Results tagged ‘ Marcus Thames ’
Pen sticks CC with undeserving ND
The first time he came to bat at Yankee Stadium as a 19-year-old rookie for the Braves in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, Andruw Jones hit a home run. Jones got his first at-bat at the new Stadium Tuesday night now as a reserve outfielder for the Yankees and also hit a home run, a splendid way to get started with his new team.
I freely admit that I was not all that keen on the Jones signing. He seems limited as a bench player to me. Jones doesn’t move all that well in the field anymore, and he certainly isn’t going to contribute much as a pinch runner. Still, he is an upgrade defensively over Marcus Thames, who did some good things with the bat a year ago, but you couldn’t play him anywhere but DH.
Hitting home runs at the Stadium is something the Yankees are doing a lot of already in 2011 – 13 now in five games. Jones’ solo drive (career No. 408, pushing him past the late Duke Snider for 46th place on the all-time list) in the second came an inning after Mark Teixeira bashed a three-run homer off Brian Duensing with none out. Those blows seemed all the ammunition the Yankees would need, and they were so long as CC Sabathia was in the game.
But the dreaded pitch count had Sabathia departing after seven brilliant innings in which he gave up two measly singles and then proceeded to retire 17 batters in a row. That was stuck with a no-decision is nothing short of criminal. The way CC pitched (7 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts) meant there was no way Mariano Rivera needed to pitch in this game. But come the ninth, there was Mo.
That was because Rafael Soriano had come on in the eighth, the former Rays closer’s new inning of responsibility, and spit up the four-run lead. The Twins, whose futility at the Stadium during Ron Gardenhire’s 10-year tenure as manager is a matter of record, surely were pleased to see Sabathia go away, not that Soriano is any day at the beach, normally, but the righthander did not look like the reliever who saved 45 games a year ago.
That can happen sometimes with pitchers who have the closer mentality, but Soriano knew what was in store for him when the Yankees gave him all those millions of dollars.
“It’s too early to judge that,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said about whether Soriano will find working the eighth less challenging than the ninth.
Soriano opened up the game for the Twins instead of helping to close it out for the Yankees. He loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a well-struck single by Denard Span. It appeared as if Soriano might get out of it by freezing Tsuyoshi Nishioka with a muscular fastball for the second out before walking Joe Mauer on a diet of cutters to force in Minnesota’s first run.
Girardi had seen enough and summoned David Robertson, who got Delmon Young to hit a slicing pop to right. It was high enough to allow the runners extra time to scoot around the bases, and they all scored when the ball fell free in front of a sliding Nick Swisher. Young was credited with a three-run double, and what seemed a sure victory for Sabathia was gone.
There was some talk after the game that perhaps Girardi would have been better off bringing in Robertson to pitch the eighth and Soriano in the ninth on a night when not having to turn to a 41-year-old closer was possible. That makes no sense. Soriano’s job is to pitch in the eighth, and a 4-0 score at the Stadium these days the way balls are flying is by no means insurmountable.
Swisher faulted himself for a mistake of aggression by diving for the Young ball. Once his feet left the ground, Swisher had no chance to keep Mauer from scoring the tying run. Swisher would have been better off playing the ball on a hop and making a strong throw home. Mauer caught a break being able to run for what is full speed for him because there were two out.
Rivera worked the ninth but left after the Yankees failed to score in the bottom half. The Twins went ahead on Mauer’s single off Boone Logan in the 10th, and Joe Nathan, who didn’t seem destined for this game, closed it out.
So where did all the home runs go? The Yankees had two hits, both singles, after Jones’ bomb, so the offense shares some blame here. But this was primarily a bullpen blunder. Give CC credit for professionalism.
“It’s part of the game,” he said of the no-decision. “You just move on from there.”
Yanks bail out CC
Well, CC Sabathia got his no-decision. The Yankees got their ace off the hook with a stunning attack against an aghast Texas bullpen that spit up the lead for starter C.J. Wilson, who ran out of gas at the start of the eighth inning.
The Rangers would have been better off brining in Nolan Ryan, the team president who displayed old-fashioned heat in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Wilson handled the Yankees for seven innings. Robinson Cano’s leadoff homer in the seventh was all they could get while the Rangers had put up a five-spot on Sabathia, who was toast after the fourth. Brett Gardner beat out an infield hit to lead off the eighth, and that was the opening of a door the Rangers could not jam.
