Author Archive
Broken Record
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #53 – 6/2/10 – Orioles @ Yankees
Final Score: Yankees 9, Orioles 1.
PHILTHY!
I truly feel like a broken record here. Phil Hughes is absolutely phenomenal this year! We’re in June, and this young man is 7-1 with a 2.54 ERA. I knew he was going to be good, but I didn’t think he was going to be this good.
Another outstanding start from Huuuuuuuuuughes. This kid is the real deal. He’s got excellent pitching, an excellent mentality, and doesn’t seem fazed by anything. He is showing us all that he’s a future ace. Very few people can doubt that. How blessed are we, that our fifth starter is better than most teams’ aces?
Of course, our bats were alive and well today. We hit the Orioles’ Bergesen early, scoring six runs in the second and third innings. Then, we got three more runs off of the O’s bullpen. We finished the game with nine runs on fourteen hits.
Can you feel the wrath of the modern-day Murderers’ Row?
We secured the series win, now let’s bring those brooms out!
Savvy Javy
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #52 – 6/1/10 – Orioles @ Yankees
Final Score: Yankees 3, Orioles 1.
It was a pitchers’ duel, in which Javier Vazquez prevailed. I have to give credit to the Orioles’ Brian Matusz, who pitched a gem. He only gave up one earned run. The other two runs were defensive errors, so he’s not to blame. Matusz really seems to pitch well against division rivals, and he did so in this game.
The winner of the duel was Javier Vazquez, who gave us an excellent start. He pitched seven beautiful innings, in which he gave up one run on four hits, walked one, and struck out seven. The one run he gave up, a solo home run, was really the only mistake he made this game. He pitched a true gem, and I’m glad the Yankees managed to score in the seventh inning, because he truly deserved that W.
I was a little bothered by some of the comments about Javy, during and after the game.
One fan asked “Who is this pitcher, and what has he done with the real Javier Vazquez?”
Hello. This is the real Javier Vazquez. A solid, innings-eating starting pitcher, who stocks up on strikeouts and rakes in the wins. What we saw from Vazquez in his first few starts wasn’t who he really is. Even if he continues on this very same pace, he’s due to get us 12 wins this season. Don’t forget that he’s our fourth starter. AJ Burnett got us 13 wins as our second starter last year. I will be happy with 12 wins from Javy.
One beat writer wrote: “The Orioles made Javy look good.”
See, I have a big problem with a comment like that. Whenever Vazquez pitches well, it’s because the other team’s lineup made him look good. I suppose in his great start against the Tigers, they made him look good. The Mets also happened to make Javier Vazquez look good. When will this incessant hatred end?
His good performances this year were all due to his good pitching. The opposing lineups didn’t make him look good, he made himself look good. While sometimes it’s a bit of a stretch to give the win to a starting pitcher, because our lineup hits well enough to earn the win, I have no problem giving Javier Vazquez his wins. Why? Because for some reason, our lineup is asleep when he’s on the mound. Maybe because he’s always up against a tough opponent in the pitching match-ups, who knows? All I know is that in Javy’s starts, he has to pitch his heart out, because he gets little run support. So when he gets the win, it’s the result of a great effort.
Enough with the hate, people. Javier Vazquez is back on track. Try showing support for your own starting pitcher.
Amazing Andy
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #51 – 5/31/10 – Indians @ Yankees
Final Score: Yankees 11, Indians 2.
What an absolutely amazing start from Andy Pettitte. This man just keeps getting better and better! At certain points during the game, it was actually scary to watch him pitch so beautifully. He was in the zone, locating his pitches outstandingly. When you don’t have the most power, it’s all about location, location, location.
Andy pitches seven beautiful innings, in which he gave up one run (a solo home run to Peralta) on four hits. He walked no one, and struck out five. He finished the seventh inning with 89 pitches, and could have easily pitched the eighth inning, if he didn’t have to sit in the dugout for half an hour, while our bats went to work.
I’m sure Andy didn’t mind, though, because it was a wonderful bottom of the seventh that further padded his win.
