A Second Burnett ??

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to any fan that the Yankees are looking for another lefty in the bullpen.  Right now Logan is the lefty “specialist” and aside from giving up a home run to Cleveland on Wednesday, he actually has been doing pretty well against lefties lately going back to the Cincinatti series when he struck out Votto & Bruce. Check out more on Logan HERE

Feliciano, who was signed as the lefty specialist in the offseason has been shut down for the season.  You can read about that HERE.  Andy Sisco was a lefty prospect down in Triple-A but was released about a month ago & Randy Flores has taken his place, but Flores' value remains to be seen at this point.

Even with Logan doing better lately, the Yankees will need a second lefty in their bullpen should they want to compete in the postseason.  Right now, the biggest competition is the Red Sox whose lineup is filled with lefty power hitters.  In order to play in a 7 game series with the Red Sox the Yankees will need a second lefty in their pen for situations where Girardi needs a lefty to lefty matchup.  Since Boston has so many lefties, this very well could happen twice a game.  The first time would most likely be when Girardi feels his starting pitcher is beginning to gas and there is a lefty deck.  He would pull the starter and use lefty matchup for a batter.  This would likely only be a ‘one-out’ situation rather than using a lefty to pitch a full inning with better righties available in the pen.  Since Boston is so lefty heavy, there could be another inning later in the game with a power lefty coming to the plate that Girardi would have the freedom to again use the lefty to lefty matchup, whether it is for the full inning or just one out.  The hypotheticals on this are endless, but a second lefty is vital for postseason success.

Last night it was reported that the Yankees sent a scout to check out Sean Burnett on the Nationals.  Although Burnett didn’t pitch last night it seems as though the Yankees have an interest in pursuing the lefty.  Burnett’s numbers aren’t very flashy, but there aren’t terribly many options out there so he is worth considering.  Right now Burnett has a 5.76 ERA with a 1.44 WHIP.  His ERA on the season is a bit higher than his career average at 4.00 but his WHIP is generally where it has been over the past five years, averaging 1.38.  These numbers definitely don’t sway me, but this season lefties only have a .240 batting average against Burnett with a .316 on base percentage.  His numbers against righties seem to hurt his average as righties bat .308 against him with a .378 on base percentage.

Burnett has a decent selection of pitches to use which could be helpful.  His main pitch is a fastball/sinker which he throws more often than any other pitch.  He also uses a slider fairly often to keep batters guessing and sometimes will throw a changeup with varying success.  Although his numbers seem average at best, he is worth sending a scout to check out & after watching Masterson's sinker this past week - I want one of those!

Right now the Nats haven’t said anything as to whether Burnett is available for a trade, but I’m sure the Yankees have a few players they may be interested in.  It's worth keeping an eye on.

A New Trend For Boone Logan ??

I am not certain we can call it a turnaround for Boone Logan yet, but his improvement against lefties is  definitely a trend worth keeping an eye on.  It began last week in Cincinatti, following his terrible performance in the first game of the series when Logan hit Joey Votto in the back with his first pitch.  Logan came back in Wednesday night’s game to redeem himself.  In the 7^th inning of the Wednesday game, Logan was called in to face Votto again, and Jay Bruce who were the #3 & #4 lefty hitters in the Reds lineup.  He forced Votto to ground out, and then struck out Jay Bruce swinging to end the inning with a man on third.  Not only was the performance impressive, it helped keep the Yankees in the game as they were trailing 4-2.  Although the Yankees weren’t able to get the win, they were able to make an attempt for some offensive production in the bottom half of that inning against Johnny Cueto.  Unfortunately, Cueto was able to retire the side after loading the bases with only one out, but Logan kept the game tight for at least another inning.  As a side note, Noesi came in for the eighth and let the game get totally out of hand, and the Yanks were never back in the game again.

Following the performance in Cincinatti, Logan pitched again Friday night and again the Yankees were trailing in the 7^th inning to the Rockies.  One runner was on third base with no outs and Logan was called in to pitch to Jason Giambi and Todd Helton.  Logan put both lefties down, and the run didn’t score keeping the game within reach for the Yankees.   It was an impressive performance again by Logan but the Yankees ultimately lost 4-2.  Either way, Logan put down two hard hitting lefties.

On Sunday, Logan came in once again for the 7^th inning with Iannetta on third, but got the win this time.  The game was tied when Logan came in and he held the Rockies for a scoreless 7^th inning.  In the process he retired the side in order- Carlos Gonzalez, Jose Herrera and Todd Helton.  (Gonzalez and Helton are lefties while Herrera is a switch hitter).  All three of those outs came from Logan throwing his slider.

Since last Monday’s game against Cincinatti, Logan had a talk with Arod about going to the mound with a game-plan.  Although this conversation should have taken place long ago with Larry Rothschild, the point remains the same – A relief pitcher can’t just go to the mound without a plan for each batter he will face.  Pitchers, especially relievers, need to have an idea of which pitches will work for each batter as well as the location.  You can’t just get out there and throw whatever you want.

Just as important as Arod’s pep talk were Logan’s mechanics that changed slightly.  Logan has dropped his arm angle while throwing breaking pitches.  This causes his slider to have more breaking action and he can use it as his “out” pitch.  Logan throws a 94 mph fastball, which is somewhat rare for a lefty relief pitcher to have in his arsenal.  More importantly, that fastball becomes devastating to a batter when the slider is working well.  If the batter is behind in the count, he doesn’t know whether he will see some heat or whether he should wait on the slider.  Either way, it favors the pitcher.  That is what worked well for Logan in the past and he needs to continue to develop the combo.

