Yankees postgame: Hughes steps forward; bats stay cool
Posted by: Brian Heyman - Posted in Misc on May 22, 2012 
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The Yankees didn’t exactly break out at the plate, didn’t exactly cure their RISP ills. They did enough to win 3-2 over Kansas City, snap a three-game skid and move out of their last-place time share with Boston.
But they managed just six hits and had two big strikeouts with the bases loaded.
After going 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, only one good for an RBI, the Yankees are 8 for their last 79 in these spots.
“Our pitching staff has done a good job,” said Derek Jeter, who delivered that RBI. “We can’t put so much pressure on them where they really have to be perfect.”
Phil Hughes’ take? “We have to ride this slow little pace we’re going through right now,” Hughes said. “Us as pitchers have to step up and do a good job.”
Hughes did a good job for the fourth straight start, moving to 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA in this stretch.
“I think it’s more of a mentality thing, going out there more aggressive,” Hughes said. “I knew my stuff was there. I just had to not be so tentative and afraid to make mistakes and just go right after guys.”
This time, he allowed the two runs, five hits and two walks over six. He fanned seven. Seventy-four of his 106 pitches went for strikes.
“I think it was more a case of Phil Hughes pitching extremely well more than our offense not producing,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Alex Rodriguez, who fanned in the fifth with those bases loaded as did Raul Ibanez, sees good things ahead for the Yankees after stopping their slide.
“I feel this team is ready to go on a good hot streak,” A-Rod said. “The first one is always hard. Hopefully we’ll get another one tomorrow. And then the west coast. Probably the best thing that could happen to this team right now is a change of scenery.”
The Yankees are now up to 2-16 when they score three runs or less.
They are up to 22-11 when they launch at least one homer (0-10 without one).
Jeter’s fifth-inning RBI single snapped the Yankees’ 0-for -2 streak with the bases loaded.
Robinson Cano, who homered in the fourth, has hit safely in 17 of his last 20 games, batting .365 with four homers and 13 RBI in that span. He’s at .400 for his last 14 games.
Rafael Soriano had to sweat out his third save in three tries. It was his 400th career appearance.
The pitching matchup for the series finale will be Andy Pettitte vs. Luis Mendoza.
No question about it. But the last few starts the CB was still loopy and slow. Tonight they were more tight and faster. All I am saying is that the CB is catching up to the CU. If it does, he is going to be very, very good. If he adds a two seamer….The sky is the limit.
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I dunno about faster, averaged 74 mph, high of 77. That means some 71′s in there. And it was his worst pitch by linear weights tonight. Only 1 swinging strike and a couple or more put in play for hits.
luis May 23rd, 2012 at 12:09 am
Jeers and Kevin,
I think Nick brought up the subject because since last night some of us have discussed in academic ways what would be the best course of action for the team going forward. What to do in case the team is out of contention by the AS break and so on.
I happen to believe that the team inexorably will face a downturn. In fact, i think it has already started. In previous times you could retool, but given the current environment ( 189 mil cap, new CBA, current roster construction and assests available in the farms), it’s going to be very hard to stay competitive.
So i think we have very hard choices ahead, and depending of those choices the downturn will be two or three years. if they make the wrong ones, it could be even longer.
I recall some gb off the cb early–he did throw a few really good ones, some not so good but you can see the development of that change by eyesight over the last month; I starting become kind of obsessesed with that pitch.
iPhone typos, mea culpa or iPhone culpa.
JF,
They looked a lot better than what he was throwing before. Not saying that the CB is there yet, but it was a lot better than the two previous starts. So i am confident that at some point it will be there for him
Heading to Mill Valley In-N-Out to celebrate the Hughes win, shakes are on me for all Yankee fans in the area. Be there in about 15 minutes and make yourself known. I’ll be wearing a cap, of course.
See ya!
Nick lol, have fun!
Enjoy it Nick…You owe me a milkshake then!!
YF,
The M’s stranded two in the 8th. I couldn’t see what you know who did, but it was an out. His line was not pretty 0-4 with a couple of k’s
Luis, a few were very good. Well done; I am out for the night. Buenos noches, Luis and Yankee people. Sorry if I didn’t respond to any posts addressed to me; this screen is too too small. Sweet Yankee dreams!
Luis, I will watch archives Tom to see His ABs.
Good night Yankeefem, dulces suenos!!
