Category Archives: Uncategorized

Back in the U.K.!

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Well, this time it was a bit of a flying, compact visit to New York but it was well worth the travelling time and the jetlag I’m now suffering back in London. During the time we were there we spent time in four of the five boroughs and attended three games at the new Yankee Stadium. It was a painful experience to see the old Stadium closed up, fenced off and derelict but some people struggle to respect history. Strange to think the last time I was there was in the frivolity and joy of the last game ever held there – now the life has moved across the road into a site which has more comfort, more space but lacks the originality of architecture and atmosphere and the ghosts of great games gone by. Where the new stadium has true class is where it has chosen to echo the old. Let’s just say it’s nice and I’ll get used to it and leave it at that.
Over the next few days I’ll be posting some thoughts about the games we saw and then a summary of September and what I thinks the Yankees chances are in the post-season.

Up-to-date

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After my piece arguing that Mariano Rivera is the best relief pitcher in baseball, he blew his very next save opportunity. C’est la vie

So what’s happening with me?

I’m heading to New York to catch the end of the regular season in the Bronx.

Negotiations for two albums of new Sad Cafe material are on-going and dragging……… Waiting to see if it all works out.

October will see a visit to Elland Road and two John Foxx performances.

Considering writing an essay on the first books authored by Malcolm Muggeridge. These have been out of print since before the Second World War so I’m guessing this might be difficult to place but, hey…., when did that ever stop me.

Recommended Listening?

Son Volt – American Central Dust
Radio Silence – Whose Skin are You under Now
Sad Cafe – Ole (particularly like the remastering job on this one, you should use that guy on your back catalogue)
John Foxx – The Quiet Man (Spoken Word)
A Camp – Colonia


The greatest relief pitcher ever

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Last night, at Yankee Stadium, Mariano Rivera reached 40 saves for the season.

Here’s a few facts:

Rivera has 79 saves in 81 opportunities in the last two seasons.

His ERA for this season is 1.69. Unless he has a terrible second half of September, this will be the sixth time in the last seven seasons he has delivered an ERA of less than 2.

In total, he has 9 seasons with an ERA of less than 2.

He has pitched over a 1000 innings for the Yankees in a 15 season career and delivered 522 saves over that period.

His ERA in 31 division series games for the Yankees is a minuscule 0.38

His ERA in 25 championship series games for the Yankees is 0.93

His ERA in 20 World Series games is 1.16

He has 34 post-season saves

He has played 8 times for the American League All-Star team. His ERA for them is 0.00

His OBA for the post-season has only once exceeded .250

Since he became a reliever, his OBA for the Yankees in regular season games has never exceeded .300

He has struck out 998 opponents in regular season play

He has ranked in the top 10 save earners in the American League every year since 1997

Mariano Rivera is certainly the best relief pitcher I have ever seen and I would argue that he is the best relief pitcher ever to grace a baseball diamond.

August in the Bronx – #2 – the Pitchers

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And so on to the pitchers:

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – August
Name GP GS GF CG IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Melancon, Mark 2 0 1 0 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Marte, Damaso 3 0 1 0 2.1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Rivera, Mariano 11 0 9 0 11.1 9 1 1 4 12 0 0 8 0.79 .209
Bruney, Brian 9 0 2 0 10.1 10 1 1 7 5 1 0 0 0.87 .250
Hughes, Phil 11 0 0 0 10.1 7 2 2 4 16 1 0 0 1.74 .189
Pettitte, Andy 6 6 0 0 39.2 29 13 11 12 39 4 0 0 2.50 .207
Sabathia, CC 6 6 0 0 44.1 36 14 13 6 49 5 0 0 2.64 .221
Robertson, David 11 0 4 0 9.2 11 3 3 4 17 1 0 0 2.79 .268
Gaudin, Chad 5 1 3 0 14.0 13 5 5 10 14 1 0 0 3.21 .232
Mitre, Sergio 5 4 1 0 23.0 26 14 11 6 14 2 1 0 4.30 .280
Aceves, Alfredo 8 0 2 0 19.0 17 10 10 1 15 3 0 0 4.74 .236
Burnett, AJ 6 6 0 1 37.1 38 25 25 17 40 0 4 0 6.03 .266
Chamberlain, Joba 5 5 0 0 23.0 31 21 21 15 18 1 2 0 8.22 .323
Coke, Phil 12 0 3 0 9.2 12 12 12 4 7 2 0 0 11.17 .308
Claggett, Anthony 1 0 1 0 1.0 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 18.00 .400
101 28 27 1 257.0 241 123 117 94 251 21 7 8 4.10 .246

Positives

C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia has become easily the Yankees most consistent starter. That was after all what they signed him for and what they pay him enormous amounts of money for. But the Yankees have signed big name pitchers in the past and they have failed to adapt to life in New York. No such problem for C.C.. He’s averaging over 7 innings a start in recent games and in his last 6 starts, he has 5 wins and 1 no decision.

