LADY AT THE BAT

Summer Saturday Ladybugs: Grandy & The Trop, Ike & The Subway Series

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Sat, 25 May 2013 13:23:00 +0000

Shortly after I started this blog in 2007, I began a series of posts called Summer Saturday Ladybugs, After spending weekdays blogging about the Yankees, I devoted these weekend posts, filled with pictures of cute little ladybugs, to other teams around MLB. While I'm not ready to commit to it every Saturday (and I'm too lazy to include the ladybug pics) I have decided to bring the Ladybugs back, and to include some Yankees topics as well. So, here's the first installment:

* I don't think I've ever been as bummed out about a player injury as I am about Curtis Granderson's. Eight games after returning from that broken wrist he sustained in spring training he breaks the knuckle on his left pinkie finger? So many injuries. Up until now I took each one in stride. Now I just want to punch somebody.

* It sure sounded as if John Sterling wanted to punch somebody last night. Sterling was his usual annoyed self as he did the play-by-play of the game against the Rays at the Trop. I get it, the noise at the Trop is infamous, but Sterling is supposed to be a professional. Acting like a diva and complaining about it for several innings is just wrong. Come on, John, act like you have the experience everyone knows you have.

* Does Ike Davis have enough experience? The Mets first baseman, whom everyone knows has been playing like a little leaguer, is hitting just .143 on the season. He struck out four times in last night's game against the Braves and has made a couple of shocking defensive blunders this season. What's going on with this guy? Some are saying he has a vision problem, but most people think he just needs to be demoted to triple A to work out his problems.

* A demotion to triple A before Monday will spare him the derisive chants Yankee fans are sure to throw his way during the Subway Series. Yes, it's that time again. This year's installment is a home-in-home affair (two at Citi Field and two at the Stadium), which I like much better than the long, drawn out six game sets of previous years. With the exception of the game Matt Harvey will pitch on Tuesday, this looks to be an easy series for the Yankees.

* Will you be watching the Subway Series at home or will you travel to Citi Field or to the Stadium? If you decide to go the one of the games, it is actually cheaper than it has been in a very long time. In fact, with a combined average price of $116, this is the cheapest Subway Series over the last four years. Keep that in mind if you are purchasing Yankees tickets for this upcoming series.

That's all I have for today. Everyone enjoy the games and have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

Adams Has A Winning At Bat In A Losing Effort

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:52:00 +0000

On Wednesday night rotation stalwart Hiroki Kuroda had an injury shortened and ineffective outing, and rookie reliever Preston Claiborne finally showed some vulnerability as the Yankees fell to their A.L. East division rivals, the Baltimore Orioles. On a good note, however, David Adams, the rookie 3B, provided a spark of optimism.

The Yankees had seven hits last night, half that of their opponents, but the most satisfying of those came in the top of the ninth inning: a home run by Adams. The scene was depressing enough, with the Yankees down 6-2 and rain coming down, sending the fans in Camden Yards scrambling for cover. All fans, that is, except the hardy group that started a loud and cheerful "Yankees Suck" chant that came through clearly on the YES Network telecast. For a ballpark that can be mistaken for Yankee Stadium South, especially in the summer, the chants made for painful listening. With a 6-2 lead and side-winding, sub-2.00 ERA lefty Darren O'Day on the mound, the Orioles fans were clearly looking forward to a comfortable victory.

Adams dug in and initially looked uncomfortable against O'Day, taking some awkward swings. Five pitches later, however, he was jogging around the bases after slugging a homerun to left, the second of his career and his second of the series. Adams has been impressive through his first six games with the Yankees, hitting over .300, playing solid defense and showing that the Yankees farm system has players that can come up and produce in a pinch.

There's little chance that Adams sticks in the majors once Kevin Youkilis and certainly Alex Rodriguez come back from their respective injuries, but he has made an impression. His Wednesday night homerun momentarily silenced all chants and, when they returned, they were "Let's Go O's!" chants instead. With the homerun, a sliver of doubt crept into the stadium. Baltimore closer Jim Johnson started warming up and the fans began imploring the team to just seal the deal.

With 13 games remaining against the Orioles, the Yankees showing that they can get to the Baltimore bullpen is an important factor. On Wednesday night, the Orioles prevailed as O'Day settled in after Adams's homerun but, thanks to Adams, the Yankees at least put up a fight.

Looking To Kuroda Takes The Sting Out Of Last Night's Yankees Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:43:00 +0000

Ah, what a comfort it is to know that, after a tough extra inning walk-off loss last night in Baltimore, the Yankees have their ace pitching in the rubber game tonight.

But wait, you might be saying, CC Sabathia pitched in the first game of the series, right?

Yes, but who said CC was the ace of the pitching staff? If you really think CC Sabathia is the Yankees ace, you've been asleep since the season began. The real ace of the Yankees pitching staff is Hiroki Kuroda.

As he proved last season, making the transition from pitching in the NL West to pitching in the AL East doesn't have to be as hard as everyone says it is. Since he began his Yankee career he has put up better numbers than he did with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His record after four years with LA was 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA. Since last season with the Yankees, he is 22-13 with a 3.04 ERA. Really, it's supposed to be the other way around, but Kuroda has bucked that trend.

When Kuroda arrived for his first Yankee Spring Training last year, I remember raising my eyebrows when I heard he requested to wear number 18, a number reserved for staff aces in Japan. However, he lived up to that number last year and is well on his way to doing so again this year.

So everyone relax and chill. The ace is pitching tonight, which means there is a good chance that the Yankees will win.

Lyle Overbay: The Biggest Yankees Surprise To Date

noreply@blogger.com (Vivianna Velazquez) — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:03:00 +0000

On Friday night, while Hiroki Kuroda was shutting down the Toronto Blue Jays, I had the opportunity to be the guest on Sportswire Entertainment's live broadcast. Vinnie Apicella, the show's host, started in with a couple routine questions-- "How did you get started?" "How about those Yankees?" Then he asked a question I had to think about, "Which Yankee player has been the biggest surprise for you?" I gave it some thought. Hasn't the entire team been a surprise? They're in first place without their star players! Though I would have liked my answer to have been Francisco Cervelli, he hasn't been in the running for much of anything since his injury at the end of April. Before I knew it, the name Lyle Overbay slipped out.

There is not much that is memorable about Lyle Overbay's career. He's not a physical stand out and, for a fan base that's used to seeing Mark Teixeira's web gems, Overbay's defense seems average at best. He spent time with three Major League clubs before landing with the Yankees. Since his best offensive year in 2006, his performance has been a bit of a roller coaster. Decent offensive seasons have been followed by duds, and while parts of any particular season have showed a glimmer of talent, the other parts were forgettable.

