Yanks top Indians behind Javy & Granderson
BySunday’s game lasted a little longer than the Yankees would have liked because of a two-plus hour rain delay, and they presumably arrived in Cleveland a little later than they would have liked this morning. That could have explained their slumping bats early in Monday’s game, but then again the team also seems to have no interest in scoring runs for Javy Vazquez. Curtis Granderson‘s third homer in the last two games put the Yankees on top late, and a surprise 8th inning setup tandem handed the ball off to Mariano Rivera, who preserved the 3-2 win. Matt Garza no-hit the Tigers, so the Yanks’ lead in the AL East remains at three.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Wait, Why Aren’t They Pinch Running For Posa … Nevermind
Former Yankee Jake Westbrook was on his game Monday night, holding the Yankees to just two hits through the first eight innings. One of those hits was a Nick Swisher solo shot, accounting for the Yanks’ lone run up to that point. Westbrook’s pitch count sat at 99 entering that 8th inning, though it was a stress-free 99 pitches and there was every reason to believe he had enough left in the tank for another three outs.
Jorge Posada, the designated hitter following the long game and late travel, starting the inning off by taking two sinkers for strikes, but he managed to work the count full before knocking a ball through the 5.5 hole for a leadoff single. Down by one with a lifeless offense, it stood to reason that Joe Girardi would send out a pinch-runner, especially since he had Marcus Thames and Juan Miranda on the bench to bat as the DH if needed later in the game. Instead, Girardi left Posada out there to run for himself, and it turned out all he would need to do was jog.
Curtis Granderson, just 5-for-23 (.217) off Westbrook prior to Monday night, took the righty’s first pitch changeup in the dirt for a ball. Westbrook’s next pitch was his worst of the night, a 91 mph fastball belt-high and out over the plate, and Granderson didn’t miss it. Posada knew it was gone, Grandy knew it was gone, Westbrook know it was gone, we all knew it was gone. The ball landed several row back in the rightfield stands, giving the Yankees a one run lead they’d never give up.
The homer was worth .402 WPA, which I’m going to guess is the second highest WPA for a non-walk-off hit by a Yankee this year behind Alex Rodriguez‘s game tying homer off Jonathan Papelbon back in the Thames walk-off game.
"I swear dude, we're trying to score." (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Give The Guy Some Run Support
In what has become a common occurrence since mid-May, Vazquez took the ball deep into the game and was rather stellar, only to be saddled with minimal run support. Travis Hafner touched him up for a solo homer in the 2nd, and the Indians scored what was then the go-ahead run in 6th on a double, fielder’s choice, and another double. In between the homer and the first double, Javy retired ten of 11 and threw no more than 16 pitches in an inning until the 7th.
All told, Vazquez gave the Yanks seven strong innings, giving up five hits (scarily enough, four doubles and a homer) and two walks while striking out five. The offense backed him up with three runs or fewer for the fourth time in his last five starts, and for the tenth time overall in his 19 starts. Big ups to Javy though, he was pretty damn good.
Where’s Joba?
(AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
During his pre-game press conference, Joe Girardi indicated that he would “lean toward” using Joba Chamberlain should a situation arise where the Yanks had a slim lead in the 8th. That exact situation came up tonight, but there was Joba on the bench in the bullpen, watching as David Robertson warmed up while Javy started the inning. After Vazquez walked Michael Brantley to start the frame, Girardi called for Robertson, who ran out of the bullpen like the place was on fire.
With a man on first and none out, Robertson’s jumped ahead of Asdrubal Cabrera 1-2, though the Indians shortstop spoiled a good put-away curveball. D-Rob’s last pitch of the night was a fastball that Cabrera beat into the ground for a rally killing 6-4-3 double play. It decreased Cleveland’s chances of a win by more than 20%. It was the third time this year that Robertson has faced just one batter while recording two outs, which is kind cool.
Girardi turned to Boone Logan to face Shin-Soo Choo (and his enormous platoon split) with two outs in the 8th, and six pitches later everyone was walking back to the dugout after strike three. It was the cleanest 8th inning pitched by Yankee relievers in who knows how long.
