Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/24/13

It went from high 70s in Wisconsin on Wednesday to mid-50s yesterday.  When I woke up this morning and left my apartment to head to work there was frost on my windshield.  Not just a little that comes off with a quick flick of the windshield wipers either, I'm talking a solid layer of frost worthy of a multiple-minute defrosting session.  I had to defrost my fucking windshield the day before Memorial Day weekend.  So glad I'm getting the hell out of this state for the weekend.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Martin Riggs of NoMaas checked Brett Gardner's swing/whiff trends against the fastball to see if it made sense as an explanation for his slow-ish start.

- Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits identified a few MiL hitters who are having good offensive seasons, since that seems to be the exception to the rule for most of the top positional prospects.

- On Tuesday, Dan Barbarisi of the WSJ had a cool profile piece on Travis Hafner and his unique gameday routine as a strict DH.  To me it actually sounds better than shagging flies.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had Phil Hughes' thoughts on his recent struggles and problems with his fastball command.  Good to see Phil start to turn that around last time out.

- El duque of It Is High... lamented the eventual return of all the injured superstars and worried about how the team might be impacted if/when they get hurt again and the current guys aren't around to replace them.

- On Wednesday, SG of RLYW pointed out the Yankees' AL last place ranking in P/PA this season.  As something that's been a Yankee offensive staple forever, this is not good to see for a team this offensively weak.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog noticed a trend in strikeout rates and looked into whether it's the pitchers or hitters who are the leading cause.

- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB looked back at the Yankees' 2008 draft and what could have been if they were able to sign their top pick.  This year's draft is only a few weeks away and Mike is easily the best source out there for pre-draft scouting reports on possible Yankee targets.

- Mike Eder of IIATMS/TYA examined David Adams' career MiL contact rates to try to predict what kind of Major League hitter he'll be moving forward.

- Andrew Mearns of Pinstriped Bible commented on how high Mo has set the bar for future Yankee closers and how impossible it's going to be for D-Rob or anybody else to reach it.

- Andrew Ball of Beyond The Boxscore had a little fun with projections and looked at what kind of performance Mo would turn in if he was converted to a starter.

- On Friday, Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes broke down the 1996 and 2013 Yankee teams to see if the comparisons being made between the 2 are accurate.

This week's jam is "1Train" from the new A$ap Rocky album.  It features pretty much every new rapper worth a damn who's come out in the last year or so and they all pretty much lay down some fire with their respective verses.  Gimme this over 2 Chainz 25 hours a day, 8 days a week.



Enjoy your long weekends, everybody.

Teix Could Start Double-A Rehab Assignment Next Week

With Curtis Granderson back in the lineup, looking healthy and relatively comfortable in the outfield, and showing signs of improvement at the plate, we can shift our focus to the next DL returnee to the lineup.  That next guy in line is Mark Teixeira, and based on the latest news about his comeback it sounds like he'll be back sooner rather than later.

Teix himself tweeted earlier this week about hitting in sim games and he's continued to play in those games and take live BP all week without any reported problems or lingering pain in his right wrist.  Yesterday, Erik Boland tweeted that Teix could start his official rehab assignment with Double-A Trenton as early as next Tuesday.

I would anticipate Teix spending more time than C-Grand did in his rehab assignment given the nature of his injury.  It's to both Teix's and the team's benefit to make sure there are no issues that crop up with the wrist from playing every day.  The big league club will be at home for a week straight starting next Wednesday before hitting the road for another West Coast trip.  That would give Teix a week of rehab games and if he's good to go maybe he joins the club on June 5th before they head to Seattle.  If he's not ready by then, I would bet the Yanks wait until mid-June when they're back from their road trip to activate him.

Are The Yankees Stalling With Nova?

(Is time up for Ivan The Terrible?)

