Mariano sees your "disgraceful" and "embarrassing," Joe West. And he raises you "swinging at balls" and "respect and love." From today's Post:
"It's incredible. If he has places to go, let him do something else. What does he want us to do, swing at balls?" "He has a job to do. He should do his job," Rivera said. "We don't want to play four-hour games, but that's what it takes. We respect and love the fans and do what we have to do, and that's play our game."
POW!! Take that, West! You and your 3 chins. Do you have any places to go right now? Anything else to do? If so, you should go do them because The Sandman just shit all over your world. From his lips to God's ears, baby. I love it! It's only April 9 and Mo is throwing gas on the mound and in the papers.
Umpire Joe West blasted the Yankees and Red Sox just before Wednesday's game, accusing the two clubs of being "pathetic and embarrassing" in dragging the pace of games and refusing to work with umpires.
"They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace," said West, chief of the umpiring crew that worked the three-game series in Boston. He was the home plate umpire Sunday. "They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest?"
"It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play."
Jeez! Who pissed in Joe West's coffee? So Yankee-Red Sox games take a long time; BFD. Tell me something I don't know. And then shut the fuck up, put your mask back on, and get behind the plate and call a decent game. And you might want to refrain from referring to the 2 most popular franchises in Major League Baseball as "disgraces" while you're at it.
Newsflash, Joe. There isn't a big public outcry from the fans to get Yankee-Red Sox games done in under 2:30. Everybody acknowledges that they take a long time, but it ain't like people have stopped showing up at Yankee Stadium and Fenway and it ain't like ESPN and FOX have stopped falling all over each other to get as many of these matchups on TV as possible.
And that's because they ARE 2 of the best, if not the best, teams in baseball and their games are almost always exciting. People WANT to watch the Yankees and Red Sox play. It's a guaranteed sell-out and must see TV whether it's in April, June, or October. It's the premiere rivalry in baseball and all of American sports and each team wants to win every time out. That’s why the games take so long. Because each team is constantly trying to make decisions and plays that will help them win the game. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think 2 teams doing everything they can do to win a game is pathetic or embarrassing. It's what professional sports are all about. When people stop watching Yanks-Sox and you and your umpires finally call a perfect game, then come back and talk to me about the time being embarrassing or disgraceful.
No one comes to the park to see you, Joe. And nobody cares that you think the games are taking too long. Just shut up, do your job, and go make another crappy country album. And next time you're behind the plate at a Yanks-Sox game, try not to squeeze the strike zone on CC. Fucking game wouldn't take 3 1/2 hours if you'd give the guy the outside corner once in a while.
- Another textbook Andy Pettitte start last night. He got himself into and out of trouble with the same regularity you expect after watching him for the last couple years. He used his vast repertoire of pitches at any and all times to shut Boston down after opening the door for them. Perhaps more so than any other Yankee pitcher, you almost never worry when he starts putting guys on base because he always seems to bear down and make pitches to get the next guy out (see: David Ortiz strikeout in the 5th). When A.J. Burnett puts 10 guys on base in 6 innings, I get worried. When Andy does it, I don't even think twice about it.
- I thought it in my head as soon as it happened and I'll say it now: Pettitte hitting Youkilis in the head last night was AWESOME! I don't care if he meant to do it or not, it was sweet. And anybody that didn't see Jeter getting plunked coming or thought it wasn't intentional is an idiot. I had the game on ESPN2 and was forced to listen to Rick Sutcliffe and Nomar go on and on about how it wasn't intentional and there shouldn't have been any warnings. I guess they failed to notice Victor Martinez say something to Pettitte and Pettitte turn around to respond after he walked off the mound in the 5th. Martinez was letting him know that one of the Yanks was going to get it in the following inning, and when Jeter is one of the 3 guys scheduled to bat, it's almost a guarantee that he's getting hit, especially against the Red Sox.
It's part of baseball and everything was clearly even and over after Jeet got hit, but don’t try to say it wasn't intentional.
- It was also just another day at the office for Mo last night. 3 up, 3 down; exit light, enter night, start spreading the news. For a team that supposedly had Mo figured out a few years ago, the Red Sox certainly haven't done much against him lately.
- After last night, you could start thinking about saying the opposite about Jonathan Papelbon. The guy has owned the Yankees historically, but completely fell apart in the 10th last night, giving up the homer to C-Grand and then walking 2 batters to force Francona to lift him from the game. When you're getting pulled for Scott Atchison, you know you had a bad night.
(Guess you're shipping up to the clubhouse now, asshole.- courtesy AP)
And as a side note, if we're going to talk about Joba's diminished fastball, it's only fair to discuss Papelbon's. I remember him consistently living in the 95-96 MPH range with the occasional touch to 97. Last night he was 93-94. Will anybody in the mainstream media (cough, cough, ESPN) mention that about him? Of course not, he wears a Boston uniform. But it's worth mentioning.
- As for Granderson, I could give a shit about how well or how poorly he hits lefties if he keeps coming up with big hits like that and plays solid centerfield.
- "The Grandy-man can?" That's the best you've got for a Granderson home run call, Sterling? Really? Not your best work.
- I think Joe must have been scouring the blogs and listening to some WFAN before the game last night about how he handled the first 2 games as he decided to switch from overmanaging the bullpen to undermanaging. I liked the decision to go back to Park and I liked the decision to let him throw 2 innings in a tie game, but 3 innings?? Park was clearly out of gas in the 9th and the 3 outs he did get were some of the loudest, scariest, most ass-clenching outs I've ever seen. And there wasn't even anybody up in the bullpen!! Make up your mind, Joe.
- Park looked like a completely different guy on the mound last night than the one we saw on Sunday. His fastball was back up in the 92-94 MPH range and his off-speed stuff had its bite and location back. That's what I was talking about on Monday about going out and getting the job done in a clutch spot; that's what the Yankees brought him in to do, that's what they should expect him to do, and last night that's what he did. Maybe all that diarrhea and coughing over the last 2 days helped.
- Mark Teixeira is nothing if not consistent. He's been a slow starter his entire career, was downright awful in April last season, and has coming out of the gates flailing again this year. You can talk all you want about the "productive out" he got last night in driving in the Yankees' 3rd run, but me, I thought it was crap. Bases loaded with your 3-hitter at the plate, you don't want productive outs. You want a 2-run single; you want a bases-clearing double; if you're greedy you want a grand slam. You want that hitter to effectively end the game with one swing. After all, that's why you put him in a run-producing spot in the lineup. And you certainly don't want or expect him to be swinging at the first pitch and rolling it over. Show some goddamn patience, Teix!
Yes he brought in an insurance run, but the fact that it was only one run left the door a tiny crack open for the Sox in the bottom of the 10th. Teix isn't seeing the ball well at all early on, evidenced by his letting good pitches go by and too often swinging at junk early in the count. He's also pulling off the ball. Dude needs to get in the cage today and get his shit figured out between his hands and his hips, because right now they are not on the same page.
- There's also something funny about Jeter's swing right now, like he's a little bit in front of the ball. In the 3 games he was grounding an awful lot of balls to shortstop and not going the other way to right, which is his calling card. His balance might be a tick off at the plate right now too, but given his track record of consistency, it's not something that should be a huge concern.
- Good stat from George King in today's Post: "Last night's victory was the Yankees' 17th straight regular-season win when the score was tied at the end of seven innings. That is the longest win streak in the modern era in games that were tied at the end of the seventh inning, passing the record set by the 1906 Giants."
Looks like all that working out while watching the replay of your Game 3 meltdown against the Angels didn't do shit, huh? Unless you count mastering the ability to repeat that meltdown over and over again.
Even in just the 3rd game of the year, there is something so gratifying about watching Papelbon have to give up the ball and walk off the field with his head down. If I had a magic lamp with a genie inside, my first wish would be to have the ability to conjure up that image of a beaten and defeated Papelbon whenever I wanted.
** Check back for series recap and early snap judgments tomorrow morning. **
In case you haven't noticed, The Artist Formerly Known as David Ortiz is 0-7 in his first 2 games of 2010. But when that fact was mentioned to him after last night's game by reporters, he brushed it off as nothing to worry about.
"You guys wait till [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy."
