10:08 p.m.: Well, another dominating performance by Rivera. This guy is amazing. Yankees fans need to relish every moment this guy gives you. No other team knows what that feels like. I keep waiting for him to show signs of slippage and he gets better and better! The Yankees win 5-1. Good night!
9:59 p.m.: I picked the Angels to win the AL West before the season and I am glad I did. The Mariners bullpen is awful. They can't win with this relief corps. Even J.J. Putz is struggling. People think because the Mariners and Mets picked up an ace they are playoff-bound. I don't buy it. Yankees scored two runs and lead 5-1 as Rivera comes in.
9:38 p.m.: So this was the smelling salt the crowd needed to wake up? The place was electric when Joba entered. Ichiro showed how good he is by getting a hit off Joba. Not many people can make that claim. I'm one who thinks Joba should stay in the pen. The game is over once he comes in and very few teams in baseball can say that. Right, Mets fans?
9:24 p.m.: Bedard has retired 14 in a row. He will be a hard-luck loser. Blame this on the defense. Bedard will be one of the top pitchers in the AL this season. This is a charity win for the Yankees. (yes, I don't expect Joba and Mo to blow this).
9:16 p.m.: This is why Farnsworth is so frustrating. He has great stuff and looks so bad at times. He was on tonight with two strikeouts in a scoreless inning. I''ll chalk it up to the cold weather since no one is hitting. Yankees 3, Mariners 1
9:06 p.m. Bedard has settled in retiring 11 straight. He hasn't allowed a hit since the second inning. If it wasn't for the porous Mariners defense, we would have a tie game. Kyle Farnsworth is in and the boos accompanied him. He is one of my favorite Yankees.
9:00 p.m.Don't worry Yankees fans. Wang looks to be fine. He allowed a run but it was due to Ichiro, who singled and stole two bases before scoring on a groundout by Ibanez. Yankees 3, Mariners 1
8:51 p.m.: Bobby Murcer pulled the lever for the new Yankee Stadium countdown. Only 68 games left.
8:43 p.m.: The Yankees get a scare when Wang motions for the trainer. Maybe a blister? He threw a ball on the next pitch to walk Burke and then induced Betancourt into a 4-6-3 double play. If the Yankees lose Wang can you say the AL version of the Pirates.
8:34 p.m.: Not much going on as the Yankees go quietly. Bedard is up to 70 pitches. He hasn't pitched that bad. The defense has let him down big time. Top 5th Yankees 3, Mariners 0
8:27 p.m.: Another good inning by Wang to work around a leadoff double. Do the Mariners even want to be out here? They seem listless. Bot 4th Yankees 3, Mariners 0
8:17 p.m.: The Mariners defense has been atrocious. Catcher Jamie Burke missed a pop-up that was foul and I know the wind is swirling, but that has to be caught. That is error number four. If Sexson makes an error, the entire infield will have made an error. I don't remember seeing each member of the infield and the catcher make an error in one game. Maybe in RBI baseball, but not in a real game. I bet Bedard wishes he was back in Baltimore tonight. Top 4, Yankees 3, Mariners 0
8:03 p.m.: Wang lost the no-hitter on a single by Betancourt in the top of the third, so there goes my chance for watching history. I have been to two one-hitters in my life. Both by Mets pitchers and I'm sure I'll never see them pitch a no-hitter. Wang has allowed some hard hit balls, but he is pitching well. Yankees 3, Mariners 0
7:53 p.m.: Another Mariners error to start the inning by Beltre. Then after Molina struck out, Ensberg ran on the pitch and was easily out, but second baseman Jose Lopez couldn't handle the throw for the Mariners third error. This is like a 50-year old softball league. This will come back to haunt the Mariners. Here it comes, Gonzalez singles (Robinson who?), and Melky Cabrera hits a two-run double. What a start for Melky. The guy has been very good so far. I'm very impressed. Bedard can't be happy. The defense has been awful and now Bedard has a high pitch count.
7:38 p.m. Wang started the inning by allowing a scorching line drive to left by Adrian Beltre. Then was he a little scared by the young prospect Jeff Clement? He walked him on four pitches, just his 12th of the season with one out. Sexson struck out swinging on a full-count. (How many times have we said that this year?). Then he got another Mariners prospect Wladimir Balentien to strike out swinging. Balentien has good power. Wang has struck out a lot more batters this year. If he continues to do that, he will really take another step toward the upper-echelon of pitchers.
7:28 p.m. The Yankees took advantage of a one-out error by shortstop Yuniesky Betancour allowing Derek Jeter to reach. With two outs, Matsui dunked one into leftfield scoring Jeter for a 1-0 lead. Jeter passed Joe DiMaggio and is now fourth on the all-time Yankees list for runs scored with 1,391. Matsui extended his hitting streak to 12. Remember, Bedard is pitching in his second game back from the DL and it's a cold night, so any chance to make Bedard throw more pitches and get into that terrible Mariners bullpen is a good thing.