Now with the Yankees, Overbay finds himself well liked by fans known for not warming up to new guys too quickly. With a .259 BA, how is he doing it? Just check the Yankees' RBI stats. Take a look at who's second only to the beloved Robinson Cano. Compared to other American League first basemen, Overbay's 24 RBI is not a grand statistic, but taken in the context of it being the second most RBI on the AL East's first place team, those 24 RBI bump Overbay up to being a pretty significant player. When the crowd's on their feet waiting for the magic, Overbay has come through with whatever hit or sacrifice out gets the team to score, or at least, closer to scoring.

Let's be honest: no one expected Lyle Overbay to be a significant player. For that, he is the sweet, pleasant surprise, so far, of the 2013 New York Yankees, and I'm not ready to spoil it by wondering what will happen when Teixeira comes back. Not yet.

********

Podcast Update: Due to computer issues, this month's podcast will not take place. Look for the next one sometime during the middle of next month.
--BP

Yankees Lose A Series And Potentially Two More Players

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:23:00 +0000

The Yankees lost Thursday's rubber game against the Seattle Mariners (just the second series loss of the month) and potentially lost much more. Andy Pettitte left after just 4.2 innings with a tweaked trapezius muscle and Chris Stewart, forced into starting catcher duties after an injury to Francisco Cervelli, limped off the field with a left groin strain. While the severity of Stewart's injury is unknown, Pettitte's was deemed not too serious.

To a weary Yankees team and fan base this injury refrain is all too familiar. At some point, these injuries will stop. It can't continue at this ludicrous pace because not even the baseball fates can still be enjoying this stream of injured Yankee after injured Yankee.

The pre-season injuries were bad enough as they spurred questions of how the Yankees would survive the first month of the season in a loaded A.L. East without Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Michael Pineda. After opening the season losing four of their first five, the patchwork Yankees responded in surprising and gratifying fashion with steady and workman like play propelling them into first place. Therefore the questions subsided albeit briefly.

Even when Jeter suffered a major setback and Teixeira's return was pushed back from sometime in May to early June (if all went well) things seemed to be okay because the fill-ins were holding their own. Then even they began to fall to the injury bug: Cervelli, in the midst of an extremely productive season as the de-facto starting catcher, broke his hand. Eduardo Nunez, the fill-in shortstop, went down with a sore ribcage. Kevin Youkilis, the fill-in at 3B, battled unsuccessfully through a lumbar spine sprain before succumbing to the discomfort. Ivan Nova, the inconsistent but promising fifth starter, strained his triceps and reliever Joba Chamberlain went down with a right oblique strain, which unfortunately, left his mouth just fine. All five are currently on the disabled list.

Even with Granderson making his return earlier this week, there are ten members of the Yankees 40 Man Roster on either the 15-Day or the 60-Day DL. The New York Times keeps a running tally of the value of all the players each Major League team currently has on the DL. The Yankees are easily leading the pack with $85.6MM, or 37.5% of their payroll, on the DL. A distant second on the list are the Los Angeles Dodgers with $67.2MM.

Despite those losses, somehow the Yankees kept rolling using timely hits and stellar pitching to continue winning series. At some point, however, all these injuries just might catch up to them. The team has been hanging on for dear life, just waiting for the injured players to come riding in for some relief but at this rate it might not be in time.

Joe Girardi toed the expected line after the game, telling the YES Network, "You've [got to] move forward. That's the bottom line...No excuses, you've [got to] get it done" but what else can a major league manager say, especially one at the helm of the team with the highest payroll in the majors? Not too many will sympathize.

With 10 of the 14 remaining May games against division rivals, these next 15 days will be very important. It would be nice to have a healthy team ready for that gauntlet but that's not the reality and won't be for quite some time. The baseball fates aren't done laughing quite yet.

In Yankees Latest Loss, The Woeful, The Wonderful & The Weird

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:24:00 +0000

As baseball games go, Wednesday night's Yankees game against the Seattle Mariners was a disaster, at least for the Yankees and their fans. With a final score of 12-2 in favor of Seattle, it's clear that things didn't go according to the Yankees plan. It was a tough loss but there were still some positives.

The Woeful

Just over 15 minutes after the game started, before most viewers, and those with Yankees tickets, had even settled into their seats, Seattle had batted around, the score was 7-0 in their favor and New York Yankees starter Phil Hughes was sitting in the dugout after recording only two outs. With a game ERA of 94.50, a WHIP of 12.00 and another loss, Wednesday's game was just another example of the sometimes maddening inconsistency of the Yankees homegrown starter. Hughes did nothing to silence his legion of doubters or answer the question of whether the Yankees should offer him the sizable contract he's likely to pursue this offseason.

Yankees fans now know precisely how Baltimore and Detroit fans felt watching Raul Ibanez, the Yankees erstwhile postseason hero, slug homeruns out of Yankee stadium with his unconventional swing. Watching his first inning grand slam soar off to right field was painful and he added another one before the night was complete giving him three in the first two games of the series. It's safe to say that the love affair is over and the Yankees won't be sorry to send Ibanez on his way after tonight's game.

The Wonderful

A player making his major league debut is always a special thing. Certainly David Adams, called up earlier in the day to play 3B after Chris Nelson was released, would have preferred a different outcome for the team but, from a personal perspective, it was a good experience. He went 1 for 3, getting his first major league hit (a single) on his 26th birthday and played representative defense at the hot corner. Good day for the rookie.

He wasn't alone as Brett Marshall also made his major league debut. He gave up five earned runs, including the second Ibanez homerun, showing some control issues and only striking out one but the 23 year old righty reliever threw 108 pitches in 5.2 innings and saved the Yankees bullpen on a night when their starter went only 0.2 innings. He did the job asked of him, something that is often easier said than done for a rookie, and the remaining Yankee faithful gave him a nice hand as he exited the game.

The Weird

By the top of the ninth inning even the most optimistic fan had to concede that a comeback was likely out of the question. With Marshall having delivered all a manager could ask, Girardi needed just one more out. A glance over to the bullpen showed that it was quiet, and it was clear Girardi didn't want to waste an arm. So it was that the defensive alignment for that final out included Alberto Gonzalez, the light hitting shortstop, on the mound featuring a high 70s - low 80s fastball, Vernon Wells once again playing an unfamiliar position in the infield at 2B and Jayson Nix slotting in at shortstop. Gonzalez got Robert Andino to pop up to Ichiro Suzuki in right field, and walked off the mound with a slight smile.

As John Sterling is fond of telling his broadcast partner Suzyn Waldman, "You can't predict baseball." Wednesday's game was a great example of the truth in that statement. In the end there will be some justifiable concern over Phil Hughes as well as fears of a carryover to Thursday from the deflating loss. However, two well performing rookies and an unexpected pitching performance should serve to mitigate the loss.

11 Comeback Wins & Counting, Plus A Word About Melky

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:15:00 +0000

After the Yankees secured their 11th comeback win last night, a feeling came over me that I haven't had since the 2009 season. You remember 2009, right? That was the season the Yankees had 15 walk-off wins. During that season it seemed as if they were capable of winning every single game they played. I hardly ever got down when they were trailing in a 2009 game because they were, most likely, going to come back and win it end the end.

