Expectations For Pettitte

In just a little over an hour, Andy Pettitte will complete his spring comeback attempt when he once again dons the Yankee pinstripes and takes the mound to start for the New York Yankees.  To say this comeback was unexpected would be an understatement, at least for me personally, and there have been plenty of questions attached to this comeback related to how Andy would perform and what the Yankees could expect from him.  He's answer every question over the past month plus except the last one.  Today, that question will finally start to be answered.

I said right after he came back that I didn't want him to just be gift-wrapped a spot in the rotation, and I said after his last MiL start that I thought he could use one more, but the fact of the matter is that what Andy has already done in his build-up starts is better than what the Yankees have been getting from the 5th spot in their rotation from Day 1 this season.  He's been far more effective in giving up runs and limiting damage than Freddy Garcia was, and he's pitched deeper into games than David Phelps has in his 2 audition outings.  5+ innings of 2-3-run ball isn't flashy, but it's an improvement over what the team has been getting from the back end of the rotation, and with the top 4 pitching better lately it's exactly what this team needs.

The atmosphere is going to be electric today at the Stadium, and it should be.  It's not often that we get to see an integral part of a Yankee dynasty come back and compete again.  But to expect electricity and dominance from Andy today would be wrong.  As long as he can continue to be better than what the 5th starters before him were, Andy is going to be successful.  And to give him a start at home, against a weak offensive team is the perfect way to gauge where he's at and work him back into the fold.  I won't get to watch the game today, but if Andy is sitting 85-89 with his fastball, working his cutter consistently, and has better command of his other offspeed pitches than he did the last time out, I'm going to be happy.

Game 33 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 SEA 2

(Look at that.  A standing O.  Courtesy of The AP)

Phil Hughes has been trending up lately, and his teammates have been doing the same over the past 5 days.  The Yankees were fresh off of beating Felix Hernandez on Friday and facing a pitcher whom the have some familiarity with in former teammate Hector Noesi.  The struggles of April were starting to fade in the rearview mirror and the Yanks were looking to keep it that way yesterday.

Game Notes:

- It looked like we were being set up for a pitchers' duel as both guys worked through the majority of the first 2 innings unscathed.  But with 2 outs in the bottom of the 2nd, the Yankee offense strung together a trio of big hits (RBI doubles by Ibanez and Martin, and a 2-R HR by Jayson Nix) to stake Hughes to a 4-0 lead.

- For the 3rd straight game, Hughes seemed to use the "reliever mentality" he talked about to his advantage.  He threw a lot of strikes, worked from ahead in the count more often than not, and did a much better job of putting hitters away with 2 strikes.  Through 6 innings, the Mariners had just 3 hits and 1 walk to their credit.

- Raul Ibanez has been on a mini-tear this week and he continued that in the 4th with his 7th HR of the season.  He now has 7 on the season, 2 in consecutive games, and 4 in his last 5.

- Hughes did give up a home run to Mike Carp in the 7th for his only run of the day, a byproduct of being a flyball pitcher, but for the most part Hughes was outstanding yesterday.  He used his changeup a lot more than he had recently, and many of the flyballs he got were easy outs.

- The most important thing was that Hughes seemed to mix all his pitches better, which made him more effective with 2 strikes.  Rather than try to throw the ball by everybody, he was very willing to let the Mariner offense make contact and trust his defense behind him.  He only recorded 4 Ks yesterday, but he also only walked 1 batter.

- Hughes tired in the 8th, not a big surprise considering he was at 112 pitches, and Boone Logan came on to strike out Ichiro to end the inning.

- Robinson Cano kept his hitting streak alive with an RBI single for some insurance in the bottom of the 8th, and it was up to Logan to close the game out, which he did with 3 more strikeouts.  He did give up a run, but it was another stellar performance from Logan.

- Interesting note- Logan was the 3rd different Yankee reliever to record a save since Mo's injury.

Best Mo Tribute Video You'll See Today

TYA teammate Steve S. turned me on to this, and I have to say that I'm glad he did.  There are fan videos and then there are fan videos.  This one is the latter.  The proper tribute being paid to the original song, the video quality, the great use of on-site locations at and around Yankee Stadium, and the lyrical quality are all top notch.

Don't stop relievin', ACL's healing indeed.

Game 32 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 SEA 2

Hiroki Kuroda still hasn't quite figured out how best to use his stuff to effectively pitch at Yankee Stadium after his first couple starts, and he was facing an opponent last night who usually doesn't allow much margin for error and has a sparkling track record at the new Yankee Stadium in Felix Hernandez.  The pressure was on Kuroda, and very much to his credit he delivered.

Game Notes:

- When you're a sinkerball pitcher and the ball doesn't sink, you're usually in for a bad time.  Kuroda threw a sinker that stayed up to Dustin Ackley to lead off the game and Ackley parked it in the left field seats for a HR and a 1-0 Seattle lead.  It didn't look like a good omen for Kuroda or the Yankees.

