Posts tagged ‘Derek Jeter’

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July 6, 2011

33 Dogs Named Jeter

by Jamie Insalaco

 

33 dogs named jeter

"I got it!"

If you frequent the New York Times as often as I do (almost daily), it’s still easy to miss articles because their publication is so massive, and is even more so online, so it’s understandable if you missed this gem: Some Pet Owners Judge Jeter Name Best in Show

Before we get to the article, let me say this: Jorge Castillo has OUTDONE HIMSELF. This is sports journalism at it’s finest. Seriously. Pulitzer – no, F that – Nobel! Castillo deserves the Nobel Prize for this article!

Here are some notable quotes:

New York City, you see, is home to 33 dogs actively registered under the name Jeter. Across the Hudson, at the Valley Animal Hospital in Clifton, N.J., there are seven clients who go by the name Jeter, and on a single mail route in nearby Montclair, there are at least two Jeters — both reported to be friendly. In Jersey City, a Labrador is named Jeter; in Stamford, Conn., the city’s lone Jeter is a beagle.

Oh, those two Jeter dogs are friendly – that the lord! What if they were vicious, insane killer dogs who bark and when they bark, bees come out of their mouths? So, this begs the question: is Jeter one of the more popular names for dogs in our area?

In New York, Jeter does not come close to cracking the city’s 10 most popular dog names. That list consists of traditional dog names like Max, which 942 dogs answer to in the five boroughs. The only top name that could possibly be associated with an athlete is Rocky, which is the third-most popular name in the city, with 644 dogs licensed.

Guess not. But, let’s remember: Mr. Castillo said “Some Pet Owners Judge Jeter Name Best in Show,” not all. But do people name their kids after Jeter? Turns out, they do.

Check it:

But pets are not the only Jeters around. According to the Social Security Administration, 47 baby boys nationwide were named Jeter in 2010, up from 39 in 2009. In 1998, five newborns were given the name.

Yet, Jeter as a baby name does not compare to another Yankees legend. In 1957, Mickey Mantle won the second of his back-to-back American league Most Valuable Player Awards and led the Yankees to the World Series title. That same, year 944 babies were named Mickey.

I was totally going to ask if Jeter was the most popular name for Yankee fans to name their kids, but nope, doesn’t look like it’s close. But, uhm, you know… nice factoid, I guess.

More Quotes:

Jack Beibel, 16, of Montclair said he named his dog Jeter because the shortstop was his favorite player. His cockapoo has taken to it.

“If we yell, ‘Yankees,’ he starts barking,’ ” Beibel said. “And if we yell, ‘Red Sox,’ he kneels down.”

When reached for comment, my German Shepard mix remarked, “I find this all very undignified.”

Additional Quotes:

Jeter, by this canine measure, is more popular than his teammates, according to statistics provided by the New York City Department of Health. There is, for instance, one licensed dog named A-Rod. There are eight licensed dogs named Tex in the city, although it is far from clear whether they are all named in honor of Mark Teixeira.

Take that, A-Rod! You may have MVP awards, a World Series ring, millions of dollars, fame,Cameron Diaz (you can keep her, actually), but hey, almost nobody is naming their dog after you. Almost nobody. Anyway, I asked my Golden Retriever for her thoughts on Jeter and she replied, “I go to my right better than he does.” I can’t argue with that – she’s the most gifted athlete since… well, since A-Rod. I think she could certainly field the ball at all infield and outfield positions, but I’m not sure how she’d do at making throws, especially to the plate from right field…

This is a real article. I did not make this up – I can’t stress that enough, because this seems like the sort of joke I’d make. (NOTE: see ‘Derek Jeter has a distinct old man smell.’) I can’t imagine what the New York Times wa thinking. I know the 3000 hit chase is nearing its close (as the article notes), so up until then, is it going to be general press policy to get these weird peripheral Jeter stories out there until he gets it done? Did everyone stop what they were doing and write their stories praising his career already so they wouldn’t have to rush when it happened, only to find that he got hurt and they had all the time they could need and now have nothing else to write about? I just don’t understand who comes up with this concept, writes the article and publishes it – via the New York Times. The Times! This is the sort of BS filler I expect from The Post. I love dogs, and to an extent, I’m a big fan of Derek Jeter; but lets get a hold of ourselves.

