Wednesday, April 9, 2008
What Remains of the New York Yankees (4-4) at Kansas City Royals (5-2), 8:10pm **LiveBlog/Chatter**
NYY: Ian Kennedy(0-1,23.14) vs. KC: Zack Greinke(1-0, 1.29)
According to George King, the Yankees called up Alberto Gonzalez to play short with Derek Jeter out. Apparently he’s not going to strike out as much as Betemit or something. He’s penciled in tonight’s lineup.
Lineups
NY Yankees
Damon DH
Cano 2B
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Giambi 1B
Molina C
Cabrera CF
Gonzalez SS
Kansas City
Gathright, CF
Grudzielanek, 2B
Teahen, LF
Guillen, RF
Butler, DH
Gordon, 3B
Gload, 1B
Buck, C
Pena Jr., SS
Ian Kennedy could use a good start today. Remember when the Yankee offense didn’t suck? Those were the days…
*** Keith in ***
Girardi started Brian Bruney on the don’t-let-the-rain-fuck-with-my-kid theory. Considering the famous incident where Girardi left a young Marlins pitcher in after a rain delay, this is encouraging. It’s good to see a manager learn from his mistake. And why not have the relievers pitch the first few innings and let the starter finish it?
The first three innings
Bruney pitched what may be the best two innings of his Yankee career—one walk, four strikeouts, one hit, no runs. Billy Traber then pitched a scoreless third.
Meanwhile, Zack Greinke has had no trouble with the 1990 Yankees, who have two hits, two walks, and no runs.
Top of the 4th
Cano swings at the first pitch (boo!) and grounds out to Penacito. Abreu flies out to Teahen.
MVP-Rod and Gojira create the illusion of Yankees Offensive Competence by doubling and walking, but then Giambi restores order by striking out to end it.
Bottom of the 4th
Traber out, Farnsworthicide in.
Butler rolls it on the wet grass, and A-Rod grabs it and just gets him for a fine play. Waldman then says that Farnsworthless hasn’t walked anybody all year. This is something of a shock.
Farnswoth goes to 3-0 on Gordon, who then drips a liner to right for a hit. However, Gordon then tests the mighty arm of Jose Molina and loses, getting nailed at second on a tag by the Attorney General. They can’t hit, but they can play defense. Maybe it’s not so much the 1990 Yankees as the 2007 Colorado Rockies. I’ll take that….
Gload then strikes out swinging to end it.
Top of the 5th
Waldman and Sterling are going on and on and on and on about the rain, which is apparently pretty bad. But the Yankees aren’t coming back to KC. Thank you interleague play.
Seriously, they need to dump IL play. The novelty value ended about five years ago, if not more, and now all it’s doing is fucking up pennant races and keeping teams from playing all the teams in their own league with any regularity.
Molina flies out to Teahan.
Melky pops out to Grudzelanek.
The Attorney General clubs a double to the left field wall. Buh?
This is a fucked-up game, man….
Sexy Calves strikes out swinging. For cryin’ out loud.
Bottom of the 5th
The 2008 version of GameDay on MLB.com is way behind real-time this year. I hope that’s a temporary glitch.
Buck homers to left-center on the first pitch, to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Now that’s the Kyle Farnsworth we all know and hate! Welcome back, Kyle, we missed ya, ya big lug….
Penacito tries to bunt his way on, but MVP-Rod throws him out.
Gathright succeeds where Pena Jr. failed, dragging a bunt down the first-base line for a single.
After a pitchout and four thousand throws to first, Gathright steals second anyhow. That was eminently predictable, despite a perfect throw from Molina. Oh, and Farnsworthicide has gone 3-0 to The Grudz.
While the Grudz walks, Gathright tried to take a mile after being given an inch, and is nailed by Molina trying to steal third. So The Grudz on first, two outs.
I wish Waldman had shut her yap about Kyle not walking anybody, he says with a sigh. Teahan walks, sending Grudzelanek to second.
Guillen singles to score The Grudz easily from second, Teahan to third, 2-0 Royals. I think we need to get some medication for Cashman to get him over his Farnsworth obsession because, seriously, he’s proven time and time again that he’s of no use to this team.
Butler grounds to Cano, who tosses it to the AG to force Guillen to finally end it.
Well.
That sucked.
Top of the 6th (unless they call the game)
Well, they’re still playing. Cano leads off with a leadoff single to left-center. A good start.
