Who Should Be On The Hot Seat?

"Hold on, I'll have Girardi's Christmas gift in a second."

Joe Girardi has been getting a lot of crap thrown his way. Although I don't think it's all justified, though. It does bother me than Joe keeps putting Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez into the lineup, when Chris Dickerson has earned the chance to get some regular at bats and playing time. And while Joe Torre had a knack for knowing when to put on the hit and run, I could probably count the number of times Girardi has called a hit and run this season on one hand.

I understand fan frustration, as I almost ruined my 56" flat screen tv Friday night by throwing my remote through it. People are always looking for a scapegoat... somebody to put all the blame on when things aren't going well. Bobby Valentine is not somebody I'd want coaching my team, but I think the Red Sox problems go much deeper than Bobby V. But it's Valentine that's on the hot seat.

So the question is... should Joe Girardi be fired? River Avenue Blues is actually running a poll on this subject. And my choice was "he shouldn't be fired and he won't be".

Relax, buddy, your ax will taste blood.

Managers have been the scapegoat for struggling teams for as long as we can remember. Face it, they can be replaced a hell of a lot easier than the players can. And more often than not, it's the players that are to blame for the team's struggles. That's not to say managers mean nothing to Ws and Ls, but you can't tell me that the Yankees' issues over the last month or so is the fault of Joe Girardi.

From the beginning of August through last night, the team is hitting .258/.329/.425. That batting average would currently be 8th in the American League, while that on-base percentage and slugging percentage would both be 5th. And in 14 games so far in September they've hit .238/.323/.395. So it's not like the offense is really doing "their thing". Oh, and I won't bother bringing up the infamous #RISPFail hash-tag.

I tried to get #RISPFlouder to catch on, but was unsuccessful.

So what should the team do? Nothing? Just go into the 2013 season hoping things work out better? Before I tell you my idea, let me ask a few questions...

• Why has a guy with a career batting average of .260 been scraping and crawling in order to get above the Mendoza Line (Russell Martin)?
• The last 2+ seasons Mark Teixeira has not been close to the guy the Yankees signed before the 2009 season. Here's a guy that hit .306, .308, and .292 between 2007 and 2009, and in the past 2+ seasons he's hit .253. What's up with that?
• Why is it that ARod had an OBP of .392 or higher between 2005 and 2009, but the last 2+ years Alex hasn't been above .362? Not to mention that the guy hasn't had a batting average above .278 the last 2+ seasons. By the way, I don't think you can attribute that drop all to steroids.

Fans probably have other questions regarding batters, but I'm going to add one more thing...

• At the beginning of the 2011 season, when his batting stance was changed, Derek Jeter was hitting .206. .206! Sure, it was not a huge sample size, but we're talking about a guy that's in the hunt for the batting title here in 2012, and has a career batting average of .314. 

Does this look like a guy that bats .206?

The one constant through all of these things is Kevin Long. The only good thing Kevin Long has seemingly done is turn around Curtis Granderson in August of 2010. Curtis was especially struggling against left-handed pitchers, and this season he has the 2nd most home runs against lefties. Then again, the Grandy Man is currently batting .234 with a .322 OBP, so that "turn around" didn't last very long. Except for Granderson's home run production.

Kevin Long has one more year left on the 3 year deal he signed to be the Yankees hitting coach before the 2011 season. Part of me wants to see the team eat that last year and find somebody else. Sure, the offense has had plenty of success in the past with Long around, but lately it seems like things aren't working out. There shouldn't be that many questions surrounding hitters, especially a perennial all-star, a possible Hall of Famer, and a definite Hall of Famer.

Remember... nothing lasts forever.

Well, except for Joan Rivers face.

Rays @ Yankees 9/16/12

Update:

Jeter RBI single gives the Yankees a 1-0 lead

Alex Rodriguez gets his own RBI single to make it 2-0

Russell Martin muscles up to make it 5-0 with a three run home run

A Rod sac fly makes it 6-1 

#untuck Yankees win 6-4

The Yankees will finish up their weekend series with the Rays this afternoon in Yankees Stadium. The Yankees took back sole possession of first place after beating the Rays and getting some help from the Oakland A's. The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound today so if history is any indication do not expect the Yankees to put up many runs. The Rays will send Matt Moore to the mound to try to get back into the AL East race and the second wild card. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on TBS.

