April 28, 2007

G23: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1

No support for Wakefield -- again -- who had to fight his way out of a jam in every one of the six innings in which he pitched today. He allowed a two-run home run to Posada in the fourth and an RBI double by Cabrera in the sixth. His line: 5.2-5-3-6-3, 118.

Youkilis singled twice and walked. One of those hits opened the 8th and he later came around to score the Sox's only run. Yook, as the potential tying run, made the last out, popping to Cano at second.

Lowell had an RBI single and a double, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He also made two more errors at third base. ... Manny did not hit a fair ball all day -- two walks and two strikeouts.

Rivera got his first save of the year -- in the Yankees' 22nd game.

***

1st Inning: Lugo lined the first pitch of the game off Karstens's right knee. He crumbled to the ground, but stayed in. Youkilis lined a single to left on a 3-1 pitch and Torre came out to get him. Igawa -- the guy the Yankees pulled from the rotation before this series -- is coming in.

Either Kartsens is really hurt or Torre is just bringing in the lefty to face Ortiz.

***

Tim Wakefield (2.08) / Jeff Karstens (14.54), 4 PM

Is it wise to gloat on April 28? Who cares! It's fun!

The Yankees have lost seven straight games for the first time since 2000. Looking at the standings this morning, only two teams have a worse record: Kansas City (7-16) and Washington (8-15).

Johnny Damon: "Every game is a must win for us now, even though it's April." ... Is it time for the P word?

They have not lost seven in a row in April since 1989 (the glory days of Don Slaught, Alvaro Espinoza, Andy Hawkins and Dale Mohorcic). One of my favorite Yankee Stadium memories from that time was a couple of loudmouths giving Mohorcic the business as he imploded on the mound, screaming out a perversion of his last name: "More Horseshit! More Horseshit!" It was hilarious, it drowned out everything else in the park and it went on for quite a while. (The 1989 Yankees lost seven in a row again that year, in mid-July.)

The Yankees lead MLB with 124 runs scored, but have allowed 117 runs, 6th worst in MLB. Their expected W-L record is 11-10, but they are 8-13. Why? Cliff Corcoran at Bronx Banter says it comes from "losing close and winning big". Only three of the Yankees' 13 losses have been by more than two runs. (Boston's expected W-L record based on 117 RS and 77 RA is 15-7, which is also its actual record.)

Here are some pitching stats and the rank among all 30 MLB teams:
              Red Sox         Yankees
Team ERA 3.25 3rd 5.15 28th
Starter ERA 3.63 8th 5.94 19th
Bullpen ERA 2.28 2nd 4.13 21st

Team BAA .229 4th .264 22nd
Starter BAA .235 5th .305 29th
Bullpen BAA .215 7th .199 3rd

Team OBP .293 2nd .349 25th
Starter OBP .292 3rd .372 29th
Bullpen OBP .294 4th .321 11th

Team SLG .358 4th .422 23rd
Starter SLG .367 4th .492 29th
Bullpen SLG .335 6th .328 5th

Team WHIP 1.18 2nd 1.51 26th
Team K/BB 2.64 3rd 1.23 30th
SV-OPP 8 of 8 0 of 7
Yes, the Yankee bullpen has blown all seven of its save opportunities this month, while the Red Sox have successfully converted all eight of their chances.

Wakefield is 6th in the ERA and opponents are hitting only .204 (20 hits in 26 innings) against him. Karstens gave up seven runs to the Red Sox last Saturday in his first start of the season.

Julio Lugo, on the Rivalry:
I didn't know it was going to be this intense. Every game seems like a World Series game. I heard about it, but being here I know what it is really about now.
Jeter:
This is when you find out how good a team is. People ask you in spring training, 'How good is this team?' You don't know. It's easy to say you're a good team when you win six or seven in a row, but this is when you find out. It's how you bounce back.

61 comments:

Jackie said...

That last statistic - saves converted - really blew me away last night (vague pun intended). It's completely unbelievable that the Yanks have NO saves... any idea what the MLB record is for most save opportunities blown to start the season?

allan said...

not sure about that, but the most games a team has gone into a season before getting a save is 57! see here.

laura k said...

