What should one make of the Yankees comeback win in the Bronx last night? On the one hand, digging oneself out from a buried grave and then mauling the grave-digger is an impressive move and that is just about what happened. Hey, how many times do you see a team come back from a 10-2 spot and then outscore its opponent 18-1. That is pretty crazy stuff. Of course, the Yankee press and PR Director Torre are seizing on the positive this morning, but things were not all rosy last night. Due to the comeback, people seem to forget that Big Unit Johnson got mauled like one of those guys on When Animals Attack. Here are the relevant numbers: 3 innings, eight hits, seven runs and three bombs allowed. But look on the bright side, he only walked one of the 18 batters he faced and he didn’t hit anyone. This is what Johnson had to say after the game: “My location was off considerably. Its just one of those things you put to bed.” Someone should put this guy to bed before he coughs up another mixed metaphor. I would give the Unit the award for top post-game comment if it weren’t for the fact that Bernice outdid him with this: “If there is a turning point to the season, this should be it.” Cmon Music Man – you have been playing the game for too long to say something so asinine. Since when do comebacks against the D Rays and big innings off guys like Eddie Nunez and Travis Harper qualify as pinnacle moments? Hitting three run walkoff bombs off Frankie Rodriguez is a moment. Coming back from a 6-2 ninth inning deficit against the Red Sox is a moment. Torturing poor Travis Harper may be violent and destined to be repeated on the Yankees state owned television network, but it is not a season-turning moment. Last point – what is it about Yankee fans that they love to see piling on. It seems nothing excites a Yankee fan more then a meaningless AROD shot in a game that was already laid to rest. Such moments are meant to be ignored – not applauded.
I loved Devil Ray manager Lou Pinella hanging Travis Harper out to dry last night after it was clear that the kid couldn’t keep anything in the ballpark. Everyone at the bar I was out was screaming for Lou to take Harper out, but what’s the point? Why go to another guy when you are down five and only need one more out to end the misery? So what if the kid will have nightmares for a week. What is a few nightmares for a twenty-nine year old who makes 750K a year? My problem is not with Pinella – it is with Harper. If that kid had any balls, he would have nailed Arod or Matsushi once the game got out of hand. At least that way if he wanted out, he would have been tossed. And once tossed, he should have taken a shot at Lou, much like Rex Dibble did 15 years ago. Something tells me that if Harper got something started with Lou, a couple of Devil Rays would have cheap shot their manager.
While I am taking Lou’s side on last night, I have a problem with his argument that he was sold a bill of goods to come to Tampa and ownership is not honoring the commitment they made. His word is that ownership agreed to spend $40 million to build a team and has reneged by spending less then thirty. So what? Message to Lou – whether its 30 or 40 – it doesn’t matter. You aren’t winning at either level. Do you think adding ten million in talent to this payroll is going to make a difference? Lou, $10 million doesn’t go too far – just ask the Yankees. $10 million equates to one good starting pitcher a very solid middle innings guy. Sure, such additions would help this club, but lets not go crazy and assume the only thing keeping this club from the playoffs is Carl Pavano’s 2005 salary. Lou is barking up the wrong tree if he wants my sympathy on this one. He should know better then anyone that a club needs to spend at least $60 million (bare minimum) to win consistently and that is assuming a great farm system and a real sharp GM is in charge.
On Sunday night, the Cleveland Indian pitching staff actually led the American League in ERA. So what has happened since? They gave up ten runs to Boston on Monday and another nine last night. As such, they are now in third, just a nose in front of Minnesota. Last night, Kevin Millwood played the gimp, giving up two bombs and five runs in six innings. The Sox got one jack from Manny and two more from Papi, while Bronson Arroyo came up with his second strong outing in a row. He seems to have much more action on his slider then he did three weeks ago. The big question for Boston will be what to do with Bronson when Curt Schilling returns. Arroyo is throwing better then Wade Miller, but he is probably more suited then Miller for bullpen work. With that said, is Bronson a possible solution to some of Boston’s bullpen woes? And for those of you keeping score at home, Mark Belhorn struck out two more times last night while Dustin Pedroia went 1-3 for Portland and is now hitting .324 and slugging over .500. How much longer is Theo going to keep that car in the garage? Another hundred AA at bats? [LATE BREAKING NEWS - DUSTIN HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO PAWTUCKET] Interesting factoid – the Sox moved to 40-30 with last night’s win – that is the same record they had in both 2004 and 2003 after 70 games.
