Good afternoon Yankee fans. The team begin a four game series against the Blue Jays tonight, with Hiroki Kuroda and Mark Buehrle taking the mound in the Bronx.
Chad Jennings of LoHud has a video on Girardi discussing Curtis Granderson and the team’s plans for his return. The outfielder looks to be inching closer to some actual playing time, and the latest update is that he’s taking batting practice indoors. It seems that he’s only a few days away from some extended Spring Training game. The early May timetable is still realistic, though I can’t even remember the last time a Yankee didn’t have a setback.
Bad news on prospect Mason Williams, he failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over for speeding and weaving. Though his BAC wasn’t over Florida’s .08 limit, his .067/.062 was high enough to earn him a misdemeanor DUI.
We know that Derek Jeter had a setback in his ankle recovery, and that he’ll likely be out until after the All Star break. This afternoon, Jeter will meet with the media and host a press conference at Yankee Stadium. Alex Rodriguez has done this in the recent past, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the short stop just wants to address the issue now and get all the questions out of the way. Of course, a big press conference like this could mean other things, but we have no reason to believe he has any major announcements.
Finally, I thought it was interesting that Jose Valverde claimed to have a major league contract offer from the Yankees (and Mets) yesterday. It makes no sense that he’d decline either of those offers for a minor league deal with the Tigers earlier this month, and sure enough both Brian Cashman and the Mets have called Valverde out on his statement. Don’t know why he’d make something up like that after earning a major league contract with the Tigers yesterday.
Stay tuned for news from Derek Jeter‘s press conference and a post I have coming up on Ichiro Suzuki‘s bat speed.
- Is it just me or is the CC Sabathia velocity thing getting a little overhyped now? I know it was a concern in his first few starts simply because they were the first few starts back after surgery and after a scaled back ST, but at this point shouldn’t everybody just let it go? CC’s outing on Monday wasn’t pretty, but it had nothing to do with velocity. He threw the ball harder in that start than he did in his previous start. CC’s problem on Monday was location. He missed with a few offspeed pitches up, and he caught more of the plate than he wanted to with a few early-count fastballs. The previous three starts and the rest of Monday’s outing are proof that CC can be effective without throwing 94-96, and he’s been making the transition to a more refined offspeed game for over five years now. His changeup is really good, his slider is really good, and he knows how to mix pitches to both right and left-handed hitters. He’s going to be fine.
- Speaking of old pitchers who know how to get it done with lower velocity, how about Andy Pettitte this season?? He took the L last night, but he gave the team 6 innings of 3-run ball, he struck out 10 batters to just a single BB, and every one of his starts this season have been at least that good. He’s giving the Yanks everything they would want from a #2 starter, and he’s their #3. While it’s incredibly cliche to use this phrase to describe him, it is very accurate. Andy Pettitte ages like fine wine.
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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lost to Columbus 5-4:
The Clippers drew first blood when Mike McDade hit a RBI single to left in the top of the second. Tim Fedroff started the third with a solo shot to right and Columbus took a 2-0 lead. Cody Johnson got the RailRiders on the board with a homer in the fourth.Bobby Wilson started the fifth by driving a double to center, scoring on a single by Addison Maruszak to tie the game at 2-2. Columbus threatened in the top of the seventh, as McDade singled and Juan Diaz lined a double to left, putting two on with no outs. Cody Eppley managed to escape the inning without giving up a run, as Roberto Perez hit into a fielder’s choice, Fedroff struck out and Matt Lawson grounded out to third. Scranton took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the inning. Corban Joseph drew a one-out walk and Maruszak lined a single to right. Maruszak got picked off, but Zoilo Almonte and Dan Johnson both took walks, loading the bases for David Adams who lined a single to center, scoring two runs for the 4-2 lead. The lead was short-lived, however, as Columbus rallied in the top of the eighth. A two-run homer by Jeremy Hermida tied the score and Columbus took the lead back when Cord Phelps scored Matt Carson on a ground out. The RailRiders came up empty in the eighth and ninth, taking the 5-4 loss.
Maruszak went 2-4 with an RBI. He came in for Thomas Neal, who went 1-1 with a double. At this point, I’m not sure what prompted Neal’s removal from the game. Cody Johnson went 1-2 with a homer. Adams went 1-4 with two RBIs. Joseph went 1-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored. Ryan Pope went 3.1 innings and gave up two runs on five hits, a walk and three Ks. Mark Montgomery went two innings and did not allow a hit or run, though he walked three and struck out one. Josh Spence threw 0.2 innings and had zeroes across the board. Cody Eppley gave up three runs on five hits and a K in over 1 innings of work. Sam Demel finished out the game and gave up one hit and two walks over two innings.
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Tropicana Field continues to be a house of horrors for the New York Yankees and I, for one, am thrilled this series is over and that the team is returning home even if it’s for a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Tonight, Andy Pettitte was tough luck loser. He shut down the Rays until when fifth inning when he was victimized by a Brennan Boesch error and then by a Ben Zobrist double that made it 2-0 Tampa. And again in the sixth when Sean Rodriguez hit a solo shot to make it 3-0.
Pettitte’s final line was 6.0 IP, seven hits, three runs, two earned, one walk and 10 strike outs. Yes, 10. This is the first time he’s lost a game in which he’s struck out 10 or more batters since July 20, 2000 when he lost to the Tigers. He’s also had five no decisions in that span.
The Yankees offense was baffled by Alex Cobb who threw 8.1 innings, gave up only three hits, walked one and struck out seven.
