![Tyson_PunchOut-1[1]](http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Tyson_PunchOut-11.jpg)
I should credit my friend Scott for the headline as he mentioned it as a possible name for his fantasy squad, but he ultimately rejected the handle because he’s a godforsaken Red Sox fan and couldn’t stand the idea of giving such an honor to a Yankee. So screw him.
When the Yankees signed Tanaka, we all breathed a huge sigh of relief as they had put the team before the tax and filled the hole in the rotation with the best available pitcher. But we didn’t exhale completely because we really didn’t know what we were getting. After today’s 3-0 win, my exhale is complete.
Sure he did it against a Cubs team that would make Ernie Banks say, “Let’s play none.” But we’re talking two lousy bunt hits away from a no-hitter. This is straight filth. What I have thoroughly enjoyed about his pitching is that his late innings are just as damn unhittable as his early ones. Moreso thus far.
Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury continue to hit, though there wasn’t a lot in the pot for the offense today. No matter. Tanaka was so strong, Girardi traded a free base for an out just to be damn sure he plated the third run.
When Ellsbury nicked Baker’s glove and the ball dribbled into play in the fifth, he could have advanced to first, setting up first and third for the clean up hitter with one out. Instead, he took the out and the extra run, which must have seemed like ten more to the Cubs.
It’s so damn cold, Girardi would be well within his rights to rest some regulars tonight and the probabilty of a sweep isn’t going to be as high as I’d like. Still, I can’t see these Cubs running around the bases unless it’s a mascot race or something.
Use this as your game thread for the nightcap. I will try to get you lineups when I see them.
Bummer I missed the Tanaka start, thanks for he game thread everyone. Cubs look like an awful team.
Any word on Teixera?
Evening folks.
Mo throws to Mo but Mo steals the base.
Good first 3 from Pineda. He is one lanky goofball.
Whoopsie.
Oopsies!
Pineda's velocity is markedly lower tonight.
I know everyone likes Leiter around here, but I often feel like he hasn't done his homework. Sure, people put some stats in front of him now and then (see earlier today), but when he says stuff like "Pineda's velocity isn't what it was pre-injury" (it has been in his prior regular season outings), I get the sense that Al doesn't watch as many Yankees games as I do, and only one of us is getting paid.
Pineda's velocity has been up from where it was in Spring Training, but it seems to be down a good 4-5 mph from where we've seen him in his last outings.
(7) I don't like Leiter, o'Neil or Flaherty. Cone & Singleton the best team.
[7] yes but he's getting guys out. I'm surprised at how many called strikes he's getting.
Why does Kay misuse "representative" in exactly the same way Singleton does? I mean, if he really believes the Yanks' staff is excellent, and these two guys are similarly excellent, I guess I could see it, but I still think they don't know what the word means.
On another topic, someone needs to be murdered over the misuse of the word "awarded" in car commercials. Jeep has done it for years, but now it's spreading like cholera.
All these years and Jeter still catches the ball too far in front of the bag. Bleh!
[8] I thought I was alone on that. You may remember that I happen to really like Paulie in the booth. Love Cone, and have some affection for Singleton like you might for your super corny uncle.
Nice strike 'em out, throw 'em out, although that cubbie had a weird slide there.
Jerry Coleman, he's my man!
[11] You think the throw would have made it there, though? I thought the throw was short of the bag.
Ooh, bad strike call on Ichiro right there.
[13] That's pretty nifty - I'm not sure we've ever had someone's user name be the answer to the night's trivia question.
Yay, Brett!
2 out hit with RISP!
Attaway, Gritner!
Way to break up the lob string.
Jerry doesn't get too much press, but he was the 1950 World Series MVP, among other notable accomplishments...
Beautiful.
Houdini!
Carlos has twice as many homers as the Royals.
[21] Indeed. Way to wriggle out. And he did it without the velocity he's had in his last starts (it's weird that they haven't mentioned that tonight).
Man, that first pitch to Soriano was low.
