I apologize for the long stretch without posting, but thank you to those who were concerned something was wrong with me. While some may argue, there is nothing wrong with me… other than I missed a few games because I had to modify my Cablevision deal (missed some games) and between my work, kids and personal schedule, it has been a little insane.
Back to the important things...
TB has been better than many people thought. They remain deadlocked with us and Boston is closing in on .500 with their extra inning win last night.
The good:
Jeter hitting 2 dingers and grabbing 4 hits got his OPS up to .680. While maybe this should not be in the good category overall, it is good of late (and since my last post). His OPS in the last 30 AB’s is almost .900 and hopefully can get his OPS to 750 OPS the rest of the way.
Granderson has been great offensively. He leads the AL in homers and is tied with Soriano for the MLB lead with 11 (interestingly Lance Berkman has 10 homers with an OPS of 1.190!). Granderson has an OPS of 1.005
Tex off to a rare good start for him with an OPS of .954.
Russell Martin with an OPS of .884 (I do not expect this to continue, but anything over .800 would be fine by me) and solid D has been a real find
If I can put Jeter in this category I can do the same with Gardner as he has been swinging well of late and has his OPS up to .726 with an OPS of .900 in May so far (27 AB’s). His defense is worth a lot (the bobble the other night excluded) so once we get his SB’s back he will be a very valuable part of the team again.
Not sure anyone realizes this, especially because I don’t see any good “stuff” from Buddy Carlyle and I can’t say I have watched Pendleton that closely (I will his next outing), but these guys have thrown 10.2 innings combined allowing only 5 hits, 4 walks and 0 runs! Very pleasant surprise there
Mo has been good as have Robertson and Joba. The ERA of Robertson is much better than Joba, but Joba has an OPS against of .578 while Robertson has a still respectable .625! I have confidence in both.
So far all the starters outside of Hughes have been good. Like I said at the beginning of the year, I have a little more confidence in the stuff of Colon compared to Garcia (mostly because Colon will walk less guys) but with the Yankees offense (as it should be) our pitchers should get plenty of run support and are good enough, if they stay healthy. One would expect the pitching to get worse and the batters to get better.
The Bad:
Soriano and Logan have not done the job so far. Thankfully, no other pitchers are on the list and Soriano has put up blanks in his last 3.2 innings (looking for the silver lining). The Yankees are still looking for a 2nd lefty reliever. I wonder if we will bring up Banuelos and put him in the pen later in the year?
The Ugly: Eduardo Nunez and his 5 errors. He has hit really well, but 5 errors is unacceptable. I think bouncing around between OF and other positions has messed him up, but it is what it is. I still like his future, but he needs to work on his defense.
Swisher, A. Jones, and Posada coming in at an OPS of .640, .628 and .610 respectively. Considering none of these guys help you defensively, this is ugly.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Genius Maker #19
First to Saturday’s game…I thought Burnett pitched very well and I credit Toronto for swinging the bat well. I had a few takes while watching the game
1) The Yankees seemed to refuse to pitch Bautista inside and that made his life easier.
2) Joba pitched so well in the 7th that in a one run game I would like to see the Yankees extend a pitcher when he is looking good. This so and so has an inning is a little too cookie cutter for my liking. Soriano did his job, but his control is still not what it should be and Rivera did his job but has not been as sharp because he has not used his running fastball inside to righties yet this year (and his control has not been as pin point as normal). Either way, a 1 run lead entering the 7th and the bullpen held on.
3) Gardner is starting to hit the ball on a line more. He is key.
4) Swisher and Jeter still not doing well
5) ARod got another day off and has not looked good since he missed those few games.
Sunday’s game
Nova had control problems and was not throwing as hard as normal early on as he normally does. But his curve was excellent. Overall he did pretty well, but was in trouble because of his walks.
I thought Girardi handled the bullpen well in this game because Robertson came in at the right time and I wanted Logan exactly where he was brought in. He got lucky with his behind the back grab on the grounder through the middle but it was the right move. Soriano walked a guy so he is still not sharp, but got through the inning on yet another really good play by Gardner is LF. Brett also made an excellent play earlier in the game (might have been Saturday?) where he cut off a ball and threw a perfect strike to 2nd base holding their speedster Davis to a single.
Jeter made a nice play on the final out of the game, charging a ball hard and getting it on a short hop just before it became an in between one.
Other notes:
Rivera finally used the running fastball inside to righties and it worked great. This was Cervelli’s first game catching and I wonder if this was a coincidence? If so, that is pretty sad as this was a huge pitch for Rivera last year. I was very happy to see this because I was getting worried that either Rivera lost the feel for it or it put strain on his arm and he thought it was best to shelve it.
Gardner continues to look better at the plate. He will need to work on his SB’s though as he has stunk on them this year. I think the Yankees need him to go when he feels comfortable and leave it at that.
Earlier in this game, with Gardner on 2nd base and someone on first, Granderson singled and our 3rd base coach held up Gardner at 3rd base. I was kind of shocked as Gardner was a few steps beyond 3rd base before the ball would have been thrown home. I believe he would have made it even with Bautista’s arm. I think a perfect throw and this was still a bang bang play and with one out and our propensity to hit into DP’s, I wanted him sent. The flip side was Tex and ARod were waiting on deck but with ARod struggling that does matter as well; but at the time I said I didn’t like the move. Of course Tex then hit into a DP. I just don’t think Robby Thompson is any good at 3rd base.
