We’ve got trouble

Right here in River City

With a capital T

And that rhymes with B

And that stands for Burnett

(With apologies to Meredith Wilson)

The Yankees have trouble.  Potentially big trouble.  As we approach the playoffs, the starting pitching is in disarray.

Starting pitching?  The strength of the staff?  Yup.  Sad to say, but the Yankees look weak in that key area going into the playoffs.

The Yankee rotation in the playoffs is supposed to be Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, and Joba.  This group looks strong on paper, but upon closer examination, they are not what they seem.

CC is the clear number one, and he has been great.  He is one of three pitchers who could win the Cy Young Award for 2009, the other two being Greinke and Verlander.  Unfortunately, the Yankees will likely face the Tigers in the first round, and CC will have to outpitch Verlander.  Should he fail to prevail in game one, the Yankees could be in big trouble.

The primary concern is Burnett.  AJ Pavano, as I am fond of calling him, has had some great moments this year, but he is 3-5 with an ERA of 5.11 since the All-Star break.  True, he has had some no-decisions, most notably the 15 inning masterpiece against Beckett that stands as the pivotal game of the season.  And he has beaten the Rays twice.  But the rest of the time, he has been decidedly lousy.

If Burnett doesn’t straighten himself out, it will fall to Pettitte to take up the slack.  Now I love Andy.  He is a true warrior, an all-time great Yankee, and he has been brilliant for much of this season, but he is no longer the solid number two of the 1996-2001 glory years.  To expect Andy to function in that role in 2009 is asking a lot.

Finally, there is the Joba disaster.  Obsessed with the spector of Mark Prior, Joe Girardi and the Yankee hierarchy have reduced Joba to a 3 inning pitcher.  Which means he is fundamentally useless as a starter.  If the Yankees need a game four starting pitcher, they are looking at a committee, and a committee will cripple the bullpen.  Aceves and Gaudin will have to be held out of the other games so they are available for extended innings in game four.  Their absence will strain the pen in the other games if the starters cannot provide longevity.  How the team with the best record in baseball can go into the playoffs without an established fourth starter is mind-boggling.

I am not suggesting that the Yankees cannot beat the Tigers.  The Tiger bullpen is weak, Edwin Jackson has not had a great second half, and the Yankees are much better hitters.  But after Detroit, they will face either the Red Sox or the Angels.  I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but Clay Bucholtz has been terrific since his recall, and DiceK gets his first start since June this week.  Add in Lester and Wakefield and you have a formidable staff, even if Josh Beckett continues to stink.  If Beckett rediscovers his magic, the Yankees will be hard pressed to prevail.  Remember, as good as the Yankee bullpen has been of late, overall the Red Sox bullpen is better (although Papelbon still can’t hold Mo’s jock).

And if the Red Sox fall in the first round, the Yankees will confront their ultimate nightmare – the Angels.  The Angels have a deep starting staff that has added Scott Kazmir.  They have a great bullpen and arguably the best manager in baseball (while the Yankees have one of the worst).  But most of all, historically the Angels are the one team the Yankees can’t beat.  The Angels starters spent the first two months of the seaon on the DL.  Since Lackey and Santana returned, the Angels have matched the Yankees win for win.  And the last time they met, the Angels swept.

AJ Pavano better get it in gear.

Tonite Derek Jeter broke an 0 for 12 mini-slump with 3 hits (including a bunt base hit) in the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Rays to tie Lou Gehrig as the all-time Yankees hits leader.  Jeter had an opportunity for yet another hit in the bottom of the 8^th to overtake Gehrig, but drew a walk on a low-and-outside pitch after working the count full. 

The temporary postponement of Derek’s ascension to the Yankees hitting throne notwithstanding, tonite’s game is no doubt destined to be seen again on Yankees Classics.  The Yankees trailed 2-0 as late as the 8^th inning, at which point the sinking Rays seemed intent on giving the game away, when their first baseman threw what might have been a double play-starting throw into left field.  But the Yankees didn’t need any help.  After Cano struck out (more on him later), Jorge Posada launched a monster 3-run homer into the right field stands to take a 4-2 lead and cement the Yanks’ 91^st win, their 45^th come-from-behind victory of the year. 

While none of Jeter’s hits contributed directly to the 4-run 8^th inning, he was, for my money, the cause of tonite’s victory. 

