Gardner on DL with Broken Thumb

As you have probably heard by now, Brett Gardner broke his thumb in yesterday's game while sliding into a base. He then, of course, stayed in the game, hit a triple and made two spectacular catches.

Go figure.

At any rate, he'll be in a cast for two weeks, so cue discussions on whether or not the Yankees should promote Austin Jackson.

It's a hard decision because Jackson is seen as the organization's closest-to-ML-ready-legit-prospect, and bringing him up too early might set him back.

Then again, the Yankees also have the miracle of Francisco Cervelli, who wasn't supposed to do anything and ended up holding his own quite nicely...

My money would bet that Jackson ends up getting the call up. After all, the Yankees are replacing Gardner's bat, speed and defense--not A-Rod's or Posada's.

Breaking Down the Yankees for the Second Half--The Bench

[So the All Star Game is officially over--and we can thus consider ourselves in the second half.

This is where it gets fun.

All of those days players got rested in the first half? Well, now they have to play. Now the pennant races start to heat up, and every move a team makes, be it a trade, a free agent signing or simply bringing someone up from AAA has even more added meaning.

What do we expect from the Yankees?

I'm going to do a series of posts addressing this, because there's so much to say that having it all in one post would a) kill your eyes and mine, and b) give me carpal tunnel at the age of 23.]

Next on our list, we have the ever-changing and always underrated bench

The Bench

The Yankee bench went from being centered around Jose Molina and Cody Ransom to Francisco Cervelli and Ramiro Peña and then back to Molina and Ransom again.

It's not a knock on Cervelli and Peña, but rather a compliment: the Yankees have seen that much more potential in Cervelli and Peña than they expected so they're giving the two a chance to blossom even more in AAA. Both of them will likely be up again in September--if not before. Cody Ransom, at least, isn't giving the Yankees a whole lot of good reasons to keep him at this level...

(In alphabetical order)

Francisco Cervelli

Cervelli was never supposed to make it to the majors this year. It took injuries to both Jorge Posada and Jose Molina within days of each other, and the Yankees unwilling to panic and sign for another catcher, to get the .190 hitter in AA a call up to the big leagues.

At the time, the only thing the Yankees were hoping for was someone that could catch the pitches when thrown to him and possibly throw a runner out at second. They didn't really expect anything from him offensively, so when he hit .269/.284/.346, it was quite a pleasant surprise.

Granted, the low on base percentage and almost zero slugging power would have eventually caught up to him, but Cervelli had a knack for timely hits (even infield ones), running well for a catcher, and all of the pitchers seemed to enjoy throwing to him. And, of course, the dreamy eyes of doom.

Anyway.

Cervelli earned himself a getting-sent-down-promotion, in that instead of being sent back down to AA, he was sent to AAA, where he should have been this season had he not lost so much of 2008 to a wrist injury.

Cervelli always has been a legitimate prospect--but without the bat of Montero, Romine or some of the other Yankee catching prospects--and thus perhaps not seen as such. Until he develops more power, he'll only project as a back up, but the Yankees would probably be quite fine with that, using Cervelli and Posada in tandem until teh Jesus makes his first appearance.

Or until one, or both, of them is traded.

Assuming the Yankees don't trade Cervelli, look for him to re-appear sometime around September.

Brett Gardner

Gardner won the starting CF job, then lost it to Melky, and now, seems to have wrestled back a platoon position--which is probably what the Yankees wanted all along. The trade off with Melky is speed vs. power; and don't underrate Gardner's speed--he does have an inside-the-park-home run.

While Melky may be Clutchy McClutchbrera, Gardner hasn't done too badly for himself, coming off the bench, either.

In 21 plate appearances when coming into a game as a sub, Gardner is batting an insane .556/.600/.889/1.489. Small sample size all you want, but this is more than three at bats we're talking about.

No, I can't explain it, either.

In the second half, don't be surprised if Girardi eventually decides to ride the hot bat--the Yankees are getting more out of their 4th OF centerfield than I think anyone thought they would, and they seem to do quite nicely when platooned. Gardner's other benefit is that unlike McClutchbrera, he can hit lead off, which allows Girardi to rest Damon and/or Jeter on occasion, and the two will certainly need a day or two off down the stretch.


Eric Hinske

A late addition to the Yankees, Hinske has already hit three home runs as a Yankee, winning himself the urging of fans everywhere to play him more.

Therein lies the problem.

Hinske's most valuable coming off the bench--he did it for Tampa and Boston and killed the Yankees every time. Playing him every day, the team will take a hit defensively--he's really not as good as Swisher; certainly not as good as anyone the Yankees have on the infield--but off the bench, he has enough pop to be a legitimate pinch-hitting threat. Certainly a better one than Cody Ransom.

