Bleacher Report - Articles by Perry Arnold

Better Hitter: Derek Jeter or Pete Rose?

Perry Arnold — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:50:58 -0500

Pete Rose has more hits than any other man who ever played professional baseball.

He finished his long career with 4,256 hits, surpassing the immortal Ty Cobb.

Derek Jeter has now played fourteen seasons with the New York Yankees and is generally recognized as one of the best players and best hitters of his era.

I have long been intrigued thinking of the comparisons of these two men on the field. (Off the field there is no comparison.)

One of the thoughts that is frequently on my mind is whether Jeter could possibly surpass Rose in career hits. As a Yankee fan and as a baseball fan who has always despised Pete Rose, it is my fondest baseball hope that someday Jeter will pass Rose in total hits.

Jeter will have to play well into his forties to get it done. Late this season, there was some indication that Jeter has actually talked about playing long enough to challenge Rose's record. I hope he does.

I did a statistical analysis of Jeter and Rose to compare their career hitting marks. When you look at the gross numbers based on a 162 game average, Jeter comes out ahead in almost every category.

Based on this 162 game average, Jeter beats Rose in runs scored by 119 to 98. Jeter comes out on top in hits with 208 to Rose's 194.

Jeter also wins in RBI per season with 81 to Rose's 60. And Jeter has a higher average (.317) than Rose (.303) and higher OPS+ (121) than Rose (118.)

However, this is not a completely fair analysis because it includes the much later and less illustrious years of Rose's controversial career.

So I went back and took a look at Rose at age 35, the same age as Jeter when the 2009 season finished.

Again, Jeter surpasses Rose in every category except OPS+. Rose wins that comparison with 126 compared to Jeter's 121.

But based again on a 162 game schedule for their first 14 seasons, Jeter averages 119 runs per season to Rose's 108; Jeter has 208 hits per season compared to Rose at 204; and Jeter averages 81 RBI to Rose's 62.

And Jeter has a .317 batting average compared to Rose at .310 at the same points in their careers.

So statistically, Jeter is the better hitter at this stage in his career. He is also within 15 hits of Rose at the same point.

At the end of the season in which Rose turned 35, he had played in 46 more games than Jeter and had 227 more at bats than Derek.

So a quick calculation tells you that Jeter has gotten one hit every 3.152 times at bat while Rose had one hit every 3.217 times at bat.

So Jeter, just barely, is getting more hits per times at bat than Rose had when he was 35.

Will Jeter eventually pass Rose for total hits? Who knows? Time and something more than 7 years will give us the answer.

At Jeter's current hit pace, he will need 7.25 more years to catch Rose. Jeter at that point will be past his 42nd birthday.

Will his body, his team and Minka let him play long enough to challenge Rose? It is going to be a lot of fun finding out.

Jorge Posada Has NOT Won Five World Series Titles

Perry Arnold — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:09:50 -0500

Three weeks ago, a great deal of the discussion surrounding the Yankees 27th World Championship was about "The Core Four."

Much was made about how Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada had remained together since the minor leagues and that they had been instrumental in five world championships in the Bronx.

Forget about Pettitte leaving for three years to go to Houston. Andy has to be considered a key to the Yankees winning these five titles. He was a big-game pitcher in 1996 and contributed to the titles won in 1998, 1999. and 2000.

And of course in 2009, the Yankees probably don't win No. 27 without the big lefty.

And no one can question Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter. They have been here all that time and they were key from 1996 to the present, even though Mariano was not the closer in 1996.

Without question, Mariano was as important as John Wetteland who closed in 1996. Without Mo, the Yankees would not have started the new dynasty in 1996.

But Posada is a different matter altogether. I was surprised to hear so much about "The Core Four." My memory told me something different.

So I went back and did some fact checking.

In 1996, Jorge Posada appeared in exactly EIGHT games for New York in the regular season. Hardly a major contributor.

And in the post season, Posada did not play one inning. He made no appearance in the ALDS, ALCS, or World Series.

So for anyone to claim that Posada has won five World Series titles is just wrong. I am not certain whether the team gave him a ring that year. But if they did, it had to be just because he was on the 40-man roster.

Because Posada did not contribute in any meaningful way in 1996 and made absolutely no contribution in the post season.

Stop all the talk about "The Core Four" and let's correct history. Posada has only earned four World Series titles.

Robinson Cano Really Only Has Two Problems

Perry Arnold — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:45:21 -0400

I have written articles on Cano on this site before and I love him—but he has two major problems.

First, he is too good for his own good.

What I mean by that is that he is so quick and has such great range and such physical skills that he makes the game look easier than it really is. For that reason he always looks as though he isn't making the full effort.

And not many fans can appreciate the raw talent Robbie has because it never looks like he is really trying.

Which brings me to my second point: Sometimes he isn't trying.

Sometimes it will be for one at-bat, sometimes for just one pitch. But for whatever reason, Cano cannot keep his head in the game for every single play.

As an example, he will come to the plate and on the first pitch he will square as though he is going to bunt at a time when even the blind cotton candy vendor in the third deck in left field knows it is not a bunt situation.

And he gives up a strike doing it.

Or he will hit a ball and stand and admire it or question it or try to determine if he hit it where he wanted to or God knows what.

Over the weekend against the White Sox he hit a liner into left field and just stood at the plate and watched it. He didn't take off with the crack of the bat. This happens way too often.

On defense he sometimes "smooths" himself into errors that should never happen.

You can forgive an error such as Jerry Hairston Jr. made last night, which ended Andy Pettitte's perfect game, because it was just an error. But sometimes Robbie looks as though he is just trying to be "too cool for school" and boots a ball he could catch in his sleep.

Having said all that, let me repeat: I love Robbie Cano.

I am not sure that there are five players in the entire major league that have his God-given talent right now.

His hands are so soft and quick, both in the field and at the plate. Comparisons to Rod Carew are not overblown. And if he could keep his head in the game all the time he might be able to win some batting crowns as Carew did.

In the field there is no one, and I mean no one, who can match his skill. He made two plays on short pop-ups in right field last night that not many second basemen are going to get to.

But again, he takes time out when he needs to be in the game.

If Derek Jeter had as much pure physical skill as Cano he would have hit .360 for his career and won every gold glove they have to give away. Jeter was born with a lot of talent, but nowhere near what Cano has.

Jeter never takes a play off—not even one pitch off. Cano needs to emulate his double play partner in grit and determination.

And Jeter has to look at Cano and wonder, "What if?"

Jeter's "What if?" has two permutations. First, he has to think, "What if I had Robbie's skill set?" Second, he has to look at Cano and wonder, "What could he do if he ever really tried?"

If Dustin Pedroia had Cano's physical ability, he would be MVP every year and hit 50 home runs, stop global warming, and end world hunger.

If Cano ever matures mentally there won't be any second baseman in the game who will be close to him. He has come closer to that this year than ever before.

The problem of being so skilled that people don't appreciate him will never be solved. He can solve his own problem if he can tune his psyche to match his body.

Girardi Has a Plan For The Subway Series

Perry Arnold — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:27:38 -0400

Joe Girardi has been around the New York Yankees for a number of years in several different capacities. He has seen a bunch of Subway Series with the Mets.

And he has learned how much it means to Yankee owners to beat the Mets.

Girardi has apparently been under a great deal of stress to win the series with his cross town rivals to the point of ignoring the last few games trying to prepare for the Metropolitans.

There are even reports that the reason he intentionally got tossed from the Braves game on Wednesday night was so he could go back to the visitors' manager's office and work on his "strategery" for the Mets.

And in last night's game when Andy Pettitte had thrown 95 pitches in the fourth inning and had allowed the Braves to fight back against the Yankees eight runs, Girardi was back in the clubhouse looking at charts on the Mets.

Girardi held a team meeting before last night's finale with the Braves to instruct his players on how he intends to prevail over Jerry Manuel's squad.

An unnamed player has reported that Girardi first instructed every hitter to concentrate on hitting pop ups to the right side of the Met infield to take advantage of Luis Castillo.

Since the Yankees will be playing their third straight series in National League parks and cannot use the designated hitter, Girardi is obviously desperate to get Hideki Matsui's bat in the lineup.

For that reason, Girardi plans to start Matsui at second base for all three games. The anonymous player said that Girardi has calculated the distance a second baseman must cover in an average game and that it is much less than a left fielder.

He also took into account how much farther a player has to run to get to the outfield at the start of each inning. There is at least some speculation that Girardi did this while thinking about the Yankees being in the first base dugout at home rather than in the visitor's dugout at Citi Field. Apparently he has been working on this plan since the Mets played at the Stadium last week.

For that reason Girardi has determined that Matsui can play second base without risk of blowing out his knees.

Girardi also has decided that Robinson Cano needs the next three days off because he is just worn out. Girardi has been known for his philosophy of giving frequent rest to his players so that they are fresh when the playoffs come, even with a player as young as Cano.

Girardi has also decided that Alex Rodriguez must be in the lineup but that the fatigue that has plagued ARod recently is still a concern.

For that reason Girardi will have ARod play first base where there will be less wear on his legs than at first. Mark Teixeira, the gold glove first baseman will be inserted at third and if the experiment works in the Mets' series, fans can expect Teixeira to remain at third, at least for the rest of the season.

Jorge Posada will be moved to center field and Brett Gardner will become the Yankees starting catcher. Girardi considered the problem of Gardner throwing left handed but realized that there was a left hander's catcher mitt in the clubhouse that Andy Pettitte used to play catch with his sons.

Girardi expects Gardner's speed to compensate for all the passed balls that may result from his lack of experience behind the plate.

The unnamed player said that in an effort to get closer to his manager, Gardner had requested to play the position Joe had played in the bigs. Girardi apparently even offered to let "Gardy" use his old cup.

After Mariano Rivera showed his expertise with the stick on Wednesday night in Atlanta, Girardi will insert him in the lineup in right field and he will bat second behind Johnny Damon who will leadoff and stay in left field.

The only possible hitch to the plan for Mariano is that Nick Swisher's feelings may be hurt again and if Swish asks to be put back in the lineup, Girardi may concede and find another place for Mo to play.

Derek Jeter jammed his right foot again on one of his four hits last night and Giradi has decided, with the re-emergence of Cody Ransom, that Jeter can be given a weekend of rest. Jeter is reported to be headed to Southern California and will not be in the City at all this weekend.

Ransom will start at short and hit cleanup as ARod is moved down to eighth in the lineup. Girardi apparently indicated that he wants to resurrect Joe Torre's playoff experiment of ARod hitting eighth which was used in the Division Playoffs against Detroit a few years ago.

As for the pitching staff Girardi announced publicly this morning that Chien-Ming Wang's role is once more undecided. There is speculation that Swisher has some photos of Girardi and Brett Gardner together and that Wang's starting job may go to Swisher if he wants it.

CC Sabathia is scheduled to start the first game of the series tonight, but after coming out early in his last start with tightness in his left biceps, Girardi is considering using CC out of the pen to limit his innings and get him stretched out so he can resume his role as a starter after the All Star break.

If Girardi decides on this last minute switch, he is considering using Melky Cabrera as his starter since Melky throws left handed and has been spending a lot of time with the starting pitchers in the dug out lately.

Jorge Posada: Can Yankee Fans Ever Be Objective?

Perry Arnold — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:29:57 -0400

New York Yankee fans are arguably the best in baseball. They are fervent, and they are knowledgeable.

And over the years they have had a lot to be proud of when it comes to their team.

Beginning in 1996, the Yankees constructed a dynasty that saw them win four World Series crowns in five years. They went to the World Series in two of the following three years.

Of that dynastic assemblage, there are only four players left: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Petitte, and Jorge Posada.

Posada was not a regular contributor to the dynasty until 1998, and even then he did not catch every game.

But Posada is a hero to most Yankee fans. That raises the question: can Yankee fans have any objectivity when it comes to Jorge?

Posada has been among the most productive offensive catchers in the history of the game.

He has also been a clutch performer, providing big hits when the Yankees really needed them.

In 2008, Posada injured his throwing shoulder and was eventually forced to have surgery, which ended his season. His absence came at a time when the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

Many Yankee hopes hung on Posada's return from surgery as the 2009 season approached.

Posada worked very hard in the off-season to make certain that he was in shape, and that he could throw to second base.

He was brought along slowly in Spring Training, being held out of games at first, and given time between starts to make certain his shoulder was okay.

By opening day, Posada was ready to go. And for the first few weeks of the season, Posada seemed to be in old form. He was hitting very well, and was throwing out runners at a pace equal to his career statistics, if not a little better.

But then in the first week of May, Posada went down with a strained hamstring, and had to go on the disabled list again.

After his return, he has not been as efficient on defense. His throwing has become more erratic, and his ability to discourage base runners is virtually non-existent. No one seems fearful of Posada's arm.

Posada has thrown out 17 runners this season, but 35 have stolen on him. That is an average of 33 percent, not too bad, and actually better than Posada had done through 2007. At that point, he had a career average of only 29 percent, almost three percentage points lower than the average for major league catchers.

But there is more wrong with Posada this year than just his throwing.

He is still hitting at a .272 clip, not bad for catchers, and very close to his career average. As with most of the rest of his team, Posada has been slumping lately.

In areas that cannot be measured by objective statistics, Posada seems to be having troubles though.

For the entire season there have been questions about his relationships with the pitchers. This was most notable last week when Joba Chamberlain started in Washington and Jorge was behind the plate.

For the entire game the 23-year-old hurler was shaking Posada off. Chamberlain would repeatedly indicate that he did not want to throw what his catcher had called. Jorge would stomp to the mound, and a few pitches later the scene would repeat itself.

The problem was so obvious Yankee announcers talked about it at length, and even commented on it the next night.

