April 22 vs. New York - Back to Back to Back to Back

[TheKilo]

http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/gallery/d/5122-2/cleanSweep.jpg

[Youk Of The Nation]

Does anyone know how I can listen to John Sterling's call on the four homers for free? I reeeeallly want to hear it.

[ORS]

Does anyone know how I can listen to John Sterling's call on the four homers? I reeeeallly want to hear it.

I'm sure Gameday Audio at MLB.com archives them for downloading. I don't know what the cost is, but it shouldn't be much for one game on the radio.

[Youk Of The Nation]

My post has been edited.

[example1]

I really think this game will be one of the ones that I watch during the offseason next year. It was really entertaining. DiceK gets knocked around a bit, but he hits A-Rod and Jeter, strikes out A-Rod 2 times, Abreu 3 times, Damon and Cano. He also managed to keep his pitch count down and pitch admirably into the 8th inning. Like a playoff game.

 

4 HR in a row, on 9 pitches. Lowell's 3 run shot. Pedroia's diving play. And to top it all off we have a pitcher nobody can touch. Papelbon came in, 1 run lead on a night where there were many runs. Wind blowing out. Absolute quintessential Papelbon.

 

Damon, Jeter, Abreu, and the hottest hitter the world has ever seen, A-Rod.

 

Damon: Out

Jeter: overpowered K

Abreu: tentitive, draws a walk

A-Rod: weak gb, 5 to 4, ends the game.

 

 

Despite his assinine calls all night Joe Morgan certainly says one thing right during the Abreu AB:

 

Jon Miller: Now 3-1, and does Papelbon sneak a glance over at Alex Rodriguez..?

Joe Morgan: To be honest with you I don't think he's afraid of A-Rod, I don't think he's afraid of anyone...

 

The game I compare this with from 06 was the game against the Mets. Not Pedro's start, but the one with Coco's catch. It was such an unbelievably well played game and pretty much worth watching from start to finish. Just a good game for baseball fans.

[example1]

I'm sure Gameday Audio at MLB.com archives them for downloading. I don't know what the cost is' date=' but it shouldn't be much for one game on the radio.[/quote']

 

Ironically, he and his co-partnerette were just discussing how Wright maybe shouldn't get sent down, that they didn't want to get ahead of themselves, but he's done really well for 3 innings and BOOM GOES MANNY

 

Then they say "well, don't say its because he's a rookie, because Manny Ramirez owns the Yankees," then they read some stats of Manny at Fenway against NYY, and BOOM GOES JD

 

Then they start talking about how sometimes the second time around you can possibly start clocking pitches better. The yankee lead is now down to 3-2, general silence in the booth, then BOOM GOES LOWELL

 

Now they start talking about how Major League players adjusted, and how in the old days they used to stand on the other side of Landsdown street with nets to catch souvineres. They admire how far the first 3 have gone, and BOOM GOES VARITEK.

 

"IT IS HIGH, IT IS DEEP, A V-1, FOOOOOOOOOOR VARITEK!!!"

 

 

Okay, he didn't say that.

 

 

 

Classic.

[riverside sluggers]

Player to watch for is Mike Lowell. He's now riding an 8 game hitting streak. He is 12 for 32, 2 Doubles, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, 6 Runs, 2 Walks, K

[Mr Crunchy]

the yankee starter absolutley sucked and has no business wearing a mlb uniform

perhaps they were thinking they'd be getting an aaron small

 

this guy spent 4 yrs in A ball for a reason

he sucks

he couldve been knocked out of the game against cleveland in the 2nd

we had him in the 1st but manny and papi missed hangers

 

that said

we won 3 games by 4 runs

it was a sweep but we didnt dominate,their bats kept them in every game but that much vaunted yankee bullpen was exposed like a 12 year old filipino baby sitter at woody allens house

 

the yankee bullpen was easily the most disappointing aspect of their weekend

i cant wait to get on the ny newspapers this morning

should be some great reading

[jacksonianmarch]

the yankee starter absolutley sucked and has no business wearing a mlb uniform

perhaps they were thinking they'd be getting an aaron small

 

this guy spent 4 yrs in A ball for a reason

he sucks

he couldve been knocked out of the game against cleveland in the 2nd

we had him in the 1st but manny and papi missed hangers

 

that said

we won 3 games by 4 runs

it was a sweep but we didnt dominate,their bats kept them in every game but that much vaunted yankee bullpen was exposed like a 12 year old filipino baby sitter at woody allens house

