Kuroda becoming a driving force in the rotation
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jun 14, 2012 
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Russell Martin had seen it up close, so he truly knew what to expect. Obviously some Yankees scouts had seen the Dodgers in person, and West Coast highlights make their way onto SportsCenter, but it was Martin who came into this season really knowing what to expect from Hiroki Kuroda.
“He seems more like himself now than he was earlier in the year,” Martin said last night. “His sinker is back and his splitty is back. That was the main pitch that wasn’t quite as good earlier in the year. He can throw it to righties or lefties. Some guys, his breaking stuff doesn’t match up as well, so you always have that pitch to throw off the fastball. That’s been key for him.”
From afar, it was easy to expect consistency without dominance. Kuroda just never seemed like the guy of pitcher who could overwhelm a team, but in his past four starts he’s allowed a total of four earned runs. Last night he had runners on base in every inning — with a steady rain falling and a soggy mound under his feet — but he kept pitching out of jams, getting a season-high eight strikeouts.
“(Some pitchers) get down,” Martin said. “They get frustrated and then their thought process is not the same. No matter what happens, you have to keep pitching until they take you out of the game. (Kuroda) was able to calm down and just keep pitching. … He’ll show up some days and just have unhittable stuff. His last start, he was almost untouchable. There are days that he doesn’t quite have the same stuff, but he shows up and he competes. That’s the way he’s always been. He’s going to go out and give you his best effort.”
As the Yankees enter this off day with the best record in the American League, it’s the rotation that’s made the biggest difference. The bullpen has been great, but it was great even when the Yankees were losing. The offense has been productive, but it still goes through ups and downs and movements of frustration. But the Yankees rotation has become a strength of this team, just like they expected when the entered spring training with more starters than they knew what to do with.
“Every starter has a flopper every once in a while,” Girardi said. “But I think this is the Hiroki that we signed.”
Girardi suggested that Kuroda’s improvement has come from getting comfortable with a new team. Martin thinks it’s because his pitches are getting sharper, leading to more confidence. Kuroda seems to think it’s simpler than that.
“I don’t know if I’m getting comfortable with New York, but I think it’s just one game at a time, one pitch at a time,” he said. “You just have to pitch one game, so hopefully the next game will be as successful as this one.”
Associated Press photo
Genius and GB, or should I say GB the Genius, and all the rest of the early morning crew?
You’ll enjoy this article, when you have time, about the fastest pitchers ever recorded.
http://www.efastball.com/baseb.....r-leagues/
Genius-
The pitches to the lefties that tailed away from them were acting like screwballs-in Japan called the shuto. The pitch to McCann didn’t “shuto.”
I have to go and will check back later. Have a great day everyone!
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/b.....order/true
Sortable Batting
RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1 Jesus Montero SEA 93 10 33 5 0 5 14 0 0 6 14 .355 .390 .570 .960
2 Joe Mauer MIN 109 22 40 8 0 2 23 1 1 18 9 .367 .457 .495 .952
3 Kelly Shoppach BOS 73 10 20 8 1 3 10 1 0 6 29 .274 .369 .534 .903
4 Mike Napoli TEX 122 23 34 3 2 7 22 0 0 17 38 .279 .378 .508 .886
5 A.J. Pierzynski CHW 195 31 58 8 2 11 40 0 0 12 22 .297 .340 .528 .868
6 Jarrod Saltalamacchia BOS 153 20 39 11 0 10 26 0 0 10 45 .255 .297 .523 .820
7 John Jaso SEA 42 8 11 5 0 1 7 0 0 5 4 .262 .333 .452 .786
8 Alex Avila DET 138 18 35 8 1 5 20 2 0 17 37 .254 .333 .435 .768
9 Gerald Laird DET 63 10 19 2 0 2 4 0 0 3 7 .302 .338 .429 .767
10 Matt Wieters BAL 185 22 44 9 0 9 25 0 0 20 40 .238 .324 .432 .756
RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
11 Russell Martin NYY 152 17 32 8 0 8 20 1 0 22 34 .211 .333 .421 .754
Love this guy’s mental makeup, regardless of whether he’s “on” or not. Always have from the get-go.
Yawn
WangisT,
Definitely. Great addition to the Yanks. Hope he can keep it up.
YT — fun site. 108 from pre-steriod era, Ryan? WOW.
The rotation has been unreal the last month or so…..1-5 its been one of the best in baseball….and thats without Sabathia dominating yet…..
