Kate Upton Is A Yankee Fan?

It certainly appears so now, doesn't it?  Which means I just became a Kate Upton fan.

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Side note, what's everybody thinking about Robbie's chances in the Derby tonight?  He's got the type of smooth, easy swing that I think can translate well to an event like this.  He won't tire himself out, and if he gets in a groove, watch out.  I also don't buy into the theory of him messing his swing up by participating.  Watch him during games, the swing never changes.  It's his problem of swinging too much that gets him in trouble.  I honestly have no clue how these new team rules work, so I don't know if he can actually win or not, but take it to the bank that Robbie Cano is putting up double digits in his round tonight.

Alright, enough of my half-hearted HR Derby analysis.  Back to Kate Upton:

(Photos courtesy of Total Pro Sports)

Derek Jeter And The Meaning Of 3,000 Hits

(Courtesy of The AP)

I wanted to wait a little while to write this post.  Typically, something that historic being done by a Yankee warrants immediate commentary, but in this case I needed time to collect my thoughts and really think about what I have to say.  And even now, as I sit here at my desk, I still don't even know the right way to talk about this, so it will still just come out as a rambling mess but here it goes.

As a Yankee fan, Derek Jeter has always been and  will always be my favorite player, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that would be the case for many other Yankee fans from my generation.  He is our Thurman Munson, our Mickey Mantle, our Joe DiMaggio.  Years from now, when I'm talking to my kids and grandkids (assuming a member of the female gender is unfortunate enough to procreate with me), I won't be telling them about Nick Swisher's exploits in right field or how underrated a player Tino Martinez was during his time in pinstripes.  I will be talking about watching Derek Jeter play and how good a player he was, plain and simple.  So to have those feelings as a fan makes something like what Jeter accomplished on Saturday even more special.

And the statement that Derek Jeter was/is a very good baseball player, regardless of what all the Jeter haters out there want people to think, is a fact.  And his reaching 3,000 career hits and beyond on Saturday afternoon is a testament to that.  Out of all the men who have played professional baseball in history, only 28 of them have ever achieved 3,000 hits in their career.  It is not something that can be easily accomplished.  It takes an almost perfect combination of career longevity, closely tied to healthy and injury luck, and consistent upper level baseball skill.  There is no way to luck into 3,000 hits.  You have to be a damn good hitter to do that.  And the plain fact of the matter is that Derek Jeter has been a damn good hitter for almost his entire career.

Yankees At The Break- Looking Back

(Easy choice for best first half moment, no?  Courtesy of The AP)

The Yankees started the 2011 season, like most years, with a multitude of questions surrounding their team.  And, like most years, the main questions were related to the pitching staff.  After being stiffed by Cliff Lee for Philly, the Yankees were left without a viable option to replace the retired Andy Pettitte in the rotation.  Rather than reach on the rest of the overpriced, undertalented trade and FA markets, the Yanks made do with an internal promotion (Ivan Nova) and a couple of cheap scrap heap options (Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia) who weren't expected to do much more than steal innings until another young Triple-A pitcher was ready.

As luck would have it, those 3 would turn out to be much more valuable to the rotation and the team in the first half than the likes of A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes.  Burnett has been better than in 2010, but still hardly worthy of the type of money the Yankees are paying him, and Hughes, after a career high workload in 2010 came out of the gate with no velocity and no movement on his pitches to start 2011 and was quickly shelved for almost the duration of the first half with shoulder inflammation.  In Hughes' absence, Bartolo Colon has been a leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, posting a 3.20/3.56/3.19 line in 90 innings, good for 1.6 WAR.  Nova and Garcia have also been more than serviceable, pitching 183.2 innings in 31 combined starts and picking up 15 wins and 2.1 WAR.  Not Cy Young worthy to be sure, but definitely better than anybody anticipated, as evidenced the team's 9th ranked 3.46 ERA.

The anchor of the rotation, as usual, has been CC Sabathia.  If the talks of his possible opt out after the season are distracting him, he certainly isn't showing it as he current holds a 2.72/2.50/3.09 line in 145.2 IP, good for an MLB leading 13 wins and an AL leading 4.8 WAR.  If there was any internal doubt about whether the Yankees should re-sign him if and when he opts out of his current deal, Sabathia has all but erased that with his tremendous first half.  Looks like cutting the Captain Crunch out of his diet really paid off.

The offense, expected to have fewer holes and question marks than the rotation, has actually underperformed a bit despite being 3rd in baseball in runs scored, 2nd in OPS, 2nd in wOBA, 2nd in wRC+, and 1st in HR by a wide margin.  The Yankees currently have 4 players with 50+ R and 50+ RBI apiece at the break (C-Grand, Teix, The Horse, and Cano), the first time that's been done by a Yankee team since the late 30s, but save for Granderson you could make the argument that each of the other 3 is having a "down" year.  Early struggles by older players like Jeter and Jorge Posada also didn't help matters, nor did April slumps for Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner.  All 4 of those guys have rebounded since then, but with The Horse's injuries, Teix's inability to hit anything other than a HR, and Cano's refusal to take pitches, there are still improvements that can be made.

Offensively, the MVP has been Curtis Granderson.  A year after flailing through the first half of the season and having his swing completely rebuilt by Kevin Long, Granderson is putting up numbers that have him on pace to shatter all his previous career highs.  He is tied for the team lead with Teix with 25 HR, has 63 RBI from the 2-spot in the lineup, has scored an insane 79 R, and currently leads the Yankees in SLG, OPS, wOBA, wRC+, and WAR.  If the consistency he has shown would have been matched by a few more of his teammates, we would likely be talking about the clear cut #1 offense in baseball.

