New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter left Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox after re-injuring his surgically repaired left ankle, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. He says the issue is "with or near" the ankle that's been an ongoing issue for Jeter throughout 2013.
Jeter was 1-for-4 in the Yankees' 13-9 loss before leaving in the sixth inning. At 39 years old, injuries like the balky ankle have limited Jeter to just 63 plate appearances this season. He's struggled badly when getting on the field, hitting .190/.288/.254.
After the latest loss, New York is three games behind Tampa Bay in the AL Wild Card standings. This late in the season, expecting Jeter to finally get healthy seems unlikely so the Yanks may be forced to ride things out leaning on Eduardo Nunez.
Update:
Preliminary results on Derek Jeter’s CT scan are negative; results will also be sent to Dr. Anderson, who performed Jeter’s ankle surgery.
Derek Jeter left today's game against the Red Sox after singling in the sixth inning. He was taken out for a pinch runner and seemingly hobbled off the field. Mark Reynolds came into the game to play third base and Eduardo Nunez moved over to short. It wasn't until later that we learned what really happened to Jeter.
According to Ken Rosenthal, he left the game because of an issue with his surgically repaired left ankle. Joe Girardi confirmed that he took him out because he didn't like the way Jeter was running and is now unsure whether or not he will need an MRI. will now be going for a precautionary CT Scan.
Obviously the extent of his injury isn't known yet, so it's unsure how the team will react to his fourth injury of the year. Depending on how serious Jeter's injury is, this could be the end of the season for him. He's only hit .175/.292/.200 since coming back from his last DL stint, so the Yankees aren't really going to miss his bat. The problem is that they don't have the depth to make up for this loss.
Eduardo Nunez is currently the only player the Yankees have that can play shortstop. Neither Brent Lillibridge or Alberto Gonzalez are on the 40-man roster, but if they DFA someone like Jim Miller or Matt Daley they could quickly get one of them up to the Bronx now that the minor league season is over.
UPDATE:
Jeter CT scan are negative on his left ankle. Results now going to his doctor in NC, who performed his original surgery.
The Yankees' entire pitching staff is in shambles at the moment. The bullpen has plenty of weak spots, given the injuries to David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, and Boone Logan. The starting rotation has plenty of holes as well. CC Sabathia has been a mess for virtually the entire year, while Hiroki Kuroda looks to be running on fumes. Phil Hughes, who has been awful for the vast majority of the year, was pulled from the rotation, and his replacement, David Huff, managed to pitch worse than he did in his start against the Red Sox. What a disaster.
After David Huff predictably got shellacked for nine runs and two home runs in 3.1 innings against a super-elite Red Sox offense, the Yankees turned to journeyman Jim Miller to help clean up the mess. Unfortunately, he only made the mess worse, allowing three runs while collecting only four outs. Finally, the Yankees turned to Brett Marshall. Unlike the two pitchers that proceeded him, Marshall wasn't horrible. The 23-year-old right-hander pitched the final 4.1 innings while allowing three hits and just one run, a Mike Napoli homer, while punching out three and walking just one. He threw 68 pitches, so they could look to squeeze 90 or so out of him if they so choose to start him on Thursday.
Pitching well isn't anything new to Marshall. Although his overall Triple-A numbers say he was bad (5.13 ERA, 4.62 FIP in 25 starts), he was effective down the stretch for the RailRiders, pitching to a 3.53 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .623 OPS against. He accumulated 51 innings in those eight starts while limiting homers and walks (0.35 HR/9 and 2.5 BB/9, respectably), while picking up strikeouts at a decent rate (7.6 K/9). The guy is on a bit of a roll, and due to the lack of other options, you might as well go with the hot hand.
A lot of times when we say "(Pitcher X) can't be worse than (Pitcher Y)," the opposite is true. See David Huff. There was no way he'd be worse than Phil Hughes... except on Saturday he was. The same applies with Brett Marshall. After all, he was pretty terrible in his first 17 starts with Scranton, and it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he reverted back to that form Thursday in Baltimore. At the same time, though, Joe Girardi did say that they'll continue to use Marshall as a long man, but this is something the skipper should consider re-thinking. The options they have right now pretty much suck and they should just play the hot hand and hope for the best. It's the only chance they've got.
Yes, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells of 77 and 78 respective wRC+ fame are at the top of the lineup, not Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter. Gardner needs a day off and Jeter is going to be out for a few days. Nonetheless, it's jarring to see Ichiro and Vern at the top of the lineup, especially at the expense of more at bats from better hitters, like Mark Reynolds, Curtis Granderson, and even the red-hot Eduardo Nunez (7-for-18 in the past week with four doubles and a triple).
Sure, a lefty is on the mound, and Ichiro and Wells have a 112 and 108 wRC+ respectively against lefties this year, but they should still not be hitting ahead of players who have had more overall success this year and inspire more confidence at the plate. It doesn't help that Wells has only hit .174/.314/.317 against Lester for this career in 51 plate appearances, though Ichiro is at .341/.357/.488. Oh well. Chris Stewart's in this lineup anyway, so it was never going to be optimal.
After being removed from yesterday's game, Jeter's CT scan came back negative, but he still has ankle soreness. Joe Girardi said that he would stay out of the lineup for a few days to rest, then they will reevaluate him. That's a better report than it initially seemed, but it's still hard to shake the feeling that Jeter's nightmare 2013 might have ended yesterday. Shutting down to prepare for next year might be better for him at this point than risking further injury just to get his struggling bat into the lineup.
Reliever Shawn Kelley was unavailable for the past few games due to a triceps injury, but he says he's healthy today and ready to pitch. He will almost certainly be needed with Boone Logan and David Robertson both on the shelf. Hopefully the Kelley that almost single-handedly blew the game last Sunday against the Orioles doesn't show up.
Girardi also said that David Huff would likely stay in the rotation for now. His next start would be Thursday in Camden Yards against the Orioles.There are not many options for that start at this point given Phil Hughes' struggles, but I would prefer they just try Brett Marshall since he looked good in relief yesterday. Ultimately though, Marshall doesn't inspire much more confidence than Huff, so it's whatever. Yanks will need to bring their bats against the O's that day.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter injured his left ankle again on Sunday and will miss a few days at a minimum. But x-rays on the ankle were negative and he hasn't yet been shut down for the season.
