twilightdawning

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

Yankees – Back to the the start..ing pitchers

Posted on December 29, 2008 by twilightdawning

At the start of 2008, the Yankees weren’t sure about their number 5 starter and were hoping against hope that Mike Mussina could overcome the years and do better than he did in 2007. Well, that prayer was answered but all the things that they took for granted….. that Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes could handle a full season in the top bracket, that Chien-Ming Wang would deliver again and that Andy Pettitte would give them 18-20 wins…. turned to dust in their hands.
And so the "go with youth" policy was broken into pieces and much money has been spent to put C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett into the rotation for next year. So what went wrong?

Mike Mussina (34 games) 34 starts and an indian summer to match them all. 20 wins. 3.37 ERA and .278 OBA. 200.1 innings pitched. Mussina had looked like he had popped his cork in 2007 and I had very slim hopes of him returning to form. In 2008, he looked like a different pitcher and he ceased to rely on the game that had carried him through when he was a younger man. He looked canny and crafty and he suffered only 9 losses on the year. In short, he was a tour-de-force………… But now he’s retired and the surprise package of 2008 needs to be replaced and so the Yankees had to spend money.

Andy Pettitte (33 games) 33 starts and rather mediocre. When Pettitte won he quite often did so because the bats delivered and gave him substantial run support. When the bats didn’t deliver (and that wasn’t infrequent), he invariably lost. He ended the year at 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA. Consequently, the Yankees are still pondering whether they need Pettitte for next year. To be true if it wasn’t for his history with the club, they probably wouldn’t be asking those questions. To be true, if it wasn’t for his history with the club, he would already have signed with the Dodgers and Joe Torre. I think he should swallow deeply, remember last winter and all the damage that did to his reputation and take the $10 million that the Yankees have on the table. He would be a good no. 4 or no. 5 starter.

Darrell Rasner (24 games). 20 starts. Somehow or other, Rasner managed to come out of the year as the no. 3 starter. Somehow or other, the Yankees let his slender potential die on the vine and left him out there in some games when his demeanour told everyone he needed to be back in the dugout and to be assured that the Yankees coaching staff cared enough to protect his slender confidence. They didn’t and they sold his contract and he was on the first plane to Japan almost as soon as the season was over. He only managed 5 wins and his ERA ballooned to 5.40 although his OBA was almost identical to Pettitte’s.

Sidney Ponson (16 games). 15 starts. In 2006, Sidney Ponson got a break and wound up playing for the Yankees. He delivered a 10.47 ERA in 3 starts and 2 relief appearances. By 2008, the Yankees were so confused about their pitching that they went back to Ponson who had been cut lose by the Rangers for causing disruption in his own clubhouse. Given all this background, Ponson delivered a surprisingly competent spell with the Yankees and ended with a thoroughly workmanlike 4-4 season. His ERA was an awful 5.85 by the end but given that history that was hardly disappointing. He will struggle to find a spot in 2009 with anybody.

Chien-Ming Wang (16 games). 15 starts. 8 wins until his injury in June. Rumoured returns in August and September didn’t materialise and in the new season, we wait and see how his recovery has left him and whether he will be his old self. All of these questions, again, ensured that the Yankees would spend and spend big. In the first half of the year, he looked like it could be another great year. He should be back as a number 2 starter but we’ll have to wait and see.

Joba Chamberlain (42 games). Whatever his role in 2009, Chamberlain saw more time as a reliever in 2008, so we’ll deal with him in that category.

Ian Kennedy (10 games). 9 starts. In 2007, he had 1 win and a 1.89 ERA. In 2008, he had 0 wins and a 8.17 ERA. What’s wrong with this picture? Well, the Yankees talked him up into believing that he was the next big thing and really they only had that one win and some other strong innings to base it on. They (and he) started to believe the publicity when everyone came and tried to persuade the Yankees to part with him in the off-season. But they still had little to base this confidence on and they should have been still talking to him about "potential". By mid-season, there was talk of attitude problems and a post-game interview that showed it for all to see. Unless something stunning happens in Spring Training, Kennedy will begin the season at Triple-AAA and unless the whole thing falls apart during 2009, he will have gone away quietly by the end of the season. At best long relief, but really I don’t see it.

Phil Hughes (8 games) 8 starts. If anything, Hughes was an even brighter hope than Kennedy, if you believed the hype at the end of 2007. In reality, he has a better chance of being nurtured by the Yankees in the days that lie ahead. No wins and a 6.62 ERA is not encouraging but he did well when reassigned to Scranton and has had some good innings in winter ball. He could battle it out with Alfredo Aceves for the 5th starter spot.

