Winning Continues

Sir Sidney Ponson had his stuff again last night and according to him, working with pitching coach Dave Eiland did wonders for his game. Ponson pitched very well and rebounded nicely from his last, sub-par performance. Veras, Farnsworth and Rivera got the job done in relief and Mo had to eek out two innings before the Yanks could score the winning run.

Little by little, the good days outnumber the bad days for Kyle Farnsworth and his season numbers are actually decent. The Yankees are still looking to acquire a reliever via a trade, but Krazy Kyle might just be better than what's available. The rub is that I still can't trust Farnsworth to deliver in the clutch, no matter what the numbers say. I've seen too many balls go sailing over the wall to ever put my faith in Professor Farsnworth in a critical situation. Mariano Rivera, sure. Kyle, no.

Jose Veras' numbers look even better and other than a couple of bad outings, he's been fairly solid.

Brett Gardner got one hit in five at bats, bringing his average up to .143. The Stache paid off again for Giambi, who had a critical RBI to give the Yankees their first run of the game, allowing Jeter to score. Even Joe Girardi was sporting a fake mustache for his post game interview. That was a very un-Torre like move, but I liked it. It's good to bond with the team a bit and show a little sense of humor.

The Yankees have taken two games from the team with the best record in baseball, and have shown that they can play as good as anyone in the major leagues. Unfortunately, Boston also won and the Yankees moved closer to first, but didn't gain much ground in the wild card race (although Oakland's loss helps).

A big part of the Yankees lack of success this year in injury. Having Matsui back in the lineup would certainly help the offense, and so far, Brett Gardner is no Johnny Damon. Aside from injuries, oftentimes it seems that the team wasn't playing with a lot of heart or with a real sense of urgency.  Being 6.5 games out of first means it's certainly possible for the Yanks to make a run for the pennant, but looking at their performance over the course of the first half of the season, it still seems unlikely.

Making a big trade or acquisition isn't the answer. Bringing in a new face isn't going to suddenly motivate everyone else to elevate their game. I don't know what the exact answer is, but it needs to come from within each player.

Yanks Take 1

Jason Giambi continues to light up opposing pitchers without mercy, this time going 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs. You gotta respect the 'stache.

Which leads me to the question, what do you do with Giambi next year? Earlier this season I repeatedly said the Yankees should let him go, making room for some young guys to get a shot or bring in a high quality player from free-agency. Jason was hitting extremely poorly and was a liability at 1st base. His defense hasn't improved, but he's been one of the Yankees best hitters lately. 

Shelley Duncan wasn't the answer. He wasn't playing 1st any better than Giambi, and never really found a grove as a hitter (although Girardi never gave him too many plate appearances.)

Jorge Posade seems like a perfect answer if his shoulder troubles continue, but he's said several times that he's a catcher, implying that he won't play 1st base if called upon.

Mark Teixeira will be a free agent next season and is an attractive alternative, but I think the Braves have the inside line on keeping him, and if not, his services won't come cheap and there's no guarantee the Yanks could land him.

So we're back to the Giambino. Are his early season struggles enough to make you not want him back? Does the fact that he seems to have turned things around make him a desireable option to resign? How much money do you give him and how long do you sign him for?

Keep an eye on him over the course of the rest of the season. If he continues to produce, you have to try and keep him on the team and sign him for a 1 or 2 year deal until you can get a decent prospect ready to move up. If his production drops off and he gets into another big slump late in the season, you spend some time looking around for other options, and only sign him as a last resort. I'm thinking he's going to continue to hit fairly well, and the Yanks will (and should) look to keep him around a while longer.

Getting back to last night's game, Pettitte was impressive, looking like a true ace on the mound, Farnsworth struggled and was injured, and Rivera picked up his 21st save. The kind of game you'd like to see more of.

Pettitte's Got Game

Andy Pettitte pitched a fantastic game, striking out 9 batters in 7 scoreless innings. The most impressive thing to watch is his pick off move. Andy picked off a runner at first today and it was a thing of beauty. Pettitte has one of the best moves ever and more pitchers should watch video of Andy's work.

Jason Giambi is on a personal crusade to prove me wrong when I said the Yanks should cut him loose earlier in the season. Giambi knocked in homers 16 and 17 today. He's been on an absolute tear lately.

Billy Traber has been brought back as a lefty situational reliever, and was effective getting the out he needed tonight. Jose Veras struggled a bit, giving up 2 hits.

