Results tagged ‘ Phil Hughes ’

Yanks Hold Off Twins, Win 4-3

Despite
control issues, A.J. Burnett got his third straight win and continued
his streak of dominate performances, dominate would be a stretch for
last night, but he definitely did have his moments. Although A.J. did
put on 11 batters in 6.1 innings, he worked in and out of trouble and
escaped last night’s game only giving up 2 earned. The key moment for
A.J. was in the bottom of the 5th, after loading the bases Cuddyer came
up to the plate and Burnett struck him out swinging with a series of
horrible pitches that showed how anxious Cuddyer was, and how much
pressure he put on himself. Burnett’s wildness is just a key to how
good of a pitcher he is, even with his control issues he still put
batters away and kept them guessing all night and more importantly
didn’t make mistakes trying to correct those problems. The
Yankee bats, lead by the unlikely Brett Gardner, got to Swarzak early
and gave a cushion to Burnett. The lineup is molding and connecting at
a very high level right now and, besides Damon, every starter had at
least one hit again last night, Jeter and Posada were the only two with
multi-hit games. The Yankees were cruising going into the 5th inning
putting 9 runners on (8 hits, 1 walk) and scoring 4 of those runners by
the end of that inning, taking a 4-2 lead.

Arod provided an insurance run in the 5th to put the Yanks up by 2
and give them a little more room to work with, a run that ended up
being a necessity more than a luxury.

Burnett only had 2 ks last night but they came in very tight spots
where a strike out was needed desperately.  One I talked about earlier
with Cuddyer and the other came in the bottom half of the 6th when A.J.
struck out a scrappy hitter in Denard Span with his best curve ball of
the night that if even hit would’ve been a weak grounder to Teixeira.

Bobby Keppel would come in for the last 2 outs in the 5th, after
loading the bases by way of a walk to Posada (he did inherit 2 runners)
he got the Twins biggest out of the night when Cano flied out to left,
a collective sigh of relief swept over the place as Keppel has not had
much success in the majors, but that was as a starter.

Arod’s insurance RBI came into play in the bottom of the 7th when
Phil Coke was summoned to face M&M (Mauer and Morneau). Coke, who
has been one of the reasons this Yankee bullpen has been so great
lately, left the ball hanging on the outside portion of the plate to
Mauer and he drilled it over the left field wall, cutting the Yankee
lead to one run. Coke did half of his job and struck out Morneau on a
nasty breaking ball. Hughes followed and got a pop out to right on one
pitch to Cuddyer to end the inning. Side Track/Hughes Watch: Phil
Hughes has not allowed an earned run in his last 9 appearances or 11
innings pitched over that span his ERA has dropped 1.02 runs from 5.13
to 4.11 and has only allowed a staggering 6 runners on base. Hughes has
been almost mistake free out of the bullpen and has continued to
confuse and stifle batters, he is quickly becoming one of the best
relievers in the game right now.

Another note that might not make people happy, but might make them
understand how often an ump calls a guy out when the ball just beats
them to the bag happened again last night. Nick Swisher, who is not the
swiftest or fastest runner in the world, attempted to stretch a single
into a double in the top of the 8th. Although he was clearly out, at
least in terms of the ball getting there, the Twins short stop Brendan
Harris may have missed the tag. Of course factoring in all the angles
an ump has to fight with it would be hard to tell from his perspective,
but when reviewed and slowed down it appeared that Swisher foot was in
before the tag. My point being that, not as bad as Jeter’s mind you,
umps often call players out when the ball beats them to the bag, and
last night was another example, so even though Jeter had a point to
argue, the ump wasn’t that far off when he made his argument. I am not
saying that it is right, but it is something that happens every now and
then, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens once a night around the
MLB, and will continue to happen, just think of the neighborhood rule
at 2nd base, it’s almost the same principle.

Back to the game, Mo came in to close it out and shut the top of the
Twins order down 1,2,3 to record his 22nd save of the year and
solidifying another series win for the Yanks.

The Yankees are on a roll right now winning 6 out of 8 games in July
so far and winning their last 5 series, they are 1 game out of the AL
East lead and are waiting to pounce on an opportunity to jump into at
least the share of first place.

W: Burnett (8-4 3.77 ERA)

L: Swarzak (2-3 4.50 ERA)

S: Rivera (22)

Tonight’s Game: Aceves (5-1 2.02 ERA [first major league start]) vs Liriano (4-8 5.49 ERA)

A very interesting match-up that puts Aceves on the mound, replacing
the injured Wang, as a starter for the first time in his Major League
Career. Aceves has been great for the Yankees coming out of the pen
this year and was the deemed the right pitcher to run out there for the
start. He faces a very talented but struggling pitcher in Francisco
Liriano who pitched very well his first start against the Yankees
earlier this year. The Yankees want Aceves to do to the Twins that
first time starters do to them and keep them guessing. I would be
surprised to see him going past 5 innings tonight so it is good that
only 2 pitchers were used out of the pen last night. This game is a
coin toss that obviously can go either way, if the Yankee bats keep it
up they win but if they are stifled I can see them losing. I think
Aceves will be fine but do think he will give up a few runs, hopefully
the Yankee bats back him up…LET’S GO YANKEES!