At one point in the game, veteran backstop, Jose Molina (now on the DL), was seen in the dugout talking to Joba. Jorge was noticeably not talking to the young pitcher.

Manager Joe Girardi has been defensive when asked about the problems Posada is having with the pitchers, and the pitchers have said all the politically correct things about the veteran catcher.

But when the camera finds Posada on the bench he is almost always by himself, and he often has a surly look on his face, regardless of the situation in the game.

Posada will be 38 years old in August. Without question, his best days as a defensive catcher are behind him. And, at his best, he was never a good defensive catcher.

Rookie Francisco Cervelli came from Double A to replace Posada and Molina when they both went on the DL within days of each other with leg injuries.

Cervelli has been a hit in more ways than one. He has shown remarkable savvy for a young kid. Pitchers have sung his praises for the way he calls a game, and he seems to be much more in tune with the starting pitchers than Posada is.

Last night Chamberlain started again, and it was obvious that Posada was not catching the kid this time. Posada had gone 0-5 the night before against Atlanta, and, although Girardi would never admit it, it was better to have Cervelli catch Joba.

But Joba turned in one of his best performances of the year, being much more efficient and much more relaxed throwing to Cervelli. He seldom shook off the signs, and seemed in control of all his stuff.

This writer has often been critical of Posada's defensive abilities. Many other Yankee fans have taken me to task, and backed up Posada. There comes a point in time when every team has to move on, however, and old heroes have to find new roles.

Considering his age, his history of injuries over the past two years, and his obvious declining skills, it is time for the Yankees to re-calculate Posada's role on this team.

He has openly said that he wants to continue to catch, but the team wins more with Cervelli behind the plate.

The Yankees cannot do without Posada's bat, but with DH Hideki Matsui slumping very badly, and in the last year of his contract, it may be time for management to move Posada in as the primary DH, and let Cervelli assume first-string status.

Many Yankee fans are going to continue to support Jorge, and that is fine. It is expected, and it is noble. No one wants to throw him under the bus.

But, in games of late, his stubbornness, his surliness, and his declining ability to keep runners from scampering, dictate that the move has to be made soon.

It is doubtful that many of the fans, especially younger ones who remember only Posada as the primary catcher, will be comfortable with Posada tucking his tools of ignorance away in a trunk.

The time has come for all Yankee fans to attempt to look at the situation objectively, and realize that the team will be better off when Posada is no longer the primary catcher.

Brian Cashman Makes Unexpected Call on Yankees in Atlanta

Perry Arnold — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:32:14 -0400

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman changed travel plans yesterday.

Instead of traveling to take in a minor league game and watch prospects in his system, Cashman took a plane to Atlanta and unexpectedly dropped in on his struggling major league team.

Cashman stepped into a hitters' meeting and also took part in a closed-door session with manager Joe Girardi that included slumping outfielder Nick Swisher.

Cashman denied that he had brought an ax to Atlanta and spoke out publicly in support of both Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long.

But New York has lost nine of its last 13 games. Except for an inexcusable error by Mets second baseman Luis Castillo, there would have been one more loss during that phase.

During that time the Yankees were hitting less than .220 as a team.

Cashman blamed the losing streak on the offense but said that he did not plan on bringing in any new players by trade.

"The answers are already here," Cashman said. He also reiterated that he knows teams go through slumps and knows that the bats will get hot again.

But none of that can explain why he chose this time to change his plans and visit Girardi and the Yankees.

On Friday, the Yankees will be in New York to face the Mets at Citi Field. Cashman could have saved some of his frequent flyer miles for another occasion.

So there have to be questions in the air. One must ponder why Cashman chose this particular time to drop in on his team.

Girardi said afterward that he knew what the expectations were and that the responsibility rested with him to win or "go home."

It is unlikely that management will continue to see the team struggle and fall farther behind in the American League East without any changes being made.

Cashman has been open to criticism on some fronts for his decision two years ago to take the team on a "Youth Movement" track.

In the winter of 2007 Cashman reportedly had opportunities to acquire ace left-hander Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins, but he refused to do so because the Twins were demanding two of the young pitchers that Cashman had placed so much hope on.

As the 2008 season started, the Yankees had Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy in the starting rotation, and both failed miserably.

After that debacle, Cashman went into the 2008 postseason determined to improve his staff and signed free agent studs CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett to long-term deals.

But Cashman also brought in Nick Swisher in a trade with the White Sox. Utility infielder Wilson Betemit was sent to Chicago, and it appeared at the time that Swisher would become the Yankees' first baseman.

But Swisher had hit only .219 for Chicago last season, and Cashman was openly criticized for replacing popular first baseman Jason Giambi with Swisher.

Swisher never got the chance to start at first after Cashman signed free agent slugger Mark Teixeira to play first.

But Swisher has been a regular most of the season in right field after Xavier Nady went down with an arm injury.

Swisher was very hot early but has slumped dramatically since the middle of May. He is currently hitting .240.

Swisher had originally been left out of the starting lineup for last night's game against the Braves. But apparently Swisher went to Girardi and persuaded the skipper to insert him in place of Melky Cabrera in the outfield.

Cashman was a part of that meeting, but it is unknown to what extent he participated in the decision to put Swisher in the lineup.

Cabrera was reportedly upset that he had been replaced. Cabrera has been one of the most consistent Yankees this season and has had a number of clutch hits.

Yankee announcers Michael Kay and Ken Singleton talked at length during last night's game about Cabrera's unhappiness at being removed from the lineup.

Sitting a regular in a situation such as the one the Yankees had last night is often an indication that the player is being traded and protected from injuries until the deal is finalized.

There weren't any rumors of a Cabrera trade, though, and he appeared late in the game after the Yankees used a double switch when a pinch hitter was needed for the pitcher.

Despite Cashman's denial of any changes coming to the team, his presence in Atlanta has to have some significance. If the team continues to struggle, changes will have to be made. Cashman may have set some deadlines for improvement that have not been made public.

That will probably only be known if the team continues to lose ground to Boston in the East.

Slumping New York Yankees Must Make Drastic Changes

Perry Arnold — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:50:09 -0400

Alex Rodriguez is just the poster boy for the recent New York Yankees slump.

A-Rod is now hitting .224 and over the past two weeks has been much worse than that number would indicate.

But a host of Yankee players are sliding, and their ineptitude is reflected in the team's record and in the standings.

When the Yankees went into Boston on June 9 to start a three-game series with the Sox, their record was 34-23, and they were in first place in the American League East by one game.

Now they stand at 38-32 and are five games behind Boston.

In 15 days the Yankees have dropped six games in the division to their archrivals and toughest competition to win the East.

Derek Jeter has remained one constant, as his batting average is almost exactly what it was 15 days ago.

But almost everyone else on the team is worse.

Johnny Damon has dropped 14 points on his average and has produced almost nothing in run production.

Mark Teixeira has maintained his average. But without the threat of A-Rod, Tex has seen his home run and RBI totals go stagnant.

Robinson Cano has maintained his average, but his hits have come in spurts, and he has failed to come through in the clutch too many times in the past two weeks.

Jorge Posada struck out four times against Atlanta on Tuesday and has seen his average plummet from .292 to .272. He is producing very little and is inept on defense. He also seems surly and out of sorts on the field and in the dugout.

Nick Swisher was not hitting much two weeks ago, and he is hitting less now. His average has dropped 13 points to .240, but inexplicably, manager Joe Girardi has chosen to hit him in the two-hole behind Jeter.

Girardi seems fixated on the idea of mixing right and left-handed hitters throughout his lineup without consideration for their ability to hit in given situations.

It is impossible to explain how a hitter who strikes out as much as Swisher and has no speed can be in the second spot in this batting order.

Melky Cabrera has lost 11 points on his batting average but also seems to have lost his knack for clutch performance. He has been moved up and down the lineup, and Girardi's erratic decisions on where to play Cabrera in the outfield may be contributing to his slump.

Cabrera was a major reason for the Yankees' success in May and the first week of June, but he's doing very little right now.

Designated hitter Hideki Matsui has been unable to play in the National League parks, where New York has played its last seven games. But Matsui has little to provide and is hitting just .251.

Brett Gardner has been one of the few Yankees who has been surging over the past two weeks. He has raised his average to .285, and if he can remain consistent, he provides the only real speed threat on this team.

Yankee pitching has been very inconsistent, and when there are good pitching efforts, an anemic offense and poor defense waste the pitcher's effort.

This is what happened to Chien-Ming Wang last night, when he was very effective for all but one inning, yet the Yankees could give him no support.

At this point, Yankee management must look to some drastic changes.

Matsui should be given his outright release.

He is in the last year of an overblown contract, and with the money already wasted, Matsui should be gone and Posada should be the full-time DH.

With Posada as the DH, the Yankees should make Francisco Cervelli the everyday catcher. The kid has shown an intense energy that is contagious, and the Yankees have played much better with him in the lineup. He has also hit well enough to hold his own.

Damon should go on the DL if he is unable to play effectively on a daily basis.

For the past three years he has had ongoing leg problems. The Yankees cannot afford to have him on the bench. In one weekend game, Girardi actually sent a pinch runner in for Damon, who used to be prized for his speed.

If Rodriguez is suffering from fatigue, resting one day a week may help.

But there seems to be more wrong than rest will cure.

The key to a power hitter is the ability to get his hips into the swing. If the hip has not healed or more conditioning is needed, A-Rod should also go on the DL until he is well enough to play.

Swisher was a risky acquisition when he was picked up in a trade over the offseason. He started flashy and has done very little in the past six weeks. The Yankees should try to trade Swisher as soon as Xavier Nady is ready to come off the DL.

The outfield is still very unsettled. If Girardi continues to have a different alignment in the outfield every night, the prospects of it getting better are not good. He must settle on a center fielder and stick with him.

Girardi obviously loves Brett Gardner. If Gardner can hit, then make him your center fielder and your leadoff hitter.

Put Cabrera in right field and leave him there.

When Nady returns, put him in left field and leave him there.

Damon may be on the disabled list long term, or maybe you package him and Swisher in a trade.

If the A's would take these two and a young arm for Matt Holliday, the Yankees should make that trade to shore up their lineup for this season and to try to sign Holliday long term.

One has to begin to question if A-Rod can be productive this year at all. If not, the team will have to use Ramiro Pena at third or bring in someone else for the interim.

Finally, Girardi should be fired. For the past two seasons he has shown that he has an inability to get the most out of very good players.

He is inconsistent in his approach to the game. He has problems using a pitching staff. He has problems putting the same team on the field day in and day out, and he does not manage the game well in the late innings when critical decisions have to be made.

If the Yankees want to try to salvage this season, drastic measures must be taken, and they must be taken now.

One more week of this kind of play, and the Yankees will be too far behind the Red Sox to catch up.

Boston is not a team created to fold down the stretch. It is too strong across the board with excellent starting pitching and a tremendous bullpen.

If the Yankees have any chance of winning the East or taking the Wild Card, they have to move now and do so dramatically.

Yankees Should Be Wary of Whiplash Injury to Gardner

Perry Arnold — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:20:54 -0400

Late in the game between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals on Thursday evening, Nationals outfielder Austin Kearns hit a ball high and far into center field.

Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner went back on the ball, caught it about two feet from the wall, and then slammed into the pad hitting his head on the plexiglass in front of the bullpens.

Replays showed that his head snapped back violently before striking the glass.

Gardner managed to hang onto the ball for an out and somehow flipped it toward left fielder Johnny Damon could retrieve it.

The he laid on the ground as staff and teammates hurried to his side.

Almost immediately, this observer feared that it was not his head that was injured but his neck and upper back. This is a classic example of the manner in which "whiplash," or cervical strain/sprain injuries, can occur.

When the body stops and the head continues in motion, the soft tissues of the neck and upper back are often stretched and torn.

The curious aspect of these types soft tissue injuries is that often the seriousness is not evident for several days, and it may worsen for weeks after the trauma occurs.

Whiplash is often seen in the victims of minor car accidents.

As Gardner was brought to a sitting position on the ground and then placed on the cart with trainer Gene Monahan, he was holding his head in a very odd position.

It was surprising, considering the manner in which the injury occurred, that a cervical collar was not immediately put on the player.

Cervical strain/sprain injuries are often long term (and sometimes permanent) injuries. If this turns out to be case, Gardner may not be ready to play for the Yankees for a long time.

It was reported today that he was also complaining of a headache. There was no apparent concussion, but a head injury in addition to the cervical strain/sprain injury cannot be ruled out.

Coup/contre coup injuries can often occur in the brain, even when there is no actual blow to the head itself.

Without question, medical personnel will keep a close eye on the young player. But there are certainly other things to be wary of in addition to concussion.

Joe Girardi Blows Another Game for New York

Perry Arnold — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:39:23 -0400

Joe Girardi is an absolutely horrible manager and the decisions he made in a crucial situation on Wednesday night prove it again.

The Yankees were playing the worst team in all of baseball, the Washington Nationals.

The Yankees were behind 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Mark Teixeira got on base and Girardi sent fleet Brett Gardner in to run for Tex.

Gardner stole second and soon stole third when the Nats' catcher dropped the ball trying to transfer it from his glove to make the throw to third.

With Gardner perched on third and with only one out, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate.

A-Rod worked a walk and the Yankees had men on first and third with one out. This is where it got interesting for Girardi.

Cano worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off four more pitches.

At no time did Girardi order A-Rod to steal second.

Admittedly, A-Rod is not as fast as he has been in past years since he is just coming off arthroscopic hip surgery.

But Brett Gardner is one of the fastest men in the major leagues. In that situation, Girardi should have invited the Nats to try to throw A-Rod out at second.

Because as soon as Gardner saw the throw go down to second he could score the tying run.

But Girardi left A-Rod dangling on first until Cano hit into a game-ending double play.

Girardi was asked about his decision not to have A-Rod running and his answer was curious at best.