Swisher and Jeter still look awful. I make the move right now with Gardner leading off against righties and swapping with Jeter between 1 and 9 based on a platoon. This is getting ridiculous with how weak Jeter is hitting the ball. This entire notion that you can’t do this because it is Jeter is absurd. Most of us think Jeter is the classiest guy around and has been a great player. I still think he is better than this, but why are we “bad people” because we want to do what makes sense for the team right now? If Soriano kept blowing the 8th inning, would we keep sending him out there every 8th inning or would we wee more of a bullpen by committee for the 8th? His OPS is .571! If we were hitting line drives once in awhile I would say OK, but he has an OPS of .571 and he actually has a bunch of cheap hits. At least Posada (.622 OPS) hit a few balls hard yesterday and got a double and was robbed on a great diving stop. Swisher has a .606 OPS which is still bad, but he has hit a few balls hard for outs (but he is really struggling too)
Gardner’s OPS is up to .700 and he deserves to leadoff against righties right now.
Cano left the game with sore left hand. He seems to be OK, but I will feel better if he plays tonight
1) The Yankees seemed to refuse to pitch Bautista inside and that made his life easier.
2) Joba pitched so well in the 7th that in a one run game I would like to see the Yankees extend a pitcher when he is looking good. This so and so has an inning is a little too cookie cutter for my liking. Soriano did his job, but his control is still not what it should be and Rivera did his job but has not been as sharp because he has not used his running fastball inside to righties yet this year (and his control has not been as pin point as normal). Either way, a 1 run lead entering the 7th and the bullpen held on.
3) Gardner is starting to hit the ball on a line more. He is key.
4) Swisher and Jeter still not doing well
5) ARod got another day off and has not looked good since he missed those few games.
Sunday’s game
Nova had control problems and was not throwing as hard as normal early on as he normally does. But his curve was excellent. Overall he did pretty well, but was in trouble because of his walks.
I thought Girardi handled the bullpen well in this game because Robertson came in at the right time and I wanted Logan exactly where he was brought in. He got lucky with his behind the back grab on the grounder through the middle but it was the right move. Soriano walked a guy so he is still not sharp, but got through the inning on yet another really good play by Gardner is LF. Brett also made an excellent play earlier in the game (might have been Saturday?) where he cut off a ball and threw a perfect strike to 2nd base holding their speedster Davis to a single.
Jeter made a nice play on the final out of the game, charging a ball hard and getting it on a short hop just before it became an in between one.
Other notes:
Rivera finally used the running fastball inside to righties and it worked great. This was Cervelli’s first game catching and I wonder if this was a coincidence? If so, that is pretty sad as this was a huge pitch for Rivera last year. I was very happy to see this because I was getting worried that either Rivera lost the feel for it or it put strain on his arm and he thought it was best to shelve it.
Gardner continues to look better at the plate. He will need to work on his SB’s though as he has stunk on them this year. I think the Yankees need him to go when he feels comfortable and leave it at that.
Earlier in this game, with Gardner on 2nd base and someone on first, Granderson singled and our 3rd base coach held up Gardner at 3rd base. I was kind of shocked as Gardner was a few steps beyond 3rd base before the ball would have been thrown home. I believe he would have made it even with Bautista’s arm. I think a perfect throw and this was still a bang bang play and with one out and our propensity to hit into DP’s, I wanted him sent. The flip side was Tex and ARod were waiting on deck but with ARod struggling that does matter as well; but at the time I said I didn’t like the move. Of course Tex then hit into a DP. I just don’t think Robby Thompson is any good at 3rd base.
Swisher and Jeter still look awful. I make the move right now with Gardner leading off against righties and swapping with Jeter between 1 and 9 based on a platoon. This is getting ridiculous with how weak Jeter is hitting the ball. This entire notion that you can’t do this because it is Jeter is absurd. Most of us think Jeter is the classiest guy around and has been a great player. I still think he is better than this, but why are we “bad people” because we want to do what makes sense for the team right now? If Soriano kept blowing the 8th inning, would we keep sending him out there every 8th inning or would we wee more of a bullpen by committee for the 8th? His OPS is .571! If we were hitting line drives once in awhile I would say OK, but he has an OPS of .571 and he actually has a bunch of cheap hits. At least Posada (.622 OPS) hit a few balls hard yesterday and got a double and was robbed on a great diving stop. Swisher has a .606 OPS which is still bad, but he has hit a few balls hard for outs (but he is really struggling too)
Gardner’s OPS is up to .700 and he deserves to leadoff against righties right now.
Cano left the game with sore left hand. He seems to be OK, but I will feel better if he plays tonight
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Genius Maker #18
Games like last night are the ones where my philosophy of getting the better players to the top of the lineup would have made a difference. I also said that the sooner the Yankees drop Jeter from the top, the better the team will do. While Jeter and Swisher failed yesterday so did ARod and Tex in big spots as well. Early in the game, the Yankees had bases loaded and nobody out with Tex and ARod up and the two of them made 3 outs and we didn’t score. In the 8th inning the Yankees got a gift with Dotel walking 2 straight guys and loading the bases for Jeter. Jeter missed a very hittable pitch and then expanded the strike zone and swung at a pitch that was high to strike out. Then Swisher feebly grounded out on the first pitch he saw.
