesn’t trust his curve anymore or he’s fallen too much in love with his FB/cutter. When I’ve brought up the question before, responses have always been that as long as teams aren’t hitting his FB, then he should just keep throwing it. I don’t get that, I admit. Phil has a very good FB, but he can’t become a 1 or 2 pitch pitcher – major leaguers can hit a FB. I think Phil has a bit of a stubborn streak, which can be good in a way, but also bad. If he’s going to live up to his potential, he has to mix in his pitches……..and yes, throw more changes (he seems to have a decent one). I’m not saying he has to throw it a lot, but something to keep the hitters guessing. Right now, they know what’s coming.
SJ – who is a good candidate for call up? I remember you mentioned Royce Ring last night. Is Melancon still in the 15 day blackout period? I would think he’d be first in line?
SJ
ESPNNY.com hired 3 of the most cynical writers in the world to cover the Yankees.
Matthews, O’Connor and Marchand think Mother Teresa has an ulterior motive.
I just read an entry on Morgan Ensberg’s blog this morning talking about why players speak in cliches to the media. Players don’t trust the media to report what they say without puting their spin on it is accepted practice to be vanilla instead. Everyone loses out when the relationship deteriorates to that point.
Last night was a learning experience for both Hughes and Cervelli.
Both have been so good, we forget they are young, inexperienced players.
Last night, Hughes fell in love too much with the cutter because he was getting frustrated the Red Sox were fouling off a lot of good fastballs. He gave in to his worst impulses.
After the Ortiz HR on a cutter, you can’t throw it in a big situation to a lefty the rest of the game. Unfortunately, he did that to Drew and paid the price. That swing changed the entire momentum in the game.
Can’t do that when you are staked to a five run lead.
Last night would have been a good time to throw more curveballs and changeups.
Like I said, its a learning experience for Hughes. Certainly not a step back in any way.
With Cervelli, he has has to understand that there are times in a game where YOU and not the pitcher demand a certain pitch be thrown. He allowed Hughes to throw too many cutters. If Posada is catching last night, I guarantee you Drew wouldn’t have seen a cutter in that entire AB. Especially after they got in front of him 0-2. That’s experience.
A learning experience for Cervelli and he will be better for it.
It was nice to see Pettitte talking to him that inning and explaining the pitching patterns.
That’s the great thing about this team. There is a terrific relationship between the veteran players and the young guys.
That wasn’t always the case from 2002-2008 in the Bronx.
Wow, you know Phil had lousy stuff when he only had 5 swings and misses the whole game.
The thing is, Eiland is not getting through to Phil about the cutter. He’s told him time and again not to fall in love with it, the same way he’s told him in years past that he needs to throw the change. Phil is very smart, there’s no doubt about it, but I think he needs to realize sometimes that father knows best (or, in Eiland’s case, pitching coach knows best). Of course, if he doesn’t really believe what Eiland is telling him, then it doesn’t make a difference.
If Jorge is available next Saturday, I do hope he catches Phil.
How’s Melancon doing at Scranton btw?Could he be the next in line??
Hughes threw strikes all night long. They just weren’t quality strikes. The pitches were fast enough, they just lacked life. Good enough to keep from putting them in play, but, not good enough to miss bats. If that’s his worst game of the year or month, that bodes well for his season. That would be 4 more games this “bad”.
Oh, and I’m thrilled for Marcus Thames, who is really a good guy; thank you Paplebon for hitting Frankie -very clutch HPB by our young catcher.
this was a great TEAM win…so happy Javy got the win, makes up for the Detroit game when he got no run support. GGBG and Alex clutch! And Thames gets the first pie of the season
SJ, I was thinking the same thing after the HR to Papi on the inside cutter, don’t go back there! Didn’t see the Andy convo: was he talking to Cervelli or Hughes? Nice to have “extra coaches” in Andy and Mo.
