Brian Bruney has been traded to the Washington Nationals for their rule 5 draft pick . In the last year Bruney has really declined as a pitcher, and I don’t blame the Yankees for this move. This way the Yankees won’t have to pay him about 2 million (which he about was set to get), and they can save that money for other purposes. Considering the Nationals had the first pick in the rule 5 draft, and now the Yankees do, I really like this move.
As you already know, the Yankees swept the Twins in the ALDS and now are preparing to play the Angels (who swept to Red Sox in the ALDS) in the ALCS. Game 1 doesn’t start until Friday so here are a few questions you can look at and discuss until Friday comes along:
Tonight the Yankees defeated the Braves by the score of 8 to 4. While it may look like an ordinary win, it was not quite. Through 5 innings the Yankees did not have a single base runner, and it looked like another night of losing to Cy Young. However, the story changed in the 6th inning. Brett Gardner led off the inning with a walk (the Yankees first base runner), then he got called out on a pick off on first. Joe Girardi immediately came out to argue. Gardner was clearly safe as seen on the replays, but from Girardi’s view he probably couldn’t really tell. Still, Girardi gave the first base umpire his money’s worth and was ejected. Seeing the manager ejected always seems to get a team fired up. Anyway, the next batter was Francisco Cervelli who hit a solo home run to tie the game at one (his first career home run). From there on almost everything went the Yankee’s way. They went on to score two more runs in the 6th, one in the 7th, two in the 8th, and then 2 in the 9th.
On the pitching side things also went well for the Yanks. Joba Chamberlain went 6.1 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned. Phil Coke came in to finish the 7th after Joba got in a bit of trouble. Then Bruney came into the 8th inning and right from the get go he didn’t look right, to me his fastball wasn’t there. Bruney allowed a run and could not finish the 8th after getting 2 outs. Enter sandman who stroke out the first batter he faced to end the 8th. Mo actually batted in the top of the ninth, he came up with the bases loaded and two outs and he actually hit a hard liner to center. In the bottom of the 9th Mo was smoking. He faced three batters, and struck out all three. So for the night Mo faced a total of 4 batters and stuck them all out. Vintage Mariano. So the Yankees won the game 8 to 4.
Side Notes
Tonight the Yankees will play the first game of a three game series against Manny Acta (yes he is still the manager) and the Natinals Nationals. It’s hard to ever say that the Yankees have to sweep a series, but this is one where maybe we can say it. The Nationals are in my mind the worst team in baseball and their 16-46 record supports that. They are already 20 games behind in their division. Anyway, tonight the Yankees send out the following lineup via PeteAbe to face Shairon Martis of the Nationals:
SS Derek Jeter
LF Johnny Damon
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
C Jorge Posada
DH Hideki Matsui
RF Nick Swisher
CF Melky Cabrera
And on the hill, Charles Carsten Sabathia
Congratulations to the Wang family
Today Chien-Ming Wang and his wife Chia-Ling became parents. Today they welcome Justin Jesse Wang into the family. Congrats Chien-Ming, hopefully this brings good luck to your start tomorrow.
Bye Bye Veras
The Yankees activated Brian Bruney from the DL today, and to make room for him they DFA Jose Veras. This is the move I wanted them to make, but I expected Tomko to get the axe. Hopefully this puts the end to leadoff walks in the 8th inning.
Peace. Don't think I'll miss you.
The game post will not be like usual today, because by the time the lineup is announced I will not have a computer near me. So, I will just give my thoughts on last night’s game, and post a few links. Well, where to begin. Last night Joba came out looking good, his slider was devastating. However, he fell into trouble with command and was not able to start the fifth. After the game, when reporters were talking to him, his three year old son said, “Daddy, you didn’t throw strikes.” I read that on Pete Abe’s blog, by the way. Isn’t that really funny, I mean the kid is three years old! Anyway, I’m not going to sum up the whole game, but I will say that Matsui hit a 3 run home run last night on his 35th birthday, last year on his 34th birthday he hit a grandslam. Mo came in in the 8th with 2 outs, at the time it was a 7-7 game, but he walked Beltran and then allowed a double to David Wright to make it 8-7 Mets. In the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs, Jeter on 2nd, and Teix on 1st, Arod hit a routine pop up to 2nd base. It looked like the end, Arod even slamed his bat down in frustration, but it was just the beginning. Luis Castillo ended up dropping the ball and both Jeter and Teix. The real reason they won was that Teixeira hustled all the way from first base to score, today we don’t see many players do that. Well, anyway so the Yankees won 9-8.
Links
That’s it for the links. I’ll be watching the game (hopefully) today at 4:00 on FOX. It will be Andy Petitte up against Fernando Nieve filling in for the injured John Maine.
