TGIF: Random Yankee thoughts

hughes_250_051509.jpgBy Jon Lane
“Friday is the day when everyone gets their motivation and energy back.”
– ‘Vice’ the coffee, bagel and danish vendor, 15th & 9th, Manhattan.

Nothing like a nice late-spring Friday morning to get you going and fill you with optimism. Our Steven Goldman, who can be a tough critic, gives props to the Yankees for taking two of three games from the first-place Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees haven’t gained traction yet, but there are reasons for hope. They have won 4 of 6 and are home for 10 games. CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera are looking like, well, CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera, and the team has received surprising contributions from Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli.

Just like that, people are feeling good about the Yankees again. It’s truly amazing how in baseball the story changes every day, even every hour. Wasn’t two weeks ago when the Mets were declared finished because they lacked an “edge?” Last I looked they’re 10-3 this month.

“It’s a nice little shift for us,” said Joe Girardi. “This is something that you can build on.”

Back at .500 and trailing the Blue Jays by 4 ½ games, the Yankees face the Twins, Orioles and Phillies these next 10 days. Lots of baseball left to be played, but the time is now to take three of four here, two of three there – if not compile a winning streak. Girardi’s bunch wants to be both winning and fully healthy by the time they tackle the Rays and Red Sox from June 5-11.

Onto a few random thoughts hours before Alex Rodriguez test drives the new Yankee Stadium tonight against the Twins (YES HD, 7 p.m.).

  • Big start for Phil Hughes, 0-2 with a 17.49 ERA after silencing the Tigers for six innings on April 28. Good or bad, I see Hughes headed to Triple-A if Chien-Ming Wang pitches well in his second rehab start for Scranton on Sunday and cleared medically, but a strong effort would be one of those “nice problems to have” and build Hughes’ confidence back up. There are people who are still expecting Hughes to throw zeros every time he pitches. Yeah, he gave up eight runs, eight hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings – the shortest start in his three-year career – last Saturday in Baltimore. Many are tempted to declare him a bust who will never live up to his promise as a first-round, can’t-miss prospect. He also turns 23 next month. What’s the rush? Not every youngster makes an immediate impact. Let him get more work at Scranton and allow him to mature as a pitcher. Then we can evaluate.

  • Big day for Xavier Nady, out since April 15 with a partially torn elbow ligament and rehabbing in hopes of avoiding a second Tommy John surgery. Nady will swing a bat this afternoon and provided he feels no pain is hoping to begin a Minor League rehab assignment before the end of the month. The plan is for Nady to be a DH and ease him back into the outfield. Where that leaves Hideki Matsui is another story for another day. For Nady’s sake, let’s hope we have a chance to debate it.

  • A-Rod is excited to play in his first game at the Bronx Mahal (© Chris Shearn). He’s 3-for-14 since returning last Friday, but hasn’t missed an inning. Look for him to be the designated hitter and for the home crowd to provide a nice response. Hometown fans have high thresholds for players who admittedly or allegedly dabble in PEDs (just ask Barry Bonds’ loyal following). Only if A-Rod continues to not hit or fails in a big spot will boos grow long and loud.

  • Sabathia’s last two starts: 2-0, 17 innings, two runs, nine hits, five walks, 13 strikeouts. The left-hander got the Yankees going on the road with a complete-game, four-hit shutout in Baltimore, overshadowed when A-Rod hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence, but also healing balm for an appalling 2-5 homestand.

  • Cervelli (.316) has been impressive at and behind the plate, writes Tyler Kepner. At this rate it’ll be another one of those “nice problems” once Jose Molina is eligible to come off the disabled list.

  • How great has Johnny Damon been? The reigning American League Player of the Week has at least one extra-base hit in 10 consecutive games, matching a single-season franchise record held by Don Mattingly (1987) and Paul O’Neill (2001). He’s 18 for his last 42 (.429), with at least one run scored in those 10 games. River Ave Blues analyzed Damon’s run and desire to stay in the Bronx once his contract expires at the end of the season.

Yankees vs. Blue Jays: 5/14/09 Lineups

yankees.jpgYANKEES (16-17)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Brett Gardner CF
Francisco Cervelli C

Pitching: CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94)

bluejays.jpgBLUE JAYS (23-13)
Marco Scutaro SS
Aaron Hill DH
Alex Rios RF
Vernon Wells CF
Jose Bautista LF
Scott Rolen 3B
Kevin Millar 1B
Rod Barajas C
John McDonald 2B

Pitching: Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95)

A win tonight and the Yankees are back at .500 while winning their third straight road series. If there’s ever a time to do it, it’s tonight with Sabathia on the hill. As Joe Girardi said after last night’s win, a 4-2 road trip would be an accomplishment considering all the injuries, writes Kimberly Jones … Gardner belted his first big-league homer and drove in three runs, so he gets the start in center. Girardi has said that he’ll go with the hot hand, but Melky Cabrera is 20-for-57 (.351) in 15 games since becoming the nominal starter. One game doesn’t change the story and even if Gardner is finally awakening from his long funk, he needs to do is find a way back into the lineup, which won’t be easy, writes Steven Goldman … Swisher is 3 for his last 30 with 16 strikeouts, but he’s the guy with Xavier Nady’s season still in question. – Jon Lane