Hopefully, after getting beaten by that cutter last night, Hughes will start paying attention to Eiland and start working on his changeup again.
Pat,
I know. I didn’t get those hires at all. Basically, you hired three guys who hate everything about the Yankees to cover the Yankees.
You don’t have to like the team you are covering. Just be objective. Unfortunately, those three men don’t possess that ability.
Betsy,
The best pitch a pitcher possesses is a well placed fastball. Nolan Ryan went to the HOF as a two pitch pitcher because his fastball was so good, nobody could hit it.
I am of the school of throwing your fastball until they show they can’t hit it and then adjust accordingly.
Every game takes on a different complexion. Last night, the Sox couldn’t touch Hughes’ fastball. Yes, they were fouling a lot of pitches off, and he didn’t have great command but, they still didn’t square up on too many.
The problem was that Hughes thought (wrongly) his cutter was the way of getting outs rather than his curveball or changeup. Funny thing is, he threw some nice curveballs and changeups last night. He just didn’t throw enough of them.
You are rarely going to have all 4 pitches working on a given night.
As he grows more confident and experienced as a starter, he will realize that his curveball and changeup are good enough to get hitters out and keep them honest so they aren’t on his fastball too much.
That will make his cutter more effective when he throws it.
I think almost a third of his pitches last night were cutters. Way too many for 5 innings of work.
Like I said earlier, he’s still learning and last night was a good teaching moment for him.
GB, that’s true, because he managed to get around it all before the 5th (which shaped up to be a promising inning). This is not a kid who generally toughens up in bad situations; last night I do not think he melted down (someone used the word “choke”, which kills me), he made poor decisions. Plus, he didn’t seem to have great stuff
Just curious here – but what’s the dilly-o on the innings limit that Hughes is on? Are they going to start skipping starts? What if he keeps this ridiculous pace up? (Granted after last night his ERA jumped from 1.38 to 2.25 and WHIP from .92 to .98) but I’m sure that’ll settle.
One of the most annoying things about “that question” to Girardi last night was that it wasn’t even framed as a question; the writer was making an opening statement, as if it were fact, about why Javy wasn’t starting last night. I am so glad Girardi talked over him (because the idiot kept on asking his “question” even though Girardi was trying to cut him off) and set the record straight.
Logan is interesting. He started out fine but has really been trouble for the last several outings. Joe seems to like to try to instill confidence in his guys (he kept running Krazy Kyle out there in 2007, which eventually ended up working – Kyle was quite effective by the time he was traded for Pudge). Perhaps it will end up being a good thing eventually, but right now not so much.
I’m smiling at the fact that Javy got the win AND gets to pitch on Friday.
And just because we don’t necessarily understand why Joe does what he does doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what he’s doing. It may not always work out, but I firmly believe he always has the best interests of his players and the team in sight.
Finally, the pie was lots and lots and lots of fun last night!!!! And, for me, it was odd because after Javy got his out, I felt positive about the outcome of the game. For no reason at all.
Its ok to give the Red Sox some credit too. They fouled off some tough pitches last night.
That’s what good hitters do. Its how you get pitchcounts up and starters out of games.
His stuff was good enough to win a lot of games against teams in baseball. Last night, the Sox made him work. Its what the Yankees do to pitchers.
That’s why the games are so long! lol
SJ44 May 18th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Pat,
I know. I didn’t get those hires at all. Basically, you hired three guys who hate everything about the Yankees to cover the Yankees.
- – - – - – - – -
guess that explains O’Connor’s arod article on how “great” he is but constantly disparaging his roids confession during his Texas years. Over and over and over…
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-.....id=5197347
SJ, I agree that last night was a learning experience; you learn from failure more than you do success…….at least the good ones do and Phil is a good one. It just seems strange that Phil seems to have semi-abandoneed his curve, but again perhaps he’s just fascinated with his new pitch, like a kid with a new toy. The thing that, well doesn’t concern me, is that CB said Phil’s cutter is good, but it’s only very good in conjunction with his FB. He may need to work some on that pitch before he relies on it too much. Clearly he can throw a change, so that’s positive; the more he throws it, the more confidence he will have in it. I agree with CB that Phil needs to go back to getting GB – throw more two-seamers.