Though the Yankees have yet to record a walk-off win, this season is shaping up to be just like 2009. Why did I only just start feeling that way last night? Because it was King Felix Hernandez they faced, and because the Mariners have a great bullpen. The odds were stacked against them but, they prevailed nonetheless. Final score: Yankees 4, Mariners 3.

A little more about that thrilling 2009 season: A man who was right in the middle of a few of those 15 walk-off wins is now with the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, I'm talking about Melky Cabrera. The Melkman Delivers. That phrase was uttered dozens of times by Yankees Universe in 2009, and dozens more times in 2012 by fans of the San Francisco Giants. However, after he fell from grace, the Giants and their fans seemed to have forgotten him. He wasn't allowed back on the roster after his suspension and he took himself out of the running for the batting title. So, you would think that his ties with the Giants were completely severed. Then comes the news yesterday that Melky received a World Series ring from the team. What? They banish him from the team, keep him from participating in their playoff and World Series run, then give him a ring? How in the world does that make sense?

It doesn't, apparently. The fact that the ring was presented to him "in private," and that he didn't even open the package in front of his presenters is proof positive that this is the one of the stupidest moves in baseball this year. I couldn't believe it when I read about it.

I can believe in the Yankees this year, however, and I'm looking forward to more wins. Go Yankees.

3:00 PM: Go Yankees, indeed. I am pleased to announce that Lady At The Bat has embarked on a new partnership. We have teamed up with TiqIQ to bring you the best deals on the market. They aggregate sellers from across the primary and secondary market, and for Yankees tickets, they recommend the official Yankees Ticket Exchange. So, if you want to see some of those comeback wins in person, get on it!

Book Review: New York Yankees Then and Now

noreply@blogger.com (Vivianna Velazquez) — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:18:00 +0000

Larry Rossman's New York Yankees Then and Now, a pictorial depiction of Yankee history, presents itself similar to a set of baseball cards made of highlights and short prints, without the "commons" that usually ended up in bicycle spokes. This is not surprising since Rossman, a self proclaimed Yankee fan since childhood, has enjoyed every nostalgic proclivity that comes along with rooting for the most successful team in sports history. In my own Yankee fandom there has never been anything ordinary about the Yankees--even now as the superstars are gone and the commons have put the team in first place. Rossman's record of Yankee history manages to touch on all the extraordinary facets of the organization. The book is a timeline covering the team's most significant and memorable elements from the birth of the Yankees to the latest events of the 21st century.

Every piece of Yankee history is assigned to one of the book's four heading toppers: The Yankee Decades, Game Changers, Yankees Then and Now, and Yankee Legends. Each topic is presented as a two page snapshot of history with a casual balance of photos and text. The Yankee Decades pages help carry the linear chronology of the information. Any combination of Game Changers, Yankees Then and Now, and Yankee Legends headed pages follow to give quick bits of information covering well known history as well as not so well known within the corresponding decades.

For example, the Game Changers: Key Moments in Yankee History pages include such events as key player acquisitions, pivotal games, and managerial changes. Some of the same content is then mentioned in the Then and Now and Yankee Legends sections. Reading straight through tended to become repetitive, as much of the content overlapped throughout the different sections. For example, as I read through the Yankee Legend Babe Ruth section, I found that much of the information was covered in the preceding Game Changers and Then and Now sections--a persistent pattern throughout the book.

As long as you enjoy the book as a casual read and not as a history lesson to be read for hours at once, you can overlook the books repetitive nature. This book will serve best as a thumb through with a cup of coffee (or beer) and laid to rest for the next baseball fan to come along and enjoy. Every piece of the Yankee story can be enjoyed on its own while still hanging on the overall theme of the book; feel free to start on page 114 to read about the last days of the Old Yankee Stadium and then skip back to page 12 and read about Hilltop Park with a whole new appreciation of what carried the organization from "then" to "now".

New York Yankees Then and Now is available now in bookstores and on Amazon.

Pleasant Surprises Continue For The New York Yankees

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:54:00 +0000

This season continues to be a series of pleasant surprises for the New York Yankees. Well, maybe not for the team, but for fans and the media. The surprises are worth looking at one by one. First, the numbers:

Going into today's action the Yankees are 23-13, in first place in the AL East. That's 10 games over .500. They are in the midst of a five-game winning streak. They are also 7-1 in 1-run games this year. Lastly, they have an 11-6 road record, second only in baseball to the St Louis Cardinals.

Second, Mariano Rivera:

Rivera returned to Kansas City this past weekend, the "scene of the crime" if you will. I laughed when I saw how ESPN New York's Wallace Mathews referred to it: Return To Wounded Knee. He certainly was not wounded over the weekend while he notched his 14th and 15th saves. Fifteen for 15 in save opportunities is more than awesome. It's mo-tastic! (That's okay, I'll show myself out.)

Third, Vernon Wells:

It's time for me to admit I was wrong about Vernon Wells. I thought the guy was finished. However, he has proved that he is definitely NOT finished. As of this morning he was batting .295 with 9 HR and 20 RBI. He even has four stolen bases! I don't know if he can keep it up for an extended period of time--what am I talking about? It has been an extended period of time! He has been great and, as long as he can adjust to being a bench player when the Walking Wounded return, he will continue to be great.

The last surprise is not so pleasant:

Joba Chamberlain told Rivera not to shush him? Everyone knows the story by now so, I won't repeat it. However, I will say that, while I think Joba was dead wrong, I understand why he did what he did, why he was so emotional. What everyone fails to admit/remember is that Joba was so loud because he had spotted his family in the stands and was calling out to them. If you didn't know that Joba Chamberlain is extremely (some might say insanely) close to his family, you've been living under a rock. People who are that close to their families could care less about anyone else when said family is around.

Here's hoping the surprises continue. (The pleasant ones, that is.)

Yankees Complementary Players Doing Their Part

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:29:00 +0000

A glance at the Yankees stat leader boards shows that some of the usual suspects are carrying their weight. Robinson Cano is leading the league in batting average, homeruns, RBIs and hits, CC Sabathia is leading in wins and strikeouts and Hiroki Kuroda in ERA. Look a few levels lower, however, and it is clear that the complementary players brought in at the end of spring training, are doing their part as well. Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner are second and third in batting average and homeruns and Vidal Nuno and Preston Claiborne have come up from the minor leagues throwing strikes out of the bullpen.

The Yankees, after a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, are in first place in the A.L. East and some unconventional names are a large part of the reason. It's early May so it's unrealistic to expect the likes of Francisco Cervelli, when he does eventually return, to slug .500 or for Wells to continue a stolen base trend that has him on pace for close to 20 or for Claiborne to never give up a run. On the flip side, however, Eduardo Nunez can't hit .200 for a full season and Ivan Nova can't pitch to a 6+ ERA either, or so the Yankees must hope. Baseball is a game of peaks and valleys and, as long as the Yankees players don't all slump at once, they just may continue surprising everyone. On any given night, the Yankees just need someone, anyone, to contribute.

