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When one looks at the line of Phil Hughes’ start Monday night against the Boston Red Sox, they see five innings pitched, six hits, five earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. The big stat, however, was the two home runs, a solo job to David Ortiz and a three-run jack to the newly-rejuvenated J.D. Drew.

Ortiz was almost on the unemployment line in early May until he started to get hot. He has a .400 BA/.421 OBP/.771 SLG/1.192 OPS over the last two weeks.  

J.D. Drew? What is this, a contract year for the Scott Boras client? Drew is really on fire, hitting in 13 of his 15 games played in May . After a terrible start, Drew is hitting .356 BA/.427 OBP/.621 SLG/1.048 OPS over the last month.  

Although Drew is signed through 2011, it IS somewhat a contract year as Drew needs to play in 129 games in 2010 to get his full $14 million salary next season and not having to get $9 million of it deferred.

So many times, it is not who you play against, it matters when you play them. And these two lefty hitters are hot right now. Hughes ran into a left-handed hitting buzzsaw.

Both home runs were on cutters on the inner third of the plate, and were hit with authority by both left-handed hitters Ortiz and Drew. Actually, both pitches were really in good spots, although Francisco Cervelli wanted the pitch to Drew a little higher. Both pitches were in on the hands, but were still hit hard.

This tells me the lefties in the Boston lineup were looking for that pitch. Advanced Boston scouts probably noticed Hughes cutter is being thrown a lot, actually 28 percent of the time. Hughes’ fastball is his best pitch right now, and that Hughes will go to the cutter at least once an at bat.

Versus lefties, that pitch is coming inside. Last night’s cutter was thrown to all hitters, but the lefties were keying on it.

Hughes faced nine left-handed hitters including Drew (three times), Victor Martinez (twice), Ortiz (twice) and Jeremy Hermida (twice). He threw cutters or fastballs on the inner half to these four guys 14 times and they swung at every single offering. However, when outside fastballs were thrown, they were seldom swung at, mostly when they had two strikes on them and were fighting off the outside hard stuff.

The left-handed Red Sox hitters were looking for the inside cutter, and when they got it, they aggressively attacked it.

Hughes’ cutter is good, but it doesn’t have the same movement and depth of Mariano Rivera’s cutter so it was hittable when lefties were looking for it. In fact, Dustin Pedroia’s great at-bat against Hughes a batter before the Drew home run ended when Hughes threw a cutter away and Pedroia pulled into the left field corner for a double.

He came up and was looking for the inside pitch. In that at-bat Drew fouled an inside cutter, took a fastball strike outside, took a ball high, fouled off an outside fastball, then deposited the next pitch, that inside cutter into the right field stands.

Before that inning, Hughes was great. He blew through the first two hitters until Drew fought him on a 10-pitch at-bat, before flying to center. Drew performed the same routine, swinging at every hard pitch inside but fouling off stuff away until he finally got an inside pitch he put in play.

The Adrian Beltre RBI single in the second was a high outside pitch which Beltre just went the other way with. One of the biggest pitching no-no’s is throwing hard stuff up and away to a hitter who does not have the bat speed anymore to handle good, hard stuff.

Beltre does not have the bat speed anymore. That is his second opposite field RBI single against the Yankees, the first one on opening day versus David Robertson which tied that game at five. The chart says it was a single to center but it was hit past Robinson Cano into right center field.

That pitch was also a fastball out and up.

Hughes has a great fastball and a knee-buckling curve ball. He is throwing the fastball at 58 percent of the time in 2010, with the curve ball only 12 percent. He should use those pitches more often and back off the cutter a bit. Also, lets mix in the change-up a little more. That pitch seems to get some extra swings and misses.

Red Sox left-handed hitters are jumping on his hard stuff inside and paying the pitch count game on stuff away. It is only a matter of time before other teams begin to do the same.

So Hughes needs to get ahead while away, show some stuff in for show and get them out on low hard stuff away.

The league has adjusted to him.

Now it is time for Phil Hughes to adjust back to the league.

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Since the Curtis Granderson injury, Brett Gardner has stopped being platooned with Marcus Thames in left field. Gardner is now the starting center fielder and is making the most out of his opportunity.

Not that the opportunity wasn’t warranted in the first place. I have repeatedly said that Gardner should have been the starting center fielder, even last season when he struggled early on. I wrote this piece last season on why Brett the Jet should have been the starter . It is that the Yankees (and their fans) have no patience for anything which goes badly, especially when a young player struggles.

