A Quiet Return Out Of The Gate

(Majestic.  Courtesy of The AP)

As excited as I was for it, and I'm sure you all felt the same way, it wasn't a big fireworks days for The Horse yesterday in his first game back like in '09 against the Orioles.  And that's fine.  I've said all along that it really doesn't matter what he does for the rest of the season, as long as he stays healthy and is there to produce in the postseason.  But that being said, it was apparent that there were some nerves in play as he ran his first race since hitting the DL.  In 5 at-bats he only saw 16 pitches, including 2 consecutive first-pitch swinging outs in the 3rd and 5th innings, and he damn near bucked his jockey right off on that swing in the 5th inning when the bases were loaded.

But on the positive side, the swing itself looked pretty good.  A-Rod's movement through the zone was sound, he looked good running out of the box, he just didn't have his timing down.  That's to be expected.  The fact that he was out there, he was swinging at good pitches, and he felt good after the game are all most important.  The timing will come.

In fact, I thought the best sign that he's fully healthy was the running, barehanded play he made on Ben Revere's bunt attempt to lead off the 6th.  That's the type of play that only a few guys, A-Rod included, in baseball can make, and it involves running full speed and planting that one leg to make a strong throw on the run.  After spending the early part of last week saying that he had still yet to really let go and go all out running the bases, it was great to see The Horse make that play because you can really only make it if you're going all out.

So no big offensive fireworks yesterday, but they'll come.  The important thing is that The Horse is back in the lineup, feeling good, and bursting out of the gate with no physical issues.  Now it's only a matter of time before he starts looking like a major contender for the Breeder's Cup again.

Today's Lineup: A Familiar Face Makes His Gallant Return

The Horse is back, ladies and gentlemen!  And in his familiar cleanup spot in the lineup.

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

Also, via LoHud, Aaron Laffey was optioned to SWB to make room for A-Rod, so it looks like Hector Noesi will continue to waste away in the bullpen getting used once every week instead of sent back down to stretch back out as a starter.  But today, who cares?  The fucking Horse is back, baby!!  Hit the music!

A.J. Burnett And The Case Of The Mysterious F*cking B@llsh!t

(The king of fucking bullshit.  Courtesy of The AP)

By now, A.J. Burnett being an ineffective starting pitcher is no longer newsworthy.  After 2+ subpar years in pinstripes, and 3 straight horrific Augusts, I've accepted that he is what he is and I would venture to say that most other intelligent Yankee fans feel the same way.  In fact, I think recognizing that A.J. sucks is something that both the intelligent and unintelligent Yankee fans have in common, which is sad because it really doesn't take that much intelligence or baseball knowledge to recognize how awful A.J. is and has been, no matter how much you smoke the objective pipe.

So since his on-mound performance no longer warrants discussion, we can now move on to the latest topic, that being A.J.'s reaction to being removed from last night's game by Joe after just 1.2  innings.  Anybody who watched the game on YES could clearly see A.J. turn over his shoulder and say "this is fucking bullshit" after Joe took the ball from him, and another camera angle showed Joe responding, although his words were more difficult to make out.  After leaving the field, A.J. headed straight into the walkway from the dugout to the clubhouse, and a few moments later Joe ventured down there, seemingly to confront A.J., before both returned a few minutes later.  A.J. continued to break baseball code by not sticking around to see the final out of his disasterpiece, instead choosing to get up and leave the dugout again after Luis Ayala gave up a 2-run single to finish A.J.'s ER tally of 7 for the night.

The A.J.-Joe interaction was instantly the talk of the broadcast, and rightfully so.  This was the 3rd time recently that A.J. had reacted negatively to being taken out of a game by Joe, with each instance escalating in its disrespect for his manager and the code of the game.  Naturally, Joe, A.J., Russell Martin, and everybody else were in full-on damage control mode after the game, saying that there were no problems between A.J. and Joe, that A.J. was upset about the ball 4 call to Mauer, that Martin told him it was a strike, that Joe was just going into the walkway to check the replay on the pitch, and that nobody would ever have anything ill to say towards each other because they all have so much respect for each other and they need each other this season to be successful.

After I got done throwing up from reading all of that, I thought a little more about the incident last night and what was really said between Joe and A.J. and whether or not A.J.'s "fucking bullshit" was directed at Joe, and I came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter.  None of it does.  And when I say that, I mean that the reasons and explanations don't matter, not the incident itself.  The incident itself and the fact that A.J. chose to say what he said in that situation, with all the TV cameras watching him, after the performance he had just put on out on the mound, regardless of who he was directing his words to, is what matters.  Because THAT is what's fucking bullshit.

It's fucking bullshit that, assuming all the postgame explanations are true, A.J. would call the ball 4 pitch to Mauer fucking bullshit.  It was the last pitch he threw to the last batter he faced in a game where he managed to get 5 outs against arguably the worst lineup in the American League.  He couldn't locate his fastball to save himself anywhere except right over the heart of the plate, he couldn't put his curveball anywhere except so far in the dirt that Russell Martin couldn't handle it, and he had just walked the yard in that inning.  Why would he expect to get a borderline call from the homeplate umpire given what he had already done?  That is what's fucking bullshit.  The fact that A.J. can bypass his entire shitty start in his own mind and be so upset about one pitch.  One pitch that didn't make or break him in the context of the game.  That's the bullshit part.  Not Joe taking him out, not the ump not making the call.  It's fucking bullshit that A.J. can't be honest with himself and recognize that he's pitching like fucking bullshit.

