The one that got away!
Yankees fail to bury Red Sox in 4-game split

There were no winners and no real losers. The Boston Red Sox came into this weekend’s wrap around series at Yankee Stadium trailing the New York Yankees by six games. They left the Bronx after Monday’s game trailing by the same six game margin by virtue of a four game split. The Yankees, on the other hand, fared a little better. Although not able to gain ground on the Red Sox they did pull further ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are in action tonight against the Detroit Tigers. A win would pull the Rays within a 1-1/2 games of the division leaders and a loss would put them 2-1/2 games behind.

Sox starter Jon Lester was absolutely dominating in the early and middle innings of the contest. He didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning. He went seven innings, surrendering only four hits and no runs while striking out six and walking three. He threw 99 pitches before turning the ball over to reliever Daniel Bard in the eighth inning.

Phil Hughes pitched a doozy himself. Even though he wasn’t quite as dominant as Lester Hughes threw six strong innings and only allowed two runs, all in the second inning, on six hits. He struck out three and walked one in the loss.

The pitchers were the story of the day, but the story of the weekend was the Yankees failure to take advantage of playing this series at home. If the Yankees had won the series or had swept the Sox they could’ve taken a commanding eight to nine game lead in the division race. As it is Boston remained six games behind the Yankees and depending upon what the Rays do are within striking distance of the wild card slot.

The Red Sox took the lead in the game in the second on a throwing error by catcher Jorge Posada. LF Ryan Kadish hit a one out single to right and then stole second to set himself up into scoring position. Posada threw the ball wide of the bag and into the outfield. Kadish popped up and took third. He scored the first run on 2B Bill Hall’s infield hit to shortstop. CF Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a single to shallow center field allowing Hall to go to third. Hall scored on RF J.D. Drew’s grounder to Robinson Cano at second. Hughes got catcher Victor Martinez to ground out to end the inning.

Lester kept the Yankees off balance by mixing his pitches all afternoon. The Bombers best chance came in the bottom of the seventh when Posada led off with a single. DH Marcus Thames doubled to deep right, narrowly missing a game tying home run, but the slow-footed Posada could only make it to third. Lester then hit LF Austin Kearns to load the bases with no one out. Boston manager Terry Francona kept Lester in the game to face CF Curtis Granderson and Lester rewarded Francona by striking Granderson out on three pitches out of the strike zone.

Francona made a pitching change bringing in the hard throwing Daniel Bard to face SS Derek Jeter and RF Nick Swisher. Bard struck both of the Yankee hitters out leaving the bases full of Yankees and nothing to show for it.

The Yankee had one more shot at winning the game in the bottom of the eighth when 1B Mark Teixeira led off with a long solo shot into the second deck in right field off Bard. 3B Alex Rodriguez followed with a single and he was replaced on the bases by the speedy Brett Gardner. Gardner moved to second on a ground out by Cano. Posada walked, but neither runner advanced as pinch hitter Lance Berkman popped out to left. Berkman ran off the field to a chorus of boos.

At this point Francona went to his stopper Jonathan Papelbon to record the final out of the inning. He did so on one pitch as Kearns swung at the first pitch and grounded out to second.

Papelbon returned in the ninth to close out the game. He struck out Granderson, Swisher and Teixeira to put the final stamp on an afternoon of terrific pitching.

"Give them credit because they made the big pitch when they needed to," Teixeira told reporters after the game. "It was kind of a bend but we don't break attitude for them today, and we just couldn't come up with the big hit."

Manager Joe Girardi said the Yankees had their chances to score, but the Sox bullpen kept the Yankees at bay.

"We missed a lot of opportunities in the last three innings," Girardi said to the media. "We had some chances to score some runs. Obviously they have a good back end of the bullpen, but we had our shots."

Hopefully for the Yankees they won’t look back on this series as the season winds down to wonder what if? The next meeting between the two clubs won’t be until September 24, and they might be the most important games of all.

"We know that there's still a lot of baseball and we have to continue to try and win series," Girardi stated. "I'm going to say it again and you probably get tired of hearing it. No one said it was going to be easy."

The Yankees take their show on the road as they fly to Texas to take on the Rangers in a 2-game series in Arlington before moving onto Kansas City to face the Royals in a 4-game set. The Red Sox head to Toronto to play three against the always tough Blue Jays, and then follow the Yankees down to Texas to face the Rangers in a 3-game series.

© 2010 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com.
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TIME TO GO TO WORK
With off season moves completed Yankees focus on 2010

The “Hot Stove” has officially been turned off as pitchers and catchers officially reported to the New York Yankees’ spring training facilities in Tampa, Florida. Barring any last minute additions or trades the 2010 Yankees’ squad has been set. Gone are Johnny Damon (free agent – signed Detroit Tigers), Chien-Ming Wang (not resigned – signed by Washington Nationals), Melky Cabrera (traded to Atlanta Braves) and Hideki Matsui (not resigned – signed by Los Angeles Angels) from the 2009 championship squad. In the off season the Yankees traded for OF Curtis Granderson (Detroit Tigers), signed DH/1B Nick Johnson (Florida Marlins), traded for SP Javier Vazquez (Atlanta Braves) and signed OF Randy Winn (San Francisco Giants).

Adding Granderson to the outfield corps was an instant boost in defense, but he’ll also be judged at the plate where Johnny Damon excelled batting either in front of or behind Derek Jeter. Last year Damon hit behind Jeter and delivered. His numbers were .282/82/24 for average, RBI and home runs. He also had .365 on base percentage. Damon was also very instrumental in the Yankees winning their first World Series championship in nine years, as he batted .364 and had an on base percentage of .440.

Damon also had the single highlight moment in the World Series. In Game 4, with the score tied 4-4 in the top of the ninth inning and Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge on the mound Damon stole second, popped up and outran 3B Pedro Feliz (who was covering second on a defensive shift put on for batter Mark Teixeira) to an unprotected third base. The move seemed to unhinge Lidge who hit Teixeira allowing Alex Rodriguez to come to the plate. A-Rod delivered a 2-out double to left field scoring Damon and putting Teixeira at third. Catcher Jorge Posada smacked a 2-run single to left, which doomed the Phillies to their fate. Instead of possibly tying the Series at 2 games apiece the Yankees took a commanding 3-1 lead, and ultimately the Series in six games.

On Granderson’s side of the ledger he is only 28 (Damon is 36) and he is defensively head and shoulders above Damon in this stretch of Damon’s career. Granderson hits for power. Last season he knocked out 30 home runs and drove in 71. Of concern is his .327 OBP, which was lower than Damon’s. His batting average was 33 points lower as well. However, throw out Granderson’s overall numbers for last year and he is offensively on par with Damon in all the pertinent categories.

The one move that has everyone scratching their heads is not resigning World Series MVP Hideki Matsui to a one-year contract. Matsui wanted to come back to the Yankees, and it was reported he would’ve taken a one-year deal, around $7 million to make it happen. Nonetheless, the Yankees jettisoned the man affectionately known as “Godzilla” and signed ex-Yankee Nick Johnson to a one-year deal for nearly the same money.

In the six years Matsui played in New York he averaged a .292 BA. He averaged 23.3 HR per year, and that’s including an injury shortened 2008 season when he only hit nine round trippers. Matsui also nearly averaged 100 RBI per year. That’s a lot of firepower to let walk away. The liability with Matsui is his knees, which have both been surgically repaired. The injuries have basically relegated Matsui to a DH role.

Johnson, on the other hand, can play first base where he has a career .992 fielding percentage. Johnson also has a better on base percentage than Matsui, and a comparable slugging percentage. Where Johnson lags is in the power numbers. He has played two more seasons than Matsui and has 51 less home runs. He has also plated 218 less runs. It will be interesting to see where manager Joe Girardi places Johnson in the Yankee lineup in order to effectively use him.

Next on the list is Javier Vazquez, who returns to the Bronx after being traded away following the 2004 season. Vazquez was part of a three team trade, which sent OF Melky Cabrera to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Vazquez.

Vazquez had a mixed season in his one and only year with the Yankees. In the first half of the campaign Vazquez went 9-5 with an ERA of 3.42 (as of June 29). Vazquez’s performance earned him his first and only all-star appearance. After July 1 Vazquez developed shoulder problems and his ERA averaged 6.78 for the remainder of the year.

In the 2004 playoffs Vazquez was a mess. He gave up 12 earned runs in 11.1 innings earning Vazquez a one-way ticket out of town via trade.