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter left Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox after re-injuring his surgically repaired left ankle, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. He says the issue is "with or near" the ankle that's been an ongoing issue for Jeter throughout 2013.
Jeter was 1-for-4 in the Yankees' 13-9 loss before leaving in the sixth inning. At 39 years old, injuries like the balky ankle have limited Jeter to just 63 plate appearances this season. He's struggled badly when getting on the field, hitting .190/.288/.254.
After the latest loss, New York is three games behind Tampa Bay in the AL Wild Card standings. This late in the season, expecting Jeter to finally get healthy seems unlikely so the Yanks may be forced to ride things out leaning on Eduardo Nunez.
Update:
Preliminary results on Derek Jeter’s CT scan are negative; results will also be sent to Dr. Anderson, who performed Jeter’s ankle surgery.
The Yankees pulled Jeter in the sixth inning of Saturday's game against the Red Sox after he aggravated his ankle, which was surgically repaired in the offseason. Jeter had a CT scan on the area with the results coming back negative, which is a good sign for the team.
Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed Jeter's surgery in the offseason, will also see the results of the CT scan. Jeter has played in just 17 games this season as he has been on and off the disabled list. When he has been on the field, Jeter has not looked good at the plate or in the field, and has collected just 12 hits in 73 plate appearances.
As of Sunday, Manager Joe Girardi said that there has been no thought about shutting Jeter down for the season. However, the Yankees chances at a postseason berth are dwindling, and giving Jeter the remainder of the year off in hopes of a healthy 2014 may soon be an option.
Hiroki Kuroda got the start and had his best outing for a little while. The offense got him a couple runs and he did a nice job in holding down the Red Sox offense. A high pitch count chased him out of the game after the sixth and left it up to bullpen to preserve the win. Mo didn't manage to do that, but the Yankees won anyway, thanks to Ichiro Suzuki's skills on the base paths and a nice gift from the Red Sox. A walk-off wild pitch won the game for the Yankees, as they avoided a sweep with a 4-3 win.
The Red Sox opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. David Ortiz and Mike Carp led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Ortiz scored on the second to make it 1-0. Kuroda didn't pitch too badly early on, but that second inning did a number on his pitch count. By the time the fourth inning was over, he had already thrown 92 pitches.
The Yankees tied the game thanks to a two-out rally in the fourth. After Alfonso Soriano and Robinson Cano went down in order, Alex Rodriguez kept the inning alive with a single. Mark Reynolds then hit a double to the warning track in center. A-Rod was able to score from first and the game was tied at one.
An inning later, the Yankees took the lead. Eduardo Nunez popped up for the first out. After Nunez, the next three hitters due up were Chris Stewart, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells. The best case scenario for when those three are due up right in a row, is that one of them runs into a pitch for a home run and the other two get out. The second best scenario is that all three manage to reach due to bloops or some other lucky break. The former is exactly what happened. Stewart, Ichiro and Wells all managed to reach on bloop singles, loading the bases for the middle of the order. The inning was left up to Cano after Soriano struck out. Cano did not disappoint, ripping a single down the left field line. Two runs scored and the Yankees took a 3-1 lead.
Kuroda came back out for the sixth inning despite being at 105 pitches. Ortiz led off the inning by lining a double off the left field wall. He was able to move to third and then score on ground outs by Carp and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. That cut the Yankee lead to 3-2. Kuroda eventually got the third out, without any more fuss. Despite the pitch count, Hirok threw six solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks.
The first person out of the bullpen to try and hold the lead was Shawn Kelley. He got himself in trouble by giving up hits to Jackie Bradley Jr., and Jonny Gomes. But with two outs and the go-ahead run on second, Kelley got Dustin Pedroia got to ground out to end the inning.
In a surprising move, Mariano Rivera was brought out for the eighth inning against the middle of the Red Sox order. He allowed a single to Carp, but got out of the inning without further damage.
Rivera came back out of the ninth inning, but that did not go as planned. Will Middlebrooks hit a home run that just cleared the short porch in right. It looked like it might die in deep right field, but the wind carried it out to tie the game. Mariano came back and got the next three outs, but if the Yankees were going to win, it would now have to be a walk-off.
The Red Sox brought in Brandon Workman to pitch the bottom of the ninth. After a pinch-hitting Brett Gardner struck out to start the inning, Ichiro Suzuki came to the plate. Ichiro hasn't been great, but he ended up making the difference this time. He started things off by reaching on a single. During Wells' at bat, Ichiro stole second. Wells ended up flying out, but it was enough for Ichiro to tag up and go to third. That brought Soriano to the plate. On the first pitch of the at bat, Workman's pitch was high and got past Saltalamacchia. Ichiro scampered home to score the game winning run on a walk-off wild pitch.
The Yankees came away with a much-needed 4-3 win to avoid the sweep.
The Yankees will now head out to Baltimore for a series against the Orioles. CC Sabathia and Chris Tillman are the starters for tomorrow's game, which starts at 7:05 eastern.
It's been pretty clear since pitchers and catchers reported to camp this past February that 2013 was going to be a make or break season for Phil Hughes - that his success or failure would determine whether or not his Yankee career would continue. Coming off a decent 2.3 fWAR, 101 ERA- 2012 campaign, there were those, myself included, who firmly believed that Hughes would break out in his age 27 contract season - that he'd finally show the full potential that tempted Baseball America to rank the 6'5 right-hander as its number four prospect in 2007, back when he was known as Philip.
The 2013 season has been about as far from that dream scenario for Hughes as imaginable. He was mediocre in the first half then crumbled in late July and August prompting Joe Girardi to finally remove him from the rotation after a rain-shortened 1.1 inning outing last week. Hughes' numbers are hard to swallow. His 4-13 won-loss record, for whatever it's worth, is ugly. On the day of his demotion, his 4.54 FIP was tenth worst amongst all American League pitchers who have thrown 130 innings or more, and his 1.51 HR/9 rate ranked third from the bottom. The same issues that have plagued Hughes' entire career - too many fly balls that leave the ballpark far too often and the inability to put hitters away on favorable counts - have run rampant in what's more than likely his final year in pinstripes.