Phil Hughes. Hughes has found a role to suit his undoubted ability and we’re no longer surprised that month-by-month, he is one of the Yankees most used relievers and gives up few hits and less runs.

Andy Pettitte. Pettitte had an uneven month but his last start of August was his best in the pinstripes for some considerable time . I wouldn’t expect him to maintain that standard but he has been a solid part of the rotation.

Mariano Rivera. Another 8 saves during the month. Again only 1 run in the month. A walk every 3 innings. More than a strikeout per innings. He wasn’t quite as good as he was in July but this guy is in a field of one and he is a phenomenon.

Negatives

Anthony Claggett. Claggett’s performances at triple-A seem to make an obvious candidate for promotion. He arrives in the majors and he falls apart. So bad that both times he has been added to the roster, he is gone so quickly that he doesn’t seem likely to get two consecutive appearances at this level.

Phil Coke. Coke has seldom looked like the pitcher he was in 2008. August was probably his worst month of the year so far. He gives up too many home runs and on the month his ERA was over eleven. Fortunately for him the Yankees have had few left-handed options out of the bullpen so he is still on the roster at the September expansion.

Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain had a poor month but indecision amongst management and coaches about how they should keep from over-tiring him did not help him. At one point he had an eight day break between starts. That was a disaster. So on his next appearance, he made a 3 innings start. That was better but not much. Where does he go from here?

AJ Burnett. Burnett’s season has hit a serious decline. The Yankees need to get him out of this funk if he is going to be a meaningful contributor in the post-season. He is giving up more than a hit per inning and gifts the opposition more walks than any other starter on the team.

Surprises

Damaso Marte. I’m surprised to even see Marte back on the roster as early as August. I’m even more surprised that he has managed to bring his ERA on the season to below ten. In the few performances he has made since his return from the DL, he looks like a different pitcher than he has had at anytime since he joined the Yankees last season.

Brian Bruney. Bruney’s figures are much, much improved on what they were a couple of months ago but I have a feeling that at the moment he is riding his luck and that on a few occasions a wise decision by Girardi to get him off the mound – and an inspired substitution as seen him through. We’ll see how long it can last……

Sergio Mitre. Mitre’s most recent appearance was a revelation. Prior to that I’d been hoping that he could get the Yankees through to the end of the fifth and keep the scores even. In his last game, he looked much stronger….. and then he was hit by a batted ball and you wonder whether that moment will ever come again.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves has looked very wobbly at times recently. Somehow he keeps coming good when the Yankees really need him. He now has 9 wins in relief. Very peculiar.

August in the Bronx – #1 – the Batters

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So, August has come and gone and within its spread, the Yankees rose to the head of the pack in Major League Baseball and looked confidently towards the post-season. September will involve the expansion of rosters and will provide me with plenty of time to absorb the sights and sounds of the new Yankee Stadium as I make my first visit to New York this year. Let’s see who came up with goods in the heat of Summer and who came up sadly lacking. Batters first:

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – August
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Jeter, Derek 28 122 27 46 17 6 0 6 5 14 1 1 4 .377 .574 .403
Pena, Ramiro 7 8 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 .375 .375
Cano, Robinson 28 118 19 41 16 13 0 5 2 13 0 0 0 .347 .585 .358
Damon, Johnny 24 98 21 32 16 8 0 7 7 14 0 0 2 .327 .622 .371
Rodriguez, Alex 25 92 19 29 12 3 1 4 18 23 0 0 1 .315 .500 .442
Teixeira, Mark 28 109 17 32 26 7 0 6 17 19 0 1 1 .294 .523 .391
Hairston Jr., Jerry 24 41 10 12 10 3 0 2 6 5 1 1 0 .293 .512 .388
Matsui, Hideki 24 89 16 25 25 2 1 8 6 11 0 0 0 .281 .596 .333
Posada, Jorge 20 75 9 21 16 7 0 4 8 24 0 1 0 .280 .533 .345
Swisher, Nick 25 94 14 26 16 6 0 5 17 24 1 1 0 .277 .500 .384
Cabrera, Melky 27 103 13 23 13 5 1 2 5 12 1 1 3 .223 .350 .264
Molina, Jose 14 40 5 8 3 0 0 0 5 9 0 1 0 .200 .200 .283
Hinske, Eric 14 29 3 5 2 3 0 0 4 10 0 1 0 .172 .276 .265
Ransom, Cody 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1022 175 303 172 63 3 49 100 181 4 8 11 .296 .508 .361

Positives

Derek Jeter. First in the line-up and first on my list. The captain has had a simply outstanding season and he has even managed to improve as the year has gone along. He added 12 extra base hits to his .377 BA on the month, his defense is better and as always he has the perfect demeanour to give the team the lead and example they need.

