The Yankees scored four runs in the first inning against Baltimore starter Jason Berken Wednesday afternoon, A.J. Burnett held the O’s scoreless through the first six innings, and that was about that. Jorge Posada added a solo home run in the third and an RBI double in the eighth. The O’s scratched out a pair of runs against Burnett in the top of the seventh and got two more on back-to back homers by Adam Jones and Nick Markakis off Brian Bruney with two outs in the top of the ninth. Mariano Rivera came in to get the last out and nail down the 6-4 win, and with that the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Orioles and ran their second-half record to 6-0.
For Burnett, it was his seventh-straight quality start and his ninth out of his last ten starts. The Yankees are 8-2 in those ten games, the two loses coming against the Red Sox and the Marlins’ Josh Johnson, the later by a score of 2-1. As for Bruney, he struck out Robert Andino and Brian Roberts before giving up the two homers and both he and Joe Girardi said they though he was throwing the ball particularly well. Said Bruney, “two outs in the the ninth, four-run lead, of course I’m gonna throw a heater.” To his credit, the homers were hit by the Orioles two best hitters. Baseball men always say it’s better to challenge a hitter in that situation than to walk him and Bruney didn’t allow the first homer to force him to start nibbling to Jones. Still, I’m a long way from convinced that Bruney’s back to being a viable late-inning reliever.
Given the fact that the Yankees salted the game early, the highlight of the game came in the top of the third. Brian Roberts led off by lifting a fly to deep right. Nick Swisher trotted over, lifted his glove, and just flat missed the ball, putting Roberts on second. It was a flat gaffe, and a humiliating one at that. Adam Jones followed with a single, pushing Roberts to third, but Burnett got Markakis to foul out to shallow left and struck out Aubrey Huff to put him on the verge of getting out of the Swisher-created jam. Ty Wigginton then worked the count full and laced a pitch to Swisher’s left in deep right. It looked like an easy two-RBI double that would cut the Yankee lead in half, but Swisher raced over and made a fine, inning-ending leaping catch, allowing his momentum to carry him up the right-field wall in celebration. A.J. dropped this one on him in response:
I wonder if A.J. realized how well he and Swisher fit those roles.
AJ has been so money, especially when compared to the past FA (pitching) signings, at some point one of these guys has to pan out. Thankfully CC and AJ are acclimating just fine.
Oakland tomorrow, they win tomorrow!
Oakland are terrible so they should get the sweep, keep the pressure on Boston and Tampa!
Nick "Babe Ruth" Green homers for the Sox, 1-0 over Tejas so far...
[1] yep, gotta give him his props. i was against the signing, was really disgusted when he had that several game rough stretch, and though i still find his starts somewhat frustrating - 9 out 10 quaility starts is pretty damn good and having aj on the staff this year has been key.
i see the red sox and card swapped an 84 ops + guy for an 85 ops + guy. supposedly st. louis is actually sending another player in addition to duncan to bos for lugo. why?
[1][3]
I was so against the AJ signing (and still think 5 years was too long) but he's been great overall so far...
Ian Kinsler with the tater, Bos 1 Tex 1...
[2] Oakland is so terrible that they just paddled the Twins 15-1.
Hey RIY! I take it you and the family had a blast today?
: )
[5] C'mon, Cleveland put up 22 against the Yanks..one game don't mean diddly-iddly-doo..
[5] actually it was 16-1 smarty. and oakland is terrible - they are 40-53 and only 3 teams in the al have a worse run diff.
now if your point is that in any given game anything can happen (after all baseball just cannot be predicted :}); or that it is unreasonable to keep expecting sweeps, then sure, totally agree .
yeah - hopefully you guys had a nice time. what did you think of nys
oh and rangers have certainly shown up this week; the white sox not as much
[8] Um, yeah, that was my point.
[6] Yes, awesome, thanks! Got all the elements. Score truck made its delivery early, Gritner stole a bag, Hughes, and then the backward K to finish the game: priceless.
And Bruney and Swisher for comic relief!
