My Three Biggest "Times Square Momements" with Joe Girardi: Sacrifice Bunting

I like Joe Girardi as a manager. For the most part he seems to have a good handle on his team, doesn't misuse any one player, and does not try to do anything too extreme as a manager. He understands the game and he understands the perspective of an entire season over sacrificing one game--no matter who they are playing. But he certainly has his "Times Square" moments. I have given it this name after my evening commute which takes me through Times Square, an annoying, confusing, illogical and all-together frustrating experience that leaves me throwing my hands up. (Yes, please, family from out-of-town, let's all fan out, hold hands, and then decided to stop and turn around without any warning to take a picture. That sounds like a wonderful idea that's not going to bother anyone else on the street.) I'm going to start on a series of my three biggest Times Square moments with Joe Girardi with today's entry: Sacrifice Bunting

Joe Girardi needs to add a note to his binder: DON'T BUNT (NYT)

If you are warm and have a fireplace in your place of dwelling, you have two options, you can either take your cash to store and buy some firewood or you can burn that money. Sure, burning that money will keep you warm since it is flamable and it's really easy since you don't have to go outside in the cold to get it but it's a really inefficient and it's a lazy way about going about things.

Truthfully, no one would actually burn money instead of going to the store for the firewood, but in many senses, the amount of sacrifice bunting that some American League teams do is on that level. It's inefficient and it's frankly lazy managing. Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Football, and many other sports have a clock; baseball has no finite time-frame, only a finite number of outs. They need to be protected like unobtanium in Avatar and yet they really are sometimes given away. I'm not saying that one should never bunt (more on this later), but some of the great hitters who are given the sign to lay down the sacrifice make me scratch my head.

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The Price Of Yankees Tickets in the Early 1980s (and Other Yankee Notes)

A few random thoughts on the Yankees and baseball:

• One of my co-workers, Adam, a die-hard Red Sox fan, had two Yankee season ticket stubs at his desk today from the 80s (a picture of them posted to the right from 1980 and 1982 for Field Box seats). Check out the price for a season plan on those tickets. The Sports Illustrated Photo Vault had posted the ticket prices from 1987 a few weeks back but these make you saw "wow" even more.

• While it doesn't look like the Yankees will be raising ticket prices to pay for Cliff Lee, the Yankees will be raising the parking prices. If people are still paying to park at Yankee Stadium, I'm very sorry. Meanwhile, the Red Sox will be raising ticket prices next year so they can retroactively have had enough money to sign Mark Teixeira.

• A report by Big League Stew at the end of October stated that the Florida Marlins were considering dealing their top prospect, Mike Stanton, for...wait for it...Ozzie Guillen. That amazing story had River Ave Blues and Tango trying to figure out what the Yankees could get for an actually good manager like Joe Girardi.

• When Joe Girardi was a Yankee, he went from the starting catcher to being slowly replaced by the young stud, Jorge Posada. Now Posada is the veteran who may be giving way this spring to super-stud prospect, Jesus Montero. With Posada only signed for one more season and Montero having nothing left to prove offensively in the minors, this makes all the sense in the world to me. I know he may not be great defensively but, really, is Posada or Francisco Cervelli being mistaken for Bench back there? Meanwhile, as Steven Goldman writes for Pinstriped Bible, Jorge is bowling for controversy with his comments. I think the Yankees should just tell the moody Posada he'll be lucky to catch more than 90 games in 2011 (though Joel Sherman thinks it will be a lot more). Make it simple

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"Mad Season" for the Yankees Comes to an End

Joe Girardi's Binder was part of this Mad Season (NYT)

"I feel stupid - but I know it won't last for long
I've been guessing - and I coulda been guessin' wrong
You don't know me now
I kinda thought that you should somehow
Does that whole mad season got ya down?"
-"Mad Season" by Matchbox 20

Whenever a season ends without a championship, it sucks. As a fan, we feel betrayed, angry, and confused and want to second-guess every decision. Should they have taken A.J. Burnett out earlier in Game 4? Should they have resisted walking Josh Hamilton all those times? Should they have used CC Sabathia instead of David Robertson in Game 6? Should they have gone to Mariano in more games? We look back and we try to figure "when did this go wrong?" We look to blame someone: The Captain, the manager, the general manager, even the idiotic play-by-play guy who declared the series over and done with after the Yankees had won exactly one game. In the end, though, after digesting a tough ALCS loss, I feel that maybe we were fooled by this Yankees team, thinking they were better than they were and that we ran into a better team in the Texas Rangers.