And it's fucking bullshit that A.J. continues to go out and disappoint.  It's fucking bullshit that Joe and Cash and everybody else continues to try and defend him and then he goes out and pitches worse the next time.  It's fucking bullshit that A.J. doesn't have the command, the confidence, the stones, the wherewithal, or even the luck to go out and pitch up to his stuff and his contract.  It's fucking bullshit that Cash doesn't expect us fans or the media to consider that contract when we evaluate A.J.  It's fucking bullshit that with all the success the team has had this season, and all the good stories there are to talk about (leading the division, Bartolo and Freddy, CC, D-Rob, Curtis, Jeter's resurgence, A-Rod's return, etc.) that we're still sitting here focused on A.J. Burnett and his horrible pitching.  It's fucking bullshit that there's a 6-man rotation in place and will continue to be through next week so Joe has an excuse to keep A.J. in the rotation.

Basically, it's fucking bullshit that I even had to write about any of this.  A.J. is the worst starting pitcher on the team, and it's fucking bullshit that he isn't being treated as such.  The guy has done nothing to earn the confidence and support that his manager has shown him, and nothing to earn another start in this rotation unless somebody gets hurt.  Give me Ivan Nova, give me Freddy Garcia, give me Phil Hughes.  And if that doesn't work, then give me David Phelps, give me D.J. Mitchell, or give me Manny Banuelos.  At least then we know we'll get an honest effort and there will be a legitimate excuse for them not pitching well, and not this constant stream of fucking bullshit we get from A.J. Burnett.

Carsten Gets Back On The Winning Track (Sort Of)

The 7 innings and 9 Ks looked good.  But the 10 hits allowed were a bit of a concern, especially in the 7th, when the roll CC was on last night came to a screeching halt.  He looked a little better through his start last night, but it's clear that his fastball command and slider location still aren't where they were when he was rolling earlier in the summer.

Earth to Joe!  End this 6-man rotation madness so your ace can get his game back.  It's time for the parachute pants to get a little swag going again.

The Horse Coming Back A Little Slow

The plan was for A-Rod to return to the Yankee lineup late this week, possibly tonight, but with the way things are going right now for him in his rehab, now that return could be delayed a bit.

While his timing and swing at the plate has looked pretty good, The Horse admitted that the knee has been in the back of his mind and he hasn't put full torque into his swing.  The same thing applies to his running the bases, where he's been slowly ratcheting up the intensity, but has yet to go full out in running the bases because of the knee.  The biggest point of concern has been in the field, though, where A-Rod has really looked rough, dropping 2 pop ups the other night and having a hard hit ground ball go right between the wickets for a 2-run error last night.

(Oops.  Courtesy of The AP)

None of this should come as a major concern for the Yankees or Yankee fans, though.  The reaction by A-Rod to his knee is normal and the same thing we heard from Bartolo Colon when he came back from the DL.  And the problems in the field are easily attributable to rust and will fix themselves over time.  The Yankees are in a very good position, first in the division and 8 full games up on their nearest WC competition, to let A-Rod take as much time as he needs to get right and it's to their benefit to do so.  They haven't missed a beat without him in the lineup and continue to play winning baseball, last night aside, as we speak.  There is no glaring need for A-Rod to get back in the lineup right now and hopefully Joe is smart enough to recognize that.

It may be later than they planned, but the Yankees don't need A-Rod in August.  They don't need him in September.  They need him in October and they need him at 100% then, so as long as it takes to get him back to 100% and feeling comfortable in all aspects of the game, so be it.

A.J. Finally Got A Win

And yet I still can't be happy about it.  Last night was really no different than any of A.J.'s previous bad starts.  He was solid early in the game, then seemed to lose some of his stuff and command the second time through the lineup, then pretty much completely fell apart the third time through the lineup (complete with the obligatory bad inning) and once again couldn't dig himself out of his own mess.

All in all, A.J. gave up 10 hits, walked a batter (to force in a run), and didn't make it out of the 6th inning.  He wasn't good, again, and yet Joe continues to take a page out of the Brian Cashman "Cover My Ass For A Bad Decision I Made" handbook and play the "I think he's thrown the ball better than some of the outcomes he's had" card.

The fact of the matter is that he hasn't.  The type of numbers he's putting up would be expected and acceptable for Freddy Garcia or Ivan Nova this year.  But not from the guy who was expected to be the #2 starter.  Sooner or later somebody in the Yankee organization just needs to come out and say it; A.J. Burnett has been a disappointment.  Plain and simple.  They fell in love with a guy who pitched well against them in a no-pressure situation in Toronto and they didn't get that same guy when they signed him.

If A.J. pitches one inning in the postseason, that's about 2 innings too many.

AB4AR Summer Vacation Part II

It's time for the annual family vacation to the Jersey Shore, so just to let everybody know, updates and posts to the site will be coming sporadically or maybe not at all over the next week.  When I have time and I have something to write about, I'll sit down and post.  But don't expect anything super lengthy unless I get a lot of rain.  I'll be spending the majority of my time chilling at the beach, owning people in mini golf, and drinking beer.

But there are a few things I will get off my chest now before moving on:

- This 6-man rotation bullshit has to stop.  It's screwing up CC's rhythm and there's no sense in sacrificing your best pitcher's routine and command to appease the other older/not as effective guys.

- The odd man out, pending Hughes' outing tonight, should be A.J. Burnett.  Cash can say whatever he wants, but the numbers don't lie.  A.J. is one of the worst starters in the AL, and isn't getting it done right now.  I don't care what they do with him, but he shouldn't be in the rotation right now.

- As much as I loved how Joe managed the team in '09, that's how much I hate what he's done since then.  The constant bunting, the continued mismanagement of his bullpen, specifically Boone Logan, and the frustrating way that he always seems to either leave a starter out for a batter too long or take him out a batter too soon.  About the only good thing he's done this year is sit Jorge, and even that took too long.

So there you go.  Keep checking the site and maybe I'll have some comments on the games this week, since I now have access to YES being back on the east coast.  Enjoy your week, everybody.  I know I will.

