Yankees pregame
Posted by: Brian Heyman - Posted in Misc on May 22, 2011 
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Brian Heyman here for the series finale. Should’ve brought a heavier jacket. It’s a little chilly.
But enough about me. The Yankees offense has often been home-run reliant, scoring 52.2 percent of their runs on long balls. Joe Girardi, however, stressed during the pregame press conference that he couldn’t care less about that:
“We talk about our offense every day. For me, I don’t care how we score runs. I really don’t. The bottom line is you either have more runs than the other team or you have less. It doesn’t matter if you hit nine home runs and score 18 runs or you have 42 hits and you score 18 runs. The bottom line is scoring runs. We happen to be built as a club that hits a lot of home runs. That’s how we score a lot of our runs. But I really don’t care how we score runs. I don’t. I don’t care if they kick the ball 10 times. I don’t. Just score runs.”
Ivan Nova starts today and there’s one pitch that could decide how he does, one pitch that has really helped him.
“It just seems he’s gotten his curveball going,” Girardi said. “That has been the biggest progression for him. When he’s struggled, he didn’t have it.”
Derek Jeter begins the game just 27 hits away from 3,000.
“I think from our standpoint everyone is excited for him, for what he’s about to accomplish,” Girardi said. “From his standpoint, I’m sure he’s trying to put it out of his mind. That’s what he does when it comes to major accomplishments. But I hope he really enjoys it because of what he’s done and what he’s meant to this organization. Three thousand hits, you don’t see it every day.
“And I hope when he gets around 2,998, he gets those two hits that day, so he doesn’t have to talk about it, so we don’t all have to talk about it. … We know Derek doesn’t want to talk about himself. We’ve known that since 1996.”
Nick Swisher, who’s down to .214, is sitting at the start. Chris Dickerson is in right.
Girardi said the Yankees miss the depth that Rafael Soriano provides to the bullpen. Girardi said Soriano is playing catch, and that his inflamed elbow is progressing. Girardi also sounded as if he might have more trust in rookie Hector Noesi for a more prominent bullpen role after his four scoreless extra innings last week in Baltimore.
“C’mon, the guy hasn’t hit north of .222 since 2006. Nobody was expecting him to come here and be a .300 (or even a .250) hitter. He was brought in to hit home runs off lefties. He has 2 jacks in 37 ABs, which is probably pretty close to what was expected from him when he was signed.”
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Andruw hit LHP to a tune of .256/.373/.558 last season.
Going to go out on a limb and say they didn’t sign him to hit LHP at a .189/.231/.378 rate.
Unfortunately for Nick, it’s a right-handed world out there.
No matter how you cut it or how you pontificate on what the expectations for Jones should have been, he has been awful. Really nothing more needs to be said. Not a good showing in the batters box or in the outfield.
Randy Winn was jettisoned last year on May 28, after 71 PA with an OPS of .595.
Andruw Jones has 50 PA this year with an OPS of .580.
Six more days for Mr. Jones.
Andruw Jones does look like he’s finished. He’s still out of shape and beyond his 2 home runs has been awful. If he continues this until June, he will probably be gone. They cut Winn fast last year and probably won’t be hesitant to do it again…
Niblick-
Exactly what I was thinking. both guys are signed for relatively cheap 1 year deals… Yanks won’t hesitate in cutting Jones if he’s not producing. Dickerson is a lefty so he might not be a direct replacement for Jones but they will call somebody up.
LGY May 22nd, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Andruw hit LHP to a tune of .256/.373/.558 last season.
Going to go out on a limb and say they didn’t sign him to hit LHP at a .189/.231/.378 rate.
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Two words: small sample. Do you know what the difference is between .189 and .256 with 47 ABs? About 3 hits. And there’s no need to climb out on a limb, what I said earlier is true: He is probably pretty close to what was expected from him when he was signed. Anybody that was expecting much more wasn’t being very realistic.
Go Dickerson!
Andruw Jones = Randy Winn
I’ve never been a fan of the aging vet for utility role. I think you’re better served with a career utility guy (Jon Vanderwall was good for that as was Thames) or an quad A type (Shelley Duncan).
Dickerson perfectly fits that mold, but he hits LH. I think Justin Maxwell hits RH and would probably be better at this point.
Two words: small sample. Do you know what the difference is between .189 and .256 with 47 ABs? About 3 hits. And there’s no need to climb out on a limb, what I said earlier is true: He is probably pretty close to what was expected from him when he was signed. Anybody that was expecting much more wasn’t being very realistic
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4th OF vs LHP is all about performing in small samples. That’s his job.
How is the 900+ OPS he was expected to put up like last year even close to what he is doing this year?
