Robinson Cano Is Showing He Can Handle #5

It's time to issue a mea culpa: I was dead wrong about Robinson Cano's hitting ability in the 5th spot of the lineup and I apologize for it. Now can we move on? No? Ok, well let's review. I railed against how the Yankees constructed their lineup when Cano was hitting 5th in mid-June, and a week later, I was still on the task, with some data to back it up. I called it "inexplicable", suggested they hit him *gulp* lead-off,  and threw up a "Hallelujah!" when they moved Cano out of the 5th spot. I wasn't the only one. I look back on those posts now and cringe. Why? Because I was dead wrong, as so far this season, Cano is proving to be one of the better hitters in baseball.

And for a guy who began his career as a slow starter (.293/.327/.451 in 1st half vs .329/.360/.533 in 2nd half--and that includes this April), he's on one hell of an April tear. He leads the majors in runs, hits, batting average, slugging percentage, wOBA, OPS+ and total bases, and leads the AL in OPS. Cano has hit in 8 straight games (where he is hitting .531), is 16 for his last 24, went 17 for 34 on the road trip, went 8 for 13 in the last series with 3 homeruns, and has played (in general) very good defense at 2nd including a Web Gem last night (shown to the right). He leads the Yankees with 8 home runsAnd there's this from ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand: "If he keeps his average above .400 on Friday night, [Cano] will finish this month with eight homers and a .400 batting average. No Yankee has ever done that, according to Elias. The last major leaguer to hit .400 with at least eight April home runs was Barry Bonds six years ago." River Ave Blues writes: "I know it’s April, but that’s utterly insane. If the Yankees didn’t already contractually control his rights through 2013, I’d suggest that they lock him up before he hits the open market." And the Posts' Joel Sherman writes "Cano has the look of someone who has graduated from a very good player to something more special than that."

Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's throw out a few caveats. First, it is still just April. And Cano still isn't that much more disciplined at the plate. According to FanGraphs, Cano has the highest BB% of his career so far with 6.7%, but he's also striking out 12.3% which would be his highest mark since 2008. And Cano is a streaky player and has been beating up on some bad teams so the fun may only last until the next slump or the next good pitching team. Yankeeist points out that the real test may come next month for Robbie.

But this is the Robinson Cano that Yankee fans have waited for for a long time now. We've seen him have streaks of brilliance, but for some reason, he seemed to lose the focus needed to put it all together for an MVP-type season. 2010 may be the year. Now some had suggested that maybe Cano would play worse this season without his buddy, Melky Cabrera, on the team. But rumor (and internet pictures) has it that Cano and Melky partied a lot together and maybe without the distraction of Melky, Cano can be a more focused baseball player. Regardless of what the reason is, Cano seems to be clicking on all cylinders through the month of April. He looks slick in the field and smooth at the bat. Again, it's still early, but this is a great start for Robinson Cano, don't ya know!

Possible Injury Concern For Yanks With An IPK Return

Although not on the Giants level, this is potentially pretty bad news for the Yankees. From Peter Abraham:

Jerry Hairston Jr. “felt a pop” in his left wrist while taking a practice swing in the seventh inning. That’s why he came out of the game.

Hairston said he felt a sharp pain. He has been been having wrist issues on and off since diving for a ball while playing for Cincinnati earlier this season. He disclosed that he had an MRI about 10 days ago and then received a cortisone shot to try and calm some inflammation.

“I’m just hoping it’s some scar tissue breaking up,” he said.

Hairston will have another MRI tomorrow. We should hear more then.

This is not as devastating as the Phillips news, but this could be bad for the Yankees. Hairston has been a very useful player for the Yankees. He may be only batting .235 for the Yankees, but he does have a .346 OBP which is higher than Melky Cabrera's and Hairston plays every infield and outfield position.

Luckily for the Yankees, Ramiro Pena is a ready and capable replacement. And with Brett Gardner back healthy, either he or Cabrera will be much better defensive replacements/pitch runners than Hairston.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they would have been much more versatile had they had both players on the playoff roster (especially since Hairston is a much better outfielder than Hairston). Let's just hope this injury is not serious and they both will be part of the Yankees playoff run.

But one good note from the Yankees yesterday: Ian Patrick Kennedy (also known as IPK) came back from surgery to fix an aneursym and played the Phil Hughes role in the 8th inning of relief. Since Joba, IPK and Hughes all came up together as a trio of starters, it is fitting that each one has now had his shot pitching the 8th inning for the Yankees. Does the "IPK: starter or reliever" debate start today?