- But Kuroda would recover from there and work through the 5th inning without any more damage, retiring 9 in a row from the 2nd-4th.  His stuff was better, his command was good enough (even if he didn't get his first K until the 5th), and his defense was strong behind him.

- Hernandez came into the game last night with 3 wins and a 0.38 ERA in 3 starts at the new Stadium, but that streak of dominance would not continue.  The Yankee offense manufactured a run in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game on a C-Grand single, SB, and RBI single from Robinson Cano.

- They didn't score again until the 6th, but the Yankee offense made Hernandez work.  The only clean inning he had was the 3rd, and he needed a strong defensive play to keep a run off the board in the 4th after 3 straight Yankee singles.  It seemed like only a matter of time before they broke through.

- In the top of the 6th, Yankee fans got a look at what they're missing when Jesus Montero cranked an opposite-field HR to give Seattle a 2-1 lead.  It really wasn't a a horrible pitch, but Kuroda kept the slider up just enough and Montero's power was enough to drive it out.

- In the bottom half of the inning, the Yankee bats finally hit paydirt.  A-Rod led off with a walk, Cano singled, and after 2 outs Raul Ibanez stepped in and smacked a 3-run HR to right field to give them a 4-2 lead.  The RISP Fail demons had been tormenting them all night, but Ibanez's big blow seemed to take the wind out of Seattle's sails.

- After Kuroda worked a quick 7th, Joe went to the 'pen and played a great mix-and-match game with his available guys.  Clay Rapada started the inning by getting Ichiro to ground out, then Cory Wade came in to get Jesus , and Boone Logan finished the inning with a strikeout.

- Insurance runs came in the form of a pinch-hit, 2-run homer from Andruw Jones in the 8th, and D-Rob got the final 2 outs in the 9th to seal the win.

Does Joe Think We're Stupid?

Look, Joe, I still wanted to give you a little credit for sticking by your "Chris Stewart isn't CC's personal catcher" bit that you've been using on the media for the past couple weeks.  I really did.  I think it shows heart on your part to go up there every 5th night and stick to that same sad routine.

But if you're going to follow that up with something so blatantly dishonest about Eduardo Nunez being demoted to make room for Eric Chavez's return instead of Jayson Nix, that's where I draw the line.  You sent Nunez down because you want him to get more reps at SS?  Really??

Come on, Joe!  Just admit it.  We all know the truth.  Chris Stewart is CC's catcher (and also the man), and Eduardo Nunez flat out sucks at fielding and throwing the baseball.  Neither of those things are big secrets.  So cut the crap with the "more reps" routine, because the only thing those reps are going to do for Nunez is give him a greater opportunity to boot the ball all over the field and possibly set the Triple-A record for most errors by a shortstop in a season.

Just embrace the truth, Joe.  Take it all in.  It'll make you feel better.  Don't worry about Nunez's feelings.  It's not like he's going to cry.  There's no crying in baseball, remember?

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/11

Can't the Rangers just make things easy on me?  Just once this postseason?  It's bad enough that they are going to another Game 7, but it's even worse that the game isn't happening tonight but on Saturday night when I'll be out at a beer festival and presumably with no access to a television of any kind.  Luckily for me, I get to spend all afternoon standing in line at the DMV, hence the palooza making it out a little earlier than usual today.  Onto the links!

- On Monday, Donnie Collins discussed the current state of the Yankee pitching staff and how Andy Pettitte fits into it after his recent tune-up outings.

- David Roher of Deadpsin had an interesting piece in the wake of Mo's injury centered around what baseball would be like if every pitcher was Mariano Rivera.

- Vizzini of NoMaas took stock of the remaining crew in the now Mo-less bullpen and unsurprisingly concluded that it's still pretty damn good.

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa of RAB examined Ivan Nova's problem with fastballs up in the zone and how it's affecting his performance.

- On Wednesday, Sweeny Murti of WFAN sat down for a Q&A with Michael Pineda about his injury.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily mused on current Triple-A utility man Ronnier Mustelier and how he could be a useful piece for the Yankees.  A guy who can hit the ball and play multiple positions on the bench?  I'll take it.

- William Tasker of IIATMS talked about accepting Raul Ibanez for what he does bring to the table, and being happy with how he's producing at the plate.

- Matt Imbrogno of TYA looked at all the HR Ivan Nova has allowed early in the season to see if he's missing badly or getting unlucky.  Location tells the story, and it ain't a good one.

- Mike Eder argued that Manny Banuelos should be promoted to the Major League rotation if he continues to show improved command.

- Frank Campagnola of Pinstripe Alley found some things that he liked about Phil Hughes' early starts.  Sounds like somebody wants Hughes to stay in the rotation.

- On Thursday, Steve Goldman of Pinstriped Bible attempted to ease the concerns about D-Rob after his blown save.

- Fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite scored an interview with Low-A Charleston masher Tyler Austin.  If he stays healthy, there's no reason to expect Austin to not be on every top 10 prospect list next year.

- On Friday, Chad Jennings of LoHud noticed what I'm noticing with Robinson Cano at the plate.  He's starting to heat up.

I'm going heavy on the Friday Jam today with some High On Fire.  I've been on a huge High On Fire kick lately.  Don't ask.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Game 31 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 TB 3

(Don'tcha know.  Courtesy of The AP)

CC Sabathia has been one of the hottest starting pitchers in the American League over the last 2 weeks or so.  David Price could make that same claim.  Truth be told, I would have rather had this game be the ESPN weekly national game and not Wednesday night's.  Ace vs. ace; 2 big lefties; that's must-see TV in my book.

Game Notes:

- CC's line after 2 innings was not an accurate representation of how he pitched, as both runs he allowed were unearned courtesy of 2 Eduardo Nunez errors, 1 each of the fielding and throwing variety.  The defense is really starting to become a problem for me with Nunez.  Chavez better pass his concussion tests.

That being said, CC did give up 4 hits in the first 2, so he wasn't exactly sharp either as the Yankees went down 2-0 early.  Not everything was hard hit, but CC seemed just a tick off with his location.

- Fortunately for the Yankee offense, they quickly bailed Nunez and CC out with 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd.  Curtis Granderson, the guy who I said was going to keep being a monster, yanked his 11th HR of the season off an inside Price fastball that didn't get inside enough to cut the lead in half.  Then Eduardo Nunez walked, stole 2nd base, and came around to score on a single by THE Chris Stewart, who found himself at third base when all was said and done on the play after the Rays decided to practice their "Keystone Kops" routine.  Price looked no sharper than CC, and it was a 2-2 ballgame.

- After getting his 2nd hit to lead off the bottom of the 3rd, I sent my uncle a text saying, "Cano is starting to break out.  I can feel it."  Sure enough, the next time he came to the plate with Nick Swisher on in the 5th inning, he took a 1st-pitch hanging slider from Price and LAUNCHED it into the right-center field seats for his 4th HR of the season and a 4-2 Yankee lead.

- CC started to find it after a 1-2-3 inning in the 3rd and seemed to get a little bit better every inning thereafter until he was back to the dominant form we've seen recently.  That point was punctuated in the 6th when CC came out and struck out the side, and then again in the 7th when he threw 2 straight sliders by B.J. Upton to end the threat.

- The Yankee offense was never able to connect on the final knockout punch to Price despite getting 5 runs, 11 hits, and 3 walks off him, and the game was still close enough at 5-2 heading into the late innings.

- I would have been happy to see CC be done after 7 innings and 109 pitches, but he must have felt good because Joe sent him out for the 8th and he retired the side in order on 10 pitches.  Big night for CC; double digit K and GB outs.

- With D-Rob unavailable, it was Soriano's game to close and he did just that, although not without a garbage run scoring after a leadoff single.  5-3 Yanks and a series win against a division rival.

BREAKING NEWS: Brett Gardner Suffers Setback With Elbow (UPDATED)

I'm a little late on this breaking story (damn internet was down at the apartment), but via Marc Carig, the bad injury luck continues for the Yankees as Brett Gardner has suffered a setback in his rehab from his right elbow strain.

Apparently there was some soreness and swelling after he played in the Triple-A game last night, which would explain why Gardner wasn't activated today, and he's probably getting an MRI as we speak.  As usual, I'll update this story as more details become available.

I'm really at a loss here.  When is this injury madness going to stop?  I can't take it.



** UPDATE- 6:46AM- According to Joe's postgame presser last night, Gardner re-aggravated the strain in his elbow that put him on the DL in the first place.  The plan is to shut him down for 10 days and see where he's at then, but Gardner will likely be out longer than that.  Dewayne Wise looks like he's going to stick around for a while. **

Shuffling The 25-Man Deck To Make Room For Roster Reinforcements

Had to post that clip.  Too funny not to.

But on a more serious note, the Yankees are going to get a shot in the arm over the next handful of days with regards to their 25-man roster.  They are finally starting to get healthy, with Brett Gardner and Eric Chavez both scheduled to come off the DL either today or tomorrow, and some guy named Andy Pettitte is going to be added to the starting rotation on Sunday.  There's been a recent burst of roster shuffling activity to cover for the injuries to Chavez, Mo, and Swish's missed time, and the shuffling will continue this weekend.

Looking at the active roster, it's pretty clear who the 3 targets for 25-man termination are.  Cody Eppley, who was recalled last week to replace D.J. Mitchell in the bullpen, should get the boot from his low-leverage mop-up spot when David Phelps gets knocked back to the bullpen to make room for Andy.  In the field, Jayson Nix and Dewayne Wise will likely get axed for Gardner and Chavez.  It will be a shame to lose Wise, who doesn't have any options and would have to clear waivers before the Yankees could try to stash him in Triple-A again.  He has hit incredibly well since Spring Training and can play all 3 OF positions better than anybody else left on the Yankee bench, but there just isn't any way that he's getting the nod over the Joneses and Ibanezes of the world.

