yankees228

Going into tonight CC had the highest WAR for any starting pitcher in baseball this year. The case for him winning the AL CY can certainly be made. Anyway, CC and Shields split their two head to head match-ups, which is exactly what you'd expect. The two games they lost this series were certainly disappointing, but they needed to split to maintain their WC lead and they did just that. The offense just isn't producing right now, but the return of A-Rod and Tex's inevitable hot streak should help. I don't love this team, but I have to give them their due. Even with all the crap they've thrown out there on a nightly basis, they've been far and away better than any team in the AL besides Boston.

I understand that most posters here don't see Gardner the way I do. There are probably a few reasons for that (he's a Yankee, he wasn't supposed to be this good, he doesn't hit for power, who cares about defense, defensive stats are unreliable, he's out of position, etc etc). But no matter what metrics you want to use to evaluate Gardner, he always grades out well. He is a tremendous defensive player. He gets on base at a good clip. He runs the bases extremely well. All of these things are irrefutable. So no matter where you stand in this debate, those things can't be ignored, and if they aren't, I'm not sure how he can't be seen as anything but a very good player.

Couple points. I think that explains why Gardner is so good, but it doesn't take away from how much he contributes to the Yankees. He's still saving all those runs defensively ... the why just doesn't seem to matter all that much when it comes down to evaluating his production. And in terms of WAR, he has to deal with the negative positional adjustment that comes from playing a COF position that CFers don't. The second point is that I don't understand why everyone talks about Gardner as if he's all glove and no bat. Sure, he doesn't drive the ball, but that's not the entire story. He's just not an adequate offensive producer ... I'd say he's a good one. His wOBA last year was .358 (the league average was .321). His wOBA this year is .361 (the league average is .314). Considering the rate at which Brett Gardner reaches base, and then what he does once he gets there, I just don't understand why he is seen as such a negative offensively. EDIT: One more thing. Regardless of whether or not other players could do what Gardner does, the idea of penalizing him because of his ability to play other positions just doesn't make all that much sense. In a way that makes him even more valuable, because of his ability to fill in if Granderson gets injured.

Haha yup.

Really good article outlining how good Brett Gardner has been. http://riveraveblues.com/2011/07/the-great-gardner-52804/

Bad loss. Go get'm tomorrow.

Pretty ridiculous strike zone for Colon. Lost two strikes in one AB there.

Bart's velocity in the second inning was horrible.

Yup ... even more so because of the opponent.

AdGon has been great, but Jose Bautista is having a Bondsian season. There really is no AL MVP race this year.

I guess you didn't read my post lol.

I don't understand Red Sox fans rooting for the Rays in this series, just like I didn't understand Yankees fans rooting for the Rays last series. Yes, winning the division is nice, but if you have to choose between your team lengthening their division lead or playoff berth lead, I don't see how the playoff berth isn't the top priority. And yes, I'm sure there are the Red Sox fans who will say 'I'll never root for the Yankees' (and plenty of Yankees fans will say the same thing about the Red Sox) ... but what's more important, something happening to benefit your favorite team or something happening to hurt a team you dislike?

If Mo gets the job done, Pena never makes those errors against the Mets. That doesn't excuse his mistakes, but it's a stretch to place all the blame on him. And what other game?

There's no disagreement here. His velocity is up about 2 MPH from his early season starts. It's 1 MPH below his normal velocity. Improvement has been made over what he did early in the season, but there is still work to be done. All of that is fact, and none of it is disputable.

Well I don't know where you're looking, but here's what I have. Numbers from his three starts prior to his DL stint: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/461833/?batters=A&count=AA&pitches=AA&from=4%2F1%2F2011&to=5%2F31%2F2011 Numbers from his two starts since coming off the DL: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/461833/ A 2.2 MPH uptick in velocity is notable, at least in my opinion. He's not quite where they want him (which is probably 1 MPH more), but he's improving.

It's not quite up to where it was last year, but it's still a significant improvement over his early season velocity. 2010 average FB velocity: 92.5 MPH 2011 early season average FB velocity: 89.2 MPH 7/6/11 vs CLE average FB velocity: 91.5 MPH 7/17/11 vs TOR average FB velocity: 91.2 MPH I'd say it's getting there. I'm also looking forward to seeing if his CB continues to progress. Despite numerous scouting reports from his days in the minors that said his CB was a plus pitch, it just hasn't been that way in the majors. I'm pleased that the Yankees recognized this, and had him change his grip and the way he threw it. The results on his CB were decent yesterday, and hopefully that trend continues.

So much fun to be able to root for Beckett. Absolutely love watching him pitch.