He said that if A-Rod had stolen second he felt the Nationals would have intentionally walked Cano to set up a double play with Jorge Posada coming to bat next.

This is just stupid for several reasons.

First of all, the Nats already had a double play set up as was proven when the double play occurred that ended the game.

But Girardi's decision is even more stupid because if he could have gotten A-Rod to second base he would then have had the winning run in scoring position with a very clutch hitter coming to the plate in Posada.

So if A-Rod gets thrown out trying to steal, Gardner scores the tying run and at the very worst you are going into extra innings.

If A-Rod is successful in the steal, which probably means the Nats did not throw through to second, you have the winning run in scoring position and you have eliminated the double play while Cano is batting.

Girardi continues to baffle those who watch the sport closely, and in the opinion of this one writer, it is past time for Yankee management to find a new field manager.

Yankees-Nationals: Robbie Cano Has Big Night as Yanks Beat Nats

Perry Arnold — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:05:29 -0400

Robinson Cano hit the first three pitches he saw on the nose in the Yankees game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday night.

In the first inning, he slapped an outside pitch on a line over the shortstop's head for a clean single.

The next time up, Cano almost killed Nationals' first baseman Nick Johnson with a blistering line drive that Johnson barely saw.

His third time up, Cano hit the first pitch back through the box for a sharp single to center.

Three pitches and Cano had three hits in a game for the eighth time this season. And he had sprayed the hits to every part of the field.

Cano would add to his hit total later in the game, driving a double over the center fielder's head for his fourth hit.

Cano got a little greedy and was thrown out at third trying to stretch his fourth hit of the night into a triple, but he had driven in Mark Teixeira with this hit.

Cano also sparkled in the field, making a couple of plays look too easy. Both of the plays were on scorching grounders up the middle, with Cano ranging far to his right to backhand the balls and then spinning to throw the hitters out.

On one of the throws, Teixeira made a good pick up to save Cano an error. But there are not a lot of second baseman in the major leagues who could have made these two plays as effortlessly as Cano.

When Cano comes to the park ready to play, he is as skilled with the bat and in his work around second base as anyone seen in a long time.

With very strong hands, he can spray hits to all parts of the field. And the same hands are so soft as to make his play in the field look too easy.

Cano has shown the talent to be an All-Star for many years to come, if he can simply have the persistence in his game to bring everything he has every game.

New York Yankees Have Interesting Dilemma Behind the Plate

Perry Arnold — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:53:39 -0400

The New York Yankees entered this season knowing that they needed far greater performance from the catching position if they were to end this season with a better record than 2008.

Last year saw season ending shoulder injuries to long time star Jorge Posada. This resulted in off season shoulder surgery to the labrum.

Posada worked hard to get himself ready to play by the end of Spring Training and did so.

But then he went down with a left hamstring strain. Just a few days later, backup catcher, Jose Molina went down with a quad strain.

The Yankees had no choice but to call a catcher from the minor leagues and the only other catcher on their forty man roster was Double-A Francisco Cervelli.

Cervelli was soon joined by Kevin Cash, an off season acquisition from the Red Sox. Cash had more experience, but Cervelli soon proved that he had the ability and the energy to add a lot to the Yankees team.

Soon after Cervelli joined the squad the Yankees began their most productive run of the season. This also coincided with Alex Rodriguez coming off the disabled list following hip surgery.

When Posada was ready to come back from the DL, Cash was sent back to the minors and Cervelli remained with the big team.

This has created a dilemma that the Yankee management will not acknowledge.

Without question, Cervelli is the better defensive catcher, is much better than Posada at throwing out runners and has earned the respect of the pitching staff for his ability to call pitches.

By contrast, Posada seems unable to get on the same page with some of his pitchers.

From the very beginning of the season, it seems AJ Burnett is much better when pitching to someone other than Posada.

In Sunday's game against the Mets, with Cervelli behind the plate, Burnett turned in one of his better overall performances of the past six weeks.

CC Sabathia seems to pitch better to Cervelli, or Molina before his injury, than with Posada.

And the last outing by Joba Chamberlain was almost embarrassing, with the 23-year-old fireballer continually shaking Posada off and wanting to throw his own pitches and the veteran catcher stomping to the mound to confront Joba about pitch selection.

In last night's game Yankee commentators, Michael Kay and John Flaherty, talked at some length about the disrespect that has been shown to Posada. Kay in particular took exception to Joba Chamberlain making such an issue of Posada's pitch selection.

There is no doubt the Yankees need Posada's bat in the lineup. At this stage no one in their right mind would expect Cervelli to provide the same offensive punch as Posada.

But Cervelli has surprised with the bat and after going three for three on Sunday, he now boasts a .298 average. He also has shown a capacity to come through in the clutch.

Posada, on the other hand, has slumped lately and finished last night's game with the Nationals hitting .289.

The bigger picture has to include DH Hideki Matsui who has been extremely inconsistent this year and from time to time still seems hobbled by knee problems that required two surgeries in the last two years.

Matsui was 0-for-3 with a walk in last night's game and is now hitting only .253.

Girardi has sat Matsui against left-handed pitchers more in recent weeks and this may be a trend that will need to be expanded.

If Matsui is used less and Posada is slotted in as DH, Cervelli can certainly improve the defense.

Cervelli may also improve the confidence of the pitching staff which seems to suffer with Posada and the Yankees may profit in several ways.

Cervelli will not hit for power. But he can be more than adequate hitting in the nine hole. And the benefits he brings behind the plate can not be ignored forever.

A-Rod: Mark Teixeira Should Be MVP

Perry Arnold — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:43:26 -0400

Mark Teixeira, first baseman for the New York Yankees, has belted 20 home runs in the 59 games he has played this season.

He has also driven in 54 runs, has an OPS of 1.008 and an OPS+ of 161.

But when the Yankees came from behind Friday night to beat the Mets 9-8, Alex Rodriguez went to the trouble to explain why his teammate, Teixeira, should be the MVP in the American League this year.

The Yankees were behind the Mets 8-7 with two outs in the ninth inning.

Teixeira came to the plate and was intentionally walked so Mets' closer Francisco Rodriguez could pitch to Alex Rodriguez, who is in a slump and was hitting only .233 at the time.

K-Rod induced A-Rod to hit a sky high pop-up to Mets second baseman Luis Castillo. It seemed certain that it was the final out of the game and that the Mets had won the first game of the subway series.

But Castillo dropped the ball, and Derek Jeter scored the tying run from second.

Then, as Castillo found the ball in the grass and flipped it toward second base, Teixeira came around to score all the way from first on a pop-up.

There are a great many Major League players, men of immeasurable talent, who would have dropped their heads and jogged toward second when they saw their cleanup hitter pop the ball up and slam his bat into the ground.

Those many players would have been safe on second when Castillo dropped the ball and the Yankees would have been tied with Robinson Cano coming to the plate.

But Teixeira is different. He plays the game the way every baseball player is taught the first time they put on a brightly colored shirt and walk onto a tee-ball diamond.

Tex plays the way little leaguers are encouraged to play by their dads coaching from the stands, the way every high school coach exhorts their players to play because they never quite had the talent to make it to the show.

Teixeira saw that A-Rod made contact, knew there were two outs, and remembered from years of instruction and years of playing the game that with two outs, you always go on contact and don't stop running until someone tells you the ball has been caught.

He had a lot of time to run, as high as that ball was hit.

As Castillo waited for clouds to part and the ball to descend, Teixeira was rounding second and on his way to third while Jeter made his way home.

When Teixeira got to third, he realized Castillo had dropped the ball and, seeing the ball flipped toward second, he romped home and slid in with another come-from-behind win for the Bombers.

As Tex put it after the game, when he realized the ball was dropped he shifted into second gear.

"I don't have a third gear, or a fourth or fifth," he quipped.

But he did have the desire and the determination to play the game to the last out.

It was the same desire that he showed against Texas when he slid hard into second base, taking out Ranger shortstop Elvis Andrus, allowing A-Rod to beat out the double play throw and a run to score.

That was the reason A-Rod, who could have been the goat Friday night, told the writers that Teixeira's play in scoring the winning run was the reason that he should be the MVP.

If any young player could choose someone to follow, someone to emulate, someone to respect, it might be hard to find someone better than Mark Teixeira.

It remains to be seen whether he will win the 2009 AL MVP, but he has already won the respect of his teammates and his Yankee fans.

Derek Jeter Is The Second Best Shortstop In Baseball History

Perry Arnold — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:57:03 -0400

Cliff Eastham just wrote a piece on the top 10 shortstops in the Hall of Fame and I was very interested in the piece.

One of the reasons it was so interesting to me is that I wrote a piece last week about the best 50 players in baseball history, but done considering positions so that I composed two teams who could theoretically play one another.

By doing the analysis in that way I had to consider who were the best catchers, who were the best third basemen, etc.

And of course, I had to consider the best shortstops.

As Eastham did, I put Honus Wagner at the top of the list and he was the starting shortstop for one team. There is no argument there.

I started out considering Ernie Banks as the other starting shortstop. But Banks played more games at first base than shortstop and never played shortstop after the age of 30.

Without question Banks is one of the best 20 players to ever step onto a major league field, but I eliminated him as one of the starting shortstops because he was primarily a first baseman.

I also thought about Lou Boudreau, Arky Vaughn, Marty Marion, Luke Appling and Cal Ripken, Jr.

But when I did a statistical analysis, I finally came to my own subjective conclusion that Derek Jeter is a better shortstop than any of these players.

He is even better statistically than Banks in my opinion.

Banks had a lifetime average of .274. Jeter is now at .316.

Banks hit 512 home runs, had 2,583 hits and drove in 1,636 runs.

With several years left on his career, Jeter is never going to catch Banks in home runs since Jeter has only hit 215.

But Jeter already has more hits with 2,614. He will probably never get to Banks' RBI totals since Jeter only has 1,032.

And Banks' OPS+ is two points higher.

That is why this is opinion, but considering the higher average, the greater number of hits and the fact that Jeter is still playing very well at short at the age of 35, I rank Jeter higher than Banks at this position.

By comparison, Luke Appling had a lifetime average of .310, garnered 2,749 hits and had an OPS+ of 112.

It is almost impossible to compare players from the different eras. Appling only had 45 home runs, but he played when the game was essentially different than now.

Lou Boudreau had a lifetime average of .295, hit only 68 home runs, had a total of 1,779 hits but had an OPS+ equal to Jeter's at 120.

Perhaps most surprising to me was that Cal Ripken Jr. had an OPS+ of only 112 compared to Jeter's current 120.

This is despite the fact that Ripken hit 431 home runs and drove in 1,695 in his illustrious career. Ripken also finished with 3,184 hits, a number Jeter should pass unless he is injured.

The big surprise for many may be that Ripken only hit .276 for his career and had an on base percentage 46 points lower than Jeter's.

Again, this is all subjective and I write this as an unapologetic Yankee fan who understands that my bias may influence my opinion here.

Jeter has often been criticized as less than the best on defense. But that is extremely subjective, notwithstanding new statistics such as UZR.

But the critics who have insisted in the past two years that Jeter no longer has the range to play shortstop, may have to rethink their position now that Derek is playing injury free for the most part.

This season, Jeter has played very well defensively. It is unlikely that the Yankees are going to look to move him to another position or DH for several years.

And Jeter's leadership abilities and his uncanny knack for being in places few other players would imagine to be (such as in the playoff game in Oakland), just when a big play has to be made, add to my determination that Jeter is the second best shortstop in the history of this great game.

27 Jump from Triborough Bridge (Satire)

Perry Arnold — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:27:52 -0400

Apparently beginning with nobody out in the eighth inning of the Yankees game in Fenway Park, Thursday night, a number of people began jumping from the Triborough Bridge.

It seemed to begin almost as soon as J.D. Drew hit a single up the middle off Yankee starter, CC Sabathia. Apparently some of the people had been on the bridge since Wednesday night and were armed with portable radios.

It was impossible to verify for certain how many of the jumpers were motivated by the Red Sox coming from behind to claim their eighth straight win of the season.

But there were immediate reports that as some jumped shouts could be heard from others on the bridge. It seemed there was some consistency to the crowd noise.

It seems that they were trying to talk the jumpers out of their decision to take the leap by shouting, "There are still 102 games."

There may have also been some pleading involving a two-run lead in the Eastern Division.

Instant Coffee Isn't Always The Answer

Perry Arnold — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:58:48 -0400

This writer is an old guy who grew up before cable TV, microwave ovens, cell phones, laptops and instant news on the World Wide Web. Our world has become a place where there is no time for anything.

Instant gratification is the only answer.

I remember when my grandmother grew almost all the food we ate. Starting with hand plowing the garden and planting the seeds and living off last year's canned food until the new fresh garden produce was available.

Now no one has the patience to wait for anything to sprout from a seed. No one has the time to actually walk to the garden and pick their own food and then, heaven forbid, actually cook if for themselves.

No one has time to even go into a restaurant and wait for someone else to cook it for you. Now everyone has to pull into the drive through to the point that it takes longer waiting for the line of cars to pass than if you had gone inside.

In the small town where this old guy lives you can even go to the corner grocery store and get a cheeseburger wrapped in tin foil that has been sitting under a warming light for three hours and you can have lunch in two minutes.

No one has time to wait for a whole pot of coffee to brew. Now you have individual coffee pods that are ready in just seconds.

Or if you are really impatient you can spoon some instant coffee in a cup and have it faster from the microwave.

The same is true with our sports teams.

Yankee fans are not patient. They have no time for Chien-Ming Wang or Phil Hughes to develop.

They have no memory for 2005, 2006, 2007 or even 2008. They only know about right now.

They only know that Chien-Ming Wang has not brought them instant gratification. There is no time to wait for him to work his way through his problems, not in New York and not in Scranton.