Sortable Batting
RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1 Melky Cabrera SF 243 44 89 14 7 4 29 10 4 17 33 .366 .405 .531 .935
2 Carlos Gonzalez COL 232 48 75 14 3 16 48 9 0 22 50 .323 .384 .616 1.001
3 Andrew McCutchen PIT 214 33 69 10 3 11 37 12 4 21 48 .322 .382 .551 .933
4 Martin Prado ATL 240 39 77 17 3 4 25 7 1 24 28 .321 .384 .467 .851
5 Angel Pagan SF 234 30 75 12 4 5 22 12 2 15 34 .321 .359 .470 .829
6 Juan Pierre PHI 185 24 59 5 2 0 12 11 2 11 11 .319 .359 .368 .726
7 Michael Bourn ATL 269 44 85 14 3 6 20 17 7 21 54 .316 .366 .457 .823
8 Ryan Braun MIL 216 38 67 10 2 15 40 11 4 23 47 .310 .389 .583 .972
9 Carlos Beltran STL 214 38 64 7 1 19 47 6 2 28 48 .299 .384 .607 .991
10 Kirk Nieuwenhuis NYM 200 35 59 10 1 3 20 4 2 20 62 .295 .359 .400 .759
RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
11 Andre Ethier LAD 234 33 68 19 1 10 54 1 1 19 59 .291 .350 .509 .859
12 Jason Kubel ARI 200 23 58 14 2 6 36 1 1 27 51 .290 .370 .470 .840
13 Giancarlo Stanton MIA 226 35 65 18 0 14 42 3 1 25 61 .288 .361 .553 .914
14 Hunter Pence PHI 249 45 71 9 1 13 38 4 1 24 49 .285 .350 .486 .836
15 Alfonso Soriano CHC 213 22 60 13 0 12 41 1 1 14 49 .282 .329 .512 .841
16 Dexter Fowler COL 162 34 45 6 6 8 28 6 0 27 49 .278 .381 .537 .918
17 Matt Holliday STL 231 39 64 10 1 10 35 2 2 31 52 .277 .364 .459 .823
18 Will Venable SD 177 23 49 14 3 5 14 7 6 16 41 .277 .347 .475 .822
19 Michael Cuddyer COL 208 34 57 21 1 8 40 7 1 21 44 .274 .336 .500 .836
20 David DeJesus CHC 208 35 56 13 4 2 16 1 4 28 39 .269 .370 .399 .769
RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
21 Lucas Duda NYM 208 25 55 8 0 10 37 0 0 27 59 .264 .351 .447 .799
22 Jay Bruce CIN 210 31 54 15 1 13 39 4 0 24 59 .257 .326 .524 .850
23 Corey Hart MIL 232 36 59 17 1 13 28 1 0 16 73 .254 .314 .504 .818
24 Jason Heyward ATL 206 30 52 11 3 8 30 10 3 24 55 .252 .336 .451 .788
25 Justin Upton ARI 199 37 50 8 0 5 22 8 4 27 54 .251 .348 .367 .714
26 Shane Victorino PHI 249 27 62 12 2 8 33 13 2 25 29 .249 .319 .410 .728
27 Jordan Schafer HOU 183 29 45 7 1 2 15 14 4 18 62 .246 .319 .328 .646
28 Drew Stubbs CIN 204 34 48 7 0 7 18 13 3 18 59 .235 .300 .373 .673
29 Logan Morrison MIA 180 20 42 8 1 5 17 0 0 22 34 .233 .317 .372 .689
30 Jose Tabata PIT 202 23 47 10 3 2 9 7 7 13 32 .233 .292 .342 .634
RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
31 J.D. Martinez HOU 196 18 45 6 1 6 33 0 1 27 51 .230 .324 .362 .687
32 Cameron Maybin SD 202 31 44 6 4 3 21 14 2 23 43 .218 .301 .332 .633
Who wants to take AL 2b?
Let’s inundate the blog with crap! Fun!
BD,
I think he can and will! We certainly need him to be v. good. If you check out his run support on the Dogders, you’ll see that it was pathetic. Poor guy had to pitch 1 or 2-hitters to have a chance for a win. Unfortunately, the Yankees weren’t giving him much run support either early on. I hope that changes for him because he deserves the wins.
Are people over their Kuroda hate yet?
Or do we need to wait until we done with inter-league play for people to believe the guy knows how to pitch?
Wang,
Definitely.
I love that Bobby Valentine felt the need to take a jab at Kuroda in the offseason and now he’s pitching great.
His record meant little for the Dodgers. If he can give the Yanks quality starts, the Yanks will win most of them.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/f.....rder/false
RK PLAYER TEAM GP GS FULL TC PO A E DP FPCT RF PB CSB CS CS% CERA
Matt Wieters BAL 51 50 464 408 385 16 7 2 .983 7.78 1 22 13 .371 3.67
Jesus Montero SEA 25 24 211 183 170 12 1 0 .995 7.76 4 17 5 .227 3.71
Russell Martin NYY 52 47 423 401 369 31 1 2 .998 8.50 4 25 10 .286 4.00
RK PLAYER TEAM GP GS FULL TC PO A E DP FPCT RF PB CSB CS CS% CERA
Shame Spencer June 14th, 2012 at 9:11 am
Are people over their Kuroda hate yet?
