River Avenue Blues

Game 18: Home Away From Home

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(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

The Yankees just played three games on turf in Toronto, now they’ll play three more in Tampa. They’re in their home away from home, a place with a huge faction of Yankees fans thanks to transplants and the club’s ties to the Tampa area. It’s not quite like a home game — some games at Camden Yards in recent years really felt like they were being playing the Bronx, no? — but it’s damn close. Here’s the lineup that will face left-hander Matt Moore…

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. DH Ben Francisco
  3. 2B Robinson Cano
  4. 1B Kevin Youkilis LF Vernon Wells
  5. LF Vernon Wells C Frankie Cervelli
  6. C Frankie Cervelli RF Brennan Boesch
  7. RF Brennan Boesch SS Eduardo Nunez
  8. SS Eduardo Nunez 1B Lyle Overbay
  9. 3B Jayson Nix

And on the mound is the man with the fourth highest bWAR in MLB history among left-handed pitchers through their age-32 season, CC Sabathia. Here’s the link if you don’t believe me.

Tonight’s game is scheduled to start a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and ESPN nationally. The weather in St. Petersburg is gorgeous, but oh wait, they’re playing in a dome. For shame. Enjoy the game.

Curtis Granderson Update: Granderson hit off a tee and soft toss today for the first time since suffering his fractured forearm. He continues to play catch as well, though there is no firm timetable for his return. Granderson said he thinks he’ll need 50-75 at-bats before he can rejoin the team — he missed all of Spring Training, remember — but the good news is he should be able to take advantage of the informal nature of Extended Spring Training and get like, ten at-bats a day.

Late Kevin Youkilis Update: Youkilis was a last-minute scratch because his stiff back starting acting again during batting practice.

Update: MLB investigating Robinson Cano for potential ties to Biogenesis

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5:41pm: Christian Red, Mark Feinsand, and Michael O’Keeffe report that Cano’s name is not listed in any of the Biogenesis documents obtained by MLB. Cruz’s name appears briefly and she purchased something other than PEDs.

4:04pm: Via T.J. Quinn & Mike Fish: MLB is investigating Robinson Cano for potential ties to Biogenesis, the South Florida clinic that allegedly supplied performance-enhancing drugs to various athletes. Sonia Cruz, a spokeswoman at Cano’s foundation, is listed on the clinic’s client list for a weight-loss program. Cruz denied Robbie had any connection to Biogenesis, which Cano just reiterated to reporters in Tampa.

Long story short: MLB is investigating Cano because Cruz, Melky Cabrera (his best friend), and Alex Rodriguez (his teammate) all showed up in the various Biogenesis documents. It’s is a pretty loose connection obviously, but a connection worth investigating apparently. My only concern right now is Cano’s image more than anything. It doesn’t take much for fans to label someone a PED cheat — a label that sticks forever — and I really hope that label doesn’t applied to Robbie after this flimsy little connection. That would be a damn shame (unless he actually did them, of course).

Wanted: Right-handed bat. No position necessary

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Following a disappointing off-season and a 1-4 start, everyone has to be pleased with the Yankees’ 10-7 record. For the past 12 games they’ve shown plenty of life and have received contributions from newcomers and holdovers alike, even unlikely holdovers like Francisco Cervelli. The team has, in short, been incredibly fun to watch — against right-handed pitching, at least.

Given the roster composition, along with the absences of Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez, we expected the Yankees to struggle against left-handed pitching. But in the early goings it’s been especially painful:

Against RHP: .303/.369/.540 – .908 OPS in 449 PA
Against LHP: .210/.279/.318 – .596 OPS in 221 PA

The only two regulars hitting lefties remotely well are Vernon Wells and Brett Gardner. Two guys expected to contribute against left-handers, Kevin Youkilis and Ben Francisco, have a combined 4 hits in 35 AB, with a Youkilis double as the lone extra base hit. Ichiro — Ichiro! — has out-hit every non-Wells RHB against lefties, and he’s just 4 for 14 with a double. Perhaps most sadly, Robinson Cano is just 4 for 26 with 10 strikeouts against lefties.

The good news is that some of this will likely even out. Youkilis in particular has hit lefties well in the past, a .918 OPS in more than 1,200 career PA. But even if he, Cano, and even Eduardo Nunez improve against left-handed pitching, the Yankees still have issues. In particular, they’re starting Ben Francisco as the designated hitter. Little good has come of this, and little good may come in the future.

