Record for the Month: 13-15, 135 RS, 148 RA
Overall: 72-64, 651 RS, 619 RA
Game of the Month: August 3, 2008--Yankees 14, Angels 9 Probably the wildest game of the year, with the Yanks digging a 5-0 hole for themselves early, clawing their way back against John Lackey and taking an 8-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to some shabby defense by the Halos, then losing the lead on a Mark Texeira grand slam against Edwar Ramirez, then taking the lead again with a six-run, three error eighth inning. The whole game was just a tradeoff of haymakers between what looked like two of the best teams in the league. As the month wore on, the Yanks showed that they're not really in the Angels' class this year. Other candidates: the Yanks' comeback against the Red Sox to avert a sweep on Thursday was pretty big, but it was canceled out by the comeback loss to the Jays on Saturday. In some ways, both of those games were emblematic of the month as a whole.
Player of the Month: It's hard to give this to Mariano Rivera in a month where he had two losses and a blown save--although, otherwise, he was his normal, stellar self (6 Sv, 1.88 ERA in 14 1/3 innings). But who are the other candidates? Jason Giambi led the team in HR (8) and RBI (22) and had some clutch hits, but didn't hit or get on base too well overall (.232/.327/.524 for the month). Derek Jeter hit well for average last month but showed no power (.345/.382/.402), Bobby Abreu was better (.342/.405/.421) but not by too much. By default, the best offensive performance for August goes to Xavier Nady, who impressed with the bat (.308/.351/.523, 6 HR, 19 RBI), even if his glove has been suspect. With that in mind, the month's honors go Mike Mussina, (3-0, 2.93 in 6 starts). He's on pace for his most starts since 2001, and would be only 3 games away from the magic 20 game plateau if the bullpen hadn't blown the game in his start against the Twins. Pretty neat, considering that at this point last year he'd been booted from the rotation for Ian Kennedy, and most everyone (including me) thought there was a fork sticking out of him.
Dregs of the Month: In his first month in Pinstripes, Ivan Rodriguez (.196/.250/.321 in 56 AB) was almost outhit by the man he was putatively replacing as the Yankees' backstop, Jose Molina (.222/.239/.400 in 45 AB). That's some kind of awful. Speaking of awful, Melky Cabrera (.115/.148/.115) finally played his way off the Yankees' roster, losing his spot intermittently to Brett Gardner and Justin Christian prior to the Xavier Nady trade. I'll talk about this more in a Catching Up, but it speaks volumes that when the September 1 callups were announced, Melky was left in AAA to help Scranton in the International League playoffs. Even though Melky was hitting .333 in AAA, he showed absolutely no power, and between the two levels, in 83 at bats, Melky only had two extra base hits (both doubles) all month.
Speaking of the Nady trade, Damaso Marte has been almost as big a disappointment in August as Pudge has been, allowing a 7.71 ERA in the month (and perhaps being injured, per Pete Abe). Dave Robertson (8.81 ERA) also had a month to forget in the bullpen, and Edwar Ramirez returned to his Three True Outcomes ways (3 HR, 4 BB, 13 K in 11 2/3 innings, good for a 6.73 ERA). Girardi leaned pretty hard on the bullpen all month long.
Story of the Month: Since 1996, when the Yankees almost blew their division lead with a 13-17 month, August has been very good to the New York Yankees. They've had a winning record every year since, and with the exception of 2001--where the Yanks squeaked by with a 15-14 mark--the month has tended to be a difference maker--while their opponents hit the doldroms in the dog days, the Yanks surge ahead on the depth of talent a ginormous payroll can buy. The month's 13-15 finish in August 2008 is the result of the Yanks taking beatdowns from some of the best teams in the league (2-4 against the Angels, 1-2 against the Red Sox and Twins) while not making up the difference against some teams that weren't quite of that quality (2-2 against the Rangers, 2-4 against the Blue Jays). As I mentioned this morning, this isn't going to get any easier--the Yanks have 13 games against division-leading opponents in September, plus three games against the Red Sox.
Around Yankeeland, an eerie level of acceptance has set in: this just isn't our year. Much of this season has been a wait for the Pinstriped surge that never arrived--that 18-9 month that declares that your team's a contender, or at least a real threat if it came down to a short series. Indeed, every Yankee team since 1996 has had at least one month where they had single-digit losses. Even if the Yanks were to keep up that streak with a 17-9 September, the Red Sox would have to go 10-16 (and the Twins would have to go 12-13) for the Yankee Stadium's swan song to continue into October. People aren't even dreaming about that possibility. Some, like Hank Steinbrenner, have already started to look ahead to this winter's free agent market.
Looking Ahead: Derek Jeter comes into September needing 45 hits in 28 games to reach 200 for the season. The most hits Jeter has ever had in a month is 50, which took him 32 games in August 1998. The next most was 44 hits, which Jeter has managed twice in his career. The ten hits that he stands away from Lou Gerhig's all-time Yankee Stadium mark is much more manageable, given that there are 10 home games left. If the Yanks stay in rotation, Mike Mussina's remaining starts this season would fall against the Rays, Mariners, Rays, White Sox, Jays, and Red Sox, a pretty tough schedule. He needs wins in four of those starts to become a 20-game winner for the first time in his career.
Showing posts with label Month in Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Month in Review. Show all posts
Monday, September 01, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Month in Review: June 2008
Ed. Note: It's taken me a while to do this month-in-review, and no matter what happens today and tomorrow night, this has been a week to forget in Yankeeland. I'll put aside July for the moment, concentrate on June, and we'll talk about the current crisis shortly.
Record for the Month: 16-12, 137 RS, 114 RA
Overall: 44-39, 386 RS, 366 RA, 3rd Place 6.5 games behind the Rays
Game of the Month: June 27 at Mets. If you'd asked me the most unlikely combination to come through with a combined shutout in pinstripes this season, Sidney Ponson/Kyle FarnsworthJose Veras/Kei Igawa would have been pretty close to the top. Then consider the circumstances: at Shea in the nightcap of a two-borough doubleheader, after Carlos Delgado and the Mets creamolished them at the Stadium in the early game, and facing Pedro Martinez? Raise your hand if you called a Yankee shutout under those circumstances. I thought not.
Player of the Month: Mariano Rivera's numbers look close to getting him a third straight Player of the Month nod, but one loss, and another game where the offense bailed him out, means that we're not quite there. I'll be a bit of a hypocrite by giving Jose Veras part credit by posting 13 innings of 1.98 ERA in June--worse numbers than Rivera, but then, the expectations were much lower. I was kind of dumbfounded by Girardi's affection for Veras earlier in the season, but if he keeps on performing like this, we might just have the player the Yanks thought they were getting in Kyle Farnsworth. Joba Chamberlain made strides in his conversion project, leaving his amazing strikeout rate in the bullpen, but still keeping a 5 to 1 K/Walk ratio, and a 1.80 ERA for the month. Jason Giambi (.305/.430/.585) and Johnny Damon (.363/.425/.441) also get part credits--two players who came into this season on the brink, and are now the team's core performers. But the Player of the Month is Alex Rodriguez, who hit the ball a bit (.366/.455/.693, team-leading 9 HR, 24 Runs, 23 RBI) in his first healthy month of the season.
Dregs of the Month: Darrell Rasner's magical pixie dust ran out (1-5, 6.47 ERA in June), which is a shame, but also just the way the cookie crumbles. Freaky fluke Aaron Small seasons are freaky flukes for a reason: they very rarely happen. Before the season, if someone told you Rasner would have a 4.42 ERA at the end of June, you'd probably think that was about right, maybe a little low. Luckily for Rasner, his poor performance is completely blown away by Melky Cabrera's (.206/.289/.255). Melky's in the middle of the worst offensive stretch by a Yankee regular since Tony Womack back in 2005, he's posted a .565 OPS over the last two months. As Womack shows, there's only so long that you can perform at that level and keep your job. Melky's been fortunate as his slump continued, the Yankees' outfield depth took a hit with the loss of HIdeki Matsui. Otherwise, I can't imagine that the Yankees would let him work his issues out on the major league level, rather than setting him up with a restorative trip to Scranton, no matter how good his defense is.
Story of the Month: If there was one injury the Yankees couldn't afford this season, it would have to have been any injury to Chien Ming Wang. Wang's absence, plus that of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, puts a superhuman weight on the shoulders of the rotation's old warhorses, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. Unless both pitchers perform to the top of their expectations, the Yanks have little hope of catching the Red Sox or Rays. The Matsui injury leaves the roster pretty thin--now Girardi has an excuse to carry three catchers, as he did for most of the month. I'm sure Chad Moeller's 12 PA last month were totally worth it.
Record for the Month: 16-12, 137 RS, 114 RA
Overall: 44-39, 386 RS, 366 RA, 3rd Place 6.5 games behind the Rays
Game of the Month: June 27 at Mets. If you'd asked me the most unlikely combination to come through with a combined shutout in pinstripes this season, Sidney Ponson/Kyle FarnsworthJose Veras/Kei Igawa would have been pretty close to the top. Then consider the circumstances: at Shea in the nightcap of a two-borough doubleheader, after Carlos Delgado and the Mets creamolished them at the Stadium in the early game, and facing Pedro Martinez? Raise your hand if you called a Yankee shutout under those circumstances. I thought not.
Player of the Month: Mariano Rivera's numbers look close to getting him a third straight Player of the Month nod, but one loss, and another game where the offense bailed him out, means that we're not quite there. I'll be a bit of a hypocrite by giving Jose Veras part credit by posting 13 innings of 1.98 ERA in June--worse numbers than Rivera, but then, the expectations were much lower. I was kind of dumbfounded by Girardi's affection for Veras earlier in the season, but if he keeps on performing like this, we might just have the player the Yanks thought they were getting in Kyle Farnsworth. Joba Chamberlain made strides in his conversion project, leaving his amazing strikeout rate in the bullpen, but still keeping a 5 to 1 K/Walk ratio, and a 1.80 ERA for the month. Jason Giambi (.305/.430/.585) and Johnny Damon (.363/.425/.441) also get part credits--two players who came into this season on the brink, and are now the team's core performers. But the Player of the Month is Alex Rodriguez, who hit the ball a bit (.366/.455/.693, team-leading 9 HR, 24 Runs, 23 RBI) in his first healthy month of the season.
Dregs of the Month: Darrell Rasner's magical pixie dust ran out (1-5, 6.47 ERA in June), which is a shame, but also just the way the cookie crumbles. Freaky fluke Aaron Small seasons are freaky flukes for a reason: they very rarely happen. Before the season, if someone told you Rasner would have a 4.42 ERA at the end of June, you'd probably think that was about right, maybe a little low. Luckily for Rasner, his poor performance is completely blown away by Melky Cabrera's (.206/.289/.255). Melky's in the middle of the worst offensive stretch by a Yankee regular since Tony Womack back in 2005, he's posted a .565 OPS over the last two months. As Womack shows, there's only so long that you can perform at that level and keep your job. Melky's been fortunate as his slump continued, the Yankees' outfield depth took a hit with the loss of HIdeki Matsui. Otherwise, I can't imagine that the Yankees would let him work his issues out on the major league level, rather than setting him up with a restorative trip to Scranton, no matter how good his defense is.
Story of the Month: If there was one injury the Yankees couldn't afford this season, it would have to have been any injury to Chien Ming Wang. Wang's absence, plus that of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, puts a superhuman weight on the shoulders of the rotation's old warhorses, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. Unless both pitchers perform to the top of their expectations, the Yanks have little hope of catching the Red Sox or Rays. The Matsui injury leaves the roster pretty thin--now Girardi has an excuse to carry three catchers, as he did for most of the month. I'm sure Chad Moeller's 12 PA last month were totally worth it.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Month in Review: May 2008
Record for the Month: 14-12, RS: 124, RA: 119
Player of the Month: The bats came alive this month, none more than the one belonging to Jason Giambi. Giambi's porn-stache makes him look like some bizarre refugee from the 70s, but if he continues to hit like he did in May (.315/.446/.644, team-leading 6HR and 14 RBI), he can walk around wearing a feather boa for all that Yankee fans will care. Hideki Matsui followed up strong on his good April, hitting .350/.409/.480 last month with 13 RBI and a team-leading 21 runs scored; Bobby Abreu also got hot with the bat (.330/.407/.570, 14 exta-base hits), although his fielding this month has been ghastly.
Giambi, however, has to share player of the month honors with a couple of pitchers. Mariano Rivera repeats his player-of-the-month honors from April, with an 0.64 ERA and 7 saves, and Darrell Rasner (3-1, 1.80 ERA in May), who came out this month throwing his middling fastball and decent slider around as if he had the heat of Nolan Ryan and the breaking ball of Ron Guidry. Sadly for Rasner, the season didn't end May 31: he got raked in his first start of June. Honorable mentions on the pitching staff go out to Edwar Ramirez (one run allowed in 11 2/3 May innings) and Mike Mussina (5-1, 3.72 ERA).
Dregs of the Month: Three players--Chad Moeller, Morgan Ensberg, and Alberto Gonzalez--combined for 82 AB in May, without a single extra-base hit. That's how the Yanks are rolling for depth right now. Ensberg was DFA'd in June, likely meaning that the Yanks threw away $1.75 million on a guy who barely got a chance to play. Shelley Duncan (.163/.213/.256), Jose Molina (.207/.230/.276), and Melky Cabrera (.234/.270/.319) also contributed to the team's unbalanced "Stars 'n' Scrubs" lineup. On the pitching side, it was a bad month to be a young Yankee, not named Joba. Phil Hughes went on the DL, Ian Kennedy sucked a bunch (0-1, 6.27 ERA in 4 starts) and then joined him, and Ross Ohlendorf--a guy who could move up, seeing how the Yanks will now be relying on Blockhead Kyle and Latroy Hawkins to get them from the starters to Rivera--was all over the place (6.94 ERA on the month, with four good outings and three awful ones). Oh, and Kei Igawa's name might as well be Pavano, right now. What are the odds he'll make another start in Pinstripes?
