Hurricane Irene

Looks like the blog will be down a bit longer than expected due to Hurricane Irene.  I haven't had power since Saturday and it doesn't look like it's coming back anytime soon.

The King Of New York

If you were on the Jeter bashing bandwagon earlier this season, don’t look now as he is hitting .299 with a .359 on base percentage.  He’s king of New York City again with his amazing month of August.  Although the month isn’t over yet, Jeter is hitting .422 in August with a .475 on base percentage and a.986 OPS. In his last twelve games, he is hitting .490! The last time he hit this high over a course of a month was in July of 2006 when he hit .390.

Compare Jeter’s recent numbers to earlier this year when he was hitting around .260 throughout much of the first half.  His average has jumped about 40 points since then.  June was his worst month as Jeter hit only .239 before going on the DL.  When he went on the DL, the Yankees went 14-5 without him and many actually considered the Yankees to be better off without Jeter in the lineup.  Then he made the big comeback starting around the 3000 hit game.  During the second half of the season, he is hitting .355 and driving the ball like he used to.

During Thursday's game when he went 3-6, Jeter actually got his average over .300 as he passed Rickey Henderson with 3058 hits, putting him at 21^st on the All-Time hits list.  It won’t be long before Jeter ties Craig Biggio on that list with 3060 hits, which will put him at #20 All-Time.  Jeter also broke Jimmy Fox’s record of runs scored with 1752, which now puts Jeter #20 on the All-Time runs scored list.

Although Jeter has quieted the haters temporarily, I’m sure we will have the discussion of whether Jeter is too old again.  Hopefully it won’t be this season though, as Jeter looks determined to make an impact in the postseason.   I doubt he can keep these numbers up, but if I have learned anything about Jeter –Don’t Doubt Him!

What's Happening In Scranton

Freddy Garcia was sent to Triple-A last weekend due to the 6 man rotation issue as well as the cut to his pitching finger.  He pitched this past Monday in Scranton for 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits.  It wasn’t Freddy’s best game as he didn’t strike out a batter but he was able to throw about a dozen splitters which indicate his finger has healed.  Garcia will pitch Saturday (assuming there is a game in the midst of this hurricane) against Baltimore as part of the doubleheader.

Dellin Betances is coming off a rough start this past week lasting only 3 innings but allowing 2 earned runs.  The runs were the result of issuing 9 walks within 3 innings, as he only allowed 1 hit.  It was somewhat of a bizarre outing for the young righty as he still managed to strike out 4 even though he only threw 41 of 84 pitches for strikes.  He now has a 5.00 ERA in two starts for the Triple-A Yankees but has a strikeout ratio of 12K/9IP.  He’s certainly not ready for the big leagues just yet, but if he can work on his high walk rate of 9BB/9IP we could see him pitching as early as next season.

Manny Banuelos got his first Triple-A win of the year this week.  He allowed only 3 runs over 5 innings allowing 6 hits while striking out 3.  It wasn’t his best game but he kept the Scranton Yankees in the game for the win.  So far with Triple-A, Banuelos is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA over 5 games (25IP).  His strikeout ratio has continued to be a strong point at 8.4K/9IP, but similar to Betances he needs to work on his control as his walk ratio is too high at 4.2BB/9IP.  I still don’t know whether the Yankees will make him a September call up with the expanded rosters starting next week.  I would assume they would like to continue stretching him out into as many starts as possible in Triple-A as he didn’t pitch as many innings as expected this season but the Scranton Yankees aren’t going to make the playoffs and their season will end somewhat soon.  I would give him a 50-50 chance of getting called up by the Yankees and used in the bullpen.  Either way, he needs to pitch as many innings as possible this season before they run into a situation next season where they need to limit his innings.

Andrew Brackman had some serious early season struggles and was assigned to the bullpen.  In July he retooled his delivery similar to his college years and it has been successful.  Since July 29 Brackman has pitched 11.2 innings out of the pen, allowing only 5 hits and 3 earned runs.  More importantly for a reliever, he has struck out 12 and only walked 2. 