The Horse Is At The Gate

Did you hear that, folks?  The call to the post has been made and The Horse is ready to run again!

Tonight A-Rod will participate in his first "real" baseball activity since going on the DL, starting at DH for High-A Tampa.  The plan is to DH him tonight and then use him in the field for 5-6 innings the next day to hopefully have him ready to re-join the Yankees some time next week.  Obviously what's most important is that he comes through these first few rehab games feeling good and showing no negative side effects of the knee surgery.  Given his injury history the last couple seasons, there's no need to rush him back into things and risk getting him nicked up again before the postseason.

But fuck that logical stuff, A-ROD IS BACK ON THE FIELD, BABY!!!!  This team has been mashing everyone's dick in the dirt with Eduardo Nunez manning third base.  Imagine how dirty they're going to be with A-Rod back at the hot corner and Chavez nailing down the DH spot.

1) Jeter
2) C-Grand
3) Teix
4) Horse
5) Cano
6) Swish
7) Chavez
8) Martin
9) Gardner

Have fun pitching to that lineup, bitches.

Holy Crap!

That was a close one, huh?  I literally sat up in my chair and yelled "FUCK!" at the office when I saw the 3-run homer go on the ESPN Gamecast.  I thought this thing was done like dinner and I fully expected to see it wrapped up after D-Rob took care of the 8th, but as we all know, "you just can't predict baseball, Suzyn!"

A win's a win, though.  Cut 2 more off the postseason magic number.

P.S.- Pretty sure I pooped a little in my pants too.

In Praise Of Ivan Nova

(More like Nova The Awesome)

Last night Ivan Nova didn't have his best stuff.  Certainly not the kind of stuff he had when he dominated the White Sox in his previous start.  But in place of that, he had composure, which he used to navigate his way through 6 innings of 3-run ball, results that don't speak to how well he actually was pitching before losing the strike zone in the 7th.  Nova only got 2 swings and misses on his 59 strikes last night and had no strikeouts at all, but he located the ball just well enough to not let himself get hit hard and induced 14 groundball outs.

It was the kind of outing that could have turned ugly for Nova, and the kind of outing in which we would expect other Yankee pitchers (cough, cough, A.J.) to completely fold.  But Nova showed he's got some hair on the peaches, he's learning how to pitch smarter at this level, and that he's more than capable of being a major contributor to this rotation.  And for a guy who has been the first name chosen to get booted from the rotation a couple times this year, that's reassuring to see.

Nova now has 11 wins on the season, most amongst AL rookies.  He's made 19 starts, thrown 112.1 innings, and his 3.85/4.27/4.11 tripleslash is ahead of all his season projections, as are his K/9 (5.37) and BB/9 (3.28) rates.  There's nothing about Nova's numbers that jumps out initially, but when you look at the big picture and realize that he's outperforming all expectations while passing the eye test of improvement with flying colors, you have to give the guy props.  Ever since he stumbled out of the gate in April, Nova has consistently seen his ERA and FIP go down while his K/9 rises.  He's learning on the job, applying the techniques that are being taught to him, and getting very good results.  And now he might very well be positioning himself for a spot in the postseason rotation, something that probably seemed out of the question on Opening Day.

This season-long improvement has me excited about Nova's future and the potential for him to be a #3-type starter instead of just back-of-the-rotation fodder.

Mo Blew Two Saves. STOP THE PRESSES!!!

Predictably, the "Mo is Done"-o-meter's needle is redlining right now after last night's second consecutive blown save.  I get that Mo is older, I get that it's sad to watch him give up game-winning hits to the likes of Marco Scutaro (I don't count the bunt and bullshit sac fly as meaningful) and Bobby Abreu, and I get that broaching this topic helps sell papers and makes for good radio.  But seriously, it has to fucking stop.

Every time this has happened since about '03 or '04 it's the same sorry conversation regurgitated up by every local Yankee writer and every half-brained Yankee fan: "He's lost his touch," "he's starting to show his age," "I don't know shit about baseball." And every time, Mo bounces right back and becomes the shutdown, inhuman G.O.A.T. that he's always been.  Kevin Kernan of The Post took the Mo hand wringing to new levels today, though, in this piece designed solely to play with the fragile minds of dumb Yankee fans everywhere:

"If Mo goes south, the Yankees have no chance.

Joe Girardi’s club can live with A.J. Burnett being the Mediocre Man just trying to have fun. They can survive for a time without Alex Rodriguez and they can weather Jorge Posada’s struggles that cost him his DH job.

But if Mariano Rivera falters, the Yankees might as well call it a season. They go as Mo goes."

Good God, man.  Get the noose off from around your neck and climb down off that chair.  Kev-O seems to be forgetting about all the games the Yankees win because of their tremendous offensive output.  And all the games they win thanks to stellar starting pitching from CC, Bartolo, and the recent gem that Nova hurled against the White Sox last week.  How many of those decisions does Mo factor into?  Those are the same reasons they survive things like A.J. being terrible, A-Rod being hurt, and Jorge being washed up, and that logic applies to Mo as well.  He has these bumps in the road every year, so it shouldn't come as a surprise or something that's story-worthy anymore.

And even if Mo is starting to lose a little something, so what?  That still puts him at the top of the heap of all closers in baseball, just with a bit of a smaller gap between him and 2nd place.  If he's starting to become mortal, I'll still take my chances with a mortal Mariano Rivera over any other closer in baseball.  Last time I checked, they all blow saves too, and they don't seem to be closing the gap on Mo any on their own.

