Results tagged ‘ Royals ’
Applause for the Career Hit!…
Milestone achieved at Yankee Stadium but not that one…
Zach Ornitz/The Star Ledger
On a night when everyone was watching and hoping for the 600th home run by Alex Rodriguez (which he failed to do), Jorge Posada delivered his 1000th RBI of his career. He hit a RBI double in the first inning off Kansas City Royals starter Brian Bannister.
Al Bello/Getty Images
A.J. Burnett looked much better in the 7-1 win over the Royals. His performance was shortened by a rain delay which limited him to 5 innings, but he only gave up 4 hits and no runs. He also walked a batter, and struck out 3. It was enough for A.J. to even his mark at 8-8, as relievers Chad Gaudin and Jonathan Albaladejo secured the victory for him. Albaladejo’s stay with the Yankees was brief as he was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes Barre to make room for today’s starter, Sergio Mitre (who was activated off the DL).
Saed Hindash/The Star Ledger
A-Rod went 2-for4 but no home runs in his quest for 600. In today’s game, he will face the pitcher who gave up his 500th career home run (Kyle Davies). Hopefully, Alex will get the home run sooner rather than later so that he can move on. I remember watching when Barry Bonds hit his 600th home run, and how magical the night was. I realize it won’t be like that for Alex, given his steroids admission, but it is still a monumental feat. Hitting home runs takes great hand/eye coordination and Alex, regardless of his past admissions, is still one of the better players of his era.
Zach Ornitz/The Star Ledger
Nick Swisher missed the game when he woke up with soreness in his Achilles heel. He had been penciled in to start in right. Colin Curtis, who has really proven that he is a good hitter, took his place. Curtis will get another start today in place of Brett Gardner in left. Gardner is dealing with an acid reflux problem that apparently dates back to his childhood. Swisher is still out so Marcus Thames will start in right.
There have been rumors that the Yankees are talking with the Arizona Diamondbacks about starting pitcher Dan Haren, but all reports this morning are that the teams are far apart and nothing is imminent. I know that I voiced frustration with Joba Chamberlain in my last post, but I would hate to see him go to Arizona for Haren. I keep hearing that the D-Backs want a major league ready pitcher in addition to prospects, so it is very unlikely the Yankees could get Haren for, say, Ivan Nova and Zach McAllister. It just seems that the price tag would be too high, not to mention Haren’s high salary. He is certainly no Cliff Lee, so it would be very hard for me to justify paying a King’s ransom for him. I know that I want another option in the starting rotation than Mitre, but I suspect the Yankees will wait until closer to the deadline when there is a greater sense of urgency for teams to move certain guys. Perhaps the Yankees make no moves, but if there is none out there that make sense, then they should pass. Hopefully, guys like Curtis and Albaladejo can step up to fill crucial needs.
AP
–Scott
The 8th Inning Highwire Act Continues…
The Yankees won, but I am growing tired of Joba
Chamberlain…
The Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals
tonight, 10-4. The game was actually
much closer than the score might indicate.
With the Yanks ahead 6-4 in the 8th inning, Joba started the
inning in relief of David Robertson.
Robertson had entered the game an inning earlier in place of CC Sabathia
with two men on base and one out. He got
both batters out that the faced, and I would have stayed with the hot hand, at
least for one more inning. Nevertheless,
Joe Girardi remained committed to Chamberlain.
After getting the first batter out, the next two hitters reached on
infield singles. He struck out the rusty
Rick Ankiel (who had been activated off the DL earlier in the day), but walked
Billy Butler to load the bases.
Fortunately, Jose Guillen hit into a fielder’s choice, but had he gotten
a hit, the game would have taken a completely different turn. Joba should be thankful he was facing the
Royals and not the Angels, Rangers, or Rays.
Is this what it was like when former Orioles manager Earl Weaver
referred to his closer as “Fullpack”? I
always get so uneasy when Joba enters the game.
I am not sure how much long I will be in support of him remaining with
the team. At some point, a change of
scenery might do him wonders.
Stockphoto.com
The Royals broke out to an early 2-0 lead against
CC Sabathia, who was making his first start as a 30-something pitcher (he
turned 30 yesterday). The Yankees
quickly answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. The Royals added a run in the 2nd
inning to move in front again, and it remained that way until the bottom of the
3rd when Derek Jeter hit a shot to center. David DeJesus, one of those all-out kind of
players, went for the ball and actually had it momentarily when he crashed into
the wall but lost it in the collision.
