Several weeks ago, I glanced at the schedule and spotted 23 games the Yankees had between June 6 and June 29. My conclusion was that if the team in that period went 18-5, it would vault them in a prime spot for an American League playoff berth.
I did not get the desired result I was intending, but instead a record of 14-8 with one game that is to be made up because of a rain out. Since when should one quarrel with a near .640 winning percentage? There is reason to nit-pick if I wanted to. Because of the lack of starting pitching depth and the untimely injury of ace Chien Ming-Wang, the run was going to be altered in some way.
What does Wang’s injury mean to the Yankees? Consider the fact he has had the most wins in baseball of any Major League pitcher since the start of 2006, and after a rough month of May, was rebounding into the form that was putting him on track for a 20-win season. To this point, his replacements have been Dan Giese and Sidney Ponson, whom the team had to claim off waivers from the Texas Rangers after he had an alleged incident with a member of the organization. It was amazing that he was reclaimed by the team that released him after five starts and an ERA that hovered over 10 two years ago. Add that up, and players whom you probably could not pick out of a team photo are anchoring two-fifths of the starting rotation.
That leaves the following question:
How good are the Yankees?
That is a very difficult question to answer. It is always difficult to judge a team when their key players are injured. Much as it was hard to determine how good the team was when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada were missing from the lineup for an extended time, it is hard to gauge the team when it does not its complete pitching staff.
All that is needed for the next month is for the team to tread watch and use Band-Aid’s until reinforcements are (hopefully) brought in. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are scheduled for an August return. Wang is tentatively set for return in September, though his season might very well be over.
In discussions with other Yankee fans over the past several weeks, there seems to be this spoiled impression that General Manager Brian Cashman needs to get a top pitcher into pinstripes immediately before the season slips away. This type of talk is nonsense.
To be clear, those clamoring for soon to be Cleveland Indians free agent C.C Sabathia have to realize the landscape of the situation. The Indiana are not going to trade him right now. The AL Central, despite their horrific play to this point, is still not of reach. For whatever reason, the team that was one win away from the World Series last year has fallen on hard times. Injuries in their lineup and rotation have limited them. But with the White Sox still only a handful of games ahead, there is no reason to trade Sabathia for the near future. Now, if one month from today, the Indians are 10 games out of first and they know that Sabathia will walk; at that point, they can entertain trade discussions.
My personal suggestion is for the Yankees to contact the Seattle Mariners about Erik Bedard. He was traded to what has become ‘Hell on Earth” in the city of Starbucks. The team is in last place by 20 games and no realistic future outside of Felix Hernandez and Brandon Morrow. Bedard is a free agent after next season, so by acquiring him, you in effect are renting him for two seasons before choosing to sign him long term if you had not done so already. Last season, he was on track to win the Cy Young before missing the final month of the season with an injury. This year, he has not pitched as well, but considering the team, there is a myriad of factors working against him there. He is left handed and 29 years old. He has prospered in the American League East. Add to that, his success specifically against Boston Red Sox hitters has been off the charts.
Because you are getting him for a longer period than Sabathia, more quality prospects are going to be required. Based on some of the reports about him, he may not “love baseball”, “gut games out”, or throw more than 100 pitches. Personally, I feel most of these emotions that he is showing is based primarily due to the losing he has had to endure every year of his career. Every person is wired differently. If you were to give him a good team and a chance to win every time he took the mound, you would completely uncover his talent that we have seen.
Aside from that, no much has to be altered. The additions to the bullpen are going to come from within the minor leagues where several players have been progressing well. Adding a left-hander for the ‘pen would be ideal and Brian Fuentes of the Colorado Rockies fits that description. He makes five million this year and is a free agent, leaving the Rockies with a chance to dump his salary.
Besides that, nothing else is needed. Starting Monday, 22 of the next 28 games are going to be at home. The Yankees are always a much better offensive team at home than on the road, so this will give them a chance to flex a bit. If they can use this time at home to their advantage and go 19-9, they can surge into the trading deadline with the ability to tweak their team just enough to make another playoff appearance.
The conclusion: the team is still a work in progress trying to find itself. It appears to be a situation where if they can stay in contention into the middle of September, the full potential of the team will be uncovered.
Random Yankee Thoughts
Seeing Joba Chamberlain for the first time as a starter in person was an absolute treat. I saw him out in the bullpen warming up and he still has the baby face look to him. Barring injury, I may be watching another one of baseball’s best for years to come.