So, naturally, this being the 2008 Yankees, Abreu grounds into a DP. Fuck me sideways.
And A-Rod grounds out to Gordon to end it. Bah. And fooey besides.
Bottom of the 6th (unless they call the game)
Farnsworth out (only an inning too late), Ian Kennedy in.
IPK starts poorly by walking Gordon. Gload then hits what should be a flyout to left field, but Gojira loses it in the rain (at least according to Sterling, the world’s least reliable narrator) making it a double that drives in Gordon to make it 3-0, despite a fine relay throw home by the AG.
Buck then singles to right, Gload to third. This is agony. Penacito then hits a tapper to short that scores Gload to make it 4-0. Buck is forced out, Pena Jr. safe at first.
Melky makes a fine catch on a sinking liner by Gathright, and comes close to nailing Little Tony at first. Grudzamania then grounds out to A-Rod to finally end it.
Top of the 7th (unless they—oh, the hell with it….........)
Gojira flies out to right. Sterling tried to make it sound like it might be a hit. I hate Sterling.
Giambi flies out to Gathright. Molina grounds out to The Mighty Grudz. Bleah.
Bottom of the 7th
IPK strikes out Teahan swinging on a 3-2 pitch. Then he goes to 3-2 on Guillen, who flies out to Matsui. He goes to 3-1 on Butler and then walks him. Grump.
Then he goes to 3-2 on Gordon and strikes him out, too. Obviously he needs the full count to get the out…....
Top of the 8th
You know what would be good? Lotsa runs…..............
My boy, Melky! He hits a leadoff single to center. And then the AG grounds into a DP. Why the fuck is he batting for himself when Wilson Betemit and Jorge Posada are on the bench????
Girardi’s managerial acumen just took a big hit to me.
Sexy Calves hits a double to make the DP even more agonizing, and then Cano swings at the first pitch (NNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!) and grounds out to The Mighty Grudz to end it.
PPPPHHHHPPPPLLLLLBBBBBBBBBBPPPPPTTTTTT!!!!!!
Bottom of the 8th
Gload swings at the second pitch and grounds out to Cano. Buck swings at the first pitch and grounds out to AG. Penacito takes four pitches and strikes out.
That was better, for all the good it does…
Top of the 9th
Greinke (finally!) out, Yasuhiko Yabuta in. I hear that last name, and I immediately start thinking of John Bigboote in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in the 8th Dimension. (“Big-boo-TAY! Big-boo-TAY!”)
Abreu works the count to 3-2 (good) but then grounds out to Grudzelanek (bad). MVP-Rod smashes a line drive that bounces off Penacito’s glove for a single. Gojira then works back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk, sending A-Rod to second.
Yabuta (ya-boo-TAY! ya-boo-TAY!) out, Jimmy Gobble in.
Gobble, Gobble, Toil and Trobble pitches to Giambi, who pops out to the infield. Sigh.
Molina bats for himself, which means, obviously, that Joe Girardi doesn’t give a flying fuck about winning baseball games. Predictably, he strikes out to end the game.
That was truly pathetic. One brilliant move—holding off the starter in case of a rain delay—but several moves, from having Matsui play left and Damon DH when there’s absolutely no reason beyond stroking Matsui’s ego to do so, and not pinch hitting in situations that desperately called for it, ruined that.
Ah, well. Being above .500 is overrated anyhow….
Goodnight, everybody!
*** Keith out ***
Comments
something positive outta giambino would be nice. something positive outta anybody besides abreu would be nice.
Bold, no, idiotic, prediction #420: The Alberto Gonzalez era starts tonight, with Jeter playing Wally Pipp.
Dude, where’s my offense?!
What I don’t get is who gets sent down for the AG?
Oh, and if all four of Matsui/Damon/Cabrera/Giambi are going to be in the game, why would Matsui ever play left?
ensberg went on the 15 day dl with an injury he was told he suffered on monday
Apparently Ensberg has an “ankle injury” and is going to the DL.
shelley got optioned to AAA. Lets score some runs tonight…melky should be batting in the top three. Too many lefties up top.
i dont understand why6 royals stadium doesnt have seats in the outfield? is that so theyre not embarrassed when they average 10,000 a game??
ok, waldman has already made my head hurt and the game hasn’t started yet. She’s saying Shelley got optioned b/c he can be back in 15 days, but if Jeter were to go on the DL, he wouldn’t be back for 10 days, and he’ll be back before that, so it doesn’t make sense to put him on the DL.
she also said ensberg isn’t on the DL. I’m confused.
