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Jorge Posada's numbers over the last 28 days....173/.328/.231. The last 14 days show a line of .125/.276/.208. The last 7 brings you to .000/.091/.000.

The Yankees have already benched him against lefties (Andruw Jones is the DH tonight) but they really can't keep running him out against righties if he is going to put up numbers like this. Girardi handled him poorly two weeks ago against Boston, but this clearly can't go on. The question is, what are the Yankees going to do with him?

My first move would be to see if I could get anything for him on the trade market. It's highly unlikely, but I do wonder if the Mets would swing at a pitch in the dirt and trade Beltran for Posada? It makes no sense from a performance standpoint, Beltran is hitting .279/.369/.514, but the Mets are in serious financial trouble. It sounds like they are going to sell a 33% stake of their team to an investor for $200 million. But, it gets better than that. The $200 million must be paid back in 3 years. If it is, the investor gets to keep 16% of the team anyway. If it isn't, he has the option to buy up to 60% of the club. That's how bad the Mets' finances are, they are essentially willing to give 16% of the team away for a $200 million loan. So, maybe the $5.5 million difference between Beltran and Posada's salary is something that would interest them. And their catcher hitting at a .230/.301/.278 clip. But, I assume that won't happen which means the Yankees are going to have to solve this one on their own and that means benching him completely or releasing him.

The problem with benching him is that he doesn't provide any value on the bench unless he can hit. He is not a candidate to be a defensive substitute and he is certainly not a candidate to pinch run. I guess you could make the argument that he could possibly draw a walk in a key situation, like he did last week, but is that really a reason to give someone a bench spot? It's not and the Yankees would be better served with someone like Pena, Golson or Maxwell who could provide some speed and defensive coverage on the bench. (Note, I am not in the group that says Montero should get the promotion and become the everyday DH if the Yankees release Jorge. First off, his bat has cooled big tim3- .753 OPS. Second, the Yankees have older guys who can really benefit from a day at DH. I prefer letting the DH rotate depending on the pitcher, rather than using Montero right now. If his bat heats up again, then promote him.)

So, the Posada solution would have to be cutting him and that is going to be a delicate operation. The first step is giving him the next two weeks or so and seeing if there is anything left in his bat. Assuming the answer is no, the Yankees can bury him on the bench for a week or so and then find a spot to give him one last at bat in front of the home crowd. That would show Jorge the respect he has earned and also give the fans a chance to say goodbye. It's not a pretty way for a great Yankee's career to end, but sadly, it is becoming more and more inevitable.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After starting the year 2-10, the Red Sox have gone 25-12 and now stand 5 games over .500 at 27-22.

The reason for the turnaround is simple, just about everyone is playing better. Yes, I know, a very complicated answer.

Through May 11, the Red Sox had posted the following offensive line: .256/.333/.400/.733. Well, just 2 weeks later, they have a .267/.343/.424/.767 line. Pretty good improvement in a short period of time. The pitching has improved as well: 4.40/1.34 on May 11 and now a 4.08/1.31.

A few bullpen implosions notwithstanding, this team is playing very well.

During this stretch, there has been a ton of roster turnover:

Josh Reddick - promoted.
Darnell McDonald - DL.
Hideki Okajima - DFA, cleared waivers and outrighted to Pawtucket.
Drew Sutton promoted.
Daniel Nava DFA'd to clear room for Sutton on the 40-man.
Marco Scutaro shelved on the DL.
Jose Iglasias promoted and subsequently sent back down.
Kevin Millwood (our savior) signed to a minor league deal.
Franklin Morales received in a trade.
Michael Bowden called up and subsequently sent back down.
Scott Atchison promoted.
Dan Wheeler activated off DL.
Daisuke Matsuzaka to the DL.

Wow, that's a bunch of moves.

I'm obviously happy with the way the team has performed but there are a few issue to address:

The bullpen hasn't worked they it was supposed to. Daniel Bard has not been what I'd expected what with 4 losses already, Dan Wheeler has been forgettable. Bobby Jenks has been horrid but maybe injuries are the reason.

On the other hand, Matt Albers has been great (his last start the exception) as has Jonathan Papelbon (performing like 2007) and recently promoted Rich Hill has been fantastic, providing some key innings of relief.

Going into the season, it was expected that Jenks would pitch the 7th, Bard the 8th and Papelbon the 9th. Well, when 2/3 of that equation are underperforming/hurt, you need a fallback. I have been frustrated with Terry Francona's insistance on pitching Bard as much as he has. Bard has appeared in 24 of 49 games and for a younger, extreme fastball pitcher, this is a recipe for Tommy John surgery. Time to back off Bard and figure out other options. If Dan Wheeler can't handle it, try Atchison, if Atchison can't hack it, use Albers more in the 8th. Mix and match and try to get more than 1 guy able to handle 8th inning duties.

Bullpens are always a chemisty experiment to be sure, but if you have 6 guys in the pen, use them all, otherwise find someone else you trust.

Apprearances:
24 - Bard
20 - Papelbon
13 - Albers
13 - Wheeler
12 - Aceves (includes 1 start)
12 - Wakefield (includes 3 starts)
11 - Jenks
11 - Lester (all starts)

I threw Lester in there to show you that Francona has used some of his relievers as little as Lester. I'm not as worried about how little he has used some pitchers, rather I'm worried about Bard's workload. To use Bard that much is irresponsible and going to lead to health trouble.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hey, it's time to play the Mets! That's right, once again our two teams will face each other in a battle for bragging rights of NYC. The initial series will be this weekend in the Bronx with the deciding series in Queens....

Ok, I have to stop and admit that I just don't care about these games anymore. In fact, I really don't care about seeing the National League play the American League in the regular season anymore. This was a cool idea in 1997. Now it is getting really tired. We have seen about every scenario possible that baseball fans want to see and with the Cubs going to Fenway this weekend and the Yankees going to Wrigley in June about the only one left is for the Dodgers to come to Yankee Stadium. We've seen everything else! With 18 games against the NL, things get pretty repetitive over time and after 14 years we have reached that point. It's time to change the format, to use the approach of "less is more". It's time to cut interleague down to two series, six games total.

Let's make one of the series the "rivalry" series so we would still have Yankees-Mets, A's-Giants, White Sox-Cubs, etc.. But, in areas where both teams play in the same city (or within 20 miles of each other, let's alternate the games. So in 2012 we could have Game 1 of the Yankees-Mets series in Yankee Stadium, Game 2 at Citi Field and Game 3 back at Yankee Stadium. Flip that in 2013. It won't increase the travel costs and it might provide a little extra juice to the whole thing.

For the second series, let's use baseball history to create some interesting matchups. For instance, wouldn't it be neat if the two teams in the World Series played each other automatically the next year? Obviously, you would have to go further than that, so how about the two teams that lost in the ALCS and NLCS facing off? You could do things like teams going back to the cities they left. So the Brewers go to Seattle, Minnesota heads to Washington, etc.. Mine through baseball history enough and you could make a compelling matchup most years using previous World Series, etc. Anything to get away from the current tedium of interleague.

There is also a fairness factor in all of this. 18 games represents over 11% of the schedule. Some teams in the AL East will have tough interleague opponents this year, some will have easier ones. Is that a fair way to determine the best team in the East? I think not and I hope baseball does something to change things. Then again, maybe I am missing the intrigue of tonight's Houston-Toronto matchup.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It looks like the Yankees will enter tonight's game with the same roster that completed last night's 15-inning affair. Normally, you would expect the Yankees to recall a pitcher after a game like that. The problem is, there really isn't anyone they can call.

The Yankees have six pitchers on the 40-man who currently pitch in the minors. Of those, the two obvious candidates, Carlyle and Pendleton are ineligible to be recalled because they haven't spent 10 days in the minors since getting sent down. The only way they can be recalled is if there was an injured player. Next you have Betances, who is obviously not going anywhere and Brackman, who isn't pitching well and made a start Sunday. That leaves Steve Garrison, currently on the DL at Trenton and Ryan Pope, who sports a 5+ ERA at Scranton and threw three innings Tuesday night.

