twilightdawning

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

Dark Days at Yankee Stadium

Posted on July 6, 2008 by twilightdawning

So after the inter-league play thrust them back into contention, the Yankees have found it tough again against their regular American League opponents. The younger Steinbrenners are now unhappy with their offense and this time they’re right:

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – June

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG

Duncan, Shelley 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 2.000

Rodriguez, Alex 101 24 37 23 6 0 9 17 19 0 2 5 .366 .693

Damon, Johnny 102 12 37 10 4 2 0 11 15 0 0 5 .363 .441

Giambi, Jason 82 16 25 19 3 1 6 12 18 0 0 1 .305 .585

Jeter, Derek 110 20 33 10 8 0 2 12 13 2 0 1 .300 .427

Cano, Robinson 101 13 29 14 7 0 2 2 6 0 2 0 .287 .416

Matsui, Hideki 61 6 17 8 1 0 1 8 8 0 0 0 .279 .344

Moeller, Chad 11 2 3 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .273 .545

Posada, Jorge 63 5 17 9 5 0 2 13 13 0 1 0 .270 .444

Betemit, Wilson 45 9 12 9 4 0 3 1 14 0 1 0 .267 .556

Molina, Jose 35 4 9 4 2 0 0 3 8 2 1 0 .257 .314

Abreu, Bobby 103 15 26 17 6 0 3 12 14 0 0 6 .252 .398

Cabrera, Melky 102 8 21 8 2 0 1 12 16 1 0 3 .206 .255

Christian, Justin 15 2 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .200 .267

Rasner, Darrell 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 .000 .000

Pettitte, Andy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000

Ohlendorf, Ross 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000

Chamberlain, Joba 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 .000 .000

Wang, Chien-Ming 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000 .000

Gonzalez, Alberto 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000

Mussina, Mike 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000

Ponson, Sidney 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 .000 .000

Gardner, Brett 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .000 .000

Pluses

Alex Rodriguez. With the bat he is once again the best player on the staff. He has hit 9 home runs in June well ahead of everyone on the team including:

Jason Giambi. No longer a surprise. Whether it was the mustache or just the right moment, Giambi broke out of the funk he was in and has become one of the best players on the team. .305 on the month with 6 home runs

Johnny Damon. Mr Damon has proved his ability and his commitment to the team over and over again this 
season. .363 batting average on the month even if his power numbers haven’t really been there.

Minuses

Melky Cabrera. Defensively solid but not pulling his weight with the bat. On the month, .206 batting, .255 slugging. It has to improve.

Alberto Gonzalez. Alberto’s time has almost passed. It’s hard for the Yankees to keep him around. He’s solid enough on defence but with Jeter and Rodriguez ahead of him, he needs to be able to pinch hit. 0 for 9 on the month settles the argument.

Jose Molina. Simply hasn’t repeated his performance of last year. If they decided to reduce the staff to two catchers, they would keep him but it would seem a little unfair on Moeller.

Surprises

Justin Christian. He came, he went. He did well on his debut but then he was gone too quickly. Gardner, his replacement, is not exactly setting the league alight. Thankfully but regrettably, injuries means that one or both of them is going to a real chance to prove himself.

Robinson Cano. Don’t how it became the case that Cano hitting is a surprise but the slump had gone on a long time. Now he’s collecting multi-hit games.

Bobby Abreu. It’s all gone quiet. With Matsui and maybe Damon injured, Abreu needs to rise above that .252 he’s produced on the month.

I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy – Baseball update

Posted on June 21, 2008 by twilightdawning

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Boston	46	30	.605	–
Tampa Bay	43	30	.589	1.5
NY Yankees	40	34	.541	5.0
Baltimore	38	34	.528	6.0
Toronto	35	40	.467	10.5

The Yankees are enjoying their best run of the season. They’ve simultaneously put themselves in the reckoning for the division title and the wild card. So who has made the difference?

Pluses

Johnny Damon. I’m still reeling from the day that Damon went six-for-six. He was the first Yankee to do this since 1934. He’s batting .331 on the season and .434 on the month. Last year, he seemed to be fading. This year he has bounced right back.

Alex Rodriguez. 14 home runs on the season. Batting .431 on the month. Slugging .629 on the season, .831 on the month. He’s on a real tear.

Jorge Posada. He’s back. He’s more than holding his own. He’s lifted the weight off Molina. He’s being patient at the plate. ‘Nuff said.

Mariano Rivera. Early in June, he encountered his first wobbles of the season. Two home runs in consecutive games. He’s overcome that problem. His ERA on the month is now back down to 2.00. He’s just picked up his twentieth save of the season.