One Yankees batter after another followed and got on base, forcing Texas manager Ron Washington to make a series of processions to the mound searching for a pitcher to get an out. None of the first three he called on could.
Derek Jeter finished off Wilson with a double that scored Gardner. Darren Oliver, the lefthander who had been with the Rangers when they first played the Yankees in the post-season 14 years ago, came in to turn switch hitters Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira around to the right side. Both walked on full counts, loading the bases.
Washington tried righthander Darren O’Day, who threw one pitch that resulted in a two-run single by Alex Rodriguez. Next was lefthander Clay Rapada, who also threw one pitch. Cano lined it into center to drive in the tying run. In came lefty Derek Holland, who at least threw more than one pitch but not before the Yankees went ahead on a broken-bat single to left by Marcus Thames.
The scene was reminiscent of a game at Rangers Ballpark In Arlington back in August when the Yankees wiped out a 6-1, sixth-inning deficit and went on to a 7-6 victory. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth and gave up a leadoff triple but kept the runner at third to notch the save.
No falling behind this time for Yanks
The Yankees took a different approach Saturday night in their post-season matchup with Minnesota – they scored first.
The Yankees’ modus operandi in playoff games against the Twins is to fall behind early and come back late. The Twinkies haven’t been able to hold leads throughout this post-season drought against the Yankees that had reached eight games after the Yanks won the first two games of the American League Division Series earlier in the week at Target Field.
The Yankees treated Yankee Stadium fans by drawing first blood in the second inning of Game 3 against Twins lefthander Brian Duensing. Robinson Cano, who hit .285 with 13 home runs off lefties this year and had an RBI single off lefthander Francisco Liriano in Game 1, led off the second inning with a triple. The slicing drive eluded center fielder Denard Span, who had to run the ball down when it caromed off the wall back toward the infield.
After Marcus Thames popped out, Jorge Posada lined a first-pitch changeup into left field for a single to score Cano. An announcement was made in the press box stating that it was Posada’s 41st RBI in post-season play as he passed Mickey Mantle on the career list.
This is a pet peeve of mind, so I may as well get it off my chest now. No criticism of Posada is intended here, but to compare his post-season RBI with those of Mantle is ridiculous. All of Mickey’s RBI were in the World Series. His last season in the majors was 1968, the year before divisional play began and an additional level of post-season play was added. Since 1995 when the wild card was added, post-season play has had three levels.
The format change has played havoc with post-season records, particularly those established when there was only the World Series, such as Mantle’s 18 home runs and Yogi Berra’s 71 hits. To equate World Series statistics with those in the first round of the playoffs is irrational. They should be kept separately.
For the record, Posada’s breakdown in post-season RBI is 14 in the Division Series, 16 in the Championship Series and 11 in the World Series.
The Yankees kept up the scoring over the next two innings threatening to make this a rout. They got a two-out run in the third when Nick Swisher doubled and Mark Teixeira singled. Thames hit an opposite-field home run in the fourth for two more runs.
Also scoring on the blow was Cano, who beat out an infield single. On the play, first baseman Michael Cuddyer’s hurried throw went past Duensing and struck Yankees first base coach Mick Kelleher in the, well, let’s just hope coaches wear cups.
Duensing was replaced after walking Curtis Granderson, who subsequently stole second, continued to third on an errant throw by catcher Joe Mauer and scored on a fly ball to left by Brett Gardner for a 5-0 Yankees lead. It was Minnesota that had to do the catching up now.
Rays take season series from Yanks
The rematch of American League Cy Young Award candidates CC Sabathia and David Price Thursday night at Yankee Stadium did not duplicate their pairing of Sept. 13 at Tropicana Field when both lefthanders pitched eight shutout innings in a game the Rays won, 1-0, in the 11th.
Neither was involved in the decision 10 days ago, but they were this time. Sabathia blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth as Tampa Bay scored seven times and went on to coast to a 10-3 victory that improved Price’s record to 18-6. CC fell to 20-7 for a performance in which he allowed the most runs, seven, in any of his starts this year.
The Yankees stung Price early and had a chance to do more damage, but they let him off the ropes by stranding the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings. Price was particularly impressive in the fifth by getting Robinson Cano on an infield pop and striking out Marcus Thames, who had homered off him earlier. If Price stays on turn, he would make two more starts and have a shot to win 20
Sabathia appeared to lose confidence in his fastball in the sixth and inexplicably walked the 8- and 9-hole hitters to force in the go-ahead run. Joba Chamberlain then gave up a two-run double to B.J. Upton and a two-run single to Carl Crawford to make the score 8-3.