The Yankee roster has never been the complete 25-man version it was expected to be at the opening of spring camp, and it never will be with a few guys out for the season.  But with the return of Chavez, Gardner, and Pettitte, it will become deeper and have more depth of talent than it has in the past few weeks.

Curtis Granderson's Continuing Power Surge

A while back, I wrote a piece that examined Curtis Granderson's statistical profile for the 2011 season and attempted to predict the likelihood of him maintaining that MVP-caliber level of production moving forward.  My expectation was that he would likely see a regression in his career-high HR numbers, but could still produce at a high level in 2012 with a more selective approach at the plate and a spike in his LD rate to supplement the dip in power.  We're a little over a month into the 2012 season and C-Grand's numbers so far are better across the board than they were last year.  He's currently hitting .274/.370/.581, with a .396 wOBA, 152 wRC+, and ISO and BABIP numbers both north of their 2011 values.  Of his 32 hits thus far, 15 of them have been for extra bases, including 10 home runs.  Granderson started to heat up towards the end of ST and hasn't cooled down since.  He's picked up right where he left off at the end of 2011 and has yet to show any signs of slowing down.

Game 30 Wrap-Up: TB 4 NYY 1

(You're still the best to me, Dave.  Courtesy of The AP)

David Phelps.  Jeff Niemann,  One night only.  Mano y mano.  Sure it was the undercard to the big "Sabathia vs. Price" battle tonight, but there was still plenty of intrigue surrounding this matchup.  Phelps was pitching to hopefully keep his name in consideration for a spot in the rotation, and the Yankees were looking to get back within striking distance of the division lead against a pitcher who'd been successful against them in the past.

Game Notes:

- Things didn't look good for Phelps in the top of the 1st, when he gave up a leadoff double to Yankee killer in the making Ben Zobrist and walked Carlos Pena on 4 pitches to start the game.  He didn't look sharp and loaded the bases before wriggling off the hook without allowing a run on 28 pitches.

- After that, it was like he flipped an internal switch because Phelps was a completely different pitcher.  He retired the 2nd-4th innings in order on just 42 pitches, spotting his fastball down to both sides of the plate and working from ahead in the count almost the entire time.

- The Yankee double play combo of Derek & Bob were responsible for the first Yankee run of the game in the bottom of the 1st.  Jeter led off with a first-pitch single and came around to score on a 2-out double by Cano, which had the added bonus of being hit the opposite way in an attempt to attack the outside of the plate, something Cano has not done well thus far.

- The only problem with Cano's run-scoring hit was that it was the only one the Yankees could muster.  Niemann was very good after the 1st, allowing just 5 baserunners and no runs over the next 6 innings with 4 strikeouts.

- Of course, a bad offensive night for the Yankees merits a mention of their continued struggles to hit with RISP.  They were 0-8 as a team last night, with 8 men left on base.

- Phelps hit the wall in the 5th and ended his outing just as he started it, by having no command and loading the bases on a double and 2 walks, and it was up to the Yankee bullpen from there.  Boone Logan, Cory Wade, and Rafael Soriano combined for 3.1 IP of scoreless ball, and despite the offense continuing to be shut down, the Yankees still led 1-0 going into the 9th.

- Just when I go and start tooting his horn for him, D-Rob had to go and blow the save in his 2nd consecutive post-Mo opportunity.  It was a bit of a freak occurrence, as the first 2 hitters of the inning got singles swinging on the first pitch and advanced on a poor throwing decision by Swish, but that fastball to Matt Joyce was poorly placed, and I'm sure that won't stop everybody from freaking out today.

- The bottom line is that Robertson had been LONG overdue for an outing like last night's, and it sucks that it had to happen when it did.

Dave Robertson > Rafael Soriano

(Hey look!  It's the new closer!  Courtesy of Reuters)

The biggest non-Mo talking point since Mo went down with his ACL injury has been who should take his place as closer this season.  It was talked about immediately after the injury was confirmed, it was talked about after D-Rob handled the 9th inning in order in a non-save situation on Friday night, and it was talked about again after he did his normal tightrope walk routine to close out the win last night.  Obviously the only 2 real candidates are Dave Robertson and Rafael Soriano, but I still feel like I have to ask this.  Why is anybody even talking about this in the first plate?  Why is there even cause for a "Robertson or Soriano" discussion?  Did I get transplanted into an alternate reality where Rafael Soriano is a better pitcher than Dave Robertson?  That's the only thing that I can think of that would explain this situation.

