The Hefty Lefty

It really is a treat to watch CC pitch every 5 days and last night was no different.  CC was on fire until the 1^st rain delay started.  Prior to the rain delay, CC was throwing a perfect game through 6 1/3 innings and looked incredible. He had 7 strikeouts in a row before they delayed the game.  CC was throwing heat with his fastball and his breaking pitches were making batters look silly.  (Ichiro almost fell over when he struck out). He even threw a 1^st pitch strike to 20 of the 25 batters he faced last night. You couldn’t have asked for anything better from your ace.

The game was delayed for about 30 minutes but when CC returned, he just wasn’t the same. He still looked good but he wasn’t as sharp. That’s when he allowed Brendan Ryan’s hit to end the perfect game/no hitter.  Then there was the second delay and CC came back out for the 8^th inning but ran into some troubles that David Robertson took care of in relief.

Overall it was really an impressive performance for CC and I think everyone watching the game was left with the same thought… If this game wasn’t delayed, CC would have thrown a perfect game.  Ultimately CC got his 15th win and had 14 strikeouts on the night.  The Yankees totaled 18 strikeouts for the game which is highest since Ron Guidry threw 18 strikeouts back in 1978.

After last night’s game I am left with a couple thoughts: The Yankees will need to get CC as many starts as possible during the postseason, similar to 2009 & I have no doubt in my mind that CC will opt-out of his contract at the end of the season.  I’m not saying he will leave the Yankees, but he will re-negotiate the terms of his contract for an even bigger long-term deal which will hopefully allow him to end his career with the Yanks.

SIDE NOTE:  Eric Chavez went 1-3 in his return to the Yankees driving in an RBI on a single in the 5^th inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Eric Chavez Back In The Lineup Tonight

Eric Chavez is back in the starting lineup tonight for the Yankees for the first time since May 5 when he fractured his foot.  His DL stint has been quite long and problematic as he injured his back and had abdominal problems while healing.  Prior to the DL Chavez was hitting .310 with the Yankees.  Tonight he will return to the stadium playing third base in place of Eduardo Nunez who is getting the night off.

Chavez only played 7 games while rehabbing but by all accounts, hadn't lost his swing and is ready to go.  He went 7 for 21 down in Class-A Tampa while rehabbing with a home run and a pair of doubles.

Since Chavez is being called up, the Yankees will need to send down Brandon Laird.  There is no sense in having both Laird and Nunez on the team when they both are utility infielders.  Laird wasn't with the team terribly long but did manage to get in a few games over the weekend and even had his first Major League RBI during this span.  You can read more about Brandon Laird HERE

And here is tonight's starting lineup

Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Texeira 1B
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Posada DH
Chavez 3B
Cervelli C

A's And Yankees Preview

The Yankees return home today for a ten game homestand starting with the Oakland A’s.  After the last 8 games on the road playing on astroturf, I’m sure the Yankees are looking forward to a long homestand to get back on track.  The road trip following the All Star Break hasn’t been great for the Yankees as they have split two 4 game series with Toronto & Tampa.  There have been some highlights during these games, but there has also been a number of games where sloppy defense has cost them games. 

Looking ahead, the Yanks play the A’s and the Mariners over the next week which should bring them some wins.  The A’s who are 17-33 on the road, come to the Bronx tonight in hopes of getting a win in Yankee stadium for the first time since July 25, 2009.  They have lost the last 12 of 13 games against the Yankees in Yankee stadium, and the last time these two teams met the Yankees swept three games in Oakland.  Since then, the A's have fired their manager due to poor performance. 

Right now, the Yankees have a 10 game winning streak against Oakland.  The A’s had an off day Thursday following a series against Detroit where they split two games & prior to the Detroit series, the A’s swept the Angels outscoring them 20 to 11 over the 4 game set, showing a little offensive life.

STARTING PITCHERS

Friday: Trevor Cahill (8-8, 3.16 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (1-2, 8.44 ERA)

-Hughes comes into the game following a big win against the Blue Jays earlier this week.  He pitched 6 innings allowing only 2 runs and striking out 5 for the win, and used a new type of curve ball in the process.  Overall he looked sharp compared to his previous start.  Although his first start back from the DL had similar numbers (5IP, 2 runs), this week’s performance showed more control and consistency along with velocity that is considered ‘healthy’ for Hughes.

