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Offense bails out Joba, pounds Smoltz to give Yanks first win over Boston
NEW YORK – The burden of having not beaten the Red Sox once this season was hovering. It was like a noose around the team’s neck.
Despite having the best record in the American League and having rallied to take a 2 1/2 game in the AL East over their rivals, the fact the Yankees were 0-8 against their rivals was rendering the rest of their season meaningless.
Here they were, given another opportunity to make a stand in front of a sellout crowd of 49,005 at the new Yankee Stadium, facing a pitcher whose next visit may be to retirement, and they were able to capitalize.
Trailing 3-1 early, the offense exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning against Red Sox starter John Smoltz, survived five shaky innings from Joba Chamberlain, and then continued to pound hits and runs en route to a 13-6 Yankees victory over Boston.
After losing the first eight games in the 2009 installment of “The Rivalry” on a variety of mental lapses and other assorted breakdowns, it appeared to be more of the same in the second inning. With one out and Jorge Posada leading off second, Nick Swisher lined a single to center field. Posada was appearing to score easily when the ball was cutoff by second baseman Dustin Pedroia. However, Pedroia opted to relay the ball home and Posada, apparently unaware of the impending throw, opted not to slide at home plate and was tagged out by catcher Victor Martinez which standing up. Melky Cabrera would proceed to line out to end the threat. 
Boston would immediately take advantage the next inning when on an 0-2 pitch, Pedroia was about to turn on a 93 MPH fastball from Chamberlain and hit it two rows deep in the right center field seats for a home run to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.
Back-to-back walks to Martinez and Kevin Youkilis put Chamberlain in even more trouble, but he was helped out by a double play off the bat of David Ortiz and a fly out to center by JD Drew.
Johnny Damon quickly answered in the bottom half with his 20th homerun of the season to tie the game, but the Red Sox came right back when first baseman Casey Kotchman was able to lift a home run into the first row of seats down the right field line to make it 3-1.
Early on, Smoltz was able to effectively navigate the tough Yankee lineup. In the third inning, the hitters were able to generate healthy swings outside of Damon’s homerun. Now, in the fourth, the Yankees would tee off on him.
A leadoff double by Posada started the inning and he would score on an RBI single by Robinson Cano. Swisher would walk to put runners on first and second to bring up Cabrera, who blasted a three-run homer to right to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.
Smoltz was shaken, but there would be more to come. Jeter would fly out for the first out, but then Damon singled and Teixeira would double to right. An intentional walk to Alex Rodriguez loaded the bases and Red Sox Manager Terry Francona came to the mound to end his starter’s night and send him to the shower. Whether the future Hall of Fame pitcher starts another game for Boston is anyone’s guess. 
Billy Traber was summoned from the pen to face Hideki Matsui and nearly induced an inning ending double play, but Matsui was able to beat out the relay throw to first, which allowed Damon to score. Posada would then deliver the KO when he hammered a three-run homer to dead center field to give the Yankees a 9-3 lead.
Smoltz’s (2-5, 8.33 ERA) final line was ugly. In 3 1/3, he gave up nine hits, and eight runs (all earned), and walked four over his 92 pitch outing. The lefty hitters in the lineup were an astounding 9 for 13 with five extra base hits.
Being armed to a six-run lead, one would have thought Chamberlain would have been able to settle down and keep the game from getting dramatic.
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
He proceeded to throw his first eight pitches out of the strike zone, putting Martinez and Youkilis on base. After Ortiz flied out, he walked JD Drew to load the bases. Mike Lowell would single to cut the lead to five, but Chamberlain was able to get out of further trouble by striking out Casey Kotchman and Nick Green to end the threat.
After three tremendous outings, this was a step back for Chamberlain (8-2, 3.68). He only threw first pitch strikes to 13 of the 27 Red Sox hitters in his five innings of work, giving up four runs and six hits, while walking a season high seven over 108 tedious pitches.
With Traber still in the game, the Yankees were able to tack on runs in both the fifth and sixth as Matsui drove in two with a double down into the left field corner and Derek Jeter’s single to left.
The trio of David Robertson, Phil Coke and Mark Melancon pitched three scoreless innings. Things got a little heated in the eighth when Dustin Pedroia was hit by a Melancon pitch, and jawed with the pitcher on his way to first base. Two pitches prior, Pedroia saw a pitch sail over his head to the backstop and after being hit, felt it was intentional.
