Patience paying off for Yankees
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jul 09, 2012 
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Exactly seven weeks ago today, the Yankees were shutout by the Royals at Yankee Stadium. It was a loss that cut their record to .500 and dropped their spot in the standings to last place. One thing you might notice about the box score: Every single Yankee who played in that game is still on the roster and still playing a significant role.
When the Yankees hit rock botton, they asked for patience and indicated that they would not make any sort of panic move. And they didn’t. In the past seven weeks, the team has climbed into first place and built the best record in baseball with essentially the exact same roster that they had when they were at the bottom of the division.
These are the most significant moves they’ve made during this surge to the top of the standings.
May 29: Claim Ryota Igarashi
He came up for a while when Freddy Garcia went on the bereavement list, and again when the Yankees put both CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte on the disabled list on the same day. It says a lot that this is one of the most important player moves of these past seven weeks.
June 14: Activate Dave Robertson from disabled list
After sitting out a full month, Robertson finally came back in the middle of June. He’s easily the most significant roster addition during this span. He hasn’t been quite as consistent as he was during the first month and a half, but he arrived just as Cory Wade was starting to fall apart. Good timing.
June 27: Place CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte on the disabled list
Technically the Pettitte move didn’t happen until the 28th, but you get the idea. This was the day the Yankees lost two of their starters (two very good starters, at that). The Yankees would immediately react by adding Adam Warren for a spot start, but Warren’s debut was a mess. The move that helped a little more was…
June 29: Recall David Phelps
Sent down when Robertson was activated, Phelps had been optioned only so that he could be stretched out as a starter. He arrived to piggyback Warren, then he delivered a strong — but brief — start in Tampa, helped the Yankees avoid a sweep and giving some momentum heading into this weekend’s series in Boston.
July 1: Trade for Chad Qualls
The Yankees don’t need Qualls to be a setup man. They just need him to be better than Cory Wade. When the Yankees needed Wade. he was terrific, but his season turned south and the Yankees decided to take a low-risk chance on Qualls. He might be nothing more than space-filler until Joba Chamberlain comes off the disabled list, but so far he’s been effective in a limited role.
July 4: Claim Darnell McDonald
The Yankees didn’t need a fifth starter over the weekend, and they won’t need one for those first few days after the All-Star break. That’s why McDonald made sense, because he could fill a roster spot that might otherwise have been wasted. He started both games of Saturday’s doubleheader and will be most remembered for causing Curtis Granderson to drop a fly ball.
Randy,
I would investigate Blake’s delayed dental care except I am too busy working out the Upton trade details.
from today’s Post: Jeter’s error on Saturday night may also have been what cost the Yankees a shot at a modern-day interpretation of the Boston Massacre, their first inning run totals reading thusly: 5-4-3-2.
So I guess Vaccaro forgot about the 5 game series sweep in Boston several years ago, think it was right after the Abreu trade, that effectively ended the sox’s season? If that wasn’t the modern-day interpretation of the Boston Massacre, then I don’t know what would be??
blake’s dental patient:
“excuse me, when can i see the dentist? i’ve been sitting here for two hours.”.
receptionist: “he’ll be with you as soon as he finishes his latest blog post. he’s trying to get upton. you’ll have to be patient. just suck on those ice cubes. a broken tooth isn’t that bad. man up, lady”.
Priorities
So I guess Vaccaro forgot about the 5 game series sweep in Boston several years ago, think it was right after the Abreu trade, that effectively ended the sox’s season? If that wasn’t the modern-day interpretation of the Boston Massacre, then I don’t know what would be??
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i remeber that in 2006, jeter tied the sunday night game on espn, I remeber jon millers call on his single to right of paplebon
‘blooped right field, falling, falling, in there’ and joe morgan the yankee hater was silent
Re-post From end of last post:
I’d be stunned if Arizona moved Upton when they are so close to the top of the division. If anything happens it’s more likely to be in the off-season.
Torii Hunter isn’t a very good full-time player any more and will not command $ 10 M plus age age 37 (which he turns next week). If he/Dickerson replaced Swisher that might be adequate, but not for $ 10 M.
I only see the Yanks doing something significant if Gardner gets shut down and they have to find an every day LF. Otherwise the key second half additions will be Gardner, CC, Joba and Andy Pettite…..
And those are pretty damn good additions for free.