-Hughes is 2-0 against the A’s with a 1.62 ERA all-time.

-Trevor Cahill is looking to get his first career win against the Yankees as he is 0-3 against them in 3 starts.  In those three starts he has allowed 18 earned runs over 16 2/3 innings pitched. Last season, Cahill pitched against the Yanks in Yankee stadium in the first game of a 4 game sweep by the Yankees, allowing 8 runs over 4 innings

-Texeira is 4 – 8 against Cahill with 2 Home Runs

-Cano is 4 – 9 against Cahill with 1 Home Run

Saturday: Rich Harden (1-1, 5.00 ERA) vs. AJ Burnett (8-7, 4.19 ERA)

-AJ had a rough start in his last outing allowing 3 runs over the first 2 innings but settled in after that a bit to keep the Yankees in the game.  Burnett allowed a season high 6 walks in the start.

-Burnett is 0-1 over his last 3 starts with a 5.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts

-Harden is coming off his first start for Oakland in three years following his reinstatement from the 60 day DL.  He pitched six strong innings, allowing two runs and four hits while striking out six batters.  Overall it was a good return from Harden who used a strong fastball to retired the first 16 of 18 batters he faced.

-Harden has not pitched a complete season since 2004 due to injuries and has been on the DL 10 times over his career.

Sunday: Gio Gonzalez (9-6, 2.33 ERA) vs. Bartolo Colon (6-6, 3,34 ERA)

-Colon quieted the critics in his last start showing that he is not injured and looking ahead to the second half.  In his start against Tampa he threw 6 shutout innings with a season high 9 Strikeouts.  Read more about that Start HERE

-Colon is 0-3 over his last three starts with a 6.39 ERA, but it looks as though Colon is back on track following the DL stint.

-David Dejesus is batting .545 against Colon with 2 Home Runs.

-Gio Gonzalez is coming off a strong start against the Angels of 7 innings of shutout ball.  Gonzalez allowed only 4 hits and struck out 8.

-Gonzalez is one of the few bright spots for this Oakland team as he boasts the 5^th best ERA in the AL and was named to the All Star Team.  He uses a combination of fastballs, curveballs and changeups relying most heavily on the fastball.

-Gonzalez has lost his last three starts against the Yankees, allowing 14 earned runs with 14 walks over 14 2/3 innings pitched

YANKEES NOTES

-Jeter has been slumping lately and over the last seven games Jeter is hitting .200.  Girardi has considered bumping him from lead off when facing righties as he did last night.  Against lefties though, Jeter is hitting .325 with a .419 on base percentage so I would guess that Jeter would remain as leadoff batter against lefties.

-Soriano pitched against Thursday in a rehab game for Class-A Tampa allowing one run on 2 hits over a single inning.  Soriano had also pitched Wednesday, as the Yankees want him to be durable enough to pitch back to back days.  It’s likely he could be activated by the middle of next week

-Chavez played third-base for the first time in Class-A Tampa Thursday, and went 1-3 on the day with an RBI Double. 

A’S NOTES

-The Yankees welcome back Hideki Matsui tonight into Yankee stadium. Matsui just hit his 500^th career home run!  (including home runs in Japanese league)

Down In the Minors

Soriano pitched for the first time last night since going on the DL and had a decent first outing.  Although it doesn’t mean much as he was only pitching for the Tampa Class-A Yankees, Soriano had a perfect 1^st inning retiring the side 1-2-3.  The second inning is where he ran into some issues though and allowed a home run, a hit and a sac bunt.  Ultimately, he finished the day with 21 pitches over 1.1 innings striking out 1 batter – Not an overwhelming performance from 2010’s save’s leader!

