Results tagged ‘ Johnny Damon ’
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.
Vazquez faces a must win. Washington Nationals in 2nd place…Seriously
I know it is still early in the season to say that a team, let alone a pitcher face a must win situation, but for Javier Vazquez that’s exactly the situation he finds himself in. It is obvious to me, and I guess to many Yankees fan, that Vazquez is still rattled pitching in New York and that grand slam that Johnny Damon hit in the 2004 ALCS is still affecting his psyche. After 5 incredibly rotten starts (ok, he had a decent start in Oakland), Vazquez is now under greater pressure to get the job done in a Yankee uniform than he was the last time he wore the pinstripes.
Tonight, therefore, it is imperative that Vazquez gives the Yankees at least 5 or even 6 innings of quality baseball. He doesn’t have to pitch a one, or two hitter, with 13 strike outs, but he should at least keep the Tigers off the scoreboard and keep the Yankees in the game. I’m sure that now, as the Yankees big hitters are beginning to heat up, Vazquez will get all the necessary run support that would allow him to pitch a solid game.
If Vazquez doesn’t get the job done tonight, his next start at Yankee Stadium will be a rough one. Judging his work against the White Sox a week ago, if Vazquez gives another unimpressive performance, he will be booed out of the mound and out of town.
Break Up the Washington Nationals..
The Washington Nationals are sitting alone in second place in the National League East. Their 3-2 victory of the Mets last night now gives the Nats a 18-14 record for the season, which is a 7 game improvement from last season. I wish that the Nationals continue to play well as they are a mixture of young players and veterans. Ivan Rodriguez has done a good job at handling the starting pitching staff and the bullpen. Because of his work, Livan Hernandez is one of the league leaders in earned run average early on with a 1.04 ERA. Scott Olsen has posted 2-1 record and in his last three starts has given the Nationals an average of 7 innings of work. On his last start, Olsen took a perfect game to the 8th inning.
Out of the bullpen, Tyler Clippard has become the bridge to Matt Capps, as the reliever has struck out 18 batters in just 14 innings of work. As for the aforementioned Matt Capps, he leads the Majors with 13 saves.
I know it is early May, but with Stephen Strasburg waiting for his call up, the Nationals are becoming an exciting team to watch.
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.
Sabathia and Halladay dominant outings: Phillies/Yankees World Series 2010?
In a Spring Training World Series rematch between the Phillies and Yankees, both CC Sabathia and Roy Doc Halladay were very impressive in their respective starts of the spring. CC Sabathia, in 2 innings of work, only allowed two hits, 2 walks, and no runs, holding the Phillies scoreless. Equally, and more impressively, Doc Halladay, in his respective two innings of work, allowed no runs, no walks, no hits and struck out three Yankee batters. The two innings of work by both Sabathia and Halladay is only a scratch in the surface of what should be a debate that will rage all season long: Will these two teams meet again in the World Series?
One can make the case that the Philadelphia Phillies are more improved than they were last year. With Doc Halladay now anchoring the rotation, and with the hope that Cole Hamels could return to his 2008 form, the Phillies certainly could have a tough one-two top of the rotation. J.A Happ, and Joe Blanton, and Kyle Kendrick rounding out the rest of the Phillies starters, there is no doubt that the bottom 3 of this rotation could be the best in baseball. But the Phillies still need help in the bullpen that was mire with injuries last season. J.C Romero and Brad Lidge are recovering from off-season surgury and will likely need the entire spring or part of April to get back into top baseball form. Still, with all their bullpen problems, the Phillies will bring back most of the team they had last year, and are still the best team in the National League. The Phillies do not face much of a threat from the rest of the division, even though the Marlins and Braves could certainly give them a run. The rest of the National League, in my humble opinion, is just too weak offensively to beat the Phillies. Unless there is a disaster in Philadelphia this year, I believe the Phillies will win their third straight National League Pennant.
But are the Phillies good enough to beat the Yankees?
The Yankees, on the other hand, have one of the best lineups in the American League. But unlike last year, when the Yankees set an all time team record in homeruns, the loss of Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon will certainly lead to a decline in homeruns. However, the Yankee lineup is more balanced now with a flexible DH position, and I look for them to manufacture runs by stealing more bases and executing more hit and runs than they were able to do last year. Pitching wise, the Yankees are not the best in the American League, but the rotation is good enough to help this team win. The key to the rotation this year will be A.J Burnett and his mindset. Will he be a consistently good pitcher, or will Burnett be a consistent inconsistent starter? As for the back end of the rotation, will Chamberlain or Hughes be the 5th starter? These questions will be answered by the end of the month.
Unlike the Phillies however, the Yankees do face tough competition within their division. The Red Sox have a much more improved rotation than they did last year, and the Tampa Bay Rays are a young and very talented team that will be much better improved than last year. If the Yankees are able to win the American League East, I have no doubt they will earn another trip to the World Series.
So can the Phillies and Yankees meet again? I believe it will happen.
