Postgame notes: Yankees can play small ball, too
Posted by: Brian Heyman - Posted in Misc on May 22, 2011 
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The continued questions about the Yankees being so reliant on homers seemed to bother Joe Girardi before and after this 9-3 win over the Mets.
“Sometimes I feel like home runs aren’t hits,” he said afterward. “But they are hits.”
Alex Rodriguez, though, knows there’s a good point behind all the questions.
“You’re not going to hit home runs against great pitching,” A-Rod said after his four-hit game that included two infield singles. “You have to have diversity in the way you score runs. The things we did in that inning are going to count when it really counts.”
That inning was their no-homer, eight-run, 13-batter seventh. The Yankees showed they are indeed capable of playing small ball. A-Rod had the go-ahead infield hit toward third. But he pointed to a walk worked out by Chris Dickerson, Derek Jeter’s two-run single to tie it and Curtis Granderson’s sacrifice to put two in scoring position as “the things we have not been doing the last three or four weeks.”
They haven’t been doing so well in the RISP department. In their previous five home games, they were 4 for 33. In the seventh inning, they were 5 for 7 with RISP, including 4 for 4 with the bases packed.
Granderson did hit the Yankees’ one homer of the day. It was his 16th, making this just the fourth time in the last 50 years that a Yankee has hit at least that many in the first 45 games. But he was happy with his nice bunt toward third as well.
“If I’m asked to sacrifice bunt, I’m going to take pride in getting that bunt down,” he said.
Girardi, of course, took the bat out of the hands of the majors’ second-leading home-run hitter, but he had a reason.
“I just felt like you’re getting the winning run 90 feet away,” Girardi said.
*Ivan Nova somehow only gave up three runs, all in the second, despite allowing a career-high 11 hits in 6 2/3.
“He did grind it out,” Girardi said. “At times, he struggled a little bit with his command, but he made some pitches when he had to.
“You have to take what you saw today, if you’re him, and say, ‘I’m capable of doing it. When I’m struggling a little bit with my command, I can make pitches when I have to.’ ”
Nova has given up three earned runs or less in six of his nine starts.
*A-Rod is batting .481 (13 for 27) in his last six games.
*Jeter (2 for 4) extended his home hitting streak against the Mets to 25 games.
*The Yankees are now 9-0 at home in rubber games against the Mets and 10-3 overall in these deciding games of three-game series against them.
*Toronto now comes in for a three-game series. Monday night the starters will be Bartolo Colon and Carlos Villanueva.
The photo of Curtis Granderson is courtesy of The Associated Press.
just don’t to see them wear out Martin
want
Marlon Byrd has been put on the DL as a result of a beaning he suffered in Boston yesterday. Alfredo Aceves was trying to pitch inside on Byrd and hit him in the face. Byrd has multiple fractures of facial bones. Seeing the replay I’ve got to admit it might be the worst beaning I’ve ever seen. I hope Byrd is able to recover and perform as well on the field as he did before the beaning.
don’t care for their home record.. and after the next series they will have player 30 home games( not even the end of may) and 18 road games
The problem with being more patient at the plate is that working more walks likely results in more strikeouts. There’s a balance that has to be struck, and you don’t want ot see a hitter lose his aggressiveness. If the fat pitch in the AB is the first one, then I say swing away.
–
Granderson already K’s 25% of the time and he see’s a ton of pitches, near the top in baseball each year. I see Granderson as the #5 hitter. All he is going to do is mash, and he doesn’t get on base enough in the 2 spot. They need to put runners on for Granderson.
with Montero, don’t think you’ll see him up here until they expand the rosters or a injury.. if he not traded
Ghost
It was me who mentioned the Strawberry reference.
It’s not so much that I feel they have a similar swing (although they are both lanky lefties)
It’s more about how in awe I am at how fast and far the ball goes upon impact.
I had similar feelings with the Straw man.
King Felix – 13 strikeouts and 0 walks. Amazing.
Hey, I just liked the damn win ! Some small ball , bloops, lined drives and even a HR.
.500 RISP hitting for a change. Good relief again.
As some of us have been saying for a while now, winning via the home run cannot be sustained and good pitching will stop that in it’s tracks, especially in the post season. A-Rod gets it:
“You’re not going to hit home runs against great pitching.”
“You have to have diversity in the way you score runs.”
I wonder why some here don’t.
I wonder why some here don’t.
