Joe Torre did a fair amount of juggling to keep his "A-List" roster as fresh as reasonably possible this weekend. New York is north of the border for a three-game set with Toronto, followed by a day off on Thursday before heading to Tampa Bay. Tonight we will get a look at what is more likely to be comparable to the post-season lineup. The post-season starters won’t be seen in this series as tonight Darrell Rasner throws against A.J. Burnett, with Jeff Karstens pitching tomorrow and Sean Henn Wednesday. Lineups in the extended; comment away.
Yankees
J. Damon cf .295
D. Jeter ss .341
B. Abreu rf .327
A. Rodriguez 3b .287
J. Giambi 1b .253
J. Posada c .281
R. Cano 2b .336
H. Matsui dh .277
M. Cabrera lf .288
Blue Jays
R. Johnson rf .322
F. Catalanotto lf .305
V. Wells cf .307
L. Overbay 1b .308
T. Glaus 3b .252
B. Molina c .288
A. Lind dh .436
A. Hill 2b .290
J. McDonald ss .213
no idea how rasner got out of the inning. this might be a long night.
I guess Rasner read Gerbil’s intro and got pissed off…Bases loaded, with no outs, and he gets out of it without allowing a run. Amazing.
Robi stays hot with a two out single to right.
Godzilla singles to right advancing Cano to third.
How predictable (and tired, and sad, and unseemly) is the whole “the Sox won because Torre didn’t really try” meme? Seriously…
First-pitch Melky ends the inning 6-4.
SF: I disagree completely with anyone who takes the point of view that Torre didn’t try to win. My point was that Torre and Francona faced a difficult game stretch and each managed as best he could to win under the circumstance without exhausting the rosters.
It all comes off as a little condescending, though, like “well, if the Yankees had really needed to win then they would have played different guys and everything would have been a foregone conclusion. I find it all a little bit arrogant, this Yankee fan insistence that the 3-1 series loss was kind of a handout.
But I do understand your point in the context of the series, Gerb.
I don’t see it as a handout either. Imagine the screaming had Torre blown his pen apart using his pitchers like it is a world series.
There was not the weight in the series that was there a month ago. This allowed Torre to be a little more tactical in the use of his pitchers. Look at the projected SP’s for this series? Then what if they are swept by Toronto? He gave them the series also?
I can see your point. If the header seems condescending, it might be helpful if I had included my opinion that Torre throwing the A-Team on the field would have been no guarantee that the results would have been any different and I would have seen it as a travesty if he had done so, and would have ripped him for it, even if he had won. Anyone who thinks it is was a hand-out is blatantly ignoring that exhausted players are more likely to be hurt, and performance will slip in comparison to their baseline. Indeed, if anyone read my stats summary post for the series, it’s a ridiculous contention that the big guns would have done more to help the Yankees cause considering the numbers put up by Jeter, ARod, Matusi and Abreu _with_ a rest.
Damn…what a point you made there AG.
Just a quick thanks to the staff who lifted me from the excommunicated listing….thanks!
there’s an irrational part of me that worries the Yanks will not win another game this year. 2004 traumatized me in a deep way.
It’s okay Nick…hug the your pillow deeply tonight. It was just a bad dream. 2004 was stricken from the Yanks official records.
That would have been one gangly header, Gerb!
Thanks, Rob. The fact is that the Sox outplayed the Yanks over the weekend. Period. The one game the Yankees won was in spite of the Yankees starting pitching. Tavarez out-pitched Johnson in that game. Hansen and Breslow killed it for the Sox that game.
Holy run-on. I have said it before: I need an editor.
Oi vey. The Sox games were difficult to watch, but this is plain awful.
Just to clarify: “this” = tonight’s game, not the discussion in progress :)
yeah, yeah……
No Sox game….got to get some kind of fix. Being blacklisted fro a few weeks made me feel like a crack addict. To sit there and see a blog and not be able to post was painful. Started pacing in my garage a lot.
wow, can anyone hit anymore? what happened?
Rasner
Last post was supposed to read:
Rasner < razor sharp.
Now, it should read:
Rasner < marble sharp.
80 pitches already in the 4th. if he makes it through the 5th, it’ll be a miracle.
Very questionable strike three swinging call on Matsui; I thought he checked it. He’s ticked. There was no appeal; home plate ump called Matsui out directly. Then what? Did Johnny just get ejected?
wow, damon gets thrown out by the home plate ump for arguing balls and strikes..from matsui’s at-bat. not smart by damon, but it seemed like that ump just wanted to throw someone out. it happened so fast. kind of a bullshit call.