Boston got two runs in the ninth off recent call-up Anthony Clagett, but it was mere window dressing. The Yankees had their win after eight straight losses to the Red Sox. The win gave them a 3 1/2 game lead in the division.
AJ Burnett takes the ball for the Yanks on Friday night in the second of the four game weekend series. Josh Beckett starts for Boston.
Sabathia leaving to mixed bag of results
CHICAGO – His last pitch of the game came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Gordon Beckham, whom nobody pitching for the Yankees could get out this weekend, hit a ground rule double to right center to give the White Sox a chance to tie the game with a home run,
Emerging was Joe Girardi from the dugout. He was going to take the ball from an “ace” and trust his two bullpen weapons Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera to finish the job.
When he left the mound, you wondered exactly how to categorize his performance. Was it good? Well, considering he gave up 10 hits, five runs (all earned - the last one scoring after Rivera gave up a single to Carlos Quentin) and gave back the 3-0 lead the Yankees had given him early in the game.
Yet, as his teammates rallied to bail him by putting more runs on the board en route to an 8-5 win, Sabathia settled down to pitch seven innings, much needed length after the stink bomb detonated by AJ Burnett the day before.
In many ways, he gave the team what they needed, a long outing. At the same time, for the fourth start in a row, he battled command issues despite throwing 71 of his 100 pitches for strikes. Some of those strikes, known as “hittable strikes” found plenty of holes. Six of the ten hits yielded were for extra bases. Three of them for doubles, one for a triple, two for homeruns (it would have seven had Quentin’s had not been thrown out at second in the third inning). These were not bleeders finding ways through the infield to blame on just plain old luck. 
You look at his ERA currently and it sits at 3.95 and an 11-7 record. Certainly not the results the Yankees are paying $161 million for. One can talk about adjustment periods and that would be a cover up to excuse some sub par performances. Before Burnett turned in one of his worst games of the year, he was not even statistically the best pitcher on his own team, more less the league.
What could possibly be the problem? Is it just the American League? He did win the Cy Young Award two years pitching in league, granted the lineups he was facing in the AL Central made it very easy to pitch and rack up comparable statistics much like Cliff Lee did last year. Pitching in the AL East is a far more dangerous beast and his 4.40 ERA is indicative of that.
The one question that lingers above the Yankees heads is at what point do the 513 logged innings over the last two years catch up with the big left-hander?
In 2007, the Indians worked him into the ground throwing the most innings in his career by 50. This caught up to him in three postseason starts against the Yankees and eventual world champion Red Sox.
Last year, the Brewers, desperate to make the postseason, elect to use Sabathia on three days rest for him final four starts of the season. He pitched a complete game against the Cubs on the final day of the regular season and then tired out in Game 2 of the Division Series against the Phillies.
The Yankees held off on using Phil Hughes as a main trading chip for Johan Santana (looking like a smart move now) and instead waited a year so they can spend money only on Sabathia. In their eyes, he was a better, long-term investment despite his massive size (the team scale lists him at 290 pounds).
Going forward the rest of the reason, the team needs him to be the anchor of the rotation. They are not going to go anywhere he is unable to do the job. His numbers this season are similar to the numbers that Randy Johnson posted in 2005 when he joined the Yankees. The Big Unit was switching leagues after dominating the NL in 2004 and found that the expectations from fans along with the American League made him a lesser pitcher.
That is the only similarity between the two. Sabathia may be 28 in his prime, but there could be a chance that the accumulation of innings may shorten his prime to where he may show decline sooner.
On Saturday, the fans patience with him will reach a crescendo when the Red Sox come to town as his next opponent.
He his being forgiven right now. How much longer is the next question.
Cabrera hits for cycle as Yanks salvage final game
CHICAGO – For Melky Cabrera, it has been a long road back since being optioned to the minor leagues late last season.
He had been a consistent member of the Yankees for the past two and a half years, but inconsistent play last season along with some lackadaisical effort in the field finally led to him being shipped back.
It was a painful pill to digest, but this season he was given a second chance and has made good on it. On Sunday, he put together a day for the history books.
Cabrera hit for the cycle, and powered a 15-hit output by the offense, which shook off their three previous losses and beat the White Sox 8-5 in front of 36,325 at US Cellular Field.
