Archive for May, 2010
The wrong call on Randy Winn (and Kevin Russo)
Posted by: | CommentsI know I’m in the minority when I saw this, but the Yankees made the wrong call when cutting Randy Winn. I say this not in support of Winn’s ability, but in support of Kevin Russo’s. While I believe that Russo likely at this point can bring more to the table than Winn, he’s not a big enough improvement to justify having Russo lose important development time. Russo has the ability to be a decent super-sub type of player, and riding the pine at the big league level isn’t going to help. If there is a serious injury and someone is going to get 300 AB’s, I’d much rather it be Russo than Winn, but for the role the Yankees need to fill now, Russo is not the man for the job.
As the winner of the Winn/Russo battle (as 4th or 5th outfielders), Russo is going to maybe start one game a week. How much more can Russo possibly bring to the table than Winn? Winn is the better defensive outfielder, and he also has the ability to play CF. Now Russo likely will be more productive with the bat than Winn, but a glance at his triple slash line (.250/.286/.350 in a very SSS) doesn’t show the type of impact some feel he has had. A couple of “big” hits and everyone thinks he’s off to a great start, but he’s not. If Russo were 30 years old, I could care less. Russo, however, is 25 and has a chance to be an important (and cheap) player off the bench for the Yankees for years to come. He needs to be in the minors getting reps all over the diamond to see if he can become that player.
Russo does not have the bat to be a corner infielder or outfielder, and likely doesn’t defend well enough to be a full time 2B. If he’s relegated to 4th or 5th OF now, he’s eminently replaceable. Kevin Russo the outfielder carries almost no value, Kevin Russo the jack of all trades does. I’d like to see Russo get the chance to be a Mark Derosa or Jerry Hairston type of player, instead of being just another guy.
If you send Russo down, he’s a short drive back the New York if he’s truly needed. Right now he’s not needed; he’s a short term luxury that comes at a long term price. (My) best case scenario is that the final shoe has not yet dropped. Maybe the Yankees bring up Greg Golson in a few days to become the final OF on the roster and get Russo back to Scranton. Maybe they pick up one of the available OF’s still looking for jobs (Rocco Baldelli, Eric Byrnes, Elijah Dukes?), maybe they make a trade to pick up a veteran to fill the job. In any of these scenarios, I have no problem with them cutting Winn today; I just don’t want this to be a long term thing at the expense of Russo. Likely his only chance of having a long term career (and maximizing his value to the Yankees) is by learning to play everywhere. Let’s hope they find a way to make that happen sooner rather than later.
For more of my work, head over to Mystique and Aura.
Yankees welcome back Granderson with a win
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Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun, AP
Following Thursday night’s disappointing loss to the Twins, the Yankees had two things to look forward to: They were coming back home, and Curtis Granderson would be back in the lineup. Their centerfielder had missed just about four weeks with a groin injury, and during that time they went an unspectacular 12-11. After Friday’s game, it sure looks like Granderson is a key part of the Yankee offense.
Swisher Puts The Yanks On Top
The last time the Yankees won a game, they won because Nick Swisher came through big time with a 9th inning homer in Minnesota. His shot wasn’t as dramatic on last night, but it served the same purpose.
It was only the 2nd inning, and Robbie Cano had just reach base thanks to a blown call by first base ump C.B. Bucknor (more on that later). Fausto Carmona, who’s rebounded well in 2010 after two horrid seasons, started him off with a fastball off the plate for ball one, and he probably wishes he did the same with the second pitch. Instead, he hung a sinker that Swish jumped all over, wrapping it around the rightfield foul pole for two runs that felt like 20 given how the team has been swinging the bat.
The score was much more lopsided at the end of the game, but that two run homer increased the Yanks chances of winning by 15%, a sizable mark that early in the game.
