Monday, June 22, 2009

Yanks in a slide

My two cents:

Since June 9th the Yanks have had only 3 legitimate wins

Girardi still doesn't know how to manage game personnel - Aceves was dealing, should not have been pulled so soon on the eve of a day off

Sabathia will probably miss his next start opening the door for Hughes and Chamberlain to be in the rotation at the same time

Brett Tomko should be the pitcher for the HR derby at the ASG

Where are the bats?

Girardi is on very thin ice in my opinion - may not make it past the break

11 comments:

Crash said...

Here's a good question to ask...what will happen to the bullpen over the next couple of games? With CC being pulled yesterday in the 2nd, and now you have Wang and Joba back to back where in both cases you hope to get 5 innings out of them. Thankfully you have a day off today. They will have to rely on Hughes, but if CC has to miss a start, I would assume you don't want to over work Hughes in a relief role 3 days before that supposed start. And I think AJ misses a start this week too from the suspension, right? Could be a very tough week.

old professor said...

Too bad about CC having to leave the game, this may send a warning signal to the Yankees that the guy cannot continue to throw 122-130 pitches a game. Have to agree with you on the Aceves being removed. The guy was a starter and is supposed to be the long man out of the pen. 2 1/3 innings does not constitute as long relief specifically when you have a day off. Girardi may have been able to manage the Marlins in th NL East, but the AL East is a completely different animal and he is overmatched and out managed at most turns. However, he has protested Sunday's game due to a lineup stafu that the Marlin manager admits was his mistake and was embarassing.

The Braves and Mets series will be critical to Girardi's survival. He loses both series, he should lose his job and maybe Cashman should follow for the bullpen he put together.

And last but not least - (1) Damon is becoming a liability in left. He has now misplayed to flyballs that have cost the Yankees games. And for all of you Capatain Clutch fans out there - last two games ended with Jeter grounding out first into a double play and then on Sunday swinging at the first pitch and grounding out. Both times with the tying run on third.

Nice job Captain.

old professor said...

Crash, they better hope for some longevity from either Wang or Chamberlain (which neither has shown to this point) in addition if CC misses his next start that leaves either Hughes or Aceves unavailable for the pen. I do not believe Burnett will miss a start. With the off-day, which gives Girardi the ability to manipulate the rotation, Burnett could still find a slot without missing a game (he would become the #5 starter within the next two series.)

The Scooter said...

I would be shocked if they gave Girardi the boot during the season. Who would manage, Pena?

I think we are jumping the gun a little about CC missing his next start. Let's wait until we get official word.

They just aren't playing well, and yes, Jeter had a rough series. If the ankle is bothering him he should ask out of the lineup for a couple of days.

It is my understanding that if Girardi's protest is upheld, they will re-start the game in the top of the eighth with the Marlins up 6-3.

old professor said...

Scooter, I couldn't agree more regarding if Jeter is hurting he should sit until healthy. Interesting question regarding his latest approach to hitting. Normally, he works the count and tries to drive the ball. Excellent approach and could be why is average has steadily climbed and his power numbers are up this year. So, why would he pick the first pitch from the closer to swing at? Pitch was moving inside did tend to jam him a bit and the closure had control issues with the previous batter.

The team also needs to find a serious replacement for Damon. It is also becoming apparent that Swisher cannot be an every day player. His average looks like a rollercoaster ride. It goes up and then it slides downward (hmmm much like the stock market).

Nady is stuck in the minors rehabbing, they appear to be planning on using all of the available time for his rehab before making a decision. Don't be surprised to hear that he will not be able to play the outfield and needs elbow surgery. If that happens he would go on the sixty day DL.

The Nady issue along with Matsui not being able to play a full game in the outfield points out a significant weakness on the bench. They need a serviceable outfielder to spell the veterans and to show the ability to come off the bench as a pitch hitter. Maybe it is time to bring up Austin Jackson.

Your understanding of the rule regarding how the game would be played should the appeal be upheld is correct. The teams would revert to the 8th inning and play the last two innings over.

