Porcello or Jeter: A mother’s dilemma
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Oct 04, 2011 
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Rick Porcello grew up in New Jersey and went to the same high school as former Yankees first-round pick Eric Duncan. I know that because Duncan was talking him up in the Triple-A clubhouse the year Porcello was drafted.
“I was actually a Mets fan growing up,” Porcello said yesterday. “But my parents were both Yankee fans. Mom loves Derek Jeter. Might like him more than me.”
Tonight, Porcello will try to knock Jeter and the Yankees out of the playoffs.
“I don’t think it necessarily has a lot to do with the team as much as knowing there’s a lot of people I grew up with at the games,” Porcello said. “I think the added pressure to that, just knowing they’re there, present at the ballpark. I’ll always have my family there and friends and teachers and people that I grew up with, so I think just having them there and wanting to perform well for them is a little added pressure.”
Porcello made one start against the Yankees this season. It was here in Detroit, and he allowed two runs through seven innings. It was the game when Eric Chavez broke his foot, and the Yankees starter was — of all people — A.J. Burnett. Tonight will be the rematch, with much more on the line.
“I think (my parents) are pretty much committed to rooting for me and the Tigers right now,” Porcello said. “So I don’t think they watch many Yankee games anymore.”
You can bet they’ll be watching this one.
Associated Press photo
Maybe the Porcellos brought the wrong baby home?
Tough loss yesterday, I thought we had it after the Gritner’s big hit.
I didn’t read through the game thread and post, but was the strike zone ridiculous last night? I know that TBS’s pitch trax is not very good, but just eyeballing it Verlander was getting a ridiculous zone. CC was pretty much off and not around the zone. There were a couple of times I went “wow”. But a lot of the outside stuff to the lefties was going Verlander’s way.
safe@gerrydavis.com
So he doesn’t know his parents are secretly watching Yankee games?
Cool.
Blaming the umps is a absolute joke. IF anything, MLB would make sure the yankees made it to the WS every year. The yankees are their cash cow, boston is out, no LA teams are in, and philly might get bounced in the first round. MLB does not care about upsets, feel good stories, or what have you. It’s a business, money is what drives that business and thats all MLB cares about. That being said, these umps aren’t corrupt. Just get over it, and take a loss like a man. The yankees will bounce back tonight and win.
Umpires/Referees decide more games in each sport than you realize, Shame. Every 1 run game, Every close game in the NBA, NFL, NHL, is likely decided by a bad call by an umpire/referee
jdiddy. He will be held accountable. Justice will be exacted upon Gerry Davis. Its only a matter of time
I hope the Yankees whoop Porcello’s butt tonight.
http://twitpic.com/6v308n
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Super funny.
I’m confused… how is a series tie (1-1) close to the Phils getting bounced?
The Yanks need to borrow the Ranger’s offense in the play offs. Kinsler hits a homerun in the 1st inning.
It all about the umpires…….right.
The game is played between the lines by the players, bit*hing about balls and strikes is just an excuse for losing the game. If Soriano hadn’t given up the HR to Young we had a good chance to win the game.
As CC himself said:
“I’m not going to sit here and say it was the umpire’s fault,” Sabathia said. “I just didn’t make pitches when I needed to… I felt great, felt fine. I thought my fastball command was better than it has been. It’s just not making pitches when I need to, whether that be a breaking ball or changeup or whatever it was. They were just fouling pitches off.”
hair, your missing the entire point. MLB makes tons of money during the playoffs because of all of the viewership. If the yankees, no LA teams, or boston, are all gone before the second round starts… their viewership drop is HUGE. So, your telling me that MLB hates the yankees so much, that they would rather lose money than watch them win? That is pretty funny.
David Stern roots for a LA VS BOSTON finals every year because it brings the most viewers.
Bud Selig roots for a Yankees Vs ANYONE because it brings the most viewers
Roger goodell roots for a Steelers/Pats Vs Cowboys superbowl every year for the viewers.
These leagues don’t care about the teams or playes themselves….. they only care about viewership, tv deals, and revenue. Fact is, the teams i listed above bring in the most money in their respective sports. So, for you to actually believe that MLB hates the yankees so much, that they tells the umps to throw these games is a absolute joke.
David stern hates mark cuban and the mavericks with a passion…. how did that one turn out for him this year?
forget the mlb, maybe its personal…
None of the players are going to call out the umpire for his over the top biased calling. None. They have to deal with the bad calls because it will only be worse if they complain or call out one of those umpires for what he did.
CalYank, go look at the PitchFX data on the game. Just go look at it and explain how there can be such a large disparity of balls called strikes between the two teams. When the difference in calls is a couple, then it is the players on the field. When the difference is around 10 additional calls made for one team, then it is a deciding factor in the game.
The difference between the calls last night – strictly on CALLED balls and strikes, not counting swinging strikes or fouls, the difference is a 3-1 ratio in favor of the Tigers.
When it is that much of a difference, it should not be dismissed. If you did that in your job you would be fired.
how weird would it be if The team of destiny got bounced in the first round, the yanks got bounced in the first round, and the greatest team in sports history missed the playoffs. No Team from the AL East in the ALCS? now, that would be downright shocking.
But my parents were both Yankee fans. Mom loves Derek Jeter. Might like him more than me.?
************************
the Yankees losing makes more teams money….. people will definitely pay to see us go down lol
I don’t understand the notion that Girardi getting thrown out of a game does anything. I really don’t.
