Postgame notes: “The clouds have parted a little bit”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes, Podcast on May 20, 2011 
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After 15 innings dragged nearly all the way to midnight last night, Yankees batting practice was optional this afternoon. Nick Swisher showed up early, anyway, and went to work with Kevin Long.
“I told him, there’s something that’s just not right, man,” Swisher said. “And I feel like it’s been going on long enough. We went in there, dissected a lot of stuff, took a lot of swings today, and at the end of the day I think it brings us back to that attitude. Just have that positive mind set every single time.
“Now it kind of feels like the clouds have parted a little bit.”
Last weekend, it was Swisher and Jorge Posada who were dropped to the bottom of the lineup — maybe you heard something about it — and tonight those two combined to reach base six times and drive in five runs, three of them on Swisher’s two-out, bases-loaded double in the first inning. In that one inning, the Yankees scored as many runs as they’d scored in all but two of their previous 19 games.
The Yankees have played better baseball the past three games. They beat a first-place team on Tuesday, had to scratch for a win on Wednesday and they ran away with one tonight. The losing, it seems, had gone on long enough.
“We were struggling for a couple of weeks there, and we seemed to get things on track,” Joe Girardi said. “This was good. This is a good time for this”
Obviously, three games don’t mean everything is corrected, but the Yankees can go home feeling much better than when they left. They can enter this weekend’s Subway Series knowing that the bats have shown some life, and the defense looks sound, and the pitching remains a strength.
“We’ve got a lot of talent in this room,” Swisher said. “And when it all comes together it’s pretty fun to watch, and tonight was one of those nights.”
Here’s Swisher.
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In the ninth inning, Derek Jeter was the only Yankees infielder playing his usual position. Eduardo Nunez had shifted to second, and the corners were occupied by a pair of long-time catchers, which led to plenty of postgame discussion.
Jorge Posada: In his first infield start since 2008, Posada didn’t get a single ground ball, but he did pick one ball out of the dirt. Jeter also pulled him off the bag once. “It’s tough when you’re not there a whole lot,” Posada said. “It’s not an easy job. I haven’t played that much there. You take ground balls there, but once the game starts, it’s a whole different thing.”
Russell Martin: To give Robinson Cano an inning off, Martin moved from catcher to third base in the ninth. He made one play, then let a ball glance off the end of his glove. Well, not his glove. He was using Cano’s. “I was going to grab A-Rod’s and his is a little bit longer,” Martin said. “I made the wrong choice.”
Francisco Cervelli: When Martin moved to third, Cervelli came off the bench to catch. If he got to pick, would Cervelli have preferred the hot corner for an inning? “I love to catch, every time,” he said.
Joe Girardi: As a former catcher himself, the Yankees manager got a laugh out of two catchers in the infield. If he used his coaching staff, Girardi said he could have filled the whole thing. “I told Jorge, we only need two more and we could have a complete set,” Girardi said. “I would have had to put Jorge at second, because that’s where he started (in the minors). Russell definitely would go to short, because he’s the most athletic. Tony (Pena)’s the oldest so he goes to first. That leaves me at third.”
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• This was vintage CC Sabathia. After a few so-so starts, Sabathia threw 109 pitches, 84 of them for strikes. He struck out nine, walked none, and every time the Orioles got a runners in scoring position, Sabathia ended the inning against the very next batter. “(An early lead) calms you down a little bit,” Sabathia said. “You can go out and just try to pound the zone, get these guys back in to score as many runs as possible.”
• Whether you believe him or not, Sabathia said he didn’t mean to hit Nick Markakis. It certainly seemed to be retaliation for Chris Dickerson and Robinson Cano. “It just got away from me,” Sabathia said. “Just a fastball, trying to go in, I always pitch him in. It’s just one of those things.”
• Sabathia said he thought it was funny to get to the mound and see Posada at first. “He was constantly talking to me, telling me to get over and things like that,” Sabathia said. “It was fun to have him out there.”
• Back-to-back Yankees starters have pitched eight innings. “It’s big because if they’re in the eighth inning that means they’re pitching well,” Girardi said. “It also gives your bullpen a break, which those guys needed. Robby needed a day. It doesn’t hurt to give Joba an extra day and Mo a day. Those guys have been pitching in all these close games. It’s a big lift.”
• The Yankees had three triples in a game (Jeter, Gardner and Granderson) for the first time since May 13, 2009. They’re the first team to have three triples in a game at Camden Yards since Oakland did it in 1995.
• Orioles starters had allowed eight earned runs in their past 56 innings. Brad Bergesen allowed eight earned in 3.1 tonight.
