Right and wrong: The rotation
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 24, 2010 
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For a team as bruised and battered as the Yankees, one thing that’s gone right with the rotation — this is the moment Joe Girardi would begin knocking on wood — has been the health of the team’s starters. Andy Pettitte skipped one start and Javier Vazquez has what seems to be a minor finger issue, but otherwise the group has been able to take the ball consistently.
What’s gone right?
Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes
As a whole, the rotation has been a bright spot. Four starters have an ERA below 4.00, and even Vazquez has shown significant improvement in his past two starts. At this point, though, the clear bright spots have been the old man and the young kid.
Both Pettitte and Hughes are 5-1 with a sub-3.00 ERA. Pettitte has had only one rocky outing, and Hughes has given the Yankees a chance to win even in his so-so starts. He’s also proven he has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher at this level.
Other bright spots: Hughes and CC Sabathia flirting with no-hitters; A.J. Burnett’s dominant start to the season; Vazquez’s past two starts; Sergio Mitre doing a fine job as a spot starter.
What’s gone wrong?
Javier Vazquez
There has been some unexpected inconsistency from Sabathia, and Bad A.J. has shown up a time or two, but the Yankees top two starters have been good more often than they’ve been bad. The exact opposite can be said for Vazquez.
The Yankees big winter pitching addition was brought in to provide durability and reliability, but he’s instead been skipped twice before finally finding his stride in his past two starts. Good things seem to be happening for Vazquez, but for now he’s the low point of the Yankees rotation.
Other problem areas: Pettitte’s elbow is worth keeping an eye on; Big innings have cost Burnett in two of his past three starts (something that he avoided earlier this season but gave him problems last year).
Shout it from the rooftops.
This is one of the best rotations in all of baseball.
Just stay healthy.
Nothing more needs to be said.
End of story.
You’re right, the rotation has been a strength and is the main reason the Yankees got off to a good start this season. I also think it’s the reason they have been slumping lately. If you think about it, CC has had 2 sub-par starts in a row, Andy just had his first poor start, Phil has had 2 mediocre starts in a row and A.J. has been bad in his last 2. Everyone is bemoaning the offense but the starting pitching has really been the root of this recent slump.
Repost:
I’ll worry about Tampa after they have a few injuries (which are coming) and they get through the part of their schedule that isn’t filled with non playoff contenders.
repost:
raymagnetic-
I don’t dispute you could be right but I think the probabilities lie in the other direction right now.
If you look at CC’s and AJ’s numbers, their strikeout rates are down and in CC’s case his home run rate is way up as well. Sure he could turn it around anytime but the fact remains that he (and AJ) needs turning around and that alone is worrisome.
Plus, Jeter isn’t himself. Even Joe Morgan was noticing last night that the Captain is very slow in the field. I think there’s something the Yanks aren’t telling us, and that isn’t good.
We are getting CG back soon, which presuming he doesn’t resume his slump where it left off, is good news, but Posada’s long absence is going to hurt, and even NJ was contributing despite his lack of hitting and Miranda/Thames will have to be good in the DH slot to exceed NJ’s wOBA of .334.
Plus, the Rays could be even better than they are – Upton, Pena, Zobrist and Bartlett are all underperforming and don’t forget they have a couple of injuries too and a farm system capable of attracting a key trade if the Rays want to do so.
On top of that, our cushion over the Sox is basically gone.
So while I think the Yanks are still capable of winning it, we have to admit it will now be a dogfight, probably all the way.
Patrick-
It was gravy having CC so good early.
he is typically a strong second half pitcher.
That is why I don’t sweat it if he struggles a bit now.
AJ has always struggled with consistency.
Hughes has been a revelation.
Andy is always going to compete.
Vasquez is on the mend.
All in all a very formidable rotation IMO.
Nothing to worry about unless someone goes down.
MTU,
I am not sweating the rotation at all, just pointing out that the recent losses have coincided with a string of poor starts from our usually stellar rotation.
“how about batting gardy 9th again, in front of jeter.
move swish up to 2nd when grandy comes back”
—————————————————–
totally for this idea.