There is no time to contemplate. There is no time to consider.

There is no time to realize that following the lis franc injury in June 2008, Wang was not permitted any physical activity that would have put strain on his right foot until he came to Spring Training.

We only know frustration. We only know denial.

We only know we had high expectations and that part of the source of those hopes has let us down so far this year.

This old guy knows that I can get some things fast. This old guy also knows that some of the things I get fast aren't worth the trouble it took to get them.

I am still an old guy who would prefer to take the time to make my own egg salad sandwich to bring to lunch so I can avoid the three hour old cheeseburger somebody else made.

I am also the old guy who would prefer to grind my own coffee beans and brew a whole pot of coffee for my wife and myself rather than spoon instant in a cup and wait impatiently for the bell on the microwave to ding.

I am also old enough to have some compassion for those who struggle and want not to give up on them too early. I am also the old guy who remembers that a baseball season is still 162 games and six months.

I would urge all my fellow Yankee fans to look at Wang again and realize that instant coffee is not always the right answer.

Joe Girardi Is Playing Senseless Mind Games with His Yankee Players

Perry Arnold — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:33:15 -0400

New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi is making decisions that have to affect his players’ confidence in themselves—and certainly their confidence in Girardi.

There are many examples.

The first one that comes to mind happened on Apr. 24 in Boston.

The Yankees were ahead in the game 4-2, and rookie reliever Jonathan Albaladejo was brought in to face the Sox.

Albaladejo got three outs without allowing a hit. Then when J.D. Drew came to the plate, Girardi allowed Albaladejo to throw the first pitch to Drew. It was a strike.

Then inexplicably, Girardi came to the mound and took his rookie out to bring in Mariano Rivera.

What did this move say to Albaladejo? “Sorry, kid, I have absolutely no confidence in letting you pitch to this guy.”

Up to that point, Albaladejo had pitched very well, had a 2.70 ERA. He has not been the same since and was recently sent down to the minors.

Girardi started the season with rookie Brett Gardner in center field. But Gardner showed a complete inability to hit early in the year, and he was replaced by Melky Cabrera.

Cabrera has been the starting center fielder ever since—almost.

Despite the fact that Gardner has been given the starting job over Gardner, when Girardi decides to make late-game defensive replacements, Gardner is placed in center field and Cabrera is moved to right.

And in games when Girardi chooses to start Gardner, again Cabrera is moved from the position he won during the season.

Cabrera has played all three outfield positions.

What does Girardi’s use of his starting center fielder say to Cabrera? “Okay, you won the starting job, but I still don’t think you are as good as Gardy, so he is going to play center whenever I get the chance to use him.”

On May 24 the Yankees were hosting the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Late in the game, second baseman, Robinson Cano, got a hit and made it to second base.

At that point Cano was hitting .313. Girardi decided to manipulate the situation and replace Cano with pinch runner, Ramiro Pena.

Pena scored the run that tied the game. But in extra innings, when Cano’s place in the batting order came around, he was unavailable to hit.

Cano is not the fastest man on the team, but he is not slow. He is also experienced. Pena is a rookie who had never played above Double-A ball before this year.

What did Girardi’s decision say to Cano? “I just don’t feel comfortable in having you run the bases in this situation so I’m going to put Nino in for you here.”

When both Yankee catchers, Jorge Posada and Jose Molina, went on the disabled list with leg injuries, Francisco Cervelli was called up from Double-A Trenton.

Cervelli was an instant shot of energy for the Yankees and they reeled off eight wins in the next 10 games, with Cervelli catching almost every game.

Cervelli won rave reviews from the pitchers who loved throwing to the kid. He proved he could call a good game and throw out runners.

Since Posada has returned from the DL on May 28, Cervelli has been stuck on the bench with almost no chance to play.

What does Girardi’s decision to Cervelli? “It doesn’t matter how well you played and I don’t really care if the pitchers have more confidence in throwing to you than Posada, go rust on the bench until someone gets hurt again.”

When starter Chien-Ming Wang proved totally ineffective it appeared that the Yankees created an injury to the hip abductor muscle in order to put the pitcher on the disabled list.

Phil Hughes was recalled from Triple A and pitched inconsistently, but sometimes brilliantly.

Last week, after Wang had worked out of the bullpen sporadically for three weeks, Girardi and other members of the Yankee “brain trust” decided to start Wang and to put Hughes in the bullpen.

Girardi allowed Hughes to sit in the bullpen for seven days with no use. Finally in Monday’s night’s final game against Tampa Bay, Girardi seemed to finally remember that the big right-hander was down in the pen.

Girardi brought Hughes in to pitch the seventh inning and he was lights out. Without any possible explanation Girardi did not call on Hughes to go back out in the eighth inning, calling on Phil Coke instead.

Before yesterday’s game in Boston, Girardi was interviewed and said that if Wang got in early trouble, the Yankees would look to Hughes, and that Girardi could expect Hughes to throw up to 85 pitches if necessary.

But in the first two innings, when Wang was struggling with control, Girardi did not have Hughes up in the pen. Instead, he had David Robertson heating up as fast as possible.

Eventually Hughes was called into the game in the third inning with two out, and he pitched well for the three and two-thirds innings Girardi left him in the game. He did give up a two-run homer to Kevin Youkilis, but otherwise was very good.

But what must Girardi’s vacillation say to the hard throwing kid? “Well, they told me I had to put you in the pen and yeah, I know you didn’t get called for seven days and yeah, I know I said I would use you first if Wanger got in trouble, but then I had second thoughts and got David ready and well, gosh, Phil, I just don’t know.”

And then we have last night’s starter, Chien-Ming Wang.

Wang has pitched very badly for most of his work this year.

His first three starts are now legendarily horrible. But he has always been a starter, had stretched himself out as a starter in the minors after his hip abductor “injury” and then was recalled to the Bronx—only to find himself in the bullpen.

After Girardi used him for three weeks from the pen, Wang was thrust into the starting rotation last Thursday against Texas. Putting him in then required Girardi to shuffle his entire starting rotation.

Last night Wang started for only the second time since being recalled and he was bad again. This time he went only 2.2 innings, gave up six hits and four earned runs and also three bases on balls, which hurt his performance as much as anything else.

Before the game, Girardi had talked about Wang, emphasizing the need to stretch him out some more and saying that he expected to get 80 to 90 pitches from Wang in this game.

But in the third inning he had two outs when the Red Sox's sometimes catcher, George Kottaras, came to the plate. At that point Wang had thrown 69 pitches, far fewer than Girardi had hoped for and an average of only 23 per inning.

Kottaras strode to the plate carrying a bat and a .204 average. He catches only when Tim Wakefield throws, primarily because Jason Varitek does not want to catch the knuckleball.

But as Kottaras came to the plate, Girardi was on his way to the mound. He took Wang out of the game with two outs and the weakest hitter on the Red Sox roster coming to the plate.

What did Girardi’s move of taking Wang out at this point say to his pitcher? “Wang, I can’t stand to see you throw one more ball. I don’t care if Donald Duck was hitting, you ain’t throwing no more. Get outta here.”

On Saturday afternoon, Girardi went to the mound with Mariano Rivera throwing in relief. Coming to the plate for Tampa Bay was Evan Longoria, who has had a bad leg and was unable to play in the game. Longoria had sat on the bench for the entire game.

Girardi instructed future Hall of Famer, Rivera, to intentionally walk Longoria and pitch to B.J. Upton.

Rivera is the Yankees’ closer. His mindset has to be that he can get anyone out. If he is afraid to pitch to any hitter, he has the wrong role on the team.

But Girardi made a special point of personally instructing Mo to walk the Rays' pinch hitter.

Girardi did not have pitching coach Dave Eiland signal to the catcher to pass Longoria. No.

Girardi went to the mound to personally tell Rivera that he had no confidence in his closer pitching to this guy who was coming in cold off the bench.

What did Girardi say to Rivera? “Yeah, I know Mo. They say you are the greatest closer in the game. And yeah, I know this guy hasn’t played all day and probably can’t run anything out if he hits the ball. But I just don’t think you can get this guy out. Better walk him.”

What did Girardi say to Hideki Matsui, his DH, when he refused to start Matsui in the first game in Boston on Tuesday? Girardi would rather have had Brett Gardner in the lineup against Josh Beckett than Matsui.

Girardi has no plan. Girardi has no concept of how his rash moves affect the minds of these players, some of them very young and still trying to develop confidence.

Girardi is frustrating to those watching this team. Girardi seems frustrated himself.

Girardi is overthinking, over-managing and over-complicating every aspect of this game.

But he has been around the game long enough, and has seen it played the right way for long enough during his time in New York as a player and coach under Joe Torre, that he at least should be sensitive to the mindless way he is playing games with his players.

Sure Would Like to See These Baseball Teams Play

Perry Arnold — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:18:17 -0400

Mike and Mike in the Morning had a discussion on Tuesday about which sports franchise was the greatest dynasty in professional sports.

They obviously included the Yankees with their 26 World Championships, but the argument for them boiled down to the Yankees or the Los Angeles Lakers.

Even though the Lakers have won far fewer world championships than the Yankees and far fewer than the Celtics in their own field in the NBA, Mike Greenberg was arguing that the Lakers had to be the greatest franchise because of the 50 greatest basketball players of all-time, at least nine of them had played for the Lakers.

The conversation then turned to whether nine or more of the greatest 50 baseball players were Yankees.

That set me to thinking about who the top 50 baseball players in history are.

I did some research and found that The Sporting News has their ranking of the top 100 all-time baseball players.

Baseball Almanac lists the top 100 as chosen by The Society for American Baseball Research.

But each of these organizations ranked the players without regard to position or utility on a team.

I decided to put together two 25-man squads of what I would consider as the greatest players of all-time.

I used this to include 50 players, as Mike and Mike were discussing, and to consider how you would fill out two teams that would theoretically play one another in an historical game.

I did this without regard to leagues or eras. And I did it thinking of the way teams are composed today as opposed to the manner in which old-time teams were put together. So I used more pitchers and added designated hitters for both teams.

I put 11 pitchers on each team but did not distinguish between starters and relievers. I figure the managers could figure this out.

Here are my two all-time greatest teams.

But I will give some caveats with this. First of all, this is almost an exercise in futility.

As an example, Hank Greenberg is ranked as high as the 35th greatest player in baseball history, but he doesn’t make the list because there is no place to play him.

When you have Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx as your first baseman and utility infielders such as Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Eddie Collins, and Brooks Robinson, Hank just can’t make the teams.

Another example, I first thought of Hank Aaron as the starting left fielder. But you can’t keep Stan Musial off the starting lineup, and Stan the Man had a lifetime average 40 points higher than Hammering Hank. Stan’s OPS+ was even higher than Hank’s.

The biggest argument is probably going to come because of my choice for the shortstop for the Red Team. The shortstop for the Blue Team was relatively easy. There are not 10 better players in the history of baseball than Honus Wagner.

But when it came to picking the second best shortstop in the history of baseball, it got much harder.

At first I had Ernie Banks as the starting shortstop on the second team. Banks, of course, is in the Hall of Fame. He ranks in the top 40 on both lists mentioned above. Banks had a career average of only .274, although he did hit 512 home runs and gathered 2,583 total hits.

But Ernie did not even play his entire career at short.

Then I looked at Cal Ripken, Jr., also in the Hall and the model for all shortstops of the new millenium. Ripken hit .276 for his career with 431 home runs and had an OPS of .788 and an OPS+ of 112. He was MVP twice and won one Gold Glove.

I considered Barry Larkin, who hit .295 for his career and had 198 home runs. He won two Gold Gloves and one MVP and had a lifetime OPS of .815.

I went back and looked at Arky Vaughn and Marty Marion and Luke Appling.

Appling got strong consideration because he had a lifetime average of .310. But his OPS was only .798 and his OPS+ was 112.

Then I considered another shortstop and knew he was trouble on this list. But I did the statistical analysis. He has had more Gold Gloves than Larkin or Ripken. His lifetime average is 20 points higher than Larkin and almost 40 points higher than Ripken.

This shortstop has over 2,600 hits, a career OPS of .845, and a career OPS+ of 120, again, higher than Ripken or Larkin. He has barely half Ripken’s home runs but more home runs than Larkin.

And this shortstop is still playing. He also has four championship rings. Knowing it would be controversial, I put Derek Jeter as the other starting shortstop on the two greatest teams ever assembled.

So here they are. Dissect the lists, tear them apart, tell me why I am crazy. But put some thought into it please, because I sure have.

