Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Yankees (12-8) @ The World Series Champion Red Sox (9-12), Wednesday, April 23, 2014, 7:10pm
NYY:Michael Pineda (#35, 25, RHP, 2-1, 1.00) vs. BOS:John Lackey (#41, 35, RHP, 2-2, 5.25)
Lineups
Yankees
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
2. Derek Jeter (R) SS
3. Carlos Beltran (S) DH
4. Brian McCann (L) C
5. Alfonso Soriano (R) LF
6. Mark Teixeira (S) 1B
7. Brett Gardner (L) RF
8. Brian Roberts (S) 2B
9. Kelly Johnson (L) 3B
The World Series Champion Boston Red Sox
1. Grady Sizemore (L) RF
2. Dustin Pedroia (R) 2B
3. David Ortiz (L) DH
4. Mike Napoli (R) 1B
5. Mike Carp (L) LF
6. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
7. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
8. Brock Holt (L) 3B
9. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF
TPBG is such a versatile, team-oriented player. He’ll play wherever he’s asked, and won’t complain when he is benched. With the bigger RF in the disgraceful bandbox tonight’s game is being played in and with Carlos Beltran now the permanent DH after tumbling over a wall, this is probably the better defensive alignment here. I don’t think it would be a better defensive alignment in a park with a non-farcical LF, but that does not matter tonight, does it?
It’s all moot anyway.
John Lackey is a two-time World Series champion. You can count the number of World Series that Michael Pineda has won on no hands.
Lackey has pitched at least 172 innings in a season eight times in his illustrious career. The next time Pineda does that it will be the first time.
Lackey has won 140 games in his fantastic MLB career. Pineda has won 11.
Lackey is being paid nearly $16,000,000 this season. Pineda will earn $538,480.
I could go on, but there’s no need. Lackey >>>> Pineda and it is not even remotely close. The question is not whether or not the World Series champion Red Sox will win tonight. The only question is the magnitude of their victory.
Player A vs. Player B
| Player | Pos | Age | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | TB | BR | zCH | zPM | zRS | Salary |
| A | 2B | 31 | 86 | .269 | .326 | .346 | .672 | 96 | 27 | 8.17 | 37 | 27 | -2 | $24,000,000 |
| B | CF | 30 | 81 | .342 | .395 | .479 | .874 | 143 | 35 | 13.64 | 52 | 45 | -1 | $21,142,857 |
BR: Linear weights batting runs
zCH: Zone Rating fieldable chances
zPM: Zone Rating plays made
zRS: Zone Rating runs saved compared to average
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Yankees.com: Tanaka yields just two solo homers, notches seven strikeouts to get win
Derek Jeter also had two hits and two RBIs as the Yankees put a pounding on Red Sox starter Jon Lester, who surrendered 11 hits—the most he has allowed to New York—over 4 2/3 innings and was charged with eight runs (three earned), with shoddy defense contributing to the damage.
David Ortiz and Mike Napoli hit back-to-back home runs in a loud fourth inning against Tanaka, who was otherwise sharp. Ellsbury made a nice sliding catch to take a first-inning hit away from Grady Sizemore, but Tanaka didn’t need much more help; he allowed seven hits and rung up another seven strikeouts, running his season total to 35 through four starts.
Tanaka passed his biggest test so far. I’m most impressed with the way he seems to limit the damage when it looks like the roof is about to cave in. We’ll have to see how he does when he starts facing teams a second and third time but so far he’s exceeded my expectations, and I expected him to be pretty good.
Yankees (11-8) @ The World Series Champion Boston Red Sox (9-11), Tuesday, April 22, 2014, 7:10pm
NYY:Masahiro Tanaka (#19, 25, RHP, 2-0, 2.05) vs. BOS:Jon Lester (#31, 30, LHP, 2-2, 2.17)
Lineups
Yankees
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
2. Derek Jeter (R) SS
3. Carlos Beltran (S) DH
4. Alfonso Soriano (R) LF
5. Mark Teixeira (S) 1B
6. Brian McCann (L) C
7. Yangervis Solarte (S) 3B
8. Ichiro Suzuki (L) RF
9. Brian Roberts (S) 2B
The World Series Champion Boston Red Sox
1. Grady Sizemore (L) RF
2. Dustin Pedroia (R) 2B
3. David Ortiz (L) DH
4. Mike Napoli (R) 1B
5. Jonny Gomes (R) LF
6. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
7. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
8. Brock Holt (L) 3B
9. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF
Whither TPBG?
There will be a lot of talk about a former Red Sox player coming back to Fenway for the first time after leaving as a free agent, but I don’t even know if Matt Thornton will pitch tonight so I don’t get the big deal.
Masahiro Tanaka has exceeded just about all reasonable expectations so far, but he’s been coddled and only pitched against bad teams. Tonight, he gets the defending World Series champions, who are clearly the best team in baseball.
