Pitching (in Bostonese: “Derp Derp Da Derp”)

The Yankees have finally ended the month of April with an impressive 9-14 record.  The reason is that it’s impressive because of how surprisingly awful it is, at least for a Yankee fans.  The Yanks lost 5 out of 6 against the Red Sox and now all of Red Sox Nation (or Hezbollah) have come out of the woodwork using the mantra I despise so badly “Good Pitching Always Prevails.”  Obviously the Yanks have lacked this outside of Andy Pettitte, but lets look at the sweep in Fenway eh?

Curt Schilling: 7 IP, 8 hits, 5 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 5 K
                     Red Sox need to rally off Rivera to win (offense beats bullpen)
Josh Beckett: 6.2 IP, 9 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
                    Obviously a better start than Schilling.  But still, not a quality start
Dice-K Matsuzaka: 7 IP, 8 hits, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
                    The strikeouts are there, but still not a good start.  It took 4 straight homers to win that one, once again, offense prevails

The Yankees offense is in a slump.  Arod has cooled off after the hot start.  Bobby Abreu is in the worst slump of his career.  Robinson Cano hasn’t been hitting either.  Melky Cabrera is a rally killer.  Johnny Damon’s back is in terrible shape.  The Bullpen is overworked.  Sure, the pitching staff has been awful, but Boston’s hasnt been too dominant lately either and yet they appear to be running away with the division.

I’m telling ya.  Hitting is key for this time of year.  The Red Sox simply out hit the Yankees the past 2 weekends.  And thats why they won.  The Yanks are in a slump together, and hopefully they will get out of it, together.  All they need is one good month, and before you know it they’re above .500 and back in the hunt for the AL East Crown

Raw Deal Phil

The New York Yankees losing ways continued on Thrusday night when they lost the only game against the Blue Jays at home by a score of 6-0.  The game garnered the most attention because it marked the major league debut of Yankees star pitching prospect and the second best pitching prospect in all of baseball Phil Hughes.  And despite the final outcome, the results were not terrible.

Hughes went 4 1/3 inning only walking one batter while striking out 5,  he also gave up 4 runs though the final two could be suspect.  When it game down to it, even though Hughes would have lost the game (because his team didn’t score), he got a raw deal.  Why you ask?

Home Plate umpire Ed Montague had a very inconsistent and tight strike zone.  One of the main reasons Phil Hughes succeeded so well in the minors was because he could paint every single corner of the plate with a mid-90’s fastball.  Obviously, a pitcher will have 27 pitch innings and get worn out if borderline calls at the waist and on the corners are never called strikes.  Hughes could have easily struck out 7 or more if Montague we’re a little more friendly.  But this the plight of the rookie, and nothing more can be said than “Welcome to the Big Leagues rook!”

Not to mention that Hughes has some filthy stuff.  He has a mid 90’s fastball that painted the corner most of the time, and though he didn’t get the calls, he controlled it real well.  To go with that, most impressively, Hughes curveball is just plain nasty.  Imagine seeing a couple of hard fastballs, and then followed by a 68 MPH curveball that breaks on a 12-6 plane.  Not to mention Hughes can throw this curveball for strikes. 

When it comes down to it, its impossible to deny that Hughes is the real deal.  He handled himsel quite well for someone debuting in Yankee stadium in the midst of a 5-game losing streak, and was a shorter first inning away from going over 5.  Perhaps the more he pitches, the more ump will warm up to him.  And then it will be only a matter of time before Hughes is challenging Johan Santana and Felix Hernandez for Cy Young Awards.

WTF Yankees?

 - the only guy whose done anything

It’s a real tough time to be a Yankee fan right now.

In a span of 7 days the Yankees have endured 2 improbable comebacks at the expense of Mariano Rivera, an improbable 9th inning, 2 out comeback from a 4-run defecit against the Cleveland Indians, an incredible surge in power displayed by Alex Rodriguez, and a starting rotation and bullpen that would be an Andy Pettitte short of being a complete and total disaster.

