Yankees outlast the King, still can’t beat the Mariners
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 29, 2011 
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Felix Hernandez was long gone by the time this one was decided. Tonight’s game turned into a battle of the bullpens, and it was decided by the Yankees’ best. Mariano Rivera gave up a bloop, bases-loaded single in the 12th inning, giving the Mariners a 5-4 win. Yankees starter Ivan Nova lasted just 3.2 innings, and Hernandez coughed up the lead in the seventh. Hector Noesi, Dave Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan and Luis Ayala kept the tie intact before Adam Kennedy won it off the Yankees closer.
Associated Press photo
The Mariners score 3.6 runs per game.
For AJ and Nova to pitch this poorly against this joke of an offense is terrible.
This has to be most unclutch and just flat out pathetic offense that we have seen in years. Tex swinging 3-0 tells you all you need to know. If Granderson, Tex, Arod or Cano don’t get a hit with risp then you can forget about it. This lineup really needs a shake up.
Nova has the lowest swing strike rate in MLB.
From last season his walks are up, strikeouts are down, and his velocity is down.
It’s time to give Noesi a shot.
It would be good for the LoHud community if all of you stayed up for Chad’s post-game notes.
We need to hang together, lest we hang apart.
If you want to blame someone for their defense blame Jeter for botching a groundball on that “hit” in the 4th inning.
Getting on Gardner for not making a great play is pretty out there.
stuart a,
I’m not blaming Girardi for this loss. It isn’t really about that with a manager. It isn’t like pitchers or hitters where you have statistics that help you tell how they’re doing on a day-to-day basis. It’s so much clearer to see when they help win games or lose games.
With Girardi, it’s about the fact that he just isn’t a good manager. That doesn’t mean that our record would be far superior to what it is now with a better manager (though it might be), it just means that he isn’t doing his job.
No one on this board can convince me that Girardi puts his players in the best chance to succeed. Night in, night out, he makes inexplicably stupid decisions. I don’t necessarily think that firing him is going to completely turn this team around, but just like when players perform at an absurdly low level, it’s time for him to go.
I don’t understand all the love for Gardner here. Yes, has been hitting of late and generally plays great defense, but he is a terrible baserunner, terrible Gunter, does not hit well with RISP and is prone to the occasional brain fart. He is a nice player. He is not a future all star.
Hey, the good news is we have the lousy Oakland and Anaheim pitching to look forward to. Oh.
Bunter.
Chad ask tex how the fu-k he can swing 3 and 0 in the 9th or 10 at that picth? and after he gives you a bul—it answer ask him again? how the hell can he hit a weak grounder to 2nd on a 3 and 0 pitch in a tight game late……………….
does not hit well with RISP
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Brett Gardner has the highest BA on the team with RISP
It’s hard to start rallies and actually score the runs with so many automatic outs. They are basically asking the 2,3,4 and 5 hitters to pull everyone’s weight. It’s time to platoon Swish and give Dickerson a chance. Jeter is just dreadful with risp or in a big spot but the captain isn’t going anywhere…obviously.
You’re really, really misinformed, TheStraw.
If someone told me earlier that Nova would last just 3.2 innings, Felix would go 7 innings, and the Yankees would still be playing in the 12th inning, I’d be stunned.
This loss is 1/3 on Nova, 2/3 on the offense. Nova gave up an early lead, but he’s a rookie still learning. The Yankees veteran offense couldn’t touch the M’s bullpen through 5 innings, after doing zip in 4 innings yesterday.
Besides the fact Mo gave it up, the pen still allowed just 1 run through 7.2 innings. At some point, the offense needs to do something , or we would have been here all night.
Gardner may not be a future all star, but we’ve got plenty of those. Hasn’t seemed to make the Yanks unbeatable — by any stretch.
Can’t say Gardner is the goat here. Lots of problems to point a finger at. Wish the Yankees had some leadership right about now from management.
we can fire girardi after posada retires, jeter moves down in the order, cano gets a lobotomy and that is about it…………..
kim jones as usual asking totallly stupid irrelevant questions……………..