–
Probably because it has no basis in reality.
The issue is trying to hit HR, and apart from Swisher, I don’t see any Yankee doing that very often.
Not all great or good pitchers suppress home runs.
But anything the players need to do to believe in themselves with RISP I’m all for.
Jerkface May 22nd, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Probably because it has no basis in reality.
************
And you call yourself a Yankee fan? If you were truly a fan you would get in touch with A-Rod and educate him as to the reality. Do you really think the cause of Yankee baseball is best served by being deprived of your genius?
Softer bats. That’s the ticket. Then some of those balls landing over the wall will bounce off the wall instead. Apparently doubles are waaaaaay better than home runs.
It’s all balsa wood nowadays people.
“I wonder why some here don’t
Even if it were true, why couldn’t the Yankees simply say well it’s the play-offs, better pitching, we better start playing small ball now.
Is the assertation that the Yankees wont score in the post-season with-out a HR, or play small ball, simply because they didn’t do it to a high degree during the year?
That’s absurd.
“And you call yourself a Yankee fan?”
/fatuous
If you were truly a fan you would get in touch with A-Rod and educate him as to the reality.
-
What would that accomplish? Whatever the players need to think or believe to be their best is fine. They should only be told to alter strategy when they are doing things that are negatives, like sliding into first base instead of running through it and bunting on their own.
The yankees 2009 run was almost all hr’s.
Arod came up big several times with a hr & how can we forget about matsui’s hr’s.
Hitting the ball hard is what it’s about.
If it goes out,who cares?
Pitching,defense,hunger & hitting the ball hard.
Hitting the ball hard is what it’s about.
–
Bingo, sometimes the ball goes out of the park.
Jerkface May 22nd, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Hitting the ball hard is what it’s about.
Bingo, sometimes the ball goes out of the park.g hasn’t
**************
Baloney. Teixeira’s swing hasn’t been on a level plane all season. Pop-ups-r-us.
I just can’t see players in the ws going,ok guys the long ball is just not working,let’s win it playing small ball.
You don’t wan’t this getting in the players head.
I can see it now,arod going,darn we won it again on a hr,when is this bad luck going to end,or players refusing to be interviewed after winning a game on a hr.
“You have to have diversity in the way you score runs.”
That is inarguable.
CC vs. Toronto (total domination, fuggetaboutit):
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/.....c-sabathia
Another thing about this that gets me, is the fact that everyone agree’s they have been horrible up to now with RISP. So why complain about home runs?
If not for the all home runs, how many less games would they have won?
I don’t get it.
That is inarguable.
–
What should the split be?
Sorry I missed the game today. I was raptured there for a bit, bu I’m better now.
Great pitchers give up infield hits.
Gotta start swinging for more infield hits.
Jetes like the great Captain he is got the ball rolling on that front and Alex is finally following suit.
I loved Larry’s line about the rubber dolls. Have to agree with Carlo about it being way funniest line of the day.
Chances, if you look at the high scoring offenses, a large portion will come via HR. You need XBHs to score lots of runs.
It’s has to do with not “trying” to go long, it has to do with having a swing that is conducive to hitting line drives (the opposite of Texeira’s swing right now) it has to do with the mentality of scoring by moving runners into scoring position and being willing and able to play small ball when the game situation warrants it. Case-in-point Girardi making the right move by having Granderson bunt today.
West Coast Yankee Fan May 22nd, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Jerkface May 22nd, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Hitting the ball hard is what it’s about.
Bingo, sometimes the ball goes out of the park.
**************
Baloney. Teixeira’s swing hasn’t been on a level plane all season. Pop-ups-r-us.
========================
WCYF–Can you elaborate? Not sure what the argument is…I thought the idea was, you try to drive the ball. When you do drive the ball, sometimes it stays in the park, sometimes it goes out. Tex has struggled with pop ups, no doubt, but my reading is that is not what the folks above meant by “hitting the ball hard.”
Great pitchers give up 8 runs in one inning mostly on singles.
And great playoff teams play horrible defense.
Diversity.
WCYF, what does Tex’s lefty swing have to do with the Yankees offense? He is always going to uppercut from the left side.
Jerkface May 22nd, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Chances, if you look at the high scoring offenses, a large portion will come via HR. You need XBHs to score lots of runs.
*************
No you don’t. Today we had scored 9 runs. We had 13 hits and 10 were singles
Ummmm, Tex has never had a LH swing conducive to line drives???
