twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

April in the Bronx (part two) – the Pitchers

Posted on May 4, 2009 by twilightdawning

Last season, the Yankees had one of the most consistent bullpens in baseball. This year, essentially the same bullpen staff has reported but with a stronger (on paper) starting rotation than last year. Having added CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, and with a fit-again Chien-Ming Wang and with Andy Pettitte without last year’s off-field distractions, what could possibly go wrong:

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – April
Name	GP	GS	GF	IP	H	RA	ER	BB	SO	W	L	Sv	ERA	OBA
Hughes, Phil	1	1	0	6.0	2	0	0	2	6	1	0	0	0.00	.100
Swisher, Nick	1	0	1	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.00	.250
Melancon, Mark	2	0	1	3.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0.00	.100
Rivera, Mariano	10	0	8	9.2	12	3	3	0	13	0	0	5	2.79	.293
Pettitte, Andy	4	4	0	27.1	24	10	9	6	16	2	1	0	2.96	.240
Chamberlain, Joba	4	4	0	23.0	22	11	8	13	17	1	0	0	3.13	.265
Bruney, Brian	9	0	1	8.0	3	3	3	2	12	2	0	0	3.38	.111
Coke, Phil	11	0	1	9.2	7	7	4	4	8	1	1	0	3.72	.206
Robertson, David	2	0	2	2.1	3	1	1	1	4	0	0	0	3.86	.300
Sabathia, CC	5	5	0	32.1	31	18	17	14	19	1	2	0	4.73	.256
Burnett, AJ	5	5	0	31.2	29	19	19	13	25	2	0	0	5.40	.257
Veras, Jose	9	0	4	11.0	6	7	7	6	10	1	1	0	5.73	.154
Ramirez, Edwar	7	0	0	8.1	11	7	6	8	8	0	0	0	6.48	.306
Albaladejo, Jonathan	9	0	0	11.0	13	10	10	4	5	1	0	0	8.18	.317
Marte, Damaso	7	0	3	5.1	9	9	9	3	6	0	1	0	15.19	.360
Wang, Chien-Ming	3	3	0	6.0	23	23	23	6	2	0	3	0	34.50	.622
Claggett, Anthony	1	0	0	1.2	9	8	8	2	2	0	0	0	43.20	.643
	90	22	21	197.1	206	136	127	86	156	12	9	5	5.79	.273

Positives

Mariano Rivera. No surprise to see Mo at the top of my list but it hasn’t been without a wobble or two. But for most of the month there looked to be no chance of him giving up a run. And then came a tight game against Boston. One of Mariano’s strong suits has always been his mental toughness. After last season’s tendency to come up short in a tied game and having blown this particular save, there will be those who claim to have spotted a chink in his armour. Don’t know but at the moment he still looks the best closer in MLB.

Andy Pettitte. I expected Pettitte to be stronger this year and so far that is the story. Two wins and a 2.96 ERA in amongst a staff that hasn’t yet found its direction. It’s good to have this veteran around.

Brian Bruney. So I know that Bruney is on the DL (again) at the moment but this is based on his form prior to that. He had a dreadful first appearance but after that he looked basically unhittable. That .111 OBA speaks volumes. Time will tell whether his "rest" is a temporary glitch or something more substantial but fit, he looked one of our best options.

Joba Chamberlain. Just. Of the remaining starters Joba just comes out on top. In his last start, he finally looked dominating. Prior to that he had looked just enough – at least to keep us in the game. At the moment, the great experiment seems to be working. I’d rather see him in the bullpen and, boy, does the bullpen need him. But for now it seems to be working out. Just.

Negatives

Damaso Marte. What do you do with a left-handed specialist who can’t get left-handers out? Marte didn’t look the real deal last season. This year he hasn’t shown up at all. 15.19 ERA and more than a third of the batters he pitches to are getting on base. Horrible.

Edwar Ramirez. Last year, Ramirez looked dependable. This year, his ERA is 6 and a half. ‘Nuff said.

