Trapping Lightning In a Bottle

Sometimes a manager needs to try and catch lightning in a bottle to drive their team to the postseason, but he must balance the need for consistency that the players require.  The lighting in a bottle that I am talking about with the Yankees is Brett Gardner’s offensive production over the last few months, and more attractively since the All-Star Break.  

Following the All-Star Break, Gardner has played in all 8 games and is hitting .517 with a .576 on base percentage.  Unfortunately for Gardner, he hasn’t been used often this season as the leadoff batter, until last night.  Some may say that Gardner is streaky but if you break down his numbers by the month, they have gotten better as the season goes on.  Streaky or not, the numbers don’t lie and Gardner should be used more often as the leadoff batter, especially against righties.

Gardner is your classic leadoff man.  He’s fast and he makes contact with the ball.  When Gardner gets on base he becomes a distraction to the pitcher, position players, and the catcher.  In turn, this distraction helps Gardner manufacture runs.  He is the type of player that can beat out infield grounders, then steal second within a blink of an eye to put himself in scoring position for the hard hitters in the middle of the lineup to drive him home from second base.  As much as I love Jeter and think he can still run the bases as smart as any player, he doesn’t manufacture runs the same way Gardner does which is a critical component of the leadoff batter’s responsibility.  Look at Ichiro as the perfect example of how leadoff batters create opportunities which manufactures runs.

Gardner’s speed has become such an asset than he now has stolen 16 bases in a row.  It’s been over a month since he was caught stealing a base, and over the last six nights Gardner has stolen 7 bases!  Since the beginning of last season, Gardner has a 78% success rate! Not only does he pose a threat to opposing teams, there seems to be very little risk involved as Gardner isn’t getting thrown out.  In fact, since May 20 he is 24 for 28 in stolen base attempts!  As long as he can get on base, he’s a valuable weapon.

Fortunately for the Yankees, Gardner isn’t having trouble reaching base.  Right now he is batting .290 with a .370 on base percentage.  His average would be even higher had he not started the season with a terrible April as he hit a mere .188 with .273 on base percentage.  It took some time for Gardner to get going but as each month of the season passes, his averages increase.

                Batting Avg         OBP

April:     .188                        .273

May:      .301                        .379

June:     .317                        .404

July:       .356                        .424

As you can see from above, Gardners numbers are just getting better and better as the summer heats up.  Gardner was named the full time left fielder starting last season, and since that time he’s hit .280 with a .376 on base percentage.  His numbers don’t show any sign of dying down anytime soon, so it’s time to trap that lightning in the bottle and make him the leadoff batter at least against right handed pitchers.  If he is able to manufacture runs, the Yankees need him to try it every day and by allowing him to bat leadoff, the Yankees have the best odds to win the game which is what this all comes down to.

Although I wouldn’t be opposed to having Gardner as the leadoff man for both lefties and righties, Jeter’s numbers against lefties are solid.  Jeter is hitting .325 against lefties with a .419 on base percentage.  Although Jeter is getting older and a bit slower, he’s still a solid baserunner if only for being a heady player.  Unfortunately for Jeter he isn’t making the decision any more difficult for Girardi as his production since the ‘DJ3K day’ (July 9) is weak – Jeter’s only hitting .200 over the last 7 games, compared to Gardners .517 average.  Jeter’s production against righties isn’t terribly better as he is only hitting .244 against them with a .290 on base percentage on the season – both these numbers are unacceptable for a leadoff batter.  In all fairness to Jeter he does have one stat that is hard to ignore – When leading off a game Jeter hits .379 with a .446 on base percentage!

That all being said, it’s not such an easy thing to bump a guy like Derek Jeter out of the #1 spot.  There needs to be some overall consistency within the lineup which players require.  That’s why managers don’t just constantly change the lineup from day to day.  If you move Jeter from the #1 hole, then where do you put him?  If you plug him in as the second batter then Granderson has to move.  I believe that when a player like Granderson is doing well – you leave him alone.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!  Granderson is having a career year this season, so the last thing I want to do is move him from his regular lineup slot. 