He uppercuts from the right side too.
No you don’t. Today we had scored 9 runs. We had 13 hits and 10 were singles
–
What does this have to do with the total percentage of runs that come via HR for a team at the end of a season?
He uppercuts from the right side too.
–
Players have uppercuts in their swing, its ok.
LGY May 22nd, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Ummmm, Tex has never had a LH swing conducive to line drives???
*****************
LGY try to read what I write ok? Did I say never? Above I said “right now.”
“It’s has to do with not “trying” to go long, it has to do with having a swing that is conducive to hitting line drives (the opposite of Texeira’s swing right now)”
Are you disputing that Tex’s uppercut swing has resulted in him hitting pop-ups more than he should?
If the team is trying to hit hr’s,then i might agree but if they are just going up there ,trying to hit the ball hard & it goes out,i don’t have a problem with it.
We are a hr hitting team that nobody had a problem with in 2009.
“It’s has to do with not “trying” to go long, it has to do with having a swing that is conducive to hitting line drives (the opposite of Texeira’s swing right now) it has to do with the mentality of scoring by moving runners into scoring position and being willing and able to play small ball when the game situation warrants it”
Because they have hit a lot of Home runs the argument is that they must be trying to hit them at the expense of “small ball”. T
They hit a lot of Home runs, therefore they have the wrong “mentality”
Again that’s absurd.
If anything, Joe has been bunting to an excessive amount up to now.
And BTW Tex’s swing is like it has always been .
Huh?
You say right now like this is a new thing.
Like I said, Tex has never had a swing conducive to LD from the left side.
There is no right now. It has been this way his whole career.
What does Mark Teixeira’s swing have to do with the yankees crushing HRs?
Because there will be lots of post-season innings where the opposing team will be as inept as the Mets were today.
Bunting is not wrong by definition, it’s a situational asset or detriment. When Girardi had Granderson bunt today it was the right thing to do; you want a shot with runners in scoring position with the heart of your lineup coming up. Especially A-Rod who has been hot; he was 4-5 today. To assume Granderson would have gotten a hit batting in the .260′s is not a good bet or call at “that point” in that game IMO.
you want a shot with runners in scoring position with the heart of your lineup coming up.
–
A runner was already in scoring position and with 0 outs
Seems like Bartolo Colon may have started a new trend. According to the ESPN article below, 10 other pitchers have expressed interest in undergoing the treatment. I suppose that –as with Tommy John surgery–they will begin referring to it as “Colon surgery.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-.....id=6576452
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would like to see a more balanced run scoring effort, living and dying by the home run is fraught with peril.
Case in point, the road trip coming up. Oakland and Safeco are two of the hardest ballparks to hit home runs in, I believe Safeco was even ranked ahead of Citi Field last year.
And Oakland and Seattle are 1st and 6th in team pitching this season.
Darn right…if the Yankees want to even sniff first place in the AL East, they better improve their scoring diversity.
oh wait…
I would like to see a more balanced run scoring effort, living and dying by the home run is fraught with peril.
–
I ask again, what should the percentages be?
Jerkface you can pontificate all you want. The results today speak for themselves, the Granderson bunt was the right call in “that situation.”
I think you let the guy with the 2nd most homers in baseball that rarely hits into double plays hit in that situation. Im not outraged by the play but it did give the Mets a chance to get out of the inning with no more damage…..it worked out but if Alex hits that ball a little harder to 3rd then the score stays tied in that inning.
I’m done I have given my opinion on scoring diversity and the bunt today; I don’t want to repeat myself. That’s how I see it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
This is so freakin’ dumb.
Mark Prior should definitely check it out.
Just because it worked out doesn’t necessarily mean it was the right call……if it was the 9th inning of a tie game then ok…..it was the 7th and it just about let the Mets out of the inning.
I’m lost.
Is this about scoring diversity, Mark Teixiera, or the bunt today??
LGY we were discussing all of the above.
The bunt is a waste of time in most cases.
I do agree that there are a few times when it is a good idea like when you are down by a run & you want to get a runner to 2nd or 3rd with 1 out wich means there are no outs when bunting.
Granderson(the hr hitter) also proved that he can bunt.
blake May 22nd, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Just because it worked out doesn’t necessarily mean it was the right call……
**********
That’s true. I think it would have been the right call even if he hadn’t been successful bunting though. It’s a matter of what situational strategy one embraces at that point in the game, given the score, etc. I am no Girardi fan and think he often bunts at the wrong time. In this particular situation I happen to think he was right.
