I haven't had a post in a while so I guess its about that time. Chien-Ming Wang, as you all know by now, is doing absolutely terrible.
In three starts, he has pitched 6 innings and given up 23 earned runs, which gives him a fantastic ERA of 34.50. Obviously, this cannot be tolerated at all and the Yankees will skip his next start while he pitches in a game down in Tampa.
Because of an off day as well as rain out, this wont affect the rotation at all. This may sound ridiculous, but I think i may be the only person who is not too worried by this. Sure, his era is 13.5 points higher than by age, but is the team really that much worse off right now? Every day (except for when Wang is starting) we throw out a starter who has a legitimate shot to give us a win. Andy Pettitte has been fantastic. I advocated for the signing of Andy Pettitte throughout the entire off season for the depth and also because I believed he would improve large in part to our improved defense. A.J. Burnett has been fantastic, Joba has had 1 good start and 1 poor start, and although Sabathia has not been lights out, he has put us in a position to win in every game outside of Opening Day.
Wang will have his next start skipped and work out with Dave Eiland on a daily basis in the hopes that they figure this out. If they do, and Wang comes back healthy and ready to go, these three starts will mean almost nothing (besides the fact that Wang needs to pitch four straight shutouts if he wants his ERA to fall below 5.00 as quickly as possible)
If Wang can't figure this out within the next week, they can place him on the DL. As mentioned before with Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have an enormous amount of pitching depth. If Wang must go on the DL, is 3 starts of Phil Hughes who is 2-0 w/a 2.31 ERA at AAA in 11 2/3 innings really gonna kill this team? Or Ian Kennedy who is 1-0 w/an ERA of 2.00 in 18 innings? Odds are, we can throw anybody out there and they will do better than Wang.
Maybe it is just me, but I am not worried. If Wang can figure this out, we will add a pitcher who from 2006-2007 won the most games in the AL. If he doesn't figure it out for a while, we have many minor league options available. There are few teams in baseball, if any, who have a #4 starter as good as Andy Pettitte or a #5 as good as Joba Chamberlain, so I really am not that worried.
Looking to the future though, where does Chien-Ming Wang fit in with this team? Sabathia is locked up for the next 3, but possibly 7 years. A.J. Burnett is here for the next 5. Joba is 23. Phil Huges is 22. Ian Kennedy is 24. On top of all of that, the Yankees have large number of prospects who they consider top of the rotation guys such as Dellen Betances, Andrew Brackman, and my personal favorite, Kei "I wear my sunglasses at night. and in rain showers. and in domes. and while I sleep" Igawa.
So tell me what you guys think. Are you worried about Wang? Do you see him as a long term staple in this rotation? Are you tired of me mentioning the existence of Kei Igawa? Let me know everybody!
On a side note, I wanted to name this piece Chien-Ming Wrong, but then I noticed the wonderful Max Caster of WCWP has already used that. Thanks Max
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Quick Post about Roster
If you read my blog yesterday, you would know, among other things, that I thought it was crazy for the Yankees to carry 13 pitchers and knew it would not last long. Well, turns out I was right. Dave Robertson (who pitched 2 scoreless yesterday) was optioned back to AAA and Juan Miranda was sent up to the show.
The Yankee bench now consists of Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina, Ramiro Pena and Juan Miranda. Ouch!
Remember when we used to have so much depth that Nick Swisher was actually a bench player?
The Yankee bench now consists of Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina, Ramiro Pena and Juan Miranda. Ouch!
Remember when we used to have so much depth that Nick Swisher was actually a bench player?
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thoughts on Opening Day and others
Well, today was the day so many of us were eagerly anticipating, Yankee's Opening Day! I'll give you guys my thoughts on the game, the team, and the stadium.
First off, I will start with the stadium itself. Don't get me wrong, it was nice. I liked it. A lot. But for $1.2 billion, we should be blown away, and blown away I was not! I don't hate the center field restaurant, but I do miss the black seats. I don't like how monument park is sort of hidden away in center and the Hard Rock, Museum, etc. I do not care about at all. All the new food I don't care about much either. Johnny Rockets is great, especially considering I got a free sample of a Vanilla Milk Shake not 10 minutes into me being in the stadium, so that was great (and delicious, obviously). Overall though, all the food I need is some hot dogs, Pepsi and the occasional sausage.
Rewinding, I enjoyed the pre-game ceremonies. John Fogerty playing Centerfield in center field was very cool, seeing Bernie and Paulie was great and the 40+ players were announced pretty quickly.
The seats are great. I truly felt like I was closer to the game and for me, the seats is what it all comes down to. They look smaller, but they def. feel about the same. Cup holders are a big upgrade also. When it comes down to it, I will give it a B+. It's great, but considering the price tag of the joint, I feel as though I should be blown away.
As for the game, man oh man was it bad. I don't know if it was just me, but the fans did not seem into it. The 4 guys in front of me were trashed, annoying, and 40 (the true signs of a winning life), and people generally didn't seem into it. Maybe it was because a lot of phonies come out on opening day to say that they were there, maybe it was because they all paid $2,000 and do not really care about baseball to begin with, maybe the stadium is so big it just sounds differently than the last one or maybe I am just completely wrong. Only time will tell.
As for the game, Sabathia pitched very well, but his pitch count was absolutely terrible. Almost 130 pitches and not even 6 innings, but he did do well. He battled and got it done when it counted. The bullpen on the other hand, specifically Veras and Marte looked absolutely terrible. Walking the #9 hitter with the bases loaded? Grand slams, walks, hits everywhere you look, it was disgusting. It actually got to the point where the fans started chanting "we want swisher", and you actually believed he could have done a better job.
The hitting was not good either. Tex went 0-2, and Ransom is officially one of the worst players in baseball. He is just looking over matched in every at bat. He did make a fantastic defensive play, but when you're batting .100, it doesn't really matter.
When it comes down to it, there will be many more like it and many more like it where the Yankees are the victors.
Xavier Nady was placed on the 15 day DL and the Yankees called up Dave Robertson. This is something i find surprising, considering now the Yankee bench consists of Jose Molina, Melky Cabrera and Ramiro Pena. That's it? Really? Ugh.
Now is that time of the year (pretty much bi-weekly) where I talk about a guy I want the Yankees to sign/trade for. This weeks winner: Frank Catalanotto.
A 35 year old who has a career BA of .292, Catalanotto hit .274 in 248 PA last year. In his career he has played 508 games in left, 184 at DH, 155 at 2B , 139 at 1B, 60 in RF and 35 at 3B. If that isn't a man with some versatility, I don't really know what is. For the time being, he could play 3B, we can send Ramiro Pena to AAA to continue his development and DFA Cody Ransom when A-Rod comes back, or we can just get it over with now and DFA Ransom and sent Pena to AAA when A-Rod comes back. Either way it works. For the time being, I truly believe something needs to be done. Ransom looks lost everyday and as much as I love Pena, right now, his bat can barely handle AA, so let him develop.
