The Looming Albatrossity Of CC's Contract

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

After a rough patch there for the better part of the last 2 weeks, it looks like the Yankees' injury fortune may be changing for the better.  They could get Carlos Beltran back by the end of this week, maybe Shawn Kelley next week, and Francisco Cervelli has been playing in ExST games.  Michael Pineda's latest setback wasn't the worst case scenario, so there's still hope that he can come back and help at some point, and Mark Teixeira returned from his latest bout of wrist inflammation to go 2-5 with a HR and be the only player in the lineup responsible for driving in runs last night.  Everybody (knock on wood) seems to be coming around nicely.

Except for CC Sabathia.

The Potential Long-Term Effects Of Nova's Injury

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Ivan Nova's Saturday was already a bad one before the injury was announced.  He was up in the strike zone again, getting knocked around the park, and not giving his team much of a chance to win.  His early exit and subsequent UCL tear diagnosis was a stomach punch to him, a sobering blow to what had been a mostly positive start to the Yankee season, and a possible explanation for his early struggles on the mound.

With Nova now out of the picture for the near future and most likely the remainder of the season, the Yankees will have to find a way to cover for that loss.  They appear to have found a suitable replacement for the short-term in Vidal Nuno, but the baseball season is a long one and it's barely over 10% old.  More injuries are all but certain and it's the long-term ramifications of Nova's injury that are now the concern.  The ripple effect of losing Nova could extend from this past weekend into the final month of the season in a variety of ways, all of which the Yankees will have to consider and be prepared to address moving forward.

Thoughts On Nova's Injury

(That image hurts my elbow.  Courtesy of the AP)

Looking at his career history, maybe we should have seen this coming.  The partially torn UCL in Ivan Nova's right elbow that caused him to leave his last start early and landed him on the disabled list is not an isolated incident.  Nova has a history of arm injuries dating back to his early days as a Major Leaguer and a history of command and performance problems that seemed to be precursors to these arm injuries.  In a year where multiple pitchers are going down with major arm injuries each week and have been since late in Spring Training, Nova's name was the most probable of all the Yankee pitchers to get added to that list.

And yet there's still a level of shock that came with the announcement that he had suffered the UCL tear.  Maybe it was the hope that this was going to be the year Ivan put it all together.  Maybe it was the belief on a lot of people's parts (myself included) that he was going to take that next step this year.  Whatever it was, Nova's injury is a crushing blow and one that I fear could have a harmful effect on his career going forward.

Yanks Limping (Literally) Into Their First Off-Day

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Very often in sports, commentators or writers like to say that something "couldn't have come at a better time" to help a struggling team.  In the Yankees' case, this first scheduled off-day of the year really could not have come at a better time after last night's injury casualties.  If the Yankees had to play a game tonight, it's doubtful they'd have enough healthy bodies to fill out the starting infield.

Bullpen Battered, Bruised, And Bad

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's been the anchor of the pitching staff for years, but down the stretch of this season the Yankee bullpen has completely fallen apart.  After giving up 4 more runs in 4 innings of work last night, the 'pen finds itself with the worst ERA (6.69) and second worst FIP (5.31) in MLB since the start of September.  The collective -0.4 fWAR this month is 4th worst and a comparison of the HR-related stats shines a big bright light on the problem.  New York's 12 HR allowed by the bullpen this month is 5 more than the second highest total, accounting for almost 20% of the 64 hits they've given up and few key blown late game leads.  From steadying roster force to productivity fallout zone, the Yankee 'pen has joined the rotation and lineup as a major problem area at the worst possible time.

Gardner Out With A Strained Oblique

While the game was recorded as a win in the standings, the Yankees suffered yet ANOTHER big injury loss last night.  Brett Gardner left after his at-bat in the top of the 1st inning and was diagnosed by team doctors with a strained left oblique.  He apparently did it on a check swing during the at-bat and he is traveling back to New York today to get an MRI.  Regardless of the results, chances are good that Gardner's 2013 season is over.

Gardner has been the second most important position player after Robinson Cano this season.  His absence leaves a huge hole at the top of the lineup and weakens the outfield defensively.  The Yankees are ill-equipped to replace him in the leadoff spot, the most likely candidates being Ichiro (hell no) and Curtis Granderson (yes, please), and the replacement of Gardner in center field likely means more playing time for Vernon Wells (sweet Jesus, no) or Zoilo Almonote (meh) when the pitching matchups are favorable.

