The Captain's Blog

Phil Hughes looks to follow-up on his solid first outing of the season and continue a stretch in which Yankee starters have earned the victory in all five games of the current winning streak. In his first game, Hughes unveiled a slightly different arsenal that relied more on a cutter and less on a curveball. He also mixed in a couple of change-ups, something he may use a lot more tonight against the A’s lefty laden lineup. 

The A’s counter with the often injured Ben Sheets, who has a strong 2.65 ERA in 17 innings over three starts this season. The more telling statistic, however, may be his BB/K ration of 10 to 8. If Sheets is unable to get ahead and pound the strike zone, he’ll be ripe for another early exit by an opposition starting pitcher. 

In other prominent news, Chad Jennings reported that Joba Chamberlain is now the official 8^th inning setup men. Of course, had he been in that role yesterday, he wouldn’t have been available to strike out Ken Kouzmanoff with the bases loaded in the 7^th. Hopefully, Girardi will be flexible enough to use Joba earlier in the game when the situation dictates it. According to Jennings, Chamberlain is available tonight.

• Robinson Cano is 0 for his last 29 at the McAfee Coliseum.
• Alex Rodriguez’ 585 home runs leave him one behind Frank Robinson for 7^th place on the all-time list.
• Ben Sheets only career start against the Yankees was a 7-inning shutout effort on June 7, 2005, when he was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
• With another victory against the A’s, the Yankees will notch their fifth consecutive series win to start the season, a franchise record matched only by the 1926 ball club.

Javier Vazquez earned is first victory of the season and first as a Yankee since September 2004, but two late home runs took some of the luster off his performance. Even though he threw an impressive 72 strikes, Vazquez needed 107 pitches to complete only 5 1/3 innings. Also, while he did mix his pitches, he seemed to shy away from the slider in favor of the curve and change. With his fastball missing about 2 mph, there were fewer swings and misses resulting from the change of speeds. To be fair to Vazquez, a miscommunication by Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano in the sixth inning did contribute to one of his earned runs, and his six strikeouts in 5+ innings do suggest superior stuff. Still, Vazquez will need to find his lost velocity (only 40% of his fastballs topped 90mph) and also throw his slider more if he is going to repeat his 2009 success. In the meantime, he can use this victory as a stepping stone heading into his next start in Anaheim.

Javier Vazquez bested the Athletics to earn his first Yankee win since September 2004 (Photo: Getty Images).

As has become their usual, the Yankees used a very patient approach to frustrate starter Gio Gonzalez, whose pitch count approached 100 by the fifth inning. It was the third straight game that an opposition starter threw at least 30 pitches in an inning, and failed to complete 5 innings as a result. The Oakland defense also contributed to Gonzalez’ demise as a Daric Barton misplay, curiously scored a hit, on a Jorge Posada grounder led to three first inning runs.

• Nick Swisher snapped a 0-16 stretch with a two run single in the first inning.
• Yankee batters drew 10 walks in the game, the most since taking 11 free passes against the Mets on June 28, 2009. Three of the walks were issued to Robinson Cano, who had accomplished the feat three times in the past, including most recently against the Texas Rangers on August 5, 2008.
• Alex Rodriguez’ fifth inning HR was the 585th of his career, leaving him one behind Frank Robinson for 7^th place on the all-time list.
• Boone Logan made an eventful Yankees debut in the 6^th inning. One pitch into his appearance, home plate umpire Ed Rapuano, who earlier had been hit in the facemask by a foul ball, was forced to leave the game, resulting in an extended delay.
• Logan was also forced to get an extra out in the 7^th inning when Derek Jeter double clutched on an infield single by Rajai Davis. Eventually, Logan would depart with the bases loaded, but Joba Chamberlain stranded his runners by striking out Kevin Kouzmanoff.
• Athletic’s reliever and former Yankee Edwar Ramirez made his first appearance against his old mates. In typical Edwar fashion, he walked four and struck out two in two innings of work.
• Derek Jeter went 0-5, snapping his season long hitting streak of 11 games.

The Yankees hope the third time is a charm for Javier Vazquez as they kick off their first West Coast swing in Oakland. In fact, Vazquez’ Yankee struggles extend back much farther than the start of this season. Javy’s ERA in his last three starts (not including playoffs) of 2004 was 6.50, so he is looking to get a pretty big monkey off his back. According to the LoHud Yankees Blog, Vazquez has been battling both a dead arm and poor mechanics. The days of the Moneyball A’s are long gone, so perhaps Vazquez can use his change up to effectively take advantage of a less than patient and potent lineup (.252/.321/.362).

The 9-5 Athletics, who sit atop the AL West, counter with left hander Gio Gonzalez. In his only start against the Yankees (July 25, 2009), Gonzalez pitched 6 2/3 innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball in a 6-4 victory. Interestingly, the Yankees are not making any concessions to the lefty. Both Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner remain in the lineup, while Marcus Thames sits on the bench. The large outfield at McAfee Coliseum likely played a role in that decision, but Girardi has also been known to ride the hot hand. Gardner and Gonzalez could be an interesting matchup all game…not at the plate, however, but on the bases. Gonzalez’ pick off move is among the game’s best, so some cat and mouse could ensue if Gardner reaches base.

• Before the game, the Yankees presented Chad Gaudin and Edwar Ramirez with their World Series rings. The entire team congregated around both players in pre-game warm-ups before handing out the jewelry.
• Derek Jeter returns to the lineup after missing a game because of a head cold. Jeter looks to resume his season long streak of consecutive hits.
• Nick Swisher looks to rebound on the road. In line with last season’s split disparity, Swisher is batting .333/.440/.571 on the road, but only .053/.250/.158 at home.