IMPORTANT BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT

PLEASE CHANGE YOUR BOOKMARKS AND FEEDS TO THE NEW URL, YANKEEANALYSTS.COM. TYU IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES OR YANKEES UNIVERSE.

Players to Watch, AL East

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 2:17 pm 1 Response »
Apr 032010

This is my second to last post in this series, as I’ll have a special one for the Yankees themselves up tomorrow before the game. You can find the other ones at the following links:

AL Central
AL West
NL East
NL Central
NL West

Starting with the Sawx, I’m gonna peg Clay Buchholz as my player to watch. He seemed to be putting it together at the end of last year, and should finally get an entire year in the Major League rotation. Will this be the year that he finally steps into the big shoes the Sox expect him to fill? He’s got the talent, now he just needs to come through.

Moving south, we should keep an eye on B.J. Upton. After a subpar 2009 (at the plate), we’ll have to see if Upton’s bat makes a return. While he had a fantastic 11.8 UZR/150, B.J. only hit for a .310 wOBA. His BABIP was down to .310 from .341, so we could expect a rebound. For the first time in a full season, Upton’s walk rate was not in double digits (9.1). His 27.1% strikeout rate was also very shabby, especially considering B.J.’s below average .132 IsoP. Considering his excellent defense, if Upton can just catch back up to his ’08 wOBA (.354), he’ll be back in the conversation for best all-around CF in the game.

Shooting back up north, the Blue Jays don’t have a whole lot to look forward to. Brett Wallace should be up at some point, though, and it’ll be fun to watch Kyle Drabek in the minors. At the Major League level, let’s watch out for Vernon Wells to see if he can start living up to that insane contract. Call it a hunch, but I think he’ll rebound from this awful season (.314 wOBA) and hit back at his ’08 level (.357). I know he’s definitely not as good as his 5.8 WAR season in ’06, but I don’t think he’s as bad as he was in ’07 and ’09.

Wrapping it up with the O’s will be my 2010 AL Rookie of the Year pick Brain Matusz. He shot up through the minors in ’09 and had a very respectable cup of coffee (44.2 IP in 8 GS, 7.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 2.71 K/BB, 4.08 FIP). Given a full year in the Majors, this high-upside lefty could emerge as Baltimore’s best pitcher by year’s end.

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Yanks acquire Guzman; interested in Garland

Posted by Chris H. at 9:19 pm 1 Response »
Aug 312009

Via Marc Carig, we learn that the Yankees have acquired Freddy Guzman (not Christian Guzman) from the Orioles for a PTBNL. Guzman’s wheels appear to be his best asset, as his offense is extremely limited (I use that phrase kindly). Carig notes that Guzman will head to Scranton.

Also, from Jon Heyman, we learn that the Yankees have inquired about Arizona’s Jon Garland (along with the Rockies). Garland has a 3.86 ERA since the All-Star break, but, in the end, he’s still Jon Garland. He’s a rubber arm without much use beyond that and, when one considers his less than impressive performance in the NL West, it seems doubtful that he could serve as an actual upgrade over Gaudin or Mitre (or Aceves, or anyone). If a trade is to occur, however, it’ll have to be tonight in order for him to be available for the postseason.

UPDATE – The Dodgers have acquired Garland (as well as Jim Thome).

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Six more starts for Joba?

Posted by Chris H. at 12:30 pm 10 Responses »
Aug 252009

Well, I guess it’s 5 starts after today’s game against Texas.

From George King III (NY Post):

Joba Chamberlain isn’t wild about the innings limit on his right arm and how it has led to long stretches of inactivity in the second half. But he admits his arm is in very good shape.

“I feel great,” said Chamberlain, who starts tomorrow night against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. “I feel a lot better at the beginning of the year. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

Chamberlain last worked Aug. 16 at Seattle and will be going on eight days rest tomorrow. Chamberlain says he will get six more starts this year and if he averages the 5 2/3innings per start he has in 23 games so far that will get him to 160 2/3 innings for the season. That’s more than the 140-innings set in spring training but a total the Yankees wouldn’t be uncomfortable with.

If the Yankees truly cement their AL East lead as the regular season comes to a close, maybe Joba’s final few starts can be given to someone else so that the team can limit his innings total as much as possible, prior to the playoffs. Perhaps we’ll see Chad Gaudin or Anthony Claggett get a start in, instead. That would seem like a wise decision given that the Yankees face teams like Baltimore, Toronto, Seattle and Kansas City in September (they also face Tampa Bay and Boston). Joba’s cap is influenced by the way the team plays, though, down the stretch.

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Orioles close to acquiring Rich Hill

Posted by Chris H. at 5:41 am No Responses »
Feb 022009

Hill has good stuff and if he can perform up to his abilities, he could be a great pickup for the Orioles. The AL East… where only the strong survive.

Tagged with: , , , , ,
© 2011 TYU Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha