Fan Confidence Poll: April 16th, 2012

April 16, 2012 by Mike Axisa 35 Comments

Record Last Week: 5-1 (34 RS, 22 RA)
Season Record: 5-4 (46 RS, 40 RA, 5-4 pythag. record), tied for AL East lead
Opponents This Week: vs. Twins (four games, Mon. to Thurs.), @ Red Sox (three games, Fri. to Sun.)

Top stories from last week:

The week started with three games in Baltimore, and the Yankees took the opener behind Ivan Nova. Raul Ibanez came up with a big hit in extra innings on Tuesday, then Nick Swisher did the same to complete the sweep on Wednesday.
After Thursday’s off day, the Yankees came to the Bronx for their first home series of the season. Hiroki Kuroda dominated the Angels on Friday, but the Halos roughed up Phil Hughes in Saturday’s loss. Derek Jeter led the charge in Sunday’s rubber game win.
Injury News: Rafael Soriano tore a finger nail warming up on Tuesday but has since returned to action. Michael Pineda will throw a bullpen session tomorrow. Manny Banuelos was placed on the minor league DL with a lat problem.
Andy Pettitte made a pair of minor league appearances: three innings on Monday and four innings on Sunday. He’s still three or four (or more) outings away from returning to the big league team.
Jim Leyritz is back with the Yankees on a personal services contract.

Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the interactive Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.

{democracy:223}

Robinson Tilapia

Still a 9. Looks like things will work themselves out as far as the starting pitching goes. Nova wasn’t great last night, but he grinded the way good starters do and allowed the team to blow it open in the late innings. Bullpen’s been phenomenal.

Sure, I’d like to see a fully rehabbed Michael Pineda, as well as a more power from the positions most likely to supply it. I’m pretty confident about both. Also would like to see B&B’s last starts be more blips in the radar than signs of bigger problems.
- Cris Pengiucci
  
  I’m with you on this. Adding to the pitching, Jeter seems to have turned back the clock and when the offense gets in gear, look out.
  
  Looking forward to seeing Pineda and Pettitte join the rotation. Disappointed in Hughes (offset by the “Killer P’s”). This year is off to a solid start and looks to have a lot more to give. The pitching depth keeps me confident the future could also be very bright.
  
  Largest concerns going forward: Contracts of Cano, Granderson & Swisher, due to the proposed $189 Mil budget. If that wasn’t a concern, I’d be up to a 10 once Grandy, ARod & Teix get hot.
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    Pitching would get me to the 10. I want to see what a healthy Pineda looks like. I want to see what the AAA depth turns into. I think that would take a while to figure out. I think it’d be a while before I truly took that step to a 10. It’s all subjective, though. :)
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      I it reply too quickly there. I’m more confident in the contract situations and offense coming through. Too much offensive potential there for them not to come through in some way, and I can’t see this franchise ever not putting the best team it possibly can on the field, even if it means a tough decision or two.
jjyank

Also a 9. The lineup will score plenty of runs and I’m not much worried about our pitching outside of Hughes. My disappointment in Hughes is pretty much balanced out by my positive impression of Phelps. The Yankees have 10 potentially viable starters for a 5 man rotation, not even counting the B’s. Hard not to feel confident with that kind of depth.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Meh. If everything goes right, two pitchers have to leave the rotation. Freddy’s first start and Hughes’s continued issues just make it all a bit easier.
  
  I’m supremely disappointed in Hughes. You always see the flashes of what could be, but it’s too many pitches, which turns into to many mistake pitches. It’s going to wind up being bullpen after all, isn’t it?
  - jjyank
    
    It’s looking that way, yeah. But my point is, as much as it sucks to see Hughes struggle, this is a team that has plenty of depth to handle it.
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      Most definitely.
Manny’s BanWagon

Solid 9.

I gave them an extra point because as maddening as Girardi’s binder can be at times, at least he’s not a narcissistic attention seeking asshole douche bag like the one they’ve got there over in Boston which I have no doubt will undermine that whole franchise.
- jjyank
  
  +1
  
  Screw Bobby V. I hope he manages that team into the ground.
  - Guest
    
    I honestly cannot believe he threw Youlk under the bus. When I look at Youlk, I see a more talented version of what Sox fans must have seen when they looked at O’Neill: a guy that annoys me because he plays on the other team whom I would love if he were on mine…
    
    Girardi upsets me with some of his in game managing (just like every manager would) but I REALLY like two things about him that more than overcome his shortcomings:
    
    1. He manages the pen well and knows the import of keeping his big guys fresh.
    
    2. He minimizes drama, allowing his talented roster to just do what they do. Look back at how he handled the Jorge taking himself out of the lineup and the AJ outburst (when Joe came with the quick hook) last year. Those guys made him look bad, but he took the high road and had their backs (in public) at least. The situations were both quickly defused, and we heard nary a peep from either of them for the rest of the season…
    
    He’s not perfect, but over all, I’m very happy with Joe.
    - jjyank
      
      I’m also happy with Girardi. He takes a lot of crap for over-managing, but I feel like if he wasn’t doing that, people would complain that he doesn’t do anything. If you watch any manager long enough, he’s going to make some decisions that infuriate you. But, as you said, Girardi is very good at bullpen management and handling the media, which I feel like are probably the biggest part of his job.
      
      We can question an on-the-field decision by Girardi, but at the end of the day it comes down to the player to execute. Binderz4L1f3!!
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      Valentine publicly threw Youkilis under the bus? That’s pretty classy.
      
      I love that Girardi’s blandness is often due by his refusal to do just that. As much as we nitpick as to his bad side, that, to me, is his absolute best side. You handle your shit in-house, not in the press….
      
