Yankees Update 31/05/09

Leaping To The Top

The 2 week drive that saw the Yankees go 8-2 placed them to be back in the race last weekend. This week the Yankees lost the third game to the World Champion Phillies, but won a series in Texas and the first game in Cleveland, going 3-2. It was enough to place the Yankees at the top of the AL East by half a game.

Jorge Posada has come back, and while Melky Cabrera fell and hurt his shoulder, Brett Gardner has been there to hit really well. The Yankees have finally got most of the lineup they thought they would have with the exception of Xavier Nady. That being said, the big turnaround was probably chracterised more by better pitching than hitting.

With a third of the season gone, we're starting to see what this team is capable of doing. If they ca build on the lead and go to Boston with a few games in the standings, it would be a good thing, Winning there might just determine the season.

Joba To The Pen?

For some reason, this crowd just won't shut up. It's insane, but this week saw the Bleacher Report take the line that Joba was better as the intimidator in the 8th inning. As Joe Girardi noted, the good thing about Presidential debates is that they end. This one just keeps going.

Chien-Ming Wang In The Bullpen

With Phil Hughes pitching well as a starter in the last 2 outings, Wang is still consigned to the bullpen. It really comes down to the fact that between 6 pitchers going in to 5 spots. With three taken by Sabathia Pettitte & Burnett, it's Joba, Hughes and Wang trying to fit into 2 spots.

After 2 relief outing, Wang looks like he has some of his sink back. It maybe the case that Wang pitches 'Teh Eighth' until such time that a starter is needed. I's not a bad thing having pitching depth. This year, the Yankees have not had to dig deep down to option no. 7, 8 and 9, unlike 2005-2008. Ian Kennedy and Kei Igawa are not within shouting distance of the Bronx this year, while Alfredo Aceves is yet to make a start.

I know it's early days but signing AJ Burnett in the off-season was a good deal.

Swisher's Blues

After hitting like Ruth in April, Swisher has been struggling at the plate in May. He took a HBP to the elbow in early May and has been hititng like crud since. It's reminiscent of Jeter last year when he got hit in the hand by Daniel Cabrera in May and he didn't really hit the way he can until September.

I just wonder when Swisher is going to stop hurting and turn it around.

Derek Jeter Nudges .300

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Jeter's BABIP was way below his career norm. In the last few weeks he has seen it rise to above league average, and with it, he has rasied his Average to close to.300. It doesn't seem like Jeter is actually slowing down at all.

In the field, Jeter's defense has been average for Shortstop, with a UZR/150 of 0.7. Even at 35, reports of his demise were probably premature.The Yankees actually need to figure out a way of not letting him get so banged up.

F*ck You Pavano

Carl Pavano went 5-1 for the Indians this May. It's more wins than he ever got for the Yankees.

Yankees Update 19/04/09

Up And Down Week

This week saw the Yankees squeeze by the Royals in the third game of that series, win 2 of 3 from the Rays and then return to NY to open the new stadium. The troubling thing about the Rays an Indians series has been how the Yankees have lost the opening games of the respective series in blow outs.

The Yankees dropped their first game against the Rays in a horrific pitching meltdown by Wang, then won two pitching duels behind AJ Burnett (who took a no-hitter into the seventh) and Andy Pettitte.

With the Indians, CC Sabathia pitched a forgettable game against his old team for a loss, while Joba pitched an ugly 4.2 innings which eventually led to a Yankee win. Today. Wang has expolded on the mound again. Keeping in mind that teams tend to up their intensity with the Yankees, a pitcher in April can be vulnerable to a lineup trying to drive up the pitch count.

On the other hand, Wang has been pitching like a fireman trying to hose down the Towering Inferno with gasoline. His sinker has had no sink this season so far. This week saw two games where he pitched 1 inning of double digit ERA. Whatever it is that he's doing wrong, he needs to fix it now.

After all that rigamorole, the Yankees still sit at .500.

Who Is That Masked Man?

Nick Swisher has been hitting like Ruth. Well, better than Ruth actually, with a .406/.486/1.000. line, he also managed to pitch a scoreless inning in his lone relief appearance in a blowout. If nothing else, picking up of Nick Swisher for Wilson Betemit has been paying immediate dividends to a club that is actually struggling with injuries.