Welcome Back, Curtis
Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun, AP
After all that time on the disabled list, Granderson returned Friday and instantly added some length to the Yankees’ lineup, not to mention some much needed lefthanded pop. He flew out in his first at-bat, but drew a five pitch walk next time up. After a grounder the third time up, Granderson took two swipes at bunting Derek Jeter over to second against a very tough lefty in the 7th, but when he couldn’t get it down he took a big cut at a 0-2 fastball right down the middle. The ball flew out to the right-center gap for a double, and reminded us all of what we were missing while Randy Winn and Kevin Russo and whoever else was playing the outfield during Granderson’s absence. He tacked on a hit by pitch to reach base three times in his return to the lineup.
The Goods
Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun, AP
Phil Hughes was pretty darn good tonight following two stinkers, striking out eight guys and allowing just six baserunners (five hits and a walk) in seven innings of work. He threw 76 of his 109 pitches for strikes (69.7%), and got twice as many ground ball outs as fly outs. Oh, and he started the game by striking out the first five batters he faced. That was pretty cool.
Robbie Cano cooled off a bit earlier this month after his molten hot April, but he’s back in the swing of things now. He went 3-for-4 on Friday night, including his third career four-run homer which broke the game wide open late. Cano’s now hitting .390 in his last 14 games, and he’s hit safely in his last 11 contests.
How about Juan Miranda working a bases loaded four pitch walk? Sure, Carmona made it somewhat easy for him, but it’s not uncommon to see guys who were recently called up try to do too much and expand their zone in a spot like that. Also, how about Ramiro Pena‘s 11-pitch at-bat with two men on two batters later? Even though he struck out, that’s great stuff from a guy swinging a a rolled up newspaper.
Mark Teixeira was kickin’ ass and takin’ names defensively in this game. He made several nice plays on balls that took weird hops or were right on top of him. That’s why he makes the big bucks.
Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun, AP
The Yankees certainly benefited from some blown calls by Bucknor at first base in this one. Cano reached in the 2nd despite being obviously out, and then crossed the plate when Swisher homered one batter later. Fast forward to the 7th, and Jason Donald was called out despite beating Hughes to the bag. The next half-inning, Jeter was called safe at first on a questionable call, igniting a four run inning. I’m not complaining, I’ll take the ump screw-ups when they come. They tend to even out over the course of a season.
And finally, nice debut for Chad Moeller. Just missed a homer early in the game, but ripped a double in the 8th. Maybe Joe Girardi won’t be so hesitant to sit Frankie Cervelli once a week now.
The Bads
Really not much to complain about in this one. Miranda smoked a ball to dead center and had nothing to show for it but an out because Trevor Crowe made an absolutely amazing catch (video). It’s good that he crushed the ball, but damn. Back to the dugout he went.
The wave. It can burn in hell. Take that nonsense to CitiField.
WPA Graph & Box Score
MLB.com has the box score, FanGraphs the nerd score.
Up Next
Same two teams tomorrow afternoon in a 1:05pm ET start. CC Sabathia takes on his former team, who will throw young lefty David Huff.
Romine & Laird keep hitting, but Trenton can’t finish off the win
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s of notes today, so let’s break out the bullet points…
- Apparently J.R. Murphy was bumped up to Low-A Charleston so he could get used to playing under the lights and in actual stadiums before he joins Short Season Staten Island next month (subs. req’d). Can’t say I’ve seen that before.
- Amaury Sanit was suspended for 50 games for failing a performance enhancing drug test. He’s been on the disabled list for the last week or so, but he was getting knocked around before that (8.69 ERA, 6.25 FIP in 19.2 IP).
- Schaeffer Hall was promoted to High-A Tampa after laying a beatin’ on the Sally League (1.85 ERA, 2.52 FIP in 68 IP) in part due to being old for the level. I wouldn’t be surprised if Adam Warren got bumped up to Double-A Trenton as a follow-up move.
- Speaking of Warren, he’s one of five Tampa Yanks that were named to the Florida State League All-Star Team. The others are Hector Noesi (he won’t play because he’s in Trenton now), Mitch Abeita, Jack Rye, and Corban Joseph. Tampa’s entire coaching staff will call the shots for the North Division Team as well.