Jose Veras. Prone to injuries and inconsistent since he joined the Yankees, I’d placed him down amongst the also-rans and was looking forward to the day when the Yankees could consider letting him go. 2 wins and a 1.93 ERA on the month so far has turned all that around.

Mike Mussina. Despite yesterday’s defeat against the Reds, you have to acknowledge that the aging Moose has exceeded all expectations. Like Damon, there were real doubts about him coming into the season. That he has 10 wins prior to All Star day is simply outstanding.

Minuses

Melky Cabrera. He’s still inconsistent at the plate. .215 on the month. His fielding makes him a regular but he’s number 4 of the regular outfielders at the moment.

Bobby Abreu. He’s had a pretty good year but the last two weeks have been his worst – just when the team are at their best.

Alberto Gonzalez. He was called up to replace Shelley Duncan who was not getting any playing time and must be fast running out of chances. Shame is the same can be said for Gonzalez. 5 at-bats since his call up and he’s just swinging at air.

Edwar Ramirez. He has gone from a plus to a minus very quickly. In 6 games in June, he has produced a 9.00 ERA. Fortunately, the rest of the bullpen is more than holding its own but he needs to turn it around.

Surprises

Jason Giambi. He has consistently hit for power since he pulled himself out of his early season funk but now he’s boosting his average too. .314 average in June so far.

Chad Moeller. The big surprise is that he is giving Cashman a reason to keep him in the Bronx and to carry three catchers. He’s proving a good pinch-hitter and it seems that until we’re 100% sure that Posada is going to have no more problems, then we’re not going to risk losing him entirely.

Wilson Betemit. He’s bounced back from injury and he’s holding his own. At the start of the year, given the choice between Duncan, Gonzalez and Betemit for the utility infielder, I would have placed Betemit third. Now, he is showing he is the most useful by some distance.

LaTroy Hawkins. He is doing well in June but the surprise is that the Yankees aren’t trusting him with the ball. So early in his time at the Yankees, this doesn’t bode well for a long term future in the Bronx.

Chris Britton. Like Bruney, he achieved more than expected and then got injured. His 1.29 ERA (0.00 in June) would hopefully have led to a regular spot but he’ll have to prove himself all over again, now.

Dan Giese. Where did this guy come from? Patterson was called up for one day and then replaced by Giese. It seemed like Giese wasn’t going to stay but he had just been called up to allow Patterson time to rest without relying on the relatively small number of pitchers we’re carrying. However Giese did better than Patterson had and just kept over-performing. Tonight, he has a start because of the injury to Chien-Ming Wang. I’m surprised.

Joba Chamberlain. Well, he still not making wins but he’s adapting quicker than I’d anticipated and he’s not losing. It’s enough for now.

Darrell Rasner. Seems to have lost his consistency. Hasn’t had the run support that Mussina has had but his head is beginning to drop a little and we need to take care of this guy if the rotation is going to hold together.

Billy Traber. I thought we’d seen the last of Traber but because of the injury situation, he’s got another chance. We need him to take that chance.