Good luck with all that.
Pitcher A vs. Pitcher B
| Reliever | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | BF | aLI |
| A | 9.2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 1.36 |
| B | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0.10 |
aLI: average Leverage Index of pitcher’s appearances. 1 is average, >1 is more important, <1 is less important
Newsday: Masahiro Tanaka looking forward to Fenway debut
BOSTON - Nothing has fazed Masahiro Tanaka to this point in his rookie season in the majors, and Joe Girardi doesn’t see that changing Tuesday night when the righthander faces the Red Sox for the first time.
“Everything so far, he’s handled pretty well,” Girardi said. “There hasn’t been anything that’s said he’s going to be any more anxious for this start than any other start. I expect him to have the same personality.”Tanaka enters the game 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 22 innings in three starts. He has issued only two walks.
Lefthander Jon Lester (2-2, 2.17) will start for the Red Sox.
This should be interesting. And by interesting I mean a disaster.
Monday, April 21, 2014
NYDN: Ivan Nova has partial tear of elbow ligament, Yankees pitcher’s season appears to be over
ST. PETERSBURG — Add the Yankees to the list of teams affected by this season’s elbow injury epidemic.
An MRI taken late Saturday night revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in Ivan Nova’s right elbow, likely ending the righthander’s season.
Nova was placed on the disabled list Sunday and will be further examined Monday by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad, but the news means he will likely become the 15th pitcher this season to undergo Tommy John surgery.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s a guy that obviously we were counting on pretty heavily this year.”
This obviously hurts for this season, and it’s doubtful Nova would provide much next season either. This probably isn’t a career-ending situation, but it will take Nova to the end of his time under team control with the Yankees still having very little idea of how good he is. I’m really bummed by this, but starting pitching is probably the deepest area on this team and the area where they can most likely weather a loss like this.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Yankees.com: Four-run 12th inning gives Yanks split with Rays
ST. PETERSBURG—Dean Anna’s cell phone has already been buzzing regularly with greetings from the friends and family members who tuned in to witness his mop-up inning of relief pitching on Saturday. After Sunday, Anna might want to consider upgrading his messaging plan.
The rookie infielder turned in a veteran at-bat, checking his swing to work a bases-loaded, full-count walk that forced home the go-ahead run in the 12th inning, propelling the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
“I was having fun. It’s a fun at-bat,” said Anna, whose free pass against C.J. Riefenhauser pushed home Brett Gardner with the deciding run. “Baseball’s all about moments, and that was a moment right there. It was a fun moment—and we prevailed and got the run in.”
I thought for sure this one was lost after the Rays tied it. Vidal Nuno made a pretty strong case for taking the rotation spot vacated by Ivan Nova’s injury, going five scoreless innings on a restricted pitch count.
Yankees (10-8) @ Rays (9-9), Sunday, April 20, 2014, 1:40pm
NYY:Vidal Nuno (#57, 26, LHP, 0-0, 14.54) vs. TBR:Cesar Ramos (#27, 30, LHP, 0-1, 7.50)
Lineups
Yankees
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
2. Derek Jeter (R) SS
3. Carlos Beltran (S) RF
4. Alfonso Soriano (R) DH
5. Mark Teixeira (S) 1B
6. Yangervis Solarte (S) 3B
7. Brett Gardner (L) LF
8. Brian Roberts (S) 2B
9. John Ryan Murphy (R) C
Tampa Bay
1. Sean Rodriguez (R) LF
2. Ben Zobrist (S) DH
3. Logan Forsythe (R) 2B
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. Wil Myers (R) RF
6. James Loney (L) 1B
7. Brandon Guyer (R) CF
8. Yunel Escobar (R) SS
9. Ryan Hanigan (R) C
If a $22M bust is activated from the disabled list, should we really care?
With the news that Ivan Nova has a partial tear of the UCL, I am really not all that interested in today’s game.
Yankees.com: Yankees Stink
ST. PETERSBURG—Ivan Nova’s Saturday evening went from bad to worse in a hurry, as the Yankees right-hander surrendered a career-high four home runs, then was driven away from Tropicana Field and wheeled into an MRI tube for a better look at his ailing pitching elbow.
Ryan Hanigan and Wil Myers each homered twice and Evan Longoria clubbed a tape-measure shot to left field as the Rays tied a home record with five round-trippers, highlighting a lopsided, 16-1 thumping that sent the Yankees to their second defeat in as many nights.
I saw literally two pitches from last night’s game. The pitch that Myers hit for his first homer and the pitch that Longoria hit to make it 4-0. I"m glad I didn’t see anything else.
Good news though, Mark Teixeira returns today!