So if Gardner is #1 and Granderson is #2 then where do you put Jeter?  He’s clearly not a #3, #4 or #5 hitter as he only has 17 extra base hits on the season.  Do you bump him to #6?  If you bump him to the 6^th spot, will he protect Cano or will opposing teams pitch around Cano?  If I were an opposing pitcher, I would definitely pitch around Cano to get to Jeter.  So by placing Jeter to the #6 spot, you essentially lose Cano’s production since you take away the majority of good pitches thrown to him.

So then we are left with three spots for Jeter - #7, #8 & #9. I doubt you can you plug the captain of the New York Yankees into one of these spots everyday without causing turmoil.  My solution would be a compromise - Use Jeter as the leadoff solely against lefties. His numbers are strong enough against lefties that he shouldn’t cause too many issues as the leadoff batter.  When facing righties though, bat Jeter lower in the order.  I doubt you could get away with batting him 9^th, but I have always loved the idea of having back to back leadoff batters in the #9 & #1 spots in a lineup.  It adds speed on the bases and with Nunez batting before Jeter and Gardner and Granderson following Jeter it adds a whole new dimension of baserunning to the Yankees offense to help manufacture runs.

Girardi has been making some comments to the media lately about playing with the batting order, so it’s something to keep an eye on over the next few weeks, especially with Arod out of the lineup for another 4 weeks.

Yankees... By The Numbers

So the Yankees have played 84 games this season which is just slightly more than the halfway through the season.  Lets look at some of the team leaders and see where they stand compared to years past

HOME RUN LEADERS

Granderson – 25 Home Runs.  The Grandy Man only had 24 home runs for the entire season in 2010 and he already hit that mark last night with his 2 home runs.  His career high is 30 back in 2009, and I think it’s fair to say that he is on pace to break his own record, but could he possibly he 50 Homers this year?

Texeira – 25 Home Runs.  Tex has been keeping up with Granderson despite a slower start to the season and already has the same amount of homers as last season already.  Tex’s career high home runs was 39 back in 2009, and looks like he could break his own record.  Hopefully he can crush 50 for the year if he keeps this up.

RBI LEADERS

Texeira – Tex leads the Yanks with 65 RBI’s.  Last season Texeira only had 108, but 2010 was not a great year for him.  He should be able to hit more than 108 this year, but I doubt he can break his own record of 144 back in 2005.

Granderson – He is on fire this year, and I don’t think anybody would have predicted that Granderson would have more RBI’s that Arod with 62.  The Grandy Man is on pace to easily beat his career high RBI’s with 74 back in 2007.  He only needs 12 more to do it and we are only halfway!

Rodriguez- Arod isn’t far behind Granderson with 52 RBI’s.  He is on pace to have less than his 125 RBI’s in 2010, and I think it’s fair to say his best RBI years are behind him.  Arod had 156 RBI’s back in 2007 which I find highly unlikely that he will reach again.  On the bright side, Arod has 19 doubles already this season and only hit 29 all of last year.  Seems like he lost some power (surprise, surprise) but is still getting the base hits.

TRIPLES

Granderson – Once again Granderson is topping the charts with 7 triples on the season, which is already as many as he hit for the entire 2010 season.  His career high was 23 back in 2007 and I doubt he will that that many this season, but Granderson has been a pleasant surprise this year.

Gardner- Gardner is having another speedy season and has hit 5 triples so far this year.  He is on pace to break his record of 7 that he set in 2010.

JOSE REYES- I have to mention him here as he already has 15 Triples on the season.  Extremely impressive! 

STOLEN BASES

Gardner- The speedy Gardner leads the team with 22 stolen bases, and that is following a rough start to the season where he was being criticized for not stealing enough and getting caught stealing too often.  Gardner has found his groove, but is slightly off pace from his 47 stolen bases in 2010.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gardner get 50 this year though as his baserunner has drastically improved throughout the season and he is getting more at bats than he was in April/May.

Granderson- Granderson is among the leaders in every offensive category and stolen bases is no different.  He has 15 for the season already and is on pace to break his own record of 26 back in 2007.

Nunez- Although Nunez is not an everyday player, he still has 10 stolen bases.  If this kid continues to work on his defense, he has the potential to be a great player on the Yankees and a decent offensive infielder who poses a threat on the bases.

STRIKEOUTS

Granderson-  With the good comes the bad.  Although Granderson leads the Yanks in most categories, he strikes out quite often.  This season he leads the Yanks with 86 strikeouts.  He is on pace to break his own record of 116 from last season.

Rodriguez- Arod comes in 2^nd place with 65 K’s.  I doubt he will break his record of 139 for 2005 & 2006, but he will come close.

FOR THE PITCHERS

WINS

Sabathia- CC just won his 12^th game of the season last night and leads all pitchers in MLB for Wins.  Last season he won 21 games for the first time with the Yankees and he is on pace to have another 20+ win season, especially if he continues pitching like last night!

SAVES

Rivera- Mo has 21 saves on the season already.  His career high is 53 back in 2004.  It’s difficult to gauge whether he can achieve 53 again since the score of the game factors into how many appearances that he will make, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit 53 again.  Maybe not this season, but he is still the best closer of all time.

STRIKEOUTS

Sabathia- CC’s 11 strikeouts last night and 33 over the past 3 games have brought him to a total of 117 on the season.  He is on pace to beat the 197 K’s in 2010.

Burnett- AJ already has 91 strikeouts on the season and is having a considerably better season than in 2010.  He should be able to get more than 145 K’s that he had in 2010 but I doubt he will reach his career high of 231 back in 2008 with the Jay’s.

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.

The Andruw Jones Predicament

Only the New York Yankees could continuously bench a guy with a .294 batting average on the season.  Go figure!  For some reason, Girardi continues to have Andruw Jones platoon in left field with Brett Gardner despite Gardner’s impressive numbers lately.  Maybe Girardi is stuck in 2005 or maybe he just wants to get Jones some more at bats, but it’s time to put an end to this silliness.  I like stats as much as anybody (maybe not as much as Girardi), but I know that when a guy is hot – play him everyday!

Gardner had a tough month of April and only hit .188 for the month with a .273 on base percentage.  By no stretch of the imagination was Gardner swinging the bat well.  Even if you forget Gardner’s numbers from last year, he had a very poor April compared to his career numbers.  That all changed though in the month of May.  During May, Gardner dramatically improved his numbers in all offensive categories as he hit .301, with a .379 on base percentage.  The month of June has treated Gardner even better than May as he is hitting .404 with a .481 on base percentage and an uncharacteristic .553 slugging percentage on the month.  Yet, Girardi still keeps him on the bench most days the Yanks face a lefty pitcher.  Even after his game winning at bat on Thursday, Girardi sat him the next afternoon against the Cubs since they were facing a lefty.

I understand that the Yankees specifically gave Andruw Jones a 1 year deal for 2 million so he could face lefty pitchers, but at some point they need to cut him loose.  He isn’t helping the team at all, and in fact is more of a problem in the lineup and the field.  Right now, Jones is hitting a mere .208 with a .288 on base percentage.  More importantly, since Jones is a power hitter his OPS should be respectable, but instead he only has a .690 OPS.  Meanwhile, in the month of June, Gardner has 1.03 OPS, and has never been considered a power hitter by any means!  Moreover, while Jones is supposed to be the go-to-guy when facing a lefty, his numbers against lefties aren’t much better.  Jones boasts a .236 average and a nominal .311 on base percentage against lefties. 



When was the last time you saw Jones make a play like this?



It doesn’t help Jones’ case that he is older and slower these days.  It used to be fun watching Jones chase down balls in the outfield and make catches that were always on sportscenter the next morning.  Nowadays, he is not making those plays and instead allowing doubles out in left field.  Although he doesn’t have any errors on the season, he just isn’t getting to the ball quick enough, especially when compared to the speedy Gardner.  Furthermore, Jones isn’t a threat on the bases and poses a bigger risk for the Yankees hitting into a double play (which they sure seem to like this year).