Nick Swisher is a perfect #2 hitter, if there ever was one
Yeah, I agree. The pitchers picked a bad time to do badly, with the battered line-up. They put the team into a pretty big hole a few times, which naturally led guys to press even more than usual.
Patrick-
That’s true but a lot of things have gone wrong lately.
It’s just part of a rough patch.
I’m confident that as the Yanks become whole things will be much more to everyone’s liking.
There is an awful lot more baseball to be played before things are decided.
welcome back MTU
the Yankees have a great starting rotation, unfortunately they all had bad games at the same time…add to that bull pen issues, injuries, and lack of timely hitting, and you have a bad week.
you may tell yourself, these are not my New York Yankees
you may tell yourself, this is not Yankees baseball
letting the games go by, let the pitchers hold them down
letting the games go by, losses flowing underground
Kate-
Thanks. Did you see the pics I posted on the other thread ?
Rotation will be ok. If we had a real Left Fielder in the game last night that ball Wright hit would have been caught. How much longer on Granderson? anybody know? Watching Gardner this week has been tough especially at the plate, killing rallies, hitting into DP`s striking out in key spots and not getting on base. He hasnt had a stolen base since May 15th?
I also think Swisher is probably the best option for the 2 hole right now. He is the best combo of on base skills and ability to drive runs in they have for that role at the moment IMO.
I like Swisher at the 2 hole too.
Only problem with that is that the bottom 3rd of the lineup (Granderson, Miranda, and Gardner) will become very left-handed.
Blake-
Once Grandy returns have him in the 2 hole against righties and Swish there against lefties.
That might be a good combo.
pie in the sky is one thing.
reality another.
posada could be out another month.
he is this team’s munson.
the pen is shaky as it was last season til Hughes fixed it.
I got slaughtered for saying this earlier in the season but if Tex continues to struggle he needs to be moved within the lineup IMO.
Take some pressure off.
Miranda-Thames will be an effective DH combo.
MTU
I went back to take a look, WOW! How nice that you could actually hike right up to the dwellings. Quite impressive.
The return of Granderson will be a huge boost to this team.
Just having him back makes the lineup so much deeper. All of a sudden its almost circular again, with Cervelli and Miranda/Thames/ Winn filling the 8-9 slots.
Winn and Thames will look much better when they aren’t exposed by having them start on a regular basis. Your outfield is intact again, which not only helps the lineup, but improves the defense dramatically. No more mini heart attacks every time a fly ball is hit to Thames. No more displays of pitiful ineptitude like the Winn fly ball disaster I was lucky enough to witness in person Saturday night.
Expect a big surge in the standings with the simple addition of Granderson, softness of the schedule for the next 2-3 weeks, and hopefully the awakening of Tex’s bat.
Kate-
I though you might like them. It was a pleasure on a grand scale.
Next week I am going on an even greater adventure if the weather holds.
A friend and I are going to run 160 miles of the Green and Colorado rivers on his boat.
Mick
I agree that the loss of Posada is major.
The bull pen seems to be doing better…definitely an improvement over Edwar, Alby and Tomko.
Anybody have a clue what is wrong with TEX?
He is late on his swings, not himself up there.
Giving him a day off might break him out of it.
MTU,
That’s not a bad idea once Grandy comes back. I just don’t really like Gardner there. I think he’s perfect in the 9 spot.
I posted repeatedly LAST season that I thought Swisher belonged in the two spot
cashman got us into this mess, ie. letting matsui and damon go, not 1 or the other, so he better not say ; ‘we have everything to win right here’. no way, not with thames, winn, and a light bench. hope has a plan for the trade deadline
Girardi is so lefty/righty obsessed I wouldn’t expect Swisher to hit 2nd consistently, especially when Granderson comes back.
In Girardi’s mind, he needs Swisher lower in the order to break up the lefties.
Mick-
SJ has suggested it, and I said it much earlier but I think if Tex doesn’t pull it together soon he needs to be moved within the lineup.
He is pressing and moving him will take some of the pressure off.
Posada is the heart and soul of this team. His loss has been the toughest to deal with, IMO. Not just his bat but his experience dealing with the pitching staff. I love Cervelli but he has shown over the past couple of weeks why he is the back-up catcher on this team, and not a starter.
