State Of The Yankees

Let's imagine that it's January 1st, and you and I are having a chat about the Yankees. We eventually start talking about the 2012 postseason, and you say that you knew the Yankees were going to get swept by the Tigers in the ALCS. I agree, saying that I didn't feel good about the ALCS either, seeing how much the offense struggled against the Orioles after Game 1 of the ALDS.

"No... no... no", you say. You repeat yourself, saying you knew the Yankees were going to get swept. I get really confused, and seeing the confusion on my face you take me over to your house. And in the backyard you reveal this...

"Nice car, but the view from your backyard is amazing!"

We hop in, you say "where we're going we don't need roads", the car starts flying....yada, yada, yada. You know the story (if you don't then stop reading and go watch the Back To The Future trilogy. NOW!).

What I'm trying to say is that if you'd told me right before the Yankees first Spring Training game that, on May 8th, the Yankees starting lineup would look like this...

Brett Gardner CF

Robinson Cano 2B

Vernon Wells LF

Lyle Overbay 1B

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Jayson Nix SS

Chris Nelson 3B

David Phelps P

Austin Romine C 

... I would have wanted to cry.

Yet here I sit on May 9th, and that is the exact lineup Joe Girardi put out there for last night's game against the Rockies. Allow me to repeat that starting lineup, along with what I would have thought about it prior to that first game of Spring Training...

Brett Gardner CF - okay, fine start.

Robinson Cano 2B - good, but strange that he's batting 2nd.

Vernon Wells LF - huh? Where's Granderson? And 3rd!?!?

Lyle Overbay 1B - This is the clean-up hitter!?!? What happened to Tex?

Ichiro Suzuki RF - okay, but 5th in the lineup? That can't be right.

Jayson Nix SS - The guy that hit .243/.306/.384 last year. WHY!?!?

Chris Nelson 3B - What!? What!? What!?

David Phelps P - Two things... 1. Starting pitcher? 2. Batting 8th?

Austin Romine C - Knowing Cervelli and Stewart, this is not surprising.

Two guys that were expected regulars in the lineup (Gardner and Cano), one guy that is not surprising to see but doesn't excite me (Ichiro), a catcher that I didn't expect to see in MLB for a while longer (Romine), a pitcher not only batting 8th but who was pegged as a reliever (Phelps), three players that should not be starting (Wells, Overbay, and Nix), and finally a guy that should not only be on the bench but wasn't even in the American League before the season (Nelson). 

My surprise would not be limited to last night's game, either. Take a look at the players who have played the most games at each position so far in 2013...

C - Francisco Cervelli

1B - Lyle Overbay 

2B - Robinson Cano

3B - Jayson Nix

SS - Eduardo Nunez

LF - Vernon Wells

CF - Brett Gardner

RF - Ichiro Suzuki

DH - Travis Hafner

You can't seriously tell me that you would expect that team to be 19-13, only 1 game out of first place. Of course, few people would have thought the Blue Jays would be at the bottom of the division, either... but that's the way it is. 

Making flashy trades may get you a lot of attention, but that doesn't translate to more wins.

I can't honestly say that it's the offense who has carried the team to that record. They've only produced 136 runs, 8th in the American League. On top of that, the offense has only accumulated a fWAR of 3.5, which is 9th in the AL. They are 9th in team batting average, 8th in team on-base percentage, and 5th in team slugging percentage. For comparison, the Yankees were 5th, 1st, and 1st in triple-slash categories at the end of last season, and were 2nd in runs scored. 

So it's the run prevention side of things that's really getting things done for New York. To be more specific, it's the team's pitching. The Yankees have a team ERA of 3.76, good for 5th in the AL and 1st in the AL East. The team's fWAR is 4.3, which is 5th in the AL, and 2nd in the AL East behind the division co-leading Red Sox. Take fielding out of the equation by looking at the team's FIP, and you'll see it's at 3.70, 5th in the AL and 2nd in the AL East (I'm not going to mention the team ahead of them, as one mention of that team is enough). 

Here's what excited me... The hitting is bound to get better. By the end of the month the team should get back Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Kevin Youkilis. Which means less at bats for guys like Ben Francisco (currently hitting .125/.263/.219), Brennan Boesch (.211/.250/.447), Lyle Overbay (.238/.280/.455), Jayson Nix (.232/.281/.280), and Chris Nelson (.077/.077/.077). 

