The Daily Dozen: April 8th, 2015 Edition

THE DAILY DOZEN - APRIL 8, 2015

Twelve Takeaways from Tonight's Game

1. Game 2 is in the books...and the Yankees FINALLY won a game!  Oh we fans that are so used to winning seasons and the Yankees not having to struggle for runs.  At least fans that didn't have to wait through the entire decade of the 1980s to get something for their fandom...

2. Michael Pineda is...well...Michael Pineda.  The guy is going to give you 6 strong innings each night out with an ERA under 3.00 and still struggle to get above .500.  His run support is abysmal.  What is that old adage?  With great starters you only need one or two runs to win...well, the Yankees definitely played that way for the first 6 innings.  For the record Pineda gave up 2 runs in 6 innings tonight.  Here's an interesting stat provided by Bryan Hoch via Twitter, #runsupport is right!

3. There were only 31,020 fans at the game.  You think maybe the Steinbrenners wished they had a retractable roof right about now?  44 degrees, cloudy, rainy, and a 17 mph wind in early April does not make a great game to watch in-house.  It was likely miserable for the players as well.  For the record, the 31,020 was 63.1% capacity.  I bet they still made a killing on those $10 beers though...

$10 for a beer...it better have gold flakes in it!

4. 2015 Prediction:  As goes Ellsbury, will go the Yankees.  Ellsbury was 2 for 2 tonight and on base all four times to the plate.  He also had his first steal of the season.  Not surprisingly the Yankees won.  Ells and Gardner will be the backbone of this team as they scrape and scrap for runs while defensively mitigating runs by the other teams with their stellar defense.

5. Small Sample Size...but Sucky Stats.  I know it's early in the season and there is plenty of time for the "Bronx Bombers" to show up, but here are the current lines (batting average / on-base % / slugging %) of some of the big bashers within the lineup:

 --- Carlos Beltran  .000 / .125 / .000
 --- Mark Teixeira  .167 / .375 / .333
 --- Brian McCann .143 / .250 / .143
 --- Alex Rodriguez .167 / .286 / .167

6. Which brings me to Chase Headley.  Where would the team have been without Chase last season?  And of course he drives in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th to steal the Blue Jays' thunder.  He went 2 for 4 tonight to bump his stat line to a neat .250 / .250 / .250...arrgh.  But hey, he seems to be clutch when it matters.

The Almighty Chase Headley Everybody
(say this in a Harey Carey voice and it's even better!)

7. R.A. Dickey.  Seriously...this guy was lights out tonight giving up only 1 run in 6 and 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts.  His ERA sits at 1.42.  And he didn't win...Michael Pineda says hi!  Okay so he wasn't the R.A. Dickey that won the Cy Young Award in 2012 for the Mets, what with giving up 4 hits and 3 walks in those same 6 1/3, but I bet Yankees fans would take him into the fold in a heartbeat.  Interestingly, when Dickey won the CY, the person that won the AL award was David Price...and they were both from within 1/2 hour of each other in Middle Tennessee where I lived...true story!

8. Scrape, claw, crawl, bite if you have to.  The 2015 version of the New York Yankees will have to do just that to win games and they will have plenty of close games that will be decided by a stolen base, a great defensive play, or the lights-out bullpen.  Case in point.  The three runs scored in the 8th came off of a bloop double, a single by none other than Jacoby Ellsbury, a HBP of Brett Gardner, and intentional walk of Teixeira (that feared bat that he is, especially with a shift), a HBP of Brian McCann, and a single by Headley. The first run of the night came from Ellsbury's single, a stolen base, a groundout by Gardner, and a sac fly by McCann.  Yep! These aren't your father's Yankees!

9. Seriously...don't you be hurting Brett Gardner.  I pity the fool that ends Brett "The Hitman" Gardner's season by plunking him in the elbow.  I will hunt you down Loup!  Well, he did get the loss, so I guess that is good enough.

Gardner Gripping his Elbow in the 8th Inning

10. Dellin Betances.  I don't think I really have to say anything besides that...but I will...1 inning, 1 hit, 1 run, TWO WALKS??? NO STRIKEOUTS???  It took 32 pitches to get out of the inning; but he did and the Yankees bullpen held once again.

