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...

Peña and Cervelli Making Most of Their Opportunity

There's one moment from tonight's game that keeps cropping up in my mind, even a couple hours after it's over.

It's in the ninth inning; there are two outs with Carlos Gomez at first in a one run game, and Phil Coke is struggling to throw strikes.

Instead of, say, Jeter and Canó heading out to the mound to calm Phil Coke, it's Francisco Cervelli and Ramiro Peña.

The two youngsters, of course, if everything goes to plan, should never have been in a major league game this year, at least, not as starters and, with the exception of Peña's late-inning glove, certainly not in the ninth inning of a one-run game with the tying run on base.

And yet, here they are, saying whatever words of wisdom they can to settle a pitcher trying for his very first major league save.

Peña and Cervelli are not, at least yet, marquee players, and they're not really expected to be. Cervelli will probably be overshadowed by either Jesus Montero or Austin Romine within a few years (or less), and Peña doesn't even rank on Baseball America's prospect radar.

Yet, here they are, and here they are playing better than anyone expected.

Neither is the automatic out they were expected to be; both do all the little things right, and both are positively beaming every time they are interviewed after the game.

While Peña will probably stay on the 25 man roster as long as Alex Rodriguez is still a little gimpy (and, face it, he inspires more confidence than Angel Berroa), the future for Cervelli is less certain after Jorge Posada and Jose Molina return. It's unlikely that the Yankees would want to carry three catchers, especially if they can send Cervelli to AAA (I doubt they send him all the way back to AA) where he can play every day. It's entirely possible that if Posada and Molina are a bit gimpy, Cervelli hops the Chris Britton express.

While they're still in New York, however, they've done everything asked of them and then some.

And they've made the team fun to watch in the process.

Because All Yankee Fans Should Be Born After a Yankee Win (Postgame Notes 1 May 2009)

My baby Niecephew (my wonderful, loving brother and his wife decided they wanted to be surprised) is due to arrive in this world at about 2 AM.

He/She/It will arrive on the heels of quite possibly the most dramatic Yankee win thus far in the young season.

It's hard to pick where to start, here.

At first it seemed like the Yankees would find a way to grit-out a subpar Andy Pettitte and win 4-0 or perhaps 4-2, then it seemed like the curse of the awful bullpen would hit again and the Yankees would lose 9-4, and then, finally, in the later innings, the Yankees said, "our bullpen may be bad, but, dude, we're not like Anaheim bad."

Or something like that.


Andy Pettitte had far from his best stuff tonight. By the time the game got to the sixth inning, it seemed like some sort of miracle that the Yankees were still up 4-0.

It's worrying because, although the Yankees won the game, it's his second so-so start in a row. He hasn't been downright awful in the way Chien Ming Wang has, but he has struggled. Then again, Boston has hit him well of late and the Angels are, well, the Angels, so it probably isn't worth getting too fussed over at the moment.

The Yankee bullpen, on the other hand, is a concern.

As soon as Pettitte left the game, everyone held their breath, and it failed.

One shouldn't worry about Melancon tonight: he made one bad pitch, but he was not responsible for loading the bases. The attempt to nab the runner coming home on ball four showed a pretty amazing gymnastics ability...

José Veras, however, looks flat-out awful right now. He can't seem to find an out pitch and is constantly nibbling--I still haven't figured out how he put together those three scoreless innings against Oakland.

Edwar Ramirez always seems to struggle against the Angels, so perhaps the Yankees were lucky the game didn't get out of hand with him pitching.

Jonathan Albaladejo had a 1-2-3 eighth (with some defensive help), which has to be considered refreshing after he struggled in Detroit.

Still, there are some major bullpen issues in that the Yankees don't know what they're going to get. Until pitchers have set roles, like they did last year when at their best, they will probably struggle. Hopefully the Yankees find a way to fix that, because once they do, there simply may be no stopping this team.


The Yankee offense is making it look like 2008 was a fluke, and instead they've picked right up off of 2007, with the ability, seemingly, to score runs almost at will.

It's not just that the Yankees are scoring runs, it's that they are scoring them almost every game. In 23 games they've been held to less than four runs three times, and they have never been shut out.

Oh, and Teixeira's hitting about .192 and A-Rod isn't in the line up...

Not only that, but tonight, after the offense fell behind 9-4 after being up 4-0, they didn't give up, and showed a type of fight that we seldom, if ever, saw last season.

Right now, the clutch hitting is coming off the bats of Melky Cabrera and Ramiro Peña--perhaps the two guys you would normally consider least likely to be RBI men, but without their contributions in the 8th inning tonight, the ninth, in which Brian Fuentes didn't retire a single batter (Teixeira walk, Matsui single, Canó single, Posada walkoff hit), would not have mattered.

If anything, tonight's win can serve notice to the rest of the league: even if this team currently has the 13th worse bullpen in the AL, they can still find a way to win.


Nick Swisher did get HBP in the elbow and had to leave the game. However, X-Rays are negative and he is Day-to-Day.

Oh, and just for the fun of it: the Yankees have assured themselves at least a series split with the Angels.