More than the hitting exploits of C-Grand, the pitching greatness of CC, or the surprising performances of Colon and Garcia, the biggest talking point for the Yankees in the first half was injuries.  To date, the Yanks have had Jeter, A-Rod, Russell Martin, Eric Chavez, Rafael Soriano, Joba, Pedro Feliciano, and Damaso Marte miss significant portions of time because of injury, with Swish and Mo also missing a few games recently.  The majority of the bullpen guys won't be back this year, which makes the jobs Mo and Dave Robertson have done that much more important, but with A-Rod now on the shelf for the next 4-6 weeks Joe and Yankee fans everywhere need to start saying their prayers that the rest of the team can stay healthy.

All things considered, the first half of 2011 has to be considered a success for the Yankees.  With the injuries they've suffered and the guys they're rolling with in the rotation, one would certainly not expect to be sitting 18 games over .500 at the All Star break, but that's exactly where they are.  And with the Phil Hughes injury, the CC opt out talk, the plague of bullpen injuries, the Jorge "day off" saga, and the recent Jeter march to 3,000, there has been no shortage of storylines/distractions along the way.  Now they need to regroup, rest up, and start getting healthy for the stretch run in the 2nd half.

Boss

Keep moving, folks.  Nothing to see here.  Nothing at all.  Certainly not the guy with the most wins in MLB who has put up 31.2 innings of 1-run ball (the last 23.2 of them scoreless) while allowing just 22 H, 6 BB, and striking out 42 in his last 4 starts, all of them wins.  Certainly not the guy who's making a solid case for being considered the best pitcher in baseball even though nobody is really talking about him as such and he wasn't even picked to the All Star Game.

Nothing to see here.  Just move along.

P.S.- Screw the stupid HR Derby team thing.  Why not bring CC to the ASG to pitch against all these guys and see how many can actually get a hit off him.  $100,000 to the charity of choice of the first player who gets the ball out of the infield off of CC.

3,000!!

The 3,000 Hit Club has its newest member, and that member is Derek Jeter.

After leading off the bottom of the 1st with a solid single off of David Price, Jeter came up with 1 down in the bottom of the 3rd and worked a 3-2 count against Price before yanking a slider that just hung up enough into the left field seats for a home run and his 3,000th career hit.  If you wrote it up as a Hollywood script, you would be told to go back and change it because it would be too cliche.  But you wouldn't expect anything else from The Captain.

MLB.com already has the video up, and you can watch the whole thing right here.  It was cool to see Jorge Posada come out to be the first to greet him at home plate, and cool to see Johnny Damon come out of the vistors' dugout and applaud.  Just the latest and greatest in the long history of classic Jeter moments.

Congratulations to Derek Jeter on this historic accomplishment.

Let's Talk About Meniscuses

Specifically The Horse's right one, which was revealed to be slightly torn after his MRI yesterday.  A-Rod was already scheduled to be out of the lineup last night as a result of the MRI and the now well documented pain he has been playing with in the knee, and now the amount of time he could stay out of the lineup becomes an even bigger, and much more important question.

He could continue to play through the injury, as he has already been doing and doing well.  For all the talk about his dreaded homerless streak since early June, The Horse has continued to play solid all around baseball, racking up hits and walks at the plate and playing arguably the best defense we've seen him play since he transitioned to the hot corner.  Obviously now we can assume that this meniscus tear is causing some, if not all, of the lack of power that we've seen from A-Rod, and he doesn't look comfortable running the bases, but he has played at a very high level with this injury already.  And with the Yankees far from clinching a playoff spot at this point in the season, it goes without saying that the team is in a better position to when with him in the lineup, even if he doesn't hit home runs.

The other option is surgery, something that would likely put A-Rod on the shelf for at least a month.  Without him in the lineup, the team could struggle even more than they already are this week, but down the road during the regular season stretch run it would be much more beneficial to have a 100% healthy Horse than one playing at whatever percentage he's currently at.  And while the injury may or may not get any worse, it certainly isn't going to get better the more he plays on it.  If A-Rod is at 75% right now, it's possible that continued wear and tear and him trying to compensate for the injury could have him at 50% heading into October.

Recent offensive struggles aside, the Yankees have been very good all year, both at the plate and on the mound.  One would think that they would be able to hold down for the fort for 4-6 weeks without A-Rod, especially if Cano and Swish continue to swing hot bats and Teix can start to be more consistent.  And with Bartolo Colon and Phil Hughes back in the rotation, and CC pitching like a man possessed, there is more than enough talent to get the job done.  This is the same injury that CC pitched through last season, but he was only playing once every 5 days.  Joe doesn't have that option to try and give A-Rod that much rest.

It's a tough decision either way, but if it were up to me, I would want to see A-Rod get completely healthy and be ready to go for the end of the regular season and the playoffs.  We've already seen what a healthy Horse can do when he's locked in in the postseason, so whatever has to happen to be able to get him back to that health level is something I would be in favor of doing.

An Open Letter To The Team- Find The Offense

Guys,

What's the deal?  Last time I checked, Jeter was the only player in the lineup on the verge of reaching a major milestone and yet everybody seems to be playing like the spotlight is on them and they can't handle it.  And he's one of the few who's actually getting some hits here and there lately?  What the hell are the rest of you doing?  The 9 runs in support of CC the other night were nice, but just 9 combined runs in the other 4 games of this 1-4 stretch?  That's just completely pathetic.

I'm tired of watching Robbie swing at the first pitch, or the second, or the third, and make outs with runners on base.  I'm tired of watching Russell Martin beat hittable pitches into the ground like he's doing a Jeter impression, and I'm really tired of watching Teix pull off of everything too early and either hit lazy fly balls to right or ground out into the shift.  I love ya, Teix, and I've been making excuses for you because of your low BABIP, but you're about to dip below .240 on the year and that's just not acceptable.

