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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The Yankee Clipper: The Infield

Yesterday we looked at the Yankees' outfield at the All-Star Break. Today we'll check out the Yankees infield and see how they've been fairing so far in 2010. We'll leave out the catchers for now, but we'll make sure to get back to them later. We'll also examine any places of weaknesses to see where the Yankees could make some strikes before July 31st:

1. Alex Rodriguez. We'll work our way around the diamond but start first with A-Rod. In what's been his least controversial year (so far), A-Rod's bat hasn't been producing either. His .269/.345/.481 line would all be his worst mark since 1995 and his 27 home run pace would his worst since 1997 (and his first time not hitting 30 since then). The one thing that A-Rod is still doing offensively is driving in runs and his 70 RBI are 3rd in the American League--and puts him on pace for 133 which would be the 4th highest mark of his career. He's also hitting doubles and triples at a high pace and his projected total of 42 non-HR XBH would be his highest since 1997. Now that could mean that he's just had bad luck and some of his flyballs haven't left the park this year--and the numbers support that. Only 11.2% of A-Rod's flyballs have left the park which would be his lowest mark since 1995 and way under his 18.5% career mark and his BABIP of .281 is way under his career mark of .320. So what does this mean for the man who is about to hit 600 home runs? There's probably some sort of correction coming (especially since he's also been battling a bad hip). I would assume he ends the season with higher slash lines and his regular 30+ HR and 100+ RBI power numbers (though his steals have gone down from 24 in 2007 to 18 in 2008 to 14 in 2009 to only 2 so far in 2010). The weirdest part of A-Rod's stats: he hits righties at a much better clip (175 points higher in OPS) than he hits lefties. This mostly seems to be because his inability to hit lefties cutters and it is a small sample size--but it is strange (as was his All-Star Game exclusion). His UZR number is actually his best since 2005 so despite his bad hip, he's still about average defensively. The key for A-Rod is finding a good backup so the Yankees feel comfortable sitting or DH'ing him once every week to 10 days. Right now, I don't think they have confidence in any one of the backups (and we'll get to that later) and need to hope for more A-Bombs from A-Rod. Best Month: May .330/.408/.534 with 5 HR and 27 RBI.
2. Derek Jeter. "El Capitan" had one of the best years of his career last season. This year has been a little rougher on the aging shortstop. A free agent in the off-season, he's at least made the Yankees think twice about giving him too many years. .274/.340/.392 would amazing all be the lowest marks of his entire career. He's on pace for 112 runs, 32 2B, 15 HR, 80 RBI and 17 SB so the production is still there, but he's certainly fallen off of his 2009 mark (and this is all with his HR/FB % the highest of his career). There is still hope for Jeter, though. He's typically a better second half player with his three best months of July, August and September (in ascending order). In many ways this season looks a lot like 2008 when Jeter had a horrible first half but raised his OPS 75 points in the second half. The Yankees need to keep their fingers crossed that Jeter can do the same in 2010 (or they need to move Brett Gardner to the leadoff spot to get a high OBP player in front of Jetes. You also hope that maybe playing for the memory of George Steinbrenner will propel Jeter to greatness in the second half of the season. Here's one big issue: Jeter can't hit righties. He's hitting .323/.372/.504 vs. lefties and an atrocious .248/.323/.332 vs. righties. If Jeter can turn that around, it will go a long way in helping his overall numbers. If not (and RotoGraphs thinks his days of being a .300 hitter may be behind him), the Yankees need to think long and hard about how many years to give an aging shortstop this off-season. Best Month: April .330/.354/.521 with 4 HR, 18 RBI and 3 SB.

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Thhhhhheeee Yankees Win!

1 full game up heading to Boston. Another big win from them leads to another series win. 11 games over .500 and the homers continue with Teixeira (who has been ridiculously hot since A-Rod came back), Swisher (who is getting hot), Jeter (breaking him out of a slump), and Damon (who has hit 9 at home so far this season) going deep for the Yankees. New Yankee Stadium may be a homerun haven, but the Yankees have found a way to limit the runs and win there.

