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New York Yankees: To start Girardi needs to ban homers and move Tex

Posted by on 18 May 2012, 1:01 pm

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. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: To start Girardi needs to ban homers and move Tex’ »

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New York Yankees: Trusting Hughes too soon

Posted by on 14 May 2012, 12:57 am

Other than the New York Yankees winning their second series in a row over the weekend vs. the Mariners, once again it seems that pitcher Phil Hughes has managed to keep his spot in the starting rotation.

I will be the first to admit that Hughes pitched better in his last two starts, which were against the Royals and the Mariners.

Just so you know all the facts, here are the stats from Hughes last two starts:

Phil Hughes - 05/04 & 05/12 - stats.

As you can see from the stats, Hughes was not the only Yankee playing well in those two team wins. The bats scored 16-runs in total but to be fair, the Mariners and Royals are not exactly the stiffest of competition. And certainly not, in my opinion, the type of  teams I would base any decisions on regarding a player’s or pitcher’s performance against.

No offense but where did I get lost here.

The Yankees are not the only ones who have spoon fed Hughes, as the local media is eating it right up too, as the only reluctant group are the fans. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Trusting Hughes too soon’ »

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Yankees vs. Rays: Series deux preview

Posted by on 8 May 2012, 12:44 am

The Yankees are back in New York after a 5-5-road trip to host the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game set at the stadium starting tonight.

James Shields at Yankee Stadium.

Last time these two teams met was the start of the 2012 season, and the Rays swept the Yankees right out of Tropicana Field.

The Rays stand atop the AL East, tied with the Orioles with a 19-10 record but are coming to the Bronx on a two game losing streak.

Still, the 15-13 Yankees are the ones looking up at the Rays and have a perfect opportunity to make a move in the division and get some of their pride back.

The Rays are without third baseman Evan Longoria, and possibly Desmond Jennings too; but the Yankees will be without Mariano Rivera for the first time at home since 2003 along with a slew of others, including Brett Gardner, on their lengthy DL list.

The pitching match-ups are as follows, along with my predictions:

Tuesday: James Shields (5-0) vs. Ivan Nova (3-1)

Shields is clearly the better pitcher, but the recent awaken of Robbie Cano’s bat could give him some problems as Cano has hit four homers, five doubles, two triples and posts a .400 batting average against Shields. Cano was not a factor for Shields in their earlier meeting this season.

Nova is coming off his first loss after a 15-game winning streak but I do like the way he has pitched lately. He is reminding me of a 2010 Hughes, as he is getting a ton of run support. He has held the Rays to a .170 batting average, allowing two homers, three RBIs, three walks, while striking out 10 of the 47 total at-bats he has logged against them. Continue reading ‘Yankees vs. Rays: Series deux preview’ »

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New York Yankees: Are you going to sink or swim?

Posted by on 7 May 2012, 3:17 am

Nick Swisher - 'roll call'

SUNDAY SUMMARY:

The New York Yankees wrapped up the four game series in Kansas City with a 10-4 win, splitting the series 2-2 with the Royals.

Phil Hughes got the win, and he did pitch better but reality is the Yankee bats were really responsible for the win yesterday.

As Ibanez and Granderson each had a RBI; followed by Cano’s much-needed grand slam and Swisher’s solo shot both in the third; and finally A-Rod joined the party with a three-run bomb in the eighth.

It was great to see Cano break out of his slump, as that was only his second shot on the season but hopefully a sign of good things to come.

The Captain’s hot bat showed zero signs of slowing down, hitting a double off the first pitch thrown in the game and had a successful bunt in the third. Teixeira also helped out by drawing two walks in the game.

REALITY BITES:

The excuse of ‘it still early in the season’ has about worn its welcome but even more so for teams who live in the AL East.

Reality bites and it will sooner than you think if the Yankees don’t get the ball rolling here. They sit at 15-13 on the season, fourth in the division and four games back of the 19-9 Orioles. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Are you going to sink or swim?’ »

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New York Yankees: David Phelps to start

Posted by on 3 May 2012, 4:04 am

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’ »

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Should Yankees worry about Andy Pettitte?

Posted by on 1 May 2012, 3:26 am
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?’ »

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New York Yankees: Finally good news but more bad too

Posted by on 30 April 2012, 2:35 am
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’ »

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