What Happened
The Yankees won their third straight game, as they defeated the Royals 6-1 on Saturday evening. The game was over when Jorge Posada knocked in 2 runs in the top of the first, as that was more than CC Sabathia would need in his stellar 7.2 innings of shutout ball. Posada, Nick Swisher, and Xavier Nady all had multiple hit games, while Robbie Cano had his first 0-fer of the young season. Jose Veras allowed a run in 1.1 innings of relief work.
What I Liked
1) CC Sabathia- after an awful outing on Opening Day in which he failed to escape the 5th inning, CC showed the world the talent that made the Yankees hand him 23 million dollars a season. He went 7.2 innings, struck out 6 and walked none. He scattered 8 baserunners (6 singles, 2 HBP) and was throwing 93-97 free and easy, which should quiet those trying to paint him as being injured after one bad game in nasty weather.
2) Nick Swisher- How locked in is this man? He has forced himself into the starting lineup with a hot start, and continued to dominate by going 2-3 with a 3B, HR, 2 BB’s, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Xavier Nady did finish at 2-4, and has respectable numbers to this point. However, Joe Girardi needs to find Swish AB’s, and some are certain to come at the X-Man’s expense.
3) Posada and Matsui- Posada went 2-5 with 3 RBI, and has looked as good as ever both at the plate and in the field. He is now at .313/.389/.688 on the very young season, with the slugging number particularly encouraging, as it suggests that he has regained full strength in his shoulder. Hideki Matsui is off to a rough start, but did notch a double and a walk tonight. He is another guy watching Swisher over his shoulder.
What I Didn’t Like
1) Cody Ransom and Brett Gardner- Ransom went 0-4, putting him at 1-18 with one walk on the season thus far. He also has looked very shaky in the field, as he notched the Yankees first error of the season. It may be time to give Ramiro Pena a look, as his fielding is certain to be better and his hitting cannot be worse. Ransom just looks overwhelmed. Gardner has been better than that, but his OBP is hovering under .300, an unacceptable number. For his speed to really play, he needs to reach at a .320+ clip. He gets on the bad list tonight because he actually hit into a DP.
2) Jose Veras- Nothing too terrible here, just the fact that a leadoff walk with a 6 run lead is the kind of stuff Jose needs to avoid. His stuff has looked excellent thus far, and cutting down a bit on the walks would make him a legitimate option for the 8th inning.
3) Mark Teixeira’s wrist injury- apparently he has tendinitis and will play tomorrow. With A-Rod out until at best the very end of April, the Yankees need Tex in the middle of that order. Hopefully this does not turn into a chronic issue.
Related posts:
Not sure why you like Veras so much but he is never going to be an 8th inning option. First if you watched yesterday he couldn’t throw a first pitch strike.
Why I can’t trust him. He is well below average on first pitch strikes at 51% last year which is just not good enough. Less the 60% strikes overall which is very poor for any pitcher. Now look at his OPS against him in two categories first the first batter he faces when he enters a game and the first batter he faced at the beginning of a new inning both are well over .900 OPS against him.
Veras is always going to be a hit or miss reliever and the sooner he’s pitching for another team the better.
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I knew we would hear from you on Veras. The guy has great stuff, pitched well last year, and is only 28. I have no reason to believe that any of their minor league options could be better in 2009.
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scott l Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 11:21 am
You insist like most everyone else in sticking your head in the sand when it comes to Veras. There is a reason he is entering his 12th season of pro ball with less then 80 big league innings and that’s because he is not very good. Yes he has great stuff but can’t control it well enough to be an effective reliever for the Yankees. I can hear you now saying the reason he had a 1.75 whip after the all star break last year is because he tired but for me it was that teams just waited him out. Forcing him to throw strikes which he couldn’t do it with any consistency. Add to that his 82% LOB rate which is high and implosion is coming soon!
After the all star break his whip was 1.75 and his LOB for the season stood at 82% with the league average at around 75%. So what happens if Veras regresses to a league average LOB%?
I don’t hate Veras I just don’t believe in him. David Robertson had a lower first pitch strike percentage but threw more strikes overall. Robertson also does much better with the first batter he faces as well. So if I had a choice I would most definitely choose Robertson over Veras.
I may end up being wrong but I doubt it. If I am I will admit I was wrong but for now I just can’t.
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 11:34 am
The problem is that the results, in terms of getting outs and giving up runs, has not supported your point yet. If he implodes, I will be the first one in line behind you calling for Robertson.
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scott l Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I am not willing to wait when I believe Robertson is already a better option. Veras should be traded asap.
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JD Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
You are both wrong. Melancon should be here now.
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scott l Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I have no problem with bringing up Melancon first at all. He is going to be a huge part of the Yankees success this year and the sooner the better.
You have to love the Veras today with another first pitch ball that turns into a walk which in turns helps keep his first batter faced ops high.
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