Vazquez enters the 2010 season hoping to build upon the best overall season of his career. Last year Vazquez pitched to a 15-10 record. He attained career bests in win percentage (.600) and ERA (2.87). Over the past three seasons he has struck out 200 or more batters and has pitched 200+ innings in nine of the last ten seasons. The ability to eat up innings at the back of the rotation made Vazquez very attractive to New York.

The Yankees are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle and hope the pitcher they saw in the first half of 2004 and all of last year in Atlanta is the guy they traded for.

Lastly, the Yankees signed free agent Randy Winn to a one-year deal to play outfield. Winn comes to New York by way of San Francisco. His career numbers are very good. Touting a lifetime average of .286 Winn plated 50 or more runs in each of the past 4 seasons. He will probably share playing time with Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner.

Many observers think the Yankees are making these short term deals in order to make a run at Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford who becomes a free agent after this season.

As for the rest of the squad there are question marks as well. Posada is 37 years old entering the new season. He has been the full time catcher since 2000. In 2008 Posada, after signing a big 4-year contract, made two trips to the disabled list for the first time in his career. He had surgery on his throwing shoulder, and only played in 51 games. Last year Girardi rested his catcher often in order for Posada to make it to the finish line. He responded positively by hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI. One has to believe that Girardi will continue to rest Posada as often as he can so he can have his bat late in the season.

A-Rod is expected to have a monster year this year. He had the first significant injury of his career when it was discovered he had a torn labrum in his right hip. Rodriguez had corrective surgery and after missing the first 31 games of the season came back to hit 30 home runs and knock in 100 RBI. In his last game of the 2009 regular season A-Rod hit two home runs and drove in 7 runs in one inning to reach the 30/100 plateau for the 12th season in a row. He finally broke out of his playoff slump by hitting .378 while driving in 18 runs and hitting 6 home runs in 15 playoff games.

The biggest, potential, distraction to the upcoming season will come from Yankee captain Derek Jeter. Jeter has been the face of the Yankees ever since he came up to the big club for good in 1996. Jeter is coming off one of his best seasons, hitting a team high .334, while belting 18 home runs and driving in 66 runs all from the lead off position in the lineup. He also scored 107 runs and came in third in the MVP balloting last year.

Jeter is entering the last year of his ten-year, $189 million contract and if he has another year close to last year the Yankees will be put between the proverbial rock and hard spot. Last season Jeter earned his fourth Gold Glove award as well as the Silver Slugger award for being the best hitter at the shortstop position. He also broke Lou Gehrig’s Yankees hit record and is only 253 hits from reaching the 3,000 hit mark to become the only Yankee in history to do so.

The list of accomplishments goes on an on. Jeter is a 10 time all star, was the 1996 Rookie of the Year. He was the 2000 ALCS and World Series MVP and he has had 7 seasons of 200 or more hits. Without a doubt when Jeter hangs up his spikes he can punch his ticket into Cooperstown as a first ballot hall of famer.

The quandary for the Yankees is what to do with Jeter after this year. He will turn 36 on June 26. He is at an age where playing shortstop becomes more and more difficult. The Yankees have to determine how much longer can he play there and how long of a contract they will give him. Jeter has stood by and watched Mariano Rivera, Posada and A-Rod receive huge pay raises. In a climate of economic strife will Jeter get the money he deserves or will he be offered less because of the market?

The Steinbrenners and Brian Cashman better have a big bottle of aspirin ready. They’re going to need it.

Lastly, the pitching looks to be solid again this year. With CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte anchoring the top and middle of the rotation Vazquez’s presence should improve it as well. Fighting it out for the fifth spot will be Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. Both have struggled as starters and pitched well as relievers. It should be a terrific duel during spring training.

The bullpen will also add concrete support. Alfredo Aceves, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, either Hughes or Chamberlain handing the ball to Rivera should all have good seasons.

The 2010 squad appears poised to defend their title going into the new decade. The road will not be easy. They play in the toughest division in baseball. Boston, Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay have added depth to their teams and all have their sights set on the Yankees. Other teams looking to knock off the Yankees are the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners.

Fasten your seatbelts it’s going to be a bumpy and exciting ride to the finish line.

© 2010 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Andy scares up a Halloween victory
Lefty survives rough start to notch 17th post season win

Once again the Yankees turned to “Old Reliable.” In one of the linchpin games of the 2009 edition of the World Series Joe Girardi handed the ball to the elder statesman of his pitching staff.