Morgan Ensberg has been signed by the Indians. It's not surprising that someone picked up Ensberg, he's a decent backup if you have a particular need, but he didn't fit in on this Yankees roster.

Jorge Posada is hitting well in his return from the DL and has significantly contributed offensively.

The Yanks have won 5 straight but are still 5.5 games out of first. If they can continue to win like this, they'll creep up further in the standings, but it's still hard for me to imagine them in the playoffs this year.

It's looking like the Bombers will try to get by with Geise filling in for Wang, but despite all the talk, I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a veteran if they can get one for the right price.

Wang, Rivera Back on Track

Chien Ming Wang once again looked like a reliable starter and Mariano Rivera returned to form. The good part about having an up and down season like the Yankees are going through is that almost every bad loss is quickly followed by a quality win.

Joe Girardi continues to dumbfound me, DHing Giambi and sitting Matsui so that he can play Wilson Betemit, who went 0 for 4 and had a fielding error. Joe's constant lineup shuffles are getting a bit tiresome at this point, especially when he sits a star for a defensive liability who can't hit.

Jose Veras finished out the 8th inning but had 2 walks on his way to getting 2 outs, which isn't particularly reassuring. Mariano Rivera gave up a hit but no runs and thankfully doesn't look like the last game bothered him too much.

Morgan Ensberg has been designated. I'm not sure if someone else will pick him up, he's a decent replacement player but not a guy you want starting every day.

The play of the day from last night's game had to be Jason Giambi's baserunning clinic. On a ball hit deep to right, Giambi tagged up at first and made it to second easily. If you haven't watched Giambi run full out, it's a spectacle to behold. If you watched the game you know exactly what I'm talking about, but if you didn't it's hard to explain other than to say it was hilarious. After the play the YES camera crew panned over to the stands where some of Jason's family was watching the game and even they were getting in on the fun, mimicking his running style.

On a serious note, that simple play showed that Jason had his head in the game and was willing to hustle a bit when needed, which is always a good thing.

Giambi is Clutch

Bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, two strikes and two men on, Jason Giambi hits a game winning, three-run home run. After a horrible start to the season, Giambi has had one of the hottest bats lately, and came through today when the team needed him most. Molina was due up in the lineup, but Joe Girardi put Giambi in to pinch hit and it paid off. Michael Kay was quick to dub this game the biggest game of the year for the Yanks.

Chien Ming Wang got away with one. He had a horrible outing, giving up seven runs (six earned) and was looking like he was going to end up the losing pitcher. The Yankees relievers held fast, not giving up a run until Farnsworth came on in the ninth to give up three hits and a run. The Yankees offense had several chances, including a bases loaded situation in the eighth.

This was an important win for the Yankees, especially after blowing the bases loaded situation in the eighth. Hopefully this will provide a boost to clubhouse morale.

Kyle Farnsworth did get the win, despite his rocky ninth inning performance. Wang dodged the bullet of another loss. Hopefully Wang will get his groove back soon, but a win is a win.

Phew.

Chamberlain Continues to Stretch Out

Andy Pettitte was pitching at a high enough level last night that the Yankees didn't bring Joba in until midway through the bottom of the 7th inning.  Chamberlain pitched 1.1 innings, threw 28 pitches and faced 6 batters. With a 2 run lead, Joe Girardi went with Mariano Rivera in the 9th and Joba continued to throw in the bullpen afterward.

Jason Giambi went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and a home run. His average is now up to .244 and he continues to have a hot bat. You've gotta respect the 'stache. Melky Cabrera has been struggling at the plate a bit lately and had a nice outing hitting in the 9th spot and going 2 for 4. Matsui also had 2 and Damon went 3 for 5.

It's good to see Pettitte deliver a quality outing, going 6.2 innings. The bullpen is looking rather vulnerable at the moment and the Yankees absolutely aren't equipped to handle an early exit by too many of their pitchers. Ian Kennedy has a strained Latissimus muscle and some shoulder bursitis. Apparently he is expected back in 15 days and shouldn't miss an extended period. He probably deserves an extended stay down in the minors, and might need to be joined by Ohlendorf for a while.

