Yanks Destroy Orioles in Twin-Killing

Bartolo Colon got plenty of run support in yesterday’s first game, as the Yanks cruised to an 8-3 win. The bottom of the order carried the day, with the #5-9 hitters going a combined 10-19 with 6 runs and 6 RBI. Swish was 3-4 with his 13th homer, while Chris Dickerson, Francisco Cervelli, and Eric Chavez each had 2 hits and an RBI.Colon was decent but, unlike most of his starts this year, inefficient in needing 105 pitches just to get through 5 innings. Cory Wade did yeoman’s work for three innings before Boone Logan mopped up the ninth.

That was nothing compared to what transpired in the second, with the Yanks setting a franchise record by scoring a whopping 12 runs in the first on their way to a 17-3 blowout.  Robinson Cano went 5-5 with 5 RBI in the second game, Swish continued his torrid streak by going 3-6 with his 14th homer, Grandy was 3-6 with 3 runs, Jones homered, and every started had at least a hit and a run. What impressed me most was that the Yankees did most of their damage, in the first and in general, without relying on the home run ball. Swish homered, but otherwise the Yankees strung together their record-setting first inning with hard hit after hard hit, making the inning incredibly long and, for the O’s, painful to endure–40 minutes and an incredible 70 pitches to complete the half-inning. The game was effectively over then, all the more so after the Yankees added 3 more in the second, and a single in the third on Jones’s homer. Nova was good, allowing just 2 runs and six hits to go 9-4, with an ERA just over 4. The guy deserves a spot in the majors, but with the Yanks’ commitment to Hughes, and with Garcia and Colon pitching so well, he is the odd man out right now. Girardi toyed with the idea of a short-term six-man rotation, but I don’t expect that to last long at all should they implement it in the first place. Rafael Soriano returned with a 1-2-3 9th with 2 K’s and, although his velocity was not what it normally is, this should come back the more work he gets.

Not to be lost in the fireworks, the Yankees kept pace with Boston by remaining 2 back in the loss column, and staying 7 games ahead of the Angels in the Wild Card race.  Garcia (9-7, 3.23 ERA) takes the bump at 1:05 ET., after which the Yanks hit the road starting with a series in Chicago.

Mariners Break 17-Game Losing Streak Vs. Yanks behind Felix

I know King Felix was on the mound, and I strongly suspected going into this series that the Mariners would not lose 18 in a row after it. But still, I have to confess to being a bit miffed at how today’s woeful 9-2 loss unfolded. Had it stayed, say, 2-1, it would have been easier to take. But the Mariners have the worst offense in the majors, made all the more atrocious since they have a DH. Yet they banged out 17 hits and plated 9 runs 5 earned versus the Yanks, undoubtedly feeling more confident as the game wore on and the lead widened.

Hughes was overall fairly good. Although surrendering 9 hits in 6 innings to the worst offense in the majors, he walked only 1. His problem was also efficiency, not too surprisingly, needing 101 pitches to work that stint. But he kept the Yanks in the game against a front-line starter, and the game was a mere swing away from tied after five. On the whole, that’s not too shabby, and not to be overlooked as the Yanks look for an effective, reliable rotation down the stretch.

The bullpen had a rare but costly letdown, allowing 8 hits and 7 runs/3 earned. Ayala gave up 2 hits in 1 1/3, and was the best of the four relievers the Yanks used. Logan wasn’t sharp, allowing a big triple that blew the game open. Wade before him was hurt by Cano’s throwing error. Noesi looked bad and rusty in allowing the last two runs to score, but by the 9th when he pitched, the outcome was largely academic.

The Yanks have an off day tomorrow before Baltimore comes to town Friday.

CC Perfect Through 5 1/3; Rain Delay

Carsten Charles Sabathia has really geared it up today, fanning 11 including 7 straight in going a perfect 5 1/3 to start tonight before heavy rain and lightning halted play. I hope he can make it back out, especially if the delay ends up around an hour. If it is 90 minutes or more, expecting CC back out is probably asking too much. But man, what a stint from CC, who is facing a struggling free-swinging team just as David Cone did when he threw a perfect game against a young and very similar Montreal team on July 18, 1999, on a mere 88 pitches–which also featured a rain delay.

