Cliff Lee was supposed to start for the Mariners tonight. Then he was supposed to sit in the Yankee dugout. Now he’s on a plane for Arlington Texas, where he’ll become the new ace of the Rangers. Keep an eye on SI.com tonight for my trade analysis.
As for tonight’s ballgame, the Yankees do benefit from the downgrade from Lee to David Pauley, who will be the Mariners’ spot-starter, but last year the Yankees faced a similar situation and lost. Clayton Richard was scheduled to start against the Yankees on the day that he was traded to the Padres in the package for Jake Peavy. The Yankees instead faced spot-starter D.J. Carrasco and got whupped. What’s more, the Yankees still have five games left against the Rangers and thus could face Lee twice more during the regular season and potentially in the postseason as well. Not that I feel bad for them. I’m beginning to think they’ll be the frontrunners for the free-agent Lee this winter.
As for Pauley, he’s a 27-year-old righty on his fourth organization making his fifth big-league start and first since 2008, when he was with the Red Sox. That also came against the Yankees and saw Pauley surrender seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Yankees hope for more of the same tonight as well as for a strong outing from Phil Hughes, who has allowed five or more runs in three of his last four outings and has a 5.56 ERA over his last nine starts, only four of which were quality starts.
Nick Swisher is the DH tonight. Colin Curtis plays right field and bats eighth.
Luke French is up to take Lee’s spot on the roster and Pauley’s spot in the bullpen.
Oh, and the Yankees still have the best record in baseball and a five-deep rotation.
Update: here’s my Lee analysis
props to Alex for the headline
[1]
I second that emotion!
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Colin Curtis RF
Brett Gardner LF
[2] saw your peart post on the last thread. looking forward to watching. i know that about neil & fans... have you read his books? the first one is boring, but the other 3 are absolutely *amazing*. ghost rider, traveling music & roadshow. they're all incredible, but traveling music is prolly my fave of that trilogy...
Boston up 10-0, bottom of the 3rd.
Ricky Romero and Brian Tallet conduct walkathon.
I posted this last thread, but it seems more pertinent to this (game?) thread:
Fuck..the Sox are pouring it on against the Jays. I am not so concerned about the result, but if this game goes long (it’s still only in the top of the third), then it’s gonna preempt the beginning of the Yankees-Mariners game at 10.
Grr...
I go to play golf and I take Joel Sherman at his word that Cliff Lee is on the Yanks.
My game suffers because I thought Cashman would never trade an "A" prospect for a free agent and I think this is overkill since the Yanks have five starters already.
Cliff Lee is on the Rangers and I drop a few shots to par. I hate Joel Sherman.
strasburg: 4.2 innings. 7 K, 1 BB, 2 ER, 3 hits. 83 pitches.
man on 3rd...
nats up 2-1
12-0 Boston, Youk and Beltre go back-to-back.
jesus fucking christ. 12-0. now they're homering every at-bat. goddamn, i fucking HATE the shit sox. whoda thunk their offense would be *this* ridiculously unstoppable...
[9][10]...and they cut to the Yankee game already in progress that much later...
: (
13...
disgusting.
Tallet has now given up 13 homers in 42 innings!
[13] All of them this game!
[0]
So I guess you could say the Mariners are giving the Yanks some Leeway with their pitching selection tonight.
(insert groan here)
[0]
I’m beginning to think they’ll be the frontrunners for the free-agent Lee this winter.
Why?
[15] Should have warned us that was coming...
[16] Lee has said he likes NY. He and CC are best buddies. He and Burnett share an agent. He'll be expensive (few teams can afford him), and the Yankees have shown a strong interest in having him (they never put Montero up for trade before this).
[0] "What’s more, the Yankees still have five games left against the Rangers and thus could face Lee twice more during the regular season and potentially in the postseason as well. Not that I feel bad for them. I’m beginning to think they’ll be the frontrunners for the free-agent Lee this winter."