They want that struggling guy out, and they want him out now.

But Gardner’s professional history is that he struggles early in his first time at a new level, then adjusts and improves “second time through.”

His first pro season was in short-season Staten Island, then was skipped over Low A Charleston (ironic since he played college ball in Charleston, but it was the only minor league city he did not play) his first full season. Beginning in High A Tampa in 2006, Gardner shined, then was moved up to Double A Trenton, where he slashed .272 BA/.352 OBP/.318 SLG/.670 OPS.

He began 2007 in Trenton and improved his play at that level to .300/.392/.418/.810 OPS—a marked improvement. This garnered a promotion to Triple A Scranton for the balance of that season where he slashed .260/.343/.331. Beginning the 2008 season in Scranton, Gardner repeated that  level, improving his game to .296/.414/.422 and improving his OPS by 160 points.

Isn’t it amazing how Gardner adjusts to the higher level second time through, building on all three percentage numbers? That is something I never have seen before—a huge testament to Gardner’s character and feel for the game.

All Brett the Jet needed was a full time opportunity, not just a month of April at bats like in 2009 before he lost his starting job, but a good half a season to get his game of speed and defense going.  

Gardner hit his second home run of the 2010 season on Friday night against the Twins, and after the May 14, 8-4 Yankee win, Gardner’s numbers and presence are impressive. Despite going hitless at the plate, he continued to help the Yankees win the Gardner way when he made two great catches in the outfield.

People were wondering if Gardner would get on base around 35 percent of the time to utilize his speed.

But Brett has a .394 on base percentage, contributing to his 17 stolen bases and Yankee-leading 31 runs scored. Getting on base at a great clip, playing good defense and even hitting at the top of the lineup, Gardner has done more than people had envisioned.

Gardner’s success in the major leagues began after his prior failures at the major league level.  But Gardner adjusted very well after his recall from Scranton late in 2008, hitting much better in September. After a slow start to his 2008 ML season, Gardner hit .357 BA/.386 OBP/.667 SLG/1.034 OPS in his last ten starts in CF. And these weren’t your typical out of contention September starts, either.

Starting pitchers in those last ten starts included Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd of the Chicago White Sox, Jesse Litsch (13-9, 3.85 ERA in 2008), AJ Burnett (we all know who he is) and Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays, plus Dice-K (he was good then) and Tim Wakefield in Boston. Gardner had three of the six Yankee hits (including a double) against Halladay in Roy’s 20th victory that day .

Brett continues to show his ability to help win games today. With his speed and current stolen base/caught stealing ratio of 17 to 1, it is likely that if there is any type of hit in an inning after Gardner gets on base, the Yankees will score a run. He showed that electric speed last Friday night when he scored from first on Mark Teixeira’s hard double down the right field line.

No one else in baseball scores on that double.

He also scored after a two-out walk last night on another Teixeira double, and started the wining rally in the ninth inning with a lead off double off of Jonathan Papelbon. He scored three runs last night for a now team leading 31 runs scored.

I remember when NY Daily News columnist Bill Madden called Gardner “a singles-hitting flyweight with zilch extra-base pop destined for a career as a fourth outfielder and pinch runner.” Madden also wailed on Austin Jackson in that piece , then a Double A prospect. Is Madden ever correct about anything?

Madden just finished a book about George Steinbrenner , which is probably a good read. I remember one of the Steinbrenenr stories after the 2003 World Series about the Florida Marlins.

With Juan Pierre at the top of the Marlins order, he wreaked havoc for the Yankees all series long. Big Stein wanted his own type of “Pierre guy” and forced the Yankees to go out and get Kenny Lofton.

Joe Torre, a big supporter of Yankee centerfielder Bernie Williams, that Lofton incident was the beginning of the end for Torre.

The Yankees now have their own home grown Juan Pierre.

Could Gardner, with even more production move a slumping Derek Jeter out of the lead off spot?

Gardner has been nothing short of a winner in every stage of his pro career, with several minor league championship rings, and a new one in the Show. After a slow start to his major league career, Brett has become quite a force in that powerful Yankee lineup.

That is likely to remain for quite a while.

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The Yankees second round draft pick last season, J.R. Murphy left extended spring training and played tonight for the Low A Charleston RiverDogs.