Since we are talking about the pitchers in Triple-A, I can’t go and ignore Scott Proctor who just pitched another inning of relief this week allowing no hits and striking out 2.  I still can’t believe they signed him… maybe they just feel bad that Torre destroyed his arm. Proctor pitched against last night for a scoreless inning.

Jesus Montero is ready to join the big leagues at this point especially after last nights performance with 2 home runs and 4 RBI’s.  Over his last four games he is 7 - 18 with 4 homers and 11 RBI’s. He is hitting .285 on the season with a .345 on base percentage and a .449 slugging percentage.  This guy is a power hitter as he has 20 doubles, 17 home runs and an OPS of .794.  I think he will get called up next week by the Yankees during the roster expansion and I have a funny feeling they will use him against lefties either as DH or even catcher since his power numbers against lefties are strong with an OPS of .982.

Not Quite As Bad As The Numbers May Indicate

Colon’s line last night could have looked like this: 6 innings pitched, 3 runs, 6 hits & 5 strikeouts.  Instead, he went back out for the 7^th inning and finished the night with 6.1 Innings pitched, 5 runs, 8 hits & 6 strikeouts.  If Colon had not gone back out for the 7^th there wouldn’t be any scrutiny today as his numbers would indicate a strong outing.  Instead he is the story of the day since his inevitable decline has begun.

I got to be honest here and say that I doubted that Colon was going to make it out of spring training, then I doubted he would make it to the All Star Break but somewhere around the midpoint of the season I have been sold on Colon.  I don’t think he’s in any danger of losing steam even though he has already pitched more innings this year than he has in the past 3.  His velocity is still high and he looks generally in control on the mound.

His numbers on the other hand seem to reflect that Colon is not as dominant as he was in the first half.  Since coming back from the DL with his hamstring injury, he is 3-5 with a 4.61 ERA. Compare that to his ERA in the first half at 3.20 and there is a noticeable decline.  I don’t necessarily attribute it to him running out of steam though.  Colon hasn’t actually shown anything to indicate he lost his stamina. Instead, it seems that the league may have caught up with him a bit. 

Colon relies upon four pitches: His 2 seam fastball, 4 seam fastball, slider and the occasional changeup.  What this really means is that he is mainly a fastball pitcher and fangraphs.com has him using a fastball at 82.5%. Colon mixes the fastball with a slider used about 12% of the time and the changeup at 4% of the time.  What this means to me as a batter is:  Wait for the fastball!  He’s going to throw it often and hopefully you can get a good swing on the pitch.  Don’t waste your time looking for the slider or change as he doesn’t use them often.  Last night was even more noticeable as Colon wasn’t using his 2 seamer at all.  It was the 4 seamer all night with the occasional slider and change mixed in.  Although his fastball has movement to it, the batter knows it’s coming so they can prepare accordingly.  Basically the league has caught up with Colon.

Last night wasn’t Colon’s best night by any means but it still wasn’t as bad as many would make you think.  Like I had said, if he finished after 6 innings, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.  Colon actually finished the 6^th inning with a strikeout on his fastball in the mid 90’s.  He even came back out for the 7^th inning and started off with another strikeout.  Ultimately he allowed a single and a double during the 7^th before he was pulled for Boone Logan.  Logan came in to face Sizemore who hit the ball up the first base line.  It wasn’t a quality hit from Sizemore as he hit it with the very end of the bat, but it got the job done and Colon finished the night with 5 earned runs.

Colon may not be the same pitcher he was back in May and June, but he is still an efficient starting pitcher who keeps the Yankees in the game. Before the Yankees return to the 5 man rotation, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Colon to sit out a game or two following this weekends series in Baltimore.  Unfortunately that means AJ will get another start or two. If Colon can get a little rest now and retool his pitches slightly by working on his control again, it will give him an edge that should last into the postseason.

