RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling hows bout those yankees for 2007 - cuz no other team matters

Yanks lost a close one 4-3 and got swept by the Rockies.

A-Rod, Yankees overcome Bonds' 749th homer


A CLOSER LOOK
• Summary: Barry Bonds hit a solo shot for his 749th career homer, but Alex Rodriguez's four hits and two RBIs helped the Yankees beat the Giants 7-3 to snap their three-game slide.


• Hero: Rodriguez's leadoff double in the second started a three-run rally and he also hit run-scoring singles in the fifth and ninth.

• Chasing Aaron: After walking, striking out and grounding out in his first three at-bats, Bonds blasted a fastball some 375 feet for his 15th homer of the year to cut the lead to 6-3.

• Milestone triumph: Yankees manager Joe Torre tied Leo Durocher for ninth place all-time with 2,009 career wins.

• Figure this: The crowd of 43,425 was the largest ever for a regular season game at the Giants' waterfront ballpark that opened in 2000.

• Quotable: "I'd take two more [Bonds homers] and two more wins. I'm a huge Barry fan. ... As long as we win the game, he can do whatever he wants." -- Rodriguez


-- ESPN.com news services
Yankees 7, Giants 3



SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds' 749th home run wasn't nearly enough to overcome another big night from Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and the New York Yankees beat the Giants 7-3 Friday night in their first meaningful game in San Francisco since winning Game 7 of the 1962 World Series.

Bonds got the longball, but A-Rod got the win in the matchup between two of baseball's most feared sluggers.

"I'd take two more [Bonds homers] and two more wins," Rodriguez said. "I'll trade that. I'm a huge Barry fan. I love to see great talent be displayed. It's a beautiful thing to watch. As long as we win the game, he can do whatever he wants."

The talk before the game was of the two sluggers: Bonds as he closes in on Hank Aaron's career record of 755 home runs and Rodriguez, the player many consider the biggest threat to hold the record after Bonds.

Bonds connected for his 15th home run of the season in the eighth inning off Scott Proctor, cutting New York's lead to 6-3. But the Giants couldn't get any closer, dropping their season-high eighth straight game.

"I don't think we're thinking that much about Barry trying to reach this milestone as trying to win a ballgame," manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's our focus right now. We need to stop this and we know it."

Rodriguez helped the Yankees bounce back after they were swept in a three-game series in Colorado. His double started a three-run second inning and he also hit RBI singles in the fifth and ninth innings.

Kei Igawa, making his first start after seven weeks in the minors, was sharp early but was removed one out away from a potential win after walking Bonds with the bases loaded to cut New York's lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning. Luis Vizcaino (4-1) came in and Bengie Molina hit a drive to left field that Hideki Matsui caught as he jumped into the fence, robbing the Giants of an extra-base hit.

"That ball had topspin on it," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I thought when he first hit it he hit it out of the ballpark. Obviously that was a game-saver for us there."

This game lacked the drama of the teams' last meeting in San Francisco that counted. The Yankees won that game against their former New York rival 1-0 when Willie McCovey lined out to second baseman Bobby Richardson with runners on second and third to end the game.

The Giants did threaten after Bonds' homer, putting two runners on in the eighth before Mariano Rivera escaped the jam by getting pinch-hitter Ryan Klesko to ground out. Rivera got five outs for his ninth save in 11 chances.

After being held to five runs in Colorado, the Yankees scored three times in the second against Matt Cain (2-8) with help from an overeager fan down the right-field line.

Rodriguez led off with a double and scored on Matsui's sacrifice fly. Cain appeared to get out of the inning when Miguel Cairo lofted a fly ball in foul territory with two outs. Randy Winn had a chance to make the catch, but a fan went after the ball. There was no interference because the ball was in the seats, but the fan buried his head in his hands.

"Especially at home you think it wouldn't happen, but it did," Cain said. "It's a ball Randy would have caught. It hit the guy right in the hands. But I put my team in a bad situation for the rest of the game and that's terrible by me."

