Posts tagged ‘bullpen’

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September 21, 2011

Yankees Take First Half of Double Header & More

by Jamie Insalaco

Phil Hughes missed yet another start due to injury – this time, it’s the back spasms again. The Yankees bullpen put together a superior effort after Hector Noesi’s start – well, I guess Howell didn’t get anyone out but the combination of Valdes, Kontos, Laffey, Wade, Logan, Ayala and Mariano Rivera blanks the Rays completely. Joe Madden probably left Big Game James Shields in the game too long and the 8th inning proved to be his undoing as Eduardo Nunez homered and he lost a hard fought battle with Brett Gardner and then walked Derek Jeter. Robinson Cano made Madden pay for going with JP Howell for a lefty on lefty match up by doubling in the rest of the damage – before that inning, the Yankees only other scoring that the could eek out was a double by A-Rod that plated Derek Jeter. The Yankees are so close to clinching the AL East I can taste it! (It tastes like… victory.)

And since I’m already being weird: Red Sox starter Erik Bedard was served legal papers by a Yankee fan attorney regarding a child support dispute – the mom wants a cost of living increase because Bedard’s salary has gone up since their original agreement. Anyway, the Yankee fan, Tom Cabral, posted about it on Facebook and Yahoo.com didn’t have any problem taking screen grabs of what he wrote – or, what anyone of his Facebook friends wrote. They didn’t even bother to obscure his friends’ names. You can view the torrid tale here. Other stupid crap that’s currently posted on the MLB page at Yahoo includes a video discussion regarding whether or not Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time. Was that ever a question, even before he broke the record? And if no Mo, then who? Trevor Hoffman? Don’t make me laugh.

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June 1, 2011

Yankees May 2011 Wrap Up

by Jamie Insalaco

 

May was a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Yankees.

The month of May, 2011 began promisingly enough as the Yankees finished off a series win against the Toronto Blue Jays, which finished up the home-stand on a positive note. Then the Yankees went to Detroit and the wheels came off – or maybe I should say the arms came off as they dropped 3 of 4 while we watched Eduardo Nunez through the ball all over the place. But, when the Yankees got to Texas, the bats came out, and we got Derek Jeter‘s mythical 2 home run game, which seems to have quieted the “Derek Jeter is finished,” media machine – at least for now… for some reason, hitting .264 in May is much better than hitting .256 in April – although I must admit, hit at-bats do look a lot better of late.

Then the Yankees came back home and experienced The Home Stand of Tears, dropping 2 of 3 to the Kansas City Royals (current record 24-30) and getting swept by the Boston Red Sox. Wow. Swept by the Boston Red Sox at home. That was a tough one. Yet, despite the rough patch, the Yankees are in first today by one game over the Monsters from Fenway.

Then the Yankees split two games at Tampa Bay (and they really should have won that first game), swept two games from the Baltimore Orioles (two game series are a waste of my time!) and then took two of three from the lowly Mets at home (current record 25-29). The Blue Jays came to Yankees Stadium and this featured another Yankees series win, including a come from behind extra innings win (pie style) that I feel this team desperately needed.

The Yankees flew out to Seattle to face the Mariners and gave up leads to lose the first two games and salvaged the final one before flying to Oakland to take on Hideki Matsui and the A’s, taking the first two games, including a gem by Bartolo Colon, and here we are, at June 1st, waiting for Game 3 to start later today.

So what did we learn this month?

The Yankees can’t bunt. Seriously, enough with the bunting. Nobody on this team is any good at it. The Yankees need to either start working on this in BP or just stop doing it. Last night’s failed suicide squeeze that resulted in Nick Swisher being tagged out in a run down was embarrassing – almost as sad as the fact that Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter can’t bunt; considering they have no power, they both need to add this trait to their game ASAP, or at least stop doing it, but this in between crap needs to stop.

Curtis Granderson is a golden god. Obviously. I was soooooo happy when they traded for him, and although last year was a tough start, my girlfriend very kindly ran out and bought me a Grandy-Man t-shirt in May of 2010, which makes us both look like geniuses now. Unlike Russell Martin, I don’t expect Granderson to slow down.

In praise of Bartolo Colon. Where would we be without this guy and his fastballs? His low pitch counts keep him in games late, giving a bullpen that is teetering on over use a bit of a breather. The Yankees need to protect this guy and give him an extra day’s rest any time they get a chance.

Losing streaks are inevitable. If you saw a lot of the New York papers (cough Post, cough Daily News) insisting that the Yankees blew their chance to bury the Red Sox, I tend to disagree. The Red Sox (not to mention the Rays) struggled early, and the Yankees hadn’t struggled yet. It was bound to happen. It could happen again. It’s a long season and there are many ups and downs.

Derek Jeter isn’t Derek Jeter anymore, but he’s hardly terrible. I don’t have any plans to build a statue to the guy on my front lawn, but I refuse to kill him in print the way so many have done. But then, this is another good example of what happens when you let Randy Levine meddle in negotiations.

