Journal for 4/19/09 Game versus the Indians

Welcome to From The Free Seats first official running game-time journal, where I will post my thoughts and observations from the game as they are happening (which means a few more curses mixed in than I am used to). I thought today might be nice to start this new portion of the blog up because a.) the Yanks are coming off their most embarrassing loss in recent memory and b.) they will be facing fan favorite Carl Pavano.
It is an absolutely gorgeous day (even in Connecticut) and everyone currently at the park should feel blessed to be there.

1:00 P.M. - All of the discussion this morning has been about Wang and the consensus is..........no one knows what the hell to do. I have gone back and forth on this a few times and I think the smartest thing to do would be to let him go out there and see what he can figure out. The guy is a 19-game winner who was 8-2 last year before the injury. If he isn't injured (and the yanks insist he isn't) then this is mental and the only way to deal with that is to let the man go out and pitch. No, Fenway is not the ideal spot to get healthy, but he has to get better some time, right?

1:15 P.M. - Evidently jet streams aren't that big of a deal when you make quality pitches. After walking Sizemore, Burnett got two pop flys to right that didn't travel at all. Perhaps, in a normal park in a normal universe, those would have been in the infield. Truth is, quality pitchers get quality hitters. Fausto Carmona didn't seem to struggle with the gravity-bending wind currents that have evidently set up shop at the Stadium.

1:18 P.M. - This is the loudest I have heard the Stadium over the last four games. That 2-strike count got people up and cheering. Yesterday, as the fans booed Wang, and today, as they just cheered for the strike out, is the first time I got the sense a game was being played in the Bronx. (There is still a big, big difference in the vibe, however. Last night I caught a bit of the Yankee Classic rewind of the July 4 game in '04 when Jeter went flying into the stands and you heard that traditional buzz that has been absent so far from the new place. Hopefully, when the weather gets better and the games become more meaningful, that begins to change).

1:22 P.M. - They just showed the crowd reacting to Pavano. It is safe to say that today, in my opinion as a Yankee fan, is a MUST WIN!!!!!!! This guy should not, in any way be allowed to come into Yankee Stadium in a different uniform and do something he couldn't do for four years while in pinstripes - win a game.

1:25 P.M. - Has anyone else noticed how off the YES MPH gun for last pitch thrown has been this year? I mean I don't know how many times it has posted a 57MPH reading or a 68 MPH reading, when obviously the guy was throwing much harder. Why has that continued to be a problem?

1:30 P.M. - Well, that's nice. A 1-2-3 inning recorded by Pavano where no one got the ball out of the infield and the Shin Soo Choo hits another right fielder homer. That one looked to be struck well and it just got over the fence but, still, the # of homers so far at the Stadium is literally absurd. I like offense as much as the next guy, but who wants to watch Coors Field baseball in the Bronx?

1:34 P.M. - Pretty obvious that Burnett doesn't have quite the stuff he did his last outing, or maybe the Indians are just a much better hitting ballclub. And as I write that he gets a nice 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning.
Second servings on Pavano. Let's hope for a Wang-ian like second for Raja of Rehab here, shall we?

1:35 P.M. - AMC HD (Channel 222 if you're in the Connecticut Comcast service area) is playing Heat for the third time this weekend. Love that film. I remember being somewhat disappointed when I first saw it because Pacino's acting seemed so over the top, but over the years it has become one of my favorite movies. Just a GREAT cops versus robbers flick.

1:45 P.M. - And that's why defense does matter at first base. Teixeira makes a Mattingly-esque type of play on a hard liner that had right field written all over it (and if it ever got into right, who knows what might have happened. It might have launched from the ground over the wall or something). Tex is gonna end up saving everyone a lot of errors this year.

1:50 P.M. - Lost in all the Wang worries is how bad Matsui has looked. Godzilla had a nice spring but, so far, he has looked 60 rather than 34-years old. He runs with a noticeable limp, there doesn't appear to be a lot of pop left in his bat, and he seems to be reaching for pitches as he struggles through. The biggest problem the Yankees face in potentially losing Nady for the season is what to do if Matsui just doesn't have it anymore. Before, it simply would have been Swisher getting those at bats. Now, Swish is your every day RF, so Matsui has to run out there at DH. If Nady truly is gone for the year and Matsui doesn't respond, the Yanks could definitely be in the market for another hitter (and remember, the Yanks have Matsui, Nady, and Damon coming off the books next year, so they could conceivably add a big outfield bat without worrying they would be putting a huge dent in the bottom line).

