Postgame notes: A not-so routine win that felt routine
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Sep 03, 2010 
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Today’s win felt pretty routine, which is kind of amazing given the players who were not involved. Alex Rodriguez is still on the disabled list, Nick Swisher is dealing with a sore knee, Derek Jeter had the day off and the Yankees starting pitcher didn’t pitch out of the fifth inning.
All should be cause for concern, but the Yankees are used to filling holes, and they’ve come to trust the bullpen completely.
“There’s a lot of talent on this club,” Joe Girardi said. “Guys are stepping up and playing well. Our team is deep and guys are finding a way just to get it done.”
Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson filled in at the top of the order, and they combined for four runs and four RBI. Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez filled the spots at the bottom of the order, and they each had two hits. Mark Teixeira, the guy who was so awful through the first two months, collected his 99th RBI.
After Ivan Nova was lifted with two outs in the fifth, Boone Logan, Dave Robertson, Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera got the Yankees through the final 4.1 without allowing a hit. Logan has been up and down from Triple-A, Robertson struggled earlier this season and Wood was with Cleveland six weeks ago.
“Mo was Mo,” Girardi said.
But all of it felt routine, just another day in a seven-game winning streak when the Yankees have learned to depend on different people on different days.
“We were in a little funk a few weeks ago,” Gardner said. “The last week or so, we’ve been hitting the ball pretty well and scoring some runs. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”
• Girardi said the decision to lift Nova had nothing to do with the weather – it seemed he might have been expecting a rain-shortened game and wanted to make sure they were leading after five – and instead had everything to do with the situation. “Sometimes a game can hinge a little bit earlier than the seventh, eighth or ninth inning,” Girardi said. “I just felt it was time to go to Booney there… Whether it’s a veteran (starter) or not, I still might make the move.”
• Nova seemed disappointed in himself more than Girardi. Obviously he wanted to stay in long enough for the win, but his stuff wasn’t as sharp today and he knew it. He said he had trouble working inside.
• After a two-homer game yesterday, Granderson had two RBI doubles today. He must be feeling pretty good at the plate, right? “Not at all,” Granderson said. “That’s the thing. Part of hitting is being lucky at times and being able to put the ball in play and see what’s going to happen. That’s what’s been happening for the last couple of games now.”
• Speed at the top of the lineup really helped the Yankees today, especially Gardner who tripled in a run and scored from first on a fairly routine double. “To score from first base on the ball that I hit down the line,” Granderson said. “There’s not too many people in the game that could do it, and he did it with a pretty good-throwing right fielder out there.”
• Alex Rodriguez should be back in two days, but the Yankees have gotten solid contributions from Nunez and Pena while he’s been out. “They’ve really come up with some big hits, and some two-out RBIs too,” Gardner said.
• Wood has made a huge difference in the bullpen. Girardi said he didn’t want to use Joba Chamberlain today, but he still had two legitimate setup men to turn to in Wood and Robertson. “It allows you to use two of the three every day, usually,” Girardi said.
• Girardi remains optimistic that Rodriguez will be ready on Sunday, despite Rodriguez’s more cautious optimism. “The last time in a live situation, ran out of the box and he felt it,” Girardi said. “I understand him being cautious, but I feel pretty good about how the rehab went. We’ll find out a lot more tomorrow.”
• Wood has allowed one run in 15 innings and got his second win with the Yankees. He has a 0.60 ERA since coming to New York.
• Gardner has now walked in eight consecutive games in which he’s had a plate appearance. According to Elias, that’s the longest streak by a Yankee since Johnny Damon in 2007.
• Pena has a hit in nine of his past 12 starts, batting .282 with six RBI in those games. He’s started against Toronto three times this season and has multiple hits every time.
Associated Press photos of Rivera with Posada, Nova and Granderson
Repost
Good Evening folks… for those who are interested, I just got a great review on my new book…
http://archives.quillandparchm…..eview.html
Wow GB good call! I think the “how soon we forget” in that one actually enures to my benefit!!! You’re right on with that comparison though. Both disgruntled smart alecks.
