Goodbye Darrell Rasner

Rasner’s line:

1.1 IP 6 H 5 ER 2 BB 1 K

Hello Alfredo Aceves.

Game 140: Yanks VS. Rays

From PA:

YANKEES (75-64)
Damon LF
Jeter SS
A. Rodriguez 3B
Nady RF
Giambi DH
I. Rodriguez C
Cano 2B
Ransom 1B
Gardner CF
Rasner RHP

RAYS (84-53)
Iwamura 2B
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Floyd DH
Aybar 3B
Hinske LF
Navarro C
Gross RF
Bartlett SS
Kazmir LHP

Matsui will get the day off against the tough lefty. I was listening to the ESPN announcers yesterday and they noted that Matsui has had a tough time since returning to the lineup. While that is somewhat true, especially when you compare what he’s doing now to what he did before his knee injury (peppering the ball over the field), Matsui is still hitting when it counts. He’s hit safely in his last 5 games and has driven in 6 runs during that time. In fact, he’s had 12 hits since his return and with that, 10 RBI. He’s playing hurt (that is certainly clear) and therefore the power is gone for the season, but his presence in the lineup has really provided a spark to the team.

UPDATE (6:17) – PA brings us some major changes to the lineup (as seen above). Bobby Abreu reportedly hurt his wrist in yesterday’s game (sliding into 2nd), and couldn’t play today. There’s no word as to how serious the injury is, but the Yankees could call upon Justin Christian or Melky Cabrera.

UPDATE (7:40) – Abreu had X-Rays taken and they were negative. I wouldn’t expect him to miss much time, if any, after today. This probably hinders Melky or Christian’s return, since Cashman noted that he would only call them up if they were truly needed.

36-Year Old… Rookie?

Here’s a great story for you (not Yankee related). Scott McClain, a 36-year old rookie, hit his first major league home run as a Giant in yesterday’s game against the Rockies. McClain has only gotten a handful of AB’s these past few years (with a ton of big league teams), which compelled him to play in Japan from 2001 through 2004. What’s sad is that his power numbers have always been there (287 minor league homers in 13 seasons). At least he’s making the best of his current opportunity.

Voices Of The Yankees

James Barron at the NY Times has a nice read on Jim Hall, who has been filling in for Bob Sheppard as the current “voice” of the Yankees. Hall has been doing the job (backup announcer) since the 1960’s and Barron clues us in on the interesting back story behind Hall and Sheppard’s relationship (it involves Mickey Mantle, so check it out). Bob is trying to return to the stadium and the booth, at least for the final game, but the outlook doesn’t seem promising. Either way, Mr. Hall has done a fine job in his absence.

Laughable

From the NY Post on yesterday’s game:

Bobby Abreu’s reaction to getting called out on strikes by plate ump Greg Gibson in the sixth inning led to Abreu being fined $100 for throwing his helmet and gloves.

Bobby Abreu is making $16 million this year. I’m just saying…

Within A Matter Of Days

Here is A-Rod’s new and improved line with RISP:

.270/.409/.447

He’s been rolling since the Toronto series. Expect more.

What Could Have Been

Here’s an interesting read from Tyler Kepner at the NY Times. According to Kepner, Damon Oppenheimer and the Yankees were scouting Matt Garza in 2005 and were thinking about taking him in the draft. They had the 17th pick (first round) and ended up taking C.J. Henry (SS), instead. The Twins took Garza 8 picks later and he ended up being traded to the Rays for Delmon Young (essentially), a move that I noted would end up being a big one for both parties. Obviously, in hindsight, passing over Garza for Henry was a bad decision for the Yankees, but as Oppenheimer points out, the draft is an inexact science and sometimes, things just don’t pan out for your picks.

The Yanks’ drafting strategy has been to stockpile pitchers ever since (the Henry pick wasn’t necessarily the reasoning as to why they’ve gone that route) and the Kepner read is interesting because Oppenheimer offers some insight as to why they haven’t pursued more position players, stating the following:

“You start trying to keyhole things, and what happens is guys start moving up your board that probably shouldn’t be that high,” he said. “You start emphasizing to your scouts that you’re looking for a shortstop, and then every shortstop they see, they’re going to put him higher than he should be, just because he’s a shortstop. That’s dangerous.”

I guess the club will only pick up a position player in the earlier rounds if the player is seen as an elite talent, or one that is a “can’t miss” guy. Talent will ultimately drive them in that regard, as the position the player plays won’t be seen as the defining factor for the pick. For instance, if there’s an elite bat that they’ve scouted and he’s a third baseman, I don’t think they’d hesitate to pick him if the talent is there (even if he is blocked by another player) and if he’s still on the board. I’d like to see some really exciting, high-impact position players in the system, but for now I guess I’ll be content with Jesus Montero (who is an absolute monster).

Instant Replay Hits The Trop

Of course, the first use of instant replay in MLB history (in accordance with the new IR rules) involved the Yankees, and specifically, slugger Alex Rodriguez. Today, A-Rod hit a 9th inning homer (9th inning and with Abreu at 2nd base???? whaaat?) off of closer Troy Percival which was then disputed by Joe Maddon and the Rays (it looked like it might have hooked around the left field foul pole). After reviewing the play (it took about 3 minutes, give or take), the home run was upheld and the Yankees’ lead increased by 5 (8-to-3 until it was then 8-to-4 in the bottom of the 9th). The IR process was relatively painless and, in the end, they got the call right, so baseball purists can breathe easy.

While this was a big moment for baseball, for the Yankees, this was another big game and they played exceptionally well. A-Rod’s homer was more than “meaningless” since he took pressure off the Yankees bullpen and allowed Mariano Rivera to get even more rest (he hasn’t pitched since the 29th and will be well rested as the games get even more important). The bullpen was great, again, giving the Yanks 5 innings of work and allowing just 1 ER (via Jose Veras). You’ve got to commend Joe Girardi for pulling Carl Pavano at just the right moment, which gave Edwar Ramirez the chance to get out of the inning and to get the win. Now, we’ve won 2 in a row against the first place Rays.

Overall, it was a good day of baseball for the Yankees.

UPDATE – Cork from Rays Index brought to my attention that this is, in fact, the second time instant replay has been used in baseball, although this is the first “official” use of the technology. Umpire Frank Pulli used “raw” instant replay (e.g. a television feed near a dugout) to help clarify a call in 1999, in a game between the Marlins and the Cardinals. At the time, that ruling was frowned upon by the players and the MLB since there were no rules in place for IR. Strangely, the call involved Cliff Floyd (a Marlin), who was on hand for the MLB’s first official use of IR technology in last night’s game.