Back for the Armageddon

Vacation at the shore nearly wrecked this blog. But I’m back now after a long delay with apologies. You’re smart, I’m stupid; you’re the best, I’m the worst; you’re very good looking, I’m not attractive. As long as I’m willing to admit that, off with the show.

The last time I wrote here the Abreu/Lidle trade had just come across the wire, so we might as well start with that. It’s exciting to add a player of Abreu’s caliber and he looks good, but I’m not completely sold on him. I remember earlier when the Yankees played in Philadelphia that it seemed like he was swinging a sluggish bat. He has been playing very well offensively since arriving here. But his power has disappeared since the second half last year, which is never a good sign. He’s still a top-flight hitter at the moment, but you have to wonder if he’s in decline. And defensively he’s looked kind of rough so far—very good arm, but not much range. Cory Lidle came along with him, a journeyman pitcher who slides into the back of the rotation. Good job by Cashman to pluck Lidle away—he’ll never be a very good pitcher, but he’s good enough to give you a chance to win as a 4/5 starter.

So boil it down to this: this trade made the Yankees the favorite to win the World Series this year (forget the Tigers; nice story, but they’re toast in the playoffs). Abreu makes this the most dangerous lineup top-to-bottom anywhere. What you like about him is that he’s a multidimensional hitter who works counts better than anyone, which was the approach that was part of the 90s dynasty. And Lidle adds needed depth to the pitching staff. But one must hope that Abreu can maintain a high level of play for at least a few years beyond this. Cashman gave up Matt Smith plus 3 low-level prospects, including the top draft pick from last year (it’s not a good thing when giving up a top pick looks like nothing). You’ll wonder what might become of these guys in the future, but this is a trade Cashman had to make. Abreu is no Raul Mondesi, but we’ll see how he looks for the next couple years.

One other trade—adding Craig Wilson for Shawn Chacon. Wilson is a guy who was one of the better offensive players on the Pirates but is a bottom-of-the-order guy here. Good trade, but it’s sad to see Chacon go. Everyone loved what he and Aaron Small did for this team last year, and it was gut-wrenching to watch the two of them self-destruct in 2006. Happy trails.

Overall, Cashman came away from the deadline looking like a steely-eyed missile man. I question where Abreu is going, but the team right now should be primed for a run deep into the postseason.

Despite the job Cashman has done putting the team together, things have been choppy for the past couple of weeks. Coming off the deadline, the Yankees dismissed the Blue Jays from the pennant race with extreme prejudice. But they’ve been under .500 since then. The offense just hasn’t quite been consistent, as 4 of the 7 losses following the Toronto sweep have come at the hands of rookie opposing pitchers. But the starting pitching is still fine—Johnson is what he is, Mussina’s fine, Wang is very good, and Lidle and Wright (never mind the meltdown yesterday) are OK in the back. And the bullpen has been generally good, with the exception of the series at Chicago.
So here we are on the cusp of the armageddon series in Boston, with a 1.5 game lead going in. The matchups:

Friday Game 1: Wang v. Jason Johnson
Wang is coming into his own and Johnson is awful.
Friday Game 2: Ponson v. Jon Lester
Huge opportunity for Ponson, but don’t expect much. Lester is a highly-touted rookie and we’ll get our first up-close look at him. Saw him once and wasn’t overly impressed but a closer look will help.
Saturday: Johnson v. Josh Beckett
This game will be a good barometer for Randy Johnson. Beckett has been a colossal disappointment in Boston, leading the planet in home runs allowed. The low point of his season came in early June against the Yankees.
Sunday: Mussina v. Curt Schilling
Somewhere, an ESPN exec does a backflip.
Monday: Lidle v. David Wells
A big game for Lidle. Boomer is a couple weeks back from an injury and has a long history of success against the Yankees.

This looks like the kind of series where neither team is likely to do any significant damage in the standings. And if either does it should be the Yankees—these Sawx are just too pitching-thin. Sit back, relax and strap it down, because the Yankees are entering by far the most brutal stretch of their schedule, heading from Fenway to Seattle and then Anaheim without a day off. If they’re anywhere close to the division lead on August 28, they’ll take it home. 17 of 29 games in September are against the Royals, Devil Rays or Orioles. Here’s saying the Yankees will not see second place again this season.

