I don't want anyone out there to get the wrong idea.  I'm as disappointed as most fans at the loss to Detroit.  But at some point things need to be looked at in the proper perspective.  This article basically highlights so much of what's wrong with the Yanks' organizational philosophy.  I do recall reading an article after the Yanks lost in 2003 to Florida that many players and coaches seemed spent and just glad that it was over.  (No player or coach said that.  I just want to make that clear) One writer on MSG's website conjectured that the Yanks had very little fun during that post-season.  For all those on pinstripe alley that take the time to read this New York Post article, your opinion is very much welcome.

 

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/the_end_of_the_world_mAAKp4pcD91w0LeTQgZaVN

 

 

 

Keep in mind that Randy Levine doesn't even come from a baseball background.  He used to work for Mayor Giuliani's office and was mainly hired by the Yanks to navigate them through all political red tape and obstacles they'd encounter on their way to building a new stadium.  Why is he the President of the Yankees and why is he allowed to issue a comment on whether or not the season was a success when his baseball knowledge is inferior to the below-average fan?  If it weren't for the players this organization would be impossible to like.  Between Levine, Trost and the Steinbrenner kids the arrogance and sense of entitlement that permeates this organization is beyond nauseating.  I read this article and was sad to see that the human element no longer exists within the Yankee organization.  As Vaccaro so brilliantly wrote:

"This is the sickness that befalls you when you brand yourself not only beyond reproach, but beyond failure in a game defined by it."

 

Food for thought for all Yankee fans.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/the_end_of_the_world_mAAKp4pcD91w0LeTQgZaVN#ixzz1aC2oWpj8

"

I'll keep this fanpost really brief.  For Yahoo Sports! Steve Henson to write an article not a half-hour after Mo set the record which makes references to Mo's salary and how much he's earned per save is deplorable.  I hate to focus on someone this negative after an event that was so positive, but please go the below-mentioned link and read this altogether inappropriate and impertinent article:

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AkAdgObS7GKAjP4.5l9J_.4RvLYF?slug=sh-henson_rivera_602_saves_record_highest_paid_closer_091911

After you're done wondering how this fits in to what Mo has just accomplished get on your knees and thank God you're not like Steve Henson.

 

Dear Steve,

Get a life.

Ivan Nova's body of work so far has been neither stellar nor awful.  More than any other Yankee starter he has shown himself to be a contact pitcher, and being that that contact often results in ground balls it's not the worst pitching characteristic. In his last two starts though he's been hit around fairly hard.

 

The west-coast trip is never easy for anyone, never mind an older team.  We've yet to see the Bombers get on a real hot streak and with 3 more games in Oakland and Anaheim respectively prior to returning home to face Boston they need to have their four best pitchers on the mound as often as possible. 

 

With CC going today followed by Bart, Freddy, AJ and an off day, the Yanks should consider skipping Nova for the remainder of the trip and then some.  Everyone will stay on schedule, and given that the Yanks are an arm short in the bullpen Nova could easily fill the role of long man if needed.  Looking further ahead, CC would pitch Friday in Anaheim followed by Bart, Freddy and an off day.  AJ would start the first game vs. the Sox followed by CC and Bart on Thursday the 9th.  Freddy would thens start on Friday the 10th with Nova getting his next shot Saturday the 11th.

 

The only potential con to this in my eyes is that both Colon and Freddy, being older pitchers who've had recent arm troubles, might benefit from pitching on 5 instead of 4-days rest.  Certainly Girardi and the coaches know enough about those two and have enough medical information at their disposal to determine if it's too risky.  The idea that this may somehow hurt Nova's confidence shouldn't even enter the equation. As such, if the coaches and manager can't find a medical reason to deter them from using a 4-man staff for 2 weeks I propose we go with a four-man staff until 11th of June. 

 

The Sox are hot and we're looking to get hot.  And that means we need the best guys we have out there for this stretch of west-coast games and the 3-game set vs Boston.  This is my opinion, and I really hope the members of pinstripe alley feel free to share their opinions with me.

Like just about every Yankee fan, heading into this season I was skeptical that our starters could provide the needed consistency outside of CC Sabathia.  Well, 29 games in I think we can all agree that things are much brighter than anyone could've anticipated.  While stats don't always tell the whole story, one recent stat irrefutably confirms that the starters are doing the two things you'd most like to see out of them: provide innings and quality innings.

 

Starting with Freddy Garcia's first start versus the Rangers on April 16th, Yankee starters have pitched at least 5 innings in 17 consecutive games.  Only in Garcia's loss last Friday to Toronto did a starter not go 5+.  It's not a phantom stat because in 14 of those games the starter pitched at least 6 innings, and in 12 of those games the starter has pitched into the 7th.  The latter scenario includes the last 5 games.  In none of these 17 games has the Yankee starter given up more than 4 earned runs.  I don't think anyone will confuse this staff with the ones we boasted in the last 90's and early 00's (Mussina, Wells, Pettitte, Clemens), but the above-mentioned numbers would've been considered quite acceptable even 10-15 years ago.  By today's standards they're almost sterling.

 

Our hitting has gone through periods of drought or deluge, and several players have yet to really hit at all or contributed much less than expected (Gardner, Swisher, Posada, and Jeter).  If the offense can reach a level of consistency that matches the starter's recent consistency the team will be in excellent shape.  And this offense is more than capable of doing that.  As of now, it's nice to see that the starters have been extremely consistent.  And I wonder who would've bet on that before the season?

Three days after being eliminated I’m still not feeling half as bad as I thought I would.  Part of that is due to the fact that Texas thoroughly outplayed us, and there’s a hope that the Yankee brass will not delude themselves into thinking that it’s just the pitching that needs an upgrade.  