Phil Hughes' career, of course, can still be salvaged. Maybe he'll latch on with a National League team and test the old theory that he'd be great if he pitched in a big ballpark. He has, after all, been much better away from Yankee Stadium. His 0.85 career HR/9 on the road is literally half of what it is at home, his 3.78 FIP is over a run lower, and he's held opposing hitters to a svelte .303 wOBA while wearing the grays. Or maybe Hughes will end up pitching key innings in a bullpen somewhere. Before Friday night's thundering crescendo of epic fail, he had a 1.97 FIP and a Robertsonian 11.18 K/9 rate in 56 relief innings, mostly accumulated in 2009.
Hughes' future will seem clearer by the end of the approaching off-season, but for now we can begin to put his first seven seasons in the majors into perspective. It's easy to write Hughes off as an abject disaster, but unlike many previous first round picks and top prospects, he's had some success in the big leagues. Since he debuted in 2007 at age 20, the Yankees have paid Hughes just over $14 million. For that they've gotten two fWAR seasons of 2.3 or better as a starter, and the brilliant bullpen run in '09 that helped the team cruise to an AL East title and eventually a World Series win. Inexpensive back-end rotation options are valuable, and when he's been healthy, that's what Hughes has mostly been.
When compared with similar draft picks, Hughes' Yankee career doesn't seem so nightmarish. From 2002 through 2006 there were 25 pitchers taken with picks 20-29, including Hughes, who the Yankees selected with the 23rd pick of the 2004 draft. Of those 25, eight never threw a pitch in the majors and four more - Kyle Waldrop, Aaron Thompson, Taylor Tankersley and Bryan Morris - haven't gained traction for much more than a cup of coffee. David Aardsma, Chad Cordero, Craig Hansen, Daniel Bard and Joey Devine were relievers who had their careers derailed by injury, ineffectiveness or both and Glen Perkins boasts a FIP over 5.00 as a starter, despite achieving success in the pen of late. That makes Hughes one of just seven legitimate big league starters extracted from picks in the twenties over five drafts. While Matt Cain, Matt Garza and Chad Billingsley have all fared considerably better than Hughes, his 4.31 FIP, 105 ERA- career line is comparable with the other league-average types from the group - Joe Blanton (4.23/109), Jeremy Guthrie (4.75/98) and Ian Kennedy (4.07/98).
On the other hand, Hughes-hype in Yankeeland didn't begin in earnest until the 2007 Baseball America list that named him the fourth best prospect in the nation and the top minor league pitcher (Daisuke Matsuzaka was number one). When tested against other pitchers Baseball America deemed worthy of its top ten between 2005 and 2009, Hughes doesn't compare nearly as favorably as he does against his fellow draftees. Of the Baseball America group, Hughes ranks 19th out of 21 in ERA-, beating only Brian Matusz and Andrew Miller. He's 17th in FIP, ahead of Matusz, Miller, Matsuzaka and Franklin Morales, and 12th in fWAR - soon to be 13th, once Stephen Strasburg skips past him. There are other once-top prospects from the set who haven't exactly taken the majors by storm - Tommy Hanson, Brett Anderson, Homer Bailey and Joba Chamberlain to name a few - but also four Cy Young Award winners - Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, David Price and Clayton Kershaw.
Being on the lists put out yearly by Baseball America, mlb.com and other scouting publications is more a curse than a blessing. There's nothing tangible to be gained from it, and it severely raises the expectations of fans and media, who aren't known to be forgiving of anything less than total and utter triumph. Still, it's not like Hughes' name got pulled out of a hat. He's a pitcher who blew through the minors with low-two ERAs and sub-1.00 WHIPs in 2005 and 2006 and reached the majors before he could legally drink. That guy has been mostly missing in action ever since. It would be hard to be completely satisfied with a relatively small return on what once seemed like unlimited promise.
Ultimately whether or not Phil Hughes is a bust depends upon your definition of the term. Should the Yankees be thrilled or disappointed with a number 23 overall pick who has put together a decent, if unspectacular major league resume? If Hughes had been merely above average in the minors - if he'd taken four or five years to reach the show - we'd probably look at his career thus far in a different light. After all, he's produced more than any starting pitcher the Yankees have drafted and held onto since Andy Pettitte. But we wanted more than just okay from Hughes. We saw a shot at greatness in him. To watch all that derailed by inconsistent mechanics and meatballs galore has been hard to stomach. We look at Verlander and Kershaw, at King Felix and Price and say, "Why not us?"
A week ago, the Orioles were three games back of Tampa Bay for the second Wild Card spot. Now, they're two games back. As much as there were some frustrating losses last week, progress is progress.
This series begins the true home stretch of the season, as the remaining twenty games are all against divison opponents: four each vs. the Yankees and Rays, and six each against the Red Sox and Blue Jays. For better or worse, the teams the O's are most worried about are the two they play the least. This final O's-Yankees series of the season could have a big effect on the Wild Card race, as the Yankees are just half of a game behind the O's. Let's look at the matchups.
Tillman has, to put it midly, not been good against New York in the past. The most I can say about those numbers above is that that the FIP is significantly better than the ERA (but still bad), and forty innings is still a pretty small sample size. It's not like Chris has never had a good start against the Yankees, though; he was pretty bad against them in their last meeting (6 July, in the Bronx), but went six innings with two runs allowed in Baltimore on 30 June. Tillman battled some major control issues in his last outing, walking five in 5.1 innings against the Indians, and the team really needs him to bounce back for this start.
It's weird when you actually get a pitcher who has a full season's worth of innings against a team, but it's to be expected from a pitcher like Sabathia, especially now that he's on his fifth season in the AL East. Sabathia has really looked vulnerable this year; his ERA is currently 4.86, and while he's probably suffering from some bad luck (4.22 FIP, 3.71 xFIP), even the advanced metrics don't have him looking like an ace anymore. The O's have done well against him this season, too: he had one outstanding eight-inning outing in April, but has thrice since failed to record a quality start against Baltimore. Expect to see Michael Morse in the lineup; even though these small sample sizes really don't mean anything, he's four-for-seven with a homer against Sabathia.
