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Offensive onslaught bails out A.J. as Yankees roll

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Not even a poor start from Allan James Burnett could hold back the Yankees last night. They put on their typical offensive showing, smacking 12 hits off Orioles pitching, six of which were for extra bases. That included five home runs, accounting for eight of the Yanks nine runs. The bullpen did its usual lights out job, and the Yanks ticked off another victory.

It was clear from the start that Burnett didn’t have his best stuff. This seems to happen from time to time. Last time out against the Rangers he definitely did have his best stuff, but seemingly lost focus at a critical moment. This time against Baltimore he wasn’t hitting spots at all. The O’s hit him hard right from the start, including a Felix Pie homer.

After an uneventful second, A.J. faced considerable trouble in the third. It took him 32 pitches to get through the inning, and two of the batters he faced put the first pitch into play. The inning featured two walks, the only two Burnett would issue in the game. Two of them would come around to score, erasing the lead to which Jorge Posada and Robinson had staked them.

The Orioles went down without a peep in the fourth, but again that wasn’t a sign of things to come. Burnett made his own bed in the fifth by failing to cover first base on a hard liner which Mark Teixeira knocked down. Two batters later Luke Scott laid into a pitch, sending it out onto Eutaw Street. The Yanks had scored five runs for their No. 2 starter, and he’d blown it.

It’s quite good, then, that the Yankees have the most high-powered offense in baseball. Alex Rodriguez drove in the tying run in the top of the sixth, and then a double-homer-homer string by Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, and Eric Hinske put the Yanks back out in front for good. It’s just another instance in a season full of late-inning scoring by the Yanks. In innings seven through nine, the team was hitting .293/.380/.512 entering play. They added to it last night.

The late-inning offensive heroics are amplified because of the capable arms in the Yanks pen. Four of them pitched 3.2 innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Damaso Marte was the first man on the scene, finishing off the sixth inning and recording the first out of the seventh. David Robertson followed by doing the same in the seventh and eighth, which Phil Coke perfectly finished. Then came Mo, who allowed a hit but got a double play ball to end the game.

Certainly that’s not the start anyone wants to see from Burnett. The good news is that he still has five or six more tune-ups before the playoffs. As they’ve done plenty of times before, the Yanks offense masked this one. They can do that. It’s quite the advantage when the pitchers aren’t going right. We’ve seen A.J. pitch brilliantly this year, and we’ve also seen starts like this from him. As long as he’s not doing this in October, I’ll refrain from too much complaint. (Though it’s tough to not complain when he loses a winnable game.)

Getaway day? Who’s ever heard of that? With the series in hand, the Yanks will go for the sweep tomorrow night, as CC Sabathia toes the rubber against Jason Berken. Now, if only the Red Sox would lose a game at some point.

Yanks use longball to topple Sox 8-4

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The Boston Red Sox are a good baseball team. They have a potent offense which, despite a slump after the All-Star Break, ranks up there among the best in the league. They have two of the top starters in the league. Their bullpen, though not as good as it was in April, is still solid. Yet despite how good they are, they’ve run into a team playing even better.

The Yankees flexed their bats once again last night, hammering Sox ace Josh Beckett for eight runs, including five home runs, in eight innings. Derek Jeter started the assault, belting the first pitch of the game into the Red Sox bullpen. Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez each added a blast, and Hideki Matsui had two for the second time in the series. Those five hits accounted for seven of the eight Yankee runs.

The Josh Beckett on the rubber last night was not the Josh Beckett who has pitched most of this season. His funk started last time out in Toronto, when he allowed seven runs in 5.1 innings. He labored a bit in that one, throwing 99 pitches. Last night it seemed a bit different. He ran into more issues with the long ball, but was still able to keep his pitch count at a decent level, and also kept throwing strikes. Though he gave up nine base hits, Beckett walked no one.

CC Sabathia steered clear of the free pass as well. Like Beckett, CC wasn’t at the height of his game, but he was much closer. Trouble brewed in the second, after the Yanks had staked CC to a two-run lead. Again it happened with two outs, after CC struck out the first two batters in the inning. Lowell, Baldelli, and Varitek went double-single-double, tying the score and prompting a collective groan from the Yankees faithful.

