Archive for June, 2009
Some pre-game stuff
Posted by: | CommentsJust a couple of items of note before we get to the game tonight:
- When the lineup was posted today, Melky was playing right and batting sixth. Rob Thompson then took down the lineup, and Nick Swisher went into a closed-door meeting with Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi. When they emerged, the lineup went back up, with Swisher in place of Melky.
- All of the hitters were later called into a meeting. Does anyone like meetings? I guess they kill time, but they usually accomplish little else.
- CC threw a bullpen and declared himself fine to start on Friday against the Mets. So that’s one less thing to worry about.
- Xavier Nady is starting in right for Scranton tonight.
- I laughed a bit at this.
Veras traded to Indians
Posted by: | CommentsVia MLBTR, the Yanks have traded the recently DFA’ed Jose Veras to the Indians in exchange for cash considerations. I figured they would at least get a Grade-C prospect out of it, but whatever. Can’t fault the Tribe for taking a flier on an arm like Jose’s.
In other news, the Nats called up old buddy Tyler Clippard. T-Clip’s been absolutely unhittable since moving to the pen, allowing just 35 base runners and four earned runs with 42 strikeouts in 39 innings.
In-market Yankees streaming broadcasts available in July
Posted by: | CommentsWhen we first heard of YES and Cablevision offering streaming Yankees games in-market earlier this month, it was pretty exciting. As it stands, you cannot stream Yankees games via MLB.tv if you are in-market. It’s understandable, at least under normal circumstances. If MLB.tv allowed in-market broadcasts, I certainly wouldn’t have cable TV. That’s not only lost revenue for cable companies, but for YES and other stations, since cable companies pay them per subscriber. Of course, this new deal wasn’t coming without a catch: you have to be a Cablevision subscriber, using Cablevision Internet to access the broadcasts. So right away it’s not as awesome.
Today we learn of some further details on the deal. Right off the bat we get another downside: it’s going to cost you, to the tune of $49.95 for the rest of the 2009 season, or $19.94 for 30 days. If the experiment is successful and carries over into 2010, expect that to cost you $100 for the whole year. That is, of course, on top of your current TV and Internet bills.
While the price seems steep — especially if you’re already paying for MLB.tv on top of it — there are certainly some practical uses for it. For instance, my parents like to spend time together by watching movies three or four nights a week. Yet my dad, who is as die-hard a fan as they come, has to miss games because of this. If he were willing to pony up the $100 — which he is most certainly not — he could stream the game on his laptop while watching the movie. Best of both worlds.
Even so, I don’t foresee this plan being too popular. Beyond the desire to watch other program and the Yankees game at the same time, there aren’t too many practical uses for streaming video that’s already in TV while you’re in your house. Maybe the use of Optimum Wi-Fi will add to the draw, though most of the hotspots seem to be on Long Island (they’re in NJ at the train station, but how long are you going to be waiting at a train station during a Yankees game?).
Anyway, this all begins on July 8 for the Yankees-Twins game. You can learn more and sign up at Optimum.net. I’m truly interested to hear if anyone plans to purchase this package, and why.
What’s eating Jorge Posada?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen Jorge Posada left the game on May 4 after grabbing his hamstring, it looked like the Yanks were in trouble. They’d just dropped their fourth straight contest to the Red Sox and were sitting at just 13-12. With Alex Rodriguez already out of the lineup, the Yanks could ill-afford to lose Jorge. Yet that was the result. He’d strained his hamstring and would have to spend at least two weeks — perhaps longer — on the disabled list. Things were not looking good.
The outlook did not improve over the next three days, as the Yanks dropped yet another to the Sox before losing two straight to the Rays. The team had lost five straight and all three without their starting catcher. Fortunately, Alex Rodriguez returned the next day and the Yanks started to pick up some games. Even counting the three losses prior to A-Rod‘s return, the Yankees went 14-8 in Jorge’s absence.
Excitement percolated when he returned to the lineup on May 29. The lineup wasn’t quite complete — Melky Cabrera was sitting out after hurting his shoulder in Texas, but he’d ben slumping anyway and Brett Gardner was starting to come on. Adding Posada’s bat figured to be huge. He was, after all, hitting .312/.402/.584 at the time. That’s middle of the order production, and the Yanks were already getting monster contributions from their mid-order bats, A-Rod and Mark Teixeira.
For the first week and a half of Jorge’s return, things went swimmingly. They went 7-3 and had lost by two runs twice and one run once. Jorge wasn’t quite his old self — he was 9 for 34 in that span, with a double, three homers, and three walks — but he was still hitting with power. Plus, the team was winning. So nothing to complain about, right? At the time, not so much. Lately, though, Jorge has not been Jorge.