Time to change the line up until Granderson comes back
Jeter
Swisher
Arod
Cano
Tex
Thames/Miranda
Cervelli
Russo/Winn
Gardner
Post Granderson return
Jeter
Swisher
Arod
Cano
Tex
Granderson
Thames/Miranda
Cervelli
Gardner
Post Posada return
Jeter
Swisher
Arod
Cano
Tex
Posada
Granderson
Thames/Miranda
Gardner
at least w/ gardy in the 9 hole, jeter will have to look at more pitches…
whatever happened to taking pitches, even swisher is swinging at 1st pitches.
at least with NJ, he battled…Damon too of course…not to mention Matsui….Jete seems to be setting the tone swinging at 1st pitches…no more wearing opposing pitchers out with 5 inning 100 pitch outings.
Don’t get it.
I would maybe consider just switching Arod and Tex in the Lineup for a few games. That way its more of a “shakeup” to Tex than a demotion. His issues are at least in part because he’s pressing…sometimes just a little change like that can make a difference.
MTU –
who would you bat 3rd?
Blake-
I have no problem with GGBG hitting lower in the order.
He still needs to bunt more especially in times like now when he is struggling a bit.
It would really help keep him going and help the team by him continuing to get on base.
Let’s remember that most people would have been thrilled if GGBG
winds up hitting .280 or so.
The OBP is very important with GGBG. When he gets on he is a weapon. A disrupter, and an igniter.
If Tex keeps this up he could be switched with Cano in the order.
Either that or buy him a pair of spectacles (the other word won’t get thru the filter)
There is too much pressure on Gardy in the 2 spot.
Before he was loose, getting on base more, now he is in a situational spot.
Too much to expect. Let him run free at the bottom again.
“who would you bat 3rd?”
Someone with power and good contact skills. An RBI producer.
On days when Grandy is #2 Swish might be a good #3, or possibly as has been suggested Cano.
When Swish is #2 perhaps Cano is # 3.
Girardi is good at looking at combinations of things.
Scranton is the first inning. 0-0 score. not much happened. Granderson singled on a line drive to right. Montero walked on a full count.
Granderson a hit in his first at bat.
Montero a walk in his first at bat.
He has taken A LOT of walks the the last week or two. Without seeing any of the at bats it could suggest he was expanding the zone earlier in the season, and now is content to be more patient. Will probably help the batting average in short order.
GB-
Thanks for the update. Hope you are doing well.
Grandy coming back will lengthen the order.
Only the 7th and 8th hitters will be question marks with Cervelli and a Thames/Miranda DH in those spots.
If Posada gets back sooner than projected he should DH until 100%.
Right now the starting pitching is pressing for lack of runs, trying to be too perfect, throw shutouts. Not gonna happen.
I happen to think Thames/Miranda will be a very functional DH combo. I really like the looks of Miranda’s at bats.
This May reminds me of last April, – Inconsistent pitching, poor offense, A little lackadaisical on the offensive side. Girardi or Cash might need to air the team out if the continue to struggle, until then, they need to get Grandy and Ace back and the rotation just needs to get straitened out.
Also would love to find a way to get Berkman if he’s available, maybe as a part of a salary dump
Five-
I agree with you and said so above.
If it is one thing that miranda can do IMO it is that he can hit, and hit with power.
I hope he continues to get a chance to show what he can do.
Thanks for the update GB.. good to “see” you.
Thames and Miranda both have very good power.
Miranda is not a typical rookie. He is in his late 20s. Hope he gets a long look with Johnson on the DL for the next several months.
Right now, does Tex offer Alex enough protection to hit behind him?
It might be painful to watch in the short run but Tex may have to figure it out from where he’s at or until at least reinforcements arrive.
Sanchez gave up a leadoff single, runner stole 2nd. Montero was never given a chance to throw. 2nd batter singled, runner to 3rd. runner stole third on an ill-advised throw by Montero. Throw into cebter field and runner scored. 1-0 Louisville after 1 inning.
Not that I’m glad to see my team hurt and the rotation struggling a little the past two weeks but I’m excited for when our injuries come back, the offense starts clicking and the rotation gets on a massive roll. Because when all that happens at the same time for a few weeks to a month, this team is going to be SCARY good!