It seems to me that Derrick Lowe used up about a decades worth of run support over the past three years in Boston. Last night, he was on the short end of a 2-1 loss at the Pet Store in a game that he gave up two runs over six innings. Lowe wasn’t great last night and hasn't been all season, but he probably deserves to be a bit better then 5-8. The Dodgers are just a mess right now, having lost eight straight .To make matters worse, Eric Gagne is headed for Tommy John surgery and Hee Sop has used up his yearly quota of bombs and its still June. The Padres continue to struggle offensively at the Pet Store and you have to wonder when Kevin Towers will do something about his hole at third. If I were Kevin, I’d call Cincy and check on Joe Randa and if he isn’t available, I might put in a call to Toronto to check on Shea Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske. To make matters worse for Los Madres, Phil Nevin was a late scratch and he could be out a while.
The White Sox did it again last night with their seventh straight win over Kansas City and Jon Garland is now 12-2 on the season. That is pretty shocking considering he has never won more then 12 games in his MLB career and he really doesn’t blow the ball past many batters. After all, guys are hitting .250 against him and his strikeout numbers are far from impressive. Nonetheless, he gives the Sox seven innings EVERY time he goes out there and stands a pretty good shot at winning twenty. That isn’t bad for a guy who many claim is Chicago’s fifth starter. What does that mean anyways? I will always maintain the “numbering” of pitchers is one of the most asinine things that fans and pundits debate. While the Sox keep winning, the Twinkies are suddenly sputtering as they lost again last night, this time to Jason Bonderman at the Motown Cathouse. Bonderman threw a complete game against a Twins team that is just getting nothing from the middle of its order. The Tigers meanwhile have climbed over .500 and that AL Central is no longer looking so tame. The Twins, meanwhile, no longer lead the AL wildcard race and with Chicago long gone, that is what they need to focus on.
There should be a s horror movie trilogy made about the Atlanta Braves because every time you think they are dead, they come storming back. Last night, Smoltz blanked Florida, while Andrew Jones clubbed another. I am no fan of Jones but he has come up huge during Atlanta’s time of need. Teams in the NL East should be warned – you better knock this team out over the next couple weeks because they should start getting healthy around the all-star break (Hampton and Chipper), assuming Tim Hudson’s injury doesn’t linger like it usually does. As for the Fish, ESPN’s Jayson Stark mentioned this morning that he thought manager Jack McKeown could be in some trouble. I agree wholeheartedly. This team was built to win now but it has disappointed in a big way. Sure, the bullpen is soft, but there is too much starting pitching there for the Fish to be just a game over .500. Elsewhere in the East, the Mets picked up a win they had to have, beating Brett Myers to a pulp down at the Lock Box in Philly. Krissie Benson wasn’t great for the Mets last night but for once, his offense came up with some juice. Beltran and Floyd both had a couple of knocks and even Minky got into it with a 350 foot jack. If I had a show and could interview Willie Randolph, my first question would be: What is so fucking hard about making out a lineup card that has Mike Piazza in the seven hole? The next question would be: How fucking hard is to just write Dave Wright’s name down on the line with a five in front of it? Listen, being a Sox fan, I have the market corned on living with bad managers, and I got to say I see a lot of potential in Willie. I have long thought Lee Mazilli was an idiot and now it looks like Willie may be one as well. If this is what you get from Torre’ Troops, the last thing I would ever do is hire Luis Sojo to be my manager.
While I agreed with Stark on the Florida managing situation, he also mentioned something today that I ardently reject. Stark came on the radio this mornig and tried to make a case for why some contenders would be interested in trading for Tom Glavine. Listen, I know why the Mets would love to part ways with Glavine, but I cannot buy any argument that suggests Glavine has value elsewhere. Stark’s basic premise is that Glavine is sure better then anything else reasonably priced on a market that includes such luminaries as Kip Wells. I disagree. I’d take Wells over Glavine at this point. Tommy G’s ERA is over five and he pitches at the best park in the country. That is not the kind of stuff a contender wants out there in big spots. Plus, if Tom throws another 100 plus innings, his 2006 option gets picked up at $10 million and 80 innings nets him $8 million. There is not a team in baseball that wants that commitment, including the Mets.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment