Results tagged ‘ Mark Teixeira ’
Brian Cougar Show: Week 2 — Staying on Schedule!
Do not doubt me!
Well, after a 5-1 homestand for the Yankees this week, I think the great Joe Posnanski has the perfect summary of their season after 12 games:
“The Yankees look absurdly good as expected.”
I think that statement is especially true for the starting pitching … outside of Javier Vazquez. CC Sabathia won Friday’s rain-shortened game against the Texas Rangers — which I attended (hooray me) — where he allowed one run and struck out nine over six innings. A.J. Burnett then followed that with seven strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on Saturday; Phil Hughes, in his first start of the 2010 season, was charged for two runs on six hits over five innings on Thursday. Hughes, not surprisingly, was a bit amped up and walked five batters, but the velocity on his fastball looked pretty good, and the only extra-base hit he allowed was the homer to Hideki Matsui. And Andy Pettitte, Andy friggin’ Pettitte, won two starts this week, throwing six scoreless innings during the home opener and then eight innings of two-run ball against Texas yesterday. Pettitte’s stats over three starts:
20 innings pitched, three runs, 15 hits, nine walks and 14 strikeouts for a 1.35 ERA
Now it’s early, and Andy’s an old man (excuse me, crafty veteran), so I’m sure that ERA is going to head near the 3.5-to-4.5 area by the end of the season, but to see Pettitte pitching like this, at his age, after winning his fifth World Series title only a few months ago, well, it’s pretty impressive (I’m aware he’s made piles of money and is making a good chunk of change this year, but his work ethic and the results are impressive).
Vazquez is the only blot (great word) in this rotation. He received a few boo’s and got to see his name in print with the “he can’t pitch in New York” angle already, but, come on now, it’s two starts! I realize he left on a bad note in 2004 and hasn’t really done much (anything) to impress so far in his second go-around, but he’s the friggin’ No. 4 starter. I feel much better watching Javy struggle as opposed to, say, CC or A.J. (Not that I don’t like Javy, it’s just him being slow out of the gate doesn’t really concern me). His velocity did look a bit low in the game on Wednesday, so that’s something to keep an eye on, but I’m giving him two more starts before I get worried. Again, they traded him for Melky Cabrera (The Melk Man!), who’s hitting .119 with a .245 OBP for Atlanta right now.
Highlights: Everything. I even think the vendor accidentally gave me two free beers at the game on Friday (It still hasn’t showed up on my statement. I’m not sure how long that’s supposed to take).
Lowlights: The only lowlight this week (outside of Vazquez) would be Nick Johnson (Mark Teixeira avoids it due to the home run and slick defensive plays yesterday), especially after his three strikeout game to close out the week, however he was able to, for the second time this season, drive in a run via a bases loaded walk earlier this week (OBP .407!) and … AND … he comes up to the plate to “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. I know he’s not the only one doing this (Cameron Maybin of the Marlins is apparently doing it as well), but to walk up to home plate in Yankee Stadium, in front of 50,000 people, with that song playing … well, that’s amazing. Especially since, even though he said it’s his daughter’s favorite song, I’m sure it’s one of his top-five favorite songs of all-time as well (UNPROVABLE CLAIM).
So, a very relaxed week two of the season. Rings were handed out (both real and fake), Godzilla returned (standing ovation!), homes were opened and the Yanks are 9-3, tied with the Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the AL East. The Yanks head out west this week for a battle with the hot-start A’s and a rematch with the Angels. I’m sensing a couple of series wins. And some A-Bombs. Five A-Bombs this week. UNNECESSARY PREDICTION THAT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY COME TRUE.
Joba Joba Joba
With the Yanks hot, I return to the BLOG
Well, after a hot start, this blog certainly slowed down these past few weeks. So, in honor of Joba Chamberlain’s quality start yesterday, the Joba Joba Joba blog returns.
