Chasing800

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Frank Negron — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:00:08 +0000

The New York Yankees split a four game series with the Kansas City Royals.

The news of the weekend was the loss of Mariano Rivera for the season on Thursday with his torn ACL. I have to think that Mariano will try to be back by October. Its highly unlikely he will but its possible. The Brewers Yovanni Gallardo injured his ACL in May of 2008 and made it back for the Postseason run. Let’s hope Mariano undergoes a successful surgery and rehab. More on him in a later article this week.

Photo: Kansas City Star

As for the play on the field, CC Sabathia gave them another stellar outing and appears to be on his usual track. David Robertson filled in nicely for his first save opportunity in Rivera’s absence. Nick Swisher returned to the lineup, Derek Jeter continued his strong start to the 2012 season and the 3-4 hitters in the lineup Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano both went deep on Sunday.

The Yanks still have some work to do if they plan on being atop the A.L. East. They return home to play the Tampa Bay Rays and that should be a good measuring stick for them to see where they are at this point of the season. As close as the East is expected to be its going to be an important series with the Rays as every game will be crucial. With a 10 run outburst on Sunday, hopefully the offense continues to roll. Ivan Nova gets the start for the opening game of the Tampa series. He looks to rebound off his first loss since last June spanning 15 consecutive decisions.

-Frank Negron

Follow Frank Negron — www.Twitter.com/coolguy924

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Say It Ain’t So, Mo!

Eric Kopp — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:14:45 +0000

Typically, I write my posts the night before they are actually published. But last night, I couldn’t do it. Hearing about Mariano Rivera’s potentially devastating injury was nerve-wracking enough. Then the Yankees dropped another pathetic game to the hapless Kansas City Royals. The Yankees’ bats have gone missing since the Boston series two weekends ago, and now it looks like the heart and soul of their team may never pitch again. Derek Jeter is playing like it’s 1998, and he’s the captain, but the true center of the Yankees is Mariano Rivera.

Photo: Daily News

We’ve already seen a number of articles and discussion points about Mariano Rivera and what he means to the Yankees. I’m not going to write about how legendary his career has been, because it’s just repeating the obvious. Instead I want to write about the type of person he is, and the things he said last night after he was diagnosed with a torn ACL. While fighting back tears, Rivera told reporters that he would “never question the Lord. Everything happens for a reason.” Later he was asked when he would fly back to New York, and he answered “I want to stay with the guys.”

If you really want to know about what Rivera means to baseball, go talk to a Red Sox or Mets fan. These guys hate the Yankees, and we reciprocate the feelings toward their teams. But no one ever has anything bad to say about The Great Rivera. There will never be a pitcher as dominant, and never be a player quite as classy. Watching him get emotional after his diagnosis was difficult to watch. It was gut-wrenching.

But the show must go on, and the Yankees must try to figure it out as they fall deeper and deeper toward last place in the American League East. They’ve lost three games in a row to teams they should dominate, regardless of what Baltimore’s record looks like. They need Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner in the lineup, and they need to resolve their closer situation. In my mind, and this will be unpopular, Rafael Soriano is the next closer. He’s done it before in this division. Sometimes games are saved in the eighth inning, so keep David Robertson there. When Andy Pettitte returns, Phil Hughes becomes the seventh inning guy.

The Yankees will try to move on, and the season is a long way from over. But you can be certain about one thing: if Mariano Rivera has pitched his last game, things will never, ever be the same.

-Eric Kopp

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A Hiro Emerges

Eric Kopp — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:18:50 +0000

This past weekend’s series with the Tigers ended in a predictable fashion, because CC Sabathia was on the hill. Aside from Ivan Nova, Sabathia has been the only consistent arm in the Yankees’ starting rotation. Freddy Garcia has been banished to the bullpen, and Phil Hughes is likely pitching for his life Tuesday night. But last night, Hiroki Kuroda not only provided a gem against the Baltimore Orioles, but he also provided hope that he’s the next pitcher who is starting to put it together.

Photo: AP - Yahoo Sports

Kuroda was fabulous last week in Texas, but was out-pitched by his countryman Yu Darvish in a 2-0 loss. Last night was the type of game that any pitcher would love. Kuroda threw strikes, his fielders made the plays (besides Ibanez in right field), and even he chipped in with some defense covering home plate after a wild pitch. Jason Hammel was almost as good, aside from the long homer cracked by Eric Chavez, who seems to do something productive every time he is put into the lineup.

Last night also emphasized a thought that no one needs to be told: David Robertson will take over for Mariano Rivera. Maybe it’s next season, hopefully it’s 12 years from now. But Robertson is the guy. Not Rafael Soriano, and certainly not Joba Chamberlain. Robertson struck out the side in the eighth inning, and is yet to allow a run this season in 11 frames. He is the perfect guy for the Yankees and their fans: home-grown talent, and nearly perfect.

Photo: Adam Hunger - Reuters

For the most part, the Yankee offense has produced enough this season. They’ve had a random game where they’ve been shut down by a solid starter (Jeremy Hellickson or Darvish), and once in a while they leave way too many men on base (see Sunday’s game against Detroit), but overall, they’ve put runs on the scoreboard. It’s the starting pitching that has been lacking any type of consistency. Hiroki Kuroda has put together consecutive strong outings, so maybe he’s turned a corner.

Tuesday night may be Phil Hughes’ last ever start. You root for Hughes for the same reasons you root for David Robertson. Hughes came up through the system, and was hyped as “the next big thing.” In 2009, he was outstanding as the eighth inning reliever, and one of the biggest reasons the Yankees won the World Series. For the first half of 2010, he was a Cy Young candidate, but since then it’s been ugly. With DJ Mitchell called up to the big leagues on Sunday, I can’t see Girardi allowing Hughes another start if he’s beat up by the Orioles this evening.

