The good news out of Wednesday night’s game is that, through the first seven innings, every Yankee hit was a homer, Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup and contributed and RBI double, and the bullpen was dominant, pitching in 5 2/3 scoreless innings allowing only a walk and striking out six.
If 5 2/3 innings from the bullpen sounds suspicious, you’re beginning to figure out the bad news. Here’s another clue for you all: the relievers were Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin, the last two men on the Yankee bullpen depth chart.
Yup, A.J. Burnett got lit up and bounced after just 3 1/3 innings, burning through 87 pitches (just 55 percent of them strikes) and leaving the Yankees in a 6-1 hole half-way through the fourth inning. Burnett simply had no command of his pitches, particularly his fastball, as he walked four men, hit a fifth, and uncorked a wild pitch in his short stint. When he got the ball over the plate, he gave up a bases-clearing bases-loaded triple to Shane Victorino to blow the game open in the second, and back-to-back solo homers by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth to start the third.
The first run Burnett allowed came after 38-year-old Raul Ibañez walked on five pitches then stole his first base of the year, giving Burnett the most stolen bases allowed by any pitcher in the majors thus far this year. Burnet allowed 23 steals in all of 2009, but has already allowed 19 this year, the 19th coming in the fourth inning after Victorino led off with a five-pitch walked then stole second.
Placido Polanco followed Victorino with a fly out, then Chase Utley hit a hard shot down the first-base line that Mark Teixeira smothered only to discover that Burnett broke late for first base and wasn’t there to take the throw. Certainly Burnett couldn’t have anticipated Teixeira’s fine play, but it seems like more than a coincidence that Joe Girardi chose that moment to take Burnett out of the game to heavy booing from the Yankee Stadium crowd.
Logan stranded Victorino and Utley, but the story of the game was Jamie Moyer, who was flat out dominant. Other than solo homers by Robinson Cano in the second and Jorge Posada in the fifth, Moyer didn’t allow a baserunner until the seventh, when Alex Rodrguez drew a one-out walk and was promptly erased by an inning-ending double play. With two outs in the eighth, Kevin Russo reached on an infield single that scooted under Polanco’s glove at third and was fielded too deep in the hole by Wilson Valdez for Valdez to record the out. Brett Gardener then flied out to end the inning.
That was it. That was all the Yankees managed in eight innings against Moyer, who at 47 years and 211 days became the oldest pitcher ever to record a win against the Yankees, trumping Phil Niekro, who picked up a win against his former mates in a rare relief appearance in the second game of a double header back on August 1, 1986. Ron Guidry took the loss for the Yankees in that one and Pat Tabler scored the winning run for the Indians on Julio Franco’s double. Three days earlier, Jamie Moyer pitched a gem for the Cubs to beat the Mets at Shea, the first game he ever pitched in New York. Yankee manager Joe Girardi (who, like YES announcers Paul O’Neill and Al Leiter and four of Girardi’s coaches, is younger than Moyer) was in his first year of pro ball at low-A Peoria at the time. Most impressively, Moyer’s performance was only his second best of the season, just outranking his complete game against the Padres on June 5.
Moyer threw 106 pitches in those eight innings and, despite a four-run lead, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel used the opportunity to give his closer, Brad Lidge some work. Facing the top of the order, Lidge got two quick outs (one on a high called strike three to Derek Jeter that was well within the rulebook strike zone but above where umpires typically call strikes, much to the chagrin of pitchers and myself), but Mark Teixeira drew a two-out walk, launching a rally that got Jorge Posada to the plate as the tying run only to strike out on one of the 900 sliders Lidge threw in the inning. Game over, Phillies win 6-2. Rubber game tomorrow. Andy Pettitte on the hill, I like the Yankees’ chances.
I'm worried that Logan and Gaudin have earned themselves some get out of jail free cards tonight.
[1] Yes. Agreed. I was going to include that in the above, actually, but I felt confident someone would mention it here. And there you go: first comment.
I got nuttin. Games like that - just best to erase 'em from memory and move on. Unfortunately the odor lingers for a day or two.
Totally unrelated to last night's game...
Anyone going to the HOF Classic on Sunday?