You will note that Jeter is hailed for what is referred to as “his intangibles.”  Tonite his intangibles included the excitement he generated with each base hit.  While the Yanks were unable to pull the trigger offensively for most of the night, you never would have noticed this.  The crowd was never discouraged; and, indeed, the excitement in the stadium only became more intense with each passing inning – so much so that the collapse of the Rays’ lead became inevitable.  The butterfly feeling I (and doubtless many other Yankee fans) had in the pit of my stomach as the excitement built, just knowing that the Yankees were going to pull this one out – that the night was too special for them not to do so – was wonderful to feel again.  I don’t recall having that feeling of inevitable Yankee triumph since the inspired days of Brosius-O’Neill-Cone-Bernie-Rivera-Jeter. 

A colleague of mine pointed out today that the Yankees are currently on pace to win 105 games.  While a number of teams have won 100 games throughout the years, very few teams win 105 or more games, which makes 105 victories a bit of a threshold for being a “great” team – assuming, of course, that the team goes on to win the World Series.  In light of the flaws and inconsistencies in the Yankees’ pitching, the injuries, etc., I’m still far from convinced that this year’s Yankees team will ultimately qualify as one of those “great” teams (I think they will need an awesome post-season to make a run for that claim).  That having been said, when I see the Yanks rally around their Captain tonite, and when I see them once again literally will a victory away from another team, it’s hard not to feel their energy – their intangibles at work.  Maybe this is a great team in the making.  Maybe Jeter will finally be named league MVP.  We shall see.

C.C. Sabathia battled Matt Garza this afternoon in a 4-1 victory that Yankees fans ought to find very reassuring as the playoffs near.  A classic pitchers’ battle, both starters went 7 strong innings giving up 1 run each (the run Garza gave up was unearned).  But after some strong defense by the Yanks – a nice contrast with yesterday’s debacle in Toronto – the boys in blue finally broke through with 3 runs in the 8^th to take Game One in this Labor Day doubleheader.  And, to top it all off, I had a GREAT nap toward the end of the game, which, combined with this Yankees victory, has made this a truly first-rate afternoon. 

The defensive highlight of the game for my money (in part because I slept through the 8^th inning gunning down of Crawford by Posada, which I had to watch on the post-game highlights) came from Brett Gardner, who was recently reactivated from the DL.  With the score tied 1-1 in the 5^th inning and a man on, Gardner made a GREAT running catch on the warning track in No Man’s Land in deep right field.  The catch was particularly impressive in light of the real estate Gardner had to cover to make it, darting across the television screen from left-to-right like a bat out of hell to cut off what would have been extra bases and knocked in the go-ahead run.  As baseball is a game both of momentum as well as of inches, it is not unreasonable to say that Gardner saved the game because, if he doesn’t make that catch, the Rays get at least one run that inning instead of getting shut down, and it is a whole different ballgame.  Although Gardner did not get a hit, his speed, hustle, and enthusiasm – both in the outfield as well as on the base paths (Gardner darn near legged out at least one routine groundout today) – was refreshing to see after yesterday’s defensive comedy.  (For a more comprehensive rundown of Gardner’s finer points, check out our March 2, 2009 post written by my younger brother: “The Case for Brett Gardner.”)  Welcome back, Brett.

Although he did not get the win, this marks yet another quality start for Sabathia, who has been dominant since the All-Star Break.  Hughes and Rivera came on to shut down Tampa in the 8^th and 9^th, respectively, in what continues to look like a championship-bound bull pen combination. 

In other news, Mark Buerhle and the White Sox topped Josh Beckett and the hated Red Sox 5-1, which means the Yanks are now 8.5 games up in the AL East, and 11.5 up on the next wild card team. 

The Yankees have another game against the Rays tonite: A.J. Burnett vs. Andy Sonnanstine.  Hopefully Burnett, who has been inconsistent as hell, will find surer footing against this sinking Rays team, and develop a badly-needed groove of consistency which the Yanks need him to be on if they are going to go all the way this year.

After losing the season series opener in Baltimore, the Yanks continued their rout of the last place Orioles with an easy 5-1 victory on this unseasonably cool night to close out the month of August. 

The main story of the evening was Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte pitched a perfect game for 6 and 2/3rd innings.  The perfect game was lost when a lightening-fast shot was powered through the legs of Yankee backup third baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr. for an E-5 – a reminder that the greatest pressure in a perfect game situation is perhaps not on the pitcher, but on the fielders.  The demise of the no-hitter soon followed with a base hit down the third base line.  Because the Yankees only led 2-0, Pettitte, as so often happens when a no-hitter is lost, suddenly found himself in danger of losing not only a career outing, but also the shutout and the lead.  But a groundout to Jeter ended the 7^th inning threat, and the Yankees answered with a 3-run 8^th, which started with a double to lead off the inning by perennial MVP candidate Derek Jeter.  All told, Pettitte gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits over 8.0 innings to pick up his 12^th victory of the season.  Thank you, Andy.   

Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie also pitched well, giving up only 2 earned runs over 6 innings. 

Nick Swisher led the Yankee offense, going 3 for 4 with a single, double, homerun, and 2 RBIs. 

This Yankee victory brings their record to 21-7 for the month of August, the best in baseball.  The Yanks also picked up a half game on the idle Red Sox to extend their lead in the AL East to 6.5 games. 

Looking ahead to September, the Yankees’ schedule looks very reasonable, with 2 series each against Baltimore and Toronto; a 4-game set against Tampa Bay; a 6-game west coast stint which includes 3 games against the Angels; the final 3-game series against Boston; and a 3-gamer against Kansas City.  Steady as she goes.  Steady as she goes…

With a month to go in the season, the Red Sox have put together a successful season so far. Considering all the team has had to go through with injuries, inconsistencies, and David Ortiz, adds to the impressive performance.

At 76-54 and leading the wild card, the Sox are meeting pre-season expectations—at first glance. However, if David Ortiz had been hitting all season, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield were healthy, and Brad Penny and John Smoltz actually paid off, the Sox’s record might be even more impressive. Although if that did happen, we most likely wouldn’t have Victor Martinez and Alex Gonzalez now, which could have hurt in the postseason.

Since were on the topic of mid-season acquisitions, I think I’ll break down the new guys. Victor Martinez has added depth to the Sox and gave David Ortiz the slugger he asked for in the offseason. Defensively he’s no Jason Varitek, but his big bat more than makes up for that. Alex Gonzalez has been giving the Sox much more than they ever asked for. After claiming him from Cincinnati, their goal was to plug up the defensive hole that was shortstop. He’s clearly the one for the job, seeing as how he is the best defensive shortstop the Red Sox have ever had—he set the club record for fielding percentage at shortstop in 2006. Offensively, he has been a bonus from the number 9 spot and has become a big part of the Sox for the final month. Billy Wagner still has to prove himself though, and if he’s anything like Eric Gagne, the Sox could be in trouble. Thankfully, Okajima has emerged as one of the game’s top setup men, so Wagner won’t be a necessary part of the ‘pen for the postseason. Paul Byrd is also worth noting, as he was seen as Theo recycling another old pitcher, but his return to the Majors last night was impressive as he shutout the Jays over six innings.

The Red Sox’ upcoming schedule is tough, wtih the Rays, Angels, and Yankees as the top foes. They do have a few easy series against the Orioles, Royals, and Indians, but by the time those games come around, the playoff picture may very well be determined.

To quote Rickey Ricardo, would somebody please “splain” to me what the Yankees think they’re doing with Joba Chamberlain?

Aside from a short stint immediately following the All-Star game, Joba has been shakey all season.  He throws too many pitches, can’t throw strikes when he needs to, and generally can’t get out of the fifth inning.  Nothing has worked, and Joba has continued to struggle all year.  The guy who the Yankees hoped could be their number one starter of the future has been relegated to the fourth slot, and would be the fifth starter if Wang wasn’t shelved for the season.

So how do the Yankees help their struggling prodigy?  They decide to skip a start.  The ostensible reason for this insanity is the prevailing obsession with pitch count.  Ever since Dusty Baker blew out the arms of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, the timid men who run baseball have been terrified the same fate would befall their prized prospects.  As a consequence, young pitchers not playing for the Nolan Ryan-led Rangers are coddled like infants.

The Yankees have fallen prey to this obsession.  They are so intent on limiting Joba to 150 innings that they have implemented a new system for  him.  Apparently he will now pitch every other start.  Which means he is going ten to twelve days between pitching engagements.

Well, we all saw what a success this system was.  Joba was awful: 4 innings, nine hits, seven runs.  He appeared to be hopelessly out of cinque.  Clearly, the long layoff left him rusty.

So what have the Yankees accomplished?  They have saved Joba’s arm.  He will not suffer the fate of Mark Prior.

He also won’t be worth a thing in the playoffs if this madness continues.  We can look for Sergio Mitre in game four against the Red Sox during the AL Championship.  If we get that far.

CC, AJ, and Andy better be perfect.  It doesn’t look like they will get any help from Joba.

