(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| TOR | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 1 | |
| NYY | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 14 | 2 |
Winning pitcher - Jonathan Albaladejo (3-1)
Losing pitcher - B.J. Ryan (1-1)
SV - Alfredo Aceves (1)
Losing pitcher - B.J. Ryan (1-1)
SV - Alfredo Aceves (1)
It was pretty but the Yankees were able to battle their way back from a fourth inning 8-4 deficit to win 10-8. For the Yanks, it was comeback win number 25 on the year.
Early on today it looked like it was going to be an easy game for the Yanks. They spotted Joba Chamberlain an early 4-0 lead and it appeared that he was throwing the ball pretty well. But then with one out in the third things the Jays mounted a quick rally. Raul Chavez doubled, Marco Scutaro grounded out for out number two, then Aaron Hill hit an RBI single, and Adam Lind hit a two-run homer, and just like that a 4-0 lead had shrunk to 4-3. Things got much worse for Joba in the fourth.
Lyle Overbay led off with a single and Vernon Wells flied out, one on one out for the Jays. Alex Rios then his a rocket right to Cody Ransom at third, but he couldn't handle it and it ended up going in the books at an E5. David Dellucci then flew out for what should have been the third out of the inning, but was only out number two thanks to Ransom's error. That would be the last out Joba would record on the day.
Chaves doubled to drive in Overbay with tying run. Scutaro then gave Toronto their first lead with a two-run single, 6-4 Jays. Hill then came up and lined a two-run homer to extend the lead to 8-4. Joba allowed one more single to Lind before leaving the game.
In 3.2 innings Joba allowed 8 runs - 3 earned thanks to the Ransom error - on 9 hits, walked 1, struck out 1, and threw just 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes. He didn't have command of anything, and at times he once again looked like he was afraid to throw strikes. And even when he did throw strikes he was still missing his spots.
With Chien-Ming Wang on the DL there is no option but to keep Joba in the rotation, so let's end that debate before it starts. But what the Yanks do need to do is figure out what is going on with this kid. These bumps in the road happen, just look at David Price's start on Saturday, but Joba hasn't been the same pitcher since he got injured in Texas last August and it's starting to worry me.
Back to the game... In his first day back from Scranton, Jonathan Albaladejo was immediately called into a big spot, relieving the ineffective Chamberlain with one on and two out in the fourth. He allowed a single to put runners on the corners, but was then able to get the next man out to end the inning.
Then in the bottom of the fourth the Yanks got two men on with one out, when Mark Teixeira walked and Jorge Posada singled. Hideki Mastui then got the Yanks right back in the game with a three-run homer to right. To me, this was clearly the biggest hit in the ballgame.
Albaladejo then got into a little trouble in the fifth, with a man on third and one out, but was able to get out of it without allowing a run.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth the Yanks regained the lead with a two-run homer off the bat of Derek Jeter, and opposite field shot over the WB Mason sign in right. It was The Captain's tenth homer of the year. Later in the inning the Yanks added their tenth run on a Jorge Posada RBI double.
From that point on the story of the game was Alfredo Aceves. He came in to start the sixth and never left. He allowed just one hit in four scoreless innings, did not walk a batter, and struck out five. He consistently pounded the zone, throwing 33 of his 43 pitches for strikes, and his breaking stuff had very good movement. On a day where the Yankees needed someone to step up and save the pen, Aceves did just that. For his efforts Aceves earned his first career save and POTG honors on this blog.
Some people are going to see today's performance and say he should go into the rotation for Wang. To me that's a mistake. Aceves is one of the reasons the Yankees bullpen has turned around. His versatility out of the bullpen is a great weapon to have, and the Yanks shouldn't mess with that. In fact they shouldn't mess with the bullpen at all right now because it has been great lately.
The Yanks look to make it a four-game sweep tomorrow afternoon at in The Bronx. It will be a battle of southpaws as Andy Pettitte faces off against rookie Ricky Romero.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .316 |
| Damon, LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .284 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .278 |
| Posada, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .284 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .264 |
| Swisher, RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .234 |
| Gardner, CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .277 |
| Cano, 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .302 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF-RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .281 |
| Ransom, 3B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .180 |
| Totals | 35 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 18 | |
BATTING 2B: Posada (9, Hayhurst). HR: Matsui, H (13, 4th inning off Cecil, 2 on, 1 out), Jeter (10, 5th inning off Ryan, B, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Jeter 7; Posada 5; Matsui, H 5; Swisher; Cano 2; Cabrera, Me. RBI: Matsui, H 4 (36), Swisher (41), Posada 3 (38), Jeter 2 (34). 2-out RBI: Swisher; Posada 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Swisher 2. GIDP: Posada. Team RISP: 6-for-12. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING CS: Cano (4, 2nd base by Ryan, B/Chavez, R). FIELDING E: Ransom (3, fielding), Swisher (5, fielding). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Chamberlain | 3.2 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4.04 |
| Albaladejo (W, 3-1) | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.64 |
| Aceves, A (S, 1) | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2.02 |
JAYS STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Alfredo Aceves (S, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)
HONORABLE MENTION: Derek Jeter (4-for-5, GW 2-run homer, 3 R)
Tomorrow's Game
Yankees vs. Blue Jays
Game Time: 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
Game Time: 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
LHP Andy Pettitte (8-3, 4.25) vs. LHP Ricky Romero (6-3, 2.85)
11 Comments:
Some recent performances by Joba, including today's, has people suggesting he should go back to the pen. Many have cited his lower velocity (his fastball was probably averaging around 90-91 today). The problem is, I don't see his velocity going back up by going to the pen. It doesn't make sense.