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Tom, the D refers to himself as “Mikey”. Can you imagine? Just a stone-cold loser.
repost:
Trisha how could you unleash that slime on us. I feel violated… and somewhat distressed by the knowledge that I share the earth with one Mikey Adams.
What happened to perspicacity? ”
If you are distressed that you share the earth with Mikey Adams, perspicacity has undoubtedly been transferred to you!
Okay, let me at least explain. I had to buy a wedding card for a wedding I’m going to Monday and I really like the couple so it took me about 45 minutes to pick it out. I really take my time with cards when the recipient means a lot to me! Well, I left my house while the Big Show was still on – I really enjoy listening to them, a lot more objectivity there – and when I was finished, the supreme loser was just coming on. There was no Yankee postgame to listen to so I just kept on EEI. I can usually tune him out but he was talking about the Yanks so I listened. The rest is nauseating history.
Can I keep my perspicacity mantle a while longer?
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Not funny at all, but how about the doctor that was found in her boyfriend’s chimney? It had to be HORRIFYING for her when she started to realize she wasn’t getting out of there. Hopefully she was drunk enough not to understand the full extent of what was happening to her. Just awful.
The book I was talking to Trisha about is called 59 in 84. And is about the Providence Grays and ‘Old Hoss’ Radbourn who won 59 games that year. Unreal. These guys pitched like every day and in some cases double headers.
http://www.edwardachorn.com/
Montero grounds into DP. from the beginning of the season thru 15 May, he hit into 11 DPs. Since that day, this was his third GIDP.
Bronx-
see the previous thread for my response.
Thanks for the priviledge of getting to read an advanced copy.
The versatility of this current squad seems to be the key to this season’s run at the Championship. I suppose that you could say that the 2009 outfield was the weakest link, with Matsui and Damon both having limits to their skill set which made in-game management a real challenge (yes, I am quite aware of Matsui’s 2009 World Series MVP status, but no-one could make a case for his having multi-faceted playing skills at this stage of his career).
The flowering of Gardner, and the new, greater confidence at the plate being exhibited by Granderson (thank you, K-Long), are just some of the changes which have turned a weakness of the team into a strength.
Bronx Born
Congratulations on the review. You are way too profound for this place.
My pleasure MTU… I musta missed it my friend.
Pat am just a Bronx boy… no matter where I live.
ManhattanBorn just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Bronx Born,
I congratulated you heartily at the end of the last thread. I always am most prolific when the rest have moved on. I am thrilled for you and I think I can say we LoHud posters are too.
People can rip the yankees all they wan’t but the reality is we are going too the playoffs,the rs are not & as of now we are in much better shape than them going forward,our farm system is also better.
That reality hurts rs fans so they lash out in any way they can.
Bronx Born, The Poet Shelley (my favorite poet), famously wrote that “poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.” I’ll pick myself up a copy.
Congratulations.
That’s me Manhattan Born…lol
‘That’s me Manhattan Born…lol’
Me too, or is it three?
Bronx Born, it isn’t often that I’m at a loss for words, but I am absolutely overwhelmed reading the review. It both gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. Please don’t minimize what I am going to say next. I am in awe that I am communicating with someone so important to our world and whose heart and soul are so moved by an issue so vital to humanity. God bless the parents who brought you up and God bless your amazingly beautiful spirit. I am both humbled by it and envious of it.
It will be such an honor to buy your book.
(I love the poetry of Langston Hughes; to me that is a very beautiful comparison.)
Congrats Bronx, a job well done.
And I now make an uneventful trip to a mundane drugstore to buy one of life’s necessities – pantyhose.
I suppose it is the ordinariness of a life such as mine that magnifies the importance of a life such as that of Bronx Born. If we were all on his level he would seem pretty ordinary and that just wouldn’t be right.
So all I can say is – YAY FOR ORDINARY!
Be back.
