Sunday, July 31, 2011

Baltimore Comes to Town

The Good

Taking three of four is good. Nova back where he belongs is good. Twelve runs in the first is good. Teixeira, Swish (twice), and Jones all hit home runs. That is also good. By and large good pitching performances, though you'd like to see a little more length out of Colon and Garcia.

The Bad

At one point, in the first inning of Saturday's night game, Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds thought aloud to himself, "Man, this is like an Xbox." To which a Yankee baserunner responded, "No. I'm pretty sure you guys put up more of a fight than this on the Xbox." Reynolds placed his glove over his face so he could cry in private.

The Ugly

Nova should not be pitching in the minors. Hughes is still getting himself worked out. Where do players generally get themselves worked out? In the minors. Even when Hughes has pitched well, he hasn't given us length. Length. Like the seven innings Nova gave us on Saturday night for example. WTF is this even a conversation?

Weekend Haul

We got four home runs this weekend. One apiece for Teixeira and Andruw Jones, two for Nick Swisher. That's $8 for the kids and something to think about for Baltimore pitching coach Rick Adair.

Mark Teixeira 29hr = $58
Curtis Granderson 28hr = $56
Russell Martin 10hr = $20
Alex Rodriguez 13hr = $26
Jorge Posada 9hr = $18
Robinson Cano 16hr = $32
Andruw Jones 6hr = $12
Brett Gardner 4hr = $8
Nick Swisher 14hr = $28
Derek Jeter 4hr = $8
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $2
Eduardo Nunez 3hr = $6
Ramiro Pena 1hr = $2
Total = $276

5 comments:

Rob B said...

I hate to give up on him so early, but I think it's time to send Hughes back to the bullpen and let Nova have that 5th spot back. He's done nothing to lose it, and Hughes has done nothing to show he deserves it.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I've no issue with Hughes in the 'pen, tho I wonder if we'd prefer to have Noesi continue to face major league hitters in that long man role. That may be preferable only if we think Hughes just needs to get his performance a little more consistent, in which case he should be sent back down to the minors. We don't need him finding himself every fifth day in the Majors when we're fighting for a playoff spot.

Rich Mahogany said...

What do you think about the Yankees' inaction at the trade deadline?

I'm not surprised they didn't get Jimenez, considering the Indians had to give up their top two pitching prospects and more to get him. I'm a fan of Jimenez but I wouldn't have wanted the Yankees to beat the Indians' offer.

My question is whether the Yankees should have outbid the Sox for Bedard. The Sox gave up three middling prospects for Bedard and a reliever. Bedard is just the kind of guy the Yankees need right now: talented (with an AL East pedigree to boot), expendable (no problem if he sucks, you can send him to the pen or DFA him and he's gone next year) and cheap. Did the Yankees miss an opportunity here?

I also have some concerns about our bench because Cervelli had to play 2B yesterday due to a Jeter HBP, even though Cervelli had never played there in his career. If ARod and Jeter are healthy, Chavez and Nunez are fine as backup options (and you can even put Posada at 1B occasionally). But with the Yankees having to use really bad players like Laird of late, I almost expected them to bring back Jerry Hairston or a similar player.

I'm just glad they didn't trade for a reliever.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I think if the Yankees are going to look for relief or bench help, they'll do it on the waiver wire, not at the trade deadline. Those deals tend to be much cheaper for teams, and the truth is, the Yankees don't have many major needs right now. Bedard, I think, would've been unnecessary since we have Nova, Noesi, and Warren all ready to step into the major league rotation if necessary. We already know Nova can succeed up here. So a Bedard just muddies the picture and then gets injured. I think the Yanks were right to hold steady at the deadline. Teams ask too much at the trade deadline. If you're looking for just a couple supplementary pieces, the waiver wire or the farm system should be the way to go about addressing those needs.

Rich Mahogany said...

That makes sense, althuogh I disagree that a utility player will be available post-deadline. Cheaper players, like Hairston, get claimed off waivers before the Yankees can claim them, especially since the Yankees are near the end of the line for waiver claims.

The Yankees' strength is claiming salary dump players off waivers, like Berkman and Wood last year.

That said, I'm content with the Yankees standing pat, especially since Bedard is a risky pickup and Nova has shown significant improvement.