He wasn't as hot this week as he was the week before, but Gardner is still head and shoulders better than those other guys and there's no way to overstate how big of a hit the team will take on both sides of the ball without him.  Maybe he gets lucky and today's MRI shows that it's not too and he can return in a few days.  The history and nature of oblique strains makes that very unlikely though, and now the Yankees have one more obstacle to overcome in a season filled to the brim with them.

Derek Jeter Needs To Retire

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I didn't mention Derek Jeter at all in my recap of my weekend at The Stadium.  That wasn't an accident.  There's plenty to say about Jeter after this past weekend and I felt it deserved its own post.  Jeter looked bad again in the field on TV on Thursday night while contributing to the eventual loss, and he looked even worse in the field and running the bases in person on Friday and Saturday.  He left Saturday's game early with more ankle-related issues, and once again he's taking some time off to rest, be re-evaluated, and attempt to get back on the field.

With the number of times that formula has played out unsuccessfully this season and with how bad Jeter has looked when he has been on the field, it's time to stop waiting around for things to improve and talk seriously about Jeter's future.  A lot of people aren't going to want to read this, but the truth is that Jeter doesn't appear to have a future in baseball anymore, at least not in the way he'd like to have as a productive everyday shortstop.  The truth is that Derek Jeter needs to retire after this season.

Wednesday Afternoon Food For Thought

Already in the 2013 Yankee season, we've seen:

- Francisco Cervelli play second base and Robinson Cano play shortstop in the same game

- Vernon Wells play every infield position except short and get 1 start at first base

- Lyle Overbay play 4 games in the outfield for the first time in his Major League career

- Alberto Gonzalez pitch

And after last night's injury scare to Cano, we can add "Mark Reynolds play second base" to that list.  He played the final inning at second last night as an injury replacement for the injury replacement, and naturally he turned the game-ending double play.  If you had any of those things picked as a prop bet before the season started,  you're a smarter person than I.

Jayson Nix Out With Broken Hand, Shortstop Depth A Problem Again

(Tried to pull his hand out of the way and moved it right into the ball's path.  Damn knucklers.  Courtesy of RAB)

The one bad thing to come out of last night's win was the injury suffered by Jayson Nix.  In the bottom of the 2nd, he took a knuckleball from R.A. Dickey off the left hand and was in obvious pain instantly.  He tried to stay in the game, but signaled to the trainer after taking his base and was removed from the game.  It didn't take long for the team to announce that the hand was broken and Nix's 2013 is all but officially over.

Timing Of Latest Injury Setbacks Leaves Rotation Dangerously Thin

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It was another poor outing for Phil Hughes yesterday, the poorest and shortest he's had since his 0.2-inning meltdown against the Mariners in May.  In his last 3 starts, Hughes has completed just 12.1 innings and has given up 13 R (10 ER) on 19 H in those innings with 8 BB to just 6 K.  His leash with Joe has gotten shorter to the point that were it a literal leash it would probably be choking him to death as soon as he took the mound, and his inability to work efficiently and deeply into games is becoming a burden on the bullpen.  Hughes needed 71 pitches yesterday to retire just 8 batters.

Combined with the unadulterated putridity that has been CC Sabathia's last 4 starts, suddenly the Yankees are rolling with an even worse rotation than they had a few weeks ago.  The group that needed to turn things around in concert with the offense if the Yankees were going to make a serious playoff charge has become an alternating "all or nothing" collection of some of the best and worst pitching we've seen this season.  For every great start Hirok or Nova goes out and pitches, Sabathia and Hughes pitch one equally as bad if not worse a day or 2 later.

As The Quads Strain...

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees lost an absolute heartbreaker in Boston last night, a game in which their offense surprisingly picked itself up off the mat and climbed back into a game that they probably had no business being in.  If there was a tougher way to send the team off to Texas to possibly watch their postseason lights get turned out, I'd hate to see it.  Look around the locker room after the game and there would have been plenty of worthy candidates for the finger of blame, including the guy in the manager's office, and after a loss like that what is everybody in Yankeeland going to be talking about today?  A couple of old guys with strained quads.

