The Yankee Clipper: Same Song, Different Verse in Game 2

Déjà vu all over again (as ESPN's Rob Neyer said: "this is what these Yankees do"). The Yankees seem to have a formula against these Twins: get behind, come back when the starter tires, add some insurance against the bullpen if possible, and then hand the ball to Mariano Rivera for the save. Jay had some great statistics earlier on how great Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte have been, but let's look at some of the rest of the Yankees:

The hands of Lance Berkman and A-Rod form a "V" for Victory (ABC)

1. Sir Lancealot. The debate about whether Lance Berkman is now a "true Yankee" will continue, but last night was sure a nice way to stick it to all those Berkman haters with a defining moment. Berkman hit a monster home run into the Twins bullpen and followed that up with a monster double into centerfield. With Marcus Thames hitting against lefties, they needed Berkman to step up against righties and going opposite field with that much authority was his way to announce that he has arrived. Acquiring fading stars at the trade deadline is a hit-or-miss sort of thing, but Brian Cashman's three this year (Berkman, Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns), have each played a roll in the 2010 team. Rebecca Glass of TYU says that Cashman was made to look like a genius last night. As Nick Swisher said last night: Pettitte and Berkman was the "Texas Two-Step".
2. Was that Frank Dreblin behind the plate? I kid about the Naked Gun umpire, but, really, the strikezone last night was just as bad. People point to what should have been a strike three call to Lance Berkman before his double (and they would be right), but the second pitch of the at-bat was called a strike when PitchFX shows that it was clearly outside. Yahoo's Jeff Passan says that the Twins misgivings are justified, but Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs says that the umpire was crappy no matter who you were rooting for last night. The Yankees got a rough call in the first game which seemed to signify to some that the postseason had truly begun, but the truth is that for all those calls for replay, things like strikes and checked swings (the bugaboo for Joe Maddon and the Rays) wouldn't be reviewable (though the only run from the San Francisco-Atlanta game last night that was a clear out would have been). Here's my solution to improving the blown calls: hire better umpires who adhere to a real strikezone. The rest of America had layoffs and streamlining and became more efficient--it's time that Major League Baseball did the same with its umpires.
3. Nasty, Knee-buckling Wood.

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The Yankees Bullpen Since the All-Star Break

The Yankees bullpen--beset by bad luck, injuries and just inconsistent pitching--looked awful at the All-Star break. Sure Mariano Rivera was still "The Great Mariano", but the mythological "Bridge to Mariano" looked like it could collapse at any second. But when the All-Star break ended something clicked with the relievers and with the acquisition of Kerry Wood, the Yankees bullpen has looked great since then. Let's take a look at the relievers (and their workload since the Texas series started):

The Yankees "Bridge to Mariano" has gotten stronger since Break (NYDN)

Kerry Wood As a Yankee: 2-0, 6 holds, 0.44 ERA in 20.2 innings with 24 K (to 11 BB), .480 OPS against, 1.190 WPA (Win Probability Added according to Baseball-Reference).

Wood gave up a home run to Toronto's Aaron Hill in his second outing in Pinstripes and has not been scored on since. In fact, that's the only time a run has crossed the plate while Wood as he has inherited 8 runners and none of those have scored either. In September he's allowed 4 baserunners out of the 28 batters he's faced. Oh, and that home run he gave up to Hill was the only extra base hit he's given up in to the 83 batters he's faced as a Yankee. Recent workload (calculated since September 10th): 4 games, 14 batters faced, 50 pitches.

Boone Logan Since A-S Break: 1-0, 7 holds, 0.98 ERA in 18.1 innings with 23 K (to 6 BB), .519 OPS against, 0.397 WPA.

The amazing part is that Logan gave up a run right after the All-Star break on a home-run and a run last night--but none in between, a streak that spanned 25 outings. If you take away those two outings as well, he's been good at not allowing inherited runners to score, only allowed 13% of his 15 to cross home. Logan's biggest problem has been when he hasn't been used against lefties (as shown last night) but as a lefty specialist, he's been deadly holding lefties to a .174/.269/.203 line with one extra base hit in 78 PAs. Recent workload: 4 games, 9 batters faced, 36 pitches.

David RobertsonSince A-S Break: 2-1, 8 holds, 1 save, 1.50 ERA in 24 innings with 31 K (to 12 BB), .575 OPS against, 1.253 WPA.

