Spring Games 21 & 22: ATL vs. NYY & NYY vs. MIA — Winning internationally is also an art

Well, today essentially erased yesterday’s losses in one fell swoop. 7 would be the Yankees “lucky number” on this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, as both in Tampa and in Panama, the Yankees split-squad each scored 7 total runs. And while the players are busy crossing international waters to head back to regular Spring Training, we take a moment to pause and consider the offensive victories of this Sunday.

In Tampa, on this very sunny, very hot, sometimes breezy afternoon, it was Masahiro Tanaka’s start today. And though he still managed to be fairly good, he still had some struggles and was not his usual “Tanaka-ness”. Over 4.1 innings, he allowed 3 hits, 1 run, and 2 walks, while striking out 6 Braves batters. But it still wasn’t until the 4th inning that the Braves managed to find a hole in Tanaka’s pitching, when a walk scored on a double to tie up the game. Backing up to the 2nd inning, Ramon Flores singled to lead-off the inning and scores later in the inning on Ichiro Suzuki’s single.

Going into the 5th inning, after Tanaka struck out a batter, he was replaced by Matt Thornton who struggled a bit, allowing a double, and an RBI single before getting those last two outs. Thornton, despite allowing the Braves to jump ahead, was technically the pitcher on record when the Yankees jumped ahead in what ended up being a gift-wrapped inning from the Braves.

Ichiro and Eduardo Nunez each walked and scored on Brian McCann’s double. Kelly Johnson singles, then Flores scores McCann’s pinch-runner. O’Brien walks to load the bases. A wild pitch scores Johnson and advances Flores and O’Brien. Mason Williams’ sacrifice fly easily scores Flores, as O’Brien lands on 3rd on a throwing error. Castillo reaches on another error, which allowed O’Brien to score. Suddenly, the Yankees are up 7-2 by the end of a very long half-inning.

Shawn Kelley dazzled in the 6th, complete with 2 strikeouts and no hits allowed. Shane Greene took the 7th and 8th, and only gave up a single hit, a solo home run; Greene struck out 4 batters. It was Dellin Betances’ turn for the 9th, and he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is, allowing a walk, a hit by pitch, and a single to load the bases with one out, so a ground out could score a fourth and final run for the Braves. Betances got that final out with a signature strikeout, and the Yankees were gifted with a 7-4 win in Tampa today.

Meanwhile, only an hour behind their Tampa crew, the rest of the Yankees played their second game against the Marlins in the exhibition series in Panama. Last night, they were hitless, and today, they more than made up for that off-night. CC Sabathia took the mound and proved once again why he’s the cornerstone of their starting rotation, with 5 hitless, scoreless innings and 5 strikeouts. Robertson took the 6th, Claiborne the 7th (allowing the only hit the Marlins would get all day), before Cabral and Leroux polished off the 8th and 9th, handing the Yankees their second victory of the day.

Well, of course, in order for their to be a victory, there has to be some hits and runs on the other side of the field. And there certainly was, beginning in the 2nd inning. Francisco Cervelli and Yangervis Solarte each singled, before Cervelli scored on Zelous Wheeler’s ground-rule double. In the 5th, Corban Joseph doubled, Jeter walked, Carlos Beltran singled home Joseph, Cervelli singled Jeter home, and Solarte’s single brought Beltran and Cervelli to punch the score up to 5-0 Yankees.

So in the 9th, the Yankees wanted to secure their win, so they added 2 more runs. Antoan Richardson singled and then scored as Gary Sanchez homered out to right field. And the Yankees flew away from Panama with a one-hitter shut-out win against the Marlins, winning 7-0. So in total, the Yankees had 15 total hits in Panama and 7 total runs, all in today’s game (plus 12 hits and 7 runs in the game in Tampa). Today was the Yankees being the Yankees, hitting, scoring, and finding the holes in their opponents’ game.

Ones to watch (having only watched the Tampa game, I’m limited to those I saw): Ramon Flores and Shane Greene. Flores may be my personal favorite player to watch this Spring, and he continues to prove he’s worth watching with his Granderson-like defense in the outfield and his consistency in the batter’s box. Greene has had his ups and downs, but he was pretty great to watch today, and except for the random solo home run, he threw 4 strikeouts in just 2 innings.

I have to point out two regular players that have been outstanding, especially in today’s game — Mark Teixeira and Francisco Cervelli. Teixeira had an absolutely amazing outing on defense at 1st base today, something that reminds me of pre-injured Teixeira days. Cervelli clearly has one of the highest batting averages of the Spring and continues to prove his mettle as an ardent defender at the plate. The Yankees are coming off strong this Spring, and that’s a really good sign.

Go Yankees!

Spring Games 16 & 17: NYY vs. PHI & BAL vs. NYY — Splitting the difference

The Yankees were on split-squad duty today, a portion of the team heading across the Courtney Campbell Causeway to play the Phillies and the rest at home hosting the Orioles.

