Need proof?
(AP Photo/Steve Nesius)Not only did Swisher pitch, but he was the Yankees' most productive pitcher. So yea, it was a pretty awful game for the Yankees tonight at Tropicana Field, a game that was all but over by the second inning.
Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yanks and like his start in Baltimore he had absolutely nothing. His sinker was flat, and he lack command of his pitches. In just 1+ inning pitches he allowed eight runs on six hits and three walks. He threw 61 pitches, 34 for strikes. After the game Joe Girardi said that Wang said he feels fine so it has to be something with his mechanics. Hopefully he can work out whatever it is and regain his true form in his next outing.
Thanks to Wang's terrible outing the Yankees and Girardi needed to patch together seven innings out of the bullpen. Jonathan Albaladejo pitched three of those innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Edwar Ramirez allowed a run on four hits, and struck out three in two innings. And Phil Coke pitched one inning, allowing three unearned runs on one hit. He should have gotten out of the inning without allowing a run, but Robinson Cano and Ramiro Pena botched a pop up. Even with the error Coke could have gotten out of the inning unscathed but could not. He has looked very bad this year and his velocity on his fastball is nowhere to be seen. I don't know if he needs a few weeks at Scranton, or just a couple days off, but he needs something.
That takes us to the eighth; the Yankees had used four pitchers already, so instead of burning another arm out of the pen, the call when to number 33, Nick Swisher. And as I mentioned before he was (sadly) the most effective Yankees pitcher on the night. He threw one scoreless inning, allowing a hit and a walk, and also struck out Gabe Kapler. Following the strikeout Swisher took the ball and threw it in the dugout so he could keep it as a souvenir. At one point during the inning he actually shook off Jose Molina even though there were no signs. Swishers was smiling on the mound and you could clearly see that he was getting a big kick out of the whole thing. It looked like many of his teammates did too. On a night where everyone needed a laugh, Swisher provided it.
Swisher was also one of the few Yankees to have a good day at the plate. He went 1-for-3 with a homer off Rays starter Scott Kazmir, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Melky Cabrera added an RBI single in the fifth, and Cody Ransom drove in a third run with a RBI single of his own. It was his first hit in 19But those three runs would be it for the Yankees off Kazmir who threw 6.2 solid innings. Kazmir wasn't dominating, but when your team gives you a 1o run lead you don't have to be.
The Yanks added two more runs in the eighth on a Jorge Posada two-run double, but the game was long over by then.
RAYS OFFENSE
RAYS DEFENSE
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Pena (3-for-6, Grand Slam, two doubles, six RBI, and two runs scored.)
HONORABLE MENTION: Jason Bartlett (3-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 runs scored, SB)
GOAT OF THE GAME: Chien-Ming Wang (1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K)
Game two of this three game set is tomorrow night at The Trop. A.J. Burnett makes his second start as a Yankee, and for the second straight time goes out trying to stop a mini two-game losing strak. Right-hander Matt Garza will get the ball for the Rays. First pitch is set for 7:08 p.m. and the game will be on MY9 and WCBS 880.
Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yanks and like his start in Baltimore he had absolutely nothing. His sinker was flat, and he lack command of his pitches. In just 1+ inning pitches he allowed eight runs on six hits and three walks. He threw 61 pitches, 34 for strikes. After the game Joe Girardi said that Wang said he feels fine so it has to be something with his mechanics. Hopefully he can work out whatever it is and regain his true form in his next outing.
Thanks to Wang's terrible outing the Yankees and Girardi needed to patch together seven innings out of the bullpen. Jonathan Albaladejo pitched three of those innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Edwar Ramirez allowed a run on four hits, and struck out three in two innings. And Phil Coke pitched one inning, allowing three unearned runs on one hit. He should have gotten out of the inning without allowing a run, but Robinson Cano and Ramiro Pena botched a pop up. Even with the error Coke could have gotten out of the inning unscathed but could not. He has looked very bad this year and his velocity on his fastball is nowhere to be seen. I don't know if he needs a few weeks at Scranton, or just a couple days off, but he needs something.