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An Early Review of the Yankees 2010 Transactions

Yankees fans may have been spoiled by the 2009 season. After missing the 2008 playoffs, Yankees' General Manager Brian Cashman went to work on building the 2009 team and added many important pieces including Sergio Mitre, Damaso Marte (a resigning), Andy Pettitte (ditto) Nick Swisher (for basically nothing), A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira. The mid-season trades worked out as well as they acquired Romulo Sanchez (a possible 2010 September call-up if healthy) for a spare part, Eric Hinske for more spare parts, Jerry Hairston, Jr. for yet more spare parts, and then picked up Chad Gaudin and Freddy Guzman during the waiver wire period. Every one of those players contributed in one way or another (except for Sanchez) to the 2009 World Series winning team and Brian Cashman came away looking like a genius who turned everything he touched into gold.

Thames has been Cashman's best off-season move to date (NYDN)

The Midas Touch didn't translate as well to 2010. The Yankees traded Brian Bruney for a Rule 5 draft pick (Jamie Hoffmann). They traded Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy for Curtis Granderson. They signed Nick Johnson, traded and signed a ton of spare outfielders (Reid Gorecki, Greg Golson, Jason Pridie, Chad Huffman, etc.), traded for Javier Vazquez (and Boone Logan), signed Randy Winn, Royce Ring, Dustin Moseley, Marcus Thames, Chad Moeller, and Chan Ho Park. Since the season started they resigned Chad Gaudin, signed Eric Bruntlett and Chad Tracy (the latter which has been released), and traded for Austin Kearns, Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood.

While the 2010 mid-season moves have worked out to date, the off-season moves have not. Hoffmann lasted until March and then they returned him to the Dodgers (despite rumors he would be traded back, he's still with Los Angeles). Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy and Austin Jackson have all excelled for their new teams, and Granderson has been a huge disappointment for the Yankees*. Nick Johnson (injuries) and Javier Vazquez (ineffectiveness) both have been huge disasters in their return to the Yankees, and although Michael Dunn for Boone Logan is a wash and I don't think Melky Cabrera truly had a place on this team, Arodys Vizcaino (the prospect traded in the deal), dominated the Sally League going 9-3 with a 2.34 ERA, a WHIP under 1, and a SO/BB ratio of 7.33 before being promoted (and remains one of Atlanta's best prospects).

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The Yankee Clipper: A Great Win

It was one of those nights where I knew I had other things to do, but I was frozen on the couch watching the Yankee game. Down 6-1 to Cliff Lee the Yankees looked down and out, facing a two-game sweep and a three-game losing streak with Tampa Bay and Boston getting awfully close in the rear view mirror. And then they had one of those comebacks that you remember during every championship year. 7-6 final. Amazing. Let's talk about it:

A big high five to Thames for his performance last night (Star-Ledger)

1. Reminds me a lot of last year's win against the Braves. On June 24, 2009, the Yankees were 39-22, 5 games back in the American League East, and and having lost three in a row, 5 out of 6, and 9 out of 12. It was make or break for the Yankees as they faced the Atlanta Braves after having been shut out by a rookie (Tommy Hanson) the night before. They were being no-hit through 3 innings when all of a sudden Joe Girardi got himself tossed, Francisco Cervelli hit a home run, and the Yankees won the game on their way to a 7-game winning streak--and a 13 out of 15 game streak that launched them into first place. It was one of those games that is drilled into my skull as a great comeback and one of those defining moments of the season. Last night's win against Cliff Lee (an old-school battle the starter and come back against the bullpen win they used to have a lot against Pedro Martinez), felt like that to me. The team seemed like they were going to be a day late and a buck short like their previous two losses when they couldn't get a hit in the key situations. But, in the end, they did. I was exhilarated afterward and it look like the team was as well. Those types of wins can go a long way--especially if they face the Rangers again in October.
2. Marcus Thames has been in the middle of a few big wins this season. Brien @ IIATMS calls him a not-so-unlikely hero. On May 17th vs. Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez tied the game in the 9th inning with a home run and a few batters later, Marcus Thames hit a walk-off home run. Last night, Derek Jeter tied the game in the 9th inning and Marcus Thames got the go-ahead hit. Thames also blasted a home run (which I think brought down rain) an inning earlier in the game to bring the Yankees within one run. As Mark Feinsand of the Daily News writes, Marcus Thames is once again showing his value on the bench. When the Yankees went out and acquired Austin Kearns and Lance Berkman at the trade deadline, some wanted the Yankees to get rid of the slow, defensively challenged Thames. But the Yankees held on to him because of his bat. Most of that damage this year has done against lefties. But his two biggest hits of the season, have come vs. right-handed pitchers. Against lefties this year Thames is hitting .343/.416/.448 (with a .384 wOBA) with 1 HR and vs. righties he's he's hit .289/.393/.511 with 3 HR. It's a small sample size (and his BABIP is off-the-wall high) but this does show that Thames is truly a threat off the bench no matter who is pitching. A good thing to know before the playoffs start.
3. The Great Mariano as Houdini.