When you lose 5-3 it hurts a lot, but what do you expect when you have two players with such poor numbers batting 1 and 2?
Other quick notes:
Cano had a phenomenal day at the plate working 2 walks and hitting 2 laser beam homer runs
Gardner looked a lot better at the plate as well and deserves to be at the top against righties (he and Jeter should swap spots in a leadoff/9th place platoon as the first step in removing Jeter.
I would like to see Nunez get some shots against righties for Jeter.
Andrew Jones looked bad last night
Chavez has cooled off and now has a .776 OPS
OPS from the bottom
Jeter .604
Posada .622
Swisher .631
Gardner .645
A. Jones .759
Chavez .776
Tex .932
Granderson ..955
Martin .958
Cano .982
ARod 1.016
BTW, Garcia really struggled all day with his control but he battled and kept us in the game; it was a good sign. If the offense were playing up to potential we would have a few more wins.
When you lose 5-3 it hurts a lot, but what do you expect when you have two players with such poor numbers batting 1 and 2?
Other quick notes:
Cano had a phenomenal day at the plate working 2 walks and hitting 2 laser beam homer runs
Gardner looked a lot better at the plate as well and deserves to be at the top against righties (he and Jeter should swap spots in a leadoff/9th place platoon as the first step in removing Jeter.
I would like to see Nunez get some shots against righties for Jeter.
Andrew Jones looked bad last night
Chavez has cooled off and now has a .776 OPS
OPS from the bottom
Jeter .604
Posada .622
Swisher .631
Gardner .645
A. Jones .759
Chavez .776
Tex .932
Granderson ..955
Martin .958
Cano .982
ARod 1.016
BTW, Garcia really struggled all day with his control but he battled and kept us in the game; it was a good sign. If the offense were playing up to potential we would have a few more wins.
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Genius Maker #17
CC now has an ERA of 2.25! This game started poorly with a bullet hit to SS that Nunez couldn’t handle. It was a harder play than it looked because it was an in between hop but because it was hit so hard the quick decision to try and charge was a tough one to make. Many times when a ball is crushed taking a step back is a better option if you can’t get it on the short hop by charging. Either way you have to make that decision in a split second and he didn’t make the play.
The situation got worse when the next batter drilled one down the left field line that Gardner cut off and threw to 3rd base to try and get the leadoff guy. He was safe at 3rd and the batter went to 2nd base on the throw. The announcers missed the important part of the play. They commented how you need to make sure you can get the guy because you allowed the batter to get to 2nd. While the statement isn’t wrong, what they missed was that if ARod would have done his part at 3rd base, the runner would have been out. I watched this a few times and there is no question in my mind. ARod, who is as heads up as they come, is not good at tagging runners; I have documented this numerous times. This was an example of the fielder taking the throw behind the bag (ARod was on the home plate side of the bag) instead of on or in front to make the quick tag and get the ball quicker. Let me ask you this, if the ball goes in front of the runner (as if the player is sliding and the ball is in between the base and the runner) doesn’t that mean the ball beat him? If ARod is either straddling the bag but a little more in fair territory or closer to LF he makes a quick tag and the guy is easily out; I am 100% positive about this. I am not sure if ARod thought he had no play on the guy or he expected Gardner to throw to 2nd base, but it was a very poor play. I know I am harping on this, but it could have been very costly and it is the same an infielder taking a throw from the catcher on the CF’r side of 2nd base; you don’t do it.
CC actually got out of it as the next ball was hit to ARod who made a good decision and threw home to nail the runner.
BTW, Nunez showed the one good part of Jeter’s defense that I brought up the other day and that is how steady his glove is…and that does have value.
Swisher ended up with a good day, but twice he swung at 2-0 pitches that were not even close. The pitcher walked 3 guys and Swisher was still hacking. I wrote this about him last year that he is a guy who is a mistake hitter and loves the fastball, but he struggles against the better pitchers who don’t give in. I believe this is why he isn’t as good in the postseason (not because he is a choker as some people would think). He is a mistake hitter and in the postseason you don’t get as many poor pitchers.
So the Yankees found themselves in an odd spot where after 4 innings they had more errors than hits but were leading 2-0. Obviously the Yanks broke open the game as Gardner hit his 3rd homer of the year and others got involved. Unfortunately, Posada is really struggling. He did hit a bullet to the CF'r, but he is struggling adjusting to his new role. As an ex catcher I do think it is the tougher adjustment because no defender is more involved with the game, but you get the added benefit of not having so many nicks and bruises which I had hoped would offset the rest.
Boston and won and TB blew out Minnesota twice. I have the standings on the web page updated most of the time.
Toronto tonight!
