This was a tough loss because this was a game we should have won.
This was a good game though. It had almost a playoff atmosphere. The pitchers were making every pitch important and for me, that is always fun to watch because I call almost every pitch. The pitchers were sharp and while the announcers were claiming Verlander didn't have it, he had very good command of his fastball, his curve was as good as I have seen it and his change was used effectively. His slider was not as good as normal and he hung a few of those, but he was tough. That being said, Tanaka was better than Verlander and Boone's early pull was a mistake. The concern one has is that our bullpen should be so strong that we can pull our starters after 5 or 6 innings and then dominate. This is true and should be fairly accurate, but when the starter is fresh and pitching well why take him out unless matchups are really bad the 3rd or 4th time through the lineup? Tanaka definitely holds back some with his fastball as he tends to throw harder as the game goes on. This happens frequently and when he needs to reach back he has another 2 MPH in him. In the 6th inning, he did that and just missed a strikeout when he threw a fastball at 95 mph by Springer that was a tiny bit off the plate and could easily have been called a strike 3; especially when the 4 strikes were called that were farther out of the strike zone and all were against the Yankees (the Sanchez one in the 7th inning when he complained was a good example). Overall, the ump did a good job on very close pitches by both pitchers, but all 4 bad calls went against us (we didn't get any gifts).
Back to Tanaka, he pitched out of trouble in the 6th, but had allowed only one run and that was on a hanging splitter inside that Altuve crushed for a HR. He did allow a double on another hanging cutter inside, but he was pinpoint with his control and his slider was very good. He had only 78 pitches after 6 innings and just because we have a good and what should be great bullpen, Tanaka had at least one more inning in him. Remember, he used to throw complete games all the time.
Also, while we have great arms in the pen, do we really have full faith in any of them? I mean, they get the job done and will have low ERA's, but it is usually a nail biter. Britton has still not been as sharp as he was in 2016 and while his stuff can be deadly, he is not controlling it well; Ottavino has control issues, as does Chapman and Betances when he is back. Green doesn't have the stuff the others have but is a good arm and Holder is a level below IMO. My point is that they are great arms with great stuff, but they are no lock like we used to have with Rivera. This is why the Genius Maker name was born as he bailed out managers decisions (usually Torre) most every time and for a long period of time.
As for the game, I like when we work pitchers and while you can't always take strike one, I like getting deep counts and getting into the bullpen early. The 3rd inning could have set the tone better and was a key part of the game to me. After a full count strikeout by Frazier, Urshela walked, Gardner singled on a 3-2 count, Judge walked on a 3-2 count and we had bases loaded 1 out and a lot of pitches by Verlander. On an 0-1 count Voit ripped a line drive to RF that held up Gardner enough where he had to make sure the line drive dropped in and was not able to score. But now we had a run in and bases loaded one out! TWO pitches later Verlander was on the bench out of the inning. Sanchez popped up on the 1st pitch and Torres grounded out on the first pitch. You have the pitcher on the ropes and we let him out of it very easy. That drove me crazy and was a pivotal part of the game (along with taking Tanaka out)
Houston got their runs on a single, a walk and a double that we had a perfect relay on had a very close play at the plate, but they were safe; the same happened twice on DP tries where we just missed turning them. Just tough breaks there. We also had a tough break when Houston scored their winning run. Ottavino jammed Correa and it ended up being a perfectly placed swinging bunt that got Bird and Ottavino crossed up.
Torres and Bird were 0-8 with Torres leaving 5 men on base and Bird looking terrible by striking out all 4 times. His head is up his rear. He was taking fastballs for strikes and swinging at breaking balls in the dirt.
Urshela continues to play very well in the field and has been contributing at the plate. If he could give us an OPS of .720 or above it would be good (right now at .830). Gardner, Voit and Bird need to hit better.
This was a game that our very banged up team should have won. This one was on our manager and a little bad luck.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Monday, April 8, 2019
HR Derby in Baltimore
Yankees hit 7 HR's yesterday; that is usually enough to win a ballgame and in this case, 15-3 was a blowout
Side note: I didn't get far into this before I had to look up if a team has ever hit 7 HR's and lost. It has happened 3 times with the most recent being the White Sox hitting 7 and losing to Toronto (all were solo shots).
Notes:
Torres hit a HR to straight away center on a 3-2 count; the power these guys have even with 2 strikes is impressive.
Frazier hit two more HR's and the impressive thing was on the first one he hit a curve out to CF as he let the ball travel deeper into the plate than when he turned on the hanging curveball the other night. His 2nd HR was another breaking ball he yanked over the LF wall. The man with the quick bat has hit 3 HR's in the last 2 nights and did so all on breaking balls.
Sanchez had a 3 HR night and the 2nd one was very impressive in that he jumped all over a high fastball and crushed it to LF. Great night for Sanchez who DH'd
The Yankees played Urshela at 3rd base. Even though he was 2-3 with a walk and a double, he doesn't seem like a great stick to me, however, he looks like he has a very smooth glove at 3rd base and I would expect that will keep Wade off the field more. Hopefully, the stick is better than I see and the glove is solid for Urshela
Romine let one ball go off his glove for a PB and another wild pitch that he should have blocked. Romine did hit a HR off the Oriole 2nd baseman (Alberto) who came into pitch the 9th with the game out of reach. BTW, Alberto looks to be an excellent hitter. he has had some very impressive AB's in these early 6 games against us.
German pitched great and if he was taken out after 6 innings and 80 pitches, as he should have been, he would not have allowed any runs and only 1 hit and 1 walk. I thought that it was enough as he started to miss a little more in the last 2 innings and 80 pitches were enough this early. The thinking was probably 2 more batters and then bring in Tarpley against the lefty, but teh lead was enouigh where I would have let him end on a great note. Instead, he allowed a single and a walk before Tarpley came in and allowed German's 2 runs and one of his own. Tarpley is very tough on lefties but needs more to get righties out right now.