A's vs Yankees Preview

The Yankees are facing off against the Athletics this week who begin their 10 game road trip with 3 games in the Bronx.  The A’s are on a bit of a hot streak lately as they have won 4 of their last 6 games against the Orioles and Blue Jays and will need that hot streak to continue this week as the Yankees own them.  This season alone the Yankees are 5-1 against the A’s, and have won 26 of the past 31 games these two teams have played.  These games seem somewhat meaningless as Oakland is not in contention for the postseason, but if the Yankees can continue to beat up on the easy teams they may just win the Division to secure home field advantage during the post season. 

One thing that I do find worthwhile to watch about these games is the Oakland pitching.  There has been some talks that the Yankees have some interest in Rich Harden and may try to acquire him at some point in the offseason.  Also, Tuesday’s starter Brendan McCarthy will be a free agent at the end of this season and I have a feeling the Yankees may keep an eye on him as well.  Both Harden and McCarthy could be a good fit with the Yankees… for the right price.

A LOOK AT THE A'S

-The Yankees need to pitch around Matsui as much as possible.  Last time these teams met, Matsui went 7-13 with a home run and two doubles.  Since the All Star Break, he is hitting .372 with a .434 on base percentage.

-Josh Willingham is the A’s offensive powerhouse and leads the team in most offenseive categories.  He’s also on a hot streak as he has hit 9 home runs over his last 22 games.  Willingham is tied with Jacoby Ellsbury for the most home runs in the AL since the All Star Break with 11.

-Jemile Weeks & Coco Crisp are the speedy duo stealing bases for the A’s.  Crisp has 37 steals and Weeks has 14.  Although Weeks only has 14, he has only played in 64 games this year.  Weeks would be a good Rookie of the Year candidate as he is batting .289 with a .319 on base percentage, but he hasn’t played in enough games.

-The A’s bullpen is solidified with a mix of 3 solid pitchers shutting down the last few innings.  Andrew Bailey is their close and he has converted his last 8 saves.  Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes are used in tandem to set up Bailey. 

STARTING PITCHERS

Brendan McCarthy (6-6, 3.74 ERA) vs. Bartolo Colon (8-7, 3.54 ERA)

-Colon is coming off his first loss since July 19 but the loss wasn’t entirely his fault as this was the blown home run call game against Kansas City.  The blown call allowed the Royals to win the game 5-4.  Although the Billy Butler home run contributed to the loss, Colon wasn’t at his sharpest and has caused many to be concerned with his stamina during the second half.  In his last 3 games, Colon is 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA and only 9 strikeouts.

-McCarthy is a big pitcher at 6’ 7’’ and will be using that size to throw fastballs at the Yankees.  He uses both a 2 and 4 seamer that sit in the low 90’s and has been using them with his Cutter to force ground balls.  McCarthy also will throw his curveball often which has been effective for him.  He does have a slider and changeup as well, but doesn’t throw them very frequently as they aren’t terribly effective pitches for him

-McCarthy is 2-1 with a 4.67 ERA and 8 strikeouts in his last 3 games and is coming off a win against Baltimore after allowing 8 hits and 4 runs over 6 innings.  Although not a dominant performance, he gave the A’s a chance to win the game.

-Watch out for Tex and Swish against McCarthy as they are hitting .600 and .429 against him respectively, and each have a home run against him.

Trevor Cahill (9-12, 4.17 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (17-7, 2.96 ERA)

-CC just got his 17^th win of the season against the Twins this past weekend allowing only 3 earned runs in the process.  He seems to be getting through his little second half slump and with a struggling A’s offense, he could find his stride again Wednesday.

-CC is 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA and 22 strikeouts over his last 3 starts.

-Cahill is coming off a tough loss against Toronto last week after allowing 7 runs on 5 hits while striking out only 2 over 5 1/3 innings.  His numbers against the Yankees aren’t much better as he is 0-4 and has allowed 28 runs in 18 innings pitched.

-Cahill basically uses a mix of a sinker and fastball, although he throws in a changeup mixed in as well.  Used effectively they will induce a lot of ground balls. Used ineffectively, the Yankees will hit him all night long.  Cahill will also throw a slider, but not too often.