The situation got worse when the next batter drilled one down the left field line that Gardner cut off and threw to 3rd base to try and get the leadoff guy. He was safe at 3rd and the batter went to 2nd base on the throw. The announcers missed the important part of the play. They commented how you need to make sure you can get the guy because you allowed the batter to get to 2nd. While the statement isn’t wrong, what they missed was that if ARod would have done his part at 3rd base, the runner would have been out. I watched this a few times and there is no question in my mind. ARod, who is as heads up as they come, is not good at tagging runners; I have documented this numerous times. This was an example of the fielder taking the throw behind the bag (ARod was on the home plate side of the bag) instead of on or in front to make the quick tag and get the ball quicker. Let me ask you this, if the ball goes in front of the runner (as if the player is sliding and the ball is in between the base and the runner) doesn’t that mean the ball beat him? If ARod is either straddling the bag but a little more in fair territory or closer to LF he makes a quick tag and the guy is easily out; I am 100% positive about this. I am not sure if ARod thought he had no play on the guy or he expected Gardner to throw to 2nd base, but it was a very poor play. I know I am harping on this, but it could have been very costly and it is the same an infielder taking a throw from the catcher on the CF’r side of 2nd base; you don’t do it.
CC actually got out of it as the next ball was hit to ARod who made a good decision and threw home to nail the runner.
BTW, Nunez showed the one good part of Jeter’s defense that I brought up the other day and that is how steady his glove is…and that does have value.
Swisher ended up with a good day, but twice he swung at 2-0 pitches that were not even close. The pitcher walked 3 guys and Swisher was still hacking. I wrote this about him last year that he is a guy who is a mistake hitter and loves the fastball, but he struggles against the better pitchers who don’t give in. I believe this is why he isn’t as good in the postseason (not because he is a choker as some people would think). He is a mistake hitter and in the postseason you don’t get as many poor pitchers.
So the Yankees found themselves in an odd spot where after 4 innings they had more errors than hits but were leading 2-0. Obviously the Yanks broke open the game as Gardner hit his 3rd homer of the year and others got involved. Unfortunately, Posada is really struggling. He did hit a bullet to the CF'r, but he is struggling adjusting to his new role. As an ex catcher I do think it is the tougher adjustment because no defender is more involved with the game, but you get the added benefit of not having so many nicks and bruises which I had hoped would offset the rest.
Boston and won and TB blew out Minnesota twice. I have the standings on the web page updated most of the time.
Toronto tonight!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Genius Maker #16
Wow, Bartolo continues to impress. Not only is he throwing strikes, he has very good movement (run) on his fastball especially on the 1st base side of home plate and he throws the fastball up to 96 at times; in fact he reached 96 in the 8th inning! He pitched really well and he didn’t have good use of his slider and even didn’t use his change too much.
After the Cano 3 run homer the Yankee offense went to sleep again though. The lack of run scoring is a concern, but this team has too much firepower for it to continue. I just think they don’t like slop pitchers.
The Genius Maker did his job. I do get the feeling he will not be as sharp as the past 2 years, but then again, could you predict that same performance for anyone? The way I see it, a little less movement and a little less control should be the items we see as he continues to age (then again do Cyborg’s age?) He already has seen his velocity drop 2 MPH so maybe he can keep it around 91? I still have a lot of faith in him…I know, not exactly stepping out on a ledge there.
Swisher had another bad game swinging at balls, especially one that was way out of the strike zone on 3-2 in the 1st inning.
Cano was our offense today, but he is swinging at everything. He also just missed another good play in the field; he was making more of them in the past.
Jeter fielded a play to his left and threw wild to 1st on a play I would expect my SS to make 80% of the time, especially with a slow runner.
I thought Martin and the pitchers called a very good game. I was in agreement far more than I normally am. I also agreed with almost every Rivera pitch of when to go in and out. BTW, when I say this, it does not always mean I think I am right or they are wrong; there are times in the count, in fact many, where multiple pitches can be the correct call, but the pitcher needs to execute. For example, I might say I would go up and in with a fastball, but there is nothing wrong with throwing the slider low and away either. Usually, the next pitch ends up being one I am more forceful on.
Boston scored 4 in the 8th to tie the game against Baltimore, but the O’s scored one in the bottom of the frame to win 5-4!
After the Cano 3 run homer the Yankee offense went to sleep again though. The lack of run scoring is a concern, but this team has too much firepower for it to continue. I just think they don’t like slop pitchers.
The Genius Maker did his job. I do get the feeling he will not be as sharp as the past 2 years, but then again, could you predict that same performance for anyone? The way I see it, a little less movement and a little less control should be the items we see as he continues to age (then again do Cyborg’s age?) He already has seen his velocity drop 2 MPH so maybe he can keep it around 91? I still have a lot of faith in him…I know, not exactly stepping out on a ledge there.
Swisher had another bad game swinging at balls, especially one that was way out of the strike zone on 3-2 in the 1st inning.
Cano was our offense today, but he is swinging at everything. He also just missed another good play in the field; he was making more of them in the past.
Jeter fielded a play to his left and threw wild to 1st on a play I would expect my SS to make 80% of the time, especially with a slow runner.
I thought Martin and the pitchers called a very good game. I was in agreement far more than I normally am. I also agreed with almost every Rivera pitch of when to go in and out. BTW, when I say this, it does not always mean I think I am right or they are wrong; there are times in the count, in fact many, where multiple pitches can be the correct call, but the pitcher needs to execute. For example, I might say I would go up and in with a fastball, but there is nothing wrong with throwing the slider low and away either. Usually, the next pitch ends up being one I am more forceful on.
Boston scored 4 in the 8th to tie the game against Baltimore, but the O’s scored one in the bottom of the frame to win 5-4!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Genius Maker #15
One item I should have mentioned yesterday was how poor the umpire was (both ways).