For the first few years of his career Francisco was an average hitter, but in the last few he’s taken a nosedive into mediocrity. He’s certainly not as bad as his .111./238/.111 line suggests, but he might not be any better than his .242/.317/.373 line from the past two years. There’s also the issue of his history, which suggests almost no platoon split. In fact, he has hit for similar averages and OBPs against righties and lefties in the past, but with less power against lefties. He’s certainly not someone you think of when searching for a platoon DH.

The question facing the Yankees is, what are the alternatives? They brought Juan Rivera and Matt Diaz into camp as potential threats against left-handed pitching, and they cut both in favor of Francisco. Diaz was scooped up by the Marlins but Rivera remains on the free agent market, but he seems an unlikely target; if the Yankees thought they could perform in the role of platoon DH they would have kept one of them over Francisco.

That leaves slim pickings for an upgrade. Few, if any, teams are willing to make deals at this point. Even the worst teams (non-Houston division) fancy themselves contenders. Even if an eventual non-contender has a right-handed bat that the Yankees could use, a deal remains unlikely for at least a month or two. The good news, if it counts as any, is that any Francisco replacement does not need to actually play a position in the field. Francisco has logged all of three innings in the outfield this year. They just need someone who can swing a bat.

While the pickings are slim, they aren’t nonexistent. Three names stand out as players who could actually help this team against left-handed pitching.

Zoilo Almonte

If the Yankees prefer a player who can also stand in the outfield, Almonte might be their man. After a quality season in AA last year, which included 21 homers and 23 doubles in a pitcher-friendly park, he has gotten off to a torrid start in AAA, .275/.424/.412. Impressively, he has walked 14 times to just 9 strikeouts after walking just 25 times with 103 strikeouts last year. It’s still early, so we don’t know if Zoilo has improved his approach or has just had a hot couple of weeks. But he’s a switch hitter who can play defense, meaning he might have some value to the major league club.

David Adams

When an injury prone player is healthy and producing, the time might be ripe for promotion. Adams has always possessed talent, but ever since an ankle injury in 2010 he hasn’t been able to stay on the field. Although he did accumulate 383 PA last year, he had one day off and one day at DH per week. It kept him healthy, but also kept him off the field for a good deal of time. Still, he produced. And in the early goings this year he’s producing even more, .342/.444/.500 in 45 PA. Might it be time to eke out anything they can get at the major league level? It would be a shame to see them DFA Francisco in a few weeks, only to see Adams also succumb to injury. Might as well call him up now while he’s actually playing.

Ronnier Mustelier

A strong spring had people wondering if Mustelier could contribute to the big league club, but a bone bruise on his knee in late spring has kept him on the shelf. I haven’t read anything about a potential return date, so for the time being Mustelier is not an option. But when he returns it’s difficult to see him as being a worse option than Francisco. He makes contact and has decent power, and perhaps he won’t be overmatched by MLB pitching. But for now that’s something in the distance.

Casper Wells

I wrote a whole paragraph about Casper Wells and his quality numbers against left-handed pitching — which could become even better on a non-Seattle team. Unfortunately, between composition and publication the A’s acquired Wells from the Blue Jays. So there goes that idea. I have to think, given Wells’s superiority over Francisco, that the Yankees would loved to have acquired Wells. He might be the last decent RHB available until June.

Later in the year the Yankees will have more opportunities to improve against left-handed pitching. A Mark Teixeira return will be a start. If Curtis Granderson can show some power against LHP that will help some more. An Alex Rodriguez return is too far into the future, and too uncertain, to consider at this point. The Yanks will have some decent trade chips in July, but for now they’ll have to go with lesser options to fill the void. Almonte or Wells could make a positive impact on a team that is just reeling against left-handed pitching.

4/22-4/24 Series Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

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I wasn’t planning to continue the series previews this year, but apparently they were pretty popular. I wasn’t aware of that. So, back by popular demand…

(J. Meric/Getty Images)
(J. Meric/Getty Images)

This six-game road trip features six games on artificial turf, as the Yankees now head to Tampa for three games with the Rays after playing three games against the Blue Jays in Toronto. The Bombers and Fightin’ Maddons are meeting for the first time in 2013.