Gee, when I put it like this, I realize how hard it is to be a starter, lol.
the red sox are a patient team, much like the Yankees, they are going to work the count and keep fouling pitches off. Phil was ahead in many counts and they just kept working him. Also, according to espn, they have the 2nd highest # of HR, w/ Toronto being 1st.
Last night before the game even started my brother sent me a text saying he had a feeling it would be the first walkoff win of the year. When the Yankees had a 5 run lead after the first inning I texted him back that he was nuts. I have a feeling he won’t let me forget this. LOL
It’s kind of ironic that Hughes did not throw more Curves last night because his curve was fantastic. Best I’ve ever seen it.
As some have said experience is a great teacher and Hughes is locked and loaded with weapons.
Sunny, it’s probably about 175 innings or so; they’re going to have to skip him at some point. Generally he’s been giving the team innings, but to that I will add that he’s been very efficient and has not had that many stressful games. I don’t know if that makes a difference to the Yankees (Joba, for instance, would throw same amount of pitches in 5 innings last year).
Take a look at some of these quotes; Phil was really frustrated after the game:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
“It’s very frustrating,” Hughes said of being unable to finish off hitters, a problem the Red Sox take pride in causing. “Even when you feel like you’ve got good stuff or you’re making good pitches, they just spoil it. They almost force you to give in, especially when you’re backed into 3-2 counts.”
“Everything was missing just a little bit — not exactly where I wanted it,” Hughes said. “Strikes in the wrong areas — strikes where they were able to foul them off instead of putting them away or getting easy outs.”
Hughes’ tangible postgame frustration represented his apparent season-long mission to rise above the fifth-starter classification. Ever since his first start — in the season’s ninth game, because teams tend to skip the fifth starter’s first turn in the rotation — Hughes has stated his case that he is not only among the Yankees’ best pitchers, but among the league’s, as well. The mandate of the typical fifth starter — “Just keep the team in the game” — isn’t good enough for Hughes.
“You’re not going to be perfect every time out or really, really good every time. You’re going to have these outings where you have to battle a little bit,” Hughes said. “It’s disappointing to have a lead like that and let it slip away, and have two outs in the fifth and labor a bit. Stuff like that bothers you. … To have a grasp on so many innings and not be as aggressive as I would have liked is disappointing
Doreen-
“after Javy got his out, I felt positive about the outcome of the game.”
You’re thinking like Alex?
“Catcher Francisco Cervelli said that during the meeting on the mound before Vazquez faced Youkilis, Alex Rodriguez told the pitcher, “We get an out here, and we’ll win it in the ninth.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....z0oHgBWsHC
Yes, the Sox do deserve credit. Actually, I sometimes forget that Phil is 23 years old and is still, technically anyway, the 5th starter. He has completely spoiled us………well, me anyway, lol.
SJ-
I very much agree with something you said earlier.
We do have to give credit where credit is due, and the Sox put up some very tough at bats. Many pitches fouled off that I think lesser hitters would have missed, or been called out on.
Drew, Pedroia, and Youkilis are very tough in that regard.
But as you also said that’s the Sox m.o.
I don’t buy into these as-signed #s for starters. Phil is #5, only that he will probably need to be skipped at some point to keep him fresh. IMO, Andy is a #2 starter, not AJ
Catcher Francisco Cervelli said that during the meeting on the mound before Vazquez faced Youkilis, Alex Rodriguez told the pitcher, ?We get an out here, and we?ll win it in the ninth.?
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hmmm… well, I hope Phil takes that frustration and turns it into a changeup.
pat -
Yeah! Especially after Brett got on base. Then I KNEW.