But while I'm ready to tip my cap to the Texas Rangers and wish them luck representing the American League in the World Series, I'm not ready to put this Mad-dening Season to rest. The Yankees came into the season as World Series champs, looked like the favorite to repeat at the All-Star Break, faltered down the stretch, swept a very good Twins team in the first round, and then ran into Cliff Lee and the Rangers in the ALCS. The turning point of the season may have been the Yankees' failure to acquire Lee. I opined at the time that not acquiring Lee may be the move that cost the Yankees the pennant. I thought the lack of Lee on the Yankees was the trouble--I had no clue that Lee would actually be one of the guys to knock the Yankees out of the playoffs.

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When Teixeira's Hamstring Went, So Did the Yankees

When Mark Teixeira walked to the plate in the bottom 5th inning, the Yankees had a 3-2 lead, runners on 1st and 2nd, nobody out, and had a 78.4% chance of wining the game according to FanGraphs. What could have been a disaster of a night with A.J. Burnett starting seemed like it was moving towards being a huge, series-tying victory. And with a groundball to third and Tex hustling down the line (as he always does) Texeira's hamstring, the Yankees game, and possibly the Yankees season all popped.

It was a bad pitch, but A.J. shouldn't have been out there (LoHud)

The Yankees had their way with the Rangers all game, knocking out Tommy Hunter early, but had failed to capitalize with runs on the scoreboard. After Teixeira was helped off the field with his season-ending injury, the air seemed to deflate from the Yankees. To make things worse, the next batter, Alex Rodriguez, grounded into a killer double play to end the rally.

But The Yankees still had the lead and a 65% chance to win the game. So would Joe Girardi tempt fate by leaving Burnett--who had allowed 3 baserunners and a stolen base the previous inning but somehow escaped unscathed--in to start the 6th? He did. Base hit by Vlad Guerrero and Joba Chamberlain up and warm in the bullpen. So would Girardi bring in Joba to face Nelson Cruz? No, and that moved worked out for Joe as Cruz grounded into a fielder's choice. Still no Joba, though as Burnett faced Ian Kinsler who drove the ball to the deepest part of the park for an out (Cruz advanced to second on a heads-up play).

Anyone watching this game could see that Burnett was finished. Guerrero and Kinsler (both righties) had each hit the ball hard against Burnett. Joba was ready and although Joba isn't Mariano Rivera, he is slightly more effective against righties. If Girardi was a poker player, this would be the equivalent position of him being in the big blind with a 10, deuce, but staying in the hand because no one raised him out. He had the chance to bet again and the common sense would be to fold at this point.

Instead, Girardi went all in.

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The Yankee Clipper: Back-and-Forth Game 1 Goes to the Yanks

Deep breath. After two dominant pitching performances to start out the playoff day by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, the Yankees and Twins played a see-saw, back-and-forth affair last night under the stars at Target Field. But while Francisco Liriano looked early like he'd join Halladay and Lee as number 1 starters who dominated, the Yankees late rally toppled the Twinkies once again. A few notes:

Maybe not "ever" but last night's Tex Message was exciting

1. The Grandy Man Can. Sometimes, you need to throw out the book and Joe Girardi (the man who keeps the book with him at all times) did just that last night starting Curtis Granderson against Liriano. Granderson--who couldn't hit lefties in general for most of the season--came into the game 4 for 22 against the lefty Liriano with 12 strikeouts. And in the second inning, with two on and two out, those struggles reared their ugly heads again when Granderson left the runners stranded. That was the first of 10 consecutive batters that Liriano retired including a Granderson strikeout in the fifth. So with two on and two out and the same Liriano on the mound, some wondered whether Joe Girardi may go to the bench and pinch hit Austin Kearns who has had success in limited time against Liriano. But Girardi stuck with Granderson who hit the ball about as far as you can without hitting it out and his triple was the biggest hit of the game. Granderson deserves a lot of credit for going to Kevin Long and making sure he worked on his swing and the dividends have paid off immensely. Ben Shpigel of the New York Times calls Long the Yankees "Most Valuable Repairman", Brien@IIATMS breaks down the 6th inning, and the New York Post's Joel Sherman said that Granderson went from being a "bad idea" in mid-August to an October hero.
2. Tex Message Received. As LoHud's Chad Jennings wrote, the other place that Girardi went against most people's instinct was when he stuck with Mark Teixeira struggled through the first two months. Every day he wrote his name into the lineup in the number three hole. And last night's majestic shot into the October sky again showed us that despite his slow starts, Teixeira will eventually come around and contribute. An earlier double, though, was just as big as it snapped Liriano's streak of 10-in-a-row retired and set the table for that big 6th inning. Last season, Tex hit a line drive in Game 2 of the ALDS that everyone at Yankee Stadium was yelling "get up, get up" so it would be a home run--and it was. Last night, Tex hit a high fly ball that everyone yelling "stay fair, stay fair" (including Joe Girardi who the cameras caught saying it with the rest of the fans)--and it did. Tex's second game-winning home run against the Twins in two years and off the Jesse Crain which TBS replays right before the home run showed Teixeira hitting a blast earlier this year against at Yankee Stadium. According to ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews, Tex did this all with a cortisone shot in his ailing wrist. Teixeira has played through pain much of the second half of the season and his Tex MSG got the Yankees Game 1 of the series.
3. The Great Mariano.

