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Yankees captain wants his MVP

Posted by on 16 April 2012, 7:02 am

I WANT MY MVP?

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter (Photo credit: Keith Allison)

Most people would say that the New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter has it all, but they are wrong.

Ok, so Jeter is rich, handsome, dates hot brunettes, has enough World Series Championship rings for every finger on his right hand, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and countless awards in just about everything.

Now, if you asked Jeter about what is missing from his trophy case he would probably say another WS ring because it is all about the championships; or so he says.

See, Jeter has never won the AL MVP Award; and even though I do believe in a team first attitude, anyone with a half-a-brain who could achieve that kind of personal accomplishment would strive for it.

Now, a lot of people feel that Jeter got swindled in the 2006 MVP voting, as he came in second behind Minnesota Twins Justin Morneau. After looking at both players’ 2006 stats, I have to disagree on this one.

I do think Jeter got robbed of the award in 2009 when he finished third behind teammate Mark Teixeira and the winner, who ironically was another Twin, Joe Mauer.

Winning an MVP would be the icing on the cake for the Yankees Captain, but the odds are stacked against him. Continue reading ‘Yankees captain wants his MVP’ »

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New York Yankees: Wilson vs. Hughes

Posted by on 14 April 2012, 7:42 am

KURODA vs. SANTANA compared to WILSON vs. HUGHES:

Photograph of Phil Hughes taken on April 29, 2...

Photograph of Phil Hughes taken on April 29, 2008 at Yankee Stadium. 04:50, 1 May 2008 . . Mandalatv . . 1,272×954 (691 KB) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you looked at Kuroda and Santana’s career stats vs. the active hitters prior to yesterday’s game, the Yankee win was already a lock.

Not taking anything away from Kuroda, but no one foreseen a less than an inning away from a complete game performance considering his last and only two both took place in 2008.

Kuroda also did have some success and experience against Angles Albert Pujols back when he was a Dodger, and that is advantage that the other Yankee starters don’t have.

As for Santana, the majority of the Yankees bats have always whacked the heck out of him except for Swisher, he came into the game with a career .182 average against him. Swisher came into yesterday with a hot and confident bat, which proved lethal.

Still, as a whole the Yankees had hit almost .300 against Santana making the match-up in favor of the Yankees from the get-go; pending that Kuroda as back to his old self.

Looking at this afternoons game, it is just not as cut and dry.

WILSON vs. HUGHES:

Looking at today’s match-up it is not as clear-cut  because Phil Hughes’ stats read like a script to Jekyll and Hyde. He went from 2010 All-Star to being almost ineffective last season and now I think he is somewhere in the middle.

And that makes it easy to pick CJ Wilson as the clear winner, but in baseball it is the unknowns that make it so fun.

Analyzing Hughes is tough; he did show up in shape this spring, and pitched well in camp but that has yet to carry over.

Hughes didn’t look sharp at all in his first regular season start down in Tampa. He was pulled after throwing 99 pitches in four and two-thirds innings; he allowed two walks, two runs and one homer, while striking out five.

That is why I think the outcome of this game depends heavily on Hughes performance and how he handles Pujols. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Wilson vs. Hughes’ »

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Yankees won Baltimore battle but war starts tomorrow vs. Halos

Posted by on 12 April 2012, 2:14 pm
Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Yankees finally are back in New York after a road trip where they both got and did some sweeping.

After starting the season losing three games to the Rays, the Yankees went into Baltimore and did the opposite against the Orioles.

Two of the three wins went into extra innings, but the Yankees battled and now will open up at the Stadium at an acceptable .500 but the war hasn’t even begun yet.

The Yankees are set to host the Los Angeles Angels, who lost their opening series to the Royals and are now tied in a series vs. Twins that ends today before the three game set in the Bronx.

With the 2012 season still so fresh it is presumptuous to label any team for certain, but I can say both teams are considered to be serious playoff contenders in 2012.

The competition is sure to be steeper, and looking at both teams neither is performing up to expectations just yet but this weekend should expose any weaknesses. Here is a breakdown of tomorrow’s match-up.

PITCHING:

MLB.com lists the probable pitchers for game one of series as follows:

Friday – Ervin Santana vs. Hiroki Kuroda

This match-up is a toss-up as both Santana and Kuroda struggled almost identically in their 2012 debuts. Both pitchers threw for 5.2 innings and struck out just two batters. Santana gave up two homers, five earned runs and issued two walks; compared to Kuroda giving up one bomb, four walks and allowing four runs to score.

Bottom line is both Kuroda and Santana are capable of way better performances but whether that happens for one, both or neither tomorrow is the question.

Looking back, the Yankee bats have a career .281 batting average against Santana, but over the last three seasons that number jumped to a .325. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano have given Santana the most problems, and with the Captain’s hot bat now you can expect him to be a big factor in tomorrow’s game. A-rod has had two homers and six RBIs in his last 15 at-bats vs. Santana so hopefully his almost dead bat in Baltimore going tomorrow. Continue reading ‘Yankees won Baltimore battle but war starts tomorrow vs. Halos’ »

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New York Yankees: Are you loving David Phelps

Posted by on 11 April 2012, 12:50 am

The New York Yankeesgot there second win of the 2012 season, but it was far from pretty as leaving 12 runners on base is just not going to cut it.

