twilightdawning

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

Yankees…. A short stop at Shortstop

Posted on November 28, 2008 by twilightdawning

The Yankees only used 4 players at shortstop during 2008. This was pretty much as expected. Derek Jeter OWNS this position and its pretty much guaranteed that he will continue to do so for the rest of his career. Here’s a survey of the performances at that position.

Derek Jeter (150 games). Jeter played 148 games at ss and 2 at DH. By his own standards this was a quieter year offensively.

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2006	NYY	154	623	118	214	39	3	14	97	301	69	102	34	5	.417	.483	.343
2007	NYY	156	639	102	206	39	4	12	73	289	56	100	15	8	.388	.452	.322
2008	NYY	150	596	88	179	25	3	11	69	243	52	85	11	5	.363	.408	.300
Career		8025	8025	1467	2535	411	57	206	1002	3678	813	1376	275	75	.387	.458	.316

In fact, it was more an inconsistent year than anything else. By September, he was batting .378 with a .425 OBP. The fact that his stats improved throughout the year bodes well for 2009. He is a certainty to be in the starting lineup on opening day.

Wilson Betemit (87 games). Betemit played 14 games at shortstop. The White Sox will have a good player in 2009. See my first base analysis for some comments on his season.

Alberto Gonzalez (28 games). Gonzalez played 14 of his games at shortstop. In both 2007 and 2008, he was a solid defensive player for the Bronx Bombers but he was a lightweight with the bat. By July 2008, his average had dropped to .173 and there were several other good defensive players available to back-up Jeter so the Yankees allowed him to depart for the Washington Nationals. Whether it was something to do with the drop in pressure in being away from New York or something else, his batting performance picked up in the limited time he saw at the plate for the Nationals. He collected his first major league home run and batted .347 in 49 at bats. He looks likely to continue with the Washington team in 2009.

Cody Ransom (33 games). Ransom played just 9 games at shortstop. See my first base analysis for some comments on his season.

Jeter is, injuries aside, certain to be the mainstay at shortstop during 2009. Predicting his back-up is more problematic. Betemit and Gonzalez are gone and Ransom looked more confident in other fielding positions. Hopefully all will become obvious in spring training.

Yankees….Round Third Base and Heading for Home

Posted on November 20, 2008 by twilightdawning

In 2008, the Yankees used 6 men to man third base but it was always going to be Alex Rodriguez who dominated the position which he did, aside from some down time caused by injury. Here’s how he performed along with the others who were called upon in the position:

Alex Rodriguez (138 games). Rodriguez played 131 games at third base, the remaining seven he was used at designated hitter.

It was only partially because of his time on the disabled list that he fell short of his offensive figures of 2007. Despite his fairly even performance, he was slightly down on his own high standards:

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2007	NYY	158	583	143	183	31	0	54	156	376	95	120	24	4	.422	.645	.314
2008	NYY	138	510	104	154	33	0	35	103	292	65	117	18	3	.392	.573	.302

Frequency of strike outs was up and he showed less patience at the plate. Defensively he was as strong as ever with few errors.

The Yankee fans have him tabbed as someone who can’t performance in the post-season and this year there was no opportunity for him to prove them wrong or right – so that debate will have to wait.

Expect Rodriguez to man third base throughout the 2009 season and to be amongst the Yankees strongest performances. An everyday player.

Morgan Ensberg (28 games). He played at third base in 21 of his 28 appearances. Ensberg was a surprise in the opening day roster and few who fall in that category see the season out. His .233 average in April suggested that Ensberg wouldn’t buck that trend. His major opportunity came in May with Rodriguez injured and Gonzalez suffering at the plate. He failed to turn this to his advantage with his average on the month falling to .161 on the month. As a consequence, he lost playing time to Alberto Gonzalez who is the stronger player defensively. He was gone before June began and didn’t find another ML team willing to give him plate time.

Wilson Betemit (87 games). He played at third base in 20 of these games. See my first base analysis for some comments on his season. I hope he does well for the White Sox next year.

Alberto Gonzalez (28 games) He played at third base in parts of 20 games. I’ll say more about his season when I get to the shortstops.

Cody Ransom (33 games). He only manned third base on 4 occasions. See my first base analysis for some comments on his season.

Chad Moeller (41 games). This versatile player saw some time at third base in 3 games. I’ll say more about his season when I get to the catchers.

