Archives for 2013

When the Grandy-Man Returns

May 13, 2013 by Matt Warden 31 Comments

The return of Curtis Granderson is imminent. The forearm has apparently healed well. His bat seems to be rounding into form (.412/.412/.588, 185 wRC+ during his time with AAA). This is great news. It also puts Joe Girardi in a bit of quandary in terms of lineups. He’ll have to figure out how to delegate playing time to Granderson, Brett Gardner, Vernon Wells, and Ichiro Suzuki. Although Ben Francisco is technically still in the mix at this juncture, I’d have to assume his days are numbered as a Yankee barring something unforeseen.

Brennan Boesch hasn’t been particularly effective through a limited number of opportunities thus far (.205/.244/.436, 77 wRC+), and he was sent down this afternoon in favor of another pitcher. That is not a surprise. He was used sparingly as a platoon option, which was fine. Exactly as it should be.

Here’s how Gardner, Wells, and Ichiro have fared so far:

Player	PA	HR	BB%	K%	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+
Gardner	158	3	8.9%	20.3%	.314	.259	.329	.403	.321	98
Wells	143	9	7.0%	13.3%	.286	.295	.343	.530	.374	135
Ichiro	129	2	6.2%	10.9%	.282	.263	.307	.364	.286	74

I suspect Girardi is going to be forced into keeping Wells in the lineup, whether as an outfielder or DH, as long as his bat is above-average. This isn’t a bad thing by any means as long as he’s productive. Of the three outfielders listed above, he’s also the only who will really hit for any power.

As far as Gardner and Suzuki are concerned, I basically view them as the same guy. Neither are slouches defensively. Both are quick around the bases (though Ichiro may have the better base stealing instincts). Offensively, they both will look to get on base via the single (usually of the slap variety) the majority of the time. Ichiro will likely maintain the higher batting average, while Gardner will take a few more walks and allow a few more strike outs. One difference between the two, however, is that Ichiro has a much more noticeable split.

If I were the manager I would probably start Wells in left, have Gardner remain in center, and place Granderson in right (which would mitigate bad defensive routes). This would also place power bats in both OF corner slots while allowing Gardner to maximize his defensive value. Girardi could then substitute Ichiro into the game in the later innings as a defensive upgrade in right when necessary. I suppose the caveat here would be that the occasional platoon would still be utilized if specific matchups warranted it or the occasional off day was needed for a particular guy.

Should Girardi elect to keep Granderson in center, then I suppose I would shift Gardner to left where has has plenty of experience, and push Vernon to right. For what it’s worth, Granderson has been rehabbing at all three outfield positions apparently, so hopefully that’s a precursor to him playing a fair amount of games at the corners despite it being contrary to Girardi’s statements on the matter.

Game 38: Let’s Split Two

May 13, 2013 by Mike 317 Comments

The Yankees and Indians are playing a traditional single-admission doubleheader today, which means Game Two will start not long after Game One ended. The starting pitchers get enough time to warm up, that’s basically it. New York was shutout by Justin Masterson in the first game, and I guess the good news is they are 3-0 following shutout losses so far this season. They need a win this afternoon to leave Cleveland with a split. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Trevor Bauer, who is making the spot start as the Tribe’s 26th man for doubleheader…

CF Brett Gardner
3B Jayson Nix
DH Robinson Cano
LF Vernon Wells
1B Lyle Overbay
RF Ben Francisco
2B Corban Joseph
SS Alberto Gonzalez
C Austin Romine

And on the mound is the former Washington Wild Thing, left-hander Vidal Nuno. This will be his first career big league start, first game action in two weeks, and first start in three weeks.

This game is scheduled to start … soon. It was tentatively set for 3:35pm ET, but it’ll start before that. You can watch on YES. Enjoy.

Roster Update: The Yankees have indeed recalled right-hander Brett Marshall between games. Brennan Boesch was optioned to Triple-A to clear a roster spot. Hard not to think that means Curtis Granderson will be activated off the DL tomorrow.

