PLAYOFF POST-ITS: ALDS Game 1

I'm at the office (don't ask). Between innings in the fourth, and this game is eating me up inside.

The Yankees have gotten baserunners against the Big Bad Wolf, Johan Santana. Four singles and a walk so far.

Those baserunners have then run themselves off the bases. Bottom 1st, 1st and 2nd w/ 1 out, on an A-Rod single and a Sheffield walk. Result? Strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play, with Alex out trying to steal third.

I had to read that twice. What's the old axiom about you never make the first out or the last out at which base?

Bottom second. One out, runners on 1st and 3rd for John Olerud. The runner on 3rd's Posada. Flyout/throwout double play this time, Torii Hunter to Henry Blanco.

Bottom third. By now the Twins are up 1-0. Jeter singles and is stranded by the heart of the order.

Bottom fourth. Bernie singles. This time Posada grounds into a double play. Matsui doubles, and is stranded.

Bottom fifth. Olerud on first, one out ... yep, that's right, more double play!

[BREAK]

OK. Now it's the middle of the 7th. Moose has given us seven innings of two-run ball, with nice peripherals. This is what we were asking for. He's at 95 pitches on the start.

But the DP kids (yep, I know, sounds like a porn title) haven't given him a single run on a night Santana was vulnerable. UGH!

To quote Eric Cartman: "Screw you guys... I'm goin' home."

August 31, 2004: Indians 22, Yankees 0

My yesterday was a blur. I was in the middle of running to chase down my secretary (please, don't ask) around 8:00 last night, when I get a voicemail from my Brother, T.

"If you're not watching the Yankee game, don't. [Inaudible] Vazquez [inaudible]."

Luckily, I was nowhere near a TV set, because those inaudibles would have forced me to turn on the TV. It's like when you tell someone "Don't look behind you". The first thing they do is look over their shoulder, to see what they shouldn't be looking at. It's human nature.

Fortune was then to supply me a sizeable source of booze, and made me forget I hadn't really eaten anything that day (I'd actually ordered and started eating lunch, but was called away before I could get halfway through).

End result? A nasty hangover and a sense of melancholy. I'm not blaming Javy Vazquez for this mind you (well, maybe the melancholy) -- at this point, all I had was Brother T's cryptic and sometimes inaudible warning.

At one point during my drinking binge a Red Sox fan comes up to me and says "You know, I don't actually hate the Yankees. They're a better team than this." I still hadn't seen or heard the score.

So it was only when I got home that I heard that the Yankee loss was historic. Then, in the "remember, alcohol is actually a sleep suppressant" stage of my evening, I caught some of the infamous game on replay.

Ugh.

There was a moment in the fifth inning, that I think summed up the situation perfectly. Travis Hafner hit a groundball foul. CJ Nitkowski runs after it, but is blocked by Hafner running up the line. Nitkowski then got to helplessly watch as the ball spun fair, hugging the grass just inside the foul line. Base hit.

Sometimes, stuff like this is going to happen.

But you can't just dismiss this loss as an inconsequential anomaly.

Here's Javy Vazquez, pre and post All Star break, before yesterday's game:

Pre: 10-5, 3.57 ERA, 118 2/3 IP, 105 H, 32 BB, 95 Ks
Post: 3-2, 6.39 ERA, 43 2/3 IP, 48 H, 10 BB, 25 Ks

I left out yesterday's outing so it couldn't be said that one bad outing was skewing the results. He's almost doubled his ERA, and he's lost 2 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched since the All Star game. Those are bad signs.

This is the anchor of the Yankee rotation, and he's looking rusted through right now. It's been masked by El Duque's performance, Loaiza's badness, and before that, Contreras's inconsistency. It would matter less if Kevin Brown or Mike Mussina were pitching like a top starter, but it's been a while since we've seen anything from those guys, either. But this Yankee rotation is completely disfunctional, and I don't see any cure for it.

I'm not panicking, or throwing in the towel (the Sox fans that threw in the towel in July are now trying to fish it back out of the ring in August), but suddenly the race to the postseason has gotten real interesting. It might be the fates toying with the Red Sox again, but they're 3 1/2 games back with just a little more than a month left to play.

Whiny Moose

Second Delay Angers Mussina (Newsday.com, Baumbach): "there was an additional 15-minute delay to accommodate the ceremony for Cheek, who broadcast 4,306 straight games before sitting out a game in June because of his father's funeral. He then learned he had a brain tumor and recently underwent surgery.