Yankees vs. Blue Jays: 5/13/09 Lineups

yankees.jpgYANKEES (15-17)
Johnny Damon DH
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera LF
Brett Gardner CF
Ramiro Pena SS
Francisco Cervelli C

Pitching: Andy Pettitte (2-1, 3.82)

bluejays.jpgBLUE JAYS (23-12)
Marco Scutaro SS
Aaron Hill 2B
Alex Rios RF
Vernon Wells CF
Adam Lind DH
Scott Rolen 3B
Kevin Millar 1B
Rod Barajas C
Jose Bautista LF

Pitching: Scott Richmond (4-1, 3.29)

Stuff to think about

burnett_250_051309.jpgBy Jon Lane
There’s nothing anyone could have done about Tuesday’s loss in Toronto. Roy Halladay is one of the top five pitchers in the game and was so dominant neither the 1927 nor the 1961 Yankees were hitting him. Doc also continued his ownership of the Yankees. He’s 13-2 over his last 19 starts and 16-5 with a 2.79 ERA lifetime.

Meanwhile, A.J. Burnett is 0-1, 6.47 and has allowed five home runs in his last five starts. It’s May 13 and already it’s desperate times for the Yankees. Almost half the team is on the shelf or flirting with the disabled list, CC Sabathia is hoping to finally gain traction off Friday’s nine-inning whitewash of the Orioles and Chien-Ming Wang will need one more Minor League start before he returns. Burnett has had his chances to show he can carry a team in need and hasn’t done it.

Wang, meanwhile, threw six shutout innings for Triple-A Scranton Tuesday night, giving up three hits walking three and striking out six. It’s still impossible to believe a two-time 19-game winner is 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA. The Yankees are praying that was due to the weakness in his hip abductor muscle and not anything mechanically or emotionally.

It’s gotten ridiculous with these injuries. Derek Jeter sat out Tuesday with a strained rib-cage muscle and hopes to play tonight. Hideki Matsui, already playing on creaky knees, now has a tight right hamstring. Matsui says it’s only a cramp, but I’d be surprised to see Matsui for the rest of this series given the Rogers Centre turf.

Normally, when in times of crisis, Andy Pettitte is the one you’d want on the mound. However, the veteran left-hander is 0-1 with a 6.62 ERA in his last three starts. This is a team that was pegged not only for greatness, but to do something special. Keep the faith that things can turn around quickly in this game, but at this rate the Yankees are looking like the 1992 Mets (minus the dysfunction). That team signed free agents Bobby Bonilla, Eddie Murray and Bret Saberhagen and had visions of a World Championship. They finished 72-90.

A bit over the top? Maybe so. But the Yankees Version 2009 are laden with big names who are also aging veterans. There’s no need to worry about Sabathia, but Burnett is not doing what he did last year and any defense of Mark Teixeira and his history of slow starts no longer carry merit. Teixeira went hitless in four at-bats on Tuesday and has been stuck below the Mendoza line the past week.

This team needs to get healthy and get it going – quickly. The days of the AL East being a two-team race are long over, which means the Yankees are vulnerable to getting buried sooner than you think.

4:57 p.m. Jeter and Matsui are both out of tonight’s lineup. Reports out of Toronto say the captain is hoping to return tomorrow.

Yankees vs. Blue Jays: 5/12/09 Lineups

yankees.jpgYANKEES (15-16)
Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner CF
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera RF
Kevin Cash C
Ramiro Pena SS

Pitching: A.J. Burnett (2-0, 5.26)

bluejays.jpgBLUE JAYS (22-12)
TBA

Pitching: Roy Halladay (6-1, 3.29)

Update: Derek Jeter was scratched with what WFAN reported as an oblique problem.

The Pulse of New York

Every Tuesday, YES Blog takes the pulse of New York on the hottest topics being talked about right now in the world of sports. What’s your take on the below issues?

Mark Teixeira will …(poll)

How many consecutive games will Ryan Zimmerman hit safely in?(online poll)

Brett Favre should …(online poll)

The reasoning behind Big Papi’s slump is …(ning polls)

Manny Ramirez has apologized to Dodgers ownership. Should he do the same to his teammates?(poll)

The Cleveland Cavs will …(poll)

Proving ground in T.O.

yankees_350_051209.jpgBy Jon Lane
We’re just approaching mid-May and have reached the season’s first “big” series. For once it’s not Yankees vs. Red Sox, for the Bronx Bombers are in Toronto to face the first-place Blue Jays.