Carl Pavano (7 games) 7 starts. Before they put all their confidence in the farm system, it was big signings like Pavano who didn’t deliver and didn’t seem to care that they hadn’t delivered that had made the Yankees wary of the free agent market. Lessons quickly learnt and quickly forgotten. Pavano, probably, had his most dependable season for the Yankees in 2008 but conversely he also delivered up his highest ERA. But then nothing makes sense about this guy’s four year contract. In 4 seasons, he appeared in 26 games and the only good thing that can be said about that was that he was competent (no better) when the Yankees needed to find ANY pitching in late 2008 and he was finally ready to steer clear of the disabled list. He certainly won’t be in New York in March and will be lucky to find a spot anywhere else.

Alfredo Aceves (6 games) 4 starts. Now here’s an interesting one. During his short stint in the Bronx in late 2008, we saw a couple of different Aceves. At his best, he looked excellent, other days he looked ordinary. If this was the beginning of last season, we would be setting up Aceves to be a major part of the starting rotation based on that. This year, that is about good enough to be overlooked. The currency has changed and lots of it is on the table. He had a 2.40 ERA in 2008 with 1 win which come to think of it is not very far adrift from what Kennedy produced in 2007. In these money spending days, he will be lucky to make the number 5 slot. Let’s hope he does.

Dan Giese (20 games) 3 starts. Again, as that was his principal role, we’ll look at him on our relievers report.

Brian Bruney (32 games) 1 start. We’ll see more of him as a reliever.

So where are we now?

The contenders seem to be: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Chamberlain – Hughes – Pettitte (unsigned) – Kennedy – Aceves

The odds are on a rotation of: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Chamberlain – Hughes

I’d like to see: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Pettitte – Aceves.

Let’s see what happens in the Spring.

Yankees – Catching as catch can…..

Posted on December 28, 2008 by twilightdawning

Jorge Posada’s injury dramatically effected the Yankees season …. and only time will tell whether he can return to his pre-injury form and what the Yankees will do if he doesn’t. Anyway his injury unsettled things at the catching position in 2008 and the Yankees end up utilising five other players in the postion. Here’s how it went:

Jose Molina (100 games). 97 games at catcher. Molina had a very impressive year in 2007 and had been established as someone who could more than easily adapt to being the Yankees no. 2 catcher and Posada’s back-up. The problem was that in most of the year in 2008, he was left exposed, no longer backup but the first-string catcher and this left him vulnerable and his offensive figures fell away rapidly. His 2008 figures were .216 (BA), .313 (SLG) and .263 (OBP). This compared unfavourably to his .318 (BA), .439 (SLG) and .333 (OBP) during the time he spent on the Yankees roster in 2007. A substantial fall indeed. After this, he is still a very capable defensive player and there is no reason why his offensive figures shouldn’t rebound if the Yankees can take the weight of starting from him.

Chad Moeller (41 games). 33 games at catcher. At one point in the season, Moeller was on waivers with Molina and Posada set to hold the roles for the rest of the year. Injury intervened once more and the Yankees were able to breathe a sigh of relief when he wasn’t claimed and they could restore him to the roster. He became a surprising and vital cog at moments during the season, simply because he gave them a capable player at a position where they were running out of options. He batted .231 in 91 at bats which sounds unspectacular until you notice that it was higher than both Pudge and Molina. He also saw a little time at 1b, 3b and DH and proved a valuable man to have upon the bench. His 9th season in the majors and this was his best. His time at the Yankees is probably over but we were glad he was there at the time.

Jorge Posada (51 games). Injuries and lingering problems meant that only 30 of these games came behind the plate. He still managed to produce .268 BA but this is now largely irrelevant. The questions are all about 2009 and not about 2008. The hope is that the injury accounts for all the decline of the year and that the surgery will restore him and that age does not come into this at all. Only time will tell.

Ivan Rodriguez (33 games). 30 of these games included time as catcher. Now if the Yankees had signed Pudge in the second half of the year to cover for an injured catcher a few seasons ago, it would have been regarded as a major coup. But that was then and this is now…. Age and time meant that the best that Rodriguez could muster whilst in pinstripes was a batting average of .219 with 2 home runs. This from a guy who was capable of .332 and 25 home runs a decade ago, and .330 with 13 home runs just two years ago, meant that he never became more than second choice for the Yankees and his presence didn’t really benefit Molina’s plight. Consequently, the Yankees have no interest in re-signing him and he might be looking at retirement.