We scored six runs in the seventh inning. Six runs! I [expletive] love this lineup! Four of those runs came from Alex Rodriguez hitting a GRAND SLAM, after Teixeira was intentionally walked. Where have we heard this before? One day, pitchers will learn that they shouldn’t intentionally walk Teixeira to get to Rodriguez. It seems to spark a fire under A-Rod’s bottom, and makes him an even better hitter. Until they realize that intentionally walking Tex is a bad thing, I guess we’ll just have to enjoy seeing A-Rod rake in the RBIs.
Then there was Robinson Cano, who hit a solo home run right after Rodriguez’s grand salami. BACK TO BACK AND BELLY TO BELLY! Cano and A-Rod are in a race to see who can get the most RBIs this season. I’m enjoying this race. Keep bringing in those runs, boys!
All of our starters got hits this game. All of them! From top to bottom, this lineup is solid. Once Teixeira gets back to being Teixeira, we will have the second-coming of Murderers Row. Mark. My. Words.
Great win for our men in pinstripes. We won the series, and we’re closing the gap on the Rays in the division. Bring on Baltimore!
Back On Track
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #50 – 5/30/10 – Indians @ Yankees
Final Score: Yankees 7, Indians 3.
In today’s installment of the Strange Case Of Dr. AJ & Mr. Burnett, we saw the skillful talent of Dr. AJ.
Burnett is a mystery. I hate using movie-line cliches, but he really is like a box of chocolate. Which AJ are you going to get? You don’t know until he pitches a couple of innings. In this game, he pitched eight solid innings, gave up three runs (only ONE of them was earned) on five hits. He walked no batters, and struck out eight. This is the AJ we like to see.
He handed the game over to Mariano Rivera, who closed it perfectly.
Our bats were alive, scoring seven runs on twelve hits. Teixeira looks like he’s heating up, he hit his eighth home run of the season, and went 2-for-4 in the game. We saw doubles, triples, and hits galore. Have I mentioned that I love this lineup? I don’t envy the pitchers who have to face us.
All in all, it was a great game. We quickly erased the disappointment of the previous game, and got back on track.
The Voice Of Reason
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #44 – 5/23/10 – Yankees @ Mets
Final Score: Yankees 4, Mets 6.
In the heat of the moment, we all say things that we don’t mean. That’s why you take a deep breath, walk it off, and go back to thinking clearly.
So, now that I’ve calmed down, and removed my face from the palm of my hand, I’m going to be the voice of reason.
We’re going through a rough patch right now. There’s no doubt about that. It feels like we’re imploding. We went through the week from Hell, and I’m glad we have an off-day. The fans need a day off as much as the players do.
Having said that, I’m glad we imploded in the middle of May, rather than the middle of August or September. If you think implosions in May are bad, talk to a Mets fan. They’d love an implosion in May if it meant a good September. No team wins 162 games in the season. Every team has mini-implosions, and goes on losing streaks. I’m glad it’s happening now, not later.
I hope that the “A-Rod sucks” comments I heard from Yankees fans were all in the heat of the moment. I’d hate to be you if you actually thought that.
This game all came down to an Alex Rodriguez at-bat. He could have given us the lead, but he didn’t. When he failed to do so, Yankees fans started ripping him apart. Really, people? Where was the rest of the lineup all game? I can’t believe I have to say this: Alex Rodriguez isn’t to blame for this loss.
In the ninth inning, when we’re down by two runs, and we have two out and two men on… who would YOU want at the plate? Personally, I’d want Alex Rodriguez. Yes, he didn’t get the job done this time, but how many time has he been successful? Too many to count.
The team sucks right now. There’s no hiding that. But with the team that we have, healthy, there is nothing that makes me worry about this season.
Some people say “the bullpen is a disgrace”. Well, remember that a few guys we depend on in the bullpen were out for a while. Aceves still isn’t back. Mariano was out for a while, and so was Chan Ho Park. The rest of our arms got overworked out of necessity, because our starting pitchers (except for Javy) all decided to crap the bed in the same week.
When the bullpen pitchers are overworked, their pitching is going to suffer. I don’t mean overworking one pitcher, I mean overworking EVERY pitcher. It was necessary.
I don’t always agree with Joe Girardi’s pitching changes, but I have to give him credit for managing to keep a regular rotation in bullpen usage amidst this insanity. Can you imagine what Joe Torre would have done if three of his bullpen pitchers were out? Here’s a hint: Scott Proctor’s arm.