What Have They Done Lately?
The Rays are 8-10 with a -7 run differential this season, but they did just sweep a three-game series against the Athletics this weekend. After scoring 53 runs in their first 15 games (3.53 per game), they scored 17 runs in the three games against Oakland (5.67 per game).

Offense
Despite the big weekend, the Rays still own a below-average team 90 wRC+ that ranks as the eighth worst in baseball. Their only injured offensive player at the moment is DH Luke Scott, who has yet to play in a game this season.

(Al Messerschmidt/Getty)
(Al Messerschmidt/Getty)

Tampa’s overhauled offense features two familiar faces in the middle of the lineup: 2B/RF Ben Zobrist (122 wRC+) and 3B Evan Longoria (142 wRC+). They’ve batted three-four pretty much everyday so far. Platoon bats 1B James Loney (146 wRC+) and former Yankee DH Shelley Duncan (106 wRC+) are off to nice starts. 2B Kelly Johnson (102 wRC+) and CF Desmond Jennings (101 wRC+) have basically been average in front of Zobrist and Longoria.

Manager Joe Maddon’s parade of part-timers includes IF Sean Rodriguez (89 wRC+) and IF Ryan Roberts (68 wRC+), who will start against lefties. OF Matt Joyce (62 wRC+) and OF Sam Fuld (-31 wRC+) get the call against lefties. SS Yunel Escobar (40 wRC+) plays everyday while pitch-framer extraordinaire C Jose Molina (85 wRC+) gets most of the starts behind the plate. C Jose Lobaton (10 wRC+) backs him up. Overall, the Rays are middle of the road when it comes to hitting homers (17), but they’ve been one of the league’s most prolific base-stealing clubs (13).

Starting Pitching Matchups

Monday: LHP CC Sabathia vs. LHP Matt Moore
The 23-year-old Moore is off to a very strong start, allowing just two runs in 18 innings across his first three starts (1.00 ERA and 3.36 FIP). The strike out (10.0 K/9 and 27.8 K%) and ground ball (52.5%) rates are strong, but he has been a little too liberal with the free pass (5.50 BB/9 and 15.3 BB%). Like everyone else it seems, Moore’s velocity is down compared to last year, but he’s still sitting in the 91-94 mph range with the four-seamer. He’ll mix in the occasional two-seamer, but otherwise his primary secondary pitches are a low-80s slider and a mid-80s changeup. The Yankees have seen the southpaw a few times now, and they’ve both hit him hard and been shutdown. Little of both.

(Photo via @MLB)
(Photo via @MLB)

Tuesday: RHP Phil Hughes vs. LHP David Price
Price, 27, is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, but he’s had two good (not great) and two poor (one awful) starts in the early going (6.26 ERA and 4.49 FIP). Outside of some early homer problems (1.96 HR/9), the left-hander’s peripherals are right in line with what he’s done in recent years: 8.22 K/9 (20.8 K%), 2.74 BB/9 (6.9 BB%), and 49.3 K% grounders. Price remains a low-to-mid-90s fastball machine, throwing a ton of four-seamers, two-seamers, and cutters. An upper-70s curveball is his top offspeed pitch, but he’ll also use mid-80s changeups and sliders. We’ve all seen plenty of Price through the years, both the fans and the Yankees players. Should be no surprises here.

Wednesday: LHP Andy Pettitte vs. RHP Alex Cobb
Cobb has been a trendy breakout pick this year, and he’s managed a 2.53 ERA (3.21 FIP) in his three starts so far. He hasn’t missed a ton of bats in his relatively short big league career, something that has held true so far this season (6.33 K/9 and 17.2 K%). His walk (2.53 K/9 and 6.9 BB%) and ground ball (45.2%) rates are very strong, however. Cobb uses his two- and four-seamer almost evenly, and both sit in the 88-92 mph range. His best pitch is a knockout mid-80s changeup, which he’ll use in any count against righties and lefties. He’s very similar to the departed Jamie Shields in that regard. An upper-70s curveball rounds out his repertoire. The Yankees have seen Cobb a handful of times these last two years and he’s handled them well each time.