It's been exactly 4 weeks to the day since Ivan Nova left his last start and hit the DL.  Prior to the Cleveland doubleheader he was talked about as the likely second starter, at least before feeling a tweak in his left side while playing catch the day before.  That issue was immediately talked down as nothing serious by both Joe and Cash, and yet here we are almost 2 weeks later with Nova still not back on the active roster and with there still being no announced plan to get him back on.  Pitching has been the strength of this team this season, especially lately, so it begs the question.  Have the Yankees been stalling in bringing Nova back?  Do they even want to?

Yanks Continue To Shuffle The Rotation

Today is the Yankees' first scheduled off-day in over 2 weeks.  They've played 16 games in 16 days and get a chance to catch their breath before a weekend series in Tampa that kicks off another stretch of 17 games in as many days.  With that extra day to play with and an open spot in the rotation, Joe has decided to juggle the order again for the next turn through.

David Phelps will get the start on Friday night against the Rays, with Vidal Nuno slotting into Andy Pettitte's spot on Saturday.  This pushes CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and Hiroki Kuroda all back and gives each an extra day of rest before their next starts.  For Sabathia and Kuroda this is a safe move and a smart move, especially for Kuroda, who sounded determined to make his next start after leaving last night's game early.  For Hughes, who's been struggling with his fastball command lately, who knows what kind of impact the extra day will have?

There's still no word on when Pettitte will be ready to return to the rotation.  Per Chad Jennings, he's scheduled to throw either today or tomorrow and is eligible to come off the DL on July 1st.  The Yankees will wait to see how he comes through the throwing session before making any plans, but in the meantime it's a wise move on their part to give their other 2 veteran starters a little extra rest when they can.

Game 46 Wrap-Up: BAL 6 NYY 3

(Whew.  False alarm again.  Courtesy of the AP)

If you didn't catch much of last night's game, you didn't miss much.  It was over early, not the kind of night the Yankees wanted to have with their best starter on the mound.  Hiroki Kuroda was off his game from the start, and he ended up out of the game early although once again it appears he avoided serious injury.  That's the best news that came out of last night, that and Curtis Granderson possibly starting to break out.

Game Notes:

- Kuroda only made it through 2+ innings and he gave up 5 ER on 8 hits in that span.  In the top of the 1st Kuroda gave up 2 HR, a clear sign he was off, and he was out after taking a comebacker off the leg in the 2nd inning that didn't get any better in the 3rd.

- The Yanks got on the board with a C-Grand double and a Robinson Cano RBI single in the top of the 3rd, but the bottom half was when Kuroda left and Preston Claiborne entered.  He gave up a 3-run HR, his first Major League run allowed, to make it 6-1 and that was basically that.

- Solo HR for Granderson in the 5th and another one for David Adams in the 9th were the other Yankee runs.

- Another good appearance for Adam Warren, who came in after Claiborne and pitched 4 shutout innings.  He gave up 5 hits, walked none, and struck out 2.

Growing Pains For The Top Outfield Prospects

(Some early struggles for Mr. Austin.  Courtesy of Beverly Schaefer)

The Yankees entered this season with what appeared to be very good prospect depth in the outfield.  At best, 4 of their top 10 organizational prospects were outfielders, with 3 of them showing up in almost every respectable top 5 list.  Anticipation and expectations were high for this group based on what they did in 2012, and it was starting to look like the outfield was going to be one spot where the team would have good options for the future if they were planning on committing to a reduced payroll.  Almost 2 months into the MiL season, it appears as though the first potholes in this group's development have been hit.

Bullpen Getting Big Contributions From Unexpected Sources (Again)

(Alright, guy.  You're better than I thought.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Anybody who's read AB4AR for at least a year knows I'm an unabashed sucker for relievers coming out of nowhere and performing well in the Yankee bullpen.  It's been a staple of their overall bullpen success for at least the last 5 seasons running and last year it reached new levels of surprising success when Clay Rapada and Cody Eppley teamed up to provide a major boost to a bullpen in need.  That familiar story is being written again this season by a new group of unheralded, unexpected pitchers, many of them part of that large group of rookies who've made their debuts in 2013.  Unsung bullpen heroes AND they're homegrown?  You betcha.

