Results tagged ‘ Alex Rodriguez ’
Situational Hitting!
Watching the Yes Network Yankees BP show’s interview with Girardi, the Yankees manager said something that I have been writing in this blog since I started writing one back in April of 09, situational hitting wins games. That in my opinion is one of the greatest “truths” in all of baseball. When a lineup manufacture runs via good at-bats and key situational hits, they usually end up winning a lot of games. The problem for the Yankees this season has been their inability to hit with players in scoring position, a problem that has persisted with this club since last September.
What will it take for the Yankees to fix this problem? Better at bat for one. Alex Rodriguez in the past few days has had better at bats than he did the week before. But during his recent hot streak, A-Rod has minimized swinging at bad pitches and is fouling off tough ones to keep his at-bat alive. More importantly, he is getting into better hitting counts. Tonight, A-Rod has to keep doing the same thing. Hopefully Teixeira and Cano will start doing the same.
End of the losing streak!
Finally the losing streak has ended as the Yankees get off the schneid and win tonight’s ball game against the Tampa Bay Rays. This time the Yankees took the lead against James Shields and protected it, not allowing the Rays to comeback this time unlike last night. And tonight the hero of the game is none other than Alex Rodriguez, who got the Yankees offense started with a solo homerun in the top of the fourth inning. Even though James Shields’ was cruising along up to that point, A-Rod was able to capitalize on a flat changeup that had “hit me” written all over it. Even better, later on, Rodriguez deposited another Shields’ mistake that also had “hit me” written on it.
But as good as A-Rod was up at the plate, the key moment of the game came in the sixth inning with the Yankees leading 2-1 and Ivan Nova on the mound, when the young righty walked Ben Zobrist and allowed a single to Johnny Damon. With the Rays now having two runners on, and Nova issuing an intentional walk to Matt Joyce, all I could think about was “here we go again.” There is just no way the Yankees could surrender the lead a third day in a row after taking it against a tough pitcher, like Shields. Luckily, David Robertson–the Houdini of the bullpen–was able to come in with the bases loaded and get two critical outs as he got BJ Upton to strikeout swinging and Casey Kotchman to look at a called third strike. Without Robertson’s performance, I highly doubt if the Yankees would have won this game. The Rays were just a productive out away from not only tying the game, but shifting the momentum to their side. Luckily, Houdini performed a magic act, and held the game for Ivan Nova, who picked up the win and is now 4-3 this season.
RISP….
Here is more good news. The Yankees were 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. During the losing streak, the lineup was awful when scoring opportunities arose, as they failed miserably to score runs. In order for the Yankees to sustain a winning streak, they will need to start doing a better job at manufacturing runs and stop relying on homeruns.
As for….
Jorge Posada. He was in the lineup tonight and picked up two hits. I guess he had a good day.
A-Rod’s night.
Bottom of the 6th inning between the Yankees and Rays, and Alex Rodriguez has broke out of his slump somewhat with two homeruns tonight. Both homers by A-Rod were mistake pitches by James Shields, who would otherwise be tossing a shutout. I’ve been watching baseball long enough to know that one good night doesn’t mean a player will break out of a slump. Afterall, we saw what Derek Jeter did a week ago against the Rangers, only to be hitless in his next four games. But what I’m seeing from A-Rod is different. He seems to be hitting the ball with authority to the opposite part of the field, and his second homerun to straightaway centerfield means that he is going the other way with pitches, instead of pulling the ball, something that hitters in a slump usually do.
All Stars snubs..
Now that the 2010 All Stars for both the National and American leagues have been announced, too much was made about the players that were snubbed. Personally, I don’t pay attention to the All Star game, but when baseball writers and commentators talk about players that were snubbed then the All Star game gets my full attention.
Frankly speaking, nothing perks up my interests than a little controversy; and since the All Star game is hardly a place where controversy is found, the list of snubs by both the AL and NL has me wondering if this year, of all the years since the last meaningful All Star game in 1994.
So, lets see if players were indeed snubbed.