Talkin’ Baseball (part 2) – The pitchers

Posted on June 2, 2008 by twilightdawning

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – May

Name                    IP  H RA ER BB SO W L Sv NOP NOS    ERA   OBA

Rivera, Mariano       14.0  7  1  1  2 13 1 1  7  50  48   0.64  .146

Ramirez, Edwar        11.2  8  1  1  6 10 1 0  0  49  43   0.77  .186

Rasner, Darrell       25.0 19  5  5  3 14 3 1  0  95  92   1.80  .209

Britton, Chris         4.2  1  1  1  4  0 0 0  0  19  15   1.93  .067

Chamberlain, Joba     12.1  8  4  4  8 16 0 1  0  52  44   2.92  .186

Mussina, Mike         29.0 34 20 12  5 21 5 1  0 126 120   3.72  .283

Veras, Jose           11.2  9  5  5  2  9 0 0  0  46  44   3.86  .205

Pettitte, Andy        29.0 36 14 14  6 30 2 2  0 128 121   4.34  .300

Farnsworth, Kyle      12.0 13  6  6  4  8 0 0  0  50  46   4.50  .295

Wang, Chien-Ming      39.1 37 22 22 18 18 1 2  0 171 153   5.03  .248

Hawkins, LaTroy        8.1  7  5  5  3  8 0 1  0  34  31   5.40  .226

Kennedy, Ian          18.2 18 14 13  7 11 0 1  0  82  74   6.27  .250

Ohlendorf, Ross       11.2 17 11  9  5 11 1 0  0  57  52   6.94  .327

Albaladejo, Jonathan   5.0  9  4  4  3  5 0 1  0  24  21   7.20  .450

Igawa, Kei             3.0 11  6  6  0  0 0 1  0  20  20  18.00  .579

New York Yankees – Pitching – whole season

Name                    IP  H RA ER BB SO W L Sv NOP NOS   ERA  OBA

Rivera, Mariano       25.0 11  1  1  2 24 1 1 15  87  85  0.36 .131

Ramirez, Edwar        16.0 11  1  1  7 15 1 0  0  67  59  0.56 .186

Bruney, Brian         11.1  7  2  2  6 12 1 0  1  48  41  1.59 .175

Rasner, Darrell       25.0 19  5  5  3 14 3 1  0  95  92  1.80 .209

Britton, Chris         4.2  1  1  1  4  0 0 0  0  19  15  1.93 .067

Chamberlain, Joba     23.2 16  6  6 11 30 1 2  0  96  85  2.28 .190

Veras, Jose           11.2  9  5  5  2  9 0 0  0  46  44  3.86 .205

Albaladejo, Jonathan  13.2 15  6  6  6 13 0 1  0  58  52  3.95 .294

Pettitte, Andy        65.2 77 33 30 17 50 5 5  0 285 265  4.11 .294

Wang, Chien-Ming      78.1 72 36 36 29 45 6 2  0 332 302  4.14 .242

Mussina, Mike         61.1 70 38 29 10 33 8 4  0 261 247  4.26 .286

Farnsworth, Kyle      25.1 28 12 12  9 22 0 1  0 106  97  4.26 .295

Traber, Billy          8.0  9  4  4  5  6 0 0  0  38  31  4.50 .290

Ohlendorf, Ross       31.2 38 23 21 14 31 1 1  0 146 131  5.97 .290

Hawkins, LaTroy       24.0 25 18 18 10 15 1 1  0 101  91  6.75 .278

Kennedy, Ian          37.2 41 32 31 24 26 0 3  0 177 152  7.41 .279

Hughes, Phil          22.0 34 23 22 13 13 0 4  0 110  96  9.00 .362

Igawa, Kei             3.0 11  6  6  0  0 0 1  0  20  20 18.00 .579

Pluses

Mariano Rivera. There is never going to be enough to say about this guy. 25 innings pitched and 1 run given up. And he does this season after season. A marvellous May to follow on from an astounding April.

Edwar Ramirez. Wasn’t reckoned good enough to make the opening day roster but has hardly put a foot wrong since being called up. 0.77 ERA in May continues the trend.

Mike Mussina. Took five wins in May after a struggle in April. The surprise is that I thought his performance in April was as good as the Yankees could hope from the aging starter.

Minuses

Kei Igawa. What a washout this guy has been. Huge contract. 2nd year at the club. Fourth visit to the majors. One weak game (3 innings, 6 runs) and then back to Scranton.

Ian Kennedy. One good start but then back to the standard he has produced most of the season and now to the disabled list. He had a slightly better May, statistically speaking, but it was still pretty horrible.

LaTroy Hawkins. Was meant to be one of the mainstays of the bullpen this year but the 8 1/3 innings he was given throughout the whole month show how much confidence in him has already begun to slip.

Surprises

Kyle Farnsworth. Perhaps Mr Farnsworth is finally coming good. The statistics don’t quite capture it but he has settled well this month and has been dependable in the majority of his appearances.

Joba Chamberlain. He will be promoted (if that’s the word) to the starting rotation in early June. It’s a surprising risk to take brought about by ownership pressure. We’ll see what happens.

Chris Britton. The surprise is that this guy has not become a regular on the roster yet. He is a frequent flyer between the majors and triple-A despite a 1.93 ERA this month. Surely he is a better bet on current form than Hawkins and as good as Veras. Hope they let him stay around for a while this time.