Sure, he could voice his displeasure with the zone to Davis and “stand up” for his team, but so what? I don’t think it changes Davis’ terrible zone and what, the batters think “hey, he got tossed for us! NOW we’re going to try to win!” because they weren’t before?
Anyway, I said it before and I’ll say it again.
AJ comes up big tonight.
(maybe saying it enough times will make it come true!)
One thing we learned today: the kill code for LoHud is “THESES GUYS SUCK”
I don’t think class has anything to do with it really. The yankees have a pretty laid back group of guys. Obviously the yankees represent class…. however if you put any of our guys on other teams they wouldn’t complain there. That’s what makes this team so great, and so frustrating at times. posada is the most fiery player on this team… think about the last time you ever saw gardy, grandy, robbie, swish, tex, ever pissed off and showing that emotion on the field. This roster is full of even keel guys that don’t ever get too up or too down.
Porcello always will have points in my book for body slamming a charging Kevin Youkilis.
hardwired7 October 4th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
One thing we learned today: the kill code for LoHud is ?THESES GUYS SUCK?
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One thing we learned today: the kill code for LoHud is “THESES GUYS SUCK”
————————–
what happen?
“I don’t understand the notion that Girardi getting thrown out of a game does anything. I really don’t.”
If it actually left Tony Pena in charge, I’d give it a try.
AJ is in a strange situation…. He Has a chance to erase every negative during his tenure with the yankees. No one will ever care about all of his implosions if he was the guy to save the yankees from elimination. NEVER. He can go down as a yankee hero that preserved the season and help lead the yankes to number 28. That’s a pretty damn awesome situation to be in.
OK Yogi, does that mean the NYY will benefit tonight from makeup calls??
hair, i don’t dispute your point. However, i’m telling you that everyone on our current roster are laid back guys.
The Other Phil, the one thing that Girardi getting tossed in a situation where he is complaining about the strike zone would be that if the umpire was doing as he was in last night’s game, it would either get the strike zone more in line, or it would call bigger attention to the disparity of the strike zone.
This strike zone issue is a problem because the media just brushes it off as nothing. Never mind that there is available data out there for anyone to see. If the sports people who cover baseball were doing their job, they would call out umpires who call a game like last night. A very simple graphic of the Tiger’s pitches that were called strikes but were balls, vs. what the Yankees got.
It should be outrage by fans of the game to see a disparity like that. It is so bad that it can’t be explained in any rational manner, so people will just say it’s whining about the results of the game.
What irks me is that they show bad calls over and over, in slow motion, and call the umpires out for that, but you never see them call out an umpire for having a horrendous strike zone. Instead, these announcers and sports talking heads only talk about how “this is one of the most respected umpire in the game. There is objective data to refute that. It doesn’t get used, and a game was heavily influenced in the playoffs by the disparity and no one is calling him on it.
The conspiracy is to allow the Yankees to win enough games to qualify for the playoffs and then make sure that every borderline call goes against the Yankees. However, every now and then, the powers that be determine that the Yankees should get to the WS and the officials will do something like calling an obviously “fair” ball, foul. This just may not be one those years as the Yankees may be “officiated” out of the playoffs.
Jdiddyshownopitty October 4th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
what happen?
————
see the last question on the chat.
CalYank October 4th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
OK Yogi, does that mean the NYY will benefit tonight from makeup calls??
+++++++++
Personally, I just want a fairly called game and allow the cards fall where they may. Call it the same for both sides, and I can live with it. No need for make up calls, even though the umpire Davis won the game for the Tigers last night.
Wow.. a tough loss followed by sheer insanity on the blog. Who would’ve bet against that?
One of the guys on MLBN just said something smart about AJ tonight. He said that the Tigers don’t steal bases(besides Jackson) so even with guys on base AJ can relax and just throw his best curveballs and don’t worry about the baserunners. Martin blocks everything and he doesn’t have to worry about the running game. As long as his mechanics are right he should be ok.
I wish ID was here.
Wow.
No player and not often managers are going to be too critical of umpires, because they fear retribution. They have to pitch and hit with those guys out there again.
So saying even the players didn’t blame the strike zone doesn’t mean anything and isn’t a good argument.
I doubt it was intentional, but while the strike zone last night may have been fairly consistent, it definitely was much better for Verlander than CC. I do think the Yankees win that game with an average/correct strike zone. And I almost never blame the strike zone for a loss.
You do realize you just said the Yankees should say Hughes had cancer, than called out Lester for faking cancer within a minute of one another?
this thread:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NT2G.....+wreck.jpg
The offense is more of a concern than AJ
I could see the Yanks putting up 3 early runs on Porcello than nothing the rest of the game while the Tigers slowly chip away, a la Game 2 in 2006.
I don’t buy into any conspiracy against the Yankees by MLB, even though many of the rule changes that are made are meant to hold down the Yankees. That is to keep an “even playing field”.
I do think it very possible that certain umpires have bias against the Yankees, or even worse, they could be making a nice comfy additional income from betting against the Yankees. The Yankees are usually favored to win, payoffs against them are larger, what would stop an umpire from calling a game like was called last night, from having a friend or family member placing bets for him, then influencing the outcome? It’s not going to be guaranteed, but the pay off is large enough that they have incentive over a longer haul.
Asd – Don’t bother dude, I’m a novice at this stuff but even though I cant see him I’m pretty sure I can smell a little see are nine in this place…
MTU,
You around?