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Yankees (10-7) @ Rays (8-9), Saturday, April 19, 2014, 7:10pm
NYY:Ivan Nova (#47, 27, RHP, 2-1, 5.94) vs. TBR:Chris Archer (#22, 25, RHP, 1-1, 4.50)
Lineups
Yankees
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
2. Brett Gardner (L) LF
3. Carlos Beltran (S) DH
4. Brian McCann (L) C
5. Alfonso Soriano (R) RF
6. Yangervis Solarte (S) 3B
7. Kelly Johnson (L) 1B
8. Brian Roberts (S) 2B
9. Dean Anna (L) SS
Rays
1. David DeJesus (L) CF
2. Ben Zobrist (S) 2B
3. Matt Joyce (L) DH
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. James Loney (L) 1B
6. Wil Myers (R) RF
7. Sean Rodriguez (R) LF
8. Yunel Escobar (R) SS
9. Ryan Hanigan (R) C
Newsday: Yankees call up LI’s Matt Daley, DFA Cesar Cabral
Cesar Cabral’s misfortune is LI native Matt Daley’s gain.
The Yankees called up the Garden City native on Friday and designated Cabral for assignment following their 11-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cabral played a big part in the bullpen’s meltdown on Friday, giving up three earned runs on three hits and hitting three batters while failing to record an out.
I’m somewhat surprised the Yankees are cutting ties with Cabral so quickly after investing what seems like a decade in getting him into their bullpen, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. He may end up clearing waivers and remaining in the organization.
I’ve felt Daley deserved a chance in the pen and am happy to see him getting one. He isn’t going to blow people away with his stuff, but his minor league track record is very good and he has pitched 80+ above average innings at the big league level split across four separate seasons. He’s a side-armer who will likely need to have his appearances against left-handers minimized.
The bullpen is a work in progress, and I’d expect more ugliness at times like we saw yesterday. But hopefully it can get ironed out before it cost the team too many games.
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Championship Caliber Yankees (10-6) @ Rays (7-9), Friday, April 18, 2014, 7:10pm
NYY: Hiroki Kuroda (#18, 39, RHP, 2-1, 3.86) vs. TBR: Erik Bedard (#40, 35, LHP, 0-0, 0.00)
Lineups
The Championship Caliber Yankees
1. Brett Gardner (L) LF
2. All that Remains of Derek Jeter (R) SS
3. I paid $153 MIllion and All I Got Was Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
4. Alfonso Soriano (R) DH
5. Brian “Bust” McCann (L) C
6. Yangervis Solarte (S) 2B
7. Kelly Johnson (L) 1B
8. Tom Sizemore (R) 3B
9. Ichiro! (L) RF
Rays
1. David DeJesus (L) CF
2. Ben Zobrist (S) 2B
3. Matt Joyce (L) LF
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. James Loney (L) 1B
6. Wil Myers (R) RF
7. Logan Forsythe (R) DH
8. Yunel Escobar (R) SS
9. Ryan Hanigan (R) C
Erik Bedard is so talented he was once traded for Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and George Sherrill.
Hiroki Kuroda has never been traded for anyone.
Advantage, Rays.
Fangraphs: Sullivan: Masahiro Tanaka’s Non-Secret Weapon
In the early going, we have a couple outliers. Felix Hernandez has thrown about 42% of pitches in the zone, and he’s thrown about 69% strikes. Masahiro Tanaka has thrown about 42% of pitches in the zone, and he’s thrown about 70% strikes. Felix is interesting, but known — we’re aware he’s one of the world’s greatest pitchers. Tanaka’s still new, and the early results couldn’t really be much more encouraging.
According to The Frog this article may not be safe for work, so proceed with discretion.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Yankees.com: Offense, defense, pitching a winning blend for Yanks
ST. PETERSBURG—The Yankees turned yet another triple play behind CC Sabathia, their third since 2010, and got back-to-back home runs from Alfonso Soriano and Brian McCann in a 10-2 victory over the Rays on Thursday at Tropicana Field.
New York turned the triple play in the second inning on a chopper hit by Sean Rodriguez. With runners at first and second, third baseman Yangervis Solarte forced out Evan Longoria at third base and threw to Brian Roberts at second base to force out Wil Myers.
Roberts fired on to first base, where Scott Sizemore—playing his first career game at the position after being summoned from the Minor Leagues earlier this week—scooped a one-hop throw in time to retire Rodriguez.
The Yankees had turned their last two triple plays with Sabathia on the mound; on April 22, 2010, against the Athletics in Oakland, and on April 12 of last season against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium.
Solarte not only turned the triple play, but hit his first career homer, off Grant Balfour in the ninth. He sure has been wonderful, even if he’s not really an actual MVP-caliber player.
I don’t feel like looking it up now, but I’m fairly certain the Yankees had lost something like 9 of the 10 times that Sabathia and Price have matched up prior to tonight. So winning this was nice.