AL Snubbs…
Kevin Youkilis: Yes he was snubbed. Joe Girardi as AL Manager decided to take one of his own players to the game, therefore he chose Alex Rodriguez. As a Yankee fan I agree with the move, why take a Red Sox player over a Yankee player? It would be blasphemous for a Yankee manager, who is managing the All Star game, not to pick one of his own guys for a Red Sox player. However, as an objective baseball fan, A-Rod doesn’t deserve a parking pass at Anaheim this year, since Youkilis was more deserving of a roster spot. Lets just look at the numbers. Youkilis this season is batting .299, with 17 homeruns and 54 RBI’s. He has an OBP of .416 and a slugging percentage of .584, which gives him an impressive 1.000 OPS. Youkilis has accumulated 160 total bases, has walked 50 times, and has scored 65 runs. To put all those stats into perspective, Youkilis is a player that helps the Red Sox create runs, which is no wonder why the Red Sox are one of the teams that leads the majors in runs scored.
Alex Rodriguez on the other hand is batting .276, with 12 homeruns and 62 RBI’s. A-Rod’s has posted a slugging percentage of .486 and an OBP of .349. That gives A-Rod an OPS of .835, which is .165 points lower than Youkilis’s OPS. A-Rod has been struggling for the most part this year, even though the Yankees haven’t missed a beat. Even though he has more RBI’s than Youkilis, that is probably because there are more runners on base when A-Rod bats than when Youkilis bats.
However, Youkilis carried the Red Sox offensively until Big Sloppy woke up and started to hit homeruns again. Without Youkilis in the lineup early this season, the Red Sox could be 5 games back of the Yankees instead of being 1.5 games behind. Yeah, I think Youkilis was clearly snubbed.
Andy Pettitte: He wasn’t snubbed, he was robbed of a deserving spot. The fact is, Andy Pettitte has been the only consistent starter in the Yankees rotation this season than All Star pick CC Sabathia. It took until the middle of June for CC Sabathia to settledown as a consistent started. Moreover, AJ Burnett has been consistently inconcistent, while Javier Vazquez has looked lost on the mound for the most part this season. That brings me to the other Yankee pitcher that made the All Star game, Phil Hughes. Hughes had a very strong start to the year, posting an ERA under 2.00 in his first seven starts, but since May 17, Hughes has an ERA over 3.00. In his last two starts in particular, Hughes surrendered 6 homeruns and frankly, has looked anything but sharp.
Pettitte on the other hand has been a consistent pitcher all year. There are times when he gets in trouble, but finds a way to fight and get out of it. It has been the ability to get out of trouble that has earned him 10 wins this season and his best start to a season during his career.
Paul Konerko: Possibly snubbed. Konerko has carried the White Sox offensively, and is second in the league to Jose Bautista in homeruns with 20. Again, Girardi had to make a choice, but we know that he will always pick one of his players than one from another team.
NL Snub
Joey Votto: In my humble opinion, Votto was the clearly snubbed. When a player like Omar Infante makes the All Star team, instead of a player that is putting MVP numbers you know something is wrong. Votto is batting .320, with 19 homeruns and 53 RBI’s. He has been the most important offensive player for the Reds this season, and their success so far this year is because of Votto’s offensive production. Votto is definately more deserving of an All Star selection than Omar Infante.
Yankees face Torre for the first time after bitter end
The weekend series in LA between the Yankees and Dodgers is big for one reason and one reason only: It represents an opportunity for both the Yankee organization and Joe Torre to mend fences after a bitter end to Torre’s managerial career in New York. Torre’s last season with the Yankees ended in disappointment, not only for the organization and Torre, but for millions of Yankees fan that had only witness success ever since Torre came into the organization in the bitter winter of 95-96.
In many ways, Joe Torre was the final piece to the puzzle that would be responsible for 4 World Series Championships in five years, six trips to the World Series in eight years and the skyrocketting success of the Yankee brand not just in baseball, but outside of the game. Torre was able to take the homegrown Yankee talent that had come up through the organization in the early 1990′s and was able to win with them. In a way, it was Torre’s presence in the organization that brought out the best in Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada.