Triple-A Scranton (6-2 win over Syracuse) tomorrow’s Stephen Strasburg day
Greg Golson, CF: 2 for 5, 1 K, 2 SB, 1 E (fielding)
Reegie Corona, 3B: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
Eduardo Nunez, SS: 0 for 4
Jon Weber, RF & Rene Rivera, DH: both 1 for 4 - Rivera doubled & K’ed twice … three of Rivera’s four hits are doubles
Jesus Montero, C: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 PB – that’s his sixth passed ball of the year
Chad Huffman, 1B: 2 for 4, 2 R – it seems like he gets a hit every day, but the game log says differently
Reid Gorecki, LF: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K
Jeff Natale, 2B: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB
Dustin Moseley: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 13-5 GB/FB, 1 E (pickoff) – 62 of 101 pitches were strikes (61.4%)
Boone Logan: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-2 GB/FB – 11 of his 18 pitches were strikes (61.1%)
Royce Ring: 1 IP, zeroes, 2-0 GB/FB – seven of his eight pitches were strikes
Game 48: Back home
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Do the Yankees have a little Captain in them? (Photo Credit: Craig Lassig, AP)
Hopefully some home cooking will wake the offense up. That and the short porch, anyway. The Indians have the third worst record in baseball at 17-28, which tends to happen when your pitching staff has the game’s second worst xFIP at 4.79. Offensively, if the Yanks manage to contain Austin Kearns and Shin-Shoo Choo, they should be in the clear. Hopefully our boy Shelley Duncan gets some playing time. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him hit one out as long as the Yanks have the lead and are firmly in control.
Here’s the Alex Rodriguez-less lineup…
Jeter, SS
Granderson, CF – good to see him back
Teixeira, 1B
Cano, 2B
Swisher, RF
Miranda, DH
Gardner, LF
Pena, 3B
Moeller, C – hooray for Frankie Cervelli finally getting a day off
And on the mound, St. Phil.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET, and can seen on YES. Enjoy the game.
Yankees designate Randy Winn for assignment
Posted by: | CommentsI didn’t expect it, but the Yankees designated Randy Winn for assignment today, clearing room on the roster for Curtis Granderson, who’s been activated off the disabled list. “I was ready, I was prepared,” said Winn. “I played terrible, that’s the bottom line.”
Winn didn’t do much of anything during his short time in pinstripes, except for hitting that three run homer a few weeks back. Otherwise, he’s been a zero with the bat and hasn’t played enough to make a difference on defense. The Yanks still owe Winn the $1.1M his contract calls for, but he didn’t reach any of the incentives.
Yanks have two kinds of players on their summer shopping list
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Jon Heyman, the Yankees’ shopping list for the summer includes two kinds of a players: a relief pitcher, and a hitter to presumably replace the perpetually injured Nick Johnson. Yesterday we heard they were likely to look for a versatile outfielder, which I guess could help form some kind of four-headed outfielder/designated hitter monster. As for the bullpen … meh. I hate trading for relievers just because they’re so volatile. Why give up an asset for complete unpredictability?
Is it just me, or does it seem like a summer rumor season started a little early this year?
RAB Live Chat
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Some good, but mostly bad in Javy’s latest
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Photo credit: Frank Franklin II/AP
Javy Vazquez would do well to purchase ear plugs before his next start at Yankee Stadium. After two excellent starts, in which he allowed just two runs on six hits in 13 innings. Even better, he struck out 13 to two walks, a much better ratio than he was sporting prior to the start against Detroit. By many indications he, as we’ve heard commentators say, “figured it out.” Something wasn’t right in his first five starts, but a brief rest gave him time to collect himself. Or something else of an inspiring narrative nature.
It’s clear that Vazquez’s velocity has declined this season. His fastball averages 89.1 mph right now, down 2 mph from 2009, and down 3 mph from his superb 2007 season. That’s not completely unexpected. Vazquez will turn 34 in June, a time when many pitchers start to lose velocity. With four quality pitches in his arsenal — fastball, curveball, changeup, slider, plus a two-seamer — he seems like the type of pitcher who can adapt. That is, as long as he retains command of his pitches. So far this season, at least in terms of his fastball, he has not. We saw that on display again last night after the two-game reprieve.
