Thursday, May 8, 2014

Murphy Adapting Well To Backup Role

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

There was a lot of talk about the Yankees possibly trading one of their surplus catchers in Spring Training, and it was widely known that multiple teams were scouting those catchers in March.  But after wallowing through last season with Chris Stewart and Austin Romine, I think the front office learned its lesson and they wisely chose to hold onto all of them.  When Francisco Cervelli went down with his annual April injury, the Yanks had a decision to make on who to call up to take his spot.  Rather than go with the more experienced Romine, they chose last year's breakout prospect John Ryan Murphy, signifying a passing of the prospect torch from Romine to Murphy and the team valuing talent over experience.

Musing On The Interleague Outfield Rotation

The Yankees have an off-day today as they make the trip from Los Angeles to good old Milwaukee.  They start a 3-game series against the Brewers tomorrow night, their 2nd interleague series of the young season and the first in which they'll be the road team.  Including these 3 upcoming games, the Yankees will play 7 of their next 12 games as the interleague road team, which means 7 of the next 12 without the benefit of the DH.

The Yanks have had a pretty solid outfield rotation working so far this year.  Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Carlos Beltran are the clear top 3, but Alfonso Soriano has gotten some time in place of Beltran and Ichiro Suzuki has been a surprisingly consistent offensive and defensive contributor as the 5th outfielder.  Without the benefit of the DH spot in the lineup, that rotation will have to shorten and Joe's going to have some work to do when it comes to giving everybody the proper amount of playing time and rest.  Piggybacking on an idea that Mike Axisa touched on earlier this morning, I'm curious to see how Joe handles juggling those top 4 guys.

Game 33 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 LAA 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees have found some interesting ways to lose in the last week.  They almost added a new way to the list on Tuesday when they coughed up an 8th inning lead, but managed to eek out a win.  Last night, they got back to more traditional winning formulas: good pitching AAAAND good hitting.  Whatever they learned from facing Hector Santiago last time they definitely carried over to this game and they head into their travel day with 2 straight Ws and a much needed series win on the road.

Game Notes:

- The offense didn't waste any time, loading 'em up in the top of the 1st on a pair of walks and an error.  Mark Teixeira doubled in 2, Yangervis Solarte sac flied in 1, and Brett Gardner and Brian Roberts each singled in a run to make it 5-0 Yanks.

- A lot has been made of Derek Jeter's lack of power early on, and he silenced the critics on this night by hitting his first home run of the season to make it 6-0 in the 2nd.  Yeah, Jeets.

- Very strong start for Vidal Nuno, who needed one badly.  He gave up a run in a shaky 2nd inning, then retired the next 12 in order through the 6th.

- He was pulled with 1 out in the 7th and had he been at The Stadium, he would have left to a nice ovation.  Dellin Betances replaced him to finish the 7th and gave up a garbage run in the 8th.

- That run wouldn't be nearly enough to make a comeback, as the Yanks tacked on 3 more in the top half of the 8th.  John Ryan Murphy had the big blow with a 2-run single and that was more than enough cushion for Preston Claiborne in the 9th.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The Maturation Of Dellin Betances

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

He toiled away in the Minors for so long that I didn't even consider him a prospect anymore coming into this season.  If anything, Dellin Betances was still a project at 25 years old and turning 26 before Opening Day.  Despite being in the Yankee system since 2006 and making his Major League debut in 2011, Betances only had 7.2 innings pitched in 8 games in his Major League career.  Once thought of as a potential ace starting pitching prospect, the Yankees finally gave up on that dream early last season and converted Betances to a full-time relief role.

Pretty Sure I Sneaky Woke Up Brian Roberts

One week ago today:

"It's hard to argue with the decision to play Solarte ... but why Roberts? He's hitting .200/.250/.267 against left-handed pitching, as a right-handed hitter, and only .222/.321/.292 overall. He isn't hitting from either side of the plate against pitchers throwing with either hand and he's proven to be below-average at second by most statistical defensive measures (obligatory SSS disclaimer). What has he done to earn more regular playing time against left-handed pitching or in general over Johnson?"

