Depressed Fan

The Bumpy Ride Continues

2008-05-13T02:36:26Z

This Yankee season has been marred by injuries, inconsistent play, questionable managerial decisions, horrendous starting pitching and honestly, it hasn't exactly been a pleasure to watch.

Every time you start to feel good about the Yanks, and where they are, they lay an egg. Like tonight's 7-1 loss to the Rays. Tampa made the Yanks look old and slow, and you know what, that's exactly what they are. Matt Garza made the batters look weak, of course when you trot Giambi, Molina and Alberto Gonzalez out there, you are pretty weak (Although Gonzalez is far and away their best option at third right now, Joe finally got that right). They ran at will, they put the pressure on the Yanks from the first inning to the ninth, and they generally played like a second-place team, while the Yanks played like a middling, aged club. Which they just may be.

Every other game I come away with this feeling of angst. Then the Yanks show up and pull themselves back to .500. Every other day I tell myself they're treading water, waiting for A-Rod to get back. Then I see a team bunt a one-hopper to Giambi at first and I see him not even look at second base because he's afraid to make the throw. Every other day I see Robinson Cano hit absolute bullets right at people. Of course, I also see Andy Pettitte throwing 85 MPH fastballs and I wonder how many big wins we can count on him for.

Today was a down day, actually, a bad day. Tomorrow, it'll be the Wanger looking to knock off the first-place Tampa Bay Rays and pull the Yanks back to .500. Would I bet on it? Nope.

Off the field, there's good news (Ian Kennedy will start on Thursday, meaning Kei Igawa's days in the Bronx should be over for the time being) and obviously bad news as well (A-Rod's MRI was bad, meaning he will not be back this week.)

Player of The Game: Johnny Damon, purely because his buzzsaw batting style is the only thing that kept me watching the game after the 4th inning.
Team Record: 19-20
Damon's Broken Bats: 1 confirmed, but I could've sworn he broke another.

Antawn Jamison, The Answer At PF?

2008-05-12T06:45:11Z

Part 6 of the series features the Wizards PF, Antawn Jamison. (Archives after the jump)

Status

Unrestricted Free Agent
2007 Salary: $16,360,095

Reference

Thoughts On The Player

Jamison, while technically a power forward, doesn't play the back-to-the-basket style traditionally found at the position. He's a volume shooter, who does not shoot for a high enough percentage at the position (43% from the floor in '07-'08) and he takes way too many threes (4.5/game) and shoots them at a below-average 34%. That being said, he is a bona fide scorer, he can shoot from the outside, spread the floor a little bit, his rebounding numbers were impressive this year, and he would fit into the Sixers up-tempo offensive style.

Jamison will be 32 next month, and you have to believe he's looking for his final pay day. I think it's just going to take too much money to bring him in and while he'd help make them a better offensive team, I don't think he's the answer. He'd give you 17-22 points per night, eat up more than 15 shots per game doing it, and he isn't going to draw double teams or really make life much easier for the rest of the offense.

Thoughts On Likelihood

Jamison is at the head of the unrestricted free agent class right now. There are better players out there, arguably, but they all have some kind of string attached (restricted free agency, player options, team options, etc). The only thing it would take to land Jamison is money and a willingness on his part to play in Philly. The probability is pretty hard to peg right now, because not a lot of teams have the cap space to give him the type of deal he's looking for. Philly may honestly be his best option, if the Sixers want him. My gut says he goes back to Washington, though.

Projected Lineup

Miller
Iguodala
Thad
Jamison
Dalembert

See the rest of the series after the jump.

Good Day For A Rainout

2008-05-12T02:02:46Z

Hopefully, today's rainout in Detroit will mean we won't be subjected to another Kei Igawa start, but you never know.

One troubling thing from Joe Girardi today, even though no game was played. The lineup pasted below is what Girardi was going to trot out there to face Nate Robertson and Tigers:

Damon
Melky
Abreu
Jeter
Giambi
Duncan
Cano
Molina
Alberto Gonzalez

I swear, Girardi must wake up every morning and try figure out a way to assemble a different lineup. Is it indecision on his part? Does he like asking different things of every guy every day? Does he just have no clue? Does he think he's still managing the Marlins? Your guess is as good as mine, but I will say this, when A-Rod and Posada get back, we better see a stable lineup day in and day out. This is getting ridiculous.

