Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Kevin Russo LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner CF

Thames was scratched with a stiff neck.

Big game today. A loss means we could be facing a sweep (with JV going tomorrow).

By the way... anyone notice the Rays have gone into a bit of a slide the last 2 weeks?

[3] Yup. Need a W today, keep the pressure on them.

I've covering the game today ... won't have much time for comments ...

I wish Teix didn't uppercut his swing so much, so often ...

That wasn't so good.
But, today we have to even the HR score. I'd prefer lots of base runners.

Wheeeeeeeew. (That's a long, impressed whistle.)

Andy Pettitte, ladies and gentlemen.

Swing and 3 misses ... nice

I would honestly sit Teix for 2 games... just to let him watch a bit and settle down.

Here we go K-Russ
Here we go!
{clap clap}

Romero has not thrown a lot of strikes. The count has him at 50% or so, but I feel like our guys have swung at a lot out of the zone. Robinson did, for sure.

That was a good example: Russo swung at two pitches that wouldn't have been strikes.

Oh well. Second time through, we'll murderize 'im.

Young Ricky Romero gets out of it, despite being a bit wild.

[11] and earned a couple of walks. One thing I like about Cervi and Gritty is that no matter how good they are hitting they both show plate patience.

Romero so far: 40-23 PC/ST.

[15] I know, but my point is a lot of those strikes were not in the strike zone, they were swung upon.

Good god.

What the hell is going on here? Have the Jays struck some hideous Faustian bargain?

Somethings is very wrong here.... PEDs in Toronto's water cooler???

[17] It's so bizarre. Edwin Encarnacion is exhibit A. He's barely hitting .200, OPSing below .300...but has a .850 OPS thanks to his SLG. Seems like the whole team is like that. They don't get on base unless they hit a home run. This can't be sustainable...can it?

[16] Not arguing.... just posting. If we can keep him at 20 pitches per IP, we will do OK.

Bautista is the only untrue outcome so far for the Jays.

[21] Shut up, stupid.

SG at RLYW has posted both lineups. We know the Yankee lineup:
Toronto Blue Jays
Babe Ruth, C
Babe Ruth, 1B
Babe Ruth, 2B
Babe Ruth, 3B
Babe Ruth, SS
Babe Ruth, LF
Babe Ruth, CF
Babe Ruth, RF
Babe Ruth, DH

[23] You misspelled "Dave Kingman".

[23] As someone there commented....
Thank God he's not pitching!

Amazing.... Jeter grounds out to SS.

Stick!

[27] Stuck.

Swisher > Abreu

[29] Swisher > wall > Abreu.

Jays lead majors by wide margin in fly outs to ground outs ratio .... not a big surprise there.

[30]

RIYank > Diane :-)

This is slightly depressing.
Not the homers, that part is freakish and captivating. The Yankees making lots of outs on very few pitches part.

[33] Score Truck must have gotten stuck in customs ...

nice and efficient Andy.

Watching this team on the field, it's hard to believe they lead in OPS and RS. The Jay's pitchers aren't this good.

Christ. Gardy at 2nd before the cutoff man gets the ball.

Ah. That was cathartic.

[34] Ah, there we go, finally got through ...

[39]
"Good afternoon. That a Score Truck?"
"Yessir."
"What you got in there, any home runs?"
"Yessir, got some in the back."
"Hmm. Uh huh. {tap tap} Do you want to step out of the vehicle, please?"

....

"Okay, it all checks out. You have a good trip."

[40]

Department of Homeplate Security

Tex is starting to get annoying. I know he'll come around but geez.

[41] hehe.

[41] Diane > RIY.

Well that was a nice nap. And now a Yankee lead.

Romero really isn't throwing his breaking pitches for strikes. Just sit on the fastball, boys...

No! Fuck.

Good grief ... that's Liam Neeson as Hannibal in the A-Team movie?

[47] Yes.
Looks great, doesn't it?

[48]

Well, I'd definitely watch it on NetFlix ... don't know if I'd shell out $12 for it in the theater.

[49] That's kind of how I feel about a Yankees/Blue Jays game.

