A Biased Look at the New York Yankees, the Greatest Franchise in the History of Sports
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In some ways, 1922 was a step back for the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth had a monster year, but it was muted due to a six week suspension he served to begin the season. The suspension was handed down by Commissioner Judge Landis and it related to his barnstorming tours. These paid, post-season exhibitions cost the Babe 42 games during the season. Despite this, Ruth fell just four homers short of leading the league (35 vs. Ken Williams 39), he did lead the league in OPS (1.106), Slugging (.672) and adjusted OPS+ (182). Needless to say, this was Ruth’s worst season of the decade, and it was still a great one by any measure.
On the pitching side, the Yankees were led by Bob Shawkey and Joe Bush. Shawkey finished the season 20-12 and he was third in the league with 130 strikeouts. Joe Bush was 26-7 and those 26 wins were good for second in the American League. The team’s 3.39 ERA was second best in the league, just trailing the St. Louis Brown’s 3.38, and they led the league in WHIP (1.309).
The Yankees made things very interesting for their fans as they dropped three straight games in late September. With two games left in the season, the Yankees led the St. Louis Browns by two games and clinched their second straight pennant with a win over the Red Sox. They lost their final game and ended up with only a one game lead over the Browns at season’s end. In the National League, the New York Giants had wrapped up their second straigh pennant earlier in the week, and the two teams were set for a Polo Grounds rematch.
Game 1 Highlights
Giants 3, Yankees 2 Giants Lead Series 1-0
Game 1 was your standard pitchers dual. Neither team scored until the Yankees finally got to Giant’s starter Art Nehf in the sixth inning. Whitey Witt tripled with one out but was gunned down at home on Joe Dugan’s groundout. Dugan advanced all the way to second base while Witt was caught in a pickle and scored on Babe Ruth’s single.
The Yankees added a run in the seventh inning when Bob Meusel scored on Aaron Ward’s sacrafice fly. Meusel singled earlier in the inning and reached third when the Giants misplayed Wally Schang’s bunt attempt.
Last year’s champions appeared to be just biding their time, and they finally struck in the bottom of the eighth inning. Joe Bush gave up two runs on four consecutive hits to start the innings before getting pulled for reliever Waite Hoyt. The go ahead run then scored on Ross Youngs’ sacrafice fly.
The Yankees went down quietly in the ninth inning to end the game. In all, the Yankees only managed seven hits and to make matters worse, they didn’t really capitalize on the Giant’s three errors.
Game 2 Highlights
Yankees 3, Giants 3 (10 Innings) Giants Lead Series 1-0-1
In game two, it was the Yankees who staged the comeback. The Giants were looking to bury the Yankees in game two, and they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after just half an inning. Starter Bob Shawkey would calm down and give up just five hits the rest of the game.
The Yankees got on the board in the bottom of the first. Joe Dugan reached first base on another Giants error and he moved over to second on a ground out by Babe Ruth. Wally Pipp then came through with two outs and singled home Dugan to shave the lead to 3-1.
Aaron Ward homered in the fourth inning and Yankees trailed by a mere run. They’d get that run in the eighth inning and it was Babe Ruth who came up big. He doubled with one out, then scored on Bob Meusel’s double.
With the game tied 3-3, the two teams went into extra frames. After playing the tenth inning, home plate umpire George Hildebrand made a controversial move and called the game due to darkness and it ended in a tie.
Game 3 Highlights
Giants 3, Yankees 0 Giants Lead Series 2-0-1
There’s not a lot of good that came out of this game. The Yankees managed a mere four hits and only one of those was for extra bases (a double by Wally Schang). The only inning they threated to score was in the seventh when they had runners on second and third with one out, but a strikeout and a ground out later ended that threat.
Waite Hoyt only gave up three runs, but he got out of a few jams as the Giants had eleven hits. Aaron Ward’s third inning error helped contribute to the Giant’s one big inning in which they scored two runs.
Game 4 Highlights
Giants 4, Yankees 3 Giants Lead Series 3-0-1
As in game 1, one big inning off of starter Carl Mays was the ultimate difference in the game. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Wally Pip and Bob Meusel both had RBI singles. That lead would stand until the Giants busted the game open in the fifth inning by scoring four runs. The Yankees cut the lead to 4-3 on Aaron Ward’s second homer of the series in the seventh.