The close race between the Yanks and Rays seems to be bringing out the best in both teams. Both teams are on track to win 100 or more games. I wonder if this will be a record for two teams in the same division?
Congratulations Bronx Born!
Thanks so much guys. That means a lot to me.
1993 the Braves won the NL West with 104 wins. The SF Giants had 103.
Imagine winning 103 games and NOT making the playoffs?
And what the heck were the Braves doing in the West?
Three and counting.
Congrats, BronxBorn.
“I wonder if this will be a record for two teams in the same division?”
Off the top of my head, the Braves won 104 and the Giants 103 in the NL West in 1993. Pre-Wild Card. 103 wins and have a nice off-season.
Jeez guys ya got me all faklempt.
I really appreciate you all.
Booney? Someone needs to knock some restraint into Girardi.
As for the 3-headed set-up monster. Great stuff. No set-up guy can work every day.
Montero lines out to the right center field wall.
m,
The question is: Is it Lancey, Berkmany, or Berky?
Watching 20-20 and a segment about cousins marrying cousins. YUK!
Thanks, Tom & Nick.
Montero with another double to left center. 3-5 with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 2 runs scored. hitting .291
The numbers Montero has so far is in 121 games and 443 at bats. Add in 46 walks.
bronx,
congrats. must feel great. i’ve been trying to get something published myself. it’s a really hard road. a good review must feel great.
Interesting piece from Wally Matthews on A-Rod/Boras:
What caused a player to split from an agent who had secured nearly a half-billion dollars in baseball salary for him over the past decade? Who is representing him now? And why would you fire someone who still has a legal claim on your baseball earnings from now until 2017?
From interviews with several sources familiar with Rodriguez and Boras — none of whom who would speak for attribution — the consensus of opinion is a familiar one: A-Rod has fallen under the spell of a cadre of Hollywood types, led by Guy Oseary, Madonna’s PR guru, who want to take over control of his career.
“They knew that as long as [Boras] was his agent, they would never be able to claim they represented Alex,” one source said. “They wanted to escape the cloud of Boras.”
But behind the scenes, sources with knowledge of the situation tell ESPNNewYork.com that friction has been brewing since Oseary became part of Rodriguez’s entourage in 2007. According to one source, Boras has objected to the relationship from the start, believing A-Rod’s infatuation with Hollywood stardom detracts from the things he must do to continue playing at the level that earned him his original 10-year, $250 million deal from the Texas Rangers, and the 10-year, $275 million extension the Yankees gave him following his 2007 MVP season and subsequent opt-out from his contract.
“[Boras] doesn’t like any of that crowd, doesn’t like the scene, and has said so may times,” the source said. “And every time, it really pisses Alex off.”
“[Rodriguez] thinks he needs Oseary to meet people like Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson,” said one source, who is admittedly pro-Boras. “He’s so enamored of that whole Hollywood scene, and he knows [Boras] is against it.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-.....id=5529572
If Montero is traded away A LOT of Yankee fans are going to be really upset. I wasn’t vocal about it, but I didn’t want him to go in a trade for Lee and I was thrilled (and grateful) it didn’t go through.
The Wally Matthews story, like most of his work, is completely wrong.
Perhaps if Wally got people who would speak on the record, he would get more accurate information.
When I say, “speak on the record”, I mean, have their name attached to the quote.
If one believes what they are telling Wally, that shouldn’t be a problem.
They won’t do it because they know what they fed Wally was BS.
So Arod hired a booty agent.
SJ,
I see the Yanks offering a 2 yr 40mm deal to Jeter and 3 yr contract to Joe w/ a slight pay raise. I see many opinions that Jete is going to go year to year and Joe seriously considering Chicago, which I don’t agree with. Just wondering on your thoughts of the upcoming situation?
Thanks kd you have to persist… never give up.
Did you see the score from the Trenton game? 20-6 win. Only one home run. But 8 doubles and 2 triples. Wouldve liked to see that game.
