All of the Yankee excitement came in the form of one Hideki Matsui at bat in the top of the ninth. Matsui took a Troy Percival fastball into the seats right down the line and the second or two it took for that ball to leave the park and tie the game up was the only time I sat up and took notice during the game.
The Yanks had two opportunities to score a run without a hit, both times they had a man on third with one out, both times they failed to drive him in. Wang was excellent, 7 innings, 1 run. You can't ask for much more. The bullpen was outstanding as well, until the 11th. All told, it was a long night for a painful result.
How does Edwin Jackson absolutely dominate this lineup twice in the same season? Explain that and you win a prize.
The Wanger went back to relying on his sinker tonight, and it was right there for him. Here's the breakdown of action pitches throughout the game:
Ground Balls: 16
Fly Balls: 3
Line Drives: 5
K's: 2
Walks: 3
The Rays jumped over the Sox and took over first place in the East. The Yanks have now scored 2 runs in 20 innings so far this series.
One point about roster management, the Yanks are carrying three bench players, tonight they were Moeller, Duncan and Ensberg. The Yankees have two guys in their starting lineup who absolutely need to be pinch-run for late in the game when they represent the tying or go-ahead run, Giambi and Molina. There is no one to pinch run for either of them. It's time to bring Brett Gardner up and find some at bats for him. The Rays, on the other hand, used Gomes to pinch run and his stolen base won the game for the Rays.
Player of The Game: Wang. He deserved better. Team Record: 19-21 Damon's Broken Bats: None, but Cano had a couple.
Also, did anyone else notice that Melky was wearing Jorge's helmet?
He did, however make the second team. The story here isn't so much that Thad got snubbed, he did, but you can make a case that every single member of the second team was more deserving of a spot on the first team than Jeff Green.
Green's inclusion on the first team is a joke. The only statistical advantage he has over any of the second-teamers is minutes/game. Apparently, playing on a crappy team is enough to get you the needed votes. Four of the players on the second team also played their minutes for playoff teams, which should mean something to the voters. Click on the names above to compare each second-teamer's numbers per 40 minutes to Jeff Green's.
Following up on their front page story about A-Rod passing out during the delivery of his first daughter, ESPN has another piece of ground-breaking journalism today. Apparently, back when Goose Gossage was pitching, you know back when he had to walk 10 miles through the snow in both directions with nothing but old newspaper tied to his feet just to get to the stadium, the veterans on the team would've never allowed a rookie to behave like Joba has on the mound.
The incident which brought on the comments was Joba's demonstrative fist pump into a pirouette when he struck out David Dellucci last week. The Goose said the veterans on the team would've sat him down, and went on to say that there's no place for it in the game and it's just not the Yankee way.
Fine, he's from a different era. Personally, I'm not crazy about celebrations of any kind, but if I were the Goose maybe I would've said something directly to Joba, you know rather than going to the press with it. At least that's how they would've handled it back in the day, you know, keep things internal. I mean, isn't that supposed to be the Yankee way? I guess the Hall of Fame goes to some guys' heads.
As you could probably tell from last night's post, I'm feeling a little down about the Yankees on-the-field performance so far this season. I realize it's early. I know they won't play this poorly the entire season. I'm sure they'll be in the thick of things come July or August, but still, I need some relief.
What better way to get your mind off the the on-the-field problems than to have an old-fashioned steel cage match pitting the two biggest pinstripe disappointments of the past decade against each other.
After the jump we'll break down the Yankee careers of Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano, click through, check it out and vote in the poll. Maybe we'll send the results to Brian Cashman and the Yankees scouting directors as well.