Cain walked the next two batters to load the bases -- including Igawa in his first career plate appearance -- before Melky Cabrera's two-run single made it 3-0. That was New York's second hit in its last 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. New York added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI double by Bobby Abreu and Rodriguez's run-scoring single.

Igawa allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings after spending the previous seven weeks retooling his delivery in the minors. Igawa had been a big disappointment in his first stint in the majors after the Yankees spent $46 million to bring him over from Japan in the offseason.

But he looked much better this game, holding the Giants scoreless the first four innings, including striking out Bonds in the fourth.

"He was consistent for four innings and to me that's darn near half the game," Torre said. "It may have just been the point where you maybe look up at the scoreboard and you see it's going to be an official game here in a minute and he may have just rushed himself."

Cain allowed five runs and seven hits in five innings and dropped to 0-5 in his last seven starts. Cain walked four and had no strikeouts for the first time in 53 career starts.

Game notes
The Yankees played an exhibition game in San Francisco in 2000. ... Cabrera had to be tended to by the trainer after fouling a ball off his right ankle in the sixth inning. He stayed in the game and tripled. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter hit an RBI single in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. He was then picked off first by Randy Messenger. ... Torre tied Leo Durocher for ninth place all-time with 2,009 career wins. ... The crowd of 43,425 was the largest ever for a regular season game at the Giants' waterfront ballpark that opened in 2000.

Igawa looked decent....good enough until Hughes comes back.

i read that its actually higher than a lot of the post-season games they've hosted, as well.

there have been a lot of teams this year that have actually added seating and/or raised ticket prices for when they host the yankees. the most recent culprit that i know of was the colorado rockies, who reportedly doubled the "cheap seat" ticket value and parking costs for the series.

lame.

and i still can't believe that stadiums are being built that much smaller. 43k is record attendance?

I don't know if I mind so much that the stadiums are becoming smaller.....makes it a little more intimate.

I also don't like that they raise prices just 'casue the Yanks are in town.....but the fans pay it!?!?

i think a lot of the times, the fans don't even realize.

attendance usually jumps a good deal when the yankees are in town. for some ballparks, as much as 35%. its a lotta people who don't normally go to the games, so they don't realize they're paying more since they don't know what the base price is.

its like stadium cheap heat!

but it screws over all of the loyal fans. and, at the same time, might seem off-putting to the new fans, who might not wanna attend future games because tickets cost too much -- not knowing that they normally don't.

in this case with the Rockies everyone knew.....There was a big editorial in the Denver paper blasting the Rockies for doing that before the first game was even played.

Do the Yankees get a cut from ticket sales as a visiting team? If so, they probably love it when opposing teams raise tickets prices. It would make it easier to pay their mammoth player salaries...

you spelled Bankee$ wrong.

I didn't want to anger R.O.B. again...

Bankee$ lost yesterday in a very close game....13 innings 6-5....


...but got their asses handed to them today 7-2.

so 2 losses in a row and 5 out of the last 6 are losses. they better turn things around and fast otherwise this really will be over.

nah, all stadium related monies (tickets and food) go to the home stadium/team.



it was a really bad trip. on the road and without a DH. plus, with the day off prior, all that seemed to really hurt their momentum.

they just seemed flat, honestly.

Yanks beat the shitty A's 2-1.

didnt happen yesterday though....

didnt happen today either...


fuck the yankees. that is all...

they've been playing like shit lately

must be all that money

this was pretty much it.....it's probably over for this year. I will still watch and cheer and be faithful....I am also happy with lots of things this year. The young guys have gotten lots of experience. I am in the minority when I say I hope they resign ARod.

i dont think arod will go anywhere, and i dont think it would be a good move on the yanks' part if he did. he's got a decade left of great baseball to play. i hated him years ago, i hate him now, and i'll hate him in the future, but... he's still an amazing addition.