If I made mistakes I will correct them…I am running out to lunch lol ;-)

Yankees 8, Mariners 5

Who would’ve
thunk it…Mariano throws out the first pitch and it wasn’t even from the
mound!!! I guess he was afraid of bouncing the ball LOL…I’m obviously
just kidding…but its good to see him honored in his home ball park for
his milestone accomplishment…Congrats again Mo! Now on to last night
and a very interesting game (to say the least) and one I was certainly
not expecting at all…Seattle, a team not known for it’s scoring, put up
an offensive fight last night against a high scoring, high powered
Yankee team who eventually landed the K.O. punch to the Mariners in the
bottom half of the 8th (Seattle tied the game in the top half after a
MOONSHOT by Arod in the 7th)…Joba, once again, has disappointed me and
now I am almost completely in agreeance that he should be the 8th
inning guy, and possibly sliding Hughes back into the rotation. The
problem is that Girardi and Cashman WANT Joba in the rotation so as
long as he keeps the Yanks in the game and gives them 5+ innings every
start, they are happy with that…especially if the bullpen can keep
performing the way they are. Nowwww if you
have been following this blog for a while (and if you are I thank you
greatly) you will know that I am actually a HUGE Joba fan, and have
fought for him to stay in the rotation. However it might be the time to
start the transition to put him back in the penn…I truly believe he can
be a great starter but for some reason it’s not clicking right now and
he isn’t trusting his stuff…I, like many others, feel that he could
potentially be Mos predecessor so maybe the wheels should start moving
on that project soon…Hughes is proving more and more every day that he
is worthy of that spot, and now that he has experience and confidence
he is making a strong, strong case.

Now back to the game…Joba did keep the Yanks in the game and only
gave up 3 earned runs…but he wasn’t as dominate as he should be…he put
12 guys on over 5.1 innings pitched and escaped only giving up 3
runs…even though you don’t want to see it…it is kind of impressive…he
can’t keep making this an every start thing though because he will
eventually get burned by it…and it’s worthy to note that Joba’s ERA is
slowly creeping up on an almost every start basis…but the Yankee bats
came through AGAIN and are still as hot as ever!!! and they are showing
fight! They might not have scored in the most “flashy” ways possible,
but hey, if they are using small ball to win games and putting the
fundamentals into play…I am happy with it…as long as those runs cross
the plate I don’t care how they do it AT ALL! There were a couple of
offensive mis-cues and missed opportunities last night…but they did
execute for the most part and that is good to see…they need to play
small ball sometimes to win and that has been a BIGGGG problem for them
in years past…but if last night is a testament to their ability to play
games that way…we are in good shape. The big news of last night, in my
opinion, was that Arod homerun…he is clearly coming into stride and hit
that ball into the stratosphere, and came through in a very clutch
situation to give the Yanks a short-lived lead. Arod has been
performing to his ability as of late and I am predicting a HUGEEEE
month of July from him, especially if this team continues to click the
way they are and continue to pump life into the clubhouse…I will say
this AGAIN if they continue to have fun and be enthusiastic they will
continue to win…there is clearly a direct correlation between the
two…when was the last time you’ve seen Arod this excited to play the
game???…it’s a good sign everyone! The other story is how clutch Melky
was last night…driving in 3 key runs, including the game winner in the
bottom of the 8th. Granted Seattle basically handed the game over to
the Yanks, it’s good to see them take advantage of that…they MUST beat
these teams and they are doing it and it’s good to see role players
coming through in big time spots…I have really changed my mind on Melky
and am actually (it’s hard for me to say) becoming a fan of his…after
his double in the 8th…captain clutch came up to knock in 2 more and
give the Yanks a 3 run lead going into the 9th…and with Mo coming
in…you know he closed the door on that game..hey the Yanks are getting
hits and bringing runners in when they are in scoring position…YAY!!!!

This is becoming a regular topic and that is the Yankee
bullpen…these guys were great last night, with the exception of a
blunder by Bruney last night, and continue to keep the Yanks in games
when they need them…they are quietly becoming one of the better
bullpens in the majors and are truly making their mark on their
opponents. I already did my schpeal on Hughes before, and you know how
amazing I think he is…Side Track (aka Hughes Watch 09): only 3 hits
over 8.1 innings, none in his last 5.1, and no runs (earned or
un-earned) have scored over the same amount of innings…he has been flat
out dominate out of the penn…if you want to see his numbers click here…I
can’t just praise Hughes…because everyone has been great…Robertson,
Coke, Aceves all three young guys are showing up in big ways…and lets
hope they keep it up during the end of the year…because it should be a
tight race and they will need to step up…I am very happy with the
bullpen and the way they have performed and I think every Yankee fan
should appreciate that and understand how many games they have saved
this year…they are truly the unsung heroes of this season so
far…hopefully they can keep it up.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd on to tonite…this is the only game I can see
the Yankees losing in this series and that is only because Washburn has
been on fire this year…and Pettitte has been horrific, at best, for the
Yanks at home. It’s a scary game that I can see really going either
way…Andy needs to show up tonite and keep this winning streak alive,
btw if you’re keeping score at home  (WOWWWW so cliched I’m horrible)
it’s at 6…and we are 2.5 out of first…but we need to have a good
performance by Andy, and if we get beat it has to be that Washburn had
a great game, not by Pettitte getting smashed…If Pettitte can show up,
hopefully it will spark him to calm down and get some confidence and
poise back, at home…because if his current trend keeps up…it could be a
long year for him…and we can see the rotation shuffled a little bit to
get him more starts on the road…but we all love to see Pettitte pitch
so we obviously don’t want that to happen, unless it is necessary.
Washburn is a vet, who knows how to pitch so I wouldn’t be surprised to
see a good performance out of him..but the Yankee bats are hotttt right
now and Washburn definitely has the ability to get smashed around…if
the Yanks can put a 5 or 6 spot up on him…or knock him out and get to
the bullpen early then they have a shot…but 3 or 4 runs might not cut
it…unless we get a great performance from Andy tonite…the bats are hot,
the guys are having fun, it’s gunna be a tough, fun game tonite…LET’S
GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