My pleasure MTU, and Bronx. Not a good start today for Scranton.
MTU
I haven’t looked at your pictures yet(slow computer). Where did you go?
My daughter taught school on a Navaho res. up in the four corners area in Arizona.
We went to Mesa Verdi while out to see her.
The single most important thing that needs to happen for this team right now is Tex needs to begin to put together consistent quality productive at bats game in game out.
They will get healthy and the starters are ahead of schedule in that they all came out of the gate hot to start the season. They’ll settle in and it looks like Vaz is ready to join the party which should help to alleviate some of the ‘pens troubles the last 2 weeks.
GB, any word on the extent of Adams’ injury? It didn’t sound good…….thanks!
Oh, and how are the wonder twins?
Pat
that was my concern regarding moving Tex as well. Also, Robbie has done so well hitting 5th, but that is no guarantee he would hit as well if he was batting 3rd.
what we forgotten is the loss of Aceves.
when will he be back?
he is the glue out there, an all purpose guy who could pitch the 8th if joba craps the bed.
The Yanks are not making a $30 million dollar commitment to Berkman at this point in the season.
I had espoused that in the offseason as I thought that he’d be a perfect #5 hitter to slot in behind ARod…but Ca$h ain’t giving up the talent that Houston is going to want back nor looking to take on another 15-16 million contract on a player that’s missed significant time both this season and last.
The ‘Stros would probably ask for Nunez,Romine,McCallister + for Lance which is a lot for him at this stage in his career…
It seems that Javier has turned a corner for the good, he is pitching better. Joe has so many areas of concern, stabilize the pen, CC and AJ , Jeter,Teixeira’s slumping, RISP.
I believe it will all come around.
Kevin Long has his hands full, and Eiland SHOULD BE WORKING OVERTIME.
I like what Robertson and Mitre have been doing. Chan Ho Park ,reminds me of Bruney, Edwar, Veras, and Farnsworth, guranteed to give up at least 1 run, when they come in the game.
Scranton leads 2-1 going into bottom of the 2nd inning. Natale with an RBI sac fly and Golson with an RBI single. Granderson is 1-2 with a single and foul pop-up.
There’s been a lot of talk about offensive struggles, but if you at the rough patch that we’ve had the last 2-3 weeks it’s really been the pitching. The starters have been far less consistent than they were earlier in the season, and the relievers – even Joba and Mo – have let us down. The hitting hasn’t been great, but it’s been good enough that we would have won lots of games had the pithcers done what they did earlier in the season. This concerns me, because this slide isn’t just about injuries, it’s about the sudden decline of our pitching staff.
pat -
That’s the way I think about it. Just going to have to wait Tex out a little more. See what happens.
mick -
What was that Counting Crows song you mentioned the other day?
Also, I am sorry, but I will have to cancel GTLU for tomorrow. I forgot I had a doctor’s appointment for my youngest at 1 tomorrow. The doctor is over an hour away. Then I have to drive from that appointment to White Plains by 5 (another 2 hour-ish drive) and then I’ll be there for however long it takes my other daughter to “socialize.” Won’t be home until 8:30 at the earliest, I’m thinking. I will be in no frame of mind to go back and capture the lineups and I’ll be keeping one daughter entertained while the other daughter does her thing, so it won’t work to bring my laptop with me this time. (The ONLY way I can do it is if we do it earlier than normal, as if it was a day game – 8:30 to 10:00.)
Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 24th, 2010 at 11:31 am
GB, any word on the extent of Adams’ injury? It didn’t sound good…….thanks!
Oh, and how are the wonder twins?
———————————————————————————————————————-
Not much news, Betsy. 2nd baseman stepped on Adams’ ankle and it’s sprained. Supposed to see the doctor today, but, he’s walking on it.
The twins are doing well. Apparently they’ve been calling Domino’s for delivery of beer and pizza. Can’t imagine where they got the phone number for Domino’s.
To me the last few games have been about slow starts. In several games the Yanks mounted furious rallies in the last few innings (only to come up short – Robbie last night in the 8th and Alex in the 9th). They seem to coast the first 5-6 innings and then kick it up a notch.
Lack of timely hitting / run support has hurt the starting staff. The bullpen will sort itself out.
