Monthly Archives: August 2010

Two of my favs…

Lean Back…

For the first part of the game tonight, the Yankees hit one fly ball after another deep into the outfield at Kaufman Stadium. They just didn’t hit anything hard enough or far enough to carry over the fence. Whole lot of warning track outs. Mark Teixeira kept the Yankees in the game with a series of brilliant fielding plays–leaping, diving, picking–and eventually the fly balls started to carry. Alex Rodriguez broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to dead center. Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson added solo shots of their own and the Yanks were up by three.

The Royals scored a couple to make it a game but then Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run homers (another one to center—the “lean back” shot pictured above,  and finally one up in the water fountain in left field). That was more than enough to finish the Royals. All three of Rodriguez’s homers came off fastballs, low and over the plate.  And that’s the fourth three-dinger game of Rodriguez’s career. He DH’d tonight and now has 21 homers on the season, to go 97 RBI.

Final Score: Yanks 8, Royals 3.

[Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images]

After last night, let’s hope the Yanks have a big, ol’ feast tonight.

Pile it deep and high.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

And here, dig this barbeque tour from Anthony Bourdain:

Part Two:

In the Summer. In the City. In the Summer…

[Picture by Bags]

We want Jesus Montero. We want Eduardo Nunez. Well, maybe not we. At the very least, I want Montero and Nunez on the big league roster–and the sooner the better. As much as I think the trade deadline additions of Lance “Big Puma” Berkman and Austin “Big Ears” Kearns will help the offense and the outfield defense, respectively, more needs to be done to strengthen the bench.

After a dreadful start to his inaugural Triple-A season, Montero has been hitting torridly for Scranton/Wilkes Barre. He has lifted his season slugging to .495 and his OPS to .855, both impressive numbers for a 20-year-old catcher, even one who is defensively limited. I’m a firm believer in the Bill James philosophy of advancing players who have shown the ability to master a level of minor league play. And right now Montero is mastering pitchers in the International League. With the Yankees in the midst of a heated three-team pennant race, they need every roster advantage they can muster.

Let’s face it, Francisco Cervelli has been living off a hot April and May for the entire summer. He has been an offensive nonentity for months, and his defensive play has been far worse than his gilded reputation. The Yankees need more offense from the catching position; Montero can provide that, while also giving the Yankees a needed third catcher for those days when the frequently injured Jorge Posada needs to DH. So how do the Yankees make room for Montero, who could also provide another DH and pinch-hitting option? I would suggest cutting back to 11 pitchers–the horrors!–by releasing Chad Gaudin, who has become window dressing at the end of the bullpen. In two weeks, the Yankees will be able to add to their pitching staff anyway, as one of the benefits of the expanded September rosters.

While Cervelli can at least rest on his early season laurels, Ramiro Pena has no such fallback. He has been an offensive donut in every way: no batting average, no walks, and no power. At a different time, the Yankees could have afforded a no-hit, good-field utility infielder like Pena (does Chicken Stanley come to mind?). But not now, not with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter needing more days off than ever. There is simply too drastic a drop-off from Rodriguez/Jeter to Pena, especially if the Yankees happen to be facing a top-tier pitcher that night.

With a player like Nunez, the Yankees would reduce the falloff. Nunez has extra-base power, can steal bases (21 in 26 attempts), and offers enough versatility to back up three infield positions, in addition to the outfield. Nunez is not the defensive shortstop that Pena is, but he is so much better offensively that he is worth the tradeoff.

So let’s get Nunez and Montero up here pronto. Traditionally a conservative organization when it comes to promoting their young players, the Yankees will likely wait to bring the pair up in September, once Scranton’s season has ended. I just hope such conservatism doesn’t cost the Yankees a game or two in the standings between now and then…

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The Yanks prior series with the Royals this season, back in July at the Stadium, featured nearly four hours of rain delays.  Apparently the rain likes these teams . . . a lot.