Boston and Tampa won
Side note: I didn't get far into this before I had to look up if a team has ever hit 7 HR's and lost. It has happened 3 times with the most recent being the White Sox hitting 7 and losing to Toronto (all were solo shots).
Notes:
Torres hit a HR to straight away center on a 3-2 count; the power these guys have even with 2 strikes is impressive.
Frazier hit two more HR's and the impressive thing was on the first one he hit a curve out to CF as he let the ball travel deeper into the plate than when he turned on the hanging curveball the other night. His 2nd HR was another breaking ball he yanked over the LF wall. The man with the quick bat has hit 3 HR's in the last 2 nights and did so all on breaking balls.
Sanchez had a 3 HR night and the 2nd one was very impressive in that he jumped all over a high fastball and crushed it to LF. Great night for Sanchez who DH'd
The Yankees played Urshela at 3rd base. Even though he was 2-3 with a walk and a double, he doesn't seem like a great stick to me, however, he looks like he has a very smooth glove at 3rd base and I would expect that will keep Wade off the field more. Hopefully, the stick is better than I see and the glove is solid for Urshela
Romine let one ball go off his glove for a PB and another wild pitch that he should have blocked. Romine did hit a HR off the Oriole 2nd baseman (Alberto) who came into pitch the 9th with the game out of reach. BTW, Alberto looks to be an excellent hitter. he has had some very impressive AB's in these early 6 games against us.
German pitched great and if he was taken out after 6 innings and 80 pitches, as he should have been, he would not have allowed any runs and only 1 hit and 1 walk. I thought that it was enough as he started to miss a little more in the last 2 innings and 80 pitches were enough this early. The thinking was probably 2 more batters and then bring in Tarpley against the lefty, but teh lead was enouigh where I would have let him end on a great note. Instead, he allowed a single and a walk before Tarpley came in and allowed German's 2 runs and one of his own. Tarpley is very tough on lefties but needs more to get righties out right now.
Boston and Tampa won
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Everything Is A Battle
It doesn't seem to matter who we are playing, but with all the injuries we will need to battle for all wins.
Happ didn't pitch that well again. 2 runs in 4.1 innings isn't bad (4.15 ERA), but he didn't make it through the 5th as he had 88 pitches thrown and he wasn't throwing well. His fastball was about normal and he was spotting it just OK, but his changeup was not moving as well as you want and at 86-87 it wasn't enough of a differential from his 92 MPH fastball. When he threw it down the middle it was hit pretty well.
Thanks to Judge's 2 HR's we were ahead 3-1. All 14 of our runs in this series have been knocked via the HR. That can be OK, but with so many key players out we will need some non HR's to knock in runs.
Holder came on in the 5th and was mediocre in that he allowed one of Happ's runs to score and then one of his was allowed on a bad play by Bird in the field. First, I was very surprised that Holder started the 7th, I expected Green, Ottavino, Britton and Chapman to take the game from here. Later, I learned that Boone, didn't want to use Britton 3 out of 4 days in a row; I can see that early in the year, but 3 out of 4 isn't so bad for only one inning. Regardless, I would have used Green or Ottavino. As it turned out, Holder hit Mullins and then allowed a single to Villar and Baltimore was in business with nobody out. Ottavino was then brought in with 1st and 3rd and nobody out with the score 3-2 Yanks. Chris Davis was brought in to pinch hit (an odd move as the guy hasn't had a hit in I believe 35 AB's (This year was 0-17 with 11 K's). If you care the record is 46 AB's without a hit. Anyway, miraculously, Davis hit a routine grounder to bird right on the line (almost foul) that Bird bobbled and then still tried to throw home and the runner beat the high throw. A perfect throw most likely would not have been in time either, but once you bobble the ball you have to take the out. This was the 7th inning and it was the tying run not the go ahead, so you definitely take the out (probably do so even if it is the go-ahead as well). After the bad play, it was 1st and 2nd nobody out and the game was tied. After getting an infield pop up Baltimore stole 3rd on a very good throw from Sanchez that LeMehieu caught a little more out in front of the bag then you would like (more on this later). The next guy hit a sac fly and we were down 4-3.
In the 8th, after 2 outs, Gleyber walked on 4 pitches and then LeMahieu lined a single to RF (he has been excellent so far). Frazier came up and on a 2-2 count got a hanging slider that was right there and he didn't miss it for a 3 run HR! Huge hit for him and the team.
Ottavino was still in and he was struggling in that his fastball didn't have much life and many of his sliders just didn't move (just spun). He did walk the leadoff batter and then got 2 outs with the runner moving to 2nd base. Green came in and on a 0-2 pitch hit the jersey of the batter for a very unfortunate HBP. Fortunately, Chris Davis was up and actually hit the ball sharply but right at Bird for a short hop out.
Chapman pitched the 9th for the save.
Some other notes:
Happ didn't pitch that well again. 2 runs in 4.1 innings isn't bad (4.15 ERA), but he didn't make it through the 5th as he had 88 pitches thrown and he wasn't throwing well. His fastball was about normal and he was spotting it just OK, but his changeup was not moving as well as you want and at 86-87 it wasn't enough of a differential from his 92 MPH fastball. When he threw it down the middle it was hit pretty well.
Thanks to Judge's 2 HR's we were ahead 3-1. All 14 of our runs in this series have been knocked via the HR. That can be OK, but with so many key players out we will need some non HR's to knock in runs.