 

Contractual obligations and no trade clauses make big changes impossible (and in fact they may not be needed), but if the decision makers take a look at the top four in the batting order they’ll see some stats that suggest that another bat is needed to get more out of those players aside from the impact it will have individually. 

 

Statistics, as we all know, can be manipulated and contorted.  Sometimes they lie, and at times those lies are borne out by those same players’ statistics.  So, for the sake of argument let’s look at the primary stats of Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez:

 

Derek’s diminished batting average compared to last year (.270-.334) along with is OBP (.340-.406) home-run (10-18) and hit totals (179-212)  might lead you to think that as leadoff man he wasn’t doing his primary job, scoring runs.  Not so.  His runs scored were up albeit slightly (107-111).  And with the first three categories being such big drop-offs you might think that his RBI total suffered. Not so.  He drove in 1 more run (66-67).  The fact that his runs total and RBI weren’t even negatively affected by an increase in strikeouts (90-106) a decrease in home runs and hits almost defies statistical logic.

 

Nick Swisher’s line is not as statistically baffling.  Homer totals were the same (29), RBI up by 7 (82-89), BA up by .039 (.249-288), hits total up by 39 (124-163) and runs total up (84-91).  All in all a solid season.  And yet there was regression here.  He struck out more (136-129), walked less (97-58) and had a lower OBP (.371-.359).  We’re not even close to some of Jeter’s contradictory stats, but it’s remarkable that his big increase in hitting with RISP (.227-.287) and an increase in slugging percentage (.498-.511) had such a small impact on his RBI total.

 

Mark Teixeira’s line is more in keeping with contradictions.  A lower BA (.256-.292), lower home-run totals (33-39), lower hits totals (154-178), lower OBP (.383-.365), lower BA with RISP (.355-.279) and two outs, lower Slugging percentage (.565-.481).  Pretty much all of those add up to a lack of production, except for the fact that Tex led the MAJORS in runs scored (113) and that was an increase of 10 from his 2009 totals.

 

And finally A-Rod. Alex’s numbers have to also take into consideration that he had 78 more AB’s than last year, and thus more chances to produce, homers, RBI and not so coincidentally runs scored.  The extra AB’s had some impact on his fine RBI increase (100-125) and perhaps doubles (17-29).  But yet with more AB’s he still scored fewer runs (78-74).  His BA with RISP was up (.265-.283), but his homers were the same (30) in 78 more AB’s.  It seems like extra AB’s may also have had  a slight impact on greatly diminished  slugging percentage (.532-.506) and OBP (.341-.402), and the increase in AB’s did nothing to help his walks total, in fact quite the opposite (59-80), and the extra AB’s only helped him accumulate 14 more hits (127-141).

 

Without having taken a look at other teams to see if their players also had anomalous stats, I feel the above-mentioned stats are indicative of an offense that was streaky both positively and negatively, that won many games by lopsided margins where the extra offensive clout was nothing but cosmetic, and which has ONE person to thank mainly for its effectiveness in 2010.  Robinson Cano. 

 

I also feel that despite players being set in certain positions, as far as the outfield goes nothing is set in stone.  I like Brett Gardner and I like Curtis and I like Swisher, but none of them is indispensable.  The Yankees would do well to take a good long look at trading one of the above three and making a big play for Carl Crawford, and if that fails Jayson Werth.  Neither Swisher (even though he’s a switch hitter) Gardner or Curtis has a skill set that is superior to Crawford’s (as a lefty hitter, he’d hit 30 homers easy in the Bronx).  Werth strikes out a lot but he get on base a lot and had 46 doubles.  But perhaps the main reason we need another guy is to bring out the best of what’s left in Jeter, Alex, and get more out of Swish, but more importantly Tex.

 

Bottom Line: We need another guy.

 

 

Though the final word has yet to be written on the Yankees season, in light of various factors this year would be a success even if we were only to lay claim to the AL crown.

 

Despite regular season offensive statistics that show the bombers were the best offensive team in the Majors, this year’s crew scored 80 fewer than last year’s, and with the exception of Cano major run producers went through significant dry spells.  Jeter’s 112 runs scored are not nearly as much a reflection on his performance as his significantly lowered BA and OBP.  Texeira’s league-leading run total is more a product of second half burst that compensated for an almost two-month long coma to start the season.  His RBI and home-run numbers are down.  A-Rod’s number’s, though fine on the face, look diminished when you see a slugging percentage, OBP and run totals  that are significantly decreased.  Swisher’s increase in RBI and slugging was counterbalanced by an OBP that was 20 points lower than 2009, and an increase in strikeouts.  Posada has shown his age both at the plate and in the field.  His numbers are not all a by-product of injuries. Nick Johnson did what we feared he would do, he landed on the DL.  Lost in all the injuries to key hitters was Marcus Thames’ remarkable late August surge which sparked an eight-game winning streak that effectively put Boston too far out of it. The Yankees were deep enough to compensate for sub-par performances and injuries, but this team’s offensive might was often absent or intermittent, but most of all, not championship caliber

 

The emergence of Hughes as a starter and a return to late-20’s form by Andy Pettitte were able to almost completely compensate for two pitchers, Vazquez and Burnett, who ranged from inconsistent to awful from April onwards.  That’s just 3/5 of a rotation to count on, and actually 2 ½ /5 if you take into consideration Andy’s two months on the DL.  Moseley proved to be somewhat effective in making up for that loss.  The bullpen lost key men in Aceves and Marte, and only the emergence of Logan and the acquisition of Wood helped make the bridge to Rivera one that was sustainable.  And in the end, Rivera was Ol’reliable in spite of a flukish late September swoon.