1:59 P.M. - Michael Kay made a good point last inning (it took me a while to come to grips with that, but now I am ready to admit to such a monumental shift in the norm). The guy who is salivating the most over the "jetstreams" must be A-Rod. His popups travel further than most anyway. If that wind continues to blow out the way that it has, A-Rod might be due for a 40+ homer year, even with his month+ time off.

2:04 P.M. - We can talk about how the new stadium plays, but that Garko homer was just an absolute rocket. That ball is outta every stadium in the majors except maybe Fenway, where that nasty looking Green Monster probably would have gobbled it up.
Burnett isn't as sharp today as he has been but it is still only 3-0 and Carl Pavano is on the mound. If the Yanks can't find a way to slap Pavano around for more than 3 runs, you can't put that on Burnett. The Yanks paid big bucks for quality pitching, not perfection. A 3-run deficit against Pavano and this Indians bullpen should be laughably easy to handle.

2:15 P.M. - Okay, here is a spot where you need to score some runs. Jeter gets the first hit, a liner double, and Pavano looks a little uneasy. Damon needs to do something.

2:16 P.M. - And, as I say that, Damon lines one right on the button to third. Unfortunately the third baseman was standing there and made a nice play. Two outs now with Jeter still at second.
I have to tell you, the fact that Pavano is pitching a 1-hitter right now really, really, really, really bugs the hell out of me, especially considering he is throwing nothing but junk up there. It would be nice if the Yankee hitters started picking up on some jetstreams right now.

2:19 P.M. - Nice, nice hitting by Tex. That wasn't a bad pitch and it fooled him. He just kept the hands back and rocked it into right. A Swisher Sweet would be nice right about now.

2:20 P.M. - You know, as much of an annoying and bothersome personality as A-Rod can be, you can see how much the team needs him here. Swisher is not a four or a five hitter, more like a terrific six or seven hitter. A-Rod lengthens this lineup perfectly. Once he gets healthy, to me the lineup should be Jeter, Damon, Tex, A-Rod, Posada, Cano, Swisher, Matsui, Gardner. On the days when Posada DHs, you simply move Cano up in the lineup. His hot start would seem to warrant more run-production responsibilities.

2:25 P.M. - Not many times you get to say this with a Yankee, Indians game, but this is flying by right now. Top of the fifth and we are less than an hour and a half into the game? Important spot right here for Burnett. Keep the Indians at bay and let the Yanks get their licks in against Pavano as quickly as possible. There is only so long the guy can go pitching a 2-hitter.

2:30 P.M. - The length of games is certainly a problem and the biggest problem effecting that are the umpires. Burnett throws a strike that hugs the outside part of the plate, a pitch that was called a strike three times already today. This time? It's called a ball. The way umpires make up their strike zone on the fly is just absurd. More strikes should be called. Belt high fastballs should be called. Consistency throughout the game should be demanded. If you had umps who kept a consistent strike zone throughout the game, and didn't discount any call that was right down the middle, these games would come in much quicker.

2:34 P.M. - Nice pitching by Burnett. He saved himself a headache there. You can't walk the #9 hitter in this lineup, the way he did right there with Cabrera. It almost came back to haunt him as Sizemore looked like he launched one to right, but the laws of physics decided to show up and the ball didn't sail 500 feet over the wall. Now, it would be nice if the Yanks could somehow figure out the magic that is Carl Pavano.

2:39 P.M. - Two pathetic swings by Cano and Matsui there and Pavano is one out away from getting through the fifth with a 2-hit, one run game. This is just sad really. It isn't as if Pavano is channeling Don Drysdale here. Just terrible swings by the Yanks. And as nice of a guy as Cody Ransom might be, whatever the Yankees saw in him is yet another indication of how shaky their organizational talent-evaluating truly is. No one thought Ransom would be a slugging hero, but he simply can't hit at all and he has already made enough errors (and too few spectacular plays) to warrant a demotion. On that Pavano pitch, Ransom literally swung while the ball was on the ground as if he just simply wanted to make contact.
This is just a horrific offensive showing from the Yanks right now. They have four innings to turn it around.

2:48 P.M. - With a man on in the top of the sixth and one out, Burnett is over 90 pitches. If he gets a double play here I think you can still send him out for the seventh, but if not and he is over 100 after this inning, you probably don't send him out. So who is your seveth inning guy today? Bruney and Mo are set up for the eighth and ninth, especially if the Yanks scratch out a few runs. Do you go to Coke? Marte? It will be interesting.

2:51 P.M. - Terrific play from Cano there, backhanding the ball, keeping it from going into center, flipping it to Jeter who did a nice job catching and throwing quick for the DP. Got Burnett out of the inning and might buy him the seventh. That's the type of play Cano is capable of making every day. It's his lack of concentration that really keeps him from becoming Roberto Alomar.