From the start of the Boston series on June 9 through last night, Jorge has gone 7 for 36 with one double, one homer, and five walks: .194/.293/.306. In other words, he’s been a big part of the Yanks offensive woes of late. That’s a shame, of course, because he potentially adds so much. If he’s going right he can hit fifth, right behind A-Rod, and create one mean 3-4-5 combo.
The good news is that Jorge won’t carry a .499 OPS through the rest of the season. He’ll come out of this funk, like all good hitters do. I know there hasn’t been much to hang our hats on lately, but if we can reach for one thing, it’s that the offense is just bound to turn it around. Hitters this good don’t fall off a cliff mid-season and stay there.
For more on Posada, I urge you to check out Mark Feinsand’s article on him from today’s Daily News. He also has some additional Q&A on his blog.
Kennedy starts throwing program
Posted by: | CommentsVia Chad Jennings, righty Ian Kennedy started a throwing program yesterday as part of his rehab from having an aneurysm removed from underneath his armpit. He made 25 throws from 40 feet and will throw every other day, gradually increasing the distance. The good news is that Kennedy said his arm feels terrific, but the bad news for him is that this is just the first of many steps. Once he works his way up to 60 feet, he’ll begin a more extensive program. There’s still no timetable for a return to the mound, but the process has begun.
Choosing among starting pitchers
Posted by: | CommentsThe Phil Hughes and Chien-Ming Wang show hit the field again last night. Wang went five good enough innings, and Hughes came in for a two-inning relief cameo. He turned in a now-familiar line: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. He threw first-pitch strikes to all six batters he faced.
For Hughes, this outing marked another in a series of stellar relief appearances. He has now thrown 10.2 innings out of the pen and has allowed just two earned runs. Opponents have just five hits off of the Yanks’ youngster, and he has struck out 14 while waking two. The drubbing he suffered at the hands of the Orioles in early May is but a memory.
With this latest appearance, Hughes’ numbers now don’t even require us to take out that disastrous 1.2 innings in Maryland to look good. He has thrown 45.1 innings and has allowed 42 hits. He has given up 17 walks while striking out 45. His ERA is down to 4.57. (Without that bad outing, his ERA sits at 3.09.) He has been, in other words, as good as advertised a few years ago.
The other half of his pitching partnership hasn’t been as good this month. After a horrendous April and three relief appearances, Chien-Ming Wang has tried to find himself in the starting rotation. The results are decidedly mixed. He needed just 62 pitches to make it through five innings against the Braves but didn’t have his best location. Since returning to the rotation, he has made four starts spanning just 17.1 innings. He has given up 24 hits and 14 earned runs for an ERA of 7.27. It’s an improvement over his 34.50 mark from April, but it’s not quite what we expect or need from the 0-6 Wang.
It would seem, then, that the Yankees will soon be faced with a decision. Do they stick with Wang and continue to ride out this winless streak of ineffectiveness and inconsistency? Do they turn the ball over to Hughes and look to see if the confidence and mentality he has shown out of the pen can translate into success over six or seven innings as a starter? It’s a quite the conundrum. They need Wang to pitch well, and they need to straighten out his problems. But as Joe said in the recap, more Phil Hughes please.
For now, the Yankees do not actually need to answer this question. Hughes will have to shadow CC Sabathia and his sore bicep until at least Friday, and the Yankees seem committed to letting Wang toss in the pitcher-happy haven that is Citi Field. I’m OK with that for this week, but one of these pitchers is making a case for himself. It’s not the one getting the ball in the first inning every five days, and we can’t ignore that reality, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.
Quick note: Auto-play ads
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve gotten a few complaints recently about ads that automatically play. For this I apologize. I freaking hate it myself, and if I got any of said ads when visiting the site I’d have already gotten rid of them. So please, do me a favor and let me know if you get any of these. Make sure to mention which ad slot it is, too. This will help me eradicate these annoying ads for good. Just email it to me, address is to the right. Include a screenshot if possible.
GCL Yanks start season off with a win
Posted by: | CommentsOne year ago today, I posted the longest DotF ever.
Triple-A Scranton (6-1 loss to Syracuse)
Kevin Russo: 1 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Austin Jackson & Cody Ransom: both 0 for 4 – Jackson K’ed & committed a fielding error … Ransom K’ed three times
Shelley Duncan, Juan Miranda & John Rodriguez: all 0 for 3 – Shelley drew a walk & K’ed … Miranda drew a walk … J-Rod K’ed twice
Colin Curtis: 2 for 3, 1 2B, 1 K
Justin Leone: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 E (fielding)
Kevin Cash: 0 for 2, 1 BB, 1 K
The Ghost of Kei Igawa: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 4-8 GB/FB – 56 of 86 pitches were strikes (65.4%)
Romulo Sanchez: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 0-3 GB/FB – 21 of 36 pitches were strikes (58.3%)
Paul Bush: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-1 GB/FB – 12 of 17 pitches were strikes (70.6%)
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
