An Encouraging Loss

Tonight's loss was certainly a tough one. Losing the first game against the Red Sox in the new stadium would be, even if the team hadn't come so agonizingly close to winning in the bottom of the ninth. However, there were three bright spots in the game that make me optimistic about the future of this team.

First, there was Philip Hughes. Four runs in four innings is obviously not a good performance, but the fact that he only gave up one run in each inning is testament to Hughes' maturing as a pitcher. On a night when he didn't have his best stuff, when he was being squeezed by the home plate umpire, when he allowed 11 baserunners in four innings, the fact that he didn't allow the Red Sox to have a really big inning and run away with the game is pretty impressive.

Then, there was Mark Teixeira. After weeks of being just underneath balls, Teixeira finally managed to turn a couple of those fly balls into home runs. Lately, it's seemed like he was on the cusp of getting out of this slump, and tonight might just be the turning point.

Finally, there's Alfredo Aceves. While the two-run home run he gave up to Jason Bay ended up being the difference in the game, Aceves looked very good providing more than four innings of relief. His stuff was pretty good, especially his cut fastball, and the way he used it was fantastic. I think the Yankees may have found their new Ramiro Mendoza.

Live Blogging 10/07

I'm back for another night of liveblogging. Here are today's lineups:

Yankees
1. Johnny Damon LF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Bobby Abreu RF
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Jorge Posada C
6. Jason Giambi 1B
7. Hideki Matsui DH
8. Robinson Cano 2B
9. Melky Cabrera CF
Pitcher: Roger Clemens

Indians
1. Grady Sizemore CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
3. Travis Hafner DH
4. Victor Martinez C
5. Ryan Garko 1B
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Kenny Lofton LF
8. Trot Nixon RF
9. Casey Blake 3B
Pitcher: Jake Westbrook

The big changes from the last couple of games are Giambi, who takes Doug Mientkiewicz's spot at first, and Nixon, who is the Indian's third right fielder in as many games. They're both pretty obvious moves. Nixon is a left hander with good numbers against Roger Clemens, and Giambi will hopefully provide some spark to an offense that's been pretty well shut down thus far in the series. The Yankees may get more of a spark from Westbrook, who has not done well against them. He gave up four runs over seven innings in his last start against the Bombers, and was pounded for eight runs over one and two thirds innings the last time he pitched in Yankee Stadium back in April.

Of course the big pregame news is George Steinbrenner letting the world know that Joe Torre's job may depend on the outcome of this series. It'd be ironic to me if Torre lost his job after this season, since I've been impressed by his performance in bringing the team back to the playoffs. Of course, even if I didn't feel that way, I'd still think that he deserves better, but that's the Steinbrenner Way, and Torre should be commended for showing, once again, amazing professionalism and class.

Update 6:38PM: Anyone looking for the game on TBS, switch over to TNT. They're showing the game there until the Boston-Anaheim game is over.

Update 6:41PM: I'm sure some of you are thinking it, but I really doubt Doug Mientkiewicz could have made that play. Even if he had been able to catch Jeter's errant throw, it would've been extremely difficult to tag Cabrera.

Update 6:53PM: A tough first inning for Clemens, but he seemed to get better as the inning wore on. I'm hoping he's just shaking off the rust that comes with not having pitched for three weeks.

Update 7:06PM: Ouch. Looks like Eric Wedge made the right call by putting Nixon in. That ball was hit so hard that it almost didn't have time to elevate over the fence.

Update 7:14PM: The Yankees' are going to need to get to Jake Westbrook soon, because I don't think that Clemens is going to settle in. It might be time to get Mike Mussina warming up.

Update 7:18PM: Excellent at bat for A-Rod. He seems to have gotten comfortable with the fact that the Indian pitchers are afraid of him and aren't going to throw him much in the strike zone. So, he watched some balls go by, pounced on a mistake and didn't try to do too much with it.

Update 7:32PM: It's certainly got to be frustrating for the Rocket to be pulled in favor of a kid that hadn't even been born when he made his major league debut. However, I'm glad that Torre didn't let that factor into his decision making. Now we've got to hope that Hughes is in command of all his pitches, because it looks like he's going to need it.

Update 7:42PM: I think Hughes needs to mix in his other pitches a little more. He threw 13 pitches, 10 of those were fastballs. The rest were three beautiful curveballs, which I'd like to see more of, as well as the slider and change. Still, he appears to have good command on the fastball, and its up to 93mph, so I think we'll see some solid innings out of him.

Update 7:47PM: Kudos to Matsui for legging out that infield hit with that gimpy hamstring. You could definitely see he was in pain as he ran down the line.

Update 7:52PM: Who would've thought that Matsui would be making contributions with his legs. Great baserunning on that play, especially with his slide into third. That gutsy play not only puts him ninety feet from home, but keeps Melky from being out at first. That could well be a turning point in this game.