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Adding Another to the Team (and a few links)

We're not waiting until September 1st to expand our rosters here at NYaT. I'm happy to announce our newest permanent blogger (and our new Official Mets Blogger), Elissa Glucksman. E recently guest blogged about 5 reasons the Mets could make the playoffs in 2011 and before that had previewed Citi Field 2.0 for NYaT. Elissa even participated in a triathlon with former Mets manager, Bobby Valentine, as a partner. We're excited to see what else she has in store for us (there is some talk of Sarah and Elissa doing a blog series of sports from the feminine point of view). Please join me in welcoming Elissa to the NYaT team.

Omar Minaya will feel the wrath of new blogger, Elissa (NYDN)

Now for a few links:

• Someone else is keeping track of that whole CC Sabathia opt-out (as well as Joe Girardi's contract situation): Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues. Moshe Mandel of TYU tells us why Girardi isn't going anyplace.
• SI's Joe Posnanski nails arm injuries and pitching prospects in this great blog post. Then The Common Man at The Platoon Advantage takes down Rob Dibble.
• NoMass scores another great interview (this time with Yankees' SVP, Mark Newman) and talks about the Yankees farm system. Then Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus writes "just add [Brett Marshall] to the long list of Yankee pitching prospects who have taken a step in the right direction." I like the sound of that.
• Last week Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus handicapped the AL MVP race and the NL MVP race. It will be a close one.
• Rebecca of This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes on Kerry Wood. Sam Borden of LoHud on Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter. Aaron Gleeman of HardballTalk on the Yankees' "phantom disabled list". FanGraphs' Dave Cameron on the Minnesota Twins. Flip Flop Fly Ball on the many Yankees logos. Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues on HOPE week.
• The Big Lead on why Tony LaRussa is an idiot. Wall Street Journal's Brian Costa on why Ivan (Nova) is anything but terrible. ESPN's Jayson Stark with everything you would want to know about Roy Oswalt's night in left field.
• Eastbound and Down Season 2 (I can't wait)

Javier Vazquez is officially below replacement level according to FanGraphs (H/T Jay). More later.

The Yankee Clipper: Same 'ole in Anaheim

No matter how much things change, they always seem to stay the same. The Yankees overcame their inability to beat the Angels in last year's American League Championship Series, but they still are unable to beat them in Anaheim (or is it Los Angeles?). Even last year, en route to winning the series, the Yankees dropped 2 out of 3 in California. The latest iteration was no different--a loss, followed by a win, followed by a tough loss. Let's review:

1. Javier Vazquez was not good. Listen, I'm a Javy Vazquez fan and I think he'll be fine, but this is not the start that helps me to prove that. Not even to myself anymore. How bad is it? Well consider this stat from ESPN's TMI blog: "Vazquez's ERA jumped to 9.00, matching the worst-ever April ERA by a Yankee who pitched at least 20 innings." For my friend Paul who is NOT a Javy fan, I will say this: BRUTAL! That's a horrible start. Jason @ IIATMS debates whether this is a result of a small sample size (and maybe bad luck) or time to panic. Chris at TYU defends Javy a little, saying, at the very least that he's probably not a "gutless bitch". Vazquez claims to be embarrassed by all this and Joe Girardi thinks it's mechanical. Let's hope so. At least that can be corrected.
2. What exactly happened before the Kendry Morales home run? I'm still confused. And, although some will sweep it under the rug, it was a big at-bat in a one-run game. It was runners on 1st and 2nd for Morales vs. Damaso Marte with David Robertson ready in the bullpen and Juan Rivera on deck. Girardi left in Marte. Francisco Cervelli rose from the catcher's stance like they were intentionally walking him and took ball one. Now this seemed like an odd move to me and the rest of the Twitter universe took the task of asking why the Yankee would walk someone when 3rd base was the one that was open. I guess Girardi was checking out his Twitter feed because he decided that they were going to now pitch to Morales. So Marte threw ball 2...and then ball 3. Right before the next pitch was going to be thrown, I saw Girardi signal something to Cervelli. I thought that signal was to let him know to just put Morales on base. Instead, the signal was to let Cervelli know that Morales will swing 3-0 and not to groove one over. Instead, Marte grooved one over and it was crushed out for a three run shot. A close one-run game became an easy four-run lead for the Angels and they never looked back. Girardi looked upset at the time and took all the blame for the Yankees. I know it was just one play, but for a team that prides themselves on professionalism and fundamentals, that was a big hiccup in a bad spot. The New York Times' Ben Shpigel talks about how out of character that was for Girardi.