Who is "them" and "they'll" in the second sentence?
Cliff , I'm sorry to parse your writing, but are you saying you don't feel bad for the Yankees who will be frontrunners for Lee, which is pretty common knowledge? OR, are you saying you don't feel bad for the Rangers who will be frontrunners for Lee, which is not very realistic?
Part of me thinks you mean the former, but weren't the Yanks always going to be the frontrunners for Lee?
I
[15] That pun made me want to jump off a Cliff.
Early morning flight to Denver for the annual law librarian convention. See you all on Thursday.
2011?
CC
Cliff Lee
AJ
Pettitte (?)
Hughes.
cue the Homer drool
[18] [19] that clarifies it for me
This thread happens to be post #7,000 in Banter history.
Congrats Alex and Cliff!
Oh, and the Yankees still have the best record in baseball and a five-deep rotation.
yes yes yes. That's the best part of all the hoopla. We really didn't need another SP. I mean, when you get the opportunity to scoop a guy like Lee, you take it. But, when you consider the immense potential of Montero, coupled with the no-sure-thing of keeping Lee into April 2011, it doesn't seem as big a deal. Plus, I was sick thinking about Hughes bumped off to the pen. ugh.
Also, I just watched The Man Who Wasn't There a few weeks ago on Netflix instant. What a great movie!
[22] how do you possibly know that? (I'm not doubting you.. just curious)
Gack..now the Jays are putting useless runners on in the sixth. Please, fellas, just play the rest of this mess out quickly.
[23]
I have access to the "administrative" portion of the site ...
[23] [25] Wow. 7000 posts. Truly amazing.
I'm glad I was right about the Lee trade not going down. Now if Montero would get his butt in real high gear and force the Yanks to call him up this year, I'd be very happy.
[19] That was the same thing I took that sentence to mean.
[25] You have access to the secret break room? Marvelous!
Congrats for the milestone, guys.
Wow, I remember seeing something about Jake Peavy getting hurt, but I didn't know it was like this:
Yikes.
My Lee analysis is up on SI.com.
[29]
Its one HUGE muscle ...
http://www.teachpe.com/images/muscles/latissimus_dorsi220.jpg
Phillies came from behind to tie the game in the 9th. Six runs scored in the bottom of the 9th. The last two courtesy of Cody Ransom, who hit a two-run homer off Francisco Cordero.
[19] Yeah, it was just ambiguous and had to require a couple reads to understand (and even then I wasn't sure); nobody's perfect.
[32]
Shelley Duncan has more homers than Joe Mauer
[34] Does he really? I've seen him play in a few games, and he's never hit well when I've seen him. I'm glad he's doing well, though. Seems like a nice guy.
Big fly for Teix ...
TEIX GO BOOM!
Hey, well struck, Teix!
Jays-Sox mercifully ends, but now I have to suffer through (a hopefully abridged) Sports Net Connected highlight show. Please, please, please cut to the scheduled Yankees game.
Hank Aaron had a 52-game hitting streak???
Really?
Fucking A.
[40]
no no .... 52 hitting streaks of 10 games or more ...
[40] At what level?
[41] Ohhhhhhhhhh!!
Well that's a horse of a different color.
Since when is that a thing?
[41] Ah.
[43]
well .... it does speak to a lifetime of consistency ...
[40],[41] Hilarious
Interestingly, I mentioned Jeter's 10-game hitting streaks (I had counted 41) back in May on his 15-year Yankee anniversary
http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2010/05/30/15-years-of-jeterian-splendor/
If Lee was traded to NY, that would've been cool, but I'm cool with him not being traded here too.
[18] Montero wasn't put up for Halliday?
[30] It was a decent haul by the M's, but given that they kicked money back to the Rangers, I woud've thought they would get another top 15 prospect. The Rangers' need for Lee was much more than the Yankees.
