twilightdawning

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

Manhattan Skyline

Posted on September 17, 2008 by twilightdawning

So I’m hanging around Manhattan for a few days as I’m here to take in the last few games at Yankee Stadium. I love this city and it is always great to be here whatever the circumstance but the closure of the Stadium makes me both excited and annoyed in equal measure. Annoyed because they’re getting rid of all tradition and history and things will never be the same. Excited because at least I get to be a part of the big wind-down and the final game.

After that back to the UK and hopefully take the two Swarf concerts that are happening during the last week in September.

September Rain…… Here Comes the Rain (part 2 – the pitchers)

Posted on September 15, 2008 by twilightdawning

New York is beautiful at this time of the year……. the pitching in the Bronx not as good.

Pluses

Phil Coke. Young Mr Coke missed out on Scranton’s post-season success in order to bolster the Yankees major league struggles. He has certainly helped. Five games in September, so far, without a run conceded and a team best OBA for the month.

Brian Bruney. Bruney continues to dominate in his relief appearances. He and Damaso Marte are becoming a crucial part of the relief corps especially with Vera faltering slightly.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves has impressed. First in relief and then as a starter, he has done well in his so-far brief tenure.

Minuses

Darrell Rasner. Despite a decent innings in relief against Tampa a couple of nights ago, there is no hiding the depths that Rasner’s season has fallen to. He achieved an ERA of over 19 in his first two September appearances and one of out of every two batters he faced made it to the first base bag safely during that period.

Edwar Ramirez. Ramirez seems to have lost his way in the final third of the season. Five runs given up in his last 3 1/3 innings. Not good.

Sidney Ponson. Sidney has faded badly but still we persist with him as a starter. He has avoided losses so far this month but he is making hard work for the bullpen.

Surprises

Dan Giese. Giese has struggled since his return from injury. Hoping this is not the lingering problems of his strain.

Mike Mussina. Mussina has run out of luck in the last few weeks. The run support for him as not been as strong as earlier in the year. What were once wins are turning into losses and no decisions. Twenty games no longer looks possible.

Andy Pettitte. Pettitte usually has a strong second half but this year poor outings have seen his win-loss record drift out to 13-13. Could be his last year in the Bronx.

September Rain…… Here Comes the Rain

Posted on September 14, 2008 by twilightdawning

So as I prepare for my latest trip to Manhattan and the Bronx, time for another update on the successes and failures of the month so far in New York…….

Pluses

Derek Jeter. Jeter continues to have a huge run with the bat. His production has gone through the roof over the last few weeks albeit that it is too late for the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is pulling out of his late August slump as his grand slam against the Rays this afternoon proves. That was his fifth home run of the month.

Bobby Abreu. Abreu continues to be our most productive and consistent offensive player. He should be the player that we build our outfield around in 2009.

Minuses

Jose Molina. Molina has been very consistent behind the plate and very poor at the plate. With Posada unlikely to be fit to catch on opening day and with Pudge unlikely to back, there is a real question whether Molina should be back in 2009.

Robinson Cano. So the Yankees website tells us that Cano will rebuild his mechanics during the offseason. Serious consideration should be given to how it is that after a reasonable mid-season recovery, he has drifted out to a .143 BA on the month so far. Too many players have lost sight of their strengths this year. The coaching staff needs to undergo some changes at the season end.

Hideki Matsui. Recovered enough from injury to be on the team but still needing surgery at the season end, Matsui is just not himself. Whether this is because he hasn’t adapted to being designated hitter or whether he has insufficient physical strength to actually be playing at all is debatable but .225 on the month so far with no home runs is not what the team rushed him back for.

Surprises

Johnny Damon. Only surprising that Damon has cooled at the point that the Yankees needed him to heat up. He has had a good year on the whole but as become too quiet when we needed him most.

Chad Moeller. Surprisingly, back in the Bronx again and doing well in his occasional start. All this from a guy we nearly lost through waivers earlier in the season.

Phil Hughes. Just when all was lost, he came up with the goods in the game that brought the championship to Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Consequently, he is being called up and a start in the Bronx is pencilled in. So many twists and turns…….

