Postgame notes: Ace in a hole
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Aug 29, 2010 
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On a night like this, there’s a lot to be said for CC Sabathia — for the things he’s expected to do and the things he’s able to do. Tonight it was his changeup that betrayed him. It was too hard, cutting too far over the plate, and that’s the pitch both Andruw Jones and Paul Konerko hit for home runs.
But when he came off the mound after the fourth inning, having just surrendered the two-run shot that pulled the White Sox within 6-5, Jorge Posada had a message for him.
“Sado came in and said, ‘We’ve still got the lead, so let’s just go out there and work with that,’” Sabathia said.
Of his final 12 outs, seven came on strikes. He kept mixing in the changeup occasionally, but also started working his two-seamer inside and throwing more breaking balls early in the count. Sabathia said he was trying to grind through, trying to find a way to keep the score where it was. Joe Girardi said he was being an ace, through and through.
“I really believed he would settle in,” Girardi said. “CC has the ability to do that. If he gives up a couple of runs, he has the ability to shut it down, and that’s exactly what he did… That’s what aces are able to do, and that’s why they win so many games.”
Aces win games, and Sabathia is the only pitcher in the big leagues who’s won 18 of them.
Here’s Sabathia’s postgame.
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• When Eduardo Nunez got to his locker, he was given three baseballs: The one he hit for his first career home run, and two brand new, shiny white baseballs that would be the ransom. The guy who caught the homer wanted an autograph from Nunez, and an autograph from Derek Jeter. Just like happened with Colin Curtis, it was up to Nunez to ask Jeter to help him out. After some ribbing, Nunez said, the Captain obliged.
• Nick Swisher has homered in back-to-back games and continues to play well against his old team. “Sometimes you matchup good against teams too, but Swish is a competitor and I think he wants to do well all the time,” Girardi said. “I think he gets excited when he comes here.”
• Not a good day for the bullpen, but it’s hard to get too down on Joba Chamberlain and Dave Robertson. They’ve pitched pretty well lately and picked a good night to have a rough one. Between them, those two got one out and allowed four runs on five hits.
• Mariano Rivera got his 26th save, and started his night with a double play that loomed large when the next two batters walked and singled. “It looks real big now,” Girardi said.
• Mark Teixeira’s bruise isn’t exactly on the thumb. It’s in that meaty part of the palm, right next to the thumb. If you fold your index finger into your palm, the place where the fingertip goes is where the bruise is. Does that make sense?
• It seemed pretty obvious, but Austin Kearns said he did in fact lose that eighth-inning ball in the lights. It went for a triple. That was a big part of Robertson’s rough night.
• I’ll give the last word to Thames: “It was a great team effort. Last night was ugly from the start. It didn’t look good, and tonight we came out and played baseball.”
Associated Press photos of Sabathia and Nunez
Yeah, the meaty part just below the thumb.
It tastes like chicken.
Sabathia is earning every dime of his contract.
I can understand losing a ball in the lights – that stuff happens and is understandable. What’s inexcusable is not getting up and going after the ball once you lose it. Don’t know why Kearns just lay there. He’s been fantastic since coming over from Cleveland, but I guess every player has a bonehead play from time to time.
CC is the true definition of an Ace-he goes out there every start and keeps his team in the game.
It’s not easy to sustain winning baseball for 162 games. Over the last 10 games, there are only 2 teams (Marlins and Astros, who are both out of contention) in all of MLB that have won 7 games in that stretch (the Yankees have won 6, as have the Rays and Sox). There isn’t a single AL team on a real hot streak and time is getting short for the teams trailing in the Wild Card race.
The Yankees actually are tied for the best AL record over the past 10 games in the schedule, that seems difficult to believe considering all the mediocre baseball played by them recently. Good teams also get a second wind sometime in September, I think that will happen with the Yankees as well and they’ll get pretty close to 100 wins by the end of the season.
I want to see more of Nunez.
Rich in NJ August 29th, 2010 at 1:17 am
I want to see more of Nunez.