More importantly, Torre placed his trust in a player that has become the face of the Yankees franchise since 1996; a player that the powers that be in the organization felt was not ready for the Majors. That player is the current Yankees captain Derek Jeter. Torre’s ability to not only help these young players, which are now part of the “core four”, but to also work with the veterans that were brought in before the 96 season, produced the 1996 Yankee championship that launched the late 1990′s dynasty.
However, after the painful loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series, the organization began to take a different course, as the organization began to bring in high priced free agents. In the process, the foundation that was laid in the early 1990′s began to crack. Along with those cracks, the organization’s relationship with Joe Torre also began to change. From what I can see, the lowest point of Torre’s managerial career in New York came in ’06, when he batted A-Rod in the 8th spot during the Yankees/Tigers playoff series. Torre definately wrote off A-Rod, and had no faith in him in that series. That move was certainly not handled well by Torre, and probably ruffle some feathers within the organization.
After that disaster, it was clear that Torre’s days with the organization were numbered and unfortnately came to an end the very next year. I know that some fans, like the organization, have bitter feelings toward’s Torre. As a friend of mine said a few days ago, as we talked about this weekend’s series, Joe Torre wouldn’t have been the manager had Buck Showalter brought in Mariano Rivera to relieve David Cone in game 5 of the ’95 ALDS. Of course, that is unfair, no one can know for sure what would had happened had Showalter made that move. But what is clear is that Torre won with the Yankees, taking them to the playoffs every year of his stint. What is more amazing is that a Torre managed team hasn’t missed going to the playoffs in the last 14 years.
The point is simple, Torre was a big part of the Yankees success in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, and both he and the organization must mend ways and move on from the bitterness that was the result of the contract negotiations.
Dallas Braden has to move on….
Not even a month has passed since the infamous A-Rod/Dallas Braden spat that took place during the Yankees-A’s game on April 22nd, and it seems that the A’s pitcher is still sore about A-Rod’s trot over the mound. The Walk-Over-The-Mound-Seen-Around-The-World is still affecting Dallas Braden’s psyche. In an interview he gave on TV, Braden not only promised retribution for Rodriguez’s indiscretion during the game, but questioned A-Rod’s character and respect for the game of baseball. Braden believes he has to stand up for himself and his teammates, because anyone that breaks an unwritten etiquette is clearly showing up the player and the team he plays for. Braden also felt a bit insulted over A-Rod’s comments after the game, in which A-Rod seemed to be surprised that a nobody like Braden was screaming at one of the greatest players of all time.
But before Braden goes out there and seeks his revenge to stop future invasions of “his” mound, he needs to start focusing on the here and now and exorcise the A-Rod ghost affecting his mind. After his April 22nd start against the Yankees, Braden has posted an 0-2 record, giving up 19 hits and 9 earned runs, 11 innings of work. After the trot-over-the-mound, Braden hasn’t been the same pitcher he was during his first 3 starts of the season.
On April 28, five days after the dastardly deed in Oakland, Braden only lasted 4 innings in his start against the Rays, giving up 6 earned runs on 8 hits. Five days later, although pitching 7 innings, Braden was once again in the short end of a decision, as he took the loss against the Texas Rangers.
Clearly, what Braden’s last two starts tell me about the lefty’s mental state is that he is clearly suffering from A-Rod fatigue. Of course I’m not a psychologist and there is no way of knowing what Braden is thinking everytime he takes “his” mound. But two weeks after this “incident”, I think Braden has to grow up and move on with his life. The world already knows that Braden was upset about what happened; afterall we all saw his bush league temper tantrum on the field that day, and behind our collective embarrassment as baseball fans watching a major league pitcher act like a 5 year old, Braden was given the benefit of doubt.
But Braden’s latest comments not only erase any sympathy he might have gained after during and after the game on April 22nd, but now the bullseye that he painted for himself that day will be magnified tenfold. I think it safe to say, and hope, that Braden doesn’t get another start against the Yankees this season, because it could be ugly for him whatever happens.
Dallas Braden A-Rod spat….Jason Heyward in New York..
