New York Yankees Gameday Thread

[jacksonianmarch]

y228, I expected an up and down yr from Hughes, a streaky yr from Burnett, a dominant yr from CC, a solid yr from Pettitte and a 200IP 4.5ERA season from Vazquez. They started off like gangbusters, but the rotation has pretty much settled out like I expected. Hughes is gonna be good for either a shutdown start or a poor one from here on out. Burnett just needs to get hot, then he'll run with it.

 

To be honest with you, I dont think we need a starter at all. In the playoffs, you need 4 starters. I am cool with CC, AJ and Pettitte. The other one being either Hughes or Vazquez is okay with me too. I think we need a dominant reliever. Robertson is filling into the 7th inning role really well, but our 8th inning is a mess. And since Girardi pretty much outright refuses to remove Joba from that role, we are gonna need to force his hand. I've heard Lidstrom, Nunez, Soria, etc. We need SOMEONE so we can lessen Joba's role and hopefully have him recapture some of his magic

[jacksonianmarch]

Yankees win 10-4. CC takes over the league lead in wins

[Yaz Sideburn]

It isn't just beginning. It has already happened.

 

you're probably right, the yankees rotation has been coming back down to earth before hughes' bad start. sabathia's pitched like sabathia and vazquez has been on a good run but burnett has an era over 8 the last two months, pettitte is out for a while and hughes had an era over 5 in june and one over 6 this month

[Yaz Sideburn]

A-Rod and Teixeira. While the pitching struggles' date=' those two need to carry this team.[/quote']

 

it's up to them. cano's cooled off to his normal production and so far in july gardner's got a .640 ops, jeter's got a .583 ops and granderson's got a .558 ops

[jacksonianmarch]

Good to see Burnett straighten himself out a bit and a good game from our offense all around. 6 more outs until we close out another victory

[jacksonianmarch]

Yanks win 7-1. Mitre vs Davies tomorrow, so we'll probably see a pen game. Them losing Callaspo and Dejesus has helped significantly as well. And we finish with Hughes vs O'Sullivan. I have a feeling we crush the kid his second time around. I'm liking our chances of a sweep here

[jacksonianmarch]

Only 4 runs off Davies kinda blows. Oh well, Tex is hot again. Mitre looked terrible and is likely to get one more start before the deadline. The good news is that Pettitte is feeling no ill effects from his groin strain and says that he should be back in 2 weeks. We'll see if that's just optimism or reality

[yankees228]

I'm concerned about what Hughes is going to give the Yankees this afternoon, for reasons I've already mentioned in this thread, but we'll see.

[jacksonianmarch]

Hughes is equally likely to suck as he is to dominate. He sucked last time out, my guess is that he dominates

[yankees228]

A decent inning for Phil, but he we continue to see poor fastball command from him.

 

EDIT: He can't miss any bats.

 

EDIT 2: But a nice DP.

[yankees228]

But even on the double play we see Phil get lucky. It was a decent fastball, but the location was awful (middle - up).

[jacksonianmarch]

I was impressed with his ability to hold Podsednik on the base through the entire inning

[yankees228]

I was impressed with his ability to hold Podsednik on the base through the entire inning

 

I agree with this, although that's just about being smart and well coached.

[jacksonianmarch]

BTW, our hitters need to adjust to this f***ing guy. After strike 1, he goes non-stop changeups. Sit on one and rip it

[yankees228]

So stupid. It's the number nine hitter. Why throw so many curves?

[yankees228]

Wow, Phil Hughes sucks right now. He just has no idea where his fastball is going, and he hasn't all year. He was getting away with it earlier, but now teams have adjusted, and he's getting hammered.

 

I really hope the Yankees don't think that another starting pitcher is a luxury. Between Hughes ineffectiveness, Pettitte's injury, Burnett's inconsistency, and Vazquez being due for a second half regression, the Yankees' starting rotation has a lot of issues.