Andy Pettitte has taken the hill in the post season more than any other Yankee pitcher not named Mariano Rivera. Whitey Ford has the major league record for most wins the World Series with 10, but Pettitte had the most victories in the post season with 16. Last night he was going for his 17th.

The Philadelphia Phillies countered with last year’s World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, and the Phillies were banking on the Hamels of 2008 showing up. As Game 3 unfolded it appeared that the boys from the City of Brotherly Love were going to get their wish.

In the first 3 innings Hamels completely shut down the Yankees. The only flaw in his game up that point was hitting Alex Rodriguez in the top of the second, but he quickly erased that situation by inducing catcher Jorge Posada to hit into a force at second, striking out Robinson Cano and getting Nick Swisher to fly out to right.

Pettitte also looked like he was ready for the evening. After giving up a leadoff single to shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the first Pettitte retired the Phillies big bats by popping out Shane Victorino, then striking out Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to end the inning.

The game appeared to be shaping up to another pitching duel, but things got dicey for Pettitte and the Yankees in the second. In a script tailor made for Halloween Pettitte served up a leadoff home run to Jason Werth before striking out Raul Ibanez. Catcher Pedro Feliz followed with a double to right and Carlos Ruiz walked. With runners at first and second Hamels laid down a bunt single to load the bases. Rollins walked to force in a run and then Victorino hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Ruiz. Pettitte finally escaped further damage by striking out Utley for the second time to end the inning.

The teams traded zeros in the 3rd inning, but it wasn’t looking great for the Bombers as Hamels hadn’t given up a hit and appeared to be cruising through New York’s lineup.

That all changed in the top of the 4th.

Hamels started the inning like he had the entire game by getting Johnny Damon to fly out to right field. He walked Mark Teixeira and up to the plate strode Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who had had stellar division and league championship series performances was hitless in the Fall Classic. In eight official at bats A-Rod had recorded six strikeouts conjuring up memories of his preceding post season woes.

A-Rod put a charge into an 0-1 fastball and sent it down the right field line. Initially, it looked like the ball hit the top of the wall and came back onto the field, causing Rodriguez to stop at second and Teixeira at third. However, the strange way the ball bounced back onto the field caused Girardi to ask for a video review of the ball’s flight. All six umpires retreated to a viewing room and in a very quick reversal ruled that A-Rod’s shot had hit a FOX camera located just behind the wall in the right field corner of the park. It was now a 3-2 Phillies lead.

"I think it was a big hit," Rodriguez said to reporters after the game. "I think it woke our offense up a little bit. It felt really good."

Added Girardi about A-Rod’s breakout swing, "It was a big hit for us because it really got us going. He has been so good for us in the playoffs. He's a big reason we're at this point."

Pettitte pitched a scoreless 4th and then the Yankees went back to work in the top of the 5th inning.

Swisher finally got to the party by doubling to left to start the inning. After Melky Cabrera stuck out Pettitte helped his own cause by blooping a first pitch curveball into center as Swisher came around and beat the throw to home with a hard slide into Ruiz.

With the score tied Jeter singled to left, moving Pettitte to second. Johnny Damon doubled to right center scoring Pettitte and Jeter. Rapidly the game unraveled for Hamels and the Phillies. After walking Teixeira manager Charlie Manuel took his staggered starter out of the game.

J.A. Happ quickly restored order by getting A-Rod to line out to center and Posada to pop out to second to shut down the Yankee threat.

Leading 5-3 Pettitte faced the heart of the Phillies lineup. However, as he had done so many times in past post season games, Pettitte came up big getting Victorino to line out to center, followed by Utley grounding out to first and Howard popping out to short.

Both teams traded home runs in the 6th as Swisher recorded his first knock in the World Series and Werth hit a monster shot over the left field wall for his second round tripper of the game.

In the seventh with two on and two out Posada got on the ledger by hitting a soft single to left scoring Damon as the Yankees took a 7-4 lead.

Pinch hitter Hideki Matsui, substituting for reliever Joba Chamberlain (who pitched a scoreless 7th inning) finished up the Yankees scoring by hitting an opposite field home run off Brett Myers to make it an 8-4 ballgame.

