The lineup reports will be in this afternoon.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
My Bad, Y'all
I know I was supposed to put up the lineup report cards yesterday, but I was a lazy forgetful asshole. So to make up for it, here's a picture of Minka Kelly. Even if Jeter doesn't get the contract he wants, he's still got this to fall back on.
The lineup reports will be in this afternoon.
The lineup reports will be in this afternoon.
Friday, November 5, 2010
2010 Yankee Report Cards Part III: The Rotation
* CC Sabathia- A: I was thinking about bumping old Parachute Pants down for his miserable postseason performance, but I'll give him a pass because of the knee injury. Who knows how long the guy was dealing with it through the 2010 season and he still managed to put up insane numbers: 237.2 IP, 21 W (I know, I know, it's a flawed stat), 3.18 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .656 OPS against, 134 ERA+, 5.4 WAR. So far he's been every bit the ace the Yankees signed him to be, and he did it again this year with a bum knee and a constantly unstable rest of the rotation behind. That's OK in my book.
* A.J. Burnett- D-: The only reason this isn't an F is because of his strong start to the season (4-0 with a 1.99 ERA through his first 6 starts). But from then on it was all bad news for A.J., whose basic stats are so ugly (5.26 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .285 BA against, .824 OPS against) that it makes going into the advanced and sabermetric categories completely unnecessary. But he was top 10 in the AL in losses and walks, so I guess it's not all bad news, right? A.J. Burnett has been a complete abortion in his 2 years in pinstripes and if he doesn't get his shit together next season, I would be all for outright releasing him and eating the rest of his contract or paying somebody connected to just off him.
* Andy Pettitte- A-: Only gets bumped down to the "-" because of the lost time due to injuries. When he was on the mound, Andy Pettitte was hands down the Yankees' 2nd best pitcher this season, sometimes their ace, and the only starter in the postseason who consistently pitched well (and he pitched VERY well). At age 38, Pettitte had one his 5 best seasons in 2010, posting a 3.28 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 130 ERA+, and 3.1 WAR, and continuing to use his Tom Glavine 2.0 repertoire to outwit opposing batters. Unlike the rest of the Yankee pitching staff, Pettitte shined with runners on, often limiting potential big rallies or crushing them altogether by making big pitches in clutch situations. If this was his last season, it was a damn good one.
* Phil Hughes- B: It was a tale of 2 halves for Phil Hughes this year: outstanding first half (11-2, 3.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .239 BA against pre-ASG) and a bit of a rough second half (7-6, 4.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .250 BA against post-ASG). But at the end of the day his yearly totals aren't bad for a 24-year-old in his first full-time season as a starter, and the future looks bright for Phil if he can continue to evolve his approach and improve his secondary pitches. Even with his second half struggles, Hughes finished second on the team in total Ks, finished just behind CC as the #1 starter in terms of K/9, and posted 2.7 WAR. Rest assured that my Phil Hughes boner will be back in full effect in 2011.
*Javy Vazquez- F: Not so surprisingly, Javy's second stint in New York was just as bad, if not worse, than his first. It's one thing to be a big blubbering pussy who melts down at the first sign of trouble when it's 2004 and you still have your stuff. It's another thing completely when you're still a big blubbering pussy who melts down at the first sign of trouble in 2010 when you have absolutely no stuff left. In 8 starts through June and early July, Javy was actually one of the best Yankee starters, but it was all downhill from there and his final numbers (5.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 1.86 K/BB, .818 OPS against) show just how putrid he was.
** 2010 Report Cards wrap up tomorrow with the lineup. Try and guess what Jeter's will be. **
* A.J. Burnett- D-: The only reason this isn't an F is because of his strong start to the season (4-0 with a 1.99 ERA through his first 6 starts). But from then on it was all bad news for A.J., whose basic stats are so ugly (5.26 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .285 BA against, .824 OPS against) that it makes going into the advanced and sabermetric categories completely unnecessary. But he was top 10 in the AL in losses and walks, so I guess it's not all bad news, right? A.J. Burnett has been a complete abortion in his 2 years in pinstripes and if he doesn't get his shit together next season, I would be all for outright releasing him and eating the rest of his contract or paying somebody connected to just off him.
* Andy Pettitte- A-: Only gets bumped down to the "-" because of the lost time due to injuries. When he was on the mound, Andy Pettitte was hands down the Yankees' 2nd best pitcher this season, sometimes their ace, and the only starter in the postseason who consistently pitched well (and he pitched VERY well). At age 38, Pettitte had one his 5 best seasons in 2010, posting a 3.28 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 130 ERA+, and 3.1 WAR, and continuing to use his Tom Glavine 2.0 repertoire to outwit opposing batters. Unlike the rest of the Yankee pitching staff, Pettitte shined with runners on, often limiting potential big rallies or crushing them altogether by making big pitches in clutch situations. If this was his last season, it was a damn good one.
* Phil Hughes- B: It was a tale of 2 halves for Phil Hughes this year: outstanding first half (11-2, 3.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .239 BA against pre-ASG) and a bit of a rough second half (7-6, 4.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .250 BA against post-ASG). But at the end of the day his yearly totals aren't bad for a 24-year-old in his first full-time season as a starter, and the future looks bright for Phil if he can continue to evolve his approach and improve his secondary pitches. Even with his second half struggles, Hughes finished second on the team in total Ks, finished just behind CC as the #1 starter in terms of K/9, and posted 2.7 WAR. Rest assured that my Phil Hughes boner will be back in full effect in 2011.
*Javy Vazquez- F: Not so surprisingly, Javy's second stint in New York was just as bad, if not worse, than his first. It's one thing to be a big blubbering pussy who melts down at the first sign of trouble when it's 2004 and you still have your stuff. It's another thing completely when you're still a big blubbering pussy who melts down at the first sign of trouble in 2010 when you have absolutely no stuff left. In 8 starts through June and early July, Javy was actually one of the best Yankee starters, but it was all downhill from there and his final numbers (5.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 1.86 K/BB, .818 OPS against) show just how putrid he was.
** 2010 Report Cards wrap up tomorrow with the lineup. Try and guess what Jeter's will be. **
Thursday, November 4, 2010
2010 Yankee Report Cards Part II: The Bullpen
* Mariano Rivera- A: Another gem of a season from the ageless wonder: 33 saves, 1.80 ERA, 0.83 WHIP in 60 innings of regular season work, then another scoreless 6.1 innings with only 4 baserunners allowed and 3 saves in the postseason. As usual, Rivera was the one shining constant in the always treacherous seas that are the Yankee bullpen and continues to put up numbers at age 40 that are so much better than what 99% of relievers can put up in their primes that it really isn't funny anymore.
* Dave Robertson- B-: Started off the season horribly (14.21 ERA on May 5, 7.31 ERA at the end of May), but was lights out for the remainder of the regular season, finishing up with a respectable 3.82 ERA for the season. Some of his peripherals are still impressive (10.42K/9) but 33 walks in 61.1 innings killed him and he melted down in the ALCS. With Kerry Wood unlikely to come back next season, D-Rob will be the early favorite as Mo's setup man but needs to show some improvement over the last 2 seasons to keep the job.
* Joba Chamberlain- C-: The long, strange journey for Joba took another turn for the worst this season. Like D-Rob, Joba had some impressive peripherals (less than 1 hit per IP, 9.67 K/9), but showed a frustrating inability to pitch well in close games and to limit damage on days where he didn't have his best (cough, cough, Brian Bruney, cough cough!!). By season's end he had fallen so far down Joe's depth chart that he was a postseason afterthought in the bullpen pecking order. For a season that could have been his last in pinstripes, it was nothing to write home about for Joba.
* Boone Logan- B: After a rough patch to start the year and a demotion to Triple-A, Boone Logan came back to replace Marte as the lefty specialist out of the 'pen and didn't disappoint. He rattled off 25 consecutive scoreless outings from July to September and finished with a respectable sub-3.00 ERA and only .85 H/IP. He, like pretty much everybody else in the bullpen, gave up too many walks, but Logan should start next year as the #1 lefty in the 'pen and has certainly earned that right with the way he pitched for the majority of 2010.
* Sergio Mitre- C+: After making a few early-season starts, Mitre settled into his role as the main long man in the 'pen after the loss of Aceves. His numbers look good (3.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), but Mitre didn't miss a lot of bats and didn't log a lot of high-pressure innings, so you can't put a whole lot of weight into what he did. And then there's the whole business of turning into a home run derby pitcher in the postseason, so yeah. He's basically an innings eater who did what he was supposed to do so he gets an average grade from me.
* Kerry Wood- A: Hands down the best move Cash made at the deadline, Wood was money from the time he put on the Yankee uniform. He was effectively wild at all times, allowing more walks (18) than hits (14) in his 26 regular season innings of work, but he worked out of trouble and missed a lot of bats (10.73 K/9). That effective wildness carried over to the postseason where Wood was the only pitcher not named Mo to completely shit the bed. He wouldn't be a bad part to have in the 'pen in 2011, but he'll be too expensive. For what they brought him in to do and for what they gave up to get him, though, Wood was everything you could ask for and then some.
* Chad Gaudin- C-: He's like Sergio Mitre Version 0.2. He serves the same purpose but doesn't do the job as well. Joe rode him in September, possibly as a postseason audition, but in the end Gaudin just wasn't good enough. His second stint with the Yankees went much like the first and I wouldn't expect him to break camp with the team next year.
* Alfredo Aceves & Damaso Marte- I: Ace was effective in his limited work (3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in 12 innings) while Marte wasn't (11 BB in 17.2 IP), but neither gets an actual grade because of the injuries that shortened their seasons. Getting Aceves back for 2011 would be a big boost to the 'pen, but I'm not holding my breath on getting anything from Marte, who becomes the latest in the long line of bad Yankee bullpen signings.
* Chan Ho Park- F-: I hate Chan Ho Park so fucking much that I can barely even describe it. How he lasted as long as he did in a Yankee uniform is beyond me. 5.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 7 HR allowed in just 35.1 innings. "Fuck" and "you," sir. The most productive thing he did in a Yankee uniform was get diarrhea. Thankfully, this is the last time I will ever have to mention him on this blog.
** Check back tomorrow for the rotation report cards **
* Dave Robertson- B-: Started off the season horribly (14.21 ERA on May 5, 7.31 ERA at the end of May), but was lights out for the remainder of the regular season, finishing up with a respectable 3.82 ERA for the season. Some of his peripherals are still impressive (10.42K/9) but 33 walks in 61.1 innings killed him and he melted down in the ALCS. With Kerry Wood unlikely to come back next season, D-Rob will be the early favorite as Mo's setup man but needs to show some improvement over the last 2 seasons to keep the job.
* Joba Chamberlain- C-: The long, strange journey for Joba took another turn for the worst this season. Like D-Rob, Joba had some impressive peripherals (less than 1 hit per IP, 9.67 K/9), but showed a frustrating inability to pitch well in close games and to limit damage on days where he didn't have his best (cough, cough, Brian Bruney, cough cough!!). By season's end he had fallen so far down Joe's depth chart that he was a postseason afterthought in the bullpen pecking order. For a season that could have been his last in pinstripes, it was nothing to write home about for Joba.
* Boone Logan- B: After a rough patch to start the year and a demotion to Triple-A, Boone Logan came back to replace Marte as the lefty specialist out of the 'pen and didn't disappoint. He rattled off 25 consecutive scoreless outings from July to September and finished with a respectable sub-3.00 ERA and only .85 H/IP. He, like pretty much everybody else in the bullpen, gave up too many walks, but Logan should start next year as the #1 lefty in the 'pen and has certainly earned that right with the way he pitched for the majority of 2010.
* Sergio Mitre- C+: After making a few early-season starts, Mitre settled into his role as the main long man in the 'pen after the loss of Aceves. His numbers look good (3.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), but Mitre didn't miss a lot of bats and didn't log a lot of high-pressure innings, so you can't put a whole lot of weight into what he did. And then there's the whole business of turning into a home run derby pitcher in the postseason, so yeah. He's basically an innings eater who did what he was supposed to do so he gets an average grade from me.
* Kerry Wood- A: Hands down the best move Cash made at the deadline, Wood was money from the time he put on the Yankee uniform. He was effectively wild at all times, allowing more walks (18) than hits (14) in his 26 regular season innings of work, but he worked out of trouble and missed a lot of bats (10.73 K/9). That effective wildness carried over to the postseason where Wood was the only pitcher not named Mo to completely shit the bed. He wouldn't be a bad part to have in the 'pen in 2011, but he'll be too expensive. For what they brought him in to do and for what they gave up to get him, though, Wood was everything you could ask for and then some.
* Chad Gaudin- C-: He's like Sergio Mitre Version 0.2. He serves the same purpose but doesn't do the job as well. Joe rode him in September, possibly as a postseason audition, but in the end Gaudin just wasn't good enough. His second stint with the Yankees went much like the first and I wouldn't expect him to break camp with the team next year.
* Alfredo Aceves & Damaso Marte- I: Ace was effective in his limited work (3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in 12 innings) while Marte wasn't (11 BB in 17.2 IP), but neither gets an actual grade because of the injuries that shortened their seasons. Getting Aceves back for 2011 would be a big boost to the 'pen, but I'm not holding my breath on getting anything from Marte, who becomes the latest in the long line of bad Yankee bullpen signings.
* Chan Ho Park- F-: I hate Chan Ho Park so fucking much that I can barely even describe it. How he lasted as long as he did in a Yankee uniform is beyond me. 5.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 7 HR allowed in just 35.1 innings. "Fuck" and "you," sir. The most productive thing he did in a Yankee uniform was get diarrhea. Thankfully, this is the last time I will ever have to mention him on this blog.
** Check back tomorrow for the rotation report cards **
Taking Stock Of The Current Rotation Situation
Those Locked In
- CC Sabathia: Recovering from recent knee surgery to repair his meniscus tear, the big fella was seen walking without a limp at the Nets game last night. He's scheduled to begin a 3-6 week rehab stint to get ready for Spring Training 2011. All looks well so far after surgery but the revelation by Joe that he had dealt with the knee injury all year in 2010 has to be a concern going forward.
