Upon Three Games in Queens

Lets begin with the most recent game first. The Yankees just completed a three game sweep of the Mets at Citi Field, after taking 2 of three in the Bronx. Mariano Rivera closed the game for his 18th save of the season, and the 500th save of his career. He joins now-Brewer reliever Trevor Hoffman as the only two pitchers in the history of the game to record 500 saves. This save was of the four out variety, and in between the 8th and 9th innings Rivera found time to achieve another historical milestone.

As the games this weekend were played at a National League park, the pitcher for each team is required to hit if he is to remain in the game the next inning. Frequently, at the end of close games, the pitcher will be lifted for a pinch hitter, who is in turn replaced by another relief pitcher. However, the Yankees had no intention of removing Rivera from a one-run game, much less a shot at his 500th save. When the Yankees got two men on against Met closer Francisco Rodriguez, Derek Jeter came to the plate with first base open. The Yankees attempted some trickery by sending backup catcher Francisco Cervelli into the on-deck circle, perhaps attempting to hide the fact that Rivera was due up next. In a puzzling move, the Rodriguez actually pitched to Jeter, until deciding to intentionally walk him with a 2-1 count. Rivera walked to the plate, and worked the count full before drawing a bases-loaded walk which gave him the first RBI of his career.

The Yankee offense started the game off with a bang, as Jeter led off the game with a double high off the big wall in left, which would have been out in many parks.   The team scored 3 runs in the inning, but was largely held down by Livan Hernandez and the Mets in the hitting department thereafter. However, Mets pitchers issued a robust 11 walks in the game, which the Yankees failed to capatalize upon.

Yankee starter Chien Ming-Wang lasted 5.1 innings, and continued to show signs of progress after an abysmal start to the season. He induced 11 ground ball outs of the 16 outs he recorded, which is a sign that his sinker is doing its job. He worked into trouble in the 4th, allowing the two Met runs of the game. Yankee relievers followed Wang with 3.2 innings of one-hit relief. 

The Yankees swept the weekend due in large part to their pitching. On Friday, CC Sabathia gave the Yankees 7 innings of 1-run ball, and struck out 8. Amazingly, Cooperstown lock Mike Plefry did not deliver on the prognostication that he would “shut the Yankees down”.  He lasted just 5 innings, and was let down by his defense. He also gave up an RBI to Sabathia and allowed two hits to Brett Gardner. Gardner, along with teammate Melky Cabrera continue to defy those who claim they are “scrubs”, and “completely overmatched by major league pitching”.

On Saturday, AJ Burnett had a no-hitter going which was broken up by Alex Cora. Burnett went 7 strong, striking out 10 and alowing just the one hit. Brian Bruney and David Robertson finished the job, combining with Burnett for the one-hit shut out. Tha Yankees scored all five of their runs against Met starter Tim Redding, including two home runs. Strangely, Mets not named Sheffield seem to have trouble leaving Citi Field with any regularity, though undoubtedly the absence of Delgado, Reyes and Beltran has contributed to the low HR totals.

The Mets are an injury-depleted team these days, and have gone 6-10 since the beginning of their previous series with the Yankees. 5 of those 10 losses have come at the hands of the Bombers. If we buy the excuse of injuries as the cause of the recent woes, I think its only fair to characterize the 3-1 series against league-leading St. Louis as fortunate.

The Yankees did poorly against the Nationals and Marlins, before rebounding to take 2-3 from the Braves and to sweep the Mets. The pitching has shown it can dominate opponents, from starters to bullpen, and but for their perplexing futlilty against the Red Sox, the Yankees would be comfortably atop the standings.

Upon Three Games in the Bronx

The Yankees and Mets faced off this week in the Bronx, in the most recent set of games in the annual “Subway Series”. The Yankees took two of three games, and each was very different.

