Sabathia looked unstoppable, until a 30-minute thunderstorm erupted in the sixth inning, the first of two. The ace came right back out to the hill following Mother Nature’s disruption but he didn’t strike out another batter that inning.

In the seventh inning, Seattle’s Brendan Ryan hit a single to break up Sabathia’s flawlessness but he went on the strike out his 13^th and 14^th batter to end the inning, a personal high for Sabathia.

Following the game, marking the 17^th straight Mariners loss in a row, Ryan had this to say about-facing CC to the New York Daily News:

“He’s always got Sabathia stuff. But today, that was by far the best I’ve ever seen him pitch. I almost feel disrespectful saying that, because we all know what he’s capable of. But when you’re locating the fastball and the way he’s throwing that slider, stealing strikes with curveballs here and there, he’s absolutely filthy.”

Sabathia is undoubtedly building a case for the 2011 CY Young; as he already has racked up 156 strikeouts and pitched 168.2 innings this season; and there is plenty left to go. Sabathia is posting a 0.92 ERA for the month of July.

Following the game, I was on the phone with my mother (who is NOT a baseball fan at all) and she asked me what was so special about CC Sabathia.

The only thing that came to mind was a quote by Aristotle that depicts who CC Sabathia is as a player perfectly, so I responded to her using his words:

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Look Sabathia’s reputation as an ace is founded on him being as close to perfect all the time as humanly possible.

GM Brian Cashman and the baby Steins should bend the rules this time and just hand Sabathia a blank check now.

I can’t conceive Sabathia not in Yankee pinstripes for the rest of his career. That means time for Cashman & Co. to drop the Grinch-act and grant us loyal fans a well deserved, early sigh of relief.

Related articles

• Sabathia looks twice the Cys (nypost.com)
• CC Sabathia sends Mariners to 17th straight loss (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• CC whiffs 14 as Yankees deal Mariners 17th straight loss (cbssports.com)
• Sabathia nears perfection as Mariners lose 17 in a row (reuters.com)
• CC fans 14 in earning win No. 15 (mlb.mlb.com)
• New York Yankees: Can CC Sabathia Beat Josh Beckett? Please. (ladylovespinstripes.com)
• CC Dazzles, Ks 14 As Yankees Hand Mariners 17th Straight Loss (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• New York Yankees: CC Sabathia Is Actually Right On Track (ladylovespinstripes.com)

© Kate for Lady Loves Pinstripes, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bronx, CC Sabathia, Cy Young, Mariners, Mother Nature, New York Yankee, Seattle

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After losing the first two games vs. the Blue Jays coming home 4-4 is a miracle, not ideal but keeps the Bombers just two games behind the Boston Red Sox.

Next up, the Yankees will host a 10-game homestand against the three bottom feeders in the American League, the Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles.

The A’s and Mariners have same 43-55 records, the second worst in the AL but still a lot better than the Orioles.

Once again the O’s are posting a 39-56 record (=19.5 games back in AL East), making the Birds not only the worst team in the AL, but in all of baseball. Well you can’t call Baltimore inconsistent, as the O’s continually find a way back down to the basement, season after season.

Still, don’t get any ideas that this homestand will be a breeze because it actually is the opposite.

HUH? WHY VS. THREE-BOTTOM-FEEDERS?

The reason is not one of these teams has anything left to play for this season; and that can be lethal. This theory applies even more so for the Yankees for three reasons:

1)   The line-up is still sans Alex Rodriguez, which is once again sending Mark Teixeira into a slump.

2)   Swisher and Posada are not hitting, again.

3)   The starting rotation is inconsistent, minus Sabathia who finished the road trip with a 1-2 loss to the Rays Thursday night; which was also his 31^st birthday.

HOMESTAND SERIES PREDICTIONS:

Vs. Athletics 07-22/07-24:

First up is the A’s who come to town beat-up like you read about, and the Yankees should sweep them right back to Oakland. Yankees win series 3-0.