-Watch out for the middle of the order against Cahill as Tex is hitting .600 against him with 1 homer, Arod is hitting .667 off him with 2 homers and Cano is hitting .500 off him with one home run.  Posada is also a .500 hitter against Cahill.

Rich Harden (4-2, 3.91 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (4-4, 5.75 ERA)

-Hughes looked incredible during his last start and is making a strong case to become the #2 starter for the Yankees in the postseason.  He only allowed 1 run over 7 2/3 innings against the Twins this past Friday night.  The Twins were only able to get two hits off Hughes the whole night, one of which was a early home run. Hughes settled down and retired the last 22 of 27 batters he faced to get the win.

-Hughes has been getting stronger and strong since coming back from the DL.  Over his last three games he is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA and 8 strikeouts.

-Harden is coming off a very strong start against Toronto after striking out a career high 11 batters and allowing only 2 hits.  His last three games have actually all been strong and he is 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts over these last three games. 

-Harden pitched well against the Yankees during their last series and allowed 2 runs over 5.2 innings, but threw too many pitches and had to be pulled early.

-Harden relies on his fastball mains throwing it more than 50% of the time and mixes it with his changeup.  He has also been using a splitter lately with success, and although he throws a slider, its not used often

-Watch out for the #2 - #4 batters as Granderson is hitting .333 against harden with 1 home run, Texeira is hitting .444 off him with a home run and Arod is hitting .556 off Harden.

Nobody To Blame But Himself

Worst Haircut Ever!

I know I am a couple days late on this topic, but I have to weigh in on a few things after Saturday night’s game.  To begin, AJ stunk up Target field.  He was absolutely terrible and took the Yankees right out of the game within the first two innings.  There is no way to defend AJ’s pitching performance in this game, and the Yankees will need to make a big decision after this weekend as to who will remain in the starting rotation.  That’s for another post.

That all being said, I think the media did a terrible job handling this whole debacle between AJ and Girardi.  I watched the game and as I watched Burnett struggle in the 2^nd inning, I was surprised to see Girardi restrain himself long enough before pulling AJ.  Once Girardi got to the mound, we all saw Burnett speak his mind but the media really took it to a new level.  I know it’s the Yankees who have the limelight on them all the time and AJ is the biggest lightning rod on the team besides Arod, but it wasn’t a huge story to begin with.

Girardi and Burnett both said after the game that AJ wasn’t angry with Girardi but rather was angry with the home plate umpire for calling ball four to Joe Mauer.  Burnett thought the pitch was a strike along with Russell Martin who claimed the home plate umpire called that same pitch a strike all night long.  Burnett walked off the mound and cursed.  There was no real indication that AJ was cursing at Girardi and Girardi never got heated about it until after the game with the media.  AJ then went into the clubhouse and Girardi soon followed.  After the game, both AJ and Girardi said they were looking at the video.  There was never any indication the pitcher and manager were fighting with each other and based upon the totality of the situation, there was no reason for AJ to be upset with Girardi.

AJ allowed 2 runs in the first inning and 5 runs in the second inning.  Any pitcher knows there is a strong chance they will be pulled for allowing 7 runs over 2 innings.  Moreover, AJ had pitched a total of 40 pitches in the 2^nd inning when he allowed a walk (his 3^rd) to Mauer.  40 pitches is a dangerous threshold for a pitcher in one inning and AJ knew he would be pulled solely based upon fatigue issues.  This wasn’t a situation where it could go either way and the pitcher was upset for the manager not having confidence in him.  This was a situation that was necessary and if any decision was incorrect by Girardi, it was keeping AJ in the game as long as he did.

It also makes no sense that AJ would be fighting with Girardi as Girardi and Cashman are the biggest supporters of Burnett.  Both Cash and Girardi defend AJ to the media more than any other GM/Manager combo I have ever seen.  They protect AJ and always try to instill confidence in him.

But obviously the media wanted a good story with the way AJ has been playing lately and rather than report one, they created one.  They created the drama and spun the non-story the most dramatic way possible. I get it… it sells papers, but the story was F***ing Bull**** as AJ would say. 

