New York Yankees Gameday Thread

[jacksonianmarch]

Boone Logan holds it in check. Cano smacks another bomb. 1 run game with the bullpens in the game

[jacksonianmarch]

Gardner back in for Thames.

[Divinity]

The bad taste of '04 Vazquez is already coming back

[jacksonianmarch]

Exactly. There is something wrong with him. Even a sucky pitcher can get their ERA under 9

[jacksonianmarch]

Well, the offense tried to do its part, but only 4 runs off Kazmir and nothing off a pretty mediocre Angels pen isnt gonna get the job done. Vazquez was terrible and Marte compounded the problem by giving up the 3 run homer to Morales. Regardless, 12-6 through the first 18, and a brutal stretch comes to a close. 15 of 18 games vs projected contenders with 12 of those on the road. I'll take it. And we dont see Vazquez for another 5 days

[Dipre]

I obviously don't think Vasquez is that bad, but i'll be dropping some "I told you so's" if he keeps this up.

[Chamomile]

I thought Vazquez would be bad, given his previous work in the American League, but I didn't think he would be this bad. He'll probably figure things out and be the below league average innings eater that he usually is against American League hitters.

[yankees228]

Well' date=' the offense tried to do its part, but only 4 runs off Kazmir and nothing off a pretty mediocre Angels pen isnt gonna get the job done. Vazquez was terrible and Marte compounded the problem by giving up the 3 run homer to Morales. Regardless, 12-6 through the first 18, and a brutal stretch comes to a close. 15 of 18 games vs projected contenders with 12 of those on the road. I'll take it. And we dont see Vazquez for another 5 days [/quote']

 

I think a solid record in the next nine games is important, considering the schedule becomes difficult again two weeks from now.

[Chamomile]

I think people tend to make too much of a big deal out of the schedule. When a team's playing well, they can beat anyone, when they're playing badly they can be beaten by anyone. To me, it's more about whether the opposing team is hot or cold at the time than whether or not they're projected to be competitive, especially this early in the season.

[yankees228]

I think people tend to make too much of a big deal out of the schedule. When a team's playing well' date=' they can beat anyone, when they're playing badly they can be beaten by anyone. To me, it's more about whether the opposing team is hot or cold at the time than whether or not they're projected to be competitive, especially this early in the season.[/quote']

 

Maybe 'important' was the wrong word choice, and while I agree that it's about how you're playing, I disagree about people making too big a deal about the schedule. The best teams dominate the bottom of the league, and hold their own against the top of the league, whether it's April or September.

[Chamomile]

Maybe 'important' was the wrong word choice' date=' and while I agree that it's about how you're playing, I disagree about people making too big a deal about the schedule. The best teams dominate the bottom of the league, and hold their own against the top of the league, whether it's April or September.[/quote']

 

No team does well against the best teams the entire year. Look at the Yankees last year, they were the best team in baseball and they lost 8 in a row to the Red Sox.

[yankees228]

No team does well against the best teams the entire year. Look at the Yankees last year' date=' they were the best team in baseball and they lost 8 in a row to the Red Sox.[/quote']

 

Exactly, that's my point. The best teams beat up on the bottom part of the league, and hold their own (win their share of games) against the upper half of the league.

[Divinity]

No team does well against the best teams the entire year. Look at the Yankees last year' date=' they were the best team in baseball and they lost 8 in a row to the Red Sox.[/quote']

 

So you don't think the '98 Yankees that finished 125-50 did well against the best teams the entire year?

[jacksonianmarch]

That had been the Yankee formula for yrs. .500 vs the good teams and .700 vs the bad.

[Chamomile]

That had been the Yankee formula for yrs. .500 vs the good teams and .700 vs the bad.

