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New York Yankees: David Phelps to start

It is no secret that the New York Yankees plethora of starting pitchinghas been whittled down to scrambling to fix holes left by the absence of Michael Pineda and the inefficiency of Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes.

And thanks to Hughes, Garcia, and after last nights 0-5 defeat at the hands of the Orioles, Ivan Nova, the Yankees starting rotation’s numbers, thus far, are alarming:

Yankees starters 2012 stats to date.

Reality is everything falls on the Yankees bats when any pitcher not named CC Sabathia is on the hill, and that is not only unfair but it won’t work. The Yankees can kiss October ta-ta if the pitching cannot pull its own weight.

Skipper Joe Girardi finally kicked Garcia to the bullpen, and he proved to be almost as useless in that role as last night. Garcia had to throw 31 pitches to get out of two innings.

Hughes should not be far behind, but until the Yankees stop daydreaming of 18-wins, fans will be forced to endure watching him implode every five-days.

And now Nova seems to have caught the 2012 Hughes syndrome, of performance being masked by run support.

Yikes….but wait all isn’t lost yet as there is still hope and his name is David Phelps. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: David Phelps to start’ »

New York Yankees: You Are Not Alone

Ryan Howard (left) and Albert Pujols

Ryan Howard (left) and Albert Pujols (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The New York Yankees are not the only team happy that April is finally over, as a few other MLB teams are hoping to turn things around in May.

So, here is a quick list of the Yankees and three other troubled teams who should be much better than they were in April:

1 -  Back in Spring Training, the New York Yankees were inundated with good pitching. Well, I don’t think skipper Joe Girardi anticipated that over the first month he would lose his newest star, Michael Pineda for the season; Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia to be completely ineffective; and now banking-on Andy Pettitte’s return to his All-Star self after a year off. Fans can pray that either DJ Mitchell or David Phelps will be the Yankees version of the Knicks Jeremy Lin. Hey you never know until you try.

2 -  The Los Angeles Angels are yearning for Albert Pujols to hit his first homer as a Halo; and you can expect the rest of the anemic offense to follow when the best player in baseball finally does. This is not the start anyone was expecting. Take a look at Pujols’ career April/March numbers below: Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: You Are Not Alone’ »

Should Yankees worry about Andy Pettitte?

Andy Pettitte pitching at Shea Stadium.

Andy Pettitte pitching at Shea Stadium. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With all the hoopla around the New York Yankees pitching, the one bright light fans are awaiting is the return of Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte is one of the original ‘Core Four’ who decided to un-retire after leaving baseball and New York at the end of the 2010 season.

Now with Michael Pineda out for the season, Freddy Garcia being demoted to the bullpen, and a floundering Phil Hughes, everyone is counting on Pettitte to be the consistently dominant starter from the past.

There is no doubt that Pettitte will be an asset in the clubhouse but whether that translates on the mound is yet to be seen.

Yesterday, Pettitte made another minor league start and the results were not exactly comforting.

The southpaw allowed 10 hits, five earned, throwing 96 pitches in just under six innings. Continue reading ‘Should Yankees worry about Andy Pettitte?’ »

New York Yankees: Finally good news but more bad too

Yankees at Orioles August 28, 2011

Yankees at Orioles August 28, 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In retrospect the New York Yankees survived an injury-riddled week, ending on a high with a 2-1 series win against the Tigers.

What happened?

Well, which do you want to hear first?

Kidding her is the bad news first, followed by the better or most improved news….

A WEEK FROM HELL:

The New York Yankees have had a rough week.

-        The latest came yesterday, in the Yankees 6-2 win vs. the Tigers. Nick Swisher got taken out in the second inning, and the MRI confirmed he has a low-grade hamstring strain. The Yankees said he will miss a few games, and that a DL stint has not been ruled out yet, so keep fingers crossed.

-        So with Brett Gardner on 15-day DL still that means Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez will be on either side of Curtis Granderson in the outfield until further notice.