Story of the Month: ...is actually happening this month. A down-in-the-mouth Yankees congregation turns its lonely eyes to Joba Chamberlain, tonight, hoping that the beginning of his career as a starter helps get us over the disappointments of this season. Ask Mets fans about how young starters can make your year (see 1986) or break your heart (see Generation K).
Player of the Month: The bats came alive this month, none more than the one belonging to Jason Giambi. Giambi's porn-stache makes him look like some bizarre refugee from the 70s, but if he continues to hit like he did in May (.315/.446/.644, team-leading 6HR and 14 RBI), he can walk around wearing a feather boa for all that Yankee fans will care. Hideki Matsui followed up strong on his good April, hitting .350/.409/.480 last month with 13 RBI and a team-leading 21 runs scored; Bobby Abreu also got hot with the bat (.330/.407/.570, 14 exta-base hits), although his fielding this month has been ghastly.
Giambi, however, has to share player of the month honors with a couple of pitchers. Mariano Rivera repeats his player-of-the-month honors from April, with an 0.64 ERA and 7 saves, and Darrell Rasner (3-1, 1.80 ERA in May), who came out this month throwing his middling fastball and decent slider around as if he had the heat of Nolan Ryan and the breaking ball of Ron Guidry. Sadly for Rasner, the season didn't end May 31: he got raked in his first start of June. Honorable mentions on the pitching staff go out to Edwar Ramirez (one run allowed in 11 2/3 May innings) and Mike Mussina (5-1, 3.72 ERA).
Dregs of the Month: Three players--Chad Moeller, Morgan Ensberg, and Alberto Gonzalez--combined for 82 AB in May, without a single extra-base hit. That's how the Yanks are rolling for depth right now. Ensberg was DFA'd in June, likely meaning that the Yanks threw away $1.75 million on a guy who barely got a chance to play. Shelley Duncan (.163/.213/.256), Jose Molina (.207/.230/.276), and Melky Cabrera (.234/.270/.319) also contributed to the team's unbalanced "Stars 'n' Scrubs" lineup. On the pitching side, it was a bad month to be a young Yankee, not named Joba. Phil Hughes went on the DL, Ian Kennedy sucked a bunch (0-1, 6.27 ERA in 4 starts) and then joined him, and Ross Ohlendorf--a guy who could move up, seeing how the Yanks will now be relying on Blockhead Kyle and Latroy Hawkins to get them from the starters to Rivera--was all over the place (6.94 ERA on the month, with four good outings and three awful ones). Oh, and Kei Igawa's name might as well be Pavano, right now. What are the odds he'll make another start in Pinstripes?
Story of the Month: ...is actually happening this month. A down-in-the-mouth Yankees congregation turns its lonely eyes to Joba Chamberlain, tonight, hoping that the beginning of his career as a starter helps get us over the disappointments of this season. Ask Mets fans about how young starters can make your year (see 1986) or break your heart (see Generation K).
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Month in Review: April
Record for the Month: 14-15, RS: 125, RA: 133
Player of the Month: Hideki Matsui hit .322/.425/.511 in April, with 4 homers and 13 RBI, raising the question of whether this is a resurgence or just Hideki Matsui month come early. Melky Cabrera (.299/.370/.494) also impressed, specially with his 5 April homers, matching Jason Giambi for the team lead. A 20+ homer season would sure make the Yankees glad they didn't deal Melky to the Twins. But neither of the two outfielders (more like one-and-a-half--Matsui's fielding in left looked like he needed a seeing eye dog) aren't the Player of the Month. That distinction would go to the pitchers: Mariano Rivera (8 saves, no runs allowed and only four baserunners in 11 innings) and Chien Ming Wang (5 wins and 5 of 6 quality starts, 3.23 ERA for the month.
Dregs of the Month: You'd pretty much have to start with Robinson Cano--who got a big-money multi-year commitment from the team in the off-season--was been horrible, with a .151/.211/.236 month. But the bigger headache are the rotation youngsters, Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who combined for an 0-6 record and allowed 40 Earned Runs in 41 Innings Pitched. Their month was a fiasco, from start to finish. With two quality starts out of 11, the duo only completed six innings once time apiece. Hughes started May on the DL with a mysterious stress fracture of one of his ribs, and a diagnosis of nearsightedness. While the cliche is for me to declare that at least it's not an arm injury, I'm starting to worry that Hughes has more than a little Nick Johnson in him. As for Kennedy, he's walking almost a man per inning; something that's just befuddling for a guy who's hailed as a command-and-control type. Darrell Rasner is the first pitcher to come up from AAA to get a taste of the Yankee rotation--others like Steven White and Kei Igawa might follow. Unless Kennedy shapes up, fast, one of those guys might wind up in his rotation slot.
Story of the Month: Injuries. Brian Cashman spent April shuffling his roster like a blackjack dealer. The team only used 30 players in April, but it was a constant see-saw with players like Jonathan Alabadejo being sent down and then up, guys like Chad Moehler having their contracts picked up from the minors, getting designated for assignment, and getting signed again. There have been six DL moves (Andy Pettitte, Wilson Betemit, Brian Bruney, Jorge Posada, Hughes and Alex Rodriguez), one bereavement list stay (Joba Chamberlain) and several non-DL injuries (mainly Derek Jeter's quad but also aches and pains by Morgan Ensberg and Jose Molina). The biggest injury has been Posada's: just after signing a four-year deal, Jorge's got a torn labrum that will require surgery. He'll try to rehab the shoulder for the next few months, but there's no guarantee that he'll be able to throw well enough to handle behind-the-plate duty this season. That's a scary possibility, since catcher is a slot where, for years, the Yanks have had no depth. Even though Molina is the best backup that Posada's had in years, he only hit .231/.231/.365 in April. Let's hope that Hip-Hip-Jorge gets back in the saddle soon.
Player of the Month: Hideki Matsui hit .322/.425/.511 in April, with 4 homers and 13 RBI, raising the question of whether this is a resurgence or just Hideki Matsui month come early. Melky Cabrera (.299/.370/.494) also impressed, specially with his 5 April homers, matching Jason Giambi for the team lead. A 20+ homer season would sure make the Yankees glad they didn't deal Melky to the Twins. But neither of the two outfielders (more like one-and-a-half--Matsui's fielding in left looked like he needed a seeing eye dog) aren't the Player of the Month. That distinction would go to the pitchers: Mariano Rivera (8 saves, no runs allowed and only four baserunners in 11 innings) and Chien Ming Wang (5 wins and 5 of 6 quality starts, 3.23 ERA for the month.
Dregs of the Month: You'd pretty much have to start with Robinson Cano--who got a big-money multi-year commitment from the team in the off-season--was been horrible, with a .151/.211/.236 month. But the bigger headache are the rotation youngsters, Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who combined for an 0-6 record and allowed 40 Earned Runs in 41 Innings Pitched. Their month was a fiasco, from start to finish. With two quality starts out of 11, the duo only completed six innings once time apiece. Hughes started May on the DL with a mysterious stress fracture of one of his ribs, and a diagnosis of nearsightedness. While the cliche is for me to declare that at least it's not an arm injury, I'm starting to worry that Hughes has more than a little Nick Johnson in him. As for Kennedy, he's walking almost a man per inning; something that's just befuddling for a guy who's hailed as a command-and-control type. Darrell Rasner is the first pitcher to come up from AAA to get a taste of the Yankee rotation--others like Steven White and Kei Igawa might follow. Unless Kennedy shapes up, fast, one of those guys might wind up in his rotation slot.
Story of the Month: Injuries. Brian Cashman spent April shuffling his roster like a blackjack dealer. The team only used 30 players in April, but it was a constant see-saw with players like Jonathan Alabadejo being sent down and then up, guys like Chad Moehler having their contracts picked up from the minors, getting designated for assignment, and getting signed again. There have been six DL moves (Andy Pettitte, Wilson Betemit, Brian Bruney, Jorge Posada, Hughes and Alex Rodriguez), one bereavement list stay (Joba Chamberlain) and several non-DL injuries (mainly Derek Jeter's quad but also aches and pains by Morgan Ensberg and Jose Molina). The biggest injury has been Posada's: just after signing a four-year deal, Jorge's got a torn labrum that will require surgery. He'll try to rehab the shoulder for the next few months, but there's no guarantee that he'll be able to throw well enough to handle behind-the-plate duty this season. That's a scary possibility, since catcher is a slot where, for years, the Yanks have had no depth. Even though Molina is the best backup that Posada's had in years, he only hit .231/.231/.365 in April. Let's hope that Hip-Hip-Jorge gets back in the saddle soon.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Week/Month in Review: Arms Race
Week 22: August 27-September 2, 2007
Record for the Week: 4-3, 26 RS, 45 RA
Overall: 76-61, 2 games ahead of Seattle for the Wild Card
Breakdown:
Only a smattering of comments this week...
8/27 -- Yankees 0, Detroit 16
A perfectly humiliating end to a perfectly nightmarish series. Moose doesn't get the job done, again. Sean Henn is thrown to the wolves, again. Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, and Brandon Inge each have three hits. Another one for the list of worst defeats of the season.
8/28 -- Boston 3, Yankees 5
Johnny Damon haunts his former team...again. Andy Pettitte does a nice job, outpitching Daisuke Matsuzaka.
8/29 -- Boston 3, Yankees 4
8/30 -- Boston 0, Yankees 5
8/31 -- Tampa Bay 9, Yankees 1
The Yanks have a fine time against Boston's top three starters earlier in the week, but have not traction whatsoever against Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine, who had a 6.38 ERA coming into this start, threw eight two-hit innings at the Bombers. Carlos Pena, still sore that he didn't get a shot with the club last year, bashed a couple of homers.
9/1 -- Tampa Bay 6, Yankees 9
9/2 -- Tampa Bay 8, Yankees 2
First Sonnanstine, now Jason Hammel (7.44 ERA coming into this start) restrains the Yankee lineup. Pena smacks another homer. Sour way to end the week.
Player of the Week: This week, Chien Ming Wang gets the honors, with his seven one-hit innings against the Sox. Roger Clemens and Ian Kennedy are the runners-up, and Alex Rodriguez (team-leading 6 RBI, .333/.440/.667) and Derek Jeter (.360/.429/.520) were the offensive standouts.
Dregs of the Week: Plenty of blame to go around this week. The offense was anemic this week, so I guess credit should go to the worst performer that way, Jason Giambi (.118/.118/.176 in 17 PA), although Hideki Matsui (.160/.222/.240) and Johnny Damon (.167/.200/.292) helped. On the pitching side, we're tired of talking about Mike Mussina, and Sean Henn is hardly fair sport. So maybe now's the time to ask: when do we start worrying about Phil Hughes (5 run in 4 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay). He hasn't had a good start since beating Cleveland on the tenth, his fastball isn't what's been advertised, and his control is spotty. I comforted my Brother J with the memory that many great pitchers, like Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, fairly sucked their rookie years, despite being highly-touted prospects. However, both of those guys had the luxury of being bad on team who weren't in contention. Every start this month will likely be vital--there's no room for a learning curve. Another Rookie hurler that had me concerned this week was Edwar Ramirez. Edwar's given up 5 gopher balls in 12 innings this season, so he, too is missing a big opportunity.
Story of the Week: It was all about the starting rotations this week. Mike Mussina started the week by surrendering his roster spot, in what became one of the more humiliating games in a season full of humbling experiences. From Tuesday through Thursday, the top three starters showed their potential by holding the Red Sox to six runs over a three-game series. On Saturday, Mussina's replacement, Ian Kennedy, pitched beautifully in his major league debut--three runs over seven innings--to earn himself a second start. That evening, the Red Sox rookie starter, Clay Buchholz, no-hit the Orioles. And then the week ended on a worrisome note, with Roger Clemens admitting to several injury concerns, including (gulp!) a sore pitching elbow.
While the starters grabbed the headlines, the subtext was that the Yankee bullpen and offense languished this week. Luis Vizcaino got roughed up by the Devil Rays on Saturday, Kyle Farnsworth only pitched once all week, and got beat down that time. Chris Britton, Edwar Ramirez, Brian Bruney, and the sacrificial lefty, Sean Henn, all took some heavy hits. On offense, the Yankees combined to hit .235/.302/.372 for the week, roughly as good as Brandon Inge or Julio Lugo. With the team directly behind them for the Wild Card coming into the Stadium, they can't afford to continue that route.
August in Review
Record for the Month: 18-11, 178 RS, 167 RA
Player of the Month: Andy Pettitte was Mr. August, winning all six of his starts for the month with a 2.36 ERA. Joba Chamberlain deserves some share of these honors, with 11 1/3 shutout innings that have made him the #2 man in the bullpen. Alex Rodriguez hit .330/.424/.620 with 9 homers, 9 steals, 22 RBI--just a plain old monster. Among the honorable mentions, Bobby Abreu had a good month, 324410559 with 6 homers, and Robinson Cano experienced a power surge, hitting 7 homers in a .301/.385/.583 month. Probably the most impressive part of that was the 12 walks he drew in August.\
Dregs of the Month: Sean Henn (18 runs, 16 of them earned, in 9 1/3 August innings) might have had the worst month by a Yankee reliever in a very long time, but then he was put into situations almost guaranteed to shatter his confidence. Mike Mussina managed to shatter management's confidence in him, averaging more than a run an inning and only 4 2/3 innings per start in August. He left the brass little choice but to pull him from the rotation. The Yankees' DFA of Mike Myers made Ron Villone the primary lefty in the pen, and even before he got hurt on August 21 against the Angels, he wasn't pitching very impressively (5 ER in 10 2/3 August innings); after tweaking his back he walked three guys and allowed four runs. And, as mentioned in the Week section, Phil Hughes had a month to forget, with a 6.40 ERA in 32 1/3 August innings. Hughes' strikeout rate remains promising (8.07 K/9 for the month) but the six homers he allowed in August weren't.