"What's up with that, man? [Expletive]. [Expletive] 160 games left. That's a [expletive]. One of you [expletives] got to go ahead and hit for me." (courtesy of ESPN.com)
There you have it. Just vintage Big Sloppi right there. The same cheerful, carefree attitude that endeared him to Red Sox fans and baseball fans nationwide back when he first joined the team in 2003 and put up gargantuan, steroid-inflated statistics to lead to the Sox to 2 fraudulent World Series titles.
Good to see he hasn't lost that childish love for the game and isn't feeling any pressure to rebound from last season's diminished numbers that almost assuredly signaled he was finally off of performance-enhancing drugs and was now exposed as an older, slower player whose natural hitting skills were never that great to begin with.
I mean, if Ortiz was upset about his slow start he probably would have lashed out at those reporters in a profanity-laced tirade full of F-bombs, Mother F-bombs, S-words, and who knows what else? But no, that's not the David Ortiz Way. He's just going to stay positive, stay focused, and go about his business with a smile on his face the same way he's done for the last 7 years. And at the end of the season, when he's hitting .215 with 18-22 HRs, 70 RBIs, and a category-D OPS, all those reporters are going to feel pretty stupid for ever questioning Big Sloppi this early in the season.
Well it wasn't pretty last night, but a win's a win. Some thoughts:
- Even after just 2 games, Robinson Cano looks better at the plate than he ever has to start a season. He has perfect balance to his swing and is seeing the ball well, both good signs that point to him having a productive year from the 5-spot since it usually takes a month or two for him to hit this well.
- Not a bad start for A.J. He was in and out of trouble all night, but also didn't get any help from his defense with 3 errors. In the 4th and 5th innings especially he showed the ability to bear down and make pitches, something that is always difficult to predict with him. 94 pitches in 5 innings isn't exactly economical, but it was still a better start than CC had on Sunday. And he and Jorge got along; all together now; "Awwwwwwwwwwwww!"
- I complain about Marcus Thames being inserted into the lineup for Gardner in just the second game and he gets a walk and a strikeout, ho-hum. When you're right, you're right.
- Very solid 2 innings from Ace. Those innings were big considering Chan Ho Park was out with a severe case of "Joe probably didn't want to use him in a high-pressure situation again after he shit the bed on Sunday night" AKA "the flu" and it was good to see Ace work multiple innings and throw a decent number of pitches to test his back.
- Joba?! There you are!! Hadn't seen you in a while, buddy. How ya been? You gonna stick around for a while?
- I've said it before and I'll say it again, nobody in the Boston bullpen scares me. If you can get their starters out early, you can do damage against anybody in that 'pen
Per ESPN NY's Yankees blog, there is tonight's lineup. Usual suspects 1-6, but then we get to the bottom third.
7) Nick Swisher- RF 8) Marcus Thames- LF 9) Curtis Granderson- CF
Is Joe fucking serious? Second game of the year and we're already playing these lefty pitcher matchup games with C-Grand and Gardner? Can't we at least let these guys get a few at-bats against lefties before everyone decides they can't hit them. Or even ONE at-bat?!
And not for nothing, but it's not like Marcus Thames was crushing the ball this spring, off of lefties or righties. You could at least bat Granderson ahead of Thames since he's supposedly your everyday centerfielder and an All Star-caliber player. If I'm Gardner and Granderson, I'm ripshit mad right now.
Someone needs to wake Joe up and tell him it ain't Spring Training anymore. Put your best 9 out there and play to win. Stop fucking around and giving everybody more practices innings/at-bats to "prove themselves."
Tonight's the big night! A.J. and Jorge, together again. How will they work together? Will Burnett throw a perfect game? How many times will Jorge visit the mound? Will A.J. get shelled? Will the 2 get in a fist fight out there?
More importantly, which pitcher will we see tonight? Dr. A.J., the one who calmly attacks the zone and works both sides of the plate with his fastball to set up the killer curve for his out pitch? Or Mr. Burnett, the cranky, whiny little bitch who can't throw strikes and spends the whole game muttering to himself in between four-pitch walks and first-pitch doubles off the wall?
One start never defines a season, but in A.J.'s case and with his past record of inconsistency, it's more important for him to have a good outing today and get off on the right foot in 2010 rather than fire up the question mill from the press just three days into the season. I'd say that's even more important than the Yanks actually winning the game.
- Speaking of pitchers, the Red Sox must have thought more of Josh Beckett's Opening Night performance that the rest of us did, as they decided to sign him to a 4-year, $68 million extension yesterday.
I don't know about you, but I think that's a bit of a steep price to pay for a guy with a 9.64 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP right now. Then again, if you subscribe to the Joe Morgan theory of pitching, Beckett's bad start on Sunday night won't count towards his final numbers and those numbers will be better than whatever they actually show at the end of the season.
River Ave. Blues is one of the places I go most often for my Yankee insight, but today's post by Mike Axisa about Chan Ho Park's performance last night and what it implied about the state of the bullpen was more than a little disconcerting. Below are some of the highlights and my comments.
Last night’s game represented Phase I of a bullpen experiment. With 2009’s primary setup man moving into the rotation, Joe Girardi will have to go through the sometimes painful motions of figuring out who belongs where in the bullpen pecking order again this year.
Ummm, isn’t that was Spring Training was for? I know it's mainly to get these guys stretched out and give them time to find their stuff again, but shouldn't you also be working on getting them into situations where you might want to use them in the regular season to see how they react and how they perform? The regular season, when record does matter, isn't the time for experimentation.
Much like 2009, David Robertson was brought into a sticky situation – a strikeout situation – in the 6th inning, but Girardi opted to deploy Chan Ho Park in the 7th inning even though Robertson had thrown just six pitches....
Because why bother continuing to use a pitcher who had just worked out of trouble with minimal effort, and who has a track record from last season of coming through in pressure situations when you've got other untested options in the bullpen?
What I really want to touch on is why Park was brought into the game in that spot anyway.
Touch away, Mike. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Maybe you can help.
Robertson had thrown just those six pitches, and had plenty more in the tank if Girardi wanted to give him at least start the 7th.
Don't remind me.
Instead, the manager needed to begin the process of figuring out who are going to be the team’s late inning, hold a small lead in a big game relievers.
No, no, no, no, a thousand times NO!! The manager should have taken care of that already in Spring Training. Once it's the regular season it’s about wins and losses. If people still need to be test driven in the regular season to see if they've got the stones to pitch when it matters, then they shouldn't be on the 25-man roster. When the games matter, and even though it's just one game, last night still mattered, you play to win the game. Tell 'em, Herm.
See? Even Herm says it. Thank you, Herm.
It’s not always going to (be) pretty, and there will be plenty of times when such an audition costs the team a game, which is exactly what happened last night.
Plenty of times? Plenty??? There damn well better not be plenty. Pretty much every reputable Yankee blog, including RAB, and some of the disreputable ones, like this one, predicted the Yankee bullpen to be a strength for the team this year. So why are we now being told that there are going to be "plenty" of times where these guys fuck up and it's OK because the bullpen rotation has to get figured out?
But as we’ve seen in the past two years, we’re looking at short-terms losses for long-term gains.....
Actually, what we've seen the last 2 years is that certain guys couldn't get the job done, they cost the team many potential wins, and they got their sorry asses shipped outta town for guys that could. We shouldn’t have to be dealing with that nonsense this season. We should be skipping the short-term losses and heading right to long-term gains because on paper we have a group of talented, composed, veteran relievers who have gotten the job done before. And instead of screwing around and getting everybody playing time like this is the Little League World Series, we (Joe) should be sticking with guys who are playing well and work towards holding leads and winning games.
Easing Park into it by starting him out in lower leveraged innings may sound like a good idea, but that just prolongs the process. He’s 36-years-old, not some rookie that has to learn the ropes. He should know the routine and know what’s expected of him. There’s no sense in dragging this out, run Park out there in this big spots in April and let’s see what he’s got.
That logic is precisely why Park should have never been brought into the game last night. He isn't some greenhorn kid out of Triple-A that needs to be tested. He's a veteran who should know how to pitch and how to pitch in pressure situations. He doesn't need to be eased into this situations just like nobody in the Yankee bullpen should need to be eased into situations.
In case everybody's forgotten, except for Mitre all of these guys pitched in the playoffs last year!!! They all pitched in the World Series!!! And some of them pitched WELL!!!! Joe shouldn't have to "run anybody out there" from this group. He should be sticking with who's pitching well until that guy gets into trouble or faces an unfavorable matchup that dictates a change.