I listened to it for a while and apparently it was just a terribly played game which accounted for the score. Betances was pulled as he had to go to the BP twice due to the long delays. One of Betances runs scored due to a two base wild pitch etc. Betances was all over the place pitching in the third and fourth innings again due to the delays scoring.
Stop posting ESPNY BS here. It has been banned. Wally has Pete Abe complex when it comes to A-Rod.
McCourt’s divorce court proceedings reveal a great deal about the Dodgers and the fact that MLB sanctioned the contraction of the franchise. Ugly.
Can’t imagine Torre sticking around. Does this prod Mattingly to look elsewhere as well?
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/0.....ayroll-de/
Yeah, he seems to throw a lot of wild pitches. I think he has one about every game. I guess some taller pitchers have command issues. Hopefully its something he will get better with over time.
For all the dog lovers out there, here’s a sight to see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5LP2jX5QyU
Wish I could dance this well.
Check out Banuelos pitching videos on Rebecca’s blog
http://www.puristbleedspinstri.....e-thunder/
backbench September 4th, 2010 at 12:21 am
McCourt’s divorce court proceedings reveal a great deal about the Dodgers and the fact that MLB sanctioned the contraction of the franchise. Ugly.
————————————————————————-
I think for most people when you say “contraction” of a franchise they take it to mean the dissolution of a franchise. E.g. MLB considered contraction for the Expos and the Twins in the 90s.
The Dodgers were looking to downsize their budget not contract.
I thought it meant the Dodgers were about to give birth.
Maybe that was just Manny.
One of the great things in teamsports, is the ability to follow a club, and follow young players playing the way on to the team and eventually stardom.
In baseball and soccer I find this aspect really interesting, which is why I really dont hope they trade Montero – but then again – what player in the offseason would be both attractive and tradeable.
- C. Lee is a free agent
- King Felix will not be traded
- Crawford is a free agent
The Yankees are locked up at all the infield position, Swisher in right and Granderson and Gardy in left and center. If you upgrade in the outfield, Crawford is the likely target.
Is the a bigtime pitcher out there, which you can trade for?
murphydog,
I saw your post on Jack Curry in an earlier thread. I wholeheartedly agree with your take on Curry. I remember the day I saw the news that he was leaving the NYT. I was shocked! He was by far their best reporter/writer. While I’m not a fan of the NYT in general, I never failed to read Jack’s columns, not just for this thoughts but for his elegant writing style.
Sherman was fiercely defensive of his friend. You could feel the emotion behind his words. Thanks for the link.
Marte might need shoulder surgery. Sucks.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....8;FEEDNAME=
Marte might need shoulder surgery. Sucks.
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Good thing that Boone Logan has stepped up big in the LHP relief role.
It’s guaranteed to be a fascinating off-season around here.
It starts with Derek, Mariano and Andy — three of the “core four” are free agents. Do they all want to ride off in the sunset together with Jorge in 2011? Does Andy retire? Do Derek and Mariano make multi-year demands?
Then you have expiring deals for Javy Vazquez, Nick Johnson, Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman, Marcus Thames and Austin Kearns. I’d like Thames, Wood and Kearns to return, but what will that cost?
What is the latest long term plan for Joba? Does Nova have the No. 5 starter job or is it up for grabs? What do you do with utility pitchers Mitre, Gaudin and Mosely?
And then you have free agency featuring Cliff (Texas is too f’ing hot) Lee, Carl (I can’t play on turf anymore) Crawford and Jayson Werth.
Hot stove indeed
Pretty exciting the way the Yankees have been playing and doing so short handed. As others have said, it did look like Nova just gave a little too much credit to the Jays scouting report and therefore got behind too many hitters….just part of the learning process. Hope they keep him in the rotation until Andy gets back at least.
What can you say about the Yankee bullpen. Since the ASB they have just been lights out. They currently have 3 guys that are legit set up guys for the greatest closer of all time. Most teams struggle to find one of those guys. It gives Girardi the option of going the the hot hand and I love the fact that he hasn’t married himself to the non-closer roles in the bullpen…whoever has the best chance to get the needed outs is getting the call right now and its working very well.
