Thursday, August 23, 2007
Preview: Yanks at Tigers - 8/24 - 8/27
Pitching Matchups:
Game One 7:05 ET
Andrew Miller LHP 5-4, 4.42, vs. Roger Clemens RHP 5-5 3.92
Game Two 7:05 ET
Jeremy Bonderman RHP 10-6 4.65, vs. Chien-Ming Wang RHP 14-6 4.10
Game Three 1:05 ET
Jair Jurrjens RHP 1-1 3.29 vs. RHP Phil Hughes 2-1 4.96
Game Four 7:05 ET (ESPN2)
Justin Verlander RHP 13-5 3.94 vs Mike Mussina RHP 8-9 5.22
Back for more later.
Game One 7:05 ET
Andrew Miller LHP 5-4, 4.42, vs. Roger Clemens RHP 5-5 3.92
Game Two 7:05 ET
Jeremy Bonderman RHP 10-6 4.65, vs. Chien-Ming Wang RHP 14-6 4.10
Game Three 1:05 ET
Jair Jurrjens RHP 1-1 3.29 vs. RHP Phil Hughes 2-1 4.96
Game Four 7:05 ET (ESPN2)
Justin Verlander RHP 13-5 3.94 vs Mike Mussina RHP 8-9 5.22
Back for more later.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
8/23/07
10:00 p.m.
Lineups:
New York
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Cabrera CF
Pettitte 10-7 3.80
Anaheim
Willits LF
Cabrera SS
Guerrero RF
Anderson DH
Kendrick 2B
Matthews CF
Izturis 3B
Quinlan 1B
Mathis C
Lackey SP 15-7 3.32
Figgins is out of the lineup for Anaheim. He strained his wrist during last night's game and is day-to-day.
2:44 A.M.
Pettitte gave the Yankees just what they needed tonight, seven solid innings to keep the team in the game and the bullpen from being overworked going into Detroit on Friday.
The offense did more than enough to back him, scoring eight runs on 16 hits. Matsui, Posada, Cano, Cabrera and Damon combined for 13 of those hits and six runs driven in.
But in the eighth, Joba Chamberlain stole the show.
In my previous post I noted that the kid will need to run into a little trouble before the Yankees can judge the full balance of his character. He ran into that trouble last night. After getting ninth hitter Jeff Mathis to wave at a slider, leadoff man Reggie Willits grounded a single through the middle.
Granted, it was only a single, and the Yankees did have a six-run lead at the time, but it put the very speedy Willits on first for Cabrera and Guerrero.
This is where it gets impressive.
Chamberlain got both hitters to wave at sliders out of the zone. He had bridged the gap to Mariano Rivera, further proving his case as the setup man for the stretch run.
After surrendering a run on a few Baltimore Chop singles over the corner infielders, Rivera closed the door on an 8-2 win.
Because both Boston and Seattle had lost earlier in the day the Yankees moved up in the respective division and wild card races. New York now sits at 5 back in the East and 1.5 out the WC.
That's all for now, back tomorrow with a preview of the upcoming tryst in Motown.
10:00 p.m.
Lineups:
New York
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Cabrera CF
Pettitte 10-7 3.80
Anaheim
Willits LF
Cabrera SS
Guerrero RF
Anderson DH
Kendrick 2B
Matthews CF
Izturis 3B
Quinlan 1B
Mathis C
Lackey SP 15-7 3.32
Figgins is out of the lineup for Anaheim. He strained his wrist during last night's game and is day-to-day.
2:44 A.M.
Pettitte gave the Yankees just what they needed tonight, seven solid innings to keep the team in the game and the bullpen from being overworked going into Detroit on Friday.
The offense did more than enough to back him, scoring eight runs on 16 hits. Matsui, Posada, Cano, Cabrera and Damon combined for 13 of those hits and six runs driven in.
But in the eighth, Joba Chamberlain stole the show.
In my previous post I noted that the kid will need to run into a little trouble before the Yankees can judge the full balance of his character. He ran into that trouble last night. After getting ninth hitter Jeff Mathis to wave at a slider, leadoff man Reggie Willits grounded a single through the middle.
