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Disclaimer: If you think this is the official website of the New York Yankees, you're an idiot. Go away. Tuesday, August 31, 2004
YES announcer report cards by TVerik
Hi, it's not Larry. I had an idea for a little post during his sabbatical, but never got a chance to write it. So one night only:
Monday, August 30, 2004
by Larry Mahnken
Since winning last Monday, the Yankees have played 6 straight games in which they've trailed at some point. Through Saturday, they had won four of those games, and yesterday they were only nine outs away from doing it a fifth time.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
About Damn Time by Larry Mahnken
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the struggles of Alex Rodriguez when a runner finds his way to second base. It's this bad: if Alex Rodriguez were to hit as well with a runner in scoring position as he does when there isn't one, his line this season would be .305/.383/.553/.937. We might not be talking MVP with those numbers, but nobody would be asking what's wrong with him, and the Yankees might not have to fend off one last run by the Red Sox.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Lock The State by Larry Mahnken
- Bret Harte Clearly, the Yankees have yet to completely break out of their slump, but quite fortunately, they're playing a weaker team that's sliding much worse than they have. For the second night in a row, the Yankees won a hard-fought contest against the Indians, scoring the winning run in the top of the ninth inning. Frustrating though it is, slumps happen. They're a fact of life, a product of random variation. Players and teams will go into slumps at completely unpredictable times, even in a simulation. And they'll come out of those slumps at completely random times. Sometimes a slump is real, the result of an injury, or a mechanical flaw, or maybe a player getting exploited when opponents find a weakness in their game. But usually they're just a random fluctuation -- just like hot streaks. A slump can be self-sustaining, as a player starts to exacerbate the problem by adjusting their play to try and get out of their slide, but it isn't always. There's an interesting thing happening this year to the defending MVP, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod isn't having a bad year by normal standards, but it's one of the worst seasons of his career by his established standards. Some of his statistical decline can be explained by a change from a great hitters' park to a more pitcher-friendly one, but his road numbers are among his career worst, too (although better than the home ones). Most bizzare is his sudden inability to hit in the clutch. With nobody on this year, A-Rod's put up this line: Which is not substantially different from his career line of (pre-2004): Especially considering his move to Yankee Stadium after playing in Arlington and the Kingdome for most of his career. But when runners get on... Career: .316/.391/.598/.989 That's a dropoff that can't be explained merely by a change of parks, but wait -- it gets worse: Close and Late - Runners in Scoring Position - RISP/2 Outs - Oddly enough, when there's a runner only on first, A-Rod's line is .346/.417/.617/1.034 -- better than his regular numbers. I guess when A-Rod's up, runners on first should stay put, huh? There could be real reasons for A-Rod's struggles in situations where hits are most valuable, though he has come through in a few crucial situations. It's clearly not because he's not "clutch" -- he's been plenty clutch in the past, and four months do not erase ten years. But he's clearly not coming through this year. Last night he had three hits, but in his most crucial at-bat of the game, with a runner on third and one out, he tapped out to shortstop, failing to score the run. We can expect A-Rod to do better than this next year, and we should expect him to do better this year, but Rodriguez might allow these problems to be self-sustaining, and continue to struggle. Where A-Rod failed, Godzilla came trough, ripping the game-winner into center. Rivera came in to get his 42nd save, just 8 short of his career high (as well as the answer), and Tom Gordon got another win, in another game where he didn't pitch that great. Javier Vazquez had one bad inning in the third, but finished strong and kept the Indians at four runs through seven innings, giving the Yankees the