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Early this morning, the Yankees called up outfielder Brett Gardner. There is no word on the corresponding move, but I would expect it to be Justin Christian, who has not been all that impressive in his short stint in the big leagues.
Gardner had been hitting .287 with three homers, 29 RBI's, and 34 stolen bases through 80 games for Scranton. He adds another layer of speed that hasn't been seen much off the Yankee bench.
Gardner will either be called on to play left field to give Johnny Damon some days off, or possibly center field, where Melky Cabrera is struggling.
Usually on the Sunday Baseball Notes, I discuss five relevant stories from around baseball and then list some links and quotes of the week. But this week, I'm changing it around. Why? Because I can.
So, in honor of the half-way point of the year, it's time to give out some mid-season awards:
American League
MVP- Josh Hamilton
Hamilton has been the feel-good story of the year. He also leads the American League with 19 home runs and 78 RBI's.
Cy Young- Cliff Lee
Lee is second in the league with 10 wins and has a 2.34 ERA. He has come out of nowhere to dominate.
Rookie of the Year- Joba Chamberlain
Whether it's in the pen or in the rotation, Joba has baffled hitters all year.
Manager of the Year- Joe Maddon
If the Cubs lose tonight's game, the Rays will have the best record in baseball. Wow.
National League
MVP- Chase Utley
As a second-baseman, Utley is tied for the lead in home runs with 23.
Cy Young- Edinson Volquez
Volquez sports a 2.08 ERA, a 10-3 record, and 110 strikeouts.
Rookie of the Year- Kosuke Fukudome
Fukudome has brought a new energy to the top of the Cubs lineup.
Manager of the Year- Fredi Gonzalez
Gonzalez has led the Marlins to early season success without Miguel Cabrera or Dontrelle Willis.
Yankees
MVP- Alex Rodriguez
You could make a case that it should be Johnny Damon or Jason Giambi, but it's no coincidence that since A-Rod's return, the Yankees have been red-hot. He was also leading the league in hitting entering the weekend.
Cy Young- Mariano Rivera
Rivera is a perfect 22-for-22 in save chances with a 0.74 ERA. The three runs he allowed all came in non-save opportunities; so essentially, he's been perfect.
Surprise of the Year- Mike Mussina
Mussina is already one win away from last year's total. Other than Joba Chamberlain, his 3.93 ERA is best among Yankee starters.
Play of the Year- Jason Giambi's walkoff home run against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Game of the Year- The 12-11 win over Kansas City in early June was one of the most exciting games I have ever seen. Johnny Damon became the first Yankee to go 6-for-6 at the Stadium, and he also delivered the walkoff hit against Royals closer Joakim Soria.
Final Score: Mets 3, Yankees 1Yankees: 44-38Mets: 40-41W- Perez (6-5)L- Rasner (4-6)SV- Wagner (18)
Offense: After scoring just three runs yesterday, the Yankees managed just one today. In their last two games, they have totaled just nine hits, and the offense has simply looked lethargic. The only run came off a long home run from Wilson Betemit, and Derek Jeter (2 hits) and Johnny Damon were the only other baserunners. Also, in 32 at bats, the Yankees struck out ten times, which can be attributed to the dominance displayed by Oliver Perez today. With the Texas Rangers coming into town, the Yankees will really have to start hitting if they want to make a run before the all-star break.
Pitching: Darrell Rasner wasn't terrible, but he was a bit shaky in his start today. He lasted just five innings and allowed eight hits, two runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. He certainly pitched well enough to win the game, but the offense could not pick him up. David Robertson made his major-league debut in relief, and he allowed one run and four hits in two innings of work. He featured a nice, low-90's fastball, but his breaking stuff was not very good. Edwar Ramirez, meanwhile, got some work in after Robertson was taken out.
Final Notes:
- Of the six games between the Mets and Yankees this year, the Mets won four of them. It was just the second time since interleague play began in 1997 that the Mets took the season series.
- Oliver Perez is now 5-1 with a 2.61 career ERA against the Yankees.
- Rasner has now lost six times in his last seven starts.
- Bobby Abreu (0-for-10 lifetime against Perez) and Robinson Cano got the day off. Wilson Betemit started at second base for the first time this year, and Jorge Posada started at first base.
- Overall, the Yankees are 37-29 against the Mets.
Every Saturday here at The Bronx Insider, I'll list a few 'Short Hops,' or oddities from around baseball, courtesy of athlonsports.com. Here are this week's:
- Both Andy Pettitte and Brandon Webb have incurred 37 defeats in starts immediately following Yankees and Diamondbacks losses, respectively. Pettitte, however, has won 75 times, Webb just 31.