Jose Veras. Last year, Veras looked dependable. It is hard to track the cause of all these sudden down turns. More peculiar, that most of these guys looked good in Spring Training. Girardi needs to lift some heads that have fallen. His ability / inability to instill confidence in the roster members may be the defining issue of his tenure as manager.

Jonathan Albaladejo. There’s not much to say that you couldn’t also say about Veras and Ramirez. There are simply too many members of the bullpen who are ragged and under-performing. These guys need to find some consistency.

Surprises

Chien-Ming Wang. Nobody knew quite what to expect from Wang in April. He was coming off a serious injury and his innings in the Spring had been few and their quality indecisive. Nobody expected him to be as bad as he has been. 34.50 ERA and an OBA over .6. Now he is on the disabled list again. This is quite a nosedive. Hope he can pull out of it.

Mark Melancon. Melancon didn’t even make it in to the 2009 Yankees media guide but here he is in the Majors and so far he is holding his own. Whether this can continue is debatable but as out of bullpen options as they have been (can you say "Swisher?"), it has been a pleasure to see him.

AJ Burnett. Burnett looked strong in his first two starts and it was encouraging to see a big money signing so strong straight out of the blocks. He hasn’t maintained that and he has a reputation for injuries. I don’t want any more nasty surprises.

Anthony Claggett. Claggett was a bright hope for the future. Claggett was called up when the pitching staff was particularly horrible in mid-April. Claggett was brought into a game that was already lost. Claggett only had to make some outs and get us through a few innings without further humiliation. Claggett looked worse than Chien-Ming Wang that had preceded him. That’s a lot of baggage for a bright hope to carry as he headed back to the Minors.

The pitching has not been good in April – in the Bronx and on the road!

April in the Bronx (part one)

Posted on May 2, 2009 by twilightdawning

A new baseball season wouldn’t be quite the same without some interesting stories surrounding the Yankees. And 2009 has provided a plethora! We went into the season with the cloud of misdemeanours hanging over Alex Rodriguez, a drunk-driving charge for Joba Chamberlain, a new Stadium and an even more expensive roster than usual waiting to persuade the fans that they really had the goods. The month has been mostly successful but when the Yankees lost, they really lost. The lowlight was a 14 run innings given up for the first time in their history. Here’s how the batter’s shaped up in that first month:

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – April
Name	G	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SH	SF	SB	BA	SLG	OBP
Cano, Robinson	22	93	18	34	16	5	0	5	6	9	0	1	1	.366	.581	.400
Cabrera, Melky	20	49	11	16	9	0	0	4	6	8	0	0	2	.327	.571	.400
Swisher, Nick	22	77	21	24	19	8	1	7	15	19	0	0	0	.312	.714	.430
Damon, Johnny	20	78	15	23	10	2	1	4	11	11	0	1	3	.295	.500	.385
Matsui, Hideki	19	65	8	19	9	5	1	2	12	9	0	0	0	.292	.492	.410
Jeter, Derek	22	94	14	27	12	4	0	4	9	13	0	0	4	.287	.457	.350
Nady, Xavier	7	28	4	8	2	4	0	0	1	6	0	0	0	.286	.429	.310
Molina, Jose	11	29	2	8	5	0	0	1	3	4	1	0	0	.276	.379	.344
Posada, Jorge	20	69	7	19	14	6	0	3	10	18	0	2	1	.275	.493	.366
Pena, Ramiro	16	26	2	7	2	1	0	0	3	4	0	0	1	.269	.308	.345
Berroa, Angel	4	8	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.250	.250	.250
Gardner, Brett	21	59	9	13	4	3	0	0	3	11	2	1	5	.220	.271	.254
Teixeira, Mark	19	70	11	14	10	3	0	3	17	12	0	1	0	.200	.371	.367
Ransom, Cody	15	50	4	9	6	5	1	0	3	15	1	0	0	.180	.320	.226
		795	128	223	118	46	4	33	99	139	5	6	17	.281	.473	.362

Positives

Robinson Cano is not the indifferent player he was a year ago. Then his mind seemed to be elsewhere and his stroke had disappeared. Now he leads the team in batting average, he has 5 doubles and 5 homers. He has looked strong in the field.