- A.J. Burnett: In all likelihood he will be relegated to at least the 4th starter role next year after this season's debacle. A change at pitching coach could bring improvement next season. Shit, it would be hard to not improve on last year's numbers, new pitching coach aside. He'll be in the mix next year because of his hefty contract, but his 2011 performance could determine how much longer the Yanks are willing to put up with him.
- Phil Hughes: Probably still taking some time off after his career-high workload this season. All restrictions should come off next year as far as innings and Phil will be expected to make improvements on his weaknesses from 2010 and become the likely 3rd starter. The changeup needs to become a part of the everyday arsenal next year.
The Internal Question Mark
- Andy Pettitte: The post-ALCS story about Andy's postseason injury woes casts a dark cloud over the possibility of his return next season. He's surely doing the family thing right now and will probably take a few more weeks to decide what his plans are for 2011. Given how badly he broke down at the end of this season I don't expect him to go through that again.
The Big Free Agent Prize
- Cliff Lee: sitting at home licking his wife's wounds from her Yankee Stadium treatment and getting ready to hit the open market with a big payday on the horizon. I still don't think he will get CC money (7 years/$161 million), but he'll certainly get north of 20 mil per year, especially with the Yankees making the biggest push for him. No way he doesn't get the best offer from the Yanks, whether he decides to take that is up to him.
The Internal Backup Plan
- Ivan Nova: The most likely candidate to take the 5th rotation spot should Andy decide not to come back a/o Lee decide to not take the money. Nova was like a mini-Phil Hughes last year in his first Major League work experience, flashing brilliant stuff and a willingness to attack hitters, but failing to change his approach the 2nd and 3rd times through the lineup. Even if he doesn't break camp in the rotation in 2011, he will be the first one to fill in if/when injuries strike, so he'll be expected to produce.
The External Backup Plans
- Zack Greinke: According to the latest rumors, Greinke said he wouldn't accept a trade to the Bronx, but the Royals might feel differently depending on the package the Yankees offer. I know Greinke is a stud and entering his prime, but I would have serious reservations about giving up some top prospects and possibly Gardner for a potential headcase. We've seen guys who didn't have SAD wilt under the NY media spotlight.
- Hiroki Kuroda: Would really only be considered if Pettitte and Lee don't end up in pinstripes, but I know I wouldn't want him.
- Jake Westbrook: See above.
The FA Injury Risks
- Erik Bedard & Chris Young: Both officially hit the open market after not having options picked up by their teams yesterday. The Yanks have shown interest in Bedard in the past, but after not going after similar cases in Ben Sheets and Justin Duchsherer last season I can't see either of these guys getting consideration unless absolutely everything else fell through.
The Unthinkable
- Javy Vazquez: Don't even think about it!!
- CC Sabathia: Recovering from recent knee surgery to repair his meniscus tear, the big fella was seen walking without a limp at the Nets game last night. He's scheduled to begin a 3-6 week rehab stint to get ready for Spring Training 2011. All looks well so far after surgery but the revelation by Joe that he had dealt with the knee injury all year in 2010 has to be a concern going forward.
- A.J. Burnett: In all likelihood he will be relegated to at least the 4th starter role next year after this season's debacle. A change at pitching coach could bring improvement next season. Shit, it would be hard to not improve on last year's numbers, new pitching coach aside. He'll be in the mix next year because of his hefty contract, but his 2011 performance could determine how much longer the Yanks are willing to put up with him.
- Phil Hughes: Probably still taking some time off after his career-high workload this season. All restrictions should come off next year as far as innings and Phil will be expected to make improvements on his weaknesses from 2010 and become the likely 3rd starter. The changeup needs to become a part of the everyday arsenal next year.
The Internal Question Mark
- Andy Pettitte: The post-ALCS story about Andy's postseason injury woes casts a dark cloud over the possibility of his return next season. He's surely doing the family thing right now and will probably take a few more weeks to decide what his plans are for 2011. Given how badly he broke down at the end of this season I don't expect him to go through that again.
The Big Free Agent Prize
- Cliff Lee: sitting at home licking his wife's wounds from her Yankee Stadium treatment and getting ready to hit the open market with a big payday on the horizon. I still don't think he will get CC money (7 years/$161 million), but he'll certainly get north of 20 mil per year, especially with the Yankees making the biggest push for him. No way he doesn't get the best offer from the Yanks, whether he decides to take that is up to him.
The Internal Backup Plan
- Ivan Nova: The most likely candidate to take the 5th rotation spot should Andy decide not to come back a/o Lee decide to not take the money. Nova was like a mini-Phil Hughes last year in his first Major League work experience, flashing brilliant stuff and a willingness to attack hitters, but failing to change his approach the 2nd and 3rd times through the lineup. Even if he doesn't break camp in the rotation in 2011, he will be the first one to fill in if/when injuries strike, so he'll be expected to produce.
The External Backup Plans
- Zack Greinke: According to the latest rumors, Greinke said he wouldn't accept a trade to the Bronx, but the Royals might feel differently depending on the package the Yankees offer. I know Greinke is a stud and entering his prime, but I would have serious reservations about giving up some top prospects and possibly Gardner for a potential headcase. We've seen guys who didn't have SAD wilt under the NY media spotlight.
- Hiroki Kuroda: Would really only be considered if Pettitte and Lee don't end up in pinstripes, but I know I wouldn't want him.
- Jake Westbrook: See above.
The FA Injury Risks
- Erik Bedard & Chris Young: Both officially hit the open market after not having options picked up by their teams yesterday. The Yanks have shown interest in Bedard in the past, but after not going after similar cases in Ben Sheets and Justin Duchsherer last season I can't see either of these guys getting consideration unless absolutely everything else fell through.
The Unthinkable
- Javy Vazquez: Don't even think about it!!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
2010 Yankee Report Cards Part I: The Bench
In taking a bit of a belated look at the 2010 Yankee season, we'll start at the back end and work our way forward with the bench first. Oh, and I'm only counting guys who had 75 or more ABs and weren't injured. Sound good? Good.
* Francisco Cervelli- C+: This season proved that Frankie was nothing more than a backup catcher as his offensive numbers over extended at-bats were painful to look at (.335 SLG, .694 OPS). He does get bonus points for hitting well with RISP and the couple of very hot streaks he had at the beginning and end of the regular season, but loses some for his less than stellar defense this year and Jorge-like inability to throw out runners.
* Marcus Thames- A-: Gets bumped to the bench slot because Nick Johnson was supposed to be the everyday DH, but Thames did exactly what he was supposed to do this year: destroy left-handed pitching. But he also held his own against the righties, actually posting a higher tripleslash (.896) than he did against lefties (.812). He loses points for being a complete disaster in the field, but he would be welcomed back next year by me for sure.
* Ramiro Pena- C: 154 at-bats this year put the final doubts to rest about whether or not the kid can hit at the Major League level, and the fact of the matter is he can't. A .227/.258/.247 line with only 2 XBH in those 154 at-bats is ugly any way you look at it. He can provide a solid glove on the left side of the infield, but doesn't have any other tools that make him a more attractive option than Eduardo Nunez.
* Lance Berkman- B-: In 106 platoon at-bats at DH and 1B, Berkman showed that his power is pretty much gone (1 HR, .349 SLG) but that he can still work a count with the best of them (.358 OBP). The injury he suffered after joining the Yankees didn't do him any favors and he actually did swing the bat batter upon returning from the DL and filled in admirably at first in Teix's absence.
* Austin Kearns- C-: He started off strong and got some big hits while filling in for Brett Gardner, but then turned into a walking strikeout in late September. He's got all the tools to be a solid 4th outfielder and is a better stick than Randy Winn, Kevin Russo, Chad Huffman, or Colin Curtis, but doesn't have enough to overtake anybody on the Yankee roster as a starter.
* Eduardo Nunez- B+: OK, I lied about the 75 ABs thing, but Nunez is a worthy candidate for breaking that rule. In just 50 at-bats Nunez showed some patience and some toughness at the plate (14 hits), a little pop (1 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI), and the potential to improve with more chances. He also was a perfect 5-for-5 in steal attempts and can play a better SS than Jeter and just as good a 3rd base as A-Rod. Supposedly he was the deal breaker in the Cliff Lee trade in July so the Yankees have plans for him. I'd like to see him step into Pena's role in 2011 and see what he can do with a couple hundred at-bats.
For the rest of guys (Juan Miranda, Russo, Winn, Huffman, Curtis, Chad Moeller, Greg Golson), I'll give them a collective "C" grade. Yeah, they're numbers don't look at all impressive when you put them all together, but you wouldn't expect them to in the first place when you look at that list of names. These guys were brought in to provide depth and to help fill out a lineup card when injuries struck and they did that job admirably.
** Tomorrow we'll cover the bullpen. **
* Francisco Cervelli- C+: This season proved that Frankie was nothing more than a backup catcher as his offensive numbers over extended at-bats were painful to look at (.335 SLG, .694 OPS). He does get bonus points for hitting well with RISP and the couple of very hot streaks he had at the beginning and end of the regular season, but loses some for his less than stellar defense this year and Jorge-like inability to throw out runners.
* Marcus Thames- A-: Gets bumped to the bench slot because Nick Johnson was supposed to be the everyday DH, but Thames did exactly what he was supposed to do this year: destroy left-handed pitching. But he also held his own against the righties, actually posting a higher tripleslash (.896) than he did against lefties (.812). He loses points for being a complete disaster in the field, but he would be welcomed back next year by me for sure.
* Ramiro Pena- C: 154 at-bats this year put the final doubts to rest about whether or not the kid can hit at the Major League level, and the fact of the matter is he can't. A .227/.258/.247 line with only 2 XBH in those 154 at-bats is ugly any way you look at it. He can provide a solid glove on the left side of the infield, but doesn't have any other tools that make him a more attractive option than Eduardo Nunez.
* Lance Berkman- B-: In 106 platoon at-bats at DH and 1B, Berkman showed that his power is pretty much gone (1 HR, .349 SLG) but that he can still work a count with the best of them (.358 OBP). The injury he suffered after joining the Yankees didn't do him any favors and he actually did swing the bat batter upon returning from the DL and filled in admirably at first in Teix's absence.
* Austin Kearns- C-: He started off strong and got some big hits while filling in for Brett Gardner, but then turned into a walking strikeout in late September. He's got all the tools to be a solid 4th outfielder and is a better stick than Randy Winn, Kevin Russo, Chad Huffman, or Colin Curtis, but doesn't have enough to overtake anybody on the Yankee roster as a starter.
* Eduardo Nunez- B+: OK, I lied about the 75 ABs thing, but Nunez is a worthy candidate for breaking that rule. In just 50 at-bats Nunez showed some patience and some toughness at the plate (14 hits), a little pop (1 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI), and the potential to improve with more chances. He also was a perfect 5-for-5 in steal attempts and can play a better SS than Jeter and just as good a 3rd base as A-Rod. Supposedly he was the deal breaker in the Cliff Lee trade in July so the Yankees have plans for him. I'd like to see him step into Pena's role in 2011 and see what he can do with a couple hundred at-bats.
For the rest of guys (Juan Miranda, Russo, Winn, Huffman, Curtis, Chad Moeller, Greg Golson), I'll give them a collective "C" grade. Yeah, they're numbers don't look at all impressive when you put them all together, but you wouldn't expect them to in the first place when you look at that list of names. These guys were brought in to provide depth and to help fill out a lineup card when injuries struck and they did that job admirably.
** Tomorrow we'll cover the bullpen. **
Preach, Hal. Preach!
Hal Steinbrenner on the Jeter contract talks:
"We absolutely want him back. ... But having said that, we're running a business here, so if there's a deal to be done, it's going to have to be a deal that both sides are happy with."
"You just never know with these things. Both parties need to be happy with the deal, and that may make things more complicated, I don't know."
"There's always the possibility that things could get messy."
"I know our fans are very emotional and that's what we love about them. But I've got to do my job on behalf of the partnership and our partners and everybody else involved in the organization. Hank and I need to keep a level head and realize that we're running a business here. We have to remain somewhat objective and we're going to do that." (used courtesy of ESPNNY.com)
Now before I get too into this, let me state that I am a huge Derek Jeter fan. He has been my favorite Yankee of all-time and the first player I really became attached to and followed when I became old enough to appreciate baseball as a true fan. I know I've got a post coming up some time in the next week or 2 about how hard it's been for me as a fan to watch Jeter struggle this year and accept that possibly my greatest sports hero has started his decline into athletic mediocrity. But that being said, I fucking love everything that Hal said yesterday and I completely agree with his assessment of the situation.
Everybody has just assumed that the Yankees were going to bend over for Jeter after the season and give him an otherworldly contract that he didn't deserve because of who he is and because of what he's done and because of the whole "Yanks need Jeter/Jeter needs the Yanks" argument. But the truth of the matter is, Derek Jeter needs the Yankees far more than they need him. They could plug in Eduardo Nunez at short next year, put him in the 9-spot in the lineup and end up with decent offensive production from the SS position with far better defense at a much more reasonable price while also maximizing their value and production from the leadoff spot by moving Brett Gardner there.
The Yankees aren't dumb, they know this shit. And they probably also know that this season wasn't just a blip on the radar, it really was the beginning of the end of Derek Jeter as a productive Major League Baseball player. And not only do the Yankees know this, Jeter knows this. He would never admit it in an interview, but he has to know he's starting to slip. You don't ground into that many DPs in a season and swing late on that many low-90s fastballs because of bad luck. You do it because of deteriorating skill. And in most cases, when guys start to deteriorate, they either don't get re-signed or they start getting signed for less bucks.