Joe Girardi is still managing to keep order by spreading out the bullpen’s workload. Girardi’s bullpen management is wonderful. I think he does an amazing job overall. I don’t agree with some of his in-game pitching changes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like his bullpen management. There’s a big difference between a wrong in-game pitching change decision, and overall bad bullpen management.
There is no ONE arm in the bullpen that is overworked, even though our starting pitchers (except for Javy) all decided to have crappy starts in the same week. That says something about our manager. It says that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to managing the ‘pen.
Try as I may, I cannot, for the life of me, find an explanation for Mark Teixeira. We brushed April off, because he always suffers in the first month of the season. Why hasn’t he been hitting well in May either? He’s not injured, and he’s being protected by Rodriguez in the lineup. There are no excuses or explanations for his bad numbers. He just needs to start hitting. Simple as that. When he does, watch out. He will be on fire. He has to make up for carrying a .200 batting average through May.
Now, what will it take for Teixeira to start hitting again? More granola bars?
One last thing I want to address, is a comment I heard from a fellow Yankees fan:
“Javier Vazquez pitched amazingly against the Mets. This is proof that he belongs in the National League”.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we call “Mike’d Up Logic“. Why? Because it sounds like something Mike Francesa would say, and not the words of an intelligent baseball fan.
Give me a break. If anyone looked like the National League team in this series, it was the Yankees. What more does Javier Vazquez have to do to earn even a little bit of faith and respect around here? He pitched wonderfully against the Tigers, but did
n’t get the win. He shut out the Mets, and got the win. Can you give the man a chance?
n’t get the win. He shut out the Mets, and got the win. Can you give the man a chance?
With that Mike’d Up mentality, we can say that since CC Sabathia was owned by the Mets, in a World Series with the National League team having homefield advantage, CC shouldn’t be our ace. Javy should.
That’s Mike’d Up logic for you, and if you agree with the above quotation, you’re just as ridiculous.
Not Particularly Proud of This Win…
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #42 – 5/21/10 – Yankees @ Mets
Final Score: Yankees 2, Mets 1.
… but I’ll take it.
Considering how crappy the Yankees have been this past week, I’m not about to get picky over how we win. I just want us to win.
Javier Vazquez pitched a 6-inning gem. He finished the sixth inning with 70 pitches, and could have pitched for at least another two innings. Why didn’t he? Because he hurt his finger while laying down a bunt. Boy, isn’t that the way this year seems to be going for Javy? Can’t catch a freaking break. If it isn’t the weather, it’s a bruised finger. I hope he doesn’t miss a start over this.
It’s a good thing our offense managed to score a couple of runs, because they were absolutely comatose after that.
Don’t get me started on our offense. I don’t understand what their deal is. Yes, I know that the team as a whole is suffering from injuries, but what does that have anything to do with the hitters that are healthy? They’re not producing either!
The lineup isn’t like the bullpen. If a relief pitcher is injured, the entire bullpen suffers, because they’ll have to be overworked to compensate. In the batting lineup, our hitters are expected to hit every day, so an injury in the bottom of the lineup has no effect on the top of the order. I don’t understand what is wrong with our hitters, all I know is that it better get fixed soon.
Other teams are gaining ground, and we need to wake up soon.
I’m not going to go on any further. It was a win, so it was good. Like I said, I’m not particularly proud of it, but hey, when you’ve had the week that we’ve had, you’ll take a win any way you can get it.
Uh… Woah… What… Huh?!
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #37 – 5/16/10 – Twins @ Yankees
Look at the box score.
Specifically at the 8th inning.
Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera pitched that inning.
Joba loaded up the bases, and Mariano gave up the runs, including a grand slam.
To whom? To Jason Kubel, of all people.
I was watching the game online, and spent ten minutes, looking like this:
Actually, I’ve been frozen like that ever since.
I have nothing else to say about this.
Let us never speak of it, ever again.
Bring on the Red Sox.
You can find Beeeebzy’s blog entries and more at 161st-and-River.com.
Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #36 – 5/15/10 – Twins @ Yankees
As if my heart could grow any fonder of Andy Pettitte, having one of his starts skipped made me miss him. Especially since his temporary replacement was Sergio Mitre.
It was amazing to see Andy back on the mound <insert innuendo here>. He came back as strong as he left off. He got his fifth win of the season, and showed domination.