Granted, it was only a single, and the Yankees did have a six-run lead at the time, but it put the very speedy Willits on first for Cabrera and Guerrero.
This is where it gets impressive.
Chamberlain got both hitters to wave at sliders out of the zone. He had bridged the gap to Mariano Rivera, further proving his case as the setup man for the stretch run.
After surrendering a run on a few Baltimore Chop singles over the corner infielders, Rivera closed the door on an 8-2 win.
Because both Boston and Seattle had lost earlier in the day the Yankees moved up in the respective division and wild card races. New York now sits at 5 back in the East and 1.5 out the WC.
That's all for now, back tomorrow with a preview of the upcoming tryst in Motown.
Joba Chamberlain
Here is Joba Chamberlain's line this year:
7 IP, 2H, 2 BB and 11K
Even though the sample size is extremely limited, those numbers are nothing short of eye-popping. I am not ready to anoint him the Yankees' savior, although he is an upgrade from the mediocre duo of Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney.
He started the year with the Single-A Tampa Yankees and made his debut on August 7 in Toronto. With the stuff he has displayed sinceand the inconsistency the bullpen has displayed throughout the season it's a wonder he didn't get the call sooner.
The kid from Nebraska brings a heater at anywhere from 97 to 100 mph and a witchcraft slider. The most impressive part of his repertoire, though, is his poise.
He is the first player, 21-year-old or otherwise, I can remember getting his name chanted by the fans for simply trotting to the mound for the first time. That's quite a lot of pressure to put on a young man.
He reacted by slicing through Miguel Tejada, Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff in 10 pitches, including strikeouts of Tejada and Huff.
He upped the ante the next time out, dispatching Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in just 9 pitches. Chamberlain got Sheff to pop out a 99 mph fastball, fanned Ordonez on three fastballs; one high, one middle-out and one low-out and pulled the string on Guillen with a sharp-breaking slider off the plate inside.
He's wowed the Yankee Stadium crowd and national media alike and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Remember, though, he is only 21 and will fail at some point. Someone will square one of those fastballs and hit it a long way. How he reacts is the important part.
If he broods and tries to throw the ball even harder, things will only get worse. If he is able to shake it off and continue going about his game plan, then he will have proven that he deserves to be considered one of those "special" ballplayers.
7 IP, 2H, 2 BB and 11K
Even though the sample size is extremely limited, those numbers are nothing short of eye-popping. I am not ready to anoint him the Yankees' savior, although he is an upgrade from the mediocre duo of Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney.
He started the year with the Single-A Tampa Yankees and made his debut on August 7 in Toronto. With the stuff he has displayed sinceand the inconsistency the bullpen has displayed throughout the season it's a wonder he didn't get the call sooner.
The kid from Nebraska brings a heater at anywhere from 97 to 100 mph and a witchcraft slider. The most impressive part of his repertoire, though, is his poise.
He is the first player, 21-year-old or otherwise, I can remember getting his name chanted by the fans for simply trotting to the mound for the first time. That's quite a lot of pressure to put on a young man.
He reacted by slicing through Miguel Tejada, Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff in 10 pitches, including strikeouts of Tejada and Huff.
He upped the ante the next time out, dispatching Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in just 9 pitches. Chamberlain got Sheff to pop out a 99 mph fastball, fanned Ordonez on three fastballs; one high, one middle-out and one low-out and pulled the string on Guillen with a sharp-breaking slider off the plate inside.
He's wowed the Yankee Stadium crowd and national media alike and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Remember, though, he is only 21 and will fail at some point. Someone will square one of those fastballs and hit it a long way. How he reacts is the important part.
If he broods and tries to throw the ball even harder, things will only get worse. If he is able to shake it off and continue going about his game plan, then he will have proven that he deserves to be considered one of those "special" ballplayers.
8/21 Yankees at Angels.
12:28 a.m.
