Game 131: Yanks VS. Red Sox

From PA:

YANKEES (70-60)
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Molina C
Pettitte LHP

RED SOX (75-55)
Ellsbury RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Youkilis 3B
Bay LF
Lowrie SS
Crisp CF
Bailey 1B
Cash C
Wakefield RHP

Yikes, looks like the Yankees aren’t the only ones who have been having injury troubles. Look at that lineup for the Sox. The Yanks need this game and with this lineup, they should be able start the series the right way—-with a win. It’s go time boys.

UPDATE (9:12) — Here’s a stupid comment from Michael Kay. In the 6th inning, he said, “To be honest, the Yankees have to win the starts by Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina.” Well, that would be true if Andy Pettitte actually pitched well today. But, giving up 6 ER in 4 2/3 innings is simply unacceptable (and Andy knows that). Sure, they should win the games started by Pettitte and Moose, but baseball is a 2-way street. Give to get and Pettitte didn’t give (against a mediocre lineup, seriously).

UPDATE (9:43) – A-Rod, why?

What Cano Is Missing

Here’s what Larry Bowa had to say about his LA Dodgers after they were swept by Philadelphia:

“If you can’t get up emotionally and mentally when you’re two or three games out of first place, you need to find another job, another occupation,” Bowa said. “That’s what I see. I’ve seen teams play like this when they’re 30 games out. There’s no excuse for it.

“It’s not one person. It’s all of us. It’s everybody that puts on a Dodger uniform. We should all be embarrassed by the way we played the last four days.”

If Bowa was still around, I’m sure Robinson Cano wouldn’t be the only one hearing it from the fiery coach.

Too Good?

This story about a 9-year old pitcher who is essentially “too good” for his league has been floating around and it’s sure to get folks upset (and rightfully so). The boy, Jericho Scott, tops out at 40 mph and his pitches are considered too fast for his youth baseball league, so they’ve banned him from pitching and are now disbanding his team because his coach allowed him to take the mound. I wonder if the league bans good hitters because they’re too good at hitting (how do you even gauge that)? Why should a kid be punished for being too good at something? There’s something to be said about the state of competition in America when people are so afraid of losing that they’ll prohibit the best kid from playing in a baseball league.

This is so dumb, it’s sad.

The Future

From Ken Rosenthal (FOX Sports):

Here’s the scary part: Jeter, according to the plus-minus defensive rating system, isn’t even the Yankees’ worst fielder relative to his peers. Giambi ranks 29th among first basemen, Cano 29th among second basemen, Bobby Abreu 33rd among right fielders. A-Rod is 16th among third basemen — just average.

The Yankees’ defensive shortcomings are one reason they should refrain from re-signing Giambi or pursuing Manny Ramirez; the departures of Giambi and Abreu alone would help the defense. Frankly, the Yankees need to continue parlaying some of their young pitching into younger, more athletic position players — the way Cashman did when he traded for outfielder Xavier Nady, 29.

Other general managers wish they had the Yankees’ resources, but for all of Cashman’s advantages, he also faces unique challenges.

Rebuilding is not an option for the Yankees, and the ability to bestow lavish contracts is a blessing as well as a curse. Both Sabathia and Teixeira, for example, are 28, much younger than Posada, Rivera and A-Rod were when they re-signed with the Yankees last off-season. Still, a six-year commitment to Sabathia would not necessarily be prudent. Nor would an eight- to 10-year commitment to Teixeira.

From the Yankees’ perspective, such concerns ultimately might prove irrelevant. They simply aren’t developing players as effectively as the Red Sox, whose homegrown talents include left-hander Jon Lester and closer Jonathan Papelbon, plus first baseman Kevin Youkilis, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and now shortstop Jed Lowrie.

The comment about Nady is very true. The Yankees have stockpiled all of this great pitching talent (supposedly), so maybe it’s time for them to trade for some younger players, players that will finally fit into the “younger and more athletic” theme that has been seen as Brian Cashman’s goal for the future of the organization. I’ve written about the practicality of getting younger, from a positional standpoint before, as it has never been a realistic option for the Yankees since their best position prospects (they don’t seem to have many impact bats) are still years away (Jesus Montero) and the only one who could arrive relatively soon is Austin Jackson (unless you also count Brett Gardner).

The Yankees won’t be able to continue shelling out longterm deals to the best players approaching free agency. It’s just not realistic since those deals are built on 20 million dollar years (imagine 6 players on the team worth $20 million per?) and are probably going to hurt you down the road. With the offseason coming quickly, maybe the Yankees can start showing their cards and look for some younger bats? Matt Holliday could be traded, but then again he’ll be a free agent after 2009. Maybe the Yankees would be smart to trade a young and talented pitcher for a lesser known player but with loads of talent like Joey Votto of the Reds. The Rays and Twins took a similar approach before the season when they swapped Matt Garza and Delmon Young (that deal seemed to work out great for both teams).

It’s a random thought (the Votto part), but a thought, nonetheless and after seeing age creep into this year’s lineup, it could be a priority for Cashman (if he chooses to return).

A-Rod Distracted?

From Jon Heyman (SI):

Yankees people believe their oddly mediocre offense is what’s killing them, even moreso than the injuries to Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain, the disappointing seasons and subsequent injuries of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy and seeming lack of bullpen depth. Yankees higherups point to offensive underperformance from just about everyone, the notable exceptions all being outfielders: Xavier Nady, Johnny Damon and perhaps Bobby Abreu.