Update 8:05PM: Hughes has got to be feeling good about his curveball, because he shook off Posada twice in order to throw it. He's definitely got good reason for it, as its got some great break, and he's been spot on with his command. Plus, there's a huge speed differential there, as , at 70mph, it's more than 20mph slower than the fastball. And there's that slider coming in at 81mph. The kid's looking really good out there.

Update 8:40PM: It was only a matter of time before the Yankees broke through against Westbrook. Beyond the runs, Damon's home run is great since it eliminates the possibility of Jeter, who has been the rally killer in this game, grounding into another double play.

Update 8:48PM: Joba's warming up. With nary a bug in sight, He and Mo ought to be able to lock this down if Hughes can get through this inning unscathed.

Update 8:59PM: It's surprising to see Westbrook back out on the mound. Not that I'm complaining.

Update 9:06PM: I can't say I really see the point of that bunt. Considering who's coming to the plate, I think sacrificing a chance to bust this game open is a mistake.

Update 9:10PM: Well, it looks like they didn't need any more chances to bust the game open anyway. Big hit by Cano, and a bigger error by Nixon.

Update 9:14PM: Now the question is what do you do about the bullpen. One of the Joba rules is that once he starts warming up, he has to come into a game. However, with such a huge lead do you only use him for one inning so that he's available tomorrow? Do you use Mo, or do you trust the end of a must win game to a lesser pitcher? I say hand the ball off to Ohlendorf, Vizcaino or Veras. Five runs is a big enough lead to start thinking about tomorrow.

Update 9:21PM: That strikeout is exactly why Joba's stay in the bullpen is temporary. He just struck out Cabrera on three exceptional pitches. The fastball and slider we've seen plenty of, but that curve hasn't been used much as a reliever, and it's fantastic. Anyone with that deep an arsenal needs to be in the rotation.

Update 9:30PM: Tonight's public address announcer, Jim Hall, sounds so much like Bob Sheppard that it's creeping me out.

Update 9:40PM: I'm having a hard time figuring out who is annoying me more, Dane Cook in these "There's Only One October," commercials, or this Frank guy and the endless promos for his show.

Update 9:52PM: I think the bullpen phone is broken again. Joe Torre is signaling Robinson Cano to check if Jose Veras is ready. This happened a few weeks ago, and you'd think that after the first time someone would think to bring a cellphone out there.

Update 10:10PM: Man, I really hate to see Mo here. I'm not knocking Torre's decision to use him, mind you, because I think it's a good call. It's just annoying that there's no one else in the pen you can really trust.

Update 10:15PM: And Mo closes it out against the top of the Indians' lineup looking like he was barely trying. I won't be able to live blog tomorrow's game, but I'll try and keep on top of the pregame stories, especially who the Yankees' will be sending to the mound. My vote is for Chien-Ming Wang, whose sinker ought to be better on short rest than long rest.

Rotationology

With the regular season wrapped up, it figures to be a slow couple of days while we wait for the playoffs to start Thursday. So, I've decided to take the opportunity to talk about the playoff roster, starting with the rotation. The first two spots in the rotation are no brainers. Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte have been battling each other all season long for the title of team ace. Torre seems to have decided that Wang is his number one guy, and that's who will take the start in game one against Cleveland's ace (and my Cy Young pick) C.C. Sabathia. Pettitte will follow on Friday against Chien-Ming Wang's doppleganger, Fausto Carmona.

The rest of the rotation is harder to figure out. There are three candidates for the last two spots; Roger Clemens, Philip Hughes and Mike Mussina. Supposedly Clemens' spot as the number three starter is locked up, but by the time game three rolls around, he won't have pitched in three weeks. His continuing health problems calls into question whether or not he can actually make the start.

Of course no matter what Clemens' ultimate status might be, a decision has to be made between Hughes and Mussina. They both have turned things around in September after struggling in August, and they both have done so against weak hitting teams like Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay. Based on their last starts, you'd have to go with Hughes, who allowed only one run in seven innings against the Devil Rays. However, Mussina is the veteran with a history of postseason succcess. Ironically, I think it's that history that makes the bullpen the best place for Mussina. Both pitchers are at risk to get into serious trouble, and I feel better about Mussina being in the bullpen, ready to bail Hughes out, than vice versa.

Anyway, my schedule's pretty tight right now, but I'll try and write about the far more complicated bullpen situation in the next couple of days.

Play it again, Alex

Last night's game was almost a repeat of the night before. They were both pitcher's duels early, until the Yankee offense, led by a player with two homeruns, explodes in the later innings while the Yankee pitching keeps dominating. The funny thing is that while the results were much the same, the players weren't.

Joe Torre shuffled his lineup, resting Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu. Surprisingly, Alex Rodriguez was able to talk himself into the lineup after rolling his ankle the night before, though he was limited to DH duty. It turned out to be a pretty good decision, as Rodriguez hit his 47th and 48th homeruns in the 8th inning (yes, he hit both in the same inning), tying his own record for most homeruns hit by a righthanded Yankee.