We've been through this enough this year, and it has to stop.  Cut the shit with these week-long offensive dry spells and live up to your reputations and high team wOBA and hit the fucking ball with some authority and score some fucking runs!!  You got shut down by goddamn Jeff Niemann last night!  Stop playing tight because of the 3,000 hits thing, calm the fuck down, and be professionals.  Everybody knows you can do it, so start doing it.  Christ.

Thanks,

Brad

Does Derek Jeter Look A Little Better To You?

(Look at the range!!  Courtesy of The AP)

Even though i didn't see it until the highlights were on BBTN, I'll admit that I rolled my eyes when I saw The Captain's first hit since coming back from the DL come on another dinky infield single that he beat into the ground.  But since that play, Jeter has looked a little more lively at the plate and in the field, at least to me.

His double later in the game on Tuesday night was a legit shot into the deepest part of Progressive Field and appeared to be on an inside fastball.  Granted, the fastball caught more of the plate than intended, but that's still the type of pitch Jeter has been struggling on since last summer.  On that particular pitch, he looked much more like a the Jeter of old, timing his swing perfectly, and pulling his hips and hands through the zone quickly to get around on the ball and make solid contact.  When I saw that play on the highlights, the eye roll turned into an intrigued eyebrow raise.

Then last night there were a couple more plays that were attention grabbing.  The diving stop up the middle from the bottom of the 4th inning (shown above) was something I can't remember seeing from Jeter in a long time.  As I said last night, it helped that he was already playing closer to the 2nd base bag, but when we've come to expect him to reach out and miss by a few feet on balls like that, it's nice to see Jeter leave his feet and actually come up with the ball.  And even though it didn't mean a thing in the overall context of the game, Jeter's double in the bottom of the 8th was another flashback to the good old days when he used to murder first-pitch fastballs into the gap.  Once again, his timing and swing looked much more in tune than they have this season and there was actually some OOMPH behind the swing.

That play, the rope he hit to center in his 2nd at-bat, and the walk he drew in what was a great at-bat against Justin Masterson as he was on cruise control were all signs that this recent DL stint might have done more for Jeter than just give him time to heal his calf.  He looks a little quicker in the field, on the bases, and at the plate.  Is it just a mirage or the results of an incredibly small sample size for an older guy coming off extended rest?  Could be.  But at the very least it's encouraging and good to see.  If Jeter can keep this up through the next series against Tampa, he could not only do more than just limp across the finish line to 3,000 hits, he could also slow down, at least temporarily, the shoveling of dirt onto his career as a valuable player.

Hughes Review

By now, everybody knows Phil Hughes' line from last night.  His 5 innings of 6-hit, 2-run ball were by far his best outing of the season and right on par with what the Yankees had been getting from Ivan Nova.  There were plenty of reasons to be encouraged by Hughes' start last night, none more important than the fact that he maintained velocity all the way through his 5 innings, though the ESPN gun did have him sitting lower in the 5th.  But digging deeper, we can find some issues with Hughes' performance.

Coming into the game last night, I thought the 2 most important things for Hughes to do was get ahead in the count and keep the ball down.  If he could throw strikes early, he could at least set himself up to get some defensive swings on the fastball or bad swings at his offspeed stuff in the event that his velocity or command abandoned him.  And being a flyball pitcher, any time Phil has gotten the ball up in the zone, he's paid for it.  As it turns out, neither of those things were a major problem for Hughes last night.  He threw 57 of his 87 pitches for strikes (65.5%), and threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of the 25 batters he faced.  And for the most part, he did a good job of working down in the zone and on the outside corner, especially against lefties.  Every time he did get the ball up he gave up a hit, at least 3 of the 6 hits come to mind.  But all 6 hits were singles and save for the Gardner play at the warning track, there weren't any flyballs that were hit well or in the gaps.

What really hurt Phil last night was his inability to put guys away with 2 strikes, something that has plagued him since he became a starter.  Hughes was 0-2, 1-2, 2-2 on the majority of guys he faced last night, but he didn't quite have the little bit of extra zip on the heater or sharpness on his breaking ball to put guys away.  The Indian hitters did a good job of fouling off fastballs in and laying off curveballs away to make Hughes throw more pitches.  And his breaking stuff, while good for a few pitches here and there, really was never a threat to the Indians.  For the most part, Hughes' curveball never came near the strike zone, making it easy to lay off and forcing him to go back to the fastball to try and get a strike, which is what I think was the major contributing factor to him not putting hitters away.  The Indian hitters knew the fastball was coming, and even though they didn't do that much with it last night, they were still making contact (Hughes registered just 3 swings and misses, a 3.45% swing rate).

The fact that this has been a recurring issue for Hughes is actually something I think can be called a good thing.  We aren't talking about a dead arm or lack of bite to his stuff today, instead we're talking about the normal issues with Hughes.  And seeing as how this was his first game back on a Major League mound in almost 3 months, I feel comfortable chalking that up to rust.  We've seen Hughes be sharper before, so it's reasonable to expect that his stuff will regain that sharpness as he gets back into a groove of pitching on a regular basis.  Being consistent with the curveball and the change have always been key factors for his success.  After last night, it looks like the fastball is well on its way back to being what it was and what we expect, so now Phil can focus on tightening up his offspeed stuff to put guys away.

Yanks-Indians "Return Of Hughes" Live Blog

The Yanks are nationally televised tonight and Phil is back on the hill.  That can only mean it's time for another live blog.  I'm assuming I'm going to get the ESPN broadcast team of McDonough, Sutcliffe, and Aaron F'ing Boone, which is tolerable, so that's good.  The Yanks aren't dicking around with the lineup tonight, throwing their version of the A-lineup out there:

1) Derek Jeter- SS
2) Curtis Granderson- CF
3) Mark Teixeira- 1B
4) Alex Rodriguez- 3B
5) Robinson Cano- 2B
6) Nick Swisher- RF
7) Jorge Posada- DH
8) Russell Martin- C
9) Brett Gardner- LF

And on the mound it's Phillip Joseph Hughes.

