twilightdawning

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

Up-to-date

Posted on September 21, 2009 by twilightdawning

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

So what’s happening with me?

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

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

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

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

Recommended Listening?

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

August in the Bronx – #1 – the Batters

Posted on September 2, 2009 by twilightdawning

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

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

Positives

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

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

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

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

Negatives

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

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

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

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

Surprises

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

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

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

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

July in the Bronx – Part 1 – Batters

Posted on August 17, 2009 by twilightdawning

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

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

Positives

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

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

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

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

Negatives

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

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

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

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

Surprises

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

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

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

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

June in the Bronx – Part 2 – The Pitchers

Posted on July 8, 2009 by twilightdawning

Of the 4 New York Yankee ERA leaders for June, 1 is a left-handed specialist, two were not on the roster in April and one will not be in the roster for July. And none of them are starters or Mariano Rivers. Suprising? I’ll say so.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – June
Name	GP	GS	GF	IP	H	RA	ER	BB	SO	W	L	Sv	ERA	OBA
Coke, Phil	14	0	2	12.2	5	1	1	3	14	0	0	0	0.71	.122
Aceves, Alfredo	9	0	2	13.2	11	2	2	4	10	2	0	0	1.32	.224
Hughes, Phil	8	0	2	13.0	5	2	2	3	16	0	0	0	1.38	.114
Veras, Jose	3	0	2	5.0	4	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	1.80	.211
Burnett, AJ	5	5	0	30.0	23	10	7	16	35	3	2	0	2.10	.209
Robertson, David	10	0	6	10.0	7	4	3	5	16	1	0	0	2.70	.194
Rivera, Mariano	11	0	10	11.0	7	5	4	2	14	1	1	9	3.27	.175
Sabathia, CC	5	5	0	31.0	23	14	13	7	22	2	1	0	3.77	.205
Chamberlain, Joba	6	6	0	35.2	33	16	15	15	27	2	1	0	3.79	.244
Pettitte, Andy	5	5	0	26.2	34	19	15	13	27	2	2	0	5.06	.306
Bruney, Brian	6	0	0	4.2	4	3	3	5	3	1	0	0	5.79	.250
Tomko, Brett	7	0	2	12.0	10	8	8	4	10	0	1	0	6.00	.222
Wang, Chien-Ming	5	5	0	22.2	28	17	16	10	19	1	3	0	6.35	.298
	94	26	26	228.0	194	102	90	87	215	15	11	9	3.55	.228

Positives

Phil Coke. Coke is beginning to look like the pitcher we saw at the end of 2008. And that is good news indeed. Only one walk in every 4+ innings, leading on the month in ERA, seconding on the month in OBA.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves has had a sensational season in long relief. This month was no exception. With Wang headed for the DL, Aceves is the obvious man to head to become the fifth starter. I think he can do a job as a starter but he needs to know what his role is and not be jerked about.

Phil Hughes. Hughes led the team in OBA for June and he has settled into his role as a reliever just fine and dandy. With a couple of the starters not producing there has been enough work for Aceves and him but hopefully it will not always be this way. Consequently, the Yankees need to make some decisions during the All-Star break about that crucial fifth starter role. What they decide will have a significant impact on the pitching staff for the rest of the year and their chances of making the playoffs.

A.J. Burnett. The starting rotation has lacked some consistency this year and its Burnett’s chance to return to the top of the heap. He’s seldom been bad and when he’s good he’s capable of being very, very good – and so far those nagging worries about injuries have proved unfounded.

Negatives

Chien-Ming Wang. He looks much better than he did a month or two ago but you still feel you’re going into a game hoping that he will reach the fifth innings and that if he gets there, he might have done enough to have kept the team in the game. The goals of a fifth starter have to be higher than that if you’re going to contend. However, he has done sensationally in previous seasons and it is a difficult conundrum. This latest injury just convolutes the problem.

Brett Tomko. "Tomko" ought to be an alternative for journeyman in the thesaurus. Some games he is good and others he is not. And at the moment the "nots" have the majority. The form pattern suggests he should be due for another purple patch but when he goes down for the third time……

Andy Pettitte. Inconsistent starters indeed. Pettitte looks healthy in the wins column, on the season, but he puts too many batters on base and gives up way too many hits. He’s getting more run support than anyone else and at some point that is going to balance out and then he will be in trouble if he hasn’t improved.

Brian Bruney. When he pitches well, he is prone to injury. At the moment, he’s not so hot but he’s staying fit. He’s giving up too many walks which is leading to too many runs but its difficult to identify what has changed.

Surprises

Jose Veras. Veras was having his best month of the season which, of course, led to him being designated for assignment and leaving town in exchange for cash. He was pretty good in 2007 and 2008 and he looked like he was coming around again. They should have shown more patience.

Mariano Rivera. It’s difficult to tell which Mo is going to turn up at the moment. Some nights he is still capable of being lights out but earlier in the month he developed a tendency to blow the big game. Last season, it was the non-save situation he struggled with, this year it has been the game when the spotlight is brightest. This current good run should help settle him down.

David Robertson. Robertson has had a tendency for his ability to strike opponents out to wither the longer he stayed at the major league level. So far this time around, he’s avoiding that problem and he could be about to become a fixture.

June in the Bronx – Part 1 – The Batters

Posted on July 7, 2009 by twilightdawning

Any month that includes as much inter-league play as June did, is always going to be a difficult – particularly in estimating how much it impacts the season as a whole. The month included bad streaks for the Yankees as a team and as individuals. Here’s hwo it went for the batters:

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – June
Name	G	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SH	SF	SB	BA	SLG	OBP
Ransom, Cody	2	5	2	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.400	.600	.400
Gardner, Brett	24	48	10	16	5	0	2	1	9	4	1	0	8	.333	.479	.439
Pena, Ramiro	11	21	4	7	3	3	0	0	1	5	0	0	1	.333	.476	.364
Jeter, Derek	22	87	17	27	7	3	0	2	12	9	0	0	7	.310	.414	.394
Damon, Johnny	24	85	16	23	15	7	1	4	13	17	0	0	3	.271	.518	.367
Cano, Robinson	25	100	14	27	11	5	0	3	5	10	0	1	2	.270	.410	.308
Teixeira, Mark	25	95	14	25	16	10	0	4	17	12	0	0	1	.263	.495	.391
Swisher, Nick	25	79	12	20	10	8	0	4	16	14	0	0	0	.253	.506	.379
Sabathia, CC	5	4	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.250	.250	.250
Cervelli, Francisco	7	25	5	6	3	1	0	1	1	5	1	0	0	.240	.400	.269
Posada, Jorge	21	73	11	17	12	1	0	4	11	15	0	1	0	.233	.411	.329
Cabrera, Melky	26	80	11	18	11	6	0	2	11	14	1	2	1	.225	.375	.312
Rodriguez, Alex	25	82	13	17	22	2	0	5	22	17	0	0	2	.207	.415	.387
Matsui, Hideki	24	54	7	11	9	2	0	3	12	9	0	0	0	.204	.407	.348
Burnett, AJ	5	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.200	.200	.200
Pettitte, Andy	5	5	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	.200	.400	.200
Berroa, Angel	7	10	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	.100	.200	.182
Chamberlain, Joba	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Aceves, Alfredo	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Wang, Chien-Ming	5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Rivera, Mariano	11	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.500
Tomko, Brett	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Coke, Phil	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
		868	140	220	130	51	3	33	131	141	6	4	25	.253	.433	.354

Positives

Brett Gardner. Gardner remains something of a conundrum. When he is giving a regular job in the starting line-up, he flounders. When there are no guarantees, he show himself as a feisty player who can get the hits. Of course, his speed is always an asset. As Cabrera had a quiet month, Gardner flourished. Best on the month in batting average and third of the regulars in slugging.

Derek Jeter. The captain continues to be a solid and consistent presence. His place on the All-Star team is a deserved one and as you see the mess so many players have put themselves in, you have to admire how he handles himself, on the field and off. He’s proving to be the consummate singles hitter, not a lot else but at the top of the line-up that is vital!

Robinson Cano. Cano continues to be a steady presence with the glove and with the bat. .270 on this month which he can improve on a little but his performance is so much more convincing and effective than in 2008.

Mark Teixeira. After a disappointing April and a mind-blowing May, Teixeira had a steady June. He looked great in the field and he continued to have some power (although this certainly wasn’t May in those terms).

Negatives

Angel Berroa. Berroa finally got a hit in June. That’s one more than he got in May. Thankfully, the Yankees have designated him for assignment.

Alex Rodriguez. On the month, .207 with 5 home runs. It seems he hits for power or he doesn’t hit at all. There were, to be fair, one or two exceptions to that rule. Did he come back too soon? Will the promised rest days help? Do the Yankees wish they’d stuck to their guns during the Boras debacle at the end of 2007?

Hideki Matsui. Matsui had a difficult month. Too many interleague games at the National league ground which makes him redundant as they won’t risk him in the field. When he was in the line up, his figures didn’t even match those of A-Rod. .204 with three home runs on the month.

Melky Cabrera. Melky Cabrera has had a good season so far and whilst his work in the field was good in June, his performance with the bat drifted back to the dark days of 2008. He was second in the team in doubles and he still looks good in the clutch but he’s going through a barren spell.

Surprises

Cody Ransom. Nice to see Cody back in the line-up. There was a time when I wondered if the Yankees placing him on the 60 day disabled list might mean he was done for the season. In his first five at-bats back in the team, he hit .400 and this, if nothing else, will be a substantial improvement on Berroa who he matches in the field also. Only time will tell if he can gain some consistency.

Ramiro Pena. Ramiro Pena is headed to triple-A Scranton in a decison which makes no sense to me. In June, he hit .333. He isn’t the most patient at the plate but he has proved a reliable bat off-the-bench and he is as good and better in the field than anybody else in that category. His July in Scranton is dictated by the arrival of Eric Hinske, who is another one of those journeymen big bats that the Yankees tend to pursue at this time of the year. Surprise and mistake.

Johnny Damon. Damon is holding up much better than I would have predicted. His slugging leads the team on the month, and he was tied second in home runs on the month. His fielding is never going to be that good again but he has managed to get this far without any serious injury.

Jorge Posada. Now back to full fitness apparently, Posada’s bat is not quite what we’re hoping for. 4 home runs on the month is fine but he isn’t hitting for average.

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.

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.

Yankees – Any relief coming their way? part 3

Posted on January 5, 2009 by twilightdawning

Here we have a last few comments on the relief pitchers the Yankees used this season. And then some predictions for who will man the bullpen in 2009……….

Alfredo Aceves (6 games). 4 starts, two relief appearances. For my main comments on Aceves, please see the article on starting pitchers. Suffice to say that if he doesn’t make the rotation, he should be the long reliever.

Humberto Sanchez (2 games). Both appearances in relief. Sanchez after many stumbles and time lost to injury, finally made it to the Bronx in September. Sometimes you sit in the box seats and watch someone’s debut and you know you’re watching the beginning of an era. Sometimes you sit and watch and you think you see a journeyman. My impression was the latter. He’ll need an awfully good Spring to make the roster. I don’t see it – expect him to begin the year in Scranton.

Sidney Ponson (16 games). 15 starts, 1 relief. See the Starting pitchers comments for my thoughts on Mr Ponson.

Kei Igawa (2 games). 1 start. 1 relief appearance. How the Yankees came by Igawa is anyone’s guess. He came as the next young Oriental pitcher expected to make it big in the States. He became someone who needed to be developed before he was set to be a major league regular. He is now the man who the Yankees just wish someone would take away and put an end to their and his suffering. He suffered a 13.50 ERA in 2008 as the Yankees were willing to try anyone to give them left-handed relief. Unprotected and off the 40-man roster, I doubt we will see him back in New York pinstripe.