Or do we need to wait until we done with inter-league play for people to believe the guy knows how to pitch?
~~~~~~~~~
I certainly never had any hate for him. I checked him out when the Yanks signed him and could see he was the real thing, just hadn’t gotten any help from his team in LA. He should have a lot more wins. Kinda like Dan Harren who was losing games when the Angels were dead at the plate. 4-6 with a 3.73? Come on…
It’s still early in the season – but is the rotation redeeming Cashman’s strategy? Are we seeing the fruits of his pitching first strategy?
The offense has been inconsistent, but it seems practically fluky bad.
Just putting the thought out there.
RadioKev,
I still don’t think this lineup will be able to produce in the post-season, but I’ve been wrong before…
Well, it’s been fun to “chat” a bit with you morning folks. BD, I don’t see you around here as much these days. You are missed.
Got more work to do before bed, so I’m signing off. Have a good one, everyone!
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I’m entitled to.
Col. Jessep: *You want answers?
Kaffee: *I want the truth!*
Col. Jessep: *You can’t handle the truth!
“It’s still early in the season – but is the rotation redeeming Cashman’s strategy? Are we seeing the fruits of his pitching first strategy?”
The obvious counter argument is that if the rotation is this good without Pineda…. did they need to trade for him at all?
I don’t even like talking about the post season. THAT’S fluketacular. Giants and Cardinals. Who knew their offenses would produce in the post season?
Yanks starters ERA (not counting Garcia’s 4 disasters) is now 3.85.
In the last 10 games they’ve averaged 7 innings, with a 1.39 ERA
I think the Yankee lineup could hit enough to win in the playoffs if they pitch like they have been…..I dont think its good enough anymore to overcome mediocre starting pitching though……
blake June 14th, 2012 at 9:22 am
“It’s still early in the season – but is the rotation redeeming Cashman’s strategy? Are we seeing the fruits of his pitching first strategy?”
The obvious counter argument is that if the rotation is this good without Pineda…. did they need to trade for him at all?
—————
A legitimate question. However, making the rotation a priority seems to be paying off, right? And what was a bigger question — our rotation without Pineda (and Pettitte at the time…) or our line up without Jesus Montero?
I’d say the rotation. Nova and Hughes were still big question marks, heck, they’re not really sure things yet.
Cano is an x factor in a playoff series…..hes the one guy in the lineup that has the bat speed a talent to get hot and just carry the club…..everyone else can be gotten out if the pitchers make their pitches….Cano is the guy that can damage pitcher’s pitches and for the Yanks to win it all my guess is that theyll have to pitch well, get some timely homers…..and have Robbie perform like a star in his prime…..no team is without warts this season ….the Yanks will have their chance
russell martin has 8 hr in 158 ab,montero 7 hr in 218 ab.
Montero is not even a bench player,as of now against rh pitching..212 ba/.564 ops.
Randy, please stop posting stats when you don’t know how to read them or the validity of them! Did you know that Montero is last in the league in batting average, OPS, RBI’s and every offensive statistic for all catchers, on Wednesday nights that are raining, when they play a road game in LA, during the month of June when he bats in the 3-6 slots in the batting order? Yes, that is as meaningless as counting only Montero’s OPS when he catches. You need all the AB’s because they all count and just because he is so atrocious defensively that they try not to catch him often, you can’t pick and choose his stats.
Yankee Trader June 14th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Genius-
The pitches to the lefties that tailed away from them were acting like screwballs-in Japan called the shuto. The pitch to McCann didn’t “shuto.”
***********
Actually, the pitch did screwball, right back over the plate instead of staying inside; that was the issue
Arod is clutch. http://mlb.si.com/2012/06/13/l.....=mlb_wr_a1
theREALkevin says:
June 14, 2012 at 2:56 am
Jesus Montero at home:
.193/.242/.352 in 95 PA
on the road:
.302/.333/.444 in 135 PA
Someone get this guy the **** out of Safeco, either it’s the stadium or he’s pressing at home, either way damn
~
You think that’s bad, check out Kyle Seager’s splits…
Home .188/.289/.341/.630
Road .315/.348/.551/.899
Heck, get ‘em ALL outta Safeco, M’s as a team…
Home .199/.282/.306/.588
Road .257/.307/.417/.725
At least Jesus had 3 of the M’s 8 hits last night.
And, he was pretty proud of Hector’s outing
Perfect games ain’t what they used to be.