So Hal, knowing what the situation is with Jeter, goes on the offensive about the contract negotiations and makes a bunch of unexpected, but perfectly honest and reasonable statements about the contract, and thereby gives the Yankees the upper hand in the negotiations. Of course they want Jeter back, and they should have him back. The guy is a fucking Yankee icon and for what he's done for the team over his career he does deserve to get paid far more than market value. But Hal knows damn well Jeter isn't worth A-Rod money or Pujols money as far as a contract goes and he knows the team doesn't want to be saddled with a 4-year deal or more for a guy who flat out can't play short anymore and doesn't really have another position to play right now. And Jeter knows this too, and knows that even if he doesn't get a 4-year, $72 million deal from the Yankees, he isn't even going to come close to that with any other team out on the open market. Even at less than he wants, he is still going to make the most money playing for the Yankees.
This was the perfect tactical move by Hal in giving the team some leverage in this negotiation and ultimately doing what's best for the organization in the short and long run. The team will still bring back Jeter, no doubt, but now it will probably be for less than we all originally thought. Jeter really has no choice but to accept the player he is and accept the deal the Yankees offer him, knowing it's still going to be the best offer he gets by far. The Yankees can shorten the years up (and maybe lessen the dollars too), still honor Jeter's reputation and standing within the organization, and not be stuck with him into his late 30s-early 40s when he's officially washed up. And if Jeter doesn't play ball with the team, suddenly he becomes the bad guy in the media for not wanting to come back. And we all know how that worked out with Johnny Damon.
So bravo, Hal. Bravo indeed. Now just don't be an idiot and hand the guy a 4-year deal with a player option for a 5th after all this tough talk.
P.S.- My deal I would offer to Jeter? 2 years/ $30 mil, club option for 2013. Fair? You decide.
"We absolutely want him back. ... But having said that, we're running a business here, so if there's a deal to be done, it's going to have to be a deal that both sides are happy with."
"You just never know with these things. Both parties need to be happy with the deal, and that may make things more complicated, I don't know."
"There's always the possibility that things could get messy."
"I know our fans are very emotional and that's what we love about them. But I've got to do my job on behalf of the partnership and our partners and everybody else involved in the organization. Hank and I need to keep a level head and realize that we're running a business here. We have to remain somewhat objective and we're going to do that." (used courtesy of ESPNNY.com)
Now before I get too into this, let me state that I am a huge Derek Jeter fan. He has been my favorite Yankee of all-time and the first player I really became attached to and followed when I became old enough to appreciate baseball as a true fan. I know I've got a post coming up some time in the next week or 2 about how hard it's been for me as a fan to watch Jeter struggle this year and accept that possibly my greatest sports hero has started his decline into athletic mediocrity. But that being said, I fucking love everything that Hal said yesterday and I completely agree with his assessment of the situation.
Everybody has just assumed that the Yankees were going to bend over for Jeter after the season and give him an otherworldly contract that he didn't deserve because of who he is and because of what he's done and because of the whole "Yanks need Jeter/Jeter needs the Yanks" argument. But the truth of the matter is, Derek Jeter needs the Yankees far more than they need him. They could plug in Eduardo Nunez at short next year, put him in the 9-spot in the lineup and end up with decent offensive production from the SS position with far better defense at a much more reasonable price while also maximizing their value and production from the leadoff spot by moving Brett Gardner there.
The Yankees aren't dumb, they know this shit. And they probably also know that this season wasn't just a blip on the radar, it really was the beginning of the end of Derek Jeter as a productive Major League Baseball player. And not only do the Yankees know this, Jeter knows this. He would never admit it in an interview, but he has to know he's starting to slip. You don't ground into that many DPs in a season and swing late on that many low-90s fastballs because of bad luck. You do it because of deteriorating skill. And in most cases, when guys start to deteriorate, they either don't get re-signed or they start getting signed for less bucks.
So Hal, knowing what the situation is with Jeter, goes on the offensive about the contract negotiations and makes a bunch of unexpected, but perfectly honest and reasonable statements about the contract, and thereby gives the Yankees the upper hand in the negotiations. Of course they want Jeter back, and they should have him back. The guy is a fucking Yankee icon and for what he's done for the team over his career he does deserve to get paid far more than market value. But Hal knows damn well Jeter isn't worth A-Rod money or Pujols money as far as a contract goes and he knows the team doesn't want to be saddled with a 4-year deal or more for a guy who flat out can't play short anymore and doesn't really have another position to play right now. And Jeter knows this too, and knows that even if he doesn't get a 4-year, $72 million deal from the Yankees, he isn't even going to come close to that with any other team out on the open market. Even at less than he wants, he is still going to make the most money playing for the Yankees.
This was the perfect tactical move by Hal in giving the team some leverage in this negotiation and ultimately doing what's best for the organization in the short and long run. The team will still bring back Jeter, no doubt, but now it will probably be for less than we all originally thought. Jeter really has no choice but to accept the player he is and accept the deal the Yankees offer him, knowing it's still going to be the best offer he gets by far. The Yankees can shorten the years up (and maybe lessen the dollars too), still honor Jeter's reputation and standing within the organization, and not be stuck with him into his late 30s-early 40s when he's officially washed up. And if Jeter doesn't play ball with the team, suddenly he becomes the bad guy in the media for not wanting to come back. And we all know how that worked out with Johnny Damon.
So bravo, Hal. Bravo indeed. Now just don't be an idiot and hand the guy a 4-year deal with a player option for a 5th after all this tough talk.
P.S.- My deal I would offer to Jeter? 2 years/ $30 mil, club option for 2013. Fair? You decide.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Oh My Goodness Gracious!! Kevin Long Is BACK!!!
OK, so it's not that dramatic that it needs an over-the-top Waldman-esque intro, but the Yankees bringing back The Mad Batting Scientist, Kevin Long, to his own 3-year deal that mirrors that of Joe Girardi is, while not being overly surprising, a brilliant move by the Yankees. There might not be a guy more liked or respected in the Yankee clubhouse than Long, and his list of success stories with the Yankee hitters is quite a long one. You look up and down the lineup and it's almost impossible to find somebody that hasn't seeked out Long's Jedi-like hitting guidance over the last 3 years.
- He's tweaked and re-tweaked and re-tweaked his re-tweaks to A-Rod countless times in the last 3 years, and A-Rod often takes it upon himself to spend extra time in the catch and watching video with Long whenever his swing is off.
- He helped Teix break out of his early-season slump by opening up his stance to give him more balance and get his hips through the zone quicker and got Teix back on the 30-HR, 100-RBI path in no time.
- He spent 2009 helping Robbie Cano refine his stance to provide better balance through the zone and talk out the extra pre-pitch movement that was slowing him down and then focused on the mental approach side of Robbie's at-bats prior to this season to turn him into one of the most deadly 'middle-of-the-lineup' hitters in the game in 2010.
- He used the same approach with Nick Swisher to help "quiet" his swing in the 2009 offseason, both pre-pitch and during his actual swing to turn Swish from a .230-.240 hitter to someone who hit a career-high .288 this year while maintaining the level of power he achieved by working with Long last season, focusing on subtracting the excess motion from his pre-pitch stance, and using his legs and hips more in conjunction with his arms through the swing.
- And in perhaps his finest hours, at the request of Curtis Granderson, Long completely broke down and built his swing back up piece by piece over 2 days in August, opening up the stance, getting Granderson to keep his hands back a bit, maintain contact on the bat with both hands through the swing, and also doing the same "quieting" of his pre-pitch stance that he did with Cano and Swish. C-Grand responded by hitting .278./.369/.622 in September and carried that hot steak into the postseason where he hit .357.514/.607 in the Yankees' 10 playoff games with 4 XBH, 6 RBIs, and 8 BB to only 5 K.
In addition to these bigger cases, Long sat down with Derek Jeter in September and got him back on the right track, has spent lots of time working to develop Brett Gardner into an everyday player capable of hitting enough to make his blinding speed a weapon, and even worked with Lance Berkman upon his arrival. If anybody other than Robbie Cano deserves credit as Yankee MVP for 2010, it's Long. He gets along well with everybody, pays attention to each and every hitter's individual needs, and has produced such good results that players are going to WANT to come to him for help when they're struggling.
By all indications, the rest of the Yankee coaching staff (Thompson, Kelleher, Tony Pena) will be back in their roles next season with Mike Harkey potentially taking over as pitching coach. While all those moves (minus Harkey) will be good for the team in 2011, none of them, not even the return of Joe Girardi will mean as much to the players and the Yankees' success next season as the return of Kevin Long will.
Starting Off A New Month The Right Way
... With the new Deftones video for "You've Seen The Butcher." No Yankee hat for Sergio in this one, but whatever. I'd rather watch this video than watch the Rangers, the team that was supposedly SOOOOOOOO much better than the Yankees, continue to get their heads kicked in in the World Series, and I'd rather talk about this video than discuss the ridiculous amount of money Jeter is going to get in a few weeks to continue to decline as a hitter and be a guaranteed hit through the hole as a shortstop for the next couple years.
(Yes, I am still bitter about the ALCS loss and yes, I am still upset about it to the point that it's affecting my ability to write. Deal with it.)
Friday, October 29, 2010
On Dave Eiland's Departure
Even though it's old news at this point, I still feel compelled to write a bit more about the firing, letting go, not re-signing, whatever you want to call it, of Dave Eiland.
I was a supporter of the move to make Eiland the pitching coach in 2008 with the signing of then new manager Joe Girardi. Eiland's claim to fame was his reportedly remarkable work and rapport with the Yankees' Big 3 pitching prospect trio of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy. He had worked with them on their way up through the farm system and with the Yankees' plan being to make them the cornerstone of their rotation moving forward, it made sense to have the guy who had the most experience with them working as the pitching coach.
Fast forward to 2.5 years later and Kennedy is no longer with the organization after flaming out horribly in his first 2 stints with the Yanks and becoming part of the 3-team trade that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx. Joba Chamberlain, who I will admit was completely fucked up by the team's horrific plan to manage his workload, has never come close to replicating the electric stuff he showed in 2007 nor has he ever shown the ability to handle the mental aspect of being an effective Major League pitcher as a starter or reliever. And Phil Hughes, after some injury setbacks, finally broke into the rotation this year and after a fantastic start, came back to Earth as the season wore on and teams began to pick up on his patterns.
As excited as I was about Eiland's hiring, I quickly tired of him through 2008 and 2009, as it seemed like he was always 2 batters too late in coming out to talk to pitchers who were struggling in outings and when he did come out he never seemed to say anything productive to them to make them change their approach or 2 batters too early to come out and talk to a pitcher who wasn't even in any real trouble. And after watching Joba continue to struggle this year, A.J. continue to be an inconsistent mess for the 2nd year in a row, and Javy never be able to find a way to work effectively with rapidly declining stuff (something Mike Mussina learned how to do in his final season in pinstripes), it was clear that Eiland had peaked and his time had come.
His pedigree with young pitchers got him the job, but it was clear that Eiland is not and never was the right man to get them over the hump and help bring them to that next level. Pitching in Triple-A versus pitching in the Majors is like night and day, and coaching is the same way. Eiland just didn't have the capacity and experience as a coach to translate the success his pitchers had at the lower levels to the Majors. Add to that his inability to work with veterans on the staff to overcome their issues and the fact that there is another bump crop of arms ready to possibly contribute in the next 2 years (Nova, Banuelos, Brackman, Betances, Phelps, Stoneburner, Warren, etc.) and it all added up to a pretty easy decision to me.
I believe Cash when he said Eiland's midseason personal absence didn't contribute to his being let go, and it shouldn't have. But when you look at his body of work as the pitching coach and consider the future, it's clear the Yankees need someone who can be more hands on and more helpful to both the younger arms on the team and the veterans. A.J. Burnett is a big cloud hanging over this rotation over the next 3 years with all the money he's making and Eiland had his time to crack the code that makes A.J. tick and couldn't do it. He had his time to turn Joba into something other than a hard throwing headcase who loses his composure at the first sign of trouble and he couldn't do it. He had his time to work with Phil Hughes to develop an effective 3rd pitch to make him a potential top flight starter and he couldn't do it. And the Yankees need somebody who can.
I wish Dave Eiland all the best and I hope whatever personal issues he had during the season have been resolved. I thank him for the work he did with Joba and Hughes in the Minors, laying the groundwork for the effective pitchers they have been, are, and can be. But I am also glad to see him go and I don't feel bad for saying that.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
A Little Welcome Back Catch Up
Well kids, my break is over. I've been far too productive at all the other things in my life sick with a wicked chest cold and drinking more beer than I probably should have over the last 5 days so I figured it was time to dust off the old keyboard and get back into the swing of things in Yankeeland. Here's my quick takes on the biggest Yankee newsbits to come to light since the ALCS ended with promise of more in-depth discussion to follow.
* Eiland Not Brought Back For 2011
Can't say I'm surprised or disappointed by this move. Eiland had pretty much hit his ceiling of effectiveness in 2010 with Joba' continued struggles, A.J.'s continued sucktitude, Phil's inability to adapt to the league's changing approach against him as the season wore on, and the constant ups and downs of the bullpens. His little one-month PTO session in the middle of the season probably didn't help his cause either. I haven't the first guess about with whom the Yankees will replace Eiland, but if it's Mike Harkey I might kill myself.
* Andy In Rough Shape In The Playoffs
Again, can't say I'm surprised by this. He didn't get a lot of work after coming back from the groin injury, never got fully stretched out before the postseason started, he's 38 years old, and he's not on HGH anymore. Pettitte's health was always a question mark all year, so why would you expect it to be any different after a 162-game grind? I will say that this information coming to light after the fact makes Joe's choice of ALCS rotation make a little more sense as he wanted to give Pettitte more rest, and it makes Pettitte's performance in both his postseason starts that much more impressive. I mean, you do realize that he was 3 pitches away from throwing 14 shutout innings in the playoffs at age 38, right? God and damn!
* CC Has Knee Surgery
I would say it sheds some light on why he pitched so poorly in the postseason, but then I look up and re-read the story about Pettitte having a shitty back and shitty hamstrings and still dealing and I can't really chalk CC's ineffectiveness up to just health. This will obviously bring up all the questions about CC's workload and big fat ass again, and justifiably so. I think this story will linger around all throughout next season as the Yanks have to figure out how to keep the big guy in one piece for the next 5 years and keep him as the ace that he is and is supposed to be.
