Game 2: Yanks VS. Jays

Lineups courtesy of PA:

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF
Mussina RHP

BLUE JAYS
Eckstein SS
Stewart LF
Rios RF
Wells CF
Thomas DH
Overbay 1B
Hill 2B
Scutaro 3B
Barajas C
Burnett RHP

UPDATE, 6:09 p.m.:Posada has been scratched with a stiff right shoulder. He tweaked it making a throw yesterday and with the cold weather today he had trouble getting loose. Matsui will move up in the order and Molina will hit eighth.

Joe Girardi said the injury was minor and that Posada was day-to-day.

Nice move sitting Posada. This is the great thing about Jose Molina. He’s more than a serviceable fill in (his game-calling is particularly great). From what I can recall, it seemed as though Mike Mussina actually pitched better with him last year (this is strictly a subjective thought), although I could be wrong. Of course, Girardi could be sitting Posada because of his .083 average against Burnett (12 AB’s). Molina has a .333 average against him (3 AB’s). Also, keep in mind that Burnett has had an ongoing fingernail issue all spring, causing him to throw very few curve balls, if any, during his outings. He’s supposedly healthy, but the Yankees have a nice opportunity to light him up if they see a lot of fastballs early.

Sorry, but no live-blogging today. I have to run out for a bit during the game.

UPDATE (9:02) — Okay, maybe a few quick comments now that I’m back. From what I can tell, Moose has been pitching fairly well. He had that one unearned run in the first (that play was tough for anybody, not just Giambi) and since then he’s only given up 3 ER over 5 2/3. My question is, why throw another fastball on the outside corner to Aaron Hill who can drive the ball, especially after you just threw 2 other fastballs in that exact same spot? Oh well, Girardi just took him out and is signaling for LaTroy Hawkins.

UPDATE (9:06) — Easy first out for the new Yankee, LaTroy Hawkins. Girardi looks like a genius in the past two games. Everytime he goes out to see a pitcher (Wang yesterday), the next out has come rather quickly. So, over 6 innings the Yankees are down by 4 and they’re still facing Burnett, who’s thrown a great game thus far, giving up only 3 hits. The 7th will be a big inning for him.

UPDATE (9:53) — Hmm, I wonder why Girardi didn’t pinch hit Duncan or Ensberg before when Giambi was facing the lefty specialist? Giambi looks like he’s done, but then again, we’re only in game 2. His bat looks pretty slow though and hopefully he’ll pick it up. Farnsworth just pitched a scoreless top of the 8th (however it wasn’t “clean”). Oh, and how ’bout that Alex Rodriguez folks? We can’t leave it all up to him though. We’re in the bottom of the 8th and hopefully the Yankees will get something going before the game ends.

UPDATE (10:08) — Nice inning of work by Ross Ohlendorf (9th). The Yankees have to rally against Jeremy Accardo, the designated closer while BJ Ryan is on the DL. Accardo has a 4.50 era against the Yankees in 16 innings, so it’s possible.

FINAL — Blues Jays win 5-2. It wasn’t all bad though, as our bullpen looked solid and Mike Mussina didn’t get beat up by a pretty powerful lineup. Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon looked pretty terrible at the plate, but then again, the entire lineup looked that way while facing AJ Burnett, who pitched a great game.

Yanks Sign Indy Reliever

From GO San Angelo:

Former San Angelo Colts and Angelo State University baseball player Chase Vacek was signed to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees organization on Thursday.

The right-handed pitcher was the Colts’ closer late in the season and a ULB All Star.

Vacek had 48 K’s in 48 innings of work (12 ER), so his stuff seems to be very effective. It’s good to see the Yankees stockpile all of these BP arms. They’ll definitely provide some sort of reward later on whether it’s this season or the next.

(Props to RAB).

Blog Bounce: No Maas

Is Brett Gardner the real deal? Marty McFly (yes, like in Back to the Future) of NoMaas, doesn’t think so. In fact, McFly doesn’t even think Gardner could be an above average everyday player. It’s an eye-opening read if you’re a big Gardner fan.

Is Melky Cabrera the Next Derek Jeter?

 

I ask this question in relation to his defense, or lack thereof according to some folks. As I usually do, I was meandering through countless web pages in search of Yankee news. I stumbled upon this Bleacher Report post and while I don’t read the Bleacher Report (don’t ask), this analysis of Melky sort of resonated with me.

But Melky’s different. He’s decent at a lot of things, but not great at anything. He hits for a respectable average. He walks a little. He doesn’t strike out too much. He steals a few bases (13 for 18 in 2007). The jury’s still out on his defense. (Baseball Prospectus rated him as +14 Fielding Runs Above Average last year, but Bill James’ +/- metric says he was 22 plays below average last year, so who knows?) Regardless, it’s clear that he doesn’t stand out in anything, and that may be a problem.

You should be able to click on those links as well. Melky’s a baseball anomoly in center field. He plays hard and makes spectacular plays, that was evidenced in yesterday’s Blue Jay matchup, but some would also say that his spectacular plays are actually caused by the horrible routes that he takes on fly balls. But then there’s that arm he’s got, as he saves runs and throws out runners who dare to challenge his gun.

Melky is a fan favorite so in response to the Bleacher Report’s text a few people replied on his behalf (because he’s too busy chilling with Robbie Cano to read blogs, obviously). Here’s a comment by one reader:

Boy I don’t want this guy on my team anymore, with his game saving dives and strong arm in the outfield and coming thru with the bat at the bottom of the order, man he is going to hurt this team.

