Tag Archives: new york

The Bronx in July – Yankees pitchers

Posted on by
Reply

Releasing Chan Ho Park and signing Kerry Wood looks like a good piece of business for the Yankees right now but before that happened there was July. July when Andy Pettitte went down injured. July when Phil Hughes was relying on high-levels of run support to gain his wins. What was good, bad and indifferent before Park was released?

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – July
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Marte, Damaso 3 0 0 2.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Rivera, Mariano 10 0 8 9.1 7 1 1 0 7 1 0 5 0.96 .206
Logan, Boone 5 0 0 5.0 4 1 1 1 5 0 0 0 1.80 .211
Burnett, A.J. 5 5 0 27.0 24 6 6 9 20 3 1 0 2.00 .242
Sabathia, C.C. 6 6 0 43.0 46 16 11 17 35 4 1 0 2.30 .282
Robertson, David 11 0 2 11.2 8 4 4 5 15 2 1 0 3.09 .200
Moseley, Dustin 5 1 2 16.2 11 6 6 6 9 1 0 0 3.24 .200
Vazquez, Javier 5 5 0 32.1 28 12 12 8 18 3 0 0 3.34 .237
Albaladejo, Jonathan 2 0 1 2.2 2 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 3.38 .222
Park, Chan Ho 9 0 7 10.1 9 6 4 6 9 1 0 0 3.48 .225
Pettitte, Andy 3 3 0 16.1 16 7 7 8 16 2 0 0 3.86 .258
Gaudin, Chad 4 0 2 9.0 10 5 5 3 6 0 0 0 5.00 .286
Hughes, Phil 5 5 0 29.1 31 18 18 7 21 2 2 0 5.52 .270
Chamberlain, Joba 11 0 3 12.2 15 9 9 4 13 0 1 0 6.39 .288
Mitre, Sergio 2 1 1 6.1 8 7 5 2 4 0 1 0 7.11 .308
86 26 26 234.0 219 99 90 77 183 19 7 5 3.46 .251

Good

C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia is rolling towards twenty wins and very little is getting in his way and when something does 90% of the time he finds a way to get the win regardless. His 2.30 ERA on the month was good enough but his resilience shows up in the Wins column where he added four more.

A.J. Burnett. A.J. Burnett had his best month of the season, finishing ahead of Sabathia in ERA and OBA. He still is unlucky in not getting the run support he needs but this month managed to pull in 3 wins

Mariano Rivera. Mo gave up one run this month and that is high by his standards.When the meltdowns come, they are not pretty but they are so very few and far between as he continues to make his way through an amazing and seemingly never-ending career.

Boone Logan. With the injury to Damaso Marte, Logan has become the left-handed specialist out of the bullpen and he is carrying that weight very well. In a very good month for the pitching staff, he was third in ERA.

Bad

Sergio Mitre. Mitre looked like one of the obvious candidates when Pettitte went down with a groin strain but he failed to take his chance and Moseley is now the guy just about hanging on to that slot. His one start was a primary cause of his ERA ballooning to 7.11 this month.

Chad Gaudin. Gaudin continues to be persistently ordinary. He eats up two innings per appearance – mainly in games that the team has already lost but his OBA on the month was only saved from being the highest on the team by Mitre’s disastrous start and his ERA was once more in the five run region.

Phil Hughes. It is hard to call Hughes bad but it really is only the run support he gets from the team that is making the outcomes less ugly. Whilst he managed to have a 2-2 month, his ERA for the month was 5.52 and he rarely manages more than five innings per start.

Joba Chamberlain. It seems so long ago now that he was going to be the next young phenom on the team. It hasn’t worked out that way and July 2010 was a particular low point and if the rumours are to be believed the month when the Yankees almost gave up on him and traded him away.

Surprises

David Robertson. Robertson has regained whatever it was he lost in the early months of the season and has managed 18 strikeouts in his last 11 innings pitched. The increasing stability in the bullpen is largely down to him.

