Ya Big Bully

At one time, the Baltimore Orioles regularly wreaked havoc on the American League. The Hall of Fame players to be in Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, and Jim Palmer. They played the game the right way. Great pitching, great defense, timely hitting, and were fundamentally sound.

Boy are those days gone.

The current group of Baltimore Orioles is a sad lot. They are now the regular whipping boy of the American League. One of those teams regular pounding on the O's is the Yankees. Last night the Bronx Bombers sent Baltimore 27 games under .500 with a 4-2 win. The Yankees are now 10-1 against the Orioles this season (so the Orioles are a mere 15-33 against the rest of baseball).

CC Sabathia wasn't at his best, but he worked his way through seven innings to improve to 6-3. Robinson Cano continued his latest tear with three hits and an RBI and Mark Teixeira followed up his three hit performance on Tuesday with a pair of base hits.

In addition to being beat up, the Orioles continued to not draw good crowds, even with the Yankees in town. At one point the fans tried to get a "Let's go Orioles" chant going and it sounded pathetic with a very partisan Yankees throng in attendance.

I thought things would begin to turn around for the O's when Andy MacPhail was brought in to run the show, and though the Orioles have a bevy of good young talent, it's going to be a while before they start pay dividends.

The team has made many mistakes in trying to build a veteran presence around the kids. Miguel Tejada started off hot, but shouldn't have been brought back. Garrett Atkins was one of the worst signings of the off-season by any team.

Make no mistake, it's not easy playing in the AL East. The O's haven't been regular contenders since the late 1990s. This is a franchise that I feared in the 1970's. A team that remarkably only won one World Series between 1969 and 1979 despite a bevy of divsion titles and pennants. But success isn't always measured by World Series titles. I know I'm repeating myself here, but it was the team I hated as a kid and teen. Not the Red Sox. That would come later.

Those Orioles teams treated the Yankees like a rag doll. Then one day Peter Angelos came along. A George Steinbrenner wannabe, that didn't and hasn't come close to his predecessor's success. And things have gone from bad to worse.

Orioles' fans loudly booed Mark Teixeira last year for not signing with Baltimore and were upset that Mike Mussina was allowed to leave. But their lack of attendance in beautiful Camden Yards has sent a direct message to Angelos. You are the problem Mr. Angelos, you and no one but you.

Yankees Steamroll O's

There was plenty of buzz in the D.C. metro area last night, all of it south of Baltimore where Stephen Strasburg was making his major league debut for the Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, the Yankees buzz sawed the Orioles 12-7 at Camden Yards.

Nick Swisher drove in five runs, Curtis Granderson belted a grand slam, and Mark Teixeira broke out of his slump, for one night at least, with three hits and a home run. All of the offense was more than enough for Phil Hughes to pick up his eighth win despite not having his best stuff.

While Strasburg was making history with 14 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Yankees jumped all over Kevin Millwood for the second time in a week. Swisher, the games second batter, continued his assault on Camden Yards with a 2-run home run. The right fielder has a career .339 average at the Orioles' home with 14 HR and 36 RBI in 31 games.

Two innings later, the Yankees the loaded the bases off of Millwood and Granderson broke the game open with his second career grand slam. Since returning from the DL on May 28, Granderson is hitting.324 (12-37) with eight RBI and eight runs scored.

Hughes said afterwards that he didn't feel quite right out on the mound, and the Orioles took advantage, banging out nine hits and scoring three runs in six innings. But the offense more than picked up the slack.

With the lead cut to 6-3, the Bombers put a six spot up on the board in the 7th. Swisher delivered a bases loaded double that plated three and Teixeira took out his most recent struggles on a Matt Albers pitch, sending it deep into the night for his 9th home run.

Notes

Just because you're the last man on the roster, doesn't mean you don't have to earn your way. I was not pleased when the Yankees re-signed Chad Gaudin after the A's released him in May and I continue to not be pleased. Last night, the Yankees almost needed to use "real" relievers when Gaudin gave up four runs over the final two innings. His ERA rose to 8.53 in the process.

Jorge Posada got closer to getting back behind home plate by catching Andy Pettitte's bullpen session yesterday.

Tuesday was the 41st anniversary of Mickey Mantle Day at version I of Yankee Stadium. The Mick had his number retired before a packed house.

Late mention, but congrats to Bob Lorenz for the job he did over the weekend doing play-by-play in the Yankees-Blue Jays series. He quickly proved that he, like Ken Singleton, is a better play-by-play guy than Michael Kay.