We all know the "Death, Taxes, and Mo" slogan, but here's the deal.  Every now and then somebody cheats death (just ask Nikki Sixx.)  Every now and then, if you're an idiot like me, you fill out your taxes wrong and end up getting a little more or less back in your return than you thought.  And every now and then, Mariano is going to blow a save or 2.  It's no cause for alarm.  Until you see him consistently sitting 88-89MPH and not being able to hit the corner at all, there's nothing to worry about.

This Picture Perfectly Captures A.J. Burnett As A Pitcher

 (Nice hair, asshat.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

 
Just a dazed, disheveled, confused, sloppy, hot mess of humanity out there, capable of melting down on the mound at any given time with no rhyme or reason why nor any clue how to avoid it from happening.  I don't know if his brain is the blind leading the blind of his mechanics or vice versa, and I don't think anybody does.  But I don't think there is a more perfect visual representation of A.J. Burnett's Yankee career to this point than that photo above.  This should win a Pulitzer or some kind of major photography award.

P.S.- Coincidentally, that's the exact same expression I have on MY face every time A.J. leaves a game (minus the gay hair).

This Pretty Much Sums Up Last Night's Debacle

(Perfect representation of C-Grand's brain fart courtesy of Mike A. & RAB)

Mike from RAB hit the nail so perfectly on the head in his recap of last night's loss to Anaheim that it's not even worth me trying to come up with some of my own:

"Physical mistakes are one thing, but mental mistakes like that bug the crap out of me. It’s just awful. I can’t … I can’t even get my head around the stupidity. I mean, even Eduardo Nunez‘s steal after the leadoff walk was sketchy. Who knows if the Yankees would have won the game had Curtis stayed at first (probably not), but at least give your best homerun hitter a chance to do his thing, don’t take the bat right out of hands. Sheesh. Inexcusable, completely inexcusable.

...

I mean, not for nothing, but Joe Girardi had a shorter leash on Burnett in Chicago with what, a six or seven run lead? But no, let’s try to squeeze a few more hitters out of him with a fully rested bullpen after the intentional walk in a tie game. /facepalm"

Yep, that pretty much tells the story.  Curtis got beat by one of the oldest tricks in the book and Joe botched the call of when to go to the bullpen again.  Mo shitting the bed isn't even a story and shouldn't be.  This happens twice pretty much every year and this is the 2nd time.  But the mental mistakes on the parts of the players and manager are a big deal and incredibly frustrating.

Jorge's Last Hurrah

(Might have to get used to this position.  Courtesy of The Daily News)

I honestly didn't see this coming.  I know I've been tough on the guy a few times before, but I honestly did not see Jorge Posada falling off the cliff the way he has this season.  I actually expected his offense to improve a bit on the last couple years now that he wasn't going to have to deal with the constant injuries that a catcher accumulates over a season, but based on his output this year and Joe's decision over the weekend to bench him in favor of Eric Chavez at DH, I think we can officially say that Jorge is done.

Just looking at Jorge's numbers this year starts to bring the sandwich I just ate back up my throat.  For the season, he currently stands at a .230/.309/.372 tripleslash in 317 PA, good for a .299 wOBA and an 84 wRC+.  Between his terrible hitting, sloppy defense during the few times he has been on the field, and the fact that he runs the bases like a drunk, blind toddler with polio, Jorge has been worth -0.7 WAR this season, by the far the worst of any Yankee hitter with more than 100 PA.  He had a rough April and May, then seemed to get it together after the taking himself out of the lineup incident to post a .382/.419/.588 line in June.  But since then, he has come crashing back to earth in an even bigger way than he did in the early months.  July saw him put up a .534 OPS and .240 wOBA, and so far in August he's just 3-18 with 1 XBH, 1 RBI, and 4 Ks.  If his name wasn't Jorge Posada and he was putting up numbers like that, he wouldn't have made it past the middle of July before getting the invitation to ride the pine, so it's not like the Yankees didn't give him enough of a chance to pull out of a slump.  It was a perfectly justifiable move to demote him and go with the platoon of Chavez and Jones at DH.

And the saddest part is, it's not like Jorge's approach has changed to a point where it's affecting his ability to play at a high level.  His BB rate, while lower than his career average, is still a decent 10.1%, and his K rate of 19.9% is actually DOWN from the last 2 seasons.  But his BABIP of .264 and ISO of .142 are both career lows and he's hitting fewer line drives than ever and more ground balls than he has since '04.  He's still seeing pitches and taking the same swings, there's just no power left in the swings and no life left in the bat.  And since the Yankees have already taken the glove out of his hand this season, that really leaves nothing for him to bring to the table.

So now what will become of Jorge?  He won't be getting much burn, if any, barring injury to Chavez or Jones, and there is the continued prospect of Jesus Montero getting the call up to the Majors in the near future.  And as Mike at RAB pointed out yesterday, the Yankees are in a bit of bind in terms of roster flexibility thanks to their current 6-man rotation and 13 pitchers total being carried on the roster, so the situation that would work to the team's advantage would be to cut Jorge.  But with the way the Yankees treated his earlier tantrum this year, the amount of time they gave him to prove he was worth keeping in the everyday lineup, and the fact that they've completely caved on handling Derek Jeter's aging gracefully, I don't see that happening.  He may not get another at-bat this year, he may not make the postseason roster, but I just don't see the Yankees kicking one of their legends of the recent dynasty to the curb mid-season.

A scenario that could work could be the following.  There's no need to keep 13 pitchers on hand right now, especially when one of them is Hector Noesi, a guy who could be a legitimate option for the back end of the 2012 rotation.  Send Noesi down to the Minors to finish the season getting stretched back out as a starter this weekend and call up Montero.  Then when The Horse returns some time next week, the Yanks could send Cervelli back down to Triple-A, install Montero as the official backup catcher, and still maintain that 25th roster spot for Jorge.