 

the yankee bullpen was easily the most disappointing aspect of their weekend

i cant wait to get on the ny newspapers this morning

should be some great reading

 

 

the pen, ie Mo, was very poor, you are correct. I just looked at the pen stats to see how poorly Joe is managing the pen and to my surprise, he is divvying up the games rather well. Proctor 12 games, Vizcaino 11, Myers 10, Bruney 9, Farns 8, Mo 6. Those first two numbers are high for AN ENTIRE MONTH. We still have a week left in april and those are our pen appearance numbers. Time to get healthy in the rotation and it starts with 3 in a row right now.

[Mr Crunchy]

mj

i think with the arrival of wang tung and mussina those #s will come down

all you need is another arm if the above guys are on

the bats will win you 80games providing your starters can keep their eras under 5

4 runs over 3games isnt really a shellacking and i havent hung our 2007 al east champion pennant just yet.....good baseball and we won round 1

next week is another story

[jacksonianmarch]

mj

i think with the arrival of wang tung and mussina those #s will come down

all you need is another arm if the above guys are on

the bats will win you 80games providing your starters can keep their eras under 5

4 runs over 3games isnt really a shellacking and i havent hung our 2007 al east champion pennant just yet.....good baseball and we won round 1

next week is another story

 

This is a gem of a post.

 

I agree. Our bullpen is being ripped apart. I saw them in ST and earlier when they were good. But if you saddle a pen with that many innings, you are bound to kill them. Add to that the closr starting slowly as he usually does and you have a recipe for disaster. Mussina, when healthy, is good for 6 innings a night. Wang is good for 6-7 and sometimes 8IP a night. You have to remember, that he is the guy Torre would tell to go 8 innings or a CG when the pen was tired and he'd do it. He is the only guy who can match your top 3 in terms of innings and durability. Losing him gave our bullpen no days off in the rotation. He comes back in 2 days and it will help.

[Mr Crunchy]

the catcher didnt help ny this weekend,who the f*** is kevin thompson??

meintxxxx is no longer a ml baseball player

you can hide him when all cylinders are clicking but eventually youre only as good as your weakest link and he'll be in a position to fish or cut bait at some point this summer

[jacksonianmarch]

the catcher didnt help ny this weekend,who the f*** is kevin thompson??

meintxxxx is no longer a ml baseball player

you can hide him when all cylinders are clicking but eventually youre only as good as your weakest link and he'll be in a position to fish or cut bait at some point this summer

 

The catcher? Wil Nieves? The guy who hasnt had a major league hit since 2002? He is a defensive guy who I dont mind having backup at C one day per week. But start stacking games with him and we are in trouble.

 

Kevin Thompson is a guy I dont mind as a backup OFer because of his speed, but he is an OLD guy (28yrs old), no prospect. And he swings like Millar, all or nothing, every single AB. Only he doesnt have Millar's power. Once again, dont mind him as a late inning CF replacement/pinch runner, but force him to play too much and he will be exposed.

 

Minky is just an awful hitter. He used to work counts and make the most out of his AB's. Now he just hacks away at the first thing he sees most times. It frustrates the s*** out of me.

 

Dont forget Melky, the kid who had a solid yr last yr but is not right thus far either. None of these guys work counts on a regular enough basis to make up for their lack of offense. When they arent smoking the ball, they are easy, weak outs. Something that makes our offense predictable. The beauty of the offensive machine that is the yankees is that the team has guys who work the s*** out of counts. When all cylinders are firing, there is no way in hell your rotation gets to the 7th (or almost to it) 3 days in a row.

[TheKilo]

I'm looking forward to seeing Igawa against the second best offense in the AL tonight, in terms of runs scored.

 

Burn that pen, Rays.

[jacksonianmarch]

I'm looking forward to seeing Igawa against the second best offense in the AL tonight, in terms of runs scored.

 

Burn that pen, Rays.

 

Like I said in my state of the yankees thread, not so sure how he will do. Regardless of his status, he doesnt see the 7th. He isnt that type of pitcher. I am still not sure what kind of pitcher he is actually. He has had 1 suck start, 1 okay start, and 1 solid start in that order. Maybe he goes 9 tonight? Who the f*** knows.