Another quality start from the namesake, and another win blown by the bullpen. I’m pretty sure that’s three blown wins for Joba this year (His first start in KC, the first game against the Red Sox, and yesterday) however, unlike those other two games, the Yanks bounced back to win this one. And I’m sure Joba is fine with that. It was good to see him get past the first inning struggles he’s had this year, and he continues to make progress as a starter. Now, about that bullpen…
…I know I said in a previous post that the bullpen struggles were being a bit overstated by fans/the media, but yesterday, until Mariano Rivera got in the game, that was an all too familiar, and frusturating, outing from the relievers this season. The home run Phil Coke gave up to Justin Morneau, that’s fine, he’s one of the best hitters in the league and he ended up hitting three home runs over two games, so it’s obvious he’s swinging a hot bat. But to then walk (with two outs!) Michael Cuddyer and give up a double Brian Buscher? Give me a break. I actually like Coke, overall, but that was a bad outing. And Jose Veras, I mean, there’s a guy with great stuff who can’t get the ball over the plate (usually) and Edwar Ramirez is a guy who I’m never confident in. Yes, he gets the job done occassionally, but he drives me nuts.
Now, Friday night, a game I attended, the bullpen was tremendous. But the starting rotation finally looks to be rounding into shape, so the bullpen has to start locking down these leads before Mo gets the call. Thankfully, Brian Bruney should return this week.
As I said, the rotation is starting to look like what was expected coming into the season. Joba keeps improving with every start, CC’s looked like an ace is past two starts, so hopefully he’ll get on a roll, Pettitte has been what I expected, when he avoids the one “INNING OF DOOM” he’s managed to give the team innings and wins, and A.J. Burnett, who started out hot, has struggled a bit. Burnett’s been a bit of an odd scenario. He obviously has great stuff, but has run into a string of not-so-great starts. Hopefully he rights that today against the Twins.
Phil Hughes is still a work-in-progress. He was great against Detroit, so-so against Boston (not that the ump helped), awful in Baltimore, than gave them a solid, if not quality, start on Friday. He does look much more confident than last year, and seems to have bulked up a bit, so hopefully he can keep them in games until Chien-Ming Wang is ready to return from Triple-A Scranton.
And I think that about covers my thoughts on the Yankees these past few weeks…
What?
Oh yeah, the return of “THE A-BOMB…FROMMMM A-ROD!”
Again, it does not surprise me that this team has won six of the eight games since his return. Yes, the pitching has been better but, contrary to some opinions out there, this team is in no way, shape or form better without A-Rod in the lineup. His presence in the lineup, even with him hitting .154, is uncomparable. Mark Teixeira has obviously seemed to relax a bit since his return, and Rodriguez has already provided two of the most memorable moments of the 2009 season, his first at-bat in Baltimore and his walk-off bomb yesterday. I understand people being disappointed/angry with A-Rod because of his steroid use, and I know he comes off as a bit of a flake/phony, but when he’s in the lineup this team is so, so much better than without him.
Finally, special shouts of praise for Johnny Damon, who’s been carrying this team over the first month and a half, Derek Jeter, who not only continues to hit, but has shown this year that he’s not the defensive liability people make him out to be (outside of the occasional hiccup), and Brett Gardner, for hitting the first inside-the-park homer I’ve ever seen in person. I’ve been to five games at the new Stadium so far, two ending in walk-offs, but Friday was easily the best game I’ve seen in the short history of the Yanks’ new home.
Joba Joba Joba
That’s What I’m Talking About!: Yanks vs. O’s 4/8/2009
If you watched today’s game on the YES Network, you will know that line in the title of this entry was said by A.J. Burnett after Johnny Damon went into the crowd to catch a foul ball for the first out of the game. A big win. Not that 0-3 is anything tough to overcome in a 162-game season, but it should settle down the team, the new players, the fans, and the media (Well, at least until tomorrow night).
Burnett looked great in the first couple of innings, and overall had a solid outing. The biggest pitch of the game was obviously the 3-2 slider he threw to Aubrey Huff with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning. It stopped the O’s from putting up another big inning early and got the Yanks going on offense. Burnett had some control issues, and seemed to struggle a bit with the bottom of the Baltimore lineup, but he did what he needed to do to get himself and the Yanks their first win of the season, so, great job. The bullpen, for the second straight night, was fantastic: 3 2/3 innings of no hits and no runs. Plus, we got a Mariano Rivera appearance and he looked like Mo, which is all a Yankees fan needs to see.