Ian Kennedy (10 games). 9 starts, 1 in relief. See the starting pitchers list for my thoughts on his pitching and chances for 2009.

Scott Patterson (1 game). 1 game in relief. The way that the Yankees treated Patterson in 2008 is a mystery to me. He had a great Spring and just missed the opening day roster by a hairs-breadth. In June, he was called up when the Yankees designated Morgan Ensberg for assignement and he pitched a lack-lustre 1 and a third innings in his debut for an ERA of 6.75. Too early to tell but the Yankees needed a reliever the next day so it was back to Scranton for Patterson where the people at the major level seemed to completely forget he existed. Despite a good year at Scranton, he was placed on waivers in September to clear space on the roster for incoming players (never a good sign for your future) and this seemingly expendable reliever / closer was claimed by San Diego where he had a good finish to the year giving up no runs in three appearances. This might make sense if there weren’t times in the year when the Yankees were really scratching around to find half-way decent pitchers. Anyway, good luck to him at the Padres in 2009.

So that’s em all. Where does that leave the New York Yankees’ bullpen for 2009. Well, barring any surprise additions or subtractions, I look at it like this:

Certainties: Rivera, Veras, Bruney, Marte

Likelies: Coke

Possibles: Robertson, Ramirez, Giese, Aceves

Slim chance: Albaladejo, Sanchez

This, of course, doesn’t allow for injuries and the ever-present likelihood that one of the young arms will so impress the coaches in Spring training that they decide to give him a first chance. This happens almost every year and is impossible to predict. It also doesn’t allow for the possibiility that the big noises in New York might change their minds once more and decide that Chamberlain is a reliever after all. This makes way too much sense and therefore will not happen. It does however mean that the Yankees do not have to fill the last relief spot on their roster with some make-weight like Billy Traber.

The year in relief looks good.

Yankees – Did the Yankees get it right in rightfield in 2008?

Posted on December 27, 2008 by twilightdawning

The Yankees were pretty much set in rightfield during 2008. . Whilst they used five other players in walk-on roles, the rightfield pretty much belonged to Bobby Abreu. Since the season finished the Yankees seem to have show little interest in the out-of-contract Mr Abreu. So what the story?

Bobby Abreu (156 games). Of those a massive 150 games saw Abreu spend time in rightfield. And it has to be said that Bobby was a very consistent presence in an uncertain year for the Bronx Bombers. He finished the season with a .296 batting average. He endured a slower start in April, going .269 on the month but he soon picked up the pace. He batted .330 with a .570 slugging average and 4 home runs the following month. June was a slower month but in July he hung around a .300 average all month before closing it out at .299. He also managed 20 RBIs in July, second only to A-Rod. In August, he had a quieter month for power but leapt to a season-high .342 batting average, only topped by the resurgent Derek Jeter. He finished the season with a quiet .276 which meant that he dropped below the .300 line for the season. His 100 RBIs and 100 runs and 20 homers made him a stand-out player for the Yankees in most every category, so why the lack of interest?
Well, the headline is that Abreu wants a multi-year deal and the Yankees would only be interested in having him back for 1 year initially. This would make sense on the cautious-build-from-within-2008 Yankees but makes no sense for the 2009 Yankees who having just rid themselves of 1 under-performing long-contract first-baseman have just signed Mark Teixeira to a mere eight years. For some reason, Abreu’s face doesn’t fit but whatever that is about it seems to have little to do with his on-field play. Go figure. It’s not likely that 1 year contract is even on the table for him to refuse. I’m more likely to be playing in the outfield than Abreu is – and that makes absolutely no sense.

Xavier Nady (59 games). Nady played only 7 games in rightfield. See my leftfield analysis for some thoughts on his season.

Melky Cabrera (129 games). 5 of those included time in rightfield. See my analysis of the centrefielders for a look at his troubled season.

Justin Christian (24 games). 5 in rightfield. Most in leftfield. And you’ll find my thoughts on him on the leftfield page.