Holder came on in the 5th and was mediocre in that he allowed one of Happ's runs to score and then one of his was allowed on a bad play by Bird in the field. First, I was very surprised that Holder started the 7th, I expected Green, Ottavino, Britton and Chapman to take the game from here. Later, I learned that Boone, didn't want to use Britton 3 out of 4 days in a row; I can see that early in the year, but 3 out of 4 isn't so bad for only one inning. Regardless, I would have used Green or Ottavino. As it turned out, Holder hit Mullins and then allowed a single to Villar and Baltimore was in business with nobody out. Ottavino was then brought in with 1st and 3rd and nobody out with the score 3-2 Yanks. Chris Davis was brought in to pinch hit (an odd move as the guy hasn't had a hit in I believe 35 AB's (This year was 0-17 with 11 K's). If you care the record is 46 AB's without a hit. Anyway, miraculously, Davis hit a routine grounder to bird right on the line (almost foul) that Bird bobbled and then still tried to throw home and the runner beat the high throw. A perfect throw most likely would not have been in time either, but once you bobble the ball you have to take the out. This was the 7th inning and it was the tying run not the go ahead, so you definitely take the out (probably do so even if it is the go-ahead as well). After the bad play, it was 1st and 2nd nobody out and the game was tied. After getting an infield pop up Baltimore stole 3rd on a very good throw from Sanchez that LeMehieu caught a little more out in front of the bag then you would like (more on this later). The next guy hit a sac fly and we were down 4-3.
In the 8th, after 2 outs, Gleyber walked on 4 pitches and then LeMahieu lined a single to RF (he has been excellent so far). Frazier came up and on a 2-2 count got a hanging slider that was right there and he didn't miss it for a 3 run HR! Huge hit for him and the team.
Ottavino was still in and he was struggling in that his fastball didn't have much life and many of his sliders just didn't move (just spun). He did walk the leadoff batter and then got 2 outs with the runner moving to 2nd base. Green came in and on a 0-2 pitch hit the jersey of the batter for a very unfortunate HBP. Fortunately, Chris Davis was up and actually hit the ball sharply but right at Bird for a short hop out.
Chapman pitched the 9th for the save.
Some other notes:
- I mentioned the steal play where the ball was caught before the bag and then the fielder needs to reach back and tag the runner. This happened on the play I wrote earlier at 3rd base and it also happened on a pickoff throw from Sanchez to Gleyber where he should have let the ball travel closer to the runner and we could have gotten an out. Torres is usually good at that on straight steals almost catching the ball and tagging at the same time, but he didn't do it on the backhand (which is harder to do and why having a lefty first baseman makes it a lot easier to pick off a leading runner).
- Wade made a diving play up the middle where he hopped up quickly and made the throw to 1B in time. It was by far the best play he has made in the field. I was hopeful that maybe this would spark him at the plate as well, but he was 0-2 with 2 K's. The Yankee brass keep talking him up, but he has not been able to hit at the major league level for us and as I have said many times, seems overmatched. We will need him as I don't see any help on our roster right now.
- I stated the Happ was not sharp and that is true, but the HR he allowed in the first inning was not a bad pitch. He put a fastball right on the outside black of the plate and while it was waist high, Mancini drove it to RF well.
- Bird made another weak play in the 4th inning as a ball was topped in between 1st and the pitcher and Happ got off the mound well but still had to go back (toward 2nd) to field the ball. After gloving it he tossed it with his glove, instead of transferring it to the hand, and Bird never made it to the bag and it went as a throwing error (the runner went to 2nd). the throw didn't seem that bad, but the angle was not great to see if it went over the bag, but Bird was not decisive and ended up leaning toward fielding the ball rather than covering as he should have. the reason why he would have to cover was that there was no play if Brid would have fielded the ball as Happ would never have been able to get to the base in time. Bird didn't read it well.
- The Yankees had bases loaded and nobody out in the 6th inning and Sanchez got picked off of 3rd from the catcher. Normally, I would be up in arms over this...especially after the boneheaded move Sanchez pulled at 2nd base the other night. However, this time, Sanchez was not being lazy and was aware, but he simply stumbled on his way back and came off the bag. He watched the play well and didn't get too far off and immediately went back, but he seemed to have caught his cleat either just before or on the bag which made him go over the bag into LF. Terrible outcome for us, but it was a little unlucky.
- Boston lost on a walk-off single after almost having it happen on the previous play. Betts threw a runner out at home on the previous AB, but the batter who hit the single continued to run to 2nd on the throw home so after the runner was out at home, Arizona still had a runner in scoring position; he ended up scoring the winning run on the next single. It is sad we have to say that this was a heads up play to keep running just in case, but he did what he is supposed to do and it paid off. Boston is now 2-8.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
It Is Officially Baseball Season
You might ask why I would write the title of this post when we are more than a week into the season? For me, Thursday's game was the first game where I was yelling/cheering at the TV; that means the games are starting to mean something.
What got me excited?
The first inning, Sanchez took a foul ball off his throwing hand because he just leaves it hanging there waiting to get hit rather than hiding it until; he needs it. It wasn't mentioned by anyone, but if you notice there was a moment where the ump took his time throwing the ball back to the pitcher and then took his team cleaning the plate (remember this is the 1st inning) and Sanchez was flexing is hand. Not sure why these guys still leave themselves exposed; I have said this 30 times.
Also, in the first inning, Voit had a 3-1 count and swung at 2 very low changeups with Judge on 1B and struck out rather than taking the walk. This was my first out loud "C'mon!"
There were a few bad calls that all went the wrong way for us from the ump behind the plate, so I was starting to agitated.