LGY-
How many RBI? I though Tex was most efficient with RISP?
We just are not a very good team this year.
No Daniel, I just look at things other than numbers.
newsflash dickerson stinks . he is as bad against lefties and posada is…
if dickerson played a lot you would hate him in about 4 days…………..
girardi needs to put the take sign on this morons…. tex give me some georgia tech engineer bullcr-p ridiculous answer for you trying to go hero for no reason……….
LGY-
How many RBI? I though Tex was most efficient with RISP?
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Tex is their best hitter with RISP.
Gardner has the highest BA with RISP. He is hitting .314 with RISP.
We just are not a very good team this year.
———–
Yesterday the Yankees are not a great team. One day later they are not a very good team. Please be more of a bridge jumper.
The offense isn’t just HR or bust, it’s Granderson or bust. Seems like the only time they can plate runs is when he’s driving them in or scoring. How often do you see Swisher and Posada get on base, and then Gardner and Jeter drive them in?
TheStraw May 29th, 2011 at 2:48 am
No Daniel, I just look at things other than numbers.
You look at things other than numbers, yet quoted Gardner’s apparent ineptitude with RISP to support your point? Also, if you’re not looking at numbers, what exactly are you looking at?
How many ABs does Gardner have w/RISP? He bats behind Swisher and Posada so it can’t be all that many
west coast yankee fan is correct as is thsi team is just not that good…
they have 2 old players who are toast and near toast.
swisher’s performance offensively ranks him with only like 7 hitters with worse performance in the AL so far this year.
martin is good for the catcher but not exactly munson. we delude ourselves that granderson and martins performances are grea. they are not . grandy has played very good so far and martin has played pretty good in the post steriod era for a catcher…
arod is playing bad and tex is hitting 260, and literally tries to hit a homer on every swing…………..
the team is hitting 255 or less, this team should hit 275+
LGY – feel free to keep posting your bullshi*t meaningless stats. If you think this is a team to admire and be proud of you are dumber than I thought.
agon is playing much better the tex….. not even close……………………..
jeter should be hitting 8th… he sucks. sorry if the truth hurts. if a player on your team gets his 3000th hit does it give you a automatic bid to the playoffs???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
wins are what counts records mean jack. 1998, the yanks had no one in the top ten in homers, how did that work out??????????????????
Every self respecting Yankee fan has the right to be displeased with how this team is playing and it’s manager is managing.
Can someone here please explain to me why Mo is throwing outside fastballs to lefty hitters??? i mean, what is that? is martin calling those pitches? did anyone else notice this, that the smoak and cust hits were on similar outside pitches? figgins grounds out weakly, his bat in pieces, on the trademark inside cutter. i don’t understand the pitch calling. i am beside myself, to lose like that.
This offense is terrible with RISP & is incapable of stringing hits together.
Nova had a bad night, but the bullpen held them down.
More Nunez and less Posada / Swisher.
Bring up Vasquez &/or Montero.
Change is in order.
LGY – feel free to keep posting your bullshi*t meaningless stats. If you think this is a team to admire and be proud of you are dumber than I thought.
————-
The Yankees are 1.5 games back at the end of May and would be in the playoffs if the playoffs started tomorrow.
I’m sorry you have no understanding of how a baseball season works.
thsi team needs 1 pen arm minimum, and some changes offensively because improving the starting pitching is near impossible unless you can give aj a brain, hughes health and a 93 mph fastball, garcia about 4 mph, colon health and a prayer, and nove, noesi and others, experiance and control………..
I’m looking at a guy who can’t lay a bunt down when he needs to. I’m looking at a guy who is supposed to be fastest on the team yet continually gets caught stealing. A guy who hasn’t produced in the playoffs. I said he does some things well. But this board treats him like he is the second coming of DiMaggio.