The Yankees could DFA Molina and bring someone like George Kontos (23 IP 23K's 2.35ERA) up from AAA. But with Pendleton eligible to return this weekend and CC on the mound tonight, it probably makes the most sense to just sit tight.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:36 PM | Permalink

Sports radio is filled today with questions from last night's great Yankee win. The biggest seems to be centered around Joe Girardi's decision to pull Bartolo Colon from the game and let Mariano close out the 9th. To me, that question isn't worth asking. Until Mariano's cutter doesn't cut anymore, he is the guy I want on the mound with the game on the line. Yes, Bartolo pitched a great game, but Mariano is Mariano.

While that decision is debated into the ground, an interesting one from the 15th inning seems to have escaped notice. With the Yankees ahead 3-1, a runner on third and no outs, Chris Dickerson got drilled in the helmet. (Note, I don't think the Orioles were throwing at him) It was one of those terrifying baseball moments. Dickerson lying almost motionless on the ground and his cracked helmet showing the evidence of what had just occurred. Girardi now had three choices.

1- See if Dickerson could take his base and continue to play. To his credit, Dickerson wanted to do it, but Girardi wisely got him out of there.

2- Since Dickerson couldn't continue, use the last guy on the bench, Posada to run for him. Problem with this move is, Dickerson is playing right, how do you get Posada in the game and keep him in it under those circumstances? (My best guess was Posada to catcher, Martin to third, A-Rod to short and Nunez to right- MESSY)

3- Use one of your pitchers to run then move Nunez to right, Jeter to short and give up the DH.

I think everyone would agree that #3 is the best choice. Dickerson looked a bit out of it, so keeping him in was never an option in my mind. #2 causes too much shuffling of the defense and there is no reason to use Posada ever as a pinch runner. So #3 makes the most sense, but who should do the running?

Now Girardi doesn't have a ton of options. He has used five pitchers in the game and CC Sabathia, today's starter, is probably sitting in the hotel at this point. So, that leaves six guys who could come into the game and run- Sanit, Robertson, Chamberlain, Nova, Burnett and Garcia. If you were Girardi, which one would you pick?

Personally, I would have picked Nova. He is young and less likely to get hurt. Also, he pitched on Tuesday, so there is no practical way he is going to pitch in this game. The last guy I would have picked is the one Girardi did select, AJ Burnett. I would have picked someone with younger legs if I had been Girardi. If Nova wasn't an option, Sanit or Robertson would have been my next choices. Either way, I thought putting a 34-year old with a history of injuries on the basepaths insanity. But the move worked and the Yankees have a wining streak thanks to a wild night of baseball.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I joked about that phrase the other day, but it seems more and more appropriate. Today's move is Chris Dickerson promoted and Rafael Soriano sent to the DL. That means we are down to 12 pitchers! And Dickerson is headed to rightfield tonight to play in place of Nick Swisher. Since Dickerson is a lefty bat and Tampa is starting a righty, this is a good way to get Swisher a night off. (And, with a .214 average, he could probably use one)

Also in the lineup tonight...Jorge Posada! And, he is hitting SEVENTH! I wonder how long this will last? I imagine the Yankees will be patient until Memorial Day or so, but if they keep struggling how long can they afford to ignore Jesus Montero and his monster bat in AAA?

One last AAA note. David Phelps gave up 8 earned runs in his first 10 innings this season. Since then, he has pitched 32-1/3 innings while allowing seven earned runs and striking out 33. He is scheduled to start tonight and considering the fact that he is already on the 40-man, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in New York soon.

Tonight would be a nice time for a win, I think I've forgotten what those look like!

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:38 PM | Permalink

A friend and I were talking about the best swings in baseball and the majority of hitters were lefties. When we said nicest, we meant most asthetically pleasing, not necessarily most productive, although they seem to go hand in hand. Adrian Gonzalez started off the conversation, but it quickly covered such hitters as Robinson Cano, Chase Utley, JD Drew (the ball might not go anywhere, but it is a pretty swing) and Joe Mauer.

Of course the recently retired and HOFers of years past entered the mix as well.

