It needs to be observed that the Yankees’ bullpen – which at times been their great strength and other times their greatest weakness – didn’t come back from the All-star break doing quite as well as they had in the first half. Those ERAs that were 1.something became 2.something for the month of July but, overall, the team’s pitching held their own. Let’s see who did particularly well and particularly badly…….
July saw the Yankees stay close to the Red Sox and ready themselves for the big run in. It’s hard to believe that they are not going to be at least the wild card for the American League. Here are some of the reasons why:
And now we turn our attention to the pitchers…………………….
And so having safely returned from New York, we turn our attention to what has been a very good month with the bat for the Yankees:
And so the pitchers:
Sorry these are so late but I’ve only just returned from the U.S..
The Yankees rotation coming out of Spring Training looked like a disaster waiting to happen. The old hands (Freddy Garcia as a starter with Bartolo Colon in relief), the under-achievers (AJ Burnett, Phil Hughes), and the unknowns (Ivan Nova). So given that April was such a success it bodes well for the rest of the season. Or as May plays out, was this just beginners’ luck? Anyway, here’s what happened:
At the moment, it’s almost a relief to look back on something I wrote about the Yankees at the end of April. May has seen them go into meltdown and at the end of the April it all seemed so optimistic. It was only two weeks ago………
The Yankees’ pitching has not been predictable this season. The performances have certainly not been like they were expected to be pre-season. Joba Chamberlain and A.J. Burnett have failed, so far, to live up to their top billing. But also, the appearances of April have not gelled into full season trends with Javier Vazquez particularly overcoming his early season problems. How did it all look during June?
| New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – June | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | GP | GS | GF | IP | H | RA | ER | BB | SO | W | L | Sv | ERA | OBA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mitre, Sergio | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | .167 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rivera, Mariano | 11 | 0 | 11 | 13.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0.00 | .093 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Robertson, David | 9 | 0 | 2 | 9.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sabathia, C.C. | 5 | 5 | 0 | 37.0 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2.19 | .191 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Logan, Boone | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.35 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pettitte, Andy | 5 | 5 | 0 | 34.0 | 29 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.18 | .232 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Vazquez, Javier | 6 | 6 | 0 | 39.0 | 26 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.23 | .187 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Chamberlain, Joba | 12 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.22 | .275 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gaudin, Chad | 7 | 0 | 6 | 12.2 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.97 | .267 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hughes, Phil | 5 | 5 | 0 | 31.1 | 37 | 19 | 18 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5.17 | .303 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Park, Chan Ho | 9 | 0 | 5 | 11.2 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Marte, Damaso | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | .125 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Burnett, A.J. | 5 | 5 | 0 | 23.0 | 35 | 29 | 29 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11.35 | .357 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 87 | 26 | 26 | 236.1 | 208 | 112 | 108 | 93 | 211 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 4.11 | .239 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Good
Mariano Rivera. Rivera suffered one or two hiccups in May but his long career show that those occasional problems are nothing more than that and he finds it amazingly easy to get back in the groove. In 11 appearance in June, he only allowed six players to get on base and none of them resulted in runs given up. He continues to astound.
C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia took 5 wins in 5 starts after a largely indifferent start to the season. He is hitting his stride excellently as the season reaches its midpoint and a 20 win season looks well within his reach.
Andy Pettitte. Another solid month for Pettitte who is supposed to be aging and consequently fading. Without last year’s self-inflicted burden on his shoulders, he is looking more intimidating, more confident and simply a better pitcher. True growth isn’t found in pills or serum or injection but in overcoming adversity using those natural God-given resources.
Javier Vazquez. And now Vazquez is giving the Yankees the innings and solid pitching that he has delivered for every other team that he has represented but that he has struggled to match in the Bronx. In June, he kept his OBA below 2 and delivered six and a half innings, on average, each outing. That will do very nicely. Thank you.
Sergio Mitre. Mitre must be truly disappointed to be on the disabled list. That’s always a difficult experience but even more so when everything is coming right for you. His final appearance before the injury was as good as anything he has produced for the Pinstripes.
Bad
A.J. Burnett. Burnett got lost in June but there are already signs that his time in the wilderness might be coming to an end. But June saw him deliver a lousy 11.35 ERA and put more batters per innings on base than any other Yankees pitcher. Let’s hope those better days come thick and fast.
Joba Chamberlain. When he’s good, he’s good. But when he’s bad, he is simply awful. And the bad days are outnumbering the good. They failed to make a starter of him and he isn’t the reliever he was. Sometimes you tamper at your peril.
Chan Ho Park. There was a time when Park was a dominating starter. There was a time when Park was a dominating reliever. At the moment he is not pitching well, his mechanics seem all over the place and he is being hit all over the park.
Chad Gaudin. Having released this guy in Spring Training, I do not understand why we brought him back. Having brought him back when there was a number of injuries around, I don’t understand why he is still around now we have more options. He is ordinary when he is at his best.
