Injuries Are Mounting
Connect the dots and the picture doesn't look good. Jeter is out until at least Friday and Alberto Gonzalez was pulled out of his game in Scranton tonight. Jorge Posada is pulled mid-game today and is headed for a MRI. Posada admits he isn't helping the team at all and could be headed to the DL. Worst case scenario, both players hit the DL and the Yankees have some lineup holes to deal with.
Let's start with what should be the easiest one to fill and that's Jeter. Betemit will be fine filling in for him against righty pitching. But, if the Yankees face a lefty, the sensible thing is to put A-Rod at short. You put A-Rod at short and you put Ensberg at third when you face a lefty. If Posada is down too, you need offense and that maximizes it. The only reason I can think of for why the Yankees wouldn't do this is because they don't want to upset Jeter. Jeter's feelings on this don't matter (and I don't know if he would be hurt) this is about the team and that means the needs of 24 outweigh the needs of 1.
As for Posada, the Yankees can't replace him. I have said it for years, but one day the lack of a backup catcher will really hurt the Yankees, unfortunately, this might be that time. And would that mean Chad Moeller takes Posada's spot? Cervelli's wrist injury certainly came at a bad time and he would probably go on the 60-day DL to make room for Moeller.
As for today, read Mitchell's comment under "That Didn't Take Long" for a good take on younger pitchers.
Comments
Just to follow up on one of my recent posts, I asked Keith Law about Hughes velocity and he said:
Ian,
Hughes never threw that hard. He was 90-94 all through the minors and he's sitting in that range now.
Keith
So, I guess it might be just a case of the media exaggerating his heat.
Posted by: ian | April 9, 2008 11:00 AM |