THE NEGATIVES:

Starting Pitching - outside of Andy Pettitte, who had done extremely well, this starting staff can’t hold a candle to the likes of Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon, and in case your wondering, that is a bad thing.  Kei Igawa stinks.  The Yankees overpaid for him because of the price Dice-K commanded, and soon they will live to regret it.  He gives up a lot of home runs and has no control.  And speaking of home runs and no control, Chase Wright coming off an average start against the Indians gave up 4 straight home runs to the Red Sox.  4 straight.  You’d figure after the 3rd HR he’d change his approach, but thats the difference between a minor league lifer and a major league professional.  And Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner stink as well.  The stats back this up folks.  I could complain about Wang, Mussina, and even Pavano being on the DL hurting the club, but the Yanks have persevered before, and this is just pathetic.

The Bench - I think Rey Ordonez has more hits this season than Wil Nieves.  A .000 AVG is not worth sacrificing for average at best defense.  Makes you wonder if the Yanks would have been better off w/Todd Pratt.  And despite getting his swing back, Melky “Leche” Cabrera has been a rally killer, always finding an AB in a big spot, and always hitting a infield grounder…I think this Melk has gone sour.

Mariano Rivera – It makes me sick to my stomach to say this, but Mo Rivera is flailing.  Giving up a 3-run game ending homer in the bottom of the ninth to Oakland was disappointing.  And his constant giving contact to Boston’s bottom of rotation was sad as well, but thats not his fault, its

JOE TORRE’S FAULT:
1. Bullpen Mismanagement – at this rate Scott Proctor and Sean Henn will have their arms removed, Mike Myers will continue to walk any lefty with power (Ortiz), Kyle Farnsworth will either walk a guy on 4 pitches or give up a HR on 1, Luis Vizcaino cant go an inning w/o giving up 2 or more runs, and Brian Bruney…well, lets hope they go easy on him, he’s been great.  Torre mismanaged the Boston game when Crisp came to bat and the tying runner on first, you’re supposed to play against a double by playing the lines.  But instead, Doug Mientkiewicz is playing behind the runner, and what do you know Coco Crisp hits a triple that would win Boston the game.  Your time here is fleeting Joe.

Despite all this, and a now 8-10 record, I will post some positives for the next blog.  Until then, I think I’m gonna have a heat attack.

The Wright Stuff

I know, the title is a little hackneyed.  It was probably the title for half the back-pages in New York, but I got to hand it to this kid, he pitched a pretty decent game all things considered.

Seriously, if you were to tell me two years ago that I would see a solid game pitched by someone named Wright on the Yankees, I would have fallen to the floor in a fetal postion and laughed till I cried.  Of course those tears would be from the realization that my Yankees did not have a reliable back of the rotation pitcher.

But after walking the first 2 batters, Wright only walked one more in the final 21 batters he faced in 5 innings.  If he was able to avoid giving up a Home Run to Travis Hafner (which is a task most professional pitchers have difficulty doing) he would have been as good as the Yankees would ask.  Along with Home Runs from ARod (again), Posada (his 200th career), and Mientkiewicz, Wright was able to win his first major league game.  Also consider that Wright outdueled and outlasted his opponent Jake Westbrook, who has just received a 3-year $33 million dollar extension the day before.  A $11 million a year player got outdueled by a 24 year old lifer in the minor league.  This is why I love regular season baseball.

Consider that every team plays 162 games over a course of a season, minimum.  You are near-garunteed to see some wild stuff during that time frame.  This is why I continually subcribe to the “Hitting is more valuable than starting pitching during the regular season” rule.  Don’t believe me?