[TheKilo]

[youtube=Red Sox hit 4 consecutive Homers against Yankees 4.22.07]QAGTfFJFsfA

 

edit - Giving the youtube code a shot.

[ANiMAL]

This was a great game.

-4 consectutive Homers

-Great work by BP

-Another comeback

-Swept Yankees

 

Does it get better?

[seabeachfred]

Ditto pal. The Yankees haven't looked scarry for a number of years, as their starting pitching, EVEN WITH MUSSINA (snicker!) WANG (snicker snicker) and the other chumps healthy.

 

You're supposedly most dominating pitcher against us, Mariano Rivera, has looked like a BP pitcher and we have treated him as such. Don't get too cocky. Your 195m team just got swept by our 145m team. The Yankees will certainly win some gainst against the Sox this year, but we gained 3 games on y'all tonight. So that's that.

 

And I hope any discussion about Papelbon being "lucky" or any s*** like that is over. This guy is probably the most dominating pitcher in baseball right over the past year +.

 

EX, we're usually on the same page covering each other's back, but I have to tell you that saying the Yankees don't look scary is bit over the line. Maybe their pitching right now leaves something to be desired but that lineup of theirs-----one to nine is almost guaranteed to wear down any pitcher. When they are all in the order there isn't a weak bat in the bunch. That's why I said before the series that we must put runs on the board because it might be rare to get a real pitcher's duel from our end of it with that lineup of theirs. We got seven three times and won all three games. We get only four or five and it is us who are weeping right now instead of jumping for joy. We might get away with four or five against Baltimore or Toronto, but luck sevens are what we at least need against the Yankees from where I sit. Anyway, I share you elation. It was a helluva weekend for our team.

[seabeachfred]

you arent comparing apples to apples here example. This is the point. I dont care how good you think our lineup is and how unfair it is to have to face it. The point is, we are incredibly weak in terms of backups. Our backup OFer is in an awful slump and to be honest, should be in AAA anyway at his age. Other than that we have a backup C who hasnt had a hit in the bigs in 4 yrs and a first baseman who can hardly hit his weight.

 

The point is, this team isnt built like yours. You guys sacrificed some offense to be able to add a guy like DiceK. You sacrificed the NL ROY from last yr so you could have Beckett. You have a rotation that, when going right can give you 7IP and on other nights hand the ball directly to Papelbon. We arent built that way. We are built to have a rotation that gives quality, but not spectacular innings, hand the ball off to a power armed pen and slug the s*** out of the ball on our way to a win. You take 2 hitters out of that cog and you are forcing our rotation and bullpen to pick up the slack. Then pull our top 2 and our #5 starter out of there and we are forced to use our pitching depth WAY too early and it shows. We arent built off pitching at this juncture and taking a run or two a game away in terms of production really hurts. Where in your terms, losing a hitter doesnt mean much as you guys are built heavily on pitching. We are two different teams in all aspects right now.

 

And if you wanted to try and compare, consider Posada's production equivalent to Lowell's (.280ish 20HRish). Consider Matsui's production equivalent to Drew's (.290ish, 20HRish 100RBIish). Consider Damon's to losing Lugo and Coco when he is going good, and take away Hinske and WMP as solid backup options. This is our predicament offensively and we still raked.

 

As for rotation wise, imagine throwing Schilling, Tavarez, and Gabbard at us when we have Wang, Clemens, and Pettitte going. This was a mismatch in the last 2 games, you knew it, you exploited it and you earned it. Pat yourself on the back, but dont begrudge us when we find the true silver lining that is there. We have a 4 guys on this team who, if everything is going right, would be released or in the minors and then consider that we had a few guys miss a few games and not be DL'd. You won, congrats. Enjoy the 3 run lead, but you didnt beat us at our best. It isnt your fault, but it is something for us to grab hold of.

 

Well said Jackson---and I read no sour grapes in your missive. Here might be one point of contention between us, though. When we play your team the Red Sox HAVE GOT TO COME OUT SWINGING and try as they might to go tit-for-tat with your lineup because our pitchers, good as they're supposed to be, are going to get tagged some along the way. Barring unforseen circumstances the Red Sox aren't going to beat your Yankee team, 3-1 or 4-2. We get four runs a game against the Yankees and we will lose 10 of the next 15 games for certain. We have to go out there are score six or seven just about every time to have a chance to win the game. That was proven to me beyond a doubt this past weekend.