Dirty Dave

(Courtesy of Texas Leaguers.  Click to embiggen)

Do you see that?  That's David Robertson's pitch breakdown from his 9th inning appearance last night.  Do see you those percentages?  Do you know what that means?  The term "unhittable" gets thrown around a lot these days anytime a pitcher has a good outing and sometimes it gets used improperly.  Last night was not one of those cases.  D-Rob threw 10 strikes out of 15 pitches last night. All them were swinging and 8 of the 10 were swung at and missed.  Not a single ball got put in play, only 2 had contact made, and D-Rob struck out the side.  Robertson was pretty much unhittable last night, truly unhittable.

I made the comparison to Mo last week and last night was one of those outings that was very reminiscent of Mo at his best.  D-Rob was out there throwing whatever he wanted and the other team was absolutely helpless against him.  It's been a while since Robertson has held down the fireman role, but he was in top form last night.  The inning could have started with the bases loaded and the Orioles still wouldn't have had a chance.  For old time's sake, somebody hit the music!

Game 45 Wrap-Up: BAL 3 NYY 2

("Am I wrong, Dude?  Am I wrong?"  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Phil Hughes has been all or nothing this season.  8 starts, 4 of them excellent and 4 of them atrocious.  He talked about needing to command his fastball better and have better mechanics before last night's start, and somehow it always seems like it comes back to one of those things when Phil starts to run astray.  It's why he's never reached what was once thought to be ace potential and it's why he might not be back in pinstripes after this year.  He took his first stab at correcting his issues last night in Baltimore, and did a pretty good job of it.  It just wasn't enough to get a win in another close, low-scoring affair.

Game Notes:

- Brett Gardner got things off to a great start against Miguel Gonzalez, doubling to lead off the game and scoring on a 2-out RBI single by Travis Hafner.  That's how that should work.

- Hughes was fastball-heavy in the 1st inning and in the 3rd when he gave up a solo HR to former Yankee C-Dick.  Other than that, he was pretty effective through 4 innings, allowing only that run and showing a willingness to throw offspeed early in the count.

- Hafner and The D both put on repeat performances of their efforts, Hafner with another ribbie single in the 4th and Dickerson with another solo HR to lead off the 5th, and the game was tied at 2.

- Strong finish for Hughes after the second Dickerson homer, working around a walk and an error to escape the 5th without former damage and retiring the 6th in order.  Hughes struck out 3 of the final 5 batters he faced.

- You want a definition of "dirty"?  How about David Robertson striking out the 3-4-5 hitters in the Baltimore lineup in order, all swinging on curveballs, on 15 pitches?  Of the 10 strikes he threw, 8 of them were swinging and 7 of those 8 were the hook.  That's dirty.

- Just like last night, the extra innings were singular.  After Preston Clairborne worked a scoreless 9th, Joe went to Vidal Nuno to start the inning against Nate McLouth.  McLouth hit the third pitch he saw for the game-winning walk-off HR.  Sucks.

The Saddest Shortstop Platoon Ever

I tried to put a little polish on the turd that was the Reid Brignac acquisition this past weekend.  Mike Eder tried like hell to put about 4 more coats of super polish on it over at IIATMS/TYA yesterday.  In a world of teeny-tiny, barely there marginal upgrades, Brignac did and does represent a step up from Alberto Gonzalez, and there's something to be said for that.  But the plain fact of the matter is that Brignac is a .260 wOBA career hitter who rates out negatively on defense, Nix is a .286 wOBA career hitter who rates out negatively at the position the Yankees need him to play, and the thought of them teaming up to play the position that Derek Jeter has held down for the majority of my life on this planet is depressing as hell.