End of the Innocence – The End of August – Part 2

Posted on September 7, 2008 by twilightdawning

And so to the pitchers:

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – August

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

Aceves, Alfredo        2.0  0  0  0  0  3 0 0 0   0.00 .000

Rivera, Mariano       14.1  9  3  3  2 13 1 2 6   1.88 .173

Giese, Dan             9.0  5  2  2  5  8 0 0 0   2.00 .156

Mussina, Mike         40.0 38 14 13  6 30 3 0 0   2.93 .262

Pavano, Carl          11.0 10  4  4  2  6 2 0 0   3.27 .256

Bruney, Brian         13.0  8  5  5  8  9 0 0 0   3.46 .178

Ponson, Sidney        34.0 37 20 20 14 12 1 3 0   5.29 .291

Britton, Chris         5.0  7  3  3  1  6 0 0 0   5.40 .304

Rasner, Darrell       29.1 33 22 18  8 15 0 1 0   5.52 .273

Veras, Jose           13.0 13  8  8  8 16 2 1 0   5.54 .260

Pettitte, Andy        37.0 47 24 24 13 26 1 3 0   5.84 .320

Ramirez, Edwar        11.2 15 10  9  4 13 2 1 1   6.94 .300

Marte, Damaso          9.1  6  8  8  6 13 0 3 0   7.71 .182

Robertson, David      11.0 15 10 10  5 12 1 0 0   8.18 .349

Chamberlain, Joba      4.2  8  5  5  2  5 0 0 0   9.64 .381

Traber, Billy          4.2 10  5  5  1  3 0 0 0   9.64 .417

Kennedy, Ian           2.0  9  5  5  1  1 0 1 0  22.50 .600

Pluses

Alfredo Aceves. Late August call-up who now looks like a September addition to the starting rotation. Fine August debut

Mariano Rivera. A slight improvement in his season ERA (and why not?) will give him the best ERA of his career. August hasn’t been his best month but it has been better than most everybody else in the Bronx!

Mike Mussina. Three more wins in August and a twenty win season is still a possibility. His performances have had bags of grit and determination and just the right level of remaining skill.

Minuses

Joba Chamberlain. Let’s recap the story. Chamberlain was an outstanding reliever until ownership decided to interfere and told the management that he must be a starter almost overnight. Fast tracked he first became a so-so starter and then an arm-damaged member of the disabled list. Now back to "fitness", he is sub-par as a reliever which is where he will apparently stay in 2009.

David Robertson. Promoted from AA to the majors, he has liked so many young pitchers this season failed to maintain his own standards and then been returned to a lower level. His 8.18 ERA in August demanded his demotion to Scranton.

Billy Traber. We are now discovering with the promotion of Phil Coke that we have had some decent left-handed pitchers all along. Traber was not one of them.

Surprises

Carl Pavano. Two wins for him after a disastrous stint in pinstripes. The winning run has been a bit lucky and won’t be maintained but at least he finally came up with something.

Dan Giese. Back in the majors. Back in the bullpen. Back to fitness. And still he does well. He has done whatever we have asked of him and he deserves a long future in New York as his reward.

Phil Hughes. No, he’s not on the above table and perhaps, there lies the surprise. He is now pitching with a horrible inflated ERA at Scranton. Hughes and Ian Kennedy were meant to be the future of the rotation. Now there’s a legitimate question about what there future holds. One to observe from a distance in Spring training.

End of the Innocence – The End of August – Part 1

Posted on September 7, 2008 by twilightdawning

So the likelihood of the New York Yankees reaching the post-season gets slimmer and slimmer. August wasn’t the month of finally finding their way that Mr. Girardi had hoped for but it was a month with some bright spots and some hope for the future

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – August



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

Ransom, Cody            5  3  3   5   1  0  2  1  1  0  0  0  .600 2.000

Jeter, Derek          113 12 39  11   1  0  2  7 21  2  2  3  .345 .407

Abreu, Bobby          114 16 39  10   6  0  1 12 19  0  0  2  .342 .421

Gardner, Brett         15  1  5   2   1  1  0  1  2  0  0  2  .333 .533

Nady, Xavier          107  9 33  19   5  0  6  5 28  0  0  0  .308 .523

Damon, Johnny         115 22 35  11   2  1  4 14 22  0  0  9  .304 .443

Betemit, Wilson        34  4 10   5   1  0  1  1  9  0  0  0  .294 .412

Cano, Robinson        100 14 29  10   3  2  4  7 18  0  0  0  .290 .480

Rodriguez, Alex       103 23 25  16   8  0  6 13 30  0  1  1  .243 .495

Giambi, Jason          82  9 19  22   0  0  8 10 25  0  3  0  .232 .524

Molina, Jose           45  8 10   4   2  0  2  1  7  1  0  0  .222 .400

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

Rodriguez, Ivan        56  6  11  2   1  0  2  3  9  0  0  1  .196 .321

Matsui, Hideki         43  4  8   6   2  0  2  5  6  0  0  0  .186 .372

Sexson, Richie         13  1  2   4   1  0  1  2  5  0  0  0  .154 .462

Cabrera, Melky         26  1  3   1   0  0  0  0  3  0  0  1  .115 .115

Pluses

Bobby Abreu. Abreu has been our most consistent hitter and outfielder and that continued in August. Hitting .342 on the month, he is not hitting for power but he is a singles-and-doubles hitter par excellence and is lively on the bases.