Of course, the Yankees made it interesting in the top of the ninth against closer Fernando Rodney who came into the game to pick up the last two outs.
The Yankees had the tying run at the plate but alas, couldn’t capitalize. They finished this six game road trip 3-3.
This is your game thread.
Have fun.
Andy Pettitte‘s performance in 2012 was short and sweet. For a 39 year old pitcher turning 40, short was expected, but the 2.87 ERA and 3.48 FIP were a shocker after a year on the retirement shelf.
The lefty has continued his success in his 3 starts so far, giving the Yankees 22.1 innings, allowing just 5 earned runs. Since returning from retirement, Pettitte has now pitched 97.2 innings and he’s looked less like a number three pitcher in the rotation, and more like a 1b. His 2.67 ERA over the last 2 years has been stunning, and the Yankees have to be thrilled with the results.
With the injury weaknesses and back of the rotation struggles this April, Pettitte has stood out and carried the team with dominate performances over three games. His importance in the early part of 2013 continues to be key for the team, but there are some signs that the south paw’s results could be due for some regression.
No one expects Pettitte to continue pitching to a 2.01 ERA, but he’s shown some odd tendencies thus far. His K% has dropped to just 14.1%. The most glaring pitch has been the changeup, which he uses to neutralize right-handed batters. In 2012, the changeup drew a 13.3% whiff rate, and he thus held right-handers to a .242/.308/.372 tripleslash. In 2013, the whiff rate has fallen to just 6.7%, and right-handers are batting .290/.323/.452.
While there is small sample size occurring in the early numbers this year, the 75.1 regular season innings that Pettitte pitched in 2012 were also limited enough to question. At this point, the left-hander is drawing much fewer strikeouts in the early going, and is only holding onto his low ERA by allowing a ridiculously and unsustainable low 10.4% line drive rate. This after allowing another well-below career average 14.9% line drive rate in 2012. His left on base rate has likewise sky rocketed, and in 2013 it’s way up to 89.6%.
This doesn’t mean that Pettitte is doomed, especially not with just 3 starts to his name, but with his start tonight, I will now stay mindful of the low strike out rates and signs of struggle against opposite handed hitters. With back spasms already complicating his season, relying on Pettitte is asking for trouble, both in terms of his health and probable regression. This isn’t to say that he’ll collapse, but relying on him for 7+ quality innings every start is hard to imagine, and the Yankees will soon need for the back of the rotation to pick up some of the slack. Phil Hughes‘ last two starts were promising, but Ivan Nova (or his replacement) will need to carry some of the load with the 40 year old Pettitte adjusting to his aging body.
Good afternoon, Yankee fans.
Derek Jeter will be holding a news conference on Thursday at Yankee Stadium. He will be wearing a walking boot while his ankle heals from his latest injury. Is anyone else worried about this? Maybe it’s because I’m a normally anxious person and everything causes me to worry but I have a bad feeling about this. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Speaking of being wrong everyone who thought last night’s game was going to be a sure victory by the Tampa Bay Rays was wrong thanks to Phil Hughes‘ start and Ichiro Suzuki‘s late game heroics.
- Jack Curry of YES wrote a piece about Hughes this morning. It’s about the way he carried himself last night.
- On the Lohud Yankees Blog, Chad Jennings also wrote about Hughes and his performance last night.
On IIATMS:
And can you believe it? We’re a week away from May 1st. Unfortunately, it looks as if Mark Teixeira will not be back by then. But he has said he feels like he is making progress so that’s good.
(Syndicated from An A-Blog for A-Rod. Stats have not been updated to reflect last night’s game because I woke up too late to update them, but the points still stand)
With the regular season still just three weeks old, offensive sample sizes are still too small to draw any meaningful conclusions. For a player like Robinson Cano, we can safely assume that his hot start isn’t due to BABIP luck and that he’ll continue to rake moving forward, but for guys like Lyle Overbay, Francisco Cervelli, and Vernon Wells those assumptions aren’t as concrete. Their tripleslashs right now paint a positive picture, but a more accurate representation of how good they’ve been can be found in their early contact rates. Regardless of sample size, contact rates tell the real, simple story of just how well a player is swinging the bat at any given time, regardless of whether those swings result in hits and RBI. What do the contact rates for some of the Yankee hitters through the first three weeks of the season tell us about them? Good question.
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Due to a pretty massive headache yesterday, I wasn’t able to get to the normal game recaps I do, so apologies for that. Here is what you should know about yesterday’s action.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat Columbus 2-1:
- The RailRiders only managed three hits in this win. Corban Joseph went 1-4 with a double. Gil Velazquez went 1-3 and Dan Johnson provided the bulk of the offense going 1-1 with a two-run homer.
- Melky Mesa, David Adams and Addison Maruszak each went 0-3 with two Ks.
- Dellin Betances was the player of the day, showing everyone why the Yankees continue to give him chances. He threw seven strong innings an allowed just one run on three hits, two walks and striking out seven.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka made the start for Columbus, striking out eight RailRiders over 6.1 innings.
- Juan Cedeno and Preston Claiborne each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, with the latter giving up one run and striking out one batter.
- Trenton’s only hit came from Kyle Roller, who went 1-3 with a double.
- Tyler Austin went 0-3, but scored the Thunder’s lone run.
- Slade Heathcott went 0-1 with a RBI and a walk.
- Matt Tracy continues to struggle. He went 5.1 and gave up five runs on ten hits and two walks. He struck out two.
- Kelvin Perez (1.2 innings) and Aaron Dott (1 inning) both gave up one run on two hits and a strikeout.
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