 

Based on the lead they have over Boston, I'd be surprised if they missed the playoffs. With that being said, the division is far from a lock. They were extremely lucky to win the World Series last year (considering their starting pitchers), and they would have to get just as lucky this year. It's unlikely

[jacksonianmarch]

Wow y228. Hughes hasnt been lights out but I dont think he's been as bleak as you are picturing. Put the white flag away

[jacksonianmarch]

3.1IP 3ER, but should be two. That fastball was a cockshot. He'll be a pen arm come the playoffs, IMO. I think he might be tiring a bit

[yankees228]

Wow y228. Hughes hasnt been lights out but I dont think he's been as bleak as you are picturing. Put the white flag away

 

I've stated nothing but facts. He was really good for the first couple months, but he's been nothing short of bad since. His fastball command has never been great, as even when he's pitching well, he tends to miss his spots. He really only has two pitches, as his cutter has very hittable all year, and he has no changeup. He also isn't getting nearly as many swings and misses as he was early in the year. Those are the facts. Based on those facts, I've drawn my own conclusion about what we can expect from Phil the rest of the year. I'm not optimistic, and I think I have reason to feel this way.

[jacksonianmarch]

It's fine to feel that way, but panicking about our rotation at our first signs of trouble isnt the right way to go about it. I agree that Hughes has been pretty crappy of late, but he's also entering untested territory in terms of IP and is probably ready to return to the pen to limit his innings. The other guys just happen to be the bed we made. CC, Javy, AJ, and Pettitte have been very solid as a group and are likely to be our 4 come the playoffs.

[yankees228]

It's fine to feel that way' date=' but panicking about our rotation at our first signs of trouble isnt the right way to go about it. I agree that Hughes has been pretty crappy of late, but he's also entering untested territory in terms of IP and is probably ready to return to the pen to limit his innings. The other guys just happen to be the bed we made. CC, Javy, AJ, and Pettitte have been very solid as a group and are likely to be our 4 come the playoffs.[/quote']

 

Right, and I'm concerned about their ability to win a championship, and I think that concern is warranted. My point is that I think they need to pull the trigger on Haren. I don't think that's unreasonable.

[jacksonianmarch]

No, it's not. But we won a WS with only 3 starters and this yr, Pettitte has been much better than last and Javy has been serviceable. Waiting for the other shoe to drop on Javy probably is a bit of paranoia rather than entrenchment in reality. Getting Haren would be magnificent and would cement our 1-2 spots and really leave us picking through AJ or Pettitte for games 3 or 4. But I do think we can win it all with our horse shouldering the load and the rest of the rotation following in suit

[yankees228]

No' date=' it's not. But we won a WS with only 3 starters and this yr, Pettitte has been much better than last and Javy has been serviceable. Waiting for the other shoe to drop on Javy probably is a bit of paranoia rather than entrenchment in reality. Getting Haren would be magnificent and would cement our 1-2 spots and really leave us picking through AJ or Pettitte for games 3 or 4. But I do think we can win it all with our horse shouldering the load and the rest of the rotation following in suit[/quote']

 

I think we have to acknowledge that last year was lucky. Going through the whole playoffs with only three starters, only one of which having an ERA under four.

 

Pettitte is injured right now, and has to be a question mark moving forward. Javy is benefitting from a .258 BABIP, and might be due for a regression. We have absolutely no idea which AJ will show up come playoff time. I really believe Haren is a necessity.

[jacksonianmarch]

Pettitte is running right now without pain. He'll be back soon, and it is a leg injury rather than a mysterious shoulder or elbow injury, so my bet is he comes back fine. I think Javy continues to eat innings and will sit in the 4.50ERA range. You hit the nail on the head with AJ, although he's been pretty good of late. If he stays on the right path, then we're fine. If he's totally lost, then we're in trouble

[Yaz Sideburn]

y228 is right, hughes does suck right now. he's had an era over 5 in each of the last two months and this is the worst he's pitched all year

[yankees228]

Ugh, Joba time.

 

EDIT: Holy s*** this guy is terrible. A four run lead, and he walks the leadoff hitter, who happens to be the number nine guy. It pisses me off even more knowing this is the guy that is keeping them from acquiring Dan Haren.

[Yaz Sideburn]

i love joba. there is no way the yankees are a world series caliber team unless they make serious changes to that bullpen

[yankees228]

i love joba. there is no way the yankees are a world series caliber team unless they make serious changes to that bullpen

 

If they deal for Dan Haren, if Dave Robertson continues to pitch well, and if Damaso Marte is healthy, I think they are.

[yankees228]

And now the Royals are showing up.

[yankees228]

And now A-Rod is hurt. The Yankees winning is turning out to be a slim silver lining on the day.