Robinson Cano has also been hitting like his old self. Well, better than his old self in small sample-size heaven with his .421/.488/.632 line making him a very valuable bat in an otherwise flagging lineup.

Those Injuries

Xavier Nady who won the RF job from Swisher has a tear in his elbow tendon and may be looking at season ending surgery. The poor man is in his contract walk year. It's very unfortunate for him, because the Yankees will have to move on from him and once they do, it's unlikely they'll bring him back after a second Tommy John surgery.

Hideki Matsui is also having trouble with his reconstructed knees. I might have mentiond this before but the years of playing on artificial turf at the Tokyo Dome and going for the consecutive games record may have taken their toll. Maybe it was symbolic that he got past Shigeo Nagashima's Japanese homerun record with his lone homer in his first game.

On top of this, Mark Teixeira has been struggling with a sore wrist, for which he received a cortisone shot. There's apparently no structural damage. Then there is Johnny Damon who has the flu, and then of course A-Rod who is rehabbing his hip. This means the Yankees have been fielding lineups with Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena and Melky Cabrera. Brett Gardner hasn't exactly been helping just yet.

It's Early Days Yet - Part 1


It really is still too early, which brings about some small sample-size quirks. Derek Jeter is the best fielding shortstop though April 17. In the 10 game stretch, his zone rating is .920, and he's fielding at a 30runs saved per 162 clip. That's 3.4 wins with the glove! It won't last.

It's Early Days Yet - Part 2

A quick look at Scranton Wilkes-Barre had me smiling. Anthony Jackson is killing the ball with a 1.123 OPS. So is Juan Miranda with a q.092 OPS.Miranda of course got called up to replace the injured bats. A-Jax is going to be kept at AAA to get those at-bats, but it may turn out that he'll be up at the big league level a lot sooner.

It's Early Days Yet - Part 3


Hiding a bit further down the list is good frien Eric Duncan with a solid .895 OPS. For the first time in a long while, Duncan has gotten off to a good start.

I know, I know, every year I hope for Duncan to do well. He is the Yankees' 2003 top pick after all. But when you consider that 2004's top pick is also at AAA SWB (Phil Hughes); and 2005's top pick got trade away for Abreu, boomeranged back as a waver pick up and left for basket ball; and 2006's top pick is also at AAA SWB (Ian Kennedy), maybe he's doing just fine. Duncan is still 24 going on 25. This is the year that will tell, so it's good to see him doing well. If I have my maths right, he's a Minor League Free Agent at the end of this year.

If the bats continue to get injured and falter at the big league club whileDuncan keeps hitting well at SWB, he too may make the big club yet this year.

Meanwhile In Baseball Land

Yankees Update 12/04/09 - Bad Start?

The MLB season opened and the Yankees immediately leapt off to a 0-2 start. Yep, 2 straight losses behind CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang sort of put them in the media spotlight where "the 400gazillion dollar Yankees have sputtered to a 0-2 start..." Like, they were going to finish 0-162. Then they won the next three games, so as we speak, they're sitting at a .600, 96win pace. The joys of small sample sizes are wonderful, the first week of a season being particularly skewed, whereby Nick Swisher has socked a .538/625/1.385, 2.010 OPS, thus making Brain Cashman's acquisition a genius move. Umm, eat that A-Rod! :)

Swisher was always on the rebound after a disastrous season in Chicago, but it's been amazing to see him hit so much, so well. Just who did the Yankees trade away for him again? :)

During this same time, Posada has looked good with bat and glove; Tex hit his first Yankee homer; Sabathia lost one badly and won one in grand style; AJ Burnett and Pettitte both put in very solid starts, and well, the Kansas City Royals looked ordinary. It's Joba going for the sweep tomorrow.

Yankees Update 25/03/09

Xavier Nady In RF Over Nick Swisher

This is not the choice I would make, but for the possibility that Nady is being burnished for a trade.

“If we were to break today,” Girardi said, “Xavier Nady would be my right fielder.”

At the start of camp, Girardi said right field would be a competition between Nady and Swisher. Each has played roughly to form, and because Nady had an edge at the start, Girardi said, he was comfortable giving Swisher the news Monday morning.

“I’ve been thinking all day about what I wanted to say,” Swisher told reporters after Monday’s game, an 8-3 loss to Philadelphia. “I’m the type of guy, I want to play every day, there’s no doubt about that. I guess we’re just going to see how it plays out.