'I congratulate the man who got 4,300 games, but sitting for 15 extra minutes before the game was supposed to start - that was worse,' said Mussina, whose second pitch of the game was hit over the centerfield fence by leadoff hitter Reed Johnson. 'When they say 2:15 and it's 2:25 and they're still on the field ... I don't want to take anything away from him. That's a tremendous accomplishment. But tell us 2:30 instead of 2:15. That's all.'

It was unclear whether Mussina fully understood the gravity of Cheek's medical
situation."

This is why I've always stayed kind of cold about the Moose -- there's a whininess and lack of tact that makes Mussina unlikeable. This time he's complaining about an extra 15 minutes spent by the SkyDome crowd honoring Tom Cheek, the Jays' longtime radio voice, who has a brain tumor.

It's not quite Lou Gehrig's farewell speech, maybe, but I'm sure it was an important and emotional moment for Cheek, his family, the Blue Jays, and their fans. Ceremonies go long all the time at Yankee Stadium and elsewhere. Why can't Mussina just deal with the minor inconvenience, like everyone else does?

Watching individuals deal with adversity is the big appeal of sport. Mike Mussina's definitive "Yankee Moment" so far -- coming in in relief in Game 7 of the ALCS -- was appealing precisely because it was unscheduled, unprepared, and inconvenient. He was called upon unexpectedly and came up big. Yankee fans loved him for that.

This year, he started off by complaining about the Japan trip. A lot. Now he's whining because a pregame ceremony went long, after a power outage at SkyDome. I know these kinds of things are annoying, but complaining about them is so weak. It shows no character.

The big irony of it is, doesn't seem like the delay affected Mike at all. He was totally effective for the first six innings -- up until the very moment I started watching the game. Then he got shelled, of course.

Following Mussina was Paul Quantrill. Quantrill came in with the Yanks trailing 3-2, 2 men on, 1 out. Assisted by a Derek Jeter error, Quantrill left the game 6-2 Jays. Q's becoming a big problem, since the starters aren't going 7 innings, and there's only so much pitching Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera can do.

So what do you guys think? Is Moose a candidate for Most Annoying Yankee? Is Quantrill going to right the ship, or do we have to count on a trade for a reliever who can make it through the 6th and 7th innings?

The Yankees Week in Review: 8/16-8/22

Lemme steal some of Steven Goldman's thunder, here: if the Yanks don't get an "F" grade for this past week, then you're grading on the wrong curve.

The Yanks went 1-5 on the week, and that one win was a win that almost slipped away.

The Yankee lines on the week:

Offense: .254/.297/.385, 21 runs scored in 6 games.
Defense: 1-5, 7.24 ERA, 43 runs against in 51 innings of work, with 9 homers against.

So the Yanks got outscored 2-1 on the week, and more than half of their runs for the week came in one game. That adds up to a series lost in Minnesota, and a sweep, at home, by the Angels.

Now that the Mariners suck, the Angels could be my Most Hated Team (AL West Division). Seeing Garret Anderson swing against the Yanks gives me the same sickening feeling that I used to get watching Griffey, Jr. paste the Yanks as an M.

Playing with one working arm, Gary Sheffield was the Player of the Week for the Yanks. He hit .348/.400/.826 with three homers and two doubles, leading the team in OPS, runs and RBI. This in a week where only two other batters weren't actively stinking up the joint: Hideki Matsui (.884 OPS) and Suspension-Rod (1.128 OPS in three games).

There is no Pitcher of the Week in the Bronx. Best performance was Jon Lieber, and he allowed 13 baserunners in 6+ innings.

Three awards going out for complete and total cypherdom this week. Paul Quantrill allowed 8 runs in 4 games pitched. He got a total of four outs this week. But at least he belongs on the team, which is more than can be said about C.J. Nitkowski. His line -- five baserunners and two runs versus three outs in four games pitched this week -- were practically a plea to bring back the Run Fairy.

Playing in every game this week, Enrique Wilson posted a .286 OPS. Not batting average, not on-base percentage, OPS. Miguel Cairo's .222 OPS was actually worse this week, but Wilson's overall performance makes his lack of production this week all the more galling. More galling still was that the Yanks might have a better utility infielder than Wilson in the organization (Andy Phillips), that the guy spent two games with the club this week, and that he couldn't get into a game.

Anything else interesting happen this week, other than gatting punked by the Twins and Angels?

