Author Archive
New York Yankees 2011: Should the Yankees Be Concerned »
Panicked? No. Concerned? Maybe. As of this writing, the well-paid, Yankee first baseman is batting .248—well below his .284 lifetime average, and a far cry from the .207 he hit in 2007. After batting .220 last year in September and October, Teixeira started —for him—fairly decently. Tex batted .256 and six HRs in April, not bad [...]
New Blood: The 2011 Yankees Need a Spark from the Farm »
This morning, Mike Silva of the New York Baseball Digest wrote that the Yankees need some fresh faces.Couldn't agree more. In fact, I think they should go even further than Silva suggests. The Yankees average age of 31.5 is the oldest in the American League. Their average pitching age of 31.2 is the oldest in the majors. In short, they are old. [...]
New York Yankees: Time To Sit Jorge Posada and Promote »
This is Jorge Posada’s last year in a Yankee uniform as a player—there's no doubt of that.Someday he might make a nice coach, tutoring young catchers and using his stubborn fiery personality to put rookies through their paces.But as an everyday starter, he’s done. Here in the beginning of May, Posada is batting .150. He has a [...]
Brett Gardner: The New York Yankees Need Him to Get »
When looking into Brett Gardner's problems, one stat really jumps out at you. Gardner, after batting .287 against righties last year, is only batting a .105 against them this year. But even more telling is what Mark Simon found out in an excellent article on ESPN back in March. Last year, against righties, before he was hit by a pitch on June [...]
New York Yankees: Derek Jeter’s New Swing—The »
Kevin Long always thought Derek Jeter’s swing was flawed.But it seemed to work. For Jeter, his approach was to let the ball get deep into the zone before his quick bat would drive the ball—usually the other way—for base hit after base hit. He had a timing mechanics that let his left leg lift up and then move it forward as he [...]
New York Yankees: Would Francisco Liriano Be a Good »
Did I want Cliff Lee for the Yankees? Of course. The guy is a stud, wins playoff games and more than replaces Andy Pettitte. Of course, seven years was way too long for a contract, but the Yankees could have expected a few dominating years with him, CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes in their rotation, and likely a couple of championships as well. And of [...]
New York Yankees and Their $200-Million, Mediocre »
The whole offseason drama with the Yankees was: "Who's going to pitch for us?" The Yankees have talented minor league pitching prospects, but they aren't ready to pitch by Opening Day and they have free agents on their staff, with decidedly mixed results. Where that leaves the Yankees as Spring Training 2011 begins is with a starting rotation with [...]
2011 New York Yankees: Why Is Derek Jeter Leading Off? »
Monday's Spring Training press report didn't have much to say. Joe Girardi said the platitudes, as did Brian Cashman.Not much except for this: “We signed (Derek Jeter) to be our shortstop and we signed him to be our leadoff hitter,” Girardi said. “And he’s got a pretty good track history of what he’s done in the game [...]
New York Yankees 2011: Were the Steinbrenners Actually »
I grew up in the '80s, which was a despondent time for Yankee fans. The first—and only—decade since the teens where the Yankees didn't win a World Series. Oh, they had high-profile free agents—talented guys who George always claimed were "the missing piece of the puzzle" when he signed them or traded away prospects for them. [...]
A Deep Look at Andy Pettitte’s Chances for the »
After the 2008 season—a season where he pitched better than he had in years—Mike Mussina abruptly retired. Never mind that his ERA was the lowest it had been since 2001; likewise his WAR—the lowest since 2001. And never mind that Moose had won 20 games for the first time in career, putting him at 270 wins for his career. 300 [...]