Cause for Concern

Spring training has only recently begun and most Yankee fans have reason to be worried about the upcoming season. One of the main reasons for last year’s troubles was a plague of injuries and that slowly looks to be happening again this time around.

The biggest news of the pre-season is A-Rods upcoming hip surgery which will take him out 6-9 weeks. The idea is that he’ll have arthroscopic surgery to get him mostly healed and able to play the vast majority of season and then he’ll have another procedure in the offseason. If all goes well, they should only miss him for about 1 month of the actual season. If all goes well.

In the meantime, Cody Ransom is the everyday backup to start in his place and Cashman is probably exploring other options and thinking about making a trade to pick up another third baseman. This would be an unfortunate move if the Yankees had to give up anything significant, which they likely would. Moving Cabrera or Kennedy wouldn’t bother me, but giving up an actual prospect would be a big setback to the depleted Yankee farm system, especially if you’re only acquiring a guy who will likely only see a month or two of work as a Yankee.

The second area of concern is Jorge Posada, who had a bit of shoulder stiffness early in the spring and sat out a while. While his replacement Molina might be a fine defensive backstop, he is an offensive liability. The Yankees surely missed Posada’s bat last year and will do so again if he’s not up to snuff. The idea of DHing Posada doesn’t quite work out because of Matsui.

Which brings up the last area of concern, Hideki Matsui. Yes, he’s looking somewhat healthy this year and is expected to be able to DH, but there’s no talk of him returning to the outfield any time soon. The reason this is a concern is that the Yankees now have 3 guys who may end up being nothing more than DH when the people actually playing the skill positions have significantly lower offensive outputs. If A-Rod can move back to third and Posada can’t throw from behind the plate, the Yankees are going to be in a world of hurt.

Happy Birthday Hideki

In an unsurprising turn of events, the Yankees rebounded after a loss with a win, putting them one game over .500. The story of the day was Hideki Matsui's birthday grand slam home run. The big hit came at a good time because there weren't many other scoring opportunities. Who needs A-Rod when you've got Godzilla?

Andy Pettitte was at the top of his game, striking out six batters and only allowing one run in eight innings of work. Mariano Rivera pitched for the fifth time in six games and picked up another save.

Joe Girardi's use of Rivera is telling of how much he really trusts anyone else in the bullpen to throw when the Yanks have a lead.

There is talk that with the interleague games coming up that Girardi may do some roster shuffling to bring up a capable bench player. Look for Duncan to be finally sent down and someone like Alberto Gonzalez to be called up.

A win is a win and I'm glad to see the Bombers come out on top, but at this stage it's hard for me not to be cynical and expect a quick loss to keep them right at their .500 mark.

Clutch hitting by Yankees

The Yankees were down 5-2 to start the bottom of the 8th inning.  Jeter walks, Abreu drives in a run with a double. A-Rod walks, Giambi strikes out and Matsui comes in to pinch hit for Duncan. With a weak hit to the pitcher, Matsui hustles down the first base line and the throw to first is off the mark, allowing Abreu to score. Robbie Cano hits a sac fly to score A-Rod and then Molina hits a double to score Matsui, putting the Yankees up 6-5.

With a little help from the errant throw, the Yankees put together a solid inning of offense when they needed it. While Matsui could have been thrown out, give him credit for hustling to first to force the off-target throw. The Yankees got the hits when they needed and put the game in the win column despite an off day for Wang. If they can continue to play like this, the rest of the season could be interesting. Wang will have better days but it's nice to see the team pull out a victory even when the pitching staff is off their game.

Edwar Ramirez pitched 1.2 innings and hasn't allowed a run all year. Mariano Rivera came in to pitch the 9th and struck out two, retiring the side in order for the save. Things looked iffy for a second there as Kyle Farnsworth was warming up in the 8th, but after the Yankees took the lead Mo was the go-to guy. The idea of bringing in the Farns in a close game is a little scary, as he hasn't shown he can be reliable in tight situations. Ramirez looks sharp and could also be a candidate for the setup job later in the season.

Offensive Explosion

The Yankees put another game in the win column last night by scoring runs. A lot of runs. The final score was 13-2 and almost everyone in the Yankee lineup got in on the fun. Other than Hideki Matsui, who went 3 for 5, no one particular Yankee really stood out above the rest, the whole team seemed to get the hits when they were needed. Even guys like Shelley Duncan, who got 1 hit in 4 AB, had the hit come at the right time and was able to drive in a run.

Jason Giambi went 2 for 3 and Robbie Cano went 2 for 4 and both seem to be hitting better lately.

Andy Pettitte needed 105 pitches to get through 6 innings, but only allowed 2 runs on 8 hits.  Hawkins and Ramirez were scoreless in their 2 and 1 innings of relief, respectively.

