Report: Yanks Among 5 "Finalists" Interested In Cuban OF Daniel Carbonell

We know the Yankees are planning a massive international spending spree when the signing period opens on July 2nd.  According to new reports, they may be able to add a big name international player before then without having him count against the international spending cap.

Via Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees are among 5 MLB teams who are currently considered "finalists" to sign Carbonell.  The only other team named is the Mariners.  For those who don't know, Carbonell is a 23-year-old switch-hitting outfielder who recently defected from Cuba.  In his last pro season there, he hit .278/.388/.405 in 127 PA.  His ceiling as a Major Leaguer is unknown, but from what I've read I don't think he profiles as a big time power hitter like Yoenis Cespedes or Jose Abreu or as quite the all-around hitter that Yasiel Puig has quickly become.

Still, an injection of Major League-ready talent or something close to that would be helpful to the team.  The crop of high-level outfield prospects hasn't done much this season and a more experienced hitter that's Carbonell's age is much more useful to the Yanks than a bunch of 16 and 17-year-olds.  If they have enough good scouting information on him and are truly as interested as Rosenthal is reporting, I'd be all for signing him.

CC To Be Reevaluated Today, Will Miss More Than 15 Days

This was the most likely outcome given last Thursday's diagnosis of "degenerative changes" in CC Sabathia's twice-surgically repaired right knee, but Joe made it official after yesterday's games that CC is going to be out longer than the minimum 15 days.  He will be examined again by the team doctor today in an attempt to come up with a rehab plan, but for now there is nothing planned until Dr. Ahmad gets another look at the knee.

Sabathia has been on crutches since the knee inflammation was first diagnosed and I imagine there's a chance that today's examination determines he needs to stay on them for a while longer.  Joe's statement to the media yesterday conveyed how unsure the team is about his condition and how serious a problem it could become:

"Is it a 15-day DL?  It’s going to be more than that, I can tell you that. When we’ll get him back, I don’t think any of us really know, because this is not something that’s done very often."

For now, I guess we just wait and see what comes out of today's reevaluation.  An official announcement from the team should come later today or sometime before tomorrow's game.  I'm not expecting it to be a positive one.

Game 43 Wrap-Up: PIT 5 NYY 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The win earlier today gave the Yankees a nice little 4-game winning streak.  They could have kept that going and earned a series sweep in the process with another victory in the second, but that task wasn't going to come easy with Vidal Nuno starting, a very shorthanded bullpen supporting him, and a weak, shallow lineup.  All of those things combined to be too much to overcome and the Pirates escaped New York with a Sunday split.

Game Notes:

- A literal calamity of errors led to all the runs in the 2nd.  A pair by Brian Roberts and Yangervis Solarte cost Nuno a run in the top half, and a brutal fielding error by Travis Snider practically gave the Yanks 2 in the bottom half.

- It was relatively smooth sailing for Nuno after that.  He retired the next 9 hitters in a row through 5 innings, with 8 of the 9 outs coming by either groundout or strikeout.  The one other out came on a nice relay play to nail Josh Harrison trying to stretch a double before the go-ahead run could score.

- Nuno looked to be cruising through the 6th and then he made his 1 big mistake.  He hung an 0-1 slider to Starling Marte and Marte hit it for a go-ahead 2-run home run.  It was his 2nd HR of the day and it gave Pittsburgh the lead.

- The undermanned lineup was held in check after the 2nd by Cole, but the slumping and error-prone Yangervis Solarte got to him for a game-tying home run in the bottom of the 6th.  The guy's finding his power.

- Joe had the JV 'pen for this game and it didn't take long for that to bite him.  Alfredo Aceves gave up a 2-out home run to Harrison on a meatball fastball to make it 4-3 Pittsburgh and bring himself 1 day closer to a DFA.

- The Yanks couldn't mount another comeback.  They left runners on second and third in the 7th, had a potentially run-scoring hit robbed by a good defensive play in the 8th, and went down 1-2-3 in the 9th to split the day.

