Joba having a tough time in the first inning...but what else is new. I know it only says that he's throwing in the low 90s, but it looks like Joba's throwing a lot faster. He's just had a hard time getting command or gripping the ball.
Will update later with much more
-Andrew
Albert Pujols | 55% | ||
Ichiro Suzuki | 20% | ||
Alex Rodriguez | 13% | ||
Manny Ramirez | 0% | ||
Other | 10% |
Yankee Stadium will host an annual college football bowl game featuring a Big East versus Big 12 matchup.Any suggestions for the name of the bowl? Do we take the Yankee tradition and go with no sponsor name such as "Empire Bowl" or "Yankee Bowl" or "Big Apple Bowl" or "Steinbrenner Bowl". Or do we use a New York corporate sponsor like "Citi Bowl" or "Goldman Sachs Bowl" or "Metlife Bowl" or "William Barthman Jeweler Bowl". What do you think the name of the bowl should be? And will people be allowed to sit in the luxury seats (unlike the NYU graduation)? So many questions to be answered.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Yankees General Partner Hal Steinbrenner are to make the announcement at a Wednesday press conference.
The annual bowl game is expected to draw 40,000 visitors and generate $47 million in economic activity. It will start after next year's college football season.
The yet-to-be-named bowl will be the first in New York City since 1962 and the first in the Northeast since 1981.
So started my conversation with my dad after the latest Yankees walk-off. This team continues to come back and walk-off, making them a deadly team at home this season where they have 57 wins. The only team with more than 49 wins at home are the Red Sox.
example of how strange this game can be? The Yankees have hit almost 240 home runs so far this season, but although they came into this game with 190 opportunities with the bases loaded, they only had one grand slam until Robinson Cano hit another tonight. The first? Jose Molina of all people.To all my fellow Tribesmen (and women), I wish you a very easy fast and good playoff memories in the new year.
-Andrew
Both WR Domenik Hixon (knee) and CB Kevin Dockery (hamstring) made the trip to Tampa, but are inactive. Six other players had previously been declared out: DT Chris Canty (calf), CB Aaron Ross (hamstring), LB Clint Sintim (groin), WR Hakeem Nicks (foot), RB Danny Ware (elbow) and Adam Koets (ankle). None of them made the trip.Because a team can only have 8 players inactive, the Giants dressed Justin Tuck although he is not expected to play. This means the Giants are missing starters Dockery, Tuck, Ross, Phillips, and Canty from their defense. That "depth" talked about so much in the preseason is being tested today once again.
Although not on the Giants level, this is potentially pretty bad news for the Yankees. From Peter Abraham:This is not as devastating as the Phillips news, but this could be bad for the Yankees. Hairston has been a very useful player for the Yankees. He may be only batting .235 for the Yankees, but he does have a .346 OBP which is higher than Melky Cabrera's and Hairston plays every infield and outfield position.Jerry Hairston Jr. “felt a pop” in his left wrist while taking a practice swing in the seventh inning. That’s why he came out of the game.
Hairston said he felt a sharp pain. He has been been having wrist issues on and off since diving for a ball while playing for Cincinnati earlier this season. He disclosed that he had an MRI about 10 days ago and then received a cortisone shot to try and calm some inflammation.
“I’m just hoping it’s some scar tissue breaking up,” he said.
Hairston will have another MRI tomorrow. We should hear more then.
A league source that the New York Giants are planning for the possibility that safety Kenny Phillips will be lost for the balance of the season.Let's hope that this not the case. Phillips has been a big part of their secondary and losing him would be pretty devastating.
Per a separate source, no final decisions have been made as to whether Phillips will undergo a procedure aimed at correcting a cartilage problem in the knee. If the surgery occurs, Phillips is expected to be placed on injured reserve.
Phillips has been in and out due to the injury, missing practice (like he did on Wednesday) but playing in games (like he did on Sunday against the Cowboys).
A first-round pick in 2008, Phillips has started both games of the 2009 season. He has 13 tackles and two interceptions.
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Inn | <-4 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | tie | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | >4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4- | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||||||
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | |||||
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
| 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
| 10+ | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Total | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 39 |
In the 8th inning of last night's game vs. the Angels, the Yankees clinched a playoff spot. At the same time, they also lost a lead to the Angels in their home park where the Yankees never seem to win. So it would seem natural for the team to just pack it in and realize that it wasn't their night.
Mickey [Mantle] took Billy Martin hunting one day in Oklahoma and told him to wait in the car while he went and asked a friend of his who was a farmer for permission to hunt on his land.
The farmer agreed, but asked Mickey for a favor. He had an old cow that needed putting down and asked Mickey to do it for him because he didn’t have the heart to. So Mickey decided to play a trick on Billy.
Mickey came back to the car, pretended he was mad and got his rifle. “That son of a gun won’t let us hunt,” he said. “I’m going to shoot his cow.”
So Mantle when into the barn with Billy trailing behind. Bang! He shot the cow dead.
Suddenly he heard two more shots. Bang! Bang!
He turned around and there was Billy with a smoking rifle. “I got two of his horses, Mick,” he said. “That’ll show him.”
