Robertson’s back issue/Yankees postgame
Posted by: Brian Heyman - Posted in Misc on Sep 23, 2010 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
After this 7-2 loss, Joe Girardi revealed that David Robertson was out with a bad back. It seems minor. The righty reliever’s lower back tightened up on both sides after his outing on Monday night against the Rays. Girardi called it an issue with spasms, saying it was muscular. Robertson underwent an MRI Wednesday. Girardi said there was no structural problem.
“I’m feeling a lot better today than I did yesterday,” Robertson said. “The good news is there’s no damage, nothing with the disc or anything like that. … I’m really not very worried about it at all.”
“I’m not sure when we’ll get him back,” said Girardi, who didn’t think it was going to be a long time. He also didn’t think Robertson would be available for Thursday night’s series finale. …
The Yankees are now up by just 1 1/2 over the Rays. The Yankees have 10 games left, the Rays 11.
“I think this thing is going to come down to the wire,” Lance Berkman said. “Even if we win tomorrow night, 2 1/2 games is a decent lead, but we have a tough schedule. … The schedule favors them. So even if we were to win tomorrow night, 2 1/2 games is not insurmountable.” …
Berkman continues to swing well. He had two hits and is now batting .370 (20 for 54) since coming off the DL Sept. 1.
“It’s not like I’m on fire or anything, but I feel pretty good,” Berkman said.
He sent up his first homer as a Yankee, a solo shot in the fifth.
“It felt great,” Berkman said. “I didn’t want to end up with a zero in that category. One is better than none. … Hopefully there will be a few more.”
He has had to adjust to AL pitching after spending his entire career previously with the Astros.
“It’s very tough to hit when you don’t know anything,” Berkman said. “I haven’t heard of half of these guys. They’ve got some great arms. It’s good to be the second time through with this (Rays) team and know a little bit of some of these guys.” …
Royce Ring made his debut in pinstripes and the speed-changing veteran lefty couldn’t have been more thrilled. He was charged with one run in 1 2/3 after taking over for A.J. Burnett out of the two-hour, 11-minute rain delay in the third. Dustin Moseley gave up the inherited run after Ring issued a two-out walk. But Ring can now say, “I pitched for the Yankees.”
“I just texted my wife. I was like, ’I'm on Cloud 9 right now,’ ” Ring said. “It was a great experience. It did two years in Triple-A baseball to get back up here. It’s just a great feeling to be with this organization.” …
Derek Jeter scored a run, the 1,678th of his career. So he passed Mickey Mantle for sole possession of third on the franchise’s all-time list. Jeter also tied his season high by extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He had two singles in four at-bats to continue his September surge. It was his third straight multiple-hit game and fifth in the last eight. …
The Yankees are 8-9 vs. Tampa Bay, the second-most losses they have ever had against the Rays. In 2005, the Yankees were 8-11 against them. …
It will CC Sabathia vs. David Price in the fourth and final game, two prime Cy Young candidates.
“To be able to leave here 2-2 would be awesome,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s a great pitching matchup with CC and David, and I know that a lot of people will be watching. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
That’s it for tonight.
I really was hoping Alby could produce positive results this time up with the parent club. We could’ve used his innings to rest the regulars. He just can’t get it done though.
BX33 – Well, the 1 year Dungy did win against them was the biggest collapse in a Championship game in NFL History – by the Patriots. So it was a pretty big win. And he doesnt have the same distinction as Scioscia – because as you said, Scioscia beat the Yankees also. And furthermore, putting Dungy and Scioscia in the same sentence is an atrocity. Scioscia is a heartless, soulless criminal!
As for the CFL not having standards….What standards does the NFL have?
What did Roger Goodell do with those Patriots SpyGate videotapes? He got rid of them….aka swept them under the rug… so that the world will never be able to see exactly what the videotapes contained. He just threw them all away. Why would anybody – especially in his position – do that???? You always keep evidence like that. Always!
Nova is becoming an increasingly important piece of the postseason roster as the flotsam and jetsam of the pen continue to show just how bad they really are.
Rich – I think you are too overly critical of the pen. In the playoffs, if games are coming down to the Mitres and Gaudins and Moseleys of the world, then the game’s outlook probably wont be looking too good.
