The Daily Dozen - July 8, 2014

THE DAILY DOZEN
(Twelve Takeaways from Tonight's Game - July 8th, 2014 Edition)

1. The young Indians...excuse me Native American hitters just didn't realize how good Tanaka is tonight.  Kipnis, Brantley, and Santana were constantly laying off the splitter and waiting for pitches up in the zone or for a flat slider.  One advantage of being young is you just don't know any better.

2. #TanakaTime is real but Masahiro Tanaka has proven to be human.  After a blistering start in his Major League career, Tanaka has come back to earth in the last couple of starts, which was bound to happen.  The only thing I am really worried about is the cultural clash between the styles in Japan and here in the States.  When is he going to learn to trust McCann's call and stay away from the dead-red fastball on an 0-2 count.  Swisher ate him up tonight as did Brantley.  The Indians hitters amassed 10 hits and 5 runs all in 6-2/3 innings, which was the best offensive performance to date against Tanaka.

#TanakaTime This!

3. Jacoby Ellsbury was 4 for 23 coming into this game tonight but has been absolutely drilling the ball..unfortunately he has been absolutely drilling the ball to players that keep stealing hits (i.e. Santana twice last night).  He finally got a hit in his first at-bat and later scored.  The strange thing is that the Indians had 3 errors tonight and each one involved Ellsbury.  Is it the threat of his speed?  However, all for naught as the turning point in this game was when Jacoby decided to steal 3rd base with the hot bat of McCann at the plate...didn't make any sense...and the rest is history.

"Yeah, sorry about blowing that one guys..."

4. Michael Brantley took all of 1 inning to prove why he's an All-Star.  He will be an All-Star for years to come and should be the player the Indians build around.  In the 1st inning alone he drilled a double off of Tanaka and stole a double away from El Capitan.  He would later add another double and a security home run late in the game to chase Tanaka.  This guy is for real people.  Get Greedy...Get Brantley...we could only wish!

"Here's a Gift Basket for ya Jete!"

5. Dickerson and Swisher came up big last night to get the first 2 hits off of Greene, but tonight they contributed to the Yankees scoring early with two vital mistakes that should have sealed the game for Tanaka.  Swisher would later have his #BucknerMoment, but that wouldn't matter as he made up for it with a 2-run blast to put the Indians ahead.  There will be an attempt to persuade Cashman to bring Swish back to the Bronx here on TGP, so keep your eyes and ears open...

Who wouldn't want this guy in the clubhouse? Wait...is Damon still available?

6. Where would the Yankees be without Japanese players?  While Tanaka showed cracks tonight, the mainstays keeping the Yanks afloat in the past month or so have been Tanaka, Kuroda, and Suzuki.  The last 2 are aged veterans on their last legs, the former is hopefully the ace for years to come.

7. The hit-and-run is a lost art.  What with the shift being employed on 75% of the hitters in the league, the hit-and-run seemingly is no longer a viable option.  I really don't get it.  Stay out of double plays, become better situational hitters and for Christ's Sake--bunt every once in awhile Teixeira!  I'm guessing Girardi doesn't have any stats available about the H-A-R since the Yankees have been the "BronxBombers" for so long now.

8. The commercials during the Indians' broadcasts are freaking boring.  I'm probably DVR'ing tomorrow night's game.  Just Saying.

9. Baseball announcers know how to beat a dead horse.  How many innings do you need to talk about the fact that Masahiro Tanaka is from Japan and went 24-0 and he needs to adjust to major league hitting and he's used to 6 days rest instead of 5 and that Masaniro Murakami was the first Japanese-born player to make it to the big leagues for San Francisco in 1964.  Actually that last part was pretty interesting, but you get my point.  Don't they realize that Yankees fans that watch nearly every game get the same prep and fill stuff from each out of town broadcaster?  Would they make such a big deal over all of the Canadien-born baseball players...seems a bit racist to me...just a thought.

Masanori Murakami was the first Japanese player in the Majors for the SF Giants in 1964...
Congratulations you learned something today in the Daily Dozen!

10. Why did the Yankees let Swisher go again? Two nights...two home runs...the Yankees could have used a late one tonight.

11. Do people really think that yelling at a MLB outfielder while waiting on a fly ball to come down will make them drop it?  I mean come on...you're just annoying.

12. The Yankees cannot score past the 3rd inning.  They better score 6 or 7 tomorrow in the first 3 innings or they are toast. #BronxBombless