Is there a chance he’s the next LaTroy Hawkins? Sure, but right now we have no idea. He didn’t get off to a good start last night, but one outing and 22 pitches isn’t enough of anything to base a decision on. He’ll get another chance to prove himself, probably this series, and that’s just the next step in determining his value to the 2010 New York Yankees.
Fair enough, but that shouldn't be the point when it comes to a guy like Park and Joe should know that. We, and he, should know what to expect from Park and what to expect from all the guys in the bullpen. Sure Park sucked the big one last night, but that's not the point either. The point is that this discussion about guys figuring out their roles is not a discussion we should be having.
The time for open tryouts has come and gone with the passing of March; now it's the time to focus on winning games and last night Joe did not make managerial decisions that helped his team win the game when it came to his pitching staff. Whether he did it on purpose to test Park or not is irrelevant. The important thing is that Joe could have, and probably should have, stuck with a pitcher who had only thrown 6 pitches and who has shown multiple times that he's got the stuff to get out of trouble and hold leads and he didn't.
Now I know there's a ton more baseball to be played and I have all the confidence in the world that the bullpen will be fine, but we can't all sit here and play off bad managerial decisions and then justify them with this kind of weak, babying logic when it comes to Chan Ho Park or any of the guys in the bullpen. We aren't dealing with Jeremy Bleich and Humberto Sanchez out there. The bullpen sucked last night, plain and simple, and it was the one decision made by Joe that triggered the start of all that suckiness. Call it what it was and hand out criticism appropriately.
- To the untrained eye it probably looked like CC was cruising last night when it was 5-1 Yanks after 5 innings. But in reality, Sabathia struggled all night and his final line (5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 ER, 4 K, 104 pitches, 58 strikes) didn't look much better than Josh Beckett's. He was inconsistent with his fastball command all night and got behind in too many counts. And with his off-speed stuff not being at its best yet, that's not something you can afford to do against a veteran Major League lineup.
- By the time the end of the 5th and early 6th inning came around, it was clear even to the untrained eye that CC was done. His control was completely gone, his velocity was down, and his mechanics were awful as he was falling off to the right way more than usual. If it was that obvious to me sitting at home watching on ESPN, then why the hell wasn't it obvious to Joe Girardi, who had a front row seat?
I can appreciate wanting to get your ace lefty another matchup against a lefty hitter. But when he's just given up a leadoff walk and a hard hit ball for a double and now he's facing the most dangerous righty hitter in the lineup, you have to take him out. This "one game either way" stuff that Joe is spouting in the papers today is the classic sound of a guy trying to gloss over his mistake. The bottom line is, Joe left CC out there too long and the 3rd, 4th, and 5th runs given up in the 6th inning are on Joe. It may only be one game, but it's a game that could have, and should have been won.
- Joe's other blunder was taking Robertson out after the 6th and going with Chan Ho Park. I get that Park is the big free agent signing, and I get that everybody on the Yankees management team wants to suck his dick after the World Series last year, but sooner or later people need to realize that Dave Robertson is a beast. Sure he gave up the leadoff single to Adrian Beltre, but that run was probably going to score anyway. His stuff looked great and he got out of the inning with minimal effort. He's young, he's tough, and he's got a killer fastball-curve combination; he should have been starting the 7th inning. How quickly everyone forgets that Robertson led the AL in K/9 IP last season. Let Robertson pitch and maybe that 2-run homer from Pedroia never happens.
- OK, now onto some positive things. Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson both looked pretty good in their first games with the Yanks. Johnson was 0-3, but drew 2 walks and saw a lot of pitches and Granderson took a lot of good swings (especially his homer in the 2nd) and seemed to see the ball well from both righties and lefties. His play in center was also strong. Not a bad debut at all.
- Cano looked good hitting in the 5-hole last night, going 2-5 with a run scored, a ribbie, and a double. But he saw only 9 pitches in his 5 at-bats, so he still needs to work on his patience at the plate in certain situations.
- Getting some range to his right also wouldn't hurt if Cano is trying to win a Gold Glove this year. Seriously, how many balls hit up or near the middle just made it under his glove? That ain't gonna help the old UZR right there.
- Jorge looked every bit the player he has been for the majority of his career last night, and that's both a good and bad thing. He was 3-4 with a HR, 2 RBIs, and a walk at the plate, and had a brutal passed ball that allowed the eventual game-winning run to score in the 7th. I love Jorge as much as anybody on the Yankees, but you can't try and tell me that Jesus Montero is going to be a worse defensive catcher than Jorge.
-And what the hell got into the bottom of both teams' lineups last night? Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro getting clutch hits? Brett Gardner smacking RBI singles and stealing home? It was like bizzaro world with all these "defensive" guys putting up big numbers.
- The Red Sox bullpen, despite nailing down the game in the 8th and 9th when they had to, looked very beatable last night, giving up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 2 earned runs over 4.1 innings while striking out only 1 batter. Ramon Ramirez was awful, Hideki Okajima's stuff has dulled like a golf pencil over time, and even Daniel Bard still doesn't seem to have it all figured out, as evidenced by his 4-pitch walk to Nick Johnson in the 8th last night. All indications are Manny Delcarmen isn't at his best yet this year either, so that at least bodes well for the Yankees as this series and season moves forward.
- The Yankee 'pen wasn't much better last night, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 runs (3 ER), and also just 1 K over 2.2 IP. The big holes were Park and Marte, both of whom looked scared to death out on the mound and could not command their fastballs at all. Joba started off OK but then got into trouble when he allowed a base runner and focused too much on him instead of the batters. If he's going to lock down the 8th-inning spot he needs to improve that facet of his game and get back to blowing people away instead of throwing over to first and picking corners.
- There is truth to Girardi's statement that "it's one game either way" and last night certainly isn’t going to make or break the season. But it's never good, especially in the shark-infested media waters of NY, to start off the season with such a poor pitching effort. Marte and Park will get it together and CC will be fine moving forward; you just hate to see leads given up like that.
6:55PM- And we're live from the living room of my apartment that still smells a little bit like deep fry from the mound of dishes in my sink that haven't been washed since Friday. I'm joined by approximately 50 beers (let's hope I don't have to drink all of them) and the boys at Baseball Tonight with Jon and Joe soon to follow.
Just a quick aside before we get into the game. I know they had some serious Red Sox ass kissing to replace with the loss of Peter Gammons, but ESPN hiring Nomar and now Curt Schilling is just ridiculous. At this point, they might as well sign Terry Francona to be the guest host and do every show live from the Green Monster.
7:00PM- Nomar picks Boston to win the World Series. Just go home, you clown. Even more of a shocker, One Nut Kruk actually picked the Yankees. They cut the cameras away from the BBTN set just before Nomar and Ravech started beating Kruk over the head.
7:01PM- That animated opening on ESPN could not have been worse if they tried. Seriously, is this game being played at the Disney complex? This is serious goddamn business here!
7:02PM- Thank God we've got Orel Hershiser in the booth tonight to provide some levity and some intelligent insight for a change. I guess not all of ESPN's baseball-related personnel decisions are bad ones.
7:08PM- The obligatory Fenway Park montage with "Shipping Up To Boston" in the background. That's become almost as big a Boston sports tradition as "Sweet Caroline" in the 7th inning stretch.
7:11PM- Morgan tries to justify Beckett's higher ERA last year by saying it was because of his poor starts where he allowed 5, 6, or 7 earned runs. According to Joe, somehow those starts don't count and Beckett's numbers were actually better than that. Whatever, Joe. Whatever.
7:13PM- Jeter, Johnson, and Teix go down 1-2-3 on 7 pitches and Beckett's 2010 ERA is perfect!! At least Johnson didn't hurt himself.
7:17PM- Now Morgan is comparing CC and Beckett to Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal. I know it's Opening Night, Joe, but tone it down a little. Let's see how these 2 pitch for more than an inning before we start comparing them to the all-time greats.
7:22- CC looks good early. Pounding the strike zone with fastballs to get ahead and the off-speed stuff looks pretty good for a first start. He sets the Sox down in order in the bottom of the 1st.
7:27PM- ESPN breaks in to tell us Donovan McNabb has been traded to the Redskins. Who gives a fuck? Fuck you, Philadelphia Eagles and fuck you, Adam Schefter. How dare you conduct important sports business on this, the most holiest of days? Nothing should be more important than Yankees-Red Sox, even if it is only the first game of the year. And don't even get me started on the women's NCAA Tournament. That's hardly even a sport.
