Our pal Steve Lombardi dubbed today’s pitching match up “The Battle of the Vowels–Chacon v Chacin. Let us all hope that ‘O’ is the winner.”
I wish I had an overwhelming feeling of confidence about this one but I don’t. How long can Chacon keep pitching as well as he has? Can the Yankee offense beat-up on the impressive young Chacin again? These questions and more will be answered this afternoon on an absolutely gorgeous day for baseball in the Bronx.
1. Torre's got Matsui hitting 2 and Giambi 5 again. Turns out Joe does understand how the batting order works:
"Second has been a spot that we've been messing around with. [Matsui's] one of our better hitters, so we wanted to give him an extra at-bat." (MLB.com)
He also has Bernie batting 6 and in center, Jorge 7 behind the plate, Tino 8 at first, and Escalona starting at second in the nine-hole against the lefty Chacin.
I'm not complaining.
2. Whoa! No Cano?!? When's the last time he had a rest? Surprising.
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3. May 29 vs. Boston. Rey Sanchez started at 2B.
4. One of the best lineups I've seen this year. Everyone is utilized correctly. Matsui at second will pay dividends. I like how Torre is dropping Posada down the lineup, with his decline he should have been down there a long time ago. Hey, if Posoda snaps out of it, our bottom of the order doesnt look so bad with Cano inserted down there.
5. Talk about paying dividends early!!! With contact hitters in Jeter and Matsui batting 1st and 2nd, we are able to push in more runs with sheffield and rodriguez. Did I mention, I like this lineup?
6. Holla!
I hope Chacin has some croakies on those specs of his, lest they fly off his head whipping around to watch those balls leave the yard.
7. Security to the bat rack! 9 pitches, 4 runs.
8. Does this pitching matchup remind anyone of that Letterman bit?
"Oprah, Uma. Uma, Oprah."
9. IT'S A BELLY-TO-BELLY!!!
10. I snuck an inning on the cafeteria TV. It's funny, you can almost always tell when a Sheffield shot is going to be a homer, yet on TV, I have the hardest time telling off-the-bat whether or not Rodriguez's fly balls are going to go out.
I called Sheff's home run in the first immediately and yet it only made it a couple of rows into the left field seats. I thought A Rod's homer was a fly ball to Wells, but it made it to the monuments.
Terrible call to Posada on the 3-1 pitch. He should have walked. Not an inspiring route that Matsui took on Coskie's gr double either.
But a good start for the Yanks.
11. Yeah - Alex - that's the weirdest thing. You'd think A-Rod's homers would be obvious, but it looks so effortless at the plate.
How many times this year has Sheff hit a big homer, only to have A-Rod come up next and top him? Wonder if that contributes to any of Sheff's crankiness, his buddy-buddy status w/ A-Rod notwithstanding. The audience is just getting warmed up to give Sheff his due applause, and then BOOM. A-Rod goes deep and one-ups him. Ha! It's happened a couple times this year at least. Hope they're good natured about it.
This lineup is killer. Now if only Giambi would stop looking like his early season statuesque self. Lots of called-out-on-strikes lately, which is not a great sign.
Go Chacon!
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12. Very nice! I heartily approve of the lineup, even if it didn't yield 4 runs so quickly.
The play-by-play data on Yahoo! suggests that Chacon has been pitching very well so far - just the ground-rule double to Koskie, 5 ground outs, 1 fly out, 1 walk, 1 K. Anyone who is watching - does he look that sharp?
13. Uh-oh, should I have not typed how well O was pitching?
14. Looks like we'll need a lot more runs.. sigh....
15. Hey you know...better to give up one run than 2 or 3 (obviously)...at least it didn't turn into last night (which hurts 'cause Mussina has been one of my favorites since I started liking baseball (it's only been like 4 years since I started paying attention))
16. And Zaun strikes out swinging to leave the bases loaded...
Dont worry Shaun P and Watziznehm2, the letter of the day on Sesame Street is O-oooooo!
17. Phew - O's old wildness bit him a little in the rear there. Nothing like a K to end a rally.
18. That's okay. Man, Chacon really throws an awful lot of breaking pitches. What's up with Koskie walking with the bases juiced two games in a row? Big strikeouts of Wells and Zaun, lots of soft stuff.
19. I've thought that before when listening to games on radio...unfortunately I can only listen on XM radio because I live in California and would never be home to watch games if I ordered the Extra Innings (or whatever it's called)...is his breaking stuff that good, or is he overly dependent on it?