Dice-K Matsuzaka has struck out 24 batters in 20 innings.  That puts him on a pace to K over 250 if he remains healthy for the entire season.  His ERA is 2.70 in three statrs, which is as good as you can ask from a starting pitcher, especially in the American League.  Oh yeah, he also boasts a record of 1-2, getting outdueled in those starts by “King” Felix Hernandez and Gustavo “Bad Shape” Chacin.  Perhpas if Boston’s offense wasn’t so inconsisten (when its good its good, but when its bad its bad), Dice-K would be 3-0 and a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young.

It’s hard to say whether Wright has officially earned a spot as a 5th starter on the Yankees considering they are still loaded with high-potential youth, but i’ll take 5 innings and 3 earned runs from a back end rotation guy any day of the week as long as the Yanks keep hitting and Arod remains on pace to hit 80 home runs.

Who Is Chase Wright?

A lot has been made this preseason about what the Yankees would be able to do in case their starting rotation got bit by the injury bug.  Well, Chien-Ming Wang and potential 5th starter Jeff Karstens began the season on the DL, and now both Mike Mussina and (Surprise, Surprise) “Iron Man” Carl Pavano have landed on the DL as well.  That basically makes the Yankee rotation for the time being to be anchored by Andy Pettitte, Kei Igawa, and Darrell Rasner…..yeeeeesh.

But unlike years past, the Yankees are now rich in starting pitching prospects.  Phil Hughes was ranked the 2nd best pitching prospect in all of baseball only behind Dice-K Matsuzaka, and others who were ranked included Humberto Sanchez and Joba Chamberlain.  It was also expected that someone like Tyler Clippard might get the call if necessary…but no.  The Yankees rotation needs to be saved right now, and this job calls for one….Chase Wright?

I can understand why.  In AA this season, Wright has gone 14 innings striking out 19 batters, only walking one, and not allowing a single run.  But a jump from AA to the Majors is a big one, and i’m sure Wright will find out the hard way that what works at the lower levels doesn’t quite work in the majors. 

Frankly I have no idea why the Yankees are going to him over all these other highly touted prospects, but I guess forcing their top youngsters to bail them out of what might be a very disappointing April might be too difficult a task, and might threaten their confidence and growth should they not succeed.  If Chase Wright doesn’t succeed, that means his confidence will be shot, but i couldn’t care less if that means his scoreless streak in Trenton won’t continue.

Wright will be dueling with Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook tonight.  Jake is a contact pitcher so the Yanks could be able to get a few runs in if the bats wake up.  Perhaps an early lead will help Chase settle into his major league debut.

But I highly doubt it.

Isn’t It Ironic, Don’t You Think?

For those of you who have been living under a rock this weekend, Sunday Major League Baseball celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball after debuting with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  To commemorate the event, many major league players, including the entire Los Angeles Dodgers, wore #42 to celebrate what Robinson had achieved both socially and as a player as well.

Some Yankees who decided to wear #42 included Derek Jeter, and Robinson Cano, who was named after Jackie Robinson. 

So how ironic is it that the person who had the worst day in the majors was the same person who had worn #42 since his career began in 1995.  No, not Mo Vaughn.  Yep, Mariano Rivera.

Rivera blew a save and a two-run lead in the bottom of the 9th against the Oakland Athletics after giving up a three-run home run to the ever so clutch Marco Scutaro with two outs, giving Oakland the 5-4 victory.  Making the entire three game series decided by 5-4 contests.

Up until then the Yankees had a lot to smile about.  It had appeared as if the Yankees were able to take 2/3 from three of the best pitchers in the American League (Oakland’s New “Big Three” of Haren, Blanton, Harden) despite playing some of the worst defense seen from the Yankees in over 6 months *joke*.

Also the Yankees were able to produce runs when the opportunities came up.  Sac fly after sac fly drove in runs.  Such a display was contrary to the popular Yankee action of striking out, popping up in the infield, or grounding to the pitcher with a runner on third and less than 2 outs.  After being a little overworked, both Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor regained their composure from out of the bullpen and pitched two scoreless innings.