Robinson Cano. Cano has had some problems in the field but there is no taking away from his offensive production. He’s had his best ever year for power production and has continued to hit for average and he is a great singles hitter. Unfortunately, his patience at the plate has suffered, resulting in too few walks, as his ability to gain singles has increased but all-in-all, it’s still been a good year for him.

Johnny Damon. Damon had his best month of the year and gave the Yankees something to think about when they think about leftfield for 2010. No question that they could improve defensively but in extra base hits he is second only to Cano, on the month.

Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez also achieved his best month of the year – which to be fair wasn’t difficult but still bodes well after his early season surgery. 2009 will still be a year he wants to forget for all kinds of reasons but that .442 OBP is a bright indicator of good things to come.

Negatives

Cody Ransom. At the beginning of the year, Ransom, who has seen some limited time in the majors before, seemed to have his best chance of making the grade. From April to July, he messed up every opportunity he was given and in August, his inability to hit a single finally saw him demoted to Triple-A and more significantly removed from the 40 man roster. He struck out three times in the four at-bats he was given in the early days of the month which really shows his problems.

Eric Hinske. Of the pairing of Hinske and Hairston who were brought in when Gardner headed to the DL, Hinske has been the poorer. He achieved a meagre 5 hits in August – 2 singles and 3 doubles. If it wasn’t September (which brings with it extra spaces on the roster) it would be difficult to justify keeping him around.

Jose Molina. Molina vs Cervelli – Posada’s days of playing 7 out of 7 were always going to be limited but they’re now behind him. This means that the backup catcher is going to get significant playing time. Youth vs experience. The Yankees went with experience and in some ways that has paid off but it is Molina’s lack of production in the hits column which suggest that youth might have been the better choice.

Melky Cabrera. Since the night, he hit for the cycle, Cabrera’s batting production has slumped to the kind of problems he had in 2008. It has been a rollercoaster year for him but he needs to turn it around one more time before the post-season.

Surprises

Hideki Matsui. Matsui who looked like he was on his last legs (pun intended) just a few weeks ago, had some fluid drained and had a flush of power as the month came to its conclusion. He led the team in home runs for August including a couple of nights when he encouraged the ball to leave the stadium on more than one occasion.

Jerry Hairston Jr. Aside from the error he made during Pettitte’s most recent outing – when Andy looked like he might have a stab at a perfect game – this has been a very good move for Mr Hairston. .293 BA and .512 slugging percentage are both significant markups on his numbers prior to joining the Yankees.

Ramiro Pena. Ramiro’s name is very near the top of the above list which is sorted by batting average. He’s proven himself to be more than capable in the infield (the team’s hope that he would also develop skills in the outfield doesn’t seem to have really worked out). Somehow, when a roster move requires someone to make the dusty bus trip back to Scranton, his name comes to the top of that list as well, too often.

Nick Swisher. Swisher has proved that he can be a good clubhouse presence and a threat to produce home runs. His ability to produce a good batting average has not been so consistent. This month he bucked the trend and hit .277 which is still below the team average for the month but a marked improvement.

A Quiet Man?

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Even by his own standards, John Foxx is having a prolific year. This month, he released his fourth album of new material of 2009.

First, there was "My Lost City". A set of instrumentals which those who have followed his recent career might subtitle "Cathedral Oceans Vol. 4". Very minimalist.
Then there were two collaborations. Next came an album with Steve Jansen (ex-Japan) and Steve D’Agostino who joined Foxx and Gordon on stage for the tour in which John revisited Metamatic last year. This one was entitled "A Secret Life".
It was followed by "Mirrorball", a set composed and recorded with ex-Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie.

This month’s release is "The Quiet Man". Foxx has been working on this since his days with Ultravox! – their song "The Quiet Men" was the beginning of the evolution of non-linear short stories about a man in a grey suit who passes through cities unnoticed. Read by Justin Barton over Foxx’s ambient soundtrack, these are beautiful and evocative. A good argument could be made for Foxx having read these on the audio himself in his Mancunian drawl but otherwise it is difficult to fault this. After a while you get used to Barton’s received pronunciation and the themes of the "stories" wrap you in their mystery.