The Best Of The Rest
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Granderson’s homer wasn’t his only well struck ball of the night. He clobbered a ball off the top of the rightfield wall in the 5th, but got thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Choo played it perfectly off the wall and made a great throw, but the replay showed Grandy’s foot got in there before the tag. Such is life.
Speaking of Choo, Kenny Singleton was mispronouncing his name all night. He was saying “Shin-So”, not “Shin-Sue”. I’ll be paying attention tomorrow to see if he keeps doing it, but I suspect someone on the staff will straighten him out.
Mark Teixeira drew a walk, extending his streak of reaching base safely to 42 consecutive games. It’s the longest streak of his career by several games, and is the second longest such streak in the big leagues this year.
Robbie Cano was intentionally walked for a league leading 11th time. He had been intentionally walked 14 times total in the first five years of his career. That’s awesome. Robbie also reminded us all that he has the meanest double play pivot in the game in that 8th inning.
You know what isn’t awesome? Jhonny Peralta. He saw six total pitches in his four at-bats tonight. Turrrible. Good thing he’s on the Indians.
Mariano was understandably rusty tonight, it was his first action since last Wednesday. Nevertheless, scoreless 9th inning for Mo.
I have to say, I’ve been very impressed with Javy’s fielding this year. He handled that comebacker in the 6th to nab the lead runner between second and third, and it was just one of many times this year that he’s made nice plays on balls hit back at him. Very cool and collected in those spots, makes good decisions too. Fielding the position is not a crucial part of a pitcher’s game, but it’s certainly a nice bonus.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
We’re all still waiting on Alex Rodriguez’s 600th career homer. He went hitless in four at-bats tonight, and is 6-for-17 (.353) with two doubles since hitting No. 599. It’ll come soon enough, don’t worry. Part of me hopes it doesn’t come until the Yanks return home next week.
WPA Graph & Box Score
I love big spikes (or in this case, dips) like that, as long as they go in the Yanks’ favor. MLB.com has your box score, FanGraphs your nerd score.
Up Next
Same two teams as the same time tomorrow. Former Indian CC Sabathia gets the ball against rookie righthander Josh Tomlin, who will be making his big league debut. You know what that means … they’re doooooooooomed!
75 Comments»
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The Mason Williams Watch
Vazquez continues to dominate and the Grandy man is finding a solid stroke in July. Good times, not even those blasted drums could ruin this night!!
How many different handles do you plan on commenting under tonight? Pick to one and stick with it, please.
That’s probably one of my favorite headlines of the year. Somewhere, Cashman is smiling.
Granderson’s OPS has risen 56 points (from .695 to .751) in the past 3 games. Awesome.
That’s straight up Montarian, if you ask me.
Not Shin “shoe” either though.
Shin – Soo – Choo
I’m sure Mike knows that. He was writing his name phonetically.
Even phonetically, it’s wrong. It’s spelled Shin-Soo not Shin-Shoo, and it’s pronounced “sue” not “shoe”
Did Bob Sheppard ever get to introduce Shin-Soo Choo?
to me this game was all about granderson coming through in the clutch again– his new stance at the plate reminds me of the adjustments swisher made during the offseason, less movement in the head, hands and feet. the almost 4 HR in 2 games have been really big time. also, we have all now become witness to the birth of boone-mania
Ever since that Granderson article things have been going great for him. Next we need an article about Mosely before his start on Thursday for good luck.
Ever since Vazquez was skipped in the rotation he has been straight up money for the Yankees. In 14 appearances (all but one is a start which was the one out to Youk) he has gone 84 IP and close to a 3 ERA. If Vazquez had more run support he could be 12-5.
If Vazquez had more run support he could be 12-5.
He needs more tRA.
But but but I thought they were skipping him in the rotation because they were putting him in the bullpen for good! That’s what everyone boverreacted about!!
Agreed. I dunno if Javy just kind of cleared his head so to speak or if they found a mechanical issue or if he simply had a slow start to this year, but he’s been awesome ever since they skipped him.
