Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Game 29: Yanks vs. Tigers

Regular Season Game 29
Yankees (14-14) vs. Tigers (12-15)
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES - MLB.TV | Radio: WCBS 880 - XM Radio

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES

Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Hideki Matsui DH
Jason Giambi 1B
Melky Cabrera CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Jose Molina C
Alex Gonzalez 3B

Andy Pettitte LHP (3-2, 3.23 ERA)

TIGERS

Jeremy Bonderman RHP (1-2, 4.28 ERA)

Notes: Chad Moeller is back, no news yet on any corresponding roster moves.

Yanks vs. Bonderman

ABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
J. Damon 32 14 2 2 2 6 2 3 .438 .457 .813 1.270
A. Rodriguez 26 8 1 0 2 5 3 2 .308 .379 .577 .956
D. Jeter 26 5 0 0 2 6 3 4 .192 .276 .423 .699
J. Posada 22 5 1 0 0 3 3 5 .227 .320 .273 .593
H. Matsui 19 10 1 0 3 9 1 1 .526 .500 1.053 1.553
R. Cano 18 5 0 0 0 0 1 2 .278 .316 .278 .594
J. Giambi 15 3 0 0 0 0 5 4 .200 .429 .200 .629
M. Cabrera 13 5 0 1 0 3 0 1 .385 .385 .538 .923
B. Abreu 9 6 1 0 1 3 4 2 .667 .769 1.111 1.880
J. Molina 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 .250 .250 .250 .500
W. Betemit 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .167 .000 .167
Totals193636310352330.326.395.544.939

Tigers vs. Pettitte

ABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
I. Rodriguez 40 16 0 0 2 5 1 2 .400 .415 .550 .965
M. Ordonez 35 12 2 1 2 6 3 6 .343 .410 .629 1.039
C. Guillen 24 9 1 0 0 3 2 6 .375 .423 .417 .840
J. Jones 16 2 1 0 0 0 1 7 .125 .176 .188 .364
B. Inge 14 5 3 0 0 2 0 4 .357 .357 .571 .929
E. Renteria 13 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 .231 .231 .308 .538
M. Cabrera 9 3 1 0 2 3 0 2 .333 .333 1.111 1.444
C. Granderson 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .125 .000 .125
V. Wilson 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
P. Polanco 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000
R. Santiago 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .200 .000 .200
G. Sheffield 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
M. Thames 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 .250 .000 .250
R. Raburn 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 1.000 1.667
Totals181541016201033.298.339.464.803

I will be at the game tonight so my game summaries will be posted a little late tonight. Enjoy the game and go Yankees.


Stick around and discuss the game
as it happens in the comments section.

Should Hughes be demoted?

As soon as Gary Sheffield blasted that 2-2 curveball out of the yard last night in the 3rd I knew the question of the day would be whether or not Hughes should be sent down. After a 0-4 start with a 9.00 ERA it's a good question. The Yankees knew there would be bumps in the road, but I doubt they expected struggles like these.

Here's what Girardi said when he was asked that question following last night's loss: “Right now, he’s one of our starters,” Girardi said. “We will talk about it as a club." Brian Cashman was asked the same question and responded with a "We'll see."

Not exactly what you would want to hear if you were Hughes.

Some problems that I see (and I'm no pitching coach) is that his command is clearly lost, and he's not mixing his pitches enough, therefore becoming too predictable on the mound. He also looks like he's pitching scared and without confidence. "

But would a trip to the minors crush his confidence even more?

You would hope it wouldn't, and that maybe a few dominating performances in AAA would give his the shot in the arm that he needs, but you never know.

Then there's the issue of who would replace him. Right now the options are Kei Igawa (2-3, 3.58 ERA), Dan Giese (2-0, 1.35 ERA), Darrell Rasner (4-0, 0.87 ERA), or Steven White (1-1 with a 3.58 ERA). The leading candidate has to be Rasner, as he's doing the best out of any of the and has experience at the major league level.

But if it were up to me I wouldn't send him down, yet. I've been stressing patience with these kids all year, and I can't abandon that now. I'm not saying keep him up here all year if he's going to continue to get pounded, but I'd at least give him a few more starts to see if he can get his stuff together at this level.

What would you do, send him down or keep him up? And if you would keep him in the rotation, how many more starts would you give him?

A-Rod to the DL

From Newsday:
Alex Rodriguez became the latest addition to the Yankees' laundry list of disabled players.

The reigning American League Most Valuable Player had an MRI on his strained right quadriceps yesterday and was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain, which will sideline him for a minimum of two weeks. Rodriguez is going to be placed on the 15-day disabled list soon and could be out for longer than that depending on how quickly his body responds to treatment.

