Although the Yanks we're actually in first place on Wednesday, they we're tied with the Red Sox. After last nights 3-1 victory over the Indians and the Sox 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, the Yanks are alone on top.
I know it's May 30th, and the last time I checked, they don't hand out rings for being in 1st place on this date, but it still feels good. The last time the Yanks held 1st place by themselves was the final day of the 2006 season. That sounds crazy, but it's true. For over 2 years the Yanks have been primarily looking up at somebody trying to catch them.
Ahhh, yes, the month of May has been good. Lets look at some of the reasons why:
1) Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez
If the Yanks had a major league quality 3rd baseman on their roster, maybe his absence from the line-up wouldn't have been as glaring but they don't. Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa & Ramiro Pena would not start at any position for any other team in the major leagues. Not Washington, not Pittsburgh, not San Diego, nobody. Yet, a $200 Million payroll team was forced to run them out there every day. Unbelievable!
Expect the Yanks to mix in a little more position players in this years draft. Just a hunch.
ARod made a good line-up look great soon as he came back. Yankee scoring actually did not increase but with everyone else able to relax and just play their role, clutch hitting improved and walk off wins became a nightly occurrence...or so it seemed.
2) This Teixiera guy is good. Who knew?
Whether it was protection from ARod or an annual April slump coming to an end, Mark Teixiera straight mashed in May. Look at the numbers:
AVG .321 HR 12 RBI 30 SLG .726
On top of that he is flashing the leather like no Yankee first baseman has done since Donnie Baseball.
And remember, during the off season, it was a given that he was going to the Red Sox. Imagine if that had happened. Gotta give Cashman credit on that one.
3) "Our" Kids Are Alright
The Yanks would not be in 1st Place without the contributions from Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, Francisco Cervelli, Pena, & Phil Hughes.
Melky's been excellent, showing consistency & discipline at the plate that was lacking last year. Gardner lost the starting job in CF, but he's been a spark plug off the bench. Cervelli couldn't hit in AA, but he's surprised everyone with his bat plus his leadership and energy behind the plate. Pena seems to have locked down the utility infielder job for the season. And Phil Hughes has shown flashes of why he was once the crown jewel of the Yankee farm system. He's making it very hard for Chien Ming Wang to get his spot in the rotation back.
4) Aces High
With one more start to go, CC Sabathia is 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA for the month of May. He's gone deep into games and only given up 1 HR in 5 starts (3 of those starts being in homer friendly Yankee Stadium).
In his last 4 starts the bullpen has worked a total of 4 innings. That's how you rest a bullpen. And a rested bullpen is an effective bullpen as this month has shown.
Hopefully, the Yanks can keep it going as we enter the summer.
May 30, 2009
May 28, 2009
Joba Belongs In The Rotation
Entering this year, his 3rd in the majors, Joba Chamberlain, age 23, had thrown 124 innings.
Entering Roy Holladay's 3rd year in the majors, he had thrown 163 innings. In that 3rd year, he proceded to go 4-7 with a...wait for it...10.64 ERA. He was 23. Two years after that he went 19-7. The next year he won the Cy Young.
Patience, people. Patience.
Entering Roy Holladay's 3rd year in the majors, he had thrown 163 innings. In that 3rd year, he proceded to go 4-7 with a...wait for it...10.64 ERA. He was 23. Two years after that he went 19-7. The next year he won the Cy Young.
Patience, people. Patience.
May 15, 2009
I Like Francisco Cervelli
When Posada went down and then Jose Molina followed him to the DL, I said "Uh-Oh". We have no more catchers!!! The Yanks called up a kid from AA that wasn't even hitting .200.
But Francisco Cervelli has impressed me. It's not just that he's shown himself to be more than an automatic out. He seems to call a very good game and throws above average. CC has had his best 2 starts of the year with him behind the plate.
What's more striking to me though is he has a take charge attitude. He seems to be a real leader behind the plate like you need from your catcher. Watching him the last week, it's hard for me to believe this guy just came up from the minors. He plays like a 10 year veteran.