opportunity to come back, and ultimately win. The Yanks go for the sweep today, starting El Duque. They've won every game he's started this season, so that's a good omen. What they're really hoping for is that the lineup can break out and put up some runs -- though Jake Westbrook has pitched pretty darn good this year, so it won't be easy. A sweep would feel good after the lackluster week they just finished, but breaking out of their slump for real would be much more comforting. Boston won yesterday, because the Blue Jays couldn't score a run with the bases loaded and nobody out. The Yanks still lead by 6½ games... WHICH IS A BIG LEAD, PEOPLE!!! Seriously, there's concern, and then there's just plain stupidity. CBS Sportsline's latest Power Rankings rates the Yankees ninth in MLB, down from second a week ago. The Yankees currently have the second-best record in baseball, the third best team is five games behind them. But what's more foolish is that the Boston Red Sox, 5½ games back at the start of the week, are rated sixth. Yes, they're closer than they were a week ago, but they still have a long way to go to catch the Yankees, let alone make a claim to being clearly better than them! Friends, one week does not a season make. One week does not negate four months. A slump does not reveal the true face of a team, any more than a hot streak does. It's something that happens, it's something that goes away, it's something that will happen again. Are the Yankees the best team in baseball? Maybe, though they haven't played like it for anything more than short spurts. Are there teams better than them? There probably are, though maybe not many. But are there eight teams better than the Yankees? I find that highly unlikely. Clearly, the creator of this power ranking is being heavily influenced by the last week -- SG suggests it's just a report on how they've played lately. Well, I can't buy that latter explanation -- how could the Yankees be rated ninth and the Indians rated 14th then? Surely more than eight teams have played better than the Yankees in the past week. Wouldn't they kind of had to? And besides, couldn't you just look at the last ten games record on the sports page and see the same thing? No, the author has to believe that the last week offers some underlying truth about these teams that was hidden for all this time. One week makes the Yankees worse than the Red Sox, Cardinals, Braves, A's, Angels, Dodgers, Rangers and Twins. How silly for us to think the standings mattered.
Monday, August 23, 2004
MVP by Larry Mahnken
Alas, I have returned!
Sunday, August 22, 2004
All Star/Looking in my rear view mirror by SG
Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Roots....The First Black Yankee by John
"Both as a man and as a ballplayer, this boy Howard looks every inch a Yankee"
Friday, August 20, 2004
On-field performance vs. entertainment by TVerik
The true sabermetric types who read this blog may not like to hear it, but I suspect that Jeter fans will. Conventional Wisdom, exemplified by Tim McCarver and Michael Kay, seems to hold that Derek Jeter’s intangibles are very valuable to his team and that this cannot be measured statistically.
Blast From The Past....Remembering Tommy Henrich by John
A sweltering afternoon at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, October 5, 1941. It was as tight a World Series as you can hope for. The Brooklyn Dodgers had managed a split at Yankee Stadium yet the Yankees had gotten the advantage back the day before, edging the Dodgers 2-1 as a late Dodger rally fell short. However Brooklyn was about to even the series. They were up 4-3 in the top of the ninth with two outs and right handed spot starter/reliever Hugh Casey was in command. He had come in the fifth inning and had blanked the Yankees in innings six, seven, eight and into the ninth. He completed his stellar relief effort fanning the last Yankee hitter knotting the series at two game apiece. The cheers died in the throats of the almost 34,000 Brooklyn faithful when they saw that strike three had skipped past catcher Mickey Owen and the hustling Yankee bolted down the first base line and reached first safely. Joe DiMaggio followed with a single and Charlie Keller doubled home both Henrich and DiMaggio. After Bill Dickey drew a walk, Joe Gordon doubled home two more runs. Final score 7-4 New York, and barely 24 hours later the New York Yankees would be crowned World Series champions.