Kevin Long and Teixeira need to get together, look at video, and find where the flaw is in his swing.
Miranda…
.261 ba, .370 obp, .652 slg, 1.023 ops
Park has been disappointing so far, but if he can get it together & pitch like he did last year with the Phillies, he’d be able to help us a bunch. Everything else will be falling into place as the team gets healthy.
Wave,
I responded to you in the previous post. In summary I agree with alot of what you’re saying.
I’m hoping CG’s return and CC and AJ pitching to their capabilities will help right the ship in short order.
Sanchez in the 2nd inning had his usual control problems with two walks and full counts. He struck out the batter for 3rd out on a foul tip to Montero. 2-1 Scranton, top of 3rd.
GB, I hope it’s not a high ankle sprain – but if he’s walking on it, that’s ok.
Forget Domino’s – I want to know who’s putting beer in their bottles instead of milk. I won’t accuse a certain great-grandpa…….
The biggest concerns offensively for the team are Tex and Jeter. This is Tex’s biggest slump, he managed a couple of hits last night, but he only saw 12 pitches in five at bats. That’s simply awful.
What’s worse is he’s not even driving the ball. A low batting average for Tex is not as concerning, as is the.378 slugging percentage. This isn’t a case of “he’s hitting the ball hard, but they’re just finding gloves”.
As for Jeter, he’s not working counts right now. His .OBP is mainly tied to his ability to get basehits, something he has done better than anyone not named Ichiro. But if he’s not getting hits, he has little value to the team as a 36-year old shortstop.
Jeter has always been aggressive for a leadoff or No. 2 hitter, and he’s not someone who is going to take 100 walks. But he’s on pace for a career low in walks, by a ridiculous amount.
Jeter can’t have fewer walks than Cano, and expect to be effective in the leadoff spot. Whether he’s in a slump, or this is the beginning of a decline, no one will really know until July. But it doesn’t look good right now.
The rest of the lineup will work itself out. Guys are getting exposed because of the injuries. Gardner is fine at the bottom of the order, but he’s getting exposed as a No. 2 guy.
Moving Swisher up to No. 2 seems like a logical move.
Getting Posada back healthy right now is he most important thing. He’s absolutely crucial to the team’s success.
Montero singled in his second at bat.
As said earlier, I think AAA is about to feel the wrath of Jesus!
Maine-
“I haven’t looked at your pictures yet(slow computer). Where did you go?
My daughter taught school on a Navaho res. up in the four corners area in Arizona.
We went to Mesa Verdi while out to see her.”
Please view them if you like that sort of stuff or provide me with an e-mail address.
It was the Navajo national Monument.
The ruins are called “Betatakin”. There are many others in the general area.
Kind of like Mesa Verde w/o all the people and with much more access to the ruins themselves.
I plan a return trip to the area to explore more of the ruins.
News wire May 24 (Bloomberg) — The Texas Rangers, the Major League Baseball team controlled by billionaire Thomas Hicks, filed for bankruptcy after the planned sale of the team fell through.
The Arlington, Texas-based company listed assets and debt of between $100 million and $500 million debt Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Worth.
Alex Rodriguez was listed as the Rangers’ top unsecured creditor.
Folks that are saying Posada is critical to the Yankees success are 100% correct because he absolutely is. They are plain and simple and different team without him in there.
Scranton didn’t score in the 3rd inning. Montero had a line single to left.
pat,
Creditors were playing hardball, now they’re screwed. MLB/Hicks should be able to sell the team for a lower price now.
Not that i’m giving up on the AL East . .but these games against the Twins are kind of BIG . .
any win against an AL Centeral contender is huge .. because we could be at some point fighting them for a wild card spot .
So A-Rod owns the Rangers now? Maybe he can shuttle Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz over to the Yankees’ roster with his newfound control in their organization.
Blake-
Not much the Yankees can do about Poasada’s injury.
Only time and lot’s of Puerto Rican goat’s milk can help him.
Luckily, Cervelli has overachieved thus far but obviously he isn’t Posada, and can’t provide his power, spark, or leadership.
He has done remarkably well though. Let’s count our blessings.
We could have to settle for Molina’s, or Moeller’s bats.
