Postgame notes: A sure thing
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes, Podcast on May 28, 2010 
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When Joe Girardi posted the Yankees lineup this afternoon, Robinson Cano had one question for his manager.
Are you sure?
“I said, ‘Yeah, I’m sure,’” Girardi said.
Cano batted cleanup for the first time in his career and rewarded his manager’s confidence with a three-hit night that included the third grand slam of his career. For the past week the Yankees had struggled to put together big innings. Cano changed that with one swing.
“I was real surprised because A-Rod is the kind of guy that you never see him take a day off,” Cano said. “It’s always good to taste and feel what it’s like to be a cleanup hitter. It feels great. It means you’re more mature and get more experience.”
It’s hard to imagine where the Yankees might be without Cano. He’s played every game, and since the middle of April, he’s never gone more than back-to-back games without a hit. For a Yankees team that has battled injuries and prolonged slumps from its superstars, Cano has been the one constant, no matter where he’s hit in the order.
“He’s been a big part of our winning, definitely,” Girardi said. “And it’s not just his offense, it’s his defense as well. His defense has been excellent. He made a very tough play again tonight. He’s an all-around complete player and he’s been a big part of this.”
Girardi hit on quite a few topics tonight, so we’ll go with his postgame audio.
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• Good news on Jorge Posada, who got a good report from Dr. Ahmad. Posada played catch today and he’s ready to begin motion exercises. Girardi said he could be hitting off a tee within a day or two.
• Phil Hughes was terrific tonight, and he did it primarily with his fastball and curveball, especially early in the game. Hughes noticed that the Indians were late on his four-seamer, and he thought going to the cutter might actually help them catch up, so he stayed with the hard stuff. He said going to his cutter too often has gotten him into trouble a few times this year, and he wants to keep it more of a complimentary pitch.
• One huge curveball from Hughes came in the fourth inning, when he struck out Luis Valbuena to strand runners at second and third. It was a full count, and the first thing Chad Moeller called was the curveball. “I was like, that’s a good idea,” Hughes said. He dropped it for a strike and Valbuena went down looking.
• Mark Teixeira at first base. You know the guy is good over there, and then he has a night like this that reminds you exactly how good he really is. “I’m not even sure what was the most impressive one,” Girardi said. “It might have been the one from Choo that kind of shot back. He was able to change the direction of his glove and his upper body. We’re used to seeing that but he seemed to get a lot more plays tonight.”
• Nick Swisher had his second home run in the past three games and he’s hitting .351 with seven home runs in May. He hit .164 with four home runs in his previous two Mays.
• Cano has 10 home runs this season, seven of them against lefties.
• Derek Jeter is batting .455 in his past five games.
• Curtis Granderson was encouraged by all of the stopping and going he did tonight. He chased a ball to the gap, went first to third, hit a double and one had to reverse direction after starting toward third base on a wild pitch. He said he’s not worried about the groin, just needs to make sure his legs are back to 100 percent. He said he was going to stretch one more time when he got home. “It’s just how the body comes back,” he said.
• Some minor league news: Five Tampa Yankees have been named to the Florida State League all-star game: C Mitch Abeita, OF Jack Rye, INF Corban Joseph and starting pitchers Adam Warren and Hector Noesi (who has already been called up to Double-A).
Associated Press photos of Cano and Hughes. By the way, if you’re wondering what Hughes’ curveball grip looks like, that’s it in the picture.
Keep it going Yanks
Good job all around. Can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.
I think LaRussa has it right, your bat your best hitter third. So– I would bat Alex third, and with Tex struggling, Cano would have a new home in the clean-up spot.
I know people want to see Girardi do some lineup shuffling but the 3-4 guys are going to stay exactly where they’ve been all season.
That’s not going to change.
Larussa the drunk, yuck!! It might be a NL thing.
Keep the Grandyman 2nd
Giuseppe Franco
I agree, it’s probably not going to change. However, hitting Alex third is a no-brainer in my eyes.
Baseball is a lot more fun to watch when your team can score runs in bunches. Having Cano, Swish, and Jeter get hot, with Teix showing small signs of life, and now having Granderson back, the offense should start to roll again.
Come on J-Hair, show us that Yankee magic.
# Tarheelyank May 29th, 2010 at 12:16 am
I agree, it’s probably not going to change. However, hitting Alex third is a no-brainer in my eyes.
———-
IDK, A-Rod has won 2 MVPs in the cleanup slot and did pretty well cleaning up last year.