That’s not a typo, folks. The Blue Jays, an afterthought for years in the AL East, are 22-12, boast four players (minimum 112 at-bats) batting at least .283 and have persevered despite a starting rotation held together by Roy Halladay, bubble gum and duct tape.

Already it’s a big series and a proving ground for both teams. The Yankees need to work out of their annual early-season doldrums and make a statement, writes Steven Goldman. They will greet the sub-.500 Twins and Orioles on their next homestand before welcoming the World Champion Phillies Memorial Day weekend. If they can hold it together, notes Goldman, Jorge Posada (and perhaps Brian Bruney) will be back and the team will (theoretically) be fully staffed for the first time all year and can really make some progress.

Don’t forget about Chien-Ming Wang either. Wang is starting in Scranton tonight and a strong effort might punch his ticket back to the Yankees along with the hope that his 34.50 ERA over three starts was a wicked aberration.

Think the Toronto media is pumping up this week’s three-game set? The Toronto Star is hyping tonight’s matchup as potentially the game of the year, and not just because it’s Doc Halladay facing A.J. Burnett. The scribes have noted the critics who have cited the Blue Jays playing 20 of 34 games against the AL Central and have not yet faced their rugged division rivals. Then there’s the return of Alex Rodriguez, and the sense of urgency growing in Yankeeland, that’s expected to draw a walk-up crowd that will boost attendance to at least 30,000. Figure on a few of them holding foam syringes and wearing blond wigs. Necessary? No, but it’s the nature of the beast.

Blue Jays fans have had nothing to cheer about since consecutive World Series championships in 1992 and ’93, so you can’t blame them for getting excited about their team holding the AL’s best record. The Jays have rarely made a big bang during the offseason, but the core of the team is beginning to pay dividends. Cito Gaston’s group lead the Majors in batting (.294) and runs scored (204), and are in the top five in on-base and slugging percentage. Then of course there’s Halladay, whose six wins are tied with Zack Grienke for the league lead and his 52.0 innings pitched rank third.

It was September 24, 2008 when Burnett walked off the Rogers Centre mound for the last time as a Blue Jay after whiffing 11 Yankees through eight innings. A crowd of 28,701 gave him a standing ovation, imploring him to re-sign as a free agent. That didn’t work, so expect Burnett to receive the treatment given to Mark Teixeira (Baltimore), Johnny Damon (Boston) and A-Rod (everywhere).

“I’m sure I’m going to get some boos,” Burnett told the media in Baltimore, “as long as I hear a couple of claps in there. But to be honest with you, it’s probably going to fuel the fire. I’m going to channel it that way.”

Burnett needs something to get him going. He’s winless in his last four starts (6.66 ERA) while allowing five home runs and walking 13 in 24 1/3 innings. CC Sabathia stepped up Friday in Baltimore in what everyone hopes will spark a turnaround. Now it’s Burnett’s turn. He’ll have to out-pitch his old friend. Halladay was 3-0, 1.80 in two complete games against the Yankees last season and owns a career record of 15-5, 2.86. 

Why the Yankees are under .500

By Jon Lane
George King of the New York Post dissected the numbers:

  • Overall, the Yankees’ 5.79 ERA ranks 29th out of 30 teams. Only the Indians (5.83) are worse.

  • The rotation is 28th in the Majors with a 9-10 record and a 5.64 ERA, leading only the Red Sox (14-10; 5.81) and the Phillies (7-10; 6.28), and Yankees starters’ .289 batting average against is the fifth-highest in baseball. Why are the Red Sox 20-12 and the Yankees where they are? Simple, the Yankees’ putrid bullpen is 28th with an ERA of 6.04.  

  • The Yankees deserve credit for a few big hits in big spots, especially from Johnny Damon, named the AL Player of the Week. Overall, however, the Yankees are 14th with runners in scoring position at .244 (70-for-287). Mark Teixeira, a career .324 hitter in the clutch, is batting .192 (5-for-26).

  • Too many times have runners been stranded early in games and has haunted the Yankees in the later innings. It’s a problem that hasn’t gone away and needs to be stopped, immediately. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett have been singled out for uneven beginnings, and now it’s time for Teixeira to show his true colors. Otherwise, even Alex Rodriguez will fly under the radar while everyone wonders what’s wrong with the $180-million man.

Yankees-Orioles: Lineups 5/10/2009

yankees.jpgYANKEES (14-16)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Francisco Cervelli C

Joba Chamberlain P (1-1, 3.77)

orioles.jpgORIOLES (13-18)
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Gregg Zaun C
Felix Pie LF
Robert Andino SS

Koji Uehara P (2-3, 4.42)

Yankees-Orioles: Lineups 5/9/2009

yankees.jpgYankees (14-15)

Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
HIdeki Matsui DH
NIck Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Francisco Cervelli C

Phil Hughes P (1-1, 2.70)

orioles.jpgOrioles (12-18)

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Lou Montanez LF
Greg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Adam Eaton P (1-3, 7.18)