And who could forget my main man Andy Pettitte?  While every Yankee is whining about their hamstrings and toenails and whatever else, Pettitte is sticking around and pitched his second good game in a row, or as people in the bigs call it, a quality start (6 in or more with 3 or less earned runs).

And when it all came down to #42, Mr. reliable for the Yankees, he just couldn’t hold a candle to Minor League Hall of Famer Marco Scutaro….baseball is a funny sport.

Perhaps it was rust, or jitters from not being in a save situation all season.  Or maybe Jackie Robinson bleeds Dodger blue so much, he just couldn’t stand to see the Yankees win on his special day. 

I Think It’s Clemens Time

In the beginning of the third inning of yesterdays 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees starting pitcher Mike Mussina pulled his hamstring and motioned to Yanks pitching coach Ron Guidry to remove him from the game.  Granted, Mussina wasn’t exactly having a great game to being with, but two scoreless innings are still two scoreless innings no matter how you spin it.  Still, Mussina got hurt.

For those of you keeping score at home, that is the top 2 Yankee pitchers from last season that are currently out with injuries (Wang and Mussina) and the only possibly reliable fifth starter Jeff Karstens.  That means that the Yanks rotation will be led by Pettitte, Pavano, and Igawa with a battle royal for the final two spots, in which all the Yankees prospects will enter into a wrestling ring, and the last man standing gets to pitch in the 4th spot with the runner up pitching in the 5th.

Of course that is not the case, considering that during the battle royal, a few of the pitchers would probably pull their hammy.

Seriously, do the Yankees pitchers even stretch?  Three similar injuries is all way too eerie.  I wish I could investigate and find out what is really going on, but I’ll be too busy worrying about whether or not the Yankees will be able to get through April without any true reliable starters.  Maybe they could teach ARod or Jeter to pitch.  Obviously Damon would not be a good option due to his poor arm and the easiness of hitting a 70 mph fastball. 

But hey, I guess if the Mets were able to get all the way to the NLCS without any true starting pitchers (except for Glavine, but come on!  El Duque?  John “I can’t cut it in the AL” Maine?) Then I’m sure there is hope for the Yankees.  Especially when the Rocket signs.

Now more than ever the New York Yankees seems to make sense for Roger Clemens to sign with.  Clemens has already made it clear that he would choose between the Yanks, Red Sox, and Astros.  But unlike Houston and Boston, the Yankees actually have a spot in their starting rotation for him to fill.  Hell, they have 2 spots as of now!  And eventually they will realize that Kei Igawa is best suited pitching middle relief or in Triple A. 

So please.  Rocket.  Come back.  Remember those 2 World series rings?  Want more?  Come back to NY and you can make stupid BBQ commercials with Andy Pettitte such as the one below.

Look on the Bright Side: Good Bullpen

Well, everyone has been saying that the one question mark that would surround the Yankees throughout the season would be its shaky starting rotation, especially since ace Chien-Ming Wang went down before the season began with an injured hamstring.  Well, those question marks have been answered with a starting staff that has been unable to go more than 5 innings and keep the opposing team scoring to a minimum.  And yet, despite awful starting pitching the Yanks have been able to win 2 games, sure, some of this can be attributed to the offense, but a good bullpen has allowed the Yankees to stay in these games.

Sean Henn has excelled replacing Ron Villone as the long-relief lefty.  A pitcher for contact, hitters have had trouble getting hits off him, and are forced to swing their bats because Henn has showed good control and has avoided giving out walks.  In 4.2 innings Henn has not given up a run.

Another surprise has been lefty-specialist turned reliable reliever Mike Myers.  Also in 4 innings, against both lefties and righties, Myers has also yet to give up a run.  Between the two left handers there has been nearly 9 innings of scoreless baseball, or the equivalent of an entire game. 