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ditto
Look in Ozzie’s nightmares.
sabathia is a total stud. he has not been as dominating as guidry in 78(I think) but he has carried the pitching staff since Pettitte went down. Petttitte comes back and is effective it will help a ton.
hughes in my opinion has been fine, toronto start was tough but he did not buckle and battles…
any contribution from rookies and thames types is huge.
thames at the plate has been a real positive this year………….
stuart a August 29th, 2010 at 2:11 am
sabathia is a total stud. he has not been as dominating as guidry in 78(I think) but he has carried the pitching staff since Pettitte went down. Petttitte comes back and is effective it will help a ton.
hughes in my opinion has been fine, toronto start was tough but he did not buckle and battles…
any contribution from rookies and thames types is huge.
thames at the plate has been a real positive this year…
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Jeez man, ignoring any differences in the nature of the sport between ’78 and ’10, Sabathia’s season isn’t even in the same universe at Guidry circa 1978. The man was 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA and a .946 WHIP (!!). He also threw 273 innings to the tune of a 208 ERA + (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
Nunez hitting .333/.360/.500.
Jeter better pick it up or he’s gonna be Pipp’d!
haha that guidry season is like even beyond video game numbers, just sick
nunez looks pretty toolsy… great speed, good arm and range, good bat speed, and if he can show some patience at the plate he looks capable there as well
I’m not counting on Pettite coming back and pitching well. It just doesn’t look good from here. He stated himself his arm is a “4″ right now and that he’s in lousy shape. Pitchers need their legs. It’ll be a miracle if we see some vintage Pettite in the fall at all.
““I really believed he would settle in,” Girardi said. “CC has the ability to do that. If he gives up a couple of runs, he has the ability to shut it down, and that’s exactly what he did… That’s what aces are able to do, and that’s why they win so many games.”
So does that mean that AJ Burnett isn’t an Ace?
I watched the game on DVR really late last night. Good win. The ball was really flying out of that place last night and CC did a great job of pitching to the scoreboard and making big pitches when he needed (as he always does). He’s just a great pitcher.
Danks is very good as well and his start reminded me a lot of Phils against the Jays the other night. He had good stuff but made some location mistakes amenit was just onenof those nights when the Yanks were on him from the start….just one of those funny things in baseball here both teams see the ball well that day.
Can’t say enough about Marcus Thames…what a bargain he’s become.
Loved the things Nunez did as well..good to see him get his first homer and he also had two very good (and very Jeter like) swings in later ABs.
Hope Tex isn’t out long…doesn’t sound like he will be but the Yanks can’t afford to lose him for long.
Today’s Guess The Lineup is Now Open for Business
Good luck.
just saying could the Yankees be the AL team that claimed him Mike Napoli…..
If I before the season had been told:
- That Alex would hit less than 25 HR and be on the DL come september
- That Jeter would hit .270
- That Moseley would get 6-7 starts
- That Pettitte would spend 2 months on the DL
- That Tex would hit .220 through may
- That AJ would be this bad for so many starts
- That Joba would loose his 8th inning role
- That Vasquez would be skipped twice because of a dead arm
- That Granderson would hit .230 through july
Would any of you still believe that the Yankees were tied for the lead in the division?
I also have that feeling that Andy is having a problem getting healthy
# Northy August 29th, 2010 at 8:43 am
If I before the season had been told:
- That Alex would hit less than 25 HR and be on the DL come september
- That Jeter would hit .270
- That Moseley would get 6-7 starts
- That Pettitte would spend 2 months on the DL
- That Tex would hit .220 through may
- That AJ would be this bad for so many starts
- That Joba would loose his 8th inning role
- That Vasquez would be skipped twice because of a dead arm
- That Granderson would hit .230 through july
Would any of you still believe that the Yankees were tied for the lead in the division?
———————————————————————————————————–
and turn all that around to the Sox and all their injuries who would have thought they would be 6 games out of 1st place
those are excellent points and could give some indication of how good this team could be if ever able to get healthy and fire on all cylinders…hopefully the next month will lead up to that and peak in October…that’s what has to happen to win it all.
Looking forward to super Nova..
with all their parts in place and everyone playing close to the norm their is no team in baseball better than them
Yankees that is
I don’t know about Napoli but if the Yanks could aquire a more capable backup catcher on waivers then its something they should look into. They are significantly better when Posada plays and he just can’t catch every day.
wouldn’t mind if the Yanks claimed Napoli. He’s not the greatest defender but he can hit and is used to a platoon situation. Hed be a significant upgrade over Cervelli anyway.
Hed be a significant upgrade over Cervelli anyway.
________
Blake, trouble is right now most catchers would be an upgrade over Cervelli. I could take his offense being poor, but his defense is just as bad. For a back up catcher that is terrible.
He is making me miss Molina more and more.
