Hats off to Andy Pettitte last night. He was good. Damn good. It was actually a clinic on how to pitch the Rays - and, frankly, how to pitch against every team. He threw strike 1 a ton (and threw 80 of 114 pitches for strikes), but the biggest part of his game was working the ball inside, especially on the right-handed hitters. The Rays couldn’t do anything when they were tied up, and it led to a long night in the Bronx.
The lone bright spot on the offensive side was B.J. Upton, who delivered a pair of hits including his 20th double of the season. Other than that, the Rays did a whole lot of nothing.
Scotty Kazmir, on the other hand, was decent but not great. Some early trouble led to a sky-high pitch-count that evicted him from the game after 5, but his 64-33 strike-ball ratio is actually quite good for him. He sat down 9 Yankees via the strikeout, and nearly escaped the 2-run 3rd inning without allowing a run. Many people are saying that he’s doesn’t deserve a spot on the All-Star Team because he hasn’t been pitching like an All-Star lately; I couldn’t disagree more. Who better to showcase the young, upstart Rays than their young, upstart pitcher who can strike batters out at will. Ask the 9 guys he struck out if they think he should be an All-Star. I bet you’d hear a resounding yes.
Gary Glover still stinks.
Why is Grant Balfour pitching in the 6th inning of a game we’re losing? I thought he was the de-facto closer. If Maddon was trying to be progressive and use Balfour to get through the toughest part of the Yankee order while keeping the deficit at 2 runs, kudos to him. That’s the kind of managing you just don’t see and - frankly - I’m glad to see it.
Tags: Yankees
July 9th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Tough game last night, but we’d been swinging the sticks well, and it was just a game where we couldn’t get anything to fall. Jeter’s play to end the 7th killed our best chance to score, and it was a great play. And while our bullpen has been very good this year, we have been using certain guys too much, and others just haven’t been very good. Glover needs to go, and we should think about bringing up somebody like Dale Thayer just to see if he can add anything. If not Thayer, then maybe Salas. Both guys have thrown very well for Durham, and maybe they could take some heat off of Wheeler for a week or so, or at least until Percy gets back. We need to make a move to help the bullpen via trade, but for now, calling up one of those guys could work. The trade focus should go to either Rauch or Fuentes, and we need to be smart about the trade. I don’t think it’s worth giving up Davis for a reliever unless he’s someone like K-Rod, and no one like that is available. For either one of Rauch or Fuentes, I think the package should be Thayer, Houser, and Jennings. It gives them one of our top 10 prospects (Jennings), a solid LHP-prospect (Houser), and a soon-to-be-ready for the majors reliever. But we can wait a week or so if necessary.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Is Kaz really back to 100% health?
July 9th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Joel I have been wondering the same. He’s not throwing the slider in on right handed hitters. Don’t see him throwing the curve just relying on fast ball. Think the Rays should insist he pass up all star game and take rest. Maybe even his nest start.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:40 am
@Joel and Richard
I’ve never seen a pitcher looked so uncomfortable on the mound. I hope it’s not arm issues, just maybe mechanics. I agree with you Richard that he should maybe sit sunday and the all-star game, but nobody outside that clubhouse really knows this stuff, for good reason.