The Yanks are resting well in Tampa right now, they have seven games in the next seven days, four in Tampa and 3 at home against the Mets. Is 4-3 too much to ask? Still no word on A-Rod's return, he's eligible to come off the D.L. on Wednesday.

Rasner Cruises

2008-05-11T00:15:21Z

Six plus innings, two earned, zero walks. That's the type of outing we were expecting from Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes this year, instead, it's Darrell Rasner who's been picking up the Yankee rotation. Yet again, the Yanks made a solid effort from their starting pitcher stand up for a 5-2 win.

Jeter hit his first bomb of the year, Giambi and Cano both continued to look good at the plate, but the offense was not the story of this game. Even with Rasner's impressive outing, the thing we need to spend some time talking about is the back end of the Yankee bullpen. Farnsworth, Joba and Mo have effectively shortened the game to 6 innings at this point.

Today, Farnsworth struggled a little bit, but he still got the job done. In the past, you'd find yourself saying Farnsworth had dominant stuff, but still found a way to blow it. No more. Joba had his one hiccup earlier in the week, but he's back to blowing away hitters and making it look easy. Mo has been the best closer in the game through his first 14 appearances, he's yet to allow a run or a walk, and he's only allowed 6 hits. If Farnsworth continues like this, moving Joba to the rotation isn't going to be an issue. They'll have Farnsworth for the 8th, Ohlendorf or Edwar for the 7th and of course Mo at the end.

The Yanks will look to take this series from the Tigers tomorrow with Andy Pettitte facing Nate Robertson.

Vitals and updated Damon graphic after the jump.
Player of The Game: Darrell Rasner
Team Record: 18-18
Damon's Broken Bats: Two magnificent split bats in his last two times to the plate. The second one died a hero.

Jose Calderon: It Would Take Some Creativity

2008-05-10T03:32:47Z

Part five of the series features Toronto PG, Jose Calderon. (Archives after the jump)

Status

Restricted free agent
2007 salary: $2,471,604

News

Calderon has said he does not want to return to Toronto unless he is guaranteed a starting spot over T.J. Ford. Good news and bad, it increases the chances that he's available, but the Sixers have a point guard. Landing Calderon would mean moving Andre Miller in a trade.

Reference

Thoughts On The Player

A point guard who shot 52% from the floor, 43% from three and had an assist/turnover ratio of 5.38? Uh, yes he'd fit here. He'd fit just about anywhere, but particularly in Philly, particularly if the plan is to move Iguodala to the two. The only problem is that he won't sign with Philly to be a backup, even for 1 season. Something else would have to happen.

Thoughts on Likelihood

Pretty close to zero. It would require trading Andre Miller, which is possible, but what kind of package could you really put together for Miller that wouldn't weaken the team and/or eat up all of the cap space? One thing that came to mind was a sign and trade with Miami, this is convoluted, so hear me out.

Miami holds the #1 pick in the draft, and they covet Elton Brand, reportedly, but I don't think they have the cap space to get him. Here's the question: Would they rather have Derrick Rose and Shawn Marion or Andre Miller and Elton Brand? The Sixers could send Andre Miller and two or even three #1 picks (their pick this year, their pick and Utah's pick next year) to Miami for Shawn Marion and the #1 pick in the draft. Essentially, this trade would give Miami the cap room to sign Brand and a back court of Wade and Miller. That's good enough to get you into the playoffs next year. The Sixers could then use the rest of their cap space to land Calderon and use the #1 pick on Beasley or Rose, whoever they value more.

It's far-fetched, and it would probably require a new contract for Marion and a sense of urgency in Miami that I'm not entirely sure exists. Just thought I'd throw that out there. For argument's sake, would you guys like the following starting lineup next year?

Calderon
Iguodala
Thad
Marion
Dalembert

See the rest of the series after the jump.

A Good Loss?

2008-05-10T02:39:03Z

I know, I know, it's heresy to classify a loss as good, but some good can come out of dropping a close game. Tonight, the positive to take away was the comeback. Kei Igawa's pitching was nearly as bad as Wilson Betemit's defense at third, and both combined to put the Yankees in a 6-1 hole in the bottom of the fourth. We've all become accustomed to the Yanks falling behind and then playing dead, tonight was a different story.

Jonathan Albaladejo, LaTroy Hawkins and Edwar Ramires (0.00 ERA so far) combined to throw 5 scoreless innings of relief and the Yanks very nearly clawed all the way back. In the 8th and 9th they actually looked alive, like they hadn't accepted the loss as unavoidable. Again, this is something we haven't seen from this team, this year. This is how the Yanks we've come to know and love over the past 12 years conducted business, and I was glad to see it.