Good job, Andrew!
He was on CG pace until this inning, but now it's touch and go.

Ah, the oh so original & charming "Yankees suck" chant.

You know how some pitchers go up to 110 ... this one goes to 111.

Well done, Kevin.

What was that?

Well, *that* ended poorly ...

AARGH!

And now it costs us ...

Hard to be surprised.

I've never seen that on a swing!

I suspect the score truck was double parked and has been impounded.

Anyone else think sitting Teix for a game or two might shake him up a bit? The guy is pressing something awful.

I guess the Yankee bats only awoke because they were facing Cleveland and the Orioles.

Meanwhile, if Pettitte would only throw changes and curves, he might have a no hitter going.

injury delay?

Suddenly the word "buckyballs" comes to mind. :-(

[63]

Mr. Buck took a foul tip under the cup ...

Tex has looked as bad as he has all season. Poor ABs.

This lineup really hasn't hit good pitching in a while.

[60] Maybe it's still in customs.

[68] I guess someone makes that joke every 34 comments.

[69] Ah. To be fair, I was napping earlier.

Wow ... 10ks for Andy ... DANDY!

OVER MANAGING!

[70] Hm, are you in this afternoon's line-up? I think that's the best place for napping today.

[65] thanks Diane. ouchie.

[73] It's a nice, safe quiet place to be.

Time to spin the wheel of bullpen roulette!

This is exciting. I love Vegas!

[76]

BANKRUPT ... you wanna use your FREE SPIN?

That was a shock...fastball/slider pitcher to a lineup that can't hit soft stuff.

odds on a 3-2 fastball landing 400 feet away?

That was an awful pitch.

97! Guess Bautista doesn't like to swing at every fastball after all.

Jesus. I didn't know he could throw that pitch.

[81] was about the slider that located the centroid of the strike zone, right? I swallowed hard.

These at bats are pitiful.

Not looking forward to another inning of Joba. Feels like he got lucky last inning.

ARod has decent numbers but he is missing a lot.... A LOT of opportunities. And Teix? How about Gardy 3rd and Cano cleanup?

The problem with Joba is his sliders looks like a ball out of his hand. Hitters are simply no longer fooled by it.

[88] Heh. Good timing!

Maybe Joba needs to start working on his curve.

[89] It was a curve, not a slider.

And of course, Overbay then nails the curve.

if gameday is accurate, great location ont hat last pitch.

[93] It was located well.

I feel safe saying the Joba corner has been turned

That's the kind of swings he needs to be able to get.

Wow.
All his pitches are working. Even the slider.

I admit I was holding my breath.

Good job Joba!

Yay, free baseball.

[95] Oh, god, I don't.
I need to see maybe three more good appearances first.

[100] Same here...need to see more.

Not the best part of the lineup, but then again, what is?

[94] thanks for the confirmation. i never know whether or not to trust gameday

That's simply a wasted AB.

Oh no! [102] was not about the Score Truck being stuck in customs.

Nice of the Yankees to make Gregg feel better about himself. Those two ABs were a joke.

The strike zone has widened substantially.

So, if we don't score here, who pitches the 10th?
I'd go with Mo.

The Zombie Jeter continues to hit!

[108] Marte probably, which means there isnt much chance of seeing the 11th.

Not a good 2-0 swing there Nicky ...

[100, 101] in 25 outings this year he's had 3 bad ones (Boston, Cleveland, Minny), and when they were bad, whoa were they bad.

I'm not discounting those but in 22 of 25 appearances he's been effective, anyone can have 3 bad days...especially a reliever. I just think with Joba we tend to grade on an insane curve because of his ability and what we expect from him.

Good job, Nick, only now...
Is it wrong of me to hope Teix gets HBP?

[111] Otherwise, though, great at bat by Nick.

Oh, boy ... it's Teix time ...

We need a Teixeidermist ...

Yargh!

...Tex on the other hand I'm out of patience with

Sigh.

They really, really need to drop him in the lineup.

I actually convinced myself that Tex was going to come through. He's been flat out awful. Really now way to mollify it. He has been the weakest link on this team.