Game 42 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 PIT 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Busy Sunday for the Yankees today, much busier than any of us are probably having.  They'll be playing 2 and the first took place earlier this afternoon.  It featured Hiroki Kuroda, who needs to be much better now that CC is out, against Charlie Morton as the Yanks and Pirates kicked off today's doubleheader.  Neither starting pitcher was great, but Kuroda was a slight bit better when he needed to be to keep his team in front for the W.

Game Notes:

- On Saturday, it was all power for the Yankee lineup.  This afternoon it was patience and stringing hits together.  They scored 3 in the 1st on a walk, a HBP, and 3 singles, and another in the 2nd on a single, stolen base, and an RBI double by Brett Gardner for a 4-0 lead.

- The overall results were good for Hirok early (1 ER in 4 innings), but the methods to get there were a little uneven.  He gave up a solo HR to Neil Walker in the 1st and had to escape a bases loaded situation in the 4th.

- Kuroda's fortune started to change in the 5th when he gave up his second homer of the day to Tony Sanchez to start the inning.  2 more hits led to 1 more run and the lead shrunk to 4-3.  Couldn't keep his sinker down in the zone.

- The Yankee bats went quiet after the 2nd, I mean dead silent.  They didn't put a runner on second in the final 6 innings and the only hit they had was Zoilo Almonte's 4th inning single.  That's not good enough.

- It didn't have to be this time.  Joe stuck to his plan of not overworking Kuroda and pulled him after 6 innings and 93 pitches.  The bullpen combination of Matt Daley, Adam Warren, and David Robertson made the 1-run lead hold up.

Sunday Doubleheader News And Notes

The first game of today's doubleheader doesn't start for another few hours, but it's already been a busy day on the Yankee news circuit.  Here are the early headlines from this morning:

- Hiroki Kuroda will start the first game and Vidal Nuno the second today.  I'm sure it was Hirok's call on when he wanted to pitch.

- Jose Ramirez has been called up as the 26th man for today's game.  I know he has the advantage of being on the 40-man roster, but the fact that he was called up after only being active for a week or so shows how highly the Yanks think of him.

- He may see action today too because Joe has ruled Dellin Betances not available after pitching 2 innings yesterday.  He's been leaning on Betances and Warren a lot lately.

- Via Dan Barbarisi, Carlos Beltran has already received a second cortisone shot in his injured elbow and he's scheduled to visit Dr. Andrews for a second opinion on it on Tuesday.  Neither of those are good signs.

- Game 1 Lineup: 1) Gardner- DH, 2) Jeter- SS, 3) Ellsbury- CF, 4) Teix- 1B, 5) McCann- C, 6) Soriano- RF, 7) Solarte- 2B, 8) Johnson- 3B, 9) Zoilo- LF.

Game 41 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 PIT 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Mother Nature delayed the start of this Yanks-Pirates series on Friday night, so David Phelps and Edinson Volquez got their chance to open it with a win for their respective club this afternoon.  Neither pitched all that poorly, but Phelps was able to limit and prevent damage while Volquez fell victim to the Yankee Stadium short porch in right.  The rest of his pitching teammates did too on a day of home run mollwhopping for the Bronx Bombers.

Game Notes:

- The Yankee power display got off to a quick start in the bottom of the 1st.  Derek Jeter singled and the red hot Mark Teixeira stepped in.  After taking a sinker for strike 1, he smacked a hanging 1-2 sinker for a 2-run home run and an early Yankee lead.

- Zoilo Almonte joined the party in the 3rd with a solo shot of his own to lead off the inning.  The left side is his stronger side and he's going to get a chance to hit from it more often with Beltran out.

- In typical Phelps fashion, there were a lot of runners put on base.  He walked a batter in each of the first 3 innings and gave up 3 hits in the 4th.  But thanks to a few big strikeouts in the 2nd and a nice play at the plate in the 4th, he kept Pittsburgh off the board.

- The Yankee home run barrage kept rolling into the late innings.  Brett Gardner hit one to lead off the 6th, Alfonso Soriano hit one to lead off the 7th, and Brian McCann put the game out of reach with a 2-run shot in the 8th.