Need to keep pushing though and hopefully Javy can carry over the positives from his relief appearances and have a solid start today.
loved the work of the G men yesterday, I would like to see Jeet get another day of rest
I don’t think the Yanks will sign either Crawford or Werth…if an outfield upgrade is pursued then I think it will be by trade. That said, I’m not entirely sure the outfield needs upgrading unless a deal for someone like Matt Kemp comes along that just makes too much sense to pass up.
Sign Lee and hope Montero is ready to slot in at DH and catch a percentage of games. Make nunez the utility infielder, try and bring back Wood, Kearns, and maybe Thames if possible and perhaps sign a solid backup catcher.
Good morning.
Joel Sherman went all elephant in the room with his column today. I guess I was wrong about ALL the NY media being afraid of Derek.
Dropping Derek in the order might make sense in theory but it ain’t happening this year in practice and I believe there is still some life in those “old” bones.
Despite some of the team having unfamiliar years in terms of numbers, all that really matters is what they do from today forward. Fingers crossed that yesterdays off day recharged Derek’s battery and a multi hit game awaits him today.
That ^ Wally Matthews story was really tabloid even for Wally Matthews.
Derek is still in the top 5 in runs scored – He has sluggers behind him, but it is worth noting
Girardi is not going to drop Jeter in the line up…he stuck w/ Tex early on when he was struggling, and I think he will stick w/ Jeter as well.
Jete is 4-39
Pat,
Wally’s story was pure fantasy.
Derek’s story?
Completely agree.
I will never forget Damon telling me the reaction of the players when they saw Torre dropped Arod to 8th in the order in an elimination game.
ALL of the players, even Derek, knew it was a dumb move because it messed with Arod’s head and turned the team on it’s axis.
Sometimes, you have to look big picture and decide if turning this into the $@$& storm you will create by doing it helps the team in the long run.
While that would make for a great story for talk radio and a columnist, it would do more harm than good for the team.
Especially when the team is winning.
Some guys deserve short leashes. AJ for one.
Derek deserves the longest leash on the team.
SJ,
http://video.google.com/videop.....110538543#
A-Rod was heated after they got bounced.
SJ
In most jobs, if you don’t get along with your boss, your boss isn’t going to be the one who gets fired.
Baseball players and managers work on an opposite dynamic. Girardi seems to get that.
If indeed Damaso Marte needs surgery, the Yankees will need to think about replacing him on the roster with Royce Ring who has quietly had an excellent season at AAA Scranton / Wilkes-Barre.
Regardless of who the Yankees face in the postseason, each team can stack up with lefty hitters and if Boone Logan is used sooner than the 8th inning, another situational lefthander could be needed in a close game. It’s a decision for Girardi and Cashman to consider.
SJ44
I appreciate what inside stories you are willing to share.
That’s one thing that I enjoy is the info we get that you don’t get just reading or listening to the media.
I am very pleased to see Granderson’s hitting pick up the last few games. He’s been hustling and alert all season and seems to be a really good teammate. Having him and Gardner in the OF is very helpful to the lineup as it provides an element of base-running speed that the rest of the lineup just doesn’t offer.
As far as the offseason goes, I don’t see the need to sign another 30+ outfielder like Crawford, as without speed he’ll just be another GIDP rally-killing monster, and I don’t want Kemp, who’s apparently a lousy fielder and has attitude issues. I’d rather take ALL the money they have budgeted for FA’s and pool it on Lee but with a 4-year max, so that we aren’t looking into a rotation with two declining 35-year-olds who are money-locked in place two years from now.
If you would love to see our boy Swisher host Saturday Night Live in the off season, click on this link and then click on “like”! Since it is a facebook fan page, you will have to sign in to facebook first! GO YANKEES!! http://www.facebook.com/pages/.....7038614552