So I'll pose this: Who has the nicest right-handed swing in baseball right now (active player)?

Please post your reply in the comments.

My answer at the beginning of the year would have been Manny Ramirez, but he is no longer active, so back to the drawing board.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well, .500 for now. I write this in the midst of a 5-0 Orioles lead in the top of the 6th.

John Lackey was put on the DL today and will hopefully sort out his baseball and non-baseball issues. Lackey has been terrible but has alluded to off-field issues as well. Lackey's wife is dealing with breast cancer and one can only imagine the distraction that has caused. Let's hope for a successful fight in that regard and a successful return to the Red Sox rotation. This shelving is a good idea from not only a human interest standpoint but also a baseball standpoint as Lackey's layoff allows him to do whatever it is he needs to do and it allows the Red Sox to offer up an alternative during his absence.

I assume Tim Wakefield will take his spot. Scott Atchison was called up to take Lackey's spot but could find himself waived (again) if Wakefield is not up to starting. Michael Bowden or even veteran Brandon Duckworth could get the nod. Bowden has been very good at AAA and now is probably a Shawshank Redemption time to get pitching or time to get retiring moment, at least in his mind. I'd go with Bowden and let him try to A.) showcase his talents for this year and beyond and B.) prove that he is better than Lackey and/or Daisuke Matsuzaka. Of course should he, or anyone, prove item B, the Red Sox would have to accept failure in the signings of Matsuzaka and Lackey.

Roster movements aside, it was nice to see the Red Sox sweep the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. Some fireworks on the Jorge Posada episode (view comments on Peter's posts) and I think the Red Sox walked into New York at the perfect time, what with the Yankees struggles and all. The offense is definitely showing signs of life for Boston. Adrian Gonzalez has been super hot and Carl Crawford is slowly climbing out of the hope he dug in April. I'm not sure I'm ready to declare this team "fixed" but they have shown more life of late.

All of their early season struggles have largely been tempered by a slow start by the AL East in general. The Tampa Rays are 3 games up and the Yankees are 1 game up on the Red Sox.. No way I would have guessed that'd be the case at this point. The Red Sox are very lucky one of the AL East teams, read the Yankees, didn't get out to a boffo start and open up a 10 game lead by this point. Time to capitalize and graciously accept the gift they've been given.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:23 PM | Permalink

The press in New York is really trying to whip this Posada thing into a crisis, but unfortunately for them the key ingredient, George Steinbrenner is no longer.

Now if "Original George" was still in charge, you can bet we would have some whopper headlines to digest over the next few days. He would have taken shots at Posada, questioned Jeter's leadership and probably used the words "courage" and "tradition" over 1,000 times. But George isn't here and hopefully the writers realize that attempts to turn this into something it isn't won't work.

Posada was mad, Girardi was mad, Cashman was mad, but Jorge did the right thing and apologized and it sounds as if he had a heart-to-heart with Girardi. What will matter from this point forward is if he hits or not. And while I hope they don't, I am sure some writer will try to stir up trouble over tonight's lineup and the fact Posada isn't in it. But, there is a very reasonable explanation for that. First, Posada hasn't hit lefties all year and the Rays are starting a lefty tonight. Second, you know the Yankees don't want A-Rod to play three-straight games on turf, so this is a perfect night to move him to DH and give Nunez a game in the lineup.

On to other matters.

First, I think the Rays starting their weekday home games at 6:40 before school gets out is a stroke of genius. Weeknight baseball games are tough for working people who don't live near the ballpark and this start time should at least allow them to watch the whole game and get on the road before 10pm. Nice job Tampa, I hope the Yankees are paying attention.

Two, as bad as things look right now, remember the Yankees went on a similar losing streak in May of 2009. They dropped five-straight at home and fell to 13-15 and we all know how that season ended. They are two-games out of first and have 124 games left to play.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 03:16 PM | Permalink

Hey, there is actually a baseball game tonight between the Yankees and Red Sox. And, the Yankees really could use a win. But, I should probably focus on the story of the year so far, Jorge Posada.