 

If fortune decides to shine on us for a few more games we will have accomplished something very meaningful.  Coming back from 3-1 against a younger and more athletic team, not to mention winning an AL pennant despite subpar performances and a core four that now looks only like a trusted two.  The pennant would validate the season, the team and how it was constructed.  One thing is certain though, and in many ways this recalls the 2001 team, the final result will not blind management to the numerous changes that must be made to ensure continued post season appearances.

In a post I put up on September 30th I called David Wells an idiot and a big mouth.  One of my reasons for doing so was that he claimed that Joe Torre should have started him in Game 1 of the 97 ALDS vs. Cleveland considering his playoff track record against them.  In my post I wrote that prior to 97 David had no prior playoff track record against them, and that as a result he was a liar and a fabricator of stories.

 

Well, I'm obligated to apologize to David Wells, because while his contention that he should've started Game 1 vs. Cleveland instead of David Cone or Andy Pettitte is still not based on solid logic because both were substantially superior to him that year, he DID in fact have a playoff track record against Cleveland.  My baseball memory failed me, and that almost never happens

 

Baltimore beat Cleveland 3 games to 1 in the 96 ALDS and David Wells was an Oriole that year.  He pitched Game 1 at Jacobs field and won 10-4, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing 4 runs on 8 hits.  Not a great start, but then again that was an Indians team that RAKED at home.

 

Dear David,

I apologize for calling you an idiot and a big mouth because of your comments.  You are still an idiot and a big mouth, but my prior chacterization of you as one was based on the notion that the information you provided about your pitching resume was fictitious.  I was wrong and I'm sorry.

 

PS: You're also an ingrate, because everyone with a brain knows that after you coffed back 7 runs of a 9-0 Yankee lead vs. Texas in May of 98, Torre called you into his office and told you to stop gesturing at teamates whenever something went against you, (later in the year Jeter yelled at you on the field when you did that) and to focus 100% because you were important and potentially the best guy on the team.  2 starts later you pitched a perfect game and wound up 18-4, along with starting the All-Star game.  Only a nimrod like you would've been so offended by Joe Torre's trying to get the best out of you.  And you went on record as saying you'd never forgive him.  It's a good thing you knew how to pitch, because with your low intellect and absurd sense of impunity it's hard to imagine you'd have been good at anything else.

Yankee fans like me got to see David Wells pitch in the prime of his career, and it was often a joy.  He worked fast, threw strikes and ate up innings.  He also was a  big mouth whose opinions either showed what an exasperating and low-grade individual he could be, or that he simply didn't know what he was talking about.

 

When you open your mouth about everything you run the risk of saying not only absurd things, but things that can be easily discredited and contradicted.  But being that he is no rocket scientist David proably thinks the average fan might simply agree with him and assume he knows what he's talking about without checking out the facts.

David has this to say on the radio last week days after Georger Steinbrenner's monument unveling:

 

"That's pretty degrading when you have your manager tell your pitching coach to tell you, 'Hey, you're going to sit out,' rather than telling you himself," Wells said. "That's what Joe Torre is to me, a coward.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/wells_torre_coward_8tTmZaDrc1tuz59tR8xSxK#ixzz113HQEliH

 

This was an allusion to a supposed conversation that Mel Stottlemyre had with David prior to the 1997 playoffs, where he informed him he wouldn't be starting in the postseason.

Well the problem is David Wells did start, in Game 3, and he pitched a complete game 6-1 win.  Wells was 16-10 that year with an ERA a bit over four.  He was the number 3 man after David Cone and Andy Pettitte.  After that the options for the Yanks were Dwight Gooden, Mendoza, and, oh well, you get the picture.

Translation: no such meeting ever took place, but assuming it had, It has been well-documented over the years that Joe Torre NEVER used a coach or any other intermediary to deliver a message of such importance.  And therefore David Wells is a liar.

 

And this week David had more to add:

 

“In ‘97 I felt we were going to win it all,” Wells, an analyst with TBS, told The Post. “I felt I should have started the series off against Cleveland because you look at my track record against Cleveland in the playoffs and we go to play them and I’m pitching third.

“I just didn’t think that was a smart thing to do. I owned Cleveland. Those guys couldn’t beat me for anything. I knew that, they knew that. And that’s what’s disappointing because we had the best team in baseball.”

For the record, Wells was 20-4 with a 3.78 ERA against the Indians in his career, but 0-1 with a 6.91 ERA in three starts against them in 1997

David Wells HAD NO track record against Cleveland in the playoffs prior to Game Three.  In 97 he was brilliant, and in 98 he went 2-0 with an ERA a shade over 2.00 in 16 innings. 

If Joe Torre had a crystal ball and knew that David would shut down the Tribe so soundly in 97 and 98 there is a chance he might've started Game 1 in 97.  David Wells is alluding to a track record which had yet to be written.  What is he talking about??!!


For the record, Joe Torre's decsion to start Cone and Pettitte ahead of Wells in 97 was well-justified.  Cone was 12-6 with a 2.82 ERA, while Pettitte was 18-7 with a 2.88 ERA.  Wells was 16-10 with a 4.21 ERA.  But after all Cone and Andy had done in 95 and 96 Joe would've been justified starting them first just out of loyalty even if their records in and of themselves perhaps indicated the opposite.

It's well-documented that Joe and David had there differences, and it's also true that Joe didn't treat everyone exactly the same.  No manager does, and that's because human nature makes that impossible.  But everyone was treated fairly, David Wells included.