Could be an anomaly but there’s been 5 perfect games nice 2009 and 22 in the last 100 years.
I would agree on Cano, plus there is Granderson with the bat speed. He is capable of putting up quality at bats.
Last night was the first I heard of him talking about a planned at bat. To me this is a significant development. I’m encouraged by Granderson going to left occasionally.
Still hate his SOs, those are rally killers. If you can’t have lunch, at least grab a sandwich.
McCann killed the ball all series….they are lucky he only hit one homer…….at least Braves fans can have their stadium back now…..my buddy I went with Monday is a big Braves fan and he would get so mad when the Yanks would do something and the stadium erupted…..
Jesus Montero has an average 103 OPS+
Yeah what’s up with all the Yank fans in Atlanta?
“June 14, 2012 at 9:42 am I would agree on Cano, plus there is Granderson with the bat speed. He is capable of putting up quality at bats.”
Yea but Grandy can be gotten out….he hits a lot of mistakes …..Cano is the guy that when he locked in there is nowhere to pitch him and those type guys are important in the postseason against the best pitchers…….
“Yeah what’s up with all the Yank fans in Atlanta?”
Lot of transplants there…..also a lot of Yankee fans in the carolinas and surrounding states that drove to see the Yanks as they are only there every three years or so……
Bronx,
That big, amorphous four-county blob that is Metro Atlanta probably contains more Yankees than Georgians, and the Georgians that are there are waiting for the football season.
We could probably find Harper a Yankee Jersey to try on just to see how it feels….
There is a lot of young talent on that Atlanta team. Simmons looks pretty good, along with the two studs. McCann is a beast, then there’s Bourn and Prado. They were just unlucky. The sweep could have easily gone the other way.
The braves have to figure their outfield out too….Bourn may leave and Prado is also nearing free agency and will probably play 3B next year…..also Heyward is due to reach free agency at like 26 as he enters his prime….
Blake – I don’t think it is a secret regarding the rotation. Cashman has said many times he is trying to build a team around pitching. Add Pineda, Chamberlain, Aardsma, Banuelos and you have the makings of a top of the league top to bottom pitching staff.
Realistically it will be hard if not impossible to turn over the infield within the next couple of years. You can remake the outfield a bit if needed.
But, pitching, pitching, pitching especially in the current PED-free environment that is cost controlled and has reinforcements coming (for the bullpen and rotation) in waves from the farm system is beautiful to watch. It may take about two more years, but we will then start to see the waves of position prospects.
Yea but Grandy can be gotten out….he hits a lot of mistakes …..Cano is the guy that when he locked in there is nowhere to pitch him and those type guys are important in the postseason against the best pitchers…….
———-
Again agreed. I’m just encouraged by Granderson’s approach, finally. With his bat speed, he could be a monster. It was insane that he was flirting with a 200 SO season.
If he could dial back to a 30 HR season thus upping his average and dropping the SOs, A Rod getting comfortable in his talent level, then the Yankees have a chance in the Post Season. They need that dominating three block
Cano is still dealing with being the man, tries to do too much and then gets frustrated
- YANKEE BULLPEN REPORT -
(1) BOONE LOGAN – Appeared in 4 of the previous 5 games. On the season: 31 of 62 games
(2) RAFAEL SORIANO – Appeared in 4 of the previous 5 games. On the season: 25 of 62 games
so the yankees are steamrolling…gelling…everyone is contributing and we’re talking about montero? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
The pitching has covered up for the ineffective offense. This is overworking the BP big time. There have had few laughers along the way. Still a lot of strings of zeros, on scoreboards.
YANKEE BULLPEN REPORT -
(1) BOONE LOGAN – Appeared in 4 of the previous 5 games. On the season: 31 of 62 games
(2) RAFAEL SORIANO – Appeared in 4 of the previous 5 games. On the season: 25 of 62 games
__________
Robertson is back, so it will take a little pressure off Logan and Soriano (though they seem fine for now). I imagine we will setill see Robertson closing out games from time to time to rest Soriano. When Aardsma and Joba are here, we will have 4 people that can close out games!
so the yankees are steamrolling…gelling…everyone is contributing and we’re talking about montero? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
================================
as the “intelligencia” would say:
QFT, +1, spot on…
Cisco story from Heyman. They should dump Stewart and call him up IMO.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/b.....e-attitude
Good to know there’s so many “Yanks” below the Mason-Dixon.
You expect lots of Yankee fans in places like Baltimore and this weekend in DC. Even Fenway. But a mid-week series in Georgia? Those fans were definitely representing the pinstripes. I’m glad they got a great show.
You mean to tell me Soriano is on pace to pitch a completely normal amount of innings and appear in a completely normal amount of games for a reliever??
OH NOES!!
blake -
I was expecting a HR from McCann at some point.