Once Posada and Molina come back from injuries, Cervelli will most surely be headed back to the minors, but it's good to know we have a guy like him if we need him again. And going forward, it looks like we already have our back-up catcher for 2010.
But Francisco Cervelli has impressed me. It's not just that he's shown himself to be more than an automatic out. He seems to call a very good game and throws above average. CC has had his best 2 starts of the year with him behind the plate.
What's more striking to me though is he has a take charge attitude. He seems to be a real leader behind the plate like you need from your catcher. Watching him the last week, it's hard for me to believe this guy just came up from the minors. He plays like a 10 year veteran.
Once Posada and Molina come back from injuries, Cervelli will most surely be headed back to the minors, but it's good to know we have a guy like him if we need him again. And going forward, it looks like we already have our back-up catcher for 2010.
Yankees finish road trip 4-2
CC pitched 8 strong innings yesterday and Matsui hit a game winning HR in the 7th allowing the Yanks to take the rubber game from Toronto last night.
CC wasn't as dominating as he was in his last start but he was more than good enough.
A start like yesterday is what makes a pitcher an Ace. It's not the occasional game where a pitcher has everything working and he cruises to victory. It's when a guy is fighting and battling all night to keep it close; bending but not breaking until his offense can muster just enough support to get the "W".
Plus, he basically was his own set-up man. Coming out to pitch the 8th after he was given the lead. How did he do? How about 3 up - 3 down. No need to mess around with the bullpen when you can be the bridge to Mo, yourself.
CC wasn't as dominating as he was in his last start but he was more than good enough.
A start like yesterday is what makes a pitcher an Ace. It's not the occasional game where a pitcher has everything working and he cruises to victory. It's when a guy is fighting and battling all night to keep it close; bending but not breaking until his offense can muster just enough support to get the "W".
Plus, he basically was his own set-up man. Coming out to pitch the 8th after he was given the lead. How did he do? How about 3 up - 3 down. No need to mess around with the bullpen when you can be the bridge to Mo, yourself.
May 8, 2009
Nothing Surprises Me Anymore
So, now we can add Manny Ramirez to the list of juicers in baseball. I don't want to hear that maybe he had a legitimate reason for using a female fertility drug. The only reason a healthy athlete would use such a drug is to cycle off the steroids they were taking.
What's more, the HCG he took did not even show up in testing. What triggered suspicion was that Manny's test showed a unnatural level of testosterone. This prompted MLB to investigate further and they found Manny had prescriptions for HCG. So, Manny came very close to not getting caught. What this tells me is the sport is not really getting cleaner...the players are just getting smarter.
The days of just shooting up in the training room are gone. But players are still juicing. They're just doing it in secret.
I heard announcers saying that with ARod and Manny getting caught it will show young kids that using PED's just isn't worth it because of how it damages their legacies and Hall of Fame chances.
Really?
Manny just signed a contract worth $50 Million after making around $150 Million from Boston and even more from Cleveland. Sounds worth it to me. And I'm sorry, but Manny doesn't strike me as someone who cares about his legacy.
ARod will have earned over half a billion dollars by the end of his career. I think he'll get over possibly not making the Hall of Fame.
If I'm a kid with dreams of being a professional baseball player, why wouldn't I juice? If you're a 17 or 18 year old kid today, you were born in the early 90's. By the time you started watching baseball it was the mid to late 90's. The best players in the sport included guys like:
Ken Griffey, Jr
Mark McGwire
Barry Bonds
Sammy Sosa
Rafael Palmeiro
Roger Clemens
Pedro Martinez
Alex Rodriguez
Manny Ramirez
Jason Giambi
Gary Sheffield
Frank Thomas
Derek Jeter
Mike Piazza
Greg Maddux
Juan Gonzalez
Ivan Rodriguez
Randy Johnson
etc...
More than half of the guys I just named have been at the very least, suspected of using PED's.