Yogi,
I agree and that’s the main reason I’d love for them to add someone. I like Cervelli and all but he’s just not contributing anything when he plays. As you say, if you backup catcher isn’t playing + defense then he really has no role….that’s their job primarily.
I don’t know what’s out there but you can see a huge difference in team and lineup when Jorge plays….if they could lessen that dropoff when he rests then that would be beneficial.
Minn adding BP help Fuentes & Capps this month have been rumored to have the claim in on Napoli….is so with JM coming back and if they land Napoli they will a tough out in the playoffs if they get there
sox back to 6 out in the LC after all the “here come the Sox talk yesterday”.
Would be nice to get this game today as it would mean either pulling into 1st place outright or putting the Sox 7 back with a month to play.
I hope Dave Eiland, C.C., and company learned from Masters like Lester and Buchholtz the last couple of nights on how to pitch to the Rays.
I actually think some time in the minors will be good for Cervelli.
The Yankees have asked a lot from him. ( especially when you consider he’s was just a 23 yr old rookie last year).
He may be tired, the whole grind it out pressure cooker of NY has to be tough. But he has shown that he can play in the majors, so he just needs to find “it” again.
However, the Yankees should not (and IMO can not) wait. I wonder what would it take to pry Molina back from the Jays? Waivers?
Just saw our friend Jerry Hairston Jr. was put on the DL with a strained ligament. Too bad for him. It must be a great year for him – he was playing most days, with his brother and the Padres are in first place over there.
I also was looking at the ML standings, and it’s pretty interesting to note that with the exception of 4 teams, in the past 10 games, all of them are right around .500 (6-4, 5-5, 4-6). The 4 exceptions are two of the 7-3, two of them 3-7.
Must be a lot of baseball fans tearing their hair out right about now.
Ruby Tuesday=California=ER.
Same troll, same moronic posts, just under different names.
CC Sabathia may be the best “bargain” in baseball.
It’s simply amazing how much he has brought to the Yankees on the field and in the clubhouse.
He’s worth every penny.
September 7 – The “Boston Massacre” begins. The Boston Red Sox enter today’s opening game of a four game series in Boston with a four game lead over the New York Yankees; a lead which had been fourteen games just weeks earlier. The Yankees defeat the Red Sox 15-3, and go on to sweep the series, erasing the Red Sox lead in the American League East Division.——————————–
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went to game 3 that weekend where I met GS and got his auto on a $20 bill
Boston lost 13 games from 9/1 thru 9/16….then went on to wim 12 of their next 15 games …for Yankee fans that was one hell of a ride
joeman -
Cautionary tale?
you think ?
That was a healthy Red Sox team that didn’t have two teams in front of them.
A far cry from this years team.
The Rays are the worry, not the Red Sox.
CC was one of a number of good signings that Cashman did. Teixeira is another big plus.
I don’t think the Yankees mind paying out those two paychecks given what they are getting in return for them.
Cervelli had come up and played over his level. Not sure if he could recapture that mojo from earlier, that this is the sophomore slump, but it seems he is regressing and is over exposed.
When the Yanks had Molina, while you weren’t counting on his bat to contribute much, you were pretty comfortable with his defense skills. They did go down during his last season with them, but he seems to have turned that around in Toronto. He lost weight and got into better shape. With him behind the plate the runners weren’t as confident about stealing bases. Snap throws and accurate throw to 2nd are missing now. With some of the pitchers it wouldn’t make a lot of difference, being that they are slow to the plate, but it would be a big improvement to what we have right now.
SJ44, the Red Sox are done, no matter what any of their moronic fans say. CC and the Yankees responded last night on the road, when a lesser team would have caved. Good job rebounding from watching a 6-1 lead, move to only ahead 6-5. Today, hopefully we can keep the “Mo” and take the series. Again, one of the only times of the year that I am pulling for the BoSux to beat someone !
SJ44 -
Certainly the Rays are the primary concern. But the Red Sox are not so far behind that they can be summarily dismissed. The Yankees play both teams enough this last month to take matters into their own hands and settle things once and for all. And I think they can and will do so.
I’m not “worried” about the Red Sox, but they are a lurker and the Yankees are not healthy right now, either. Primary concern is if Andy Pettitte either doesn’t make it back, or does and is not effective because he really is not in top shape or even close to it (though, if anyone can tough it out and make it work, Andy can).
On a side note, I think Andy is going to retire after this season.