Glad it ended up not hurting.
LGY June 14th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Cisco story from Heyman. They should dump Stewart and call him up IMO.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/b…..e-attitude
——
stewart is doin fine, dont mess with it now
stewart is doin fine, dont mess with it now
———-
He has a 42 OPS+
RadioKev June 14th, 2012 at 9:25 am
blake June 14th, 2012 at 9:22 am
“It’s still early in the season – but is the rotation redeeming Cashman’s strategy? Are we seeing the fruits of his pitching first strategy?”
The obvious counter argument is that if the rotation is this good without Pineda…. did they need to trade for him at all?
—————
A legitimate question. However, making the rotation a priority seems to be paying off, right? And what was a bigger question — our rotation without Pineda (and Pettitte at the time…) or our line up without Jesus Montero?
I’d say the rotation. Nova and Hughes were still big question marks, heck, they’re not really sure things yet.
—————————————————-
The rotation is this good because they had 7 pitchers in camp once Andy showed up, and therefore they were able to overcome injuries (Pineda) and failure (Garcia). Cash had no way of knowing that Pettitte would join the team and he clearly had to assume that someone would need to replace Garcia, who was likely to be a risky 5th starter.
Plus, this team with Pineda would be really scary right now. Indeed, imagine this team without their three major injuries (Pineda, Mo, and Joba) – plus Gardner…
u think cervelli is gonna tear the cover off the ball? hes a BUC hes doin fine for what he does
“But, pitching, pitching, pitching especially in the current PED-free environment that is cost controlled and has reinforcements coming (for the bullpen and rotation) in waves from the farm system is beautiful to watch.”
Yea but in this era where offense is more scarce its at a premium…..we have been conditioned to value pitching so much because during the steroid era if you had a guy that could dominate on the mound then he gave such an advantage over every other team because everyone could hit…..now its trending the other way where it seems there is a no hitter every other week…..
Maybe we’ll see Cisco back up once Romine is back in games.
If you do that you give up your insurance policy. Stewart can’t be sent down, so leave it as is for now.
Count me among those tired of Montero updates. I hope the kid is great, but I’m more hopeful that Pineda will be great.
u think cervelli is gonna tear the cover off the ball? hes a BUC hes doin fine for what he does
———–
Cervelli had a 91 OPS+ last season.
Basically I think in the coming years that youll need a good rotation…..but offensively is where teams will really be able to build an advantage over other clubs…….impact bats are fewer and farther between than they have been in awhile…
Stewart can’t hit and hasn’t even been good defensively. He has 5 passed balls already this season. Cervelli has 5 passed balls in his career.
“No one deserves to be human insurance.”
Well, doesn’t this happen fairly often in baseball?
The situation certainly is not a great one for Cervelli, that goes without saying. But Heyman just annoys me.
(
The pitching is carrying the team. All of the starters are pitching well. No longer do I look at who’s starting and doubt he will make it deep in the game.
They still need another bat, I believe. Preferably a young one that could contribute for several years. And good luck with that.
Cervelli cant catch though ….or he couldnt….plus Stewie sounds better than Cervy.
Stewart doesn’t seem to be getting more from CC than any other catcher. He can’t hit but has a good arm. Cervelli is probably better overall, but I don’t know how the pitchers feel about him. They seem to like Stewart. Frankly, it probably makes no real difference.
so u let stewart go to bring up cervelli, then if anyone gets injuryed who comes up? isnt romine still injured in the minors?
the yankees have to keep that in mind rather than move someone to a position that has very little impact,
if martin goes down, or stewart then at least u have someone to take their place
I think some of the pitchers must have expressed that they dont really like throwing to Cervelli….thats just a guess on my part.
MLBTR says the Tigers are interested in Carlos Quentin. I do expect he is available or will be. Thoughts about him?
I think what the Yankees might have handled better was once they knew Romine was a no-go, to give Cervelli a warning of what might happen.
However, I don’t remember the timing. Perhaps it doesn’t do any good to tell a player what could happen, if something else happens, when that something else wasn’t a surety yet. (In other words, if they didn’t sign Stewart.)
so u let stewart go to bring up cervelli, then if anyone gets injuryed who comes up? isnt romine still injured in the minors?
——–
You pick someone off the scrap heap just like you did with Stewart. It’s not that hard to find a catcher who can’t hit. There’s a good chance Stewart would clear waivers anyway.
Cervelli is making MLB minimum while toiling pressure free in AAA
A lot of people would like to be treated so unfairly
LGY —
That’s true. but it’s still a matter of taking a risk for minimal reward.
Why screw with the catching situation when things are going so well?
Quentin is ok….I dont really think hes what the Yanks need as much though….