Last night, the umpire was good, but the guy changed against us when Soriano came in. Soriano’s and the games biggest pitch was the one where he hit Quentin in the 8th inning. Not only did it bring up the go ahead run and put the tying run on base, but down by a run Ozzie Guillen pinch ran for Quintin to get more speed and unfortunately much better defense into RF (more on this in a moment). Back to Konerko who is up with a man on first. After strike 1 Soriano delivered what I thought was strike 2. It was a little low, but the ump had been calling it and I thought it was a strike; so did the Yanks. The next pitch was grooved and Konerko hit a 2 run homer and gave Chicago the lead. After that, the ump would not give anything close to Soriano and honestly it was total BS, especially when the same pitches were called strikes for the opposing pitcher. It didn’t cost us more runs, but either way it was wrong.
After the Yanks didn’t hit well again (this time I felt the pitcher deserved more credit than the previous night) the Yanks tried to make a run in the 9th inning. Jeter got one of his Jeteresque hits…no I am not talking about the line drive to RC, I am talking about the swinging dribbler down the 3rd base line. With Jeter on 1st Granderson bunted him over. Normally I don’t like that move, but I had no issue with it last night. Tex got the count in his favor at 2-0 and proceeded to swing at a pitch that was way inside. This has been the issue of the Yanks the last 2 nights; swinging at a ton of balls. Chicago has been smart as they have resisted throwing the fastball unless they really felt it was the right pitch…and the Yanks have not adjusted. A perfect example of this is Swisher; they simply throw him curves 80% of the time and then the fastball is on top of him when they throw it. Until he learns to hit the curve, he will struggle.
Anyway, Tex walked anyway and up came ARod. On a 2-1 count, ARod lined a pitch to the wall in RF and the RF’r Lillibridge, who only came in because he pinch ran for Quintin, made a fully outstretched arm catch right against the wall saving the tie and possible win right there. It was a heck of a play. The only problem was the next play was a hard hitting sinking liner down the line by Cano and Lillibridge made an even better full out dive to save the game. The guy made 2 great plays off the bench to seal the victory.
The issue was too little too late for the Yanks. Once again, their defense was a little shoddy when Granderson failed to make a catch on a sinking liner that he should have made. Cano also has seen his glove fall off so far this year failing to turn 2 a bunch of times and not being smooth with the glove on a few more. Last night he missed a throw on a SB and got eaten up on a wicked over spin shot, but even so you expect Cano to get some of those. He did make a heck of a play later on when he tagged out a runner after getting a short hop throw at least. One other play was a popup where Jeter was the only one who could get to it and he wasn’t able to make the play, by the opposing dugout. Jeter had a long way to go, but he really looked slow. In fact, I said to myself Chavez is really slow…and then I realized it was Jeter because they moved Chavez to the right side of the field in a shift and left Jeter at SS (which make sense by the way).
At least Girardi managed well and Nova pitched well. Robertson did his job and if I am correct didn’t throw a single curveball.
Soriano now has an ERA of 7.84…that is awful. Think about this; last year Soriano only allowed 12 ER all year; he has already allowed 9! I think the main issue is that his control has stunk. He is missing spots on most every pitch. He has 8 walks; last year he had only 14 all year (in 62 innings). He better get his head on straight!
Last night, the umpire was good, but the guy changed against us when Soriano came in. Soriano’s and the games biggest pitch was the one where he hit Quentin in the 8th inning. Not only did it bring up the go ahead run and put the tying run on base, but down by a run Ozzie Guillen pinch ran for Quintin to get more speed and unfortunately much better defense into RF (more on this in a moment). Back to Konerko who is up with a man on first. After strike 1 Soriano delivered what I thought was strike 2. It was a little low, but the ump had been calling it and I thought it was a strike; so did the Yanks. The next pitch was grooved and Konerko hit a 2 run homer and gave Chicago the lead. After that, the ump would not give anything close to Soriano and honestly it was total BS, especially when the same pitches were called strikes for the opposing pitcher. It didn’t cost us more runs, but either way it was wrong.
After the Yanks didn’t hit well again (this time I felt the pitcher deserved more credit than the previous night) the Yanks tried to make a run in the 9th inning. Jeter got one of his Jeteresque hits…no I am not talking about the line drive to RC, I am talking about the swinging dribbler down the 3rd base line. With Jeter on 1st Granderson bunted him over. Normally I don’t like that move, but I had no issue with it last night. Tex got the count in his favor at 2-0 and proceeded to swing at a pitch that was way inside. This has been the issue of the Yanks the last 2 nights; swinging at a ton of balls. Chicago has been smart as they have resisted throwing the fastball unless they really felt it was the right pitch…and the Yanks have not adjusted. A perfect example of this is Swisher; they simply throw him curves 80% of the time and then the fastball is on top of him when they throw it. Until he learns to hit the curve, he will struggle.
Anyway, Tex walked anyway and up came ARod. On a 2-1 count, ARod lined a pitch to the wall in RF and the RF’r Lillibridge, who only came in because he pinch ran for Quintin, made a fully outstretched arm catch right against the wall saving the tie and possible win right there. It was a heck of a play. The only problem was the next play was a hard hitting sinking liner down the line by Cano and Lillibridge made an even better full out dive to save the game. The guy made 2 great plays off the bench to seal the victory.