Got in a bit late last night and I was going to log on, but when I saw the score was 4-1 Philly I figured that bad AJ showed up. And given that he failed to cover first (along with CC, and a Mud Hens game, that was the third time in a week that I saw that shit) that was confirmation.
On the other hand, as I sat icing my hip, I couldn't help but not unrooting for a guy who's about 1 year 11months older than me. Maybe I'm weird, but I dread the day I'm older than all MLB players.
I said a young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days...(thump, thump, thump)
Digga Who reference, Cliff. Love the Live at Leeds version.
From where I was sitting (corporate luxury box straight up from first base, thank you, brother-in-law), the home plate umpire had a terribly inconsistent night. Bad calls, make up calls. But that's no excuse for failing to windmill, smash & vandalize Moyer like one of Pete Townshend's old Gibson Les Pauls.
The Yanks, collectively, it seems, did not have a good approach against him. Perhaps the early shots to the warning track (Swish, and ARod was it?) in their first at-bats had the Yankees looking long-ball all night. Of course, AJ practically had them playing catch up from the first note., so you can't blame them for taking large bites.
Anyway, I'm not saying they should've worked Moyer more than they did. You don't work a guy like Moyer. You smack him around the park at your leisure. Take something off your swing, drive the ball the other way, whatever you have to do. Too many damn pop ups, the result, I think of overswinging, overreaching for the fences.
Frustrating loss, but good night at the Stadium. I mean, I'll never complain about being treated to a nice spread of free food & cold beer: hot dogs, sausage & peppers, chicken tenders, Kobe beef sliders (look, I buried the lead) . They put out fruit plates, cheese plates, salad, peanuts, popcorn, chocolate covered strawberries, cupcakes, you name it. It's obsene, but it's first class. I hope the leftovers are not wasted. I wish I'd thought to ask about that before I headed home.
Highlight of the night for me was probably seeing Simon & Garfunkel sitting together. My dad actually spotted the Old Friends sitting 3 rows off the field next to the Yankee dugout (near Giuliani's old seats), before the fan cam made them mug on the big screen in center.
Knowing their love-hate sibiling rivalry, it was great to see them chatting throughout the game. I wondered what it was like to be them. Two NY icons, the Bridge Over Troubled Water guys taking in a ballgame together. They were talking a lot, gesturing with their hands like we do. It seemed like they were talking about the game, too, pointing around the field. Best part is, they stayed until the last out. Bonafide baseball fans. Cool cats. Heroes of mine.
My biggest hero, my dad, was by my side all night. He's slowing down. The years of smoking slowly taking their toll. But he still enjoys a night at the Stadium. I don't take these nights for granted. I try to appreciate every moment with him. I didn't even mind the hour drive to the George Washington Bridge, then dropping off dad and my brother in law, not gettng home until 12:30. Left a note, and a couple souvenirs for my sons this morning, telling them we had a good time at the game even though the Yankees lost, and that it would have been more fun if they were there.
that's cool sliced - thanks for sharing that.
it's good to be reminded sometimes that even though last night's game was mostly bullshit there is more going on then just bad aj and a stymied offense.
6) Dude, that was awesome. Thanks, dog.
[4] I'm thinking about it.
Sliced, given what I know about food service, there's a good chance that the food was probably wasted
There was an article in the TImes last year, about how leftover food from Yankee Stadium is taken to soup kitchens and food pantries after the game. They have huge trucks sent to the stadium after every game, so they can get the food while it's still fresh.
However, I suspect food that's already been served, like you saw in your box, must be tossed. Health department rules are pretty strict.
[11] thanks for the info. I hadn't considered the health dept. rules. Shame that some of it gets tossed, (for example, nobody in our box touched the hot dogs spinning all night on the rollers. why couldn't they be served at a shelter?) - but good to know trucks of food are distrubuted after the game.
[12] It's the Dept of Health. Same reason why certain foods also have to be pitched as they cannot be recycled or redistributed.
[12] I think it's one of those situations where you set the rules based on the lowest common denominator. And you can only guarantee that it wasn't touched if it wasn't served at all.
Here's the article, if anyone's interested:
After a Yankees Game, Leftover Food Is Sent to the Needy