Just a quick note on Mo, whose triceps injury I have admittedly not focused enough on.  LoHud is saying he's still not a sure thing to be able tonight.  He's going to throw before the game and then see how he feels.  If he can't go, that's added pressure on the Luis Ayalas, Boone Logans, and Corey Wades of the world, who will almost surely be needed to bridge the gap from Hughes to the 9th inning.

Check back here some time before 7 Eastern/6 Central to get this thing kicked off.

What Should We Expect From Phil Hughes Tonight?

(It'll be good to see Phil back in the pinstripes tonight.  Courtesy of The AP)

The prodigal son makes his return to the rotation tonight in the rubber match against Cleveland.  It'll be the first time since April 13th that Phil Hughes has started a game for the Yankees, and the results leading up to his DL stint and recent rehab were quite ugly.  In 10.1 innings over 3 starts, Hughes put up an ungodly 13.64/8.56/6.34 tripleslash with 2.61 K/9 and 3.48 BB/9.  It's not a stretch (yeah it is) to say that I could have probably gone out there with my high-60s heater and 50s offspeed stuff and put up those numbers.

That was the Phil Hughes with the high-80s fastball, little to no movement, and even less confidence.  Tonight he returns after 3 solid MiL rehab starts, the last one a gem, with his fastball back, his arm strength back, and by the sounds of it, his confidence back too.

“I know it’ll be good.  I know my stuff is there, I just have to execute pitches. I know if I do that, I’ll be fine. I’m not going out there with any wonder or curiosity or doubt. I’m just going out trying to execute every pitch I can.”

This is a complete 180 from the version of Phil Hughes we were seeing and hearing back in early April.  And that, more than the velocity and arm strength, is a great thing.  But the question still remains about what Hughes will look like out there on the hill tonight, and what should we realistically expect from him?  If he can repeat the velocity and maintenance of it through 5-6 innings like he did in his last rehab start, I would be happy with that.  I'm sure Joe and Larry Rothschild are going to have him on some sort of pitch count closely tied to what they're seeing on the gun so as not to risk re-aggravating the shoulder inflammation that was supposedly causing his early-season dead arm.  If he makes it up to that pitch count with better velocity on his fastball and some more bite than what he showed early in the year on his offspeed stuff, I could honestly care less what his line looks like.  I'd be happy with 3-4 runs allowed in 5-6 innings of work.  It would be an improvement over what he produced earlier in the year and a sign that he's moving back towards being the Phil Hughes we remember from last season.

Let's remember that the Yankees don't need Hughes to come back and become the #2 starter that some were expecting him to be on Opening Day.  He's essentially replacing Ivan Nova's 4.12/4.42/4.21 line and 0.8 WAR from the 5th spot in the rotation.  There's no pressure for him to come in and light the world on fire, so for his first time out after an extended absence there's no reason to expect anything more than what Nova has given the Yankees as long as the indication is that he'll continue to move towards exceeding Nova's output.  And coming off a year where he went 4.19/4.25/4.13 with 2.4 WAR, we all know Hughes is capable of that.

Tonight we, like Hughes and the Yanks themselves, should not be looking for anything more than some low-to-mid-90s on the gun and Hughes looking more comfortable on the mound.

Quote courtesy of LoHud.

Can Somebody Explain The CC Snub To Me?

(Best pitcher in the AL?  Top 3?  Courtesy of The AP)

How the hell did CC Sabathia NOT get selected to the All Star Game?  I mean, really, how does that happen?  The guy is statistically one of the 3-5 best pitchers in baseball this year, let alone the AL, he's a big hulking monster of a man, which is always fun for matchups, and anybody who has ever talked to him says he's one of the most friendly, down to earth, gregarious people in professional sports.  The All Star Game was made for players like CC, and yet somehow he managed to get snubbed by the rest of his fellow players and the AL managers who vote for the reserves, most likely because they all felt some sort of unwarranted unfairness for the Yankees already having 6 players on the team.

Well you know what?  That's just too fucking bad.  It's not A-Rod, Cano, C-Grand, or Jeter's faults that they got selected by the fans.  Shit, 3 of those 4 guys deserve the votes they got because they're the best players at their position in the league.  And Jeter, like it or not, is still a big star and a big draw because of the fans, and that's supposedly what the All Star Game is about, right?  Tell me how many fans out there don't like CC Sabathia.  Tell me how many people would rather watch Aaron Crow and Brandon League pitch an inning against Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, and Brian McCann.  Aaron Crow walks 4.14 batters/9.  Brandon League only strikes out a hair over 6 batters/9 and has an ERA/FIP/xFIP tripleslash that is good at best for a reliever.  And don't even get me started on Chris Perez or Jose Valverde.  If people think 6 Yankees is too many, first of all get bent.  Second of all, why would you select Russell Martin?  Don't get me wrong, he's having a nice year, but he's been cold over the last 2 months and has been injured too.  If there's a Yankee that didn't deserve the spot, it's him.

These are the facts.  After last night, CC is now leading the AL in wins (12) and is tied with Jered Weaver for the lead in WAR (4.3).  His ERA (2.90) is lower than those of Felix Hernandez, David Price, and C.J. Wilson.  His FIP (2.56) is better than those of Josh Beckett, James Shields, Gio Gonzalez, and Justin Verlander.  And he's thrown more innings (136.2) than anybody in the AL except Verlander.  You could make the case that CC should be STARTING the All Star Game, let alone be on the roster.