- Phelps needed 100 pitches to get through 5 innings so his day didn't last long.  Dellin Betances worked 2 innings and gave up the lone Pirate run on a Starling Marte bomb job, but that was the only run charged to the Yankee 'pen.  Just a long ball kind of day.

Pineda To Throw A Bullpen Session Tomorrow

Pineda will throw a 25 pitch bullpen session tomorrow
— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) May 17, 2014

Joe gave updates on a few of his injured pitchers earlier today, and this was the most positive of the news.  Michael Pineda, on the DL since 5/6, is slated to throw his first bullpen session since being hurt tomorrow.  He's thrown a few side sessions in the last week and graduating back a mound is the next important step in getting back to full strength.

Pineda is eligible to be activated on Wednesday, but that's definitely not going to happen.  The Yankees have said from the minute he got hurt that they were going to take it slow with him and Joe announced last week that his timetable was going to be longer than the initial 3-4 week estimate.  I'm betting on at least 2 bullpen sessions over the next week and at least 3 MiL rehab starts after that before he returns.  Call it mid-June if there are no setbacks.

Report: Hal "Willing" To Spend At The Trade Deadline

I don't think there's anything he could have said differently given the team's current physical status, but in speaking to reporters on Thursday, Hal Steinbrenner indicated a willingness on his part to add payroll at the trade deadline to improve the team:

“[We’re] always willing to look at options come July ... Some years we've done stuff, like last year with Soriano. Some years we haven’t. But we’re not going to ever lay down and die. We’re going to do what we need to do to stay in.”

Hal got a little tight with the wallet after the team locked up Masahiro Tanaka and landed McCann, Ellsbury, and Beltran earlier in the offseason.  The holes left on the roster as a result have shown through over the first 40 games.  The infield is weak defensively and incredibly weak on both sides of the ball up the middle and there have been some whispers about Stephen Drew again this week.  The rotation is in tatters with 60% of it on the DL and the internal replacements not doing much to ease those losses.  Every team out there knows the Yankees need pitching, so the cost is going to be steep whether they start to look for some now or closer to the deadline.  How much the Yanks are willing to part with prospect-wise will determine how much help they can go out and get.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/16/14

I've kept pretty quiet on the Rangers since the NHL playoffs started, mainly because I admittedly didn't have a whole lot of faith in them heading in and would not have been surprised if they lost to Philly in the opening round.  They didn't do that and they didn't crumble and fall after going down 3-1 to Pittsburgh, and now they find themselves 4 wins away from the Cup finals.  Having watched them more regularly in the postseason than I did in the regular, I'm much happier with the Canadiens matchup instead of the Bruins.  Montreal plays a similar style and I think the Rangers are a tick more talented, which should give them the on-ice advantage.  Nash and Stepan are due to wake up offensively to help the Brassard-Zuke-Pouliot line and that needs to happen this series.  Official AB4AR prediction: Rangers in 6.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits looked at how Brian McCann has battled hitting against the shift to gauge the level of concern we should have about McCann's sad offensive numbers.

- On Tuesday, Matt Bove of IIATMS/TYA asked if the Yankees have become too old again thanks to the combination of roster construction and recent injuries.

Mike Axisa of RAB discussed the decrease in usage of David Robertson as a result of his change in role and hinted at the potential for future bullpen problems if Joe continues to limit D-Rob.

- On Wednesday, Chad Jennings of LoHud got Joe's thoughts on the team's 4-game losing streak and recent injury problems, before they headed to Citi Field and halted the skid.

- On Thursday, Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily ran through his list of who's been hot in the Minors over the first 6 weeks.

- SG of RLYW examined the statistical legitimacy to Yangervis Solarte's production through the a comparison to his projected wOBA variances.

- On Friday, el duque of It Is High... uncharacteristically searched for some glimmers of hope in the current injury-plagued mess that is the Yankee roster.

- Andrew Mearns of Pinstripe Alley compiled the position-by-position list of worst draft picks in Yankee history.

- Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes pointed out some troubling parallels between last season and this season.

Going with a little Maiden for this Friday's jam because why not?