The most exciting reliever has been Brian Bruney, who not only has dominated in relief but been a life saver in close situations.  Despite only pitching 2 1/3 innings, Bruney has 6 strikeouts to only 1 walk, and of course like most of the bullpen he has not given up any runs.  Keeping the ball out of play in the latter innings is key in avoiding key errors or misplays to cost the team the game.  A flame-throwing strikeout guy such as Bruney may be the answer to the set-up or closer position when Rivera finally hangs up his spurs.

Statistically the bridge to Rivera hasn’t been this good in a while.  Granted that it is still extremely early in the season, the pitching woes that have plagued the starting staff whether it be the cold weather or simply ineffective mechanics has not spread to the bullpen, where they arent only saving games when the Yankees have the lead, but keeping them reachable when the Yankees dont.

Here’s to a continued success. 

Mr. April

Earlier in the offseason, Alex Rodriguez made very clear that it was going to be up to the ever supportive Yankee fans as to whether he chooses to opt out of his current contract and become a free agent or stay with the Yankees.  Alex Rodriguez has certainly made the case this April that he plans on staying in the warmest place in the world; Yankee Stadium.

After popping out with the bases loaded against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a big spot, Alex Rodriguez more than redeemed himself hitting a Walk-off Grand Slam of Oriole’s closer Chris Ray while the Yankees were down 7-6 on a 1-2 pitch with two outs.  Ray left a fastball up over the middle of the plate and Rodriguez connected smacking the ball all the way to the famous “black” in right-center field of Yankee stadium.

As a Yankee fan, having seen Rodriguez and his wacky antics over the past three seasons, to say that this moment was long overdue is an understatement.  Despite the fact that it is still extremely early in the season, the Yankees desperately needed the win before the first week of the season snowballed into a complete disaster.

Arod is having a spectacular April so far, similar to the one he had in 2005, a season in which he received the AL MVP award.  As of 4/8/07, Rodriguez’s numbers are:

.381 AVG     4 HR    11 RBI     .458 OBP     1.095 SLG

That is really impressive, and the types of numbers that are expected from the lenient, easy-going Yankee fanbase.  Obviously Arod wont keep this pace for the entire season since it would mean he finish with over 120 Home Runs for the year, but the fact that he is trying to carry the team when the starting pitching has been so incredibly awful shows that perhaps he’s finally been through enough to build the character and will to succeed that is demanded in NY. 

Here’s to a great season for Arod, and hopefully the rest of the team as well.

Encouraging First Win For Yanks

Opening day!  Finally the Yankee season has officially begun, and despite some bumps throughout the beginning of the game, the Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by a score of 9-5. 

The biggest scare for all Yankee fans going into this game was wondering how “Iron Man” Carl Pavano would do, seeing as though it had been nearly two years since his last start, and his road to recovery has been littered with Porsche crashes and buttocks injuries.  But for the first 4 innings of the game, Pavano looked good only giving up 2 hits, and unearned run, 2 strikeouts and 2 walks.  But in the fifth inning, the Iron Man of old showed his true colors giving up 4 runs (3 earned).  The bullpen took care of the rest though, with nearly everyone contributing including Mariano Rivera doing his thing striking out the side in the ninth.

As for the bats, the Yankees caught up to the D’Rays via small ball (bunting runners over, sacrificing, running) and added to the lead through power, and its this type of mix that the Yankees were able to succeed without Matsui and Sheffield for most of last season.  As much as the moneyball philosophy of walks and power seems like the way to go, when the Yankees play small they end up coming up big. 

Now that the hard part of Pavano trying to win against Scott Kazmir is over, the Yankees can  look forward to seeing Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina on the mound for the rest of the series, which is very encouraging.  Joe Torre made a good move pulling Pavano out the second he noticed he couldn’t keep his sinker or fastball down in the zone, but as a Yanks fan I hope he wont abuse the bullpen too much over the course of the season. 

 And here’s to Arod’s coushining two-run Home Run in the eigth inning, now if only he could do that if the Yanks are behind in the eighth can I give him a lot more credit