[2] How can Nick Green only have 5 HRs this season? It seems like every time I look he hits another bomb (followed by me shaking my head in bemusement).
Anyone know why I'm getting ESPN News on ESPN rather than the Sox-Rangers game?
Oh, on YS2:
On the whole I liked it. Good views from everywhere I tried; I like the concessions and esp. whatever you call that CF outdoor snack and beverage center. The glassed in space is odd and disconcerting, that's the only part I had real negative feelings about.
[10] i hope it came through i was just joking
the yanks have day games for other teams get away - other teams rarely return the favor - and thus wednesday night has been boring as hell
this bernazard guy for the mets is seemingly something else
[5] Speaking of run differential and Cleveland scoring 22 on the Yankees, I wonder what the Yankees run differential would look like if Wang's starts are removed. Normally one would not do this when looking at run diff, but since Wang has now been removed from the equation, his past performance should not be used (via pythagorean record) to guestimate the team's future fortunes.
[12] nope - certainly shouldn't be happening. on occasion my mom in alabma has said she can't see a yanks game against like the white sox or someone (and thus no reason to be blacked out) because they are showing espnews.
[13] that's good. yeah that glass part is weird.
[12] Don't know, Cliff. In my neck of the woods it's all Blue Jays all the time. The good news, however, is I got to watch Pavano get pounded for for seven hits, including four HRs (!!) and two doubles.
[10] [13] That's great!
I think it's fantastic that our Banterers not only get to see the Yankees at The Stadium, but they've been winning since I don't know how long whenever someone from here goes. I wish we knew what that streak is up to. I believe we have to go back to one of Diane and Alex's games earlier this year to know for sure. Couple that with Will Weiss' articles coinciding with wins and it's easy to see why they are 20 games over .500 already and in first place.
I'm glad the A's scored their weekly allotment of runs today. I like that Hughes and Mo serve as the "Severe Tire Damage" strips for opponents' Score Trucks, halting them in their tracks!
CC will "Bring the Noise" to the A's!
Have a great evening!
: )
[13] I'll make my second visit to NYS later in August, and I'll have more time to check it out more thoroughly. I was a bit disappointed my first visit.
[14] Yes, I did get that you were joking!
Kind of nice to see Laptop get shelled. I don't know why I can't stand him. He could very easily become my most despised Red Sox player.
[20] Who is "Laptop"? I must have missed that one...
[17] Do the local hacks up there have it in for JP Ricciardi? word on the streets is that he's not the most likeable of fellows...
[21] Not too much baseball chatter compared to hockey and, even, CFL. I think he's an incompetent whose only qualification is his former association with Beane. He seems to get pretty much a free pass, as far as I can tell. We'll see what happens if he trades Halladay and the mob thinks that it is for too little.
[22] CFL? Seriously?? I'm not a real NFL so probably wouldn't dig the CFL, but kinda cool that they support their local sports..
[23] They support their local supports out of nationalist fervor and a deeply rooted inferiority complex. In reality, the NFL is wildly popular here, but the two leagues have a good working arrangement where they don't really compete head-to-head.
[24] ..."local sports,,,"
[21] Oh, Laptop is this guy. Once you know the story, you have to admit that it's a great nickname.
Man, J D Drew is in a horrific slump.
[21] laptop is clay buccholz - when he was in high school he got in trouble for stealing some laptops from his school
after the dunn incident with jp last year, keith law started letting out a little more of his feelings on jp - i don't think he has ever come out and said it, but he has initmated riccardi is a real asshole
[21] Buchholz stole some laptops in college.
Things are obviously going well for the Yankees, but one thing Girardi has to monitor is his extensive use of Mo/Hughes/Aceves/Coke. It would be nice if the offense could have opened up some of these Orioles games, but absent that luxury Girardi may have to give Robertson or Melancon a high leverage inning or two sooner or later. Of course, if Bruney could every regain his form, the bullpen would really be dynamite.