Depending on how Arody’s winds up developing, this could compete against Swisher as one of Cashmans best steals. Besides for Javy pitching fantastic, Boone Logan is finding himself and we have him cheap. Melky still has a negative WAR lmao.
If this deal is going to pay off for the Braves it won’t pay off for another 4 years minimum.
Puts it in perspective. How about this, there is a chance that the picks from an arb decline from Javy (big if) might contribute sooner than Arodys. That elbow injury did not sound good.
it won’t rack up as a steal in that vein. It looks like a nice move getting Logan thrown in, and it looks like the yanks jumped off the Melky ship at the right time, but they also could have just gotten lucky. The main idea was trading high-end pitching prospect for high-end pitcher. It was a good move for both sides, really. It could have worked out either way; the way it has or the way the Granderson trade has (thus far). Both were good trades on all sides at the time of the trade. The Swisher trade, on the other hand, was just flat out absurd from the White Sox’s perspective. I have no idea how Kenny Williams still has a job.
Most def. Since June 1st (including the 7-0 loss to Seattle), he’s holding opponents to .613 OPS, and WPA has him a little over +1 win over that stretch. Not bad for your nominal #4 starter.
Ajax would have put this game away in his first at bat.
Just sayin’
That .436 BABIP will come down to earth and then he will be will be that lead-off hitter that strikes out over a quarter of his at bats.
kidding
Reply fail by me
-1
that’s more a sarcasm fail than a reply fail. Reply fails are when you either accidentally hit “reply” when you’re writing a non-reply comment, or when you don’t hit “reply” when you mean to reply.
Either way, though, have yourself a nice lukewarm, flat, bitter DFA IPA that’s been open since last night.
**sends an open DFA IPA down the bar towards YankeesJunkie, upon whom a great deal of it spills on impact**
Jhonny Peralta. He saw six total pitches in his four at-bats tonight.
A typical Jeter game?
Wicked coald, guys. Thats wicked coald.
I’m wicked psyched to be here; you guys ready to rent some cars?
That guy looks like Peyton Manning to me. Or the guy that calls Red Sox games. They all look the same.
They all look the same.
THAT’S RACIST!!!!!!!!!!!!
haha
Oh. All along I heard “wrestle with god” for “rent some cars.” Suitably pretentious and arrogant, I thought. Always bragged I had a good ear for foreign languages, but…
I actually feel bad for that guy in that commercial. He has clearly embraced the Yankee roll call and culture, and his fellow workers disrespect him.
Wicked coald, indeed.
/much ado about nothing’d
/BillShakespeare’d
good point on Javy’s fielding – it seems increasingly rare to see pitchers release into a proper fielding position. Was reminded of that in the Angels-Red Sox game tonite when Haren fell the 1b side with his arm/shoulder toward homeplate. Youkilis hit a line drive off Haren’s arm – if he were in fielding position he may well have put a glove on it, rather than a forearm contusion.
anyway, nice and neat little win. Way to go, boys!
All game recaps from now until A-Rod’s 600th must follow this outline:
A-Rod stuck on 599, Yankees win/lose.
All game recaps from now until A-Rod’s 600th must follow this outline:
A-Rod chokity chokes McChokes
stuck on 599, Yankees win/lose.FTFY.
One more game and I can almost see it now…
(cue 1980′s imagination/flashback sequence.)
Wouldn’t ya know it? Alex Rodriguez continues to play games with the game of baseball!
Throughout his career, A-Rod has been known as a “me-first” player, a guy who’s hit a lot of home runs but never when they counted, a guy more interested in his image than whether his team is ahead or behind. A real hot dog that could never cut the mustard. Oh sure, things changed a bit last year when he seemingly forgot it was October and had several big hits to help the Yankees win the World Series, but we all knew that that wasn’t the real A-Rod. Not the ARod that would show up when it counted most. Yes, fans, the hot dog has returned and he forgot to bring the cake with him. When the entire country is rooting for him to step up and be that selfish stat-padding player we all know and hate, he’s failed us once again. Yes, Alex, we know you love the attention, the constant live cuts on ESPN, the endless speculation in the press. We know you love you. Well, I say “Booo!” Alex Rodriguez. Once again you’ve murdered the game of baseball.