At some point the Yankees will need to cut their losses and release Jones.  Normally, I would try to be patient with a veteran guy like Jones and have him sit the bench to be a late inning pinch hitter, but Jones poses no threat to an opposing pitcher.  If you are an opposing manager, you wouldn’t change your pitcher from a lefty to a righty because Andruw Jones is coming to the plate hitting .236 off lefties.  It’s silly to have Gardner sit on the bench at all right now, especially while he is having an amazing June, so that Andruw Jones can get some at bats.  He’s not bringing anything to the table. 

I typically like brining in younger guys from Triple-A as replacements (rather than buying a bat) and it wouldn’t hurt the team to bring in a guy like Greg Golson from Scranton.  Golson is an outfielder who is hitting .286 on the season so far, with a .345 on base percentage and .442 slugging percentage.  Golson had a hamstring injury and was on the DL until very early June, but since coming off the DL is 14 for his last 40 at bats.  Why not give a player like this an opportunity rather than using Jones?  I wouldn’t use Golson in place of Gardner often but Golson can give the regular outfielders a day off to keep them sharp and can be used later in games as a pinch runner because of his speed.  Swisher could use a few days off to get his swing in check as well.  I’m not sure how long of a leash Jones has, but the Yankees will be forced to make some important choices with him before the all star break, especially if he doesn’t pick up his numbers against lefties soon.

Bring On the Lefties

Girardi has put together two different lineups when the Yankees are facing a righty pitcher versus a lefty pitcher.  When facing off against a lefty Andruw Jones starts over either Gardner who has been struggling or Posada who can’t hit a lefty (Lefty Lineup) and when they face off against a righty, Posada starts as DH (Righty Lineup).  Much of the lineup remains the same although Girardi has been giving some of the guys random days off for rest.  

The Rule

Looking at these two lineups, the Yankees have been very successful against lefties.  They have only faced 9 lefty starters throughout the first month of the season, but they have faced quite a few lefty relief pitchers.  The results are impressive as the team’s “Lefty Lineup” batting average against lefty’s is .270 while the “Righty Lineup” has a .239 batting average.  A 40 point jump can be dramatic when the team has been struggling offensively as of late.  Even more impressive is a few guys’ batting average increases.

The Most dramatic jump is for Nick Swisher who is hitting a mere .141 against righties, but when he faces off against a lefty, he hits .400!  Swish’s on base percentage jumps to .444 when facing against a lefty.  That means when he goes to the plate against a lefty, there is nearly a 50% chance he will reach base!  Girardi may want to consider bumping Swisher to the top of the lineup against lefties if he can keep up these numbers.

Jeter is another player whose numbers jump when facing a lefty pitcher.    Surprising enough, even with Jeter’s sub par first month, he is actually batting .313 against lefties, with a .405 on base percentage.  He only bats .235 against righties. That is over a 75 point jump in his numbers when facing lefties.  I suppose that is why Girardi has been batting him leadoff against lefties.

Brett Gardner has been off to a slow start in the first month and is hitting a meager .197 against righties, but when he faces lefties, his average jumps to .286.  That is nearly 100 points added to his average!  Texeira has about a 100 point jump when facing a lefty as well.  Tex’s average against lefties is .333 compared to only .219 against righties.  Of course Andruw Jones has better numbers against lefties, and that is why he starts games against lefties.  Jones’ average against lefties is .231 compared to .200 against righties.

Exception to the Rule

Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule and of course, Arod is on that list.  Arod bats .286 against righties while only .200 against lefties.  This stays consistent to his career average against lefties coming in higher at .289 compared to .307 against righties.  This does seem unusual though as Arod bats righty, and should theoretically have a higher average against lefty.   Cano joins Arod as the exception to the rule as he is batting .313 against righties and .270 against lefties.  No different than Arod, Cano’s career splits are better when facing off against lefties.  He hits .296 against lefties compared to .314 against righties.  

Granderson had started off very hot against lefties after working with Kevin Long last August but in the last week, his average against lefties dropped from .318 to .258.  Granderson went 0-2 against Holland on Friday, which attributed to the drop in average.  He is batting .269 against righty’s.  Granderson has always been known to have problems when facing lefties, but he has made significant strides since coming to the Yankees.