Hideki Matsui has overcome some early days of discomfort and water on the knee following on from surgery to see his batting average climbing the list and with some work on his stance he is starting to see some power too.

Derek Jeter has answered some of his critics with some solid performances at shortstop. He’s never going to be the best shortstop in the league but he’s way better than some voices were suggesting. His performance with the bat has been solid and he’s settling into that role at the top of the line-up.

Jorge Posada. Mostly solid behind the plate and producing numbers that are a step-up on last year. The Posada – Molina tandem will serve us well for another year.

Negatives

Mark Teixeira. We need much more from Teixeira. At the moment, he is not giving us more from the position than Giambi did last year. Giambi was supposed to be at the end of his usefulness (he was). Teixeira is supposed to be the future (at the moment he isn’t). .200 with 3 home runs simply isn’t good enough.

Cody Ransom. Ransom was never going to fill A-Rod’s shoes but he was meant to be an adequate replacement without the baggage. Prior to his stint on the DL, he simply didn’t deliver. This wasn’t the young man who delivered two home runs in his first two at bats as a Yankee. Hey, he didn’t manage one in fifty! Can anybody say "Shane Spencer", "Shelley Duncan"?

Brett Gardner. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Gardner’s substandard April doesn’t qualify as a surprise. He’s a little down on what I expected but he was always going to be a .240 hitter with speed, a useful arm in the field but no power. He doesn’t walk much so once his singles production had dropped with his confidence, he was never going to survive as the everyday centrefielder.

Xavier Nady. This injury to Nady and the very non-specific way in which the Yankees detailed it in press reports is worrying. Behind the scenes issues aside, Bobby Abreu was the obvious player for the Yankees to re-sign for 2009. Damon is not the player he once was and is legs are always going to cause him problems. Nady has one bout of serious arm trouble behind him. When we didn’t chase Abreu, there was always the caution that trouble could come back. The team just has to hope it hasn’t

Surprises

Melky Cabrera. The hope was that Cabrera would bounce back strong enough to challenge Gardner and maybe platoon if Brett didn’t work out. So far, Cabrera is the guy from 2007 that we thought we’d never see again. 4 home runs, .327 batting average, good in the field, some speed. Hey, what’s not to like!

Nick Swisher. During the torrid first weeks of the season, Swisher was our best hope. Things have settled down a little now – for him and for the team but, for someone I would have traded away before the season began, he has been simply great. He looks twice the player I saw playing for the White Sox last year. He has energy, power and enthusiasm.

Jose Molina. Last year when Posada was injured and Molina was bearing the whole weight (let’s not talk about Ivan Rodriguez), he was pretty horrible at the plate and had some substandard games behind the plate. As much as I am sure that he would like to be the everyday player, I think it all got on top of him. This year, he has been his usual self behind the plate but his ability to hit for average has returned.

Ramiro Pena. Pena was going to be the scrappy, little, throwback of a player, who would provide back-up for Ransom until A-Rod was fit and then return to the minors to continue to learn the game. For three weeks that is exactly what he was and then he began to hit and look confident at the plate. Well, I’m surprised.

It will be some months before I get to New York but those horrible glitch days aside I can feel reasonably comfortable that the Yankees can remain in contention until I get there. Looks like another fascinating season ahead. I’m enjoying it. Next, we look at the pitchers in April.

And one more……

Posted on April 4, 2009 by twilightdawning

I said:

"On the bench? I’d expect to see Nick Swisher (33), Melky Cabrera (53), Ramiro Pena (he’s been using 90, I think)."

They said:

"The Yankees finalized their Opening Day roster on Saturday, selecting infielder Ramiro Pena as the club’s 25th man over former American League Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa."

The aspect of this that did catch me unawares was that the Yankees removed Dan Giese from their forty man roster to make room for Pena. Giese was a vital part of the roster last season and only just missed out on the last pitching slot. I hope he catches on with another Major League outfit before too long. He gaves us some vital innings last year.

Another Yankees prediction comes true……..

