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New York Yankees: Halos Starting Dan Haren Tonight

Posted by on 9 August 2011, 3:50 am

Arriving in the Bronx after winning eight of ten games on the road, the Yankees should be very pleased with that performance; except when both losses materialized in Fenway Park.

So, instead the Yankees come home shamed and self-conscious, but thankful for Monday’s off day to shake away everything Red Sox off their shoulders.

Not only the players, but also Yankee fans needed a breather after enduring the emotional rollercoaster that comes with losing to Boston for the 10th time this season.

BOMBERS vs. HALOS:

Admittedly still pissed but trying to focus on the upcoming series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim because the Halos pitching is a force to be reckoned with.

Angels skipper Mike Scioscia has only confirmed that Dan Haren will be on the hill to open the series, but otherwise mums the word.

The obvious guess is that staff ace Jeff Weaver will throw in Wednesday because that would be his scheduled start day, but no matter if it is Thursday the Yankees should expect to face the All-Star this week.

Luckily Erwin Santana pitched on Sunday so doubt he will be available for this series and as well as he has pitched that is a blessing for any opponent.

AJ Burnett, who seems to be irreparably flawed, will try to right himself again. Burnett will be up against a feeble Anaheim offense, who come into the Bronx only having scored four runs total in their last three-game set.

Without falter, Haren is the better pitcher as this season he is boosting a 12-6 record, a 2.81 ERA, with three complete games and two shutouts over 24 starts. Haren does not walk batters, issuing just 24 in total this season. This fact got more frightening when I looked at the top 50 pitchers on MLB.com and only Phillies Roy Halladay has allotted less with 20.

As usual after a solid first half, Burnett did not clock a ‘W’ in the month of July but in his defense he got zero run support in two starts where he went seven plus innings.

Otherwise Burnett’s 8-9 record, and 4.54 ERA paint a bad picture. On a positive note, Burnett has kept batters at a .241 average on the season, which is not as bad as you would think. His last start against the White Sox is one skipper Joe Girardi wants to forget, as he had to pull him out of the game shy of five innings, with a 13-1 lead.

The Yankees bats certainly made up for July by driving in 13 runs in four innings for Burnett in Chicago, but no one expects that vs. Haren.

Still, the Yankees can hit the hell out of the ball in comparison to the Halos and that is their big advantage in this series.

A NEW BASEBALL FORMULA; AND MY SERIES PREDICTION:

Everybody is constantly preaching about the importance of pitching in baseball, which I agree with completely but that is only one-half of the game. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Halos Starting Dan Haren Tonight’ »

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New York Yankees: You Snooze You Lose

Posted by on 8 August 2011, 1:56 am

On Monday morning, in the bottom of the 10th inning the New York Yankees lost the rubber game 3-2 to the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park.

This game went four and a half hours, which is not surprising considering the match-up but tonight’s game was painfully long and no fault of the Yankees.

Even if the Yankees had won, it is no excuse that Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett took almost a minute and sometimes more between pitches.

ESPN Sunday Night Baseball’s Booby Valentine pointed out this fact to anyone who was still awake watching the broadcast.

The Official Rules on MLB.com state the following on this issue:

When the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call Ball. The 12-second timing starts when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the box, alert to the pitcher. The timing stops when the pitcher releases the ball.

The intent of this rule is to avoid unnecessary delays. The umpire shall insist that the catcher return the ball promptly to the pitcher, and that the pitcher take his position on the rubber promptly. Obvious delay by the pitcher should instantly be penalized by the umpire.

The ending line ‘Obvious delay by the pitcher should instantly be penalized by the umpire’ was certainly not applied; and the umpire did not warn Beckett or Red Sox Skipper Terry Francona to speed it up.

My complaint has nothing to do with the fact the Yankees lost, because the Red Sox beat them in the end. The problem is the ending happened way too late and that is why the rule was implemented.

Look any diehard baseball fan appreciates how the Red Sox and Yankees grind it out when they play each other, but usually the delays are mutually both teams’ faults.

Tonight, Beckett was so sluggish it was excruciating to watch and according to MLB officials it was unfair too.

