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September 2006
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9/21/06
9/20/06
9/18/06
9/17/06
Red Sox 5 Yankees 2; Yankees 7 Red Sox 5
9/15/06
9/6/06
Sunday, September 17, 2006
11:10:00 AM EDT
The Yankees and Red Sox spilt the first of two weekend doubleheaders yesterday at Yankee Stadium. Boston won the first game by a 5-2 margin. The Yanks bounced back to take the nightcap 7-5. Now the teams' reward for playing a pair of games in one day is the chance to play two more on Sunday.
Boston's win was due mainly to a terrific outing by Josh Beckett, a rare sight this season. New York's only offense against the righty was a 2 run homer by Robinson Cano in the 2nd. Aside from that, Beckett was dominant. When an offense is kept off the board, the cause can either be a subpar outing by the offense or a completely overpowering pitching outing. This was a case of the second. Despite his struggles this season, Beckett is talented enough to take a game over by himself. That is why Boston acquired him in the offseason. He certainly showed the Yankees that this is true back in the 2003 World Series. He might not have performed this way in 2006, but yesterday's outing was a flash of what Josh is capable of. The Yanks had no chance yesterday against Boston's relatively young gun.
Chien-Ming Wang was solid in a losing effort. Wang pitched 5 innings of 3 run ball, not his best work but a decent Jaret Wright style outing. He kept the Yanks in the game on a day when he clearly was not in top form. The Sox had 9 hits, but Wang stranded them all, except for 3 in the 4th. The recipe was there for disaster, but New York's newly annointed ace left the game with his team still in it. That is the kind of outing that pitchers need to produce when they do not have their best stuff. The loss in this game guarantees that Wang will not win 20 games in 2006, which is unfortunate given how well he has pitched. His emergence has helped springboard the Yankees to a commanding A.L. East lead. He deserves 20 wins. However, that is only a number. Most important is the team's success. If he is really good enough, he will get there one day.
The one shining star for the Yanks in this game was Brian Bruney. The young righty struck out 5 Red Sox in 1.2 innings. His ERA stood at 0.63 after the game. Bruney has been a surprise success for the Yankees since he was called up from AAA. He has earned Joe Torre's trust and is now a key part of the bullpen. There is no question that he should be on the postseason roster at this point and play an integral role. Francisco Rodriguez and Bobby Jenks are flamethrowers who emerged from the minor leagues late in seasons to help their teams win championships in the past five years. Bruney has a chance to become the latest. For all that is made out of the Yankee payroll, Bruney is an example of why the team is successful. Brian Cashman knows what he is doing. Arizona dumped Brian, and the Yanks jumped on the chance to get a hard-thrower in his 20's. Now the Yanks are reaping the rewards.
The game was a sad one because it marked the end of Jim Kaat's broadcast career. Kaat, a longtime Yankees broadcaster, threw out the first pitch and made a brief stop in FOX's broadcast booth. Friday's rained out contest was supposed to be his last, but he stayed in New York for one last day to let his fans say goodbye. Kitty was a pleasure to listen to. His points about pitching were incredibly insightful. His stories about his playing days (He was a borderline Hall of Fame pitcher) were always pleasant, as was his demeanor. He also was a brilliant analyst and one who was not afraid to criticize when it was deserved, a trait that has sadly gone by the wayside in this day and age as announcers employed by the team are hesitant to become too critical. Perhaps the best praise I can give Jim Kaat as a broadcaster is that he told me as a fan things that I would not have picked up on my own. There aren't many who do that, and that is the top job of the broadcaster. Happy retirement, Kitty.
In the nightcap, New York's bats made sure that there would be no sweep. The Yanks scored 1 in the 1st to go ahead and 2 in the 4th, 6th, and 7th, erasing defecits of 3-1 and 5-3 to register the 7-5 win. Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada both had 3 hits, and Bernie Williams had 2 RBI's in a total team offense effort to pound Boston's pitching.