So A-Rod will be back at third base in 2009, but there will to be someone found to act as a back-up. Perhaps they’ll pick up someone as a minor addition to a trade.

Yankees at second base …. but far from home

Posted on November 17, 2008 by twilightdawning

The Yankees used only 4 players at Second Base during the 2008 series. Here they are:

Robinson Cano (159 games). All Cano’s 159 games involved some time at Second Base although for three of them he entered the game as a pinch hitter before moving to that position. His previous years’ performances were the reason for the confidence they placed in him. The nadir of that confidence came when Girardi benched him for not running down infield hits.

Year	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2005	132	522	78	155	34	4	14	62	239	16	68	1	3	.320	.458	.297
2006	122	482	62	165	41	1	15	78	253	18	54	5	2	.365	.525	.342
2007	160	617	93	189	41	7	19	97	301	39	85	4	5	.353	.488	.306

With Cano you’re essentially looking at someone who hits singles well but this year he fell away in some major offensive categories

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2008	159	597	70	162	35	3	14	72	245	26	65	2	4	.305	.410	.271

Effectively, he produced less hits in 597 at-bats this year, than he had in 115 less turns at the plate in 2006

Question marks against Cano are such that if any team requested him as part of a trade then the Yankees wouldn’t need much persuading. In reality, this is unlikely to happen. Other teams are as likely to be as wary of his falling away as the Yankees are right now. Expect him to be in the line-up on opening day.

Alberto Gonzalez (28 games). Only 4 of Gonzalez’s 28 appearances in a New York shirt came at Second Base. I’ll say more about him when we get to the shortstops.

Wilson Betemit (87 games). Only 3 of Betemit’s appearances came at Second Base. See my first base analysis for some comments on his season. Update: Betemit’s time as a Yankee came to an end last week as he was a key piece in the trade that brought the White Sox’s Nick Swisher to the Bronx. This leaves the Yankees with the task of finding a suitable backup for the middle infield positions. Last season’s principal choices Betemit and Gonzalez are no longer around.

Cody Ransom (33 games). Only 2 of Ransom’s games involved time at Second Base. See my first base analysis for some comments on his season.

So Cano seems very likely to be the first choice second baseman, at least at the beginning of the season. Expect the Yankees to try and pick up a solid bench player during the off-season to help out at 2b, 3b and ss.

When September Ends (#2 – the Pitchers)

Posted on October 7, 2008 by twilightdawning

The bullpen came up with the goods in the last month – but let’s face it they had to. The starters were prone to only delivering 4 or 5 innings and with exception of Mussina and Aceves, the rotation was a mess.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – September

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

Bruney, Brian 10 10.0 3 0 0 2 12 2 0 0 0.00 .091

Robertson, David 4 4.2 2 0 0 3 7 1 0 0 0.00 .125

Coke, Phil 12 14.2 8 1 1 2 14 1 0 0 0.61 .160

Rivera, Mariano 9 9.0 4 1 1 0 7 1 0 7 1.00 .125

Marte, Damaso 9 6.2 4 1 1 3 7 1 0 0 1.35 .167

Hughes, Phil 2 12.0 9 3 3 2 10 0 0 0 2.25 .209

Chamberlain, Joba 10 11.1 11 3 3 3 14 0 0 0 2.38 .250

Aceves, Alfredo 5 28.0 25 8 8 10 13 1 0 0 2.57 .240

Mussina, Mike 6 34.0 37 12 12 8 35 4 2 0 3.18 .282

Veras, Jose 10 9.0 10 4 4 7 11 1 1 0 4.00 .286

Sanchez, Humberto 2 2.0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 4.50 .167

Pettitte, Andy 4 22.2 29 14 12 6 21 1 3 0 4.76 .302

Ponson, Sidney 5 19.1 24 15 14 6 9 1 0 0 6.52 .296

Pavano, Carl 5 23.1 31 19 18 8 9 2 2 0 6.94 .326

Britton, Chris 6 7.1 11 6 6 6 3 0 0 0 7.36 .367

Ramirez, Edwar 6 5.1 8 5 5 5 6 1 0 0 8.44 .364

Giese, Dan 5 5.0 11 8 6 1 4 0 0 0 10.80 .423

Rasner, Darrell 4 5.1 7 7 7 6 3 0 1 0 11.81 .304

Pluses

Brian Bruney. Bruney was a treasure this season whenever he was fit. A little lost weight and a little more consistency has led a good member of the bullpen to being a great member of the bullpen. His .091 OBA in September says it all.