I suppose it had to happen eventually. Gonzalez finally had a bad start against the Yankees on 30 August, giving up seven runs in four innings. That slash line against still looks pretty good, but the ERA is just okay now. With only one more off-day on the schedule, Buck Showalter won't be able to give Gonzalez extra rest as much as he might otherwise like. Hopefully Miguel's solid seven-inning, one-run start against the White Sox on the 5th is a sign of things to come.
Nova doesn't have great career numbers against the O's, but he dominated them on 31 August, throwing a three-hit shutout. That's actually the second complete game he threw against the Orioles this year, the last coming on 5 July. In three starts against Baltimore this season, Nova's given up just four runs in 23.2 innings. He has, admittedly, been quite good in general this year, posting a 3.02 ERA and respectable saber stats (3.24 FIP, 3.63 xFIP), but perhaps the O's will finally do something about this disturbing trend.
Maybe hot:Brett Gardner (1.010 OPS, 12 PA), Ichiro Suzuki (.982 OPS, 2 HR, 17 PA), Matt Wieters (1.500 OPS, 4 HR, 30 PA), Chris Davis (.994 OPS, 24 PA)
Feldman's been on a bit of a roll lately, pitching a shutout in his last start and allowing two or fewer runs in his last five. He hasn't always gotten deep into games - two of those five starts have been less than six innings - but he's the kind of guy that most teams would be glad to have in the back of their rotations. That said, he hasn't pitched all that well against the Yankees historically, but his last start against them (on 31 August) was a seven-inning, one-run effort. Let's have a repeat of that, shall we?
I don't know what's more annoying remarkable: the fact that Pettitte is still pitching, or the fact that he's still decent, with a 4.03 ERA this season. He's another guy with a long history against the O's who's done quite well against them, but like Sabathia, those numbers are buoyed by years in which he was a significantly better pitcher. Pettitte has, however, given the Yankees five straight quality starts, including one against the O's on 1 September.
Maybe hot: Curtis Granderson (1.714 OPS, 18 PA), Vernon Wells (1.683 OPS, 18 PA), Michael Morse (.899 OPS, 11 PA)
Chen pitched well against the White Sox on the 7th (6 IP, 2 R), but had a couple of poor outings against the Yankees and Red Sox in his two prior starts (total: 7.2 IP, 11 R). He's still having a decent year overall, with a 3.82 ERA (4.05 FIP, 4.32 xFIP), but his extreme flyball tendencies are always worrisome, and they become even moreso when he's pitching in AL East ballparks.
Huff was with Cleveland until earlier this year, when the Yankees claimed him off of waivers. He was a starter from 2009 to 2012, but threw fewer and fewer innings each year and has mostly been a reliever this season. His first start this year, in fact, was on 7 September, and he gave up nine runs in 3.1 innings to the Red Sox. That doesn't sound terribly intimidating, but Huff is left-handed.
In seventeen years of managing the Orioles, I don't believe I issued more than a few fines. ...Anyone who has a player on his team who must be fined before he plays ball doesn't have a very good player. He isn't a good player if he doesn't want to come to the park or if he doesn't want to play the game right or follow instructions. - Earl Weaver
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter suffered another injury Saturday, aggravating his sore left ankle. The injury will keep the shortstop out of the Yankees lineup for at least two games, and triggered an outpouring of concern from national baseball writers wondering about the future Hall of Famer's viability going forward.
Due to the lengthy recovery from his broken ankle as well as subsequent injuries, Jeter has played only 17 games this season and is hitting .190. Scouts who have watched Jeter say the injuries are still bothering the shortstop, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports:
Scouts watching the Yankees have been saying all week that he doesn't look right, that his swing has been all upper-body, that he can't move around at shortstop and that his ankle problems even seem to be affecting his throwing.
Emblematic of that is a play that took place in the fifth inning of Thursday's game against the Red Sox:
The Yankees are not planning to shut Jeter down for the remainder of the season, manager Joe Girardi stated on Sunday. New York is only 2 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second AL Wild Card spot, and they will face the Rays three more times before the season is over
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, however, argues that Jeter and the Yankees need to be focusing on next season, writing:
But now it might be time for Jeter to turn selfish and focus on his recovery, even if it means missing the rest of the season....
The logical solution is for Jeter to exercise his player option, work like crazy to make a strong recovery and see what happens in '14.
Jeter owns a $9.5 million player option for 2014, along with a $3 million buyout. Jeter's weak play has ignited concern that he might choose to retire rather than return next season. Joel Sherman of the New York Post asked Jeter about his future with the team:
When I asked Jeter directly whether he expects to be back, he hedged several times before offering, "I never imagine not playing. This has been my job for 20 years."
Close, but not a definitive, "Yes, I am going to play." Which would have been his response any other time in those two decades.
Sherman states that he still expects Jeter to play next year, but was told by some of the players that Jeter could walk away if he is unable to make a healthy return.
Even if Jeter's future is unclear, one thing remains certain; writers and fans will remain interested, and whatever future is in store for the shortstop will be well-chronicled.
The Yankees salvaged the final game of the series against the Red Sox on Sunday, but a huge reason for their rebound from Mariano Rivera's crushing blown save was reliever Brandon Workman's wildness. With Ichiro Suzuki on third base, he threw one over catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia's head, affording Ichiro with plenty of time to scamper home from third base. (Ichiro later dropped this gem about how easy it was to score that run: "Anyone could make that read, once it got by him. Suzyn [Waldman] could have made it.")
It was the Yankees' first walk-off wild pitch in 36 years, and the bizarre conclusion prompted thoughts about other similarly strange ways of winning a game. Here's the criteria I used to generate this top 10 list:
1) This list is only looking at Yankee wins.
2) The play must have been in the final at-bat of the game. This rule thus excludes weird things to prolong a game, like Mickey Owen's dropped third strike in the '41 World Series, and weirdness in the top of a late inning like this go-ahead balk, but the focus is on the final play. (Disappointingly, the Yankees have never had a balk-off win.)
3) With one exception, none of the plays listed are hits or walks since those plays are typically not that strange. Sure, it was shocking when Jason Giambi hit a come-from-behind walk-off grand slam or the likes of Bubba Crosby hit walk-off homers, but homers themselves aren't really strange.
