Rockies sweep the Yankees

There are two ways to look at this – #1. The Rockies are a much better team than anyone thought. They took a series from the Red Sox last week. Their young pitching has come up big. #2. The Yankees surge earlier this month was just that – a surge, and they have gone back to their sluggish, sloppy play, and lack of offense.

I’m not too worried about the starting pitching – Mussina, Pettitte, and Clemens weren’t bad. They were just out-pitched by guys close to half their age. Next up are the horrible SF Giants. This would be the opportune time to turn this around & take a series and go from there.

Welcome Back Andy Phillips!

Andy Phillips got the call Monday night that he would be returning to the Yankees. Phillips replaces Josh Phelps, who was designated for assignment, and will most likely wind up in Baltimore (Rule 5 Draft Selection) for the mere price of $25,000. Phelps beat out Phillips for the starting job in spring training. Phillips had a rough spring – his mother was in a car accident, and he lost alot of playing time as a result. Andy Phillips showed great promise in the past. He’s been tearing it up in the minors, batting .301 with 11 homers and 36 RBIs. He will most likely be the every day starting first baseman now, with Miguel Cairo filling in from time to time. This also enables Cairo to fill in for Cano, Jeter, and A-Rod as the utility player he was signed for as well. I have always been a fan of Andy Phillips – glad to see him back…

Rockies 3 Yankees 1 – No offense tonight

Chalk it up to an outstanding game pitched by Colorado’s Josh Fogg. He was outstanding. Mussina was great too – good stuff all night, but Fogg had the edge tonight… Also, it should be noted that the Yankees had THREE first basemen tonight – Jorge Posada, Andy Phillips (just called up) and Johnny Damon… More on Andy Phillips next…

Schilling to DL?

After pitching his first game without a strikeout in 14 years, Curt Schilling left his team in Atlanta to head back to Boston for medical tests. Since June 7th, when he gave up a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning in Oakland, Schilling is 0-2 with a 10.61 ERA. In the two starts, he has given up 19 hits over 9 1/3 innings. He hasn’t missed time due to an injury since 2000. Manager Terry Francona will wait for the test results before scratching Schilling for his next scheduled start against San Diego on Sunday. Apparently there is concern over Schilling’s shoulder, which he seemed to have discomfort with… More on this when the results come in…

Arizona & Mets – Yankees go 5 for 6

Sorry for the lack of posts. I actually went to five games in six days this past week. Oddly enough, the only day I skipped was the Friday night Mets game – the only loss. The Yankees are on a tear as of late. The starting pitching has been very effective, and the offense has been great. As of today, the Yankees are 8 games out of 1st place in the AL East, and 4 games out of the Wild Card lead. Everything is looking good. The Yankees face Colorado, San Francisco, and Baltimore over the next week and a half. They have the potential to make up some of that 8 game deficit in the AL East. I will post tonight after the Colorado game…

Yankees 13 Pirates 6 – the sweep makes six straight

As noted before, it’s pretty obvious now, that the Yankees are coming around. The hitting is getting better by the day. On Sunday, the Yankees scored 13 runs off the Pirates. A-Rod hit two more home runs, and Abreu got four hits on his five plate appearances. Tyler Clippard lasted a short 3 2/3 innings, but the Yankees bullpen, who have been VERY inconsistent this year, held it together today. Sean Henn, Luis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor and Mike Myers shut out Pittsburgh for the remaining 5 1/3 innings of the game. All the pieces of the puzzle seem to be working together as we head towards the summer. There are 101 games left, plenty of time to make up for lost ground. The Yankees picked up 5 full games in the AL East in less than two weeks. They are now 9.5 out of first place, and only trail Oakland, Seattle and Detriot (5.5) in the wild card standings. If they continue to play this way, we won’t be looking at the wild card standing for much longer…

Yankees 9 Pirates 3 – Rocket Relaunch in the Bronx

The weather was spectacular for Roger Clemens much hyped return the the Yankees on Saturday. He received four standing ovations before even hitting the mound. Clemens was coming back to the Yankees during a four game win streak – the longest of the season. Roger was great. After giving up a run in the 1st inning, the Yankees responded by scoring three, and never trailed in the game again.Clemens threw 108 pitches in his first start, holding the Pirates to three runs and five hits. The Rocket also struck out seven, passing Randy Johnson for second on the all-time strikeout list. The Yankees won their fifth straight game, and are now a scant 2 games under 500.