Francisco Cervelli (3 games) All his games came at catcher and were in September as the Yankees widened their roster to give those who had had good seasons at Triple-A Scranton a taste of the majors. In 5 at-bats, he didn’t manage a hit and he managed to strike out three times. But he served 13.2 innings behind the plate without an error and he looked more than serviceable there. Chances are he will be back at Scranton during the first half of 2009 but there will be questions about Posada well into spring training and, who knows, he could give Molina and new signing, Kevin Cash a run for a roster spot, if he has a good spring.

Chris Stewart (1 game). Posada and Molina were unavailable because of injury, Moeller had been placed on waivers and hadn’t yet cleared or being claimed and someone needed to catch. Journeyman, Chris Stewart, was making up the roster at Scranton and was called up for the day, making it three MLB clubs he has seen limited service on in 3 years. He got three at-bats and no-hits and a few days later he was gone. Next year, he looks likely to have a chance back at his first club, Chicago White Sox but for one day he was our only option.

Next year? Well, if injury doesn’t again rear its ugly head then it should be Posada – Molina, one-two but if Posada is ruled out or can’t manage too long behind the plate then Cervelli may get his chance. New signing, Kevin Cash, will only come into the mix, if they decide to carry three catchers. The optimist in me says look for Posada as catcher come opening day.

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 – Back to the centre (field) of everything

Posted on December 20, 2008 by twilightdawning

Centrefield seems to have been clearly identified as a major problem for the Yankees last season (second only to starting pitching). Consequently, come spring training it will be an area that is closely watched – that is unless the Yankees make a trade before then which settles the matter. It is somewhat surprising then to realise that they only used four men in that role in the whole of 2008 and that they didn’t spend the whole year casting around for a suitable occupant. Here’s the runners and riders:

Melky Cabrera (129 games). Of those 129, a 115 were spent in the centre of the outfield. He batted .249 during 2008 which was a 24 point drop off on his performance in the preceding year. Whilst this is a worrying development, it is significantly ahead of Brett Gardner (see below) who would be Cabrera’s nearest rival if there was no trade made before the season started (this seems far more likely than chasing a free agent). This wasn’t a season where Cabrera’s fortune rose and fell frequently as the months passed. Whilst he hit .299 in April, there was little to smile about after that. His average fell to .234 in May and then to a lowpoint .206 in June. He rose again to .272 in July but by August was out of favour and headed for the minors. Interestingly, he performed well at Scranton-Wilkes Barre and when he returned to the Bronx in September, he batted .462 over the 12 games in which he appeared. It does seem though that he has lost the confidence of the management of the New York team and that is a notoriously difficult thing to regain. Expect him to be gone before opening day.

Johnny Damon (143 games). Only 34 of Damon’s games saw him occupy centrefield at some stage in the ballgame. See my analysis of the leftfielders for some comments on his campaign as a whole.

Brett Gardner (42 games) Gardner spent time in centrefield in 22 of his appearances. The Yankees showed more and more enthusiasm for Gardner as the season progressed in 2008. It seems likely though that this enthusiasm was created by their lack of confidence in Cabrera (see above) than by anything in Gardner’s ability to fill this role in the long term. A reality check is required when we realise that Cabrera topped him not only in batting average but in slugging and on-base percentage too. Gardner has better speed on the base paths, not least shown in his 13 stolen bases to Cabrera’s 9, which were delivered in far fewer appearances. He also is the better fielder and his throwing arm has a greater range. The fact remains, however, that it is more likely that Cabrera might regain lost ground offensively than Gardner deliver something that just doesn’t seem to have ever been there. Expect Gardner to be the back-up outfield on opening day. For my money he is the third most likely player to occupy centrefield on a regular basis for the Yankees in 2009.

Justin Christian (24 games). Christian played in centrefield for only 3 games in 2008. For some thoughts on his season, please see my leftfield analysis. Since that was written, the Yankees have decided not to tender Christian a contract for 2009 which makes him a free agent. This is no surprise and falls into line with my prediction.

So where to for centrefield? Well, the big money remains on Mike Cameron arriving from the Brewers and becoming the resident in that role. If that doesn’t happen look for Cabrera and Gardner to run-off for that spot during Spring training with Cabrera an unlikely winner.

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.

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.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Posted on July 26, 2008 by twilightdawning

It’s been a grim few weeks. But there have been some glittering things in the dross.