Look for him to start periodically to spell Swisher and Damon, but don't be surprised if he ends up with more ABs as a pinch-hitter. For what it cost the Yankees--two low-level prospects that don't profile very high--the Hinske pick up was, thus far, a good move indeed.


Jose Molina

The back up catcher who played too much last season has now played too little this season to really know much.

The wear and tear of last season did seem to still be effecting him as his defensive numbers were down in April and May, until he got hurt, but now that he's healthy, it's as though he starts with a clean slate.

The MO on him has always been that he's one of the best back ups in the game but should not start; the Yankees haven't seen anything to prove differently. In the second half, pray Posada stays healthy and that Molina doesn't have to do more than back up--although, at least this time around, the Yankees have a more than able third-stringer in Cervelli which would undoubtedly soften the blow.


Ramiro Peña

Strangely, the highest compliment that can be paid to him may be the fact that he's in AAA learning how to play center field.

It's not that Peña couldn't play third or short or second--but rather that he could play all three that has the Yankees trying to see if they can expand his versatility as a defensive player and thus make him that much more valuable.

The knock on him was always that he could field, but no one knew anything about his bat--and then he surprised everyone by being not-so-much an automatic out. He did not hit for much power and his batting line differs from Cervelli only in a slightly higher OBP, but he's still young enough that some more time at AAA may help him come even farther.

At any rate, his defense is, right now, anyway, so much better than Cody Ransom's, one has to consider if the Yankees would consider calling him up before September to take Ransom's spot. It's one of those situations in which the Yankees have to balance the immediate needs of this season with the long-term goals of the future, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

If Cody Ransom's defense ends up costing the Yankees a game (or three), it will be that much harder to justify keeping him over Peña.


Cody Ransom

Kind of said it all above, but when the best thing you've got going for you is your crazy 5' vertical jump, that's not going to do you much good.

He's not very good on offense, not very good on defense and, already past 30, is a finished product. At this stage, the only reason to justify keeping Ransom on the bench is to give Peña some more ABs in the minors, but this may wear thin pretty soon if other options make themselves available.

As stated above, if his defense ends up costing the Yanks a game or two, it will be that much harder to justify keeping him.

Then again, you never know, he could catch fire...and the Nationals mathematically can still win the World Series...

Yankees Get Series Win in Final Visit to Metrodome (Postgame Notes 08 July 2009)

The Yankees' 12th win in their last 14 games was a bit of an odd one.

For example, take AJ Burnett, who had been stellar in his past four starts. It wasn't quite a bad start, at least not by the final results--technically it was a quality start--but it involved making a lot of good pitches at the right time.

He didn't get his first strike out until later in the game, but it came with two outs and the bases loaded.

Talk about wiggling out of jams.


Ultimately, it was a start that would have thwarted lesser pitchers--there were always, it seemed, men on base and control was in short supply, as the three wild pitches will attest--but AJ Burnett is not a lesser pitcher.

Actually, when you think about it--and friends at River Ave Blues took this line--the game was less Yanks-vs-Twins and more Yanks-vs-Mauer. Given what Mauer's been doing this season, that's not entirely shameful.

On many rotations he could be the ace of the staff, and tonight he showed why.


As for the offense, it wasn't the offensive show of yesterday, athough it looked in the beginning like it might be, but as has been so often the case in this 12-of-14 stretch, the Yankee hitters did just enough.

For you A-Rod hitters, just remember that Alex Rodriguez had the RBI hit that ended up being the winning run for the Yankees.


Now, as Alfredo Aceves takes the mound tomorrow, he can do so knowing that the Yankees have already won the series and that the bullpen, for the most part, is fairly well rested. Phils Coke and Hughes pitched tonight, and Hughes is probably unavailable for tomorrow. Still, though, Tomko, Robertson and Bruney should all be available--and, if necessary, Mo--so, unless Aceves completley flames out, the Yankees are not in poor shape.

Yanks Meet the Mess (Postgame Notes 26 June 2009)

Quietly, or perhaps not-so-quietly, it looks like the Yankees have begun to emerge from their June swoon.

In the past three games, the Yankees have scored at least eight runs...and, while these games weren't necessarily laughers, given the timing of the scoring, the wins still count.

Tonight, the Yankees did the type of things that a competitive team needs to do: pitch well, take advantage of the other team's miscues, and add a couple of tack on runs just for form's sake.

Let's break it down:

1) Pitch well...

CC Sabathia, apparently recovered from his biceps tendinitis, had a very good outing, allowing just three hits in seven innings. Had the Yankees not blown it open in the 8th, he would have come back out again.