Shelley Duncan (23 games). He played in rightfield in 4 games. See my first base analysis for my thoughts on his year.

Hideki Matsui (93 games). Only 3 of those came in rightfield. I’ll get to him when I get to the designated hitters.

And for 2009? Well, there’s Nady, Damon, Swisher (well, they have to find somewhere to put him now they’ve got Teixeira) and my money’s on Nady. The fact that he only played 7 games there in 2008 should worry the Yankees. Should worry them a lot……..

Yankees – one out of leftfield

Posted on December 9, 2008 by twilightdawning

In 2008, the Yankees used 6 players at left-field. Here’s a summary of how it all went:

Johnny Damon (143 games) . Of those 143 games, 86 included time in leftfield. On the whole, injuries aside, this was a good year for Damon and a distinct improvement over 2007.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2007	141	533	93	144	27	2	12	63	211	66	79	27	3	.351	.396	.270
2008	143	555	95	168	27	5	17	71	256	62	82	29	8	.375	.461	.303

This can be seen in the way that almost every column on the comparison, above, shows an increase for 2008. However, he had some months when he was well off the pace. He opened the season with an April average of only .276 and it seemed like he was going to struggle to improve on his 2007 standard. But May was a step up (.306) and June proved a high month of the season for him, batting .363 albeit mainly hitting singles. He missed a dozen games in July and the enforced mid-season rest set him back a little. July and August were months when he set his benchmark for the season showing .304 and .306 averages respectively. September proved to be his worst month offensively and his season rather tailed off just as the rest of the team were putting together a winning sequence.
So a successful but uneven season for Damon offensively. In the field, he made few errors and continues to show amongst the best ranges of the everyday leftfielders.
It seems 95% certain that Damon will be one of the starting Yankees on opening day. Despite being an ex-Red Sox, he has been accepted by the fans and that would not be many ways to replace him and improve. A good 2009 for him will definitely help the team.

Xavier Nady (59 games). He played in leftfield in 46 of his games after arriving in mid-season. 2008 was pretty much a career year for the X-Man albeit that his better figures were put up before he left Pittsburgh. Nady previously had had a short tenure with the Mets but moved on after only 75 for the other New York team. At the moment, the Yankees seem to like him a lot and it seems likely that he will last much longer in this part of town. He batted .305 and slugged .510 across the season. It was .268 and .474 whilst wearing the Bronx pinstripes. At the moment the inclination seems to let Abreu depart and make Nady a fixture. Nady played only 7 games in rightfield and Damon played none. It will be interesting to see how one of them works out playing the whole season in that corner which seems likely as things stand. Look for Nady to be in the line-up on opening day but not necessarily in leftfield.

Hideki Matsui (93 games). Injury meant that Matsui played only 21 games in a position where earlier in his career, he had been a fixture. I’ll say more about his season when we get to the designated hitters which is where we are likely to see him in 2009.

Brett Gardner (42 games). This young outfielder played 17 games in leftfield. I’ll say more about him in the discussion of centrefielders.

Justin Christian (24 games). He played 9 of those games in leftfield which was his most appearances at any one position. There were times in the season when the Yankees hierarchy seemed to regard Gardner and Christian evenly in terms of their becoming a fixture on the Bronx Bombers. At one point Christian seemed to have edged ahead. By the end of the season, it seemed like Gardner was a firm choice and Christian was all but forgotten. Defensively, he did well. Like Gardner, he has speed and can steal bases. His .250 average included very little power hitting but Gardner is weak in that area too. I’m guessing that the difference between the two players is in those legendary indefinables that baseball experts sometimes talk about because otherwise I can see little to choose. Gardner looks likely to be on the opening day roster and has a shot of the centrefield job, Christian must be wondering where his future lies. I don’t get the feeling it will be in the Bronx.

Melky Cabrera (129 games) Played only eight of those in leftfield. I’ll say more about his "difficult season" when we get to the centrefielders.

So my feeling is that Damon is likely to the starting leftfielder come April but there is time for that to change. We’ll see how things shape up in Spring training but I expect that’s how it will be.