Game 51-Sweepless in Seattle

By Steve S. On May 29, 2011 · 68 Comments · In Game Thread

Yanks have the big guy going this afternoon, trying to salvage a game against the suddenly hot Mariners, who are winners of 9 of their past 10 games. After playing two close games in what looked like pitching mismatches against the Yanks on paper, the Yanks are the one with the mismatch in their favor today. The Mariners are throwing journeyman lefty Jason Vargas, who’s having a nice year but is tailor made for the Yankee bats. Soft tossing, back of the rotation type starter whose mistakes should get crushed.  Doesn’t miss many bats (career 5.71 k/9) and gives up his share of long balls (career 1.08 HR/9 IP). Though as Nick Swisher will be the first to tell you, this ballpark and defensive outfield will take a few long balls away from you as well. CC has a career record of 9-4 with a 2.58 ERA facing the Mariners, and is 7-1 with a 2.20 ERA in Safeco Field. No excuses today.

Here’s your lineup, as usual courtesy of the fine folks over at LoHud:

Derek Jeter DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones LF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Francisco Cervelli C

With a soft tossing Lefty on the mound, you’re going to get Cervelli behind the dish. , so get used to it. The last thing we need is Martin running out of gas by September.

 
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68 Responses to Game 51-Sweepless in Seattle

  1. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 4:31 pm

    Swish still feeling better from the right side of the plate.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    Maybe he’s finally coming out of it.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    Hopefully, he’s been pretty good against lefties all year though. I re-call him mentioning that he felt better with his right handed mechanics not long ago. Maybe we just need to face more lefties, start demanding they outlaw right handers from the game.

    [Reply]

  2. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    Whew. CC works out of the jam

    [Reply]

  3. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    Why are we on a stretch of such good pitching out west? Pineda, Hernandez, Cahill, Gio Gonzlaez, can’t we get a few Javier Vazquez’s.

    [Reply]

    Steve S. Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    In Oakland’s case, we may be catching them at exactly the right time. That clubhouse is imploding, with Fuentes and Balfour both publicly calling out their manager on how they’re being used, and some other players doing the same off the record.

    They’re always a possibility to be sellers, but this year they just might back up the truck.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    They’ve got pitching I’d like to have on the Yankees.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    I think they’d have to fall a lot more before they consider selling, currently they are only 1.5 out of the worst AL division.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:10 pm

    Too bad they don’t have Girardi for a manager, he could make it worse ;).

    I would love to get a hold of Gio or Anderson from that pitching staff, I’m not sure they would ever trade either one though. I wouldn’t trade Montero for Gio, I think he falls just short of that mark, but I would consider it for Anderson. Brett really has the makings of a future ace. I think because of that Gio is probably the more likely of the two to be traded, but the question then becomes are you willing to deal Banuelos in a deal for a pitcher with similar if not slightly less potential.

    I’d be interested on your take on that Steve.

    [Reply]

    Steve S. Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    I mostly agree. I think it would take more than Montero to get him, and would draw the line at Manny and Dellin.

    I’m on my phone now, but I’d like to see his arb status. If he’s year 2 or less, the point is moot. They’re not dealing him until he gets too expensive.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    I’d probably be willing to trade Montero and some combination of Slade, Joba, Nova, Noesi, and Warren. Let them pick 3 of those 5 to go along with Montero for Anderson, and maybe add a 4th if they want to throw in Fuentes, if they are in a rush to boot him out of town. It’s hard to come up with trade scenario’s though, since I don’t know what the A’s are valuing right now.

    Anderson is making $1,250,000 this season, and apparently they extended him with a deal through 2013. He’ll earn 3MM in 2012, and $5.5MM in 2013, with club options for 2014 and 2015 for 8 and 15 million respectively. So they probably won’t consider shipping him out until 2014′s trade deadline.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:20 pm

    Gio Gonzalez is making 420,000 this year, but it looks as though he is going to be in his first arbitration year in 2012. They would probably be looking to move him first.

    [Reply]

  4. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Great block. Damn him! Thems the breaks though, even not hitting Chone can still field.

    [Reply]

  5. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    Great swing by Robbie. Hope he starts to heat up now.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    His lack of major production in my opinion has made the rest of the lineups weaknesses more glaring. He has the ability to be a one man wrecking crew, but with his lack of base on balls means he has to hit above .300.

    [Reply]

  6. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I don’t remember Robbie ever being so active on the base paths before.

    [Reply]

  7. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:11 pm

    Bases clearing triple!

    And another triple!

    Woooooo-hoooo!!

    [Reply]

  8. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:11 pm

    Andruw and Nunez, unlikely heroes I’d say, we need more of that.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    It would be nice to have Chavez back.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    Does anyone even have a timetable on him?

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    I haven’t heard anything.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    This says he should be able to come back “in a couple of weeks” but it was published on the 12th, and I can’t find anything more up to date.

    http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/15927/chavez-gets-boot-off-looking-forward-to-return

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:26 pm

    That’s encouraging. Maybe sometime in middle June.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    The best part is that it wasn’t a break, and simply ended up being a bone bruise. A break would require a lot more rehab, and potentially could have set him back much further on the field when/if he comes back.

  9. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    82 pitches for Vargas through 3. Were going to see a lot of the underbelly of the Seattle bullpen today, and its already 6-0.

    [Reply]

  10. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Grandy with the ‘ta-dah’ catch.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    Everything he does, I can practically hear the adding machine totalling up the WAR.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    Pretty amazing that coming into today’s game he had a 2.8 WAR in 216 PA’s,and last year he had a total of 3.6 in 528 PAs. He is going to smash through that WAR total this season, and he may even end up passing his career high 7.8 from back in 2007.