Talkin’ Baseball

Posted on June 2, 2008 by twilightdawning

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – May

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Matsui, Hideki 100 21 35 13 7 0 2 10 12 0 0 0 .350 .480 .409
Betemit, Wilson 21 3 7 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 .333 .571 .333
Abreu, Bobby 100 17 33 20 8 2 4 13 21 0 0 4 .330 .570 .407
Giambi, Jason 73 12 23 14 6 0 6 13 14 0 1 0 .315 .644 .446
Damon, Johnny 98 15 30 13 6 0 3 5 11 0 0 4 .306 .459 .340
Cano, Robinson 95 13 28 12 7 0 2 5 6 0 1 1 .295 .432 .333
Rodriguez, Alex 41 7 12 10 4 0 3 7 8 0 0 5 .293 .610 .408
Jeter, Derek 103 18 27 11 4 1 2 9 17 0 1 4 .262 .379 .336
Cabrera, Melky 94 4 22 12 5 0 1 4 10 1 1 0 .234 .319 .270
Molina, Jose 58 5 12 4 4 0 0 2 12 3 1 0 .207 .276 .230
Moeller, Chad 32 2 6 5 0 0 0 3 8 0 0 0 .188 .188 .278
Duncan, Shelley 43 4 7 6 1 0 1 3 11 0 1 0 .163 .256 .213
Ensberg, Morgan 31 2 5 1 0 0 0 4 10 0 0 1 .161 .161 .257
Gonzalez, Alberto 20 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 .150 .150 .190

New York Yankees - Batting - Season to date

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SB BA SLG OBP
Matsui, Hideki 190 31 64 26 12 0 6 23 22 0 .337 .495 .417
Posada, Jorge 63 8 19 11 6 1 1 3 11 0 .302 .476 .333
Abreu, Bobby 208 29 62 36 12 3 7 21 45 5 .298 .486 .362
Damon, Johnny 196 34 57 25 16 1 6 23 29 8 .291 .474 .364
Rodriguez, Alex 132 21 38 21 11 0 7 13 27 6 .288 .530 .365
Jeter, Derek 197 27 53 25 7 3 2 11 24 4 .269 .365 .321
Cabrera, Melky 181 19 48 24 7 0 6 15 24 3 .265 .403 .320
Betemit, Wilson 34 3 9 3 2 0 1 0 9 1 .265 .412 .286
Moeller, Chad 52 7 13 7 2 0 1 6 12 0 .250 .346 .339
Giambi, Jason 146 25 35 27 9 0 11 28 25 1 .240 .527 .380
Cano, Robinson 201 19 44 19 10 0 4 12 20 1 .219 .328 .269
Molina, Jose 110 9 24 6 11 0 0 2 17 0 .218 .318 .230
Gonzalez, Alberto 42 4 9 1 2 0 0 4 7 0 .214 .262 .283
Ensberg, Morgan 74 6 15 4 0 0 1 6 22 1 .203 .243 .263
Duncan, Shelley 56 7 9 6 2 0 1 7 13 0 .161 .250 .250
Stewart, Chris 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .000 .000

So as May comes to an end, time for another look at how the New York

Yankees are doing so far.

Pluses

Hideki Matsui. Hugely consistent season for Matsui so far. The whisper

before the season was that perhaps he was a year too old. He's

disproved that point of view. He could do with hitting for a little

more power but that aside it's hard to fault him.

Bobby Abreu. .330 for the month has raised his season average to .298.

4 home runs on the month and .570 slugging percentage and he's been

there in the clutch, picking up some vital hits

Jason Giambi. .315 in May and 6 home runs to bring him to 11 so far.

I'm surprised but he seems to finally pulling his weight. Performance

in the field has also been more than you'd expect.

Minuses

Jose Molina. Filling in for the injured Posada, Molina who had previously

been solid has been only .207 on the month and there has been little to

choose between him and Moeller defensively, leading him to be used only

2 days out of 3. It will good to see Jorge back and lift the weight off

Molina because he's not handling it.

Melky Cabrera. .270 OBP in May and a poor batting performance and

little power has undone the great April he had. Time for him to bounce

back and show his mettle.

Morgan Ensberg. Morgan reverted to type in May with little at the plate

and even losing his previous patience which used to guarantee him

plenty of walks. He was released on the 1st of June but we have little

infield depth with or without him.

Surprises

Wilson Betemit. Preferred to Alberto Gonzalez when he recovered from

injury. Gonzalez caught the bus back to Scranton. Betemit has been

useful at 1b as well at 3rd and has a good average on the month. Maybe

more players should go to the opticians.

Derek Jeter. Hasn't recovered from being hit by pitch earlier in the

month. Yankees need him to improve if they are to close the gap on

Tampa and Boston

Shelley Duncan. Just surprising that he's still around. Last season's

power promise has disappeared and there doesn't seem to be anything

else to offer.

Designated for assignment

Posted on June 1, 2008 by twilightdawning

In April, I said:

“Morgan Ensberg (11). Another surprise name. And another journeyman who is unlikely to be in the post-season in 2008 whether the Yankees make it there or not. Recently with the Astros and Padres, he is patient at the plate and will draw walks but it’s hard when that’s the best thing you can think to say about him.