In the 6th inning, The Yanks trailed 4-1 and after Judge and Voit get out it looked like another tough game for us. But Sanchez took a 1-2 fastball that was right on the outside corner and drove it over the CF fence for a HR. Not much out of me other than, acknowledging the power. After a Bird single and a LeMahieu single, Torres came up with 2 men on and 2 outs. They were trying to pitch Torres outside as the catcher was lined up just off the plate outside. But he missed badly and caught the inner part of the plate a little upstairs and Gleyber took it for strike one. The catcher again tried to lineup off the plate, but this time he threw it right over the plate, but high (right on top of the strike zone) and Gleyber swung through it. 0-2 count, this time the catcher lined up even further outside, but the pitcher threw the pitch to the exact same location as strike two and Torres didn't miss it and hit a 3 run HR. This got me pumped up as I yelled out "Yeah."
I felt like we were getting terrible calls all game and it felt good to take the lead. Judge had a pitch called a strike on him that was at least 6 inches too low. Later Judge had another on a 3-2 count where he was called out on a pitch that touched the white on the batters box. Judge turned twice to the ump and jawed with him telling him that was not a strike. Judge barely says anything and I am glad he said something; the umpire was terrible. Those calls on Judge elicited some expletives from me, but it felt good to get into the game!
Voit made it easier on us with a 3 run dinger to put the game out of reach.
Boston lost!
What got me excited?
The first inning, Sanchez took a foul ball off his throwing hand because he just leaves it hanging there waiting to get hit rather than hiding it until; he needs it. It wasn't mentioned by anyone, but if you notice there was a moment where the ump took his time throwing the ball back to the pitcher and then took his team cleaning the plate (remember this is the 1st inning) and Sanchez was flexing is hand. Not sure why these guys still leave themselves exposed; I have said this 30 times.
Also, in the first inning, Voit had a 3-1 count and swung at 2 very low changeups with Judge on 1B and struck out rather than taking the walk. This was my first out loud "C'mon!"
There were a few bad calls that all went the wrong way for us from the ump behind the plate, so I was starting to agitated.
In the 6th inning, The Yanks trailed 4-1 and after Judge and Voit get out it looked like another tough game for us. But Sanchez took a 1-2 fastball that was right on the outside corner and drove it over the CF fence for a HR. Not much out of me other than, acknowledging the power. After a Bird single and a LeMahieu single, Torres came up with 2 men on and 2 outs. They were trying to pitch Torres outside as the catcher was lined up just off the plate outside. But he missed badly and caught the inner part of the plate a little upstairs and Gleyber took it for strike one. The catcher again tried to lineup off the plate, but this time he threw it right over the plate, but high (right on top of the strike zone) and Gleyber swung through it. 0-2 count, this time the catcher lined up even further outside, but the pitcher threw the pitch to the exact same location as strike two and Torres didn't miss it and hit a 3 run HR. This got me pumped up as I yelled out "Yeah."
I felt like we were getting terrible calls all game and it felt good to take the lead. Judge had a pitch called a strike on him that was at least 6 inches too low. Later Judge had another on a 3-2 count where he was called out on a pitch that touched the white on the batters box. Judge turned twice to the ump and jawed with him telling him that was not a strike. Judge barely says anything and I am glad he said something; the umpire was terrible. Those calls on Judge elicited some expletives from me, but it felt good to get into the game!
Voit made it easier on us with a 3 run dinger to put the game out of reach.
Boston lost!
Rough Start to Year
The main issue is the offense. We made Boyd look like Sandy Koufax and the pitches he threw were not that great. We struck out 18 times while only walking 4 times. There were plenty of pitches to hit and we didn't take advantage of them.
I didn't think the umpire gave us a fair strike zone as strikes were called against us that were not called for us and this was most evident after an initial pitch was called a ball for Green and then his next pitch was deposited for a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning that held up. That being said, we just didn't swing the bats well. 4 singles and 1 double isn't going to get it done.
Loaisiga did a decent job; he has really good stuff but has control issues. That being said, he has a good arm. His change could be a little better and slower as it is around 88 which is a little fast IMO. His fastball is consistently at 95; so 7 MPH isn't terrible, but he would benefit from 8 or 9 MPH differential so he gets a little more sink at the end. This brings me to something Michael Kay said, that really shows how little he knows. He must have been reading something and he said that Boyd had the best mark in baseball as his changeup averaged 11.9 difference from his fastball. Best? LOL, so if the difference was 14 MPH that would be better? Nope, in fact, 11+ MPH is probably too much as it gives the batter a chance to reload. The concept of a change is to keep the batter off balance and be out in front of the pitch and either pull it foul, get it off the end of the bat or swing too early. It also is designed to change speeds and make the fastball look better. This is why I don't listen too often as I fast forward in between pitches. I do like Cone though! I will say that Oneill had the best analysis he has given on hitting as he discussed guys opening up their hips for the inside pitch and then showed the plusses and minus' in doing so. Normally, he is pretty generic and I think wrong in his comments and Cone usually shows "the other side." Regardless, have to give Oneill credit and maybe he is coming around?
Back to the game - Judge made another excellent catch going back to the wall immediately and reaching his long arms up and making a catch on a bullet to the wall that I am not sure any other player could have made as his size made the difference. Judge did give back as Torres smoked a ball to SS and Judge didn't get out of the way and got hit with the ball ending the inning. Most likely, that would have been a single and Judge would have scored, even if he had to hold up as the ball might have split the OF's. That should really not happen and in a 2-1 game could have been the difference.
Sanchez had another throwing error and this was his fault. He made a nice backhanded scoop but should have eaten the ball instead of throwing down. Many times you don't get a good grip on a pitch or get it out of the glove well, but you adjust your throw based on the placement of the ball on your fingers or even palm and Sanchez didn't and threw it low and toward 1st base again. I think that is 4 throwing errors already.
