Pain In The Groin
Well the big news is that Curtis Granderson is headed to the DL. Injuries are never good things, but there are two things that lessen the sting of this one. First, it's only May, that's about as "good" a time to get hurt as any. Second, Granderson isn't doing much at all with the bat right now so he will be missed less than he would have if he were on a tear.
It will be interesting to see how the Yankees play this injury. Obviously, Gardner is going to be the everyday CF now, but who is going to left? LoHud is reporting that Mark Melancon is coming up (finally!) but that is probably just to provide some depth for a bullpen that was used a lot today. I assume that after the Yankees feel comfortable with their bullpen, they will demote Melancon or maybe Logan (please, please, please) and activate either Golson or Huffman. Huffman isn't hitting in Scranton (.204) and Golson isn't walking (.296 OBP) but I think Golson will get the call because he can play center and he can run well. Colin Curtis is smoking the ball down at Scranton (.339/.435/.449) but he isn't on the 40-man roster.
I would guess that Thames gets the lion's share of time in left because Randy Winn just isn't hitting. Granted, he hasn't had much of a chance to hit this year, but when you combine his 1-for-13 with 5 K's so far with his line of .262./.318/.353 from last year, you have to wonder if he has much left in the tank. The Yankees won't give up on him yet, but Winn better start hitting soon if he wants to last the season.
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That's one problem for the Yankees, the second is Javier Vazquez who stunk it up again today. I don't see how they can send him out to the mound next Friday at Fenway the way he is pitching. Since Thursday is an off day, why not skip Vazquez's turn in the rotation this time and then let him pitch again on May 12th against the Tigers in Detroit. Detroit will be a much easier atmosphere to deal with and I really think the Yankees have to pull out the kid gloves with Javy. The guy looks like he has no confidence and the Yankees have to find a way to get him back on track.
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One final note on today's game. Why on earth did Joe Girardi pinch-run for A-Rod in the ninth with Ramiro Pena? A-Rod may not be blazing fast, but he has good speed and stole 14 bases last year. Pena has never stolen in double digits and I don't see how he upgraded the Yankees' chances of scoring. Plus, if they had tied the game, the Yankees would have been without one of their better hitters in extra innings. It was an odd call by the manager and reminded me of that playoff game last fall when he did the same thing with Freddy Gonzalez pinchrunning for A-Rod. I can understand why he chose to bring Johnson into today's game, even at the cost of the DH spot, but not this move at all.
Anyway, back tomorrow with a look back in Yankees' history.
Comments
Javy was supposed to be an innings eater, a steady-as-a-rock kind of arm for the number 4 slot. Is he hurt again or is he just rattled? Yep, Peter, the guy is simply stinks now and it's obviously killed his confidence. Is he capable of pitching as a starter for the Yankees or are we going to see the return of Sergio Mitre for spot starts? Gotten interesting again for us ...
Granderson made ME wince when he popped his groin rounding 2B. Ouch !
Marte looks hittable again and Robertson seems to have completely lost his ability to get hitters out.
Yep, intertesting ...
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 1, 2010 09:18 PM
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I don't know Mitchell, I hope he is hurt because the alternative isn't good at all.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 2, 2010 12:58 AM
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Two side items for you Peter and your other readers:
1) A truly bright spot is that Hughes is clearly doing a great job so far in his rotation slot.
2) If you want a graphical view of recent changes in Javy's stuff, try here (with kudos to the guys at The Yankee Universe):
http://www.theyankeeu.com/2010/05/vazquezs-slower-fastball-and-flatter-curve-17230
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 2, 2010 05:10 PM
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The fact that Javy only reaches 88.9mph on his fastball makes me wonder if he is hurt.
But the biggest thing that jumps out at me has to be the 15 walks. He simply isn't throwing strikes is it because he can't or because he is afraid to?
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 2, 2010 11:05 PM
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I suspect the guy is in a "failure loop" and he can't escape it: he doesn't know where it's going when it leaves his hand so he becones afraid to let it go "easily". So he loses velocity and/or break, which losses perpetutate his control issues. We've watched AJ go through this at times, now it's Javy's turn.
If he's not hurt, then he's going to have to keep going out there to somehow break the cycle. Could be ugly for a while.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 3, 2010 07:20 AM
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Girardi's overmanaging does cost games. Case in point: the Yanks are up on the White Sox by one run with a guy on second, so Girardi has Robertson walk the go-ahead run. Then he brings in Marte who gives up the game winning bases clearing double to Pierzynski.
Why not have Robertson at least try to finish off Quentin? This is not Henry Aaron and Robertson doesn't have a huge Gopher ball problem. And why does he have so much confidence in Marte, who has not been particularly good? And why go the bullpen at all if Mitre is pitching so well? He is, after all, a starter.
The right move would have been to stick with what's working. Let Mitre pitch and if he lets a couple of men on, then go with the bullpen. And maybe at that stage of the game, the "bullpen" meant Joba and Mariano. Mariano goes long stretches without work. Why not have Joba pitch 1+ innings and Mariano pitcth 1+ innings to close down a close game? Joba has at least been better than these other guys and Rivera is not getting enough meaningful work.
It's very simple: go with what's working; maximize the use of your best pitchers; and don't walk the tying or go-ahead runs.
Posted by: Corey | May 3, 2010 10:38 AM |
Javy was a huge risk from the get go and not enough people were willing to acknowledge that (short of me whining on this blog). I know he had a great season last year but pitching in the NL East is NOT the same as pitching for the yankees, especially with the mets playing little league caliber ball last year. When he played for us in 2004 he got shelled, and it looks like deja vu all over again.
Obviously it's way too early to cut our losses with him, but he definitely needs to switch spots with Hughes. If anyone is going to be missing a day because of days off it should not be our hottest pitcher. I hate to say it, but not everyone is cut out to wear the pinstripes, even among talented players, and it's for all the same reasons that make the yankees the greatest sports franchise in the world.
Posted by: Evan![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 3, 2010 02:34 PM
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Well said Corey.
Evan- I may be foolish, but I keep going back to the first half of 2004 and how well Vazquez pitched as evidence that he can perform in New York. I have to admit, I am having a tough time staying positive right now though....
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 3, 2010 06:24 PM
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I hope you're right, Peter. A guy like Aceves is such a valuable tool in the pen, it would be a shame to have to dig up a 5th starter. My guess is they will give Vasquez until the all star break to prove he should have the slot, then who knows?
Posted by: Evan![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 4, 2010 11:39 AM
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I think that's the problem Evan, who do they have who can jump into the rotation right now? They would need to stretch Aceves or Marte back out in order for them to be starters and I don't think they would recall Ivan Nova and throw him into the fire.
I'm just not sure on the patience part. If this goes on for a few more weeks I could see them making a change.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 4, 2010 12:39 PM
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