It's not the ideal situation for Jorge, who's obviously a proud player and none too happy about his demotion, nor for the Yankees, who I'm sure would rather have 25 men on the 25-man roster who can actually play and play well.  But all things considered it's probably the best way to get through this month until rosters expand.  It's certainly not the way Jorge envisioned his career ending, and it's not what I saw happening, but it looks like we could be watching the end of an era over the next 2 months.

Kruk & Valentine "Astounded" By Yankees' Success This Year

(Not an intelligent man)

It comes as no surprise that John Kruk and Bobby Valentine are absolute morons, but the doozy they dropped on BBTN last night was all-world in its stupidity.

In a short segment discussing Jorge Posada being left out of the lineup on Sunday night and what it means for him and the team moving forward, they ended the piece rattling off a bunch of Yankee storylines from the season, including the "no #2 starter" one and the fact that Soriano is back pitching the 7th inning instead of the 8th, and concluding that it was "absolutely astounding" that the Yankees were only a game back of Bahhhhhhston this season.

Let's do a quick recap of what the Yankee roster includes, shall we?  This should help temper their amazement.

- A guy who has been one of the top 3-5 best starters in baseball this year in CC Sabathia.

- A Gold Glove-winning, multiple All Star at first base who has 32 HR and 86 RBI this year in Mark Teixeira.

- The best second baseman in baseball, who even in a down year, is still on pace to score and drive in 100 runs and be worth 5 WAR in Robinson Cano.

- The best all-around outfield in baseball in C-Grand (a legit MVP candidate), Brett Gardner (a legit Gold Glove candidate), and Swish (crushing it since June).

- 2 of the 3 best relief pitchers in baseball this year in D-Rob and Mo.

- A shortstop who has hit over .300 and OPS'd over .800 since returning to the lineup in July in Derek Jeter.

- A third baseman who, before he got hurt, was still the best at his position in terms of WAR in A-Rod.

When you take all those facts in, FACTS, it really shouldn't be astounding to anybody that the Yankees are only a game back.  If they could pull their heads out of their asses against the Sawx, they'd be leading the division right now!  Even though there's no clear cut #2, they have a staff of guys who have contributed like solid #3-#4 starters all year and are each capable of going out and pitching like an ace on any given night.  And the bullpen was just fine without Sour Puss Soriano, so getting him back is a luxury, regardless of where he pitches.  Injuries or no injuries, Jorge or no Jorge, the Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball, they have been since Opening Day, and it's really no surprise why with the talent level and production they've gotten from their team.

What's really astounding is how Kruk and Valentine bring home a paycheck for this type of analysis.  Just another case of lazy, unfounded, anti-Yankee commentary from the Worldwide Leader in Fraud Sawx Fans.

A.J. Burnett Is Starting To Really Piss Me Off

I didn't get a chance to comment on this because of my travel day last Thursday, but what the fuck was up with that stinker he dropped on the mound in Chicago on Wednesday night?  Dude was staked to a 12-run lead in less than 3 innings and he ended up not being able to finish enough of the game to qualify for the win.  That's not just bad, that's pathetic!  You could have put the ball on a tee and the White Sox probably could have gotten enough outs to qualify the tee for the victory.

Lost in the shuffle of the Yankees' recent success has been A.J.'s slow slide back to last season's levels of ineffectiveness.  He hasn't won a start since June, he's giving up home runs like it's going out of style, his ERA has gone from 3.93 in April to 4.06 in May to 4.15 in June to 4.83 in July and now 14.54 after his gong show of a start last week in August, totaling up to 4.54 (which ranks 86th out of the 106 ML pitchers who qualify).  His FIP has consistently sat anywhere from the low-to-high 4s range, with a craptastic 5.25 in July, and his current FIP (4.67) has him 94th out of 106.  And to top it all off, his BABIP against is a low .268, which means given some better luck for the hitters facing him all of these numbers could look even worse.

And the craziest part about all of this is, some of A.J.'s other stats suggest that he should be even better than he is this season.  His K/9 (7.76) is up almost a full strikeout higher than last season, and his BB/9 (3.97) is only slightly higher than his 2010 number.  His strand rate is better than 2010, his GB rate is better, his swinging strike % is up, he's given the Yankees 5+ innings each time out up until his last start, and yet his 4.67 FIP is only slightly lower than the 4.83 he put up last season.

It's to the point now where I have absolutely no confidence in A.J. to do anything but go out and pitch like shit each time he takes the hill in some fashion.  He throws 8 innings against Baltimore but gives up all XBH and loses.  He gets staked to a monster lead against the White Sox offense and proceeds to give up 13 hits.  Some days he walks the yard and can't command any of his pitches, some days he doesn't walk a batter and somehow still finds a way to lose!  No matter what happens, there's always a big pothole out there somewhere, waiting for him when he starts, and A.J. always manages to find the pothole, crash right into it, and completely wreck his shit.

If the playoffs were starting tomorrow, I would not have him in the rotation.  I would go CC, Bart, Freddy, and Ivan Nova.  I would do everything in my power to not have A.J. take the mound for any reason other than a garbage time appearance in a game the Yanks were losing.  It makes no sense to me, because for the first couple months he really looked better, but it's obvious that A.J. is what he is at this point, and what he is is a sucky starting pitcher.

P.S.- He's definitely back on the Shit List.

Oh, Eduardo!

What ye giveth ye also taketh away.

 (No high five for the bunt, Nuney.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I'm not going to lie, that shot off of Beckett in the 5th last night was a thing of beauty.  1-0 cutter up in the zone and he absolutely crushed it.  It was a no-doubter practically from the time it left Beckett's hand.  It's exactly that type of swing and result that has made the Yankees believe the Nunez can be a productive everyday player, and since he was inserted into the everyday mix starting with Jeter's injury, he has more than held his own.  The kid is sitting .273/.325/.407 with a K rate under 10%, good for a respectable .330 wOBA.  He's shown the ability to recognize pitches and situations and work counts at the plate, and he obviously has more than enough pop in the stick to get the job done.