11.  Did anyone notice that Jose Bautista is 0-fer in 2015?  Bautista's line would fit right in with the Bronx Bombers with his .000 / .167 / .000.  If it wasn't for Encarnacion right behind him the Blue Jays would likely be 0-2 right now.

12.  Andrew Miller records his first save as a Yankee.  Congratulations Mr. Miller, only 652 more to become the Yankees All-Time Saves Leader!  I will make another prediction here...Miller will end up with 50 saves this season...just a hunch.

The Daily Dozen: April 6, 2015 Edition

Hello all you Greedy Pinstripers out there...today was the beginning of the 2015 Major League Baseball season for the New York Yankees and in turn is the RETURN of the Daily Dozen: Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game...

1. For the first time since 1995, the New Yankees Roster does not include a man named Derek Jeter.  It's a sad day indeed..especially with his replacement Didi Gregorious (I know, it just falls of the tongue so smoothly, doesn't it?) having a lackluster first day in Pinstripes.  But you know, in order for the Yankees to move on with their new "Royal-esque" approach, the Core Four needed to be retired.

2. Mr. Joe Torre got to throw out the first pitch today.  It seems like the animosity between Torre in the Steinbrenners is completely gone now...at least publicly.

Joe Torre knows how to pitch in the Bronx (Photo Credit: CBSlocal.com)

3. An error by Chase Headley opened the Floodgates for the Jays.  I wonder if A-Rod would have made the play, or if he would have broken his hip playing 3rd base to begin with.

4. Masahiro Tanaka.  Not such a good start of the season for #TanakaTime, but it is a long season.  It will have to be in order to get that 9.00 ERA down.  He probably would have done just that if it were May instead of April.  The Binder had him on a strict 90-pitch count, which with the Yankees bullpen isn't such a bad idea.  An interesting stat I saw from Mr. Lou DiPietro of the YES Network ~ Tanaka gave up as many runs today to the Blue Jays (5) as he did in 18.1 innings against them last season.  I'm personally looking forward to those shutouts coming in his next 2 games against Toronto to even that stat line out.

5. Six Ks are not equal to Five Rs.  I know this due to my advanced Science degree.  Check out this equation below, which tells you what 6 Ks are really worth:

                  6K = R^5 - sin^2 / tan (sqrt of xHRs)

In case you missed it, that was the important part of Tanaka's line through 4 innings pitched.

6. Kevin Pillar.  Seriously...the guy's name is Kevin Pillar...is this just Kevin Millar in disguise?  The dude went 2 for 4 today and of course is a lifetime .239 hitter.  Of course.

(Photo Credit: JaysProspects.com)

I'm not sure if they resemble each other or not...but knowing
what a prankster Millar is...(Photo Credit: KevinMillar.com)

7. Speaking of "OF COURSE"... The curse of the ex-Yankees continues this season with Russell Martin adding 2 very important RBI in the Tanaka-killer 3rd inning.  We miss you Russell...

8. Isn't it IRONIC...don't you think?  Alex Rodriguez became the first baserunner for the Yankees this season batting 7th in the lineup after missing the entire 2014 season.  It's like rain on your wedding day.  Mr. A-Rod went 1-2 with a walk and is batting .500 with a 0.667 OBP to start his 2015 foray into what could be a COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR type season or one that fizzles him into obscurity...let's hope as Yankees fans for the former.  For what it's worth, the Yankees fans on hand today seemed to welcome him back with open arms.  Maybe it was the lack of Bronx Bombing last year that made them happy to see him...?

I can't tell if Alanis is amused or not...

9. Chris Martin's Debut.  Speaking of the Yankees Bullpen.  Mr. Martin (the "other" Martin in the game today) came into the game in the 5th to relieve #TanakaTime...he only recorded 3 strikeouts on 17 pitches to record a perfect inning in his Yankees debut...not too shabby!  I'll probably be following him on the morrow on Twitter...