AND THE CATCHERS

One of the bigger surprises was Russell Martin who seems to struggle against lefties and is only hitting .136 against them, compared to .304 against righties.  In fact, Martin has hit 6 of his 7 homers off righties.  This issue (if it is actually an issue) can be tinkered with by substituting Martin with Cervelli when they are facing lefties.  Although Cervelli has only played one game so far so we don’t have a sample for 2011, his career splits against lefties is higher than righties.  Cervelli hits .328 against lefties compared to .247 against righties.  His 2010 numbers were similar as well since he hit only .246 against righties and .322 against lefties.  It’s obviously much easier said than done, to replace Martin when facing a lefty, as there are more variables involved with a catcher such as the Yankees starting pitcher, but it could lead to better offensive production.

Although he has not caught a game, Posada is still considered a catcher by me.  Posada is batting .192 against righties and is batting 0 against lefties.  In his 29 plate appearances against lefties, he has yet to get one hit.  His numbers are the biggest cause for concern on the team in my opinion.

I wonder if we could see some changes to the lineup throughout the season if these lefty trends continue.  If Swish continues his .444 on base percentage it would be crazy to not keep him in the top of the order so Tex, Arod or Cano could drive him home.

Welcome To Scranton

The Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees are looking good so far in their first 11 games.  This Yankees system is filled with promising prospects, who may make an appearance at the Major League level soon.  Even if they Yankees don’t call them up, they can be used as trade bait for a starting pitcher.  Right now, these are the guys to keep an eye on! 

Jesus Montero:  Although he had a very slow spring, he has started to heat up in the first 11 games.  Girardi though Montero was pressing too hard in spring training to make the team, which hurt him offensively.  He was sent to AAA to get some confidence and build his offensive numbers.  He now is batting .423 on the season and is 22-50 at the plate.  His slugging percentage is at .558.  By far the most impressive stat is the amount of 3-Hit games he has, which is now 6!  Montero has 3 hits in more than 50% of the games he played so far.  He had a shot to make the Yankees as the backup catcher, which he blew in the Spring with poor offensive numbers.  It seems like he is trying to make a case for himself again before Cervelli makes his way back.  If Montero continues to hit like this…. Cervelli who?

Side Note: Cervelli is beginning his rehab assignment tonight in High –A Tampa.

Jorge Vasquez:  I don’t think anybody expected Vasquez to have such a strong spring or start to the season.  Vasquez was one of those players in spring training that was crushing the ball and was even leading the Yankees in batting average.  Prior to spring training, Vazquez was playing down in the Mexican league and hitting .346 witha  .647 slugging percentage.  Those numbers continued to climb as the AAA Season started.  In Scranton, Vasquez is leading the team with 7 home runs through 11 games, and is hitting .321.  Even more impressive is his slugging percentage which is .714!  Vazquez was named batter of the week, last week when he went 11-26 with 5 Homers and 11 RBI’s.  I don’t know where he fits with the Yankees, but if he keeps hitting like this, I am sure the Yankees will find a spot.

The only thing he needs to work on is the strikeouts.  He struck out 41 times in 36 games in the Mexican league and has already struck out 12 times in AAA.

Justin Maxwell:  Maxwell was another name that was floated around as a backup outfielder for the Yankees this season, but didn’t make the cut after the spring.  Maxwell is widely known for his speed on the bases, and has already stolen 4 bases in the first 11 games in AAA.  Although his batting average is mediocre at .267, his on base percentage is .400 and he has a .625 slugging percentage.  Maxwell has been on fire this past week hitting a home run in every game this week.  With Gardner totally crapping out so far, Maxwell may have an opportunity.

