Hughes’s command has been off at times because he is overthrowing, which is causing his shoulder to fly open. He mentioned it to Kepner after Game 2, and you could see Posada cautioning Hughes about it in last night’s game when he pointed to his shoulder after a ball thrown out of the zone.

[1] Which means Joba should pitch teh ate?

Lackey/Weaver 1/2.  Ick.

But then BattleCat, Mo and Pieman!  Yay.

Lackey scares me.  Weaver doesn’t.  Therefore, Lackey will get lit up and Weaver will throw a shutout.

[2] Not yet…

Relatedly, maybe Robertson should be used more as part of the 7th/8th inning bridge?

Hughes’ FIP: 1.70.  3ks, 1BB, and some singles.  He’s fine.

[5] I was thinking some command issues, leading to the singles but the stuff is still there as evidenced by the Ks.

Lackey/Weaver 1/2.  Ick.

For some reason, Boston’s offense has hit patches of WOE throughout the season.  I think it hit them in Games 1 and 2, big time.

“For some reason, Boston’s offense has hit patches of WOE throughout the season”

True.  They call those patches “road games.” 

[5] Yeah, Punto’s RBI single in game 2 was a ducksnort.  Span’s single that Punto turned into an out at third was a turf-ball.  It’s not as if he’s getting lit up like Papelbon.  IIRC, the overthrowing that Rich refers to directly contributed to the walk of Gomez, which is the only thing Hughes has done that really pissed me off.

Well yeah, walking Gomez should result in a fine.

Boston’s home/road splits this year were nuts.  They essentially hit like 2009 Johnny Damon at home (.284/.365/.498) and hit like 2009 Gregg Zaun on the road (.257/.340/.414)

WOE!

Hey, that’s not bad for a catcher…

The New Paradigm: Arod comes up giant, Ortiz and Papelbon choke.

<i>Hughes’ FIP: 1.70.  3ks, 1BB, and some singles.  He’s fine.<i>

Do you honestly believe that his FIP for such a SSS means anything?

I honestly believe the long lag till the next series suck.

[16]It will, but equally as seriously, my point is that if Girardi/Eiland think that Hughes is continuing to have a mechanical issue, it may cause them to alter their plans on whether to use Coke for a LH hitter, or to bring Mariano in for one batter sooner than would otherwise be the case.

At this point, it’s clear Girardi’s M.O. is to bring Mo in the eighth if Hughes is in any trouble/no matter what.

I wonder if Girardi would have gone to Mo in teh 8 if it had been a righty instead of a lefty (Mauer). Hughes has been just OK this year vs lefties (death to righties), while Mo pwns everyone.

Another blown call at first base in Colorado.  These umps really are just flipping coins on close plays. (and this wasn’t even that close)

[19]
Or, more bluntly, had it been ANYONE other than Mauer.  Let’s be honest, here - among Twins’ position players, Mauer’s distinguishing feature is his ability to hit, not his left-handness.

but the stuff is still there as evidenced by the Ks

Hughes is perfectly healthy, but he is not pitching well the last few days. His problem has been location—he is throwing too many fastballs up and in the middle of the plate. FIP is deceptive in regards to pitchers who have good stuff but are making too many mistakes with location. Over the course of a season, this evens out for most guys because guys stop making the same damn mistakes with location (or they get sent down or released). But if you keep throwing 95 MPH fastballs that get too much of the plate your luck will not change much. And as Rich mentioned, the thing that causes you to throw pitches that are supposed to be down and away but end up middle of the plate is allowing left side to fly open.

This is the thing that screws up everyone as they talk about Lidge. Sure he has been a little unlucky, but all those bombs and doubles that he is allowing aren’t the result of decreased velocity or injury—it’s the result of making bad pitches that get the middle of the plate. All the stat-heads said he would turn it around because his BABIP was super high. But he didn’t, because he kept making the same mistakes. Sometimes guys are unlucky, but sometimes they simply don’t fix their mechanical flaws and continue to locate poorly.

A thought I found interesting, from an internet source that I don’t want to admit I just read:

The Yankees would seem to lack a reliable lefty, but Phil Coke’s only real weakness is the home run. Bobby Abreu, the lone true left-handed bat in the Anaheim lineup, is still a good hitter, but he doesn’t have much power these days. And of the four regular Anaheim switch-hitters Coke might be summoned to turn around, only Erick Aybar shows more pop from the right side.

If the NLCS starts on Thursday and the ALCS on Friday, wouldn’t it make sense to switch them? since the ALCS is set and the NLCS is still up in the air.