It's real simple, people.  Dave Robertson should be the closer.  And the reason he should be the closer is that he's simply a better pitcher and a more effective reliever than Rafael Soriano.  For all the talk about how erratic D-Rob can be and how many walks he issues and how you don't want runners on base in the 9th inning, the fact remains that Robertson has showed a consistent ability over the last 2+ years to get big outs when he needs to get them in a variety of different high-leverage relief situations.  And if you want to talk about walks, let's talk about how before last night Robertson had issued just 3 walks in 12.0 IP this season, good for a 2.25 BB/9 value that was only slightly higher than Mo's 2.16.  Robertson has shown serious improvement in his command and ability to throw strikes and paint corners, and has done it without sacrificing any of the nastiness of his stuff that allows him to rack up his dominant strikeout totals.  If that doesn't work for you, try these nuggets of knowledge on for size.

Some Designated Food For Thought

Yankee DHs This Season: .272/.328/.482, 10 XBH, 23 RBI, 11 BB, 19 K

Jesus Montero This Season: .275/.289/.431, 9 XBH, 16 RBI, 3 BB, 22 K

Just in case anybody wanted to reignite the "Cash blew the Montero trade" fire after the latest news of Jose Campos hitting the MiL DL with elbow inflammation.  Not having Montero's bat in the lineup has not hurt the Yankees at all this season.

Game 29 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 TB 3

(Jesus Who?  Courtesy of The AP)

As seems to be SOP around Yankeeland lately, there was big breaking news yesterday with the announcement that Andy Pettitte would make his return to the rotation on Sunday.  Ivan Nova was scheduled to start on Sunday after making his start last night, and recent struggles aside, there wasn't much reason to expect that Nova was the one targeted for replacement in the rotation.  In any event, Nova pitched like he was trying to earn a spot, and got the Yankees their 2nd straight win in the process.

Game Notes:

- In plain English, Nova was not fucking around last night.  He came out firing, and retired the first 12 batters he faced through 4 innings in order.  Well, sort of in order.  He gave up a leadoff single to Ben Zobrist to start the game and then retired 12 in a row after ending that 1st inning with a strike-'em-out/throw-'em-out DP.

- After a slow start, the Yankee offense started to build a little cushion for Nova.  It started in the 4th inning, when Raul Ibanez clubbed a 2-run HR just one AB after Robinson Cano was thrown out trying to score from 3rd on a Nick Swisher groundball.

- Curtis Granderson extended the lead with a solo HR, his 10th of the season, in the bottom of the 5th to make it 3-0 Yanks.  His at-bat was a 10-pitch battle against James Shields and ended when Shields hung a changeup.  Just a beautiful display of hitting by Granderson.

- After cruising through 5 innings, Nova got into a bit of trouble in the top of the 6th, giving up a leadoff HR to Jose Molina (really) and walking Ben Zobrist.  After a visit to the mound, Nova gathered himself and ended the inning with a GIDP by Carlos Pena and a follow-up groundout by B.J. Upton.

- Joe showed a lot of faith in Nova by letting him come out for the 7th, and Nova made that decision look questionable by giving up another HR, a walk, and a double to put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.  But as he did the inning prior, Nova managed to work out of trouble again, stranding the runners and ending the frame with a K of Jose Molina.

- The Rays tacked a run on in the 8th off of Rafael Soriano, but a solo shot from Ibanez in the 7th and an RBI double by Mark Teixeira in the 8th was enough to keep the Yankees ahead.  Left-handed RBI from Teix always make me smile.

- It was an impressive outing for Nova.  His fastball was living mid-90s again, his slider was really working for him, and he threw some nice curveballs for strikes and mixed pitches well.  He still missed his spots a few times, but the fact that he worked out of trouble twice late in the game, and the fact that Joe left him out there to do it, spoke volumes about how Nova has grown as a pitcher in the last year.

- After a clean outing on Sunday, D-Rob decided to get back to his usual routine and load the bases in the 9th in his first save opportunity of the season.  He struck out the last 2 hitters he faced, and as usual no runs crossed the plate, but there was a little sweating involved in locking down the W.

BREAKING NEWS: Andy To Start Sunday Vs. Seattle

Via Marc Carig:

"Pettitte to start Sunday"

"with the Yankees"

Cash made it official today.  Right now, Ivan Nova is scheduled to pitch Sunday, but barring injury I can't imagine he will be the one to lose his rotation spot.  That battle will be between Phil and Dave.  But it's really happening.  Andy Pettitte is going to pitch in a Major League game wearing the Yankee pinstripes again, and that's pretty cool.

Best Promotion Ever? Best Promotion Ever

I don't know much, people, but I do know this.  I have never been more upset about missing a Yankee game since I moved away from the East Coast than I am about missing tonight's game.  The New York Yankees are reinventing the stadium promotional giveaway game as we know it.