Before going on the DL Soriano had been inconsistent in the mere 15 innings he pitched.  He had a 5.40 ERA with 15 hits over those 15 innings, but also a problematic 11 walks.  Prior to yesterday’s outing, Girardi had told the press that Soriano was looking at a minimum of 3 rehab appearances before even being considered for a call-up to the Yanks.  There was some discussion as to whether Robertson would be kept in the 8^th inning slot, but Girardi wouldn’t confirm one way or another.  It’s Probably best for Girardi to keep tight-lipped about this as Soriano seems to be a bit sensitive.

Eric Chavez played in last night’s Class-A Game as well in his first rehab appearance.  Chavez, who was the DH, went 0-3 on the night with a walk.  He played again today in the afternoon game (DH again) and did much better.  Chavez went 4-5 this and scored 2 runs.  He is scheduled to play again tomorrow as the third baseman.  It is doubtful that Chavez will return to the Yankees terribly soon as he has been out since May 6, and should need a decent amount of at bats to get back in the groove but today’s game was a good start!

Although Ivan Nova isn’t playing in Class-A ball, he was sent down to Triple-A when Phil Hughes was called up.  He has done pretty well in the first two starts for the Scranton Yankees, but last night he left the game in the second inning with an ankle injury.  There has been a good amount of speculation regarding his injury but most reports indicate that it is not serious and probably only a ‘rolled’ ankle.  Assuming Nova isn’t seriously hurt, there is a good chance that he could make a spot start for the Yankees in one of the doubleheader games on July 30.

You Can Read More About Nova's performances down in Triple-A  HERE

Injury Updates

Pedro Feliciano who signed a 2 year, 8 Million dollar contract with the Yankees this past offseason injured himself during spring training.  He is recovering from a torn shoulder capsule and yesterday the Yankees announced that he suffered another setback. He will be shut down for at least another week before he is even allowed to throw a ball again, and it’s doubtful that he will pitch at all for the rest of the season.  Great Signing!

Eric Chavez started out the season hot with the Yankees, but then fractured his foot in May.  He has been working on rehabbing the foot, but then a week or two ago suffered a setback with an unrelated back injury.  In the past week, the Yanks have announced that Chavez has suffered a new injury and is being sent to New York for tests on his abdomen.  Turns out it was a kidney stone and he was sent back to Tampa.  Looks like he has a case of Nick Johnson Syndrome.  Hopefully he can rejoin the Yanks this season, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Rafael Soriano has been working down in Tampa and has been throwing off a mound.  Although he hasn’t faced batters yet, he has been throwing bullpen sessions.  So far he has only thrown fastballs in these bullpen sessions, but has been making progress lately.  I think it’s very likely that he will return to the Yankees following the All Star Break.  He may be with the Yankees when the go up to Toronto next weekend if he continues his progress.  I suppose that drops Robertson back to the 7^th inning guy.

Mariano Rivera has not been placed on the DL but has a nagging elbow issue since blowing the save against the Mets this past Sunday.  Mo says it’s nothing serious and I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he is telling the truth.  Girardi said Mariano wasn’t available last night, but it’s very possible to see him play against the Rays this evening.  The injury seems to be nothing more than elbow soreness.

Damaso Marte who is recovering from a shoulder injury threw a bullpen session yesterday.  Last season he had shoulder surgery and was not expected to pitch this entire season.  It looks like there is a chance, albeit a very small chance, that Marte could rejoin the team later this season.  Don’t hold your breath though.

Joba Chamberlain was sidelined with Tommy John surgery and is light years away from pitching again. I think it’s doubtful he will return next year, and if he does I doubt he would be reliable.  Most pitchers need a full season of recovering before they are effective again.  Poor Joba.

Yankees & Rockies Series Preview

THE STATE OF THE YANKEES

The Yankees just finished their Midwest road trip going 4-2 in Interleague play.  They took 2 out of 3 from both the Cubs and the Reds, and are now coming home for their final stretch of interleague play against the Rockies and Brewers before they head cross town for the final three games of the Subway Series.  Overall the Yankees are on a roll since being swept by the Red Sox in the first week of June.  Since that series the Yankees are 10-3 and have won every series since, including a sweep over the Rangers.  Things should only be getting better for the Yankees beginning this week as their injured players will be coming back to the team slowly. 

