2010 MLB Season

[ghost of miles]

Eye-popping stat from Yankeeland: after today's game, catcher Francisco Cervelli is 10-13 with runners in scoring position this season.

NY is skipping Vasquez and going with Hughes and CC against Boston at the start of next week. Javy will pitch Friday against the Mets instead. Not sure "protecting" Javy from the Bosox is the best thing for his confidence, esp. after he pitched so well against Detroit; I would've rather seen Girardi simply push the rotation back a day, going with Javy and Hughes against Boston. Hughes has been dominant, but CC's been shaky his last couple of starts.

Edited May 16, 2010 by ghost of miles

[papsrus]

Nice little walk-off win for the Rays tonight after struggling at the plate pretty much collectively for the first 7 innings last week or so. To wit: Burrell (.202) designated for assignment Saturday.

[Quincy]

Nice? You think that walk off was nice? Just as I was thinking how nice the M's were winning games vs. the best team while on the road.

I haven't given up on the M's as Figgins was stone cold for a period last year & magically hit his way back towards his mean. Which means if he can do that again he'll have to hit close to .400 for a month, and that'll be pretty cool. (Fingers crossed.) He did indeed do such a thing last year (perhaps the year before) - as a fantasy player I had him and you remember such nonsense (after all, normally I don't root for Angel players succeeding.)

Tough luck Dodger fans with Ethier breaking a pinkie.

[papsrus]

Biggest surprise so far -- The Nationals.

I'd add the Padres to that list.

These guys are just playing over their heads.

Guess we should add the first-place Reds to that list, too (especially since I seem to have jinxed the Nats)

[Dan Gould]

It doesn't take much to convince me that its hopeless - or will take major injuries to the teams ahead of them - but the sting is much less when the Twins beat Rivera with a grand slam, something he hasn't allowed pretty much in forever. Even better when I saw the replay and realized it was a Little League World Champions Stadium custom-job. 320 feet, second row.

Occasionally, he who lives by the ridiculous dimensions/jet stream to RF shall die by the ridiculous dimensions/jet stream to RF.

[ghost of miles]

I really wonder when the last time was that Mo gave up a grand-slam. He's certainly given up some big hits from time to time over the course of his career, but that was a distinctly un-Mo-like moment. Joba has been lights-out of late but also struggled badly in the 8th. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, the Yanks' two weakest and #8/#9 hitters get on, only for Jeter, Gardner, and Tex to all strike out. At least we took the series, but a disappointing way to lose the last game for sure.

[Tim McG]

Giants sweep.

Wilson [our pretend closer] still struggles.

Giants baseball: Torture.

[ghost of miles]

NY Times opening graf gives the rundown on Mo's "last time he did that" background:

Mariano Rivera had not given up a grand slam since 2002, had not allowed a bases-loaded walk since 2005 and had not blown a save at home since 2007. But in a matter of seconds Sunday, all of those streaks came to an end.

[Quincy]

NY Times opening graf gives the rundown on Mo's "last time he did that" background:

Mariano Rivera had not given up a grand slam since 2002, had not allowed a bases-loaded walk since 2005 and had not blown a save at home since 2007. But in a matter of seconds Sunday, all of those streaks came to an end.

And when does it happen to him? In mid-May with the club doing well. If you're going to give one up, what better time to get it out of your system (and those things are almost as bad as kidney stones.) Let me do my Tim McCarver imitation and say "remarkable."

[Matthew]

Nice? You think that walk off was nice? Just as I was thinking how nice the M's were winning games vs. the best team while on the road.

I haven't given up on the M's as Figgins was stone cold for a period last year & magically hit his way back towards his mean. Which means if he can do that again he'll have to hit close to .400 for a month, and that'll be pretty cool. (Fingers crossed.) He did indeed do such a thing last year (perhaps the year before) - as a fantasy player I had him and you remember such nonsense (after all, normally I don't root for Angel players succeeding.)

Tough luck Dodger fans with Ethier breaking a pinkie.

Mariners are playing depressing baseball right now, it's like the pitcher has to throw a shutout just to have a chance to win -- just look at the Tampa Bay series, great pitching, but lost the series. There are definite roster problems right now, with Mike Sweeney & Ken Griffey being their for their supposed leadership, though how two bench players can be leaders on a "contender" -- I don't know. One of them has to go, just taking a roster position for a playing to could add something to the mix. Jermaine Dye could really help this club, but I doubt the Mariners will even try. Luckily, the West is awful, and it looks like 85 wins could take the division.

[BERIGAN]

Biggest surprise so far -- The Nationals.

I'd add the Padres to that list.

These guys are just playing over their heads.

Guess we should add the first-place Reds to that list, too (especially since I seem to have jinxed the Nats)

Padres have some amazing pitchers, especially in the bullpen. They just need a bat..or three.

Reds have so much young pitching about to blossom , they are probably praying that Harang and Arroyo can get their ERA's at least down into the 4's so they can trade them for something...anything.

[Chalupa]

Luckily, the West is awful, and it looks like 85 wins could take the division.

85?? That's generous. I would say more like 80.

[ghost of miles]

Luckily, the West is awful, and it looks like 85 wins could take the division.

85?? That's generous. I would say more like 80.

There's a decent chance that the top four teams in the AL East will all have better records than the AL West winner this year.

But remember the '73 Mets!