These most recent comments not only prove that David Wells is an idiot and a big mouth, but that he's flat-out liar and inventor of stories. 

In the time that Joe Torre was here there were a few players a members of the front office he didn't get along with.  Ruben Sierra (although eventually we got him back and Joe won him over), David Wells, Raul Mondesi and a few more  And on the front-office side we have Randy Levine, who perhaps more than anyone led the charge to get Joe fired and was instrumental in him not coming back. He's a politician from Mayor Rudy's office whose main objective was helping the Yanks get everything in order for the launching of the YES Network and the opening of new the stadium.  He has over the last few years shown himself to be an elitist whose main focus is corporate and the box-seat sitting crowd.

But in the end this story is more about David Wells. They say you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep, but you can also tell a lot about a person by the people who don't like them.  And among a myriad of other reasons the above-mentioned names of the people who didn't like Joe, chief among them David Wells, show that Joe really was a class act.  He comes up aces once again.

Hindsight is always 20-20, but as inconsistent (at best) as Javy has been I can't fault Cashman for making the deal to get him back.  He had a great year last year, and his prior 4 years with Chicago and Arizona ranged from solid number 4 starter to fairly good number 2 starter.  Even in the year he pitched wth us in 2004, he was better than what he was this year.  In truth, his first tour of duty with us was more a debacle as a result of the Damon grand slam in the ALCS.  In 32 starts in 2004 he went 14-10 with 198.0 innings pitched and 195 hits allowed, with a WHIP ratio of 1.29 and an ERA of 4.91.  If he'd done that this year I thing nobody would've complained too much.  This year he's far worse.  In 26 starts he's 10-10, has thrown 157.1 innings and given up 155 hits (it seems almost impossible considering how bad he's looked at times that he has fewer hits than innings pitched.), with a WHIP ration of 1.40 and an ERA of 5.32.  The BAA is almost exactly the same.  Among all the negative data we can also include that he's helped contribute to the bullpen's overuse.

 

We all know that the saying, "Some players can't handle New York" is 100% accurate, but I can't fault Cashman for thinking the second time around would be better than the first time around.  Their was ample evidence to support that hope.  I can't see anyway he'll be back with us next year.  Since his contract is up there would've been no guarantee he would've chosen us anyway or that we would've accomodated his contractual demands.  At this point those things are meaningless.  I hope for his sake, but mainly for the sake of the team and the fans, that he can somehow find a way to contribute tangibly in October.  If he does that and the result is a World Series it will take some of the sting out of getting burned twice.

 

I've spent a sizeable portion of my game-thread comments time talking about how AJ Burnett is is simply not a mentally tough pitcher, and I've even gone as far as to say that his pitching inspires so little confidence in his teamates that maybe they don't hit as well when he's pitching.

That last part may be hard to prove, but what's easy to prove is that AJ has had a terrible season.

In today's New York Post Joel Sherman writes the following about AJ Burnett:

 

The Yanks are 13-19 in Burnett’s starts. Heck, they are 13-12 in Javier Vazquez’s starts, and Ron Guidry has a better chance to start next week for the Yanks than Vazquez. The Yanks are 20-9 when Hughes starts. Does that reflect best-in-the-majors run support for Hughes? You bet. But that run support might also reflect a team comfortable playing with Hughes, especially in comparison to Burnett. In addition, in what felt like a must-win game Sunday, Hughes held Boston to one run in six innings during a period in which the Yanks did not score for him at all.

It's about as good a piece as I've seen Sherman write, and he concludes it with the following:

Burnett’s strikeout rate is down to 6.97 per nine innings, which is actually lower than Vazquez (7.13). His opposing OPS is .823, which means he turns the average hitter against him into Torii Hunter. And how, exactly, do you trust the pitcher who has the most hit by pitches (17) and steals against (36) in the majors, and the second-most wild pitches in the AL (15)? This guy does everything conceivably to try to lose a game.

The Yanks have to make a decision about trust. And here is the most obvious truth: A.J. Burnett is the least trustworthy player on the whole darn team

The part about the various stats indicating Burnett's wildness and inability to hold runners underscore what seems to be a common opinion around baseball, and that is that AJ Burnett has had success at times due to raw talent minus pitching smarts.  He either doesn't care at all about improving facets of his game that would raise him to a higher level, or is incapable of improving them.  Whichever of those is true, it speaks volumes about how organizations don't intervene and compel players to work on fundamentals or else.  And why should they?  Their contracts are guaranteed.  In Burnett's case he's got a no-trade clause if I'm not mistaken.  AJ Burnett has had exactly ONE very good season in his career.  Two years ago.  And it sure was in his best interests to have one, since he had the option of opting out of his contract and had to have a good year to get a better contract from someone else (he was ONLY getting 11 million with the Jays). Well he got it, with us.  And after two years I'm still wondering if he takes his job seriously.  Whatever the case, I seriously don't want to see him pitch in October.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/has_burned_bombers_way_too_often_NiZLEsBGMXgBtsZNfIwIeJ#ixzz10yDh0Cp1 Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/has_burned_bombers_way_too_often_NiZLEsBGMXgBtsZNfIwIeJ#ixzz10yD68f2V

As I was following last night's loss to the Jays on mlb.com, I could not help but notice that with 2 outs in the top of the Jorge Posada swung at a 3-0 pitch (I read someone's post, and they said he checked his swing) and grounded out.  The Yankees were trailing by 2 and there was nobody on base.

With all that went wrong last night with AJ, and the team's recent struggles, it might seem petty to focus on an this incident.  But since this is a play that would universally be regarded as bad, if not incomprehensible, I'm appealing to all those on pinstripelley.com who read this post to offer their opinion.