10. So what is the chance...?  What is the chance of winning the World Series after going 0-1?  A quick glance at the last TEN World Series Champs revealed the following:

2014 San Francisco Giants...won their first game
2013 Boston Red Sux...won their first game
2012 San Francisco Giants...went 0-3 to start the season
2011 St. Louis Cardinals...went 0-2 to start the season and 2-6...they were awful
2010 San Francisco Giants...won their first 3 games
2009 New York Yankees...lost their first 2 games and were 15-17 by May 12th...left for dead
2008 Philadelphia Phillies...lost their first 2 games and were 8-10 by April 19th
2007 Boston Red Sux...lost the first game of the season
2006 St. Louis Cardinals...won their first 3 games
2005 Chicago White Sox...won their first 2 games

So...it's 50/50 in terms of the last 10 World Series Champions...that's right...the first game doesn't really count...it's what they do in the next 161 that really matters...here's to a 161-1 season!  A big shout out to BaseballReference.com for having these stats so readily available.  Love that site...

Is #28 coming to a Bronx near you?

11. How about that bullpen, ehh?  5 innings of 1 run ball will go a looooong way to giving the Yankees a shot at winning.  But then again, if the Yankees are counting on 5 innings of relief every day they are probably in for a losing season.

12. What kind of season will Brett "The Hitman" Gardner have?  Well, right now he's on pace to hit 162 home runs.  Sounds crazy right, but so did the thought of him hitting 17 dingers last season.  I think he'll end up with right around 25 for the year, which would look mighty nice next to 60 stolen bases.  One can wish, right??

"HULK....SMAAAAASH"

The Daily Dozen - July 7, 2014

Hello Yankees and GreedyPinstripe fans!

Tonight I am starting a new series entitled THE DAILY DOZEN, which is intended to be a humorous take on each night's game the rest of the season.  It may degrade into a rant at times, but as True Yankees Fans, what would you expect?

Anyways, I have been gone for a month or so as we transitioned into a new home outside of Columbus and I hadn't gotten the urge to set up my home office until last week...so expect to hear and read more from me this season as the Yankees push towards the playoffs in Jeter's Last Stand!

THE DAILY DOZEN
(Twelve Takeaways from Tonight's Game - July 7th, 2014 Edition - The Inaugural)

1. I miss the Chief Wahoo logo.  We have become weak, may I say soft, in the current Political Correctness life and times of America.  That big toothy grin was always the most recognizing symbol for the City of Cleveland for me growing up.  Who in the hell is getting offended by that logo?  Now there is a "C"...really? A "C"....come on Cleveland, you can do better than this!

My five year old could have designed a better logo...just sayin!

2. Derek Jeter is a class act.  When Jete came up to the plate in the 1st inning there were a ton of cheers and a few scattered boos.  My oldest son asked "Why are they booing him?" I calmly responded that it was a sign of respect for opposing players to be booed, because it means that you are really good.  The one thing I have always admired about El Capitan is that he responds like a professional in EVERY situation.  The whole crowd could have been booing him and he would have smiled and went on hitting the ball to right field.  I'm sure he'll leave a few gift baskets in the City of Cleveland on his way out of town...

How many little Jeters do you think are actually running around today?

3. Umpires should wear goggles.  Did anyone else catch the homeplate Umpire stopping the game because he had a bug in his eye?  At least an umpire finally admitted he couldn't see clearly...(wocka, wocka, wocka!)

4. Shane Greene was LIGHTS OUT! Only in the game of baseball would a rookie starter in his first Major League game pitch 4-2/3 innings of no-hit ball while the former Yankee killer (as an Indian) Justin Masterson would give up 5 runs in 2+ innings.  Previously, Masterson had a 3-0 record against the Bronx Bombers with a 0.38 ERA at Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field).  Tonight he had a 22.50 ERA.  Only in Baseball.

What an awkward smile ROOK! (Source Photos: ESPN.com)

5. The Yankees cannot score later than the 5th inning.  Okay...I'm "probably" being facetious with that sentence, but it seems that every time the Yankees get up early in a game, they can't seem to add any more runs late to put games away.  Mark my words, it is going to kill the bullpen by the end of the year.