It was 98 degrees with a Heat Index of 106 at the start of Friday’s game.  Nasty clouds were just off to the west.  The wind was blowing in hard from left to right.  Thunderstorms were in the forecast.  The Royals’ Kyle Davies, with a 5.21 ERA, a 1.544 WHIP and less than 6K per nine innings was taking on Dustin Moseley (he of the pitch-to-contact, 4.7K per nine).  It had all the makings of a looooong evening.

Moseley struggled mightily with his command in the first two innings, laboring through 55 pitches, allowing three runs on six hits.  Given the lack of command, Jorge Posada was pretty much helpless to stop the Royals aggressive baserunning, as KC stole four bases (three by Gregor Blanco).  It could have been worse, had Blanco managed to dislodge a tag from Posada at home on a hit in the first inning (credit to Brett Gardner for a nice one-bounce throw).

Meanwhile Davies spaced out two walks and a hit through two.  But then, he remembered he was Kyle Davies, and the third inning resembled one that sends Joe Posnanski into fits of depression.  After a Derek Jeter groundout to short, Curtis Granderson singled to center.  Mark Teixeira doubled sharply down the RF line, sending Granderson to third.  Alex Rodriguez scorched one to Royals 2B Mike Aviles, who couldn’t handle it, and it was scored a hit, driving in Granderson.  Robinson Cano then lined another single to right to score Teixeira and  cut the lead to one, with A-Rod advancing to second.

Jorge Posada then grounded a ball down to 1B Billy Butler, who forced out Cano at second.  Yuniesky Betancourt’s throw back to first base appeared to beat Posada to the bag, but 1B ump Fieldin Culbreth ruled that Davies missed the bag as he fielded the throw.  (Replays showed Davies may have caught the edge of the base with his right heel)  So, with first and third and two out, Lance Berkman mashed a long double to right field, scoring Rodriguez and tying the game.  Austin Kearns struck out to end the inning, and then the rains came.

31 minutes later, it was 23 degrees cooler, but Moseley was apparently heating up.  The command on his breaking stuff was improved, and his fastball didn’t sail out of the zone like it had the first two innings.  He breezed through the next two innings in 17 total pitches.

Unfortunately for the Bombers, Moseley’s gas gauge seems to hit empty around 85-90 pitches.  Pitch #84 of this evening, with one out in the fifth, was banged off the right field foul pole by Butler, putting the Royals back in front.  After a walk to clean-up hitter Wilson Betemit (yes, you read that batting order assignment right), the rains came again.

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A few weeks back, I was hanging out with my six-year-old nephew over at his house. He was sitting on the floor, working on a puzzle when his mother started singing “Empire State of Mind.” At first, he sang along, and then, by the middle of the son, he stopped and looked irritated. “I KNOW that song already!” he said. You know you’ve reached a certain stage in life when you get annoyed by a song because you’ve heard it too much.

Well, I’ve had no need to hear “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas again, ever, in my life, until our own Hank Waddles dubbed Dustin Moseley, “Dustin, the win” Moseley.

That’s Alonzo, who?

Ol’ Mosie’s on the hill in KC tonight.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Dig this fun piece at the Smithsonian on the origins of food idioms:

Sowing your wild oats: According to World Wide Words, a blog written by British lexicographer Michael Quinion, this expression dates to at least the 16th century, and refers to the worthlessness of wild oats (the probable precursor to cultivated oats) as a cereal crop. Therefore, a young man who sows wild oats is—ahem—spreading seeds without purpose, or otherwise pursuing idle pastimes.

Upper crust: In olden days, the top half of a loaf a bread was considered better, and was served to the nobility. (Source: Mad as a Wet Hen!)

Over at PB, Jay Jaffe takes a look at the two-halves of Phil Hughes’ season:

On both sides of the line, Hughes has received virtually identical defensive support from his teammates, above-average support at that, given that the league batting average on balls in play is .294. He’s got two main problems: he isn’t striking out hitters at nearly the same clip as early in the year, and his home run rate has more than doubled. The latter is a byproduct of him generating fewer groundballs (which don’t go for homers) and getting a bit more bad luck on his increased number of fly balls (which do, given enough of ‘em).