Although he was no doubt the beneficiary of a very pitcher-friendly appeal umpire at first, Sabathia's performance was what the Yankees needed after Pettitte's struggles and thus the stretching of the bullpen last night.

While Sabathia may not have received the attention that the FA success stories of K-Rod and Raul Ibañez have, he is pitching up to the standards expected of an ace. His record doesn't reflect it as the Yankees haven't always scored on his behalf, but he is clearly giving the Yankees what they need.


2) Take advantage of the other team's miscues...

The New York Mets had three infielders commit an error in the 2nd inning, though, strangely, Luis Castillo didn't have any of them. Ok, bad joke aside, the Yankees turned the three errors into four runs, all with the names like Gardner (who had the game of his career, thus far, with five hits), Peña, Sabathia...(Sabathia is no automatic out).

With the early lead, the Yankees didn't falter. It's a good thing they got the lead, too, because after that inning the Yankees had only one baserunner until the seventh inning.


3) Score some tack on runs...

I don't know if the Yankees want to play mean and keep Mariano Rivera from getting his 500th save, but you can't really complain about the tack on runs.

Three runs can be erased with one swing. Seven can't. And with eight runs to work with, you have more than enough time to change pitchers if yours starts to struggle (thankfully, Tomko was excellent).

And, you know what, the tack on runs weren't useless.

They meant that CC didn't have to pitch the 8th, got the Yankees a comfortable lead, and let them rest Teixeira and A-Rod, if only for a half inning. Still, with a flu bug going around, any rest would likely be welcome.




AJ Burnett takes the mound tomorrow, but the real interesting pitching match up comes Sunday when Wang takes on Livan Hernandez.

Oh boy.

Some More Thoughts From Last Night's Game...

...Now that I've had a chance to think about it.

• Brett Gardner was the first to run to Melky after Melky's walk off hit. The two might be competing, but that scene is what you want to see--competition, but healthy competition that makes everyone better.

• There had to be something to the fact that Tino Martinez was in the Stadium and it was a walk off win. I refuse to believe that it was nothing more than coincidental.

• The game did have 'walk off win' written all over it. I'm not really sure how you explain it, but somehow we knew. We just knew. Once Robbie Canó was walked it was all but over. If Melky keeps up his knack for walk off hits, he'll be a legend in his own rights.

• Hughes didn't pitch all that well, but Minnesota had a ton of chances they didn't take advantage of--not that the Yankees were necessarily much better. Still, it was better than Hughes' last inning. I think for Hughes, there's an issue with confidence soon as the first run scores. If he can get past that, he should be okay.

• On the replay, Mark Teixeira barely avoided having his arm shattered when Carlos Gomez ran past. He had a legitimate beef there.
  

I am not covering today's game in any way, shape or form, so all you need to know is that Joba is pitching, Teixeira's DHing and Swisher is playing first so that Gardner and Cabrera can play in the field--which seems to be a well deserved reward for their play last night.

How I Nearly Missed Melky's Walk-Off (Postgame Notes 15 May 2009)

Scene: 12.30 PM, Fordham area, Bronx, NY.

Dan and I make our way up to the fourth floor of my building, where my apartment is. Dan doesn't have a lot--you don't need a lot when only staying for a weekend--but he puts it down on my coffee table, which I worked so hard to clean last night.

The plan was to go to Central Park, toss a frisbee and find a bar to watch the Yankees.

You could not have asked for nicer weather.

I'm sitting on the couch, checking my email while Dan's putting his contacts in, when I get an idea.

"Hey, want to see if we can find cheap tickets to today's game?"

"Sure, why not?" He says.

I go to Stubhub and look for tickets. I can't do Grandstand or Terrace--Dan is not a height person--so I look around at the Main sections. I find one where the tickets start at $20. I click; I find two tickets for $26 each. I go to Yankees.com to compare face value. Face value on gameday is $80. It's a no brainer.

I buy, they send, and we walk over to the library to print.


5.30 PM Near New Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY.

Dan and I get off the subway. It's quite hot out right now, the air from the city sitting heavy as it likes to do in the summer.

"Would you like to go to Stan's or into the Stadium?" I ask. Dan's a beer and bars fan. I can't drink beer and I get claustrophobic in bars, but since Dan is visiting, it's up to him. If he wants to go to the bar, we go to the bar. It's reversed when I visit him.

"Well..." He gives it some thought. "It's early. Let's go to Stan's, I'll get a drink, then we can head over."

So we go to Stan's. It's crazy crowded, and the music is really loud, but the music is good music. I can't remember now, so many hours later, what they were playing, but I know the mood it set: life is good. Forget your troubles. Life is good.


Second Inning, Yankee Stadium.

Justin Morneau comes up to bat.

