Fan Confidence Poll: April 8th, 2013

April 8, 2013 by Mike Axisa 67 Comments

Record Last Week: 2-4 (24 RS, 33 RA)
Season Record: 2-4 (24 RS, 33 RA, 2-4 pythag. record), 2.0 games back in AL East
Opponents This Week: @ Indians (four games, Mon. to Thurs.), vs. Orioles (three games, Fri. to Sun.)

Top stories from last week:

The regular season finally got underway, but the Red Sox spoiled the Opening Day by beating CC Sabathia on Monday. Boston took the second game of the year following an off-day before Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera gave the Yankees their first win of 2013 on Thursday.
The Yankees traveled to Detroit for a three-game weekend series, but both Ivan Nova and the bullpen got smacked around in Friday’s loss. Phil Hughes was activated off the DL and returned in Saturday’s game, but again the pitching was not good enough. Sabathia carried the team to a much-needed win yesterday.
Injury News: Derek Jeter (ankle) started taking ground balls and hitting off a tee over the weekend. Mark Teixeira (wrist) was given the okay to remove his brace. Hiroki Kuroda (finger) is scheduled to make his next start after getting hit by a line drive. Eduardo Nunez (biceps) is day-to-day after being hit by a pitch. Ty Hensley (hip) will miss 2-3 months after having surgery.
Robinson Cano fired Scott Boras and hired CAA Sports and Jay-Z’s new Roc Nation Sports agency. It’s unclear how (or if) the change will impact extension talks, but you have to think hiring Jay-Z increases the likelihood Cano will remain in New York.
The Yankees officially released both David Aardsma and Clay Rapada, who were removed from the 40-man roster before the season. They never discussed Joba Chamberlain in a trade with the Rangers. Cody Eppley was optioned to Triple-A to clear room on the roster for Hughes.
The Yankees set an all-time record with a $230.4M Opening Day payroll. Their draft pool will be worth a touch less than $8M this summer.
Right-hander Rafael DePaula struck out 11 in his long-awaited U.S. debut as the minor league season got underway.

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:298}

Eddard

We might be the most consistent ones here since we were at a 9 last week and we’re still at a 9. The starting pitching will carry us like CC did yesterday. Hiroki and Andy are lined up to get us back to .500 , once Gardner and Cano start hitting this offense will surprise. Wells, Hafner, Overbay, Cervelli all doing their part and more. It’s like my dad said yesterday, they’re not true Yankees but they’re sure as heck trying.
- Jim Is Bored
  
  Never change, buddy.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  “True Yankeedom” is an individual relationship existing between the individual fan and player. Discuss.
  - CS Yankee
    
    Is it, I thought it was aquired from;
    1) Coming thru the farm for a long career in pinstripes.
    2) Coming over to help win a WS title, but being humble to the proven home-grown stars.
    3) The black market.
    
    Too bad Maris did everything well and remain a step-child as he deserved better.
    - MannyGeee
      
      I would go as far as saying there is nothing more fickle than the True Yankee Label… AJ Burnett and Alex Rodriguez both came to town and hammered out a title, neither are True Yankees anymore in many eyes. Same could be said for Eric Hinske and the Elder Hairston.
      
      Raul Ibanez had a hot April and a legendary October last year and left with no ring, but is still riding that “True Yankee” shine until it wears off.
  - Barry
    
    Example: Karim Garcia
  - trr
    
    Me, I don’t think I’ll go there.
- hogsmog
  
  I feel like Youkilis has sure as heck been trying. The guy’s been on an unreasonable tear this past week.
  - Caballo Sin Nombre
    
    Youkilis becoming a True Yankee would be like the Red Sox winning a World Series, Apple switching to Intel, or a black person being elected President. It will never happen.
    - RBC
      
      There aren’t that many “true Yankees” really out there. But if Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs can become Yankees, anything is possible.
Robinson Tilapia

Still a 6. Short-term confidence continues to be on the lower end, although yesterday went a long way towards me feeling like the B-teamers can step up with the A guys are either injured or getting their timing together in April, a feeling that had escaped me so far this season. Long-term confidence does take a slight hit the more I look at the fine line the organization will have to walk with starting pitching if they stick to the 189 mil plan, as well as the team’s ability to upgrade, even if they add additional salary, without giving up valuable building blocks for the future.