Sincerely,
Sportswriters everywhere.
I think too much is being made about the 8th inning thing, as of right now. If tomorrow or Wednesday, someone pitches 7 innings, then Robertson comes out to start the 8th, or if Joba comes in in a blowout or the 6th or something, then I’ll agree he’s been replaced, but Girardi said he’d look at it based on situation. And this was the situation: Javy Vazquez was starting the inning. He’d probably have stayed in for at least the first two batters if he got them out, at which point he either stays in for the lefty or Logan, who has been good against lefties this year, comes in. If Vazquez allows a baserunner (as he did), then who is the guy Girardi has been consistently going to with runners on? Robertson. If you want to put roles on it, Logan’s the current late inning guy against tough lefties (til Marte comes back) or with multiple lefties coming up. Robertson is the firefighter…he comes in when someone allows baserunners and cleans up their mess. Joba (prior to tonight) is the 8th inning guy. It’s possible he’s now been replaced, but I think it’s also possible they simply were bringing in Robertson to do what he’s been doing very well…cleaning up messes. Not that one baserunner is a mess, but still.
Also, curious…has Joba been noticeably worse with runners on?
Well, if it is the case that Robertson is the preferred reliever when there are already runners on base, that would speak volumes about Girardi’s thinking. If the closer is the best reliever on your staff, then the 8th-inning guy should logically be your 2nd-best reliever and, if he’s available and hasn’t had a heavy workload recently, should be used in those exact situations. Since runners-on is a more leveraged situation than bases empty, especially in a one-run game in the 8th, it would stand to reason that the reliever brought in in that instance is more “trusted” (I hesitate to use that word but can’t come up with a better one at this point) than anyone besides the closer. Of course, this assumes there isn’t an obvious alternative, like a lefty coming on to face a left-handed hitter w/ a large platoon split (as occurred immediately after D-Rob’s DP). I shouldn’t draw conclusions from one game, and if anyone jumps on me for doing so, I certainly deserve it, but if things were going well with Joba, wouldn’t he have been the go-to guy? It’s well-documented that Girardi prefers to allow a scuffling player to work through his struggles, especially if said player is/can be integral to the team’s success, but is it possible the Joba has temporarily exhausted those opportunities?
Critically, upon further examination of Robertson’s and Joba’s statistical performances thus far, it’s plainly clear that Joba has been better. GB% (48% to 38.7%), LD% (19.7% to 26.9%), and BB/9 (3.61 to 4.76) all significantly favor Joba. Even in areas where he lags behind Robertson, Joba’s close enough that the difference is negligible [(K/9: Joba - 9.99, D-Rob - 10.32) and (BABIP: Joba - .399, D-Rob - .388)]. Unfortunately, the one thing that may have tipped the scales in Robertson’s favor was the glaring disparity between the relievers’ respective strand rates — D-Rob’s 74.8% blows Joba’s 61.1% out of the water. In that case, yes, Joba has been noticeably worse with runners on. In all, I can’t confidently say that it wasn’t a changing of the guard, at least for the time being.
D-Rob: http://www.fangraphs.com/stats.....position=P
Joba: http://www.fangraphs.com/stats.....position=P
Holy text blocks, Batman!
Bases Empty: .329/.386/.395/.780
Men on Base: .268/.333/.443/.777
RISP: .333/.403/.537/.940
So, he’s pretty close overall in bases empty vs. runners on (just getting there in different ways), but has been lit up with RISP.
Robbie Baseball is the most feared player that the Yanks have had since Bernie. Also, Alex will hit a three run homer off Mitch Talbot and it will be awesome.
Javy sucks and Austin Jackson is better than Grandson.
Source: My own eyes and bias.
Melky > Chris Grandson
Grandy may have the edge left-handed, but Melky’s a MUCH better right handed hitter than Granderson, and as a switch-hitter, both sides count.