I think, but do not say, it would not be surprising if he hit a home run here. A few pitches later, I watch the ball sail over the right field fence. I do not even rise from my seat to see the ball land; there is no way it is going to come down in time for Swisher to have a chance.

At the end of the inning I am amazed it is only 1-0. The Yanks are still in this.


Third Inning, Yankee Stadium.

Dan and I have great seats, for the most part. We can see the entire field, and the players are large enough to be human, to be nuanced and flawed.

But we cannot see the pitches well.

From our angle, down the right field line, we can only tell if pitches are way high, way low or way inside--because the player jumps out of the way. We cannot see movement and location on close pitches.

When Johnny Damon strikes out, we are not sure how to react--and then Johnny Damon makes it clear for us.

He argues. There's no question what he's arguing about and no one is surprised when he gets tossed. We wonder if it'll give some life to the offense; we don't realize what, exactly, the consequences of bringing in Brett Gardner to play center will be.


Later in the Third Inning, Yankee Stadium


We kind of knew this would happen.

We kind of knew that Alex Rodriguez would be called on to do something big. Bases loaded here, one out, the Yankees down by one run, and all the Yanks need is a single to take the lead.

A-Rod's timing is still off, however.

A few more weeks, and some of those pitches go way over the centerfield wall.

Not tonight.

The chorus of applause turns to boos. This is, after all, New York.

It's refreshing to see some things never change.



Fourth Inning, Yankee Stadium


Minnesota's just scored again on a sacrifice fly.

I text Joe from River Ave Blues, who's at the game.

Me: Way too many pitches.
Joe: I'm just glad he got out of it.

How is the score only 2-0?

It baffles us.



Fifth inning, Yankee Stadium


Justin Morneau is at bat again.

I don't think about him hitting another home run, but this is what he does.

It's now 3-0 Twins. It's by no means undoable for the Yankees, but eventually the runs will continue to build. If Phil Hughes can keep it here, we have a chance.

I look at the scoreboard. I can't believe it's already the fifth inning. I can't believe it's only the fifth inning.



Later Fifth Inning, Yankee Stadium


Derek Jeter is at bat.

The count goes to 0-2 (or so I think. Later I see the count was actually 2-0, but somehow I've missed this.)

"Please," I say, "please, please do not strike out on three pitches."

He doesn't.

He plants one over the right field porch. The Stadium comes alive: We are still in this.


Sixth Inning, Yankee Stadium

"You know, Rebecca," Dan says, "I think this is the best idea you've ever had."

I want to agree; it's hard when the Yankees are losing, but there is time yet.


Seventh Inning, Yankee Stadium

Phil Coke comes into pitch.

It's been a few days since Coke has pitched and he's perhaps the only other reliever in the bullpen capable of getting outs.

It's refreshing to see him again.

So refreshing that he serves up a home run to Joe Mauer.

Not so refreshing after all. He settles down and gets two outs before Joe Girardi brings in Brett Tomko.

"Uh Oh," I think.

Then, two pitches later, the side is retired. Maybe it's not such a big deal after all.



Later Seventh Inning, Yankee Stadium

There are two quick outs and Brett Gardner comes up to bat. It does not seem too promising, and soon enough, Gardner is down in the count, 0-2.

"He's going to strike out on three pitches," I say.

"The last time you said that, there was a home run," Dan says, not really amused.

So I watch, but I don't expect much. Gardner doesn't have Jeter's power.

Gardner doesn't hit a home run. Well, it doesn't seem that way...just a bloop down the line...but then it gets past the third baseman and the left fielder, and Gardner never stops running.

He's flying around the bases and by the time he gets to third the Stadium is in an uproar, because we all sense it: Gardner can make it home.

We egg him on. He keeps running. He slides, and is safe.

I have never heard the Stadium this loud. None of us have ever seen an inside-the-park-home run before. We don't realize it'll get louder later.



Ninth Inning, Yankee Stadium


It's a 4-2 game and the Yankees have to hold it here to have a chance. Against Joe Nathan it will likely not be much more than that, just a chance.

"You never know," says the man sitting in front of me. "That's baseball."

"You're right," I admit.

Dan brings up an issue that is on both of our minds: it is getting late.

"Well, if the Twins hit a two-run home run here, against Edwar, we're leaving," I say. They don't hit a home run, but they do send to the bullpen for José Veras. You can hear the Stadium's collective "Uh oh", you can see the mass exodus.

Dan and I have a 15 block walk from the subway back to my apartment. It's late and we, despite being city people, still find ourselves preoccupied with our safety.

"All right," I say, "let's go."

We walk down the ramp and are heading towards the exit. We are in the great hall and I can see the Babe Ruth Plaza outside the gate.

Ten steps, eight, seven, six, five....