Reid Brignac sucks at baseball, Jayson Nix sucks at baseball, and together they are going to combine to be the most sucktastic shortstop platoon in recent MLB history.  The nearly-as-bad-as-them Eduardo Nunez is somehow still an upgrade from them if and when he comes back from the DL.  That's how low things have gotten without Jeter this season, and it's a sad preview of what's to come when life without him finally begins.

First Impressions Of Adams And Romine

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

While the unexpected success of veterans like Wells and Hafner dominated the early headlines, lately it's the kids getting the bulk of the spotlight as the Yankees continue to get helpful contributions from rookies.  5 in all have made their Major League debut already this season, something that the Yanks haven't done since guys like Mo and Jeter debuted back in '95.  For a team that's had its MiL system defined by a lack of upper-level impact talent, it's notable not only for the number of players but also for the fact that the team continues to win ballgames and have those rookies be major contributors to those victories.  Vidal Nuno throwing shutout starts, Preston Claiborne getting late-inning outs in big spots, David Adams raking from the middle of the order, it's all great.

Whether you're a prospect hugger or not, something like watching a bunch of  homegrown rookies come up and play well is always exciting from a fan's perspective.  Those guys are easy to root for and I always find myself paying more attention to their at-bats and plays in the field to see how they look as Major Leaguers.  For a number of reasons, I hadn't watched a live Yankee game in a couple weeks up until last night's ESPN broadcast.  I got my first ever look at Adams and Austin Romine last night, two guys who I ID'd last year as rookies I expected to contribute this season, and as a fan and a pseudo-prospect hugger here's my take on them.

Pineda Comeback Continues, Could Start MiL Rehab Soon

Michael Pineda has been pitching in simulated and Extended ST games for exactly 4 weeks now.  He's gotten positive feedback from all the coaches who have seen him throw, was reported to be throwing mid-90s earlier this month, and is now having his ExST starts stretched out (51 pitches in his last outing) in anticipation of starting his offical 30-day MiL rehab stint soon.

Those details come courtesy of Ken Davidoff, who reported yesterday that Pineda "received strong reviews"  from his latest outing on Saturday.  The plan is to have him pitch once more on Thursday and next Tuesday to extend his pitch count before starting his rehab assignment.  That would put him on track to make his first rehab start either on June 2nd or 3rd depending on the schedules and which affiliate he's assigned to and his return to the Major League roster sometime in early July if everything goes according to plan.

David Phelps is doing a nice job filling in on the back end right now, but between Andy's back issues and Phil Hughes' recent struggles there are still plenty of opportunities for Pineda to work his way back in.  This latest development puts a somewhat definitive timeline on when we could see him finally make his Yankee debut.

Game 44 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 BAL 4

(PRONK!!!!  Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees have been rotating so many new bodies through this season that I almost forgot Freddy Garcia was on the roster, and in the rotation, just last season.  It was a strange 2 years for Freddy in New York to say the least, and the guys who were on those teams got to see him again last night as the opposing starting pitcher for the Orioles.  Freddy can still go out there and give some innings, but if his early SSS numbers were any indication the Yankees had the decided pitching advantage with CC Sabathia on the mound.

Game Notes:

- Brilliant piece of hitting by Robinson Cano in the top of the 1st.  After wasting a bunch of 2-strike offspeed pitches, he forced Garcia to throw him a fastball, which he promptly deposited in the left field seats for a solo HR.

- CC gave a run back in the bottom of the 2nd after throwing one slider too many to Chris Davis.  Sabathia left it up and over the plate and Davis didn't miss it after fouling one off earlier in the at-bat.

- It looked like it was going to be a long night for Freddy after a David Adams HR (his first career Major League HR) in the 2nd, and then he seemed to find his stuff a bit and worked through 5 innings without further damage.

- CC was workmanlike through 6, though he was hardly sharp or dominant.  He gave up a lot of hits on the fastball early, but used good slider-change combo to limit damage.  All in all, he gave up 8 hits and 2 runs through 6, and Baltimore hitters just looked too comfortable against him.