Andy will come up big and then they make the trip to Oaktown. It will be an enjoyable trip. Its a good time for the team to get out of town and get away from all the scrutiny of the fans and media. Success is on the horizon…Fingers crossed.
luis May 23rd, 2012 at 12:09 am
Jeers and Kevin,
I think Nick brought up the subject because since last night some of us have discussed in academic ways what would be the best course of action for the team going forward. What to do in case the team is out of contention by the AS break and so on.
———————
Not that I don’t believe in what I said but I was sort of just being silly there.
Most of what I say here is just drivel anyway.
You are never silly, funny yes, but never silly
How many quality starts does hughes has so far?
Three in a row if i am not mistaken. You could say four if you take the one he went 5 innings but he started to show promise
I had the first 3 innings on the radio, so perhaps there were some good ones I didn’t see, but looking at the pitch by pitch I don’t see much of a weapon. Guys still fouling it off/putting it in play/ not swinging in the dirt.
I really like how the change is coming along, and how he is throwing it more. If that can become his dominant offspeed pitch I think he will do very well. He can still throw the curve for strikes or as another look, but I’d like to see him even out his K rate to include the change. Pretty much all his strike outs are on fastballs atm.
It’s late so i bid you all a very good night.
JF,
No question about it. The CU has become his best non fastball offering. But in the first two innings he threw some very good ones. But you are right, they are not swing and miss. But they can’t square them up either, and he kept it low most of the times.
Sad, no one showed up. Free shake offer snubbed.
Oh well, I’ve got mine. I’m going to crank “Zen Arcade” and head over the Golden Gate to my foggy future.
Dionysius Thelxinoe May 22nd, 2012 at 8:32 pm
luis,
Tex decline, 189 mil cap ( you can’t cover mistakes with mobey anymore), new CBA ( hard penalties, hard slot money in the draft and IFA), bad trades, no position players ready in the farm ( most of them are in low A ball)
——-
I see your points.
I guess I’m just an eternal optimist when I believe that Tex will put together a 30-100 season before it’s over, and this ridiculous run of of theirs with RISP will even out the rest of the season.
The 189 concerns me cause, how do they keep both Granderson and Cano?
I never believed you could win with a checkbook alone. Dolan proves that everyday with the Knicks. It’s about the choices you make, as the NY Giants and Reese are adept at demonstrating.
=================================
Sorry that i forgot to answer properly to your post Dionysius.
I think they will rebound eventually. I think we will still make the playoffs. But the offense is and will trend downward from here on out.
The problem is that we don’t have the assets internally to boost the offense and we no longer have the ability to throw money to cover our holes. On the pitching side we do have plenty of options, but a balanced team is usually the one that wins it all.
I think keeping Cano is a must. In the case of Grandy, it will depend if they want to keep Hughes. I don’t think they can keep them both and meet the cap.
We have tough decisions ahead my friend, have a good one, and again when and if you read this please excuse me for not answering sooner.
Good night for real this time
Luis……..I tend to believe that the lineup will begin to slug their way back to first place…..Slumps are most unsettling and do rattle one’s confidence especially when we’re talking about a veteran club…….The prolong absence of Brett Gardner has had a far more impact than I ever expected………However I still think the window is closing quickly on ” The Jeter Era “…As to what the future holds will be determined by the foundation & success of their starting pitching…..I’d like for them to make a strong play for Jacoby Ellsbury when that time comes about…….Yanks will have a 3 game lead by the break…….This is still a very dangerously good ballclub
Excited to see Andy pitch again tomorrow. Wish it was a day game though. What the hell happened to day game matinees during the week? Series finale during the week always used to be a day game at the Stadium. Day baseball is fun, it appears as though Yankee brass has killed it for this season for some reason, at least during the week. Probably something to do with ticket sales is my guess.
Get away games are not often played in the day anymore…….One would think tomorrow would be a day game considering the trip to the coast that awaits them
I too would like tomorrow’s game to be a day game. Other teams seem to play them but the Yankees never seem too. Again, it’s about ticket sales.
” Probably something to do with ticket sales is my guess.”
Maybe. But both the Yankees’ and KC have an off day thursday. We head for Oakland, KC goes to Baltimore. Night game probably makes sense here. But I hear you. I love the matinees on “get out of town day”.
Phil Hughes 17-8 , era in the mid 3′s
Hey, has Doc Joe been around ???? Maybe he’s off to the continent again…..I thik he has a thing for Pippa…..Good very tatse the good Doctor has…….Good nigh and good morning to the breakfast club. but’s left of them ……Doreen are you out there sweetheart ?????
noesi 3 hits 8 innings against rangers
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/.....ctor-noesi
Good morning-
A-Rod: “Probably the best thing that could happen to this team right now is a change of scenery.”