Dustin Moseley. Moseley produced a good first start for the team and some quality outings as a reliever. He lacks consistency but with Aceves, Marte and Pettitte out, we’ll take one good game in two at this stage of the season.

Damaso Marte. Marte only managed three games on the month before being added to the disabled list but let’s not overlook the fact that they were all good performances. He has not had a smooth time with the Yankees. He’s had times when he looked like he couldn’t pitch and too many injuries but I’m not going to be slow pointing up the good stuff.

Jonathan Albaladejo. Albaladejo has had an outstanding season at Scranton and looked like he was finally to be rewarded when he was called up. Whilst it wasn’t the smoothest outing, he recovered but was sent back to the minors the very next day. There are better candidates for reassignment who are still on the roster.

New York Yankees – The Bombers in October / November. Part 4 of 4

Posted on by
Reply

If the Yankees were to win the World Series or even get there, they were going to have to rely heavily on their starting rotation. The problem was that by the time of the ALCS, the Yankees effectively had a three-man rotation. Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte and…………..
This meant that those three guys could not slip up and Rivera had to be as solid as ever and some how or other they had to keep a tight bridge in the late innings before they got to Mo. It couldn’t happen could it…… A round of applause for the Yankees’ pitching.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – October (American League Championship Series)
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Marte, Damaso 3 0 0 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Coke, Phil 2 0 0 0.2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 .500
Robertson, David 2 0 1 2.0 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0.00 .143
Gaudin, Chad 1 0 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Sabathia, CC 2 2 0 16.0 9 2 2 3 12 2 0 0 1.13 .161
Rivera, Mariano 5 0 3 7.0 3 1 1 2 4 0 0 2 1.29 .125
Pettitte, Andy 2 2 0 12.2 14 4 4 2 8 1 0 0 2.84 .298
Hughes, Phil 3 0 0 2.2 4 1 1 1 3 0 1 0 3.38 .308
Chamberlain, Joba 4 0 0 1.2 5 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 5.40 .556
Burnett, AJ 2 2 0 12.1 11 8 8 5 7 0 0 0 5.84 .234
Aceves, Alfredo 2 0 1 1.1 3 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 13.50 .600
28 6 6 58.2 51 19 19 18 38 4 2 2 2.91 .236
New York Yankees – Pitching (World Series)
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Marte, Damaso 4 0 0 2.2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Rivera, Mariano 4 0 4 5.1 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 0.00 .167
Robertson, David 2 0 0 2.1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0.00 .222
Aceves, Alfredo 1 0 0 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .143
Chamberlain, Joba 3 0 0 3.0 2 1 1 1 4 1 0 0 3.00 .182
Sabathia, CC 2 2 0 13.2 11 5 5 6 12 0 1 0 3.29 .216
Pettitte, Andy 2 2 0 11.2 9 7 7 8 10 2 0 0 5.40 .225
Burnett, AJ 2 2 0 9.0 8 7 7 6 11 1 1 0 7.00 .235
Coke, Phil 2 0 1 1.1 3 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 13.50 .500
Hughes, Phil 3 0 1 1.2 2 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 16.20 .333
Bruney, Brian 1 0 0 0.1 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 54.00 .750
26 6 6 53.0 44 27 27 26 50 4 2 2 4.58 .227


Positives

David Robertson. Robertson is beginning to impress as a reliever and can be an important part of the Yankees’ bullpen in 2010. He had some injuries to contend with during the latter part of the season but again in the ALCS and WS, he was everything he could have been.

CC Sabathia. Sabathia was great in the American League Championship Series and then so-so in the World Series. He averaged 8 innings a game in the ALCS and earned the win in both games. In the World Series, he was not as strong but still came out with a better ERA than his two fellow starters.