Derek Jeter is playing better than ever!!

I could easily rant about all the Yankees missed opportunities in the 5-hour, 12-inning win vs. the Orioles but I was so impressed by someone not named Derek Jeter.

And that would be pitcher David Phelps, who has thrown 3 innings with five strikeouts in his two appearances this season.

The 25-year old righty had a great spring posting a 2.08 ERA over 17+ innings pitched. That earned Phelps the annual James P. Dawson Award given to the top rookie in camp, along with a spot on the 25-man roster as a long-reliever.

Phelps was a starter in the minors and that might be why he got overlooked because the Yankees have better options.

Even though Phelps doesn’t have lights out stuff to be a top starter, he certainly has displayed how effective he can be out of the bullpen.

Phelps has terrific command of his two and four-seam fastball, and he also has a sinker-slider combination that has improved. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Are you loving David Phelps’ »

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Yankees got a win but there are still issues

Posted by on 10 April 2012, 1:26 am

Yankees finally got a win in 2012....

The New York Yankees finally got their first win, down in Baltimore beating the Orioles 6-2.

No doubt that a win was needed because New York fans had hit panic, yesterday.

Even my doorman, who never fails to have the Yankee game on the radio, said he could not listen after this past weekend.

Well, now that those three long, losing days are history Yankee fans will sleep well tonight but before I do I have to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly.

THE GOOD

1) Ivan Nova looked great tonight, and after posting an 8.06 ERA in Spring Training there was plenty of reason heading into the game that the Yankees were about to get a fourth loss.

Nova threw seven solid innings, giving up two runs, striking out seven and walking none. As the game went on, Nova got better and looked like his old self again. His breaking ball was so nasty, and I believe Nova will only get better as the season goes on.

2) Derek Jeter is playing like it is 1998, and that is totally fine by me.

Jeter went 4-4, scored in the first inning off Mark Teixeira’s single, and had a run-scoring double in the fourth inning. And I must say, the Captain looked as good as ever.

Just in case you hadn’t heard this fact from a Yankee fan yet, 1998 was the last time the Yankees started a season 0-3 but went on to win the World Series.

3) David Robertson is insane, as he loves to stir up trouble but never seems to get caught.

After striking out two Orioles, Robertson gave up two hits and looked like he was about to walk a third to the load the bases but in true Houdini form came back from a 2-0 count and struck him out.

THE BAD

I really like Joe Girardi, always have but he has managed to make me question his moves more in the last four days than in the last four years.

Specifically, why is he resting guys in the first four games of the season? Continue reading ‘Yankees got a win but there are still issues’ »

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Do you think the Yankees are in trouble?

Posted by on 9 April 2012, 2:50 am

Joe Maddon

Joe Maddon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you think the New York Yankees are in trouble?

Well, the Yankees are off to a horrid start to the 2012 season, as they got out pitched, out hit and out managed by the Tampa Bay Rays who swept the Bombers right out of Tropicana Field this past weekend.

Even though it is the beginning of the season, I was embarrassed for the Yankees, as it seems like the same old story from the end of 2011 to many men left on base, 26 in total.

Since there are 158 games left to play to say anyone is in trouble would be ridiculous but getting swept to start the season certainly doesn’t feel good.

Here are two things to ponder over in the wake of this semi-concern:

1) Anyone watching the three games will tell you that Rays skipper Joe Maddon might have just taught the rest of baseball how to beat the New York Yankees by employing defensive shifts.

Righty or lefty bat didn’t matter, as the Rays scouting reports had an answer for almost every Yankee hitter as they kept hitting right into the shifts.

All I can say is that Joe Maddon’s moves from this past weekend were the most successful at stopping the Yankees from scoring runs.

I can promise you it is a blueprint that the other 28 managers in baseball will certainly get copies of even if it doesn’t work as well because it probably won’t.

The counter to this argument is that the Yankees could start hitting home-runs and unless Maddon hangs Rays players from the rafters at the Trop there is not shift that can block knocking it out of the park. Continue reading ‘Do you think the Yankees are in trouble?’ »

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New York Yankees: Being too un-risky proving costly

Posted by on 8 April 2012, 7:44 pm
Joe Girardi

Joe Girardi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon notoriously gets called out for making ‘risky moves’ all the time but after this weekend’s sweep of the New York Yankees that label seems unfair and inaccurate.

A risk is supposed to be hazardous, as you are acting in spite of what could go wrong.

And the only jeopardizing things I saw during the first series of the 2012 season came from the Yankees bench. Here are the three ‘safe’ moves that potentially lost the Yankees games:

1)    Intentionally walking Rays Sean Rodriguez in the first inning, of the first game of the season against CC Sabathia was senseless. Sabathia always takes a few starts in the beginning of the season to get rolling and he was clearly struggling with his control. To purposefully bring up power hitter Carlos Pena instead of letting CC strike out Rodriguez with breaking balls, which he did later in the game was over managing the Yankees ace. It ended with Pena hitting a grand slam.

2)    Again in the first game, but in the ninth inning, Girardi walked two Rays to get to Pena again who hit a rocket to deep centerfield, which won the game for the Rays. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Being too un-risky proving costly’ »

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