- Russell Branyan has homered 10 times in his 74 at-bats since being called up a month ago. Playing for his fourth team in less than a year, he now has more homers (131) than anyone in history with fewer than 2,000 at-bats except for Ryan Howard (148). Then again, he also holds the record (by far) for most strikeouts (non-pitchers); his 781 are 181 ahead of Howard, who's second.
- Rockies manager Clint Hurdle sat Willy Taveras on Tuesday because he said his centerfielder needed a rest after making 10 consecutive starts.
- The event is so rare that it's been accomplished only 22 times in American League history, but Scott Baker and Scot Shields both struck out four batters in one inning last week. It's not the first time two pitchers have done it in such close proximity, however; it happened in 1999, when Tim Wakefield and Chuck Finley pulled it off. Finley is a significant name in this historical nook, as he's the only man to have done it more than once -- and he did it three times.
- Angel Berroa, one of the biggest Rookie of the Year busts in history, is back in the bigs with the Dodgers. On Saturday, he had three hits off C.C. Sabathia, a pitcher against whom he'd been 1-for-40.
- Dice K's 8-0 start ended in spectacular fashion with a one-inning/seven-run start against the Cardinals. Hideki Irabu once was on the plus side of eight straight decisions -- then won only eight more games (against 19 losses) the rest of his career.
Final Score: Yankees 3, Mets 2
Yankees: 44-37
Mets: 39-41
W- Andy Pettitte (9-5)
L- Johan Santana (7-7)
SV- Mariano Rivera (22)
Offense: The Yankees scored just three runs on five hits, but their three hits with runners in scoring position were crucial in this game. The Yankees got their first two runs in the fourth, when Jason Giambi grounded out to Jose Reyes with the bases loaded, followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jorge Posada. Robinson Cano singled in the third run in the sixth, scoring Alex Rodriguez. It wasn't exactly an offensive outburst, but it was enough to win the game. It's wins like these that define a championship-caliber team, and the Yankees were able to pull it out with sub-par hitting.
Pitching: Andy Pettitte continued his dominance as he threw six masterful innings. His line: 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. If you're keeping score at home, Pettitte has now won his last six decisions, including his last four starts. He has also allowed just three runs in his last 27 innings, lowering his ERA from 4.99 to 3.98 in that span. The bullpen did an excellent job of preserving the one-run lead. The tandem of Jose Veras, Kyle Farnsworth, and Mariano Rivera shut down the Mets in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, respectively. Mariano Rivera is now a perfect 22-for-22 in save chances with an absurd 0.74 ERA.
Final Notes:
- The game featured two rain delays, one that pushed the game back 25 minutes, and another that delayed the game 53 minutes.
- Derek Jeter went 0-for-4, snapping his 15-game hitting streak.
- With the loss, Johan Santana is now 7-7 on the year. Since the 2007 All Star Game, he is 12-14.
- Mariano Rivera has saved 54 of Pettitte's 210 career wins, the second-highest total by a pair of pitchers since the save became an official stat in 1969. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley saved 55 games for Bob Welch.
- The Yankees are 11-4 over their last 15 games, and 24-13 over their last 37.
- The play of the game belonged to Andy Pettitte, who picked off Jose Reyes from second base to end the fifth inning. The Mets, at the time, had two runners on for David Wright. It was Pettitte's eighth pickoff of the year.
The Yankees and Mets played two very different games yesterday, and as predicted, one went to the Mets and the other went to the Yankees.
In the first game, Dan Giese finally proved he was human, as he allowed six runs in four innings. Ross Ohlendorf also got shelled, and he was promptly demoted to AAA Scranton after the game. The offense did enough to win the game, as they scored six runs, but the pitching was absolutely horrendous, giving up fifteen.
The second game was a complete role-reversal as the Yankees shut the Mets down 9-0. That's the beautiful thing about baseball- things can turn around so quickly. As Michael Kay said many times in the broadcast, you're only as good as your next starting pitcher. In his first Yankee start since 2006, Sidney Ponson shut down the Mets, putting up six 0's. He did allow nine baserunners, but he worked his way out of trouble.
The Yankees and Mets play today at 3:55 P.M. on FOX. It will be Andy Pettitte against Johan Santana.