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Tonight's Game Postponed, Will Be Made Up In A Doubleheader On Sunday (UPDATED)

Tonight's Yankees vs. Pirates game is postponed. It will be made up as the second game of a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday (5/18).
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) May 16, 2014

This seems like it's happening way too much.  Once again Mother Nature is being non-cooperative and so the Yankees have decide to postpone tonight's game.  It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday.

No word yet on what either team will do with their rotation.  The Yanks had David Phelps set for tonight and Hiroki Kuroda tomorrow.  I would think there'd be no problem in pushing each guy back a day considering Phelps isn't completely stretched out as a starter and Kuroda is old, but we'll see.  I'm sure the extra day of rest will come in handy for guys like Jeter and Teix.

** UPDATE 5:38 PM- Team has confirmed that Phelps will pitch tomorrow and Kuroda on Sunday.  No word yet on who from he and Nuno will pitch the first game. **

Dellin Betances Says Hello

(Courtesy of Texas Leaguers)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Get a gander at that right there.  That's Dellin Betances' pitch location plot from last night.  In case you missed it and somehow started reading this post before any kind of game recap, Betances was brought in with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 5th inning.  He got a groundball out to finish that inning and then proceeded to strike out the next 6 batters he faced in order to get through the 7th.  It was downright murderous.

Game 40 Wrap-Up: NYY 1 NYM 0

(Safe.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

After Rafael Montero made his Major League debut on Wednesday night, the Yankees decided they wanted to join that fun.  The Mets weren't done with it either.  Last night's Subway Series finale featured a pair of starting pitchers making their first MLB appearances, Jacob deGrom for the Mets and Chase Whitley for the Yankees.  Recently converted from a reliever to a starter in Triple-A, Whitley was forced into action by CC's knee injury and had a grand opportunity in front of himself to earn a permanent role.

Game Notes:

- The offense could never quite get its footing early on.  A Jacoby Ellsbury double was wasted in the top of the 1st, a Yangervis Solarte GIDP spoiled a leadoff single in the 2nd, and Derek Jeter lined into another inning-ending DP with 2 on in the 3rd.

- He had to work around runners on the corners with 1 out in the 3rd, but it was a pretty clean start for Whitley.  He didn't give up a run or a walk through 4 and he even tried to help his own cause with a hit.

- Whitley walked 2 with 1 out in the 5th and Joe must have seen something he didn't like in it because he went to his bullpen after a sac bunt.  Dellin Betances got the call and he delivered with 4 consecutive outs, the last 3 on strikeout of the 6th inning.

- While Whitley was leaving early, deGrom was settling down, going deeper, and manhandling the Yankee lineup.  He struck out 6 in 6 scoreless inning and didn't give up another hit after the 3rd.

- When he finally did give one up, it was a big one.  With 2 outs in the 7th, Alfonso Soriano lined a double to deep center and Brian McCann came all the way around from first to score and put the Yanks on the board.

- It was all they would get and the 'pen made it stand up.  Betances K'd the side again in the 7th, Adam Warren got 2 outs in the 8th, and Joe used D-Rob for the perfect 4-out save.

Yankees Place Carlos Beltran On The 15-Day DL

Yankees make it official: Carlos Beltran to the DL, Chase Whitley added to active roster.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) May 15, 2014

Well that sucks.  Despite saying today that he's "getting better", the Yankees have elected to put Carlos Beltran on the 15-day disabled list with a bone spur in his right elbow.  The plan is to use the DL stint to rest his elbow, see how it responds to that and the cortisone shot he received, and then make a decision on whether to proceed with surgery or not.  Expected recovery time from surgery would be 6-8 weeks.

I'm not one for delaying surgery when it seems like the eventual endgame, but I agree with what the Yanks are doing here.  I don't think they would have wasted time with the cortisone shot if the spur was obviously bad enough to need surgery.  If Beltran feels like he can play after a few weeks off and it looks better to the doctors, I guess it's worth a shot.

Chase Whitley takes Beltran's spot on the active roster.  Bruce Billings was DFA'd to clear a 40-man spot.