On Friday, the teams battled back and forth before one of the more unusual conclusions to a game I can remember.  Livan Hernandez and Joba Chamberlain were the starters, but neither gained a decision. Notes from Friday:

• Joba and Jorge Posada were on very different pages in terms of how to approach the Mets, and it was fairly obvious. Joba lasted only 4 innings; allowing only one hit and 2 runs, but walking 5 batters. He threw 100 pitches, and shook off Jorge countless times. Brett Tomko inherited a mess, and didnt do much to help things, giving up 4 runs. Girardi elected to go with Mariano with two outs in the 8th, and Rivera gave up a go ahead run. He was soon taken off the hook however.
• Livan Hernandez lasted longer than Joba, but did not fare much better. He gave up 7 hits, 6 runs and 3 HR in his 5+ innings of work. Reliever Jon Switzer served up a birthday 3-run bomb to Matsui, before the Mets pen setttled down.
• Luis Castillo made the now infamous bungle with two outs in the bottom of the 9th and K-Rod on the mound. He dropped a “routine” pop-up from A-Rod, and the Yankees scored two runs for the win. What I feel has been lost in the criticism of Castillo is the heads-up, “playing the right way” actions of Jeter and Teixeira. These are two of the biggest stars in the game, who ran their butts off on what they thought was a game-ending pop-out. If they aren’t busting around the bases on what is normally just a token effort, the Yankees don’t win the game on that play. Met fans have to give them credit for that.
• An off-shoot of this ending is the nonsensical beef between Brian Bruney and K-Rod. Bruney shot off his mouth in the press, to the effect of “K-Rod celebrates like an ass, and I’m glad he got that blown save.” K-rod got mad, both in the media and in person, and there was a minor altercation on the field Sunday. Bruney should worry about pitching and not run his yap in my opinion, though I do agree that K-Rod looks like an ass on the mound when he gets a save, with his Mitch Williams delivery and his pointing/shouting routine. K-Rod should ignore Bruney, and not be dumb enough to physically threaten a 6′3″ 240lb guy.  5′11″ 190 doesn’t match up well.

On Saturday, I attended the game in-person.  Fernando Nieve held the Yankees down, and the Mets pounded out 12 hits against Yankee starter Andy Pettite, en-route to a 17-hit, 6-run day.  The Mets left 11 men on base, but didn’t need much with a very solid start from Nieve, a last-minute replacement for the DL-bound John Maine. The Yankees tend to struggle with guys they have never seen before, and Nieve had them off-balance all game.  Omir Santos paced the Mets with a homerun and 3 RBI, and has been a nice fill-in for the injured Brian Schneider.

Yesterday I made my way back to the Stadium for the rubber-match of the series. It featured a match-up of Mets ace Johan Santana and Yankee AJ Burnett. In retrospect, this may have been a matchup of two stud pitchers headed in opposite directions.

Santana had one of the roughest outsing statistically of his career. He lasted only 3 innings, and was tagged for 9 runs on 9 hits.  On the heels of my previous trip to Citi Field to see him face the Phillies, Johan simply does not have the dominating stuff he had at the start of the season. The Yankees jumped all over him, and reliever Brian Stokes, cruising out to a 13- lead.

AJ Burnett, who needed a good start, went 7 innings allowing just 4 singles and striking out 8.  He escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam by inducing 2 strikeouts and getting a line-out to Derek Jeter. The Yankees had an easy day once they got out big, and the Mets looked out-of-sorts. David Wright should have been tossed for arguing a called third strike, but manager Jerry Manuel took the bullet for him

Overall, it was an interesting series for both teams. The Yankees need some dominant starting on a regular basis, and only Burnett was dominant this weekend. Pettite and Chamberlain gave the Yankees short outings, which taxes the bullpen. The Mets benefitted from 2 Red Sox wins vs Philly, but are on shaky ground.

Two final bullets:

• Yankee McStadium?- Seems like the Mets only got 3 in 3 games, and two were from Sheff. David Wright, who some claim would lead the league in HR/RBI/OPS if he played in the Bronx had 2 extra base hits and 1 RBI all weekend. He is an outstanding player, and this isn’t a knock on him, but lets stop calling stats from the Stadium cheap.

 

• Who Can’t hit Big-League Pitching?- Daniel Murphy is batting .238, Fernando Martinez is batting .216. Melky Cabrera is batting .294 and Brett Gardner is batting .276. Since a lot of stuff here is recorded for posterity, lets apply the same standards to players on our own team that we do to players on someone else’s.