And how about this for the bullpen tonight: Phil Hughes for one, Phil Coke for one, and Mariano Rivera for a perfect one (his second after his hiccup on Saturday night).

Did not agree with Joe Girardi's decision to take out Phil Hughes after one inning, but it worked and it probably keeps Hughes available if they need him in Boston for a long relief appearance.

Does this start the "Hughes should be a reliever" debate? Hopefully not. Though guys do jack it up when they are out there. Hughes, who is usually in the low 90s was at 95-96 with his fastball.

Bring on the Red Sox!

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

Stat of the Day and Jorge as DH

Figured I'd try and get a few new segments on this blog including "Stat of the Day". This one is a scary one, from New York Post's Joel Sherman (via Twitter):

Yankees staff ERA with Posada catching: 7.71. Even without Wang's horror show it is still 6.45.

Joel Sherman wrote today in the New York Post all about how Posada should be the DH for the Yankees, especially going forward. While I don't disagree with him, the Yankees have a true problem: too many DHs and not good enough options at catcher.

This year the Yankees have Matsui (who can't play the field at all), Xavier Nady (who may be able to return but unable to play the field), Nick Swisher (who, while in no way a liability in right, would probably be better at DH), A-Rod (who needs a day off every once in a while to rest that hip), Damon (who looks absolutely lost in left field this season at times), and Jeter (who should probably be making his way to at least a part-time DH role).

That's a lot of guys for one spot. Next year, Matsui, Nady and Damon come off the books, but the Yankees still have a dilemma as to where Jeter plays. He seems like he's lost yet another step at shortstop and needs to get moved to another position. There's no way to tell if he could be a successful outfielder, so DH may be the place for him. And A-Rod will be a year older next year so he'll need a rest every once in a while there too.

I love the Teixeira signing in many ways, but they'll wish at some point they had that first base slot open. But maybe the goal next year will be to split DH 50/50 with Posada and Jeter. With both on the wrong side of 30 (at least in baseball years), they need all the time off in the field that they can get to keep their bodies from breaking down. That's if you can get those two, who are very prideful guys who feel they should always be in the field, to agree to DH, which is a whole 'nother story...

Play Clean and You Don't Lose

One of the big knocks on the Yankees coming into this season was that they even though they were improved from last year, they were a poor defensive team. Well one of the things they've done during this amazing streak they've been on is play good defense. Even with the lack of errors, they still don't always play great defense (Derek Jeter is a prime example). But they've made some great plays (including Teixeira today) and have found a way to make all the routine ones.

And, for all those who doubted him, Mark Teixeira is not only playing great defense and making great plays, but he's saving errors from the other infielders as well. He may not be as good as Don Mattingly, but if he isn't, he's close.

From the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron:

I leave you with this tidbit, some praise for the Yanks - they have gone 10 straight games without an error, the longest current errorless streak in the majors and third longest this season. The last boot came on May 13 in Toronto. It’s the team’s longest streak since 1995. You win when you catch and throw, too - Yanks are 9-1 over that span and 22-5 this season.

Good job by the Yankees. Let's hope they keep it up.

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.

Think A-Rod Makes A Difference To Tex?

Mark Teixeira before Alex Rodriguez came off the DL (and before his talk with Tino): 25 games, .198 average, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs, 5 multi-hit games

Mark Teixeira after Alex Rodrguiez came off the DL (May 8th): 11 games, .341 average, 6 HRs, 15 RBIs, 4 multi-hit games

Yeah...and there have been 4 straight games with A-Bombs from A-Rod. They're a pretty good 3-4 combo.

A Tex Message and An A-Bomb

It's a Tex message to the left field seats! You're on the Mark Teixeira!

An A-Bomb...from A-Rod!

Back-to-back and belly-to-belly



Let's just leave it at that

Update Postgame: Let's make that two Tex messages. One to right and one to left. And a big Yankees win and 4 game sweep. This team is streaking. Let's hope it continues tomorrow.

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.