The Yankees went into the ninth down by a single run and Wally Pip doubled to lead off the inning. Bob Meusel grounded to short, and Wally Pip was caught in a rundown and eventually tagged out. Wally Schang singled to center but was cut down trying to stretch the hit into a double. Then with Meusel on third, Aaron Ward flew out to left field to end the threat.
Had Pip only stayed home, or Schang not tried to stretch his single into a double, the Yankees might have finally taken a game and maybe created some momentum. Instead, they were faced with the reality of winning four straight games to win their first World Series.
Game 5 Highlights
Giants 5, Yankees 3 Giants Win Series 4-0-1
For the third game in this series, the Giants came from behind to win the game. The Yankees got on the board first when Wally Pipp singled home Joe Dugan. The Giants answered in the second inning with two runs and the score stood at 2-1.
The Yankees tied the game in the fifth inning but once again, a running mishap may have cost them more. With one out, Aaron Ward singled and Everett Scott walked to put runners at first and second. Joe Bush singled and drove in Aaron Ward, but Scott was caught in a run down between third and home and was tagged out at home. A groundout later, and the Giants escaped with only one run given up.
The Yankees took the lead in the seventh inning. Bob Meusel scored on Everett’s Scott’s sacrafice fly and the Yankees had a 3-2 lead.
As in game one, Joe Bush ran out of gas. In the bottom of the eighth, the Giants tagged Bush for three runs on four hits. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth and the series was over.
Most disconcerting about the sweep was the disappearance of the team’s leader, Babe Ruth. Ruth was only 2 for 17 with a single RBI in the five game. He walked twice, and that all equated to an OPS of .426. The Yankees had a good core of players though, and there was no doubt they’d be back in the pennant mix next year.
Good teams beat bad teams. It doesn’t always happen that way, but the really good teams take care of business and they beat up on the bottom feeders of the league. While the Yanks have had their troubles against the Devil Rays this season, they didn’t run into those same problems this weekend against the Royals as they swept Kansas City.
Randy Johnson got things going on Friday as he threw a four hitter through eight innings. Bernie Williams did his share by hitting a pair of two run shots to account for four of the Yanks five runs. Alex Rodriguez drove in the fifth run with his 38th homer of the season. Jason Giambi had the odd stat line of the night as he went 0 for 1 with a run and three walks.
Yesterday, the Yankees decided to add a little suspense to our lives. Jaret Wright gave up all five of his runs in the fifth as the Royals erased a 3-0 deficit in one fell swoop. The Royals padded their lead by adding single runs in the seventh and eighth to make it 7-3. No problem for the Yanks as they racked up five runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk away with the win. Jeremy Affeldt’s throwing error was a huge help that inning, and Matt Lawton made his pin stripe debut by scoring. The walk off hit was an RBI single by Alex Rodriguez.
Today was Jason Giambi’s day. He’d been slumping, but he broke out of it with seven (yes, seven) RBIs and two homeruns. Bernie Williams drove in the other three (he might have had more if Giambi hadn’t been such an RBI hog) with two singles. A-Rod scored three runs and Derek Jeter had three hits. Al Leiter had another solid outing as he improved to 4-3.
The Yankees traded minor league pitcher Justin Berg for journeyman Matt Lawton this weekend. A solid pickup, Lawton was on the verge of breaking out a few years back before hurting what I believe was his shoulder. Since then, he’s been a solid and his 19 fielding runs above replacement this season will be welcome. The Yanks will be his third team this year (Pittsburgh then the Cubs).
Berg wasn’t even mentioned in the 2005 Baseball Prospectus so I don’t know much about him but it looks like he had solid number playing Class A ball.
The Indians, A’s and Red Sox all won today, so here’s where we’re at. We’re 1 1/2 games back of Boston, so we’re right there. We’re now in sole possession of the Wild Card because the A’s passed the Angels, and the Angels are a half game behind the Yanks. Close on both the Yanks and Angels heels are the Indians at a game back. The Yankees travel to Seattle to, once again, take care of business. A four game sweep is the prediction here. The Tigers have one last chance to help us out as they play the Indians. The Red Sox are lucky and get Tampa Bay.