Stay tuned.

[Edit: Just a magnificent effort from C.C., who fanned 14 and rolled through 6 1/3 before a single by Ryan broke up the perfect game. He struggled in the 7th, walking the bases loaded before Robertson entered and allowed one inherited run to score. If only the rain hadn’t come. It isn’t tough to envision C.C. having had a perfect game tonight, the way he was setting ’em down.]

Grandy Resting, Nursing Everything; CC Looking for Birthday Win

After getting nailed by a 95-mph fastball by David Price last night, hitting the wall in center making a tremendous, crucial catch to the end the fifth and fouling a few pitches off himself, Grandy gets the night off. Well earned, I say. I almost get the impression that anything shy of an iron spike through his skull, Grandy might have played.

C.C. turns 31 today, and hopefully celebrates it in a style similar to his last several, tremendous starts.

Below as per Chad Jennings at LoHud, the Yankees lineup:

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez 3B
Chris Dickerson LF

Good to see Gardner leading off. About time.

Enjoy the game, everyone. I am off to dinner later, and finishing a hellacious spate of writing overnight. I cannot wait.

Get that series win, guys.

Ugly Loss Prevents Yanks from Gaining Game on Boston

As satisfying as Monday’s win was, last night’s 3-2 loss was every bit as ugly. Ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Tampa Bay had runners on first and second when Grandy lost a routine fly ball in the background of that atrocious gigantic putt-putt arena. Needing a double-play ball, Boone Logan got it, inducing a comebacker from Elliott Johnson to himself that he couldn’t handle, allowing the tying run to score, quickly followed by a sac fly from JD on a fairly shallow ball to Grandy. 3-2. Pardon me while I use some Drano to wash the bitter taste out of my mouth. Sadly, Logan didn’t pitch badly in the inning, for he got the types of out pitches necessary–just not the outs. This hurts all the more for Boston lost to Baltimore 6-2.

The Yanks did themselves no favors at the plate, mustering a mere 6 hits to help squander Colon’s terrific start–6 1/3, 5 hits, 3 runs/2 earned, 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Teixeira and Gardner (now at .290) each had two hits, and Cano’s 16th homer drove in the only 2 Yankee runs. They manufactured few opportunities and made little of them, going 1-4 with RISP.

Back at it tonight, with Garcia facing the tough lefty Price.

On Ubaldo

…if briefly.  Word is that the Yankees have inquired about acquiring Rockies righty Ubaldo Jiminez. In return and not surprisingly, the Rockies would want loads of prospects. I’d be fine with trading for Jiminez, but not at too steep a price. Moving Montero would be fine with me, but the key for me entails the Yanks not giving away all their best pitching prospects. Nova might need to be included, but Banuelos and Betances? That would be a no for me.

Acquiring Jiminez would be very tempting and would undoubtedly improve the rotation considerably. But the Yankees did not spend all that time and effort rebuilding their minor-league system simply to repeat the mistakes of the 1980s, when their young players were primarily used in trades rather than in The Bronx. In sum, yes to Ubaldo, but not at the cost of depleting their young pitchers whom I value perhaps a bit more than Montero at this point.

Yanks Pull Out Big 5-4 Win

In one of my very favorites wins of the year, one that appeared unlikely early on, the Yankees gutted out a big, come-from-behind 5-4 win in Tampa Bay last night. Grandy continued his terrific play by going 2-3 with 2 runs, 2 stolen bases, and 2 walks. Gardner continues to shine, going 1-3 with a run, a stolen base, 2 walks, and a huge break-up of what would have been an inning-ending double play that allowed the tying run in Swish to score in the 8th inning. Andruw Jones had a big walk to load the bases, and Russ pushed across the winning run with a bases-loaded walk, in the 9th. Swish was 1-3 with 2 walks. Cano had an RBI single in the 2nd.

