Yankee comeback falls short in 5-4 loss to Royals
'Twas that kinda night. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
So close.
The Yankees managed to load the bases in the ninth against Royals closer , making the righty throw 40 pitches and scoring a run in the process, but struck out looking with the bases loaded — on what should have been ball three — to dash the team’s comeback hopes as the Yankees lost 5-4. In the immediate aftermath I was annoyed that Posada went down looking to end the game, but I suppose it’s tough to fault him too severely given that Brooks shows that the pitch was clearly a ball.
Regardless, it was rather unfortunate the Yankees even had to attempt to mount their third comeback in three games to begin with, as they received a third straight mediocre starting pitching performance, this time courtesy of . Colon got hit hard — giving up five runs on seven hits, four of which went for extra bases — in only five innings.
Colon has clearly been a markedly different pitcher since returning from the disabled list, giving neither length nor pitching all that effectively. He’s only gotten into the 7th inning three times in the 10 starts he’s made since he’s been back, and has a 4.27 ERA in his last 46.1 innings. That’s certainly not awful, but it’s also not the Colon who had a 2.96 ERA over 67 innings in his first 10 starts of the year, either.
Colon was handed a two-run lead but gave it all back and then some on an three-run jack in the third, and the Royals finally managed to hold onto a lead. After actually having some success with the tough Royal bullpen in the first two games, the Yankees finally got to see the Royals’ “we have a lead” relievers, and were promptly smoked by — who struck out the side after the first two men reached base with no out (and got six swinging strikes on 24 total pitches!)– and .
Earlier in the game, the Yankees seemed poised to break this one open against lefthanded junkball artist extraordinaire , who needed 33 pitches to get through the first inning, but managed to recover and give the Royals 6 innings. These things happen, even against pitchers like Chen, but it’s still pretty frustrating that they worked him over so badly in the 1st and more or less let him off the hook.
In addition to the questionable strike zone, this game also featured a solo home run by that appeared to be a double on replay. The umpiring staff ended up reviewing it, but the call was upheld. I don’t know what the ground rules are in Kansas City, but if a ball hitting the top of the wall, not clearing a fence of any kind and bouncing back onto the playing field is a home run in KC, then I guess it’s a home run.
And finally, kudos to , who got his first game action in seemingly forever and didn’t let the rust show, throwing three scoreless innings and only allowing a hit and a walk. And huge props to the Yankee bullpen, who only allowed one run in 10 innings of work in this series.
Tagged with: Bad Starting Pitching • Bartolo Colon • Billy Butler • Bruce Chen • Jorge Posada • Kansas City Royals
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I blame Derek Jeter for this loss, could care less he went 4 for 5.
Had he not been picked off in the first inning, Granderson’s homerun would’ve been a two-run shot not a solo shot and the game would’ve been tied if it still played out the way it did and why wouldn’t it have been? Jeter cost the Yanks not only a run but the chance for more runs as the inning ended with the bases loaded when it should’ve continued (been only two outs.)
This is the second game the Yanks have blown due to stupid baserunning this year (the other one being when Granderson got picked off) and it has to stop!!!!!
A loss due to bad pitching and/or hitting, ok. A loss due to one error costing a run or two, ok. A loss due to bad baserunning, the easiest part of a player’s game, is inexcusable!
That ball Butler hit was a double off the top of the wall because a homerun ball doesn’t deflect off a wall back onto the field. That “ground rule” KC has is WACK. They should make a new wall with a yellow line at the top where if it hits or goes over the line it’s a homerun. I never heard of something so stupid like if it hits the back fence it’s gone. A homerun ball should bounce over or clear a fence. Girardi was an ass for not protesting it.
He was dumb to bring up Posada to pinch-hit. He should’ve brought up Chavez. Let Posada’s awful crybaby at-bat be his last one as a pinch-hitter and since when was he ever a good pinch-hitter? How much pinch-hitting has he done? It’s a stupid move to have him pinch-hit for the simple fact that he’s so damn slow a grounder is most likely an out. If Posada hits a ball to the shortstop with bases loaded, the shortstop throws to first for the sure out to be safe.
He cried about the bad strike two call so much his mind wasn’t 100% on the next at-bat. How many bad pitch calls has he received in his career? It happens, suck it up. Not this guy. He has to be the only Yankee hitter who bitches about a bad pitch call well after the pitch. I wholeheartedly agree strikes two and three were balls two and three, but when it comes to pitch calls, there’s no time to argue like there is on plays at bases and homeruns. You get a bad pitch call, you shrug it off and move on. Posada didn’t do that.