Of course Ajax is better than your grandson, but he is not better then Granderson. Oh, BTW Javy is doing just fine.
pretty sure he’s kidding
OK now I know that many of us overreact to player quotes (well at least I do) but Joba has become as annoying as IPK was in 2008. First he talks about that it is an honor to be mentioned in trade rumors for a pitcher as good as Haren and after tonight’s game he talks about “I still have my job.”
I actually am not someone who thinks just send him to the minors to teach him a lesson but seriously when you read many of his quotes and have writers who cover the team talk about he might need to be demoted because he is too comfortable with his spot on the team maybe it is true and he does need a major wakeup call.
That being said in his next outing he will probably strike out the side on 9 pitches. lol
Out of curiosity, what would you like him to have said?
He gave a diplomatic answer to trade question. People ask those questions to ferret out insecurity, etc., anything to create some type of narrative drama.
He also was deferential about possibly ‘losing his job.’ He’s not going to come out & say Robertson is better than him, and he’s not going to open his mouth like a jackass and say he deserves the spot instead of Robertson.
This isn’t a shot at you, but really, what response would bet the BigBlueAL stamp of approval?
Calling it an honor to be in trade rumors when you are pitching like shit for your current team???? Really????
Whatever man like I said this has been talked about many times before with Kennedy in 2008 and Joba last year so Im not exactly the first one to bring this up. Plus I dont exactly think I did it in such a way where I have apparently insulted you.
Leave those type of responses to trolls and real idiots not me.
Why respond defensively? I specifically said it wasn’t a shot at you.
I also asked what you think the a propos response is for him. You didn’t provide one.
At no time did I infer that you were a troll. I just don’t see how Joba’s comments can tell you anything, positive or negative.
Oh, and if you’re being swapped for a pitcher with a better track record, you’re being equated with said pitcher, at least to some degree. Joba sees that even as he’s struggled, he’s still highly regarded. That’s an honor. Hasn’t anyone ever had faith in you while you were going through rough patches?
Well I specifically stated in my first sentence that I am someone who probably overreacts to player comments and ended my comment pretty lightheartedly and yet you seemed super annoyed as if I said Joba is a bum, he sucks has no heart and just get rid of this guy which I know some have said. Didnt think it warranted a smartass response asking me what wouldve gotten my seal of approval.
I guess I would have liked for Joba to have said that he doesnt deserve to be the 8th inning guy right now because he has pitched like crap recently if not the whole season. But starting his response by making the point that he still has a job does seem to say that to him its not that big a deal if he is pitching like crap and being somewhat demoted within the bullpen as long as he is on the Yankees which is something people have brought up that could be a problem with Joba.
Look I have no intention of debating this because there is nothing to debate I was just reacting to an article I had just read which was based on Joba’s attitude and responses to questions lately regarding his role with the team and figured Id just leave my 2 cents about it here.
I have hardly commented much at all here this season after being a fairly regular contributor here in 2008 and 2009 so I have no beef with you. Just I have noticed here lately it has gotten out of hand with these confrontational, smartass type responses to fairly innocent comments. I mean not long ago during one of Burnett’s bad starts I asked if someone who knows how to look up stats regarding certain pitches on Fangraphs since I know some here post stats regarding effectiveness of certain types of pitches from pitchers knew off-hand or could quickly look up if Burnett’s fastball was much less effective and slower this year than in the past and someone immediately responded by calling me out and asking me why I didnt do it myself. I was like WTF I specifically mentioned that when it comes to stats I can look it up myself on baseballreference because I am very familiar with that sight but I am not very familiar with fangraphs so I was hoping someone who is could answer my question.
Anyway sorry for my whining last paragraph and sorry for my overreaction to your response.
Calling it an honor to be in trade rumors when you are pitching like shit for your current team???? Really????
MULTIPLE INTERROBANGS!?!??!??!??!??!??!??!???!!
hahaha, well done, sir.
I see the point that everyone is trying to make about giving Joba a wake up call and all of that, but the fact remains that the Yankees created this beast.
Joba has been with the major league team since late 2007, obviously he feels comfortable being there. He’s not some call up (ie: Albaladejo, Melancon etc). He’s a guy who has been on this team for just about 3 years. At what point does Joba become a “major league baseball player” in the eyes of us and the media? Is it when there is no longer the option to demote him? If so, that time is coming up veryyyy soon.
Joba has been such a hot button issue since he’s been around. The fact that the Yanks deemed a reliever for the rest of the season (and probably his Yankee career) helped alleviate some of the debate. However, as is evident right here, he still causes a ton of discussion. I’d like to see him just be just like any other bullpen guy. How often do you hear this much discussion about a setup man??
/rant’d
It’s not so much a wake up call. It’s sending him to the low minors to work with Nardi Contreras and attempt to fix his mechanics. The outcomes of the games don’t matter over there so if he gets shelled while working on perfecting his mechanics, no harm no foul. Like spend some time working on making sure his shoulder doesn’t fly open, the foot plant, locating the slider down and away and not hanging belt high, locating the fastball on the corners, turn it basically into spring training all over again. Joba in his current state is a detriment to the team. Keeping him up here is a waste of a roster spot. Albaladejo can give you similar if not better results at the moment. But if you can fix Joba he’ll be one of the better relievers in the league. I just don’t think you can fix Joba up here in the majors, the results of the games matter too much right now.
Well stated
I never pay attention to player quotes, and almost never manager quotes. Since I’ve been a Yankees fan, the only people I’ve ever felt were completely straight with the media (on the Yanks) were Mike Mussina and Brian Cashman (when he didn’t need to not be straight with the media). And I understand why people aren’t straight with the media, too. People try to spin every quote to reveal some quality about a player because the game itself generally does nothing to that effect.
Having said that, I don’t want to send him down to give him a “wakeup call”. He may need one, he may not, but there’s no way for us to know. I do, however, support the idea of sending him down to the minors to work in a pressure-free zone where he pitches regularly and works one-on-one with Nardi Contreras to fix his mechanics (and probably work on strength training and fitness as well). If he were shutting down the league in this role, that’d be one thing, because, less than a starter’s or not, there is value in that.
But he is not shutting down the league at all. His nice peripherals have given him a bit of a boost in WAR, but in reality he’s had at best a net-zero impact on the team this year so far. So honestly, what harm could come of sending him down? I doubt Alby or Melancon would do any worse than Joba has done so far, and the team has been fine during that span.
I think Joba still has the talent to be a quality MLB starter, and isn’t THAT far away from being able to turn that talent into results. But he hasn’t gained any consistency from working out of the bullpen so far, so it might be time to jump ship on that experiment before it’s too late (Aug. 7th).
I’ve always thought that value of EST-style development was hugely underrated and the value of playing in actual games was hugely overrated. Give the coaching staff more control over situations, give him meaningless situations in which he actually can focus on mechanical issues rather than purely on getting hitters out, and try to bring him back to the point he was at in 2008. I don’t see what the team has to lose from that.
Not much to say but “GIVE JAVY SOME RUN SUPPORT DAGNAMMIT!”.
Love that picture with the infield and Joe G at the mound, why you ask?
Look at the expressions on the guys’ faces, I think that picture deserves a funny caption contest…
“Come on, Dave. Hurry before the fucking midges get here again.”
The Cano double play picture also makes it look like he’s giving Brantley a kick in the face.
On the flip side, after they gave Javy some run support in his last game he struggled.
You’re on to something my friend. Is it possible that Javy doesn’t like run support? Or is he the type that likes to live and performs better on the razor’s edge?
That “Where’s Joba?” picture cracked me up. Quality find, Mike.
Seriously I’ve watched that double play turn in the 8th inning like 10 times. Jeter’s throw was a little off – Robbie caught it towards the outfield side of 2nd base – but he still managed to adjust and fire a strike to Tex without jumping over the slide. Just sick.
Is (gulp) Boone Logan turning into a reliable lefty/loogy?
My two favorite things about him are that he throws 95 and is still 25.
As long as Logan is used as strictly as a LOOGY he is a pretty decent option. His xFIP has been below 4 since 2007. However, if he given an entire inning where he has to face a couple of righties that spells big trouble because no time in his career has his xFIP been below 5.