Phil Coke. Coke had to eventually give up a run but it was only 1. There are signs that opposition were getting a little more used to him but here’s hoping he can roll into 2009 at the same level.

Mariano Rivera. Rivera got the last out at the old Yankee Stadium on a night which will live in the memory for a long, long time. He has had an excellent season and September was more of the same.

Minuses

Carl Pavano. Pavano was very lucky in his starts to pull off 4 wins. I don’t think there was one, he really deserved but he got lots of run support. There have been some disastrous signings of starting pitchers over the last 20 years – Andy Hawkins and Tim Leary come to mind – and Pavano is right up there with the worst.

Darrell Rasner. September finally saw him bounced out of the starting rotation as he achieved a season high 11.81 ERA on the month. Part of me thinks that a lot of this is down to a coaching staff who left him to wilt until it was too late. Most of me knows he won’t be in pinstripes in April.

Chris Britton. Britton was finally reduced to ninth innings in games we were winning by a considerable margin and he still struggled then. .367 OBA. He allowed too many hits and walked too many.

Surprises

Dan Giese. Giese did well in relief. Giese did well as a starter. Giese came back from injury well. And then in September it all fell apart. 10.80 ERA and leading the team in OBA on the month.

Damaso Marte. We finally found the right role for Mr. Marte who had struggled to find consistency since arriving from the Pirates. A good month for him and part of a package with Bruney, Chamberlain and Rivera which worked very well indeed on a number of occasions.

Humberto Sanchez. Sanchez’s arrival in the Bronx has been talked about for two or three years. Injuries got in the way on a number of occasions. He finally made it in the final week of the season and was …….ordinary.

When September Ends (#1 – the Hitters)

Posted on October 5, 2008 by twilightdawning

So the regular baseball season is over and my most recent trip to the Bronx seems quite a while ago. The playoffs continue without the Yankees for the first time since 1993 (we would have won it all in ’94 if it wasn’t for that damn strike). My hopes are pinned on the LA Dodgers principally because of the Joe Torre link.

Anyway time to survey the second half of September.

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – September

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

Cabrera, Melky 13 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .462 .462

Miranda, Juan 10 2 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 1 0 .400 .500

Jeter, Derek 76 15 26 9 1 0 3 12 11 2 0 2 .342 .474

Betemit, Wilson 30 4 9 5 5 0 1 0 9 0 0 0 .300 .567

Cano, Robinson 94 13 27 12 8 0 1 2 12 0 2 1 .287 .404

Gardner, Brett 53 9 15 7 3 1 0 2 11 1 0 6 .283 .377

Rodriguez, Alex 79 16 22 23 2 0 6 13 20 0 1 2 .278 .532

Abreu, Bobby 87 19 24 17 4 1 5 14 16 0 1 7 .276 .517

Ransom, Cody 38 6 10 3 2 0 2 6 11 1 0 0 .263 .474

Moeller, Chad 16 3 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 .250 .313

Damon, Johnny 88 16 22 14 1 1 6 9 10 0 0 4 .250 .489

Rodriguez, Ivan 37 5 9 1 3 0 0 1 5 0 0 3 .243 .324

Matsui, Hideki 43 2 10 5 2 0 0 2 11 0 0 0 .233 .279

Giambi, Jason 84 11 19 12 6 0 4 12 25 0 2 0 .226 .440

Nady, Xavier 103 11 23 17 4 0 4 7 16 0 1 1 .223 .379

Molina, Jose 28 3 4 3 0 0 1 1 11 1 1 0 .143 .250

Cervelli, Francisco 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .000 .000

Pluses

Derek Jeter. Jeter saw the season out with his strongest month at the end of a season where he seemed a little jaded. No such problems in September when .342 BA on the month edged him over .300 for the season

Brett Gardner. Gardner also saved his best to last. He was a big threat on the base paths and with .283 on the month was able to use that threat more often. Little in the walks column though.

Robinson Cano. Cano was so inconsistent this year. The benching that Girardi dealt him was too late in the season but at least it upped his personal endeavours.

Minuses

Hideki Matsui. We gained nothing from delaying Matsui’s surgery. His power dissipated and he looked distracted at the plate. Hope his surgery doesn’t hinder his role in April or we will have really lost.

Jason Giambi. Still produced something in the power columns and had patience at the plate but .226 BA was way lower than acceptable for what is hopefully his last month in pinstripes.