Regardless, it was good to see Kennedy back and pitching. As New York Magazine correctly stated, we didn't think we'd see the headline of "Ian Kennedy Pitches As Yanks Win a Series in Anaheim" anytime this season. So congrats to him on making it all the way back.

Melky Hits For Cycle, Moves Tony Fernandez Into Yankee Oblivion

My dad and I both hated it: for 14 years, every time they would talk about someone going for a cycle in a Yankees broadcast or had a trivia question about it on the radio, the answer was always Tony Fernandez. The Yankees signed Fernandez in 1995 to be a one-year stopgap until top prospect Derek Jeter was ready to man shortstop. Fernandez would be a 5-time All-Star who hit the Yankees really hard, but in his one year in the Bronx, he had his worst season in the Majors with a .245/.322/.346 line. The Yankees would go down in a painful ALDS loss to the Mariners and Fernandez would go down as one of my least favorite Yankees ever.

Melky Cabrera changed that today. He became the 15th Yankee to hit for the cycle. Before Fernandez (9/3/95), the last six Yankees to hit for the cycle were Bobby Murcer (8/29/72), Mickey Mantle (7/23/57), Joe DiMaggio (5/20/48) and Joe Gordon (9/8/40). Amazingly, Bobby Murcer's cycle only came with one RBI.

Melky's today led to a big Yankees' win. If you thought you were turning this game on to see a pitching duel, you were sorely mistaken. CC Sabathia was not great, but got the win. Mark Buehrle came off of his Major League record streak of 45-straight batters retired, and got hit hard by the Yankees.

But the biggest hitter of all was Melky Cabrera who got it started early with the 3-run home run and ended it late with a triple that led to a big insurance run. Melky had all of the Yankees extra base hits in the game. Melky said in his post-game interview with Kimberly Jones of YES that he would have gone for third even if he would have gotten out. That's not really what you want to hear, but it was good to see how excited Melky was after the triple. He worked himself back into the starting lineup this season and has been hitting really well recently (.819 OPS in July).

This was a big win for the Yankees. They need to get back on a roll with Boston coming in to the Bronx this week. Hopefully this is the first step in that process.

(picture from the AP)

Things I Learned Today While Listening To John and Suzyn

I'm not much for Old Timer's Day anymore. It was a nice tradition and I like it as a child, but as I've gotten older, seeing some of these guys play isn't the thrill it used to be.

I am a big fan of the beach. Always have and always will be. So instead of heading to the Stadium today to see the game, I decided to head out to the beach. But I decided to listen in on an old Sony Walkman after Old Timer's Day to hear the Yankees take on the Tigers.

Although there are many haters out there for WCBS 880 AM's team of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, I fall into the indifferent category with them. Sometimes it's impossible to figure out what is going on in the game, they drone on, they are Yankee homers, and sometimes John screws up...but I like to hear them talk about the Yankees. Sterling has a sort of grandfather-ish charm: you know the thought process ain't what it used to be but he has a familiar voice, brings you good news, and makes you laugh once in a while (even if you are laughing at him).

Although there are a lot of games where I'll be on long car rides and listen to John and Suzyn, I don't think there has been many, if any, I've listened to the Yankees radio broadcast from start to finish for in a long time.

Until today. Some things I learned from John and Suzyn (with the amount of mentions that I can guesstimate in parentheses):

• (35 times) That Edwin Jackson-for-Matt Joyce deal was really bad for the Rays and really good for the Tigers. The Rays were idiots because Matt Joyce wasn't even a good minor league hitter. Matt Joyce is "just an outfielder" so why would you trade a pitcher for him? Edwin Jackson is still really young despite being a prospect for the Dodgers and then the Devil Rays/Rays. Edwin Jackson has a 2.50 ERA which is really good...and a lot better than anything Matt Joyce has done. The Rays made out like bandits in the Garza-Young swap two years ago and they allowed themselves to get hoodwinked this past off-season so now it's even.
  
