Game Notes
Nice little rally by the Yankees in the 3rd. I missed Matsui's double, but saw Tony Clark work his walk - and work it he did. Cairo followed with the classic hacker's at bat - he swung at all but one of the pitches he saw, and he saw about eight or nine. He was way behind the fastballs, until the last one, which he lined into right-center for a double. Matsui scored. Clark then scored on a Jeter groundout. Bernie strikes out and Timo Perez makes a great diving catch to rob Rodriguez. 3-2 now, going to the bottom of the 3rd.
Bot 4: A graphic on the YES Network just highlighted the only two non-Posada catchers in history to hit seven home runs in their teams' first 15 games. They were Gabby Hartnett and Todd Hugley. Hugley. Of the '96 Mets. Proofreaders? Anywhere? End of the 4th, still 3-2.
Top 7: After Mussina hung one to Crede last inning, the Yankees decided to get back to a one-run defecit. Posada put a beautiful swing on an outside pitch for a double and scored two groundouts later. Tony Clark worked his third walk of the game and Cairo followed by taking a pitch off his front shoulder. That was the end of Schoenweis, as Guillen brought in Cliff Politte...
...and Torre made a smart in-game decision. He sent Bubba Crosby in to pinch run for Tony Clark, representing the tying run. This would have been the right thing to do anyway, but I'm guessing Torre made the move because a right-hander came in to pitch for the Sox. That move goes for naught, as Jeter swings at ball four (low) and grounds out to 2nd to end the inning. I can't really fault Derek for swinging at that pitch. Home plate umpire Jerry Meals has had a large-ish zone all night, and he had to protect. 4-3, Sox.
Weird play by Travis Lee. He bobbled a grounder off the bat of Timo Perez, then recovered. He had plenty of time to flip the ball to Mussina, who was hustling to cover. Instead, he dove into the bag, forcing Mussina to leap over him, and still getting Perez by three or four steps.
I'm beginning to think that Lee got his super-defense reputation by making every play look like a tactical maneuver. He likes to add flourishes. The ones I've seen so far have been unnecessary - a poor-man's Jim Edmonds kind of thing. We'll see if the trend continues.
Top 8: Rodriguez is clearly pressing. On a pitch he should have tried to take up the middle or go the other way with, he hit a slow grounder to short. He was safe at first thanks to a weak throw and despite his dive into the bag. He then bluffed a steal attempt, distracting Sheffield on a fastball right down the middle. Let the game come to you, Alex. Sheffield ends up going 4-6-3, inning over.
Mussina survived the 8th. He really settled down after the first inning, getting ground balls all game long. The Yankees' defense (notably Rodriguez) has not really helped him out, but he's only given up one run the rest of the way, and that was a homer.
Top 9: Marte is in. I would rather have seen Koch.
Posada starts things off with a single. Sierra pops up to left before Joe runs for Jorge with Enrique Wilson. Matsui... singles to right, moving Wilson to third with one out. Good spot, right? Sadly, no. Travis Lee comes up to face the left-handed Marte and grounds into the 6-4-3.
It would have made sense to pinch hit for Lee. The question is, who with? Well, Giambi was available, and could have gone right out into the field for Lee. Flaherty could have hit and then, if necessary, come in to catch via a double-switch. He would have been a better option than Lee. I'd have gone with Giambi, to prevent a Flaherty-Koch matchup and to get one of the best hitters in the game up there with this game on the line.
Torre, who had been looking pretty sharp with his moves lately, lost his aggressive edge late. He didn't blow the game, but he didn't put the team in the best position to win, either. He had bullets left in his gun but did not pull the trigger.
Bot 4: A graphic on the YES Network just highlighted the only two non-Posada catchers in history to hit seven home runs in their teams' first 15 games. They were Gabby Hartnett and Todd Hugley. Hugley. Of the '96 Mets. Proofreaders? Anywhere? End of the 4th, still 3-2.
Top 7: After Mussina hung one to Crede last inning, the Yankees decided to get back to a one-run defecit. Posada put a beautiful swing on an outside pitch for a double and scored two groundouts later. Tony Clark worked his third walk of the game and Cairo followed by taking a pitch off his front shoulder. That was the end of Schoenweis, as Guillen brought in Cliff Politte...
...and Torre made a smart in-game decision. He sent Bubba Crosby in to pinch run for Tony Clark, representing the tying run. This would have been the right thing to do anyway, but I'm guessing Torre made the move because a right-hander came in to pitch for the Sox. That move goes for naught, as Jeter swings at ball four (low) and grounds out to 2nd to end the inning. I can't really fault Derek for swinging at that pitch. Home plate umpire Jerry Meals has had a large-ish zone all night, and he had to protect. 4-3, Sox.
Weird play by Travis Lee. He bobbled a grounder off the bat of Timo Perez, then recovered. He had plenty of time to flip the ball to Mussina, who was hustling to cover. Instead, he dove into the bag, forcing Mussina to leap over him, and still getting Perez by three or four steps.
I'm beginning to think that Lee got his super-defense reputation by making every play look like a tactical maneuver. He likes to add flourishes. The ones I've seen so far have been unnecessary - a poor-man's Jim Edmonds kind of thing. We'll see if the trend continues.
Top 8: Rodriguez is clearly pressing. On a pitch he should have tried to take up the middle or go the other way with, he hit a slow grounder to short. He was safe at first thanks to a weak throw and despite his dive into the bag. He then bluffed a steal attempt, distracting Sheffield on a fastball right down the middle. Let the game come to you, Alex. Sheffield ends up going 4-6-3, inning over.
Mussina survived the 8th. He really settled down after the first inning, getting ground balls all game long. The Yankees' defense (notably Rodriguez) has not really helped him out, but he's only given up one run the rest of the way, and that was a homer.
Top 9: Marte is in. I would rather have seen Koch.
Posada starts things off with a single. Sierra pops up to left before Joe runs for Jorge with Enrique Wilson. Matsui... singles to right, moving Wilson to third with one out. Good spot, right? Sadly, no. Travis Lee comes up to face the left-handed Marte and grounds into the 6-4-3.
It would have made sense to pinch hit for Lee. The question is, who with? Well, Giambi was available, and could have gone right out into the field for Lee. Flaherty could have hit and then, if necessary, come in to catch via a double-switch. He would have been a better option than Lee. I'd have gone with Giambi, to prevent a Flaherty-Koch matchup and to get one of the best hitters in the game up there with this game on the line.
Torre, who had been looking pretty sharp with his moves lately, lost his aggressive edge late. He didn't blow the game, but he didn't put the team in the best position to win, either. He had bullets left in his gun but did not pull the trigger.
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