Is that so the boos directed at leaving RISP stranded from Yankee fans will be stifled?
Doesn’t get any easier after KC. 3 vs Oakland, 3 vs LAA, 3 vs Tigers.
Here are the current team pitching stats for all AL teams:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/t...../league/al
Oakland has a team ERA 3.55, 3rd in AL and just ahead of Tampa! They have lost their entire starting staff from 2011 either thru trade or injury. What is their secret?
On the verge?
Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 3:53 am
by Pete Caldera
NEW YORK – A six-hit, 3-2 win over the Royals hardly qualifies as a sign that the Yankees’ woeful lineup is ready to turn a sharp corner.
But Alex Rodriguez said he felt something in his final swing (he wouldn’t say what) that he could positively build on for tonight’s series finale vs. K.C.
A-Rod was also aggressive on the bases again, with his fifth steal in five attempts, though he didn’t score. And he also fanned with the bases loaded in the 5th, after Robinson Cano (3 HRs in 12 ABs off Hochevar) was intentionally walked.
“When you’re hitting like (garbage), sometimes you have to help in other facets,” A-Rod said in a jovial mood after the win. After all, he’d just converted a difficult grounder into the final out with the tying run at third – thanks, also, to Mark Teixeira’s stretch at first base.
And Derek Jeter’s game-tying hit with the bases loaded in the 5th? That snapped an 0-for-12 by the Yanks with the bases full, an incredible stat. So is the fact that the Yanks had just one hit in their last 21 plate appearances with the bases loaded.
But A-Rod says he feels he’s “about to go on a hot streak,” and that the team is too. They went 2-for-7 with men in scoring position after Monday night’s epic 0-for-13 in that category. ”It wasn’t pretty,” A-Rod said of Tuesday’s victory. “But it’s a good win.”
Nobody awake yet? Sleeping in after an all night celebration due to the Yankees winning one?
“Oakland has a team ERA 3.55, 3rd in AL and just ahead of Tampa! They have lost their entire starting staff from 2011 either thru trade or injury. What is their secret?”
because they have little money to spend they have to be better at evaluating and developing if they are going to compete.
just the fact that the yankees can spend money on a sabathia allows the yankees to not be that good at evaluating or developing.
the problem is that the CBA has changed everything.
i said awhile ago when hughes was going bad that i thought the yankees should sign him long term.
the reason is that while he himself had no idea of his future , the yankees could have gotten him cheap.
if they wait to see if he’s going to be good, he’s going to be really expensive as a free agent.
the yankees are going to have to place some bets. i’d bet on hughes and keep him through his peak years.
but the yankees have to do it before hughes gets confident he’ll have a big payday.
what i originally said in mid april was that i’d sign hughes to a long term contract and then send him to the minors to get retooled and tuned up for as little or long as it took.
Do any of these Yankee minor league managers and coaches stand out?
Posted by Chad:
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Manager – Dave Miley
Pitching Coach – Scott Aldred
Hitting Coach – Butch Wynegar
Trenton
Manager – Tony Franklin
Pitching Coach – Tom Phelps
Hitting Coach – Tom Slater
Tampa
Manager – Luis Sojo
Pitching Coach – Jeff Ware
Hitting Coach – Justin Turner
Charleston
Manager – Carlos Mendoza
Pitching Coach – Danny Borrell
Hitting Coach – Greg Colbrunn
Staten Island
Manager – Justin Pope
Pitching Coach – Carlos Chantres
Hitting Coach – Ty Hawkins
Gulf Coast League
Manager – Tom Nieto
Pitching Coach – Jose Rosado
Hitting Coach – Edwar Gonzalez
Randy-
You’ll enjoy this obscure site I found on Phil Hughes/player salaries:
http://baseballplayersalaries......hil_Hughes
Phil Hughes is not a bum!
Hughes is now 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA over his last four starts
=============================
Looks like a starting pitcher to me.
The Oakland A’s starting pitcher leader in wins[6], is Tommy Milone, who came over from the Nats in the Gio Gonzalez trade. He was ranked 9th among the Nationals top prospects.
Hughes also abandoned his 4th best pitch last night-the cutter.
Good morning.
Sqeeked one out last night.
When the season started I thought Hughes would be a Man on a mission.
At first, I thought I was in error.
Now it looks like my original asessment might actually turn out to be correct.
YT-
I have wanted Hughes to dump that cutter for some time.