That’s as bad as things would get. After a double play helped avert trouble in the third, Robinson Cano made his second error of the night, this one costing the Yanks a run. They had built a 5-2 lead by that point, so the run didn’t hurt as much, but there’s simply no reason to hand the Red Sox additional opportunities. As said in the opening paragraph, they are a good team. They will hurt you if you let them.

Four runs over 6.2 innings might not look great in the box score, but it was still a quality effort by CC. He didn’t walk anyone, and kept his strike to ball ratio in good standing. The Sox did knock out eight base hits against him, but just three of them were doubles. There were no homers. Sabathia also beared down with runners on, as he held the Red Sox to just 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

(Oddly, the Yankees just put three men in scoring position all night, one of whom, Derek Jeter, scored on a Mark Teixeira single. Hey, when you hit five dingers, who needs runners in scoring position?)

The win caps a 7-3 road trip and gives the Yanks a 7.5 game lead in the East. That’s the same lead they had after the previous series. Again, Boston’s a good team that’s run into a team that’s playing just as well if not better. They’ve shaken the 0-8 stigma for good, and even put a dent in the “they can’t win at Fenway” argument with two wins this weekend.

You can say that the Yanks have sealed the division, and on October 4 you might prove to have been right. But there are still a number of good teams in the AL that the Yanks will have to face along the way, and they won’t tread lightly. They’ll have another test right away, as the Rangers, a game behind the Red Sox for the Wild Card, come to town starting Tuesday. Unfortunately, it looks like the Yanks will have to do the Sox a favor.

Cano vs. Pedroia

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The New York-Boston rivalry goes beyond wins and losses, extending down to the individual players. In the 90’s it was Jeter vs. Nomar, a few years ago it was Posada vs. Varitek, and nowadays you’ve got Cano vs. Pedroia in a second base matchup. Both are obviously tremendous young players, but they go about their business in different ways. Jack Curry spoke to injured Mets infielder (kinda redundant, no?) Alex Cora about which player he’d prefer, to which he essentially said Pedroia because “people are going to say [Pedroia] is going to show up every day and [Cano] might not.”

That mentality comes through again in this conveniently timed follow-up by Joel Sherman.  Sherman polled seven executives about which second sacker they’d take, and all seven said Pedroia because he “has better makeup and gives his all every day.” He also noted that several execs “kept telling me Cano was erratic on D,” which Sherman (and I) disagree with. There’s certainly merit to guys who play hard all the time, but there’s no denying that Cano has more more talent and raw ability, and both articles reflect that.

Let’s not pretend that there aren’t some stereotypes involved here. The Dominican Cano is often be called lazy, or boneheaded, or something along those lines when he has the audacity to fail at something in a game of failure. Pedroia, short and white, fits the mold of a “grinder” and someone that “plays the game the right way,” something you absolutely never hear about non-caucasian players. But just look at last night’s game, when Pedroia was thrown out at third by ten feet trying to stretch a double into a triple. What would have been said about Cano if the roles were reversed? And then of course, there’s this.

Look, Robbie Cano is a great young player who’s guilty of the occasional brianfart. After an MVP season last year, Pedroia now lags behind Cano in AVG (.296 to .311), SLG (.440 to .499), OPS (.811 to .842), XBH (47 to 54), and VORP (27.5 to 29.4). Pedroia’s great, but the reputation far exceeds the reality right now. When it comes to Robbie, I think this great quote from Bossman Junior fits him perfectly (Upton was talking about himself at the time, but it still applies):

“Just because of the way I carry myself, some people say I’m lazy. I’ve heard that my whole life. Or I don’t work hard, or I don’t play hard sometimes. I can’t help that I make some things look easier than they really are.”

Bounce back players helping to power Yanks

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When asked what three additions have meant most to the 2009 Yankees, the first names that probably come to mind are A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixeira. All three signed with the Yankees over the off-season, and they’ve been excellent upgrades over their 2008 counterparts. Still, Dave Pinto has three different names in mind: Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, and Robinson Cano. Both were on the 2008 team, but the first two missed significant time with injuries, and Cano had a horrible first half and a good but not compensatory second half. Their returns to form this year have been a huge difference for this year’s team.