Give Posada credit for doing today what he should have done last night. He apologized to Girardi and admitted his mistake. Unfortunately, Brian Cashman kept this issue alive with his stupid quote about disciplining Posada for last night, "We’ve got everything going on today and then I’ll obviously talk to the people above me. So I can’t answer that question right now, but when I talk to Hal Steinbrenner I’ll get some direction from him on everything after I fill him in on everything.”

Cashman did a terrible job throughout this process. He could have prevented this from escalating by avoiding the press last night and he should simply have said tonight that the issue was resolved. Really poor job by the GM and I wonder why he acted this way.

I am also mystified by the Yankees' keeping Sanit on the roster. Maybe he could pitch today, but with Posada out of the lineup the bench is extremely thin. If anyone in the starting lineup gets hurt, Nunez is the only guy who can realistically fill in unless the Yankees are willing to give up the DH. Why do they keep putting themselves into this spot? With Price on the mound for Tampa tomorrow, it seems likely Posada will sit again. Might be nice to drop the 8th pitcher and get a bat on the roster.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I disagree with the sentiment that off the field distractions will doom the Yankees in 2011. Anyone who lived through the 1978 season knows better than that. But, last night's drama didn't need to happen.

Girardi made a huge mistake in the way he handled Posada last night. He never should have dropped him to 9th for this particular game and I got the sense in his press conference that he realized the enormity of his screw up as he tried to tone things down. If Girardi had done this Thursday against KC or Monday against Tampa, it would not have been a story. But picking a National TV game against Boston, the day after Posada got a hit was just plain stupid. And worst of all, this will definitely impact the way the Yankees handle Jeter. Expect him at the top of the lineup for the entire season.

Cashman didn't help things by eliminating the most attractive lie the Yankees and Jorge had as an explanation. When he went on FOX and proclaimed that Jorge was healthy before the game, he increased the story tenfold. Cashman has exhibited a tendency to spout off at the mouth this year. I am not sure if it is because of his expiring contract or internal factors, but if he comes back it needs to stop.

Posada blew it twice last night. Asking out of a game is inexcusable and Jorge should have known better. But, I almost think his claim of a back injury after the game was worse. Lying is always the easier road, but it also dishonors you. I wish Jorge had stood at his locker, admitted to being pissed off about hitting 9th and admitted to making a huge mistake. Making up a phantom injury doesn't do anything for him outside or inside the clubhouse.

I suspect that phantom injury will carry over to tonight. The Yankees will announce this afternoon that Jorge is too banged up to play. Then, they will put him in the 9th spot tomorrow when the Yankees play a "regular" game. The problem is, you can't put the cork back into this bottle.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Does Jorge Posada deserve to hit 9th? Yes, in fact, he probably deserves to not even hit at all. .165/.272/.349 is worthy of a benching.

But, Joe Girardi totally screwed this up by initially trying to bat him 9th tonight. When I saw the lineup tonight I tweeted "Why not bench him instead of embarrassing him? Is Joe Torre managing tonight?" (BTW- you can follow my tweets @nysportsfanatic if you like Twitter) That's what this move was, a move to embarrass a proud player. You don't make this move against the Red Sox on national TV. If you want to bench him tonight, say he tweaked something running out a ball or something like that. Better yet, wait until Monday to do it. Batting him 9th makes no sense at all. At least Torre hit A-Rod 8th in a do-or-die playoff game. Girardi didn't have to do this tonight.

We will have to see what Jorge says after the game. I am not excusing Posada for not playing, but I simply can't believe Girardi was this stupid in his handling of the situation. Jorge should be fined and should apologize for that part of this incident. I'm really just kind of stunned by all of this right now. Girardi made the dumbest move of his tenure tonight. Stay tuned for the fallout.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

You may have noticed Ken Rosenthal wearing bow ties during FOX games this year and wondered what on Earth he was doing. The answer is, raising money for charities. Each week he wears a different bow tie to support a different cause. This week's cause is one close to this blog's heart- beating cancer.

As you can read here, Saturday's bow tie will represent Stand Up 2 Cancer, an organization which seeks to fund groundbreaking research in the battle to defeat this dreadful disease.

