Live Blogging 10/05

Here we go with my first attempt at blogging while watching the game. Today's lineups are, according to mlb.com, as follows:

Yankees
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano 2B
8. Melky Cabrera CF
9. Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Pitcher - Andy Pettitte

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. Jason Michaels RF
9. Casey Blake 3B
Pitcher - Fausto Carmona

These lineups are almost identical to last night's. The only changes are that Joe Torre has flip flopped Matsui and Posada, and Eric Wedge has benched Franklin Gutierrez in favor of Michaels in right field. I'm a little surprised Wedge didn't bench Lofton against the lefty, but I guess his big game last night was too much to ignore.

Update 4:50PM: Bob Sheppard will not make it to the stadium for Sunday's game due to bronchitis. This will be the first time he has missed a playoff game in his 57 year long career. Thankfully, its not serious, and I think all Yankee fans wish him the best. Peter Abraham has the full story.

Update 5:21PM: That was some efficient work from tonight's starters. I have to say that I'm a little afraid of Fausto Carmona, who is looking a lot like Chien-Ming Wang on a good night.

Update 5:28PM: Now that's more like it. Hideki Matsui took a page out of the Indian's playbook from last night and works a walk by making Carmona earn that low strike. The fact is that his sinker nearly unhittable when its at the knees, so you may as well lay off it and hope he misses the zone.

Update 5:40PM: You know, I was really hoping that TBS' coverage would be an improvement over Fox's. I understand that baseball's pace lends itself to some meandering conversations (I did, after all, enjoy Phil Rizzuto's broadcasts), but I'd like to hear tangents about baseball, not Queen Latifah's wardrobe.

Update 5:44PM: Wow. Maybe it's because I watch Melky so much, but I saw that coming a mile away. I'm not really sure what Indians' third base coach Joel Skinner could have been thinking when he sent Peralta (assuming that Peralta didn't just go on his own). It's not like Cabrera hasn't been doing this for the past year and a half.

Update 5:52PM: That, my friends, is how you break out of a slump. That's also an appropriate way for Melky to celebrate the two month anniversary of his last home run, which came against Kansas City on August 5th.

Update 6:07PM: The story of the day before the game was "Andy Pettitte: Big Game Pitcher," but it's been the defenders behind him that've been coming through in the clutch so far. First Melky, and now Mientkiewicz have saved Pettitte's bacon so far by stopping runs that the Indians should have scored.

Update 6:27PM: I guess Pettitte's been reading this, because he went ahead and saved his own bacon this time. Actually, he did it twice, first getting a double play ball after allowing a leadoff single, and then stranding a runner on second after the double play opportunity was missed. Granted, he was the one who missed the opportunity by deflecting that double play ball away from Robinson Cano, but it's still an impressive performance.

Update 6:40PM: Another note about TBS' coverage. The graphic showing the size of the baserunner's lead at first is a good idea, but those red and green zones are just silly. I mean a safe lead for Jeter or A-Rod is completely different from one for Posada or Matsui. Just give us a distance and let the announcers give the context. That's pretty much what they're there for, after all.

Update 7:07PM: This is starting to get ridiculous. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Pettitte were to allow a leadoff home run in the seventh and still not give up a run. Its almost enough to make you feel sorry for the Indians. Almost.

Update 7:55PM: Good lord. What was a cute little side story a half hour ago has turned serious, as this swarm of gnats seems to actually be bothering Joba Chamberlain's control. You really can't blame him either, as the cameras cut to a shot of his neck with a dozen of the little buggers perched on him and plenty more buzzing around. This is after the Yankees' trainer has doused him in repellant twice.

Update 7:58PM: This is crazy. Chalk that run up to the bugs, and there's a decent argument to be made at this point for the umpires to stop the game so they can spray the field.

Update 8:12PM: According the TBS on field reporter, the bugs that are causing these problems are "Canadian soldiers," which is another name for mayflies. Should the Indians win, they might well be the MVPs.

Update 8:23PM: A huge missed opportunity for A-Rod right here, and a huge opportunity given to the A-Rod haters. Before they get started, let me just say that that was a great battle against a pitcher who is having a huge night and who has stymied the entire Yankee lineup, including Captain Clutch himself.