Having Joba, Wood, Logan, Robertson, Nova, Vazquez, and Rivera should be enough to win games in the playoffs. There should be no “unavailables” come playoff time – with only back to back days and then a day off.
Unknown,
Sitting idle for 10 days didn’t help Alby’s cause.
Nice to see that the Mariners once again have not moved back Felix Hernandez … he pitches tonight in a meaningless game against the Blue Jays, but had he pitched a day later he could have started the first game of the weekend series against Tampa Bay. I believe his last start was something similar … he could have been switched around to face Boston, but was not.
The next big game he pitches will be the first big game he pitches.
Yet, all the schills who say he should be Cy Young over CC because his overall stat line is “prettier” will continue to insist he get the award even with a 12-11 record coming into this crucial start against Toronto.
Matt September 22nd, 2010 at 11:16 pm
It’s amazing how all of you guys analyze everything in a vacuum.
Maybe he had to bring in Mitre to lose that game because he screwed up in the last 3 games and burnt out his entire bullpen?
Girardi can make mistakes, but what’s concerning is that he is making them at an alarming frequency lately.
Maybe if Girardi did a better job spreading work around in his bullpen rather than using his set up men with 5 run leads and such, he would have more pitchers who are sharp and reliable, while not being tired.
The Yankees were ahead a ton of runs on Saturday and he went to Gaudin and Joba for the final 2 innings, even though he’s been relying on both in short relief situations with runners on base. Not Vazquez or Mitre who desperately needed work, but guys who desperately needed some rest. So instead, he didn’t have Joba available in Monday’s game because of his mistake, and then when he has to bring in these other pitchers they are not as sharp and he has to burn through more short relievers.
When you make those kinds of mistakes, the effects compound over the next few games and sometimes as we have seen the next few weeks. By burning out one block of relievers while underutilizing the other, he has made both sets ineffective.
******************************
This is the best description of what is happening with the Yankees bullpen. Now if only Girardi would get the message, before it’s too late.
Frustrating game last night with the rain and everything. However the Yanks did get some much needed rest for key memebers of their bullpen. Turns out that throwing Mosely and Ring and Gaudin was the right move because the Yankees didn’t hit anyway…
I said before the series that if they could get to a point where CC was going for the series win on Thursday then I would live with that and that’s right where they are.
Tonight is a big game and one the Yankees really must win if they have hopes of winning the division….they know that and so do the Rays.
They have their ace on the mound, a rested pen, and should have the A lineup. They are a better team than Tampa….time to prove it tonight.
blake -
Good morning.
It was nice to see Ring get an opportunity to pitch last night and he did a very nice job out there. And Moselely, with help from Tex, managed to get through keeping the damage to a minimum (which is all you can really ask from a guy who hasn’t pitched in forever). After that play at the plate and beautiful double play, I really thought the Yankees would rally. But unfortunately, the Rays seem to clone these #1 type pitchers who are ready to step in – darn!!!
Albaladejo was disappointing, but, again, he hasn’t been used since he was called up 2 weeks ago, has he? So what kind of sharpness can be expected?
Gaudin is Gaudin. Some nights he makes you say, “that’s why they have him.” Last night was, “why do have Gaudin again?”
At least the main arms got their rest, and that’s important. And I’m hoping the offense responds as it often does after a slow night – with a big rebound. They’ve hit Price before.
It was too bad about the rain. AJ may have pitched well last night and at the very least, he’d probably have given at least 6 innings. It may have still been for a losing cause, given how Davis was pitching. But still, the loss wasn’t upsetting.
Hey – and Lance Berkman broke the ice with his first Yankee homerun!!
Yanks and Twins tied for best record in MLB.
Can you say …………… Good bye HFA.
So AJ got stuck with that loss last night? That’s a little unfair. He allowed 1 run, not the 6 that made the game unreachable. Anyways it sucks that the Rays now have some confidence going in to tonight. I know CC is good but David Price is as well and if the Yanks had trouble with the garbage they faced last night, I feel were in for a long night.