The 9th inning was so close to being a thing of beauty. It had all the elements, let's take a look.

Betemit leads off with a double, moves to third on a wild pitch
Cano drives Betemit in with a grounder to short (6-3, Detroit)
Damon pinch hits for Moeller, breaks his bat on the first pitch, but legs out an infield single. Damon moves to second on another wild pitch.
Cabrera grounds out to the pitcher, Damon moves to third
Jeter singles to left, scoring Damon (6-4, Detroit). Jeter moves to second on defensive indifference.
Abreu works the count deep then lines a double down the left field line to score Jeter. (6-5, Detroit)
The Tigers intentionally walk Matsui, putting the go-ahead run on base in favor of a righty-righty matchup.
Shelley Duncan puts a nice swing on a Todd Jones fastball, lines it to the gap in left-center, but Granderson chases it down relatively easily. Game over.

First of all, one at bat for Damon, one pitch, one swing, one broken bat, one hit. Just awesome production off the bench. Second, I thought Shelley's ball was in the gap, I can only imagine the damage Shelley did to the clubhouse after the game. And finally, this was the first time in a long time that I've had hope late in the game with the Yanks trailing.

Another bright spot. The Yanks lost this game because Wilson Betemit was playing third base (he only had 1 error, but by my count he did not make 6 plays that he should have. Six!!!), and Kei Igawa was the starting pitcher. That's it. Those two things shouldn't happen again in a Yankee game this season.

The vitals are after the jump, as usual.
Player of The Game: The Giambino. Dong and a double, again feasting on pitchers who can't break 85MPH.
Team Record: 18-19
Damon: One broken bat tonight.

Setting Goals

2008-05-09T16:13:34Z

I've said it before, so one more time won't hurt anyone: The Yankees are treading water.

Earlier in the season, they were treading water waiting for the young pitchers to come around. Now, they're treading water waiting for guys to get healthy, Alex Rodriguez foremost among them. If all goes well with his MRI, A-Rod will probably be back in the lineup a week from today. The Yanks need to keep their heads above water for another 7 games then they should get their potent lineup back.

Let's take a look at the pitching matchups for those 7 games, all on the road:

5/9 - Kei Igawa vs. Kenny Rogers
5/10 - Darrell Rasner vs. Jeremy Bonderman
5/11 - Andy Pettitte vs. Nate Robertson
5/12 - Chien-Ming Wang vs. Matt Garza
5/13 - Mike Mussina vs. Edwin Jackson
5/14 - Kei Igawa vs. James Shields
5/15 - Darrell Rasner vs. Scott Kazmir

On paper, the Yanks have a pretty clear pitching advantage in 3 of the games. The goal has to be to finish this stretch at 4-3 or better.

I'll admit it, watching the Yankee lineup with Ensberg or Betemit in it has been painful at times. On some nights, it looks like a National League lineup they're trotting out there. It's only a week. Only 7 games. Just stay at or above .500 until A-Rod gets back and then things will start looking a lot better for Yankee fans, and a lot worse for opposing pitchers.

7:05 tonight we get to see Kei Igawa for the first time this season... lucky us.

Emeka Okafor, Twin Towers Anyone?

2008-05-08T22:09:00Z

Part four of the series features the Bobcats' center, Emeka Okafor. (See the archives after the jump)

Status

Restricted Free Agent
Charlotte's Qualifying Offer: $7,082,635

Reference

Thoughts on the player

I spent some time today thinking about a lineup of Dalembert, Okafor, Thaddeus, Iguodala and Miller. A few things came to mind right away. First, defensively, this team is just huge. Giant. They could match up with anyone physically, they'd have guys on the perimeter who could lock people down, and two mistake-erasers guarding the hoop. Dalembert and Okafor would be the best shot-blocking duo in the league and should absolutely own the boards on both ends of the floor. Defensively, this may be an even better lineup than one with Josh Smith, but there are some drawbacks. The biggest drawback would be defending against a team with a 4 who can spread the floor, Detroit and Orlando come immediately to mind. Neither Okafor nor Dalembert is particularly adept at sticking with guys out to the three point line. But, teams with three-point threats at the 4 are few and far between so maybe you can live with that matchup.