LINK DUMP:
If you haven’t already, check out NoMaas.org’s interview with Mark Newman concerning the Yankees farm system – it’s interesting stuff. If you are not familiar with NoMaas, please be advised BEFORE you click the link that I am not responsible for any content on their site or affiliated with them in any way. I don’t have a problem with their site, but they make this blog look like courtesy class – especially the comments. (Just FYI)

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July 5, 2011

Somebody wake up Joe Girardi!

by Jamie Insalaco

AJ Burnett is not necessarily the best pitcher to ever grace a mound with his presence. Sure, you’ll hear tales of his filthy stuff, and it’s true, to an extent: Burnett has some good pitches in his arsenal, including a hard fastball and a snapping curve ball. In yesterday’s fourth of July game, he struggled but overcame in the 1st inning but overall, pitched 6 solid innings. Sure, at the end of the 6th, he looked a little tired, but I couldn’t begrudge Joe Girardi for sending him out there for the 7th, especially after how much the bullpen worked in the Mets series. But at some point, you have to go to your bullpen.

AJ Burnett is not the sort of guy who saves your bullpen; he’s just not. Sure, he’ll go 8 innings every once and a while, but it’s just not who he is. So after that Shelly Duncan at bat, during which Burnett was clearly tired and didn’t have anything left and couldn’t snap off a curve ball to save his life, Girardi left him in there. He didn’t go to his bullpen, he didn’t send Larry Rothschild or even Russell Martin out there to give him a breather.

After the Duncan single, I thought it was obvious that it was time for a call to the bullpen to get somebody up before the ball got back to the infield, followed by a lengthy mound visit. Then, the next batter should have been given the unintentional intentional walk. By then, your bullpen guy ought to be ready to go, and you make the change. It’s that simple.

Instead, BOOM – home run, and the Yankees go on to loose a game they should have found a way to win. Nice job, Girardi!

YANKEESNEWS VIA TEXT:
Today’s text reads: “HBO & MLB Productions to produce a 1 hour special chronicling Jeter’s 3K chase.”
My guess is that working titles include, “Boring as Hell: Jeter’s 3000 Chase” or “Jeter Documentary: The Best Editing You’ll Ever See,” because this must be one boring film. How much drama could the end possibly have in store? Jeter did not have a good offensive year last year (.270 average, 179 hits), nor has he this year (.256 average, 68 hits), and he’s been hurt for the last several weeks with 6 hits to go. Maybe I’ll get more excited about this as we get to the end, but right now, I’m not interested in Jeter’s personal achievements – but I’m happy to have his glove back, because Edwardo Nunez can not field.

YANKEES VIA EMAIL:
subject – MLB best Six Yankees are headed to the All-Star Game
In case you didn’t already hear, the Yankees heading to the All Star game are

Can we PLEASE climb out of Jeter’s ass? A-Rod has been to the All Star Game a few times, why can’t we count how many times he’s been? And really, Jeter is one of the six best Yankees on the team? Really? Derek Jeter is having a better year and/or is more valuable to the team that Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia or Brett Gardner? Or how about David Robinson, for that matter? I feel like I spend a lot of time writing negative things about Jeter in this space, but I don’t hate the guy – I just don’t think he’s the golden god everyone else makes him out to be – at least he’s not anymore.

Whatever, I don’t care about the all star game and I wish no Yankees were going, because if anyone gets so much as a cramp from appearing in the farce, I’m going to be PISSED!

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June 21, 2011

Winning and Injuries

by Jamie Insalaco

The Yankees are 8-2 over their last ten games and 13 games over .500, a 2011 season high, and I’m excited about that – but this team needs help. Don’t get me wrong, the Yankees deserve kudos for the winnings they’ve been doing, but this team has some glaring holes – some I understand, like the bullpen, but then, when they only score 1 run in Chicago against one of the worst pitchers in the game and let him hang around for 8 innings… it’s hard to know what to think. This and other Yankees issues are probably due to age, injury, regression or all three issues.