And with that, Vera strikes out the side. Do they have a rally in their bones?

I grab Dan's arm.

"You know what? Let's stay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's Nathan. It'll probably be quick, anyway."

We walk up to the edge of the field level concourse. A crowd has gathered, all like us, all nearly out the door and deciding at the last minute to stay. Hey, why not?

So I try to watch Gardner's at bat--I can't see the field that well, because there are too many people in front of me, but I can see the screen.

I expect Gardner to strike out, but he doesn't. He hits the ball to the gap. He slips as he rounds first and still winds up at third. If he doesn't slip, he quite possibly has another inside the park home run.

"Dude," I say, "I've never seen one inside-the-park home run before, and we nearly had two."

Mark Teixeira follows. We just want a ball in the outfield. Something to score Gardner.

He obliges with a single.

It's now 4-3. The Yankees are only down one run, there's no one out, A-Rod's at bat. We can taste it. We are in this. We can win this.

"He's rattled," says the tattooed man behind me, referring to Nathan.

After A-Rod walks, it's clear, Nathan's definitely rattled.

We root for Matsui, who strikes out, and then root again for Swisher, who grounds out but moves Teixeira and A-Rod to second and third in the process.

This is key.

It's key because Joe Nathan and Joe Mauer and the Twins decide to intentionally walk Robinson Canó. It's a good idea in theory. Vaguely.

"Horrible idea," says the tattooed man.

"I know," I say. "Robbie's not good with men in scoring position and Melky's been hot. Gardner has a inside-the-park home run and a triple. You know Melky wants to do something."

"It's the competition. It's working. A little center field competition," smirks the tattoeed man.

While Robbie is being walked the Stadium starts chanting Mel-ky, Mel-ky.

Melky's already given the Yankees one walk off this season. He's been one of our most clutch hitters.

Right now, either he comes through and it's the most amazing experience I've ever had at a Yankee game, or he doesn't and we go home heartbroken, but right now, at this moment, none of us think Melky won't come through.

This has walk-off win written all over it.

Nathan pitches.

Melky dunks one in there.

The Yankees win.

The Stadium is howling with WHOOO, YAY, and everything else in between, including a lot of four letter words.

Brent calls me and is excited and I can't let him get a word in edgewise. This is way, way, too amazing.


10.30 PM, outside Yankee Stadium

Dan and I take a taxi back, instead of the subway. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's well worth it. The cabbie plays the Yankee postgame in the car.

"You know," says Dan, who is from Boston and a Red Sox fan, "I almost, just for a second, got caught up there. I almost had to cheer."

"It's the best $25 I've ever spent on baseball," I say.

I don't add: it's also the best two feet I never walked.

Game 35: Twins at Yankees

Hi all, Andrew Fletcher from Scott Proctor's Arm here. Rebecca is enjoying herself at the Yankees game tonight, so I'll be updating you periodically throughout the night.

The Yankees begin a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins as part of an even longer 10-game homestand. Phil Hughes (1-2, 8.49 ERA) gets the start for New York tonight. Alex Rodriguez is also playing in his first game at the new Yankee Stadium.

Here is the Yankees' lineup:

Derek Jeter SS

Johnny Damon LF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Hideki Matsui DH

Nick Swisher RF

Robinson Cano 2B

Melky Cabrera CF

Kevin Cash C

Hughes threw to Cervelli when he got bombed in Baltimore last time out. Is that why Cash gets the nod tonight? I don't know, but that would be the case if I had to guess.

7:13 p.m.: Hughes allows a leadoff single to Denard Span but strikes out Matt Tolbert and gets Joe Mauer to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. He only threw 11 pitches.

7:25 p.m.: Justin Morneau golfs a pitch over the right-center field wall for a leadoff home run in the top of the second inning. 1-0 Twins.

7:35 p.m.: Hughes walks two batters but escapes further trouble. He wasn't helped when Teixeira couldn't scoop out a possible double play ball out of the dirt. Still 1-0 Twins, with Rodriguez leading off the bottom of the second.

8:06 p.m.: Damon strikes out on a questionable call with runners on first and second and no outs. He argued the call and got ejected, ending his extra-base hitting streak. Meanwhile, a walk to Teixeira loads the bases for Rodriguez.

8:10 p.m.: Fittingly, Rodriguez strikes out and gets booed.

8:12 p.m.: And Matsui can't beat out a slower grounder. Surprise, surprise; the Yankees left the bases loaded without scoring.

8:40 p.m.: The Twins scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and on a solo home run by Morneau in the fifth. 3-0 Twins. The offense has been nonexistent against Francisco Liriano and Hughes has been subpar. He has thrown 93 pitches through five innings, with only 50 of those going for strikes.