Surprises
David Robertson. And in June, the 2009 David Robertson reappeared on the roster of the Bronx Bombers. Only time will tell whether the career of Mr Robertson will be more like this guy or whether the pitcher from the previous two months of this season will return. Certainly, this guy is the better one for the Yankees. He gave up one run and averaged a strikeout per innings. He still allowed too many men to get on base but this was a surprising return to form.
Boone Logan. Logan had a good month in June – which resulted in reassignment and another trip to the minors. The need to make a space on the roster for Dustin Moseley was obviously the core reason for this but Logan does bring something to the roster which will be missed. On the other side of the coin, it could be argued that there were times in June when Logan escaped lightly, having put several men on base but managing to get the final out when in difficult straits. There were also times when he was fortunate that others were able to come in and right the ship for him.
Phil Hughes. Hughes won four games in June – but you don’t have to look far to realise that this was mostly down to a very high level of run support. He may still be winning but he is not pitching as well as he was earlier in the year.
The Yankees had a mixed month in June. Overall, they were very good but they had a couple of dry spells when the bats fell silent and they lost games that, on paper, they should have won. The month finished with 16 wins and 10 losses and with the usual mix of strong performances and under-achievers. Here’s our monthly survey, beginning with 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gardner, Brett | 21 | 60 | 13 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .383 | .533 | .472 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Curtis, Colin | 7 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .556 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cano, Robinson | 26 | 102 | 19 | 34 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .510 | .398 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Teixeira, Mark | 26 | 100 | 19 | 25 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .460 | .353 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pettitte, Andy | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rodriguez, Alex | 22 | 82 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .244 | .463 | .308 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jeter, Derek | 25 | 103 | 18 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .243 | .379 | .339 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Swisher, Nick | 26 | 104 | 13 | 25 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .240 | .423 | .319 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Granderson, Curtis | 26 | 92 | 13 | 22 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .239 | .457 | .297 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Posada, Jorge | 24 | 74 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .203 | .351 | .337 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Moeller, Chad | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .400 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Huffman, Chad | 8 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .200 | .294 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cervelli, Francisco | 21 | 61 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .180 | .246 | .275 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pena, Ramiro | 14 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .136 | .136 | .240 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Russo, Kevin | 13 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .130 | .130 | .231 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Thames, Marcus | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .071 | .071 | .133 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Miranda, Juan | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rivera, Mariano | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Vazquez, Javier | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1.000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Burnett, A.J. | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sabathia, C.C. | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 877 | 124 | 215 | 117 | 40 | 5 | 29 | 106 | 174 | 6 | 7 | 12 | .245 | .401 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Good
Brett Gardner. Some where in the close season, someone kidnapped Brett Gardner and replaced him with the guy we’re seeing this season. Still a pest and a nuisance on the basepaths, this guy is now hitting in a much more accomplished way and has raised his average phenomenally. He should be the first guy written into the outfield line up on current form and achieved a .383 BA and a .533 slugging percentage during June.
Robinson Cano. Cano is the American League’s starting second baseman in the All-Star game and frankly it could be no other way. June was probably his weakest month of the season so far. He ONLY batted .333 with 4 home runs.
Mark Teixeira. Teixeira led the Yankees in extra base hits in June. He is still far short of his MVP-like performance in 2009 but his 6 doubles and 5 homers were a significant step in the right direction.
Colin Curtis. Brought in to cover the gap on the bench left by Marcus Thames’ injury, it didn’t take long for Curtis to jump ahead of Chad Huffman in the management’s thoughts on who is the longterm replacement there for the released Randy Winn. Curtis will see limited action but has been effective when called upon.
Bad
Marcus Thames. Thames started the season in very convincing fashion. Injuries meant that he couldn’t be limited to being used against left-handed pitchers and then he was injured himself. An .071 month in 14 at-bats followed by 2 weeks on the disabled list made for a shocking month for Thames.
Kevin Russo. Both Russo and Pena proved that there use as a defensive substitution and late innings replacement is messing with their batting mechanics. Solid defensively, it is hard to see who was the worst at the plate.
Ramiro Pena. See Kevin Russo.
Francisco Cervelli. Like the aforementioned Russo and Pena, Cervelli had a difficult month as a batter. The difference for Cervelli was that, during June, he was the team’s most called upon catcher. Those pundits who said he couldn’t bat are going to be mumbling again unless he break out of this nosedive.
Surprises
Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez is seeing an end to his power outage (perhaps) but he is still not getting on base nearly often enough. 10 extra base hits but only .244 on the month.
Derek Jeter. Jeter proved himself all over again in 2009 but his 2010 figures are shown a marked slide offensively which detracts from his continued defensive rebirth. Maybe his appearance in the All-Star game will be his springboard to a big second half.
Jorge Posada. Posada recovered from injury more quickly than I expected but his batting performance did not come back with the physical presence. The continued absence of Johnson means that even when not called upon to catch, Posada is uppermost in Girardi’s mind for DH time. On current performances, he could do without that work.
Chad Huffman. Huffman was a disappointment from the get-go. He has no power, isn’t hitting for much of an average. This is what happens when we pick up the castoff scraps from under other franchises’ tables.
twilightdawning 