20. It's going to be a tough one for the Yankees, now it's 4-2. Not going to say anything positive until the game is over.
21. What is up with Yankee hitters striking out so much recently? A-Rod, Giambi (the consummate whiff artist), Bernie .... argh.
22. Man, I'm in Political Science, and this woman is killing me...she talks too quickly! I guess no paying attention for me today :( ... at least not too much...
23. Memo to the Yanks: It's usefull to swing the bat once in a while. Three called strikeouts and to good batters (A-Rod, Giambi and Bernie).
Let's go O.
24. I don't recall watching Chacon when he was with the Rockies - but how 'bout this for speculation: because its so hard to throw breaking balls in Colorado, now that Chacon's free of Coors, he can throw as many breaking balls as he feels like, so he is. You know, like the kid who couldn't drink soda for years because of his braces - as soon as the braces come off, he guzzles soda like its air.
25. First the K was O's best friend, now its the DP.
Thank God the Jays keep running Koskie and Hinske out there. Imagine if they had kept Delgado and actually played Aaron Hill everyday. This would be a scary team.
26. I hate the sacrifice bunt, especially early in a game - why give up an out when you don't have to - but I wonder if it makes more sense when you've got an Escalona up there . . .
Meanwhile, Jeter and Matsui better not make outs now.
27. What the hell just happened there? Did Jorge get dumb on the base paths, what?
28. Did he run home and maybe tried to come bacK?
29. I think Jorge started on the pitch or on contact and they got him on the force at home. I'm not entirley sure though.
30. "D. Jeter grounded into fielder's choice, J. Posada out at third, T. Martinez to third, D. Jeter to second"
Say what?
31. I didn't see it. But after second and third with 1 out, man, that was terrible. Chacin has thrown a lot of pitches, but c'mon a clutch hit to make things a bit more comfortable isn't too much to ask.
The A's are bombing the Tigers 9-0.
32. Another play where jorgie got caught in between a twinkie and a cupcake.
Greeeeeeeeeat...
33. Yeah, Jorge started home on contact since it was a comebacker to the pitcher, but ChacIn fielded it pretty well and got him in a run-down, which BTW was terrible for the Blue Jays because it advanced both Tino and Jeter. It didn't matter though with the strikeout to Matsui (ChacIn was excellent in that at-bat).
Damn, from the first inning, I thought it was going to be an easy game...
34. A walk to start the fifth. Don't talk to me about the fifth inning, dammit.
Let's go.
35. Alright - ground out, fly out, only one more out and the 5th is gone, Alex.
36. anyone notice that Sterlingface is now calling Monument Park, Monument City. What an ass.
37. That's 5...
I guess I can forgive him for raising his 1.34 Yankee era (or whatever it is)
38. Don't mind me, Shawn, way to go. Half-way there...
39. Let's see if they can chase Chacin in the next two innings. Keep grinding boys...
40. And one more fly out. We could use 9 runs 'bout now . . .
41. Perhaps, if we're lucky, Bernie will complete the "flyout" trifecta
42. A-Rod with a nice defensive stop. After a bad month to start, he's done very well over there for the rest of the year.
Also, if you check, Jeter's fielding rate stats are even better than his GG-winning year last year.
On the plus side, Chacin is only good for one more inning probably and the Toronto bullpen is shaky too.
Another quick point - the Daily News guys made a good point on WCBS - Sheff's also dealing with the stuff that is going on with Doc. I mean, the guy is his uncle..Honestly, I didn't even think about it until he mentioned it but hey, that's gotta weigh on your mind.
43. Economical fifth for Chacin. Works around a two-out walk with ease. Bernie and A Rod saw one pitch. Total of nine in the inning.
Dag.
44. What do you figure? Three-six more outs for Chacon. Come on, dude, buckle down.
45. 97 pitches for the game with the bottome of the order (Posada and Martinez) coming up.
46. I don't have a good feeling about this game.
4th straight inning with the lead off man on.
They really don't make it easy to watch these games. The offense goes south!
47. Another lead-off walk for the Jays. Chacon has issued four base on balls today. Got Reed Johnson swinging for the first out though...(hoping) double play, double play, double play.