BOOM!!!  "Hand Sanitizer Keychain Day."  Are you kidding me???  Why not just give fans the keys to the locker room??  How about "Who Wants to Bat Cleanup?" Day or "Be The Bullpen Coach for the Game" Day??  I mean, look at this thing.  It's incredible!!!

 

As it is, your ticket to the game gets you first-person access to watching the historic New York Yankees play baseball.  Now you're telling me I could also be protected against all kinds of viruses and diseases that I may get from high-fiving the strangers around my in the stands AT NO EXTRA COST?!?!  That's highway robbery!

If you're reading this and planning on going to the game tonight, grab your car keys and your Yankee hat as soon as you're done and get your ass to The Stadium to make sure you're one of the first 18,000 fans in attendance in order to take advantage of this sweet deal.  Actually, scratch that.  Don't even finish reading this.  Just get to The Stadium NOW because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you don't want to miss.

/so fucking jealous

Awaiting Brett Gardner's Return

(Probably beat that out for a hit.  Courtesy of The AP)

I'm a big Brett Gardner fan, so I was all excited to write this post about how his return later this week should help spark the the team and get them back on the winning path they were on before he went down in mid-April.  But then his rehab outing got delayed by weather last night, likely pushing his whole return schedule back a day.  This gave me some time to check some numbers on what the Yankees have done with and without Gardner and I was a bit surprised at what I found.

Gardner went down on April 17th making a sliding catch in a win against the Twins.  In that game he went 2-2 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, 3 runs scored, an RBI, and the sliding catch that led to the injury to boost his season line to .321/.424/.393.  That's not too shabby and about as Gardnerish as a batting line gets, but the Yankees were only 6-5 in those 11 games that Gardner played before hitting the DL, averaging 5.18 runs/game.

Since he went on the shelf, the Yankees have used a rotating cast of characters in left field and that cast has not been nearly as productive as Gardner.  In the past 17 games, the Yankee left fielders have combined to go 11-60 at the plate (.183 BA) with 16 strikeouts to just 6 walks, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBI.  The lone bright spot in that stat line is the fact that 5 of the combined 11 hits have gone for extra bases, but the production hasn't been there.  I thought for sure this would lead to a big drop in runs scored as a team, but the average of 4.94 R/G over the past 17 games really isn't that far off from what the Yankee offense was doing with Gardner, and the 9-8 record over that span doesn't look any better or worse than the 6-5 with Garder.  So is Brett Gardner really that meaningless?

How "Ready" Is Andy Pettitte?

(Courtesy of The AP)

Far be it for me to question Andy Pettitte about his preparedness to join the Yankee rotation.  After all, he's done this for over 15 years and probably knows his body and his conditioning better than anybody, and my 3-year Little League career included no more than 5 legitimate hits at the plate and more HBPs than strikeouts on the mound.  But I have to admit that Pettitte's no-nonsense declaration that he was ready to join the rotation and implication that he expected to be called up this week raised at least one of my eyebrows, especially with the lines he's put up in his last 2 starts.

On Sunday, Andy pitched 5 innings for Triple-A Empire State, the first time he faced this high a level of competition on his comeback tour.  In those 5 innings, he allowed 5 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5 batters and throwing 92 pitches in the process.  Some defensive shenanigans inflated his line a bit, as infielders Steve Pearce and Brandon Laird both botched plays in the first 2 innings, but it was hardly a smooth outing for Pettitte.  This start comes on the heels of his previous start, a 5.2-inning Ext. ST outing that saw him give up 5 ER on 10 hits.  The general feeling right now is that Pettitte's velocity on his pitches is right where he wants it to be, but his command of his offspeed stuff isn't all the way there.  If that's the case, then I have to ask, why not give him another rehab start?

On Mo's Injury/Comeback

(Not an image I ever wanted (or expected) to see.  Courtesy of The AP)

The roughly 24-hour period of time from last Thursday night to last Friday night was right up there with the most emotional moments I've had as a Yankee fan.  The initial breaking story of Mariano Rivera being carted off the field prior to Thursday's game and follow-up video of Mo crumbling to the ground in pain were so shocking that I actually had trouble falling asleep on Thursday night, and by the time I woke up on Friday morning, they still didn't quite seem real.

I spent the majority of my day at the office on Friday in a confused haze and was finally coming to terms with the fact that Mo's career was really over when I got home from work, fired up the computer, and starting reading tweets and reports that he was coming back.  Once I saw quotes from Mo himself and a video clip of him speaking to Pedro Gomez, you could have burned my apartment to the ground in front of me and it still wouldn't have wiped the smile off my face.  With all due respect to Suzyn Waldman and Rawjuh Clemens, Mo's announcement was far more dramatic and far more meaningful to me as a fan.  And after 3 days I finally feel like I can attempt to talk competently about it.