* Joe Gets A New Deal
Did he revert back to being a tightwad nervous wreck this season? Yes. Does he horribly mismanage his starting rotation and bullpen all the time because of his obsession with his matchup binder? Yes. Does he make you as a Yankee fan feel confident at all times? Absolutely not. But who else is out there who could do better? I don't want Torre back here, LaRussa isn't going anywhere, Sweet Lou has retired, and what the fuck has Bobby Valentine ever done to make people love him so much? Each player on the team says Girardi is the best manager they've ever played for and that's good enough for me. At least for now.
* The World Series
Hey, Cliff Lee, thanks for saving your stinker of a game for the World Series. Seriously, bro, where the fuck were all those hanging curves for balls and cutters over the heart of the plate against the Yankees? That kinda shit ain't gonna get you the CC or Johan money you're looking for this offseason, dude. And tell your old lady to pipe down about how badly she was treated by the Yankee fans. She's the wife of an opposing team's best player in Yankee Stadium, what the fuck did she expect to happen?
Oh, and I couldn't care less about who wins this amateur hour World Series. A bunch of happy-go-lucky ginger ale sprayers with their cokehead manager against a rag-tag mishmash of other teams' spare parts off the scrap heap that happened to all start hitting a little bit at the same time. Whoopty-fuckin'-doo!
* Eiland Not Brought Back For 2011
Can't say I'm surprised or disappointed by this move. Eiland had pretty much hit his ceiling of effectiveness in 2010 with Joba' continued struggles, A.J.'s continued sucktitude, Phil's inability to adapt to the league's changing approach against him as the season wore on, and the constant ups and downs of the bullpens. His little one-month PTO session in the middle of the season probably didn't help his cause either. I haven't the first guess about with whom the Yankees will replace Eiland, but if it's Mike Harkey I might kill myself.
* Andy In Rough Shape In The Playoffs
Again, can't say I'm surprised by this. He didn't get a lot of work after coming back from the groin injury, never got fully stretched out before the postseason started, he's 38 years old, and he's not on HGH anymore. Pettitte's health was always a question mark all year, so why would you expect it to be any different after a 162-game grind? I will say that this information coming to light after the fact makes Joe's choice of ALCS rotation make a little more sense as he wanted to give Pettitte more rest, and it makes Pettitte's performance in both his postseason starts that much more impressive. I mean, you do realize that he was 3 pitches away from throwing 14 shutout innings in the playoffs at age 38, right? God and damn!
* CC Has Knee Surgery
I would say it sheds some light on why he pitched so poorly in the postseason, but then I look up and re-read the story about Pettitte having a shitty back and shitty hamstrings and still dealing and I can't really chalk CC's ineffectiveness up to just health. This will obviously bring up all the questions about CC's workload and big fat ass again, and justifiably so. I think this story will linger around all throughout next season as the Yanks have to figure out how to keep the big guy in one piece for the next 5 years and keep him as the ace that he is and is supposed to be.
* Joe Gets A New Deal
Did he revert back to being a tightwad nervous wreck this season? Yes. Does he horribly mismanage his starting rotation and bullpen all the time because of his obsession with his matchup binder? Yes. Does he make you as a Yankee fan feel confident at all times? Absolutely not. But who else is out there who could do better? I don't want Torre back here, LaRussa isn't going anywhere, Sweet Lou has retired, and what the fuck has Bobby Valentine ever done to make people love him so much? Each player on the team says Girardi is the best manager they've ever played for and that's good enough for me. At least for now.
* The World Series
Hey, Cliff Lee, thanks for saving your stinker of a game for the World Series. Seriously, bro, where the fuck were all those hanging curves for balls and cutters over the heart of the plate against the Yankees? That kinda shit ain't gonna get you the CC or Johan money you're looking for this offseason, dude. And tell your old lady to pipe down about how badly she was treated by the Yankee fans. She's the wife of an opposing team's best player in Yankee Stadium, what the fuck did she expect to happen?
Oh, and I couldn't care less about who wins this amateur hour World Series. A bunch of happy-go-lucky ginger ale sprayers with their cokehead manager against a rag-tag mishmash of other teams' spare parts off the scrap heap that happened to all start hitting a little bit at the same time. Whoopty-fuckin'-doo!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
ALCS Game 6 Thoughts And Afterthoughts
(Photo courtesy of The AP)
- What was up with TBS recapping Colby Lewis' history through the Majors and Japan like it was supposed to be a list of accomplishments. All that proves is that Colby Lewis has sucked for the majority of his career. I mean, if you get signed and then released by the Kansas City Royals within a month, you aren't exactly Greg Maddux.
- Lotta bad signs for Phil Hughes in what was a high-stress 1st inning. He threw a lot of pitches, struggled to put guys away, couldn't get the fastball down in the zone, and couldn't get the curveball down in the zone. Not a recipe for success right there.
- Lewis was solid but nothing special through 3 innings, much like he was in Game 2, and yet the Yankee offense couldn't do anything with the hittable pitches he was giving them. And was it me, or was Brett Gardner 0-2 in every at-bat he had this series?
- The Hughes wild pitch on an intentional walk to Josh Hamilton in the 3rd pretty much told the story of his night. He couldn't throw the ball where he wanted to when it WASN'T supposed to be in the strike zone.
- It also wasn't helping that he seemed to be attacking every hitter away, righties and lefties. Whether that was the intended gameplan or just an audible made by Eiland and Jorge when they realized Hughes didn't have his best stuff, going away, away, away against good hitters is not a good plan. You have to at least try to come inside and get them moving.
- The only 2 good at-bats through 4 innings for the Yankees were Curtis Granderson's walks. He did an excellent job taking pitches up and away and fighting off the fastballs inside that Lewis was throwing him. But again, when the best thing your offense has done is draw 2 walks, that's pretty fucking sad.
- That ball definitely hit Swish in the 5th inning on the fake wild pitch that scored A-Rod. How anybody could miss that is beyond me. This game needs instant replay now.
- Walking Josh Hamilton to pitch to Vlad worked in the 3rd inning, but not in the 5th. Hughes threw a terrible hanging curve up and over the plate and Vlad destroyed it. I know he didn't do much in the series, but Vlad DID drive in 115 runs this year. Walking an excellent hitter to pitch to another excellent hitter multiple times just wasn't a sound strategy by Joe, especially when his pitcher wasn't locating.
- After Hughes was removed, D-Rob was called on to stop the bleeding and he was just awful, giving up the HR to Cruz that was pretty much the nail in the coffin. Why CC was not brought into the game is beyond me. All we read about yesterday was how CC was available for an inning, maybe 2, and how he thought he could throw 40-50 pitches if needed. And with the lead lost and the game slipping away against a dominant Colby Lewis, Joe goes to his 4th best pitcher he had out there. If he didn't want to go lefty-righty with CC facing Cruz, fine, but there was no reason for D-Rob to be in that game in that situation. With the season on the line, the first 3 pitchers out of the 'pen last night had to be CC, Wood, and Mo in some order.
- Terrible job by the ballgirl on the first baseline last night. Never got in front of the ball, never attacked it, just sat back and let the thing roll past her every time. If I would have had a field-level seat down that line last night I would have been screaming "Come on, Dorn!! None of this 'Ole' bullshit!" at her all night. And that's because I am a terrible person.
- Jeter with 2 first-pitch swinging groundouts in his first 3 at-bats. Why? Why, why, WHY???? It's like he's trying to give the Yankees a reason to sign him for fewer years and less money in the offseason.
- Was Ms. Texas serious with that "God Bless America" performance last night? She was hideous, she couldn't sing, and she was wearing the fucking crown and sash. That's a bad job in a big spot by her last night, Mikey. Just a terrible job.
- You're down 5 runs in the 7th inning, so naturally you want to intentionally walk more baserunners on to load the bases and potentially make the deficit even greater, right? Seriously, what the fuck was Joe doing with the bullpen this series??? He made a great call in taking the fucking chalupa kid out at the first sign of trouble for Mo and then with all his real pitchers he's leaving starters out too long, intentionally walking everyone under the sun, and playing binder matchups with his team's shittier pitchers against the other team's better hitters.
- Jeter's flailing, half-swing strikeout was the perfect capper to his awful season. The Yankees really need to be serious in their negotiations with him in the offseason and at least make him realize that he sucks now instead of bending over and giving him a 4-year, $15-20 million a year deal.
- Mo in the 8th? Really, Joe? Why bother at this point? That's just insulting to Mo that you wait until the game is all but over to finally use him.
- Call me insensitive if you want, but I don't give a fuck about Ron Washington's house in New Orleans and how much time he spent rebuilding it. If the guy was smart, he wouldn't live there in the first place.
- The A-Rod strikeout looking to end the game was perfectly fitting for how this series played out. The Yankees were just completely overmatched in every aspect of the game and basically went down without a fight.
- I'm not even going to get into the details of each pitcher's outing. Hughes sucked and couldn't put the ball anywhere that he wanted to and Colby Lewis had great command of all his pitches. He was on top of his game and the Yankees made him look even better by doing nothing with the mistakes he did make up in the zone.
- When you really look back on the series, Game 5 was the aberration and the rest of the series was the truth of the matter. The Rangers outhit, outpitched, outran, outhustled, and outmanaged the Yankees for the overwhelming majority of the series. They were the better team and they deserved to win.
Play of The Game: Cruz's 2-run HR in the 5th
Nail in the coffin. You could almost see the Yankees give up as that ball landed in the stands.
Player of The Game: Colby Lewis
8 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 6 K. Dude pitched the game of his life in the biggest game of his life. If that doesn't get you some kudos, I don't know what will.
- Well that's it for this season. Now we can all start to plan for 2011 and start guessing what the Yankees will do in the offseason to improve the team. First, though, I am going to take a much-needed break for a few days and get back to the rest of my life. I'll be back when I'm back.
Friday, October 22, 2010
No Title Needed
That just plain sucked. Like watching Games 2, 3, and 4 all over again.
I'll be back to recap this abortion of a game and a series tomorrow. For now I'm going to go puke and then go to bed. Seems like the only logical things to do after that "lay down and die" performance tonight.
I'll be back to recap this abortion of a game and a series tomorrow. For now I'm going to go puke and then go to bed. Seems like the only logical things to do after that "lay down and die" performance tonight.
ALCS Game 6 Preview: Under Pressure
Pitching Matchup: Hughes (1-1) vs. Lewis (1-0)
Starting Lineups:
NY (How they should do it): Jeter- SS, C-Grand- CF, Cano- 2B, A-Rod- 3B, Swish- RF, Berkman- 1B, Posada- C, Thames- DH, Gardner- LF
TX: Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- RF, Kinsler- 2B, Murphy- LF, Molina- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Which Pitcher Adjusts
In Game 2, the 2 starting pitchers were like night and day in the way their games panned out. Phil Hughes had great stuff but questionable command, which he lost early in the 3rd inning after not being able to get strikes on the corners with his fastball. Colby Lewis' stuff wasn't that great, as evidenced by the Yanks making a lot of solid contact on him in the early innings, but his command was solid. He developed a better feel for his off-speed stuff through the 3rd and 6th innings and threw a lot of strikes, keeping the Yankee hitters at bay as he worked aggressively with a lead. But the Yankee hitters have seen him now, so he won't be able to come with the same approach as he did in Game 2. And Hughes needs to have better command of his fastball tonight and needs to mix up his pitches as the Rangers were sitting on the fastball and cutter by the time the 3rd inning came around last time. Whichever guy can make the necessary adjustments should finish with a better stat line and give his team a better chance to win.
2) Who Steps Up to Help Cano & Curtis
The Yankee offense had been pretty much nothing but the "Robbie Cano, Don'tcha Know Show" through 4 games with a few guest appearances by Curtis Granderson. That changed in Game 5 as everybody reached base except Brett Gardner, 6 different guys got hits, 6 different guys scored runs, 5 different guys drove in runs, and the Yanks drew a series-high 6 walks. And in the middle of it all, Cano cranked another home run and C-Grand went 3-4 with a 2B, HR, and 2 RBIs. All of these guys saw Lewis in Game 2 except Thames, and they put plenty of good swings on him, so who's going to keep the offensive streak going? An answer that includes multiple names would be the best thing to help get a win.
3) Joe's Bullpen Matchups or Lack Thereof
After getting burned in Games 2, 3, and 4 by trusting his binder and watching Boone Logan, D-Rob, Mitre, and Joba take turns throwing BP to the Ranger lineup, Joe finally decided to not fuck around in Game 5 and went right to his bread and butter after CC got through 6 innings. And Kerry Wood and Mo responded with 3 shutout innings. With a day of rest between then and tonight, you have to think both of them will be available for 2 innings each if needed, and Joe also has CC on deck to throw an inning or 2 as well. I expect he will be the first out of the 'pen if Hughes falls apart early or runs into trouble in the 5th or 6th inning. After that I expect Joe to ride Wood and Mo again if the Yanks are ahead and we probably won't see any of the other guys unless the game goes to extra innings. No sense in matching up and playing the numbers tonight if you're Joe; you're still facing elimination and if you're going to go down, it might as well be with your best on the mound.
Player to Watch: Phil Hughes
Phil is going to be on a short leash tonight with the series and season on the line and all hands on deck in the 'pen. He was rattled by a lack of outside corner strike calls in Game 2 and that seemed to cause him to fall more in love with his fastball. Back on regular rest, Phil should be better tonight than he was earlier, but pay attention to his command and the strike zone he gets early. If he's falling behind to a lot of hitters and going back to the fastball, he'll get into trouble. And if he gets into trouble, it won't be a long night for him. Tonight it's important that he mix in some curveballs and changeups early to keep Texas honest, even if they aren't strikes. The more they have to think about in the batters box, the less likely they are to hone in on the fastball.
We said the series came down to 3 1-game series for the Yanks after they fell behind and they had to take it one game at a time. They did that the other night and forced the series back to Texas. Yes, the Rangers have Cliff Lee ready for Game 7, but Cliff Lee or not, anything can happen in a Game 7, and they certainly don't want the "choke" talks to start up if they lose tonight. You have to say the pressure is now back on the inexperienced shoulders of the Rangers tonight as they head out with their 3rd-best pitcher on the mound. We'll see if they can handle that pressure.