How can one not admire Jason Giambi’s mustache? Originally, it was not looking too good, but since he dyed it to black, it is a must see. Mario and Luigi have been replaced for good. Does not hurt that this has coincided with his recent hitting surge.
LaTroy Hawkins may need to find a new number to wear soon. #21 had to be changed to #22. No truth to the rumor he was consider a change to number 911.
Why do I get the feeling that Robinson Cano is the left-handed version of Alfonso Soriano? All-Star team when he is on. All-Ice Cold team when he is not. He’s been in the league for years now and I cannot figure him out. It seems as if I have the least confidence in him with there are two outs and runners on base.
I thought it was a joke when I saw the lineup that Joe Girardi was throwing out against the Mets on Sunday. When I found out it was not, I figured he was just punting the game. No way were they going to score runs with arguably the worst Yankee lineup I have seen in at least 15 years. Girardi could have gotten Matt Nokes, Randy Velarde and Kevin Maas out of retirement, they would have scraped out the same three hits the team ended up getting that day.
The market correction for Darrell Rasner is taking place now. I’m glad I praised him in advance of his impending implosion.
Perhaps Kyle Farnsworth would look more intimidating if he wore the old Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) glasses from the movie Major League. The rims he is wearing now are not cutting it.
Jose Reyes should never be compared in the same breath as Derek Jeter. Not then. Not now. Not ever. For those that even considered such a thought, smack yourself in the face and dip your head in cold water. Then come back to reality and admit how wrong you were.
Listening to games without hearing the voice of Michael Kay or John Sterling is just not the same. Perhaps because I know exactly what they are going to say before they even say it. My sister says that they need to get new material.
You know the fans have completely turned in your favor when we felt good about A-Rod coming to the plate in the 9th inning against Billy Wagner Sunday. We all thought the ball was gone with it left his bat. However, the ball died at the track. No boos given. It was a sight where even failure is met with approval. He has come a long way.
Andy Pettitte is a warrior. How did the Yankees ever let him go? I still contend they would not blown that 3-0 lead to Boston in 2004 had he been on the staff.
Jose Veras is impressing me. I will leave it at that.
Melky Cabrera is disappointing me. I will leave it that.
Mariano Rivera never ceases to amaze me. I am grateful for that.
I did not get the desired result I was intending, but instead a record of 14-8 with one game that is to be made up because of a rain out. Since when should one quarrel with a near .640 winning percentage? There is reason to nit-pick if I wanted to. Because of the lack of starting pitching depth and the untimely injury of ace Chien Ming-Wang, the run was going to be altered in some way.
What does Wang’s injury mean to the Yankees? Consider the fact he has had the most wins in baseball of any Major League pitcher since the start of 2006, and after a rough month of May, was rebounding into the form that was putting him on track for a 20-win season. To this point, his replacements have been Dan Giese and Sidney Ponson, whom the team had to claim off waivers from the Texas Rangers after he had an alleged incident with a member of the organization. It was amazing that he was reclaimed by the team that released him after five starts and an ERA that hovered over 10 two years ago. Add that up, and players whom you probably could not pick out of a team photo are anchoring two-fifths of the starting rotation.
That leaves the following question:
How good are the Yankees?
That is a very difficult question to answer. It is always difficult to judge a team when their key players are injured. Much as it was hard to determine how good the team was when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada were missing from the lineup for an extended time, it is hard to gauge the team when it does not its complete pitching staff.
All that is needed for the next month is for the team to tread watch and use Band-Aid’s until reinforcements are (hopefully) brought in. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are scheduled for an August return. Wang is tentatively set for return in September, though his season might very well be over.
In discussions with other Yankee fans over the past several weeks, there seems to be this spoiled impression that General Manager Brian Cashman needs to get a top pitcher into pinstripes immediately before the season slips away. This type of talk is nonsense.
To be clear, those clamoring for soon to be Cleveland Indians free agent C.C Sabathia have to realize the landscape of the situation. The Indiana are not going to trade him right now. The AL Central, despite their horrific play to this point, is still not of reach. For whatever reason, the team that was one win away from the World Series last year has fallen on hard times. Injuries in their lineup and rotation have limited them. But with the White Sox still only a handful of games ahead, there is no reason to trade Sabathia for the near future. Now, if one month from today, the Indians are 10 games out of first and they know that Sabathia will walk; at that point, they can entertain trade discussions.