In the 8th inning, Voit led off with a walk and I think Gardner should have been used to pinch run right away. After 2 outs, Boone put Gardner in and then Gardner ended up being thrown out on a great throw. My issue is that Gardner is not a guy who just goes in and steals right away. He takes time to read the pitcher, plus if you were going to do it, why not give him the chance to score on a double with more hitters? The odds of getting a double with 3 batters is greater than one batter or even a single where you go to 3rd are greater.? It was as if they didn't think about it until 2 outs happened; that was a mistake. I am not sure if Boone was asked about that, but if anyone knows, please send me an email or add it to the comments.
With Tulo out we have now lost 5 position players; that is crazy. The only positive is that we should get most everyone back.
Boston won.
I didn't think the umpire gave us a fair strike zone as strikes were called against us that were not called for us and this was most evident after an initial pitch was called a ball for Green and then his next pitch was deposited for a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning that held up. That being said, we just didn't swing the bats well. 4 singles and 1 double isn't going to get it done.
Loaisiga did a decent job; he has really good stuff but has control issues. That being said, he has a good arm. His change could be a little better and slower as it is around 88 which is a little fast IMO. His fastball is consistently at 95; so 7 MPH isn't terrible, but he would benefit from 8 or 9 MPH differential so he gets a little more sink at the end. This brings me to something Michael Kay said, that really shows how little he knows. He must have been reading something and he said that Boyd had the best mark in baseball as his changeup averaged 11.9 difference from his fastball. Best? LOL, so if the difference was 14 MPH that would be better? Nope, in fact, 11+ MPH is probably too much as it gives the batter a chance to reload. The concept of a change is to keep the batter off balance and be out in front of the pitch and either pull it foul, get it off the end of the bat or swing too early. It also is designed to change speeds and make the fastball look better. This is why I don't listen too often as I fast forward in between pitches. I do like Cone though! I will say that Oneill had the best analysis he has given on hitting as he discussed guys opening up their hips for the inside pitch and then showed the plusses and minus' in doing so. Normally, he is pretty generic and I think wrong in his comments and Cone usually shows "the other side." Regardless, have to give Oneill credit and maybe he is coming around?
Back to the game - Judge made another excellent catch going back to the wall immediately and reaching his long arms up and making a catch on a bullet to the wall that I am not sure any other player could have made as his size made the difference. Judge did give back as Torres smoked a ball to SS and Judge didn't get out of the way and got hit with the ball ending the inning. Most likely, that would have been a single and Judge would have scored, even if he had to hold up as the ball might have split the OF's. That should really not happen and in a 2-1 game could have been the difference.
Sanchez had another throwing error and this was his fault. He made a nice backhanded scoop but should have eaten the ball instead of throwing down. Many times you don't get a good grip on a pitch or get it out of the glove well, but you adjust your throw based on the placement of the ball on your fingers or even palm and Sanchez didn't and threw it low and toward 1st base again. I think that is 4 throwing errors already.
In the 8th inning, Voit led off with a walk and I think Gardner should have been used to pinch run right away. After 2 outs, Boone put Gardner in and then Gardner ended up being thrown out on a great throw. My issue is that Gardner is not a guy who just goes in and steals right away. He takes time to read the pitcher, plus if you were going to do it, why not give him the chance to score on a double with more hitters? The odds of getting a double with 3 batters is greater than one batter or even a single where you go to 3rd are greater.? It was as if they didn't think about it until 2 outs happened; that was a mistake. I am not sure if Boone was asked about that, but if anyone knows, please send me an email or add it to the comments.
With Tulo out we have now lost 5 position players; that is crazy. The only positive is that we should get most everyone back.
Boston won.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Pitchers Duel
This was a very good pitchers duel (Tanaka and Zimmerman), while each pitcher did make some mistakes, the majority of their pitches were on the black or just off the plate. It was not a coincidence the score was 1-1 into the 9th and only after a sac fly and a very bad break where the ball hit the bag and caused a double on what would have been an out.
There were a lot of important and interesting AB’s, but I want to credit Frazier for laying off some good sliders and getting the ball to the OF and getting the sac fly.
Tanaka had a lot left in the tank as you could see he was starting to use his fastball more as the game went on and hit 94 (highest of the night) in the 7th as he started to let it loose, but I did feel it was good to bring in Ottavino to face the righties. Ottavino looked great as he got a strikeout to end the 7th and then struck out their 2and 3 hitters, but with a lefty up I thought Britton would be used. This goes against some of my thoughts of sticking with someone when they are hot, but it was just a feeling. Their lefty hit one up the middle that got deflected and we barely got the out so it worked out to leave him in, but I would have handled it differently. By handling it differently, Chapman would not have pitched the 9th in my scenario, but that is not really Boone's fault that Chapman had some control issues and after a walk, he threw a 95 MPH pitch down where a guy got his first major league hit. This was Chapman's fault! Chapman is really good, but he has the same issue as Betances sometimes where they just can't locate at all; very frustrating watching those struggles.
The lineup lacked juice with Wade at 2nd base, Tauchman in LF, Romine behind the dish. Frazier was the DH. Further, Voit hasn’t been lining up the ball that well so we really didn’t have much juice. I stated that Voit showed to be a real hitter and I didn’t think last year was a fluke, but he hasn’t been that sharp so far this year. He did get hit on the hand so he may need a day or 2 to rest, but we need him with Stanton out. Gardner is off to a bad start as well and he has to play with Hicks out. Gleyber isn’t hitting much either, but a lot of the issues can be the cold as well; this is not really baseball weather. This is why I hate having home games early, I would much rather them be on the road against the toughest opponents; these games early in the year in the cold are not good indications of how good or bad teams are so I would rather play the toughest out of division games on the schedule and be on the road.