Catch-up/Abreu

With no time to write since Tuesday, I’ve left myself with quite a lot to cover from the past 3 games. Here goes.

Wednesday
Strange things have happened this year when the Yankees and Rangers get together; remember when the bullpen blew a 9-run Yankee comeback only to be picked up by Jorge Posada’s 2-run walkoff bomb? Wednesday night saw another ridiculous game. Jaret Wright scuffled through the first half, with the Yankees scoring early on Andy Phillips’s 2-out, 2-run single. The bats fell quiet until the 8th inning, when Alex Rodriguez launched an impressive shot to the grassy hill over the centerfield fence. After a Bernie Williams walk and a Phillips single, Melky Cabrera came to the plate with a sign to bunt. And he provided further evidence for something that we’ve noticed in the past: nobody in the Yankee system teaches prospects to bunt. Robinson Cano isn’t very good at bunting, but he’s not as much of a disaster as Melky; it’s clear that the latter has never had anybody say one word to him about bunt technique. You’re supposed to start with the bat high, around your eyes and over the plate, and try to “catch” the ball with the barrel—if you start high and have to move down, the ball will go down to the ground as desired. Melky squares with the bat at his belt and off the plate, and stabs at the pitch; the result is inevitably a foul ball. So after his first awful attempt, Joe took the bunt off. Yet Melky squared and fouled another bunt off. So Larry Bowa had a few choice words for him, and Joe said later that he turned to Lee Mazzilli after the second strike and said that if Melky squared again, he’d vomit. And with 2 strikes, sure enough, Melky ran his hand up to bunt. Joe didn’t lose his lunch, and luckily the pitch was a ball. Finally realizing that he wasn’t supposed to bunt anymore, Melky jumped on the next pitch and deposited it near the wall in left field, scoring Bernie and Andy to take the lead. Sal Fasano then put on a display of proper bunting technique to advance Melky, who scored on a wild pitch. One thing about Melky: he always seems to be right in the middle of these rallies.

With Kyle Farnsworth’s back locking up, TJ Beam was brought in to hold a 2-run lead. Beam continued to struggle, allowing a walk and a ground-rule double. And when Scott Proctor came in for the third consecutive night, there was no question that trouble was on the way, and it came in the form of 4 straight singles resulting in a 1-run deficit and a bases-loaded, none-out mess. Enter Shawn Chacon. He was bad as a starter and hadn’t been much better out of the pen. But he pulled the Houdini impersonation of the year on this night, striking out Mark DeRosa and then snaring a hard line drive by Brad Wilkerson, dancing like a quarterback and then finding Andy Phillips open at first base for the double play.

Captain Clutch came to the plate down a run in the ninth and promptly lined a single up the middle, bringing up the slumping Jason Giambi. It was the kind of situation where you could feel that Giambi would either take Akinori Otsuka deep or hit into a double play; nothing in between seemed possible. And to cap off the second absurd game these two teams have played this year, Giambi went with the first option and allowed Mariano Rivera to save a much-deserved win for Chacon.

So the Yankees escaped with a sweep of the Rangers, avoiding their typical fate of dropping the final game of a series. The Rangers have some very good hitters; Gary Matthews Jr. is coming into his own, Michael Young is probably the best hitter that nobody knows about, and Mark Teixeira appears to be regaining his power stroke after a disappointing first half. They also just brought in another masher in Carlos Lee. But it’s the same story with them as most other teams in the league: they just haven’t been able to produce much in the way of capable Major-League pitching. They brought in last season’s AL ERA leader, Kevin Millwood, and he has struggled. Maybe it’s the homer-happy ballpark, but it seems Arlington has replaced Denver as the park where good pitching careers go to die.

Friday
With so much to say about Wednesday night, luckily there’s not a lot to talk about with the first two against the Devil Rays. Chien-Ming Wang put together the most dominant performance this team has seen this year, not allowing a baserunner until the 5th inning and finishing with a complete-game shutout with 2 walks and 2 rather uninspiring singles against him. With this performance, Wang has now put himself in the upper echelon of pitchers in the American League, with a 12-4 record and 3.77 ERA.

Saturday
In Randy Johnson’s storied, Hall-of-Fame career, what team do you suppose he sports the worst track record against?