Andy Sisco:  Sisco is a lefty relief pitcher, and I have a strong feeling we may see him get called up at some point throughout the season.  Right now the only lefty in the Yankees bullpen is Boone Logan.  Luis Ayala who started as the other lefty in the pen, went on the DL last week and Lance Pendleton was called up.  Pendleton is a righty, which makes me think that Girardi will eventually drop Pendleton within the next month or two as the odd man out, when they really want to play the numbers and use a lefty specialist for a batter or two.  Sisco & Logan would be those late inning lefties.  Right now Sisco is on fire in his first 6.2 innings.  It may be a very small sample size, but he has a 0.00 ERA and only allowed 3 hits.  He has struck out 7 batters in those 6 innings and his WHIP is 1.05.  If Pendleton pitches like he did on Wednesday night against the Jay allowing one hit and walking a batter, Sisco will get called up sooner than expected. 

Hector Noesi:  Last week the Yankees called up Noesi and I wrote about him HERE.  Noesi has not been used yet by the Yankees, but he was warming up the other night in Toronto before Pendleton pitched the 9^th inning.  Noesi was in contention this spring as a possible 5^th starter, and has only pitched one game for AAA going 5 innings and allowing 2 earned runs.

UPDATE:  Noesi was optioned down to AAA today for Buddy Carlyle.  The Yankees want Noesi to be a starting pitcher and he wasn't getting any action with the Yankees.  Better to keep him fresh in AAA for now.

Lance Pendleton:  Pendleton was called up by the Yankees last week and has appeared in two games so far for them.  I wrote about him HERE, when he was called up.  He was used last Friday in mop up duty for three innings against the Rangers after Nova was pulled from the game.  Since everyone was wearing #42 that night, nobody really noticed Pendleton pitch three scoreless innings.  Pendleton looked great in that appearance, and was given another opportunity on Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.  His second appearance was much shakier when he was called in for the 9^th inning.  The Yankees were up by four runs, but Pendleton walked the first batter and allowed the second batter to hit a single.  Girardi didn’t mess around and quickly called in Soriano to put out a fire before it began.  Pendleton may have had an off night, but his control was poor and more notably, his fastball never hit 90 MPH.  Normally he pitches 90-92, but the highest it hit on Wednesday was 89.  If Pendleton continues with those control issues and lack of velocity for a relief pitcher, he will surely be replaced. 

Adam Warren:  Warren started Wednesday night for Scranton and pitched 8 shutout innings.  He was totally dominant and even when he began to get himself in trouble in the 4^th inning, he pitched his way out of it.  The leadoff batter in the 4^th laid down a bunt and the second batter his a single, allowing the first batter to reach third.  With no outs and a man on first and third, Warren forced two ground outs and a strikeout to get out of the jam.  He allowed 5 hits on the night, and walked one batter.  If he continues to pitch like this, I know a team that needs a few starting pitchers!

Warren has quite a few pitches in his reportoire, with superb command.  He throws a mid 90's fastball, cutter, two seamer and a changeup in the low 80's. 

More updates to come soon on the Killer B’s, but the sample size is too small at this point.  You can check out the Killer B’s HERE until we get some updates.

Homer Happy!!

The Yankees just split the last two games with the Blue Jays after a solid outing by Bartolo Colon to uplift the team after Mariano’s blown save.  (I guess Mo is a mere mortal after all).  They have now won 6 of the past 8 games they played and are holding onto first place in the AL East.  In fact, they are still the only team with a winning record in the AL East.  Tampa is in second with a .500 record.

The biggest stat to jump out during this first three weeks of the season, is the amount of home runs the Yankees are hitting.  They now lead all of MLB with 30 Home Runs on the season in only 16 games!  The Yanks have now hit a homer in 14 of the 16 games played so far.

Oh Curtis you are something sort of Grandish

Curtis Granderson & Mark Texeira are the team leaders, each hitting 6 homeruns.  Granderson has actually hit a homer in each of the past three games.  Hopefully he will bring that slugging streak with him into Camden yards this weekend.  Howie Kendrick is the only other player in the AL has 6 homeruns.

Jorge Juiced One

Jorge Posada has the third most homeruns with 5.  This is somewhat unusual as Posada only has 8 hits on the season, and 5 of those hits are homeruns.  Posada is tied with Miguel Cabrera on Detroit & Nelson Cruz on Texas.  I would say that is pretty good company for Posada to be in.