Mariano Rivera. Rivera was seldom called on to pitch more than one innings during the regular series. In the post-season as confidence in Hughes and Chamberlain was at its lowest, Rivera was pressed into pitching 7 innings in 5 appearances in the ALCS and 5.1 in 4 appearances in the World Series. He earned 4 saves and achieved a miniscule ERA. One day he will retire and what will poor Yankees do then…..?

Andy Pettitte. Andy was not everything he could have been in the last two sections of the season but he did enough. He took 3 wins in 4 starts and the other game was a no decision. That’ll do.

Negatives

AJ Burnett. Burnett wasn’t as good as he needed to be in the Championship Series and World Series but somehow he managed to finish with only one loss. We couldn’t really afford this with only 3 starters but somehow we got away with it.

Phil Hughes. Hughes really needed to bounce back after the American League Division series and truth be told, he did a little better in the ALCS but close examination of the video and the statistics suggests he was lucky and his performance in the World Series confirmed this.
His OBP didn’t rise a lot but his ERA ballooned to over 16. Will the real Phil Hughes please stand up?

Brian Bruney. A mixed season saw Bruney left off the ALDS and ALCS rosters only to be recalled for the World Series. He made one appearance. He got one out and gave up 3 hits and two runs. Last chance gone.

Surprises

Damaso Marte. 7 appearances, 4 innings, no hits, no runs, no walks. There were times this season when Marte looked like he was at the end of his time with the Yankees. His work for them in 2008 had not matched his C.V. and when he was fit in 2009, he was uneven and inconsistent at best but when it really mattered he came up with the goods. We would however like a whole season of these kind of performances.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves was disappointing in the Championship Series but bounced back in the World Series where his 2 innings in one appearance was virtually spotless…… as did…….

Joba Chamberlain with 3 innings in 3 appearances which was more important for what it wasn’t than what it was. It wasn’t a performance to match Marte but it was so much better than Chamberlain had been for several weeks and that gives hope for the future.

New York Yankees – The Bombers in October / November. Part 3 of 4

Posted on by
Reply

The Yankees’ bats badly needed to recover if they were to continue the winning streak they had begun against the Twins. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim looked far more formidable opponents not least their outfield which had been partially imported from the New York Yankees where Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera would no doubt make their presence felt. As it worked out, the batting lineup did just that against LA before hitting a partial lull against the Phillies in the Fall Classic.

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – October (AL Championship Series)
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Gardner, Brett 6 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .667 .667 .667
Hairston Jr., Jerry 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500
Rodriguez, Alex 6 21 6 9 6 2 0 3 8 3 0 1 1 .429 .952 .567
Cabrera, Melky 6 23 3 9 4 2 0 0 3 6 2 0 0 .391 .478 .462
Molina, Jose 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333
Damon, Johnny 6 30 4 9 5 1 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 .300 .533 .323
Cano, Robinson 6 23 4 6 4 1 2 0 4 3 0 0 0 .261 .478 .414
Jeter, Derek 6 27 5 7 2 0 0 2 6 5 0 0 0 .259 .481 .394
Matsui, Hideki 6 21 1 5 3 1 0 0 5 4 0 0 0 .238 .286 .385
Teixeira, Mark 6 27 2 6 4 1 0 0 3 8 0 1 0 .222 .259 .290
Posada, Jorge 6 20 3 4 1 1 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 .200 .400 .360
Swisher, Nick 6 20 2 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 1 0 0 .150 .150 .292
Cervelli, Francisco 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Guzman, Freddy 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
222 33 62 29 9 2 8 38 47 4 2 2 .279 .446 .389

New York Yankees – Batting (World Series)
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SB BA SLG OBP
Matsui, Hideki 6 13 3 8 8 1 0 3 1 3 0 .615 1.385 .643
Jeter, Derek 6 27 5 11 1 3 0 0 1 6 0 .407 .519 .429
Damon, Johnny 6 22 6 8 4 2 0 0 3 3 3 .364 .455 .440
Pettitte, Andy 2 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 .333 .333
Posada, Jorge 6 19 1 5 5 1 0 0 2 7 0 .263 .316 .318
Rodriguez, Alex 6 20 5 5 6 3 0 1 3 8 1 .250 .550 .423
Hairston Jr., Jerry 3 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167 .167 .167
Cabrera, Melky 4 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .154 .154 .154
Teixeira, Mark 6 22 5 3 3 1 0 1 2 8 0 .136 .318 .296
Cano, Robinson 6 22 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 .136 .136 .130
Swisher, Nick 5 15 3 2 1 1 0 1 4 4 0 .133 .400 .316
Gardner, Brett 5 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 .000 .000 .000
Molina, Jose 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .333
Burnett, AJ 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .000 .000
Sabathia, CC 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 .000 .000
Hinske, Eric 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 – – 1.000
198 32 49 30 12 0 6 18 56 4 .247 .399 .326

Positives

Hideki Matsui. Whilst it was a trifle generous to make Matsui World Series MVP – perhaps Jeter with twice as many at-bats and a strong performance in the field might have been a more logical choice – there is no question that after a quiet Division series and Championship series, his bat suddenly came to life. He contributed 4 extra base hits including three home runs. I still think this might have been a good point for him to retire and go out on a high but we will see what next season brings.

Derek Jeter. An indifferent series against the Angels gave way to a strong performance against the Phillies which made Jeter the most likely Yankee in the considerations for the AL MVP. After Matsui and A-Rod, he was even third in slugging during the World Series bringing a grand culmination to a truly impressive season.

Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod was outstanding in the ALCS and added a home run in a quieter World Series. He has silenced his critics who looked askance at his post-season stats prior to this year. He is still open to criticism in a whole host of other areas but one apparent flaw is dealt with.

Johnny Damon. After a quiet series against the Twins, Damon came up with the goods throughout the rest of the way. Two home runs against the Angels and then a .440 OBP against the Phillies were amongst the highlights here and are strong reasons whilst the Yankees are still unable to shake the notion that they might pay the money and bring him back for 2010.

Melky Cabrera. Cabrera had a great series against the Angels. Injuring himself during the series against the Phillies means that we will never know if he could have continued this in the World Series and what difference that might have made to his future with the Yankees. His .462 OBP and 9 hits against the Angels ought to have been argument enough to keep him as a desired member of the staff for next year.

Negatives

Mark Teixeira. Teixeira didn’t bounce back after a poor series agains the Twins – in fact, if anything his struggles became worse. .222 and .136 with 1 home run was not the form he delivered for the majority of the regular season and the question mark about post-season performance which hung around Rodriguez for so long will now pass to him.

Freddy Guzman. The only reason to carry Guzman on the ALCS roster was because Girardi was going to make him run. Consequently, the Angels were ready for him and the move negated itself. He’s a one trick pony who should have been left at home.

Nick Swisher. Swisher was another who did not rebound after a weak ALDS. His World Series performance was a little better in that he produced some power but as much as it is difficult not to like the guy and wish him well, it is hard to understand why the Yankees seem so set on him as the everyday right fielder next year.

Surprises

Brett Gardner. Gardner doesn’t take his chances. He began the season with Girardi describing him as the everyday centrefielder. He played his way out of that one and handed it back to Melky. He had a strong ALCS and when Cabrera got injured he had every opportunity to take the position by the scruff of the neck and at least make a memorable contribution that would stick in the management’s thoughts. It didn’t happen.

Jerry Hairston. Hairston produced .250 across the two series in what was not an easy role. He has been some distance ahead of Hinske as someone to bring off the bench since the two of them arrived

Andy Pettitte. Way to go, Pettitte, for being the only pitcher to produce a hit during the games in Philadelphia and for managing to turn it in to a run!

New York Yankees – The Bombers in October / November. Part 2 of 4

Posted on by
Reply

The Yankees last three games of the regular season saw their pitchers deliver a combined ERA of nearly 5. Time would show that in the ALDS most of the big bats would fall silently. In short, they needed their pitchers to wake up and quickly.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – October (Regular season)
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Chamberlain, Joba 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Marte, Damaso 1 0 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Rivera, Mariano 1 0 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Coke, Phil 2 0 0 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 .167
Bruney, Brian 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Aceves, Alfredo 1 0 0 2.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Gaudin, Chad 1 0 1 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0.00 .200
Burnett, AJ 1 1 0 5.0 7 2 1 1 3 1 0 0 1.80 .318
Robertson, David 2 0 0 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 4.50 .250
Pettitte, Andy 1 1 0 4.1 6 5 3 4 1 0 1 0 6.23 .316
Albaladejo, Jonathan 1 0 0 1.1 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 13.50 .429
Hughes, Phil 2 0 0 0.2 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 13.50 .600
Sabathia, CC 1 1 0 2.2 8 9 5 5 3 0 1 0 16.88 .500
16 3 3 25.0 31 20 13 11 21 1 2 0 4.68 .292

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – October (American League Division Series)
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Robertson, David 1 0 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 .250
Rivera, Mariano 3 0 2 3.2 4 0 0 1 7 0 0 1 0.00 .267
Aceves, Alfredo 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 .250
Chamberlain, Joba 3 0 0 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .286
Coke, Phil 2 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Sabathia, CC 1 1 0 6.2 8 2 1 0 8 1 0 0 1.35 .296
Pettitte, Andy 1 1 0 6.1 3 1 1 1 7 1 0 0 1.42 .136
Burnett, AJ 1 1 0 6.0 3 1 1 5 6 0 0 0 1.50 .150
Hughes, Phil 3 0 0 2.0 5 2 2 1 3 0 0 0 9.00 .500
16 3 3 29.0 27 6 5 9 34 3 0 1 1.55 .243

Positives

Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain is a conundrum. Chamberlain is an  enigma, a riddle. Just a week earlier I’d sat in my seat at Yankee Stadium and wondered f this guy could throw a strike. In his last game of the regular season, he let no-one get on base. In 3 appearances in the 3 games of the ALDS, he wasn’t quite as dominating but no-one reached home. This is Chamberlain back in the bullpen where, of course, the Yankees brass will not leave him.

Mariano Rivera. He also played in one of the last games of the regular season and all three of the ALDS games. He also gave up no runs and let few get on base. The difference is that no-one, least of all this writer, was surprised.

Phil Coke. Coke has had a mixed second season in the pinstripes but there was nothing mixed about these performances. He played two of the last three games of the regular season. He gave up one hit and nobody scored. In the ALDS, the only difference was that in his two appearances he didn’t allow a hit.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves achieved a lot of wins during the regular season (I can’t remember anybody who achieved nearly as many from a season spent mainly in relief since the days of Lee Guetterman – and that seems almost a lifetime ago in all kinds of ways). No wins during these two snapshots but two appearances, three and a third innings, four strikeouts, one walk, one hit, no runs. If he isn’t the long reliever in 2010, we are going to have to find someone truly special to stand in his stead.

AJ Burnett. Burnett only produced 11 innings across his last league appearance and his first post-season appearance but he did almost everything else right.

Negatives

Phil Hughes. You have to look pretty hard to find disappointing pitching for the Yankees during the ALDS but there is one obvious candidate. Hughes spent the post-season struggling and he looked just as bad during the last few days of the regular season. For most of the season he looked like he had finally found a role he could be consistent in at the Major League level (not that the Yankees were going to leave him there!) but at the last fences he fell apart completely. In less than 3 innings across 5 games, he allowed 9 men to get on base and he was depending on others to make sure only three of them scored.

Jonathan Albaladejo. Too often during the last two seasons, Albaladejo has lost his place on the Major League roster when everyone was available without doing anything wrong. If he had any chance of making the Division Series roster then he blew it completely with his last appearance, allowing 4 men to get on base (2 scoring) across 1.1 innings.

Surprises

Brian Bruney. Bruney was another who didn’t make the roster for the Division Series but in his case the decision followed one of his best appearances of the season. He had a very patchy year and it was his own fault that his name wasn’t already pencilled in but he must have sensed at this point that he was unlikely to return to the Bronx in 2010.

CC Sabathia. There hasn’t been much that is negative to say about CC’s first season as a Yankee but his final regular season appearance was horrible. Those of us who could count had already calculated that the Yankees didn’t want any situations in the playoffs where they would need to call on more than 3 of their rotation. The thought that their no. 1 guy was going to fall apart at the last moment was too much to bear. Thankfully, Sabathia was "business as usual" by the time the first playoff series began.

David Robertson. Given the periods during the season when Robertson was out of the reckoning, there were those who were surprised to see him facing the Twins at all. That his first ever post-season appearance saw him come into the game with the scores tied and that (despite one wobble) he closed the game out with the win suggests that this guy has what it takes to be a fixture in the Yankees bullpen.

Andy Pettitte. Pettitte was another to step up to the mark and deliver the goods in the ALDS despite a poor performance in the last week of the season. Don’t know why I think this is surprising, he’s been doing it for years!!

New York Yankees – The Bombers in October / November. Part 1 of 4

Posted on by
Reply

The Yankees last few games of the regular season were ones to be got through and hope for a minimum of injuries. The Division Series is tricky simply because being only five games long, it can be argued that the team who have had to play right down to the wire to qualify quite often go into game 1 with the highest level of momentum. However, this year despite the Yankees bats falling quiet , there were to be no upsets and the Twins were seen off in three games.

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – October (Regular Season)
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Pena, Ramiro 3 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500
Rodriguez, Alex 2 7 2 3 7 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 .429 1.286 .429
Damon, Johnny 2 8 1 3 3 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .375 .625 .375
Cabrera, Melky 2 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333
Miranda, Juan 3 3 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 .333 1.333 .333
Gardner, Brett 3 7 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 .286 .286 .375
Hairston Jr., Jerry 3 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 .286 .444
Jeter, Derek 2 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .286 .286 .286
Molina, Jose 2 8 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 .250 .375 .250
Guzman, Freddy 3 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250 .250 .250
Cano, Robinson 3 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .222 .222 .222
Matsui, Hideki 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167
Teixeira, Mark 3 6 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 .167 .167 .444
Hinske, Eric 3 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 .167 .167 .286
Posada, Jorge 2 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .143 .143 .143
Swisher, Nick 3 7 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 .143 .286 .455
Duncan, Shelley 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Cervelli, Francisco 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
106 17 27 16 4 0 3 8 23 0 0 4 .255 .377 .325

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – October (American League Division Series)
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Rodriguez, Alex 3 11 4 5 6 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 .455 1.000 .500
Jeter, Derek 3 10 4 4 2 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 .400 .900 .538
Posada, Jorge 3 11 1 4 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 .364 .636 .364
Matsui, Hideki 3 9 1 2 2 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 .222 .556 .417
Cabrera, Melky 3 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167
Cano, Robinson 3 12 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167
Teixeira, Mark 3 12 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .167 .417 .231
Damon, Johnny 3 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 .083 .083 .154
Swisher, Nick 3 12 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 .083 .167 .083
Molina, Jose 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
102 15 23 15 3 0 6 9 22 0 0 0 .225 .431 .288


Positives

Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez has hardly had the easiest season although much of the damage has been self-inflicted in one way or another. It also needs to be noted that of all the Yankees’ big names, he is the one who has most often fallen flat when it comes to these big occasions. How delightful then to see him hitting for average in games 160, 161 and 162 when the outcome didn’t matter and adding some much needed power when the ALDS came along.

Derek Jeter. Jeter, on the other hand, has been just what the sport needed all season. A great sportsman who produces consistently and is concerned about character and appearance. 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 walks. As the Yankees had to scratch out runs Jeter was just the guy to help them achieve that goal.

