Wednesday, May 30, 2007
5/30/07: New York Yankees (21-29) at Toronto Blue Jays (24-27) - 7:07 PM ET **Liveblog**
NYY: Clip-on, Tie (1-1, 3.60) vs. TOR: Cy Young du Jour (1-1, 4.24)
Yankees
J Damon CF
D Jeter SS
H Matsui LF
A Rodriguez 3B
J Posada C
J Giambi DH
J Phelps 1B
R Cano 2B
M Cabrera RF
Blue Jays
A Rios RF
L Overbay 1B
V Wells CF
M Stairs LF
F Thomas DH
A Hill 2B
J Phillips C
H Clark 3B
J McDonald SS
Injuries, terrible bullpen, horrible slumps, and lackluster offense has lead to rock bottom. Rule #76: No excuses, play like a champion!
I won $130 at Foxwoods on Saturday night. I hit blackjack after blackjack. Perhaps my luck can start something here. Fabian or any of the other bloggers are welcome to take over from the get-go as I have to study for the bar in between cursing out Bobby Abreu.
*Fabian in*
Best of luck to Cutter on passing the bar, hopefully I’ll be at that point in 4 years. Moving on, this is exactly the lineup I would expect Clippard to have trouble against, so, things could get interesting.
Top of the 1st:
Jesse Litsch doesn’t seem to have great stuff, let’s see what the potent Yankee bats do. Today starts the Wild Card drive and a young pitcher will lead them. Damon with the homer!!! Let’s go!
Jeter takes a called strike three while doing his butt stick out thing.
Matsui takes ball 1 as my left breast continues to “tick” for the 4th straight day. If we have any doctors reading, I’d love some suggestions. The count is 2-1 to Matsui, who fouls off an 88 MPH fastball. 87 MPH fastbal is pulled foul down the 1B line. 77 MPH something is grounded up the middle and a runner on 1st for Strip Club-Rod.
A-Rod takes strike 1. After a torrid start, his numbers look a lot less amazing. Still very good, but not amazing. Two straight balls. 3 straight balls. Just don’t pull it to the 3B…Inside and a A-Rod goes to first.
Ball 1 in the dirt to Posada. Low and Ball 2 to Posada. Low and Ball 3 to Posada. Posada takes strike 1. Posada takes called strike 2. Inside and bases loaded for The Giambino!
Breaking ball outside, ball 1. Yay. Outside, Ball 2. If the Yankees don’t make something of this…Swing and a foul ball. Swing and a sac fly to right, A-Rod moves to third. 2-0 Yankees.
Posada steals 2nd as Phelps takes Ball 1. Josh then knocks 2 in with a single to center. Yay. 4-0 Yankees.
Outside and Ball 1 to Cano. I’m sensing a trend here. Called strike on the outside half of the plate. Cano lines a pitch out of the strike zone to the LF corner for an RBI double. Cano advances to 3rd on the throw home.
Jesse Litsch’s night is done and Brian Tallet is in. Since Tallet throws with his left hand, it is doubtful the Yankees will score any more runs.
Melky hits a groundball to 1st base and almost makes it, but he’s the final out.
Bottom of the 1st:
First pitch strike to Alex Rios. Second pitch fastball strike to the outside corner. Curveball outside for Ball 1. Curveball outside for Ball 2. Rios pulls a 78 MPH changeup to A-Rod for the first out.
88 MPH strike to the inside corner on Overbay. 78 MPH changeup strike to the outside corner. 79 MPH changeup low. 88 MPH fastball looped to Jeter for the second out.
88 MPH fastball is popped to Matsui in LF. Nice inning from Clippard. Something I’ve always liked about Clippard is that he gets a TON of pop ups.
Top of the 2nd:
Damon takes ball 1. Fouls the next pitch off. He ends up lining the 2-2 pitch to left field for his 2000th career hit. Yay for Johnny.
Jeter takes an 0-1 pitch for a ball. This was the pitch that was a strike on him in the first inning, and really, should always be a strike, methinks. Jeter fouls one off at the plate, 1-2. Jeter strikes out on a slider.
Matsui takes called strike 1 to the outside corner. Matsui swings and misses on another outside pitch. These guys look terrible against lefties. Matsui then reaches and pokes an outside pitch just past 3B for a single. Runners on 1st and 2nd.