One Game, One Pitcher by sj
It’s Game 7, Yankee backs are against the wall, who is the one pitcher you want on the hill? It’s a fun question to throw around. I was talking with my friend the other day, he narrowed the question some, by limiting the options to Yankee starters of recent vintage. He said without hesitation, Andy Pettitte. I have a feeling that many Yankee fans feel the same way. I wasn’t sure what the answer was, but I knew what it wasn’t, Andy Pettitte I decided to take a look at the numbers. As everyone knows, wins and losses only measures how many runs the offense scored behind a pitcher, and does not effectively indicate the quality of a pitchers performance (Think El Duque, Game 6, 2000 ALDS). ERA doesn’t factor the length of a pitchers performance (witness David Wells perfect 0.00, Game 5, 2003 WS). I used Bill James’ Game Score and look at the each Yankee start since the 1995 postseason. Game Score is somewhat flawed, as it is hard to put up a really big number if you don’t strike anyone out, but I think it is the best way to take a quick look at the numbers. I limited it to pitchers with 5 or more starts, so Gooden, Neagle, Kamieniecki, McDowell, Key and Rogers were not eliminated from consideration. None of them were the answer anyway. Andy Pettitte, mean:48.2, median: 49.5 2001 ALCS Game 1 74 1998 ALDS Game 2 72 2003 WS Game 2 72 1996 WS Game 5 70 2003 ALDS Game 2 69 2000 ALDS Game 2 68 1996 ALCS Game 5 66 1998 WS Game 4 66 1999 ALDS Game 2 62 2003 WS Game 6 60 2000 WS Game 5 56 2001 WS Game 2 56 1999 ALCS Game 4 55 2001 ALDS Game 2 55 2001 ALCS Game 5 50 2003 ALCS Game 2 49 2000 ALCS Game 3 47 2000 WS Game 1 47 1997 ALDS Game 5 46 1996 ALDS Game 2 45 1996 ALCS Game 1 44 1995 ALDS Game 2 37 2003 ALCS Game 6 37 2002 ALDS Game 2 27 1997 ALDS Game 2 22 1998 ALCS Game 3 22 2000 ALDS Game 5 22 1999 WS Game 3 20 1996 WS Game 1 15 2001 WS Game 6 15 David Cone, mean: 51.42, median:53 1999 WS Game 2 71 1998 ALDS Game 3 69 1998 ALCS Game 2 66 1999 ALCS Game 2 58 1996 WS Game 3 57 1998 WS Game 3 57 1995 ALDS Game 1 49 1996 ALCS Game 2 49 1995 ALDS Game 5 48 1998 ALCS Game 6 37 1996 ALDS Game 1 36 1997 ALDS Game 1 20 I thought Cone’s numbers would be higher. Looking back, I think Cone suffered a little from being left in the game too long in a few games. For example, he pitched very well in Game 5 of the 1995 series with the Mariners, but Buck Showalter left him in for approximately 2,400 pitches. 2000 ALCS Game 4 93 2000 WS Game 2 83 2001 WS Game 3 70 1999 ALDS Game 3 68 2001 ALCS Game 4 67 1999 WS Game 4 66 2003 ALDS Game 3 65 2001 WS Game 7 60 2003 ALCS Game 3 58 2003 WS Game 4 51 2001 ALDS Game 5 45 2001 ALDS Game 1 44 2000 ALDS Game 1 41 2002 ALDS Game 1 38 2003 ALCS Game 7 32 2000 ALDS Game 4 31 1999 ALCS Game 3 22 The lowlights included two head to head starts against the Pedro Martinez. One was a complete debacle for the Yankees, the other was one of the best games in Yankee history. There are worse options in a big game than Clemens, but the Yankees had better. Mike Mussina mean: 52.22 median: 56 2001 ALDS Game 3 69 2001 WS Game 5 67 2003 WS Game 3 64 2001 ALCS Game 2 56 2003 ALCS Game 4 56 2003 ALDS Game 1 51 2003 ALCS Game 1 38 2002 ALDS Game 3 36 2001 WS Game 1 3 As a Yankee, Mussina’s first start was his best. With the Yanks down 2-0 in the series, he shut down the A’s over 7 innings. His game score was only 69 because he only went seven innings. Joe went to a fully rested Mariano Rivera for a 2 innings save. Mussina’s other great Yankee postseason performance wasn’t a start, but a relief appearance. In 2003, ha came out of the pen for the first time in the big leagues and held David