Watching Paint Dry
On another day filled with negatives, the Yankees lost 5-2 to the Pirates. Kei Igawa continued the recent trend of long-reliever candidate failure, getting roughed up for four runs earned on five hits and three walks in 3 1/3 IP. I mentioned that Karstens appeared to head the list of long relievers and he got smacked around. Then I speculated that Rasner might be the top candidate for the job and he got pounded. I then wondered if Igawa would win the long-reliever job by default, and he looked terrible today. The next time the Yankees have a few mediocre (or worse) pitchers competing for a long reliever job, I'm keeping quiet.
On the other hand, for the second straight game the Yankees' relievers shut the door on the opposition, allowing only one run in the remaining 5 2/3 IP, and that was Schmidt (who won't make the team) allowing a homer in the 9th. Patterson still hasn't allowed an earned run this Spring, and allowed no base runners in 1 1/3 IP with a K. Ohlendorf and Bruney kept their race tight by pitching scoreless innings, allowing a hit apiece with Ohlendorf fanning one and Bruney two. Ironically, Karstens threw his hat back into the long reliever ring with 1 1/3IP of one-hit relief for Igawa, fanning two. At this point, one can almost draw straws for the long reliever job between Karstens, Rasner, and Igawa--and the short straw gets the job. Seeing any of them pitch right now inspires absolutely no confidence in me. Patterson deserves attention, though he lacks major-league experience. A Spring ERA of 0.00 is nothing to sneeze at, but whether or not the Yanks will keep him is anyone's guess. Regardless, expect this position to be one of transition this year. Whoever performs stays, who doesn't goes. Anyone there will be expendable.
After pounding the Phillies a few days ago, the Yankees' offense has cooled off precipitously. Jeter cranked a homer to deep left off Gorzelanny in the first, and Nick "The Stick" Green added a 9th-inning homer, but otherwise the Yanks were cold at the plate. A-Rod, Molina, and Ransom had a hit apiece, but Betemit's cold Spring continued with an 0-3 game (with his 15th K of ST), Ensberg was 0-2, grounding into a DP and botching a ground ball at first that led to a run, Posada and Melky were 0-2, Duncan 0-3, and Damon (while recovering from the flu) also 0-3. The Yankees have tended to rise and swoon as a team the past few years, getting hot and cold collectively, unfortunately. This is something I'd like to see them reverse, certainly on the cold side. Before I forget, the Yankees reassigned Brett Gardner, ultimately the right move to allow the kid to get at-bats and to develop. Barring injury or poor play, he just wouldn't get the reps in The Bronx. Mike Sommer of The Sommer Frieze wonders if he might get called up if Damon struggles. I'm hopeful that Damon will have a good year, and think the flu bug he's had has led to some struggles. But his Spring as a whole hasn't been hot by any stretch, so Mike is right to continue to have his eye on Gardner.
Thankfully, the Yankees have only three more ST games left. I for one am getting sick of the run-up, as well as the poor performances from purported long reliever candidates. Let those hitting hot and pitching well remember what they've done right and carry it into the Spring, let those not rectify things forthwith, and let's play ball already.
[Edit: As per Pete Abe, in my mind the preeminent Yankees beat writer for not only sharp analysis but also fast, detailed information, Jeff Karstens "has a groin strain," and will get an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. He seems to think it's Rasner and, after Igawa's dud, that's hard to argue against. Patterson has availed himself well but lacks big-league experience. Rasner on the whole was OK last season, going 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA. He allowed 4 HRs in 24 2/3 IP, and his WHIP was too high at 1.500. But to me, the big problem with him last year was he seemed to hit a wall at 4-5 innings. If that's the case, he might have a chance to be effective in a 2-4 inning range. The keys for him, with only decent velocity, are control and location. When his pitches are up he gets banged around. Regardless, any long reliever for the Yanks should expect to perform well or be quickly replaced.]
I think the Yanks are sick of Spring Training and are just waiting for the season to start. Kei Igawa is a waste and I hope not to see him all season!
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i'm over watching the ST games. listening to the bashing we gave to the phils the other night was fun, but after watching the 2 regular season games in tokyo, these just seem pointless.
i did see quite a web gem of shelley's on baseball tonight this afternoon. what a catch.
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Bill, I've had enough of Igawa as well. I don't think any long reliever will be too secure with the Yanks this year unless he thrives. If ST is wearing thin for me, it must be painfully tedious for the Yankees.
I think there's something to that about the Tokyo games, Mike. I've been looking for a video of Shelley's catch but haven't found one. He's had a couple gems this Spring. It was hilarious that some fans have figured Duncan wouldn't make the team, that Lane would instead. Please.
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who knows, maybe he could be our right-fielder of the future...
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regarding the catch:
TAMPA, Fla. -- Shelley Duncan charged several strides to his left, losing his cap on a full extension grab and thudding to the outfield turf at newly-christened George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday.