Joe Girardi had the night off after being suspended for his tirade on Thursday.

There's not much commentary that I think needs to accompany last night's game. The Yankees, as a team, started hitting the way they were capable of. They strung together hits and scored runs. The starting pitching wasn't perfect, but delivered a quality start and the relievers shut down opposing batters.

Let's just hope we see a lot more of this from the Bomber's in the days and weeks to come.

Yankees Sneak in Afternoon Game and Win

I missed yesterday's game because I didn't realize it was an early start. The Yankees won 6-3 with the help of 4 home runs during the game and a solid outing by Mike Mussina. Moose pitched 5 innings but started to crack at the end. Ross Ohlendorf gave up 1 hit and 0 runs in 2 innings, Joba Chamberlain retired the side in the eighth and Mariano Rivera gave up 1 hit and 0 runs in the ninth.

I'm starting to feel a little better about Mussina. He's settled down in his last few games and pitches decently. If he can get run support, he can get a few wins. He's still going to carry that 4.0-4.5 ERA and give up runs, but hopefully the offense will help him out.

I don't know what to make of Ohlendorf. I think he's got good stuff and have thinking that he would eventually be a setup man or closer. He had some troubles earlier in the season with long relief appearances, but yesterday he managed 2 innings just fine. He'll probably be fine with 2 innings of work but I think 3 might be pushing it, getting him a little outside is effective zone.

Joba created a stir once again with an animated fist pump that was all over the television media. I'm tired of this non-story.

Hideki Matsui remains the teams best hitter. If I ever mentioned a trade involving Matsui before, I retract it. We need his bat right now. Wilson Betemit hit a home run and may actually seeing the ball a little better. Struggling Robbie Cano went 2 for 3.

Team LOB: 1 - that's the kind of number I like.

Coming Up:

Kei Igawa vs. Kenny Rogers. The Yanks have been hitting Rogers hard and Igawa might actually stand a chance. I don't like to be pessimistic, but I doubt Igawa will get out of the fourth inning and won't be back in New York for a long time.

David Wells was mentioned in the Post as wanting to come back and play for the Yankees, who have rotation issues. I think that is pretty unlikely at this point. Expect Ian Kennedy to be back soon and Darrel Rasner to continue filling in for the injured Phil Hughes.

Quality Start For Pettitte

Andy Pettitte used 100 pitches to face 32 batters over 7.0 innings in a winning effort as the Yankees beat the Rays 5-3. Andy gave up 9 hits and 3 runs and got the run support he needed. This is exactly the kind of outing you like to see from Pettitte. Even without his best stuff, he managed to keep it together and get through the innings he needed. If you can consistently get through 7 innings with your starter, your in a lot better shape to win a game than if you have to bring relievers in early.

The Rays' Edwin Jackson came back down to reality today, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings. His early numbers this season have been a bit deceptive and things are slowly starting to level out.

Yankee batters hit well in the clutch with some big 2 out RBIs from Jeter and Abreu. Derek Jeter went 3 for 4 and drew a walk. More importanly, he was able to hustle home from second base on a deep line drive to center, a good sign that he is recovering from his injury. Matsui was sharp at the plate with 2 RBIs on 2 hits including a solo home run to center.

Giambi and Cano struggled at the plate but Robby had some nice plays at 2nd base. Earlier in the year he seemed a little off his fielding game but tonight he made a few tough plays and saved a hit or two.

10 men were left on base tonight, a stat that continues to be a bit too high for my liking.

Kyle Farnsworth is doing his best to prove me wrong about his talent (or lack thereof). I was getting nervous when he came in with only a 2 run lead, but he got all 3 batters out in short order, needing 10 pitches. Farnsworth is perfectly capable of pitching an inning in relief and holding a lead. Good outings like this are deceptive however, because despite his strong arm, Kyle's stuff is extremely hitable and he frequently gets abused by opposing hitters.

Chad Moeller was  0 for 2, but drew a walk. No one attempted a steal off of his arm. All in all the cagey veteran is holding his own.

Textbook Win For Yankees Pitching

Chien Ming Wang showed that he is definitely the Bombers' ace this season. He pitched 6 solid innings, not allowing a hit until the 5th. Wang started the 7th but gave up 2 hits and Joba Chamberlain came in in relief. Chamberlain threw 2 innings, getting 6 outs facing 5 batters. Rivera was perfect in the 9th.

The Yanks offense didn't put too many runs on the board, but the two they had were enough. Despite 9 hits, they only scored on a Rodriguez double followed by a Matsui home run.

This is exactly the type of game you'd like to see more of from Yankees pitching. Eventually Joba will be in the starting rotation and hopefully he'll be responsible for some solid outings in the starting role later on.

Update: Joba threw several fastballs in the high nineties and one pitch topped out at over 100 mph!