Wells mean: 55 median: 60 1998 ALDS Game 1 76 1997 ALDS Game 3 69 1998 ALCS Game 1 67 2003 ALCS Game 5 65 2003 ALDS Game 4 61 1998 ALCS Game 5 59 2003 WS Game 5 50 2003 WS Game 1 49 1998 WS Game 1 42 2002 ALDS Game 4 12 I was never a member of the David Wells Fan Club, but I always knew if the Yankees needed a start a good start, Wells would provide it. His game scores are a touch misleading, Wells is hurt by his low strikeout totals. He was more than excellent in many of these starts. If you discount his one inning start in 2003, he has only had 3 sub par starts, but what a sub par start in 2001. As crappy starts go, this Game 4 in 2002 was at the top of the list. I thought the Yankee outfielders were going to collapse from chasing all the balls in the gap. Oh, and those stupid thundersticks, ugh, the less said about the 2002 postseason the better. Wells is a very good choice to take the ball in the big game, however, the last time the Yankees did that, Wells asked out after the first inning, and not even an appearance by Good Andy two nights later could save them. Orlando Hernandez mean: 58.54 median: 60 1999 WS Game 1 76 1998 ALCS Game 4 72 1999 ALDS Game 1 72 2000 ALCS Game 2 66 1999 ALCS Game 5 65 1998 WS Game 2 62 2001 WS Game 4 60 2000 ALDS Game 3 57 1999 ALCS Game 1 56 2000 WS Game 3 50 2001 ALDS Game 4 47 2001 ALCS Game 3 40 2000 ALCS Game 6 38 In 2001, El Duque was asked why he didn’t feel pressure in the postseason. He replied, “I always feel pressure. Anyone who says he doesn't is lying. What I never feel is fear."
A win is a win by SG
To say that the series finale against Minnesota was a must-win is inaccurate. With an eight game lead and only 43 games remaining, it would take a collapse of historic proportions for the Yankees to not make the playoffs. However, there was definitely a sense of urgency, and the pitching matchup was definitely in favor of the Yankees, with El Duque looking to move to 6-0, vs. Carlos Silva, who's been workman-like, but not much more than that.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Is this what we paid for? by Sean McNally
The rumbles have started, and if you haven’t been caught in Olympic fever, you’ve probably already heard it: What’s wrong with Javy Vazquez?
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
House Money by SG
Like Gordon Gecko, I hate losses. I am a Yankee fan, and I am spoiled, and I want this team to win every single game they play. I had a theory about the way Joe Torre seemed to manage games where a series victory had been guaranteed due to the Yankees winning the first two games of a three game series, or first three games of a four game series. I call this my House Money theory. I've heard Michael Kay mention this when not calling every single fly ball deep, but haven't ever heard Torre say it directly. With Sunday night's loss fresh in my mind, and bored at work today, I figured I'd take a look at the Yankees' game log this season and see if there were any interesting trends in the so-called "House Money" games. There were 14 series which qualified as having one of these games. The Yankees record in these games is 7-7. I will list them below with a few comments about the final game in each series. What I tried to look for are any discernible trends that may signify a different approach from Torre in these particular games.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Back to the Future . . . by Sean McNally
With Bernie Williams at times seeming to age before our very eyes and Kenny Lofton less than 12 months away from his 38th birthday, the Yankees are seemingly in the market for a long-term solution in centerfield.