-        The worst news came mid-last week when the Yankees got news that their big off-season pitching acquisition, Michael Pineda would be out for the entire 2012 season. Pineda has an anterior labral tear in his right shoulder and surgery is scheduled for tomorrow in New York.

No one could have anticipated Pineda was this injured. Hearing from Kurt Schilling and Al Leiter, who both came back from this same injury, brought a little comfort. Leiter made a point of stating how much work it takes to come back from and since no one knows how committed a player Pineda is leaves the possibility Yankee fans might never see him in the Bronx. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Finally good news but more bad too’ »

New York Yankees: Garcia and Hughes nightmare continues

Following his last disastrous start, New York Yankees pitcher Freddy Garciahad another horrendous outing; as he gave up six earned runs

GARCIA - HUGHES

in less than two innings to the Detroit Tigers, who eventually won the second game of this three game set, 7-5.

Once again skipper Joe Girardi had to go to the bullpen in the second inning, just like he had to do three days earlier down in Texas when Phil Hughes couldn’t get the job done vs. the Rangers.

Following the Tigers win, the media asked Girardi, for the second time this week, what he was going to do about tonight’s starter, and he said, “I like to sleep on things before I really do a lot of stuff.”   

This is where I got confused because what exactly does Girardi need to sleep on?

All I keep wondering is what was Girardi thinking prior to this series?

When you think about it, no one is supposed to beat Justin Verlander as losing is to him is almost expected. So how do you feel good about starting Garcia in the second game with Verlander starting the first in a three game set?

Logically you would think the Yankees skipper is deciding how to replace both starters and dreaming of…whom to bring up from the minors? Giving David Phelps a go? And when exactly will Andy Pettitte be ready?

Enough time has been spent on Garcia and Hughes because reality is both need to go now, and there is no need to sleep on it unless you want nightmares.

Facts are Garcia is totally useless; and Hughes is as close to useless you can be. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Garcia and Hughes nightmare continues’ »

New York Yankees: 2 possibilities to fix Hughes issue

Phil Hughes - crackling picture - 2010

With the news that prize acquisition Michael Pineda might never see the lights in Yankee Stadium from the pitcher’s mound, at least not this season, does leave the team in a bit of a pickle.

Less than a week ago, Pineda was still going to play a big part in the 2012 season.

Personally knowing that Pineda was coming, made enduring each Phil Hughes start somewhat tolerable, and I am sure many Yankee fans felt the same way.

Now that Pineda is out, fans will hang their hopes on veteran Andy Pettitte’s return but knowing the Yankees he will replace Freddy Garcia.

Like Hughes, Garcia has been terrible too but the Yankees seem willing to excuse Hughes because he won 18-games in 2010. I guess the fact that Garcia won 12 games and the team won 15 out of his 25 starts in 2011 doesn’t factor in at all; or that Garcia has experience.

Regardless, Hughes is a problem and will remain one until the Yankees wake-up and smell the coffee.

Hopefully skipper Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman will start believing that 2010 was Hughes’ exception before it is too late.

Now, the Yankees have other options but they will have to go out of their comfort zone to actually carry them out. Hey, you never know what can happen until you try right?

Here are two options that the Yankees already have, but this would entail sending Hughes to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre because he can convince the Yankees from down there of why he should still be in the rotation. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: 2 possibilities to fix Hughes issue’ »

New York Yankees: 2012 Pitching Rotation Is All Set

2012 New York Yankees rotation announced...

New York Yankees skipper Joe Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild’s decision about the starting rotation got made for them last night.

There were six pitchers for five spots, but with the now confirmed news that Michael Pineda does have shoulder tendentious, the heated competition will pause for a moment until Andy Pettitte decides he is ready to go.

Pineda will start the season on the 15-day DL and Yankee fans can only that hope this injury doesn’t linger.

So, here is the official 2012 Yankees starting pitching rotation:

1) CC Sabathia

2) Hiroki Kuroda

3) Phil Hughes

4) Ivan Nova

5) Freddy Garcia Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: 2012 Pitching Rotation Is All Set’ »