A-Rod takes ball 1 at his feet. Second pitch is outside, ball 2. A-Rod pulls it to 3rd and the Jays get the force out at 2nd. Runners at the corners with 2 out.
The count is 1-1 to Posada. Fastball down the middle, 1-2. Ball 2 as A-Rod steals 2nd. Posada then strikes out.
Bottom of the 2nd:
Stairs takes a high change for strike 1. 87 MPH fastball inside for ball 1. Ball 2 up high, 84 MPH. 75 MPH change for strike 2. Fastball down the middle for strike 3.
88 MPH fastball outside is popped up and Posada makes the catch.
85 MPH fastball is outside for ball 1. Clip isn’t throwing with his normal velocity in the early going. 75 MPH change for ball 2. 86 MPH fastball for strike 1. 87 MPH fastball is popped foul. 89 MPH fastball sails high, full-count. 86 MPH fastball high and away for ball 4.
81 MPH change outside for Ball 1. 86 MPH fastball outside for ball 2. 84 MPH fastball for strike 1. Clip’s velocity concerns me. He’s going to have to be creative today. 78 MPH curveball for strike 2. 2-2. 77 MPH change is outside for ball 3. Full count. 87 MPH fastball fouled away. 88 MPH fastball down for the walk.
84 MPH fastball down low for ball 1…Sal Fasano then pops an 87 MPH fastball to Jeter for the final out.
Top of the 3rd:
Giambi out, Phelps out, Cano has the count 2-2. Fouls the pitch off. Cano then rips his second double of the game into the RF corner.
Melky reaches to the outside part of the plate and hits a high bouncer back to the pitcher for the final out. Melky seems to be pressing.
Bottom of the 3rd:
I see Rocket Night is coming up on YES…again.
Clip starts John McDonald off with Ball 1, 86 MPH. Ball 2, 86 MPH. Ball 3, 86 MPH. I’m not saying Clippard is going to get killed, but, he can’t pitch like this and be effective. 87 MPH fastball high. Flaherty makes the observation Clip’s struggles are with the fastball, hopefully Posada recognizes the same.
88 MPH fastball strike to the outside corner. 74 MPH curve deposited to the LF seats. Predictable.
A 50 foot pitch for ball 1 to Overbay. 89 MPH fastball fouled off. 88 MPH fastball just inside for ball 2. 79 MPH change fouled at the plate. 79 MPH change for swinging strike three.
55 foot pitch for ball to Wells, another hitter I’m scared of with Clippard. 86 MPH fastball high for ball 2. 87 MPH fastball popped behind home to Posada for out 2.
78 MPH change for strike 1 to Matt Stairs, swinging. 79 MPH change low, ball 1. 88 MPH fastball low a bit. 88 MPH fastball strike to the outside half of the plate. 89 MPH fastball in on the hands is looped into CF for a single. Frank Thomas up, uh oh.
First pitch strike to Thomas on the outside. 75 MPH curve in the middle of the plate, looked like a strike, but called a ball and lucky it wasn’t crushed. 74 MPH curve low, 2-1. 78 MPH change almost hits Frank, it was supposed to be down and away. 89 MPH fastball on the outside corner, full count. 87 MPH fastball low and away for a walk, Guidry back to talk to Clippard. He’s got nothing tonight.
86 MPH fastball to Aaron Hill for strike 1. 88 MPH fastball inside corner, strike 2. Hill fouls the change off. 89 MPH fastball high. Couple more pitches and Clippard runs the count full again. The Run Fairy, Part Deux™ is warming in the pen as Hill gets an infield single to A-Rod. Spectacular.
Howie Clark has the count 2-0. This is awful. 85 MPH fastball fouled back, 2-1. Clark rips the 2-1 for a foul ball home run to the RF corner. Clark flys out to Damon in center. Clippard has pitched awful tonight and he has nothing, I’d still go with him to start the next inning and go hitter by hitter.
Top of the 4th:
Josh Towers in for the Jays. With a righty in, I expect the Yankees offense to get going again. Damon strikes out looking though.
