River Avenue Blues

Game 18: In which the Yanks try to avoid being swept

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Pettitte vs MannyThe first two games of this series hardly went according to plan for the Yanks. Joba Chamberlain battled his control, Mariano Rivera blew the save in the ninth and the team went on to lose in extras during game one. AJ Burnett came out of the gate yesterday like his hair was on fire, but he couldn’t hold a six run lead the and Yanks suffered another loss in one the ugliest games I’ve ever seen. Today, the Yanks turn to their grizzled vet to stop the bleeding.

Andy Pettitte has surprisingly been the team’s best starter in the early going, going at least seven innings while allowing no more than three runs in all three of his starts this year. However since returning to the Yanks in 2007, Pettitte’s been far from good against the Red Sox. In nine starts (and one relief appearance) , Pettitte is 3-3 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. Vintage Pettitte would be a welcome sight tonight.

A loss is a loss is a loss, but losses to the Red Sox always get portrayed as if the world is about to end. It’s just April people, and the Yanks were right there with them in the late innings of both games, and that’s without their best player, one of their top three pitches, best non-Mo reliever, and an everyday corner outfielder. They’ll be just fine.

The lineup:

Gardner, CF – seriously, I’ve had enough … Mike Cameron please
Jeter, SS
Teixeira, 1B
Swisher, LF
Cano, 2B – twelve game hit streak
Posada, C
Matsui, DH
Melky, RF
Berroa, 3B

And on the mound, Andy Pettitte.

Notes: Johnny Damon is out with a sore everything after running into the Monstah yesterday … Boston called up Mike Bowden (their best pitching prospect) and will have him piggyback with Justin Masterson tonight because their pen is taxed … despite all the work, the Yanks’ pen is in good shape, with Mark Melancon, David Robertson, Steven Jackson, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and Mariano Rivera all available tonight … the game is on ESPN tonight, so Joe Morgan, Jon Miller and Steve Phillips will be in the booth while Peter Gammons works the sidelines … oh joy.

Photo Credit: Charles Krupa, AP

The Robinson Cano Appreciation thread

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For Robinson Cano, April 2008 was a month to forget. Surrounded by lofty expectations, Cano hit .151/.211/.236 with two home runs and seven RBIs. While he eventually heated up during the summer, he never really recovered and had an off year for him.

Cano’s April last year set the tone for his season though in more ways than just for rate stats. In 114 plate appearances, he drew just seven walks and struck out 14 times. He managed five extra-base hits — three doubles to complement those home runs — and scored just six runs.

Night and day, then, is how I would describe the difference between 2008 and 2009. This April, Cano is off to a blazingly hot start. In 78 plate appearances, he is hitting .366/.410/.634 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. He has struck out six times and walked six times, has nine extra-base hits and has crossed the plate 15 times. He leads the Yankees in home runs, RBIs, batting average and runs scored and is second only to Nick Swisher in OBP and slugging.

No one really knows what the future holds for Robinson Cano. At age 26, he is nearing his peak offensive years, and he has looked like a far superior hitter than he did for much of last year. He’s staying back on the ball and has displayed a better strike zone recognition this year than at any point in his career.

On a personal level, I love it. Watching Cano hit has always been a pleasure, and he quickly emerged as a favorite of mine when he arrived in 2005. He’s a confident, young player who has made an impact on the Yankees, and watching him struggle last year was tough. Here’s to a solid 2009 for Cano. His April could hardly be better, and his bat makes the Yanks immeasurably better.

Reports: Hughes to start Tuesday

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At this point, any official announcement is simply a formality, but two stories in New York papers say that Phil Hughes will be Tuesday’s starter in place of the injured Chien-Ming wang. Both Tyler Kepner and Kat O’Brien are reporting that the Yanks’ 22-year-old right-hander will take the hill against the Tigers.

Hughes has had his ups and downs in pinstripes and has impressed the Yankee brass this year. On the season for AAA, Hughes has made three starts. In 19.1 innings, he is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA. He has allowed 17 hits and has walked 3 while striking out 19. Two years ago, injuries forced Hughes into the Yankee rotation on April 26 for the team’s 20th game of the season. This year, Hughes will make his debut two calendar days later, but it will be the Yanks’ 20th game of the season. The more things change…

A behind-the-scenes chess game

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Being a General Manager is easy, right? All one has to do is figure out who the best players are, what they’re worth and actually sign them. It all sounds so simple, but of course, it can never be that easy. Nothing is more indicative of the behind-the-scenes work that goes on than the past off-season when Brian Cashman went from free agent to free agent. While it’s easy to identify those who are the best free agents, it’s not always easy to discern what the 29 other teams are going to do. We joke that a GM can’t read the future, but part of the job is akin to mind-reading.

Last week, Brian Cashman and Peter Gammons sat down at Southern Connecticut State University to talk about the Yankees and the Business of Baseball. Andrew Perna, the deputy editor of RealGM.com, filed a report from the talk. At it, Cashman and Gammons parried on the Yanks’ stealth signing of Mark Teixeira. Perna tells the tale of Brian Cashman’s attempts to outmaneuver other teams all while convincing his owners of the right moves to make. Good stuff to ponder for a Sunday afternoon.

