Bonn1997 wrote:It's only 5 games but I am surprised by how bad the Yankees' hitting has been. A lot of these lefties have bats that were made for Yankees Stadium. Hopefully things change at home.
Hope so man. Very encouraged by what I saw out of Pineda yesterday. Technically we lost the game but in the grand scheme of things, yesterday was a huge win. Just the beginning of what the Yankees ultimately saw when they shipped Montero and Noesi out to Seattle to get this guy. 93-95 consistently throughout the entire outing (you get the feeling that once the warm weather rolls around, we could expect a tick or two higher on the gun like he showed in Seattle), with a very effective curve/slider combo. Mixed a little changeup in there too...Really liked what I saw. Find a way to get today's game (hopefully CC doesn't get hammered too bad today), come back 3-3, then head back to NY for some home cookin'!
Very concerned with the offense -- there just doesn't look to be enough there, esp. with Tex going down and Sori not hitting...Definitely a legit need for another middle-of-the-order hitter with some pop imo. Until they come up with better ideas, the following 2 moves should be considered: (1) signing Kendrys Morales to a deal, (2) picking up the phone and see if Aramis Ramirez could be had in a sensible trade. Maybe bring Jorge Vazquez back to the organization -- currently in the Mexican League -- this guy hit 32 HRs a couple of years ago in SWB before we cut him loose. He whiffs a lot but I remember really liking his swing and being impressed. Dude had serious, legit power, and he was a natural third basemen who could also play some 1B if I recall...I dunno man, we need to plug a couple of holes here -- one is the need for more pop and the other might be to swap out David Phelps who's redundant (Warren and Nuno are far superior in the same role) and bring in another power short man (Danny Burawa?) or maybe even a 3rd lefty for the bullpen (Cesar Cabral?). Phelps really isn't that good -- I want that spot filled with something far more useful. Phelps is just straight up superfluous on this club... I wouldn't let this fester too long if I'm the Yanks -- to me, we spent way too much money and went through too bad a year last year to have one or two missing components hold us back now. This team is built to win NOW, Jete's last year and all. Cash has gotta go to Hal and get the green light to spend a little bit more. In the meantime, look at some cheap solutions like Danny Burawa for the pen and minor league third baseman Jorge Vazquez maybe.. Both guys would have to be added to the 40-man, that's the only thing that could present a little bit of a problem.
Our lone power hitter is now Brett Gardner, not encouraging. Jeter's bat warms up, encouraging.
It will be good to be home.
I bet George would have gotten Beltran, Ellsbury, and McCann and kept Cano. That could easily be the difference between being just another good team and competing for the WS.
No doubt about George, but if this pitching rotation breaks down (there's a feeling of fragility to the whole thing), I doubt Cano would have led us back to the promised land anyway...
Nice work by Robertson, anyway...yeah, he's not Mariano, but 2 for 2 is good!
Can Tex make it a week on the field? Jeez! Between Giambi and Tex its been a long time since we had the solid Tino doing his thing!
I always thought Jeeter would thicken up, get his power and move to first.
Power from Soriano can help.
Cano's contract was insane and he'll be missed. I think the pieces we got for that money was a better value. Cano will be great for a few years but in the no-Roid era one cannot predict how his health will hold as he gets older. To have his contract and A-rod's back to back would be a killer.
This team is built on pitching for this year. I hope we can keep boasting the minors. Thats where you get trade bait and your next star.
jrodmc wrote:No doubt about George, but if this pitching rotation breaks down (there's a feeling of fragility to the whole thing), I doubt Cano would have led us back to the promised land anyway...Nice work by Robertson, anyway...yeah, he's not Mariano, but 2 for 2 is good!
I actually feel real good about the starting rotation -- CC obviously isn't the same anymore and that's a huge concern but otherwise, I feel real good about the rest 2-5. Seeing Pineda hit 95 a few times and throw that plus slider of his was tremendous. Kuroda's still very good value (I like how they're going year to year with him on these 1-year deals)...Additional depth behind Pineda looks real good with Warren (big fan of this guy), Nuno and to a lesser degree Phelps. Then there's Manny Banuelos, a guy who looked healthy and strong this spring--a great sign coming off the TJ surgery, waiting in the wings. Dude could get fast-tracked for next year if he puts together a solid season this year (best case scenario would be for this guy to slide right into Kuroda's spot next year and not have to pay Kuroda--Banuelos or a guy like Warren could slide right in there at a much better price. We could then use the Kuroda money on something else next year. That could be big)... Also have 3 very good minor league options ready to go for the bullpen if need be -- power righties Danny Burawa & Jose Ramirez (hopefully he's healthy now) and lefty specialist Cesar Cabral. Kinda wish we still had Tommy Kahnle in the mix -- watching this guy throw 95 outta the Rockies pen stings a little (we should've protected this guy on the 40-man I'm thinking) but overall there's excellent pitching depth all around.