7:29- Just as I was getting ready to write about how the Yankees aren't putting good swings on hittable pitches, Jorge juices a 2-1 fastball off Pesky's Pole and the Yanks lead 1-0. Thanks, Jorge. Good to see somebody doesn't have too much adrenaline going.
7:31PM- BOOOOOOM!!!! C-Grand jacks one to deep right center on a 3-2 fastball and it's 2-0. Beckett getting way too much of the plate with his fastball and the Yankees are just sitting on it right now. How's that for a first Yankee at-bat? Somebody tell me what Sterling's home run call for Granderson was.
7:35PM- Back-to-back singles by Swish and Gardner and it's back around to The Captain. Beckett can't find the plate with his off-speed pitches and the Yanks are teeing off on the fastball. Not exactly Koufax-ish or Marichal-esque if you ask me.
7:38PM- Beckett is finally out of it after almost 30 pitches in the inning. Brett Gardner almost beat out the play at 2nd. That dude is fast.
7:46PM- Leadoff double by Youk and a groundout by Big Sloppi. The long rest between innings might have hurt CC. His fastball command isn't what it was in the first inning and he's fallen behind both guys 3-1. Understandable when he still isn't fully stretched out from Spring Training, but certainly not something you want when you just gave him a 2-run lead.
7:50PM- After his run-scoring sac fly, Jon and Joe can't stop waxing poetic about Adrian Beltre and his supposed power. Newsflash, fellas. His only good year was in 2004 when he was playing for a new contract. He's never hit over .300, never hit more than 30 HRs, and never driven in more than 100 runs since that because he's lazy and he fucking sucks.
7:51PM- Sabathia gets Drew on a 3-2 fastball on the corner and gets out of the inning with the lead intact. After a leadoff double you'll take that if you're a Yankee fan. Especially with the 2-3-4 hitters coming up.
8:00PM- The Yanks waste a leadoff walk by Nick Johnson with a pop up by Teix and a GIDP by A-Rod. So much for setting the table. GET A-ROD OUTTA HERE!!! HE'S A BUM!!!!
8:02PM- Don't know if anybody noticed or even cares, but CC changed his spikes between innings. He was wearing gray ones and now he's got black ones on. Someone tell the trio in the booth to stop talking about nothing and get somebody on that story! How is there no on-field reporter for this?
8:03PM- The new cleats didn't seem to help. CC walks Mike Cameron on 5 pitches.
8:04PM- Can someone explain to me how Nick Green is a key departure for the Red Sox? Or how Bill Hall is a key addition? From living out here in the greater Milwaukee area now, I can tell you for a fact that nobody was sad to see Bill Hall go. He's one of those rare breeds of third basemen who can't hit or field so if Boston is counting on getting big production from Bill Hall this year then they are in big fucking trouble.
8:06PM- A-Rod doubles off Cameron on a line drive out by Marco Scutaro. Cameron looked like he was safe. Hey, it's early in the season for the umps too.
8:11PM- One question: What the fuck is LeBron James doing in a private booth watching this game? How do the people at Fenway allow that to happen? He almost single-handedly brought the Cavs back to beat the Celtics today. Second question: What the fuck is he doing there with Dr. Dre? Doesn't he have to check that with Jay-Z first to make sure it's OK. And third question: Why the fuck is Dr. Dre wearing a Red Sox jersey? That ain't west coast, dawg. Sheeeeeeeeeeyiiiit!!
Oh BTW, Robinson Cano doubled off the left field wall and got moved over to 3rd by Jorge. Maybe I should pay attention to the game again.
8:16PM- Swish draws a 2-out walk and Gardy comes up with a chance to drive in a run. It's only the first game but you have to think everybody is judging every Gardner at-bat to determine if he can produce enough to play every day. I know Randy Winn is interested right now.
8:21PM- And Gardner comes through! RBI single to left after a brilliant 8-pitch at-bat. Winn and Marcus Thames better get real comfortable on that bench. Beckett follows up his loss in his battle with Gardner by almost hitting Jeter. Classy guy, that Beckett.
8:23PM- RBI single for Jeter and the Yanks lead 4-1. They are locked in on Beckett again. His command of his fastball and sharpness on his off-speed stuff just seem to come and go. Scott Schoenweis is now up in the Red Sox bullpen. I doubt I spelled his name right but he pitches for Boston so who cares?
8:25PM- And the Yankees pull a perfect double steal and Gardner takes home for a 5-1 lead!! When's the last time you saw the Yankees pull that move? Kudos to Victor Martinez for throwing down to 2nd. Thanks for that, chief. Johnson goes down on strikes but the damage is done. Let's see how CC responds in the bottom of the inning after another long break.
8:30PM- Great play by Teix at first and great play covering by CC to just get Pedroia at first. For a big fat guy CC can move and he's definitely a great athlete. Even in those parachute pants.
8:33PM- 3 up, 3 down for Carsten and we're onto the 5th inning. He's looking good for at least 6, maybe 7. Can't say the same for Beckett.
8:35PM- What's more useless? Interviewing NBA coaches between quarters or interviewing baseball managers between innings? I don't think I've ever gotten any valuable information from either and tonight's discussions with Joe and Terry Francona were no different.
8:37PM- FINALLY!!!! Some valuable info from the broadcast team as they tell us that Beckett has only gotten 2 swings and misses on almost 80 pitches to this point. That's less Sandy Koufax and more Carlos Silva for Beckett.
8:40PM- Teix and The Horse are a combined 0-6 tonight and both have popped up for outs on fastballs right down the middle. Thank God for Brett Gardner, huh?
8:46PM- A Cano single and a Posada walk and we've got us another 2-out rally. That's all for Beckett and now I'll get to see how good my spelling was on Scott Schoenweis.
8:49PM- Damn! Missed the second "e" in Schoeneweis. Oh well.
8:51PM- Schoeneweis fans Granderson and saves Beckett's bacon to get out of the 5th. In case you're keeping score at home, Granderson is now batting .000 against lefties this year.
8:56PM- I'll admit it, I do like the ESPN Axis thing. It's always cool when they switch from one camera view to another. Doesn't matter if it's baseball, basketball, football; it works every time to show the situation that the announcers are talking about. Well done, ESPN. Now give us fans more stuff like that and less Coors Light 6-Pack of Questions with Mark Schlereth.
9:04PM- CC gets the first 2 batters in the inning then forgets about getting the 7-8-9 hitters out, allows 3 straight singles, and Gardner throws one away to make it 5-2 Yanks with the runners moving up to 2nd and 3rd on the error. Big at-bat here for Ellsbury.
9:07PM- And CC freezes him with the curve. Jacoby didn't look too athletic right there. Suck it, Nike!
9:10PM- Final line on Beckett- 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 ER, 1 K, 94 pitches, 54 strikes. "OOOF" and "DA!", ladies and gentlemen.
9:15PM- The Captain greets Ramon Ramirez rudely with a single up the middle and chops another digit off the countdown to 3,000 hits.
9:17PM- Johnson smokes one but right at Cameron in center and that's it for the top of the 6th. If there has been a more unathletic-looking player on the Yankees in the last 15 years than Nick Johnson, I can't think of who it is. He looks like the fat priest from "Constantine" who gets possessed and then freaks out and dies in the liquor store when all the booze starts coming out of him.
Whenever he retires from baseball, Johnson can definitely have a career playing "Fat Security Guard #2" in action movies.
9:21PM- CC walks Pedroia to lead off the bottom of the inning. His fastball command continues to be sketchy at best. Of course it doesn't help when the guy you're pitching to is so small that he barely has a strike zone.
9:22PM- Dangerous territory here for CC; 90+ pitches, a runner on, and the heart of the order coming up for Boston. He seems to be running of out gas pretty quickly and Dave Robertson is up in the 'pen.
9:27PM- A horrible decision by Joe leads to 2 runs for the Sox. CC gave up a double to Martinez on a terrible changeup and instead of taking him out, Joe sends Eiland out to talk to him and lets him pitch to Youkilis. Youkilis triples to right thanks to a terrible angle by Swish and it's 5-4 Yanks.
