Biggest Contribution: Kenji Johjima, +11.9%
Biggest Suckfest: Adrian Beltre, -18.1%
Most Important "Hit": Betancourt DP, -12.3%
Most Important Pitch: Cairo single, -19.9%
Total Contribution by Pitcher(s): -3.5%
Total Contribution by Position Players: -69.6%
Once again, I wasn't able to watch any of the game. These East Coast 4pm start times can be a real bitch when you have to stay late at your day job.
Mind you, I'm not too broken up about missing this one. I'd say it went about as expected, although the Yankees probably could've and should've piled on a few extra insurance runs considering how often they had guys on base. If nothing else, kudos to Mark Lowe - who rules - for keeping it a ballgame. Seriously, it's only been a few innings, but he's already earned my trust with his flashy stuff and sexy results. All that's left to do to shore up the bullpen is for Bavasi to cut bait on Julio Mateo to discourage future misuse, but one step at a time, I guess.
I'm kind of going back and forth on what to think about Eduardo Perez pinch-hitting for Adam Jones in the ninth - on the one hand, he was brought in to platoon at DH against southpaws precisely because he's worthless against right-handed pitchers, but on the other, Greg Dobbs is so terrible that Perez was probably the best option at that point (although you could make a convincing argument for Jose Lopez, despite his slump). A shame we don't have a lefty bat capable of driving the ball off the bench for these kinds of crucial situations.
(Yes, I'm aware of the fact that Rivera has consistently pitched a little better against lefties than righties, but you also have to take the hitter's splits into account when you're trying to determine who to send up there with a bat.)
If you've got something to say about the game, let's hear it. Otherwise, we've got one of the worst pitchers in baseball going up against another one of the worst pitchers in baseball tomorrow at 4:05pm PDT. Neither has the stuff nor the statistical profile to be a Major League pitcher anymore, but only one of them is a knight who's spent the better part of two weeks in an Aruban jail. Guess which!