The good thing lately…..is that even though they are bunting…..they are executing the bunts……which is much better than choosing to bunt and then proceeding to screw it up.
Ironically, Cervellli, who should bunt more than most players because he can’t hit, couldn’t execute a bunt.
WCYF,
I see the logic and the arguement for…..I just wouldn’t have done it. Hey it worked though and he got it down….so that’s a plus.
LGY we were discussing all of the above
—-
Ok. So how does this relate to Tex’s swing again?
There is another benefit to bunting which Ron alluded to above. It gives Granderson confidence he can execute, let’s the manager know the same thing and also communicates to opposing teams that that is another weapon in the Yankees arsenal. But I absolutely think that bunting is entirely situational and the decision to bunt or not should be decided accordingly.
Rich,
I was wondering if he did that on his own or if it was called……
I said in the thread that if they were simply playing for 1 run to try and win 4-3 then the bunt is ok, but bunts don’t lead to higher scoring innings (generally) because you are giving up one of your precious 3 outs on a play that guarantees no runs, just a 1 base advancement.
Tex’s swing suggests to me they he wouldn’t be a good bunter.
blake
Giardi declined to comment in the postgame, which suggests to me that Cervelli did it on his own and that Girardi, to his credit, was protecting his player.
That’s weird that we both used “suggests to me” nearly simultaneously…
If its the last inning and you’re the home team then 4-3 is great…..if its the 7th though and you have a chance to score a bunch more then I don’t like giving away the out and setting up the potential double play.
Rich,
I think so too…..considering he only tried it once.
Rich,
Jinx….at least we we’re takkig about different things.
BoJo May 22nd, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Seems like Bartolo Colon may have started a new trend. According to the ESPN article below, 10 other pitchers have expressed interest in undergoing the treatment. I suppose that –as with Tommy John surgery–they will begin referring to it as “Colon surgery.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-…..id=6576452
=====================================
That’s going to be confusing. I can imagine a lot of unfortunate mishaps with that kind of misnomer.
BoJo May 22nd, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Mark Prior should definitely check it out.
What? His colon?
Rich in NJ May 22nd, 2011 at 9:50 pm
This is so freakin’ dumb.
================
consider the source.
Jerkface May 22nd, 2011 at 8:01 pm
The problem with being more patient at the plate is that working more walks likely results in more strikeouts. There’s a balance that has to be struck, and you don’t want ot see a hitter lose his aggressiveness. If the fat pitch in the AB is the first one, then I say swing away.
–
Granderson already K’s 25% of the time and he see’s a ton of pitches, near the top in baseball each year. I see Granderson as the #5 hitter. All he is going to do is mash, and he doesn’t get on base enough in the 2 spot. They need to put runners on for Granderson.
=======================================
Your response suggests that your problem is with the outcomes not necessarily with Grandy’s approach. If he’s looking at a a lot of pitches and not walking at a higher rate, then it means that pitchers are challenging him, with balls in the strike zone. At some point, he has to offer at pitches.
I agree that Granderson is better suited to the fifth or sixth slot in the line-up, to get him more RBI opportunities. He seems to hit a lot of solo shots, which isn’t necessarily a reflection on him, as much as a reflection of the opportunities that he’s getting.
Trenton’s Melky Mesa’s catch in right center in Sunday’s game.
http://www.trentonian.com/vide.....8;ref=synd
GB
I saw that re: mesa, I sure miss him.
Great article on the education of Nova from the Star-Ledger. Love that the vets are all in his ear.
http://tinyurl.com/3cl6uht
The decision to bunt Granderson gets lost in the result of the game, but that doesn’t make it any less monumentally dumb.
Girardi still doesn’t realize that he isn’t managing the Florida Marlins in the NL anymore.
That is literally one of the most incomprehensibly dumb things I’ve seen in a long time. And Girardi has given me plenty of fodder in the last four years (“I liked the matchup with Aceves better than Robertson!” ring any bells?)
If he’s looking at a a lot of pitches and not walking at a higher rate, then it means that pitchers are challenging him, with balls in the strike zone. At some point, he has to offer at pitches.