An A-Bomb for A-Rod

Robinson Cano, Russell Martin & Alex Rodriguez each have 4 homeruns.  Arod is on fire this year and after giving everyone a big scare with a possible injury, he was back in the lineup yesterday and crushed another home run. 

Cano is on a hot streak as well.  He has an 11 game hitting streak this season.

The only everyday players without a home run are Nick Swisher, Derek Jeter & Brett Gardner.  Nick Swisher is really beginning to heat up though, so I am sure the bombs will start dropping soon.  It may be a little longer for Jeter & Gardner.

On an interesting side note, the Yankees are the only team in MLB to NOT have scored 4 or more runs in an inning this season.  I have a feeling that could change soon.

Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks Gardner will bat lead off

Last week I discussed the idea of Brett Gardner batting lead off in the batting order and dropping Jeter down to #2.  I just read an article by Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily news who is reporting sources from the Yankees are indicating that Gardner will bat lead off and Jeter is getting bumped. 

It Makes sense to me and the above link from Feinsand is a great read with much more in depth stats on Gardner in the leadoff spot.  The stats are hard to argue with and Jeter is such a gamer, I'm sure he won't have much trouble adapting back to #2.

I'm a big fan of Mark Feinsand and highly recommend his articles.  You can also hear him on the radio broadcasts in the fifth inning when he joins....Jawn Sterling & Soosan Waldman.  He really makes a point of getting to know the Yankees organization from the front office to the bullpen coaches.  He has been reporting on the Yankees since he was the beat writer with Major League Baseball & Yankees.com a few years back.  He usually is a very good source.

Playing with the lineup

Last year we saw both Derek Jeter and Mark Texeira have sub-par seasons.  Their Defense was top notch as Jeter and Texeira both won gold glove awards, but their offensive numbers dropped.  Jeter is now in the midst of trying to fix his swing with Kevin Long.  He is actually trying to shorten his jeter-esqe approach by taking that large stride out, before he swings the bat.  Texeira on the other hand, just had a terrible 2010 season.  Although he is known for his slow starts in April, it lasted much longer last year.

I believe and hope that both will have much better offensive seasons than last year, but in the event they start slow (for which Texeira is known for), Girardi will need to make some changes in his lineup.  The division is only getting tougher and the Yankees will need to win some games early.  Based upon last years numbers, I would move Brett Gardner to the #1 spot in place of Jeter and I would also move Jeter to the #2 spot again.  Gardy is extremely fast and in 2010 had made great contact with the ball.  

Gardners batting average was lower than where it should be (.277) but in the first half was much higher at .309.  Gardner was battling a wrist issue the second half which clearly caused his average to dive.  His stolen bases and on base percentage  make up for any batting average issue though.  In 2010 he stole 47 bases, in only 150 games!  There is no question that he changes the game when he is on base.  One of his most interesting stats is he saw more pitches per at bat than any other player in the MLB.  He also had an on base percentage of .388.  With his speed, discipline at the plate, and last years power, Gardner makes a great lead off batter. 

Jeter on the other hand has had some problems batting in the #1 spot.  The first year he batted #1, Johnny Damon was batting #2.  This made a lot of sense since Damon was great at making contact and moving a baserunner.  Last year Nick Johnson was slated as the #2 batter for his high batting average, plate discipline and on base percentage, but he ended up as a total bust due to injuries.  The Yankees replaced him with Curtis Granderson as the #2 batter.  Ultimately, Granderson ended the season with a .247 batting average and .324 on base percentage.  Both these numbers are way too low for the #2 batter.  Even with his speed, he only managed to steal 12 bases last season.

Jeter batted a career low of .270 and .340 on base percentage.  As low as these number were for Jeter, they are still higher than Grandersons.  Plus, I have no doubt in my mind that in 2011 Jeter’s numbers will make a dramatic jump after working with Kevin Long.

I totally understand that Jeter is losing his speed and hits into too many double plays, but Curtis Granderson is certainly not the answer - - Especially with lefty pitchers.  I think Girardi needs to move Gardner up in the order for speed and his contact skills and bring Jeter back to the #2 spot this season.

More to come about where to bat Texeira!