• Robinson Cano now has a hit in 18 straight games against the Orioles. During those games he’s hitting .427. He also has a 17-game hitting streak at Camden Yards, dating back to May 10, 2009. It’s the longest active hitting streak by an opponent at the stadium.
• Speaking of beating up on the Orioles, Sabathia is 16-2 with a 2.74 ERA in 22 career starts against Baltimore.
• Donnie Collins reports that Greg Golson is rehabbing in Tampa, but Mark Prior is not close to returning from his groin injury.
• Kevin Millwood has agreed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
Associated Press photos
Wouldn’t THAT have been a hoot — seeing four catchers in the infield.
It’s so nice when they win…glad they’re getting a break from the awful losing and the stress that goes with it.
Thanks, Chad. I’ll bet you’re ready for a long night’s sleep.
It’s a start ! Roll on Yanks, roll on !
Nice to see the starters work past the 8th the past two nights. No need for that eighth inning guy who doesn’t seem like he wants to pitch anyways. 3 and 0 since big mouth was placed on the DL.
Her’s a guy that understands how baseball is played. I guarantee that he’ll have a few words with the pitchers of Buck’s Dirty birds. Somebody on their team is going to get hurt by the gutless wonders.
“The whole night wasn’t breezy. Both benches were warned by home-plate umpire Larry Vanover in the first inning, when Sabathia drilled Nick Markakis beneath the numbers in the small of his back.
It appeared to be in response to Robinson Cano’s hit-by-pitch in the top half of the inning, one night after backup outfielder Chris Dickerson suffered a concussion after being beaned by a Mike Gonzalez pitch.
“That’s part of the game,” Markakis said. “We hit a couple of their guys and it was bound to come, but you wear it and you move on.”
Sabathia denied any intent, claiming he’d been trying to go inside and the pitch got away, but even he understood the warning. ”
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday.....8;c_id=nyy
***Here’s*** a guy that understands how baseball is played. I guarantee that he’ll have a few words with the pitchers of Buck’s Dirty Birds. Somebody on their team is going to get hurt ***because*** the gutless wonders.
An interesting rundown by the numbers when comparing Posada to other catchers.
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....for-years/
Nice win Yanks !! . .. Lets not take the Mets lightly …
Are we really celebrating? So what if CC beat the Orioles? And Posada should keep his yap shut about everything. A-Rod doesn’t get a hit. The team barely peaks above .500. Who’s next? The Shame of Shea!
The Mick536 May 20th, 2011 at 7:10 am
Are we really celebrating? So what if CC beat the Orioles? And Posada should keep his yap shut about everything. A-Rod doesn’t get a hit. The team barely peaks above .500. Who’s next? The Shame of Shea!
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Why don’t you save this crap for the night crowd. It fits better there.
Geez, let’s enjoy the moment. We’ll have other games to whine over. They hit the heck out of the ball and CC was great. Swish hit and so did Jorge.
If you can’t enjoy the high points, then why follow them at all?
Wang IS Taiwan May 20th, 2011 at 8:05 am
Geez, let’s enjoy the moment. We’ll have other games to whine over. They hit the heck out of the ball and CC was great. Swish hit and so did Jorge.
If you can’t enjoy the high points, then why follow them at all
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Haven’t you noticed that some just change who they whine about based on who is slumping at the time?
Now that Gardner is hitting his name is hardly mentioned. Nice to see him drive the ball last night.
GreenBeret7 May 20th, 2011 at 3:41 am
Here’s a guy that understands how baseball is played. I guarantee that he’ll have a few words with the pitchers of Buck’s Dirty Birds. Somebody on their team is going to get hurt by the gutless wonders.
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Who was that excuse for a pitcher on Texas’s team a while back that hit EVERYBODY he could? (Torre later had to manage him in LA.) Even if I were desparate, I’d never sign that guy. Talk about a cancer in the clubhouse.
His own teammates loathed him because they were always getting hit in retaliation.
Not that he’s any great shakes, but it makes you wonder why Millwood would opt out of his Yankees minor league deal just to sign another minor league deal with the Sox……….unless he figures his path to the majors would be easier through the Sox because they don’t have much ML depth in terms of pitching?
Wang IS Taiwan May 20th, 2011 at 8:10 am
GreenBeret7 May 20th, 2011 at 3:41 am
Here’s a guy that understands how baseball is played. I guarantee that he’ll have a few words with the pitchers of Buck’s Dirty Birds. Somebody on their team is going to get hurt by the gutless wonders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who was that excuse for a pitcher on Texas’s team a while back that hit EVERYBODY he could? (Torre later had to manage him in LA.) Even if I were desparate, I’d never sign that guy. Talk about a cancer in the clubhouse.