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. And that was true even before this game. They own him.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Rumors
I had just begun writing a sentence about how things were heating up for Bobby Abreu when the news came across that the deal is done. It’s Abreu and Cory Lidle for CJ Henry (a shortstop who was the Yankees’ top pick in 2005) and Matt Smith, plus a player to be named later. This looks like one hell of a deal, not giving up a whole lot for a guy who is quite a player (despite having a down year in the power department). And Cory Lidle, who isn’t much of a pitcher but is capable enough to be a solid 5th starter. The only reservation is this: once Matsui comes back, what happens to Melky? I suppose you could DH Matsui and play Giambi at 1st, but he’s a liability there. Melky has a batting eye which you just don’t see from a 21-year-old Latin player. I’d very much like to see him get the chance to develop. But the trade itself looks like an absolute steal.

Keep in mind I wrote that in the exciting moments after the deal breaks. More to come after the dust settles.

"Going, Going, Guiel"

Yes, I stole the title from the Post.

What looked like a fairly impressive win for the Yankees was actually just as much a gift from the Rangers, as the Yankees managed only 4 hits and took advantage of 6 walks, 2 hit batters and a critical error late in the game. Mike Mussina didn't quite have his A+ command but battled through 6 innings and held the Rangers to 3 runs for his 12th win. The offense continued to get major contributions from role players; in fact, they were the only real contributors last night. Aaron Guiel is having a bit of a power surge with homers in consecutive games including last night's 3-run gamebreaker. Miguel Cairo is just a machine--put him up with runners in scoring position and 2 out and you can take it to the bank that they'll score. Andy Phillips showed good discipline, something he normally lacks, to draw a walk with the bases loaded (although the plate umpire was out to lunch during that inning, as Adam Eaton got squeezed on several pitches and was given a bit too much latitude on others). Ron Villone didn't retire a batter, but Scott Proctor came on and pitched 2 perfect innings backed up by Mariano. Though his line was all zeros, the outs were a little louder against Proctor as Joe is already starting to overuse him again. Pitching for the second straight night, he didn't completely dominate hitters the way he has since the break. That's all for that game, a win that wasn't as impressive as it seemed, but one that you'll gladly take as the lineup now looks worse than ever with Johnny Damon missing time.

The trade rumors are out there without much real action yet. The Yankees did acquire Sal Fasano from the Phillies to replace Kelly Stinnett; Fasano is a journeyman with absurd facial hair, but pretty much anything would be better than Stinnett. It's still at the point where none of the names that have been kicked around are likely to actually end up here--just fodder for the mill. I'm trying to find out more about this George King from the Post, because he covers the Yankees and writes things that make you wonder if he knows who any of the players on the roster are. Check this out from today: "The Post has learned the Yankees and Braves have held discussions about the Yankees acquiring switch-hitting infielder Wilson Betemit and may be willing to give up reliever Scott Proctor." Instead of taking issue with the syntax gap in that sentence, I'll ask why the Yankees would make that trade. "The Yankees view Betemit as the ultimate utility man who can play second base in Robinson Cano's absence. Cano, who has missed a month due to a hamstring problem, is at least two weeks away and could be out longer." Oh, so Cashman is going to trade away a key pitcher from an already-weak bullpen to acquire a player who would help for less than 1 month? Cool. But it gets better: "Getting Betemit would allow the Yankees to entertain trade offers for Cano during the offseason, when they will be in the market for pitching." Why did you write that, George King? Are you ignoring the fact that Cano has been the Yankees' best trading chip this side of Phil Hughes since last season and that Cashman took him off the table at last year's deadline? Please, think before you write, or at least ask someone.

Sizzle

Just what this team needed tonight: a crisp, clean, refreshing victory to open a new road series. Randy Johnson wasn’t exactly dominant, but provided 6 innings of quality work with 7 K’s for the win. The offense had a pretty decent showing, highlighted by another big hit from Miguel Cairo with 2 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, and back to back triples by Melky and Jeter. Those two are really swinging the bat well right now.