Like I said, this is only a recent trend for Logan and for all I know, he could have a terrible outing tonight against a group of lefties.  But, if this season is anything like last season, he might just be starting to heat up.  Last year opponents batted .300 against him in April, .313 against him in May and .250 against him in June.  It was not until July that he became a dominant lefty. 

Starting in July opponents had problems hitting Logan.  In July opponents averaged a .167, followed by an August of .167 averages and September of .200 averages.  His WHIPS during those final three months were .60, .87 and 1.38 respectively.  The month of August was so strong for Logan that he had a 0.00 ERA over 13 games.  Needless to say, his first half was crap compared to his second half.  If we are seeing a trend that is similar to last year, the Yankees are in good shape – Although they could really use a second lefty in the pen if they expect to beat the Lefty Heavy Red Sox lineup.

UPDATE JUNE 30:  Logan came in to face one lefty batter this afternoon - Prince Fielder.  Fielder is possibly the most dangerous batter in the National League, but struck out swinging to end the 8th inning.  Great job by Logan!

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.

Crossroads for Joba

From the weight issues to the trade rumors, Joba has been a hot topic of discussion this spring training.  He came into camp noticeably heavier but claimed it had to do with his offseason workouts.  He said he built a gym in his house and was working out more, so he gained somewhere between 20 - 25 pounds.  I find this to be somewhat unlikely, especially since he still looks like a fat guy, and refuses to discuss it further with the media.  Cashman has been conspicously tight lipped about this as well, most likely because there is a chance Joba can be worked into a trade deal.  

It seems like Joba may be at the crossroads of his career.  Reports from Tampa indicated during Monday's game, numerous scouts were keeping a close eye on Joba.  (More than usual for a spring training game)  Now that Joba has been replaced as the 8th inning set-up man for Mo, there is a good chance the Yankees bullpen may be strong enough without him.  They will have Mitre as the long man and Robertson made a great debut these last two seasons.  With Feliciano and Logan as the lefties, the bullpen looks solid.  Joba can make great trade bait, but the Yankees can't just give him up for nothing.  Bottom line is the Yankees need a strong starter for the #4 or #5 spot.... or even #3 if AJ has a season that looks like last year.

 

Joba's performance this spring has been OK.  He had a perfect inning this yesterday and this past Monday.  His fastball is in the 92-94 mph range right now, which is higher than where it's been during past spring trainings.  He changed his mechanics slightly by starting his hands at his waist, which makes it look as though he is starting from the stretch.  Working out of the stretch was a problem for him last year, but his new routine is being credited for improving his fastball.  If he has a good fastball, the rest of the pitches will improve as a result.  

He also pitched last Saturday and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits over 1 inning.  He was not as sharp as his previous appearance the previous week against the Astros when he had 2 scoreless innings which included a double play to end one inning, after allowing 2 singles.  Maybe it was from experience, or from the mechanics, or it just could be spring training numbers which mean nothing, but I personally think the double play was a good sign that indicates even when he gets into a little jam, he can pitch through it.  His numbers this spring are very limited and not indicative of his performance, but he has a 3.60 ERA, with 6 Hits, 2 Walks, and 2 strikeouts in 6 total innings.

Many rumors have been swirling about the Yankees looking to trade Joba for Liriano.  I don't think the team is planning on trading him anytime soon.  In fact, I think they really want to see how he begins the season and how the team begins the season before they make a move.  Spring training numbers are good, but ultimately they are not very indicative of results over the full season.  The Yankees also want to keep an eye on how Liriano develops this spring since he complained of shoulder tightness a week or two ago.  Reports from the Twins indicated Liriano didn't do the strength training exercises during the offseason, which most likely led to the shoulder tightness once he began throwing again.  If that is not a sign to hold off, I dont know what is. 

If the Twins were willing to deal Liriano, I would assume the Twins would want something more than Joba in this trade (likely one of the Killer B’s), so it would be a good deal for them.  Joba is getting paid nearly nothing (1.4 Mil), will be arbitration eligible again next season, and the Twins could benefit with having Joba as the set up man for Nathan.  Losing Liriano would hurt them, but they do have a good starting core:  Pavano (I know, I know), Baker, Duensing, Blackburn, & Slowey.  Adding somebody like Joba to take care of middle relief for them could really benefit them and they may actually be able to win a game against the Yankees in the playoffs.

To make this trade more enticing to the Twins, Joba needs to stay healthy.  By “Staying Healthy” I mean, losing some weight and not looking like such a sweaty drunk while on the hill.  Having David Wells in Yankees camp to help train some of the pitchers is a huge mistake since it seems like Joba is facing some of the same negative issues Wells faced…. Like being a drunk and off field distractions.  Although Wells goes down in Yankees lore as part of those legendary teams, realistically he caused many problems in the clubhouse and was not always loved the way he is now.   

Hopefully we will see more of the Joba we saw in 2007-2008, and even possibly losing a few pounds.  If other teams see improvement, we may have an opportunity to land a legitimate 4 or 5 starter.  One way or another, he must get a new photo of himself to use on the big screen  ----->