[21] He stole laptops from Grammar School. : )
[29] i agree william and said the same thing at the end of the game thread. i agree that part of this is on girardi. but if bruney doesn't regain his form soon he needs to be dl'd and they need to consider bringing albie back up for melancon (or robertson), though i think robertson has better stuff right now, walks are the issue for him
[26] Oh, that's brilliiant!
[24] Is the CFL style game very different to NFL? I know they have the 20-yrd endzones..
[32] Style? Yeah, it's different, both because of some key rule differences (three downs, wider field, longer field, twelve players, receivers can run forward at the snap) and different athletes (smaller and [with respect to linemen] perhaps quicker). Everyone runs a spread offense out of the shotgun. Draw plays, lots of passing.
I don't find it all that interesting because defenses have caught up and, with only three downs, it is difficult for sustained drives. Lots of punting. That said, bigger field = field position more important.
And only in Canada could you earn a point for missing a field goal!
Daniel "Fire" Bard stirkes out two in relief, Tex 3 Bos 1 going into top 7th
[33] Wider field too, didn't know that..I actually find non-playoff NFL games to be deadly boring, and can't imagine the appeal of watching live in the stadium..but then some think baseball is boring so...
[34] I don't find the NFL boring at all, but I will tell you that I've been to several Patriots games, and the truth is it's better watching on tv. Utterly different from baseball in that way, obviously. Different from every other sport I can think of, in fact.
Sox are down to Texas 3-1 after their half of the 7th. What has happened to their offense? Are they really this bad?
[36] The problem is that all the big hitters other than Youk are cold, slumping, whatever.
I don't think Adam LaRoche is going to pull them out of it, somehow. But I do think Drew, Bay, maybe Pedroia will wake up fairly soon. Let's put some distance between us and them before it happens!
[35] i enjoy Giants games live. To each their own I guess.
[38] Were you in San Francisco? Because that would explain it.
[35][38] I've only seen a couple of NFL games live--all were boring, but that is because the games themselves were not very competitive. In general, I have found that the NFL interests me less and less than it used to. I don't know if that is because my own personal tastes have changed, or because the game has become aesthetically less appealing. I do think find the NFL's current play frustrating--lots of movement between the 20s, and then watch pass happy offenses bog down in the red zone. Everyone punts 45 yards and everyone kicks off to the endzone, as the rosters expand and become more specialized. The field position aspect seems to have largely disappeared.
Why when I watch the Red Sox play another team they don't look or behave like the same team as when they play the Yanks? Do they get back on their cycle right around the time when the Yanks are about to play them?
I guess we can say the same thing when the Yanks aren't playing all that well.
[39] most definitely not. i was in some swamp in new jersey.
Cripes, the Rangers have en on every inning but won't score. Hopefully this doesn;t come back to haunt them.
Watching the White Sox try to close out these TB games really makes me appreciate Mariano even more. I have come to the realization that one simply can not appreciate Mariano enough.
[38] The Giants rock. I love the G-Men and I can't wait for football season, too. They have a great team this year and they have some payback for the Eagles. I think the teams I hate most in all of sports are 1. Red Sox 1. Cowboys 1. Eagles
They are all #1 because I hate them all equally.
[45] yeah, those 3 are definitely top 5 most hated teams. though i'd add the ny rangers and usc football to round out my top 5 most hated. they all suck. :)
[37] I thought that also, however:
K. Youkilis: .303 .418 .574 .992 - Hard to call that slumping, it's just that he started the year on fire.
D. Pedroia: .301 .376 .422 .798 - Not bad for a mdoget 2nd baseman. The question is what is the real expectation for last year's MVP? He may never duplicate his 2008 numbers.
Jason Bay: .254 .376 .511 .887 - His OPS is almost exactly at his (NL) career average. Again, he started very hot, but how much more should we expect from Bay?
J.D. Drew: .236 .360 .446 .807 - Nancy's OPS is .080 pts off his carrer average, so he should produce more.