Jeter is due back this coming Wednesday and Phil Hughes isn’t terribly far behind.  Hughes could be back with the team by early July if his progress continues – He hit 95mph on the radar gun last weekend and was averaging 93mph in that game.  Eric Chavez is slowly recovering as well and we could likely see him back with the team in Mid July, which can help bolster the bench.  Even Bartolo Colon shouldn’t be out terribly long and could rejoin the team in Mid July as well.  Colon was put on the 15 day DL, but it seems he may need a bit longer.  Let Colon take his rest now rather than pushing him back into the rotation which could cause an injury to worsen for an older player, plus Colon was going to need rest throughout the season for stamina purposes since he hasn’t pitched much since 2005.  Even just getting back these four players (forget about Marte, Feliciano & Soriano) will take the pressure of the rest of the team.

Even the guys who had previously started the season poorly have been heating up.  Jorge Posada, who was previously hitting only .183, has brought his average up to .225 and had a game winning home run against the Reds on Wednesday.  Although .225 isn’t a great average, his numbers for June are impressive : .391/.431/.543 with one home run.  I’m not sure what he is doing different, but it could be just as simple as getting acquainted to the DH role.

Brett Gardner had a terrible month of April, but has become the player he was in 2010 again.  In the month of April he hit a mere .188 and didn’t look sharp.  In fact, Girardi started platooning him due to his poor performance.  Gardner then worked with Kevin Long on his swing and received immediate results.  In the month of May his average climbed to .301 with a .379 on base percentage, and so far in June his average is up to .377 on the month with a .441 on base percentage and an extremely impressive .999 OPS.

Nick Swisher has been gaining some momentum as well but it took a little longer for him.  Swish had two bad months in April and May batting .226 and .200 respectively.  June has treated Swisher better and his average is up to .292 on the month with a .435 on base percentage.  His OPS is even higher than Gardner’s for the month of June with a 1.035!  In the last two weeks alone his average is .310 and between Gardner and Swish sharing the leadoff spot, they share a combined .316 average.  Although both Swisher and Gardner are thriving as the #1 batter, once Jeter gets healthy again he will continue to bat leadoff.

Nova had become a pitcher that only a few weeks ago that many critics were claiming he was fighting for a job to stay in the starting rotation, but since his start in Seattle he has been impressive.  He pitched on Monday against the Reds and had a dominant outing, proving to everyone that he needs to stay in the rotation.  Nova also picked up his seventh win on the season which is the second most only to CC with 9.  You can read all about Nova’s performance RIGHT HERE. 

Even Boone Logan had a good outing in Cincinatti.  Logan can’t get a lefty out if they were swinging with one hand, but he was called in against the Reds on Wednesday night following Gordon’s mediocre performance and struck out NL MVP Joey Votto and cleanup hitter Jay Bruce.  It doesn’t’ change the fact that lefties are still hitting .286 against the left handed specialist, but it could be a step in the right direction for Logan.  Last year he had a tough May and June, but came back an ended the season strong.  In July and August he pitched a total of 13 innings and only allowed 1 run, 8 hits and struck out 13. 

The Yankees will welcome Jason Giambi back to the stadium this weekend as the Rockies come to town.  (I still will never forget his Grand Slam against the Twins in extra innings)  The yanks will luck out and not face the Rockies ace this season, Chacin who is 8-4 on the year.  In his last three games alone, he has pitched 22 innings allowing only 10 hits and 2 runs.  The Rockies will have Ubaldo Jimenez pitching the first game which doesn’t fair well for the Yankees, but Jimenez has not been the pitcher he was in the first part of 2010 when his ERA was a miniscule .88 on June 1 with a .95 WHIP.

The Rockies had a great start to the season going 11-3 to kick off April, but have since dropped into third place in the NL West with a .500 record.  May was not a good month for the Rockies as they lost 20 of the 28 games they played.  They have been doing better in June going 12-8 so far and interleague play has worked out well for them lately as they took 2 out of 3 from both the Tigers and the Indians.  The Rockies aren’t a great team but they do boast some big bats in their lineup like their #3 ,4 & 5 hitters, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton.  Their team ranks in the top 6 in average, on base percentage and slugging percentage for all teams in the NL but are in the bottom 6 for ERA and WHIP.  As long as the Yankee pitchers can keep their bats in check, they should be able to score some runs and win the series.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7, 4.68 ERA) vs. AJ Burnett (7-5, 4.05 ERA)

-Jimenez is coming off a win against the Tigers last week, but was pulled freom the game in the 6^th inning due to a calf injury he suffered while running the bases.  He is certainly not the same pitcher he was in early 2010.  He is 1-2 over his last three starts with a 3.63 ERA, so he has been improving this season, but who knows whether he has gotten through his control issue yet.

-For more information on Ubaldo, read about him RIGHT HERE

-In 25 at bats against Jimenez, Russell Martin is hitting .320

-AJ is having a much better June than he did last season when he went 0-5 with a 11.35 ERA.  This June he is 2-2 with a 4.21 ERA.  He got the win last weekend against the Cubs but only pitched 5 1/3 innings and used 104 pitches before getting pulled.  He hasn’t been the model of consistency, but seems to be persevering through tough outings with the help of Russell Martin.  In his last three starts he has 19 strikeouts.

Aaron Cook (0-2, 4.67 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (9-4, 3.39 ERA)

-Cook only recently came off the 60 day DL on June 8, and has not done much.  He has lost both his starts since coming back.  In his last start against the Tigers he pitched 6 innings and gave up four runs to take the loss.

-CC is going for his 10^th win of the season, and attempting to be the first pitcher to get 10 wins this season.  He didn’t have a great start last weekend against the Cubs as he ran into some control issues, but was able to get the win, as the Yankees gave him some run support.  This season he has averaged 8.68 runs per game to support his winning record.

Juan Nicasio (2-1, 4.71 ERA) vs Ivan Nova (7-4, 4.13 ERA)

-Nicasio is a rookie right hander for the Rockies this season. He is coming off a tough no decision to the Indians this week when he gave up 6 runs.  He is 1-0 with a 6.89 ERA over his past three starts, but has struck out 19 in the process.

-Nova is coming off his best start of the season where he pitched 8 strong innings against the Reds.  You can read all about Nova’s improved season right HERE.

Sunday Morning Notes

Posada is the DH in today's lineup and I can't help but wonder why Girardi isn't sitting him more.  Eric Chavez is having a great start to the season batting .389 in the 20 plate appearances he has made.  Posada is having trouble getting going, and it just seems logical to use Chavez while he is hot. 

Right now, Posada only has 3 hits in the past 22 at bats and went 1 for 5 yesterday.  Posada really can't do much other than hit some home runs, so it would be worth a try to keep him on the bench and use him later in games if necessary.  It's not like he is playing catcher anymore.  I'm not saying that he shouldn't DH, he really needs to find his rhythm as the DH, and while he is searching they should plug Chavez into the lineup. 

TODAYS LINEUP
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF

Russell Martin is also in the lineup today after catching last night which is somewhat surprising.  Something tells me that Martin is still fired up after getting hit by a pitch last night.  Although I would normally want to see a catcher get a game off, especially when they have another 15 games in a row to play, I like Martin in the lineup.  Martin has had a great start to the season and may have been the best offseason pickup.

HUGHES UPDATE

Not too much to report but Phil Hughes is still on the DL and working on getting some arm strength back.  He has been rehabbing by throwing long tosses and yesterday he did a lengthy bullpen session which was the toughest workout he has done so far.  He is going to have one more bullpen session Monday and then the plan is to throw in a minor league game by Thursday. No word on whether his velocity has increased yet.  We probably won't hear anything until he pitches in a few games.

Hip Hip.... Jorge!

As John Sterling would say, Jorge Juiced one!  Last night Posada hit his 4th home run of the season.  Normally I would be excited with a stat like this, but it seems to be a cause for concern instead.  Jorge isn't hitting the ball well.  In fact he only has 6 hits on the season.  4 of those hits are from home runs though.