A-Rod got back on track at the plate with a couple solid hits. The trade rumors have started swirling about him, which is just plain old yellow journalism. If his situation were to continue to get worse until by the end of the season it became unmanageable, then fine. Certainly that’s been a possibility, but it’s a long way off and we probably won’t get there. And please, Phil Rogers, if you want to suggest that A-Rod could be traded before the deadline (which is not even within the broadest realm of possibility; you are either dishonest or foolish), at least do better that Aramis Ramirez and Jacque Jones.

Don’t look now, but the Yankee bullpen has been close to spectacular since the break if you discount Sunday’s fireworks in long relief. Farnsworth has actually looked like a pitcher, especially in his past couple games. Yes, Mariano gave up the Vernon Wells bomb, but that’s been it. Villone and Myers are fine. And then there’s Scott Proctor, who is rested and simply untouchable. Since the break: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 12 K. TJ Beam also got called up again today.

So enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with the front end of the rotation—Moose tomorrow, then Wright and Wang and no worries about the 5th spot with an off day Thursday.

Goodnight Canada

Maybe things aren’t quite as swell with the Yankees’ starting pitching as it seemed a week ago. Nobody knew what to expect from Sidney Ponson today and he was bad, but now Jaret Wright is scuffling again. The top 3 of this rotation still rivals anyone, as Chien-Ming Wang pitched well enough to win again Saturday, but if Ponson doesn’t make a statement in his next start it may be time to give Shawn Chacon another shot or look elsewhere. The good news on the pitching front is that Red Sox rookie Jon Lester, who hadn’t allowed more than 3 runs in a start, got roughed up today (5 earned over 5 innings).

The offense is struggling too, averaging 4 runs per game in the past 2 series. The focal point of the team’s problems is A-Rod, as usual. Joe better find him a lifeline, because he’s drowning. It’s pretty clear that his struggles in the field have affected his offensive performance which includes no hits in his past 10 at bats and a miserable 4 strikeout performance Saturday. Buster Olney wrote an excellent article in his ESPN.com blog today, comparing A-Rod’s struggles to the Chuck Knoblauch saga from a few years ago. Olney says he sees that A-Rod’s confidence is completely gone and that he is playing to avoid mistakes rather than trusting his ability. But he also points out that Knoblauch was a difficult personality, and that A-Rod is different in his willingness to acknowledge the problem and work through it. But no matter how hard he works, he is “spooked” and this kind of problem is mysterious and difficult to solve, and somebody better do something to get him back on track before he is completely wrecked. It’s coming to the point where my disdain for him is dissolving into pity and desperate hopes for success.

These Blue Jays are quite a team. Everybody’s been waiting for a few years now for them to finally contend in this division again. I’m not so sure about their pitching behind Halladay and Burnett, but if Burnett is healthy the Jays have as good a 1-2 punch as any team not called the Twins. You don’t even realize it but with the emergence of Vernon Wells as one of the most dangerous hitters in the league, this team has a deep, quality lineup. And that’s even without their breakout hitter, Alex Rios. Troy Glaus was a heck of a pickup, despite his low batting average. I suspect the lack of depth in their rotation will keep them from truly making the East a 3-team division this year, but they’re close.

It’s time to get the hell out of Toronto and try to get things straightened out on the next turn through the rotation against the Rangers and Devil Rays. The Sawx head to Oakland and draw Barry Zito and Danny Haren, meaning there could be a good opportunity to get back to the top of the division by the end of this week.

Canada

Where did that winning streak go? The offense disappeared earlier this week and now the pitching isn’t there either. And with the Red Sox hot again (don’t get too worked up—they just hosted the Royals) that coziness of a ½ game deficit has disappeared. Jaret Wright didn’t have it tonight, and the Blue Jays have been putting on a pretty impressive offensive show. The kind of display that puts you to sleep for 4 or 5 innings if you’re a fan of the opposing team who is tired after work on a Friday. Equally impressive was AJ Burnett, throwing in the high-90s with a guillotine curve. If he somehow manages to stay healthy, that rotation will be scary and this will be a 3-team division by next year, or maybe even the end of this year.

A-Rod accounted for the only offense tonight with a 3-run laser, career home run 450. He also had another throwing error. Nobody in this lineup is doing much of anything right now, but the cure is about to be administered: Ted Lilly, whom the Yankees own, and Shaun Marcum, who has a grand total of 1 career start (although this team has been known to struggle with young starters they haven’t seen before).