It’s my opinion, and it is totally subjective. You are not requiredbto agree with it.
disputing pitch sequence slash location of Mariano is a laughable. the guy is 41 AND HAS A CAREER 2.20 ERA..
NEWSFLASH HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING…………
Stuart-
The 1998 Yanks had eight guys with more than 20 HR.
Just imagine if Jeter was batting .275, Posada was at .260, Swisher was at .250, and Cano was at .300.
These would all have been very conservative numbers at the start of the year, but now it would make such a huge difference in the offense
LGY – I have an understanding that after a horrendous start the Red Sux are two games up on us right now and that we are 2.5 games out of last place and a mere 3 games over .500.
Sorry your standards and expectations are so low. Perhaps you should root for the Pirates.
TheStraw,
A guy who hasn’t produced in the playoffs? HE HAS HAD 40 (INSERT EXPLETIVE) AT BATS IN THE PLAYOFFS. My God, you are insane.
straw gardner stole 45 bases last year.
it is true if gardner could run ealry in the count and bunt better it would help that is true. but gardner is the best fielding left fielder in baseball, is hittin 270 and does enough other things like see’s a lot of pitches to not be the problem.
the problem is el capitan, posada, swisher..FOR SURE.. start there and then you can to other weaknesses such as cano playing much inferior to last year in all facets and so on and so forth..
May 29th 2011: 1.5 games back of 1st place
May 29th 2010: 4.5 game back of 1st place
2009: 0.5 games up in 1st place
2008: 5.5 games back of 1st place
2007: 14.5 games back of 1st place
2006: 1 game back of 1st place
2005: 3.5 games back of 1st place
2004: 0.5 games up in 1st place
2003: 0.5 games back of 1st place
2002: 1 game back of first place
1.5
Any day now these guys will hit with risp and hit garbage pitching
It’s like so many Yankee fans have never watched the Yankees go through a baseball season before.
What a ridiculous post LGY. What on earth does what the Yankees did ten years ago mean today? NOTHING.
EVERYONE,
I think the dispute going on right now comes down to this:
There is a group of people who say that the team is fine and there is a group of people who need to make massive amounts of change.
I’m not sure that these two viewpoints are necessarily incompatible: it is VERY clear that with the team playing the way that they are (particularly hitting and managing), they will have absolutely no chance of winning the World Series this year.
That doesn’t mean, however, that things CAN’T turn in around.
In other words, massive changes are required. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to completely change our roster; it just means that things have to improve.
Alright, 4 guys with 0 and guys with 15 or more. I exaggerated.
LGY May 29th, 2011 at 3:00 am
It’s like so many Yankee fans have never watched the Yankees go through a baseball season before.
**************
Your standards are so low it’s unreal.
Sorry it’s 3am and my brain is fogging over.
Your standards are so low it’s unreal.
——————-
Quick.
How many times have the Yankees in the past 16 years been in 2nd place or worse on May 29th and come back to win the division?
Daniel is correct. Things have to change and get better. Whether that is the players on this team or others not here yet, obviously it has to happen for us to win.
Must sleep. Feel free to rip my previous stupid comments. Get em tomorrow.
LGY May 29th, 2011 at 3:03 am
Quick.
How many times have the Yankees in the past 16 years been in 2nd place or worse on May 29th and come back to win the division?
************
Quick. It doesn’t matter at all. There is no resemblance to any other team.
The Yankees definitely have talent…they are top 3 in the majors in run differential (behind Cleveland and Philly). the problem is they just haven’t started clicking yet.
May + Yankees are not in 1st place —-> insert stupid overreactionary comment here.
Rinse.Repeat.Year after year after year.
I don’t necessarily think that it’s their record that infuriates me so much.
It’s the way that they’ve played. They just so look so uninspired most of the time. They really do.
And their performance against middle relief pitching is just really, really frustrating to see.
Quick. It doesn’t matter at all. There is no resemblance to any other team.
—————-
So, what you are saying is that you have been watching the Yankees your entire life but have learned absolutely nothing about this organization or how a baseball season plays out?