On offense, there are several problems. I don't think Okafor's back-to-the-basket game is developed. It's better than Sammy's but he isn't going to command a double in the post regularly. Yes, he'd obviously give you more out of the position than Reggie Evans, but we're talking about a huge financial investment here and I think for that kind of money you have to solve the low-post problem. His game is just too similar to Dalembert's. The next problem is his free throw shooting. Adding his 59% average to the worst FT shooting team in the league just screams disaster to me.

One last thing, this past season, perhaps conveniently, is the only year Okafor has been able to really stay healthy. He played all 82 games in 07-08 after missing 9, 56 and 15 games in each of his first three seasons, respectively.

Despite the drawbacks, putting a dominant defense on the floor is always tempting, I can't say that I'd be disappointed if Okafor was the Sixers big acquisition, but...

Thoughts on likelihood

A week ago, I might've put the likelihood of this somewhere in the 30% range, but as soon as Larry Brown signed on to coach the Bobcats Emeka Okafor cashed in. Brown will demand the center stays put and he'll anchor Brown's defense for the year or two he's coaching down in Charlotte. He's Brown's prototypical big man: grab rebounds, intimidate, and block shots. The Bobcats are going to wind up overpaying to keep him.

Archives after the jump...

Afternoon Delight: Yanks vs. Tribe

2008-05-08T16:45:36Z

Well, sitting at my desk trying to get a site to work properly isn't my idea of the best way to enjoy a Yankee day game, but bills need to be paid so here I am.

I'll be updating this post throughout the game, leave your thoughts in the comments. Oh, and I forgot to set my TiVo, so I'm going to need some help with Damon's broken bats. If you witness a broken bat, let me know in the comments.

Here's the lineup, first pitch is 1:05 p.m.

Damon (LF)
Jeter (SS)
Abreu (RF)
Matsui (DH)
Giambi (1B)
Melky (CF)
Cano (2B)
Betemit (3B)
Molina (C)

Moose is on the hill.

The live blog will take place after the jump.

Interesting that Molina is catching a day game after a night game. He is in perfect physical condition though, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Hold your breath, A-Rod's going for another MRI before he starts his rehab work in Tampa. If all goes well, he could be back on Wednesday, but it's going to depend on that MRI and how his quad feels between now and then.
Wow, Suzyn Waldman sure hasn't improved with time. I'm about 2 innings away from switching over to the Indians' radio feed.

Top First

Sizemore singles to right on a hanging curve (Suzyn: "Not a terrible curve ball, it was just high and in the middle of the plate").
Carroll hits into a FC, Sizemore out at second.
Dellucci pops out to center.
Peralta down on yakker.
No runs, one hit, no errors, one left on.

Bottom First

Damon grounds out to short.
Jeter flies out to the warning track in right. (Hit the weights)
Abreu lines out to center.
One, two, three.

Top Second

Francisco grounds out to second.
Gutierrez taps one back to the Moose, 1-3 on your scorecard.
Garko grounds out to second.
One, two, three.

Bottom Second

Matsui strokes a single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.
Giambi flies out to shallow left (his average is a breath above .150 now)
Melky hits into a 6-6-3 double play to end the inning.
No runs, one hit, no errors, none left on.

Top Third

Mussina starts Blake off with an 83 MPH fastball. How long can the smoke and mirrors last? Blake fouls out to the Giambino for the first out.
Shoppach grounds out to third.
Sizemore grounds out to second. Moose is cruising.
One, two, three.

Bottom Third

Cano flies out deeeeep left center.
Betemit flies out to right.
Molina grounded out to third.
One, 2, three.

Top Fourth

Carroll grounds out to third.
Dellucci K's looking.
Peralta flies out to deep right (Abreu avoids being afraid of the wall and makes the catch)
1, two, three.

Bottom Fourth

"Positively Damonic!" Leadoff bomb to the short porch in right for Damon. Yankees 1, Indians 0.
Jeter lines a single to right. Sterling is hitting his groove, "The Jeterian swing."
Abreu bounces into a 4-6-3 double play.
Matsui lines a single to center.
"The Giambino!" Upper-deck shot down the line in right. Yankees 3, Indians 0.
The Melk Man grounds out to short.
3 runs, 4 hits, none left on.