After watching the game yesterday afternoon and listening to all the opinions and analysis of the little spat between the A’s Dallas Braden and Yankees Alex Rodriguez, it is time I offered my 2 cents. First, if there is an “unwritten” rule in baseball which states that a baserunner may never step on the mound during the course of an inning, I’ve certainly never heard about it. But since unwritten rules aren’t real rules, Dallas Braden’s reaction to A-Rod’s trot over the mound was incredibly bush league. The guy has been in the league for only two years and basically didn’t learn any baseball etiquette during his minor league career on how to act or react to another player’s indiscretions. Seriously Braden dude, you’re no Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan, you are just a third year pitcher who hasn’t accomplish much in this league. Therefore Mr. Braden, until you prove you can be an elite pitcher in this league the mound isn’t yours.
As far as A-Rod is concern, he should’ve kept his mouth shut after the game and just dismiss the childish antics of Dallas Braden. A-Rod is a superstar in this league, the last thing he needs to do is pay attention to some 3rd year player who will likely not last that long in this league. Instead, A-Rod has once again put his foot in his mouth by making arrogant remarks after the game. After last year, people would’ve thought that A-Rod had learned something about being humble…I guess not.
Jason Heyward in New York…
I’m anxiously awaiting to see how the Mets pitch to the Braves Jason Heyward. Heyward, so far, has been a streaky hitter, who has gone through bad at-bats and moved on to have great at-bats. I wonder how he will do this weekend against the Mets…..
Pineiro was awesome today
Joel Pineiro was near perfect today at Yankee stadium as he pitched 7 strong innings, allowing one earned run and striking out 7. Pineiro’s performance today is welcome news to Mike Scioscia, as his club has gotten off to a rocky 2-6 start before today’s victory. So far the Angels starting rotation has not pitched well, and before today, has allowed 46 earned runs in 71.0 innings posting a 5.83 ERA. For today however, the Angels played, well…Angels baseball.
How good was Joel Pineiro today? He was near perfect as he gave the Angels a quality start. He had command of all his pitches today, fastball, sinker and change. His sinker produced 11 ground ball outs–that is right–11 ground ball outs in 7 innings of work. When Yankee hitters weren’t hitting grounders, they were missing Pineiro’s sinker. In particular, Pineiro owned Alex Rodriguez. In three at-bats against Pineiro, A-Rod struck out three times, missing the sinker in all three at bats.
Around the League…
David Price of the Rays has given his team another quality start in a near carbon copy performance of his first start of the season. In 7 innings of works, Price gave up only 4 hits, one of them a homerun, 1 earned run, 2 walks and 7 strike outs. Price is now 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA. If there is anyone out there that still has doubts about David Price being a starter in the Majors, his last two starts should has put those doubts to rest. I know it is still early in the year, but Price is ready to be a starter in this league.
Johnny Damon has reached 1,000 career RBI’s. Damon has had a solid career since 1995 when he started out as a member of the Kansas City Royals. I remember the 1996 Yankees home opener against the Royals and in particular Johnny Damon. Back then, Damon was an incredibly fast and gritty player and I remember saying to a friend of mine that Damon should have a solid 10 year career if he is able to get on base, steal bases, and hit for power. Well, I guess I was lucky with that prediction, afterall, I thought Alex Ochoa was going to be a superstar.
Major League Baseball will honor the memory of Jackie Robinson tomorrow, as players around the league will wear jerseys with the number 42. I love this tribute to Robinson for the simple fact that his debut in the Majors had an impact that was felt beyond the baseball field; Robinson’s debut forced Americans to look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether this country, founded on a premise of equality, could continue to support the idea of racial segragation. In a way Robinson’s debut laid the foundations for the Civil Rights movement.
One down 161 to go…..
I guess the story from Sunday night could be written succinctly: The Yankees bullpen didn’t get the job done and as a result, they blew two leads and lost the game. CC Sabathia was pitching a pretty decent game until and looked to be on cruise control until the 6th inning when he walked Dustin Pedroia to lead off the inning. Until that walk, and the three earned runs he allowed that inning, Sabatha’s line was 5 innings pitched, 2 ER on 2 hits, with 4 strike outs. It seems that in the 6th, Sabathia was trying to do too much and was hurt by it. Unfortunately, the Bullpen didn’t fare any better as they allowed 4 runs in the last 2.2 innings. I guess the lowlight for the bullpen on Sunday was Chan Ho Park’s debut and meltdown in the 7th, as he gave up a game tying 2 run homerun to Pedroia. With that type of performance, if it continues, Park will not last long in New York. But the good news for Park and the Yankees is that it is only the first game of the year, and these things will happen over the course of 162 games.