• (27 times) Edwin Jackson now has amazing control and doesn't get riled up after things don't go OK. Side Note: This was classic John Sterling/Suzyn Waldman reverse jinxing. Nice work John and Suzyn! 5 walks and a hit batter for Jackson. After Jackson gave up a home run in the 4th to A-Rod, Jackson walked the next two hitters. After Jackson gave up a home run to Mark Teixeira in the 6th, he gave up two hits. This was some of John and Suzyn's best work to date
• (24 times) You cannot walk the leadoff batter and expect to win. Side Note: While this is usually very true, today it wasn't all. Joba and Jackson both walked the leadoff batter in the 2nd and 3rd innings and no runs came around. Jackson also hit a batter to lead off an inning and he was stranded
• (22 times) Swisharoo Side Note: Huh?
• (18 times) Placido Polanco is a great contact hitter. Side Note: This is where "contact" is overrated. This guy is making contact too much. His OPS is the second worst among qualifying Major League second basemen. Who is worse? David Eckstein (who actually beats Polanco on average and OBP. So at a position that is not an offensive position, Polanco is the worst the AL and the second-worst in the Majors. That's a "great contact hitter"?
• (15 times) It's amazing this team may only be one game out of first place after having lost 8 games to Boston. Even the players think so.
• (10 times) Phil Hughes ERA is 0.89. And any ERA that starts with a "zero" is amazing.
  
• (8 times) Even though Joe Girardi got booed for coming to take out Joba Chamberlain after striking out two guys in the 7th, he was right because Joe has to manage to win the game, not please the fans and bringing in Coke is the right move. Girardi wanted to get Coke into the game because it's his birthday. Side Note: I could go either way if it was the right move. I think that it has burned Girardi a lot this season, but Coke got it done on one pitch today. But the fact that John was explaining that the fans don't know what they're talking about was laughable. We've all watched this team in 2009 and saw this move come back to bite them. Joba had dialed it up to get his two Ks; taking him out wasn't so cut and dry. The funniest suggestion was that maybe Girardi brought in Coke because it was his birthday.
  
• (2 times) An A-Bomb, from A-Rod. A Tex message to right field; you're on the Mark Teixeira. Side Note: I love Sterling's home run calls. I wish he would come up with calls for other situations. "He got the Job-a done". "CC gets a GIDP which is A-OK by M-E". "Coke is the choice of the people once again". These two may be his most famous this year. The A-Bomb one was offensive to Japanese people before he tried to substitute in Matsui's name by accident. And Tex message was his newest invention which has gotten mixed reviews. I love it.
• (1 time) And it's caught down the right field line. Nope, I think it was a foul ball. We can't see that corner from our vantage point. The umpire signaled it was foul but I thought that just meant that it was caught in foul territory. We cannot see that part of the field from our booth. I wonder if a fan got in the way. Side Note: Classic Sterling call right there. No clue what was going on. I thought the ball was going fair down the line and was going to be a double for the Yankees. Then I thought it was caught. Nope...it was foul.
• (1 time) That is one of the greatest double plays that you will ever see Side Note: It's the radio, John. So I can't say it was one of the greatest double plays that I'll ever see, because, well, I'm not watching the game.
  
• (1 time) Thhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win! Side Note: Just awesome. Very high warble level to boot.
  

There were some thing never mentioned. Roy Halladay to the Yankees (though Tyler Kepner scored a nice interview with Brian Cashman). Robinson Cano had his typically bad Robinson Cano game: 3 ABs, 8 pitches, 1 inning-ending GIDP, 0-2 with runners in scoring position, 5 men left on base, left 3 runners in scoring position with 2 outs, ended 3 different innings and swung at the first pitch after Jackson had walked the previous two men. Melky Cabrera must have had dinner plans with Robbie: 3 ABs, 6 pitches.

Overall, I give the broadcast an A. Nice job. Kept me interested on a beautiful beach day. And the Yankees swept the first-place Tigers behind Joba, The Phils, and Mo and are now within one game of the Red Sox with the Orioles coming into town. Hopefully they can continue the magic. I'll make sure to be listening to John and Suzyn to find out more.

Unrated It's Just "Embarassing"

Here's a series recap:

G version: We were awful. We lost every way possible (blown out, comeback fell just short, lead blown)

PG version: We played like crap. We are 0-8 against the Red Sox. We just can't beat this team. I feel like we're cursed.

PG-13 version: Shit. Fuck. Ass. RISP in the series: Game 3: 1-11, Game 2: 2-15, Game 1: 0-2. For those scoring at home that's 3-28. You can't win if you hit just over 10% with RISP. Cano 0-6, Jeter 0-4, Damon 0-4, Posada 0-2, Teixeira 0-2, Cervelli 0-2, Matusi 0-1. Only A-Rod 1-3, Melky 1-3, Swisher 1-1 got hits. And A-Rod was 0 for the rest of the series, and Swish made two horrible baserunning plays and one extremely bad defensive play.