Albert Pujols: I don’t want to say it but….who is gunna be the first
idiot to proclaim that Pujols is on steroids…it’s bound to happen
people and unfortunately that is what this game is becoming…certain
people soiled the name of baseball and now people like Pujols will have
to pay the price…they say they don’t care but they have to when people
are questioning their talents and abilities…but beyond all that Albert
hit his 30 and 31st homeruns last night and is on fire…if his average
can grow he can be a legit triple crown contender.

Red Saux: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….nice game last night…that’s all I really have to say…WOW!!!

Jason Kidd: Won’t be a Knick…Cuban is in love with him and has the money to prove it

That’s it…Late

Yanks Lose 3rd Straight, 5 Games Back

Well there is
really only one word to describe the way the Yankees have played as of
late…and that is PATHETIC!!! This is the 3rd series in a row where they
are facing a team they have a distinct advantage over and now they drop
the first and most crucial game of this series. The worst part about
it? Wang looked good again!!! And this guy can’t buy a win…or even a no
decision! He pitched well his last two starts and the Yankee bats are
turning into the Mets when Santana is on the hill…except right now you
can’t hope to score 1 run…I KNOW THE YANKEES GOT SHUT OUT!…and win the
game with Wang on the hill…where is the offense? Hanson pitched okay
last night…but he didn’t have shut out stuff…calling all Yankee
hitters…when you get 10 guys on base off of a starter…especially a
rookie!!! YOU HAVE TO SCORE!!!! What are you guys doing???This
team just isn’t clicking right now…and the bad part is they have to
face ANOTHER pitcher they have never seen before again tonite!! And we
all know how that has been going! Side Track: I have made excuses for
him for a while now…but when will Arod turn it around? He is almost
turning into an automatic out and with him batting like this it is
almost causing the whole team to fail…there is no reason to not go
right at Arod right now…I don’t know if he isn’t trusting himself or he
is favoring his injury too much…but he has wayyyy to good to be batting
so close to the Mendoza line…he needs to turn it around so the offense
can start clicking again and firing on all cylinders…c’mon Arod…just
relax and do what you do best…stop trying so hard!…This team was on
fire…i feel like i say this all the time…when they were having fun and
relaxing…they won coming from behind…they blew teams out of the
water…but now they are flat…where is that energy?…where are those
smiles? I feel like these guys are just not having fun right now…which,
in my opinion, is the reason why they were playing so bad these past
few years. Swisher, Cano, Melky all need to fire this team up again and
get them loose…when these guys are on they are jumping around, joking
and having a good time…guys it’s still early in the season…stop
pressing so much and have fun!!! The hits will fall in and we will
start winning games again…PLEASE!!! for all Yankee fans sake start
enjoying the game again!!! Bottom line is two things can’t click right
now for the Yankees…they get good pitching…no hitting…they get good
hitting…no pitching…maybe this is just a little skid…maybe this isn’t
there year for interleague dominance…but either way they need to get
back on track…Tex is still hitting good, but if Arod can click this 3-4
combo will be unstoppable again…and the top of their order will be
incredible…Joe, please put Cano at #2 for at least 1 game…you will see
more offensive production this way…THANKS!

I do have to make a “silver lining” statement about Phil Hughes…this
kid has looked amazing coming out of the pen…and I think he has learned
what he needs to do to be a successful starter in the majors. In his
last 6 innings he hasn’t given up even a run (earned or unearned)…he
has pitched unbelievably well and taken his new role in stride and is
doing whatever it takes to help the team win. He is proving that you
can put him in any situation, any role and he will be dominate, and
adjust to it…in his last 2 appearances (3 innings) Hughes hasn’t even
given up a hit or a walk…and has struck out 4 batters…this kid is the
real deal and proving every time he comes into a game how much of an
asset he is to this team…I wouldn’t be surprised…if everything
continues the same way…to see Hughes back in the rotation if Joba can’t
get it together. There are a lot of sportscasters and sports talk radio
hosts pounding home the idea that Joba should be the 8th inning guy, I
was resilient to that point but now am thinking it might be the best
thing…I love Joba as a starter but he can’t get it together and you
can’t put the bullpen in the position of having to pitch 4 innings
every game he starts…I can’t believe I am actually saying this but I am
starting to agree Joba should be in the bullpen…If Phil continues to be
dominate and Joba continues to only pitch 5 innings there can be a
switch happening by the all-star break.