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Yankees Over/Under: Bullpen, Bench and Coaching Staff

This week we looked at the New York Yankees Starting 9 and their Starting Rotation but now it's time to do the over/unders for their bullpen, coaches, and bench. I'm going to put out the list but I want you to chime in within the comments about where you would bet these will fall in 2010 (again, with details about those numbers in parentheses):

1. Mariano Rivera - 73 regular season innings pitched (his innings have dropped every year since 2004 but 73 was the average amount over the past 6 years)
2. Phil Hughes relief appearances - Joba Chamberlain relief appearances - 0 (so if you subtract one form the other, what will you get? For their careers, this number would be -6)
3. David Robertson - 10 K/9 (he led the league with 13 K/9 last season and has 12 K/9 over his young career)
4. Alfredo Aceves - 80.2 innings of relief (his relief total from 2009)
5. Chan Ho Park - 4.35 ERA (his career ERA)
6. Mark Melancon - 22 games (he had 13 last season)
7. Damaso Marte PA vs. LHB - Damaso Marte PA vs. RHB - 0 (will he be truly used as a lefty specialist in 2010?)
8. Randy Winn - 10 stolen bases (he's averaged 17 a season over his career)
9. Marcus Thames - 7 HR (his low for a season while in Detroit)
10. Francisco Cervelli - 101 PA (his total from last season)

And now a few non-stat related ones:

11. Nick Swisher - 0.5 appearances on the mound (he had a memorable inning in April last season)
12. Francisco Cervelli - 0.5 concussions (let's hope for under here)
13. Joe Girardi - 50 TV shots of him during 2010 looking into his infamous binder
14. Brian Cashman - 3 trades during the season
15. Rob Thomson - 7 runners thrown out at home

Put your thoughts in the comments below. I'll tally up the results and we'll see how we did in October. Thanks for playing!

Picture from the New York Times

What To Do With Alfredo Aceves and Brian Bruney?

The past two games saw the Yankees bring in Brian Bruney and Alfredo Aceves out of the bullpen. Those two appearances were not confidence-inspiring as both players looked like shells of their former selves. So what happened with these two? They may both be injured and hiding injuries knowing that when they recover, they may not have a job. They may both have been flukes and have settled into their normal play. Or maybe it's something else.

Let's first look at Alfredo Aceves. "Ace" pitched 30 innings last season and finished with a 2.40 ERA and a WHIP of 1.167. Inexplicably, the Yankees left him off the opening day roster and let him toil in the minors until the beginning of May. Then, in his first appearance of the season on May 4th against Boston, they threw him for 70 pitches in a relief appearance. From there the Yankees used him in almost ever role: long reliever, middle relief, righty specialist, set-up man, mop-up man, even closer for a game. Since his first outing he had compiled a 1.77 ERA in 20 games, giving up less than a baserunner an inning in 35.2 innings and holding opponents to a .589 OPS against.

And then, on July 9th, they decided to give him a spot start against Minnesota. He wouldn't pitch again until July 18th and since hasn't been the same pitcher. Since they made him a starter for a day, his ERA has ballooned to 5.89 in 36.2 innings with opponents posting a .713 OPS against.

For the season Ace is 10-1 with a 3.87 ERA, 1.070 WHIP with 1 blown save, 1 save, and 5 holds. Clearly, he has not been the same pitcher since his spot start. He had complained of arm troubles and may be trying to hide that from the Yankees. Remember, Aceves is a Mexican League find, one year removed from not even being a Major Leaguer, one year removed from having all kinds of things thrown at him while he was on the field. He knows this could be his one shot and may be trying to pitch through pain to keep a spot on the Yankees.