Still, as a fan, unless the bottom were to completely fall out (and that’s still far from happening), I can’t see myself budging from that “6” at the lowest. I’m not a “right down the middle” confidence guy. I need to always be slightly above that, minimum.

How does this read through the troll filter?
- Jim Is Bored
  
  I’m not sure how it reads through the troll filter, but it basically sums up my feelings too.
  
  It’d be nice if Cano remembered how to hit.
- gageagainstthemachine
  
  Next year is going to be the real harbinger for things to come. I’m not as pessimistic about this particular season as others. I was with you on a 6, but actually believe that even the B-teamers are better than people give them credit (so I went with a 7, looking at the return of the regulars later as bumping it up). They definitely seem to be embracing the fact that it’s on their shoulders right now. In fact, if 3/5 of the starting rotation (plus the bullpen) hadn’t imploded during the first 6 games, they’d probably be on top of the AL east right now.
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    The B-Teamers are always better than some fans write. Folks write as if Jayson Nix is incapable of ever doing anything helpful, or that all veterans are just headed on a slope straight downwards.
    
    The regulars are going to need to time to get back into the swing of things, even when healthy. They can’t be scoring seven runs every day, but it needs to get better than the first five games. That being said, SSS FTW.
    - Jim Is Bored
      
      In order of most to least hope relative to expectations for the “stopgaps” and “replacements”:
      
      Youkilis has been a good hitter every year he’s been healthy.
      
      Early returns suggest giving Cervelli regular playing time means we won’t miss Russel Martin.
      
      If Hafner can miraculously stay healthy until June, and hit around a 120 wrc+ while doing so, then his inevitable injury won’t be as painful.
      
      Looking at Overbay’s recent stats, hoping for a 95-100 wrc+ isn’t that crazy.
      
      Hopefully Vernon Wells is drinking from the same fountain that Ibanez did last year and Andruw did the year before.
      - Robinson Tilapia
        
        And Ben Francisco is the 25thiest 25th man ever.
        
        I actually wonder, with Nunez looking banged up and Nix truly backing up at third more when healthy, if that spot would be better off in the hands of a true defensive replacement like Velazquez.
        
        MannyGeee
        
        There is an argument there, its not like Francisco’s bat is going to wow anyone.
        
        Of course there is an argument to say that neither guy is going to get more than 1/2 dozen game appearances from today to when Granderson comes back, so in that sample size Velazquez may contribute to 2 plays where he makes a catch that is one bounced to another guy.
        
        Negligible tinkering to the roster, let Francisco ride with the big club until Grandy comes back.
  - Hubward
    
    This is pretty much my view. I think the new guys have done above expectations and our offence is not the horror show many posters would have had us believe. Also think a couple of the defeats had more than a bit of bad luck about them. I know its playing what-ifs, but if Kuroda hadn’t got clipped and if Nix had made the play in the first for Hughes could have been two very different games.
    Obviously its going to be a more interesting ride than other years, but this team don’t look out of their depth I think they’ll surpise the naysayers.
- trr
  
  what up with these trolls anyway?
  I’m a long time political blogger, and their numbers are legion on those sites, but what the hell do they hope to provoke here?
  
  Anyway, still at a “5” despite the slow start.
  
  Better days are ahead.
  