Harper No. 1 Pick and Then Who Cares

I don't mean to belittle what people like, but how can people watch tonight's airing of the MLB amateur draft? Bryce Harper was the obvious first pick by the Washington Nationals - by the way, as I mentioned the other day on Twitter, someone tell this guy lamp black is not supposed to be worn like facial hair - and then the really big crap shoot begins.

Seriously...high school players make up the bulk of the draft. You cannot possibly foresee a long and illustrious career for any player coming out of high school, especially a high school pitcher. On top of that 99% of the viewers haven't heard of 99% of the players.

The draft is more Brien Taylor and Eric Duncan than Derek Jeter. And so, I'll let everyone else watch and give you a synopsis of Yankees picks at a later date.

Yankees Hit Their Way to Finale Win

The Toronto Blue Jays silenced the Yankees bats through the first two games of the their three games series and had done so for much of Sunday's finale. Then the Yankees finally got some clutch hits. Well, it started out just by being hit, period.

Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner each took one for the team as the Yankees rallied for four runs in the eighth inning and a 4-2 win.

Javier Vazquez kept his team in the game with another stellar performance. He actually had a no-hitter going for 5.2 innings, but Vernon Wells broke it up with a 2-run home run that also snapped a scoreless tie.

Brandon Morrow had limited the Yankees to four hits and walk through seven innings, but hit Cervelli in the left shoulder to start the eighth. Cisto Gaston brought in left-hander Scott Downs to face Brett Gardner, but the southpaw drilled the Yankees left fielder on the wrist.

The land of Twitter thought for sure Joe Girardi would bunt as he often does in the situation the Yankees found themselves in. But the Yankees skip let Derek Jeter swing away and it paid off when the Captain doubled down the right field line to cut the Yankees deficit to one.

It was long day for Nick Swisher at the plate, in part due to the appropriately named home plate ump Bruce Dreckman. Swisher had been called out on strikes earlier in the game on a pitch out of the zone and was beside himself when Dreckman said he didn't check his swing for a third strike and the first out in the eighth. Girardi quickly came out to protect his player and got into with Dreckman whose strike zone well exceeded both sides of the tangible part of home plate. Needless to say Girardi got got tossed with Tony Pena taking over.

Even though the numbers have proven otherwise, Gaston elected to walk the struggling Mark Teixeira to face Alex Rodriguez with a force set up at any base. Those situations had resulted in five hits, three grand slams and 18 RBI in seven at-bats.

Jayson Frasor helped the Yankees out further, bouncing a pitch in front of Jose Molina. The ricochet got far enough away from the former Yankee catcher to allow Gardner to slide home head first with the tying run. A-Rod looked at a called third strike (one of the few good calls by Dreckman), but Robinson Cano delivered a 2-run single to the left for a 4-2 lead.

The Blue Jays got a run back off of Joba Chamberlain, but Damaso Marte retired Adam Lind with the tying run on base in the 8th and Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th to end the Yankees two game losing streak.

Jays Top Punchless Yanks in 14

Mark Teixeira wasn't worried. He knew that every April he struggled. It was commonplace. And he knew that come May his bat would begin to destory opponent's pitches like he did last year and every year before that.

True to form Teixeira began raking as the calendar turned to May. But then something happened. Teixeira has gone back to his April form. Actually he's been worse at times than he was in April. The first baseman's struggles were magnified yesterday as the Yankees couldn't take advantage of another excellent performance by Andy Pettitte and fell to the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in 14 innings.

Aaron Hill singled off Edwin Encarnacion in the bottom of the 14th to drop Chad Gaudin's record to 0-3. But it wasn't the Yankees pitching that cost them their second straight game north of the border.

Teixeira was the poster child for the offense's inability. He went for the collar in six at-bats and for the second time in his career struck out 5 times. It was obvious to anyone watching he couldn't differentiate a fastball from an off-speed pitch. (King George back in the day would have sent Tex to the eye dr. immediately.)

The Yankees put two on with two out in the 10th, but Teixeira swung and missed at strike three to end the inning. The Bomberless Bombers also stranded runners in scoring position in the 12th and 14th.

Derek Jeter's 2-run home run in the 5th had put the Yankees on top of Ricky Romero 2-1, but the Yankees managed just eight hits on the day against the Jays staff. Alex Gonzalez (did YES HAVE to show his 2003 World Series home run off Jeff Weaver?) had tied the game up in the seventh off of Pettitte with his 12th home run of the year. The only other run allowed by the tall left-hander was a solo home run by Vernon Wells (his 10th).

The Yankees had a chance to break things open in the 7th when Francisco Cervelli opened the inning with a single and Brett Gardner followed with a walk. Kevin Russo's sac bunt forced the Blue Jays to bring the infield in, but Jeter hit a soft liner right to Hill at second base. Hill bobbled the ball before recording the putout and easily doubled a confused Cervelli off of third base to end the threat.

