Archive for May, 2009
Game 26: Roster moves and injury updates
Posted by: | CommentsWith the Joba Chamberlain/Josh Beckett match-up fast approaching, the Yankees are gearing up for their fifth contest against the Red Sox this season. At 0-4 against their rivals, the Yanks could really use a win.
They’ll try to earn that W under the shadow of injuries. Earlier today, the Yanks placed Jorge Posada on the DL. In his stead, the team has recalled Francisco Cervelli, the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, to the majors. Cervelli had not been hitting too well in AA, and his arrival in the Bronx leaves the Yanks’ bench very short on both hitters and depth. The three of us are surprised that Juan Miranda wasn’t summoned to the Bigs as well.
Posada’s absence will not be brief. Peter Abraham noted that Jorge has a Grade 2 strain. The Yanks are hoping to get Posada back within three weeks, but that’s beyond optimistic. I think we’re looking at an early June return for Jorge.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are hearing good news on Alex Rodriguez. The rehabbing third baseman hit two home runs in an Extended Spring Training game today and played seven innings in the field. The Yankees will not be sending A-Rod on any Minor League assignment, and the rumblings of a Friday activation date are growing louder. The Yanks need him now.
On the pitching front, Chien-Ming Wang is set for a Thursday start at EST. The Yanks have yet to announce his rehab plans, but Will Carroll recently reported that Wang will make at least two Minor League starts when the Yanks feel he is ready. Brian Bruney’s return is up in the air as well. While the Yankees originally said he would be back after the minimum 15 days, GAK III spoke with Bruney, and the Yanks’ erstwhile setup man said he won’t be back so soon. (And, yes, I think to a King post. He actually did some good work on that one.)
Anyway, it’s wet and cold and will be raining on and off for much of the evening. Sounds like a great night for a game. When Josh and Joba last faced off, the results were spectacular.
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Pena 3B
Molina C
Chamberlain P
Yanks facing heat over rainy day actions
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees today are receiving some bad press over the way the team may or may not have handled the rain delay last night. Matt Gagne of The Daily News runs through the story, and I’ll summarize.
Last night, the Yankees delayed the start of their game against the Red Sox by over two hours. Fans hung around the new stadium, and as the fans awaited the start of the game, little word came from the fans. At around 9 p.m., some stadium employees — those workers holding the “How may I help you?” signs — told fans that the game had been postponed.
At that point, fans started to leave. A few minutes, while many were still within earshot of the stadium, the team announced a 9:22 p.m. start time. While the fans had already exited, many went back to reenter only to be denied. At Gate 6, fans and cops got into heated discussions and a few fights broke out. One fan was arrested for assaulting a cop, and a Daily News photographer who caught the melee on camera was threatened with a revocation of his press credential.
This afternoon, I asked for comments from fans at the game last night. The stories from the stadium paint a picture of poor communication between the Yanks and their employees.
Losing late vs. losing early
Posted by: | CommentsThe linear nature of a baseball game makes it ripe for narration. With each passing inning there are fewer chances to score, making the late innings seem more important than the earlier ones. Yet when you see the forest for the trees, it doesn’t much matter when a team scores its runs. A run in the first is worth exactly as much as a run in the ninth, even if the power of narration makes us sometimes believe otherwise.
Jay at Fack Youk tackled this topic a few days ago, after Saturday’s game in which CC Sabathia pitched well through six, but faltered in the seventh. The Yanks lost the game 8-4, though when you look at the WPA graph it doesn’t seem all that bad.
The WPA falls off a cliff in the seventh, but up to that point it’s a relatively even affair. Best of all, as is its intent, the chart plays out the narrative unfolding of the game. Perhaps it doesn’t capture the sense of hope many fans felt when the Yanks rallied in the ninth, but when we peel off the fan’s blinders, most of us understand that the chances of a comeback were really as miniscule as the chart indicates.
Compare that to last night’s game, which had a closer score:
The Yankees lost by only two runs, but the chart makes it look far worse. That’s because Boston jumped out early, scoring in each of the first four innings. This gradually tilted the win expectancy in their favor, until it was at 89.9 percent when Derek Jeter struck out looking for the second out of the fifth. The win expectancy wasn’t that low on Saturday until Torii Hunter doubled in the seventh.