I neglected to write about the excellent catch Judge made Monday night that might have saved the game. His defense is really good when you combine his solid ability to get to the ball, his height and his great arm.
At least Boston lost 1-0
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
The Injuries Are Mounting
First, a word from the last two games against Baltimore:
Ugh!
We play Baltimore 19 games this year and we want to win at least 14 of them. We now have to go 13-3 for the remaining 16.
Game 2 – Paxton pitched very well. He showed his live fastball and walked only one batter in 5.2 innings. I like that we can ensure he doesn’t overextend himself but he should give us quality starts (5 or 6 innings of 2-3 ER types). Tulo hit his 1st homer by going the opposite way, but his swing still concerns me as it is a loopy uppercut. He knows how to center a ball, but I think as he is aging it is harder to do. Hopefully, he can continue being productive for us. Sloppy game from the team with 3 throwing errors. One of those early season games.
Game 3 – Happ simply couldn’t spot his fastball early and left his avg fastball in the middle of the plate and Baltimore took advantage of it. Leaving 14 guys on base doesn’t help 2-12 with RISP). I would not have brought in Tarpley with the game 5-4 in the 8th; this was a time for one of our better pitchers. This was a mistake as we have this great bullpen and we should take advantage of it. Down 4-0 we had been scratching back and against a weaker team, we could have come back. Unfortunately, Tarpley didn’t get the job done as he came in with 1 out and 1 on and allowed 2 runs to score. We did mount a comeback scoring a run and having 2 guys on but Tulo struck out pinch-hitting for Gardner, waving at a slider that was well outside the strike zone.
Last night against Detroit: I thought I was getting some April Fools jokes when I heard that Andujar may be out for the year and Stanton was out for a month, unfortunately, it was not a joke. Hopefully, Andujar can rest for a month and be OK, but his throwing is already an issue and even if he didn’t deserve his throwing error that Bird should have caught, he still has an extra movement in his throw that stops him from having a crisp release; this injury could make it worse.
Having LeMahieu now is very important and fortunately, you can see he can play defense. He is not as comfortable at 3rd base, but I think he will get there.
German, has very good stuff and I stated that I liked him last year, but it is frustrating when he can’t control his fastball well enough. I don’t like 5 walks in 5 innings, but when you allow only 1 hit it is easier to swallow, even if hard to watch at times.
The bullpen took care of the last 4 innings. Britton wasn’t sharp but his stuff can be so good that guys struggle to square up his sinker. Chapman worked an easy 9th and while he hasn’t hit even 99 in the cold, he located well.
We will get to see what Wade can do; this is his chance to show what he is capable of. He was mad he got sent down and now he must take advantage of his chances.
Some notes:
Sanchez has 2 HR’s and the one in the 2nd inning showed off his power to straightaway center. He took a slider out over the plate and extended with great power. He still can’t receive well (the act of catching pitches softly and smoothly without jerking), but he has been much more active blocking. His throwing has been off so far, but he will get it and honestly I thought two of his errors were on Torres as the ball faded toward 2nd but Gleyber just didn’t move on two of them and the one last night would have been an out as it was an easy play for Torres. That being said, Sanchez hasn’t thrown as well as he can. Overall, I am happy to see what he has done and the effort behind home plate…He has not been lazy.
Glad to see Frazier up; he is very important to this team. When you think about not getting Harper Frazier was one of the reasons (a lot of investment was obviously important as well) just like having Andujar was one of the reasons not to get Machado…time for Frazier to step up.
We have to fight through the injuries:
50% of our starting players: (Didi, Hicks, Stanton, Andujar) and the pitchers: (Severino, CC and Betances). Shoot, even our top prospect, Estevan Florial broke his wrist.
2-2 and Boston is 1-4 (there one win was a comeback)
Friday, March 29, 2019
161 More To Go!
OK, it was the Orioles and their lineup was more of a AAA team, but a win is a win.
Most of the action was around our first baseman. Luke started things off after both Judge and Stanton went through the right side for hits. After taking a strike from a fastball and then taking a fastball, change and a slider for balls, he saw a low slider over the middle of the plate that Voit launched into CF for a 3 run HR that we never looked back from. The plate discipline set that up and as I mentioned in my post yesterday, I think he is a really good hitter and a great find from Cashman.
Bird was visible yesterday as well as he struck out 3 times (the 3rd was a ball outside) and also contributed to an error on a long throw by Andujar that I thought was Bird's fault. Bird didn't stretch to the ball (he does that too often) and the ball ticked off his glove on a fly; I think that was Bird's error. Later, Bird got a break on a terrible 0-2 pitch by a lefty where a hanging slider was put into the crowd for a HR.
Every Yankee got on base via a hit or a walk so that was good to see and 8 of the 9 starters got hits (Gardner didn't)
I liked the Yankees pitchers only walking one guy all game
Ottavino impressed me with his fastball. His slider is excellent, but I was surprised to a 95 MPH fastball that had great tail to it. This gives him two pitches at different speeds that move in opposite directions. I can see why he is deadly on righties.
Tulo has kind of a sweeping uppercut when he swings; it is a little strange
1-0 and we have a 1 game lead on the Red Sox as they got crushed 12-4 by Seattle (Sale took the loss)
On to Saturday!
Most of the action was around our first baseman. Luke started things off after both Judge and Stanton went through the right side for hits. After taking a strike from a fastball and then taking a fastball, change and a slider for balls, he saw a low slider over the middle of the plate that Voit launched into CF for a 3 run HR that we never looked back from. The plate discipline set that up and as I mentioned in my post yesterday, I think he is a really good hitter and a great find from Cashman.