I don’t get caught up in starters slots. If you are in a major league rotation, you have a job to do. That’s just the way it is.
Its not about lowering one’s expectations.
Phil Hughes has top of the rotation stuff. It doesn’t matter how he is “slotted” in the rotation to start the season. He’s been one of the 5-6 best starting pitchers in baseball so far this year.
Every start is a learning experience for him. However, that doesn’t take away from the talent he possesses.
He doesn’t possess #5 starter talent and everybody, especially Hughes, realizes that.
That’s a good thing.
Hughes is on pace for 30 starts and 188 innings. At most, he’d skip 2 starts.
The Yankees have played 38 games and ARod has 31 RBI, I believe….This after getting off to a pretty slow start.
By the way, for those asking about the pie scene, it’s on http://www.yankees.com, along with both Sterling’s and Kay’s calls of the homer. Also if you keep listening, you will hear the Red Sox’ call of the Thames’ homer as well: “what a crusher!”
Was watching on TV and just realized when listening that Sterling said, “Marcus Thames, helps them win.” Huh?
Due to the All-star break they skip Hughes a start in July and then maybe in September.
Does anyone think they may have trouble getting this game in tonight? I am about an hour south of the city in NJ and it is raining like crazy and supposed to rain until tomorrow morning, at least.
I think the better Javy pitches, it will make it easier to skip Hughes a few times to cover his innings limits.
I have a feeling last night did wonders for Javy’s confidence.
He got a big out on that K of Youkilis in the 9th. A single, or something worse, there and the game may be out of reach.
To get a big out, and a win, has to boost his confidence leading into Friday’s start.
He also got the fastball up to 91 in the Youk AB. Another good sign.
When good players struggle, we often forget just how good they are.
Javy Vazquez is a quality ML pitcher. He’s not a scrub.
He starts pitching the way he is capable of, this team is really going to soar.
Wouldn’t break my heart to have a rainout. Gives the entire pen a day of rest and allows Posada and Swisher another day to heal.
Wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for the Yankees not to play today.
Some important players were rested last night and we still got the win ! Awesome
Not to mention getting everyone healthy. When that day comes, this team should start cruising.
I’m 10 minutes north of the Stadium and it is light rain now but expected to get heavier all day. Forecast seems to indicate they might not get this one played today.
Javy made some really quality pitches to one of the best hitters in the league last night. It was just one hitter but it was all positive and he picked a win to boot. Can’t hurt…
Boston’s Run Prevention Plan in Tatters
NEW YORK — The 2010 plan for the Boston Red Sox, they told us, was run prevention. They might not hit the way they’d hit in their championship glory years, but they’d shored up their pitching and defense enough to overcome that. John Lackey for the starting rotation. Mike Cameron and Adrian Beltre for the defense. The Yankees and Rays can score runs, but the Red Sox were going to go a different direction. They were going to keep runs off the board.
Well, after Monday night’s excruciating 11-9 loss to the Yankees — a game in which starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up five runs in the first inning and closer Jonathan Papelbon gave up four in the ninth — it’s time for Plan B.
————————————————————-
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/0.....or00000002
what’s the weather supposed to look like tonight up in NY?
This team scored 11 runs last night with half their lineup out and Jeter slumping.
That’s scary.
I just looked at weather.com for the Bronx and it says for tonight: “rain, 52 degrees.”
Could Javier have come in the game under worst conditions, plus a stadium waiting to boo him if he didn’t get the out? Yet he got the win, and it couldn’t happen to a more needy person, to get win #2. It’s my understanding he’s still available for Fri.
Tampa won their game vs Indians in 11 innings, so this Yankees win kept the Yankees from losing another game to Tampa.
Disjointed thought: Practically thinking, I’d just as soon not have pie.
I mean, I’d rather the Yankees win handily, as exciting as ninth inning walk-offs are.