On Thursday afternoon, that contribution came from the bullpen. The Yankees got a solid four innings out of CC Sabathia but then lost their ace after a lengthy rain delay and had to piece together the remaining five innings. Adam Warren stepped in to earn his first win, Claiborne pitched an effective if messy inning and Robinson Cano got his 1,500 (and 1,501) career hits to lead the Yankees to a 3-1 victory against the Colorado Rockies. As they have done for the bulk of this season, an unexpected but increasingly reliable mix of proven talent and rookie contributors led the Yankees to a win. And, here in the early going, they have led the Yankees to the top of the A.L. East

Yes, it's early May, yes they are mere percentage points ahead of both Boston and Baltimore and yes their offense barely mustered enough runs in Coors Field, one of the most offense friendly ballparks in the major leagues, to win an interleague matchup against the Colorado Rockies. But so what?

Through a combination of solid pitching (fifth in the American League in team ERA) and some unexpected pop (third in the AL in homeruns), this Yankees team has continued to defy expectations. In fact the standings are thus far the inverse of expectations with the hot pick Toronto Blue Jays and always trendy Tampa Bay Rays battling it out for the final two spots while New York and Boston, mere after thoughts before the season, fight it out for the top spot with Baltimore somewhere in the middle.

With 10 games remaining this month within the division, there is no time for complacency or even a pat on the back. Tomorrow there will be just another game to win and another player who will need to step up. Right now, though, the Yankees are in first place and they have earned it.

Girardi's Quirky Lineup Moves Deliver A Win

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Wednesday night it paid off to have a former National League Manager of the Year at the helm of the New York Yankees. Girardi, who won the award in 2006 with the Florida Marlins, had to show off some of that National League ingenuity in game two of the interleague matchup with the Colorado Rockies.

Before the game even started, Girardi raised some eyebrows with his decision to bat David Phelps eighth ahead of Austin Romine in the lineup. He explained it as wanting to separate the Yankees lefties in a lineup full of them as well as hoping to get Robinson Cano, the undisputed offensive leader of this injury depleted lineup, as many at bats as possible. It all makes sense but still it's fair to wonder what that decision did for the young backup catcher's confidence. Historically, the lower you are in the lineup, the less potent your bat and there was Romine batting ninth below a pitcher who had never taken an at bat at the major league level. It's enough to mess with a rookie's psyche.

In the end, it was all a wash from the offensive perspective as Phelps went 0 for 2 with two strikeouts while Romine went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and neither was around for the end of the game. Ben Francisco pinch hit for Phelps with the go ahead run on third but couldn't get the job done and Chris Stewart entered the game for defensive purposes in the bottom of the ninth.

Girardi, however, wasn't done with his unconventional moves. In the top of the ninth the Yankees loaded the bases with Chris Nelson's spot due up. He turned and walked back into the dugout and out popped Travis Hafner. Yankees Universe frowned momentarily, wondering who would play third base? Surely not Hafner, who the Yankees swathe in bubble wrap in between his at bats. Could Nunez be healthier than previously thought? Perhaps Chris Stewart had some infield experience? The decision looked even more questionable after Hafner struck out and Brennan Boesch pinch hit in David Robertson's spot, beating out an infield single to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.

Off to the bottom of the ninth inning and there was less uncertainty about who would take the mound, Mariano Rivera of course, than there was about who would be manning third base.

It turned out to be Vernon Wells, who had collected three of the Yankees total six hits on the night, and who had scored the go ahead run, and who would now man the hot corner. In fact, changes abounded in the Yankees defensive alignment leaving Bob Lorenz, the YES play-by-play man for last night's game, to announce the positioning as if it was an early Spring Training game.

The first out was a flyout to Brett Gardner, the only outfielder to remain in his position for the entire game. The second out was, of course a ground out to third base. Wells fielded it cleanly and unleashed a slightly underhanded but accurate throw to first base. After the final out, another flyout to Gardner, the game was secure. Test passed.

During his postgame interview, Girardi kiddingly chastised Sweeny Murti from WFAN, when Murti asked if he thought the Yankees had "stolen" a game with the unconventional line-up. Girardi explained that he had, indeed, had a plan the entire time and he seemed to enjoy explaining his thinking.

Gone are the "set it and forget it" days of the New York Yankees lineup, at least for a few more months and perhaps for the entire season. It's an opportunity for the Yankees manager to show off his managerial skills and, for one night at least, Girardi was impressive.

A Colorado Series Preview and Injury Update

noreply@blogger.com (Vivianna Velazquez) — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:14:00 +0000

The Yankees are starting their second inter-league series tonight. A series win against the Colorado Rockies will be necessary for them to keep pace with the first place Red Sox, especially after Boston's extra innings win last night against the Twins.

Despite New York's injuries, the Colorado series looks hopeful. The Yankees two best starters are due up and the line up has managed to get enough runs across the plate without the regulars to win 7 of their last 10 games. Here are the pitching match-ups for the coming series:

Game 1: Hiroki Kuroda (4-1, 2.25) vs Jorge De La Rosa (2-3, 4.18)
Game 2: David Phelps (1-1, 5.56) vs Juan Nicasio (3-0, 4.91)
Game 3: CC Sabathia (4-3, 4.31) vs Jeff Francis (1-2, 7.27)

As long as the Yankee offense shows up, games 1 and 3 should be wins, given the stark difference in the caliber of pitchers facing each other. Phelps and Nicasio are more comparable as back end starter types; they will both allow some runs and it will be up to the offense to win the game. Nicasio leads the Rockies' pitching staff in walks and hasn't made it past the 5th inning since his first start at the beginning of April. In his most recent outing, Nicasio only made it through 4 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I suspect National League pitchers don't pitch as many innings per game compared to American League pitchers given that their bats might take them out of a game sooner than their arms will in a close contest, but that will be irrelevant with the New York hitters grinding out plenty of walks. We'll have to wait and see whether inter-league play will give Girardi plenty of opportunities to make questionable pitching decisions or if the offense will leave enough room for Girardi to trust pitchers not named CC, Hiroki, or Booney. Luckily, injury prone Hughes and Pettitte won't be starting versus Colorado; swinging a bat with any semblance of effort would be the last thing I would want those two pitchers to do.

On the injury front: SS Eduardo Nunez is day to day again, this time with rib cage tightness. I would love to see him back for tomorrow's game at the latest. The ground balls will be looking for holes against Kuroda and Phelps. He needs to get back ASAP or we will see an "In Case of Emergency Break Glass" infielder out there when someone else goes down. On a positive note, David Robertson should be available out of the pen tonight after resting a hamstring pull.