"Degenerative Changes" In CC's Knee? That Doesn't Sound Good

Cashman: CC has degenerative changes in knee... Will have cortisone shot with stem cells tomorrow ... No timetable yet #Yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) May 14, 2014

The small bit of good news that came from Dr. James Andrews confirming the initial diagnosis on CC Sabathia's knee of inflammation and fluid was dealt a blow later in the day yesterday when Cash elaborated on the situation to the media.  As I've said before, I'm not a doctor and have never worked a day in the medical field, but the phrase "degenerative changes" being used in relation to the twice surgically-repaired plant knee of a mid-30s MLB pitcher who's spent the entirety of his career pitching at or around 300 pounds cannot be a good thing.  At all.

Sabathia was set to get a cortisone/stem cell injection in his right knee today, and at some point in the next few days he'll have it drained, but this new description of the knee's condition does not give me a warm and fuzzy.  As of right now, I'm counting on him missing more than the minimum 15 days and most likely spending another 15-day stint on the DL for this knee later in the season.

P.S.- 2017 now seems like a reeeeeeally long way away, doesn't it?

A/Another Chance For A Couple Of Fringe Guys

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

If there's a silver lining to be had in this recent bout of injury problems, one might say it's the opportunity for the Yankees to call up more of their young players and get a look at what they might have in them.  Nothing makes the "play the kids" decision easier than a lack of healthy bodies, and the Yankees are short more than a couple at the moment.  To deal with that, they've called up outfielder Zoilo Almonte and right-hander Chase Whitley from Triple-A SWB, 2 older, fringe prospects who've spent plenty of time at the highest levels of the farm system.  We're definitely going to see one of them in action tonight and we may not see the other one at all, but each has a chance to carve out a role for himself and possibly earn a more long-term roster spot.

Too Much Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka threw 114 pitches last night, 76 for strikes.  He mostly threw 4-seamers and splitters (57.9%), but mixed in plenty of sliders and sinkers as well.  By now, you know how well he managed throwing those 114 pitches, but look at the location of his offspeed stuff and understand why he was able to be so dominant last night:

That's the splitter plot, sweet MS Paint circle added by me for effect.  Of the 29 splits Tanaka threw last night, only those 3 in the middle of the zone were really good pitches to hit.  Over half of them weren't even in the strike zone and yet Tanaka got 15 swings and 6 whiffs.  That's nasty.

Game 39 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 NYM 0

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like Masahiro Tanaka has had to make a lot of important starts lately, as important as early regular season starts can be, that is.  He had another one on his hands last night as the Yankees headed over to Flushing for the first of 2 "road" games against the Mets as losers of 4 straight and falling apart at the seams thanks to a big rash of injuries.  The Yanks needed a big time effort from him to help get things going in the right direction again, and boy did he deliver.

Game Notes:

- The Mets got a single against Tanaka with 1 out in the bottom of the 1st.  It was the last baserunner they'd have until the 5th.  Tanaka was really dealing right from the start and the Met hitters had no answer.

- The Yankees slowly started to build their lead in the 2nd, mainly thanks to a terrible decision by Eric Young Jr. to dive for a ball that he missed and turned into a Brian Roberts RBI triple.

- Yangervis Solarte (best hitter on the team) made it 2-0 off Rafael Montero by punishing a 3-1 fastball, the fifth straight he'd seen in the at-bat, for a solo home run in the 4th.  Mark Teixeira led off the 6th with a solo shot of his own to make it 3-0.

- Tanaka only needed the 1.  A single in the 5th was eliminated by a caught stealing, he stranded a double in the 6th, and just for fun he struck out the side in the 7th on 3 different pitches to each batter.

- The last run came as a result of Brett Gardner's speed on the basepaths.  He singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Derek Jeter IF single.

- Tanaka finished what he started with a scoreless 9th, ending his first career Major League complete game in style.  He even got his first career hit in the previous half-inning.  Splendid.