Derek Jeter. Jeter had to have a good month at some point and August seems to have been it. He has never been awful but has never lived up to his performance of previous years. Again, the power wasn’t there but .345 on the month is more like it.

Xavier Nady. Nady hasn’t slowed since he came to the Bronx and this month he hit .308 and was second in homers. He looks a key part of the outfield for 2009.

Minuses

Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod has been consistently good if not great so far this year but the second half of August was a real let-down. Again and again, he would be in a clutch hitting spot with runners on base and again and again, particularly in late innings, he would come up with nothing. This meant hearty booing from the bleachers which livened up some dreary defeats but, like A-Rod, really achieved nothing.

Melky Cabrera. And the cupboard was bare….. Melky is back in the Bronx in September but doesn’t look likely to feature much. It has been an awful year for this guy.

Ivan Rodriguez. Sharing the catching equally with Jose Molina (and hitting less than him) and batting .196 on the month with no power to speak of, it has been a bad trade which saw Farnsworth go to Detroit for this guy whose glory days are behind him.

Surprises

Brett Gardner. Gardner has finally begun to hit for average as well as being a base-running threat. Best month of a limited season.

Cody Ransom. We all smiled when Ransom had two-at-bats and two home runs. It had to end but he has acquitted himself very well in his very limited role.

Wilson Betemit. Betemit has continued to impress me with his commitment and hitting / fielding off the bench. He has become a very serviceable player in the second half of the season.

Yankees and pitching and August…… so far

Posted on August 22, 2008 by twilightdawning

Well, after last night’s debacle it is not a good time to be commenting on the pitching but it’s got to be done…..

Pluses

Brian Bruney. Bruney has come back from injury with few problems and he has resumed the role he had before his foot gave way. This has been especially timely following Farnsworth’s departure. He has a 2.33 ERA but more significantly a team leading OBA of 1.76.

Jose Veras. 4th on the bullpen with 43 appearances and one of those ahead of him has headed off to Detroit. Veras has a 2.84 ERA for the season. With the occasional wobble, he remains mostly solid and dependable.

Mike Mussina. 16 wins, 7 losses, 3 no decisions. I would have bet heavily against that performance from Mussina coming into the season (if I was a gambling man!)

Minuses

Damaso Marte. If we leave out his figures from the time before he came back to New York (yes, he was here before, you could look it up!), he has accumulated a 11.05 ERA. He was going to be the sole left-handed reliever. He has already disappointed enough to make Traber’s recall necessary – which hasn’t been pretty.

David Robertson. Arriving from Double-A with a minimum of fanfare, Robertson settled into his role with a minimum of difficulty. Like with so many players this year, the difficulties began in the Bronx and Girardi’s coaching staff have been unable to iron them out. This has led to some lacklustre performances and a 5.96 ERA which the 3-0 record cannot hide.

Chris Britton. For the onlooking fan it was difficult to see earlier in the year why they weren’t giving Britton a more extended stay at the major league level. Now he has achieved that, it has become obvious. His ERA has drifted out to 4.61 and he has only 6 strikeouts in 13.2 innings of play.

Surprises

Billy Traber. He’s still on the major league roster in the second half of August. This is enough of a surprise for me. Earlier in the year when they would send him in for a 1/3 of an innings to get out the left-handed hitter, he didn’t look so bad. Now he and his 7.02 ERA need to go back to Scranton.

Sidney Ponson. He’s still on NYY’s major league roster in the second half of August. He’s managed to control and behave himself in the clubhouse by all accounts and his pitching has been way better than it was last time around. It’s almost been a positive surprise. But then came last night………

Ian Kennedy. Still don’t figure this one. He returned to the roster earlier in the month. Pitched two innings as a starter. Gave up 5 runs on 9 hits. In interview after the game it didn’t seem to matter to him. He was demoted. This weekend there’s a gaping hole in the rotation a mile wide and we’d rather go with Pavano. That’s how bad it’s got for Kennedy. What happened to the pitcher we saw last season?

Yankees and hitting and August…. so far

Posted on August 21, 2008 by twilightdawning

Well, I’ve been going through an unusually quiet time. Nothing much to say about anything else but a few words on what’s happening with the Yankees through the first half of August:

Pluses

Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod has been a positive influence in the first half of the month and through the season as a whole. 2nd in RBIs (77) and 1st in Homers (28). He’s spoken up over the last few days demanding the team press and put together a winning streak before it’s too late.