It's a cause all fans, regardless of affiliation can get behind and you can read more about their efforts here.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 03:22 PM | Permalink

I am not at all surprised that the Yankees brought up a new arm for tonight's game. What does surprise me is that Buddy Carlyle got sent down instead of Sanit. Sanit threw 81 pitches last night, Carlyle threw 24. Obviously, Carlyle would be ready to pitch again a lot sooner than Sanit.

But, the Yankees must have something else in the works. Why else would they demote Carlyle and promote Noesi? It doesn't make any sense unless they are going to DFA Sanit and promote an infielder.

Stay tuned to "As The Yankees Roster Turns" for more updates.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 04:59 PM | Permalink

When the Yankees and Red Sox last met, Boston took 2-of-3 leaving them at 2-7 on the season and the Yankees at 5-4. Since then, Boston has gone 15-13 and New York has gone 15-11, leaving them essentially in the same place they were in relation to each other April 10th. The problem is that in that same time Tampa has gone 21-7, surging from a 1-8 start into first place in the AL East.

The Yankees seem to be in reverse right now, dropping six-of-nine and playing some very lousy baseball. They blew a winnable game Wednesday night and followed it up with a miserable performance last night. Throw in Sunday's win, which probably shouldn't have happened, and there is not a lot to like about this team right now.

You would have to think that Boston has the edge in the pitching matchups, especially Sunday when they throw Lester against Garcia. But, the Yankees' offense has certainly been better in 2011 than the Boston one. This is a weird weekend series as none of the games are day games, I can't recall the last time that happened. Will playing Boston wake the Yankees up? We shall see.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:16 PM | Permalink

Every year we hit a stretch where the Yankees decide they absolutely have to have 13 pitchers on their roster. Today is that day as they have called up Amaury Sanit from AAA and sent Ramiro Pena down.

I have nothing against Sanit. In fact, I am curious to see his stuff since he has struck out 24 in 16 innings. But, carrying 13 pitchers absolutely cripples your bench. It's bad enough that Eduardo Nunez is now the only guy on the roster who could cover three infield positions, but the Yankees are making it worse with tonight's lineup. For some reason, they have decided to DH Derek Jeter. So, if something happens to one of the infielders, they will have to move Jeter into the field and lose the DH.

How a team that had to remove its second baseman from the game last night and run him through neurological tests can make these moves is beyond me. Why didn't they just option or release Carlyle and protect their bench depth? I have no clue, but I hope someone asks Brian Cashman that question.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Each time the Red Sox get to within a game of .500, they blow is and find a way to remain sub-.500.

In trying to find a silver lining in an otherwise forgettable start to the season, it is nice to see Adrian Gonzalez show his opposite field power. In the 2 game mini-series just completed in Toronto, he hit 3 HRs to left field. It is amazing the amount of power he can generate to all fields.

David Ortiz has 6 home runs and he too has been using the whole field. I've seen more hits to left for him this year than I can recall in year's past (I understand my memory is quite likely shoddy, but that's the impression I have).

Jacoby Ellsbury is having a nice bounce-back season.

Josh Beckett has been other-worldly and has forced me to do a 180 on my feelings about him (as a player...not a person). 2011 is year one of a four year deal at $17mm a clip and I really thought we'd be flushing money down the drain.

Jonathan Papelbon has also found his magic and has looked very good (2 bb/19 K in 14.2 IP).

There have been some other nice performances too, but as a whole, this club still stinks.

2011:
Offense: .256/.333/.400/.733
Pitching: 4.40 ERA/1.34 WHIP

2010:
Offense: .268/.339/.451/.790
Pitching: 4.20/1.361

2009:
Offense: .270/.352/.454/.806
Pitching: 4.35/1.409

So while the pitching isn't terrible compared to years prior, the offense is terrible. Guys like Kevin Youkilis (.850 OPS vs. past 3-year average of approx .965 OPS), Dustin Pedroia (.672 OPS), Carl Crawford (.558 OPS but definitely swinging a hot bat now), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.517 OPS), Jason Varitek (.453 OPS) and Marco Scutaro (.625 OPS) all need to do more and do it soon.