What about tonite’s game? Well this should be a head scratcher that
can really go either way…Joba vs Kawakami…another pitcher the Yankees
have never seen.. it’s the 8th game in a row this is
happening…GREAT!!!…This is another pitcher that gets knocked around a
little…but knows how to work out of trouble…he has an ERA just over 4
so that also means he gives up runs…in his last 2 starts however he has
only given up 4 earned runs over 11 innings pitched…with him shutting
down a very formidable Saux lineup…I haven’t seen much of this guy
pitch…but he has a similar delivery to Dice-K, for better or worse, so
he slows down the game and can deceive batters…NOT GOOD for the
Yankees!! These two things, deceptive delivery and seeing him for the
first time, combined spells a disaster waiting to happen…and this means
Joba needs to show up tonite!!! Joba, Joba, Joba…its sad somewhat
because he really doesn’t give up many runs…but he doesn’t trust his
stuff and gets into wayy to many jams…and it might actually be coming
around to hurt him finally…he has been sluggish and trying wayyyyyyyyyy
to hard to hit his spots…to the point where his 95 mph fastball is
turning into a 90 mph meatball in the middle of the plate…Joba has some
of the nastiest stuff in the game but doesn’t use it correctly…if he
can settle down and pitch his game he will be fine…but once runners get
on he tries to become too cute and too accurate…JOBA y0u can throw 95+
at any time…run the ball inside and scare some of these batters and
then have them diving over the plate for the slider…Joba needs to go 6+
tonite…and if he doesn’t the rumblings are gunna become screams for him
to be put in the bullpen…if he wants to keep being a starter he needs
to start pitching that way…very tough opponent tonite, and a very
interesting matchup that can go either way…hopefully it goes ours…LET’S
GO YANKEES!

Yanks Can’t Help Wang, Lose 3-2

Well he finally did it…Wang finally
had a quality start…well sort of…and maybe, just maybe, might be on the
track to “recovery” and being a dominate pitcher once again. Even
though I can’t guarantee that this start means he is “back”, I can
guarantee that it at least earned him a spot in the rotation. Sorry
folks, this performance just solidified CMW’s spot in the rotation (or at least another handful of starts). I know what you all are thinking…”It was the Nationals“…”He wasn’t tested”…”There the worst team in baseball”…now wait a second…yes the Nationals
are a horrible team…but you have to understand that they are a very
formidable, powerful team that has the ability to put up HUGE
numbers…their biggest problems are their pitching and fielding, and
thus the reason for their horrible record…we did see the Elijah Dukes play on Tuesday right? Case and point. But admit it or not Wang pitched well last night, and this just might be the start he needed to get his confidence back, and his “mojo” working.He
gave us 5 strong innings only giving up 3 runs, 2 of which could’ve
been avoided if plays went a different way for him in the field…or so
it seemed that way…of course I was stuck listening to the game for 3
innings and we all know how that goes…an over-expressive John Sterling
making a call on a play by Pena (the Willy Harris stolen base in the 5th) saying that if he had the ball Harris was out…but you never know how close that play really was when you listen to Sterling and Waldman…then Melky’s diving play later on in the 5th on a Nick Johnson triple…Yeah I couldn’t believe it…a Nick Johnson triple!!!…if Melk doesn’t dive for that ball he cuts it off and only 1 run scores instead of 2…and Johnson is only on first with Guzman at 3rd…But Wang
showed me a lot last night…his sinker was falling off the table, his
location was good and he was pitching out of tight situations. Joe
Girardi and Dave Eiland must have a lot of faith in Wang not taking him out of the game after giving up 2 runs in the 5th…especially with his pitch count rising…But CMW got passed the Nick Johnson triple…he intentionally walked Dunn (not a surprise…did you see the Homer??? WOW!)…then got a ground out by Elijah Dukes to end the inning…GREAT JOB!!! Especially when Wang’s confidence has been at an all time low…ALL YEAR!!!…Last night Wang looked like the Wang
of old and if he can build off this start our rotation may have just
gotten a whole lot deeper…Don’t be fooled by the horrible record
though, the Nationals are a tough offense to face, with a lot of power and home run potential, and Wang threw 5 quality innings against them and kept the Yankees in the game…let’s hope (I am at least) that he can build on this start and solve the question to who the 5th starter will be.