Blue Team:

Manager: John McGraw

Pitchers:
Cy Young                      511 Wins—316 losses—Lifetime ERA 2.36
Christy Mathewson       373 Wins—188 losses—Lifetime ERA 2.13
Nolan Ryan                    324 Wins—292 losses—Lifetime ERA 3.19 – 5,714 Strikeouts
Whitey Ford                236 Wins—106 losses—Lifetime ERA 2.75
Lefty Grove                   300 Wins—141 losses—Lifetime ERA 3.06
Goose Gossage               124 Wins—107 losses—Lifetime ERA 3.01 – 310 Saves
Steve Carlton                 329 Wins—244 losses—Lifetime ERA 3.22 – 4,136 Strikeouts
Roger Clemens                354 Wins—184 losses—Lifetime ERA 3.12 – 4672 Strikeouts
Jim Palmer                      268 Wins—152 losses—Lifetime ERA 2.86
Carl Hubbell                    253 Wins—154 losses—Lifetime ERA 2.98
Bob Gibson                      251 Wins—174 losses—Lifetime ERA 2.91 – 3117 Strikeouts

Catchers:
Johnny Bench Lifetime BA—.267—389 HR—OPS .817—OPS+ 126
Josh Gibson Impossible to determine from Negro Leagues

First Base:
Lou Gehrig Lifetime BA—.340—493 HR—OPS 1.080—OPS+ 179

Second Base:
Napoleon Lajoie Lifetime BA—.338—3242 Hits—OPS .847—OPS+ 150

Shortstop:
Honus Wagner Lifetime BA—.327—3415 Hits—OPS .857—OPS+ 150

Third Base:
Mike Schmidt Lifetime BA - .267 – 548 HR – OPS .908 – OPS+ 147

Utility Infielders:
Joe Morgan Lifetime BA - .271 – 268 HR – OPS .819 – OPS+ 132
Pete Rose Lifetime BA - .303 – 4256 Hits – OPS .784 – OPS+ 132

Left Field:
Stan Musial Lifetime BA - .331 – 475 HR – OPS .976 – OPS+ 159

Centerfield:
Joe Dimaggio Lifetime BA - .325 – 361 HR – OPS .977 – OPS+ 155

Right Field:
Tris Speaker Lifetime BA - .345 – 3514 Hits – OPS .928 – OPS+ 158

Extra Outfielders:
Mickey Mantle Lifetime BA - .298 – 536 HR – OPS .977 – OPS+ 172
Hank Aaron Lifetime BA - .305 – 755 HR – OPS .925 – OPS+ 155

Designated Hitter:
Babe Ruth Lifetime BA - .342 – 7149 HR – OPS 1.164 – OPS+ 207

Red Team:

Manager: Joe McCarthy

Pitchers:
Satchel Paige                    Impossible to determine exact stats from Negro Leagues
Grover Cleveland Alexander 373 Wins – 208 losses – Lifetime ERA 2.56
Sandy Koufax                 165 Wins – 87 losses –   Lifetime ERA 2.76
Walter Johnson               417 Wins – 279 losses – Lifteime ERA 2.17 –3509 Strikeouts
Bob Feller                      266 Wins – 162 losses – Lifetime ERA 3.25 – 2581 Strikeouts
Warren Spahn                  363 Wins – 245 losses – Lifetime ERA 3.05 – 2583 Strikeouts
Tom Seaver                     311 Wins – 205 losses – Lifetime ERA 2.86 – 3640 Strikeouts
Greg Maddux                    355 Wins – 277 losses – Lifetime ERA 3.16 – 3371 Strikeouts
Randy Johnson               300 Wins – 165 losses – Lifetime ERA 3.28 – 4850 Strikeouts
Mariano Rivera                 68 Wins -    51 losses -   Lifetime ERA 2.31 – 496 Saves
Dennis Eckersley              197 Wins – 171 losses – Lifetime ERA 3.50 – 390 Saves

Catchers:
Yogi Berra Lifetime BA - .285 – 358 HR – OPS .830 – OPS+ 125
Ivan Rodriguez Lifetime BA - .301 – 300 HR – OPS .812 – OPS+ 109

First Basemen:
Jimmie Foxx Lifetime BA - .325 – 534 HR – OPS .1.038 – OPS+ 163

Second Base:
Rogers Hornsby Lifetime BA - .358 – 301 HR – OPS 1.010 – OPS+ 175

Shortstop:
Derek Jeter Lifetime BA - .315 – 215 HR - 2605 Hits– OPS .845 – OPS+ 120

Third Base:
Alex Rodriguez Lifetime BA - .305 – 561 HR – OPS .966 – OPS+ 147

Utility Infielders:
Eddie Collins Lifetime BA - .333 – 3315 Hits – OPS .853 – OPS+ 141
Brooks Robinson Lifetime BA - .267 – 268 HR – Gold Gloves 16 Straight Years

Left Field:
Ty Cobb Lifetime BA - .366 – 4189 Hits – OPS .945 – OPS+ 167

Centerfield:
Willie Mays Lifetime BA - .302 – 660 HR – OPS .941 – OPS+ 156

Right Field:
Roberto Clemente Lifetime BA - .317 – 3000 Hits – OPS .834 – OPS+ 130

Extra Outfielders:
Barry Bonds Lifetime BA - .298 – 762 HR – OPS .1.051 – OPS+182
Frank Robinson Lifetime BA - .267 – 389 HR – OPS .817 – OPS+ 126

Designated Hitter:
Ted Williams Lifetime BA - .344 – 521 HR – OPS 1.116 – OPS+ 191

Joe Girardi Thinks He Is Merlin As Yanks Lose Sixth Straight to Boston

Perry Arnold — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:25:43 -0400

The New York Yankees were destroyed in Fenway Park Tuesday night, losing to Boston 7-0.

This is the sixth straight loss the Yankees have suffered at the hands of their archnemesis, the Boston Red Sox.

It has become apparent that Joe Girardi thinks the New York Yankees cap with the interlocking N/Y is actually Merlin's magician's cap.

Girardi is convinced that he is a conjurer, a Merlin capable of experiments that will lead to magical results.

He simply cannot avoid the temptation to experiment like a wizard or a mad scientist

Girardi's latest experiment started last week when he began to test his starting rotation by switching everyone around to give Chien-Ming Wang a start on Thursday.

This pushed all the other starters back one day. Then a rainout on Friday night pushed the hurlers back one more day.

So Girardi conjured up a scenario where A.J. Burnett was pitching on six days' rest and obviously was completely out of sync.

Burnett was horrendous, failing to finish the third inning while throwing 84 pitches, giving up five walks, five hits, and five runs, three of which were earned.

Wizard Joe has also conjured lately that, despite the great work by Francisco Cervelli, he can work magic with Jorge Posada behind the plate.

Posada reinforced the opinion of many that he is a terrible catcher as he allowed two passed balls and generally looked like a mad puppeteer's marionette dancing on veiled strings as he jumped around behind the plate without reason.

In a game in which he had decided to sit DH Hideki Matsui and had the perfect chance to get a great defensive catcher in the game and still use Posada's potent bat, Girardi chose to keep Cervelli wasting on the bench.

Instead, Wizard Joe decided that Brett Gardner was a better option than either Matsui or Cervelli in the game.

Admittedly, Matsui is mired in a slump, but few would speculate that Gardner is more likely to hit Josh Beckett.

Girardi also put on Merlin's hat to cast a spell on his outfield.

As Wizard Joe is wont to do, he had an outfield last night that had no player in the same position he had started the night before.

In the final game against the Rays, Monday night, Johnny Damon started in his usual spot in left, Melky Cabrera was in center, and Nick Swisher was where he has most often been since Xavier Nady's injury, in right field.

Considering that his team was going into the den of their most hated enemy, one might have thought Girardi would have counted on stability to provide some comfort to his charges.

But no—Wizard Joe decided to use Damon as his DH in place of Matsui.

It may never have occurred to the conjurer that Damon has more experience in Fenway Park than all of his other outfielders combined, since Damon roamed the pasture in Fenway for four years when he played for Boston.

With Damon on the bench, Girardi decided to put his favorite player, Brett Gardner, in center field.

That meant Cabrera, who won the job from Gardner after "Gardy" proved he was not ready for prime time once the regular season began, had to go somewhere else.

If you have not been keeping up with Wizard Joe, you might have thought the logical thing would have been to just slide Melky over to left if Wizard wanted "Gardy" placated by playing center.

But no, just moving one outfielder is not enough for Wizard Joe. Instead, he moved all three. So he took Swisher out of right and put him in left and placed Melky in right.

The short field, high wall, and indentations of the manual scoreboard on the left field Monster make it one of the more difficult fields in all of baseball. Most observers would also agree that Swisher is the least capable of the three outfielders Wizard Joe chose to use last night.

Logic might then have indicated that Wizard would not move Swisher from his accustomed place in right and force him to play the Monster in left.

But that is exactly what Wizard conjured, and Swisher was in left.

There were no plays from the outfielders that contributed to the blowout win for Boston.

But it is impossible to determine if Wizard Joe's constant conjuring affects the players' game overall.

Do the constant changes Wizard Joe conjures up affect the mindset of his players?

Does playing a different position in the field affect the player when he is hitting?

It is certainly possible. But none of the minions under the Spell of Wizard Joe are going to tell anyone that, as long as Girardi is still wearing the magic hat.

Josh Beckett is the main reason the Yankees never had a chance. He gave up only one hit and two bases on balls last night.

Three Boston relievers mopped up for three innings and gave up only one more hit total.

The Yankees, who had the best record in the American League going into the game and had been hotter than any other team over the last three weeks, seemed to never be in the game.

This writer is willing to speculate that Wizard Joe's conjurings have affected his players.

Another recent experiment that coincided with the decision to return Wang to the starting rotation saw Phil Hughes relegated to the bullpen, where he sat for seven straight days as the Wizard apparently forgot this Knight in Shining Armor was down there.

Finally on Monday night, Wizard Joe remembered that Sir Phil awaited in the pen, and he brought Hughes in for his first relief appearance of 2009.

Hughes pitched one inning of brilliant baseball, as his fastball was clocked as high as 95 mph. He overwhelmed very good hitters for Tampa Bay.

But after one inning, Wizard Joe called on Sir Phil Coke, again for only one inning, and again, this Knight proved up to the task.

But in the ninth, Wizard Joe called for his greatest Knight of the Bullpen, Mariano Rivera.

This was the third game in a row Wizard Joe had called on Sir Mo. On Saturday, Wizard Joe had conjured a strange potion when he insisted that Rivera intentionally walk hobbled Evan Longoria, who had been unable to start and was coming off the bench cold as a pinch hitter.

The Yankees lost the game, and the next hitter after Longoria, B.J. Upton, drove in an insurance run off Sir Mo.

On Sunday, when Longoria once again could not play and once again was sent in late in the game to pinch hit, Wizard Joe decided to let Sir Mo pitch to Longoria, and Mo induced a weak ground ball to second base.

By calling on Sir Mo after the Two Sirs Phil had pitched so well, Girardi insured that Rivera would not be available in the first game in Boston. It turned out that New York would never be in a position to call on Rivera. But Girardi could not have known that when he made his decision on Monday to use him for the third day in a row.

His constant experiments are dangerous, and if he does not soon understand that his experiments damage his team, Wizard Joe may soon turn some of New York's handsome princes into toads.

Yankees-Rays: New York Lucky in Eighth, Squeak By Rays, 4-3

Perry Arnold — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:04:07 -0400

For seven innings yesterday, the New York Yankees could do almost nothing against Tampa Bay starter, Matt Garza.

The only production the Bombers had had was one solo home run by Nick Swisher in the third inning.

But in the eighth, without much offense, things came apart for the Rays and the Yankees got lucky with their 20th come-from-behind win of the year.

The inning started with lead off Derek Jeter making an out.

But then Johnny Damon sliced a hit into left field.

Rays manager, Joe Maddon, decided to pitch around Mark Teixeira and put him on first base with an all-but-intentional walk.

Alex Rodriguez came to the plate and worked a walk as well, loading the bases for Robinson Cano.

Cano was also walked to force in the Yankees' second run of the game.

Jorge Posada then came to the plate and hit a ball to Willie Aybar, playing third base for the Rays in place of injured Evan Longoria.

Aybar rushed the play trying to get a double play by stepping on third and throwing out the slow Posada at first.

Instead Aybar muffed the play, got no one out and allowed Teixeira to score the tying run.

Hideki Matsui then came to the plate with A-Rod on third representing the go ahead run and Posada on first.

Swisher grounded weakly to the second baseman who was shading up the middle.

Ben Zobrist fielded the ball and tagged Posada who ran right into the tag instead of pulling up and forcing Zobrist to throw to second.

Posada almost cost the Yanks the winning run because of his mental error, but Matsui was hustling down the line and beat Zobrist's throw to first as A-Rod crossed home.

Mariano Rivera came in to close the game in the ninth and pitched very well.

Unlike the night before, manager, Joe Girardi, allowed Rivera to pitch to Evan Longoria who was once again called to pinch hit for catcher, Dioner Navarro.

In Saturday's game in almost the same situation, Girardi forced Mo to walk Longoria and pitch to B.J. Upton who got a hit and drove in a run to pad the Rays lead.

But on Sunday, when Mo was allowed to pitch to the hobbled Longoria, the greatest closer in major league history induced Longoria to ground weakly to Robinson Cano for the last out of the game.

The Yankees got another come from behind win, but they were very lucky in doing so.

Phil Hughes to the New York Yankees Bullpen: Stupid Move

Perry Arnold — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:46:34 -0400

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi and General Manager Brian Cashman announced yesterday that Chien-Ming Wang will return to the starting rotation on Thursday and that Phil Hughes will go to the bullpen.

They also announced that they will re-evaluate the decision in about two weeks and decide at that point whether Hughes should return to Scranton to get work as a starter.

This is a dangerous move by the Yankees brain trust.

The question that has to be asked is: Is Phil Hughes a starting pitcher?

The same question has been asked about Joba Chamberlain and the answer came back affirmative and he remains in the rotation.

If the same question is asked about Hughes the answer also has to be a resounding "Yes."

So it is ridiculous to put him in the 'pen.

In the two weeks they are going to take to re-evaluate the decision, Hughes should have started three times.

Whether those are starts in New York or at Triple-A Scranton, Hughes needs those starts.

If he goes to the 'pen and pitches a couple of innings every three days, everything changes for Hughes.

He will no longer be working as a starter and he cannot possibly instantly convert back to a starter.

If Wang goes down again, or if Pettitte's back is barking, and the Yankees need a starter, it is not going to be Hughes if he pitched two days before in relief.

Phil Hughes is a starting pitcher and at age 22 he has an extremely bright future ahead of him. He has shown traces of brilliance in at least two of his outings since being recalled from Scranton.

But to send him to the pen will change the way he prepares, change the way he pitches and probably more seriously, change his attitude about this organization.

No argument can be made that the Yankees don't need help in the 'pen. They obviously do.

But to mess with one of the future front line starters of the Yankees is not the way to solve the bullpen woes.