The issue was too little too late for the Yanks. Once again, their defense was a little shoddy when Granderson failed to make a catch on a sinking liner that he should have made. Cano also has seen his glove fall off so far this year failing to turn 2 a bunch of times and not being smooth with the glove on a few more. Last night he missed a throw on a SB and got eaten up on a wicked over spin shot, but even so you expect Cano to get some of those. He did make a heck of a play later on when he tagged out a runner after getting a short hop throw at least. One other play was a popup where Jeter was the only one who could get to it and he wasn’t able to make the play, by the opposing dugout. Jeter had a long way to go, but he really looked slow. In fact, I said to myself Chavez is really slow…and then I realized it was Jeter because they moved Chavez to the right side of the field in a shift and left Jeter at SS (which make sense by the way).
At least Girardi managed well and Nova pitched well. Robertson did his job and if I am correct didn’t throw a single curveball.
Soriano now has an ERA of 7.84…that is awful. Think about this; last year Soriano only allowed 12 ER all year; he has already allowed 9! I think the main issue is that his control has stunk. He is missing spots on most every pitch. He has 8 walks; last year he had only 14 all year (in 62 innings). He better get his head on straight!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Genius Maker #14
This was simply an awful hitting performance and plan last night. The Yankees were incredibly impatient all night. I think the team swung at every 2-0 pitch all night and did nothing with it. They would swing at a good pitchers pitches (and many times balls) on 2-0. Two AB’s highlighted the lack of patience…one was in the 7th and Cano getting up with 2 guys on base and he proceeded to swing at 4 straight pitches (3 were balls). He had that mind set I mentioned yesterday where he was going to swing no matter what. The other was in the 9th inning, Granderson leads off the 9th with a single and then we had Tex, ARod and Cano up. Tex gets a 2-0 count on him and then swings at the 2-0 pitch and hits in to a DP. Now I recognize that you can’t let a lot of hittable pitches go, but the guy was a little wild and even at 2-1 Tex would still be in the driver’s seat. I also know that Tex can tie up the game very easily, but I also know that the pitcher was brought into the game in the 8th inning and with ARod and Cano coming up I want this guy to work and take advantage of his mistakes. VERY frustrating.
BTW, Burnett pitched well, but Chicago didn’t hit well either. I think letting up the extra run in the 8th hurt the team as well. Soriano and Jeter deserve blame on a pop up that fell behind the pitchers mound. Soriano just gave up and expected Jeter to catch the ball and being lazy he deserves blame, but Jeter also took a step back first and then ran in hard and couldn’t make the play. Bad read by Jeter and lazy play on Soriano and it cost us. So far Soriano has not been good.
Granderson misplayed a ball for the other run. Chicago scored when he didn’t get a good jump and then made the play worse by diving for it and not knocking it down. He had no chance to catch it and he should have made sure the ball did not get beyond him; if he did Chicago would have not scored that run.
BTW, Burnett pitched well, but Chicago didn’t hit well either. I think letting up the extra run in the 8th hurt the team as well. Soriano and Jeter deserve blame on a pop up that fell behind the pitchers mound. Soriano just gave up and expected Jeter to catch the ball and being lazy he deserves blame, but Jeter also took a step back first and then ran in hard and couldn’t make the play. Bad read by Jeter and lazy play on Soriano and it cost us. So far Soriano has not been good.
Granderson misplayed a ball for the other run. Chicago scored when he didn’t get a good jump and then made the play worse by diving for it and not knocking it down. He had no chance to catch it and he should have made sure the ball did not get beyond him; if he did Chicago would have not scored that run.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Genius Maker #13
Yesterday’s game was disturbing for a lot of reasons…mostly because I don’t like the way Girardi is handling the pitchers and his double talk when he explains the head scratching moves he makes. There were some good moments too.
When Girardi took out Garcia, I said to my family, this is a stupid move. Now I said this before I found out Soriano was unavailable (they say he had a sore back but should be ok) which made it even more absurd. Now, Garcia had thrown 90 pitches and while he said he could have gone out for the 7th and Girardi admitted the same, Girardi said that he didn’t want to push Garcia??? So, he didn’t want to push Garcia, but instead was ok letting Rivera go over 1 inning of work? I just don’t get it? Garcia had retired something like 14 of the last 15 batters; knowing Soriano was not available you get 1 or 2 or maybe even 3 more outs of Garcia.
BTW, it should not be lost how great Garcia has been so far allowing only 4 hits and no runs in his 12 innings he has started. I don’t expect that to continue (way to go out on limb), but great job so far.
Rivera didn’t have the late movement on his cutter, but did have movement. The main issue has been his control so far.
Other notes:
Gardner made a tremendous game saving catch in the 8th against Luke Scott (when Rivera was brought in). Gardner was playing shallow and went back and had to leap up to make the catch in full speed; it was fantastic and I am not sure who else could have made that catch from where he was playing.
Jeter got 4 hits, although 2 of them were swinging bunts
Great relay by Swisher and Cano to save the game and get the final out of the 9th inning.