  Any trolls? Come at me…
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    I would love it if I just heard an older guy almost quote Ronnie Magro.
    - trr
      
      love it long ‘n’ strong Robby
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    Also, I was hoping Athenian’s study would shed some light on this behavior, but this study is clearly some sort of tightly-held secret.
  - Jim Is Bored
    
    Trolls exist because of the idea that any attention, even negative, is better than no attention.
    - trr
      
      That would make me almost feel sorry for them….almost
      - jjyank
        
        Pretty much.
    - Manny’s BanWagon
      
      Not trying to start an argument but the constant pointing out and complaining about the “trolls” is as tiresome and irrelevant to this blog as the off the wall shit they post IMO.
      - Jim Is Bored
        
        Not trying to start an argument but you responded to my post where I wasn’t even remotely complaining about trolls.
gageagainstthemachine

7. If the pitching finds some consistency, they can win plenty of games until the regulars are healthy and back in a groove. This team is not as bad as people think, and the guys getting lots of playing time right now will be a great bench once the whole team is back. One thing I will say, it has been kind of fun watching some new faces out there. With that said, get those regulars healthy again and winning some games!
Gordon m

I’m still at a seven. They may be struggling a little just now, but due to the Yankees resources I personally can’t see us struggling for any extended period of time. If the question was how confident I was in the team for the coming week only then I’d probably drop down to a four or five.
CS Yankee

A 6, steadily climbing up from the low-mark (Wells trade) of 4 even though they are losing two-out-of-every-three…which is why a four-game set in Cleveland is good, I hoping for the sweep but expect the split.

Better times are ahead for sure.
mac

Still at 5, though after yesterday’s win, this is the best I’ve felt about the team in months.

Cash did an excellent job patching the team after Hal’s 2014 budget plan and injuries decimated this team.

The real question is the future, lack of impact players in the minors who can help this year and poss. next AND, the inital disappointing performances by Nova and Phelps. Add to that age and injury and the Yanks have alot of challenges they need to start addressing.
- Jim Is Bored
  
  Seeing CC throw 7 scoreless against that lineup without his best stuff was definitely encouraging.
  
  I need to see something out of the back end of our rotation before I get any higher than a 6. And ideally an extra base hit from Robby.
  - mac
    
    Yeah, CC is an absolute stud. As long as he avoids injury, he’ll continue to earn every cent of his deal.
    
    I feel the same way about CC as I do Pettitte, He’s got enough brains, guts and other pitches besides a plus FB to be a top of the rotation guy into his late 30’s.
    
    Backof the rotation is scary and Joba and Hughes being FA next year. Only plus is we have the whole year to see how that evolves and hopefully Pineda works himself into rhe mix.
    - Jim Is Bored
      
      Yeah I have, maybe irrationally high, hopes for Pineda. If he can come back and approximate a 2-3 starter, than our front 4 can compete with anyone’s.
      - CS Yankee
        
        I can see Pineda being a solid two, and hopefully the ManBan will pan out to a decent #3 or 4.
        
        Joba is a shame, but I wouldn’t be too concerned with him leaving…nor Hughes, or trading Nova. Drob needs to be inked for 3-5 years though.
        
        Jim Is Bored
        
        I just don’t know how much trade value Nova/Hughes have.
        
        I still am expecting a 4 era out of Hughes over the course of the season. I have no idea what Nova would put up over 150-200 innings.
        
        Cool Lester Smooth
        
        Hey, Sanchez and Roger came all the way back from the same injury. I think Pineda should too.
Nick

7-maybe a little over confident-with Wells hitting better than expected, I feel a lot better about the season. It’s only a week, but I was expecting tony Womack level production.
s

My favorite plot of the young season is that despite all of the consternation, we upgraded our catcher situation by not resigning Martin. I voted a 6 because a team with a top-5 rotation can only be so bad. I think we’ll be in the playoffs.
Mouse

Can an argument be made that Gardner is the best defensive outfielder the Yanks have had since the 80’s?

(I say the 80’s because I’m not as familiar with players before that).
- mac
  
  Pretty much. I think I would take a young Bernie over Gardy defensively. Bernie was unbelievably fast and smooth in CF. No arm, but still.
  