So who’s hurt these days? Its so numerous that it’s getting tough to keep track of. Fortunately, it looks like we’re going to get Jeter, Colon and Hughes back – 2009 Jeter is probably never going to show up again, but, he’s probably the lesser of alternative evils. Colon is a must and Brian Cashman is practically married to Phil Hughes, so if you don’t like Hughes… you’re out of luck.

Derek Jeter
El Calfstrain is just short of his 3000th hit, and while it’s kinda crazy that we get to watch the active hit leader and in the future can say, "I saw that guy play," you have to admit that he’s kinda dragging the team down with his bat and lack of range at short. On the other hand, Eduardo Nunez’s fielding can only be described as frightening, but more on that later.

Bartolo Colon
If you pray, please pray for Colon every night. We need this guy back at 100% – hopefully, right after the All Star break. Without him… I don’t know how realistic our chances are of actually going anywhere in the playoffs. He’s that important!

Phil Hughes
If you haven’t seen the reports, it sounds like his first rehab start went well, the velocity is there and he’s feeling good, so maybe we’re getting the good Phil Hughes back, but this guy is as unpredictable as they get – I know he won a zillion games last year, but I have trouble trusting this guy – he’s either going good, going bad or hurt. Consistency isn’t his strong point.

All Left Handed Relievers Except He Who Shall Hence Be Known As "The Crappy One"
Let’s see… I read somewhere that both Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte are starting to throw off flat ground, but who knows what that means in terms of a return time table. If neither of them can get David Ortiz out, then it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Joba Chamberlain
See you next year, Joba. Anybody got a spare setup man lying around that they’re not using?

Rafael Soriano
Oh right, you were supposed to be the setup man. I forgot. Joba was going to the 7th inning guy… anyway, Soriano is still supposed to be resting and maybe will come back in the middle of July, but I’m not holding my breath.

So we definitely need more pitching, but that’s not a surprise – although I thought it was going to be starting pitching, not bullpen help. So let’s take a look at who stinks.

Eduardo Nunez (fielding)
So, now that you’ve seen Eduardo Nunez for a while at short, what do you think? Obviously, he can’t field worth a damn – every time he picks up the ball, I say a silent prayer and everybody sitting behind 1st base braces for impact. Nunez can hit, but I’m starting to wonder whether or not this guy belongs in the infield.

Boone Logan aka "The Crappy One"
If Boone Logan was a Sioux, his name would be "Only On Team Because He’s Left Handed," or something more clever than that. Since he can’t get anybody out, he decided to try a different strategy against the Reds – just hit the guy, it’s faster. He’s given up 16 hits in 16 innings while walking 8 and striking out 11. That is NOT getting it done.

The Bullpen
We’ve got David Robertson, Mariano Rivera and a collection of stiffs. Seriously… the Yankees are, as of this writing, carrying 12 pitchers on there roster – and I’m sure it would be 13 if they could find another lefty. It’s that bad. I know Hector Noesi has looked good and Corey Wade has looked good so far, but we need more help, and we can’t count on any of the DL relief corps to come back. It’s time to go to the scrap pile (again) or make a trade.

Francisco Cervelli
I don’t expect backup catchers to hit, but this guy has got to field better. In fact, he’s got to field great – because if a backup catcher can’t catch, then what’s the damn point? It’s not like he’s a regular position player who you expect to contribute with the bat – Cervelli is a catcher and the guy just isn’t getting it done behind the plate. Cervelli and Nunez need to do serious work this winter.

Other Stuff
I guess Nick Swisher is finding his swing, but splits are still frightening. Jorge Posada is also looking better at the plate, but… who knows. The Brett Gardner Crisis of April has been officially over as he’s gotten his average almost up to .300 now – too bad he completely forgot how to run or steal bases. Kudos are due to Ivan Nova, who has really done well in his last several starts, especially last night. A-Rod is apparently playing hurt, but it doesn’t seem to be effecting him much; but, if he is truly hurt, the Yankees would be wise to DL him now rather than waiting – Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira can supply the power in the interim.