Posted on March 31, 2009 by twilightdawning

From Major League Baseball.com:

"The Yankees continued to finalize what will be their Opening Day roster on Tuesday, informing right-handed reliever Jonathan Albaladejo that he will be heading north to New York.

The decision means that the Yankees will not have a dedicated long reliever to begin the season. Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese and Brett Tomko were all sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, along with catcher Kevin Cash. "

Back to Baseball……..

Posted on March 31, 2009 by twilightdawning

With the new season almost upon us, it’s time to catch up on what’s been happening in Spring Training and beyond……

The Yankees had the worst news going into Spring Training as the detail broke that Alex Rodriguez had used steroids whilst with his previous club, Texas Rangers. Rodriguez, in a fair world, should be serving a lengthy suspension but because of the time in which this happened no punitive action has been taken.

Fortunately / unfortunately, it was revealed that A-Rod was carrying a hip problem and would need surgery resulting in him being out of the mix for two-three months. This enabled the rest of the team to get on with the matter in hand without the spotlight caused by their team-mate’s behaviour.

Being able to concentrate on baseball served them well and the Yankees have produced the record of all those in the "Grapefruit League" (training teams based in Florida). They’ve won 20, lost 10 and tied 1.

What does this mean for the team we’ll see for the first series of the regular season?

The injured Alex Rodriguez will be replaced by Cody Ransom who has hit .262 in the Spring. Back-up for that position? Well, my money would be on either Ramiro Pena or Angel Berroa. Both were non-roster invitees to training. Berroa has hit well but Pena looks the better in the field.

Last year’s bright hopes, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes were both re-assigned to minor league camp some time ago. Hughes had a good Spring and is unfortunate. Kennedy will probably hawk his attitude in another town if he wants to get back to the Majors.

Suprise of the Spring was Japanese left-hander, Kei Igawa who pitched extremely well giving up only 1 run in his appearances as a reliever. He didn’t make the cut but could also find a job elsewhere.

Brett Gardner beat out Melky Cabrera for the centrefielder’s job. I’m sad about this one but I suspect that Melky’s cards have been marked against him since he was re-assigned to Scranton during August last year.

Last major issue to be decided? Who will pitch in long-relief? Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese and non-roster man Bret Tomko have all been used in that role but it seems that Girardi might not go with any of them. The money is on Jonathan Albaladejo getting the last spot on the roster. He won’t be used for as many innings so this will put extra weight on the starters.

So who will we see?

1B – Mark Teixeira. (25). New signing who has had a quiet Spring.
2B – Robinson Cano (24). Needs to improve on last year.
3B – Cody Ransom (12). Will be over-matched and is a streaky hitter. But he has none of the hoop-la surrounding A-Rod.
SS – Derek Jeter (2). Has had negative press for his fielding performance but I don’t see that he’s as bad as they say.
LF – Johnny Damon (18). Another quiet Spring but he should be ready on the day.
CF – Brett Gardner (11). I’d have preferred to see Melky but I wish him well.
RF – Xavier Nady (22). Beat out Nick Swisher in what was really a no-contest.
C – Jorge Posada (20) / Jose Molina (26). Could still be either of them on opening day. Posada hasn’t seen much time behind the plate in the Spring
DH – Hideki Matsui (55). Coming off surgery. Swisher is waiting in the wings.

Starting Pitchers:

CC Sabathia (52)
AJ Burnett (34)
Chien Ming-Wang (40)
Andy Pettitte (46)
Joba Chamberlain (62)

All of the starters have come through a relatively successful Spring and the rotation is as expected.

Relief Pitchers:

Jonathan Albaladejo (63)
Brian Bruney (38)
Phil Coke (48)
Damaso Marte (43)
Edwar Ramirez (36)
Jose Veras (41)
Mariano Rivera (42)

On the bench? I’d expect to see Nick Swisher (33), Melky Cabrera (53), Ramiro Pena (he’s been using 90, I think).

Prediction? If they can avoid being daunted by the A-Rod circus when he returns, I expect them to win the American League East.

Pettitte and the Yankees ….. the story continues

Posted on January 27, 2009 by twilightdawning

A few weeks ago I said:

"I’d like to see: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Pettitte – Aceves."