Im hoping Romine gets healthy enoufb to be a legit option for the Yanks next year…..at least to leverage against Martin.
Why screw with the catching situation when things are going so well?
——–
I don’t have enough fist pumping in my life with Joba out and Cervelli in exile.
lol, great line!
Hate “off” days. You guys get way off topic. Soon it’s gonna be, “what do you think is gonna happen with that coin Aria got”? Stewart Not discussion worthy. Gardner, the delay in his prognosis, and LF is.
mlbtraderumors.com reports that The Blue Jays released Vladimir Guerrero yesterday morning at the slugger’s request. Bean Stringfellow, the veteran’s agent, says his client is not retiring and plans to continue playing.
Tonight he is playing against the wiffle ball T and hopes to go 4 for 5 (after striking out 3 times last night against same T).
“The average age in baseball this season is 29 years, 78 days, according to STATS, LLC. That number has been steadily rising since 2008 and is the highest it’s been since 2005.”
http://www.standard.net/storie.....-big-teams
There’s a lot of salt and pepper to go with that Yankee blue these days. The 34-year-old Chavez is one of seven regulars in the lineup over the age of 30, and that’s not even counting 40-year-old Andy Pettitte and 37-year-old Hiroki Kuroda in the starting rotation.
“We joke about it,” Chavez said. “We’re old. We know we’re old and we’re OK with that. We’re experienced.”
The Yankees aren’t alone there. Some of the marquee clubs in the major leagues could serve blue-plate specials after a game, and age could be one reason teams like the Phillies, Red Sox and Angels got off to such slow starts. All four of the high-profile, big-spending franchises suffered through some costly injuries and quite simply looked a step slow in the early going.
The Yankees have the oldest roster in baseball, with an average age of 31.5 years. The Phillies (31.0) and Red Sox (30.0) are right behind them.
“The average age in baseball this season is 29 years, 78 days, according to STATS, LLC. That number has been steadily rising since 2008 and is the highest it’s been since 2005.”
That number continues to rise everyday
Vlad said adios to his Minor Mgr a couple days ago. He basically told them he was gone if they did Not promote him. “What do think is gonna happen with that coin Aria got”? Nostradamus has arrived.
Not to pile on the Red Sox but nothing is working over there right now.
via MLBTraderumors
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [June 14 at 8:12am CST]
The Red Sox are negotiating a contract settlement with reliever Bobby Jenks that would end his association with the team, Nick Cafardo and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe report. Jenks has spent the entire 2012 season on the 60-day disabled list and isn’t expected to pitch this season.
Jenks signed a two-year, $12MM deal in December of 2010, not long after being non-tendered by the White Sox. Biceps and back injuries limited him to just 15 2/3 innings last year, when he walked nearly one batter per inning. The 31-year-old Legacy Sports Group client underwent two back surgeries this past offseason, and was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident this March
blake June 14th, 2012 at 9:28 am
Cano is an x factor in a playoff series…..hes the one guy in the lineup that has the bat speed a talent to get hot and just carry the club…..everyone else can be gotten out if the pitchers make their pitches….Cano is the guy that can damage pitcher’s pitches and for the Yanks to win it all my guess is that theyll have to pitch well, get some timely homers…..and have Robbie perform like a star in his prime…..no team is without warts this season ….the Yanks will have their chance
///
Yep. Been saying this for two years. The reason you don’t make the Jan. 13th trade, because if you don’t, (light bulb time) you have TWO bats in your lineup that meet the above criteria – that would have been devastating.
///
And the idea that what the rotation is doing justifies the trade – I mean you cannot make this stuff up. Cannot.
Especially silly, since some of us have been saying that the pitching was a strength, not a weakness, and that was repeatedly denied, or simply not understood.
Now that the pitching is demonstrating why some of us declared the pitching to be a strength, and therefore the trade for it of Montero completely unnecessary and even damaging because it was gutting an actually weakness: a young, fast, power and contact-oriented bat – the folks who thought pitching WAS a weakness- no, insisted it was – a weakness, and that we were basically C plus two four Moes (not Rivera), are now taking bows about the current pitching – WITHOUT this RHP they HAD to have or else the walls would come crashing down in the rotation – being evidence of why you had to trade Montero – for pitching??
Really, you want people to stop discussing Montero and the trade, STOP making statements you can drive a fleet of eight-wheelers through.
LGY June 14th, 2012 at 10:45 am
Why screw with the catching situation when things are going so well?
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I don’t have enough fist pumping in my life with Joba out and Cervelli in exile.
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lol hilarious
Odds!
DId you see Yankeefem’s posting of that Joba story late last night?
JAP,
As an ardent Betances supporter, what are your thoughts on his control problems and what to do about them? He seems to be going the wrong way with an utter loss of ability to repeat his delivery. Disappointing, to say the least.