Doreen,
Yea initially I thought the rain may help the Yanks because it got Davis out of the game but I forgot about Hellickson who is probably better than Davis….the Yanks were just popping everything up the whole game and their bats looked a little slow after the delay…
Ring did look pretty descent…the thing with him is if he can throw strikes. He gets it over the plate then he can be effective..
Hope they show up tonight because this game could go a long way towards detrrming the division, HFA, and the Cy Young.
Blake -
The Twins are tied for best record, and they finish with 3 against Detroit & KC, and 1 against the Blue Jays. Their schedule gives them a big advantage for HFA.
Sorry, that should be 4 games gainst the Blue Jays, not 1.
“CR9 September 23rd, 2010 at 2:04 am
Rich – I think you are too overly critical of the pen. In the playoffs, if games are coming down to the Mitres and Gaudins and Moseleys of the world, then the game’s outlook probably wont be looking too good.”
I merely meant that the aforementioned pitchers, with the possible exception of Mitre, shouldn’t be on the playoff roster, but since Mitre never pitches, he probably has no shot of making it. The same should be true of the other two.
blake -
Too much on the line!!!
tyanksfan36 -
It does stink that AJ took the loss. I know he’s been pretty pathetic many, many times this season (well, he’s not been what we hoped for anyway), but he has taken some tough losses as well – a handful, to be sure, but still…
I wasn’t optimistic about last night because it seems that AJ more often than not does not get a lot of run support. He used to; but not anymore.
If there had to be a rain delay, AJ’s game was the best one for it, hopefully no such problem for the CC/Price match up.
I couldn’t stay up to watch after the delay, been suffering w/ a bad cold/flu like stuff and had to get to bed.
Have a good day folks.
upstate kate -
Sorry to hear you’re not feeling well. Hope you have the opportunity to be home to rest today.
There are no such things as minor back injuries………..this couldn’t have come at a worse time. I wonder when his back locked up, because Robertson was warming up a couple of nights ago.
The loss was no big deal to me last night, but it would have been nice to win because tonight is a push. If the Yankees end up splitting, so be it. I want to win the division, but the playoffs are a new season and anything can happen.
Doreen
no, I am back to work…feeling much better tho
Betsy
I agree. It would be nice to win the division, but making the playoffs healthy is more important. I don’t care which team they play, I am confident the Yankees can beat whoever.
It’s too early for me to say anything on Hellickson – he’s only made a few starts and Wade Davis has been tremendous for the last couple of months – but he’s obviously got talent. The Rays sure have taken advantage of being lousy for so long, but the envy will stop soon enough when some of our youngsters start coming along.
The Yankees may or may not be better than the Rays; whoever wins the division, is the better team – that’s what 162 games are for. Of course, neither may be better than the Twins, but then that’s what the post-season is for.
Doreen
Yeah, I wasn’t optimistic about a win last night. It was more that the Rays had lost 3 in a row and weren’t hitting that well. It was only a matter of time before they started hitting again. Same goes with the Yankees. They had been hitting well and though I hoped it wasn’t fluke, at least last night it looked like it was. I’m hopeful that they will back CC up tonight but all along I’ve felt that the Rays will still leave town in the same spot they came in, 1/2 game behind. Hope I’m wrong.
Kate, don’t get me wrong – I want to win it and I think it’s important that Joe not make it too obvious that he doesn’t care about the division. After all, these are competitive athletes and it’s obvious from quotes in Newsday yesterday that the Yankees want to win the thing. That said, because the pen is just exhausted, I’d much rather lose a game or two and rest these guys; I’m not into pyrrhic victories.
Mitre isn’t very good either. We’re talking about pitchers who will only pitch if the game in the playoffs is out of hand. Do we really want any of these guys coming in to save our bacon? No.
Ring should have been pitching before last night if the Yankees really had any intention of seriously considering him for the post-season roster.
I think Girardi is trying to balance winning the division and winning the playoffs, which sometimes are opposite goals. I would much rather be the AL east champs than the WC winners, but as long as they are in the playoffs I wont complain…too much anyway!