With the Phillies down to their last 3 outs and the Yankees holding onto a 4-run lead Girardi elected to go with the erratic Phil Hughes to close out the game. Unfortunately for Hughes, after Feliz grounded out, Hughes threw a 1-1 four seamer to Ruiz over the plate and Ruiz launched it over the left center field wall. Girardi wasted little time finding his hook and pulling the beleaguered reliever out of the game.

For the third straight game closer Mariano Rivera was given the ball and asked to end the game. Rivera did so on 5 pitches. He induced pinch hitter Matt Stairs to ground out to second and Rollins to hit a soft pop up to Rodriguez at third. Ballgame over.

Losing Game 1, and knowing the last 6 World Series runner ups lost Game 1 the Yankees knew they had a steep, but not impossible mountain to climb.

"We feel like we've got a real strong team," Pettitte told reporters. "Obviously, losing that first game, we weren't happy with that. We were upset about it, but we feel real good about what we're doing and we felt good about coming in here."

Pettitte critiqued his pitching performance as a rough one. One that came after an 80-minute rain delay.

"It was a battle tonight -- I wasn't able to get ahead," Pettitte said in the clubhouse. "I wasn't able to get my breaking ball over. I was able to get some outs when I needed to get some, but it was a grind tonight for me."

More from Pettitte on Pettitte:

"You're out there and you're by yourself," Pettitte admitted to reporters. "There's not a whole lot of anything that can help you except just trying to just keep battling and keep trying to get it there and keep trying to get it there, and hopefully, it'll come around."

Luckily for the Yankees Pettitte did come around, and so did the Yankees offense. Although happy with the outcome the Yankees know the battle isn’t over.

"We feel good about being up, 2-1," Pettitte mused afterward. "But we know there's a lot of work left to do."

New York hopes to put the Phillies on the brink of elimination today in Game 4 as their ace CC Sabathia takes the hill on three days’ rest. The Phillies counter with RHP Joe Blanton. Game time is 8:20 pm EST. As usual the broadcast will be carried by FOX and anchored by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

2 to 27.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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Yankees Big 3 finally earn their (pin)stripes
Sabathia, Burnett & Teixeira start paying dividends

Imagine the chagrin at the administrative offices of the New York Yankees located at E 161st Street at River Avenue after April 30 when the Yankees record in the American League East was 12-10 and they were sitting in third place, two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees were swept in Baltimore to start the season and later swept in Boston by their chief antagonists.

On top of that C.C. Sabathia, who signed for the biggest contract ever given to a pitcher, was 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA. On Opening Day in Baltimore the Orioles stung the big lefty for 6 runs on 8 hits. A.J. Burnett, the other high profiled, big contract, free agent signee, although sporting a 2-0 record, had 3 no-decision games and owned an alarming 5.40 ERA. In fact on April 25 against the Red Sox Burnett was burned for 8 earned runs in 5 innings of work, which jumped his season ERA from a respectable 3.20 to a bloated 5.47 overnight.

That brings us to first baseman Mark Teixeira whom the Yankees outbid both the Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels for his services. Teixeira owns a .289 lifetime batting average, has hit an average of 33.83 home runs and has knocked in an average of 120 runs per season prior to 2009. Although Teixeira is known as a very slow starter, when the season began it was expected that with a new contract and a new team Teixeira would bound out of the gates blazing. If spring training was any indication the Yankees had every right to believe Teixeira would be an offensive monster. He was batting .433 with an OBP of .485 and a SLG% of .800 (OPS of 1.285) coming out of camp.

Alas, that was not the case. Teixeira like Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin during the month of April and the first part of May. If not for the heroics of free agent OF/1B Nick Swisher, who took over the everyday duties in right field for an injured Xavier Nady, there wouldn’t have been much for the Yankees to write home about. Swisher responded to a lackluster offense by hitting .312 in April with 7 home runs and 19 RBI. Teixeira’s numbers fell like a meteor to earth. He was hitting a very pedestrian .200 and had only 3 home runs and 10 RBI to show for it.

May wasn’t looking much better for the Yankees either. After play ended on May 7 the Yankees had dropped to 4th place and owned a 13-15 record. Teixeira continued his freefall; dropping to a .197 average and was only up to 5 home runs and 15 RBI in 24 games. Sabathia’s ERA jumped up to 4.85 and he saw his record fall to 1-3 with 2 no-decisions. Burnett was the biggest puzzle of all. After two brilliant outings Burnett couldn’t find his rhythm. He continued to go at least 6 innings in his starts, but had nothing to show for it. It took nearly to the end of May before Burnett would see his next victory.

