Results tagged ‘ Curtis Granderson ’
This Team is Going Nowhere Fast
I know that Joe Girardi is a patient man, but it’s time to shake things up with this lineup. The middle of the order is consistently bad. He keeps saying they need to get hot, but if he is waiting for A-Rod, Texeira and Swisher to all get hot and sustain that, then he may be in for a long wait. I would much rather see Swisher in the two hole, with Cano third and Granderson fourth. That would move A-Rod down to fifth and Texeira sixth, which is much more where they belong than in the four and five hole. They are killing this team and it isn’t just this year. They have been inconsistent for most of the past two seasons and it killed them in the playoffs last year. They are not going to suddenly turn things around and hit well from their current spots in the order. It just ain’t going to happen. Time to shake things up and see if that helps any. What have they got to lose? And when is someone going to tell Texeira that being a one dimensional pull hitter is not the right approach. Last night, he got an outside pitch that he could have driven the other way and instead, he rolled over on it and bounced it off the plate. Pathetic.
Nothing Like Opening Day at the Stadium
Yesterday was a Yankees classic. From the pre-game player introductions and fly over to Jorge Posada throwing out the first pitch to his Dad, this one was special before it even began. Then once the game started, it was a great game to watch. Swisher started it off with a clutch bases clearing double in the first. A-Rod added to the lead with a HR to dead center, then Granderson capped it off with a solo shot. Hiroki Kuroda was effortlessly brilliant. I may have been wrong about him, he will bear watching. All in all, a great day for Yankees fans. Looking forward to this afternoon.
One in the books, 161 more to go
So finally, something real to write about. I have refrained from writing for several weeks, because there was really nothing to write about. All of the spring speculation that I read in the newspapers and online seemed like drivel to me. Most of it was nonsense about how Jesus Montero failed to win the backup catcher’s job and other BS written by people who seem to have no understanding of what spring training is for. The fact is, Montero hit well enough to win the job and his defense was certainly as good as Jorge Posada has been the past few years. The reality is that the Yankees thought he could use some more seasoning at Triple A and in the end, that’s what he’ll get.
As for the first game, you could not have asked for a better ballgame. Curtis Granderson was huge with his defense and that game winning home run. I think there may have been a bit of extra incentive since they were playing the Tigers and he hit the home run off Phil Coke, who was part of the deal when he was traded. Once the Yanks got the lead, Joba, Soriano and Mariano did exactly what they are supposed to do and that is to shut the opposition down. It was a perfect blueprint for a win and I believe we will see many more like this one this year. That Yankees bullpen is going to be incredible. Sure they will have bad days, but I believe that most of the time, it will be like today. If they have a lead after six, it will be all over. Today it was tied after six, but you get the idea. So buckle up folks and enjoy the ride. It will be a long season full of ups and downs, but I for one am sure glad Yankee baseball is back.
We’ll take it
It is often the case that the team plays a bit flat on the first day of a road trip. I guess that can be attributed to the travel and adjusting to life on the road. Last night was a classic example. The offense did basically nothing with the exception of homers by Swisher and Granderson. That proved to be enough as Javy Vazquez went seven plus strong innings. The Yankees need to do as they did against KC and take three of four. Nothing against Cleveland, but they aren’t very good and first place teams should beat them three of four. That wasn’t a very exciting game, but a win is a win is a win.
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.
lineup vs. lefties
So yesterday I posted my idea of what this year’s lineup should look like against righties. Today I’ll take a stab at what I would do against lefties. I believe vs. lefties the lineup presents an opportunity for flexibility. Anyway, here goes.
Jeter SS
Johnson DH
Texeira 1B
A-Rod 3B
Posada C
Granderson CF
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Winn LF
I also would not be opposed to sliding Winn into the 2 hole and leaving Johnson at 5 like against righties. In this instance, you could hit Granderson at 7 and Posada at 6. You also could plug Hoffman or Thames in against lefties from time to time to give someone a break or instead of Winn. Thoughts?
Yanks Off Season Thus Far
I have been pretty quiet since the end of the year, just watching the moves unfold as an interested observer. Today I want to take a stab at evaluating whether this is a better team now than it was at the end of the World Series. Let’s start with CF. Curtis Granderson replaces Melky Cabrera. Clearly this makes the team stronger in CF both offensively and defensively, although Melky was a pretty good defender. Next comes the rotation. Having Javier Vasquez as your number four starter speaks to the depth of talent in the starting rotation. In my mind, this move makes the starting rotation much stronger than last year. Next comes DH, where you have replaced Hideki Matsui with Nick Johnson. This one is more of a question mark. I believe the Yankees will miss Matsui’s power numbers and clutch hitting, but Johnson should be a solid piece out of the number two hole. I believe this one may make the team a bit weaker in the run production department, but we’ll see. Now comes LF. Johnny Damon will be gone and who starts there remains to be seen, but again, I believe the team will miss his left handed bat in the new stadium. So overall, I believe as it stands now, the moves make the team about the same as last year as far as wins and losses. It may be a different kind of team with less power, but might score just as many runs. Certainly they will be younger and a bit cheaper, so if that was the goal, then I believe Cashman has achieved that. Thoughts?
Granderson
Finally, something to write about. You may have noticed that since the end of the season, I have been very quiet. I figured it was pointless to speculate about what the Yankees might do, because it would be just that, speculation, with no basis in actual fact. Now though, the Yankees have actually done something. Not sure how you feel about this deal, but for me, it was a no brainer. Curtis Granderson is an All Star calibre outfielder, is 29 years old and is under team control for an average of $8 mil for the next three years. And what did they give up to get him? One player off the major league roster. Phil Coke was a homer prone lefty who couldn’t get lefties out. And the other two? Who knows what they will become? We do know this, however. Neither one of them would have made the ML roster this year. Jackson obviously has the most upside, but to get Granderson, he is worth including. And Kennedy has potential as a back of the rotation guy or long reliever, but again, a very replaceable piece. Great deal for the Yankees. And of course all of the “experts” over at LoHud are tearing this deal apart with mixed opinions. I didn’t care much for Pete Abraham, but that blog sure has gone downhill since he left. And Bill Madden at the Daily News in his infiinite wisdom has stated that aquiring Granderson does not instantly make the Yankees better. So we lost a mediocre reliever and gained an All Star calibre outfielder, but are not a better team? Brilliant.
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?
mlblogshighlanderhilites
Recent Comments