To be fair, even though he was all over the place and, when he was close to the plate, getting squeezed by home plate umpire Ed Hickox, AJ hung in there after a dreadful first inning. He kept the game close while the stellar Yankees bullpen allowed but a hit and a walk–both from Noesi who looked good–in the remaining 3 2/3. Robertson is so dominant, fanning two in the 8th last night to lower his ERA to 1.21, and raise his K total to an amazing 59 in just 37 2/3 IP. That’s officially ridiculous. Mariano, His Eminence, got his 24th save of the year and his 583rd of his incomparable career on a mere 8 pitches, making Upton look silly on a K.

This win was huge, allowing the Yanks to keep pace with a surging Boston, padding the lead in the loss column to 7 over TB, and stealing one when it looked so unlikely early on. This was one I was extremely glad to stick with.

Edit: One would be hard pressed to find a bigger difference maker in the Yankee lineup right now than Gardner, who really ought to be batting lead off. He is highly disruptive on the bases as last night’s great, clean wipe out slide also showed. While he ought to bat first, that he is batting above ninth more often at least solidifies a bottom third that has scuffled. Still, Girardi needs to do the right thing and move Gardner up.

I was reminded of Geoff from The BPS last night when Teixeira smack yet another one into the teeth of the shift–the shift works, and has done much to tamp down on Teixeira’s average. Heck, Tampa even employed it when Teixeira batted right-handed. I like that Teixeira has steered the ball to the other side a couple times lately, for it shows that he’s adjusting, but he needs to drive the ball the other way with consistency to reduce the shift on him, and I don’t see it happening any time soon. I love the guy, and his defense (including a terrific catch by the stands to end the game) is first rate. But his declining average (.239) is worrisome, all the more so as A-Rod recovers from surgery.

I’d like to see Noesi pitch quite a bit more. He is nasty when he keeps the ball down, and I am a big fan of the mid-90s heat.

Hard to imagine where the Yankees offense would be without Grandy. He is every bit the player I had hoped for when they traded for him, and this season stands right with his monster 2007 season as his best.

New Poll on C.C.

Feel free to vote and add your comment.

Hughes Strong, Offense Steadily Productive in 7-2 Win

I hate to accept series splits but, as regular reader Mike Fierman and I text-chatted during the game, this was one that was easy to accept after the first two abysmal games to open the series in Toronto. Bolstered by Phil Hughes who got stronger as the game went on, and a well-rounded offense that provided multiple contributions, the Yankees left Toronto far better than it entered, closing the four-game set with a well-earned split from a 7-2 win.

Brett the Jet was 3-4 with 3 runs and 2 stolen bases while batting lead-off which, let’s face it, with all due respect to Jeter lead-off is where Gardner ought to hit. He is now hitting .286 and has been a consistent force, both offensively and defensively, for the Yankees. My boy Grandy was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBI, giving him a team-high 68 for the season. Swish was 2-4 with an RBI, making me eat crow for my text speculation with Mike yesterday that RF might be a position the Yankees seek to upgrade since many other positions are larded with long-term, immovable contracts, and since Swish is hovering just over .250.  Mike’s response was so outrageously profane, laced with numerous hurtful ad hominems, that I can scarcely repeat them here. (Kidding, of course) Hey, someone each year makes me eat crow and, with Bartolo Colon struggling lately and thus refusing to continue to feed me crow for my pre-season assertion that I never want to see him in pinstripes, it might as well be Swish! Cano had an RBI single, Martin an RBI double, and Pena a nice sacrifice fly. Going 5-8 with RISP, stranding only 6.

Hughes was very good and, after a sluggish start, really got rolling and retired 8 of the last 9 batters he faced. His fastball and curve were sharp, with each used for strikeouts. He only threw 80 pitches in six innings, with Girardi going to the bullpen after that perhaps to both ease him back into regular work, and to allow him to end with success. The bullpen was typically excellent, with the trio of Wade (who impresses me quite a bit), Robertson (who has been brilliant this season), and Logan (who is in a good stretch that I’d like to see continue in a season punctuated by ups-and-downs by him) going 3 perfect, with Logan fanning the side in the 9th.