So, if I'm a kid, I don't look at PED's as cheating but rather, the preferred path to the big leagues. If grown men can't leave the stuff alone, how do we expect our kids to? Just because we tell them not to and make commercials with the air seeping out of basketballs and limbs falling off statues?
Meanwhile, guys are making small fortunes by juicing up. Maybe when ARod or Bonds are 60 they'll regret not being able to get in the Hall of Fame but that's more of a media creation. Most guys who do get to the Hall of Fame say they never thought about achieving such an honor while they were playing. They're not concerned with their legacy or public perception or even media acceptance. An above average baseball player knows he has only 15-20 years to earn as much income as he can. It's about the money and the juicers are cleaning up.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Major League Baseball.
What's more, the HCG he took did not even show up in testing. What triggered suspicion was that Manny's test showed a unnatural level of testosterone. This prompted MLB to investigate further and they found Manny had prescriptions for HCG. So, Manny came very close to not getting caught. What this tells me is the sport is not really getting cleaner...the players are just getting smarter.
The days of just shooting up in the training room are gone. But players are still juicing. They're just doing it in secret.
I heard announcers saying that with ARod and Manny getting caught it will show young kids that using PED's just isn't worth it because of how it damages their legacies and Hall of Fame chances.
Really?
Manny just signed a contract worth $50 Million after making around $150 Million from Boston and even more from Cleveland. Sounds worth it to me. And I'm sorry, but Manny doesn't strike me as someone who cares about his legacy.
ARod will have earned over half a billion dollars by the end of his career. I think he'll get over possibly not making the Hall of Fame.
If I'm a kid with dreams of being a professional baseball player, why wouldn't I juice? If you're a 17 or 18 year old kid today, you were born in the early 90's. By the time you started watching baseball it was the mid to late 90's. The best players in the sport included guys like:
Ken Griffey, Jr
Mark McGwire
Barry Bonds
Sammy Sosa
Rafael Palmeiro
Roger Clemens
Pedro Martinez
Alex Rodriguez
Manny Ramirez
Jason Giambi
Gary Sheffield
Frank Thomas
Derek Jeter
Mike Piazza
Greg Maddux
Juan Gonzalez
Ivan Rodriguez
Randy Johnson
etc...
More than half of the guys I just named have been at the very least, suspected of using PED's.
So, if I'm a kid, I don't look at PED's as cheating but rather, the preferred path to the big leagues. If grown men can't leave the stuff alone, how do we expect our kids to? Just because we tell them not to and make commercials with the air seeping out of basketballs and limbs falling off statues?
Meanwhile, guys are making small fortunes by juicing up. Maybe when ARod or Bonds are 60 they'll regret not being able to get in the Hall of Fame but that's more of a media creation. Most guys who do get to the Hall of Fame say they never thought about achieving such an honor while they were playing. They're not concerned with their legacy or public perception or even media acceptance. An above average baseball player knows he has only 15-20 years to earn as much income as he can. It's about the money and the juicers are cleaning up.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Major League Baseball.
May 6, 2009
The Good, The Bad & The Fist Pump
I loved seeing Joba Chamberlain pitch with confidence last night. He was out there fist pumping and yelling like the Joba we used to see setting up for Mo. I've always said that Joba needs to be more demonstrative on the mound. He's taken criticism for it, but if that's you and it gets you pumped...then Joba, you do you. The opposition may not like it, but if you win, they'll fucking have to respect it.
All that being said, Joba needs to find a way to start the game with the same intensity, command & velocity he's been able to eventually show the past two starts. The way he pitched from the 2nd inning on last night was one of the most dominant performances I've seen from a starting pitcher in a long time. Of the 14 outs he recorded after the 1st inning, 12 were by strike out. He was hitting 96 with the fastball and both his slider & change-up were unhittable. He was hitting the corners with everything. And he was working fast. You could tell that he knew he had all his pitches working, and he just couldn't wait to throw the next one.
However, he looked terrible in the 1st inning giving up 5 hits including a HR, while striking out no one.
