The list of what went wrong in Tampa would run nearly as long to retell as would watching those atrocious games all over again so let’s focus on the positives:
Phil Hughes turned in an average start and ARod looks healthy.
On to the undefeated* Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore rotation is young. Brian Matusz (25 y.o.) is on the mound today at Camden, with Wei-Yin Chen and Jake Arrieta (each 26) waiting in the wings for the three-game set. Jason Hammel (29) is the elder statesman of the rotation with 7 years in the bigs. He and Tommy Hunter (25) won’t be seen this go-round. The combined major-league innings thrown by the Baltimore rotation is 1,578.
The Yankees faced Matusz twice in 2011, hitting him well both times. Ivan Nova pitched in Camden twice last year, winning a game and getting a no decision in a team loss in the second outing. Lineups follow, comment away.
* – Obligatory small sample notice: Baltimore won their first four games last year, and seven of eight, before finishing April 12-13
24 replies on “Son Please Don’t Go To Baltimore: Yanks-O’s Gamer I”
I am not at all excited.
They have given me nothing to be excited about so far.
Vomit.
Leadoff single for Jeter.
That’s good.
2 out walk for ARod.
1st and 2nd.
Tex?
RBI single for Tex?
Really?
1-0.
1st and 3rd now.
I am speechless.
Only 1.
Better than none.
1-2-3 first inning for CSN.
1-0 after 1.
1-2-3.
Not good.
Horrendous.
6 Ks, 0 BBs, 1 ER for CSN in 6 innings. Yeah I know, it’s the Orioles. But nice to see Nova look good after some pretty horrendous Spring outings and nice to see what it’s like to have the lead in a game. And mlb.com is awesome for the traveling fan. God bless the internets.
When Andruw Jones connects he does some serious damage. That ball left in a hurry. 5-1 Yanks.
Bases loaded for Cano. Juicy.
Ouch. Missed a bases clearing double by less than a foot and then GIDP. blech.
O’s announcers just shared the following stat: of the leadoff hitters Nova has faced in 250 innings since coming to the majors, he has walked only 10. That is actually rather impressive.
2-out rally in the 7th as Granderson doubles and Gardner singles him home. The Yankees needed a game exactly like this. Sometimes a visit to Camden Yards just hits the spot. The bats are thumping, Nova looks superb, and the defense has been solid.
No sooner do I type the above that Swisher bobbles a ball from a single to a double and Cano misses the throw from Gardner that would have nailed the runner at second. 7-2 Yanks, man on second. Will Girardi stick with Nova or go to Soriano…
Horrible call on the check swing that wasn’t really a check. Even the O’s announcers are saying it was egregious.
Perfect hit and run gives Jeter 4 hits on the night and Nunez to 3rd with no outs.
A-Rod GIDPs with bases loaded. I really don’t want another season full of that sentence.
7-2 Yanks going to the bottom of the 8th.
Errr – 6-2…
Markakis got robbed on 2 outside pitches from Robertson. He Ks instead of taking the walk. I’ll take it but am not impressed with this ump.
A win! A Win!!!!! Yeah.
Like last year, we are leaving 50 guys on base a game…
This trend is really bothering me.
Really bothering me.
Bad.
But yes, we got one finally.
I hear you krueg. Frustrates me too. My main takeaway from yesterday was that CSN looked exactly the way he did last year. Which is really really nice. Don’t know if he can keep this up, but man his ball was moving, he was hitting his spots, and he was really aggressive. Curious to see him against a stouter lineup to be sure, but I was most pleased.
I worry less about the pitching long term than I do the offense. We are full of holes and have been for the past year+…
The offense is anemic. No postseason success without some offense.