Also, with Nady on the DL, we could use another OF, especially considering now Melky is our 4th outfielder. I wont expand on this, but a name I have brought up in the past and will continue to bring up is Jim Edmonds.
So, in conclusion, Yankee Stadium B+, Frank Catalanotto and Jim Edmonds; sign em up! Cody Ransom, sorry, but you better start doing something or you will be back where your career has been for the past 10 years, the minors.
Think about it.
First off, I will start with the stadium itself. Don't get me wrong, it was nice. I liked it. A lot. But for $1.2 billion, we should be blown away, and blown away I was not! I don't hate the center field restaurant, but I do miss the black seats. I don't like how monument park is sort of hidden away in center and the Hard Rock, Museum, etc. I do not care about at all. All the new food I don't care about much either. Johnny Rockets is great, especially considering I got a free sample of a Vanilla Milk Shake not 10 minutes into me being in the stadium, so that was great (and delicious, obviously). Overall though, all the food I need is some hot dogs, Pepsi and the occasional sausage.
Rewinding, I enjoyed the pre-game ceremonies. John Fogerty playing Centerfield in center field was very cool, seeing Bernie and Paulie was great and the 40+ players were announced pretty quickly.
The seats are great. I truly felt like I was closer to the game and for me, the seats is what it all comes down to. They look smaller, but they def. feel about the same. Cup holders are a big upgrade also. When it comes down to it, I will give it a B+. It's great, but considering the price tag of the joint, I feel as though I should be blown away.
As for the game, man oh man was it bad. I don't know if it was just me, but the fans did not seem into it. The 4 guys in front of me were trashed, annoying, and 40 (the true signs of a winning life), and people generally didn't seem into it. Maybe it was because a lot of phonies come out on opening day to say that they were there, maybe it was because they all paid $2,000 and do not really care about baseball to begin with, maybe the stadium is so big it just sounds differently than the last one or maybe I am just completely wrong. Only time will tell.
As for the game, Sabathia pitched very well, but his pitch count was absolutely terrible. Almost 130 pitches and not even 6 innings, but he did do well. He battled and got it done when it counted. The bullpen on the other hand, specifically Veras and Marte looked absolutely terrible. Walking the #9 hitter with the bases loaded? Grand slams, walks, hits everywhere you look, it was disgusting. It actually got to the point where the fans started chanting "we want swisher", and you actually believed he could have done a better job.
The hitting was not good either. Tex went 0-2, and Ransom is officially one of the worst players in baseball. He is just looking over matched in every at bat. He did make a fantastic defensive play, but when you're batting .100, it doesn't really matter.
When it comes down to it, there will be many more like it and many more like it where the Yankees are the victors.
Xavier Nady was placed on the 15 day DL and the Yankees called up Dave Robertson. This is something i find surprising, considering now the Yankee bench consists of Jose Molina, Melky Cabrera and Ramiro Pena. That's it? Really? Ugh.
Now is that time of the year (pretty much bi-weekly) where I talk about a guy I want the Yankees to sign/trade for. This weeks winner: Frank Catalanotto.
A 35 year old who has a career BA of .292, Catalanotto hit .274 in 248 PA last year. In his career he has played 508 games in left, 184 at DH, 155 at 2B , 139 at 1B, 60 in RF and 35 at 3B. If that isn't a man with some versatility, I don't really know what is. For the time being, he could play 3B, we can send Ramiro Pena to AAA to continue his development and DFA Cody Ransom when A-Rod comes back, or we can just get it over with now and DFA Ransom and sent Pena to AAA when A-Rod comes back. Either way it works. For the time being, I truly believe something needs to be done. Ransom looks lost everyday and as much as I love Pena, right now, his bat can barely handle AA, so let him develop.
Also, with Nady on the DL, we could use another OF, especially considering now Melky is our 4th outfielder. I wont expand on this, but a name I have brought up in the past and will continue to bring up is Jim Edmonds.
So, in conclusion, Yankee Stadium B+, Frank Catalanotto and Jim Edmonds; sign em up! Cody Ransom, sorry, but you better start doing something or you will be back where your career has been for the past 10 years, the minors.
Think about it.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Swishers streak continues
Sorry there hasn't been a blog in a while, this one will be short, its just something I came across regarding Nick Swisher. Already one of my favorite players due to the fact that I said the Yankees should acquire him approximately 1 month before they did (even tho he was coming off a year where he hit .219 and nobody knew who was), then he played well in Spring Training, even though he lost the starting job. Now, he has a starting job and has been the best player on the team, making him a quick fan favorite. Now, as if people didn't love him enough, it turns out he is also the nicest man on the face of the earth.
Enjoy
http://www.wfan.com/Swish-s-Wishes/4191895?contentRating=1
Enjoy
http://www.wfan.com/Swish-s-Wishes/4191895?contentRating=1
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Godzilla meets his biggest foe yet
Mothra? Nope. Super Godzilla? No way. Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria? Closer.
Old age and bad knees.
In September of this past year, Hideki Matsui had his left knee surgically repaired. Something that would def. make anyone worry about him in the upcoming season. Can he run? Can he play outfield? Can he hit? These are all legitimate concerns. What makes it worse is, the year before, Matsui had his OTHER knee surgically repaired. Our DH is essentially playing on two brand new knees that still don't seem to be working that well.
I know its only been four games, but in that span Matsui is 1/14. His 1 hit is a homer, but still, its one hit. Whats worse is when he runs on balls he hits, or when hes on bases due to walks, it seems as though he forgot when you draw a walk, you don't get to walk the entire time your on base. He does not look good this season, and even though he has never been a good defender, we cant even put him in left just to give a guy a day off until June or July.
Again, only so much can be determined from a couple of games (one of the things that can be determined, i was 100% right about the whole Swisher/Nady situation), but if this continues for any extended period of time, you may actually hear me calling for Nady to get sum at bats at DH, or, dare I say it, Melky Cabrera! Whoa! No, thinking about it now, that day will never come.
Lets see if he can hit his way out of this, but if he doesn't, I'm looking at you Girardi.
On a side note, Poppa D, feel better. You da man!
On another side note, I do not like Keith Olberman at all, the best thing that hes ever done is let Ben Affleck do an impression of him on SNL, but i was, like many baseball fans, a fan of his mother. His mother infamously got hit with a baseball thrown wildly by Chuck Knoblauch in 2000 and became a mini-celebrity afterwards. She passed away this weekend due to terminal cancer so my thought and prayers go out to her family.
Also, thanks to Tram for yesterdays live blog. Well done Tram.
Old age and bad knees.
In September of this past year, Hideki Matsui had his left knee surgically repaired. Something that would def. make anyone worry about him in the upcoming season. Can he run? Can he play outfield? Can he hit? These are all legitimate concerns. What makes it worse is, the year before, Matsui had his OTHER knee surgically repaired. Our DH is essentially playing on two brand new knees that still don't seem to be working that well.
I know its only been four games, but in that span Matsui is 1/14. His 1 hit is a homer, but still, its one hit. Whats worse is when he runs on balls he hits, or when hes on bases due to walks, it seems as though he forgot when you draw a walk, you don't get to walk the entire time your on base. He does not look good this season, and even though he has never been a good defender, we cant even put him in left just to give a guy a day off until June or July.
Again, only so much can be determined from a couple of games (one of the things that can be determined, i was 100% right about the whole Swisher/Nady situation), but if this continues for any extended period of time, you may actually hear me calling for Nady to get sum at bats at DH, or, dare I say it, Melky Cabrera! Whoa! No, thinking about it now, that day will never come.
Lets see if he can hit his way out of this, but if he doesn't, I'm looking at you Girardi.
On a side note, Poppa D, feel better. You da man!
On another side note, I do not like Keith Olberman at all, the best thing that hes ever done is let Ben Affleck do an impression of him on SNL, but i was, like many baseball fans, a fan of his mother. His mother infamously got hit with a baseball thrown wildly by Chuck Knoblauch in 2000 and became a mini-celebrity afterwards. She passed away this weekend due to terminal cancer so my thought and prayers go out to her family.
Also, thanks to Tram for yesterdays live blog. Well done Tram.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Game 4 Live Blog- special guest style!
Hello everyone, Mike Tramontozzi here, filling in for the day. I was bored so I figured what better way to spend an afternoon than watching a Yankee game- and blogging during it!!
Quick thoughts before the lineups and first pitch from Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City (which is renovated and looking sharp):
- So the Yanks finally have a win, and they can thank the new guys as AJ Burnett had 6 strikeouts, while Mark Teixiera and Nick Swisher both hit home runs. Swisher was actually the first Yankee since Roger Maris to have 5 RBIs in their first Yankee start.
- The bullpen once again was great, holding the Orioles scoreless in the final 3.2 innings after holding Baltimore scoreless over the final 4+ innings on Wednesday night. Even Mariano got in on the action, pitching a perfect 9th inning.
- Kansas City will be without outfielder Jose Guillen, who was put on the 15 day DL with a partially torn right hip flexor. Good news for Andy Pettitte, who was beaten up by Guillen last year.
(3:30pm)- Alright here are the lineups:
Yankees (1-2)
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixiera, 1B
4. Hideki Matsui, DH
5. Jorge Posada, C
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Nick Swisher, RF
8. Cody Ransom, 3B
9. Brett Gardner, CF
starter- Andy Pettitte
Royals (2-1)
1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Mike Aviles, SS
3. David DeJesus, LF
4. Mark Teahan, RF
5. Alex Gordon, 3B
6. Billy Butler, DH
7. Mike Jacobs, 1B
8. Miguel Olivo, C
9. Alberto Callaspo, 2B
starter- Sidney Ponson
so there are the lineups, very excited to see Swisher getting 2nd straight start in Right. All thats left now is first pitch- gotta switch over to YES HD (now in my room thanks to my new cable box) and get a sandwich. Come on back everyone!
(4:18pm)- Well I have returned, yet the game apparently does not start until 4:30, did not know YES went to a 1 hour pre-game. However it does look super sweet in HD.
Quick notes- Jeter is batting .377 with 5 home runs against Ponson. And the Yankee bullpen has pitched 8 shutout and hitless innings in the last 2 games. Pretty good all around. One thing left- THE GAME!
(4:45pm)- Jeter grounds out to Callaspo at second, followed by a single by Damon and a four pitch walk to Teixiera. That's the Sidney Ponson everyone knows. Hopefully Matsui can do some damage here.
(4:51pm)- Matsui hits a ground ball off Ponson that goes right to Callaspo. Teixiera stopped on the way to 2nd base, forcing Callaspo to go to first and get the out. 2nd and 3rd now, 2 outs and Posada up. First pitch ripped down the line- 2 RBIs for Posada. Bad job by Jacobs not staying in front of the ball. 2-0 Yanks.
(4:55pm)- Swisher lines out to Coco Crisp, stranding Posada at third and Cano at first. Good start for the team though, now Pettitte to the hill for his first start of the season.
By the way- Kaufmann Stadium is apparently being called "the new K", which Michael Kay has mentioned six times already in just the top of the first. This cant bode well for the rest of the game.
(5:00pm)- Great leaping catch by Cano to rob Coco Crisp of a leadoff single. Cano has been doing it all so far this season. Aviles grounds out to Pettitte on a 2-2 curveball, so 2 quick outs for Pettitte so far.
(5:02pm)- Pettitte strikes out DeJesus to end the bottom of the first in style. Very efficient inning for Andy.
Bad Joke Alert!!- David Cone mentioned that the announcing team of Kay, Cone and Flaherty sounds like a law firm, to which Kay responded "an expensive law firm"....thank god the game is back.
(5:10pm)- Ponson recovers to get a 1-2-3 top of the 2nd, complete with 2 Ks (one of Gardner, and Jeter being #2). The first out was a fantastic diving stab by Alex Gordon at third to rob Cody Ransom of a sure fire single. Tough luck for Ransom, but in other news Joe Girardi said that Alex Rodriguez will begin baseball activities next week. Sounds like ARod is on schedule for an early May return- good news indeed. Ok, game's back.
(5:17pm)- So after 2 easy outs for Pettitte, he walks Billy Butler, then Swisher lost a short pop-up from Jacobs in the sun, and Butler scored as the ball bounced off his glove. Jacobs on 2nd, 2 outs and Miguel Olivo up. 2-1 Yanks.
(5:18pm)- Olivo looks overmatched as Pettitte blows a high fastball by him to get out of the inning. Damon- Tex and Matsui will be the three hitters for the Yanks as they try to get that run back.
Side Note- They gave Jacobs an RBI double on the pop-up, which is shocking considering Swisher slid and the ball bounced off his glove. Oh well, it is the KC official scorer.
(5:27pm)- Despite walking Teixiera for the 2nd time in 2 ABs, Ponson gets 3 pop outs from Damon, Matsui and Posada to get through the top of the 3rd. He seems to be settling down, even though he has thrown alot of pitches (and went to 3 ball counts on Posada and Matsui despite getting them out). Pettitte back to the mound for the bottom of the inning to face Callaspo, Crisp and Aviles.
(5:34pm)- Boy Pettitte looks good today. 2 ground balls and a strikeout of Crisp and the bottom of the third is over. The only blemish on his line so far is the one hit and one run from the second. Cano- Swisher and Ransom will be the batters in the top of the fourth. Hopefully the top 2 can do something because Ransom is almost an automatic out at this point (If any of his family or friends are reading, Im sorry- but its true).
Quiz Time- Who hit the first Home Run at Kaufmann Stadium in KC? Cone seems to be stumped so lets see who it is.
(5:38pm)- Leadoff single by Cano followed by an RBI Double for Swisher! This man is on fire the last 2 games with 6 RBIs. Maybe Mikey shouldnt have taken him off Ramos' fantasy roster... 3-1 Yanks
(5:42pm)- Ransom reaches on a fielder's choice as Aviles tried to pick off Swisher at 2nd and was not successful (Ransom hit a bouncer to short). So a fielder's choice followed by a sac bunt by Gardner has 2nd/3rd and 1 out for Jeter. Big inning potential for the Yanks here.
(5:48pm)- RBI ground out for Jeter scoring Swisher, yet a brain fart from Ransom got him tagged out between 2nd and 3rd. So the man who shouldn't have been on-base to begin with gets tagged out on a ball hit in front of him, especially dumb when you have noone on 1st and you don't technically have to go anywhere...When does ARod come back again?
Tex pops out to Callaspo at 2nd, inning over. To the top of the fourth we go, 4-1 Yanks.
Food Alert-I ordered a baked ziti dinner from Napali's Italian restaurant, very excited. However I bet Girardi is more excited about Pettitte's start so far (but he might enjoy baked ziti, I don't know).
(5:52pm)- Another 1-2-3 inning for Andy, who has retired 7 in a row. He has had command of all his pitches, and the only KC hit has been the blooper off the bat of Jacobs that hit off Swisher's glove. So far through 4 innings this is easily the best start of a Yankee starter this year.
Quiz Answer- Who hit the 1st HR at Kaufmann Stadium? The answer? John Mayberry, so congrats to whoever said John Mayberry.
(6:04pm)- Yankees squander a lead-off double by Teixiera, as Ponson also walked Cano on 4 pitches (already Robbie's 4th walk this year- he got #3 in game 19 last year) but struck out Matsui, Posada and Swisher looking to escape further damage. Yet with the way Pettitte is pitching for the Yankees, they may have done all the damage they need already.
(6:07pm)- Right as I finished typing Billy Butler drills a ball off the wall in left-center for a lead-off double for the Royals. Only the 2nd hit Andy has given up, yet it's the first "real" hit of the day off the leftie. Jacobs up now looking for his second RBI of the game.
(6:18pm)- Pettitte works around a lead-off double by Butler to get out Jacobs, Olivo and Callaspo. Royals miss a chance to inch closer, still trailing by 3 runs. Ponson, meanwhile, answers with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. Surprising 6 innings from Ponson, only giving up the 4 runs, and pitching out of some jams. If I was Trey Hillman (Royals manager) I would be glad with this performance (maybe minus the 4 runs, but he has kept the team in the game). Pettitte back to the mound for the bottom of the 6th.
(6:37pm)- Back folks- dinner arrived, and it was fantastic. Way too filling though, but it was worth it. While I was eating...
- Pettitte once again worked around a hit, this time a one out single by Aviles. 6 fantastic innings from Pettitte, and I think we'll see him for the 7th.
- In comes old Yankee fan favorite Kyle Farnsworth, who already endeered himself to Royals fans by giving up a home run to Jim Thome on Opening Day. On cue, a strikeout of Damon and a strikeout of Teixiera for Farnsworth. Full count to Matsui now, who has not looked good today.
- Matsui strikes out, thus finishing a dominant 7th from Farnsworth as he struck out the side. We now move to the bottom of the 7th, and the question is whether or not Andy comes out- I say Yes.
(6:45pm)- Well Pettitte came back out for the 7th (he had only thrown 84 pitches through 6, so pretty much a dumb question). And he continued to dominate, setting down the Royals in order again. He's over 90 pitches now, so I would assume he's done- and with a stat-line of 7IP, 3 Hits, 1 Run and 6 Ks I would say it's been a good day for Andy.
(6:54pm)- Jamey Wright just pitched a lights out top of the 8th for KC, striking out Posada and Swisher while getting Cano to pop out to DeJesus in left. All in all it has not been that bad of a game for the Royals pitching, especially when you look at how the Yankees scored they didn't exactly mash the ball. And Ponson got out of some tough jams in the 1st and 5th, so if they were to lose I would rest it on their offense, which has been non-existent today.
FYI Pettitte is gone from the game after 99 pitches, on comes Brian "Kindergarten Cop" Bruney to pitch the 8th, and most likely Mo in the 9th.
(6:59pm)- Bruney starts off the inning with a strikeout of Olivo. Good start, up comes Callaspo who has seen 2 pitches in 2 ABs so far. He's now in the hole 1-2, atleast he's seen more than 1 pitch.
(7:01pm)- Callaspo down on strikes, Bruney looking real good. Another solid performance for the Yankee bullpen today. Coco Crisp comes up and promptly pops out to Jeter, so Bruney finishes a quick and dominant bottom of the 8th. Yanks in command 4-1 heading to the 9th.
(7:04pm)- Ransom strikes out to start the 9th for the Yanks. That is the 9th time a Yankee has struck out today, and Michael Kay said his scorecard "looks like my family reunion...lots of Ks"....Im weighing the options of muting the final inning.
(7:09pm)- Jamey Wright with another solid inning of work, getting the Yanks in order in the top of the 9th. He struck out Ransom, then gave up an infield single to Gardner, then picked him off of first. Wright then had Jeter's ground ball up the middle hit off his foot and bounce right to Gordon at 3rd, who threw out Jeter. So it wasn't a basic 1-2-3 inning, but it counts. Mo is on now for the 9th looking to get his 1st save of the year.
(7:19pm)- Ballgame over! Mo comes in and gives up only an infield single to Teahan. He struck out Gordon and Aviles and got DeJesus to ground out to Teixiera. The hit by Teahan was the first hit given up by a Yankee reliever in the last 10 innings- very impressive.
The Yanks win the game and improve to 2-2 on the year, while KC drops to 2-2. Andy Pettitte got his first win of the year, and Sidney Ponson fell to 0-1. Rivera also picked up his 1st save of the year.
Both teams will be back tomorrow night when CC Sabathia will look to improve off his rough Opening Day start when he goes up against Horacio Ramirez. First pitch is slated for 7:10pm.
I am done however for the night. I hope everyone enjoyed it, because I surely did.
Quick thoughts before the lineups and first pitch from Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City (which is renovated and looking sharp):
- So the Yanks finally have a win, and they can thank the new guys as AJ Burnett had 6 strikeouts, while Mark Teixiera and Nick Swisher both hit home runs. Swisher was actually the first Yankee since Roger Maris to have 5 RBIs in their first Yankee start.
- The bullpen once again was great, holding the Orioles scoreless in the final 3.2 innings after holding Baltimore scoreless over the final 4+ innings on Wednesday night. Even Mariano got in on the action, pitching a perfect 9th inning.
- Kansas City will be without outfielder Jose Guillen, who was put on the 15 day DL with a partially torn right hip flexor. Good news for Andy Pettitte, who was beaten up by Guillen last year.
(3:30pm)- Alright here are the lineups:
Yankees (1-2)
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixiera, 1B
4. Hideki Matsui, DH
5. Jorge Posada, C
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Nick Swisher, RF
8. Cody Ransom, 3B
9. Brett Gardner, CF
starter- Andy Pettitte
Royals (2-1)
1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Mike Aviles, SS
3. David DeJesus, LF
4. Mark Teahan, RF
5. Alex Gordon, 3B
6. Billy Butler, DH
7. Mike Jacobs, 1B
8. Miguel Olivo, C
9. Alberto Callaspo, 2B
starter- Sidney Ponson
so there are the lineups, very excited to see Swisher getting 2nd straight start in Right. All thats left now is first pitch- gotta switch over to YES HD (now in my room thanks to my new cable box) and get a sandwich. Come on back everyone!
(4:18pm)- Well I have returned, yet the game apparently does not start until 4:30, did not know YES went to a 1 hour pre-game. However it does look super sweet in HD.
Quick notes- Jeter is batting .377 with 5 home runs against Ponson. And the Yankee bullpen has pitched 8 shutout and hitless innings in the last 2 games. Pretty good all around. One thing left- THE GAME!
(4:45pm)- Jeter grounds out to Callaspo at second, followed by a single by Damon and a four pitch walk to Teixiera. That's the Sidney Ponson everyone knows. Hopefully Matsui can do some damage here.
(4:51pm)- Matsui hits a ground ball off Ponson that goes right to Callaspo. Teixiera stopped on the way to 2nd base, forcing Callaspo to go to first and get the out. 2nd and 3rd now, 2 outs and Posada up. First pitch ripped down the line- 2 RBIs for Posada. Bad job by Jacobs not staying in front of the ball. 2-0 Yanks.
(4:55pm)- Swisher lines out to Coco Crisp, stranding Posada at third and Cano at first. Good start for the team though, now Pettitte to the hill for his first start of the season.
By the way- Kaufmann Stadium is apparently being called "the new K", which Michael Kay has mentioned six times already in just the top of the first. This cant bode well for the rest of the game.
(5:00pm)- Great leaping catch by Cano to rob Coco Crisp of a leadoff single. Cano has been doing it all so far this season. Aviles grounds out to Pettitte on a 2-2 curveball, so 2 quick outs for Pettitte so far.
(5:02pm)- Pettitte strikes out DeJesus to end the bottom of the first in style. Very efficient inning for Andy.
Bad Joke Alert!!- David Cone mentioned that the announcing team of Kay, Cone and Flaherty sounds like a law firm, to which Kay responded "an expensive law firm"....thank god the game is back.
(5:10pm)- Ponson recovers to get a 1-2-3 top of the 2nd, complete with 2 Ks (one of Gardner, and Jeter being #2). The first out was a fantastic diving stab by Alex Gordon at third to rob Cody Ransom of a sure fire single. Tough luck for Ransom, but in other news Joe Girardi said that Alex Rodriguez will begin baseball activities next week. Sounds like ARod is on schedule for an early May return- good news indeed. Ok, game's back.
(5:17pm)- So after 2 easy outs for Pettitte, he walks Billy Butler, then Swisher lost a short pop-up from Jacobs in the sun, and Butler scored as the ball bounced off his glove. Jacobs on 2nd, 2 outs and Miguel Olivo up. 2-1 Yanks.
(5:18pm)- Olivo looks overmatched as Pettitte blows a high fastball by him to get out of the inning. Damon- Tex and Matsui will be the three hitters for the Yanks as they try to get that run back.
Side Note- They gave Jacobs an RBI double on the pop-up, which is shocking considering Swisher slid and the ball bounced off his glove. Oh well, it is the KC official scorer.
(5:27pm)- Despite walking Teixiera for the 2nd time in 2 ABs, Ponson gets 3 pop outs from Damon, Matsui and Posada to get through the top of the 3rd. He seems to be settling down, even though he has thrown alot of pitches (and went to 3 ball counts on Posada and Matsui despite getting them out). Pettitte back to the mound for the bottom of the inning to face Callaspo, Crisp and Aviles.
(5:34pm)- Boy Pettitte looks good today. 2 ground balls and a strikeout of Crisp and the bottom of the third is over. The only blemish on his line so far is the one hit and one run from the second. Cano- Swisher and Ransom will be the batters in the top of the fourth. Hopefully the top 2 can do something because Ransom is almost an automatic out at this point (If any of his family or friends are reading, Im sorry- but its true).
Quiz Time- Who hit the first Home Run at Kaufmann Stadium in KC? Cone seems to be stumped so lets see who it is.
(5:38pm)- Leadoff single by Cano followed by an RBI Double for Swisher! This man is on fire the last 2 games with 6 RBIs. Maybe Mikey shouldnt have taken him off Ramos' fantasy roster... 3-1 Yanks
(5:42pm)- Ransom reaches on a fielder's choice as Aviles tried to pick off Swisher at 2nd and was not successful (Ransom hit a bouncer to short). So a fielder's choice followed by a sac bunt by Gardner has 2nd/3rd and 1 out for Jeter. Big inning potential for the Yanks here.
(5:48pm)- RBI ground out for Jeter scoring Swisher, yet a brain fart from Ransom got him tagged out between 2nd and 3rd. So the man who shouldn't have been on-base to begin with gets tagged out on a ball hit in front of him, especially dumb when you have noone on 1st and you don't technically have to go anywhere...When does ARod come back again?
Tex pops out to Callaspo at 2nd, inning over. To the top of the fourth we go, 4-1 Yanks.
Food Alert-I ordered a baked ziti dinner from Napali's Italian restaurant, very excited. However I bet Girardi is more excited about Pettitte's start so far (but he might enjoy baked ziti, I don't know).
(5:52pm)- Another 1-2-3 inning for Andy, who has retired 7 in a row. He has had command of all his pitches, and the only KC hit has been the blooper off the bat of Jacobs that hit off Swisher's glove. So far through 4 innings this is easily the best start of a Yankee starter this year.
Quiz Answer- Who hit the 1st HR at Kaufmann Stadium? The answer? John Mayberry, so congrats to whoever said John Mayberry.
(6:04pm)- Yankees squander a lead-off double by Teixiera, as Ponson also walked Cano on 4 pitches (already Robbie's 4th walk this year- he got #3 in game 19 last year) but struck out Matsui, Posada and Swisher looking to escape further damage. Yet with the way Pettitte is pitching for the Yankees, they may have done all the damage they need already.
(6:07pm)- Right as I finished typing Billy Butler drills a ball off the wall in left-center for a lead-off double for the Royals. Only the 2nd hit Andy has given up, yet it's the first "real" hit of the day off the leftie. Jacobs up now looking for his second RBI of the game.
(6:18pm)- Pettitte works around a lead-off double by Butler to get out Jacobs, Olivo and Callaspo. Royals miss a chance to inch closer, still trailing by 3 runs. Ponson, meanwhile, answers with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. Surprising 6 innings from Ponson, only giving up the 4 runs, and pitching out of some jams. If I was Trey Hillman (Royals manager) I would be glad with this performance (maybe minus the 4 runs, but he has kept the team in the game). Pettitte back to the mound for the bottom of the 6th.
(6:37pm)- Back folks- dinner arrived, and it was fantastic. Way too filling though, but it was worth it. While I was eating...
- Pettitte once again worked around a hit, this time a one out single by Aviles. 6 fantastic innings from Pettitte, and I think we'll see him for the 7th.
- In comes old Yankee fan favorite Kyle Farnsworth, who already endeered himself to Royals fans by giving up a home run to Jim Thome on Opening Day. On cue, a strikeout of Damon and a strikeout of Teixiera for Farnsworth. Full count to Matsui now, who has not looked good today.
- Matsui strikes out, thus finishing a dominant 7th from Farnsworth as he struck out the side. We now move to the bottom of the 7th, and the question is whether or not Andy comes out- I say Yes.
(6:45pm)- Well Pettitte came back out for the 7th (he had only thrown 84 pitches through 6, so pretty much a dumb question). And he continued to dominate, setting down the Royals in order again. He's over 90 pitches now, so I would assume he's done- and with a stat-line of 7IP, 3 Hits, 1 Run and 6 Ks I would say it's been a good day for Andy.
(6:54pm)- Jamey Wright just pitched a lights out top of the 8th for KC, striking out Posada and Swisher while getting Cano to pop out to DeJesus in left. All in all it has not been that bad of a game for the Royals pitching, especially when you look at how the Yankees scored they didn't exactly mash the ball. And Ponson got out of some tough jams in the 1st and 5th, so if they were to lose I would rest it on their offense, which has been non-existent today.
FYI Pettitte is gone from the game after 99 pitches, on comes Brian "Kindergarten Cop" Bruney to pitch the 8th, and most likely Mo in the 9th.
(6:59pm)- Bruney starts off the inning with a strikeout of Olivo. Good start, up comes Callaspo who has seen 2 pitches in 2 ABs so far. He's now in the hole 1-2, atleast he's seen more than 1 pitch.
(7:01pm)- Callaspo down on strikes, Bruney looking real good. Another solid performance for the Yankee bullpen today. Coco Crisp comes up and promptly pops out to Jeter, so Bruney finishes a quick and dominant bottom of the 8th. Yanks in command 4-1 heading to the 9th.
(7:04pm)- Ransom strikes out to start the 9th for the Yanks. That is the 9th time a Yankee has struck out today, and Michael Kay said his scorecard "looks like my family reunion...lots of Ks"....Im weighing the options of muting the final inning.
(7:09pm)- Jamey Wright with another solid inning of work, getting the Yanks in order in the top of the 9th. He struck out Ransom, then gave up an infield single to Gardner, then picked him off of first. Wright then had Jeter's ground ball up the middle hit off his foot and bounce right to Gordon at 3rd, who threw out Jeter. So it wasn't a basic 1-2-3 inning, but it counts. Mo is on now for the 9th looking to get his 1st save of the year.
(7:19pm)- Ballgame over! Mo comes in and gives up only an infield single to Teahan. He struck out Gordon and Aviles and got DeJesus to ground out to Teixiera. The hit by Teahan was the first hit given up by a Yankee reliever in the last 10 innings- very impressive.
The Yanks win the game and improve to 2-2 on the year, while KC drops to 2-2. Andy Pettitte got his first win of the year, and Sidney Ponson fell to 0-1. Rivera also picked up his 1st save of the year.
Both teams will be back tomorrow night when CC Sabathia will look to improve off his rough Opening Day start when he goes up against Horacio Ramirez. First pitch is slated for 7:10pm.
I am done however for the night. I hope everyone enjoyed it, because I surely did.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Everybody calm down
Ok, breathe in, breathe out. Everything is going to be fine.
C.C. Sabathia yesterday was terrible. Mark Teixeira, miserable. But they wont be like that all season. Please everyone, dont panic. We did not waste $300 million dollars. Everybody has bad games, and Sabathia and Tex are notoriously slow starters. If they continue to perform this way into June, then we will talk.
Until then, for once Yankee fans, dont hit the panic button so quickly
On the upside, that was one B-E-A utiful pinch hit double from Nick Swisher
C.C. Sabathia yesterday was terrible. Mark Teixeira, miserable. But they wont be like that all season. Please everyone, dont panic. We did not waste $300 million dollars. Everybody has bad games, and Sabathia and Tex are notoriously slow starters. If they continue to perform this way into June, then we will talk.
Until then, for once Yankee fans, dont hit the panic button so quickly
On the upside, that was one B-E-A utiful pinch hit double from Nick Swisher
Monday, April 6, 2009
Opening Day Live Blog!
Well, the time has finally come. Opening day is upon us! After a beautiful performance by Derek Lowe last night, its time for Sabathia to make his. I will be blogging the game all day to keep you all updated.
(2:15) Here are today's opening lineups:
New York Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF
Pitching: C.C. Sabathia LHP
Baltimore Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Luke Scott LF
Greg Zaun C
Cezar izturis SS
Pitching: Jeremy Guthrie
Just some quick notes, on opening day in their career, The Yankees are 62-43-1 and in his 5 opening day starts, Sabathia is 1-0 w/a 4.23 ERA
(4:07) The game is about to begin. Teixeira got lots of boos as expected. Ramiro Pena had the biggest smile on his face that I have ever seen a Yankee player have. That was nice to see. Not expected is the orange runway from center field to introduce the Oriole players. Pretty unnecessary. Come on, you're the Orioles. Even if you were a good team, its bush league. Especially when you add in the little kids with the Oriole flags. Lets get this game underway!
(4:25) The first pitch to Derek Jeter is a......... strike and the season has begun! Yankee baseball is back! More updates to come
(4:31) Jeter had a fantastic first at bat of the season battling through about 8-9 pitches and eventually getting a single. Unfortunately they couldn't get him in. Here comes the $170,000,000 man
(4:46) Sabathia had a difficult inning. Gave up a single to the 1st batter, threw two wild pitches. He threw a lot of pitches, but thanks to a heads up play from Cody Ransom and a solid play from Derek Jeter, he worked out of it. Looks like were gonna be seeing some of the bullpen today.
(4:55) Posada got hit in the foot, Cano pops out (is this 2008?) X-Man strikes out on 3 pitches (Anyone know how I feel about Nick Swisher?) and Ransom flew out to right. Nothing doing for the Yanks. Sabathia stands at 19 pitches. Lets have a short inning.
BTW, as the game goes on, if there are scoreless innings, updates will not be posted. From here on out, only the important stuff. These blogs may have character limits.
(5:00) Much easier inning for the Big Man. 3 up, 3 down. that is what we like to see.
On a side note, has anyone seen the trailer for Drag me to Hell? Looks pretty scary and its good to see Sam Raimi getting back into horror. I personally cant wait for Observe and Report. It will be one of the most hysterical/offensive movies ever made and I cant wait. OK, back to baseball.