Record for the Week: 4-3, 26 RS, 45 RA
Overall: 76-61, 2 games ahead of Seattle for the Wild Card
Breakdown:
Only a smattering of comments this week...
8/27 -- Yankees 0, Detroit 16
A perfectly humiliating end to a perfectly nightmarish series. Moose doesn't get the job done, again. Sean Henn is thrown to the wolves, again. Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, and Brandon Inge each have three hits. Another one for the list of worst defeats of the season.
8/28 -- Boston 3, Yankees 5
Johnny Damon haunts his former team...again. Andy Pettitte does a nice job, outpitching Daisuke Matsuzaka.
8/29 -- Boston 3, Yankees 4
8/30 -- Boston 0, Yankees 5
8/31 -- Tampa Bay 9, Yankees 1
The Yanks have a fine time against Boston's top three starters earlier in the week, but have not traction whatsoever against Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine, who had a 6.38 ERA coming into this start, threw eight two-hit innings at the Bombers. Carlos Pena, still sore that he didn't get a shot with the club last year, bashed a couple of homers.
9/1 -- Tampa Bay 6, Yankees 9
9/2 -- Tampa Bay 8, Yankees 2
First Sonnanstine, now Jason Hammel (7.44 ERA coming into this start) restrains the Yankee lineup. Pena smacks another homer. Sour way to end the week.
Player of the Week: This week, Chien Ming Wang gets the honors, with his seven one-hit innings against the Sox. Roger Clemens and Ian Kennedy are the runners-up, and Alex Rodriguez (team-leading 6 RBI, .333/.440/.667) and Derek Jeter (.360/.429/.520) were the offensive standouts.
Dregs of the Week: Plenty of blame to go around this week. The offense was anemic this week, so I guess credit should go to the worst performer that way, Jason Giambi (.118/.118/.176 in 17 PA), although Hideki Matsui (.160/.222/.240) and Johnny Damon (.167/.200/.292) helped. On the pitching side, we're tired of talking about Mike Mussina, and Sean Henn is hardly fair sport. So maybe now's the time to ask: when do we start worrying about Phil Hughes (5 run in 4 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay). He hasn't had a good start since beating Cleveland on the tenth, his fastball isn't what's been advertised, and his control is spotty. I comforted my Brother J with the memory that many great pitchers, like Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, fairly sucked their rookie years, despite being highly-touted prospects. However, both of those guys had the luxury of being bad on team who weren't in contention. Every start this month will likely be vital--there's no room for a learning curve. Another Rookie hurler that had me concerned this week was Edwar Ramirez. Edwar's given up 5 gopher balls in 12 innings this season, so he, too is missing a big opportunity.
Story of the Week: It was all about the starting rotations this week. Mike Mussina started the week by surrendering his roster spot, in what became one of the more humiliating games in a season full of humbling experiences. From Tuesday through Thursday, the top three starters showed their potential by holding the Red Sox to six runs over a three-game series. On Saturday, Mussina's replacement, Ian Kennedy, pitched beautifully in his major league debut--three runs over seven innings--to earn himself a second start. That evening, the Red Sox rookie starter, Clay Buchholz, no-hit the Orioles. And then the week ended on a worrisome note, with Roger Clemens admitting to several injury concerns, including (gulp!) a sore pitching elbow.
While the starters grabbed the headlines, the subtext was that the Yankee bullpen and offense languished this week. Luis Vizcaino got roughed up by the Devil Rays on Saturday, Kyle Farnsworth only pitched once all week, and got beat down that time. Chris Britton, Edwar Ramirez, Brian Bruney, and the sacrificial lefty, Sean Henn, all took some heavy hits. On offense, the Yankees combined to hit .235/.302/.372 for the week, roughly as good as Brandon Inge or Julio Lugo. With the team directly behind them for the Wild Card coming into the Stadium, they can't afford to continue that route.
August in Review
Record for the Month: 18-11, 178 RS, 167 RA
Player of the Month: Andy Pettitte was Mr. August, winning all six of his starts for the month with a 2.36 ERA. Joba Chamberlain deserves some share of these honors, with 11 1/3 shutout innings that have made him the #2 man in the bullpen. Alex Rodriguez hit .330/.424/.620 with 9 homers, 9 steals, 22 RBI--just a plain old monster. Among the honorable mentions, Bobby Abreu had a good month, 324410559 with 6 homers, and Robinson Cano experienced a power surge, hitting 7 homers in a .301/.385/.583 month. Probably the most impressive part of that was the 12 walks he drew in August.\
Dregs of the Month: Sean Henn (18 runs, 16 of them earned, in 9 1/3 August innings) might have had the worst month by a Yankee reliever in a very long time, but then he was put into situations almost guaranteed to shatter his confidence. Mike Mussina managed to shatter management's confidence in him, averaging more than a run an inning and only 4 2/3 innings per start in August. He left the brass little choice but to pull him from the rotation. The Yankees' DFA of Mike Myers made Ron Villone the primary lefty in the pen, and even before he got hurt on August 21 against the Angels, he wasn't pitching very impressively (5 ER in 10 2/3 August innings); after tweaking his back he walked three guys and allowed four runs. And, as mentioned in the Week section, Phil Hughes had a month to forget, with a 6.40 ERA in 32 1/3 August innings. Hughes' strikeout rate remains promising (8.07 K/9 for the month) but the six homers he allowed in August weren't.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
July in Review: Righting the Ship
Record for the Month: 19-9, 202 RS, 124 RA
Player of the Month: I gotta say--he was looking pretty sluggish for much of the first half. He came into July hitting .270/.350/.434. Those are decent numbers for a second baseman, but not terribly big production for a left fielder. One month and thirteen homers later, Hideki Matsui's season totals were .294/.369/.529. It's been the best month of his career--on this side of the Pacific, at least.
Close behind Godzilla was the born-again bat of Robinson Cano (.385/.420/.633) and the steady march to free agency of Jorge Posada (.360/.466/.558). Heck, during Tuesday's blowout, it even looked like Robbie was trying to draw a walk--a true "will wonders never cease" moment. On the pitching side, Mariano Rivera and Luis Vizcaino combined for 29 1/3 innings striking out 31 and only allowing 27 base runners.
Dregs of the Month: The Yankees scored 202 runs in July, most in the majors by far. No Yankee with more than a dozen plate appearances had an OPS of less than 737. Yankee pitching wasn't equally compelling, so that's where our Dregs come from this month. Andy Pettitte allowed 59 baserunners in 32 1/3 July innings, to the tune of a 6.96 ERA. On a lesser level, Brian Bruney labored to the tune of a 10.80 ERA in ten appearances, Mike Mussina had a 5.08 ERA, and Edwar Ramirez had that one nightmare inning that ended his first stint in Pinstripes.
Story of the Month: The string of hellos and goodbyes in a month that clearly made them "buyers" rather than "sellers" in the player trade market. Good-bye to Kei Igawa, another Dregs guy with a 6.56? ERA on the month. Good-bye to Everyday Scottie Proctor, who had a decent month, but was showing signs of creeping gopheritis that were starting to give the Yanks pause. I have to say, having come into my own as a Yankee fan at a time when it seemed like most Yankee pitchers couldn't break a pane of glass with their fastballs, I (mostly) enjoyed Everyday Scottie's pitching stylings with the Yankees. The exception, of course, was the patented Proctor Special(tm)--from time to time in ninth or extra innings, tied game, on the road, Proctor would suffer a total meltdown, lose the strike zone, and walk in the winning run. Still, when it was working it was nice to see him throw that high 90's heat.
The big hello goes out to Wilson Betemit, whom the Yanks picked up from the Dodgers in return for Everyday Scottie. Betemit was an underappreciated part in L.A., a guy with low BA, big power, and a decent number of walks. He can play third or short, and the Yankees say he's going to be tried out at first base as well. Now, Betemit's never played first...so that's an iffy thing. Betemit's a switch-hitter, but one who's much better as a lefthanded hitter (.818 OPS) than as a righthanded hitter (.643) over his career--so he's not the guy to solve the Yanks' platoon problems against lefty pitchers.
Even more exciting than the guy we got are the fellows we might be getting back soon. Phil Hughes spent July rehabbing--he's allowed one run in five starts. He'll be at the Stadium on Saturday. Jason Giambi started his rehab assignment at the end of July, and he'll head to his final tuneup, at Scranton, this weekend. Joba Chamberlain spent July striking out 28 guys in 17 2/3 innings at Trenton, and another 10 in five more innings at Scranton. In August he's throwing out of the pen, and he could be the Yankees' September surprise (a la Francisco Rodriguez a few years back).
And the Yankees will probably need the help. Boston just had Christmas in July on Tuesday, with the Celtics landing Kevin Garnett and the Red Sox swapping a handful of minor leaguers--ranging from B-prospects to extremely long-term lottery tickets--for Eric Friggin' Gagne. Have fun, guys, and may the Celtics win several NBA titles. The Red Sox? May they also win a few NBA titles. Big Papi would make a lovely power forward.
Extras: Can we please have someone give Michael Kay an electric shock every time he mixes up the names of Andy Phillips and Andy Pettitte?
Daisy May's BBQ is damn good food, which makes me wonder--couldn't they have a better commercial on YES? I'm not sure that "you'll go crazy with every bite you chew"--sung off-tune, mind you--is really the kind of lyric that says "Yeah! Let's go there!" to prospective customers.
What's that sound? That's the smallest violin in the world playing for Bud Selig, recently seen whining about having to attend eight whole baseball games as Barry Bonds pursues the career home run record. It's not surprising that Selig approaches the game with all the vigor and enthusiasm of a guy going for his annual digital rectal exam--his initial reluctance to try to attend Bonds' record breaking game only melted after Barry threatened to break the record in his back yard, in Milwaukee. But shouldn't baseball's Commissioner at least be able to fake enjoyment of the game? Sure, maybe he has public support in his passive-aggressive treatment of Bonds, but what does it say to fans in San Francisco and L.A. when baseball's top executive considers luxury accommodations at their ballparks drudgery?
The bigger question is: why did anyone want Bud Selig at the record-breaking game anyway? If you're at the ballpark, would you rather sit next to a knowledgeable, enthusiastic fan who cheers good plays and is involved in the action, or some sour-faced suit grumbling into his cell phone about how he wishes the damn game would end already, so he can go back to working on his big presentation for the owners meetings on the 16th? Personally, I'd rather sit with people who think a day at the ballpark is a good time.
Speaking of which, last night I had the opportunity to meet Joe Posnanski, who was in town to talk about his book, The Soul of Baseball, which recounts Posnanski's travels with Negro League player/manager Buck O'Neil. O'Neil, who was a legendary scout in the majors, as well as MLB's first black coach, was the kind of ambassador of the game that I wish the Commissioner could be; he found the perfect counterpart in Posnanski, one of my favorite mainstream baseball writers precisely because he never lets you forget that he enjoys the game--even though (or, perhaps, particularly because) he covers a team that's only had one winning season since the 1994 strike.
Player of the Month: I gotta say--he was looking pretty sluggish for much of the first half. He came into July hitting .270/.350/.434. Those are decent numbers for a second baseman, but not terribly big production for a left fielder. One month and thirteen homers later, Hideki Matsui's season totals were .294/.369/.529. It's been the best month of his career--on this side of the Pacific, at least.
Close behind Godzilla was the born-again bat of Robinson Cano (.385/.420/.633) and the steady march to free agency of Jorge Posada (.360/.466/.558). Heck, during Tuesday's blowout, it even looked like Robbie was trying to draw a walk--a true "will wonders never cease" moment. On the pitching side, Mariano Rivera and Luis Vizcaino combined for 29 1/3 innings striking out 31 and only allowing 27 base runners.
Dregs of the Month: The Yankees scored 202 runs in July, most in the majors by far. No Yankee with more than a dozen plate appearances had an OPS of less than 737. Yankee pitching wasn't equally compelling, so that's where our Dregs come from this month. Andy Pettitte allowed 59 baserunners in 32 1/3 July innings, to the tune of a 6.96 ERA. On a lesser level, Brian Bruney labored to the tune of a 10.80 ERA in ten appearances, Mike Mussina had a 5.08 ERA, and Edwar Ramirez had that one nightmare inning that ended his first stint in Pinstripes.
Story of the Month: The string of hellos and goodbyes in a month that clearly made them "buyers" rather than "sellers" in the player trade market. Good-bye to Kei Igawa, another Dregs guy with a 6.56? ERA on the month. Good-bye to Everyday Scottie Proctor, who had a decent month, but was showing signs of creeping gopheritis that were starting to give the Yanks pause. I have to say, having come into my own as a Yankee fan at a time when it seemed like most Yankee pitchers couldn't break a pane of glass with their fastballs, I (mostly) enjoyed Everyday Scottie's pitching stylings with the Yankees. The exception, of course, was the patented Proctor Special(tm)--from time to time in ninth or extra innings, tied game, on the road, Proctor would suffer a total meltdown, lose the strike zone, and walk in the winning run. Still, when it was working it was nice to see him throw that high 90's heat.
The big hello goes out to Wilson Betemit, whom the Yanks picked up from the Dodgers in return for Everyday Scottie. Betemit was an underappreciated part in L.A., a guy with low BA, big power, and a decent number of walks. He can play third or short, and the Yankees say he's going to be tried out at first base as well. Now, Betemit's never played first...so that's an iffy thing. Betemit's a switch-hitter, but one who's much better as a lefthanded hitter (.818 OPS) than as a righthanded hitter (.643) over his career--so he's not the guy to solve the Yanks' platoon problems against lefty pitchers.