What stood out about last night, other than how hard the Twins hit the ball, was Vazquez’s pitch selection. He went with the four-seamer 57.4 percent of the time, odd because he’s thrown it 38.1 percent of the time this season. The changeup had been his go-to secondary pitch, constituting 19.5 percent of his overall pitches, but last night he threw it just nine times, while going to the curveball 15 times and the slider 13. Maybe he wasn’t feeling the changeup, maybe the gameplan was to go with breaking pitches. I don’t know. What I do know is that Vazquez certainly altered his pitch selection in this start.
The real interesting bit is Javy’s pitch chart, but before that I just wanted to throw up this one. The strike zone, it appeared, was fair. (And if you look at Blackburn’s strike zone plot it looks pretty similar.) There’s just one area that troubles me. At the bottom right, you’ll see a cluster of green dots. Those are pretty clearly strikes, yet Javy didn’t get the call at all. There’s even one green dot that appears closer to the zone than the red dots to its left and to its right.
Unsurprisingly, that green cluster of called balls consisted mostly of sliders. That’s the perfect slot for a slider, low and away to a righty, yet Vazquez did not get the call. That’s not an excuse for his performance — none of this is an excuse — but if he’s not getting that call he has to try something else. If another of his pitches isn’t working, well, it’s pretty easy to understand why he’d pitch badly in that scenario.
It looks like Javy had trouble locating the two-seamer inside. You can see a number of powder blue dots well out of the zone inside, and the few that did hit the zone caught plenty of the plate. He also missed the zone with the majority of his changeups, though I’m not sure whether that’s by design or by mistake. The only one in the zone got hit. The one on the corner caused a swing and miss. The others were nowhere near the zone. Pitchers often throw a changeup that falls out of the zone, hoping a batter chase. I’m not sure if the Twins had a gameplan to lay off the changeup, or if they looked like bad pitches out of Javy’s hand. In either case it’s clear why Javy threw it less frequently than his other pitches.
At a quick glance, it looks as though 41 of his 62 four-seamers were reasonably within the zone, which is a good sign. That cluster in the middle might look concerning, but the Twins only managed one hit there. All of the curveballs in the middle of the zone were either called strikes or hits. The one low and away was called a ball, as were the two at the bottom of the zone. Look at the two curves directly on the inside edge. The one on top was a swinging strike, the one on the bottom a ball. Directly to the left of the bottom one are two more curveballs. They were both called strikes.
Javy did recover a bit in innings three and four, and it looked for a minute as though he might have been able to avoid disaster. But that didn’t last, and he ended up leaving with a pretty ugly final line. He said he battled better last night than he had in his earlier starts, and in a way I can see that. Clearly he didn’t have command of anything other than his four-seamer — perhaps a residual effect of his finger injury — and he got beat seemingly every time he went with a breaking pitch. But when you go into a battle with one weapon, it’s hard to avoid getting shelled. I’m not totally discouraged by the start. What will discourage me is if he pulls the same thing against the Orioles on Tuesday.
Granderson roulette: Russo, Winn or Pena
Posted by: | CommentsOn May 1, Curtis Granderson injured his groin in a game against the White Sox, and the Yankees fell to 15-8 on the season. Since then, the Yankees have gone just 13-11, and even though Granderson is hitting just .225/.311/.375 on the young season, he brings depth to the Yanks’ lineup and bench. His return from the disabled list — rumored to come tonight — is a welcome development indeed.
When Granderson is activated, the Yanks will have their center fielder back. Granderson told reporters that he is at around 90-95 percent. “The groin is actually good. I haven’t felt anything with it,” he said. “If you dig in and touch it, it’s still tender to the touch. But I don’t feel anything with it.”
The Yankees, notoriously tight-lipped, haven’t yet decided on a corresponding roster move. As far as I can tell, the team has three options. Because Joe Girardi prefers a full bullpen, they will ship Kevin Russo back to the minors, designate Randy Winn for assignment or send Ramiro Pena down to AAA. Let’s evaluate.
