(Nice visual metaphor for how much support Hirok got last night. Courtesy of the AP)
The weather caused a delay in the start of last night's game. It also caused an early finish as the Yanks and Sawx only got to play 6 innings. With what happened in those 6 innings, it probably would have been best if the game was just postponed. The offense continued to struggle, providing no support to starter Hiroki Kuroda, and the team's freefall continued. Something needs to change with the lineup right now, something significant, because this entire group is hard to watch and it's obvious that Teix and Youkilis are nowhere near ready to be counted on to produce.
Game Notes:
- The Yankees wanted to be patient against Bahhston starter Clay Buchholz, and they just weren't. Buchholz needed just 71 pitches to blank the Bombers through 6 innings. He was constantly ahead in the count and the Yanks played into his approach by swinging early.
- Kuroda was money the first turn through the rotation, the second time the Sawx started to figure him out. He wasn't as sharp as we've seen him at times this year, particularly with his sinker, and when you get no run support you're going to lose.
- Kuroda did have to work harder than Buchholz and it started to show in the middle innings. He gave up leadoff HRs in the top of the 5th and 6th, to Jose Iglesias and David Ortiz respectively, and was out after 5.1 IP. Sucks when the sinker doesn't sink.
- Chris Stewart didn't play after again experiencing "dehydration" symptoms before the game. Sounds like an undiagnosed concussion to me.
F*ck Yeahs:
- Austin Romine: 1-1. One of only 2 Yankees to get a hit and he did it with a nice piece of hitting with 2 strikes.
Oh Nos:
- Kuroda: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. Kuroda was much more hittable in those middle innings and never really got in a groove with his stuff, despite the 5 strikeouts and the fact that he didn't walk anybody. He needed to be spectacular last night and he wasn't.
- Vernon Wells: 0-2. Batting average is down to .250 on the year and OBP is down to .298. He's fallen off the cliff.
Next Up:
The Yanks will stay put at home and welcome Nick Swisher and the Cleveland Indians to town tonight. We'll see if weather is a factor again. Andy Pettitte is scheduled to come off the DL to make the start tonight and he'll need to be good against Cleveland ace Justin Masterson.
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2 comments:
First - I'll agree - the Yankees looked horrible. BUT - you can't complain about a lack of patience, when the pitcher is throwing strikes.
I wanted to scream at Hafner - he was obviously following orders - the end result was that he stood and watched 3 pitches go by for strikes. afaik, that is a strikeout - end result no different than Robby flailing at gopher balls. (which, to his credit, he didn't do last night.)
The team did a better job of laying off bad pitches - they just couldn't lay good wood on the strikes Bucholz was throwing.
That's a fair point. I think I'm just lamenting the overall patience issue with the team during this slump. They always seem to be swinging early when they shouldn't and taking when they shouldn't.
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