  White, Winfield, Rickey and Blair are in the discussion from the 70’s/80’s
  - Kosmo
    
    Mickey Rivers and Elliot Maddox are part of the discussion. White and Winfield were OK OFers nothing special. Rickey well was Rickey. Blair was a tremendous OF.
  - KeithK
    
    Winfield had an awesome arm but wasn’t a tremendous outfielder. Rickey was fast but again not a great defensive player. Bernie was fast and smooth but his routes always left something to be desired, so I’d take Gardner over him in an instant (defensively anyway).
    
    Paul Blair was one of the best OFers around.
- Jersey Joe
  
  I bet range-wise, he is better than those players in the 70s. Conditioning has come a long way since the mid-late 20th century.
- trr
  
  Yes. If you the follow the UZR graphs, he is the best defensive OF-er in the majors. Even if you just follow what you see , then (IMO) he is our best defensive OF-er since…Winfield?
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Barfield sure had the arm.
Barry

I went 7. Simply because the team has shown some signs of life without Cano doing anything. Plus Cervelli is looking pretty decent and Youk is looking somewhat vintage.
JLC 776

I think yesterday’s win gave a bit of a jump in the numbers.

I’m still sitting at a 4. I have yet to see any kind of long-range plan for the team other than ‘get under $189M’ and ‘we intend to field a championship-caliber team every year’. I’m hoping the draft stirs some long-range confidence for me!
Kosmo

I´m probably in the minority around here but I´d much rather have Ichiro batting leadoff than Gardner. Ichiro is a proven leadoff hitter while Gardner is not.
The Yanks could ultimately consider themselves lucky if they can cobble together 60 RBI and a .250ish average from Cervelli-Stewart.
Outside of Rivera and Robertson I´m somewhat concerned about the general state of the BP. Cedeno and Montgomery come June ?
Letting Aardsma go in favor of Kelley and/or Eppley was IMO a mistake.
One gets the feeling that Cano is weighted down by his pending contract/FA. I hope I´m wrong.
- MannyGeee
  
  Ichiro has looked lost so far this season… I don’t even want him in the lineup until he gets to hitting, let alone leading off.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  Ichiro is also a proven OBP-sink when he’s not hitting .310, getting on base is much more important than being a “proven leadoff hitter”
jjyank

6. CC is awesome. Youk is awesome. Cano won’t slump forever. Might be able to bump me to a 7 if I see something better out of Nova or Hughes next time.
- hogsmog
  
  Though the fact that Youkilis is awesome is sort of scary, too. That the whole platoon structure of our infield depends on someone that fragile is unnerving. I suppose Wells is there to protect Cano even if Youk goes down, but in a lot of ways he’s holding up the middle of the order as well.
  
  FWIW, I’m a 6 as well, though a lot of what bumps me up from a 5 has to do with the farm.
LarryM Fl

6. My feelings about the team were reinforced by yesterday’s game. CC’s pitching and the clutch two out hitting against an elite pitcher. I have felt that Youklis and Wells would help. If they can stay healthy.

I prefer Cervelli at C 60% of the time. Nunez at SS as much as he can handle. Lets face it when Jeter comes back. He and Nunez will split the position with Jeter getting reps at DH. When Granderson returns Ichiro may take a back seat to Wells playing time. Teix. if he can swing will fortify first base. You notice I have not mentioned Arod. I don’t think he’ll make it back as a full time player.

My reason for remaining 6 is the back end of the rotation. Nova has much to prove before I would be looking forward to his starts. Hughes in time should get us 15 wins with some decent offense production.

I like 84-89 wins for the year. It may not be enough to make the playoffs but AL East will be won by the last team standing. 89 could be enough then I’ll be a 10.
hey now

Gardner and Cano have combined for five total bases. That’s three less than Franciso Cervelli. How crazy is that?