Update 8:49PM: He's being overlooked by the TV crew, but big props to Doug Mientkiewicz for being able to keep that ball from heading to the outfield, which might've allowed Sizemore to make it to second.

Update 9:10PM: Here's when we should really start to worry. The Indians' bullpen is much deeper than the Yankees'. At least the Viz gets the bottom of the order this time around, but the top of the order will get their chance no matter what the Yankees do.

Update 9:32PM: And that's all she wrote. Goodnight folks.

The Bright Side of Life

Last night's game was chock full of bad news, so I thought I'd contribute some good news. Since the inception of the division series in 1995, the Yankees are 5-0 in series where they've lost the first game, as opposed to 2-5 when they've won game one. Also, if the regular season has taught us anything, it's that this team doesn't let early struggles keep them down.

I'm going to make my first attempt at in-game blogging during today's game, so come back at five for what I hope will be some amusing commentary.

Just Do It

We're less than six hours from the start of the Division Series, and Joe Torre has announced a roster that, surprisingly, contains three rookies who didn't join the team until after September callups; Jose Veras, Ross Ohlendorf and Bronson Sardinha. Normally, in order to be eligible for the playoff roster, a player has to have been either on the active roster or the disabled list on August 31st, which means that Ohlendorf and Sardinha wouldn't have been eligible (Veras was on the DL at the time). However, a team can substitute any player from their forty-man roster for any eligible player of the same position that's on the DL when the playoffs start (this is the rule that allowed Francisco Rodriguez to get five postseason wins for the Angels in 2002). Thus, Ohlendorf and Sardinha step in for Carl Pavano and Andy Phillips. Should Ohlendorf actually contribute I think it'll be most value the Yankees have gotten out of the Pavano contract.

Anyway, this leaves the Yankees with a pitching staff that features only one lefthander (Andy Pettitte), and a bullpen whose slowest fastball is in the 92-94mph range (Jose Vizcaino). It's safe to say that the Yankees have decided to go with talent over diversity and experience. It's a gutsy call, but it's also in line with the decisions that have brought the team back from their horrible start.

I'm not usually one to quote ads, but Nike's 80 foot tall billboard by Penn Station pretty much sums things up:

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.

Popping the Corks

Thursday the Yankees passed a difficult test in their quest to win the championship: they celebrated clinching a playoff spot without suffering a single injury, no small feat when Shelley Duncan is in the clubhouse.

A few random thoughts:

• Joba Chamberlain's picture on his official MLB player page freaks me out. It's like some sort of very disturbing photoshop job.
  
  
• Robinson Cano has been showing a lot of extra power of late, not just hitting home runs, but hitting long home runs the opposite way. Thanks to the fantastic you can see that he's hit nearly half of his 19 home runs to left and center field. It's one of the reasons why I think Cano is going to be much more consistent next season.
  
  
• As Thursday's celebrations began, YES' cameras clearly caught Jason Giambi dousing Doug Mientkiewicz with champagne and Mientkiewicz exclaiming "God that's #@!$ing cold!" This, my friends, is what digital video recorders were made for.

The Asterisk

In non-Yankee baseball news, fashion designer Mark Ecko will be donating Barry Bonds' record breaking 756th home run ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame after branding an asterisk into it. Ecko, who is a big fan of graffiti art, bought the ball for $752,467 (which makes me wish he would've ponied up the extra $3,533 to make it $756,000 even) and held an online poll allowing fans to decide what to do with it. 47% of fans voted to brand it with the asterisk and donate it to the Hall of Fame, 34% voted to donate it unblemished, and 19% voted to shoot it into space.

As a baseball history geek, I kind of like the result, not because I think Bonds' achievement should be denigrated, but because its a symbol of the era that achievement occurred in. I think fifty years from now fans will come to the Hall of Fame to see the ball and be reminded of how badly baseball owners and players dealt with the steroids issue, and how that affected the fans' view of the game.

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.

