Offense and Burnett carry Yankees to 11-4 win

by Travis G on Jul 27, 2009 11:05 PM EDT in Game Recap

It's hard to believe James Shields is as good as he is after watching tonight's game. He has basically two pitches: an average 88-90 MPH fastball and a good splitter (with solid command). But the Yanks began to tattoo him when they realized, to get ahead, he would groove a first-pitch fastball. Matsui and Posada singled and doubled (respectively) on consecutive first pitches, giving the Yanks a lead they would never relinquish.

A.J. Burnett shut down Tampa's hitters, allowing just one (unearned) run in seven innings on four baserunners. But he actually wasn't that great (featuring an inconsistent curveball and a fastball that averaged 'only' 93 MPH (slow-ish for him)) and was lucky to face a Tampa team in the midst of an offensive slump. This is not a knock on him, but a warning to upcoming opponents: how good can Burnett be when he is on? Teams should be very scared of that.

Johnny Damon hit his 200th career homer (a three-run shot in the ninth), putting the proverbial 'nail in the coffin'.
Robbie Cano homered, tripled and walked twice.
Nick Swisher homered from both sides of the plate.
Girardi and Co. really must have something against Mark Melancon. What better time for a rookie reliever than the ninth inning of an 11-4 game?

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i like this kind of smashmouth game.

by jv52yankees on Jul 27, 2009 11:30 PM EDT reply actions

melancon

I was thinking the same thing.

by Nine Inch Nails on Jul 28, 2009 12:31 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

You must be retarded

Because Shields has a fantastic cutter and a change-up that’s easily in the top three of any pitcher right now. I thing A-rod might know Shields has good stuff, including a plus 2-seamer, considering he got locked up by him en route to striking out looking. I admit, you yankees were the better team tonight, but you can’t just overlook homegrown talent, as you seem to have practically none of it. 4of your 10 players/starting pitcher tonight were homegrown, while you relied on bought bats, like swisher and damon to get the job done. Yeah you’re way ahead in the standings, but I do believe you have yet to beat this “Boston” team, is that right? Money’s buying you a strong start to the second half, but it can’t buy one measly victory over those pesky sox, now can it?

9=8

by El Rayhawk on Jul 28, 2009 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

someone is a little butthurt

by Theend1190 on Jul 28, 2009 7:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Sorry Your Team Got Teabagged Guy

Plus you shouldn’t be allowed to talk your team had a perfect game thrown against them…

by Yankz09 on Jul 28, 2009 8:24 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

our entire bullpen is homegrown

what about those guys?
(Marte isn’t but he isn’t back in the big leagues yet)

by Brian5517209 on Jul 28, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

please dont bring up the homegrown thing

the main reason TB has a lot of it is bc they had top 8 draft picks for 10 straight years (99-08). any team would eventually see the benefit of that. the Yanks haven’t had a top 10 pick since DJ in 1992! i’ll take the less ‘homegrown’ team with more winning.

swisher was traded for, not what i could term ‘bought’. the only FAs on the team are Sabathia, Burnett, Damon, Matsui and Tex. every other player was traded for or promoted within the system.

by Travis G on Jul 28, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Also

you must define what you mean when you say “splitter” because Shields doesn’t have one.

9=8

by El Rayhawk on Jul 28, 2009 12:48 AM EDT reply actions

whatever you want to call it

perhaps it is a changeup, but the movement and speed make it look like a splitter.

by Travis G on Jul 28, 2009 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions

What a douchebag

by Nine Inch Nails on Jul 28, 2009 1:51 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

+1

Probably didn’t even follow baseball while they were the “Devil” Rays.

Now he’s the expert.

Enjoy riding the bandwagon all the way back to irrelevancy as the Yankees and Red Sox continue to dominate the division, and you continue to dominate the October golfing.

by Lord Duggan on Jul 28, 2009 2:06 AM EDT up reply actions

+2

You know you’re bordering on retarded when you’re a Rays fan but talking trash about our rec against the Red Sox……

…….I do love to golf though.

P.S. Did anyone hear the guys on SportsCenter talkin about how A-Rod’s strike zone is affected by whether he wears his pants baggy or not…..I found that pretty interesting.

For the Love of the Game

by ForTheLove on Jul 28, 2009 2:59 AM EDT up reply actions

7 Days in August

…to convince me this isn’t some high-priced Broadway tour that lacks polish but plays well in Debuque. 2-12 against the Red Sox and Angels so far — and unless we get Halliday (ha!) we are F-A-R from set to win a 3-game Divisional series let alone a 4/7 League or World series.

Dream on and hope young Yankee warriors. Judgment will be rendered on August 23rd.

by rosebud on Jul 28, 2009 3:07 AM EDT reply actions