Seriously guys...I pitch like every night with the game on the line!

6. Ichiro has still got it.  The dude is going to play until he is 50.  Seriously, sign him to a 5 year contract now at 2 million per season.  The revenue from the interest in the team with Tanaka and Ichiro on board for the long term will more than pay his salary.  I think Ichiro and Kuroda calm Tanaka as those are guys he can look up to and of course actually understand.  Personally, I want to see Ichiro get to 3,000 hits as a Yankee.  Make it happen CASHMAN!

If he gets to 3,000 hits next season he should be exempt to the facial hair clause...#NappyBeard

7. Daniel Burch is a better predictor than me.  Well not in the Mega Prediction Game, but last week he predicted that Brian McCann was getting ready to turn it on.  I predicted Carlos Beltran was about to start lighting it up.  Well, lo and behold, McCann has been hitting much better as of late and got above .230 tonight---yes, I am actually celebrating that fact.  Beltran has been hitting the ball hard, but like Ellsbury tonight is hitting it right at people.  For the Yankees sake, I hope we are both right in the coming days.

He may have had too much wine in the offseason, but the hangover looks to be over!

8. I still like Nick Swisher.  Swisher is a Man's Man.  I don't know exactly what that means but I've heard it bandied about once or twice.  He played ball for Ohio State, he played ball for the Yankees.  That's good enough in my book.  It's strange that the Indians first two hits tonight were by former Yankees players.  I thought Indians fans hated Yankees!

9. Brett Gardner is the Yankees offensive MVP thus far this season.  The guy is just flat out a complete player.  Sure he still gets caught stealing way too much at this point in his career.  I was hoping that Ellsbury would help him a little bit this season, but he is very consistent at the plate.  He never gives away an at-bat.  He is the ballplayer that I always hoped to be someday.  He was 3 for 5 tonight and raised his batting average to .289, best on the team (barring Ichiro's .304 which doesn't meet the MLB minimum for a batting title as of yet).  Out of the everyday players, he leads the team in average, on-base percentage (.363), OPS (.796), WAR (2.4), hits (94), triples (6), total bases (141), walks (34), and is 2nd in slugging percentage (behind only Teixeira's .452--Gardy is at .434) and stolen bases (15, 8 behind Ellsbury).  Last season, we all asked where the Yankees would be without Cano...well, this year where would they be without Gardner?  Oh yeah...and he also has 3 assists, 158 put-outs, and has played in 88 games.

M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!

10. In order for the Yankees to win games and in turn series, they have to see pitches.  Case in point: tonight the Yankees saw 150 Indians' pitches.  Cleveland only saw 116.  The Yankees won...  The day before versus the Twins they saw 138 pitches...and won...really for the last 5 days the Yankees have been more patient at the plate and have been rewarded with a 4-1 record only losing in extra innings to the Twins on Saturday while seeing 180 pitches.  Earlier in the season and during their losing streaks they weren't seeing nearly as many pitches as one would expect from a veteran Yankees team.

11. As of tonight's win, the Yankees have a 17.1% chance of making the playoffs.  That's not good.  But wait! There's more.  They are only 3.5 games back of the 1st place Baltimore Orioles.  After the Yankees sweep the Indians in this current 4 games set, guess who they get to play?  Yep...the Orioles.  I have a feeling the Playoff % will be a bit larger come the Daily Dozen on July 13th.

These aren't your Daddy's Orioles!

12. I learned tonight that Thursday's game at the Jake (err...Progressive Field) is Dollar Dog Night.  I am taking my oldest son, Gabe, to his 2nd MLB game ever that night.  His first game was the Yankees vs. Braves in Atlanta 2 years ago while we still lived in Tennessee.  Now that I am back in my home state of Ohio, I look forward to taking him and the rest of my ever-growing family to many Yankees-Indians, Yankees-Tigers, and Yankees-Reds games in the future.  Burch predicts we'll eat 7 hot dogs that night by the way...his predictions are usually right!

Follow me on Twitter! I promise to make you laugh at least once each Yankees game! 

@dm23HOF