Man, is it ever pleasant in the Rotten Apple today. The humidity is gone. Cool breeze, sun peaking out. Oh, yeah…

[Picture by Bags]

I got tired just watching the Yankees’ rather epic pair of games in Texas, so I can only imagine how the players felt when they dragged themselves to the extremely hot and humid ballpark in Kansas City tonight. They were showing signs of wear – Nick Swisher was pulled late in the game with incipient heat exhaustion, as was the Kansas City center fielder – but the Yanks built a little lead and then clung to it for dear life, eventually staggering home with a 4-3 win. Of course, it probably helped that they were facing the Royals, who are now 47-68, but never mind.

Fun fact: in the seventh inning, Mark Teixeira faced Kansas City reliever Kanekoa Texiera, and flew out.

C.C. Sabathia was in near-ace form tonight, and by pitching to within one out of a complete-game Yankees win, he was exactly the horse the team needed. He flagged in the ninth, quite understandably, but prior to that he scattered his hits and gave up just one run, when Alex Gordon doubled and Mike Aviles singled him home. But that came in the fourth inning, and by then, the Yankees had earned themselves a little wiggle room – all of which they’d eventually need.

Curtis Granderson and Austin Kearns (!) were the main hitting stars tonight. As is often the case when a slumping player breaks out, much of the credit for Granderson’s turnaround seems to be going to hitting coach Kevin Long, who worked with the outfielder on some widely-publicized changes to his swing; but whether it’s related to his work with Long or not, Granderson seems to be returning to decency. His second-inning single scored Robinson Cano and gave the Yanks a lead they’d cling to til the end. They tacked on another in the third, when the much-missed Teixeira hit a sac fly that scored Derek Jeter, and another in the top of the fourth, on Austin Kearns’ homer. (Granderson hit a double in that inning too, for good measure, and walked once as well, just to show off). Their final and eventually crucial insurance run came in the seventh, in rather unexciting fashion, when Derek Jeter – that guy again – scored on an A-Rod groundout.

The bottom of the ninth was a stressful little mini-game in itself. When C.C. reached 110 increasingly laborious pitches, accompanied by an alarming amount of sweat and baserunners, David Robertson was called in to mop up with two outs and Royals on first and third. The last out played hard-to-get. Willie Bloomquist doubled in two runs, and suddenly it was a one-run game. Wilson Betemit, refusing even to ground out properly, instead ended up on first base. Finally, Jason Kendall, after a determined 8-pitch at-bat and numerous fouls, struck out and let everyone go off to bed. Robertson eventually got it done… and then did not punch any older relatives or, so far as I know, anyone else in the face, so the Yanks have that going for them.

Everything’s up to date in Kansas City…

…where the eats am good…

…and the ball park is lovely:

The home team is scrappy but remain kind of blue, stuck in last place again:

The Royals are 47-67.

Our old pal, the Ace of the Staff, is on the hill, and I figure he’s gunna have worked-up an appetite. Especially against freakin’ Bruce Chen.

Sure would be nice to see the Score Truck make a pit-stop in town for the weekend.

We’ll be watchin’ and rootin.’

Our boy Cliff does like he do in his new digs:

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

The Red Sox coughed-up a four-run lead in the 9th inning today and lost to the Blue Jays.

Over at the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes:

Another Jonathan Papelbon meltdown in the bottom of the 9th and another reason to question why on Earth was John Lackey taken out of the game? In the end, Fred Lewis’ bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Daniel Bard won it for the Jays. Tough, tough loss for the Red Sox. To backtrack: Lackey had thrown only 98 pitches and was on his way to a complete game after two subpar performances in a row, but after allowing a solo homer to Jose Bautista to open the 9th, Terry Francona brought in closer Jonathan Papelbon. Lackey didn’t seem fatigued, but on came Papelbon and on came near misery with it. Vernon Wells doubled and scored on Adam Lind’s RBI since to center. After a stolen base, Aaron Hill reached on a linedrive hit off Papelbon putting runners at first and third. He struck out Travis Snider. But Edwin Encarnacion doubled down the third base line. Tie game. Runners at second and third, pinch-hitter Lyle Overbay was walked intentionally to load the bases. Interesting move here, Papelbon yanked for Daniel Bard. Infield in with one out and the bases loaded. Lewis strikes with a sac fly to medium center and with Ellsbury’s below average throwing arm no chance to make a legitimate throw to the plate.