Instead it is endangering the future of this young man and Cashman and Girardi should seriously rethink this decision immediately.

Derek Jeter: Finally Healthy, Blazing Hot

Perry Arnold — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:19:31 -0400

Derek Jeter will turn 35 years old this month.

He is playing in his 15th season in the Bronx (although his first year in 1995 saw him in very few games).

It appears the Yankee shortstop is finally healthy. In each of the past several years he had nagging injuries bothering him.

In 2003, he suffered the worst injury of his career when he separated his shoulder sliding into third against Toronto in an April game.

Since that time he had several hand injuries and leg problems that put him on the DL in 2008.

Jeter has continued to play hard, but some critics, not recognizing that he played hurt, have seen a decline and have written him off. Some even suggested that he had to switch positions in the very near future.

But through the first 52 games on the Yankees schedule Jeter is hitting .319 with 68 hits.

After last night's game, in which he got three more hits, he is on pace to gather 212 hits in the season.

Jeter has actually only played in 50 games, as he had to sit with a strained oblique muscle a few weeks ago.

But when he is at full health, he has shown that he is still strong, still a force in the game, and one of the greatest clutch performers of his generation.

Much of the criticism of Jeter has been with his defense. After all, no one could find much to criticise regarding his offense.

But this year, he has been very good in the field. He is moving better than he has in recent years.

Jeter also seems to have taken to heart advice from Cal Ripken, Jr. that he has to be more concerned about positioning than living on sheer physical skill.

And he has shown a more accurate arm than expected after the last few years.

He also seems to be running better than in the last couple of years.

With the performance Jeter is currently providing, critics will have to be quiet and there is no reason to expect any move by the Yankee captain any time in the near future.

Jeter's current contract runs through the 2010 season when he will be 36. Brian Cashman, the Yankee General Manager, should seriously consider sitting down with Jeter and his agent right now and re-signing the future Hall of Fame player to a new contract that will carry him into his 40s.

AJ Burnett Says: "Hit Our Guys? Fuhgettaabout It!"

Perry Arnold — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:17:13 -0400

The New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers in Yankee Stadium Tuesday night by a score of 12-3.

Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui each hit three-run homers.

But there is a bigger story.

In the fourth inning, Yankees' first baseman, Mark Teixeira, was hit by Ranger starter, Vicente Padilla, for the second time in the game.

The Yankees rallied to score seven runs in the inning and put the game out of reach.

But the story really unfolded in the top of the fifth.

Nelson Cruz had hit a three-run homer off Yankee starter, AJ Burnett, in the second inning to give the Rangers a lead.

Cruz came up in the fifth after Teixeira had been hit.

Burnett worked the count and then threw a blazing fastball up and in, putting Cruz on his backside.

Burnett and both benches were warned by the home plate umpire.

Burnett would go on to strike Cruz out and then cruise to his fourth win of the season, working seven strong innings.

But the story was in the one pitch that knocked Cruz down.

For a number of years, Yankee hitters have been targets and it seemed that Yankee pitchers had been told not to retaliate. At least it seemed they never did.

But last night, AJ Burnett's message was very clear: "If you throw at my guys, you better not dig in."

Burnett has been an important force since coming to the Yankees in his free-agent offseason.

During Spring Training, Burnett brought the pitching staff together, insisting that they hang out together, work out together, and bond.

Burnett was the instigator of all starting pitchers assembling to watch the starter for the day warm up. The starters who have the day off now almost always can been seen together on the bench during the game.

Burnett has also initiated whipped cream pies for the stars of the games in the recent Yankee winning streak, promoting a looser club house and a celebratory feel for the team.

But his message last night will resonate more than anything else he has done.

It is almost certain that someone on the Rangers will get a quiet message back to Padilla and the other Ranger pitchers. It may be Cruz himself or a coach. But someone will tell the pitchers that there is a new Sheriff in town in the Bronx and that all his deputies go armed as well.

In the first series the Yankees played in Boston, David Ortiz warned Yankee starter, Joba Chamberlain not to throw at Kevin Youkilis.

This seemed to intimidate young Chamberlain although he pitched very well in his start in Beantown.

But now, the word will circulate that if you throw at Yankee hitters, there are pitchers in the Bronx who are not going to take it lying down.

His teammates have come to appreciate Burnett for many reasons this season.

But one pitch to one Ranger hitter last night may have done more to endear him to his teammates and Yankee fans than anything else he could have done.

Mark Teixeira Shows Additional Value for New York Yankees

Perry Arnold — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:56:30 -0400

In the fourth inning of the New York Yankees 12-3 win over the Texas Rangers last night, the Rangers were leading 3-2.

Then Ranger starter, Vicente Padilla, hit Yankees' first baseman, Mark Teixeira, for the second time in the game.

After some angry words, Teixeira took first base. When Alex Rodriguez grounded to second, Teixeira slid hard into Ranger shortstop, Elvis Andrus, breaking up the double play and allowing a run to score.

That extended the inning, and the Yankees would go on to put up seven in the fourth to put the game out of reach.

But more importantly, Teixeira showed something to his Yankee teammates that may prove as valuable as his offensive prowess or his brilliant defense.

Teixeira showed he is a gamer; that he has spirit.

Teixeira played the game the way it is supposed to be played. He slid hard into Andrus at second base, but he did so within the rules of the game. He had his hands on the base as Andrus went heels over head into the infield dirt.

As Tex returned to the dugout, he was greeted by high fives from every Yankee on the bench.

And his teammates let him know how much they appreciated his hard play and also that they had his back.

Teixeira is proving to be one of the most valuable members of this team for many reasons.

Last night, he gave everyone one more reason to know just how great a player he is and how much he adds to the Yankees' organization.

Derek Jeter Scores Run No. 1,500: Joins Elite Group

Perry Arnold — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:46:14 -0400

In last night's 12-3 win over the Texas Rangers, Derek Jeter, of the New York Yankees scored the 1500th run of his illustrious career.

In doing so Jeter joined a premier group of only four players in major league history who have 1500 runs scored, 2500 hits, 1000 RBI and 200 home runs in their first 15 years in the major leagues.

The only other players to match Jeter in this feat are Al Simmons, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron.

By comparison, both Pete Rose and Alex Rodriguez fell short of these marks in their first 15 seasons.

Jeter now has played in 2034 games, has 2603 hits, has scored 1500 runs, has 1027 RBI and 213 home runs.

Rose, after 15 full seasons fell short in RBI, having only 902 and home runs, having only 143.

A-Rod falls short in hits, having only 2404 after 15 seasons.

It should also be pointed out that Jeter is now entering only his 14th full year in the major leagues. But he did play a few games for New York in 1995, making this officially his 15th season in the majors.

New York Yankees' Big Right-Hander Should Definitely Go to the Bullpen

Perry Arnold — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:57:54 -0400

The New York Yankees bullpen has been terrible so far this year.

What was supposed to be a strength for the Bronx team has turned into an embarrassment.

At the same time, after a disastrous start by Chien Ming-Wang, the Yankees now seem to have too many good starting pitchers.

With Wang having turned in some very good performances in long relief, the question is in the air as to when he will return to the starting rotation.

And that fuels the question of what to do with Phil Hughes who has been the future star for the Yankees for a number of years now and is still only 22 years old.

Hughes has pitched well enough, since being brought up from Triple A when Wang went on the disabled list, to merit remaining in the rotation.

So what do the Yankees do with six starting pitchers.

They have one big right hander who, when he is on, has unhittable stuff. While he is prone to give up the occasional long ball, this pitcher has the kind of electric stuff the Yankees really need right now in the pen.

So, the Yankees should send A.J. Burnett to the bullpen and make him the bridge to closer, Mariano Rivera.

Burnett has been up and down as a starter in New York and would be the perfect man to provide what is needed in relief.

Of course, this is ludicrous. No one is going to seriously consider sending Burnett to the pen.

The same thing should be said of Joba Chamberlain, who proved in last night's eight-inning performance in Cleveland, that he deserves to be starting and that he has the potential to one day be a No. 1 on this staff.

The only reason that no one argues that Burnett should be sent to the pen is that he has never been there.

Burnett has always been a starter and will remain so.

Joba on the other hand was always a starter until the Yankees were desperate for help in the bullpen in 2007.

The Yankees took the 21-year-old starter and made him their eighth inning guy and he was an instant sensation.

Since that time, the arguments have gone on endlessly that Joba should be returned to the pen.

But Joba should remain in the starting rotation where he is much more valuable as he proved last night.

The dilemma will continue as to what to do with Wang and Hughes, but there should be no more discussion about Joba going to the pen.

Thoughts on New York Yankees' Retired Numbers

Perry Arnold — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:48:51 -0400

The New York Yankees have retired fifteen uniform numbers. Here are some random thoughts about those whose numbers are retired and who might be considered for this honor in the future.

First there is No. 1 – Billy Martin. Billy was the scrappy second baseman for the great Yankee teams of the early to mid 1950s. He was never a great player, but he played great in the clutch and was at his best in the World Series.

In his years with the team, the Yankees were in the World Series every year and won seven of them.

Martin had a Yankee batting average of only .256 if you throw out 1955 when he played in only 20 games but hit .300. He was by no means a Hall of Fame player.

Martin returned to New York as manager and guided the team to its first World Series crown in fifteen years when they won in 1977.

Billy fought with everybody all his life and it was no different when he was managing the only team he ever really loved. He fought with his players, especially Reggie Jackson. He fought with umpires. And he fought with owner, George Steinbrenner, who fired Billy and rehired him over and over again.

Should Martin’s No. 1 be retired? Statistically, no, he is not deserving. Emotionally, maybe he is. His intensity for the game and his love for the city and the team were perhaps the greatest ever known among the myriad legends who have walked the field in the Bronx.

The next four are “no-doubters.” No. 3 – Babe Ruth; No. 4 – Lou Gehrig; No. 5 – Joe Dimaggio; No. 7 – Mickey Mantle.

All are Hall of Fame players. All are among the greatest to have ever donned a baseball uniform. Much of the mystic that is the New York Yankees rests with those four players.

No. 8 is retired twice – for Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.

Both players are in the Hall of Fame. Both were arguably the greatest catchers of their era. Both were key players on the greatest dynastic Yankee teams of all time.

Dickey played on the Yankee teams of the 1930s and 1940s who won seven World Series titled.

Berra is the only man in history who owns 10 World Series rings, having played from 1946 through 1963. And Yogi was a three time MVP. Without question, both Dickey and Berra deserve the honor.

No. 9 is Roger Maris. The Rajah is a little harder. He played for the Yanks for only seven years, from 1960 through 1965. But in that time he won two MVP awards. And of course, in 1961 he broke Babe Ruth’s single season record for home runs when he stroked 61.

If Roger had not broken Babe’s record it is very doubtful that the team would have retired his number. There are others who have had greater overall numbers and bigger overall impact on the team and did not have their number emblazoned on the wall in Monument Park.

Roger was also not well liked by the fans during this time in New York. A big part of that was that the fans had come to idolize Mickey by that time and felt as though Mickey should have been the one breaking the records instead of Roger.

Number 10 is Phil Rizzuto, a Yankee legend in so many ways. Rizzuto was born in Brooklyn and was a life time New Yorker. When he tried out for his hometown Dodgers, the manager was Casey Stengel who advised Phil to get a shoe shine box and look for work telling him he was too small to play big league ball.

But Phil persevered, was signed by the Yankees and would go on to play on some of the best teams every assembled in the 40s and 50s. Phil would win MVP awards and World Series rings.

When his playing career was over, midway through the 1955 season, Phil moved to the announcers’ booth and for more than forty years he was the voice of the Yankees bringing his joie de vivre and his love for the Yankees to every game and to fans across America.

There is little room to doubt that The Scooter’s Number 10 deserves a place on the Wall.

Then comes No. 15 – Thurman Munson. Thurm is one of the most revered Yankees of all time. Any Yankee fan who was alive in the 70s remembers why Munson meant so much to us.

Thurman Munson was one of the grittiest players who ever donned the pinstripes. All of us can remember him with his uniform covered in dirt, sliding into second with another double.

Or we can see him hobbled and barely able to rise from his stance behind home plate but refusing to come out of the game.

We loved Thurman Munson and his empty locker, preserved for thirty years in the Old Yankee Stadium, is kept now in the Yankee museum in the New Palace. He was killed in a plane crash in August 1979.

In all honesty, we must ask ourselves what his legacy would have been had he lived. Munson had openly talked about leaving the Yankees. He wanted to be closer to his home in Ohio and had said he would consider going to the Indians.

Munson’s career batting average was .292. His 162 game average for home runs was only 13 and for RBI was 80. His career OPS was .756. But he was selected as Rookie of The Year in 1970 and MVP in 1976. And he was the Yankee captain.

And for three years from 1975-1977 he was without question the best catcher in baseball. He won the Gold Glove in each of those years while hitting over .300 and driving in more than 100 runs in each year.

Munson will probably never make the Hall of Fame. He played only nine full seasons for the Yankees. But with his career numbers and what he meant to the team and fans, there is little doubt that Number 15 should have been retired.

No. 16 is Whitey Ford and there are few who will question that he is the greatest Yankee pitcher of all time. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.

Ford would probably have had better career statistics if he had played for any manager other than Casey Stengel. Casey used Ford in strange ways, not allowing him to pitch in regular rotation and holding him out to pitch against only the strongest teams in the league.

Don Mattingly wore Number 23 which was retired in 1997. Mattingly played 13 full years for the Yankees and, much like Thurman Munson, had his career shortened.

Whereas Munson died prematurely, Mattingly retired at age 34 with back problems that no longer allowed him to play at the level he expected.

