Justin Verlander Archives

Curses, Verlander Again

June 24, 2019

I didn’t have high hopes for a four-game sweep of the Astros, despite the roll the Yankees have been on. Not with Verlander on the mound yesterday. Sadly, I was right. He was solid and Happ was not. (What is it with Happ anyway? He can be very good and then awful; consistency has not been his hallmark.)

But I’ve been trying not to dwell on the loss and look ahead to facing the Blue Jays, Despite their lowly place in the standings, they’ve always been a tough division rival, and the Yanks must beat them before heading to the UK for what I consider a ridiculous series against the Red Sox. I mean, I get that MLB wants to expand the audience for the sport. But do the British people really care about baseball? I was fine when teams played in Japan, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Those countries have a baseball legacy and major league teams have players from those countries. But how many Brits are in the majors right now? Who needs the Yanks to come back with jet leg and have to plunge right back into the pennant race?

But I digress. As for the here and now, I’m disappointed that Maybin has joined the injured list. He made a real contribution to the team. And I’m overjoyed that Mo hit an inside-the-parker during the Old Timer’s game. How cool was that!

Fanned

August 6, 2012

Well, that was fun – not. I did worry about facing Verlander in the previous post, but I didn’t expect him to strike out practically the entire team (multiple times). This is the problem with elite pitchers like him and King Felix; they’re not infallible but they’re very tough.

The bigger disaster, however, was with our own starter. Nova needs to take a trip to Scranton. Period. He’s gone from a kid who surprised everyone with his winning ways to a clone of his old buddy AJ. I’m sick of watching him unravel, and I hope he goes down to AAA, gets his head and his mechanics together and comes back strong like he did before. Otherwise, I’d rather see Phelps in the rotation until Pettitte returns (please make it soon, Andy).

Happiness Restored

June 3, 2012

Now that one was a surprise and confirmed the old adage, “You can’t predict baseball.” I mean would you have guessed that Hughes would out-duel Verlander? Even though Verlander hasn’t been as Verlander-ish this season? And that Hughes would pitch a complete game on top of it?

Amazing. And much needed. He not only pitched well but saved the bullpen. Bravo, Phil.

And then there was A-Rod. In the last post, I ranted that he should be hitting the kind of bombs that Cabrera hit and – lo and behold – that’s what he did. He must have heard me. Great job by Jeter too, getting us on the scoreboard. When the Yankees hit home runs, they win ballgames. Do I like this quirk? No. But I’ll take the game win and the series win. Bravo, A-Rod and Jeter.

In the end, even after all the bitching and moaning and worrying, the road trip was a very good one. Bravo, boys.

I Loved The Ending To This One

April 27, 2012

Yes, the laughing lady is back and she couldn’t have come at a better time. I’d been spending forever on the phone with an Apple “specialist” trying to figure out why my new iPhone wasn’t doing anything it was supposed to do, and by the time the game started I was a raving lunatic. Imagine my delight when Verlander turned out to be very un-Verlanderish.

Even though Nova wasn’t having a good night either, once it seemed the Yanks were hitting the ball I had a hunch they’d come back and win the game. That said, I do have a complaint: Raul Ibanez’s defense. It was scary how bad he looked on that triple. I sure hope Gardner gets healthy in a hurry.

Back to the happy stuff, I was just getting our rally burgers on the dinner table when the Swisher-Cano-Tex combo produced the tying run. I was so excited that I accidentally squirted ketchup all over myself, but who cared. Then Mo was his normal perfect self and Jeter hustled his way around the bases and that was that.

I did miss AJ’s pie ritual. No, A-Rod didn’t hit a walk-off, but he played traffic cop signaling Jeter home. Surely that should have ended in somebody getting a towel full.

Pie-in-the-faceWeb — Photo: Anthony Gattine

At some point in the season, one of the players will have to take over pie duty. I vote for Swisher unless, of course, he happens to be the recipient.

Nice win, because the Tigers have been faltering. It was important to take advantage.

This Is Bizarre But Sort Of Hilarious

November 15, 2011

As per MLB.com:

PITTSBURGH — Pirates outfielder Xavier Paul has become caught in the middle of an identity hoax that had officials with the Australian Baseball League expecting Paul’s arrival at the start of their season, which began earlier this month.

Problem was, Paul had never actually agreed to go.