Once they start getting on base, I think the offense will be better than we expected.
- hey now
  
  Oops, I meant Ichiro and Cano. (Gardner has seven total bases.)
mt

At a 7 (being optimistic) – yesterday really helped but it is just one game that cannot be overblown as a long term trend yet – (also, who could have predicted that Strasburg, Cain, Dickey, Price could all be so bad on the same day?)

I always thought best Yanks could expect from first six games was 2-4 given facing Lester and Scherzer as part of that whom Yanks have struggled against. Then given Kuroda injury and rush back of Hughes to face ML hitters for first time as a part of that domino just made me even more OK with the 2-4.

1) the new arrivals – Wells, Youk, Hafner, Overbay with 2 clutch hits – look OK to pretty good.

2) Cano looks dreadful as does Ichiro – Gardner getting hot would help. As I said before season how Cano handles everything this year will be fascinating. Hamiliton has been getting a lot of play for his struggles – hopefullY Cano starts producing before it becomes a bigger MSM story. No fun to have 0 HRs and O RBIs (small sample) but always more focus early on stuff like that.

3) I know we needed a win badly yesterday but I would have had others pitch the seventh – maybe Kelley and Robertson piece it together (before yesterday, Robertson has only thrown 4 pitches in a game since March 29). Not that thrilled with 114 pitches for CC in second start when CC is coming off elbow surgery and still finding his velocity. We were so careful in spring training with him but now we need a win badly so all that careful CC grooming and preparation is out the window.

4) Now officially looking forward to Rafael DePaula starts.

Yanks have to weather the storm – would be thrilled at a split in Cleveland – I saw some predicting Yanks take 3/4 since “Cleveland pitching sucks” – that may be so but so far so does Yankee pitching.
Vern Sneaker

Still at 5, which seems very reasonable given the play so far, but still as hopeful a fan as ever.
Brian in MA

Been a 5 since Grandy, Tex, and Jeter all were set back until may at the earliest (i held out no hopes for Arod this year). The offense showed some life and got a win against Verlander, but every once in a while I think even a sub-par offense can run into a crooked number like this.
MannyGeee

Baseline 7, just like how yesterday’s win didn’t over-excite me, (stop me if you’ve heard this one) the slow April start hasn’t shaken me so far.

Our pitching is NOWHERE as bad as its seemed against a “reinvigorated” Red Sox team and a SUPER TOUGH Tigers lineup. That said, Cano is concerning me, but that may change when we start seeing lesser pitching.
Manny’s BanWagon

Still a 5. I still think there’s a good chance they’ll make the playoffs this season if they can get a break the rest of the way with injuries. Next year, I’m much more concerned since I couldn’t imagine knocking $40+ million in payroll from this team while giving at least Cano and maybe Hughes big raises and still field a team that’s gonna make the playoffs.
vin

I voted my usual 7, but I immediately regretted it. Should’ve picked a 6. There’s too many variables to obssess over the long term (ie 4+ years out). But I’m really not that confident in the short and mid-terms… other than the fact that, “hey, at least we’re not the Marlins!”

The fact that fewer FAs are hitting the open market really does have me worried about the next few years.
Cool Lester Smooth

I’ve been down to a 6 from my baseline 7 the past few weeks. Hopefully DePaula will tear up A-ball and I’ll be irrationally excited enough to get through April without dipping to 5.
Ruby

i voted a 10 because i can….at least we arent the astros….im overly optimistic and have them with the division on a 92 win record.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Oh, no matter what I write here, I click “10” up there. Why? Because there’s 35 “zero” votes.
JLC 776

The zeroes are just as ridiculous as the tens, so I salute you for doing your best to offset the nonsense!

Really all that I ask from anyone is consistency with their vote. If they have a baseline number, adjust your stance per what you see for the short- and long-term. There’s wisdom in crowds, but only when they’re making a reasonable effort.
- Jim Is Bored
  
  The only way to reasonably evaluate the poll results is to take out all the 10’s and 0’s, because neither vote makes a whole lot of sense right now.