Time to take a breath. Basically, the Yanks need to win. Shouldn’t matter too much what these other teams do, except maybe Boston. It’d be nice to be ahead of them when we go head to head in two weeks. I’d like to see Red Sox fans face when they not only fall out of the lead for AL East, but fall out of the playoff picture all together.
The Yankees are in first place for the Wild Card. That’s the good news. The bad news is, with the Indians looking like they’ll be winning their game, we’ll have a three way tie for first place. The Yanks accomplished all of this by taking three of four against the Blue Jays.
On Monday, Jaret Wright had another good outing since coming off of the disabled list. He threw seven shutout innings, and the pen did their job to secure the win. Hideki Matsui drove in three runs and Alex Rodriguez had three hits and he drove in his 100th run of the season.
Tuesday was THE game. The Yanks came back on three seperate occasions and they walked off the field in the ninth with the win. Down 4-3, Hideki Matsui hit a solo homer to tie the game up. The Yankees then loaded up the bases and with two outs, Felix Escalona singled home the winning run. Al Leiter had one of his best outings of the season (he only walked one, enough said) and Mariano Rivera walked away with his sixth win of the season.
Yesterday’s game was a drag. Mike Mussina was tagged for eight runs as the Blue Jays scored all nine of their runs in the fifth inning. The Yanks tried staging a comeback by scoring five unanswered runs but it just wasn’t enough. Bernie Williams hit a three run pinch hit homer and Matsui (who had a great series) had three hits and two RBIs.
This afternoon, Shawn Chacon threw another great game. He’s really looked good since donning the pin stripes. He gave up only two runs on six hits through seven innings of work. Gary Sheffield had the big hit with a three run blast in the 1st inning and Alex Rodriguez added his 37th homer of the season.
Boston is losing as we speak. If they drop their game, we’ll only be two and a half games back. Kansas City rolls into town so anything less then a sweep would be a disappointment. The Red Sox host the Tigers in the shitbox this weekend. The Tigers had a chance to help us out but they laid an egg against the A’s this week. Hopefully they’ll be able to do it for us against the Sox. Cleveland goes to Toronto, so hopefully the Jays aren’t too shellshocked to pull out a couple of wins.
The good news is, we walked into Chicago and took two out of three. The bad news is, we have more competition then I’d like for that Wild Card spot because the Indians have now won four straight. In addition, the White Sox had been playing bad, and they ended their skid against Randy Johnson so I would have liked a sweep.
Things started off nicely on Friday. Mike Mussina brought his best stuff as he went seven and gave up only one run on five hits. He struck out seven before yielding to the Gordon/Rivera one/two punch to wrap things up. Bernie Williams and Gary Sheffield both had two hits and an RBI in the 3-1 victory.
Yesterday was even better. We rattled former Yank Orlando Hernandez to the point of nearly getting ejected. Too bad for him that he didn’t, because later in the game he made a nice play on a comebacker only to throw the beginning of what should have been a double play into the outfield. I saw the highlights, and his little temper tantrum on the mound was priceless.
That error eventually resulted in three runs. Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez drove in a run a piece later in the game as insurance, and Shawn Chacon was simply on fire. Eight shutout innings, and he gave up only four hits.
Today wasn’t as good. Randy Johnson gave up four homers in one inning. He’d put up bagels in the other eight innings, but that six run fourth cost him the game. Robinson Cano and Tino Martinez drove in the only two runs of the game.
The Red Sox split their four game series with the Angels and we’re four games back of them. We still have a chance, but if we’re not able to shave that lead down to at least two games when we play them in September, I don’t like our chances. Despite the fact that we’re down by a half game to the A’s (who dropped two to KC, ouch) and tied with the Indians, we’re right there. We’re tied with Oakland in the loss column and a loss better then Cleveland. The Twins are doing their best to enter that mix as well.
The Blue Jays now come into town, and they just got torched by the Tigers of all teams. It’s a four game series, so the Yanks are going tomorrow. Oakland squares off against Detroit, who’s helped us out recently by taking a series with the Red Sox earlier this week. The Indians are at Tampa Bay, so they have a chance to make a move. The Red Sox go against the Royals, unfortunately.
Keep on winning guys.
I could throw out some expletives, but even those wouldn’t be able to convey the frustration I have right now. The Yankees COULD be in the lead for the Wild Card and they COULD be a mere three games back (in the loss column) of the Red Sox. Instead, we’re still on the outside looking in at Oakland and we’re five games back of the Sox.