After last year’s 89-73 third place finish manager Joe Girardi’s tenure with the team was definitely in jeopardy. He beat out Yankee legend Don Mattingly for the managerial job in ’08 after Joe Torre left the team for Los Angeles. Girardi knew he had some big shoes to fill. Torre made the playoffs every year he was at the helm taking the team to 2 wild card appearances, 9 division championships, 6 AL championships and 4 World Series championships. Not even making the playoffs was not the way Girardi wanted to start his managerial career in New York.

To be fair not everything has bounced the right way for Girardi. He had a lot of injuries to deal with, most notably Jorge Posada who took two trips to the DL; the second one on July 20, 2008. Posada didn’t return for the remainder of the season. Chien-Ming Wang was another. Wang injured his right foot on June 15 in an interleague game against the Houston Astros and immediately went to the DL for the remainder of the season.

Two solid performers, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano, had down years. Pitching, especially the bullpen, continued to be inconsistent in 2008. During spring training one of the biggest bombshells in the history of baseball took place when Alex Rodriguez was accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, which he later admitted to doing. Also, Torre, along with Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci, published a book called “The Yankee Years,” in which Torre chronicles a lot of behind-the-scenes dirt about what went on inside the four walls of Yankee Stadium.

Getting back to this season if you’ve been following the Yankees you know about other situations that have plagued the squad. In addition to Rodriguez’s admission of using banned substances he went on the disabled list when a cyst and a torn labrum was discovered in his right hip. He had corrective surgery to address the problem to hopefully get him into the lineup as soon as possible.

Wang had horrific 3 starts at the beginning of the season after coming back from his foot injury. He lasted just 6 total innings in those starts and his ERA was a stratospheric 34.50. He went back on the DL with a side injury, but recently returned and has seen action in the bullpen. Additionally, relievers Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte have landed on the DL. Posada returned to the DL on May 5 with a hamstring injury, and reserve catcher Jose Molina went down with a quad injury on May 8.

Those injuries necessitated the Yankees bringing in a whole bunch of minor leaguers to hold the fort down until the regulars could return. Third baseman/shortstop Ramiro Pena, RHP Phil Hughes, RHRP David Robinson, C Anthony Cervilli, C Kevin Cash among others have done a masterful job in keeping the season from getting away from the Yankees.

All those headaches were enough to send anyone, let alone a manager, screaming into the night. However, the entire negative vibe turned positive on Friday, May 8.

That was the day A-Rod returned to the lineup.

Whether or not A-Rod is the real reason the Yankees suddenly turned around is an argument to be discussed around the water coolers, but the fact remains the day their superstar third baseman returned was the day the Yankees turned their season around.

Since May 8 the Yankees have gone from 13-15 and in 4th place to 31-21 and 1st place in the AL East Division. That means they have gone 18-6 in that span. They currently own the best record in the American League and they lead the Red Sox by a game.

The biggest beneficiary of A-Rod’s homecoming has been Teixeira. Since May 8 Teixeira has raised his average from a season low .191 (May 12) to .279. He is hitting .374 with 11 home runs and 19 RBI during that stretch. He is tied for 2nd in home runs and 4th in RBI totals in the AL.

Sabathia and Burnett have improved as well.

Sabathia is now 5-3 and has lowered his ERA to 3.46. Sabathia is 4-0 over his past 5 outings and has averaged a 3.00 ERA. Burnett, too, has responded. He is 4-2 and his ERA has dropped to 4.69. He has won his past two games posting a 2.08 ERA.

The team as a whole is playing the game with more enthusiasm and more focus. In the AL the Yankees are 2nd in home runs (82), 1st in RBI (285) and 2rd in team hitting (.282). Pitching continues to be a concern, especially in the bullpen, but with the Yankees offense clicking on all cylinders the pitching has been good enough. No one is hurting them to the point where the Yankees have to go out and look for an arm.

A month ago the media and fans alike were bemoaning this club and now there is a glimmer of hope. The Yankees have brought back some of the swagger that everyone has seen from teams past. But, before anyone goes and shines up the World Series trophy, keep in mind the Yankees have a long road in front of them and they still haven’t beaten the Red Sox this season.