Yea I saw the story JAP.
You’re right the kid can’t be kept down.
When was our pitching declared a strength?
Hughes and Nova were not givens, Kuroda was questionable,and Pettitte , who knew?
The relief staff is predicated on length from the starters, who could predict that?
Sounds like result oriented nonsense…
“The Yankees have the oldest roster in baseball, with an average age of 31.5 years. The Phillies (31.0) and Red Sox (30.0) are right behind them.”
Yet one of these teams is in 1st place while the other two sit in last……
with age comes wisdom…
Bojo -
“That number continues to rise everyday”
Made me laugh out loud, literally.
So, the injuries on the Yankees so far have been to the younger guys, no? (Not including Mo, of course.)
Gardner, DRob, Joba, Pineda, Swisher was out for a while, who am I missing?
Not to discount the age factor, but age is one thing; injuries another. And one doesn’t necessarily have to do with the other, either.
And the Yankees have been getting off to slow starts for as many years as I can remember recently.
RadioKev June 14th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Maybe we’ll see Cisco back up once Romine is back in games.
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I would assume so. I think they would let Romine spend a couple of weeks showing that he can stick there and then bring Frankie up to the show. He has been a classic BUC and does well in that role (better than Stewart I think). Let’s hope Romine can come back and establish himself by the end of the season. They need to see what he has to offer as they sort out their catching situation for the future.
can mccann catch enough to be our C someday?
Made me laugh out loud, literally.
Why do people keep saying Kuroda was a question mark? Hes been good for awhile now…….
kuroda was not a given coming to the AL East.
“can mccann catch enough to be our C someday?”
He will cost too much and is really streaky at the plate…..Yankee fans would get on him in his cold spells….hes a good enough catcher but he will cost a lot most likely. Need to bridge to Sanchez and hope he pans out…..
Plus, he’s on a 1 year deal. Pineda is young and a potential #2. With our strength being hitting, Montero was expendable.
“kuroda was not a given coming to the AL East.”
That whole thing is overstated ….
And the Yankees have been getting off to slow starts for as many years as I can remember recently.
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This is very true.
They dont really hit a stride until interleague in June.
Just have to survive through the frustrations of april and may…
Hal is looking for those who want to be Yankees, for a Yankee discount.
“With our strength being hitting,”
How much longer will our strength be hitting?
That whole thing is overstated ….
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Only b/c it was a concern to begin with.
The “NL pitcher ” is a myth.
He will cost too much and is really streaky at the plate…..Yankee fans would get on him in his cold spells….hes a good enough catcher but he will cost a lot most likely. Need to bridge to Sanchez and hope he pans out…..
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Let’s just get Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine up here as soon as they can.
I think we can assume we will NOT get a hitting catcher between now and the time Sanchez gets here (assuming he isnt traded first). Just not enough money for a Napoli or soemthing like that….
How much longer will our strength be hitting?
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Good question.
Soon it might be pitching…
Hal is looking for those who want to be Yankees, for a Yankee discount.
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Good luck. We wouldn’t even get that from Jeter, Posada or Rivera.
Pettitte has twice taken a discount to play for the Yankees. 1 year he took $5.5m and this year $2.5m. 2012 Pettitte may be the ultimate discount of MLB.
The “NL pitcher ” is a myth.
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Pitching in NY isn’t. It takes some longer than others. Maybe it’s why he got only 1 year.
austinmac June 14th, 2012 at 11:06 am
JAP,
As an ardent Betances supporter, what are your thoughts on his control problems and what to do about them? He seems to be going the wrong way with an utter loss of ability to repeat his delivery. Disappointing, to say the least.
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austinmac,
I think Betances has to be viewed unconventionally. I just wrote about this on another site in some detail, but briefly: when they drafted him, he was in the “high risk” category because of his size.
He was going to be under construction from go, but I view his actual “start” time to be 2009 (where he lost the year because of ligament replacement surgery, but gained a very good changeup),
or rather, 2010, where he really showed what he optimally could be.
Right now, he’s working from a shorter stride, which may be contributing, at times, to some of the worst control he’s ever displayed. Even last season, he was never as wild as he has sometimes been in 2012. Those starts also have coincided with having a cracked nail on either his middle or index finger, which caused him to yank breaking pitches to a degree that caricatures him at his absolute worst. He’s now wearing an artificial nail, and last outing he was throwing a very hittable curveball, for most of his outing, which I’ve never seen him do, so I’m throwing that game out.
With the shorter stride, I think he is not getting through the pitch at times. But maybe, like Albee says, they’re making him go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly; IOW, he may get some ugly results, but there may be a long-term payoff. I think Aldred did a good job trouble-shooting Joba Chamberlain, so I’m hoping he can help Dellin get back to what he was doing so seamlessly in 2010.