But in the field it's a different story, and last night in the 9th was another prime example.  For once, Nunez didn't botch a JV-caliber ground ball play, but his handling of Ellsbury's sac bunt attempt after the Scutaro leadoff double was atrocious.  Both Orel and the immortal Bobby V called it out, and I have to say I agree with them.  He was way too far in to start with and crept in even close when Mo let the pitch go.  It was a horrible bunt, one that was fielded easily by Mo (who is a tremendous athlete and would be a Gold Glove-winning pitcher if he started) but when he whirled towards 3rd to make Ellsbury pay for the bad bunt, Nunez wasn't there to cover the bag.  Instead he was standing right next to Mo.

Knowing the situation, Nunez should have stayed back, looking to cut down the runner at 3rd in the event of the bad bunt that they got, and let Mo handle the groundball.  Everybody in the ballpark knew that was coming, and between Mo and Martin, they could have handled even a good bunt to try to make a play and cut down Scutaro.  That's a situation where Chavez or A-Rod probably do the right thing and cover 3rd.  But Nunez being younger, dumber, and just plain bad in the field, didn't recognize the situation, and helped contribute to the eventual loss by allowing the Sawx to get exactly what they wanted out of a bunt execution that should have ended in Scutaro being out by a mile at 3rd.  And it's those continued types of errors in the field that are going to keep Nunez from ever becoming a stalwart in the everyday Yankee lineup.

AB4AR Summer Vacation

I'll be taking a much needed mini-vacation starting tomorrow.  I'm heading down to Myrtle Beach with 2 friends and will not be bringing my computer with me.  I'm sure I can find access to one easily, but I want this to be a real vacation, so as a result you won't be seeing any new stuff on AB4AR until next Monday.

I know this is devastating news, but don't hang your heads.  During my absence, there's plenty that you, dear readers, can do.  First and foremost on the list should be checking out the official AB4AR Facebook page and "Liking" it, if you haven't already done it.  Feel free to check out AB4AR's Greatest Hits on the homepage, search the archives, whatever.  For the best coverage of the continuing goings on of the Yankees, I would direct everyone to the best in the business, LoHud, RAB, IIATMS, and Larry and the boys at TYA.

Big thanks to everyone for visiting the site, commenting, and hopefully telling their fellow Yankee fans.  It's that stuff that makes doing this solo worth it, so I thank you and I'll promise to be back on Monday morning to fill the tremendous void that my vacation will undoubtedly cause in your lives.

Afternoon Weirdness- The Horse Is A Shark And Swish Can Sing

It's like I've slipped into the Twilight Zone or something in the last 2 hours.

First, a story breaks about MLB investigating A-Rod for participating in illegal underground poker games and possibly leading to a suspension.  I'll be honest, I had no clue that A-Rod even played poker.  I thought he was too busy raking and banging Hollywood has beens.  So this comes as a bit of a surprise to find out that not only does he enjoy getting his Doyle Brunson on, but he plays in high-stakes underground games, has been warned about it before, and now might be facing suspension for it.  Dude, come on.  Just go to AC.

Second, Nick Swisher is releasing an album of cover songs, with kids as his backup singers.  I can't even begin to think of anything to say about this, so I'll just show you the song list and say that I would be interested in hearing Swish take on "Heroes" and "Everyday People."

1. Heroes
2. I Won’t Back Down
3. Where The Green Grass Grows
4. Lean On Me
5. With A Little Help From My Friends
6. Everyday People
7. Proud Mary
8. Take Me Home, Country Roads
9. Joy To The World
10. Hang On Sloopy
11. Jumpin' Jack Flash
12. Believe

Shit's gettin' a little whacky in Yankeeland right now, people.  Take the appropriate action.

The ManBan Promotion Situation Is A Little Weird

(Definitely not a LOOGY.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

On the surface, this move to call Manny Banuelos up to Triple-A actually makes perfect sense.  It's not like Banuelos has been struggling or experiencing growing pains in Double-A this season.  He's got a 3.59 ERA, 4.24 FIP (good but not great), and is still striking out almost a batter an inning.  For a player his age (just turned 20 this year) he's still very much outperforming what he should rightfully be doing as a 20-year-old pitcher.  The only issue he's had this season is an increased walk rate, something not uncommon for 20-year-old pitchers.  It goes against the book on Banuelos, who is praised for his command, but it's not like he's completely lost the ability to throw strikes like Andrew Brackman, it's probably more just needing some fine tuning to his delivery and his approach as he faces better hitters, and that's the kind of thing a pitcher can learn at any level.  So with Nova back with the Yankees for the time being, Brackman presumably being taken out on a boat to be shot soon, and David Phelps still injured, why not send the kid up?

The Yankees just held ManBanout of potential trades for pitching targets that they were interested in acquiring.  They've made a big investment in him, hold him in high regard, and have watched him consistently produce at a high level at every level of the Minors so far.  It's to their benefit to see how Manny's stuff plays at the next level to help them continue to formulate their plan for eventually adding him to the big league rotation, and they can also expose him to better and more experienced coaches and teammates who can help his development and improve his command and approach.  And judging by the results of his start on Tuesday (2 R, 8 K in 5 IP), it looks like his stuff is going to play just fine.  This isn't a panic move to try to rush him into the rotation, and there are no known discussions about ditching the kid's innings limit this year.  Just the next step in the process to becoming the eventual top-tier pitcher that the organization envisions Banuelos being, in almost the same fashion that The Jesus moved up through the system.