9:30PM- Somebody needs to tell Joe that this isn't Spring Training anymore. You can't fuck around and try to set up a lefty-lefty matchup when you have a dangerous righty who also happens to be the best hitter on the other team at the plate with 2 runners on in scoring position. Awful. Just awful.
9:33PM- Robertson gives up a first-pitch single and CC gets his 5th run tacked onto his total. Not much Robertson could do there. It's already been 2 1/2 hours and now we're back to square one. I'd be more upset if I didn't have 3 more innings of the Red Sox bullpen to look forward to.
9:36PM- Robertson gets out of the rest of the inning unscathed. Yanks have 3-4-5 hitters coming up in the 7th.
One last bit on CC. He looked like he was rolling along with a 5-1 lead. But the truth was he was struggling with his command just as much as Beckett did and his high pitch count was indicative of that. It's obvious he isn't at full strength yet with how quickly he tired and lost it in the 5th and 6th innings and as the manager, Joe needs to see that and get him out immediately.
There's no need to work on a lefty-lefty matchup when your guy isn't out there with anything. You risk getting him hurt with a muscle pull or taking a comebacker off the body, and more imporantly, you risk blowing the lead. Thankfully CC didn't get hurt, but now the 4-run lead is back to a tie, the crowd is back in the game, and the Red Sox have a little confidence going forward. A Spring Training move in a regular season game by Joe and it cost his team the lead.
9:40PM- A leadoff walk to Teix, a first-pitch double for The Horse, and the Yankees are back in business. He didn't miss a homer by much on that shot. And that'll be all for Ramon Ramirez as Okajima is coming in to face Cano. It may be the first game of the year, but this baby looks to have all the makings of a typical Yanks-Sox late-summer 4 1/2-hour epic.
9:44PM- Teix is running on contact and scores on the Cano groundout. It wasn't ideal but it gets a run in. A-Rod also moves up to third on the play. Lots of good base running by the Yankees tonight.
9:45PM- And the good base running is rewarded with an RBI single by Jorge. Just like that the Yankees are back up 7-5. Jorge doesn't look like he's lost any bat speed tonight, even at 38. His hands have looked quick through the zone and he's keyed in to everything the pitchers have been trying to do.
9:49PM- Orel telling it like it is as he calls the Red Sox 'pen out for "wetting the bed" in this inning. ESPN didn't cut his mic off so he'll probably get his wee-wee spanked after the game by the suits for bad mouthing the socks. Swish-a-licious grounds into a DP to end the inning. Poo. Here comes the 7th inning stretch with Steven Tyler singing "God Bless America."
9:52PM- Jesus H. Christ, that was awful. I saw Aerosmith last summer and after that show I was pretty sure they were done. After watching Tyler struggle through that, I'm certain they are done. Dude just doesn't have the pipes anymore. A tip of the cap to that tight little number that harmonized with him on the ending though. Anybody know what her situation is?
9:58PM- Ellsbury goes down looking again and he's 0-4 with 2Ks. BUT DID YOU SEE HIS TIME IN THE 5-10-5 SHUTTLE DRILL?!?!?! ZOMG WHAT AN ATHLETE!!!!!!!!!!
10:00PM- And there's why you never put any value on Spring Training numbers. Park hangs one over the middle and Pedroia parks it in the Monster seats to tie it at 7. I don't want to get all racial here, but have the Yankees ever had an Asian pitcher who could handle the pressure of pitching in Boston?? Irabu couldn't do it. Wang couldn't do it. So far it doesn't look like Chan Ho Park can do it.
Is it too late to call up Mark Melancon?
10:04PM- Cano almost boots one at second and I almost shit my pants for the first time tonight. Between that and his little jog session on his single earlier tonight, I'm already starting to wonder if this fucking guy is ever going to get it.
10:05PM- Park gives up the longest double in Fenway Park history to Youkilis and that's all for him. Thank God. After the game Joe is going to have to explain why he didn't stick with Dave Robertson to at least start the inning. The guy is being talked about as the possible setup man for Mo and you're taking him out after 3 batters? Kid hadn't even thrown that many pitches!!
10:10PM- Marte hasn't looked much better. Wild pitch on the first one and then a high and tight ball on 2-1 that Jorge can't handle and the Sox take an 8-7 lead on the passed ball. Cue the walk to Ortiz and Joe makes the walk out to the mound again.
10:16PM- Joba comes in to stop the bleeding and we go to the 8th. I never should have stopped drinking. Everything was fine when I was drinking. Damn you, work!! Why do you have to make me such a responsible person?!?
10:25PM- After getting Gardner and Jeter to start the inning, Daniel Bard loses it and walks Nick Johnson on 4 straight pitches. Now he has to face Teix and possibly A-Rod with men on base. In related news, I just opened another beer.
10:27PM- Teix shatters his bat and grounds out to end the inning. The rally beer failed. Fuck.
10:34PM- Oh gee! Orel Hershiser thinks Joba looks better on the mound as a reliever. What a concept!
10:36PM- Can somebody please test Mike Cameron for PEDs again? The dude's gotta be on something.
10:40PM- Joba slowing down and getting picky with a runner on first. Some things never change. Ball 4 to Scutaro.
10:44PM- RBI single to right by Pedroia straight out of the Derek Jeter School of Going The Other Way. There's the insurance run Boston needed. Yanks are really going to need some magic to get 2+ runs off of Papelbon. Even though he is the same guy who choked away Game 3 of their ALDS series against Anaheim last year.
10:54PM- Base hit from Jorge and there's still life for the Yankees with C-Grand coming up. He could become a fan favorite already right here if he can do something big.
10:56PM- Granderson grounds out and that'll do it.
Great start but CC ran out of gas quick, Joe couldn't pull his head out of the sand fast enough to realize it, and the bullpen put up an absolutely horrid performance.
That's all I care to say about the game right now. Check back tomorrow morning for more Opening Night analysis. Thanks for playing along tonight, kids. I'm out.
Game starts in a little over 8 hours. Can't even focus enough to write an intro for this week's batch 'o links. Here they are.
- Chad Jennings at LoHud breaks down the early season plan for Phil Hughes. The Yankees seem to have learned from their mistakes with Joba last year and I expect this season to go a lot more smoothly with Hughes.
- River Ave. Blues puts all of their season preview posts together for your viewing pleasure. I had already read all of them so I was up to date. But if you haven't, and shame on you if you haven't, feel free to check them out so you know what the F is going on before the first pitch tonight.
- Mike Axisa at River Ave. Blues takes a look at all the potential milestones on the horizon for certain Yankees this year. Sure the A-Rod and Jeter ones are a big deal, but I personally like the ones that Jorge could reach and the company it would put him in as a catcher. Should be interesting to see how much HOF talk Jorge generates after he finally retires.
- Dan Reiner at Bronx Baseball Daily examines the Yankees' season schedule and points out the easier stretches and more difficult patches that await them as well as highlighting key series. I love how the season starts and ends in Boston. Hopefully by the time October 1 rolls around the Yankees have already reached their magic number.
- Jay at Fack Youk collects all the AL East previews they did this week with great interviews with guests representing each team. Of course, the most important feature of this post is the fact that everybody picked the Yankees to win the division.
- Fernando Alejandro at the always hilarious Respect Jeter's Gangster discusses the last-minute preparations that some of the Yankees are going through for tonight. Sometimes those little things are the difference between winning and losing.
- Moshe Mandel at The Yankee U checks out the group of writers who will be covering the Bombers for the new ESPN NY and he is not impressed. I'm just shocked ESPN even allowed this site to go up. After all, their MO is always to trash the Yankees and slurp the Red Sox, so why didn't they just go with a second ESPN Boston?
- Moshe's colleague at TYU, Chris H., discusses something once considered unthinkable in Yankeeland, that being trading Joba Chamberlain. I wouldn't trade Joba right now, especially with the lingering injuries to Ace and Marte, but since the Yankees have made it clear that they have absolutely no clue what they're going to do with Joba long-term, talking about trading him makes just as much sense as anything else.
It ain't my best batch, but come on, it's Opening Night. There are bigger things on the horizon today.
** Check back at 8/7 Central for the award-winning AB4AR live blog of the game. You'll only have yourself to blame if you miss it. **
Since I'm still trying to recover from yesterday and don't feel up to making any witty remarks about how the Yankees are going to shit on Boston's face tomorrow, I'll just use this time to provide some updates on today's news.
- The 25-man roster was officially announced today and it's pretty much what everybody expected. Boone Logan, Mark Melancon, and Jesus Montero will be on standby for now.
- Speaking of Montero being in the on-deck circle, Jorge looks to be good to go for tomorrow night, so that's a relief.
- Nick Johnson should also be G2G after fouling a ball off his leg yesterday.
One last reminder, we'll be here doing the live blog tomorrow during the game so check it out.
OK, so Jorge is out with a stiff neck and Cervelli has a strained hammie. I know I've joked for the better part of the last couple months about the road being paved for Jesus and all the signs being there, but now I think I might have fucked up and jinxed the 2 guys that the Yankees already have. I'm sorry, God, I didn't mean to piss you off. Especially on the anniversary of your son getting his driver's license or whatever the hell Good Friday is for. You can cut the shenanigans now.
Seriously, who the fuck is the 3rd-string catcher?
In keeping with the tradition of the last few seasons, the 2010 Yankee bench will not be stocked with All-Star or even above-league-average players. In staying committed to their plan to keep the payroll at or near $200 million, the Yanks looked to fill the 25-man roster with young players from within the system who they believe can be productive players in limited roles and bargain basement veterans with a track record of success. With the team almost certain to carry 12 pitchers to start the year, that leaves 4 spots open on the pine.
It starts behind the plate, where the Yankees pass the backup catcher torch to Francisco Cervelli. We've seen cameo appearances by Cervelli before and the question has always been whether he could hit enough at the Major League level to hold a spot as a backup catcher. When injuries to Jose Molina allowed him to get some full-time action last year, Cervelli impressed coaches and management with not only his rapport with the pitchers and ability to defend and call a good game, but also with his bat, which showed just enough pop to convince the team that he could be a full-time player. Cervelli's role will be more important than that of your average backup catcher this year as the Yanks are looking to limit Jorge to 100-110 games so we'll have to see if his offensive numbers can hold up over more plate appearances.
The backup spots around the infield will be handled by Ramiro Pena. With Nick Johnson, Nick Swisher, and Jorge Posada all capable of spelling Teix at first, it is the other 3 infield positions that need covering and Pena's terrific defensive abilities make him more than capable of playing second, short, and third well. He, like Cervelli, had questions about his bat, but showed some surprising pop in limited at-bats last year. Barring serious injury to any of the starters, Pena will only be needed to ensure that A-Rod and Jeter can get rest when they need it, so there shouldn't be much worry about whether or not Pena can produce in his at-bats. And with the depth the lineup already has, Pena's defense should be enough to cancel out any 0-for days he has at the plate.
The outfield is where we find our last 2 bench players. Randy Winn was a free agent brought in to compete with Brett Gardner for the everyday left fielder spot. Gardner's terrific speed, improved bunting, and Winn's weak-hitting spring all contributed to Brett winning the spot and Randy getting the 4th outfielder role. While he isn't expected to light the world on fire at the plate, Winn should bounce back a little from last year's horrible numbers and his ability to play above-average defense in all 3 outfield spots gives the Yankees solid defensive coverage in case of injuries or off-days.
One thing Winn does just as poorly as Gardner and Curtis Granderson is hit left-handed pitching, and that's where Marcus Thames comes in. Thames, a former Yankee, was brought in to compete with Jamie Hoffmann for the 5th outfielder role and despite a poor showing in the spring, did just enough to earn that last spot. Thames, a righty, will be used mostly to match up with lefties, and his past success in the Majors more than likely gave him the boost over Hoffmann. He is a below-average outfielder, so expect to see Thames mainly as a late-game situational pinch hitter or getting starts on days where Gardner has a bad matchup.
If any of these 4 underperform or get hurt, there are viable options in Triple-A to cover them. Kevin Russo had an impressive spring and could give Pena a run for his money if Pena doesn't hit well enough to justify his spot. Juan Miranda has always shown promise as a hitter, but would need a lot of injury help to crack the lineup as a 1B or DH. And guys like Greg Golson, David Winfree, and Jon Weber could see time in the outfield if injuries start piling up.
The one wild card is The Almighty, Jesus Montero. The Yankees don't plan to use him this year as they want him to continue to work on his catching at Triple-A. But with Nick Johnson and Jorge Posada playing the positions he would play and both being prone to injuries, there is a chance we could see The Son in the big leagues this year.
As usual, the Yankees aren't expecting much out of their bench other than to fill in for players that need rest. None of these 4 guys would be penciled in anywhere above 8th in the lineup, so as long as they know their roles and perform admirably when called upon, the Yanks will be happy with that. Here's hoping that that's all these guys need to do this year.
Ahh yes, time to break out the music as we draw ever so close to Opening Night. And nothing says spring time like a little Y-A-N-K-E-E-S. Over the wall indeed.
Seriously though, can somebody put together an up-to-date picture montage for this song? Why the hell am I still looking at Jason Giambi and Chien-Ming Wang??
P.S.- Did anybody catch AFB and Nomar on SportsCenter tonight? Boonie picked the Yankees to make the World Series (and lose, WTF?), and Nomar picks the Red Sox. Way to go out on a limb and be objective, fellas. Why don't you just wear your team hats and old jerseys the next time you're on the air?
In 2009 the Yankee bullpen was like the awkward, late-bloomer chick who flies under the radar in the looks and personality department all through high school only to go to college, grow into herself, and show up at the 5-year reunion an absolute dick wrecker. Jose Veras, Brian Bruney, and Edwar Ramirez were the bad skin, split ends, and ill-fitting clothes of the bullpen that started the year and Phil Hughes, Dave Robertson, and Damaso Marte were the makeover the team needed for the 5-year reunion.
In 2010 things are expected to be far different, as the Yankees have strengthened their bullpen that finished last season both internally and through a shrewd last-minute free agent signing. With the depth and stuff out there beyond the right field fence, the Yankees are coming into this season with the bullpen not only not being a question mark for the first time in a long time, but with it actually being considered a strength for the team.
As always, the 'pen starts off with the man, the myth, the legend, Mariano Rivera. Mo's numbers were other worldly last season when he was coming off of shoulder surgery and even though he's 40 I expect those numbers to be just as good, if not better, this season. It has been documented that Mo's velocity was down and his contact rates were up last year, both more than likely attributed to his shoulder not being at full strength due to surgery. Now that he's had time to fully recover from that, it would be logical to expect those numbers to at least hold the same rather than drop off this season, even if he is an old man. Mo is playing for a new contract and it will be interesting to see how many years the Yanks feel comfortable giving him based on this year's performance. But for the immediate future, we can all sit back, relax, and enjoy watching the best in the business continue to be just that.
The setup man position has been a revolving door since Mo took over as the full-time closer. Last year it was solidified in June with the arrival of Phil Hughes to the 'pen, but with him in the rotation this year it is once again an open competition. However, unlike years past, this year presents a crop of good, viable options to bridge the gap to Mo in the 9th. The first would be Joba Chamberlain, and although it has been confirmed that he is not guaranteed the 8th-inning spot, his track record in that role shows that he is the ideal candidate. His fastball and slider should both see their zip increase as he gets re-acquainted with the reliever's position and his adrenaline and emotion are well-suited to be a one or two-inning shutdown guy. The other guy from that same mold who could step into the setup role is Dave Robertson. Like Joba, he is a two-pitch reliever (fastball, curveball), and while he doesn't pitch with the open emotion that Joba does, his stuff is just as devastating and perfectly-tailored to be a late-game stopper.
Along with these 2 holdovers are 2 others who could see major time in late-game, shutdown situations. The first is Damaso Marte, who missed almost all of last season before coming back at the end of the regular season and then shining as arguably the Yankees' best reliever in the postseason. As the only lefty in the 'pen to start the year, Joe envisions Marte as more of a situational lefty-lefty matchup guy, but if there were a situation where multiple lefties were scheduled to bat in the 8th, Joe could very well use Marte over his other guys. Chan Ho Park is the only "new" member to the 'pen, but after pitching well against the Yankees in the World Series for Philly last year and looking fantastic in Spring Training, he has certainly shown that he could be capable of handling an 8th-inning role. As a former starter, there are lots of options with Park: one batter, one inning, two innings, etc. The most important thing about having all these options at his disposal is that it allows Joe the luxury of not over-working anybody, something he did a good job of managing last year, while still having the ability to play matchups or ride the hot hand.
The long man role is also well covered this year with the tag team of Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre. They are both already stretched out from their participation in the 5th Starter Sweepstakes and can be counted on for 2+ innings in situations that call for it. Aceves is another Swiss Army knife-type pitcher who can give Joe anything from a batter or 2 to 3-4 innings. He is already experiencing some lingering back issues from last season, but with the proper rest and monitoring of his status it shouldn't be a huge deal. Mitre, despite not having the relief pedigree, has looked great in Spring Training, showcasing much better command of all his pitches and better zip and accuracy on his fastball, and appears fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. He will most likely be the first choice to provide spot starts if and when they are needed, but with his stuff he can also be a vital addition to the bullpen.
The cherry on top of this bullpen-depth-and-talent sundae may be what's waiting in the wings. If injuries or fatigue start to creep in, the Yankees are well stocked in the Minors to fill in. Mark Melancon has been groomed over the last couple years to be a Joba or Mariano-type stopper, and his two-pitch power will make him the first candidate to be called up. Boone Logan, a throw-in in the Javy Vazquez trade, and Royce Ring both performed well in the spring and would be solid options as either second lefties or replacements for Marte. And if worst came to worst, the Yankees could always go back to Jonathan Albaladejo, especially if they are looking for someone to raise the bullpen ERA and WHIP up a little bit.
The long and short of it (see what I did there?) is that the Yankees come into 2010 with a bullpen as stacked as it has been since the late 90s. On paper they have every conceivable situation covered from every conceivable angle and have enough talent and depth to confidently cover games once the starter is removed without worrying about overworking any one or two guys. Of course injuries will always cause changes to the plan, but the Yankees also have the depth to cover that as well. All in all, the bullpen should be considered a strength for the Yankees this year, and will be something that all teams have to prepare for when it comes to the Yankees shortening the game.
As part of the Post's MLB season preview today, Joel Sherman had to write mini-columns about 6 things fans can expect from the Mets and the Yankees this year. I almost shit when I read Sherman's expectations for the Yankees. I'm not going to copy the whole article but you can find it here if you're looking for a downer to your day.
Holy Christ! Talk about doom and gloom. If you read through all 6 parts, basically what Joel is saying is that Joba, A.J., Andy, Granderson, Gardner, and Nick Johnson are going to play like shit.
Well thanks for that, Joel. Is anything good going to happen this season? If all that stuff came true I think the Yanks would be hard pressed to win 85-90 games let alone the division and World Series. Why don't you predict a plague of locusts and 40 days and nights of rain while you're at it?
Now I know Sherman has to write pieces like that as part of the previews and it's all meant to be in fun, but throw us a bone here, dude. You bury the point about A-Rod and Teix having MVP-caliber seasons and then don't even mention anybody else. What about CC? What about Jeter? What about Mo? What about the rest of the bullpen? Don't be afraid to make a few good predictions here and there. Have a little faith, Joel. Have a little faith!
I did like that bit about Jesus stepping in and mashing from Day 1 at catcher and at DH. You can feed me those goodies 25/8 and I'm eating all that shit up.
The power of Montero compels you!!
P.S.- If the Yankees traded Joba, Ace, and Austin Romine for John Danks I would send a pipe bomb to Brian Cashman's house.
After the disaster that was 2008, the Yankees went out in the '08-'09 offseason and spent nearly a quarter billion dollars to improve their starting pitching. The results of that spending spree (CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte) were the key cogs in last season's rotation and the only cogs throughout the postseason, leading the Yankees to their first World Series title since 2000.
With the organization's new dedication to keeping their already astronomical payroll in line, there weren't any big blockbuster deals this offseason, but the Yankees still managed to strengthen their rotation for 2010 with a trade and a promotion from within. Those new faces combined with last year's Big 3 should form one of the strongest rotations in baseball.
CC Sabathia returns as the ace and anchor of the rotation after a great first year in pinstripes. His performance as the regular season progressed and even more in the postseason signified the completion of his transformation from hard-throwing kid to polished Major League pitcher. Gone are the days of CC just rocking and firing; now he has mastered his off-speed pitches, thinks more on the mound, and paces himself throughout each start, knowing there is always another battle to fight. That newfound approach to the game was especially important in keeping Sabathia fresh through last season as there were concerns about his size and conditioning becoming an issue.
Having already justified his $161-million contract with an ALCS MVP and a World Series ring in his first year, Sabathia should be even better in 2010. His cutter and changeup were vital pitches for him in the postseason and should serve him well this year as CC spent the better part of Spring Training working on getting the feel for those back. When his slider is on it's virtually unhittable, especially when it's diving to the back foot of right-handed hitters, and when needed, CC can still ratchet up the heat on his fastball. He's the most complete, dominant pitcher on the staff with a temperament perfectly suited to pitching under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, and is looking at another season with 200+ innings, 15-20 wins, an ERA in the low-to-mid 3.00's, and more consideration for AL Cy Young.
A.J. Burnett had a season of ups and downs last year and will be looking for more consistency in 2010. While some of his overall peripheral numbers were good in '09, Burnett too often switched between throwing 7 or 8 shutout innings and then going out next time and getting yanked after giving up 6 or 7 runs in 3 innings. Burnett's issues were all based around command or lack thereof and those command problems were reflected in his high walk and wild pitch totals. Much like CC, A.J. has dynamite stuff and when he's on his fastball-curveball combo is as devastating as any in the game. Burnett's problem, as it's always been, is being on and staying on.
Burnett found a security blanket with Jose Molina after clashing with Jorge earlier in the year, but this year he won't have that benefit and has already made great efforts to work with Jorge and iron out their differences from last year. Early reviews from both of them and from observers are that they are on the same page and working together much better than last year. That fact, along with A.J. spending a lot of time working on improving his changeup during Spring Training should help him fix some of last year's problems. Burnett is a horse, so the innings and strikeouts are always going to be there. If he can cut down on the walks and wild pitches and use his changeup to keep batters off-balance and not sit on the heater or the curve, he can improve greatly on last year's numbers and potentially give the Yankees the best 1-2 punch in the league.
Just like Derek Jeter yesterday, there isn't much you have to say about Andy Pettitte. If A.J. Burnett is the Forrest Gump "box o' chocolates" in the Yankee rotation, then Andy is the pack of Bazooka bubble gum; you know exactly what you're going to get with him.
With his velocity long diminished, Andy has transitioned seamlessly to being primarily a finesse pitcher, kind of Tom Glavine-y if you will (and I think you will). His cutter is now his best pitch and Andy uses it to induce ground balls and swings and misses from righties. His curveball can still be a killer too when he's got good command of it, and Andy mixes in enough 4-seam fastballs, changeups, and some sinkers to keep batters on their toes every time they step in the box. Because he has the ability to throw any pitch at any time in the count, you've either got to guess right or have him miss his target completely to get good wood on the ball.
Andy is the elder statesmen of the rotation, but last season he got stronger as the season wore on, continuing all the way through the playoffs where he pitched on short rest. He is a big injury risk this year at his age and it would be a shock if he put up the same kind of numbers he did last year, but with improved depth behind him in the rotation and a stacked bullpen, the Yankees don’t need and probably aren't expecting him to. Anything close to what he did in '09 is gravy for the Yankees, as long as they have him as healthy as possible for the postseason.
The new guy to the party this year, Javier Vazquez, is someone who's been here before. After a night-and-day 2004, Javy was shipped out of town and now comes back after traveling to Arizona, Chicago, and Atlanta a more mature and polished pitcher than he was before he left.
Just like Burnett, Vazquez has always had the stuff to be successful. And just like Burnett, Javy's success comes down to being consistent and mentally focused. Now that he has spent some time working on his craft, Javy has changed his approach on the mound to include more off-speed pitches and that new approach brought him his greatest season of his career last year with the Braves. He likely won’t put up those numbers this year being back in the AL East, but it is certainly not out of this world to expect him to pitch in the mid-to-high 3.00's in ERA and log 200+ innings. Any team in baseball would kill to get that kind of production from their 4th starter and the Yankees would be ecstatic about that as well after what Chien-Ming Wang did last year. Nobody is expecting Vazquez to compete for the Cy Young, but an above-average year and 12-15 wins aren't out of the question.