Dayn Perry? Google knows, Pete. It knows. You skipped this part:

“This season, the Yanks have an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of .837 against right-handed pitching, and they have an OPS of .846 against lefties. Although that’s not much of a spread, does Scioscia opt to take on the Yankees’ strength and make Saunders the fifth man? Or does he seek out the slight advantage and start the right-hander Santana? “

Does he really think a manager would ever pick a starter based on 0.009 OPS points?

What’s that like 4 doubles and a handful of singles/walks over the entire season?

[25]
Thanks, yankz.  Just show me up like that at leave me hanging out to dry!

But… right, that’s why I didn’t quote that part.  Just bizarre reasoning.

[24]
Yes, so they won’t.

[24] Or they can just start the AL on Wednesday. And they still get the weekend series in Anaheim.

If they start on Wednesday it means Joe Buck will miss out on his true passion, watching Dancing with the Stars.

Hooray for Giambi!

The Giambino…

At least one series is going to 5 games.

At least one series is going to 5 games.

Not so fast.

Does Lidge get the save?

Miguel Cairo, pinch-hitter extraordinaire.

Huston Street should be much better, and (with that name) a Yankee.
But I suppose that, if he can’t be both, better he should be neither.

Mauer’s distinguishing feature is his ability to hit

He’s also really tall.

So I guess Cholly trusts Lidge again.  That’s bound to bite him in the ass soon.

So once again there’s only 1 win in the divisional series by the teams that end up eliminated.  That’s just sad.  I wanted more baseball.

Cholly- Nice Phillyspeak MC. See at the next Temple Alz gayme.

At this point, it’s clear Girardi’s M.O. is to bring Mo in the eighth if Hughes is in any trouble/no matter what.

Right, but maybe it wouldn’t be if Hughes was pitching (or started to pitch) lights out.

Times set for NY Yankees’ first two games in the ALCS

CC Sabathia’s first pitch in the American League Championship Series will be thrown a hair after 7:37 p.m. Friday when the New York Yankees open the best-of-seven series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees and Angels will also meet at 7:37 p.m. Saturday before heading west to Los Angeles for games 3-5. Those game times have not yet been announced.

Today is my two-year anniversary with DF 90-minute IPA.  Celebratin’

OT: I’m not a fan of either team, but the Jets v. Dolphins game has been really exciting, particularly in the 4th quarter.

is bruney going to replace marte on the alcs roster?

Farnsin’ Jets breaking our hearts again thurm.

I think it was Chuck Meriwether who threw that late pass interference flag on the Dolphins.

is bruney going to replace marte

Guzman is?

Today is my two-year anniversary with DF 90-minute IPA.  Celebratin’

I have the darndest time finding Dog Fish Head out here. There’s a place down the street that sells like 100s of different kinds of beer. But its kind of pricey and the hours are weird so I don’t make it there often. I’m going to try in the coming weeks.

Fun tidbit from the Times:

“But the Angels’ fly-ball rate of 40 percent was the sixth highest in the majors. Starter Jered Weaver, who allowed more than half of his batted balls in the air, could have a particularly rough time.”

So Jered Weaver’s batted balls end up in the air a lot.  Interesting.

Is anyone else a little confused since he cut his hair?  I always felt like his hair was kind of part of his pitching motion.  I’m surprised he functions without it.

Do you honestly believe that his FIP for such a SSS means anything?

I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned his FIP, because I’ve been watching and, to me, he’s given up a few dink hits.  I also agree his location could have been better (said dink hits were by dinky hitters.  Better hitters maybe hit the ball harder).  What I meant was I’m not overly worried about him.

I’ve been seeing a lot of smoke regarding a Worth-Papelbon trade this offseason.  That’s just crazy though, right?  Worth is way more valuable than Papelbon.  Is there something I’m missing besides giving up a very good prospect selection (which I don’t really see the BoSox doing) as well that would make this a better deal for Philadelphia?

[48] Clay- try Whole Foods.

Pedroia blamed the grounds crew? Really?

Classy.

Oh man, link us.

Pedroia troubled by infield following loss”

[56]  I saw that.  In fairness to him, Jeter for years has complained about the Fenway infield being among the worst in the game.  However at the same time as that, waiting until *after* the elimination game of the ALDS to complain about it is silly.  If he’s known it has been that bad all along, he should have been complaining to management.  If he’s kept silent this whole time he has to realize it is as much his fault as theirs.

If he’s known it has been that bad all along, he should have been complaining to management.

Never heard a Sox player say something like “well, it was close game, until that routine grounder bounced off Player X’s chest.  Our infield is awful, but it helped us there.”  You can’t buy class.