We've been watching this team stumble something awful lately, and though I do believe they'll turn it around, I'm wondering what people think the solution is. What do the Yankees need? If you were Brian Cashman what move would you make? What players would you trade for? Who would you call up? Or would you leave things the way they are? Sound off in the comments section.
Update: Wanted to add some stats to paint a better picture.
Hitting
-Melky Cabrera is 4 for his last 22. Good for a .180 average.
-Ensberg has 1 homerun in 70 at bats.
-Derek Jeter has 21 RBI's and is batting .314 on the season.
-Cano is 2 for his last 11 after his 4 hit game.
-Damon is batting .250.
-Matsui is over .300 with 20 RBI's and 6 homeruns.
-Abreu leads the team with 25 RBI's, but is 3 for his last 24, good for a .130 average.
-Shelley Duncan has hit no homeruns and has 1 RBI.
-Giambi leads the team with 8 homeruns, but his average is below .200.
Pitching
-Hawkins has pitched 7.2 consecutive scoreless innings in relief.
-Ohlendorf has a 6.00 ERA.
-Ramirez has thrown 8.2 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts thus far this season.
-Mariano has a 0.53 ERA this season.
-Pettitte has lost 4 of his last 5 games and has a 6.26 ERA in that time.
-Wang has given the Yankees 8 quality starts this season.
-Mussina has won his last 5 games.
-Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes have given the Yankees 1 quality start a piece this season.
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10 comments:
it's weird to have a bullpen that is actually performing. I've heard Freddy Garcia's name come up as a possible trade option come July (or maybe sooner). If Rasner continues to pitch well (I think skipping over him was unfair) then the question is will Hughes come back from his rehab and win some games for us. If either of those guys falters, then we need to pick up a decent starter. we may still make the playoffs, but we only have three starters right now that you might count on to perform, we'll need a fourth.
I think you need to leave things alone for a little while now that A-rods back...
I'm not looking for him to carry the team, but just provide some stability to the lineup.
One or two wins will give this team the confidence they need to get on a roll.
I think we're safe at shortstop for the time being, too. Obviously, our weakness at 1B is well chronicled. However, Giambi is still whacking them out of the park at a decent clip. Now if we can just raise the OBP of the folks hitting ahead of him...
We need some work at SP, too... I like Rasner, but I don't know if his 2-0 start is a fluke or a true representation of his ability. Who is available / could be available to trade for? With Wang, Pettitte/Moose (so far, they're good for one quality start together per trip through the rotation), and another dependable name, the playoffs are not out of the question if the offense backs them up.
Then there's the ultimate question of Joba... SP or RP? I'm a big believe in moving him to the rotation, especially since we've been having a hard time handing him a lead lately.
Bottom line: Crapshoot.
I'll start the bidding at a front of the line starter. Santana maybe? In fairness to Cashman, it was a crapshoot. If the kids played well, and Santana blows out his elbow, he looks like a genius. But the way things have went, the lack of a trade looks bad. The same thing could have happend to the red sox, but luckily things have gone well with their young talent. I dont think Freddy Gacia is going to help (isnt he on the DL?) but we'll see what happens after AROD and Posada come back 100%. I wouldnt give up on the kids just yet.
This team's biggest problem has been its lack of offense, especially against lefties, and the DRASTIC underperformance of two young pitchers whose calling card has always been their command of the strike zone. It's fairly likely that one of them, at least, will turn it around and at least have some very good outings that cancel out some of the very poor outings. Also, they have a Verlander-level 22 year old that needs to be slotted into the rotation. So, if Garcia rehabs and can come back around the break, AND we can't fashion a 4/5 out of Moose, Phil, Ian, Alan Horne, Darrel Rasner, Dan McCutchen, Dan Giese, Jeff Karstens, etc...then look at Freddy.
But adding Santana at the expense of Hughes, Kennedy and Melky really wouldn't have made this team much better. They'd still have been getting shut down offensively, and even Johan isn't winning all that many games with 0-2 runs of support.
If they could add a Nady-type (though the Pirates don't want to trade him until the deadline) right now, that'd be big. They could put a productive bat in for Abreu or Giambi against lefties. That'd really be a big addition, I think. A righty corner IFer and a righty OF/1B. That's what I'd want to fill out the bench. What Morgan and Shelley were supposed to be.
A few observations from the outside looking in...
- Yeah, Yankees are last place right now, but is that in May 5-6 games back? Relax!
- To put the future of this whole year on the backs of TWO rookies who did quite well in the September call-ups is just dumb. That's what many NY fans and media and I believe some in the organization did. A team is just that, a TEAM, not one or two, especially players in a rotation. The Santana move wouldn't have made one bit of difference. Why? I'll tell you!
- To win any game, you need to score the highest amount of points. That's not happening because of the Kennedy/Hughes dissappointment, A-Rod's injury, Posada's injury, more than ONE guy at a time in a slump, more than ONE pitcher having a bad game, defense not being up to par, offense not being up to par. It's happening because of all these things combined. A bit of bad luck combined with some fundamentals of baseball lacking lately. There's been a focus on the offense, true, but the defense has really been sucking whether the errors have been given or not.
- Anyway, some of this stuff is a cycle that happens with EVERY team. Ride out the injuries, let the guys get healthy, let the pitchers develop, BUT work on the fundamentals, heck, have friggin practice like the little league guys do, because these guys look like they need work! But most importantly, don't be afraid to hurt your veterans feelings ~ Yankees have made that mistake before. Move some players around to new positions & get rid of some dead weight at the end of this season. For this season, right now - Relax! This is what you got, and what you're willing to give up, I bet nobody wants. We want the good stuff!
i just feel bad for people who went to this game. it is freezing.. i also feel bad for people who are selling beer and ice cream at yankee stadium tonight. hope they can make some money.
What do the Yankees Need?
They need to get rid of the Curse of the 4th Inning and the Curse of Scoring Nothing but 2 Runs.
And Cano needs to stop swinging at pitches way out of strike zone.
I think the tough thing is that there isn't one player that is the problem. Our biggest underachiever in the rotation has been Pettitte, and I know he's good enough to turn it around. You could say Giambi, but in recent years he's been a slow starter, and he leads the team in homeruns. Cano's an easy target, but he's a .300 hitter, and you don't want to take him out if he's healthy. This team needs something, but it isn't new players.
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