If Andruw’s 2011 performance is what the Yankees expected, then they had no business signing him. Put just about anybody else in his position and they’d do just as well.
it’s hard to believe the yankees are leading the league in runs scored because they seem to be underachieving.
i think they are at the point where it’s time to think about bringing montero up.
with a fourth of the season gone by, this team isn’t very exciting right now.
it seems like they are underachieving because they don’t get many hits, at least timely ones.
all of their runs are scored by the homer.
other than jeter and gardner, every Yankee hitter is a home run hitter.
martin has been their most versatile hitter.
Subway series I figured I would go check out the LoHud mets Blog, boy what a ghost-town.
No comments at all, Not even a link on this blog from Chad (that I could find).
The Mutts get no respect.
The Yanks signed Jones to mash lefties. They didn’t sign him to be awful vs lefties.
Be different Sam and Don’t talk about it then, nobody wants to hear about the 3000 hits, we all know it’s coming, it has zero to do with winning games, that should be the focus for the players and the media. Very soft line up from 6-9, good thing it’s baseball Suzyn and anything can happen and probably will. The NYY 4th OFer is in KC, Rodriguez begged Cashman to sign him, Cano is batting .275, ( at least his OPS is decent, but his defense is a bit behind also right now) so let’s not blame Melky
The Yankees are 28th out of 30 MLB teams in Babip with risp.
That will improve, and so will the offense.
That Montero kid might help a liittle as well.
At least Randy Winn went about his business professionally and wasn’t a bad influence on anybody.
Jones whiffs at the plate and still maintains that sh*t eating grin all the way back to the dugout like nothing happened.
“The Mutts get no respect”
We’ll see how that plays out after today if this predominately AAA team takes down the juggernaut.
cano is basically immature.
he has created new bad habits this season after last years great one.
why the need to make adjustments after the year he had.
he obviously has abandoned patience in his quest for 40 HR’s.
as his average plummets perhaps he will wake up.
this blog has really mellowed in the past couple of years-if this were 2009 Jones would be villified like the famous Cody Ransom, who must have suffered the slings and arrows of at least 100 posts per day telling the Yankees to DFA him ASAP. Even last year Winn was being attacked constantly by this time. Congratulations, bloggers, you have either reached the age of maturity or traffic is just down 50-70%.
Randy Winn was a better player that could do more things than Andrew Jones is now.
LGY May 22nd, 2011 at 12:27 pm
4th OF vs LHP is all about performing in small samples. That’s his job.
How is the 900+ OPS he was expected to put up like last year even close to what he is doing this year?
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LGY, really, you should know better than that. I’m not interested in bickering with you about this. If you mix in 3 more hits, with maybe a homer, he is right in the neighborhood that you’re talking about. So, the difference right now is a couple of ABs. I would be very surprised if the difference is were statistically significant.
The main things that are most disappointing about Jones are his defense and his apparent apathy.
From games 27 through 81 last year (mind you, that’s a full third of a season), Andrew Jones went .127/.237/.235, for a gaudy OPS of .473.
That’s about as bad a third of a season as you’ll ever see.
Maybe he’s just having that third now.
Jones has a .580 OPS he couldn’t mash potatoes, plus his defensive is not very good, bad signing by Cash, real bad.
who cares about the traffic here?
just like at the Stadium, could care less if seats are empty, or sold , for that matter, which they are.
quality is what counts.
and that is lacking.
MG May 22nd, 2011 at 12:48 pm
this blog has really mellowed in the past couple of years-if this were 2009 Jones would be villified like the famous Cody Ransom, who must have suffered the slings and arrows of at least 100 posts per day telling the Yankees to DFA him ASAP. Even last year Winn was being attacked constantly by this time. Congratulations, bloggers, you have either reached the age of maturity or traffic is just down 50-70%.
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:LMAO: Or also could be the you-know-who has taken something of a hiatus.
Im not making Jones out to be a villain ….he’s just not helping them much and there are better uses of that roster spot.
blake May 22nd, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Randy Winn was a better player that could do more things than Andrew Jones is now.
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Blake, exactly, and he was still endlessly criticized every time he played.
blake May 22nd, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Im not making Jones out to be a villain ….he’s just not helping them much and there are better uses of that roster spot.
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I mostly agree with that. However, it raises the question of how much do you expect a reserve outfielder to help the club, especially when all of the starters have remained reasonably healthy?
Would be a beautiful thing if the yankees got involved with reyes this offseason. Exactly the type of top of the order solid defender this team needs.
Ghostwriter,
If you’re going to have a one dimensional 4th outfielder then you need that one dimension (hitting lefties) to be performed very well. Jones isn’t a defensive replacement….he isn’t a pinch runner….he’s probably not a pinch hitter in most cases…..etc…..id rather have a guy that can do a lot of different things fairly well as the 4th outfielder.