Xavier Nady. Spent too many nights at DH in September and had by far his worst months in pinstripes.

Surprises

Melky Cabrera. All the signs are that he may well be done in the Bronx but with a strong final month with Scranton and then his .462 when recalled by the Yankees, it is hard to see why they don’t intend to persevere. Defensively he is strong and even after a poor year, he still outhit Gardner.

Juan Miranda. I saw his debut in Pinstripes and seemed to be the only guy in the Stadium who knew who he was. Given that, I didn’t expect him to be in the lineup that night or this season or to hit as well as he did. Likely to end up in a trade in the close season but he has, at least, increased his value.

Wilson Betemit. He would have been on my list of players that I wanted to see shipped out of the Bronx at the beginning of the year but he has had an excellent second half of the season and should be allowed to come back in a bench role next year.

Final Night at Yankee Stadium

Posted on September 23, 2008 by twilightdawning

So how was the final night at Yankee Stadium, Darren? Well, I’m back in London and feeling very jetlagged so I might as well gather my thoughts and write them down.
A few days earlier I’d arrived early at the Stadium in order to have a final mooch around Monument Park. That night they closed the line into the park five minutes after the Stadium opened and I didn’t get in. So when they said that they were opening the park at 1.05 pm for a game that didn’t begin until 8.05, I wasn’t going to fall for it again but I did want a good long time to soak up the atmosphere so I arrived in the Bronx about 3. There was a guy on the Stadium gate announcing that Monument Park was already closed – no surprise there – but I decided to go in anyway get myself a hot dog and see what was happening. So I moved forward and presented my ticket. The attendant ran it through his swipe machine – and said there was a problem and that I should go to the "Will Call" window. Mmmmmmm…… I began to worry. But confident that all would be well, I walked round to Will Call. The woman there told me that the season ticket holder who had sold this to my ticket broker and then gone on and re-issued it to himself which is technically very out-of-order but meant that the ticket belonged to him and not to my ticket broker and consequently, no to me. Now, life is beginning to look very grim. Tickets for this game have been changing hands for $20,000 – $70,000 so I’m not about to head to a scalper. Looks like time to head back to Manhattan and settle back to watch the game on TV.
I’m waiting on the subway station when the fog of misery lifted enough to decide to ring my ticket broker who is a good guy and whose fault this wasn’t. I checked my cellphone and found that I hadn’t brought the number with me from the UK. Even bigger crap. Decided to ring my mate, Graham, in London, who is a pastor, only to find he was still at church taking service. Tried my sister in Yorkshire, who didn’t even know I was abroad and, lo and behold, she went on the internet and found a number.
Dialled the number. No answer. Ansaphone message but crucially giving me his mobile. Rang the mobile. No answer. Left a desperate message. Rang again. Still no answer. Mentally gave myself a cut off time that I was going to give back up and decide to do something more fun than sit in a subway station. ……… And then the phone rang. Broker Tim sounded very concerned and said he would call back which he did. Ten minutes later, call he did, and said he’d found a alternate ticket. Amazing. All I’d need was some photo I.D. and it would be at Stub Hub to collect. Only one problem….. my only photo identification, my passport, was in Manhattan and I was in the Bronx. Oh, okay, says Broker Tim, I’ll see what I can do to sweet talk them and get them to break their own rules and give it you without. Somehow or other, he pulled this off and ten minutes later – still only 4 o’clock – I was in the Stadium.

So my own personal crises aside, what else happened? Well, there was marching bands and a whole bunch of guys in the outfield dressed to appear as the 1923 starting line up. There were the greats of years gone by – those who are still in this world and didn’t have another game to be involved in this night. There was Reggie Jackson, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, Yogi Berra, Moose Skowron, Bobby Richardson, David Cone, David Wells, Don Larsen, Chris Chambliss, Willie Randolph and a cast of many, many more. There were the sons, daughters, and wives of those who died young. Crowd going crazy and joy unconfined for the devoted baseball fan. So much to see and do that the beginning of the game was definitely going to be at least half-an-hour late. Film and sounds and heroes.

When the game did actually begin, the Yankees were struggling behind a sub-par performance from Andy Pettitte. He gave up two early runs and Waters was pitching well for the Orioles and to be frank the Yankee bats seemed a little over-awed by the occasion. This really had been the story of all the games I had been too. Starting pitching which didn’t look up to the task and the bullpen to the rescue. The problem with this was it had stretched the resources of the ‘pen to the limit and several of the guys had gone out to the mound several nights on the trot.