If CC outduels Price tonight in a game of this magnitude then I don’t see how he could be denied the CY…
If they back in via the wild card and they lose to whomever, then to me it just means they simply weren’t good enough. I don’t think they need HFA even though they hit better at home, so if they lose, it won’t be because they don’t have it. This is is just not as good of a team as we thought they’d be in ST and other team are better than we thought.
Big Al,
Thanks for reposting Matt’s assessment of the bullpen management from last night where earlier mistakes compounded into later mistakes and misuses.
I totally agree.
This hasn’t been a “whole” team since May. I think that’s the thing. I know all teams battle injuries so I’m not saying the Yankees have been “unfairly” hit or anything like that. What I am saying is I still believe that this team is as good as we believed – because even with the compromised lineups fielded throughout the season, and the fact that the starting rotation pretty much disintegrated once Pettitte went down, they are still hanging on to first place (tenuous, I know) and they are still tied for best record (again, tenuous).
The Twins are not, nor are they ever, a surprise in that division. And Detroit did not give anyone a run for its money this year. The White Sox petered out, too.
The teams that ended up being a little better than many thought are “maybe” the Rangers – but not by much and they were certainly helped by the Angels being very poor this year as compared to their recent past; and the Blue Jays (offensively). And then the Orioles have come on this last month.
CC at home, knowing how much this games means to the team’s chances for winning the division, is going to be lights out tonight. He is the ultimate competitor and is going to do all he can to ensure it is a division title and not the Wild Card that the Yankees win this year. 5-1 Yankees and taking 3 out of 4 keeps our momentum moving for the hated BoSux to come into town for a good beating. 6-1 is my new prediction. ( The team gets a “Mulligan” for last night due to the rain )
Have a great day, ALL ! 
The reason the Yankees aren’t as good as we thought they’d be is because many in the lineup are having down years – not related to injury -and the (yes, I know Andy missed a big chunk of the season) outside of CC has been shaky at best. This is not to say they are not a good team, but frankly I think both the Rays and Yankees are not “great” teams. Minnesota may be better than both of them.
My grandmother passed away Tuesday AM, so I haven’t followed the games or the blog. It’s been a hectic 2 days. Now back to baseball to take my mind off things.
While HFA would be nice, the Yanks still have to win games on the road. Everybody talks about Game 3 being a pivotal game which is why Andy usually gets that start since he is so reliable. If the Yanks start on the road, then Game 3 is at Yankee Stadium.
The Twins may have the best record when it’s all said and done, but they are not the best team. When you play 54 games against Cleveland, Kansas City, and Detroit, you should have the best record.
A team that wins 96-100 games does not back into the playoffs. This team is every bit as good as we thought it was. They don’t have much to play for right now. The ends will justify the means…
I’d just like to see how the Twins would do if they were in the AL East.
6-1 is going to be the Yankees’ record for this homestand as we are winning the next 4 straight, just to be clear
Fran -
I am sorry to hear of your loss.
If the Twins were in the AL East, they would finish no better than 4th
MIN has also clinched so they may rest their regulars down the stretch.
outside of Mo, Wood, Drob, Logan, and a little Joba, the rest of the pen just sucks. I understand these are bit players and you’re not going to get a pen full of Soriano’s, Nathan’s, and Lidge’s but talk about a drop off…
Yankees are fighting an up hill battle for HFA with Minny and Tampa having cake walks for the rest of the season.
How did the yankees end with all division games while tampa gets seattle and KC?
Tex has been awful lately – not to mention pegged to death. Toe, leg (last night), hand… all on his right side.
The offense still seems to be streaky – up and down – with the possible exception of one or two players at a time.
Fran-
I am really sorry!
Fran
Sorry to hear about your grandmother.
Sunny
isn’t that the way of bullpens?
Thanks Doreen. She was 100 years old and lived a good life but needless to say her loss still hurt a lot.
Erica and Kate,
Thanks .
Doreen September 23rd, 2010 at 8:38 am
This hasn?t been a ?whole? team since May. I think that?s the thing. I know all teams battle injuries so I?m not saying the Yankees have been ?unfairly? hit or anything like that. What I am saying is I still believe that this team is as good as we believed ? because even with the compromised lineups fielded throughout the season, and the fact that the starting rotation pretty much disintegrated once Pettitte went down, they are still hanging on to first place (tenuous, I know) and they are still tied for best record (again, tenuous).