Seems he’s had pretty good success in the role he’s already in. No need to change what has worked.
atta boy J-Hair
say what you want about Cano but without Swisher’s steady presence in the Yankee lineup this year the Yanks are probably a good 8 games back right now. He’s been great offensively and quite a pleasant surprise defensively
I think lineup construction is overrated, especially when the lineup is pretty much circular, which it will be when Po is back.
“Seems he’s had pretty good success in the role he’s already in. No need to change what has worked’
He’s had pretty good success because he’s a great hitter, not what spot he’s in. In fact, in the three hole he would have had more ab’s therfore one could hypothosize the probability of even more success.
So John Heyman still thinks the Yankees are in the market for a bat to replace Nick Johnson?
It seems with Jeter getting back to normal and Tex not far behind him the offense will be fine. Granderson is due to find his groove too. Swisher is playing every day again. Cano might be the MVP.
What’s so weak about the lineup? I don’t get it.
Who would we get to DH that can outhit a Thames/Miranda/Posada rotation?
Heyman is an offensive fool.
Good night Yankee people!
And Tarheelyank
Tarheel,
But there’s no reason why Girardi would move him out of that cleanup role.
I agree with Heyman, we need a bat. Gardy will most likely wear down, Cervelli won’t keep his incredible pace, and we’re suspect vs leftys with Granderson back. Not many good options out there on poor teams right now. Berkman and Lee are having horrible years for Houston and make a ton of money, guillen (KC) bats right but can’t play much outfield and he makes 6.5m, he’s hitting 260′s but is a bad guy. Any other ideas?
Even with their recent slump, the Yankees are at or near the top of MLB in runs scored and OPS, and that’s with several injuries and Teix, Alex, and Jeter slumping at times.
How that equals needing a bat is beyond me.
“But there’s no reason why Girardi would move him out of that cleanup role.”
You mean he won’t listen to me.
j/k I agree it will stay as is.
E
It was like magic he disappeared.
They won’t need a bat when Posada gets back. Miranda, Thames, and occasionally Posada in the DH role will be just fine.
There’s not much of a trade market in late May.
A-Rod has been a great cleanup hitter Girardi will not move him nor should he. Teixeira is a great player. He is struggling but he will come out of it. Moving him would be a silly panic move. People were yelling about getting Teix out of the 3 spot last year too in the beginning of the season. I’m glad Girardi didn’t listen to them.
The Yanks have been playing the best teams in baseball since the beginning of the season and they have held their own until very recently. Now they get to play 5 series in the next month against last place teams with their starting CF back so hopefully they should be able to retake 1st place.
I dont really think the yanks need another bat even if Johnson comes back.
SS-Jeter
RF-Swisher
1B-Teixeira
3B-Rodriguez
2B-Cano
C- Posada
CF-Granderson
DH-Thames/Miranda
LF- Gardner
I dont know I think that is a real good lineup.
TarHeelYank
I agree with the idea of getting your best hitter the most ABs possible in a game and hitting Alex 3rd, and giving Cano a shot in the cleanup spot (based on the smallest sample size possible of tonight’s game). But realistically, Giuseppe is right. Girardi is not going to toy with the middle part of our order, nor will he entertain the idea of doing so. He is going to go with what has worked for the past year and couple months.
I meant if Johnson doesn’t come back.
Seven
Me wanting Alex in the three spot has nothing at all to do with Tex. It’s all about getting Alex more AB’s, his baserunning, and just because I think Alex would go crazy in that role. other than that, I am fine with him hitting clean-up. Oh and BTW didn’t the Babe hit third for the most part?
CR9
Yes I agree it’s not likely to happen. However, It is the main reason why I don’t play GTLU. My way of protest
I actually wanted Alex to bat in front of Teix from the beginning of last season in order to keep the speedier guys together, but as I said, I don’t think batting orders are that important.
As for a bat, I really do not think we need one.
But hypothetically, if Gardner did not show his ability in the first 2 months of the season as he has, I would not have minded getting Chip’s guy Dejesus (worth 5.2 million for 2010) off the Royals hands, if all it took was scraps to get him.
I dont know how to find career splits, and am too lazy to find it, but Dejesus has some poor splits against lefties, .217, but a .360 OBP. While he hits well against righties. Couple that with being a Brooklyn kid…
But with Gardner having shown himself to be a very useful player, there is not really anywhere for the Yankees to currently drastically improve.
The best way our team can improve its offense is from within. Posada coming back. Alex, Jeter, and Teixeira coming back up to their normal levels!
I heard the possibility of going after Konerko.
Yup, that’s the name, but why should the Yankees further weaken their farm system for Konerko when the biggest threat facing this team over the next few years is the potential for age-related declines from Mo, Jeter, Alex, Posada, and Pettitte, if he stays?
