Not Bart's night (photo c/o Getty)
Bartolo Colon had his worst start since May 23 against Toronto — and perhaps his worst start of the season — throwing 5 2/3 innings of five-run ball and allowing a season-high 14 baserunners, as the Yankees lost for the fourth time in their last five games, falling to the Rays 5-1. Colon — who’s obviously been superb this season — not only seemed to be missing his spots, but the Rays were also clearly ready for him, jumping all over his four-seamer, which got hammered to the tune of 1.3282 linear weights and only generated one swing-and-miss.
Adding insult to injury for the Yanks, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum the Rays’ Jeff Niemann threw perhaps his best game of the season (however, only third-best by game score), stifling the Yankees over 7 1/3 innings.
While there’s no shame in losing to a team as talented as the Rays, it’s been a bit frustrating just how much of a thorn the team has been in the Yankees’ side over the last season and a half. As you may recall, last year they were one of two American League teams (along with the Toronto Extra Base Hits) to post a winning record against the Bombers, including a 5-4 mark against the Yankees in the Bronx.
For the second night in a row the Yankee bats were silent, cranking out a measly one run on six hits. The team had their chances in the 1st, with runners on 1st and 3rd and one out, and in the second inning, with runners on second and third and one out, but failed to capitalize both times. Derek Jeter led the game off with a double, but — surprise! — grounded out in his final three at-bats. With all the hype on Captain Over-the-Hill’s quest for 3,000 hits, somehow his continuing to lead the world in groundouts and barely being worth more than a replacement player (0.5 fWAR, 0.0 bWAR heading into last night) has seemingly gone overlooked. Of course, it’s not as if his teammates did much better in this one, save Robinson Cano, whose solo home run represented the lone Yankee run scored. If you want to take a positive away from this game, Hector Noesi contributed 3.1 scoreless innings in relief.
The Yanks have plated a measly four runs over their last 18 innings, and have only scored in two of those 18 frames. That’s obviously not going to last, but it has made for a frustrating couple of nights.
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19 Responses to Yankee bats go silent for second night in a row, fall to Rays 5-1
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TIQ IQ
Gotta hate Farnsworth closing out a game against us, considerng how awful he was with us.
Obviously this is just one bad game for Colon, but it does highlight the problem the Yankees will have come playoff time. As of right now we really only have 2 pitcher (CC and AJ) we can pencil into a playoff rotation. After that everyone is really more in the wait and see category.
Isn’t it amazing that everyone thinks that they can count on AJ for a full season. I can’t believe that he’s gone 2 1/2 years with the Yanks without missing any time.
Going into last night’s game, the Yanks have almost 1/3 of their remaining games against Boston & TB. That is one tough schedule. Plus, after the AS break 42 of their remaining games are on the road. That would doom most teams.
If he goes on the DL any time this year you get all the blame haha.
Honestly though if you had bet me Burnett’s K’s per 9 would slip below 7 before he hit the DL with the Yankees I wouldn’t have believed you.
He wants to be efficient, so he can go deeper. He needs to transition a bit, since his velocity is a couple ticks down from his youth. Haven’t I noticed fewer wild dirtballs?
Wow, just when we slam into such stiff road competition, we looked (last night, anyway) to have lost our mojo. The quotient fell hard on both Swisher’s sweet liner that Niemann tipped to Zobrist, and then Martin’s hit, two inches from gone, then couldn’t score.
things were going awfully good…
Mojo comes, mojo goes. Mojo be very fickle.
Things have been going so good recently you just had to say “It’s a fine time to be a Yankee fan.” Reminds me of when I had my first run of luck in Vegas: felt like God smiled, and nothing could touch. Then, they started giving me free cocktails…
Noesi looked like a real solid asset last night, esp when he ko’ed the heart of the order.
Russell pays uncounted dividends.
Wow! he had real good velocity & he had 7 swings & misses out of 41 pitches. He threw 10 change-ups too (via Brooks)… I’m impressed!
The road to the AL East crown or a Wild Card berth will always run through Tampa and Boston. There is no point worrying about that.
Normally the games on the road would concern me, but the Yankees are an excellent road team.
I didn’t mean to sound down on the Yanks, they are one of the few teams in baseball that can thrive with that challenge.
So, only stern warriors need apply? A bumpy road for the bandwagon? I will lean out enough to say that we should be conservative in trading potential for short-term strength.
Trust our luck in an environment where there’s no headline talent to be had, and Boston now hungers for the same thing. (Although it would be dandy if Cash can find another hidden gem.)