Even more exciting than the guy we got are the fellows we might be getting back soon. Phil Hughes spent July rehabbing--he's allowed one run in five starts. He'll be at the Stadium on Saturday. Jason Giambi started his rehab assignment at the end of July, and he'll head to his final tuneup, at Scranton, this weekend. Joba Chamberlain spent July striking out 28 guys in 17 2/3 innings at Trenton, and another 10 in five more innings at Scranton. In August he's throwing out of the pen, and he could be the Yankees' September surprise (a la Francisco Rodriguez a few years back).
And the Yankees will probably need the help. Boston just had Christmas in July on Tuesday, with the Celtics landing Kevin Garnett and the Red Sox swapping a handful of minor leaguers--ranging from B-prospects to extremely long-term lottery tickets--for Eric Friggin' Gagne. Have fun, guys, and may the Celtics win several NBA titles. The Red Sox? May they also win a few NBA titles. Big Papi would make a lovely power forward.
Extras: Can we please have someone give Michael Kay an electric shock every time he mixes up the names of Andy Phillips and Andy Pettitte?
Daisy May's BBQ is damn good food, which makes me wonder--couldn't they have a better commercial on YES? I'm not sure that "you'll go crazy with every bite you chew"--sung off-tune, mind you--is really the kind of lyric that says "Yeah! Let's go there!" to prospective customers.
What's that sound? That's the smallest violin in the world playing for Bud Selig, recently seen whining about having to attend eight whole baseball games as Barry Bonds pursues the career home run record. It's not surprising that Selig approaches the game with all the vigor and enthusiasm of a guy going for his annual digital rectal exam--his initial reluctance to try to attend Bonds' record breaking game only melted after Barry threatened to break the record in his back yard, in Milwaukee. But shouldn't baseball's Commissioner at least be able to fake enjoyment of the game? Sure, maybe he has public support in his passive-aggressive treatment of Bonds, but what does it say to fans in San Francisco and L.A. when baseball's top executive considers luxury accommodations at their ballparks drudgery?
The bigger question is: why did anyone want Bud Selig at the record-breaking game anyway? If you're at the ballpark, would you rather sit next to a knowledgeable, enthusiastic fan who cheers good plays and is involved in the action, or some sour-faced suit grumbling into his cell phone about how he wishes the damn game would end already, so he can go back to working on his big presentation for the owners meetings on the 16th? Personally, I'd rather sit with people who think a day at the ballpark is a good time.
Speaking of which, last night I had the opportunity to meet Joe Posnanski, who was in town to talk about his book, The Soul of Baseball, which recounts Posnanski's travels with Negro League player/manager Buck O'Neil. O'Neil, who was a legendary scout in the majors, as well as MLB's first black coach, was the kind of ambassador of the game that I wish the Commissioner could be; he found the perfect counterpart in Posnanski, one of my favorite mainstream baseball writers precisely because he never lets you forget that he enjoys the game--even though (or, perhaps, particularly because) he covers a team that's only had one winning season since the 1994 strike.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Month In Review: June
Record for the Month: 15-11, 142 RS, 113 RA
Player of the Month: Alex Rodriguez's June looked like something out of the Ted Williams scrapbook--.406/.500/.781, 9 homers, 34 RBI. If this is what the chaos of being under the public microscope does to a person...well, let's just say I expect more Yankees be seen getting escorted to strip clubs by trashy-looking women, who are not their wives.
I mean, sometimes you got to sacrifice for the team!
In the non-adultery related crapstorm category, a number of Yankees had fine Junes, just not quite up to A-Rod standards. Derek Jeter hit .321/.383/.486 in June, and Mariano Rivera showed no further ill effects from his nightmare April, with 12 strikeouts and only two runs allowed in 12 June innings. Just a hair behind those, Chien Ming Wang won four of his six starts, posting a 3.56 ERA in 43 innings. Mike Mussina was right behind Wang in the rotation with a 3.43 ERA in 36 2/3 innings, and four quality starts for the month. In June, Bobby Abreu turned back into the player he's been pretty much his entire career: .290/.408/.470.
Dregs of the Month: Johnny Damon's damaged goods season continued with a .226/.286/.333 June. Miguel Cairo was praised after taking over part of the first base job after Doug Mientkiewicz was injured, but in reality, he hit a very empty .273/.310/.333 in June. Not acceptable. Unfortunately, his main competitors hit only .217/.308/.217 (Josh Phelps) and .125/.222/.313 (Andy Phillips). Speaking of bad backup performances, Wil Nieves did a .158/.200/.158 in June, which raises the question--if he doesn't hit, and he's not the best defender like, ever, what is he doing on this team?
Not on this team is Tyler Clippard, who skated through his first June start, but didn't make it past the second round of Interleague play. He wound up with a 9.00 ERA on the month, and allowed 25 baserunners in 12 innings pitched.
Another note of concern--while not technically something to call Dregs on--was Brian Bruney's loss of control in June. Bruney, the promising 25 year old the Yankees picked up off waivers last season, looked like just the guy to counterbalance the enormous mistake the Yanks made with Kyle Farnsworth (5.23 ERA in June, by the way). In June, his strikeout touch abandoned him, and he was both hittable (9 hits in 8 2/3 innings) and out of control (11 walks against 2 strikeouts for the month). This bears watching.
Story of the Month: Enough ink has been spilled (and...electrons, I guess) over the big tease this Yankee team pulled last month. The Red Sox actually wound up a game under .500 for June, which is a quick and easy way to define "vulnerable." Sadly, no one--not the Yanks, not Toronto, no one--took them up on the invitation they sent out for a divisional race.
So now, what's left is to see if the remaining teams between the Bombers and the Wild Card all want to issue invitations of their own. Detroit, Seattle, Minnesota, Oakland, the Blue Jays--that's a lot of guys who are going to have to spit the bit for the Yanks to win the Wild Card with the 90-92 wins that are now the best case scenario for this team.
Unlikely. That's the word. It only takes one of those teams to hold their ground, and the Yanks don't make the postseason--and the Tigers and A's have proved themselves plenty tough this season. The sad truth is that the only say the Yankees have in it, right now, is scratching and clawing to get to that 90 win mark, and hope for a miracle.
Cheerful, huh?
Player of the Month: Alex Rodriguez's June looked like something out of the Ted Williams scrapbook--.406/.500/.781, 9 homers, 34 RBI. If this is what the chaos of being under the public microscope does to a person...well, let's just say I expect more Yankees be seen getting escorted to strip clubs by trashy-looking women, who are not their wives.
I mean, sometimes you got to sacrifice for the team!
In the non-adultery related crapstorm category, a number of Yankees had fine Junes, just not quite up to A-Rod standards. Derek Jeter hit .321/.383/.486 in June, and Mariano Rivera showed no further ill effects from his nightmare April, with 12 strikeouts and only two runs allowed in 12 June innings. Just a hair behind those, Chien Ming Wang won four of his six starts, posting a 3.56 ERA in 43 innings. Mike Mussina was right behind Wang in the rotation with a 3.43 ERA in 36 2/3 innings, and four quality starts for the month. In June, Bobby Abreu turned back into the player he's been pretty much his entire career: .290/.408/.470.
Dregs of the Month: Johnny Damon's damaged goods season continued with a .226/.286/.333 June. Miguel Cairo was praised after taking over part of the first base job after Doug Mientkiewicz was injured, but in reality, he hit a very empty .273/.310/.333 in June. Not acceptable. Unfortunately, his main competitors hit only .217/.308/.217 (Josh Phelps) and .125/.222/.313 (Andy Phillips). Speaking of bad backup performances, Wil Nieves did a .158/.200/.158 in June, which raises the question--if he doesn't hit, and he's not the best defender like, ever, what is he doing on this team?
Not on this team is Tyler Clippard, who skated through his first June start, but didn't make it past the second round of Interleague play. He wound up with a 9.00 ERA on the month, and allowed 25 baserunners in 12 innings pitched.
Another note of concern--while not technically something to call Dregs on--was Brian Bruney's loss of control in June. Bruney, the promising 25 year old the Yankees picked up off waivers last season, looked like just the guy to counterbalance the enormous mistake the Yanks made with Kyle Farnsworth (5.23 ERA in June, by the way). In June, his strikeout touch abandoned him, and he was both hittable (9 hits in 8 2/3 innings) and out of control (11 walks against 2 strikeouts for the month). This bears watching.
Story of the Month: Enough ink has been spilled (and...electrons, I guess) over the big tease this Yankee team pulled last month. The Red Sox actually wound up a game under .500 for June, which is a quick and easy way to define "vulnerable." Sadly, no one--not the Yanks, not Toronto, no one--took them up on the invitation they sent out for a divisional race.
So now, what's left is to see if the remaining teams between the Bombers and the Wild Card all want to issue invitations of their own. Detroit, Seattle, Minnesota, Oakland, the Blue Jays--that's a lot of guys who are going to have to spit the bit for the Yanks to win the Wild Card with the 90-92 wins that are now the best case scenario for this team.
Unlikely. That's the word. It only takes one of those teams to hold their ground, and the Yanks don't make the postseason--and the Tigers and A's have proved themselves plenty tough this season. The sad truth is that the only say the Yankees have in it, right now, is scratching and clawing to get to that 90 win mark, and hope for a miracle.
Cheerful, huh?
Sunday, June 03, 2007
May in Review: Out Like A Lamb
While I was watching the Yankees throw away a perfectly good win in Boston yesterday afternoon--complete with two errors and a sloppy play in the seventh that ended with four Red Sox runs scoring and Doug Mientkiewicz being carted off the field--I realized that I'd forgotten to put out a Month in Review for May. So here goes:
Record for the Month: 13-15, 137 RS, 119 RA
Player of the Month: You hit close to .400 for a period of 31 days, then you get to be the Player of the Month. Jorge Posada's surge in May (.394/.447/.606) has Jorge as the AL's leading hitter, and has set gums a-flapping about his next contract. You've got some of the usual suspects as runners-up: Derek Jeter (.342/.434/.477), Andy Pettitte (2.16 ERA in 41 2/3 innings, despite a disappointing 2-3 record), and Hideki Matsui (.301/.358/.513). Stealth runners-up are the bullpen trio of Brian Bruney (1.64 ERA in 11 innings, 10 Ks), Scott Proctor (1.50 in 12 IP, 10 K), and Mariano Rivera (1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 IP, 10K). For Rivera, who was a Dregs player in April, this is a good turn-around, even if his overall stats still look ugly. Still, even in the wake of this performance the two homers he allowed in May are still disturbing--the Sandman hasn't had three homers allowed in a season since 2001.
Dregs of the Month: It's no secret that Bobby Abreu (.208/.267/.274) sucked in May. There just wasn't any redeeming portion of his game all month long--he didn't hit, he didn't walk, he didn't slug, and the twisty routes he took getting to balls were straight out of the late-era Bernabe Williams playbook. Want to feel sad? Abreu's predecessor in right field, Gary Sheffield, tied for the AL lead with 10 homers in May. I can't (and didn't, when it happened) complain about Brian Cashman's choice of Abreu over Sheffield--Sheff was coming off a bad injury, was older and whinier than Abreu, and Abreu ended 2006 on a tear. Still, seeing this is like a kick to the privates--the pain gains depth and intensity with time. The Yankees have been completely vulnerable to lefthanded pitching, and Abreu (.203/.246/.271) is one of the big reasons why. If you were scouring the world for a player the Yankees could use right now, Sheffield would be near the top of the list. Instead, he's with the AL Wild Card leaders in Detroit. Ouch.
Runners-up? It's a longish list. Luis Vizcaino's "perfect" 9.00 ERA in May was deeply unfortunate. With so many Yankee starters unable to get through the sixth inning, the team's had a surplus of meaningful relief innings to dish out, and Vizcaino's response in May was to throw batting practice. Mike Mussina actually didn't pitch that badly (5.22 ERA, 2 QS of 6), but he has been the most frustrated-looking person on the entire ballclub during the last month, outside of maybe Joe Torre. Jason Giambi hit .177 for the month, while struggling with foot problems--now we hear he might be done for the season. Matt DeSalvo, who looked like a potential Aaron Small when he was first called up, walked 15 against 6 strikeouts in 21 2/3 May innings. He got recycled down to Scranton at the start of June.
Story of the Month: I think I'll save something for the Week In Review tomorrow, so this will be short. I was pretty shocked that the record for May was just couple of games shy of .500, since the month felt like an unmitigated disaster. It's supposed to be April that comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, but May started with the Yanks winning 7 of their first 9 against Seattle and Texas, and ended with them "desperate" to put the brakes on a five-game losing streak in Toronto. May was a tease, with Hughes' injury-interrupted no-hit bid, the dramatic announcement of Roger Clemens's return to pinstripes, DeSalvo and Clippard's initial good starts all giving way to disappointment, losses, and more injuries. By the end of the month, Kei Igawa was getting slapped around in Scranton, Alex Rodriguez was resorting to yelling at infielders to try to scrape together a win (not that there's anything wrong with that) and squiring busty young women not his wife around Toronto (not that it's any of our business, although I'll admit that I'm really looking forward to reading Will Weiss's take on the coverage of it in his Yankee Panky column over at Bronx Banter), and the Yankees were sharing the AL East cellar with the Devil Rays.
And Yankee fans? We're kind of hunched over, as if recovering from the aforementioned kick to the privates. For any ladies (or gents who've somehow avoided scrotal injury in their lives) this is how it works: you try to concentrate on breathing while waiting for waves of stomach-churning, nausea-inducing pain to subside. Like any lingering pain, there's the momentary concern that it won't ever fade away, even though experience teaches us that it definitely will. We're still waiting for the pain to stop...and it could be a while.