- Surprisingly, Buck played the matchups and went lefty-lefty to start the 7th and it backfired on him big time.  Troy Patton hung a 2-2 curve to Lyle Overbay and Overbay gave the Yanks the lead back with their 3rd solo shot of the night.

- Joe elected not to go to the 'pen in the bottom half and it backfired on him too.  CC gave up 2 hits and the tying run in a handful of pitches and the go-ahead one just a few later.  Belt-high sliders and changeups a shutdown inning does not make.

- It didn't look good heading into the top of the 9th, until a crumbling Jim Johnson gave up another solo blast to Travis Hafner to tie the game and give us some free baseball.  Just an inning of free baseball, though, as consecutive Ichiro and Wells doubles in the 10th got a 2-run rally started and a clean Mo 9th saved the W.

Phelps' Early Results Solidifying His Rotation Legitimacy

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It's been just short of 3 weeks since David Phelps re-entered the starting rotation as Ivan Nova's replacement.  He's pitched better in each of the 4 starts he's made in that time period, the best outing coming this past Saturday in the form of a 7-inning, 1-run, 8-K shutdown of the hapless Blue Jays.  That start marked Phelps' 15th of his professional career, by no means enough to definitively predict what he'll do going forward but enough to make some reasonable observations.  Phelps is the latest homegrown pitcher to break into the rotation semi-full time, after Ivan Nova in 2010/2011 and Phil Hughes in 2007/2008, and he's all but earned the right to stay there with the way he's pitched.  Without getting back into the "the Yankees suck at developing starting pitching" argument, let's just see how Phelps' first 15 career starts stack up against Nova's and Phil's.

Hey, Remember This Fight?

Stacey Gotsulias is the queen of the historical posts over at IIATMS/TYA.  She's always good about remembering what big Yankee moments happened on what days, far better than I am, and it's always a pleasure to see those posts and be reminded of moments I experienced (like David Wells' perfect game).

Somehow I don't think she's going to get to this one, since it probably only matters to manchildren like myself, so I'll do the honors.  With the Yanks heading to Baltimore for a 3-game series tonight, and the video still being up on YouTube, let's take a minute to look back and remember the classic fight from 15 years ago between the Yankees and O's.  It's arguably one of the greatest fights in baseball history and another moment from my early Yankee fandom career I remember watching live.

Upgrading The 2-Spot In The Lineup (So Cano Doesn't Have To)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

With Derek Jeter around, the #2 spot in the lineup was never a problem.  Just pencil him in there and fill in behind him or pencil him into the leadoff spot and just plunk somebody in behind him.  The loss of Jeter, paired with the injury or free agent losses of a few other guys, has left the #2 spot in order an absolute dead zone this year.  Of all the issues the platoon-heavy and injury-shortened roster has caused in 40+ games, the biggest and consistently most noticeable is the gap in the 2nd spot and the problems on the back end of that get caused by Robinson Cano hitting there.

Cano has spent the bulk of his time hitting 2nd this season, and in 94 ABs there he's posted a .362/.406/.681 slash with 16 XBH, 16 R, and 22 RBI.  The 77 non-Cano ABs from the 2nd spot have resulted in just 14 total hits (3 for XB), 7 R, and 4 RBI.  Those results aren't surprising when you consider that it's been the Nixes, Ichiros, and (yeesh) Franciscos of the world occupying the spot, nor is the frustration that comes with having to watch those guys hit there.  Based on some recent roster additions, there might be some upgrade options available and opportunities to bump Cano back down and lengthen the lineup a bit.  Options like ...

Rain Helps A Shortened Rotation

(Thanks, Mother Nature.  Seriously.  Courtesy of Anthony McCarron)

Yesterday's rainout was a bummer in that it didn't give the Yankees a chance to sweep Toronto again and extend their division lead.  In the context of their current rotation situation and the always-important big picture, however, it could have been a blessing in disguise.