The Phillies’ starter threw 5 perfect innings, really getting to the Yankee batters. Ivan Nova took the mound for the Yankees and really just couldn’t pull through. Over his 5 innings, Nova allowed 9 hits and 3 runs, but still struck out 6 batters. The main damage hit in the 3rd. A single, a single, an RBI single, another RBI single, a double play still scored the 3rd run, a single, and a double that ended in an out with the quick reflexes of Flores in left, Solarte at short, and Cervelli at home to get the runner at home from scoring a fourth run.

Scott Sizemore was the first Yankee to get a hit with a single in the sixth inning, but the Yankees waited until the 7th to score a run. Jacoby Ellsbury smacked a long lead-off solo home run to put the Yankees on the board. Then Teixeira walked; Johnson doubled, ending up at 3rd when the Phillies got Teixeira’s pinch-runner out at home; and then Francisco Cervelli singles and scores Johnson’s pinch-runner for the Yankees’ 2nd (and last run) of the game.

Following Nova, Greene and Mitchell each took an inning and kept the Phillies from adding to their score. But then, Preston Claiborne’s partial 8th inning was unexpected and disappointing. A single, a single, an RBI double, and a 2-RBI double added 3 more runs to the Phillies’ lead before a double play, and Montgomery coming in to get the third out.

But the damage was done in Clearwater. The Phillies won 6-2 over the Yankees.

Meanwhile in Tampa, the Yankees seemed to have a much better day on this unseasonably (but much appreciated) cooler day.

Michael Pineda got the start for today’s game, pitching for 2.2 innings. He allowed just 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5 Oriole batters before Robertson came in for the last out of the 3rd — his usual strikeout magic. Thornton came on in the 4th to allow a single and get an out, before Billings replaced him for 2.2 innings and definitely did better than his last relief outing, keeping the Orioles nested (bad pun, I know). Leroux took the 7th and 8th. Cabral was on the 9th, allowing a hit and a walk, but striking out 3 for all 3 of his outs.

Now, on the flip side the field, the Yankees made most of the dent in the first 2 innings. In the 1st, Brett Gardner got a lead-off single, advanced to 2nd on Jeter’s ground out, and then easily scored on Carlos Beltran’s single. Then McCann and Soriano walks to load the bases, but they couldn’t make it happen beyond that. In the 2nd, Zolio Almonte doubled and then scored on Brett Gardner’s ground-rule double. Then Derek Jeter reached on a fielder’s choice as the pitcher overthrew to 3rd to try to get Gardner out, but instead, Gardner scored and Jeter ended up at 2nd. The next two batters left him stranded there. But the Yankees were up 3-0, going into the 3rd.

In the 5th, Brian McCann walked for the second time, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, and then scored on Alfonso Soriano’s single. 4-0 Yankees. For insurance (not that they needed it), in the 8th, Zelous Wheeler walked, moved to 3rd on Corban Joseph’s single, and scored on Adonis Garcia’s single. Then with Joseph at 3rd, Gil grounds into a double play and Joseph scores the 6th and final Yankee run.

So the Yankees split the results today between their opponents. But this is the week for split squad days, with a good portion of the team headed down for the exhibition games in Panama this weekend, while the rest of the team here on a Saturday away game and Sunday home game. It will be interesting to see how this plays out for the team, and for those of us who write about it, it’s going to be a very busy weekend.

Go Yankees!

Spring Game 12: NYY vs. HOU — 15 runs flip-flop through the score

15 runs crossed the plate in Kissimmee between the Yankees and the Astros. In what is clearly one of the best weekends already this Spring (serious, can we bottle up today’s weather and save it forever?), a clear, cool day played host to some very interesting plays and a 3 hour, 15 minute game of baseball.

Ivan Nova started things off for the Yankees, but had a rather rough time of it today. He allowed 8 hits and 3 runs in his 4 innings, but also got 5 strikeouts. Right in the 1st inning, back-to-back singles put runners on the corner that scored on a really nice double, putting the Astros in the lead quickly 2-0. Plus Cervelli’s quick reflexes threw out a runner at 2nd, trying to score on a strikeout in the bottom of that inning.

The Yankees weren’t going to sit on that very long and answered with their own 2 runs in the 2nd. Dean Anna singled and then scored when Scott Sizemore ended up at 2nd on a throwing error. Then Sizemore tied up the game on Mason Williams’ double. So in the bottom of that inning, we dealt with our first replay review. After a single, the next Astros’ batter tried to bunt and make it to 1st, which is initially called out; the Astros’ appealed, the play was reviewed, and the call upheld. It did look like Nunez (who was covering first on the bunt) had to make an extra stretch for the bag, but he clearly tagged it before the runner did. The next batter singles home that first runner, and the Astros are up 3-2.

But the back-and-forth continues into the 3rd inning. Mark Teixeira, continuing to show signs of his pre-injury self, doubled, and then Kelly Johnson smacked a solid 2-run home run into the palm trees behind the right field fence. So the score flipped in the Yankees’ favor 4-3. (The bottom of the 3rd was Nova’s strongest inning, facing just 3 batters, striking out 2 of them.)