R version: We sucked balls. No way around it. We came in as the best team in baseball and came out as a joke. There was not one player who had a good series besides maybe Phil Coke. We were undressed by the Red Sox. Big Papi looks steroids enhanced again when facing us (he doubled his homerun and curtain call totals this series). Aceves was not the answer to close the game. CC Sabathia tried to carry this team tonight but there's a reason why Pedroia was the MVP last year: he beat him.

This is why I drink.

Just embarassing. The Red Sox are a better team. But this is just insanity.

Today's Matchup in New York

A battle of two big, hard-throwing righties today in the Bronx. Let's see how the opposition has faired against them in the past:

                    PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Nick Swisher        5   4   2  1  0  1   1   1   1  .500  .600 1.500   2.100     0   0   0   0   0               
 Alex Rodriguez      9   6   2  0  0  1   2   2   0  .333  .444  .833   1.277     0   1   0   0   0               
 Jorge Posada        7   5   2  0  0  0   2   1   1  .400  .429  .400    .829     0   1   0   0   0               
 Robinson Cano      14  14   5  1  0  0   2   0   1  .357  .357  .429    .786     0   0   0   0   0               
 Derek Jeter        16  14   5  0  0  0   1   1   1  .357  .400  .357    .757     1   0   0   0   0               
 Brett Gardner       6   5   1  0  0  0   1   1   3  .200  .333  .200    .533     0   0   0   0   0               
 Johnny Damon       10  10   1  0  1  0   1   0   1  .100  .100  .300    .400     0   0   0   0   0               
 Melky Cabrera       6   6   1  0  0  0   0   0   0  .167  .167  .167    .334     0   0   0   0   1               
 Ramiro Pena         3   2   0  0  0  0   0   1   1  .000  .333  .000    .333     0   0   0   0   0               
 Mark Teixeira       7   5   0  0  0  0   1   2   2  .000  .286  .000    .286     0   0   0   0   0               
 Hideki Matsui       5   4   0  0  0  0   0   1   2  .000  .200  .000    .200     0   0   0   0   0               
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Total              88  75  19  2  1  2  11  10  13  .253  .333  .387    .720     1   2   0   0   1               

It's a mixed bag, with some with great success (Swisher, Posada, Cano, A-Rod, and Jeter) and some without any success (Damon, Melky, Pena, Tex or Matsui). It's a small sample size, however.

And for Joba vs. the Rays:

                    PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Evan Longoria       1   1   1  0  0  0   0   0   0 1.000 1.000 1.000   2.000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Carlos Pena         4   2   0  0  0  0   0   1   0  .000  .500  .000    .500     0   0   0   1   0               
 Willy Aybar         3   3   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
 B.J. Upton          3   3   0  0  0  0   0   0   2  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Carl Crawford       2   2   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Gabe Gross          1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Matthew Joyce       1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Dioner Navarro      1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Ben Zobrist         1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Total              17  15   1  0  0  0   0   1   4  .067  .176  .067    .243     0   0   0   1   0               

It's a very small sample size, but only Longoria has been able to get a hit off of Joba and he's not even going to be in the lineup. Let's hope Joba can build on his last start where he went 8 innings. Yankees baseball about to start from the Bronx

16 Games Without An Error

I think one of the most impressive things the Yankees have done this season so far has been this streak of 16 games without an error. Granted, you can't get charged with an error if you never get to a ball (paging Derek Jeter) and an error is still a decision made by the official scorer...but this is quite impressive. They're one game away from tying the major league record set by the 2006 Red Sox--which is amazing to me...there's been many good defensive teams and many years of baseball and the fact that 17 games without an error is a record is a shock to me.

The most impressive part of this is that the Yankees have been tremendously subpar defensively in past seasons. By the end of last year they had a starting lineup with Xavier Nady in LF (average at best), Johnny Damon in CF (speedy but poor defender and extremely poor arm), Bobby Abreu in RF (decent arm, but subpar fielder), Jason Giambi at 1B (subpar), Robinson Cano at 2B (below average to above average depending on how he felt), Derek Jeter (poor defender), A-Rod (average, but good arm), and Jorge Posada (average at best).

This year Brian Cashman wanted to improve the defense of his team and he certainly did so. Swisher is an upgrade in RF, Melky/Gardner in CF (and Gardner is one of the top 3 defensive CFs in the league), Teixeira at 1B (who could win some Gold while with the Yanks and saves errors from the other infielders), and an improved bench of plus defenders in whoever is not starting in CF (who can play all 3 OF positions) and Ramiro Pena (who can play all infield positions).

The problem with errors is that not only do they sometimes end up in unearned runs, but they also make your pitcher throw more pitches. And when you make your starters throw more pitches, it hurts your team in ways not shown in the boxscore. This is especially important in the Yankees bandbox in the Bronx because extra pitches means greater chances someone will hit the ball out of the park.

I'm not taking anything away from what the Yankees starters have done the past few weeks, but the starting pitching looks better because of the good defense. I'm not sure how long this errorless streak is going to last, but it's because of increased focus on improving the defense this year that it was even possible.

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.

What A Homestand For the Yankees

I think I would agree with Sam Borden of LoHud that this may have been the greatest Yankees homestand ever.

Consider this day-by-day:

May 15 vs MIN: Brett Gardner hits inside-the-park home run and ninth-inning triple, then scores winning run on Melky Cabrera’s two-run walkoff single.
May 16 vs MIN: A-Rod gets his first hit at new Yankee Stadium with game-winning two-run homer in the 11th inning.
May 17 vs MIN: Johnny Damon gives Yankees third-straight game-ending hit with 10th-inning home run to win it. Yankees clubhouse chefs put rush order on more whipped cream.
May 18 vs MIN: Mark Teixeira homers from both sides of the plate and the Yankees reverse their magic, scoring six in the first inning instead of rallying late.
May 19 vs BAL: A-Rod and Teixeira homer again and Yanks score seven runs in the seventh inning to turn a tight game into a laugher.
May 20 vs BAL: Yankees hit three homers in a row in the second inning and blast Baltimore to back Phil Hughes. As games on this homestand go, a pretty boring night.
May 21 vs BAL: Joba Chamberlain goes down two batters into the game after being hit by a comebacker, but the Yankees bullpen doesn’t break and they win again, their ninth in a row.
May 22 vs PHI: Jimmy Rollins homers on the very first pitch of the game and the Yankees don’t recover, finally losing.
May 23 vs PHI: Back to old reliable – the walkoff. Down two in the ninth, A-Rod hits a two-run homer to tie it; Melky Cabrera drives in Robinson Cano with the winner moments later.

So, to sum up: That’s eight games, seven wins, four walkoffs. Oh, and by the way, the pitching match-up for today’s homestand finale is CC Sabathia vs. Cole Hamels. Not a bad stretch of baseball, right?

Not bad at all. They were a few outs from losing this series to the Phillies but now are one win away from their fifth series win a row. Looking back at the Yankees schedule, they've only lost two series of more than two games: the first series of the season against the Orioles and the April series in Boston.

The most wins on this homestand? Alfredo Aceves with 3 followed by Jose Veras with 2.

Amazingly, although I had gone to 10 Yankees games this season, I only attended one of these. But I can say I saw Jorge Posada's walkoff a few weeks back that started this turnaround for the Yankees and A-Rod's first hit at the new Yankee Stadium, a game winning two-run homer that really got this streak going. This team truly believes that they can come back against anyone. Although I'd love to see them win 10-3 more often, I like to see that they have fight in them and don't quit. That's the mark of champions.

Another Win, Another Pie!

Great job by the Yankees there. Right before the win, I sent a message to Ari, a Mets fan, saying "Lidge's slider is crazy. Only way the Yankees get to him, is if he leaves a fastball up and then they need to crush one out".

And what happened? A-Rod hit one out (after a HUGE walk by Damon).

And Melky followed (after Cano reached base and stole second) with another walk-off hit. Cano and Melky got pies in the face (and Susyn Waldman got some on her as well). Great win by the Yankees.

"Can they win one 10-3?" my dad asked. "I love these wins, but they need a no-doubter once in a while."

I agree. Also happy tomorrow's broadcast is not on Fox. They were horrible today. Besides having Buck and McCarver who are horrible as it is. They found the wrong John Mayberry on his son's first homerun, they didn't turn on Ken Rosenthal's mic, and many other errors. Someone is getting fired there.

Another great win for the Yankees. As I said in my last post, they can use the homerun and the way the park plays small to their advantage, but they can't rely on it. And what did they do, they drew their walks and stole their bases, but they used the small park to their advantage and got the big single when it counted. Great, great win. Now let's go Mets!

