If you’d told me that Kuroda would outduel Hernandez, I might have raised an eyebrow. But it happened. After what seemed like an endless 1-1 tie, the Yankees broke through and dethroned the King, thanks to Ibanez’s latest blast, speaking of surprises. I was down on Raul’s signing in the beginning of the season, but he’s making me a believer.
Cano is on a total roll now – both at the plate and in the field. It’s like someone waved a magic wand over him and turned him back into the superstar we know he is.
The bullpen was great too, right down the line.
But the star of the night was Kuroda. No, the Mariners aren’t much on offense. And Kuroda does seem to have first inning problems. But he was pitching to major league hitters and he shut them down – the definition of a good outing.
I went out for dinner with Dodger fan friends after the game and was happy to tell them that their former battery mates, Kuroda and Martin, would have made them proud.
Jeter was very Jeterian with his four hits, setting the tone for a tidy win over the O’s.
Big hand for Nova, who may have been the worst pitcher at spring training but has been the ace of the staff so far. If he keeps throwing like he did tonight, he’ll slide into the #2 spot and give Kuroda a shove down the ladder.
Andruw Jones belted one out. He’ll never inspire confidence in the outfield at this stage of his career, but he’s still got the power swing.
What was up with using Mo in the non-save situation? Did he really need the work? Or was he brought in to nail down the win? Either way, he got the job done but didn’t look comfortable doing it. If Gardner hadn’t caught that shot to end the game….Well, I won’t go there. I’m just saying that Mo isn’t Mo-ish yet.
I don’t get the YES postgame show, but there seems to have been a tiff between Martin and Andino over tipping pitches in the ninth inning. I don’t know how you “tip” Mo’s pitches – they’re all cutters – but there was definitely some yammering going on between the two. Will it carry over into tomorrow night’s game?
Derek Jeter was pulled from today’s lineup because of a tender left calf. Joe Girardi said hes decided Jeter wont play again until Tuesday, but he labeled this as more precautionary than anything. He hasn’t forgotten what happened to Jeter’s other calf last year.
Also, Russell Martin was scratched because of soreness in his left groin. Its unclear whether it happened on yesterdays play at first base.
Nick Swisher has told Girardi that his tight groin feels better, but Girardi decided not to play him today either.
Add Pena, Nunez and Garcia to the injured list, plus assorted minor leaguers in camp, and you’ve got a hospital full of patients.
Is this just a case of the usual spring training aches and pains? I can’t blame it on “aging players” because the younger guys are having pulls and strains and freakish stuff as often as the older ones.
It’s just a little unsettling, and I find myself bracing for the next casualty.
I also bought a poncho for ten bucks. It was like wearing the kind of plastic bags you get at the dry cleaner, but it did keep me from getting totally soaked.
When Michael and I arrived at the Stadium at noon, it was raining and I never thought they’d play a complete game, given the forecast. The tarp was on the field, so we hung around the great hall and looked for Audrey and her friend. After texting each other, we met up in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. She came all the way from Vermont and I was thrilled to meet her.
Next, we went in search of food. We figured we had plenty of time to kill, so Michael had his Lobel’s sandwich and I opted for a Boar’s Head sub and eventually we went to our seats. We’d heard the game would start at 2:30 and we wanted to be ready.
As soon as we sat down in section 104, along came YankeeCase. It’s hard to see him because the background was so dark (the rain was picking up again and my She-Fan Cam was getting wet), but here he is in the flesh. Such a hunk, right?
Michael and I sat under our hoods and umbrella as the game started and the rain continued to fall. Hughes was just awful. I know he struck out batters, but he took forever to throw the damn ball and he couldn’t get Matsui out and we looked at each other and said, “It’s gonna be a loooong day.”
When the score was 7-1, we thought about bolting. We were wet and depressed and wondering why we’d bothered. And then YankeeCase texted me that the boys would be making a comeback. I wrote back, “You promise?” He said yes.
So we stayed. And I’m I glad I did. Wow. What a great, crazy, incredible game. Cano’s slam landed two rows in front of us. Martin had a career-type day. Granderson amazed everybody. Even Andruw Jones got in on the homer act. And it was so much fun sitting right behind Swisher and watching him play with the crowd throughout the game.
It never occurred to me that no team in major league history had ever had three grand slams in a game, so when the scoreboard posted the fact we were doubly happy we’d stayed.
I’m still shaking my head and we’ve been home for a couple of hours. Long day but an unforgettable one.
(I’m too euphoric to dwell about the state of our pitching except to say that Hughes really disappointed me. And I think the Cory Wade experiment needs to end.)
P.S. YankeeCase just sent me a pic that his cousin took of him after he went back to his seat. He’s wearing the “she-fan” button that Melissa (it WAS Melissa, right?) made last year. It says, “I confess. I read the she-fan blog.” Pretty great, huh?
I know Phil has gotten better and better since coming off the DL, but tonight he was spectacular. He was economical. He threw strikes. He was everything we could ask for. Good for him. I was almost ready to write him off a few months ago, so my bad. We need him now more than ever with Big Bart’s recent slump and Garcia’s mysterious cut finger.
Nice game for Russell Martin too.
Come to think of it, who didn’t have a nice game tonight? I’m a little worried about Jeter. He had that awkward slide at home plate and looked a little gimpy afterward. Sure hope he’s okay.
I’m trying not to feel sorry for the Twins, because I want us to keep winning to stay in first place. But wow. They look sad, don’t they?
Tonight’s game could have been Yankees-Red Sox, given that it took what seemed like three hours to play three innings. They’re in the bottom of the eighth as I type this, with the Yanks over the Royals 9-7, but I’m not sticking around for the ninth. Call me a wuss, but I’m tired. Let me know what I missed.