Last but not least, the winner of the rotation sweepstakes, Phil Hughes. Phil has been one of the crown jewels of the Yankee system since what seems like about 1987, but between injuries, rotation depth, and competition, has never been able to firmly entrench himself on the staff. Last year Hughes found a home and great success (cue the Borat thumbs up) in the bullpen after being shifted there to make room for the returning CMW. While the fewer innings pitched as a result of being a reliever last year will force the Yankees to limit Hughes' innings this season, I feel like the experience and confidence he gained out of the 'pen should help him as he makes the transition back to the rotation.
Hughes, like many other Yankee pitchers, spent the better part of Spring Training working on his changeup, which will give him 4 pitches to work with as a starter. His cutter and curveball were both greatly improved last year, and if he can continue to master the changeup and develop consistent command of his fastball, Hughes can be a more than serviceable 5th starter.
He's still one of the youngest players in the AL (he's only 23; that's younger than me for Christ's sake!) so there's no rush to perform at an All-Star level, and we will undoubtedly see Sergio Mitre a/o Alfredo Aceves for a few starts to keep his innings down, but barring another injury setback I see Hughes finally settling into a starter's role this year and moving towards becoming the top-of-the-rotation stud that the Yankees have envisioned him as for the last 4-5 years.
Projected Rotation:
1) CC Sabathia
2) A.J. Burnett
3) Andy Pettitte
4) Javy Vazquez
5) Phil Hughes
Overall this rotation is much better than what the Yanks opened 2009 with. They have 3 guys capable of throwing 200+ innings and 2 other guys who can easily get 150-170 innings of above-league average output. The only lingering concern could be the after-effects of last postseason's workload on the top 3, but steps have already been taken this spring to limit workloads, especially Pettitte's, in an effort to ease that concern. One thing is for sure, this year the rotation has fewer question marks than last year, and with how last year turned out that's a good sign for 2010.
After making it back to the promised land and winning the World Series last year, the Yankees enter 2010 minus a few familiar faces and plus a few new (and old) ones. The 2 biggest departures were from the starting lineup in the form of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. But through a trade and a cash-friendly free agent signing, the Yanks were able to re-tool the lineup for this season and should sport a group potentially just as potent, if not more so, than last year's model. Here's how it breaks down:
Catcher: One position that had no turnover was behind the plate, where the Yankees will open another season with their unquestioned clubhouse leader, Jorge Posada, manning the dish. At an age where most catchers are taking positions in the broadcast booth or simply being taken out behind the old barn and shot, Jorge continues to put up solid offensive numbers, a true testament to just how tough and talented a player he is.
Jorge's decline is expected to take a more steep, dramatic turn this season and the Yankees have planned accordingly to try to limit his games behind the plate. Even with the decline and fewer at-bats, Posada should put up above-average numbers from the catcher position and the Yankees will work to keep his bat in the lineup as much as possible. His defense is a weakness, but it was never a strength to begin with, so as long as he continues to gel with A.J. Burnett and call a good game for the pitching staff, the Yanks will take the good with the bad and look forward to getting another productive season from Jorge in what could be his last as a full-time catcher.
Designated Hitter: The Yanks go from a slow, oft-injured, patient hitter with streaky power in 2009 to a slower, more often-injured, more patient hitter with even streakier power in 2010. Nick Johnson isn't new to the bright lights of the Bronx, and since leaving New York in 2003 he has proven himself to be one of the most patient hitters in the game. With Johnson, the Yankees know exactly what they're getting, the only question is how much of it will they get if Johnson spends a lot of the season on the DL.
Johnson's all-world eye at the plate makes him an ideal candidate to bat 2nd, which is exactly where the Yankees plan to use him. Kevin Long has already worked on tweaking his swing to build more leg drive into it, which should help increase Johnson's power and allow him to take advantage of the short porch in right field. He has next to no speed on the basepaths, but with the 2 mashers hitting behind him, there should be enough balls sailing into the gaps and over the fence to lessen the worry about Nick The Not Quick clogging the bases. If he stays healthy, and that is a BIG if, Johnson can easily replicate the production the Yankees got from Godzilla last season.
Infield: After putting up pretty spiffy numbers across the board last season, the Yankee infield is poised to have an even bigger year in 2010. Between Teix now being more comfortable and adjusted to New York, A-Rod's hip being back to full health, Cano being another year older and hopefully more mature, and Jeter just being Derek Jeter, the Yankee infield has the potential to put up historic numbers this season and make a case for "Best Infield of All-Time" status.
Teix had an MVP-caliber year in '09 and if he can avoid repeating the horrid April he had last year, his numbers could be even better this season; I'm talking .300/40/135-territory here. Throw in the fact that he's the best defensive first baseman in the game and that's really all you need to say about him.
Despite the steroid scandal and the hip surgery, The A-Horse still managed to hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs last year playing on one leg. He followed that up with a monster postseason that erased all the talk of him being a choke artist and now he comes into 2010 with his hip back to 100% and his mind just as clear and carefree as it was last year. A-Rod has been mashing the ball of late this spring and all indications are he is heading back to more A-Rodian territory in the stats department, which could make the MVP debates this season even more intriguing.
The wild card in this 3-4-5 lineup trio is Cano. After years of putting up really good but not great numbers, 2010 is the year Cano is being looked at to finally put it all together and have the type of season everyone believes he is capable of. He is being given a big opportunity/responsibility as the 5th hitter in the order, and should get plenty of chances to shed his growing "can't hit in the clutch" label by hitting behind A-Rod. Cano has also been scalding the ball this spring, a good sign for someone who has been a notoriously slow starter his entire career. If Cano stays focused and a little more patient at the plate all season long, he could easily drive in 100-110 runs and compete for a Gold Glove. The toolbox is full, the foundation is set, now it's time for Cano to start putting the tools to work.
Last but not least is El Capitan, Derek Jeter. There isn't much to debate or guess about when it comes to Jeter. At this stage in his career, you know what you're going to get from him. With age starting to factor into his performance a bit, I don't expect Jeter to replicate last season's numbers offensively or defensively, but he should still produce at an above-average level and set the table for the heart of the order. Another .300+-average, 200+-hit, 100+-run season is not out of the question as he plays for his new contract.
Outfield: It's not quite a complete changeover from '09, but with the Granderson-Gardner duo replacing Damon-Melky, there will certainly be a new look to the Yankee outfield, a look that should result in better defense thanks to improved speed and arm strength in left and center.
Brett Gardner will start the season in left, but could see some time in center as the season progresses. He is still a bit of an unknown commodity and the Yanks signing Randy Winn and Marcus Thames is a sign of their questioning whether or not Gardner can be a productive full-time player. Defensively he is a whizz in outfield and will help a staff chock full of flyball pitchers. Offensively he doesn't have a lot of pop, but makes up for that with his blinding speed. When he is on base, Gardner can create havoc for the opposing team, and he has been working on his bunting this spring to maximize the value of that speed. Being fully recovered from last year's wrist injury should also help improve his hitting. Personally, I think Gardner is underrated and will end up being very productive this year from the 9-spot, but only time will tell.
Curtis Granderson takes over in center field and even at his worst he is an upgrade over Melky Cabrera. The 2 biggest questions about C-Grand were his route taking in the outfield and his ability to hit lefty pitching. So far this spring he has looked better than advertised in both of those departments, and working all year with Kevin Long should lead to continued improvement at the plate. Granderson cracked 30 homers last year and could hit even more in the right field jet stream at the new Stadium. I expect him to have a solid season and endear himself to the Yankee fans the same way Damon did during his time in Pinstripes.
The one holdover from last year is Nick Swisher in right. Last year, Swishalicious' production made him a steal with what the Yankees gave up to get him, and he has already worked with Kevin Long in the offseason to improve his swing and up his average this year. I don't expect another 29 homers and 82 RBIs from Swish in 2010, but he should still put up very good numbers from the 8-spot and play above-average right field. His patience at the plate should help Gardner in the 9-spot and create problems for opponents as walks will allow the lineup to turn back over to Jeter and Johnson at the top.
Projected Lineup:
1) Derek Jeter- SS
2) Nick Johnson- DH
3) Mark Teixeira- 1B
4) Alex Rodriguez- 3B
5) Robinson Cano- 2B
6) Jorge Posada- C
7) Curtis Granderson- CF
8) Nick Swisher- RF
9) Brett Gardner- LF
I just jizzed a little in my pants looking at that. My guess is most AL pitchers pooped in their's.
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