King Felix versus David Phelps

A discussion on the last game in Seattle, King Felix and his court, turkey legs, bases loaded jams and strike-outs.

~~ Yankees 2, Mariners 1 ~~

About the turkey legs, first I have to tell you about the court. There is a section in the ball park where all the King Felix fans sit and they have these yellow squares of paper with “K” on them. Whenever Felix pitches a chef comes out to that section with a turkey leg and people take bites out of it. Yes I’m serious.

First inning with the bases loaded, Ichiro strikes out and makes the 3rd out.

My notes: Gardner on fire, 7 game hitting streak, always a threat to run, he steals second.
Hafner walks.
Wells walks. Bases loaded ~ two outs, Ichiro up. King Felix struggling with his control. Felix strikes out Ichiro. Yankees leave bases loaded.

David Phelps picks off Bay at first.

Jayson Nix on first (5 game hitting streak), Nix steals second (Shoppach is worse than Stewart? Who would have thunk it?)
Stewart with a bunt base hit, Jayson Nix on third.
Gardner with a single to center field, Nix scores.
Robinson Cano GIDP.

Sorry I got distracted, it is now 1-1 and the top of the third. Teixeira is up. Now he’s out.

David Phelps has walked three batters so far. That’s a batter per inning.
Double play ends the inning.

NYY 1, SEA 1

4th Inning:
1-2-3 inning for Hernandez and David Phelps

5th Inning
Gardner with a double (8th hit in this series, 8-15), left on base.

Bottom of the 5th:
Broken bat ~ Nix to Teixeira, 1 out
Hard hit to Cano, 2 outs
Strike out. David’s fourth of the game.

Sixth inning:
Vernon Wells reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Brendan Ryan. And he is left there.

Bottom of the sixth:
Boone Logan warming in the pen, Phelps at 93 pitches, Strike-out, 1 out
Lines out to Ichiro, 2 outs
Strike-out. 3 outs. Six strike outs for David Phelps.

Seventh inning:
Felix with 7 strikeouts.

Side-note: O’s 10, TB 7

Boone Logan in for David Phelps
Ichiro drops it, in foul territory. (Love you, Raul ♡ , now be a good boy and swing and miss)
Shoppach grounds into a 5-3 out at first.
Yowzer, 2 strike-outs for Logan.

Charlie Furbush in for Felix Hernandez
Eighth inning:
Cano hit by pitch. Advances to second on a wild pitch.
3rd strikeout for Mark Teixeira. Good job swinging at a ball Mark. 😦
Hafner pops out in foul territory.
Wells in now, come on baby! Just put it in play no out, just put it in play no out, just put it in play no out, just put it in play no out, just put it in play no out, just put it in play no out, just put it in play outs.

David Robertson in for Logan
Ken (or AL) jinxed them. Lead-off double for Mariners.
Sacrifice bunt. Runner on 3rd. 1 out
Strike-out Jason Bay. Hat trick for Bay? Huh? 2 outs.
Swing and a miss, freakin’ LOVE D-Rob. David “H” Robertson. The H is for Houdini or Heart-attack, whichever you prefer.

Ninth inning:
Yoervis Medina in for Seattle.
Ichiro walks. And he takes great care with his bat.
Nix sacrifice bunt, Ichiro to second.
Chris Stewart with a big 2-out hit, throw is not in time, Ichiro scores, Stewart fist pumps when he gets to second. Yankees in the lead.
Oliver Perez in for Seattle, Gardner up at bat. He has had a great afternoon, 3 for 4. Hit a home run Gardy! I guess I have to settle for a base hit. Runners on the corners, Robbie is up. Home run Robbie! And he walks. Mark is up now. Strikes out, golden sombrero for Tex. 3 outs.

Bottom of the ninth:
Mariano Rivera in for the Yankees
Lead off walk
Double play (Mark is soooo good, can you say ‘Gold Glove’?
Walk to Raul (Mo has seen his late game power)
Base hit. Who do these Mariners think they are? Getting hits against Mo.
Pop-out to left field. Yankees win 2-1.