THE BASEBALL SEASON IS OVER!  THIS AFTERNOON BUD SELIG ANNOUNCED THAT THE BALANCE OF THE SEASON WAS UNNECESSARY!  AFTER THEIR STUNNING SWEEP OF THE MORIBUND RED SOX THIS WEEKEND, THE YANKEES HAVE BEEN AWARDED THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!  NO WORLD SERIES WILL BE NECESSARY AFTER THE YANKEES DEVASTATING PUMMELLING OF THEIR LOWLY RIVAL!

Or so the bleating has gone in the Yankee Universe.  And not without reason.  Yankee fans have every cause to beat their chests with pride.  The team showed its moxie with four gritty victories over their hated rivals.  The eight Red Sox victories earlier this year are now a thing of the past, and Boston must now struggle simply to win the Wild Card.

My friend and fellow Yankee fan Xword says I am never satisfied, and my younger son says if I don’t stop with the gloom, he will no longer watch games with me.  But I feel compelled to point out that, although this weekend marks a watershed in the 2009 season, the Yankees cannot yet declare themselves world champions.

1.  THE RED SOX STARTERS

The Yankees pummelled Boston starters for 11 runs in 23.1 innings, a rate of nearly one run every two innings.  Very impressive.  Unfortunately, 8 of those runs were scored in 3.1 innings off John Smoltz, who has since been designated for assignment.  Against Beckett, Lester, and Bucholtz, the three guys the Yanks are likely to see in the playoffs, they managed only 3 runs in 20 innings.  Yuck.  The Yankees won all three games because AJ, CC, and Andy came up huge.  But any weakening by our starters could have turned those three wins into three loses.  The Red Sox starters will be very dangerous in the playoffs.  Everybody should root hard for the Rangers to win the Wild Card.

2. JOBA

Joba stunk.  There is no other way to put it.  He walked 7 and couldn’t hold a 6 run lead.  His performance raises significant questions about his ability to contribute in the playoffs.  He has yet to prove he can come up big in a key situation.

3. THE VILLAGE IDIOT STILL REIGNS

Unfortunately, Joe Girardi still manages the Yankees.  And once again, he proved that he cannot handle the pressure of the late innings.  Girardi tried hard to give game four away.  With a 1 run lead going into the 8th inning, he inexplicably brought in Coke instead of Phil Hughes.  Now Hughes has been lights out, and has been the big reason the Yankee bullpen has turned around, so naturally, Girardi left him on the bench.  His excuse was that Hughes had pitched two days in a row, and he did not want to strain him.  Two days in a row?  Hughes faced one batter Friday night and one batter Saturday.  I fail to see how his career would have been jeopardized by one more inning, especially in a game against the Red Sox with a sweep on the line.  The bottom line is, Girardi is a panic manager.  He does not trust his players, and always has to make one more move.  Invariably, it is the wrong move.  So long as he is the manager, the Yankees are no lock to win.

All that aside, this was a great weekend.  If the Yankees can play this way in October, they will be unstoppable.

Well, the Yankees got the monkey off their backs.  The offense came alive, and they broke the Red Sox jinx with a rousing 13-6 win.  The Yanks lead the AL East by 3.5 games, and the Red Sox are reeling.  For now.

It was a good thing the offense came up big, because Girardi and the pitchers did what they could to hand the game to Boston.  Girardi’s sins were several.  First, he held Joba back from his usual start day so he could pitch against the Sox.  Sounds like good strategy, but the result was an erratic Joba, who was wildly and generally ineffective.  In five tortuous innings, he gave up 4 runs, 6 hits, and 7 walks.  In short, he stunk.  No doubt the extra rest had an adverse effect.

Not to be outdone, the bullpen couldn’t throw strikes either.  Of course, when I say “the bullpen”, I am talking about the second team, because Girardi used Hughes in both Toronto games, making him unavailable, and used Aceves against the Jays for over two innings, putting him on the bench.  So we were forced to suffer through Robertson (ineffective), Coke (adequate), and Melancon (not ready for prime time), who gave us three more walks, numerous full counts, and an unintentional drilling of Dustin Pedroia (oh damn).  Anthony Claggett gave us the eleventh and twelfth walks in the 9th.  Twelve walks in a 13-6 win.  Can’t anybody here throw strikes?

In short, it was a tedious game, made tolerable only by the fact that the offense scored 13 runs.  But they got it done.  The hex is broken.  The monkey is off their backs.   Girardi may be a lousy manager, but this year he’s been lucky.  And you know what Napoleon said about Marshal Murat:  “I know he’s good, but is he lucky?”  Lucky counts.

Although I’d still rather have Joe Torre.