Foxx hasn’t been quiet on other fronts either. The Horse Hospital in London was home for his recent art exhibition, "DNA", and some remastered albums and performance are due in October.

July in the Bronx – Part 2 – The pitchers

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Today, I turn my attention to the pitchers who have graced the New York Yankees in July. Again, my apologies that this is so late.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – July
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Rivera, Mariano 12 0 11 11.2 3 0 0 2 9 0 0 10 0.00 .081
Hughes, Phil 11 0 2 14.2 10 1 1 3 16 1 1 1 0.61 .192
Burnett, AJ 5 5 0 33.1 27 10 9 16 21 4 0 0 2.43 .220
Chamberlain, Joba 5 5 0 29.2 26 15 9 10 24 3 0 0 2.73 .232
Melancon, Mark 3 0 2 6.0 5 3 2 0 4 0 1 0 3.00 .217
Albaladejo, Jonathan 4 0 1 4.2 5 2 2 2 5 2 0 0 3.86 .278
Tomko, Brett 3 0 2 4.1 4 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 4.15 .250
Sabathia, CC 6 6 0 39.0 45 21 20 12 31 3 3 0 4.62 .300
Pettitte, Andy 6 6 0 37.1 34 21 20 11 32 1 3 0 4.82 .241
Coke, Phil 12 0 2 9.2 9 6 6 2 8 1 0 0 5.59 .250
Robertson, David 9 0 3 11.0 10 8 7 7 13 0 1 1 5.73 .233
Aceves, Alfredo 9 1 2 15.0 14 13 11 4 10 1 0 1 6.60 .237
Wang, Chien-Ming 1 1 0 5.1 6 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 6.75 .300
Mitre, Sergio 3 3 0 13.2 24 13 12 3 6 1 0 0 7.90 .400
Bruney, Brian 7 0 2 5.1 11 7 7 3 7 0 0 0 11.81 .423
96 27 27 240.2 233 126 112 77 188 18 9 13 4.19 .254

Positives

Mariano Rivera. Every year, the baseball experts decide that Mariano’s career is finally fading. Every year, he bounces back. In the second half of June and the whole of July, he didn’t give up any runs. In July, his OBA was an amazing .081. He added another 10 saves to his total during the month.

A.J. Burnett. Of the 5 starters, during July, Burnett gave most innings per appearance and produced the best ERA. His walk total was a little on the high side but he produced 4 wins and 1 no decision. No losses.

Joba Chamberlain. The debate over Chamberlain as starter or Joba as reliever is pretty much over. Even Jorge Posada says he misjudged the situation. His figures for the month were good and solid. He may never over-power as a starter as he first did when he appeared as a reliever and there’s no question that his larger-than-life persona does even irritate this Yankees fan when I have to watch it for six innings but there is no question that he is very valuable to the Yankees in this role.

C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia has been inconsistent. But he has been good enough. When he is in the zone, he looks like our best starter. When he is not, he usually gives us the innings.

Negatives

Brian Bruney. General Manager, Cashman has basically said that Bruney lied to the coaching staff when he said he was ready to pitch so off-the-field and on-the-field, it has been a bad time for Bruney. In April, he was one of the teams best relievers but April seems a long time ago. He had the worst ERA and worst OBA on the team during July.

Sergio Mitre. The Yankees are really scratching around to find a fifth starter and Mitre is their latest great idea. He looked below par at triple-A Scranton and promoting him to the Majors didn’t seem likely to make him look better. It hasn’t.

Chien-Ming Wang. Wang is gone for the season but it is hard to believe he was ever really here. His one start in July was not memorable.

Andy Pettitte. Pettitte is giving up too many hits, too many home runs (particularly at the new Stadium). In July, he produced only 1 win and 3 losses, 2 non-decisions.

Surprises

Phil Hughes. Hughes has been a revelation in relief. He has been so good that even though the team desperately needs a fifth starter, they have chosen not to return him to his previous role. For most of the month he matched Rivera performance-for-performance as the two did not give up a run. The one run he did give up (towards the end of the month) gave him his only loss in July.

Mark Melancon. Melancon finds himself back in the minors in August but it is hard to see why. He gave the team 6 innings over 3 appearances in July and was solid most every time.

Jonathan Albaladejo. Like Melancon, Albaladejo looks likely to spend the forseeable future shuttling between Scranton and New York. In limited useage, he managed to maintain runless performances for much of the month. It is hard to see what he has to do to earn a regular spot on the roster.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves does well most of the time but most of July doesn’t fit into that category. Despite a respectable OBA, his ERA for the month was closer to 7 than 6.