In his postgame, Javy was laughing and said something to the effect that, “I didn’t know what I was doing coming out of the pen.” Nice to see him smiling. I think he’ll mow down the Mets and still finsih with 15 wins.
I am pretty sure everybody saw the Hanley Ramirez play last night. If you didn’t, you need to check it out on the mlb.com page.
The point is, every couple of years, a shortstop comes along who has more power than Jeter, is faster, has more range, more talent, better looking, etc. But every one of them sooner or later proves that they are only an imposter, whether it is injuries like Nomar and Reyes, PEDs like Tejada, up and down years like Tulo, or, in Hanley’s case, it is a shame that such a talented player would prefer to live up(or down) to the Ramirez name. In the future this may just be Hanley being Hanley!
The rain is blowing to the Northeast and has cleared Richmond and should clear Washington/Baltimore within an hour. And should clear out of Philadelphia before noon. That’s 7 hours to clear NY by game time.
SJ, I agree with that. The SP on each day is the most important player on the field and, as such, is technically a #1 on that day. We’re trying to deal with innings limits, though, so it’s easier to get a grasp on those by saying Phil’s a #5. Talent-wise? Performance-wise? He’s on his way to being a stud. Frankly, if he thinks he’s that good, that’s really all that counts. I really like that he was annoyed and frustrated last night (and embarrassed, lol)……..It will be interesting to see how he does next Saturday against the Mets.
GB, thanks for the #s’ – oh, that’s not bad at all.
It’s the Yankees choice, correct? I would love a rainout – and it is pouring on LI now.
I don’t know about the rest of you but to my mind pitching wins championships.
The Sox are dead last in the AL in Pitching.
It is gonna take a terrific turnaround just to make them respectable for the season.
Even though we did it last night you generally can’t slug your way into championships.
Good pitching is why I take the Rays much more seriously than the Sox.
I agree we dont necessarily need crawford. given the choice i would rather have Cliff Lee. (CC, AJ, Lee, Hughes, Pettitte)?
That would be something.
I was so Jappy for Javy yesterday…….and I know his teammates were as well.
I saw Javy turn a corner last night. What a bad situation to be brought into, and he saved that game by striking out Youkilis, and deserved that win, just for that AB. I agree he is going to mow down the mets.
New Post: Today in the Journal News
“I mean, I’d rather the Yankees win handily, as exciting as ninth inning walk-offs are.”
We are going to be in for a lot of games like last night if something doesn’t happen soon with the Yankees middle relief. Despite Sunday’s loss, the Yankees are still the best team in baseball when they have the lead going into the 8th with Joba and Rivera.
However, when the starter can’t go 7, they are in trouble. No lead is safe with this crew. I knew last night was trouble when Phil threw 20 pitches to get the 3rd out in the 5th. Even if he hadn’t given up the 3 run shot, having to go 2 innings with these firestarters is asking for trouble. And, it was worse than I thought, because Joba wasn’t available for the 8th. It isn’t just last night, I have been saying ths since the 2nd week of the season.
The answer? The guys they have out there have to pitch better. There is no trade market speak of, besides, who would you get? If they didn’t have Marte or Park, those are the type of guys you would go after. Robertson has to get his confidence back, or whatever it is that he is missing.
Last year, the pen was in a similar state at this time, however, they still hadn’t yet added Hughes. Joba is already there, so now who is the savior of the middle relief this year?
As much as I dislike Wallace Matthews, he had every right to ask Girardi that question about the bullpen usage. Girardi got way too defensive saying “we didn’t have a long man, blah, blah, blah.” Hey, Joe, you could have still had Nova after activating Park. All you had to do was SEND DOWN LOGAN!!!! Seriously, Logan is worthless. He can’t stop walking guys and in this game he was taken deep as well. Just because he’s left-handed doesn’t mean he’s valuable. Girardi needs to realize that a second left-handed reliever is a luxury. Actually, didn’t he say that last year?
maybe Logan is our new farnsworth