i also dont think this year is a complete wash yet. they're clearly a team that can switch on and off without warning. 4 weeks ago, they were out of it. 2 weeks ago, they were only a few games out. now they're out of it again. boston has had a very fortunate year so far in terms of health and talent. that could snap away at any time (remember their drop last year in august?)

anyway, there's still more than half of the season left to play, so its impossible to call anything settled right now. but, clearly, they've been crap for a large chucnk of the season thus far.

cano has had an awful sophomore year, and damon and abreau have had awful yankee sophomore years. those three players are not even in the same stratosphere as the players they were last year, and thats enough of a jump to lose them 1-3 runs a game. arod, jeter, and jorge can't win the games themselves.

starting pitching takes a lot of the blame, but its actually been pretty damn good for most of the season, even all thew n00bs. their bullpen is another story.

not sure what kinda changes will take place, or what kinda changes need to take place, but i still have lotsa hopes for this season.

I still have hope, but I think going into the all star break under 500 is not very good.....let's hope for the best!

I don't like them, but experience has shown that no matter how bad the season may have gone up to that point, come late August, early September of pretty much EVERY season, somehow the Yankee$ are right there again. It'd be sad to see Yankee fans start counting them out, because I think there may be two Yankee$/Red Sox series left this year - correct me if I'm wrong - and those always yield great baseball.

Who else could afford him?

His paycheck is equal to some teams' entire infield!

most teams would set aside other goals to acquire his contract, but pretty much any team in a major city could afford him without too much trouble. or teams beyond that, depending on the terms of his deal.

even the bankee$ are getting a bargain year after year, as texas is still responsible for a good chunk of the deal (i think its like 7 mil a year now)

You mean like paying the other players, paying for electricity for night games, etc...?

clearly, yes.

I'm not counting them out to be entertaining and playing hard against the Sox....they will be. I just am being realistic at some point it will be mathmatically very hard to come back. They are still a very good team in my opinion, just alot of things have gone against them this year....who knows. I will still be pulling for them. If they don't make the playoffs I will cheer for Cleveland or Detroit....the Mets in the National League.

Yanks won 8-0...they won 2-1 last night while clemens got his 350th!

Yanks debut of Edwar Ramirez was amazing.....pitched a 1-2-3 9th striking out all 3 batters he faced.

Yanks just went up 7-5 in the 8th on Matsui's Homer!

Mariano made it interesting but the Yanks won 7-6 and took 3 out of 4 from the Twins!

LA Angels 2, NY Yankees 1, 13 innings

Preview - Box Score - Recap

By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Baseball Writer
July 7, 2007

AP - Jul 7, 8:17 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Roger Clemens pitched like a young ace on Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium. His teammates were the ones who looked worn out.

Fill-in first baseman Miguel Cairo made two errors on one play in the 13th inning, allowing the Los Angeles Angels to edge the New York Yankees 2-1 on Saturday after a spirited pitchers' duel between Clemens and All-Star John Lackey.

"We just pitched extraordinary baseball today for 13 innings against a terrific lineup -- and that's really the story," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Cairo, used as a part-time first baseman this year because of various Yankees injuries, made three of New York's five errors -- its most in nearly five years.

"I take pride in defense and today I let my team down. I didn't do my job," he said.

Cairo singled in the bottom of the 13th and reached third with one out, but Francisco Rodriguez (2-2) struck out Melky Cabrera and retired Derek Jeter on a close forceout with runners at the corners.

Fittingly, Clemens was in top form on Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium. The Rocket, who will turn 45 next month, was older than five of the former players in attendance, including first-timer Paul O'Neill.

Clemens went pitch-for-pitch with Lackey, who matched his career high with 11 strikeouts. Both pitchers left after eight innings with the score tied at 1.

"You'd think that runs were going to be few today, just the way their guy was working. He was working extremely fast," Clemens said. "It was just a good ballgame.

The bullpens took over from there -- until the Yankees' sloppy defense finally hurt them.