8:46 p.m.: Jeter lines a homer to right field. 3-1 Twins.

9:22 p.m.: And Joe Mauer homers off Phil Coke. 4-1 Twins. Here we go again.

9:38 p.m.: Gardner hits an inside-the-park home run and Teixeira hits a two-out double. There's some life in this crowd. 4-2 Twins.

9:49 p.m.: Swisher pops out with the bases loaded. Shucks.

10:32 p.m.: Gardner triples to right-center to lead off the ninth inning. He tripped over first base and still made it into third standing up. Teixeira follows with an RBI single. 4-3 Twins with Rodriguez up and no outs.

10:36 p.m.: Rodriguez walks for the fourth time tonight, despite two balls that were called strikes by home plate umpire Wally Bell. First and second, no outs.

10:42 p.m.: Matsui has a terrible at-bat (strikes out and doesn't advance the runners) and Swisher is robbed by Morneau at first. They are now walking Cano to load the bases with two outs with Cabrera on deck.

10:45 p.m.: Cabrera dunks in a single in between the left fielder and center fielder to win the game 5-4! Hooray!

CC Sharp Again as Yanks Take Series From Jays (Postgame Notes 14 May 2009)

The Yankees did not score four runs today, but since they only gave up two, they can probably live with it.

CC Sabathia did not dominate in the way he dominated in Baltimore, but two runs over eight innings ain't exactly a bad thing, either.

He had some good innings and some stressful ones, and needed Brett Gardner to throw out Rod Barajas at home in order to keep the score at 2-1 Jays. He also worked himself into a jam in the seventh with runners at first and third with only one out, but like any true ace, was able to gather it together to get a strike out and a ground out.

It wasn't the best performance CC's had this season, but the eight innings was just what the Yankees needed, given Phil Coke's bad back and the fact that anyone else pitching that inning would have resulted in through-the-roof sales of Tums.

Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and looks as though he's finally built the velocity he needs. Reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

The Yanks didn't do much offensively, but at the same time Brian Tallet has been impressive in his starts thus far.

In the first they scored when Tallet walked Swisher with the bases loaded; they tied the game in the seventh when Derek Jeter blooped a single to score Gardner from third and then took the lead on a Hideki Matsui solo shot in the eighth.

Johnny Damon extended his extra base hitting streak to ten straight games, tying Don Mattingly and Paul O'Neill for the Yankee record, but struck out twice after that and did not reach base again.

Alex Rodriguez looked as though he just missed a few pitches--his timing, understandably, is not quite there yet, but when it comes, he's in for a monster season.

Francisco Cervelli had two hits again tonight; a Mendoza line hitter in AA, he's holding his own thus far in the Majors.


The Yankees head home having gone 4-2 on a road trip, as well as having won three of the last four. Only Hughes pitched poorly on the trip--Burnett could have won his game had someone not named Halladay been pitching against him.

With the team back at .500, gaining a game on the Sox and the Jays, and Bruney, Posada and Wang all looking like they'll be back sooner rather than later, things are looking up for the Yanks.

Yanks Ground Jays with Five Run 2nd (Postgame Notes 13 May 2008)

Double. Home Run. Triple. So on and on went the extra base hits in the second inning.

At one point there were two doubles, two triples and a home run...and not a single or a walk.

It was some good, old fashioned Bronx Bombing, and it sparked the Yankees to an 8-2 victory.

The surprise here, though, was that it was all the result of the bottom of the line up. In the second, when the Yanks sent ten men to the plate, everyone reached base except for Nick Swisher and Francisco Cervelli.

Whatever the cause for the bottom of the line up suddenly producing, the Yanks certainly appreciate it.

One night after the Yankees got, well, owned by Roy Halladay, they erupted for eight runs, including Brett Gardner's first career home run.


Andy Pettitte, pitching for the Yanks, started out very shaky. He walked three in the first inning, and with the aid of an error, the Jays actually took a 1-0 lead. However, he settled down after that, going six innings and allowing only one ER, and, had he not walked so many, would have likely pitched the seventh.


Alfredo Aceves was again great from the bullpen, allowing one hit over two innings, but Albaladejo struggled with his control to the point that Mariano Rivera began to throw in an 8-2 game. He was able, however, to get a game-ending double play that kept Mo from working too long.


All in all, tonight's game was quite the change from last night. It's perhaps the perfect exhibition of why baseball players, even with such a long season, need to have a short memory.


The Yanks will have a chance to take the series with a win tomorrow.

Sox Sweep; Yankees Reel but Melancon Stellar (Postgame Notes 26 April 2009)

This is not the first time the Yankees have ever been swept.

Nor, I would gather, is it the first time that they have been swept at Fenway.

Still, this weekend was especially painful.