DJ, running at full steam, motored around for his first inside-the-park
home run since 1996, which tied the game at 3.
Zach Ornitz/The Star Ledger
DeJesus was removed from the game and it was later announced that he had
sprained his thumb.
Kathy Willens/AP
The Yanks picked up a couple of runs in the 5th
and gave up a run on a Jorge Posada throwing error in the 6th,
but the hit of the night occurred in the bottom of the 7th when Alex
Rodriguez homered for the 599th time in his career to put the Yanks
up 6-4.
Zach Ornitz/The Star Ledger
The Yankees scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th
after Joba had escaped the bases loaded jam to put the game out of reach. It was a huge night for A-Rod, who went
3-for-5 with 4 RBI’s. Mark Teixeira also
went 3-for-5, with a RBI, to continue showing that his slump is definitely
over. Nick Swisher had another great
night with 2 RBI’s. Defensively, it was
a great night for Brett Gardner, who threw out two runners including one at the
plate to end the top of the 5th.
With the win, the Yankees lead on the Tampa Bay
Rays in the AL East has been restored at 3 games.
On Tuesday, Sean O’Sullivan had just been called up
by the Los Angeles Angels from Triple A Salt Lake City and found out that he’d
be starting against the Yankees when he arrived at Yankee Stadium. Despite a rocky first inning, O’Sullivan was
the winner in the 10-2 romp over the Yanks.
Today, he is a member of the Kansas City Royals. Earlier in the day, he was traded by the
Angels to the Royals, along with a minor league pitcher Will Smith, for third
baseman Alberto Callaspo. So, within
days of making the trip to New York City, he is on his way back to join the
Royals.
AP
The tributes for owner George Steinbrenner continue
as the Yankees unveiled a 40 foot banner above the home bullpen (just
underneath the Hess and Budweiser billboards) honoring the Boss. He is the man responsible for the new
ballpark so it is only fitting that his name be prominently displayed.
Speaking of tributes, the Yankees will wear black
sleeve bands (directly beneath the patch honoring Bob Sheppard) in memory of
former manager Ralph Houk who died yesterday.
With any more patches, the Yankees jersey would look like a Nascar race
car. Hopefully, there will be no more
deaths in the Yankees family for the duration of the year. This has definitely been a very difficult
month.
–Scott
Next Round, please…
First Objective…Complete!…
Credit: Kathy Willens/AP
The Yankees claimed the 2009 American League Eastern Division Championship with a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. The win also assured the Yanks of the best record in the AL, which will allow them to choose their play-off format to maximize the use of a 3-man rotation.
Credit: Kathy Willens/AP
The win was the Yankees 100th of the season. This was so improbable at the start of the season when Alex Rodriguez was sidelined for six weeks due to hip surgery, the Boston Red Sox were invincible against the Yanks in winning their first 8 meetings, and the bullpen was in a complete state of flux.
Credit: Bill Kostroun/AP
Fast forward to September 27th and the Yankees were spilling champagne all over the Yankee Stadium clubhouse floor. What a great way to christen the new Stadium!
Credit: Kathy Willens/AP
Sorry, Big Papi, no champagne for you in New York!
Joe Girardi gets my vote for AL Manager of the Year. The only other possible consideration, in my mind, is Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire if the Twins can overtake the Detroit Tigers in the final days of the season.
Credit: Kathy Willens/AP
The Red Sox may be focused on playing in October but for a day, the Yankees could relax and enjoy knowing they are the division champs and can now look forward to the next level…the ALDS against the Tigers or Twins.
Credit: AP
I would have excused the Yankees for a loss to the Kansas City Royals on Monday night, but the Hangover Guys continued their winning ways with an 8-2 victory and 101st win.
Credit: Kathy Willens/AP
It was a fantastic sports weekend for me. Born and raised in an Iowa farming community, I have been a lifelong fan of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Growing up, 3-8 seasons under coach Bob Commings were the norm. But then Texan Hayden Fry came to Iowa City and the uniforms were updated to their current Steelers-like design. Even Herky the Hawk received a facelift. Hayden instilled a winning pride at the school. This year, the Hawkeyes started the season by barely overcoming the University of Northern Iowa, but followed it with two victories, including a win against bitter in-state rival Iowa State Cyclones. Unranked, they went to State College, PA on Saturday night, and emerged with a 21-10 win over the 5th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. Very exciting!