Doesn’t Melky’s defensive situation reak of Jeter’s SS woes? In a highly publicized study, Jeter’s defense was called into question (in fact they said he was downright dreadful) and Yankee fans quickly grouped together in order to respond to the supposed “madness” that was being disseminated in that analytical endeavor. “What are you talking about,” they shouted. “Have you ever seen the guy play, because he’s amazing. The flip, the dive, he’s the man, he’s clutch and he helps us out in big spots. Oh, and A-Rod sucks.”

That was the response by Yankee fans. The whole argument was kind of split down the middle too between “real fans” who “watch” the game, and “elitist computer nerds” who sit there analyzing stats (sabermetric fans). It was a pretty ridiculous debacle to say the least, as one faction of fans loved Jeter and thought he was a defensive God, while the other group loved Jeter just as much the others, however, they distinguished God from the human, citing Jeter’s defensive flaws (but, again, he was still loved).

Now, Melky Cabrera is not Derek Jeter, nor will he ever be Derek Jeter. Nonetheless, this argument about Melky’s defense is similar to the Jeter situation. Bill James, who created the list featured in the Bleacher Report analysis, ranks Melky as one of the worst center fielders in the game, defensively, so now I’m just waiting for the “real fans” who “actually watch” the games to defend him and we’ll be set (oh wait, that’s happening already). Is Melky just a bad CF (with a good arm) that makes some spectacular plays, so everyone says he’s great (like Jeter at SS)? Or, is he just great, period (like Jeter at SS)? If he keeps making plays like the two he made yesterday, he’ll quickly become looked at as a defensive prototype by fans. And, If Melky stops hitting and Brett Gardner’s name starts getting thrown around, I guarantee you fans will look at each other and say:

“I like that Gardner kid, but Melky’s defense is the best in baseball. Remember when he robbed Manny and Damon did that stupid twirl? Remember those catches on Opening Day? How ’bout that game tying homer he hit? Melky is the man.”

Sounds familiar, huh?

Wednesday Morning Bits: Hank, Opening Day, A-Rod

This blog was started in late October and at that time the Yankees were already out of the playoffs. I’ll have to get used to all the information that’s being tossed around now that the season has started, but hopefully I’ll be able to provide some of the better news nuggets of the day. Here are a few items to ponder before the next game:

1) Hank Steinbrenner enjoyed what he saw on Opening Day, as the Yanks squeaked by Roy Halladay’s great start to earn their 11th consecutive Opening Day victory. Wang-Joba-Mo is the ideal, and we saw Wang all three pitchers do what is expected of them throughout the entire season. People wonder and worry about Hughes, Kennedy and Mussina (not Pettitte as much) and whether or not they’ll be able to pitch deep into games, especially as the season progresses. However, if these three guys can get the ball to the pen in for the 7th, 8th, and 9th, (not just the 8th and 9th) then I’m sure you’re going to see some healthy and solid performances in 2008. The Yankee bullpen looks like it will be particularly strong this year, as the Joba and Mariano tandem could rival the Mariano and Wetland combination that dominated baseball in the late 90’s.

2) In terms of the first Yankee victory of the season, I must say, how good was my prediction for the player of the game? I predicted that Melky would be the star of the game and like clockwork, he made two spectacular plays (and another equally great attempt) in the OF, which Joel Sherman describes as “glovely” (he’s right), and he hit a game-tying HR as well. Sherman, using Joe Girardi’s words, hits the nail on the head, noting that the entire Yankee lineup contributed to this victory as even Jason Giambi flashed some great defensive skills at 1B. Overall, the game was just a phenomenal experience for any Yankee fan (watching on television, or there in person), especially since it was the final Opening Day game at the “old” Stadium.

3) A big contributor in yesterday’s game was Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod picked up right where he left off last season, hitting an RBI double in his first at bat. “For me, I feel like it was game 163,” says A-Rod. This quote comes from an article by Times writer Jack Curry. Curry’s text discusses the opt out situation, which was pretty much over once Yankee fans cheered wildly for A-Rod, the new symbol of the organization, today at the ballpark. The article features the usual stuff about A-Rod looking forward to controlling his own fate, being happy in New York, you know the drill. Curry does have some interesting new information though, specifically about the opt out options given to A-Rod, as the following passage shows:

Two people connected with the Yankees said Boras told the team that Detroit was prepared to overwhelm Rodriguez by offering him $40 million a year. The Tigers said that was untrue.

I wrote about the Detroit and A-Rod link a few weeks ago. There definitely was some involvement by Mile Ilitch. It was no secret his organization wanted A-Rod, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he offered $30 million a year, however, Boras was likely inflating numbers ($40 million?!) to simply up the ante in his negotiations. This information can ultimately help repair A-Rod’s image with the fans, because if true, he could have recieved more from the Tigers, yet chose to stay with the Yankees.

What a nice guy, huh?

4) Speaking of A-Rod and his “nice guy” approach, Jose Canseco doesn’t think he’s such a nice guy. In fact, Canseco has moved from saying that A-Rod “lusted” for his ex-wife Jessica Canseco, to saying that he thinks A-Rod and Jessica actually had an affair while he was still married to her. If that’s not enough to write a bloated book about Alex Rodriguez and steroids, I don’t know what is. Canseco ruins his credibility every single day. Funny thing is, a few years ago, many people were crediting him for bringing truth to the sport. Now, you can almost sense the desperation in his words (written or spoken).

What’s the big deal about Jessica Canseco anyway? This woman is the definition of a buttaface (oh snap!). Where are pictures of Clemens’ wife when you need them? Yuck.