*****************
Someone pointed out yesterday that Tuesday was the first time they played with the “A” line up since August 8th. (And they won that day too).
Thats a month and a half of not being “whole”
Ring must be on the postseason roster. You have to have 2 lefties, especially with the teams we will be facing. The matchup game is very important and I would MUCH rather have Ring (a virtual unknown) than Gaudin/Mitre/Moseley, etc… Ring couldn’t throw his breaking ball for a strike and he was still effective. I don’t think he will be able to get by without throwing strikes with his BB, but he has enough to be come in and pitch to the many lefties on the Rays or the Minny and Tex lefties as well. We make the opposing managers job very easy when he doesn’t have to worry about his lefty batting pinch hitter coming in and we make a move to a lefty. Not only that, guys like Dan Johnson stay in the game against a lefty because they know everyone else is a righty out of the pen.
Ring will pitch down the stretch and unless he is awful, he should be here. Remember if he is coming in to face tough lefties who and OPS of .850+, if he can limit them to .750 he is doing a good job
With the division clinched in the AL central, Gardy will be resting his players and keeping HFA in the back of his mind, but methinks getting Mauer healthy would be a priority.
I think a lot about why some of the guys in the bullpen suck is because they never pitch. Mitre hasn’t pitched since he gave up that HR in Tampa last monday. Albaledejo hasn’t pitched since before that I think. Why have these guys and not use them. We know Albaledejo is good but I bet if he pitched more often, he would probably be more effective.
Mosely, Gaudin, and probably Mitre are essentially pitching themselves off the playoff rosters. Another good outing or two can be of help to Nova and Vazquez.
sunny615 September 23rd, 2010 at 8:58 am
outside of Mo, Wood, Drob, Logan, and a little Joba, the rest of the pen just sucks. I understand these are bit players and you?re not going to get a pen full of Soriano?s, Nathan?s, and Lidge?s but talk about a drop off?
*****************
Actually, thats not bad at all.
Consider that the roster is supposed to be 25 men (everyone else is pretty much auditioning for next year).
You have 12-13 position players. That’s half your roster.
For the other half, you have 5 starting pitchers. That leaves 7 guys for the bullpen. You just named 5 that you “approve of”. That leaves two that are quite average.
What’s wrong with that?
very true kate, and I acknowledged that – but it’s disheartening to see these guys make appearances in the 4th and 5th innings… especially in a tight ball game against a team that’s literally right behind you in the standings. These are the times when I really miss having Aceves in the pen. The Yanks have really missed his arm this year and probably would have a better record if he had been healthy all year. These games are the ones you have to win – especially now… and I don’t know about the rest of you – but when I see Gaudin and Moseley in the game after the 3rd inning – it’s going to be a bad game. (Even tho this time it was because of extenuating circumstances)
new thread
Erica – like I mentioned above – if I could have included Aceves in there, nothing is wrong with that. But whenever I see Gaudin on the mound, I am filled with feelings of dread.
Lots of it.
Maybe I’m being overly dramatic here, but Gaudin on the mound to me equals punted game.
Not as much as with Meat-Tray ! He is the worst, TJS or not.
Ring pitched a clean 1 2/3 innings. Girardi should have stuck with him after he issued a walk to Jaso with 2 outs. Instead Girardi brings in the RH Mosely to pitch to the LH hitting Zobrist and Crawford. Not a good percentage move.
Even if Minnesota finishes with the best record it may not affect the Yankees if they can hang on to the division because they would have to beat Tampa in the first round to face NY….though the Twins could very likely beat Tampa..
I actually think they would.
Not playing a balanced schedule gives teams like the Twins and Rangers an advantage. While the AL East teams do battle 19 games each, the Twins play a “B” grade schedule, and the Rangers play a “C” grade schedule. just look at the Rangers record this year, almost the exact as last year, but good enough to have them running away with the West, the weakist of all divisions.
Would like to go back to a balanced schedule, and stop inter-league play altogether. Then you would get a much better idea of teams strengths and weaknesses.