Is this the beginning of the end?
Dan Giese went six solid innings and Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi hit back-to-back homers in the sixth, but the bullpen suffered a complete breakdown as the
Angels routed the Yanks 11-4 in Cali. The Bombers had a 2-0 lead after six and went up 3-1 on a Johnny Damon RBI-single in the seventh, but it wouldn't stand up. Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson combined for two innings of abysmal relief to drop the Yankees 7.5 games behind the front-running Rays in the AL East and 4 games back of the Red Sox in the wild card chase.
To call this a disappointing loss would be an understatement. I went into the game with low expectations, but my optimism grew as the game went on. But then the roof caved in. It just goes to show you -- never believe in anything. It was as close as a team can come to getting a collective kick in the nuts.
The Good:Dan Giese. If you just caught the final score you may have assumed that Giese was lit up. He was not. The 31-year-old used all his powers and all his skills, but wasn't rewarded for his effort. Giese doesn't have great stuff (I'm not sure he even has good stuff), but he kept the Angel hitters off balance and gave the Yanks more than they could have expected. Does Giese get another start based on Saturday's performance? I'm not sure and, more importantly, does it even matter at this point? Giese picked up a tough luck no-decision with this: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR.
The Bad:The pen. I could take each guy one by one, but masochism just isn't my thing. Jose Veras was the first man in for the Yanks in the seventh and promptly gave up a solo shot to Garret Anderson to cut the Yankee lead to 3-2. That was just the beginning. Veras retired the next two batters, but then allowed another solo bomb, this time to Mike Napoli, to tie the score. Veras managed to get out of the inning (it took some work, but he eventually recorded the final out), but the groundwork had been laid. Next up: Edwar Ramirez. Edwar's July was nearly perfect, but it's been a different story in August. Ramirez gave up four runs to the Angels last week in New York and still came away with a gift win. He wasn't so lucky Saturday. Vladimir Guerrero greeted Urkel with a homer to give the Halos a 4-3 lead. Then things quickly got out of hand -- double, single, error, stolen base, double. Exit Ramirez, without registering an out. Enter: David Robertson. D-Rob had given up at least one run in his past three appearances and he stayed true to form. A 7-3 deficit ballooned to 11-3 when the smoke finally cleared. Ramirez was saddled with the loss, but it was really a total team effort from the bullpen. The terrible three combined for this eyesore: 2 IP, 11 H, 10 R (9 earned), 1 BB, 3 K, 3 HR, 1 WP.
The Ugly:Say what? Ian Kennedy made his return to the Yanks on Friday night and pitched terribly. That may have had Yankee fans hanging their heads, but Kennedy wasn't bothered at all. I'll pull this part right out of the
link:
After the game, he [Kennedy] smiled throughout his interview with New York media.
"I'm just not real upset about it," Kennedy said. "I'm just going to move on.
I've already done that."
Sometimes quotes are taken out of context and I don't want a pitcher to dwell on a bad outing, but his comments didn't really sit well with the Yanks. During Friday night's telecast, Michael Kay said some of the Yanks were put off by I-Kenn's attitude coming into this season. Many felt Kennedy displayed a cockiness without the resume to back it up. Players that were asked to respond to Kennedy's words had no comment. "That wouldn't be right," Mike Mussina said. Girardi tried to cover for Kennedy, but I'm not sure anyone is buying what he's selling. "Some guys understand how to handle the media a little bit better than
others," Girardi said. "When you play in New York, not only is it a learning
process on how to play in New York, I think it's also a learning process on how
to say exactly what you mean." Smarten up, kid.
The Yanks will try to avoid the sweep on Sunday and give the assignment to Andy Pettitte (12-9, 4.34 ERA). The Angels will counter with lefty Joe Saunders (14-5, 3.03 ERA). Saunders is putting together a magnificent season and hasn't given up more than three runs in his past nine starts. But the Yanks have had success against him in the past. Saunders is 1-1 with a 10.80 ERA in two career starts. Pettitte was rumored to miss this start with a tired arm, but he'll take the hill (and it's not like the Yanks have a ton of options to take his turn at this point). Andy has been terrible in his past two starts -- 10.1 IP, 17 H, 14 R, 6 BB, 3 HR -- and one of those games came against the Angels July 31 in the Bronx. The veteran lefty is 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 12 career starts in California.
Let's see if the Yanks can escape from L.A. with a win.
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Can you remember the last time the Yankees won a 3 game series? I dont think they won a 3 game series since they won 8 in a row.