After losing the first two games of the Subway Series last month, the Yankees will try to redeem themselves as they face the Mets four times over the next three days. Here are the pitching matchups for the series:
Today, 2:05 P.M. (Yankee Stadium): Mike Pelfrey (4-6, 4.30 ERA) vs. Dan Giese (1-2, 0.64 ERA)
Tonight, 8:10 P.M. (Shea Stadium): Sidney Ponson (4-1, 3.88 ERA) vs. Pedro Martinez (2-1, 6.57 ERA)
Tomorrow, 3:55 P.M.: Andy Pettitte (8-5, 4.04 ERA) vs. Johan Santana (7-6, 2.93 ERA)
Sunday, 1:10 P.M.: Darrell Rasner (4-5, 4.50 ERA) vs. Oliver Perez (5-5, 5.29 ERA)
My Prediction: The Yankees split the double-header and then win both games on Saturday and Sunday.
...with the Mets.
After the struggles that Carlos Delgado has faced in this 2008 season, the Mets are doing whatever they can to get help at first base. Phillips was DFA'd by the Reds on Sunday, after going just 3-for-21.
Phillips, of course, played with the Yankees for several years prior to being released. He was a valuable weapon off the bench, and his play in June and July of last year really got the team going after they started 21-29.
Final Score: Yankees 10, Pirates 0
Yankees: 42-36
Pirates: 37-41
W- Chamberlain (2-2)
L- Duke (4-5)
Offense: The Yankee offense had an offensive outburst tonight, and it was clear their message from Joe Girardi was heard after last night's disappointing loss. Robinson Cano and Bobby Abreu each hit long home runs, and Derek Jeter's three hits extended his hitting streak to thirteen games. Every starting position player had at least one hit. With both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui sitting out because of injuries, Justin Christian filled in again at left field and went 1-for-4 as he reached on a single and a walk. In his first two major-league games, he has been on base four times.
Pitching: In his fifth start, Joba Chamberlain was dominant once again. His line: 6.2 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 114 pitches. He got into very few jams, but when he did, he was able to work out of them with the poise of a veteran. His ERA on the season has now dropped to 2.03, and it is clear that he is ready to be a dominating starter in the majors. In relief, Ross Ohlendorf pitched an impressive inning-and-a-third, as he allowed no baserunners and recorded three strikeouts. Jose Veras pitched the ninth to close out the victory.
Final Notes
- In his last 18.1 innings, Joba has allowed two earned runs.
- Phil Hughes made about 25 throws from around 60 feet in Tampa, Florida. It was the first throwing he's done since he fractured his rib in April.
- Abreu's home run was his tenth of the year and his second in two nights. Cano's home run was his fifth of the year and his first since May 8th.
- After going 47 innings without a home run, the Yankees have three homers in their last 10 innings.
- Chamberlain became the first Yankees pitcher to win in Pittsburgh since Hall of Famer Whitey Ford shut out the Pirates 12-0 in Game 6 of the 1960 World Series.
Final Score: Pirates 12, Yankees 5
Pirates: 37-40
Yankees: 41-36
W- Gorzelanny (6-6)
L- Rasner (4-5)
Offense: The Yankees had tons of opportunities to score in tonight's game, but they could not capitalize. They combined to walk five times with four hits in the first four innings, but they only managed to score one run. They would tack on four more as the game went on, but they proved negligible. Robinson Cano was the only star of the game, as he went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Derek Jeter continued his hitting streak by going 1-for-4, and Alex Rodriguez snapped his 10-gamer with an 0-for-5 performance. Overall, the Yankees combined to leave sixteen men on base, which is just unacceptable with the offense they have.
Pitching: Darrell Rasner pitched his third consecutive shaky outing. He lasted five innings and allowed ten hits and seven runs. After a dominant few starts, he is finally coming back down to earth, and if this continues, you have to begin wondering whether his spot in the rotation will remain. He is now 4-5 on the year with a 4.50 ERA. LaTroy Hawkins, meanwhile, was called on to save the bullpen some work, and he allowed four runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings of work. Then, Edwar Ramirez allowed consecutive doubles before getting an out to end the eighth inning. The Pirates' offense is sub-par at best, and the pitching staff allowed twelve runs and nineteen hits tonight. Suffice to say, it was an ugly night on the Yankees part.
Final Notes:
- Prior to the game, the Pirates had been the only team in the majors to not beat the Yankees in a regular-season game. They had been outscored 49-19 and went 0-6 in the previous six games against the Yankees.
- The Yankees are now 120-84 all-time in interleague play (the majors' best record), while the Pirates are 61-100 (the majors' worst).
- The crowd of 38,867 was the third-largest since PNC Park opened in 2001.
