Archive for September, 2009
Replacing Jerry Hairston
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Even though the Yanks walked away from Anaheim with a much needed series win, they may have suffered a pretty significant loss when supersub Jerry Hairston Jr. left yesterday’s game in the middle of his 7th inning at-bat after hearing “a pop” in his right wrist. Apparently Jerry has dealing with wrist issues for quite some time, initially injuring it when he dove for a ball while with the Reds. He’ll hit the MRI tube later today, at which point we’ll know the extent of his injury, but I can’t remember the last time I heard a player said they heard something “pop” and it didn’t turn out to be serious.
On the surface it might not seem like such a big deal, especially since Hairston’s hit just .175-.306-.325 in the team’s last 32 games, but he gave the Yankees two things: extreme versatility and a usable bat off the bench against lefthanders. We’ll get back to the versatility thing in a second, but for now let’s discuss the value of Hairston’s bat off the bench.
You may think his offensive contributions are insignificant, and in the grand scheme of Yankee Universe they kinda are, but the guy has hit .252-.326-.439 off southpaws this season, by far the best any righty on the Yanks bench can offer. Melky Cabrera offers the next righty bat off the bench, going .253-.329-.407 off lefties, but chances are he’ll be starting in center since Joe Girardi seems to like having Brett Gardner ready to go as a pinch runner late in games. Based on what we’ve seen out of Girardi the last two seasons, I think it’s extremely unlikely he’d send Eric Hinske or even Gardner up to plate to hit against a lefty late in games, regardless of what the numbers say. So with Hairston potentially out for a while, the Yankees may have to do without a righthanded hitter on the bench in the playoffs.
(Sorry, but Shelley Duncan doesn’t belong anywhere near a Major League playoff roster.)
Getting back to the versatility issue, it’ll probably take two players to replace Hairston. Ramiro Pena is the no doubt about it backup infielder in Jerry’s stead, but he’s never played the outfield in the big leagues and got just 18 total chances in a handful of games in centerfield with Triple-A Scranton. There’s just no way you can send him out there in the playoffs and expect him to get the job done. There’s also the little matter of Pena hitting .284-.318-.363 as a big leaguer, just .091-.130-.091 against lefties (SSS warning). He’s a more than acceptable backup infielder on the defensive side of the ball, but he offers almost nothing at the plate
As for replacing the outfield portion of Hairston’s contributions, the leading candidate would be Fast Freddy Guzman. The Yanks are fortunate enough to have two approximately league average centerfielders on their roster, so Hairston didn’t figure to get much playing time in the outfield anyway (he’s played just 90 innings out there for the Bombers). There has already been some talk about Guzman making the postseason roster as a pinch runner, and a lengthy injury to Hairston should all but guarantee his spot. Surprisingly, Guzman has a .900 OPS against lefties in his career, but the small sample size warning applies again. In reality, Guzman offers little value at the plate like Pena, with a career .541 OPS in the bigs and .704 in the minors.
We still don’t know how badly Hairston’s wrist is hurt, and while we all hope it’s nothing a little rest and/or cortisone can’t solve, the Yankees have to be prepared for the worst. They’ll probably have to go into the postseason without a reliable righty bat on the bench to send up against lefthanders, but how often would they have pinch hit for someone in this lineup a playoff setting anyway? The loss of Hairston’s flexibility is what really hurts.
Photo Credit: Rob Grabowski, US Presswire
Another good start by A.J. further alleviates concern
Posted by: | CommentsAfter Andy Pettitte finished the sixth inning on Monday, there was a sense of relief. He was going on nine days’ rest in an attempt to rest his fatigued shoulder, something that concerned anyone with a stake in the Yankees’ chances. Andy passed his test, and will have two more tune-up starts before the playoffs. Next up on the checklist: A.J. Burnett. After a few rough starts in the past two months he’s looked good in his last couple of starts, helping ease concern.
As with Pettitte’s start, A.J.’s latest start wasn’t his best. He didn’t make it out of the sixth, allowing 10 baserunners along the way. But he worked out of trouble most of the time, using a sharp curveball to keep the Angels hitters off-balance. Burnett ended the day with 11 strikeouts, a sign that he had his best stuff. He also threw about 65 percent strikes, a good sign for his control, though the three walks don’t help that case. Of the Angels’ seven hits, only two were for extra bases.
We’ve seen Burnett at his best this season. He’s had stretches — well, one notable stretch — of absolute dominance. Unfortunately, he’s also had skids where it seems a team of David Ecksteins can rock him. He had a few of the latter at the end of August and into September, but over his past two starts A.J. has been much better. Jose Molina thinks it’s his last four starts, noting that one bad pitch, the grand slam to Brian Roberts, tainted Burnett’s start against the Orioles. In any case, his recent outings help the Yankees brass sleep a bit easier over the season’s final week and a half.
This doesn’t completely erase the concern. If we’ve learned anything from Burnett this season, anything can happen in any given start. Bad A.J. might show up and give up seven runs over four innings. Good A.J. might show up and dominate through seven. Or we might get that happy medium, the six-inning, three-run A.J. that walks a few too many guys but limits the damage. What alleviates the concern is that A.J. isn’t going into the postseason riding a losing streak.