Yankees' Run Differential Starting To Tell A More Accurate Story

As we approach the quarter pole of the regular season, the Yankees have fallen back to .500 and the middle of the pack in the AL East.  They've lost 4 in a row and 9 of 13, leaving them with a 19-19 record and a -18 run differential that is 3rd worst in the AL behind the Astros and the Rangers.  A few weeks ago, when they were playing better baseball and winning, the negative run differential was downplayed because of the small sample size of games.  Now that the sample has grown, a split of those 38 games shows a disturbing trend:

First 19 Games: 11-8 Record, 75 Runs Scored/84 Runs Allowed (-9 differential)

Last 19 Games: 8-11 Record, 94 Runs Scored/103 Runs Allowed (-9 differential)

Based on that split, the Yankees have basically played the same brand of baseball since Opening Day.  They've scored more runs and given up more runs over the last 19 games, but it's basically been below-average baseball and that's reflected in the matching run differentials.  They outplayed their run differential in the first 19 games and won a few games more than they should have and they weren't able to do that over the last 19 games, which is why they are where they are with a .500 record.

If luck wasn't on their side in the first 19, we'd probably be looking at a 17-21 team that's perfectly in line with its Pythagorean-expected record.  Considering all the injuries that have happened in the last 19, that doesn't exactly bode well for the future.

So You Remember What I Said About Al Aceves Last Week?

You know, about how he could actually help the team?

"Aceves is not old at 31, he's fully healthy, he's made changes to his pitching approach, and he's got experience pitching and pitching well in Yankee Stadium. Maybe he's got another year of '09 magic left in that arm. If so, the Yanks may have just solved their biggest bullpen problem."

Yeah, forget about that.  3 appearances since that 5/4 outing and here's his line in those 3 appearances: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 HR, 5 K.  Aceves has sucked big time and he probably pitched himself out of a roster spot last night.  The Yankees are calling up Chase Whitley to make the final start of this series on Thursday and they'll need to make a 40-man roster move.  DFA'ing Aceves would be a simple and smart move to make.

Sorry if I got anybody's hopes up with that post last week.  That one's on me, guys.  Do you want me to say I fucked up?  I fucked up.  Write it.

Game 38 Wrap-Up: NYM 12 NYY 7

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

There wasn't much to be excited about last night in Yankeeland.  The team was playing like shit, its players were dropping left and right to the bench and disabled list with injuries, the outlook wasn't good for some of the unknowns, and there was no end to the downslide in sight.  They were sending Vidal Nuno, one of the many replacement starters in the rotation right now, to the mound against the Mets, who came in with all the confidence in the world after their double comeback victory on Monday night.  It wasn't pretty, and the scene in Yankeeland got a little dimmer.

Game Notes:

- Nuno had nothing from the get go.  He hit the first batter of the game with his second pitch and gave up a 3-run HR to Curtis Granderson in a 4-run 1st inning, needing 37 pitches to survive it.

- His teammates got him back into it in the bottom half with a 2-out RBI single by Mark Teixeira and follow-up 2-run homer by Brian McCann.  It looked like it was going to be a back-and-forth affair.

- Then Nuno stayed in the game.  He gave up a run in the 3rd and 2 more in the 4th and it was curtains for him after 3.1.  Alfredo Aceves relieved him and didn't do much better, giving up 4 runs in 1.2 innings and ballooning the deficit to 11-4.

- The Yanks tacked on runs in the 5th (Soriano ribbie single), 8th, (Solarte solo HR), and 9th (McCann ribbie single), but they never made a serious comeback attempt.  It was all meaningless.

- Joe got himself tossed early for arguing balls and strikes.  He didn't miss much.  Preston Claiborne allowed his obligatory run in a mop-up 9th.

Tuesday Evening Injury News Roundup

Another day, another batch of injury updates.  This blows.

- Ichiro Suzuki will most likely not be available tonight.  Hasn't quite recovered from his tumble in Milwaukee.

- Mark Teixeira is back in the lineup tonight with his tired legs.  This is the only good news.

- The MRI on Carlos Beltran's hyperextended right elbow revealed a bone spur.  He took a cortisone shot and is going to wait a few days to see if that helps.  If it doesn't, surgery to remove the spur is the next option.

- Shawn Kelley's back still isn't better and he was placed on the disabled list with a "strained lumbar spine" retroactive to last week.  Sounds fun.  Zoilo Almonte was called up to replace him on the active roster.