Things started out fine on Monday. Jaret Wright made his return from the disabled list and threw a nice game. He was held to 79 pitches, but he threw 6 1/3 innings of four hit ball. In the meantime, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield both homered and drove in two runs to give the Yankees the win. To make matters even better, the Tigers beat Curt Schilling in the ninth and the A’s lost their game to the Orioles. Things were definitely looking up.
Tuesday was a disaster. Plain and simple. The Yankees jumped out to a nice 3-0 lead, mostly because of a two run single by Hideki Matsui. Randy Johnson had a shutout going through five innings when Eduardo Perez of all people took him yard in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2. Eduardo must have eaten is Wheaties or something that morning because he then took Mariano Rivera (yes, that Mariano Rivera, the one who had given up only one freaking homer the entire season) deep in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra frames.
Then in the bottom of the eleventh, Scott Proctor walks three batters, including one that drives in the winning run. A walk off walk. Sigh. Alan Embree was hit with the loss because he left that runner. So despite the Devil Rays making three errors, we lose because we can’t score a run through the final nine innings AND we have a guy who can’t find the strike zone.
Then there was yesterday. Things were looking up when, after being down 2-1, Gary Sheffield hit a huge three run blast to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead. They’d add a run in the sixth to make it 5-2 and things were looking good. Well, maybe if this were 1998 this game would have been a lock. But this is 2005. Aaron Small came in to relieve Al Leiter who, once again, managed to give up several walks (5) but not a lot of runs (2). Small gave up a two run shot to Alex Gonzalez, and now all of sudden, the game’s interesting.
Both teams score a single run going into the bottom of the eighth when disaster struck once again. With Tanyon Sturtze on the mound, Alex Gonzalez once again made his mark by doubling in a run to tie it. Then of all the crappy ways to lose (outside of walking a guy home), Sturtze throws one that Posada can’t handle and Gonzalez comes home to score. A walk off (run off) wild pitch.
There is good news. Yes, you might find it hard to believe. The Tigers managed to take two of three from the Red Sox, and the Orioles swept the A’s. So, we’re four and a half back (five in the loss column) of the Red Sox and only one and a half back of the A’s (one back in the loss column). The White Sox are on deck and they gave us fits last week. Hopefully we can turn the tables and rough up there pitching in that band box they play in.
I knew the Yankees had it in them. Four games against the Rangers, and they walked away with four wins. Three of them were close games with one blow out. Now all we need is those pesky Red Sox to drop some games, and we’ll be all set.
Thursday was weird. No two ways about it. The Yanks go up 6-2 after five and 8-4 after six only to give up four in the seventh. Then they get a single run in the bottom of the seventh to win it. Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter all went yard and Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera combined for two shutout innings to finish the game.
Friday’s game was just as close, with all eleven runs being scored in the second, third, and fourth innings. Al Leiter had another shaky start, but he improved to 3-3. Jeter homered again, and Bernie Williams got in on the action with his eighth homer.
Yesterday was close game number three. The Yankees jumped out to a 5-1 lead only to see the Rangers score two in both the eighth and the ninth. Mariano Rivera blew his first save since the Civil War. Fortunately Bernie Williams hit a two run walk off homer in the eleventh to secure the win. Bernie, Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez all homered and drove in two runs. Aaron Small actually threw an inning of relief to improve to 4-0.
Todays game was the blow out. A-Rod and Godzilla both hit homers and drove in three runs. Shawn Chacon threw a good enough game and the pen did their job. Not too shabby of a way to end a weekend series.
After all that, we’re still 4 1/2 games back of the Red Sox. We’ve won four in a row while they’ve won six in a row. The Wild Card gives us a little better answer as we’re two back of Oakland in the loss column. The Yanks go to Tampa for a three game series so hopefully we’ll be able to beat up on them before heading to Chicago.
Yes, I’m talking about those pesky White Sox. I don’t know how any team can come to Yankee Stadium, score six runs in a three game series, and walk away with two wins. We’ll get a rematch next weekend in Chicago, and hopefully by then we’re riding a nice fat winning streak and we’re knocking on the other Sox team’s door.