Game 28 Wrap-Up: NYY 10 KC 4

(Courtesy of The AP)

Phil Hughes' last start was an improvement, but with his overall body of work for the season, the void that Mo's injury created in the bullpen, and Andy Pettitte continuing to close in on his return, Phil needed another good start to keep himself in the running for a rotation spot.  He did pitch well yesterday, and got plenty of help from the offense to get the Bombers back in the win column.

Game Notes:

- Hughes allowed a 1st-inning run after giving up a 1-out walk and a double, and I'm sure plenty of Yankee fan eyes rolled, but he settled down after that and pitched a very solid game, allowing just 1 more run through 6 innings and not walking another batter.

- The Yankee offense gave Hughes plenty of early support, getting the run back in the 2nd on a RBI single by Raul Ibanez, and then dropping the hammer on Royals' starter Luke Hochevar in the 3rd.

- A leadoff single by Dewayne Wise, another single from Derek Jeter, and a third from Curtis Granderson and the Yankees had the lead.  A-Rod was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Robinson Cano, still stagnant at the plate, unloaded them with a monster grand slam to right-center field to make it 6-1 Yanks.

- To add insult to injury, Nick Swisher crushed a solo shot to make it 7-1 and end Hochevar's day.  Swish was DHing yesterday in his first game back , and his bat didn't appear to have missed a beat.

- If this was Hughes' last start in the rotation, Joe certainly let him empty the tank.  Hughes threw 115 pitches before finally tiring out in the 7th, 75 for strikes.  His fastball, as usual, was his go-to pitch and Hughes was feeling it yesterday, throwing it for strikes at about 93-95 all day.  He also got swinging Ks on his curveball and changeup, and even though his day ended on a sour note, it was a good line for Hughes.

- The Yankee offense gave Hughes a lot of support early, and also provided some late on a 3-run bomb from The Horse in the 8th.  It was a vintage A-Rod swing and maybe a sign that he's starting to wake up.

- This was the type of offensive performance this team needed after a relatively quiet week.  They banged out 12 hits (5 players each had 2) and 6 walks, and got encouraging signs of life from A-Rod and Cano.

Game 27 Wrap-Up (Sort Of): KC 5 NYY 1

I went out and got absolutely HAAAAAAAAMMERED drunk last night to celebrate my nonexistent Mexican heritage, so you're just getting a few bullet points.

Game Notes:

- Hiroki Kuroda sucked in his 4.1 innings of work.  The fact that he only pitched 4.1 innings and needed 90+ pitches to do so speaks to that.

- Felipe Paulino was money in his 6 innings, shutting the Yankee offense out and striking out 6.

- The only Yankee who really showed up on offense was Russell Martin (go figure).  He had 3 hits, 2 for extra bases, and was responsible for the sole run thanks to his 3rd homer of the year.

- The bottom of the bullpen barrel (Rapada, Eppley, Garcia) did most of the heavy lifting after Kuroda left to keep the big arms available for today.  Eppley allowed 2 runs.

F*ck Yeahs:

- Martin: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K.  Almost forgot he was on the team.

Oh Nos:

- RISP Fail: 0-9.  The Yankees put 10 runners on base, almost all over them got into scoring position, and they only scored 1 run.  This shit has to stop.

Next Up:

Series finale is in a few hours, with Phil Hughes on the mound trying to earn himself another start in the rotation and his team a series split.

Dave Robertson Is Dirty

There's no other way to describe it.  He was the best setup man in baseball last season, one of the best relief pitchers in baseball period, and he's been even better this year.  After last night, D-Rob has thrown 12 innings this season.  In those 12 innings he has allowed just 10 total baserunners, no runs, and has struck out 21.

If you trace things back to when D-Rob first really started to become a lockdown reliever, the summer of 2010, the numbers are just astounding.  From June 2010 to today, here's D-Rob's stat line:

- 124 IP, 1.52 ERA, 2.22 FIP, 6.02 H/9, 12.56 K/9

That's just downright unfair.  It's sickening.  Sure, he has walked 62 batters in that period of time, but only 3 of them so far this year, and he's only given up 3 HR in those 124 innings.  His command has improved and his walk rate is trending in the right direction without any kind of decrease in strikeouts, and batters just can't make good contact off of him.  D-Rob isn't just nasty, he's filthy, grimy, dirty.  And the scary thing is, he's getting dirtier.

#newcloser

Now somebody hit the music!

Game 26 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 KC 2

(The offense.  Courtesy of The AP)

The devastation of the Mo injury before the previous game was wiped away when he announced he was planning on coming back a few hours before last night's game.  The Yankees hit the field with clear heads and their ace on the mound, and got a win they really needed after a recent rough stretch of games.

Game Notes:

- Each pitcher started off with a rough 1st inning, Bruce Chen allowing 2 runs on a single to Jeter and a HR by Teix and CC allowing 2 on a single-double-double combination, and it was 2-2 after 1.

