I'm in awe of what Raul Ibanez has done for this team, but I really wish he would have left his cape in the clubhouse tonight, because if he hadn't done the hero thing again tonight we'd still have Derek Jeter.
Jeter left the game in the top of the 12th inning after scrambling for a ball to his left. At first I thought he'd aggravated his left foot, after fouling a ball off of it the other night. But on replay I saw that he turn his ankle. The scream Derek let out after he landed did nothing to make me feel better.
Now x-rays show that his ankle is broken, and he's lost for the remainder of the postseason. His career is not in jeopardy, so expect to see him in Spring Training next year. But it's up to Jayson Nix and Eduardo Nunez to carry the SS load from here on out.
Lord help us.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
My Rants During Game 1
I wrote this before the bottom of the 9th inning...
Yeah, these aren't my thoughts after Game 1, but my rants during Game 1. This outta give you a good idea of what I thought anyway.
These come from my discussion with Burch on Facebook during the game, as well as some tweets.
"my next post at TGP may be about the fact I'm done watching this crap."
"I'm f***ing watching Ohio St vs. Indiana. That's how bad it is." - I'm an Ohio State fan, but I hadn't planned on watching any of their game against Indiana. It was more about this being the postseason, and me watching a football game involving Indiana. *shivers*
"I work tomorrow, and won't be home until around 6:30, so I'm going to miss most of tomorrow's game too. May be the most relaxing weekend I've had in a while."
"you have got to be effing kidding me" - that could have been in response to a number of things
"are u effing kidding me... again?" - that may have been Burch, but I'm still taking credit for that Tweet.
"did the Tigers find a magic lamp before the game?"
"this is gonna be one of those nights I break something..." - this was Burch, but I felt the exact same way as I almost threw my laptop at the wall. Seriously, I picked it up and was in mid-throw when I stopped myself.
"More good defense out of Detroit? Seriously?" - FYI, the Tigers were 2nd to last in MLB in UZR/150. Not that I think UZR is a good stat, but it's not so bad that you could call the Tiger defense anything close to good.
"come on, Swish! Get that f***ing ball!!!!" - There was no reason for Swish not to get to that pop-up in RF. He screwed up... one way or another.
"Great job by the 1B umpire that watched that ball the way he did!" - This was in reference to the ball Raul Ibanez hit, that flew over the 1B bag and was called fair. Yeah, I told the umps "good job", but not anybody on the Yankees but Andy Pettitte.
"This team needs to up and kill themselves. F*** them."
"It's right f***ing there!!! Shut up and swing, asshole." - That was for Russell Martin, who got upset at a strike call. Russ was wrong, the ump was right.
"Screw the 2012 Yankee hitters! I'm done." - And with that I didn't watch another pitch of the game.
I was really hoping that the bats would wake up in this series, as they were dead for the ALDS, and I was right. Sort of. You see, the Yankees put themselves in plenty of opportunities to score, unlike against the Orioles this past series. But they wasted those opportunities again and again and again.
Yeah, these aren't my thoughts after Game 1, but my rants during Game 1. This outta give you a good idea of what I thought anyway.
These come from my discussion with Burch on Facebook during the game, as well as some tweets.
"my next post at TGP may be about the fact I'm done watching this crap."
"More good defense out of Detroit? Seriously?" - FYI, the Tigers were 2nd to last in MLB in UZR/150. Not that I think UZR is a good stat, but it's not so bad that you could call the Tiger defense anything close to good.
"come on, Swish! Get that f***ing ball!!!!" - There was no reason for Swish not to get to that pop-up in RF. He screwed up... one way or another.
"Great job by the 1B umpire that watched that ball the way he did!" - This was in reference to the ball Raul Ibanez hit, that flew over the 1B bag and was called fair. Yeah, I told the umps "good job", but not anybody on the Yankees but Andy Pettitte.
"This team needs to up and kill themselves. F*** them."
"It's right f***ing there!!! Shut up and swing, asshole." - That was for Russell Martin, who got upset at a strike call. Russ was wrong, the ump was right.
"Screw the 2012 Yankee hitters! I'm done." - And with that I didn't watch another pitch of the game.