Sometimes, I get the feeling that Joba is trying to pace himself to be able to pitch longer into the game. But I'd rather Joba go out there and dominate for 5 innings then pitch 7 innings with mediocre stuff. And in reality, if he is trying to hold back, he won't last 7 innings most nights anyway because he'll get hit hard early or his pitch count will still be too high from nibbling, trying to make the perfect pitch.
Hopefully, last night Joba learned the lesson that he's good, but he's not that good that he can get major league hitters out without bringing his best stuff, from pitch #1 to pitch #101.
But that's the point. Joba is still learning lessons every time out. He's basically learning how to be a major league starting pitcher in front of our eyes. He spent a total of 1 year in the minor leagues. In his entire professional career he's pitched a total of...get this...241 innings. He's started a total of 32 games, major leagues & minor leagues combined. So far, in his major league career, Joba is 7-4 with a 2.47 ERA with 181 SO's in 153 innings.
Hopefully, those numbers are just a preview of a long & successful career.
All that being said, Joba needs to find a way to start the game with the same intensity, command & velocity he's been able to eventually show the past two starts. The way he pitched from the 2nd inning on last night was one of the most dominant performances I've seen from a starting pitcher in a long time. Of the 14 outs he recorded after the 1st inning, 12 were by strike out. He was hitting 96 with the fastball and both his slider & change-up were unhittable. He was hitting the corners with everything. And he was working fast. You could tell that he knew he had all his pitches working, and he just couldn't wait to throw the next one.
However, he looked terrible in the 1st inning giving up 5 hits including a HR, while striking out no one.
Sometimes, I get the feeling that Joba is trying to pace himself to be able to pitch longer into the game. But I'd rather Joba go out there and dominate for 5 innings then pitch 7 innings with mediocre stuff. And in reality, if he is trying to hold back, he won't last 7 innings most nights anyway because he'll get hit hard early or his pitch count will still be too high from nibbling, trying to make the perfect pitch.
Hopefully, last night Joba learned the lesson that he's good, but he's not that good that he can get major league hitters out without bringing his best stuff, from pitch #1 to pitch #101.
But that's the point. Joba is still learning lessons every time out. He's basically learning how to be a major league starting pitcher in front of our eyes. He spent a total of 1 year in the minor leagues. In his entire professional career he's pitched a total of...get this...241 innings. He's started a total of 32 games, major leagues & minor leagues combined. So far, in his major league career, Joba is 7-4 with a 2.47 ERA with 181 SO's in 153 innings.
Hopefully, those numbers are just a preview of a long & successful career.
In Defense of ARod???
Well, not quite. But this article by Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports does question the motives and credibility of Selena Roberts.
Everybody Relax
I know losing just one game to the Red Sox hurts like hell. And losing 5 straight to start the season against the hated rivals feels like something akin to what the Bush Administration would insist is definitely not torture, because as we all know..."The U.S. does not torture!!" But...despite how it may feel, it's not the end of the world.
If the Yanks had instead won the 5 games what would it mean? Well, besides 5 games in the standings that won't have to be made up. But if the shoes were reversed would it mean the Red Sox were certainly not in "our league" and there was no chance they would be a threat the rest of the year. Of course not.
These teams play each other roughly 19 times a year. At one point in the 2007 season, the Yanks won 5 straight and 8 of 9 against the Red Sox. It didn't seem to bother the Sox too much, though, since they went on to win the World Series.
I'll admit the Yanks need to play better but trying to rate the overall superiority of the teams based on 5 games is extremely short-sighted. Especially since the Yanks either had the lead or had the tying or winning run at the plate late in each of the 5 games.
If the Yanks had instead won the 5 games what would it mean? Well, besides 5 games in the standings that won't have to be made up. But if the shoes were reversed would it mean the Red Sox were certainly not in "our league" and there was no chance they would be a threat the rest of the year. Of course not.
These teams play each other roughly 19 times a year. At one point in the 2007 season, the Yanks won 5 straight and 8 of 9 against the Red Sox. It didn't seem to bother the Sox too much, though, since they went on to win the World Series.
