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The Coke Decision

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm No Responses »
Aug 102009

When Alex Rodriguez went deep in the 7th inning of last night’s game, most Yankees fans were already planning the next two innings. Coke for Ellsbury, then Hughes to finish the 8th, and Mariano for the 9th. When Coke was left in to face a righty in Pedroia, then a switch hitter in Martinez, and then two more righties in Youkilis and Bay, most of us were dumbfounded. Where was Hughes?

Here is what Joe Girardi had to say:

“He was off today,” Girardi said of Hughes, who has dominated as Mariano Rivera’s set up man and had thrown a total of nine pitches Friday and Saturday. “I don’t like using any of our pitchers three days in a row. You risk hurting them.”

Although Hughes had only thrown 9 pitches over the last two days, the Yankees were not going to let him warm up and enter the game for the third straight day. Pitching last night would have been the 5th appearance in 6 days, a definite no-no, no matter what the situation. As Pete Abraham stated:

Whether you agree with that or not — and I’m not sure I do given that he had thrown a grand total of eight pitches in the two previous days — you have to admire Joe Girardi’s willingness to stick by his standards.
People used to complain about Joe Torre abusing relievers. This is the price you pay, getting the Phil Cokes of the world in a big spot.

The manager cannot treat every game like Game 7 of a playoff series. He needs to be careful with Phil Hughes, as keeping him healthy is vital to the well being of this Yankee team. Joe Girardi made the right move in not using Hughes. Now, with Hughes, Robertson, and Aceves not available, and Chad Gaudin being held in reserve, the other option would have been Brian Bruney. However, Coke actually has better numbers against righties than Bruney so far this season, and keeping Victor Martinez pointed toward the large part of the ballpark is good strategy. At the time, I hated the move. However, after being made aware of all the variables, it seems clear that Girardi made the right decision, and it just did not work out as he hoped.

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Spoiling The Mood: It Is Not Over

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 3:00 pm No Responses »
Aug 102009

Many pundits and have declared the AL East race to be over. The Yankees have opened up a 6.5 game lead on Boston, while putting 8 games between themselves and Tampa Bay. While it does seem at this point that the Yankees have all but sewn up the division, I would like to be a wet blanket and suggest a bit of caution in making that assertion. I am not going to reference the Mets or Phillies of years past as evidence, because this Yankee club is better than those teams that have blown leads in the past. Instead, I urge you to look at the current season for a bit of perspective.

On June 24th of this season, the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by 5 games. Exactly a month and a half later, the Yankees lead Boston by 6.5 games. It took 6 weeks for the Yankees to gain 11.5 games on Boston in the standings. With about 6 weeks remaining in the season, there is no reason that a club as talented as the Red Sox cannot make up 6.5 games. While you may think that the Yankees are clearly the better team and will surely not play poorly enough to relinquish the lead, I am certain Red Sox fans would have told you the same thing on June 24th.

If looking back to June 24th makes you uncomfortable, why not take a gander at the standings from last week. It took the Yankees 6 days to gain 6 games. Baseball is a game of streaks, and two streaks headed in opposite directions happened to match up. That does not mean that the Yankees cannot lose a few games in a row with Boston capitalizing. As we have seen over the last few days, things can change in a hurry in baseball. Add in the fact that the teams still have 6 meetings remaining with each other and that the Red Sox have an easier schedule, and you have a recipe for an interesting six weeks. The Yankees struck a major blow over this weekend, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The AL East race is far from over.

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Baseball Is The Greatest Sport In The World

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 12:47 pm No Responses »
Aug 102009

After an always exciting, often euphoric weekend, I have so many thoughts jumbling around my head that it has taken a while for me to distill them into some reasonable, conveyable thoughts. There are two in particular that I would like to share about the greatness of baseball.

1) I was at the game last night, and the Stadium was electric from about the 4th inning forward. Once Pettitte got Jason Varitek to fly out with the bases loaded in the fourth, the buzz in the building began to slowly grow, to the point where the fans were just ready to explode each time the Yankees came to bat. When A-Rod homered to lead off the 7th, the ballpark got as loud as the I ever remember the old place across the street getting. When Phil Coke served up a two run bomb in the 8th, some of the euphoria dissipated, but there was still a buzz in the air, as if the fans knew that the game was far from over. Then came the bottom of the 8th, and the moment I realized how amazing this game is.

Daniel Bard mowed down the first two hitters, and despair was starting to spread through the stands as the Yankees looked hopeless. And then, with one swing of the bat, everything changed. Johnny Damon lined one over the wall in right-center, and the place went bonkers. Baseball is a game that toys with your emotions, with large lulls in the action punctuated by amazing crescendos of drama that can rip your heart out and then make you jump for joy minutes later. As the excitement and noise in the stands continued to build, Mark Teixeira took his own powerful swing at the second deck in right, and the Stadium got louder than any sporting event I have ever been to. It was positively amazing, as the crowd was still cheering the Damon home run when they forced to find another gear to recognize what Teixeira had just done. The Stadium remained incredibly loud for the remainder of the game, erupting as Mariano Rivera notched the final out. All I could think of us the sound engulfed me is how great this sport is.

