Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Hard Part
Friday, despite an outstanding performance by Roger Clemens, and ample opportunities to put together some kind of offense, the Yankees lost 2-0 to the Mets to end their 9-game winning streak. While that was obviously a letdown, those 9 games would have only brought the Yankees to within 9 1/2 games of Boston had the Yankees not gone 3-2 in the five games before it. The Yankees don’t have to win every game to catch Boston—and they don’t need to catch them anytime soon. What the 9-game winning streak did was eliminate the sense of doom, it eliminated the need to gain a game every day, to win not only every time Boston won, but to win every time they lost, too. They’ve made up a lot of ground quickly… now they can afford to take some time making up the rest. So long as they still make it up.
What the winning streak also did was put the Yankees firmly in the race for the playoffs, whether they can catch Boston or not. With yesterday’s win and Detroit’s loss, the Yanks are just 3 1/2 out of the Wild Card, with only three teams ahead of them. They can make that up without having to play ridiculously well or hoping that the teams in front of them slide badly. If they just play a bit better than all three teams the rest of the way (and at least as good as the teams behind them), they’re in the playoffs—no matter what happens with Boston.
When the streak was alive, anything seemed possible. It seemed like they’d never lose—hell, they might even catch Boston next week! Of course they weren’t going to, but winning is a great drug. With the streak ending, there was a danger that a slump could ensue. Not a big one, with the Yankees playing three generally weak teams on the next road trip, but at the very least there was the risk of getting swept by the Mets, the first really dangerous team they’ve played since the streak began. Early on, it seemed like they might lose the series, falling behind 2-0, then 3-2 after they tied it, then 5-4 after they took the lead. But they kept scoring, building an 11-6 lead into the ninth (one the Mets ended up being a double away from eliminating before Carlos Beltran popped up to end the game), and now Friday’s loss doesn’t linger much.
Really, Friday’s loss wouldn’t have stung much at all had the Giants put up any kind of fight at all this weekend. After getting a 2-0 lead right away on Friday, they gave it back before getting a Red Sock out in the first, and went on to lose badly. Yesterday they were given ample opportunities to tie the game or take the lead, but ended up getting shut out, 1-0. So the BoSox have an 8 1/2 game lead, which just makes things a little tougher for the Yanks.
Still, the Giants have one last shot to help the Yanks out tomorrow. If they can beat Tim Wakefield and the Yankees beat Orlando Hernandez, the lead is back down to 7 in the loss column, and no harm done despite the Yankees having the tougher weekend schedule.
(Winning streak gone or not, this tradition started before the streak, would have continued without it, and will continue with every win for the foreseeable future…)
All the Yanks need is to take care of business tonight and they come out of the weekend in decent shape. And, it goes without saying, this:
Comments
Okay, .500 is a start, now let’s win some more series. Winning now is all that matters.
Kicking Mets asp Sunday night is all I want.
Damon’s increased susceptibility to nagging injuries has become extremely frustrating. I think it would make more sense to put him on the DL until he is healed, otherwise these issues could linger or get worse, as they have since April, with only short respites.
On a positive note, I am encouraged, although not yet convinced, by Vizcaino’s recent string of success. It appears that Mariano, arguably the Yankees’ most effective pitching coach over the last five or so, has been mentoring him:
[Mariano]has helped him keep his fingers on top of his slider, instead of wrapping them around it, which flattens the spin. The adjustments have led to five scoreless outings in a row…
I hope that a lot of innings from Wang and Monday’s off day forgive Torre’s decision to stick with the ligh leverage relief crew even after going ahead by 5 runs. Both Proctor and Mo threw over 30 pitches and might not be available today.
Also, if Villone and Henn aren’t trusted with a 5 run lead, isn’t that a sign that it might be better to use one of their spots to make room for Briton?
Mo will be available—they’re off Monday.
Have you noticed we see a lot less of Kevin lately?
Have you noticed we see a lot less of Kevin lately?
Well, I banned him from visiting and posting on the site a month ago, so that’s not really surprising.
i wonder if el duque’s going to try the eephus pitch against a-rod again.
that didn’t work out too well for el duque the last time…
On a positive note, I am encouraged, although not yet convinced, by Vizcaino’s recent string of success.
It certainly has been encouraging. Vizcaino was actually one of the MVP’s of yesterday’s game, as he was able to stop the back-and-forth scoring, and essentially “hold serve” for an inning, giving the Yankees offense a chance to break the game open.
It also seems to me that an excellent performance by Roger Clemens was somewhat lost in the shuffle of Friday’s loss. Granted it’s been against two NL teams, but Clemens has so far looked very good. I find it amusing that people have expressed concern about his fastball, which to my observation has been consistently in the 90-91 range. In other words, Clemens is throwing harder than any Yankee starter except for Wang, and only a few ticks below the future version of himself, Phil Hughes. And his splitter has looked VERY sharp. He’s got a 15-to-3 K-to-BB ratio in 12 and a third innings. In a strange way, he and Pettitte have returned from Houston looking as good or better than when they left.
Of course, none of this is any reason to get too excited. The Yankees just need to take it one day at a time and keep grinding.
Joba: 6ip 3h 1r 1bb 8k he seems to be making a more seamless transition to AA then even Hughes. According to BP one scout lists him among the top 5 prospects.
What I have noticed about Clemens is that his current approach embodies pitchability. His stuff is still good, but he has been able to compensate for any loss in velocity by having an increased ability to throw the right pitch in the right location to most batters in critical situations. He is now the ultimate thinking man’s pitcher. In particular, his tactical use of his splitter has been awesome. The only questionable decision he made was to throw his first curve of the night to Reyes, which he hit out.
btw, Reyes has really improved his approach at the plate. Robinson Cano should watch tapes of his ABs.
Cano is too busy looking at himself in the mirror. How many times can a guy swing at ball four? Cano going for the record at that?
Clemens’ fastball was often around 91 last year. He’s been losing about 1mph per year since he went to the Astros.
but, but…TEH STEROIDS!11!!!!1!!
that’s what the Sports Guy’s buddy Hench told me.
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