With the formalities out of the way, here are the 10 craziest endings to a game in Yankees history:
10 (tie). Berra and Hayes get reprieves 9/28/1951 vs. Boston Red Sox and World Seres Game 6, 10/26/1996 vs. Atlanta Braves
These plays deserve to both be on the list, and they were very alike in tense circumstances, so they both make the list. I put them last because the true weirdness was not the final pitch of the game, but they are both quite worthy.
Near the end of the championship '51 season, Yankees starter Allie Reynolds was working on his second no-hitter of the season. No other Yankee has even thrown two no-hitters overall, and "Superchief" threw his two no-nos in one season. I've written about this game before, so here's an excerpt detailing the hectic final at-bat against Hall of Famer Ted Williams:
Reynolds pitched, and Williams swung. The ball went straight up in the air, behind the plate. He was going to do it! He approached the ball, but his sure-handed catcher Berra moved over a few steps to get it. Yogi got under it, waited... and completely muffed it. The ball bounced off the top of his glove as he closed his mitt a millisecond too early. Williams had new life, and Berra felt awful. When asked if he was upset about the missed opportunity, Reynolds dismissed this idea, saying, "No. I was just afraid I had stepped on Yogi's hand. I asked him and he said I didn't. I saw the wind blowing the ball toward the field." Reynolds was daring enough to throw the exact same pitch to Williams since he had just popped it up. Unbelievably, the .344/.482/.634 lifetime hitter popped it up again to Berra behind the plate. This time, Yogi made sure he didn't miss the opportunity. He caught it for the third out, and Reynolds had his second no-hitter of the '51 season.
A little over 45 years later, another narrow miss on a pop-up carried even greater importance. The 1996 Yankees recovered from an 0-2 deficit against the defending champion Braves by winning three games in a row on the road and they carried a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning of Game 6 at Yankee Stadium. Closer John Wetteland got two outs, but in the process, he gave up a run, put the tying run in scoring position, and allowed the go-ahead run to get on base. The pesky homestar runner Mark Lemke was at bat, but Wetteland got him to pop up on a full count.
The ball slowly moved in the air toward the Braves dugout near third base, and defensive replacement Charlie Hayes approached it. A Braves player was sitting on the top step and didn't move as Hayes neared the pop-up. Unfortunately, it was barely out of his reach as it fell into the Braves dugout and Hayes tumbled into the visitors' dugout as well. Interference could have been called on the pop-up, but it was not and the at-bat continued. Wetteland then got Lemke to pop-up a near-identical pitch toward the third base side again. This time, it stayed in play without a problem, and Hayes caught it to clinch the Yankees' 23rd World Series title, their first in 18 years.
9. Chambliss wins the pennant, crowd storms field ALCS Game 5, 10/14/1976 vs. Kansas City Royals
The only homer that makes the list is Chris Chambliss's unforgettable walk-off homer to end the 1976 ALCS. It gets docked a little for just being a home run, but the insane crowd storming the field gives it extra credit. Although fans frequently stormed the field in huge celebrations back then, this was perhaps the most chaotic scene in playoff history.
The '76 ALCS was a fantastic and intense playoff series, one of the all-time classics. The best-of-five series went the distance, and it appeared as though the Yankees would wrap up Game 5 with a 6-3 victory. Hall of Famer George Brett had other ideas and tied it up off reliever Grant Jackson in the eighth inning with a dramatic three-run homer. In the bottom of the ninth, the Royals brought asked reliever Mark Littell to get them through another inning and extend the game to extra frames. The bullpen ace had only given up one home run in the past 14 months, and none since early July. Nonetheless, Chambliss was hitting .500 in the series with two homers, and he drove the first pitch over the right-center field wall. The Yankees were off to their first Fall Classic in 12 years. Fans were... excited.
Chambliss could not even round the bases and he had to barrel over fans with his teammates' help to reach the safety of the dugout. Later, he returned to the field with cops to step on the area where home plate had been to make the game-winner official. Howard Cosell said it best, "What a way for the American League season to end!"
8. Izturis throws one away, Yankees take 2-0 ALCS lead ALCS Game 2, 10/17/2009 vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The 2009 Yankees romped to the AL East title and swept away the Minnesota Twins in the Division Series. To reach the World Series, they had to conquer perhaps their greatest playoff rival of the decade, the Angels. No AL team played better against the Yankees during the 2000s, as the Angels were 50-41 against them and eliminated the Yankees in the ALDS both in 2002 and 2005. CC Sabathia threw eight innings of one-run ball to take the ALCS opener at Yankee Stadium, setting the stage for a superb Game 2.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead off Joe Saunders thanks to an RBI triple by Robinson Cano and a solo homer by Derek Jeter, but the Angels tied it up when A.J. Burnett got a little wild in the fifth inning. Both pitching staffs threw scoreless ball over the next five innings until the Angels scratched out a run in the 11th off Alfredo Aceves on a walk, a bunt, and a go-ahead single to left by Chone Figgins. Angels closer Brian Fuentes entered the game in an attempt to steal home-field advantage away from the Yankees with the series shifting to Anaheim for Game 3, but the first batter he faced was a red-hot Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod was the star of the Division Series against the Twins; he tied up Game 2 in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run homer off shutdown reliever Joe Nathan and he tied up Game 3 in the top of the seventh with a solo homer against estranged former teammate Carl Pavano. Fuentes led the league in saves in '09 with 48, but A-Rod was undeterred, even after falling behind 0-2. He laced a high pitch toward the opposite field and the short porch in right for his third game-tying homer of the playoffs. Fuentes recovered to retire the next three hitters, and the game continued.
Angels starter Ervin Santana was in the game for his second inning by the 13th. He gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston Jr., a midseason acquisition to fortify the bench. Brett Gardner bunted him to second base, and the Angels elected to intentionally walk Cano to face Melky Cabrera, who had walked off a few games already in 2009. On the first pitch he saw though, he dribbled a grounder toward the right side near Cesar Izturis. The second baseman got to it, and instead of taking the easy out at first base, he decided to try for a tricky inning-ending double play.
Well that didn't work. Izturis's throw missed shortstop Erick Aybar and sailed into left field, allowing Hairston to score with the game-winning run. It was a walk-off E4 for the Yankees (not the first for them in 2009), and it gave them a 2-0 lead in the series. They of course went on to win the ALCS in six games and then won the World Series for their 27th title. This walk-off error needed to be on this list, but it is not very high since it was a tough play. Regardless, thanks again for trying, Cesar!