Here we have two games which had the end result of the Yankees losing by a few runs, yet the WPA charts look very different. Since WPA is based on historical data, we can see that teams that get behind early have a tough time coming back. That makes it frustrating for fans, as each inning chips away at a team’s chances of coming back. On the other hand, an even game through six or seven innings can be easier on the nerves at the time, but when you have a game like Saturday fans can feel just like the WPA chart: like falling off a cliff.
That’s not to say one way is better. A loss is a loss, and despite the narrative value of WPA charts, a run is a run. It’s just interesting to see how similarly-scored games unfold. One way, it seems, causes heartburn while the other causes heartbreak. I don’t think either is preferable.
Amid injuries, starting pitchers must step up
Posted by: | CommentsThe point of the Yankees spending almost $250 million on the starting rotation this past off-season was to shore up a glaring weakness from the past few years. Not only has their starting pitching been mediocre in terms of runs allowed, but they’ve also been in the bottom third in innings pitched for the past two years. Starting pitching was a huge priority, and the Yankees brass delivered. Yet through the first month of the season we’ve barely seen a difference from 2007 and 2008. They rank 19th in the league in starter innings pitched, and 26th in starter ERA to this point. This is obviously not what Brian Cashman and Co. had in mind.
The pitching situation hurts that much more because of injuries to offensive starters. Heading into the season the Yankees were already short their best hitter for at least month. Then their second best hitter succumbed to a wrist injury which has limited his ability to drive the ball. Then their starting right fielder partially tore his UCL and was almost lost for the season. Then the guy with balky knees started having knee issues. Then the starting catcher, whose absence was a detriment to the offense last year, tweaked his hammy. That is almost half the starting lineup either missing time or suffering because of injury. Sure, Hideki has recovered for now, but when a guy who has had surgery on both knees builds up fluid in the season’s first month, it’s not a good sign.
The thinking upon hearing of A-Rod‘s injury was that the starting rotation was so much improved that the team could survive without him for a month. Yet that has not been the case at all. The pitching, as mentioned, hasn’t at all lived up to expectations, while the offense ranks fourth in the league in runs scored (and essentially tied for second in runs per game). The Yankees starters also get the second best run support in the league. If Posada misses significant time, it’s an easy bet that the Yanks offense won’t keep up that pace. If the team is going to keep their heads above water they’re going to need the starters to step up big time.
This means that the starters must go deeper into games so as to not leave the bullpen exposed. This also has the benefit of returning to a 12-man pitching staff (ideally 11, but that’s a pipe dream right now), allowing the team to add a bat like Juan Miranda to pinch hit for the anemic bottom of the order. Not to mention that starters going deep into games for the most part means they’re pitching well. Even with the injuries the Yanks offense can muster three or four runs most games. If they have starters pitching deep they can steal a few of those wins.
Starters stepping up and going deep into games won’t fix the injury and ineffectiveness issues the Yankees have faced this year, but it will provide a much-needed band-aid. It’s what they were expected to do all season, and it’s time that they started doing it. Now more than ever, when the team has had a few weaknesses exposed. What better way to mask a weakness, after all, than playing to your strengths?
Jorge Posada to the DL
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s not much detail but WFAN is reporting that Jorge Posada has been placed on the 15-day DL. We’ll have more info as it comes along.
Unrelated Addendum: Apparently, a riot nearly erupted last night at Yankee Stadium when a big crowd of fans who were told the game was postponed last night were denied reentry. If you were among those fans and are willing to share your story, shoot Ben an e-mail at ben at riveraveblues dot com. We’ll have a bit more on this later.
Draft Tidbits
Posted by: | CommentsWe’re now just over a month away from the draft, so here’s some nuggets to hold you over.
- Strasburg Watch: 78.1 IP, 48 H, 1.38 ERA, 147-15 K/BB ratio. San Diego State isn’t expected to the make the NCAA postseason, so Strasburg has at most four starts left in the season, more likely three. He won’t get near Derek Tatsuno’s single season record of 234 K, but he’s got a shot to break Ryan Wagner’s record of 16.8 Kper9.