Last night's two homerun star, Jorge Posada, was replaced by Jose Molina, though Posada did come in as a pinch hitter in the 7th. Molina filled Posada's large cleats well, knocking in the Yankees' first run in the 3rd with a solo shot that just snuck by the left field foul pole.

The most important performance, though, belonged to Philip Hughes. It was Hughes' first start since Dave Eiland, his pitching coach in Triple-A came up to New York to see him. I'm not sure what, if anything, Eiland did, but Philip Hughes: Ace of the Future was back last night. Jose Molina barely had to move his glove as Hughes was in complete command of his fastball, curve and change. He had a little trouble with his slider, which kept diving in the dirt, but three strong pitches were all that he needed to stymie the Mariners. With Roger Clemens' elbow woes and Mike Mussina's sudden inneffectiveness, the hope that Hughes can be a dependable starter down the stretch and into the playoffs is a welcome one indeed.

A couple of random notes:

• Wilson Betemit earned my eternal respect when he walked to the plate to the strains of Pearl Jam's "Better Man". Its almost as good as Hideki Matsui using Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song".
  
  
• One of the downsides of rosters expanding in September, at least for fans, is the sheer number of pitching changes a manager can make. While the Yankees were scoring eight runs in the seventh, Seattle manager John McLaren seemed to change pitchers with every swing of the bat. Every time I looked at the bullpen to see who was coming in, it seemed like there were a dozen guys left there. All told, Seattle made seven pitching changes, painfully extending the game.
  
  
• Before he was a coach, Eiland was a reliever for the Yankees, Padres and Devil Rays. He holds the distinction of being the only player in major league history to give up a home run to the first batter he faced and to hit a home run in his first at-bat.
  
  
• The Yankees' magic number for the wild card is now 20. I'll try to put up some kind of counter in the coming days.

Wang to the rescue

Monday was just a terrible day for the Yankees. First came the news that Andy Phillips' wrist was fractured when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday, and will miss 4-6 weeks, which is essentially the rest of the season. If it wasn't for bad luck, Philips wouldn't have no luck at all.

Then, Roger Clemens left last night's game after allowing five runs over four innings in order to get an MRI on his elbow, which was "tightening up," according to Joe Torre. All that's known right now is that Clemens will definitely miss his next start, but he insists he'll pitch again this season. Of course Clemens is the kind of guy who'd say that if his hair was on fire, so I think I'll wait and see what happens after he heads back to Houston to see his doctors and get a cortisone treatment.

Finally, after Clemens left the game, the Yankees went on to lose the game 7-1, allowing the Mariners to narrow the Yankees' lead in the Wild Card race to just one game.

All of this meant just one thing; it was time for the Taiwan Kid to ride to the rescue. Chien-Ming Wang pitched a classically Wangesque game, throwing the sinker low in the zone and watching the opposition hit it right into the ground. The first seven batters he faced all hit ground balls, only one of which snuck through the infield for a hit, and out of the 26 batters he faced a ludicrous 17 of them were retired on ground balls. Supporting Wang's dominance were Jorge Posada, Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano, who had four hits each, including two homeruns by Jorge, leading the Yanks to 12 runs.

As big of a blowout as it was, though, there were a couple of scary moments in the game. In the bottom of the seventh, Alex Rodriguez turned his ankle sliding into third base, and in the top of the eighth, Wang had to leave after retiring the first batter (on, of course, a ground ball) due to tightness in his lower back. Thankfully, the word is that they're both fine, though A-Rod may need a day or two off and Wang will probably get an extra day of rest before his next start (which shouldn't be a big deal with the off day on Thursday).

A-Rod's injury, by the way, led to the first major league at-bat for our former Attorney General, who seems to have found a new job rather quickly. Or maybe that's Alberto Gonzalez with a "z".

Anyway, tomorrow's rubber match pits the struggling Philip Hughes against Jarrod Washburn, who's been tough on the Yankees in the past. I'll be in Tier Box 635, Row F if anyone wants to say hello. Once again, just look for the shiny, shiny head.

Lets temper our excitement a little bit folks. While tonight's win puts the Yankees into a tie with the Mariners for the wild card, its not a true tie. The Yanks have both one more win and one more loss than Seattle, meaning that they don't control their own destinies. One more loss by Seattle, and we can start talking about magic numbers.

Regardless, tonight was a big win. They faced Cleveland's best in Fausto Carmona, and Phil Hughes' first start back had been less than inspiring. However, there's nothing better for a struggling pitcher than a team that can't hit, and Hughes was able to shut down the Indians for six innings before giving way to the even more dominating Joba Chamberlain. These two performances weren't just big for this game, but for the rest of the year, because if they can continue like this it'll be like having traded for a great starter and setup man without giving up a thing.

Off the field, it appears I was wrong about Clemens holding off his suspension until they could skip his turn in the rotation. Instead, he elected to start serving it today, meaning that the team will need to find another starter for Tuesday. I'll be taking a look at who that starter might be tomorrow.