7. Molina an easy target to take one for the team 7/19/2008 vs. Oakland Athletics
Now we're getting into real oddities. The Yankees were in the middle of a weird season, their first with new manager Joe Girardi following longtime skipper Joe Torre's departure after the '07 campaign. More importantly, their team was ravaged by injuries to the ace battery of Chien-Ming Wang and Jorge Posada and ineffectiveness from their widely-hyped "Big Three" pitching prospects Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy. Only Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte made more starts than Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson. Is it any wonder that this team was the first Yankee squad in 15 years to miss the playoffs? (Although under the new playoff system, they actually would have been the second Wild Card. Take a lap, 2008 American League.)
In mid-July though, they were still in contention, and they opened the second half after the All-Star Break with a three-game series against the A's. Mussina won the first game, 7-1, and the second game was tied at two in the ninth inning. With a save now impossible at home, Mariano Rivera entered the game for the Yankees. Mo was in the middle of arguably his greatest season as a closer, a 4.3 rWAR gem with a microscopic 1.40 ERA and 32 ERA-. He had only given up five runs in the first half.
However, number nine hitter Jack Hannahan blooped a base hit to left to lead off the ninth against Mo. Rajai Davis pinch-ran for Hannahan and stole second on the sore-armed Posada, whose season ended after this game. Leadoff hitter Ryan Sweeney gave the A's the lead with a grounder through the left side for a single, scoring Davis. Sweeney stole second, but Rivera struck out the side to end the inning. The Yankees got him off the hook with a rally of their own off Oakland closer Huston Street. A leadoff walk to Jason Giambi was erased when pinch-runner Justin Christian got caught stealing, and Posada grounded out to push the Yankees to the brink of a loss. Cano lined a double to left, and down to their last strike, infielder Wilson Betemit amazingly singled to left to tie it up. (Yes, I am as shocked as you are that Betemit ever did anything worth a damn for the Yankees aside from becoming cannon fodder for Nick Swisher.)
Street got out of the inning and both teams squandered extra inning scoring opportunities until the home half of the 12th inning. Lenny DiNardo was in for his second inning of relief, and he gave up a leadoff single to Jeter. Bobby Abreu hit a swinging bunt in front of the plate that moved Jeter to second while he was thrown out at first. Manager Bob Geren ordered an intentional walk of A-Rod, but DiNardo caused more problems by walking "Yankee Mayfly" Richie Sexson to load the bases for backup catcher Jose Molina. The pudgy catcher entered the game for Posada in the 10th inning and shortly thereafter blew an opportunity to win the game with a runner in scoring position. He fell behind 1-2, but DiNardo bailed him out and ended the day in brilliant fashion on a botched cutter:
It was the Yankees' first walk-off hit by pitch in 43 years, almost exactly to the day. The plunk gave rookie reliever David Robertson his first career win; he later said "I hate to say it, but I'm glad he got hit."
6. Walk-off passed ball; thanks, Avila! 4/27/2012 vs. Detroit Tigers
There's not much to say about this game other than that the ending might never have been equaled in franchise history. The Tigers and Yankees played a shootout in April of last year that did not feature much quality pitching. Neither Ivan Nova or defending MVP Justin Verlander were sharp on this night, but despite homer from A-Rod and Russell Martin, the Tigers had a 6-5 lead in the eighth inning. Back-to-back singles by A-Rod and Cano off setup man Joaquin Benoit allowed Mark Teixeira to tie the game up with a sacrifice fly to score A-Rod, who went first-to-third on Cano's single.
Mo pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, and the Tigers brought in reliever Brayan Villarreal. With one out, Jeter walked, and Villarreal wildly threw ball four to Curtis Granderson, allowing Jeter to move to third on Grandy's walk. With A-Rod up, the count moved to 2-0, and Villarreal threw a fastball that bounced off catcher Alex Avila's glove and moved toward the Yankees' dugout along the first base side:
Jeter crossed home plate with the winning run, and the Yankees won via a walk-off passed ball. MLB.com writer Bryan Hoch reported that the Yankees had not won a game like that in at least 50 years; no one came forward with any other walk-off passed balls in Yankees history, so this game could be the only one to end on such a mistake. Huzzah!
I'll be back tomorrow with the five most bizarro finishes in Yankees history. It will be worth the wait, I assure you. If you have any guesses to the top five or thoughts on other crazy endings, leave them in the comments!
Look, I'm just gonna get this out of the way first thing: Nick Markakis is batting leadoff. I know, it's insane. I tried to find some reasoning for it, like Nick is hitting really well in his career about CC Sabathia, but it's not true. His career hitting line against him is .269/.301/.373. So we'll all have to keep scratching our heads on that one. Hopefully Nick gets four hits tonight and shuts us all up.
Casilla has been a missing person of late, but he is in the lineup because in 32 career plate appearances he has hit .516/.531/.613 against Sabathia. That includes Aprl 12th of this year when he went 2-for-3 against him.
Chris Tillman will try to outpitch Sabathia tonight, and in fact this season Tillman's ERA is over 1 run less than CC's. That's weird.
The Yankees have lost three of the last four games but they scored about a hundred runs (actually 29) in them. The Orioles have won three of their last four games and they scored thirteen. I'm not sure what that means but it doesn't seem to bode well for the O's.
The Baltimore Orioles sent staff ace Chris Tillman to the mound tonight against the Yankees and he didn't disappoint. Two runs allowed in seven innings was good enough for the Orioles, who manufactured(!) four runs without the benefit of a home run.
Anyone who has watched Tillman pitch knows that he's prone to giving up homers, and that's what he did again tonight. Thankfully, as if often the case with him, they were solo shots. The first to homer was the second batter of the night, Alex Rodriguez. It gave the Yankees a lead that didn't last long. After the home run by Rodriguez, Tillman shut down the Yankee hitters over the next six innings. He allowed two baserunners in innings two through seven, both singles. He struck out the side swinging in the seventh. He came back to start the eighth inning and immediately gave up his second home run of the night, this one to Lyle Overbay. Buck Showalter was ready, though, and pulled Tillman right after that.