(5:04) Leadoff single by Gardner, lets see what he does with it.
(5:07) Hit and run on a bounce and Gardner gets to 3rd. Runners on the corners, no outs. Damon, Tex and Matsui coming up.
(5:08) Sac fly by Damon. 1st Yankee run of the year. 1st of many.
(5:18) 1st base stolen on Posada this year. Wasn't his fault though, it was stolen on Sabathia. Our season rests on the shoulders of that man. I'm confidant.
(5:24) Hit, stolen base, walk, triple. That's how you score 2 runs. Adam Jones is one of the best young players, forget that, one of the best players in baseball today. Remember the name Adam Jones everyone. Sac fly will add another run. Orioles up 3-1 after three innings.
(5:33) Melvin Mora makes an amazing play to end the inning and take away a double from Cody Ransom. Moving onto other matters, former Yankee and proud AARP member Tony Clark has two home runs for the Diamondbacks today. Also, if the Yes Network shows another commercial for Wolverine, I am going to single handedly make sure that film never gets released. Ease up Yes Network!
(5:38) Sabathia cannot find the plate today. In 3+ innings, he already has 3 walks. Lets hope he pulls it together
(5:44) After letting the 1st two runners on, Sabathia worked out of trouble. Again. I know its only the first game, but its been four innings and C.C. is a power pitcher, can we please have 1 strikeout?
(5:52) Damon triples with 2 outs, Tex walks and Matsui pops out. Nothing looking too great today so far with this team. Also, in the dugout, Sabathia has a large heating pad over his stomach. Why? The announcers are confused as well, and if Michael Kay doesn't know something, what are the odds any of us do?
(5:55) Lead off double by Brian Roberts. Gardner shouldn't have caught it, but he definitely could have
(5:56) See above, only take out double, Brian Roberts and Brett Gardner, and add single, Adam Jones and Cody Ransom
(6:01) Jones tries to steal 2nd, Jeter covers, bouncing hit to short that cant be fielded because Jeter is at 2nd base. Run scores, 4-1 Orioles, no outs, runners on 1st and 2nd, Albaladejo begins to throw in the bullpen
(6:05) Cody Ransom should have made that play. Should have been ruled an error but it wasnt. Kind of ridiculous. Aubrey Huff gets RBI ground out, Sabathia is not looking good today. Cant find the strike zone at all. Intentionally loading the bases for Luke Scott. Lets hope for the DP
(6:12) Sabathia walks Luke Scott with the bases loaded and his day is over. 6-1 Orioles. Albaladejo(y) coming into pitch. I'll give you Sabathia's line once it is determined based on what Albaladejo does.
(6:16) Albaladejo gets Zaun to pop out to center and Gardner makes an accurate throw to nail the runner at home. Inning (finally) over. Sabathia pitched 4 1/3, gave up 8 hits, 6 Earned Runs, walked five, 2 wild pitches and struck out ZERO. Terrible debut for Sabathia, simply had no command. He will be fine this year, but you would like to see a better start to begin the season. Replay shows runner was actually safe at home, but, were Yankee fans so who cares!
(6:20) Posada hits the first Yankee homer of the year. It ties him w/Don Mattingly for 8th all time on the Yankee list. 6-2, Cano walks. Maybe we can get something going here.
(6:22) RBI Double by Nady. In a shocking turn of events, a fan touched the ball, but the the ump actually allowed Cano to score. Very nice. Now 6-3 Orioles all in a matter of minutes.
(6:30) Jeter gets a single up the middle, but a terrible base running mistake by Nady ends the inning. Swisher? Swisher? Bueller?
(6:45) Albaladejo and Coke both looked good. 6-3 Orioles after 6 complete innings. Im sure Phil Coke will come out for more.
(6:49) Single by Damon and a home run for Matsui. Matsui has looked good today. Teixeira is getting booed so badly by his hometown team. Ive been to dozens of Yankee/Red Sox games and I don't think I've ever heard booing this bad. 6-5 Orioles, this is turning into a game. Posada just walked on 4 pitches. Cano coming up to bat.
(6:57) Cano single, Nady up with 2 runners on. Lets earn that spot. (Even though he did have that RBI double)
(7:02) Nady grounded in to a double play.
Sorry, we had some technical problems. Swisher had a pinch hit double. Pena pinch ran. Gardner bunted him over, Jeter grounded out, Damon walked and Tex went 0-4 after he grounded up. Phil Coke gave up a homer that just made it over the fence. Things aren't looking good for the Yanks. 8-5 after 7 2/3
Lots of technical problems yesterday. Yanks lost 10-5. Albaladejo and Coke (in my opinion looked good) CC and Tex looked terrible (no need to panic) and most importantly, Posada and Matsui looked healthy. Also, the team really showed some fight after being down 6-1
You would like to have a better opening day, but even though many people wont find them, there was a lot of positive in yesterdays game.
(2:15) Here are today's opening lineups:
New York Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF
Pitching: C.C. Sabathia LHP
Baltimore Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Luke Scott LF
Greg Zaun C
Cezar izturis SS
Pitching: Jeremy Guthrie
Just some quick notes, on opening day in their career, The Yankees are 62-43-1 and in his 5 opening day starts, Sabathia is 1-0 w/a 4.23 ERA
(4:07) The game is about to begin. Teixeira got lots of boos as expected. Ramiro Pena had the biggest smile on his face that I have ever seen a Yankee player have. That was nice to see. Not expected is the orange runway from center field to introduce the Oriole players. Pretty unnecessary. Come on, you're the Orioles. Even if you were a good team, its bush league. Especially when you add in the little kids with the Oriole flags. Lets get this game underway!
(4:25) The first pitch to Derek Jeter is a......... strike and the season has begun! Yankee baseball is back! More updates to come
(4:31) Jeter had a fantastic first at bat of the season battling through about 8-9 pitches and eventually getting a single. Unfortunately they couldn't get him in. Here comes the $170,000,000 man
(4:46) Sabathia had a difficult inning. Gave up a single to the 1st batter, threw two wild pitches. He threw a lot of pitches, but thanks to a heads up play from Cody Ransom and a solid play from Derek Jeter, he worked out of it. Looks like were gonna be seeing some of the bullpen today.
(4:55) Posada got hit in the foot, Cano pops out (is this 2008?) X-Man strikes out on 3 pitches (Anyone know how I feel about Nick Swisher?) and Ransom flew out to right. Nothing doing for the Yanks. Sabathia stands at 19 pitches. Lets have a short inning.
BTW, as the game goes on, if there are scoreless innings, updates will not be posted. From here on out, only the important stuff. These blogs may have character limits.
(5:00) Much easier inning for the Big Man. 3 up, 3 down. that is what we like to see.
On a side note, has anyone seen the trailer for Drag me to Hell? Looks pretty scary and its good to see Sam Raimi getting back into horror. I personally cant wait for Observe and Report. It will be one of the most hysterical/offensive movies ever made and I cant wait. OK, back to baseball.