1. Send Kevin Russo back to AAA
Our first option remains both most likely and least popular with the fans. By virtue of a few clutch hits and some solid work in left field, Kevin Russo has turned himself into a household name. He could still find himself ticketed to Scranton.
Why Russo will go: With Granderson’s return, the Yankees will have their three starting outfielders, Randy Winn, and — gulp — Marcus Thames as their five outfielders. For his defensive capabilities, Russo is a better long-term option than Thames ever will be, but he’s hitting just .250/.286/.350 and has a career Minor League OPS of .763. By sending him down, the Yankees can give him some every-day experience and work on his infield and outfield skills. He’ll remain under team control and would probably be the first guy up in case of emergency.
Why Russo could stay: Randy Winn looks like toast. Ramiro Peña, not known for his offense, hasn’t hit a lick this year. If anything, Russo is the best of three less-than-desirable choices.
2. Designate Randy Winn for assignment
I have to admit that I’m no fan of Randy Winn. I expected him to be a decent enough outfielder with some bat, but he’s shown no ability whatsoever this year. He hits like Melky and seems to throw like Johnny Damon, and his bad play in the Citi Field games did little to endear him to fans. The Yanks are paying him a guaranteed $1.1 million with some performance bonuses, and they could easily just cut him loose.
Why Winn will go: Handed the left field job when Curtis Granderson went down, Winn did everything in his power to lose it. He’s hitting a weak .213/.300/.295 this year and can’t seem to get around on a fastball. On the bright side, he has a 1.4 UZR in left field but with an arm below average. He is easily replaceable.
Why Winn will stay: With that positive UZR, the Yankees could utilize Winn as a late-innings defensive specialist. They don’t particularly need his bat with Granderson’s return to the lineup, and once the team cuts Winn, they won’t be bringing him back. With Russo or Peña, the team can simply summon either player from AAA and be none the worse for it. The Yankees like their old veterans, and Winn fits that bill — at least for a few more weeks.
3. Send Ramiro Peña to AAA
The Yanks’ final option would involve sending out their lone back-up middle infielder to AAA. The all-glove, no-hit 25-year-old could head back to Scranton to take some innings at the corner outfield positions with an eye toward replacing Randy Winn if he can handle the job.
Why Peña will go: If you thought Randy Winn’s bat was slow, get a load of Peña’s. He’s appeared in just 18 games this year and has come to the plate 42 times. Whatever offense he might have is just withering away, and he’s hitting .211/.244/.237. He somehow managed to hit .287 last season, but his minor league career triple slash — .255/.315/.320 — is more in line with his 2010 numbers than his 2009 campaign. In a very small sample, his defense has been nothing spectacular this year, and he is, simply put, dead weight on a roster with too much dead weight.
Why Peña will stay: Only one trait is keeping Ramiro in the Bronx: He can play short stop. The Bombers do not appear to believe that Kevin Russo could man short should Jeter go down, and the team would prefer to keep their only versatile back-up infield at the big league level. It’s flimsy reasoning at best, but it should be enough to save Peña’s job for the next few months as Russo learns short.
As roster moves go, the one the Yanks must make later today is rather inconsequential, but it certainly provides us with a glimpse into the inner workings of a GM’s mind. Someone will have to go, and while three candidates could be shipped out, which one goes will have an impact on the make-up of the current Yankee roster.
Hard to beat a good team three times
Posted by: | CommentsWith the way the Yankees have scored runs lately, we should be thankful that the Yankees’ pitching held up in the first two games. Javier Vazquez couldn’t make like A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, and that was clear from the beginning. The Twins hit the ball hard all night, while the Yankees’ bats languished. Again, this one would have stung a bit more had the Yanks not taken the first two, especially with the way they won last night.
Biggest Hit: Cano the deficit hawk
Photo caption: Andy King/AP
There was a point during last night’s game where the Yankees stood a chance. They had been down on the scoreboard all evening, but they had hit Nick Blackburn fairly hard, though the effort only resulted in one run through five innings. The Yanks threatened to change that immediately in the sixth. Mark Teixeira drove a first-pitch changeup to right-center for a leadoff double. Alex Rodriguez popped up to second, leaving the job up to Robinson Cano.