Today's heartbreaking moment came in the fifth inning, when Jacoby Ellsbury created a straight steal of home. Alas, as much as us Yankee fans would like to forget about the steal, it will probably be replayed on ESPN five billion times, so we'd best get used to it.

The irony, of course, is that had the Yankees gotten this pitching effort yesterday, they would have at least won yesterday's game. Four runs isn't anything to write home about, in terms of pitching performances, but it's certainly enough to give your team a chance to win.

Except, this time, only the second game this season, the Yankees could not muster anything offensively.

Was it a product of having Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera and Angel Berroa in the same line up? Probably, though I kow there are some that will starkly disagree.

The Yankees had hit Masterson well in the past, but tonight, they simply couldn't get any hits when they needed them.

There was, however, one bright spot:

Mark Melancon.

The reliever made his major league debut tonight, and gave Yankee fans quite a taste. In the bottom of the seventh he set the side down in order, 1-2-3, and in the eighth, after loading the bases with no one out, Melancon got out of the inning without allowing a single run.

It certainly caught my attention.



Anyway, the Yankees now head to Detroit, which will be no walk in the park as the team is much better than it was last year. The good news, however, is that Armando Gallaraga pitched today so the Yankees won't have to face him. And the Rick Porcello-Joba Chamberlain pitching matchup on Wednesday will either be really, really good, or really, really bad. You know it.

Burnett flirts with no-no, saves bullpen (Postgame Notes, 14 April 2009)

Seven out of the eight innings he pitched, AJ Burnett simply dazzled. Every pitch he threw seemed to work and, in a refreshing change of pace from last night, Yankee pitching owned this game.

Six of those innings came consecutively, from the first to the end of the sixth.

In the seventh, however, perhaps jinxed by broadcasters who no longer respect the tradition of superstition in the game, it came undone. Three hits and a sacrifice fly, and a 2-0 lead vanished, just like that.

Burnett rebounded and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, saving the bullpen from having to pitch anything more than the ninth, where Brian Bruney struck out the side on 10 (yes, Bruney, yes, 10) pitches.

The Yankee offense looked like it might be trouble when they loaded the bases in the first and managed only one run, but they got additional run support when they needed it, thanks especially to Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, and they broke the game open in the ninth after Derek Jeter hit a three-run home run.

Swisher is still on fire, with a home run and a double today, and Gardner may have had two of the most important hits of his career.

Now, the bullpen is refreshed for Andy Pettitte starting tomorrow afternoon, and AJ Burnett has established himself as "Yankee stopper extrodinaire".

It's March 1st. It's okay to step away from the ledge

Apparently, I never realized that Grapefruit League games actually matter.

Right.

Are we so starved for baseball that we take games in the first week of an extended exhibition season and use these to judge the fortunes of our team in 2009?

Right now, the "regulars" leave the game after four or five innings and the pitchers you see are not your Opening Day starters.

Right now, all that matters is keeping the team healthy and getting them up to full strength.

Thus, Jorge Posada and Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo are legitimate concerns (even if grouping Albie here is pushing it a little bit).

Jesus Montero is a bit of a concern, sure, but he is not supposed to impact the major league team for a couple of seasons...kid's 19 years old! When I was 19 years old, my biggest concerns were staying up till 3.30 AM to finish that paper on African myths...

What isn't a legitimate concern: worrying about losing games in the first week of exhibition play.

Seriously. Remember last spring training? How Robbie Canó hit .440ish? How'd that work out during the regular season?

While, right now, Brett Gardner is pwning Melky, remember, there's still a whole month before the regular season starts, and anything can happen, so, I'd exercise some caution before going out to buy those "Gardner" t-shirts just yet.

Spring Training right now is a time to sit back, be jealous of sunny Florida while in NY it's about to dump a foot of snow, take a seat with a cup of hot tea and Baseball Prospectus 2009, take a deep breath...

...and relax.

Questions to Ask During Spring Training

Now that Spring Training is around the corner, I thought I'd go and list some of the more pressing questions that the Yankees have to address.

Throughout the month of February I'll periodically attempt an answer at some of these questions, and in March, as with last year, I will do a team preview a day which should take us right to the start of baseball season.

So, the questions:

1) What happens if Jorge Posada can't catch?
2) Who will come out of Spring Training as the fifth starter?
3) Will Derek Jeter have a better offensive year or will his decline become more progressed?
4) Who starts in center--Melky or Gardner?
5) Will Andy Pettitte pull an '08 Mussina?
6) How long does General Joe Girardi have before that hot seat starts really heatin' up?
7) What's this year's fist pump/HA/otherwise inane controversy?
8) How much *more* controversy can the New Stadium create?
9) How will the economic collapse of doom affect attendance?
10) Nady or Swisher?

These are just some of the questions the Yankees have; if you've got one you'd like to see me attempt to address, please feel free to leave it in a comment!

Office Correspondance (Postgame Notes

Memo

To: Yankees
From: Baseball G-ds
Re: Mariano Rivera

Of six runs allowed this inning, five have come in tie games. You may want to consider this before putting him in tie game situations in the future.


Memo

To: Yankees
From: Baseball G-ds
Re: Offense

Look, we can only help so much. If Robinson Canò and Brett Gardner are going to have good days, the least you can do is make sure the rest of the line up, including the "big names" like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi, actually hit with runners in scoring position.

Seriously, we really do want to help. We understand that this is the last year of Yankee Stadium, so it would be criminal not to play baseball here in October, but we can only do so much. If it's on us for allowing free will, it's on us, but really, we help those who help themselves.

And dude, falling down while trying to steal second with no outs in the ninth? Not a great idea.


PS: By the way, someone's going to want to take Jose Molina out to dinner tonight.


Memo
To: Baseball G-ds
From: the New York Yankees
Re: Correspondance

Duly noted.


Memo
To: Yankees
From: Baseball G-ds
Re: Told ya so!

See what happens when you listen to us? Also, we would like to congratulate Robinson Canò on his best game of the season, and the pitching staff for their 18 strike outs on the day--eight from Joba Chamberlain alone.

Yankees win game and lose a legend (Postgame Notes 12 July 2008)

In the words of Monty Python's Flying Circus:

And now for something completely different!

Perhaps it was because Halladay last night was so good that Jesse Litsch looked so hittable, or maybe it was that the Yankees were just that determined to bail out Darrell Rasner after a poor first inning, but whatever the reason, the offense scored as many runs today as they have in the previous four games combined.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, the only two Yankees to have hits last night, each rewarded themselves today with solo home runs and a combined six RBI.

Brett Gardner was not retired today, had 3 RBI himself and had his best game of his career so far.

The bullpen did not allow a hit in four innings of work.
*****


As you may have heard by now, Bobby Murcer has died. It was announced during the postgame, just after the highlights.

I'm numb. really, numb.

I'm too young to remember Phil Rizzuto in the booth, but Bobby, I remember.

As I said, I'm numb. Too numb to write anything coherent, really.

The Yankees won a game today, but it doesn't feel like one now.

They lost too much more.

Garden Variety Win (Postgame Notes 6 July 2008)

I'll forgive you if you just had a flashback to 17 October 2003.

I mean, sure it wasn't game seven of the ALCS, but try telling that to the Yankees, who played the game as if that was the case.

Down by two in the seventh inning, the Yankees rallied to tie it and then won it with two outs in the bottom of the tenth. It's not just that the Yankees won a thrilling, nail-biting game with not just a few questionable ball/strike calls from home plate umpire Laz Diaz, or that they salvaged a series split with Boston...

...but it's that they played the game as if it was October. Tim Wakefield was good, but Robbie Canò and Brett Gardner--not necessarily the biggest offensive threats--got the right hits in the right situation.

Mariano Rivera, who has been comparatively shaky in tie games this year, pitched two scoreless innings in the ninth and tenth--even striking out Manny Ramirez on three pitches--(Kyle Farnsworth also got the job done in the 8th)--and didn't bother to hide his excitement when Gardner came through in the bottom of the tenth.

Joba cruised through the first four innings, and probably would have gotten out of the fifth with the game still tied if not for a questionable call on what looked like a swing for strike three from Jacoby Ellsbury. Still, three runs through six innings is a quality start, and that's exactly what Joba gave the team.


Without question, though, tonight's win belongs to Brett Gardner, who has as many hits as steals. He worked Johnathan Papelbon as though Papelbon was any run of the mill pitcher, fouling pitches off until he found one he liked and hitting it through a hole in the infield, with just enough on it that Boston could not field it cleanly.

While the jury's still out on Gardner in the long run, tonight belongs to him.

Two-Way Street

The Yankees have traded Brett Gardner, who many believe will make a significant impact, if not in 2008 then in 2009, and prospects Austin Jackson and Dellin Betances to the Oakland Athletics for relief pitcher Huston Street and outfield prospect Ryan Sweeney.


Source

Now, I know that the rain out addles neurons, but I can't quite see the benefit of this trade. I mean, for Oakland it's easy enough when your outfield is Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia and Jack Cust and you have some starting pitching questions, but that's like Billy Beane, fleecing the farm system. I mean, I've heard nothing but good about AJax and Betances, and if you look at Sweeney's career numbers, we don't seem to be getting too much in return.

I'm generally a Cashman fan, but this one has me baffled.