It may not have made a difference in the outcome of the game, but Jorge is a player who will get in guys' faces and tell them when they did something that was fundamentally unsound or selfish.  He's intense, wants to win, and was quite peeved when he found out he wouldn't be catching last night.

With all due respect for what Jorge has done for us and continues to do, his inability to not pop off whenever he's got an opionion about how a player should be used (he was very vocal about Joba being better off in the pen, and has complained about DH'ing full-time eventually even though he couldn't throw out my grandmother trying to steal second) or other organizational moves prove he's vocally opinionated about whatever decisions he perceives are not in the best interests of the team.  But when you put your neck out that much you've got to practice what you preech to a tee.  He should not have even LIFTED the bat off his shoulder on a 3-0 count in that situation. That decison was not in the best interests of the team.  He's not some rookie who doesn't know the game.  He's 39 years old.

Please chime in with your thought readers, as I am absolutely flabbergasted by a mental mistake that makes Gardner's attempted 2-out steal of 3rd two weeks ago seem like a fairly smart move.

 

As a fan who doesn’t watch the games live (I live in Europe) I realize my perspective doesn’t match that of the viewers and fans who watch the Bombers day in and day out; and it’s specifically for that reason that I’m asking for your opinions on Derek Jeter.  I would like to preface my comments by saying that I’m as big a Jeter fan as you’ll find.  I get no joy from pointing out his declining stats, and am of the opinion that whatever might be wrong with him can be remedied with some tinkering of his swing or something technical.   Of course there is also the chance that he’s just having one of those blah years that all players have.  He’s certainly entitled to one with all that he’s accomplished, but above all there’s that part of me that wants him to finish out his career here as a productive player because it would be too painful to see Derek getting 15 million per year based mainly on his past achievements while his current play indicates he’s not worth that.  Derek is special in a way A-Rod never will be, no matter what A-Rod has accomplished or accomplishes with us from here on out.

 

At this point in the season the numbers aren’t going to change much.  After Sunday’s game Derek was hitting .264 (.334 last year) with and OBP of .332 (.406 last year) and a Slugging percentage of .374 (.465 last year).  There is one stat of Derek’s this year that doesn’t jive with this line of decreasing percentages, and it’s arguably the most important stat of all: runs scored.  Derek has scored 96 runs, which I believe is second or third in the AL, and he scored 107 last year.  It’s not at all a stretch to say that Derek will equal his runs scored from 2009 or surpass it with a far lower OBP.  This defies logic.  I recall when Knoblauch’s OBP started to plummet with the Yanks his runs scored followed suit.  I can recall three instances this week where Derek hit into a force play and came around to score a run.  That’s basically a reward for not having hit into a double play, and I say this fully aware that to some degree a batter cannot control where he directs the ball.  Let’s just say for the sake of argument that that’s happened 10 times this year. Depending on certain factors, it certainly detracts from the run that’s scored, though I imagine it happened quite few times last year too.  In any event, his runs scored total is a good one.

 

I am appealing to the members of Pinstripe Alley to give me their opinions.  I’ve read many posts by various members (Lord Duggan is the best example) on other topics that have proven to me that they have the technical baseball insight to determine if Jeter’s swing is too long; if his arms are too high, or if perhaps that stance that has always allowed him to drive even tough outside pitches the other way while at the same time being quick enough to either turn on the inside pitch or fist it the other way, is somehow in need of modification.  Having only the stats and highlights from MLB.com at my disposal it’s impossible for me to see if he’s simply hitting hard balls that are getting caught (from the way they’re described it doesn’t seem that way) and having a hard-luck year to some degree (He’s 36.  It’s not uncommon for players to start to decline at that age, although they don’t tend to decline this quickly in one year).  It seems like he’s really late on above average heat (93 and up. Lots of players started cheating on the fastball at around that age, Eddie Murray for one) pitches and topping a lot of breaking balls.  

 

As I said, I’m really looking for some input from members of this group because firstly I want to know about and am genuinely interested in technical explanations, and secondly, as a fan of the Yanks and Derek I want to believe that everything can be remedied.  He’s still a good player, but this season constitutes a MAJOR drop off.  

 

PS: I know I’m too wordy and use parentheses too often.  I thank you for your patience.

This has absolutely nothing to with our recently taking 3 out of 4 from Cleveland or anything that regards the Yankees currently, nor was it planned in advance; it's just a spontaneous post.  I just got through reading Carlton Fisk's SABR biography and perusing through his stats once again, and I couldn't help but feel as strongly as ever that in spite of his great career and certainly merited HOF induction, that other than homers and stolen bases there was not one thing that Carlton did better than Thurman Munson:  Thurman drove in 100 runs or more three times (consecutively no less) while Fisk did it twice; Munson won three gold gloves (consecutively no less) while Fisk won one; Thurman was MVP of the AL in 1976 while Fisk never was MVP; in the time they competed against one another they both went to five all-star games; Fisk spent the way more time on the DL during the time they competed against one another, missing 110, 83 and 71 games in 1974,1975 and 1979 respectively, while Munson never played fewer than 125 games in a year except for the year he died and was NEVER on the DL.  If we add on Thurman's playoff statistics the numbers favor Thurman even more but it's not Carlton's fault he only played in three playoff series while Thurman played in six.  It would really be refreshing to hear a Red Sox fan say that in spite of how good Fisk was he was NOT better than Munson.  Us Yankee fans have had the privilege of watching Posada play full-time since 2000, and he's been great, but we'll gladly admit that Posada is no I-Rod in his prime or Joe Mauer now, granted the talent gap between Fisk and Munson is not as wide as the gap between Jorge and the other two I mentioned.  I'm not even sure Thurman's exclusion from the HOF is justified (take a really good look at his numbers) even though it's not the Hall's fault Thurman died young.  The Thurman Munson that played from 1970-1978 was the premier catcher in the AL in that era (Fisk's career overlapped with his from 72-79).  Neither was as good as Johnny Bench (I'm not sure anyone ever has been) but as a longtime Yankee fan, and more importantly lontime fan of baseball, it's my opinion that Thurman Munson was a better catcher than Carlton Fisk, not quite hands down but leaning in that direction.