It is getting too late in the season for brain freezes and mental meltdowns. If the Yanks keep it up they will begin every postseason round on the road and name me a team who won the World Series since the wildcard was instituted by starting every postseason round on the road (I’m not saying no one has won one like that, I really want to know.)
You’re way off base with the Jeter thing. If Jeter doesn’t get picked off, Chen doesn’t throw Granderson the pitch he did, and Granderson doesn’t hit a home run. The entire at at changes because of the pick off. In fact, it’s entirely possible that the pick-off gave the Yankees a run. There’s a non zero chance that had Jeter not gotten picked off, Granderson could’ve hit into a double play or just made another out.
You’re way off base saying Jeter being picked off determines how Chen pitches to Granderson/the next guy. How do you know Chen doesn’t throw that homerun pitch to Granderson if Jeter isn’t picked off? ‘Fact is Jeter got picked off just before Granderson hit the homerun therefore he cost the Yankees a run and the Yanks one crack at scoring more runs since the inning ended with the bases loaded.
If this was Game 7 of the World Series and the Yanks lost the game by a run, you’d be singing a different tune.
Your defense of Jeter and speculating on what might’ve been based on a pickoff play is laughable or 100X more laughable than me saying it’s a two-run homerun if Jeter doesn’t get picked off.
Pitchers throw pitches based on the situation. You have no idea what might be different in that spot if Jeter isnt picked off. And the guy went 4-5. He did as lot more to help the team than he did to hurt them last night.
Pitchers throw pitches and those pitches land where they land.
You cannot say for certain Granderson would’ve been pitched differently or the ball would’ve landed how you envisioned it had Jeter not been picked off.
You will have to admit that it’s a two-run shot if Jeter isn’t picked off because I fail to see how it’s a certainty that Chen pitches differently to Granderson, Granderson’s chances of hitting a homerun are reduced with Jeter on first, or Granderson doesn’t hit a homerun at all. Granderson has 30+ HR through August and leads the team (league?) in HR. It is not unreasonable at all to think he’d have still hit the homerun with Jeter on base.
Again Game 7, you’re cursing out Jeter and lying if you say you wouldn’t be.
Maybe I’d be cursing him out. But if he went 4-5, I wouldnt be blaming him for the loss.
As for your other point, you can’t say for certain that he would have homered either.
I definitely would curse him out.
I bet you’d be cursing him out if he was picked off in the top of the ninth of Game 7, Yanks down a run or tied, after going 4 for 5. A boneheaded mistake is worse the later in the game, but it’s still bad even if it happened as early as the second at-bat of a Game 7.
One could argue a pickoff during the second at-bat of the game could set a tone. Roy Halladay picking off Jeter in Game 7 of the World Series could be disastrous to the Yankees as it’s Roy Halladay. This guy could kill you with his pitching, give him a free out and you only make his job easier. I forgot to mention that if the Yanks made it to this year’s World Series, they would in all likelihood draw Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum in Game 7 (less likely Juregens who’s first name escapes me or Ian Kennedy.)
“I blame Derek Jeter for this loss, could care less he went 4 for 5.”
You can never say that once the circumstances change (Jeter not of 1st base) that you will get the same result (Grandy’s homer). Just the fact the Chen would have pitched from the stretch completely changes what the results of that at bat could be.
Rarely if ever does a loss come from one single action. You don’t mind a loss from poor pitching, well Colon certainly did not pitch well. You don’t mind if a loss comes from poor hitting, well the Yanks were 1 for 10 with RISP, and that’s poor hitting.
During the course of the season it is normal that a team that losses the pennant will lose 60 or more games. It is not right to focus on just one or two of them and say that’s why a team lost the pennant.
I agree that being a wild card team makes the path to the World Series difficult, but focusing on one single game, or even a select few, is not really the reason for the team being a wild card. Plus, you should be concerned only about the difficultly of a wild card making the series not winning it. Home team advantage will be against the AL team no matter who it is.
Bottom line is the pitch was in Granderson’s zone and could’ve landed there Chen pitching from the stretch or not. Chen hasn’t given up homeruns pitching from the stretch and not?
If Jeter isn’t picked off, Granderson would’ve still hit the homerun or if not “would’ve”, could’ve still hit one. He did have 33 HR coming into that at bat where he hit his 34th HR.
Again, if this was Game 7 of the World Series and the Yanks lost by a run, you’d be singing a different tune.
No, if it was Game 7 I would still say the starting pitcher didn’t do his job and the team was 1 for 10 with RISP. And I would also be more upset at Posada going down looking than I would be at Jeter getting picked off in the 1st inning.