***

I will be at tomorrow's Yankee game, sec 309, row 7, seat 22 or 23. Feel free to come by and say hi. Alas, I don't have a fancy phone, so if you want to email to set something up, you'll have to do it tonight.

Bottom of the Order Comes Through, Yanks finish April Above .500 First Time Since 2006 (postgame notes 30 April 2009)

Given the struggles of Chien Ming Wang, the injuries to A-Rod and Nady, the low RISP batting average and the sweep in Boston, it may be hard to believe that the Yankees have finished April above .500, but they indeed have.

At the worst, they would have finished the month at .500, and that itself would have been an improvement over the last two seasons, but they didn't just win tonight, they also beat the one team that's given them fits and starts for over a decade in the Anaheim Angels.

AJ Burnett did not have his best stuff, and occasionally looked like he was getting hit very hard, but somehow managed to make it through seven innings keeping the Yankees firmly in the game.

It was certainly not his best start of the season, but he gave the Yankees a chance to win and they took advantage.

Johnny Damon had a solo home run, furthering calls of "bandbox!", but the big offensive moment of the game came in the 8th inning.

In a tie game, Melky Cabrera's single put the Yankees ahead 5-4, and then Ramiro Peña's two-run double, his first two career RBI, put the Yankees ahead 7-4 and the team didn't look back.

Phil Coke pitched an excellent 8th inning with the game tied--it looks more and more like the early season troubles were flukes, though it's still early to tell--and Mariano Rivera bounced back and got through the ninth allowing one hit and nothing else.

I would like to caution that while it seems Rivera is getting hit more this year (and, well, he is) may seem worse than it is simply because of how dominant he was last year. He struggled in April '07 as well and managed to survive the year intact, no?

Ramiro Peña is looking more and more like should have been the placeholder at 3rd all along. He plays an excellent glove and is not an automatic out, and came through in a big place today. He should be sent back down when A-Rod comes back, because he really should play every day. He's not considered a top prospect for the Yankees, but he's taken advantage (or, at least, it seems that way) of the opportunity here.

Mark Teixeira continues to struggle; whether this is his normal early season struggles or if his wrist is hurting a bit more we don't know. He's still walking so his OBP is still up there, but the .200 average can't continue to hit in the three spot if he doesn't pick it up. It's still early and signs say he will recover, especially once A-Rod comes back.


Robbie Canó, thanks perhaps to Bobby Abreu's defense, now has a career-best 17 game hitting streak. He had an 0-fer the rest of the night, but his hit came in the 8th inning--the right time.

Yankees Outpitched in Mo-Town; Slip below .500

Over the weekend it could be argued that the Yankees got themselves beat, especially in the first two games of the series.

Tonight, however, it was much simpler: Justin Verlander pitched better than CC Sabathia.

It wasn't that Sabathia pitched poorly--in fact Sabathia pitched all eight innings for the Yanks in one of his best performances on the young season--but even the 1998 Yankees would have had a hard time beating Verlander's gas.

It's not that the Yankees didn't have their chances.

On more than one occasion, the Yankees had men on base with no one out, but they did not score a single run until the ninth inning, and by then it was simply too late. Jorge Posada came up as the tying run, and as if personally sticking a dagger in the hearts of Yankee fans, bounced into a double play.

The loss wouldn't really be so hard to take if the Yankees hadn't already lost their three previous games. As far as losses go, this one wasn't a bad loss-not in the way that Friday's or Saturday's was.

There were some bright spots.

Ramiro Peña had two hits along with some quality glove work; Robinson Canó is doing a very good job of atoning for last year, and no on in the "firestarter five" (thank you PeteAbe) had to come into pitch.

On the other hand, Damon just looks really sore and Teixeira is still not quite right. A couple of the deep fly balls he hit would have been home runs if he was locked in and healthy.

Although Toronto is, for the moment, losing, Boston looks as though they may never lose another baseball game ever again.

With the Angels coming up after this series, things look kinda bleak in Yankeeland in the early goings of the season.

Still, the team's still missing their best offensive player and one of their starters. It's not really time to be calling for Girardi's head just yet.

They Won't Go 0-162

Sorry, ledge-jumpers, but the Yankees will not go 0-162 in 2009.

The Yankees won their game today, and they did so in style: good pitching, good defense, solid hitting and old-fashioned Bronx Bombs.

Today was a day for the newcomers; AJ Burnett became the first Yankee starter this season to record a strikeout (he had six of them), Mark Teixeira had his first Yankee home run, and Nick Swisher had five RBI. Ramiro Peña, in his first major league at bat, had a single and later came around to score on a Robbie Canó hit.

Some of the more familiar faces had decent games, as well--Canó had three hits including a two-run home run and four RBI, and Mariano Rivera made his first, efficient appearance of the season.


Go figure tidbit from LoHud: Jeter and Damon got on base 11 times in the first two games and the Yankees lost twice. They were 0 for 9 today and the Yankees score 11 runs.


If you're watching the postgame, or if you watched it, you could hear Nick Swisher blasting the music...he should be starting. Really. Really.