Record for the Month: 13-15, 137 RS, 119 RA
Player of the Month: You hit close to .400 for a period of 31 days, then you get to be the Player of the Month. Jorge Posada's surge in May (.394/.447/.606) has Jorge as the AL's leading hitter, and has set gums a-flapping about his next contract. You've got some of the usual suspects as runners-up: Derek Jeter (.342/.434/.477), Andy Pettitte (2.16 ERA in 41 2/3 innings, despite a disappointing 2-3 record), and Hideki Matsui (.301/.358/.513). Stealth runners-up are the bullpen trio of Brian Bruney (1.64 ERA in 11 innings, 10 Ks), Scott Proctor (1.50 in 12 IP, 10 K), and Mariano Rivera (1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 IP, 10K). For Rivera, who was a Dregs player in April, this is a good turn-around, even if his overall stats still look ugly. Still, even in the wake of this performance the two homers he allowed in May are still disturbing--the Sandman hasn't had three homers allowed in a season since 2001.
Dregs of the Month: It's no secret that Bobby Abreu (.208/.267/.274) sucked in May. There just wasn't any redeeming portion of his game all month long--he didn't hit, he didn't walk, he didn't slug, and the twisty routes he took getting to balls were straight out of the late-era Bernabe Williams playbook. Want to feel sad? Abreu's predecessor in right field, Gary Sheffield, tied for the AL lead with 10 homers in May. I can't (and didn't, when it happened) complain about Brian Cashman's choice of Abreu over Sheffield--Sheff was coming off a bad injury, was older and whinier than Abreu, and Abreu ended 2006 on a tear. Still, seeing this is like a kick to the privates--the pain gains depth and intensity with time. The Yankees have been completely vulnerable to lefthanded pitching, and Abreu (.203/.246/.271) is one of the big reasons why. If you were scouring the world for a player the Yankees could use right now, Sheffield would be near the top of the list. Instead, he's with the AL Wild Card leaders in Detroit. Ouch.
Runners-up? It's a longish list. Luis Vizcaino's "perfect" 9.00 ERA in May was deeply unfortunate. With so many Yankee starters unable to get through the sixth inning, the team's had a surplus of meaningful relief innings to dish out, and Vizcaino's response in May was to throw batting practice. Mike Mussina actually didn't pitch that badly (5.22 ERA, 2 QS of 6), but he has been the most frustrated-looking person on the entire ballclub during the last month, outside of maybe Joe Torre. Jason Giambi hit .177 for the month, while struggling with foot problems--now we hear he might be done for the season. Matt DeSalvo, who looked like a potential Aaron Small when he was first called up, walked 15 against 6 strikeouts in 21 2/3 May innings. He got recycled down to Scranton at the start of June.
Story of the Month: I think I'll save something for the Week In Review tomorrow, so this will be short. I was pretty shocked that the record for May was just couple of games shy of .500, since the month felt like an unmitigated disaster. It's supposed to be April that comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, but May started with the Yanks winning 7 of their first 9 against Seattle and Texas, and ended with them "desperate" to put the brakes on a five-game losing streak in Toronto. May was a tease, with Hughes' injury-interrupted no-hit bid, the dramatic announcement of Roger Clemens's return to pinstripes, DeSalvo and Clippard's initial good starts all giving way to disappointment, losses, and more injuries. By the end of the month, Kei Igawa was getting slapped around in Scranton, Alex Rodriguez was resorting to yelling at infielders to try to scrape together a win (not that there's anything wrong with that) and squiring busty young women not his wife around Toronto (not that it's any of our business, although I'll admit that I'm really looking forward to reading Will Weiss's take on the coverage of it in his Yankee Panky column over at Bronx Banter), and the Yankees were sharing the AL East cellar with the Devil Rays.
And Yankee fans? We're kind of hunched over, as if recovering from the aforementioned kick to the privates. For any ladies (or gents who've somehow avoided scrotal injury in their lives) this is how it works: you try to concentrate on breathing while waiting for waves of stomach-churning, nausea-inducing pain to subside. Like any lingering pain, there's the momentary concern that it won't ever fade away, even though experience teaches us that it definitely will. We're still waiting for the pain to stop...and it could be a while.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Week In Review: They Were the Worst of Times
Week 4: April 23-29
Record for the Week: 1-5, 23 RS, 41 RA
Overall: 9-14, 131 RS, 125 RA (5th Place AL East, 6.5 games out of 1st)
The Breakdown:
4/23 Yankees 8, Tampa Bay 10
Big A-Rod performance (4 for 5, 2 HR) squandered by Kei Igawa (7 R in 4.1 IP) and the previously-steady Brian Bruney. BJ Upton and Rocco Baldelli put the screws to New York. Lesson learned: Turns out those Devil Rays can score some runs (2nd in the league in runs scored, behind the Yanks)--then again, they've had some help from the Yankee pitching staff.
4/24 Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 6
Chien Ming Wang comes off the DL, and shows some rust (4 R through 6.1 IP). The Yanks led 3-2 in the 7th before the Rays broke it open, with a grand slam by Carl Crawford off Mike Myers. Lesson learned: What do you call a Lefty One Out Guy who doesn't get lefties out? Waste of a roster spot, perhaps?
4/25 Blue Jays at Yankees, Rained Out
Lesson learned: When you've lost five in a row, sometimes you can use a little rain. Or maybe not.
4/26 Toronto 6, Yankees 0
The Golden Child, Phil Hughes, debuts. Kind of a lot to expect that the rookie will end the losing streak, and he doesn't really pitch well enough to win. Not that he had a chance, since the Yanks gave him absolutely no run support. Lesson learned: There's a reason why the Blue Jays gave AJ Burnett all that money. When he's not on the DL or pitching like a bonehead, he can throw the ball pretty good.
4/27 Boston 11, Yankees 4
Early favorite for most disgusting loss of the year. The Yanks led 4-2 after four innings against Daisuke Matsuzaka, and then Andy Pettitte, Everyday Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera all spit the bit. Lesson learned: Losing seven in a row is very, very painful.
4/28 Boston 1, Yankees 3
Talk about your bad news/good news situations. On the first pitch of the game, Jeff Karstens takes a liner off the knee. He has a fracture, but tries to continue pitching. Kei Igawa then comes in for his first relief appearance since losing his slot in the rotation, and gives the Yanks six scoreless innings. They weren't perfect innings (2 hits and 4 walks went with Igawa-san's 6 Ks) but he got the Yanks out of a two-on no-out jam in the first, and really came up big against all expectations. Jorge Posada struck the big blow, a two-run home off Wakefield. Lesson learned: Maybe Igawa shouldn't pitch from the windup for the rest of the season.
4/29 Boston 7, Yankees 4
The Yankees take a 3-2 lead into the fifth--the three runs coming on a Doug Mientkiewicz homer--but good things just aren't lasting long with this pitching staff. Wang's control was off, perhaps due to a split fingernail. Losing ensued. Lesson learned: when Doug Mientkiewicz is the guy driving your offense, you're probably going to lose.
Player of the Week: Alex Rodriguez gets a break from Player of the Week props, slacking for only 2 HR and 3 RBI on the week (.304/.360/.565), and missing out on the all-time April records for homers and RBI. The week's honors go to Derek Jeter (.444/.450/.611). Jason Giambi also contributed a nice week (.450/542/.550), and made his first appearance in the field in Saturday's game. That was pretty much it, though.
Dregs of the Week: The only pitcher who didn't surrender a run on the week (Colter Bean), got sent down to AAA. The whole pitching staff was awful, with Mariano Rivera and Sean Henn having superficially the worst week(s). Since Igawa's six scoreless came in relief, the Yanks managed to get through the week without a single quality start. However, since Dregs is mainly an individual honor, we feel bound to single out Bobby Abreu (.087/.222/.130) who had the worst hitless streak (0-19) of his career this week. Johnny Damon (.158/.273/.158) and Robbie Cano (.143/.217/.286) also had weeks they'd like to forget.
Story of the Week: We've already talked about the Phil Hughes experience, so I'll take a pass here and just segue into some short-form Month In Review awards.
Player of the Month: Well...duh. Alex Rodriguez leads the AL in OPS (1.297) is the only Major Leaguer with double digits in home runs (14) and the only player in the Show with over 30 RBI so far (34, nine ahead of the next guy down the list). There is no conversation to be had about this.
Dregs of the Month: The only time Mariano Rivera has posted an ERA higher than this month's 10.57, was in his rookie season. In June 1995 Rivera allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, in 6.1 innings, for a 15.63 ERA. In Friday night's game, for the first time I can recall, Rivera actually looked like a beaten man. Thankfully, he and his pitches looked better on Saturday, when he got the save to end April on an up note. Still, we're holding our breath hoping that this month isn't a sign that he's hiding an injury, or of ineffectiveness to come.
Mariano shares Dregs "honors" with Melky Cabrera. Somewhere, out there, Bernie Williams is thinking that he could do better than this--and since Melky hit .200/.238/.213 in nearly full-time April work, with just one extrabase hit, Bernie Baseball would probably be right in that assessment. The organization made the right decision to give Melky the fourth outfielder job, but you have to wonder how long he'll get to struggle like this before he's sent down, and maybe Kevin Thompson is brought up to take that extra outfielder role?
Story of the Month: For the second time since the end of the 2006 season, Joe Torre is on the hot seat. This team's systemwide failure goes beyond Torre--there's some bad injuries, bad luck, and mainly there's been bad pitching--but like with Melky you have to wonder how long these poor results will be tolerated before the brass decides a change is needed, if only for change's sake. The man who's widely acclaimed for saving Torre's job this winter, Steve Swindal, is no longer with the ballclub.
Now, getting rid of Torre would be an overreaction, a classic panic move. I don't know that Torre's presumed successor, Don Mattingly, could do a better job motivating this club--is a month as bench coach enough experience for the most high-profile managerial job in the game. I will say that if he got the job now, he'd likely look successful just based on the fact that this club is operating far below its level now, and is likely to bounce back to decent if not better than that.
I'd hope that Torre gets a couple of weeks with a more-or-less intact starting rotation before anyone makes any rash decisions. The Yanks haven't had four of their intended starters in the rotation at the same time since the Minnesota series. The Yanks, through no fault of Torre's, have had to go to the bullpen more than any other team in the AL--97 bullpen innings in April. Normally we'd be slagging Torre for the fact that four Yankees are in the top 9 pitchers in the AL in appearances--Scott Proctor and Luis Vizcaino share the league lead with Dennys Reyes with 15, and Mike Myers and Brian Bruney aren't far behind with 14 each--but what choice has he had? The starters have had the third worst ERA, as a group, in the majors (5.94, just ahead of Tampa Bay and Texas) and they have the fewest quality starts in the majors. If something's going to change, that has to be it--because I'm pretty sure the Yanks can't keep this up for the rest of the season.
Record for the Week: 1-5, 23 RS, 41 RA
Overall: 9-14, 131 RS, 125 RA (5th Place AL East, 6.5 games out of 1st)
The Breakdown:
4/23 Yankees 8, Tampa Bay 10
Big A-Rod performance (4 for 5, 2 HR) squandered by Kei Igawa (7 R in 4.1 IP) and the previously-steady Brian Bruney. BJ Upton and Rocco Baldelli put the screws to New York. Lesson learned: Turns out those Devil Rays can score some runs (2nd in the league in runs scored, behind the Yanks)--then again, they've had some help from the Yankee pitching staff.
4/24 Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 6
Chien Ming Wang comes off the DL, and shows some rust (4 R through 6.1 IP). The Yanks led 3-2 in the 7th before the Rays broke it open, with a grand slam by Carl Crawford off Mike Myers. Lesson learned: What do you call a Lefty One Out Guy who doesn't get lefties out? Waste of a roster spot, perhaps?
4/25 Blue Jays at Yankees, Rained Out
Lesson learned: When you've lost five in a row, sometimes you can use a little rain. Or maybe not.
4/26 Toronto 6, Yankees 0
The Golden Child, Phil Hughes, debuts. Kind of a lot to expect that the rookie will end the losing streak, and he doesn't really pitch well enough to win. Not that he had a chance, since the Yanks gave him absolutely no run support. Lesson learned: There's a reason why the Blue Jays gave AJ Burnett all that money. When he's not on the DL or pitching like a bonehead, he can throw the ball pretty good.
4/27 Boston 11, Yankees 4
Early favorite for most disgusting loss of the year. The Yanks led 4-2 after four innings against Daisuke Matsuzaka, and then Andy Pettitte, Everyday Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera all spit the bit. Lesson learned: Losing seven in a row is very, very painful.
4/28 Boston 1, Yankees 3
Talk about your bad news/good news situations. On the first pitch of the game, Jeff Karstens takes a liner off the knee. He has a fracture, but tries to continue pitching. Kei Igawa then comes in for his first relief appearance since losing his slot in the rotation, and gives the Yanks six scoreless innings. They weren't perfect innings (2 hits and 4 walks went with Igawa-san's 6 Ks) but he got the Yanks out of a two-on no-out jam in the first, and really came up big against all expectations. Jorge Posada struck the big blow, a two-run home off Wakefield. Lesson learned: Maybe Igawa shouldn't pitch from the windup for the rest of the season.
4/29 Boston 7, Yankees 4
The Yankees take a 3-2 lead into the fifth--the three runs coming on a Doug Mientkiewicz homer--but good things just aren't lasting long with this pitching staff. Wang's control was off, perhaps due to a split fingernail. Losing ensued. Lesson learned: when Doug Mientkiewicz is the guy driving your offense, you're probably going to lose.
Player of the Week: Alex Rodriguez gets a break from Player of the Week props, slacking for only 2 HR and 3 RBI on the week (.304/.360/.565), and missing out on the all-time April records for homers and RBI. The week's honors go to Derek Jeter (.444/.450/.611). Jason Giambi also contributed a nice week (.450/542/.550), and made his first appearance in the field in Saturday's game. That was pretty much it, though.