I still think he could profit from learning a split.
yankee trader
nice link on hughes’s salary
“Looks like a starting pitcher to me.”
benny blanco-
so should the yankees wait until he’s a free agent after the 2013 season to think about a contract with him?
i’d try to sign him while he’s cheap.
even 4-5 good games changes ” cheap”.
this management is going to have to figure out a plan to get salaries down.
of course they could just let hughes walk if he’s an expensive free agent, and go with someone from scranton.
kind of a lack of following through with a pitcher though.
Randy-
You are asking the Yankee Brass to think out of the box ?
C’mon man. You know better than that.
The Yankees have given up 54 homers, 2nd worse in entire league behind the Twins and rank 27th in quality starts with 16, just ahead of the Royals, Rockies and dead in the water-Twins.
I’m not ready to anoint anyone with a long term in season deal yet.
randy,
I agree with you. I think that the yankees should lock him up now. I strongly believe that he will continue to pitch better. He’s not a fisnished product yet. Phil is starting to figure it out.
benny blanco-
it’d be a risk to sign him now, but they are going to have to take some chances to get under that 189 ceiling.
i think hughes if they can can a good long term contract is a a good bet.
not the way the yankees used to do business is it?
I didn’t see all of Nova’s start the other night, but 12 strikeouts in 6 innings is pretty impressive. What I did see, looked like he had no-hit stuff. What does Nova need to do, to become a dominant pitcher?
Any armchair pitching coaches?
Any thought on my earlier post on the minor league managers and especially coaches? Anyone stand out? I
New Post————>
Await comments on new thread.
MTU, I pulled out about 275 of the 1400+ pics. I’ll put them on a disc and send them your way.
JCPD-
Much appreciated. It will take a while to get thru that.
Wonderful things happening.
Hike day today.
Lock up Hughes after he’s finally had a string of good starts after sucking since June 2010? Nah.
The Yanks should send Hughes down to AAA the day after his next start before June 1 merely/only so they have him under control through 2014 because if they don’t send him down before June 1 he can and will veto being sent down to AAA from hereonin and the Yanks would have him under control through only 2013. He wouldn’t like it but screw him being good or better through 2013 then able to write his own ticket after 2013. I don’t want him to use the Yanks as a team to showcase his talents for a possible payday from someone else. The Yanks invested alot of time, patience, and money in him and I don’t think he should be allowed to walk after 2013. He starts for the Yanks 5/27, Scranton 6/1, then back with the Yanks 6/6. He doesn’t miss a start. He made $2.7M this year and is making $3.2M this year. If he has a good enough 2012, I say offer him two years and $10M ($4.5M for 2013, $5.5M for 2014) Iff he took that, he wouldn’t have to sing for his supper i.e. higher pay in 2013 or 2014 (no arbitration), he’d be under control through 2014 anyway, he’d be in his late 20s come free agency time, and if he’s really good in 2013-14, he should get at least five years at triple his 2014 salary ($16.5M) a year.
As for Granderson, the Yanks will pick up their 2013 club option on him then trade him in the offseason, trade him midseason 2013, or let go of him after 2013 because he turns 33 years old in the middle of 2014 spring training 3/16/14, no way they offer him a year or more than two years, and no way he accepts less than three. They will and should lock up Cano a homegrown career .300+ hitter who turns only 30 years old on 10/22 before they lock up Granderson (after they exercise the $15M club option on Cano for next year.)
Again the Yanks should trade Teixiera to the Angels for Wells then Wells to the Cubs for Soriano and trade A-Rod and half his salary to the Mariners for Chone Figgins is the way to go. Dump these two before it’s too late. We get a veteran DH who could play a little LF and RF in Soriano and a veteran super-backup 2B/3B/SS in Figgins. The Angels would take Teixiera to get rid of Wells, the Cubs would take Wells to get rid of Soriano, and the Mariners would take A-Rod to get rid of Figgins and they may need A-Rod cuz what if Ichiro signs elsewhere after 2012? If the Mariners re-sign Ichiro for only two years he’s probably a goner after 2014 along wth King Felix if KF isn’t traded before or during 2014 cuz I don’t see KF signing away his prime years for a loser. The Yanks could cut Figgins if he gets too close to th 600 PA he’d need for his $9M vesting option for 2014 to kick in or simply play him enough where he could never realistically collect 600 PA. The Yanks could cut Soriano after 2013 if he sucks badly enough. I say bat Soriano eighth and be thrilled if he posts 2011 Ibanez HR and RBI (20 HR and 84 RBI.)