Going up against starter Mark Buehrle, whom two starts ago pitched a perfect game, and followed that up with 17 perfect outs in his next start before giving up five runs and five hits in a loss to the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees jumped on him early and drove him out of the game early.
Buehrle has typically been a bad matchup against the Yankees as his now 1-6 career record shows. His insane ability to throw strikes and being around the plate allows for more contact and they have taken advantage.
In the second inning, after Alex Rodriguez flied out, Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano each hit singles. This brought up Cabrera who crushed a high fastball on the first pitch into the White Sox bullpen to make it 3-0.
The game was in the hands of CC Sabathia, who was 14-4 against the White Sox in his career, including 8-1 at US Cellular Field. 
In third inning, he would give the lead back. After a one out double by Scott Podsednik, Gordon Beckham continued to sizzle against Yankee pitching by lacing an RBI single to right to make it 3-1. Jermaine Dye would tie the game with a two run homer to right and Jim Thome made it back-to-back to give the White Sox the lead with an opposite field blast to make it 4-3.
It was going to be the Yankee offense that was going to have to bail out Sabathia (he is 11-11 in games he has started this season), and they would in the fourth.
Cabrera led off the inning with a double and Jerry Hairston Jr. sacrificed him over to third. With a drawn in infield, Jose Molina singled home Cabrera with a lined single up the middle to tie the score. After Derek Jeter single, Johnny Damon would single to center, bringing home Molina to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
Buehrle’s day would conclude in the fifth when after a single and a walk to Rodriguez and Nick Swisher began the fifth inning, Cabrera recorded his third hit of the day by lifting a shallow single to center to bring home Rodriguez to make it 6-4. Manager Ozzie Guillen came to the mound to make the change to reliever Tony Pena, who promptly gave up an RBI single to Hairston, scoring Swisher on the play.
The final numbers were not pretty. In 4-1/3 innings, Buehrle (11-5, 3.79) gave up seven runs and 12 hits in 75 pitches.
Armed with the lead, Sabathia settled down over the next four innings, setting the White Sox down in order through the middle frames. In the seventh inning, Chris Getz would triple into the right field corner with no one out. However, Sabathia would be stingy and did not allow him to cross home plate. He struck out Jayson Nix swinging for the first out. A come backer to the big left-hander held Getz again for the second out and Podsednik would pop out weakly to the mound to end the threat.
Starting the eighth, Sabathia would give up a ground-rule double to Beckham, who was 7 for 19 in the series, and brought Joe Girardi to the mound. The day was over for his ace pitcher as it saw him handed a three-run lead, gave it back, but bear down once he was given a second lead and took the ball into the eighth inning. Considering the circumstances, while he didn’t pitch well, he was able to get the ball into the right hands.
Phil Hughes came on, and was able to strike out Dye on a foul tip. He would walk Thome on a high 3-2 pitch, but came back to strike out Paul Konerko looking for the second out.
Having not used Mariano Rivera since Wednesday, Girardi would use him for four outs. He gave up an RBI single to Carlos Quentin to make it 7-5, but struck out Getz looking to end the inning.
In the ninth, Cabrera would become the first Yankee to hit for the cycle since (fill in year). On a 3-2 pitch, he lifted a fly ball into right center that Dye misplayed off the bat and rolled to the wall. Melky was off to the races and the relay throw was not in time as he was able to accomplish the historic feat. 
Facing pitcher Scott Linebrink with two outs and a 2-2 count, Derek Jeter gave the Yankees much needed insurance by singling home Cabrera on a base hit through the left side to give them a three-run lead again.
Rivera would pitch a scoreless ninth to notch his 30th save and lower his ERA to 2.01. Sabathia earned his 11th win of the year and Hughes lowered his bullpen ERA to 0.91.
The win help them sustain their 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox with off an off day on Monday before traveling to Toronto for a quick two game series with the Blue Jays. All of this is a prelude to the big four game series starting Thursday night at The Stadium against Boston.
Yanks fail to provide a winning birthday present
CHICAGO - By the very nature of baseball, what I saw from AJ Burnett was actually to be expected.
The fact that it came on my birthday made it a very tough pill to swallow.
For the second year in a row, I attended a Yankees game on my date of birth, and for the second time I was treated to a loss.
Safe to say, I don’t think I will attempt to go for the trifecta next season.