Vs. Mariners 07-25/07-27:

Next series is against Seattle. Everyone knows the strength of the Mariners is pitching, and it gives them a legit chance to win each night. So, the Yankees bats needs to wake-up ASAP. Even though the Mariners have lost their last 12 games in a row, the tides are bound to turn. ESPN reported that manager Eric Wedge held a closed-door team meeting following #12 with hopes to motivate his players, at least initially by lighting the first match. Yankees win series 2-1.

Vs. Orioles 07-29/07-31:

And lastly, Buck Showalter’s Orioles, who scare me the most. Hard to believe when Baltimore is awful more often than not. Problem is when it is the later; the O’s can beat anyone. Yankees win series 2-1.

WHY THIS HOMESTAND IS SO IMPORTANT:

Fact is the Yankees need to pounce because the schedule gets a heck of a lot harder. In August the Yankees will play 29 games, with 21 on the road.(...)
Read the rest of New York Yankees: Bombers Vs. Bottom Feeders

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Post tags: American League, American League East, Baltimore Orioles, Buck Showalter, Eric Wedge, Mariners, New York Yankee, Tampa Bay Rays

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SEATTLE MARINERS BABY STEPS:

The 2010 Mariners had one weapon, pitcher Felix Hernandez (aka King Felix) who barely brought relief every fifth day behind a dead offense.  Considering King Felix took home the 2010 CY Young Award, pitched 250 innings in total, with a 2.27 ERA and only finished with a 13-12 record explains just how bad things were going in Seattle.

This season the Mariners offense, while not comparable to the Yankees line-up, has slightly improved and I guess they have Cliff Lee to thank for that.

When the Mariners traded Lee to the Texas Rangers, they acquired rookie first baseman Justin Smoak. After a mediocre 2010, the 24-year-old Smoak seems to be developing posting a .263 batting average, with six home-runs and 24 RBIs.

The Mariners have such quality pitching they can get away with less stellar bats and still be a decent team, but they are still a bat or two away from being a playoff team. Even with Smoak providing some life to the line-up, he is still a season or two away from making a real impact.

Seattle still gives up a ton of runs, as the offense has the third lowest batting average in baseball with a .232; have the fifth lowest RBIs total with 170; are tied with Oakland for last place with just 27 home-runs on the season.

Still, for a team that finished with the worst record in baseball, 61-101 to be a game away from sitting at .500 is a marked improvement. The Mariners are not the same blasé opponents because if the pitching can shut down an opposing line-up, and if their little step forward offensively can score a few runs they can beat you.

MICHAEL PINEDA VS. AJ BURNETT:

Michael Pineda is a 22-year-old, right-handed rookie who is as tall as CC Sabathia and has been outstanding in his debut season.

The youngster has a 6-2 over nine starts; he is posting a 2.16 ERA, allowing 41 hits, 15 earned runs, three home-runs, walking 14 batters and fanning 61, in just over 58 innings pitched.

Pineda has pitched six innings minimum in all nine starts. Pineda’s last two starts were his most impressive, as he pitched seven solid, giving up no earned runs, allowing just one walk and striking out 16 batters. Mind you it was against the Twins, and Padres, who are two of the worst performing teams in baseball but Pineda won both the outings, and that is what counts.

Overall, Pineda is turning into a future ace very quickly and the Mariners would not be hanging on in the AL West without his young arm.

The Seattle Times reported that the Mariners do have Pineda on an innings limit, which most think is somewhere between 160-170 but skipper Eric Wedge stated that the number will not change pending on how the team is doing.

It is no secret that I have been watching this kid from the beginning, as in a recent post about Pineda as a trade option brought on a lot of angry comments from Seattle fans. I still think it would work for both teams, but that is for another day.

The Yankees will counter with AJ Burnett, who has been good this season.

Burnett’s mental game has vastly improved, as he doesn’t implode after giving a hit or a home-run like in the past because he seems to have more control.

Burnett is 5-3, with a 4.02 ERA so far in 2011.

Assessing Burnett it is pretty easy, he is a veteran that knows what he needs to do and with as weak an offense as the Mariners have; he should not have a problem holding them.