But this little blurb from Joel Sherman's Monday piece casts a bit of a shadow on this smart surface move:

"Banuelos will make his Triple-A debut as a starter tomorrow, but the plan will be to bring him along quickly in hopes he usurps Boone Logan as the primary bullpen lefty."

Huh?  Primary bullpen lefty?  That's where the train starts to veer off the tracks.  Teams don't make prospects untouchable in the face of possibly acquiring a top-of-the-line young starter if they're planning on turning that prospect into a LOOGY.  And regardless of how ghastly the left-handed relief options are internally, the Yankees should not be entertaining the thought of converting ManBan to a reliever, even if it is just for the short term.  They've been down this road before with Joba, and everybody knows how that ended.  If the plan is to have Banuelos one day be at the top of the Yankee rotation, then he should be developed and used as a starter and a starter alone.  Tinkering with his approach and pitching style to fit a reliever role could do more harm to his development and innings limit increases than good to the Yankee bullpen.  And Boone Logan or not, with the team in the position they are in right now with regards to the playoff race, there is no need to alter Banuelos' development.

You would think the Yankees would have learned their lesson after the Joba fiasco and the continuing inconsistencies of Phil Hughes, and so far everything they have done in handling ManBan has indicated that they did.  But if there really are serious plans to convert Banuelos into a temporary lefty reliever, then clearly something is still wrong with the organizational attitude when it comes to their young pitching.  Calling Manny up to Triple-A to let him test the waters, learn, continue to develop as a blue-chip starting prospect, and stay on his predetermined innings limit for this year is a good move.  Calling him up to Triple-A to turn him into a lefty version of '07 Joba is a horrible move, and a potentially devastating one to his future.  I certainly hope the latter is just a rumor and not the team's true intentions.

The Rich Getting Closer To Getting Richer

And I have an easy excuse to use Photoshops!

Earlier in the week, it was reported that The Jesus is "expected to join the Yankees' lineup in the very near future."  BOOM!!

And as if that news wasn't good enough, today marks the day that The Horse's rehab begins as he'll travel to Tampa and will start "baseball activities" tomorrow.  I have no clue if those activities involve hitting off a tee, running some light sprints in the outfield, or just working on getting the proper mix of Big League Chew and Skoal in your lip, and I don't care.  POW!!

Trade deadline, schmade deadline.  How many other teams are going to add the greatest player of his generation and one of the best young prospects in the sport this month?  Answer:  none.

Phil Hughes Pitches A Shutout!

Well, a 6-inning shutout anyway.  But that's a pretty damn good result for a guy who was maybe on his way out of the rotation if he bombed tonight.

In all seriousness, Hughes was damn good tonight.  He only needed 65 pitches to navigate through his 6 rain-shortened innings of work and was very effective.  He threw a lot of strikes (48 out of 65), got ahead in the count (15 out of 20 batters faced got 1st-pitch strikes), and he even got 7 swings and misses.  His stuff was better, his command was better, he was better.  For one night, at least, Phil made the Yanks look smart for not making moves at the deadline and holding onto their solid 6-man rotation.

(He's back!  At least for one night.  Fuck it, I just wanted to use this Photoshop again.)

CC Good, Lackey Bad

(T-H-E  M-A-N.  Courtesy of The AP)

Last night was a case of true good pitching versus theoretical good pitching.  For the Yankees, CC was not nearly as dominant as his previous start against the Mariners, despite his final line appearing quite good:

8 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 104 Pitches (78 Strikes)

The 10 hits allowed were a season high, and even though he got 13 swinging strikes it was clear to anybody who watched that CC didn't have his best stuff.  His slider was a bit more floaty than it has been in the past month and he got in trouble a few times with it.  But at the end of the day, he still managed to limit the White Sox to just 2 runs and hold them there after his offense stopped producing.

On the other side, John Lackey turned in yet another outing that has become the norm for him this year:

6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 106 Pitches (74 Strikes)

And he did this while actually looking like he was pitching pretty well (yes, I actually watched a Fraud Sawx game.  It was on ESPN in the background at my apartment while I was packing for vacation).  His stuff actually looked better than it has for most of this year, and early on Lackey was cruising, only to fall apart in the middle innings.  He couldn't locate when he had to, couldn't limit the damage, and didn't put his team in a position to win the game.

And that's the line that separates the real good pitchers from everybody else.  CC came out without his best stuff and best location and still got the job done when his team needed him to.  Lackey came out with what looked like very good stuff and very good command and collapsed.

Putting The Pitching Into Perspective

I've received a few comments regarding my take on the Yankees' deadline tactics over the last few days, basically arguing that the Yankees NEEDED to add a starting pitcher because they had no clear cut #2 option for the playoffs.  I'm sure there are plenty of Yankee fans out there who feel the same way, and probably a bunch more who are peeved that no bullpen arms were added, but I still stand firm in my belief that the Yankee staff is just fine, has been just fine all season, and will continue to be just fine moving forward as long as guys stay healthy.  Check out these numbers: 

Team A- 3.47 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 16.6 WAR, 7.40 K/9
Team B- 3.89 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 12.6 WAR, 7.16 K/9
Team C- 3.74 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 10.8 WAR, 6.96 K/9
Team D- 3.36 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 15.4 WAR, 6.59 K/9
Team E- 3.72 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 9.2 WAR, 6.76 K/9
Team F- 4.23 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 11.3 WAR, 6.83 K/9
Team G- 3.99 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 9.4 WAR, 6.20 K/9

That shows the breakdown of the top 7 teams in the American League (in no particular order) and what their teamwide pitching stats look like for this year.  You can gather from this that the top 3 pitching teams in that list are teams A, B, and D, with A having the best all around numbers.  I'll give you 3 guesses to figure out which team is which.

... Done?  Good.