The RiverDogs were playing in Rome, GA against the Low A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

The 6’0″, 190 lb Murphy was the designated hitter and ended up 1-3, with a double, RBI and struck out twice.

While drafted as a catcher, and currently part of the long pecking order of highly-rated Yankees catching prospects, I feel Murphy’s greatest value to the team is likely as a rightfielder.

Why? Well, despite a great throwing arm, Murphy’s biggest baseball asset is his offense, specifically the ability to consistently hit the ball hard. He also has what Baseball America ranked as the “second best strike zone awareness” of all high school draft picks last season.

Murphy played high school baseball at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, where he burst on the scene with a stellar senior season. He led his team in virtually every statistical category.

I have not yet seen Murphy, but will be planning a trip very soon to witness a few of his games. According to a variety of scouting reports, Murphy has excellent strike zone and pitch recognition, which are the keys to hitting at higher levels.

The ability to recognize pitches, like off speed pitches moving out of the zone is extremely key to getting into good hitting counts. Then getting and attacking good hittable pitches is the key to producing runs.

Murphy is extremely patient as well, working deep into counts and selectively picking pitches he can drive. According to the reports, he uses the whole field, taking all types of pitches the other way. His compact and short swing lets the ball travel deep in the zone where his quickness can turn on a good inside fastball.

As a young hitter gets to higher levels and the fastballs become more precise, many players have a tough time catching up with the good, accurate heat. Murphy appears to be very good at making good contact on this pitch. 

He is a gap to gap hitter right now, probably more of a doubles guy than a true home run threat. But all hitters are not created equal. While Jesus Montero at the same age was pounding home runs in large amounts, Murphy still has time to grow and will eventually hit home runs.

Murphy was an outfielder before being converted to catcher due to his really strong throwing arm. However, during his first taste of professional baseball, Murphy was used by the Yankees primarily at DH for several reasons.

First, the Yankees have a pretty good group of young catching prospects with Montero, Austin Romine, 2009 international signee Gary Sanchez plus 2008 draft pick Kyle Higashioka. They do not need to rush Murphy up the catching ladder.

In addition, a young guy in the Bronx named Francisco Cervelli has done pretty well thus far in his major league career.

Second, Murphy missed all of his junior year in high school due to knee surgery and the Yankees are probably wanting to take some wear and tear off the knees.

Third, I really do not believe Murphy is destined to be a catcher. Besides the strong arm, he has below average skills in blocking balls and knowing the nuances of the position.

The Yankees are so loaded at catcher with Cervelli, Romine (the real next decade guy), Montero and Sanchez that Murphy’s bat will eventually land in right field.

Some people are saying it would be wise to keep Murphy behind the plate to enhance his value. Value for what, a trade? His value is in the bat he swings, not the position he plays. If you need value for a trade, why sign him to double slot money?

Murphy is wisely being introduced to the pro game very slowly, allowing him to concentrate on the one aspect he knows very well—hitting.

The Yankees will watch closely how Muphy’s hitting tools of plate discipline and pitch recognition translate to a full (almost full for JR) season against better competition.

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One old baseball adage states, “Speed slows down the game,” a quote likely coming from Casey Stengel or Yogi Berra.

On the surface, this statement makes no sense. But when you dig deeper, you gauge that when fast players get on base, the entire game changes. From throwing over to first base, to the pitcher stepping off the rubber, a once ncrisp moving game can get stalled as the pitcher and defense woorries about the speedy runner.

Funny thing is that the runner by himself can’t hurt the pitcher, unless he steals second, third and home. Only the hitter holding the bat can hurt the pitcher. But the runner does take the pitchers full concentration off the hitter, causing more fastballs to be thrown, often causing a big fat pitch over the middle of the plate.

Just by getting on base, the speedster affects the next couple hitters.

Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees had many of his best seasons hitting two batters behind and in his prime Rickey Henderson.

However, speedsters affect the game in many other ways, including stolen bases, tracking down long outfield drives and turning certain extra base hits into big play (and game changing) outs.

This list includes major league baseballs top 15 fastest burners, all known for their stolen bases, great defense and ability to score from first base on a hard hit double.

It is an aspect of the game in which “you can’t teach” and is top heavy with centerfielders, with many young players of recent major league status. One of the reasons these guys are now major leaguers is that after consistent drug testing, baseball has transformed itself again into a speed game.