I'll admit the Yanks need to play better but trying to rate the overall superiority of the teams based on 5 games is extremely short-sighted. Especially since the Yanks either had the lead or had the tying or winning run at the plate late in each of the 5 games.
Please, Daddy! Don't Hurt Me No More!!!
Time to rant....
The Red Sox own the Yanks this year. And they don't just beat us either. They like to torture us. They stick the knife in and then they pull it out just enough, til we think we're actually going to live, then they plunge it back into us and twist it until we finally give up and die.
One of the reasons for the Red Sox dominance over the Yanks this year is it seems the Red Sox are able to get whatever they need off this bullpen. We have no one that can shut them down and that even includes the Great Mariano. Damaso Marte going on the DL actually helps, but we still have no one that can be relied on to get big outs when needed (besides the Great Mariano...but then, only against teams other than Boston). Veras, Ramirez, Alby (Not So Sure), Coke, Marte, Melancon, Robertson, etc...all have yet to prove they are worthy of Girardi's trust. Brian Bruney can't come back soon enough.
And could someone tell the Yankee pitchers that the guy batting behind David Ortiz is no longer Manny Ramirez. They seem to be intent on making Jason Bay the next great Yankee killer. It's Jason Friggin Bay!!! Can we get this guy out. Damn!!!
Mark Teixiera. Can you at least get your batting average higher than your weight? With a line-up with Jose Melina & Pena in it...there is no way you should have the lowest batting average on May 5. Stop taking belt high fastballs down the middle and swinging at curveballs in the dirt. I do appreciate the walks you get, but since no one on the Yanks seems to be able to get a hit with RISP, we need RBI's, not just more baserunners.
Now we play Tampa Bay. This is an interested series. Both teams have sputtered out the gate but have each shown flashes of brilliance at times. The Yanks have their big three going...AJ & Pettitte vs Tampa Bay, and then CC on Friday against the O's. (For some reason the Yanks have another series in Baltimore but the O's have yet to come to NY. Weird.) It would be nice to get 3 quality starts from this group in a row. The bullpen will continue to be overworked when Hughes & Joba pitch so it's imperative that the veteran guys start going deep into games. Wang devastated the bullpen, with his 3 train wrecks last month. It's time to start righting the ship.
There is talk that we will see the season debut of Alex Rodriguez by this weekend. He will be a welcome sight. Just dropping him in the middle of the line-up will be soooo good. We really don't have a true clean-up hitter with Arod out. Posada, Swisher & Matsui have done their best in that role. But they are 5, 6 or 7 hitters, not true clean up guys.
And just getting guys like Pena, Berroa and Ransom out of the everyday line-up is a big plus. We pretty much could have batted the pitcher in their places the last month with minimal, if any, drop off. Actually,we probably would have been better off on the days that CC pitched, because he just might be a better hitter than all those guys. We still have to deal with Molina now that Posada is hurt, but 1 automatic out is enough.
Don't get me wrong...I appreciate the contributions Ransom, Berroa & Pena have made to the team. But at this point, they're just not everyday players.
The Red Sox own the Yanks this year. And they don't just beat us either. They like to torture us. They stick the knife in and then they pull it out just enough, til we think we're actually going to live, then they plunge it back into us and twist it until we finally give up and die.
One of the reasons for the Red Sox dominance over the Yanks this year is it seems the Red Sox are able to get whatever they need off this bullpen. We have no one that can shut them down and that even includes the Great Mariano. Damaso Marte going on the DL actually helps, but we still have no one that can be relied on to get big outs when needed (besides the Great Mariano...but then, only against teams other than Boston). Veras, Ramirez, Alby (Not So Sure), Coke, Marte, Melancon, Robertson, etc...all have yet to prove they are worthy of Girardi's trust. Brian Bruney can't come back soon enough.
And could someone tell the Yankee pitchers that the guy batting behind David Ortiz is no longer Manny Ramirez. They seem to be intent on making Jason Bay the next great Yankee killer. It's Jason Friggin Bay!!! Can we get this guy out. Damn!!!