Is anyone else excited to see Trout and Harper in the All-Star game?
by the way – did McDonald get booed or cheered before his first AB over the weekend?
always like seeing younger All-Stars… the older stars lost the charm with interleague play for me.
Red Sawx fans were basically indifferent to McDonald from what I heard… as they should be.
“Is anyone else excited to see Trout and Harper in the All-Star game?”
Absolutely….not.sure Harper deserved it but its good for TV. They shoukd have put him in HR derby
I hate the HR derby. Too long and too much Chris Berman
“When the Yankees hit rock botton, they asked for patience and indicated that they would not make any sort of panic move. And they didn’t. In the past seven weeks, the team has climbed into first place and built the best record in baseball with essentially the exact same roster that they had when they were at the bottom of the division.”
Credit to the NYY.
At least it’s something we can remind fans of when (not if) they start to become unwound in the second half if a player isn’t doing something they like and they are convinced the team is going to go south.
Some people hate to hear this but by and large, the organization knows best.
maybe “by and large” but not always…. and THAT is what keeps us typing!
Blake-
I’m glad to see you have your priorities straight !
Against All Odds July 9th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Is anyone else excited to see Trout and Harper in the All-Star game?
Not me. They are clearly two very exciting players but the All-Star game has become one of the biggest turn-offs of the year for the following reasons:
So many of the players originally selected are injured.
It’s a “fake” game with players only making a cameo appearance.
The fans pick the teams yet the outcome decides which league has home advantage in the WS.
La Russa should not have been selected as the NL manager but now that he has, he should be TOLD by MLB that R.A. Dickey is starting the game.
If I have to be subject to listening to Chris Berman screaming “back, back, back” in the home run derby again I could commit suicide.
Enjoy your four-day break from “real” baseball peeps.
I like the HR derby but they do need to tweak it so its not so long…..Id really love to see some sort of skills competition or race….Id love to see Trout race Reyes and some of the other fast guys……theyll never do that though cause of injury fear.
blake July 9th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
“Is anyone else excited to see Trout and Harper in the All-Star game?”
Absolutely….not.sure Harper deserved it but its good for TV. They shoukd have put him in HR derby
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He probably didn’t deserve it but who so many guys getting injured he had to be put it. It’s good for TV and the game. They need to promote their stars more.
TLR snubbing RA Dickey is one of the biggest baseball trolls in history.
If Im managing the NL to win the game then Im sandwiching Dickey between Cain and Strasburg …..good luck hitting Stras after tracking knucklers…..
I’ll be thrilled if the Derby throws off Trumbos swing for the first series at YS post-ASG
Reds farmhand Billy Hamilton might be the fastest player ever; has 104 stolen bases this year
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/r.....-year.html
Blake — wont be the same hitters facing the second and third pitchers, so hard to screw up timing that way
Reds farmhand Billy Hamilton might be the fastest player ever; has 104 stolen bases this year
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If not the fastest, then at least the most daring. I think he has attempted a steal like 90% of the time there is an open base when he is on first.
Trumbo and Trout = TnT
Sounds like an Italian meal with Fish and Pasta on the menu.
Too bad they didn’t have another oF’er named “Marinara”.
104 steals in a half season is insane
“104 steals in a half season is insane”
Not if your name is “Willie Sutton”.
“Blake — wont be the same hitters facing the second and third pitchers, so hard to screw up timing that way”
Throw Dickey 2 innings or enough to screw the other team up.
Bill Simmons ?@sportsguy33
I can’t believe how profoundly screwed up the 2012 Red Sox are behind the scenes. The stories I am hearing in KC are just unfathomable.
oh if they were going to go 3, 3, 3 with those guys it would be a nightmare, I agree.
I guess I’ll watch, but it’s ridiculous that something as important as home field in the W.S. is settled by an exhibition game in which the best players leave before the game is half over.
CountryClub July 9th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Bill Simmons ?@sportsguy33
I can’t believe how profoundly screwed up the 2012 Red Sox are behind the scenes. The stories I am hearing in KC are just unfathomable.
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Music to my ears
heading off for a while…. have a day gang!
Hard to believe Nova has already Kd more guys than he did all of last year….dude is on track to get close to 20 wins and 200ks.
blake July 9th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Hard to believe Nova has already Kd more guys than he did all of last year….dude is on track to get close to 20 wins and 200ks.
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I’m enjoying his development.