Dregs of the Week: The only pitcher who didn't surrender a run on the week (Colter Bean), got sent down to AAA. The whole pitching staff was awful, with Mariano Rivera and Sean Henn having superficially the worst week(s). Since Igawa's six scoreless came in relief, the Yanks managed to get through the week without a single quality start. However, since Dregs is mainly an individual honor, we feel bound to single out Bobby Abreu (.087/.222/.130) who had the worst hitless streak (0-19) of his career this week. Johnny Damon (.158/.273/.158) and Robbie Cano (.143/.217/.286) also had weeks they'd like to forget.
Story of the Week: We've already talked about the Phil Hughes experience, so I'll take a pass here and just segue into some short-form Month In Review awards.
Player of the Month: Well...duh. Alex Rodriguez leads the AL in OPS (1.297) is the only Major Leaguer with double digits in home runs (14) and the only player in the Show with over 30 RBI so far (34, nine ahead of the next guy down the list). There is no conversation to be had about this.
Dregs of the Month: The only time Mariano Rivera has posted an ERA higher than this month's 10.57, was in his rookie season. In June 1995 Rivera allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, in 6.1 innings, for a 15.63 ERA. In Friday night's game, for the first time I can recall, Rivera actually looked like a beaten man. Thankfully, he and his pitches looked better on Saturday, when he got the save to end April on an up note. Still, we're holding our breath hoping that this month isn't a sign that he's hiding an injury, or of ineffectiveness to come.
Mariano shares Dregs "honors" with Melky Cabrera. Somewhere, out there, Bernie Williams is thinking that he could do better than this--and since Melky hit .200/.238/.213 in nearly full-time April work, with just one extrabase hit, Bernie Baseball would probably be right in that assessment. The organization made the right decision to give Melky the fourth outfielder job, but you have to wonder how long he'll get to struggle like this before he's sent down, and maybe Kevin Thompson is brought up to take that extra outfielder role?
Story of the Month: For the second time since the end of the 2006 season, Joe Torre is on the hot seat. This team's systemwide failure goes beyond Torre--there's some bad injuries, bad luck, and mainly there's been bad pitching--but like with Melky you have to wonder how long these poor results will be tolerated before the brass decides a change is needed, if only for change's sake. The man who's widely acclaimed for saving Torre's job this winter, Steve Swindal, is no longer with the ballclub.
Now, getting rid of Torre would be an overreaction, a classic panic move. I don't know that Torre's presumed successor, Don Mattingly, could do a better job motivating this club--is a month as bench coach enough experience for the most high-profile managerial job in the game. I will say that if he got the job now, he'd likely look successful just based on the fact that this club is operating far below its level now, and is likely to bounce back to decent if not better than that.
I'd hope that Torre gets a couple of weeks with a more-or-less intact starting rotation before anyone makes any rash decisions. The Yanks haven't had four of their intended starters in the rotation at the same time since the Minnesota series. The Yanks, through no fault of Torre's, have had to go to the bullpen more than any other team in the AL--97 bullpen innings in April. Normally we'd be slagging Torre for the fact that four Yankees are in the top 9 pitchers in the AL in appearances--Scott Proctor and Luis Vizcaino share the league lead with Dennys Reyes with 15, and Mike Myers and Brian Bruney aren't far behind with 14 each--but what choice has he had? The starters have had the third worst ERA, as a group, in the majors (5.94, just ahead of Tampa Bay and Texas) and they have the fewest quality starts in the majors. If something's going to change, that has to be it--because I'm pretty sure the Yanks can't keep this up for the rest of the season.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Spring Training, 2007 in Review
Spring Training Record: 14-13-3
A winning record, barely. Usually, George Steinbrenner would be acting as if squeaking out a .500 record in the Grapefruit League was either a rousing success or a barely-tolerable embarrassment. Alas for the Boss, the Steinbrenner family has far bigger fish to fry. Let's look at the awards:
Spring MVP: Since the big things are people fighting for jobs or showing they're coming back from injuries, the Yanks' Grapefruit League MVP should be a player who had something at stake--in this case, Josh Phelps. Phelps, playing for the righthanded side of a first base platoon with Doug Mientkiewicz, hit three homers and ten RBI, each a tie for the team lead. This in a limited number of plate appearances. Other big offensive performances by people tuning up for the season? Robinson Cano suffered a number of indignities that happens when you're a junior member of a veteran team--long bus rides, no early exits from the games, even when the other starters were already on the golf course...and he made the argument for some preferential treatment by smacking the ball up, getting a team-leading 24 hits, nine of them doubles. Alex Rodriguez's three homers suggest that maybe unburdening his soul to the media is good for his swing.
On the pitching side of the ledger, Darrel Rasner won a job by getting through 12 innings uninjured. The 1.50 ERA was far less significant than the fact that unlike Chien Ming Wang or Jeff Karstens he could still throw off a full mound at the end of the month. Brian Bruney locked down a spot in the pen with 13 strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Andy Pettitte didn't allow a run this Spring, although that comes with a bunch of time lost to back spasms.
Dregs of the Spring: Ron Villone still hasn't come back from the bout of ineffectiveness he suffered at the tail end of 2006. With a roster spot on the line, he got raked to the tune of 13 baserunners and two homers in four and two-thirds innings. Andy Phillips had to leave camp at the start of Grapefruit action to care for his ailing mother. Thank heavens, she got better, but he never recovered losing out to Phelps, dropping through waivers, and now heading back to AAA. Chris Britton, after having a very solid middle relief season for the Orioles last year, lost out on a roster spot, getting railed to the tune of an 11.11 ERA in eight appearances.
As for guys that made the team? The good news for Doug Mientkiewicz is that three of his five hits this Spring were doubles. The bad news? He hit .132 with .211 slugging. Ladies and gentlemen, here's your starting first baseman! I hope Phelps starts out the season hot against Kazmir, and that quickly the Yanks turn first base into an offense/defense platoon between Phelps and Minky. Melky Cabrera didn't do much to win the fourth outfielder's spot. Irony is, if Bernie Williams had accepted Torre's offer to come down to Spring Training on a minor league deal, there's a chance he could have taken the whippersnapper.
Story of the Spring: A-Rod me no A-Rods--this is baseball, not Days of Our Lives. Let's talk pitchers, instead. It's been a month full of upsets. Rock-solid Tiger Wang got injured, Carl Pavano hasn't [Ed. note: ...yet] and so it's Can't Play Carl that gets the Opening Day assignment in a bigger upset than the first Liston-Clay fight. Jeff Karstens pitched his guts out to make the team, only to come up lame when the fifth spot in the rotation opened up for him, and Darrell Rasner backed into a roster slot. Sean Henn broke camp with the club under similar circumstances, not quite dazzling anyone with his stuff, but making it by being lefthanded at a time when Villone faltered. While these guys made the staff, Colter Bean had another nice Spring Training, and again discovered that he cannot buy, beg, borrow, or steal a spot on this team.
At this point, it looks like the key man in this pitching staff is going to be newcomer Kei Igawa. In his native Japan, Igawa was nicknamed "Iron Nerves." At times this Spring, it took iron nerves to watch Dr. Kei pitch. Igawa struck out more than a man an inning, but walked almost as many (19/12 K/BB ratio in 17 innings). Can this Yankee pitching staff hold together in Wang's absence? Will Mussina and Pettitte show their age? Will Phil Hughes be ready to take things to the next level, if/when he's called on this season?
For better or for worse, the Spring records are all erased. In a month, no one will recall how well or badly anyone hit in the Grapefruit League. Here's wishing everyone in the Yankees organization (yes, even Can't Play Carl) a great 2007 season. Have a wonderful Opening Day!
A winning record, barely. Usually, George Steinbrenner would be acting as if squeaking out a .500 record in the Grapefruit League was either a rousing success or a barely-tolerable embarrassment. Alas for the Boss, the Steinbrenner family has far bigger fish to fry. Let's look at the awards:
Spring MVP: Since the big things are people fighting for jobs or showing they're coming back from injuries, the Yanks' Grapefruit League MVP should be a player who had something at stake--in this case, Josh Phelps. Phelps, playing for the righthanded side of a first base platoon with Doug Mientkiewicz, hit three homers and ten RBI, each a tie for the team lead. This in a limited number of plate appearances. Other big offensive performances by people tuning up for the season? Robinson Cano suffered a number of indignities that happens when you're a junior member of a veteran team--long bus rides, no early exits from the games, even when the other starters were already on the golf course...and he made the argument for some preferential treatment by smacking the ball up, getting a team-leading 24 hits, nine of them doubles. Alex Rodriguez's three homers suggest that maybe unburdening his soul to the media is good for his swing.
On the pitching side of the ledger, Darrel Rasner won a job by getting through 12 innings uninjured. The 1.50 ERA was far less significant than the fact that unlike Chien Ming Wang or Jeff Karstens he could still throw off a full mound at the end of the month. Brian Bruney locked down a spot in the pen with 13 strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Andy Pettitte didn't allow a run this Spring, although that comes with a bunch of time lost to back spasms.
Dregs of the Spring: Ron Villone still hasn't come back from the bout of ineffectiveness he suffered at the tail end of 2006. With a roster spot on the line, he got raked to the tune of 13 baserunners and two homers in four and two-thirds innings. Andy Phillips had to leave camp at the start of Grapefruit action to care for his ailing mother. Thank heavens, she got better, but he never recovered losing out to Phelps, dropping through waivers, and now heading back to AAA. Chris Britton, after having a very solid middle relief season for the Orioles last year, lost out on a roster spot, getting railed to the tune of an 11.11 ERA in eight appearances.
As for guys that made the team? The good news for Doug Mientkiewicz is that three of his five hits this Spring were doubles. The bad news? He hit .132 with .211 slugging. Ladies and gentlemen, here's your starting first baseman! I hope Phelps starts out the season hot against Kazmir, and that quickly the Yanks turn first base into an offense/defense platoon between Phelps and Minky. Melky Cabrera didn't do much to win the fourth outfielder's spot. Irony is, if Bernie Williams had accepted Torre's offer to come down to Spring Training on a minor league deal, there's a chance he could have taken the whippersnapper.
Story of the Spring: A-Rod me no A-Rods--this is baseball, not Days of Our Lives. Let's talk pitchers, instead. It's been a month full of upsets. Rock-solid Tiger Wang got injured, Carl Pavano hasn't [Ed. note: ...yet] and so it's Can't Play Carl that gets the Opening Day assignment in a bigger upset than the first Liston-Clay fight. Jeff Karstens pitched his guts out to make the team, only to come up lame when the fifth spot in the rotation opened up for him, and Darrell Rasner backed into a roster slot. Sean Henn broke camp with the club under similar circumstances, not quite dazzling anyone with his stuff, but making it by being lefthanded at a time when Villone faltered. While these guys made the staff, Colter Bean had another nice Spring Training, and again discovered that he cannot buy, beg, borrow, or steal a spot on this team.
At this point, it looks like the key man in this pitching staff is going to be newcomer Kei Igawa. In his native Japan, Igawa was nicknamed "Iron Nerves." At times this Spring, it took iron nerves to watch Dr. Kei pitch. Igawa struck out more than a man an inning, but walked almost as many (19/12 K/BB ratio in 17 innings). Can this Yankee pitching staff hold together in Wang's absence? Will Mussina and Pettitte show their age? Will Phil Hughes be ready to take things to the next level, if/when he's called on this season?
For better or for worse, the Spring records are all erased. In a month, no one will recall how well or badly anyone hit in the Grapefruit League. Here's wishing everyone in the Yankees organization (yes, even Can't Play Carl) a great 2007 season. Have a wonderful Opening Day!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Month In Review: September, 2006
Not much time to chat, just some awards:
Record for the Month: 18-11 (132 RA, 180 RS)
Player of the Month: Robinson Cano actually won the AL Player of the Month Award with a .373/.383/.664 performance, seven homers, and a team-leading 11 doubles and 28 RBI. We're not going to disagree. Trailing him slightly was the man who finished just ahead of him in the batting race, Derek Jeter, who finished up strong, batting .368/.419/.500 in September. Sadly, neither Yankee's surge was good enough to catch Joe Mauer (.329/.437/.506 in September, .347/.429/.507 overall) for the batting title.
Slightly lower down, because of less playing time, are Alex Rodriguez (.358/.465/.691, team-leading eight homers and 16 walks) and Jorge Posada (.316/.396/.646, 6 homers). On the pitching side of the ledger, Mark Bruney made the postseason roster on the strength of 16 strikeouts and only one run allowed in 14 innings--even if he did walk 10 batters; Scott Proctor put up nice numbers (1.74 ERA) while once again leading the relievers in innings pitched; Chien Ming Wang had a 3-1 record and a 3.48 ERA; Jaret Wright was impressive in his three starts--2-0, 2.95 ERA.
Dregs of the Month: Twenty-seven. That's Ron Villone's ERA for the month of September. He registered only six innings pitched over nine appearances, and he allowed 14 hits, nine walks, three homers, and 18 runs scored. That completely overshadows Cory Lidle (6.38 ERA) and Octavio Dotel (10.80 ERA). Heck, Lidle even had a winning record for the month!
On the batting side, Johnny Damon (.205/.286/.307) and Melky Cabrera (.247/.346/.316) dragged down their numbers for the year, and Bernie Williams didn't finish strong (.236/.300/.327). Jason Giambi's wrist limited his playing time and his hitting (.192/.364/.308).
After the playoffs are over, I intend to sort through the mess of weekly and monthly reviews to figure out what happened this season, give out some final grades. No story for this month, just another AL East title.
Record for the Month: 18-11 (132 RA, 180 RS)
Player of the Month: Robinson Cano actually won the AL Player of the Month Award with a .373/.383/.664 performance, seven homers, and a team-leading 11 doubles and 28 RBI. We're not going to disagree. Trailing him slightly was the man who finished just ahead of him in the batting race, Derek Jeter, who finished up strong, batting .368/.419/.500 in September. Sadly, neither Yankee's surge was good enough to catch Joe Mauer (.329/.437/.506 in September, .347/.429/.507 overall) for the batting title.