Joe Torre has been saying for weeks just how important getting the the .500 mark was. He said that he couldn’t even think about the postseason, or the standings until .500. With another game against The Pirates today, and three against Arizona this week, .500 ball is looking like a reality.

Yankees 5 Pirates 4 : Mo’ Gets The Win in the 10th

In Friday night’s game vs The Pittsburgh Pirates we saw a fire in the Yankees that has not been seen in a long time. This was the 4th straight game that the Yankees showed no signs of being sluggish – as if a giant weight had been lifted off their shoulders with the Chicago series. Andy Pettitte pitched another great game – keeping the Yankees in the game despite a stellar pitching effort by Pirates pitcher Tom Gorzelanny. Pettitte gave up a home run to Xavier Nady in the 2nd, but settled down, not giving up another run until the 5th. The Yankees didn’t score until they tied up the game in the 6th. The Yankees never had the lead in the game until winning it in the bottom of the 10th, with a single by Derek Jeter. In April and May, the Yankees lost 8 of 10 one-run games. In June they are now 2 for 2….

Rebuilding on the Fly

As my esteemed collegue, Jason, noted in his last game recap, the Yankees finally seem to be on track. This is a team poised to make a run. There are still holes on the roster that need to be plugged. Things are going to get interesting for Brian Cashman as the deadline nears. This could be a season like 2000 or 2006 where rebuilding on the fly could vault the Yanks back into the postseason. The following is a list of suggestions on how to make this team the most dangerous down the stretch.

1. Call up Chris Britton:

Britton is dominating AAA with a 0.72 ERA. He proved last season in Baltimore that he has the stuff to succeed in the A.L. East. Given the team’s bullpen problems, there is no reason for Chris to pitch at Scranton right now.

2. Call up Kei Igawa:

Enough is enough for Kei. The Yankees invested too much for him to be in the minors for this long. The team can talk all it wants about adjusting his delivery. It is sink or swim time. Either he has the talent to pitch in the Majors or he does not. The team has to stop babying him. Kei can work on his new delivery just as well on big leaguers as he can on minor leaguers. The Yankees need a long reliever. Part of the problem with the overworked bullpen has been that nobody can eat innings. That means that Joe Torre has to empty it any time a starter leaves early. Igawa can be the long man. He thrived in that role during his only relief outing. Perhaps he is better suited to that relief role, where he is thrown into the fire instead of sitting around in a regimented routine. Either way it is ridiculous for the Yanks to coddle a guy making that much money to this degree.

3. Trade Kyle Farnsworth and Mike Myers to the Cubs for Jacque Jones:

This would be a classic case of one man’s trash being another’s treasure. Farnsworth and Myers are not doing the job for the Yankees. The Cubs are in need of bullpen help and desperate to deal Jones’ contract from their outfield glut. While Kyle and Mike have been subpar, they are better than what the Cubs have. The Cubs will believe that their track records suggest things will turn around in the National League. Jones is a good hitter and an excellent defender at all three outfield positions. He does not stack up well hitting as a corner outfielder, but he rates superbly against other backups. He might not be happy with a reserve role, but he is a team player. Jacque would be a major addition to the bench.

4. Sign Junior Spivey:

Spivey is currently tearing the cover off the ball in the Atlantic League with a .390 batting average. He has a solid and proven Major League bat. Spivey would represent a major upgrade for the bench.

5. Trade Chase Wright, Luis Vizcaino, and Ron Villone to the Reds for Scott Hatteberg and pick up Vizcaino’s salary:

Wright is a young starter with potential, but New York’s deep farm system can sustain his loss. He does not figure prominently in future plans. Vizcaino and Villone will represent upgrades to a bullpen in desperate need of help. Should the Reds fall out of contention, Vizcaino and Villone will be valuable trade commodities. Cheap veteran relievers always have great value. To get this, the Reds give up their 38 year old first baseman, who still carries a potent bat and a solid glove. He would provide an immediate upgrade as either a starter or a reserve.