Domed With a Chance of Meatballs

A.J. Burnett wasn't happy last night. He wasn't happy that the Rogers Centre dome was closed. He wasn't happy with the mound. He wasn't happy with himself. He especially wasn't happy with the two meatballs he served up to major league's leading home run hitter, Jose Bautista.

Wait, what? Jose Bautista? The guy who doesn't hit for much average and has some pop. But like 15 home runs a year pop, right?

Yeah, that would be the guy. Bautista is the main man on a Blue Jays squad that is on a pace to break the major league record for home runs in a season. Last night Bautista crushed a pair of Burnett meatballs off the facing of the second deck in left field to back eight stellar innings from starter Brett Cecil. Both help the Blue Jays cruise to a 6-1 win over the Yankees in the series opener.

Bautista jump started the Jays offense in the second when he belted a fastball down the middle. Two innings later, he got virtually the same pitch and put the Jays up 3-0. Edwin Encarnacion would join the home run parade as well taking Burnett deep in the 5th.

Cecil, meanwhile, silenced the Yankees bats with relative ease. He allowed just five hits, walked one, and struck out five. And like his idol Andy Pettitte, used a couple of double play balls to get out of jams. The left-hander has now allowed just five runs over his last 29 1-3 innings.

No Man is an Eiland

The Yankees announced that Dave Eiland is taking an unspecified leave of absence. Manager Joe Girardi told the media that Eiland will be gone as long as necessary to take care of a matter. He wouldn't going into any specifics.

While Eiland is away, bullpen coach Mike Harkey will assume the pitching coach duties while bp pitcher Charlie Wonsowicz takes over Harkey's tasks.

Selig Won't Change Call

There's been a lot of debate ever since last night that Major League Baseball should step in and change the out call from last night's Armando Galarraga near perfect game. It was announced earlier today that Bud Selig and MLB were reviewing the situation. One that, in my opinion, should not be reversed. Bad precedent and such.

Selig, though not coming right out and saying it, agreed. He released this statement a short time ago.

"While the human element has always been an integral part of baseball, it is vital that mistakes on the field be addressed," Selig said in a statement. "Given last night's call and other recent events, I will examine our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features."

As usual, Selig and MLB is being reactive rather than proactive. But I do agree with not overturning the call.

No perfect game, but Galaragga did receive a brand new Corvette from GM (Selig would have given him one of the used cards from his dealership) before today's game. He also brought out the lineup card to the umps and had a nice exchange with Jim Joyce. The ump was in tears as fans applauded.

Here's some great video from a fan at last night's game.



photo courtesy of nytimes.com

Hughes Me Up

Kudos to @Stacegots for mentioning one of my favorite songs, "Use Me" by Bill Withers, during last night's game. Perfect title for this post.

Phil Hughes continued his emergence last night as one of the AL's top young starters. The 23-yr old dominated a weak Baltimore Orioles lineup over seven innings to earn his 7th win. In doing so, Hughes limited the O's to six hits and struck out seven.

Hughes isn't the only one whose star continues to rise. Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 16 games with three hits, including his 12th home run. It was Cano's eighth straight multi-hit game, a stretch in which he has hit .576 (19-33).

Teammate Nick Swisher continued to rake as well with a 3-hit, 3-RBI performance. The charismatic right fielder is 15-35 (.429) over his last eight games with a pair of home runs and seven RBI.

Notes

Jorge Posada returned to the lineup as the DH and will be in that spot for the foreseeable future. Chad Moeller remained on the squad as the backup catcher with Juan Miranda demoted to Triple-A Scranton.

photo courtesy of nj.com

Motor City Badman

History was in the making tonight in Detroit. Two outs, top of the 9th. Tigers right-hander Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians. That's right, a would be third perfect game this season.

Tigers' centerfielder Austin Jackson had kept the perfecto intact with a remarkable over the shoulder basket, catch to rob Mark Grudzielanek of an extra base hit to start the 9th. Mike Redmond grounded out routinely for the second out. That left everything up to rookie Jason Donald. As it turned out not everything was up to the Indians' shortstop.

Donald hit a grounder to the right side. First baseman Miguel Cabrera speared it and threw to Galarraga covering. The pitcher caught the ball and stepped on the bag in one motion. He then raised his arms to begin the celebration. There was just one problem. First base umpire Jim Joyce had called Donald safe.

Cabrera and Galarraga were both stunned. The crowd booed. Tigers manager Jim Leyland came out, but didn't argue with his usual gusto. He seemed stunned too. A bang bang play would generally go to the pitcher with the great game going. But this wasn't even a bang bang play. It wasn't even close.