- Speaking of Strasburg, Katie Dowd wrote a piece about him for The College Baseball Blog.
- Aaron Crow pitched last night for the first time since last spring, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits in an inning and two-thirds for the independent Fort Worth Cats in an exhibition game. With no one really stepping up and establishing themselves as the #2 prospect behind Strasburg, Crow could end up being the guy if he shows his old stuff over the next few weeks. It’s possible that the Orioles take Crow with the fifth overall pick, giving them the two best pitching prospects available in the ’08 class (Brian Matusz being the other).
- Tanner Scheppers also made his 2009 debut last night, striking out six in four hitless innings in an exhibition game for the indy St. Paul Saints. Like Crow, he has a chance to go as high as second overall if he regains the form he showed last year before a shoulder impingement ended his season prematurely.
- LSU shifted DJ LeMahieu to second base last week. I wrote about him as a potential first round target for the Yanks back in March, noting that there were questions about his defense at shortstop. Now that he’s moved off short, LeMahieu’s stock takes a hit and is more of a second or third rounder because of the less premium position.
- MLB.com now has close to 70 scouting reports available on their Draft Page.
- Amy K. Nelson put together a great piece on former Yanks’ draft pick Matt Harrington, who was drafted five times but never signed, costing himself millions.
- In case you missed it, the draft is expanding from two days to three days this year, and will be broadcast on the MLB Network instead of ESPN. I don’t like it.
Remember, you can always see the draft order at our 2009 Draft Order Tracker. Unless someone signs Ben Sheets, Mark Grudzielanek, and/or Paul Byrd within the next five weeks, that’s the final order.
Early a.m. injury updates: A-Rod, IPK, JoPo
Posted by: | CommentsInjuries are swirling around the Yankees right now. With Brian Bruney, Xavier Nady and Alex Rodriguez on the shelf, the Yanks’ depth has nearly vanished. The news on Monday got both worse and better at the same time. I’ll run it down.
First, for those of you asleep at 1:30 a.m. when the Yankee game ended last night, the Bombers lost Jorge Posada to a hamstring injury. Posada hurt his hamstring sliding into second base in the 6th inning and had to leave the game. He’ll get an MRI later today, and Joe Girardi said during the post-game press conference that Posada will miss a few days.
Jorge leads the Yankees with 20 RBIs. He will be nearly impossible to replace in the lineup, but the Yankees will have to make a roster move. The team needs a second healthy catcher, and Francisco Cervelli, the only other catcher on the 40-man, could be Bronx-bound today. Cervelli is hitting just .190/.266/.310 in AA.
In better news, Alex Rodriguez could rejoin the Yankees by Friday. A-Rod went 1 for 5 with a walk in Extended Spring Training yesterday. His lone hit was a home run off of rehabbing Phillies’ reliever J.C. Romero. The Yankees expect A-Rod to play again today, and the team will then determine his schedule.
In speaking with reporters, Joe Girardi said that A-Rod could be activated on Friday in Baltimore. He doesn’t need to slide in game conditions, and if a Minor League rehab assignment would simply afford A-Rod some work on his hand-eye coordination, the Yanks will skip that luxury to bring him back to the Bigs. “So much of it just depends on how he feels and when he believes he’s ready to go,” Girardi said. “I have not really put a date on it, because I want to see how he bounces back. It’s up to him. When he feels that he’s ready, we’re probably going to take him back.”
Meanwhile, in the A-Rod story linked above, Bryan Hoch checked in with an Ian Kennedy update. The Yanks’ youngster is currently suffering from a vasospasm in his right middle finger. Doctors checked out Kennedy on Monday and prescribed more rest. He’ll have another exam on Thursday and is currently in a holding pattern.
Posada strains left hamstring
Posted by: | CommentsIn the bottom of the 6th inning, Jorge Posada singled and then advanced to second on a Melky Cabrera ground out. As the YES replays showed, Posada grabbed his left hamstring while nearing second base. While he was safe, he would be removed from the game for Hideki Matsui in the bottom of the 8th. The news from the clubhouse is not good: Posada has reportedly reaggravated his strained his left hamstring, and he will go for an MRI tomorrow. Since the Yankees are carrying only Jose Molina, I would expect a roster move in a few hours.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