Mark Teixiera. Can you at least get your batting average higher than your weight? With a line-up with Jose Melina & Pena in it...there is no way you should have the lowest batting average on May 5. Stop taking belt high fastballs down the middle and swinging at curveballs in the dirt. I do appreciate the walks you get, but since no one on the Yanks seems to be able to get a hit with RISP, we need RBI's, not just more baserunners.
Now we play Tampa Bay. This is an interested series. Both teams have sputtered out the gate but have each shown flashes of brilliance at times. The Yanks have their big three going...AJ & Pettitte vs Tampa Bay, and then CC on Friday against the O's. (For some reason the Yanks have another series in Baltimore but the O's have yet to come to NY. Weird.) It would be nice to get 3 quality starts from this group in a row. The bullpen will continue to be overworked when Hughes & Joba pitch so it's imperative that the veteran guys start going deep into games. Wang devastated the bullpen, with his 3 train wrecks last month. It's time to start righting the ship.
There is talk that we will see the season debut of Alex Rodriguez by this weekend. He will be a welcome sight. Just dropping him in the middle of the line-up will be soooo good. We really don't have a true clean-up hitter with Arod out. Posada, Swisher & Matsui have done their best in that role. But they are 5, 6 or 7 hitters, not true clean up guys.
And just getting guys like Pena, Berroa and Ransom out of the everyday line-up is a big plus. We pretty much could have batted the pitcher in their places the last month with minimal, if any, drop off. Actually,we probably would have been better off on the days that CC pitched, because he just might be a better hitter than all those guys. We still have to deal with Molina now that Posada is hurt, but 1 automatic out is enough.
Don't get me wrong...I appreciate the contributions Ransom, Berroa & Pena have made to the team. But at this point, they're just not everyday players.
May 5, 2009
2008 All Over Again
Jorge Posada was injured. Chien Ming Wang was on the disabled list. And we couldn't get enough big hits with men on base. Those were the 3 main reasons the Yanks missed the playoffs last year. So we go get Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixiera. But the more things change, the more things stay the same.
Jorge Posada has a hamstring injury. That's the type of injury that can linger, especially since Jorge spends half the game in a crouch. Wang is...Well, I don't know what's wrong with Wang. The Yanks say it's a hip issue or a foot issue. Who knows? I really don't think the Yanks know. They just know he can't get anyone out.
Maybe getting ARod back will help the offense. What am I saying? Of course getting ARod back will help the offense. But will this team ever hit in the clutch??? The Yanks could very easily be 3-1 against Boston this year if they just hit .250 with RISP in those games. Instead they are 0-4 against them with another game tonight.
It will be Joba against Josh Beckett. Joba is coming off his best start of the year. Hopefully he can build of it and continue his maturation to a quality starter. Josh Beckett was unhittable in his first start of the season, but since then he's been getting beat up pretty good. So, we don't know what to expect tonight. It could be a pitcher's duel or it could be one of those 16-11 affairs like we had in Boston. I'm hoping for the former.
Jorge Posada has a hamstring injury. That's the type of injury that can linger, especially since Jorge spends half the game in a crouch. Wang is...Well, I don't know what's wrong with Wang. The Yanks say it's a hip issue or a foot issue. Who knows? I really don't think the Yanks know. They just know he can't get anyone out.
Maybe getting ARod back will help the offense. What am I saying? Of course getting ARod back will help the offense. But will this team ever hit in the clutch??? The Yanks could very easily be 3-1 against Boston this year if they just hit .250 with RISP in those games. Instead they are 0-4 against them with another game tonight.
It will be Joba against Josh Beckett. Joba is coming off his best start of the year. Hopefully he can build of it and continue his maturation to a quality starter. Josh Beckett was unhittable in his first start of the season, but since then he's been getting beat up pretty good. So, we don't know what to expect tonight. It could be a pitcher's duel or it could be one of those 16-11 affairs like we had in Boston. I'm hoping for the former.
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