Cervelli's Infield Single Key To Game

"How many times in recent history have we seen a Yankee catcher leg out an infield single?" That's what my dad asked me right after Francisco Cervelli legged out a huge infield single in the 7th inning with two out. He knew that he was fighting to stay on this team after a poor job with Phil Hughes last night and busted his ass down the line and was called safe. Two batters later, Damon put the ball in the stands, the Yankees led 5-3 and they never looked back. But who knows what would have happened had Cervelli not raced down the baseline to avoid that third out?

There is something to be said about guys who have been here a while--like Damon and Matsui-- contributing. But I often feel like you need to light a fire under some guys' asses to get them going. Robinson Cano was the subject of offseason trade rumors and has come back with a purpose. Melky Cabrera lost his starting job and has been playing great so far this year (on offense at least). Nick Swisher came in as a bench player and played himself into the starting lineup before Xavier Nady got hurt. Phil Coke started out the year roughly but has battled his way back to be the go-to-set-up guy. And game winning rallies have been centered around hustle singles by guys like Brett Gardner and Ramiro Pena.

Part of my problem with the Yankees the past 6 years or so is that they never seem hungry. They are made up of a bunch of guys who have already gotten their payday. Most of these guys won't be here by the end of the year (if/when people get healthy and replace them), but maybe their hunger will rub off on the rest of the Yankees and this team can play with a little more heart than in recent years.

This Is How The 2009 Yankees Win Games

You get the sense the Yankees are going to win a lot of these types of games this season judging by how things have gone so far (or, if they're going to win, this is how they need to do it): A couple of bloops, a couple of homers, 4 runs or less from the starters, a few solid innings from their bullpen and then the old Mariano.

When Joba gave up 3 runs in the first inning, Jay sent me a message "Joba...another 3-run HR in the first. It's bullpen time." But like last time, Joba settled down and threw a nice game. And the numbers were worse than he actually pitched as his defense gave him no help whatsoever.

Here's an example of that bad defense: In the bottom of the 4th, Joba had a runner on first with one out. There was a slow grounder up the middle, but closer to short. This is Jeter's ball. He's playing at double play depth and cheating up the middle. But not only does he not get close to the ball, he doesn't even dive or get a glove on it. It may not have been a double play, but it at least would have been an easy out at second. Melky comes in to pick up the ball. He has no shot at third, but he decides to throw anyways. This allows Pie to get to second on he play. Joba got the next two batters out without giving up a run, but to the person who didn't see the sequence develop, they would think he got himself into big trouble again.

And as for that "Joba-to-the-'pen" nonsense, on a day after Hughes was unable again to be an effective starter, Joba showed that he could be one for the Yankees. Furthermore, do you really want a guy coming out the bullpen who has these stats in his first inning: 6 innings, 13 hits, 9 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 3 HR. 13.50 ERA, .481 average against? That looks about what the Yankees are getting from the likes of Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and Damasco Marte now. Especially when these are he numbers you are getting after the first inning: 29.2 innings, 23 hits, 6 earned runs, 14 walks, 31 strikeouts, 1 HR. 1.82 ERA, .235 average against (H/T Peter Abraham).

Of course, the Yankee offense needs to find ways to do other things than hit homeruns. Especially from guys who don't usually give that to you. Damon had 3 Ks, a GIDP...and a game-winning 3 run HR. The other day Teixeira had a big three-run double in the game, but had chances with runners on third and less than two outs earlier in the game and later in the game and did nothing. The last time would have won the game for the Yankees. They will be in big trouble this season if they continue to stink in situational hitting and wait for the big blast. The Red Sox aren't 19-12 because they smack the ball out of the park all the time, but they know how to have productive at bats and have productive situational hitting. And that's not about sacrifice bunting (they have zero sac bunts), since sacrifice bunting is just giving away outs, but it's about getting hits with RISP.

Lastly, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera were two big spots for the Yankees today. Coke has seemed to gain the confidence of Joe Girardi for his setup man. After pitching two big innings today, Phil Coke has added to his big stats for the past month: Since April 13th, Coke has given up one run (on a good pitch that was hit out by Carlos Pena), 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 Ks in 10 innings, lowering his ERA from 9.82 to 3.29. And Mo was Mo once again. He made it interesting by issuing a walk, but got around it for his 6th save of the season and a series win for the Yankees.