Last year was a must trip. It was the final season at Yankee Stadium and I was never going to miss that for anything. It was a perfect present right up until the final score and knowing that I would never have a second chance to come back to that great old place that I have called home since I was a kid. The playoffs would have been my only opportunity. Problem was the Yankees did not make it to the postseason in 2008, leaving that as my last memories.
This time, I was seeking better results. Once again, I simply showed up on the wrong day. Hell, Burnett had only been pitching like one of the best in the league over his last nine starts. Perhaps I was going to be able to catch a glimpse of his hot streak in person.
Instead, he made Sidney Ponson’s performance from last year resemble Bob Gibson and Pedro Martinez in their primes.
Did this mean the rest of the team, including the manager were allowed to play as if the game was being punted before the first pitch was ever thrown?
Let's face it, anytime you have both Jerry Hairston Jr. and Cody Ransom in the same lineup, you can safely assume the game is over. On a Saturday summer evening (that at times look like spring mixed in with fall) in Chicago, the only thing left was to decide where to eat dinner and what club to go to afterwards.
The Yankees never really had a chance. Dropping their third straight of the series to the White Sox, one worse than the other. At this rate, we have been looking more like the Pittsburgh Pirates than anyone else has.
Only difference is that we still have our players.
The Yankees lost last year's birthday edition 1-0, in a heartbreaking game that saw Mariano Rivera give up a leadoff triple and then a single to Torri Hunter to give the Angels the lead and win.
Here at US Cellular Field, the beat down came as quickly as George Foreman was able to throw right hands. In the second inning, Burnett gave up six runs and put the team in a 6-0 hole.
The breakdown of the inning: single, single, single, walk, single, double, single.
The most egregious (at the time) play came in that second inning when Burnett walked ninth place hitter Jayson Nix with the bases loaded. Nix, who will never be confused with Ted Williams, was able to coax out an RBI without swinging the bat.
It was disgusting.
Chicago was lining him up. He did not have his power curveball that he uses to generate swings and misses. The White Sox, who may not be the best hitting team in the league, but can certainly lineup a fastball, teed off on him.
It was made worse when my ears were being treated to a heavy dose of “Your Love” by The Outfield for their rookie Gordon Beckham. The kid is a nice player and has the look of potential star. But can we please change the damn song?
You can usually spot a bad Burnett outing right away. When he is confident and has his pitches working, he is a quick worker on the mound and not wasting time.
Here, with no command for his pitches and any one that is finding any area of the plate is being hit all over the lot, it was going to be "one of those" outings. He was taking about 30 seconds or so between pitches and dragging the game to a grinding halt, which for me was a good thing because I needed to have the game stretch out so we can all reach our party place closer to 8:00 PM anyway.
Was he going to be able to pull himself together? Or, was going to have himself an early evening and start dinner plans early.
"Waiter!"
In the fifth inning, Burnett appeared to be grinding it out. He had first and second and was able to get Carlos Quentin to fly out to right field for the second out. The Yankees had scored two runs in the third to cut the deficit to 6-2 and if he can just hold them off the board, perhaps he can give the offense a chance to come back.
Instead, he gives up a single to Chris Getz and brings Nix back up to the plate again. Surely, there is no way is going to let this little ninth place hitter burn him again. He gets up 0-2 on the count and is ready to put him way. Slowly, the count works up and suddenly gets to 3-2 again with Burnett’s pitch count getting closer to 100. No way in the world he is going to walk him AGAIN right?
Here it is the 3-2 pitch….ball four!
Are you kidding?
Twice? With the bases loaded? This has to be a joke. Paul Konerko scores from third. The White Sox now were ahead 7-2 and here comes Girardi to throw in the towel and end Burnett’s night. Please, get him out of there. It was so bad that even I wanted to chant “Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Good Bye!”
By some miracle, the Yankees look like they are creeping back into it the very next inning. They get the bases loaded with no one out and it appears to be the start of a big inning. Instead, a hard hit ball by Cabrera is caught on a line by Quentin who fired a strike home to keep Rodriguez at third. Hairston’s bloop single brought home a run, but Posada is unable to go from second to third. Huh? Then, by no one’s surprise, Ransom (which is code for “the pitcher’s spot”) strikes out.
So much for that. 
