It appears this baby is going to be played tonight in the Bronx. After a day of periodic showers and a late afternoon drenched with nasty fog, it’s all up to the Yankee Stadium draining system to get the job done. The chances of rain as the night wears on cannot be ruled out, but the odds are a Matsuzaka-Pettitte duel on this Friday. And forget praying for rain, I want some Sox-Yanks baseball played right now. Even if Julian Tavarez has to be a personal human sacrifice on Sunday, I can live with that.
That’s the number one reason tonight is a huge game to win. The other would be, obviously, to push the Yanks to a lowly 8-13 and 6.5 games behind the 15-7 Sox in the division. April or September, that’s a pretty substantial gap between the competitors and Yankee fans will get very, very nervous. And I don’t want to hear excuses like “they’re the Red Sox, they’ll choke, we win the division every year.” We’ve got a whole new situation in 2007 and so far the arrow points to Boston taking the crown. Johnny Damon said it best: “There’s going to be panic soon if the winning doesn’t start.”
The Sox that have fared well vs. Pettitte:
Manny Ramirez: 25 for 62, .449 OBP, .661 SLG
J.D. Drew: 6 for 11, .583 OBP, 1.182 SLG
Jason Varitek: 15 for 39, .419 OBP, .538 SLG
The Yanks, of course, just faced Dice-K last Sunday night, with Jason Giambi driving in 3 runs and Jeter hitting a solo shot to left field.
6:58 PM: The lineups for tonight:
Lugo, SS Damon, CF
Youkilis, 1B Jeter, SS
Ortiz, DH Abreu, RF
Ramirez, LF Rodriguez, 3B
Drew, RF Giambi, DH
Lowell, 3B Matsui, LF
Varitek, C Posada, C
Crisp, CF Cano, 2B
Pedroia, 2B Mientkiewicz, 1B
7:04 PM: This is the first time Dice-K has faced a lineup for the second time this season, so take that for what it’s worth. It also happens to be inarguably the best lineup in the AL, and tonight they’ll have Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui in addition. This is the huge test for Matsuzaka dealing with Yankee Stadium and the Yankee lineup adjusting from their first meeting. Once this concludes, things should settle down for Dice-K. He had the hoopla around his first start. He had the Ichiro moment and the first start at Fenway. The first time facing the Yankees and the first time at the Toilet. It should all calm down for Matsuzaka very soon, although he’ll still be scrutinized and put under a magnifying class for the enormous bidding cost. And in Japan, he’ll always be under the spotlight.
7:10 PM: Pettitte pounds the zone on Lugo and gets ahead 0-2 like he did constantly last Friday. Lugo grounds out reaching to shortstop trying to protect. Youkilis, in his glory, gets up 2 balls and 0 strikes on Andy. Thank you Kevin.
7:13 PM: Pettitte WORKS Ortiz for a four strike K. Strike over the middle, outside corner, outside corner ball, strikeout on the black outside. Wonderful display of pitching for Andy, a guy who has lived on that corner for many years, and also works with David Ortiz, who has more trouble hitting going the other way with outside fastballs than pulling an inside heater.
7:15 PM: Already word from Orsillo that Kei Igawa may be bumped out of the rotation. I had May 2nd in the office pool. Was that signing really needed? Also, rumors floating that Carl Pavano may not return this season, which just absolutely made my week. Meanwhile, Manny singles on a rope to center. More pitches, more pitches, get to the bullpen…
7:18 PM: Drew grounds out to Dougy at first to end the inning. Here’s a question: Why didn’t the Yankees go hard after Todd Helton? Does a 185 million dollar team really think a guy who could realistically hit .170 should be playing first base every day?
7:23 PM: Dice-K shows Johnny D a little gyro with cucumber sauce for strike two before finishing him off for the K. Very nice. He then leaves a slider up for Jeter, Chris Ray style, to pounce on, resulting in a single to center. C’mon Dice-K. First pitch strikes and keeping the ball low will get you out of here with a win.
7:32 PM: Great to see Coco get a base hit through the hole in his first AB. He was 6 for 12 before injuring his oblique and a DL stint was discussed. That would have been awful luck for Crisp who was just beginning to hit his stride at the plate, so it’s good to see him back.
7:24 PM: FYI: this ump has a REALLY late strike call and so far is showing a very wide strike zone. This could come into play later. Dice-K gets Abreu on a nasty change, a pitch that seems to be working for him so far.
7:25 PM: Web Gem alert! A-Rod goes for the first pitch and grounds it weakly to Lowell who fires barehead to first for the out. Pretty solid first inning at the Stadium considering his impressive changeup, improved location outside of the Jeter rip, and the two punchouts.