You are content making the same exact panic striven posts season after season?
Sorry LGY. The way this team is playing is not acceptable to me. And it shouldn’t be to you either.
dear stuart a,
of course Mariano is one of the greatest pitchers ever. i am simply saying that he got beaten tonight throwing pitches that aren’t his strength–outside fastballs to lefties–when it seemed like he had his quality cutter going (the figgins at-bat). i do wonder whether that is martin calling those pitches, or, worse, girardi calling them from the dugout. in any event, your reciting of mo’s career stats is fatuous, since obviously in this instance they WERE the wrong pitches. i mean, we lost the game. so please refrain from giving me career ERAs, since you clearly can’t grasp my point.
THE RUN differential is misleading because of there bully offense..
i bet if yo utake out the yanks top 4 run producing games and do the same for all the other teams in baseball there offense gets hurt more relative then all the other teams..
Nothing to do with panic LGY. That is your hyperbole. I as a Yankee fan who enjoys seeing great baseball played by my team and I am not happy. If you are so be it.
yep, girardi si calling pitches for mo fro mthe dugout but he does not give the take sign to dumbo tex on a 3 and 0 count in the 10……SURE>……….
yo uguys are clowns.. 2 bloop hits and they loss. the offense was 1 for 9 with RISP for a change and they are totally inept and that is the reason they lost tonight and at least half the games the yhave lost this year….
there starting pitching is not great but actually has been better then expected so far this year………
To be fair, it’s not really reasonable to compare this year’s team against any others in the past. Not only was the manager different, there were different players and even those who are the same have aged and their skills have diminished.
Records mean nothing.
“How many times have the Yankees in the past 16 years been in 2nd place or worse on May 29th and come back to win the division?”
But WCYF isn’t whining about those teams, he’s whining about this team.
“The way this team is playing is not acceptable to me.”
Sing it! Scream it to the stars! You’re mad as hell and you’re
not going to take it anymorenot going to stop whining about it!Wang IS Taiwan May 29th, 2011 at 3:11 am
To be fair, it’s not really reasonable to compare this year’s team against any others in the past. Not only was the manager different, there were different players and even those who are the same have aged and their skills have diminished.
Records mean nothing.
******************
B I N G O !
Chad,
How about you getting some sleep after you finish your paper duties, and post on the blog tomorrow? I think when games go this late and you have a quick turn-around, we shouldn’t expect 24-hour service. I, for one, do not.
Nick, if you don’t like it. May I suggest the Golden Gate.
I don’t really get the impression that West Coast Yankee Fan is in some sort of panic mode.
There is a huge difference between saying that this team is playing terribly versus saying that this team has no chance to win this year.
I mean, no one that has watched this team can possibly suggest that their performance has been acceptable. They have been absolutely pathetic with RISP, their manager is a psychopath, they cannot hit relief pitchers to save their lives… It has been an absolute pathetic effort so far this season.
Does that mean things can’t change? Absolutely not.
So Nick, I know you like In-N-Out burgers after a victory. What do you typically eat after these losses?
Things can change. But that takes someone being proactive. That would be Cashman with the support of management. Continuing down this path and just “hoping” things get better is foolhardy.
We absolutely can win it all. But not in my opinion by staying the course. That is not panic. That is making a rational assessment and current day observation that this team the way it is configured right now is not good enough.
You can make any suggestion you like (thanks, James Madison!
), but tonight I’ve chosen mockery to deal with your mediocrity.
I will certainly keep “the Golden Gate” as a future option.
So, with a lot of teams playing underwhelming baseball this season, does that mean a couple of mediocre teams are going to be playing for the championship this year? Kind of like — the best of the losers battling it out?
I hated steroids and the cheating, but it’s no fun watching batting averages this low, either.
Does anyone really think the yankees WON’T make a move? Its may!
It’s after midnight here, so I won’t be eating anything. I actually had a burger pre-meal, but it was a from a local place in Santa Rosa, about an hour north of the city.