My point is that rarely if ever can you blame one person for a loss.
That’s what you’d say. I’d say the pickoff is the reason because it handed the other team an out which means they had to earn only 26 outs, not 27. A pickoff is a gift out.
You could argue Sabathia sucking for 3 1/3 innings is a gift but at least you could say he just didn’t have it, it’s more tolerable.
Who says “He just didn’t have it on the basepaths” when a baserunner is picked off?
Actually, I keep forgetting about the bad call by the ump because they misunderstood the KC ground rules. Now that would be huge in a Game 7.
The umps didn’t misunderstand the ground rules and would never admit it if they did. Even if they said they didn’t understand it, I doubt the Yanks are playing from that point in the game on 9/29 if they finish with as many wins as the Red Sox i.e. MLB would order the game be played from that point on to determine who wins the AL East.
The ground rule for a homerun in KC is if the ball hits the back of the fence, it’s a homerun. The umps say it hit the back fence. It’s a bad call but KC’s stupid ballpark architect/s made it that with the fence. I could see an ump screwing up.
My problem with the call is the ground rule itself. It should be a homerun if the ball hits a yellow line before it hits anywhere else or clears the fence hitting the yellow line or not. Or at least paint the damn fence and the padding over it yellow.
“If the Yanks keep it up they will begin every postseason round on the road and name me a team who won the World Series since the wildcard was instituted by starting every postseason round on the road.”
The following is a list of Wild Card teams to win a World Series. As a result of being a Wild Card team, each of these eventual champions opened at least two series (LDS/LCS) on the road.
1997 Marlins (A)
2002 Angels (A)
2003 Marlins (B)
2004 Red Sox (C)
Notes:
(A) 1997 Marlins and 2002 Angels had home field advantage in the World Series based on the old system which rotated home field between the leagues (odd years for NL, even years for AL).
(B) 2003 Marlins are the old World Series winner to open all of their postseason series on the road. The team with home field advantage (the Yankees) had home field in the World Series because the result of the All-Star game linked the winning league to home field for the World Series.
(C) 2004 Red Sox had home field in the World Series because the result of the All-Star game linked the winning league to home field for the World Series.
So the 2003 Marlins are the only team to have won the World Series starting every postseason round on the road. Thanks!
That doesn’t bode well for the Yanks if they win the wildcard considering there’s been three rounds of playoffs since 1995 (1994 had the season been played in its entirety/not been cut short by the strike) and only one wildcard team who’s won the World Series starting every postseason round on the road.
@Duh Innings,
I need to side with all the folks that have called you out on this…announcers *cough* Sterling *cough* and Coney I believe last night, are always guilty of saying things like “now that 1 run from the Butler missed call looms very large”…but guess what, it’s a game played in frames, and once 3 outs are made by the defensive side, the frames flip and they are in the books. So you can “what if?, what if?, what if?” to high hell and back…but it’s not going to do you any good.
If the Yankees EVER lose a game, you might as well blame it on the offense, who (in most cases) turned into a dead corpse during frames 3-7. It’s a 9 inning game, always has been and always will be. The team that puts up the most runs during those 9 innings, is crowned victor.
To that end, if you want to call out Jeter, go ahead and call out the whole team for not capitalizing on having the Bases Loaded for consecutive innings without plating a ton of runs.
Jeter getting picked off as the FIRST out of TWENTY SEVEN shouldn’t make the Yankees flinch one bit. These guys are professionals (supposedly some of the best players in the bigs) and they should be more than capable in scoring runs to make up for such things.
It seems your trying to out somebody (anybody!); and yes I agree that I was laughing when Posada came to the plate and they announced that is was his 40th birthday…and yes, swing the fuckin bat Posada because you looked like Beltran circa 2006 NLCS last night…so we agree there.
Putting the sidebar aside, I just can’t go finding scapegoats for losses when a team with this line up should have 5 runners cross the plate on every single night they take the field. Plain and simple…also, I have no sympathy if they “almost came back in the 9th”…they are assholes for putting themselves in that situation in the first place, and not taking advantage of run scoring opportunities throughout all 9 innings of play.
Jeter handed the Royals an out. You cannot do that on 8/17 leading the Red Sox by just a game especially after you know they lost that day and you have a chance to make it 1.5 games ahead of Boston.