Where have you gone, Colter Bean?

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Colter BeanRemember Colter Bean?

The Yankees signed the righty reliever as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Alabama back in 2000, and he proceeded to annilate the minor leagues over the next 8+ seasons. He struck out 719 batters and allowed just 471 hits in 590 IP thanks to his quirky sidearm delivery, although he struggled in three cups of coffee with the Yanks. Many statheads clamored for him to be called up at a time when the Yanks’ bullpen was struggling, and there was even a website dedicated to the cause. Alas, Colter’s career came to end after 2008, and he’s since moved on to bigger and better things.

Nowadays, Bean is a part owner and instructor at the Bases Loaded Training Facility in Birmingham, Alabama.  The facility is over 20,000 square feet and has four full fields with an indoor training area, and has about 10,000 participants that take lessons, play in tournaments, the whole nine. Bases Loaded was founded by Jeff Segar, another ex-Yankee farmhand drafted in 2000, and it continues to expand.

Bean may or may not have received a fair shot at the big leagues, but most sidearming righties tend to dominate the minors before getting exposed in the big leagues. Very few manage to have a significant Major League career, but it looks like Colter found something to keep himself occupied after his playing days were over.

(h/t RABer Eric Sanlnocencio)

Photo Credit: FCB

The sensitive side of Randy Levine

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For the last week, the Yankees have been slammed by the press over the empty, high-priced seats at Yankee Stadium. All of the city’s papers and sports pundits have been talking about it, and even I got to appear on TV to discuss it.

But when the head of Major League Soccer raised the issue on Friday, well, Randy Levine finally lost it. The Yanks’ team president unleashed his inner beast on MLS, and I have to wonder if Levine would have been better off just keeping quiet.

Here’s how it started: On Thursday, Don Garber, MLS commissioner, said, “It’s incomprehensible that you watch a game, and there will be front-row seats empty.”

On Friday, when informed of the soccer head’s barb, Levine went on some rant. “Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke,” Levine said to the AP. “We draw more people in a year than his entire league does in a year. If he ever gets Major League Soccer into the same time zone as the Yankees, we might take him seriously. Hey Don, worry about Beckham, not the Yankees. Even he wants out of your league.”

Later int he day, Garber defended his remarks. “The Yankees are one of the world’s strongest sports brands and the context of my comments about a few empty seats at Yankee Stadium was to illustrate the economic challenges we are all facing,” he said in a statement. Garber shouldn’t have backtracked.

With this silly spat, Levine hasn’t exactly endeared himself to a Yankee fanbase already skeptical of his role in the organization. Ross at New Stadium Insider called Levine’s attack classless and noted that it makes the Yanks look bad. His co-writer there noted the continued disconnect between the Yankee Front Office and fan perceptions of the team.

The Yankees are treading on dangerous ground right now. While a lot of fans have no problems with the high ticket prices, a good number feel slighted and scorned by the Yankee Front Office. Levine is practically spitting in those fans’ collective faces here. It would do him wonders to step back for a few days and listen to Bud Selig. Humility has never done anyone wrong.

An A-Rodian ‘What If?’

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No one elicits more back-and-forth in the Boston/New York debate that A-Rod. During the winter of 2003-2004, A-Rod was thrust into the spotlight when he was nearly traded to Boston and then was actually acquired by the Yanks. Since then, A-Rod has, rather undeservedly, come to embody the last five seasons’ worth of futile (by their standards) seasons for the Yanks. With the Yanks up in Beantown for a three-game set, Gordon Edes decided to play the “What If?” game with A-Rod. What if, he asks, A-Rod had actually landed with the Red Sox?

His answer is particularly absurd. Apparently, had A-Rod and Magglio landed in Boston in 2004, replacing Manny and Nomar Garciaparra, life would have turned out differently. The Red Sox would have won everything, and A-Rod would be the toast of Boston. The Sox would still have Hanley Ramirez, and the Fenway Faithful would have cheered A-Rod this Opening Day following Sports Illustrated’s PED revelations.

Edes’ best line though is this about A-Rod’s potential 2008 press conference :

After the press conference in which A-Rod tearfully spoke of how sorry he was and vowed that for every home run he would hit, he would make a donation to the Taylor Hooton fund, Red Sox fans gave him a standing ovation on opening day.

Somehow, by landing in Boston, A-Rod would have been able to put away his personal tendency to insert his foot into his mouth, and he would have been something more than aloof, socially-awkward superstar. He’d be an entirely different person. “A-Rod basked in the attention,” Edes writes, “but surrounded by outsized personalities like Ortiz and Damon, Pedro Martinez and Schilling, there was plenty to go around.”

Edes’ piece is an exercise in absurdity. A-Rod will be A-Rod wherever he goes. He’ll be the highest paid player of the game and among the top performers. He’ll be an offensive force and a tabloid sensation. He’ll be the guy who should just stop talking sometimes and the whipping boy for everyone else. In Boston, in New York, in Texas, it’s always A-Rod, and no destination five years ago would have changed that.