Ah, More Horseshit. The good old days. :)

"That's right, spit in your glove, pull your pants up, that's right, spit in your glove again, go on, pull up the pants, it's not helping, better try again..." Another heckler-memory from that era. Mike Blowers, I believe.

s1c said...

Lets hope that Tim's luck in the Bronx changes today. In his last 5 starts there he has given up 3 runs or less 4 times and only won one of those starts. This includes an 8 inning start that he lost 1 - 0. I believe against Randy Johnson in 2005.

As for More Horseshit, that is a monkiker you would think I would remember but in 89 I was living in Oregon, so its possible that never made it in to the vernacular there.

allan said...

This includes an 8 inning start that he lost 1 - 0. I believe against Randy Johnson in 2005.

Right you are. September 11, 2005. I remember it now that I see the run was a Giambi HR in the bottom of the first. Wasn't it also a cheap porch job down the RF line?

s1c said...

I don't remember whether it was a cheap one, but since it was G-roid, lets say it was and call it even.

allan said...

If I was at home, I'd check the ol' scorecard file, but I'm not.

Beth said...

//I didn't know it was going to be this intense.//

considering he has been playing in the AL East for years, that's a pretty amazing statement.

allan said...

How bad can it get for the Yankees?

Lugo lined Karstens's first pitch of the pitcher's right knee. He crumbled to the ground.

But he's staying in.

tim said...

i howled when karstens got drilled, first pitch of the game! that was great.

but now, i'm thinking that this might have been part of the Yankees plan all along (except for karstens getting drilled)...Joe "suck ass" Buck just said the sox have never seen igawa before - look at how fast Igawa was ready to go, was he warming before the game???

maybe they just said karstens was starting, so the sox would study film of him and be ready for him, then pull him after 2/3 and bring in igawa all along...look at how pitiful karstens start was last week, why would they put him in again over someone boston has never seen. sneaky wankers

allan said...

interesting, though i think the mfy staff is in such bad shape, they aren't thinking of pulling tricks. anyway, if there was a plan, we foiled it by injuring karstens.

maybe igawa needs only 1-2 pitches to get warm, like sexy lips.

down two runs, we'll just come back like the other 4 games.

tim said...

need to get the pitch count up so we get their stellar bullpen in the game.....but i wouldn't put anything past torre at this point, if he has bobby abreu of all people bunting.

clearly P-word mode is on in ny.

tim said...

also...this lack of run support for wake is all too familiar...maybe now that the pens in, they'll pop a couple

allan said...

fox showed jeter's parents in the stands -- everybody drink.

allan said...

"Ball 4" to Abreu was over the plate at the belt -- maybe a hair higher.

According to the rule book, that is in the exact middle of the strike zone.

Fuckin' A, ump. Let's play by the rules.

s1c said...

Can it get any worse for Wakefield? Again the bats come up missing and now when we should have been out of the inning on Jeters infield hit, here comes A-rod up with bases loaded. I think the winning streak is about to go down the drain.

allan said...

we've come back after being down 3-0 to the yankees before! :>)

allan said...

E-ROD!!!!

allan said...

Tying run at the plate. Tito lets Mirabelli bat while Varitek watches from the bullpen. Not good.

allan said...

And he whiffs. Of course.

Nice, Tito, real fucking nice.

Sean O said...

C'mon Hinske. And that went poorly. C'mon Wifebeater.

allan said...

Not that Varitek had to bat necessarily. Why not Wily Mo?

Now Hinske bats for Pedroia. I am getting annoyed.

allan said...

And the rally is pissed away.

If the Red Sox are behind in the last three innings and there is any hint of a rally, Doug Mirabelli should not be allowed within 30 feet of the bat rack.

That is taken directly from the Book of Redsock, Chapter 2, Verse 16.