             4/14/09  “Gardner blows. Completely over-matched by major league   pitching.”

6/15/09  “Murphy (hitting 40 points lower than Gardner, who I think blows)  _________________.

 

Upon a Citi Field Visit- Redux

Last night, my sister received tickets to the Mets/Phillies game at Citi Field, and she was kind enough to invite me along. Some observations from the night:

• I have now been to Citi Field twice, an in terms of parking, early is on-time, and on-time is late. We arrived to the ballpark at approximately 5:30 for a 7:10 start-time, and this made all the difference. Parking was available, and close. The last time I went to a Citi Field game, about a half hour before the game I had to take a bus and walk. This may have been a result of my inexpereince, and new traffic/parking patterns, but parking close was key.
• Another benefit to arriving so early was the freedom to walk around a ballpark 1/3 filled, and see all the amenities and upgrades. We took a walk to the area in center field and did not have to contend with what later bacame huge lines. Three of the most popular places in center field are the Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, and whatever they call their “beers of the world stand. I walked right up to each of these places with no wait. to put this in persepctive, the fans behind me went to centerfield for food and beer in the top of the fifth, and were back in the bottom of the sixth. they claim they didn’t waste any time. Kudos to the Mets for creating a cool area to eat and drink, and for briniging in some good food.  I think I will stick to eating early on my next visits, because the lines that slowly grew would drive me crazy.
• I walked all around the park, and I can’t help but note all the poor sight lines that I found. In both my visit last night, and the game I attended several weeks earlier, I was unable to see key plays during the game from my seats. Granted, I was in the upper levels of the stadium for both games, but there were some glaring obstructions. I have sat in the highest reaches of both the old Yankee Stadium, and Shea Stadium, and I never missed so much of the action at the wall.
• The physical layout of the non-field areas is very nice. Wide walkways, and mutliple stairs, elevators and ramps make getting around the building a breeze. The open air design of many of the levels feels much less claustrophobic, and seems like it will allow a nice breeze in the hot summer.  I like not having to be crammed into what feels like a cave while going to the bathroom, grabbing another beer…etc.
• Security was a bit too gestapo for my liking. I was in a section with a ton of Philly fans, and I understand that security had to be on alert for trouble. However, one of the best parts of these rivalry games is the home team and visiting fans getting into it with each other. I suppose that its better to be proactive than reactive, but there is also a bit of self-policing that goes on in terms of trash talk. No punches were thrown, and there was no nose-to-nose arguing, but the security was on the scene the second words were exchanged, even if it was from two sections away. The young man and the practical adult in me are struggling with this paragraph.
• In terms of the game, Johan was both effective and ineffective in the same game. He gave up four home runs, and eight hits, but threw something like 70 of his 90 pitches for strikes. He also had a key RBI double, in a spot where he apparently swung through the bunt sign from Manuel. 
• The Mets need to be carried by Wright and Beltran, and both did their part last night.  Ryan Church chipped in from the doghouse with a dinger into the apple in center. Great relief from Feliciano and K-Rod made it interesting but got the job done once again.
• CitiMcField?- 7 bombs went flying out last night, and a few more long doubles would have if not for what I consider to be unnecessarily high walls. ( I know the homers went out to left because of the video screen, seeing as how my left field seats can not see any of the left field wall.) The pitchers serving these bombs up are not exactly scrubs.
• In terms of the field, in addition to the aforementioned towering walls, I hate the  Mo Zone in right. Just an unnecessary feature. I do not like weird angles on outfield walls. Fenway pisses me off, the hill in Houston pisses me off, and the weird Mo Zone could be headed there.

That’s all for now. I will be back for sure.

Upon Win Trackers

My pre-season prediction for the Yankees was 98-wins. As of this posting, the Yankees are 31-21. Lets start the tracker:

Current Record: 31-21

Record needed for 98 wins: 67-34 going forward

Current Pace: 97-65

And for the Mets, I predicted 93 wins-

Current Record: 28-23

Record Needed for 93 wins: 65-46

Current Pace: 89-73

Upon NY Baseball- June 2009

Some quick hits on the state of NY Baseball as the calendar turns to June.