Bird was visible yesterday as well as he struck out 3 times (the 3rd was a ball outside) and also contributed to an error on a long throw by Andujar that I thought was Bird's fault. Bird didn't stretch to the ball (he does that too often) and the ball ticked off his glove on a fly; I think that was Bird's error. Later, Bird got a break on a terrible 0-2 pitch by a lefty where a hanging slider was put into the crowd for a HR.
Every Yankee got on base via a hit or a walk so that was good to see and 8 of the 9 starters got hits (Gardner didn't)
I liked the Yankees pitchers only walking one guy all game
Ottavino impressed me with his fastball. His slider is excellent, but I was surprised to a 95 MPH fastball that had great tail to it. This gives him two pitches at different speeds that move in opposite directions. I can see why he is deadly on righties.
Tulo has kind of a sweeping uppercut when he swings; it is a little strange
1-0 and we have a 1 game lead on the Red Sox as they got crushed 12-4 by Seattle (Sale took the loss)
On to Saturday!
Thursday, March 28, 2019
OPENING DAY!
I hope everyone is ready for opening day!
I want to get right into some of my thoughts on the offseason moves:
Overall, I like the way the Yankees have approached most situations since Cashman got deep into his role. The one I was very outspoken against was the signing of Ellsbury and that was just because we gave elite money for just a good player (the fact he hasn’t been good is not really Cashman’s fault, but paying elite money after a career year was a mistake.
This was an interesting offseason with Harper and Manny out there. I was OK with either one, but I think they both got more than they should have (too long for so much money). That being said, I am not a big fan of signing ok to decent guys for middle dollars (6-12 mil). This is not a rule, but a general concept and here is why. I have been a huge supporter of Gardner over the years and he is still valuable, but the value at 7.5 mil (the 2 mil was his no matter what) isn’t great. The value of Ottavino at 9 mil isn’t great, the value of LeMahieu (I know I will misspell his name most of the time) isn’t great. I actually like the Paxton signing for 8.6 mil as I think he was a clear need and worthy. Any combination of these guys may end up being great value or poor value (nothing is exact), and to be fair, none of the signings was a head-scratcher like the Ellsbury signing (although LeMahieu/Ottavino was a slight head turner) – and I will go through each one, but here is my thought process. Are the Yankees a better team with Gardner, Ottavino, and LeMahieu or Bryce Harper, “Jonathan Loaisiga” and “Tyler Wade”? The answer is Harper for similar money. Now the longevity of the commitment matters, but the concept still holds.
The Yankees traded Sonny Gray for Josh Stowers a fast OF with a minor league .790 OPS. He was the 10 best prospect with Seattle and is 22. We need some OF help and hopefully, he can bring that in a year or two.
Gardner: Coming off a 690 OPS which was the worst of his career is a concern. I actually think he may do a little better this year (700+ ops?) and still play a top-notch LF for us, but he should not play against any lefties (when we are at full strength. Gardy works hard and I have been a huge supporter of him but this is it for him and he is getting a little more than he is probably worth, but with a lack of depth and injuries, along with waiting for Frazier to get healthy and shake off the rust (he had a terrible spring), this is a needed and reasonable move.
CC: 5.28 IP per start is too low, but his 3.65 ERA was really good. At 8 mil that is not a bad price for only a one-year commitment. Still much better against lefties and can be used as a LOOGY if needed. I would be happy with a 4 ERA from CC, but as a #5 that is pretty good!
Ottavino: 33 years old – 3 years at 9 each seemed on the high side for me. He has a whiffle ball wicked slider and coming from Colorado is a plus for a pitcher as that is a tougher place to pitch (even is somehow he was better at home). He was not good in the postseason getting a loss and a blown save in 3 appearances. He will be good out of the pen, but I didn’t think this is where I would spend 9 mil – (Update: with Betances banged up this helps)
DJ Lemahieu – 30 years old - 2 years at 24 mil barely more than the 11.75 Didi makes. In reverse of having a Colorado pitcher, DJ may be a product of “playing on the moon” in Colorado as his OPS is about 80 points higher in CO. That is not a crazy split though, what he has a larger split is against lefties and righties where his OPS is almost 250 points higher against lefties over the past 2 years. He is a stellar defender and he is probably about a .725 OPS guy with the upside to do more, but also has a downside. If Didi wasn’t hurt this signing would never have happened, but I also wonder what happens after Didi comes back? I would not surprised if DJ plays every game against lefties and a few against righties as we see Tulo start to tire a little at SS. I would rather keep Torres at 2nd base all the time (with some rest) rather than jumping him back and forth and letting DJ play some SS and be a defensive replacement for Andujar (who I would let play a lot defensively so he gets some confidence and doesn’t feel that he will be replaced). I don’t expect great defense from Andujar, but guys can get better and let’s support that process in the early part of the season (and his career).
James Paxton – 30 yrs old – We have to be cautious here as his highest inning total was last year at 160 IP, but if you step back and look at his innings he has increased from 67–121-136-160 and that is a nice progression. Of course, we have to be smart not to overwork him as the postseason is what matters. He has a real live arm and I thought this was a great signing.
No Brainers:
Gio Gonzalez: 33 years old, signed only a minor league deal and 3 mil if he makes the 25 man roster (which he didn’t out of spring training) and I believe 300k a start on top of it. He may be better to use as a lefty out of the pen as well based on an OPS against of only about .550 over the last 2 years (appx. 722 OPS against righties), but worth a shot if needed and if not you dump him
Tulowitzki – 34 years old, but getting some possible SS help for the league minimum is a great move. I don’t expect greatness here, but I expect play that if it were a rookie would be exciting. We should get adequate production while Didi is out, but make no mistake that Didi needs to come back and produce for us. Tulo had an OPS of around .720 over the past 3 years away from Colorado and at 34 it is hard to expect great defense or a huge turnaround. He did have a great spring training, but as the new shiny cheap toy, I think the .970 OPS is out of reach. We should be happy with a mid .700 OPS and decent defense.