Two Consecutive Bad Starts By Andy Pettitte: Is This The Beginning Of The End?

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:32:00 +0000

Normally, when a pitcher has a couple of bad starts in a row, it is called a slump. Said pitcher just isn't getting it done at the moment but, the consensus usually is that he will get it together sooner or later. However, when it comes to Andy Pettitte, we aren't talking about a normal situation.

At 40 years old, Andy Pettitte is the oldest starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. He will turn 41 next month. When you have a couple of bad games at his age, it isn't wrong to ask this question: Is this the beginning of the end for Andy Pettitte?

According to the LoHud Yankees Blog, the lefty didn't mince words after yesterday's start against Oakland: “It’s a struggle,” Pettitte said. “The issue is everything. Everything I’ve got to do as a starting pitcher, I’m not able to do right now. … My release point is floating around a little bit. … It’s been a long, long time since I haven’t had a feeling for my pitches... My cutter is nonexistent right now."

Now, Pettitte is usually pretty honest when it comes to self-assessment so, you wouldn't think there'd be cause for concern after he made these statements. However, we're not talking about a 30 year-old Andy Pettitte here. There is a big difference between a young pitcher saying "the issue is everything" and a soon-to-be-41 year-old pitcher saying it.

I hope Pettitte straightens himself out. However, if he doesn't, I won't be surprised. All good things must come to an end sooner or later, and for an aging Andy Pettitte, "later" can no longer be part of his lexicon.

Yankees Barely Win Series Against The Houston Astros

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:12:00 +0000

It wasn't supposed to be this difficult, this three game series against the Houston Astros. Baseball is unpredictable and on any given day one team can beat any other. That's simply the reality of the game. Still, there are certain games or even certain series where a fan says, "This is one the [fill in the team] should win." Whether it's a lopsided pitching matchup or an anemic opposing offense, something about the game seems to indicate a win is in the offing.

In a long season, it would seem that players would make the same assumptions. Of course they would never admit to such a thing. That would be too blunt and forthcoming for today's modern athlete. Still, it's a little like the pitcher's spot in a National League game, everyone looks at it as a relatively easy out and a chance for everyone to catch their breath.

For the Yankees, coming off an April filled with a litany of injuries and having battled each of their A.L. East opponents at least once, the hapless Houston Astros were supposed to be that easy out. They weren't, though. The 7-18 Astros rolled into the Bronx on Monday night, having just been swept by the Boston Red Sox, and put an absolute bruising on Andy Pettitte, his first real clunker of the season. The Yankees never recovered from him giving up seven runs in 4.1 innings but, in game 2, although he had to work hard early, Kuroda settled in to get the win.

In the rubber game on Wednesday, David Phelps, filling in for the ineffective and injured Ivan Nova, showed an at times dominant repertoire coupled with a fearless demeanor out on the mound. He had one bad inning to give up the lead but never let the Astros get the go ahead run. The bullpen, including the maddeningly frustrating Boone Logan who got the win, took it from there and the Yankees eked out the game and a series victory.

A series win is a wonderful thing, whatever way you look at it but this one was a little unsettling. These were the Astros, who are projected to spend most of the season battling the Miami Marlins for the honor of being the worst team in the majors and who lead the league in strikeouts and are tied for most losses.

It just felt like it should have been easier. Instead, it was a reminder that, despite the feel good vibes around the Yankees who have thus far surpassed expectations with their 17-10 record, this is still an unconventional, heavily injured and largely unknown Yankees team. On the plus side, the team will only get healthier. On the negative side, until that happens, there just might not be any easy games. Not even against the likes of the Houston Astros.

Ten Mo Saves, Ten More Highlights: Yankees In The Month Of April

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:30:00 +0000

April was a good month for Mariano Rivera and, by extension, the New York Yankees. Rivera set a personal record for saves in the month with nine. He added to that total last night as the team closed out the month with their 16th win of the season. In honor of his 10 saves, let's look back at the 10 biggest Yankee highlights for April 2013 (in no particular order):

10- Four April wins for CC Sabathia, the first time he has accomplished this in his career.

9- Travis Hafner's month: A .318 average, six home runs and 17 RBIs.

8- Derek Jeter's vow to return, ending speculation that he was about to announce he would not.

7- Vernon Wells' month: A .300 average, six home runs and 13 RBIs.

6- Hiroki Kuroda's career-best four-game winning streak.

5- Vidal Nuno's Major League debut: three scoreless innings, no walks, two strikeouts.

4- Lyle Overbay's non-Teixeira-like start: A .241 average, four home runs and 12 RBIs.

3- Eduardo Nunez's three errors which, for him, is like going error-less.

2- A four-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, the first of its kind since September 1995.

1- The entire Stadium singing "Sweet Caroline" during the first game after the Boston Marthon Bombings.

So, April was very kind to the New York Yankees. Now that we've reached May, Yankees Universe can look forward to several members of their Walking Wounded returning at some point. It won't be a stretch to predict an even better record before the arrival of June.

Yanks Weekend In Review: Injuries, Call-ups & A Sweep

noreply@blogger.com (Vivianna Velazquez) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:06:00 +0000

After this weekend's sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees are in 2nd place behind the Boston Red Sox. What was the recipe for their success? Just a couple more injuries and the long ball. ~~"You know Suzyn...~~" As appropriate as that quote is right now for the Yankees, I won't use it. Remember in my ridiculous AL East predictions, I picked the Yankees to be AL East Champs come the post season. So when they win, that's right, I predicted it.

Yesterday Brennan Boesch and Lyle Overbay, of all people, hit the two homeruns that helped to complete the sweep of Toronto. It's hard to believe that in winning 7 of their last 10 games about 40% of their runs came as the result of home runs. They're still not matching home run numbers they would have possibly had with Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, and Alex Rodriguez around, but they lead the AL East with 35 (division average = 28). Go figure.

Phil Hughes gave his team another positive start; I'd say that makes three in a row. He gave up two runs but New York took back just enough for the win. Is it me or does it seem like many of the games have ended with close scores? Overall, the Yankees' pitching staff has allowed too many runners on making for close games. That formula has given Mariano Rivera plenty of opportunities to make his trademark journey from the pen to the mound for a record 9 saves in April, as ESPN's Andrew Marchand pointed out on twitter. Before I saw that tweet, I was already thinking that I 'd seen Mo come out to close games a little too often. Such a start to the season will be a worry if the Yankees don't have some blow outs soon. Mo said he still had gas in the tank, but should fans expect the same 60+ outings he's given us for the last 9 years, excluding 2012?

The positive trend in Hughes' pitching is refreshing in the midst of two more injuries to the roster. In a matter of minutes Friday night, while I was enjoying a live ball game at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT, I read that Cervelli would be out for a minimum of 6 weeks and Nova would be put on the Disabled List. As I read this aloud from my phone at the ball game, two little boys in front of me were just as devastated by the news. As they walked passed me to leave the game early, they asked, "Are they at least winning?" I answered, "I don't even know the score, I was too distracted by the injuries to even bother with the score." Little did I or those boys know that despite having to go to David Phelps early in the game and Chris Stewart's clumsy catching, the Yankees went on to beat the Blue Jays 6-4.