Mattingly hit .307 for his career, averaged 20 home runs and 100 RBI per season and won nine Gold Gloves. He was chosen as MVP in 1985. He was also the 10th Yankee Captain and the last before Derek Jeter.

There are some who question whether Mattingly will be elected to the Hall of Fame. But no one can seriously question whether Donnie Baseball should have had his number retired.

Number 32 belonged to Elston Howard. Howard was the first black player for the New York Yankees and was a great catcher. The only problem for Ellie was that he came to the Yankees in 1955 when their catcher was Yogi Berra.

Howard had a hard time finding regular playing time with Yogi behind the dish. But when he did play, he was one of the finest catchers in the game. Howard won two Gold Gloves and was the American League MVP in 1963.

Ellie’s overall numbers do not merit being considered as one of the all time greats. His career batting average was .274 and he averaged 17 home runs and 77 RBI per season. But if he had been given the opportunity to play regularly in his prime, without doubt he would have been great.

Howard died prematurely in 1980 and the Yankees retired his number in 1984. Some could argue that he did not have the statistics to be honored among the all time great Yankees, but he was a great teammate and a tremendous human being.

Casey Stengel wore 37 as the Yankee manager from 1949 through 1960 when he was forced to retire at age 70. In his 12 years at the helm all he did was win ten American League pennants and seven World Series crowns.

Without a doubt Stengel deserved to have his number retired as one of the greatest managers in Yankee history.

(At this point it must be noted that Joe McCarthy, the great Yankee manager of the 1930s and 1940s, also won seven World championships. He did not wear a uniform number with the Yankees, but he is honored in Monument Park with a plaque.)

No. 42 is retired for Jackie Robinson as every other team in major league baseball has done as well.

With the retirement of Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera, in a few years, no other major leaguer will ever again wear the number of the first black man to play major league baseball in the modern era.

Reggie Jackson’s Number 44 was retired in 1993. He played only five years in New York and they were five controversial years. During his time in the Bronx the Yankees would win two World Series titled, their first in fifteen years.

But Jackson created dissent within the Yankees, fought with manager, Billie Martin and many were glad to see him go when his contract ended in 1981.

Perhaps the biggest thorn in the side was the way in which Jacksondisrespected Captain and unquestionable team leader, Thurman Munson, when he famously said: “I am the straw that stirs the drink. Munson can only stir it bad.”

Jackson averaged .279 with 29 home runs and 92 RBI in his five years in the Bronx. Owner, George Steinbrenner, loved Jackson and if not for that his number would probably not be retired.

Three consecutive home runs in the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers earned Jackson the title “Mr. October” and gave him more good publicity than he was probably worth. Of all the numbers retired, the best argument could be made that Jackson deserved it least.

The final Yankee number retired to date was Number 49 worn by Ron Guidry. “Gator” pitched 14 seasons, all for the Yankees. His career ERA was 3.29. His career WHIP was 1.184. He won 170 games and lost only 91. Those numbers will probably not get Guidry into the Hall of Fame.

But the Yankees retired his number in 2003 recognizing that he was one of the greatest Yankees of all time. Gator’s problem, much like his teammate, Mattingly, was that he was severely limited late in his career with injuries.

In 1985 Guidry won 22 games. But he would never again win more than nine games in a season. But Guidry had proven to be one of the game’s greats in 1978 when he won 25 and lost only 3 with an ERA of 1.74.

He led the Yankees in the ‘78 season that culminating in him pitching in the one game playoff win over Boston that catapulted New York to the World Series and another championship.

Of the current Yankee players there are two who without question will have their numbers retired and plaques on the wall in Monument Park.

Derek Jeter’s No. 2 will never be worn again. Neither will Mariano Rivera’s No. 42. They are without question two of the greatest Yankees of all time.

Jeter will finish his career with more hits than any other Yankee and Rivera will be recognized as the greatest closer in the history of the game.

Time will tell whether No. 13 will also be retired for Alex Rodriguez. If A-Rod finishes his career with New York and breaks the all time home run records, his number should probably be retired.

There are others whose Yankee careers are too young, but have a chance for Yankee immortality. Mark Teixeira, in his first year, has shown the kind of promise that could lead to a place of honor when he retires. So has Robinson Cano, already in his fifth year in New York, but still very young.

Another Yankee single digit uniform number that was destined at one time for retirement was No. 6. Joe Torre won four World Series championships and led the Yankees to the playoffs every year he was manager.

If Torre had left New York quietly, if he had not written the “tell all” book, No. 6 would probably have been retired. Now, time must pass, healing must occur, before it will even be considered.

The last Yankee dynasty of the late 90s and early 2000s had other notable players who endeared themselves to Yankee fans. Two of those certainly deserve some consideration for having their numbers retired.

Paul O’Neill played nine years in the Bronx, including all four World Series crowns the team won from 1996-2000. In his first six years he hit over .300 every year and won the American League batting title in 1994 when he hit .359.

But O’Neill’s contributions to the Yankees were more than just numbers. He was called “The Warrior” and since his retirement at age 38 the Yankees have lacked any player with the kind of fire in the belly that O’Neill had.

If O’Neill’s No. 21 is retired it will be as much because of his intangible contributions and the love shown to him by the fans as for his pure statistics.

Bernie Williams was a different kind of player than O’Neill even though they played side by side in the Yankee outfield for many years. Williams was calm and quiet where O’Neill was fiery and tempermental.

For eight straight seasons, Williams hit over .300 and he also won one batting crown when he hit .339 in 1998. Along with O’Neill, Williams was around for each of the Yankees last four titles.

Bernie Williams is 5th in games played and hits by a Yankee. He is also in the top six in at bats, runs scored, doubles, home runs and RBI.

Statistically, Williams deserves to have Number 51 retired and that honor will probably come in the next few years.

Joe Girardi: Still Making Strange Decisions For New York Yankees

Perry Arnold — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:51:42 -0400

Joe Girardi has been the subject of a great deal of criticism for decisions he has made as the second-year manager of the New York Yankees.

Choices Girardi made in the weekend interleague series with World Champion Philadelphia just add to the speculation that Girardi is in over his head.

The series began on Friday night in New York. The Phillies started right hander Brett Myers, who has pitched very well for Philadelphia this year.

A.J. Burnett was going for the Yankees, which had been as hot as any team in major league baseball in the past two weeks.

One of the remarkable stories in the Yankees’ recent win streak has been the play of rookie Francisco Cervelli. Cervelli was called up from Double-A Trenton to fill the spot of injured catchers Jorge Posada and Jose Molina.

Cervelli has been playing great baseball, inspiring confidence with his defensive abilities and providing some unexpected help on offense.

However, Girardi chose to start Kevin Cash at catcher Friday night against the World champions.

Cash has been terrible at the plate and is almost an automatic out. Cervelli, on the other hand, was hitting .323 at the time.

The Yankees lost that game 7-3 as Burnett continued to be inconsistent.

Saturday saw Andy Pettitte on the mound for the Yankees. Lefty J.A. Happ, started for Philadelphia.

Girardi chose to bench DH Hideki Matsui in favor of giving third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, a half-day by putting him at DH.

Ramiro Pena started at third and Girardi completely shuffled the batting order, hitting Robinson Cano fifth behind A-Rod and having Melky Cabrera in the six hole.

Cervelli started behind the plate.

But, in the eighth inning, Girardi decided to make some changes.

He had rookie outfielder, Brett Gardner, pinch hit for Cervelli, who was hitting over .300 at the time. By comparison, Gardner came into the game hitting .235. Gardner came through with a double.

Despite Gardner’s success, the move had to raise eyebrows, considering Cervelli’s recent play and the fact that Girardi was removing his catcher for a pinch hitter.

Then, Girardi pinch hit for third baseman Pena with Matsui, who has been mired in a horrible slump. Matsui struck out.

At that point, Philadelphia led the game 4-2 and Girardi's defense had been made weaker with the insertion of Angel Berroa at third and Cash behind the plate.

The Yankees did manage to come back with a three-run bottom of the ninth to salvage the win on the strength of a game-winning hit by Cabrera.

On Sunday, Philadelphia started Cole Hamels, last year's World Series MVP and one of the toughest left handers in the game.

Girardi, who had kept Matsui out of the game on Saturday, decided to start the slumping Matsui against Hamels.

Girardi also sat switch hitting Nick Swisher in favor of left-handed hitter Brett Gardner.

Swisher has been hitting very poorly, and went into the game with an average of .226 compared to Gardner's .244.

Swisher certainly has more power than Gardner, and would have hit right-handed against Hamels.

The decisions would get a little stranger.

In the ninth inning, second baseman Robinson Cano got a hit for the Yankees with the Phillies ahead 3-2.

Girardi sent Ramiro Pena in to run for Cano, who is not a slow runner.

Pena scored on a hit by Cabrera. But, in all likelihood, Cano would also have scored on the hit.

After tying the game 3-3, Girardi continued experimenting. He let Matsui hit and he made another out, going 0-5 for the game.

But then Girardi sent Swisher to the plate to pinch hit for Cervelli again, as Gardner had done the day before.

Cervelli had hit a double earlier in the game. Swisher grounded out weakly. And again, with Cash coming into the game for Cervelli, Girardi removed his catcher for a pinch hitter and weakened his defense.

The same could be said for Pena replacing Cano. Pena is an excellent defender, but is a natural shortstop and has played third base more this season with A-Rod on the disabled list. Pena went in for the sure-handed Cano at second base as the game went into extra innings.

This proved problematic. Cano’s turn to bat came around as the game was in extra innings, but he was no longer in the lineup.

Girardi had replaced a .300 hitter with a kid who is hitting .250 for the year. Pena made an out in the bottom of the 11^th inning as the Yankees failed to come from behind and lost 5-4.

On Monday, the Yankees traveled to Texas to take on the Rangers, also one of the hottest teams in baseball.

The Yankees would go with young Phil Hughes, who would pitch another brilliant game, giving up only three hits and no runs in eight innings.

Girardi would once again fiddle with the Yankee lineup. This time he chose to sit Matsui again and let leadoff hitter and shortstop, Derek Jeter, assume the role of designated hitter for one game.

That meant Pena was now playing shortstop, his third infield position in three days, as the Yankees used their third designated hitter in as many days.

Cash was once again behind the plate. For the first time all year, he provided some offense with three hits in the Yankees’ 11-1 romp.

However, it meant that each catcher had caught twice in four days. Girardi had pinch hit for Cervelli twice, despite his .300 average, but had not pinch hit for Cash despite his frustration at the plate.

The Yankees lost the second game in Texas 7-3 on Tuesday night.

Girardi once again had both Matsui and Swisher in the lineup at a time when neither of them was hitting well. Matsui would get two hits in the game, but Swisher would fail to get a hit in two trips to the plate and finished the night at .222.

Girardi seems convinced that he can make a difference in the games by the way he uses the players.

From another perspective, Girardi seems unable to leave his team alone and let them play.

There is no conceivable explanation for refusing to let Francisco Cervelli catch six games out of every seven. The kid is a great defensive catcher and has been a consistently good hitter over the past three weeks.

Girardi seems unable to grasp the effect his machinations have on his defense.

Moving Ramiro Pena around three different infield positions in three days is similar to the way he has used Melky Cabrera in the outfield. Cabrera also has played all three outfield positions in three consecutive games recently.

Yet, when Phillie outfielder Jason Werth misplayed a flyball in the game on Saturday, Girardi commented that Werth was usually the right fielder and that the ball just comes to you at a different angle in left field, probably resulting in Werth’s inability to corral the fly.

If Girardi can understand that about Werth, why can't he understand the impact on his own players when he moves them around as much as he does.

This is not a new problem with Girardi. He had the same issues last season when he displayed an inability to put the same team on the field game after game and just let them play.

It may not have cost the Yankees any games of the last five they have played. But the loss of Cano’s bat in extra innings was not helpful on Sunday.

These kinds of decisions leads one to wonder whether Girardi is ready for this job.

New York Yankees: Position by Position

Perry Arnold — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:42:46 -0400

The New York Yankees have reeled off nine victories in a row after starting the season poorly and having player after player on the disabled list.

But they have hit more home runs than any other team; are on pace to set a major league record for home runs; score runs in clusters and have more pitching depth than any other team.

An analysis of the Yankee team one fourth of the way into the season gives New York fans many reasons to hope for postseason glory five months from now.

FIRST BASE: The Yankees acquired Mark Teixeira in the offseason as a free agent.

A great deal was expected of Tex and at first he seemed unable to meet the goals that had been set for him.

He struggled mightily for the first four weeks of the season and was hitting below .200 at that point.

But in the past three weeks, Teixeira has come alive. He has raised his average to .250, which still doesn't sound like much.

But he has stroked 11 home runs, putting him on pace to hit 44 for the season, more than he has ever hit in his career.

And he has 32 RBI which puts him on pace to drive in 128 for the year. And he has produced this much despite missing a few games recovering from a sore wrist in the first week of the year.

Teixeira has also provided incredible defensive help, coming up with a number of good stops and saving his fellow infielders from a number of errors with expert pick ups of errant throws.

SECOND BASE: Robinson Cano has rebounded from a dismal campaign in 2008 that left many arguing that he should be traded.

After hitting only .271 in 2008, Cano has returned to the form that almost saw him win a batting crown in 2006. He is currently hitting .317 and has eight home runs and 25 RBI.

Cano's defense has also been impeccable and he has started every game but one.

SHORTSTOP: Derek Jeter is not providing his expected consistency. He has struggled at the plate for long stretches and carries only a .273 average after 41 games, far below his career mark of .314.

But Jeter has been a stable force in the middle defense and has also provided clutch hitting when his team needed it.

If Jeter does not raise his average near the .300 mark by the end of the season it will be a major story and the fact that his team is doing so well while Jeter struggles is good news for New York fans.

THIRD BASE: Alex Rodriguez began the year on the DL with hip injuries that required arthroscopic surgery.