First highlight was the Bob Dylan “Drawn Blank” exhibition at Halcyon Art Gallery near Green Park in London. A few years ago, Dylan was a writer and his “Chronicles” book was well-worth the investment. A few months ago, he was given a Pulitzer but I’m not exactly sure what for. This isn’t to imply he doesn’t deserve one. I’m just not sure why then. Now he’s an artist. And somehow he still manages to always be on tour and make the occasional album.

“Drawn Blank” however is a little unusual even by Dylan’s standards. First published in book form in 1994, these drawings were hardly noticed. Then his critical rating was low and nobody cared what he was drawing. Now painted, the “Drawn Blank” exhibition comes at a time when his star is in the ascendancy. Consequently, it is all over the broadsheets (The London Times, no less) and is worthy of an art gallery exhibition on the continent and two here in the London and no doubt some others I’m missing. Then, no-one cared, now the £1250 signed prints are all sold out and the first book is selling for £400 a copy. Strange. Of course, with Dylan, we’ve encountered this before. When he went electric, he was a Judas, until we decided he was a genius. His “Jesus” shows were dire for many, but are now spoken of as amazing feats where an artist like Dylan chose to perform only new songs in a show of passion, energy and commitment. Then few could see past the evangelism and booed his accompanying girl vocalists. I’m waiting for the “Empire Burlesque” reassessment.

I purchased the 1994 book of “Drawn Blank”. I purchased the 2008 book of the same drawings painted. I thought they were okay. Some good, a few very good. However, seeing them extremely well presented at the Halcyon, moved them up a notch in my estimation. Well worth seeing.

Second highlight. John Foxx’s “Tiny Colour Movies” at the Apple Store, Regent Street, London. Musical artist again but this time not paintings but films. Now I’m not much for the world of contemporary commercial films and I hate most cinemas. I do mean hate. So that I have now gone to see “Tiny Colour Movies” three or four times must mean that this set of films has something more going on than simply being the work of one of my favourite musicians and the fact that I have to keep going beacuse despite my persistent requests Mr Foxx will not put it on DVD.

Tiny Colour Movies is a collection of 14 concept pieces assembled from the home movies of a bygone generation. It is moving, thought-provoking, vivid and imaginative. It has a tremendous ambient soundtrack which the artist accompanies his films with, standing alongside, like the pianist adding sound to a silent movie. It is quite, quite wonderful and if it comes to a town near you, I might just follow it there.

Finally, on this smorgasbord of updates, a little baseball. Surprise, surprise. As the trade deadline approaches the Bronx is seeing new faces. First in was Richie Sexson. Now in 2007, Sexson, then at Seattle, hit .205 BA with 21 home runs. Fortunately, he turned this all around by storming to .218 with 11 homers by the first week of July. Not surprisingly, the Mariners released Richmond Lockwood Sexson. I’m not quite so sure why the Yankees decided to sign him later in the month. Perhaps it had something to do with that florid name. At least they didn’t invest in Bonds. I’m not holding my breath for this acquisition to be a great success. Indeed, I’m praying that by the time of my return to the Bronx in September, he will have headed toward waivers. We’ll see.

More significant (hopefully) was the trade made yesterday which has brought Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte over from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marte, who actually spent a little while in the Yankees system a few years ago but never made it to 161St. and River Avenue, is that crucial item a left-handed relief pitcher. Occasional promotions for Billy Traber and Kei Igawa have not added such a thing to the roster for very long. Marte with his 3.47 ERA, 4 Wins (no losses), and 5 saves seems a much better prospect.

Nady is a good addition at least because Matsui and Damon are not likely to see much time in the outfield for the remainder of the season. However, there may be more. His contract has another year beyond 2008 and he is 5 years younger than Damon. He is batting .330 with 13 home runs. There might be quite a lot in this for the Bombers.

A slight downside to this came in the final detail of the trade. The original detail suggested that the Yankees were giving up Ross Ohlendorf and three minors who were barely on my radar. Now Ohlendorf looked good earlier in the year but then his mechanics fell apart and he might not be a huge loss but I was a little more disappointed with today’s update. The news is that the Pirates final list for the trade sees Jeff Karstens heading over to Pittsburgh. Now I’m not sure quite where Karstens’ career was headed (he’s been rather injury prone) but I’ve followed his career since seeing his early appearances for the Staten Island Yankees some years ago. I’m disappointed that he will never be established in the Bronx. It was an interesting journey.

