Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Quick Hits

Considering how poor A-Rod, Tex, and the replacements have been (Granderson, the now departed Winn, Thames, and Johnson) - 2nd place in the AL East isn't terrible.

With 9 of the next 12 against the O's and the Stros - seeing the team back in first is not that much of a stretch.

Disrespect: In my local paper and in other media circles like ESPN and MLB they're all a buzz about the resurgent Bo Sox and how that's going to be good for baseball - without ever mentioning the Toronot Jays. I don't know if they'll fade or not, but a city that houses 5 million is good for the game as well. I hope they can stay in it.

We're going to chalk this up in the I told you so column: Cano making a bid for this year's MVP.

Pettitte: Pacing to win 20 games for a third time - a very rare accomplishment in modern day baseball. HOF bound?

Mets - I guess with 57 back on the boards I have to give props to the Mets for sweeping the Phils last week - but yet, still managing to find themselves tied for last with the Marlins and the Nats, with a de-fanged Braves in 1st. Great job.

Don't Call It a Comeback: Just when I was getting ready to declare Brackman a bust at 0-3 with a 15 ERA, the guy goes on to win 3 straight, lowering his ERA to 5, giving up 1 run the last 12 innings pitched. Maybe there's a future for this guy yet.
------------

I hate the deal(s):
that's what I said then, that's what I'm still saying now. And I know it has been covered at length already, but I don't care. Letting Damon go (49 games, .380 obp), Matsui 50 games, .229 7 HRs), Austin Jackson (48 games, .330 avg.) and Phil Coke (25 appearances, 3.8 ERA and 3-0) go in favor of getting Granderson, Nick Johnson, and Thames was a mistake in my opine. Given how weak the bull pen is, it may come back to haunt the Yanks down the stretch in October.

11 comments:

old professor said...

I couldn't agree with you more regarding the off-season moves. Damon is still a good offensive threat with some diminished defensive skills. I do find it hard to believe that Matsui is hitting only .229 as you have posted. The only trade that seems to have been equal in parts is the Vasquez for Melky piece.

Don't jump on the Pettitte bandwagon just yet. Last year Andy also had an outstanding start - I believe he may have started 8-2 and had a mediocre second half. He is pitching extremely well and IF it continues, he could be in the runniing for post season awards.

Speaking of excellent first half - Jiminez for the Rockies is now 10-1. Yikes.

Rays coming back to earth somewhat. Could be an interesting next week or so. As for the Red Sox they are going through a hot streak just as most teams do. They will also cool off. The east will eventually come down to the the Yankees, Sox and Rays with the Blue Jays playing spoiler. The Blue Jays pitching has been excellent and their hitting is among the leagues best - Wells has found his stroke again.

old professor said...

Has Vasquez turned the corner? The answer to that may be a few more starts off, but there have been some very positive signs regarding the right hander.

He gave up only four hits and one earned run and pitched out of a significant jam in the seventh and appeared to be economical with his pitches. True he was facing the Birds, but it still goes in as a strong outting and a win.

Looks llike Posada returns today and Miranda will go down. Too bad the kid has some pop, but seemed to be overmatched against major league pitching.

old professor said...

This post has nothing to do with the Yankees. Had the opportunity to watch the last inning of the Tigers game against the Indians on MLB. What a travesty. Kid pitches his heart out and should have gotten credit for a perfect game. Instead, the umpire blows the call and it wasn't even a close play. Goes into the book as a one hit shutout. This cries for instant replay. It doesn't take a mental giant to come to the conclusion that as long as you relay on human nature, there are going to be bad calls. Joyce is a good ump, but the call was awful and there is no way with the angle he had that he should have blown that call.

An easy solution - put an ear piece in the crew chiefs ear. Have an ump in one of the media booths. If the play is botched he sends a call down overturning the call. No wasted time and no bad calls any more.

Crash said...