Galarraga retired Trevor Crowe to complete the one-hitter. And then the booing really began. Leyland came out and this time really lit into Joyce as did some of Galarraga's teammates. After the game Joyce lit into himself.

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it,” Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires’ locker room. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”

“I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.

“I don’t blame them a bit or anything that was said,” Joyce said. “I would’ve said it myself if I had been Galarraga. I would’ve been the first person in my face, and he never said a word to me.”

Galarraga later accepted Joyce's apology and the two embraced. While Joyce gets major points for owning up to his mistake, the mis-call continued the trend of umpires making really bad calls in really big spots.

One only needs to think back to last year's playoffs when Phil Cuzzi erroneously called a Joe Mauer potential extra base hit foul when it was clearly fair. Major League Baseball needs to step up and do a better job of reviewing/correcting and yes, reprimanding umpires who do a poor job of either play calling or mishandling of situations (attention Joe West).

Joyce is said to be one of the best umpires in the game, so perhaps with time this will blow over. (It certainly hasn't for Don Deckinger who made a huge error in the 1985 World Series and is often referred to in these situations.) But the problem of MLB umpiring will continue to be a hot topic until Bud Selig and company get off their behinds and actually do something productive.

As you've noticed I have stuck to correcting/massaging the human error. I am completely against the use of instant replay for judgement calls. But what do you think? Take the new poll at the top of the page and let me know what you think.

Posada Back in Lineup

As expected, Jorge Posada has been activated from the DL and will be in tonight's starting lineup. No word yet on the corresponding roster move, though it is likely to be either Juan Miranda or Kevin Russo. Posada may not be at 100% full strength to catch, so Chad Moeller is not yet expendable. Our money is on Miranda.

Mark Teixeira will also be in tonight's starting lineup after fouling a ball off his foot in last night's game.

Update - 5:35 PM Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that it is indeed Miranda that has been shipped out to Scranton.

Jeter Doubles Up on Bernie

Derek Jeter doubled in his second at-bat to pass Bernie Williams for 2nd place on the franchise's all-time doubles list.

Jeter (450) now trails on Lou Gehrig (534).

A-Rod's Day to Remember

Do not intentionally walk Mark Teixeira.

Manny Acta certainly wasn't paying attention when Twins manager Ron Gardenhire intentionally walked Mark Teixeira to loaded the bases back on May 14. For that matter, neither manager may have looked at A-Rod's career numbers when a player is intentionally walked in front of him. Just as A-Rod did with Gardenhire, he quickly made Acta regret his decision by belting his 20th career grand slam. It helped the Yankees roll to an 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians and a series win (3 out of 4).

Rodriguez drove in six runs all told and is now 5-5 with three home runs and 18 RBI when Teixeira gets a free pass in front of him. Andy Pettitte was the recipient of the run support, but he didn't need it.

Pettitte tied Whitey Ford on the all time MLB career wins list with his 236 triumph. He allowed just four hits over seven innings, and, just as A.J. Burnett did on Sunday, gave the bullpen a much needed rest. In doing so, Pettitte lowered his ERA to an AL third best 2.48.

For the second straight game, it took a while for the Yankees offense to get going. They led just 2-1 against Indians starter Mitch Talbot entering the 7th inning. That's when the game changed quickly.

Derek Jeter had a sore hamstring from being hit by a pitch earlier in the game, but delievered a one out single to knock Talbot from the game. Curtis Granderson greeted left-handed reliever Raffy Perez with a single of his own to send pinch-runner Ramiro Pena to third and set up the big decision for Acta.

After the walk to Teixeira, Acta called on righty Chris Perez to face Rodriguez, who is now in sole possession of third place on the all-time grand slam list behind Lou Gehrig (23) and Manny Ramirez (21). The Memorial Day crowd had barely settled back in their seats from celebrating Rodriguez's heroics when Robinson Cano ripped a solo shot to right for his 11th home run of the season.

Notes

The Yankees open a three game series tonight with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Javier Vazquez starts things off against left-hander Brian Matusz.

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Hey, It's Andy Pettitte

Forgot this tidbit about yesterday's game. As we were approaching the parking garage, doors opened in the middle of the Stadium, and a black SUV pulled out on to the road.

It was none other than Andy Pettitte behind the wheel. I jokingly said to my wife, "let's chase him".

By the time we got out of the parking garage he could have been in Florida.

The above pic, courtesy of Yahoo Sports, is from today's game. That's this year version of the holiday-let's make money off the consumers hat. Not as bad as last year's all red, but hideous nonetheless.