Starting Lineups:
NY (How they should do it): Jeter- SS, C-Grand- CF, Cano- 2B, A-Rod- 3B, Swish- RF, Berkman- 1B, Posada- C, Thames- DH, Gardner- LF
TX: Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- RF, Kinsler- 2B, Murphy- LF, Molina- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Which Pitcher Adjusts
In Game 2, the 2 starting pitchers were like night and day in the way their games panned out. Phil Hughes had great stuff but questionable command, which he lost early in the 3rd inning after not being able to get strikes on the corners with his fastball. Colby Lewis' stuff wasn't that great, as evidenced by the Yanks making a lot of solid contact on him in the early innings, but his command was solid. He developed a better feel for his off-speed stuff through the 3rd and 6th innings and threw a lot of strikes, keeping the Yankee hitters at bay as he worked aggressively with a lead. But the Yankee hitters have seen him now, so he won't be able to come with the same approach as he did in Game 2. And Hughes needs to have better command of his fastball tonight and needs to mix up his pitches as the Rangers were sitting on the fastball and cutter by the time the 3rd inning came around last time. Whichever guy can make the necessary adjustments should finish with a better stat line and give his team a better chance to win.
2) Who Steps Up to Help Cano & Curtis
The Yankee offense had been pretty much nothing but the "Robbie Cano, Don'tcha Know Show" through 4 games with a few guest appearances by Curtis Granderson. That changed in Game 5 as everybody reached base except Brett Gardner, 6 different guys got hits, 6 different guys scored runs, 5 different guys drove in runs, and the Yanks drew a series-high 6 walks. And in the middle of it all, Cano cranked another home run and C-Grand went 3-4 with a 2B, HR, and 2 RBIs. All of these guys saw Lewis in Game 2 except Thames, and they put plenty of good swings on him, so who's going to keep the offensive streak going? An answer that includes multiple names would be the best thing to help get a win.
3) Joe's Bullpen Matchups or Lack Thereof
After getting burned in Games 2, 3, and 4 by trusting his binder and watching Boone Logan, D-Rob, Mitre, and Joba take turns throwing BP to the Ranger lineup, Joe finally decided to not fuck around in Game 5 and went right to his bread and butter after CC got through 6 innings. And Kerry Wood and Mo responded with 3 shutout innings. With a day of rest between then and tonight, you have to think both of them will be available for 2 innings each if needed, and Joe also has CC on deck to throw an inning or 2 as well. I expect he will be the first out of the 'pen if Hughes falls apart early or runs into trouble in the 5th or 6th inning. After that I expect Joe to ride Wood and Mo again if the Yanks are ahead and we probably won't see any of the other guys unless the game goes to extra innings. No sense in matching up and playing the numbers tonight if you're Joe; you're still facing elimination and if you're going to go down, it might as well be with your best on the mound.
Player to Watch: Phil Hughes
Phil is going to be on a short leash tonight with the series and season on the line and all hands on deck in the 'pen. He was rattled by a lack of outside corner strike calls in Game 2 and that seemed to cause him to fall more in love with his fastball. Back on regular rest, Phil should be better tonight than he was earlier, but pay attention to his command and the strike zone he gets early. If he's falling behind to a lot of hitters and going back to the fastball, he'll get into trouble. And if he gets into trouble, it won't be a long night for him. Tonight it's important that he mix in some curveballs and changeups early to keep Texas honest, even if they aren't strikes. The more they have to think about in the batters box, the less likely they are to hone in on the fastball.
We said the series came down to 3 1-game series for the Yanks after they fell behind and they had to take it one game at a time. They did that the other night and forced the series back to Texas. Yes, the Rangers have Cliff Lee ready for Game 7, but Cliff Lee or not, anything can happen in a Game 7, and they certainly don't want the "choke" talks to start up if they lose tonight. You have to say the pressure is now back on the inexperienced shoulders of the Rangers tonight as they head out with their 3rd-best pitcher on the mound. We'll see if they can handle that pressure.
I Know This Isn't The Time For This, But...
(Photo courtesy of The AP)
... Doesn't Phil Hughes look like clean-shaven Mac from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" in this picture?
Doesn't he? I can't be the only person who thinks this.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thank You, Gentlemen
Thank you for giving me at least one more game to watch this season.
Thank you, CC, for battling without your A-game and making pitches when you had to to keep the lead where it was.
Thank you, Robbie and Curtis, for continuing to carry the offense as you have all postseason.
Thank you, Jorge, for distracting Francoeur, C.J. Wilson, and Michael Young with your pathetically slow running to the point that they couldn't make simple throws and catches to get you out.
No thoughts or afterthoughts today since I only got to watch the game from the bottom of the 8th on. Gives me a day to treat my impending carpal tunnel and prep for tomorrow night, though, so I'm OK with it.
Thank you, CC, for battling without your A-game and making pitches when you had to to keep the lead where it was.
Thank you, Robbie and Curtis, for continuing to carry the offense as you have all postseason.
Thank you, Jorge, for distracting Francoeur, C.J. Wilson, and Michael Young with your pathetically slow running to the point that they couldn't make simple throws and catches to get you out.
No thoughts or afterthoughts today since I only got to watch the game from the bottom of the 8th on. Gives me a day to treat my impending carpal tunnel and prep for tomorrow night, though, so I'm OK with it.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
ALCS Game 5 Preview: Backs Against The Wall
Pitching Matchup: Sabathia (1-0) vs. Wilson (1-0)
Lineups:
NY: Jeter- SS, Swish- RF, Cano- 2B, A-Rod- 3B, Thames- DH, Berkman- 1B, Posada- C, C-Grand- CF, Gardner- LF
TX: Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- LF, Kinsler- 2B, Francoeur- RF, Treanor- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Whether The Yankee Lineup Will Finally Start Hitting
.198/.295/.321 team line for the series. Those numbers get even uglier if you take out Cano. 'Nuff said.
2) Whether CC Will Bounce Back and Have a Strong Outing
10 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP in 2 starts this postseason on long rest. Back today on regular rest. 'Nuff said.
3) Whether The Bullpen Will Wake Up And Stop Getting Shelled
14 IP, 16 H, 8 BB, 11 ER, 7.07 ERA, 1.71 WHIP over 4 games. Those numbers get even uglier if you take out Wood, Moseley, and Mo's 5 scoreless innings. 'Nuff said.
Player to Watch: All of Them
The Yankees are out of chances. One more loss and everybody goes home to make vacation plans while we begin to fire up the offseason hot stove rumor mill and figure out how much they should offer Cliff Lee. Save for the last few innings of Game 1, they have been thoroughly outplayed and outmanaged in every facet of the game by the Rangers. The injury to Teix obviously left everybody shocked and disoriented and they never seemed to recover, but they have to shake that off and get focused on the task at hand, which is win tonight and force the series back to Texas.
In honor of all the "do or die," "back against the wall," "there is no tomorrow" cliches that will be thrown around tonight, we'll join in and get cliche as all hell with our musical intro. So far the Yankees have had the eye of the schmuck. Tonight they need to have the eye of tiger. BOOM!!
Lineups:
NY: Jeter- SS, Swish- RF, Cano- 2B, A-Rod- 3B, Thames- DH, Berkman- 1B, Posada- C, C-Grand- CF, Gardner- LF
TX: Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- LF, Kinsler- 2B, Francoeur- RF, Treanor- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Whether The Yankee Lineup Will Finally Start Hitting
.198/.295/.321 team line for the series. Those numbers get even uglier if you take out Cano. 'Nuff said.
2) Whether CC Will Bounce Back and Have a Strong Outing
10 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP in 2 starts this postseason on long rest. Back today on regular rest. 'Nuff said.
3) Whether The Bullpen Will Wake Up And Stop Getting Shelled
14 IP, 16 H, 8 BB, 11 ER, 7.07 ERA, 1.71 WHIP over 4 games. Those numbers get even uglier if you take out Wood, Moseley, and Mo's 5 scoreless innings. 'Nuff said.
Player to Watch: All of Them
The Yankees are out of chances. One more loss and everybody goes home to make vacation plans while we begin to fire up the offseason hot stove rumor mill and figure out how much they should offer Cliff Lee. Save for the last few innings of Game 1, they have been thoroughly outplayed and outmanaged in every facet of the game by the Rangers. The injury to Teix obviously left everybody shocked and disoriented and they never seemed to recover, but they have to shake that off and get focused on the task at hand, which is win tonight and force the series back to Texas.
In honor of all the "do or die," "back against the wall," "there is no tomorrow" cliches that will be thrown around tonight, we'll join in and get cliche as all hell with our musical intro. So far the Yankees have had the eye of the schmuck. Tonight they need to have the eye of tiger. BOOM!!
ALCS Game 4 Thoughts And Afterthoughts- Part II (The Rest Of It)
- The top of the 1st went about as well as anybody could have hoped last night. I was still sweating bullets when it was over, but at least A.J. helped to calm all of our nerves early.
- I don't know how I haven't noticed this yet, but how the fuck does Michael Young have a Gold Glove at 3rd over A-Rod??? Michael Young is a fucking TERRIBLE 3rd baseman and he's got a Gold Glove?! Yikes.
- Good stat by TBS early last night: The last pitcher to win a postseason series with as much rest as A.J. had coming into last night's start was Red Ruffing in 1939. Damn!
- Cano crushed that ball in the 2nd inning off of Tommy Hunter, but the fans definitely reached over and definitely interfered with Nelson Cruz. I'd like to let my Yankee fandom override the facts, but I can't. That home run shouldn't have counted.
- By the time the 3rd inning rolled around, it was obvious Hunter didn't have much. He couldn't throw his curveball for a strike to save himself and the Yankees were just sitting on his fastball and cutter, waiting for him to make a mistake, a la the one he grooved to Jeter for his 3rd-inning triple.
- Unfortunately, the TBS crew was too busy talking about Hunter's odd physique, his family history, and his being a former US Jr. Olympic judo champion to focus on how shitty he was pitching. After the Lee victory in Game 3, suddenly everybody in the booth was a big Ranger fan. We've got Sager reporting on what their team psychiatrist told them before the game, EJ is going on and on about the Molina family history and how Darren O'Day became a side-arm pitcher. It was like watching an episode of "SportsCentury."
- Beautiful double play by the Yanks in the 5th inning: great scoop and throw by Teix while avoiding a flying bat, great turn by Jeter, and great job getting over to cover first by A.J. Big play and exactly what A.J. needed after putting the leadoff runner on again.
- After that, though, Jeter and A-Rod showed that they have no range left on that side of the infield on Andrus' bouncer through the hole. If that thing bounced anymore and rolled any slower through that side, it would have fucking stopped and they still couldn't get a glove on it.
- to the fan trying to catch the foul ball and fucking up Gardner in the 5th: Are you fucking serious, dude???? You're a grown man! You want a ball that bad, go to Sports Authority and buy one. When the Yanks are in field, get the fuck out of the way and let them make the catch. If Hamilton would have done something after that and that dude becomes the NYC Steve Bartman, I would have put money on him not making it out of The Stadium alive.
- The pitch A.J. made to Molina was terrible, but really, what do you expect? It's A.J. Burnett. It just sucked that he finally missed a spot up and in in that situation. I still put all the blame for that on Joe.
- What the hell is going on with the bullpen? D-Rob blows up in Game 3 then yesterday he's the only guy who can get an out without getting pelted all over the park. Logan might be out of a job come next year because he's been terrible in this series, and Joba is another bad outing or 2 away from possibly being run out of town with him.
- I hate to do it, but I have to hand it to Derek Holland for the job he did. Tommy Hunter had nothing, the Yanks hit a lot of scorchers off of him but couldn't ever put him away with a big inning and Holland came in and shut the door on the Yankee offense, giving his team a chance to do what they did later in the game.
- Can we get Kevin Long to work with Brett Gardner before next year on swinging the bat with some authority? I love Gardner, but this slap-and-run bullshit has to stop. His speed is weapon, but it can be better utilized if he can get a little more oomph into his swing and start putting the ball into the outfield. Start hitting for the gaps and he can rack up 20-25 triples a year. Speed is good, but it don't mean shit when you can't get the ball out of the infield.
- Even after it got to 7-3, the Rangers still seemed hellbent on letting the Yankees back into it. They walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th and Swish definitely got hit by that pitch by Oliver. As bad as the pitching has been, this series has been just as much about the Yankee bats not coming up big when they need to and take advantages of the opportunities given to them and last night was just the latest example.
- Just to put the offensive ineptitude into further perspective, the Ranger 7-9 hitters have 10 combined RBIs in the series. The Yankees have only scored 11 runs as a team.
- Anybody see Boomer and Carton sitting behind the plate last night? Good stuff right there. I know I'm in the minority here, but I love Carton. Dude is entertaining.
- The Conan promos on TBS aren't nearly as horrible as the Lopez ones from last season, but they are much more annoying after a late-game Yankee meltdown.
- I'm going a little Peter King on you here, but I love the E*Trade commercials with the talking baby. Give me more of that and less shitty UPS commercials with the "That's logistics" song.
- Apparently the dude who got on the field last night was trying to attack A-Rod for dating Cameron Diaz. Newsflash, dude: Diaz is a washed-up old slut and her vag is way past it's prime with the pounding it's no-doubt taken from some of Hollywood's finest over the years, not to mention A-Rod. Get a new celebrity crush and get the fuck off the field.
- So what do you do about the lineup tonight without Teix? I say it should look like this:
1) Jeter, 2) C-Grand, 3) Cano, 4) A-Rod, 5) Thames, 6) Posada, 7) Swish, 8) Berkman, 9) Gardner with Berkman at 1B and Thames DH'ing.
I know it's a lefty on the mound but Granderson has swung the bat far better than Swish and needs to stay at the top. And since Cano has been the only one swinging with any consistency, you have to bump him up and give him a chance to drive in runs early. A-Rod doesn't have much protection behind him, but when nobody is hitting that's what happens.