[40] Hammerin Hank was awesome, could hit for average, and do damage, and could run too.
[45] I guess, but so does 3000 hits!
hahhahha!
Aaron's high up there, no? 34, 37 hundred hits? Somewhere in there?
Strike two to Gritner was not a strike. And come on Jeter.
Holy crap .... Figgins hasn't had an XBH in 6 weeks? .... playing in Safeco?
Bad pun alert!
If a particular Brewers reliever replaces a pitcher during the at-bat of a particular Phillies outfielder, then you could have "Evan Meek shall inherit J. Werth"
Ugh ... I hate getting URP'd.
HUUUUUghes!!!!!
Good to see him back in form, even if it only against the M's.
crickets ... crickets ... crickets.
Run Gritner, run...
Ok, Jeter hit that hard even if it is an E5.
Run, Jeter and Gritner, run.
Baaaaaaaad flashbacks to Swisher bunting last year...but it worked this time, so far.
i've been watching my rush dvd. just wanted to check the score...
looks like we've been urp'ed. i had a feeling...
least hughes is doing great and we just scratched out another run. no hits involved, however...
ROBBIE!!!
thanks cano, i feel much better now! : )
looks like i checked in at a good time, for a change...
back to rush!
60) Don't speak too soon!
SCORE TRUCK!!!!
Gardner misjudged that ball,s it looks like.
Gardner should just run on first move here.
WP. Ok, now steal third!
I feel like i'm auditioning a one-man show tonight.
Man, Alex never stops having trouble with high popups.
It's kind of amusing, really.
Wow..... how about a reel of all pop-ups to ARod? High comedy... yes?
Phil has certainly been philthy tonight.
[67] you got the gig! if you need a drummer, please call - work is slow...
d-rob in for teh eighth
way to mow 'em down after ichiro singled!
BOOM! (2)
[74] double bass! : )
quadruple base!
pepto in to finish it up...
[76] very fucking nice! [bows & tips hat] : )
Oh my. Is this game Park proof?
[79] will pepto be bismol or abysmal?! ; )
1 out away!
I wish we could get rid of Chan Ho Park. BLECH.
By the way, when I got home I threw on my Yankees world series championship t-shirt. I wonder if M's fans have one of those. Sorry, beating a dead horse
Good win. Let's do the unexpected and beat the king tomorrow.
i really don't wanna see pepto on my team come post: all-star break, trade deadline, aug. 31st deadline, stretch run, playoffs, next year, ever again...
Blech.
Let's CHOP CHoP.
Good game. Night boys.
[81] only took 32 pitches. i've got nothing against pepto, i just don't want him to ever throw another pitch for my team. ever.
do you ever take your boys to a braves game? would be great to meet up again!
Solid job by the team tonight. Thanks, Yanks.
Would have sucked to not get Lee and also pass up the opportunity presented by missing him in this series. They got the job done. Very pleased.
You know what I needed to cap a long, disappointing day? A 30-something pitch Chan Ho Park inning where he struggles to get the soft underbelly of the worst offense in the league out.
whoa, corey patterson just hit a grand slam off netfali perez w/ 2 outs in the 9th to tie it. think cliff lee is there yet to pitch the 10th?! ; )
[87] But it was the cap to an otherwise satisfying team performance...
Especially as you can throw in a Rays loss earlier tonight, I am feeling very satisfied (not sure if you're referring to external factors in your post - my non-Yankees day was very solidly mediocre).
[85] Hey thelarmis, I normally go to Braves games with friends. I've taken the boys a couple times, but they get bored and want to run around and do the non-baseball stuff. I'll definitely holler at you the next time I come over.
It's funny that the oldest one is dead focused at the Rickwood Classic each year (and always excited about going to the game -- this year we met Harmon Killebrew and got a couple autographs). Maybe it's because at Rickwood the only thing to do is watch the game, whereas at Atlanta (and other MLB Parks) it's a carnival.