Yangervis Solarte Should Probably Be Batting Second

(Courtesy of the AP)

If you had Yangervis Solarte as your pick for the player who would be leading all qualified Yankees in batting average, OPS, wOBA, and RBI on May 13th, then congratulations.  You're a smarter person than I.  Even after cooling off from his smoking hot initial start, Solarte has maintained a level of consistent aboave-average production over the last month that nobody else on the team can match.  He's got a hit in each of the last 7 games (multiple hits in 4 of those 7), 11 of the last 13, and he's either scored or driven in a run in 6 of the last 7.

This latest stretch of good hitting has come at a time when the Yankees aren't getting much from the middle of their lineup, and in that respect Solarte has been a quiet lifesaver.  In looking at his overall performance and the spot from which he's producing, however, the question needs to be asked as to whether it's time to move Solarte up in the batting order.  His strongly balanced .330/.405/.473 slash line and the way he's gone about achieving it could probably be put to best use in the 2-spot.

Matt Thornton: Ineffective Or Unlucky?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

There have been plenty of problems in the Yankee bullpen in the first 6 weeks.  One that isn't getting a lot of attention is the performance of Matt Thornton.  Brought in as the lone free agent reliever to replace Boone Logan, Thornton didn't inspire confidence that he had a lot left with his ST effort (7 H, 3 ER, 2 K in 4.0 IP), and so far in the regular season he's been pretty meh.  In 6.2 innings pitched spread over 16 appearances, Thornton owns a 5.40/3.85/5.02 tripleslash with only 5 strikeouts and 3 walks.  He's been perfectly mediocre despite mostly being used correctly in short outings by Joe, but has it really been all his fault?

D-Rob: The Best Reliever Who Never Pitches

David Robertson was activated from the DL on April 22nd.  He pitched in his first game since going on the DL on April 24th, the first of 3 games he pitched in 4 days before the off-day on April 28th.

Since then, D-Rob has appeared in 3 games.  3 games in the last 15 days.  Prior to his appearance against the Brewers on Friday, he pitched only once in a week.  Joe had chances to use him when it made sense in the 9th inning on Sunday and in the 8th inning last night and he chose not to do so.  He explained last night's decision by saying he was planning on using D-Rob for 4 outs if Matt Thornton had been able to retire Lucas Duda.

I get not wanting to overuse a guy when he's coming back from a leg injury and I certainly don't want Joe to burn D-Rob out in May, but to use D-Rob as little as he's been used since he was activated is crazy.  If he's available to get 4 outs, he should be available to get 5 and he should have been in the game after Thornton couldn't retire the righty last night.  Giving up runs and losing games late because you don't use your best relief pitcher is unacceptable, especially when he's as well rested as D-Rob is.

Game 37 Wrap-Up: NYM 9 NYY 7

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Where do you even start with this one?  Blown leads early, blown leads late, more guys hurt.  The list of Yankee problems is growing exponentially and a Subway Series-opening loss to the Mets at home last night added fuel to the dumpster fire.

Game Notes:

- The first blown lead came after Brett Gardner tagged a grand slam in the bottom of the 2nd to give the Yanks a 4-1 lead.  People had been calling for him to be more aggressive earlier in the count and he did that here, smoking a first-pitch fastball down the middle.

- Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda made the lead hold up through 4, but he wasn't as sharp as he was his last time out and gave up some hard contact.  A Travis D'Arnaud home run in the 5th was the hardest.

- That is until Curtis Granderson came up with 1 on and nobody out in the top of the 6th.  C-Grand has seen enough of Hirok to know when he's got something good to hit, and he made Kuroda pay for leaving a 3-0 sinker up by hitting it out and tying the game at 4.

- As they've done a lot lately, the offense responded quickly.  A double by Alfonso Soriano, RBI single by Yangervis Solarte, RBI triple by Kelly Johnson, and a throwing error on a steal attempt added up to 3 runs in the bottom half of the 6th.

- Then the second giveaway came.  Joe was short in the 'pen again and nobody he went to could get the job done.  Aceves gave up a HR in the 7th, Thornton a few more hits and runs in the 8th, and Claiborne the deciding runs on a Chis Young 2-run blast, the Mets' 4th homer of the night.