On a personal note, I finally got my mother to watch a game on my never-ending quest to convert her dislike for baseball. Well, thanks to Beckett any progress made over the last decade got squashed as she was bored and in the second inning was asking, “How many innings left?”

Otherwise, the Yankee players can spend all-day Monday stewing about why they couldn’t hold off the Red Sox, again.

In one sense it sure does keep a team humble and that is putting it politely.

The fact that the Yankees can beat any team in baseball except Boston is just plain unacceptable.

The bottom line for the Yankees is they better figure out the problem before they head back to Fenway again on August 30th, as nothing pisses off New York fans more than losing to Boston.

To sum it up….this game was too long to lose.

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Weekend Series To Watch: New York Yankees Vs. Boston Red Sox

Posted by on 5 August 2011, 6:34 pm

The New York Yankees are in Boston to play a three game set against the Red Sox.

Everyone realizes the significance of this series for the Yankees, who are an embarrassing 1-8 against their torrid rivals so far this season.

The Yankees have nine games vs. Boston left to play in 2011, and the first three start tonight in Fenway Park.

Also, the Yankees have won their last seven-games and are hoping to extend that winning streak this weekend.

Both teams are now tied for first place in the AL East, but by Monday morning that will no longer be the case.

Here are the pitching match-ups for this weekend series:

Friday 08/05 – RHP Bartolo Colon (8-6, 3.50 ERA) vs. LHP Jon Lester (11-4, 3.17 ERA)
 
Saturday 08/06 – LHP CC Sabathia (16-5, 2.55 ERA) vs. RHP John Lackey (9-8, 6.23 ERA)
 
Sunday 08/07 – RHP Freddy Garcia (10-7, 3.22 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (9-4, 2.17 ERA)

These two teams match-up well, but predicting the outcome is almost impossible when you are a Yankee fan like myself.

All I can say is…

“The Bronx Bombers brought their BROOMS on this road trip and hopefully they did not leave them in Chicago.” – Kate of Lady Loves Pinstripes

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Yankees Vs. Red Sox: Looking At The Facts Spells A Different Story For Rivalry

Posted by on 10 March 2011, 4:04 pm

MLB is home to one of biggest rivalries in sports between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Over the last few seasons’ things have been become quieter and tamer in comparison to the bench clearing brawls of the late 90’s and early 00’s.

Boston and New York fans live for these 18 games every season because so much pride is on the line.

I am lucky enough to have attended countless match-ups between the two, both at Yankees Stadium and Fenway Park, and let me say it is baseball at its peak.

Heading into 2011 season, every Tom, Dick and Harry has staked claim that it is the World Series or bust for the Red Sox. Leaving the Yankees with the Wild Card as their only viable hope of getting into the postseason.

Maybe it’s because this off-season could not have gone more differently, as Boston signed two monsters in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and the Yankees lost two giants in Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte.

Don’t get to cocky yet Red Sox nation, as when you get to the nitty gritty and compare players position by position the teams don’t look all that different.

Getting Gonzalez would be huge for any team, but the Red Sox needed to get a player of his caliber to match Yankees Mark Teixeira. Tex is no slouch and it was a hole for Boston, especially after losing Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez’s power bats in the line-up.

Overall, things are pretty even but even though I am a Yankees fan, realistically the Bombers have a slight edge.

Here is my breakdown (click picture to enlarge) of the Red Sox vs. Yankees, position by position (pitching post is coming shortly) and which team has the stronger player. Continue reading ‘Yankees Vs. Red Sox: Looking At The Facts Spells A Different Story For Rivalry’ »

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MLB Playoff Predictions: Can Andy Pettitte Save Yankees’ Postseason Pitching?

Posted by on 1 October 2010, 10:53 am

The New York Yankees are postseason-bound, but how far they make it is another story.

In 2009 the Yankees had a three-headed monster in CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and A.J. Burnett. This allowed skipper Joe Girardi to use a three-man rotation in the postseason, and the results speak for themselves.

Currently, the same group is still in pinstripes but unfortunately is not as reliable.

Let’s look at the three amigos individually.

The Yankees’ No. 1 is CC Sabathia, who is still an ace. Many believe that Sabathia should and could win the AL CY Young for 2010—no debate on that statement. Sabathia is the reason the Yankees are in the postseason in 2010.