That takes us to the eighth; the Yankees had used four pitchers already, so instead of burning another arm out of the pen, the call when to number 33, Nick Swisher. And as I mentioned before he was (sadly) the most effective Yankees pitcher on the night. He threw one scoreless inning, allowing a hit and a walk, and also struck out Gabe Kapler. Following the strikeout Swisher took the ball and threw it in the dugout so he could keep it as a souvenir. At one point during the inning he actually shook off Jose Molina even though there were no signs. Swishers was smiling on the mound and you could clearly see that he was getting a big kick out of the whole thing. It looked like many of his teammates did too. On a night where everyone needed a laugh, Swisher provided it.
Swisher was also one of the few Yankees to have a good day at the plate. He went 1-for-3 with a homer off Rays starter Scott Kazmir, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Melky Cabrera added an RBI single in the fifth, and Cody Ransom drove in a third run with a RBI single of his own. It was his first hit in 19But those three runs would be it for the Yankees off Kazmir who threw 6.2 solid innings. Kazmir wasn't dominating, but when your team gives you a 1o run lead you don't have to be.
The Yanks added two more runs in the eighth on a Jorge Posada two-run double, but the game was long over by then.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .207 |
| Pena, SS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Damon, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .227 |
| Gardner, CF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .227 |
| Swisher, 1B-P | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .450 |
| Posada, C-1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .350 |
| Nady, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .280 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .385 |
| Matsui, DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .125 |
| Molina, J, C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .429 |
| Ransom, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .083 |
| Cabrera, M, CF-LF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
| Totals | 34 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 12 | |
| BATTING 2B: Nady (4, Kazmir), Posada (4, Cormier). HR: Swisher (3, 4th inning off Kazmir, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Swisher 4; Posada 3; Nady 2; Cano; Molina, J; Ransom; Cabrera, M 2. RBI: Swisher (10), Cabrera, M (1), Ransom (2), Posada 2 (8). 2-out RBI: Cabrera, M; Ransom. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano. GIDP: Nady; Ransom. Team RISP: 3-for-9. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Cano (1, fielding). Outfield assists: Damon (Gross at 2nd base). | ||||||||
RAYS OFFENSE
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Wang (L, 0-2) | 1.0 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28.93 |
| Albaladejo | 3.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4.26 |
| Ramirez, E | 2.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2.70 |
| Coke | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 |
| Swisher | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
RAYS DEFENSE
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Pena (3-for-6, Grand Slam, two doubles, six RBI, and two runs scored.)
HONORABLE MENTION: Jason Bartlett (3-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 runs scored, SB)
GOAT OF THE GAME: Chien-Ming Wang (1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K)
Game two of this three game set is tomorrow night at The Trop. A.J. Burnett makes his second start as a Yankee, and for the second straight time goes out trying to stop a mini two-game losing strak. Right-hander Matt Garza will get the ball for the Rays. First pitch is set for 7:08 p.m. and the game will be on MY9 and WCBS 880.
19 Comments:
Tough loss not much you could do when your starter pitches 1 inning and gives up 8 runs. The game is basically over.
Hopefully Wang gets it straighten out and bounces back.
Girardi's overactive bullpen switching cost them a game 2 nights ago. Now his refusal to carry a long reliever bites them again. I just don't get it.
For a team that has gotten better defensively on paper, the last few games I have watched had some atrocious fielding.
While I believe the team will turn things around and will be challenging for a division championship, Girardi is on a very, very, hot seat at the moment.
Maybe they should put Wang at first?
When the Yanks can add Mark Melancon and Robertson to the bullpen, they should do so.
that hurt to watch last night...nice to see Swisher lightening the mood even in a tough loss like that though...
Now everyone can see why you simply can't afford to throw away games like the one in Kansas on Sunday. Instead of going into the Rays series on a high, the Yanks were on a low. That obviously doesn't account for Wang's embarrassing pitching performance but it does increase the pressure on the team to get something from this series. Girardi says he is confident "we will get him right." Isn't that what spring training is for? Clearly, Wang wasn't given enough work down in Tampa. It's not just Wang who is worrying me at the moment. Jeter, Damon and Matsui are looking past their prime while Ransom and Gardner look out of their league. Sorry to be so pessimistic but I'm nowhere near as confident about the Yanks making the playoffs as I was a week ago.