Pitching doesn't feel like a problem to me -- the fact that we lack legit power in the middle of the order and a lack of 1B/3B depth is what concerns me most. Tex going down was very sobering...and let's face it -- Kelly Johnson's a decent player but this guy's a cut below what most would consider normal everyday caliber starting material. Now we're further out of whack with Johnson having to move over to 1B.. The one unexpected offensive bright spot right now is Solarte. Hopefully that kid keeps it going. Really look forward to him up at the plate right now -- just feel like he's locked in & gonna do damage whenever he's at the dish... I just hope they don't let these two areas of weakness fester for too long. Even if they go out and sign a guy like Jorge Vazquez out of the Mexican League -- you guys remember this guy? 32 HRs for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre back in 2011. Then we let him go...Who knows what the Brewers would want for Aramis Ramirez -- I know one thing -- we could go get this guy Vazquez -- he plays 3B/1B/DH, strikes out a lot but has legit HR power and we could go get him dirt cheap. Would kinda kill 2 birds with one stone here -- not a bad option if higher profile guys like Aramis Ramirez, Kendrys Morales, etc. prove to be too costly..Just a thought...I liked him when we had him. Arguably had the best power potential in the entire minor league system back a few years ago, including Montero. He played well for us that spring training (2011) and then went on to put up 32 HRs and 93 RBI at the AAA level. Not bad..
How ridiculous would it be if CC becomes our #4 or 5 pitcher?!
Nothing would surprise me after Carl Pavano.
All CC needs is a little pine tar...
Crazy game last night to wrap up the Red Sox series. We took 3 out of 4 games and won last night but lost Cervelli to a pulled hammy and maybe Solarte as well. We were so short-handed that even after Solarte pulled his hammy, he stayed in the game because we basically had no one else to put in there. WOW. I don't know what's more unbelievable -- that we've been besieged by all these nick-nack injuries (Jeter and Roberts also were held out of the lineup last night due to minor injuries) or that we have such little depth in place to cover for guys. We're what, not even 15 games into the season and we're in full-blown scramble mode.
Another thing I don't really care for -- I know David Phelps did his job tonight but I gotta tell ya, I don't like that guy at all in a big spot late in the game. Scared the piss outta me when I saw Joe go to him late and then stick with him against Pierzynski in a big spot when he had Cabral warm and ready to go. Wound up hitting Pierzynski in the elbow there...Wife and I were pumped after that big bases loaded K to end the 8th but man, was that rolling the dice there or what? Would much rather see 1 more power arm in that spot. Gotta try out Shane Greene and see what he's got, otherwise why if he even up with the big club? Scouting report says 93-96 MPH with the fastball and a good slider. I personally was more impressed with Dannny Burawa this spring but fine, if they like this kid Greene more, let's see him pitch. Gotta show me... Let's see if he's a guy that can punch guys out in a big spot. Guys are gonna put the ball in place against Phelps -- I'd love to see one more strikeout-type in that late inning role, esp. down D-Rob and when guys like Betances/Warren/Kelley can't go for whatever reason (used too many days in a row, whatever). Austin Romine obviously gets called up when Cervy goes on the shelf but who fills in for Solarte if he's DLed as well? Looks like Dean Anna's gonna be playing everyday for awhile now. That's fine--he can play but we really need another utility infielder for some more depth in the worst way. Curious to see who else gets called up with Romine...We're paper-thin right now..
13 games in as many days is no way to treat a geriatric group like this. Injuries were bound to happen.
If Joe gets us to 90 wins this season with this continually breaking down roster, he should be hands down Manager of the Decade.
I don't know what's worse: Robertson's injury or Cervelli/McCann getting hurt in the same series. Is Joe eligible to pencil himself in to catch? 
I have no problem with designating Cesar Cabral for assignment. I wanted him to succeed (loved having 3 lefties in the pen; most teams don't even have 2), but Cabral clearly didn't have big-time stuff, even in the lefty/lefty matchups. I think he may have had better stuff at one point pre-arm troubles, but we haven't seen much outta this guy for awhile now...Nuno probably sees more situational time against lefties now and Thornton probably gets used a little more now too. If Nuno underperforms against lefties, they'll probably be on the lookout for another lefty reliever eventually (I get the feeling Joe wants to be more cautious with Matt Thornton & doesn't wanna run him into the ground like he pretty much did with Boone Logan). In the meantime, let's see what Nuno can do in the Cabral role..