The Yankees need to save their bullets for real needs, not waste them on overkill.
Rich
I agree. Give Miranda/ Thames/ Rest a Regular– platoon a real shot. If it doesnt work out there will be somebody available at the deadline.
The 4th or 5th outfield spot is more of a pressing need in my eyes. So far Russo looks great, I am just a little concerned about his lack of outfield experience. Who is the kid in Scranton that is on DL. I cant think of his name right now. Maybe he’s worth a look.
Rich – was just throwing out the big name I heard for offensive addition. I don’t think there really is a need right now, there’s still plenty of time left to figure that out if need be.
UNC – Colin Curtis, ankle injury
Miranda’s hit into some tough luck so far, but he’ll end up getting on base and smacking a lot of liners.
# Rich in NJ May 29th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Heyman is an offensive fool.
I don’t like him.
Him and tom verduchebag.
UD
That’s him, thanks. Ouch on the ankle injury. I have had 2 surgeries on my ankle, and it’s still messed up.
I love it when the Red Sux have to use position players to pitch at the end of the game. How does that feel Tito? HA!
Well it appears that I am alone with my reverie, but I just got in a short while ago and had not information on anything except the Celtics win. (CR, not to worry. This is just the big setup for the fall that’s to come. Even better this way.)
So I get home to find out
The Yankees won, and convincingly. (Had a good laugh reading the posts from the usual lohud “faithful” crabbing about the “weak lineup”, sure the Yankees couldn’t win unless Hughes was perfect, etc.
The Sux lost, and resoundingly.
Jacoby Ellsbury is back on the DL. Don’t wish him any ill wil. I just like that the Sux are a much more deficient team without him.
The Jays won. (I’m not happy Baltimore lost, but one of them had to win…)
My Nats won.
It’s always lovely to see the Sux lose ground on both the Jays and the Yanks.
As a bonus, I got to watch the last few innings of the Sux rewind. I turned it on just as someone (not sure who it was) homered for KC and saw the score of the game. Just awesome.
Well it appears that I am alone with my reverie, but I just got in a short while ago and had not information on anything except the Celtics win. (CR, not to worry. This is just the big setup for the fall that’s to come. Even better this way.)
So I get home to find out
The Yankees won, and convincingly. (Had a good laugh reading the posts from the usual lohud “faithful” crabbing about the “weak lineup”, sure the Yankees couldn’t win unless Hughes was perfect, etc.
The Sux lost, and resoundingly.
Jacoby Ellsbury is back on the DL. Don’t wish him any ill wil. I just like that the Sux are a much more deficient team without him.
The Jays won. (I’m not happy Baltimore lost, but one of them had to win…)
My Nats won.
It’s always lovely to see the Sux lose ground on both the Jays and the Yanks.
As a bonus, I got to watch the last few innings of the Sux rewind. I turned it on just as someone (not sure who it was) homered for KC and saw the score of the game. Just awesome.
I just noticed this on the Post. It may have already been talked about.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l.....2m7qUAVhdJ
trisha
Tampa lost also
Carl, as strange as this is going to sound, I don’t mind the Rays winning games. My ideal scenario at least for a short while is to have the Yankees, the Rays, and the Jays all win and the Sux lose.
I’m not worried about the Yanks overtaking the Rays. It’s definitely going
to happen. I’d just like to see the Yanks and Rays (and the Jays also of course) continue to win and thus keep pace with each other, and the Sux lose. The end result would be that the Sux would be firmly ensconsced in 4th place.
trisha
It may happen who knows. The Jays just have to pitch and they can overtake Boston. Don’t know how long the Jays will continue to get good pitching.
Carl, the Jays are back in front of the Sux as of tonight. They do get good pitching from Marcum and Romero. Brett Cecil has had some good games. But here’s the good news. They are ahead of the Sux in terms of ERA in the AL and even better, they are tied for first in total runs and they are first in homers! If they can keep up the good work, they might be able to get a strong foothold on 3rd place.
Okay, I will now stop pretending I live on the west coast, and go to bed!
I hope cano can bat 4 more often!
He hit so well this year- he carry the whole team !!
He deserved that.
I think he can do it.
Yankees are facing a lefty today, but I don’t think that Granderson is the one who will get a day off. IMO, it will be Gardner. He’s played everyday since Grandy went down and he’s probably a little tired, so we should rest him for today’s game and start Russo or Thames in LF.
Guess The Line Up is Open for Business.
(If there’s anyone awake out there!)
I’ll take lineups until 10 a.m. Thanks and good luck!
guess the line up “game’ is so
retarded.