I'm dedicating this post to a recent Met incident which in my eyes highlights some of the differences between the Mets and Yanks.  In addition, I'll bet that anything that casts the Mets or the Red Sox in a bad light makes us Yankee fans grin.  In any event, here's what the Daily News wrote about the recent spat with K-Rod and bullpen coach Randy Nieman:

According to other players, however, K-Rod doesn't always love to pitch in non-save situations....

Instead Manuel used Pedro Feliciano to get Dunn, then brought K-Rod in to start the ninth with a four-run lead, which meant he didn't qualify for a save. When he let his feelings be known, it didn't sit well with some players.

"We're trying to win games here and get something going," one player said. "That's all that should matter."

I was quite shocked to read about this, and it's really bad that something like this happens with any player, let alone a critical player.  And believe me, if this happened with a Yankee player we'd find out about it.  Along with that, Jeter, or Posada or Pettitte would intervene (Jorge's the guy who has the greater likelyhood of trying to beat the crap out of a player behaving like this).  and put the guy in place.  David Wells at times would have bad body language on the mound when things weren't going well, and one time Jeter very bluntly told him to grow up and start appreciating his teamates.  Can you imagine a pitcher making 13 million dollars a year even condiering making it known that he doesn't like to pitch in non-save situations, or resenting that he wasn't brought in when it was a save situation (Feliciano is death on lefties, and Manuel probably figured he was less likely to give up a homer to Adam Dunn)?  Mo pitched twice in one day yesterday, and when asked about it he said, "I've had lots of time to rest recently".  They just don't make em like Mo anymore.

This is a post for all pinstripe alley members who watch the games and can give me their opinions.  I live overseas and follow the games on MLB.com gameday.  I have not seen a live game in years and so I need someone to fill me in on what I might or might not be seeing.  Gameday allows you to see every action along with velocity and type of pitch thrown.  As well all know velocity does not tell the whole story and pitch movement can only be surmised. 

From my vantage point it seems as though Jeter is REALLY late on anything 92 and up.  Granted he's not a pull hitter, but I'm seeing lots of fouls and weak ground balls to the right side on fastballs in fastball counts.  He went 3 for 4 on Sunday, and very hit came off an off-speed pitch.  We know he's got an inside out stroke, but he's been getting lots of inside fastballs recently and it seems like he can't handle them or foul them off.  That was another thing about Jeter; even though he does swing at the first pitch a lot he was still great at working a deep count because he would spoil the tough pitcher's pitches and then get one he could handle or work out a walk.  His AB's are getting shorter and shorter.  Can anyone with some baseball knowledge tell me if Jeter has lost some bat speed this year so far?  In addition this question goes for Tex too.  He seems to be late on too many fat pitches.  All members who want to offer an opinion please do so.  Help me put my mind at ease and tell me I'm either seeing things that are not really there, or that it's just a matter of being in a slump for these two players.

 

As I write this the Bombers are ahead of Texas 7-0 after 7 innings and an 8-3 start is 2 innings away.  All is well in bomberland, although one little problem cropped up this week.  It's temporary (hopefully) and I'm curious to see what people think about my idea for a solution.  Chan Ho Park is on the DL until the 29th and they've called up Boone Logan to take his spot.  Sure, our starters have gone at least 5 (and often more) in each game and that's a recipe for a rested bullpen, but there may be a viable alternative to Park, even if at this moment this alternative is in the rotation.  That's Phil Hughes.  The reason I mention him is that the Yanks have off every Monday in April, and as such Hughes turn in the rotation can be skipped twice or more without anyone having to pitch on short rest.  Being that he pitched Thursday the 15th, Sunday the 17th would be his turn to throw between starts and he could start again on Saturday the 24th while Pettite, Vazquez, Sabathia (plus CC's start on Friday was six innings and less than 80 pitches, so he does not need an extra day like after the near no-no in Tampa) and AJ start on four days rest the four prior days since Monday is an off day.  In fact he could relieve twice in that time.  I throw this out because Logan is a lefty and we don't use lefties against righties unless it's blowout, and regardless of what Girardi says I don't want to see Mitre in there protecting anything smaller than a four-run lead.  Does anyone feel that Hughes could in some way make up for Park's loss by throwing in 3 or 4 games where he's relieving and still be a starter during the times his turn will come up?  This way you make his days to throw in between starts days where he pitches in a game.  Of course, the situation would have to present itself, like let's say Robinson and Aceves had pitched the day before and Pettite is pulled after 6 tomorrow for example.  Use him for one or two innings depending on how many pitches he throws in his first inning of work and he won't be worn out for his next start., which if they skip his turn will be on  I can't see the Yanks doing this but I'm curious to hear what some readers about this.  Since as a reliever he dialed it up a notch in velocity because he knew he was only going one or two innings would this have an adverse effect on his arm for those days he starts.  This seems like a way to limit his innings while allowing him to work in game situations.  I know I need to be more succinct and brief in my posting so please feel free to criticize me on that.