Multiple sources have confirmed that Paul’s participation was promised by another player, determined to be Minor League outfielder Breland Brown, who most recently played in the D-backs’ farm system. According to one source, who described the scheme as so intricate that it was “like a movie,” Brown created fake IDs and misrepresented himself to the ABL and Major League Baseball.

“It was all a hoax by this player trying to get over to the ABL,” said the source.

Posing as an agent, Brown offered the ABL a deal in which Paul would agree to play in Australia this offseason if Brown was also invited. The ABL accepted the agreement. Brown was assigned to play with the Sydney Blue Sox, while Paul was put on the Brisbane Bandits roster.

Last week, Paul was tipped off that his identity was being misused when he was alerted to Internet articles that mentioned he would be participating in the ABL. Around that time, Brisbane reached out to Paul to ask him why he had not yet arrived in Australia.

That set off an investigation by the ABL, which quickly discovered the hoax. Brown, who had not yet joined the Sydney team, was immediately taken off the Blue Sox roster. Paul has since been removed from the Brisbane roster as well.

“[We] are pleased to say that despite the initial misinformation, the fraudulent activity was identified in the regular course of events,” said Ben Foster, general manager of the ABL. “We are currently awaiting the outcome of the internal MLB investigation and have contacted all relevant parties to alert them of the situation.”

The matter has been turned over to Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations, which, according to MLB spokesman Michael Teevan, is actively looking into the situation.

“While I cannot go into detail, the Department of Investigations has been communicating with the appropriate people,” Teevan said. “We are aware of the circumstances and the chain of events involved in this matter.”

The ABL maintains that it followed all its regular protocol with regards to international player recruitment this summer. That included contacting the Pirates to get permission for Paul to play after the ABL was led to believe that Paul’s interest was legitimate.

The Pirates confirmed that they did grant that permission, unaware that Paul wasn’t really intending to play. They, too, are looking into the situation.

“We are in the process of gathering information and having the necessary conversations, but are not in a position to comment on the series of events at the present time,” said Pirates general manager Neal Huntington.

“I am not sure about legal action as of yet, but we certainly will consider all of Xavier’s rights and remedies and also will consider enforcing those rights vigorously once we have all the facts,” said Joe Longo, president of Paragon Sports International, which represents Paul. “Xavier never spoke to the ABL or ever considered playing down there this winter.”

Brown, 26, played in the Independent League in 2009 before signing a Minor League deal with the Yankees in October 2010. Brown never played in the Yankees’ farm system. His only Minor League stint came with the D-backs’ rookie-level team in Missoula, Mont., last season.

After signing a Minor League contract with Arizona in July, Brown appeared in 11 games with Missoula. He was released in August.

Brown was born in Marrero, La., which is less than an hour away from Paul’s hometown of Slidell, La. It’s unknown whether the two, who were born less than three months apart, know each other. Paul was drafted out of high school, while Brown attended Northeast Mississippi Community College.

Did Brown really think he could get away with this? And couldn’t an MLB Minor Leaguer, even a former rookie-level Minor Leaguer, have been able to play somewhere this winter – without tricking anybody? I’m sure Xavier Paul wasn’t thrilled to be used in Brown’s scheme, but the whole thing is pretty funny. I didn’t even know there was an Australian Baseball League.

P.S. Congrats to Verlander on the Cy Young Award. He did deserve it. (Sorry, CC.)

Anyone Watch Rangers-Tigers Tonight?

October 8, 2011

I caught a few innings. My random thoughts:

Rain delays are still the pits.
Rangers fans wave towels as manically as Tigers fans.
Verlander didn’t look as intimidating as he did against the Yankees.
I kept wishing we were still playing.
Terry Francona doesn’t have a big future as a broadcaster.
Joe Buck is still terrible.
The game was a close one but I doubt the ratings will be any higher than reruns of “Law and Order.”
I was happy that Austin Jackson knocked in Detroit’s two runs, since he used to be “ours.”
Ogando needs to get that large facial cyst examined.
I prefer teams that wear blue to teams that wear red.

Mostly, I was bored stiff.

ALDS Game 3: Too Good And Not Good Enough

October 3, 2011

I’m depressed and, therefore, not in the mood to post pics. I hope words will do.

So. We lost.

There will be complaints about the tight strike zone. There will be talk about Girardi bringing in Soriano too late and even more talk about bringing him back for another inning instead of using Robertson. There will be a debate about not sending Montero up to pinch hit for Martin against Valverde. Blah blah blah.