Andy Pettitte's spot in the rotation was scheduled to come up in this series against Baltimore, and the recalled Vidal Nuno was the likely candidate to make that start.  Because of yesterday's postponement, Joe announced that he will push the rest of his rotation back a day and go with CC, Hughes, and Kuroda in this series.  The team has a scheduled off-day on Thursday, with David Phelps getting the start Friday in Tampa and then CC and Phil cycling around again after him.  Pettitte/Nuno's spot would not come up again until May 28th, which would put Andy in a position to only miss 1 start if his back issue turns out to be as minor as the teams says and he comes off the DL as scheduled.

Andy missing any time is a loss for the rotation, there's no way around that.  But to have that loss minimized is another small silver lining to a bad situation.  It's not the first time something lucky like this has cropped up in a larger, unluckier circumstance.  Just another strange occurrence in a season full of them.

What Can Reid Brignac Do For You?

In their now never-ending quest to upgrade their infield depth, however so slightly, the Yankees acquired Reid Brignac from Colorado on Friday for $75,000.  This was the second time they went back to the Rockies well in a few weeks after acquiring Chris Nelson.

As for what he can do, the honest answer is not much.  At least not offensively.  Brignac is a career .228/.270/.321 lefty hitter with a BB rate under 5% and a K rate just less than 25%.  He was only slightly exceeding those career lines in 53 PA for the Rockies, so the Yankees didn't purchase him for his offense.  What he can do is play shortstop better than anybody the Yanks have right now, and he's also useful at second or third base.  If Eduardo Nunez is going to miss another week or so, and signs point to that happening, he could be a SS platoon option with Jayson Nix.

Brignac is basically a slight upgrade over Alberto Gonzalez, and if the Yankees can slightly upgrade at a position of need for such a minimal cost then they should do it.  Gonzalez was DFA'd to clear a roster spot, and Brignac was scheduled to be the starting shortstop this afternoon, so the Yankees seem ready to put him to work and see what they can get out of him for the next few weeks.

Shut Up, Hal

(Courtesy of the AP)

Hal Steinbrenner was in the house yesterday for team photos and he took the opportunity to make what I believe are his first significant public comments on the team's performance this season.  As expected, Hal's comments were all of the positive variety.  He said he was "pleasantly surprised" but "not shocked" at how well the team had done, citing the unexpectedly good performances of some of the veteran signings and the young MiL players called up to fill the injury gaps.

I know the day after a victory to put the team 11 games over .500 and third best overall in MLB isn't the time to get salty, but Hal's comments did nothing but make me roll my eyes when I read them yesterday.  I'm sure his feelings of excitement and surprise are genuine, as they are for a lot of other fans.  I just can't help but feel like this hot start makes Hal feel like his approach this offseason was the right one, and that in his mind his continued commitment to "building a championship-caliber team" is justified by the club's current record.

The real credit here goes to Cash and his scouting staff and Joe and his coaching staff for finding cheap players who still had something left in the tank and coaching them in a way that allows them to best use what they've still got.  All Hal did was handcuff Cash into only being able to target these players and force Joe to build the best lineup he could with them.  So enjoy the early success, Hal.  Your team's performance has given you the right to do that.  Just don't pat yourself on the back too much thinking you were a key part of this and that this was your plan all along.

P.S.- "I knew that the guys we got in the offseason were veterans. Whether people thought they were worth getting or not, I felt they were veterans and this is what you expect veterans to do.”  You knew that old players who had been in MLB for years and years were veterans?  Real astute observation.  I'm sure that was the determining factor in Hafner getting signed.

Game 43 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 TOR 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees have gotten fatter off playing the Blue Jays than any other team this season.  They entered today's game 7-1 against Toronto and looking to extend a 5-game winning streak against them.  David Phelps was getting the start, his next in the chance to prove his worth as a long-term rotation option and not just an injury stopgap, and he did it with one of the better lineups the team had put on the field in a while behind him.  Travis Hafner was back in his customary DH role after a few days off, and with Curtis Granderson in right field there was some more teeth to the middle of a lineup that had already beaten up Toronto starter Brandon Morrow once this season.