It's come to this: Mike Mussina simply does not seem like a serviceable Major League pitcher anymore. He had nothing tonight. His fastball was sitting somewhere in the mid-80s without any hint of movement, and his curveball was rolling to the plate, consistently settling somewhere in the middle of the zone. That translates into a lot of runs, quickly.
His line: 1.2 IP, 7H, 7R, 2BB and 1 K
That simply will not cut it down a crucial stretch run.
12:43 a.m.
18-5 in the 7th inning, this is a good ol' fashioned beatdown.
But....
Take solace, Yankees fans. This has happened before, and at the end of the tunnel the Bombers found quite a bit of light.
On July 4 of last year the Yankees got beat by Cleveland 19-1. How did they respond? By going 51-30 over the rest of the season and winning the AL East.
Whether or not that happens this year remains to be seen, but stats like this show that the season is not over. Not by a long shot.
1:29 a.m.
One thing that's been true of this team all year, they do not give up. Down 18-5, most teams would pack it in. The Yanks came up with four runs in the ninth, not nearly the 13 they needed, but an encouraging sign nonetheless.
Andy Pettitte, the Yankees' stopper goes tomorrow.
I'll be back with more of the same about tomorrow's game. Additionally, I will be posting about the 8th wonder of the world that is Joba Chamberlain.
It's come to this: Mike Mussina simply does not seem like a serviceable Major League pitcher anymore. He had nothing tonight. His fastball was sitting somewhere in the mid-80s without any hint of movement, and his curveball was rolling to the plate, consistently settling somewhere in the middle of the zone. That translates into a lot of runs, quickly.
His line: 1.2 IP, 7H, 7R, 2BB and 1 K
That simply will not cut it down a crucial stretch run.
12:43 a.m.
18-5 in the 7th inning, this is a good ol' fashioned beatdown.
But....
Take solace, Yankees fans. This has happened before, and at the end of the tunnel the Bombers found quite a bit of light.
On July 4 of last year the Yankees got beat by Cleveland 19-1. How did they respond? By going 51-30 over the rest of the season and winning the AL East.
Whether or not that happens this year remains to be seen, but stats like this show that the season is not over. Not by a long shot.
1:29 a.m.
One thing that's been true of this team all year, they do not give up. Down 18-5, most teams would pack it in. The Yanks came up with four runs in the ninth, not nearly the 13 they needed, but an encouraging sign nonetheless.
Andy Pettitte, the Yankees' stopper goes tomorrow.
I'll be back with more of the same about tomorrow's game. Additionally, I will be posting about the 8th wonder of the world that is Joba Chamberlain.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Hello and Welcome
My name is Josh Norris. I have been a sports copy editor at the Trentonian since July 16 and a Yankees fan since the beginning of the 1995 season.
From now on I will be posting as frequently as I can about the ups and downs of the Yankees as they continue their push through the final six weeks of the season and, should they make it that far, the postseason.
I will continue blogging throughout the offseason, weighing in on whatever wheelings and dealings (you can be sure there will be many in what looks to be the beginning of a wholesale transition away from the 'win now at any cost' attitude that has pervaded since 2001 to a more conservative 'win now, but with an eye toward the future' mindset) may go down.
Hope you enjoy reading as much as I am going to enjoy posting.
That's all for now, I have to get back to work.
From now on I will be posting as frequently as I can about the ups and downs of the Yankees as they continue their push through the final six weeks of the season and, should they make it that far, the postseason.
I will continue blogging throughout the offseason, weighing in on whatever wheelings and dealings (you can be sure there will be many in what looks to be the beginning of a wholesale transition away from the 'win now at any cost' attitude that has pervaded since 2001 to a more conservative 'win now, but with an eye toward the future' mindset) may go down.
Hope you enjoy reading as much as I am going to enjoy posting.
That's all for now, I have to get back to work.
Previous Posts
- JRC BITES
- Preview: Yanks at Tigers - 8/24 - 8/27
- 8/23/07 10:00 p.m. Lineups: New York Damon LF Je...
- Joba Chamberlain
- 8/21 Yankees at Angels.
- Hello and Welcome
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