I know with his next scheduled start coming on Sunday that he most likely wouldn't be available to pitch anyway, but that's beside the point.  There are a handful of other pitchers who will be in the same boat and they still got picked.  The point is a player who is more deserving than almost every other pitcher on the roster got snubbed and there's no good reason for it.  Brandon League, Chris Perez, and Jose Valverde have no business being on the team, and each of their respective teams already has a representative, so it's not like they are there for that.  At the very least, CC should have been chosen and then you could bring in one of those guys as his replacement once it's announced that he won't be pitching.  That way he would be recognized for how well he's pitched and one of the other guys, relievers who are used to pitching one inning, could get a nod too.

Just like it's called the "Hall of Fame" and not the "Hall of Very Good," this game IS still called the "All Star Game," not the "Bunch of Pretty Good Players Game."  When you're picking the team, you should pick the best players first and then fill in with subs as needed, and there's no possible way anybody could argue that CC Sabathia is not one of the best pitchers in the American League this year.  Once again, the anti-Yankee bias seeps through and screws something up.  And it's even worse this time because the bias came from CC's own colleagues and not the media.

P.S.- Is is Yankee fan treason to say that I would rather CC be on the All Star team than Mo?

The Bright Side For A.J.

(Hang in there, Baby Huey.  Courtesy of masslive.com)

Tough loss for A.J. last night, in the style that we're all too familiar with.  He cruised through 6 innings, then got rattled, missed spots, and completely blew up in the 7th after Gardner and The Horse couldn't come up with the foul ball that would have ended the inning.  But...

At least he's not John Lackey.

Same contract, same money, but the performance Lackey is putting on this season makes A.J.'s 2010 look Cy Young-worthy by comparison.

- 7.47/4.99/4.83 ERA/FIP/xFIP tripleslash in just 72.1 IP
- Career low 5.60K/9 coupled with a career high 3.36 BB/9
- .301 BA against, .875 OPS against, 1.63 WHIP
- 9.17 ERA at home

"Those types of numbahs ahh NAWT going to cut it in fahhckin' Beantown, chief!  This is the home of the fahhckin' Bruins.  The grittiest, toughest team with the most hahht since the '04 Sawx!!!"

Seriously, though.  John Lackey sucks.  I wouldn't let him pitch a game in the Little League World Series right now.  So A.J. can take solace in the fact that at least he's doing more to live up to his overpriced, undeserved contract.  Right?  Right??

The Captain Says Happy 4th Of July

(Awwww, how festive.  Courtesy of The AP)

And I do too.  I hope everyone has enjoyed a safe and fun Independence Day.  And what better way to cap it off than to have The Captain return to the lineup tonight and resume his quest for 3,000 hits?  Well I suppose we could start fixing the economy and creating more jobs, but the Jeter 3,000 hits thing is a close second.

In all seriousness, despite him being a shell of his former self at this point and in no way deserving of being the leadoff hitter over Gardner, it IS good to have Jeter back in the lineup.  It just looks right with his name in the box score, and at least we know he won't botch any of the plays he does make.  Those plays have been a little too brutal to watch with Nunez and Pena at short these last couple weeks.

P.S.- I want that jersey and I want it now.

The $900,000 Man Hasn't Missed A Beat

Well it certainly looks like the doctors did a great job of rebuilding that hammy, huh?  Bartolo Colon returned to the rotation yesterday afternoon and picked up right where he left off.

6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 80 pitched (56 strikes)

That's pretty much the type of line he was putting up before he left, save for maybe another inning or two, but Colon continues to make Cash look like a genius.  Now it's Cash's other offseason diamond in the rough to complete the sweep today.  Go get 'em, Freddy.

(Kevin Long taugh him everything he knows.  Courtesy of The AP)

P.S.- Forget everything I said in the post below about who's coming up and who's going down.  The Yankees chose to send Brien Gordon to Triple-A SWB yesterday and keep Noesi in the 'pen.  Good call.

The Picture Starts To Clear Up As Arms Return To The Roster

(Sorry, Ivan.  I thought you were going to stick around.  Courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post)

Bartolo Colon is scheduled to start this afternoon's game against the Mets, taking back the rotation spot that had been held by Brien Gordon over the last couple outings.  Phil Hughes is probably only another week or 2 away from joining him back in the rotation, leaving the Yankees with a decision to make on who keeps the 5th rotation spot and who gets bumped.  Joel Sherman of The Post helped shed a little light on where the Yankees are leaning when it comes to that decision:

"...the Yankees are leaning strongly toward sending Nova to Triple-A to reinsert Hughes, I have learned....

The lingering fear remains about Colon and Garcia making it through a season physically, and, really, Hughes is now in the same category. By putting Nova at Triple-A along with Hector Noesi (who is to be demoted today to make room for Colon) and Adam Warren, the Yankees would have adequate protection for the inevitable breakdown; with Nova the obvious first choice for a return."

On the one hand, this decision makes sense.  Colon certainly has proven he is worthy of a spot, and Freddy Garcia has also exceeded expectations.  And with the commitment the Yankees have made to Hughes (and with memories of the mishandling of Joba still not dissolved), it goes without saying that he will be in the rotation and not shuttled back to the bullpen.  With Colon and Garcia being as cheap as they are, pitching as well as they are, and being the biggest health question marks, there's no reason for the Yankees to not continue to roll them out there until they blow up or get hurt again.  And if/when that happens, it's to the team's benefit to have Nova and Noesi already stretched out and ready to step in and fill the gap rather than sitting in the bullpen.

On the other hand, the argument could be made that this decision doesn't exactly fit in with the "best chance to win" philosophy that is supposed to dominate decision making at the Major League level.  Sure, Brien Gordon had solid relief numbers in Triple-A, and we've already covered the return of the Meat Tray.  But are those 2 really better pitchers than Nova and Noesi?  Noesi, save for one disastrous outing, has looked very good working out of the 'pen, and there has always been the thought by some that Nova's stuff could play up out of the pen, helping to eliminate his low K/9 rate he has as a starter.  And with the litany of injuries suffered already by major bullpen guys, isn't it to the team's benefit to have better pitchers filling those gaps in the bullpen?