(J. Meric/Getty)
(J. Meric/Getty)

Bullpen Status
Despite their strong rotation, the Rays rank among the AL leaders in total relief appearances (53) because of all the mixing and matching. Closer RHP Fernando Rodney has been very good again despite an early-season appearance that wrecked his pitching stat line (4.76 ERA and 5.67 FIP). Setup men RHP Joel Peralta (2.25 ERA and 2.02 FIP) and LHP Jake McGee (7.36 ERA and 5.89 FIP) have both been dynamite — McGee allowed five runs in two-thirds of an inning on Opening Day and has been whittling down his ERA ever since. He’s been untouchable of late.

Low-leverage guy RHP Brandon Gomes (4.70 ERA and 4.98 FIP) threw two innings yesterday and is presumably unavailable today. Former Yankee RHP Kyle Farnsworth (4.50 ERA and 7.02 FIP) will see some late-game action, then they have LHP Cesar Ramos (8.31 ERA and 6.02 FIP) and long-time big leaguer RHP Jamey Wright (2.06 ERA and 3.86 FIP) filling out Maddon’s seven-man relief unit. Outside of David Phelps, everyone should be available for Joe Girardi in the series opener tonight. Check out our Bullpen Workload page for recent usage details. For the latest and greatest on the Rays, we recommend DRays Bay and The Process Report.

Fan Confidence Poll: April 22nd, 2013

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Record Last Week: 4-2 (28 RS, 26 RA)
Season Record: 10-7 (88 RS, 73 RA, 10-7 pythag. record), 2.5 games back in AL East
Opponents This Week: @ Rays (three games, Mon. to Weds.), vs. Blue Jays (four game, Fri. to Sun.)

Top stories from last week:

  • The week started with an off-day before the Diamondbacks came to town for the first interleague series of the year. The Yankees won both the first game and the second game of the series in come-from-behind fashion, but they were unable to complete the sweep on Thursday.
  • The Yankees then headed up to Toronto for a three-game set with the new-look Blue Jays, and they blew their division rivals out in the series opener. They took the second game of the series in extra innings but couldn’t finish the sweep yesterday.
  • Injury News: Derek Jeter (ankle) has a new fracture and will be out until after the All-Star break. He does not need surgery. Both Curtis Granderson (forearm) and Mark Teixeira (wrist) have been cleared to swing a bat. Michael Pineda (shoulder) is scheduled for his first simulated game since surgery this week. Kevin Youkilis (back) is day-to-day with some stiffness. Cesar Cabral (elbow) and Clay Rapada (shoulder) continue to rehab in Tampa.
  • The Yankees will stick with their internal infield options following Jeter’s setback.
  • The NHL is planning to have two outdoor games at Yankee Stadium next January.

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.

Given the team's current roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees' overall future?
View Results

Yankees unable to finish off sweep, fall 8-4 to Blue Jays

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Winning two out of three each series is a great way to have a successful season, but losing the finale when you have a chance to sweep is always annoying. Feels like such a lost opportunity. Unfortunately the Yankees have made a bit of a habit of that of late, dropping the finale to the Diamondbacks last week and then doing the same against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Toronto walked away with an 8-4 win.

(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty)
(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty)

IvAAAn NovAAA
He needed the bullpen to allow some inherited runners to score, but Ivan Nova finished Sunday’s game with a line that was very representative of the way he pitched: four runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. Unimpressive, basically. Nova allowed the leadoff man to reach base in five of the six innings he started — the leadoff man has reached in eleven of the 16 innings he’s started this year — and threw only 39 of his 101 pitches from the windup. Thirteen of the 25 batters he faced saw a first pitch strike, including just one of the fist seven Blue Jays to bat. Typical, really.

Since last year’s All-Star break, Nova has now pitched to a 6.87 ERA with a near-.900 OPS against while averaging just 5.1 innings per start. It’s neither quantity nor quality at this point, he stinks when he’s on the mound and taxes the bullpen every five days. So what are the Yankees going to do about it? Probably nothing. Neither Michael Pineda nor Chien-Ming Wang is big league ready and David Phelps is basically the bullpen version of Nova right now. I guess they could stick Adam Warren or Vidal Nuno in the rotation, but I don’t see that happening. Nova can’t continue to live in this fantasy world were results don’t matter, however. At some point soon he either has to start pitching better or lose his rotation spot.