Good afternoon Doreen – been waiting for you to finally wake up! j/k
SS-Jeter
RF-Swisher
1B-Teixeira
3B-Rodriguez
2B-Cano
DH-Thames
CF-Granderson
C -Cervelli
LF- Russo
Girardi will probably switch Thames and Granderson
“…start Russo or Thames in LF.”
I would rather that they go without a LF than put Thames in LF.
Doreen – GTLU Stuff & Photos May 29th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Guess The Line Up is Open for Business.
(If there’s anyone awake out there!)
I’ll take lineups until 10 a.m. Thanks and good luck!
———————————————————————————————————————-
Only until 10:00 AM. Who are you? The GTLU Police?
Morning, Doreen. An ugly bullpen and defensive loss for Trenton, last night. David Phelps was very good and Laird with a 2-5 night with 2 RBI and Romine was 2-4 with a walk. Unfortunately, they both made costly errors late that cost Trenton the game.
Tonight should be a fun game to watch in Syracuse with Scranton and Noesi going against Strasburg.
What would it take to get someone like DeJesus??
Good morning, whoever. I’ve been lurking this morning. No signs of life till now.
I’ve got the same lineup for today. (I don’t play, but sometimes, I’ll guess.)
Dave from Pizza Hut May 29th, 2010 at 8:38 am
guess the line up “game’ is so
retarded.
———————————————————————————————————————-
So is bussing tables and washing dishes at Pizza Hut.
GB7 -
Ugh. That’s too bad about Trenton. Can’t be sloppy in the field and expect to win. But still good to see Laird and Romine continuing to hit.
Do you think if Montero struggles they would switch him & Romine?
Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Tex 1B
Arod 3B
Cano 2B
Granderson CF
Thames DH
Cervelli C
Russo LF
Why get DeJesus and have to give up talent? He’s no improvement over Gardner.
“What would it take to get someone like DeJesus??”
You’d be buying high since his OPS+ is 124 to this point which is way above what it has ever been (107 career). I don’t think it’s sustainable or representative of his true talent.
Start with Gardner. They might ask for Romine. Teams always try to hold up the Yankees.
I just don’t see it as a need.
SS JETER
RF SWISHER
1B TEIXIERA
3B RODRIGUEZ
2B CANO
DH THAMES
CF GRANDERSON
C CERVELLI
LF RUSSO
Doreen, they might, but, I’m not sure that unless Montero really gets down on himself, at switching him and Romine would be of much value. He really has nothing to prove going back to Trenton. I’d like to see them bring Montero to NY for about 3-4 and work with Long on his swing, though. Not a call-up, just some work.
“What would it take to get someone like DeJesus??”
I am not sure he adds much to the Yankees, particularly since Gardner is a younger, potentially better, and cheapaer version.
If the Yankees are looking to add an OF, and I don’t think they are, I would look into Alex Rios. I always liked his talent, and it is looking like the change of scenery is doing wonders for him. He is having a real nice start, but the WS are dropping fast. If they are still bad next month, Rios should be available. He could play right, and occasionally CF, Swisher could DH and backup both corner spots as well as 1B.
They could handle his salary for 2 or 3 months, and wouldn’t need to add any position players for next season, with NJ’s salary dropping off. The only addition would be Jeter’s re-signing.
about 3-4 ***days*** and work with Long
No way I would trade Gardner for Dejesus.Maybe bring Melky back..?
I know he’s not hitting in Atlanta but I still think he could be a great fit for the Yankees
Any chance you guys see him coming back?
Rios is getting about $50 mil more on this contract.
Thanks, GB7.
It would be nice if they could work something out for K Long to work with Montero.
Rios’s contract:
10:$9.7M, 11:$12M, 12:$12M, 13:$12.5M, 14:$12.5M, 15:$13.5M club option ($1M buyout)
Not happening.
I gotta say, I’m surprised Melky isn’t doing well. I know a lot of people weren’t big on him, but I always thought he did a good job here at the bottom of the order.
Good morning everyone.
Hi Doreen, here is my line-up
Derek SS
Swisher RF
Tex 1B
Arod 3B
Cano 2B
Thames DH
Granderson CF
Cervelli C
Russo LF
Thanks
New Post.
No more lineups here. Thanks.
I wouldn’t mind having Melky back as a bench player but at this point I think Gardner brings more to the table as a starter and has more upside….I thought the opposite a year ago but Gardner is plain and simple an improved player and better hitter than he was a year ago.
I know one guy that doesn’t like Frankie C.(no matter how much they will try and gloss it over in the post-game interviews).
he couldn’t give me solid reasons.
Other than some