It’s hard to believe, but Burnett has just one more start in the 2009 season, the middle game of the Kansas City series. The Yanks might juggle, starting Burnett on the season’s final day so he doesn’t have a huge gap between his final one and his first playoff start. If A.J. looks anything like he did yesterday or last Friday, it will go a long way in boosting confidence in the team heading to the playoffs.
Next up on the checklist: Joba Chamberlain. The team’s fourth starter draws the Red Sox on Friday and then the Royals on the 30th before packing it in for the regular season. How he looks in those two starts could determine whether the Yankees take the long or the short ALDS, though it seems they’re preparing for the long series. Joba would not pitch until the ALCS, meaning he’d pitch a maximum two games in the playoffs. That eases concern right off the bat, no?
A reshuffled rotation to give CC rest
Posted by: | CommentsCC Sabathia is, in the old baseball sense of the word, a horse. With two starts remaining, he has thrown 220 innings for the Yanks after throwing 253 last year and 241 the year before. Tack on the postseason, and his innings total climbs by another 19 frames.
Somewhat unfairly and somewhat not, Sabathia carries around with him a reputation for postseason struggles. While he beat the Yanks in the ALDS in 2007, he wasn’t effective, giving up three earned runs on four hits and six walks in just five innings. Chien-Ming Wang was worse, and the Indians grabbed the Game 1 win. His ALCS starts against the Red Sox were worse. Last year, Sabathia’s numbers were ugly against the Phillies. He managed just 3.2 innings in his Game 2 start, surrendering five runs on six hits and four walks. Those results are not good.
Last year, though, Sabathia was pitching under some tough circumstances. Beginning with his start on September 16, Sabathia pitched with three days’ rest for five consecutive starts. During the four regular season starts, he went 2-2 but with a 1.88 ERA anda 26:4 K:BB ratio in 28.2 innings. In his last two starts for the Brewers — do or die games for Milwaukee’s playoff hopes — he gave up one earned run over 16 innings while fanning 18 and issuing just three free passes. Those games carried with them the pressures of the playoffs, and after 16 days of it, Sabathia was hosed.
Because the Yankees have wrapped up a playoff spot, because they have a six-game lead with nine games left to play, the Yankees won’t need to lean on the rubber arm of CC Sabathia. In fact, they can do something the Brewers could not do: They will rest CC.
After their nail-biter against the Angels yesterday afternoon, the Yankees announced the pitching match-ups for the series against the Red Sox, and the team did some shuffling. Joba Chamberlain will face Jon Lester in the Friday evening affair; CC Sabathia will square off against Daisuke Matsuzaka on Saturday afternoon; and Andy Pettitte will meet Paul Byrd in the Sunday afternoon match-up. While Joba will be going on their normal rest, CC and Andy will get a sixth day.
“It’s just giving CC a little extra rest and trying to give him a couple of extra days here. He’ll get an extra day the next time and then he’ll be on regular rest,” Joe Girardi said to reporters on Wednesday.
So while ten days ago, I set up the playoff rotation, let’s reset it.
| Date | Game | Pitcher |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 25 | vs. Bos | Chamberlain |
| Sept. 26 | vs. Bos | Sabathia |
| Sept. 27 | vs. Bos | Pettitte |
| Sept. 28 | vs. KC | Gaudin |
| Sept. 29 | vs. KC | Burnett |
| Sept. 30 | vs. KC | Chamberlain |
| Oct. 1 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 2 | vs. TB | Sabathia |
| Oct. 3 | vs. TB | Pettitte |
| Oct. 4 | vs. TB | Gaudin/Burnett |
| Oct. 5 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 6 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 7 | ALDS (A) 1 | Sabathia |
| Oct. 8 | ALDS (B) 1 | Sabathia |
| Oct. 9 | LDS 2 | Pettitte/Burnett |
| Oct. 10 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 11 | ALDS 3 | Burnett/Pettitte |
Except for the final game of the season, we can see how the rotation shakes down. Not only are the Yankees giving CC an extra day off this week, but due to next Thursday’s off-day, he’ll enjoy another extra day of rest next week. As an added bonus, if the Yankees pick the short playoff series, he’ll get yet another extra day off. If they pick the longer series — the one that requires just three starters — the Big Man will be lined up on normal rest to pitch Game 1 in the Bronx against Detroit or Minnesota.
The only real remaining question mark of the season concerns A.J. Burnett. With the power pitching throwing well of late, the Yanks will probably line him up for a Game 2 start. He is, however, schedule to make just one start this year and could be pitching in the playoffs after a 10- or 12-day layoff. That idea scares me.
To that end, the Yankees could opt for Burnett to make an abbreviated start on the final day of the season with any number of relievers ready to step in after three or four innings. While Gaudin is the projected starter for that day, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Burnett draw the ball to give him on a regular schedule.
So that’s that. It is hard to believe the Yanks have just nine days left. It is comforting though to see the rotation shake down so nicely.