Now what?
The bench needs help and the Yankees desperately need relief pitching, and they need the two hardest things to get: a lefty and a setup guy. Can these holes be filled? I’m sure we can find guys to fix the bench, but the bullpen is going to be tricky. I hate to tie my hopes to Rafael Soriano coming back to the team healthy and effective, but I’m betting there aren’t many other choices.

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June 8, 2011

An RBI would be nice

by Jamie Insalaco

First, a quick note: sorry the blog has been spotty of late – in about two weeks (June 22), update frequency should shoot way up.

When things are going well, its easy to ignore your team’s short comings. When your team loses a game, their weaknesses stick out, as the expression goes, like a sore thumb. (Shouldn’t that be swollen thumb? Why would a sore thumb stick out- because it’s swollen?)

When you take a look at the Yankees recent west coast swing through Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles, it’s easy to look at the Seattle series and say, “I can’t believe the Yankees lost that series. Losing a series to the Mariners is inexcusable, especially since they had leads in both games they lost. How can you not hold a lead against an offense as bad as Seattle?” That’s a pretty valid argument; it’s not like they lost those games 1 to 0. Of course, then the Yankees go down to Oakland and face the inept, Hideki Matsui equipped Athletics and suddenly everything is all wine and roses as the Yankees sweep – as their two best pitchers (yes, I mean CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon) slaughter a terrible excuse for guys who are supposed to score runs. Then, the Yankees go to Anaheim (to face the Angels, who I love to poke fun at for their constant name changes), which has generally been a house of horrors for them in the last decade and take two out of three, so it’s easy to be happy with that outcome, even if over the last few years, the Angels have been in serious decline and haven’t given the Yankees series trouble in a long while, even in the 2009 ALCS. All and all, a successful road trip, and the Yankees have a pretty sweet road record.

Then they come home and leave a village on the base paths and lose anther game to the Red Sox.

Obviously, it’s not a good thing, but certainly not the end of the world. You don’t want to lose games to your division rival, especially at home, but if it happens, you move on – but it gets to be a bit stigmatic when you start a third series with a team and a second series at home and have yet to notch a home win. That’s embarrassing, if not catastrophic.

So why’d they lose to the Red Sox at home? Again?

Well, in the case of last night’s contest, there are two simple reasons: Freddy Garcia was terrible and the Yankees left a small village on the base paths. (If you’re wondering how many constitutes a village, it’s 9.) Oh, and my favorite line from the box score:

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – C Granderson 1, A Rodriguez 1, N Swisher 2, A Jones 1.

Damn it!

My favorite moment was when Derek Jeter flied out to right field in the 9th inning on ball four on a pitch that was nowhere near the strike zone. Nice one, el Capitan! Still, Jonathon Papelbon was throwing gas, and I guess it’s hard to gauge where the ball is going, but when a pitcher is a bit wild and it’s a 3-1 count, take a pitch! This goes for you, too, A-Rod. Nice 0 for 5, by the way!

If you care about Jeter’s march to 3000, he only needs 12 more hits after 2 last night – even if one would probably have been an error if they weren’t in New York.

Cheers for Hector Noesi and 6 IP of 2 run ball. During this stint with the Yankees, he’s been very impressive – I wonder if he’ll get a chance in the rotation? He could be a 5th starter candidate next year… too bad he didn’t start last night!

Tonight, the Yankees welcome their old friend Tim Wakefield back to the mound. Will his knuckle ball dance? Who knows. Which AJ Burnett will take the mound? The one who struggles and adjusts or the one who struggles and implodes? The answers are in the Bronx tonight in a totally meaningless June battle for 1st place.

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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.

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May 20, 2011

Feast Or Famine Again?

by Jamie Insalaco

 

In recent past seasons, I’ve expressed concern that the Yankees have continually put together offenses that either produce a zillion runs or none to almost no runs at all; or, as it is often called, a feast or famine offense. When I scroll through the results of the 2011 season, I do feel that this team can easily lapse into that tendency.