In 2008 Robinson Cano stepped to the plate 634 times and hit .271/.305/.410, his worst season since he was a rookie in 2005. His defense also suffered, as we saw him have trouble making some routine plays. It came at a curious time, as Cano had signed a four-year, $30 million contract over the off-season. Baseball fans love narrative, and this one wrote itself: Cano was lazy and he needed Larry Bowa to return to form.

This year Robinson has appeared at the plate 489 times and is hitting .318/.352/.513. He already had 18 homers and a team-high 32 doubles (tied with Tex). He still has his ups and downs, but that’s inherently Cano. He doesn’t necessarily rely on waiting for his pitch. Instead, he relies on timing, and sometimes his timing is going to be out of whack. That means a slump here and there, but as long as he can keep those limited, as he has this year, he’s going to be a valuable piece of any Yankees team.

Despite knee troubles that kept him out of action for two months, Matsui didn’t have a terrible 2008. He hit the DL hitting .323/.404/.458, which is fine for a 34-year-old with bad knees. Problem was, the injury came at a poor time. The Yankees were trying to pull of their second-half surge, but their offense sputtered in early August. A healthy Matsui would have done wonders then. He came back on August 19, but posted a paltry .209/.269/.326 line over 93 plate appearances the rest of the way. It left open the question of Hideki’s effectiveness in 2009.

This year Hideki has almost hit his plate appearance total from 2008, but is performing at a much higher level. The Yankees made the decision to keep him out of the field this season, and it’s paying off, as he’s hitting .269/.365/.516. We saw some extreme streakiness from Matsui earlier in the year, but it’s seemed to stabilize a bit lately. His .881 OPS is fourth on the team, and he’s had his share of big hits. The Yankees went on a similar post-break run this year as last, but this year were able to sustain it. Hideki is a big reason for that.

Finally, it’s impossible to talk about the 2008 season and not mention the loss of Jorge Posada. He and the team downplayed shoulder pain in Spring Training, and it turned out to be bad. Really bad. He hit the DL at the end of April in hopes that rest and rehab would heal it, but that just wasn’t the case. From mid-June, when he returned, to mid-July, when it was finally clear that he couldn’t go on, Posada hit .248/.380/.371, a far cry from the power he’s displayed in the past. Overall, the Yanks got a .230/.290/.335 line from their catchers, something they haven’t been used to.

After hitting the DL in May, it seems like Jorge’s been just fine physically. Among AL catchers with at least 200 plate appearances, Posada ranks third in OPS. The Yankees as a team are also third in the AL in catcher OPS. They were ninth last season.

While Tex, CC, and A.J. have been fine additions to the team, the Yanks have gotten what they’ve needed from their in-house guys, and then some. Before the season started, we asked which Yankee had the best chance of bouncing back from a poor 2008. Unfortunately, there was no all of the above option. That would have been the correct one. Jorge, Hideki, and Cano (and even Swisher) have all come around and have helped the Yankees greatly in 2009. They’re as big a part of the team’s success as the new guys.

Robbie Cano powers Yanks offense to 4-3 win in extras

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The Yankees got beat up today. It started with their first batter of the game. Ricky Romero tossed a curveball inside, and it bounced right off Jeter’s right instep. He staggered in pain, but somehow convinced Joe Girardi and Gene Monahan that he was fine. After limping to first in his next at bat, Jeter left the game. X-rays, thankfully, were negative.

Then in the eighth, Jorge Posada took a foul ball off his throwing hand. How he stayed in the game after that, I have no idea. He’s insanely lucky that it didn’t break his hand — it’s happened to plenty of others. The problem is that Jorge doesn’t hide his throwing hand like catchers are taught in little league. Most guys won’t put their hands behind their back like in the old days, but they at least hide it behind the thigh. Jorge rests his on top of the thigh, and it almost cost him the rest of the season today.

Perhaps the worst incident came in the bottom of the 11th. On an 0-2 pitch, Shawn Camp came inside on A-Rod — a bit too inside. It hit right off his pad, but it was a direct hit. A-Rod went down, and if it wouldn’t take a tough defensive rejiggering (Tex to third, Jorge to first, Molina catching), he might have left the game. He ultimately stayed in, but there’s certainly a fear this could be worse.