“I love this team. I love the coaches, players, I love it all. I think it’s a great spot. But that’s the biggest thing; we’re going to have to wait and see how it plays out.”

Not happy to read that at all. Swisher is younger, more patient, has a better track record until his last season which was bad - which enabled him to be brought to NY, and he's a better defender.

Another thing sort of did occur to me. Nady came up as a 3B. If they really like his bat that much they could throw him at 3B while A-Rod recovers and put Swisher in RF.

AJ Burnett Beats Bosox (in Spring)

The kind of news you have when it's not news.

A.J. Burnett, who is 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA in his career against Boston, allowed one run on three hits and two walks in 5-2/3 innings, striking out four. He threw 82 pitches, 49 for strikes, extending his pitch count as high as any Yankees starter has this spring.
"I heard lots of cheers and boos," Burnett said of his first Yanks-Sox experience. "When David (Ortiz) came up the first time, he was covered in them. It's awesome. I can't wait to get in there during the season and see what that's all about."

Well, it's nice to know he can beat those guys so well, so often.

Jeter Is Back From The WBC

Jeter came back to Yankee land where he is most beloved and needed. His inability to lead the hastily assembled host of 'yankees' notwithstanding, that is.

Now that the whole world has seen just how bad his range is, you'd think the mystique has eroded on Captain Crunch.

“I need to play,” Jeter said. “I’ve had enough days off. We just had three days off before our last game. With tomorrow’s off-day, I didn’t feel I needed to miss three more days. I wanted to come and play today.”

Jeter hopes to play most of the Yankees’ final nine exhibition games, which is fine with Girardi. Even before Jeter arrived, Girardi penciled him in Tuesday’s lineup, batting second behind Johnny Damon. Girardi also listed Jeter on the travel squad to Clearwater for Thursday’s game with the Phillies.

“I told him, after today, give me what he wants to do, whether it’s one day off or two days off,” Girardi said. “Just let me know what you need, because you know better than what I do.

“I think there’s enough time for him to get ready. I do. But we’ll find out.”

Since Jeter has been gone for about three weeks, his return prompted a series of “hello stranger” moments. The bench coach Tony Peña greeted him with: “Cap’n Crunch! How you doing? About time you showed up.” Tino Martinez, Jeter’s former teammate and a special instructor in spring training, stopped by for a visit.

There were no insights if he had any, no new experiences he could incorporate or convey to the press, no new information. He remains oddly elusive from giving us a piece of his mind. You'd think he never went away and played those games for the USA. It's bizarre.


Graig Nettles Is Better Now

Graig Nettles is recovering from prostate cancer. That' good news.

Nettles had surgery to remove his prostate in April of last year.
"Hopefully that's all been taken care of and I'm cancer free,"  said Nettles, taking a break from working out with the Yankees in Tampa. "I still have to go every six months to get it checked out, but my health is good."
Cancer hasn't stopped the 64-year-old Gold Glove legend, who's already talking about making his way to the Bronx this season.
"I'll make it out there to the new (Yankee) Stadium a few times this year," he says.
Nettles spends his springs with the current Yankees as an instructor and is more than familiar with the parade of havoc that comes with wearing pinstripes. He invited fans into his crazy days in the Bronx with his book entitled "Balls," released in 1984, so he's no stranger to the absurd. He once summed up his Yankee career succinctly and perfectly in 1978 by saying: "When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees, I have accomplished both."

As with so many of my heroes in my life, I loved him because he was funny as well as good.

"I'm indebted to the Yankees for always inviting me out to spring training," says Nettles, who came to Yanks in trade with Cleveland in 1972. "I know I can't do the things I used to anymore, so I live through the players. It's all in memory what I did."
And Nettles did a lot, enjoying his best season in 1977, when he picked up his first of two Gold Glove and crushed 37 homers and 107 RBI in helping lead the Yankees to a World Series win over the Dodgers. The following season, Nettles earned his second Gold Glove and  made diving stop after diving stop against the Dodgers in what was back-to-back World Series championships in the Bronx.
But his most cherished memory?
"The biggest thrill I got was when (Chris) Chambliss hit the home run to put us in the World Series in 1976," he says. "That was it."

The memories that stay on and on. I remember that shot.