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Left-handed first baseman/designated hitter Juan Miranda will be called up to the New York Yankees today, giving the team another lefty power bat for its lineup. Since the loss of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, coupled with the recent injuries to Curtis Granderson and Nick (DL) Johnson, the Yankees are short on left-handed bats.

I have always been a fan of Juan Miranda. Before they signed Mark Teixeira, I thought they should give him the first base job.

A corresponding move has yet to be announced, but the team is carrying 13 pitchers, and I am hopeful the departed is lefty reliever Boone Logan, who stinks, quite frankly. Logan has faced 26 batters this season and allowed a whopping 11 of them to reach base, including six of the 12 lefties he has faced.

I always thought it would be much better if the Yankees went without a second lefty in the pen.  

I would keep on the parent club the recently recalled Kevin Russo, who can play infield and outfield and maybe can be used in a pinch when Girardi eventually pinch-hits for Randy Winn.

Miranda is hitting .260/.371/.438 (.809 OPS) with five homers and 15 RBI at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in 2010.

While Miranda did not hit very well versus left-handed pitchers in 2007 and 2008, he improved his splits and hit better versus southpaws last season (.291/367/.507), continuing the trend thus far in 2010 (.313/.389/.563).

In his brief time in the major leagues, he does have one home run, a monster shot at Tampa last year.

Many think he will serve in a platoon with Marcus Thames, but the numbers show he can hit lefties, too. It might be better to let Miranda be the permanent DH and use Marcus as a pinch-hitter.

But General Joe, perhaps the most “by the book” manager of all time, will platoon them.

And he will probably keep Logan on the roster to face the lefties upcoming from the Minnesota Twins.

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Trades are always seen as which teams “won” and which team “lost.” Some times, both teams win.

With the terrible starts to both Javier Vazquez of the New York Yankees and Melky Cabrera of the Atlanta Braves, thus far it appears both teams have “lost” in that trade.

We thought it would interesting to go back 10 seasons and see what other trades did not work out for either team.

They could be salary dump trades or the usual trade deadline deals of prospects for established stars, when the star did not help his team over the top and the prospects did not pan out.

Several trades listed here contained players who has successful statistical seasons for thier new teams. But the trades were not winning trades as individual success did not necessarily mean wins for teams which obtained players for the express role of leading that their new team to the playoffs.

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During Friday night’s New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game, starting pitcher Josh Beckett hit Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter in the big eight run Yankee fifth inning. He also came close to Mark Teixeira and Francisco Cervelli in that same inning.

After Jeter’s plunking, I texted the guys from the Shore Sports Report , where I do a baseball analyst radio spot every Friday, saying that “Pedroia needs to get plunked.”

And when I saw various Yankees, including CC Sabathia, mouthing their displeasure towards Beckett, I knew that Pedroia was going to be a target.

It is nothing against Dustin. He is a prototypical baseball player, always hustling, frequently getting dirt on his uniform. Pedroia is the type of guy you want playing for your team. It is just that Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is a boring target who usually gets out of control when he feels like he is being thrown at.

Look what he did last season to Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello.

Since the Yankees second baseman was hit in Friday night and had to leave the game, it had to be THEIR second baseman who was retaliated against, plus Pedroia would take it like a man.  

Josh Beckett is an easy guy to dislike. He never smiles, and does not seem pleasant to be around. I spend some time down in South Florida and heard various stories about him, too, when he used to play for the Florida Marlins.

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. And he is very overrated. He has parlayed three good seasons (and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein’s rash judgment) into a new four-year, $68 million contract.

Not only is Beckett not pitching well this season, but come three/four years from now, Beckett’s contract will be viewed as one of the worst contracts in baseball. A dead weight contract which will further tie down the Red Sox.

But Beckett was throwing the baseball very well Friday night, at least for five innings. That is why it was incredible he would hit two guys, and come close to two others.

Not that I think the Cano plunking was intentional, because after Alex Rodriguez’ sixth inning leadoff double, the last thing Beckett wanted to do was put another runner on base with no outs and the Yankees already leading 3-1.

But I did believe Beckett hit Jeter on purpose, and tried to get Teixeira two batters later. He also dusted Cervelli just before Jeter’s HBP. At that point the score was 5-1 Yankees and it looked to me that Beckett had given up.

So why not hit Jeter? Beckett had given up, saying to the Yankees, “You beat me and all I can do is hit your players.”

That was wrong because pitchers should never intentionally hit batters for doing well against them, but only for showing up a team/player or in retaliation.  