Ball 1 to Jeter. Foul at the plate. Jeter foul tips the next pitch. He’s looked not good as of late. Ball in the dirt. Jeter fouls one down the RF line. Jeter strikes out looking. 3rd K of the game for Derek and it’s on that down and in pitch he hates.
Matsui takes a ball and then a strike, 1-1. Ball 2 inside and low. Matsui then Groundzillas the next pitch.
Bottom of the 4th:
Clippard, lock the state.
Strike 1 to Fasano. Ball 1 outside. 77 MPH change strike two. Fastball strike three down the middle.
55 foot pitch for ball 1. Strike 1 on a fastball up and away with Rios coming up next. High fastball, 88 MPH, 2-1. 86 MPH fastball inside, 3-1. 87 MPH fastball strike, full count. Big pitch coming up to McDonald. 87 MPH fastball fouled back. John McDonald homers right after John Flaherty says worst case scenario he will hit a double. Matsui didn’t have a good read on the ball, but he couldn’t have made the play and he never has a good read anyway.
Alex Rios pops up on the first pitch. I agree with what Torre is doing in handling Clippard today. He’s giving him more rope than he did last time and Clippard is WAY worse than he was against the Angels.
Curveball swing and miss strike 1 to Overbay. Curveball low, ball 1. Curveball fly out to CF for the final out. The offense needs to start up again though.
Top of the 5th:
A-Rod getting dominated by Towers and is down in the count 1-2. Outside, ball 2. Fouled off. Pulled to the 3B for the out, looked like A-Rod was safe to me.
Posada takes Ball 1. Foul. Ball 2. Bounce out to 2nd.
Giambi takes strike 1. Swing and a miss, strike 2. Looped to 2nd for the out. Clippard, lock the state.
Bottom of the 5th:
First 2 pitches to Wells are balls. No good. Wells is on my fantasy team, I feel conflicted. Wells just misses it and Matsui makes the catch on the warning track.
First pitch curve to Stairs popped to Jeter, 2 out. Hughes has a Grade 3 ankle sprain, out even longer. Looks like August at the earliest before we see him. Lost year for Hughes. This pretty much means he will be headed to the AFL if the Yankees don’t make the playoffs, methinks.
1-1 to Frank Thomas. 85 MPH fastball in the dirt for ball 2. 86 MPH fastball low for ball 3. 87 MPH fastball low for ball 4.
Hill fouls the first pitch off, strike 1. Ball 1 on the change inside. Fastball high for ball 2. Fastball for strike 2 but Posada can’t hold on to it and Frank Thomas moves to 2nd. Inside on a curve, ball 3. This is the make or break pitch for Clippard. Grounded to A-Rod for the final out. Clippard’s night is done. The Blue Jays are a team built on right handed power bats, which happens to be Clippard’s weakness and he had nothing tonight. It’s a miracle that he went 5 and only gave up 3. The bullpen needs to hold the Jays off and the bats need to wake up again. I’m done liveblogging, Cutter or someone else can jump in if they’re around.
**Cutter in**
The bar can wait.
Bottom of the 7th:
Lots of stuff happened and now its a 6-5 ballgame. Proctor just struck out the Big Hurt for the second out. If Torre uses Proctor again on Friday, we may need to nickname him the Big Hurt. Actually, Pavano should get that title.
Hill hits it hard to left but Matsui runs it down. Inning over.
Top of the eighth:
Giambi strikes out on a pitch in the dirt. He swung like my sister, too.
Doug Woemack in to hit for Phelps. Actually he’s in for defense. He’s batting simply because the rules require it. And he bounces one over the mound and McDonald makes a nice play to get the out at first.
Cano steps in and he’s had a nice night at the plate. A homer here would be cool. Cano goes 4-4 as he lines a ball that was literally in his eyes to left field. He’s taking “if its high, let it fly” too literally.
Cano dancing off first as Melky works a 2-2 count after being 0-2. But it matters little as Cano is thrown out by Fasano in his attempt for stolen base #2 of the year. Inning over. Hold your breath because Kyle is coming in to “pitch.”
Bottom of the eighth:
Farnsworth in. Some dude named Clark hits a single in the gap to further show why Kyle is the worst 8th inning reliever known to man.
Lind pops up to center for the first out. (of 3 straight pretty please????)