Duncan's exuberant style of play has helped him become a fan favorite in New York, going all-out on moments like his diving catch to rob the Pirates' Adam LaRoche. It also won him favor in consideration for the 2008 James P. Dawson Award, issued annually to the top Yankees rookie in Spring Training.
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Shelley has one gear--all out. I don't know anyone who doesn't appreciate that about him. Every now and then he makes a clumsy play, but his defense has been better than advertised when he came up last year, when he was basically described as a bat.
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watching ron howard's documentary tonight "In the shadow of the moon" he shows them stopping the game at yankee stadium on that july afternoon and you can clearly hear Bob Sheppard's voice making the announce ment:
" ladies and gentleman, Apollo 11 has landed safely on the moon"
awe-inspiring.
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P.S. i just went back to look at the scoreboard. playing the Angels. tied at 2-2...
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Mike, I saw Duncan's catch on the TV at the gym. Terrific catch on a hard-hit, difficult ball. The kid's all hustle.
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Torre's handling of Rasner is one thing that really teed me off last year. I'm not too sure it was Rasner hitting a wall after 4 or 5 innings as much as it was Torre sticking to a pitch count of 80 pitches for him.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=rasneda01&t=p&year=2007
Take a look at the outings. Granted Rasner could have been more economical, but it seems like he was on a strict 75-80 pitch count. For the most part he didn't do too badly, but was pulled by Joe.
I remember really being upset at Torre not giving Rasner one more inning in those games but going to the bullpen a little too early. Torre's bullpen management in the 4/19 game ticked me off. The Yanks only won that one in a miracle comeback.
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It's a fair point, Mike. While there were plenty of games when the starters let down at the beginning of the year to tax the bullpen, in others Torre showed a quick hook. In that particular game, Rasner had a rough fourth, then gave up the single in the 5th before getting the hook, and as you said he wasn't economical. Torre's thinking in the 4/19 game could have been that it was one of the few times in the first month that the core of his bullpen was rested, since they had two blowout wins immediately before that comeback game--A-Rod's homer off Borowski. But probably just as likely was Torre's mistrust. His pulling of Rasner on May 6th worked out, and on May 11, he went five but the Yankees couldn't get anything off Washburn (who always seems to give the Yankees fits).
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That brings up something very interesting, Jason. Given the young pitching Girardi has, how tolerant will he be? Will he let a Hughes or Kennedy get "on-the-job training" by having them work their way through jams, or will he have the quick hook? There are times (game situation permitting of course) when I'd like to see a guy work his way out of it. With some quick hooks, some guys never get the opportunity to do so.
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It's a great question Mike, and no joke, after writing the response this afternoon, I took the dog out and as I stood on the stoop thought, I wonder if I'll be writing the same thing about Girardi that I did last year about Torre, with starters often faltering and at some times getting pulled too quickly. I wasn't sure about Girardi's tendencies, but there are some things about his managing in 2006 with Florida that show he may be the right guy for the job with the Yankees' young starters.
With the Marlins, Girardi handled a pretty young staff and did pretty well. With Josh Johnson, he showed the capacity to be patient and let him work after coughing up runs, such as on May 31. On May 15 he pulled Johnson after 5 IP and 2 runs for a pinch-hitter, and the relievers ended up blowing the game, but Johnson was already up to 101 pitches--a good sign of caution with a young pitcher. He showed good patience on June 26, after Johnson allowed three runs in the first three innings and allowed some hits thereafter. On August 22, Johnson exited after 7 having allowed three runs on 112 pitches, but the bullpen blew the lead.
Girardi, at least with Johnson, showed a couple important things--the willingness to keep him in the game in early and mid-game pressure situations, and just as importantly to me the fine balance of not allowing a young pitcher to throw too many pitches in a start. Johnson in 2006 never reached the 120 pitch mark in any start. Nor did Anibal Sanchez, who was 22 that year, in whom he also showed considerable trust.
Those are good signs, especially with Hughes and Kennedy--and Joba--on the team. What happens when the season starts is anyone's guess. But his history of showing some trust in young starters, and also showing the foresight to minimize their work per start, are very encouraging signs.
They also bely the criticism Girardi unfairly received about burning out the young starters. Johnson and Sanchez were hurt in 2007, but when one examines the numbers in 2006, it's difficult to blame that on Girardi overworking them. In addition to moderate pitch counts, Sanchez threw only 114 innings in 18 games in 2006, while Johnson only threw 157 innings in 31 games. The same seems to hold with another young starter with the Marlins that year, Ricky Nolasco (age 23 then).
How things shake out will naturally be predicated on how well Hughes and Kennedy and Joba perform, but trust is easier to earn when young pitchers perform well, as Johnson and Sanchez did not long after being in the rotation. That would make the patience question much easier to answer. Either way, Girardi's past practice to me is reason for optimism.
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