48. I'd like to see 2 innings from O, but if he keeps walking guys with 82 pitches already . . .
Meanwhile, our pathetic attempts at offense last inning notwithstanding, if Tino, Posada, and Felix! can get ChacIn in trouble in the 6th, he's probably out.
49. I'd say it depends on how he gets of this jam - he just struck out someone on 3 pitches so he's still got his good stuff and he's only at 90 pitches or so. I'd give him this and the next inning to start, but that's me.
50. Speaking of Gold Gloves, anyone else see the close-ups YES did last night of A-Rod and Jeter's gloves? The Rawlings Insignia and some stitching were gold (colored I image). Kaat said they do that for you once you win a Gold Glove. Pretty cool - I never knew that.
51. Falls behind Hinkse and he singles...
52. Anyone know if the bullpen is cooking?
53. I'm not crazy about Matsui in the 2 hole. Just feel that an rbi guy has to be in the 3, 4, or 5 slot. Your weakening 1 need to fill another. While 25 had a stellar July, he cannot be relied on consistently to produce runs. As a matter of fact, given his gaudy OBP, I'd rather have Giambi's inconsistent bat in the 2 hole and 55 back in the 5 slot if any move had to be made.
Managed to sneak out for a bit to see the game. It's pretty much the same game we've been watching all year.
54. Hudson eight pitch at bat. Singles to left. Bases juiced.
55. hey, 2 down...
56. Whoo - Hellofa K! - Not out of the woods yet though!
57. Huge K there for Chacon!
58. And Adams strikes out. Come on, O! One more out!
59. and I'm glad we're seeing a slumping Catalanatto - career .296 hitter
60. big strike out of Russ Adams. Frankie C is a tough one though...
61. Okay, O! Now lets get some runs...
62. Yes! Chacon gets out of it with a fly ball. 108 pitches. Considering how he wriggled out of two bases-loaded jams, that should be it for him.
Good job on a day when he didn't have great stuff.
63. Whoa - way to come back from bases loaded 1 out - 108 pitches - you figure he's done for the day, who comes in from the pen? Keep in mind the only two lefties (adams, catalanatto) in the lineups just made outs.
64. ALLLLLLLLLLLLLRIGHT! O is the letter!
65. Phew, dodged that bullet. But it looks like "O" is gassed, or that he's not fooling anyone now. Sturtze, Gordon, Mo?
66. Can't ask for more than that...gotta give him credit for fighting through some sticky situations.
67. Who's warming up? Gotta be either Small or Sturtze, after last night's appearances. I'm hoping it's Small . . .
68. Vamonos, Felix!
69. Can somebody, get a big hit here!
70. Tough call here on the pen. Joe might try to go straight to Gordon as he's said he doesn't want to use Tanyon today. Maybe Small/Gordon/Rivera, but Aaron seems to have been "Groomed" by Joe.
71. Derek, now would be a "clutch" situation, give the pen a bit more breathing room.
72. Check that, it was last night that he didn't want to use Sturtze. So yeah, Big Three in a row. This is why you have 'em.
73. Thanks Cap
74. 2-out runs are sweeter than nectar!
75. ANother hit right here would be nice too...and Hideki delivers...sweet.
76. Monster jam from the DJ, man.
77. Go Jetes! Thanks for the big hit!
78. Thanks Derek. And Hideki.
79. double clutch
80. Way to go Jetes! An RBI triple! Yee ha! Wait, way to go Godziller. An RBI single.
A bit of breathing room.
81. That's all she wrote for Chacin.
82. JVarghese81, thanks for the quicker update than Yahoo - if Sheff and A-Rod do their thing, here's where we break it open!
BTW, with a four-run (maybe more) lead, I think you have to at least give Small a shot here before going to TanGorMo.
83. The boss is out and the game is on!
84. Shawn, I agree 100%. Try to get Small to go at least two innings.
85. Chacon in, one down.
86. Chacon's back out?! He's been getting into trouble the last couple of innings, I'd bring in a reliever, but would be happy to be proven wrong.
87. Nice diving catch coming in by Sheff, 2 down. Gordon & Embree warming.
88. Wiffs Coskie, nice job.
89. Four run lead, I don't have a huge problem with going back to Chacon. I'm only concerned about not letting him throw too many pitches. They have to go to the pen in the eighth, though. Chacon had 108 pitches coming into the 7th.
90. Happily I was wrong.
91. 1-2-3 on 11 pitches and a pat on the backside, give it to the pen.