Since that post:

5 games played, 7-20, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB, season batting line up to .250/.327/.337

So yeah, the only explanation for this turnaround is that Brian Roberts is a regular AB4AR reader, saw my post about him and Kelly Johnson, saw me chirping him for playing like crap, and decided it was time to start playing.  What other possibility could there be?  No need to thank me, it's all part of the job.  I'm just glad I could do my part and glad that the AB4AR jinx worked in reverse for a change.

Game 32 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 LAA 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It's been a horrifically ugly 6 games for the Yankees in the last week.  They're 1-5 in those games, their multi-game lead in the division is gone, and there haven't been any signs of things turning around soon.  They haven't pitched well at times, they haven't hit well most of the time, and their team defense has cost them more runs that its saved.  Hiroki Kuroda was on the mound to start last night, looking to get things going in the right direction for himself and the staff, while Joe went back to Carlos Beltran in right, Jacoby Ellsbury at the top, and Brett Gardner back at the bottom of the lineup to get the offense going.

Game Notes:

- Joe's changes had little effect early.  The Yanks were held scoreless through the first 4, managing only a pair of walks and a single.  They stranded 2 in the top of the 3rd.

- Fortunately for them, Hirok was working and looked very much like the pitcher we've known over the last 2 years.  He gave up 2 runs in the 3rd, but that was mainly due to more shitty infield defense.  His sinker had good life and he was finally commanding his slider and splitter down.

- The Yankees decided to join the scoring party in the top of the 5th on 3 straight singles, the last by Brian Roberts to score a run, but had the festivities halted by a Jacoby Ellsbury RBI GIDP.  They scratched across a third run in the 8th to take a 3-2 lead.

- Very strong finish for Kuroda, who retired 9 of the final 10 batters he faced, 4 of them via strikeout.  He pitched 2 outs into the 8th and left after giving up a triple to Mike Trout.

- Joe had D-Rob at his disposal, but elected to go back to Shawn Kelley to get the final out of the inning.  Kelley gave up the game-tying single to Albert Pujols and all looked lost.

- Brian Roberts made sure it wasn't.  With 2 outs in the top of the 9th, Roberts crushed a first-pitch fastball from Ernesto Frieri into the RF seats for the go-ahead HR.  D-Rob locked the comeback win down with a 1-2-3 bottom half.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Roster Moves: Ryan Activated, Pineda Reinstated From The Suspended List, Placed On 15-Day DL

As expected, the Yankees have made their roster moves in response to Michael Pineda's 10-game suspension ending today.  He has been reinstated from the suspended list and placed on the 15-day disabled list for his back muscle strain.  The once again available 25-man roster spot was taken up by Brendan Ryan, who was activated off the DL.

This move gets the Yanks back to a normal roster breakdown: 8 positional starters, 5 starting pitchers, 1 DH, 7-man bullpen, 4-man bench.  They could use some defensive help up the middle, so expect to see Ryan get into the lineup mix immediately.  Pineda will start a throwing program later in the week to get started on his rehab.  We'll see how true that initial 3-4 recovery estimate was.

A Quick Word On This Mo/Cano Thing

Actually, it's 2 words.


DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON'T CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!!!!!!  Not at all.  Not even the slightest amount.  If you're later to the party than I am, Mo has a book coming out soon that was written by Wayne Coffee of the Daily News.  In an attempt to stir up interest in the book and snag the always-important headlines and pageviews, the DN posted a story late last night focusing on an excerpt from the book in which Mo questions former teammate Robinson Cano's desire and says he would pick Dustin Pedroia as his second baseman if he had to win one game.  The money quote:

“This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start... There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best... You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.”

Obviously something like this is going to be big news in the NY sports media shark tank and predictably, everybody is running with their EXTRA HOT TAKE on the "issue" today to boost their own pageviews.  It's the stupidest thing ever and a complete waste of time.

Tuesday Morning Food For Though: One Man, Alone...