Nova has been great. And I was pleasantly surprised that most fans didnt jump ship on him when he struggled to start the yr. He was the one player that fans seemed to stay level headed about.
“Nova has been great. And I was pleasantly surprised that most fans didnt jump ship on him when he struggled to start the yr. He was the one player that fans seemed to stay level headed about.”
I think/hope Yankee fans are starting to get that developing pitching takes some time…..with Nova you could see the problem and see that it was fixable….the stuff was there and Im also glad folks stuck with him…..
Nova’s off speed stuff is better than his FB.
Not that there is anything wrong with his FB mind you.
Learning that slider when he was down in minors made all the difference.
Now if Phil Phantastic would just get the memo.
And P.S.
I see a lot of “Nova” in David Phelps.
The Yankees were Not “patient”, they were and continue to be onna budget. Their Goal of slashing the payroll, makes you look for Mitt Romney’s name on the letterhead.
MTU -
Or Parmigiana!
Against All Odds July 9th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
blake July 9th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Hard to believe Nova has already Kd more guys than he did all of last year….dude is on track to get close to 20 wins and 200ks.
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I’m enjoying his development.
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Odds
Watching Nova and Hughes progress is almost a luxury; it’s easily the most exciting aspect of this season for me (and watching Cano).
It’ll be a highlight when Joba comes back. If he’s as invincible as he keeps saying, it presents an interesting “problem” for them come ST 2013. Nothing like homegrown arms blossoming.
VN-
That would work too !
Trouble is now I’m hungry.
MTU July 9th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Nova’s off speed stuff is better than his FB.
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He’s been filthy offspeed, his curveball was crazy yesterday – but I would like to see him throw his sinker more than yesterday. He could use more command on his FB, but he’s the ideal kind of RHP for the Stadium: gets Ks on breaking stuff and keeps the ball on the ground when he’s throwing his sinker. Kid also doesn’t do quit.
Now if Phil Phantastic would just get the memo.
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Phil’s been getting GB and DPs with his fastball and his curve, but I would also like to see a 2-seamer. One thing at a time, though. He seems to be progressing very nicely
.
It’ll be a highlight when Joba comes back. If he’s as invincible as he keeps saying, it presents an interesting “problem” for them come ST 2013. Nothing like homegrown arms blossoming.
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The problem will be them keeping him in the pen. They should give him a shot though. Pineda is rehabbing, Dellin has taken a step back, Kuroda might not be back and the same can be said about Freddy, Manny is dealing with injuries, etc. Wouldn’t it be smart to have as many arms as possible?
JAP-
Cajones of steel.
With runners in scoring position batters are hitting something like .195
off of him.
He strands quite a lot of them.
I never understood how people could not see how good this kid was.
JAP-
I have to admit, though I am generally patient, I would like to see Mr. Hughes progressing a bit faster.
At this point, his 3rd pitch is merely a token IMO.
If he had that 3rd pitch he would be able to pitch “backwards” when he needed too.
DONNYBROOK July 9th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
The Yankees were Not “patient”, they were and continue to be onna budget. Their Goal of slashing the payroll, makes you look for Mitt Romney’s name on the letterhead.
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Romney would trade away all the players that cost money, fire everyone, and sell the team.
Yankee pitching is busting out of their girdle.
Comin’ out everywhere.
Verducci makes the case for Seattle to trade King Felix while at his peak value… so two questions: (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....=mlb_wr_a1)
a) What do you think the Yanks should package to get him?
b) Are there other team out there (who’d want him as much as the Yanks) have better packages to offer than what we have?
Secret sauce is young, cost-controlled pitching.
Gives ya’ money to spend elsewhere.
I think KF’s peak might already be behind him.
They should have traded him a couple of season’s ago.
Their are a ton of miles on that arm now.
Caveat emptor.
a) What do you think the Yanks should package to get him? Not as much as they should offer for Upton
b) Are there other team out there (who’d want him as much as the Yanks) have better packages to offer than what we have? Yes. Texas…Detroit….etc…
Odds, Dellin I think is coming out of a frankly aberrant beginning at AAA. For some reason, I feel this setback is actually going to propel him further forward: two steps back, four forward, that sort of thing. The last two starts he’s looked more like himself, and the stuff is nuts.
Joba, I think, makes more of a case for potentially being a dominant type starter, more than satisfying an notion of depth. Not you, of course, but I do think some just don’t recall how good he was in 2008.
Got some errands to run.
Catch ya’ later.