7:28 PM: Pitching coach John Farrell with a very insightful soundbite summing up Dice-K’s problems from the stretch thus far. He’s trying to rush the ball to the plate in an attempt to control the running game, and when he rushes, his command becomes wild. They don’t want to mess with him too much because of the success, and it seems like a very fixable issue. Don’t rush Daisuke!
7:35 PM: Coco with a base hit through the hole in his first AB back from the oblique injury. I would have been very disheartened to see Coco absent from the lineup for a long stint after finally hitting his stride. Coco was 6 for 12 before sitting out the last five games. Meanwhile, Pettitte gets out of the inning with a flyout to right field. The man continues to shut out the Boston Red Sox and it’s beginning to bother me.
7:39 PM: Giambi continues to have success vs. Matsuzaka, fisting a little bloop into left field against the shift. Giambi swung at the first pitch in his at-bat, a pattern that seems to be part of the Yankee gameplan tonight. Now the first Matsui-Matsuzaka matchup is underway.
7:42 PM: Matsuzaka pounding the outside corner for strikes so far tonight. It’s good that he’s not only getting ahead in the count but also staying away from the fat part of the plate against the loaded Yankee lineup. Matsui and the smokin Posada both flyout to Crisp in CF, bringing up the always dangerous Robbie Cano.
7:46 PM: Anyone want to disagree with the Yankees having the best lineup in baseball? Didn’t think so. Cano has a .360 batting average since June 1st of last season and is hitting eighth in the order. Sure, his OBP is a train wreck but we won’t discuss that any further. Matsuzaka did his scouting on Cano and gets him to swing at high heat for his third K of the night and it’s scoreless through 2 innings.
7:48 PM: Boy, the ump calls a first pitch strike on Lugo that was way inside. He must have found a great rib joint off Columbus Circle. Still, Lugo overcomes and gets his first hit in eternity. 2-0 to Youkilis. Thank you for being born, Kevin.
7:51 PM: Youkilis with the two run jack to left field as Pettitte misses upstairs for the upteenth time this inning. And folks, I don’t believe I’m hearing “Youuuuuuuuuuuuk” at Yankee Stadium.
7:57 PM: Manny with a slow groundout to Jeter, who plays and fields it awkwardly. Manny still can’t get completely going in Manny style yet this year. I know it’s coming very soon and, frankly, I can’t wait. Pettitte doesn’t look totally 100% sharp tonight like he did at Fenway last start. He’s falling behind Sox hitters (just went 3-0 on Drew) and is missing up in the zone. I also believe his pitch count is high, but I wouldn’t trust NESN to provide me with that information.
8:00 PM: Strikeout number four! Dougy is arguing with the umpire regarding something (probably reflecting on his bad April), as the pitch was clearly a strike. Good info from Daniel in the comments about Runge being notoriously favorable to pitchers. Really, I like that kind of umpire for many reasons- he speeds the game up, it forces the hitters to take the bat off their shoulders…it’s probably what Dice-K was used to in Japan.
8:03 PM: Right on cue, his zone shrinks and Damon ends up with a BB. Two pitches there that could have been followed up by a ticket to the pine for Damon and K #5.
8:05 PM: Lugo bobbles the ball rushing a throw to second and ends up getting nobody. It was a tough play running in but should have been made. It would have been smarter to just take his time and throw to first to get Jeter because of Damon’s speed anyway. Can’t afford those mistakes against these guys as Abreu steps into the box.
8:07 PM: Now Lugo almost throws away a double play ball. Thank you for deciding to have a child, mother of Kevin Youkilis.
8:09 PM: Lowell lines one on a dime to CF for the out. He’s feeling it right now in the box though, that ball was hammered.
8:12 PM: Varitek strikes out for the second time tonight with Andy working the outside corner repeatedly before resorting to the hook inside. He’s throwing offspeed stuff to Crisp but it seems obvious from the camera angle that he’s slowing his motion on the changeup. Regardless, Crisp goes down looking and it remains 2-0 Boston.
8:18 PM: Uh oh. A-Rod works a walk to leadoff the 4th inning. He better get going soon before his HR pace goes below 100 for the season, Yankee fans might start booing. What’s it with the 4th inning that gets Dice-K in all of these troubles?
8:20 PM: Major uh oh. 8 balls and 3 strikes for Dice-K thus far in the fourth and he’s having location issues in the stretch, missing high and away with the fastballs. Jeez, he wasn’t ever really close on those four deliveries to Giambi.
8:22 PM: Missing high, high, high in the zone with fastballs and curves from the stretch here. He just can’t seem to locate properly right now. Brian Runge goes home to check his messages and do the laundry before making the second strike call against Matsui there.
8:25 PM: Matsuzaka walks the bases loaded. I really don’t understand this guy. At times he looks magnifecent and completely in control, then some innings he walks a bunch of hitters and can’t throw a strike to save his tail. I fail to comprehend this pattern from Dice-K.