I was really hoping that the bats would wake up in this series, as they were dead for the ALDS, and I was right. Sort of. You see, the Yankees put themselves in plenty of opportunities to score, unlike against the Orioles this past series. But they wasted those opportunities again and again and again.
Like I said earlier in a message to Burch, I'm going to miss most of the game tomorrow, as I have to work and won't be home until around 6:30. I really hope the Yankee bats wake the hell up and do something tomorrow, because if not the Tigers may very well win this series in Detroit.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Yet Another Derek Jeter Milestone
Derek Jeter it seems like every other day is doing something newsworthy with his bat passing this legend, or that legend, or putting up monster numbers that defy the odds and his age. Tonight was no different for Derek Jeter as he got his 200th career post season base hit in the 2nd inning off of Tigers pitcher Doug Fister. That is insane when you think about it but he has about a full seasons worth of games too in the post season so there is always that. Derek Jeter IS the post season!
Phil Hughes To Pitch Game 3 Against Verlander
In my post not published just an hour ago I showed how and why I thought it would be a better idea to start Hiroki Kuroda on three days rest for Game 2 (check) and how we should bring CC Sabathia back on three days rest to pitch Game 3 (X) against Justin Verlander and line him up for a Game 7 start on semi normal rest. One out of two is not bad I guess, especially in baseball, but I think this decision will be the one that makes or breaks the Yankees. Joe Girardi announced that Phil Hughes will start Game 3 in Comerica against Verlander and we will save CC for Game 4 on regular rest, still lining him up for a Game 7 start but on three days rest. Not the way I would have done it and not exactly the way Joe Girardi would have done it circa 2009 but what is done is done. I just hope it does not come back to bite us.
ALCS Game 1 : Tigers @ Yankees
Update:
The Yankees rode the big man all the way to the ALCS last night with a complete game victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS clincher. The Yankees will stay home and start the ALCS tonight against the Detroit Verlanders in what is a rematch of last years AL Division series that the Tigers won. The Yankees will send veteran and all time winningest post season pitcher Andy Pettitte to the mound looking to set the tone early in the series. The Tigers will counter with Doug Fister who is in the midst of yet another second half surge. The game will be televised at 8:07 pm ET on TBS.
Lineups
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Sukuki LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Go Yankees!
#27andCounting
Kuroda Named Game 2 Starter
Hiroki Kuroda has unofficially been named tomorrow nights Game 2 starter in Yankees Stadium for the ALCS. This will be the first time that #HIROK will be going on three days rest in his career and comes after him setting a career high in innings pitched this season. I think this is a great idea because you potentially have him pitching twice, both at home, in the seven game series instead of just once. Girardi expects to announce this decision officially at the press conference before the game.
Game 2 Starter
The Yankees face a pretty tough predicament since their division series wen't five games with the Baltimore Orioles and Bud Selig and co. botched the scheduling while rushing the second wild card. They will not have a night off in between clinching the division series and starting the championship series so the ALCS will start tonight at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. The problem with this is that the Yankees used us their ace CC Sabathia just to get here so now they are not quite sure of who their second starter is going to be.
The Yankees could bring Hiroki Kuroda back on three days rest, something he has never done in his career, after he pitched well in 105 pitches and 8.1 IP against the Orioles in game 3. He has thrown a career high in innings this season with 219.1 IP but he also has had the best season of his career to date (in the United States anyway). He either showed some signs of it catching up with him in September or he just ran into some bad luck as he was not nearly as sharp or effective as he was in the beginning of the season. Nonetheless though he pitched well in game 3 against Baltimore if you take away two solo home runs and gave his team every chance to win the game. Also you have to consider that if you wait till his normal rest day to pitch him, which would be game 4, you only get to use your second best pitcher (arguably) once in the series which is never ideal.
David Phelps could make a spot start in Game 2 after his 27 pitch appearance out of the bullpen on Thursday. This is not the most ideal situation being that he is a rookie and all but he is a better option then Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, or anyone else we could imagine throwing out there. Also, to note, he would be facing off against Anibal Sanchez so on paper at least you would not think you would have to throw your best starter out there to have a shot at a win. David Phelps could keep is close enough to win in my opinion but I do not know if my heart could take it.
