Picking Nits

It was most certainly a good day for the Yankees. New acquisition Richie Sexson made an immediate contribution by knocking in the Yankees first run, and the rest of the team followed his lead by knocking six runs off of Greg Smith on their way to a 7-1 win. Meanwhile, on the mound, Mike Mussina continued to baffle the the opposition, giving up just one run in six innings, and the bullpen work of David Robertson, Edwar Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins was absolutely dominant, striking out six in just three innings of work. On a day like this, complaining might seem a little petty, but Brett Gardner managed to pick at one of my pet peeves.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gardner attempted to bunt for a base hit, and was just barely out as he slid headfirst into the base. It's that last part that gets me. Sliding into first is one of those things that drives me crazy, because it doesn't get you to the base any faster, and you run the risk of injuring yourself. Brett, I implore you, don't do that again.

Off to see the Wizard

You might think that since I've advocated resting players to get ready for the playoffs, I'd be ready to slam Joe Torre for breaking the Joba Rules on Sunday. If so, you'd be wrong. The Joba Rules were certainly a great idea, minimizing the risk to a very valuable arm as Chamberlain adjusted to a bullpen role, and pitched more than 100 innings for the first time since his sophomore season at Nebraska. However, anyone who thought that the Yankees' were going to keep to those rules in the playoffs was crazy. So, it makes sense to get Joba ready for what might be a slightly heavier workload in the postseason. Its especially important for him to be able to warm up and be available to come in mid-inning. With his ability to get strikeouts, he is definitely the man you want on the mound in a tight game with runners on base.

In more entertaining news, after yesterday's game the Yankees left for their final road trip of the season, which meant it was time for some rookie hazing. As in years past, the veterans stole the rooks' clothes from their lockers and replaced them with new outfits. Last year, it was George Steinbrenner turtlenecks and blazers. The year before it was cheerleading uniforms. This year, with a dozen rookies, the Yankees' were able to put on their own production of the Wizard of Oz. Here's Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Shelley Duncan and Phil Hughes as Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man:



Additionally, the Daily News has shots of Edwar Ramirez as the Wicked Witch of the West, Kei Igawa a flying monkey, Chase Wright as the Good Witch of the East, and Ross Ohlendorf as a palace guard. Plus, a guy by the name of Rob managed to get pictures of Igawa's translator Yumi Watanabe as a talking tree, and strength coach Dana Cavalea as the Mayor of Emerald City. Sadly, I wasn't able to find pictures of Munchkins Matt DeSalvo and Alberto Gonzalez, or of flying monkey Tyler Clippard and palace guard Bronson Sardinha. Hopefully I'll be able to catch them once they start their run on Broadway.

Thank God That's Over

We may very well have seen Mike Mussina's last start of 2007, and possibly the last appearance of Sean Henn in a major league game. There's no word yet on exactly what kind of roster shuffling is going to happen, but here are my thoughts on the matter:

Obviously Henn will have to be sent down(or sent home, since his wife is about to have a baby). There's really no point in having a lefty in the pen that can't get lefties out. Just ask Mike Myers. The real question is, who is your new lefty? The system is dreadfully thin on lefthanded pitching, with the only candidate in Triple-A being Kei Igawa. Its enough to make me wonder how Ron Guidry's arm is feeling. In all seriousness, the team might be best off simply using righties like Jose Vizcaino and Joba Chamberlain, who've been just as effective against lefties as righties.

One guy who should never be sent up against a lefthanded hitter, though, is Edwar Ramirez. Its a pretty small sample size, but his splits are pretty astounding. Against righties, he's thrown a very solid seven innings allowing only five hits while walking two and striking out nine. Against lefties, he's struck out an impressive seven in just three and two thirds innings, but has walked six and given up four hits, two of which were homeruns. Granted, last night's homerun came from a righty, Placido Polanco, but that was the first time he's given one up to a righty, and has been generally effective enough against them to have some value in the pen.

One guy who has been able to get lefties out in his career is Mussina, who will either have to go to the bullpen or the DL. Considering that no one's got any idea what's wrong with him, there's really no reason to believe he'd be any better in relief, so the DL would be preferable. Neither he nor the Yankees have said that there's anything physically wrong with him, but at 38 years old there's got to be something that needs resting. The candidates for replacing him in the rotation consist of guys who have either been bad in the majors (Igawa, Jeff Karstens and Matt DeSalvo), or who have never been there (Ian Kennedy and Steven White).

Fortunately, the schedule is on our side. With three off days, the Yankees should only need a fifth starter three times in September. Even better, two of those games (Septembers 1st and 26th) are against Tampa Bay, a weak team if ever there was one. The other comes on the 16th, the final game against Boston, which may end up being a painful affair, but its still much better than it could have been.

The schedule's also on our side in the hunt for the wild card. Despite losing the last two series, the Yankees remain only two games behind Seattle for the wild card, and have a much easier schedule from here on out. Other than the six games against Boston and the three against Seattle, the Yankees only play two kinds of teams from here on out; mediocre and bad. Seattle, meanwhile, has seventeen games against contenders, and finish out the season playing a brutal 24 games in 24 days, with only one day off. Right now, I can't help but think that despite the standings, the Yankees have to be the favorites in this race.

Tough loss

Last night was exactly the kind of gut wrenching affair we've come to expect from the Angels. Coming back against their bullpen is no small feat. To do so and still lose is pretty heartbreaking.

Joe Torre's taking the brunt of the blame after sending the lefty Sean Henn to face a talented righthanded hitter in Howie Kendrick, who would eventually score the winning run. This is probably a bit unfair, considering his options. The only righthanders left in the bullpen, were Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez. Chamberlain is only a year removed from the arm troubles that plagued him his final season at the University of Nebraska, and the Yankee brass has rightfully decreed that he not be used on consecutive days. While Ramirez is under no such restrictions, he had pitched two innings the night before, and the decision that Henn would be more effective is a valid one.

Overlooked amidst all this is the fact that Torre elected to bring in Kyle Farnsworth in the 8th inning of a tie game. Considering that everyone, myself included, wanted to see this guy traded, if not released outright, he acquitted himself pretty well. In fact, his past few outings have been pretty good, and I'm starting to think that its more than dumb luck. When he was struggling, Farnsworth's fastball had dipped down into the low 90s, but over the last few weeks its been 98mph at the knees; the kind of stuff he's paid to bring. I suppose it was inevitable that he catch the fire that's lit up the rest of the team.

Mo Blues

They're not a particularly good team, but for whatever reason the Orioles seem to have the Yankees' number ths year. Today marks the first time the Yankees have lost a series and two consecutive games since the last time they played Baltimore.

Today's loss came courtesy of Mariano Rivera's Annual Summer Swoon. It really seems like he has a couple of bad weeks this time of year, and we all panic about life without Mo. By September he'll have bounced back into shape and we can marvel at his excellence all over again. Hopefully. Of course the question is whether or not the Yankees can manage to survive while Rivera works things out, and there was evidence in today's game that they could in the form of Edwar Ramirez, who replaced Jim Brower on the roster. I can't understand why this move wasn't made weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, I can understand the skepticism as to whether a guy who lives and dies with his changeup can be an effective major league reliever, no matter how fantastic his success in the minors. What I can't understand is thinking that Jim Brower would be any better.

Then there's the fact that the next four games (and eight out of the next eleven) come against Detroit, who has been playing some truly craptastic baseball lately, winning only 7 of their last 20 games. It sounds like a good way to get within striking distance of Boston by the time they come to town at the end of the month.