With Tillman shutting down the the Yankees, the Orioles got to work on CC Sabathia. Nick Markakis, who was inexplicably hitting leadoff, started the bottom of the first with an automatic double. It was the start of a three-hit night for Nick, so I guess Buck knows more than we do (or he just got lucky). With a runner on second, Manny Machado bunted Nick over to third. I don't know that I liked that play, but there's no disputing that it set up the first O's run of the game when Adam Jones hit a fly ball out to center field. Markakis tagged and slid in ahead of the tag with the tying run.
The score remained tied until the fifth inning when the Orioles scored two more. The second run of the game looked a lot like the first. J.J. Hardy was the first batter of the inning and he lined a double down the left field line. Hardy moved to third on a piece of nice baserunning. Mike Morse hit a ground ball to third base and A-Rod checked Hardy back to second before throwing to first for the out. The second he let go of the ball, though, Hardy took off and slid in safely. He then came in to score on a sac fly by Matt Wieters. So the Orioles still weren't hitting with runners in scoring position, but they were knocking in runs. Baby steps, I suppose.
The next batter was Sabathia's arch-nemesis, Alexi Casilla. Casilla singled on a ground ball between the third baseman and shortstop, then stole second base. Markakis was at the plate and he came through again. He singled up the middle and Casilla came in with the third O's run of the game.
The bottom of the seventh inning looked like it might be big for the Orioles, but they had to settle for just one final run. Wieters walked and then Casilla hit a ground ball back to Sabathia. He fired to second but threw wide and Wieters was safe. Markakis' magic ran out, though, and he did hit into a double play. Manny picked him up, though, with his 49th double of the season off of the scoreboard. Wieters scored easily but Machado was stranded when Adam Jones struck out.
After Tillman gave up a home run to Overbay to start the eighth inning, Showalter immediately went to the bullpen and brought in Tommy Hunter. Hunter wasn't messing around as he struck out the side. That just left the ninth inning for the Orioles to get through to secure the win. Even though Jim Johnson has looked a lot better of late, it can still be a little nerve wracking when he comes into the game.
Johnson was scheduled to face Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, and Alfonso Soriano. No worries, right? It looked like JJ had his sinker working, but that didn't stop Rodriguez from smoking a pitch back up the middle for a single. There wasn't any time to get worked up over it, though, because Cano hit the first pitch to Hardy for an easy double play...until Casilla threw the ball away. Pretty much the only thing Casilla is good at is defense, so you hate to see that. Soriano also hit a ground ball, but the ball was hit too slowly and he beat out the relay.
With two outs, Curtis Granderson stepped to the plate. He worked the count full before sending a fly ball to center field. It was hit hard enough to make us all hold our breath, but Jones settled under it on the warning track and got it for the final out.
O's win! They are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees and with the Rays off today, they are just 1 1/2 behind them for the second wild card spot. Unfortunately the Indians also won tonight so they remain tied with the O's.
Pop quiz: name the three most valuable position players for the Yankees this year. There's Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, and...ummm...Overbay? Not close. Wells? Further away. Granderson, Soriano? No and no. Identifying Cano and Gardner is easy, but it may surprise some that the Yankees' 39 year-old Ichiro Suzuki has been the team's third-best position player. He does not have a ton of competition, either. Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay have been replacement level, while Alfonso Soriano, Curtis Granderson, and Alex Rodriguez have not played enough to make more of an impact. Ichiro gets overlooked because his days as a useful hitter are behind him, but he fields his position and runs the bases very well, providing value to a team that has needed positive contributions wherever it could find them.
Unfortunately for Ichiro, the most easily observable part of his game, in the batter's box, is where he has been the least successful. After ten straight years of above average offense, never dipping below a .328 wOBA, Ichiro has been below average the past three years. Over close to 1900 plate appearances Ichiro has hit .275/.308/.361 for a wOBA of .290 and wRC+ of 78 (100 is average). Given the last three years in their entirety, it is safe to assume that the uptick in numbers he experienced upon being traded to the Yankees last year was a small sample size-driven streak and not something fundamentally different in his play. He is not a player that should be hitting near the top of a lineup anymore, although I should note he has hit better than Jayson Nix and Chris Stewart and is roughly even with the defensively inept Eduardo Nunez and Vernon Wells.
Even with the poor offensive numbers, Ichiro has proven himself valuable to this year's Yankees. He is still one of the top outfielders in the league. According to UZR, only Shane Victorino has been better than Ichiro's 11.2 fielding runs above average among right-fielders qualifying for the batting title. Ichiro's prowess in the field is not a one year sample size issue, either. He has reached double-digits in runs saved above average in three out of the past four years.
He has also provided value on the base-paths. His raw steal numbers are impressive, with 20 steals in 23 tries. However, fangraphs can measure more than just steals in determining base-running value. By looking at going from first to third, second to home, and other opportunities to take the extra base, a greater understanding of Ichiro's value once he gets on base is ascertainable. This season Ichiro has been 4.8 runs above average running the bases. That ranks 21st in all of baseball. He may have lost a step or two, but that still makes him considerably better than your average major leaguer.
Despite his poor hitting numbers, Ichiro's fielding and base-running have provided enough value to get Ichiro to a 1.6 fWAR and 2.0 rWAR, roughly league average. It is difficult to tell exactly what the Yankees expected from Ichiro when he signed his 2 year, 13 million dollar deal, but they are getting exactly what they paid for. Reaching his 4,000th professional hit is a great achievement, but he is not just holding on for milestones. He is providing a positive contribution to a contending team that has been lacking the same throughout 2013.
We all know why you're here. You see the title, you already know the point, but you've now slowed the car down just enough so you can take a peek at the hideous car accident up ahead. Is there blood? Oh yes there's blood.
In 590.1 innings at shortstop, Eduardo Nunez has a -41.2 UZR/150, and that makes him the worst fielder in baseball. It's not until you lower the minimum number of innings to 200 do you find someone, Pedro Ciriaco, who is worse than him, but the larger sample size wins out. He's the worst shortstop in the league, and despite only playing elsewhere for a handful of innings, he's the sixth worst second baseman and a poorly rated third baseman as well.