Shane Spencer got a minor-league contract, after washing out of the Mets organization with DUI problems. Nice to see that the Steinbrenner Home for Wayward Boys is back in operation. I was afraid that once Darryl Strawberry left the organization, the Boss's missionary spirit would find no outlet.

Mike Mussina re-joined the club after elbow problems, and didn't look good. Is this news?

Yankee Stadium suffered a power outage Friday night. Considering that the Yankees scored four runs for the entire weekend, sometimes, the metaphors are just too obvious.

Looking forward to next week, the Yanks play seven games. They start with a three-game set at Jacobs Field against the Indians, who were resurgent but just got swept by the Twins, to effectively end the AL Central division race. The Yankees then move on to Skydome, hopefully to get healthy against the Blue Jays.

And the Yankees had better get healthy, fast. While they've been dozing, the Red Sox put together a 6 game winning streak, to leave them 5 1/2 games back coming into this week. This is why you can't really declare a division race over in July. If the Yanks keep looking like dogs for the next four weeks, the Red Sox could return to the Stadium with a puncher's chance at the division title.

What do you guys think?

Iron Sheff Hurtin'

This piece in the Times reports that the pain in Gary Sheffield's left shoulder has gotten so bad, he's considering retirement after the season.

Gary's been one of my favorites last year, coming full circle in a career cycle where I coveted him (as he was coming up in the Brewers' farm system, Sheff was the prospect I always wanted the Yankees to trade for), was angry at him (when he revealed he dumped plays in the field in order to get traded out of Milwakee), envied him (when he went near triple crown as a Padre), was disappointed with him (the rest of his Padres career, having to be moved off of third base as a Marlin), and was disgusted with him (constant contract squabbles in L.A.).

His reputation took a turn for the better with me, when he played with an injured thumb for Atlanta last year. This year, the thumb still hasn't healed, and the pain in his shoulder has been palpable. You see Sheffield at the plate or in the field, and you can see how bad he hurts. He resists any play that would have him lift his glove hand over his head, opting instead to catch the ball at the belt.

For all that, he hasn't whined, and he hasn't begged out of the lineup, even though the Yanks have a substantial division lead (9 1/2 games). Last night, at the pool hall, JJ and I saw Sheffield make a painful play near the end of the Yanks' win over the Rangers. JJ asked "isn't he supposed to be on the DL?" No DL for the Iron Sheff. No DHing, after the tongue-lashing George gave Joe Torre for starting Kenny Lofton in right earlier this week.

At the bat, Sheff has been a monster. His 26 HR and 83 RBI lead the team. His OPS is second only to Hideki Matsui's (.927 to .928). You look at some of his swings, and it looks like his arm might just fly off in the follow-through. But he's never stopped swinging hard.

I hope we get 2 more years of Gary Sheffield. I hope even more that we get him another World Series ring, this year. But even if we don't get these things, I want to say that Gary Sheffield has made a strong impression in his time in pinstripes. I'm glad George got him.

JJ, TJ, what do you guys think? (BTW, I think TJ has no more excuses not to post here.)

Locked Outta The House...

Man, it's been a long week already, and it's only Tuesday.

Right now, I'm locked out of my blog. It just crashes every time I try to post. I have a post from Sunday that I'm still trying to finish.

Prior to that one, I did another post that I then decided to offer to the big boys to publish. Nothing serious, just a little something about the Dodgers/Marlins trade. No sooner do I finish that than Brad Penny comes off the mound Sunday, with an injured bicep.

Did I mention that I have Penny on my Yahoo team?

As for Nomargate, Boston has the most amazing media culture in the country. There isn't nearly as much press there as there is in New York, but the sports reporters in Boston get a level of access to their teams you just don't see anywhere else in the country.

So now, when Gammons complains about Nomargate, it's like Frankenstein complaining about his monster. Epstein & Co. liked all the media hype they got upon riding into town, the "savior of the franchise" thing. They all kept the media apprised of the minute-by-minute details of the A-Rod negotiation, with no mind that they were screwing up their relationship with Nomar. That wouldn't have been a problem, except they failed to land A-Rod, and didn't take the necessary steps to smooth over things with Nomar. So now the whole Red Sox Nation is taking turns killing Garciaparra, rewriting history so's to make sure we know they never really liked him, anyway.

These guys all need some time in a therapist's office. How hard is it just to say "Thanks Nomar, you gave us hope when things didn't look so good, got close to tasting the Promised land a couple of times. Sorry you couldn't make it there with us. Have a nice life, and give our love to Mia."