Age is only a number. This number doesn’t seem to exist in Pettitte’s mind. He’s already won more than a third of the wins he got for us last season, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
Andy Pettitte laughs at your attempted curse, Sports Illustrated. He b*tchslapped the Injury Bug that seems to be going around the clubhouse. You’re not going to stop him!
In this game, Andy pitched 6.1 innings, giving up ZERO runs on two hits and three walks. If that isn’t a big “SCREW YOU” at age, I don’t know what is.
Just like when I talk about Phil Hughes, I sound like a broken record this year talking about Pettitte. He’s absolutely dominating. I already think he’s a hall of fame pitcher, but if he continues to dominate this year, I truly believer all the doubters will change their minds.
Keep it up, Andy! <insert sexual remark here>
You can find Beeeebzy’s blog entries and more at 161st-and-River.com.
Welcome Home
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #35 – 5/14/10 – Twins @ Yankees
It feels great to be home.
Yes, I’m aware that I’m writing this from Dubai, but it still feels good to see our Bombers back in the Bronx. I almost forgot that we even wore pinstripes, because it feels like it’s been so long since our team has been home.
It feels even better to see a Yankees win. Today was my parents’ 33rd wedding anniversary, and they were at the game to celebrate. I’m so happy that the Yankees won for them on their day.
AJ Burnett wasn’t great, but he got the job done. He didn’t get the win, but he kept us within an arm’s reach of winning. His final line wasn’t so bad, but if you watched the game you would have seen that his pitching was off. Anyway, he pitched well enough to get the win, but he didn’t get it, thanks to the antics of one Damaso Marte.
Marte was awful, as he has been for a while now. He was great in the postseason last year, but was injured for most of the regular season. Even before the injury, he was awful during the season.
On the one hand, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, a pitcher who performed so well in the playoffs, and played a vital role in the team winning the World Series, has to be good, right? Well, I’m not so sure. His numbers in the past have been good, but Marte is old. He may have lost his skills. It’s too early in the season to completely rule him out, but I’m definitely not impressed with what I’ve seen from him thus far.
Boone Logan as our go-to lefty, anyone? He lacks command sometimes, but he’s been one of our better bullpen arms lately. Let’s wait and see. He seems to be working hard on himself, so from now until the All Star break, we’ll have a clearer view of what this guy can do.
Our bats seemed to be awake and ready for action. They had the lead, before Marte gave it up, but there were several missed opportunities throughout the game. Our 2-5 hitters carried us this game. Derek Jeter got a hit, but he still seems to be struggling out there. I’m not reading much into it, he’ll snap out of it soon.
The hero of the night was Alex Rodriguez, with his GRAND SLAM.
In the seventh inning, the Twins made a mistake that was even worse than Girardi putting Damaso Marte on the mound. Matt Guerrier was pitching, and struggling. With two of our boys already on base, and first base open, the Twins decided to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira to take their chances on Alex Rodriguez. I suppose I can try to understand Ron Gardenhire’s logic behind this decision. Alex Rodriguez hasn’t been hitting many home runs so far, while Mark Teixeira has been hotter than hot since the beginning of May.
So, logically, you’d rather face Rodriguez than Teixeira, right?
WRONG.
Rookie mistake.
We’re talking about Alex Rodriguez, here. On a slow night he’ll drive in a couple of runs. In a slumping season he’ll hit 30 home runs. This is a man who can break out of his (relative) slump at any moment, and when he does, it’s going to hurt. Let’s not forget to mention that A-Rod pretty much owns Guerrier. Before this home run, Rodriguez was batting .718 against the Twins pitcher, with a handful of home runs in the past. I’m not a manager, but even I knew that this choice was a stupid one. When they intentionally walked Teixeira, I said “A-Rod’s going to make them pay for this”. I believe I even said it on Twitter.
Well, I was right. Gardenhire was wrong. Alex made them pay.
I could be wrong, but Alex Rodriguez strikes me as the type that doesn’t appreciate insults. I’m pretty sure that the intentional walk to Teixeira was insulting to A-Rod. Hell, I’d be insulted if I were him! Alex Rodriguez isn’t Randy Winn, you don’t choose to face him. Well, apparently Rodriguez doesn’t respond to insults well.
Alex Rodriguez says: “Intentionally walk Teixeira to take your chances on me? Not on MY watch, b*tches.”
Sure enough, Alex Rodriguez hit a monster Grand Slam, that won the game for the Yankees. Not only did this teach Ron Gardenhire a lesson, but it also sent a message to the rest of baseball: Slump, or no slump, Alex Rodriguez should never be the batter you choose to face.
The following inning, Joba Chamberlain came in to pitch perfectly. He came into the eighth inning, and struck out the three hitters he faced. While, technically, the win was Damaso Marte’s (since A-Rod’s home run came in the bottom of the seventh), the Official Scorer decided to give Joba the win.
Many people were asking (but not really complaining) about why Chamberlain got the win. Well, it’s all written in the MLB Rulebook. The specific rule that applies to this situation is rule 10.17(c):
“10.17(c) : The official scorer shall not credit a
s the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches effectively in helping his team maintain its lead. In such a case, the official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the judgment of the official scorer.
s the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches effectively in helping his team maintain its lead. In such a case, the official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the judgment of the official scorer.
Rule 10.17(c) Comment: The official scorer generally should, but is not required to, consider the appearance of a relief pitcher to be ineffective and brief if such relief pitcher pitches less than one inning and allows two or more earned runs to score (even if such runs are charged to a previous pitcher).”
So, Joba Chamberlain got the win.
Mariano Rivera closed the game, even though it wasn’t a save situation. Who’s complaining about this? No one is. It’s been a while since we’ve seen God pitch, so it was wonderful to see him back on the mound. I don’t even need to say how it went. When God enters the game, you know he gets the job done. Praise be to the best closer of all time. Amen.
All in all, another great game from our boys. It was great to see them back home and wearing the beautiful pinstripes. The Bombers are back to BOMBING in the Bronx. It was nice to see them play the small-ball well, but now they’re back to slugging. This is what makes the Yankees lineup so great, when healthy. There are no weak spots. Once Curtis Granderson is back, the 2010 starting lineup might just be the second-coming of Murderers Row.
You can find Beeeebzy’s blog entries and more at 161st-and-River.com.
Fugheddaboutit
2010 Pretty In Pinstripes Challenge Tracker: Entry #34 – 5/13/10 – Yankees @ Tigers
Oh boy….
What a messy start from CC Sabathia.
He looked like a different man in this game. This isn’t the CC Sabathia we know. This isn’t the CC Sabathia we’re used to. This game caused some fans to overreact (Yeah, we’ve never seen THAT happen before), and start to panic.
Relax, people. Switch to decaf and take a deep breath. This isn’t a start to a trend of bad pitching from CC Sabathia. It is what it is: one bad start. So just chill out. He’ll go back to dominating, I have no doubt in my mind about it.
What surprised m
e the most (and I don’t know why anything coming from our fanbase surprises me anymore) is that people were blaming CC Sabathia for the loss. Yes, CC was bad, but he could have been pitching a one-hit shutout, and we still would have lost the game.
e the most (and I don’t know why anything coming from our fanbase surprises me anymore) is that people were blaming CC Sabathia for the loss. Yes, CC was bad, but he could have been pitching a one-hit shutout, and we still would have lost the game.
Our bats seemed to be asleep, and many people were quick to jump all over them, too, but I’m here to tell you it wasn’t their faults, either. It was no one’s fault. We were out-pitched. It’s as simple as that.
We were facing Justin Verlander. He is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He was absolutely lights-out, and shut us out completely. We’re going to face pitchers who completely paralyze our bats. While I was angry at our bats in the first two games of this series, I am not angry at them for this game.
Come on, people, you have to give credit where it is due: Justin Verlander owned us.
Don’t blame CC, don’t blame the Yankees, this loss was no one’s fault. Justin Verlander earned this win. No one can take that away from him.
CC Sabathia will bounce back from this, our bats will hit again, and there was nothing we could have done to avoid this loss, with Verlander being as nasty as he was.
The best thing to do is just to fuhgeddaboutit, and move on.
Let’s go home, boys. I forgot what you guys looked like in pinstripes.
You can find Beeeebzy’s blog entries and more at 161st-and-River.com.
beeeebzy46
Recent Comments