 

The .500 against good teams part would go a long way as to explaining why they've been to the playoffs the last 9 years and won once

[jacksonianmarch]

Well, that's because they were built on lineup alone for a few yrs. Passable pitching and dominant offense. Well, in the playoffs, you dont have the luxury of slugging your way through crappy pitchers. You are usually facing a solid pitcher every game. The change in philosophy on the pitching end is why they won the WS last yr.

[Chamomile]

Well' date=' that's because they were built on lineup alone for a few yrs. Passable pitching and dominant offense. Well, in the playoffs, you dont have the luxury of slugging your way through crappy pitchers. You are usually facing a solid pitcher every game. The change in philosophy on the pitching end is why they won the WS last yr.[/quote']

 

The Yankees went from a team with a 4.28 ERA that scored 789 runs in 2008 to a team with a 4.26 ERA that scored 915 runs in 2009. Seems like their philosophy was league average pitching and a lot of offense.

[yankees228]

In my opinion, the biggest reason the Yankees won the World Series last year was that A-Rod hit in the postseason. As I've mentioned before, over the last few years, the success of the Yankees correlates almost directly with how well A-Rod is playing. Prior to the 2009 postseason, the last time A-Rod really hit in October was the 2004 ALDS. I don't think it's much of coincidence that the 2004 ALDS was also the last time the Yankees had won a postseason series.

[Divinity]

Why did Sabathia win the ALCS MVP if A-Rod was the "biggest" reason they won?

[yankees228]

Why did Sabathia win the ALCS MVP if A-Rod was the "biggest" reason they won?

 

First off, I was talking about the postseason as a whole.

 

Second, just like my comment, MVP awards are merely opinions, and hardly serve as concrete evidence when making an argument. Most would agree that A-Rod could have easily won that award.

 

Third, stating that I think A-Rod was the biggest reason they won the World Series is hardly a slight at Sabathia. He was great, but I just think that A-Rod had such a profound affect on so many of their eleven wins, that he was the difference maker.

 

I believe that since the inception of the Wild Card, A-Rod's 2009 postseason is the greatest ever. While his pure numbers probably fall short to Bonds' in 2002, the amount of big hits A-Rod had is staggering, even surpassing Ortiz's accomplishments in 2004.

 

-Game tying RBI single in the bottom of the 6th inning in game 2 of the ALDS.

-Game tying two run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning in game 2 of the ALDS.

-Game tying home run in the bottom of the 7th inning in game 3 of the ALDS.

-Game tying home run in the bottom of the 11th inning in game 2 of the ALCS.

-Go ahead RBI double in the top of the 9th inning in game 4 of the World Series.

 

When you couple those big hits with his pure numbers, I'm not sure an argument can be made for any individual player having a greater impact on the 2009 Yankees' postseason run than A-Rod.

 

EDIT: Additionally, when you consider the aforementioned correlation between A-Rod's success and the Yankees' success, I truly believe he was the biggest individual reason why they won.

[Dipre]

^ Served.

[yankees228]

Gom has been saying this for awhile, so at the risk of further inflating his ego, even when Hughes is on, he almost never hits his spots with his fastball.

 

EDIT: Nice play by Granderson to recover against the wind.

[yankees228]

Curtis has looked absolutely lost at the plate over the past few series.

[yankees228]

As I said in the first inning, he has absolutely no command tonight of any of his pitches.

[yankees228]

Not sure Kevin Millwood could have gotten luckier that inning. He looked terrible. It's amazing that this game is 1-1.

[yankees228]

Have to get Mitre up. I love how Joe is so easily influenced by one positive result (the double play), after all the struggles. Hughes might turn it around, but I'm not optimistic.

 

EDIT: Still very shaky, but a bit better.

[yankees228]

Wow great call, no way I thought they got him. Good job by the umpire.

[jacksonianmarch]

Hughes has no location today. The good thing is that the O's cannot hit him. We need to break out offensively now.

[yankees228]

Man this team does some stupid things at times.

[yankees228]

Not too many worse base runners, regardless of speed, than Jorge Posada.