Play of The Game: Molina's 3-run HR in the top of the 6th
Took the wind out of everybody's sails: the players and the fans. The KO punch that followed up the staggering blow that was the Teix injury.
Player of The Game: Bengie Molina
3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, including the go-ahead and eventual game-winning RBI. Not to mention he caught a good game too. Fucking asshole...
- Last one, I sure hope CC has it this afternoon because I won't be able to watch the game thanks to the early start and I can't stand to think about not being able to see the last Yankee game of the season. As much as it sucks, if they are going to go down I want to be able to see it as a fan. It would hurt more to not be able to see than it would to suffer through it.
- I don't know how I haven't noticed this yet, but how the fuck does Michael Young have a Gold Glove at 3rd over A-Rod??? Michael Young is a fucking TERRIBLE 3rd baseman and he's got a Gold Glove?! Yikes.
- Good stat by TBS early last night: The last pitcher to win a postseason series with as much rest as A.J. had coming into last night's start was Red Ruffing in 1939. Damn!
- Cano crushed that ball in the 2nd inning off of Tommy Hunter, but the fans definitely reached over and definitely interfered with Nelson Cruz. I'd like to let my Yankee fandom override the facts, but I can't. That home run shouldn't have counted.
- By the time the 3rd inning rolled around, it was obvious Hunter didn't have much. He couldn't throw his curveball for a strike to save himself and the Yankees were just sitting on his fastball and cutter, waiting for him to make a mistake, a la the one he grooved to Jeter for his 3rd-inning triple.
- Unfortunately, the TBS crew was too busy talking about Hunter's odd physique, his family history, and his being a former US Jr. Olympic judo champion to focus on how shitty he was pitching. After the Lee victory in Game 3, suddenly everybody in the booth was a big Ranger fan. We've got Sager reporting on what their team psychiatrist told them before the game, EJ is going on and on about the Molina family history and how Darren O'Day became a side-arm pitcher. It was like watching an episode of "SportsCentury."
- Beautiful double play by the Yanks in the 5th inning: great scoop and throw by Teix while avoiding a flying bat, great turn by Jeter, and great job getting over to cover first by A.J. Big play and exactly what A.J. needed after putting the leadoff runner on again.
- After that, though, Jeter and A-Rod showed that they have no range left on that side of the infield on Andrus' bouncer through the hole. If that thing bounced anymore and rolled any slower through that side, it would have fucking stopped and they still couldn't get a glove on it.
- to the fan trying to catch the foul ball and fucking up Gardner in the 5th: Are you fucking serious, dude???? You're a grown man! You want a ball that bad, go to Sports Authority and buy one. When the Yanks are in field, get the fuck out of the way and let them make the catch. If Hamilton would have done something after that and that dude becomes the NYC Steve Bartman, I would have put money on him not making it out of The Stadium alive.
- The pitch A.J. made to Molina was terrible, but really, what do you expect? It's A.J. Burnett. It just sucked that he finally missed a spot up and in in that situation. I still put all the blame for that on Joe.
- What the hell is going on with the bullpen? D-Rob blows up in Game 3 then yesterday he's the only guy who can get an out without getting pelted all over the park. Logan might be out of a job come next year because he's been terrible in this series, and Joba is another bad outing or 2 away from possibly being run out of town with him.
- I hate to do it, but I have to hand it to Derek Holland for the job he did. Tommy Hunter had nothing, the Yanks hit a lot of scorchers off of him but couldn't ever put him away with a big inning and Holland came in and shut the door on the Yankee offense, giving his team a chance to do what they did later in the game.
- Can we get Kevin Long to work with Brett Gardner before next year on swinging the bat with some authority? I love Gardner, but this slap-and-run bullshit has to stop. His speed is weapon, but it can be better utilized if he can get a little more oomph into his swing and start putting the ball into the outfield. Start hitting for the gaps and he can rack up 20-25 triples a year. Speed is good, but it don't mean shit when you can't get the ball out of the infield.
- Even after it got to 7-3, the Rangers still seemed hellbent on letting the Yankees back into it. They walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th and Swish definitely got hit by that pitch by Oliver. As bad as the pitching has been, this series has been just as much about the Yankee bats not coming up big when they need to and take advantages of the opportunities given to them and last night was just the latest example.
- Just to put the offensive ineptitude into further perspective, the Ranger 7-9 hitters have 10 combined RBIs in the series. The Yankees have only scored 11 runs as a team.
- Anybody see Boomer and Carton sitting behind the plate last night? Good stuff right there. I know I'm in the minority here, but I love Carton. Dude is entertaining.
- The Conan promos on TBS aren't nearly as horrible as the Lopez ones from last season, but they are much more annoying after a late-game Yankee meltdown.
- I'm going a little Peter King on you here, but I love the E*Trade commercials with the talking baby. Give me more of that and less shitty UPS commercials with the "That's logistics" song.
- Apparently the dude who got on the field last night was trying to attack A-Rod for dating Cameron Diaz. Newsflash, dude: Diaz is a washed-up old slut and her vag is way past it's prime with the pounding it's no-doubt taken from some of Hollywood's finest over the years, not to mention A-Rod. Get a new celebrity crush and get the fuck off the field.
- So what do you do about the lineup tonight without Teix? I say it should look like this:
1) Jeter, 2) C-Grand, 3) Cano, 4) A-Rod, 5) Thames, 6) Posada, 7) Swish, 8) Berkman, 9) Gardner with Berkman at 1B and Thames DH'ing.
I know it's a lefty on the mound but Granderson has swung the bat far better than Swish and needs to stay at the top. And since Cano has been the only one swinging with any consistency, you have to bump him up and give him a chance to drive in runs early. A-Rod doesn't have much protection behind him, but when nobody is hitting that's what happens.
Play of The Game: Molina's 3-run HR in the top of the 6th
Took the wind out of everybody's sails: the players and the fans. The KO punch that followed up the staggering blow that was the Teix injury.
Player of The Game: Bengie Molina
3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, including the go-ahead and eventual game-winning RBI. Not to mention he caught a good game too. Fucking asshole...
- Last one, I sure hope CC has it this afternoon because I won't be able to watch the game thanks to the early start and I can't stand to think about not being able to see the last Yankee game of the season. As much as it sucks, if they are going to go down I want to be able to see it as a fan. It would hurt more to not be able to see than it would to suffer through it.
ALCS Game 4 Thoughts And Afterthoughts- Part I
I'm still too shell shocked by what happened in the top of the 6th inning to really get into all the other analysis/quirky shit/lighter-hearted notes I took on the game last night so I'm just going to talk about the 5 things that cost the Yankees the game last night.
1) Cervelli in the lineup over Jorge
I don't give a fuck who A.J. prefers throwing to. As horrible as he was in the regular season, he shouldn't get the right to influence the lineup, especially when that influence inserts a guy who had a .694 OPS in the regular season and hadn't had a single at-bat to date in the playoffs for a guy who had a .811 OPS in the regular season and happens to be one of the greatest offensive catchers of all-time. And I know Jorge has swung a crummy bat in this series and looked awful against Lee in Game 3, but other than Cano who hasn't and who didn't? Runs have been the Yankees' problem so far and I would still rather have the better bat in the lineup with a little pop than one that struggles to get the ball out of the infield on a consistent basis.
2) A.J. walking the leadoff batter (the # 7 hitter) and then promptly hitting the next batter who was trying to sacrifice (the #8 hitter) in the top of the 3rd
A.J. cruised through the first 2 inning perhaps easier than he had any other 2 innings all season. He was getting ahead in the count, throwing both pitches for strikes, and getting swings and misses. And then he came out to start the 3rd inning and promptly walked David Murphy, then drilled Bengie Molina in the back when he squared to bunt. We all rolled our eyes at those two occurrences, but no one was really surprised. That's what A.J. had done all year. A.J. got ground balls from the next 4 batters, but because one was a sacrifice and one a cheap infield single, the Rangers had 2 runs in and the lead. A.J. got what he deserved for letting the first 2 batters on without even having to swing the bat.
3) Yankees only get 1 run out of a bases loaded, 1 out situation in the bottom of the 4th
I texted both my friend and my dad after Berkman singled and said "that's not who you want coming up with the bases loaded," referring to Gardner and Cervelli. Gardner is what he is, a slap hitter, and that usually leads to a lot of ground balls and grounds balls with the bases loaded leave the door wide open for double plays. Gardner was lucky enough to not ground into one and unlucky enough to have Elvis Andrus make a fantastic play on his grounder in the hole at short. Maybe a guy with a little more power or at least a little more authority in his swing (we'll get to that later) gets the ball through. As far as Cervelli coming up next, refer to 1).
4) Yankees put 2 on with 0 outs in the bottom of the 5th and get 0 runs
Lost in the major bummer (sort of) of the injury to Teix was the fact that he failed to drive in a run with yet another weak hack with Jeter on 2nd, C-Grand on 1st, and Derek Holland on the verge of blowing up on the mound. A-Rod followed that up with a tailor-made GIDP ball and that was all she wrote. From being on the verge of breaking the game open to still holding a slim 1-run lead in a matter of 2 minutes thanks to the "heart" of your order. Bullshit.
5) Joe deciding to intentionally walk David Murphy in the top of the 6th
This is the one that really took the cake in my book. Joe getting caught up in his fucking binders and fucking matchup books and not just taking a second to watch what was happening on the field, assess the situation, recognize what was at stake, and make a simple logical decision. A.J. had battled back from allowing a lead off single to Vlad to get the next 2 hitters out with Vlad still on 2nd. But, A.J. had thrown 3 high-stress innings prior to the 6th, his pitch count was up, and he was starting to tire. All pitchers start missing their spots when they get tired, it happens. And with A.J., who has spotty control to begin with, the risk runs even greater. I don't blame Joe for not wanting A.J. to pitch to Murphy in that situation. But you don't, don't, DON'T, DON'T, DON'T put more runners on base in a 1-run playoff game.
That situation should have been real simple. You either trust your guy on the mound to get the next batter out and get out of the inning, or if you don't, you go to your bullpen and you bring in your lefty. You cannot give the opponent free baserunners in a 1-run game in the playoffs, especially when you're down 2-1 in the series and especially when it's the bottom of the fucking order that you're trying to get cute with. Instead Joe kept his nose in his fucking binders, saw Bengie Molina's history against A.J., ignored the fact that Bengie Molina had pounded the fuck out of the ball all series long and all postseason long, and left his tired, erratic starter in to face arguably the other team's hottest hitter. A.J. missed his spot, ballgame over.
And don't even try to make the "he was trying to save Logan for later in the game" argument because I'm not buying that for a second. I have all the faith in the world that D-Rob in the 7th, Wood in the 8th, and Mo in the 9th can get lefties out just as effectively as Boone Logan. That's why they have the roles they have to begin with. The most important batter is always the next batter and that moment, with a runner in scoring position and a 1-run lead, was the time to go to your lefty if you didn't trust your starter to get him out.
Joe didn't do that and he cost his team with another decision made based on what he read in a book rather than what was happening on the field.
1) Cervelli in the lineup over Jorge
I don't give a fuck who A.J. prefers throwing to. As horrible as he was in the regular season, he shouldn't get the right to influence the lineup, especially when that influence inserts a guy who had a .694 OPS in the regular season and hadn't had a single at-bat to date in the playoffs for a guy who had a .811 OPS in the regular season and happens to be one of the greatest offensive catchers of all-time. And I know Jorge has swung a crummy bat in this series and looked awful against Lee in Game 3, but other than Cano who hasn't and who didn't? Runs have been the Yankees' problem so far and I would still rather have the better bat in the lineup with a little pop than one that struggles to get the ball out of the infield on a consistent basis.
2) A.J. walking the leadoff batter (the # 7 hitter) and then promptly hitting the next batter who was trying to sacrifice (the #8 hitter) in the top of the 3rd
A.J. cruised through the first 2 inning perhaps easier than he had any other 2 innings all season. He was getting ahead in the count, throwing both pitches for strikes, and getting swings and misses. And then he came out to start the 3rd inning and promptly walked David Murphy, then drilled Bengie Molina in the back when he squared to bunt. We all rolled our eyes at those two occurrences, but no one was really surprised. That's what A.J. had done all year. A.J. got ground balls from the next 4 batters, but because one was a sacrifice and one a cheap infield single, the Rangers had 2 runs in and the lead. A.J. got what he deserved for letting the first 2 batters on without even having to swing the bat.
3) Yankees only get 1 run out of a bases loaded, 1 out situation in the bottom of the 4th
I texted both my friend and my dad after Berkman singled and said "that's not who you want coming up with the bases loaded," referring to Gardner and Cervelli. Gardner is what he is, a slap hitter, and that usually leads to a lot of ground balls and grounds balls with the bases loaded leave the door wide open for double plays. Gardner was lucky enough to not ground into one and unlucky enough to have Elvis Andrus make a fantastic play on his grounder in the hole at short. Maybe a guy with a little more power or at least a little more authority in his swing (we'll get to that later) gets the ball through. As far as Cervelli coming up next, refer to 1).
4) Yankees put 2 on with 0 outs in the bottom of the 5th and get 0 runs
Lost in the major bummer (sort of) of the injury to Teix was the fact that he failed to drive in a run with yet another weak hack with Jeter on 2nd, C-Grand on 1st, and Derek Holland on the verge of blowing up on the mound. A-Rod followed that up with a tailor-made GIDP ball and that was all she wrote. From being on the verge of breaking the game open to still holding a slim 1-run lead in a matter of 2 minutes thanks to the "heart" of your order. Bullshit.
5) Joe deciding to intentionally walk David Murphy in the top of the 6th
This is the one that really took the cake in my book. Joe getting caught up in his fucking binders and fucking matchup books and not just taking a second to watch what was happening on the field, assess the situation, recognize what was at stake, and make a simple logical decision. A.J. had battled back from allowing a lead off single to Vlad to get the next 2 hitters out with Vlad still on 2nd. But, A.J. had thrown 3 high-stress innings prior to the 6th, his pitch count was up, and he was starting to tire. All pitchers start missing their spots when they get tired, it happens. And with A.J., who has spotty control to begin with, the risk runs even greater. I don't blame Joe for not wanting A.J. to pitch to Murphy in that situation. But you don't, don't, DON'T, DON'T, DON'T put more runners on base in a 1-run playoff game.