2:57 P.M. - Talk about sucking the life out of an inning. Jeter at times seems like he wants to place a ball instead of just hit the damn thing and it looked like that there. He passed up on two pitches on the middle/inside part of the plate for one on the outside to try and line it into right. And the swing was less than aggressive. Not a great at bat for Jeter and his penchant for hitting into DP's continue. Coming out of this inning with nothing would be very, very, very bad as Pavano just hung a pitch to Tex that he might have been able to hit to outerspace.

3:04 P.M. - Two terrible at bats kill the Yankees there. Jeter hits a weak grounder to second for a DP after taking gofer ball fastballs right down the middle. Then, Swisher comes up, takes a hanger right down the middle that could have been CRUSHED, then checks his swing on a ball, then swings at a bad breaking ball off the plate. The fact that the Yanks have let this creep get off pitching this game is almost as embarrasing as losing 22-4 yesterday. Again, have some pride. Have some guts. Get some hits.

3:11 P.M - This is a bad, bad gut-check game for the Yankees. First, they were embarrassed yesterday. You would expect a little attitude today. Second, the Yanks have made it very clear what little respect they had/have for Pavano, a guy who CLEARLY had no desire to actually pitch for this team. He came into this game with a 7 ERA and he throws nothing but junk. I mean NOTHING but junk.
We are in the seventh and Pavano is beating this team 3-1. As a Yankee fan, I can tell you this game ticks me off far, far, far more than yesterday's game. Pavano DESERVES to get beat up and now he will leave with a chance to win the game.

3:15 P.M. - Is it me, or is it obvious that Burnett is gassed here and should be removed? Especially against Sizemore, who already rocketed a pitch off of Burnett today? He's walked 6, thrown 106. I'm sorry but Girardi always seems to be one step behind when it comes to making moves. He either yanks guys too quickly or leaves them in their two long. I'm starting to get the sense that he is Chevy Chase at the blackjack table in National Lampoon Vegas Vacation.

3:18 P.M. - That was honestly the best case scenario with Sizemore. Burnett was obviously spent at the beginning of the inning. Girardi now brings in his shaky bullpen in a bases loaded, 1-out scenario. As a manager your job is to put people in the BEST situation possible and then ask them to perform. Girardi rarely does that. This is a prime example of why Girardi is a bad manager. Now, you HAVE to come in throwing strikes. With an erratic umpire on the mound, that is just a horrid position to put your bullpen in.
Does anyone have Don Mattingly on speed dial?
(before anyone accuses me of being reactionary when it comes to Girardi, understand that this isn't about the first three weeks of the season here. This is about an entire season last year. Girardi has proven himself to be either a mediocre manager or a bad manager, depending on the day. There is nothing one can point to that Girardi does exceptionally well. If you're going to spend $200 million on a team, why not have the best manager possible?)

3:25 P.M. - Give Johnny Abba a lot of credit. His manager put him in a terrible situation and he did a terrific job of getting two weak grounders. Now the Yanks, with nine outs to go, have three innings to pull out two runs. Maybe they will be lucky enough to have the hall of famer Carl Pavano out of the game and they can go after some Indians bullpen help.

3:31 P.M. - Now all you want from Matsui is for him to turn the hands over and at least ground it to first or second. Don't leave Cano standing on second for Cody Ransom and Jose Molina.

3:33 P.M. - Forget everything I said about Matsui. The man is the epitome of clutch. Seriously, nice piece of hitting there. Just went with the pitch and lined it into left center for the hit and the RBI. You also have Posada on the bench. One would assume that you could bunt Ransom and pinch hit for Molina with Posada. Problem is, even with Matsui on second his knee has been so bad there is no guarantee that you will be able to score him from second on a hit. But you still have to bunt Ransom and hope that something good happens to where you don't need Matsui to round third at 100 percent (for those wondering why you don't pinch run for Matsui, it's because there is a lot of game left and Pena would be your only option).

3:38 P.M. - Yet another plea from Cody Ransom to be sent down. Bad bunt all the way around, but especially because Matsui is running. You HAVE to make the third baseman or even the first baseman (who is right handed and would have to pivot around to throw to second) to field that ball. Again, if Ransom can't hit and isn't a great fielder, explain to me why he is up at the majors?

3:41 P.M. - WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! Posada with the homer. That is a tough one. Replay looks to show that it hit the top of the wall, bounced off one of the fans, and then came back into play. Now it will be interesting because it does appear that the RF's glove touched it as well and might have bounced it back into play. Very interesting.
(BTW, replay is suppose to speed up the game, right? Instead of endlessly debating, this was suppose to eliminate the debate. But the truth is, this has gone on for a while, a lot longer than if they had just made a call and gone with it.)