"But can our pitching keep this up?"

Well, CC Sabathia's ERA of 3.31 is actually a tick worse than what he's done so far with the Yankees (3.23), and he's striking out one less batter per nine innings than he has since the end of the 2010 season.

Hiroki Kuroda's ERA of 2.30 is more than a run lower than his MLB career mark of 3.37, but looking at his FIP of 3.33 compared to his career number of 3.61, and I'm not really worried about Hiro giving up a few more runs.

The only thing that concerns me about Andy Pettitte is his health, because he was able to put up a sub-3.00 ERA in 12 starts last season, and so far this year that number is a tick above 4.00. Andy's WHIP of 1.354 is also well above the 1.142 he put up last season.

Is Phil Hughes going to keep up that 3.60 ERA? Probably not. But after seeing his last four starts, a 1.93 ERA in 28 innings, along with his velocity being almost exactly what he's done so far in MLB (his average fastball sits at 92.1 this year, and is 92.2 for his career), I feel optimistic that he'll finish 2013 strong.

I'm not going to try and guess who will hold down the last spot in the rotation for the rest of the season, but I believe pretty strongly that whoever it is can at least match the 5.77 ERA the Yankees have gotten out of that spot in the rotation so far this season (Nova's had 4 starts, and Phelps has had 2).

Then there's the bullpen... Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time, David Robertson would be closing for all but maybe 7 or 8 teams in MLB, despite walking way too many batters Joba Chamberlain looks like a good 7th inning guy, Boone Logan does a fine job, and then the team still has guys like Vidal Nuno, Preston Claiborn, Adam Warren, and others to step in when/if needed.

Like so many others, I didn't have a great feeling about the Yankees' chances of doing some real damage this season. But as of today I can't wait to see what the team looks like by the All Star break.

A Crazy Night In Colorado

Nothing much has been normal for the Yankees this year and yesterday in Colorado epitomized their whole season to date. It was so crazy that Joe Girardi batting David Phelps eighth was not the strangest thing that happened. After Chris Nelson got pinched hit for in the top of the ninth, Girardi had nobody else to turn to play third base other than Vernon Wells. It was the first time in his 15 major league seasons that he had played even an inning at third base.

"I got hit in the mouth at second base when I was 12 and immediately moved to the outfield," Wells told Wally Matthews. “So you can imagine how it felt when, in the ninth inning, Wells looked at the Yankees' dugout and saw infield coach Mick Kelleher waving him closer to the hitter. "I was like, 'What? I've got to play in? I'm [playing in] already!"' he said. "It was definitely an eye-opening experience for me, that's for sure."

Wells was a huge part of the reason that the Yankees were even in the game to begin with. He already had three hits, including a two-run home run that had accounted for their only runs through eight innings and an infield single that started the Yankees’ rally in the ninth. However, Wells’ fun had only just started. The Yankees took the lead in the ninth inning with one of the softest rallies you will ever see.

Wells opened the inning with an infield single and stole second in front of Lyle Overbay walking. Ichiro Suzuki bunted the runners over and Jayson Nix was intentionally walked after a 3-0 count to load the bases. This is when things got interesting. With no backup infielders available, Girardi pinch hit Travis Hafner for Chris Nelson because the Yankees needed to take the lead right there. Hafner struck out, but Brennan Boesch got the run home on an infield single to give the Yankees a 3-2 when Nolan Arenado’s throw after a great diving effort was just a little late.

However, the Yankees still had three outs to get, and Wells had to go out to third base to replace Nelson. You knew that the baseball Gods were not going to let Wells off the hook without having to field a ball. Carlos Gonzalez hit a one-hopper that Wells had to take two steps to his left to get to. He fielded it and fired a perfect strike to Overbay at first. Wells looked like a natural on that play and you would have never realized that he had never played an inning of third base in his life.

The trade to acquire Wells was ridiculed and laughed at by just about everybody. However, Wells has been a consummate team player for the Yankees and one of the most productive players in the lineup. Even though Wells has struggled so far in May, (.240/.240/.360/.600) he proved yesterday that he does not plan on returning to playing like he did in Los Angeles any time soon.