Slightly lower down, because of less playing time, are Alex Rodriguez (.358/.465/.691, team-leading eight homers and 16 walks) and Jorge Posada (.316/.396/.646, 6 homers). On the pitching side of the ledger, Mark Bruney made the postseason roster on the strength of 16 strikeouts and only one run allowed in 14 innings--even if he did walk 10 batters; Scott Proctor put up nice numbers (1.74 ERA) while once again leading the relievers in innings pitched; Chien Ming Wang had a 3-1 record and a 3.48 ERA; Jaret Wright was impressive in his three starts--2-0, 2.95 ERA.
Dregs of the Month: Twenty-seven. That's Ron Villone's ERA for the month of September. He registered only six innings pitched over nine appearances, and he allowed 14 hits, nine walks, three homers, and 18 runs scored. That completely overshadows Cory Lidle (6.38 ERA) and Octavio Dotel (10.80 ERA). Heck, Lidle even had a winning record for the month!
On the batting side, Johnny Damon (.205/.286/.307) and Melky Cabrera (.247/.346/.316) dragged down their numbers for the year, and Bernie Williams didn't finish strong (.236/.300/.327). Jason Giambi's wrist limited his playing time and his hitting (.192/.364/.308).
After the playoffs are over, I intend to sort through the mess of weekly and monthly reviews to figure out what happened this season, give out some final grades. No story for this month, just another AL East title.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Month in Review: August, 2006
Record for the Month: 18-12 (138 RA, 175 RS)
Overall: 79-53 (1st Place, 8 games ahead of Boston)
Player of the Month: Here's where I wish that Baseball Prospectus had monthly splits on their advanced statistics. Which month is more valuable--Jason Giambi's where he batted .311/.476/.649 with six homers, seven doubles, and 25 RBI over 103 PA, mostly as a DH; or Johnny Damon's, who batted .305/.369/.625 in 141 PA, with eight doubles, 23 RBI, and a team-leading nine homers, three triples, and 27 runs scored, while playing mostly in center field. As Jack Nicholson said in Prizzi's Honor, "Which one a deze?"
Meanwhile, although the quest for honors is between those two--to me, the playing time and positional difficulty edges tilt things in favor of Damon, but I'd be interested in hearing counter-arguments--there were a number of other noteworthy performances during the Dog Days. Robbie Cano hit .351/.373/.598 on the month, with 12 doubles and 23 RBI.
New acquisition Bobby Abreu was always on base in August, to the tune of a .357/.460/.496 line. Mariano Rivera served up only three runs in 14 2/3 innings last month, and Chien Ming Wang was a rock, going 4-1 with four quality starts and a 3.23 ERA for the month.
Dregs of the Month: Among the Yanks' new acquisitions, Craig Wilson fell into a Andy Phillips-like playing pattern, with an Andy Phillips performance, .244/.280/.410. He's going to need to get those numbers up if he hopes to have anything more than a platoon role on this roster. Jorge Posada had a miserable month with the bat, .225/.304/.404. If Wilson was able to don the tools of ignorance a bit over the next month it would probably give Posada a needed breather, because backup catcher Sal Fasano hasn't been everything promised with the bat (.125/.160/.250, 3 doubles in 24 AB)--even though he has revolutionized the Bombers' facial hair fashions.
Things get a little uglier on the pitching side. The bullpen tandem of Ron Villone (40 baserunners and a 6.04 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of relief) and Kyle Farnsworth (6.23 ERA in 8 2/3 innings) have been beat up. Farnsworth might be showing the Yanks why he's been with four teams over the last 24 months--he's a frustrating pitcher, unreliable and fragile. Villone started the season as Joe Torre's undiscovered pitcher, and has grown to be his favorite toy, after Everyday Scottie Proctor. Here are his monthly innings totals: April--9, May--12.7, June--13.3, July--17.0, August--22.3. So Villone pitched more last month than he did in April and May, combined. Any surprise that his performance has suffered?
Story of the Month: The Yanks came into August one game back of the Red Sox, 61-41. They come into September eight games up, despite having played only good-but-not-great .600 ball during the month. What gives?
The Yankees' story of this month, really, is the collapse of the Red Sox. Generally speaking, I'm not much into schadenfreude, so, aside from the five games the Yanks took from the Red Sox, I haven't taken much pleasure from the Bostons' 9-21 performance in August. And it's with good reason--the Red Sox's slide has come on the heels of injury and misfortune that strays off the field and into the real world. David Ortiz has suffered an irregular heartbeat since mid-month, and rookie Jon Lester just discovered that the back pain that had plagued him this month is the result of lymphoma. In both cases, the nature of the ailment overshadows the games on the field, and we wish both men a speedy recovery.
In the land of more mundane injuries, the Red Sox had been missing their captain, Jason Varitek, since July 31, their rightfielder, Trot Nixon, since July 30, their #3 starter, Tim Wakefield, since July 17, and their #4 starter, Matt Clement, since June 15. Jonathan Papelbon, one of the rare relievers who should legitimately get Cy Young or MVP consideration fell off a bit in August (2.40 ERA, after remaining under 1.00 in every previous month) and left Friday night's game with pain in his shoulder.
So the Red Sox's engine seized up, and the Yankees stepped into vacuum, even going so far as to help the Beantowners' downward spiral. While it's a queer Story of the Month for the Yankees' season (unlike some Red Sox fans, who watch the Yankees with the hateful intensity of a cat staring down a caged parakeet, for Yankees fans it's usually about us, us, us), it does change how things go down the stretch. Again, not declaring anyone dead, but if the Red Sox and Yankees aren't nipping at each other's heels this month, the Yankees will be at greater liberty to experiment, with de facto major-league rehab assignments for Hideki Matsui and Octavio Dotel, possible first-base tryout for Gary Sheffield, if he hasn't decided to scrap this season, fun stuff like that. Liberated (for the moment) from the rat race in the AL East, here's what the Yanks should focus on in September:
Overall: 79-53 (1st Place, 8 games ahead of Boston)
Player of the Month: Here's where I wish that Baseball Prospectus had monthly splits on their advanced statistics. Which month is more valuable--Jason Giambi's where he batted .311/.476/.649 with six homers, seven doubles, and 25 RBI over 103 PA, mostly as a DH; or Johnny Damon's, who batted .305/.369/.625 in 141 PA, with eight doubles, 23 RBI, and a team-leading nine homers, three triples, and 27 runs scored, while playing mostly in center field. As Jack Nicholson said in Prizzi's Honor, "Which one a deze?"
Meanwhile, although the quest for honors is between those two--to me, the playing time and positional difficulty edges tilt things in favor of Damon, but I'd be interested in hearing counter-arguments--there were a number of other noteworthy performances during the Dog Days. Robbie Cano hit .351/.373/.598 on the month, with 12 doubles and 23 RBI.
New acquisition Bobby Abreu was always on base in August, to the tune of a .357/.460/.496 line. Mariano Rivera served up only three runs in 14 2/3 innings last month, and Chien Ming Wang was a rock, going 4-1 with four quality starts and a 3.23 ERA for the month.
Dregs of the Month: Among the Yanks' new acquisitions, Craig Wilson fell into a Andy Phillips-like playing pattern, with an Andy Phillips performance, .244/.280/.410. He's going to need to get those numbers up if he hopes to have anything more than a platoon role on this roster. Jorge Posada had a miserable month with the bat, .225/.304/.404. If Wilson was able to don the tools of ignorance a bit over the next month it would probably give Posada a needed breather, because backup catcher Sal Fasano hasn't been everything promised with the bat (.125/.160/.250, 3 doubles in 24 AB)--even though he has revolutionized the Bombers' facial hair fashions.
Things get a little uglier on the pitching side. The bullpen tandem of Ron Villone (40 baserunners and a 6.04 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of relief) and Kyle Farnsworth (6.23 ERA in 8 2/3 innings) have been beat up. Farnsworth might be showing the Yanks why he's been with four teams over the last 24 months--he's a frustrating pitcher, unreliable and fragile. Villone started the season as Joe Torre's undiscovered pitcher, and has grown to be his favorite toy, after Everyday Scottie Proctor. Here are his monthly innings totals: April--9, May--12.7, June--13.3, July--17.0, August--22.3. So Villone pitched more last month than he did in April and May, combined. Any surprise that his performance has suffered?
Story of the Month: The Yanks came into August one game back of the Red Sox, 61-41. They come into September eight games up, despite having played only good-but-not-great .600 ball during the month. What gives?
The Yankees' story of this month, really, is the collapse of the Red Sox. Generally speaking, I'm not much into schadenfreude, so, aside from the five games the Yanks took from the Red Sox, I haven't taken much pleasure from the Bostons' 9-21 performance in August. And it's with good reason--the Red Sox's slide has come on the heels of injury and misfortune that strays off the field and into the real world. David Ortiz has suffered an irregular heartbeat since mid-month, and rookie Jon Lester just discovered that the back pain that had plagued him this month is the result of lymphoma. In both cases, the nature of the ailment overshadows the games on the field, and we wish both men a speedy recovery.
In the land of more mundane injuries, the Red Sox had been missing their captain, Jason Varitek, since July 31, their rightfielder, Trot Nixon, since July 30, their #3 starter, Tim Wakefield, since July 17, and their #4 starter, Matt Clement, since June 15. Jonathan Papelbon, one of the rare relievers who should legitimately get Cy Young or MVP consideration fell off a bit in August (2.40 ERA, after remaining under 1.00 in every previous month) and left Friday night's game with pain in his shoulder.
So the Red Sox's engine seized up, and the Yankees stepped into vacuum, even going so far as to help the Beantowners' downward spiral. While it's a queer Story of the Month for the Yankees' season (unlike some Red Sox fans, who watch the Yankees with the hateful intensity of a cat staring down a caged parakeet, for Yankees fans it's usually about us, us, us), it does change how things go down the stretch. Again, not declaring anyone dead, but if the Red Sox and Yankees aren't nipping at each other's heels this month, the Yankees will be at greater liberty to experiment, with de facto major-league rehab assignments for Hideki Matsui and Octavio Dotel, possible first-base tryout for Gary Sheffield, if he hasn't decided to scrap this season, fun stuff like that. Liberated (for the moment) from the rat race in the AL East, here's what the Yanks should focus on in September:
- Get (and Stay) Healthy: The Yanks don't have to rush Mike Mussina back from the DL, they can be conservative with Mariano Rivera (who's suffering an elbow strain), and they can rehab any of the currently-injured bodies they can get back on the roster, with no penalty now that rosters have expanded. Almost as important as making sure that the injured players get back to health and in game shape is ensuring that those bodies on the roster get enough rest to stay fresh for October. Randy Johnson should get some extra days between starts, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon should see some DH time, Scott Proctor and Ron Villone should be restricted to pitching only once per day, maximum.
- Get Alex Rodriguez Out of His Funk: Actually, Alex Rodriguez greeted September with two homers against the Twins, so maybe this is already happening. Earlier in the day, yesterday, my Brother T emailed me, noting "It's already September and Alex Rodriguez only has 27 homers?" When we talked about it today, my reaction was to flip it around. Alex Rodriguez has had a bad year, and yet he still has 27 homers, almost 100 RBI. If he finishes up strong, he still has a shot at a nice season overall. Alex's problems at the plate can be tied almost exclusively to the jump in his strikeout rate--he struck out about 18% of the time most of his career, now he's up to 22%. If the Yankees are going to make an impact into October, they need for Rodriguez to step up.
- Sort Out the Bench: Right now, the Yankees' bench is Nick Green, Aaron Guiel, Sal Fasano, and one of Craig Wilson or Bernie Williams. But there are lots of other options in the wings--Miguel Cairo and Andy Phillips, when they come back from their injuries, Matsui and Sheffield, if they come back from their injuries. The wrong combination could easily hamstring the Yankees in a short series, so stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
July in Review: Movin' on Up
Watched Bobby Abreu's debut last night. Three questions:
1) Why is his glove pink? Is it a leftover from the Mother's Day breast cancer awareness promotion?
2) How long did it take the haters to show up? I'm not even talking about at the Stadium--though it was funny that during his first at bat folks were still busy booing Alex Rodriguez's strikeout--but suddenly we're getting all these "We'd rather have Sheffield than Abreu" stories. It'd be nice if these guys spoke up prior to the trade.
3) Sheff at first? I have to admit I admire the attitude, even if I doubt it'll come off. I'm happy with the Abreu acquisition, but that doesn't reflect on my feelings for Sheffield--just my doubts about what he'll be able to give the team, post-wrist injury.
With that out of the way, your July Awards:
Record for July: 16-9 (137 RA, 145 RS)
Player of the Month: Derek Jeter (.412/.431/.569, team leading 19 RBI & 6 SB). Runners-up: Chien Ming Wang (4-1, 3.03 ERA, averaging over 7 innings per start); Kyle Farnsworth (1 run, 11 Ks in 10.3 IP); Johnny Damon (.329/.392/.500 in 20 games); Melky (.313/.358/.475, team-leading 19 runs scored); and (huge asterisk) Alex Rodriguez (.295/.374/.526, 6 HR, 19 RBI--to go with 5 errors and 27 Ks).
Dregs of the Month: Three-way tie -- Andy Phillips (.165/.208/.275 in 25 games); Miguel Cairo (.253/.256/.320 in 23 games); and Bubba Crosby (.152/.176/.273 in 33 AB spread out over 20 games) each blew chances given a void to fill. Runners-up: When we talk about the Yankees' pitching in July, it's easy to pick on Sidney Ponson (10.00 ERA) Shawn Chacon (13.50 ERA) TJ Beam (15.63 ERA) and Kris Wilson (8.64). Aside from Chacon, not much was expected from them. More disappointing are Mike Myers (9.64), Jaret Wright (6.43) and Randy Johnson (5.68).
1) Why is his glove pink? Is it a leftover from the Mother's Day breast cancer awareness promotion?