6. Trade Sean Henn, T.J. Beam, and Daniel McClutchen to the Rangers for Eric Gagne:

The Rangers are falling woefully out of the race in the West. They will likely look to same some money and deal Gagne, who is a free agent after the season. In this trade they will get a pair of decent relief prospects in Henn and Beam and a potential starter in McClutchen. All of these guys have potential, but none is unreplacable. Gagne would be a high risk, high reward acquisition. He has shown flashes of his old dominance this season. A Gagne-Rivera duo would be the best in the game. Gagne would probably be unhappy about being a setup man, but he would get a chance to compete for a title and use the game’s biggest stage as an audition place to gain a monster contract this offseason. He probably would not return to be a setup man, but the Yankees would be in position to get a pair of early Draft picks next year as compensation for his defection. This would help suppliment the farm system and lessen the blow of the traded prospects. Joe Torre would try and limit Gagne’s workload, but he would have the durable Scott Proctor backing him up. It would be another Kyle Farnsworth situation. Gagne would just be more effective.

7. Trade Joba Chamberlain and Jose Tabata to the Rangers for Mark Teixeira:

This is going to be a controversial trade because it features a pair of blue chip prospects. Chamberlain has the stuff to become an ace, and Tabata currently projects to be an elite hitting outfielder. These guys should be off limits for almost everybody. Teixeira is an exception. He is an elite power hitter and a Gold Glove defender at first base. He is only 27 years old, meaning he could man his corner for a decade. He is a switch hitter who would bring badly needed righty-lefty balance to the batting order. There is no better first baseman hitting the market until Justin Morneau in 2010. The Rangers are pessimistic about their chances to resign Tex, meaning he will be available at some point. The Yanks need an offer like this to bowl the Rangers over. Chamberlain will be difficult to part with, but one must remember the organizational pitching depth. Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Tyler Clippard, Ian Kennedy, and Dellin Betances all are under 30. Tabata would be difficult to part with as well, but he is only 19. He has a lot of developing to do. He could develop into an elite offensive player, but he is too far away from the Majors to say that with any conviction. He may never have the same impact as Teixeira. There was a time where the Yankees would be wise to avoid a trade like this. However, the farm system is now deep enough to part with chips like this. There needs to be a balance between present and future. This deal helps the Yankees a ton in the present and does not cripple the farm system for the future. It still would be very deep. This is not the case of giving up young guys for over the hill players. Teixeira is entering his prime. He will provide an immediate major boost.

8. Give Josh Phelps back to Baltimore:

With Hatteberg and Teixeira in the fold, there is no spot for Phelps. Phelps has been a major liability with the glove and unspectacular at the plate.

Lineup

1. Johnny Damon DH

2. Derek Jeter SS

3. Bobby Abreu RF

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Mark Teixeira 1B

6. Hideki Matsui LF

7. Jorge Posada C

8. Robinson Cano 2B

9. Melky Cabrera CF

Bench

1. Jacque Jones OF

2. Scott Hatteberg 1B

3. Junior Spivey IF

4. Miguel Cairo IF

5. Wil Nieves C

Rotation

1. Chien-Ming Wang

2. Andy Pettitte

3. Roger Clemens

4. Mike Mussina

5. Tyler Clippard

Bullpen

1. Mariano Rivera CL

2. Eric Gagne SU

3. Scott Proctor SU

4. Brian Bruney MR

5. Chris Britton MR

6. Kei Igawa LR

Notes: The lineup is as deep as any in baseball. The rotation remains very effective. The bench now at least has guys who can play. Wil Nieves is not much of a hitter, but he remains as backup catcher. Unless the Yanks could pry a young catcher with talent like Kelly Shoppach from Cleveland or Jarrod Saltamacchia from Atlanta, there is no reason to change. Very few backup catchers are effective hitters. Most who can hit are starters. It is not easy to find effective hitters capable of performing once every fifth day with the bat. Nieves is solid defensively and has a good relationship with the pitching staff. That is the primary role of the backup catcher. Igawa is the bullpen’s only lefty, but all of the righties are effective. There is no point of having a lefty for the sake of having a lefty. Igawa’s presence allows the bullpen to drop to six men. This gives the bench an extra spot. The Yankees could then have an offense oriented utility man in Junior Spivey and a defense oriented one in Miguel Cairo.