Phil Coke comes into the game, and it suddenly just goes to hell. Girardi’s computer at the same time goes haywire. Dirty Coke has nothing on this day. He allows the first four men to reach before recording an out. Then, as if Girardi wasn’t spooked enough, he walks Nix (I may as well call him Teddy Ballgame now) to intentionally load the bases.
Message to Joe: Coke has NOTHING today.
The infield plays in (apparently thinking if they hold them at 9-4, they have a chance) and he walks Podsednik after being up 1-2 in the count. As if I haven’t already been disgusted. Thank goodness, I only had one hot dog, two beers and a margarita. If they were selling Patron shots, I may have been on that.
The crowd now emboldened starts chanting “Yankees Suck”, making me feel as if I am back at Fenway again. I knew the vocabulary and intelligence was waning in this place, and now it had only confirmed it.
Coke (now on punishment) gives up a double to Beckham to drive in two more runs as ‘Your Love” plays on some more. I think it has gotten louder than the airplane decibel level it was playing the previous two days. At this point, I consider the possibility of what I would do if I had a shotgun next to me.
The final score reads a White Sox 14-4 victory and I quickly look for the nearest exit. The birthday crew and I enjoyed ourselves, but not the outcome.
In the end, it was another birthday downer.
Burnett KO’d early, Sox pound Yanks late to win third straight
CHICAGO – At the rate the Yankees are going, anytime they see a team with the word “Sox” may as well count as a loss.
Saturday, the team as a whole played one of their worse games of the season as they officially lost their first series since being swept by the Angels before the All-Star Break.
Against the White Sox, the losses have come one worse than the other. All of them equally bad in their nature and the team’s quality of play deteriorating with each defeat. This one, a 14-4 mashing in front of 38, 763 at US Cellular Field.
This brings the Yankees record to 0-11 against a team with the last name of “Sox”.
For AJ Burnett (10-5, 3.89), who was pitching so incredibly well over his the last two months since his start against Boston, this was a slight step back. He was unable to gain command of any off speed pitch, and the White Sox lineup was able to take advantage and drive hit after hit against him in his 4 2/3-inning stint.
His day was looking promising after a scoreless first where struck out two, but in the second inning, the wheels fell off. 
After opening the inning by getting Paul Konerko to fly out to right, Burnett gave up successive singles to AJ Pierzynski, Carlos Quentin and Chris Getz to load the bases. Facing .231 ninth place hitter Jayson Nix and up 1-2 in the count, he was unable to put him away and walked him to force home the game’s first run.
Scott Podsednik followed with a two run single to right that brought home Quentin and Getz. White Sox rookie Gordon Beckham continued his hot hitting in the series by doubling in both Nix and Podsednik with a drive into the gap in right center. The final damage of the inning came when Jermaine Dye singled home Beckham to make it 6-0.
The Yankees quickly got two runs back off starter John Danks when Mark Teixeira lifted a single into right field that scored both Jerry Hairston Jr. and Derek Jeter to make it 6-2. They would have another chance in the fourth to add some runs, but Cody Ransom struck out to end the inning.
The score would remain until the bottom of the fifth when Burnett suffered another meltdown. After striking out Jim Thome, he hit Konerko with a pitch and gave up a single to Pierzynski. After he induced Quentin into a fly out, he gave up a single again the Getz to load the bases due to Konerko not being fast enough to score from second with two outs.
This brought up Nix again, who Burnett walked to force home a run in the second. He got ahead of the count 0-2 before not being able to put him away. Nix got back into the count and worked it full. With the crowd at US Cellular rising to their feet and making noise, Burnett’s 3-2 pitch was low and away for ball four, as the number nine hitter had driven home two runs without taking the bat off his shoulder.
Out came Manager Joe Girardi and his starters night was over. Brian Bruney came in to get the final out. The final stats were not pretty. Burnett gave up seven runs (all earned) and ten hits in 4-2/3 innings.
Twice the Yankees had chances to put a dent into the game, and it came in both the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, they loaded the bases with no one out and was only able to come up with one run. With one out (Rodriguez was unable to tag on Cabrera fly ball), Hairston softly singled to left, but Jorge Posada was called out at third base going base-to-base.
Ransom struck out to end the inning to make it 7-3. They would get another run in the seventh when Rodriguez reached on an infield hit that scored Jeter. After Posada advanced the runners to second and third in exchange for an out, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen removed Danks for reliever Tony Pena, who was able to snare a hard hit ball right at the mound to thwart the threat.