Evening all, sorry to have missed the opener. Sounds like Tanaka brought the filth.
Damn, must be cold tonight, the Cubbies look dressed to tackle the Iditarod ...
Better to be lucky than to be good ...
2 out rbis will get ya' to Baseball Heaven.
Great Scott
boom! no matter how this ends, that's 15 shutout innings today. Which is pretty cool.
geez, 11 hits in 5 and 2/3? How do we only have 2 runs. That's 2 hits per inning. Sorry, just got here.
[29] And yet, both runs have come on two out hits, and we haven't stranded anyone on 3rd with one out, if I'm remembering correctly.
Good job by Pineda without his best stuff.
Who do we get? Stopper Phelps or Fire starter Phelps?
[30] that's pretty wild. It seems implausible.
Well, on a plus side, our bullpen is well rested. Hopefully they do well tonight.
Phelps is making me very nervous.
wow, brutal pitch! love it!
Gets out of it.
Phelps looked like a different pitcher for the last two batters. I'm impressed.
This Yankee pitching staff is too good this early. Who would have thought that CC and Nova are the week links.
The Cubs are really unwatchable.
nice hit and run there. Ichiro!
[30] I'm pretty sure I'm correct (although check the first - I missed the first inning, and I know we had two hits).
[40] And yet, I'm totally enjoying both these games.
In fairness to Leiter, Pineda's velocity is down from what it was in 2011 (I had forgotten that he threw that hard), but it was definitely down tonight from where it was in his first two starts.
I'm still not a fan, although anything is tolerable when the good guys are winning.
[40] True. Will there be any fan base left if they become competitive? Or will the Cubs and Wrigley just be a tourist attraction. Kinda like Venice, no real residents.
[30] Argh, I'm incorrect. We blew 1st and 3rd in the 3rd - an inning with only one hit, but a two base error that got the inning started. I forgot that Soriano hit a shallow fly that wasn't deep enough to get Jeter in from third.
[43] Our fellow Banterer Mattpat though said Wrigley is a horrible dump. I'm a bit torn on the whole 'burn down to rebuild' philosophy though. The Astros, Cubs (and in basketball the 76ers) are really taking a risk. How many losing seasons can you really justify before the team improves?
Ah, being shifty again. And it works.
[45] I dunno - I really think that's as guaranteed a crowd as you're going to find. People go to the games just to get drunk. Wrigleyville is what we wish the area around Yankee Stadium could be, and people remain in a pretty good mood despite the team sucking. The area around Wrigley is a great place to live, and in summary, it's just sort of happy, happy, drunky, drunky. That was my impression when I went to Wrigley a few years ago.
Now it's been a few *more* years of losing, so who knows, but back then, no one seemed to give a crap that the team stunk.
Throw fucking strikes!
Hey Tanaka isn't drinking beer, eating fried chicken and playing video games in the clubhouse.
[48] exactly what I was thinking...
[49] ??! That came out of nowhere! Or were they talking about that on the TV broadcast?
Once again I decry this Mo retirement policy.
Warren has been great last few appearances
[48] Argh.
I did like Castro's super audible f bomb, because I'm a filthy heathen and find audible f bombs on network telecasts amusing.
Quite the strategy. Drive me to the edge of madness and then pop 'me up. : )
1 more!
[51] It's always good to criticize Red Sox. Last team to integrate.
[52] It really is unfair to all of us.
[54] Yeah that was a good one.
Yargh!
Ellsbury has a good arm, lol?
BALLGAME!
Whoo-hoo. Great day for the Yankee starting pitchers.
Cap'n preserves the doubleheader shutout!
Does anyone else find these two game series very odd?
Dammit, Al still doesn't realize that Pineda was sitting higher in his velocity in his first two starts and hit 95 in both of them. Jack Curry would be giving us a solid analysis if we had the normal YES post game. Which I just realized they are showing. Doh.
Good time to go to Tampa, warm indoors and they are hurting on the mound with Cobb and Moore out.