Earlier in the day at Toronto, Mariners righthander Felix Hernandez lost again to fall to 12-12, but he gave up only one run – on Jose Bautista’s 50th home run – in his sixth complete game and had his ERA drop to 2.31. Despite his .500 won-lost record, King Felix remains a Cy Young candidate because of his gaudy statistics other than victories. He is also victimized by one of the worst offensive teams since the designated hitter came to the AL in 1973. Seattle has scored two or fewer runs in 15 of Hernandez’s 33 starts. He is 2-10 despite a 2.84 ERA in those starts.
The Yankees have more things to worry about than whether Sabathia will win the Cy Young Award. A split of the four-game set with the Rays prevented the Yankees from putting some space between them and Tampa Bay in the AL East standings. It would have helped since the Rays have the lighter schedule the rest of the way with two three-game home series against the Marines and Orioles and a four-game trip to Kansas City while the Yankees finish up at home this weekend with the Red Sox and then travel to Toronto and Boston. Another break for the Rays is that they won’t have to face Hernandez in the Seattle series.
Also, by winning Thursday night, the Rays took the season series, 10-8, which means that if the teams remained tied (which they are in the loss column), then Tampa Bay would win the division based on head-to-head matchups.
For the Yankees, this was a disappointing game and a bit of a bizarre one. In the seventh inning, Javier Vazquez hit three batters in a row with pitches, tying a major-league record (eighth time), most recently done by the Dodgers’ Jeff Weaver in 2004. As any Yankees fan knows, doing something Jeff Weaver did is not a good thing.
Javy rallied to pitch a scoreless eighth and ninth. Let’s face it; he is pitching for a spot on the post-season roster that is anything but a lock for him.
Javy has no cause to gripe
In his previous start, Javier Vazquez was removed from the game with two outs in the fifth inning with the Yankees ahead, thereby denied the chance for a winning decision. After the game, Vazquez made it clear that he was not in agreement with manager Joe Girardi’s decision. The bullpen eventually lost Vazquez’s lead, but the Yankees won in the later innings.
Friday night in Texas, Vazquez made it through the fifth but barely. After giving up a leadoff single to Ian Kinsler in the sixth, Vazquez was lifted for reliever Boone Logan. Again, Vazquez was not happy about the situation even though Girardi took him out with the Yankees leading by two runs. That meant Vazquez still had a shot at being the winning pitcher and was guaranteed that he could not be the loser.
Kinsler ended up scoring that inning, but the Yankees remained ahead, 5-4, until the eighth when Joba Chamberlain, not Girardi, cost Vazquez the pitching victory by yielding a game-tying home run to Nelson Cruz.
Vazquez and Girardi have gone back and forth all season, but is it the manager’s fault? Vazquez was skipped twice in the rotation back in May when he was struggling and he came out of the rotation last month after another rough stretch but he eventually earned himself a return to starting duty.
But the numbers do not lie. The only reason Vazquez is a game over .500 with a 10-9 record is that he got a victory May 17 when Marcus Thames hit a walk-off home run against the Red Sox. It made a winner of Vazquez, who got one out – a big one, coming out of the bullpen to strike out Kevin Youkilis with runners on first and third in the top of the ninth.
The Yankees gave Vazquez a 4-1 lead in the third inning against the Rangers. An inning later, Vazquez made it a one-run game. He has a 5.09 ERA and no reason to sulk when taken out of games.
Posada condition dampens walk-off win
This was going to be an uplifting post about a walk-off home run that prevented a disastrous end to what began as a very promising homestand for the Yankees. On precisely one year to the date of his previous game-winning home run, Nick Swisher squared up a 2-and-0 fastball from Orioles closer Koji Uehara and turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory.
This was the fourth walk-off victory of the year for the Yankees, who made a habit of these finishes in 2009 with 15. A.J. Burnett got the whipped-cream pie out and delighted the remains of a Yankee Stadium crowd of 44,163 who had not witnessed a scene so familiar last year since May 17 when Marcus Thames clocked Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.
The Yankees were still celebrating among each other when word came out during manager Joe Girardi’s post-game news conference that catcher Jorge Posada was undergoing tests at New York Presbyterian Hospital for concussion symptoms. That he was not in the lineup set off no signals because Posada is often rested in day games that follow night games.
