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Yanks End Road Trip With a Loss to Twins
Good beginning, bad ending.
Darrell Rasner pitched relatively well, but Kevin Slowey was nearly flawless after the opening frame and Delman Young launched his second three-run homer in as many days as the Twins bested the Yanks 4-2 in Minnesota. Jason Giambi ripped an RBI-single off the baggy in right to give the Bombers an early 1-0 lead, but the offense went into a shell the rest of the game.
How bad was it? The Yankees scored their second run on what should have been the third out of the inning. Bobby Abreu K'd with runners on second and third, but Dennys Reyes uncorked a wild pitch on the strikeout and Ivan Rodriguez trotted home.
The defense wasn't much better. Robinson Cano missed the bag on a potential double play in the fourth (I didn't see it, but John and Suzy were going off on Cano) that led to an unearned run and Giambi added another miscue which gave the team as many errors (2) as runs (2) Wednesday afternoon.
I was listening at work for this one and it truly felt like a chore. I didn't witness it with my own eyes, but I know (I just know) the Yankees played terrible ball Wednesday. So, no roundup. The Bombers end this Road Trip From Hell with a 3-7 mark, stand 8.5 games back of the Rays in the AL East (as of this writing) and 5.5 games behind the Red Sox (ditto) for the wild card.
And there are a few new injuries to boot. Dan Giese left the game in the sixth inning with a shoulder "stiffness." Giese is still scheduled to make his start Tuesday at Toronto, according to Joe Girardi. Derek Jeter was out of the starting lineup Wednesday with a bruised foot, but expects to play Friday night.
Things are looking mighty bleak in Yankee Land, but I'm not ready to throw myself into the pit of despair. So, I'm going to dedicate Opeth's Bleak to the Bombers in hopes that it will exercise the demons.
Thursday is an off day for the Yankees as they head home and prepare for a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals beginning Friday night. Andy Pettitte (12-9, 4.32 ERA) will go against Gil Meche (10-9, 4.24 ERA) in the opener. Meche is 4-0 in his past five starts and hasn't dropped a decision since July 2 against the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals have won seven straight games in which Meche has started. Pettitte pitched well against the Angels in his last start, but picked up a no-decision in an eventual gut-wrenching 4-3 Yankee loss Sunday. Andy has been scrapping a bit lately -- he's given up 17 runs in this past 17 1/3 innings. Pettitte is 1-0 with a 7.43 ERA in two starts against KC this year, but he's 12-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 21 career appearances against the Royals.
Time to go on a run.
Right?
Darrell Rasner pitched relatively well, but Kevin Slowey was nearly flawless after the opening frame and Delman Young launched his second three-run homer in as many days as the Twins bested the Yanks 4-2 in Minnesota. Jason Giambi ripped an RBI-single off the baggy in right to give the Bombers an early 1-0 lead, but the offense went into a shell the rest of the game.
How bad was it? The Yankees scored their second run on what should have been the third out of the inning. Bobby Abreu K'd with runners on second and third, but Dennys Reyes uncorked a wild pitch on the strikeout and Ivan Rodriguez trotted home.The defense wasn't much better. Robinson Cano missed the bag on a potential double play in the fourth (I didn't see it, but John and Suzy were going off on Cano) that led to an unearned run and Giambi added another miscue which gave the team as many errors (2) as runs (2) Wednesday afternoon.
I was listening at work for this one and it truly felt like a chore. I didn't witness it with my own eyes, but I know (I just know) the Yankees played terrible ball Wednesday. So, no roundup. The Bombers end this Road Trip From Hell with a 3-7 mark, stand 8.5 games back of the Rays in the AL East (as of this writing) and 5.5 games behind the Red Sox (ditto) for the wild card.
And there are a few new injuries to boot. Dan Giese left the game in the sixth inning with a shoulder "stiffness." Giese is still scheduled to make his start Tuesday at Toronto, according to Joe Girardi. Derek Jeter was out of the starting lineup Wednesday with a bruised foot, but expects to play Friday night.
Things are looking mighty bleak in Yankee Land, but I'm not ready to throw myself into the pit of despair. So, I'm going to dedicate Opeth's Bleak to the Bombers in hopes that it will exercise the demons.
Thursday is an off day for the Yankees as they head home and prepare for a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals beginning Friday night. Andy Pettitte (12-9, 4.32 ERA) will go against Gil Meche (10-9, 4.24 ERA) in the opener. Meche is 4-0 in his past five starts and hasn't dropped a decision since July 2 against the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals have won seven straight games in which Meche has started. Pettitte pitched well against the Angels in his last start, but picked up a no-decision in an eventual gut-wrenching 4-3 Yankee loss Sunday. Andy has been scrapping a bit lately -- he's given up 17 runs in this past 17 1/3 innings. Pettitte is 1-0 with a 7.43 ERA in two starts against KC this year, but he's 12-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 21 career appearances against the Royals.
Time to go on a run.
Right?
Didn't see the game but saw the highlight of Cano stepping off second. Another example of his lazy way of playing. I know that's "his style" but what good is it if it's going to cost you some important plays.
Cano has been playing lazily all year long. Him giving up on that game winning grounder the other day proves it and really pissed me off... not to mention his struggles and inconsistency at the plate. I remember people saying early in the year that the absence of Larry Bowa could have a huge negative effect on him. Well, looks like that may be true. Maybe he needs someone on his ass 24/7.
I saw the replay after I did my little write up. I doubt he would have gotten a double play on that grounder, but he should have gotten one out. Agreed, his "style" shouldn't come at the expense of making plays.
You're right. I heard a rumor during the season that Torre, Bowa and the Dodgers were interested in trading for Cano. If we can see that he plays better when someone is on him then the Yankees should definitely notice it.