The bullpen had some work to do tonight. Shawn Chacon was given a shot to get things together; he wasn’t bad but didn’t exactly run with it. Ron Villone was great and Kris Wilson allowed a bomb to Troy Glaus. I looked at some rumor stuff today and something I read rang my bell: how about looking inward for bullpen help? Finding relief pitching can often be a crapshoot, and there are enough young arms in Columbus to try to find the bullpen version of Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera. Wilson had two outstanding relief appearances before tonight. Matt Smith looked promising while he was here, if he can cut down on the walks. I liked TJ Beam’s stuff. Jesus Colome is lighting people up in Columbus (Colome and Wilson aren’t original Yankee products, but no matter). Joe needs more arms out there, especially considering that it’s clear that Scott Proctor can be a lights-out reliever if (and only if) he is not overworked. I still have a soft spot for Chacon, but things should probably get sorted out soon between him and Sidney Ponson so that there aren’t any pitchers out there who aren’t really filling a role. Ponson starts Sunday in a game the Yankees will need, perhaps desperately. Chacon probably isn’t a good long man, and Villone can hold that spot down, so keeping both Chacon and Ponson won’t be helpful. Point is, Joe needs as much help as he can get out there, and you’re just as likely to find it on the farm as you would be in a trade. Nobody has any middle relief to trade.

I suspect things will once again turn around here as the Yankees catch the soft underbelly of the Jays rotation and the Sawx head out to the West Coast for 6 games, including the A’s, who recently took their lunch money at Fenway.

E-Rod

Alex Rodriguez is in the middle of the toughest year of his career. He’s been drowning in pressure situations and getting booed out of the Stadium. He continues to be a completely different player in the clutch after it looked like he had things turned around before the break with a couple big hits. And now with things not going right at the plate, he looks like he’s developing a case of the yips in the field, with 4 throwing errors in as many games. A guy with one of the best arms in the world is flipping the ball sidearm instead of throwing it hard over the top like normal, and the results are ugly. Tonight’s boner was particularly costly—a rather easy play where he should have cut down the first run of the game turned into a nobody out, runner on 2nd situation with a run in. The floodgates opened from there, with 4 runs scoring in the inning. Some speculate that it is a physical problem causing the poor mechanics, but he’s still making some good throws too. There was a play in the 1st inning where he made a nice pickup and spiked the ball, throwing it on 3 hops to 1st, but there were several others that looked close to normal. Fragile as his psyche is, it seems like his mental block at the plate is spreading to his play in the field. This problem has just developed and it’s too early to tell what is going on, but this kind of issue has ruined careers (see: Chuck Knoblauch). I’m probably overreacting to all this, but with a headcase like A-Rod you never know. And what some of the radio guys have been saying is right: it’s become a kind of trendy thing to boo him. You can see it when you’re in the stands—the people who boo are the casual fans who don’t really know the game and don’t truly care about the team. Those who are devoted may be disgusted by his play but recognize that booing is only going to make his mental block worse.

That’s two frustrating losses in a row brought on by inconsistent offense, although 4 runs against Roy Halladay and BJ Ryan is not horrible. But the lineup has been scuffling lately. A-Rod needs to get it together; Cano will help and hopefully you can get a little something out of Matsui. The Abreu thing looks dead and there isn’t much available for a team that chooses to keep its top prospects. Reggie Sanders and others of similar caliber are possible, but at this point it says here it’s probably best to just play the hand you’ve been dealt.

I think SportsCenter said this was the third walk-off homer allowed in Mariano Rivera’s career. Posada and Rivera were saying he didn’t miss, but it looked like a poorly located pitch to Vernon Wells. More importantly, it tells you all you need to know about Joe’s level of trust in Kyle Farnsworth to leave him in the pen and bring in the closer for 2 innings in a tie game on the road. That’s a vote of no confidence. Also worth noting was Scott Proctor’s dominant performance, once again lighting people up with his fastball. He ran out of gas after being completely overworked in the first half, but with rest he can still be effective it seems—he’s allowed only 1 hit, no walks and no runs while striking out 8 in 5 innings since the break.

Melky!

