Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sweep

The Good

Another grand slam from Posada ensured that the Houston Astronomers left New York winless. Good work from the 'pen, who gave us 3.1 innings of no run ball. The Yanks are now tied for first place in the division.

The Bad

Were it not for a Teixeira error that lead to two extra at-bats in the fifth, and his inability to get that last out in the sixth, this would've been another quality start for Hughes. Perhaps the last hurdle in Hughes's development is getting over this tendency to not put hitters away after getting two-strike counts on them. Not that he never gets hitters out in that situation, it just seems like at some point (usually the end of one of his later innings) he goes through 2-4 guys who reach base after he's had them in two-strike counts.

The Ugly

After the sweep of the lowly Astros, Joe Girardi got on the dugout phone and made a long distance call to the mayor of Houston. "Yeah, from now on it's pronounced 'House-ton', because that's how we say it in New York and we own you!" Girardi could be overheard saying.

Homercadabra

Both Cano and Posada hit home runs today, but Posada's overshadowed Cano's. Cano reminded Posada that catching every day is so much more fun than being the DH. Posada made sure to record an out in his next at-bat. Are you also scared of the power mad Cano? Then you better enter our raffle for Yanks-BoSox tickets on August 7th. No point in upsetting him. Click here for details.

Posada 8hr = $16
Granderson 3hr = $6
Cano 12hr = $24
Swisher 9hr = $18
Jeter 8hr = $16
Johnson 2hr = $4
Rodriguez 8hr = $16
Teixeira 8hr = $16
Thames 2hr = $4
Gardner 3hr = $6
Winn 1hr = $2
Miranda 2hr = $4
Total = $132
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10 comments:

Dylan said...

I really wish Posada would just admit that its better for the team for him to DH. I know its a minor adjustment and we have to be loyal to a Yankee great, but he's more likely to get hurt back there.

June 13, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Roberto E. Alejandro said...

My issue with the 'Jorge should DH' argument is that it makes a major assumption. Namely, that Posada will hit as a DH the way he does as an everyday position player. We'll remember that Giambi never hit as consistently when DHing as he did when playing first. Many players can't adjust to DHing, and Posada's limited run so far this season wasn't exactly promising. We saw something similar with Nick Johnson also, who never really seemed comfortable in the DH role prior to getting hurt. It's not an easy adjustment and some guys can't do it. It only benefits our line-up IF Posada puts up the same numbers as a DH as he does when catching. Without any evidence of that, I think its a dead argument. Posada, in his career is a .281 hitter when catching. He recently described DHing as pinch hitting four times a game. He is a career .235 pinch hitter. In his career, Posada is a .213 hitting DH (288 plate appearances). None of this bodes well for the 'make Posada the DH crowd.' It's not a matter of him simply accepting it, it's a matter of whether he can perform at the same level as a DH. It doesn't appear that he can, in which case it doesn't actually make our line-up stronger to make him the DH. (Source, listed under "Defensive Positions" in his batting splits).

June 13, 2010 at 7:09 PM
lady gaganonymous said...

I know it was Houston and all but this was a good series. Hooray!

And how would it be better for the team for Posada to DH? If he's catching, that adds a very strong bat at a premium position. That way, you can get someone to ACTUALLY DH. It's a lot better for the team to have Posada's bat at C + whoever the DH's bat is than a backup catcher's bat at C + Posada DH.

June 13, 2010 at 11:02 PM
Roberto E. Alejandro said...

Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that Cervelli is not a strong bat at a premium position? How dare you?!

June 14, 2010 at 6:22 AM
Jon Roberts said...

I love that you guys cover the stories every one else is too afraid to touch. That said, don't ever say a bad word about Frankie. Ever. ;)

June 14, 2010 at 10:01 AM
Rich Mahogany said...

Posada was just trying to show New York that he, and not J-Lo or Marc Anthony, is the city's most awesome Puerto Rican. I think he succeeded. Jorge hit two grand slams while J-Lo and Marc couldn't even get a working car.

http://www.pr-inside.com/lopez-and-anthony-s-parade-break-down-r1947082.htm

Lady G put it well, you need to play Posada at C as long as you can. Otherwise you're turning an extraordinary player into a good one (and if Robbie Fingers is right, maybe something much worse). The Yankees knew that Jorge would end his contract at a very old age for a catcher when they re-signed him, so they must have thought about giving him less time at C as he aged.

At this point I think we have to trust the Yankees' medical staff and assume they will only clear Jorge to catch if he can stay healthy. Since Cervelli is apparently capable of catching for months at a time with no rest (I imagine he sleeps in a squatting position with his gear on), and we have several very good catching prospects, we're in decent shape whether or not Posada can handle being a full-time catcher.

June 14, 2010 at 10:37 AM
lady gaganonymous said...

Oh, and did anyone else see that article on ESPN New York that basically said A-Rod got hurt on purpose to take away from Andy's 200th win as a Yankee? Yeah.

June 14, 2010 at 1:34 PM
Rich Mahogany said...

Lady G, I knew that had to be a Wallace Matthews article the moment I read your description. Compared to Matthews, PeteAbe is ARod's biggest fan. As usual, the article is a great read for the comments.

Matthews reminds me of Kevin Bacon screaming "ALL IS CALM!" at the end of Animal House. He obviously doesn't know what he's talking about, most people ignore him, and he gets pounded into the pavement. The only possible reason he can be employed is that he is supposed to write pieces that will get readers upset.

June 14, 2010 at 4:04 PM
Roberto E. Alejandro said...

A-Rod always gets hurt just in time to ruin big occasions. One time, he got hurt on my birthday, it totally killed the party. He definitely did it on purpose.

June 14, 2010 at 5:40 PM
lady gaganonymous said...

Andy's obviously furious with A-Rod for ruining his night from Friday (screencap from tonight's game against the Phillies):
http://i49.tinypic.com/2agrsih.jpg

June 15, 2010 at 11:50 PM

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