That call by Joyce was definitely wrong, but this is what baseball wanted so everybody has to live with it.

Crash said...

So was the Yankee offense putrid this weekend or was the Jays starting pitching that good?

They had a couple of opportunities to win the game on Saturday but couldn't come through when it mattered. Thankfully the Yankees have Baltimore and Houston and should be able to take both of those series.

Tonight is the MLB draft, Yankees have the 32nd, 82nd, 112th, and 145th pick for the first 4 rounds. They do not have any comp picks. Picking that late you just kind of have to see who falls to you. I'm sure they have some targets but I haven't seen too much about them.

old professor said...

Crash it was a combination of the Yankees offense being bad and the Jays pitching. Texeira proved that his april problems are continuing to manifest themselves in June. He also proved he cannot pick up a breaking ball or off speed pitch.

The only positive things from this weekend can be the Yankee pitching. Pettitte pitched extremely well. Vasquez pitched even better. Chamberlain pitched well one night and mediocre the next.

Baltimore and Houston give the Yanks time to make up some room. Had they swept the jays, they would be in first place today.

Gaudin has to go and a more relilable arm has to be found.

As for the draft, the Nationals are set to pick Harper - he was the sixteen year old who made the cover of SI last year. He is seventeen and has been playing college ball somewhere in Nevada and apparently can hit a ton and has a strong arm along with speed.

That does not necessarily mean much. The Yankees number 1 a few years ago C.J. Henry was thought to be a great five tool prospect - He was traded for Abreu hit .222 in the minors and has since retired back to Alabama to live in a trailer.

old professor said...

Not overly enthused with the Yankees draft pick. A 17 year old Shortstop from Irondequoit doesn't bring a smile to ones face. HS baseball in the Rochester area is a very very short season and many of the teams in the area don't put their best athletes on the baseball diamond - they put them on the lacrosse field and in Irondequoit's case that is very true. Lacrosse is the #1 sport at the school and there have been numberous section titles for the school. Baseball is an afterthought.

There were several quality pitchers available when the Yankees made their selection.

I was surprised to see the Yankees farm system ranks as low as 22 among the major league teams while the Red Sox rank #5. This pick is not going to bolster the Yankees' ranking at all.

Crash said...

The Yankees were asleep at the wheel for that top pick...the kid was rated 168 of 200...they probably could have waited until their 3rd round pick to get him.
Cashmen said they would take the best player on the board when it came to their pick...hard to believe that all 167 players rated above this kid were off the board prior to their pick at 32. There were a couple of good pitchers available.

I think the steal of the draft is the pitcher the Cubs took, Hayden Simpson. Though much like the Yankees he wasn't on any other teams board so why waste a first round pick on him. He would have been there at round 2, 3, or even 4 (he was ranked as the 191st pitcher on the board). They are comparing him to Lincecum. His numbers in college would support the comparison.

Now on the field with club...Old Prof I agree Vazquez and Pettitte pitched real well. Vazquez has looked more like the guy from the Braves recently, pitching well in 4 of his last 5 starts. He's starting to get wins, lower the ERA and is arguably pitching better than CC or AJ at the moment. Think Tex needs a couple days off. Put Swisher at 1B, and let Russo play the OF. Give him time to get his head clear.

old professor said...

It will be interestingto see who the Yankees take today. The philosophy of taking the best athlete available did not apply to their number one pick. Hopefully they actually pick up some talent today.

Crash said...

It was interesting to hear that the first rounder projects better as a CF than at his natural position (2B or SS...I forget which one). The general census I'm hearing is that the kid is a raw athlete. This isn't dissimilar to what happened to the Upton brothers. Raw athletes played IF positions, moved to OF. If the Yankees come anywhere near the talent level of the Upton brothers with that pick it's a huge win. I don't think he ever sees the big leagues...at least as a Yankee.

57 said...

Strasburg debut tonight. Curt Shilling says that he telegraphs his pitches.

Support the Troops