7/22/09 The Right Kind
You had the wrong kind? I’ve never had the wrong kind, ever. My worst one was right on the money.
The quote from Woody Allen’s Manhattan came to mind as the Yankees picked up another boring win against the Orioles. But a win it was, and there can be no wrong kind in this division.
it’s hard to tell which was more exciting today: the report of Tony Bernazard, sans shirt and aged all of 52 years, challenging the Binghamton Mets to a round of fisticuffs, the vaunted addition of Adam LaRoche (.247/.329/.441 this season) to the Red Sox, or this ball game. It was a ho-hum affair in the Bronx that offered little in the way of intrigue after the first inning. The Yankees were, quite literally, in rare form as they tagged a “We Haven’t Seen Him Before Hall of Fame”-guy, Jason Berken (1-8, 6.55 ERA), for four runs in the first and held on, supplemented by a Jorge Posada homerun in the third and a Posada RBI double in the eighth, to win 6-4.
Despite the close score, the game’s outcome never seemed to be in doubt. By the eighth inning, even the scoreboard crew was getting a little punchy. With Felix Pie at the bat, they threw a graphic up on the big board that read Pi=3.14. Clever.
A.J. Burnett tossed seven solid innings, working in and out of trouble through the middle portion of the game. In the third inning–as part of the running series “Adventures in the Corner”–Nick Swisher dropped a fly ball, placing Brian Roberts on second. Later in the frame, with runners on second and third, Swisher made a superb running catch on what would have been a two run double to preserve the ill-fated shutout. Watching Damon and Swisher’s interpretation of outfield defense this season has been rough, if not in result than at least in form. Swisher’s pinball style in right has been risk/reward all season (he made another nice leaping grab later in the game) while Damon has been down right scary in left. After the game, Swisher told Kim Jones that if he had to compare his defense today to an ice cream, it would be rocky road. No argument here.
Burnett left after seven with a 5-2 lead. Phil Hughes did his thing in the eighth, working around a soft single while striking out one. Joe Girardi dusted off Brian Bruney for the ninth, who hadn’t pitched since July 10th in Anaheim. Things started well–he struck out Robert Andino and Brian Roberts to start the inning–before quickly spiraling downhill. Bruney surrendered back to back homeruns to Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, forcing Girardi to call on Mariano Rivera. Mo struck out Aubrey Huff to end the game and pick up an easy save. Despite the two homeruns, Bruney seemed to recall the dimensions of the ever-elusive strike zone which can only bode well for the rest of the season. it’s hard to be too critical of him after not having pitched in twelve days.
In the end it was a sweep of the Orioles and the sixth win in a row, as the Yanks storm into the second half. Tonight we’ll all get a chance to see if their lead can grow, as Clay Buchholz is facing Nicaragua’s own, Vicente Padilla on ESPN.
Until next time: A Thursday night makeup of a postponed Athletics game.
Vin Mazzaro (2-6, 4.09 ERA) vs. C.C. Sabathia (9-6, 3.66 ERA), 7:05 pm.
With no Yankees, here’s something for tonight:
