Results tagged ‘ Brett Gardner ’
This Team is in Trouble
For the first month of the season, the Yankees were able to stay in the mix atop the A.L. East by outscoring their opponents, despite terrible starting pitching. Well, now that it is may, the starting pitching has been a bit better, although not great. In fact in two games, the starters have allowed 9 runs in 11 2/3 innings. Not great by any means, but the fact is, the starters were so bad in April that even this is an improvement.
The problem is that now the bats have gone cold. In three games against Baltimore, the team scored 3 runs. That’s right, 1 run per game. You are not going to win too many games with that kind of offense, no matter what kind of pitching you get.
So now we have poor offense to go with poor pitching and that is a recipe for disaster. I know that Swisher and Gardner are hurt, but to not DL either one of them and call up someone like Dewayne Wise, who has ML experience and is killing the ball in AAA just makes no sense. The veteran guys like Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez are not good defenders and playing them this much exposes them on offense as well. Eduardo Nunez is not an outfielder and that fact was very evident on Monday evening. I do not understand the reluctance to call up someone from AAA to help out. That is what they are there for.
This team had better figure things out in a hurry, because in this division, if you fall too far behind, you will not make the playoffs even with the extended format. Teams in weaker divisions will win more games and I don’t see two wild cards coming from this division.
Yes, it is still early and there is plenty of time. However, I don’t see this team doing anything to try and shake this funk. They just continue to run the same lineups out there and continue to play badly. Time for a jolt of some sort.
Missed pop up blows up and thoughts on Jeter
The one thing that stands out about last night’s loss was the missed popup that fell between A-Rod and Brett Gardner. It would have been the third out and the Yankees would have had a 2-0 lead going into the eights. Instead, the missed pop up led to 4 runs and a loss. A-Rod needed to either get out of the way or catch the ball. He did neither and in my opinion the miss was on him, as well as the loss.
On another note, I am getting a bit tired of the Jeter bashing in the NY press. This guy is one of the all time Yankee greats and he deserves better treatment. Nunez will probably produce more offense at this point, but he was horrendous in the field and Pena’s errors cost the Yankees a win on Sunday. Leave the guy alone, let him collect his 3000th hit, then move him down in the order and let him play out the rest of his career. No, he is not the ideal leadoff guy any more, but he is still a solid contributor, just not suited for the top of the order any more. Give the guy some respect. He is a Hall of Famer and those of us who have witnessed his whole career are thankful he was a Yankee.
Martin reminds me of Munson
I was watching Russell Martin in this series and he reminded me of one of my all time favorite Yankees, Thurman Munson. He was tough as nails and had some timely hits as well as a warrior spirit. I saw some Thurman in Russell Martin in these three games for sure.
In that first game of this series, it looked like a typical, lifeless performance by the Yankees on the first day of a road trip. You see these all the time. They just had no life after an evening flight and it showed. They bounced back nicely to win the next two and in the process set the all time attendance record for a three game series at Wrigley. The Yankees do this regularly when on the road, particularly in inter-league play. The rest of baseball should be thanking this team for the extra revenue it generates in every city they visit.
And what about Brett Gardner? He has been on fire offensively and made some really nice defensive plays in this series as well. He was struggling so badly earlier this year, that it was easy to forget what a good player he can be. Lots of good things to see lately. The patchwork bullpen is doing a great job. From what I have seen, I really like Cory Wade and Luis Ayala. David Robertson has been outstanding as well. And Brian Gordon is a great testament to fortitude and determination, getting his first major league win on Thursday. Nunez has been hitting well filling in for Jeter, but he is brutal in the field. Now it’s on to Cincinnati for another three before coming home for the Rockies.
Still not Impressed
OK, so the Yankees managed to win six out of the last seven at home after being blasted again by Boston. So what? Until they can beat Boston, this team will be the second best team in the division. I predicted that they will re-take first place before they play Boston again in August and I still believe that. They are now only one game out. We’ll see how they fare on this road trip, but I expect it will be a good one.
On another note, how about these last two pickups that Brian Cashman has made? Both Brian Gordon and Cory Wade pitched very well yesterday against a very good offensive Texas club. I have a feeling Gordon’s days may be numbered, but he kept the ball low in the zone and threw strikes, so usually that translates to success. Wade looks to be healthy and if he can pitch anywhere near as well as he did in 2008, they may truly have found something. Lots to feel good about yesterday including Brett Gardner coming off the bench to get two hits off lefties including the game winner. He is now the team’s leading hitter at .286.
Over Analysis anyone?
Over the past few weeks, I have read numerous articles on the struggles of Derek Jeter, Ivan Nova, Brett Gardner, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Rafael Soriano. I have a news flash for all of the “experts”. The season lasts 162 games. It is May the 10th. All of the above players will have hot and cold streaks over the course of a 162 game season. It is perfectly normal. Analyze them later in the season. It is still way too early. Each and every player in ML baseball will have hot and cold streaks. Analyze the team as a whole. How are they doing so far? They are tied for first place. Everything else is irrelevant. Every player that has been scrutinized that is mentioned above has had games where they contributed to a win. In combination, they have put their team in first place thus far. Case closed. Talk to me in August or September about what kind of season a player is having. Right now, the only thing that matters is what the team is doing.
Thoughts at the break
All in all, it has been a very enjoyable first half. Considering all the injuries and slow starts, it looks like the second half could be even better. Who would have thought that Brett Gardner would be hitting over .300? Not me for sure. He has been a sparkplug for the offense and could easily have made the All Star team. Also, Nick Swisher has been much more consistent than last year. Cudos to Kevin Long for quieting his swing. And what do we have to look forward to in the second half? I believe that A.J. Burnett will bounce back. Also Granderson and Texeira will hit better than they did in the first half. When this team starts hitting on all cylinders, watch out! I for one can’t wait for the second half. Enjoy the break boys, you’ve more than earned it.
Time to wake up
I guess the good news is that the Yankees are still tied for first after losing 3 straight. The bad news is that they have allowed the Red Sox to creep to within 1 game. It’s time for the Yankees to wake up and start winning games against competitive teams. I won’t even say good teams, because I am not convinced that the Phillies team that beat them two out of three can even be considered one of the better teams in the NL East at this point. The problem is easy to see. The middle of the order other than Cano is killing them. Texeira has been pathetic and A-Rod very inconsistent. Posada has been putrid since coming back except fot the two Grand Slams last weekend. This team needs some consistency in the middle of the order if they are to go anywhere this year. They are very talented, but it is performance that counts, not talent and this team’s best players are underperfoming this year. The saviors have been Cano, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher who all have been solid for the most part.
Suspended game and more of the same on offense
Well, last night’s suspended game looked a lot like the past week’s games. The Yankees get runners on, then can’t get them home. I read somewhere this past weekend that a scout had said this about the team. “Wanna know how to get the Yankees out? Just let them get a couple of guys on base.” His analysis was proved out in full force in the fourth inning last night as Jeter and Gardner got on with no outs. Texeira then hit a weak little bloop to second on the first pitch, A-Rod struck out on a pitch in his eyes and Robinson Cano Flied out to left center. Absolutely pathetic, but very consistent with the way this offense has been performing. I am tired of hearing how Texeira will snap out of his funk. The time is now. The team needs him. The other two, I can’t really complain about as they haven’t been red hot, but have had their moments. The offense as a whole has been absent for over a week now. Time to break out the bats boys.
Nice comeback win at home
Well that was exactly what this team needed. After all the injuries and losing four of their last five, they needed A-Rod, Cano and Texeira to step up. They did just that. Cano looked much better at the plate and appears to be heating up again. Texeira had a couple of hits and he has looked much better as well. And what can you say about A-Rod’s grand slam. It was exactly what the team needed after Girardi tried to give the game away.
I have stated before that there is no way that Damaso Marte has earned the right to be in a game when it is close and demands consistency. He just hasn’t shown that consistency and exactly half of the inherited runners have scored when he is brought in. No way I have him in the game in that situation. I would’ve taken my chances with Burnett to get one more out. Girardi has way too much faith in this guy and he hasn’t earned it. I say make him pitch his way back into these situations by bringing him in when nothing is at stake until he finds his groove. Regardless, A-Rod rescured Girardi from the doghouse with his blast.
And what about Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli? With his speed, I don’t see any extended slumps in Gardner’s future. Cervelli, on the other hand, I beleive has been a bit lucky, but he sure seems to hit well with runners in scoring position. Who knows? Maybe he has figured things out at this stage of his career. His minor league numbers wouldn’t indicate he could hit like this, but stranger things have happened. Anyway, it is fun watching these two home grown products produce with all the whining about how much money the Yankees spend. The core of this team is still home grown and these two just add a couple more pieces to the puzzle.
Hot Stove
Alright, I guess it’s finally time to talk about what the Yankees should or might do to get ready for next year. It’s been over a week since the WS, so I have had plenty of time to enjoy the victory. Now how do we do it again. One of the more interesting things to come out of the GM meetings was the availability of Curtis Granderson. I believe the Yankees would be foolish not to pursue him. If they were able to trade for Granderson, then they could let both Damon and Matsui go. They would be better defensively by moving Melky to left and with Granderson in CF. It would also allow them to move Juan Miranda to the DH spot and get both younger and cheaper there. But what would it take to get him? I think you would have to include Gardner in any trade package and it would most probably take at least one pitching prospect. Who would you give up? Ivan Nova, Ian Kennnedy? Either Joba or Hughes. My package would be Gardner, Ivan Nova and perhaps a position prospect or another minor league pitcher. What do you think?
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