The Yankees don’t match up well for Felix even if he was available….Seattle needs offense and the Yankees don’t have any to offer….plus Felix will cost 20 million a year….if they can afford that then just sign Hamels this winter and you don’t have to trade anybody.
Why is Igarashi a big move?
I never understood how people could not see how good this kid was.
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Dunno, I never got that “Noesi’s the better of the two” stuff. To me, Nova’s ability to get groundballs trumped Noesi’s strike throwing, which catches too much of the plate for me. Not knocking Noesi, he would have been useful to have, but always liked Nova a good deal better.
Felix’s peak value was last winter coming off his Cy Young award…..he’s closer to free agency and his stuff has taken a step back since then. Whoever traded for him now would have to be willing to both part with a big package of prospects and take on a 20 million dollar a year salary…..not many teams can or will do that.
TheDA53 profile
TheDA53 “@JoseCanseco: I would win the MLB homerun derby tonight if I was given chance” the wisdom of Canseco at its best. Go back to your hole about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favo
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What a mouth on this guy!
Canseco was the only honest one of the bunch…
I would rather obtain Upton for the prospects thank Felix. Felix velocity is in decline, and while he is still very good, I am no so convinced about the future and his arm.
“Dunno, I never got that “Noesi’s the better of the two” stuff.”
I think he used to be….he used to miss more bats and he had better command control…..Nova has gotten a lot better in he last couple of years….his command has improved….his off speed stuff has improved a ton….and he even throws harder…..Noesi has kinda stayed the same.
“I would rather obtain Upton for the prospects thank Felix. Felix velocity is in decline, and while he is still very good, I am no so convinced about the future and his arm.”
much rather…
have to admit, though I am generally patient, I would like to see Mr. Hughes progressing a bit faster.
At this point, his 3rd pitch is merely a token IMO.
If he had that 3rd pitch he would be able to pitch “backwards” when he needed too.
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He’ll pitch backwards to lefties if he has that curve going. I understand you want to see him excel.. I am pretty happy with his progress, but I do think Phil Hughes has another gear to go to. Very talented guy. You can see he really carries around his “off” starts… that’s just the way he is, very hard on himself and somewhat cerebral.
Nova has pretty much improved on a linear path so far….something you don’t see a lot of guys do….
Dunno, I never got that “Noesi’s the better of the two” stuff. To me, Nova’s ability to get groundballs trumped Noesi’s strike throwing, which catches too much of the plate for me. Not knocking Noesi, he would have been useful to have, but always liked Nova a good deal better.
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Those comparisons came before Nova developed a legit slider that has increased his K rate by 50%. When all he had were ground balls he just didn’t have the same upside Noesi had with his command. Imagine if Nova lacked the out pitch he had this year, there would have been no saving him because his fastball-curve combination just isn’t good enough with how ratty his command can be in the strike zone.
A player developing a plus breaking pitch like that is the kind of unforeseeable thing that creates all-stars out of rule 5 rejectees.
blake July 9th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
“I would rather obtain Upton for the prospects thank Felix. Felix velocity is in decline, and while he is still very good, I am no so convinced about the future and his arm.”
much rather…
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We need a young bat, not more pitching, so I agree
. Just not for Williams/Sanchez. They can have Tyler Austin, since he won’t be playing CF.
Blake
Undertsanding Nova’s work ethic, drive,and background tells you part of the reason why he progressed so much.
There was an article posted about it a while back.
great read if someone remembers and can repost it.
His makeup is simply off the charts.
And now I really do have to go.
Agree that Felix is NOT at peak value. That ship sailed 2 seasons ago. Now he is incredibly risky, because he is showing signs of declining stuff and is coming into the most expensive portion of his contract. I’m sure he can still be good and an ace going forward, but its not as locked in as when he threw 96 heavy and easy.
“We need a young bat, not more pitching, so I agree . Just not for Williams/Sanchez”
I’d love to hang on to those guys….especially Sanchez but I’d probably trade either for Upton without much hesitation….I don’t think you pass on a guy like that for anybody in A ball unless it’s like Bryce harper
“His makeup is simply off the charts.”
It does seem to be for sure
JF,
I just always liked the movement and sink Nova gets. Intuitively, I thought he would develop nicely. Well, turns out he’s done more than that: he’s a stud now.