Jorge Posada. Posada was quiet in the latter days of the season but he did what needed to be done in the post-season albeit by sparking a little controversy along the way.

Juan Miranda. Miranda was never going to be on the post-season roster but he used the opportunities that he got at the end of the regular season to further his ambition of being part of that squad in 2010. Just as he did at the close of 2008, he was able to bring both hitting-for-average and power to some rather lacklustre team performances.

Negatives

Nick Swisher. Swisher is obviously a good clubhouse presence but he is also just about the streakiest player in the major leagues at this time and late October saw his bat fall very quiet once again.

Mark Teixeira. Teixeira has had a great season with the bat and defensively but in late October he went back to the form that he had shown in April.

Robinson Cano. Cano was one more who began to slumber as the season drew to a close and couldn’t be woken by the crowds of the ALDS.

Shelley Duncan. Another who was never going to play a part in the post-season but who had once last stab to make it as a Yankee after a good season at AAA. Expect his two at-bats against Tampa to be his last as a Yankee.

Surprises

Ramiro Pena. Pena’s reward for the two hits in his last four at-bats of the season was to be left off the post-season roster just as his continually impressive play in the regular season so him demoted to AAA. Go figure……

Eric Hinske. Hinske on the other hand who looked over-matched most of the season would be included in the roster to face the Twins but never got off the bench. Useful selection.

Francisco Cervelli. And whilst I’m moaning at the Yankees failure to give opportunities to youth, let’s not forget Cervelli who has a future with the Yankees and …….

Jose Molina. ……..who does not. Cashman and Girardi went with Molina. No disrespect to Jose who has done a very good job backing up Posada during his time with the Yankees but that time is over and Cervelli needs to be tested in the big situation.

Trying to catch up

Posted on by
Reply

I still haven’t got my baseball analyses for October and the post-season up on the site. They have appeared elsewhere but I’m going to try and get them transcribed and up on the blog prior to New Year.

Meanwhile, it seems like the Yankees are not content to sit on their laurels. They’ve re-signed Andy Pettitte and failed to re-sign their World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (now with the Angels). They’ve brought in Curtis Granderson for centrefield and starting pitcher Javier Vazquez is going to be given a second go around. Meanwhile, relief pitchers, Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy and Mike Dunn are gone as part of those trades as are prospects Austin Jackson and Arodys Vizcaino. Brian Bruney has gone from last season’s strongest team (Yankees) to last season’s weakest (Nationals). Most significantly, for my money, the Vazquez trade sees Melky Cabrera heading in the opposite direction and preparing to pull on a Braves shirt next year. Cabrera bounced back from a horrible 2008 campaign and I think the Yankees are significantly under-rating him.

In New York – Third Game

Posted on by
Reply

September 30th 2009
Yankees Vs Kansas City Royals
@ Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Joba rules! We’ve lived with them for the last two seasons. Designed to ensure that the young pitcher of the New York Yankees develops into the star we all KNOW that he can be. Mmmm…….  Tonight after lots of late season restrictions the training wheels came off and Chamberlain was given his head to show what he could do in a game on which nothing depended. And we all sat there and squirmed……. And hoped that this was just another off night and tried to avoid the conclusion that they’ll never make a starter out of this guy. But, trust me, this was dreadful.

Joba Chamberlain pitched 3 and 2/3 innings for 3 runs, and even more worryingly 7 hits and 4 walks. He couldn’t find the strike zone and I would have to say that he was lucky to get off so lightly. He was replaced before the end of the 4th inning by Alfredo Aceves. Now this guy didn’t make the rotation back on opening day and has never really been considered as an option for the starting rotation in 2009 but tonight he looked like twice the pitcher that Joba appeared to be. Aceves pitched two innings and if it wasn’t for the fact that the Yankees’ bats had gone to sleep, we would have been right back in it.