Lineups

1. Derek Jeter DH

2. Nick Swisher RF

3. Alex Rodriguez 3B

4. Robinson Cano 2B

5. Russell Martin C

6. Andruw Jones LF

7. Curtis Granderson CF

8. Steve Pearce 1B

9. Eduardo Nunez SS

Go Yankees!!

This Day In Yankees History : 9/16/12

In 1914 the Yankees replaced current manager Frank Chance with 23 year old current Yankees short stop Roger Peckinpaugh. He would manage a total of twenty games for New York and would finish with a 10-10 record.

In 1948 Joe DiMaggio hit his 300th career home run which was an exclusive club back then with only seven other members at that time including Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

Congratulations To The Trenton Thunder

The Yankees AA affiliate the Trenton Thunder saw their season come to end last night at the hand of a good Akron team in the Championship Series. It did not end the way they would have liked it to but it has been an exciting season and a very successful one which included a manager of the year award and a ton of promising prospects coming through the system, including Tyler Austin. Congratulations to them and their fans as we all wait those long four weeks until the Arizona Fall League begins. Thanks Trenton for another great season.

Aardsma Pitches Another Scoreless Inning In Rehab

David Aardsma may have thrown his last inning of work this season as he threw a scoreless inning in Trenton's loss that ended their season last night. He threw 17 pitches, 10 for strikes, and allowed a walk in his scoreless frame. This was the first time that David had gone in back to back days which is generally considered a big step in a rehab. The minor league season is over and Aardsma's 30 day rehab window ends on Wednesday so the Yankees have to call him up or shut him down and I expect the latter but we shall see.

Gardner Seen Running Bases & Bunting Today

Brett Gardner was seen before the Yankees and Rays game practicing bunting and running for the first time since his elbow surgery "ended" his season. Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess as now Joe Girardi is once again hinting at and thinking about using Gardner as a late game pinch runner or specialist. With the 40 man roster we should not have a problem replacing him if he is needed in the field, where surely he cannot throw or needs to come to bat, but that will not be a luxury we have if we make it to the post season. Since Gardner is on the 60 day DL he will need to be activated and the Yankees will need to remove someone from the 40 man to make room for him, Derek Lowe anyone, so we will be watching this development closely.

Rays @ Yankees 9/15/12

Update:

Curtis Granderson hits a two run home run to put the Yankees up 2-0 early. 

Eduardo Nunez makes it back to back and 3-0 Yanks

Derek Jeter gets an rbi single tom make it 4-0 Yanks

ARod rbi single gives the Yanks some breathing room at 5-3 Yanks

#untuck Yankees win 5-3

The Yankees play the dreaded Fox Saturday afternoon game this afternoon, which for some reason they have not done all that well in, against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees will welcome back Ivan Nova off the DL and to the rotation against Rays starter James Shields. The game will be televised at 4:05 pm ET on FOX.

Lineups

1. Ichiro LF
2. Jeter DH
3. Cano 2B
4. A-Rod 3B
5. Ibanez RF
6. Swisher 1B
7. Granderson CF
8. Nunez SS

9. Stewart C 

Go Yankees!!

This Day In Yankees History : 9/15/12

In an EXTREMELY slow day in Yankees history all that I can remember is that day in 2010 when Derek Jeter pretended to get hit by a pitch, something no other MLB player has ever done, knowing that the Chad Qualls pitch hit off the knob of the bat. The umpires awarded Jeter first base and after the game Jeter admitted to faking it to reach base. This sparked a national debate on ethics and the image of Derek Jeter.

David Aardsma Perfect In Latest Rehab

David Aardsma threw a scoreless and perfect inning last night for the Trenton Thunder, easily the best he has looked since his road to recovery began. This inning helped the Thunder win their first game and keep them from elimination against a tough Akron team. David topped out at 90 mph and threw 12 pitches, 8 of which were strikes. 

Ivan Nova Appreciation Post

Because there is ZERO way you can be worse then what Freddy Garcia has been giving us. Welcome back to the big leagues, to the Yankees, and to the starting rotation Ivan. Go out there and bring us first place! I have faith in Nova! This is a fresh start because nobody will remember the last month or two if you go out and dominate the rest of this year and into the playoffs.