Phil Hughes… ugh. Can this guy get through two consecutive seasons without spending major time on the DL? I know he’s still young, but he’s not that young anymore. Is it time to stash Hughes in the bullpen for good? I’m not sure, but given the Yankees appeared shortage of starting pitching, it’s a tough call. If you don’t believe in Freddy Garcia, I can’t blame you, but is Hughes really a better option? I guess we’ll have to wait and see what he has when he comes off the DL.

GOING FORWARD:
Take a look at the Yankees June schedule; it’s a tough one. Red Sox, Angels, Rangers, Rockies, Indians… if they’re still in first on July 1st, it’ll be a miracle.

Posted in 2011 Season | 1 Comment »

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January 5, 2011

Speculating on the Yankees 25 Man Roster for the 2011 Season

by Jamie Insalaco

andy pettitteIt’s only January, so there is still time for the Yankees and Brian Cashman to make some improvements here, but the Yankees 25 Man Roster is looking a bit short as of now.  Maybe we’ll find Andy Pettitte under the Christian Orthodox Christmas Tree…  one can only hope!

For now, here’s my projected Yankees 25 Man Roster for the 2011 Season.

Day to Day Lineup:
1) Mark Teixeira – 1B
2) Robinson Cano – 2B
3) Alex Rodriguez – 3B
4) Derek Jeter – SS
5) Russell Martin – C
6) Brett Gardner – LF
7) Curtis Granderson – CF
8 ) Nick Swisher – RF
9) Jorge Posada – DH

Starting Rotation:
10) CC Sabathia – LHP
11) Phil Hughes – RHP
12) A.J. Burnett – RHP
13) Sergio Mitre – RHP
14) Ivan Nova – RHP

Bench
15) Ramiro Pena – IF
16) Francisco Cervelli – C
17) Eduardo Nunez – IF
18) Greg Golson – OF
19) Kevin Russo Andruw Jones – OF

Bullpen

20) Boone Logan – LHP
21) Pedro Feliciano – LHP
22) Mariano Rivera – RHP
23) Joba Chamberlain – RHP
24) Dave Robertson – RHP
25) Romulo Sanchez Rafael Soriano – RHP

I’m assuming Damaso Marte will not be available due to injury at the opening of 2011 because… well, the guy is always hurt.  I threw Kevin Russo and Greg Golson on the bench because…  well, you might as well put somebody in those two empty roster spots, right?  the same goes for Romulo Sanchez (and he’s out of options, so if he’s not with the big league club, the Yankees will probably loose him to waivers), who I guess I’m envisioning as the long man out of the pen.

On a whole, the roster is very similar to that which the Yankees opened the 2010 season with – the biggest glaring omission is the absence of Andy Pettitte.  I’m still hoping against hope that he comes back – I see him as the fifth starter in name only – or at least that they just shouldn’t use him in April as the team will rarely need five starters in the first month of the season – I think this could keep Pettitte healthy and fresh for the stretch, but what do I know.

Well, that’s the way I see the Yankees 25 man roster if we had to go to war today – thankfully, we don’t – and hopefully, Cashman will come up with something to solidify the bench and the rotation.

Also, check out a great post from An A-Blog For A-Rod.

Posted in Off-Season | 2 Comments »

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August 3, 2010

Blue Jays take game 1 of 3

by Jamie Insalaco

No, A-Rod didn’t hit his dinger.

Now that we got that out of the way, lets talk about this game and the reason the Yankees lost: the unraveling of AJ Burnett in the 5th inning. What the hell happened? He seemed to be pitching well, but all of the sudden, it seemed like his command deserted him. He came into the inning with a low pitch count, so it couldn’t have been fatigue… I know Michael Kay is fond of saying, "Burnett is like the little girl with the curl: he’s either very, very good or very very bad," and while I don’t exactly understand that simile, I do hear what he’s saying. However, we did learn one thing last night; the Blue Jays do not know hot to pitch with a lead.

I liked what Joe Girardi did with his bench last night. I liked the idea of pitch hitting Marcus Thames for Curtis Granderson; maybe this will act like lighting a fire under Grandy. I do think Austin Kearns can help this team, but I also believe he should have tried to foul off that pitch he took for strike when he pitch hit for Brett Gardner; I feel like when you’re called on to pitch hit late in the game, the last thing you want to do is go down looking, right?

Just a quick shout out to Joba Chamberlain, who pitched pretty well last night. If he gets on track, the Yankees bullpen might suddenly go from a weakness to a strength with the tremendous turn around of David Robertson and the arrival of Kerry Wood. I think demoting Joba and bringing in Wood is just the kick in the ass Joba needs, and since the demotion, he’s pitched pretty well, so lets see how this thing unfolds.