I'd say losing the #5 starter is the least of the Yankees' worries since they like to stockpile starters in their bullpen. They called up Vidal Nuno from AAA, but everything I'm hearing and reading is that, true to the past pitchers' shuffles, Nuno will be pitching out of the bullpen. Nuno has not pitched since April 21st--right about when he won International League Pitcher of the Week. I'm still hoping that the speculators are wrong and they'll give him a shot at the start of the game, not after a few innings of someone else's mess.

Next up for the Yankees are the Astros. This will be the Astros' first series as an American League team vs the Yankees. Boston will be playing Toronto; I expect New York will keep pace with them in the standings. Neither Toronto or Houston have proven to be strong teams. Keep an eye out for Wednesday's starter for New York, as all signs point to David Phelps starting. That will be a certainty if we see Vidal Nuno out of the bullpen today or tomorrow.

An Injured Battery Recap & A Romine Scouting Report

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:34:00 +0000

I held out hope until the last minute that Francisco Cervelli's hand injury was only a minor one.

I had already seen the tweets announcing that Triple A Scranton catcher Austin Romine had been removed from his game shortly after Cervelli went down, but I kept telling myself that it was only as a precaution until Cervelli's bruise had been confirmed. Of course, it wasn't a bruise. He's scheduled to have surgery today and the prognosis is at least six week recovery. Hopefully his battery-mate Ivan Nova's recovery time will be more along the lines of six days. He left the game in the third inning with elbow pain and was scheduled for an MRI last night.

Back to Cervelli. The overwhelming opinion about him is that his injury is a bad break for the team. However, not everyone agrees. Chuck Johnson is an MLB prospect expert who runs a site called MLB Prospect Pulse. He thinks Cervelli did the Yankees a "favor" by getting hurt because he is not a good catcher. I was unable to convince him otherwise so, via Twitter, I asked him to give me a scouting report on Austin Romine:

"He comes from a good background. Father and brother are ML'ers. That carries weight especially in a veteran clubhouse. He's been injury prone [the] last couple of years especially with his back. I don't think he'll ever reach his ceiling at this point, but knowing CC [Sabathia]and the rest of the guys respect him, that's all that matters."

Romine was batting .333 at Scranton this year and is fully healthy for the first time in several years. Hopefully he'll continue along those lines with the big club.

To Cervy and Nova: Get well soon.

Hiroki Kuroda Settles In To Lead Yankees To Series Opening Win

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:47:00 +0000

New York Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda entered Thursday night's game with a sparkling 2.35 ERA and an even 1.00 WHIP. He also had yet to give up a single home run. His opponent, the Toronto Blue Jays, have been an early season disappointment with their 9-14 record and are sitting in last place in the A.L. East. For all that, however, the one thing that hasn't deserted them is their prodigious power. Led by J.P. Arencibia and Jose Bautista, the Blue Jays are tied with the Texas Rangers for 2nd in the American League in homeruns.

Coupling that with the notoriously short right field porch in Yankee Stadium didn't diminish the calmness that came from having Kuroda in to face those Toronto sluggers. So it was something of a surprise that, though it was only the 1st inning, Kuroda had already given up 3 runs with two coming on the long ball (Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie). Even the hits that stayed in the park were struck hard. It seemed like it was going to be a short night for Kuroda and a long one for the New York Yankees and their fans.

Five innings later, however, there was Kuroda walking off the mound in line for a win after striking out Colby Rasmus. He had buckled down, turned to his off-speed pitches and kept the Blue Jays off the board.

It was an important show of fortitude by the Yankees #2 starter and gave the home team a chance to get back in the game. The Blue Jays may be second in homeruns in the American League but the Yankees are first. Behind a solo shot from Vernon Wells, a three run shot from Robinson Cano and a solo shot from the continually surprising Francisco Cervelli, they took the lead in the bottom of the third inning and kept it.

The game ended with Mariano Rivera positively slamming the door on the Blue Jays and the Yankees took the first of a four game series against a division rival.

The Blue Jays are undeniably scuffling but it would be unrealistic to expect that trend to continue. There is just too much talent on that team. The A.L. East will likely be a fight to the finish and it will take quite a bit of resiliency to come out on top. On Thursday night, led by Kuroda, the Yankees showed that they just may be up to the challenge.

Boesch Error Costs Yankees In Series Finale

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:42:00 +0000

Over the past week, the New York Yankees have played seven games and have committed at least one error in five of them. They also lost four of those five games. Given that the current Yankees (despite maintaining power levels that few expected) do not resemble the well-rounded offensive juggernauts of previous years, pitching and defense are all the more important.

A clean game keeps the fielders on their toes and, more importantly, keeps the pitch counts of the starters low. A sloppy game, on the other hand, can be deflating especially when they lead to unearned runs.

On Wednesday night this trend continued as Brennan Boesch, the backup outfielder getting a rare start against the Tampa Bay Rays, committed an error on a Kelly Johnson single. Boesch came in to field the ball which skipped through his legs causing him to turn around and chase a turf-aided baseball that was speeding toward the right field wall.

Jose Molina, who can be generously described as lumbering, reached second and, upon seeing Boesch's miscue kept going for third. On the game's radio broadcast, New York Daily News beat writer Mark Feinsand described Molina as perhaps the most surprised person in the stadium. The error set the Rays up with second and third with no outs.

Before the error, Andy Pettitte and Alex Cobb were locked in a pitchers battle and both were essentially cruising. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman were literally in the midst of discussing how efficiently and successfully Pettitte was pitching in 2013 when the inning opened. For two batters it seemed that Pettitte would bail out his right fielder by getting out of the inning without giving up any runs. He struck out the next two batters but then gave up a two run double to Ben Zobrist. The way Cobb was pitching, however, it might as well have been five runs.

The Yankees threatened against Cobb and Rays closer Fernando Rodney in the ninth inning but could not push across a run. So they ended their twelve game road trip at 6-6, perfectly average in their record but imperfect in the field.

The Yankees played their last six games on artificial turf in Toronto and Tampa Bay, certainly not fielding friendly surfaces, so that may have contributed to the uptick in errors. However, given that both teams are division rivals whom many early season projections have competing for playoff spots, it would be advantageous for the Yankee fielders to get the hang of playing clean baseball on these surfaces. They will be seeing them plenty this season.

Hughes's Decent Start Gives Ichiro A Chance To Be His Old Self

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:24:00 +0000

After the Yankees sat through a front row screening of Moore Better Blues on Monday, they were back at the Trop last night to face the Rays' David Price. Although he has gotten off to a terrible start, Price's mound opponent Phil Hughes had me thinking the Rays' ace would turn things around nicely.