The Yankees will look for him to go deep into the game. This is something he has been doing this season, as he has gone minimum six innings over his last 10 starts.

MY PREDICTION:

Comparing the two teams line-ups is purposeless, with the Bombers leading baseball in home-runs with 75 and RBIs with 244 and the Mariners posting the lowest in home-runs with 27 and fifth worst in RBIs with 170.

The Mariners only scored five runs in their last two games and their decent walk rate has tumbled as well, which is not good heading into any series.(...)
Read the rest of Yankees-Mariners: Pitching Match-up To Watch Burnett Vs. Seattle’s New Prince

© Kate for Lady Loves Pinstripes, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CC Sabathia, Eric Wedge, Felix Hernandez, Mariners, Michael Pineda, New York Yankees, Seattle, Seattle Mariners, Sports

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Here is the schedule for the next three series on the other coast:

The Mariners and A’s both have young and talented pitching staffs, so the Yankee bats will play a big role in these two series. Finishing off the trip in Los Angeles against the Angels who are never an easy win, especially for the Yankees

Where will the Yankees be when they return back home?

Honestly, this road trip will be a true test for the Bombers, who leave atop the AL East (27-21) by just a half a game above the Boston Red Sox (27-22). The Tampa Bay Rays (26-23), Toronto Blue Jays (24-25) and Baltimore Orioles (23-24) are all very much in the hunt, as the AL East is as tight as can be.

The one thing that is for sure is that the Yankees return to the Bronx to play host to the Red Sox, Indians and Rangers so there is really no room for error.

On one hand, Yankee fans will get to know what this 2011 team can handle; and so will GM Brian Cashman who will probably use these next few weeks to establish whether a trade is absolutely necessary or not.

Related articles

• 2011 New York Yankees: What Do May, June And # 28 Have In Common? (ladylovespinstripes.com)
• New York Yankees Are Not Immune To Slumps (ladylovespinstripes.com)
• New York Yankees: Sloppy Play Leads To Second Place (ladylovespinstripes.com)

© Kate for Lady Loves Pinstripes, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: American League East, Boston Red Sox, Brian Cashman, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Yankee, Seattle Mariners, Sports, Toronto Blue Jays

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Back in 2005, Pitcher Felix Hernandez was dubbed ‘King Felix’ down in A-ball for his dynamic arm, made his debut at age 19.

Seven seasons later, this King has earned the title; as King Felix is one of the most lethal pitchers in baseball today. Unfortunately, the 2010 CY Young winner plays for the Mariners who have been the bottom feeders of the AL West, a place they still remain today.

Over his career, King Felix has a 3.20 ERA, over 179 starts, posting a 74-59 record, with 1087 strikeouts, 14 shutouts and has clocked 1202 innings total. Keep in mind that if he played on any other team the King’s wins-loses and ERA would be much lower.

Now, you can only imagine the New York Yankees along with every other team in baseball have been drooling over King Felix for some time now.

Presumably the Mariners front office has listened to numerous offers to obtain the King, especially before they signed him to a four-year extension. I can assure you that a few calls came from the Yankees who would love to get their claws on the 25-year-old, who has yet to reach his prime.

Over this past winter, Yankee fans were hoping for a King under their Christmas tree, but Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik made it clear that was never going to happen. Zduriencik had already screwed the Yankees in Cliff Lee trade, by using New York as leverage to bait the Texas Rangers to get Seattle even more players.

That did NOT fair well with Yankees GM Brian Cashman, but it didn’t stop him from pursuing Felix.

Even though the 2011 Yankees are off to a hot start, reloading mid-season if a top pitcher is available is almost guaranteed.

With the Mariners standing at 13-16 and sitting pretty in a familiar last place in the AL West, trading for some young minor leaguers would be a smart move to build for the future.(...)
Read the rest of New York Yankees: Keep This Seattle Pitching Prince On Your Radar

© Kate for Lady Loves Pinstripes, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brian Cashman, Felix Hernandez, Mariners, Michael Pineda, New York Yankee, New York Yankees, Seattle, Sports

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