Triple Play

Today the Yankees turned a triple play. It was scored 5-4-3.

Kurt Suzuki hit a ball toward third, A-Rod ranged to his right, stepped on third, threw to Cano at second who threw it to Teixeira at first.

Just Saying

Marcus Thames and Randy Winn both got starts today. Which means that 7 of the 9 starters were minorities. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano (who is named for Jackie Robinson), Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, Randy Winn and Marcus Thames are all minorities.

Not sure if Girardi did this intentionally, but as I've said before nothing in baseball is merely coincidence.

David Robertson

A lot was made of David Robertson giving up a grand slam in the 9th inning on opening day. Even more was made of his attitude in the clubhouse the next day. Reports said that he was calm relaxed and was not beating himself up about giving up the grand slam to Abreu. This is all good and nice but it doesn't really mean much until he gets out there and pitches.

Well he was just taken out of the game and he looked like the David Robertson who pitched so well in the postseason. He came on in the 6th with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out. He escaped the inning with only 1 run scored on an RBI groundout. He came back in the 7th got 2 outs and was replaced with Damaso Marte. Robertson was not rattled by coming in with runners on nor was he uncomfortable starting an inning. This is a good sign.

Let's keep in mind that until he blows a lead or loses a game for the Yankees we can not truly test his guts. Yes it's a starting point but he has not blown a lead nor has he cost the Yankees a ballgame. It will happen eventually and we will revisit this subject when it happens. For now, we will enjoy his performance and be happy.

Tropicana Field Rules

Okay in the sixth inning with 2 outs AJ Burnett got Evan Longoria to pop up to what seemed like an easy out. Jorge Posada went into foul ground to track the ball, then Mark Teixeira charged in toward the plate, then Robinson Cano started toward second base, then Derek Jeter charged toward Robinson Cano, then the ball dropped in between Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter in between first and second base. The ball was popped straight up and hit a speaker that is suspended from the roof of the dome.

These are the ground rules for Tropicana Field:

• A batted ball that hits the catwalk, lights or suspended objects in foul territory will automatically be ruled a dead ball and it shall be called a strike.

• A batted ball that hits a catwalk, lights or suspended objects in fair territory shall be judged fair of foul in relation to the striking point on the ground or where it is touched by the fielder. If the ball hits the catwalk, lights or suspended objects in fair territory and lands in the field in fair territory or is touched by a fielder in fair territory, it shall be judged a fair ball. If the ball strikes the catwalk, lights or suspended objects in fair territory and is caught by a fielder in fair or foul territory, then the batter is out and the base runners run at their own risk.

• A batted ball that hits the catwalk, lights or suspended objects and remains on or in the catwalk, lights or suspended objects in foul territory is a foul ball and it shall be called a strike.

• A batted ball that hits the catwalk, lights or suspended objects and remains on or in the catwalk, lights or suspended objects in fair territory is a fair ball and it shall be called a double.

• A batted ball that hits either of the lower two catwalks, lights or suspended objects in fair territory is a home run.

  
  

  So when Joe Girardi went out to argue the call I imagine the conversation went like this:

  

  Joe Girardi: What was that? It hit the speaker behind the plate.

  
  

  Umpire: No, if you hit it high enough now it's a hit.

Burnett

AJ Burnett is one of my favorite pitchers around. Today he went 7 innings giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. He did walk 3 batters but the truly surprising stat is that he only struck out 1 batter. The guy is a strikeout pitcher and it's surprising to see him strike out only 1 person in such a great performance. Hopefully this is indicative of someone who is maturing as a pitcher. I'm hoping that he realizes that he doesn't have to strike every batter out and that he has a damn good defense behind him. By not trying to strike out batters and pitching to contact, Burnett conserves pitches and can last longer into ball games. I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come.

What is it about Tampa?

CC Sabathia literally just gave up his first hit in the game today. He went 7 2/3 with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks. This marks the second year in a row that a no-hitter was taken deep into an opening series with the Rays. It's obviously just coincidence but I tend to believe that nothing in baseball is coincidence. It's a great performance by Sabathia and a good sign of things to come.