The Yanks trailed 3-2 when Joba left the game after a solid 4 2/3 of work. The kid really only made one mistake, a hanging 3-2 slider to Jose Guillen who now has 3 HR and 9 RBI in the past 2 games.
Abreu tied the game up on a ground out in the fifth, Giambi added a run on a long bomb in the sixth and A-Rod put it away with a double off the wall in 7th to score two more.
After showing no life in the first 40 or so games of the season, the Yanks have made a habit out of coming back and today was another
prime example of what this lineup is capable of, one through nine.
This was the first game where Joba really looked like a starter out there. He went through the lineup the first time using mostly his fastball and slider, then broke out his third and fourth pitches later on. Here's an inning-by-inning breakdown of his work:
1st Inning (13 total pitches)- 11 fastballs
- 1 curve
- 1 slider
2nd Inning (18 total pitches)- 10 fastballs
- 1 curve
- 5 sliders
3rd Inning (26 total pitches)- 13 fastballs
- 5 curves
- 7 sliders
- 1 change
4th Inning (9 total pitches)- 7 fastballs
- 1 curve
- 1 slider
5th Inning (12 total pitches)- 7 fastballs
- 2 curves
- 1 slider
- 2 change-ups
It was good to see Joba going to all four pitches, and the economical 4th inning was especially heartening. I think he's going to need to put some work in on his change, he seems to really slow down his arm speed and that's going to be a dead giveaway to opposing hitters. You need to take the speed off the ball with your grip on the ball and make your delivery look identical to your fastball. Otherwise, this was a very good outing and Joba appears to be well on his way to becoming a mainstay in the rotation, if not the Yankee ace.
Dan Geise picked up his first major league win with 2.2 innings of perfect relief. Veras and Mo combined to get the final 6 outs and seal the victory.
Another day game tomorrow with the Moose taking on Hochevar as the Yanks try to take the series.
Player of The Game: Bobby Abreu.
Team Record: 32-31
Damon: Nada.
Brian,
Liked your earlier post of "Who are you and what have you done with Mike Mussina?"
On that note, the Inquirer lists pitching/hitting stats on Sundays for MLB, and Moose actually leads Yankee pitchers in quality starts and ERA... no joke.
I would expect Joba to put up some good numbers by September and pass Moose by then but I still think he's something special to lose in the bullpen. Not everyone has the disposition of a closer, and this guy looked as though he did.
I agree. I think Joba could be a top five closer in the league right now, but as soon as Mo signed his contract the Yanks had the luxury, and maybe the obligation to see if Joba can be the ace of their staff. If it doesn't work out, and he becomes just a mediocre starter, then they can go back to using him in the pen. Now is the time to find out what they have in him, though.
Moose has been nothing short of amazing so far. Let's hope he keeps it up.
I went to the game yesterday. Giese looked good and Veras was a pleasant surprise.
KC's Joey Gathcart made 3 great catches in CF. I don't know if he can hit but this is someone they may want to look at acquiring.
Any live blogging for the game today?
I'm working from home, so I'll be watching and I'll have some form of a live blog up. Hopefully someone out there will be listening and can give us updates on Sterling and Waldman's shenanigans.
Oh, I'll be listening. I'll be sure to pass along any unbelieve comments from the dynamic duo.