[Quincy]

Luckily, the West is awful, and it looks like 85 wins could take the division.

85?? That's generous. I would say more like 80.

There's a decent chance that the top four teams in the AL East will all have better records than the AL West winner this year.

But remember the '73 Mets!

After going through having a team with the best regular season lose in the first round I'd happily take the M's as the '73 Mets!

Ever since that season some friends & I refer to losses by the #1 seed to #4 (or worse) seeds as "Marinered." As in the Dallas Mavericks got Marinered by Golden State. It sounds painful, and it is.

[ghost of miles]

Nick Johnson out till July for wrist surgery--whadda surprise! Posada and Swisher out of the lineup tonight as well against Boston... talented as they are, I really wonder how much longer the Yankees can keep up a .650 winning pace. At least Granderson will be back soon.

[ghost of miles]

Can NY please put together some kind of decent bullpen? For God's sake... we've given up 5 HR to Boston so far and the night's not even over yet. We've blown a 6-1 lead and are headed for our second straight "WFT happened" loss.

[Dave James]

Can NY please put together some kind of decent bullpen? For God's sake... we've given up 5 HR to Boston so far and the night's not even over yet. We've blown a 6-1 lead and are headed for our second straight "WFT happened" loss.

I'll tell you WTF happened. Joe GIrardi doesn't have a clue how to manage a pitching staff. Leaving Hughes in the game when he'd clearly lost his stuff was just the latest indication that he's in way over his head. I'm 3,000 miles away and I can see it, why can't he?

[papsrus]

Rays win another one-run game, 4-3 over the Tribe in 11.

[Chalupa]

I can't believe the Yankees blew a 5 run lead and then scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

[Chalupa]

I pity the Pirates right now. They got slammed 12-2 tonight and what's their reward for tonight's misery??? Doc Halladay tomorrow.

[ghost of miles]

I can't believe the Yankees blew a 5 run lead and then scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

I can't believe it either! Felt like a masochist watching the last couple of innings, but man, it sure turned around in the bottom of the 9th.

Dave: yes, bad move to leave Hughes in when his pitch count was already so high after 4 2/3 IP (I think he was at 100 or very close to it when Drew hit that HR) and he was, as you say, clearly losing steam. And also bad IMO to keep Park in there for more than one IP when it was his first game back off the DL.

The weird irony here is that Javy actually got the win, for coming in and striking out Youkilis with two runners on and two out in the top of the 9th. Maybe that'll actually HELP Javy in the long run, getting over the whole "shadow of Game 7 ALCS 2004" syndrome and all that. (Esp. after Girardi skipped him against Boston tonight as a starter.)

Rays win another one-run game, 4-3 over the Tribe in 11.

They don't seem to ever lose. Over at Pinstripe Alley some posters are claiming TB got the benefit of a bad call...I'll have to go see if I can find a highlight clip. But man, TB is just unbelievable so far. I'm truly shocked now whenever they do actually drop a game.

[papsrus]

Rays win another one-run game, 4-3 over the Tribe in 11.

They don't seem to ever lose. Over at Pinstripe Alley some posters are claiming TB got the benefit of a bad call...I'll have to go see if I can find a highlight clip. But man, TB is just unbelievable so far. I'm truly shocked now whenever they do actually drop a game.

Not sure about the bad call, whatever it was. There's bad calls in a lot of games. This one didn't hinge on any single bad call, as far as I could tell.

But the Rays are kind of doing it with smoke and mirrors right now. Low-scoring, one-run, last-at-bat wins (and losses) against Seattle and Cleveland don't really fill anyone with too much confidence. They're batting .249 as a team, with Pena and Navarro in deep funks below .200. And Upton and Bartlett aren't exactly tearing the cover off the ball either -- both below .250.

They're not getting to anyone's starting pitching lately, then their middle relief is keeping them in games until they can get to the other guy's bullpen and scratch out a run by hook or by crook.

I'd be surprised if they managed to split the two games this week up in New York.

[Dave James]

That was a genuine 2004 moment. It was made even more surreal by the fact that Aaron Boone was working the booth for ESPN. I don't think I've ever heard a crowd react to a swing as quickly as they did A-Rod's. It almost seemed like the fans were screaming at the very instant the bat met the ball. Congrats to Marques Thames. That has to be the biggest thrill he's had in baseball. This was the quintessential good night...bad night...good night game. I'm just glad the Yanks found a way to win. Now I've got to go out and find some audio of Michael Kay calling both those shots on the YES Network.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

has anyone checked on Dan?

[ghost of miles]

Papsrus, sorry, didn't mean to impugn the Rays' win...I was just curious as to what a controversial call might have been about. (The calm, cool heads at Pinstripe Alley might have heard wrong, anyway.) Your analysis of TB's recent winning ways makes me feel a tad better about their record...but just a tad.

About last night, some of the commentary I've seen today has focused on Papelbon's throwing exclusively fastballs in the 9th (and ones, as he said afterwards, that weren't executed particularly well). Odd to see two of the best closers in baseball, Mo and Paps, melt down in successive games. Paps hadn't blown a regular-season save since last July 28, and hadn't given up two HR in the same inning since his major-league debut in 2005. I sure as hell thought NY was dead in the water by the time he came in.

Interesting piece from the NY Times on the Bosox-Yanks rivalry:

Rivalry loses its personality, but not its flair for theater

Edited May 18, 2010 by ghost of miles