If Hughes can throw strikes and limit the damage, he’ll stay in the rotation for now. Just hope the O’s don’t hit it at any of our current corner outfielders, who provide plenty of excitement.

-Eric Kopp

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Cash Out

Eric Kopp — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:33:02 +0000

A four -winning streak ended with a loss to the Texas Rangers, but that wasn’t the biggest disaster in Yankee land. The loss of Michael Pineda is a devastating blow to this year’s team. On the night of January 13, Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda were acquired, giving the Yankees too much pitching. The Yankees were projected to be the best team in the American League. Then Andy Pettitte announced his comeback, and AJ Burnett was finally dumped off to Pittsburgh. Just eighteen games into the season, the Yankees clearly do not have enough arms, and are currently not one of the elite teams in Major League Baseball. To me, there’s one person who can be blamed for this: Brian Cashman.

Brian Cashman has been the Yankees general manager since 1998, and he’s been there for four championships. But I can’t really credit him for any of these titles. The 1990’s dynasty team was built by Gene Michael, and 2009 was built by George Steinbrenner’s wallet. CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and AJ Burnett were all free agents who signed blank checks that Cashman brought to their houses. The recent title hides what have been years of horrendous decisions and trades, all capped off by trading Jesus Montero, who has been referred to as a young Miguel Cabrera, and Hector Noesi, a big league starting pitcher. They traded them for a young, 23-year old whose 2011 season looked like 2010 Phil Hughes: good until the All Star Break.

Photo: Sports Illustrated

Recent disasters have included trading Melky Cabrera for Javier Vazquez prior to the 2010 season, even after Vazquez flopped in the Bronx in 2004. He gave left-handed reliever Damaso Marte, and if he didn’t have success against Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the ‘09 World Series, we would still be talking about it. In 2002, he traded Ted Lilly, still pitching effectively for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for Jeff Weaver. They traded Jesus Montero, citing his inability to play the catching. Wednesday night he caught Felix Hernandez to victory in Detroit. Cashman cited the Yankees’ catching depth, and now Austin Romine has a serious back problem and hasn’t played all year, including Spring Training.

Think about the Yankee teams that hadn’t won a playoff series until 2009. The 2005 Yankees were saved by Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon, and a rookie named Chien-Ming Wang. The season’s rotation started with Johnson, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Kevin Brown, and Mike Mussina. From 2006 through 2008, we saw pitchers like Sidney Ponson, Darrell Rasner, Chase Wright, and the legendary Kei Igawa. If Curtis Granderson wasn’t an MVP candidate, that trade would be discussed as well. Ian Kennedy was a Cy Young candidate last season, and he’s already 3-0 in 2012. Phil Coke was a viable left-hander in 2009, and Austin Jackson is showing improvement. I love Granderson, but maybe Cashman gave up too much. He’s the one who loves to tell us that we can never have enough arms.

Photo: Pro Rumors

Some of the problems the Yankees are stuck with were due to the Steinbrenner family and the “Tampa Faction.” Alex Rodriguez’s contract is going to be an enormous problem through the 2017 season. Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes are two examples of how organizations can destroy their young arms with pitch counts, innings limits, and cute little rules. I agreed when Cashman challenged Derek Jeter to find a better deal on the market for a shortstop his age, although now he looks like the American League batting champion. All of the Yankee failures over the last ten years cannot be put on Cashman, but he also cannot be exonerated.

If George Steinbrenner was still around and in his prime, Cashman would have been gone years ago. His off-season personal problems just add fuel to the fire. The devastating injury to Michael Pineda is a serious blow to the Yankees. The legendary Andy Pettitte will be expected to meet unrealistic expectations, deemed a savior to the rotation. It’s just unfortunate that he can’t pitch in the places of Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia, and occasionally Hiroki Kuroda.

-Eric Kopp

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Texas Toast

Frank Negron — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:50:11 +0000

What seemed to be a feel good week ahead has quickly turned into a head scratching few days.

The New York Yankees beat the two time defending American League champion Texas Rangers on Monday night following a nice performance from CC Sabathia. This was following a two game sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway and of course the classic comeback on Saturday. But since Monday night, two losses, more struggles from Phil Hughes and the loss of Michael Pineda for the season surely changes the positive winds around the team that was present just days ago.

Photo: AP - Yahoo Sports

Hughes had another sub-par outing and right now seems like the odd man out once Andy Pettitte returns to the team. Unless Freddy Garcia finds the ‘mojo’ he had last year, Hughes has a one way trip to the bullpen with his name on it. He couldn’t get out the 3rd inning last night and he hasn’t been able to hit his spots. This is starting to become worrisome. He looked great in Spring Training but so far in 2012, he hasn’t found what made him an 18 game winner in 2010.

Pineda out for the year. My honest opinion? At this point, I don’t have one. I didn’t really see him as a major contributor this year anyway. with Andy coming back, it puts more pressure on him to be Andy. Let Michael get healthy, work his way back and be ready for 2013 in a season I’m sure the Yankees will need him more.

Yankees lose 2 of 3 to the Rangers — not happy about that. Not happy that Alex Rodriguez is batting .221 or that Robinson Cano hasn’t made an impact yet. Not happy Hughes is struggling. But it is April and things hopefully will work themselves out. The Yankees now head home for a series with the Detroit Tigers… oh boy, that should be interesting!

-Frank Negron

Follow Frank Negron — www.Twitter.com/coolguy924

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