While he was out, the Yankees experimented with journeyman infielder Cody Ransom. Ransom was in a word "disastrous."

A leg injury was bad news for Ransom, but probably good news for Ransom as he was replaced by Ramiro Pena, a rookie who provided great defense and more than was expected with the bat.

A-Rod did not play until May 8 in Baltimore.

Since that late appearance Rodriguez has struggled at the plate and is hitting only .171. But five of his hits have been home runs and he hit homers in four straight games this week.

He has also been patient at the plate and has worked his way on with base on balls.

Perhaps most importantly A-Rod has helped Teixeira. Since Alex was inserted in the cleanup hole behind Tex, Teixeira has taken off.

And so has the team. Since A-Rod came back the Yankees are 10-2.

LEFT FIELD: Johnny Damon has been both the most consistent and the most spectacular player for New York this year.

While not the defensive player he once was, Damon has played adequately in left field in the new Yankee Stadium.

And he has more than made up for weak defense with a potent bat.

Damon is hitting .318 with 10 homers and 28 RBI.

CENTER FIELD: The experiment failed. Brett Gardner won the center field spot out of spring training. The rookie had a great spring and beat out Melky Cabrera despite Cabrera playing well in camp.

But Gardner proved through the first twenty games or so that he just cannot hit big league pitching.

The Yankees went back to Melky and he had produced. Despite being moved around in all three outfield positions, Cabrera is hitting .319 and has 18 RBI even though he has not been a regular all season.

RIGHT FIELD: Injuries plagued the Yankees early in the year and one of the key injuries came to their starting right fielder, Xavier Nady.

Nady went down with an arm injury and was replaced by Nick Swisher who had been brought over in a trade with the White Sox in the offseason.

Swisher started the season like a house afire. But he has cooled lately and has an unbelievable number of strikeouts.

At one point Swisher had struck out 18 times in 38 at bats. He is still only hitting .238, but he has socked nine home runs and has 23 RBI.

CATCHER: Any other team who lost their top two catchers within four days of one another with leg injuries would be in dire straights.

When starting catcher, Jorge Posada, went down with a hamstring pull and backup, Jose Molina, strained his quadriceps four days later, the thought was about how the Yankees could hold on until one or the other could return.

But help came from an unexpected source.

The Yankees called up Francisco Cervelli from Double-A Trenton where he was hitting only .217.

Cervelli has provided great leadership behind the plate in the absence of the usual backstops and has also provided some help with his stick.

Cervelli has drawn raves from the pitchers with the way he calls the games and he has shown a very good arm.

He is also hitting a surprising .323. His confidence and demeanor seem to be infectious and it will be difficult to see how the Yanks can get rid of him when both Posada and Molina are healed.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Hideki Matsui spent each of the last two off seasons recovering from knee surgeries, and it tells.

Matsui started anemically and has not gotten much better. One offensive spurt came after he had one knee drained of fluid.

But overall Matsui is not providing the punch the Yankees need from their DH and Girardi has begun to hold Godzilla out of games when the opposition throws a lefty.

Matsui hit a home run off Baltimore in the game Thursday night. But it was only his fifth of the season and he has only 14 RBI. He is hitting .252 and it truly seems less than that.

Some thought must be given to using Posada as the regular DH when he is ready to return and looking to shop Matsui or possibly even release him. He is in the last year of his contract and he will not be resigned after this season.

STARTING PITCHING: This was touted to be the Yankees biggest strength after they signed free agents, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and re-signed veteran lefty, Andy Pettitte.

Chien-Ming Wang was coming off a season-ending lis franc injury suffered running the bases in an inter-league game in Houston last June.

Wang was expected to return to the form that saw him win 19 games in both 2006 and 2007. Through the date of his injury he had won more games than any other starter over the past three seasons.

But 2009 was a different story for Wang. He had three successive horrible outings and finished his third start with an ERA of 34.50.

Wang was put on the DL, supposedly with weakness in a hip abductor muscle. But in all likelihood the team was using that as an excuse to give him more work and to refine his once deadly sinker.

Wang has now pitched several games in the minors and management seems impressed with his improvement. He is scheduled to pitch in Triple-A Scranton Friday night and may soon be on his way back to the Bronx.

Wang was replaced by Phil Hughes, another young starter who was plagued with injuries the past two seasons.

In 2007 Hughes looked great, but pulled a hamstring and missed almost the entire year.

After starting very badly in 2008 and looking for solutions that included finger nail polish for his catchers and glasses for himself, Hughes was discovered to have a fractured rib.

He was unable to pitch again in the bigs in 2008 and started this year in Triple A.

But when Hughes replaced Wang, he looked superb in his first game against Detroit, when he struck out six in six innings to get the win.

But he has looked much less than spectacular since, although his last game Wednesday night saw him achieve his second win and rack up a career high nine strikeouts.

But he was still inconsistent and gave up two home runs.

Young Joba Chamberlain has also been somewhat inconsistent. He has pitched very well at times and gotten no run support.

At other times he seems prone to timidity, afraid to attack the zone with his extraordinary ability.

Sabathia was also inconsistent early, but has recently been extremely good, earning his third straight win this week and eating up innings to save an overworked bullpen. He seems to be coming into his own as a Yankee.

A.J. Burnett seemed to be the stopper in the first two weeks of the season and great hope centered on him when the Yanks went into Fenway for their opening series with the Sox.

Burnett was matched against Josh Beckett in what figured to be a real pitchers' battle. But the Yankees touched Beckett for six runs early and it looked like they would run away and hide and give Burnett his third win.

But Burnett pitched poorly, the Sox battled back and scored eight earned runs off the big Yankee right hander. The Red Sox ended up creaming the pinstripers 16-11 in this "pitchers' duel."

Burnett has been inconsistent ever since, but this past week against the Twins, A.J. pitched six strong innings before giving up two runs in the seventh. The Yankees managed to come back and win but AJ was gone by then and got no decision.

Andy Pettitte has been the most consistent Yankee starter and is 4-1. He has pitched durably, going long into most of his games and give the relievers much needed rest when they have often been overworked in other games.

BULLPEN: Two themes come to mind here. First of all, Girardi and pitching coach, Dave Eiland seemed confused early in the season with how to use the relief staff they had assembled.

The first game in Boston was emblematic of the manager's indecision. In a game where Joba Chamberlain had pitched very well and out battled John Lester, Girardi called on Jonathan Albaladejo.

And the kid pitched very well. But Girardi took him out of the game with two outs after he had allowed him to start another batter and he had gotten a one strike count on the hitter.

Albaladejo seemed to suffer from this experience and it was worsened when Mariano Rivera came in for the rookie and Mo gave up the runs that tied the game. Boston would go on to win and Albaladejo has not been the same since.

With Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte going on the DL, the bullpen seems in a constant state of confusion.

The second theme has been inconsistent pitching, even down to closer, Rivera.

Rivera, often spoken of as the greatest closer in history, has been all of that in many games.

But he has also been much less in a few notable games.

The same has to be said of Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Albaladejo and Edwar Ramirez.

Alfredo Aceves, who was so good for New York last year, was recently brought back up and has been very consistent.

Other bullpen arms seem to be sorting themselves out and the overall effort has been better.

With Bruney returning from the DL the 'pen seems to be in better shape now than any other time during the season. And the fact that the starters are going longer and requiring less of the pen is a big part of that.

In the big picture, many parts of the Yankee machine seem to be jelling now. The offense is hitting on almost all cylinders. Jeter and Matsui are notable exceptions.

Experiments have been tried and rejected and a tried and true formula seems to be emerging that includes ARod's return and Melky's re-emergence as a star in center field.

If the picture continues in focus as it has over the most recent two weeks other teams have a lot to fear from this version of the New York Yankees.

Robinson Cano: The Best Second Baseman in MLB

Perry Arnold — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:26:33 -0400

There are a number of excellent second basemen in the major leagues.

A few of the best would have to include Ian Kinsler of Texas, Placido Polanco of Detroit, Brian Roberts of Baltimore, Dustin Pedroia of Boston, Jeff Keppinger of Houston, Freddy Sanchez of Pittsburgh, Chase Utley of Philadelphia, and Brandon Phillips of Cincinnati.

But at this time in his career, at age 26, the New York Yankees have the best of the entire bunch in Robinson Cano.

Cano carries a career batting average of .304 and a career on-base percentage of .336.

Through 41 games in 2009, Cano is hitting .317 with an OBP of .354. But he also has improved his slugging stats with eight HR and an OPS of .881. His OPS+ is 127 for the year.

Cano was almost given up for dead during the 2008 campaign when he seemed distracted and lethargic. It was his worst year in the majors and he finished the season hitting only .271.

Even that average did not tell the whole story as Cano had to finish very hot to even get to that mediocre level.

There was a great deal of talk by "experts" that the Yankees should trade Cano. Fans seemed to have given up on him too and his future seemed clouded.

But Cano has hit as high as .342 for an entire season as he did in 2006 when he just missed winning the American League batting crown.

No other current second sacker has finished a season with an average as high as Cano did in 2006, although Placido Polanco was close when he hit .341 in 2007.

For this season, Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox has a higher batting average by one point and a higher OBP by 56 points. And Pedroia was awarded the MVP in the American League last year when he hit .326 and led his team to a championship playoff against eventual pennant winner, Tampa Bay Rays.

Pedroia works as hard as anybody in major league baseball and is just as gritty. But Cano has more natural power than Pedroia and more natural talent.

Chase Utley of the Phillies is another highly regarded second baseman. And you cannot argue against a player who helped lead his team to the World Series championship last season.

Without question Utley exceeds Cano with power. But Cano has a higher lifetime batting average and his upside certainly seems higher than Utley's.

But Cano's talent is boundless. The only real knock on the Yankee is whether he has the desire to be excellent game in and game out.

At the plate Cano has been compared to the likes of Rod Carew.

Cano has exceptionally quick hands and can turn on an inside pitch and drive it over the wall. He proved this last night, against the Orioles, when he hit a laser over the right field wall that never seemed to get more than ten feet off the ground.

But he also has exceptional bat control and can cover the outside corner of the plate, spraying line drives down the left field line and into the gaps.

On defense, Cano has as much range as he seems to need and has superior instincts. The quick hands that benefit him at bat also permit him to release the ball very quickly. He also has a strong arm that often surprises because his throws arrive with seemingly little effort.

He is adept at getting the ball to his infield partner, Derek Jeter to begin double plays.

And when the ball is hit to Jeter, Cano is nimble around the bag and turns double plays as well as anyone in either league.

Cano will slump and becomes his own worst enemy by failing to concentrate fully in every game. But when Robinson Cano comes to the park ready to play, there is no better second baseman in baseball.

A Revolutionary Idea for MLB Starting Pitchers

Perry Arnold — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:18:13 -0400

In the course of major league baseball, there have been great changes in the way pitchers are used.

In the early days of professional baseball, teams did not have more than one or two quality pitchers, and they were expected to pitch every other day or so.

Cy Young won 511 games. There are very few starting pitchers in baseball today who will have as many starts as Cy Young had wins.

A pitcher would have to start 30 games for 17 years to get that many starts.

For many, many years, major league teams went with four-man rotations.

The Milwaukee Braves' pitching of the early '50s was known for the saying, "Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain."

Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain were the only real pitchers the Braves had and they pitched more than any team would dare trot out their starters today.

Pitchers have pitch limits and inning limits. Everyone is afraid of breakdowns and career-ending injuries.

But some of this is money driven, also. Agents don't want their young pitchers overused before they have a chance to board the money train that will come with the player's first big free agent contract.

Then, when a pitcher, like Johan Santana of the New York Mets, signs the really big contract for six or seven years, owners and general managers get really nervous and want to conserve that arm.

No way does a team want to invest that much money in an arm and see it hanging limply from a worn out body before the contract is halfway over.

The management wants to recoup their investment that puts butts in the seats, and if they think fans are going to come and pay to see the Big Hoss pitch, they want that to continue the life of his contract.

As it is now, all major league teams use a five-man rotation and keep a clicker in the pitching coach's hand to make certain the starters are not overused.

So, here is a revolutionary idea.

I propose going with a six-man rotation, but use the pitchers in an entirely different way.

Pair them into two-man teams and send each team out to pitch every third game.

There are a few off days worked into the schedule, so it is not going to work out to exactly every third day, but every third game.

Have one member of the team begin the game and go four innings. He will use up between 60-80 pitches.

Then, he would be replaced by his "teammate"—another starting pitcher who would pitch four more innings, bringing you to your closer.

Of course there are going to be days your "starter" may only go three and your second man may only go three, so you have to have a few more arms in the pen.

If a typical starter in the bigs starts 34 games and averages six innings per start, he is going to pitch 204 innings.

If you use the new system, each of your starters would get into 54 games. If they average 3.5 innings per game, they are only at 189 innings for the season.

The other advantage to this system is that with each change, the opposition is going to be facing a new set of problems.

For instance, using the Yankees as an example: If C.C. Sabathia comes out and fires four innings and is then replaced by Chien Ming-Wang, the hitters have to adjust to something completely different, rather than seeing CC for the third or fourth time and getting the chance to adjust.

With this system, you could also reduce the number of pitchers used overall by keeping only four pitchers in the pen.

That would allow a team to keep 10 pitchers and have 15 position players.

The argument that is going to come up against this system is that there are not enough quality pitchers now.

Most teams cannot come up with even four first-rate starters, much less six.

I understand that argument, and there is merit to it.

But you would not be asking any of these guys to give you six quality innings per start.

Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Albaladejo, Jose Veras, and even Phil Coke would be able to pitch very well for three or four innings if they were trained to do that.

This system is not going to be implemented. But if it were, it would do away with fear of injuries and would allow better performances for the time that each pitcher is in the game.