It was not until the seventh inning when Francisco Cervelli batted for himself with two out and runners on first and third and the Yankees trailing by one run that some of us in the press box suspected that Posada was not available at all because this was an obvious pinch-hitting situation.
Jorgie took a foul ball by Nick Markakis off the left side of his mask Tuesday night. He mentioned it after the game to Girardi but did not seem overly concerned until he reported to the Stadium Wednesday and told the manager that he had trouble sleeping because of severe headaches. That’s when alarms sounded, and Posada went through a battery of tests and was sent off to see a neurologist.
This is no Sissy Mary. This is Jorge Posada, who is probably the toughest guy in the room. When he gets hurt, it is usually something pretty serious. Jorgie played a game with a bone fracture in his right foot before going on the disabled list in mid-May.
Concussions are nothing to fool with. The Mets have been without left fielder Jason Bay since July 25 when he collided into a wall at Dodger Stadium. Twins first baseman Justin Morneau suffered a concussion July 7 when he got hit in the head by a knee while sliding into second base and may not play again this season.
At this point, it would appear unlikely that Posada would make the 3 -hour flight from New York to Dallas that the Yankees have scheduled Thursday night even if the test results are in his favor. Air travel is one of the worst things for a person with concussion symptoms. The Mets made that mistake last year with outfielder Ryan Church, who never fully recovered from two concussions.
Yankees players were unaware of the Posada situation after Wednesday’s game. It was sobering news to all as well it should be.
“Obviously, we don’t want to lose anyone, and Jorge’s a crucial part of this team,” said Alex Rodriguez, who started the ninth-inning comeback with a leadoff single. “So we have to hope for the best right now.”
The Yankees embark on a 10-day, nine-game trip through Texas, Tampa Bay and Baltimore. The Rangers and Rays are playoff-bound teams, and the Yankees discovered that under Buck Showalter the Orioles have gotten tougher.
“This was an important win for us,” A-Rod said. “To get swept at home is unacceptable.”
Yet it very nearly happened. After sweeping a four-game set from the Athletics and taking two of three games from the Blue Jays, the Yankees needed Swisher’s 26th home run, a jolt over the left-center field fence, to avoid losing three in a row to the last-place Orioles.
Impressive ensemble pitching by the young Orioles staff quieted Yankees bats until Swisher’s blow kept the broom in the closet. Post-game merriment was muted once Posada’s condition became known. The Yankees are headed for the backstretch of their season having to rely on Cervelli and fellow backup Chad Moeller, who a week ago was in the minor leagues.
“If I got to do it, I got to do it,” Cervelli said. “I have been learning a lot here.”
The Yankees are skipping Phil Hughes for a turn in the rotation and will go with Javier Vazquez, Burnett and Dustin Moseley in Texas. They were clinging to the hope that they would not have to skip their catcher as well.
Andy, A-Rod getting closer
Some 3 hours before the first pitch at Yankee Stadium Saturday was a scene right out of spring training under a bright sun. There were Yankees coaches standing around the cage and a collection of reporters rimming the wall along the area behind the plate. A pitcher was on the mound, and a hitter wielding a bat was at the plate. It is known as a simulated game, a staple in spring training.
In this case, however, the pitcher and hitter were a pair of perennial All-Stars, Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez, and the guy calling balls and strikes from behind the batting cage was a Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson.
My friend, John Rowe of the Bergen Record, leaned over and said to me, “You think a simulated game with the Kansas City Royals would draw this much attention?”
The session went well for both disabled players. Pettitte threw the equivalent of three innings for a total of 50 pitches and then went through a PFP (pitcher fielding position) session that also went without incident. ARod, who took some swings alternating with Ramiro Pena and Greg Golson, had the equivalent of 1-for-4 and was rung up on strikes once by Reggie.
“He had a Reggie strike zone,” Alex said later.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi was encouraged by both of his stars’ efforts.
On Pettitte, who is recovering from a left groin strain, Girardi said: “He let it go and threw all his pitches. I paid particularly close attention to his location. That’s the area that is most affected if a pitcher is favoring one leg on the lower part of his body, which Andy wasn’t doing.”
If Andy reports no physical problems, the next step would be another simulated game or an injury-rehabilitation assignment to the minors. There would be at least two of those types of sessions before he would pitch again in a major-league game.
“I felt good,” Rodriguez said. “Andy looked great. I’m glad I don’t have to face him every day.”
Alex added that he was most careful to avoid hitting anything back through the box. Pettitte pitched without a screen protecting him. Rodriguez recalled an incident in 2000 when he was with the Mariners and Jamie Moyer was hurt in a simulated game by a batted ball.
Rodriguez added that he needs to be cautious breaking from the batter’s box. Trainer Gene Monahan suggested he take a few choppy steps before pulling into full stride.
Since we are into the post-Sept. 1 extended-roster period, either player can be activated at any time, although A-Rod has to wait until Sunday to fulfill the 15-day disabled list period.
Nick Swisher’s left knee continues to be a health issue. He first hurt the knee by fouling a ball of it Aug. 25 at Toronto but returned two days later and played six games before he had to come out of Thursday night’s game. Swish was slated to bat second and play right field Saturday but was a late scratch. Marcus Thames, who was in the lineup originally as the designated hitter, started in right and Lance Berkman took over as the DH.
Captain needs to get home
The Yankees return home Monday, and no one should be happier about that than the team captain. Derek Jeter suffered through a tortuous trip on the personal level as all things considered the Yankees were fortunate to come away with a 3-3 record on the trek through Toronto and Chicago.
More than in any other season, Jeter appears lost on the road in 2010. He was hitless in four at-bats with a walk Sunday and grounded into his 20th double play of the season. Jeter was 2-for-23 (.087) with one home run and two RBI on the trip and is stuck on a .270 batting average for the season.
The discrepancy between home and away is alarming. Jeter is batting .230 with three home runs and 24 RBI on the road, compared to .314 with seven home runs and 35 RBI at Yankee Stadium. His career numbers are .322 at home and .307 on the road, so this year is clearly out of the ordinary for Jeter.
To win two close games against the White Sox the past two days was huge for the Yankees, who are already without Alex Rodriguez and had Mark Teixiera (bruised right thumb) for only one at-bat. Marcus Thames came up big-time for the Yankees, a sort of anti-Jeter on the road by going 8-for-17 (.471) with one double, five home runs and eight RBI. Two of his home runs were off right-handed pitchers, a very encouraging sign.
The Yankees’ other RBI came from Brett Gardner, who hit leadoff with Jeter dropping to No. 2, on a single in the third inning in what was a strange at-bat. Francisco Cervelli led off with a double, the first of four hits in the game that raised his average from .240 to .253. Gardner did not show bunt on the first pitch and took a strike. He made a sacrifice attempt on the second pitch and bunted it foul. Swinging away on 0-and-2, Gardner singled up the middle to score Cervelli with a second run that held up.
The Yankees found a new starting pitcher on the trip in rookie righthander Ivan Nova, who earned his first major-league victory Sunday. In his two starts on the trip, Nova allowed three earned runs and 11 hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in 11 innings. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Nova will get another start, although it will not come up at the expense of A.J. Burnett, who will remain in the rotation. The odd man out remains Javier Vazquez, who is likely to be used as a backup for Phil Hughes in his starts to keep his innings down.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen went so far as to say Nova was the Yankees’ best pitcher in the series, quite a statement considering Mariano Rivera had two saves. Guillen did not have a good day. He lifted his best hitter, Paul Konerko, in a one-run game in the eighth for a pinch runner who tried to steal on the first pitch and was thrown out trying to steal second base.
Perhaps Ozzie’s mind was clouded by watching one of his least favorite players, Nick Swisher, have a great series against his former team. Swisher, who hit .219 for Guillen in 2008, was 5-for-13 (.385) with a double, two homers and five RBI in the series. Over the past two years for the Yankees, Swish is hitting .333 with one double, five home runs and 11 RBI in 45 at-bats against the White Sox.
Another rescue mission for Mo
U.S. Cellular Field played like Wrigley Field Saturday night. Illinois native Joe Girardi knows all about nights like this, which should give him pause if he is tempted to go home next year and manage the Cubs. Remember, Joe, you can’t bring Mariano Rivera with you.
Such games as Saturday night’s 12-9 slugfest are why Yankees fans celebrate having Rivera as their closer. He should have been cooling his heels in the bullpen, but relievers Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson had their first off nights in quite a while as the White Sox kept creeping back into the game. Mo was summoned in the ninth after Robertson gave up a home run, a triple and a single to the first three batters.
Rivera got two quick outs inducing a grounder from Carlos Quentin that was turned into a double play. Ramon Castro kept the inning alive with a single, and Andruw Jones, who turned back the clock with a perfect night (home run, double, single, two bases on balls, two RBI) worked out a walk, which brought the potential tying run to the plate. That was Mark Teahen, who finally ended it with a soft liner to second baseman Robinson Cano.