Yankees- 3.47 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 16.6 WAR, 7.40 K/9
Red Sox- 3.89 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 12.6 WAR, 7.16 K/9
Rangers- 3.74 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 10.8 WAR, 6.96 K/9
Angels- 3.36 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 15.4 WAR, 6.59 K/9
Rays- 3.72 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 9.2 WAR, 6.76 K/9
Tigers- 4.23 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 11.3 WAR, 6.83 K/9
Indians- 3.99 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 9.4 WAR, 6.20 K/9

There you have it, folks.  The numbers don't lie.  The Yankee pitching staff, including the rotation that people swear ABSOLUTELY NEEDED to add a frontline starter, is the best in the American League.  Yes, the rotation has been carried by CC Sabathia (5.6 WAR), but that does not lessen the positive results it has gotten from Colon (2.2 WAR) and Garcia (2.2).  Even though we probably all thought that both of these guys would be long gone by now, thanks to injury or poor performance, they aren't.  They're still in the rotation and they're pitching as well as they have all season.  A.J. and Ivan Nova have combined to contribute over 230 innings of 2.0-WAR ball, and Phil Hughes is slowly making his way back to form.  In the bullpen, D-Rob (1.8 WAR) and Mo (1.6) have carried the load, but the team has gotten positive contributions from Hector Noesi, Luis Ayala, Cory Wade, and even Boone Logan.  Before he went down, Joba was putting up solid numbers and the team was seeing solid results from it.  This staff doesn't allow a lot of runs, they get good contributions from their starters, they limit damage, and they miss bats.

And those numbers you see above have been accumulated with the people the Yankees have had in-house all year.  We've waited and waited for guys to fall off and they haven't, and they haven't experienced any major crippling injuries that have hurt their depth or performance.  They've been steady, they've been consistent, and they've been effective.  You can call it luck, call it overachieving, but it doesn't change the results.  Sooner or later we have to start seeing this as what it is, and that is a damn good job by the pitching staff.

For all the talk about the Angels' dominant pitching, their rotation falls off dramatically after Weaver, Haren, and Ervin Santana, and they don't generate nearly as many Ks as the Yankee staff.  Do you really think that A.J. or Freddy can't go out and beat a Joel Piniero or a Tyler Chatwood in a Game 4 of a playoff series?  The Fraud Sawx are down to Beckett, Lester, a rickety Erik Bedard, and John Lackey in their rotation, with plenty of question marks ahead of Bard and Papelbawn in the 'pen.  I don't know about you, but I'll take my chances against all those guys when the Yankees are countering with their top 4, and I'll take my chances with D-Rob and Mo vs. Bard and Pap.  The Tigers are Verlander and a bunch of #3-#4 guys, the Indians were Justin Masterson and the same until they got Ubaldo.  Are you seeing what I'm getting at here?

The point is, the Yankee pitching is just as good as all the other top teams in the AL on its worst day, and over the course of 105+ games it has proven to be better.  The Yankees didn't have as big a need for Ubaldo or Kuroda or Wandy or Bedard or Harden as their competitors did, and that's why they weren't as willing to up their prospect ante to add any of those guys.  And while their competition is throwing guys like Andrew Miller and Jeanmar Gonzalez out to plug their injury holes, the Yankees have a solid legit Major League option in Ivan Nova, and top prospects like Adam Warren and the recently promoted Manny Banuelos to come in and fill a gap if needed.

So for anybody out there who is still salty about no moves being made, here's a bit of advice.  Get past your feelings and your preconceived notions and check the numbers.  The Yankees, injuries and all, have a solid pitching staff and made the call as an organization to stick with the staff they have moving forward.  And given the results they've already gotten from that staff, it's tough to argue with that decision.  Can something happen to change that?  Of course.  But those same things can happen to everybody else.  And like I said last night, the Yankees have the pitching pieces in place to be covered today, tomorrow, next month, and next year.  How many of these other teams can say that right now?

Dave Robertson Is Good

I mean REALLY good!  Hey, everyone!  Come see how good Dave Robertson is!!

Yesterday was a perfect example of not just the kind of pitcher that Robertson has become, but the kind of respect and confidence he has earned from his manager to come in and shut people down in big spots.  After Noesi put a guy on with 2 outs in the 7th, Joe went right to D-Rob to get out of the potential jam, which he did perfectly.  He then came back out for the 8th and blazed through the 3 best hitters in the Oriole lineup, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Vlad Guerrero, striking out Markakis and Jones swinging and freezing Geurrero.  Robertson threw 19 pitches to record 4 outs, 12 of them strikes, 4 of those strikes swinging.  As the fireman yesterday, he didn't just man the hoses and put out the blaze, he also saved a woman and young child from the burning building and their pet dog.

Not like they already weren't going into yesterday's game, but after it D-Rob's numbers are just absurd now.  He's pitched 42.1 innings in 45 appearances this year, and in those innings he has put up a 1.49 ERA (tied for 7th amongst all relievers, 3rd amongst AL), 1.63 FIP (3rd MLB, 1st AL), 14.46 K/9 (2nd MLB, 1st AL), and 1.8 WAR (tied 2nd MLB, 1st AL).  He still walks his fair share of guys, but his stuff is so good and his ability to bear down and make pitches when he has to is so good that his tendency to be a bit wild at times actually seems to work to his advantage.  D-Rob has been nothing but lights out since Opening Day, to the point that I've just kind of taken it for granted and not given him his due, hence this post.  Soriano or no Soriano, D-Rob has earned his spot as Mo's setup man.  I think the fact that Soriano got used in garbage time on Saturday night and D-Rob was used in money time yesterday shows where Joe is leaning on the roles for these guys, and for once he's making the right decision when it comes to the 'pen.  Now hit the music!