•  The Yankees are in first place, a game in front of the Red Sox, and 2 games in front of Toronto.  Their 30-21 record has them tied for the secind-most wins in all of baseball, trailing only the LA Dodgers. A 9 game win streak from the 13th through the 21st of May was a big catalyst to a 17-11 month.
• The return of Alex Rodriguez seemed to bolster a lineup which had been hot and cold for much of the year. A-Rod hit a bomb on the first pitch he saw this season, and Mark Teixiera has come to life in the 3-hole, batting in front of Rodriguez.
• The Yankees just set a major league record last night, playing their  18th consecutive game without an error. No team in history owns a streak that long.
• Derek Jeter joined an elite club last night. He now stands alongside only Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Al Simmons as the only players in baseball history to have 2600 hits, 200 HR and 1000 RBI in their first 15 seasons.  Pretty exclusive company for the Captain.

As of yesterday’s game, here are the respective numbers for Derek Jeter, and David Wright (who some have proclaimed the greatest thing since sliced bread)

Hits- Jeter 65/Wright 60

Runs-Jeter 32/Wright 31

RBI- Wright  30/Jeter 25

HR- Jeter 7/Wright 3

Avg- Wright .328/Jeter .311

OPS- Wright .904/Jeter .854

Errors- Jeter 2/Wright 7

SB-CS- Jeter 10 and 1/Wright 12 and 7

And all this has come while Jeter bats leadoff. While I won’t go so far as to proclaim this an even race, I do think it merits mentioning especially in light of the claims made by some about Wright and Jeter. Wouldn’t the best player in NY presumably blow a 34 year old on the decline out of the water statistically?

• The Mets come into June 2nd in second place in the NL East, a game and a half behind the world champion Phillies. A recent spate of injuries has struck the Mets, though it hasn’t hurt them much in the standings. Pitchers like John Maine and Mike Pelfry have been throwing well (pitching over their heads to some), and a steady diet of the 13-36 Nationals, and 24-28 Marlins from within their division has helped.
• Replacement players have stepped up, including Omir “Johnny Bench” Santos, and Angel Pagan. Gary Sheffield has also paid dividends, especially for someone who was essentially salvaged from Detroit’s scrap heap.
• The 19-9 May that the Mets just put up is undeniably impressive, especially considering that many of their main pieces have been dinged-up or out altogether. I think many Mets fans would gladly have accepted only a 1.5 game defecit on June 2 if you told them that Perez would be done for a while, Delgado would be out, Reyes, Beltran and others would be limping, and Tim Redding and Livan Hernandez would be regular starters.
• Last night, Joba Chamberlain pitched his longest career outing, notching a victory over the Cleveland Indians in an 8-inning  performance. According to the television radar gun, his fastball was hitting 96-97 throughout the game, well into the late innings.
• With Chien Ming Wang off the DL following a very rough start, and pitching well out of the bullpen, there now appear to be 3 viable candidates for 2 starting pitcher spots. CC, AJ and Andy are not going anywhere, and this leaves Wang, Hughes and Joba up for the final rotation positions. The Yankees do not appear inclined to move Joba to the pen, and outings like last night will not give the idea any momentum. Wang has battled injuries, but was a 19 game winner and staff ace for two consecutive years. Hughes is a young stud who is still learning to be a complete pitcher. It remains to be seen how this will shake out.
• On the other side of town Johan Santana is pitching out of his mind, with a 7-2 record and a 1.77 ERA, and he could still have more wins but for some bullpen miscues. Zack Greinke in Kansas City rightly deserves to be in the discussion, but clearly Johan is one of the (if not the) best pitchers in baseball. Not sure that Pelfry and Maine are all that some people crack them up to be, but I am sure Mets fans will take what they have been getting from those two.

More to come later in the week. For now the Yankees are a first place team and the Mets are a second place team. Some standings

Runs: Yankees 3rd in MLB- Mets 14th

OPS: Yankees 1st- Mets 11th

Total Bases- Yankees 1st- Mets 18th 

ERA: Mets 5th- Yankees 26th

Quality Starts: Mets 6th- Yankees 18th

BAA: Mets 10th- Yankees 15th

Errors: Mets 5th most- Yankees 26th

Fielding %: Yankees 3rd- Mets 26th