Sean O said...

redsock-
To be perfectly fair, I was at the Royals game last year when Dougie pasted the game winning homer over the monster in the 7th, so there is some precedent. Plus, as hateful as it may seem, I'm not sure how much of a difference there is between Tek and Belli at this point. Tek's .313 OBP isn't doing wonders for as at this point.

allan said...

Calling him The Stud Who Hits Bombs is fun, but he is not our best option at that point. Especially when Hinske comes up and PH for Pedroia right after.

Though you are right about Tek. It's amazing about him. One AB he can look like a solid hitter, the next AB he looks like he's never swung a bat or seen a baseball before.

...

The 8th is our inning: Yook, Flo, Manny and Drew.

s1c said...

I knew Okajima, Donnelly and Papel-bot had been good this year but I wasn't aware they had been this good from the boston press pass . Combined the three are 6 hits and one run in 24.1 innings with 31 strikeouts while holding the opposition to a .076 (6-79)batting average.

allan said...

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!

allan said...

and a walk to flo.

let's go, manny!

allan said...

manny down by way of the k.

(his .556 avg vs nyy last year was the 2nd highest against the yankees since 1957)

it's up to DJ Werd.

allan said...

This rally was not extra cripsy. 3-1 after 8.

Sean O said...

Can anyone explain why Crisp was batting in that situation, against a fastball pitcher? Anyone? Buehler?

To me, that's way worse than the Mirabelli / Tek thing. Just insanity.

s1c said...

Why I like J.D. hitting after Manny, he doesn't hit into many doble plays. Lowell gets the first hit with RISP and after Coco the Sox are now 1 - 10 RISP. Yep, typical performance by the bats when Wake starts.

s1c said...

Can anyone explain why Crisp was batting in that situation, against a fastball pitcher? Anyone? Buehler?

How about Crisp is considered the best fast ball hitter on the team?

Sean O said...

If Crisp is the best fastball hitter on the Boston Red Sox, I'm going to become an Indians fan foremost. He's not the best anything on this team.

Good fastball hitters don't have a .573 OPS. Terrible baseball players do.

tim said...

i would've put pena in before the crisp tantrum....fastball hitter vs fastball pitcher. i questioned him batting in the first place, but i guess due to the first game at fenway when he hit the triple....ah well, lets keep the streak going now (of no saves for mfy) - hopefully 'tek will PH, cora's been clutch lately, and lugo better get it going for the big bats.

allan said...

we score a couple of rivera here and at least 10,000 nyy fans' heads will explode.

tek!!!

tim said...

it will be glorious! its time for lugo to win over the boston fans with a jack!

tim said...

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh damn, can't win em all i guess. typical anemic offense with wake on the mound.

Jackie said...

Eh, give the W to Froemming. His strike zone was curiously elastic (expanded when the Sox were up and shrunk when the Yankees were batting).

Jim said...

The casual fan, tuning in for the first time this year, having been in N. Korea, tempted by the Sox/Yank rivalry and lured by the McCarver and Buck reputation for excellence, thirsting for baseball information, would conclude that the unfolding story line espoused by McBuck was badly flawed. There was nothing wrong with the Yanks' real starter, the set-up guy was just fine and Rivera got a save. What was all the fuss about? The casual fan would conclude that Buck and McCarver didn't know what they were talking about.

laura k said...

OK, no sweep, we'll make do with 2 of 3, 5 of 6 against them in April.

laura k said...

The casual fan would conclude that Buck and McCarver didn't know what they were talking about.

And just this once, they'd be wrong.

laura k said...

How about Crisp is considered the best fast ball hitter on the team?

I keep thinking I'm reading this wrong. Crisp?

s1c said...

L-girl said...
How about Crisp is considered the best fast ball hitter on the team?

I keep thinking I'm reading this wrong. Crisp?


One of the reasons Crisp has always been considered a good fast ball hitter. That is one of the reasons why in Cleveland his BA is above 300 in the 2 hole. With Sizemore getting on base ahead of him he saw a lot of fast balls.

Go back to the spring training stories etc, and you will see that Theo was always talking about how the injury hurt Crisp on the fast ball, something that they expect him to be a lot better at this year now that his finger is healed. As for Wily Mo, 1 grand slam does not make him the answer.