And we flip-flop the score again in the 5th, with Manny Banuelos pitching, his Spring debut and his first outing since his surgery and rehab began 2 years ago. The Astros batters seemed to like his pitching, though. A double and a walk set the stage for a 3-run homer, and the Astros were suddenly up 6-4. Two outs later, Chase Whitley replaced Banuelos (who was overall pretty glad to be back on the mound for real, despite the outcome) and got that last out in the 5th. Lucky for Whitley, the Yankees came storming back in the 6th, so he walked home (or rather rode the bus home) with the win today.

Loading the bases quickly in the 6th, with no outs, Anna singles, Sizemore walks, and Almonte singles. Williams’ sacrifice fly scored Anna (score: 6-5 Astros). Then Brett Gardner singled, scoring Sizemore and Almonte, and because of a really terrible throwing error (the center fielder somehow threw the ball into the Astros’ dugout), Gardner ended up at 3rd (score: 7-6 Yankees). But they left him stranded there. Cabral pitched the bottom of the 6th cleanly, keeping that lead.

But the Yankees weren’t done yet. In the 7th, with one out, Romine and Solarte each singled and ended up at the corners. Romine scored on Zelous Wheeler’s bloop single (8-6 Yankees). Then Ramon Flores only reached safely on a fielder’s choice, and Solarte scored the final Yankees run (9-6 Yankees), and I still can’t figure out why the Astros didn’t try for the play at home first. (No, really, someone needs to explain why they kept throwing the ball around without tagging a base or a runner.)

Cabral walked a batter in the 7th before Herndon finished the inning. Lewis took the 8th and continued keeping that Yankee lead safe, and despite allowing a double and a single in the 9th, Chris Leroux ended up with a save because of a nice double play between Corban Joseph (at 1st) and Yangervis Solarte (at 2nd), both of whom are proving to be really fun to watch play baseball.

So the Yankees hit the beginning of rush hour traffic outside Orlando (fortunately, as it’s Saturday, it was more Disney traffic than actually city traffic) with a win today — 9-6 Yankees. Seriously though, 15 runs is a lot of runs in one game. But a win is good news, no matter how it happens. It’s already shaping up to be a pretty great Spring, and I guess I’m hoping that translates as a good omen for a great 2014. Fingers crossed for #28 this October. It’s a long season, but it’s going to be something special.

Go Yankees!

Spring Game 3: PIT vs. NYY — Jeter’s back in opening loss

Opening Day presentation
author’s photo

Well, Derek Jeter’s back in today’s official Home Opener, and he’s off to a rather rusty start like we’re used to in his Spring debuts. I’ve already been seeing a lot of sentences that start with “the last first…”. But I’m guessing this is going to be a year of a lot of “lasts”. He did, however, see some pretty good defensive action on his last play of the day, connecting with catcher Francisco Cervelli to get out the runner trying to steal 2nd. This play and Jeter’s solid running to 1st base out of the batter’s box certainly showed his detractors that he’s back and ready to play 2014.

Today’s loss to the Pirates didn’t officially occur until the 8th inning. Up until then, they were pretty evenly matched, something that was interesting to watch amid the cheering screams for the Captain. I’ve learned that once the regular starters leave the game, it often loses its footing a bit. Perhaps it’s a combination of the young guys trying so hard to make an impression and the rustiness of early on in Spring Training.

David Phelps threw 30 pitches in today’s home opener allowing just 2 hits and a solo home run in the 1st while striking out 4 batters. His replacement in the 3rd, Leroux, was equally impressive keeping the Pirates from doing much damage. The Yankees answered back in the bottom of the 5th when Francisco Cervelli singled and then scored on Kelly Johnson’s double to tie up the game. The rest of the pitching started to slip a bit with another Pirates’ run scoring in the 6th.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Yankees weren’t quite ready to let the Pirates have this game. With 2 outs, Adonis Garcia reached on a fielding error, Corban Joseph walked, and John Ryan Murphy singles deep into left field allowing Garcia to score and tie up the game 2-2. And pitcher Yoshinori Tateyama threw a spectacular 1.1 innings in the midst of the Pirates’ attempted comeback.

And suddenly, it was the 8th inning. New pitcher, Robert Coello, quickly put runners on the corners, which the Pirates took full advantage of on a 3-run homer. A single, a double, (finally a strike out), and a hit by a pitch loaded the bases for a 2-run single, pushing the Pirates ahead 7-2. But they weren’t done yet. In the 9th, with runners on the corners again (and no outs), a Pirates batter grounded into a double play, while the runner on 3rd scored giving the Pirates their ultimate score of 8-2. I was also rather disappointed that what was clearly the best pitching outing by a familiar name was on the other team, but Cody Eppley was true to the form we Yankee fans had been used to seeing, just not in black and gold.