My point was/is the Yanks lost two games on terrible baserunning alone and that is unacceptable when in all likelihood it will come down to the wire as to who wins the division, the Yanks or the Red Sox. If the Yanks lose the division by a game or two, yes, I will blame bad baserunning in last night’s game and the game ended by Granderson’s bad baserunning as the primary reasons because baserunning is the easiest part of baseball. If you lose games cuz you can’t do the easiest part of them, those losses are front and center reasons for losing the division before all other losses.
I see what you are saying, but it is one out. How is it substantially different than if he had struck out?
It’s substantially different because Jeter got on base and baserunning is the easiest part of the game. By effing up the easiest part of the game, you make it easier for the other team to get outs and win. You also hand the other team a rare kind of out, so rare you could say the other team needed to earn only 26 outs not 27. I don’t consider a pickoff an earned out, it’s a gift out, a rare gift like a grandslam, triple, no-hitter, or triple play (although more common/the least rare of the five.)
You strikeout/make an out hitting the ball wayyyy more than you make an out getting picked off.
A pickoff out hurts wayyyy more than a strikeout because a pickoff out is rare or wayyy less an occurance than a strikeout. At least with a strikeout, you go down swinging, it’s a bad call, you couldn’t catch up to a 98mph fastball, a mosquito might’ve flown past you after the pitch was thrown, there’s alot more going on that leads to a strikeout. You can by and large live with a strikeout cuz it required effort. A pickoff out is a brain freeze. You’re not batting, fielding, or pitching, and yet you make an out getting picked off – WTF?
One has to wonder if Colon is running out of gas. His last few outings have not been particularly good ones. May be Girardi has an easier decision then we all think should Hughes perform well in his next start. Just a thought.
colon has a .169 era when cervelli catches, did i hear that right….and martin caught ????? i know he has been throwing out runners, but with that combo era there won’t be to many runners to throw out..joe over managed himself, he is the stat guy..
Last night’s game sucked. As bad a job by the umpiring crew as I’ve seen in some time. One wonders why all sports — not just MLB — are so hesitant to admit that the quality of their refs/umps is suspect?
Agreed. That was as poorly called a game as you will see. Home plate ump killed them to end the 7th and 9th innings.
Jeter handing the Royals an out with his stupid baserunning was worse.
Posada pinch-hitting was a bad move. Chavez has a better BA and OBP and is faster than him. That means Chavez had a better chance of getting a hit/on base than Posada and had a better chance of beating out a groundball than Posada.
Posada has actually been really good against righties all year. I’m pretty sure his numbers against them are better than Chavez’.
Not by much:
Posada vs. RHP as a LHB:.272 BA, .345 OBP
Chavez vs. RHP: .257 BA, .345 OBP
Edge Chavez because while he’s not a fast guy, he’s faster thus more likely to beat out a grounder than Posada who has to be the slowest non-pitcher baserunner on the team.
I didn’t look into the strikeout stats but I believe Chavez makes more contact than Posada. I’ll check now.
Posada: 46 SO in 263 PA
Chavez: 11 SO in 84 PA, 4 PA shy of a SO every 8 PA.
Chavez should’ve been the pinch-hitter. Faster and makes more contact than Posada, gets on base almost as much as Posada, and hits about as much as Posada.
SSS….but Posada 1 for 4 vs Soria, Chavez 0 for 1.
…and Ozzie Smith hit a homerun in 169 postseason PA, 28 HR in 10778 regular-season PA.
If that can happen, anything can happen LOL.
Your stats could easily be spun to show Soria is less familiar with Chavez than Posada from facing him less. Chavez could’ve made a one or two pitch out vs. Soria who could’ve been a different pitcher when he faced Chavez. Maybe Soria made Posada look like an ass in the other three at-bats (or two as wasn’t Posada 1 for 3 vs. Soria coming into his AB vs. Soria last night?)
Chavez is faster, strikes out far less, and makes more contact than Posada. That means he has a better chance of beating out a grounder, putting the ball in play, and forcing an error than Posada.
Another reason why Chavez would’ve been a better choice is while a Posada walk or hit could’ve done wonders for Posada’s psyche, an out especially a strikeout, could damage it even more than it’s already been damaged. e made not only an out, but an out to end the game which cost his team a chance to continue the game for a chance to win it and go 1.5 games on the Red Sox.
I can only hope this at-bat doesn’t further compound his woes. I mean I want Posada to succeed but I’d rather he succeed the way he usually does: as a starting player. Hopefully he doesn’t look at this at-bat as more of the same.
[...] whatever reason he’s just not working as efficiently as he’d been — as I noted in last night’s game recap, he’s only gotten into the 7th inning three times in the 9 starts he’s made since he’s been [...]