2013 Draft: Tom Windle

May 13, 2013 by Mike 3 Comments

The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Tom Windle | LHP

Background
A Minnesota kid who turned down the White Sox as 28th round pick in 2010, Windle pitched to a 2.41 ERA with 72/28 K/BB in 82 mostly relief innings for the University of Minnesota during his first two years on campus. He shined as a starter in the Cape Cod League last summer, and this spring he has 1.76 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 23 walks in 81.2 innings as a starter for the Gophers. Windle threw the school’s first nine-inning no-hitter back in March.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 lbs., Windle is a three-pitch left-hander with varying reports on his secondary stuff. His fastball sits in the 88-93 mph range as a starter and closer to 94-95 mph out of the bullpen. Depending on the day, his low-80s slider and low-80s changeup will look like out pitches or inconsistent works in progress. Windle has athleticism but he doesn’t use his lower half well, plus his delivery has some recoil. His future could lie in the bullpen even though his command is solid. There are plenty more videos on YouTube.

Miscellany
Baseball America and Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Windle as the 46th and 60th best prospect in their draft in their latest rankings, respectively. Even though he doesn’t have much (if any) physical projection remaining, Windle offers quite a bit of upside if he can iron out his offspeed pitches and pair both with his fastball on an every-start basis. The fallback option is a lefty reliever who might be something more than a specialist because of the changeup. The Yankees have made it clear they value strong performance on the Cape, the premium wood bat collegiate league, so Windle is very likely on their radar.

Game 37: Let’s Play Two*

May 13, 2013 by Mike 388 Comments

Pretty sure I will never not use this photo for Yankees-Indians. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

* Obligatory headline is obligatory.

The Yankees are in Cleveland for a quick one-day, two-game visit with the Indians. Today was supposed to be an off-day for the club, but they need to make up those two rained out games from last month. It stinks losing an off-day, but it’s better to get these games out of the way now rather than later in the summer, once it heats up and giving guys rest is a little more important. Here’s the lineup that will face low-slot right-hander Justin Masterson…

CF Brett Gardner
LF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Robinson Cano
DH Travis Hafner
RF Brennan Boesch
3B Chris Nelson
1B Corban Joseph — fourth career game at first, all this year
C Chris Stewart
SS Alberto Gonzalez

And on the mound is the 2010 Double-A Eastern League All-Star, right-hander David Phelps.

This game, the first of the doubleheader, is scheduled to start at 12:05pm ET. You can watch on YES. Enjoy.

Roster Update: Joseph is officially up with the team as the 26th man for the doubleheader. By rule, he must go back to Triple-A Scranton immediately following the two games. Brett Marshall is supposedly on standby at the team hotel in case they need to add a pitcher between games.

Fan Confidence Poll: May 13th, 2013

May 13, 2013 by Mike 45 Comments

Record Last Week: 5-1 (24 RS, 15 RA)
Season Record: 23-13 (157 RS, 138 RA, 20-16 pythag. record), 1.0 games up in AL East
Opponents This Week: @ Indians (doubleheader, Mon.), vs. Mariners (three games, Tues. to Thurs.), vs. Blue Jays (three games, Fri. to Sun.)

Yankees finish off sweep in KC with 4-2 win

May 12, 2013 by Mike 93 Comments

Mariano Rivera suffered a season-ending knee injury when the Yankees visited Kansas City last May, but this May he helped the team finish off a three-game sweep of the Royals. Sunday afternoon’s 4-2 win was New York’s fifth straight victory and 22nd in the last 31 games.

#HIROKstar
Coming into Sunday’s start, six of the eleven runs Hiroki Kuroda had allowed this season came in the first inning. He following that script against the Royals, allowing a first inning run on a double, a bunt, and a sacrifice fly, but after that he was money. Kuroda retired the next 12 and 17 of the next 19 batters he faced before running into some problems in the eighth. Kansas City scored their second and only other run on a double and an RBI ground out in that inning.