But maybe the problem is that the Yankees have used him in so many different ways. Below are the charts from Baseball-Reference detailing his days of rest between pitching and the situations in which he's been used.

Days of Rest

0	1	2	3	4	5	7
7	3	11	6	3	5	1

Inning/Score Appearance Matrix

Inn	<-4	-4	-3	-2	-1	tie	1	2	3	4	>4	Total
4-				1	1	2	1	2				7
5		2		1	1	1			2			7
6	1	1		1	3			3	1			10
7			1	1		1					1	4
8					1		1	2				4
9	1			1		1					1	4
10+						3						3
Total	2	3	1	5	6	8	2	7	3	0	2	39

As you can see, there's no consistency. Was Watching talks about the spot start that ruined Alfredo Aceves. Peter Abraham talks about how Aceves is working through injuries. Mark Feinsand points out that Aceves disappeared for more than a week in the Yankees bullpen before last night and tries to page him. Maybe the key for Aceves is being given a role (I think that 6th or 7th inning righty out of the 'pen would good for him) and they need to stick with it.

Brian Bruney faces no such troubles. Besides two appearances early in blowouts, he's made all of his bullpen trots in the 7th inning or later. Bruney got hit hard in his first appearance but then settled down after that to be the Yankees most reliable set-up man in April. After that first start, he compiled a 1.17 ERA in 8 games, striking out 12 in 7.2 innings while walking no one and allowing only 2 hits through April 21st. Opponents had a .080/.080/.120 line against him.

Then he went on the disabled list for more than a month, came back, made one appearance, and went back on the DL for almost another month. Yankees fans were pretty sure the reason they couldn't beat Boston early on was that Bruney wasn't in their 'pen.

That really wasn't the case. Whether it was reverting back to his norms or the fact he may still be trying to pitch through injury, Bruney has not been the same pitcher since. In 31 games since coming back, he's pitched in 31 games to a 4.85 ERA, given up 32 hits in 26 innings, walking 20 and only striking out 19. His opponents have a .302/.414/.528 line against him. And that was with a 0.87 ERA in August!

Bruney has fallen far from the most reliable reliever in the bullpen. River Avenue Blues thinks that there's little chance Bruney makes the postseason roster, especially if the team only carries 10 pitchers. I don't disagree with that either; at this point, I don't think you can rely on Brian Bruney in any big spot (although sometimes Girardi seems to think to the contrary).

Time For Joba Rules III

So much for the recent Joba Rules. From PeteAbe:

Joba Chamberlain will be in the rotation moving forward, meaning he will pitch every five games. They decided he needed to pitch more regularly. The innings limit hasn’t changed. Some starts will be less than five innings.

This does make more sense. It'll keep his innings limit the same, but not have him go on weird rest periods. You have to expect they'll have the shorter outings now so they can build him up past 100 pitches so he's ready to go as their #4 starter in October.

This comes on the heels of Rick Peterson saying the Yankees are doing right by Joba. Baseball Musings pointed out that maybe it wasn't the short rest, but just pitching at Yankee Stadium (where Joba is not good) that has caused his struggles. Steven Goldman is happy (as is Kevin Kernan of the NY Post) as he thinks the Yankees were screwing too much with his schedule.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Joba down the stretch. If he can get back to where he was right after the All-Star break, the Yankees have a very dangerous starting 4 come October.

Stat(s) of the Day and A-Rod's Hip

Via Tyler Kepner, we have our stats of the day:

1) Courtesy of Elias, even including this past week, the Yankees are 11-6 this season in games started by pitchers who had never faced them before. Those starters, collectively, are 5-6 with a 5.08 E.R.A.

2) This one comes from Tom Verducci: Alex Rodriguez has the same road slugging percentage as the San Diego Padres’ David Eckstein. That is, away from the tight confines of Yankee Stadium, A-Rod’s slugging percentage is a meager .373.

Now that's not as bad as I thought. Kepner has the reason why:

When the Yankees lose to a pitcher few fans have heard of – Fernando Nieve and Craig Stammen, come on down – it naturally captures the attention of fans and reporters. But when they beat a pitcher like that, it’s no big deal.

And how about explaining A-Rod?

As for Rodriguez, who is 3 for his last 34 and hitting .212, he’s long overdue for his first game off since joining the team on May 8. Even Manager Joe Girardi admitted he probably should have rested him sooner. I spoke with A-Rod’s hip surgeon, Dr. Marc Philippon, and he agreed with the rest.