The Yankees are going to come up many, many runs short of the baseball-best 968 they posted in 2007, and it’s not all due to the long absences of Jorge Posada and the just-returned Hideki Matsui. The individual disappointments from the perspective of club decision makers include Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano (“terrible on offense and defense” this year, according to one AL executive), and doesn’t nearly stop there. It even extends to Alex Rodriguez, whose numbers don’t look all that disappointing. A-Rod actually possesses the AL’s second best OPS at .992 (to Milton Bradley’s 1.029) but has come up limp in the clutch.

He may be partially a victim of high standards, his otherworldy 2007 season and his second gargantuan contract, this one for $275 guaranteed plus $30 million in makeable incentives. But A-Rod is batting only .244 with runners in scoring position, so that stat line of .309, 28 homers and 78 RBIs isn’t quite what it seems.

Club higherups are concerned enough about A-Rod that they are even wondering aloud whether his off-field distractions are affecting his play. But while he hasn’t been his best, to be sure, this team has far bigger worries than A-Rod, like missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

In this situation, what can you do? It’s easy to say, let’s be professional and leave your personal problems at the door. A lot of guys play and play well despite a death in the family, a sick family member, a divorce, an affair, and so on and so forth, so it’s not like A-Rod is the only guy playing with serious off-field issues. However, A-Rod is the only guy that makes as much money as he does and therefore, he’s hounded by the press, so it’s easy to see why the distractions could haunt him more than it would another player.

If A-Rod’s family issues have been hurting his ability to hit in the clutch, then we’ll simply have to wait until next year for a rebound. That type of thing doesn’t resolve itself overnight.

Klapisch Digs In

Bob Klapisch (ESPN) has a great article out about the Yankees and their struggles this year. In it, he details a variety of problems (e.g. underachieving, hitting with RISP, etc.) that the club has encountered throughout the season, and speaks with an assortment of scouts, executives and people familiar with the team, so as to understand what the problems stem from. Two of the issues that Klapisch brings up include the loss of Joba Chamberlain and the loss of Joe Torre.

According to an anonymous “member of the organization,” the loss of Joba Chamberlain was a big mental blow for the Yankees. “That totally deflated everyone. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said this person to Klapisch. We often forget how important Joba has become to the Yankees organization. He’s a winning symbol for the team. He singlehandedly takes the pressure off of the offense when he’s on the mound and he does it in a way that Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte simply cannot. While the team has been able to get by without Joba in a practical sense (they’ve filled his rotation slot), the mental aspect of the injury has clearly taken its toll.

Also, Klapisch points out another issue that the Yankees have really struggled with all year and that’s hitting with RISP. This has clearly been the biggest problem for the team as the middle of the order (A-Rod, Giambi) just hasn’t gotten it done. A major league executive spoke with Klapisch and wondered if Joe Girardi’s managerial style could be considered the culprit. Here’s the text from the article.

In fact, one major league executive recently wondered out loud whether the Yankees’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position had more to do with Girardi’s uptight nature than with the advancing years of their core hitters. “That’s how [the Yankees] miss Torre,” he said. “He had the ability to calm everyone down, especially down the stretch.”

Girardi does seem like he’s wound pretty tight. The Yankees could be feeling the pressure in a way that they’re not used to under the Girardi regime. Torre kept everyone loose and the offense seemed to benefit from that, especially down the stretch. Maybe Girardi really scares A-Rod (or something, I don’t know), since he hit over .300 in 2006 with RISP and also hit .333 with RISP, last year. Let’s face it, A-Rod is a bit of a head case, so any changes in normalcy could hurt him. With Girardi, he has regressed in this situation. Joe kind of seems like a tweaker at times, so who knows how much this has effected Alex.

Either way, check out the entire Klapisch article. It’s a good one.

Quick Bit Batch: Joba, Wild Card, Prospects, Sweeny

Here’s a quick batch of bits to start off your day:

1. Joba Chamberlain threw a 35-pitch bullpen session yesterday at Yankee Stadium. For the first time since his injury, Joba threw sliders and curveballs. Everything was reportedly fine, but Joba’s return is certainly taking a while (he hasn’t even seen live hitters yet). At this point, you have to wonder if he’ll even return at all (unless it’s for the playoffs) or, if he does return during the regular season, will he return as a reliever or as a starter (reliever seems more than likely)?

2. Next up, George King does his best to remind us that the Red Sox are not the only team the Yankees have to deal with for the Wild Card. Minnesota and Chicago are currently duking it out for the AL Central (White Sox are up by 1 game) and once that’s figured out, the second place squad will likely challenge both the Sox and the Yankees for the WC. I think it’ll ultimately come down to Minnesota, the BoSox, and the Yankees. The White Sox having the necessary pitching and hitting to take the AL Central from the Twins.

3. If you’re interested in learning more about this year’s draft and the prospects the Yankees picked up, please check out Lane Meyer’s (NoMaas) take, here. It’s a very detailed analysis of the Yankees’ picks (there are other draftees besides Gerrit Cole, apparently) and it’s just a good read.

4. We’ve got another good read over at fullcountpitch.com. The guys over there got in touch with Sweeny Murti (WFAN) and have an interview up with his perspective. Murti gives his take on a variety of issues regarding the Yankees 2008 season, so feel free to stop in and check it out.

Back with more later…