Around the League

We are starting a new segment here at the blog called Around the League to keep everyone informed of whats going on, outside of the Yankees Universe.  Right now the plan is to add this post about once a week, but as the postseason begins to approach it will get updated more frequently.  Enjoy!

Jared Weaver Agrees to a Five Year Extension with Angels

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have reached agreement with starting pitcher Jered Weaver on a five-year, $85 million contract, a baseball source confirmed Sunday night. The deal includes a full-no trade clause, the source said. (ESPN.com)

S.F. Giants Move Wilson to 15-day DL

The San Francisco Giants placed closer Brian Wilson, who hasn't pitched since Aug. 15, on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with an inflamed right elbow. (ESPN.com)

Lester and Bard propel as Sox are Banged Up

Playing once again without Jacoby Ellsbury (bruised back), Kevin Youkilis (strained lower back) and David Ortiz (right heel bursitis) yesterday, the Red Sox got a stellar start from Jon Lester and clutch relief pitching from Daniel Bard in a 6-1 victory over the youthful Royals at Kauffman Stadium. (Boston Herald)

Yankees & Twins Preview

The Yankees are in Minnesota for a 4 game weekend series which begins Thursday night with a battle of the lefties, CC Sabathia vs. Brain Duensing.  With the Twins having a bad season, the Yankees should be able to get some wins this weekend and maybe even take a bigger lead over Boston for 1^st place in the AL East.  Right now the Yankees are only a half game up on the Red Sox, but Big Papi hasn’t been playing the last few games and the Red Sox haven’t been scoring during these games, so the Yankees have an opportunity to claim the lead.  The Yankees just took two of three from the Royals during this road trip and following this series against the Twins will return back home to face the A’s, before hitting the road again against Baltimore and Boston.  It’s time to beat up on the weaker teams!

The Twins are not having a good season and currently have the 3^rd worst record in the American League.  They did just take 2 of three from Detroit which was their first series win since early July, but prior to that series they lost 11 of 13 games.  They are currently 10.5 games and in 4^th place in the AL central.  The last time the Twins met the Yankees was in the Bronx during the first two weeks of the season and the Yankees took 2 of 3.  The one win was due to Soriano who blew the lead in the 8^th inning.

YANKEES NOTES

Arod will return to the Yankees Thursday night in Minnesota but it doesn’t seem as though he will be activated for the game.  From the interviews he has given, it seems like he is still a little weak with his knee while fielding and running and needs a bit more time.  This will allow the Yankees to hold off on any decisions to drop a pitcher back to the minors.  I have a feeling by the end of the weekend Arod will be activated, and playing DH while Hector Noesi gets sent to Scranton as the odd man out in the bullpen.  This would allow the Yankees to continue holding Cory Wade since he has been excellent at working out of jams, and Luis Ayala who has earned his spot in the bullpen the whole season.

There is still no word yet from Girardi as to how long the 6 man rotation will be used.  This is partly due to Freddy Garcia’s injured finger.  Although it was a minor cut to his finger, he has trouble gripping the ball when throwing a splitter which is his signature pitch.  Garcia was skipped last time through the rotation, which helped push the rotation decision off, but a decision will be made shortly.  Garcia will throw a bullpen session Thursday night and if he can throw the splitter, he will start this weekend.

I think Jeter will have a big series against the Twins as they are starting two lefties this series and Jeter has been destroying lefties the whole season.  Not only has he been hitting the ball hard against lefties, but since coming back from the DL he is hitting .336 with a .861 OPS. He’s hitting for average and power now.  I think the Twins could be in trouble especially with his strong numbers against their two righties, Slowey and Blackburn.