Like I said before, this game was rather evenly matched for the majority of the game. And while it’s pretty usual for that to happen in Spring games, it’s still hard to watch. Even though none of these games really matter, it’s still disappointing to lose. And while I know the Yankee motto is simply “to win”, my compulsion to win is a life-long passion. I don’t like losing computer solitaire games any more than losing a sports match or watching “my team” lose their game. Yes, it’s part of my “competitive nature”, but it’s still hard to remind myself that none of this matters in the long run. There are many times that teams walk away with Spring Training glory and can’t seem to turn that into a long regular season, and those who land somewhere in the middle and celebrate in October as champions. It sounds like a pacifier of sorts to soothe the competitive streak of many sports fans and players alike, but perspective is everything.

And that perspective reminds me that you win the games that count, and let go of the stuff that doesn’t. Baseball is a game of constant failure, and it teaches players how to deal with it with grace and class. And if they don’t, they don’t wear pinstripes for very long. Baseball may be unpredictable, but still my loyalty doesn’t waver. You celebrate the wins and take the failures as they come, pushing on toward that final goal — to win. And if the Yankees know how to do anything in the history of their club, it’s win.

Go Yankees!

Iced over in the Bronx again, dreaming of Spring

It looks like there’s going to be 66 men donning pinstripes this Spring, 18 less than the 84 at last year’s camp. In addition to the 40 already on the roster, the Yankees signed 9 new Minor League players today with an invite to camp and an additional 15 already in their farm system. The 26 non-roster invitees are composed of 13 pitchers, 3 catchers, 6 infielders, and 4 outfielders.

The nine newest Yankees are pitchers Bruce Billings, Robert Coello, Brian Gordon, and Chris Leroux; infileders Russ Canzler, Scott Sizemore, Yangervis Solarte, and Zelous Wheeler; and outfielder Antoan Richardson. Canzler, Coello, Sizemore, and Leroux have previous time in the big leagues. Yankee fans from last season will remember infielder Corban Joseph and pitchers Matt Daley and Jim Miller. And really die-hard Yankees fans will recall some notable Yankee farm hands like outfielders Mason Williams and Tyler Austin, and pitchers Chase Whitley and Mark Montgomery.

Other invitees include: pitchers Danny Burawa, Fred Lewis, Yoshinori Tateyama, David Herndon, and Francisco Rondon; catchers Pete O’Brien, Francisco Arcia, and Jose Gil; outfielder Adonis Garcia; and infielder Jose Pirela. If any of these seemingly random names seem relatively familiar, it’s because many of these names popped up at some point last year in Spring or in acquisitions throughout the year.

And while I spent some time typing all that out, I’m sure there will be some last-minute changes to look forward to some point next month. So when all 66 (or whatever the final number will be) report in 3 weeks, I’ll post the final list. Though I have to admit I’m looking forward to the jersey shuffle (as I call it), discovering how many players don 80- or 90-something on their backs. Last year, there were so many invitees that some of the upper numbers (90-somethings) were doubled up, which meant a couple of times there was a #99 in the outfield and a #99 batting DH in the same game.

Back in the Bronx, that special NHL hockey rink again hosted the New York Rangers, but this time they played the New York Islanders (who are based on Long Island, if you couldn’t tell from the name). And it’s yet another frigid night in Yankee Stadium, with temperatures in the upper-teens and dropping. I’d have to ask someone who was there on Sunday to compare, but I can’t imagine tonight’s game would have been any easier to deal with. Hockey clearly was meant for indoor stadiums, if nothing but for the poor fans that have to endure the chilly temperatures of a winter sport. For all you pseudo-Ranger fans (I’m looking at you, Bald Vinny), I’m sure you are excited to watch the Rangers win 2-1 over the Islanders. Good job, Rangers, winning both games you played in the Bronx! I hope your luck in the Stadium rubs off on your fellow New Yorkers when they set foot on the field, sans ice rink of course.

To keep the ball, or rather the ice rolling at Yankee Stadium, they are opening the rink up for reserved skating this Saturday, February 1 and Thursday, February 6. So if you happen to be in the area and want to do something totally random, lace up those skates on the infield (a phrase I never thought I’d say) and glide under the lights to music broadcast over the loudspeakers. It sounds like a nice way to spend an evening, though nowadays the weather in Tampa is sounding more and more appealing.

The new sign under construction at Steinbrenner Field
via Facebook – NYY Spring Training

And in Tampa, they are revamping the big sign. In retrospect, that really was probably the most necessary upgrade to Steinbrenner Field from last year. It felt a little leftover from the 20th century and really had no graphics, just lights and button-like features. (Though I have to admit it’s not as bad as some of the smaller stadiums like Dunedin/Blue Jays or Lakeland/Tigers.) So for a team that has one of the best major league big boards, it seemed a little chintzy. I understand keeping tradition, but save that for style or spirit. Technology is almost always worth the upgrade, and I like upgrades; well, at least I do when they actually improve something and not just because their new and sparkly. So I guess I’m looking forward to seeing what the new sign might have in store for the fans, and with the Yankees, just about anything is possible.

Go Yankees!