There has been no official word yet on what will happen for Ian's next scheduled start. Pettitte may move up a day or Joba may get his first start. I doubt we'll be seeing Igawa back in New York. Chris Britton was called back up to fill Ike's spot on the roster temporarily, but the Yankees like moving him back and forth too much to let him linger long in the Big Apple.

The Joba Plan Continues

Joba pitched 2 innings and threw 40 pitches in an effort to get stretched out and ready for the rotation. Chamberlain wanted to come in for a third inning but Joe Girardi held him back and sent in Farnsworth instead. I'm a bit surprised that Joe didn't march him out to face at least one more batter, but I guess this is going to be a slow process, gradually increasing the pitch count.

Mike Mussina barely held on to a lead and ended up getting the win. The Farns had another off day, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits including a home run. It's really hard having a guy like Kyle on the team. He can pitch very well and can throw hard, but it seems a lot of hitters just plain have his stuff figured out.  When he's pitching well, he can be dominating, when he's not, he'll give up a lot of runs quickly. The unfortunate heart of the matter is that you cannot count on Kyle to deliver. You can put him in and hope he's having a good day, but there is little day-to-day consistency. There have been rumors that Farnsworth would take over as a setup man when Chamberlain went into the rotation, but I think that would be a horrible role for Kyle. He's more of a "use him whenever you think you can safely get away with it" type of pitcher than a setup man who you expect to be reliable.

Even though he's been iffy lately, I'd rather see a guy like Ohlendorf in the setup role. Veras is doing nicely and could do the job also.

On the other side, Yankee hitters have been coming to life, especially the struggling Cano and Giambi. If they continue to play at their current level for the rest of the season, they will both have respectable numbers. So I ask this: If Giambi and Cano have late season turnarounds and post decent numbers for the season, do you want them back? Giambi's contract is up at the end of the season, I'd still let him go personally. The free agent market for first basemen is looking very tempting with guys like Teixeira coming available.  Robbie Cano seems to make a habit of slow starts and I don't particularly like his fielding, but I'm not sure the Yankees really have any better options coming up through free agency. I would like to see Alberto Gonzalez get a lot more playing time, however and think he could turn out to be an everyday type of player.

2009 Free Agents

Just for kicks I thought I'd take a look at who will become a free agent at the end of the season. I'm listing all the important Yankees, and a few non-Yankees of interest.

First Base:

Jason Giambi*

Third Base:

Morgan Ensberg

Outfielders:

Bobby Abreu

Starting Pitchers:

Mike Mussina

Andy Pettitte

Relief Pitchers:

Kyle Farnsworth

LaTroy Hawkins

 

At first base, Mark Texiera will become available, and at 28 still has quite a few good years left in him. Several of the Yankees are getting a bit old at their position and might want to consider sliding over to first (Jeter, Posada). I don't see any way Giambi gets re-signed and wouldn't be surprised to see him get traded or cut if he continues to struggle. Also in the wings is Shelley Duncan, the utility OF/1B who has shown promise in the minor leagues but hasn't hit well in the majors this year.

Morgan Ensberg is more of a utility guy for the Yankees right now, and could get a better offer from someone else who wants to make him a starter. He is nice to have around, and currently adds more value to the team than Giambi. There are always youngsters like Eric Duncan and veterans like Cody Ransom ready to step in.

Bobby Abreu is an afterthought at this point. The Yanks already have too many outfielders and unless they trade someone, there's no need to keep Abreu around. Damon, Cabrera and Matsui can handle the job and guys like Duncan and Brett Gardner can fill in and you still have Tabata in the wings.

Mussina will likely be gone, Pettitte might sign on for another year if he holds up but the Yankees are going to need someone to fill in at least one spot. Assuming everything works out and Joba, Ian and Phil all come around as productive starters, Wang will still be an ace and then you've got one spot to fill. If Pettitte comes back you've got 5 but that's a lot of if's. Especially the way the staff is struggling right now, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Yanks pick someone up this year and then only re-signing Pettite if someone else doesn't work out.

I can't see the Yankees keeping Farnsworth around, despite Girardi's fascination with the hittable reliever. Hawkins is definitely gone. By next season Bruney should be healthy again and you've got Albaladejo,  Ohlendorf, Betances, Melancon and Patterson ready to take over.

There's a chance another minor league guy could be ready to try starting in the bigs. Darrel Rasner has been pitching well in the minors, but I see him as more of a long reliever. Jeff Marquez and Daniel McCutchen will get their shots eventually.

The Yankees have a lot of prospects that could play a role on next year's team. It would be hard to justify signing an overpriced veteran on the decline to a big contract when you've invested so much into bringing the young talent along. Then again, we're talking about the Yankees here, who am I kidding.

So Much for Ohlendorf as a Closer

Ross Ohlendorf gave up the winning run in a 4-3 loss to Cleveland. Billy Traber has been sent down and I see Ross' stock slipping in Girardi's eyes. Ian Kennedy looked awful early on and got hit hard for 3 runs in the second inning. After that he settled down and played well, but had thrown 105 pitches by the end of the fifth. Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins pitched fairly well, combining for 3 scoreless innings, but Hawkins needed some help from his defense to get it done.

The Yankees weren't hitting today as a team. Damon and Jeter were cranking out the hits but the Yanks couldn't string together enough offense to put more than 3 runs on the board.

This was a tough game to watch, given everything else that has happened lately. Girardi continues to make lots of ineffectual moves with both his hitters and bullpen pitchers.

Kennedy's lines weren't bad but watching him pitch that second inning was painful. Once again, a Yankee starter couldn't make it past the fifth inning. The Bombers need their starters to go at least 6, preferably 7 or 8 innings.

Giambi continues to cost his team runs by playing first, and struggled at the plate. Robinson Cano and his .152 batting average were brought in to hit for Morgan Ensberg, who has been hitting much better than Cano.

Farnsworth has been decent in his last few outings. That's about the only bright spot I'm seeing right now, which is a sad reflection on the state of this team.

Tensions are going to start running even higher before long if this continues.

Another Tough Loss

Andy Pettitte didn't have his best stuff and unlike his last start, couldn't tough out a win. The Yankees lost 6-4 to the Cleveland Indians, mostly due to a poor fifth inning by Pettitte. Andy gave up 2 home runs in that inning and just threw some bad pitches. The rest of his performance was decent, but all it takes is a few lapses and the opposing batters will make you pay.

Billy Traber struggled in his one inning appearance. I liked what I saw from him early in the year but his last 3 appearances have been worrisome. This time he gave up 2 walks, 1 hit and earned 1 run in his single inning of work. I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but I'm keeping him on a shorter leash at this point.

Albaladejo pitched 2 scoreless innings and was the only pitching bright spot. I really like this guy and think he deserves a full time spot in the bullpen.

Jason Giambi's bat came alive as he hit 2 home runs and was a few feet away from a third. In his last 7 games, Giambi is hitting .375 with a .500 OBP and a 1.000 SLG. While it's good to see him hitting again, I wouldn't complain if he were traded an a better defensive player were brought in.

There were three stolen bases against the Yankees, one against Pettitte and two against Traber. Traber has a slow delivery and no pickup move and Posada had no chance to throw out the runners. Expect to see much more base stealing against Posada and the Yanks in the next few games as Posada is slipping to Piazza-like levels of play defensively (but not quite matching him offensively).

Ian Kennedy gets the start tonight. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that he starts pitching at the level he is capable of and can last 6 or 7 innings or more.

Joba Loses

Joba Chamberlain is not invincible in the bullpen as some have come to believe, and proved it in the Yankees 7-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The young star gave up the winning run in the ninth inning and was credited for the loss.  Maybe now some people will stop perseverating about how dominant he is as a late reliever and how he needs to stay in the bullpen.

That's not going to happen, but I can dare to dream right?

For the record, I'm a huge Joba fan and think he'll be an all star pitcher for many years with the Yankees. Giving up 1 run on 2 hits in 1.1 innings of work. Stuff happens and even the best pitchers get hit once in a while, so lets just hope this doesn't get into Joba's head too much. "I give up hits and that's the way it's going to be. I let my team down," said Chamberlain after the game.

The story of the night was the Yankee pitchers and the tragedy that surrounded each of them.

Phil Huges looked much better in his first 2 innings, giving up only 1 hit and no runs. In the first inning he threw quite a few pitches and worked into a few deep counts but in the second inning he ripped through the opposing batters. In the middle of the third inning the rain came again and after the significant delay, Joe Girardi and Dave Eiland decided to pull Hughes in favor of Ross Ohlendorf, who apparently they think is a long reliever.