Gardner began the scoring right away in the first, singling and stealing second. After Teixeira walked, Cano singled to right, and Swish’s hard single to right to score BG was hit so hard as to prevent Teixeira from also scoring. The Yanks failed to add on despite having the bases loaded, providing 2 of the team’s 3 failed chances with RISP in the first alone. After the Jays tied it in the second against a scuffling Hughes, the Yanks blew it open in the fourth with a crooked (4). Swish singled and I could have sworn that he mouthed “F$*k you, Jason” as he ran to first. After Jorge flew out to left, Russ doubled in Swish to break the tie and give the Yanks the lead for good. Nunez singled Russ to third, Pena scored him on a sac fly, 3-1 Yanks, Gardner singled, and Grandy laced a double into the right field corner to plate them both, 5-1 NY.

Toronto cut it to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but the Yanks added a run in the 7th and the 9th to pad the lead.

The Yanks moved back to 18 games over .500, staying close to first-place Boston and at least 5 ahead of Tampa Bay in the loss column. I was glad to see the Yanks have plenty of hits, 11 in all, without a home run scoring a run today. They will need more of that as A-Rod recovers from knee surgery for the next few weeks. Continuing to get such solid play from Gardner, Grandy, Swish, and hopefully more from a slumping Teixeira would go a long way to mask A-Rod’s absence.

On to Tampa for four games, against whom the Yankees are 3-2 thus far, with over a dozen games remaining between the two in all likelihood going a long way to determining the fate of the AL East. After that, the Yanks have a ten-game home stand against three sub-.500 teams in Oakland, Seattle, and Baltimore. Taking three against TB would be huge, especially if the Yankees can come home and dominate the home stand to end July.

Homage to CC

It has been a while since I’ve posted, but it’s never too late to come back. For all who are reading this, many thanks for sticking around in some form. I’ve been finishing my dissertation and, between that, family, and work, it is all I can do to ensure that I am properly dressed in the mornings, much less find time for blogging.  I have also mixed in stints on the radio, for I co-host the Illinois-World Labor Hour every Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on WEFT 90.1 FM, streamed online at weft.org. I have also hosted some music shows at WEFT, including a show featuring jam-band and jam-oriented artists, and another on jazz. So in all, the time away from blogging has been busy, productive, and satisfying.

I felt the urge to write after seeing that my blog is still linked at LoHud (thanks to whomever is responsible for that, Chad, Sam, or someone else), which I noticed when I was reading their typically good work on one Carsten Charles Sabathia. Primarily, my initiative to write is him, for he’s simply been outstanding this season. While he has been great in pinstripes since the beginning in 2009, and cranks it up every summer in terms of velocity and performance, there has been something even more impressive about his 2011 season than the others. Maybe it is the lower ERA, the higher strikeout totals, going 8-9 innings of late when going deep into games has always been his bailiwick, all those factors combined with trademark pitch efficiency–maybe just all of it.

For me, it is that despite previous excellence that makes me wonder if he will continue to match it, C.C. not only does, but has surpassed expectations. This year, he has done so when the team has needed it most–with a rotation that thus far has overachieved as a group, that has missed Hughes for almost the entire first half, with a bullpen that has been terrific despite missing several key parts in Joba, Soriano, Feliciano, and Marte. C.C. has been more than reliable, his dominance has been reliable. This season, he has been every bit as good, as dominant, and as vital if not more so to his team’s success as Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, or Tim Lincecum.

The numbers are gaudy: 14-4. 2.64 ERA, 1.139 WHIP, 134 K/38 BB in 153 2/3 IP and 21 starts.