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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.

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Late to the Party: My Reaction on a Busy Trade Deadline for the Yankees

I know, I know, I'm late to the party. But after writing a trade deadline wishlist, I was shocked to see the Yankees check off quite a few boxes. While none of the moves guarantees the Yankees a chance at the playoffs (much less the pennant or the World Series), the deadline transactions shows that Brian Cashman is willing to shrewdly work the system towards the Yankees benefit in different ways than they truly have before. Let's take a look at the deadline moves and, putting them in the context of what they improved on, show that while it's not a clear home run for the Yankees, the July 31st moves were clearly a win.

Austin Kearns adds a solid OF bat (ESPN)

Austin Kearns: Probably my favorite move of all just because it fit a need perfectly. Kearns can play all three outfield positions and is extremely solid out there (with a plus arm). He's played most of his career in rightfield where he has a 58.0 UZR in over 6,000 innings, but moved back to leftfield in 2010 for the first time since 2003. After Kearns was a solid hitter from 2000-2007, his hitting dipped to below average numbers for 2008 and 2009 (with much lower BABIPs) and some felt he may be slowing down. But Kearns has been much better in 2010 (though some of that is buoyed by a great start to the season--.689 OPS since May 18th) and the Yankees were looking for a solid right-handed bat off their bench.

Kearns basically replaces Marcus Thames in the field (big win) and Curtis Granderson at bat against lefties (another big win). Kearns has a career OPS of .799 vs. lefties and his .353 wOBA and .383 OBP are exactly what the Yankees need from him when we consider Granderson has given them a .252 OBP, .538 OPS and a woeful .242 wOBA vs. southpaws. The smart move against lefties would be to play Brett Gardner in CF, Kearns in left, and DH Thames (and more on this below). The fear is that Kearns hot start masked a declining player who will flounder playing for his first big-market team--but I don't see that. For what the Yankees need Kearns for (platoon righty and bench bat), Kearns seems to make perfect sense). That he basically replaced Colin Curtis on the roster is a win (despite the fact I like Curtis). And all for the ole PTBNL or cash it was a shrewd and cheap move in what turned into a light outfield market.

Lance Berkman: The Big Puma is no longer and Fat Elvis seems to reign now--but regardless of which nickname you use, Berkman is a player who can certainly help the Yankees down the stretch. With Nick Johnson in a black hole of injury, the Yankees have been working through a platoon of Marcus Thames and Lance Berkman with a few games of Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada in their DH slot. For all intents and purposes, Berkman replaces Miranda on the roster. No matter how much I liked Miranda in the little time I saw of him, this can't be seen as anything but a win. Now it's never as clear cut as that, though. Lance Berkman is not the same guy who finished in the top-5 in MVP voting 4 different years. He's not even close to the player who put up a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) number of 7.5 in 2008 (only Albert Pujols, Chase Utley and David Wright were higher that year). But Berkman is still a premium hitter who knows how to get on base (career OBP of .409). The biggest problem for Berkman has that he's been bad vs. lefties this year (.188/.278/.281 w/ 1 HR) and was not as good away from Minute Maid Park (almost 200 points lower OPS). But the fact that he's going to have Marcus Thames as his right-handed DH caddy and that he's moving to a good hitters park in the Bronx should alleviate some of those concerns--as does his excellent 16.4% BB rate and his top-20 rank in pitcher per plate appearance (4.14) which makes him another patient, dangerous hitter to work through.

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