92. our #4 starter is pitching like an ace and our #1 starter (RJ) is pitching like a #4.
93. OK, he got through the 7th with only 11 pitches, but 119 total just one start after he throws 127? I'm not sure I like that . . . though his next start is against a crappy Seattle team in the pitcher's haven of Safeco.
It better be someone else pitching the 8th.
94. Wow. I didn't watch it but Chacon deserves a lot of credit. He pitched out of two big jams, around four walks, and still only gave up two runs over seven innings. Another solid effort.
95. Guy has some toughness to him, huh?
96. >but 119 total just one start after he throws 127?
On YES they said Chacon is ok with 120 pitches per game. In Colorado, he could not do it but it is no problem at sea level.
97. Me likey.
By the way, despite the baserunning gaffe, props to Jorge for the 2 for 2 with a walk and a double and a run scored. Nice to see.
Gordon's in with a four-run lead. Sigh.
98. Another quality start out of Chacon. This guy has been nothing short of huge so far. While he has been this season's version of El Duque '04, I hope he doesn't end up like El Duque did last year, with dead arm (just knocked on my desk).
Way to go, O!
99. I know Cliff might have mentioned this the other day, but man, the Jays decision to sign Koskie may have been a mistake. Even though he's just a rookie, the kid Aaron Hill seems like a more potent offensive player right now, though I can't speak about his defense. I just know I'm pleased that he hasn't played the today and yesterday...
100. C'mon Cliff, he needs the work :)
101. Arrrrgggg.....Why Gordon?
Indeed, Cliff, Small has been "Groomed." You'll need to come up with a term for Andy Phillips' exile, also.
102. Cliff, you don't like Gordon in in this situation? I think it's good because there's enough of a cushion and he hasn't pitched in a week or so, coming back from health problems.
103. I could be convinced that he needed an inning to get sharp after a long layoff, but not with the Royals on deck. Not to say he won't be needed in that series, just that I'd be more concerned with a big-hitting team coming up on the schedule. As is, why not get Small sharp?
104. That's exactly what I'm worried about, jkay. Of course Chacon couldn't do that in Colorado - he'd blow his arm out. So I can only imagine how long its been since he last threw 120+ pitches in back-to-back starts, especially since he closed almost all of last year.
FWIW, his most this year with the Rockies was 116 on May 1st in LA, and his next start was only 104 in Florida.
I don't remember all the pitcher abuse points stuff I've read at Prospectus, but I definitely remember that following a 127 pitch outing with a 119 pitch outing is bad.
105. 1-2-3 for Gordon.
106. At least its a 123 inning.
107. I'm with Cliff, as he was with me - good to get Gordon work after a few days off, I guess, but with a four run lead you've got to save him for KC! (And hope you don't need him then, either.)
108. Okay, good inning for Gordon. Now please use Small in the ninth. Pretty please!?
109. I like Chacon. Obviously lots of people would say that after the way the guy has pitched but here's my reason for it - I just remember that time in his last start when A.J. Perysinki (sp?) of the White Sox tried to give him the shoulder on the way by and CHacon went right up to him and started jawing at him. I mean, no fear, no nervousness on his part (being on a new team and all, you might not really know who has your back) and he just stepped right up to him. I enjoyed that - you don't see enough attitude from the Yanks sometimes. Don't get me wrong - I like the quiet drive (ex. Jeter) of the Yanks but sometimes, you gotta jaw a little bit before people start thinking you're getting softer.
110. Looks like Flash is back on tract...
Is this thing on? I'll be here all week.
111. Good job by Gordon, certainly - but now Torre's all but guaranteed Mo comes out to pitch the 9th. Sigh. No need to have used either today, IMHO, unless Small came in and got into big trouble.
112. Ouch, Alex, on both levels.
;)
113. Perfect day at the plate for Jorge, 3 for 3 with a walk. Nice.
114. Alex, you forgot to tell everyone to try the veal.
115. I'd prefer knowing what Flash has, going into KC.
116. Escalona with a double! Lookout Mowack! (I wish)
117. Geez Cliff, maybe Cano should be worried. ;)
118. Damn it.... WHY MO....
119. Mo's in. My blood is boiling.
120. Add one more to the dumb moves made this season!!!!!
121. I'd throw Felix out there, not Mo.
122. Yankees win.
123. Come on guys,
It's not like Rivera is on pace to pitch over 75 innings this year...
and it's not as if the next off day is Sept. 5...
or even that Mariano is going through his usual rough stretch (3.46 ERA in Aug).