“Indirectly, he is still recovering from surgery, from a muscle standpoint,” Philippon said. “I think it’s important to give him some time off to allow the muscles to recover. His hip is doing very well, but he has to make sure his balance and his coordination are not affected by muscle fatigue. I would support giving him a little bit of a break, because it’s pretty exceptional to come back and play so many games in a row.”

Hold on. Hold on. I'm sure Tyler Kepner is a great investigative reporter. But you're telling me that I could write blog post after blog post about how A-Rod needs a rest, Tyler Kepner could speak to A-Rod's hip surgeon who said that "I think it's important to give him some time off to allow the muscles to recover", and yet the Yankees continued to play him every day without a rest? The Yankees couldn't have called his surgeon and gotten the same advice or watched him on the field and see that he was gassed? Was it worth leaving him in for all these games when he was hurting the team? ESPN's Stephania Bell predicted he'd be out 4 months and 2 months later he's supposedly in tip-top shape to be playing every day? Am I missing something here?

Update: I mean if Apple CEO Steve Jobs can have a liver transplant and return to work in two months, maybe anything is possible. Jeez

Bullpen Use Needs Work

I don't mean to pick on Jose Veras all the time. It seems like he's the culprit too often. But I think part of the problem has to do with the manager's use of the bullpen. It's hard to fault Joe Girardi now when the Yankees are doing well, but I think it's better to look at it during these times then when things are going poorly and there's a lot more blame to go around.

I first started thinking about this when River Ave Blues recommended rethinking usage patterns for the bullpen. The one advantage the Yankees have had over other teams is that they've had Mariano Rivera in the 'pen since 1995. Since 1997, he's been their closer meaning that they've just had to find a way to fill the innings before him.

Now there are two strategies to go along with it. The first I'll call "Joe Torre's Scott Proctor Special". It's the manager who takes one hot guy and rides him until his arm falls off. Like literally. Look at what happened to the Yankees bullpen under Torre: every one of those guys got rode until he couldn't pitch anymore (Proctor, Sturtze, Gordon, Quantrill, Karsay, Vizcaino, etc.). But everyone knows their role, their inning, and when they can be counted on to come into the game. This works because you're always going with the hot hand and the guy you can trust. It doesn't work because eventually he's going to run out of gas.

The second strategy is the "Joe Maddon Mix-and-Match" strategy of managing the bullpen. It employs no set role from long relief to middle relief to set up men to closer. It's all based on matchups. Lefty comes up, there will be a LOOGY, righty comes up, the opposite. If a hitter has too much success against one pitcher, you pull him for another he doesn't have so much sucess against. This works because you put people into situations they're comfortable in and you play towards the numbers. This doesn't work because no one feels trusted, too much pitching changes kills a team, and when you need a big out, you have no one to turn to besides your stat book.

I think Joe Girardi finds himself in between those two Joes. Sometimes he'll ride a guy (Bruney, Coke, JA). Sometimes he'll mix and match until you're ill (when he had Marte and Coke as two lefties in the bullpen). Sometimes he likes to define roles. Sometimes he'll just give everyone a different role depending on the game (Phil Coke has closed games, been a long reliever, a short reliever, a lefty specialist, a set-up man and a mop-up guy). This is not necessarily a problem, but it hasn't worked so far (cue those Joba-to-the-'pen-solves-all-your-problems crazies). And I think it makes it hard to really rely on anyone to get the job done because they don't know their role from game-to-game. Some guys like Alfredo Aceves (and Ramiro Mendoza in the past) can thrive on that. But most guys--especially young guys--can't.

The other issue I have with Girardi's bullpen use so far is that he's too conventional with the Great Mariano. Joel Sherman wrote--and I agree with him--that you can't leave your best pitcher in the bullpen. The Yankees lost a World Series game in 2003 because Joe Torre wanted to stick by the book and not use his closer unless he had a lead because it was a road game. I thought Girardi would be different, but the exact same thing happened the other day.

Again, this is being nitpicky beacuse the team has been so good, but with teams like Boston and Tampa coming up, these types of things will become even more important and Girardi's bullpen maintenance and use will be put to the test.

