Results tagged ‘ Rafael Soriano ’
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.
A couple of tough losses
OK Yankees fans, first things first. The sky is not falling. With a bit of luck, the Yankees could have won either of these two games. They are in a bit of an offensive slump right now, but this offense will bounce back. With a little luck last night either A-Rod’s or Cano’s hit would have dropped and the Yankees would have won. No such luck. The one thing I am a bit disturbed about is Rafael Soriano. Now maybe he will turn things around and have a great season. I know it is early. But thus far, I just don’t like his demeanor on the mound. It almost seems like he doesn’t want to be out there. The missed popup on Monday that led to the second run? Maybe it was an honest mistake. In my mind it was Soriano just not caring enough whether or not that ball was going to be caught. He barely looked at it and had no idea where his infielders were. Then to say afterward that he didn’t think he could have gotten there? BS. This guy looks like trouble and I am hoping I am wrong.
Girardi throws one away
When Rafael Soriano came into the game with a four run lead in the eighth innning and the bottom of the order due up, I asked my son “Why would you use him in this situation?”. He just pitched last night and it is a four game series meaning he won’t be availabe tonight when the game might be closer. I just didn’t get it. Of course, he failed to hold the lead and not only did the Yankees lose the game, they had to use Mariano as well, meaning he also is not available this evening. I knew what Girardi’s response would be, and sure enough, when asked, his answer was “He’s my eighth innning guy.”. Does that mean that Soriano will pitch every game in the eighth innning? I think not. You had choices Joe and you made the wrong one. It would have been much better to start the innning with Robertson, then if he gets in trouble, you bring in Soriano, not the other way around. Bottom line is that Girardi has mis-managed the bullpen thus far and I blame both losses on his inability to put relievers into the proper situations. It cost them the game tonight for sure and it cost them in the playoffs last year. He has done this repeatedly and until he figures it out, this team will not win when it needs to. When you have a four run lead with six outs to go, you have to be able to close things out. As for Soriano, if you think ducking out on reporters will make things easier Rafael, you are in for a rude awakening. New York crowds and media can be brutal and you just opened yourself up for some proper bashing by both the fans and the media.
The Formula
You can’t really complain too much about a 3-1 start. The Yankees offense kind of petered out after the second inning yesterday, but Nova and the bullpen were stellar. Looks like the early Joe Torre years. If they have the lead after six, they will be tough to beat. Great job all the way around from Nova, Joba, Soriano and Mariano. And no, Michael Kay you will not hear me refer to them as JoSoMo. Still early, but overall, this team has looked pretty good. I firmly believe this team will win at least 95 games again this year. There will be ups and downs, but right now, things look pretty good,
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.
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