TWINS NOTES

Michael Cuddyer may be placed on the DL Thursday as he’s been out of the lineup with a neck problem for the last week.  This may be a big problem for the Twins as he leads the team in basically every offensive category from Batting average at .295 to Home runs with 18 and 61 RBI’s.  He’s the big bat in their lineup. (along with Mr. 600, Jim Thome)

There is a chance that Cuddyer’s neck may not be that injured and he could play during this series.  If he isn’t put on the DL, the Twins will likely place Denard Span on the DL as he has been suffering from lingering concussion symptoms.  With Span and Cuddyer injured, the Twins will be calling up infielder Luke Hughes to provide an extra bat for their sluggish offense.

There is also a chance that Jason Kubel may not play in Thursday night’s game as he is only recently healed from an ankle injury that kept him on the DL.  This would be another big loss for the Twins as Kubel is hitting .294.

Congratulations are in order for Jim Thome who just hit his 600^th home run this past week.  As always, Thome is a threat at the plate as he has a .513 slugging percentage and .878 OPS.  And just for the record, I think he is a first ballot hall of famer.

STARTING PITCHING

Thursday: CC Sabathia (16-7, 2.93 ERA) vs. Brian Duensing (8-11, 4.53 ERA)

-CC has struggled with his fastball commands in his last two starts against the Rays and Red Sox allowing12 runs over 14 innings.  Opponents in these last two games are hitting .333 against Sabathia with 19 hits and 6 home runs.  This game against the Twins may be just what CC needs to get himself back in the groove.

-Prior to these two bad outings, CC pitched on July 26 and had a perfect game interrupted by the rain.  Over his last 3 starts, Sabathia is 1-2 with a 5.73 ERA and 19 strikeouts.

-Joe Mauer is the only player on the Twins with more than 3 plate appearances who has anything close to respectable numbers against CC as he is hitting .267.

-Brian Duensing is coming off a strong start against the Indians last weekend, but took the loss after allowing 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings.  He struck out a career high 9 batters during the game though.  Duensing has the second highest strikeouts on the Twins with 101 behind Scott Baker with 120.

-Over his last three starts, Duensing is 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA and 16 strikeouts.

-Duensing is basically a fastball pitcher who only hits the low 90’s.  He has been relying on his 2 seam fastball all season and uses it more than any other pitch, although he does use his 4 seamer frequently as well.  He also throws a changeup, slider and curve.

Friday: Phil Hughes (3-4, 6.55 ERA) vs. Kevin Slowey (0-0, 4.91 ERA)

-Hughes is coming off a big win in his last game allowing only 2 runs over 6 innings pitched.  Hughes has his velocity back and looks like the pitcher we saw last year, although maybe not quite as dynamic as the first half of 2010.

-Since returning from the DL, Hughes is 3-3 with a 4.28 ERA over 7 starts, and is 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA  and 10 striekouts over his last three games.

-Hughes better watch out for Justin Morneau, who is 2 for 3 against Hughes with both hits being home runs.

-Slowey has been back and forth between the bullpen and the minor leagues this season and only recently came back to make his first start with the Twins. Unfortunately, his first start was cut short by the rain this past weekend and he was only able to pitch two innings before the game was called.

-Slowey’s problems stem from his lack of control with his fastball, which cause too many walks and too many fly balls.  He relies on his 2 seam fastball similar to Duensing, but also throws a slider and curveball. If his fastball isn’t working, it will likely turn into an ugly game for Duensing quickly.

-Slowey needs to be very careful with Granderson and Jeter as they are hitting .357 and .333 against him respectively.

Saturday: AJ Burnett (9-9, 4.61 ERA) vs. Francisco Liriano (8-9, 5.12 ERA)

-The Yankees rotation isn’t set in stone just yet for this weekend, but if Freddy Garcia’s bullpen goes well tonight, I think we can expect to see AJ Saturday and Garcia Sunday.

-I don’t even know what to say about Burnett anymore.  He’s a complete enigma to me.  Just when I think he is done and the Yankees should skip a start or two with him, he goes out and pitches a decent game reclaiming a place in the rotation for me.  In AJ’s last start he went 5.2 innings and allowed only3 runs but he still did allow 10 hits.  Somehow this performance was actually the best of all the Yankees starters who faced the Royals this past week… go figure!