2) How long did it take the haters to show up? I'm not even talking about at the Stadium--though it was funny that during his first at bat folks were still busy booing Alex Rodriguez's strikeout--but suddenly we're getting all these "We'd rather have Sheffield than Abreu" stories. It'd be nice if these guys spoke up prior to the trade.
3) Sheff at first? I have to admit I admire the attitude, even if I doubt it'll come off. I'm happy with the Abreu acquisition, but that doesn't reflect on my feelings for Sheffield--just my doubts about what he'll be able to give the team, post-wrist injury.
With that out of the way, your July Awards:
Record for July: 16-9 (137 RA, 145 RS)
Player of the Month: Derek Jeter (.412/.431/.569, team leading 19 RBI & 6 SB). Runners-up: Chien Ming Wang (4-1, 3.03 ERA, averaging over 7 innings per start); Kyle Farnsworth (1 run, 11 Ks in 10.3 IP); Johnny Damon (.329/.392/.500 in 20 games); Melky (.313/.358/.475, team-leading 19 runs scored); and (huge asterisk) Alex Rodriguez (.295/.374/.526, 6 HR, 19 RBI--to go with 5 errors and 27 Ks).
Dregs of the Month: Three-way tie -- Andy Phillips (.165/.208/.275 in 25 games); Miguel Cairo (.253/.256/.320 in 23 games); and Bubba Crosby (.152/.176/.273 in 33 AB spread out over 20 games) each blew chances given a void to fill. Runners-up: When we talk about the Yankees' pitching in July, it's easy to pick on Sidney Ponson (10.00 ERA) Shawn Chacon (13.50 ERA) TJ Beam (15.63 ERA) and Kris Wilson (8.64). Aside from Chacon, not much was expected from them. More disappointing are Mike Myers (9.64), Jaret Wright (6.43) and Randy Johnson (5.68).
Saturday, June 03, 2006
May in Review & Notes
It just occurred to me that I'd been remiss in giving out awards for the Month of May, so here goes...
Record for the Month: 18-10, 3rd best record in AL
Player of the Month: Surprisingly, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod batted .330/.416/.615 with 8 HR and 28 RBI. The only one of those categories he didn't lead the team in was OBP (Jorge Posada, in a month where he missed a lot of time, did .323/.429/.565 in 77 PA).
The Pitcher of the Month: Mike Mussina, again. He had a 3-0 record with a 2.53 ERA on the month, in 42.7 IP. Runner up goes to Mariano Rivera, who recorded 7 saves and a 3-1 record, with a 1.53 ERA.
Dregs of the Month: The really bad performances are in the pitching staff--"standouts" in this area are Aaron Small (0-2, 7.78 ERA in 19.7 IP) and Randy Johnson (3-2, 6.62 ERA in 32.3 IP). On the side with the bats, Robinson Cano had an empty batting average month (.273/.302/.339). In a much smaller ration of plate appearances, Terrence Long murderlized the offense (.214/.313/.250 in 32 PA).
Story of the Month: The outfield has been decimated by the injuries to Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. Matsui's injury, which feels like it happened an eternity ago, has him out for the season, with an off-chance of returning in the final month. Sheffield's injury has him out for the time being, with a possibility that he could miss the rest of the season. For effective purposes, you can't really count on either man to contribute the rest of the way.
In the meanwhile, some good things have developed from this. Melky Cabrera posted a .318/.392/.394 performance, given playing time in May. Despite the odd defensive hiccup Melky's shown a strong arm in the outfield, and he looks like a keeper. Andy Phillips got some playing time in May and finally started to hit a little, .306/.333/.389. Phillips needs to hit for more power to cement a spot on this club, but at least he's getting a better chance than ever before. Not just that, but the Yanks have started to look at the free talent market more closely, and have signed a few players--Carlos Pena and Erubiel Durazo, possibly Richie Hidalgo, too--who could pay dividends later in the season.
On the downside, we have Terrence Long, rightfielder, a greater role than we'd prefer for Bernie Williams, and as an extension, Scott Erickson, bullpen stalwart. Bernie actually had a nice May (.301/.353/.409), but he'd probably be at his best doing only spot duty in the outfield, DHing and pinch-hitting more. Long and Erickson are a couple of veterans whose main quality is veteran-ness. Hopefully, Octavio Dotel and Bubba Crosby can come off the DL and kick these guy's butts off the roster.
*************
NOTES:
Record for the Month: 18-10, 3rd best record in AL
Player of the Month: Surprisingly, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod batted .330/.416/.615 with 8 HR and 28 RBI. The only one of those categories he didn't lead the team in was OBP (Jorge Posada, in a month where he missed a lot of time, did .323/.429/.565 in 77 PA).
The Pitcher of the Month: Mike Mussina, again. He had a 3-0 record with a 2.53 ERA on the month, in 42.7 IP. Runner up goes to Mariano Rivera, who recorded 7 saves and a 3-1 record, with a 1.53 ERA.
Dregs of the Month: The really bad performances are in the pitching staff--"standouts" in this area are Aaron Small (0-2, 7.78 ERA in 19.7 IP) and Randy Johnson (3-2, 6.62 ERA in 32.3 IP). On the side with the bats, Robinson Cano had an empty batting average month (.273/.302/.339). In a much smaller ration of plate appearances, Terrence Long murderlized the offense (.214/.313/.250 in 32 PA).
Story of the Month: The outfield has been decimated by the injuries to Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. Matsui's injury, which feels like it happened an eternity ago, has him out for the season, with an off-chance of returning in the final month. Sheffield's injury has him out for the time being, with a possibility that he could miss the rest of the season. For effective purposes, you can't really count on either man to contribute the rest of the way.
In the meanwhile, some good things have developed from this. Melky Cabrera posted a .318/.392/.394 performance, given playing time in May. Despite the odd defensive hiccup Melky's shown a strong arm in the outfield, and he looks like a keeper. Andy Phillips got some playing time in May and finally started to hit a little, .306/.333/.389. Phillips needs to hit for more power to cement a spot on this club, but at least he's getting a better chance than ever before. Not just that, but the Yanks have started to look at the free talent market more closely, and have signed a few players--Carlos Pena and Erubiel Durazo, possibly Richie Hidalgo, too--who could pay dividends later in the season.
On the downside, we have Terrence Long, rightfielder, a greater role than we'd prefer for Bernie Williams, and as an extension, Scott Erickson, bullpen stalwart. Bernie actually had a nice May (.301/.353/.409), but he'd probably be at his best doing only spot duty in the outfield, DHing and pinch-hitting more. Long and Erickson are a couple of veterans whose main quality is veteran-ness. Hopefully, Octavio Dotel and Bubba Crosby can come off the DL and kick these guy's butts off the roster.
*************
NOTES:
- OK. Derek Jeter comes back from his injury, just in time for Alex Rodriguez to get "stomach disorder." We'd be whining about not being able to catch a break, if the Yanks weren't just a half game out of first place.
- By the way, the Red Sox are having some injury problems of their own, losing the Beast, Willie Mo Pena, to wrist surgery just as they get Coco Crisp back into the lineup.
- That's almost as bad as me writing about Mariano Rivera putting the team on his back, and then the next day, he messes up his back tying his shoelaces.
- Seen a couple of great indie films recently, teen-set noir Brick and the 1969 French film, Army of Shadows. Both are very highly recommended and I hope to have reviews up soon.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Month In Review: April, 2006
The Week of April 24-30
Record for the Week: 4-2
Player of the Week: Mike Mussina went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two games started this week. In 12 innings pitched, the Moose allowed two runs on 11 hits and two walks and 14 strikeouts. While some may decry the death of the complete game, noting that the Yanks' player of the week went only six innings in each of his starts, there is something old-school to the way Mussina pitched--changing speeds, changing the batter's eye level, and occasionally blowing 88 MpH heat past them. In Sunday's game, Mussina waged an epic battle in the fifth inning, loading the bases prior to striking out Shea Hillebrand in an at bat that showed off every trick in Mussina's arsenal. Watching that fifth inning, you had the feeling that Mussina was walking a highwire, after having a couple of Bailey's with Brother Joe. Sure, he's terrifying, but watching Mussina has gone from a pretty boring experience back when he was at his best, to a very exciting experience now that Moose's margin of error has worn down to nothing.
Lost in my waxing rhapsodic about Moose: a powerful comeback performance by Johnny Damon, .429/.552/.810 with ten runs scored, five steals, and two homers in Saturday's game; continued excellence by Derek Jeter (.458/.552/.708) and Jason Giambi (.400/.615/.867 with a team-leading ten RBI and nine walks).
Dregs of the Week: Pitchers first. Sometimes even when you win, you lose, and that was Randy Johnson in his start this week--allowing six runs in five innings in Saturday's game. He was just brutal, and was saved from further damage by a few good defensive plays, including one great one by Jorge Posada. We've already talked about the Great Mistake, Jaret Wright.
On the hitting side Alex Rodriguez gets first mention because he's been hearing the boos, although his .182/.357/.227 isn't that bad (I mean...at least he got on base). Worse job by Robbie Cano (.188/.235/.250 in 17 PA) and Bernie Williams (.133/.188/.333, 1 homer in 16 PA), and Matsui's not much better (.208/.296/.292 in 27 PA). But when you're the reigning MVP, the highest-paid player in the game, and whatnot, people don't want to hear about your .357 OBP.
The C/P Ratio: The Ratio stands at 8/10 on the week, implying that perhaps Phillips and Cairo can coexist peacefully...
Story of the Week: Probably the news from last week that has the largest on-the-field impact is Gary Sheffield's injury. Sheff apparently injured every single piece of his body in a first base collision with Shea Hillebrand on Saturday. It's here that the Yanks' lack of depth afield comes into sharp relief. With Sheffield out, either Bubba Crosby or Bernie Williams is forced to take the field, and possibly both forced into the lineup, if Joe Torre wants to continue hiding Jason Giambi's glove. Hopefully, Sheff at 37 maintains the recuperative powers he's shown in his last two seasons as a Yankee, where he's consistently played in pain. Hopefully, this will be the situation that convinces the Yanks to start looking for some depth, preferably righthanded and able to play all three outfield postitions.
EXTRA: AWARDS FOR APRIL
Record for the Month: 13-10, 1st Place (virtual tie with Boston)
Player of the Month: Giambi. He batted .344/.554/.852 with 9 homers and 27 RBI for April. Giambi's .416 EqA leads the majors, pitchers are back to tip-toeing their way around Jason during his at-bats. Very nice. Honorable mention goes to Derek Jeter, whose .359 EqA is 14th in baseball.
The Pitcher of the Month: Mussina. With a 4-1 record and 2.38 ERA, Mussina is fifth in the majors in support-neutral value added--third in the American League behind former Yankees washouts Jose Contreras and Kenny Rogers.
Dregs of the Month: Bernie Williams's .209 EqA in April is 65 plate appearances the team will never get back. Jaret Wright's allowed 12 runs in his 10 innings, working very hard to virtually cement losses in all three of the games in which he appeared. Tanyon Sturtze has allowed three homers in less than nine innings, which one hopes would put the gloss off of him as a go-to man in the bullpen. Sadly--as you can probably tell by the fact I post a C/P Ratio here, I want Andy Phillips to do well--all he has managed in sporadic duty (28 PA) is a .172 EqA. That just won't do.
Story of the Month: The death of Steve Howe. For all I criticize him usually, Bill Madden has a pretty good piece on this in the Sunday Daily News--I'd forgotten all about Fay Vincent's threats to ban Buck Showalter, Gene Michael, and Yankee VP Jack Lawn when they decided to testify on Howe's behalf at the hearing on Howe's 1992 drug suspension. Howe's a reminder of the bad old days--the love-hate relationship Yankees fans had with the players on those losing teams.
Howe could hardly warm up in the bullpen or take the mound without catcalls about him possibly sniffing up one of the foul lines--one guy who sat in my and Brother J's section back when we were on the Sunday plan used to think it was the height of humor to yell, "Hey, it's snowin'!" whenever Howe took the mound.
I'll admit, J and I used to call Howe "Cokehead!", although it was an ironic, affectionate shout-out. Howe was the posterboy--more than Doc Gooden, more than Darryl Strawberry or Keith Hernandez and even more than Tony Phillips--of the days when MLB's drug policy meant a crack-down on partying, moreso than performance enhancement. Steve Howe failed to stay sober so often, and was suspended so frequently, you almost wondered why Howe kept on coming back.
Of course, the obvious answer was "money." Cocaine ain't cheap, after all. The fact was, also, that Howe had a live left arm. In twelve seasons spread out over sixteen years, Howe posted a 3.03 ERA, good for an ERA+ of 129. When the Yankees acquired Howe, after more than three years out of baseball, in 1991, Howe responded with 48 innings and a 1.68 ERA. In 1994, in his last good year, Howe was the Yankees' closer, with a 1.80 ERA and 15 saves--good for ninth in the league--at the time of the strike that ended the '94 season. After the strike, Howe was 37, and his pitches seemed to have lost their zip. When the players returned for 1995, John Wetteland had been acquired to close for the Pinstripers, and Howe had a pretty weak season (4.96 ERA, 92 ERA+) as the primary lefty in the pen. He failed badly in games 3 and 4 of the ALDS, against the Mariners. The Yanks signed him to a make-good deal after the season, but by June he was out of baseball.
When news came last week, that almost ten years after the Yanks showed him the door, that he was dead, in a single-vehicle truck accident, there was one question--were drugs or alcohol involved in Howe's death? At this point, we don't know, and it isn't terribly relevant. Regardless of what the toxicology screens show, drugs dominated his life, and his career, and now will dominate all discussion of his death. In the game, and possibly without, drug abuse is his legacy, and his epitaph. Still as someone who was once a great fan of Howe's arm, I feel very sad at his passing, and pass my condolences on to the family he left behind.
NEXT: The Red Sox...
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