Captain Over The Hill LOL. He is. He’s should be batting ninth and if he had any sense of self-pride/dignity, he would tell Girardi to at least drop him in the order if not move him to the #9 slot after the 3,000-hit milestone is achieved. It just seems like Jeter doesn’t mind batting around .260 with an OBP around .320 in the leadoff, and he thinks it’s good for the team to produce like that. Or he’s living in denial that he sucks dick in the leadoff.
What would Jeter do if he collected a pair of hits tonight for 3,000 hits and was penciled in to bat ninth for the rest of the year after that? Retire? Demand a trade? Refuse to play? Jake it? Complain publicly? Go over Girardi’s head? No, no, no, no, no, and no. This fear of Jeter is ridiculous. He got his years and money and certainly way more than he would’ve got elsewhere with both and is lucky, LUCKY he didn’t collect his 3,000th hit last year or he’d have been either let go or offered a year and say $10M take it or leave it and if Jeter left it, thanks for the memories, Derek. Nunez would’ve been the everyday SS and he’d have a year to show the Yankees they don’t need to go after Jose Reyes.
However, in fairness to Jeter last night, his batting line of 1 for 4 could’ve easily been 3 for 4 and 3,000 hits because one of those grounders was ticketed for down the 3B line and another could’ve easily snuck through for a hit but the 3B and SS robbed him of the chance for that.
You really believe that if Jeter got his 3,000 hit last year he would have been offered a different contract?
Yes because Cashman would’ve felt there’d have been no reason to re-sign him for more than a year and $10M and convinced the ownership to (let him) offer Jeter that.
‘Say Jeter got his 3,000th hit in the final game of the 2010 regular season, the Yankees offered him a year and $10M take it or leave it, he rejected the offer, the Yankees said take it or leave it again, Jeter said adios, and the Yankees said fine. Who would’ve offered Jeter more money for one year or more? Forget him signing with Boston, Tampa Bay, or the Angels cuz that’d be an ultimate turncoat move. Texas has Elvis Andrus at SS, the Chi-Sox have Alexi Ramirez at SS, Cleveland has Asdrubal Cabrera at SS, Detroit has Jhonny Peralta at SS, and Toronto has Yunel Escobar. Kansas City, Minnesota, and Oakland wouldn’t be able to afford Jeter. That leaves Jeter with Baltimore as his only realistic AL suitor. No way he signs with Baltimore for a year. He’d most likely have to turn to an NL team and accept a year from one of them as no one is giving an aging shortstop with no power two or more years in the league with no DH he has no power for. The guy’s pair of 2011 homeruns came in one game.
If he signed with an NL team, fine, see ya in what World Series if we don’t see you in interleague play? Big deal if the Yankees drew him in interleague play this year or next.
The Yankees re-signed Jeter mainly so he could collect 3,000 hits including his 3,000th hit as a Yankee and because they were afraid of fan reaction if they let go of him. They should’ve offered him a year and $10M take it or leave it. Who’s to say they wouldn’t bring him back for another year if he had a solid 2011? He’d be a goner after this year if this year was his last year under contract or he re-signed for 2011 only if he finishes with the BA and OBP he’s posting so far, and he knows it.
Seattle who I forgot to mention wouldn’t have been able to afford Jeter either and if they could afford him why would they sign an old, expensive shortstop after the awful 2010 they had?
Baltimore, Kansas City, Oakland, and Minnesota all have much younger, cheaper, and better defensive everyday shortstops.
Jeter would’ve been an NL shortstop had he not re-signed with the Yankees.
Your analysis of where Jeter might have signed if he wasn’t a Yankee is good. But even if he already had 3,000 hits no way they would have let him walk. In my opinion, it might had made it even harder to have let him walk. Yankee management and the overwhelming majority of fans wanted him to stay a Yankee.
Just wondering, DI, if your Derek-to-the-NL scenario had actually occurred, are you saying you think Eddie would have been our starting SS since Opening Day? Or that virtually any other shortstop would have been preferable to Derek? Really?
I only ask because — putting discussion of his contract and place in the batting order aside for the moment — I really have a hard time seeing most current starting shortstops being a plus replacement for him, let alone anybody considered expendable by their current employers. And as much as I hold a somewhat higher opinion of Eddie’s upside than most, I can’t even fathom what his fielding to date would have projected out to over the entire first half of this season; not to mention its impact on our overall defensive character.
[...] tonight’s game, Bartolo Colon (3.20/3.56/3.19) will look to bounce back from his worst start of the season against Jo-Jo Reyes (4.57/4.37/4.61). The Yanks surprised the hell out of everyone and touched [...]