One of the sad things about winning it all is that it's almost impossible to keep everyone together.  Bur before the Yanks decide what to do with the Damon, Matsui and Pettitte they may want to consider the notion that winning takes a certain amount of chemistry and a unique blend of talent and selflessness.  No matter how appealing the alternatives may be you never know long it might take for them to fit in assuming they ever do fit in.  The three main Yankee free agents' personalities and their ability to perform under the New York spotlight are not secrets to the Yankee brass.  This is not the only thing to take into consideration of course, but it means more than what most people think.  Since I'm of the opinion the Yanks will absolutely work something out with Andy (that is unless he retires) I'd like to focus on Damon and Matsui.

 

Johnny moved from the one slot to the two slot this year and led the Yanks in runs scored.  He hit 24 homers and drove in 82 runs.  His throwing arm is not even average and in spite of his speed he's not great at tracking balls or taking the best route to the ball. His fielding is at best average.  He hit .269 versus lefties.  He showed a knack at looking for pitches middle of the plate in certain situation where a home run was needed and he excelled at reaching that short porch.  Is in fact perfect for the number 2 spot in the order because he almost never hits into double plays.  His ABs are savvy and he fights off pitch after pitch until he gets one that he can handle.  Possesses intangibles that can't be taught and that many superior offensive players don't have.  Plays hurt and sets a good example. 

Solution:  I'd ike to see the Yanks offer him a four-year deal that allows them a low (2 million)-dollar buyout clause after the second and third years.  If his production is like it was this year after 2011 they'll gladly pick up his option for the third year.  A base salary of about 12 million seems right.  He cares about his teamates and loves playing here.  I don't think we can afford to lose him in spite of his age.  Rest him once a week and DH him one a week.  A year like this one is more than probable out of him if he's handled correctly. 

 

Hideki hit 28 homers and drove in 90 runs.  Drove in more runs versus LHP than any other left-handed hitter in the majors.  Is making a living hitting mistakes but that's a symbol of savvyness (see Chili Davis).  That and his professionalism would almost be enough to justify bringing him back.  He could easily do what he did last year again.  Problem is unless he can play the field at last 40-50 times the Yanks cannot possibly justify offering him more than a one-year deal at a significant pay cut.  His one-dimensionality will decrease his salary offers by at least 30 percent and maybe more.  If another team which does not have as many DH-ready players as us wants to offer him 2 years or more at more than 8 million per we simply have to cut ties with him.  I'm assuming the Yanks have all the medical data needed to determine whether or not he's a viable fielding option.  If they come to the conclusion he's not one then they should make an offer that reflects their respect for his professionalism, hard work and dedication.  One year at 7 million guaranteed.  With injuries always a possibility having a player like him ready to take on full-time role is not a bad investment, nor is it really an insult to him.  If he's not flexible in his demands then we'll have to part with him.  If that does happen it will not only turn out that Matsui was the best foreign investment in the history of the franchise but one of the best investments period.

 

The organization has to consider that maybe it's not a bad idea to give the same group one more shot at doing what they did this year.  They can't consider that at any cost.  If the above-mentioned players are irrational in their demands we cannot show blind loyalty.  My general opinion is that Damon will be back and Matsui most likely won't be.  And if that happens then we maybe we can give left field to Melky and place Gardner in Center while letting Johnny DH most of the time.  My point is that these players are special, just like Tino, Paul and Bernie were.  The decision on whether or not to let them go needs not only to take into consideration age and stats but also character and intangible qualities.  If they go we're going to miss them more than we can imagine right now.  I'm glad I don't have to make these decisions.

From: http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=59511 An interview with Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Twins.
**********************************

Q. Joe Girardi described your club as scrappy. Particularly the walk-off wins. But also these recent games here now, do you think your players relish this role? They come and see this 1.5 billion palace, the $200 million Yankees. Is there a certain role they want to play here, David versus Goliath?

RON GARDENHIRE: I think once you get out on the field, no one plays with a bill fold in their pocket. It's all baseball players….

You know what, the Yankees are the most professional team you'll ever see. They do their work. They play the game the right way. They don't get enough credit for that. They get always talked about high payroll and everything. But that's professional baseball players over there. Those guys are really good. And they take pride in everything they do. So we know that we've got a big battle here. Because these guys are a great baseball team. They've proved it all year long.

________________________________________________________________________________

It might occur to most of us who don't blindly hate the Yanks or who claim that the Yanks buy Championships that if the opinion of a respected big-league manager is that the Yanks honor the city they play in and the game they play enough to put it enough hard work to get the most out of their abilities that the argument that the Yanks simply cut checks to the best free agents and let the mercenaries mercilessly destroy everyone is BS.  Didn't the Yankees go like 17 games without an error in mid-May?  They did.  And that's not cause the players are the best paid.  It's because they've worked hard at their trade and take pride in what they do.  In laymens terms that's called hard work.  If you work hard you get rewarded.  If you look to improve on already prodigious talent that means you're hungry to succeed and revel in the glory of success.  In professional sports one thing counts:  winning. You play to have fun and to win.  If you're a company who has inherent resources to consistently improve the product that you put out it means you care about your brand and don't want to shortchange the paying public.  That's called a sense of obligation.  I'd like to see how many of the teams in the AL got their best home attendances in the games where the Yanks visited their city.  I already know the answer.  All of them.  More fans, more parking money, more money on concessions, merchandise.  More business in the bars around the stadiums. 