The next inning Jeter got thrown out at home when he got a late jump form 3rd base (I watched this 5 times in slow motion) and Jeter slid too early and was easily blocked at home. The Yankees really need to look at how they slide at home and how they tag guys out on the bases. At home, Jeter needed to go in at the catchers’ legs if he is going to stand in front of the plate like that or knock him on his rear. Sliding early was a little weak, but at least he went straight at the catcher who made a really good play (as was the throw home)
Joba didn’t do his job, but he didn’t pitch poorly; the homer was a good piece of hitting
Cano is doing well, but he can be better if he can get his plate discipline back; he is swinging at too many balls right now (and still has an .887 OPS).
Gardner had a bad offensive day after the good day prior so unfortunately he was not able to build upon it. He is not recognizing strikes and balls well.
The umpire was awful all game; in general hurt us a little more than them, but he was just inconsistent.
Granderson had a really good game, but also missed some hittable pitches…His OPS is now at 1.051
Jorge had a bad game as well.
I think we will say more consistency from everyone once we get some decent weather (which doesn’t look likely over the next week). Overall, 12-6 is good
When Girardi took out Garcia, I said to my family, this is a stupid move. Now I said this before I found out Soriano was unavailable (they say he had a sore back but should be ok) which made it even more absurd. Now, Garcia had thrown 90 pitches and while he said he could have gone out for the 7th and Girardi admitted the same, Girardi said that he didn’t want to push Garcia??? So, he didn’t want to push Garcia, but instead was ok letting Rivera go over 1 inning of work? I just don’t get it? Garcia had retired something like 14 of the last 15 batters; knowing Soriano was not available you get 1 or 2 or maybe even 3 more outs of Garcia.
BTW, it should not be lost how great Garcia has been so far allowing only 4 hits and no runs in his 12 innings he has started. I don’t expect that to continue (way to go out on limb), but great job so far.
Rivera didn’t have the late movement on his cutter, but did have movement. The main issue has been his control so far.
Other notes:
Gardner made a tremendous game saving catch in the 8th against Luke Scott (when Rivera was brought in). Gardner was playing shallow and went back and had to leap up to make the catch in full speed; it was fantastic and I am not sure who else could have made that catch from where he was playing.
Jeter got 4 hits, although 2 of them were swinging bunts
Great relay by Swisher and Cano to save the game and get the final out of the 9th inning.
The next inning Jeter got thrown out at home when he got a late jump form 3rd base (I watched this 5 times in slow motion) and Jeter slid too early and was easily blocked at home. The Yankees really need to look at how they slide at home and how they tag guys out on the bases. At home, Jeter needed to go in at the catchers’ legs if he is going to stand in front of the plate like that or knock him on his rear. Sliding early was a little weak, but at least he went straight at the catcher who made a really good play (as was the throw home)
Joba didn’t do his job, but he didn’t pitch poorly; the homer was a good piece of hitting
Cano is doing well, but he can be better if he can get his plate discipline back; he is swinging at too many balls right now (and still has an .887 OPS).
Gardner had a bad offensive day after the good day prior so unfortunately he was not able to build upon it. He is not recognizing strikes and balls well.
The umpire was awful all game; in general hurt us a little more than them, but he was just inconsistent.
Granderson had a really good game, but also missed some hittable pitches…His OPS is now at 1.051
Jorge had a bad game as well.
I think we will say more consistency from everyone once we get some decent weather (which doesn’t look likely over the next week). Overall, 12-6 is good
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Genius Maker #12
The Yankees came out early and swung at first pitches leading to an early 3 run lead. Bloop single by Jeter followed by doubles by Tex and ARod and then a single by Cano.
The Yanks added to their lead when Martin hit his 5th HR with 2 guys on base. CC gave back 3 allowing a 3 run homer to make it 6-3 before the yanks blew the game open with homers by Martin (his 6th), ARod (who hit his 22nd grand slam of his career which is one behind the all time leader Lou Gehrig), and Gardner (who homered after Martin was HBP after his 2nd homer). Was he intentionally hit? It sure seemed so and the part I didn’t like was that he threw at Martin’s head. After the game Rupe (the pitcher) said he didn’t mean to do it and if he were going to send a message he would never throw at someone’s head. Well, he said all the right things, but what is a pitcher supposed to say, “Yeah, I meant to hit him?” I think he meant to hit him. Earlier in the game Texiera on a double slid wide of the bag (kind of like the dumb slide into home) and his feet went into the 2nd baseman’s feet and they had some words. Who knows, but at the end of the day the Yanks crushed Baltimore. Funny, how 2 weeks ago, Buck was a genius and announcers were saying how it was impossible that nobody gave him a job prior to this. Going 2-10 changes people’s opinions fast doesn’t it? I actually think Buck is a good manager to turn things around, but he is wound a little too tight for a 162 game schedule and he is best to set the direction and discipline and then allow another manager to take the team home. He is still better than most.
Speaking of streaks, the Red Sox have righted themselves and have won 4 in a row. Dice K pitched great yesterday and if he can get his act in gear Boston will be extremely tough.
Other notes:
Gardner doubled and homered in last nights game; his double was a single but his amazing speed was nuts getting a double on a line drive slightly into RC.
