Outfield Platoon Coming Soon

(Ichiro's everyday days could be coming to an end.  Courtesy of Reuters)

With Curtis Granderson getting closer to returning - a report earlier today by Chad Jennings had him now taking indoor BP - the Yankees are approaching the point where they'll have a lot of decisions to make with respect to their outfield construction.  Where will Curtis play in the outfield?  Where will Brett Gardner play in the outfield?  Who's getting bumped to the bench?  Who's getting sent down to Triple-A/DFA'd/outright released?  In that same post, Jennings mentioned (correctly) that it's still a bit premature to bring up some of these ideas now, particularly the one about how right field will be settled since it's an unspoken given that C-Grand and Gardner will be in center and left.  But based on what we've seen so far, the most logical choice, whether they like it or not, might be a Vernon Wells/Ichiro Suzuki platoon.

More (Late) Thursday Morning Musings

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

- Is it just me or is the CC Sabathia velocity thing getting a little overhyped now?  I know it was a concern in his first few starts simply because they were the first few starts back after surgery and after a scaled back ST, but at this point shouldn't everybody just let it go?  CC's outing on Monday wasn't pretty, but it had nothing to do with velocity.  He threw the ball harder in that start than he did in his previous start.  CC's problem on Monday was location.  He missed with a few offspeed pitches up, and he caught more of the plate than he wanted to with a few early-count fastballs.  The previous three starts and the rest of Monday's outing are proof that CC can be effective without throwing 94-96, and he's been making the transition to a more refined offspeed game for over five years now.  His changeup is really good, his slider is really good, and he knows how to mix pitches to both right and left-handed hitters.  He's going to be fine.

More after the jump.

Game 20 Wrap-Up: TB 3 NYY 0

("So if I strike another guy out here, are you guys gonna get a few fucking hits or not?"  Courtesy of the AP)

I don't know about you guys, but I was pretty pumped about the Yankees being in a position to steal a series in which they had to face 2 of the 5 best lefties in all of baseball.  I would have been more pumped about their chances going against a RHP again if the lineup wasn't missing Youkilis and Wells, but with Andy Pettitte on the mound the Bombers were still in good shape.  Andy did his thing and gave the team every opportunity to win, the offense just forgot to show up.

Game Notes:

- And I mean REALLY forgot to show up.  No disrespect to Alex Cobb, I'm sure he's a sweet kid.  But he's just Alex Cobb and the Yankee lineup made him look like Bob Gibson last night.  They put 2 runners on in the top of the 2nd, then got sat down in order the next 4 innings.

- Pettitte was sharp early, working quickly and efficiently around a token baserunner in each of the first 4 innings.  His pitch count was only in the 40s and he demonstrated his command by striking out the side swinging in the bottom of the 3rd on a slider, 4-seamer, and sinker.

- He got into trouble in the 5th, when he hit Jose Molina with a pitch after having him down 0-2 to lead off the inning.  Kelly Johnson singled and the runners advanced after a Brennan Boesch error in right, and just when it looked like Andy was going to escape after 2 Ks he hung a curve to Ben Zobrist for a 2-run double.

- That inning seemed to take a lot out of Andy.  He gave up a first-pitch HR to Sean Rodriguez to start the 6th and labored through that inning to end his night.

- 2 ER in 6 IP is a damn fine showing, it just didn't amount to anything with the no-show offense.  They were also retired in order in the 7th and 8th (making it 18 straight batters) and did nothing with 2 singles in the 9th. I don't care who's out on the mound, that's awful.