9casey said...

Two nights in a row Tito Left Crisp in big spots last night with bases loaded and today of course....Is Wily Mo hurt. I know Tito saw Pena hit the Grand slam in Balt. How does that not sway him at all.

I was screaming at my TV ....

Wierd or maybe he actually has a reason I can't think of.

Crisp is on the verge of a mental breakdown......

Sean are you actually a red sox fan?

I think in two weeks you have bashed every new red sox player we got....

The sky ain't fallin yet... chicken little

mattymatty said...

does anyone else think Crisp got really jobbed by Froemming? Crisp was at the plate for five pitches, not one of which was in the strike zone. I think I'd have been really upset too. No. Wait. I WAS really upset.

s1c said...

mattymatty said...
does anyone else think Crisp got really jobbed by Froemming? Crisp was at the plate for five pitches, not one of which was in the strike zone.


I think the first two were borderline but the last one was not even close. Froemming is usually a good umpire, he missed that one.

tim said...

As for Wily Mo, 1 grand slam does not make him the answer.

its not one salami, its the fact that Farnsworth is a FB pitcher and Pena cant hit much besides FBs down the pipe. Seems like a winning combo to me.

does anyone else think Crisp got really jobbed by Froemming? Crisp was at the plate for five pitches, not one of which was in the strike zone.

it was pretty brutal, i really didnt think he had a fair shot to hit a ball that went over the plate, since none did!

mattymatty said...

s1c - I really think all three of the pitches that were called strikes on Crisp were outside. The third was particularly egregious, but the other two were definitely outside. I've seen pitches called strikes there before, and to be truthful, thats fine, as long as they are strikes for everyone all game long. That was definitely not the case today. Those pitches were strikes for Farnsworth and nobody else. Not even Igawa got calls like that.

s1c said...

Listen to us, we are sniping at each other after the first loss in 5 games vs the Yankees. Second guessing Tito, jabbing against Froemming (yes, I think that Coco got Jobbed / screwed / typical yankee favortism by umpire, etc.). It was just one game!

1) I will admit that Wily Mo should have been up to bat against Farnsworth since he is 3 for 4 against him with 1 HR. However, Coco was 1 for 3 with a walk against him.

2) Kei Igawa pitched the game of his career (albeit a short one) but really, isn't that the usual scenario for a Sox / Yankee game. Something unexpected happens and the sub comes up huge.

3) 1 - 11 RISP means you aren't going to win very many games. Since this is like the 4th game in 6 that they have had those type of stats, we should consider ourselves lucky to win 3.

4) A career OPS of .740 is not bad, not all world but not bad, while Crisp is at .574 this year he has only played in 17 games and he is only slightly behind Manny's .576 OPS. I don't hear you screaming to not play Manny!

9casey said...

s1c said...

I don't hear you screaming to not play Manny!


Is that meant to be funny?

If not he is a HALL OF FAMER!!!!!!

Comparing Coco Crisp to Manny Ramirez.....

Career ops leaders:
1. Babe Ruth+* 1.1638 L
2. Ted Williams+* 1.1155 L
3. Lou Gehrig+* 1.0798 L
4. Barry Bonds* (42) 1.0527 L
5. Albert Pujols (27) 1.0416 R
6. Jimmie Foxx+ 1.0376 R
7. Todd Helton* (33) 1.0224 L
8. Hank Greenberg+ 1.0169 R
9. Rogers Hornsby+ 1.0103 R
10. Manny Ramirez (35) 1.0057 R

That is all world

s1c said...