(5:04) Leadoff single by Gardner, lets see what he does with it.
(5:07) Hit and run on a bounce and Gardner gets to 3rd. Runners on the corners, no outs. Damon, Tex and Matsui coming up.
(5:08) Sac fly by Damon. 1st Yankee run of the year. 1st of many.
(5:18) 1st base stolen on Posada this year. Wasn't his fault though, it was stolen on Sabathia. Our season rests on the shoulders of that man. I'm confidant.
(5:24) Hit, stolen base, walk, triple. That's how you score 2 runs. Adam Jones is one of the best young players, forget that, one of the best players in baseball today. Remember the name Adam Jones everyone. Sac fly will add another run. Orioles up 3-1 after three innings.
(5:33) Melvin Mora makes an amazing play to end the inning and take away a double from Cody Ransom. Moving onto other matters, former Yankee and proud AARP member Tony Clark has two home runs for the Diamondbacks today. Also, if the Yes Network shows another commercial for Wolverine, I am going to single handedly make sure that film never gets released. Ease up Yes Network!
(5:38) Sabathia cannot find the plate today. In 3+ innings, he already has 3 walks. Lets hope he pulls it together
(5:44) After letting the 1st two runners on, Sabathia worked out of trouble. Again. I know its only the first game, but its been four innings and C.C. is a power pitcher, can we please have 1 strikeout?
(5:52) Damon triples with 2 outs, Tex walks and Matsui pops out. Nothing looking too great today so far with this team. Also, in the dugout, Sabathia has a large heating pad over his stomach. Why? The announcers are confused as well, and if Michael Kay doesn't know something, what are the odds any of us do?
(5:55) Lead off double by Brian Roberts. Gardner shouldn't have caught it, but he definitely could have
(5:56) See above, only take out double, Brian Roberts and Brett Gardner, and add single, Adam Jones and Cody Ransom
(6:01) Jones tries to steal 2nd, Jeter covers, bouncing hit to short that cant be fielded because Jeter is at 2nd base. Run scores, 4-1 Orioles, no outs, runners on 1st and 2nd, Albaladejo begins to throw in the bullpen
(6:05) Cody Ransom should have made that play. Should have been ruled an error but it wasnt. Kind of ridiculous. Aubrey Huff gets RBI ground out, Sabathia is not looking good today. Cant find the strike zone at all. Intentionally loading the bases for Luke Scott. Lets hope for the DP
(6:12) Sabathia walks Luke Scott with the bases loaded and his day is over. 6-1 Orioles. Albaladejo(y) coming into pitch. I'll give you Sabathia's line once it is determined based on what Albaladejo does.
(6:16) Albaladejo gets Zaun to pop out to center and Gardner makes an accurate throw to nail the runner at home. Inning (finally) over. Sabathia pitched 4 1/3, gave up 8 hits, 6 Earned Runs, walked five, 2 wild pitches and struck out ZERO. Terrible debut for Sabathia, simply had no command. He will be fine this year, but you would like to see a better start to begin the season. Replay shows runner was actually safe at home, but, were Yankee fans so who cares!
(6:20) Posada hits the first Yankee homer of the year. It ties him w/Don Mattingly for 8th all time on the Yankee list. 6-2, Cano walks. Maybe we can get something going here.
(6:22) RBI Double by Nady. In a shocking turn of events, a fan touched the ball, but the the ump actually allowed Cano to score. Very nice. Now 6-3 Orioles all in a matter of minutes.
(6:30) Jeter gets a single up the middle, but a terrible base running mistake by Nady ends the inning. Swisher? Swisher? Bueller?
(6:45) Albaladejo and Coke both looked good. 6-3 Orioles after 6 complete innings. Im sure Phil Coke will come out for more.
(6:49) Single by Damon and a home run for Matsui. Matsui has looked good today. Teixeira is getting booed so badly by his hometown team. Ive been to dozens of Yankee/Red Sox games and I don't think I've ever heard booing this bad. 6-5 Orioles, this is turning into a game. Posada just walked on 4 pitches. Cano coming up to bat.
(6:57) Cano single, Nady up with 2 runners on. Lets earn that spot. (Even though he did have that RBI double)
(7:02) Nady grounded in to a double play.
Sorry, we had some technical problems. Swisher had a pinch hit double. Pena pinch ran. Gardner bunted him over, Jeter grounded out, Damon walked and Tex went 0-4 after he grounded up. Phil Coke gave up a homer that just made it over the fence. Things aren't looking good for the Yanks. 8-5 after 7 2/3
Lots of technical problems yesterday. Yanks lost 10-5. Albaladejo and Coke (in my opinion looked good) CC and Tex looked terrible (no need to panic) and most importantly, Posada and Matsui looked healthy. Also, the team really showed some fight after being down 6-1
You would like to have a better opening day, but even though many people wont find them, there was a lot of positive in yesterdays game.
Good News/ Bad News
Due to unforeseen circumstances and class re-scheduling, I will be able to watch the Yankee game tomorrow!! Unfortunately for Tram, that will mean that I will be live blogging the game and he wont.
:)
Sorry Tram. But he, as well as anyone else who has any good ideas, are always welcome to do some guest blogs on here. Just run your ideas by me and it would be great to see what others have to say. Many of the best blogs in the world such as RiverAveBlues or the WCWP Blog are run by many people, getting different perspectives on the same topic. So, if anyone (Johnny, Mike from Manhattan, I'm looking at you) wants to write a guest blog, lets start making this thing a collaborative effort.
With all that said, here's a picture of Phil Hughes with me, his all-time favorite fan.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Manatee Community College?
OK, there wont be any updates for a couple days. I have no comment and no concern over the exhibition games. I do not like the fact that they are happening, so i will refrain from commenting. The next thing to be decided is the 25th man and you all know my thoughts on that.
Just wanted to give 2 quick notes: Firstly, on Monday, we will have a guest blogger on the site. I have class all day, so I will not be able to watch the 1st Yankee game (very upset about this), but for all you guys, Michael Tramontozzi (who will forever be referred to as Tram on this blog) will be live-blogging the game so you guys can stay updated. I hope you all personally thank him for his service, for that will be his only pay for his work.
Secondly, i wont comment on this, but it needed to be mentioned. Today, in an exhibition game, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to Manatee Community College.
Just wanted to give 2 quick notes: Firstly, on Monday, we will have a guest blogger on the site. I have class all day, so I will not be able to watch the 1st Yankee game (very upset about this), but for all you guys, Michael Tramontozzi (who will forever be referred to as Tram on this blog) will be live-blogging the game so you guys can stay updated. I hope you all personally thank him for his service, for that will be his only pay for his work.
Secondly, i wont comment on this, but it needed to be mentioned. Today, in an exhibition game, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to Manatee Community College.
Just for your enjoyment, here is a pic of Tram with future Yankee ace Phil Hughes.
Until next time, Go Yankees!
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