Cabrera raised his average to .288. He probably will lose a lot of playing time with Gary Sheffield set to return. That does not seem right. He has done a superb job filling in this year when the team needed him. He is the kind of guy whose game is built for the postseason. Melky is a contact hitter has thirved under pressure and plays good defense. Both of these things are essential to October baseball, much more than in the regular season. This is especially true of defense. Over the course of a 162 game season, a talented offensive player can outhit his mistakes in the field. However, there are not as many chances to do so in the postseason. One defensive lapse could be the difference between advancing and going home. Teams need to maximize their defense if itdoes not mean sacrificing too much offense. Melky has proven that he can hit, and he is a marked defensive upgrade over anything else that the Yanks can put in leftfield. This will not happen, but in the short term, the Yanks might be better off leaving Melky in the lineup instead of a player like Sheffield who is actually better. Melky's contact approach would make for a more diversified offense given how many boppers are already there. Three men need to prove that they are over wrist ailments, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, and Gary Sheffield. They should be split the two spots of DH and first base. Sheffield, a former infielder should be tried out at first to see if he can become a defensive upgrade over Giambi. The hot hands should be played. The odd man out for the day would stay as a pinch hitter for late in the game. It sounds insane to bench high-priced talent for a guy in Melky, who over the long haul is inferior. Giambi, Sheffield, and Matsui are elite hitters. Many would view removing one from the lineup as insane. However, for one month, defensive trumps everything else, considering how deep New York's lineup is. It's better to enter October with an offense worth 9 and a defense worth 6 than to go in with a 10 offense and a 3 defense. In 2007, Melky probably heads to the bench or back tothe minors because he cannot do as much as the big hitters, who will have enough time to use their offense to make up for defensive lapses.
Randy Johnson was iffy, giving up 5 runs over 5.2 innings. Randy has either been very good or very bad this season. There have been few solid but unspectacular starts for the Big Unit. Where Wang has been decent even without his best stuff, Johnson has not been good. We are past the point of being able to figure it out. Joe Torre and Ron Guidry just need to pray that Randy Johnson brings his good stuff to the mound in October. The only good from this thing is that the aging and fading star avoided injury in this contest. He needs to stay sharp and to stay healthy going into the postseason. Johnson was bailed out by both his offense and an effective bullpen as the emerging Bruney, Scott Proctor, and Kyle Farnsworth shut the Sox down over the last 3.1 innings to preserve the win.
The Yanks knocked 2 games off Boston's dim comeback hopes. They made it through Saturday exactly where they started. The only way that the Yanks can lose the division is if losses start to snowball, while Boston picks up steam. This series is somewhat dangerous because it could start an effect like that. By splitting these games, New York has made sure that this will not happen. With a sweep in today's doubleheader, the Yanks win the East. Even if they don't, Boston is on borrowed time in the division race. They need an absolute miracle.
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11:10:00 AM EDT
Red Sox 5 Yankees 2; Yankees 7 Red Sox 5
Boston's win was due mainly to a terrific outing by Josh Beckett, a rare sight this season. New York's only offense against the righty was a 2 run homer by Robinson Cano in the 2nd. Aside from that, Beckett was dominant. When an offense is kept off the board, the cause can either be a subpar outing by the offense or a completely overpowering pitching outing. This was a case of the second. Despite his struggles this season, Beckett is talented enough to take a game over by himself. That is why Boston acquired him in the offseason. He certainly showed the Yankees that this is true back in the 2003 World Series. He might not have performed this way in 2006, but yesterday's outing was a flash of what Josh is capable of. The Yanks had no chance yesterday against Boston's relatively young gun.
Chien-Ming Wang was solid in a losing effort. Wang pitched 5 innings of 3 run ball, not his best work but a decent Jaret Wright style outing. He kept the Yanks in the game on a day when he clearly was not in top form. The Sox had 9 hits, but Wang stranded them all, except for 3 in the 4th. The recipe was there for disaster, but New York's newly annointed ace left the game with his team still in it. That is the kind of outing that pitchers need to produce when they do not have their best stuff. The loss in this game guarantees that Wang will not win 20 games in 2006, which is unfortunate given how well he has pitched. His emergence has helped springboard the Yankees to a commanding A.L. East lead. He deserves 20 wins. However, that is only a number. Most important is the team's success. If he is really good enough, he will get there one day.
The one shining star for the Yanks in this game was Brian Bruney. The young righty struck out 5 Red Sox in 1.2 innings. His ERA stood at 0.63 after the game. Bruney has been a surprise success for the Yankees since he was called up from AAA. He has earned Joe Torre's trust and is now a key part of the bullpen. There is no question that he should be on the postseason roster at this point and play an integral role. Francisco Rodriguez and Bobby Jenks are flamethrowers who emerged from the minor leagues late in seasons to help their teams win championships in the past five years. Bruney has a chance to become the latest. For all that is made out of the Yankee payroll, Bruney is an example of why the team is successful. Brian Cashman knows what he is doing. Arizona dumped Brian, and the Yanks jumped on the chance to get a hard-thrower in his 20's. Now the Yanks are reaping the rewards.