DeLeon named Gulf Coast League’s #2 prospect
Posted by: | CommentsBaseball America started to unveil their annual league top 20 lists today, beginning with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League. Catcher Christian Bethancourt of Braves ranked as the circuit’s top prospect, with Yanks’ farmhand Kelvin DeLeon right behind him at #2. No other Yankee prospect made the list, although Slade Heathcott and JR Murphy did not play enough to qualify. In the subscriber only scouting report, GCL Blue Jays manager John Schneider was quoted as saying “[DeLeon] knows how to hit. He hunts for his pitch. If it’s a fastball count, he doesn’t miss. I didn’t want any part of him.”
The next top 20 list of interest to Yankee fans is the NY-Penn League, which is due out next Tuesday.
Game 153 Spillover Thread II
Posted by: | CommentsHeh, AJ did not want to give that ball up to Girardi…
Game 153: Burnett draws the C lineup
Posted by: | CommentsInstead of putting out the A lineup and going for a series win this afternoon, Joe Girardi has deemed it more important to get his regulars some rest. Absent from today’s lineup are Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, and Jorge Posada. Most curious is Posada, who has destroyed Kazmir in 28 career plate appearances: .440/.464/.680.
The lineup, however, isn’t what concerns the Yanks. They have other matters on their minds, and A.J. Burnett stands out among the rest. The man who will likely take the ball in Game 2 of the ALDS has been a bit inconsistent of late, and needs these last couple of starts to tune up and prepare for the playoff spotlight. He was good last time out, striking out six over seven innings against the Mariners, allowing just one run. This is a much bigger test. The Angels offense is quite a bit better than the Mariners.
In fact, you might call this one a…playoff preview.
Since his debut in 2004, Scott Kazmir has pitched 81.2 innings against the Yankees, and almost none of them have been easy. He has allowed just 30 runs in that span, 23 earned, striking out 92 to 36 walks. The Yanks were glad to get him out of the division, but he can be a pest even with the Angels. We’ll see if success against the Yankees carries over to his new home.
Kazmir struggled through the first half of 2009 and let it spill over into the second half. Even so, he pitched 13.2 innings against the Yankees and allowed only four runs. Even when he’s going poorly, he’s still a Yankee killer. He’s turned things around since becoming an Angel, allowing just five runs, four earned, over 25.1 innings spanning four starts. He could have an easy time today with the Yanks’ “we just clinched a playoff spot” lineup.
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Jerry Hairston, 3B
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Hideki Matsui, DH
5. Shelley Duncan, RF
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Melky Cabrera, LF
8. Brett Gardner, CF
9. Jose Molina, C
And on the mound, number thirty-four, A.J. Burnett.
Little chance Bruney makes the postseason roster
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s no wonder the Yankees have shown so much patience with Brian Bruney. Dominant relief pitchers don’t come around that often, and in 2008 and early 2009 Bruney appeared to be just that. He pitched well both before and after a lisfranc injury last season, and opened 2009 with a bang. Two injuries later and he’s just not the same. The Yankees continue to give Bruney chances, but each one is a reminder that this is not the guy who struck out five straight Rays over two games.
Even in August, when he had a 0.87 ERA, Bruney still didn’t look reliable. He only allowed one run over 10.1 innings, but that might have been a string of reliever’s luck. He struck out only five in that span and walked seven. Opponents reached base 37.5 percent of the time. He threw 201 pitches, almost 20 per inning. With peripherals like that, it’s no wonder he’s struggled in September.
This month Bruney has appeared in nine games, the same number as August, though has pitched 4.2 fewer innings. He’s throwing fewer pitches, but not many, around 19 per inning. Opponents get on base 41.4 percent of the time. His strikeout to walks ratio sits at 4:5. The difference is that teams have gotten to him this time around, going deep twice for a .583 slugging percentage.
Over the course of 2009, Bruney has gone from lights out setup man to questionable postseason roster candidate. The Yankees will take only 10 pitchers to the ALDS, and Bruney doesn’t appear to be one of the 10 best on the roster. Can they trust him in a playoff appearance? Certainly not the way he’s pitching now. He’ll have to show considerable improvement in the season’s last 10 games, and even that might not be enough to convince the Yankees to take the chance.
Bryan Hoch examines Bruney’s woes which, the Yankees think, relate to a mechanical issue. There are plenty “I feel good” quotes in the article, but perhaps the most interesting paragraph reads
The question is if the Yankees have enough time to allow Bruney to continue ironing out what he said have been season-long mechanical problems — bad habits on the mound that have plagued him relating to his hip rotation.
That doesn’t sound like an easy problem to fix. Bruney will have a maximum five games to work it out, and even then he’ll likely only get into three or four more before the regular season ends. Some improvement would be encouraging, but would it be enough to put him on the postseason roster? Not quite, I would think. There are certainly 10 more deserving candidates, especially with David Robertson slated to return this weekend.
It’s a shame what happened to Bruney this season. It appeared he was coming into his own, and then we found out he was unavailable for the first game of the first Boston series. It’s been downhill from there. There’s a chance Bruney could recover, but he probably won’t get a real chance again until 2010.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