–
He only sees 43% of his pitches in the zone. He offers at a lot of out of zone pitches and he swings through a lot of pitches. If he isn’t going to walk then I’d like him hitting a bit deeper. The problem is the guys who I’d want to replace Grandy with in the 2 spot are either bad right now (swish) or also ill suited for it (cano).
Jerkface,
What about Gardner in the 2 hole?
What about Gardner in the 2 hole?
–
No, I like him leadoff more than in the 2 hole. Girardi would probably bunt him more in the 2 spot.
G-C May 22nd, 2011 at 10:51 pm
The decision to bunt Granderson gets lost in the result of the game, but that doesn’t make it any less monumentally dumb.
===========================================
I agree. The decision worked out, it really doesn’t make much sense. The bunt took the bat out of the hands of 2 of the key run producers in a key RBI slot. The game was already tied, and the objective at that point is to break it open. I guess I could see it if you are trying to tie the game and avoid the loss. But turning one of the sluggers in your lineup into a punch-and-judy bunter is counter-intuitive, to say the least.
Ghostwriter May 22nd, 2011 at 10:27 pm
consider the source.
***************
Don’t be so surreptitious. If you mean someone smarter and more intellectually capable of drawing nuanced conclusions than you are – just say so.
Jerkface May 22nd, 2011 at 10:59 pm
What about Gardner in the 2 hole?
–
No, I like him leadoff more than in the 2 hole. Girardi would probably bunt him more in the 2 spot.
=======================================
I’d lead off with Gardner, and go with Jeter or Martin in the 2-hole, followed by Cano, Tex, ARod, and Granderson.
Gardner
Jeter
Tex
Arod
Cano
Grandy
last 3 gets sticky,
Posada
Martin
Swisher
Can be worked out depending on what Girardi and Felix Lopez can work out.
from now on No Yankee shall swing for the fences, the bunt is on expect 24 to 27 Bunts per game. we will show the world that we can win playing SMALL BALL.
Nova has King Felix up next on Saturday. That will be a nice test for the kid. Need a great start and Ivan has shown that he can do that, ex. Friday in Arlington.
The bunt was stupid. Grandy man is one of your best hitters and would have scored more runs hitting a home run than bunting for an out.
Mark Teixiera has played fine this year. He’s pretty far down on the list of problems.
Scoring diversity is ridiculous. If you have home run hitters let them hit homers. This team is built for the long ball and no extra points are awarded forextra hits that don’t score runs.
Giving up outs, which are very precious, is always stupid.
“Last 3 gets sticky,
Posada
Martin
Swisher”
Not necessarily. You will soon have the option of…
Chavez, Martin, Dickerson
Reviewing the Killer B’s lines, dudes need to work on their control.
Still unsure about Nova. It puzzles me why he can’t induce more K’s with his stuff.
He needs more effective secondary stuff.
Sad news about Moose Skowron. Never good at that age.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....titialskip
Thanks for the great story on Moose GB. Sad though.
Well, in his defense, A-Rod never claimed to be any sort of intellectual. So, it’s not terribly surprising that A-Rod doesn’t posses a nuanced understanding of the probabilities involved, and doesn’t realize that far from diversifying their risks, the bunt intensified and concentrated them. Still, it’s a quite surprising that Girardi–he of the big binder– didn’t get it. Even if you concede the point that playing for one run is thing to do in that situation (A HUGE assumption), it seems to me that Girardi’s decision to bunt likely lessened their likelihood of pushing across the go-ahead run, rather than maximizing it.
First, two of the Yankees’ best hitters with runners in scoring position have been Grandy and Tex. Both of them have been better in these situations than either Tex or Cano. So, taking the bat out of their hands to put it into the hands of players that haven’t done as well with men on base is a little hard to understand.
Second, the bunt doesn’t protect the team from the possibility of the double play, because the Mets immediately walked Tex. In fact, it increased the likelihood of the double play a bit, because A-Rod is more prone to the double play than the speedy Granderson.
Third, the bunt wastes an out, reducing their bites at the apple from three to two. The old adage about not putting all of your eggs into one basket comes to mind…
Fourth, in the worst case scenario, if Granderson hits into the double play, then Tex likely gets a shot to drive in the runner from third. On the other hand, if A-Rod hits into the double play, the inning is over.
Fifth, Granderson was going to get a good pitch to hit. There was no way that the Mets were going to walk Granderson to face Tex AND A-Rod with the bases juiced.
