Colon vs. The Jays: Bringin’ The Heat

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No one makes mountains out of molehills quite like baseball fans, so you can be sure that I’m going to write entirely too much about Bartolo Colon‘s start against the Blue Jays. However, instead of writing one big post and stuffing it all in there, I’m going to break it up into a few smaller posts this morning just so there’s no information overload and the discussion can remain focused. First up, Colon’s velocity…

When Spring Training ended and the Yankees headed north for the regular season, we heard many reasons why Freddy Garcia had beaten Colon in the (supposed) fifth starter’s competition despite their drastically different showings in camp. Garcia was a safer bet in terms of innings given his work with the White Sox last year, his repertoire was better suited for starting, and Colon wasn’t holding his velocity over multiple innings. Well, as the graph above shows, Colon held his velocity and then some last night.

In his first three outings, all in relief, Bartolo had thrown no more than 69 pitches. In fact, his pitches totals declined: 69 on April 3rd, 62 on April 8th, and then 54 on April 14th. And yet his fastest pitch against Toronto, a 94.0 mph four-seamer to J.P. Arencibia, came on his 82th pitch of the night. It’s clear from the graph there was no significant drop-off in velocity as the game progressed, with all the hard stuff comfortably humming in at or above 90. For a guy that’s a month shy of his 38th birthday with major shoulder injuries in the past, that’s damn impressive.

We have to remember that Colon isn’t in typical April form however. He did pitch in winter ball, so he’s (theoretically) closer to mid-season form than some of his peers. As you watched that game though, it was obvious that Colon is still the guy he’s always been, a power pitcher that challenges hitters with his fastball. That’s pretty much the last thing we could say about Garcia, who’s the polar opposite at this point. Bartolo threw just 14 offspeed pitches last night, instead burying the Jays with 39 four-seamers and 36 two-seamers. It was pitching in it’s purest form: here it is, try to hit it. And they couldn’t.

Now the question becomes this: how long will it last? There’s not a person around that could give you that answer, but the Yankees will milk it for all it’s worth. Colon seemed genuinely thankfully to be back in the big leagues after the game, going as far as saying that he thought his career was over in 2009. Is he old with a pitching arm held together by duct tape? Yeah. Is he out-of-shape? Yeah, that too. Is he one of the five best starting pitchers in the organization right now? You bet your ass he is. It’s completely unreasonable to expect a repeat performance of last night’s effort in the future, but hey, Colon has surprised us all by getting this far.

Velocity graph via Brooks Baseball.

Colon leads Yanks to a 6-2 victory

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(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

The Yankees needed length from a starter. The bullpen has thrown a lot of innings, and while I might have overstated the case yesterday, it’s pretty clear that the Yankees can’t sustain their current usage patterns. Bartolo Colon didn’t seem likely to be that guy. He appeared to tire a bit as he got around the fourth inning of work in his first three appearances. While he didn’t finish seven, he did last more than six and put the Yanks in a position to win on Wednesday.

Colon’s 6.2 innings were the second most pitched by a Yankee this season. He handled the Blue Jays with authority, using their own aggression against them. Using a pair of fastballs he kept the ball mostly on the ground. When he needed a swing and a miss he went to the slider or changeup. Of the 25 batters he faced, 14 either hit the ball on the ground or struck out. It was just what the Yankees needed. It meant a lot to Colon, too. He’s hanging onto the pair of cleats he wore last night. Hey, first win in almost two years.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

The Yanks offense looked roughly the same as it has most games this year. They actually scored only one run via the home run, but they cashed in on extra base hits and opened up a 5-1 lead after five. Mark Teixeira doubled three times in three different ways, scoring after two of them. Curtis Granderson added an RBI triple and a solo homer. The only thing the offense didn’t accomplish was scoring four runs in an inning. They remain the only team who hasn’t done that.

(Also, glove slap to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, who came up with two excellent tidbits that made this recap.)

While Granderson has struggled for short stretches in the young season, he has also come through with a ton of power. His ninth-inning home run was his sixth of the season, tying him with Mark Teixeira for the AL lead. The triple was his first of the season; he hit seven last year. His average (.272) and OBP (.322) aren’t quite up to par, but his power has helped compensate. He also had seen the fifth most pitches per plate appearances in the majors heading into the game. Best of all, his RBI triple came off a lefty. He’s actually hitting better against lefties (.353) better than righties (.237) in the minuscule sample that is this season’s splits.

One thing that became apparent is that the Yankees really want to see if Lance Pendleton is worth keeping around. Hector Noesi has been on the roster longer, but Pendleton already has 3.1 innings of work under his belt. It makes enough sense. Pendleton’s ceiling is probably a reliever in the majors, while Noesi still might have a future as a starter, even if the chances of him winning a long-term spot in the Yankees rotation are slim. Pendleton didn’t impress anyone with his performances, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get another shot if the Yankees get a big lead, or find themselves behind considerably, during a game in Baltimore.

A win heals all wounds after a tough loss. Bartolo Colon came up aces on a night when the Yankees really could have used it. The win gives them a split of the series with the Blue Jays, and while they could have swept it they can put that loss behind them and move onto the next series against Baltimore. It will change soon enough, but once again the Yankees go to bed the only team above .500 in the AL East.