 

Everyone baseball fan that dislikes the Yanks for what they aspire to do WOULD WANT their team to do the same thing if their team had the resources.  The argument about how immoral and what an outrage the Yanks are would be valid if those same detractors stopped rooting for their team if management had such resources and decided to put them to work to build a winner.  But of course they would not.  They'd be clamoring for their teams front office to spend and try to achieve glory.  In the end it's envy.  It 's those people who wish they could be like us.  I wish I were successful professionally but I'm not.  But I don't hate those who are.  In fact I admire them and wish that in that respect I was more like them.  That comparison is just as applicable to those fans who beat on the Yanks and New York.  They want to be where we are.  Their envy and hatred is the greatest flattery, admiration and respect they could pay to us.

This is more of a comment than a post.  We pitched great and fielded well against LA.  We hit for power which often makes up for not so great hitting with RISP.  But LA played about as bad as I've seen them play.  Their fielding and base-running were awful.  I can guarantee you that their OBP was so low that the amount of runs they scored was absolutely appropriate. As it is they scored 19 runs while we scored 34.  But if you consider our OBP and the runners we left on base we should have scored more.  It's something we've been able to make up for all year with the long ball or the key hit when we absolutely have to have it (see A-Rod in the 9th against Joe Nathan and Brian Fuentes).  Since we've gotten this far with what I feel has been average clutch hitting (.271 during the season, which was like 8th in the majors) if we win the WS in spite of this all my rants and comments about how it's going to inevitably bite us in the ass won't mean anything.  And I don't want to be a killjoy, but these situation where you have 1st and 2nd and no outs, or 2nd and 3rd and one out and don't score can be the difference in a game.  Had we swung the basts a bit better with RISP the other night Rivera would not have had to come in to protect a two-run lead and get six outs.  As it is their fielding helped us tack on a few more but if we had not scored those 2 extra runs, as infalliable as Rivera is most of the time, if he'd managed to give up the run to tie it in the 9th it would've been as much a commentary on the fact that we did not put it away earlier.  Thanks to Kendrick and Kazmir the Angels had no hope going into the 9th.  I will say that Posada flied out early with RISP and hit the ball hard and Tex's Sac Fly was a rocket, so things at times are not as bad as they seem when you consider that for the most part hitters cannot direct the ball out of the range of fielders.  I feel we really need tp pick it up agaisnt Philly because if we play to our ability we can't be beat.  That aside let's enjoy Pennnat number 40 and also take solace in the fact that we are a better team than LA.  The best team did win regardless of how much help we got to win.  LET'S GO YANKS!!!

While we could easily say that almost any day in October, or the month itself are great moments in Yankees history, I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to one of the most unforgettable moments in Yankees history, and in many peoples' eyes the single most dramatic hit in the history of the "Old Yankee Stadium".

The "Old Stadium" had just reopened and the year was 1976.  The Yanks took the division by 10 1/2 games and faced off against Kansas City in the first of many great play-off series between the two teams.  The teams split the first four and the deciding game was played on Thursday October 14th 1976 in the Bronx.  Dennis Leonard vs. Ed Figeuroa.  The Royals jumped out to an early lead, the Yanks tied it.  The Royals retook the lead and the Yanks went ahead by one in the 4th and added two in the 6th to lead by three going into the top of the 8th. With two on and no outs George Brett (the ultimate Yankee Killer) hit a three-run home run just over the right field wall to tie the game at 6. 

After a narrow escape in the top of the 9th first baseman Chris Chambliss launched Kansas City reliever Mark Littell's first pitch over the right-center field fence and the Bombers were champs of the AL for the first time in 12 years.  The bedlam on the field symbolized years of frustration that had finally come to an end.  It was the first pennant of the Steinbrenner era, and even though the Big Red Machine whipped us in four straight in the WS it was a prelude of what was to come in 1977 and 1978.  We were finally back on top and no hit in the Stadium's glorious 33-year run was as important to the franchise.  It's our first year at the "New Yankee Stadium" and I can't think of a a better way to crown this new place than with an AL Flag.  If it comes on a walk-off, in this the year of the walk-off for us, it would be very fitting.  LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!!!

There is no way in hell that Robinson Cano should be hitting 5th.  Until he masters plate discipline and the benefits of taking a pitch every now and then there is no way he should be hitting 5th.  He puts no pressure on the pitcher at all.  They ought to speak to him about that again because it's obviuous that in spite of his strong start he's falling back into that pattern of not being selective.  Bat Posada or Swisher 5th.  Get Cano out of there!!!!!!

I think Girardi was showing confidence in Sabathia by keeping him in the 7th today.  His pitch count was 100, but he goes over that regularly in games.  At first I felt it was a bad move but I know why he did it and the fact that the result was not positive does not make it a bad move. Since Girardi did not use Bruney at all today, are we to assume that he would have entrusted the other relievers with the game's outcome (ie. getting to Rivera) if Sabathia had gotten out of that inning with the lead?  Or was he only going to use Bruney if they got into the 8th with the lead?  The point I'm trying to get at is, does Girardi trust the guys he used to protect the tie with a late one-run or two-run lead or would he rather keep a starter whose pitch count is running up.  If the relievers are good enough to be used to keep the game tied aren't they good enough to be used to protect a late lead?  It's early in the year but we might conclude that to Girardi losing the game with those relievers in there with the lead is WORSE than having them lose the game trying to protect a tie.  That's almost implying that it's too devastating to the team mentally to not have the relievers protect a lead, but it's not as bad to have them winding up costing you the game if they are JUST in there to preserve a tie.  Someone please comment on my line of thinking.   The weather must have affected Sabathia because he had bad fastball control and his velocity was about 3-4 miles less than what it was in his start in KC.  In spite of his having control of 3 pitches, he can't be in the low 90's and be succesful regularly.  If he's in that range he has to spot the fastball and he's not a nibbler by nature.