I took the family to the ballpark today, Memorial Day. The weather was magnificent. The seats, though high, were a great vantage point from which to see the game. Solid pitching from both starters for about 6 innings, followed by 2 innings of powerball, including a grand slam by ARod which was immediately followed by a Cano blast. A great day at the park. I won’t bore you with all of the pictures, but what I will try to entertain you with is my photo “essay” entitled: The People in My Section.

I had no intentions on shooting so many pictures of my section-mates, but circumstances presented themselves and I just couldn’t resist. It started off, innocently enough, with me taking pictures of some awful Yankee hats, but as you will see, spiraled out of control. I will say that I tried to keep the faces out of these pictures as much as possible.

Leading off, the worst Yankee hat you will probably ever see. Seriously.

I like to call this the “elusive graying brown beaver-hawk”. When your hair is brown, but the mohawk shows off your gray roots, all is not well. I fought the urge to pet this, somehow.

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Yep, I framed it pretty well, from up on high:

The Yankees went for the series win against the Indians on Memorial Day, and behind another brilliant performance by Andy Pettitte and some monster offense the Bronx Bombers were successful.  Big hits by Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano helped pave the way to the Pinstripes 11-2 victory.

Curtis Granderson got the Yankees going early, with a ground-rule double to right in the bottom of the first.  Rodriguez singled to center, scoring Granderson and putting the Yankees on the board first.  A solo homer by Jhonny Peralta to start the second inning, tied the game at 1-1.

The game was tied until the fourth inning, when Nick Swisher led off the bottom of the inning with a double to right.  Brett Gardner drove a liner to center, scoring Swisher and giving the Yankees the lead again, 2-1.

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On Saturday the Yankees’ pitching imploded, giving New York one of the most disappointing losses of the season so far.  The Yankees bounced back on Sunday, however, spurred on by a strong pitching performance by A.J. Burnett and getting some late offense to give them the 7-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Both starting pitchers had their good stuff working for them early, but the Indians were the first to break through and get on the board.  In the top of the third inning Burnett gave up a lead off single to Lou Marson.  He moved to second on a sac bunt by Jason Donald and scored on a single by Trevor Crowe, giving the Tribe a 1-0 lead.

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My article originally appeared here, earlier today, and reposted here with permission.

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With a crack and a thud, David Wright slammed into the Citi Field batter’s box. He had just been struck in the head by a mid-90s Matt Cain fastball, and after a few frightening moments and an unsteady walk back to the dugout, Wright was taken to the hospital for treatment of a concussion. Three days earlier on August 12, 2009, David Walstein of the New York Times asked David Wright about Rawlings’ new helmet, one that could protect a player’s head from a 100 mph fastball. Despite other players’ negative reactions that noted an increase in discomfort and a decrease in style, Wright responded, “If it provides more protection, then I’m all for it. I’m not worried about style or looking good out there. I’m worried about keeping my melon protected.” It was a somewhat surprising response given the other players’ reactions, but it is one that seemed sound and level-headed. Wright, however, was not wearing that helmet when the fastball crashed into his skull.

Wright’s injury could have been prevented. The risks and dangers of being hit in the head by a pitch are well-known. The solution was well-publicized. Yet, baseball—its players, coaches, teams, and commissioner—continually lag behind when it comes to safety concerns. Why is this? What causes baseball to ignore the safety of its employees, especially when they so heavily invest in them, when the risks and solutions are so readily apparent? To answer these questions, it is necessary to delve deeper into an understanding of ourselves, professional sports, and societal pressures.

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When the Yanks get guys on base, particularly in scoring position, it just feels like those runners are too often left out there. So I checked the data:

Let’s define the colums:

• <2,3B: Less than 2 outs, man on third
• Scr: Runner scored
• 0,2B: No outs, runner on second
• Adv: Runner was advanced
• %: rate

The Yanks are slightly above average (53% vs 50%) in getting the runner in from third with less than two outs. However, when they have a runner at second with no one out, they are among the worst (33% vs. 41%) in getting that runner over to third to put them in that “Less than 2 outs, man on third” situation.

Does this team seem to reliant on the big hit rather than small ball stuff to get the runners over? Are they bad situational hitters? Well, it doesn’t always appear so:

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There are some very low BAPIP figures up there, well below the team’s average. Bad luck? The line that sticks out, to me, is the -23 line, meaning when runners are on second and third, when they are batting a mere 0.190 (silver lining: they are getting on base 34.5% of the time in that situation, putting the team in a much more advantageous bases loaded position). To not deliver in this situation is backbreaking.

Again, it just feels like the Yanks have failed in this situation too many times.

The Yankees won the first two games of this series because of good pitching performances and managing to get enough offense to finish the job.  The pitching disappeared last night, as Javier Vazquez and the bullpen couldn’t stop Minnesota’s big bats, and the offense continues to show few signs of life and even fewer signs of the dominant offensive force the Yankees should be.  Minnesota took the game 8-2 as the Yankees head back to the Bronx.

