Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Yanks Avoid Embarrasment With Another Late Inning Comeback Against The Nats

As is always the case when the game is on My9, I didn't get to see tonight's Yankee/Nationals game. Frequent readers of the blog have seen me write before about how the Buffalo market has no carrier for those games. The previous network that showed them went all religious and Yankee baseball doesn't quite fit their programming. I think the Time Warner subscribers might now get it, but if you've got Direct TV, Dish Network, or FIOS, you're out of luck. I did listen to the radio call on XM. I like listening to games on the radio but definitely prefer seeing it on TV. Since I didn't see the game, I'll keep this post brief as I find when I listen to I don't take it in the same as I do when I watch it on TV.

CC Sabathia had a pretty solid outing. The only mistake he made was giving up a HR to a guy with only 1 career HR (in 324 ABs). I'm not sure if it was a "Yankee Stadium" HR or not. Sterling's call made it sound like Damon just missed it but if you've ever listened to Sterling you know he's often off a little bit. When Teixeira drove in Damon to tie the game, Sterling's call started out sounding like it was gone. Then he thought it was caught. Then it was off the wall. 3rd time's a charm.

After going 4-for-4 Robbie Cano now leads the team in hitting @ .309. Cano has been doing well of late. He's 7 for his last 8, and 9 for his last 12. 3 of those hits were doubles and 2 were HRs. He's Robbie Cano, don't cha know?

I'm still waiting for A-Rod to get it going. After reading a comment that was left the other day, I'm starting to worry he won't. The comment mentioned that after Friday's "walkoff" he was seen clutching his hip. It sounds like it's not 100% and I remember reading, though I'm not sure where it was, that Alex is having trouble opening up his swing. The commenter said it's all upper body. I'm a little worried about that. I'll take a less than 100% A-Rod over a guy like Ramiro Pena, Cody Ransom, or Angel Berroa. I've seen a lot of people question why Berroa is still around. Perhaps it has to do with Alex's health. He's probably around as an insurance policy, albeit not a good one.

It sounded like the Yankee defense made a few nice plays. I saw the highlight of Melky's shoestring catch. That was pretty. I haven't seen any other highlights but I'd imagine that might be the play of the day. If Melky can continue to flash the leather, I'll overlook his declining offensive numbers. The average is down 20 points over the last 10 games.

Jeter got pulled from the game with some kind of foot/ankle injury. Hopefully it's not too serious.

I'm not surprised that the Yankees struggled against a pitcher they've never seen before. I've written about that several times. I was surprised to read today that the Yankees were 9-4 this year against guys they've never faced. I read that in the comments section on one of Pete Abraham's posts. I forget which one but hat tip to whoever posted that stat. I'm a little shocked that they've done that well. My perception is that struggle more often than not. Waldman and Sterling talked about that quite a bit on their broadcast tonight. Take that for what it's worth though as it is Waldman and Sterling. Waldman brought up the idea that teams should bring up AAA pitchers whenever they play the Yanks. Sterling agreed with her that it was a good idea. But they struggled tonight and only really got things going once the Nats lifted the starter and went with the very familiar Ron Villone. It didn't take him long to blow that lead. 2 hitters and the game was tied. 4 hitters and the lead was gone. Thanks Ronnie.

Welcome back Brian Bruney. The 8th inning missed you. Jose Veras was DFA'd. I can't say I'll miss him, but I wish him the best.

The new daddy Chien-Ming Wang makes a very important start tomorrow. It's do or die for the Wanger. If he tanks, it's probably his last start. I read on Pete Abraham's blog, that in Taiwan, a new baby is supposed to bring good luck to the parents. For Wang's sake I hope that's true. He's already got one thing going for him: he's pitching against the Nationals, owners of the worst record in all of baseball. Their 16 wins is 11 less than the next closest team. Take advantage Wang. Take advantage.

So much for keeping it brief.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

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