Ross Ohlendorf has a lot of talent and could turn into a very  successful reliever in the major leagues, but the longer he pitches, the less effective he is. Ross' velocity and stuff as a starter was always a step down from his stuff as a reliever, where he'd come in and throw harder with more movement. This season he's had some nice 3 inning outings, but last night he came undone after one. The first inning Ohlendorf pitched beautifully, but the second he came out flat and got tagged. In the end Ross gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings.

I didn't like Joe Girardi's decision not to have a long reliever on the team out of Spring training and it continues to hurt the team. Darrel Rasner is pitching extremely well in the minors and deserves a chance to come up. He's the guy you want to bring in to relieve Hughesey, Ike, or Moose if they need to come out early. A long reliever will eat up a bunch of innings, hopefully keeping the game close until you can bring in your closer. As much as I like Ohlendorf, he's definitely not long reliever material.

LaTroy Hawkins was decent, giving up 1 run in 2 innings of work. Kyle Farnsworth pitched a scoreless inning until slipping off the mound and hurting his right elbow. Kyle said he hoped to be back in action on Friday.

Brian Bruney didn't pitch this game but apparently sprained his foot or ankle on Wednesday night while attempting (unsuccessfully) to cover first base. Bruney will likely go on the DL so that another pitcher can be brought up. The Yankees have been using their bullpen heavily and need some fresh arms.

Jason Giambi had a decent hitting night going 2 for 4, but remains a defensive liability. He botched a simple 5 foot toss to Hughes who was running to cover first. Thankfully the athletic pitcher was able to reach down low and scoop the ball in time, but there is no excuse for that kind of sloppy play, especially when you have guys like Ensberg and Duncan available.

The Yankees will be making some moves today, putting people on the DL and calling up relievers from the minors. Now might be the time Chad Moeller gets sent back down since Molina and Posada both appear to be healthy. If so, once again, congratulations Chad on doing an outstanding job of filling in!

Abreu Grand Slam Propels Yanks to Win

Chien-Ming Wang was getting hit frequently Tuesday night in Chicago, but Bobby Abreu came through with a 2 out grand slam home run.

Wang gave up 10 hits in 6 innings and allowed 3 runs. Many of Wang's pitches that were put into play went deep and were caught on the warning track. In a different ballpark the results could have been much uglier for the Yankees. Chien-Ming's win was the 50th of his career, reached in only 85 games. Dwight Gooden and Ron Guidry reached the 50 mark after 82 games.

The Bullpen was less than stellar today. Billy Traber was only allowed to face one batter, which he walked. Brian Bruney came on and proceeded to load the bases while only getting one out. Finally the Yanks called in Joba Chamberlain to get out of the bases loaded, one out jam. Struck out one batter, walked in a run, and then got the final out on a pop fly fielded by Posada.

To keep things interesting, New York manager Joe Girardi gave every fan watching a scare by brining in Kyle Farnsworth to close out the game. With the Yankees up 5 in the the bottom of the ninth, Farney walked one, gave up a hit, and allowed a run to score before getting the third out of the inning and ending the game.

Bobby Abreu had the biggest clutch hit of the night and put the Yankees on top in the seventh inning. Johnny Damon went 3 for 5 with a home run of his own. Jason Giambi was removed from the game with a swollen thumb after a horrible defensive play at first that should have been scored an error. While Giambi did hit a solo home run, his offensive production is still poor and he remains a huge defensive liability.

Surprisingly there were no stolen bases with Posada behind the plate, and no runners were caught stealing. Yankee pitchers did a good job of keeping runners close to first, but the one or two times runners went early, balls were put into play. I'm surprised that there weren't more attempts to steal, given the vulnerable arm that Jorge has.

The team LOB tonight was 6, a respectable number. If the Yankee bats can get on base and drive runners home like they did tonight, they'll be able to overcome their problems with pitching. Up until now it's mostly been starting pitching, but tonight the bullpen looked particularly vulnerable.

Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez and his wife on the birth of their second daughter.

Competition Notes: The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-6, and are showing no signs of letting up. This is troubling to Yankee fans because the Sox ace Josh Beckett was scratched from the game. Instead, David Pauley was called up from the minors for the start. Pauley was shelled, giving up 7 hits and 5 runs in 4.1 innings of work. The Boston bullpen held strong, and even Mike Timlin got a batter out as they waited for the offense to come alive in later innings and secure the win. Even with their best starter out, this team finds a way to win. The Yanks will have to wait another day to try and close the gap.