Sneaking Up

I know I said I was going to go over the playoff roster options, but that voice in my head won't let me write about anything but the division title. For weeks I've been saying that even if the Yankees stayed hot, they wouldn't have a chance at the division unless Boston stumbled. Well, Boston most definitely stumbled, losing three games against Toronto after having lost the series against the Yankees over the weekend. With the title suddenly in reach, we have to ask two questions: How hard should the team try to win the division, and what are their chances?

On the surface, "How hard should the Yankees try to win?" seems like a silly question. Winning is their goal in every game. However, you have to look at the bigger picture and ask what their overall goal is. Is it to win the division, or is it to win the World Series? It may seem like semantics, but its actually an essential question for determining the team's strategy for the rest of the season. If you want to win the division, that means you should be sending your best players out there. However, since the Yankees already have a sizable lead in the Wild Card race, if they want to win the World Series, they should be gearing up for the playoffs. This means using backups while your best players get some rest. I'm not just talking about the ones with nagging injuries, like Giambi, Matsui and Damon. Everybody on the team could use a day off. Sure, taking the division from the Red Sox would be sweet, but I don't think anyone on the Yankees wants it more than they want to win the World Series, and Joe Torre needs to plan accordingly.

Of course, there's no reason that the Yankees' can't win the division while getting themselves ready for the playoffs. Its not like they'll stop trying to win games just because the regulars are resting. So, let's take a look at what their chances are by looking at their schedule and Boston's. The Yankees have nine games left, three against Toronto at home, then three in Tampa and three in Baltimore. Meanwhile the Red Sox have eight games, two in Tampa, two at home against Oakland, and a final four against Minnesota. The Yankees definitely have the advantage in strength of schedule, playing more games against teams that are either bad (Tampa Bay) or bad and completely falling apart (Baltimore). That said, Oakland and Minnesota, while not bad teams, are pretty mediocre and the Red Sox do have the home field advantage. So, the story's the same as it ever was. The Yankees need to stay hot, and Boston needs to stumble just a little bit. Its going to be an interesting week.

I'll be in the right field bleachers Sunday afternoon, if anyone wants to say hi. You can look for me in section 39, row H.

The return of the Moose

One month ago Mike Mussina was falling apart, and people (myself included) were at a loss for what the solution might be. By pulling him from the rotation, though, it seems the Yankees have stumbled upon the answer; Moose just needed some rest. In retrospect, its actually kind of obvious that a 38 year old man might benefit from some time off.

Anyway, where his first start after rejoining the rotation was merely good, last night's was excellent. His fastball was up to a respectable 90mph with good life, and his curve had some excellent snap to it. Like his pitches, Moose seemed to have some extra life in him, making five plays in the field, including a great reaction play on a line drive at his head. Granted, neither the Orioles or the Blue Jays will ever be mistaken for Murderer's Row, so we should temper our excitement. That said, as long as he pitches well in his next start, I think he's locked up his spot in the postseason rotation.

That, of course, assumes that the Yankees are going to need a postseason rotation, and things are looking good on that front. Both Detroit and Boston have lost their last two games, putting the Yankees four and a half games up on the wild card and two and a half back for the division title. Even better, the magic number has shrunk to seven with only eleven games remaining. All the Yankees have to do now is not collapse and they're playoff bound. So, I don't think it's premature to start talking about the playoff roster, which I'll be doing on the off day tomorrow.

Thunder Tuesday 9/18

Minor League Monday comes in a little bit late this week, partially because I had a piece of glass removed from my left hand yesterday, and partially because I'm a sucker for alliteration. This week we celebrate the Trenton Thunder and their win over the Akron Aeros in the Eastern League Championship Series.

It was actually a pretty unusual series for the Thunder, who made their way to the championships on the strencth of their starting pitching. However, their three best starters didn't do much in this series. Alan Horne and Daniel McCutchen were both hit hard, and Jeff Marquez didn't even get to pitch.

Instead, the team relied on stellar relief work, and, in the last game, an unexpected outburst from one of the worst offenses in the league. In that last game, the Thunder scored ten runs off 16 hits, including a home run and three singles from series MVP Matt Carson.

So, I send a hearty congratulations to the Trenton Thunder in my last minor league of the season.