His own teammates loathed him because they were always getting hit in retaliation.
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Vincente Padilla
Are we really celebrating? So what if CC beat the Orioles?
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Sure. Winning games you’re supposed to win is nowhere near as easy as some make it out to be. No such thing as a bad win.
Well, Dice-K’s out with his elbow…again. He’s a crapshoot anyway even when he’s “healthy”.
They’re actually in worse shape than we are currently. But Millwood was awful with the Yanks. I hope they do use him.
Ah…yes. Thansk GB. I could only remember it started with a P.
MaineYankee: Very true.
An interesting rundown by the numbers when comparing Posada to other catchers.
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Posada has had a wonderful career, but this Paine guy is taking a shortcut thru some rather significant facts. One being that Posada was not an everyday #1 catcher until he was 28 years old. He caught 2,112 innings prior to his age 28 season. Johnny Bench caught 9,226 innings before his age 28 season. Ted Simmons caught almost 8,500 before 28. Ivan Rodriguez caught over 7,000. Nice piece, but some context would have been appropriate.
Wang IS Taiwan May 20th, 2011 at 8:25 am
Ah…yes. Thansk GB. I could only remember it started with a P.
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Yeah, Punk.
You’re very welcome
Nice to get one of those last night…..that’s exactly what I was hoping for. A nice blowout. The bats got going, CC was dominant, the pen rested, and the score was such that CC could enact a little payback on the Showwalters.
I love CC….there are better pure pithers in baseball but he’s just an awesome guy to lead a staff.
Nice work….let’s get on a roll now.
This had me laughing this AM:
YankeesWFAN Same as Ramiro Pena breaking Barry Bonds home run record RT @maumarquez: What are the chances of jeter opening a twitter acct??
MaineYankee May 20th, 2011 at 8:09 am
Wang IS Taiwan May 20th, 2011 at 8:05 am
Geez, let’s enjoy the moment. We’ll have other games to whine over. They hit the heck out of the ball and CC was great. Swish hit and so did Jorge.
If you can’t enjoy the high points, then why follow them at all
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Haven’t you noticed that some just change who they whine about based on who is slumping at the time?
Now that Gardner is hitting his name is hardly mentioned. Nice to see him drive the ball last night.
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Totally agree. Notice we didn’t hear from YankeeNmore last night.
GB,
I think I called Padilla sthg in that ballpark…but PUNK will do.
An interesting rundown by the numbers when comparing Posada to other catchers.
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Posada has had a wonderful career, but this Paine guy is taking a shortcut thru some rather significant facts. One being that Posada was not an everyday #1 catcher until he was 28 years old. He caught 2,112 innings prior to his age 28 season. Johnny Bench caught 9,226 innings before his age 28 season. Ted Simmons caught almost 8,500 before 28. Ivan Rodriguez caught over 7,000. Nice piece, but some context would have been appropriate.
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Considering posada’s amount of at bats, his offensive production rivals most of them. Less than 6,000 at bats. Imagine those numbers if he had been given the job earlier instead of having to share the job for his first 5 years. It’s not like Girardi could hit and contrary to popular belief, was nothing special defensively, either.
Erin,
Very funny. Thanks for sharing. Isn’t THAT the truth.
GB7
Good morning.
Don’t you sleep anymore?
Nice to see CC support his teammates.
Girardi seems to be better at defending his players when they get hit than the previous Joe.
New Post: With Yankees winning again, it?s time for the Subway Series
Maine, “Killer” came dragging in about 4 AM this morning. One of his ladys daddy is gonna rip out his throat if he doesn’t quit messing around. Not only that but, he knows every garbage can with only the best food. He sure knows how to treat the ladies, as ugly as he is.
Considering posada’s amount of at bats, his offensive production rivals most of them. Less than 6,000 at bats. Imagine those numbers if he had been given the job earlier instead of having to share the job for his first 5 years. It’s not like Girardi could hit and contrary to popular belief, was nothing special defensively, either.
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Offensive production can’t be argued, and I’m not trying to. Also not blaming Posada for the timing of his career taking off. Merely pointing out how ridiculous it is to say Johnny Bench had had it as a regular catcher at the age of 33, while ignoring the fact at that after his age 32 season he had already caught 1,000 more innings than Posada has caught in his career.
Not so sure that it’s the manager as much as it is the type of pitchers the Yanks have. They have at least 5 pitchers now that can hurt somebody and word will get around fast and have no problem proving it. Pettitte just never believed in it and players on the team knew and understood that. Mussina, for some reason would not pitch inside. Pettitte pitched inside, but, he knew how. The shooting gallery is shut down.