Danks (9-7) numbers were not great, but enough to gain the win. He gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings, walking four and striking out five.
The White Sox answered in the bottom half when Podsednik (3 for 5, 4 RBI) got his third hit of the game, singling home Getz to make it 8-4 and it would proceed to get ugly in the eighth.
Phil Coke came on trying to hold the deficit at four and had nothing. He allowed the first four men to reach, which included an RBI single by Pierzynski. For the third time in the game, Nix was walked for the fourth time (this time intentionally) to load the bases for Podsednik after a run scoring groundout by Chris Getz.
Coke would proceed to walk Podsednik (the third bases loaded walk of the game) to make it 11-4 and Beckham and Dye would proceed to take on three more runs to continue the beating.
In all, it was a 17 hit attack by the South Side Hitmen they saw their first three hitters (Podsednik, Beckham and Dye) go 6 for 17 with 10 RBI’s and both Getz and Nix reach base eight times in 10 chances.
Nix’s stat line is damning in itself. He finished the game 1 for 1 with four walks and two RBI’s.
The Yankees continued their problems with runners in scoring position, going a combined 3 for 19, with Ransom striking out three times to end the inning.
On Sunday, the White Sox will look to go for their first sweep of the Yankees since June 2000 when they went 4 for 4 at Old Yankee Stadium.
Mark Buehrle gets the ball for the White Sox and CC Sabathia makes an important start for the Yanks as they look to avoid the brooms.
Yanks money pot goes dry, unable to pickup pitcher at deadline
CHICAGO – The countdown was on to three o’clock on Friday afternoon as the baseball trade deadline was winding down.
Cliff Lee was already gone from Cleveland to Philadelphia. Jarrod Washburn was earlier in the day traded from Seattle to Detroit. While in Toronto, Blue Jays General Manager JP Riccardi was trying to hold pitcher Roy Halladay up in exchange for the GDP of some small country.
The Yankees, in need of a starting pitcher, appeared to search far and wide for an answer to their rotation situation that at least was helped by the early second half performances of Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte. They were beginning to reach a point where Chamberlain’s innings are going to have to be restricted due to the innings limit the team has on him this year.
The team needed a starter and if they really think Sergio Mitre is going to be the answer, someone may want to go and chase Kei Igawa from the minors.
The deadline came and no pitcher showed up on the team’s doorstep. For the last week, you heard reports that the Yankees finances were on shaky ground. That they had reached their limit in terms of spending and could not take on any more money. The contract given out to Mark Teixeira being the last big money deal the team could take on. Even the economy and the recession had brought down even the biggest spender of them all.
You want to know how bad it is? The Yankees and Royals had agreed to a trade in which right-hander Brian Bannister would from Kansas City to New York. The problem was that the Yanks were asking that Kansas City to pay the remaining $650,000 on his contract through the end of the season. The Royals said “no”, and the deal was off.
Just three weeks prior, the team has executed a similar deal with the Pirates for utility man Erik Hinske where they forced the Pirates to pay the remaining $400,000.
Suddenly, it’s the Yankees needing bailouts as if they are the car industry.
If we know anything now, it’s that with the current economic climate, the cap the team will spend is around $206 million. Not a penny more. If Hal Steinbrenner had his way, the payroll would likely be 30% less. This is an admirable position to take after all these years of grotesque spending. But in a year where they are in prime position to chase after and gain that World Series that has eluded them since 2000, playing tonight’s game with baseball’s best record, all they can muster to the mound was Sergio Mitre.
Sure, he did well in his first start, got away with some mistakes in the second and nearly avoided disaster.
Tonight, he showed why the Yankees were trying to avoid from bringing him up a month ago in Minnesota and had to rely on Alfredo Aceves out of the bullpen as a spot starter, who coincidentally has not pitched well and complained of shoulder pain ever since.
No team with a payroll as high as the Yankees should ever have Mitre starting games, unless it is a doubleheader. Even then, that is debatable.
The price for Halladay was too high because not only did the Blue Jays make it that high, but the $20 million owed to him ($5.75 million this year) was going to be something the Yankees can take on right now.