Stat of the Day and the Jeter/Damon Flip

When Joe Girardi decided to flip-flop Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon in the lineup, some privately questioned his thinking. Others just felt it was a pretty minor move. Amazingly, according to Baseball-Reference, since 1954 there were only 7 players in baseball history who have had more ABs at leadoff than Johnny Damon and only 4 players in history who have had more ABs in the second spot in the order than Derek Jeter. Rob Neyer pointed out the expected difference was pretty minimal but was worth making the change. And many sources pointed to Jeter's propensity to ground into double plays recently as a good enough reason for the change.

So let's take a look at what they've done so far from their new slots (granted, some of this may have occurred regardless of spot in the lineup due to Damon being in his walk year and Jeter being relatively healthy):

First, Derek Jeter. The Yankees' Captain is having his best season since his 2006 campaign where he came in a close second in the AL MVP voting. His average, OBP and SLG are all better than last year's numbers. He is projected to score 103 runs, have 210 hits, 40 doubles, 23 HRs, 83 RBIs, 70 BBs (to only 90 Ks), with 33 SBs (with a ridiculous %). He still isn't good in the field, but his bat has made up for that at times so far this season. In his past 7 games, his line looks like .448/.500/.517 so he's helping out the team in a lot of ways.

On to Damon. Johnny has been raking all season. His .899 OPS is the highest of his career and he's on pace for career highs in HRs and runs scored. More importantly, he helped to carry this team earlier in the season when others were struggling greatly. If he hadn't kept them afloat, they would be a lot worse off that they are now. He even earned player of the weak honors on May 11th.

It's a move that didn't get a lot of press and I haven't praised Joe Girardi for, but flipping Jeter and Damon in the lineup has been worked out very well for the Yankees so far.

Just asking...Wang to the Pen?

Just asking...are all those "Joba-to-the-'pen" folks advocating "Wang-to-the-'pen" now?

Just asking...is Girardi making Chien-Ming Wang into his setup man with Brian Bruney out?

Just asking...when is it a good idea to take a perennial 19-game winner and waste him away in blowout games?

Just asking...what are Angel Berroa and Jose Veras still doing on this team (especially now with NO backup outfielders)?

Just asking...why is AJ Burnett so inconsistent?

Just asking...why do some Yankee broadcasts not have a play-by-play guy? I actually really like Flaherty and Singleton but neither guy is a play-by-play and they've been stuck in a booth together in Texas for 3 games

Just asking...do you see what speed does for a team? Gardner dropping down a bunt proved to be a big play in blowing this game wide open

Just asking...can the Yankees keep up this momentum? We'll see as they head to Cleveland tomorrow...

Another Great Comeback But You Can't Win 'Em All

"Have they ever lost before?"
"Basketball? No, they sure haven't."
"It just feels wrong, that's all."
"Maybe that's where they get that saying, 'You can't win 'em all.'"
"That's a good point, Ralph. They do have that saying."
-Pleasantville

That quote from the movie Pleasantville sort of sums up my feeling right about now. Another well pitched game from the Yankees starters and bullpen. Another weak hitting effort until the 9th. Another come-from-behind in the 9th with a blown save for the opposing closer.

Just this time it ended up in a loss. Some may second guess Joe Girardi for taking out Robinson Cano for Ramiro Pena, but the truth is that the Yankees needed to score that third run to score and you can't worry about the consequences if that spot comes up again in the game (and it looked like it wouldn't). The Yankees had chances to win it in the 9th and 10th and couldn't muster a baserunner with the bottom part of their lineup in the 11th. Maybe the mistake was pitch hitting for Cervelli since he's a .300 hitter. Swisher's bat could have been used to pitch hit later on for somone like Pena. But that may be nit-picking.

Who is looking great? Melky Cabrera and Jose Veras. Melky came up with another huge hit for the Yankees and looks like he took his demotion at the end of last season and losing out on the starting job this year personally and has done a great job coming back. Jose Veras was horrendous in the Yankees bullpen for most of the season, but after almost being demoted recently (Edwar Ramirez was sent down instead of Veras being released) and realizing he was on his last legs, he's come back with a vengence recently.

Who is not looking great? A-Rod and Hideki Matsui. A-Rod is a true three outcome player now: homerun, walk or strikeout. But thankfully a lot of those homeruns have been in big spots. Matsui just looks lost at the plate and you wonder if those knees are bothering him again. If Nady comes back soon, it may pay to put Matsui on the bench for a while to rest those knees.

Regardless, I think this was the best Yankee homestand in a while and maybe their most exciting ever. They never really went down without a fight and they showed that no matter the closer, they were never done until that last out. Remember, Lidge never blew a save last year in the regular season or post season. So to do what the Yankees did to him on two consecutive days--even if only one ended up in a win and even if he may not be the same Brad Lidge this season--is still quite impressive. Let's hope they keep up this momentum as they head on the road.