I still can’t get over how much velocity CC has lost without being officially injured. He’s like Frank Tanana when he went from Frank Tanana to Frank Tanana. Sabathia’s fastball was around 87 mph most of tonight, but he was effective so I guess we should be happy about it. I’m not sure that he’s a good bet for sustained success with that velocity though.
The Championship Caliber Yankees (9-6) @ Rays (7-8), Thursday, April 17, 2014, 7:10pm
NYY: CC Sabathia (#52, 33, LHP, 1-2, 6.63) vs. TBR: David Price (#14, 28, LHP, 2-0, 2.91)
Lineups
The Championship Caliber Yankees
1. Jacoby “Can’t be bothered to start two games of a doubleheader after two days off” Ellsbury (L) CF
2. All That Remains of Derek Jeter (R) SS
3. The Tattered Remains of Carlos Beltran (S) RF
4. Alfonso Soriano (R) DH
5. Brian “Bust” McCann (L) C
6. Yangervis Solarte (S) 3B
7. Tom Sizemore (R) 1B
8. Brian Roberts (S) 2B
9. Ichiro! (L) LF
Rays
1. Ben Zobrist (S) 2B
2. Desmond Jennings (R) DH
3. Logan Forsythe (R) LF
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. Wil Myers (R) RF
6. Sean Rodriguez (R) 1B
7. Brandon Guyer (R) CF
8. Yunel Escobar (R) SS
9. Jose Molina (R) C
One of tonight’s starters has a long track record of success and a great fastball. The other one has a 6.63 ERA.
The over/under on Longoria homers tonight is three.
NJ.com: Mark Teixeira could return to Yankees Sunday; David Robertson targeted for Tuesday
NEW YORK—First baseman Mark Teixeira and closer David Robertson, two players on the long list of injured Yankees, could be getting closer to returning.
Manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday night that Teixeira—who went on the disabled list on April 5 with a hamstring injury—will play three innings on Thursday (he didn’t clarify where exactly, except that it will be somewhere in Florida) and that he’s “right on track where we want him to be and [a return off the DL] Sunday is definitely a possibility.”
Girardi said Teixeira took a full batting practice Wednesday at the Yankees complex in Tampa, and also ran the bases.
Robertson, who was placed on the DL with strained groin earlier in the month, said “Tuesday is the plan” to return to the Yankees.
If Teixeira does come back, does it make the team worse? I guess it depends on who’s healthy going forward, but it seems to me the best Yankee infield right now has Yangervis Solarte and Kelly Johnson in it, and Teixeira’s return complicates that unless the Yankees decide to cut bait on Brian Roberts. It’s probably too soon to do that despite Roberts’ disappointing results to this point, but he’s limited to 2B which makes him sort of a poor bench option. Then again, in Johnson, Scott Sizemore, Solarte and Dean Anna the Yankees do have some flexibility in the infield.
Roberts’ defense has looked better than I expected so far, and I do like the fact that he’s working deep counts (4.56 P/PA, higher than everyone on the team but Ichiro that’s had more than 1 PA). But the hits aren’t falling in, and I don’t know if that’s just bad luck or the loss of some of the bat speed needed to get hits. There’s a fairly good chance Roberts’ health will make the decision on him for the Yankees, so I’m not worried about it yet.
As much as I’m enjoying watching Joe Girardi mix and match his various non-Robertson relief options, getting Robertson back will be nice. The bullpen has been fine, albeit a little scary at times, but it will look a lot better with a healthy Robertson in it.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Yankees.com: Pineda’s six shutout innings steer Yanks to sweep
NEW YORK—The Yankees got to take a long look at what they hope will be the future of their rotation, as Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda each turned in dominant efforts on Wednesday to help the club sweep a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs at Yankee Stadium.
Pitching under chilly conditions, Pineda whipped six efficient innings of scoreless ball in the evening contest, backed by a solid performance from Yankees newcomer Scott Sizemore as New York posted a 2-0 victory over Chicago.
Can the Yankees play the Cubs all the time? I didn’t think Pineda looked great, but the weather was pretty crappy and six shutout innings are six shutout innings.
Earlier today, Tanaka’s 10 K’s lead Yanks in twin-bill opener.
If this is what Tanaka does when he feels settled in, that spells bad news for the rest of the league. Tanaka limited the Cubs to a pair of bunt singles and struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, pitching the Yankees to a 3-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
“I feel that I was a little bit more calmer, compared to the first two,” Tanaka said through an interpreter. “I’m very satisfied with how I pitched out there today.”
So were the Yankees, who watched Tanaka use his trademark splitter and a sharp slider to retire 14 straight Cubs after Junior Lake’s video-reviewed bunt single in the second inning.
After a great home stand, it’s off to St. Petersburg now to play a real major league team with the struggling CC Sabathia taking the hill tomorrow.