    Speaking of ridiculous WAR totals, Jose Bautista already has a 4.9 haha.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    Bautista’s humbers are nuts. It’s really amazing.

    [Reply]

  11. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    Is smoking really so bad in New York that there needs to be a commercial for it during every break?

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I haven’t been paying attention to the commercials. What are they?

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    Just anti-cigarette commercials that point out how bad they are for you, constantly show pictures of burnt up lungs, and quote statistics about lung recovery after quitting.

    In this day in age who doesn’t know cigarettes are bad? Just seems like a waste of money.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    yeah, I’ve seen those. I wonder how effective they are.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    I can’t imagine they do much. I mean honestly, does anyone think the label on the boxes that say WARNING: CAUSES CANCER are jokes? I smoked for a time, I quit several years back, but it had nothing to do with a commercial.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:04 pm

    I wouldn’t think that seeing some bimbo mouthing an “o” would make people buy an overpriced car, but there’s a lot of guys on Madison Avenue who think differently.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    Haha I guess you’re right, I must give people too much credit.

  12. Professor Longnose says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:51 pm

    I’m just not getting into this game. Maybe it’s not enough to get the bad taste of the last two games out of my mouth. Or maybe I just need a nap after staying up until 2:30 this morning watching yesterday’s game.

    [Reply]

  13. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    A few years ago, you would have NEVER doubled up Ichiro on a 1-2-3 DP. He’s definitely slowing down.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    His BABIP is all the way down to .295 this year (.355 lifetime). That’s may be largely because he’s slower.

    [Reply]

    Steve S. Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Yep. He was the king of the infield single.

    [Reply]

  14. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    Terrible base running… I thought it was gone too, but you can’t give away outs like that on the bags.

    [Reply]

  15. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    I can’t believe people actually suggest firing Kevin Long, and half of the people who suggest it want it done to “send a message” to either the players or Girardi. The amount of what have you done for me lately with this team makes you wonder why anyone would want to play for the Yankees, if money is equal somewhere else.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    That’s ridiculous. Long has done a good job.

    [Reply]

  16. Professor Longnose says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    Cone says Jack Morris knew how to pitch to the score! That invalidates his mention of FIP!

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:16 pm

    People often dismiss pitching to the score. Honestly though if you have a 3-2 count with a 10 run lead you are going to throw a fastball for a strike, but if you have that same batter with a 3-2 count in a 1-1 game you may go changeup, or another chase pitch in order to avoid the longball.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:20 pm

    They’ve analyzed Jack Morris up and down, and there just is no evidence that he was better in games in which he got less run support. I think Posnanski wrote about it, or linked to the numbers. I’ll have to go looking for it.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    No need I’ve seen all those stats, arguments, and counters. I simply don’t dismiss the theory as most do.

    [Reply]

  17. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:12 pm

    That’s an impressive AB by Smoak. Pitch was low and in, and he powered it out of the ballpark. That’s not easy to do. You see that much more from lefty batters than righties. They say he loves that pitch, but as a pitcher you have to feel like you made a good pitch and give him credit.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:17 pm

    Smoak looks like the real thing. The Mariners aren’t that far from contending.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    They are pretty far from contending for a title, I would say at least 3 years away from being legit.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    You know when he first came up last year I was under the impression he was a lefty batter, but being a switch hitter I can see why they might have chosen him over the pure righty Montero. He looks to have all the skills of a very talented first baseman in this league.

    [Reply]

  18. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    Singy-”the Oakland A’s have a league leading TEAM ERA of 2.82″

    Damn. Its only 2 months into the season, but that’s still impressive.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    Part of that is having damn good pitchers with Anderson, Cahill, and Gio, but part of that is having more foul territory than any ball park in baseball.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    Yeah, and they play the Mariners a lot, but still, their ERA+ is 140.

    [Reply]

  19. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    Another walk for Swish, I like it. When he’s going well, he takes plenty of BBs

    [Reply]

  20. Professor Longnose says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    Great spike of the ball off home plate by Pena in the update replay!

    [Reply]

  21. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:33 pm

    Ha! Love the mustache analysis.

    Singleton and Cone is my #1 and #2 in the same broadcast. That’s as good as it gets for me.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    I agree, they’re the best the Yankees have.

    [Reply]

  22. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:45 pm

    June 10th is “Jorge Posada Figurine night”. They better hope they don’t get a rain out that night, he might not be around come August or September.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    Better not be rain. I’m driving two hours to meet a friend that night and watch the game.

    Posada deserves his figurine. I’m hoping for one last hot streak, so he can go out on a nice feeling.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    Knowing Posada he’s mad it’s not Jorge statue night haha.

    [Reply]

  23. Steve S. says:
    May 29, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    SI_JonHeyman: At carpaccio in bal harbour, fla. Free drink to anyone who stops by. #poorhildebrand

    Oh my. Jon really has to stop this kind of stuff. Its embarrassing.

    [Reply]

  24. T.O. Chris says:
    May 29, 2011 at 7:06 pm

    Good Game guys!

    Also for only 3 people, very good game thread.

    [Reply]

    Professor Longnose Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    Maybe we’d get a crowd if we gave away free beer.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    I’m not sure I could take it at that point hahaha

    [Reply]

    Steve S. Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    Definitely. I keep encouraging my fellow writers to spend time in the game threads, I thought I should take my own advice. West coast trips are tough for me (I get up early) but Sunday afternoon is ideal. Between the regulars and the writers, we can generate some good conversation, maybe even a post idea here and there.

    [Reply]

  25. Professor Longnose says:
    May 29, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    No surprise: the Yankees stopped scoring after the 4th.

    [Reply]

    T.O. Chris Reply:
    May 29th, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    They scored 7, and it was never really close. I can’t complain about the offensive output.

    [Reply]

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