And then it happened. Remembering where they were the Yankees came to life. Unlikely singles from Matsui (0-for-16 in recent at-bats), and Molina were followed by a home run from Johnny Damon. Pettitte gave up a third run but a two-run homer from Jose Molina (only his third home run of the season and it turned out to be the last ever fence-clearer at Yankee Stadium) in the bottom of the fourth restored the lead.
And then to the bullpen. Veras, Coke and Chamberlain once more delivered the goods. By this time the Yankees had extended their lead to 7-3. And then everyone was on their feet. Enter Sandman once more pumped from the public address. Rivera coming in from the bullpen. Field of Dreams, indeed.

The rest of the night produced laps of honour, speeches from Derek Jeter and more plays of Frank Sinatra’s recording of "New York, New York" than I could count or care to remember.

All this and in bed for three in the morning. Great, great night.

It ain’t over ’til it’s over

Posted on September 22, 2008 by twilightdawning

So no more games at old Yankee Stadium. What a night! There were ticket problems, celebrations and a good game of baseball – all of which I will probably write about at greater length but for now, it is a great memory and a great sadness that they’re actually going to demolish the place and sell it off piece by piece. There’s a great editorial in the New York Sun this morning which condemns this and I entirely endorse the author’s position. If this isn’t a national and a global treasure then I don’t know what is (hey, I’m biased). Turning all of the stadium or part of the stadium into a museum should be the obvious thing to do but somehow that’s not what is going to happen. Very disappointing, very strange.
I’m left with some great memories but there could be some more. I’ve made around 50 trips there over the last 15 years. I would want to be able to go back.

One More Time…..

Posted on September 21, 2008 by twilightdawning

Last night I took a cruise around the East River and the Hudson River on a yellow taxi boat out of the South Street Seaport. Very enjoyable but the guy on the public address talked too much. Meanwhile, over at Yankee Stadium, Alfredo Aceves was leading the Yankees to victory. He’s been everything that Phil Hughes should have been. In a couple of hours, I’m going to wind my way to the Bronx for one last time to see Andy Pettitte start, lots of celebrations and remembrances and the Stadium finally close. Exciting and sad all at the same time. Even if we are getting trounced, it is a very good bet that Mo Rivera will pitch the ninth.

Late tomorrow I fly back to England and arrive there on Tuesday.

Pavano – a waste of money and energy (but the Yankees win)

Posted on September 20, 2008 by twilightdawning

Sitting just behind the Yankees dugout last night, watching Carl Pavano struggle horribly for the first four innings, it didn’t look like the Yankees were going to pick up their second win of my stay but they did. A home run from Robinson Cano and some exemplary relief from Brian Bruney, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Coke got us through to Mariano Rivera and the inevitable although there was a wobble before the game finally came to its conclusion. 3-2.

Weather here is still hot and sunny. Fell asleep in Central Park in the green,green grass. It’s nice to relax and be away from work.

Mooooooose………………….

Posted on September 19, 2008 by twilightdawning

Fine game for Mike Mussina in Yankee Stadium last night. In truth, he had a pretty poor first innings (which was partially due to some doubtful calls on the plate umpire’s part) but after that he was smooth sailing. Bobby Abreu – the guy the "insiders" say is on his way out of the Bronx on the end of the season but whom this journal reckons should be the rock they build next year’s outfield around – hit two home runs in his first two at-bats. As usual in September there were a whole bunch of debutantes now the season is winding to a close with no hope of the post-season. So I got my first look at Juan Miranda (first base & the 17th Cuban ever to play for NYY), Humberto Sanchez (subject of many whispers over the last two years but whose arrival in the Bronx has been much delayed by injury) and Francisco Cervelli (whose appearance was too brief to figure out much about other than he is a catcher).
Jeter continues to enjoy a strong finish to the year. The stadium is pretty full but the empty seats are mostly in the most expensive areas which is interesting given that their policy for the "new" Yankee Stadium is to increase the expensive seating areas and private boxes and reduce the numbers seats available for typical baseball fans. Two guys I met had paid $250 for their seats and left in the fifth innings. Now there’s fans for you.

Aside from baseball, I took the ferry over to Staten island and did some exploring (okay, I looked round the baseball stadium there, too) and had a good day soaking up the sun in Manhattan. I’m just heading to Central Park and then tonight it is Yankees play Orioles.