I don’t think the RS will mount a sustained come back, but all it takes is a slump from one team ahead of them and they could be right in it.
I wouldn’t count out any teams that are as close as the RS are. The only thing the Yankees can do is control their own games. September is going to be tough.
‘The Rays are the worry, not the Red Sox.’
I agree. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t bring myself to root for the Sox to win.
There is also the argument of locking up a spot (by burying the Sox). And than fighting it out with the Rays for the division.
CC has been amazing this season. Last night was an example. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled and once the Yankee extended the lead to 10-5, CC got into a rhythm. I kept thinking that if it was Burnett on the mound, he would have caved in the 1st 3 innings when he didn’t have his best stuff instead of battling through.
a healthy Andy looks like he’s the key to this years playoffs, could they win without him maybe & could they win with him yes…..
I go for a Yankee & TB win today…..lets get rid of one ( Sox) and then go after the other
Good morning.
Cervelli has withstood a good amount of wear and tear on his body this year which probably accounts for some of the fall off in production.
The guy had 2 concussions in 6 months and has taken a pretty good beating behind the plate catching AJ only. He’s taken balls off body parts that might put others out of action for days but he’s hung in there because he’s had to.
If Johnson had stayed healthy this year, it would have been interesting to see how differently Girardi might have juggled the catching responsibilities.
CC and Andy are exactly what young pitchers need to look at – how to get through games when you have less than your best; how to battle and keep your teams in games; how to keep your focus.
The worst thing AJ does is lose focus and give in to a bad day.
pat -
I have also conjectured that those concussions haven’t helped Cervelli, but I didn’t factor in all the body shots, too. He isn’t as bad as he’s been playing, but he will benefit when they bring up Moeller (or someone) on the 1st, and the back-up duties can be re-arranged.
While I think we’d beat either the RS or TB, RS would prolly be the easier team to beat in the ALCS.
It would make sense to root for the RS then to overtake TB but as I can’t root for either team, at this point, maybe I could the last week of the season when it’s all clearer.
The Yanks just have to keep on winning so and not worry about other teams.
Minn. and Texas are the 1st hurdle anyway. Those 2 teams in our division might not even be there.
never know what you get with him ….playoff AJ or now AJ
Minn will be a very tough out,with their BP moves a return of JM & a rumor claim of Napoli
Congrats to m on Hawaii’s LL team US championship.
…..lets get rid of one ( Sox) and then go after the other
**********************
joeman,
I’m with you. Get rid of the Red Sox. They are still hanging around despite all of their injuries. Then the Yankees and Rays can fight it out for positioning (1st place and Wild Card)
Bucholtz pitched so well the Sox lost.
I guess when you’re in 3rd place a moral victory is just as good.
you don’t bring in a new catcher at this time of the year who is unfamiliar with the pitchers.
you’d be better activating the bullpen catcher than bringing in someone who doesn’t know the pitchers.
moeller knows the staff and they know him, so cervelli just needs a breather physically and mentally.
it would do wonders to his game for him to realize who he is too. he needs to tone down his game and get back to basics. the last thing you want in a catcher is a hot dog.
i have no problem with cervelli being a third string or second string catcher as long as he brings that back up mentality to his game. when he gets too full of himself and starts trying to do too much like throwing the ball all over the field and fist pumping behind the plate ticking off the other team and umpires when something goes well, he needs to take a step back and realize with his skills and ability he’s lucky to be where he is.
all this said, cervelli is not the reason this team is underachieving. and it is. i think they need to clean up things , make some decisions, and play a core group of players they have decided on more often.
granderson for one need to be leaned on. he’s supposed to be an all star. it’s time to step it up and if he can’t, he needs to be moved over the winter. he needs to be told if he wants to be a yankee he needs to start playing like one.
burnett too should be paired with posada as a message to burnett and to the team that no one on the team is going to be coddled because they have their little peccadilloes ( i like to use at least one word that gb7 has to google. it keeps his aging mind sharp).
there’s too much massaging players who have major faults instead of telling them, as murphydog said yesterday , to “man up”.
gardner also needs to be told to attack stealing bases and not act like he’s scared to death to get thrown out.
in short, the team needs and edge to it that it doesn’t have right now. girardi is in charge of creating the edge on the team. if it’s not there, he’s the one who has to look in the mirror.