Offensively, the Yankees look in mid-season form, as they banged out 7 runs in 7 innings. The Yankees once again spanked Josh Beckett on a Sunday night, as the Boston right hander gave up 5 runs over in just 4.2 innings. The big blow of the night for the Yankees came off the bat of Curtis Granderson, who made his Yankees debut with a blast to right-centerfield. Another positive that I observed from last night is that this lineup seems to be much a better situational hitting lineup than last season’s lineup. Again, I know it is just one game, and the yankees could struggle to get a hit with runners on base and in scoring position, but if last night is any indication of things to come, this lineup will score a lot of runs.
Nick Johnson…..
Nick Johnson had a good game last night as he worked two walks on three trips to the plate. That’s not bad at all. Johnson was resigned to do primarily what he did last night, and that is to get on base ahead of the big hitters like Teixeira and A-Rod. Johnson will not put up the numbers that Matsui and Damon put up for the Yankees last year, but that won’t matter if he continues to get on base.
What I have learned from Opening Day…..
Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves is going to be a super-star in this league if he does what he did today. On his first MLB at bat against the Chicago Cubs, Heyward deposited a Carlos Zambrano sinker that failed to sink (or stay in the field of play) into the right field stands for a 3 run bomb that tied the game. I know it is just one game and he could go hitless on his next 20 AB’s. However, if you saw the game this afternoon, you got a glimpse of the future with Heyward, and the future looks bright!
Roy Halladay and the Phillies will run rough shod over the entire National League. It really doesn’t matter what league he is in, Halladay will dominate any lineup on any given start. Today against the Nationals, although a little shaky at the beginning of the game, Halladay settled down and gave the Phillies a quality start, pitching 7 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 ER, and striking out 9 Nationals. I don’t know what’s scarier, facing the Phillies lineup, or facing the Phillies lineup with Roy Halladay on the mound.
The Mets would be a good team if completely healthy. Johan Santana was healthy today and his change up was fooling the Marlins all afternoon long. In 6 innings of work, Santana struke out 5, gave up only one run on one hit. That is right, one hit. More over, the Mets put their hitting shoes on, scoring seven runs on 9 hits. Mets newcomer Jason Bay contributed to the team’s win by going 2-for-4 and scoring a run. The highlight for Bay today was his leadoff triple in the bottom of the 6th. I know it is just one game, but who said Bay would struggle at Citi Field??
Albert Pujols is on his way to another National League MVP title. What was his line today? 4-for-5, two homeruns and 4 runs scored and 3 runs batted in… Ok, that’s it, the voting is now over. The 2010 National League MVP, Albert Pujols.
Mark Buehrle was at the top of his game today. When Buehrle is on, the dude is literally on. Not only did he hold the Indians to 3 hits in over 7 innings of work, but probably made the play of the year already. Yes, on Opening Day, Mark Buerhle made the play of the year with his ridiculously accurate between the legs glove toss to first infront of the first base foul line after deflecting a batted ball hit back up the middle.
Looking forward..
Yankees/Red Sox round 2 is set for later tonight, and if the pitching match up lives up to the hype, this second game of the year should be a well pitched game between Jon Lester and AJ Burnett. Or it could be a 5 hour scoring fest. Either way, it’s Yankees/Red Sox. You can’t go wrong with that!
Yankees season ahead
The Major League Baseball season will begin by featuring the best rivalry in the game as the Yankees will begin their title defense against the Red Sox. This isn’t exactly the best way for the Yankees to start the season, but since there is no turning back, the Bronx Bombers will have to play at a high level, even close to a playoff level, to start the season against their hated rivals. Even though it will be the first three games of the season, this opening series is already crucial for the Yankees in my humble opinion. To repeat as American League East champions, the Yankees will have to win at least 2 out of 3 up in Boston AND fly down to Tampa Bay and take 2 out of 3, or sweep the Rays. Of course, it wouldn’t be the end of the season if the Yankees get off to a bad start in their first six games; bad starts is something that happens as baseball clubs begin the new season. However in a division in which there are thre legitimate contenders for the division title, the Yankees will have to impose their will on both the Red Sox and Rays early.