Time for another spin!

[121] Adrenaline rush!

marte against righties makes me cringe.

Didnt come close on one pitch.

Let's get this Marte started ...

Base runners are irrelevant now, since a home run wins it in any case!

Two useless pitches.

[124] probably for the best against a righty.

My goodness.

hey now

Swish!

PHEW.

I thought that one was going out ...

Spin that wheel, Joe!

(Swish > Warning Track/Wall > Abreu) * 2

D-Rob is Mr. Efficiency.
Now if we score, Mo can get a save and D-Rob can have a 1-pitch W!

[134] Yeah. Or even (Swish > Warning Track/Wall > Abreu)^2

(SUP isn't supported in Wordpress comments, I guess.)

Another bad AB. They are swinging at everything.

I smell the SLASHER here!

Camp is one ugly fella ...

Lifeless.

[138] Nope, that was the hot dog guy.

Crap ... just short.

A subplot to the season is what happened to the Yankees power?

Here comes damage

knee buckler!

Must... throw... strikes...

Why dont they keep throwing that!!!

There is no need to becareful with the breaking ball. You can throw a hanger right over the middle to Bautista. Do the Yankees still use scouts?

[147] That's why.

Smart of Joe to save Mo for Baltimore.

Curve balls are hard to control. D-Rob is not a great curve ball pitcher. So if he throws a lot of them, he's going to walk guys.

[149] He threw 2 of 3 for strikes. If they wouldnt screw around with fastballs well off the plate, that percentage would work just fine.

[151] He isn't? His curve is one of his better pitches. Besides, to Bautista, you don't need to throw a good curve. You just need to throw something around 80mph.

Very nice job by D-Rob. Can't complain.

In fact, I can't complain about Joe's bullpen strategy. Even swapping in D-Rob for Damaso for the platoon was reasonable.

Well, maybe I shouldn't have rendered my verdict quite so soon.

and ... EXHALE ...

The Yankees have no business winning this game....it's house money now.

Oik.
Well, still good enough!

Gritner, Grandy and the Cap'n are going to get it done ... RIGHT NOW!

Spark plug...
ignition...

Oooh, that was close.

Gardy now with an .800 OPS.

Well, that's about all the lead that Gritner's going to be able to take safely ...

hi team - mostly been listening to this game.

damn brett seems to slip a decent amount.

what the hell...

on-field mics to the rescue again ...

so the yanks just having warning track power and the jays hit homeruns.

Sonuva...

Why does it feel like the Yankees are the Blue Jays and the Blue Jays are the Yankees?

I dunno. Seems like a lot of hard-hit balls have been caught today...on both sides.

nicely done gritner.

Why do runners look back? If the ball is hit, he can HEAR it...

He seems to be getting a better feel for theft. I like to see that in a young man.

damnit derek.

[159] Well, I was 1 out of 3 ...

AAAAAAARGH.
That seemed like the right spot. DAMMIT.

And a grounder to SS. Who wuddathunkit?

Sigh. That would have been a good time for one of Encarnacion's trademark wild throws into the stands.

Oh, I guess Girardi wants to get back to the hotel.

CHop?
Pepto please!

Well, time for another spin. Must be running out of empty chambers by now ...

Ugh...home run prone pitcher, power hitting lineup => not a good combo.

this is going to be some kind of .... write-up I have this evening ...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand exhale!

Nice.

Now is it too much to ask for a run here?

[182] Bartap, another victim of Sterling's Law!

Not bad. Aside from the walk, he made short work of the top of the order.

This is the inning or this is the game.

[188]

On with the show .... this is it!

Oh, crap! Pitch was high, too.

Please do NOT try and hit the ball 700'!

Well that was not unexpected.

Well, what the hell do you wear after a 5 strikeout day?

OK ARod...... hit it 700'.

That was brutal.
I should just lower my expectations.

A golden shit-hat.

Well... this game is over.

[193]

You attempt to put ON the golden sombrero, but miss your head ....

[197] I really have to brush up on the rules.

I'll say it again. The Jays' pitching is NOT this good.