Update: Mental boner on my part (am I allowed to write that?), Kyle Drabek was part of the Roy Halladay trade. See what happens when you only remember Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay and forget the rest? 
A’s sign Ben Sheets.
Ben Sheets has been signed by the Oakland A’s to a 1 year $8 million contract. This is an interesting signing by the A’s who are taking a chance on a pitcher that has had injury problems in the past. When he is healthy, Sheets can be and has been one of the top pitchers in baseball. In his last full healthy (or somewhat healthy) season in 2007, Sheets posted a 12-5 record. The next year, he posted a 13-9 season, before tearing up his elbow, an injury that forced him to miss all of last year. Another positive about Sheets is that he can pitch a lot of innings. From 2007 until his injury late in the 2008 season, Sheets recorded over 339.2 innings and struck out over 264 batters. If healthy, there is no doubt that Sheets can be a valuable addition to any team. I think this also helps the A’s young pitchers. Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson will benefit from Sheets’ veteran presense.
Could Damon end up with the A’s?
There are rumors flying around that Damon will sign with the A’s. If that is the case, I believe Damon will find a perfect place to play in this season. The A’s are young team and could use a player like Damon to patrol left field, or possibly DH when necessary. As far as the Yankees are concerned, I don’t think it is a mistake if they let Damon sign with another team. The Yankees it seems have indeed decided to move on since they have not offered, or rather, I haven’t heard them make a new offer to Damon. But the question for the Yankees still remains and that is, who will play left field? Jermaine Dye is still available. If he can’t play left, then moving Swisher to left and plugging Dye to right is a concept I believe the Yankees should consider. However, as I wrote here before, I don’t see the Yankees giving up those draft picks for Dye.
Yankees’ left fielder?
Now that most of the big names are off the free agent market, the Yankees still find themselves heading into spring training without a viable everyday left fielder. Johnny Damon is still available, however, Yankee management doesn’t seem interested in Damon or what his agent is asking for. Unless Damon comes begin on his knees for a job, the Yankees will have to fill left field with Brett Gardner. Gardner is a solid defensive player, but he doesn’t have much of a bat. His biggest contribution last year for the Yankees came as a defensive replacement or as a pinch runner. As an everyday centerfielder Gardner couldn’t get the job done and did lose his job to Melkey Cabrera. So heading into spring training, who will win the job at left field, or will the Yankees make one last move?
If the Yankees make one more move, Jermaine Dye is still available. Last year with the Sox, Dye hit 27 homers, drove in 81 runners, and had a batting average of .250 with an OBP of .340 and SLG of .453. Dye can still play this game, and I’m sure he can do the job switching to left field. Unfortunately, I don’t see the Yankees giving up high draft picks for Dye. However, I would consider Dye.
Now, one thing is certain. The Yankees will have a hole in left field when the season starts. Stay tuned, spring training should be interesting.
More thoughts on Nick Johnson.
Now that the Yankees are definately close to signing Johnson and parting ways with Johnny Damon most beat-writers believe that Johnson will be the everyday DH for the Yankees in 2010. I can live with Nick Johnson as an everyday DH since he is one of those players that gets a ton of walks during the season. Last year he walked 99 times and had a very good On-Base percentage of .426 which was the third best in the league; Johnson had an overall OPS of .831. That means Johnson gets on base via the walk or by putting the ball in play. Overall Johnson had solid numbers last year. But if he becomes the everyday the DH, aren’t the Yankees once again clogging up the DH position in their lineup? If so, then why did the Yankees let Hideki Matsui go?
Back to square one?
Bringing Nick Johnson back does not give the Yankees the flexibility at the DH spot they have sought in the past three years. Ever since Matsui’s defensive play began to decline as a member of the Yankees, the only spot for him in the lineup was the DH. That meant that players like Damon, Posada, Jeter, or A-Rod were left out of the lineup in days in which they could’ve been DHing. Potentially with Johnson the Yankees face the same situation. Here is a player whose defensive play has diminished. His range factor per game last season was 8.65; compare that to Teixeira’s 8.77. So if Johnson is used as a back up to Teixeira the Yankees are in a defensive disadvantage. More importantly, Teixeira can give the Yankees 150 or more games at first if he stays healthy; Johnson, who is injury prone, would likely to give the Yankees somewhere between 15 games or less. To put it succinctly, there is no spot on the field of Johnson. That means the only place in the lineup for Johnson is the DH. Unless Girardi and the powers that be do not consider Johnson an everyday DH, his only contribution to the team will be in that position.
