September 11th @ The Blue Jays
A tip of the cap to Phil Hughes today. When he threw 30 pitches in the bottom of the first, I thought to myself “He’s going to be lucky to go five innings today.” And, what happened? Hughes went six innings and held the Jays to just one earned run over that time. Awesome job by Mr. Hughes.
Not a bad job either, tonight, from Edwar Ramirez. And, we had our first Ross Ohlendorf sighting too! Ohlendorf became the 9th pitcher to make his big league debut with the Yankees this season. That’s a franchise record (since 1957) – by far.
Before this season, and going back to 1957, the record for most pitchers making their big league debut in the same season for the Yankees was five – and it happened five times: 1991, 1992, 1998, 2000 and 2004.
Hey, how about those Devil Rays tonight? Thanks for nothing T.B.
yes, nice job by the D-rays holding on to a massive lead. Kazmir we miss you!
Steve, isn’t it the 10th pitcher the Yankees have debuted ???
Might as well just contract the Devil Rays.
~~~Steve, isn’t it the 10th pitcher the Yankees have debuted ???~~~
Kei Igawa
Chase Wright
Philip Hughes
Matt DeSalvo
Tyler Clippard
Edwar Ramirez
Joba Chamberlain
Ian Kennedy
Ross Ohlendorf
Who did I miss?
//Who did I miss?//
I think people get confused because Karstens is technically still a rookie and they forget that he actually debuted last year.
Peter Abraham posted it was 10 but I can’t find a 10th either.
The most impressive thing about Phil’s performance was that his curveball was horrible last night. I think every hit he gave up was on a hanging curveball. He basically shelved it and pitched the last three innings with all fastballs.
I know Phil’s velocity is hotly debated, but it’s interesting how he’s clocks 90-94, but even when it’s 90-91, the hitters react like it’s 95 (and that’s even before they see his curve and change). It almost reminds me of how, on a good day, Rocket is throwing 90-91, but the hitters swing right through it. I guess it’s just location, delivery, and the action he has through the zone.
Speaking of velocity, they weren’t fooling about Ohlendorf. He was really airing it out last night. I think he hit 95 a few times on the YES gun, which tends to be a tad slow. A lot of times when a starter goes to the bullpen and you hear about all this increased velocity, it’s an exaggeration. But not with Ohlendorf (who also threw a filthy slider to a lefty).
This has been an amazing year for the Yanks. The fact that Mussina and Clemens have just been okay, that Hughes got hurt early and his spot in the rotation was filled briefly with people like Igawa, Karstens, Wright, etc., and that now once again there’s another rookie in the rotation — it’s really stunning that the Yankees are leading the wild card. The pitching has been totally chaotic this year. The only constants have been Wang and Pettitte — even Mo struggled on and off for a while. All that, and there was an offensive slump for a long time. And yet here they are. Anyway, just a really odd season is winding down.
Bailey, you’re right on about Ohlendorf. I had no idea he threw that hard. Not only does he throw cheese, but it’s cheese with downward movement, which is downright Wangderful (okay, sorry). Does anyone know if he’d be eligible to make the postseason roster?
~~~Does anyone know if he’d be eligible to make the postseason roster?~~~
If Rasner doesn’t come off the D.L., he might be able to take his spot in October.
Anyway, just a really odd season is winding down.
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A bit frustrating too, as it seems that everytime the division is there for the taking, the Yanks stumble.