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Girardi's conflicting message

Posted by Chris H. at 3:00 pm 5 Responses »
Mar 212010

I read this yesterday and, to be honest, it sort of made me laugh.

Here’s manager Joe Girardi discussing Marcus Thames, via George King of the NY Post:

“He has had good at-bats. I don’t get caught up in the numbers. It’s a small sample.”

And yet, this spring, Girardi has basically said that Brett Gardner will have to prove his bat, and that the fifth starter will be decided upon a handful of exhibition games (“a small sample”). It is all laughable, really. For the most part, Girardi knows what he wants to do. He likes Brett Gardner and wants him as a starting outfielder, but he’ll push him to play hard this spring just to make it clear that he has to fight for his spot given his weak bat. He also likes Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes as his fifth starter and is simply manufacturing a “competition” in order to appear evenhanded in his decision and to encourage those involved to work hard for an incentive that is not really obtainable.

This spring narrative is just noise. Girardi has a plan and it will be implemented, regardless of the spring stats.

Photo by the AP

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An overreaction to Johnson's "injury"

Posted by Chris H. at 3:05 pm 5 Responses »
Mar 052010

Via John Harper of the Daily News:

Somewhere, Brian Cashman must have cringed when he heard the news. Not that Nick Johnson getting scratched from a spring training game is some catastrophe, but for the Yankee GM there is no escaping the tie-in between Johnson and Johnny Damon…

As you all know by now, Johnson missed yesterday’s game with a stiff lower back, and he was also held out of today’s game, as well, against Tampa Bay. However, his back is reportedly feeling better after having performed a series of exercises earlier in the day, though no set return date has been ironed out for the oft-injured Johnson.

Turning to Harper’s NJ piece, he’s overreacting, right? I know that Johnson’s injury history is enough to make even the slightest bruise newsworthy, but, even so, the response seems frenzied. I mean, bringing up Damon? Really?

What do you think? Are such reactions warranted?

Photo by Getty Images

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Hughes changes his change (again)

Posted by Chris H. at 7:00 pm 6 Responses »
Mar 022010

Over the weekend, George King of the NY Post wrote about the fifth starter competition between Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, and, included in King’s article was an interesting tidbit regarding Hughes’ changeup, which he has been developing this spring. Apparently, Hughes has altered his grip of the pitch, going from a split-grip change – which, I believe, was somewhat similar to Ian Kennedy’s vulcan changeup – to a circle change. “I tweaked it a little bit,” said Hughes. “I am back to the circle change and getting a feel for it.” Hughes had gone from the circle changeup grip to the split-finger changeup grip last year, during Spring Training, so the “tweak” is not necessarily earth-shattering.

Manager Joe Girardi stated that Hughes’ changeup has looked effective during bullpen sessions, however, according to King, Girardi will wait to “reserve judgment until he sees how hitters react to it when they take their bats off the shoulders.” “You want to see the deception it has when hitters are swinging in a game,” noted Girardi in reference to the pitch. “But, I like the progress he has made and we need to keep on him and tell him to continue to use it.” Hughes hopes to reincorporate the change within his repertoire this season after rarely using it as a reliever a year ago.

From Burnett to Hughes, there’s a big changeup theme to this spring. Everyone wants to be like CC, I guess…

Photo by the AP

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Mo's lack of arm strength in 2009

Posted by Chris H. at 5:13 pm 12 Responses »
Mar 022010

Yesterday, after throwing his first bullpen session of the spring, Mariano Rivera, a timeless fixture in the Yankees bullpen, discussed a topic which he rarely needs to address—his own fragility. The 40-year old Rivera underwent surgery prior to the 2009 season in order to remove a bothersome calcification from his right shoulder. When asked about the shoulder last spring, Rivera would flash a smile to reporters and and say that he was alright. However, after firing 21 fastballs yesterday, Rivera and his manager, Joe Girardi, finally admitted that, as a result of the calcification procedure, the greatest closer of all time did struggle to develop his arm strength well into the regular season.