Timing Of C-Grand's Latest Injury Couldn't Be Worse

(Courtesy of the AP)

Man, Curtis Granderson just can't catch a break this year, huh?  Well technically he's caught 2 breaks, although neither of them are of the lucky variety, and at this point both Curtis' and the team's continued injury problems are getting a bit ridiculous.  After being back for just 8 games and hitting .250/.323/.393 in those game, C-Grand is heading back to the DL after having the pinky finger on his left hand broken by a Cesar Ramos pitch last night.  The amount of time Curtis has to miss won't be confirmed until he gets the finger checked out by a doctor on Monday, but the early estimate is at least 4 weeks.  There's never a good time for injuries in baseball, and even less of one for a team like the Yankees who have been snakebitten by injuries since last year's ALCS.  This latest setback for Granderson really comes at a bad time, though, for multiple reasons.

Nova Ruled Out For Monday, Second Starter Options Aplenty (Updated)

Well I guess all that talk about what Nova and Phelps have to do to nail down the 5th starter spot was naught, huh?  David Phelps will be starting the first game of tomorrow's doubleheader against the Indians for sure, and after feeling something in his left side playing catch this morning, Ivan Nova will definitely not be starting the second game.  Not only will Nova not be starting, he more than likely won't be coming off the DL at all tomorrow when he's scheduled to, which puts the Yankees in a difficult position to cover the second game tomorrow now that Joe has ruled out CC Sabathia.

The most likely option is a tandem long relief start by Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno, each of whom are capable of going at least 2-3+ innings.  Not knowing if he'll have to use one or both of them today, Joe can't fully commit to that option right now and it sounds like he'll be using the new "26th man" rule for doubleheaders to give himself some insurance.

It's not your typical news source, but according to Ty Hensley's mother's Twitter account, the Yankees will call up Brett Marshall tomorrow to serve as their 26th roster man.  Marshall has been pitching in Triple-A all season (4.60 ERA/4.19 FIP in 31.1 IP), and is scheduled to make his next start tomorrow.  If Nuno or Warren becomes unavailable, Marshall will at least be able to go out and eat innings based on pitch count.  Either way, the Yanks should have at least have a plan for tomorrow night's second game.

** UPDATE 6:19 PM- Per Joe during today's postgame presser, Nuno will get the start in the second game.  Warren will be his caddy and Marshall will be on standby at the team hotel if it turns out they need another arm for the second game. **

Continued Injury Problems Stretching The Yanks Thin

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

After a 13-game stretch against sub-.500 opponents, the Yanks got a step up in competition this past weekend when the Oakland A's came to town and took 2 out of 3.  It was a close, competitive series in which the Yanks showed flashes of all the things that have made them successful thus far: good starting pitching, timely hitting, power, and solid defense.  But unlike games against Houston or Toronto, those flashes weren't enough to get the job done in two close games and weren't enough to overcome the continued erosion of the 25-man roster due to injuries.  In the same way this past weekend's series showed us that the Yankees still have steps to take this season, it also showed us how difficult those steps can be when your team is this beat up.

Adjusting To Life Without Jeter

(Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees, their fans, and even Derek Jeter himself have known that his days as the team's starting shortstop were numbered.  That discussion was surely had with Jeter behind closed doors during his last contract negotiation and is more than likely the reason the final year of his deal became an optional one.  That timeline got sped up some when Jeter suffered his season-ending ankle injury last October and now appears to be speeding up again after last week's announcement that Jeter had re-injured his ankle, suffering a crack in the area of the original break that will put him on the shelf until at least the All-Star break.  That revelation fell into the "disappointing but not surprising" category for many of us who questioned Jeter's progress after the initial setback and cortisone shot, and now we, like the Yankees, have to figure out the best way to move forward without The Captain's familiar #2 anywhere on the lineup card.

This Lineup Tells You Everything You Need To Know

(Here's the lineup post that sparked a lot of discussion over at IIATMS/TYA yesterday)

1) Brett Gardner- CF
2) Eduardo Nunez- SS
3) Robinson Cano- 2B
4) Kevin Youkilis- 3B
5) Vernon Wells- DH
6) Juan Rivera- 1B
7) Brennan Boesch- RF
8) Ichiro Suzuki- LF
9) Francisco Cervelli- C

That, or some similar variation of that, is what the New York Yankee starting lineup is going to look like one week from today. It’s a far cry from what the lineup has been the last few years and a far cry from what the lineup was expected to be this season, but it actually perfectly encapsulates everything the Yankees are right now. It shows how they’re an old, injured team with a lot of payroll tied up in its older, injured players. It shows how the self-imposed payroll crunch has limited the team’s ability to seek out trade and free agent options that best meet its needs. And it shows how little impact MiL depth the team has in its own farm system to help overcome the injuries and lack of big-time trade/FA activity.