7:13 p.m.:Adam Ronis here from Yankee Stadium. A quick first inning for Wang. Ichiro hit a ball to deep right, Jose Lopez grounded out 1-3 and Raul Ibanez hit a fly ball to deep left that Hideki Matsui took an odd route to. The wind is blowing in from left, so it was held up. I can play a better outfield than Matsui. Seriously, if anyone has seen me play, they will back me up. Could be a rare quick Yankees game with Wang and Bedard.
Pregame chatter
Seattle Mariners (13-16) at Yankees (14-16), 7:05 p.m.
Starters: Erik Bedard (2-0, 2.04) for the Mariners and Chien-Ming Wang (5-0, 3.23) for the Yankees.
Last starts: Wang was spectacular last Sunday, winning a 1-0 pitcher's duel against C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians. Wang gave up just four hits and struck out a season-best nine batters through the first seven innings against the Indians. He has won all six of his career starts against Seattle, along with a 2.01 ERA. Bedard came off the disabled list last weekend and beat the Oakland A's, allowing just two hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings.
Final shot: A fabulous pitching matchup tonight as the Yankees begin a three-game series against Seattle. The Yankees are in the middle of a nine-game homestand, losing the first three to the Detroit Tigers.
NOTE: I'll provide updates during the game in this spot, but I can only post after each half-inning. Just hit your refresh button. The live chat and poll questions will be going on below.
Comments (11)
Nice to see Wang lending stability.
Who could have predicted Posada and A Rod would be DL-ed and that Kennedy and Hughes would regress so much?
As our country continues to fall apart, and our economy dies a fast death, baseball is not so important. Even if we are only .500 this year, I want to enjoy the games without rancor or any unrealistic expectations.
I never thought I'd see the day Farnsworth's ERA would see the other side of 4.00.It currently stands at 3.77.
Betemit will be back Sunday or early next week.More roster moves.
So Hughes has a broken rib and is half blind to boot."The Great Communicator".
Giambi Watch:
1 for his last 16.
Best case scenario is when Posada comes back instead of being the everyday catcher he shares catching duties w/ Molina and gets playing time as DH and 1B.
Yanks release Giambi when Jorge comes back.
Let Duncan play on an everyday basis switching him between DH,1B and RF.
Give Betemit some ABs at 1B .
Keep Gonzalez around to spell Jeter and Cano.
I like your plan Ruse--As much as I like Giambi, he and his contract have been an albatross to this team for the past few years. He can't run, play defense and now he can't even hit. It makes me nuts every time he hits the ball against the shift.
We need Jorgie back and I don't think his shoulder will be able to carry the burden for the last 100 games, so even though he said "we have 7 first baseman on this team" well he forgot to mention that we don't really have a competent one.
How would you guys feel if we added someone like say, Kevin Millwood to eat up some innings?
Ruse: You have taken the words right out of my mouth. I believe Damon who is more serviceable, might be on a short leash come June/July. Gardner could give us more in defense and small ball especially if Johnny is not hitting.
You got to love Girardi's style of managing. Moving the veterans to the bench for poor play. Joe Torre would die with his original lineup. As Duncan looks better at first base and gets some hits maybe Giambi will pick it up but his bat speed is getting slower and slower, unfortunately.
Todays Lineup vs. the King?
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Melky CF
Cano 2B
Ensberg 3B
Moeller C (day game after night)
Yanksfanmc
If the 4th and 5th slots in the starting rotation continue to be a sore spot I'm sure the Yanks will trade for a short term solution.
1. What can I say about Wang? Ace?
2. It's a pleasure watching Ichiro even as an opponent.
3. I can't stop longing for a decent 1b, but I admit that the longer I've watched poor Giambi flounder around, the better Duncan has looked to me.
4. Mariners fielders hate an icy wind even more than our guys do, bless their hearts.
5. The great Mariano Rivera continues to astound.
6. Hank didn't say anything that half the bloggers here didn't say before him.
Sidebar: Dodgers
Don't know if anyone else here cares, but the Dodgers were my childhood team back when my family lived on the left coast and took me to my first MLB game at Dodger Stadium. So they remain my NL team and I keep a casual eye on how they're doing.
So far so good. Torre has managed to put out the fires of internal squabbles among players that killed them last year and has got them playing as a team, and in addition his in-game strategies are going well so far, such as pinch-hitting decisions and the like. He has been able to sit those who need to be sat without the previous 'diva' reactions. The team is a couple over .500 and has won a half dozen games straight. Part of their success, according to one writer, is also due to players being afraid to slack off in the face of the fiery Bowa... ;-)
I picked the Dodgers to win the NL Pennant and I stand by that pick
Sully,
I'd be glad for you to be right on that, but they have a long row to hoe. They're still four or five out in their division, though rising...