-Liriano who had a very good 2010 season, has been hit or miss this year.  He is coming off a win against the Tigers this past week after allowing 5 runs on 9 hits over 6 innings.  Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it was enough for the win and he leads all Twins pitchers with 8 wins.

-Liriano will throw a 4 seamer and 2 seamer mixed with his big slider.  He also uses a changeup but mostly to neutralize righty batters.

-The Yankees have some good numbers against Liriano as Jeter is hitting .385 off him with 1 home run; Swisher is hitting .357 and Gardner is hitting .333 off him.

Sunday: Freddy Garcia (10-7, 3.16 ERA) vs. Nick Blackburn (7-10, 4.53 ERA)

-Like I previously said this weekend’s rotation is still ‘TBA’ for the Yankees as it depends on Garcia’s injury to his pitching finger.  Assuming all goes well in the bullpen session Thursday night, I think he will pitch Sunday’s game.

-Garcia hasn’t pitched since early August up in Fenway when he held the Red Sox to 1 run on 5 hits over 5 innings.  He took the loss that day, but pitched well against a hard hitting lineup.  Prior to the Red Sox game, Garcia won his previous 3 games allowing only 5 runs over 20 innings.

-Blackburn had a tough outing in his last game this past Tuesday against the Tigers allowing 5 runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings.  It was the 7^th time this season that Blackburn allowed 10 hits or more which is the highest in MLB.

-Blackburn is 0-2, with a 4.86 ERA and 6 strikeouts over his last 3 starts.

-I think it’s fair to assume that we will see a lot of groundballs against Blackburn due to him relying on his signature sinker.  His sinkerball doesn’t even hit low 90’s but used together with his cutter and changeup, he induces lots of swings that get on top of the ball for lots of infield ground outs.

-Jeter is hitting .400 off Blackburn and Texeira is hitting .769 with 1 home run and 6 RBI’s against him.

Arod's Rehab & Getting to Know Warren

Arod started for the Triple-A Scranton Yankees last night as part of his rehabbing.  He went 1 for 3 on the night with a hard hit single and a second hard hit fly-out, as well as a pop out.  Arod played third base the entire night but only had one defensive play which consisted of one ground ball and him stepping on 3^rd base for the out.  Not exactly an action packed night for the star.  He will play one more game with Scranton before joining the Yankees in Minnesota on Thursday for the Twins weekend series.

Arod may have been the story of the night for Scranton, but the bigger story in my opinion was the Starting Pitcher, Adam Warren.  Warren pitched 5 innings last night allowing only 3 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 8.  This is more or less what Warren has been doing the full season with the Scranton Yanks, yet he seems to have flown under the radar for most of the season.  The only time I even heard his name mentioned by the Yankees was about a month ago when they were trying to figure out who was going to pitch the doubleheader against the Orioles, while Nova was on the DL.  Warren probably hasn’t gotten much attention because the Yankees have 6 starting pitchers and he isn’t part of the ‘Killer B’s’

Warren was the Yankees 4^th round draft pick in the 2009 draft after he graduated from UNC.  He played ball at UNC, and in his first two years played with Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard, both Red Sox rising stars.  After being drafted he played for the Staten Island Yankees and dominated the league with a 1.43 ERA. The talent probably wasn’t as strong as he was used to in college, but nonetheless he managed to impress.

For the start of 2010, Warren pitched in High-A Tampa for 15 starts before being promoted up to Double-A Trenton where he finished the season.  During his time with Trenton, he set a franchise record of 15 strikeouts in one game.  He finished the season with the Thunder boasting a 3.15 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 10 starts with a 9.8K/9IP strikeout ratio.  This was enough to get a promotion to Triple-A this season.

Warren hasn’t been nearly as dominant this season as he was with the GCL Yankees, Tampa Yankees or Trenton Thunder, but he still has been a solid starter for the season which isn’t too shabby for a 23 year old.  Since being promoted this season, his strikeout ratio has dropped from 22.3% in 2010 to 15.5% in Scranton. Warren is also hurt by his walk rate climbing from 5.8% in 2010 to 6.8% in 2011.  It seems like the league has caught up with him this year which is somewhat typical when you get promoted quickly through the system.

