Thoughts From The Weekend

(Photo courtesy of Anthony J. Causi, The NY Post)

- I guess I should have stuck to my guns about Javy Vazquez back when the trade for him was made last year. I wasn't a fan at the time, but the guy lured me back in with pretty good Spring Training performances and talks of being injured in 2004 and how he had changed since then. I still think it's early and I still think he can figure it out and be a good pitcher for the staff this year, but with the way he's throwing right now (and yes, I mean throwing because what he's doing is not pitching), you can't put him out there and expect to have any chance to win.

- On the other hand, Phil Hughes has been absolutely brilliant so far this year, finally starting to show why he has been the crown jewel of the organization for so long. He's attacking hitters, using both sides of the plate, working all of his pitches (minus the change), and has shown the grit and testicular fortitude to bear down and work out of trouble when he gets runners on, something that had plagued him so far in his career. I know it's still early for Hughes too, and he will hit some bumps in the road, but right now he has to be considered the 4th starter with the 5th spot once again up for grabs.

- The A-Horse has a knee injury? Come on now! He's still got 3 good legs.

- Hey everybody! It's Mark Teixeira! He's alive!! Thank God! After his annual pathetic start in April, Teix finished the week with 6 hits in his first 2 May games, including a 4-5 job yesterday. He still hasn't broken north of the Mendoza Line but he does seem to have his balance back in his swing and all that "solid contact" he's been making is finally turning into hits and RBIs. Teix's inability to hit in April may very well go down as one of the greatest mysteries ever, right up there with the Bermuda Triangle and Area 51, but if the guy is coming out of already and is going to rake for the rest of the year, I guess I'll live with it.

- If Teix is truly back on track and Jorge is going to be OK after his HBP scare, than the Yankees might not be as devastated by the C-Grand injury as it first seemed. It's a bad injury, don't get me wrong, but Granderson hadn't been doing anything at the plate since Opening Week and Brett Gardner is just as good as Grand in centerfield. Sure Marcus Thames is a ridiculously awful outfielder in left now, but with Randy Winn as a late-game replacement and the increased production coming from Teix heating up and Jorge being fine, the Yankees should be fine for the next 6 weeks.

- It's strange to even read this as I write it, but I think Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano have switched hitting approaches this year. Cano is now the one taking pitches, setting up good hitters' counts, and killing the ball with 2 strikes on him while Jeet is jumping at everything, seeing fewer pitches than ever, and just plain not walking at all. It's a little nit-picky considering Jeter is hitting .333 with 20 RBIs so far this year, but as a leadoff hitter you'd still like to see him walk a bit more instead of having every at-bat that's not a hit end up being a groundout to SS.

- Speaking of Cano, he's an animal this year, bottom line. Looking at his stats on ESPN.com is almost enough to make me light some candles and put on Barry White.

- Still don't know what to make of the bullpen. Robertson doesn't have the same command he showed last year, Marte is apparently only capable of performing his lefty stopper duties in the playoffs, and nobody knows when Park is coming back. Boone Logan and Mark Melancon have had mixed results in their early limited appearances and Joe still micro-manages these guys at the worst possible time. Joba and Mo are set in their spots, but the rest of 'pen is up in the air right now when it comes to the 6th and 7th innings.

- How underrated is Brett Gardner? The dude has done everything the Yankees wanted him to do so far this year and then some. He's one of the best outfielders in baseball, causes havoc on the base paths, creates runs with his speed, and he's hitting .342 right now with 18 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and 9 RBIs primarily from the 9-spot in the lineup. And to top it all off, he jacked one into the bleachers yesterday for his first HR of the year. He's been a great clutch hitter so far and it really isn't that far-fetched to consider him an All-Star candidate after the first month of the season.

- Just a note on the content of the site. Some of you may have noticed there was a glaring lack of Linkapalooza again yesterday. Quite frankly, between my 2 jobs and my aggressive drinking schedule, I just don't have the time or the drive on Sunday morning to gather all the great stuff together in one day. But I do owe it to the better blogs out there to get their shit in front of the readers' eyes so starting this week I'm going to try to break the links down into bite-size chunks and feed them to you a couple times a week. That way you all get the information and entertainment you deserve and I don't have to worry about dragging my hungover carcass out of bed on Sunday and slaving away for 2 hours catching up on everything. Good? Good.