That is why Pedroia needed to get plunked by Sabathia. But after it was over, Pedroia ran hard to first base, taking it like a baseball player, seeming to know it was coming. However, the next batter, Victor Martinez, hit a two-run homer to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.

The plunking hurt on the scoreboard, but the message was sent.

I also was not the least bit worried after the home run, as the Yankees were getting guys on base and it was a matter of time before they started knocking those runners home. Also, Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz was off his usual game.

I wrote a piece last year about Yankee manager Joe Girardi changing the Yankees mindset regarding protecting their hitters . For too many years Joe Torre let the Red Sox pitchers have a field day in hitting the Yankee lineup. Red Sox manager Terry Francona had no problem letting it happen, either.

Too many times Pedro Martinez would bean Jeter and others, and nary a Yankee pitcher would come close to dusting David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez.

But Girardi has changed that tune and will not let the plunking of Yankee hitters go unpunished. Neither will Sabathia.

And that is good to see.

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Early Wednesday afternoon, while many people were celebrating Cinco De Mayo by pounding down Corona’s, New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher was pounding this second inning pitch for a solo home run.

It was Swisher’s fifth home run of the year and his 17th RBI.

Nick is slashing .295 BA/.380 OBP/.547 SLG/.927 OPS right now.

You may be saying what is the big deal. Swisher was slashing .312/.430/.714/1.144 OPS at the end of April last season, but went into a big funk and ended up with a .249/.371/.498/.869 OPS.

They were all good numbers and the best overall season of his career. But Swisher is a more complete hitter at this point of the season and his career.

Why? He is swinging at more pitches in the strike zone. But not just any pitches in the zone, but high quality pitches to hit.

Last season, Swisher swung at 56.7 percent of strikes thrown to him, but is swinging at 68.9 percent thus far this season. While that has lowered his pitches per at bat (4.27 in 2009, 4.06 in 2010) and his walk rate (16 percent in 2009, 10% in 2010), his line drive percentage has improved from 16 percent to 24 percent. 

His contact rate has improved to 83 percent and, consequently, his strike out percentage has fallen (25 percent to 19 percent).

Swisher, as well as Nick Johnson and other “walk machines” often take pitches just for the sake of taking them, mostly to run up pitch counts. Many times when you “work the pitcher,” you end up working yourself back to the bench.

It is very tough to take pitches, get to a two-strike count and still have a productive at bat. Many hitters are not comfortable hitting with two strikes. They tend to swing at more bad pitches in two-strike counts, getting themselves out.

But while Swisher hits better than most with two-strike counts, he still took too many good pitches earlier in the count which he should have attacked.

And that is the key. Swisher is attacking the ball this season. His approach has changed to attack the ball, but he still has that good eye to not swing at pitches which would cause him to have bad at bats.

One aspect of hitting that does not get any attention in over-zealous statistical analysis is the mental approach. When hitters get in their mind to be aggressive at the plate and they get a good pitch to hit, fireworks are inevitable. Success at being aggressive gives way to long hot streaks at the plate.

However, slumps usually cause the hitter to be indecisive in his swing selection, often causing mini-slumps to further spiral downward.

When I was playing in college and afterwards in semi-pro summer leagues, and slumping a bit, I suggested to be the hitting part of a hit-and-run, which always forced me to swing the bat at the pitch.

That aggressive approach is great for the mental aspect of hitting.

So are mechanical aspects and the hard work needed to implement them.

I was talking with Yankee hitting coach Kevin Long in mid-January, and he said Swisher was working out all winter in Arizona with him to stay balanced throughout the swing, helping his ability to more consistently hit the ball harder.

The picture accompanying this piece shows Swisher with perfect power-hitting mechanics.

Long also worked with Swisher on the mental approach, not to avoid walking to get on base, but to attack hittable pitches in the strike zone, especially earlier in the count with men on base.

The point is when men are on base, the job of a power hitter is to go after pitches they can drive in order to knock in those runs. Swisher has done that, slashing with men on base at a rate of .340/.415/.596/1.011 OPS so far in 2010.

Long said Swisher would hit “at least .280 this season, with more run production” due to improving his hitting mechanics and with his more aggressive approach.

The “book” on Swisher is that he takes pitches, many of them hittable strikes. But Swisher is changing the cover of that book, going after pitches earlier and more often.