By letting Matsui go and signing Johnson, the Yankee lineup has taken a terrible step backwards. Lets compare the numbers. Against right handed pitching this past season, Nick Johnson had an OBP of .420 and an overall OPS of .804, with 71 walks, 6 homeruns, RBI and 55 strikeouts. On the other hand Matsui had a .370 OBP with a .835 OPS. More over, Matsui had 15 homeruns, 49 walks, and 44 RBI’s. Against left handed pitching Matsui is clearly ahead of Johnson. His .358 OBP and .618 SLG for an overall .976 OPS, with 13 homeruns outshines Johnson’s .884 OPS, 2 homeruns and 21 RBI’s. Although Johnson had a higher OBP than Matsui (.440) against lefties, his slugging percentage is 174 points lower. Therefore, if Johnson comes in and clogs up the DH spot, he will likely not be as productive as Matsui was this past season, which begs the question; Why let Matsui go and sign a player that could also clog up the DH spot in the Yankee lineup? Keeping Matsui would have been a better option than signing Johnson.
Yankees are moving on.
Just heard a report on the radio that the Yankees have informed Johnny Damon’s agent that they plan to move on without him thus ending Damon’s 4 year stint with the Yankees. The Yankees are now close to signing Nick Johnson to a one year deal with incentives. Nick Johnson had a solid season for both the Nationals and Marlins. Johnson had a modest .291 batting average with 8 homers, 24 doubles, 62 RBI’s and 99 walks. He also had 84 strikeouts and overall had an OPS of .831. Johnson’s likely role with the team will be that of the Yankees designated hitter and possibly the back to Mark Teixeira.
Bittersweet goodbyes…
Now that the Yankees have officially parted ways with both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui it is important to remember that both players were very instrumental in the Yankees championship season. The spring training lineup switch of Jeter and Damon worked wonderfully for Joe Girardi, as Jeter had a near MVP season while Damon almost reached a career high in homeruns. Yet as good a season as Damon had this past summer what I will remember him for is that double steal in Game 4 of the World Series. That night Damon’s three hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases will forever erase from my memory his 2004 ALCS Game 7 grand slam.
As for Matsui, it took 6 years, but he finally won a championship with the Yankees and left the Bronx as the World Series most valuable player and probably the most beloved Yankee of the past 10 years, second only to Derek Jeter in my humble opinion.
Although both players will be missed, it is time for the Yankees to move on and get younger. Trading for Curtis Granderson is a step in the right direction.
Roy Halladay will dominate the Winter Meetings
Whether he is traded to New York, Boston or stays in Toronto the Baseball Winter Meetings will be dominated by the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, and that is as good as it gets for us Hot Stove geeks! Roy Halladay is the best right hander in the league and any team that acquires his services for the upcoming 2010 season will no doubt be a much improved ballclub. However I think people should be a little weary about Roy Halladay. As the Hot Stove season progresses, Doc’s value increases and any team that is willing to make a trade with Toronto will undoubtely have to give up any of the top prospects protected from the Rule 5 Draft. On top of that, I look for Toronto to unload the salary of Vernon Wells, who is currently locked up through 2014 making an astonishingly high $126 million a year. So any team that is interested in Roy Halladay will likely have to take Wells off Toronto’s hands as well. Therefore I ask again; Who is willing to take Roy Halladay for one year, give up top prospects from the farm and potentially take on the salary of Vernon Wells? My guess is not many ballclubs are willing to do that.
Other things to watch from the Meetings….
Where will Jason Bay end up? It is likely that Bay will resign for the Red Sox, but then again Boston has a recent history of not landing key free agents when they seemed to be a lock. I’m watching with interest to see what happens with Bay. Here in New York, it would benefit the Mets to atleast make an offer to Bay. Unfortunately, it seems that the Mets will not spend a lot money this winter on established talent…again.
Matt Holiday is another free agent that will draw some interest. Again, the Mets should think about a player like Holiday if they wish to improve.
As for the Yankees their top priority right now is to resign either Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui. Once that is done the Yanks should enter the Roy Halladay sweepstakes and in my humble opinion take a chance on Vernon Wells. But that shouldn’t happen until they deal with their free agents.
Yankees take Game 4!
The story tonight is that Johnny Damon’s at-bat and heads up baserunning won the game for the Yankees. In an at-bat that was reminiscent of Wade Boggs at-bat in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series, Johnny Damon single off Lidge started the game winning 3 run rally that has the Yankees one step away from winning the World Series. More importantly in that rally, Alex Rodriguez again come through in the clutch. This time he drives in Damon with a laser double to left field and scores on Jorge Posada’s two run single. Even though I still think the Yankees have to improve on their situational hitting, the Yankees got the job done when it counted the most.
Thumbs up to….
Johnny Damon. What else is there to say, he was 3 for 5 tonight and got the single that sparked the rally.
Alex Rodriguez. It is hard to believe that just a few years ago Alex Rodriguez failed time and time again in these types of situations. But this year A-Rod is proving that he is a great ball player and that he can come through when his teams needs it.
CC Sabathia. Even though he got the no decision tonight, Sabathia pitch well enough to pitch. His only problem tonight was Chase Utley, otherwise, when Sabathia got in trouble, he bore down and pitch his way out of trouble. That is why he is the ace of this staff because tonight, like in all his starts this year, he gave the Yankees a chance to win the ball game.
David Veloz
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