Roadside Photos by Larry Mahnken
When Doug Pappas passed away in May, knowing that his website would disappear as soon as the server bills came past due, Greg Tamer downloaded Doug's entire site, and has now uploaded it on his server.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Leave Jason Alone by SG
The New York media has gotten a well-deserved reputation as low-life scumbags, but their treatment of Jason Giambi has shocked even me. I had to write something about this, because frankly, these people are showing themselves to be the worst kind of low-life trash, the way they've been blasting Giambi recently.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Chicks Dig the Longball. by sj
I am back by lukewarm demand. I am not a great writer, so I will try to mask it again by doing another list. Lists fit my style perfectly, because of my short atten…ooh, look at that, Tiger is might miss the cut. Today I am going to rank the top 10 Torre Era Yankee home runs. As is the case with all lists, this one is completely subjective. 10. Derek Jeter vs. Byung-Hyun Kim, Game 4, 2001 WS Obviously, World Series walk offs are pretty exciting. This was a great at bat by Jeter, nine pitches; the ninth was a fastball outside that he went hit into the right field seats. 9. Tim Raines vs. Bobby Munoz, May 19, 1998 In the eighth inning, Bernie Williams had the nerve to hit a three run homer off head case Armando Benitez. Benitez then drilled Tino Martinez with a 95 mph fastball in the back. As the Yankee dugout stepped to the top step to exchange obscenities at him, Benitiez dropped his glove, spread his arms wide and invited the Yankees to take their best shot. Extreme ugliness ensued. Big Stein called it the “worst brawl he has seen in 25 years.” After a very long delay, Tim Raines hit the first pitch after the brawl for a run into the right field bleachers. Raines and they Yankees knocked the defending AL East champs into last place that day. 8. Darryl Strawberry vs. Billy Taylor, August 4th 1998. I am pretty sure this was an ESPN game. Anyway, I was watching this from the hotel I worked at, because I tore all the ligaments in my knee playing softball. Strawberry had already homered in the first game which the Yankees won. Torre sent someone named Mike Buddie out there to start the house money game. Buddie apparently won the WFAN, “Who wants to pitch for the Best Team Ever” contest. He was roughed up a little, and the Yanks entered the ninth down 5-1. Straw came up to pinch hit for Joe Girardi with the bases loaded, and promptly deposited a ball into the center field bleachers. The Yankees would score 5 more times that inning. They were pretty good in ‘98. 7 (tie).Chuck Knoblauch vs. Donne Wall 1998 WS Game 1 Tino’s grand slam off Langston gets much of the ink, but he should have been called out a pitch earlier, so that doesn’t make the list. Knobby’s 3 run homer was huge, Greg Vaughn had hit 2 homers, Tony Gwynn added one, and the Yanks were down 5-2 heading into the seventh. But two runners got on, and Bruce Bochy removed Kevin Brown from the game. Chuck Knoblauch vs. Tom Glavine 1999 WS Game 3 I hope people don’t forget all the things the Knobster did for the Yanks. Sure, while going through a painful divorce, he could not throw the ball to first base, but he had some huge hits for this team. Included in those was a game tying 2 run homer in the eighth inning of game 3. Sure Chad Curtis’ homer was a walk off, but the game was already tied. 6. Jason Giambi vs. Mike Trombley May, 17, 2002 Everyone remembers the rain game. Giambi became just the third player in baseball history to hit a walk off grand slam with his team down 3 in extras. I was in a bar in Hilton Head watching this game; I left after the Twins scored 3 in the 14th. Silly me. 5 (tie) Bernie Williams vs. Arthur Rhodes, 2001 ALCS, and Game 4 It hard to believe the Yankees made it all the way to game 7 of the World Series with that anemic offense. Bret Boone put the Mariners in position to win the game and tie the series with a homer in the 8th. Bernie ended all that nonsense with a homer to left off Alfonso Soriano vs. 2001 ALCS, Game 4 Soriano hit a 2 run walk off homer to effectively end the series, continuing the improbable Yankee run into the World Series. If the Yanks hadn’t been 3 time defending champs, they would have been heavy, heavy dogs in the series. 4. Jim Leyritz vs. Mark Wohlers, 1996 WS, Game 4 I talked about this one the other day, but it bears repeating, this was the home run that launched a dynasty. 3. Scott Brosius vs. Byung-Hyun Kim. 2001 WS, Game 5 2. Tino Martinez vs. Byung-Hyun Kim 2001 WS, Game 4 1. Aaron Boone vs. Tim Wakefield, 2003 ALCS Game 7 What can be said about this these that has not been said already? Either of these would be another franchises all time greatest home run. There you have it, I know, I know, Scott Brosious hit a 3 run homer off Trevor Hoffman in 98, but Larry has a rule. Scott Brosious can only appear on any list once, and the 2001 homer was far greater and more important, IMO. Don’t get mad at me, it is Larry’s rule, I am just a guest here.