Drama in the City

Even Alex Rodriguez admitted he may have overreacted a bit in today’s arbitration, but he doesn’t regret his reasoning. Just when we thought there would be a whole lot of nothing in the off-season news, we head on back into the Rodriguez drama that seemed to consume a good portion of today’s Yankee news.

Rodriguez is currently appealing his 211 game suspension, handed to him by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig himself for Rodriguez’s alleged participation in the Biogenesis/PED scandal that broke nearly a year ago. While other people named in the initial report took their 50-ish game suspensions and moved on, Rodriguez was seemingly singled out and sentenced to miss 211 games without pay. Now, because of his age (Rodriguez will be 39 next July), this could be the end of his career. And this is why Rodriguez is literally fighting for his life, or in his own words “his legacy”.

Upon hearing today that Selig won’t testify at the arbitration hearings tomorrow like he was originally schedule (Rodriguez was to then testify on Friday morning), Rodriguez threw a bit of a temper tantrum and stormed out of the hearings, threatening not to return. Now, in most legal hearings, the party accused of a crime is afforded the right to face his accuser and hear the accusation from his own mouth. Selig has decided to remain in his hometown of Milwaukee and miss his scheduled testimony time.

Rodriguez and his attorneys promptly issued statements and began the press circuit to explain not only his actions and their displeasure over the entire process (including violations of the confidentiality agreement), but also to call out what they deem is a personal vendetta and seemingly mishandled arbitration process. His attorneys don’t believe MLB has a solid case (short of what they consider corrupted testimony by paid informants and witnesses) and the whole thing should have been tossed after MLB rested last month.

Rodriguez is adamant about his innocence and remains angry at Selig and the MLB officials that he feels continued to target him personally. Though there is some of that anger that is directed at the Yankees, he seemed to want to fight one battle at a time. Rodriguez believes he deserves to be playing 3rd base come Opening Day, with all this firmly behind him. 

You can watch Rodriguez’s interview with YES Network and WFAN radio host Mike Francesca here (Part One, Part Two). You can listen to the entire interview on WFAN’s podcast here. (Note: The YES Network clips only feature the first half of the interview, while the WFAN podcast is the whole 40 minutes of the interview.)

This is Rodriguez’s initial statement (via his publicists) following his exit from the arbitration hearing:

I am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails. I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process. This morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the Players Association refused to order Selig to come in and face me. The absurdity and injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate any further in this farce.

MLB’s official response:

For more than 40 years, Major League Baseball and the Players Association have had a contractual grievance process to address disputes between the two parties. This negotiated process has served players and clubs well. Despite Mr. Rodriguez being upset with one of the arbitration panel’s rulings today, Major League Baseball remains committed to this process and to a fair resolution of the pending dispute.

It should be noted that the MLBPA (the union) is continuing to stand by Rodriguez and his continued fight against the suspension. Any player who deems such a discipline unnecessary, misplaced, or somehow exaggerated has every right according to their CBA (the player’s rights contract as agreed jointly by MLB and the players’ union).

The reality is that we’re nowhere near the end of this saga. There’s not a person involved in the whole thing that doesn’t have something to lose. This is like high-stakes poker — it isn’t who goes all-in, it’s who will be the last man standing. It’s so far from over, and honestly, that’s a huge shame. Rodriguez, who made it very clear that he missed his daughter’s birthday on Monday to be part of the hearing, is headed back to Miami to be with his daughters, rather than await whatever may come in light of what is becoming an incomplete arbitration hearing.

And on the very opposite spectrum, the Yankees actually made some roster moves, but more on the minor league front of things. They revamped their 40-man roster, including a trade with the Padres. They brought in infielder Dean Anna in exchange for pitcher Ben Paullus. Then they added to their 40-man roster pitchers Jose Campos, Shane Greene, and Bryan Mitchell; catcher Gary Sanchez; and outfielder Slade Heathcott. To make some room on the roster, they outrighted Corban Joseph to AAA.

All this means that in New York there is continually developing drama, and down in Tampa, they’re already preparing and getting geared up for Spring Training. Really, Spring couldn’t come soon enough at this point.

Go Yankees!

Game 141: BOS vs. NYY — No-decision ouch

Sometimes I have no idea what game some people are playing when I watch a game. Sometimes the flow of the game make it seem like I’ve watch several different games, even though four hours have been solely on a single game. (Four hours always means a Red Sox-Yankees game.)

Look, Andy Pettitte was actually pretty good tonight. His 100 pitches took him through 6 full innings, where he kept the Yankees’ early lead rolling. He allowed just 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs, and struck out a whopping 8 Boston batters. Those runs came as an RBI single in the 2nd, an RBI groundout in the 4th, and a solo home run in the 5th. He deserved the win tonight, as the most consistent pitcher that set foot on the mound (by either team), but he wouldn’t get it. Fortunately, due to how the stats are recorded, he didn’t take the loss either.