Last night, the Yankees scored 13 runs on 14 hits, which is great – except that the night before, they were held down to one run over 14 innings until picking up 3 more in the 15th. Now I understand that different line ups, and even particular players on specific days are going to produce different results on separate games, but the Yankees weren’t exactly facing Pedro Martinez in his prime on Wednesday night, and they left a ton of guys on base. So what gives?

It’s still a bit too early to draw conclusions about the 2011 Yankees. For example, I don’t think Derek Jeter is going to meander around the .255 mark all season – I think he’s probably a .275-.285 guy this year. It’s also impossible to predict Brett Gardner; he simply doesn’t have enough MLB time to know if what he did last year and what he’s done in the month of May is who he really is or not. I have no idea what’s going on with Nick Swisher (although he’s starting to show signs of life, too), and Jorge Posada doesn’t have a single hit off a left handed pitcher yet this season – and he’s NEVER had bad splits before in his entire career.

So while it’s too soon to call the 2011 Yankee offense a feast or famine club, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

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May 16, 2011

When it rains, it pours

by Jamie Insalaco

The Yankees dodged the weekend raindrops and got all the games in. Too bad. Is there anything worse than a game on FOX, a game on ESPN, and losing both games to the Red Sox? May has been pretty ugly thus far. Let’s take a quick look:

4 game series with the Tigers
W 5-3
L 2-4
L 0-4
L 3-6

3 game series with the Rangers
W 4-1
L 5-7
W 12-5

3 game series with the Royals
W 3-1
L 3-4
L 5-11

3 game series with the Red Sox
L 4-5
L 0-6
L 5-7

One series win out of four. Lost a series to the Royals at home – I know they’re off to a good start, but come on – Melky Carerera and Wilson “can’t find a better backup infielder” are starting for them at the left corners. Swept by the Red Sox at home. I know it’s only mid May and the Yankees are still over .500, but these last two weeks have been brutal. The inability to hit with runners in scoring position is the most damning trend we’ve seen over this time, but the poor fielding is probably not a trend we’ll see all year. On the other hand, it’s pretty sad that no one on this team can bunt well and that Brett Gardner is not good at base running or stealing, which, given his age, seems unlikely to change. I do think the offense and the fielding will come around – this is just a slump, one that was bound to happen. I don’t buy into the argument that this team relies on the home run too much – rather, this team just hits a lot of home runs. It’s not like the 2003 Yankees that just waits for the home run, but I can see how it looks that way. Speaking of home runs, I’m starting to feel like Joba Chamberlain is giving up too many of those round trippers…

The Jorge Posada Deal
It is what it is – obviously, it would be a blow to the pride of any player who used to hit in the middle of the lineup to be suddenly delegated to the last spot. So he took himself out of the lineup because A) his back hurt; B) he was pissed he was hitting ninth; C) both. I don’t care what the deal is – the simple fact is if you can’t get your batting average to be higher than your weight after six weeks, you should count your lucky millions that you’re not riding the bench, never mind batting ninth. If you heard or read somewhere that the Yankees weren’t interested in having Jorge back on the team next year… well, obviously. They don’t trust him to play catcher anymore and having a permanent DH that has a $30 million dollar, surgically repaired A-Rod on it probably doesn’t need an every day DH – not to mention finding rest/DH days for Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter and so on.

Can we DL Rafael Soriano now?
Soriano is out again, riding the pine and the pain for a few more days. I know he makes a lot of money and his tests came back negative, but he’s just eating up a 25 man roster spot at this point, and after sitting for so long, he’s going to be cold anyway. Let’s just put him on the 15 day DL and let him make some rehab appearances at Scranton and come back ready to go.

Coming Up Next: Two games in Tampa, two games in Baltimore, then home for the Mets. Who knows what these games will bring? One thing is for sure, the Yankees need a win, desperately.