Miguel, my belle by SG
When Aaron Boone went down to his basketball jones, the Yankees scrambled to solve the newly created hole. Although Boone was really not that great, the Yankees had no alternatives on hand. They swung a trade for Mike Lamb, and signed Tyler Houston to a minor league contract, but neither one of them seemed to be a real option. When Boston decided that the cost for acquiring Alex Rodriguez was too high, the Yankees swooped in and offered their last marketable young player for the reigning AL MVP. This fixed the hole at third, but opened a new hole at second. For all of Soriano's faults, he was very valuable player at second base. The Yankees talked about Enrique Wilson as the starter, but the rumor mill threw out all the big names. Names like Bret Boone, Jeff Kent, and Jose Vidro.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Looking back. by sj
Greetings all, it is sjohnny, your fourth or fifth favorite member of the Yankee Chatter crew. Today, I am ranking the greatest Yankee games of the Torre era. There have been many, many, many great games, but I am going with these 5 nominees… 1996 WS Game 4 I know, I know, what about Game 4 of the 2001 World Series? Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS? Game 5 of the 2000 World Series? Well, I am not writing a book. I had a really hard time leaving off game 5 of the 96 series, but I felt two 1-0 games would be overkill. I am scoring them in 5 categories, 20 being the highest, and 1 being the lowest Importance of the Game 1996 World Series Game 4 Game 4 is always an important game, but neither team was facing elimination. Closeness during the Game 9. 6 innings were played before the Yankees scored; it wasn’t within a run until the eighth. For nearly a third of the game it looked like a laugher. Quality of Play 8. Ugh. Kenny Rogers only had one bad inning, unfortunately for him; he was only in there for 2. His game score… I don’t know, it broke my spreadsheet. I am guessing mid-teens. Neagle’s was a little better, 36. Yanks made one very poor play; Mariano Duncan didn’t cover second on an odd bouncer to the pitcher, allowing Jeff Blauser to reach. The Braves scored runs with 2 outs in that inning, so it may have made a difference in The Braves made a couple of very costly errors. Jermaine Dye (wow, that was one hell of a young outfield in In umpiring news, Tim Welke interfered with a Derek Jeter popup, prohibiting Dye from making a play. Jeter of course singled later in the at bat, and came around to score. Individual Performances 15. Nearly everyone had the opportunity to shine in this game, as dozens of players had a hand in this game. Mike Aldrete? He has a World Series ring? Andy Fox? Really? Boehringer was great, it was important to stop the bleeding. And he threw 2 innings worth of gauze. Charlie Hayes was 3-5 with a walk. Cecil Fielder had his typical fine game, going 2-4 with an RBI. McGriff had a good game, as was his wont that series. A 14 year old Andruw Jones also had 3 hits. Memorable Moments 19. This is why this game is on the list. Jim Leyritz lived for the spotlight. Wohlers threw Leyritz a few fastballs that where in the wheelhouse, but Jimmy’s bat was simply too slow. I can’t recall if Perez called for the slider or Wohlers shook him off, but it was thrown, and Leyritz deposited it into left. The rest is history. The Boggs/Avery AB in the tenth was very good, especially considering the Yankees used nearly their entire bullpen, and really had to score, or Zimmer was going to pitch. Total Score 66. 2000 WS Game 1 Importance of the Game 14 First in a series is the least important, but it was the World Series. Closeness During game 20. Yanks scores in the 6th, Mets took the lead in the 7th. Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 9th and won it in the 12th. Quality of Play 15. Starting pitchers were great for a while, nobody scored through 6 and ½. Their final game scores didn’t reflect how well they pitched, especially when they were in trouble. Leiter’s game score was 49. Pettite’s 38. In retrospect, Pettite wasn’t that good, but the Mets helped him This score would be much higher if the rules allowed for ghost runners. The game was errorless, in stats alone. On four separate the Mets made borderline retarded base running plays. In the fourth, Piazza got on base to lead off the inning, he was then picked off. That is somewhat acceptable, as Pettite has one of the best moves in the history of sport. In a wacky play later in the inning, Todd Zeile hit a roller that