Hey, Hey, Now, Now our bullpen is getting better and had another great performance last night…shutting down the Nationals, only giving up 1 hit and 1 walk, and NO RUNS!!!! The pitching last night kept the Yanks
in the game but their bats just couldn’t respond…they are showing that
they have trouble against young pitchers that they have never seen
before and John Lannan
was no exception. Now, I didn’t get to see much of the game so I don’t
know how he was throwing or how his location was…BLAH, BLAH, BLAH…but
he does pitch in a high scoring division in the NL East and his home
park is a bandbox so his performance last night was not a fluke…This
kid is good and he only gave up 4 hits last night, with one walk
attached to that as well…and he had two blemishes, both home runs to Cano and Damon…which
is alittle odd due to the fact that he is a lefty and so were the two
batters. That most likely means he was trying to pound them inside and
they just dropped the bat in the zone and took those pitches out. But Lannan
did go 8.1 innings last night, clearly trying to keep him in the game
and keep the bullpen at bay, so that means they trusted his stuff and
he clearly proved he has the ability to get guys out. He shut down a
dominate Yankees lineup and proved that he deserves to be in the conversation of great young pitchers in the game right now…Now if the Yanks
would see this kid again…who knows what would happen…I’m gunna chalk
this up as a disappointing loss, they didn’t take enough pitches (Lannan left the game in the 9th throwing only 108 pitches) and didn’t try to get the horrific Nats bullpen…Lannan did pitch well so I have to give him some credit but, the Yankees didn’t have a good game plan going into last night and they proved it. Now the Yanks put themselves into the precarious position of HAVING to win tonite…Boston
is up 3 on them so they need to stop it at that…I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE
PANIC MODE…but they MUST have a better game plan going into tonite’s
game. But last night was not a complete loss…Wang pitched well…despite getting the loss…and the bullpen looked great…and Phil Hughes may be more of an asset out of the bullpen than most will admit.

NOW THE BIGGGGG RANT!!! Johnny Damon hits a lead off homer, giving the Yankees
life and a chance to strike back…We’ve seen this before, especially
with this team…they have life…they are fiery…they can win this game
like championship teams do…after a disappointing Swisher fly out to left, Teixeira (who is making a name for himself in Yankee lore) hits a single, which subsequently led to Lannan coming out of the game…YES!!! That Nats bullpen!!!! Tex is pinch run for by Gardner…is he fast?…Brett steals 2nd, then 3rd…so we have Arod at the plate with a man on third…AND ONLY 1 OUT!!!…Arod walks, so now there are men on 1st and 2nd. Here is the bad part…why is Arod standing on first in a close game??? Especially with the tying run 90ft away and a speedy Gardner
on 3rd…HE SCORES ON A GROUND BALL…well maybe not, but def a short fly
ball anywhere in the outfield. My point being that you have Berroa on the bench…why isn’t he in? Right now he is faster than Arod and could potentially swipe 2nd…eliminating the double play…Girardi will never send Arod in that situation…especially with this hip…so why again is Berroa not in there???? Especially with Cano, a lefty who pulls the ball a lot, at the plate…YOU NEED ALL THE SPEED YOU CAN GET!!!! Horrible managing and because of it Cano
hit into a double play…YOU TRADE THAT OUT FOR A POTENTIAL GO AHEAD RUN
JOE!!!!!! WHY WASN’T A RUNNER IN THE GAME AT THAT POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please someone explain that to me…it’s not the 7th inning…it’s the 9th!
PATHETIC!!!! Oh btw…all Arod
haters…he is under-performing, I KNOW, but give him a break…he is
coming off major surgery…without spring training…I agree his numbers
should be better…but he is in pain and is tired…he was supposed to get
every other day off but hasn’t and has started all 37 games since he
has been back…JOE GIVE HIM A DAY OFF….HE NEEDS THE REST!!!

On to tonite’s game…Joba vs Stammen…well the only thing I really have to say about this game is to sit back on this pitcher for the Nationals
and make him make mistakes…he is a struggling rookie who doesn’t have
good numbers at all this year, but he is better on the road than at
home…but not much better. YANKEES
PLEASE!!! be patient with this guy…you saw what happened last night!!!
He isn’t good at all…no excuse if you don’t score…then get him out of
the game early and attack that abysmal bullpen…Key to the game is Joba going more than 4 innings…He needs to prove that he is a starter and wants to be there…TRUST YOURSELF JOBA!!! You have shut down stuff…you should be in the range of a Haren or Lincecum…just
pitch your game…don’t think about your pitch count…and ATTACK THE
ZONE!! Stop trying to be cute…you throw 93 – 95…NOT 90!!! C’mon Joba
prove that you deserve a spot in the rotation..and not that you
care…prove to the media and fans that you are more valuable in the
rotation than as a set-up guy…Yankees should win tonite…they clearly have the pitching advantage in this one…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

U.S. Open: Gunna be very interesting…especially with the weather…has
an Open ever finished on a Wednesday before? Tiger is obvs the heavy
favorite but he struggles off the tee sometimes…he will probably win
but I’m pulling for Phil…hopefully he can keep his focus…if not him
Ogilvy or Harrington.