The final footnote to this was that the very disappointing LaTroy Hawkins was designated for assignment and that Kei Igawa was removed from the 40-man roster and outrighted to Scranton (AAA). The Yankees are paying him in excess of $5 million – and they finally seem to have given up on him. Now that’s an amazing story.

Take me out to the Ball Game

Posted on April 28, 2008 by twilightdawning

So another Baseball update…… which of the New York Yankees are doing well, badly or surprising you, Darren?

Pluses

Mariano Rivera. We expect Mo to be good but this year so far he’s shaking off his advancing years. 9 games, 10 innings pitched, 4 hits, NO RUNS. 7 saves out of 7 opportunities.

Joba Chamberlain. It should be noted that Mariano Rivera started life as a starter and was so-so before being transformed into first setup man and then closer. Whatever Hank Steinbrenner thinks, Chamberlain is a fine setup man at the moment and there seems no reason to rock the boat. 9 games also, 10.1 innings and a 1.74 ERA. He’s endured one wobble and was back to normal yesterday afternoon.

Brian Bruney. Our third excellent relief pitcher. 1.59 ERA, 9 games, 11.1 innings. Also endured a wobble but there was worse to follow which makes Mr Bruney both a plus and a minus….. (see below)………

Chien-Ming Wang. 5-0, 3.23 ERA, 39 innings. We need to see more strong starters but at the moment Wang is Mr Dependable. He out-duelled Sabathia to give us an opportunity to tie the series against the Indians.

Melky Cabrera. .291 BA, .506 SLG, 5 HRs. While two many bats are quiet, Melky is carrying his share of the weight. Yesterday, his home run was the only thing separating us from Cleveland in the batting column.

Alberto Gonzalez. .316 BA. I expected to see Gonzalez back in the Bronx in September as New York hoped that someone might want to offer him a roster spot in 2009 and to see what he was worth. Instead, the early injury to Jeter put him into the spotlight much earlier than that and at the moment he looks a good utility man who can fill most of the spots in the infield with ease. He’s younger than Betemit and whilst its difficult to see how he would fit for New York in the long term, he is surpassing my expectations and I hope he stays around.

Minuses

Ian Kennedy. 8.53 ERA, 2 losses and less than 5 innings per start. Less was expected of Kennedy than Phil Hughes (see below) which is handy because he is worse. Last year, he looked to have potential but at the moment that has dissipated. Can’t see how much longer he will last in the starting rotation on this form but who will they bring in to fill his spot whilst he sorts himself out.

Phil Hughes. 7.85 ERA, 3 losses and less than 4 innings per start. The burden of being the guy that the Yankees refused to give up must be weighing heavily on Hughes at the moment. He inspires slightly more confidence than Kennedy but not much.

LaTroy Hawkins. 8.56 ERA. His ERA exists to stop Hughes or Kennedy being bottom of that list. In Spring Training, he chose no.22 and drew ribbing for trying to follow Clemens. The Bleacher creatures got on him when that proved too much for him and he swapped to 21 which they have reserved to be retired in honour of Paul O’Neill. Shirt number issues aside, or perhaps partially because of them, he seems to have lost his way and seems to be handy for nothing than filling innings in games we have already lost.

Robinson Cano. .158 BA. .216 OBP. Don’t really want to put him here on this part of my list but at the moment he has got me scratching my head. Girardi has observed that he always a slow starter but the problem with that is he had such a strong spring training. Perhaps a few days off might fix it and at least we have Gonzalez to fill in if it comes to that.

Jason Giambi. .177 BA. He’s beginning to hit for power (5 HRs now) but he’ll need to boost his batting average by at least 50 points and be much more consistent at first base before I’ll be pleased to see him still in a Yankees shirt.

Brian Bruney (as above). Every other year, he has begun solidly and then struggled as the season went on. This year, he starts solidly and then falls covering a ball at firstbase and damages his foot. He might be gone for the season and I’m not sure who replaces him.

Surprises

Jorge Posada. .302 BA. Looked like he’d shaken off the injury but is now headed for the disabled list for the first time.

Jose Molina. .267 BA. Managed to stay off the disabled list and will now be every day until Posada is able to comeback.

Billy Traber. 4.50 ERA. Only left-handed reliever on the roster and was holding his own but now he’s headed for Scranton. Strange decision.

Shelley Duncan. .091 BA, no home runs. I was surprised how short his first stay in the Bronx was but I’m even more surprised to see him back. Ensberg continues to hold his own at 1b and 3b and offensively and Duncan’s power seems to have disappeared.
He’s been gifted another chance but he needs to do something quickly.