J.R. Smith is suspended 10 games for his part in a brawl with the Knicks. Smith was intentionally fouled by Mardy Collins late in the game, his suspension stemmed from sparring with Nate Robinson later during the fracas. (December 2006)
Smith passes a car waiting at a stop sign, collides with another car in an intersection. His friend is thrown from the car and later dies of his injuries. He is charged with two moving violations. It is later learned that Smith had 27 points on his license, but somehow his license was not suspended. Smith was apparently not under the influence, but obviously he was driving recklessly. (June 2007)
Smith says the death of his friend has fundamentally changed him. He comes into the '07-'08 NBA season with a renewed dedication to his game. (Oct. 2, 2007)
Smith is charged with assault for reportedly spitting at a woman twice and grabbing her (ripping her dress) at a Denver club. The team suspends Smith. (Oct. 13, 2007)
Thoughts On The Man
The first question we have to ask and answer is whether Smith would be a cancer for this team. Is he a bad apple who would ruin the cohesion in the Sixers locker room? I don't know. The car crash was stupid, but I know a lot of people who made stupid decisions behind the wheel when they were that age, myself included. Honestly, with a little bad luck the same thing could've happened to me or any number of teenage kids. The fact that alcohol and drugs weren't involved makes it somehow less troubling, though I'm not sure that it should. The assault charge, however, is extremely troubling. When a guy has something like that happen to him, you'd think it would necessitate a change. You'd think you'd do anything you could to avoid trouble. Common sense should tell you that you need to avoid situations where things could get out of hand. It's hard to find particulars about the night club incident, but just that fact that he put himself in harm's way again that soon after the car crash raises a huge red flag for me.
The fight with the Knicks was silly, but it's hard to hold that against him. He nearly got his head ripped off on the play and there was a full-scale brawl going on all around him. Each of these things taken on their own could be dismissed as nothing more than a kid growing up way too fast. Any one of them alone you could write off. All three taken at once, however, and you may just have a pattern. I'd like to see him keep his nose clean for a full year before I sunk a big chunk of change into him.
Thoughts On The Player
Now that we have the off-court stuff out of the way, let's talk about what he would bring to the team, should the Sixers decide they want him and they win a bidding war. First of all, this kid has unlimited range. He can hit the jumper from 6 feet beyond the three-point line with ease. He's a slasher, he can run, he's athletic and his shooting numbers were outstanding last year, 46% from the floor, 40% from three. He would absolutely be a huge upgrade to this team offensively.
On defense, well, he's a sieve. I'm not sure you could get away with starting him. He'd probably be a 15-20 minutes/game guy to come off the bench. Now, if my choice was either Smith or Willie Green, I'd take Smith in a heartbeat, but I don't think that's the choice the Sixers are going to face. Smith is going to probably get a contract worth north of $5M per year, too much to pay for a shooter who can't move right into the starting lineup, as far as I'm concerned.
Thoughts on Likelihood
The Nuggets can match any offer for Smith, but I have a feeling if his doors aren't blown off with an offer he'll sign his qualifying offer, play out his contract in Denver and become an unrestricted free agent after the season. If the Sixers really wanted him, they have the money, they could get him or at least make Denver over pay to keep him. I just don't see Ed Stefanski going that far out on a limb for a guy with a checkered past, especially when he's probably best used off the bench.
What do you guys think, is he enough of an improvement to forget about his legal problems? Has he already outgrown them? Would you want him on our team?
This Yankee season has been marred by injuries, inconsistent play, questionable managerial decisions, horrendous starting pitching and honestly, it hasn't exactly been a pleasure to watch.
Every time you start to feel good about the Yanks, and where they are, they lay an egg. Like tonight's 7-1 loss to the Rays. Tampa made the Yanks look old and slow, and you know what, that's exactly what they are. Matt Garza made the batters look weak, of course when you trot Giambi, Molina and Alberto Gonzalez out there, you are pretty weak (Although Gonzalez is far and away their best option at third right now, Joe finally got that right). They ran at will, they put the pressure on the Yanks from the first inning to the ninth, and they generally played like a second-place team, while the Yanks played like a middling, aged club. Which they just may be.
Every other game I come away with this feeling of angst. Then the Yanks show up and pull themselves back to .500. Every other day I tell myself they're treading water, waiting for A-Rod to get back. Then I see a team bunt a one-hopper to Giambi at first and I see him not even look at second base because he's afraid to make the throw. Every other day I see Robinson Cano hit absolute bullets right at people. Of course, I also see Andy Pettitte throwing 85 MPH fastballs and I wonder how many big wins we can count on him for.