A.J. gets a re-match and maybe Chavy can get another opportunity to make up for
breaking his foot in Detroit all those months ago.
Napoli just got absolutely drilled at the plate.
Sean Rodriguez might have a career in football if this whole baseball thing doesn’t work out.
Joe Maddon would have used the following lineup tonight
Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Posada 1B
Cano 2B
Granderson CF
Montero DH
Chavez 3B
Jones RF
Martin C
Yogi how about a fairly played game (umpire wise) and the Yanks come out on top 9-7 ? Porcello is not an ‘ACE’ and I believe he spent some time in the minors this year.
AJ will be serviceable in a back and forth game giving up 4-5 runs in 6-7 innings, the pen then shuts down the Tigers and we win with a nice 8th and 9th from DRob and Mo.
I’m not being negative…can we point out that tonight may be Jorge Posada’s last game? He has played like a champion throughout this series. I’ve been lucky to watch his whole career, and I will miss him.
A fair game is incredibly unlikely
YogiMantle
Your gambling premise is certainly feasible but I would think that if an umpire had a personal bias or was supplementing his income via sports betting someone would have blown the whistle by now.
Joe needs to have
Ayala Robertson on call from the 4th inning on tonightWatching the Ray-Rangers. How come the ump and the stike zone graphic seem to agree in this game?
Strike text fail…..
Nick in SF October 4th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
“I don’t understand the notion that Girardi getting thrown out of a game does anything. I really don’t.”
If it actually left Tony Pena in charge, I’d give it a try.
————————————————————————
Like.
Left handed batters have hit Porcello at a .321/.368/.488 this season. In his career .302/.350 /.451.
If Tex and Swisher can’t do some damage tonight they are hopeless.
you realize that the number of yankees fans out weights the tigers fan base by probably hundreds of millions of people. So, wouldn’t logic say that its more probable that the umps were paid off by someone with rooting interest in the yankees?
OldHossRadbourn In my day we had a fun little saying: “Run over my catcher, lose your mother in a hail of bullets.”
porcello had a quality September…. i believe he finished with 3 straight quality starts. Neither procello or AJ are lights out by any mean but both finished the season strong.
hmmm, umpire conspiracies? where have we heard this before?
Tabbert
You are not going to make a huge score by betting on “the chalk.”
TrentonThunder 3 Thunder players make the 2011 EL Top 20 Prospects! 6. Manny Banuelos, 9. Dellin Betances, 17. Austin Romine http://bit.ly/nYXrhW
The real Old Hoss Radburn once won 59 games in a season while throwing 678 innings.
There are two records that will definitely never be broken.
http://www.baseball-reference......ch01.shtml
Yankees are 7-12 in their last 19 games at Comerica dating back to 2007.
The only road venue they have a worse winning % in during that time-span is Angels Stadium (8-16).
They have a .333 winning % (4-8) in Detroit since 2009, second worst next to Fenway (11-16).
I have a feeling our team is gonna come out today and stick it to the umpires
Martin should be fined $$ for every 1st pitch that he swings at tonight unless it’s a meatball. Against Porcello you have to try not to due too much and just go with the pitch. Especially with guys on base otherwise it will be a dp. This is a bad match up for Tex, Swish and Martin.
Adrian beltre is a beast….
AJ for 3 inns.
Hughes for 1 inn
Wade for 1 inn.
Sori for 1 inn
Robertson for 2 inn
Mo for 1 inn.
Anything wrong with that. Pound out 8 runs and get on the plane back to NYC for Game 5.
Like Pujols said after Game 2 in Philly, Lets make it a “Happy Fly” Home
m,
I have to admit, I was very frustrated by the strike zone last night. This was the first time this season (watched about half the games) I’ve felt like it was clearly lopsided.
This article, and the ball/strike chart, seem to confirm a bias.
http://www.pinstripealley.com/.....strikezone
In the end you can’t put the game in the hands of the umpires. Even if Davis (home plate umpire) was bias to a degree it doesn’t change the fact that the Yankees blew multiple chances to tie the game.
It’s not like the Yankees have never been on the winning side of a blown call. Remember when Jeffrey Maier caught Jeter’s “home run” in 1996?
Good luck tonight AJ, we’re all behind you.
Apple and Yelp are hooking up on the new voice activation software.
“Find me some post Yankee win gelato”
Girardi has the entire arsenal tonight. Every one on the roster is available except nova and cc. The pen can get us 4+ innings if need be. My main concern, is our offense.
Girardi has to make the move tonight 1 batter too early then his usual 2 batters too late.
mmmmm…gelato
Thought for the day: Could clinching early actually be a disadvantage? The Yanks are 1-6 in their last seven games and half the team isn’t hitting. So much for setting yourself for the play-offs.
I’m not sure if I trust Ayala/Logan/Soriano/Hughes that much more than AJ
The real strength of our pen is Wade in the middle innings for 2 then Robertson/Rivera to close it out. Don’t think anyone will be comfortable with Soriano in a big spot.
This game is on the offense. Time for them to step up and pound a mediocre sinkerballer like Porcello.
There is no Magic Formula tonight…. If a Quarter of their Payroll (Tex/AROD) is still hitting around .050 they will lose. More so than AROD… TEX has been the GOAT of this series… Something has to happen to these two to get their heads in the game… these two look like they could care less out there..
You Got Martin Screaming as he scores the tying run, Posada playing on his last tank of gas, Gardner being as “clutch” as you can get.
Then you have the Tex/AROD in the box wondering if they’ll get a cameo on Curb next season… They’ve been pathetic… not bad or under performing…. they’ve been pathetic, I hope something clicks tonight
BronxZooCobra
I’m loving the the name of the new Iphone. It really rolls off the tongue. IPhone 4ssssssssss.
Thought for the day: Could clinching early actually be a disadvantage?
————————
No.
I went out for some gelato last night, but not the premium gelato I often enjoy after a big win.
I’m willing to say, right here and right now, that I vow to give up gelato altogether until the Yankees either win another game or are eliminated.
AJ did pick up the slack for CC back in the 2009 world series. Here is to one more epic AJ performance.
http://www.gobarbra.com/hit/ne.....7f742dfb77
“Adrian beltre is a beast….”
Have faith. He was 0 for 7 after 2 games and 1 for 11 going into todays game.
Nice story about the opposition. This must be a YES blog something. F Rick Porcello. I couldn’t care less where he’s from.
Locke,
Thanks for the response. It absolutely is on the players. But helping a guy like Verlander makes him that much tougher to beat. I don’t think I was very clear, but I meant that a couple of times with CC, I questioned the call not going his way. But there were a lot more times when the call went Verlander’s way. And it absolutely changes the at bats.
Anyway, a mistake by Soriano was the difference in the game. And not getting to Valverde hurt, too. I hate him and his big mouth. Take this back to New York, guys.
Locke October 4th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
m,
I have to admit, I was very frustrated by the strike zone last night. This was the first time this season (watched about half the games) I?ve felt like it was clearly lopsided.
+++++++++
Locke, if you count up the differences in the pitches, called strikes that are balls, called balls that are strikes, you will see that the Tigers had 17 pitches called in their favor, compaired with 5 for the Yankees, and of those 5 most of them were very close. That is a bad, bad ratio for an umpire. How do you justify that kind of disparity? Let alone the difference of how far off the plate some of those strike calls were.
I can deal with a consistently bad strike zone that is even for both sides. I can’t when it is blatently slanted two one side by a 3 to 1 margin. That just isn’t defensible.
and don’t forget this classic AJ performance either
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQXx8z0ERbQ
Let’s make Porcello’s mother cry for her little baby.
It would be nice if the 4-5-6 hitters actually showed up tonight.
Let’s see our 4-5-6…
- The Exoskeleton Formerly Known as ARod (unable to hit the ball out of the infield)
- Mr. Pop Up…aka Tex-choke-era (2nd worst post season position player in Yankee post season history)
- Nick Choke-a-licious (worst post season position player in Yankee post season history)
I think AJ has a better chance of throwing a perfect game than just 1 of those 3 coming up big tonight. I really do.
I really wish Giardi would do something with this lineup…and get some fresh blood in there.
MLB claims that every HP ump gets a DVD of their “performance” behind the plate after every game. No, I’m not talking about the silly little half-twirl some of them do. Their accuracy rate. Supposedly, they won’t get the better assignments (postseason, etc). But as GB7 said before, hit where it hurts, in their pockets. Outside the standard deviation (aka blatant bad calls) make a fine. Their wives will make sure they don’t give away too much back there.
THIS is what separates the real fans from some of the bandwagon, fair-weather hangers-on.
it does not end tonight, aj is going to pitch us back home tonight!
Let’s Go Yankees!
m October 4th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
MLB claims that every HP ump gets a DVD of their ?performance? behind the plate after every game.
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That would be pretty boring to have to watch, unless your name is Frank Drebin.
We can vent and still be fans.
Face the facts, if the Yankees big bats don’t wake up…we’ll lose.
Denial is not a river in Egypt.
Nothing is over until WE decide it is!!!
I would add more of the Animal House scene, but I don’t want to be accused of not knowing who really bombed Pearl Harbor again
eboland11 Sunny and 70 at Comerica Park. Chance of rain just 10 percent throughout night. translation for 2011, 60-70 percent http://wxch.nl/lxOAE8
“Face the facts, if the Yankees big bats don’t wake up…we’ll lose.”
Yep. AJ is a secondary story tonight amazingly.
This game is going to be decided by the offense one way or the other. When is the last time they scored double digit runs?
m,
I completely agree – can’t stand Valverde at all. If it wouldn’t completely stress me out I’d be praying for him to blow a save tonight.
DROB is a freaking beast. The dude is flat out magical. I feel just as confident when he is on the mound that i do when MO is on the mound.
kate-now that most of us are awake, I think you’d be safe. I’m still kicking myself over not getting that, BTW.
theREALkevin, you are aware that this is the blog of a newspaper — making it a journalistic endeavor — and not a Yankee fan blog, right?
“Hey, what’s this lying around sh*t?”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI
I completely agree – can’t stand Valverde at all. If it wouldn’t completely stress me out I’d be praying for him to blow a save tonight.
**************************************************\
Especially if it includes a comebacker that knocks that smirk off his face
It looks like Maddon was watching Girardi the last 2 nights and he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes that he has. Maddon knew that Hellickson didn’t have it and brought in Moore to start the 5th instead of leaving Hellickson out here to do more damage. Too bad our manager doesn’t think the same way instead he just gifts the other team 2 runs because the tired pitcher was left out there dry.
Just like the commercial says. Im an only child not including my sister. Maybe Jeter was their only child not including Porcello? Hmmm.
I second the strike zone was ridiculous last night. There was a strike called on Cano that was up at his throat. I know. I know. Everything looks like a strike to Cano. Not this one.
I can’t take this anticipation…
Yesterday on the live feed of the Rays game they showed Alex in the dugout at around 7:10pm. The way I felt yesterday is exactly how I feel today.. If Alex is ready and I’m ready, why isn’t everyone else ready?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpkVJTXJ5xw
JonLaneNYC RT @howiekarpin: Stadiums where Yanks have not won one post season game Seattle Kingdome, Cincy Riverfront, Arizona and Comerica
Can someone unplug the snooze buttons on
Swish
Tex
Alex
alarm clock please!! I can give Alex a pass, hasnt played all year. But the other two seem to hibernate come playoff time. We need an all team effort to get out of this hole. Burnett gives up 4 tonight and 1 from the pen. Need 6 tonight. Very doable. Cano will get that all by himself. Used to be murderers row + Cano. Now its Cano + death row(excluding Jete, Grandy and Posada from this).
Locke, if you count up the differences in the pitches, called strikes that are balls, called balls that are strikes, you will see that the Tigers had 17 pitches called in their favor, compaired with 5 for the Yankees, and of those 5 most of them were very close. That is a bad, bad ratio for an umpire. How do you justify that kind of disparity? Let alone the difference of how far off the plate some of those strike calls were.
I can deal with a consistently bad strike zone that is even for both sides. I can’t when it is blatently slanted two one side by a 3 to 1 margin. That just isn’t defensible.
——
Mgumpher, I see the bias – I was screaming at my TV last night.
Maybe Davis was fooled by Verlander’s pitches which had to travel across the zone to the left side, which CC’s don’t cross the zone? (LHP v. RHP). Just an idea, I realize the converse isn’t the case (CC didn’t get the calls on the right). I’m not defending poor umpiring, I just don’t buy the conspiracy talk.
As plenty others have stated, we can’t put tonight’s game in the home plate umpire’s hands. Tonight needs to be a blowout powered by clutch hitting, especially from the middle of the order.
We need to make sure we pitch around defensive replacements this game.
thanks hardwired
Wow!!! Tex is 1-24??? Last two years.
Locke, there is not one pitch from CC that was given to him “traveling across” that Verlander was regularly given. Not one single pitch was given on the right side of the plate.
It can’t be explained by any means. 4 pitches were all that CC got, and they were closer than most of the pitches that Verlander made. Verlander is good, but his ball isn’t traveling sideways when it gets to the plate. No one is that good, not even Mo.
2 maligned hitters, Posada and Gardner, are hitting well.
We need some good pitching tonight.
Girardi needs to manage this game as if its a playoff game and not just a typical tuesday in may. Pull Aj first sign of implosion, bring guys in when they are needed and not using them for their assigned inning. If bases are loaded, AJ is toast, and its the 5th inning… bring in drob to get out of the jam. Joe needs to manage with the mindset of winning each inning. It’s okay for drob, and soriano, and mo to pitch innings that aren’t ” their innings” at times. What good does it do to save our best bullpen pitches for the late innings if we blow the lead in the middle innings where they could have come in and helped? Joe should not be hesitate to use every single arm on this staff to get through these 9 innings tonight. If we win tonight, it will be a complete team effort.
No problem, Kate. Loved your reference last night.
Mgumpher – I know, I’m just throwing out ideas. Like I said, I’m not defending poor umpiring, I just don’t buy the conspiracy talk.
Tex needs to step up tonight.
Francessa is talking about Tex being in a slump.
.220 or whatever it is from the right side for the season is a pretty massive slump.
I realize we can all crush Arod and Tex for not hitting, I get it, but you have to lay a square finger on the guy who has left the most runners on base, the most runners in scoring position during this series……….. Jeter.
Jeter 6 ks 11 runner left on base 4 runners left in scoring position during the two losses
Arod 4 runners left on base the whole series and 2 left in scoring position in game 1. So he is up there with no one on base. He had two productive outs with RISP to get his rbis.
Tex – 5 runners left on base and only 1 in scoring position the whole series.
So I get these guys stepping up and getting hits, but as far as producing runs, it becomes much harder to when no one puts them in a position to drive guys in.
you are aware that this is the blog of a newspaper — making it a journalistic endeavor — and not a Yankee fan blog, right?
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I did not know this when I first came here. The first thread I found was something about finding a new girlfriend for Arod. I thought this place was like the onion for Yankee fans. My first comment was a list of potential books written by Yankee players. Can’t remember em all but there was one called “How To Hit To Left Field – The 7 Year Plan” by Jason Giambi
Tex needs a slap or two across his face:
- stop popping the ball up! (slap)
- bunt it down third when they have the shift on you stubborn b*stard! (slap)
- earn your salary! (slap)
Beltre has hit 3 HR off Moore.
yup… Beltre is a beast.
So were the Sox better off with A Gone and Crawford or retaining V Mart and Beltre for far less money?
Tabbert – I told you – Beltre’s hot streak is over…now they’re all SOLO homers…he’s cooling down as we speak
Jerkface-
The first two were off Helickson. Not that it takes anything away from that accomplishment as Helickson isn’t exactly a scrub haha.
Great move by Theo letting Beltre go for nothing….