If I am managing this team I am starting Kuroda on three days rest and seeing where it gets me. You live and die by pitching and defense in the playoffs and into the World Series so I am going to live and die by Kuroda twice at home, if necessary, then once against Max Scherzer in Comerica. We have rode Kuroda and relied on him all season so to stop now or alter that would not be a wise decision. With Kuroda in game 2 penciled in I do not see how you cannot bring CC back on three days rest for game 3 against Verlander in Comerica. That slides Phil Hughes into the 4th game against Scherzer in Comerica, which its bigger outfield should help Hughes' home run problem. Andy Pettitte comes back for game 5, Kuroda for 6, and CC in game 7 makes me type this whole thing out again when we are lining up our rotation for the World Series.
American League Championship Series Schedule
-------------------------------------------------------
Game 1 @ Yankees Stadium
Game 1 @ Yankees Stadium
10/13/12
8:07 pm ET on TBS
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Game 2 @ Yankees Stadium
10/14/12
4:07 pm ET on TBS
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Game 3 @ Comerica Park
10/16/12
8:07 pm ET on TBS
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Game 4 @ Comerica Park
10/17/12
8:07 pm ET on TBS
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Game 5 if necessary @ Comerica Park
10/18/12
4:07 pm ET on TBS
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Game 6 if necessary @ Yankees Stadium
10/20/12
8:05 pm ET on TBS
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Game 7 if necessary @ Yankees Stadium
10/21/12
8:15 pm ET on TBS
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Nunez Out, Nix In
By now I'm sure you've read that the Yankees have removed Eduardo Nunez from the roster for the AL Championship Series, and placed Cody Eppley on it.
Get out!
The first thing this tells me is that the team feels good about the health of Derek Jeter, who was hit in the foot by his own foul ball in Game 3. Jeter was the DH in Game 4, before returning to his rightful spot at shortstop in Game 5. There's no way the Yankees would have gone into the ALCS with only one middle infielder on the bench, if they didn't think Jeter was 100%. Then again, it would take the entire cast of The Expendables to keep Derek down.
Speaking of injuries, it also tells me that perhaps Joba Chamberlain isn't "fine", as he said after Game 5. It could have nothing to do with bringing Eppley onto the roster, but Girardi may be playing things safe by having Cody around just in case Joba goes out and his elbow explodes after throwing a pitch. Knowing what Joba's gone through, though, I tend to believe that he'll be fine if called upon tonight to pitch.
Although it would be nice to have a second middle infielder on the bench in case the worst happens, and both Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter need to be removed from a game, that's hardly a great reason to keep Nunez around. Eddie has hit .286/.289/.429 over his last 38 plate appearances, and when you add that to his issues on defense, I don't think we're really going to miss him.
"Not to mention that I'm a bad-ass."
But was it necessary to add somebody to the bullpen? In my opinion... yes and no. I know, not a great answer, but bear with me.
With Joba Chamberlain, David Phelps, and Derek Lowe, I think the bullpen had enough righties to get by. But when you look at the extreme splits that Clay Rapada and Boone Logan have, you can't argue against having another right-hander in the bullpen against a righty-heavy Detroit lineup (Prince Fielder is the only lefty I'm concerned about, although Andy Dirks does have a .322 batting average this season). Left-handed batters hit .168/.257/.236 in Rapada's career, while righties hit .342/.459/.613. Meanwhile Logan has given up a line of .246/.317/.379 to lefties, and .302/.387/.477 to righties. So there's no way I'd trust Clay or Boone against a right-handed bat, be that Miguel Cabrera or even Omar Infante.
"You talking trash about me?"
When it comes down to it, if the Yankees needed to play either Eduardo Nunez or Cody Eppley, then chances are we aren't winning that game.
As a reminder, here is the Yankees roster for the ALCS...
PITCHERS
CC Sabathia
Andy Pettitte
Hiroki Kuroda
Phil Hughes
Rafael Soriano
Dave Robertson
Boone Logan
Joba Chamberlain
Clay Rapada
Cody Eppley
David Phelps
Derek Lowe
CATCHERS
Russell Martin
Chris Stewart
INFIELDERS
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Eric Chavez
Jayson Nix
OUTFIELDERS
Curtis Granderson
Nick Swisher
Ichiro Suzuki
Raul Ibanez
Brett Gardner
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