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July 23, 2010

Yankees put up a 10 spot

by Jamie Insalaco

The Yankees scored a ton of runs, so that’s good… but if you’re trying to figure out what’s going with the Yankees pitching (and their opponent’s pitching, for that matter) since the All Star break, let me advise you to not try. Last night’s game was especially perplexing.
CC Sabathia gave up a zillion hits (that’s 11hits in 6.1 IP for fans of reality) to the Kansas City Royals offense, which isn’t the worst thing in the world – it’s not like they’re Baltimore – and 4 runs, 3 earned. It felt worse, but it’s probably because he gave up like 6 hits in the first two innings. CC’s 9 strikeouts is probably the only thing that kept the Royals from getting out of hand. David Robertson came into the game in the 7th and did a good job again, and then Joba Chamberlain entered the game for another roller coaster ride, but after loading the bases, he managed to wiggle his way out of trouble for what at least feels like a rare scoreless outing. 2 hits, 1 walk in 1 IP. Dave Eiland, your mission is clear.
On the offensive side, Derek Jeter dropped his first in the park homer since his rookie year – David DeJesus almost made a great catch – well, did make a great catch – before his collision with the wall made him drop the ball, and Jeter was off to the races. It looked like DeJesus jammed his wrist pretty good on the wall – I’d be surprised to see him in tonight’s lineup. Alex Rodriguez delivered home run number 599 of his career, along with 3 other RBI. There were also RBI from Posada, Thames, Swisher (2 on the night), and Teixeira.
I know the Kansas City Royals aren’t exactly build for success, but Bruce Chen? Really? I know his numbers are decent this year, and you don’t have to throw hard to get guys out, but Chen isn’t exactly Jamie Moyer – and that’s saying something, isn’t it? And this is the America League, so any success Chen has had this year I would, for the most part, throw up to catching lightening in a bottle. I think the Royals would be better off letting a young guy get some experience in that spot – they’re not going anywhere with Chen in that roll, I don’t care how good his curve ball is this year. It’s a miracle he got through 6 innings. I guess there is some value in having a well traveled veteran on the team in terms of talking to the kids on the team about ‘been there, done that,’ but whatever. I just get sick of teams like the Royals taking revenue sharing money and then they roll out players like Chen. Sheesh!
Oh, and don’t to harp on the umpires again after my last post, but Wilson ‘Can’t find a Better Man’ Betemit was clearly safe at 2nd in the 1st inning. That momentum might have, in some ways, cost the Royals any chance they had in that game. Oh and who got thrown out and home? He was safe, too.
And on to the adventure that is Jorge Posada at home plate. I think Posada is going to have to warm up a bit more to the idea of being the DH on this team, because wow. That snap throw to third was awful. And why did he try to throw over the runner on that dropped strike 3 instead of stepping to the side and throwing to Teixeira? Why did he try to pick the runner off at third in the 1st place? It didn’t look like he had a chance… I feel like I’m missing another one of his moments from last night’s game… Oh well. It’s best not to think about it. I like Posada a lot; in my view, he’s the captain of the Yankees, not Derek Jeter, but I’m ready for him to DH his way into the sunset. The Yankees have at least 3 young catchers in their system that are looking good, and one of them looks like he’s going to hit the ball to the moon (or Queens) on a regular basis, so lets get the Posada to DH transition going.

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July 22, 2010

Joba Chamberlain and the middle relief

by Jamie Insalaco

The Yankees put up another bunch of runs in the later half of game 2 against the Angels yesterday and fended off a comeback by the Halos. No thanks to Joba Chamberlian.

Don’t get me wrong: I like the guy. In fact, I like the guy a lot. He has good stuff. But you can’t say much about his 2010 performance. It seems like lately, he can’t get through an appearance without giving up a run, and when you check his <a href="http://yankees.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_gamebygamelog.jsp?c_id=nyy&playerID=501955&statType=2">game logs</a>, that feeling isn’t too far from the truth. He’s made 7 appearances in July so far and surrendered a run in 4 appearances for a total of 7 ER. That’s just too many runs surrendered too often. With his fastball/slider combo, he really should be able to get it done, but as we saw during the days of Kyle Farnsworth, velocity is only half the battle – you’ve got to locate that fastball, or you’re screwed.

David Robertson had a pretty awesome June; he only let up 1 ER in 9 IP while striking out 9. That’s what I call relief. In July, he got blown up in that one game against Toronto, but the rest of the month, he’s been solid and is the only other guy in the pen you can count on other than Mariano Rivera. I think It might be time to have D-Rob setup and move Joba to the 7th – I think it could awaken that famous Joba "bulldog mentality" that certain radio talk show hosts love to talk about. Or, it could shatter whatever confidence he has left.

The rest of the pen? Well, they pretty much suck. Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves are both on the DL, its only a matter of time before Chad Gaudin and Chan Ho Park get DFA’d, Boone Logan will be back to triple A when Marte returns, as good as Jonathan Albaladejo’s triple A numbers have been, his first 2010 MLB appearance didn’t inspire much confidence, and Dustin Moseley won’t last much longer. No idea what options are available at triple A… I don’t want to see Mark Melancan again – he clearly can’t get anybody out at the MLB level. Not sure about the little I’ve seen of Ivan Nova…

The trade market? No idea who’s available there, either. What I do know is that every team that’s buying will be looking for pitching, so it’s not going to be easy to get a quality reliever in here, unless he’s over paid… and there’s no way to know if he’ll be able to handle New York. Sigh…

Posted in 2010 Season | 1 Comment »

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