McDonald pops up to down the 3rd base line and Cano makes the catch. (will my wish come true?)
I do NOT like this matchup right here….Rios could basically ensure the Yankees lose 6 straight. Rios moves Clark to second by singling to right. My wish did not come true. But Mo is coming in. I hate when he comes in with men on base. You can just feel a broken bat duck fart forthcoming.
Overbay vs. Mo. First pitch fouled down the right side. Second pitch strike swinging. Third pitch BROKEN BAT bouncer to Doug M. and he takes it himself. I love you Mo.
Top of the ninth: With the Red Sox getting smacked around, the Yankees could actually pick up ground in the east. I know, I know, its too big of a mountain to climb, you say. But one inch at a time and you never know. At least its still May (for 25 hours and 45 minutes).
Melky singles to center. More runs would be nice.
Damon taps a bouncer to the right of the mound and Downs takes it himself as Melky moves to second.
Jeter intentionally walked even though he’s 0-4.
Matsui bounces one to second but the Jays can only get one at second as Jeter breaks up the DP with a hard slide.
And A-Rod gets the job done by singling up the middle for another Yankee run. Be-A-utiful. And Gibbons takes out Downs.
YES is showing some hot Yankee babe in a luxury box waving a Yankee flag. She may be a butterface cause they panned out before I could get a good look. Posada pops up to the left side but the ball falls in!!! Another run scores. Wanna know why??? A-Rod yelled “I got it” as he ran behind Clark who let the ball fall thinking McDonald was yelling it. And now McDonald and A-Rod are yelling at each other.
And now Phillips, the Jays catcher, is mouthing off to Giambi for some reason….this has gotten weird. Play continues. Posada takes second for his 2nd SB of the game with no throw this time. Giambi singles up the middle and two runs score to make it 10-5 Yankees. They are calling Posada’s SB defensive indifference. Oh well.
Doug M pops up to McDonald. Can the losing streak finally come to an end? Stay tuned as Torre will likely bring in L-Viz to finish it up.
Bottom of the ninth: Just kidding. Mo is still in. Wells grounds out to Jeter who throws a bouncer to Doug who makes a nice scoop. First out.
Stairs grounds to Cano who makes the play and there are two gone.
Thomas is up. And he hits it deep to right and Abreu fights off his wall-phobia to make the catch. YANKEES WIN!
I have no idea what the above picture is all about but it captures my feelings right now. The Yankees next face the Sox in Fenway. If they really had any shot, even a small one, at the division they would likely have to sweep.
And I think my lucky blog posting will continue if the higher-ups allow.
Comments
Poor Bobby gets cursed out even when he’s not in the lineup?
I think I just saw Damon hit a HR….
If we get even marginally decent pitching, I believe we shall win this game.
Poor Bobby gets cursed out even when he’s not in the lineup?
I posted the lineup after writing that. Interestingly I may still curse him out.
My MLB.tv is busted again. It says the Yankees are playing but instead I’m watching this weird team that’s getting on base and scoring runs. Time for a refund.
That 2-0 foul was the first swing by the Yanks in 13 pitches.
Giambi should have crushed that pitch.
Where do I file a bug with MLB, because gameday just told me Jorge Posada stole second.
Posada steals and sets up second run. Nice.
I hope that doesn’t give Torre the idea that he should keep sending people like Giambi and Posada though.
Someone replaced the 2007 Yankees with the 2006 version apparently.
That does it; I’m posting the liveblog thread every night.
Damn straight Cutter. Damn straight.
Cutter for MVP.
Damon should have stolen home.
Cutter - you need to live blog every game from now on. Can we get you for the Giants season too?
Seriously, you knew this offense had to wake up at some point. Hopefully they can springboard off this and just roll.
This guy Litsch had a couple of solid starts but it looks like he was a one hit wonder.
It’s good to see Fasano in the Jays lineup. I miss the stache.
Was Nieves supposed to be an upgrade over Sal? He seems like the same player without the stache which means he’s nowhere near the all-round player Sal is. By the way, Thomas should have put that over the fence.
j, remember, I just posted the liveblog. Fabian is doing the work tonight. Mighty fine work.
I really like this Cano.
Rios is a pretty good at hitting tremendously hanging changes.