How hard is that?

Apparently, about as hard as it is for George to keep from complaining when the Yanks lose. The Yanks fall short of a sweep against the Blue Jays, and George complains about Torre starting Kenny Lofton in right field.

George: the backup right fielder is Ruben Sierra. After that, you got ... waitaminute ... Tony Clark?

Just remember, you were the one that insisted on bringing Lil' Smacky into the fold. Don't complain when Joe Torre plays him.

Sweatin' With The Oldies: Yanks 7, Blue Jays 4

No one ever said that having an All-Star team with a geriatric starting rotation would be easy.

The latest Yankee Savior, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, gets pulled after two innings with a "tight left hamstring". El Duque was huge in his last start against the Jays and Ted Lilly, blanking the Canadians through seven innings and striking out ten.

El Duque is followed in this start (again, against ex-Yank Lilly) by Juan Padilla, The Run Fairy, Brett Prinz, and Scott Proctor.

$184 Million you say? Where?

To their credit, the wage slaves of the Yankee bullpen did a creditable job: Padilla allowed one run in two and two-thirds innings; TRF (the highest paid guy of the bunch) only allowed one run thanks to Gary Sheffield and Jorge Posada (the bullet homer TRF gave up Eric Hinske showed why Heredia is useless as a LOOGY -- "[Hinske's] first homerun against a lefty this season," Singleton announced); Prinz and Proctor did a pretty good job holding the Jays down after Toronto feasted on TRF's pitching stylings.

Of course, the overworked money players in the pen were there to back the salarymen up. Only Tom Gordon was summoned to finish it up, but the 9th inning was a farce -- an object lesson on the silliness of using your closer according to the save rule. As the Yanks padded their lead, and then as Gordon experienced varying levels of adversity in the ninth, Mariano Rivera kept getting up and sitting down in the bullpen. Ultimately, even though Flash had a really rough spot there and it ultimately became a save opportunity for Rivera, the Sandman's services weren't needed.

But the fact is, the Yanks have about $38 Million on the disabled list, and that doesn't even count $14 Million worth of Jason Giambi, whose situation becomes more and more uncertain, but who isn't currently on the DL.

There is no timetable to Mike Mussina's return. He's 35. Kevin Brown is supposed to make one more rehab start, after taking on the NY-Penn League. He's 39. Jon Lieber's healthy right now, but he's been on the DL with groin problems already this season. 34. El Duque had his not-quite-back-from-shoulder-surgery DL stretch, and now this hamstring problem. He's 38, even if some sources still list him as being 34. Jose Contreras has had to spend time in the minors this year because his brain ... is not good. He's 32, but them's Havana years.

Javier Vazquez (waitforit), 27, is the only one that's made all of his appointed starts this season. Go figure.

Meanwhile, in the 'pen, we have a number of persons who -- how do I say it? -- lack gravitas. But aside from that, you have The Trio. Paul Quantrill, 35, has had leg problems and effectiveness problems this season. Tom Gordon, 36, is one of the most notoriously fragile relievers in baseball. A possible contributing factor is the fact that he usually declares himself ready to pitch after a handful of warmup throws. He's already had a "dead arm" period this season.

And then there's Mariano Rivera, who has looked tired blowing two consecutive save chances on Saturday and Monday. Mariano, like Gordon and Quantrill, is a "warrior", he's not likely to let on if he's hurting or complain that Joe Torre's pitching him (what feels like) every single game.

So that's the problem, in a nutshell. Building the way the Yankees have over the past few years consistently leads to one end result: old players with high salaries and the not-so-occasional injury.

The 2004 Yankees are a lot like the 2002 Yankees. Their fate in the playoffs doesn't really depend on their opposition, but on the state of their pitching come October. If the pitching is in the same state it's in right now, any of the current contenders will be able to tee off, and you'll have a series of high-scoring, highly-entertaining crapshoots like what we saw last weekend in Fenway, or July 4th weekend against the Mets. That's not good news.

NOTES:

With homers in back-to-back games, Jorge Posada's power drought might just be over.

Want weird deliveries? Check out Mike Nakamura, who seems to have revived the Dale Mohorcic straight sidearm pitching style.

Hard game for the YES Network, Kay's made a bunch of mistakes, and even the camera guys are having a hard time following the action.

Congrats to Sheffield on his 400th dinger, to Alex Rodriguez on his 29th birthday, and to Enrique Wilson on his 31st, 28th, and 42nd birthdays.