Although his numbers have declined from Double-A, they are still pretty good for the young righty and he earned a spot on the Triple-A, All Star Team.  Warren has started 24 games and has a record of 6-6, with a 3.33 ERA and WHIP of 1.30.  Throughout this season he has held opposing batters to a .252 batting average which could be lower if he improved against lefties.  Lefties are hitting .277 against him compared to righties at .230.  To offset the lefties success against him, Warren boasts a strong Left On Base percentage up at 75%, which is above average.  The key would be to not allowing men on base in the first place.

What I like about Warren the most is his repertoire.  Even before he started pitched for the GCL, Warren had 6 pitches in his arsenal.  He throws a 4 seam fastball and a sinking fastball, both of which sit between 91-93, but can get as high as 96 mph. Those two fastballs both have some late movement on them as the 4 seamer moves side-to-side while the sinker –sinks.  Used together with his cutter, they keep the batter off the fastball by changing the eye level. Warren also throws a slider which is somewhere around 83-85mph and a curveball mixed in as well. He also throws a changeup which seems to be an issue for him this season as it hasn’t been effective against lefties, which could be why lefties have a .277 average against him. 

If Warren can work on his changeup even just a bit, I think we will see him with the Yankees next season.  Although I haven’t given up hope on him being called up this season, there are just too many starters for the Yankees rotation for him to be considered now.  I do find it surprising that other teams haven’t tried to make a move for Warren.  He may not be an Ace, but he certainly would fit with most teams as a #3 or #4 starter.  If I was another teams GM, I would certainly be keeping an eye on him!

SIDE NOTE: On another tangent from yesterday’s Triple-A game, ‘Killer B’ Andrew Brackman pitched one inning in relief allowing 0 hits and 1 strikeout. He only needed 9 pitches for the inning and 7 were strikes.

That’s Just What the Captain Does

The beginning of the season seems like only yesterday watching Jeter hit weak ground balls to the infield for easy outs.  Even when he would get a hit, it wasn’t much to write home about.  Jeter wasn’t driving the ball and most hits came from squeakers that managed to get through the infield.

Things certainly have changed since Jeter got back from the DL with that calf injury right before the All Star Break.  Since coming off the DL, Jeter is hitting .319 with a .373 on base percentage.  Numbers aside, Jeter looks like a different player than he did in April when he was hitting .250 with a .300 OBP.  Now, he’s driving the ball for solid line drives and his swing looks like old Jeter.  Although Kevin Long had tweaked Jeter’s swing during spring training, it looks as though Jeter has reverted to his old ways of taking a stride before swinging.  Although the stride isn’t as dramatic as it was at the end of last season, it’s larger than it was during the month of April/May.  The biggest difference with Jeter at bat is his approach.  It seems like he is holding back longer which enables him to get his power behind the swing.  Jeter’s power is still there as his slugging percentage since coming off the DL would indicate, up at .449%.

As with any discussion of Jeter, it’s not just his numbers – it’s the intangibles and last night was a perfect example of how he contributes to the team.  In the 6^th inning, the Yankees were down by a run since AJ had a problem holding the lead.  Jeter came to the plate and hit a triple, driving in two RBI’s so the Yanks could take the lead.  This triple allowed AJ to bounce back for one more inning and get his first win in August since George W Bush was president.

Last week, Jeter came up big in another game for AJ although the end result was the same.  In the first game against the Angels, AJ ran into some trouble and allowed the Angels to take the lead.  Jeter came to bat in the 7^th inning and hit a RBI single which tied the game.  The Yankees eventually scored another run to take the lead before Mariano came in and blew the save. Ultimately the yanks lost that first game, but Jeter came up with another big RBI to bail out Burnett and keep hope alive. 

That’s what the Captain does time and time again.  Whether you love Jeter or hate him, he comes up big!