went foul, then darted fair, Zeile was out at first because he stopped running. In the fifth, with a runner on second and no outs, Jay Payton hit a ball that was clearly fair. Payton never ran, and decided to argue the mere concept of fair and foul balls. Posada threw him out at first; Pettite got Pratt and Bordick on strikes to end the threat. See memorable moments for the final boneheaded play of the quartet. Individual Performances 14 Jose Vizcaino had four hits, including the game winner. He is the sjohnny player of the game. Memorable moments 14 The play everyone remembers was the homer that wasn’t. With Timo Perez on first, Zeile hit a ball that everyone thought was gone, and they cruised around the bases. Unfortunately for the JV, it hit the top of the wall and bounced fair. David Justice made an offline throw to Jeter, who made an incredible relay thrown to nail a now sprinting Perez at the plate by a couple of steps. Jeter defense is much maligned, but I believe if I need a relay throw, I want Jeter to throw it. He is the best in the league. The ninth was full of drama, in the top half, Todd Pratt was hit by a pitch with one out and Kurt Abbott doubled over O'Neill's head in right. But Rivera got Perez on a bouncer to second with the infield in before striking out Edgardo Alfonzo. In the ninth, the Yankees needed to score, and Armando Benitez was willing to help. O’Niell was up with one out and nobody aboard. He worked a ten pitch walk. Everyone watching knew that Paulie couldn’t hit the fastball, but he just kept fouling them off. A wonderful at bat by an overmatched aging ballplayer. Said Torre, “That was unbelievable, it was a sensational at-bat.” Luis Polonia, who I completely forgot was on the team pinch hit for Brosious, and singled. Vizcaino singled again, and Chuck Knoblauch hit a sac fly to tie it up. Captain Dreamboat had a chance to win it, but failed miserably, striking out. But I thought he was clutch? What happened Jetes? Vizcaino had yet another single, his fourth, to win it with the bases loaded and two outs in the twelfth. Total Score 77. 2001 ALDS Game 3 Importance of the Game 17. The Yankees were down 2-0, going back to Closeness during the Game 20. It does not get much closer than 1-0. Quality of Play 19. An error on the first play of the game, and a would have been error on the Shane Spencer twirl and throw on the Jeter flip play, other than that, perfect. This game was an incredible pitching duel Mussina’s game score was 58. I thought he was better than that, but he only K’d 4, and walked one. Zito was amazing, only 2 hits, a lone homer by Posada and a double by Spencer that AB after. Zito’s game score was 63. Individual Performances 16 Dye on Mussina: "He worked both sides of the plate and he came right at us. He hit his spots and he was on the top of his game." Zito and Mussina were great. Jermaine Dye had 2 hits, other than that, nothing stands out. Memorable Moments 15 Nothing really stands out, oh, there was some play by Jeter, a flip or something, I don’t remember. Johnny Damon did though, as he said after the game, “What in the heck is Jeter doing running over there? That is pure instinct. That is why he is such a great player. There is no way that many shortstops would go to back up a play like that. He made perhaps their best play of the season today." Total Game Score 87. 2001 World Series Game 7 Note: I get ill when I think about this game for more than 10 minutes, so I will gloss over this one. Importance of the Game 20. I can only give it a 20, so that’s what it gets. Closeness during the Game 20. Always tight, no one had a lead by more than a run, for more than 2 innings. Quality of Play 12. O’Neill was thrown out trying to extend a double into a triple. Posada threw out Womack trying to steal second in the seventh. Among the good plays, Spencer was robbed of an RBI, and an insurance run, with 2 outs in the sixth. I will always be very disappointed in the Yankee defense in the ninth. Mo Rivera should have just taken the out at first. Instead, 2 runners reached. I will maintain until I die that Brosious held the ball, afraid to lose instead of trying to win. I have forgiven him, because they wouldn’t have been there without him. Individual Performances 16 The Starting pitchers were great. Clemens GS: 51, Schilling 52.3 Clemens would have been World Series MVP had Brosious thrown the ball to first. Sigh. Memorable Moments 20. You don’t get more memorable than a couple of broken bat hits to win the World Series. Alfonso Soraino’s homer was also great, it was a pitch even Yogi Berra couldn’t hit. He hit a splitter that was less than a foot off the ground. Total Game Score: 88. 