All in all, I think the Yankees are making the right call here.  I honestly believed it was a foregone conclusion that Gordon would be DFA'd once Colon came back, but if the Yankees are committed to keeping Nova and Noesi stretched out as starters then it makes sense to keep Gordon around for the time being.  I will say, though, that I am going to be a bit more uneasy knowing that if Garcia or Hughes or A.J. has a bad start, we're going to see Mitre and Gordon coming in to put out the fire instead of Nova or Noesi.

Return Of The Meat Tray

In the words of Suzyn Waldman, "OH MY GOODNESS, GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!!  SERGIO MITRE IS ON THE ACTIVE ROSTER, ANNOUNCING THAT HE IS BACK!!!  OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS!!!..."

That's right, kiddies.  The Meat Tray is back.  Back in our lives for another interesting go-round as a marginal mop-up reliever.  Hey, it beats having to watch Buddy Carlyle stumble and bumble his way through an inning, right?  I'm not ashamed to say that I am hoping and praying for some garbage time innings this weekend just we can get a Meat Tray experience.

P.S.- Isn't every inning of a game involving the Mets considered garbage time?  RIMSHOT!!!

New Month Linkapalooza

In honor of the changing of the months, and the upcoming 4th of July weekend, we're going to take a quick lap around the Yankosphere.  It's what the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the Declaration of Independence.

- Alphonso at It Is High... takes a jab, and a funny jab at that, at the job Eduardo Nunez has done as Jeter's replacement.  It's funny because it's true.

- In the same vein as that post, Brien at IIATMS takes a more statistical look at the Jeter vs. Nunez debate and shows that, despite his decline, Jeter is the better player.  My 2 cents on the matter?  I think Jeter is the better everyday option, even though I do like Nunez for some reason.  But that doesn't mean he should be hitting leadoff.

- Chad at LoHud has the latest injury updates on the Yankee walking wounded.  First Hughes, now Jeter.  The Thunder roster is getting STACKED.

- Mike at RAB makes a case for the Yankees adding Mike Adams to the 'pen.  I like me some Mike Adams, so I would support that move.

- Double dose from the crew at TYA.  First, Matt Imbrogno tries to determine who the odd man out should be with the soon to be overcrowded rotation.

- Second, Mike J-R digs deeper into the wOBA statistic.  Fair warning to old-time baseball people:  You will not want to read this.  Also, you're idiots for not recognizing its value to the game.

- William at The Captain's Blog looks at the Yankees' first half and tries to predict how they'll do the rest of the way.

- Lastly, we've got 2 separate and very entertaining interviews with MiL director Mark Newman.  First, Mike Ashmore gets the scoop on a wide variety of topics, including injury rehab for guys like David Adams, Jeremy Bleich, and Graham Stoneburner, what the deal is with Brackman, and the philosophy regarding handling young pitchers.

- Sensei John Kreese of NoMaas also touched on a ton of points in his interview with Newman.  Definitely a must read.  I was particularly interested to read Newman's take on the "Brien Gordon over the Triple-A guys" decision.

Beast Mode

It's one thing to throw 7.2 shutout innings against a good offensive team.  It's another thing to throw 7.2 shutout innings against a good offensive team while striking out 13 batters.  And it's a completely different thing to throw 7.2 shutout innings against a good offensive team while striking out 13 batters and having all 13 Ks being swinging.  CC Sabathia is a monster.  THE POWER OF THE PARACHUTE PANTS COMPELS YOU!!!!

Now somebody hit the fucking music!!!

Yankees Trying To Give The Brewers A Chance Today

This afternoon's lineup, via LoHud:

1) Brett Gardner- CF
2) Nick Swisher- RF
3) Mark Teixeira- 1B
4) Robinson Cano- 2B
5) Jorge Posada- DH
6) Andruw Jones- LF
7) Eduardo Nunez- SS
8) Francisco Cervelli- C
9) Ramiro Pena- 3B

No Horse, no C-Grand, and no Martin should be enough to level the playing field today, right?  I mean, it's the least the Yankees can do to try to make things fair since they have Carsten on the hill today.  Anybody who still calls them the "Evil Empire" should wake up and smell the B-Team lineup.

P.S.- Francisco Cervelli still sucks.

What's Really Going On With Russell Martin?

(Looks like a decent swing to me.  Courtesy of The AP)

As I watched last night's tremendous display of baseball by the Yankees and laughable ineptitude of the Brewers, I took notice of Russell Martin's line when he stepped in for his first at-bat and was instantly reminded of a post topic I wanted to cover last week and didn't get around to.  That topic being just what the hell is up with Martin?  He started the year hitting like a machine and making Cash look like a genius for signing him.  Since then, he's been bothered by some injuries and his production has dropped off significantly.  Observe:

- Mar/Apr- .293/.376/.587, 85 PA, 10 XBH, .424 wOBA, 170 wRC+
- May- .200/.333/.347, 90 PA, 5 XBH, .322 wOBA, 100 wRC+
- June- .176/.271/.176, 59 PA, 0 XBH, .219 wOBA, 29 wRC+

I'm well aware that his torrid April wasn't sustainable, but I also didn't expect him to fall off a cliff as bad as he has since then.  from 170 wRC+ to 29 isn't just slumping.  That's falling right off the face of the earth.  So what is there in the numbers that can explain this dramatic decline in production?  For starters, we know he's not pressing at the plate and swinging too much, because the one thing Martin has done is consistently walk.  His BB rate doubled from April to June (8.2% to 16.7%), and he's still at a very nice 10.2% rate this month.  He also doesn't seem to be making much weaker contact than he did earlier in the year as his LD% has gone from 19.0% in Mar/Apr to 18.2% this month.