After winning a game started by Sidney Ponson in dramatic fashion, you thought the Yankees were in the midst of a long winning streak. But what has been more typical this season than the Yankees putting themselves in position to sweep a series and then dropping the final game in disheartening fashion? And this game was disheartening as it came down to the offense not showing up and Ichiro Suzuki taking advantage of an inept backup catcher—reaching on a little dribbler in front of the plate and drawing a bad throw into centerfield to set up a sacrifice fly in the 8th. Ichiro racks up hits and is dangerous on the bases. He’s a productive player, I understand this. But he just really bugs me; I can’t stand the way he does it. Hit the ball out of the infield, please. Randy Johnson apparently shared those sentiments, staring Ichiro down when he reached base.

If yesterday was a tough game to lose, Tuesday was a heck of a game to win. Ponson was not great but he wasn’t horrible either, which is far better than anyone could have ever expected. Richie Sexson hit the ball to the moon in the 1st inning after 2 walks and things didn’t look good, but Ponson got it together and was outstanding after the homer. Everybody is eagerly anticipating his next start. The comeback in the 9th was a sight to see through the driving rain. I haven’t seen the Posada replay (I was in the bleachers), but word has it the call was clearly wrong, although the Met fan WFAN guys have sounded idiotic talking about it: “You know actually I thought he was safe when I watched it live…but it was clearly a blown call…when you watch 8 different replays and slow each one down frame by frame, you can see it is CLEAR that it was a bad, bad call.” What does that even mean? Tough spot for the umpires having to pull them off with 2 out and a 3-1 count, and even tougher for the players coming back after a 2-hour delay. Just imagine what was going on with A-Rod’s mind for all that time, knowing he was waiting with a chance to win the game. He struck out, of course, and after doing some heroic things before the break he’s reverted to his helpless self in big spots, looking as bad as ever in every important at-bat. But after not getting anything out of the middle of the lineup in the 10th, the Yankees looked to Melky Cabrera to start something in the 11th. Instead, Melky took a nice easy swing at the ball, and launched a game-winning rocket into the box seats in right field. This was the most special moment I’ve been in the Stadium for since the Jeter catch against the Sawx in 2004. Melky is doing all this for the first time, and he had the same awe-struck look as when he hit his first homer or his first grand slam. Despite the fact that he looks to be in disbelief when he does these things, he has shown a knack for producing in the clutch. And this is true of all the young, homegrown guys the Yankees are bringing up—Melky, Robinson Cano, and Andy Phillips (who started the rally in the 9th with a double) haven’t been fazed by pressure situations. Phillips is on the upswing right now, with a bunch of extra-base hits since the break.

I mentioned the Posada call; a blown judgment call isn’t as bad as what was done with Andy Phillips after he advanced to 3rd base while the catcher turned his back to argue a call in the 7th. The 3rd base umpire appeared to be saying that he called timeout before Phillips reached 3rd, but even if he did he was wrong. You can’t call timeout in that situation, with the ball in play and a runner advancing—it’s just against the rules. And a runner on 2nd instead of 3rd makes a big difference with less than 2 out. With the outcome of 2 games called into question, that’s a bad job by an umpiring crew.
The Yankee pitching rotation continues to look as strong as it has this season, with Sidney Ponson earning another start. The bullpen also did not allow a run in this series (the Seattle bullpen was impressive as well; they’ve some great arms out there in Sherrill, Lowe and Soriano). The offense did scuffle, and Joe hasn’t been able to run a good lineup out there at all recently. With Cano and Jorge Posada out you end up with a bottom 3 that resembles a National League lineup. Those two guys have been missed but Posada is back tonight and hopefully Cano will be soon, and we’ve heard nothing but great reports about Hideki Matsui’s progress. The way things are looking, Cashman really doesn’t need to do much except in the bullpen, as now Octavio Dotel had another setback today.

I managed to get to 4 of these 6 games—Friday night and the entire Seattle series. We were in the bleachers for 2 of them, and that is highly recommended. They guys out there are the most devoted fans in the Stadium, and they’re all hilarious. Not to mention getting to participate in the roll call for the first time was really cool. The bleachers used to be a place you wouldn’t want to take the kids but they’re alcohol free now so it’s all good, clean fun.

We’re just about to get underway here with what is one of the best pitching matchups you’ll see this season, Mike Mussina against Roy Halladay. Enjoy.