The Red Sox have yet to score 10 runs in a game. The Yankees have done it 4 times, The Orioles have done it 2 times, the Rays have done it 2 times, and the Blue Jays have done it twice.

I mean come on!

There is certainly something missing from this squad. HOFer Peter Gammons recently said in an interview that the Red Sox are missing a "personality chip." Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed.

Lastly, shortstop of the future, Jose Iglesias, is here today taking the place of injured Marco Scutaro. While his fielding might be slick, he needs a ton of work with the bat. He has been swinging at everything and doesn't seem to have any pitch recognition. Not so much what kind of pitch, but whether it'll he a ball or a strike. He literally swings at everything. Let's hope he can go back down to Pawtucket and learn a few things before we see him again. He needs more seasoning.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 01:23 PM | Permalink

I woke to the news that Bill Gallo had died. For anyone who ever opened the Daily News, Gallo's cartoons were a staple of the sports section. General Von Steingrabber was the perfect parody of the real man. Gallo's humor and insight will be missed and the Sunday News will never be the same.

Gene Monahan announced that he will retire at the end of the season. I sincerely hope that the Yankees put a plaque in Monument Park honoring "Gino". He has worked for the team since 1962 and actually became head trainer before Steinbrenner bought the team. He never got a hit, made a pitch or called a game, but the Yankees wouldn't be the Yankees without Gino.

We also have player news. The Yankees have activated Luis Ayala and sent Lance Pendleton to the minors. Now Pendleton isn't much of a prospect, but he is 27 while Buddy Carlyle is 33. Which one do you think has a better chance of becoming a long-term asset?

And finally, Brian Cashman announced that the Yankees will not discuss a contract extension with CC Sabathia during the season. This makes a ton of sense because as great as CC is, you don't want to extend a pitcher's contract unless you have to. It also is a somewhat informal policy of the team as the Yankees never seem to negotiate with upcoming free agents. That being said, wouldn't it make sense for them to talk to Robinson Cano and see if they could extend him for the next 5 years or so?

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

A drumbeat that has sounded louder and louder the past few weeks is that the Yankees made a mistake declining their option on Lance Berkman. They could have kept him in pinstripes for $15 million and since he is tearing the cover off the ball so far in St. Louis why didn't they?

But, the Yankees never could have exercised that option. Not after Berkman came to New York and hit .255/.358/.349 while getting hurt and looking TERRIBLE in the field. Not with Jorge Posada already headed to the DH spot and due $13 million himself. It's easy to criticize the move now, but think back to the end of the season and find me anyone, anyone, who would have predicted this kind of season so far from Berkman.

As for Posada, his season seems to be going in reverse. He hasn't hit a homerun since April 23rd and his numbers are down to .152/.257/.354, positively anemic. Getting him going has to be a priority for the Yankees and I can't help thinking that putting him in the field for a game or two just might do it. Consider these numbers. For his career, Posada has put up an OPS .868 behind the plate and .938 (admittedly in only 68 PA's) at first, while only putting up a .674 OPS in 474 PA's as a DH. That's almost a full season at DH and the numbers are not encouraging.

So, maybe the Chavez injury can be a blessing in disguise. The Yankees could use Posada at first and give Teixeira a rest and maybe even let Jorge catch a game now and then. Posada put up an .811 OPS last year, it's hard to believe he is as bad as his 2011 stats would lead you to believe.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've watched a lot of baseball, but I can't recall ever seeing a player break a bone in his foot running the bases without colliding into anyone or anything. That's what Eric Chavez did in the fourth inning today, breaking his 5th metatarsal somewhere between second and third. From what I can gather on the internet, he is probably out at least six weeks and possibly much longer. I feel really badly for him. Breaking a bone in your lower body stinks.

The question becomes, what do the Yankees do about replacing him? There are three real candidates Pena, Russo and Vazquez, but each one of them is flawed in some fashion. Ramiro Pena has taken his inability to hit with him to Scranton where he is putting up a line of .233/.313/.384. As bad as that is, it looks great compared to Kevin Russo's .227/.299/.299. So, neither one of them would do much offensively. If the Yankees want offense, Jorge Vazquez is the way to go. Vazquez is mashing the ball, hitting .302/.321/.585 at Scranton. The problem is, Vazquez is really only a first baseman and the Yankees would need to open up a 40-man spot for him.

