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Yankees 4 Devil Rays 1: The Return of Sheff and Mo
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Saturday, September 23, 2006
12:14:00 PM EDT
The Yankees beat the Devil Rays last night in St. Petersburg by a score of 4-1, opening up what essentially is a meaningless weekend series. The game was significant because it featured the return of a pair of key players from injury, Gary Sheffield and Mariano Rivera. After one game, both men look primed to contribute when October rolls around.
Sheffield got his first start at first base and handled the position as well as the team could have hoped. There were no glaring mistakes, and he was even able to flash some leather, scooping an errant throw from Miguel Cairo out of the dirt. Sheffield is a former infielder so the adjustment to first base should not be that difficult. He is not going to become a Gold Glover by playing there in the last week of the regular season. However, all the team really needs from his defensively is an upgrade over Jason Giambi. That is hardly a tall order. Giambi's defensive game is terrible aside from scooping balls out of the dirt, and Cairo's throw shows that Sheff can do that. In the postseason, defense matters. One botched play can send a team home for the winter. If Gary can adjust to his new position adequately, the Yanks will have upgraded their defense. Sheff's offensive day was unimpressive as he went 0 for 3. He is going to need to work to get his timing back in this last week. As long as he can play defense like that, the Yankees can afford to wait for his bat to come along.
Rivera came back and pitched a shutout innning, which is even more important that Sheff's night. The Yankees are clearly happy to have Sheffield back since he makes them better, but they can win without him. They were able to weather the storm of the season because there were enough bats in the lineup to keep the offense productive. The defensive upgrade he will offer at first base will help, but it is also a luxury, not a necessity. The Yanks cannot win without Mo. The reason that they have been so successful through the years is that they have the best reliever ever pitching in close games, a guy who gets better as the stakes get bigger. The dropoff from Mo to anybody else in the bullpen is large. New York has a solid bullpen, but no other reliever is as dominant or embraces pressure like Rivera. Championship teams need to be great in close games. The Yanks have been because of Mariano. New York has other hitters like Matsui, Giambi, and Sheffield. There is no reliever in all of baseball like Mariano Rivera.
Chien-Ming Wang was the star of the game itself. The righty had a terrific postseason tuneup, going 7 innings and giving up 1 run. Wang is another guy that the Yanks will need in October. He needs to pitch like the ace he has been. He is the pitcher that New York can turn to with the most confidence when it needs a win. It is very good to see him closing out the regular season in top form. Robinson Cano and Aaron Guiel both hit homers for the offense. Guiel's put the Yanks on top in the 8th as he tries to convince Joe Torre to put him on the postseason roster. Given that Aaron can play all three outfield positions adequately and has done a decent job with the bat, he probably is not a bad guy to have.
The Yanks go to Randy Johnson today. This is just a day of work for R.J. The Yanks need to keep him sharp for October. There is little hope of him achieving any kind of consistency. He will either be great or terrible on the mound. New York just has to pray that he will be on in the postseason. If he leaves this outing without injury, it will be a successful one.
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12:14:00 PM EDT
Yankees 4 Devil Rays 1: The Return of Sheff and Mo
Sheffield got his first start at first base and handled the position as well as the team could have hoped. There were no glaring mistakes, and he was even able to flash some leather, scooping an errant throw from Miguel Cairo out of the dirt. Sheffield is a former infielder so the adjustment to first base should not be that difficult. He is not going to become a Gold Glover by playing there in the last week of the regular season. However, all the team really needs from his defensively is an upgrade over Jason Giambi. That is hardly a tall order. Giambi's defensive game is terrible aside from scooping balls out of the dirt, and Cairo's throw shows that Sheff can do that. In the postseason, defense matters. One botched play can send a team home for the winter. If Gary can adjust to his new position adequately, the Yanks will have upgraded their defense. Sheff's offensive day was unimpressive as he went 0 for 3. He is going to need to work to get his timing back in this last week. As long as he can play defense like that, the Yankees can afford to wait for his bat to come along.
Rivera came back and pitched a shutout innning, which is even more important that Sheff's night. The Yankees are clearly happy to have Sheffield back since he makes them better, but they can win without him. They were able to weather the storm of the season because there were enough bats in the lineup to keep the offense productive. The defensive upgrade he will offer at first base will help, but it is also a luxury, not a necessity. The Yanks cannot win without Mo. The reason that they have been so successful through the years is that they have the best reliever ever pitching in close games, a guy who gets better as the stakes get bigger. The dropoff from Mo to anybody else in the bullpen is large. New York has a solid bullpen, but no other reliever is as dominant or embraces pressure like Rivera. Championship teams need to be great in close games. The Yanks have been because of Mariano. New York has other hitters like Matsui, Giambi, and Sheffield. There is no reliever in all of baseball like Mariano Rivera.
Chien-Ming Wang was the star of the game itself. The righty had a terrific postseason tuneup, going 7 innings and giving up 1 run. Wang is another guy that the Yanks will need in October. He needs to pitch like the ace he has been. He is the pitcher that New York can turn to with the most confidence when it needs a win. It is very good to see him closing out the regular season in top form. Robinson Cano and Aaron Guiel both hit homers for the offense. Guiel's put the Yanks on top in the 8th as he tries to convince Joe Torre to put him on the postseason roster. Given that Aaron can play all three outfield positions adequately and has done a decent job with the bat, he probably is not a bad guy to have.
The Yanks go to Randy Johnson today. This is just a day of work for R.J. The Yanks need to keep him sharp for October. There is little hope of him achieving any kind of consistency. He will either be great or terrible on the mound. New York just has to pray that he will be on in the postseason. If he leaves this outing without injury, it will be a successful one.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