Mark Teixeira's Last 10 Games: 5 HR, 8 R, 8 RBI, 9 BB, 6 K

Carlos Beltran Brian McCann, & Alfonso Soriano's Last 10 Games Combined: 3 HR, 8 R, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 20 K

It's starting to become annoying to talk and write about, but there's really nothing coming from the middle of the Yankee batting order right now except for Teix.  I mean nothing.  Beltran is getting replaced in the lineup by Ichiro, McCann's OPS is 88th out of 98 qualifying AL hitters, and Soriano is swinging and missing at everything.  Joe tried to shake things up last night with Gardner at the top and Ellsbury hitting third and that didn't help.  The team has scored 3 or fewer runs in 6 of their last 9 games.  Mark Teixeira is the only consistent offensive threat in the lineup and he isn't getting any help.  Mark Teixeira is one man, alone.  Betrayed by the lineup he loves...



P.S.- Yes, I just used a clip from a "Transformers" movie to punctuate a point about the New York Yankees' offense.  Next-level blogging right there.

Game 31 Wrap-Up: LAA 4 NYY 1

(Kelley is not amused.  Courtesy of the AP)

What would you rather have, CC getting shelled early in the game or the bullpen regulars shitting the bed and walking the yard late in the game?  If you prefer the latter, then last night's game was for you.  It featured no hitting (again), a pretty damn fine start by David Phelps, and a bottom of the 8th inning that must have been painful to watch.

Game Notes:

- It was quite the start for Phelps, as he retired the first 6 in order and struck out the side in the bottom of the 2nd.  He had his curveball really working and he was throwing it early and late in the count.

- The change in scenery and time zone didn't do much to help the Yankee bats early.  They had only 1 walk and 1 hit to show for their first 4 innings against Weaver and weren't making him work very hard (47 pitches).

- The game looked like it was going to get away from Phelps in the 4th when he walked Trout and gave up a hit to Pujols, but he managed to get out of the jam with a double play.  He wasn't so lucky in the 5th, when Howie Kendrick led off with a triple and scored on an Ian Stewart groundout.

- After 6 innings of nothing, the Yankees finally came through to square the game at 1 in the 7th.  Derek Jeter led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on an Ellsbury groundout, and scored on a Mark Teixeira ribbie single to right.

- They had a golden chance to take the lead in the 8th with 3 straight singles to start the inning.  They would get nothing thanks to a Brett Gardner strikeout and a Jeter GIDP.

- With the game tied at 1 in the bottom of the 8th, Shawn Kelley decided to melt down.  He walked 4 straight batters to force in the go-ahead run, got pulled for Matt Thornton to walk in another one, then he got pulled for Preston Claiborne to walk in ANOTHER one.  3 runs, 6 walks, 0 hits.  Oh, and Joe and Kelley got run for arguing balls and strikes with Laz Diaz, who really hammed it up for the cameras.  Classic Laz.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Is Carlos Beltran Slumping Or Not?

The recent dearth of offense from the revamped lineup has been driven primarily by the lack of production from the middle of the lineup.  Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, and Alfonso Soriano have been swinging cold bats for the better part of the last 2 weeks, and there simply hasn't been enough production from the other 6 spots in the batting order to make up for that.  McCann and Soriano have never really found their stride since Opening Day, even with a few big power days mixed in, but Beltran was arguably the best hitter in the lineup for the first few weeks.  He's cooled down to the point of being frigid at the plate, and with him being older and having a history of leg problems, I thought it was worth investigating the legitimacy of his downtrend in production similar to how I looked at Derek Jeter over the weekend.

Big Al Reintroduces Himself To Yankeeland

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The easy headlines from yesterday afternoon's stinker were CC's horrific performance and the offense's continued non-existence.  About the only positive one, which Kenny wisely covered in the IIATMS/TYA recap of the game, was the successful re-debut of Alfredo Aceves in the Yankee bullpen.  Called up after the bulk of the 'pen got worked hard in Friday night's 14-inning loss, Aceves got the call when CC failed to get out of the 4th.  Although initially brought in to be more of a sacrificial lamb to save the rest of the bullpen for the road trip, Aceves made Joe look doubly smart by tossing 5.1 shutout innings and keeping the Yankees in the game.

Report: Brendan Ryan Could Rejoin Team Today

With Derek Jeter scuffling at the plate, Yangervis Solarte cooling down, and Brian Roberts being what we feared he might be, the Yankee infield could use some help.  According to Dan Barbarisi, that help could be coming as soon as tomorrow when the team activates Brendan Ryan from the DL.  The Yanks have been a man short while Michael Pineda serves his 10-game suspension (operating with a 3-man bench) and the suspension ends on Tuesday.  Ryan will most likely travel with the team to Anaheim, get a day off today, and then be activated and available for tomorrow night's game.

Joe said he wanted to get Ryan 40-50 plate appearances before bringing him back and by my count he's had 30 in his MiL rehab assignment.  I guess the Yanks are counting PA he got in a few ExST games before the assignment started towards the total.  There have been no negative reports about Ryan's back since he returned to game action, so it sounds like he's good to go.  He's not going to be the offensive savior of the group, but his presence will allow Joe to rest Jeter and Roberts a little more and play some favorable matchups and his defense should be a big boost to the pitching staff.

Just cross your fingers that his back doesn't stiffen up on the cross-country flight...

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Game 30 Wrap-Up: TB 5 NYY 1

(Courtesy of the AP)

For the Yankees to successfully tread water while Michael Pineda is out, they need CC Sabathia to be better.  No matter how good some of the peripherals look or how most of his damage has come in bad 1-inning samples, at the end of the day it's the final results that matter and CC's haven't been all that good.  He could have gotten back on the right track with a strong performance in today's series finale against the Rays and sent the team back on the road with some positive momentum.  Instead he pitched very poorly and got the sputtering offense into a hole it couldn't climb out of.

Game Notes:

- In short, it wasn't a good start for CC.  He wasn't commanding his 4-seamer or sinker and he gave up 4 runs on 4 XBH through the first 3 innings, including a 3-run inside-the-park home run by Wil Myers in the 3rd.

- Joe probably wanted to try to get at least 5 out of CC, but there was no way he could let him continue if he wanted to win.  CC gave up another run on 3 hits and failed to cover first base on a potential double play ball and he was out with 2 outs in the 4th, leaving to some well deserved boos.

- Regardless of how CC was pitching, the Yankee offense had no excuse for not scoring more than 1 run off of Erik Bedard in the first 4 innings.  They left 5 men stranded and were 0-6 with RISP.

- Give a big tip of cap to Alfredo Aceves.  He took over for CC in his re-debut appearance and kept his team within striking distance.  5.1 scoreless IP, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts.  And he gave the rest of the 'pen another day off.

- It didn't matter much.  The offense never found its footing, stranding 2 in the bottom of the 7th and never mounting a credible threat in the 8th or 9th.  Pretty pathetic showing all-around.

Ian Clarkin Says Hello

I wasn't even aware that Ian Clarkin was slated to pitch for Low-A Charleston this season, let alone make his first start of the season for them last night.  After he had his pro debut delayed last year, I thought the Yankees would take the cautious approach with his HS arm and start him in one of the short-season leagues.  Guess that would have been a waste of time based on last night's results:

5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

Yeah, I guess that's pretty good for a 19-year-old kid who gave up 6 ER in 5.0 GCL innings pitched last season.  Clarkin was nasty with his stuff, sharp with his command, and efficient with his pitch count (61 pitches, 42 strikes).  He also picked a runner off of first base.  It's just 1 game, but it was a helluva way to introduce yourself to a Yankee fanbase that has high hopes for their 2013 draft class.

How Much Did Derek Jeter Need That Day Off Yesterday?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Heading into last weekend, Derek Jeter owned a .294/.385/.338 slash line.  The power had not been there at all, but his high average and OBP made him a useful piece at the top of the order and were positive signs that he had his legs back under him.

Since that weekend, things have started to trend in the wrong direction.  In Jeter's last 5 games played, he's gone just 3-24 with 0 BB and 7 K, including his first career 0-7 game on Friday night.  His batting line is down to .250/.324/.283 and Joe elected to give him a day off yesterday.  Has Jeter been a bit overworked in the first month of the season?  The statistical signs that he may be tiring have been prevalent in his recent performance.  The lack of walks, the increased K rate, and the complete disappearance of power in his game.  Jeter hasn't had an XBH since April 17th.  So is it time to start being concerned about The Captain?

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Game 29 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 TB 3

It's been a frustrating 3-game losing streak for the Yanks.  Their offense hasn't been able to get anything done, against big name familiar foes or no name first-timers, the rotation has been uneven, and the baby shit soft back end of the bullpen has been a killer when it's been called on.  The Yankees added a fresh arm to that back end in Al Aceves before the start of today's game, but I think they were hoping he wouldn't be needed to support Masahiro Tanaka.  Tanaka has been the ace through 5 starts and his team needed a big ace-like performance from him today.

Game Notes:

- He wasn't looking very ace-like early.  He gave up a solo homer to Desmond Jennings in the top of the 1st, a second run on a trio of singles in the 2nd, and a third on a Wil Myers solo shot to lead off the 4th.

- The Yankee lineup didn't do much to help Tanaka against Tampa starter Jake Odorizzi the first time through.  He retired the first 9 in order with 3 strikeouts and it was shaping up to be another long day.

- Something funny happened after the Myers HR though.  Tanaka got it together and shut Tampa down while Odorizzi fell apart and let the Yankees take over.  It started with a Mark Teixeira 2-run shot in the bottom of the 4th to make it 3-2, his 4th HR in 5 games.

- It continued in the 5th with an Ichiro double, a Solarte walk, and an RBI ground-rule double by Jacoby Ellsbury.  That knocked Odorizzi out of the game and the re-energized Yanks beat up on the bullpen to the tune of 6 more runs in the next 3 innings.

- Once his team got on the board, it was like Tanaka had new life.  He gave up a single single in his final 3 innings, with 3 strikeouts and 5 groundouts.  His sinker and splitter came back to him and he rode them to strong finish.

- Equally strong finish by the bullpen.  Dellin Betances worked a scoreless 8th with 2 more strikeouts and Preston Claiborne a perfect mop-up 9th.

The All-Or-Nothing Bullpen

After last night's 14-inning affair, the Yankee bullpen has a 4.11 ERA in 28 games.  In 92.0 total relief innings pitched, they've given up 42 earned runs.  By that measure, they fall in the lower half of MLB bullpens.  When you look at how those runs have been given up and by whom, however, the performance of the 'pen starts to look better.

In 13.2 combined IP, the group of Bruce Billings, Vidal Nuno, Chris Leroux, Matt Daley, Cesar Cabral, and Dean Anna have allowed 25 of the 42 ER.  By comparison, the group of David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Adam Warren, Matt Thornton, and Dellin Betances have combined to give up 11 ER in 59.2 IP.  The core of the Yankee bullpen has been very, very good from day 1.  It's the back end that's been the weak link, something that shouldn't come as a shock considering David Phelps and Nuno have moved into the rotation.  That dynamic played out in textbook fashion last night, when the core group of relievers gave up 1 ER in 8 innings of work and Leroux gave up 5 in 1.

In short, the Yankees have a good enough bullpen to compete and succeed in the AL East.  They just need some help shoring up those last few spots so they don't get exposed in extra-inning games.

Game 28 Wrap-Up: TB 10 NYY 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

The last time the Yankees faced David Price, they knocked him around his home ballpark pretty bad.  They couldn't repeat that feat against him at The Stadium last night, and couldn't come through on roughly a million other good scoring opportunities in extra innings to steal a win.

Game Notes:

- Tampa gained a quick 1-0 lead in the 2nd on a James Loney base hit, but lost it just as quickly in the bottom half when Brian McCann hit his 4th HR of the season.  It was a 2-run shot and put the Yanks on top.

- Vidal Nuno limited damage through 3.  When the lineup turned back over in the 4th, he wasn't so lucky.  He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in the 4th, a solo HR in the 5th, and his day was done after 4.2 innings.

- Price held the Yankees at bay through 7.  It wasn't until he left that they made their move, or rather moves, in the form of solo shots by Teix and Alfonso Soriano in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game back up.

- The Rays regained the lead in the top of the 9th with a pair of singles off D-Rob, but the Yanks came right back with a 2-out ribbie single by Jacoby Ellsbury to re-tie it 5 and send the game into extras.

- This is where things got really painful.  The Yanks left 2 on in the 11th, 2 on in the 12th, and the bases loaded in the 13th.  They had the leadoff runner in the 12th and 13th and could never push a run across to end it.

- It came back to bite them in the 14th after they had used all their good relievers.  Shawn Kelley and Adam Warren each pitched 2 scoreless, but Chris Leroux was next up and he imploded.  Gave up 5 in the top of the 14th and that was that.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/2/14

Going to a big Derby party tomorrow.  Love the Derby.  Sneaky one of the best sporting events of the year if for no other reason than it kickstarts the annual buzz for a potential Triple Crown winner.  Not to brag or anything, but I am the guy that brought home a cool $96 from the final weekend at Arlington last year.  If you're a Derby fan too and are waiting to make your bets, here's some free advice.  I absolutely love Ride on Curlin at 15-1 and love General A Rod at 15-1 slightly less.  Take one of those and thank me on Sunday morning.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Mike Axisa of RAB pinpointed slider problems as the major cause for Hiroki Kuroda's slow start.

- El duque of It Is High... mused on the importance of Teix in the middle of the lineup in reaction to his timely home run last Sunday night.

- SG of RLYW presented a pretty sweet historical stat to put Masahiro Tanaka's Major League start in perspective.

- On Wednesday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits explained why there should be no concern about Tanaka's high early home run rate.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud discussed Dellin Betances' hot start and got Betances' thoughts on what he's done well to get off to such a good start.

- Jason Cohen of Pinstripe Alley took a stab at predicting the SS Staten Island roster.  Definitely more interesting names on the pitching staff than in the lineup.

- Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes expressed his disdain for the way Yankee fans treated Robinson Cano on his first night back to The Stadium.

- On Thursday, William Tasker of IIATMS/TYA examined the impact the cold early-season weather could be having on the Yankee bats.

- Delia Enriquez of Bronx Baseball Daily pondered the biggest questions facing the rotation after the first month of the regular season.

- On Friday, Martin Riggs of NoMaas broke down the high and low offensive producers in April and touched on what needs to happen for each in May.

This week's jam is "Colossal" by Wolfmother.  About time this band put another album out, even if they really never are getting back together and even if I've yet to check it out.  If they really are back together, I'd pay money to go see them.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Joe Makes It To 1,000


I never would have known this if I didn't see Chad Jennings' post on it earlier this morning, but when the Yankees take the field against the Rays tonight it will mark Joe Girardi's 1,000th game as manager.  Well, his 1,000th regular season game.  He's got a few postseason games on his ledger as well.

The first 999 games have gone pretty well for Joe.  He owns a 579-420 record and that .580 winning percentage ranks him 5th in team history among managers who managed more than 1,000 behind Huggins, Torre, Stengel, and McCarthy.  Not a bad group to be lumped into at all.  He's also got 4 postseason appearances, 3 division titles, 1 AL pennant, and 1 World Series ring in his 6+ seasons at the helm.

Congrats on reaching 1,000, Joe.  Here's hoping the next 1,000 are just as fruitful, if not more so, than the first were.  Oh, and thanks for the fun memories:



Where Has All The Offense Gone?

(I feel ya, Jacoby.  I feel ya.  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees should have been catching a big break last night.  Seattle choosing to push back Wednesday's scheduled starter Roenis Elias rather than skip him meant the Yanks got to avoid getting carved up by Felix Hernandez for the 457th time.  Of course, there's always that pesky theory about the Yankees never being able to hit rookie pitchers and it played out in full effect last night as Elias held the lineup to 2 runs (1 earned) through 7 innings while striking out 10.  2 runs isn't enough to get it done with the rotation in the kind of shape it's in these days and it didn't get it done last night.

Game 27 Wrap-Up: SEA 4 NYY 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

This has been a strange week.  Off-day Monday, bad game Tuesday, rainout yesterday.  It's been hard to get into a good writing rhythm, so I can't imagine what it's like for the guys who have to actually try to hit a baseball being thrown at them at 90+ MPH all the time.  Hopefully the Yankees weren't rusty.  They can't afford to be with the way they're swinging the bats and their margin for error wasn't going to be very big if Hiroki Kuroda hadn't figured out his command issues from his last start.  The bats didn't wake up, Hirok didn't completely figure it out, and the series ended in disappointing fashion, a quasi-sweep at the hands of the Mariners.

Game Notes:

- The teams traded 1st inning runs on a Robinson Cano ribbie double and Jacoby Ellsbury's first Yankee home run to lead off the bottom of the 1st.  They also traded rally-killing double plays in the 2nd, then Cano regained the lead with his club thanks to a Derek Jeter fielding error to start the 3rd.

- Kuroda's slider command was absent again, and his splitter being off made matters worse.  He left a few up in the zone with 2 outs in the 4th and it led to 2 more Seattle runs.

- Seattle starter Roenis Elias really settled down nicely after the Ellsbury leadoff HR.  He struck out the side after that in the 1st and struck out 8 total through 5 innings, including the side again in the 5th.  Yanks couldn't do a thing with his curveball.

- Kuroda finished with 6 straight outs and 3 Ks and his night was over after 6 innings.  The bullpen came on and did its job keeping the game within reach as Matt Thornton, Adam Warren, and Shawn Kelley combined for 3 shutout innings.

- The Yanks tacked another run on in the 6th thanks to a pair of 2-out singles and a Cano error, but that was all they could muster against Elias, who went 7 strong.  So much for having the advantage of missing King Felix.

- They didn't fare much better against the bullpen.  A 2-out Ichiro single in the 9th was all they could conjur up for a late-game rally.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

AB4AR "Best Of The Month" Awards: April 2014


Just like that, 1 month of baseball in the books.  The Yankees wrapped up April with another rainout last night, and they find themselves sitting atop the AL East mountain as the only team above .500.  Their 15-11 record doesn't match up to their -11 run differential, but it's too early in the season to put any real meaning in run differential.  If anything, that number illustrates how inconsistent the Yankees were in the later part of the month, getting blown out by 10+ runs one day and then winning a 3-2 game the next.  They still don't have their offense clicking and their rotation situation has taken a turn for the worst, so to have a 2-game division lead despite all of that is plenty fine with me.  After the jump, the best of the month that was in Yankeeland.

Thursday Mid-Morning Food For Thought: Rotation Veterans Struh-guh-ling

Saw this tweet from Joel Sherman and it made me do a double take.  I knew he faltered down the stretch last season, but I didn't realize Hirok's ERA was that bad going back that far.  If anything, I would have actually expected CC's to be the worse one and Hirok's to be in the low 5's.

A few weeks ago, this wouldn't have been a huge problem for the Yankees.  Everybody knew there was a chance that CC's major 2013 regression was the start of something permanent and that Hirok could finally be ticketed for some age-related regression of his own.  With 3 young guys there to pick them up and a solid bullpen, the Yanks should have been able to get by without their top 2 starters pitching like top 2 starters.

Now that Nova and Pineda are out, this is quickly becoming a pretty big deal.  Even though his peripherals suggest he's pitched better than his ERA, both CC and Hirok have ERAs over 5.00 in 11 combined starts.  That isn't going to cut it with Nuno and Phelps taking up the back 40% of the rotation.  Whatever's ailing them - command problems, bad luck, the dreaded bad inning - the Yanks need Hirok and CC to start turning things around and re-establish themselves as reliable, consistent presences in the rotation.