That situation should have been real simple. You either trust your guy on the mound to get the next batter out and get out of the inning, or if you don't, you go to your bullpen and you bring in your lefty. You cannot give the opponent free baserunners in a 1-run game in the playoffs, especially when you're down 2-1 in the series and especially when it's the bottom of the fucking order that you're trying to get cute with. Instead Joe kept his nose in his fucking binders, saw Bengie Molina's history against A.J., ignored the fact that Bengie Molina had pounded the fuck out of the ball all series long and all postseason long, and left his tired, erratic starter in to face arguably the other team's hottest hitter. A.J. missed his spot, ballgame over.
And don't even try to make the "he was trying to save Logan for later in the game" argument because I'm not buying that for a second. I have all the faith in the world that D-Rob in the 7th, Wood in the 8th, and Mo in the 9th can get lefties out just as effectively as Boone Logan. That's why they have the roles they have to begin with. The most important batter is always the next batter and that moment, with a runner in scoring position and a 1-run lead, was the time to go to your lefty if you didn't trust your starter to get him out.
Joe didn't do that and he cost his team with another decision made based on what he read in a book rather than what was happening on the field.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
I Just Don't Get It
Why didn't somebody tell Joe before the game tonight that the Cubs signed a new manager and he didn't have to try to manage his way out of town. I can't even begin to dissect some of his moves tonight:
1) Starting Cervelli over Jorge at catcher
2) Putting Marcus Thames in RF after the injury to Teix instead of Greg Golson
3) Intentionally walking the Rangers' # 7 hitter, the immortal David Murphy, to put more runners on base in a 1-run game when he had a tiring A.J. out there on the mound.
I just don't have the words...
1) Starting Cervelli over Jorge at catcher
2) Putting Marcus Thames in RF after the injury to Teix instead of Greg Golson
3) Intentionally walking the Rangers' # 7 hitter, the immortal David Murphy, to put more runners on base in a 1-run game when he had a tiring A.J. out there on the mound.
I just don't have the words...
ALCS Game 4 Preview: Hoping & Praying
Pitching Matchup: Burnett (0-0) vs. Hunter (0-1)
Starting Lineups:
NY: Jeter- SS, C-Grand- CF, Teix- 1B, A-Rod- 3B, Cano- 2B, Swish- RF, Berkman- DH, Gardner- LF, Cervelli- C
TX: Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- RF, Kinsler- 2B, Murphy- LF, Molina- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Whether or Not The Lineup Will Wake Up Tonight
At this point there's no need to tally up the numbers again, we all know the Yankee offense has been pathetic except for the 8th inning of Game 1. Tonight's starter for Texas, Tommy Hunter, presents the perfect remedy to cure a slumping bunch of sluggers. He's a righty, which allows Teix and Swish to turn around to their power sides, he pitches to contact (only a 5.8% swinging strike rate and only 4.78K/9), and he pitches to a lot of power (1.48HR/9). The long and short of it is, there are runs out there for the taking tonight. The question is, can the Yankees shake off last night's ass plowing at the hands of Cliff Lee and start swinging the bats better?
2) A.J.'s Everything
His demeanor on the mound, his facial expressions, his body language, how quickly he works on the mound, his fastball location, his curveball command, how often he shakes off the catcher, how he works out of the stretch, how many times he throws over to first when a runner gets on. Everything is important to watch with him tonight because he's been terrible all year and he hasn't pitched real game innings in a long time. Joe is taking a big risk throwing his worst starter in a quasi-must-win game tonight, so every detail about A.J. is going to be that much more glaring. It shouldn't be too hard to see if he's on early, but the real test will come when he puts runners on, which he will. Can he finally sack up and get out of an inning or will it turn into another one of those strikeout, groundout, walk, single, walk, hit batters, double, single, double meltdowns that we're all used to seeing?
3) Joe's Patience
Like I said, Joe is taking a big risk going to his worst starting pitcher tonight down in the series when he could use his best starting pitcher who happens to have a great track record on short rest. Joe knows this. And he also knows how awful A.J. was this season. With the game and a 2-game series deficit on the line, how much leeway is Joe going to give A.J.? Given A.J.'s performance this year, Joe should rightfully yank him at the first sign of him falling apart, but since he announced him as the Game 4 starter before the series and stuck with that all the way through, I'm concerned that he will give A.J. more of a chance to get out of trouble than he rightfully should. For Joe's sake, and for A.J.'s, he better not wait too long to get him out if things start to go south.
Player To Watch: A.J. Burnett
Not a big surprise here. The latest in a long line of bad Brian Cashman pitcher signings is on the hill with a chance to redeem himself somewhat for a disastrous regular season and potentially swing the momentum back in the Yankees' favor by evening the series with their ace coming up in Game 5. We've all seen Good A.J. and Bad A.J. enough to know the telltale signs of which one we're dealing with, so we shouldn't have to wait long to know if all of our prayers for Good A.J. have been answered. Joe has stood by him since announcing he was going to get a start in this series and even went as far as to cater to A.J.'s fragile psyche and weaken his lineup by putting Cervelli in at catcher instead of Jorge, so A.J. has no excuses tonight.
I hate to be pessimistic, but given what he's done in the majority of his big moments as a Yankee, I have very little faith in A.J. tonight. I want to see the Yankees win and I want to see A.J. pitch well, but all I'm hoping for is for him to not fuck up bad enough that the Yanks are completely out of the game. Anything beyond that I would consider a miracle.
Starting Lineups:
NY: Jeter- SS, C-Grand- CF, Teix- 1B, A-Rod- 3B, Cano- 2B, Swish- RF, Berkman- DH, Gardner- LF, Cervelli- C
TX: Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- RF, Kinsler- 2B, Murphy- LF, Molina- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Whether or Not The Lineup Will Wake Up Tonight
At this point there's no need to tally up the numbers again, we all know the Yankee offense has been pathetic except for the 8th inning of Game 1. Tonight's starter for Texas, Tommy Hunter, presents the perfect remedy to cure a slumping bunch of sluggers. He's a righty, which allows Teix and Swish to turn around to their power sides, he pitches to contact (only a 5.8% swinging strike rate and only 4.78K/9), and he pitches to a lot of power (1.48HR/9). The long and short of it is, there are runs out there for the taking tonight. The question is, can the Yankees shake off last night's ass plowing at the hands of Cliff Lee and start swinging the bats better?
2) A.J.'s Everything
His demeanor on the mound, his facial expressions, his body language, how quickly he works on the mound, his fastball location, his curveball command, how often he shakes off the catcher, how he works out of the stretch, how many times he throws over to first when a runner gets on. Everything is important to watch with him tonight because he's been terrible all year and he hasn't pitched real game innings in a long time. Joe is taking a big risk throwing his worst starter in a quasi-must-win game tonight, so every detail about A.J. is going to be that much more glaring. It shouldn't be too hard to see if he's on early, but the real test will come when he puts runners on, which he will. Can he finally sack up and get out of an inning or will it turn into another one of those strikeout, groundout, walk, single, walk, hit batters, double, single, double meltdowns that we're all used to seeing?
3) Joe's Patience
Like I said, Joe is taking a big risk going to his worst starting pitcher tonight down in the series when he could use his best starting pitcher who happens to have a great track record on short rest. Joe knows this. And he also knows how awful A.J. was this season. With the game and a 2-game series deficit on the line, how much leeway is Joe going to give A.J.? Given A.J.'s performance this year, Joe should rightfully yank him at the first sign of him falling apart, but since he announced him as the Game 4 starter before the series and stuck with that all the way through, I'm concerned that he will give A.J. more of a chance to get out of trouble than he rightfully should. For Joe's sake, and for A.J.'s, he better not wait too long to get him out if things start to go south.
Player To Watch: A.J. Burnett
Not a big surprise here. The latest in a long line of bad Brian Cashman pitcher signings is on the hill with a chance to redeem himself somewhat for a disastrous regular season and potentially swing the momentum back in the Yankees' favor by evening the series with their ace coming up in Game 5. We've all seen Good A.J. and Bad A.J. enough to know the telltale signs of which one we're dealing with, so we shouldn't have to wait long to know if all of our prayers for Good A.J. have been answered. Joe has stood by him since announcing he was going to get a start in this series and even went as far as to cater to A.J.'s fragile psyche and weaken his lineup by putting Cervelli in at catcher instead of Jorge, so A.J. has no excuses tonight.
I hate to be pessimistic, but given what he's done in the majority of his big moments as a Yankee, I have very little faith in A.J. tonight. I want to see the Yankees win and I want to see A.J. pitch well, but all I'm hoping for is for him to not fuck up bad enough that the Yanks are completely out of the game. Anything beyond that I would consider a miracle.
ALCS Game 3 Thoughts And Afterthoughts
(Photo courtesy of The AP)
- Well that sucked, huh? Really not much to analyze if you watched last night's game. Andy was great again, save for the one cutter he hung to Hamilton in the first (which probably wouldn't have gone out if it wasn't hit at Yankee Stadium), but Cliff Lee was absolutely lights out, shutting down the Yankee lineup for what seems like the umpteenth time and doing it while appearing to exert all the effort with which one would loosen up before playing a rec league softball game.
- Andy appeared to be a bit sharper than in his ALDS start at the beginning of this one, and it was clear he was attacking the Rangers' righties away with back door sliders and cutters. Unfortunately he wasn't getting the calls on the outside corner from home plate umpire Jim Reynolds and that contributed to him throwing an extra 10-15 pitches in the first few innings. There were more than a few borderline pitches for Ks that a pitcher of Andy Pettitte's caliber and reputation usually gets, so it was a bit frustrating to watch him not be able to get a call here or there.
- But overall, Andy was fantastic again. He had good live on his fastball, solid movement on his slider and curveball, and his cutter was devastating, breaking enough bats to make one want to do a double take just to make sure Mo wasn't out there. All that added up to 12 swinging strikes on the night, a very good number for Andy, and only a handful of good swings that produced good contact by the Ranger hitters. Shit, Josh Hamilton's home run was off the end of the bat, certainly not a no-doubt crush job like Cano's Game 2 homer.
- Unfortunately for Andy, Cliff Lee was as on as he's ever been last night and the Yankee lineup had no answers for him. He gave them their best opportunities early in the count, exactly as I predicted, and there actually were some hittable pitches here and there but the Yankees couldn't put any good swings on them. By Lee's standards, his first-pitch strike rate wasn't that great, only 16 of 27 batters faced and 2 of those were on first-pitch balls that the Yankees swung at, but he followed those up with a steady combination of fastballs, 2-seamers, cutters, and a hook here and there to virtually every part of the plate. Generating 17 swings and misses will more than make up for a shoddy first-pitch strike percentage.
- About the only thing Lee didn't have working was his backdoor curveball, which he tried to sneak past a couple righty Yankee bats, and that was only because Jim Reynolds wasn't giving him that outside corner either. But overall, I think it would be fair to say that Lee's strike zone was just a little bit more liberal than Andy's, especially up and down in the zone. Not at it would have mattered if it wasn't last night. Lee was just that good and he made the Yankees look completely awful at the plate.
Some other notes:
- good job by Jeter taking some pitches against Lee and giving Gardner a chance to steal 2nd in the bottom of the 6th. That was the first time the Yanks had gotten the leadoff guy on all night, and when it's your quickest guy you want to give him a chance to get into scoring position. The strikeout right after the steal pretty much negated the effect of the steal, but still...
- I said to watch Teix last night and for that I apologize. He was absolutely pitiful to watch against Lee. With 2 outs and Gardner on 3rd in the 6th he got 2 very hittable pitches in his at-bat and couldn't do a thing with them, popping one foul and grounding the other to short to end the inning. Something is still off with his timing at the plate right now and it's making him embarrassing to watch.
- But that was one hell of a dig on A-Rod's throw to get Bengie Molina in the top of the 7th. On the replay it showed Teix was already turning his head out of the way when the ball skipped into his glove and he was able to hang on. Not many other first basemen in baseball who make that scoop, if any.
- Somebody explain to Ron Darling that CC being tapped to pitch Game 4 doesn't automatically mean A.J. is out of the rotation for the series. He's sitting around talking about how CC on short rest is OK but the Yankees don't want to put Hughes and Pettitte on short rest also by throwing CC in Game 4. Uhh, Ron, you could just pitch A.J. in Game 5 and keep Hughes and Pettitte on their regular schedules for Game 6 and Game 7, idiot. That's what I said the Yankees should do all along, but I guess Joe and Cash aren't as big fans of the blog as I thought.
- So how much extra coin do you think Lee earned on his next contract after last night? $15 million? 20? What's the Yankees' first offer to him in December? 6 years, $120 mil?
- I'm not going to get on Boone Logan and D-Rob for sucking in the 9th. They probably looked out in the Ranger bullpen, realized nobody was warming, and knew Lee was coming back out in the bottom of the frame to close things out. Tough to focus and be sharp when you know the game is already over. Hopefully D-Rob's blowup doesn't carry over to tonight.
- Neftali Feliz, calm the fuck down with the tongue action on that chew, buddy! It's fucking tobacco, not your girlfriend's pussy. Pack a fucking lip and leave it there, bro. Maybe spit every now and then but stop flicking your tongue around like you're trying to impress somebody. I was getting really uncomfortable watching that last night in the bottom of the 9th. He was like a lizard that was overheating in the desert sun or a hipster who smoked too much ganj and had horrible cotton mouth. Somebody please teach him how to dip before tonight!
Play of The Game: Lee's strikeout of Jeter in the 6th
I'm sure Hamilton's homer and some of the runs in the 9th had higher WPA values, but Lee K'ing Jeter right after Gardner stole 2nd effectively wiped out the steal and put him back in control of the one inning where the Yankees had a legit opportunity. The crowd quieted back down after that and Swish and Teix went quietly as well. At a time when the game was still close, thwarting the Yanks' only real attempt to get back into it was huge.