Posada is the poster child of why batting average really doesn’t tell you anything and why you need OBP and slugging (or in my favorite case both in OPS) to gauge how well the player is doing. Posada has only 9 hits and is hitting a pathetic .164; however, he has 6 homers and 7 walks for a reasonable OPS of .761. Now compare this to Vlad Guerrero who is batting .266 with no walks and 5 extra base hits giving him an OPS of a poor .671 (which BTW is about the OPS of Swisher unfortunately).
Jeter should not leadoff against righties and the sooner we drop him the better; this is why I suggested dropping both he and Gardner. Jeter’s OPS is no one of the lowest in the AL for qualified hitters. He is 83rd out of 91 and interestingly the 91st guy is Carl Crawford. While I said Gardner is not far off from what Crawford brings (and I got a lot of criticism about that), Gardner, as poorly as he is doing, is doing better than Crawford right now. I know we are only a 1/10 of the season, but while I expect all 3 players in this paragraph to do better the rest of the way, wouldn’t you think Jeter, would be the least likely to do a lot better?
ARod is leading the league in OPS with a 1.309 and incredibly, Russell Martin is 3rd with a 1.132. Tex and Granderson round out the top 10 at 6th and 8th. Cano is 14th with a .906.
Happy Easter to everyone!
The Yanks added to their lead when Martin hit his 5th HR with 2 guys on base. CC gave back 3 allowing a 3 run homer to make it 6-3 before the yanks blew the game open with homers by Martin (his 6th), ARod (who hit his 22nd grand slam of his career which is one behind the all time leader Lou Gehrig), and Gardner (who homered after Martin was HBP after his 2nd homer). Was he intentionally hit? It sure seemed so and the part I didn’t like was that he threw at Martin’s head. After the game Rupe (the pitcher) said he didn’t mean to do it and if he were going to send a message he would never throw at someone’s head. Well, he said all the right things, but what is a pitcher supposed to say, “Yeah, I meant to hit him?” I think he meant to hit him. Earlier in the game Texiera on a double slid wide of the bag (kind of like the dumb slide into home) and his feet went into the 2nd baseman’s feet and they had some words. Who knows, but at the end of the day the Yanks crushed Baltimore. Funny, how 2 weeks ago, Buck was a genius and announcers were saying how it was impossible that nobody gave him a job prior to this. Going 2-10 changes people’s opinions fast doesn’t it? I actually think Buck is a good manager to turn things around, but he is wound a little too tight for a 162 game schedule and he is best to set the direction and discipline and then allow another manager to take the team home. He is still better than most.
Speaking of streaks, the Red Sox have righted themselves and have won 4 in a row. Dice K pitched great yesterday and if he can get his act in gear Boston will be extremely tough.
Other notes:
Gardner doubled and homered in last nights game; his double was a single but his amazing speed was nuts getting a double on a line drive slightly into RC.
Posada is the poster child of why batting average really doesn’t tell you anything and why you need OBP and slugging (or in my favorite case both in OPS) to gauge how well the player is doing. Posada has only 9 hits and is hitting a pathetic .164; however, he has 6 homers and 7 walks for a reasonable OPS of .761. Now compare this to Vlad Guerrero who is batting .266 with no walks and 5 extra base hits giving him an OPS of a poor .671 (which BTW is about the OPS of Swisher unfortunately).
Jeter should not leadoff against righties and the sooner we drop him the better; this is why I suggested dropping both he and Gardner. Jeter’s OPS is no one of the lowest in the AL for qualified hitters. He is 83rd out of 91 and interestingly the 91st guy is Carl Crawford. While I said Gardner is not far off from what Crawford brings (and I got a lot of criticism about that), Gardner, as poorly as he is doing, is doing better than Crawford right now. I know we are only a 1/10 of the season, but while I expect all 3 players in this paragraph to do better the rest of the way, wouldn’t you think Jeter, would be the least likely to do a lot better?
ARod is leading the league in OPS with a 1.309 and incredibly, Russell Martin is 3rd with a 1.132. Tex and Granderson round out the top 10 at 6th and 8th. Cano is 14th with a .906.
Happy Easter to everyone!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Genius Maker #11
There is nothing worse than losing when Rivera blows a save…none. Just one of those nights that thankfully happens only happens a few times a year.
Gardner continues to be awful at the plate and even failed to get a bunt down and then he was thrown out stealing. Why did they mess with his swing?
Girardi really screwed up leaving AJ in two batters too long, but he only allowed one extra run because of Robertson doing a great job. As I have said before, when a guy looks good you let him pitch, I would have let Robertson pitch the 7th. As it turned out both Joba and Soriano did their job and Rivera didn’t, but if I were managing Joba would have been available in the 10th. Also, where is Logan?
BTW, when a suicide squeeze is executed perfectly, shouldn't you get the out at 1st base?
I am hoping ARod is ok.
Gardner continues to be awful at the plate and even failed to get a bunt down and then he was thrown out stealing. Why did they mess with his swing?
Girardi really screwed up leaving AJ in two batters too long, but he only allowed one extra run because of Robertson doing a great job. As I have said before, when a guy looks good you let him pitch, I would have let Robertson pitch the 7th. As it turned out both Joba and Soriano did their job and Rivera didn’t, but if I were managing Joba would have been available in the 10th. Also, where is Logan?
BTW, when a suicide squeeze is executed perfectly, shouldn't you get the out at 1st base?
I am hoping ARod is ok.
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