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May 12, 2011

Can I Get An RBI?

by Jamie Insalaco

A Quick Rant On LOB:
The Yankees left 15 runners on base last night – which doesn’t include the runners lost by the GIDPs from Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson. Granderson got some redemption in the 10th with his RBI single to keep the game alive, but jeez – not a good offensive performance by any stretch of the imagination.

A Quick Rant On Bunting and Coaching:
The Yankees have a problem that sounds like the setup for a work of fiction: a manager who loves to bunt has a roster full of players who can’t bunt worth a shiz! As far as I know, the Yankees don’t have anyone (well, maybe Martin can bunt) who is proficient in bunting, yet Joe Girardi loves to call for it. And why have Brett Gardner or Derek Jeter bunt? They’re both hot right now! And neither of them are what I would call good bunters… not to mention they were both facing a pitcher who was wild. I just don’t understand why Girardi calls for players to bunt who can’t do it (is he trying to embarrass them into practicing it more?) in situations where bunting doesn’t make a ton of sense. Sure, maybe that was a ‘by the book’ scenario where a bunt was called for, but use your eyes: the pitcher can’t Joakim Soria couldn’t find the plate and his velocity was way down – that means either take your walk or wait for the inevitable fastball down the middle!

New York Connection:
So the Kansas City Royals have Melky Cabrera in left field, Wilson Betemit at 3rd – both former Yankees – and Vin Mazzaro is from Rutherford, NJ. Who else they got over there that either played for the Yankees at some point or is from the greater New York City area?

Tonight:
Ivan Nova in the rubber match! It’d be a shame to lose a series at home to the Royals, regardless of how good their start has been this year. Also, Rafael Soriano’s arm is OK, so good news there! It sounds like we’ll see him this weekend against the Red Sox, if not tonight.

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May 11, 2011

King of the Small Sample Sizes – Derek Jeter's Triple Slash

by Jamie Insalaco

It has been well documented that Derek Jeter did not get off to a fast start this season; his uninspiring April triple slash of .256/.313/.278 seemed to strike a nerve with the sports media, blogs and Yankee fans alike. As for me, I prefer to reserve judgment on what kind of year a player is going to have until June 1, but I couldn’t help but react to at least a few of the gloom and doom reports regarding Jeter’s bat.

QUICK ASIDE: Why is the focus solely on Jeter’s bat, by the way? "Passed a diving Jeter!" is practically Michael Kay’s catch phrase and the thought that "Jeter goes to his left worse than Rush Limbaugh," has been uttered enough times to rob the joke of it’s punch, yet the conversation is welded to his offensive production. I don’t understand why that is the case.

Today is May 11th, and after last night’s game, Jeter’s May triple slash looks like this: .371/.405/.571. So now what? Crisis averted? Here is his 2011 overall triple slash: .283/.336/.354. Not bad, right? Particularly for a short stop? Is the feeding frenzy over? Will I keep asking questions like the cliff hanger of an old Batman episode?

Here are some non-interrogative sentences. Jeter has 127 at bats so far this year. This is NOT enough ABs to make a sound judgment from. Also, take a minute to look at Derek Jeter’s career numbers; if you really thought that last year was who Jeter was going to be going forward, I’d need to know what you’re basing that on. Sure, I expect regression from a player as they get older, but the kind of fall off people are/were talking about is/was just absurd. In the late 1990s and for most of 2000s, pitchers would always try to bust Jeter in on his hands with a fastball so he couldn’t hit the ball the other way – it felt like the only pitch Jeter ever saw was a fastball inside. But Jeter would just pull his hands in toward his body and hit it over the second baseman’s head anyway. Last year, it seemed that Jeter saw more breaking and off speed pitches away then he’d ever seen before – the league finally adjusted. Consequently, it seemed that Jeter was grounding the ball to short stop a lot, which was strange for a guy who was famous for going the other way. This year, you’ll note that many Yankees blogs have been writing about the increased number of curve balls the Yankees have been seeing this year as a team – which is the perfect pitch for a guy like Jeter to ground to the right side, by the way. I explain May by saying that Jeter is a veteran hitter: he adjusted back. So while I still think it’s too early to say whether Jeter will hit .256, .283 or .371, I think it’s safe to bet he won’t hit .256, but will put up a higher number than that. But let’s wait a few more weeks before we go nuts one way or another.