I don’t like seeing the Yanks 5-10 over 15 games, but there’s no real cause for concern here. They’ve just bunched together some bad starts and bad at bats.
The Rays are having a fantasy start to the season and that’s fine, but I heard Skip Brainless on ESPN say the Yanks need to forget about the division and concentrate on the wild card. The guy has less insight into baseball than Stephen A Smith has into the NHL.
Forget about the division six games down with 118 to play? Really?
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-.....id=5213947
Wow, I think he’s serious……..
MTU
“It was the Navajo national Monument.”
Is that also called Monument Valley?
Not sure who’s spiking their formulas. Betsy, but, I admire their taste in beer. Coor’s Light.
Betsy, Here’s your next book to read.
http://www.independent.co.uk/a.....80695.html
MTU,
You’re right..they are lucky that Cervelli has performed well. However I don’t think its a total coincedence that the team (and pitching staff) started to struggle a bit around the time that Jorge started missing games.
Sanchez had a great inning with 2 strikeouts and a ground out. He’s throwing 96 MPH, a 6-12 curve, hard slider and a great change-up. His control drives you crazy, because his stuff is so good. He’s at 56 pitches (36 strikes)/ 5 groundouts, 1 fly out.
Maine-
“Is that also called Monument Valley?”
Monument Valley is to the North and East of NNM by approx. 60 miles.
Alex Rodriguez was listed as the Rangers’ top unsecured creditor = $40-$45 million dollars.
Tom, wow – that’s crazy; thanks for that link!
Roger Clemens and Paul O’Neill are related to Twain………
The Rays haven’t felt an ounce of pressure and understandably. Wait until they hit a rough stretch (and they will) then catch the Yankees ever closer in their rear view mirror.
That’s when we’ll see what they’re made of. It’s just not possible to play .727 baseball for the entire season.
Blake-
Jorge is battle-tested and his experience is not easy to replace.
Things could always be worse, and I would much rather have problems and a run of bad luck now than later in the season when they are much more difficult to fix, and there is no trade deadline to patch holes.
If this is low tide I can’t wait to see high tide again.
Correction: that’s a 12-6 curve.
Scranton leads after 4 innings, 2-1. Sanchez: 4 inings, 4 hits, 1 run (unearned), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts. 71 pitches (48 strikes)
MTU,
You’re right there…much better to fight through this now than later.
Blake-
The BP still needs fixing as well but we have time.
Granderson now 2 for 3….
Granderson is 2-3 with a line single to center field. Montero with a hard ground single to left.
2-5, 5-10, what ever it was, is not vary good. Teams will all have to go through rough patches. Let’s hope the off day helps and these guys start playing better…
Montero 2 for 2 with a walk…
MTU,
Aceves should make a big difference in the pen when he gets back. He’s the duct tape out there…slap him whereever you need him and he usually will fix it. But as you said they have time…they seem to always figure the pen out by the end of the year….kinda like House always almost kills the patient before finally saving them.
If Grandy doesn’t have any setbacks he should be back within about a week.
Granderson was stealing during Montero’s AB…good sign
looking at the rotation is nice, but misguided, as our potential problem do not stem from there. in fact, the rotation has been our saving grace so far.
the main issues are:
1) bullpen – extremely unreliable to down right terrible. but, nothing to worry. quality relievers are always available in july + i believe r. sanchez can be the ace in the hole for 2010, and don’t overlook duff, who’s already in triple a.
2) tex – a much more serious problem. we are stuck with his contract for 6 more years, and i use the word “stuck” because his bat speed will just deteriorate. his defense is also slipping (he somehow escaped all blame for the red sox blown save, but had he handled the line drive to 1st, the game was won).
many people on this blog nailed it when they said he is not a leader, but rather a complimentery player who will pad his stats when everyone else is rolling. we need him right now, as some guys are coming back to earth, yet he continues to fail – last night as well.
i understand you can’t hit a homer every at bat, but driving in runs from 3rd with less than 2 outs? – that’s why he’s paid the ridicolous amount he’s actually paid.
i’m all for switching him and cano, though joe wouldn’t do it due to his loyalty to his players, which i respect. however, he is hurting the team, and he is on the verge of receiving the a-rod pre-2009 treatment at yankee stadium very soon.
oh, and he deserves to be booed.