Credit: Matthew Holst/Press-Citizen
But clearly Sunday was the day. Besides the Yankees’ division championship, the highlight reel featured Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. With 2 seconds left, Brett Favre fired a 32-yard TD pass into the end zone which was hauled in by Greg Lewis. The Vikings prevailed 27-24. After watching Favre turn excitement into bitterness for so many years, it was nice to experience a reversal of fortune.
Credit: Pioneer Press
This just might be a good sports year for me… J
Correction: As Greg of Red Sox Ramblings astutely pointed out, I misidentified Jason Varitek in my last blog. Varitek wears #33, not #37. I had crossed his age with his uniform number. My apologies to the RSN. But guess what, Tek’s still old! 
Quiet Flight to Tampa…
You win some, you lose some…
cache.daylife.com
Okay, so maybe I was expecting an early April ten-game winning streak. Hey, a guy can dream right?
%20(2).jpg)
It’s nice to see the team do well despite the absence of Alex Rodriguez. I’d hate for him to come back and be the “savior”. Of course, as long as Joe Girardi keeps penciling in Cody Ransom’s name at third, anyone except Cody would look like a savior…
Jay Grabiec/The Daily Eastern News
Joba Chamberlain pitched well enough to win. He went six innings, and gave up four hits. He allowed three runs, but only one was earned. He struck out five. The Yankees had a 4-3 lead in the 8th inning, but the Royals scored three runs against relievers Jose Veras and Phil Coke.
Nick Swisher started again at first base in place of Mark Teixeira, who has missed two games with tendonitis in his left wrist. Teixeira says that he can field without any problems, and bat lefthanded. The wrist only hurts when he tries to bat righthanded. With lefty Scott Kazmir on the mound Monday in Tampa, Teixeira will again take a seat on the bench. But Joe Girardi hopes that he will be available to pinch hit if necessary.
Monday will be a tough matchup for the Yanks. Kazmir is pitching great right now, and Chien-Ming Wang has continued to struggle. The Yanks hope is to keep it close until they can wear down Kazmir and get to the Tampa bullpen. Of course, that’s still not an easy task, so I am not too confident about Monday’s game. If Wang doesn’t bring his “A” game, I can see disastrous results when he faces Rays third baseman Evan Longoria.
I know that Canuck will be anxiously awaiting the conclusion of the game so that she can post another ‘That’s my Scotty!’ post regarding her favorite Rays pitcher. I hope that the Yanks can delay that post by five days…
Congratulations, Scott!!!
I hope Tuesday morning, Canuck is talking about me, and not Kazmir!
On the bright side, the Boston Red Sox lost so the day wasn’t a complete disaster!
JULIA’S BOYS ARE FIGHTING AGAIN
In the first inning of Sunday’s game between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angeles, Bobby Abreu took issue with a pitch that sailed high above his head as time was being called by the plate umpire. The benches cleared, but no punches were thrown. Then, Josh Beckett had some heated words for Angels manager Mike Scioscia, and the benches cleared again which led to some pushing and shoving. Four Angels were ejected from the game (Manager Mike Scioscia, centerfielder Torii Hunter, reliever Justin Speier, and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher).
AP
At first glance, it would appear to me that Bobby Abreu overreacted to Beckett’s pitch. I don’t know what words were exchanged, but it did appear to me that Beckett was only reacting to words said to him by the Angels.
Of course, this is just an average fighting-kind of week for Julia. Her “weakness”, i.e., Toby Keith was involved in a tiff with actor Ethan Hawke earlier in the week…
http://www.comcast.net/ve/1.0/1084909013/555/457/
AP via Comcast.net
Does she really think that I am going to wear a pink hat? Them’s fightin’ words!
WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?
Okay, this is a little off topic. My apologies. But what was the 32-year-old woman at the Berlin Zoo thinking when she jumped into the Polar Bear Pen, and proceeded to get mauled by the bears before she was rescued. It was definitely one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen. Well, next to why someone would be a Red Sox fan!
* * *
I hope everyone had a very enjoyable Easter with friends and family! Have a great week!
–Scott
Fid
Recent Comments