In another post I said:

"I think he (Pettitte) should swallow deeply, remember last winter and all the damage that did to his reputation and take the $10 million that the Yankees have on the table. He would be a good no. 4 or no. 5 starter."

Yesterday, Pettitte accepted far less than that offer – albeit in an incentive-laden deal that could net him more than that if the season goes well.

Another piece falls into place in the puzzle.

Yankees in 2009 – Where does it look like they’re going?

Posted on January 21, 2009 by twilightdawning

Having finally laid to rest the 2008 Baseball season, from a Bronx perspective, a week ago, we now begin looking at the team as it will line-up for 2009 or at least as it looks like it will this side of Spring training.

Here are the players that I would expect to dominate the roster:

C – Jorge Posada
1B – Mark Teixeira
2B – Robinson Cano
3B – Alex Rodriguez
SS – Derek Jeter
LF – Johnny Damon / Xavier Nady
CF – Melky Cabrera / Brett Gardner
RF – Xavier Nady / Nick Swisher
DH – Hideki Matsui / Johnny Damon

Infield Bench – Cody Ransom / Juan Miranda
Outfield bench – Brett Gardner / Nick Swisher
Catchers on bench – Jose Molina / Francisco Cervelli

SP1 – CC Sabathia
SP2 – Chien-Ming Wang
SP3 – AJ Burnett
SP4 – Joba Chamberlain
SP5 – Alfredo Aceves / Phil Hughes

Long Relief – Alfredo Aceves / Dan Giese

Middle Relief 1 – Jose Veras
Middle Relief 2 – Brian Bruney
Middle Relief 3 – Phil Coke

Left handed specialist – Damaso Marte
Closer – Mariano Rivera

Other pitchers in the running: Ian Kennedy, Andrew Brackman, Jonathan Albaladejo, David Robertson, Humberto Sanchez.

I’m reckoning that they’ll only carry one of the back-up catchers I’ve mentioned – very probably Molina. Aceves is in the forefront for two spots but could miss out all together. The bullpen, as always, is the least settled prior to the Spring. Nick Swisher could move prior to the start of the season.

The Twilight Dawning 1st Annual Yankees Baseball Awards

Posted on January 14, 2009 by twilightdawning

That’s TWI-D (Twilight Dawning) not TWIB (This week in Baseball)

Using the rules I explained so clearly yesterday, here are the Yankees players who fared best according to my bi-monthly updates during the 2008 season:

Batter of the Year 2008: Alex Rodriguez
Pitcher of the Year 2008: Mike Mussina
Bench player of the Year 2008: Wilson Betemit
Relief Pitcher of the Year 2008: Mariano Rivera

Most appearances without getting mentioned in the Twilight Dawning reports:
Jonathan Albaladejo (7 games)

For the record, here are the total points gained:

Batters

A. Rodriguez 6

B. Abreu 3

J. Damon 2

D. Jeter 1

X. Nady 1

R. Cano 1

H. Matsui 0

J. Posada 0

J. Giambi -1

I. Rodriguez -2

M. Cabrera -3

J. Molina -4

Bench

W. Betemit 6

B. Gardner 2

C. Ransom 2

C. Moeller 1

J. Miranda 1

J. Christian 0

M. Ensberg -1

A. Gonzalez -2

S. Duncan -2

R. Sexson -2

Pitchers

M. Mussina 6

M. Rivera 5

B. Bruney 4

J. Veras 4

K. Farnsworth 3

J. Chamberlain 2

A. Aceves 2

D. Giese 2

P. Coke 2

C.M. Wang 1

Andy Pettitte 0

Carl Pavano 0

E. Ramirez -1

H. Sanchez -1

B. Traber -1

R. Ohlendorf -1

S. Ponson -1

D. Marte -2

C. Britton -2

P. Hughes -2

L. Hawkins -2

K. Igawa -2

D. Robertson -3

I. Kennedy -3

D. Rasner -5

There’s the odd anomaly (Rasner simply wasn’t that bad, he was just simply left on the roster longer than other struggling pitchers!) in this but I think it is surprisingly evocative of the way the season went.