In the middle of the eighth inning, this looked like a piece of cake for the Yankees, who had an 11-5 lead with CC Sabathia becoming the first Yankees starter in eight games to pitch beyond the sixth inning. Sabathia almost let all of a 6-1, third-inning lead get away as a pair of two-run home runs by Paul Konerko and Jones got the White Sox to 6-5 in the fourth.
Two-run homers by Nick Swisher in the first, Eduardo Nunez (career No. 1) in the second and Marcus Thames (the first of two bombs for him in the game) in the third fashioned the early lead. For all that power, the biggest hit of the game for the Yankees was a two-out, two-run double by Jorge Posada in the fifth. It unnerved reliever Tony Pena, who walked the next two hitters and gave up a two-run single to Nunez, the rookie third baseman who had a game worthy of Alex Rodriguez.
Sabathia sort of sauntered his way over the first four innings, but after Jones’ home run CC struck out seven of the next 11 hitters and got through the seventh without yielding another run. His fifth straight victory raised his season mark to 18-5 with a 3.14 ERA, which are surely Cy Young Award numbers. Other impressive figures for Sabathia are a 38-10 career mark in August with a 3.14 ERA, a 16-4 lifetime record against the White Sox with a 3.72 ERA, including 9-1 with a 3.33 ERA at the Cell.
Still, he had to sweat through the later innings as the bullpen struggled until you know who did what he does best.
Hughes keeps innings down
The Yankees didn’t have to worry about limiting Phil Hughes’ innings Wednesday night at Toronto. He did that to himself.
Hughes failed to get through the fourth inning in his briefest outing of the season, although he did throw a full complement of pitches with 102 in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays. A 30-pitch first inning set the tone for Hughes, who fell to 15-6 and had his ERA climb to 4.12.
Vernon Wells had three of the six hits off Hughes, who also walked five batters. Wells got three-quarters of the way to a cycle with a triple in the first inning, a two-run home run in the third and an infield single in the fourth for his fourth RBI of the game. In his fourth and final at-bat in the sixth, Wells flied out to the warning track in left field.
The strangest hit for Wells was the home run, his 23rd of the year. A high fastball from Hughes on a 0-2 count was well above the letters and would have been called a ball but Wells somehow got around on it and drove it into the left field seats.
Even though he had six strikeouts, Hughes didn’t seem to have finish-off stuff getting to two strikes on 18 hitters only to have 12 avoid strike three by making contact. The usual offensive support for Hughes – the best in the majors at 7.93 runs per start – was not there Tuesday night.
A two-run home run by Marcus Thames, who was 5-for-8 (.625) with a double, two home runs and four RBI in the series – was the best the Yankees could do against Blue Jays starter Brett Cecil, who pitched eight innings. The Yankees rallied with two outs in the ninth and got another run but left the bases loaded.
Other than Thames, the other positive for the Yankees was the bullpen-saving work of Javier Vazquez, who gave up only one run, on a home run by Aaron Hill, in 4 1/3 innings, and got his fastball back up into the 90s.
The loss foiled the Yankees’ opportunity to take over first place in the American League East as they remained tied with the Rays, who lost in the afternoon to the Angels. Thursday will be a welcomed day off for the Yankees, their first in three weeks.
It will give Nick Swisher more time to recover from a swollen left knee that forced him to be scratched from the lineup Wednesday night. Swish fouled a ball off the knee in the seventh inning Tuesday night.
The Yankees’ next stop will be Chicago, which is a return home for manager Joe Girardi but one that could prove uncomfortable. With the recent retirement of Lou Piniella, speculation as to his replacement as Cubs manager has focused on Girardi, an Illinois native, Northwestern University graduate and former Cubs player. Joe is in the last year of his contract as Yankees manager, fueling speculation even more.
When I was in Cooperstown late last month, I spoke with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, another top candidate who is manager of the Cubs’ Triple A Iowa affiliate. Ryno told me that he has received no indication that he is a favorite for the position, which many people believe. Out of deference to Piniella, Sandberg did not want to elaborate, but he added that anyone who thinks he’s a lead-pipe cinch for the job is mistaken.
Girardi told reporters the other day that he will answer media queries in Chicago before Friday night’s game and leave it at that. Joe has said he is very happy with the Yankees and won’t let the Cubs talk be a distraction.
Jack O'Connell
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