As far as I can tell, the only thing that the bunt bought the Yanks was a chance to score the runner from third on a fly ball out. That’s it. All else equal, the odds of Grandy, Tex, and A-Rod getting at least one hit in that situation are at least as good as the odds of A-Rod driving in the hitter from third with a hit or productive out.
I may be reading too much into it, but this little episode yesterday suggests to me that Girardi is unduly influenced by the criticism that he has been receiving or that he may be managing scared.
What it tells me is that Girardi continues to be a donkey about bunting. He refuses to acknowledge each situation as they occur separately — he goes on automatic and has all his players attempt to bunt when he deems the need to get a run in. Some of our guys flt-out CAN’T bunt. Grandy? Are you kidding? That guy’s on fire for us.
He’ll never change even though he gets criticized from all sides on this knuckle-brain move each time he tries it.
Alas, we’re stuck with him.
* flat-out
Bases loaded, one out, and Alex Rodriguez at bat, who has more grand slams than anyone else in baseball history, except for Lou Gehrig.
I just don’t see the problem. Must be me.
Rob_NY,
We didn’t sign Tex to just be “fine”
why not focus on the positives from yesterday’s game:
Nova kept the team in the game despite not having his best stuff.
The Yankees won playing small ball, even the controversial Grandy bunt paid off.
Dickerson is back in the lineup, he didn’t even have to go on the 7 day DL.
Alex was 4 for 4.
Most importantly…The Yankees won the game and the series!!! And they are in 1st place!
Be happy Yankee fans
RiverAveBlues A correction: Looks like Jeter is on pace to get to 3000 on June 16. Last day of the Yanks? next homestand.
**********
Can I just say how awesome it would be if this is correct, and he gets #3000 on my birthday??!!!
I understand second guessing a manager when his moves DON’T work out, but this whining is pretty ridiculous. When you are at home and having trouble getting key RBI it makes sense to get the runner to 3rd base with one out.
Would I have done it? Probably not, but the notion that it was an idiotic, robotic strategy just doesn’t make any sense.
It was a great game for Nova to survive out there with mediocre stuff and keep the game manageable.
86w183 May 23rd, 2011 at 8:35 am
I understand second guessing a manager when his moves DON?T work out, but this whining is pretty ridiculous.
*****************************
couldn’t agree more
that would be awesome Erin
Erin —
Sorry but he’ll be getting that hit one day earlier— June 15th — on MY 53rd birthday — also Wade Boggs’ 53rd and Andy Pettite’s 39th.
86–LOL my dad would actually like it to be the 15th too; that’s his birthday. But it’s going to be on the 16th.
In many cases Girardi manages not to lose rather than managing to win. Good bunting can be a difference maker. Every hitter on this team should be taught and taught well to to bunt if called upon to do so.
Going further, it should be strongly emphasized at the lower levels so it becomes part of a hitter’s game at the big league level.
In spring training this year, only Gardner took extra drills and he’s still not adept at it.
Nova is really evolving and learning to limit damage on the fly this year….really good to see. He’s starting to give them more depth and he’s giving them a chance to win nearly every turn.
As I said yesterday….I didn’t like the Granderson bunt but wasn’t outraged by it. Most important thing is that after they made the decision to do it…..that they executed it. Earlier in the season they were making the decision to bunt and then screwing it up…..that’s the worst.
Erin May 23rd, 2011 at 8:33 am
RiverAveBlues A correction: Looks like Jeter is on pace to get to 3000 on June 16. Last day of the Yanks? next homestand.
**********
Can I just say how awesome it would be if this is correct, and he gets #3000 on my birthday??!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sure hope Jete hits in at home. And my fingers are crossed that he does it on YOUR birthday, Erin.
Andy’s gonna be 39? Wow — didn’t realize that. Miss him, but I’ll bet he’s happy with his decision.
Thank you Wang is Taiwan!
Upstate kate – I like you’re way of thinking
I was at the game yesterday and Nova was getting hit pretty hard. By the 5th, I was pretty surprised he had managed to limit the Mets to 3 runs because the ball just seemed to be jumping off their bats every inning. But hey, as long as no one’s crossing the plate I guess it doesn’t matter. He had a couple hiccups but I also thought he played well defensively.
Erin,
That would be cool on your Bday.
I predict Jeter’s 3,000th hit will be a ground ball between 2nd and 1st followed by numerous complaints about his groundball rate.
New Post: More on the state of the Yankees? offense