They might have been beaten and battered, but the Yankees played through it all (without charging the mound). They didn’t look bad, either. After the leadoff hit by pitch, the Yankees put together a first inning run. It wasn’t the prettiest — if not for Aaron Hill bobbling his first of about four grounders on the day, it might have been a double play. And if Jeter hadn’t strayed off the bag on A-Rod’s grounder to third, they might have never had the chance to plate the run.

Things were going swimmingly through five. Burnett had surrendered just one run, the second in as many days by rookie Randy Ruiz. The seven baserunners through five, six hits and a walk, might seem like a lot, but he used six strikeouts and a ground ball double play to work out of a few jams. With the Yankees up 3-1, it looked like another victory. But, like Joba the night before, A.J. ran into a tough inning.

The boxscore notes that all three Blue Jays runs were charged to A.J., and technically it’s not wrong. He did throw two wild pitches in the inning, which first moved runners into scoring position and then allowed the tying run to score. It’s known that A.J. has a bit of a wild streak — he does lead the league in wild pitches, after all. But Jorge has to get to at least one of those, preferably the one that bounced between his legs and allowed Encarnacion to score. So yes, A.J. and his inherent wildness were at fault. But Jorge certainly was, too.

The bullpen did a good job of holding down the fort, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks through five innings. Chad Gaudin was a pleasant surprise in his first pinstriped appearance, tossing two innings while allowing one hit and striking out three. That should serve as a nice tune-up for a Sunday start, should the Yankees opt for that scenario.

In the end, the day belonged to Robinson Cano. His homer to lead off the fourth gave the Yankees a two-run cushion. But then, in the bottom of the 11th, in a dreaded runners in scoring position situation, Cano delivered a liner to the gap in right center. It looked like a homer off the bat, but it bounced off the wall, allowing A-Rod to score the game to mercifully end.

That capped a 6-1 homestand for the Yankees, about as good as they could have asked for. They even had a chance at a double sweep, losing the first game to Toronto by just one run after having them on the ropes early. Still, no one’s complaining about 6-1. The Yanks head westward for seven games on the coast. This will include six 10 p.m. starts. Anyone up for an RAB meet-up for Saturday’s 10:00 affair?

It’s 7:00, so that means it’s open thread time. Talk about the game, talk about the upcoming road trip, talk about anything. Just don’t be a total dickbag. That’s all we ask.

Cano, half of the bullpen clears waivers

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Via MLBTR, Robbie Cano, Brian Bruney, Mark Melancon, and David Robertson all cleared waivers yesterday, so they could now be traded to any team. AJ Burnett, Melky Cabrera, Al Aceves, Phil Coke, Sergio Mitre, Edwar Ramirez and Shelley Duncan represent the second group of players placed on waivers when they hit the wire yesterday. If anyone is claimed, the Yanks could do one of three things: a) pull him back, b) let the claiming team have the player and his entire contract, or c) negotiate a trade with the claiming team.

In case you missed it, the White Sox have apparently put a claim in on Alex Rios. They Jays have the opportunity to unload the $60M or so left on Rios’ deal by just giving him to Chicago, or they could work out a trade to launch a full blown rebuild. If nothing comes of it, they can just take him back like nothing ever happened.

Almost every player on every team’s 40-man roster will be placed on waivers this month. Teams will use this as an opportunity to gauge interest in their players, and create some flexibility for potential moves later in the month. For example, say the Yanks and Jays get close on a Roy Halladay deal in a few weeks, Melancon wouldn’t have to be placed through waivers again to be included in the deal. It’s just procedural, don’t get all hung up who gets put on waivers and who doesn’t.

A dominant Joba leads Yanks over Rays

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On the night after their current ace disappointed, the Yankees’ hopeful future ace answered with a gem. Joba Chamberlain, the focus of ire and all sorts of ill-will before the All-Star Break, made his third straight excellent start, tearing down the Rays in impressive fashion. He worked fast and economized pitches, lasting eight innings and allowing no runs and just five baserunners. The Yankees offense mustered a few off Matt Garza, and even a late-inning hiccup couldn’t derail the Yankees as they steamrolled the Rays, 6-2.