This was about CC not having it and Verlander firing 100 mph fastballs through eight innings. Our guy wasn’t as good as their guy. End of story.

Still, the Yankees had their shining moments – from all those double plays that bailed out CC and A-Rod’s sure hand at third to Jorge’s tenacious at bats and Gardner’s huge game-tying double. If Soriano hadn’t coughed up that homer, we might have had extra innings and hung on a little longer.

But we had chances in the ninth and didn’t seize them, and the result was having to watch Valverde’s victory dance (although it was subdued, for him).

Did we ever imagine in our wildest dreams that our season would come down to AJ Burnett?

Of course not. But here we are, on the verge of elimination.

What needs to happen is this:

The Good Great AJ has to show up.
A-Rod has to be the 2009 model.
Tex has to stop being Mr. April.
Mo has to get into the game.

In other words, it’ll be all hands on deck so this baby doesn’t sink.

(Okay, I had to post one pic.)

Let’s go Yankeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Why The Yankees Will Beat The Tigers

September 29, 2011

Yes, Verlander is a great pitcher.

Yes, Cabrera is a scarier hitter than Jose Bautista.

Yes, our friend Austin Jackson was the kid we hated to give up.

And yes, they have position players like Martinez and Polanco and some setup guy that’s supposed to be as good as D-Rob, plus a closer that dances around the mound after a save.

Valverde dancing — Photo: Paul Sancya/AP

Doesn’t Verlander look like Luke Wilson, btw?

OK, maybe not.

Anyhow, yes, the Tigers have a lot of strengths, including manager Jim Leyland, who’s always been a favorite of mine. He’s not just a tough guy. He cries, people.

But the Yankees are, quite simply, the Yankees. Detroit may have beaten us in 2006, but we’re a different team this year. A better team. There’s no dead wood, nobody who makes me roll my eyes every time I see him. (Well, except for Eduardo Scissorhands, but I know I’m in the minority there.) We’re solid. Not perfect, but no team is. We have a nice combination of veterans and newbies, along with players who are right in their prime. And we have a really good bench for a change.

Most of all, especially for Games 1 and 2, we have these.

Oh, and we have one more reason to win: me. I have no interest in writing a sad blog post about how we lost.

So Much For My Being Good Luck

May 7, 2011

I really wanted to win this one tonight. I hated that Colon didn’t have it and allowed the Rangers to jump out to an early lead. I figured we were cooked, but tying it at 5-5 was fun for about a minute. Ultimately, the Yankees stalled, sputtered and conked out.

stalled car — (courtesy: ivydaong4.blogspot.com)

Bright spots?

I’ll single out Jeter for driving the ball. We’ve all been waiting for that to happen.

I’ll tip my cap to Swisher, who did it with his glove and his bat despite having a head cold.

I’ll give a shout out to Joba, who pitched a crisp, clean inning.

I’ll bow down to Cano for that bases-clearing triple.

But otherwise? Eh. Just eh.

Do me a favor, Yankees, and stop letting Michael Young, in particular, keep beating you. Thanks.

Oh, and congrats to Justin Verlander for his second no-no. He just made me covet him for the Yanks even more than I’ve been doing forever.

What Was Not To Love About Today?

March 31, 2011

Nothing, that’s what. From start to finish it was a great day. My highlights:

My Extra Innings cable package giving me the YES Network even though the game was on ESPN too.
Seeing Mussina throw out the first pitch to Jorge, who at least got to catch a little.
Watching CC bend but never break – the mark of a true ace.
Cheering for Russell Martin after he got the first hit of the game and his first as a Yankee.
Cheering for Russell Martin after he stole third; we now have a catcher that can run.
Cheering for Curtis Granderson’s amazing, Willie Mays-like catches, all of them.
Cheering for Tex’s shot to right. No slow start that I can see.
Cheering for Granderson’s shot off Phil Coke, a lefty.
Cheering for A-Rod’s continued hot streak; that double sure looked like it was going out.
Cheering for the trio of Joba/Soriano/Mo; if they pitch like that over the course of the season the Yankees will be formidable.
Beating a great pitcher like Verlander.
Winning the first game of the season.

And if all that wasn’t enough, I took the rest of the day off and went with Michael to the beach. It was in the ’80s here this afternoon – very odd since it’s been rainy and cold these last few months. We packed up our folding chairs and umbrellas and towels and joined the crowds who had the same idea. It felt like summer.

I hope everybody enjoyed their day as much as I enjoyed mine.