Martin could very well be suffering from the same BABIP luck that Teix is right now, and there is some support for that.  His value was at its highest, .281, in the first month of the year, and is currently sitting at a measly .205 in June.  The percentages also show that Martin is hitting more groundballs and fewer flyballs this month than he has all year, so it seems reasonable to expect that, even if they are decently struck balls, if they're on the ground there's a good chance they're going to produce more outs than hits.  And you definitely aren't going to be racking up any extra bases hits with the ball on ground more, no matter how fast you are.

My thought is that Martin is still probably feeling the effects of his earlier injuries, and while they aren't enough to keep him out of the lineup nor produce any significant holes in his swing, they might be just enough to have him keep them in the back of his mind when he's at the plate and adjust his approach slightly so as not to re-aggravate the injury.  That combined with the resulting increased GB rate should logically add up to a lower BABIP and lower all around offensive numbers as a result.  And just as it would have been insane to expect him to put up a .963 OPS all season, it would also be stupid to think that Martin will stay in this prolonged slump for the rest of the year.  Sooner or later things have to balance out and we'll probably see him back around the .250/.350/.410 line.

Teix Making The Most Of The Hits He Does Get

(And exhale.  Good.  Courtesy of The AP)

Here's your food for thought on a Wednesday morning.  Check out where Mark Teixeira ranks amongst the 160 qualifying players in MLB in some offensive categories:

HR- 24 (Tied for 1st)

RBI- 62 (Tied for 4th)

ISO- .296 (5th)

SLG- .542 (12th)

wOBA- .388 (19th)

wRC+- 145 (18th)

BABIP- .214 (158th)

And right there is your smoking gun, ladies and gentlemen.  Mark Teixeira is being cursed by some horrific BABIP bad luck.  Not only is he 3rd to last out of all MLB qualifiers, he's a full 16 BABIP points behind the guy ahead of him, Alex Rios.  With a value like that, he should be putting up Jorge-type numbers (no offense, Jorge), not ranking in the top 2-12.5% in the most important offensive categories.  People are going to look at the .246 BA and the sub-.900 OPS and assume Teix is having some kind of Rob Deer-like garbage year where he's either a homer or an automatic out, but that simply isn't the case.

The Yankees as a team hit .282 on balls in play.  Imagine what Teix's numbers would look like if he was just hitting that!  We wouldn't be talking about him possibly getting squeezed out of the All Star Game for Adrian Gonzalez, Paul Konerko, and Miguel Cabrera.  We'd be talking about Teix being the runaway favorite for AL MVP and possibly knocking in 150 runs this year.

Now I'll be fair and admit that maybe Teix is guilty of becoming a little pull happy with the short porch at The Stadium, and so he could be contributing to his own bad luck.  After all, both his BABIP and BA numbers dropped off last year from where he was in '09 while his power stayed the same.  But Teix is too good a hitter to be wallowing away in the Chone Figgins and Kurt Suzuki levels of BABIP mediocrity.  Sooner or later, some of these balls have to start finding gaps and green space instead of gloves.  And when they do, watch out.

Rotation Upgrade Options- External (NL Edition)

We touched on some potential AL targets as the deadline creeps ever closer.  Today I'll touch on some of the NL names who've been mentioned in connection with the Yankees. 

Wandy Rodriguez- The Astros lefty has been a rumored target for the Yanks going back to last year and during this past offseason before he re-upped with Houston.  Despite his earlier elbow issues, Rodriguez is once again having a solid year for the offensively-challenged Astros.  His 3.21/3.94/3.48 ERA/FIP/xFIP line is good and his 2.46 BB/9 are down from last year.  He isn't going to light up the radar gun with his fastball, but his offspeed stuff is killer and he's a lefty, something that could come in handy down the stretch against the Sawx.  The downside is that he's already 32, and with 2 more years on his deal he doesn't exactly fit into future plans that may revolve around getting younger.

Ryan Dempster- He's an NL lifer, he turned 34 this year, he doesn't generate as many swings and misses as he used to, and he's giving up a shit ton of HRs.  But for some reason, Dempster's name has come up this year, probably if for no other reason than the Cubs suck and they'll probably be sellers at the deadline.  Dempster has been snakebitten by bad BABIP luck, and his FIP (4.15) is a full run lower than his 5.31 ERA, but I just don't see the value of bringing over an older pitcher with diminishing stuff to the AL East.  The $14 mil player option for 2012 would also be a turn off for me but there is something to be said for his proven track record, even if the Yankees have already stated they aren't interested.

Carlos Zambrano- Another guy who the Yanks have expressed 0 interest in and with good reason.  On top of being vastly overrated and overpaid at this point in his career, Carlos Zambrano is a legitimate nutcase.  And with the contract he has right now, he's not worth bringing over for all the potential baggage that comes with him, even if his 1.7 WAR would be the 2nd highest amongst Yankee starters.  The big drop in K/9 this year (6.00) is another concern for me and probably the Yankees as well.  The Cubs would be happy to rid themselves of this dude, but Cash would be wise to hang up the phone as soon as he hears the "Zam-" part of his name.

Hiroki Kuroda- Of all the potential options, AL or NL, Kuroda might be the best option, both in terms of production and what it might take to get him.  Kuroda has been amongst the most consistent and undervalued starters in the NL for years now and he's continuing that trend in 2011, soldiering along with a 3.10/3.82/3.55 line and a solid K/BB ratio.  He, like Wandy, won't blow you away with his stuff, but it's better than average and he throws strikes.  Because of the ongoing Dodger money saga and the fact that he's a FA after this year, Kuroda could come cheaper than many of the other options (Phelps and another mid-level pitching prospect perhaps).  For some stretch run help, that might be a worthwhile investment for the Yanks. 