Today was a down day, actually, a bad day. Tomorrow, it'll be the Wanger looking to knock off the first-place Tampa Bay Rays and pull the Yanks back to .500. Would I bet on it? Nope.
Off the field, there's good news (Ian Kennedy will start on Thursday, meaning Kei Igawa's days in the Bronx should be over for the time being) and obviously bad news as well (A-Rod's MRI was bad, meaning he will not be back this week.)
Player of The Game: Johnny Damon, purely because his buzzsaw batting style is the only thing that kept me watching the game after the 4th inning. Team Record: 19-20 Damon's Broken Bats: 1 confirmed, but I could've sworn he broke another.
Jamison, while technically a power forward, doesn't play the back-to-the-basket style traditionally found at the position. He's a volume shooter, who does not shoot for a high enough percentage at the position (43% from the floor in '07-'08) and he takes way too many threes (4.5/game) and shoots them at a below-average 34%. That being said, he is a bona fide scorer, he can shoot from the outside, spread the floor a little bit, his rebounding numbers were impressive this year, and he would fit into the Sixers up-tempo offensive style.
Jamison will be 32 next month, and you have to believe he's looking for his final pay day. I think it's just going to take too much money to bring him in and while he'd help make them a better offensive team, I don't think he's the answer. He'd give you 17-22 points per night, eat up more than 15 shots per game doing it, and he isn't going to draw double teams or really make life much easier for the rest of the offense.
Thoughts On Likelihood
Jamison is at the head of the unrestricted free agent class right now.
There are better players out there, arguably, but they all have some
kind of string attached (restricted free agency, player options, team
options, etc). The only thing it would take to land Jamison is money
and a willingness on his part to play in Philly. The probability is pretty hard to peg right now, because not a lot of teams have the cap space to give him the type of deal he's looking for. Philly may honestly be his best option, if the Sixers want him. My gut says he goes back to Washington, though.
Hopefully, today's rainout in Detroit will mean we won't be subjected to another Kei Igawa start, but you never know.
One troubling thing from Joe Girardi today, even though no game was played. The lineup pasted below is what Girardi was going to trot out there to face Nate Robertson and Tigers:
Damon
Melky
Abreu
Jeter
Giambi
Duncan
Cano
Molina
Alberto Gonzalez
I swear, Girardi must wake up every morning and try figure out a way to assemble a different lineup. Is it indecision on his part? Does he like asking different things of every guy every day? Does he just have no clue? Does he think he's still managing the Marlins? Your guess is as good as mine, but I will say this, when A-Rod and Posada get back, we better see a stable lineup day in and day out. This is getting ridiculous.
The Yanks are resting well in Tampa right now, they have seven games in the next seven days, four in Tampa and 3 at home against the Mets. Is 4-3 too much to ask? Still no word on A-Rod's return, he's eligible to come off the D.L. on Wednesday.
Six plus innings, two earned, zero walks. That's the type of outing we were expecting from Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes this year, instead, it's Darrell Rasner who's been picking up the Yankee rotation. Yet again, the Yanks made a solid effort from their starting pitcher stand up for a 5-2 win.
Jeter hit his first bomb of the year, Giambi and Cano both continued to look good at the plate, but the offense was not the story of this game. Even with Rasner's impressive outing, the thing we need to spend some time talking about is the back end of the Yankee bullpen. Farnsworth, Joba and Mo have effectively shortened the game to 6 innings at this point.
Today, Farnsworth struggled a little bit, but he still got the job done. In the past, you'd find yourself saying Farnsworth had dominant stuff, but still found a way to blow it. No more. Joba had his one hiccup earlier in the week, but he's back to blowing away hitters and making it look easy. Mo has been the best closer in the game through his first 14 appearances, he's yet to allow a run or a walk, and he's only allowed 6 hits. If Farnsworth continues like this, moving Joba to the rotation isn't going to be an issue. They'll have Farnsworth for the 8th, Ohlendorf or Edwar for the 7th and of course Mo at the end.
The Yanks will look to take this series from the Tigers tomorrow with Andy Pettitte facing Nate Robertson.