Scott Patterson (no number allocated). A surprising exclusion. His time will come.”

Today, the Yankees released Ensberg and called up Patterson who is actually pitching against Minnesota at this moment, as I write. I am therefore officially clever and I should be transported to Yankee Stadium, by means of jaunting, as a reward.

Baseball update

Posted on May 23, 2008 by twilightdawning

The season so far has not been kind to the New York Yankees:

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Boston	31	19	.620	–
Tampa Bay	27	20	.574	2.5
Baltimore	24	22	.522	5.0
Toronto	24	25	.490	6.5
NY Yankees	22	25	.468	7.5

It hasn’t been a case that other teams have performed better than expected. Tampa Bay aside, it has been a fairly predictable season so far. The Yankees are just simply not punching their weight. A lot has been said about their lack-lustre starting pitching and I will say more about that later in the week.
However, it needs also to be noted that their batting isn’t living upto its vaunted reputation. We noted before the season began that injuries to seasoned pros like Jorge Posada would have to be expected. Leaving those injuries also to one-side, we note that six of the fourteen offensive players that they have used in May are batting below .200.

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – May (Below .200 BA)

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG
Duncan, Shelley 31 2 6 3 1 0 0 1 8 0 1 0 .194 .226
Cabrera, Melky 66 1 12 7 3 0 1 4 7 0 0 0 .182 .273
Moeller, Chad 22 1 4 2 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 .182 .182
Ensberg, Morgan 29 2 5 1 0 0 0 4 9 0 0 1 .172 .172
Molina, Jose 36 3 6 1 2 0 0 2 9 2 1 0 .167 .222
Gonzalez, Alberto 19 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 .158 .158

Of these only Cabrera would normally be considered a regular but two or three of these guys are having 
to be used in some combination every day of the week and it is quite simple to see that elevated from 
the bench they are not hitting well. Ensberg and Moeller have settled into the kind of form, with the bat, 
that has been the hallmark of their careers. Alberto Gonzalez was doing well until hastily sent back to 
Scranton and then recalled and then thrust into an uncertain role with the A-Rod injury. Duncan was a 
useful bat last season whilst he had power but this season he has no power, no nothing.

As Alex Rodriguez returns, it is obviously time to shake up the bench. Injuries are going to occur through
out the year with the battery and infield looking most vulnerable. There is not enough to rely upon here on 
current form.

Take me out to the Ball Game

Posted on April 28, 2008 by twilightdawning

So another Baseball update…… which of the New York Yankees are doing well, badly or surprising you, Darren?

Pluses

Mariano Rivera. We expect Mo to be good but this year so far he’s shaking off his advancing years. 9 games, 10 innings pitched, 4 hits, NO RUNS. 7 saves out of 7 opportunities.

Joba Chamberlain. It should be noted that Mariano Rivera started life as a starter and was so-so before being transformed into first setup man and then closer. Whatever Hank Steinbrenner thinks, Chamberlain is a fine setup man at the moment and there seems no reason to rock the boat. 9 games also, 10.1 innings and a 1.74 ERA. He’s endured one wobble and was back to normal yesterday afternoon.

Brian Bruney. Our third excellent relief pitcher. 1.59 ERA, 9 games, 11.1 innings. Also endured a wobble but there was worse to follow which makes Mr Bruney both a plus and a minus….. (see below)………

Chien-Ming Wang. 5-0, 3.23 ERA, 39 innings. We need to see more strong starters but at the moment Wang is Mr Dependable. He out-duelled Sabathia to give us an opportunity to tie the series against the Indians.

Melky Cabrera. .291 BA, .506 SLG, 5 HRs. While two many bats are quiet, Melky is carrying his share of the weight. Yesterday, his home run was the only thing separating us from Cleveland in the batting column.

Alberto Gonzalez. .316 BA. I expected to see Gonzalez back in the Bronx in September as New York hoped that someone might want to offer him a roster spot in 2009 and to see what he was worth. Instead, the early injury to Jeter put him into the spotlight much earlier than that and at the moment he looks a good utility man who can fill most of the spots in the infield with ease. He’s younger than Betemit and whilst its difficult to see how he would fit for New York in the long term, he is surpassing my expectations and I hope he stays around.

Minuses

Ian Kennedy. 8.53 ERA, 2 losses and less than 5 innings per start. Less was expected of Kennedy than Phil Hughes (see below) which is handy because he is worse. Last year, he looked to have potential but at the moment that has dissipated. Can’t see how much longer he will last in the starting rotation on this form but who will they bring in to fill his spot whilst he sorts himself out.

Phil Hughes. 7.85 ERA, 3 losses and less than 4 innings per start. The burden of being the guy that the Yankees refused to give up must be weighing heavily on Hughes at the moment. He inspires slightly more confidence than Kennedy but not much.

LaTroy Hawkins. 8.56 ERA. His ERA exists to stop Hughes or Kennedy being bottom of that list. In Spring Training, he chose no.22 and drew ribbing for trying to follow Clemens. The Bleacher creatures got on him when that proved too much for him and he swapped to 21 which they have reserved to be retired in honour of Paul O’Neill. Shirt number issues aside, or perhaps partially because of them, he seems to have lost his way and seems to be handy for nothing than filling innings in games we have already lost.

Robinson Cano. .158 BA. .216 OBP. Don’t really want to put him here on this part of my list but at the moment he has got me scratching my head. Girardi has observed that he always a slow starter but the problem with that is he had such a strong spring training. Perhaps a few days off might fix it and at least we have Gonzalez to fill in if it comes to that.

Jason Giambi. .177 BA. He’s beginning to hit for power (5 HRs now) but he’ll need to boost his batting average by at least 50 points and be much more consistent at first base before I’ll be pleased to see him still in a Yankees shirt.

Brian Bruney (as above). Every other year, he has begun solidly and then struggled as the season went on. This year, he starts solidly and then falls covering a ball at firstbase and damages his foot. He might be gone for the season and I’m not sure who replaces him.

Surprises

Jorge Posada. .302 BA. Looked like he’d shaken off the injury but is now headed for the disabled list for the first time.

Jose Molina. .267 BA. Managed to stay off the disabled list and will now be every day until Posada is able to comeback.

Billy Traber. 4.50 ERA. Only left-handed reliever on the roster and was holding his own but now he’s headed for Scranton. Strange decision.

Shelley Duncan. .091 BA, no home runs. I was surprised how short his first stay in the Bronx was but I’m even more surprised to see him back. Ensberg continues to hold his own at 1b and 3b and offensively and Duncan’s power seems to have disappeared.
He’s been gifted another chance but he needs to do something quickly.

Chad Moeller. .350 BA. Designated for assignment on Friday. It looks like, with the injury to Posada, the Yankees may have moved too quickly. We’ll see how the next few days workout – whether we see him again or whether he is headed elsewhere.

Mike Mussina. 2-3, 4.54 ERA. Despite Steinbrenner’s diatribe, close inspection shows that Mussina is contributing and perhaps doing a little better than I expected. I really saw him as the fifth starter this season so if he can continue as he is, he’d been on target for 12 wins and I could stand that. The younger pitchers are the bigger issue.

So the season so far. 26 games, 13 wins, 13 losses and only 1 1/2 games out.

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Baltimore	14	11	.560	–
Tampa Bay	14	11	.560	–
Boston	15	12	.556	–
NY Yankees	13	13	.500	1.5
Toronto	11	15	.423	3.5

It’s All in the Game

Posted on April 16, 2008 by twilightdawning

Boston	9	6	.600	–
Baltimore	8	6	.571	0.5
Toronto	8	6	.571	0.5
NY Yankees	8	7	.533	1.0
Tampa Bay	6	8	.429	2.5

So as the Yankees go into a two game home series against Boston, it couldn’t be any closer. Here’s hopin’……

Baseball – the story so far……

Posted on April 14, 2008 by twilightdawning

Well, the baseball season has begun and after thirteen games the New York Yankees lie bottom of their division. This is not as bad as it sounds. Just two days ago, we were pushing for the top slot but two consecutive defeats against Boston leaves us with a 6-7 record so far. So good points and bad points……?

Pluses

Chien-Ming Wang (p). 22 innings pitched. 3 wins – no losses. 1.23 ERA. 1 complete game. Wang continues to be our strongest starter which we have needed since the bats have been quiet. He’s worked his way out of a couple of difficult situations but it’s been smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Joba Chamberlain (rp). 4 appearances, 5.1 innings. No runs. It’s like last post-season never happened. He’s near untouchable once more.

Brian Bruney (rp). You’re always left wondering which Mr. Bruney will turn-up. So far, it is the guy who gets people out. He also gave us a surprise start. 7 innings. 2 hits. no runs.