So in reality, this group is not slumping terribly compared to their career norms. There is no doubt they are somewhat in a teamwide slump, but I think their early numbers were not sustainable.
Why is Papsmear in the game, in the 8th inning nonetheless?
[44] well they got it done!
There you go Kinsler.
[47] Wait, I said all except Youk.
Pedroia's OPS since the AS break is .625 or something. I'm not going to look up the other guys, but I'm pretty confident that they are slumping recently.
[47] With Papi well below his career norm and Lowell showing ill effects from the injury, the Red Sox offense isn't very strong. Add in Ellsbury's continued lack of development and Drew's usual inconsistency and the Sox definitely have problems with the bats. Lowrie's return should help, but not that much. Adding LaRoche and Duncan doesn't really address the problem, so if that's their only move, they could be resigned to a subpar offense.
One other thing worth noting is the Red Sox were lauded for their thrift shopping, but the likes of Penny, Smoltz and Baldelli really haven't panned out. As a result, the team is suffering from a lack of depth. They clearly would have been much better taking their thrift money and adding it to the Teixeira pot because letting him go to the Yankees (assuming he wasn't destined for pinstripes all along) is a move hey may regret for some time.
Red Sox lose
Gulp.
We have a two game lead. It's a vertiginous feeling.
[48] Well, if you lose a lot of games in a row, you probably want to get your closer some work. Or, you might decide to use your best relief pitchers in a close game, even if it's not a SAVE SITUATION.
man, sweet stuff happening. i can't believe that in a matter of 9 games we went from tied to first to 3 games back to 2 games in front. bizarro.
If the Yankees had won just 2 of the 8 games against Boston, they'd have a 6 game lead over the Red Sox.
if the yankees pitchers would just stop letting up runs we'd be undefeated.
seriously, we've gotta be pleased (obviously) with how we are playing right now. A good chance to get some separation I hope.
[59] It looks like the Yankees have AJ, CC and Joba line up for TB next week. If the Yankees can take 3 here from Oakland, that series could be a chance to really add some playoff position bretahing room.
Hey, um, Is Tony Bernezard a real person or some bedtime story they tell minor leaguers to get them to behave?
[60] And if they don't, then it will be a chance to really add some playoff position berating room; smething we're all good at around here >;)
Okay, won't bother you guys anymore; in BK making my way home to BX. See ya guys Saturday maybe...
[62] (smething... good one, Chyll >;)
[61] Hysterical..the Mets..what more can you say? what's the ETA on Bobby V returning to Shea-iti Field?
I don't think the Yankees have peaked yet.
shit sox are retiring rice's number. hell, rice should NOT be going into the Hall. then again, tony perez shouldn't have, either. ditto rizzuto (as a player) or mazeroski. Rock Raines BETTER get inducted one of these years... Dewey Evans was better than Rice...
Todd Helton joined Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams as the only players with 500 doubles, 320 homers and a .325 batting average since 1900.
[67] Hey man, there's something not quite right about seeing Todd Helton with those names...
oh, stay away from the NY Post my friend, you may be over-heated by their blurry pics of the blonde from ESPN! (you won't be surprised, but I just don't get the fuss over Andrews-san..nothing too special to look at IMHO..)
NP: Paul Motian, Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell album on ECM
[68] dammit, all the videos have been taken down!!! : / she is quite lovely!!! i actually dated a kindergarten teacher that has a somewhat similar look. i ran into her last weekend, accidentally. whatever about that...
i really hope we keep taking care of business on the field. and that means winning upcoming series against tampon and beantown...
[69] Imagine going to the PTA conference for your kid and having a crazy "Hot for Teacher" experience? Would be difficult to concentrate for sure
Tampa series is huge, hope we can knock them 6 or 7 back and be in the driver's seat for the Dog Days of August...
[68] i need to get more of the Dave Holland ECM stuff. it's beyond brilliant!!!
[71] I Love Dave Holland, you have to check out the "World Trio" album with Kevin Eubanks on guitar and this amazing percusiionist whose name I can't remember...did I already tell you about that one?