The big player on offense today was obviously Nick Swisher, who got the start in right as Xavier Nady DH’d for Hideki Matsui, who had the day off. This is exactly the role I’d like to see Swisher in this season, coming in as a pinch-hitter like he did in the first two games and making a start when one of the outfielders needs a rest. His homer just snuck over the wall (the ball was certainly carrying in Oriole Park today), and he had two big hits down both the right-field and left-field lines. Great game by Swish (five RBIs), and it’s obvious the team responds to the hyper-active energy he brings to a franchise that really isn’t known for hyper-activity.
Mark Teixeira was the other offensive star, following his RBI double Wednesday night with a 2-for-5 game with his first homer — which was a bomb — as a Yankee. This offense looked surprisngly solid with both Jorge Posada and Matsui on the bench, and it should really be a strong one once A-Rod gets back at the end of the month.
So, the Yanks are tied with Boston in the bottom of the AL East cellar (Do it cellar dwellars!) with the Rays, O’s and Blue Jays at the top. A nice win, and hopefully Andy Pettitte can get off to a good start against the Royals (a solid young team) tomorrow in Kansas City.
Also, congrats to Ramiro Pena (I hear he’s a big fan of this blog) on his first Major League hit.
I never want to CC that again: Yanks vs. O’s 4/6/09
HA! Get it?
Well, my cheap attempt at a tabloid-style headline aside, Opening Day did not play out as Yankees fans’ hoped. It’s not time to panic, as they have 161 more of these bad boys to go.
CC’s debut:
Yikes! CC Sabathia had absolutely nothing in his Yankees debut: no command, no velocity, nothing. The last at-bat of his outing showed how little confidence he had in throwing his fastball, as Sabathia walked the final batter on six –SIX — straight sliders. Again, while it was an abysmal performance, I’m not too worried. If the Orioles were pounding him when he had his best stuff, then I’d be worried. Sabathia just didn’t have anything.
Teixeira’s debut:
Bad, but not as bad as Sabathia’s, as Teixeira at least had that nifty scoop to bring an end to the terrible eighth inning. It’s not like Tex looked lost at the plate, he just didn’t make good contact all game. He also had a chance to tie the game (as did Derek Jeter) but couldn’t come through. Also, the negative reactions he was getting from the Baltimore crowd was a bit extreme, but I, like Tex, liked hearing it. It would be great to see hot crowds like that at Oriole Park all season.
Rest of the team:
Good to see both Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui getting off to good starts with the bats. That Posada homer was a BOMB and Matsui’s homer came in a good spot. This team really needs those two to remain healthy, and Opening Day was a good sign that they’re back to form. The X-Man, a dopey baserunning mistake and a killer double play, but also an RBI double. Hopefully we’ll see more of the latter this season. Robinson Cano getting a hit was huge, even though it was just the one, it’s important for him to get off to a good (not great, not hot, just, at the very least, good) start this season with his bat. Johnny Damon, fine, minus your inability to fight off Orioles fans while attempting to make a leaping catch. Don’t they work on that in Spring Training? (kidding…)
Nick Swisher, big pinch-hit double, sadly Jeter and Tex couldn’t come through. Jeter, off to a good start with the bat, outside of his inability to drive in that tying run. Brett Gardner, OK start, might want to push those bunts a bit more up the line. Cody Ransom, a bit off both in the field and at the plate, maybe some Opening Day jitters? Bullpen, started out fine, but a bad job at the end, especially by Brian Bruney. I like Bruney, but he can have the occasional wild appearance. Although Sabathia really set a wild tone for the pitchers from the start.
So, overall, not the greatest debut for the 2009 Yanks, but a quality start by Chien-Ming Wang on Wednesday can put the team right back on track immediately. The O’s looked good on offense (although Sabathia would have made any team look good on Monday), and Jeremy Guthrie gave them a solid outing. Hopefully the Yanks can take the series behind Wang and A.J. Burnett.
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.
briancougar
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