Price did turn things around nicely. However, Hughes's turn was better. After struggling in the first inning, Phil Hughes started pitching like he was projected to years ago. What a great start it turned out to be! He has finally gotten himself together. He will do some great things for the Yankees this season.

Or, will he? We have seen this before from Phil Hughes. Many times. He'll have a great start, or a couple of great months and it will look like all his troubles are behind him. Then he'll start pitching like a scrub again. Or, should I say, like himself again. Frankly, I'm tired of him, and when this season is over, the Yankees should let him leave for free agency and put the Hughes Era into the rear view mirror.

Speaking of looking like himself again, last night Ichiro looked a lot like he did when he starred for the Seattle Mariners years ago, especially in his final at-bat in the eighth. His two-out hit which gave the Yankees a two-run lead had "clutch" written all over it.

Hopefully, that better lineup will show up tonight to help Andy Pettitte get his fourth win of the season.

David Phelps: Another Broken Yankees Pitcher

noreply@blogger.com (Vivianna Velazquez) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:20:00 +0000

I'm not sure there's any good way to look at yesterday's game. Every positive was countered by a horrible negative. The Yankees lost 8-4 to the Blue Jays--the AL East's last place team. I guess the one good thing is that it was only game #17 and the Yankees are still going strong in the AL East (2nd place). You can say Nova kept the team in the game until manager Joe Girardi didn't trust him enough to finish what he started in the 6th and brought out ~~Looney~~ . . . I mean Booney. Boone Logan was successful against lefty Colby Rasmus in the past so it wasn't a decision out of left field. We just get to question it now that we know it didn't work out. The disaster continued when starter turned reliever (but should always be ready to start) David Phelps who was responsible for 3 of the Toronto's 8 runs. Which brings me to what fans should really be worried about--the up and down, unpredictable, starter-reliever mismanagement of the Yankees young pitchers. Given how low the Yankees draft, the exceptional young arms are few and far between and the front office has managed to break most of them.

It kills me every time I see David Phelps come out of the bullpen. I'm one of the major league Yankees fans that follows the baby Bombers throughout their minor league career. I usually make it to a few Trenton (AA) and Scranton (AAA) games every season. All you have to do it check out David Phelps' minor league stats to see why I get so frustrated:

Single-A Stats: 19 G, 19 GS, 112.2 IP, 2.80 ERA
Double-A Stats: 15 G, 15 GS, 95 IP, 1.89 ERA
Triple-A Stats: 31 G, 30 GS, 184.1 IP, 3.03 ERA

A young pitcher that does his job this well should not be brought up to the Bigs until he can be told, "You're starting every fifth day, we'll make sure you get your innings in, and we're going to give you the opportunity to get out of your own jams." That's how you let a pitcher develop and work out the kinks that can't be worked out at the triple A level. Instead, the Yankees have said, "Uh Oh, we screwed up, Kyle Farnsworth sucks, we're desperate. Let's take our organization's #4 prospect, throw him in the bullpen, and rush him up after only 3 relief appearances in the minors and only about 160 innings overall." I'm referring to Joba Chamberlain, who in the span of one year in 2007 went from A+ ball to AAA. So where is he now? Broken. Fan's cringe when they see him warming in the bullpen. Oh, but Joba wasn't the only one.

There was another guy drafted before Joba, in 2004. By 2006, this particular starter was named Pitcher of the Year as the Yankees top minor league pitcher. In 2007 he was easily the Yankees #1 prospect and in the top 5 throughout all MLB organizations. Again, the Yankees were in a jam in 2007 due to injury and the prospect was rushed up after only about 28 innings in triple AAA. This may have been harmless since he came up to start, but, again, due to the aging rotation, the front office sacrificed the development of the young arm for post season competition. This prospect, of course, was Phil Hughes. Hughes was thrown in the bullpen to support the rotation as a long reliever in 2007 and again in 2008 with a crowed rotation and injury to Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte. After a string of injuries and starter-reliever back and forth where is Phil Hughes now? Mostly a broken, back end, starter with not many chances left to prove he can be a reliable starter.

At one point it was very realistic to think of Hughes and Chamberlain as aces down the road. They had the stuff for it. What should they look like now? I would have to say it would do the front office some good to glance over at the Red Sox organization to see what they could've had. Right around the same time Hughes and Chamberlain were the talk of the Yankees minor league system, so were Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester over in the Red Sox system, although Lester was a little earlier. Buchholz and Lester both went through pretty standard development--at least 100-120 IP at each level. They were brought up to the Majors to start. Even when Buchholz became a worry in terms of pitching too many innings, he was shut down instead of having his innings limited through relief work. He was actually kept off of the Red Sox post season roster in 2007. Where are they now? They've both thrown no-hitters and have contributed to positive memories to Red Sox history--as opposed to the memories of midges and mopping up we have from Hughes and Chamberlain.

So now the Yankees have an opportunity to go about things differently with David Phelps. Needless to say, Phelps is currently the punching bag for their woes as he's usually in the mix of horrible losses. It's time for Phelps to go back to Scranton to get back to the starter he was before they juggled him around. Middle relievers are a dime a dozen; decent starters are few and far between. When the Yankees need a starter down the road, they need to make sure Phelps will be ready for the job or we will see history repeating itself with Vidal Nuno and that won't be a good thing.

Hughes Pitches Well But Yankees Can't Complete The Sweep

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:45:00 +0000

Phil Hughes gives up homeruns. He is a right handed fly ball pitcher with Yankee Stadium as his home park. As frustrating as that may be at times, it is simply a part of his game. So, on a night when both players and fans were reeling from the news of Derek Jeter's new injury, Hughes took his game to the Stadium mound trying to lead the New York Yankees to a three game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the process, he gave up two more homeruns. One to Diamondbacks prized prospect Didi Gregorius, the first career HR for the young shortstop, and one to Martin Prado, who spent the series robbing hits with his strong defensive play.

Two more blasts off of Hughes. Except here's the thing: They were both solo shots and they were the only blemishes on his record. In the end, Hughes gave a sterling pitching performance, hurling seven innings, walking none and giving up only those two runs. If anyone had suggested that line for Hughes before the game, 99% of fans would have signed up for it on the spot.

Hughes wasn't the problem on Thursday night. In fact, if he continues to give the Yankees quality starts like this, the team will gladly live with his fly ball tendencies for at least one more year, possibly longer if the pending free agent can show some consistency.

The problem on Thursday was the Yankees offense. Aside from a home run by Robinson Cano in the sixth inning and a game tying ninth inning home run by Fransisco Cervelli, who continues to justify the call to name him the everyday catcher, the offense struggled to get anything going.

The team mustered only two hits through seven innings. Ichiro Suzuki continues his horrific start to the 2013 season by going one for five, including lining out to first base for an unassisted double play, and Cano and Kevin Youkilis struck out back to back in the eighth inning to leave the bases loaded.