Major league baseball has not been very onpen to granting appeals on games. The last one I can remember was the pine tar game and while the rule was approapriately interpreted, MLB granted the appeal of the Royals at the expense of the Yankees. I am not confident the protest will be upheld.

The Scooter said...

Prof, after over 2,600 hits, I'm not about to tell Jeter how to hit. Maybe he figured the first pitch he saw was going to be the best one he got...I don't know. Regardless, he needs to get a hit there, but I'm not going to question his approach.

I'm ready for A-Jax too.

old professor said...

As I was perusing the minor league stats, came across some interesting information. Austin Jackson is having a pretty decent year in the minors. He is hitting .336, has one homerun, wiht 27 RBI and a slugging percentage of .443. Oddly enough, Todd Linden who also plays the outfield, and was recently sold to a Japanese team was hitting .312, had 7 homeruns and 42 RBI and a slugging percentage of .515. Yet the Yankees let him go to Japan.

And for those of us who want to see Austin Jackson, there is a slight tiny hiccup - he is not on the 40 man roster. How can your #1 prospect NOT be on the 40 man roster. This would be a clear indication that unless they move one of their current outfielders, he will not be up this year.

And this one is for Mid. Shelly Duncan, once one of the potential outfield replacements for (fill in the blank)_____ is hitting close to .300 and has 21 homeruns - clearly the most productive of the AAA outfielders in the system.

And Scooter, this one is for you. Kei Igwa is the ace of the staff at SWB. He is 6-1 with an era under 4.00.

Help for the pen could be on the way. Melancon is doing extremely well (and he is on the 40 man) he is 3-0 with 40 strikeouts in 31 innings. Sergio Mitre a strong favorite of Girardi is also doing well now that he is back from suspension. 2-0 with a 2.64 ERA. Oddly Mitre is a reliever, but they have him starting games at SWB. Oh and he is NOT on the 40 man roster.
Can anyone tell there was no game last night to comment on. Hey the good news is they didn't lose, there were no errors and the new rally killer didn't ground into a double play.

Crash said...

Don't look at the 40 man roster as a stopping point for calling anyone up right now. The way Tomko is pitching right now they could DFA him and no one would touch him. They also could trade someone to make room. Melancon is most certainly going to get another call up soon.

Crash said...

Ummmm...I have a question...WHERE THE HELL HAS THE OFFENSE GONE?!?!?

The Scooter said...

This team is getting difficult to watch.

I'm tired of Cano. I was one of his biggest supporters...thought he could be Rod Carew with more pop....but I just don't think he is ever going to put it all together for longer than a month or two at a time.

This team is starting to look like it was poorly constructed. They are playing with Four "fourth outfielders", and a DH that is just about finished.

Trade Cano and Melky for Blake Dewitt and Juan Pierre....or Maybe Cano and Melky for Mark Derossa and Travis Haffner....DO SOMETHING CASHMAN just to shake things up a little.

Someone's head needs to roll....Kevin Long?

old professor said...

There is a changing of the guard in the American League. Yankees are heading south quickly and the Red Sox are becoming the dominant team. Common excuse for the Yankees, which is growing old, is they haven't seen pitcher _____ (fill in the blank) before and and couldn't figure him out. Doesn't seem to be the issue with the Red Sox who hit based on the situation and do what it takes to win. (That includes sitting David Ortiz for a few games and then moving him to sixth in the batting order).

The Yankees are an old team and are beginning to show their age. Matsui is done, Damon is a liability defensively and offensively he is a speed guy (or use to be) that doesn't know how to bunt or move people along. Conversely, the Red Sox have pretty much built from within - Pedroia, Lowry, Ellsbury Papelbon, Bucholtz, need I go on. They also seem to have a system stocked with young players who when called up can perform. Yankees answer to their problems - no one is major league ready.

Wang did not pitch that poorly - gave up three runs over 5 innings (only 62 pitches - not going to build arm strength when he is pulled after 62 pitches).

Yankees felt that by rebuilding the rotation they could win with the aging tired lineup. Wrong.

Cashman and Girardi both need to go and now.

And in a side note, MLB once again ignores its own rules and denies the Yankee protest of the Marlins game.

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