2003 ALCS Game 7 Importance of the Game 20. Did they even play a World Series after this game? Closeness during the Game 12 It wasn’t close for a while, but it did go extra innings. Quality of Play 19 One error, one bad pitching performance, one horrendous managerial decision. Individual Performances 18 Clemens, well, he wasn’t good. Mike Mussina was asked to do save the Yanks and he did, pitching 3 scoreless innings. Moose came into the game with runners on first and third with no one down, and didn’t allow a runner to score. Roger Clemens’ postseason ERA sent a note of thanks after the game. Felix Heredia also had a On the offensive side, Matsui made a great read on Posada’s base hit in the eighth, breaking for home immediately. A gimpy and struggling Jason Giambi hit 2 home runs against one of the greatest pitchers in the world. Kevin Millar and Trot Nixon were the offensive stars for Memorable Moments 20. Among the greatest moments in broadcasting, McCarver and Buck finally shutting up in the eighth, letting Boone’s home run ensures that he will never be forgotten. Matsui’s double was great, a shot down the right field line, I still have the Washington Post sports page from the next day. On it, a large picture of Matsui jumping in the air next to a stunned Jason Varitek after he scored. Total Game Score 89. This is just one man’s opinion. You may now tell me all the ways I wrong.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Grand Tanyon by SG
Tanyon Sturtze's career record is not that of a good major league pitcher. Entering last night's game, he had career ERA of 5.20 in 671.1 IP, with a 32 and 41 record. If you were to look up the term "replacement-level" in the dictionary, you'd probably find this picture. Tanyon Sturtze makes the major league minimum salary.
Filling in by Larry Mahnken
I've invited SG and sjohnny to fill in for me while I'm destressifying. SG already contributed below, as you can see. Let me know if you like what they're up to while the cat's away, I might keep them on board.
Rebuilding on the Fly by SG
I'd like to thank Larry for letting me write for his blog. I'm not nearly the writer that he is, but will try and do my best. You can all rip me if you like, I can take it.
Hiatus by Larry Mahnken
I've been getting weighed down with stress (from the real world) lately, and I'm sure it's come through in the quality, quantity and tone of my writing. I just need a break, but I'm sure just a short one. I'll keep doing Rivals in Exile with Ben, but the blog is going to be static for a little while.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Too Little, Too Late by Larry Mahnken
I'll say this about Jose Contreras -- at least he won games.
Monday, August 09, 2004
Eight is Enough by Larry Mahnken
Suddenly, everything is going right for the Yankees, or at least it seems that way.
Friday, August 06, 2004
by Larry Mahnken
Wins and losses aren't that crucial at this point, if the Yankees were to play .500 the rest of the way, it's still unlikely that Boston would catch them. The important thing is that they start getting good omens for October. And that's just what they got yesterday afternoon.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
The Eternal Suckage of Kowalsky by Larry Mahnken
There's this guy who posts in Baseball Think Factory's Game Chatters, Jeter's #1 Fan, who a few months ago started complaining about this guy he knew, Kowalsky. And the Yankees started a rally. Being the superstitious sort, we picked up on this, and whenever a Yankees rally was desired, we would mention how much Kowalksy sucked. And while it doesn't always work, it's kind of funny how it does sometime. Kowalsky was invoked when Cairo tied the game against the Red Sox on July 1st, and last night, with one out and Derek Jeter up, SG brought up the eventual need of a nickname for new Yankee C.J. Nitkowski. I suggested C.J. Kowalski, since he sucks.
Monday, August 02, 2004
Farewell to the Big Enigma, and other trade stuff by Larry Mahnken
I don't think I've ever seen a trade deadline with so many stupid trades. The trades of this past weekend make Boone for Claussen look absolutely brilliant (and to reiterate, that trade was bad because Boone didn't improve the team at all, and they gave up a useful prospect for the privilege -- that he was teh suck made it all the worse).
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