Game Notes:

- Phelps made it interesting early, working around 2 1-out walks in the 1st with a pick off and 2 leadoff singles in the 3rd with a double play ball and a big strikeout.

- Morrow stymied the lineup the first turn through the order.  The second time he wasn't so lucky.  With 2 outs in the 3rd Brett Gardner singled home Jayson Nix and then scored on a Robinson Cano Yankee Stadium 2-run HR 1 pitch later.

- Cano put on a repeat performance with 2 outs in the bottom of the 5th.  Morrow threw him a slider for a swinging strike 2, then 3 more that Cano made contact with.  He left the last one up in the zone just enough for Cano to square up and Robbie parked it over the fence.

- Phelps continued to put runners on base, but never in a way that created a real threat and never anything that led to another run through 7.  He also continued to display plus stuff with 8 more strikeouts.

- Hafner marked his return to the lineup with an exclamation point in the bottom of the 8th with a 2-run HR of his own.  Good to see the time off didn't affect his timing.

- Aside from another D-Rob homer hiccup in the 8th it was another solid job by the bullpen.  Boone Logan looked very good striking out 2 in a non-save 9th inning.

Kuroda The 1A To CC's 1

Since Hiroki Kuroda joined the Yankees before last season (regular season and postseason):

CC Sabathia- 40 GS, 280.2 IP, 104 ER, 64 BB, 270 K

Kuroda- 44 GS, 294.1 IP, 99 ER, 66 BB, 220 K

I'm not saying Kuroda is a better pitcher than CC.  In a one-game situation, I'd still probably want the big fella on the mound (think Game 5 of last year's ALDS).  But I will say that Kuroda has been the most reliable Yankee starting pitcher since the beginning of last season.  He's been healthy, he's been consistent, and he's assumed the role that both CC and Andy Pettitte have held down at different times since '09 as the rotation's stopper. Every big game like the one Kuroda pitched last night seems to come when the team needs one.  He's been an absolutely fantastic signing 2 years in a row and I really hope he wants to come back again in 2014.  As with Andy, the Yankees should keep offering Kuroda 1-year deals as long as he wants to keep playing.

Game 42 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 TOR 0

(Courtesy of the AP)

With the team struggling a bit in their series loss to Seattle, the Toronto Blue Jays were a welcome sight for the Yankees last night.  They'd played well against the Jays in a few series already this season, and even though the Jays had been playing better baseball of late, the Yanks had Hiroki Kuroda on the mound.  In 2 previous starts against Toronto this season, Kuroda was 1-0 and had allowed just 4 ER in 13.1 IP.  Last night he was on top of his game again and turned in his best outing against Toronto this season to get New York back on the winning track.

Game Notes:

- He's been struggling lately, so Brett Gardner made it easy on Robinson Cano by leading off the game with a triple.  Cano plated him with an RBI groundout and the Yanks had a 1-0 lead.

- Kuroda looked like an even more dominant version of himself that had bested Toronto twice this season early.  Through 4 scoreless innings he allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk.

- The Yanks didn't get much off of Mark Buehrle after the 1st, which made the kids getting involved in the second run even better.  David Adams and Austin Romine singled early, and Adams scored on a Jayson Nix sac fly.  Putting the "fun" in fundamentals.

- Adams was back at it again in the bottom of the 7th, leading off the inning with a double to left.  After an Ichiro bunt single, Romine came through with an RBI double and the kids were running the show.

- Don't let the lack of strikeouts fool you, Kuroda was dominating the Toronto lineup.  He allowed just 1 more baseunner in the next 4 innings, working a nasty sinker-splitter-slider combo, and finished after 8 shutout innings.