Last night the Yankees lost the 3rd and final game of a series against the Red Sox. It was a game that could have easily been managed better, Mo should have came into the 8th when the game was on the line. However, he didn’t, and the Yankees ended up losing. Some fans were fuming, saying that Girardi should be fired, the whole team should be traded, the Yankees will never win a game again, and so on. Some fans go overboard, and while I’m not too fond of the job Girardi has done lately, he has done some good things. The book is not closed yet on him, at this point in my book he is neutral, maybe a bit on the negative side (bit I’m not saying Torre should be here). Still, I can’t knock all fans in general. There are many fans who, like me, realize that what has happened…happened, and there’s no way of changing that. Sure, if some dumb decisions weren’t made the Yankees could possibly have one a couple of those games, but they didn’t. That doesn’t mean that the Yankees are done. Let’s put all the negativity away, and have a fun, enjoyable series against the New York Mets. For me, things like the first 8 games are easy to put behind, yes they were extremely frustrating, but now they are over. Let’s hope the Yankees go out and fun against the Mets tonight. Oh, I almost forgot, here’s just a little reminder…
I'm just kidding...all fans are welcome and thier opinions are highly appreciated.
In the first game of the 2009 Subway Series, the Yankees send out the following lineup via PeteAbe at home in the Bronx:
SS Derek Jeter
RF Nick Swisher
1B Mark Teixeria
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
C Jorge Posada
DH Hideki Matsui (Who turns 35 today)
LF Melky Cabrera
CF Melky Cabrera
And on the mound, Joba Chamberlain
Where’s Johnny?
Something tells me Johnny Damon is not feeling well. He did not look well when he dropped that fly ball last night, he stayed in the game. but to me he looked a little sluggish. If I see anything, I’ll let you know, but I doubt the Yankees will say anything besides “he’s just getting a day off.”
Series Preview
The first two pitching match-ups look promising for the Yanks. Livan at Joba. (insert call up player here because John Maine went on the DL) at Pettitte. Then the third game doesn’t look as good, Johan at Burnett. Two out of three ain’t bad. Head on over to River Avenue Blues for a more complete Subway Series Preview.
Great Story
You may have heard the story about Brett Gardner and Alyssa Esposito, but if you haven’t it is really an incredible one. Do you remember the night when Brett hit an inside the park home run? Well, before that game Brett went to go visit patients at a hospital, and Alyssa Espositio who at the time was waiting for a heart transplant made Brett a bracelet and she told him that when he wears it he will hit a home run. Anyway, that night Brett wore the bracelet and hit an unconventional home run. However, there’s more to it. That same night, Alyssa learned that she would be recieving a heart donation. Well, today Brett visited Alyssa and she is doing well after recieving her heart transplant. Great story, here is the full story over at MLB.COM.
Bruney, we need you!
According to PeteAbe, Bruney could be activated tomorrow. Good news, please don’t just hide your injury Brian.
Update 6:28
Damon is out of the lineup with “fluttering eyes.’ He also said he felt like he would pass out last night. Let’s just hope this is not linked to the concussion he suffered a few years ago. Get well, Johnny.
Tonight the Yankees look to improve their 2009 record against the Red Sox to 1-7. That just sounds really bad. Anyway, I am extra confident tonight because the Yankees have their ace pitching for them. Here is the starting lineup via PeteAbe:
SS Derek Jeter
LF Johnny Damon
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
RF Nick Swisher
DH Hideki Matsui
CF Melky Cabrera
C Francisco Cervelli
And on the hill, Charles Carsten Sabathia
Personal Catcher
It appears Cervelli has become CC’s personal catcher. I don’t particularly like personal catchers because in the playoffs the Yanks would not start Cervelli every time CC pitched. To me it just seems like trouble waiting to happen. Still, this seems to be a Posada issue. How come most experienced, good pitchers who come to New York don’t want Posada catching them? Is it just me that notices this?
Redemption…again
Chien-Ming Wang will get another start. This one will come against the Nationals on Wednesday, who despite the fact that they arent too good, they hit right handed pitchers fairly well (.265/.345/.417 to be exact). Wang understands he won’t just keep getting chances, “I’m getting one more chance,” he said. “I have to pitch good.” I found this interesting from Pete Abe:
The x-factor in this situation is that Mrs. Wang will have birth induced on Tuesday if she does not have the baby beforehand.
My friends in the Taiwanese media tell me that the birth of a baby is said to bring good luck in Chinese culture. For Wang’s sake, he better hope so.
Wouldn’t that be something?
Bruney express
Brian Bruney threw 25 pitches to Berroa and Pena. He will get a rehab assignment in Trenton on Saturday, and if all goes well he could be activated on Tuesday.
Yesterday, the Yankees suffered a tough loss. Going into the 9th inning the game was tied 5-5. In the top of the 9th, Girardi brought Mo in to hold the score down. However, he could not. He gave up a triple to Ben Zobrist to start the inning, and everything went downhill from there. Eventually Mo had to leave in the middle of the inning, giving way to Phil Coke. In the end 4 runs ended up scoring, making the score 9-5 Rays. In the bottom of the 9th the Yankees did not go down without a fight, scoring 2 runs, but they could not manage to tie the game. 9-7 Rays, the final. The great thing about baseball though is that today, less than 24 hours after that tough loss, the Yankees get to go out a play a completely new ballgame. And here’s the lineup via PeteAbe they send out against Matt Garza in hope to take the 2nd game of the series:
SS Derek Sanderson Jeter
LF Johnny David Damon
1B Mark Charles Teixeira
3B Alex Emmanuel Rodriguez
2B Robinson Jose Cano
C Jorge Rafael Posada
DH Hideki Matsui
RF Nick Thompson Swisher
CF Melky Astacio Cabrera
Andon the mound, Joba Chamberlain (born Justin Louis Heath according to Wikipedia)
That's really him (not that impersonator), he did a promotion last year for Dunkin Doughnuts
Closer than they appear
According to Marc Craig, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady are closer to returning. On Friday, Bruney threw 20 pitches (all fastballs) in a bullpen session. He said he felt no pain, hopefully he is not covering anything up. When asked about a possible return date, Bruney said, “If I was to guess, I’d say a week and a half, maybe less.” Marte threw 25 pitches off a bullpen mound and “spun some sliders from a shorter distance.” He and Bruney would really give the Yankees bullpen a boost. Xavier Nady played in an extended spring training game a couple days ago, and played catch from 90 feet yesterday. This is great news that he is back to throwing, if the Yankees can get Nady back it would be like they just made a huge trade.
I found this great website all about the bleacher creatures, andthey have one section with a bunch of videos and pictures of the bleacher creatures and Yankee Stadium. They have everything from the roll calls, to the YMCA bleacher creauture style, to having fun with a player (you guesses it, Nick Swisher). You should definitely check it out.
Yankees games streamed online
If you live in the New York area and have or considered purchasing MLB.TV, you probably know that Yankees games are blacked out because you live in New York and YES has the deal for Yankees games in New York. Well, that is going to change soon. The Yankees are going to become to first MLB team to have its games streamed live online within its home market. They have not announced many details, but here’s the article from the Sports Buisness Journal, in case you are interested.
Live Game Blog
I may do a live game blog if enough people are willing to participate in it. I would probably make it start at 1:05 and end around 1:30 or maybe longer. If you are interested and think you could participate just leave a comment or vote yes in the poll below. If you think I should make the live game blog at another time, just leave a comment stating what time I should make it.
Here is the Live Blog just in case I do actually run one today
Update
Maybe I’ll start the live blog after the game.
According to Bryan Hoch and the Yankees official site, Chien-Ming Wang and Cody Ransom have been placed on the 15 day DL.
Why does this always happen to me?
Wang has weakness in the adductor muscles of both his hips. Dr. Mark Lindsay, who is working with ARod in Tampa, was the one who discovered Wang’s hip weakness. Supposedly, the weakness is a kinetic effect of Wang’s lisfranc fracture suffered last year. When Brian Cashman was asked when can Wang be expected to rejoin the big league team, he responded, “I don’t know, I know it’s a minimum of 10 days to two weeks of physical therapy on the hips, and the fact that he’s a pitcher, after that, who knows?” Cashman said. “He’ll be able to throw to some degree, I believe, while that’s going on. The main issue is to get those hips taken care of and get him back on line, because they’ve gotten off line.” Thankfully Wang’s ailment will not require anything drastic, just physical rehab. David Robertson has been recalled to take Wang’s 25 man roster spot.
Cody Ransom, on the other hand, could have a more serious injury. He suffered a right quadriceps injury when he was sliding into second base on a steal last night. For now I would assume Ramiro Pena will take over at third base, but according to Cashman the Yankees will have another infielder up by today’s game. I am guessing that would be Angel Berroa, however I personally would like to see Pena start at third for now.
Brian Bruney, who according to Joe Girardy has a “cranky elbow”, was not in Boston last night, rather he was in New York for examinations. For now all we can do is hope.
The Yankees have not announced who will take Wang’s spot in the rotation but I would be shocked if Phil Hughes did not take that spot. I would look for Hughes to get at least 4, maybe 5 starts before Wang comes back.
Update via Chad Jennings:
It is official, Angel Berroa was called up. No word on who was DFA to make room for Berroa on the 40 man.
Update via Pete Abe
It looks like we are going to see Mark Melancon come up as well to replace Brian Bruney who is on the DL. Nothing else on this yet. If Bruney was put on the 15 day DL then someone would have had to been DFA to make room for him, if Bruney was put on the 60 day DL then there would be no DFA. Let’s hope for the first situation.
161st Street 