Howie Kendrick doubled off Luis Vizcaino (4-2) to start the 13th before Jose Molina, who entered at catcher in the 11th, failed on two attempts to bunt the runner over.

Molina stayed alive -- throwing his bat to foul off one pitch -- and hit a grounder to the right of Cairo. He made a diving stop, fumbled the ball and then rushed an errant toss behind Vizcaino.

The ball rolled all the way to New York's dugout, allowing Kendrick to score. Cairo was charged with two errors on the play -- he also botched a grounder in the 10th.

"I've got to make that play," Cairo said.

The last time the Yankees made five errors was in a 16-inning loss to Oakland on Aug. 9, 2002, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"We made a miscue or two, and there at the end it cost us," Clemens said.

Bobby Abreu hit an early RBI double for the Yankees (41-43), who were trying to reach .500 for the first time since after a loss in San Francisco on June 23. Cabrera struck out five times, four against Lackey.

The AL West-leading Angels won for the fourth time in 11 games following a 7-1 stretch. They finished 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and haven't homered in their last six games.

Angels reliever Scot Shields pitched three innings for the first time since Sept. 16, 2004, at Seattle. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 18 outings covering 23 innings.

Clemens looked plenty spry, sliding to the dirt after covering first on a groundout in the fourth and jumping for a comebacker to start an inning-ending double play in the fifth. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner pumped his fist after Reggie Willits was caught stealing on a pitchout to end the sixth, thanks to a terrific tag by second baseman Robinson Cano.

Clemens allowed one run in eight innings for the second time in five days -- he beat Minnesota for his 350th win on Monday night. The right-hander held Los Angeles to five hits, walking one and striking out three.

"People talk about his age, but when he goes out there he's just a competitor," Rodriguez said. "He showed again he's one of the best in the major leagues."

A trainer and pitching coach Ron Guidry visited the mound to check on Clemens after he fanned Casey Kotchman to start the eighth, but the pitcher finished the inning.

While Clemens used his diving splitter to generate groundouts, Lackey was baffling the Yankees with big curveballs. He did not walk a batter and tied his strikeout high set on Sept. 28, 2006, against Oakland.

"We went toe-to-toe. He pitched good and I had it going on a little bit," Lackey said. "It kind of feels like a playoff game every time you pitch here, and that's fun."

Lackey is 7-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his last eight starts on the road. He gave up a leadoff double to Jorge Posada in the seventh, but struck out the next two batters and picked off Posada at second base. An excited Lackey then charged off the mound, clapping his bare hand into his glove.

Hideki Matsui doubled in the second and scored on a ground-rule double by Abreu. The Angels tied it in the third when Garret Anderson doubled and scored on a groundout by Jeff Mathis, his first RBI this season.

Notes

Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, nursing a strained left hamstring, said he will play in the All-Star game on Tuesday. ... It was the longest game of the season for the Angels. ... Mariano Rivera pitched two shutout innings for New York.

if the angel werent in my division i would be laughing...


oh what the hell?



BWAAAA HAHAHAHAHA

Yanks are winning 12-0 right now in the rubber match.

all of this money has assured the bankee$ a shot at 500%

the critics were right!

They'll be fine....they will have a chance to make the playoffs in the second half. I hope they go after Texeira.....and not give anything good for him.

They misuse their money more than the govmint!

the u$a govmint?

Exactly.

i also think they'll be fine. and while im pretty sure they're going to make some big moves (and frustratingly give up some big talent) i really think they're a solid enough team right now to remain unchanged.

they have their issues, and yankee owners/fans are impatient. but cano, abreu, and damon could pop out of their funk at any time. if their numbers even approached their efforts last year, they'd easily make up the gap towards first.

Yanks won last night 7-3!

Yanks took 3 out of 4 from the DRays and made up a a game on the Sox and the supe duper second half pitcher Josh Beckett!

Now 4 games against Toronto in NY.