What The Yankees' First Batch Of Call-Ups Tells Me

September call-ups in baseball are a yearly tradition like no other, right up there with The Masters or The Super Bowl.  Today was the first day that teams could call players up to an expanded 40-man roster to finish the season, and the Yankees didn't waste any time going for reinforcements.  They brought up 6 guys - Francisco Cervelli, Eduardo Nunez, Cory Wade, Adam Warren, Justin Thomas, and Chris Dickerson- and DFA'd Ramiro Pena for a second time this season to make it happen.  Some of these moves were expected but there are a couple names on that list, Warren and Dickerson in particular, there were a bit surprising, at least to me.  Why, you ask?  I'll tell you why.

Game 131 Wrap-Up: BAL 6 NYY 1

(Courtesy of The AP)

No need to write an intro for this game.  Shit was pretty self-explanatory.

Game Notes:

- Bad Starting Pitching- Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8.1 innings, but he wasn't all that great in those innings.  He gave up 3 runs in the 2nd, which was all the Orioles needed, and 1 in the 6th.  2 HR allowed was Kuroda's undoing.

- Bad Relief Pitching- Derek Lowe managed to give up 4 hits and 2 more earned runs with 2 outs in the 9th to really put the game out of reach.

- Bad Hitting- The lineup went 5-32 as a team, with just 1 walk and 12 strikeouts.  Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher were a combined 0-8 with 6 Ks, and the team went 0-4 with RISP.

- Bad Managing- Joe decided to remove Kuroda with 1 out in the 9th to go to his awful middle relief corps even though Kuroda was at 99 pitches, and then didn't pinch hit for lefties Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez against lefty Brian Matusz in the bottom of the inning.

- Yankee baseball!  Heroes remembered.  Legends born.