Since the game was tied until the ninth inning, neither starting pitcher gets the win.
Pitching Decisions
Winning Pitcher
David Robertson

Losing Pitcher
Yoervis Medina

Save
Mariano Rivera – 23 SV

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Game 63
Yankees 37-26 (0.587)

Still the best

The Yankees may be in second place in the AL East but to me they are still the best. The fact that last week they were in third place and this week are in second place and the team that was in second place is now in fourth place shows you just why the saying is: “It’s a long season.” These are Yankees we are talking about not the Mets.

Right now I am waiting for the game to start at 4:00 p.m., yes it is a West coast game. The Yankees have won two of three of a four game series. Depending on what happens today they could win or split. Since Boston (first place) is winning I would really like the Yankees to WIN TODAY!

After this series the Yankees head south to play the Athletics then the Angels. I haven’t been watching the games because the Yankees were losing every time I watched. I am willing to make this sacrifice for my team, since I can still get my baseball fix by watching college ball, for a little while.

So while we’re waiting for today’s game, some interesting things from yesterday in baseball.

First up the Yankees, Andy Pettitte got career win number 250, on the same day his son was drafted by the Yankees. The Yankees also drafted Paul O’Neill’s nephew, Michigan outfielder Michael O’Neill, in the third round.

There were three games with free baseball: Texas vs. Toronto, 3-4(Toronto) 18 innings; Miami vs. NYM, 2-1(Miami) 20 innings; Minnesota vs. Washington, 4-3(Minnesota) 11 innings (amateurs).

In other sports, Nadal Captures His Eighth French Open Title (tennis ~ YAWN), the only excitement there was a protester jumping on the court with a flare. Palace Malice a long Shot wins the 145th Belmont Stakes. The no triple crown winner drought continues.

Double header

Monday originally was a day off for the Yankees. The weather had other ideas and rained out two games in April, therefore on Monday the Yankees played a double-header to make up the games. It was a single admission double header which means the fans in Cleveland got to see two games for the price of one.

First game

~~ Indians 1, Yankees 0 ~~

Second game

~~ Yankees 7, Indians 0 ~~

It’s not unusual for teams to split a double header. What I’m going to talk about is the pitching. David Phelps came up to the big leagues April 2012 as a reliever, as the season wore on he showed he had durability, lasting 4 or 5 innings in long relief and made a few starts. This year, in April he was also pitching in relief until our pitchers started dropping like flies. Then he was put in the rotation, he had a rocky first start, his start on this Monday was not rocky at all. The only run was a home run and if the Yankees HAD GOTTEN THEIR STUFF TOGETHER and actually scored some runs, he would have gotten the win since the bullpen didn’t give up any runs either. Phelps line: 6.2IP, 4H, 1R, 5BB, 7SO, 4.33ERA

March 20 the Yankees played the Red Sox in Spring Training. I looked at the line-up and said, “Who the hell is Vidal Nuno?” He pitched 5 scoreless innings that game. But I didn’t really expect to see him in the regular season. Absolutely he would not be starting any REAL games. So far he’s pitched 8 scoreless innings in the regular season. Monday he was the starting pitcher in the second game, a game that counts. Now I know who Vidal Nuno is. Nuno’s line: 5.0IP, 3H, 0R, 3BB, 3SO, 0.00ERA.

Adam Warren came into finish the game, his line: 4.0IP, 2H, 0R, 4SO, 1.45ERA. Nuno got his first big league win, and Warren got his first save of the season.

Between the two games the Indians gave Mariano Rivera a framed gold record of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”.

~~ Yankees 4, Mariners 3 ~~

Today’s game I really thought the Mariners were going to win, they were ahead the whole game and Felix was pitching and he usually shuts down the bats. Which he did today until he left the game after 6 innings. CC also left after 6 but the Yankee bullpen is better than the Mariners. Also our pitchers know to NOT stand in front of first base when there is a base runner so your infield can get him out properly. In another example of a groan worthy headline, Robinson Cano tied the game and the MLB headline reads: “After aces exit, Yanks Rob a win.”

