Results tagged ‘ Nick Swisher ’
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.
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.
Yankees are in denial
So this morning, I was reading some of the quotes from the Yankees players and from manager Joe Girardi and it struck me that they were in denial about what Tampa did to them this weekend. By repeatedly hitting directly into the teeth of defensive shifts, they cost themselves any chance they may have had of winning those games. A-Rod, Texeira and Swisher all talked about how they had hit the ball hard. Well what good is that if you hit it right at the defense? Girardi said this “It’s really hard to change who you are and revamp your approach because of the way a team plays you. You try to take what they give you, you try to hit the ball hard, and you take your chances. Sometimes part of the reason they do it is they want you to get away from what you’ve been doing so well for a long time. I just tell our guys to keep hitting the ball hard, and it’ll work.”
Well that may just be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How is continuing to hit the ball into the teeth of the defense taking what they give you in any way shape or form? It’s not taking what they give you, it’s the exact opposite. It’s playing to what they are trying to take away from you.
Yesterday, after the Yankees lost, I flipped over to the Red Sox/Detoit game. In the bottom of the 11th with Prince Fielder up, Boston employed the shift on the right side of the infield. Instead of drilling it right at the defense like the Yankees did, Fielder drilled one to left field and wound up scoring the tieing run. That, my friends is taking what the defense gives you. They gave him the left side and he took it. He didn’t just hit it really hard, right at the defense. My guess is the Yankees will now see a lot more of these shifts and they need to adjust or they will find themselves losing a lot of winnable games this year.
Day Three, Another Loss
Well, today’s game was the perfect example of why you need to be able to win the games that are within your grasp. Jeremy Helickson completely shut down the Yankees today. They only mounted one threat, in the fourth when they had runners on second and third and one out. Nick Swisher had a 3-1 count and promptly jumped on ball four and popped up to short. Swisher also struck out with runners on the corners later in the game and he is beginning to be my least favorite Yankee to see come to the plate with runners in scoring position. There will be days like today, when the opposing pitcher just shuts down the offense. That is what makes those games like yesterday and Friday more important.
The Yankees got schooled this weekend in Tampa. They were out managed, outhit, and out pitched. Those first two games should have been victories. When you score six runs, you should win, period. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back in Baltimore, but it’s hard to imagine them looking any worse than they did this weekend in Tampa. They have now lost seven straight to Tampa dating back to last year and the Rays have got to be thinking “We own these guys.”
Too bad Boston casts such a long shadow
I know that I have been harping on this for weeks, but I just can’t enjoy the Yankees success until they prove that they can beat Boston. It is no doubt that the team is playing well and beating the snot out of NL teams in interleague play. All well and good. But as a fan, all I can do is enjoy the show and know that it all means nothing until the next showdown with the Red Sox. Being in first by 2.5 games beats the alternative, but again, this team is still second best in its own division for now. It really is a shame, because this is a nice run the team is on and different guys are stepping up and contributing. Posada and Swisher have started hitting and have been major contributors during this streak of good wins. There are many others who have stepped up including David Robertson. He was absolutely overpowering last night and that is becoming a habit for him. I will just have to enjoy this as much as I can, knowing that this is still the team that can’t beat Boston.
Nice Road Trip
After starting off with two tough, avoidable losses in Seattle, the Yankees bounce back to sweep Oakland and take two of three in Anaheim. That was no easy feat. During this west coast swing, the Yankees faced some of the best pitchers in the league and to come away 6-3 is an excellent result. Now, there were lots of reasons for their success, but I think it would be unfair to start singling them out. Overall, the starting pitching was good, the relief corps was good and the offense produced when it needed to. Even the defense got into the act with some stellar plays in Anaheim. There are some other good things to take away from this road trip. It looks like Nick Swisher may be coming around. Mark Texeira is absolutely on fire and A-Rod looks to be bouncing back after a bit of a slump. The fact that this team is in first place and is tied for the best record in the AL is a testament to their work ethic and perseverance. I could not be more impressed. Now it’s three tough games against the Sox and I’m hoping this team can finally find a way to beat Boston this year. They have looked lost against them thus far and that just won’t do if this team is to be playing in October.
2 Games Up
Wow! After the way this team has struggled, I find it amazing that they are now in first place by 2 games. After a 3 game sweep in Oakland, they are not out of the woods yet, though. They play an always tough Anaheim team 3 games this weekend, then it’s back home for 3 against Boston. To illustrate how inconsistent this team has been, this recent streak marks the first time the Yankees have won 4 straight all year. Yesterday, it looked like bad A.J. again as he coughed up the lead in the first inning, then proceeded to struggle with his control (surprise) for most of the game, working himself into bad counts all day. Fortunately, he managed to settle down a bit and actually retired 12 of the last 13 hitters he faced. This guy drives me crazy to watch. Every pitch is an adventure and he just never seems to settle into a groove with his control. Regardless, they Yankees won again on Nick Swisher’s three run bomb. Should be a good weekend series in Anaheim and then maybe they can actually figure out a way to beat Boston this year.
Swish-a-licious
Wow! Amazing ending to the homestand with a walk off shot. Also, thanks to Boston for beating up on Tampa and increasing the lead to 2.5 games. Now it’s off to Texas and I fully expect a good road trip. Season is winding down and it has been a great season thus far. Lots of ups and downs and tough games. All in all, I am proud of this team and the way the have battled.
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.
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