His -17.1 Range Runs Saved would have been dead last in the league if it wasn't for Miguel Cabrera's -17.4 in around twice the playing time. Nunez essentially has the range of Miguel Cabrera trying to pretend he's a third baseman. According to Jeff Passan's article on random baseball facts, Nunez might actually be one of the worst shortstops since defensive metrics first came into existence. Only Michael Young (obvs), Orlando Cabrera, and Hanley Ramirez have had worse defensive seasons at shortstop than Nunez has had this season. He also gets to fewer balls than Yuniesky Betancourt. YUNIESKY BETANCOURT.
At one point it was believed that Eduardo Nunez held some kind of key to the future, and that given enough playing time he'd eventually figure it out. This season he was merely asked to fill in for Derek Jeter, not replace him, but Nunez actually managed to be worse, Jeter's -46.0 this season notwithstanding. This is the bottom for Eduardo Nunez. He can't hit, he can't field, and despite missing a good portion of the year, this is the most playing time he's ever gotten in one season. This is a car wreck and you just can't stop looking.
I will first admit: I'm not a real fan of baseball fights. They're always incredibly sloppy and between guys of usually completely different sizes. Or you get a scintillating matchup between Pedro Martinez and remnant of the Paleozoic Era Don Zimmer. I prefer my fights to be between combatants of similar skill and build, without interference from an angry mob. Baseball "fights" are more akin to a drunken bar brawl than anything else. But a manager fight!? I think I would make an exception for something as weird as that. It's almost as good as a mascot fight.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Orioles manager Buck Showalter had to have the umpiring crew stand between them as they got into a shouting match near home plate in between innings on Monday night. MASN reported it was due to Girardi talking to an Orioles' player, while YES suggested it was because Girardi thought the Orioles were stealing signs. Regardless, the two were stopped before they could engage in fisticuffs, unfortunately. But what if they had? For that, we go to the tale of the tape.
Joe "Birardi" Girardi
Age: 48
Height/Weight: 5' 11", 195 lbs.
Signature Move: "The Tie That Binds"
William "Buck" Showalter
Age: 57
Height/Weight: 5' 9", 195 lbs.
Signature Move: "The Showstopper"
Girardi has a slight edge in size on Showalter and is nine years his junior. He also appears to be in significantly better shape, as evidenced by his creepy, veiny arms. Buck seems to be sporting a bit of a paunch these days. But Showalter has a reputation for being an antagonizer, so he might try to play mind games with his opponent. Maybe Girardi's usually dormant rage that surfaced in Fenway Park could be an asset. Neither of the men appears to have a background in any martial arts or military training. All things considered I would have to install Girardi as the early favorite.
Since this is a baseball fight, however, one has to consider the teams as a whole when figuring how this manager match would turn out. You only get a couple of seconds before both teams flood the field and start falling all over one another. And Girardi would have to get his licks in fast, because the Orioles are loaded with strapping young lads. Just Chris Davis alone could take on half the Yankees by himself, the man is gigantic. Being old and frail is not particularly beneficial when it comes to getting involved in a baseball scrum. And considering the way 2013 has gone, the Yankees players would probably just have injured themselves anyways.
So it was probably for the best that cooler heads prevailed, it likely wouldn't ended well for Girardi and the Yankees. And they certainly can't afford any suspensions to their important players down three games in the Wild Card race. But part of the fun of baseball lies in its absurdity, and we nearly had one such example of it Monday night.
Newsday is reporting that the Yankees are close to a deal that would move their radio broadcasts from WCBS to WFAN. This, obviously, would severely and negatively impact the Mets, who've been heard on WFAN since the station's inception in 1987, and at 660 AM since the all-sports station took over that spot in the dial from WNBC in 1988.
The impact of this move (which is far from official) might not seem obvious to everyone in the digital/internet age. After all, you can now stream Mets games via Gameday Audio regardless of who "owns" the broadcast rights. Of course, that presupposes you have a high-speed internet connection, are comfortable using new technologies, and have enough scratch to spend on MLB's digital options. This is not the case for a lot of fans.
WFAN has a famously powerful signal that stretches as far north/east as New England, and can be heard clearly in Philadelphia and points further south. No other New York radio station boasts such a reach, and if the Mets were to be booted off WFAN, whatever signal they land on would be far weaker. Those who still listen to baseball on terrestrial radio in the tri-state area will find the Mets much harder to find. Many may simply cease to bother.
If nothing else, this would be another slap in the face to a franchise that's suffered plenty in recent years.
Derek Jeter's season of horrors continued over the weekend when he re-aggravated his surgically-repaired ankle that cost him most of the 2013 season. He underwent tests that were sent to his surgeon in North Carolina, which seems concerning, but the Yankees aren't ready to pull the plug on Jeter's season just yet.
As the Yankees took the field on Monday to prepare for the first of four games at Camden Yards against the Orioles, Jeter was receiving treatment and did not participate in any baseball activity. Joe Girardi said that he could have used Jeter in the case of an emergency, likely one that would involve Eduardo Nunez dying on the field again, but it seemed obvious that few scenarios would have Jeter playing in the series opener. The plan was for rest and re-evaluation on Tuesday, but Girardi did not seem optimistic about Jeter's chances for Game Two. The Yankees obviously want to avoid another situation where Jeter plays on his weak ankle enough that it ends up succumbing to the work load and breaking again like it did in spring training. With so few days left in the season and the teams' playoff hopes dwindling with losses and the passage of time, it seems like it would make sense to shut Jeter down for the season and hope for a brighter 2014.
Brian Cashman refused to entertain the idea of ending Jeter's season early on Monday when prompted by the media. Maybe he truly believes that Jeter's issue this time is only something that will take a couple days to repair. Maybe he knows that there is no way Jeter would want them to permanently send him to the bench for the remainder of the year with the team still within striking distance of a playoff spot. Unfortunately, everyone saw what happened in the playoffs last season when Jeter tried to play through an injury. With the way his 2013 season has gone so far, it wouldn't really be surprising for him to end up causing more harm than good by trying to play through the pain he is obviously still experiencing. The Yankees have to decide if putting their Captain on the field every day at less than 100% is worth it when the playoffs seem like more of a dream than reality at this point. Jeter's playing days aren't yet over, but another significant injury could change that.