Broken down further, they become even more impressive. Only three times has he not reached the 7th inning this year. He has pitched into the 8th eight times thus far, including in four of his last five starts. His recent stints have been nothing short of brilliant, with his hits allowed diminishing a hit a game from 8 to 3 despite throwing at least seven innings each time out. He has only allowed 2 earned runs in his last five starts, and has struck out 50 in 39 2/3 over that span. Additionally, until the first-inning run yesterday against Toronto, Sabathia set a career-high of 24 consecutive scoreless innings. Despite going winless in his first four starts, C.C. has amassed a major-league best 14 in a season that still began well, but has become outstanding.

By comparison to his top counterparts Verlander, Halladay, Lee and Lincecum, C.C.’s season ranks with the best of them, with only Halladay perhaps surpassing him.

Halladay: 11-3, 2.45 ERA, 1.019 WHIP, 138 K/17 BB in 143 1/3 IP and 19 starts (admittedly amazing)

Lee: 9-6, 2.82 ERA, 1.056 WHIP, 137 K/29 BB in 137 1/3 IP and 19 starts.

Lincecum: 8-7, 2.99 ERA, 1.191 WHIP, 139 K/48 BB in 129 1/3 IP and 20 starts.

Cole Hamels has surely returned to alpha status this year (11-5, 2.71 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 124 K/28 BB in 136 1/3 IP), but my larger point here is to compare C.C. to the most dominant and consistent starters of the past several years and this generation. Hamels may become that, it would surely be a frightening thought to have the Phillies with Halladay, Lee, Hamels, and a healthy Oswalt match the Braves’ stellar rotation of the 1990s. Right now, however, I’d prefer to wait to see perennial consistency.

In the AL, while a few other alpha starters stack up to C.C. this year and merit mention, I will relegate my comparison to Verlander. While James Shields is having a tremendous year, as regular reader and friend Michael Fierman has reminded me, I wouldn’t put him in among the best, most consistently dominant starters of the past several years. Nor would I include Josh Beckett, despite his return to excellence, for he has vacillated between near-greatness (2003, 2005, and 2007, with 2009 being very good) and decent to sub-par seasons (2006, 2008, 2010) in curious every-other-season fashion. Jered Weaver has steadily improved to become outstanding, but his excellence is of a far shorter span than Verlander’s or Sabathia’s.

Since a down 2008 (11-17, 4.84 ERA and 1.403 WHIP), Verlander has been a true alpha starter, annually posting single-digit losses, throwing his second career no-hitter this season, and becoming a threat to do so every time out. Even with a bad start this past week, his 2011 numbers are ridiculous–12-5, 2.25 ERA, 0.898 WHIP, 153 K/33 BB in 157 IP–and his control, like C.C.’s and the others, is tremendous for a power pitcher.

Given the number of pitchers have standout seasons–the list of which includes Jair Jurrjens, Gio Gonzales, Tommy Hanson, Justin Masterson, former Yankee Jeff Karstens (for a resurgent Pirates team whose rise has me smiling), Clayton Kershaw, Matt Cain, Alexi Ogando, C.J. Wilson plus more–the temptation arises to dub 2011 “the year of the pitcher,” as a few radio hosts on WSCR in Chicago have done. I am reticent to do that, and not just because I am here–in addition to not being blessed with the time–simply doing a limited year-by-year breakdowns of pitching statistics. I will save that for another time. Plus, the season is not over and, having entered the second half and the dog days of summer, hot hitting may arrive just as easily to diminish that moniker’s validity.

However, it is not a stretch to say that there is as much if not more talented young pitching to complement the experienced greats as there has been in some time. Perhaps it is this last detail, the overall excellence of the pitching this season, that makes C.C.’s own year all the more remarkable. Amidst this, with Derek Jeter’s reaching 3,000 hits in grand fashion (going 5-5, homering for #3,000, and driving in the game-winning run in the 8th inning), with Granderson’s resurgence, and with all the team’s injuries, C.C. has emerged as the Yankees’ best player.

Since 2009, but never more than at present, it is a pleasure and privilege to watch C.C. perform. He is as good as the Yankees have had on the mound in a decade or more–and does it cleanly and without the drama of Clemens. That he seems to be so universally well-liked is the icing on the cake for a guy who has achieved greatness, and deserved every bit of it.