Things got off to a pleasant start on Monday. Mike Mussina was in top form and he outdueled former Yankee hero Orlando Hernandez. El Duque and the Sox pen held the Yanks to only four hits, but one of them was a huge two run shot by Alex Rodriguez. Mariano Rivera, who’s simply been on fire this season, earned his 30th save of the season. Mussina struck out seven through six innings with his only scratch being a two run fifth inning.
That was it. Yesterday, another former Yankee, Jose Contreras was just as lights out. Shawn Chacon, who’s looking like he was worth trading for, was almost as good. The Yanks did finally get on the board in the ninth with a solo shot by A-Rod, but Paul Konerko’s homer in the top half of the ninth gave the Sox the insurance they needed to hand the Yanks the loss.
This afternoon was even more difficult to take. Aaron Small had his best start of the season as he threw seven innings of four hit ball. His one blemish was a single run in the third and he struck out seven. The bats just weren’t there though. Gary Sheffield had an RBI single in the first, but the Sox were held scoreless for the rest of regulation and the one extra frame. Freddy Garcia shut us down and could only manage five hits the entire game and Mariano Rivera ran out of gas in the tenth and the Sox walked away with the win.
So, we’re five games back of Boston in the loss column and four games back of Oakland for the Wild Card. The Texas Rangers head into town, and they’ve been struggling mightily. I think AT LEAST three of four is in order. A sweep would be even better.
Hoping to get in the 1922 World Series Retrospective between now and the Sunday series recap. Check back…often.
The Yankees took two of three this weekend at Toronto and in the process, they picked up a game on the Red Sox who dropped two of three to the Twins. It’s looking the like the easiest route (is their such a thing) to the playoffs will be through the AL East, so keeping pace is imperative. We still have six games against Boston, and the division winner could be the team that walks away with those games.
On Friday, Aaron Small got things started by improving to 3-0. In what was his best start to date, Small gave up only one run on seven hits through 6 2/3 innings. The lack of strikeouts is of some concern (six through 20 innings) but as long as he keeps on winning, we’ll take it.
Gary “The Self Proclaimed Man” Sheffield hit his 22nd homer of the season to drive in two runs. His RBI total is now up to 83.
Yesterday, the Big Unit was bounced around. Randy Johnson got roughed up by the Jays’ hitters and had only four innings of record. Six runs, ten hits and only three strikeouts. Sheffield hit his 23rd homer and Derek Jeter went three for five with two RBIs.
The rubber game went much better. Al Leiter, aka Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, was pretty good. He walked four batters and gave up four hits through 5 2/3, but more importantly, none of them scored. In the meantime, Alex Rodriguez homered and Jason “Player of the Month” Giambi drove in two.
As it stands, we’re 3 1/2 games back of the Red Sox and 3 1/2 ahead of the Twins. The White Sox come to town to play three games so that won’t be an easy series. Over in the Wild Card standings, we’re now four back of both the Angels and A’s (only one is of concern, the other will win the AL West). The Indians are right on our tale but we’re two losses better.
Bottom line, we need to win. Duh.
When you’re a Yankees fan, you hate losing. You’re just not used to it. Every year (at least over the last ten years), you expect the Yankees to win the World Series. Anything less is a disappointment. So that’s why the series loss to the Indians is such a drag. It was an important series because both teams are in the middle of the Wild Card race and the Yankees came up short.
On Tuesday, the Indians took a 6-2 lead after five innings. The Yanks made an attempt at a comeback, but they came up a run short. Alex Rodriguez hit his 29th homer of the season and Al Leiter reverted back to way he was pitching for the Marlins. Two innings, five walks and five runs.
Yesterday was even worse because the Yankees jumped out to a nice 4-0 lead only to see it go up in smoke when the Indians tagged Mike Mussina for six runs in the fifth. Jorge Posada went yard, but that was the only real excitement with regard to the offense.
Tonight was the way things should be. The Yanks were down 3-2 going into the ninth when Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi hit a pair of solo homers to win it. It was Giambi’s second homer of the night and his 21st of the season.
Boston won, so the Yanks are still 4 1/2 games back. They’re three games back of Oakland for the Wild Card. I’m indifferent as to how we get into the playoffs.
This weekend we play the Jays at the Skydome (or whatever it’s called these days). It will be a nice tuneup for next week when we face the White Sox. While I’m sure they’re proclaming themselves as the best team in the league because they have 70 wins, we all know the truth. And they’ll find out the truth when we squash them.
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