- After the 1st, though, suddenly the game turned into Shutdown City and CC and Chen matched 0s through 6 innings.  CC was very clearly the sharper of the 2, as he allowed only 2 more hits and did not walk a batter through the 6th.  Chen worked harder to get through his first 6 and hit the wall in the 7th.

- And when he hit it, he hit it HARD.  After a Robinson Cano single to lead off the 7th, Chen got the next 2 batters out and appeared to be in good shape.  A triple from Eduardo Nunez and a single by Chris Stewart and it was 4-2 Yankees with 2 outs, and a home run from Derek Jeter later in the inning made it 6-2.  A single 2-out run-scoring hit had been hard to come by lately.  3 in a row was practically unheard of.

- Fun Fact- Derek Jeter now has 5 HR on the season.  He had 6 all of last season.

- While Chen ran out of gas, CC kept chugging along and finished up with 2 more scoreless innings.  He exhibited great command again, keeping the ball down in the zone and generating a lot of groundballs, and this game marked the 4th straight that he's pitched into the 8th inning.

- If Joe is planning on having some sort of audition for the closer role with Mo out, I think it's safe to say D-Rob has the advantage.  Rafael Soriano was warming in the 'pen in the 8th as backup for CC in case he got into trouble.  After CC went 8 strong, it was Robertson who came in and sat down the Royals' 4-5-6 hitters in order, all via strikeout. 

BREAKING NEWS: Mo Says He's Coming Back

Via Mark Feinsand:

"I am coming back.  Write it down in big letters.  I'm not going out like this."

"I love to play the game.  To me, going out like this isn't the right way."

My reaction?



About damn time we had some good news on a Friday.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/4

I still can't shake myself out of the funk that the Mo injury has put me in.  I've got nothing even remotely witty to say.  Onto the links.

- On Monday, Robbie Clark of Yanks Go Yard collected the best bits from the dynamic duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman in the month of April for our comedic pleasure.  I know I don't have to say it, but you just can't predict baseball, Suzyn!

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog disproved the theory that the Yankee offense has been poor to start the season with the greatest enemy to dumb theories, statistics.

- On Tuesday, Sensei John Kreese of NoMaas took a look inside Joe's mysterious dugout binder.  Couple of interesting tidbits in there.

- Brandon C. of Pinstripe Alley made a plea to the Yankees to call up Dewayne Wise, a move that I would fully support.  I bet Brandon was re-thinking his "I have no problem with Nunez playing the field" line after watching Eduardo's botch on Tuesday night.

- On Wednesday, Tamar Chalker of IIATMS offered his take on Andy Pettitte's rough day of testimony in the Clemens case.  Definitely worth checking out to get a perspective from somebody in the legal world.

- Matt B of Yankees Fans Unite got an interview with Wallace Matthews of ESPN.  I myself am not a huge fan of Matthews, but if you are then you should definitely check this out.

- Alex Geshwind of TYA examined the numbers after Hiroki Kuroda's first handful of Yankee starts and found signs of regression.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily breaks down the surprisingly deep High-A Tampa rotation.  This gives me another opportunity to remind everybody that I picked Nik Turley as the big sleeper prospect for this season.

/nobody cares

- On Thursday, Jamie Insalaco of Bomber Banter voiced his displeasure with Joe's decision to let Nova start the 7th inning on Wednesday night.  Glad Jamie ranted on this so that I didn't have to.

- Mike Axisa of RAB, obviously inspired by my Robbie Cano post on Tuesday, looks into Cano's startling GB rates to start this season.  Already covered it, Mike.  Try to keep up.

- It's heart-breaking to watch, but here's the video of Mo talking to the media after the ACL tear was diagnosed last night.  I'm still a little bit in shock about this whole thing, which makes this even tougher to watch.  Shit was getting a little misty around here, no joke.

On Friday, it was obviously all about Mo.  Mike Axisa had a heartfelt piece that certainly spoke to how I was feeling last night and am still feeling today, and I imagine it spoke to similar feelings for many Yankee fans.

- Hank Waddles of Bronx Banter shared his thoughts at the end of his recap of last night's events.

- Alex Belth followed that up with his own personal reaction.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had a collection of player and manager reactions.  I know they're all professionals and have to put the tough face on, but even reading the words you can sense how down everybody is as a result of what happened.

- Steve Goldman of Pinstriped Bible attempted to inject some optimism in the situation by pointing out Rivera's decreased usage rate over the past few seasons and how there is only a small fraction of innings that need to be picked up by the rest of the guys in the 'pen.

- Jane Heller of Confessions of A She-Fan couldn't even bring herself to discuss last night's game or the events that caused the injury.  Right there with ya, Jane.  I felt sick writing up my game recap.

- Even the new Barstool NY Yankee writer, Strasser, wrote a touching piece on Mo and how much he means to the game of baseball and the world outside of baseball with the kind of person he is.

"Enter Sandman."  Because I don't want to give up hope that I'll never hear it play in The Stadium again.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.