- Not surprisingly, Ben Francisco did nothing in this game hitting the 5th spot.  Bullpen needed a rest and it was Preston Clairborne who worked around 2 hits to handle a scoreless 9th.

Andy Pettitte To The DL, Vidal Nuno Called Back Up

This doesn't come as good news after Joe talked him leaving the game early last night down like it was no big deal.  The Yankees have elected to put Andy Pettitte on the disabled list with his upper left trap injury, and have recalled Vidal Nuno from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster and presumably in the rotation as well.

It's a small bit surprising that Joe would be so open about how not big a deal the injury was in last night's presser and then have this be the move the next day.  The Yankees just got done botching the Kevin Youkilis situation, so they shouldn't really be saying boo about anybody's health if the actions aren't in agreement.  There's a chance this is the Yankees using this latest injury blip as justification for putting Andy on the DL and giving him a significant chunk of time to fully rest his back, which they didn't do last time.  That being said, it still doesn't do much to ease the concern about this being a lingering issue for Andy for the rest of the season.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/17/13

I don't go to the movies nearly as much as I used to.  There's just nothing good coming out anymore, and I was reminded of that on Tuesday when I went to see the new "Iron Man."  I won't spoil any plot points for you if you haven't seen it but simply put, it sucked.  Hard.  Just a completely scrubbed, Disney-fied version of what should have been an awesome movie.  I knew the Marvel movies were going to be in trouble when Disney bought the rights and IM3 is living proof.  If you're on the fence about plunking down 10 bucks to see it, take my advice and wait for it come out on video or Netflix.  You'll be glad you did.  Now onto the links!

- It's technically from last week, but Josh Norris had a great Q&A with Gil Patterson on Saturday, shining a little light on the changes to the organizational pitching development approach and the plan for Jose Campos.

- On Monday, Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits searched through the current 40-man roster to find the most likely casualties when the injured regulars return.

- Brian D. of Yankees Fans Unite looked back at Andy Pettitte's surprising comeback from retirement on the 1-year anniversary.  Easily the most pleasant surprise of last season.

- On Tuesday, Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled fringe prospect Caleb Cotham, who's pitched well in 2013.  I think Greg is a little high on his ceiling for Cotham, but there's definitely Major League potential there.

- Jason Cohen of Pinstriped Bible wondered if CC Sabathia will make it to 300 wins, and compared some of his W-related numbers to his contemporaries.

- SG of RLYW examined projections and platoon splits to try to identify the optimal outfield setup now that C-Grand is back in the picture.

- On Wednesday, Mike Eder of IIATMS/TYA commented on the near overabundance of starting pitching the Yankees currently have thanks to all their injury call-ups.  How does everybody play into the team's future plans?

- Mike Axisa of RAB analyzed the tough position the Yankees are in with Ichiro right now due to his contract and poor performance.  To all the Ichiro huggers out there who hated my anti-Ichiro offseason posts, I told you so.

- On Thursday, Drew Sheppard of FanGraphs had an excellent piece on Mo's fastball/cutter movement, complete with gifs, and some cool counting stats on his broken bat totals.  Does he really have to retire?

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had injury updates on almost every injured player under the sun, minus Pettitte and Stewart.

- Alex Pugliese of Yanks Go Yard asked if Dellin Betances being out of MiL options was a bad thing?  I think that answer is a resounding "no."  It's now or never for him.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes touched on the over-reactive nature of fans in light of Phil Hughes' bombshow of an outing earlier this week.

- Martin Riggs of NoMaas pointed out another statistical area of concern relative to CC Sabathia.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog broke down the Yankees' early performance in 1-run games to see where they stack up historically and if they're capable of continuing their success.

- On Friday, el duque of It Is High... mused on the Montero-Pineda trade over a year later, when none of the pieces involved have made much of an impact at any level.

Going back to a very familiar well for this week's jam.  If you thought I was going to stay quiet on all the awesome new song clips that QOTSA has been releasing this week then you are outside of your mind.  This album is going to kick so much ass.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.