“It was hard, but it wasn’t impossible,” Rivera noted when asked about the surgery’s strength-sucking affect on him last year. “I took the challenge and it worked,” he said, adding that his rehab was done during the regular season as opposed to Spring Training. Girardi furthered Rivera’s story, saying that it took “a good six weeks to two months” before Rivera’s arm strength had fully returned. “I know he’s a lot further along than he was at this time last year,” Girardi stated. “At times he couldn’t extend [his arm] early on in camp. He had none of those issues [Monday].”

This news, of course, should please Yankee fans, mainly because it helps to lessen the concern some might have regarding the velocity issues Rivera experienced a year ago. In 2009, after Rivera’s four-seam fastball and cutter had averaged 93.1 mph and 92.8 mph in 2008, the average velocity of his four-seamer dipped to 91.8 mph and the average velocity of his cutter fell to 91.3 mph (the lowest velocities on record for Rivera). When one considers Rivera’s age, the loss in velocity is significant, and could indicate a continued loss of velocity going forward. A lack of arm strength certainly gives a reason for the velocity decrease though (in part, age could still be a relevant factor), and when you look at a month-to-month view of his average velocity, Rivera’s fastball saw an uptick in speed in September and October (the cutter did not). Even if the lack of velocity is real, Rivera locates well and generates great movement to get outs. Still, we can be optimistic about his pitch velocity going forward as he is a full year removed from shoulder surgery and he will likely have better arm strength for the entire season, whereas that was not the case for 2009.

Photo by the AP

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Burnett working on his change

Posted by Chris H. at 5:00 pm 2 Responses »
Feb 262010

According to the Star-Ledger‘s Marc Carig, right-hander, A.J. Burnett, is refining his changeup this spring and hopes to overcome a fear he has of getting beat by the pitch in order to employ it more often in 2010. “I think it’s a big key,” noted Burnett when discussing the pitch, which he used only 3.1% of the time a season ago, the lowest rate of any American League starter with at least 180 innings accrued. “Whether I throw it or not, I don’t know, but I’ve been working on it,” he added. Carig states that Burnett is trying to get comfortable with the offering in camp so that he can utilize it specifically when his curveball is off in the upcoming regular season. Earlier this month, I actually suggested that Burnett should use his changeup more this year, citing the 33-year old’s weak fastball numbers from last season, according to pitch type values, as a reason for the increase in usage. As I see it, there’s no downside in trying it.

Photo by the AP

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Jeter not worried about his contract situation (and he shouldn't be)

Posted by Chris H. at 3:00 pm 2 Responses »
Feb 242010

Today in Tampa, Derek Jeter met with the media to discuss the new year and, of course, his looming free agency was the dominant topic of conversation. As was expected, Jeter brushed the issue off as a possible distraction and affirmed his desire to be a Yankee for the duration of his already impressive career. “This is the only organization I’ve ever wanted to play for,” Jeter said. “That’s still true today. I was a Yankees fan growing up, and this is where I want to be. I’ve never envisioned myself playing anywhere else, and hopefully I don’t have to.” He then added, “I’ve never gone into a season focused on the next season. My approach since day one is to do whatever you can to help the team win in that particular year. I’m not thinking about what’s going to happen next season.”

Jeter also stated that his agent, Casey Close, phoned the Yankees over the offseason in order to gauge their interest in providing the future Hall of Famer with a new deal, however, Close was told by the front office that the organization intends on waiting until the end of the season to offer Jeter a proposal. When asked about the team’s contract policy, Jeter responded with, “I don’t have a problem with it. That’s the new policy that they have. They have every right to do that. I signed a long deal, I’m still under contract with that deal, and they have the right to do whatever they want.”

As it stands, Jeter shouldn’t be worried about his situation at all, really. You would be hard-pressed to find another soon-to-be free agent with as much presumed job security as the Yankees’ 35-year old shortstop. The only question is how much money and how many years will the beloved player receive upon re-signing. That, I’m not sure.