Blake-
Unfortunately, I am not so optimistic about Ace.
If he has a bulging disc in the back he will need to be managed extremely carefully, and his availability will be much less than optimal.
You’re right about him when he his healthy, feeling no pain, and available.
The trick will be to keep him that way.
He may need back surgery in the off-season.
These problems tend to linger and be nagging unless fully corrected.
MTU,
Yea if they can’t get Ace back healthy then that does complicate things.
Grandy will be back Friday
louisville just scored against r. sanchez – with their clean-up hitter BUNTING a single with 2 outs and a runner on 3rd… ON PURPOSE, not a swinging bunt… that should be illegal in the minors…
Blake-
“Yea if they can’t get Ace back healthy then that does complicate things.”
It is going to be difficult to keep Ace healthy for the remainder of the season.
They might just get lucky and be able to nurse him thru the season with skilled management and pain shots but I would be very surprised if he does not spend more time on the DL, or miss a significant amount of time.
ChoP is going to have to step up, or they may need to either bring someone up from the farm, or acquire someone.
Let’s hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
looks like his brief ML debut has changed romulo’s attitude. he’s been stellar since coming back to scranton, slashing his ERA by half. so far today 5ip, 1er, 5k, 3bb.
he still walks too many and his pitch count is already 94, but he’s got the stuff – and now the confidence.
count him in for a mid-season call-up a-la d-rob last year. he should be miles ahead of melancon on the depth chart.
Sanchez is his own worst enemy in the 5th inning. His 3rd walk, and never stopping the runner, who stole 2nd, moved up on a grounder and scored on a suicide bunt single to Sanchez, who should have thrown out the hitter. 2-2 tie after 5 innings. 5 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, 5 strikeouts. 94 pitches (60 strikes), 8 ground outs, 2 fly out.
For left-handed pitchers:
Jeter
Swisher
Tex
A-Rod
Cano
Thames
Grandy
Cervelli
GGBG
For Rigthies:
Jeter
Grandy
Tex
A-Rod
Cano
Swisher
Miranda
Cervelli
GGBG
If Tex continues to slump move him down.
without posada out and with teixeira slumping , the yankees are not a power team.
girardi needs to switch to the new reality and go with an small ball approach with gardner, jeter, granderson, alex, and winn all running( 16 stolen bases last year).
that’s 5 guys who can steal bases.
have gardner lead off, followed by jeter, granderson, alex, cano, texeira, swisher, cervelli, and winn as the stolen base threat at the end of the order.
the point is to run and play defense.
the yankees would have five guys in a row who could steal or run, so run and hit is in order too.
yeah its extreme, but this team is not the team girardi thought it was and there’s no sense running a dead blueprint of a lineup out there every day when it doesn’t exist anymore.
will girardi do it or anything like it?
no way . it’s too extreme for him to get creative enough to take advantage of the speed the yankees have. he’s not billy martin. not even close.
girardi will play conservative baseball and not take advantage of the team speed he has until the red sox pass the yankees and then a week or so in third place will get though to him he has to make some changes.
the yankees can run. maybe he’ll come across that when he’s looking for something to do to stop the bleeding.
whatever he does, throw out the plan that was made over the winter. it no longer applies.
Jeterl’s ops is 128 lower than his career avg, this is cause for concern.
CC is lackluster, this year, velocity down. runs up, and walks escalating, this is his 4th try at getting win # 5. He’s paid as an Ace and has the title, but he’s underperforming!
Randy-
IMO, running should always be a part of the Yankees game.
As you point out they have some speed.
Any team that they play whose catcher is sub-par should be run on relentlessly.
The Yankees, even when they were at full strength, did not need to rely solely on the long ball.
This team has many facets and they should be fully utilized in order to produce maximum effects.
Chan ho Park is good for a run or two when he comes in the game. I have no confidence in his pitching.
The thing that could be worrisome about CC is not his walks, thats around career average, its the fact that his HR rate is doubled. His velocity is inline with his career. Its 92.9, his career average is 93.5 and we haven’t even gotten into the hottest parts of the summer where he will get real loose.