"Grade 2 puts him down for the 15 days," general manager Brian Cashman said. "If it's longer, so be it. We've just got to make sure we get it right."
It appears like rushing back was not a wise move and will now cost him two weeks or more. Last year it was the pitchers and this year it's the position players who are being struck by the injury bug. Who knows, maybe next year it will be the coaches.

It goes without saying how big of a loss this is, and when you combine it with the loss of Posada it's that much worse for the Yankees.

Hughes' Struggles Continue: Yanks Fall to Tigers


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E
Detroit 2 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
6 11 1
N.Y. Yankees 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 8 0

The Yankees fell to 14-14 on the year with a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers last night at Yankee Stadium. Phil Hughes got the start and did not pitch well. Like his previous starts he walked too many hitters and more importantly fell behind too many hitters. He gave up two homers, one to Curtis Granderson, and one to former Yankee Gary Sheffield. Whenever Hughes fell behind he got in trouble, which seems to be the story of his season so far. In only 3.2 innings Hughes allowed 6 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 2.

This does not excuse Hughes' poor performance but I think starting Chris Stewart behind the plate with Hughes on the mound was a mistake. When a guy who is struggling like Hughes is I feel Jose Molina, the veteran, should be behind the plate. And as Peter Abraham points out he's had 4 different catchers in 6 starts. I'm not a fan of personal catchers, but the guy behind the plate should know the pitcher he's catching, especially when that pitcher is a struggling 21 year old.

The bright spot of the game was Ross Ohlendorf. I criticized him after his last outing, even suggesting it might be time for a trip to Scranton, but he certainly shut me up with his performance last night. In 3.1 innings he allowed no runs on 1 hit and a walk, and struck out 5.

The rest of the Yankees bullpen was also good, Edwar Ramirez and Latroy Hawkins both pitched scoreless innings.


IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hughes (L, 0-4) 3.2 8 6 6 3 2 2 9.00
Ohlendorf 3.1 1 0 0 1 5 0 5.40
Ramirez 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Hawkins 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.98

TIGERS PITCHING

The Yankees first two runs came off the bat of the struggling Robinson Cano who hit a 2-run homer off Tigers' starter Kenny Rogers in the 2nd. A good sign for Cano who has been terrible so far this year.

They did not score again until the 8th when Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in a run. Bobby Abreu then came up as the go ahead run but grounded out to end the threat.

The Yanks added one more in the 9th on an RBI single for Jason Giambi which drove in Hideki Matsui who had previously singled and moved to 2nd on a wild pitch. But that was all they would get as Morgan Ensberg grounded out and Robinson Cano struck out to end the game.

The only Yankee with a multi-hit game was Hideki Matsui who went 2-for-4. The struggles with men on base continued as they left 13 men on, and 6 in scoring position.


AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Damon, CF-LF 4 0 1 0 1 2 0 .274
Jeter, SS 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .278
Abreu, RF 5 0 1 0 0 1 4 .276
Molina, C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
Matsui, LF-RF 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .326
Giambi, DH 4 0 1 1 1 0 3 .171
Duncan, S, 1B 2 2 1 0 3 0 1 .154
Ensberg, 3B 4 0 0 0 1 0 4 .233
Cano, 2B 5 1 1 2 0 2 5 .155
Stewart, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
a-Cabrera, PH-CF 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .289
Totals 35 4 8 4 8 7 18

a-Walked for Stewart in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Duncan, S (1, Rogers).
HR: Cano (2, 2nd inning off Rogers, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Damon; Jeter; Abreu; Matsui 2; Giambi; Duncan, S 2; Cano 4.
RBI: Cano 2 (7), Jeter (14), Giambi (12).
2-out RBI: Jeter.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi 2; Cano 3; Ensberg; Abreu 2.
Team LOB: 13.

TIGERS HITTING

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Curtis Granderson 2-for-3, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 3 R

HONORABLE MENTION: Ross Ohlendorf (3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K)

The Yanks look to even the series with Andy Pettitte on the mound, and Jeremy Bonderman gets the start for the Tigers. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., and the game can be seen on YES and heard on WCBS 880.

4/29 Minor League Report

================

The first place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees defeated the Buffalo Bisons by a score of 10-6 to improve their record to 18-9.

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E
Scranton/WB
0 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
10 12 1
Buffalo
0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0
6 10 2
W: D. Giese (2-0, 1.35); L: M. Ginter (0-4, 7.71); SV: J. Veras (9)
HR: SWB: E. Duncan (3).


PITCHING: Dan Giese started for SWB and pitched well. The only 2 runs he allowed came in the 5th on a 2-run double by Wyatt Toregas. In 5.2 IP Giese gave gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits 2 walks and a strike out to improve his record to 2-0 on the year. His ERA is now 1.35.

Billy Traber replaced Giese and allowed one unearned run due to a throwing error by shortstop Nick Green. ... Scott Patterson then came into the game in the 7th inning and gave up no runs on 1 hit in .2 of an inning. ... Heath Phillips came in after Patterson in the 8th inning and got roughed up. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits, and didn't record an out. ... Steven Jackson then came in and retired two of the three batters he faced, and didn't allow a run. ... Jose Veras came in with 2 outs in the 8th and retired all four batters he faced, 2 on strikeouts. And Veras picked up his 9th save of the season.

OFFENSE: The Yanks jumped all over Bison pitching with 6 runs in the 2nd. After Jason Lane singled, Eric Duncan his a 2-run HR to open the scoring. Then, after a Cody Ransom double, Greg Porter drove him in with an RBI single. Later in the inning Brett Gardner walked, Bernie Castro reached on an error to load the bases. They were all brought home by a 3-run double by Juan Miranda. ... The Yanks added two more in the 4th on a two run double by Chris Kunda scoring Gardner and Castro. ... The final two SWB runs came in the 9th. With the bases loaded Brett Gardner reached on an error to drive in a run. The second run was came in when Bernie Castro was hit by a pitch with the bases still loaded.

OTHER YANKEES' AFFILIATES

(AA) Trenton beat Connecticut 4-1 - Box Score - Recap

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Trenton
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 4 9 0
Connecticut
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 2
W: C. Wright (4-1, 2.95); L: R. Ray (2-1, 5.73); SV: M. Gardner (3)
HR: TRE: C. Ehlers (5).

Trenton:
Austin Jackson: 0-for-5
Kevin Russo: 1-for-5
Colin Curtis: 2-for-5, R
Cody Ehlers: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
P.J. Pilittere: 2-for-4
Chris Malec: 1-for-3
Carlos Mendoza: 1-for-2, RBI, BB

(High A) Tampa - off day

(Low A) Charleston beat Augusta 6-3 - Box Score - Recap

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Augusta
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 5 0
Charleston
0 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 X 6 7 2
W: Z. McAllister (3-1, 1.13); L: O. Odle (1-3, 6.00); SV: J. Ortiz (8)
HR: CHA: B. Laird (2), W. Ibarra (1).

Charleston:
Abraham Almonte: 1-for-4, 2B, R
Jesus Montero: 1-for-3, 2B, R, RBI
Taylor Holiday: 2-for-3
Brandon Laird: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, BB
Brian Baisley: 1-for-3, RBI
Walter Ibarra: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
Justin Snyder: 0-for-4, RBI
Zachary McAllister: 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, (1.13 ERA)

(I'd like to thank Big Guy for his great contributions)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Game 28: Yanks vs. Tigers

Regular Season Game 27
Yankees (14-13) vs. Tigers (11-15)
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES - MLB.TV | Radio: WCBS 880 - XM Radio

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Hideki Matsui LF
Jason Giambi DH
Shelley Duncan 1B
Morgan Ensberg 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Chris Stewart C

Phil Hughes RHP (0-3, 7.85 ERA)

TIGERS

Kenny Rogers LHP (1-3, 7.66 ERA)

Yanks vs. Rogers

ABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
J. Damon 49 15 1 0 2 7 6 5 .306 .382 .449 .831
Ja. Giambi 23 10 1 0 4 9 7 2 .435 .567 1.000 1.567
D. Jeter 20 8 1 0 1 2 5 3 .400 .520 .600 1.120
A. Rodriguez 19 10 2 0 5 9 5 2 .526 .625 1.421 2.046
J. Posada 16 8 1 1 2 9 1 0 .500 .500 1.063 1.563
J. Molina 12 5 0 1 0 3 0 0 .417 .417 .583 1.000
B. Abreu 5 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 .200 .200 .200 .400
M. Ensberg 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .200 .286 .200 .486
H. Matsui 3 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 .667 .667 1.667 2.333
Totals152606215432514.395.475.7571.231

Tigers vs. Hughes

ABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
M. Ordonez 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000
P. Polanco 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667
C. Guillen 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 .333 .333 1.333 1.667
M. Thames 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 .333 .333 1.333 1.667
B. Inge 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
C. Granderson 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 .500 .667 2.000 2.667
I. Rodriguez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000
Totals174003513.235.278.7651.042


I will be at the game tonight so my game summaries will be posted a little late tonight. Enjoy the game and go Yankees.


Stick around and discuss the game
as it happens in the comments section.