Photo by the AP

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Posada and Burnett to reunite this season

Posted by Chris H. at 5:00 pm 1 Response »
Feb 222010

Not sure if this was reported as a standalone item anywhere, but Erik Boland of Newsday informs us that manager, Joe Girardi, has announced that Jorge Posada will catch A.J. Burnett this season. A serious amount of ink was devoted to the Burnett-Posada duo a season ago, after the two seemed to have “problems” working with one another, which led Girardi to install Jose Molina as Burnett’s everyday catcher (and which Posada did not like very much).

Result-wise, while there may be some substance to the notion that the two did not gel well as a unit – over 16 games with Posada behind the plate, Burnett held hitters to a .270/.353/.421 line and posted a rather poor K/BB of 1.72 (79/46), and with Molina, Burnett held hitters to .221/.307/.352 line over 11 games while posting a much improved 2.66 K/BB (77/29) – in reality, as stated by a number of articles, much of Burnett’s struggles last season were not actually Posada-related, rather, they were brought on by mechanical problems with the now 33-year old’s delivery. Unfortunately for Posada, he became a newspaper causality of these struggles, as it is much more interesting to discuss a pitcher and a catcher’s seemingly ineffectual relationship instead of mechanical flaws in one’s motion.

Anyway, to Burnett’s credit, he is excited to begin working with Posada this season and wants to disprove last season’s media-driven controversy regarding the two as batterymates. “I was looking forward to it from the first day of camp to be able to put that behind us and start working together,” Burnett said today when asked about throwing to Posada this season. “A lot of stuff was blown out of proportion last year and we’ve talked a handful of times already and we’re just real excited to put that behind us and move on, get better and learn from each other.” He also took fault for last year’s woes, saying that he was not right in the head, at times, and was often questioning himself, not Posada.

Photo by Reuters

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25 Issues For Spring Training

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 1:00 pm 4 Responses »
Feb 172010

With spring training now approaching, we can start to get get a feel for the answers and solutions to the questions facing the Yankees in 2010. Although this club is probably as strong as last year’s championship team, there are still plenty of issues that they will need to resolve on their way to a successful title defense. Here is my annual list of the top 25 questions facing the Yankees going into 2010, with last year’s list available here.

1) Steve, among others, has suggested on a number of occasions that Jorge Posada is likely to show signs of decline this season. Will that come true? Even if he does not decline in terms of skill, will he be able to stay healthy?

2) Who will be the backup catcher? Is the job being handed to Frankie Cervelli, or can somebody like Mike Rivera steal the spot?

3) Will Jesus Montero force his way onto the roster at some point? Can he handle catching?

4) Will Nick Johnson be able to stay healthy? Will his power return due to the inviting right field porch? Or will the Yankees miss Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui?

5) Can Robinson Cano improve defensively, or is he nothing better than a slightly below average fielder?

6) Will Derek Jeter’s contract situation become a distraction for the club, particularly if Jeter is slumping?

7) Will A-Rod be able to recapture his former mobility? If not, can he adjust and remain a solid defender?

8 ) Who will win the utility role and spell A-Rod every so often? Pena? Russo?

9) Which Nick Swisher will show up in 2010? Will it be the 2009 version or the 2008 iteration?

10) Will Curtis Granderson find a way to turn around his poor numbers against lefties? Will moving to a lefty friendly park help him?

11) Can Brett Gardner hit well enough to justify an everyday job?

12) If not, the Yankees will be depending on Randy Winn. Was 2009 the start of a steep decline, or can Winn return to his past solid performance?

13) If Gardner wins an OF job, who plays center field, Gardner or Granderson?

14) Who wins the final OF spot, Marcus Thames or Jamie Hoffmann? Do the Yankees go with speed and athleticism in Hoffmann, or lefty mashing in Thames?

15) Will the starters show any after effects of pitching deep into October last season?

16) Can Javier Vazquez reverse his reputation for being unclutch?

17) Can AJ Burnett remain healthy and effective, or was last season simply lucky?

18) Who is the 5th starter? Joba? Hughes? Gaudin? Mitre? Aceves?

19) What happens to Joba or Hughes if they do not make the rotation? Is AAA an option, or are they ticketed for the bullpen?

20) What can the Yankees expect from Damaso Marte? Will he sustain his playoff performance?