Shout out and link to Larry Koestler's post on Rodriguez and Kuroda on TYA yesterday.  Check that out for more in depth analysis of those 2.

A Huh-YUGE Series Starts Today

The 3-gamer starting today at The Stadium might very well be the most important series of the season for the Yankees.  And there's a very simple reason for that.  The Yankees are playing the Milwaukee Brewers and that gives me plenty of opportunities to talk shit and act like a jackass around the office to pretty much everybody I work with (minus a few Cubs fans).

For those who don't know, I live and work in the greater Milwaukee area.  I live about 10 minutes from Miller Park.  But for some reason, people around here seem to think that those 2 facts automatically mean I have to give up my love for the Yankees and become a Brewers fan.  The fact that I'm originally from CT, and the NY side of CT at that, and that almost my entire family is Yankee fans means nothing to them.  I can't tell you the number of times guys around the office try to start conversations with me about how the Brewers are doing or how that game went last night.  My stock response?  "Fuck the Brewers."  I couldn't give a shit less about the Brewers if they won every game or lost every game.  So to have the opportunity to walk around and talk crap to everybody here is an opportunity I'm dying to have.

The only problem is, the Brewers are actually playing some decent baseball this year.  Their rotation has been solid thanks to the additions of Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum, 2 pitchers with whom the Yankees are familiar, and despite the glaring holes in their lineup the combination of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun is more than enough to carry a team on days where they both have big games.  The Brewers' big weakness, though, is their middle relief.  That group of clowns shouldn't be pitching in a Double-A All Star Game let alone the Majors, so if the Yankees can continue to be patient and work the starters, they should have plenty of chances to tee off late in games.

So this is my plea to you, Yanks.  Go out and kick some ass.  At least take 2 out of the 3 games of this series, preferably the first and third games.  I have about 8 different Yankee shirts in my closet and a couple of different hats, and I'm itching to turn the office into a goddamn Yankee fashion show over the next 3 days.  Friday will be especially sweet if CC can shut the Brewers down and I can rock the CC shirt into work to really twist the knife.  Yes, there are some people here who still haven't gotten over CC signing with the Yanks in free agency.  For some reason they think he's an idiot for taking the Yankees money over the Brewers' $100 mil offer.  I know, it's pathetic.

So make me proud, boys.  Give me a justifiable reason to be a dick at work.  And for the 2nd time in 2 days, hit the music!!!

Rotation Upgrade Options- External (AL Edition)

A few weeks ago I touched on some of the possible internal candidates for a rotation upgrade in the event that Ivan Nova pitched his way out a job.  Since then he has pitched very well (yesterday not included), but with Cash's decree that the Yankees are looking for pitching help and Nova's consistent inconsistency, he still remains a candidate to be replaced.  With Colon and Hughes coming back within the next month, though, the possibility of a trade has diminished a bit, but it's still worth examining the names out there who the Yankees could be interested in.

John Danks- The White Sox lefty was a name we've heard a lot before going on the DL this weekend with an oblique injury.  His 3-8 record doesn't do him justice, as he's put up a 4.21/4.14/3.97 tripleslash in 94 IP over 15 starts this year.  His K rate is low (6.22), but he also only walks 2.68 guys per 9.  He also has a team friendly contract this year and is arbitration eligible in 2012.  He'll probably require more in terms of prospects than other guys because he's young and good, but the Yanks would get another year of team control if they felt the Killer Bs weren't ready next year.  At best, he could become the 3rd best starter on the team, maybe 2nd depending on what happens with Colon.  At worst, he's still better than Nova.  He should be at or near the top of the list when he comes off the DL as the summer progresses.

Edwin Jackson- He strikes out more guys than Danks (7.78 K/9 this season), but also walks more and always has.  But overall this has been a strong season for Jackson, who has been bitten by some bad BABIP luck (4.13 ERA to a 3.08 FIP).  He has good stuff and is still young at 27, but would basically be a rental as he is set to become a FA after this season.  Before the season he probably could have been pried for lesser guys, but with the way he's been pitching, he could cost the Yankees one of the crop of solid Triple-A arms and another guy.  If the Sox fall out of competition in the AL Central before the deadline, that would help bring the asking price down.

Francisco Liriano- The Yankees have been linked to him for a while now, ever since rumors started going around this past offseason that Minnesota was shopping.  Judging by what they've gotten from him this year, they should have moved him when they had the chance.  He's got a 4.98/4.22/4.23 line this year and is walking almost 5 batters per 9.  When you consider that one of his starts was a no-hitter and another almost was, those numbers could look even worse if he pitched to the averages.  His stuff just doesn't seem right this year, and he's always been a question mark in terms of durability and effort.  I just don't see how the Yankees would want to add him, but he is a lefty and they could probably get him for cheaper now that he's pitched so poorly in the first half.

Dan Haren- He was a big trade target rumor at last year's deadline and ended up going to the Angels, seemingly for peanuts.  And he's pitched very well for Anaheim this year, but with them sitting 3rd in AL West and trending downward thanks to their punchless offense, they could be looking to deal at the deadline.  He's lost a little bit of the bite on his stuff since his early days, but Haren can still get it done with the cutter to the tune of a 3.05/2.74/3.05 line and an almost 5.5/1 K/BB ratio.  Haren would slot in right behind CC as the #2 starter, but he won't come cheap.  Last year the rumor was Joba, ManBan, and a couple of other guy for Haren, so with Joba out now you have to imagine the deal starts with ManBan and maybe includes Montero or Sanchez to even get talks started.  A steep price to pay, but for somebody who still has a few years of team control left, it could be worth it.