Gardy and Grandy - 06/15/2011

Gardner has rehabbd his elbow and said:

“If I could start swinging here in the next couple of days, I’ll be ready by next weekend for sure.”

The Yankees have been without Gardner for 29 games, and his return will be welcomed with open arms.

Whether Gardner will be the difference maker for the Yankees is a whole different issue, as the team has been painfully bad so far this season.

Without a doubt the Yankees are better with Gardner, as just his speed alone, 49 steals in 2011, adds another dimension that opposing pitchers have to deal with.

Gardner was posting a .321 batting average before he went down in April 18^th but Yankee fans need to realize that he only played nine games so to think that will continue would be foolish.

Look I want Gardner back as much as anyone else but it is hard to think that the Yankees issue will suddenly disappear.

Yankee fans need to face the facts here, and that is the hitters are only getting worse and have shown zero signs of improving.(...)
Read the rest of New York Yankees: Gardner going to doctor today

© Kate for Lady Loves Pinstripes, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brett Gardner, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, ESPN, Gardner, Joe Girardi, New York Yankee, Yankee

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Mark Teixeira manning 1st base.

The New York Yankees lost in Toronto for the second night in a row 4-1; and once again it was at the hand of the dead bats who left a total of 16 runners on base in both defeats.

The line-up couldn’t muster up anything to give Phil Hughes‘ a win after solid outing where he only allowed two runs to score in almost six innings of work.

Hughes was the only positive thing out of this mini-sweep at the hand of the Blue Jays, other than the unfailing bullpen.

The Yankees did kindly wake up Blue Jays slugger Joes Bautista who homered in each game and drove in three of the 12 total Toronto runs.

No doubt Yankee fans are pissed, which in New York actually means frustrated with a lot of passion, but can you blame them?

It would be one thing if the Yankee bats were swinging at air, or just getting out-pitched because at least than fans could feel sorry for them.

Problem is the Yankees can hit and get on-base, but scoring runs they cannot.

The Yankees love the home-run, as in their nine May losses they went homer-less in all nine of them.

Since power comes in waves and a team relies on going deep as their only way to score runs, they will be streaky and right now that is the Yankees in a nutshell.

Teams that are feared can beat you in many ways, consistently; but when the Yankees can’t go deep they can’t win. That explains why they are in the midst of their third three game losing streak  this season.

The team has scored 178 runs but they have now allowed 171, which is about right in line for a team who now sits in fourth place in the AL East. And with the Red Sox having won five of their last six, things better change the fast or the Yankees will find themselves living in the cellar of the division by the Sunday.(...)
Read the rest of New York Yankees: To start Girardi needs to ban homers and move Tex

© Kate for Lady Loves Pinstripes, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, Kyle Drabek, Mark Teixeira, New York Yankee, Phil Hughes, Robinson Canó, Yankee

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Cincinnati Reds logo.

Yes, the 2010 Reds finish came as a surprise but no one thought their luck would run out like it did in 2011.

Last year the Reds finished in third place in the NL Central with a 79-83 record, 17 games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals. One difference between 2010 is that the Reds were 8-7 compared to 6-12 in 2011 interleague play; and teams they had feasted, like the Pirates and Mets that helped them win the division in 2010 crushed them in 2011.

Overall the 2011 Reds looked nothing like the team who led the NL in homers, batting average, RBIs, hits and runs just a season before.

The team’s numbers dropped in almost every stat but they did hit 183 homers in 2011, which is just five less than 2010. The rotation’s ERA barely moved going from 4.01 to 4.16 and their strikeout total scarcely fell from 1130 to 1114. So, at least the team still has power in their bats and it would seem that the pitching is fixable.

Now the question is are the Reds good enough to bring baseball glory back to Cincinnati in October 2012?

Let’s take a peak….

THE POSITIVES:

Improved weaknesses…At first I was stunned when the news broke that the Reds had traded for Padres pitcher Mat Latos because of the amount of talent the Reds surrendered, three of their top 10 prospects and Edinson Volquez. Latos joins a pitching rotation that features emerging-ace Johnny Cueto who went 9-5, 2.31 in 24 starts last season, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, and Homer Bailey. Latos is a 24-year old righty, who threw 194 innings with 185 strikeouts in 2011. Latos has kept opposing hitters to a .226 batting average and posted a 3.37 ERA in his three-year career. In hindsight the trade now looks like a rather smart deal considering the free agent market and the potential for Latos to become consistently dominate.

The bullpen also got a needed boost by signing closer Ryan Madson to a one-year, $8.5 million deal, and trading for a rock-solid left-handed reliever Sean Marshall. Madson save 32 games for the Phillies in 2011 and will be looking to make an impression in 2012 so he can secure a bigger contract; and Marshal pitched 75 innings, posted a 2.26 ERA with 79 strikeouts for the Cubs last season.

THE NEGATIVES:(...)
Read the rest of 2012 MLB Team Preview: Cincinnati Reds