That’s it…let’s see if there is a game tonite…late

Damon’s Homer Lifts Yankees Over Rays

Damon’s Homer Lifts Yankees Over Rays

June 9, 2009 by bobdawg423 | Edit

Another
great late inning win by the Yankees, just proving, once again, that no
matter who the opponent, what the score, who’s pitching, etc. the Yanks
always have a chance and are always in the game. I would like to start
off congratulating Andy Pettitte on pitching a great game at
home…FINALLY!!! I mean, I know I’m being a little over dramatic…over
his last 3 home starts (not including yesterday) he only gave up 4
earned but he didnt look good. Last night Pettitte was there to pitch
and displayed one of the NASTIEST sliders I have even seen him throw.
Now I have to admit I am a little concerned about Pettitte…he seems to
not be at his healthiest and is not dominating batters the way he has
in the past….STOP!!! I know what your thinking…”HEY DUMMY!!! HE’S NOT
27 ANYMORE!!!” I know, I know…I just mean he is throwing meatballs at
points and not using his smarts to get past batters. That 3-2 pitch to
Kapler…SIDE TRACK: I truly believe that Pettitte was ********** that he
didn’t get the call on the pitch before…he threw a 2-2 curvethat,
I REALLLLLY THOUGHT WAS A STRIKE, must’ve just missed the outside
corner…he froze Kapler and should’ve gotten the strike out…instead he
got flustered and made this mistake…was a meatball, batting practice
fastball, that just sat in the middle of the zone and was ready to be
hit into the stratosphere, and that’s where it ended up. He was clearly
upset on the mound and didn’t calm down before he threw that horrific
pitch. But he prevailed and if it wasn’t for the top of the 4th
Pettitte pitched great. My only concern is that Pettitte has given up
WAYYYYY to many homeruns this season so far, especially in Yankee
Stadium….he doesn’t have that 90+ fastball anymore and he needs to
adjust to that…the pitch to Kapler was horrible and with the Rays
lineup he could’ve put the pitch inside and if he ended up walking him
it wouldn’t have been that bad…especially with Reid Brignac coming up
next…but be that as it may in the long run it didn’t matter and the
Yanks still won. (Oh number freaks for Pettitte that’s 8 homers in only
43.1 innings pitched at home…something needs to change here)

Ummmmm….is Teixeira good? Ohhh by the way all those supposed “real
Yankee fans” next time check your stats and don’t overreact to
everything….if you knew anything, you would know Tex is notoriously
horrific in April and that he was going to be off to a slow start…hey
listen I’m not preaching without sin…I got frustrated too…but you can’t
boo the guy when he has that kind of track record!! Look at him now!!
The guy is a flatout beast and is now leading the American League in
Homers and is producing with his bat on a consistent basis and with his
glove, what seems to be, EVERYDAY!!! This guy is one of the best in the
game and I’m glad he’s on our team. Sorry….I had to say that.

I would like to pat myself on the back for predicting a win
yesterday…now I will admit that I thought the Yanks would win by more
than 2 buttttttt that’s baseball and Sonnanstine actually decided to
throw a some what decent game. I also figured Sonnanstine would be out
in 5 (He pitched 7+, he came out for the 8th and gave up a leadoff
homer to Jeter) The bats did attack Sonnanstine though and got him for
4 homers (3 solo) and they rolled to victory thanks to the bullpen
behind Pettitte…and that guy Hughes…ever heard of him? I’ll get back to
that in a minute. Even with the 4 homers off Andy the Yanks could only
muster 6 hits for the night, I obviously figured in for a lot more. A
very weird feat…so in reality Sonnanstine really didn’t pitch that bad
at all…he just made 4 really bad mistakes ;-)
. I would like to see more small ball out of the Yankees at times…we
aren’t stealing bases as much right now…but I guess you have to get on
base to do that too. Power is fine and all but if they lose that for a
period of time…which don’t go crazy people teams do slump…LOOK AT THE
METS!!! who whether you want to admit it or not have a pretty good
lineup…it happens! So with any power shortage the Yankees could be in
trouble so I would like to see small ball once and a while…but I’m not
nervous guys can execute on that team and they will…I just don’t want
to be sooooo dependent on power that we drop a few games if they slump.

This will piss a lot of people off but…Phil Hughes looked really
good and can be the answer to our 8th inning woes. I know he pitched in
the 7th…calm down people…but he looked calm, collected, and very
intense in his new role…and like a good young pitcher he is telling the
media that he will do whatever it takes to help the team win…he’s a
true Yankee. Phil came in and mowed down 3 really good batters,
probably the cream of the crop for this Tampa team and did it with ease
getting 2 groundouts and a very impressive strike out of Longoria. He
looked good people and this might be a good role for him right now…HE
WILL START AGAIN!! DON’T WORRY…but I think he should be our 8th inning
guy…another guy I like actually pitched in the 8th yesterday and that
is Phil Coke…Yes, I am a Coke Bloke as well as a co-founder of the
group…he’s a good pitcher with a lot of talent who is an essential part
of this bullpen…not only as a lefty but as someone who can get key outs
late in the game. He has good pitches and poise and once he gets
settled into being a Yankee and the pressure, he will be fine and will
become a HUGE!!! Fan favorite and everyone will want to become a Coke
Bloke!!! You know it’s true!!!

Tonite’s game…is it raining in Boston? Cuz it’s pouring here! GREAT
MATCHUP BURNETT vs BECKETT, former teammates, good friends….probably
the best one of the series!!! Although it just barely over shadows the
Sabathia/Penny duel…BTW forecast not looking to good for tonite :-(
…BUMMER!!! Hey, remember 4/25 does that date ring a bell? Well that was
the last time these two pitchers squared off and instead of a great
pitchers duel it was a public bashing!!! Both pitchers gave up 8
earned…and didn’t even factor in the decision!!! THAT’S INSANE…worse
part about it was that Burnett was spotted 6 runs before he fell apart
in the 4 giving up 5 earned then again in the 5th giving up another
3!!! HORRIBLE….but hey that’s the past, let’s not dwell on that…you
defiantly can’t expect that two times in a row these guys are too
good…and actually pitching well as of late…especially Beckett who has
had 6 quality starts in a row along with a 4 and 0 record over that
stretch…Burnett is working off 2 good starts off the Rangers (just
happened to face them in back to back starts) and the Red Sox offense
is very similar to theirs…if anything though the Sox hit more for
average than power..which could hurt Burnett…sorry everyone! This
matchup really intrigues me…both guys have the potential to be lights
out but both have the ability to get smashed…my thought process is that
this game is gunna get called tonite…the Weather isn’t supposed to be
good and if it’s anything like it is here up in Boston the game will be
called at 4pm…But if the game were to happen…I can’t give a good
definite prediction…it depends really on which Burnett shows up…I’m
hoping he has found his groove and is ready to pitch to his talent and
we get to see the Burnett of last year…in his career he has dominated
the Sox…which was a speculative point on why the Yanks wanted him so
bad…with a 5-0 career record and posting a 3.52 ERA which I am sure is
bloated a little due to the horrible start mentioned earlier. If
Burnett shows up I think whoever makes the first mistake loses…I really
see this being a pitchers duel…if the Yankees lefties can take
advantage of Pesky’s poll they will be in good shape…the bats are hot
and need to take advantage of Beckett’s few mistakes…Keys to the game
are the Yankees sitting back and waiting for their pitch from a very
good pitcher…if they are too overeager they will be outmatched and put
a lot of pressure on Burnett…I’m looking forward to this game should be
a good one…if it happens…I know it was a vague perdiction but it really
is a toss up…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

THAT’S ALL FOLKS…late!!!

Wang Struggles, Melky Hits Game Winner

Well let the
debates begin….NOW! I haven’t heard them yet but I am sure there are
sports talk radio shows that will blow up with callers yelling about
Wang starting yesterday when Phil Hughes got sent to the bullpen for
pitching much better than that so far this year. But one thing people
have to remember is that WE WON THE GAME! I know that isn’t condolence
for much people but…it doesn’t matter…Do people forget about how much
of an asset Wang is? Is that what Yankee fans have become? I don’t
remember Yankee fans turning their back on a player…Granted they have
let them know when they fail but it seems like no one wants Wang to
pitch anymore. The only argument I have is that they shouldn’t have
made the move official but I do believe you needed to let Wang start
after his performance in Cleveland. We can’t give up on this guy, in
2006 and 2007 he WON 19 GAMES EACH YEAR!!! Last year he was 8 and 2
before getting hurt!!! He’s too good to not let me try, and it’s early
enough that if they did lose the game it wouldn’t have really mattered!
Like I said I think they should’ve went with
an abbreviated 6 man rotation or gave Wang a spot start…his next start
is against the Sox and if he doesn’t perform he might get sent to the
minors again to regain his confidence. Don’t worry folks you will see
Hughes start again, but he is also filling a huge gap in our bullpen
right now…so before we put Girardi out to pasture on this one, let’s
see how affective this move can be, and remember WE WON THE GAME!!!
On to yesterdays game…SIDE TRACK: There was a caller on Boomer and
Carton this morning that was making it seem like a bad thing that the
Yankees win games late…UMMMMM I disagree! Although I do agree with him
in terms of you don’t want this to be a trend…but it’s not…and also he
stated that our starters can’t give up 5 or 6 runs…I AGREE TOO! BUTTTTT
let’s not get too hasty besides yesterday debacle with Wang (who gave
up 5 earned) the most runs given up by a starter in the past 12 games
is 5 earned by Burnett against the Phillies…So I know it seems like the
Yankees have been getting creamed in the early goings of the game and
winning late…but it’s not as bad as it seems…and Championship teams
always fight and are always in the game…so please stop acting like this
is a bad thing…PLEASE!! Sorry about that, I had to get that off my mind
too…but any way. Wang was so amazing in the first 2 innings yesterday
that I thought there would be no doubt the Yankees would run away with
that game. His pitches had incredible movement, he kept the ball down
and diving and most of all the hitters couldn’t get a good read on the
ball. You know what, even after the 2 run 3rd I was confident…but
that’s where the trouble began…I don’t know what happened but he just
couldn’t locate the ball right and every pitch off his hand was
flat…and it turned into batting practice…topped off by Nelson Cruz (see
earlier posts…this kid is the real deal) who hit a taser to the
visitors bullpen. Wang was pulled after 4.2 innings and will have to
perform in Boston if he wants to stay in the rotation.