I agree with Bruce B. The majority of the lineup is looking either old or out of their league. This is a below-average team, both offensively and defensively. Wang is the least of their problems.
7 games chilll outtttttt
At least this game is further proof that Nick Swisher is the man... he can even pitch.
I agree with Bruce. The Rays looked like a baseball team while the Yanks really did look like what they are accused of being, a collection of stars who happen to be a baseball team with no chemistry. I'd start worrying about whether Wang can still pitch because he's had nothing on his sinker since the playoffs in 07 and we didn't see him last year because of the injury. I'd also start worrying that this team isn't as stacked as we thought and that the bench is pretty weak if this is what happens without Tex or Arod.
What did you think about the pop-up between Cano and Pena..did you see the way Cano sulked after and tried to act like it was pena's fault. Maybe it was, whose ball/fault did you think it was?
Miller, I actually didn't see the play, I had flipped over to the mets game quickly. But there's no reason why Cano should have done something like that.
I understand why some of you are upset, but don't live and die with every game, it's not healthy. This is a long season with a lot of ups and down.
Right now they're 3-4 over seven games. The Red Sox are 2-5 - they must really suck. But the Padres are 6-2 so they must be a really good team, right? No, not right. It's early, we need to relax.
we'll be fine.. in June, July and August we usually really get rolling. Yes Jeter, Damon and Matsui look old, but they'll still put up good numbers.. right now we're missing our version of the Big Papi-Manny combo in Tex and Arod. CC looks like he'll be fine, Burnett could be amazing if he stays healthy, Pettitte is reliable, Joba gives good starts and Wang will, or should, fix himself.. the pen has had acouple of bad games, but they've also had a couple of great games.
Ransom wont be playing third all year, and Gardner doesnt have to hit above .250 really. He just needs to make things happen from time to time and play good D... look on the bright side Swisher looks like he could have a .275+ ba 30+ hr's and 100+ rbi's if given the playing time.. we still have Mo, and we're ahead of the Sox right now and 1 game behind the Rays, if we're in 4th place in June than its time to worry.
This is what happenes when you break camp without a long man in the bull pen. There was no one that you could put in in the 2nd and expect to give a couple of decent innings to stop the bleeding. They should have given a spot in the pen for Tomko, or dare i say it Igawa. They might have made a difference and at least rested our other releavers.
All fair comments. Yes, we're just seven games into a 162-game season. Yes, we Yankee fans are prone to knee-jerk reaction because we expect so much from our team, but let me ask you this: After spending $423 million in the winter and winning our last 10 games in spring training, weren't you hoping for a more encouraging start than this? Is a 3-3 record against the Orioles and Royals going to get the job done? Is getting thrashed 15-5 by a team built on a fifth of our payroll acceptable? Have we overestimated the capabilities of players such as Gardner, Ransom and Coke? Is our bench strong enough? The jury may still be out on some of those questions but on the evidence of week one, I suspect a guilty could be returned. Let's face it, the one player we're raving about - Nick Swisher – wasn't even meant to be in the everyday lineup.
PS: Remember, the Red Sox started by playing the Rays and the Angels...not the Orioles and Royals.
I actually figured they'd be right around .500 on opening day, whether it's 5-4 or 4-5. It looks like it will end up that way.
As for Ransom, Coke, and Gardner, I think it's too early to tell on the latter two, but Ransom just isn't very good. There's a reason he's spent most of the last eight years in the minors.
Coke needs a week or two in Triple-A. What worries me is his velocity is down about 3 MPH. Maybe he's trying to be too fine, and doesn't trust his stuff, but I think a little down in Scranton will help him a lot. Gardner needs Yankees fans to give him more than a week to prove himself.
And Bruce, you're too focus on payroll and stuff like that. Leave that for the Yankee haters to talk about. Tampa is a good team, regardless of how low their payroll is. Finishing last for ten years will get you a lot of very good no. 1 draft picks. Losing the way they did last night was a product of bad starting pitching. When the Yankees get starting pitching, they look like a pretty damn good team. When they don't get good starts they look bad.
The Sox lost to Oakland last night.
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