So, the Yankees struck often and early, earning a very nice lead over the Red Sox. In the 1st inning, Derek Jeter walked and then scored on Alfonso Soriano’s 2-run homer to the (where else?) left field seats; this was Soriano’s 30th home run of the season (between his time with the Cubs and the Yankees). Then in the 2nd, with Vernon Wells on board with a walk, it’s Eduardo Nunez that triples (though his helmet only made it to 2nd), easily scoring Wells; Nunez scores on Chris Stewart’s sacrifice fly. In the 4th, Reynolds and Stewart walked and scored on Brett Gardner’s triple. Then in the 5th, Wells’ single scores Cano, Nunez singles, Mark Reynolds’ single scores Wells, but Nunez gets caught in a slow run-down before surrendering to the tag-out trying for 3rd.

And it’s a beautiful 8-3 Yankees when Pettitte leaves the mound. And then it’s the evil of the 7th inning. The Yankees opt for Phil Hughes in the 7th, his first time out of the bullpen in a while. His pitches result in: a single, a fly out, another single, a walk, and an RBI single (8-4). So they decided to try Boone Logan, who promptly strikes out the Red Sox most feared hitter (this should be a good sign, but it’s not — it’s misdirection). Logan then gives up a grand slam, and suddenly the Red Sox are tied. With just two outs and 7 batters in the 7th inning, the Yankees have blown a 5 run lead. Logan gives up another single and is pulled from the game due to an injury (a tightness in his left biceps).

So they go to Preston Claiborne, who immediately responds with the final out of the 7th. He returns in the 8th to get another out, but then things got messy. A single, a 2-run homer (10-8 Boston), and a single force the Yankees to turn the game over to Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain gets the second out, intentionally walks the big power bat, and unintentionally walks the next two batters (11-8 Boston). (I hate those kind of runs!) Another RBI single plants the Red Sox lead at 12-8. And the Yankees never recovered.

As of today, the Yankees signed Matt Daley to a major league contract, who spent the year in AAA Scranton. He was in the bullpen for the Rockies from 2008-2011 and spent 2012 recovering from rotator cuff surgery. To make room on the 40-man roster, Corban Joseph was moved to the 60-day DL after his shoulder surgery. Daley, who grew up in Queens, returned to his neighborhood tonight to pitch the 9th inning on the day he was promoted. He kept the Red Sox from adding to their total and struck out 2 of the 5 batters he faced. There was talk that his outing alone might have earned him a place in Yankee fans’ hearts by not allowing a single run — the first inning since Pettitte came out of the game.

Also, David Robertson was feeling stiff in his shoulder and an MRI revealed tendonitis. Robertson will be out 5-6 days. This could be the reason for his poor performance recently, and it really is a bummer overall because he’s been one of the most reliable things from the entire pitching staff. We wish him a quick healing, recovery, and return to all his “Houdini-ness”.

Two more games against the Red Sox, and fortunately for my personal sleep schedule (though I’m thinking some of the more vocal umpires will agree), I’m glad they’re both afternoon games. You just never know what can happen. Even when one team is just awful, the Yankees-Red Sox games are always tight and tense and worth the viewing. You just never know what’s going to happen. That’s why even as the Red Sox piled on the extra runs in the 8th, there was still hope that the Yankees bats would somehow find life against the Boston bullpen. It’s happened before; it will happen again; it just didn’t happen tonight.

Go Yankees!

Game 86: BAL vs. NYY — Wells-done rally & SuperNova

Starter Ivan Nova threw all 9 innings and really proved how outstanding a pitcher he really is. He’s had to fight for his job as a starter since before the season began, even through a stint in the minors, and tonight he showed that he is worth the starter’s position (and not just as a fill-in for Kuroda, who has been cleared to resume throwing activity again). Tonight, back in the Bronx and against the Baltimore Orioles, Nova threw just 102 pitches over those 9 innings, allowing just 3 hits and a walk and striking out a remarkable 11 batters (those are like CC numbers). And the only runs he allowed was a 2-run home run in the 2nd, but nothing else. That’s right, with a single exception, none of the Orioles could figure out Nova’s “supernova-ness”. Tonight was SuperNova.

And honestly, the Yankees played well both offensively and defensively. It was the team in action from the first pitch all the way through the final hit. In the top of the 4th, the Orioles hit what should have been a single but ended up as a 3-4-1 out thanks to great base coverage by Cano and Nova. And Nova’s quick reaction in the 8th inning jumped up to get a really nice out to end the inning.

Now, offensively in the 4th, Wells singled and Overbay walked, which allowed Luis Cruz to single deep into left field and score Wells for the Yankees first run of the evening. They went into the bottom of the 9th inning  down 2-1 to the Orioles, with Nova watching and praying that the offense could turn his outing from the loss it was becoming into a win by some miracle. And then it was a miracle (probably due in part to the 40,000-ish Yankees fans in the stadium).

