http://www.lohud.com/story/sports/mlb/lohud-yankees/2014/07/10/thoughts-2/12469431/
Despite all their problems, Yankees still hanging in there
THE LOHUD YANKEES BLOG
Chad Jennings, cjennings@lohud.com 8:58 a.m. EDT July 10, 2014
Remember Sunday? That was the day the Yankees traded for Brandon McCarthy, cut bait on Alfonso Soriano, scored nine runs, and beat the Twins to take three out of four in Minnesota. There was some hope on that day. It seemed like the kind of day that might really change some things for the Yankees. If a few bounces went their way, Sunday might turn out to be a day that turned them in the right direction.
Most of Wednesday felt the exact opposite.
Yesterday was a rough one for the Yankees, but getting that win put them one away from taking three of four yet again on this road trip. Get a win tonight, and the Yankees will head into this weekend's series in Baltimore no worse than three games behind the division leader. Even with four-fifths of their rotation on disabled list, the Yankees could -- could -- have at least a share of first place at the All-Star break.
As has been the case all season, the Yankees have plenty of problems, but yesterday was a day full of problems and it ended with a win. This team just keeps hanging in there. It's not exactly climbing the ranks, but it's staying in the mix. Question is, how much longer than they do that with a depleted rotation and an unreliable offense?
A few other random thoughts this morning:
• One small bit of bright side on Tanaka: According to Brooks Baseball, his fastball velocity on Tuesday was actually the highest it had been all year. That suggests fatigue from pitching on regular rest really wasn't an issue. His four-seamer averaged better than 94 mph and his two-seamer averaged almost 92.5. Obviously there are other issues now in play, but at least Tanaka seemed relatively strong on Tuesday night. Still needs some good news from Dr. Ahmad whenever he gets to Seattle.
• Joe Girardi wouldn't commit to keeping Zoilo Almonte on the big league roster beyond the All-Star break, but it seems worth keeping him around. Almonte has a history of hitting -- and hitting for power -- against right-handers. He was hitting .309/.350/.541 against righties in Triple-A, and that's not particularly flukey considering his past performances. Granted, he can't hit lefties at all, but Ichiro Suzuki has been awfully good against left-handers for two straight seasons now. Almonte provides some much-needed power potential against right-handers, and Ichiro can keep getting singles and playing solid defense against lefties.
• Fun to watch Brendan Ryan play shortstop last night. Maybe it's because of the almost total lack of playing time that he's occasionally looked lackluster in the field, but reality is that Ryan's glove really is spectacular. He makes some awfully tough plays. Zelous Wheeler has also looked pretty good at third base -- and I've heard good things about his defense in Triple-A -- so I can't help wondering if Girardi might be tempted to stick with that left side of the infield when McCarthy is on the mound. A ground ball guy like that could certainly benefit from a strong defensive infield.
• I'm not sure the Yankees could have expected much more than this out of Mark Teixeira. He's hitting .241/.338/.470 with 17 home runs and a team-high 47 RBIs. He's not the MVP-type that he was in 2009, but the Yankees surely knew that coming into the season. He's still a guy who can take a walk and hit the ball out of the park. He's the only heart-of-the-order guy performing as expected (or as hoped).
• Hard to guess what the Yankees might do about Carlos Beltran's fluke face injury. He seemed to think pregame that he would be able to play through those two small fractures. He said his vision is fine, and he doesn't think he has a concussion. It probably helps that he's not having to play the field. Girardi, though, seemed not so sure. Really seems to depend entirely on how Beltran feels when he wakes up.
Despite all their problems, Yankees still hanging in there
THE LOHUD YANKEES BLOG
Chad Jennings, cjennings@lohud.com 8:58 a.m. EDT July 10, 2014
Remember Sunday? That was the day the Yankees traded for Brandon McCarthy, cut bait on Alfonso Soriano, scored nine runs, and beat the Twins to take three out of four in Minnesota. There was some hope on that day. It seemed like the kind of day that might really change some things for the Yankees. If a few bounces went their way, Sunday might turn out to be a day that turned them in the right direction.
Most of Wednesday felt the exact opposite.
Yesterday was a rough one for the Yankees, but getting that win put them one away from taking three of four yet again on this road trip. Get a win tonight, and the Yankees will head into this weekend's series in Baltimore no worse than three games behind the division leader. Even with four-fifths of their rotation on disabled list, the Yankees could -- could -- have at least a share of first place at the All-Star break.
As has been the case all season, the Yankees have plenty of problems, but yesterday was a day full of problems and it ended with a win. This team just keeps hanging in there. It's not exactly climbing the ranks, but it's staying in the mix. Question is, how much longer than they do that with a depleted rotation and an unreliable offense?
A few other random thoughts this morning:
• One small bit of bright side on Tanaka: According to Brooks Baseball, his fastball velocity on Tuesday was actually the highest it had been all year. That suggests fatigue from pitching on regular rest really wasn't an issue. His four-seamer averaged better than 94 mph and his two-seamer averaged almost 92.5. Obviously there are other issues now in play, but at least Tanaka seemed relatively strong on Tuesday night. Still needs some good news from Dr. Ahmad whenever he gets to Seattle.
• Joe Girardi wouldn't commit to keeping Zoilo Almonte on the big league roster beyond the All-Star break, but it seems worth keeping him around. Almonte has a history of hitting -- and hitting for power -- against right-handers. He was hitting .309/.350/.541 against righties in Triple-A, and that's not particularly flukey considering his past performances. Granted, he can't hit lefties at all, but Ichiro Suzuki has been awfully good against left-handers for two straight seasons now. Almonte provides some much-needed power potential against right-handers, and Ichiro can keep getting singles and playing solid defense against lefties.
• Fun to watch Brendan Ryan play shortstop last night. Maybe it's because of the almost total lack of playing time that he's occasionally looked lackluster in the field, but reality is that Ryan's glove really is spectacular. He makes some awfully tough plays. Zelous Wheeler has also looked pretty good at third base -- and I've heard good things about his defense in Triple-A -- so I can't help wondering if Girardi might be tempted to stick with that left side of the infield when McCarthy is on the mound. A ground ball guy like that could certainly benefit from a strong defensive infield.
• I'm not sure the Yankees could have expected much more than this out of Mark Teixeira. He's hitting .241/.338/.470 with 17 home runs and a team-high 47 RBIs. He's not the MVP-type that he was in 2009, but the Yankees surely knew that coming into the season. He's still a guy who can take a walk and hit the ball out of the park. He's the only heart-of-the-order guy performing as expected (or as hoped).
• Hard to guess what the Yankees might do about Carlos Beltran's fluke face injury. He seemed to think pregame that he would be able to play through those two small fractures. He said his vision is fine, and he doesn't think he has a concussion. It probably helps that he's not having to play the field. Girardi, though, seemed not so sure. Really seems to depend entirely on how Beltran feels when he wakes up.