Add in Eduardo Nunez's defensive troubles and my sense is that Pena gets the call. Girardi loves his defense and with Nunez bringing back memories of Bobby Meacham at short, it makes a lot of sense. Anyway you slice it, the Yankees just lost a very valuable player that they don't have an obvious replacement for.

UPDATE Pena was pulled from the Scranton game before getting an AB tonight. That's a pretty strong sign that he will be on a plane to Texas.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been thinking about how the Yankees drop Derek Jeter in the lineup for a long time. While I advocated bringing him back this offseason, I also said that the Yankees need to have a conversation with him about moving down in the lineup. That time has come and Buster Olney has an interesting angle on it in his column today-

If Derek Jeter were anybody else, it's fair to say that he would have already been dropped in the lineup. Girardi doesn't want to move Jeter, apparently, and is probably concerned about embarrassing a proud player.

What Jeter should do, as captain of the Yankees, is to draw from Ripken's example. He should take the onus off the manager. He should go to Girardi and tell him he'll be ready to hit anywhere in the lineup, and that he'll be OK with it. Until that happens -- or until Jeter actually starts to hit -- the Captain's place in the lineup, and his deep slump, will continue to be the elephant in the room for Girardi, something that everybody sees but won't talk about.

Now, I don't see Jeter doing that, so Girardi needs to have a conversation with Jeter about this. The numbers are brutal, here are some from Olney's column-

• On-base percentage: .310
• Slugging percentage: .269, which ranks 183rd out of 195 players.
• OPS: .580, which ranks 171st.
• Ground ball/fly ball ratio, a sign of how the player is not driving the ball: 2.72. Only one other player, Yunel Escobar, has a ground ball ratio over 2.00.

Yesterday he had two line drives, which were celebrated as a sign that things are changing with Derek's swing. The Yankees have managed to play very good baseball with a millstone at the top of their lineup, but they can't continue to give away AB's. The top guy at the lineup gets about one-more plate appearance a game than the bottom guy and right now Jeter doesn't deserve that extra PA over Gardner, Martin or even Nunez.

The Yankees will probably wait until Jeter records his 3,000th hit. At this pace, that will probably come right around their 81st game of the season. With Tampa rebounding and Boston lurking, can the Yankees afford to wait that long?

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The Yankees have announced during tonight's game that Phil Hughes doesn't have circulatory problems. He doesn't have TOS and he doesn't have vascular issues. That is good news, but the question remains, what is wrong with him then?

It's clear from his performance that something isn't right. He can't throw above 90-mph and his location hasn't been great either. He felt some sort of "tightness" in his arm during his last bullpen and that led to 2 days of tests at Columbia Presby and an appointment today in St. Louis. But, those tests didn't find anything and so his arm problems remain a mystery.

Well, maybe not. Tom Verducci named Hughes as a pitcher at risk in a preseason column. In his column he identified 11 pitchers at risk based on their innings jump in 2010. It's interesting to look at the names on that list.

Of the 11 names on the list, three are pitching well- Price (TB), Beachy (Atl) and Gonzalez (Oak). Two are on the DL- Hughes (NYY) and Sanabia (Fla). The remaining six are pretty bad- Baumgarner (SF- 6.73 ERA), Latos (SD- 4.98 ERA), Cecil (Tor- 6.86 ERA), Gee (NYM- 4.73ERA), Wood (Cin- 6.82 ERA) and Nova (NYY- 5.14 ERA). That means 8-of-11 or 73% are pitching poorly or hurt right now.

The problem is that if you assume Verducci is right (I do) what is the "cure" to this problem? Verducci only notes that the evidence points to "regression or injury" in the year following the big innings jump. So is there a cure for Hughes or is this simply a matter or him doing too much in 2010 and now facing the consequences? I am not sure anyone knows the answer to that question.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)