Top (Daily News) Fifth

Moose plunks Francisco in the back.
Gutierrez singles to right, Francisco moves to third. (3-1 count, Moose is nibbling)
Garko pops out to second.
Blake doubles over Abreu's head to score 2 runs, Blake moves to third on the throw. Yankees 3, Indians 2. Sterling said the ball went off Abreu's glove, I'm guessing he could've had it but shied away from the wall.
Shoppach singles through the left side to drive in Blake. Yankees 3, Indians 3.
Sizemore flies out to left. Finally two outs.
Carroll strikes out looking.
3 runs, 3 hits, 1 left on.
Bad news, Yankee fans: Kei Igawa will be making a start for the Bombers on Friday.

Bottom (Daily News) Fifth

Cano doubles down the right field line, barely beating the throw from Gutierrez (who I think is one of the best defensive right fielders in the game, that guy covers so much ground and has an absolute cannon for an arm).
Betemit flies out to left, Cano tags and goes to third.
Runner on third, one out for Molina. Need to push this run across here...Molina grounds out to a drawn-in Peralta, run does not score.
Damon bloops one into left for an RBI double. Yankees 4, Indians 3.
Jeter grounds out to short to end the inning.
1 run, 2 hits, 1 left on.

Top Sixth

Rock and Rohlendorf in for the Yanks (Mussina goes 5 innings, 3 earned, 86 pitches)
Dellucci flies out to left.
Peralta strikes out swinging.
Francisco flies out to shallow center.
One, two, 3.

Bottom Sixth

Abreu grounds out to second.
Matsui lines out to first.
Giambi flies out to deep center.
1,2, three.

Top Seventh

Gutierrez singles to center.
Garko flies out to left-center. Sterling called it a nice play by Damon.
Blake pops out to third, in foul territory.
Shoppach flies out to the Melk Man in left-center.
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 left on.

Bottom Seventh

Melky flies out to left.
"It happens in baseball, a lot." Sterling's brilliant analysis, as usual.
"It's Robbie Cano, a dontcha know!!!!" Bomb to right for Cano. Yankees 5, Indians 3.
Kobayashi in for Byrd
"The Yankees will bet on Betemit!!!" Bomb to straight away center. Yankees 6, Indians 3.
Molina strikes out swinging.
Damon grounds out to second to end the inning.
"By the way, those home runs were back to back and belly to belly." Sterling never disappoints.
2 runs, 2 hits, none left on.

Top Eighth

Joba is in. Suzyn thinks this is a brilliant managerial move for Girardi.
Sizemore grounds out to Jeter.
Carroll pops out to shallow right.
Dellucci strikes out on a slider.
"What a Job-a by Joba!" You can't stop Sterling.
One, 2, 3.

Bottom Eighth

Jorge Julio in for the Tribe.
Jeter goes down swinging.
Abreu walks. (First Yankee walk of the game)
Matsui lines into a double play to end the inning. 6-3 if you're scoring at home.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 left on.

Top Ninth

The Sandman has entered
Peralta grounds out to short.
Francisco doubles down the right field line.
Gutierrez pops out to second.
Garko grounds out to third.
"Ball game over, Yankees win, THAAAAAAAAA Yankees win!" Not quite the excitement I was hoping for out of that from Sterling.
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 left on.

Nice win for the Bombers today, back to .500 on getaway day. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon everyone!

Player of The Game: Johnny Damon
Team Record: 18-18
Damon's Broken Bats: Nada, he's on a cold streak.

Has Joba's Transition Started Already?

2008-05-08T05:48:18Z

This is completely speculative, but if you watched Joba pitch on Tuesday night, I'm sure you noticed that he was using his curve instead of his slider. The obvious question is why.

There are a couple of explanations, some mundane like maybe he just had a better feel for the curve in the pen than the slider. One possible reason is elbow tenderness. The slider is much harder on the arm than the curve, especially the type of slider he throws. One possible explanation is very interesting. We may be witnessing the beginning of the transition of Joba into the starting rotation that we've all been anticipating since the Winter.

If the timetable speculated upon over the Winter and Spring is to be believed, Joba only has about another three weeks left working out of the bullpen, maybe the team told him it's time to start refining his third and fourth pitches in preparation for the move. It's possible, and I guess only time will tell. If Joba goes back out there and breaks off nothing but heat and sliders the next time he's called upon, I'm probably wrong, but if we start seeing a four-pitch reliever in the 8th, I think I may be on to something.

I'm not really sure how I'd feel about this, if it proves to be true. Honestly, I think he's more dominant with his two best pitches when he only has to face a handful of hitters once. Mixing in all of his pitches in that role is asking for trouble.

Anyway, food for thought heading into the day game today, and something to keep an eye on.