Archive for October, 2010
All Hands On Deck
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(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
On the brink of elimination, the Yankees and Joe Girardi had to pull out all the stops to secure a win in Wednesday’s Game Five. Thankfully the offense woke up a bit, so they didn’t have to resort anything too extreme, but Mariano Rivera was available for up to seven outs if needed. He’s done that just once in the last 53 months. It’s a win or go home situation, and that tells you just how desperate the Yanks were.
Unfortunately, things don’t get any easier from here. The Yanks are still facing elimination in Game Six later tonight, and once again they’ll have to pull out all the stops to save their season. That includes using Mo for multiple innings on back-to-back days, using other relievers in roles they might not be used too, and sometimes even bringing a starter out of the bullpen.
Game Five starter CC Sabathia told reporters during Thursday’s workout that he’ll be available to pitch in relief in Game Six. “I can probably throw 45 pitches, 50,” said the Yanks ace, definitely not an insignificant number of pitches. Perpetually confident, Sabathia declared that he would then throw another side session when (not if) the Yanks win in preparation for the World Series. We’ve known that CC is a team first guy for two years now, but this pretty much seals it.
Of course, going with your ace out of the bullpen is hardly a guarantee of success. The Phillies dropped Game Four of the NLCS two days ago when Roy Oswalt retired just one batter before allowing the Giants to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Charles Nagy took the loss in Game Seven of the 1997 World Series, though that’s a special case since the game was in extra innings. One the other hand, the Yanks have first-hand knowledge of how devastating it can be to bring a starter out of the bullpen. Mike Mussina cleaned up Roger Clemens’ mess and then some in Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS, and I don’t think we need to re-live Randy Johnson’s heroics in both 1995 and 2001.
It’s the kind of move that’s ripe for second guessing. If the starter doesn’t get the job done in relief, everyone questions why he was brought in in the first place. If the regular relievers blow the game, everyone wants to know why the starter wasn’t in there. Managers get paid the big bucks to make that call, and Girardi will presumably have to decide between his setup crew (David Robertson, Boone Logan, and Joba Chamberlain) or his ace on two days rest after throwing 112 high-stress pitches in Game Five. I’m not Girardi, but for me the choice is clear: give me Sabathia eight days a week and twice on Sundays.
Given what he said, Sabathia probably available for two innings or so. Fifty pitches is a lot and should be more than enough for three innings, but I bet they’ll be just a little on the cautious side given their long-term commitment to him. That said, whatever needs to be done will be done, especially with Hughes on what we assume will be a short leash. Unlike Joba and D-Rob, CC has proven capable of retiring the Texas batters on a consistent basis (SSS), and he’s big and strong enough that the short rest isn’t much of a concern. It is his normal throw day, after all. If there’s a chance for Sabathia to take the ball from Hughes and hand it right off to Mo with the season on the line, I think that’s the route Girardi has to go. If CC isn’t needed in Game Six, then he’ll be available in Gave Seven. If you’re going to lose, lose with our best on the mound.
I hope Hughes renders this moot with a dominant and lengthy outing later tonight, something akin to what he did against the Twins in the ALDS. But anything short of that, Sabathia should be the first one out of the bullpen in any situation short of a Yankee blowout. There’s zero margin for error in Yankeeland right now, and the ball needs to be in the hands of the team’s best pitchers, period.
Open Thread: Phillies trying to stay alive
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This is neither the time nor the place for a nap, Cody. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Yankees and Phillies will always have something in common after meeting in the 2009 World Series, at least until this current crop of players moves on and some new blood trickles in. This year, both clubs were saddled with three games to one deficits in the League Division Series, and the Phightin’s will attempt to dig out of that hole tonight like the Yanks started to do yesterday.
Don’t get me wrong, by no means am I rooting for the Phillies. They could all go to hell for all I care. I just want to see some exciting baseball, preferably as much as possible. If the NLCS went seven games, I wouldn’t mind one bit. Roy Halladay gets the ball with the season on the line against Tim Lincecum, with the first pitch scheduled for just before 8pm ET on FOX. If you don’t want to talk about the game, that’s cool, chat about whatever you want instead. ‘Tis an open thread.
Add swollen right knee to Teixeira’s list of injuries
Posted by: | CommentsMark Teixeira‘s season ended unceremoniously two nights ago when his right hamstring popped, but that was just the latest in a long line of the injuries the Yankee first baseman was dealing with. He’s been playing through a broken toe since Vin Mazzaro hit him with a pitch on August 31st, and he also received a cortisone shot in September after bruising his hand diving for a ball not long before that. Well, we can now add a swollen right knee to the list according to Marc Carig, and who knows how that happened. I don’t remember seeing Tex get hit by a pitch or fouling a ball off the knee, but I could very easily be wrong. For what it’s worth, he thinks that overcompensating for the toe injury led to the knee and hammy issues. One thing I do know for sure is that Teixeira really needs the time off this winter, dude took an absolute beating at the end of the year.
Baseball America’s 2010 Draft Report Cards
Posted by: | CommentsThe gang at Baseball America is in the process of posting their draft report cards for each of the 30 teams, and yesterday they hit the Yankees. It’s a subscriber only piece, but I can tell you that they do say scouting director Damon Oppenheimer’s latest effort is a “high-risk/high-reward class with up-the-middle athletes such as [Cito] Culver, [Angelo] Gumbs and [Mason] Williams. With strong pitching at the top of the farm system, the Yankees gambled on prep talent, so it will take time to see if it pans out.”
As for some of the individual categories, Ben Gamel (10th rounder) was dubbed the best pure hitter, Williams (4th) the fastest runner, Gumbs (2nd) the best athlete, and Culver (1st) the best defensive player. Tommy Kahnle (5th) and Conor Mullee (24th) are each said to have the best fastball at 93-95 and touching 98. Chase Whitley’s (15th) changeup is the best offspeed offering, and both he and Kahnle are the closest to having an impact in the big leagues. Unsigned righty Josh Dezse (25th) was hitting 95 this summer, but he’s heading to Ohio State and was best prospect the Yankees failed to sign. It’s a class heavy on potential and risk, but the Yanks needed this kind of infusion of upside and power arms. Hopefully a few of these guys pan out.
Feeding Josh Hamilton
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Please don't let this happen again (Mark Humphrey/AP)
In the ALDS the Rays made the Rangers look like a beatable team. Sure, they had Cliff Lee ready to go twice in a series, but on offense the team didn’t look like much of a powerhouse. The main reason was that the Rays held down Josh Hamilton. The MLB WAR and wOBA leader went just 2 for 20 with two walks and no extra base hits in the series. This was cause for concern, because Hamilton was coming off a fairly serious rib injury. If the Yankees could similarly reduce Hamilton’s impact, they would have a much greater chance of winning the series.
It didn’t take more than one at-bat for Hamilton to show that his ALDS slump was nothing more than that. He took CC Sabathia deep to establish a 3-0 lead. For the series he is now 6 for 19 with four homers, a double, and five walks. That has helped his team claim a 3-2 edge in the series. While much of Hamilton’s turnaround is simply regression, there does seem to be another factor at play.
At ESPN 1040, Tommy Rancel, also of Rays blog The Process Report, explains the differences in how the Rays and the Yankees have approached Hamilton. During the regular season Hamilton fared best against fastballs and changeups. Throughout the ALDS the Rays attacked him with mostly curveballs. Of the 75 pitches he saw in those five games, 24 were curveballs — more than any other pitch. They threw him just 17 four-seamers and 13 two-seamers, while mixing in 15 changes. That seemed to work well, as not only did Hamilton not get on base, but he also struck out plenty.
The Yankees have apparently not learned from the Rays success. They have thrown Hamilton a four-seamer in 44 of 92 pitches. Almost all of these fastballs have come over the outer half of the plate, if they cross the plate at all. They have worked in plenty of curveballs and have had considerably success — Hamilton has swung and missed at 4 of 19 curves. But they haven’t worked in nearly enough other pitches. Instead they’re buttering Hamilton’s bread with fastballs.
This is Phil Hughes‘s most difficult task in Game 6. The season is in his hands. If he is to succeed he must hold Hamilton in check. That means breaking out the curveball often. There’s a chance that won’t work, but it’s better than continuing to go back with what we know doesn’t work. Josh Hamilton destroys fastballs. Stop throwing them to him so often.
Yankee pitchers performing well in the AzFL
Posted by: | CommentsYeah yeah yeah, I know I’ve been slacking off big time with DotF lately. So sue me, playoff baseball is more important (and exciting). Anyway, let’s get you caught up on what’s been happening in the Arizona Fall League over the last few days…
Phoenix Desert Dogs (6-3 loss to Peoria on Monday)
Austin Romine, C: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 PB – they stole three bases in three tries off him
Brandon Laird, LF: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 E (fielding) – first error in the outfield
Jose Pirela, 2B: 0 for 4, 1 K, 2 E (fielding, throwing)
Manny Banuelos: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 6-5 GB/FB – 36 of 59 pitches were strikes (61.0%) … PitchFX had him topping out right around 94
Craig Heyer: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 6-0 GB/FB – 15 of 25 pitches were strikes (60%) … love the grounders
Phoenix Desert Dogs (7-3 win over Peoria on Tuesday)
Austin Romine, C: 1 for 4, 3 RBI – no one attempted to steal off him in this game
Brandon Laird, LF: 0 for 4 – threw a runner out at third
Ryan Pope: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 3-0 GB/FB – 19 of 29 pitches were strikes (65.5%)
George Kontos: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-1 GB/FB – 15 of 22 pitches were strikes (68.2%)
Phoenix Desert Dogs (9-5 loss to Peoria on Wednesday)
Brandon Laird, LF: 1 for 5, 2 RBI, 2 K
Jose Pirela, 2B: 0 for 4, 1 K, 1 SB
Also, just so you don’t miss it, Jim Callis fielded a question about the best offensive prospect left in the minors in this week’s Ask BA. Callis went with Jesus Montero over guys like Mike Trout (Angels), Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Will Myers (all three Royals), saying there “isn’t a minor leaguer who can match [Montero's] ability to hit for average and power.” He added that Bryce Harper, the first overall pick in this last year’s draft, has more power than Montero, but “but isn’t as polished or pure a hitter.” Sounds pretty good, eh?
Yanks send Shive, Cusick to Indians to complete Kerry Wood trade
Posted by: | CommentsVia Marc Carig, the Yankees have sent minor leaguers Andy Shive and Matt Cusick to Cleveland as players to be named later in the Kerry Wood trade. Shive had some sleeper potential as a relief potential, but he hasn’t really pitched much since having Tommy John surgery and will be 25-years-old in a few weeks without ever getting out of A-ball. Cusick, a 24-year-old utility infielder was the guy the Yanks got from Houston for LaTroy Hawkins a few years ago, and his best asset is probably his versatility. The Indians might have some use for him, but the Yanks definitely didn’t. No big loss at all.
ALCS Game Five Chat
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Spare parts, but now so much more
Posted by: | CommentsWhen the Yankees extended their season by taking Game Five yesterday, they did so thanks to the performances of their star players. Robbie Cano hit his fourth homer of the ALCS, Alex Rodriguez doubled to set-up a rally and drew two walks, Jorge Posada drove in the first run of the game and then came around to score, CC Sabathia provided six hard-fought innings, and Mariano Rivera was there to close things out in the ninth. The team’s best players were their best players in the most important game of the season, but let’s not understate the contributions they received from their deadline pickups.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Mark Teixeira‘s season came to an abrupt end in Game Four when his right hamstring popped running down to first, so Lance Berkman is now stepping in as the Yanks’ full-time first baseman. I don’t know about you, but I’d have called you crazy if you woulda told me in April that Berkman would be the team’s everyday first baseman in the ALCS. Does not compute.
Anyway, Fat Elvis dusted off his first baseman’s mitt and took to the field for just the eighth time in forty games as a Yankee. I know he had some adventurous plays down in Tampa early on and even had that nasty spill yesterday, but overall Berkman is a solid defensive first baseman (his +13.1 UZR over the last three years is basically identical to Tex’s, for what it’s worth) capable of making all the routine plays plus a little more. He won’t make the flashy plays or the throws that Teixeira can, but it’s not like the Yankees had to resort to trotting Jason Giambi out there in the postseason.
Despite batting righthanded, by far his weaker side this season (.236 wOBA), Puma managed to contribute some offensively in Game Five, drawing a walk and driving in a run with a well-struck sac fly. His approach was rather simple; he just took everything not in his happy zone, which resulted in 22 pitches seen in just four plate appearances. The potential was there for zero offensive contribution, but Berkman’s been a great hitter for a long time and he found a way to chip in anything he could from his weak side. That’s all you could ask for from your backup first baseman.
After the Yanks had built up their lead and gotten all they could out of Sabathia, they handed the ball over to another July 31st pickup in Kerry Wood. The Yankee bullpen, a strength the entire second half, had faltered in a big way during Games Three and Four, allowing 11 runs and 16 baserunners in just five innings of work, but Wood was not involved in that disaster. The first batter he faced, the pesky Elvis Andrus, reached base on his eleventyith infield hit of the series, but some pitches and pickoff throws later, Wood caught him straying too far off second. Kerry had one pickoff since the 2006 season, but Andrus was his second of the ALCS. Lucky? Yes. Do you need luck to dig out of the three games to one hole? Also yes.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Wood went to work against the heart of Texas’ order with the Andrus pickoff mixed in. He struck out both Michael Young and Josh Hamilton to end the seventh, and then came out to retire Vlad Guerrero, David Murphy, and Ian Kinsler in order in the eighth. David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and Boone Logan were horrifically ineffective during the past two games, but Wood stepped up in the must-win situation and give his club two big innings to bridge the gap between Sabathia and Mariano Rivera.
Berkman and Wood were ideal deadline pickups for many reasons off-the-field, such as low cost to acquire and short commitment, but on-the-field they made perfect sense. Both are veteran players with playoff (and in Berkman’s case, World Series) experience, but more importantly they bought into their role. Berkman’s a hero in Houston, where he played every single day and hit in the middle of the order for the last decade or so. With the Yankees, he was just a platoon designated hitter now pressed into a more important role. Wood was saving games for a last place team in Cleveland, and saves equal money on the free agent market. He joined the Yanks as just another cog in their deep bullpen, but emerged as someone much more important than that.
When the Yanks acquired these two guys at the deadline, none of us expected them to be this important with the season on the line. If you’re going to lose a player of Mark Teixeira’s caliber to injury, Lance Berkman’s a pretty damn good replacement to have. Should the regular relievers falter, having a hard-throwing strikeout machine like Kerry Wood to back them up is more than you could ask for. Neither player will be with the Yanks next season, but right now they’re doing everything asked of them and then some to help this team try to win a World Championship, and we appreciate that.
Feeling confident about the Yanks’ chances
Posted by: | CommentsIn describing yesterday’s Game 5 victory, Cliff Corcoran of Pinstriped Bible makes a connection to the past:
Perhaps its because, after being dominated by the Rangers for four games, a single win, even a lop-sided one such as the 7-2 Game Five, doesn’t carry enough weight to restore balance to the series. Whatever it is, Game Five felt like a repeat of Game Three of the 2007 Division Series against the Indians, a face-saving but empty victory that did little other than postpone the inevitable series loss suffered in the following game.
That someone would compare this situation to 2007 was inevitable; it was not only the last time the Yankees lost a playoff series, but it’s the last time they faced an elimination game in the playoffs before yesterday. It’s the freshest, most vivid instance that we can recall, and so it weighs on our minds more heavily than instances from the more distant past. Not that there are many better comparable situations in the recent past. The last time the Yankees were down 3-1 or worse in a seven-game series was in 1976.
That’s not to say that we can’t find certain parallels to the 2007 team. Both squads had question marks on the pitching staff. The 2007 team had Chien-Ming Wang as its ace, and while he had a good regular season he bombed in the playoffs. CC Sabathia wasn’t quite that bad in the ALCS, and he actually overcame some control and stuff issues in Game 5, whereas Wang couldn’t find himself at all in 2007′s elimination game. Sabathia also performed far better than Roger Clemens, who pitched the first elimination game of 2007. You might remember that as the day Phil Hughes became a man.
Speaking of Hughes, he takes Wang’s part in this parallel story, since he pitches the second elimination game. It’s tough to make a comparison, because it’s impossible to eliminate hindsight from the equation. Did I feel confident in Wang coming back on three days’ rest to pitch Game 4 in that series? I believe I did at the time. And I believe that the confidence didn’t so much wane in the early goings as it did completely die. With Hughes the situation is a bit different. He’s not coming back on short rest because the Yankees have no one else; rather, he’s coming back on an extra day’s rest.
Still, I’m not convinced of the parallels between the 2007 Yankees and the 2010 Yankees. As I wrote yesterday, I see more parallels between the 2007 Red Sox and the 2010 Yankees. The 07 Sox, you’ll remember, were on top of the division all season. On September 3 they were 83-55, seven games up on the Yanks. They ended 96-66, just two games up on the Yanks after letting them get to within a game and a half. They then swept Anaheim in the ALDS before going down 3-1, in the same manner as the 2010 Yanks, in the ALCS. They brought in their ace, Josh Beckett, for Game 5, and ended up winning the next three games.
When making comparisons, it’s easy to look to the team’s own past. But the 2010 Yankees are as different from the 2007 Yankees as they are from the 2007 Red Sox. There might be some familiar names, but their games have changed since then. Given that the 2010 Yankees romped through the first round, where the 2007 Yankees faltered, I’m more drawn to the 2007 Sox comparison. It doesn’t hurt that the ending was a bit happier.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