2) My second point is more of a technical issue. From ESPN:

Teixeria evaluated his at-bat against rookie Daniel Bard. After watching Damon homer on a fastball, Teixeria thought to himself that Bard likely wouldn’t want to throw another one right away. Teixeria guessed right: curveball, called strike one.
Teixeria remembered seeing a few curveballs from Bard on Friday night. He surmised the rookie might throw another one. He did, and it was in the exact same location as the first pitch.
“I was kind of looking for it again,” said Teixeira, who was 6-for-17 in the four-game series.
“He timed it as good as you can; he was sitting on it,” Bard added.

A novice fan looks at the sport and sees a guy throwing a ball and another guy trying to hit it. Yet there is so much more there. Look at the incredible intricacy of strategy that went into the dramatic denouement of last night’s game. Teixeira made a strategic decision based on the situation and the pitch that Damon hit. How often does Daniel Bard throw back to back curveballs? I doubt it is very common, yet Teixeira read the situation and tried to get into the head of the enemy, and was rewarded for it. Baseball is a game fraught with strategy on every pitch, as pitchers attempt to set up hitters while the batter attempts to predict the pattern and react properly. There is so much depth there if you know where to look. This hidden intricacy is another thing that makes this game great.

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Yankee fans, its time to do your part

Posted by Steve S. at 7:15 am 8 Responses »
Aug 102009

Now that we have slapped the Red Sox back 6 1/2 games in the division and possibly out of the playoffs, it is now time for you to celebrate and to do so publicly. Not only is it fun, but it is your duty as a Yankee fan. As a 39 year old Yankee fan, I came to the conclusion a LONG time ago that it’s a fool’s errand to try to make the hard core Sox/Mets fans happy, or to try to get them to like you. That will never happen. People either love or hate the Yanks, and there’s very few good Baseball fans that fall in between. So your obligation is to win, to celebrate, and to make the haters start stomping their feet, screaming about “payroll” and “buying championships”. It is the natural order of things. Not in a mean spirited or mocking way, but the way that winners do. By being happy and telling the world how great things are. Your happiness is Red Sox Nation’s worst nightmare.

Put on your A-Rod jersey and take a stroll down Lansdowne Street. Start gushing about how great Teixeira is, and how he and Alex are the best 3-4 in Baseball. Talk about how CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte are all second half pitchers and we might get even better from here forward. Tell people how Joba’s innings limit are no issue at all anymore with the cushion we’ve built up. (BTW-Make sure to use the word “we” a lot when referring to the Yanks, they like that) Talk about how the chemistry on this team is so great, how beautiful the new ballpark is, and how wonderful life in general is as a Yankee fan. Tell the world you LOVE John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, even if you dont. Say you started rooting for the team in 1996, even if you’re in your 50′s and have followed the team since the lean mid-1960′s.

The Yankee haters dumped on us last year (and all April this year) its now time for us to to make them physically sick to their stomachs. Go into enemy territory, call WEEI and WFAN and tell the them how wonderful things are. Its your duty as a Yankee fan. Take some time, find a Sox or Met fan and do your part for the cause. Remember the old saying, ‘Living well is the best revenge’.

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Minors Recap, 8/10

Posted by Eric Schultz at 12:43 am No Responses »
Aug 102009

Scranton defeats Lehigh Valley, 6-1

  • Jason Hirsh put together a strong outing, giving up a run on 6 hits and a walk in 6 innings, with 2 strikkeouts.
  • Damaso Marte walked 1 in a shutout inning of relief.
  • Mark Melancon gave up 2 hits in 1 inning of work.
  • Jon Albaladejo pitched a perfect 9th.
  • Kevin Russo was 3 for 4 with a double and a walk, but was caught stealing.
  • Austin Jackson was 2 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
  • Shelley Duncan was 1 for 4 with a walk.
  • Juan Miranda was 3 for 5 with a double.
  • John Rodriguez and Eric Duncan were 1 for 4.  Rodriguez also doubled and walked.

Trenton falls to Harrisburg, 2-1 (11 innings)

  • Wilkins De La Rosa started for the Thunder, giving up 3 hits and 4 walks in 6 shutout innings, and striking out 5.
  • Chris Malec was 2 for 5 with a double.
  • Richie Robnett was 2 for 5 with 2 doubles.
  • James Cooper was 1 for 4 with a double.
  • Edwar Gonzalez was 1 for 5.
  • Marcos Vechionacci was 1 for 4.
  • Justin Snyder was 1 for 3.

Tampa tops Clearwater, 5-3

  • David Phelps put together another strong start, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings, with 4 strikeouts.  He has given up just 3 earned runs in 25 1/3 innings since being promoted to Tampa.
  • Brad Rulon kept his scoreless streak going, pitching 1 1/3 perfect innings.
  • David Adams was 1 for 4.
  • Brandon Laird was 3 for with a triple and his 9th homer of the season.  He raised his average to .259 with this outburst.
  • Damon Sublett was 2 for 4 with a double and a steal.
  • Walter Ibarra was 1 for 3.

Charleston was off today.

Staten Island’s game against Oneonta was suspended.  It was tied 6-6 in the 11th inning.

The GCL Yankees were off today.

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