Vernon Wells, a walk-off hero
via nj.com

The fifth pitcher for the Orioles took the mound and allowed David Adams a nice single. Then Brett Gardner bunts a really soft, sloppy bunt but beats out the throw because the Orioles pitcher can’t seem to hang onto the ball and chase it around the infield grass before making the very late throw to 1st base. Ichiro Suzuki bunts, but this time it’s the Baltimore catcher that is sharp and throws him out at 1st, while Adams and Gardner advance to 3rd and 2nd, respectively. They then intentionally walk Robinson Cano to load the bases. Four pitches later, they walk Travis Hafner, which walks in Adams to tie up the game (and blow whatever save the Orioles thought they had). Oh, and the bases are still loaded with one out. 40,000-ish Yankee fans are on their feet; victory is within reach.

And then it’s Vernon Wells up to bat. On a 2-2 pitch, Wells hits a solid single in the gap between short and 3rd, Gardner scores, and the entire dugout empties to rejoice. 3-2 Yankees final score in a walk-off single. (Another look at the single and celebration here.)

Victory in the Bronx, and that makes 5 games in a row. July is off to a great start.

And in other good news, Derek Jeter was cleared for his rehab assignment, which he will start on Saturday with AAA Scranton. He is currently scheduled for 5 innings at shortstop and have 20 days to complete his rehab assignment. The Yankees have made it clear that Jeter, like many of those on the current DL will need the full 20 days to prove they are fully ready for a daily assignment with the big guys. That 20 days puts him ready for a return at the earliest at the end of this month. This also has Jeter playing with guys he played with in Spring Training, those on the extended roster (some who have already seen Major League playing time), and some outstanding players in the minor league — including Addison Maruszak, Dan Johnson, Melky Mesa, Thomas Neal, Ronnier Mustelier, Corban Joseph, and Walter Ibarra. This kind of rehab certainly gets Jeter ready for the bigs on a higher level of impact and challenge because of the players on the roster. And though the RailRiders aren’t doing so well this season (right now, they are below .500 for their season), they could certainly benefit from a veteran presence, especially one who is known to bond teammates together to improve their teamwork and morale, even in a losing streak or slump.

And one of my favorite times in the Yankee season is coming up next week — HOPE Week. And I’m looking forward to writing about the players’ community outreach and the organizations they will be supporting and partnering with this coming week all around the city. I love the heart of a team that supports in both finances and man-power other people who dedicate their lives to helping people. It’s yet another reason I am proud to be a Yankee fan, and probably my personal favorite reason.

Go Yankees!

Standards, injuries, and the “old guard”

Injury news alert — they’re everywhere…

On the new injury front:

• Mark Teixeira may or may not be placed on the Disabled List because he won’t be playing for at least the rest of the week.
• Kevin Youkilis is still awaiting his results from the doctor regarding his back injury. Back injuries are tricky, so they are exercising extreme caution with him and his progress.

And in Tampa:

• Michael Pineda (the long-awaited fireball pitcher) is on his rehab assignment in with Advanced-A Tampa; he is on track to finally be with the team next month.
• Alex Rodriguez will face live pitching tomorrow, after getting batting practice and fielding grounders today.
• Derek Jeter began swinging in the batting cage today and took some minimal grounders at short.
• Eduardo Nunez, looking to rejoin the Yankees before the All-Star Break, hit off the tee, threw long toss, and took ground balls today.
• Curtis Granderson will see the doctor on Thursday to have the pin taken out of his hand, which will allow him to begin rediscovering his grip and hand strength.
• Francisco Cervelli is on track for a return right around the All-Star Break, going through basic fielding drills today. He will begin swinging a bat underwater.

And there is a run of recent injuries in AAA Scranton as well hitting Ronnier Mustelier, Melky Mesa, and Corban Joseph. This makes GM Brian Cashman looking forward to another meeting with fellow GMs to discuss trade options before the trade deadline at the end of July.

Cashman seemed rather pessimistic during his press conference earlier today, and I suppose right now these do seem rather bleak. I mean, the team can’t seem to go a week without someone spending an extended amount of time in a doctor’s office. And I do have to admit that there are times I get more than a little bummed about the outlook of such a fractured (pun intended) team. But like I’ve been saying a lot this week, that’s just continuous negativity and that accomplishes nothing good.

So the Yankees have hit a low point in their season. That’s just reality. But I was checking up on other teams that played today and I saw the statistics with them. There are some teams that are barely pulling in 10,000 people per game (the Yankees are averaging around 30,000 across the country). And other teams have been hit with recent strings of injuries. And there are several teams hitting the same kind of mid-season slump. Other teams are also flirting with inconsistency in their average game performances. But because they are the Yankees and those standards for excellence are high, it’s a bigger deal than it probably should be.

That high standard is a wonderful thing, but it’s also how people seem to measure epic failure when the team isn’t hitting that standard on a regular basis. I know the standard of the “old guard” is anything short of the world championship is failure, and seeing as we’re not in an assured spot to even make the playoffs right now, I’m guessing the “old guard” isn’t too happy with the current direction.