When Joba was a starter before his injury last year, he was easily in the mid 90s average on his fastball, and topping out at 97 and sometimes 98, even in the later innings. His only problem was going deep into games because of long pitch counts.
When he came back after his injury last year, even out of the pen his velocity was down.
So sure, if we put him back in the pen, his fastball might go up a few MPH (similar to what's happened with Hughes who's gained maybe 3-4 MPH). So Joba's fastball may be around 94-95. That's still not what he was before.
There's either something wrong with him (injury), or his mechanics are way off. Something just isn't right.
And the problem of him putting away hitters still stands. He gets ahead of a TON of hitters, and then screws around with sliders in the dirt or fastballs that just come nowhere near the zone, and before you know it, it's 3-2. Then guys are sitting on fastball, because Joba rarely ever throws off-speed pitches of any kind for strikes any more.
When Joba was throwing 96 as a starter prior to this season, he could get away with a mistake or two. Today, a couple of poorly located 91 mph fastballs ended up being smoked.
This isn't a starter vs. reliever issue any more, it's a question of what's wrong with Joba, both physically and mentally. He doesn't seem to want to EVER admit that he didn't throw the ball well. He's been making excuses a lot.
Let's face it - he hasn't pitched badly. He's kept us in a lot of ballgames, and that's good. But there's clearly some underlying issues here, not the least of which is his very decreased velocity, his inability to throw off speed and breaking pitches for strikes, and what appears to be a situation where sometimes his sliders bite like mad, and other times they just spin up there. There's just something going on, and putting him in the pen isn't going to fix that.
The Yankees can pretend that his fastball is where it should be, but it's not. When he was a starter, both in the minors and last season, he would throw in the mid to upper 90s well into the 90 to 100 pitch counts. Now, I would be pretty shocked to see him throw a ball over 95.
I hope they can figure something out. I still think he belongs in the starting rotation, and I still think that there are many ways he can improve. Considering that he's got a 4.04 ERA (112 ERA+) and he's still got a ton of room for improvement is somewhat encouraging.
Joba didn't have any command. Its the same problem a lot of young pitchers have. I thought his velocity was fine. The double Chavez hit was a 96 mph fastball. Joba just missed his spot. That just shows you it is all about location. Joba is struggling right now that is going to happen with a young pitcher. When he first got called up he was brilliant and last year both starting and relieving he was great. This is the first time in his major league career that he is struggling. It is unrealistic to think that a young pitcher is not going to struggle at this level.
Look at the other young AL pitchers Lester,Kazmir,Porcello & Price. If you judge Joba by there numbers this year he is fine.
Also Joba should of been out of the inning if Ransom makes that play it was a tailored made double play. Why was Pena sent down?
Anon, I completely agree.
They wanted Pena to play everyday in the minors. Meanwhile, he hasn't played in two days for Scranton because the fields were too wet to play on. So he actually would be playing more if he'd have stayed up. Funny how things work out.
I never thought it was the right move.
@ Greg
Pena brought great defense and is probably the 2nd fastest baserunner only behind Gardy. Defense and speed is something that the yankees dont have enough of. Also Pena didn't embarass himself at the plate. Its mind boggling why they would send him down.
Agreed.
"Look at the other young AL pitchers Lester,Kazmir,Porcello & Price. If you judge Joba by there numbers this year he is fine."
Oh I completely agree, I've actually defended Joba's mild struggles.
I just checked the numbers today, and you're right, his fastball was better at times. It's still not consistantly at 94-95, and in my opinion, that's more reasonable as to where it should be most of the time, not the occasional 90-91 like we've seen at times.
Now, there's always the possibility that he's been holding back purposely in order to control the fastball more, or so that he doesn't re-aggrivate his shoulder problem from last year. If that's the case, I don't have an issue with it.
My only point is that it's clear his velocity isn't quite the same as it was last year before he got hurt, and that's leaving him less room for error with location. I remember a few of his starts in the past where he'd be dailing up 96 or 97 in the 7th inning. This season, when he's around 70-80 pitches, it seems to me like he's topping out at 92-93.
Again, maybe that's by design, which is fine, but he's going to have to locate better, and when he gets ahead of hitters, he can't be trying to get them to fish.
Like I said, 4.0 ERA for a guy his age, considering how un-aggressive he's been at times, is more than acceptable. It just has looked to me at times that he's not throwing the ball with the kind of zip, including his off-speed pitches, that we've seen in the past. Hopefully he straightens out his issues, because if he does, he could easily be a 3.0 ERA pitcher.
The one thing Girardi did say today that I didn't understand was Girardi said that Joba throwing a 3-2 slider to Scutaro in the first inning set the tone of the day for him.
Joba threw 5 straight fastballs to Scutaro and then finally tried a slider. I dont understand what Girardi wants there.
Cone was saying that Joba throughout the game threw too many fastballs and when he needed his breaking balls he didn't have a feel for them because he didn't use them enough.
Pena needs to be brought back up and get rid of Cody. Pena can give ARod a day off, and spell Cano at 2B, and I truly believe Cano needs some time off too. He is not this bad, it has to be fatigue. (Please keep us readers posted on that flame throwing lefty from Cuba the Yankees might sign if any news develops in the near future, thanks).
Joba needs to get out of the rotation. Anyone else is better than him.
Anon, anyone else is better than Joba? The guy has a 4.04 ERA, I think you're overreacting just a tad.
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