Until “B” happens and if they don’t continue to play at the level they’re playing at now today’s hope in this team won’t become tomorrow’s reality.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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Yankees have a ‘Hughes’ problem
Revived righty could shake up rotation

It seems like only yesterday that Phil Hughes, along with fellow right-hander Ian Kennedy were projected as can’t miss prospects by both baseball experts and those within the Yankees organization. They were so revered that Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman refused to put them into any deal, including a swap that would have brought two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins to the Bronx in 2008.

Hughes, specifically, was viewed as an immediate starter for the Yankees. Making the Opening Day roster in 2007 Hughes made his first start on April 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Hughes lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, absorbing the loss. Making his second start against the Texas Rangers on May 1 Hughes flashed the brilliance seen by others assessing his talent. He was throwing a no-hitter until, with one out in the sixth inning; Hughes injured his left hamstring while throwing a 0-2 curveball to Ranger first baseman Mark Teixeira. Hughes would miss the next three months rehabbing his injured leg.

Hughes returned to the Yankees on August 4, making his next start against the Kansas City Royals. He went 4.2 innings, earning a no-decision.

2007 also marked the first time Hughes pitched in the post season. Once again, Hughes took advantage of the spotlight. In Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series Hughes faced the Cleveland Indians, entering the game in relief of starter Roger Clemens. Hughes sparked as he shut down the Indians in 3.2 innings of work to earn the victory. It was the only win the Yankees would produce against the Tribe.

Another bit of trivia, Hughes was the youngest player (21) on the roster and he replaced the oldest player (45) in Clemens who left the game with a hamstring injury of his own.

During the winter Hughes was sought after by many teams, with the most notable being the Twins. The Twins as a small market club needed to unload their premier pitcher, Santana, because they knew he was going to fetch a huge contract that the Twins could ill afford to meet. The Yankees contacted the Twins about Santana, but they wanted Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera in return. The Yankees ultimately said NO!

Hughes and Cabrera stayed and Santana signed with the New York Mets.

All-in-all, things were looking up for the young righty. Hughes and Kennedy both made the starting rotation to start the 2008 season. Hughes, who wore the number 65 in 2007, switched his number to 34 for the 2008 campaign. It was the number he wore in high school and at the 2006 All-Star Futures Game.

Coming out of Spring Training everything appeared to be on track for Hughes. He did well in his first start of the season where he went 6.0 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 3. Hughes earned a no-decision, as the Yankees nipped the Jays 3-2. In the game Hughes struck out four, walked one and gave up two earned runs.

After that Hughes season unraveled in a hurry. In his next 5 starts Hughes’ record dropped to 0-4. He averaged 3.06 innings of work, and his ERA ballooned to 9.00. To add to Hughes’ woes he landed on the disabled list on April 30 with a strained oblique and a cracked rib. On May 2 Hughes visited an optometrist and it was discovered he was nearsighted. He began wearing glasses on the mound.

After recovering from his injuries Hughes spent the summer in the minors at Scranton/Wilkes-Barrie helping the Yankees Triple-A team win the 2008 International League title.

The Yankees recalled Hughes on September 13 and he made his first start on September 17 against the Chicago White Sox. Hughes threw 4.0 innings, but showed signs of life again. He surrendered just one run while striking out 4 and walking two batters to help the Yankees to a 5-1 win. In his next start Hughes pitched 8.0 innings in Toronto. His line was very encouraging to the Yankees as he only gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits, while striking out 6 and walking none. In that one game Hughes lowered his ERA from 7.96 to 6.62. It was a tremendous building block for Hughes to carry with him into the off-season, which came early as the Yankees failed to make the playoffs.

Hughes had a marvelous 2009 spring training where in 4 appearances (12.1 innings of work) he only gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits, and had a terrific ERA of 2.19. However, when camp broke to start the regular season Hughes returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

As it has been said many times, “fate is the hunter.” Fate found Phil Hughes.

No one in their right mind expected the start RHP Chien-Ming Wang has had to start this season. A two-time 19-game winner, Wang was 8-2 in 2008 before going on the DL after injuring his right foot on June 15, while facing the Houston Astros in an interleague game. Wang was attempting to score a run when he pulled up lame and was taken out of the game. It proved to be a season ending injury.