It's a super small sample size, but Posada is hitting .182 over 9 games.  He doesn't look particularly sharp at the plate either.  Maybe it's a slow start or maybe he is struggling in his adjustment as the DH.  I think this could be cause for concern as the season plays out.  Eric Chavez may be a decent replacement as the DH if Jorge doesn't start swinging the bat better.  Having Posada on the bench could be a nice spot for him especially if he continues hitting home runs.  Nothing is better than a bench player who hits big home runs.  


I doubt Girardi is planning on making any changes, but it would be worthwhile to allow Chavez to get more at bats.  Chavez had a great spring and is batting .444 through 9 at bats.

Friday's Game in Dunedin

The Yankees are on the road this afternoon in Dunedin to play the Blue Jays.  Burnett is the starting pitcher and the Yankees left the regular infielders back in Tampa.  Dunedin is one of my favorite spring training fields.  It is a minor league ballpark in the middle of a residential neighborhood and everyone who works at the field is from the town, from the elderly people ripping ticket stubs to the old men tossing brauts on the grill.  It's probably the only stadium you can get Labatt's on tap too. (The park has a canadian theme to it)  It really is the exact opposite of Steinbrenner Field which has a very corporate and city atmosphere and a great place to visit if you are in Tampa. 

Here is today's lineup:
 
Brett Gardner LF
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Eric Chavez 1B
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Ronnie Belliard 3B
Ramiro Pena SS

Chavez is getting the start at First base and Nunez is starting at second.  I think Girardi has made up his mind at this point that both Chavez and Nunez will make the team as backup/utility infielders.  Both are worth keeping an eye on over the next two weeks.  Especially with Nunez trying to beat out Ramiro Pena for that last spot.

Burnett is coming off a great start against the Nationals last weekend where he threw 4 innings and only allowed 2 hits and 0 Runs.  He has improved his mechanics and is striving for consistency as well as a solid changeup.  This will be his final start before Girardi announces who is the #2 starting pitcher this season.  That announcement is set to come this weekend.

Also making an appearance today will be Sergio Mitre who has been sidelined recently due to a minor oblique injury.  He pitched a bullpen on Wednesday and Girardi says he's feeling good again.  Mitre is set to pitch 3 or 4 innings today.

Andrew Brackman who was actually cut from the Major League Roster earlier this week, will be making the trip as well.  It seems as the "Cuts" have only been made, on paper, and have no substantive effect on the spring training roster yet.  Brackman will have another opportunity to face some major league batters which should help him develop as a potential call-up later this season.  Hopefully he will have an opportunity to face Bautista on the Jay's and prove his worth!

Where does Chavez fit?

This year Eric Chavez, 6 time gold glove third baseman for the Athletics, was singed for a minor league deal and may actually have a shot on this team.  He was one of those low risk – high reward signings, Cashman made this offseason.  With Chavez's experience, Cashman may be highly rewarded with this signing  Chavez has been working with Tino Martinez & Mark Texeira on his fielding skills to be the backup first baseman.  Yesterday he started at first and had a pretty solid defensive game, which included a nice scoop on a bad throw by Laird.  Girardi has been tight lipped about Chavez’s role but it seems he may be carried into the regular season as a backup first baseman and of course third baseman. 

I’m not certain who they would drop from the team but I think it would likely be Ramiro Pena.  His offense struggled last year when he only hit .227 with a  .258 on base percentage, and his winter ball numbers weren’t much better.  In the Mexican league he batted only .233 with a .296 on base percentage.  It will be interesting to see what role he will play on this team in the future as Eduardo Nunez seems to have caught a lot of attention last season.

Nunez played in Triple-A last season and batted .289 with a .340 on base percentage.  He was called up late in the season last year by the Yankees and hit .280 in 30 games.  He has decent speed as well and stole 23 bases in Triple-A.   Nunez may have beaten out Pena for a backup infielder role with these impressive numbers, but I think Chavez is a very worthwhile option and I believe he will start the season with the Yankees. No matter whether it’s Chavez, Pena or Nunez this season, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Watch for Chavez over the next several weeks.