The Yankees will boast a solid lineup that should get on base, steal bases, manufacture runs by timely hitting and hit for power. With Alex Rodriguez entering the season in good health, Mark Teixeira should get off to a much better start than he did last year (even though Teixeira usually starts out slow). The loss of Johnny Damon has been somewhat alleviated by the addition of Nick Johnson, who, like Damon, has a high on base percentage and usually works the count in every at bat. With Jeter and Johnson getting on base ahead of Teixeira and A-Rod, I don’t think the Yankees will miss a beat.
Pitching wise, the Yankees will fortunately have a legitimate 4th starter in Javier Vazquez, who will look to exorcise the 2004 demons (or Damons) and help the Yankees win throughout the season and post season. CC Sabathia will anchor the rotation and Andy Pettitte is back for yet another year. However, the key to the success of this staff will be AJ Burnett’s production. For the Yankees to win this division, Burnett will have to pitch consistently this season. Burnett has the stuff to be a formidable starting pitching in this league, but doesn’t seem to have the mental toughness that is associated with pitchers like Roy Halladay, Josh Beckett and others. Another 13 win season by Burnett would be ok, but shouldn’t be acceptable since he has the ability to win at least 16 to 18 games any given year. If Burnett wins 16 games this year, I don’t see another team in the AL East winning this division.
Beating Boston…..
But beating the Red Sox will prove to be harder this season as that club has revamped their pitching rotation and now boast a legitimate 5 man rotation. The addition of John Lackey to the trio of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz, gives the Red Sox a formidable 4 man rotation. Even scarier, if Daisuke Matsuzaka gets healthy again, the Red Sox could have the League’s best 5 man starting rotation.
But for all of the potential strengths they have in starting pitching, the Red Sox will have some questions on offense. Will Marco Scutaro put up the same numbers he did last year as a member of the Blue Jays? I don’t think so. Scutaro has yet to show that he is an above .280 hitter on a consistent basis, and his doubles out put of last season was certainly outside his normal level of production.
Will Adrian Beltre have a bounce back year and potentially hit 25 to 30 homeruns? Very possibly. Fenway Park could help Beltre’s offensive production since he is a very aggressive hitter. But his aggressiveness could also be his downfall as Beltre is one of those players that tend to strike out a lot.
As for Mike Cameron, his play at Centerfield and his bat should be a much needed improvement over Jacoby Ellsbury. He should provide the Red Sox with a decent right handed bat, a bat that has power to left and left center (perfect for the Green Monster). But if Cameron, Beltre and Scutaro do not perform, the weight of the offense will fall on aging David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia. The latter three did their best to carry the Red Sox last year, but as we saw in the playoff series against the Angels, it wasn’t enough. And with the potential of David Ortiz having another bad April, the newcomers truly need to step up right off the gate. If they don’t, the Red Sox will no doubt out pitch their opponents, but can they outscore them?
And Tampa Bay will…
show that 2008 wasn’t a fluke, but the beginning of something special. After last year’s disappointment, in which the Rays finished with only 84 wins (13 games back from their 2008 97 win total), the Rays will try to take advantage of what should be seeing as a closing “window of opportunity.” I like what the Rays could do this year. They have a young lineup with developing super stars in Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford and B.J Upton. The Rays will hit for power, steal bases, and get timely hitting which should be a problem to starting rotations in the American League. This offense is good enough to impose its will on their opponents, as CC Sabathia found out in his last start of the regular season last year. Even scarier, Tampa Bay is talented enough to give both the Yankees and Red Sox a run for the division title. They could easily pass by both teams and win the American League East.
So what will the Yankees have to do?
Win the two opening series against the Rays and Red Sox. Getting off to a slow start in this division, even in April will not bode well for the Yankees if they look to repeat as World Series Champions.
David Veloz
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