Wang had a pedestrian spring training, but announced himself ready for the start of the season. Wang was penciled in by manager Joe Girardi as the No. 3 starter behind newly acquired pitchers C.C. Sabathia (Milwaukee Brewers) and A.J. Burnett (Toronto Blue Jays). In Wang’s first 3 starts he has allowed 23 earned runs on 23 hits in just 6.0 innings of work. That worked out to an ERA of 34.50. Wang was pulled from his next start as the team contemplated what it was going to do with him.

"We have some time. We have a day off I think Thursday and we're going to have to decide what's best for Chien-Ming Wang and the team," Girardi said at the time.

What they decided was to put Wang on the disabled list, which opened up the slot for Hughes.

Hughes made the most of the opportunity, and yesterday he was stellar in his start against the Detroit Tigers. Facing a very formidable lineup Hughes allowed no runs, only 2 hits, while striking out 6 Tigers and walking two. He also hit a batter. Hughes mixed his pitches well and kept the Tigers off balance for the most part. He kept it even, until the Yankees took advantage of an outfield fielding error, and broke the game wide open for an 11-0 win. The victory snapped a 4-game losing streak.

"It's a good feeling," Hughes said to reporters after the game. "I didn't have one all last year, so to get one in the first start is nice."

Hughes was just what the Yankees needed. His performance was the positive, feel good tonic that has been missing from the clubhouse since the Yankees hit the road nearly a week ago.

"That's the best that I've seen him throw," Joe Girardi said. "It was something we needed. That's a pretty good hitting lineup and he shut them down."

Another guy that may be on the hot seat, if Hughes continues to shine, is No. 5 starter Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain, who made a splash in 2007 coming out of the bullpen, hasn’t looked as good this season in the starting rotation.

In three starts Chamberlain is 0-0 with a 3.94 ERA. He has not pitched deep into a game, averaging 5.37 innings per start. Flashing a near-100 mph fastball in 2007 while coming out of the bullpen Chamberlain has barely reached the mid-90s this year. He went on the DL in 2008 with a shoulder injury, which was diagnosed as shoulder tendinitis. He returned to close out the season, but so far this year his performances have been mixed. Chamberlain has struck out 11, but walked 10. He is averaging a little over 90 pitches per game. This is in accordance with the “Joba Rules” imposed upon Chamberlain by the team. According to Girardi he wants Chamberlain limited to 150 innings this year, but at the same time make approximately 30 starts. Girardi admitted that may necessitate pulling Joba from games after 5 innings.

However, there is no restriction on Hughes, and if he can continue to pitch as he did Tuesday that is going to create some interesting headaches for Girardi.

For one, the bullpen has been a mixed bag of tricks since the season started. The Yankees have the highest team ERA in baseball and the bullpen has been a large part of that. Chamberlain has proven he can dish coming out of the ‘pen so that is a great option for Girardi. RHP Brian Bruney who also went on the DL the same time as Wang had been the one bright spot in the relief corps and once he comes back the Yankees could be looking at a triumvirate much like the Nelson-Stanton-Rivera trio of the 90s. With both Bruney and Chamberlain in the bullpen with Rivera the Yankees could go a Bruney-Chamberlain-Rivera pairing to shorten the game to six innings.

Secondly, you have to reward effort. With Wang on the DL for a few more weeks Hughes is going to get the opportunity to show management he belongs in the majors full time. If he continues to perform like he did against Cleveland sending him back down to the minors would be counterproductive. It could hurt Hughes psyche as to whether he feels like he’s wanted or not.

The next couple of weeks are going to be very telling for the Yankees and their pitching corps. If Wang comes back strong and reverts to the pre-injured pitcher he was Girardi is going to have to make some heavy duty decisions (and he won’t be making them alone). Personally, if Hughes and Wang are pitching at their optimum levels, sending Chamberlain back to the bullpen is the correct move. He would instantly shore up a leaky group of relievers, and, along with Bruney give them legitimacy.

Decisions, decisions!! This is why they pay Girardi the big money, because he is the one who is eventually going to have to figure this roadblock out. It’s a nice problem to have for a while, but ultimately whether or not some personnel like the moves that are going to be made Girardi is going to have to make them for the betterment of the team.

In the meantime, all Phil Hughes can do is take the ball, pitch the best he can, and let the chips fall where they may.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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