Andujar – I already spoke about his defense, but the stick is great and he is the reason we don’t have Manny. If you don’t trade Andujar you can’t get Manny. People talk about Manny at SS, but he is simply not a good defensive SS, but he is an elite defensive 3rd baseman. I think Andujar could hit with Manny, but the defense is a big difference. That being said the value of Andujar over Manny is tremendous and allows us to sign a Paxton, Ottavino and LeMahieu for the same money. Just so you don’t confuse what I said earlier, the difference here is that Andujar is incredibly valuable at his current salary.
First Base – Bird is having a good spring and while he was behind the fastball and ahead of the curve last year, he does have a plan at the plate. His swing is a little slow so he has to cheat when he swings, but he was able to hit a HR off of a very tough lefty (Andrew Miller) in the postseason. He has a swing for Yankee stadium and in such a right-handed lineup he is an important player for us to be productive. That being said, I think we found a really good hitter in Voit. He is 27 so he isn’t so young, but he has been a hitter at every level and he should continue to rake for us. I don’t expect a .1.095 OPS like he had for us, but I think he is our best hitting first baseman and my hope is that he will DH with Bird playing well at 1B. He will also play some 1b, especially against some lefties (we probably won’t see that many) and we can give Judge and Stanton some rest. When Hicks comes back we will see what happens with Bird, but I don’t think Voit is a Shane Spencer and we won’t hear from him again; I think he will remain a productive major league hitter.
Other additions – Mike Tauchman made the roster instead of Tyler Wade (who had a very good spring). Tauchman is an OF who from the stats doesn’t belong on our team. My expectation is he won’t be for long and I don’t understand why a minor leaguer wouldn’t be a better choice (other than waiting on arbitration)
Tarpley – Sinkerballing lefty who is 26 – He was part of what we got in the Ivan Nova trade and with us last year
Injuries:
Didi: - We really need him back, but hopefully Tulo can help us. I have no idea what we will do when Didi comes back, but trades will happen.
Betances is out and this does make the Ottavino signing better, but we do have a lot of arms and we need to hope Kahnle can get going again and don’t forget we have Green…Our bullpen is still excellent without Betances and thus why I thought the Ottavino signing was a little overkill. I would expect we deal some of the bullpen arms at some point.
Hicks – Back issues are a concern, but the hope is he will be back in 2-3 weeks
Severino is key for us as we need to get him back and he needs to be an ace. We won’t have him until mid-May probably
Montgomery – He should be back at the end of the year but hard to expect anything this year
Ellsbury – Not counting on anything, BUT, if he is healthy, he could help us in our OF right now. Maybe we get him for the 2nd half and he has a resurgence? Can always hope
I keep getting asked what I think of this team? Outside of the injuries, this is a very good team. I think Boone is very competent and showed the ability to adapt. He made some mistakes, but he is at least as good as Girardi and he has more upside. The starters, when healthy are better than people give us credit for even if not a top 5+ rotation, but our bullpen is the best in the majors. Our offense is really good and our defense is decent (hard to know what we get out of Tulo). This is a team that will get to the playoffs barring a lot of injuries and can win the World Series. We are one of the best 4 teams in the majors and that is what you want going in.
One quick note, baseball changed the trade deadline and move it closer to the start of the season to stop teams from buying a one-year championship. I actually like that rule, but something to keep in mind later in the year/
Let’s have a great year!
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GENIUS MAKER!
The last man to wear #42 was the first unanimous choice to enter the HOF!
I am not one to get into too many HOF discussions, because they tend to go the lowest common denominator. My opinion is that the HOF has too many people (Harold Baines...really?) I am just waiting for the next person to say, well Harold Baines got in so shouldn't so and so get in? Anyway, that is the other spectrum and Rivera deserves to be in. I do get the argument about a reliever not making as much impact as a starter or an everyday player, however, a closer gets in during high leverage situations and never faces a crappy hitter. Facing the better teams in the postseason, Rivera was spectacular with an 8-1 record to go along with a 0.70 ERA in 96 appearances and 141 innings. That is insane, especially when you think about if he came into a postseason game and allowed 20 straight runs without getting an out, his ERA would still be below 2! Coincidentally, Rivera has 42 postseason saves! BTW, 14 of those were 2 inning saves and that is more saves than all other relievers combined in the postseason while he was active.
There are so many great stats and I am sure if you are reading this you probably have many of your own favorites. The Genius Maker deserves his name and his unanimous vote! Hats off to you Mo!
I am not one to get into too many HOF discussions, because they tend to go the lowest common denominator. My opinion is that the HOF has too many people (Harold Baines...really?) I am just waiting for the next person to say, well Harold Baines got in so shouldn't so and so get in? Anyway, that is the other spectrum and Rivera deserves to be in. I do get the argument about a reliever not making as much impact as a starter or an everyday player, however, a closer gets in during high leverage situations and never faces a crappy hitter. Facing the better teams in the postseason, Rivera was spectacular with an 8-1 record to go along with a 0.70 ERA in 96 appearances and 141 innings. That is insane, especially when you think about if he came into a postseason game and allowed 20 straight runs without getting an out, his ERA would still be below 2! Coincidentally, Rivera has 42 postseason saves! BTW, 14 of those were 2 inning saves and that is more saves than all other relievers combined in the postseason while he was active.
There are so many great stats and I am sure if you are reading this you probably have many of your own favorites. The Genius Maker deserves his name and his unanimous vote! Hats off to you Mo!
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