      ….unless you’re Rex Ryan, in which case we fans just sit back and enjoy the East Rutherford Zoo.
      - Manny’s BanWagon
        
        Nothing worse than a guy who talks a big game and then doesn’t back it up on the field.
        
        Robinson Tilapia
        
        Who are you referring to there, though?
        
        Manny’s BanWagon
        
        Rex Ryan
        
        Plank
        
        Bobby V is foot fetishist?
  - Annie Oakley
    
    The best trade made for us this offseason may have been Francona to ESPN, Valentine to the Red Sox. One of the biggest jobs of a manager is to keep players happy. I think he does a lot of things behind the scenes and has a good rapport with the players. These things are even more important to have in NY. Joe is better than most managers out there.
- Fernando
  
  I also gave them a 9. There is depth in the SP and RP ranks with good options in minors. There aren’t much options at the higher ML levels for position players, but the lower levels are filled with many exciting prospects. I bumped up the score by one for the difference between the managers. Girardi’s handling of the different personalities is something that idiot Valentine is sorely lacking. To call out your players in the press is a quick way to lose the clubhouse…and your job.
Guest

I’m still at a 9, though slightly less solid due to my (mild) concerns about Pineda’s shoulder and (slightly less mild) concerns about Hughes’ continuing inability to throw less than 75 pitches an inning.

And…it’s Campos day!! Jose is starting tonight, and that’s spectacular.

I voted for him during prospect watch, and even though he lost, I hope everyone is paying attention. SSS, but he’s off to a great start.

Also, since Charleston is so good and has so many prospects, it might be cool if we had a “River Dogs Watch” over in the side-bar that would just include the box score from the previous night’s game.

That team is just special. I’ve been following DoTF for years, and I don’t think we’ve ever had a team this stacked with followable position players.
Guest

By the way, 7 of Mason’s 15 hits have been extra-base hits. Mike said he believed the pop would come, and it looks like its coming.
- CountryClub
  
  He has 1 walk and 2 Ks in almost 50 plate appearances. Seems like he’s not getting into deep counts. Not unusual for young players, but a few more walks would be encouraging.
  - Havok9120
    
    Eh. If he wants to try and mold himself into Robbie Cano, I have a hard time being down about that. Especially since we know that the organazation’s philosophy seems to be “the first pitch or two will probably be the best one you’ll see.”
CS Yankee

9.

Two quality starts, 2-5 hitters (or anyone not named Jeet, Swish, GG) have been mostly cold and they are still 5-4. They need to sweep the twin-kies as the following nine games look brutal. Expecting a 12-9 overall record before the SP call-ups.

Thinking (as always these days) that #28 might just happen.
steve s

What a difference a week makes! I am at a 9 for the first time in a long time simply because Yanks only have had just 2 good starting pitching performances (Nova wasn’t great last night) yet they are still winning. Some of the nit-picking negatives though are Grandy looked very slow on that stolen base attempt last night and his strikeout frequency is higher than usual. Also Martin, despite the walks which gives him a great OBP, has had an anemic bat, has been sloppy running the bases and I thought he did a lousy job calling pitches for Hughes (of course Hughes did a pretty lousy job throwing some pitches). Martin has played in every game so far (even the one Stewart started) and that obviously will not be sustainable and Stewart offensively is not the answer at back-up.
JonS

lol I think I’ve voted 8 in every one of these polls since I can remember.
thenamestsam

Feeling really good about the team. The comparison with the Angels was very informative in my opinion. That team reminded me a lot of the mid-2000s Yankees teams in a way – they have some great players, but not enough attention is being paid to the bottom half of the roster. It really makes me appreciate more that this Yankees team has truly fantastic depth.

It looks more and more like Phil isn’t going to work out as a starter, but it’s not even causing a blip for me as we have Andy and Pineda returning soon, Phelps looking great, and Warren and Mitchell waiting their turns. In the bullpen I think our 6th best reliever is better than (or at least comparable to) all but the Angels top 2, and that depth is only going to be bolstered by Phil. A few key cogs in the lineup are still getting going and yet we’re 7th in runs scored. This is a team with a great roster from 1-25 and really 1-40 and I think that depth is really going to pay dividends.
Annie Oakley

At a 9 but we’ll see how Freddy does tonight. Freddy and Hughes are short term issues because they will eventually be replaced if they don’t perform. They should be able to put up decent games against the Twins. The lineup has been Jeter, Gardner, and Ibanez but the rest came around last night and should continue vs Pavano tonight. Should be able to take 3/4 from Minnesota.
paul

robertson proved again he is a closer in the making. soriano-bye bye after contract is up…
- ADam
  
  Maybe cash can trade him to a team that needs a closer next year…
  - ADam
    
    Sori-Oh No… that is… not D-ROB
Brian in NH

still have some concerns about Hughes, Nova was allegedly fighting a cold and fever last night. Phelps looks good, but hitters may not have figured him out yet.
Erica

I voted a 9 for the first time in a long time. I was at the game on Saturday (where they lost 7-1) and it was a pure thrill to see David Phelps pitching. I’m really, really excited about him.

I’m also enjoying old-school Jeter. After the way he began his season last year, it’s so great to see him pick up where he left off post-3,000 hits.
LMBfan

Minor news….Reports are the Phillies offered Jorge ‘El Chato’ Vazquez a minor Lg contract. Makes sence after how he always crushed them in ST and in AAA.
Plank

7 again.

Lose a point each for the age and length of contract on the left side of the IF, the new CBA reducing the opportunity for the Yankees to get more than their fair share of prospects, and the Steinbrenner heir money grab-I mean the fiscally sound austerity budget.