9casey - Thank you for making my point!!!! Manny has a history with this club and is a Hall of Famer. However his OPS is over 400 below his career? Why aren't we ragging on Manny? Because we have the best record in baseball that is why. My point was its 23 games into the season. Chill out people we lost one game.

tim said...

we're not ragging out on manny cause we're used to his slow aprils and he's consistently done 30/100 for 9 seasons...coco hasn't proven himself yet, and has proven to be more of a bust than a gain. beckett was questionable after last year, but has been stellar this year. drew has been good this year, sliding recently, but still swung the bat very well. lugo has been doing well, crisp just hasn't been what he was in Cleveland. maybe it has something to do with the fingers, but yeah. we've established that wily mo would've been ideal in that situation, i'm just giving my reasons for not having faith in Coco.

definately not panicing like they are in ny, i realize that we can't win em all and i'm fine with 1 loss every 10 :-P i just hope they bounce back and tavarez pitches a career game tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Of all the woulda/coulda/shoulda scenarios that unfolded in yesterday's game, the one that stuck in my craw was Manny never taking the bat off his shoulder in the 8th with 2 one 0 out.

I literally jumped for joy when the MFY signed Farnsworth, who'd proven his mettle as a bullpen arsonist in CHI, ATL, and DET. I could not wait for the type of situation we got yesterday, which would bring together a pitcher with a proven pedigree of grooving pitches in late-inning situations against a pair of preturnaturally talented fastball hitters in the persons of Ortiz and Ramirez.

Trying to get ahead in the count, Farsworth grooved a fastball on S1 that Manny watched sail down Broadway, which would prove to be the best pitch in the AB. Slider for called S2; B1 outside; another slider for called S3, and its all over without so much as an attempt to make a hack that would prolong the AB as Ortiz has done one batter before.

Give Farnsworth credit for making three quality pitches, albeit to a hitter whose presence at the plate was about as menacing as the graphical version on MLB Game Day.

You can debate the relative merits of pinch-hitting Wily Mo over Crisp or Tek over Mirabelli 'til the cows come home, but the Sox could not have had a more perfect situation than 2 on, 0 out, and Ramirez at the plate.

As his average stays mired under the Mendoza Line, you keep waiting for signs that Manny's going to catch fire. The bomb in TOR, last week's first of 4 straight against the MFY, and the lasers he was hitting all over Camden Yards have each proven to be false-positives that Manny is back to being Manny, at least with the stick.

Hope springs eternal that today might be the day. While Crisp, indeed, got jobbed by Froemming, how the fuck can Manny Ramirez keep the bat on his shoulder in that situation?

laura k said...

Sean are you actually a red sox fan?

I think in two weeks you have bashed every new red sox player we got....

The sky ain't fallin yet... chicken little


Thanks 9Casey, this was my main point the other day in the "Matsuzaka sucks / he does not" thread. We're in first place, things are looking good - enjoy it! It's the worst stereotype of the Red Sox fan, always seizing defeat from the jaws of victory.

Sean O said...

You're right, everyone on this team is perfect, and we're the best team in history.

Glad our post-2004 legacy is having to show the rest of the world we're perfectly happy all the time.

allan said...

Yeah, that's the only other response. (eye rolling)

laura k said...

You're right, everyone on this team is perfect, and we're the best team in history.

I can't imagine who this is meant to address, since no one here said anything so foolish.

The team that's in front of our faces, right now, is fantastic. The pitching is especially noteworthy, and that's most important.

Included in that is high praise for Dice-K, who has performed very admirably so far, and is still both young in years and new to our league. Where you saw "creamed" and "annihilated", others saw superb effort and performance.

If in your mind that translates into the foolishness I quoted above, then there's no chance at rational discussion.

I wonder what you sound like when the team is losing! Maybe then it's "See, I told you so".

allan said...

Remember that impossible-to-believe-but-true story about the Red Sox fan who got hit by a car right before the 2004 playoffs, went into a coma and didn't wake up until after the World Series was over?

I think it was Sean!

That gloom and doom mindset is so 2003. Get with the times, buddy!!!!

Jere said...

"Mike Blowers"

...who was involved in the last unassisted triple play turned by the Red Sox.

"Dale Mahorcic"

I remember hints of him being called "the Iron Horse" at the time, and knowing even at 13 how ridiculous that was.

laura k said...

I remember hints of him being called "the Iron Horse" at the time,

!!! Good thing I never heard that, my head would have exploded. The real Iron Horse is my all-time favourite player.