Whatever the reason, A.J. Burnett is not the same at all. Whatever is distracting him seems to not be Yankee-related; at least that is assumed at this point.

In August and September the team lost nine of 11 games that Burnett started. Over that two-month period, Burnett gave up 70 hits, 46 earned runs, 10 home runs, and walked 26. The odd stat out was Burnett’s 48 strikeouts, which is still decent.

Everyone was hopeful before his last start, presuming Burnett would continue taking baby steps forward. Instead he fell apart worse than ever, and Burnett’s place in the dynamic trio is seemingly now Phil Hughes‘ spot.

The veteran of the group, Andy Pettitte, was having a phenomenal season. He posted a 2.88 ERA until he suffered an injury to his hamstring on July 18, which kept him on the DL for three months.

Arriving back September 19th at Camden Yards, Pettitte pitched six innings. He looked good, even though the team lost the game. In his next start things went horribly bad, as Pettitte gave up seven hits, six earned runs, and one home run to the Red Sox over four innings. Pettitte said his back was stiff, and being on the DL that long, it is not surprising.

Pettitte’s start tonight against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park will answer a lot of questions, and all of Yankees Universe will be watching.

Seriously looking at the bigger picture, what other options does Girardi have if Pettitte struggles for the second time?

Sergio Mitre?

Okay, all joking aside, Pettitte is the most winning postseason pitcher in the history of MLB. That is no joke. It does give Pettitte a “bye” if he implodes in Boston.

Still, the fact remains that it would be nice for the Yankees to get a solid five or six innings from the southpaw before heading into October.

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Javier Vazquez Wins And New York Yankee Fans Shut-Up

Posted by on 27 July 2010, 10:23 am

The day was April 14, 2010, the second home game of the season.

The Yankees were the reigning 2009 World Series champions, making New York glow with pride. Yankee fans’ subdued looks of unfamiliarity from 2009 were replaced with smiles because our new house felt like a home.

At least that is how I felt that Wednesday afternoon, until the game started.

The Yankees were hosts to the Los Angeles Angels, so as the home team took the field my cheers were silenced with booing, cursing as if the season were over already.

As I sat down in confusion, which was more like a polite denial, my heart sank as I knew what was happening. My dad was on my left and initially he was not as affected by the whole situation.

So, I stood up again, and cheered. To be more specific, I was rooting for starting pitcher Javier Vazquez. Vazquez was acquired in the offseason, but it was his second time in pinstripes.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

Vazquez was a Yankee back in 2004, the year the Boston Red Sox broke a World Series curse dating back to 1918. Vazquez had been phenomenal the first half of the season and was voted an AL All-Star by fans.

Vazquez struggled in the second half of the season, but the anger was based on Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS when Vazquez came in to replace Kevin Brown and gave up a grand slam to then-Red Sox Johnny Damon.

It was so ridiculous and immature that Yankees fans were living that far in the past. The 2004 ALCS was lost way before Game Seven. The whole team fell apart, considering they were up three games to none and the Red Sox came back to win the next four and the World Series. Continue reading ‘Javier Vazquez Wins And New York Yankee Fans Shut-Up’ »

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New York Yankees Sweep A’s But Double Trouble In Seattle

Posted by on 8 July 2010, 3:16 am

The New York Yankees brought their brooms out West, as the Bombers easily swept the Oakland Athletics for three-games. Pitching set the tome, as Javy, AJ and Sabathia all were phenomenal in their starts.

The timing could not be better as the Yankees head to Seattle for four-games against the Mariners.

In case Yankee fans forgot on purpose, the Mariners were just in the Bronx a week ago. Trust me, never facing the Mariners one-two knockout of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez ever again would have been fine with me.

Lee and King Felix totally massacred the Yankee bats last week. It was not pretty, or fun for Yankee fans to watch because it was that scary.

For a group who can’t score runs, the Mariners have certainly found the perfect solution. Putting Lee and the King on the mound is a guaranteed relief for the Mariner bats.

This makes today’s game a must win for the Yankees because double trouble starts are slated for Friday and Saturday’s games.

The Yankees best pitcher in these situations is on the mound tonight. Do I even need to type the name Andy Pettitte? Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Sweep A’s But Double Trouble In Seattle’ »

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