21) Will the Yankees carry a second lefty? Are the option (Logan, Ring, De La Rosa) too poor to do so?

22) If not, who wins that final job? Melancon? Sanchez?

23) Will Mariano Rivera ever age? Am I really asking this?

24) Will Joe Girardi’s unsettled contract situation create a distraction for the club? How will Joe handle his lack of security?

25) If the Yankees need help during the season, is there room in the budget for an upper echelon player?

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Yankees Should Invite Rocco to Camp

Posted by Matt Imbrogno at 1:00 pm 19 Responses »
Feb 032010

In the last few weeks, the Yankees have been connected to a lot of outfielders. They signed one, Randy Winn, to a Major League deal and he will be the team’s fourth outfielder. Right now, Rule V Draft pick Jamie Hoffmann is the fifth outfielder the Yankees are going to give him at least Spring Training to see what he’s got and see if he can be a useful bench outfielder. If Hoffmann does not perform to their liking, the Yankees will drop him from their 25 man roster and be forced to return him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After Hoffmann, the Yankees’ outfield options are pretty thin. On the active roster is the recently acquired Greg Golson. He’s been described as “toolsy” but he’s had only seven major league plate appearances and has yet to reach base via hit, walk, or hit by pitch. The only outfield non-roster invitee listed is Reid Gorecki, who had an uneventful 27 PAs with the Braves in 2009, but has respectable minor league numbers (.262/.342/.428).

As we can see, the OF depth is rather thin for the Yankees. Any injury to an outfielder puts Randy Winn in the every day lineup and bumps of Jamie Hoffmann’s potential importance. The thin outfield also presents a problem if Hoffmann is indeed returned to the Dodgers. While Hoffmann is not much of a sure himself, I’d rather roll the dice with him than with Greg Golson or Reid Gorecki. This brings me to my point: the Yankees should invite Rocco Baldelli to Spring Training on a Minor League deal.

Rocco Baldelli

While Baldelli does have a condition that would not allow him to play every day, or maybe even back to back days, if he does make it to the Yankees, he would be the fifth outfielder behind all three starters and Randy Winn. The chances of Baldelli having to rack up many plate appearances or much playing time in the field are very small. He’d likely be doing late inning pinch hitting against lefties, then could be supplanted in the field by Randy Winn.

On a spring training invite, nothing is guaranteed to Baldelli. If he doesn’t make the team out of Spring Training–which would require Jamie Hoffmann to be returned to the Dodgers OR for Brett Gardner to either be hurt or be so incredibly bad that the Yankees were forced to start Randy Winn–the Yankees would not be in much of a bind financially regarding Rocco.

In terms of upside, Baldelli does not offer too much. His career OPS+ is 101 and he has a career .333 wOBA. Essentially, Baldelli has been an average player in his career. He’s hit lefties well (.831 OPS), though, and that could be valuable in pinch hitting off the bench and facing tough lefties on occasion. However, it’s worth noting that the things I’m saying depend entirely on a) Baldelli even getting an invite and b) eventually making the team. Neither one of those things is guaranteed, but I think Baldelli’s worth a shot.

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CC's bad day

Posted by Chris H. at 11:16 pm 2 Responses »
Mar 112009

CC Sabathia struggled today, lasting only 1.2 innings against the Tigers, giving up 5 runs and 6 hits (one of those was a big fly to former Yankee, Gary Sheffield). CC attributed the rough day to a “lack of feel” for his cut fastball, as he had trouble locating it during the outing. Alfredo Aceves relieved CC, but things didn’t get better from there, as Aceves continued his rough spring. He gave up 2 ER off of 2 HR over 3.1 IP. For a guy that’s trying to prove himself to the team, he’s doing a pretty poor job (6.43 ERA).

The final score was 4-7, Detroit.

Meanwhile, the offense “sparked” albeit to a limited extent, scoring 4 runs. Mark Teixeira and Johnny Damon both had 2 hits with Tex driving in 1. Also, his multi-hit effort was supported by Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Kevin Cash as each drove in 1. As a side note, Melky Cabrera went 0-for-3 and is hitting .238 this spring. That CF competition has been all Brett Gardner.

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