Of the batters, only Jeter produced anything of note. Two hits, one a home run and also a walk before he was lifted for Jerry Hairston in the late innings for a game the Yankees didn’t seem to think they could win but in which they were only one run behind.

The late innings relievers, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera were as overpowering and untouchable as they have been for most of the season but the Royals’ bullpen was just as effective and the Yankees ran out losers, 4-3.

So the last home game of the stand raised more questions than answers and Chamberlain hoping that he could some way edge onto the post-season roster and re-gain some of the ground he has lost.

In New York – 2nd Game

Posted on by
Reply

September 29th 2009
Yankees Vs Kansas City Royals
@ Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

The Yankees are paying AJ Burnett an awful lot of money. After this game he was giving a rousing round of applause for 6 and a 1/3 innings during which he only gave up one earned run. The problem is that from where I was sitting he looked lucky. I kept waiting for the moment when there would be a series of hits and Kansas would then take him apart but it never came. I don’t know why. The problem is that I don’t think it was because Burnett was overpowering so much as that Kansas are a weak hitting side.

The post-season is at hand and the Yankees biggest flaw is their starting pitching – the one thing they spent most of last off-season trying to fix. Sabathia has been consistent (although I wasn’t know to know at this point he was only a couple of days away from one of his worst starts of the season). Burnett has had a poor second half after a solid opening to the season. Pettitte has been good for one good performance in every two. Chamberlain has spent half the time looking like a starter who would make a good reliever which is ironic since he is a good reliever who we are trying to make into a good starter. It is good that we don’t need a fifth starter in the playoffs.

We’ll see what comes. We could be brilliant, we could be embarrassing.

Tonight, we got away with it.

In relief, Phil Coke pitched reasonably well but made some bizarre decisions in fielding and dealing with runners on base – leading to the unearned run that was credited to Burnett. David Robertson looked as good as anyone coming back from injury at this point of season could have done. Brian Bruney removed 4 of the last 6 batters (1 hit, 1 walk) and has been busy playing himself back into contention for a playoff roster spot.

Offensively, we didn’t have much to offer. Teixeira carried us and fan-favourite Nick Swisher added a home run which was just enough for a 4-3 win.

Before the game I visited the Yankees museum (which is excellent) and Monument Park (which, ironically, in this more spacious ballpark is a little too compact). I really must do this more often.

In New York – 1st Game

Posted on by
Reply

September 28th 2009
Yankees Vs Kansas City Royals
@ Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Last time I arrived in New York, the newspapers were full of stories about how Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, had benched secondbaseman Robinson Cano. Cano had failed to show sufficent effort in his fielding work resulting in Girardi subsituting him immmediately and deciding not to select him for the next game.

This time, Cano fielded like the guy we also knew he could become and hit a grand slam home run to add the power  the Yankees needed to gain their insurance runs.

Oh and all this happened in a completely different stadium.

What else was notable?

Before our journey if I’d have predicted which game I was sure the Yankees would win during our visit, then I’d have gone for the game of the 29th. Burnett looked a possible winner, Chamberlain (due to start on the 30th) can be brilliant on his day. I’m still not sure why we signed Chad Gaudin (who was scheduled to start tonight). We had Sergio Mitre to be an indifferent fifth starter, why did we need another?

At least, the Yankees rule against beards meant that Gaudin couldn’t re-grow that thing he used to sport on his chin when he was with the Cubs. But beyond that I’ve found it hard to think of anything that has come out of him joining the Yankees up until this point. Tonight, he pitched 6 2/3 innings for 4 hits and 2 runs. Now he wasn’t outstanding but he held his ground and kept the Yankees in the lead. I don’t expect to see him on the post-season roster or back in the Bronx in 2010 but he’s good enough to get a job elsewhere.

Cano picked up his 49th double and 26th home run. Jorge Posada got to first base safely in every one of four plate appearance.

Oh and the Yankees collected their 101st win of the season.

This is all the more oustanding because it was their 59th win since the All-Star break. Amazing!

So a 8-2 win for this game, roll on tomorrow