The Yankee Clipper: Gardner, Montero, Rivera, Cliff Lee and the Bullpen

Let's take a break from debating about what is a sport (or not, the dialog has been quite fascinating) to talk about the Yankees for a while, shall we? Let's head into our Yankee Clipper on this "Dog Day of August" Wednesday in New York (and, by the way, not much is actually wrong with the Yankees; they're still the best team in baseball. Deep breath and move on):

The Yanks need to find Jesus...and bring him up (Times-Union)

1. Brett the Jet has been grounded. Brett Gardner on July 4th: .319/.401/.434. Brett Gardner since July 4th: .169/.302/.213. I know I sometimes am not so objective on Brett Gardner--man crushes can do that for you (if I could clone Brett Gardner and have the second one run errands for me, I would...and the errands would get done really quickly). But he's lost his way. You can't steal bases if you can't get on base. The team has gone 19-11 in those 30 games, but Gardner hasn't been a main part of the cause with only 4 XBH in 89 ABs. He's still playing great defense and has an excellent WAR of 2.8 for the season, but you need to worry if he's hit a wall or teams are now adjusting to him better. Gardner is a slap hitter who can ill afford a large amount of Ks yet he's struck out over 30% of his official ABs since July 4th. His weighted on base average (wOBA) for August is .093 and he still hasn't walked in the month. Gardner needs to get himself straightened out--and fast (though the latter part of the wish is not a hard thing for the Speediest White Man).
2. Jesus rising? Matt at TYU says that we're stuck with Francisco Cervelli but down on the farm the Yankees are seeing their top prospect, Jesus Montero CRUSH the ball at Triple-A. Hopefully in 6 years the Wall Street Journal will be writing about how the Mariners passed on Montero like Brian Costa of WSJ wrote today about how the Texas Rangers passed on Robinson Cano. Sean at Pending Pinstripes says it's still too soon. Brien @ IIATMS defers to the Yankees management. Rebecca at This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes says it's time. Here is video proof (H/T River Ave Blues) of Montero crushing a game-winning home run two nights ago. I can agree right now not to call him up (there's no spot for him), but if Jorge Posada lands on the disabled list with his cranky shoulder (or really anyone goes on the DL), I think Montero should be in the Bronx. At the very least, he should be up in about 2 weeks when rosters expand. This is a team that has a .297 wOBA in August as Larry from Yankeeist points out (though, to be fair, he also points out how good the pitching they've faced has been). No excuse for Montero not to be a September call-up.  For now, we need to just pray for Francisco like many pray for Jesus--Montero, that is.
3. The bullpen has spelled relief. Lost in the Rivera kerfuffle last night was the fact that the Yankees bullpen has been really good lately. The same Yankees 'pen (give or take a few members) that had a 4.94 ERA in the month of May has a 1.52 ERA in 23.2 August innings with a 1.141 WHIP. Joba Chamberlain's ERA is now at 5.07 (2.97 FIP, 3.50 xFIP and 9.6 K/9), David Robertson's ERA is 3.95 (3.55 FIP, 3.80 xFIP and 10.54 K/9), Boone Logan's ERA is 2.96 (lefties hitting .167/.271/.214 against), and Kerry Wood's Yankee ERA is 2.08 (14.54 K/9). If the Yankees can find a way to get Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves healthy and pitching well, the Yankees may finally have built their "Bridge to Mariano". Matt @ TYU looks at Robertson and Logan's nice rebounds.
4. Mariano is [sort of] human. He doesn't succeed every time, but it seems to sock us when he gets beaten. Some great stats by ESPN Stats and Info: "[David] Murphy is just the sixth player with a game-ending RBI in extra innings against Rivera. It was just the second run that the New York Yankees closer has allowed on the road this season in 21 1/3 innings, and just the second time this season he's allowed three hits in an outing...Rivera had not allowed an earned run in 17 2/3 innings this season in non-save situations. Rivera had allowed only one run in 21 innings on the road all season. Rivera had not allowed an earned run in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington since 2000. His streak without allowing a run spanned 18 innings." Wow.
5. Cliff Lee...a 2011 Yankee? The Yankees face Cliff Lee tonight and Chad Jennings of LoHud points out they weren't able to beat him in two starts in the World Series last year. Chad also points out that the Yankees will probably be facing lefty starters if they head to the playoffs. Although it's not a foregone conclusion that Cliff Lee will be a Yankee in 2011, I think the general consensus is such--or at least that they'll set the market for him as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wrote (though I would assume that the Rangers will make a big run at him now that they have a new owner). With that in mind, Stephen at TYU gives us 10 facts about Cliff Lee. The off-season is quite a bit away, though you wonder how differently things could have gone had the Lee trade been consummated. But in the real world, the Yankees will have to find a way to beat Lee tonight.

According to ESPN Stats and Info: "Javier Vazquez is allowing an average of just .086 (3-35) since June 1 against his curveball. Prior to June 1, batters were hitting .333 (12-36) against the pitch." So look for him to exploit Rangers hitters on that curve tonight. The Yankees try to avoid a two-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers and also to avoid a 3-game losing streak tonight in Texas. They also can gain a game back on Tampa Bay which lost today to Detroit. The quest for 28 continues tonight.

Some other links:

• Katie Sharp at ESPN Stats and Info looks into whether A-Rod's power outage is a long-term issue.
• ESPN's Rob Neyer looks at the chances of a real Yankee youth movement.
• The New York Times says that Yankee Stadium's hit sandwiches at Lobel's are heading to New Meadowlands Stadium in an awesome way
• Bill at The Platoon Advantage says that the Pirates have plundered from the Yankees.Amazin' Avenue on the 100 home run club
• The Baseball Codes asks if Joe Kerrigan is a snitch?
• Rip Torn, WTF? From the New York Post (H/T Alex)