8:28 PM: Posada gets a lucky crap single to left field on a bloop as Manny makes a nice effort to make the play. Fortunate it didn’t roll past Manny, but we still have a terrible situation here. Do we have lightning at Yankee Stadium, literally?
8:31 PM: Why does Orsillo always think Matsuzaka is “rattled” when he gets into trouble. That’s totally the wrong word. He’s not rattled, shaking on the mound in the fetal position crying for a blankie and some warm milk. Maybe he just can’t throw strikes right now, Don. Not that complicated. I really wish we had a play-by-play announcer who knows something about the sport he calls.
8:33 PM: Cano thinking of the high fastball chases ball three on a nice call by Varitek. Now we need a double play very badly.
8:34 PM: The boobirds are out for Dougy after popping out to Lowell for out #2. Now Damon steps up……C’MON ONE MORE OUT!
8:38 PM: Why do the Yankees always get away with this crap???? All three Yankee RBI’s this inning have come on bloops and check swings. And still, the only person to blame is Matsuzaka who idiotically walked the bases loaded to begin the inning. All three of those walks have now scored, while Andy Pettitte gets a nice rest on the bench and Zaka could be gone by the 5th.
8:41 PM: Jeter singles to right field to make it 4-2. The second start disappointing start for Dice-K against the Yankees leaves a very sour taste in my mouth.
8:47 PM: Pedroia continues to prove me wrong when I highlighted this offseason re-signing Loretta. Oh wait…
8:49 PM: Did Julio Lugo just work a walk after falling behind 0-2, or is this just a really really abnormal dream??
8:51 PM: Youkilis has been great the last few games. He’s now reached base all three times tonight as he gathers an infield single…AND ORTIZ WITH THE RIP TO MAKE IT 4-3!!!! Now, it’s Manny Explosion Time.
8:54 PM: Manny with the walk to load the bases. Pettitte just can’t find a groove tonight around the strike zone, as now it’s time for J.D. Drew to break out of this funk with some RBI’s.
8:56 PM: Wow. Pettitte just missed about as badly as a pitcher can miss on the 1-1 count, throwing the ball right in a lefty’s wheelhouse when Posada wanted it outside. He then comes back with a filthy cut fastball to retire the lost Drew.
8:59 PM: Pettitte takes a page out of Matsuzaka’s playbook and walks in the tying run. A trend I’ve noticed in 2007: Mike Lowell has shown so much more plate discipline this year.
9:01 PM: Wild pitch baby!!!!!! The Red Sox battle right back after a horrific bottom of the 4th to score three runs and take a 5-4 lead. And the first “Let’s go Red Sox” chant from the corners of Yankee Stadium can now be heard.
9:04 PM: Regardless of what happens to Varitek, this will probably be it for Pettitte in the 5th. And you know what that means: more innings for the Yankee bullpen!
9:06 PM: These are the kinds of moments where I wish Tanyon Sturtze was still on the Yankees roster.
9:08 PM: Ugh, Crisp flies out to Damon on the first freaking pitch. I really wish we had more than 3 in that inning.
9:13 PM: Thank you Bruce Froemming. 3-2 slider to A-Rod gets him check swinging and is rung up as the replay shows a break for Boston. That was big because you know what would have been a bad idea right there? A leadoff walk.
9:17 PM: Good news out of Pawtucket as Jon Lester throws 84 effective pitches against Buffalo. He finishes with a line of 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB and 6 K. The standing ovation he gets at his first start back home in Boston will mean goosebumps growing on my goosebumps.
9:21 PM: Okay, let me get this straight. First, Julio Lugo works a count from 0-2 into a walk and a big rally, then he goes deep over the left field wall? What world am I living in?
9:25 PM: Proctor works around three straight balls to retire Youkilis as another Yankee pitcher takes the mound: lefty Sean Henn. He’s been very effective this season and will work to the lefty David Ortiz. Does Matsuzaka pitch the 6th? I think so.
9:27 PM: I repeat: Nobody take scoring tips from Jerry Remy. The sight of Jerry trying to fill out that scorecard was horrific at best.
9:31 PM: On Julio Lugo: I usually would not be in favor of running with Ortiz and Ramirez behind you, but Lugo seems very mechanically sound and efficient. His first step is outstanding and gets good jumps. He may not be the fastest player in the league, but he can run well, if that makes sense.
9:32 PM: (waiting and waiting for the Manny dinger that won’t seem to come)
9:33 PM: Luis Vizciano warming in the pen for the 182nd straight day as Joe Torre is obviously trying to lose some weight by walking from the dugout to the mound repeatedly. He’s like a madman with this bullpen.