That game last night epitomized what the 2013 Yankees have been. You really have no idea how they do it, yet they just keep on winning. With a lineup filled of mostly formerly washed up players and “AAAA” players, the Yankees find themselves at 19-13 and only one game behind the Orioles and Red Sox for first place in the AL East.  It has been done with mostly guts and guile, things you do not normally associate with a team with about a $230 million payroll. With Curtis Granderson and Kevin Youkilis possible coming back next week, things can start to get even more fun soon.

Game 35 Lineup: Yankees @ Rockies

Here we go, it's the series finale and the rubber game! Let's win this...and never come back to Colorado again. Here's the lineup.

Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Ben Francisco RF
Chris Nelson 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Chris Stewart C
CC Sabathia P

This Day In Yankees History 5/9

On this day in 1999 Yankees reliever starts the game against the Seattle Mariners as the Yankees win the game 6-1. The important piece of information is that Stanton had 552 relief appearances before this first start breaking Gary Lavelle's major league record for the most appearances before starting a game.

On this day in 2002 Mariano Rivera saved his 225th game setting a new franchise record for the Yankees. The previous record was set by Dave Righetti who finished his Yankees career with 224 saves.

Game Thread: NYY @ COL 5/8

The Yankees and the Rockies will play game two of their three game set with the Yankees trying to even the series up at one game a piece. The Yankees are desperately trying to get the offense going and that is obvious with Yankees pitcher David Phelps batting 8th tonight and pitching. Feel free to use this thread to talk about the game or to tell us how much Joe Girardi is not Tony LaRussa. Also give us a follow on twitter, @GreedyStripes, and tweet with us there.

Here is the Yankees lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jayson Nix SS
Chris Nelson 3B
David Phelps P
Austin Romine C

This Day In Yankees History 5/8

On this day in 2009 Alex Rodriguez wasted no time getting back into the groove of things as he hit the first pitch he saw that season for a three run home run. Alex missed the first month and a half of the season after his first hip surgery. The Yankees would beat the Orioles 4-0 t snap a five game losing streak.

Yankees Prospects Injury Updates

Manny Banuelos, who had Tommy John surgery, is throwing at 120 feet and doing long toss. It is a matter of weeks before ManBan is back on a mound according to Mark Newman.

Chase Whitley, who suffered an oblique injury in spring training, is throwing in extended spring training games and is a week to 10 days from returning to Scranton or Trenton.

Angelo Gumbs, who has a sprained right middle finger, is also playing in extended spring training games. Newman says that it is probably going to be a couple more weeks before Angelo is back with the Charleston Riverdogs.

Adonis Garcia, who had his hamate bone in his right hand broken this spring, is finally taking batting practice. He is not in extended spring training yet but expects to be soon.

Ravel Santana, who is still nursing a 2011 devastating ankle injury, is being brought along slowly here in 2013. He came back in 2012 but was never really right with that ankle. Ravel is now playing in extended spring training games but there is no time table on when he will be back.

Curtis Granderson To Start Rehab Tomorrow

Sources tell me Curtis Granderson will open a rehab stint with SWB on Thursday night. bit.ly/17Mw7pK

— Donnie Collins (@RailRidersTT) May 8, 2013

According to Donnie Collins on twitter Yankees injured center fielder Curtis Granderson is going to start his 30 day minor league rehab assignment tomorrow with the Scranton Railriders. Granderson does not necessarily have to use all 30 days, and probably won't, but that is the max that he can use. He should be with the team as early as next week but probably not before next weekend.

New York Yankees @ Colorado Rockies 5/8

The Yankees and the Rockies will play their second game of their three game set at Coors Field tonight. The Yankees will be sending David Phelps to the mound to face off with Juan Nicasio looking to hand Nicasio his first loss of the season. Phelps will be making his second start for injured pitcher Ivan Nova. The game will be televised at 8:40 pm ET on YES and MLB TV.

Ivan Nova Will Possibly Return On Monday

As long as Ivan Nova gets through his Extended Spring Training start today without any problems, Joe Girardi said that he'd likely start one half of the doubleheader on Monday against the Indians.

Although there are other Yankees currently suffering from injuries that I'd like to see return instead, it's good to see somebody coming off the DL instead of being put on it.

Looking at Nova's Batting Average on Balls In Play against of .458, which is well above his career average BABIP of .313, there's reason to be optimistic. But Ivan clearly has some work to do, as evidenced by his Line Drive percentage of 30% (his career average is 20%).

Let's hope that he and the Yankee coaches were able to figure something out during his time away.