Joba looked as good as he has all season — all of his starting career, really. He mixed his pitches, and even though his fastball averaged just over 92 miles per hour, he had enough control to compensate. Overall he threw 65 of 101 pitches for strikes, among his best marks of the season. He mixed it well with a curve which didn’t seem to have its best bite, and a slider he threw for strikes seemingly at will. He kept the Rays off balance all night, inducing swings and misses, ground balls, pop ups, and lazy flies.

Last night was example A-number-one of why the Yankees have displayed patience with Joba. Even on a night when he wasn’t pumping 95 mph fastballs, he was still able to hit his spots and throw his breaking ball for strikes. He controlled the pace of the game, inducing first-pitch swings — seven total, five of which resulted in immediate outs — and generally keeping the Rays off kilter. That’s pitching, not throwing, and it’s encouraging to see that from Joba.

Here’s a question I’ve been thinking on lately, and especially after last night’s performance. Does Joba absolutely need his best velocity to be a top-flight pitcher? If his last three starts are any indicator, he might not. At least, not all the time. It seems he cruises along at 92 until he hits trouble, and then dials it up when needed. On nights like tonight he doesn’t have to go up to 95, 96. He can use his command and especially command of his slider to win games.

If that’s what Joba Chamberlain can be, a guy who can cruise along at less than full capacity, with the ability to dial it up consistently when he really needs it, well, then I don’t see how you can give up on him. He’s not going to do it every time, especially not at this age. But if this is a preview for things to come and he can become one of the top pitchers in the league, then the Yankees just need to keep doing what they’re doing.

If the Yankees keep trotting out their starter in order, Joba will face Toronto on Tuesday after an off-day. His next start would then be Sunday against Boston. The Yankees could do that, or they could make a move to 1) give Joba a breather, 2) manage his innings, and 3) get their top four pitchers in the four games against Boston. If they skip Joba on Monday, they could go Pettitte and Mitre on regular rest in Toronto. They’d then have Burnett-CC-Joba-Pettitte against Boston at the Stadium. I credit Axisa with turning me onto the idea. It works on just about every level.

The offense went just 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, but compensated with a troika of solo shots. Cano hit a no doubt about it bomb in the sixth to extend the Yanks’ lead to 3-0. It was a blind man’s homer: the sound alone told you how far it was going to travel. Melky smoked a ball down the line in the ninth, and Teixeira followed it up with a long homer to center. The Yanks even mustered an early run on a ground out, though it was bittersweet. They had second and third with none out and could only manage that solitary run. Thankfully, Joba was around to keep the Rays at bay.

Every Yankees starter reached base at least once, though Johnny Damon was the only one left hitless. Derek Jeter hit his first triple since early last year, and Mark Teixeira had an impressive 2 for 3 night, including the aforementioned homer. The game illustrated the tenacity of the Yankees offense. Gardner and Melky are the only two regulars with an OPS+ below 119. Eight Yankees have 10 or more homers, and Melky has nine. The player with the lowest batting average, Nick Swisher at .239, has a .368 OBP.

The game wasn’t without controversy. Apparently Matt Garza didn’t like the fastball that sailed three feet over Evan Longoria’s head, so he plunked Mark Teixeira in the top of the next inning. Worse, he admitted it. “I just kind of got tired of people brushing him back. It’s about time someone made a statement.” That statement will likely result in a suspension for Garza. If you’re going to hit someone, have the good mind to keep your mouth shut.

On a final note, the Yankees got their daily checklist out of the way nice and early. First up, a Johnny Damon broken bat, which happened in the first. Then in the fourth came the Mark Teixeira excellent play of the day. Finally, in the fourth Nick Swisher worked a full count. Seems at least two of three happen every game.

The Yanks now head to Chicago for a four-game set against the White Sox, who are coming off a sweep at the hands of the Twins. They’re now in third place in the AL Central, and the Yanks could do the Twins and Tigers a big favor this weekend. They could also do themselves a solid and continue to extend their lead over the Sox, which moved to 3.5 games today after Oakland took care of business. Also, the Dodgers and Cardinals are headed to the 15th as I type this. Should the Cards prevail, the Yanks will be tied for the best record in baseball. LIfe is good right now.