Vazquez walked Orlando Hudson in the first inning and gave up a single to Joe Mauer, putting Hudson on third.  A sac fly by Justin Morneau gave the Twins the 1-0 lead.  The Twins started the second inning with back-to-back doubles by Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, scoring their second run of the game.  J.J. Hardy singled on a line drive to center, moving Kubel to third.  Alexi Casilla then grounded into a double play, but Kubel scored on the play, giving the Twins a 3-0 edge.

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Video after the jump. Really.

See that message behind the home plate umpire:

VOTE BREWERS
brewers.com

Remember, MLB teams are promoting their own players for the All Star Game. A popularity contest or tribute to those truly deserving to be selected as starters? When particular teams are over-represented relative to their populations, like Texas was after the first round of voting results, this is exactly why and how it happens. The marketing departments for each team implore the fans to “vote early and vote often” for the home team’s players, deserving or not. So once Teixeira lands the starting gig for the AL 1B spot, you will remember to blame not the players or the fans, but the system. Right?

Exhibition or “it counts”. Just pick one or the other and we can move on.

You cannot have a game that counts with a selection process that is fit for an exhibition.

(big thanks to Ron Rollins for the screengrab)

Earlier this season, umpire Joe West was highly critical of the Yankees and Red Sox and the length of the games they play. West told The Bergen Record, “They’re the two clubs that don’t try to pick up the pace. They’re two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest? It’s pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play….This is embarrassing, a disgrace to all baseball.”

As I detailed yesterday at The Daily Something, Joe West has been a combative umpire for years, bordering on unprofessional. Yesterday, he added to his history of quick hooks and aggressive behavior by antagonizing Mark Buehrle and Ozzie Guillen (though, admittedly, it doesn’t take a lot to antagonize Ozzie Guillen). West has been disciplined and warned about his behavior in the past, but seems to be ramping up his involvement in games recently. As late as 2008, he had been rated as the fourth worst umpire in Major League Baseball. In the wake of his Yankees/Red Sox comments, Tim Kurkjian wrote, “From the beginning, I’ve thought West was one of the worst umpires in baseball. His strike zone is the unholy combination of small and unpredictable, and his attitude is big and unpredictable.”

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Pitching was a large part of the Yankees hot start to the 2010 season and it had been a large part of their recent slump, as both reliable starters and crucial parts of the bullpen seemed to struggle.  In the first two games of their series in Minnesota, the Yankees pitchers are dominating again, and while the offense has some catching up to do, they were able to get it done for a second time on Wednesday, giving the Yankees a 3-2 win just hours after completing their 1-0 victory in Tuesday’s suspended game.

Andy Pettitte took the ball for New York and gave the Bombers eight strong and efficient innings.  Minnesota’s offense got on the board early, when Denard Span lead off the bottom of the first inning with a double.  Span stole third base with one out and Joe Mauer singled him in on a liner to center.  Pettitte escaped more trouble by getting Justin Morneau to ground into a double play.

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No, this isn’t about Dallas Braden’s defending of his turf or a player stealing a base with a seven run lead. This is about Ron Gardenhire getting a bit steamed about Girardi’s “gamesmanship” in the bottom of the ninth:

“No, he wasn’t going to throw a pitch. That was kind of tired, to tell you the truth. You don’t know normally get that long between innings to do all that, but we know what’s going on there. That’s a situation major league baseball needs to take care of when stuff like that happens. You don’t have a guy ready in the bullpen, if your starter goes out there, he should have to face a hitter. That’s just the way it should be. If you don’t get a guy up, that’s the way it should be, unless the other team makes a change.

“But that’s not what lost the game for us. That’s stuff that just gets old right there.”

I have the utmost respect for Gardenhire; he’s a wonderful manager and a perfect fit for that team. But c’mon… Girardi wasn’t breaking rules, he was merely doing what he is allowed to do… stall within limits. Trickeration.

I was lobbying for Pettitte to stay in the game, facing a lefty, having thrown just 94 pitches so having Pettitte go out there wasn’t unreasonable. So he had Pettitte go out to the hill, loosen up while Mo did the same in the bullpen.

Gamesmanship. Not breaking of the sacred, yet fluid, “unwritten rules of the game”. Something Gardenhire is probably very good at, too. All good managers have to have a firm grasp of the rules and how to stretch them in their favor. Billy Martin could have called the umps over to discuss George Brett’s bat innings earlier, but he put that info in his back pocket until it was needed and when it was needed – BOOM! Gamesmanship.

(thanks to Craig at HBT)

On Tuesday night the Yankees started their first game in Minnesota’s brand new, open to the elements stadium, Target Field.  After a lengthy rain delay, the game was suspended until Wednesday night.  The Yankees broke the scoreless tie immediately, and held the lead to win the game 1-0, just a little less than 24 hours after the game had originally started.

A.J. Burnett and Scott Baker both started the game and they were throwing, keeping both sides scoreless through five innings.  Brian Duensing took over pitching duties for the Twins, and after striking out Kevin Russo in the top of the sixth, Derek Jeter sent the ball over the left center field fence to give the Yankees the first – and only – lead of the game.  David Robertson (who is starting to look better this season), Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera combined to keep the Twins scoreless and manage to give Burnett the win in a game he had started the day before.

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