If was enjoying mid-day in Taiwan, maybe some beef-noodle soup or some dumplings would soothe the pain.
WC: I do think Cashman will make changes before the trade deadline, but there may be weeks more of this kind of depressing baseball left to watch until then. Girardi seems pretty incapable of mixing this up.
Jerkface,
Every day I pray to my lord and savior (Mariano Rivera) that when I wake up the next morning, Joe Girardi will be fired. That is the move that I hope for.
Nick in SF May 29th, 2011 at 3:17 am
You can make any suggestion you like (thanks, James Madison!
), but tonight I’ve chosen mockery to deal with your mediocrity. I will certainly keep “the Golden Gate” as a future option.
**********
You only mock yourself by your inane, superfluous fatuity. If you don’t understand any of the words – don’t be embarrassed just ask.
You’re very disciplined — I might have to drown my sorrows in a midnight snack if I were in the US. Probably along the lines of a hot fudge sundae.
I actually made some tacos for lunch here.
But my neighborhood has some awesome beef noodle soup AND the tastiest leek dumplings I’ve ever found. The sauce the owner makes herself is DELISH.
Irony alert!
If Joe Girardi gets fired tomorrow, I will empty a protein shake onto my floor in his memory.
Wang IS Taiwan May 29th, 2011 at 3:20 am
WC: I do think Cashman will make changes before the trade deadline, but there may be weeks more of this kind of depressing baseball left to watch until then. Girardi seems pretty incapable of mixing this up.
*************
I mean, how long do you keep starting Posada at .174 and Swisher at .206?
WC: I think we’re about to find out.
I’m with you, Daniel, on that move you’re praying for…
Unintentional irony is the funniest kind.
Wang: a hot fudge sundae sounds pretty good, but I’m out in the country, so discipine is pretty easy right now. Plus, I took the Yanks on the +1.5 run line, so I’m not feeling as sorrowful as some.
Read this if you actually need to laugh after the game tonight (I found it after searching “i hate joe girardi” on Google; not surprisingly, it was a popular hit):
For the first entry in this feature, I want to focus on the nicknaming tendencies of Joe Girardi. When Girardi first started managing the Yankees in 2008, I noticed that he began implementing the nickname construction of adding an “-ie” to end of a player’s name, or shortening a player’s name and then sticking the “-ie” ending on that. Now, I know that the naming convention of adding an “-ie” to the end of someone’s name was not Girardi’s creation. Nor is it something new to baseball; unlike football or basketball, baseball has a subtle “goofiness” to it that can lend itself to people acting stupid or silly on purpose. (See: Nick Swisher.) Girardi’s nicknaming is really just an extension of that.
I know it doesn’t sound all that bad, but let me explain further. The first player I noticed this with was Robinson Cano, or “Robbie.” This was totally fair – how could I chastise a guy for essential turning the name William into Willy? I noticed it next with Jorge Posada, now known as “Jorgie” (“Georgie”). Again, it seemed fine: a little odder than Robbie for sure, but still not all that bizarre. Well, then things started getting stranger. Phil Coke became “Cokie”; Brett Gardner became “Gardie.” It was around the time that “Gardie” popped up during the 2009 season that I finally started to really hone in on all these nicknames, and that’s all I could think of when I saw Girardi. It didn’t help matters that Gardner was exactly the type of guy (a “grinder”) you’d give that nickname to. My roomate and I, upon seeing Girardi on TV, would immediately start shouting “Gardie” or add “-ie” to any random-ass Yankee, like “A-Rodie.” It kind of became a game: which Yankee will Girardi give this stupid “-ie” nickname moniker to? Later in the 2009 season, Girardi started calling backup catcher Francisco Cervelli “Cervie.” That, I thought, could not be topped. It sounded so much like cervix that I assumed Girardi had to be in on it. Apparently not. This year, he’s already started calling Curtis Granderson “Grandie.” Just shoot me already.