OK, so Bruney is starting in place of Kennedy but don’t fret. I suspect Girardi is aware of the ginormous storm heading for Kansas City right now and realizes the game will either be suspended or postponed.
The choice of the night is: porn or an outing by Kennedy?
For now, I choose Kennedy. Any misplaced notions about my sexual orientation is completely unwarranted.
Not that there is anything wrong about it!
Hopefully Kennedy pitches a good game.
holy @#!$. Waldman AGAIN said “duncan getting optioned was a bit of a surprise, but after we explain some things, you’ll see it makes sense.”
this is her explanation:
1) ensberg has a tweaked ankle
2) if jeter’s not back for boston, he’ll be back for tampa bay
3) posada saw a doctor and is happy b/c he knows what his injury is. he’ll be back in four days.
WHERE IS THE EXPLANATION????
God, hope so….Otherwise, they’re royally fucked. No pun intended.
that second pitch was a strike yesterday
OK, so Bruney is starting in place of Kennedy but don’t fret.
That changes the whole choice set. Unfair.
sam, the top half of the first will take at least 9 minutes, so if you bring your a game, you can get everything done and still have 4 minutes to spare.
Cano doing his best Jeter impersonation with that GIDP.
17 - 
i think brunedoggie will be up to the task of stifling these pesky royals
sterling just learned that bruney is starting…....b/c he saw bruney on the mound. jonathan really scooped him!
Oh sweet jebus, that’s not Ian Kennedy on my screen…
“nobody in the press box has any idea what is going on!”
god, the msm is so outdated.
Is this really a rainout plan? If so, either it’s brilliant or crazy, or in the “just so crazy it might work department”. Meaning, if it backfires, it’ll be egg-on-face time.
On the radio they’re saying that if the weather blows over Kennedy is available to come in as a reliever after the rainout.
Wow.
I think I love Girardi, just for going against convention.
hahah singleton is so out of it
rainout=rain delay
BRILLIANT! It was the rain.
*deep breaths*
i’m sorry what the hell is going on
oh. that’s awesome
I approve of Jonathan’s use of the g-word.
I also did a “wait, that’s- huh?!” when I first looked at the mound.
the thing is, it can’t really “backfire” unless you buy into the idea that it’s going to completely mess with Ian’s mind. he’s not going to go 9, so you need a couple of innings of relief. By starting Bruney, you get the chance to pitch him 2 innings if he keeps his pitch count low. You don’t get that kind of flexibility if you start kennedy and put bruney in after him (assuming Joba/Mo is a foregone conclusion).
Even ignoring the rain issue, this isn’t a bad idea. When you factor in the weather, it’s very proactive and smart. In other words, anti-torre.
Definitely the rain. And umbrellas are up in the bottom of the first.
Given that you know it’s going to rain, I love it. Crazy-like-a-fox.
I think it’s great, especially the weather seems to be bearing him out right now. Girardi is a genius. Also, should there be a long rain delay, Royals lose Greinke.
FUCK! my #12 jersey has gone from clemens to soriano to lofton to womack to andy phillips to alberto gonzalez
Bruney should start more often.
Is Bruney getting the start because it’s raining, these guys on FSN are clueless.
hahahah cristal
With today and tomorrow both off from work I thought about making the 4 hour drive to KC for this game, but the rain is making really glad I decided against that.
In other words, anti-torre.
To be fair, I think Torre did the exact same thing last week, holding back Chad Billingsley from a start due to pending rain.
wow that’s somewhat rainy
So, this is kind of reminiscent of when Scott Proctor started and went 5 innings. Proctologist served (and continues to serve) Torre well. The results were not always pretty, but Everyday Scottie was always there.
Tonight’s the night that this officially becomes Girardi’s Yankees
SAS has it.
April 3, 2008:
With a forecast for stormy weather, Dodgers manager Joe Torre scratched scheduled starter Chad Billingsley 17 minutes before the first pitch. What followed were 4 1/2 hours of frustration for Torre, his already overused pitching staff wasted along with numerous scoring opportunities and, ultimately, a chance for a season-opening series sweep.
“Torre, his already overused pitching staff”
‘nuff said.
When I heard about the Bruney move for weather related reasons, a warm feeling settled over me as the thought ran through my head, everything is going to be alright.