My personal suggestion is for the Yankees to contact the Seattle Mariners about Erik Bedard. He was traded to what has become ‘Hell on Earth” in the city of Starbucks. The team is in last place by 20 games and no realistic future outside of Felix Hernandez and Brandon Morrow. Bedard is a free agent after next season, so by acquiring him, you in effect are renting him for two seasons before choosing to sign him long term if you had not done so already. Last season, he was on track to win the Cy Young before missing the final month of the season with an injury. This year, he has not pitched as well, but considering the team, there is a myriad of factors working against him there. He is left handed and 29 years old. He has prospered in the American League East. Add to that, his success specifically against Boston Red Sox hitters has been off the charts.
Because you are getting him for a longer period than Sabathia, more quality prospects are going to be required. Based on some of the reports about him, he may not “love baseball”, “gut games out”, or throw more than 100 pitches. Personally, I feel most of these emotions that he is showing is based primarily due to the losing he has had to endure every year of his career. Every person is wired differently. If you were to give him a good team and a chance to win every time he took the mound, you would completely uncover his talent that we have seen.
Aside from that, no much has to be altered. The additions to the bullpen are going to come from within the minor leagues where several players have been progressing well. Adding a left-hander for the ‘pen would be ideal and Brian Fuentes of the Colorado Rockies fits that description. He makes five million this year and is a free agent, leaving the Rockies with a chance to dump his salary.
Besides that, nothing else is needed. Starting Monday, 22 of the next 28 games are going to be at home. The Yankees are always a much better offensive team at home than on the road, so this will give them a chance to flex a bit. If they can use this time at home to their advantage and go 19-9, they can surge into the trading deadline with the ability to tweak their team just enough to make another playoff appearance.
The conclusion: the team is still a work in progress trying to find itself. It appears to be a situation where if they can stay in contention into the middle of September, the full potential of the team will be uncovered.
Random Yankee Thoughts
Seeing Joba Chamberlain for the first time as a starter in person was an absolute treat. I saw him out in the bullpen warming up and he still has the baby face look to him. Barring injury, I may be watching another one of baseball’s best for years to come.
How can one not admire Jason Giambi’s mustache? Originally, it was not looking too good, but since he dyed it to black, it is a must see. Mario and Luigi have been replaced for good. Does not hurt that this has coincided with his recent hitting surge.
LaTroy Hawkins may need to find a new number to wear soon. #21 had to be changed to #22. No truth to the rumor he was consider a change to number 911.
Why do I get the feeling that Robinson Cano is the left-handed version of Alfonso Soriano? All-Star team when he is on. All-Ice Cold team when he is not. He’s been in the league for years now and I cannot figure him out. It seems as if I have the least confidence in him with there are two outs and runners on base.
I thought it was a joke when I saw the lineup that Joe Girardi was throwing out against the Mets on Sunday. When I found out it was not, I figured he was just punting the game. No way were they going to score runs with arguably the worst Yankee lineup I have seen in at least 15 years. Girardi could have gotten Matt Nokes, Randy Velarde and Kevin Maas out of retirement, they would have scraped out the same three hits the team ended up getting that day.
The market correction for Darrell Rasner is taking place now. I’m glad I praised him in advance of his impending implosion.
Perhaps Kyle Farnsworth would look more intimidating if he wore the old Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) glasses from the movie Major League. The rims he is wearing now are not cutting it.
Jose Reyes should never be compared in the same breath as Derek Jeter. Not then. Not now. Not ever. For those that even considered such a thought, smack yourself in the face and dip your head in cold water. Then come back to reality and admit how wrong you were.
Listening to games without hearing the voice of Michael Kay or John Sterling is just not the same. Perhaps because I know exactly what they are going to say before they even say it. My sister says that they need to get new material.
You know the fans have completely turned in your favor when we felt good about A-Rod coming to the plate in the 9th inning against Billy Wagner Sunday. We all thought the ball was gone with it left his bat. However, the ball died at the track. No boos given. It was a sight where even failure is met with approval. He has come a long way.
Andy Pettitte is a warrior. How did the Yankees ever let him go? I still contend they would not blown that 3-0 lead to Boston in 2004 had he been on the staff.
Jose Veras is impressing me. I will leave it at that.
Melky Cabrera is disappointing me. I will leave it that.
Mariano Rivera never ceases to amaze me. I am grateful for that.
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