We'll probably never know if it's true...but if it is, wow. Just hilarious.
make that choice anymore. As The Big Lead points out, the AL East isn't sewn up just yet with the Red Sox five back and the Yankees having 3 games against the Angels and 3 against the Red Sox left (while the Red Sox get 4 against the Royals). Ken Davidoff points out the Yankees can make it really easy for themselves by playing well against the Angels and Red Sox or they can make it a lot more interesting: "If the Sawx can enter the weekend trailing the Yankees by three or fewer games in the loss column, then they can control their own destiny..if the Yankees and Red Sox finish with the same record, AND if Boston beats the Yankees at least once next weekend, then the Red Sox win a seeding tiebreaker based on the head-to-head series this year."Pros:4-man rotation:Cons:
- Joba doesn't have to start. Tyler Kepner calls him a riddle. Peter Abraham points out that he's 0-4 with an 8.42 ERA in his last eight starts and opponents have hit .331 against him, and, maybe even worse, he's overconfident, refusing to acknowledge he's doing anything wrong. Jon Heyman thought that pitching coach Dave Eiland had found something in Joba's delivery, but maybe there still needs to be fixing. Peter Gammons wrote that the Joba rules have been all about preserving Chamberlain, but at this point, it can't be denied that they're hurting him.
- Joba could slide into the 'pen. Sliding Into Home caught a Jon Heyman tweet which suggested just that. Imagine Joba for the 7th, Hughes for the 8th and Rivera for the 9th in the playoffs. That could be pretty deadly. I'm not sure if they would do it given his recent struggles and the need to stretch him out, but the Yankees could move Joba Chamberlain into the bullpen for the first round and it would shorten games a great deal.
- This would also mean one less bullpen arm would be needed so you could go with another bench player. Freddy Guzman or Ramiro Pena or Francisco Cervelli or Shelly Duncan would be a nice way to fill out the rest of the bench.
- You're relying a lot on CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte. Sabathia has a postseason ERA of 7.92. Burnett has been wildly inconsistent. Pettitte has a sore arm and pitched horribly last season with arm troubles. Are you really confident in CC and A.J. for two games and Pettitte for one in a 5 game series? If Sabathia loses game 1, it could be over in a hurry.
- As Ken Rosenthal points out, the Yankees already don't know whether to start Pettitte or Burnett in Game 2...but if you start them in Game 2, you HAVE to bring them back for a potential Game 5. So if they are bad, they're going to have to come back out.
- You're losing out on the Tigers (or the Twins 4th starter). That could mean not facing Jarrod Washburn or Rick Porcello for the Tigers or someone like Carl Pavano for the Twins. Although Joba hasn't been great, if he can be decent, he should be better than those guys.
- You would also allow the Tigers to use Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson in four out of the five games. Considering what both of them have done this season, is that something you want to be doing?
Pros:So what do you think? Do you choose a 3-game or 4-game series? I think the Yankees have two weeks to figure it out. I agree with River Avenue Blues, it comes down to Joba. If Joba can figure it out the last few games, you ride that momentum and start him in the playoffs. If Chad Gaudin continues to pitch well, maybe you scrap Joba all together and pitch Gaudin as the 4th starter when needed. If the team has momentum, they may want to start the day early and just continue to ride it. I think the Yankees, if given the opportunity, will choose to go only 3 starters, but judging by some of the pros of using the 4-man rotation, I wouldn't be surprised if they go that route.Cons:
- You're going to have to throw a 4th starter if you make the ALCS, and if that guy is going to be Joba, you need to continue to work him. If you believe your other three starters are good enough and your bullpen is good enough, you almost need to make sure he's fresh. Throwing him on irregular rest hasn't worked in the past and it definitely won't in the playoffs.
- You can set up Andy and Joba on the road. This is huge. They do not pitch well at all at the New Yankee Stadium (their home-road splits prove it) and being able to throw these guys both on the road can only help.
- As I said above, it forces the other team to use someone they don't want to as well. Washburn has been hurt, Porcello is a rookie, Pavano is still the American Idle. The Tigers would probably have to use Washburn AND Porcello.
- It also forces your opponent to use another bench spot on a reliever. The Yankees are lucky because Hairston and Pena play so many positions, but will the Tigers or Twins be so lucky with their bench?
- Mark Feinsand points out that the Yankees are going to give Joba every opportunity to succeed. Wouldn't throwing him in the first round of the playoffs instead of skipping over him be the way to go if that is truly the way they are thinking? If you skip him over in the first round, are you really going to have him be in the physical and mental state to start in the ALCS if needed?
- Again, you'll have to start a Joba Chamberlain who isn't stretched out, hasn't pitched well and got rocked yesterday by a Mariners team that is hitting deficient. The Tigers and Twins aren't mashers, but they'll pose problems for Joba.
- You take away a bench spot which could be big when you want to pinch run for some of the slower members of the Yankees team later on in games.
- If you go this route and determine that Joba can't go, your options are limited. Tyler Kepner points out Sergio Mitre has been bad as well (Mitre: 37 1/3 innings, 46 hits, 27 earned runs, 10 walks, 26 strikeouts, 6.51 E.R.A.) and Josh Towers, Ian Kennedy and Alfredo Aceves don't seem to ready to fill that role. The one man who may be able to do it, Chad Gaudin, doesn't exactly inspire a great deal of confidence, either.
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