As for the Sox, all the pundits disparaged Brian Cashman when he signed Sabathia and Burnett, while praising Theo for his “wise” use of his money in signed John Smoltz.  Well, guess what, Theo, you can stick a fork in Smoltz – he’s done.  The Yanks shelled him for 8 runs and 9n hits in 3.1 innings, featuring two gargantuan home runs by Melky and Jorge.  And let’s not forget Big Steroid.  He was a rousing 0-5.

An ugly night for everybody.  But I’ll take it.

Well Omar Minaya supposedly rejected 2 major trades (potentially losing Jenrry Mejia & Brad Holt for Victor Martinez/c fom the Indians and Fernando Martinez, Ruben Tejada, Jon Niese, & Bobby Parnell for Roy Halladay/sp from the Blue Jays). Obviously/Naturally/Inevitably neither was ever 100% confirmed. Mets Blog author Matt Cerrone thought the Indians potentially wanted Jon Niese and one of Brad Holt or Jenrry Mejia as well as a minor league bat (”…from what i can gather, the Indians would have requested Jon Niese and one of Brad Holt or Jennry Mejia from the Mets, in a deal for martinez, plus maybe a minor-league hitter, but i don’t believe an official offer was ever on the table…” – http://www.metsblog.com/page/3/), and as per Jon Heyman (http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/mlb_trade_talk/posts/70781-jays-asking-price-for-halladay-too-steep-for-mets), the Mets supposedly rejected the Halladay offer.

Honestly either deal would have significantly depleted our system. Personally, I would have pulled the Halladay deal to have two gorgeous anchors for the 2010 Mets rotation, and they wouldn’t have had to give up their top 2 sp prospects in Holt and Mejia.

I do have another proposal for Halladay contingent on whether the above offer was true:

Jon Niese; Bobby Parnell; Fernando Martinez; Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis (preferably not adding Davis if possible) for Roy Halladay/sp and Alex Rios/of (consuming their salaries).

This would then allow the Mets to trade Alex Rios or Carlos Beltran + Daniel Murphy or Ike Davis if not traded above + Brad Holt for Matt Cain/sp and Pablo Sandoval/ci from the Giants. Matt Cain has been unhittable and probably will be harder to attain then ever before, but I think such a deal could work for the Giants with their offensive needs.

This provides the Mets with a 2010 rotation of Halladay;Santana;Cain;Pelfrey;Maine/Perez and a 2010 lineup of Castillo/Reyes/Wright/Sandoval/Rios/Francoeur/Pagan or FA LF/Schneider-Santos/c. Again, preferably I’d love for the Mets to sign Orlando Hudson for 2b and keep Castillo on the bench or trade him as much as his salary and 2009 performance is, but I think at this point, that won’t happen considering his performance and salary.

As every baseball fan has most likely already heard about, it was leaked that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were among the players who failed the 2003 drug test. It wasn’t as much as a surprise with Ramirez, who was suspended earlier this year, than it was with Ortiz, who has repeatedly denied taking PEDs and criticized the use of them.

The post before mine has already analyzed the situation, but from an extremely anti-Red Sox position. Therefore, I would like to clear things up a little bit:

For the first time, we know that a World Series Championship was won by using steroids.  Two actually.  The Red Sox champions of 2004 and 2007 were built around Ortiz and Ramirez.  Without them the Red Sox don’t even contend, let alone win.

Actually, if Ortiz and Ramirez don’t produce in ‘04, Nomar is traded for offense instead of defense. Plus, saying that the Red Sox are the only ones to blame is very untrue, as explained by a recent quote from Pedro Martinez: “There’s no crying in baseball. We won in 2004. That’s it. Are you going to tell me that the other guys, who used it on other teams are now whining? They used it, too.”

Should their championships be rescinded and awarded to the National League teams?  If I were a Cardinal or a Rockies fan, that’s the remedy I would be demanding.

Do you think the Padres, Braves, and Mets deserve the Yankees’ late 90’s championships? Those great teams could have had more than a few juicers.

Have the Red Sox cheated in other ways?  Why are they such a good team at home, but a sub-.500 team on the road (except when playing the moribund Orioles)?

Wow. That is a very hollow accusation. The Red Sox are 27-25 on the road. The Yankees are 28-25 on the road. Both teams are 35-17 at home. So do the Yankees cheat at home too? What about the Rays, who are 34-18 at home? The 37-21 Rangers?

What is clear is that doubt will now surround everything that happens in Fenway Park.  The suspicion will grow that a culture of corruption permeates the Red Sox clubhouse.  Major League Baseball needs to confront this problem before it infects all of baseball.

Definitely. The most consistent team of this decade must have done something to cheat. The team that won four World Series in five years is completely innocent though.