Blackburn delivered a first-pitch curveball right over the plate, and Cano pulled a grounder down the right field line. It went all the way to the corner, allowing Teixeira to score and Cano to reach second without a throw. Cano had cut the deficit in half and gave the Yanks two more chances to pull within one. But neither Nick Swisher nor Juan Miranda succeeded in his attempt.
Cano also drove in the Yankees’ first run, singling home Brett Gardner in the fourth.
Jason Kubel, Yankee killer
Photo caption: Andy King/AP
The lead here is easy. Kubel shocked the Yankees 11 days ago, spoiling a sweep at the Stadium. The follow up didn’t sting quite as badly, though the bar was set pretty high. It started in the second inning when Michael Cuddyer flied one into the gap in right-center. That brought up Kubel, who ran the count 2-2 before hitting a low curveball that caught a bit much of the plate. His gap shot put the Twins up 2-0. With none out in the inning, the Twins were still able to bring home Kubel when Alexi Casilla grounded into a double play.
An inning after Cano put the Yankees to within two, Kubel struck again. Javier Vazquez, who had settled down since the two-run second, stayed away from Kubel, laying three fastballs around but definitely outside the zone. On the 2-1 Vazquez went to his curveball and delivered it to nearly the same spot as he had the previous time against Kubel. This time he got all of it, sending it well over the wall and extending the Twins lead to 5-2.
In the seventh he had a clear advantage. Chad Gaudin does not pitch at all well against lefties. Kubel already had a double and a homer against a righty pitcher. Gaudin went to work, careful stay away from Kubel’s pull zone. He mostly succeeded, but on the ninth pitch it didn’t matter. Gaudin delivered a fastball outside, and Kubel got his arms extended. If there was any chance of a comeback at that point, it disappeared with that swing.
Wasted chances
Photo caption: Andy King/AP
The Yankees collected 10 hits in the game, but had trouble putting together rallies. That seems to be the theme of the past few weeks. They had a chance to break the dry spell in the first, but Alex Rodriguez couldn’t get it done. With runners on the corners and one out he grounded one to short, which wasn’t the easiest double play but it was quick enough to beat A-Rod to first. He’s not going to succeed every time, but when runs are scarce his failures hurt plenty.
Nick Swisher followed Robinson Cano’s RBI single in the fourth with a single of his own, setting up the Yankees with runners on first and third with two out. Juan Miranda got a chance to give the Yanks another run and keep the inning going, but he instead grounded weakly to second.
Those were the only times the Yankees had more than one runner on base. After the Miranda groundout they went 1 for 12 the rest of the way.
Bad Javy
Photo caption: Andy King/AP
At the beginning of the season Javy Vazquez pitched poorly. Then he pitched very well in two starts. Now he’s pitched poorly again. Can we create the Good Javy, Bad Javy designation, too? Because that’s so much fun.
Vazquez had the same problem with his fastball as he had earlier in the season. The lack of velocity is a concern secondary to his command, but velocity is a concern nonetheless. It looked like a slightly more contained start from earlier in the year, which is just what the Yanks can’t afford while they slump. Yanks have a streaking A-Rod and Teixeira? This start is a bit easier to stomach. But when the offense hasn’t worked, the Yanks need their pitchers more than ever.
Thankfully, Javy has a few easier starts to bounce back. He’ll get the Orioles next, though the Blue Jays have been hitting very well so far.
Said Girardi after the game: “He left some breaking pitches up.” Exactly.
WPA graph and box score
I have nothing nice to say about this WPA graph, so I will say nothing at all.
More at FanGraphs. Traditional at MLB.com.
Next up
It’s quite an upcoming stretch for the Yankees. This weekend it’s a four-game set against the last-place Indians. Then the last-place Orioles come to town. The Yanks then fly up to Toronto, which will be their toughest games in this stretch. Then it’s down to play last-place Baltimore, and then back home for a weekend set against last-place Houston. If there is ever a time for the Yankees’ bats to wake up, it’s during this stretch.
The rejuvenated Fausto Carmona takes on Phil Hughes tomrrow night.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