I see we called up Matt Daley. Would much rather see Danny Burawa over Daley, to be honest. Even Shane Greene...Can't understand why Burawa's not more highly thought-of. I thought he looked great this spring..He needs to be protected on the 40-man imo. So far in AAA:
5 games, 2-0, 6.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 Hits, 5 BB, 12 Ks, OBA: .091.
95+ with a real good-looking slider. I would've taken this kid north outta spring training. They let Tommy Kahnle get away (left unprotected and the Rockies scooped him right up in the last rule 5 draft); don't let the same thing happen with this kid Burawa.
Bonn1997 wrote:Pineda - WTF?!
Ridiculous. I mean to get scrutinized once already for this nonsense; why do it again and be so damn blatant about it? Use the friggin' rosin bag -- that's what it's out there for! And if you gotta do a little somethin' somethin' (come on, they all do--you heard Coney and Al talking about it on the telecast, keeping it real), find out what other guys do! Talk to your teammates!! A little shaving cream, hidden in an inconspicuous spot, whatever...This dude's been through soooooooo much to get back on the mound -- I can't believe we're dealing with this distraction now. Biggest problem I had last night is that we had to go to the bullpen so early. Whatever -- Joe was able to cobble it together w/o overextending anyone so no big deal here I suppose (unless Thornton and Warren aren't available today 
) but still -- you can't have your starting pitcher get tossed that early...Learn from the mistake and move on. Just hope he doesn't get suspended any further for this. Technically, he didn't doctor the baseball. We'll see...We need this guy..
Looks like he might get up to 10-games. Read in the paper this morning that Joel Peralta got 8 games for pine tar on his glove back in 2012. I'm praying for 8 -- that'll probably mean missing only 1 start. 10 games could mean 2..
Well they threw the book at him -- 10 games. And it's official: Nova will have TJ surgery, gone for the year. Ouch!
Sterling reported yesterday that due to a day off, he's still only missing one start during the 10 games.
Do we have to have what amounts to every jerk starter in the league at least once?
It's hard to get a read on this team. They have some great players but major holes too. They look like an above .500 team but not a WS contending team.
Bonn1997 wrote:It's hard to get a read on this team. They have some great players but major holes too. They look like an above .500 team but not a WS contending team.
Completely agree. My big hope is that we keep it close and are still playing good ball later this summer -- if we're in good enough shape, I could see Hal opening up his wallet for another player or 2, whether it be another position player (corner infielder?), another power bat, starter, reliever, etc. Whichever they deem most important.
Nice win today. My little guy had a soccer game so I caught the beginning and the very end. This Nuno's not terrible -- stuff's not top-of-the-line but I like him -- always seems to come up with quality performances. Wish he threw a tad harder but the rest of his game is real solid: good control, works quickly, decent off-speed stuff, etc.. We're gonna need this guy to continue performing. I think he's up for the challenge...Nice win today. One of the things I like about this team early on -- we've gotten really shellacked a couple of times but always came back and won the next game. That's a good sign..
Tex looks like he's on track! Now if only we could get McCann going!
Tanaka's awesome.
Bonn1997 wrote:Tex looks like he's on track! Now if only we could get McCann going!
Tanaka's awesome.
I freaking love watching Tanaka pitch. I was also very happy to find out he is only 25. I had just assumed he was in the 28-30 range. Great news.
I was loving watching Pineda pitch as well until he got caught being an idiot. We waited so long to see what we had in him and he was certainly dealing. Argh. Anyway, lets hope he can come back from the suspension and the weather will be warmer and he can regain his form cause he has some nasty stuff.
Tex's moonshot last night and the HR he hit right-handed a couple of days ago are very good signs. The one he hit last night was against a VERY GOOD young pitcher with electric stuff. Very encouraging...Desperately need this dude to come around and be the Tex of old this year. He might be the key to the whole thing for us: solidifies everything -- 1B defensively he's so important and the middle-of-the-order pop we need him to supply is essential...God willing he stays healthy and goes on a tear.
Tanaka's VERY GOOD. I hesitate to say GREAT for two reasons -- (1) he doesn't throw as hard as you'd like to see consistently for an ace (the one thing that separates him from a guy like Yu Darvish imo. Darvish is more 95-96 consistently; our guy's not). Looks like he can get it up to 93-94 when he needs it but it's not consistent (88-90 that's relatively straight in the middle of the plate is gonna get hammered more times than not -- just a lot less margin for error for guys that don't throw as hard) and (2) he seems a little susceptible to the long ball so far. Still a very good pickup. Something we had to do, even if we overpaid somewhat. I love that he's still very young -- at 25 years old, hopefully he still has a lot more innings left in that arm. We're gonna need it. Hard to argue with his success so far. Keep it coming!!