(Presswire)
(Presswire)

The Impatiently Patient Rally
The Blue Jays jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first two innings, but the Yankees battled back in innings three through six and actually took the lead. Chris Stewart started the team’s scoring with a solo homer (!), but it wasn’t until the fifth inning that they really got to right-hander Josh Johnson.

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out on the strength of three singles before Travis Hafner, pretty much the best non-Robinson Cano hitter on the team, popped up into foul territory. It looked like the rally was going to be wasted, but instead Lyle Overbay and Eduardo Nunez drew back-to-back walks to force in both the game-tying and go-ahead runs. Johnson threw Overbay a full count breaking ball with two outs, which is … I don’t get it.

So, anyway, with two runs already in and Johnson having thrown seven straight balls out of the strike zone, Ichiro Suzuki naturally swung at the first pitch. Why? Who the hell knows. I guess he was hunting a first pitch fastball, but the point is he swung at the first pitch after Johnson had already walked two with the bases loaded and thrown seven straight balls. Ichiro weakly grounded out to second and the inning was over. Odds are he would have made an out and ended the rally anyway given his performance this year, but that’s a no-brainer “make him throw strike one before you swing” situation.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

Death By Bullpen
As I mentioned earlier, the bullpen gets an assist for Nova’s ugly line. Boone Logan came out of the bullpen and allowed a game-tying two-run single to the only man he faced (Colby Rasmus) before the oh so ordinary Phelps really let things get out of hand over the final few innings. He allowed a two-run homer to J.P. Arencibia and five runs overall — three of his own and the two inherited runners.

Phelps has now allowed a total of nine runs — seven of his own and two inherited runners — in five innings across his last two appearances. The bullpen as a whole has surrendered 14 total runs in its last 10.1 innings. Most of that is Phelps obviously, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue. It can’t be Mariano Rivera and David Robertson and pray the starter goes deep.

(Presswire)
(Presswire)

Leftovers
Hafner not only stole a base — the tenth of his career and first since 2010 — but he also laid down a bunt in an effort to beat the shift. It was a bad bunt and he was thrown out easily though, which isn’t terribly surprising. Bunting is hard and these sluggers who get shifted against don’t have much experience laying one day. Great idea in theory, not easy in practice.

Speaking of stolen bases, Brett Gardner finally stole his first of the season in game number 17. I get that you want to have men on base for Cano, but I don’t think that should mean abandoning the steal all together. When you’ve got an easy to steal against battery — like Johnson and Arencibia in this game — Gardner needs to run wild, especially in the early innings. If they pitch around Cano, so be it. The more base runners the merrier.

The wrap-around 8-9-1-2-3 portion of the lineup went a combined 10-for-21 with a double and a homer. The other four lineup spots went 1-for-13, including 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and that’s where the rallies went to die.

Vernon Wells wore out his former team this weekend, and in addition to two hits he also made a great jumping catch against the wall on Sunday. He grabbed the Edwin Encarnacion rocket and got the ball back to first in time to double off Jose Bautista. Have yourself a weekened, Verndog.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerd score, and ESPN the updated standings.


Source: FanGraphs

Up Next
The Yankees are off to Tampa, their home away from home. CC Sabathia kicks off the three-game series against fellow left-hander Matt Moore on Monday night.

DePaula strikes out ten in five no-hit innings in latest start

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According to Donnie Collins, RHP Chien-Ming Wang was sitting 86-88 mph with his trademark sinker in yesterday’s game. He hit 90 once. First start of the year, so hopefully he’ll add a few ticks down the road. His days of 93+ are long gone by now though.

Triple-A Scranton (5-1 win over Syracuse)

  • 2B Corban Joseph: 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI — 13 hits in his last 30 at-bats (.433) with four doubles and three homers
  • CF Melky Mesa: 0-4, 1 K
  • LF Zoilo Almonte: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
  • C Austin Romine: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K
  • 3B David Adams: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E (fielding) — eight hits in his last 17 at-bats (.471)
  • LHP Vidal Nuno: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 5/2 GB/FB — 59 of 91 pitches were strikes (65%), plus he picked a runner off first … starting to reach the point where he has to be considered a big league option given the back of the bullpen
  • RHP Cody Eppley: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — ten of 15 pitches were strikes (67%)

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