Melky Cabrera (cf). Despite a two-day suspension, Cabrera continues to be wonderfully consistent when available. 2 home runs and a .290 BA

Minuses

Ian Kennedy (p). Was supposed to be better than this. 13.50 ERA gained in a game when we were very glad to still have Albaladejo around (see below).

Phil Hughes (p). Was supposed to be better than this. 9.00 ERA and still looking for his first win after 3 starts. The young pitchers are wobbling.

Kyle Farnsworth (rp) As predicted. At the moment, he’s eating up a few innings in games we were on the way to losing but he’s not delivered for too long and the change of manager hasn’t seen a change of performance.

LaTroy Hawkins (rp). Difficult start for Mr Hawkins but it is early days yet. 9.00 ERA in 6 appearances.

Jose Molina (c). Jose Molina became the surprise starting catcher when Posada continued to struggle with health difficulties but his strong performance was no surprise. Now he looks as though he is headed for the disabled list with ligament damage which leaves the catching spot looking barren unless Posada improves physically.

Derek Jeter (ss). Noticeable only by his absence through injury after a quiet first few days. We need him back and quickly.

Jason Giambi (dh / 1b) No surprises here. His first noticeable contribution was a fielding error. His .107 BA says it all.

Surprises

Billy Traber (rp). Also 4 appearances. 3.1 innings and no runs. I don’t how long this can last but our wouldbe left-hand specialist has already delivered more than I expected if he starts to lose it tomorrow.

Andy Pettitte (p). Came back from DL earlier than I’d expected. And settled into his normal role without much hesitation despite all the off-season problems. 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA isn’t world-beating but it is more than expected at this stage.

Jonathan Albaladejo (rp). One of the few on the opening day roster I wouldn’t have guessed. Made a strong early debut when Kennedy’s first start fell apart. And then he was gone….. back to Scranton (AAA).

Robinson Cano (2b). Cano had a strong spring but so far his bat hasn’t shown up since the start of the regular season. He’s usually so consistent too.

Alberto Gonzalez (ss). Shortstop looked set with Jeter installed and Betemit as occasional backup. Jeter’s injury meant we had to consider the options and Gonzalez was brought up from Scranton (AAA) as being defensively stronger than Betemit. His .385 average since arriving makes this all the better and all the more surprising. Makes Betemit’s future a little questionable.

Shelley Duncan (1b). I said there were question marks in the long term for this guy but nobody expected him to be off the 25-man roster within a week. Ensberg is delivering (surprise!) and Giambi is paid too much. It may mean that Duncan is the odd man out and not just in the short term.

Opening Day Roster

Posted on March 31, 2008 by twilightdawning

So still on the baseball theme. After several weeks of Spring training games the Yankees have named their opening day roster. Let’s have a look at the runners and riders:

Pitching Staff

Jonathan Albaladejo (63) . A little bit of an unknown quantity for me. Right-handed relief pitcher who was traded for during the off-season in the Tyler Clippard deal. Clippard was going nowhere in New York so Albaladejo, who is a better fit for a relief position by all accounts, could be a good acquisition. 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA at Washington when he came up towards the end of last year. Blew his only save opportunity.

Brian Bruney (33). Great on his day. Dreadful when he isn’t. And notoriously inconsistent. Has done well to be still around. Hope he makes the best of the opportunity.

Joba Chamberlain (62). He was going to make the starting rotation. And then he wasn’t. He comes back in roughly the same role as last year but with some of the pitch restrictions lifted but also with some of the memories of his struggles in the post-season. Only time will tell.

LaTroy Hawkins (21). Coming in from Colorado as a free agent and the fourth right-hander on the roster. Last year was a good year for him after two seasons moving around and posting an ERA over 4. NYY are expecting a lot from him. It’ll be interesting to see if he delivers.

Kyle Farnsworth (48). Another right-hand reliever. And one that the Bronx crowd will feel that they have seen enough of after two sub-par years. It’s hard to believe he would be back again if it wasn’t for Joe Girardi taking over as manager and all the talk of their strong relationship when Farnsworth played with him before. I’m not holding my breath.

Phil Hughes (34). First of the starting pitchers on my list. Huge expectations which have been balanced a little by Chamberlain’s emergence. Improved during his short tenure in the job last season, finishing with 5 wins.

Ian Kennedy (31). Another young right-handed starter. Made just 3 appearances last year, finishing with a very solid 1.89 ERA. It will be interesting to see how he fares in May & June after his pitches are better understood by their opponents.