Oh, right...
124. I don't think the 8 pitch inning is going to hurt Mo. Every game from here out is "must win". He's had some rest lately and hopefully will get more over the next series.
125. 'Least it was only 9 pitches, but still pretty fckin' dumb.
126. So is the wrap up post going to be titled "The Story of O"?
127. There was absolutely no need for Mo in there. He pitched on Tuesday night. What gives?
128. rbj, that's a good one. How 'bout O-righta!
Yeah, at least it was only nine pitches.
Very good win for the Yanks. They needed it and got it. Now, let's not even front. A clean sweep of the Royals is a must.
129. What gets me is Torre rests Rodriguez, Sheffield and Posada last night with three innings to play and the Toronto bullpen having struggled the previous two nights, then with a four-run lead today he works Gordon and Rivera unnecessarily. It's maddening!
That said, 3 of 4 is exactly what I hoped for in this series. Great pitching by Wright, Leiter and Chacon. The offense might be scuffling some, but this team is winning the games it needs to win. Good stuff.
130. Alex, I didn't want to say it, but you're dead right about this weekend.
131. Sigh . . . would two innings of Small be that bad? Now, I hope all three games against KC are blowouts, where TanGorMo aren't needed, and I suppose they do need somewhat frequent work - but why not save it for this weekend in case you really really need it? 'Cause we really really need to sweep KC.
132. Maybe that extra rest is why Sheff and ARod went deep and Posada went 3-3, BB today... :)
Look I get what you're saying but come on..I can't get too upset over resting a few guys down 9 freaking runs with three innings to go.
And in this game the lead is only 4, the day after they score 9 in an inning, and you're going to complain about closing the door like that? I could just see FRod or Small come in and give up 2 quick ones, and everyone wonder why we didn't nail it shut.
Good game. Good win. Now let's pad some stats and get the bullpen some serious rest for a few days.
133. Maybe something like, "O-o-o-o-oh-chacon-a, and the wins come sweeping down like rain". Kinda long for a title though.
134. See, but the Yanks scored 5 last night to make it a four run lead, so both games wound up being four-run games. Maybe if Torre hadn't waved the white flag last night (and, yes, it is a rather large maybe) he wouldn't have had to pull out the big guns today.
As for your point about Small/FRod, pmarcig, I've said this many times this season. If you bring in those guys and they give up two quick runs, you can still go to Gordon and Mo and win by two. But, if you go straight to Gordon and Mo you have eliminated the possibility of getting out of the game without using those guys at all. The first move gives you flexibility and a better best-case scenario. The latter gives you no flexibility and a best-case scenario that increases the already excessive workload of the team's most valuable relievers.
135. The 9-0 A's score (at the time) on the out-of-town might have induced Joe to have GorMo nail this one down. Plus, I'd rather see Gordon shake of any rust that he might have with a 4-run cushion, in case he's in a tight spot tomorrow. And Joe is loathe to bring in Gordon and Mo in the middle of innings (as he should be - both are noticably shaky doing so).
136. I think Torre is keeping Small in reserve in case of early starter implosion. He didn't put him in last night, because at down 0-9, he gave up on the game. But he's gotta be worried about another RJ or Moose meltdown, never mind the ever-exciting Leiter.
137. Why would Schilling be any better as a starter than a closer? KC has 5 hits through 1 1/3 innings...
138. KC is up 6-2 now, in the 5th inning.
Would be just our luck to have them start pulling out of their slump now. :-P
139. The good news is the Red Sox lost. The bad news is KC has now won 4 out of 5 since their losing streak ended.
140. Jesus, Cliff, it's not like pulling Rodriguez, Posada, and Sheff cost us the game Wednesday. What was their win expectency at that point, like 1%? 1.5%?
All of the at bats by the replacement players:
B Crosby singled to center, H Matsui to third.
F Escalona struck out looking.
J Flaherty grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, T Martinez out at second.
B Crosby singled to left, D Jeter to second.
B Williams hit for F Escalona.
B Williams homered to right, D Jeter and B Crosby scored.
3/5, 2 r, 3 rbi, 1 hr, 1 gid, 1 k. It looks like removing the players actually helped the Yankees score one, maybe two runs.
Torre makes enough glaring errors. Lets save the venom for the appropriate time.