Here’s what I do know about the game.
Nova was a total Jekyll and Hyde. He was off to a great start, then couldn’t hold a couple of leads, then pulled it together before Joe pulled him – and not a moment too soon. I guess he was due for a stinker.
Great job by Boone Logan to get us out of trouble and by Soriano, who is quickly becoming a pitcher I look forward to seeing when he takes his turn on the mound, and by Robertson. Our pen rocks.
Lots of offensive fun too. That at bat by Cano was amazing. Jeter keeps showing he’s still got it. I could watch Gardner run all day.
Martin was busy behind the plate. I love how excited he gets when he throws out a runner. He gave the Royals’ dugout the evil eye as if to say, “Don’t mess with me, people.”
BREAKING NEWS: I’m staying up after all.
Since the Yankees went down quickly in the top of the ninth and it’s still 9-7 – and since the Red Sox lost the second game of their doubleheader, putting us in a position to vault into first place – I’m hanging in for the bottom of the frame. Here we go with Mo on the hill.
Batter #1: Strikeout.
Batter #2: Groundout.
Batter #3: OMG! My9 just cut us off! I do not believe this! They totally screwed up their feed and went to some dumb game show, then to a LONG shot of the stupid fountain at Kauffman Stadium. How bush league can you get?
Well, I guess the Yankees won and Mo retired the side even though I didn’t actually see it. Clap clap clap, Yanks.
I know. He looks like he’s saying, “I won a game? Seriously?” And if he were my husband, I’d make him do something about the hair. But whatever. He got the “W” – thanks, in part, to Girardi for pulling him before he could blow the lead yet again.
He gave up a lot of ground balls, many of them hits, and he had his usual bad inning. The good news is that the bad inning wasn’t that bad (if you don’t count walking in a run). I guess that’s progress.
Nice pickoff by Boone Logan and another by the tag team of Martin and Cano. Excellent offensive display by the Captain. And Posada continues to show signs of life.
I like it a whole lot better when we take a series opener than when we don’t.
That was a direct quote from Michael Kay after Gardner made that tremendous throw to nail Duda at home plate (nice tag by Russell Martin too). Unfortunately, no one could save Pena’s bacon or anything else about the kid. It was a bad day at the office for him. For Mo too. He kind of looked like he was phoning it in for some reason. (I hate writing that.)
It’s not the end of the world that the Yankees dropped the series finale to the Mets, but to waste the fine outing by Garcia was frustrating. Also frustrating was our offense; they caught a break when Dickey and his knuckleball left the game but still couldn’t manage the necessary runs.
Still, there’s very good news with Jeter coming back. I’m excited about it. I’ve missed him. And I think the defense of Nunez and Pena made everybody miss him even more.
And Nova? Well, I’d rather have him pitching in Scranton than sitting around in our bullpen. And he’ll be back, no doubt.
For me the question mark is Hughes. Which Hughes will we see on Wednesday? The one with velocity and command or the guy that dithers around on the mound and is gone by the fourth inning? Fingers crossed for the former.
The All-Star selections? Ask me if I care. Of course I wish every Yankee could be picked and it would be cool for Robertson to get his shot, but it’s an exhibition game. It’s about as exciting to me as the WBC. Sorry.
Hope everyone’s enjoying the holiday weekend despite today’s loss. Happy 4th in advance.
In last night’s post I was only repeating what I thought was a rumor. But, alas, Meat Tray has returned. Why? I guess because he’s better than Buddy Carlyle. But is he better than Hector Noesi? Better than Brian Gordon? Better than Colon, Garcia or Hughes now that it looks like they’ll all be with us?
Never mind.
The good news is the Yankees won again and our division rivals lost.
AJ was the guy we all hoped he’d be.
Martin remembered how to hit.
Granderson showed why he should be an All-Star.
D-Rob showed why he should be an All-Star.
Mo showed why he’s a god.
Nunez showed why he needs more glove work. (Another error. Oy.)
Posada had a Jeffrey Maier special.
I thought the Brewers were supposed to be good. I bet they’re counting the hours before they can stumble out of town.
I was listening to Sterling’s post-game wrap-up and he must have repeated a zillion times what a crazy game it was today at Wrigley. I watched the first few innings – shockingly, FOX granted me access instead of showing me a contest between two west coast teams I don’t care about – but I had to go out and, therefore, relied on my MLB AT BAT app on my iPhone for the rest.
I have to agree: it was a nutty game.
Nunez is such a perplexing player. He’s terrific offensively – I mean seriously good in a way that almost makes me forget about Jeter being out of the lineup – but his defense is so bad it’s contagious (I’m blaming Cano’s error on Nunie). He can hit, run the bases, even bunt. But every time he handles the ball at short I wince.
And while I’m on the subject of running the bases, have the Yankees collectively turned into Posada? Take A-Rod. What was he doing trying to stretch that single into a double? Bizarre.
Amazing throw by Gardner to get Pena at the plate. I just hope Martin’s back is okay after the collision. Pena went into him hard, and all credit to Russell to hang onto the ball, never mind his marbles.
A.J. pitched really well, except for his high pitch count, and our newbies in the pen (Wade and Noesi) were sensational. Mo, on the other hand, had a couple of lapses, but he did get the save so all was well.
I guess the takeaway from this game, other than the fact that the Yankees managed to win it, was the number of men stranded on base – again. What is up with that?
I feel lucky that we squeaked by.
I feel even luckier that while I was out listening the game I was at my nearby Patagonia store.
The sales people had no problem with me blasting the audio while I was trying on stuff. There was even a Yankee fan or two among them – always a happy occurrence in California.