The scary thing about the Rangers is that a lot of their weapons aren’t even hitting well this series. Young is hitting .133, Cruz is at .071, Beltre only got hot this game, Andrus is at .143. If their 2-3-4 starters continue to pitch like this I think they are going to win the AL again.
Beltre in only 487 at bats this year 32 hr 105 rbis .296 BA and plays good defense.
V Mart .330 BA 12 hrs 103 rbis – .394 RISP
Would you rather have the lineup the Sox fielded this year or
Ellsbury
Pedrioa
V Mart
Ortiz
Beltre
Youkilis
Reddick
Drew or any OF whomever you want to play out there –
Scutaro
That lineup would have cost less money
V Mart – 4 years $50 mill
Beltre – 6 years $81 but can get out of the final year at $16 for a fee
Crawford – 7 years $142 mill
A Gone – 7 years $154 mill
Locke, is it a conspiracy if an umpire, one particular umpire, has a decidedly one sided called game? There are plenty of badly called games, but most of them are equally bad to both teams, or maybe slightly favoring one team.
I’ve been watching baseball for a long time. I can’t remember that many times when it was this bad. I can even understand when you have a scrub pitcher who isn’t getting close calls, vs. a stud who is getting those same ones.
That wasn’t the case in this. Both pitcher are highly rated, 17 – 4 is just not possible without there being a driving factor in it. It is just too much to account for.
I understand you agree it was bad, what i’m saying is it was beyond just bad. If the split was 6-4 or even 8-4, you could live with it. 17 to 4 is practically criminal.
Eroc October 4th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
“Face the facts, if the Yankees big bats don’t wake up…we’ll lose.”
Yep. AJ is a secondary story tonight amazingly.
——
True.
When everyone was panicking on the news that AJ would get the game 4 start, I thought he’d either get the ball with a 2-1 lead or not at all (we sweep). I figured if they were down 1-2 then they had bigger problems and someone/s didn’t get it done.
And there has been quite a bit of talk regarding Teix, a-rod & even swisher. Sweeney was talking today about Teix in particular.
Bottom line is this offense needs to score & the middle pack of A-rod, Teix & Swisher need to get something going.
Gardner .333
Teix .091
Swisher .182 (his 2 hits came when yanks were way ahead or way behind)
A-rod .000 though 3 walks
The first two were off Helickson. Not that it takes anything away from that accomplishment as Helickson isn’t exactly a scrub haha.
–
Doh, seeing Moore pitch in the 7th my brain just erased the rest of the game and assumed he started
m October 4th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
2 maligned hitters, Posada and Gardner, are hitting well.
We need some good pitching tonight.
++++++++++
Well, Teixeira, ARod, Jeter and Swisher are all being pretty much maligned on here, so maybe they will now step it up.
Thank God the Red Sox got rid of Beltre in favor of Youkilis at 3rd. Could have kept Beltre and spun Youkilis for something else of value.
Beltre has hit 3 homers today, all solos.
Jeter has left runners on base, true. But Tex and Alex are your power hitters and have given the Yankees no homers. Hell, even solo homers would be good.
Bronx Jeers-
Despite being down 2-1 in the series… the yankees have had the go ahead run on base in their final AB each time. It’s not like this has been a lopsided series. If Aj can just give us 5 quality innings, our pen will do its job, we will be fine. I expect another close game that with multiple lead changes. Tonight we have the clear pitching advantage for the first time in this series if you think about AJ, hughes, sori, drob, logan, mo, now its just put up or shut up time for our offense. We have gotten clutch hits from guys like posada, and gardy… but tonight we need one of the big guns to step up and crank one out with runners on. Were going back to the bronx.
Duh Innings October 4th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
I certainly don’t squat about you because you apparently just started posting here. In turn you don’t know squat about me so don’t tell me what would be okay with me and what wouldn’t be okay with me. Cheating is not okay with me. If you’re fine with having badly called games shoved down your throat, whoopee for you. Well I’m not. The Yankees could be up 2-1 right now if the umpire hadn’t annihilated CC with his calls. 6 walks my ass.
Arod had injuries this season. Sorry if you thought he was a wind-up toy. And while Tex isn’t bringing it with the bat, he’s sure as hell stopped a ton of runs with his glove. So he’s of great value to the Yanks that way. If that had been a fairly-called game (even the media was buzzing about it so I guess you’re in the vast minority who don’t feel the umpire should have been held accountable) the Yankees would have had that game. And Tiger fans would be down 2-1 and they could be whining about what players hadn’t produced. Or did you think that the Tiger hitters were just tearing up the ball 1-8?
Unlike more fickle fans, I don’t trash Yankee players who aren’t having great seasons, great stretches, or great AB, horrors! Every single guy on that team, and on that postseason roster, helped to get the Yankees to the postseason. And every one of them had both good and bad days and good and bad stretches. Sorry they’re not all bowing at your feet at the same time.
I’m holding the umpires accountable for calling fair games and not prematurely ushering teams out of series that they could have won if not for horrendous calls by the HP umpire.
If you don’t like it, tough.
**********
And whoever pointed out what CC said. What did you THINK he was going to say???? He still has to go out there and pitch, and the loser who was behind the plate last night will be behind the plate again at some point in time when CC is pitching. He’s not a total idiot.
Oh well, got to go. Work calls. Enjoy the game Yankee fans.
The siren song of ‘If AJ can just….’
Perhaps it will be so.
Sigh.
a glimmer of hope
Yankee fate in the balance
if AJ can just…
Gotta give Jeter a break. There was a tsunami in one of his plate appearances with men on and he forgot to wear his batting helmet with wipers on them.
I get it, but solo homers don’t come every game and I would much prefer them getting on than trying to hit homers. It’s not out of the realm that Arod or Tex could go three games without hitting a homer, just like the regular season. To hit 40 homers you could spread them out over what 4 game spans and that’s without hitting more than one in a game. I am not saying they are void of blame. Tex hasn’t come thru in the postseason here at all. Arod carried us to the ’09 championship however. But this year, Jeter is as much to blame as everyone else for stopping rallies and not coming through in the clutch. You are expecting him to hit singles, keep rallies going and get on base. Not hit homers. So even less than attempting to hit solo shots.
Nick,
What do you think about my Longhorns starting out 4-0 with 18 freshman starting? Any chance on beating Oklahoma? Hearing McCoy and Shippleys name being called never gets old. They need to hurry up and make kids to follow suit.
All the Yankees need were base hits. Not sure why they think they can blast it out of the park at will.
5-3 and 5-4. Pretty close scores. But too many men left on base.
Can we just lock Delmond Young in a closet or something?
jacksquat if you’re still around, I notice that you basically said the same thing I did. I wrote my post before reading any of the posts on this particular thread. I’m not someone who typically blames the umpires either. I might point out some bad calls during a game, but I don’t remember calling out an umpire after a game. So it isn’t something that I tend to do.
I agree with you completely. If that game had been fairly called, CC likely would have won that game. As it is the Yankees came within a run with the horrendous calls. Imagine what could have happened if CC’s pitch count wasn’t run up by the umpire?
Redsox should have traded youk while his value was sky high for a starting pitcher and kept beltre at third. Beltre is the most underrated superstar in baseball. The dude has a realistic chance at 3000 hits, and 400+ homers. Not too shabby.
bheyman99 #Yankees have won only one ALDS in five tries after falling behind two games to one, 2001 vs. A’s
Beltre has hit 3 homers today, all solos.
========
Ahhh I see those unclutch Alex like homers. Let me guess, they probably had the lead and he was padding his stats.
just by chance im wearing my lohud yankees blog t-shirt today. is that good luck or bad luck?
Let’s Go Yankees!!!!
Not sure why Delmon Young looking to hit the ball is being pitched to on the outside of the plate anyway. Wouldn’t his approach insist on jamming him up inside. The pitch wasn’t the worst pitch in the world, but knowing his approach that is exactly where he wanted it.
Yankees stats when they are against the wall is fairly silly when it’s a completely different set of players.
SoS, I haven’t paid close attention to Texas because I don’t get the Longhorn Network, or whatever deal they have that makes them even more unlikable. I would say they have some bitter losses coming up, very bitter indeed.
Kenny Rogers cheating still must be atoned. Baseball gods should be serving up some karma tonight!
SOS- The horns have had a nice little start to the season. They have actually made noticeable improvement each game unlike last season. However, they cant stick with two qb’s forever, and they have played a cupcake schedule. OU will be too much for texas to handle… however i think the horns might have the ability to knock off OSU the following week in austin. The games they have vs Baylor, Kansas state, and The aggies are all toss ups at this point.
Gig’em
Couldnt trade Mr. Fugly. Hes the face of the franchise. When you think of Boston you think Fugly.
And I will make sure I eat some Manhattan clam chowder when the game begins. Do my part to support positive vibes.
Later y’all.
The lovefest with A Gone has totally put the blinders on as far as letting Beltre and V Mart go for essentially the same money he cost alone. Not to mention sending 3 prospects out the door.
It was inevitable that Soriano was going to blow a game in this postseason.
Just gotta hope the Yankees still win this series and he got it out of his system now.
SoS October 4th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Couldnt trade Mr. Fugly. Hes the face of the franchise.
************************
If he’s the face of the franchise, no wonder that team has so many problems
The yanks have had some bad umps, bad strike zones, bad weather, some bad luck, and some bad performances by key players. However, despite all of the bad things… the yankees have had the go ahead run on base in their final AB in each of their losses. This team will not just lay down and die. The last two days we came up short, but we showed our character. We battle until the end… and tonight is not the end. Our guys will find a way to get the clutch hits tonight, the pen will be solid, and the yanks will win a griddy/gutsy, game and take this bad boy back to the bronx.
wasnt having kenny rodgers in pinstripes enough attonement?
Nick,
Time to call your cable or Antenna provider and insist on the Longhorn network or else.
Tabbert,
They do have a brutal schedule. I have noticed improvement every week and maybe its just fools gold. I know last year they almost beat Ok with a crappy team. Its like UCLA vs. USC, Oregan Oregan State, Cal vs. ?? not sure, the record gets thrown out in rivalry games. I think
Case should the the QB but this rotation hasnt hurt them yet. This is reminding me of the Michigans fab 5. Diaper Dandies. With all this young talent they better bring home a title in the next couple years.
when
Remember this?:
On this night, it was A.J. Burnett’s turn. And no, not just to pitch.
To save the season.
As he headed for the mound on a crisp Thursday evening in October, he knew the stakes. CC Sabathia had lost Game 1 of this World Series the night before — a development that conjured up the Yankees’ worst postseason nightmare. And so, on this night, Burnett had no choice.
It was time to step outside of Sabathia’s enormous shadow — or else.
It was time to find a way to outduel Pedro Martinez, shut down the deepest, toughest lineup in the National League and win Game 2 — or else.
A.J. Burnett followed the Phillies’ Cliff Lee’s masterpiece with one of his own, thanks to a little inadvertent advice from Lee.
It was time, in other words, for A.J. Burnett to earn that ace-sized paycheck — or else.
Well, what he did on this night was what $82.5 million pitchers do.
They give up four hits and one run, and strike out nine, in the most pressure-packed game they will pitch all year.
They hand the ball directly to the Greatest Closer Who Ever Lived, without having to pass it off to any of those messy, untrustworthy middle men in between.
They even up the World Series at a win apiece at a time when the alternative would have looked uglier than a Freddy Krueger Halloween costume.
And then, when it’s all over, they heave the first gigantic gulp of air they have breathed in about three hours and begin to comprehend exactly what they’ve done.
“It wasn’t pressure,” Burnett insisted after the Yankees had beaten the Phillies 3-1 in Game 2 of the 2009 World Series. “I knew it was a big game. It’s no lie. It was the biggest game I’ve ever thrown in for this team. But at the same time, you can’t let that affect you. And I tried not to let it affect me.”
Well Yankees have their backs to the walls. Either they are a team that will fight, win tonight and come home for a one game matchup where they have the pitching advantage. Or they won’t and prove to be a team that didn’t deserve to compete for the championship this year. We will find out a lot about this team and specific players tonight. Either someone will step up and lead or they all go home to failure, with every person in the club house sharing parts of the blame.
red sox fans honestly thought that Agon, and a speedy outfielder were going to give them more production than v-mart, and adrian beltre. Not to mention, they lost two blue collar character guys. V-mart, and beltre were a great fit for the gritty sox. But, no… they had to one up the yanks and go sign agon and crawford… both of whom are pre madonna’s and killed the team chemistry.
If he’s the face of the franchise, no wonder that team has so many problems
======
If you ask a bostonian they will say its in the eye of the beholder.
And while Tex isn’t bringing it with the bat, he’s sure as hell stopped a ton of runs with his glove.
—————————————————————————————————
Tex is a great fielder, but he has not stopped a ton of runs in 3 games. This is the post season, he needs to hit. If Alex is hurting, that is a legitimate excuse. If not, he also needs to hit. They are both dead weight right now. And Swisher, other than that homer, is also not hitting. They need to get it going tonight.
Who are the Red Sox??
///
Is it game time yet?
SOS- Texas does have a great chane to win it all in the coming years. This however is not their year. LSU and BAMA are just completely out of their league right now. However, lsu is going to lose a lot of talent, ou is going to lose a lot of talent, stanford is going to lose luck, boise is losing moore, wisconsin will lose a lot of talent, and so will oklahoma state.
Texas might have suffered a bad season last year, and have a nice young teams this year… but next year they will be one step ahead of most the other teams in the nation. While all the big powers are rebuilding/ reloading… texas will have more experience then all of them. I think we could be seeing a few more Alabama vs Texas title games in the coming years.
Tex needs to make small adjustments because trying to make dramatic ones in the blink of an eye of an AB is not going to make an impact. Under pressure, you do what’s natural for you, what you’ve always done.
He needs the offseason to change what is reflexive yet crippling for him. He did get an opposite field double in Game 1. Maybe he can do something similar tonight, or make his pull swing more level. & there’s no way Tex’s defense is even slightly over rated. He’s critical to that infield defense. Anyone who doesn’t realize that isn’t paying attention.
Ledger_Yankees Valverde is available for the Tigers. #nyy
anyone have a scouting report on procello?
Tabbart,
I like the sound of that. Hopefully this Longhorns network also helps is recruiting. Wish they would have packed up and went to the Pack 12 and faced the likes of USC, Oregon etc. It would have made the conference hands down the best in the country. Who do you follow?
Can’t remember em all but there was one called “How To Hit To Left Field – The 7 Year Plan” by Jason Giambi
————-
George Carlinesque. I definitely have to find that thread.
JackCurryYES Leyland praised Burnett in pre-game presser, calling him a great pitcher. “If he gets it going, he can wipe you out,” Leyland said.
JAP,
Good post. I have a feeling Burnett will step up big tonight. My concern is our offense not capitalizing on chances. Whos the first to come in if Burnett implodes? Hughes? Noesi on the roster?
Valverde dodged a bullet last night. Swish just got under one and all his pitches sailed high. Some how he escaped with no damage. Fool me twice. He wont be seeing the mound again this season. The Yanks take a couple cans of whoop and finish them off this series.
JackCurryYES Interestingly, Leyland also placed the onus on Porcello, his guy, not Burnett. “The key is not AJ Burnett,” he said. “It’s Rick Porcello.”
eboland11 Leyland said in pregame press conference just now Burnett is “capable of pitching a two-hitter.”
There goes Leyland and his Jedi mind tricks again.
New Post w/lineup
When is the last time a player has hit 3 homers in a playoff game? Did Beltran that one year?
SOS,
I’m Actually a Aggie from Austin… I follow them because of family ties. I Went to the University of Mississippi ( ole miss) so i always keep up with them as well. Horns and ole miss start up a series starting next year!
Still more of a die hard Aggie!
I was at Game 3 in 2006 in Detroit…as the game went on, I got angrier and angrier at Kenny Rogers. It was pretty much torture. I hope tonight has a different ending than 2006, I’m still traumatized.