Defending Bobby

In the midst of the Yankees’ slow start, one player in particular has endured an extreme amount of venom from fans and the media alike. That player is Bobby Abreu. Bobby gave himself the negative spotlight by enduring one of the worst stretches of all-time for a player of his caliber. There were times in April and May that Bobby looked as if he had never swung a bat before in his life. He carried his troubles into the field, looking like a Little League outfielder at times. It did not help matters that the man the Yankees traded to make room for Abreu in rightfield, Gary Sheffield, is swinging a hot bat in Detroit. Now that his slump appears to be behind him, fans can assess Abreu more rationally. It is time to debunk some myths that arose about Abreu during his cold stretch.

He can’t handle the pressure of playing in New York.

He hit .330 with the Yankees last season. If he could not handle the intensity of New York, would that not be more likely to show in the heat of a pennant race than in May? Philadelphia, where Bobby played from 1998 to 2006, is not exactly the easiest town in which to play. Fans are incredibly demanding in that city, perhaps moreso than in New York. Abreu still put up staggering numbers during his time in the City of Brotherly Love.

He is afraid of the big spot.

This must be the reason that he hit .500 last season in the Yankees’ five game sweep of Boston that all but clinched the division. He also drew seven walks in the series. Boston had no answer for him. A five game August series in Fenway Park with the division lead riding in the balance seems like a pretty big spot. Bobby was a lethal offensive force then. He also hit .333 in the ALDS against Detroit. That made him the only Yankee not named Posada or Jeter to be a tough out for the Tigers pitching staff.

He doesn’t care.

Many have drawn this conclusion about Bobby. He is not a guy who openly seeks the media. He seldom displays outward emotion on the field. His swing and running form are so free and easy that he does not appear to be using much effort at all when playing. People mistake these attributes for a lack of intensity. The fact of the matter is that not everybody is like Paul O’Neill. Some people do not express themselves in front of the camera. Some do not appear reckless on the field. That does not mean they do not care. Take Bernie Williams as an example. Few men have burned to succeed as badly as Bernie did. He simply internalized his competitive drive. Curtis Martin is another example of this in football. These guys never sought the limelight. They were on personal missions. Abreu is the same. People around the team comment on his work ethic and drive. Because Bobby has not openly tried to get his name in the news constantly unlike his predecessor, Sheffield, the media has failed to convey the real Bobby Abreu to the public. Bobby’s personality makes him a strange case like Bernie and Martin. Even though all three men played in major markets for their entire careers, none has received the respect they deserve. Their personas kept people from realizing just how great they are.

The Yankees were stupid to trade Sheffield and keep Abreu.

This would only true if somebody has a time machine. We would have to know then what we know now. We also would need to know that the current trend will continue, which does not appear likely. This was what the Yankees knew at the time about the two players.

Abreu: 32 years old, hit .330 with the Yankees, fit in well in the clubhouse, gave the offense balance

Sheffield: 37 years old, coming off a major wrist injury, demanded a new contract despite this, at the center of baseball’s steroids controversy, openly criticized his teammates and manager, chronic complainer

Ignore all the intangibles for a second. Who was more likely to produce? Was it the guy five years older coming off a major injury or the guy five years younger coming off a productive season? If we see into the future, we would all be geniuses. The fact of the matter is that there was nothing to suggest that Sheffield would be better this season. When both are at the top of their respective games, Abreu is better. As it looks more and more like Bobby’s long slump was a fluke, the trading of Sheffield will look more and more palatable.

The fact that the Phillies were so desperate to trade him and took so little in return shows that there must be something wrong with him.

Why would anybody ever use the Phillies’ decision-making as a reference point? That franchise has been a case study in inept management. Despite consistently having one of the game’s highest payrolls, the Phils have not been to the postseason since 1993. The fact that they thought so little of Bobby’s considerable talents says more about them than it does about Abreu.

Abreu is a throwback to the dynasty teams. He is not worried about getting attention. All he wants to do is go to work and do his job. There is no ego on him. He is not worried about becoming a star. He just wants to win. He is not a one-dimensional player. He is a grinder. He wears pitchers down with his excellent approach at the plate. Do not be fooled by a few bad weeks. The Yankees are lucky to have Bobby Abreu. He is a great fit.