Umm...guys?

Can someone let the Yankees know this game started at 1 PM? It is, in fact, not a FOX start. Completely lackluster effort by the Yankees so far today. Jeter got a hustle infield single, stole second (on a failed hit and run), was bunted over to third, but neither Teixeira nor A-Rod could get him home with one out.

AJ Burnett had been good but is laboring in this 7th inning as some guy named Tolbert got through to him for the 1st of 2 Twins runs. This is the problem with having no bullpen.

Girardi now goes to the 'pen...with the bases loaded. Wouldn't this move have made sense 3 batters ago?

Let's see if the Yankees can find a way to rally for another win. You would think they would do better against a guy with a 4.91 ERA. But this team seems to struggle against bad pitchers sometimes. They need to hold it at 2-0 so a bloop and a blast can get them back into the game.

Update 3:17 PM: JA comes on and leaves the bases loaded. Huge spot right there. Now God Bless America.

Meanwhile, as I look down 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, there's a huge protest. Any ideas why?

Update 3:24 PM: I think God Bless America is the Yankees' secret weapon. With the extra time it takes, I think it slows down the other pitcher's rhythm. If you go look at opposing starting pitchers at Yankee Stadium since they've done God Bless America, I'm sure the ERA goes up at least another run or two in the bottom of the 7th.

Blast by A-Rod, double by Matsui, sacrifice by Swisher (why does this team continue to sac bunt), and then a sac fly by Melky to tie it at 2. Love the 3rd base coaching this year from Rob Thomson: way more aggressive, much better decisions and the runners seem like they have a better idea of what they're doing before the ball is hit.

Nice play by Punto on Pena's pop up to get out of the inning

Update 3:29 PM: Here's my problem with Swisher's bunt: I know that Matsui is a slow runner and the goal at home is to tie the game, but I think the Yankees ended a rally by having Swish lay one down. Slowey started out the inning by giving up a HR and a double...so you hand him an out? I don't get it. And since they had Cabrera trying to hit a fly ball, they gave up two outs. I don't know if they score if Swish doesn't bunt, but wouldn't you like to try to extend that rally? You need one base hit from Swisher, Cabrera or Pena and a pitcher who is struggling. I dunno, I was taught never to give the other team outs and it just seems like self-defeating.

Update 3:49 PM: Again Girardi waits until the last possible second to go the bullpen and Brett Tomko (with huge help from a great defensive play by Mark Teixeira) helped him and the Yankees out there. Now we need a run for the Yankees, a quick save by Mo, and another series win.

Btw...how many times has Girardi gotten burned by leaving a reliever for more than one inning? Yesterday with Coke, today with JA. When you get a few outs of success from guys in this bullpen, maybe you should just be happy with that.

Update 4:06 PM: So the Yankees rally, get the bases loaded, Slowey out of the game, a 3-0 count on Matsui. Godzilla then takes a strike...and swings at ball four--twice!

13 years ago today Mo got his first save. I'm feeling old today between that fact and the truth that Freshmen during my Senior year in college are graduating today.

A-Rod and Tex Blast The Yankees To A Win

Mark Teixeira went 4 for 4, but it was Alex Rodriguez getting a pie in the face after the game for blasting the game winning homerun. Joba Chamberlain had a very good start (he even had a 1-2-3 first inning!) with only two runs gave up in 6 innings and left with the lead. The Yankees only got hits from 4 players, but managed to come back and win for the 13th time this season. And this was after giving up a 3-2 lead.

A bit of curious managing by Joe Girardi today with regards to his bullpen. Despite Jose Veras being totally ineffective, Phil Coke was able to get the Yankees out of the 7th with a lead. But I think it was asking too much to have Coke come back out for the 8th. I wanted Girardi to bring in Mariano Rivera for the 8th, but Girardi said on WFAN how he wouldn't use Mo for more than one inning. Instead, Joe Girardi left Coke in and he gave up the lead.

...and then Girardi left Mo in for 2 innings. The Yankees ralied to tie and then win the game, but they may not have had to go into extra innings if Girardi would have brought Mo in for the 8th inning.

But Alex Rodriguez drilled a pitch into the seats (hope the Yankees didn't reinjure his hip after getting slapped there after the game--and he did grab it after the celebration) and gave the Yankees a big win, their 4th in a row. They go for another series win tomorrow.