His service time is through 2013, so you have him continue to start games and see where it takes us. He still is a guy with the best arm in the system, and one who nearly always seems to find that pitch to get out of trouble, and who is just absolutely unhittable when he’s even near the strike zone.
The bullpen talk on him that you hear is, to me, fairly ridiculous.
mick June 14th, 2012 at 11:27 am
Plus, he’s on a 1 year deal. Pineda is young and a potential #2. With our strength being hitting, Montero was expendable.
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I was saying last spring that montero would probably be traded since there was no room for him at DH and Cashman didn’t like him as a catcher…I had hoped the trade would bring back Gio, but I can understand Cash going for a power arm that gave him more years of control.
I still have no problem witht he trade since Cash’s strategy is to prepare for 2014 budget by having power arms at cheap cost (to offset the everyday roster cost).
As shown with Ibanez, Cash can always acquire a bat for DH. And as Bergman showed 2 years ago, he can even get one that performs in play-offs.
blake June 14th, 2012 at 11:29 am
The “NL pitcher ” is a myth.
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I’ve actually seen some on TV.
Good luck. We wouldn’t even get that from Jeter, Posada or Rivera.
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The arod deal killed hal. he is looking for new/old blood that might take a little less, not sure if that animal exists.
“The bullpen talk on him that you hear is, to me, fairly ridiculous.”
I think at some point it’s not….they have to get value out of him sooner or later and you can’t just keep hoping and hoping he puts it together….it’s too soon now still but the time is coming where they are going to have to try something else IMO if he can’t repeat his delivery well enough to cover 6+ innings. I’ll keep hoping he figures it out…..
“Pitching in NY isn’t. It takes some longer than others. Maybe it’s why he got only 1 year.”
he only wanted 1 year….and you always give any pitcher that’s 37 a one year deal if they’ll take it. I think there is some intangible thing to pitching in NY….but I also think that it’s often over blown….some guys play better in NY….
“The bullpen talk on him that you hear is, to me, fairly ridiculous.”
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I don’t mind introducing a young pitcher to the majors via the bullpen, as with Joba, Phelps, and others….just let them grow into starting and don’t hold them back from it.
he only wanted 1 year…
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we need more like him and he will prolly want another 1-2 year deal now that he sees what pitching here is all about.
mick June 14th, 2012 at 11:40 am
he only wanted 1 year…
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we need more like him and he will prolly want another 1-2 year deal now that he sees what pitching here is all about.
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I think Cash would give him a 1 year in a heartbeat, but walk away from 2 years. cash would probably be willing to overpay in 2013 to avoid budget constraint in 2014
Kuroda did a one year deal last year also….I think he likes that so he can go back to Japan when he wants.
Cash has not gotten enough credit for the pitching he has found esp in the pen.
mick June 14th, 2012 at 11:40 am
prolly
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Interesting that blogging and texting are creating new words to replace old words like probably. I expect this new version to appear in dictionary at some future date…not sure if this is a good thing, but it is what it is
Kuroda did a one year deal last year also….I think he likes that so he can go back to Japan when he wants.
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Once he gets a taste of post season success here, he will never go home.
He was pumped last night.
Next—>>>
BoJo June 14th, 2012 at 11:37 am
“The bullpen talk on him that you hear is, to me, fairly ridiculous.”
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I don’t mind introducing a young pitcher to the majors via the bullpen, as with Joba, Phelps, and others….just let them grow into starting and don’t hold them back from it.
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That’s not what I’m referring to. The general response to Betances’ control issues are hands tossed up in the air, followed by a dismissive “get thee to the bullpen.” Mostly from people who just like to quote his unseemly BB rates.
there is no room in our pen for betances
JAP,
I realize they have shortened his stride, but I wonder if that is more of the problem than the solution. He does have the best stuff in the system, but he he not getting out of trouble as he walks his way into trouble and out of games. It seems that once he loses it now in a game, he has lost it for the day. He has had a number of games that start well and then he walks four in an inning.
They have a year to get something out of him or lose him.
Oh, my. Let’s sling some snot over a sob story by the idiot Heyman. He’s crying about how poorly the waif, Francisco Cervelli is being treated by the Yankees and how he’s forced to live in his car. My guess is that he’s not the only one, since that team as no home of it’s own. Cervelli has drawn a ML check for 3 years and can’t afford a storage place for his belongings? What are the rest of the players doing with theirs? All it comes down to is that slob, Heyman trying to stir up a story instead of digging for a legitimate story. He’s hitting under .260 with no hint of power, throwing out 21% of the runners, 3 errors and 9 passed balls. Yeah, he had only 5 MLB passed balls, but 20 errors.