[Gom]

Sox pitchers not as good as touted? That seems like a strange conclusion to draw from one game.

 

Example, read my post. From the series as a whole, I wasn't all that impressed with Sox pitching. It wasn't world-class like I was reading here.

[Gom]

You want to stand in the box against Papelbon?

 

No. He has the nastiest stuff I have seen this year, without question. He is downright filthy.

 

Like I said, hats off to you guys, I am a good sport [unlike many others here, you know who you are], enjoy your sweep, see you in New York next weekend.

 

Once again, being a baseball fan and player, I understand the superstition of the game, and regardless of the end result, I truly apologize for breaking up your "mojo" for game threads. It is the last time, however, that I will apologize for it, it is annoying from my end to see people keep complaining about it. It was an honest mistake from my end. I also know I would have never heard the end of it had the Yankees won.

 

Yanks win two of three in the Bronx. My call.

[jacksonianmarch]

You want to stand in the box against Papelbon?

 

I would. Why not. I wouldnt stand a f***ing chance but he wouldnt scare me.

[jacksonianmarch]

Well said Jackson---and I read no sour grapes in your missive. Here might be one point of contention between us' date=' though. When we play your team the Red Sox HAVE GOT TO COME OUT SWINGING and try as they might to go tit-for-tat with your lineup because our pitchers, good as they're supposed to be, are going to get tagged some along the way. Barring unforseen circumstances the Red Sox aren't going to beat your Yankee team, 3-1 or 4-2. We get four runs a game against the Yankees and we will lose 10 of the next 15 games for certain. We have to go out there are score six or seven just about every time to have a chance to win the game. That was proven to me beyond a doubt this past weekend.[/quote']

 

I am not afraid of your rotation. Your closer on the other hand, is nearly unhittable. Once we have all of our cogs in the lineup, our lineup will mash anyone that anybody throws out there. Only someone like Santana has the capability to shut us down regulary and that is mostly due to our lefty loaded lineup. Your lineup was up to the task this trip. But really, how many runs did they "earn". 2 vs Pettitte, 2 vs Mo and that is about it. Karstens shouldnt have been thrown in that situation right off the DL and into the fire. You guys raked him pretty good. Chase Wright has no business being north of Trenton. You guy raked him pretty good. Scott Proctor had no business pitching in his 12th game in 17 tries. You raked him pretty good. You took advantage of what you were given. Now in NY, you are gonna get some more advantage it looks like. Our first game is DMats vs Wright or any other shitbum we try to bring up. You should win that one. The second game is Wake vs Igawa, an interesting matchup that I have some vestage of confidence in, then the final one is Wang vs Tavarez that we should win handily.

[schillingouttheks]

My prediction for next weekend:

 

Sox take 2/3 in the Bronx. Matsuzaka will pitch better, Wakefield will continue to give the Yankees fits, and the Sox will feast on a depleted bullpen. Tavarez gets knocked out.

[jacksonianmarch]

you should see a mildly different bullpen when you come to NY next week. We should be fresh off 3 good pitching performances and one question mark. And Joe knows he can burn a little in the first two and tell Wang to get him 7 or 8 in the last one. We wont be running on all cylinders, but you wont mash our pen as bad as you did this weekend.

[ORS]

Mine's a bit different. Matsuzaka learns from this outing, doesn't plunk anyone, and turns in QS on the way to an easy win since the bats are good in YS and the Yankee starter won't put up much resistance. Igawa confuses the Sox bats in his first game against them and pulls a Gustavo Chacin for the win. The magical mystery tour for Wang as a one-pitch wonder ends this year as the Sox win a slugfest that comes down to bullpens.

[jacksonianmarch]

My picks are incomplete.

 

First of all, unless we come up with some sort of miracle, you guys take game 1. I think the only thing quality about DiceK's outing against the full yankee squad will be the innings. 6IP 4-6ER which will be good enough for the win. You'll knock Chase on his ass early and we will be behind all game. Paps closes out the 9-7 win.