In other baseball news: Shane Victorino now knows where the visitors bullpen wall at Fenway is, and Bryce Harper knows where the right-field wall at Dodger stadium is. Guys, the outfield does not go on forever, the wall is hard and you may be super ball players but you are not superheroes.

And one last thing before I go, Yankees still in first place.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Game 39
Yankees 25-14 (0.641)

No sweep ~ Wednesday, September 14, 2011

~~ Mariners 2, Yankees 1 ~~

As far as pitching went, our guys did not pitch poorly, only 2 runs to the Mariners. However, they pitched better, or the hitters were just not awake. Maybe thinking since they had won the series, ….

The only run for the Yankees was a home run by Swisher, his 23rd of the season. Nothing to do but move forward.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ Wednesday, September 14, 2011 😛

Yankees 9, Mariners 3 ~ Monday, September 12, 2011

~~ Yankees 9, mariners 3 ~~

Yay for run support for Phil Hughes. He pitched pretty well, giving up 1 run in 6 innings pitched while Scott Proctor (who I know nothing about except he has a 6.49 ERA) gave up 2 runs in 2 innings. Then Ayala pitched the ninth. No Mo tonight.

Mark and Chris Dickerson hit home runs, which reminds me I need to update my page and send Harlem RBI some more money. Chris Dickerson also stole a base.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ Monday, September 12, 2011 😛

Save #600

~~ Yankees 3, Mariners 2 ~~

Mariano Rivera became the second pitcher in history to reach 600 saves as he nailed down the Yankees’ win over the Mariners after A.J. Burnett struck out a season-high 11 batters and Robinson Cano delivered his 26th home run against rookie Charlie Furbush.

Mo now has 600 saves, and here is something I don’t understand. For the last out, Russel Martin threw out the runner attempting to steal second base. Everyone keeps repeating how Russell Martin ‘stole Mariano’s thunder’, but how is that any different than if one of the infielders catches a pop-up? Or catches a ground ball and throws to first to get the batter out? As Russell says, “There’s no thunder without lightning.” Mo still gets credit for the save and throwing out base stealers depends on more than just the catchers skill, if he doesn’t get a good pitch, he doesn’t have time to throw the runner out. I just wanted to get that off my chest.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ September 13, 2011 😛

The Mariners have King Felix ~ Wednesday, July 27, 2011

~~ Mariners 9, Yankees 2 ~~

Tonight the Yankees had Phil Hughes. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the Yankees way tonight. I have read some things on Twitter about how “Hughesssss-less” he is, but is you look at his line, he was effective just had no run support and the bull pen, “coughed up the lead”. Phil had two runs charged to him in 6 innings. Noesi gave up 2 runs in one inning, yet all I hear is how bad Phil is and how good everyone else is (except of course Mitre). Even if they had been held to 2 runs, the game would have been tied since our bats were just sticks of wood tonight.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

The big man takes the mound ~ Tuesday, July 26, 2011

~~ Yankees 4, Mariners 1 ~~

Sabathia picks up win number 15, his ERA goes down to 2.56, Robertson holds the game and Mariano gets save number 26.

Hitting home runs in this game were Granderson and Teixeira. Not as many runs scored tonight, but it was enough.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Supporting Freddy with runs ~ Monday, July 25, 2011

~~ Yankees 10, Mariners 3 ~~

I’ve been a little busy lately, I am in the middle of moving and having to suffer with watching with people which annoys me. Please forgive me while I just give brief recaps. Once this move is complete, I will do better.

Garcia pitched, and as you can tell from the score, he got plenty of run support including a 2-run home run by Mark Teixeira and one by Derek Jeter. Logan and Garrison followed up with scoreless outings.

Ballgame over, Yankees win.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Sadness :'( ~ Thursday, July 21, 2011

~~ Rays 2, Yankees 1 ~~

We are so used to winning with CC, that when it doesn’t happen, I get sad. However Robbie says we need to forget this game and move forward, get ready to tomorrow’s game.

The boys are coming home, back to the stadium that they know to play the A’s, the Mariners and the Orioles. Here’s hoping the Yankees win all three series and the Red Sox lose their next three.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