July in the Bronx – Part 1 – Batters

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New York Yankees – Batting – Month – July
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Jeter, Derek 27 112 19 40 11 4 1 2 15 16 0 0 1 .357 .464 .438
Hinske, Eric 7 21 5 7 8 0 0 5 1 6 0 0 0 .333 1.048 .417
Cano, Robinson 27 103 20 34 14 8 1 4 6 9 0 0 0 .330 .544 .373
Teixeira, Mark 27 112 14 33 15 6 0 6 10 23 0 0 0 .295 .509 .358
Matsui, Hideki 24 75 10 22 19 5 0 5 15 13 0 1 0 .293 .560 .407
Cabrera, Melky 27 76 10 22 5 6 0 2 10 5 0 0 0 .289 .447 .372
Rodriguez, Alex 25 97 19 28 18 3 0 7 12 25 0 1 5 .289 .536 .369
Posada, Jorge 24 82 13 23 15 7 0 3 6 22 0 1 0 .280 .476 .333
Cervelli, Francisco 3 11 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .273 .364 .250
Swisher, Nick 24 73 8 18 15 4 0 3 12 20 0 2 0 .247 .425 .352
Damon, Johnny 24 85 16 20 12 3 0 3 17 16 0 0 0 .235 .376 .369
Gardner, Brett 18 41 4 9 7 0 2 0 4 9 0 0 3 .220 .317 .304
Ransom, Cody 12 20 5 4 2 3 0 0 4 7 0 0 1 .200 .350 .333
Molina, Jose 5 11 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .182 .273 .250
919 146 265 143 51 4 40 112 174 0 6 10 .288 .483 .370

 

So July seems a long time ago now but here are the Yankee batters who made their mark for good or bad during that month.

Positives

Derek Jeter. Jeter has simply been the most consistent offensive player on the Yankees this season – and in a time when there is such turmoil in the sport, he is a gentleman and a role model. .357 on the month. And improved in the field.

Robinson Cano. Cano has recovered from last seasons set backs and has shown himself to be a solid consistent player. That word “consistent” explains why the Yankees have risen to the top this season.

Mark Teixeira. The term “MVP” is already been used about Teixeira but I don’t think he’s quite there unless he has an outstanding last two months. What he has achieved is a solid performance after a slow beginning in April.

Melky Cabrera. When Gardner went on the DL, there was a general air of expectancy that Cabrera’s comeback season would begin to buckle. It hasn’t happened in July (though August is proving a very quiet time so far).

Negatives

Cody Ransom. Ransom just can’t hit singles. You know that when he comes to bat, he is either going to hit a double or better (20% of the time) or he is going to be an easy out (80% of the time). He should have gone to Scranton instead of Pena.

Johnny Damon. Damon looks tired and old in the field. He can just about get away with this when he’s hitting. In July, he wasn’t hitting.

Jose Molina. Molina was fortune to get his spot on the roster back. Cervelli was unlucky. Experience counts for a lot and he always looks solid behind the plate but he needs to raise his average by at least 20 points.

Nick Swisher. Swisher hit .247 in July and that was one of his better months. We’re very glad that we signed Teixeira.

Surprises

Eric Hinske. The fact that Hinske is a Yankee ought to be enough of a surprise. But to see him hit .333 in his first 7 games is another thing again. It won’t last but it’s nice for now.

Hideki Matsui. .293 and 5 home runs in July. Matsui has settled into the role of everyday DH very well. His legs might not last the distance even with a light load but so far, so good.

Jorge Posada. Posada played 24 games in July. He hit .280. After a very difficult 2008, he’s bounced back well. Now if he can add a little more power……..

Alex Rodriguez. July might be the first sign of light at the end of the tunnel for A-Rod. He led the team in home runs and produced his best hitting performances of the season. He’s still not worth the money, the emotional investment and all the circus that goes with him but better this than the way he was earlier in the year.

Back in town……………………………

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Well, I went away for a couple of weeks but I’m back now…….

What’s happening with me?

1. Two weeks in Whitby. One of the best and most relaxing breaks I’ve ever had.

2. Protracted Negotiations. Regular readers will know I’ve been doing some soundwork for UK band Sad Cafe. Somewhere along the line I got the idea for two new albums which would include all of their songs which had not previously been gathered together on album and getting the band together to finish off some tracks that their lead vocalist had begun to record when he passed away a few years ago. This has been a difficult process but I should know in the next few days whether the last few pieces will fall into place.

3. Baseball success. The Yankees transform from a team that might make the playoffs into the team with the best record in major league baseball. I know I’ve not done the July updates yet but they’ll be along in the next few days.