Part five of the series features Toronto PG, Jose Calderon. (Archives after the jump)
Status
Restricted free agent
2007 salary: $2,471,604
News
Calderon has said he does not want to return to Toronto unless he is guaranteed a starting spot over T.J. Ford. Good news and bad, it increases the chances that he's available, but the Sixers have a point guard. Landing Calderon would mean moving Andre Miller in a trade.
A point guard who shot 52% from the floor, 43% from three and had an assist/turnover ratio of 5.38? Uh, yes he'd fit here. He'd fit just about anywhere, but particularly in Philly, particularly if the plan is to move Iguodala to the two. The only problem is that he won't sign with Philly to be a backup, even for 1 season. Something else would have to happen.
Thoughts on Likelihood
Pretty close to zero. It would require trading Andre Miller, which is possible, but what kind of package could you really put together for Miller that wouldn't weaken the team and/or eat up all of the cap space? One thing that came to mind was a sign and trade with Miami, this is convoluted, so hear me out.
Miami holds the #1 pick in the draft, and they covet Elton Brand, reportedly, but I don't think they have the cap space to get him. Here's the question: Would they rather have Derrick Rose and Shawn Marion or Andre Miller and Elton Brand? The Sixers could send Andre Miller and two or even three #1 picks (their pick this year, their pick and Utah's pick next year) to Miami for Shawn Marion and the #1 pick in the draft. Essentially, this trade would give Miami the cap room to sign Brand and a back court of Wade and Miller. That's good enough to get you into the playoffs next year. The Sixers could then use the rest of their cap space to land Calderon and use the #1 pick on Beasley or Rose, whoever they value more.
It's far-fetched, and it would probably require a new contract for Marion and a sense of urgency in Miami that I'm not entirely sure exists. Just thought I'd throw that out there. For argument's sake, would you guys like the following starting lineup next year?
I know, I know, it's heresy to classify a loss as good, but some good can come out of dropping a close game. Tonight, the positive to take away was the comeback. Kei Igawa's pitching was nearly as bad as Wilson Betemit's defense at third, and both combined to put the Yankees in a 6-1 hole in the bottom of the fourth. We've all become accustomed to the Yanks falling behind and then playing dead, tonight was a different story.
Jonathan Albaladejo, LaTroy Hawkins and Edwar Ramires (0.00 ERA so far) combined to throw 5 scoreless innings of relief and the Yanks very nearly clawed all the way back. In the 8th and 9th they actually looked alive, like they hadn't accepted the loss as unavoidable. Again, this is something we haven't seen from this team, this year. This is how the Yanks we've come to know and love over the past 12 years conducted business, and I was glad to see it.
The 9th inning was so close to being a thing of beauty. It had all the elements, let's take a look.
Betemit leads off with a double, moves to third on a wild pitch
Cano drives Betemit in with a grounder to short (6-3, Detroit)
Damon pinch hits for Moeller, breaks his bat on the first pitch, but legs out an infield single. Damon moves to second on another wild pitch.
Cabrera grounds out to the pitcher, Damon moves to third
Jeter singles to left, scoring Damon (6-4, Detroit). Jeter moves to second on defensive indifference.
Abreu works the count deep then lines a double down the left field line to score Jeter. (6-5, Detroit)
The Tigers intentionally walk Matsui, putting the go-ahead run on base in favor of a righty-righty matchup.
Shelley Duncan puts a nice swing on a Todd Jones fastball, lines it to the gap in left-center, but Granderson chases it down relatively easily. Game over.
First of all, one at bat for Damon, one pitch, one swing, one broken bat, one hit. Just awesome production off the bench. Second, I thought Shelley's ball was in the gap, I can only imagine the damage Shelley did to the clubhouse after the game. And finally, this was the first time in a long time that I've had hope late in the game with the Yanks trailing.
Another bright spot. The Yanks lost this game because Wilson Betemit was playing third base (he only had 1 error, but by my count he did not make 6 plays that he should have. Six!!!), and Kei Igawa was the starting pitcher. That's it. Those two things shouldn't happen again in a Yankee game this season.
Following up on their front page story about A-Rod 
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