I was flipping channels last night between the Yanks and the Sox game on NESN. When NESN gave an in-game update showing the home run that cut the Yanks lead to 6-5, the excitement in their voice was palpable. Not so much when they later showed the Yanks taking a 10-5 lead hahahaha
CC is one tough man. As good a competitor as they come. He’s the polar opposite of AJ in both demeanor and assortment of pitches. CC can fall back on 3 other pitches on night like last night when his changeup wasn’t working. AJ, being only a 2 pitch pitcher, doesnt have that arsenal. It’s too late in the year to really do much to change AJ. But next Spring it should be made mandatory that he develops his changeup. He owes it to the Yankees to do everything in his power to make sure he adds a 3rd pitch. CC is proof that you are not always going to have command of all you pitches, but you sure better have another to fall back on.
This fear and obsession with the RS is beyond believable.
You can be sure Moeller will be the backup in Sept.
As for rooting for the Sox, I tell my kids the following:
I want both TB and BOS to lose. They say, that can’t be.
I say, I want both of them to lose, I just want TB to lose more now.
“you don’t bring in a new catcher at this time of the year who is unfamiliar with the pitchers.”
Another argument for Molina. Good post Randy
can’t believe how that Angel team fell apart…
It will be interesting to see how Nova reacts today. It’s obviously a big game in terms of his young career, but he has the added burden of the mlb investigation leak. Gotta love those “anonymous sources”. I just Googles “anonymous sources”. It came back “cowards with an agenda”.
The problem with the argument about lets bury the Red Sox and then battle it out with the Rays is that it is almost September. There are not a whole lot of games left. Every game is crucial.
NY and Tampa have been neck and neck all season. They are both great teams. I for one am not comfortable in anyway “giving up” a game to the Rays, because of the extremely slim chance the Sox made a miracle comeback.
This division could very easily come down to 1 or 2 games. There is no way I am rooting to win any game when the margin of error will likely be that small.
rooting *for the Rays*
Gotta root against TB.
I hate the Red Sox as much as anyone, but TB is unquestionably the bigger threat to the Yanks.
RSN can’t possibly hold up without their two best players.
Winning the home field advatage through the ALCS is critical. Go Saux!!!
Oh God, I just felt sick….
LGY
You make good points. For me, the diffrence between winning the division and WC is not “that” much of a big deal.
It may come down to resting people (and other considerations) is more important than winning the divison. You can’t do that if it’s a three team race.
Not saying the Yankees would do that, but it would be nice to have the option.
mick -
Being mindful of a third place team that should have been dead in the water a long time ago, but isn’t yet, is not being fearful or obsessive. It is acknowledging that at the very least, they remain a pebble in the shoe. Again, I’ll say, I’d feel the same way if they were the Schenactady Schooners.
Randy l -
Thank for being more specific today than yesterday about what you might do to tighten the ship. I agree about Moeller being the third backup; I agree Gardner needs to run (also bunt, but that’s another issue – it was telling when Singleton talked about the White Sox player bunting during BP regularly – though he said it’s difficult for a player to do on the road I felt he was saying Gardner doesn’t do it at home either); I feel like when Granderson finally approached Long about “fixing” his swing, it was a huge step in the right direction and his plate appearances have showed an improvement – I’m not sure what else he can do at this point, because you can’t guarantee results.
I’m rooting for the return of the playoff AJ
Good morning everyone,
CC is just the best. He was, however, lucky that the Yankees had their hitting shoes on last night.
We have had and do have injuries on this team. The players may not be out for the season, but all year important parts of the line up have been out or playing with more minor injuries. Jeter, IMO has been playing hurt or quite a while, but with Arod out, he wouldn’t take time off.
So Arod and Pettitte, 2 of our most important ‘parts’ are on the DL. Tex is day to day. Yet these games we are playing are important.
The Red Sox have the easiest schedule from here out if I am not mistaken. Rays also have a better schedule than the Yankees, so today’s game is more important than it should be.
I, for one, do not just want to get into the playoffs as a wild card. It seems important that they win the division. Our pitchers have to step up so we don’t need a dozen runs to win a game. Our hitters need to be more reliable than they have been on a day to day basis.
I would like to see Posada catch 5 times a week which makes the line up much stronger. We then have a real DH. I only hope both Arod and Pettitte can return earlier rather than later and Berkman can return as the hitter he has been in the past.
Obviously the starting pitchers have to pitch better as a whole.
Those are this morning’s thoughts for the near term and on to the end of September.