Yeah, I think we would all prefer Marte, but he has certainly closed the gap.
He could be a guy that they use a lot when he’s on, and then send him down immediately when he starts missing spots.
“Yeah, I think we would all prefer Marte …”
Heh, I wouldn’t! Marte gave the Yankees a great run in the postseason last year, but other than that, I don’t really know what he’s done and why we would put more faith in him than in Logan.
Marte, in pinstripes: 49.1 IP over two and a half years, 72 ERA+
Marte, pre-pinstripes: 454.1 IP over eight and a half years, 140 ERA+
Marte’s been hurt a lot while he’s been here, which has both lessened his potential impact and affected his performance. But he’s still a much, much better reliever than we’re giving him credit for (or than we’ve seen here personally). He hasn’t pitched here enough to bring his small sample outlier back closer to his career norms.
Oh, and:
Marte v. LHB, career: .194/.289/.286
that. Logan (suddenly) has a bit more bite on the FB, but Marte’s got a good one, too (94-95 when healthy), better control (when healthy), and a MUCH better breaking ball.
I thing that I hate is when a LOOGY is brought in for that one guy late in a close game and he walks him on four pitches…almost rather have him give up the dinger.
Boone started off on the wrong foot with the walks but hopefully he keeps attacking the zone; it seemed that he was trying to hard to “paint the black”.
Granderson sucks!!! Can we please get Austin Jackson back? Oh wait. Granderson won the game last night. Has 3 hrs in last 2 games. Please cancel that request. I should learn to be a little more patient I guess. I’ll post later when I learn about baseball a little
Almost had 2 yesterday. Should have at least been a double, thanks blue!
I’m glad the power has returned. If they kept Ajax they would of needed to bring the fences in 50′…no really.
I’m just tired of the trools saying it was a bad trade because Ajax is a better glove or has a much higher BA. It would of been a poor decision to proceed with two question marks (Grit, Ajax) and two old OF’ers (Winn, Thames). Grit has proven he belongs (not a SSS) and Ajax is doing great (but a SSS). The fact that neither will have the power numbers and the fact that Grandy does made this a solid trade.
“It would of been a poor decision to proceed with two question marks (Grit, Ajax) and two old OF’ers (Winn, Thames)”
Not only would it have been a terrible decision, but the writers themselves would have been killing the Yankees for making it.
I liked Jackson as a prospect, but I always thought Gardner had more potential than he did, just that Gardner was a bigger question mark. There was never really any doubt in my mind that Jackson would eventually make it to the bigs and be a decent defensive CF who could hit somewhere along the lines of .280/.330/.380 (basically an average all-around CF) with a chance for a little more power, but with Gardner we had a guy who had a shot to be an elite defensive CF who, if his MiLB numbers translated (which was always a BIG question mark), could be a .380+ OBP guy who could make up for a lot of his SLG woes with his baserunning. All in all, I think Gardner’s probably the better player, now that I’m more confident that his talents can translate in the bigs.
As far as Granderson goes, how is there any question about this? Jackson’s ceiling is basically Granderson with about half the power. Sure, Granderson has fallen quite a bit since his peak, but at 29, there’s a pretty good chance he gets back there. I never got the quibbling over that trade, really. Would people rather we have kept Jackson and his very limited upside (especially considering the fact that he was no more a sure thing than Gardner, so he probably would have wound up in LF, where his offense would have been positionally paltry)? Or maybe they’d rather have gotten Granderson (or another high-end CF) when he was coming off a season like ’07 and given up Hughes, Montero, and Jackson, rather than Jackson and Kennedy?
The Yankees traded for Granderson when his stock was at a low point. That’s what you do. They got a guy who had had two excellent years before a down year during which he still managed to hit 30 HRs while playing solid defense in center field. And because they got him when his stock was low, they managed to get him for ONLY Jackson and Kennedy, neither of whom would ever (hopefully) have been more than the Yanks’ worst offensive position player and worst starting pitcher.
on the opening day roster, that is. Obviously that doesn’t take injuries into account