Archive for June, 2010
Phil Hughes Has a Better Cutter Than Mariano Rivera »
After failing in his first attempt in the rotation in 2008, Phil Hughes spent most of last season in the bullpen before he got another chance. Well, Hughes certainly learned a thing or two while he was there. We always knew that Hughes had a good fastball, but before last year he never threw a cutter. He must have had Mariano Rivera help him with [...]
Yankees Notes: Blue Jays, Burnett, Eiland, Laird, »
The Yankees got their first taste of the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday and lost 6-1. Here are some notes: The Blue Jays have been better than expected this season and Brett Cecil and Jose Bautista showed them why. Cecil went 8 strong innings and Bautista homered twice. We’ve seen bad AJ Burnett a lot lately. In his last 6 starts, he is 2-3 [...]
Taking a Look at OPS+ »
Even though I almost always have more pressing things I should be attending to, I can’t help myself from looking through baseball-reference.com’s Yankees page. For today, I thought it would be interesting to see who the Yankees’ best hitters have been. Not defense, not baserunning—just swinging the bat. One of [...]
With Nick Johnson’s Return in Doubt, Keep an Eye »
According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated , the Yankees are not confident that 1B/DH Nick Johnson will return at all this season and that they may look to trade for a replacement. Johnson went on the DL almost a month ago with an inflamed wrist. The initial diagnosis was that Johnson would miss at least a month and then possibly need surgery [...]
2010 New York Yankees: Top Five Pinstriped Players »
Since opening day, the number 28 on Joe Girardi's uniform has been looking more and more like a target. Having three starters on the DL last week and being in the thick of a four-horse race in the AL East, the Yankees have their share of teams gunning for them. With Rodriguez and Teixeira still not playing up to their caliber, the Yankees [...]
New York Yankees Report Card: Grading the Offense »
"School's out for the summer." Not so fast, Alice Cooper—the Yankees are just getting their first report card of the year. This list will be how I have graded the Yankee hitters to this point in the season, strictly based on their performance at the plate. While some Yankees have hit some bombs, others have bombed their first test, and [...]
2010 Staten Island Yankees Roster Preview »
The Staten Island Yankees have not yet released a 2010 roster mostly because many of the players that will end up on that team have not been drafted yet. That doesn’t mean that we can’t take an educated guess as to whom is going to be on the team and Robert Pimpsner of Baseball Digest, entering his 8th season on the beat, has done just [...]
Is the 2010 New York Yankees Infield Better Than the »
While the Big Red Machine of the 1970s might have been extremely good, it has nothing on the 2010 Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have put together the best hitting infield of all time, and have done so in an un-Yankees manner. Although the Yankees have earned a reputation for buying their talent, the majority of this currently assembled infield is [...]
With Steroid Era Over in the MLB, Did Pitchers Get Off »
MLB Players (both retired and current) maintain that pitchers are now pitching inside with more frequency, and umpires are calling inside strikes more often. Whether it be through the aid of the umps' wider strike zone, a paucity of PEDs coarsing through hitters' veins, or simply better pitching, it's nice to see pitchers regain a dominance [...]
Curtis Granderson Has Come Back Strong »
Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson needed about a month to return after suffering a groin injury on May 1st. That time off seemed to suit Granderson just fine as he doesn’t seem to be experiencing any difficulties at all since returning and has been red hot. In his last seven games, including one pinch hitting appearance, Granderson has [...]