So while Cashman, Girardi, and company work their magic to turn this team around, I’m forced to go back to my old standard for baseball players — ability, teamwork, and character. With so many new guys or replacements, I’m not sold on how they measure up yet. I think they all have the ability, or they wouldn’t be playing at this level. The teamwork aspect definitely needs some overall work because this is where they recently have had some obvious holes; the defense is immediately affected and the overall clubhouse vibe is indirectly affected. And the character factor really plays into how the individuals react to conflict, disappointment, and even celebration; and again, since we’re dealing with relatively new players, we’re not sure how everyone stacks up in this area, though some recent events have displayed some character qualities that reveal how some players measure up here.

Maybe that’s what made the Yankees work so well before. Everyone on the team (with some minor exceptions) fit these categories and excelled, especially where it counts most (character and teamwork). And at the end of the day, I’d rather see a team that functioned as a team and was full of integrity than some convoluted patchwork of superstar athlete divas. Again, teams win games, not individuals, especially not divas. So maybe that’s what we’re missing right now — the team. And with the guy that usually pulls everyone together as a team nearly 1200 miles away, it’s going to be up to someone else to step up and rally the troops, as it were, and get everyone back on the road to that ultimate victory — the World Series. And there’s no doubt in my mind that in roughly 4 months, we could be talking about the Yankees as world champions once again.

Go Yankees!

Game 37 & 38: NYY vs. CLE — Make-up shutouts

Progressive Field in Cleveland hosted the Yankees for a traditional doubleheader today to make up for the rained out days back at the beginning of April. And today, they split the outcome each earning a shutout win. Game 1 was 1-0 for Cleveland, and Game 2 went 7-0 for New York.

In the 1st game, it was a pitching duel. Cleveland’s pitcher really was outstanding going the full 9 innings and keeping the Yankees scoreless, only allowing 4 hits and walking 3, while striking out 9 batters. David Phelps gave the Yankees 6.2 innings, striking out 7, walking 5, and allowing only 1 run to score off a 1st inning solo home run. To help Phelps keep the Indians from further damage, Logan got the final out in the 7th inning and Claiborne closed out the 8th.

Offensively in the 1st game, the Yankees didn’t have much to show in the way of power. But their defense is a credit to the single run allowed. Game 1 saw more regular players in their regular spots, which was needed to keep the Indians’ attempts to get on base throughout the game.

In between games, the Indians, in partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, presented Mariano Rivera with a gold record of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, the closer’s well-known walk-up music. I don’t think Cleveland could have selected a better option to honor Rivera on his final trip to Progressive Field.

Also, Brennan Boesch was optioned to AAA Scranton in between games as there is talks of bring Curtis Granderson back sometime this week. Granderson has been doing really well in his rehab games with the Scranton team, and if he is ready to go, they will be bringing him back to New York with them and probably in one of the games against Seattle or Toronto this week. This I see as a good sign of the first of many recovering regular Yankees making their way back to the Bronx healthy and raring for a piece of the winning streak the Yankees have been on lately.

For the 2nd game, it was the Yankees who struck first with a run scored on a force out and the score stayed at 1-0 until the 7th inning. In his first start in the major leagues, Vidal Nuno showed why he was chosen as the outstanding candidate in Spring Training. He allowed only 3 hit and no runs over his strong 5 innings and earned the win. He’s really on the way to being a strong contender for the regular starting rotation sooner rather than later. He split today’s work with another outstanding Spring candidate Adam Warren who only allowed 2 hits over his 4 innings and notching his first save.

I have no idea what happened in the 7th inning, but the patchwork of Yankees forced their way through 10 batters in the top of the inning, scoring 6 runs against 3 different pitchers before it was over. Here’s what happened: Corban Joseph (in his 2nd outing with the majors, Game 1 was his first) doubled; newly acquired Alberto Gonzalez bunts out; Austin Romine (his 1st major league hit and RBI) doubles and scores Joseph (1); pitching change; Gardner walks; Jayson Nix singles out to right field and scores Romine (2), Gardner to 3rd; Cano strikes out swinging; Vernon Wells singles to left field and scores Gardner (3), Nix to 2nd; Lyle Overbay doubles out to center field, scoring Nix (4) and Wells (5); pitching change #2; Ben Francisco reaches on a throwing error and scores Overbay (6); and Corban Joseph flies out to center field.

That inning was reminiscent of the other games the Yankees played in Cleveland last month when they took advantage of poorly placed pitches and fielding errors. But they were quick and sharp to capitalize on the lack of natural teamwork that the Indians aren’t really displaying. But I’m not going to excuse them for this by attributing this to inexperienced players or the taxing momentum of a doubleheader because they Yankees are in the same boat, if not worse — most of those on the 2nd game roster are brand new Yankees, some even making their pinstriped debut this month (or today in Joseph’s case) and yet they find a way to work together and make it happen, working as a team, as if they’ve played their whole careers together.

They’re calling this year’s team the “No-Named Yankees”. But isn’t that the point of not having their names emblazoned on their back? Because it’s not about who’s in the shirt as much as who they represent. Again, we have to credit Girardi for pulling the impossible out of whomever is donning the uniform and somehow they still manage to win ball games and sit firmly atop the AL East and is one of the best teams in the whole league.

Go Yankees!