I think I like that Joe Girardi.
i hate how people say cash is a bad gm, to think bruney was DFA’d by the dbacks and basically left for dead and cash saw something and gave him a chance now hes one of our better relievers
Man, when Bruney wants to bring it, he can bring it.
Wow, that is smart.
What are they waiting for? Someone to break a leg in the outfield?
I guess that is why Matsui is in the outfield, he has more experience with tsunamis.
The Royals appear to be swinging at what looks like junk.
I find it interesting that Bruney’s hair is pretty wet, but his cap isn’t. Molina must be blessing his gear right now.
sweet as
It’s not raining too bad on channel 53. On channel 753, it’s coming down. Love that HD.
And wow, Bruney was awesome. Going into spring, I didn’t think he’d make the team.
3 ks in the second. awesome.
Re: 52
*shrieks with laughter like a schoolgirl*
DOn’t forget the typhoons! (That should be a minor league team somewhere.)
Nice.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Bruney magically developed into the set up man that allows everyone to relax about moving Joba into the rotation? I know it’s early and that he’d never be Joba-good in that role, but he just pnwed the Royals bad. I suppose I can dream a bit.
I am not surprised they struck out, each rain drop looks like a freaking baseball to me, I can only imagine what it looks like to them.
you can see how starved yankee fans have been for Ks
Andy looks so pensive. Cheer up! Water is good for grass, even if bad for runners.
Bruney has the confidence of Girardi (as does Farnsworth). It would be interesting to see if that results in their performance being better. The ability is clearly there.
What would have to happen for Molina to get a triple?
is it weird that i feel most confident about Molina at the plate? dude’s awesome.
added bonus of starting bruney: now you have the loogy coming in to handle all the lefties in the third.
Jose Molina is an awesome, awesome backup catcher. Great pickup.
All hail Jose Molina. He owns this Universe.
Yup, Jose Molina is the guy you want to bunt over. That speedster. He’d score on anything in play if he was on third.
What would have to happen for Molina to get a triple?
Snipers taking out the outfielders.
Definitely don’t get the runner over, Melkey. Molina can score on a single. Grrr.
The Buck O’Neill Seat is a pretty neat idea.
that was an emphatic second strike call
Yankee offense is so bad it’s now striking out on 2 strikes.
The Yankees really seem to hate runners in scoring position.
Isn’t it great when your pitcher can pitch around a lead-off double, and isn’t it infuriating when your offense can’t get a lead-off double to score.
—The Yankees really seem to hate runners in scoring position.—-
Really? I disagree….they seem to keep them there as long as humanly possible before the inning ends.
damn, bruney was having a bishop pickering-esque type of outing
Just got home. I have not read the chatter yet and I was listening to Quadrophenia in the car so can someone explain why Traber is pitching,Bruney’s all sweaty and wee Cennedi is a smiling?
Frog: nice Mr Whipple reference last night.
Lots of punchouts tonight!
I admit I’m more of a groundball fan- wonder what that says about me.
I like Billy Traber. For now.
Traber was a sweet reclamation project.
journalist- credit our boy cashman
I admit I’m more of a groundball fan- wonder what that says about me.
That you like Wang?
That you like Wang?
I love me some Wang. 
It’s part the groundball-ness, part the Taiwanese pride thing.
Yeah, Frog, the Charmin line was classic.
And thurm, Girardi is starting relievers in case there is a rain delay (or a rainout).
That was annoying. Throw the same pitch in the dirt three times after going ahead 1-2?
I admit I’m more of a groundball fan- wonder what that says about me.
That you’re a socialist. Crash Davis says ground balls are more democratic.
God dammit Traber
I thought that was a homer.
Also, although Wang has a fantastic name, my favorite pitcher-name is Grant Balfour.
Er, George, oddly enough, I am a socialist.
Who should I be rooting for in the Detroit/Boston game?
Is it always “root against Boston”?
I guess so…
Cano infuriates me!
Randy Bush. Best baseball name ever. Or porn name.
uh ohh the grounds crew has been put on high alert by the tarps
The Yanks really seem to want to get this game done quickly.
gathwright- fleet of foot but not strong of arm
OTF, I’m not sure whether I prefer Randy Bush or Johnson. Although Randy Wolf also has a nice porn ring to it.
Nice hustle from A-Rod.
When Wang was a rookie, I tried to nickname him “Chairman Wang”.
Nobody liked it. Is it bad?
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