Cano doesn’t want to hit 40 HR’s he’s never thought he was a power guy, he’s expanded the strike zone, and with no body protecting him it’s gotten worse, he should be hitting 3rd regardless off his .320 OBP, Swisher should get put back in the 2 hole maybe they can save his season Granderson never had success in the 6 hole but give him a shot now that he has confidence Jeter, Swisher Cano, Arod, Tex, Granderson, Martin, Sado, Gardner. Switch Gardner and Nunez when one of the old guys DH
I think Reyes’s defense at SS is going to take a nosedive when he loses a step physically.
blake May 22nd, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Ghostwriter,
If you’re going to have a one dimensional 4th outfielder then you need that one dimension (hitting lefties) to be performed very well. Jones isn’t a defensive replacement….he isn’t a pinch runner….he’s probably not a pinch hitter in most cases…..etc…..id rather have a guy that can do a lot of different things fairly well as the 4th outfielder.
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Isn’t that why we have Dickerson–to pinch run, play defense, etc.? Shouldn’t a team have a slugger sitting on the bench for occasional pinch-hitting duty? Isn’t that why we dragged around Thames on the bench, or Ruben Sierra , or Darryl Strawberry?
theoldCrow May 22nd, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Cano doesn’t want to hit 40 HR’s
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nonsense.
he’d rather hit 40 than .320.
it’s so obvious.
he is a totally differnt hitter this year . has been from the start when grandy was hitting behind him.
I seem to recall Winn having some misplays in the OF. Maybe I’m off on that, but he really disappointed.
I don’t mind them signing Jones, sometimes you take a chance, and it’s only the backup OF. However, the other side of that is if things don’t work out, it’s not a problem to move on. It appears to be getting to that time.
Again, the downside of Dickerson is that he’s lefty hitter. Not a fatal flaw, but something to consider with Chavez coming back sometime.
randy – as far as unexciting offenses, scoring is down across the game. Not to excuse the Yanks’ issues here, or to ignore them. It’s just that everyone is facing similar problems. However, they still need to improve.
Corner outfield positons and DH right now are the biggest issues. Basically we aren’t getting any RBI production at all from those three spots. Swisher right now is killing us, beyond not getting on base, he strikouts far too many times, wasted AB’s. Jones isn’t far behind.
“Randy Winn was a better player that could do more things than Andrew Jones is now.”
Talk about damning with faint praise.
blake – I think Reyes’ entire level of play is going to take a hit next year when he’s no longer playing for a contract.
Blake – he’s 28. He has 4-5 good years left. We’ve been utilizing a shortstop who lost a step 6 years ago. A reyes less a step is as good as jeter in his prime with respect to lateral movement.
Swisher should get put back in the 2 hole
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sorry to say swish has worn out his welcome.
it happened in chicago, now here.
hope the bleacher creatures get over it.
Carlo May 22nd, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Would be a beautiful thing if the yankees got involved with reyes this offseason. Exactly the type of top of the order solid defender this team needs.
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Prediction you won’t see it happen. Reyes isn’t the type of player that fits the mold and the traditon of the Yankees. The IF is set right now for at least the next 2-3 years. There isn’t any place for him to play.
or Darryl Strawberry?
Speaking of which–
I thought of, and had a nice visual of Darryl’s swing while watching Granderson the other day.
I’ve never seen somebody hit a ball as far as Darryl did. Such an easy swing. The ball would just jump off his bat.
mick May 22nd, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Swisher should get put back in the 2 hole
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sorry to say swish has worn out his welcome.
it happened in chicago, now here.
hope the bleacher creatures get over it.
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Mick I agree, the sooner he’s gone the better. I like his eye at the plate most of the time, but he doesn’t make contact enough. 130 + K’s for a year is too many.
Carlo,
Jeter is much better fundamentally than Reyes is..
New Thread >__
# MG May 22nd, 2011 at 12:48 pm
this blog has really mellowed in the past couple of years-if this were 2009 Jones would be villified like the famous Cody Ransom, who must have suffered the slings and arrows of at least 100 posts per day telling the Yankees to DFA him ASAP. Even last year Winn was being attacked constantly by this time. Congratulations, bloggers, you have either reached the age of maturity or traffic is just down 50-70%.
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but if you also remember there were lots of peeps here who had no doubt Ramson could fill in for ARod and do a good job..
Tar May 22nd, 2011 at 1:08 pm
or Darryl Strawberry?
Speaking of which–
I thought of, and had a nice visual of Darryl’s swing while watching Granderson the other day.
I’ve never seen somebody hit a ball as far as Darryl did. Such an easy swing. The ball would just jump off his bat.
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I think that it’s a fair comparison. Strawberry was brought in on the tail end of his career to be a veteran presence and power off the bench, like Jones. Obviously, Strawberry was a much better player and a better pure hitter, overall throughout his career…