That was a bullshit call. Matsui wasn’t even close to going. Bill Miller, the home plate ump, called Hideki out without hesitation. But the check swing was borderline. I don’t know how he can make that call from behind the plate. Normally, a HPU won’t make that call. JD must have called him a CS. Good.
Kind of contradicted myself there; yes, he was close to going, but not close enough that Miller could make that call.
Rasner gets efficient. Maybe the Yanks needed some fire. Let’s see if the bats respond.
Abreu squeaks one throught the middle for a two-out single.
ARod lifts a pitch over the left field wall to make it Toronto 3, NY 2. Damn, his swing makes it look so easy.
It was actually quite a bit farther than the left field wall. It was high and lazy. Took it’s time getting out of the park. Wow.
Matsui starts off the 7th with a single. Melky to bat.
Matsui is on base with a single up the middle. Melky is up. Johnny is removed from the dugout. Make it happen, Leche.
double play. uggh
GAH!
Aaron Guiel now hitting for Johnny, takes a low inside strike. Then a miss. The 1-1 is fouled behind the plate. Next is a curve hit the other way. Catalanatto makes a great effort, but can not haul it in and Guiel is on second with a double.
Jeter!!
Jeter takes a strike away for a ball, then Burnett misses high. The 2-0 misses badly up and in when Molina wanted low away. The 3-0 is a HOME RUN FOR DEREK JETER!!! Pulled to left! WOOT.
as I was saying in the previous thread: Derek Jeter is better than Freddy Sanchez
Abreu takes strike one and then doesn’t like the called strike 2. The next pitch misses badly in and low. Abreu is down swinging. Yanks take the lead 4-3 off of Jeter’s two-run shot. I’m out for at least a bit. Good night all.
that puts said jeter 8 homeruns ahead of my boy freddy.
now if jeets gets 12 more doubles tonite he can tie up my boy freddy.
if Freddy gets on base each of his next 30 bats he’ll close the OBP gap noticeably.
John Sterling just publicly climaxed in reaction to the Aaron Guiel play.
akward. He’s acting kind of sheepishly now.
ARod gets an infield single to short.
Mets clinch it. Congrats to my many Mets fans friends.
man, i hope proctor can make it through the post season
insurance runs! Yanks go up 5-3 on the error by Hill. 2 on one out and the MVP is up. That’s right. Freddy Sanchez was picked upp off waivers by the Bombers and he’s in to pinch hit!
ABreu’s single makes it 6-3 with A-Rod now up and 2 on. 3-0 count to Rodriguez.
another run comes in on a walk. 7-3. The Yanks have batted around.
Just got home from work, turn on the TV, and whadda ya know? The boys are taking care of business. Smiles all around.
Jorgie was reaching.
Nick are you still out here on the Left Coast?
villone’s coming in again? i guess joe really doesn’t trust dotel.
BY78, I actually moved back to NYC to do grad school. I miss lovely California a lot. This humidity is killing me, but it’s nice to watch the local broadcasts.
Dotel has to be hurt or something. Although he’s warming up. Joe works in mysterious ways.
Who else wants to see Villone pitch like the 1st half Villone here?
perhaps, your wish is being granted, BY. A k to start the inning
Nice Nick, go to the St. Gennaro festival in Little Italy for me. I’d cut off my pinkie toe right to have some sausage, peppers, and onions on a roll, followed up with a nice cannoli right now.
hey, when’s that start. Is it this weekend? I love that festival. And as we speak, Villone continues his run of crappiness. Torre, is anybody home?
I wonder if Villone feels the Skip wore out his arm?
Mariano can’t come back soon enough. Peter Abraham says he could be on the mound tomorrow.
I think the festival is going on as we speak, wrapping up this weekend.
All right Octavio, what do you got?
man, I’ve been inundated with school work. No time to enjoy the city. I’ll get there this weekend with the lady. Eat a cannoli for you, BY.
Dotel is behind as per usual 3-1.
Nothing.
and Dotel gives up the ghost. yikes!
no wonder dotel is never used. crap….
And this might be Dotel’s last pitch as a Yankee. Seemed like a nice guy, but he had nothing.
Who the hell is coming in now? God Mo, come back.
I think its clear why Torre doesn’t trust Dotel…these last few games have really made Mo’s worth clear.
One more Mikey, give us one more.
1 out away. this relief corps scares me. God, Mo is very valuable.
Damn it. Get the next f’er out!
Gah! 1 man on, and now Hill to bat.
Torre coming out. Sterling doesn’t mention who’s coming in. Good broadcasting.
Who is it, Veras?
It’s Veras. I like this guy.
what happened to Farnsworth?
game over. thank the f’ing lord! STerling’s call scared me.
OVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank God. Back to Monday Night Football. Have a good one Nick.
night