I am glad to see that the Yankees are taking advantage of mediocre
pitchers…SIDE TRACK: This is why Texas will not win the West, the
Angels are fighters and the Rangers only have 2 decent pitchers at
best…Too much youth on the mound, but they do have a ton of offensive
firepower, but not enough to hold the lead for the whole year…sorry
Ranger Fans…anywho McCarthy is supposed to be a great pitcher for the
Rangers however he has struggled in the Majors…after the lead off
homerun to Damon I figured the Yankees would role to victory…however
McCarthy did calm down until the 5th inning, where he didn’t even get a
single out…The Yanks got the bases loaded and after a walk to Swisher
which made the game 5-2, Teixeira hit on the the weirdest bases
clearing doubles I have ever seen and if the Rangers weren’t shading
him to the right side of the field there is no doubt Young would have
gotten that and at least got Damon at home, but that’s what you get
putting a shortstop at 3rd ;-)
. Arod comes up in a tied game with Tex at 2nd (who was smiling and
having fun…HEY THAT’S A THEME!!!!! FUN!!! EXCITEMENT!!! ENERGY!!! I
LOVE IT!!!) and hits a single off the right field wall to bring in
Teixeira….BTW that makes up for Wednesday’s terrible performance. SIDE
TRACK: Sorry for all of these BUT!!! C’mon guys, I know he failed a lot
that day but he can’t come through EVERY TIME!!!…I’m gunna talk about
how good our bullpen was in a second..but in the top of the 5th Kinsler
hit a ball so far that if the Foul Pole didn’t get in the way it might
have made it’s way into the Audi Club….what a shot…but more importantly
what a bad pitch LOL…so after a few innings of good pitching? Really?
The unpredictable C.J. Wilson (The Rangers closer last year, I’m pretty
sure they are happy to have Fransico closing now) comes in, walks Cano
then gives up a 2 run BOM…o sorry… a 2 run pop fly, (Just Kidding) that
was almost caught, to left to give the Yanks an 8-6 lead! Melky has
been on fire this year and maybe he learned the hard way last year that
starting is a privilege not a right! Mo came in the 9th and shut the
door, he wasn’t as dominate as usual but he got the job done…that’s all
that matters!

On to the young guns in the bullpen…what a performance! Pitching 4.1
innings in relief and shutting the Rangers powerful offense down.
Besides the one blemish, Kinsler’s Bomb, they were amazing. Only
letting 6 people on base by way of 4 hits and 2 walks. But I think the
unsung hero of this game is Phil Coke, now I know I have expressed my
love for him in the past and I think that he is going to be a huge star
here but I am being honest, he shut down this offense and kept the
Yankees in the game and if it wasn’t for him getting relieve d by
Robertson he would’ve gotten the win…BUT 3 CHEERS TO THE BULLPEN…I
really don’t think they are as bad as they seem people…they have a gap
in the 8th but I don’t think we need a “set in concrete set-up man” I
believe all these role players can fill that role, They were
Magnificent yesterday and I think we can call them a Good Bullpen,
let’s not kill them for struggling once and a while…IT HAPPENS!!! Side
Track: I just read that Cruz’s homerun is the first homer by a righty
off Wang in 22 starts, that’s crazy!.

Tonite: Sabathia vs Price…this game might not even happen tonite due
to rain but I am hoping it does, cuz I have tickets and I want to see
both of these guys pitch. This is a very intriguing matchup indeed..the
Young Stud, and wonderkid especially in last years playoffs, against
the best lefty in the American League. On paper the advantage goes to
the Yankees, I mean you have to think that they can handle a young kid
who is making his first start in Yankee Stadium, the pressure will get
to him..BLAH BLAH BLAH…rewind to last years playoffs, granted no one
knew anything about him but let’s be real for a second this kid was not
phased by pressure at all!!! I expect him to perform tonite, and work
off his last start in which he looked AMAZING!! Giving up 1 earned in
5.2 innings and striking out 11..Hey Carton (wow, that’s two references
today) check your stats before you make an outlandish remark! This kid
is good and could give the Yankees some trouble, I have to say I am a
little nervous about tonite, not because of Sabathia but because of the
potential this kid has. I am truly thinking that this game will be a
pitchers duel and whoever gives up the first run loses the game. The
key to the game for the Yankees offense is to make Price throw a lot of
pitches and knock him out of the game early and get to their struggling
bullpen. Sabathia can pitch forever so if he is on we need to keep him
out there as long as possible, especially if the game is close because
I don’t know who is gunna close the game tonite due to the fact that Mo
has closed out 2 straight…ATTENTION GIRARDI!!! ATTENTION GIRARDI!!! DO
NOT bring Mo in tonite…we can not lose him due to injury or a tired
arm! My prediction is that the Yankees win if they keep Price throwing
pitches…you must take him late into counts and take advantage (AGAIN)
of rookie mistakes…and LOOK for the slider in 2 strike counts, that’s
his put away pitch and it usually comes no where near the plate! But
I’m not a professional hitter so I shouldn’t really say anything
because I have no idea how deceptive it really is. Again Yankees win if
they get to the Rays bullpen early, and if Sabathia can pitch late into
this game, we need the bullpen to rest after yesterday, although Phil
Hughes is out there, but he shouldn’t be a mop up guy…Could Phil close
tonite? LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:
Red Wings: C’MON!!!! I know the Pens are young and quick but YOU MUST!!
Win this next game…if you go down 3-2 you have no shot to win this
series.

Magic/Lakers: Not surprised…I have to be honest I don’t see the
Magic having any shot in this series, they are too overmatched by role
players. If they guard Howard like that all series, the Magic have no
shot. Yesterday was a fluke each game will be closer than that but I
don’t see how the Magic can win.

Complete Games: There might be more but there were at least 3 last
night…and TWO in the same game! But I really did this to give it up for
Carpenter who is back baby! I really like this guy and I’m glad he is
getting back to playing…Injuries tarnished what should’ve been a great
career but it looks like he is back in dominate fashion!

I think that’s it…late!

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