Bobby Abreu – Abreu leads the squad in RBIs (81) but also in strikeouts (89). It’s been a mixed year but the positives have outweighed the negatives for Abreu.

Xavier Nady – Nady has hit .309 since joining the Yankees. He has plugged holes in the outfield where most of the players who have been used have performed when they have been fit – but Damon and Matsui have had difficult years in terms of fitness. Nady has proved to be all that a quickly obtained outfielder could have been.

Minuses

Ivan Rodriguez – Where Nady has continued the solid season he was having before joining the Yankees, the same cannot be said for Pudge Rodriguez. There weren’t many home runs before he left Detroit but now the batting average has dried up as well. .229 since moving to New York which when combined with Molina’s .227 doesn’t amount to much.

Melky Cabrera – .242 in 117 games and demoted to Scranton (AAA). Cabrera couldn’t have envisioned this season and neither could the fans or the management. Gardner and Christian don’t have much more to offer in batting average and the fact that they chose to re-assign Melky shows how deep the malaise has become.

Richie Sexson – The signing and eventual release of power-hitting Richie was one big mistake. During 22 games and 28 at-bats he came up with one home run.

Surprises

Hideki Matsui – The very fact that Matsui is in the line-up again in 2008 is enough of a surprise to qualify as a major surprise. Not sure it will produce much but its time to play our last cards and Matsui is just that.

Wilson Betemit – Betemit has had enough discouragements this year. Slumps, injuries, eyesight problems and being overlooked when major roles were available. That he has raised his average to .261 and has a higher slugging percentage than Jeter under those circumstances is quite an achievement.

Cody Ransom – Didn’t expect Ransom to make the majors this year. 1 at-bat, 1 home run. It’s a nice story.

Sometimes…..

Posted on August 5, 2008 by twilightdawning

Earlier I said:

“Personally, I’d rest Rasner and give him a moment to catch his breath and allow Giese to take his next start.”

Then the Yankees said:

“The Yankees announced Monday that Dan Giese will take over as the team’s fifth starter, while Rasner will settle into a long relief role. Giese’s first start will come Friday in Anaheim after a string of successful relief performances earned him a promotion.”

Got that one right

July review – New York Yankee pitchers

Posted on August 4, 2008 by twilightdawning

On the whole, July has been a good month for pitching for the Yankees with few exceptions. Even those who didn’t do so well managed the odd good outing:

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – July

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

Ramirez, Edwar 10 11.1 0 0 0 3 16 1 0 0 0.00 .000

Giese, Dan 6 10.1 8 2 2 2 5 0 0 0 1.74 .211

Farnsworth, Kyle 10 8.1 4 2 2 4 9 0 0 0 2.16 .133

Chamberlain, Joba 6 35.2 30 11 10 10 43 2 1 0 2.52 .227

Mussina, Mike 5 31.0 36 9 9 2 27 3 1 0 2.61 .300

Veras, Jose 11 10.1 8 3 3 5 13 0 1 0 2.61 .211

Rivera, Mariano 9 11.0 11 4 4 1 15 2 1 4 3.27 .262

Hawkins, LaTroy 6 6.2 6 3 3 1 5 0 0 0 4.05 .240

Pettitte, Andy 6 38.0 41 23 20 10 33 3 3 0 4.74 .281

Robertson, David 12 12.2 8 7 7 7 16 2 0 0 4.97 .174

Rasner, Darrell 4 21.2 29 16 15 11 11 1 2 0 6.23 .333

Britton, Chris 1 3.2 7 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 7.36 .438

Traber, Billy 2 2.1 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 7.71 .222

Marte, Damaso 3 2.1 4 2 2 1 4 0 0 0 7.71 .364

Ponson, Sidney 4 20.2 33 18 18 8 8 1 1 0 7.84 .379

Pluses

Edwar Ramirez. In 10 appearances in July, Ramirez didn’t give up a run and achieved 11 1/3 innings on the mound. He’s already experienced a wobble in August but in July he was as good as it gets

Joba Chamberlain. Joba is finally settling into this starting business. In July, he achieved two wins and was solid in every other statistical category.

Mike Mussina. Moose continues to enjoy his indian summer. With solid support from the offence and some canny pitching, he continues to succeed despite allowing two many runners.

Minuses

Sidney Ponson. Despite the occasional good start this has not been a good month for Sidney. 7.84 ERA and only 5 innings (on average) per start.