Did anyone catch the epithet uttered by Clippard after Rios’ HR?
My girlfriend just asked me if it was Clay Aiken pitching tonight for the Yankees.
Looks like we might need a long man tonight.
Anyone want to speculate on who Torre should use in that role before he starts the bullpen parade.
I can tell you I wouldn’t use Vizciano…..
Tyler has to get out of this so Joe can’t use the VIZ.
My girlfriend just asked me if it was Clay Aiken pitching tonight for the Yankees
I hope you told her that the Yankees do (did?) have a pitcher nicknamed “American Idle”.
Does Joe let Tyler go back in now or does he go with Felix Herdia…...ooops
I would be very surprised if the Yankees didn’t lose 6-5.
Cutter - Oops, I missed that. If they win, you should keep doing it tho. Sort of like the thread we kept for the 5 game set in Boston last year.
I’d like to see Joe not shy away from using Mo for 4 or more outs if we need to shut it down by the 8th.
I’d like to see Clippard keep the ball down.
And stop walking people.
Still pitching well enough to keep Torre in the dugout and VIZ in the bullpen.
This Cano kid is pretty good.
Still pitching well enough to keep Torre in the dugout and VIZ in the bullpen.
I think Clippard has reached the point in the game where Joe isn’t going to allow him to be the losing pitcher. So if the tying run is on, he’s out.
This is a prediction, not a recommendation.
A Bruney sighting!!
dice k getting ripped again
A clutch hit…..
The Bronx bandits!
They actually used that nickname in the early 70s when they had teams that didn’t hit for power and stole bases. Those teams weren’t very good.
Cano’s going to make a great .280/.330/.400 1B one day.
Cano’s going to make a great .280/.330/.400 1B one day.
Could they convert him to catcher? Those numbers would be pretty good there.
Actually they were improving by 72 & 73…72 they hung with Detroit until Labor Day…in 73, they were in first until Late July when Baltimore just ran away with it ....74 once again they hung with Baltimore until Elloit Maddox ( cf ) tore up his knee at Shea…..Then came the Catfish and they started to win…..But that was then, although it was exciting as Stienbrenner was commited to winning end CBS’s reign of terro was over…..
Bruney getting stretched out - I like it. I’m on Gameday - can anyone help me out with who is warming in the pen? I’m guessing Torre is going to try to go Farns to Mo.
j. He’s got Proctor up..
Actually they were improving by 72 & 73…72 they hung with Detroit until Labor Day…in 73, they were in first until Late July when Baltimore just ran away with it ....74 once again they hung with Baltimore until Elloit Maddox ( cf ) tore up his knee at Shea…..Then came the Catfish and they started to win…..But that was then, although it was exciting as Stienbrenner was commited to winning end CBS’s reign of terro was over…..
I forgot that those Shea teams were pretty good. They started getting better, when they finally dumped the Major, their last link to the previous dynasty.
Bruney has nothing on the ball tonight
That ball was out in a hurry.
Looks like I spoke too soon. Damn you Bruney.
and there goes Bruney’s scoreless inning streak.
It couldn’t be easy, could it?
This bullpen never sees a lead it doesn’t want to blow.
I’d kill for .280/.330/.400 from Cano right now.
Seeing eye single, and then a low ( out of the strike zone ) fast ball gets drilled….I hope we see him more often though…..
Talk about aggravating - even when Torre does the RIGHT thing, it doesn’t work!
Also, what’s up with the relievers performing well when they’re not needed, and like crap when they ARE needed?
Cano has been quietly coming out of his funk, hasn’t he? Wasn’t he on like a 10 or 11 game hitting streak with an XBH streak mixed in there?
Crap, Farnsworth is going to pitch the 8th, isn’t he? RUNS.
Does anyone think Bruney has the potential to be the Yankees closer of the future? He’s got work to do, specifically getting his walks down, but he seems to do well in the pressure situations (although tonight is probably not the best time to be asking this question.)
Bunted foul? Was he trying to beat the shift?
The middle of the order has been pretty weak tonight…..again.
Cano has been quietly coming out of his funk, hasn’t he?
He’s up to .260/.294/.391. .295/.311/.500 over the 11 games before tonight. He’s getting better.