Kuroda allowed the two runs in 7.2 innings, surrendering just six hits and one walk. He struck out only one batter and got just a dozen ground ball outs compared to ten in the air, so this one probably made you grimace if you live and die by DiPS Theory. It was pretty obvious Kuroda was sharp despite the general lack of strikeouts and ground balls, so don’t sweat the small stuff. The Yankees got another strong performance from their rotation, and that’s all that matters.

Back-to-Back
The Yankees scored all the runs they would need in the third inning, when Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells used the pink Mother’s Day bats to whack back-to-back homers off right-hander Ervin Santana. Cano’s was a bit of a golf shot — he had to go down and get a pitch that came in around his knees. Chris Stewart singled two batters prior, so that was a two-run shot. Wells jumped all over a fastball for a rocket solo homer down the line.

The fourth run was a much-appreciated insurance run, which was made possible by Brett Gardner’s leadoff double. Wells brought him home with a two-out single to left. Verndog has had himself one hell of a road trip, going 3-for-4 with the homer in this game and 9-for-25 (.360) with three homers in the six games so far. To think, I said he was in a slump less than one week ago. Timing, I has it.

Leftovers
About the only negative of this game was the (completely necessary) use of David Robertson and Mariano Rivera. Both have pitched in four of the last five games, meaning they might not be available at all during Monday’s doubleheader. Robertson did only throw two pitches on Sunday though, so maybe Joe Girardi will be willing to squeeze an inning out of him on Monday if needed. Either way, the duo closed the door after Kuroda.

The wrap-around 9-1-2-3 part of the lineup went a combined 8-for-15 (.533) on the afternoon while the other five lineup spots went 1-for-20 all together. Cano and Stewart had two knocks apiece while Wells chipped in a stolen base for good measure. He advanced to third on the play when the throw got away from the infielder. He was pretty close to a one-man wrecking crew this weekend.

Final Note: Kuroda got into a bit of an argument with home plate ump Laz Diaz while exiting the game. There were some goofy ball/strike calls during his final at-bat of the afternoon, and he gestured towards the ump on his way off the field. Diaz barked back, but that was it. No ejections or anything. This is only notable because I can’t ever remember Kuroda getting into it with an ump. He’s very mild-mannered.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGaphs some other numbers, and ESPN the updated standings. The division lead is up to two games in the loss column.

Source: FanGraphs

Up Next
The Yankees are off to Cleveland for that quick doubleheader against the Indians to make up last month’s rain outs. The scheduling is pretty tight — game one is set for 12:05pm ET (David Phelps vs. Justin Masterson), then game two will follow at 3:35pm ET (Vidal Nuno vs. Trevor Bauer) — so they won’t have to hang around very long before returning home Tuesday.

Ramirez whiffs nine in Thunder loss

May 12, 2013 by Mike 22 Comments

With IF Alberto Gonzalez joining the big league team, IF Reggie Corona has been promoted from Double-A Trenton to Triple-A Scranton to fill the team’s shortstop vacancy according to Josh Norris. Meanwhile, LHP Nik Turley will get bumped up to Triple-A Scranton for tomorrow’s start and tomorrow’s start only, says Norris. RHP Brett Marshall will be with the big league team in case they need to add a pitcher between doubleheader games.

Triple-A Scranton (7-6 win over Gwinnett)

RF Curtis Granderson: 3-5, 1 R, 1 K — had a little more on him earlier
LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K
3B David Adams: 1-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — only two more days until he’s a big leaguer
1B Dan Johnson: 1-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB — still hitting just .198/.366/.327 on the year
CF Melky Mesa: 1-4, 2 K
RHP Mark Montgomery: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1/2 GB/FB — 30 of 50 pitches were strikes

[Read more…]