They never seemed to threaten after that and David Phelps, in his second inning of work, gave up four runs in the 12th inning allowing the Diamondbacks to salvage a game.

Thursday was not a great day in the Universe. From the announcement of the extended loss of Captain Derek Jeter, who will be out until at least the all-star break after re-injuring his ankle, to a sputtering & sporadic offense and inefficient / ineffective relief pitching, there were things to grumble about in the Yankee Universe yesterday.

Two more homeruns surrendered not-withstanding, Phil Hughes, was not one of them.

Nunez's Routine Play Helps Secure A Yankees Series Win

noreply@blogger.com (C. Brown) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:39:00 +0000

The game was almost over last night. Yankees ace, CC Sabathia, had successfully bounced back from a rough first inning to give up only three runs over eight innings. The offense, led by Brett Gardner and Travis Hafner, showed just enough combined patience, timing and power to eke out a win. Only Mariano Rivera needed to come in and shut the door against his 2001 World Series nemesis the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It was the bottom of the ninth inning and the batter was Eric Chavez. Rivera worked him to a 2-2 count then seemed to win the battle by inducing what seemed to be a routine groundball to shortstop. Except the current shortstop for the New York Yankees is Eduardo Nunez.

The same Nunez who committed four errors in fifty-eight total chances at shortstop in the major leagues last season and was consequently sent down to the minor leagues. The same Nunez who has a career .934 fielding percentage at the shortstop position. And the same Nunez who makes a Yankees fan take and hold a deep breath when the ball is hit to him in the bottom of the ninth of a one run game.

Let's pause for a moment and acknowledge that the man Nunez is temporarily replacing, Yankee Captain Derek Jeter, is not exactly renowned for his defense. He is a five time Gold Glove winner but his range is somewhat limited and routinely mocked. However, while the Captain may not make the flashy plays anymore (his patented jump throw aside), he usually always makes the routine ones. And, in the bottom of the ninth inning of a game that would give the Yankees a chance to win only their second series of 2013 thus far, the shortstop needs to make a routine play.

Back to the game action: Chavez, a lefty, sprang out of the box sprinting toward first and the ball bounced its way toward Nunez who came barreling in to grab it. Nunez scooped it up. Then he paused. He paused! He got a firm grip on the ball (this was no accidental double clutch), planted his feet and let loose an accurate throw to Kevin Youkilis at first base to get Chavez easily. Two down. Rivera got another ground ball for the final out and the Yankees win was secure.

On Wednesday night there was plenty of praise to go around: to Sabathia for settling in and delivering a solid and lengthy performance, to Brett Gardner for a clutch at bat to deliver the game tying single, to Joe Girardi for pinch hitting Travis Hafner, to Hafner for making good on his manager's faith by delivering a go ahead home run and, of course, to Rivera for shutting the door.

With all that, it would be easy to dismiss the second out of the ninth inning. The ball was hit cleanly to Nunez and he fielded it cleanly. No big deal. Except in 2011 and 2012, in his haste to make the play, he would have thrown on the run, airmailed the ball into the stands and Chavez would have been on second base.

But last night, Nunez made the play. The youngster made a conscious and obvious decision to assess the runner and know that he had time to plant himself and still make a good throw. This spring, as quoted in the LoHud Yankees Blog, Nunez said "I tell myself, I work hard and I (will) prove them wrong. The people that talked about me bad, they’re wrong"

And last night they were because the Yankees shortstop made the routine play.

Between Ivan The Terrible & Supernova

noreply@blogger.com (Bernadette Pasley) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:40:00 +0000

Sandwiched between the Jackie Robinson Day ceremonies and a stirring rendition of "Sweet Caroline," Ivan Nova tried last night to get his first win of the season.

Whenever Nova takes the mound, you always have to wonder which pitcher has shown up: Ivan The Terrible or Supernova. For a while there, it looked terrible. However, it never got super. Nova eventually settled somewhere in between, going five innings and being helped offensively by Robinson Cano. After the game he was somewhere in the middle as well. Whereas in the past, he almost always claimed to have pitched well and rarely admitted failure, last night he gave a fair assessment of his outing:

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Nova still has a long way to go before he is back to his winning 2011 form. He may never get back to that point. However, that doesn't mean that Yankees should give up on him right away. They (and all teams) should hold on to young pitchers until they reach their free agent years. I believe that is the length of time needed to decide whether they will be a successful Major League pitcher. So, unless the Yankees have a chance to acquire Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, Ivan Nova needs to remain in pinstripes until after his arbitration time has ended.

Hopefully, Supernova will have shown up enough times to keep him dressed that way.

Cervelli A Big Part of Kuroda's Gem Against the Orioles

noreply@blogger.com (Vivianna Velazquez) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:29:00 +0000

On a day when Clay Buchholz took a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees #2 starter made his mark with a complete game shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. Hiroki Kuroda pitched his own gem with style--no walks in nine innings pitched, and had a combo of sliders, splitters, and sinkers that danced their way to the plate.

I know for me, Kuroda's dominant performance takes the sting away from knowing a Red Sox pitcher did such a great job. It should make Yankees fans feel even better that Kuroda pitched the shutout against a team that was first in offense after the first week of the season and second only to the Red Sox until the Yankees shut them down this past weekend. While Buchholz can pat himself on the back for his performance--no doubt its no easy task to no hit professional hitters, the Rays have sat at the bottom of the AL East in offense since the start of the season. I'd say the Rays/Red Sox game went as expected, while the Orioles/Yankees game had the nay-sayers backtracking on their declarations of a Yankees' demise.

Kuroda's partner in the complete game shutout was catcher Francisco Cervelli, behind the plate as well as with the bat. Although Brett Gardner stole the show with his homerun, the team of Kuroda and Cervelli was the constant that kept fans confident of a win. In reading LoHud Yankees Postgame Notes I was happy to read that Kuroda had this to say about Cervelli:

“Against the lefties, as well as the righties, I was able to throw my sinkers with precision ... Basically, the movement and what the catcher says and how they react to it. Today especially, Cervi had great game calling. I just followed his lead.”

I hope this Baltimore series has been a sign of what's to come and Cervelli becomes the 2013 New York Yankees' starting catcher. Yes, he has gotten most of the playing time in the position over Stewart, as expected, but I'm not satisfied with a 60/40 split. Its time to give Cervelli his due. I'd be happy with 100-120 games behind the plate. The kid has put in his time and is showing that he can make a difference on a consistent basis. His offensive plus side has always been his on base percentage and this season has been no different; he sports the best OBP of all the everyday players (.500) and his offense has come at the most needed times. In almost half the at bats, Cervelli has managed to bring home just 2 fewer runners than the team RBI leader Robinson Cano (8).

Tomorrow's line up will be telling. After a day of rest and a questionable young Ivan Nova due to take the mound, it only makes sense to give Nova the best partner--Francisco Cervelli.