1) Hank Steinbrenner really would have squirmed in his office Saturday afternoon if Johan Santana turned in a complete game shutout and struck out 12 batters-- something along those lines. That was not what happened as the Mets and Yankees officially opened the Subway Series on Saturday, thanks to Friday's rainout, but Santana did the job for his New York team.
Santana took the ball for 7 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out 5 in a 7-4 Mets victory. This was not the typical Johan Santana that we are accustomed to, the one who gets hitters looking at a blazing fastball on a corner, or the guy who demoralizes big league hitters for a living with a change up that's meant to tease. No the stuff wasn't that good Saturday-- Santana gave up three homeruns and walked a couple of batters.
But of course it is easy to like a guy when everything is going right and he is performing to his fullest. It is easy to love the game when you are crushing every ball that comes over the plate or you are locating your best fastball and sharpest breaking ball with ease. But, fact of the matter is, that is not baseball at all. Much of the season is driven by failures and struggles-- the guys who turn in the good numbers at the end of the year are the ones who figure out how to endure their less-than-best.
In that regard, that is what Johan Santana did today. He was a professional who battled and ended up giving his team a great chance to win. There were not zeros across the scoreboard like there are in some of his starts, but that is not the telltale sign of a pitcher. The fact that Santana could keep a lineup at bay and eat innings is what makes him an ace. On his best days, you can forget about it. On his off days, he will at least give the bullpen some time to rest. That is what makes him arguably the best pitcher in the game, and certainly one of the top three pitchers in the game.
Ironically, the Yankees saw first hand exaclty what they have not been able to capture this season. Andy Pettitte was the hardluck loser, as he threw well-- 6 innings, 3 runs, 7 strikeouts. On a day when he needed a little pick-me-up, his offense didn't have his back. That is part of the game and is not the first or last time that he will probably lose when, in reality, he pitched well enough to win.
But here lies the reason why the Yankees have been inconsistent this season: There starting pitchers either throw great games and three runs is plenty to win, or they are terrible and even one of baseball's best offenses is stifled before it gets through the order twice. These inconsistencies can be chalked up to the Yankees having to rely so much on young, unproven, talent, but that is the distinct difference.
Whether the Yankees' front office realized it, or the fans in the stands realized it, does not cover up the fact that what makes Santana so great is not necessarily the great games he pitches, but the mediocre games that he sticks around, hangs around, toughs it out, and before he knows it, he is handing the ball off to his closer with a lead. That is what is spearating the Yankees from being an average club and being a great club right now. They don't have to have a star-studded starting rotation. What does need to happen, though, is their pitchers need to learn to eat up innings and give the offense a chance to pull a ballgame out on the days that they are not sharp. Until then, this team is going to continue to fiddle around .500 and Boss Jr. isn't going to be happy.
Miscellaneous Notes:
The Rays dropped a game, 9-8, to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, but it took extra innings for the Cards to hold them off. Down 7-3 after five innings, the Rays clawed back to tie the ballgame in the 8th inning, backed by a strong day from Carl Crawford. It took Ryan Ludwick's second homer of the game, giving him 10 on the season, to send the St. Louis faithful home happy. The second loss in the last 10 games for the Rays should not get be a downer-- they continue to show the resiliency that playoff-caliber clubs possess, and that is what they need to keep at the forefront in order to keep the franchise moving forward.
It is safe to say that Alfonso Soriano is heating up. The slugger went 5-for-5 on Saturday with two homeruns and three RBIs. This is Soriano's second consecutive multi-homerun game, and he now has seven bombs in his last 6 ballgames. It is imperative for the Cubs that Soriano continues to hit. He will not keep up this pace, naturally, but hopefully this last week is a sign that he has found his groove and is ready to be the premier power hitter that he is capable of being. What is impressive, or frightening if you are a National League Central opponent, is that the Cubs held the fort down pretty well when Soriano couldn't hit a lick in the first month of the season. Now we can see how exciting this lineup can be with Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, and Fukudome driving in plenty of runs. As long as Carlos Zambrano stays healthy over the long haul and Kerry Wood stabilizes the closer role-- this would allow the Cubs to keep dynamic set-up man Carlos Marmol in the 7th/8th inning role where he is much more valuable-- the Cubbies will be shortening ballgames and stockpiling the W's throughout the summer.
Kids, don't try this at home. But you have to love baseball players and their outlandish superstitions, right? This adds something to the game of baseball, I just can't quite put my finger on it at the moment, although I'm sure words will come to me at some point in my lifetime to define and/or describe these types of actions... I hope.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8149726/Giambi,-other-Yanks-use-thong-as-slump-antidote
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