Romine homers twice in Trenton win

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Triple-A Scranton (6-0 win over Lehigh Valley)
Greg Golson, RF, Kevin Russo, 2B & Jorge Vazquez, 1B: both 2 for 5 – Golson scored a run and whiffed … Russo scored twice … JoVa scored a run, drove in two, and whiffed
Jesus Montero, C: 3 for 5, 1 2B, 1 K – that’s his sixth three-hit game of the season already … he’s played in only 11 games!
Chris Dickerson, LF 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 E (fielding)
Justin Maxwell, CF: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 K – that’s four, yes four straight days with a homer
Jordan Parraz, DH: 0 for 4
Brandon Laird, 3B: 2 for 4, 1 2B
Ramiro Pena, SS: 1 for 4
Adam Warren, RHP: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 10-6 GB/FB – 55 of 93 pitches were strikes (59.1%) … easily the best start in the system this season, bravo Adam
Eric Wordekemper, RHP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1-2 GB/FB – 11 of 18 pitches were strikes (61.1%)

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Game 16: A-Rod’s back

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(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

After two games and three days off, Alex Rodriguez returns to the lineup tonight after dealing with some minor back/oblique stiffness. I’m actually surprised, I figured they’d give him the extra day off with the scheduled off day coming tomorrow just to be completely sure he’s healthy, but hey, I’m not complaining. The Yankees could use the offensive help to back Bartolo Colon, who is making his first big league start in like, two years. Here’s your starting lineup…

Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Swisher, RF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Andruw Jones, LF
Jorge Posada, DH
Russell Martin, C
Curtis Granderson, CF

Bartolo Colon, SP

After a brief visit to My9, the Yankees are back on YES tonight. David Cone and Ken Singleton will have the call when this one starts a little after 7pm ET. Enjoy.

Cervelli to begin rehab assignment on Thursday

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Via Bryan Hoch, Frankie Cervelli is expected to begin and official rehab assignment with High-A Tampa tomorrow. Once that happens the team has 30 days to activate him from the disabled list, though that’s almost never a problem. Cervelli has been catching in Extended Spring Training this week, and usually these guys get about two weeks worth of at-bats before coming back, if that. The end of the Gus Molina era is rapidly approaching, which is a damn shame. Anyone named Gus is okay in my book.

Positive report from Hughes’s first workout

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For anyone looking for the latest on Phil Hughes throwing a baseball, Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York has a tidbit on his first throwing session. According to Larry Rothschild, relayed through Joe Girardi, Hughes “had some life on the ball when he was long tossing.” I’m not sure exactly how one shows life during long tosses, and the PR skeptic in me thinks this is just Rothschild saying what people want to hear. He probably could have said, “It’s tough to tell anything from one long toss session,” but that’s not going to sate anyone’s hunger for updates on the situation.

If you’re a Baseball Prospectus subscriber, you can get a further glimpse into Rothschild’s personality in his Q&A with David Laurila. He comes off as a humble man, but he also clearly watches his words with the media. That only further plays into my skepticism of his report on Hughes. He also makes some general statements on how stats have affected his job, which is probably the most interesting part of the interview.

The Obligatory Brandon Wood Post

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I don’t think there’s anything less enjoyable in baseball than watching a highly touted youngster struggle, but unfortunately it comes with the territory. The Brandon Wood story is pretty well known  by now. He was a first round pick in 2003 and unmercifully annihilated the minors in 2005 (.321/.381/.667 with 53 doubles and 43 homers in 134 games), which is why Baseball America twice ranked him among the top six prospects in the game. The Angels finally cut ties with Wood yesterday, designating him for assignment almost four years to do the day after his big league debut. So … what does this have to do with the Yankees?

(AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

In case you hadn’t noticed, Eduardo Nunez hasn’t been doing much playing this season. Sure, he’s on the bench, but through the team’s first 15 games he’s appeared in one as a defensive replacement (played three whole innings) and has come on to pinch-run twice. That’s it, he’s just rotting away on the bench. And that’s fine, you don’t want to take Derek Jeter or Robinson Cano out of the lineup just to keep Nunez fresh, but it’s not really what’s best for Eduardo’s long-term development.

Nunez’s name has popped up a few trade rumors already, most notably for Cliff Lee last summer, though he’s also been linked to the Royals (for Joakim Soria) and Braves at various points as well. As a 23-year-old with true middle infield staying power and a history of making contact with six full years of team control left, it’s easy to see why he has value around the league. And that’s why he should be playing every day, not twiddling his thumbs on New York’s bench.

If the Yankees are going to make a move on Wood – which I don’t expect them too – they should do it with the intention of having him serve as the utility infielder while Nunez goes back down to Triple-A Scranton to play every day. Acquiring Brandon Wood wouldn’t necessarily be geared towards hoping he lives up to some of his potential, it would be about helping Nunez develop into the best possible whatever he may be for the Yankees, whether that’s a trade chip, utility infielder, Jeter’s successor, or something else entirely. If the Yankees really consider him a future everyday shortstop at the big league level, he should be playing more than he has.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Brandon Wood without mentioning his historic awfulness. The guy has a career .205 wOBA in 494 plate appearances. That’s a 22 OPS+. Among players with at least 400 PA through their age 26 season, that’s the second lowest OPS+ in baseball history. Only the immortal John Vukovich was worse (18 OPS+ from 1970-1974). Who knows, maybe the change of scenery will help, maybe Kevin Long will help (the two already have a relationship), who knows? This is more about Nunez’s development, Wood would just be a warm body to keep on the bench.

As I said, I don’t expect the Yankees to pursue the former Halo. A utility infielder is not a glaring need for them, but it is for some other clubs, especially those with higher waiver priority (though I bet a trade takes place first). Wood’s a legitimate middle infielder with some power in his bat, and the shine of being a former top prospect still exists to a certain extent. He’s out-of-options and will be arbitration eligible after the season (not that he’ll make much money, but still), so he offers little roster flexibility. Either way, it would behoove the Yankees to add a middle infielder to their bench so that Nunez could get some all-important playing time in the minors.