His defense has been rock-solid since the game at Shea where he made the errors BTW. He’s on pace to be a +12 over a full season at his current rate.
Does anyone think Bruney has the potential to be the Yankees closer of the future?
I think so. His control has always been iffy but he’s got the stuff and his command has been better this year. He’ll never be as good as peak Mo, but there’s no reason he can’t be a solid middle-of-the-pack closer.
Phelps needs to be in this line up every night.
Cano singles on ball 4.
See where Boston had the bases juiced, and came away empty…..By the way, do I still root vs. Boston or root vs. Cleveland…..Just wondering…..Wild Card and all…..
Both Pat. Always root against boston.
He’s up to .260/.294/.391. .295/.311/.500 over the 11 games before tonight.
I’m not sure what’s better for this team with regards to the line up - riding the hot bats and putting them in key spots or just leaving guys where they normally hit and hoping it works itself out. I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing Cano higher in the line up so that he doesn’t have to rely on Melky to drive him in.
Cano’s not fast. That was less than smart.
We should root against Boston. I don’t want them sniffing the ‘98 Yankees’ record.
That was a really good throw.
Aw crap Farnsy is in.. cross your fingers.
Cano’s not fast. That was less than smart.
Torre’s going to get run-happy after Giambi stole yesterday and Posada stole today. It’s going to hurt them more than it’s going to help them.
Jeter, Damon, Rodriguez, Abreu (if he would ever get on base) should all have the green light. Everyone else should be planted on first.
That was less than smart.
I’m Gameday-ing it, but it doesn’t seem like all that bad of a play. You have to figure the chance of Melky getting an XBH is slim (as the chance of him getting a hit is only .218). So if Cano’s safe, he scores on a single. On the flip side, if Cano gets caught, at least you get something back with the new count on Melky in the 9th. Better than just trying to sit back and wait for an offensive explosion when you know it’s not going to happen.
Cut the shit, Kyle.
Ugh, the Kyle Farnsworth experience…
...must pitch farnsworth in 8th inning…
Of course Farnsworth virtually ensures that he has to face Rios by giving up a hit.
Does Farnsworth think Mientkiewicz didn’t get enough warm ups?
Time for Mo?
OK, bring in Mo.
Dear Joe Torre,
If you don’t trust your “8th inning guy” to pitch out of a two-on, two-out situation, maybe he should not be your “8th inning guy”.
Love,
SG
That’s the Mo we’ve gotten used to watching.
Thanks a million SG for the help.
One quick question though. Can you give the website of the WHIPs of all the starting pitchers in baseball or something along those lines?
OK, Abreu sits until Melky cools off.
But could we put Damon in RF and Melky in CF?
An insurance run here sure would be nice.
But could we put Damon in RF and Melky in CF?
Reason #29831 why Joe must go.
Wow, 3 K’s and 2 LOB and they still give Jetes the IBB. And with Matsui coming up who is already 2 for 4?
Can you give the website of the WHIPs of all the starting pitchers in baseball or something along those lines?
Hmm, how about all pitchers(starters & relievers) instead?
All MLB pitchers sorted by WHIP. Might take a minute to load.
We’re going to miss A-Rod next year.
That run is huge. They should pile it on now and get Mo a cheap save.
ARod.. what a stat padder. He obviously knows that Toronto wasn’t going to score in the bottom of the 9th.
Seriously, tho.. nice.
That run is huge. They should pile it on now and get Mo a cheap save.
He already faced Lyle Overbay with the go ahead run on base. It won’t be a cheap save.
Wow, we literally ate up Toronto’s bullpen tonight. 6 pitchers. Too bad we couldn’t have done that in the first game.
An omen that things are about to change?
Fight him, McDonald.
I LOVE A-ROD!!!! (If Kenny is right)
Did ARod really say “I got it”?
I love it when you see Little League stuff work in the bigs.
That was pretty funny.
Cashman move Farnsworth now…...Finally getting some breaks…A-Rod pulls the old L.L.TRICK…..You can bet A-Rod gets one in the ribs next series…..
That’s hilarious… the Toronto broadcasters are livid… which makes it funnier.
Angry Canadians, with their flapping heads and beady eyes.
Did you guys pick that up? What did A-ROD just do?
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