You are probably laughing and thinking to yourself how is it that the richest team in baseball can suddenly run out of money. Unfortunately, a combination of less than expected profits coming from sponsors and other advertisers. Also, the fact that they had to discount their tickets by as much as 50% in some sections, and give away remaining unsold tickets to their current ticket plans holders have brought down revenue.
Don’t get me wrong, the team is still hemorrhaging money from their new palace. At $10 a beer and enough for parking, they are getting away with the sports version of murder. However, what would be hefty profit for other teams is going back into paying Teixeira that $180 million to play great first base, hit bombs and drive in runs.
They make a lot and they spend a lot. Now the two have collided and it’s the Yankees waiting for when significant money can be cleared from payroll this winter.
For now, until further notice, the team has to deal with Mitre. His night would be short lived, going only three innings, giving up a 3-0 first inning lead and charged with five runs and seven hits while throwing 75 pitches to get nine outs.
He had nothing, and the team was powerless to do anything. No one was going to come to the rescue to bail him or the team out. They would have to make do with they have and find a creative way to get through these last month of the season and simply hold their breath that a career long injury prone pitcher (Burnett) holds up. A pitcher (Sabathia) who was thrown 513 innings the last two years doesn’t wear down. A 23-year-old pitcher who is being put on a limit (Chamberlain) has the team creatively get him through the season within “parameters”. And then hope that Andy Pettitte, at his advanced age, can get through the season without showing serious decline.
As currently constructed, they can win a five or seven game with that front four starting and closing a series. The question right now, can the team win enough games to get to October having to hold their breath once every five days?
They can hope for waiver wire deal and hope to land a pitcher much like Boston did last season with Paul Byrd, but the percentages on that happening are very slim.
With Mitre out there, it now becomes a situation where you cross your fingers and toes and pray the night before hoping he doesn’t get rocked.
Offense baffled by Floyd, grab some bench
CHICAGO – Perhaps I can blame the lack offensive functionality on the late arrival to Chicago after leaving St. Petersburg.
Word has it that the Yankees arrived at 3 AM, which would have left only 16 hours of turnaround time to get ready for their game Thursday night with the White Sox.
Either that or they simply never read the scouting report of starter Gavin Floyd.
Whatever it was, a combination of lack of sleep and lack of attention mix in with Floyd pitching arguably the game of his life to this point in his career were all contributors to the snooze fest that was the Yankee offense for 7 2/3 innings against him.
It appeared that there was not that much of a plan going him. Noticing closely, the offense has done a unique job of “rope-a-doping” over the first three innings before their trained veteran eyes clue in on what to look for.
On this night, it did not happen.
One by one, they would go back to the bench, either by ground out of fly out and many others would look at called third strikes. Perhaps the home plate umpire was expanding the zone an extra inch or two, but the same courtesy was given to Andy Pettitte as well.
Seven Yankee hitters of the ten who struck out last night while Floyd was on the mound went down looking. That tells you one of three things.
1. The team didn’t get enough rest.
2. The game called by catcher AJ Pierzynski was an unmitigated success
3. They were simply confused.
Now, while I am probably giving as much credit to Floyd’s performance as I probably should, I am not one into praising the opposition without looking my own team first.
That’s just the way it works here.
Only three times did a Yankee hitter work the count to 3-2 and two of those were accomplished by Nick Swisher, who struck out both of those times (three in the game, before hitting the tying home run in the ninth).
The two best swings of the night came from Jose Molina and Melky Cabrera, who each laced doubles into left center. Johnny Damon drove in the Yanks first run with a single, but outside of that, there was not much to be had.
Through Floyd’s first 50 pitches, only 30 were for strikes. However, it was in the middle innings where he began to find a groove, consistently throwing first pitch strikes and forcing hitters to commit to swing early. It took them completely out of their gameplan of wearing down a pitcher and getting him out of there after six innings. Most teams in the league look very strong when they can hand the ball from their starting pitcher to their top reliever without anyone else getting involved.
Don’t think White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen didn’t know that as kept his starter into the eighth inning last night. Yet, in this case, you give credit where it’s due sometimes and the kid pitched a hell of game.
He should have gotten the win, but with two outs in the ninth, Floyd saw the team blow their sixth game for him this season when Swisher turned around Matt Thornton’s fastball for a home run.
It was not sustainable offense. In the few chances they had to make something happen, they were unable to get that big hit.
Over the course of a season, you will have those things. They usually even themselves out eventually.
As they have this year.