9:39 PM: It appears the problem with Dice-K is getting past just one annoying inning where he loses control. I can’t fathom any reason why he does this, but some innings he looks like a Cy Young contender and others like Josh Towers. Sure, that’s normal with pitchers, but it’s usually not as evident and disturbing as it has been for Daisuke. Am I worried? Not entirely, it could be more fluke than anything. And remember, he is still transitioning to the U.S. brand of baseball and was facing a tough environment and lineup. Yeah I’m getting tired of using that excuse for any big problems, but you can’t deny it plays a factor.
9:43 PM: As Dice-K reaches 115 pitches, Remy goes on some story about how there was a treadmill and barbells in his hotel room. Now he’s on a little rant about how a man was sleeping in his room after he checked in and went sprinting to the elevator. Only on NESN, folks, and only Jerry Remy.
9:46 PM: Night complete for Matsuzaka. He retires the last seven Yankees he faces, and concluds with a line of: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 K and 116 pitches. I would kindly give him a B-plus tonight after working through a rough 4th inning.
9:51 PM: I really like Sean Henn. He’s got a nice arsenal of pitches and is effective with a 84-mph change located very well and a 95-mph heater. He’s making quick work of the middle of the Sox order and happens to be a better LHP than Mike Myers.
9:59 PM: Cap’n Intangibles with a Jeter-esque bloop single to right with 1 out against Timlin. Abreu is 1 for 21 in his last 22 AB’s and just tried a bunt single with the first pitch. Weird decision.
10:03 PM: Almost had a heart attack on that last play, as Lowell throws high to Pedroia who barely falls on the second base bag in time for the out. What’s going on with Lowell this year in the field? He’s already matched last years error total and looks shaky. Still, to be fair, he’s made a fair share of outstanding plays at the hot corner as well.
10:05 PM: Crisp almost bunts for a hit again. I really like this. It was an average bunt at best, but Coco gets down the first base line so fast he has a great chance at racking up bunt singles this year.
10:08 PM: Pedroia goes after a high fastball and lines it to left field for a (get ready for this) double. A little insurance would be nice here, let’s see if the top of the order can keep crushing. Lugo is 2-3 with 3 R and Youk has is 2-3 with 2 R and 2 RBI tonight.
10:10 PM: Julio Lugo Breakout Night at the Stadium!!!!! Slider from Vizciano is driven down the third base line for a double and Pedroia scores a big run for the Red Sox as they lead 7-4. I’m enjoying the Julio Lugo Era, I must admit.
10:16 PM: This game has slowed down to a screeching halt. Posada and Vizciano just cannot seem to get on the same page this inning with frequent step-offs and mound visits. Manny is up with runners on the corners and continues to swing late at hittable fastballs, fouling them back and doing the opposite of killing the ball into the black seats in CF. I don’t think I ask for TOO much.
10:20 PM: Just want to extend a shoutout to Mr. Tito Francona for realizing Hideki Okajima is the second best pitcher in our bullpen. I normally kill the man for his bullpen usage and strings pulled, and at some point it’s driven me to near suicide, but this year he’s been awesome. Besides letting Romero face RHB, Tito has managed the pen like an artist. It feels good to have a competent manager, it really does.
10:27 PM: Okajima knocks down a Matsui liner, bobbles, then goes for the easy out at first. How do you say “smart play” in Japanese? He then retires Posada on a filthy over-the-top curveball and we have just four outs to go from a victory.
10:30 PM: For fun, here’s how I’d rank the bullpen in terms of confidence:
1. Papelbon
2. Okajima
3. Donnelly
4. Timlin
5. Pineiro
6. Snyder
7. Romero
10:39 PM: Amazing. The Boston Red Sox are ripping Mariano Rivera around the ballpark with Mo pitching DOWN BY THREE. Lowell ropped one to right, Varitek crushed a single to center, and now Coco drives in a run with a poke to right-center. Coincidentally, these are the same hitters that began the rally for the Sox last Friday. More importantly, now Tito can save Papelbon.
10:40 PM: Neglected to mention: What the hell is wrong with Mariano Rivera?!?!?!
10:48 PM: Torre picks up the bullpen phone and asks to get Scott Proctor and Luis Vizciano warming.
10:51 PM: Myers walks Lugo to drive in the 9th run of the night and the hilarity could go on all night. This is truly special to watch. The Yankee fans are clearing out like there was a tornado around the third base line.
10:55 PM: 11-4 Red Sox and Ortiz-stopper Myers gives up an RBI single to the man he’s paid to get out. Wait a second while I briefly pause and laugh my ass off. At this point, we may need to donate the Yankees pitchers arms to Cooperstown when this season ends.
10:57 PM: Torre picks up the bullpen phone and asks to get Andy Pettitte warming.
11:04 PM: The Sox turn this one into a rout and win 11-4. Some special dirty watah as the Sox go to 4-0 vs. NYY and 1-0 at the Toilet.
Discuss any postgame in the comments section.
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