Mike Mussina (35). The face of experience on the starting staff, coming off a very rocky year. His figures on paper don’t look much worse for last year than some of those preceding years but the pen and ink doesn’t tell the full story. There’s a legitimate question here as to whether he can still cut it at this level and if he doesn’t it leaves precious little hiding place for the young arms, bearing in mind Pettitte’s troubled off-season.

Ross Ohlendorf (39). Texan who made six good appearance at the tail-end of last year and who had a good Spring. More of the same please.

Mariano Rivera (42). What can I say? I’ve watched a lot of baseball (contemporary and historic) over the last 20 years and Rivera is the best relief pitcher I’ve ever seen. He’s getting older but close to his best will still be better than anyone else.

Billy Traber (61). This one I didn’t anticipate. Journeyman left-handed reliever who was released by Washington after two not-very-impressive years on and off their roster. Says more about the lack of left-handed relievers in Spring Training than anything else. We’ve fooled ourselves before that ordinary pitchers can suddenly become great. Can anyone say Aaron Small?

Chien Ming-Wang (40). No. 1 starter going into the season and deservedly so for this guy coming off two 19 win seasons. Can he make 20 this time around? Slight question mark over his big occasion temperament?

Batting staff

Jose Molina (26). Solid back-up catcher who can spell Posada. Hard to imagine anyone better in the role.

Jorge Posada (20). Great season last year but he is another year older and coming off a slow Spring. Good tandem with Molina even if he doesn’t repeat.

Wilson Betemit (14). Can be used in a range of positions and is also a useful bat off the bench. Good to see him back but glad we’re not relying on him to be every day at 3b.

Robinson Cano (24). 25 years old and you won’t find many better fielding-and-hitting players in that position in the major leagues. A lot will rest on him continuing to produce.

Shelley Duncan (17). A clutch of home runs and good attitude marked his arrival in the Majors last year. His batting average dipped in the later days of the season and, for me, he is still a question mark for the long-term. 1b is wide-open and that is not necessarily a good thing.

Morgan Ensberg (11). Another surprise name. And another journeyman who is unlikely to be in the post-season in 2008 whether the Yankees make it there or not. Recently with the Astros and Padres, he is patient at the plate and will draw walks but it’s hard when that’s the best thing you can think to say about him.

Derek Jeter (2). Mr Consistency. A great shortstop and a vital part of the team. If he does well so will the Yankees

Alex Rodriguez (13). He wasn’t coming back but now he’s here for the rest of his career or until next time he changes his mind. The Canseco story might disturb him and he has to win back fans who were never really with him in the first place. We’ll see how it goes……

Bobby Abreu (53). His 101 RBIs and 25 stolen bases last year were a vital component that is easy to overlook. Solid, dependable and a great advantage for us in all that he brings to the team

Melky Cabrera (28). It’s easy to forget that he’s still the 4th youngest player on the roster. 2007 wasn’t quite 2006 for Melky but he means that it would be hard to improve on two parts of the outfield.

Johnny Damon (18). Like Mussina, he had a sub-par 2007. Can he come back to his previous standard? Does he still have the desire for the game that he had during his Boston years? Another question mark.

Hideki Matsui (55). The recently married Mr. Matsui. Slow start to Spring training and advancing years but it’s still good to have him on the team.

Jason Giambi (25). Hard-to-believe that Giambi would still be in the Bronx if it wasn’t for the ridiculous contract that the Yankees gifted him in earlier years. I’d be happier if he wasn’t on the roster but for the team’s sake, I hope he has a better year than his forgettable 2007.

Also around:

Andy Pettitte (46). Back trouble puts him on the disabled list after a difficult and troubling off-season. Can he overcome all that he has brought upon himself? Is he still the pitcher he was even without all the back-story? We’ll have to wait and see a little longer…

Sean Henn (30). Mr Henn gets more chances than most but his left-handed action means he is still in the mix but injured. If and when Traber goes to triple-A, he may get yet another chance but the main question is which team will give him a tryout after that.

Scott Patterson (no number allocated). A surprising exclusion. His time will come.

Kei Igawa, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, Chase Wright. We’ve seen them before. The writing is on the wall as they fail to make the cut.

Darrell Rasner, Jeff Karstens. They were supposed to be the two major candidates for the long-relief spot. Neither of them made it. Who will be in long-relief? Will Karstens return to health? Will Rasner settle for being at Triple-A? Questions, always questions…..

Overall we look a little thin. 1b is a real question and LF is a dilemma. Left-handed relief is very weak. Do we have 5 dependable starters? We need a little luck and one or two new faces if we are going to trouble Boston for the division leadership.

Prediction: Wild Card.