Results tagged ‘ Cody Ransom ’
The blog equivalent of a doubleheader
This blog will combine Friday and Saturday’s games as, well, it was the weekend. I don’t have the time or ability to post on Friday nights. Here’s an example of why that would be a terrible idea:
“Friday….Pettttittee throwin the ditty diapers strikezone control off the world. Swisher the mans an amazins man…………………..”
See, that’s just no professional.
So, with a clear head, let’s take a quick look at the wins on Friday and Saturday.
If the Yankees would have put up anything less than four runs against Ponson I would have been upset. Sidney Ponson (a Yankee Legend of course, see first post from last year) is a pitcher who pounds the zone, and the Yankees put out a lineup that had six straight lefties batting right in the heart of it. And they got the job done. Ponson battled, he gave the Royals six innings after the Yanks had him on the ropes a few times, but the Yankees, behind Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher, were able to get enough runs for Andy Pettitte, who did not need many on Friday night.
Pettitte was simply awesome. Him and Posada immediately got in a groove, all his pitches were working, and he kept the weak Royals offense off-balance all game. As I stated in my rotation preview, I wasn’t sure if Pettitte’s struggles last year were due to health issues or was the case of an older pitcher with diminished stuff, but against the Royals (who are not scoring runs this season. And this was before Jose Guillen got hurt) he looked healthy and dominant. And, don’t forget, he’s the fourth starter on this team. Which brings me to the ace…
CC Sabathia followed Pettitte’s Friday dominance with some Saturday dominance of his own. Completely the polar opposite of his Opening Day start, be it less pressure (debatable) or the minor mechanical fix Dave Eiland had him make in his bullpen session, he had every pitch working, especially his fastball, which was hitting the mid-90s right away. Again, this wasn’t much of an offense, but CC dominated and went deep into the game (I loved that he wanted to stay out there in the eighth. I know the pitch-count worries, but someone, I think it was Tom Seaver, has brought up the fact that an easy 100-plus pitch outing can feel like a breeze compared to an 80-pitch outing where a ptichers is struggling in and out of jams all day. CC was breezing, so I’m not concerned with him pitching deep into a game with a six-run lead). He earned his first win as a Yankee, and now should expect a warm reception at Thursday’s home opener.
The other star of the game was, again, Nick Swisher…who’s honestly been a featured player in his three starts this season. I still want Xavier Nady as the starting right fielder (he did have two hits Saturday) as Swisher can play all three outfield positions, first, and DH, but, as long as this hot streak continues, Swisher better (and I’m sure, will) be in the starting lineup.
So, after the first two poor starts, this team (Outside of Cody Ransom. Again, he’s a Triple-A player keeping third warm for A-Rod, but he’s had one hit, a few fielding gaffs, and somehow got stranded off second on a grounder hit to short to get picked off. I’m not at all worried because he’s not expected to be around long-term, but he’s looking like a career Minor Leaguer) is in fine form. I will be missing today’s (well, likely most of it) debut of Joba Joba Joba, but hopefully they can get the winning streak to four with a sweep of Gil Meche and the Royals.
The return of the Bronx Bombers? 2009 Lineup preview
Yes, I am putting out two posts in one day. Not only one day, but within hours of one another. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.
1. Derek Jeter:
When I first heard that Joe Girardi was batting Jeter leadoff, it struck me as odd, and slightly unnecessary, especially with Johnny Damon on the team. Then I thought about it some more, and, especially when I remembered how many double plays Jeter hit into last year, I didn’t mind it so much. I don’t think there’s a huge difference between having Jeter and Damon in this spot. I might still prefer Damon, as he has better speed and generally sees a decent amount pitches most at-bats due to his ability to foul off a ton of pitches, but I’m interested to see how this works out. I just hope Girardi gives this at least a few weeks to see how it works out. If the Yankees open the season 0-3 while scoring only two runs a game, I don’t want to see him flipping them immediately, then this move will look pointless. For Jeter, I expect another season with an average somewhere near .300, 20-something doubles, and about 10 homers. Fielding issues aside, Jeter still knows how to hit.
2. Damon:
Damon’s numbers will likely look close to Jeter’s…as long as he stays healthy. Damon is one of three hitters in this lineup who you don’t worry about production wise, as long as he’s in the lineup he’ll hit.
3. Mark Teixeira:
How freakin’ huge is the Tex signing, not only keeping him out of Boston for seven years, but also, for ’09, with A-Rod having to miss the first month and a half because of his hip surgery? Without Tex, where is the power bat in this lineup during the A-Rod absence? I will stop thinking about that now. Talk about his tendency to start slow out the gate with his hitting aside, Tex should put up his usual big power/batting average numbers during his first season in pinstripes. And if the right-field porch looks as short to him all season as it did on Saturday, maybe Tex will celebrate his first year as Yankees first baseman with an AL MVP.
4. Matsui:
Matsui is in the Damon camp. If they can keep his legs fresh as the everyday DH, then Matsui will hit for a decent average with decent pop. I’m hoping for a big year out of Godzilla, especially since it might be his last with the Yanks.
5. Jorge Posada:
The final of the three “Should hit as long as he’s healthy” crew. Outside of that brief setback in the beginning of Spring Training, Hip Hip Jorge seems to be recovering nicely from his shoulder surgery. His bat and leadership was missed big time last year.
6. Robinson Cano:
Will this be the bounce back year for Cano? I’m actually shocked he hit .271 last year after somehow following what I thought was the slowest start ever in 2007 with an even slower start last season. If he can get that early-season struggles monkey off his back, I can see him getting back near his ’06 form. If not, I will continue calling him Canofer.
7. Xavier Nady:
The X-Man! I am extremely glad he won the right-field job over Swisher (no disrespect to Swish). Nady seems to go from overrated to underrated and back more than any other player, and he’ll probably hear his name in trade rumors all season. However, he’s in a contract year and is a solid power right-handed bat. I’m a big fan of the X-Man.
8. Cody Ransom:
I’m not going to pretend that I know enought about Cody Ransom to make a prediction for his season. He’s spent the vast majority of his career in the Minors and is keeping third base warm for the return of A-Rod. He’s also got nothing to lose and everything to gain from his (at least) month-long stint as the Yankees third baseman, so maybe he’ll surprise some people.
9. Brett Gardner:
Gardner went out and earned the starting center field job during Spring Training, and got his first taste of the Major Leagues last season, so hopefully he does his job of getting on base and causing havoc with his speed.
These aren’t the Bronx Bombers, but I like the balance, especially once A-Rod gets back. This team doesn’t need to score 900-plus runs (And almost certainly will not), but, again, this team is built on pitching. If the starters produce like they’re expected to, this offense should score more than enough runs to win.
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