3:47 P.M. - I am a Yankee fan here so call me biased, but I think the umps got this one right for one simple reason - the rule of thumb with instant replay in every sport is that there has to be indisputable evidence to make an overrule. We see in the NFL all the time refs overturn calls where there is absolutely no evidence to support their arguement. Right there, one COULD have made the case that the RF's glove touched the ball and that's what caused it to bounce back into play. However, there wasn't one angle where that was obvious. So, without indisputable evidence, the umps did the right thing and differed to the call on the field. To me, instant replay should be reserved for flag poles and for when the ball bounces off an outfield wall or something back into play. That replay right there is really borderline, I feel. That's a judgement call by the ump because, really, that is a fan interference call, not a "did it go over the wall" call.

3:53 P.M. - Well, after all that, it's 4-3 Yankees and Posada continues to show that he has made a full recovery. That was an old-time Yankee homer, just getting over the wall. Great, clutch hit by Posada. Now your bullpen sets up perfectly. Bruney for the eighth, Mariano for the ninth. As long as everyone stays to form, this would be a nice win for the yanks. That assumes everyone will do their job. I, for one, PRAY they do, not so much for the win as to avoid the "Joba needs to go to the pen" arguements that will come out.
(One of the positives from this game, I believe, was the 2/3 inning from Johnny Abba. If Bruney continues to pitch well, and Rivera stays Rivera, the Yanks really only need to find one or two more sturdy, solid pitchers. Johnny took a step in that direction today. As I said, he picked his manager up by coming in to a no-win situation and winning. If Phil Coke can pitch with more consistency and Marte can get things figured out, the bullpen can still be a real positive).

4:01 P.M. - Bruney has definitely solidified himself as that 8th inning guy and, somehow with Joba not in the pen, the Yankees will find a way to get the ball to Mariano with a lead. Bruney, Albaladejo, Phil Coke, and really every other bullpen guy (even Mo) are prime examples of why the "Joba needs t be in the pen" arguement is so absurd. These guys were retreads who found a niche in the bullpen after failing as starters. Mariano was a failed starter. Bruney was cut by the Diamondbacks. Albaladejo was a throw-in piece to a minor trade, and Phil Coke was a guy who had a 5 ERA in the minors as a starter. Joba, for his short career so far as a starter, has an under-3 ERA. He has 4 PLUS pitches and he is a big, powerful kid who could be a horse.
Again, I would just like to offer my thanks to Bruney because, to me, there is nothing more insufferable than listening to people talk about Joba going to the pen. But it won't end. Bruney could pitch 30 scoreless innings and, the first time he gives up a 2-run dinger the calls will come for a move. Some people are too arrogant to admit they are flat out wrong (calling Mike Francesa. Is Mike Francesa in the house?).

4:15 P.M. - Ransom needs something here. He is hitting .128. Even for a place-holder, that's not cutting it. He has a 2-0 count. If you can't put a good swing on this, it's time to look for different employment.

4:19 P.M. - Well, if you're Cody Ransom, you'll take a broken bat double that falls in because the left fielder loses it in the sun and pulls up. Tonight, when he's talking to the girls who can't get in to see Jeter at the night club, that will turn into a rocket down the line that put a close, nip-and-tuck game to bed as the crowd stood in applause. Score one for the Cody.

4:30 P.M. - What looked to be an uninspired game by the Yankees that would be remembered for how their favorite son, Carl Pavano, stymied them for 6 innings turns onto a terrific, come-from-behind win to split the series with the Indians. Mariano comes in and gives up a hit, but that's it. A ho-hum 9th and the Yanks win 7-3. Nice way to go into the next series against the A's.

Game observations - The negative from this game? That's an obvious - Carl Pavano and his virtuoso performance. The rest was all positive. First, Matsui got a big hit, which is much needed and good news for him, Second, the team has had a nice knack for coming back in games early this season, something missing last year. Third, Bruney continues to be that 8th inning shut down gut and Jonthan Albaladejo saved the game for the team, getting big outs in that top of the seventh, when things could have gotten out of control. If Johnny Abba gives up any kind of hit there, the game is probably over. Fourth, Posada seems to be in mid-season shape and has been swinging a GREAT bat this year. Fifth, Burnett bent but didn't break and the Yanks played nice defense, especially at first, second, and third. Tex, Cano, and Ransom all made really nice plays.

Now, the yanks will get ready to welcome back Jason Giambi and the newly retooled A's. With a weekend series at Boston looming, you would like to see the Yankees rattle off a few wins in a row here. The big question this week will be who makes the start on Friday? Is Wang out there at Fenway or do the Yanks skip a Wanger start? We will see.