Chad Moeller. .350 BA. Designated for assignment on Friday. It looks like, with the injury to Posada, the Yankees may have moved too quickly. We’ll see how the next few days workout – whether we see him again or whether he is headed elsewhere.

Mike Mussina. 2-3, 4.54 ERA. Despite Steinbrenner’s diatribe, close inspection shows that Mussina is contributing and perhaps doing a little better than I expected. I really saw him as the fifth starter this season so if he can continue as he is, he’d been on target for 12 wins and I could stand that. The younger pitchers are the bigger issue.

So the season so far. 26 games, 13 wins, 13 losses and only 1 1/2 games out.

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Baltimore	14	11	.560	–
Tampa Bay	14	11	.560	–
Boston	15	12	.556	–
NY Yankees	13	13	.500	1.5
Toronto	11	15	.423	3.5

Baseball – the story so far……

Posted on April 14, 2008 by twilightdawning

Well, the baseball season has begun and after thirteen games the New York Yankees lie bottom of their division. This is not as bad as it sounds. Just two days ago, we were pushing for the top slot but two consecutive defeats against Boston leaves us with a 6-7 record so far. So good points and bad points……?

Pluses

Chien-Ming Wang (p). 22 innings pitched. 3 wins – no losses. 1.23 ERA. 1 complete game. Wang continues to be our strongest starter which we have needed since the bats have been quiet. He’s worked his way out of a couple of difficult situations but it’s been smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Joba Chamberlain (rp). 4 appearances, 5.1 innings. No runs. It’s like last post-season never happened. He’s near untouchable once more.

Brian Bruney (rp). You’re always left wondering which Mr. Bruney will turn-up. So far, it is the guy who gets people out. He also gave us a surprise start. 7 innings. 2 hits. no runs.

Melky Cabrera (cf). Despite a two-day suspension, Cabrera continues to be wonderfully consistent when available. 2 home runs and a .290 BA

Minuses

Ian Kennedy (p). Was supposed to be better than this. 13.50 ERA gained in a game when we were very glad to still have Albaladejo around (see below).

Phil Hughes (p). Was supposed to be better than this. 9.00 ERA and still looking for his first win after 3 starts. The young pitchers are wobbling.

Kyle Farnsworth (rp) As predicted. At the moment, he’s eating up a few innings in games we were on the way to losing but he’s not delivered for too long and the change of manager hasn’t seen a change of performance.

LaTroy Hawkins (rp). Difficult start for Mr Hawkins but it is early days yet. 9.00 ERA in 6 appearances.

Jose Molina (c). Jose Molina became the surprise starting catcher when Posada continued to struggle with health difficulties but his strong performance was no surprise. Now he looks as though he is headed for the disabled list with ligament damage which leaves the catching spot looking barren unless Posada improves physically.

Derek Jeter (ss). Noticeable only by his absence through injury after a quiet first few days. We need him back and quickly.

Jason Giambi (dh / 1b) No surprises here. His first noticeable contribution was a fielding error. His .107 BA says it all.

Surprises

Billy Traber (rp). Also 4 appearances. 3.1 innings and no runs. I don’t how long this can last but our wouldbe left-hand specialist has already delivered more than I expected if he starts to lose it tomorrow.

Andy Pettitte (p). Came back from DL earlier than I’d expected. And settled into his normal role without much hesitation despite all the off-season problems. 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA isn’t world-beating but it is more than expected at this stage.

Jonathan Albaladejo (rp). One of the few on the opening day roster I wouldn’t have guessed. Made a strong early debut when Kennedy’s first start fell apart. And then he was gone….. back to Scranton (AAA).

Robinson Cano (2b). Cano had a strong spring but so far his bat hasn’t shown up since the start of the regular season. He’s usually so consistent too.

Alberto Gonzalez (ss). Shortstop looked set with Jeter installed and Betemit as occasional backup. Jeter’s injury meant we had to consider the options and Gonzalez was brought up from Scranton (AAA) as being defensively stronger than Betemit. His .385 average since arriving makes this all the better and all the more surprising. Makes Betemit’s future a little questionable.

Shelley Duncan (1b). I said there were question marks in the long term for this guy but nobody expected him to be off the 25-man roster within a week. Ensberg is delivering (surprise!) and Giambi is paid too much. It may mean that Duncan is the odd man out and not just in the short term.