I remember people crying about his lack of K rates, but he just had a heavy ball. Noesi can pitch well and then get hit hard. He doesn’t always have great command, he’s prone to throw his share of hittable strikes. Nova has always been harder to square up.
If the Giants wanted to salary dump Lincecum for little prospect return….would we be interested? or is he cooked. He’d be off the books before 2014
Intuitively, I thought he would develop nicely. Well, turns out he’s done more than that: he’s a stud now.
I remember people crying about his lack of K rates, but he just had a heavy ball.
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His improved K rate is a direct cause of his studness though! The crying was perfectly correct. There just aren’t any great pitchers that don’t K guys. They are truly rare. Any top 50 list of pitchers in baseball is going to be filled with guys that have good K rates. Quitely frankly the average K rate in baseball has been increasing since the 70s which puts guys that cannot K people at such a disadvantage. Either the hitters are getting more Kable, in which case not being able to get an average K rate means there is something quite hittable about the pitcher, or pitchers are getting nastier stuff which still puts the pitcher behind the curve.
Without the slider Nova was a guy that was erratic in the strike zone without the extreme command Wang showed and only had the ground ball rate to pick him up. That would have made him a decent #5 guy but not what he is currently.
Blake, there’s no way in hell I’m trading Gary Sanchez or Williams. They want to be “blown away”. Well, he’s a great young player, but not willing to blow it up for him, and that’s probably what it’ll take. & it’s likely they’d demand BOTH for him, and then some.
I do see, though, that it would be something to have a guy like that and Cano on the same team for the next several years, and that it would dramatically change their postseason hopes THIS year (and going forward). Alex and Swisher could drop back into more complementary type roles. One bat can make a huge difference. But they’ll just want too much for him.
I think Darnell McDonald will do ok
Im shocked Nova has progressed as he has. I thought he was only a success last year because of run support and a lucky BABIP. This year, his improved K rates are a real sign of his development as a pitcher. Looks like we have 3 young front line starters, with Kuroda and Andy as excellent veteran front line starters.
BloggingBombers NL All-Star lineup: CarGo DH, Melky CF, Braun LF, Votto 1B, Beltran RF, Posey C, Sandoval 3B, Uggla 2B, Furcal SS, Cain RHP
about 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite
that lineup is beastly
BloggingBombers AL All-Star lineup: Jeter SS, Cano 2B, Hamilton LF, Bautista RF, Fielder 1B, Beltre 3B, Ortiz DH, Napoli C, Granderson CF, Verlander RHP
4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
I meant this one…..
JF, I’m not stunned he’s this good. He had upside and I thought he would be very good, which means he could develop a strikeout pitch. I just think he’s trumped all expectations, here. Yeah, no kidding, his slider developing was critical, and it wasn’t guaranteed.
I don’t think Darnell McDonald will be on this roster too much longer after the ASB. He was only signed because we were facing three lefties in a row in Boston.
“Blake, there’s no way in hell I’m trading Gary Sanchez or Williams. They want to be “blown away”. Well, he’s a great young player, but not willing to blow it up for him, and that’s probably what it’ll take. & it’s likely they’d demand BOTH for him, and then some.”
no they’d want more because both those guys are years away…..
no they’d want more because both those guys are years away…..
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that’s why I said and then some. Of course they’ll want more. You may get your wish, because Cashman can’t actually believe he doesn’t need a good young hitter to go with Cano, not if he wants to play three rounds this year.
Nova always has always had very good stuff; it was learning not only to command it but to be more aggressive, to attack, and put hitters away. Obviously the slider’s progression as a K pitch has helped enormously. But Nova already had the repertoire, even the slider was there if not yet fully developed in the minors. And from 2009 to 2010 in AAA, his K rates increased markedly. It was the deep and plus repertoire that Nova possessed that boded well for him as a major leaguer. I know people love to reference the Rule 5 story, but although Nova wasn’t as celebrated as some other pitchers in the system, he was considered immensely talented by anyone who saw him pitch enough. Add to the plus stuff, the learning curve he had to go through, his work ethic and determination and that got Nova where he is today.
“You may get your wish, because Cashman can’t actually believe he doesn’t need a good young hitter to go with Cano, not if he wants to play three rounds this year.”
Nah…Upton doesnt pitch.
Nova seems to have a great aptitude and even a mean streak on the mound….I love it. Hes fun to watch….
The Giants have been abusing him – it’s hard to tell what’d you get in Lincecum. For me – it’s buyer beware.
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