It’s been a few days between posts as real life intruded on my duty to the blog here, as it is bound to do from time to time. The Yankees obviously had a nice road series win in Texas, which featured that crazy game and Jeter’s 2 home runs – a big part of that early May slugging percentage! Now the Yankees are back home and took care of business in game one against the Royals. It was nice to see Melky Caberara again (even with the ridiculous beard), and it was even nicer to see Alex Rodriguez slow the game down a bit and just hit a 2 RBI single to give the Yankees a lead. Sure, it was against a Royals starter who shouldn’t of been in the game at that point, but whatever. Also, we’re all crossing our fingers that Rafael Soriano’s MRI comes back clean on that elbow, but it might be time to put this guy on the 15 day disabled list and get him healthy before the season gets too far under way.

Tonight, A.J. Burnett will face off against former Oakland A Vin Mazzaro, who I believe got SHELLED BEYOND BELIEF the last time he faced the Yankees. He’s a local guy, so let’s not boo him, OK? This is his first MLB start of the year, so who knows what he’ll bring to the table…. but expect this guy to get smacked around. As for Burnett, as long as he can keep Russell Martin from having to dive all over the place to keep the ball from heading to the backstop, he should give us a quality start. If not… cover your eyes and think of your loved ones.

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May 6, 2011

Jeter Media Frenzy

by Jamie Insalaco

There was a point in the last few years when it became necessary to point out that Derek Jeter was not a golden god who would live forever, an immortal in his prime; I wrote about it myself last year.  Now, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction, and it’s time to calm down.  The New York Times got my attention with their Jeter Has a Powerless Start article, but the Sports Illustrated website has taken it to a whole other level as his name appears no less than EIGHT TIMES on their baseball homepage.

derek-jeter-sports-illustrated

I haven't seen that much Jeter since... ever!

EIGHT TIMES?  Holy shizlickets!  You’d think the guy hit for the cycle, got a DUI or killed somebody… or something.  Let’s take a look at each mention, one by one.  (Bonus Trivia:  What two players have gotten a DUI in the last few weeks?  Kinda seems like there might be a story there…)

Derek Jeter’s Struggles
Wow, he got his own side of the ‘featured’ box!  Is there anything more asinine…  except maybe evaluating a hitter’s performance after 120 plate appearances.

Derek Jeter is batting .250 with only two extra-base hits — neither of them home runs — in 120 plate appearances.
Again with the home runs!  He’s not a power hitter!  Who cares if he hits home runs?!?

Derek Jeter will be 37 in a few weeks…
Holy shizlickets…  is SI going to update us each day with a count down to Jeter’s birthday party?

Jeter’s best days are behind him.
Of course they are!  He’s going to be 37 years old and he’s a middle infielder!  Do you even watch baseball?!?

Jeter leaves game in 8th with sore hip, says he’s OK
Got that?  Now check this next one out.

Jeter injuries hip
Make up your effing mind!  Is he OK or did he injure his hip?  Yeah, it turns out that Jeter is not injured.  What a surprise.

An unconfirmed source reports that Derek Jeter, “…has a distinct old man smell.”
OK, I made that last one up.

Jeter is obviously not in his prime before – as being nearly 37 years old and his stats suggest. However, I tend to think that there probably aren’t better offensive short stops to be had.  Sure, I’d take Troy Tulowitzki on the Yankees in a second, but it’s not going to happen.  I certainly don’t think that if Jeter is hitting .250 on June 15 that he needs to continue to lead off, but lets see what happens.  If the argument is that you need a better defensive player at short, then I think you can make a case against Jeter, but everywhere I go, everyone is pointing to his batting average and ground ball percentage.  Let’s wait a month and then, with a proper size of data, make a fair judgment because what is going on right now is just ridiculous.

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