Low Budget Laffs:

A Good Combination:

The Man…

In Walked Bud

 The Finer Things in Life

[Picture by Bags]

Serious Eats is a great food site.

Love their feature, A Sandwich a Day.

Dig:

[Photo Credit: Blondie and Brownie]

The new bible study group: Steven Goldman, Cliff Corcoran and Jay Jaffe.

The Pinstriped Bible: New and Improved.

Don’t sleep.

I missed this when it was first posted  but it’s still worth noting–Roger Angell on Bob Sheppard:

Up in the pressbox, every night ends the same way. Herb Steier, a retired Times sports copy editor, comes to every game and sits motionless in the third row, his hands in front of him on the long table. He doesn’t keep score but watches the action intently, with bright, dark eyes. When the ninth inning comes, he gets up and stands by the railing behind the last row of writers, near the exit, and after the potential final batter of the game has been announced, Bob Sheppard, the ancient and elegant Hall of Fame announcer, comes out of his booth and stands next to him, with a book under his arm. (He reads novels or works of history between announcements.) Eddie Layton, the Stadium organist, is there, too, wearing a little skipper’s cap. Eddie has a private yacht—well, it’s a mini-tug, called Impulse—that he keeps on the Hudson, up near Tarrytown. He gets a limo ride to the Stadium most days from his apartment in Queens—it’s in his contract—and a nice lift home with Bob Sheppard and Herb Steier at night. Eddie and Bob Sheppard make a bet on every single Yankee game—the time of the game, the total number of base runners, number of pitches by bullpen pitchers, whatever—but won’t tell you which one of them is ahead. The stakes are steady: a penny a game.

Steier is Sheppard’s neighbor, out in Baldwin, Long Island, and he drives him to work every day and home again at its end; they’re old friends. Sheppard, a stylish fellow, is wearing an Argyle sweater and espadrilles tonight. This is his fiftieth year on the job at Yankee Stadium, and once in a while I ask him to enunciate a player’s name for me, just for the thrill of it. “ ‘Shi-ge-to-shi Ha-se-ga-wa,’ ” he’ll respond, ringing the vowels. It sounds like an airport.

The instant the last batter strikes out or pops up or grounds out Sheppard and Steier and Layton do an about-face and depart at a slow sprint. Out the door they go and turn right in the level corridor, still running. A few kids out there are already rocketing down the tilted runways. “Start spreadin’ the noooss…” comes blaring out from everywhere (the Yanks have won again), but Bob and Herb and Eddie have turned right again, into the quiet elevator lobby, where the nearer car awaits them, its door open. Down they go and out at street level, still at a careful run. Herb’s car, a beige 1995 Maxima, is in its regular slot in the team parking lot, just across the alley—the second car on the right. They’re in, they’re out, a left turn up the street, where they grab a right, jumping onto the Deegan, heading home. The cops there have the eastbound traffic stopped dead, waiting for Bob Sheppard: no one else in New York is allowed to make this turn. Two minutes, maybe two-twenty, after the game has ended and they’re gone, home free, the first of fifty thousand out of the building, every night.

I sat in the lobby of Yankee Stadium on the night of the final game back in September of 2008. Next to me was Herb Steier. I’d seen him before. He was always easy with a smile and a story. Sat through a game a year earlier talking to him, Richard Ben Cramer and Angell. When Rodriguez hit two home runs that day, Cramer was smiling and Steier had a twinkle in his eye (Cramer is writing a book about Alex Rodriguez).

Now, those eyes were sad. He was hunched over slightly as he told me how the Yankees were giving him a hard time about sitting in the pressbox now that Sheppard wasn’t working regularly anymore. I don’t know what he’s up to these days but Steier is good people. I hope he is well.