 

Second game is impossible to predict. Wake has been dominant against us before and then has sucked at times. You guys dont seem to like lefties all that much but Igawa can be Wright-ish or Pettitte-ish depending on the day. No idea how this one breaks.

 

Third game- Wang gives a QS, 6.1IP 3ER Mariano saves it and the yankees win it 7-4. Tavarez is knocked out after walking 5 in 3IP and giving up 4 runs. We knock around Snyder a bit and you guys play from behind and this time, dont catch up.

[Plumpamania]

Mine's a bit different. Matsuzaka learns from this outing' date=' doesn't plunk anyone, and turns in QS on the way to an easy win since the bats are good in YS and the Yankee starter won't put up much resistance. Igawa confuses the Sox bats in his first game against them and pulls a Gustavo Chacin for the win. The magical mystery tour for Wang as a one-pitch wonder ends this year as the Sox win a slugfest that comes down to bullpens.[/quote']

 

Next weekend in Yankee Stadium, I'll honestly say if we can take one, I'll be happy. Wang is a one pitch wonder, but so is Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe, as was Rivera for a number of years. A 93-96 MPH sinking fastball will do some serious damage versus any line up. His pitch dives from the zone with consistency. He lead MLB in ground ball out ratio. And he's got great control. Igawa could very easily pull a Chacin, plus Asian pitchers have a history of dominating their first year in the MLB. I'm extremely content with the pen after this weekend.

 

And for any Yankee fan to say it will be a different bullpen when the pen is highly overworked and doesn't get a day off this week. Tampa Bay has a good line up and will give the Yankees more fits. After that you visit Toronto and their mashers before facing the Sox. We'll see.

[jacksonianmarch]

Next weekend in Yankee Stadium, I'll honestly say if we can take one, I'll be happy. Wang is a one pitch wonder, but so is Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe, as was Rivera for a number of years. A 93-96 MPH sinking fastball will do some serious damage versus any line up. His pitch dives from the zone with consistency. He lead MLB in ground ball out ratio. And he's got great control. Igawa could very easily pull a Chacin, plus Asian pitchers have a history of dominating their first year in the MLB. I'm extremely content with the pen after this weekend.

 

And for any Yankee fan to say it will be a different bullpen when the pen is highly overworked and doesn't get a day off this week. Tampa Bay has a good line up and will give the Yankees more fits. After that you visit Toronto and their mashers before facing the Sox. We'll see.

 

I say it more because of who we are throwing out there.

 

In Tampa, we have Igawa and Wang throwing, 2 guys who are in the projected rotation for the team and 2 guys at least capable of going 6 or more.

 

In Toronto we are throwing Pettitte to start, who should give us a quality start vs a righty depleted lineup (no Glaus, no Johnson who OWNS us). The question mark is Karstens who could bounce back against their crappy lineup. So in all, I will assume that out of Pettitte, Wang, and Igawa, we get 19IP and from Karstens, at least 5. So we should average 6IP going into your series meaning that for 4 games, we will start getting some players rested prior to your series.

[Plumpamania]

I say it more because of who we are throwing out there.

 

In Tampa, we have Igawa and Wang throwing, 2 guys who are in the projected rotation for the team and 2 guys at least capable of going 6 or more.

 

Absolutely. But for me I was never highly impressed with Igawa. His control would worry me as a Yankee fan, and the fact he's been a fringe starter since they bid on him. Wang coming off an injury (did he get any rehab starts?) could show game rust or be hittable his first few appearances as he works his way back in after missing most of spring training.

 

In Toronto we are throwing Pettitte to start, who should give us a quality start vs a righty depleted lineup (no Glaus, no Johnson who OWNS us). The question mark is Karstens who could bounce back against their crappy lineup. So in all, I will assume that out of Pettitte, Wang, and Igawa, we get 19IP and from Karstens, at least 5. So we should average 6IP going into your series meaning that for 4 games, we will start getting some players rested prior to your series.

 

Even without Johnson or Glaus, and a slumping Thomas, I'd be afraid to call that line up crappy. Overbay, Rios, Wells and Hill are still solid hitters. And if Thomas breaks out versus the Yankees like Ramirez and Varitek did from their season long slumps it could be a long couple of days.

 

And remember you split the opening series versus TB. That was with everyone healthy.