Darrell Rasner. Rasner and Ponson give us two games in every five where we’re lucky to be level when the starter leaves. Personally, I’d rest Rasner and give him a moment to catch his breath and allow Giese to take his next start.

David Robertson. After beginning well, he appears to be fading fast. His ERA was a whisker under 5 for the month.

Surprises

Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth was finally in his stride. An OBA of .133 on the month was positively miserly resulting in a 2.16 ERA for that period. It must have hurt Girardi to see him go.

Dan Giese. Giese continues to be successful. Soon I’m going to stop being surprised by this. Proportionally, he gave up a lot of hits but very few of those passed home plate.

Mariano Rivera. Rivera is struggling when he comes into a game level or behind and generally it is the first batter he faces who hurts him. Maybe this is psychological at the moment but it is a mar on an otherwise great season.

July review – New York Yankee hitters

Posted on August 3, 2008 by twilightdawning

Mmmmm…….. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth. Girardi described it as robbing Peter to pay Paul. Too true. The last two months are the first time that I’ve been glad to see Farnsworth on the Yankees roster sheet and now he is gone. Pudge is not the player he once was but he seems to have matured as a person. So I guess this one hangs in the balance and may do until late September. July was a very mixed month for the Bronx Bombers. Here is how it played out on the offensive side of the account (I’ve included the stats for actual Yankees appearances for the incoming players):

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – July

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

Mussina, Mike 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500

Christian, Justin 10 2 4 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 .400 .500

Rodriguez, Alex 95 20 32 21 6 0 7 9 20 0 1 4 .337 .621

Rodriguez, Ivan 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 .333

Sexson, Richie 15 1 5 2 0 0 0 4 5 0 1 0 .333 .333

Cano, Robinson 101 11 33 17 6 1 3 3 9 1 0 0 .327 .495

Damon, Johnny 54 11 17 11 4 0 1 7 6 0 0 2 .315 .444

Abreu, Bobby 97 21 29 20 11 0 4 14 15 0 0 2 .299 .536

Jeter, Derek 100 14 28 14 8 0 2 10 16 0 0 1 .280 .420

Nady, Xavier 18 6 5 4 2 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 .278 .722

Cabrera, Melky 92 11 25 3 3 1 1 2 13 1 0 2 .272 .359

Giambi, Jason 64 7 15 16 1 0 3 14 18 0 1 0 .234 .391

Molina, Jose 50 8 11 1 2 0 0 5 9 1 0 0 .220 .260

Betemit, Wilson 46 4 10 3 1 0 0 3 15 1 0 0 .217 .239

Posada, Jorge 42 5 9 2 2 0 0 8 14 0 0 0 .214 .262

Gardner, Brett 56 8 9 7 1 0 0 5 16 2 1 4 .161 .179

Moeller, Chad 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .083 .083

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

Pluses

Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod continues to be consistent and impress. Of the players who have been on the roster all month he leads in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging average, home runs, and is tied for lead in stolen bases.

Robinson Cano. Having begun to turn things around before the All-Star break, he was red-hot immediately after the restart. A swollen hand saw him dip again at the end of the month and then drop out of the lineup in early August.

Bobby Abreu. .299 in July with 11 doubles and 4 home runs. It’s the nearest he’s come to his previous from during this season.

Minuses

Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez looked a good prospect at the beginning of the season. He was only given 1 at bat in July, leaving him at .173 batting average and .212 slugging for the season. Not surprisingly, he was traded at the deadline for anything we could get.

Jason Giambi. 3 home runs and .234 batting average. Giambi is busy turning a comeback year into nothing special.

Chad Moeller. 1 hit in 12 at bats for Moeller and third string catcher gave us enough reasons to be sure that a Molina-Moeller tandem was never going to cover Posada’s absence. So Moeller is gone and Pudge is in but we have had to give up Farnsworth to achieve this.

Surprises

Wilson Betemit. Betemit was poor for the part of the season, massively improved for the second and hit the skids again shortly after. Defensively he’s been okay but poor offense has let him down – somehow we think Sexson is going to be an improvement.

Justin Christian. Christian was called up ahead of Brett Gardner. Gardner seemed to settle more quickly and the edge in speed on the bases. But Christian has persevered and whilst Gardner’s confidence seemed to fail as July progressed (resulting in him being sent back to Scranton), Justin produced 4 hits in 10 at bats. He’s going to see more bench time than playing time but he’s earned his spot

Richie Sexson. Five hits in his first fifteen at bats. No home runs. No extra base hits. Not sure what to make of this but it certainly wasn’t what was expected.