The game was a sad one because it marked the end of Jim Kaat's broadcast career. Kaat, a longtime Yankees broadcaster, threw out the first pitch and made a brief stop in FOX's broadcast booth. Friday's rained out contest was supposed to be his last, but he stayed in New York for one last day to let his fans say goodbye. Kitty was a pleasure to listen to. His points about pitching were incredibly insightful. His stories about his playing days (He was a borderline Hall of Fame pitcher) were always pleasant, as was his demeanor. He also was a brilliant analyst and one who was not afraid to criticize when it was deserved, a trait that has sadly gone by the wayside in this day and age as announcers employed by the team are hesitant to become too critical. Perhaps the best praise I can give Jim Kaat as a broadcaster is that he told me as a fan things that I would not have picked up on my own. There aren't many who do that, and that is the top job of the broadcaster. Happy retirement, Kitty.
In the nightcap, New York's bats made sure that there would be no sweep. The Yanks scored 1 in the 1st to go ahead and 2 in the 4th, 6th, and 7th, erasing defecits of 3-1 and 5-3 to register the 7-5 win. Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada both had 3 hits, and Bernie Williams had 2 RBI's in a total team offense effort to pound Boston's pitching.
Cabrera raised his average to .288. He probably will lose a lot of playing time with Gary Sheffield set to return. That does not seem right. He has done a superb job filling in this year when the team needed him. He is the kind of guy whose game is built for the postseason. Melky is a contact hitter has thirved under pressure and plays good defense. Both of these things are essential to October baseball, much more than in the regular season. This is especially true of defense. Over the course of a 162 game season, a talented offensive player can outhit his mistakes in the field. However, there are not as many chances to do so in the postseason. One defensive lapse could be the difference between advancing and going home. Teams need to maximize their defense if itdoes not mean sacrificing too much offense. Melky has proven that he can hit, and he is a marked defensive upgrade over anything else that the Yanks can put in leftfield. This will not happen, but in the short term, the Yanks might be better off leaving Melky in the lineup instead of a player like Sheffield who is actually better. Melky's contact approach would make for a more diversified offense given how many boppers are already there. Three men need to prove that they are over wrist ailments, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, and Gary Sheffield. They should be split the two spots of DH and first base. Sheffield, a former infielder should be tried out at first to see if he can become a defensive upgrade over Giambi. The hot hands should be played. The odd man out for the day would stay as a pinch hitter for late in the game. It sounds insane to bench high-priced talent for a guy in Melky, who over the long haul is inferior. Giambi, Sheffield, and Matsui are elite hitters. Many would view removing one from the lineup as insane. However, for one month, defensive trumps everything else, considering how deep New York's lineup is. It's better to enter October with an offense worth 9 and a defense worth 6 than to go in with a 10 offense and a 3 defense. In 2007, Melky probably heads to the bench or back tothe minors because he cannot do as much as the big hitters, who will have enough time to use their offense to make up for defensive lapses.
Randy Johnson was iffy, giving up 5 runs over 5.2 innings. Randy has either been very good or very bad this season. There have been few solid but unspectacular starts for the Big Unit. Where Wang has been decent even without his best stuff, Johnson has not been good. We are past the point of being able to figure it out. Joe Torre and Ron Guidry just need to pray that Randy Johnson brings his good stuff to the mound in October. The only good from this thing is that the aging and fading star avoided injury in this contest. He needs to stay sharp and to stay healthy going into the postseason. Johnson was bailed out by both his offense and an effective bullpen as the emerging Bruney, Scott Proctor, and Kyle Farnsworth shut the Sox down over the last 3.1 innings to preserve the win.
The Yanks knocked 2 games off Boston's dim comeback hopes. They made it through Saturday exactly where they started. The only way that the Yanks can lose the division is if losses start to snowball, while Boston picks up steam. This series is somewhat dangerous because it could start an effect like that. By splitting these games, New York has made sure that this will not happen. With a sweep in today's doubleheader, the Yanks win the East. Even if they don't, Boston is on borrowed time in the division race. They need an absolute miracle.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
11/28/06 5:01 AM