It’s fifteen years since my first trip to Yankee Stadium. It was a privilege to be there again this season and particularly to be present for the final game at the old Stadium. Hopefully, next year will see them back in the post-season.

Almost ready to sum up

Posted on January 13, 2009 by twilightdawning

I’ve now summarised the 2008 baseball season for the New York Yankees position-by-position. Looking back over the season, I listed the most notable batter and pitchers, twice a month, in three categories. Six players (three batters, three pitchers) were recorded as Pluses, Minuses and Surprises. Going back through those lists and awarding one point for being a Plus, subtracting one for being a Minus and adding or deducting one point depending on whether they were a good Surprise or a bad one.

Totalling all this up I’ll reveal tomorrow who is the Twilight Dawning Yankees Batter of the Year, Yankees Pitcher of the Year, Yankees Bench Player of the Year and Yankees Relief Pitcher of the Year.

Yankees – and finally to the designated hitters

Posted on January 8, 2009 by twilightdawning

The Yankees used fifteen players at designated hitter in 2008……….

There was………

Johnny Damon ……. who was predominately the left fielder. He played there in 27 games.

Jason Giambi ……. who was the everyday first baseman for much of the season. He played there in 26 games.

Jorge Posada …… who would have been the everyday catcher if it hadn’t been for injury. He played there in 15 games.

Alex Rodriguez…. who was the everyday third baseman. He played there when he was recovering from injury……that was 7 games

Xavier Nady….. who took over in leftfield for most of the second half of the season. He was the DH on 7 occasions.

Bobby Abreu….. who was the everyday rightfielder. He was the DH on 4 occasions.

Chad Moeller…… a player looking for a slot in the line-up. Particularly in the second half when there was one catcher too many. 2 games.

Ivan Rodriguez…… not the player they expected at catcher, so occasionally he was used at DH. Again, just 2 games.

Derek Jeter….. occasionally even the captain / shortstop needs to do half duty…… 2 games

Justin Christian…. found time in the outfield harder to come by so he was moved to DH……. 2 games.

Shelley Duncan…… didn’t live up to expectations at 1B…… 1 game

Morgan Ensberg……. another failed first base experiment…….. 1 game

Wilson Betemit…….. the consummate bench player…… 1 game

Richie Sexson….. maybe he’ll hit more home runs without the defensive responsibilities….. 1 game

All of which shows that Girardi regards Designated Hitter as some kind of bonus role for the weak and / or recovering player he can’t slot in anywhere else. This is fine when you’re a manager in the National League where the DH only becomes an issue for the half-a-dozen inter-league games at an American League stadium which are such a pesky nuisance. However, it really doesn’t work in the American League. Whether you like the Designated Hitter or not (and I do) you have to give the player in that position some kind of consistency – and use a fit player. The only player who came close to being consistently used there was also someone carrying a debilitating medical problem awaiting attention……….

Hideki Matsui (93 games). 66 of these were at DH. Matsui’s days when he was able to be a good leftfielder seem to be behind him now. He will become a useful designated hitter if he can still hit with power…. and that remains to be seen but he will need to be a different proposition in 2009 than he was in 2008. In 2008, his slugging average was .424. This was a career low for Matsui and only 7th amongst Yankees who appeared in more than half of the games of the season. Whether the Yankees should be guiding Matsui towards retirement rather than designated hitter remains to be seen. Honouring someone who’s done good service for the team is one thing but we can’t afford to do this in the active lineup unless he comes off his September surgery vastly improved.

But who will we use at designated hitter if Matsui doesn’t work out. Whether the obvious candidate seems to be Nick Swisher, who looks peculiarly surplus to requirement, now that we have Teixeira at first base. Johnny Damon would have been destined there if we had done the sensible thing and re-signed Bobby Abreu – but that looks increasingly unlikely. Brett Gardner will need to find playing time somewhere …. but he’s scarcely in the big hitting designated hitter mold that I’m arguing for…….

So Matsui it is…… with reservations.