We aren’t quite into “darkest timeline” territory yet, but it’s getting close and the Wells trade that’s expected to be finalized today does signal dark times in Yankeeland. This is a team and an organization handcuffed by its own future plans, plans that don’t allow for wiggle room to address problems in the present and result in the front office agreeing to take on $13 million for a player who’s barely worth $1.3 million at this stage in his career. Some of the other guys and gals might come on here later today and try to find some positives in this mess, and more power to them for trying. I just don’t have the energy to try to do that right now, and I definitely don’t have the right shade of lipstick to put on this pig.

DL Trip Coming For Jeter

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

As good as things were looking when Derek Jeter got back on the field and back into game action at shortstop two weeks ago, that's how bad they're looking right now after that game action led to inflammation and pain in the ankle, missed game time, a plan to play in only MiL games for the remainder of the spring, and what is now looking like a guaranteed start on the disabled list when the Yankees open regular season action in a week rather than at the top of the lineup card.

Things took a pretty negative turn when the whole MiL games plan was announced a few days ago.  If Jeter was healthy enough to play in MiL games, he would obviously be playing in Major League games.  The inflammation in the ankle was a bigger setback than the Yankees wanted to let on and we wanted to believe, and from the moment he woke up that morning with stiffness in the ankle a DL trip became inevitable.

Ironing Out The (Admittedly Minor) Outfield Overcrowding Problem

Before Spring Training started, I wrote this post on the potentially problematic position the Yankees found themselves in with respect to their outfield depth.  The combination of returning Major Leaguers, free agent signings, and prospect promotions had left them with too many able-bodied outfielders and not enough playing time for each.  Too much depth at any one position is always a better problem to have than not enough, and the Yankees owed it to themselves to investigate every possible outfield candidate to strengthen their platoon-heavy bench this season.  They also owed it to themselves to make sure that their best OF prospects were getting regular playing time at the appropriate level, and this is where the problem could have started.

Impact & Effects Of C-Grand's Fractured Forearm

(Why pitch that far inside in late February???  Courtesy of the AP)

I've been tougher on Curtis Granderson than most these past few seasons, admittedly shifting from excitement about his new power swing to disappointment that it sapped so much of the rest of what used to be a well-rounded offensive game.  But even I can't try to spin his fractured right forearm into anything remotely positive because there's simply nothing positive to take from it.  Granderson was one of the handful of players the Yankees couldn't afford to lose this year, Teix and Cano being the other two, and to lose him for 10 weeks, even if half of that time is Spring Training time, is a huge blow.  The baseball season doesn't give you timeouts or do-overs, though, so the Yankees must move forward with the players they have and try to figure out a strategy for how to get by without C-Grand until May.

There are a lot of aftershocks that will be felt throughout the ST roster and lineup, from now until the regular season starts, and a lot of players who are going to be looked at differently for the rest of spring camp.  In order of most immediately important to least, here are the biggest effects of C-Grand's injury.

A-Rod's Relieved After His Latest Injury. Me? Not So Much

(Not a sign of relief.  Courtesy of the AP)

After his latest hip injury and required surgery was announced a week ago today, Alex Rodriguez made his first public comments on the situation this past weekend.  Speaking to reporters at a charity function he attended, A-Rod had this to say about the new injury to his left hip:

“I’m not concerned. I’m actually, in many ways, relieved that there’s something tangible that we can go fix.”

He went on to drop lines about being committed to coming back, confident that he can return to form, and ready to take on the challenge of rehab and recovery, all the usual talking points for a great athlete coming back from a serious injury.  The problem with all of it is that it rings incredibly hollow at this stage in A-Rod's career.  I know he can't come out and say, "yeah, you know, the last one sapped a lot of my power, and now that I've got to have surgery on the other hip I don't expect to be a great everyday player anymore," but I'd also like to think that he he's self-aware enough to know that this is probably it for him and that he knows we all know this is it for him too.  Because if there's anything about his career path since the first hip surgery that Alex finds relief in, he needs to look up the definition of the word.