Why does Joe Girardi insist on doing this with his players? Is it because his last name ends in an “i” and sounds like “ie”? No one will really know unless they ask him, but it drives me crazy. It’s these little things that can truly drive you up a wall about a team, and I’m proud to say that Joe Girardi’s nicknaming tendencies make me hate the Yankees much more than their team success does.
Nick,
SO glad to hear you’re not down in the dumps like so many of us. Truthfully, after we tied the game, I just didn’t think we’d be able to push across another run.
Have you ever been to a famous wonton noodle soup place in Haulien? I forget the name, but they have pictures posted of Chiang Ching-kuo (sp?) eating there.
I visited in 2007 and it was really good. I randomly found out they have a branch or sister restaurant in San Jose, now I’m trying to find some excuse to get down there and try it out.
If only Din Tai Fung would open a branch in SF…
Din Tai Fong has a branch in Seattle and LA, but I am very surprised they don’t have one in San Fran with such a large Chinese population.
I haven’t tried that noodle shop in Hualian. Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check it out the next time I’m there.
Daniel,
I think Girardi honestly treats the players like kindergarteners at times and this naming game he has fits the bill. Cutsy names gives the impression he’s palsie-palsie with them — that he’d never do anything to hurt their “feelers” (a word we use in my family to talk about feelings with the little kids…).
How can you possible make the tough moves when you’re using baby names?
Looking at pics of Chiang Ching-kuo, I think he was a regular at quite a few noodle shops.
Here’s the website of the US branch, you can probably figure out the Hualien info from it somehow:
http://w.mawebcenters.com/WonTon/EnglishHome.html
say what you want but the sox are 27-12 after the 2-10 start. their starters are doing well, including aceves and wakefield. Their 3-4-5 are hot and they are getting something out of almost everyone(catching excluded). Probably can’t keep up this pace, but will it last until they are 8-10 games ahead. Yanks need to step it up
Thanks, Nick! That site gave me the name in Chinese, so I’ll be able to get the address now. Looks delicious. Glad you can get some Taiwanese food there in the US.
When I lived in NY, I went to Chinatown a lot at first, thinking I could find paigufan (fried pork dish) there. I then realized most of the folks in NY’s Chinatown were Hong Kong Chinese or from Canton because the food definitely wasn’t Taiwanese or even Szechuan-style (which I also love). I then made the long hike out to Queens one weekend and found the stuff I was looking for! The Taiwanese have settled in that area of NY.
Changes need to be made. The problem is we have 2 aging players with a sense of entitlement.
-Jeter will continue to bat at the top of the order and Girardi will have him play as much as possible. Even when Nunez played SS, Jeter was our leadoff DH.
-Posada won’t bat 9th even though he’s batting below the Mendoza line. Presently, he is being platooned. But will he benched for Montero (in a scenario of sending down Cervelli for Montero who then plays DH/BUC2 with Posada as a bench warming BUC3)? I doubt it. Will they DFA him & bring up Vazquez to play DH/BU 1B? I doubt it.
He’s clinging to a roster spot that would be better served with some new blood. It’s getting to the point where if we’re going to lose, I rather do it with a couple of fresh, young new faces who are excited about getting a chance… giving us a glimpse of the future.
I recall the game where we had Dickerson batting after Gardner and you could feel the energy on the bases. Throw in Nunez too (though he got caught in bad base running friday).
We should have won yesterday. Nova struggled in the 4th, but if Jeter hadn’t errored (oh wait it’s not an error, but a base hit….right), then we don’t cough up an extra run & we have an out. That is one of the differences in the game. Although, the main issue is RISP fail. How hard is it to score 1 run. It’s like everyone is trying to launch to the seats. A single will work just as well.
Nova had a lot of groundballs, but he might want to work on a strike out pitch.
On a side note: Really wish the umps for both games were swapped. Friday ump had a smaller strike zone, squeezed the pitchers. I recall one of those ball 4 counts was a strike 3. AJ could have gone longer with Saturday’s ump, at least another inning or into the 6th, removing Logan from the equation, which was the difference in the game.