Right now CC is giving up 1.4 HR/9, which is double as much as he normally gives up. His HR/FB rate is also double his normal perceentage. And above league average. That will probably come down. He is giving up a career low in LD%, a career high in GB%, but 35.6% of his balls put into play are FBs and 14% of those are turning into HRs!
Not worried about CC at all.
Sanchez is out of the game. 5.1 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, 5 strikeouts.
Runners on 1st and 3rd. After a double, Sanchez threw a slider into the dirst in the left hand side batters box and Montero reached across to dig it out of the dirt.
Melancon just gave up a single to allow 1 run to score, runners on 2nd and 3rd.
new thread
I’m not going to get down on Jeter. We’ve seen this before. When you start hearing reports of him getting hit hard in the hand, you know you’re in for a prolonged slump from him.
He didn’t fall off a cliff. He actually started the season looking like he was hitting with more power.
Clearly something is wrong with the guy and since it’s Jeter, you know he will NEVER take himself out of the game and play (almost to the detriment of the team) through anything. It’s why he’s an all time great and why a lot of us love him.
That said, Girardi needs to reshape the order. He does not have the presence in the #2 hole he’s had for the past few years.
Gardner and Jeter need to be flip flopped.
I would also move Arod to 3rd to get him the guarantee of getting up in the first inning.
If Tex is still slumping, let Cano hit 4 and figure it out from there.
Jeter won’t ground into as money double plays with Gardner on in front of him. In fact, it should be understood that if Gardner is on first, Jeter has to give him every chance to steal.
If Gardner gets on and steals 2b. Then, if Jeter grounds out, it’s a productive out that can move Bret to 3rd with one out and our 3rd place hitter up.
Cashman’s off season decisions are looking horrible right now. I don’t think there’s a Yankee fan out there who wouldn’t have Damon and Matsui on this roster for this season.
But the injuries happened and the drop off is real and the team needs to attempt to address the issues with the offense.
The pitching was on such a hot streak earlier it was bound to come back to earth, but this offense can’t slump when the pitchers let down a bit.
Losing Jorge, Granderson and Nick Johnson are huge, but there has to be solutions out there who can drive in runs.
Perhaps a batting order shuffle can help.
Gardner is a catalyst for this team. Let him lead off. He gets on base at the start of the game and he’ll score more often than not.
Melancon allows one inherited runner to score in the 6th. .2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout.
3-2 Scranton losing, top of the 7th inning.
“The Yankees, even when they were at full strength, did not need to rely solely on the long ball.”
mtu-
the problem is that girardi doesn’t run the guys who can run because he perceives they are a power hitting team. he puts gardner near the top of the order and then he doesn’t have him run because alex and teixeira are coming up.
that needs to be thrown out the window. gardner,granderson, and jeter must go after other teams instead of sitting on first for what seems forever.
forget then being a power hitting team . they aren’t right now.
girardi is using a startegy that is based on alex and teixeira being power hitters .
that was last year.
plus alex is versatile . he can do anything. run in front of him. he’ll adjust.
having the ability to run and not running is a total waste of talent.
it’s just dumb.
girardi is a very conservative guy. he doesn’t have that killer instinct like billy used to have to make sudden changes to take advantage of changing conditions.
i’m extremely disappointed in the conservative approach he takes with the game.
Cardinals are about to make the same mistake with Pujols, as Tom Hicks did with Alex. They will anchor the team in debt.
Holliday’s contract was structured for him to be past2017. He’ll be ready for grand children, and retired from the game and still getting paid.
I’ve heard Pujols may want 28-30MM per yr to stay with the team. It will cripple their team, IT’S THE 20TH MARKET, small.
Randy-
“i’m extremely disappointed in the conservative approach he takes with the game.”
I’m a very practical person.
I can only hope (though I doubt) that Girardi can/will be also.
As you may know, I am a big fan of creative, and out-of-box thinking.
Necessity IS the mother of Invention.
There is a need and I think it will necessitate Joe G. making changes.
I hope they work and are forthcoming. He seems to love that book.
The longer it takes to figure out what to do the worse it it is.
But I still think with their strong rotation and some tweaking the Yankees are in a very strong postion to compete.
All right there…much better to fight through this now than later.