Player of The Game: Cliff Lee
8 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 13 K, 122 pitches (82 strikes). Need I say more?
Well that's over and done with. Now we can all sit around and chew our fingernails and cuticles to shit wondering if Joe is really going to stick with A.J. tonight and how A.J. will manage to implode this time. FUN!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
ALCS Game 3 Preview: Lefty-Lefty And Lee's Audition
Pitching Matchup: Pettitte (1-0) vs. Lee (2-0)
Starting Lineups:
NY: Jeter- SS, Swish- RF, Teix- 1B, A-Rod- 3B, Cano- 2B, Thames- DH, Posada- C, C-Grand- CF, Gardner- LF
TX (most likely, even though I haven't been right once yet): Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- LF, Kinsler- 2B, Francoeur- RF, Molina- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Which Struggling Power Hitter Breaks Out
While there have been plenty of timely hits on both sides so far this series, there are still a number of guys who haven't looked sharp. For the Rangers it's cleanup hitter Vlad Guerrero, who is just 1-9 through the first 2 games with 3 Ks and 0 RBIs. He's been fed a steady diet of away stuff from the Yankee staff and hasn't been able to come up with a counterattack to it yet. For the Yankees, Mark Teixeira has started off 0-8 in the first 2 games with a strikeout and 0 RBIS and he's looked awful doing it, swinging early in the count and putting a lot of bad swings on a lot of hittable pitches. Also worth noting is that the combination of Jorge, Swish, and The Horse are 4-24 so far with just 2 RBIs (both on A-Rod's Game 1 single) and 8 Ks. One of these guys has to break out eventually, and if it can happen tonight it will be a big boost to either team as runs should be hard to come by.
2) Andy's Cutter
Andy wasn't particularly sharp early in his Game 2 ALDS start, but after retreating to watch tape with Dave Eiland after the 2nd inning, he was a different pitcher for the rest of the game, establishing great command of his fastball and cutter and utilizing them both to get ahead in the count and set up his slider as his out pitch. As a pitch that can be very effective against righties and lefties, the cutter will be the key to Pettitte's success tonight. If he can team it up with his fastball and locate it to both sides of the plate, it will help mix up his approach and keep the Rangers' hitters guessing. If he doesn't have command of it, it's one less pitch they have to be concerned about and they can key in on the fastball and slider depending on the count.
3) Yanks' Aggressiveness Against Lee
By now the Yankees and everybody else in the world should know what to expect from Cliff Lee. He, like Pettitte, mixes his pitches well and works both sides of the plate. He also throws a lot of strikes early in the count to get ahead and set up his out pitches, so if you don't swing early, chances are you aren't going to get anything good to hit later on in the at-bat. Here's how his numbers against look from the regular season depending on the count:
- at 0-0: .348 BA, .825 OPS in 115 ABs
- after 1-0: .219 BA, .613 OPS in 237 ABs
- after 0-1: .223 BA, .563 OPS in 462 ABs
- after 1-1: .227 BA, .592 OPS in 283 ABs
- after 0-2: .158 BA, .394 OPS in 215 ABs
- after 2-0: .231 BA, .782 OPS in 52 ABs
What that tells you is that the earlier you swing against Lee, the better off you're going to be. Hitters were effective swinging on the first pitch against him, and there was much more success swinging in 1- or 2-ball counts (which were far fewer than their 1- or 2-strike counterparts) than when Lee was able to throw an early strike. Once he has 2 strikes on you it's pretty much over from there, and his numbers in 3-0 or 3-1 counts aren't worth mentioning because he rarely makes it to that count, so clearly it behooves the Yankees to swing early in the at-bats tonight rather than sit there patiently and let Lee kill them with early strikes. Both the hitters and Joe Girardi have talked about their approach against Lee tonight and how they know they have to take their hacks against him, it's just a matter of them doing it. The numbers show that if you do it early, you have a chance against him.
Player To Watch: Mark Teixeira
After a strong start to the postseason in Game 1 of the ALDS, Teix's swing and production have abandoned him and he's off to an 0-fer so far in the ALCS. He's only struck out once in 8 at-bats and also has 2 walks to his credit, so it's not like he's not seeing the ball or getting fooled, his timing and balance at the plate just seems a bit off. Teix has gotten some very good pitches to hit and hasn't been able to do anything with them other than pop them up, a sign that he's reaching a bit too much in his swing and his hands and hips are not in tune. I'm sure Kevin Long has noticed this too and hopefully they worked on getting everything back in unison on the off-day workout yesterday. The Yanks need Teix to produce moving forward, especially with everybody else not named Robinson Cano struggling in the middle of the order. He's getting turned around to hit righty tonight, but watch his swings early. If he's putting good wood on the ball, even if he makes outs, that'll be a good sign that he's starting to get back to where he needs to be to do some damage in this series.
It's another lefty-lefty pitching matchup tonight, and so far the Yanks are 3-0 in those this postseason. This one tonight features arguably the greatest postseason pitcher of all-time against arguably the greatest postseason pitcher of the last few years. Pettitte is the Yankee stopper and Lee is the Yankee killer, and underneath the importance of tonight's outcome is the "Lee to the Yankees in 2011" storyline. If Lee comes out and dominates again, it could be the tipping point in them deciding to go all out for him in the offseason. A.J. got his big contract on his pitching well against the Bombers in the past, so there is something to be said for the Yankee brass being enamored with guys who kick their ass. In any case, tonight could be a classic pitchers' duel, with both guys using similar methods to gain success. Whoever can execute that method better should put a "W" up for his team.
Starting Lineups:
NY: Jeter- SS, Swish- RF, Teix- 1B, A-Rod- 3B, Cano- 2B, Thames- DH, Posada- C, C-Grand- CF, Gardner- LF
TX (most likely, even though I haven't been right once yet): Andrus- SS, Young- 3B, Hamilton- CF, Vlad- DH, Cruz- LF, Kinsler- 2B, Francoeur- RF, Molina- C, Moreland- 1B
3 Things To Watch For:
1) Which Struggling Power Hitter Breaks Out
While there have been plenty of timely hits on both sides so far this series, there are still a number of guys who haven't looked sharp. For the Rangers it's cleanup hitter Vlad Guerrero, who is just 1-9 through the first 2 games with 3 Ks and 0 RBIs. He's been fed a steady diet of away stuff from the Yankee staff and hasn't been able to come up with a counterattack to it yet. For the Yankees, Mark Teixeira has started off 0-8 in the first 2 games with a strikeout and 0 RBIS and he's looked awful doing it, swinging early in the count and putting a lot of bad swings on a lot of hittable pitches. Also worth noting is that the combination of Jorge, Swish, and The Horse are 4-24 so far with just 2 RBIs (both on A-Rod's Game 1 single) and 8 Ks. One of these guys has to break out eventually, and if it can happen tonight it will be a big boost to either team as runs should be hard to come by.
2) Andy's Cutter
Andy wasn't particularly sharp early in his Game 2 ALDS start, but after retreating to watch tape with Dave Eiland after the 2nd inning, he was a different pitcher for the rest of the game, establishing great command of his fastball and cutter and utilizing them both to get ahead in the count and set up his slider as his out pitch. As a pitch that can be very effective against righties and lefties, the cutter will be the key to Pettitte's success tonight. If he can team it up with his fastball and locate it to both sides of the plate, it will help mix up his approach and keep the Rangers' hitters guessing. If he doesn't have command of it, it's one less pitch they have to be concerned about and they can key in on the fastball and slider depending on the count.
3) Yanks' Aggressiveness Against Lee
By now the Yankees and everybody else in the world should know what to expect from Cliff Lee. He, like Pettitte, mixes his pitches well and works both sides of the plate. He also throws a lot of strikes early in the count to get ahead and set up his out pitches, so if you don't swing early, chances are you aren't going to get anything good to hit later on in the at-bat. Here's how his numbers against look from the regular season depending on the count:
- at 0-0: .348 BA, .825 OPS in 115 ABs
- after 1-0: .219 BA, .613 OPS in 237 ABs
- after 0-1: .223 BA, .563 OPS in 462 ABs
- after 1-1: .227 BA, .592 OPS in 283 ABs
- after 0-2: .158 BA, .394 OPS in 215 ABs
- after 2-0: .231 BA, .782 OPS in 52 ABs
What that tells you is that the earlier you swing against Lee, the better off you're going to be. Hitters were effective swinging on the first pitch against him, and there was much more success swinging in 1- or 2-ball counts (which were far fewer than their 1- or 2-strike counterparts) than when Lee was able to throw an early strike. Once he has 2 strikes on you it's pretty much over from there, and his numbers in 3-0 or 3-1 counts aren't worth mentioning because he rarely makes it to that count, so clearly it behooves the Yankees to swing early in the at-bats tonight rather than sit there patiently and let Lee kill them with early strikes. Both the hitters and Joe Girardi have talked about their approach against Lee tonight and how they know they have to take their hacks against him, it's just a matter of them doing it. The numbers show that if you do it early, you have a chance against him.
Player To Watch: Mark Teixeira
After a strong start to the postseason in Game 1 of the ALDS, Teix's swing and production have abandoned him and he's off to an 0-fer so far in the ALCS. He's only struck out once in 8 at-bats and also has 2 walks to his credit, so it's not like he's not seeing the ball or getting fooled, his timing and balance at the plate just seems a bit off. Teix has gotten some very good pitches to hit and hasn't been able to do anything with them other than pop them up, a sign that he's reaching a bit too much in his swing and his hands and hips are not in tune. I'm sure Kevin Long has noticed this too and hopefully they worked on getting everything back in unison on the off-day workout yesterday. The Yanks need Teix to produce moving forward, especially with everybody else not named Robinson Cano struggling in the middle of the order. He's getting turned around to hit righty tonight, but watch his swings early. If he's putting good wood on the ball, even if he makes outs, that'll be a good sign that he's starting to get back to where he needs to be to do some damage in this series.
It's another lefty-lefty pitching matchup tonight, and so far the Yanks are 3-0 in those this postseason. This one tonight features arguably the greatest postseason pitcher of all-time against arguably the greatest postseason pitcher of the last few years. Pettitte is the Yankee stopper and Lee is the Yankee killer, and underneath the importance of tonight's outcome is the "Lee to the Yankees in 2011" storyline. If Lee comes out and dominates again, it could be the tipping point in them deciding to go all out for him in the offseason. A.J. got his big contract on his pitching well against the Bombers in the past, so there is something to be said for the Yankee brass being enamored with guys who kick their ass. In any case, tonight could be a classic pitchers' duel, with both guys using similar methods to gain success. Whoever can execute that method better should put a "W" up for his team.
That Answers That Question
I'm a little late on this breaking news, but I guess we can all put the rumors about who's starting Game 4 and Game 5 to bed now.
The forecast is now looking better for Tuesday night. So A.J. Burnett is your Game 4 starter, barring something unforeseen at this point.
“He’s going to get the ball,” Brian Cashman said. “He’s capable of doing a good job and we believe he’s going to do a good job.”
Cashman said no discussions about changes have taken place since the rotation was set for the series. The Yankees don’t want to have to push up everyone else on short rest. (via LoHud)
Cashman also said he believed in the existence of the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and the Chupacabra. He also said he believed that there was no second gunman on the grassy knoll, the moon landing was faked, Diet Dr. Pepper really does taste just as good as regular Dr. Pepper, and the Jews and aliens from another faraway galaxy are secretly working together to run the world.
It's easy to say that A.J. is getting the start today, before Game 3 has been played, but color me unconvinced for now until we see how Game 3 plays out. Are Cash and Joe really willing to let A.J. go out there with a 2-game lead or deficit in the series on the line? I know I sure as shit wouldn't be.
The forecast is now looking better for Tuesday night. So A.J. Burnett is your Game 4 starter, barring something unforeseen at this point.
“He’s going to get the ball,” Brian Cashman said. “He’s capable of doing a good job and we believe he’s going to do a good job.”
Cashman said no discussions about changes have taken place since the rotation was set for the series. The Yankees don’t want to have to push up everyone else on short rest. (via LoHud)
Cashman also said he believed in the existence of the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and the Chupacabra. He also said he believed that there was no second gunman on the grassy knoll, the moon landing was faked, Diet Dr. Pepper really does taste just as good as regular Dr. Pepper, and the Jews and aliens from another faraway galaxy are secretly working together to run the world.
It's easy to say that A.J. is getting the start today, before Game 3 has been played, but color me unconvinced for now until we see how Game 3 plays out. Are Cash and Joe really willing to let A.J. go out there with a 2-game lead or deficit in the series on the line? I know I sure as shit wouldn't be.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
R.I.P, Freddy Sez
Freddy “Sez”, a Yankee Stadium staple for the last 20 years, has died at age 82, according to friend Chuck Frantz. At almost every Yankee game, Freddy could be seen outside Yankee Stadium with his daily message for the Yanks and a frying pan he banged like a drum. He also let other fans bang it as well. He became such an institution that his lucky frying pan and spoon, thanks to Frantz, were put into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Yogi Berra museum in 2004. (via the NY Daily News)
Rest in peace, Freddy. You will be missed. I can still think back to my experiences at the the old Stadium, wondering who the person banging the pot for the whole entire game was. After a while, you didn't even notice it anymore, it was just part of the Stadium tradition. It would have been weirder to not hear it there than to hear it. I know the team and the fans will miss you and the pot tomorrow night when they get ready for Game 3, and Yankee fans everywhere will miss you beyond that.
P.S.- tough year to lose so many staples of the franchise...
Rest in peace, Freddy. You will be missed. I can still think back to my experiences at the the old Stadium, wondering who the person banging the pot for the whole entire game was. After a while, you didn't even notice it anymore, it was just part of the Stadium tradition. It would have been weirder to not hear it there than to hear it. I know the team and the fans will miss you and the pot tomorrow night when they get ready for Game 3, and Yankee fans everywhere will miss you beyond that.
P.S.- tough year to lose so many staples of the franchise...
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