That approach has helped his current season batting average (.295) and slugging percentage (.547), but has not hindered his on base percentage, which, at .380, is higher than what he was at last season (.371) and in his career (.358). 

Not bad for a guy who always known as a Moneyball walk machine.

However, the key for the rest of 2010 and beyond is when Major League pitchers (and the advance scouts who follow the Yankees) adjust to Swisher’s more aggressive approach. They will begin to pitch him differently than they have been this first five weeks of the 2010 season.

Does Swisher then begin to swing at less than ideal pitches, or does he remain patient and continue to aggressively attack pitches in his hitting zone.

My money is on Swisher to continue his patiently, aggressive approach, and to keep producing runs for the Yankees.

When that happens, they can save a fortune by not needing to sign free agent Jayson Werth.

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He is the pitching prospect with the Internet hype. He is also very high on the New York Yankee organizational support list, and Charleston RiverDogs pitcher Graham Stoneburner * did not disappoint in Wednesday’s late morning start against the Lakewood BlueClaws.

*Late in the interview process, he was asked about his unique surname. Graham replied, “My ancestors used to heat up rocks and put them under peoples beds.” Interesting. It had to be asked and reported as I knew people were dying to know the origins of what is one of the best names ever for a pitcher. By the way, Graham’s older brother, Davis Stoneburner , is a shortstop in the Texas Rangers organization.

The Yankees 2009 14th-round pick out of Clemson dominated from the beginning, striking out 11 Lakewood hitters, while allowing two hits, no runs and walking two over seven strong innings. His fastball was consistently between 91-93, hitting as high as 95 on three different guns. He now has 43 strikeouts in 38 innings this season.

I have attended each of the first three games here in Lakewood to see the Yankee Class Low A affiliate Charleston RiverDogs compete. I will write an overall article regarding my thoughts on the team and its prospects after tomorrow’s finale, but Stoneburner’s game today warranted an extra piece.

Stoneburner struck out seven straight hitters at one point, his best work coming in the second inning which began that string of Ks. It was the first of two Lakewood scoring chances against Stoneburner. A hard hit ball by 2008 Philadelphia Phillies first round pick Anthony Hewitt got past the RiverDog third baseman, Jimmy Paredes, and scooted into left field.

The speedy Hewitt sprinted into second ahead of LF DeAngelo Mack’s throw, but the ball got away and Hewitt raced to third. Man on third and no outs in the 0-0 game, but Stoneburner quickly retired the side in order on three whiffs.

When asked about that situation Stoneburner said, “The first guy I was trying to strike out, and the second hitter I was looking for a strikeout or ground ball. With the third hitter I was trying to make good pitches to let him get himself out, but I ended up with another strikeout.”

Stoneburner struck out the side again in the third, mostly with heaters and a biting slider. “My two big out pitches today were the fastball and slider,” he said. Usually I try to pound the zone with both and use the change up to set up both the fastball and slider.”

The supposed work in progress changeup appeared very good, getting several swings and misses. It came in anywhere from 79-81 and had good downward action.

He was getting lots of called strikes and when asked if the umpire was a little generous, Stoneburner said, “I consistently hit some spots and, maybe, one or two he gave me. But other than that, he didn’t really give me too much.”

However, that particular umpire (Shaun Lampe) was also behind the plate Monday night, and in both games was consistent in giving pitchers the outside corners. Today’s battery of Stoneburner and catcher Kyle Higashioka knew that and worked it to their advantage.

That is good baseball and Stoneburner gave much credit to his battery mate. “My catcher and I were on the same page all day. He called a great game and whatever he called I just tried to put it where he called it, and I was able to execute some pitches today.”

But Stoneburner was in a little trouble in the fifth inning when after a leadoff walk, the next hitter lined a single to center field. The runner on first tried to take the extra base, but center fielder Ray Kruml came up firing and gunned the runner out at third.  

Then after a stolen base (Lakewood has had eight steals in the three games) and his second walk issued, Stoneburner got a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Kruml’s throw was a huge play for Stoneburner and the RiverDogs.

While that inning-ending double play was nicely turned by second baseman Emerson Landoni, it was not the defensive highlight play of the day. That occurred in the bottom of the eighth inning with Lakewood runners on first and third with no outs against Charleston reliever Ronny Marte. At this point with the RiverDogs up 2-0, the game is still not decided.

The next hitter bounces back to Marte who wheels and throws to second for the force. The relay to first baseman Luke Murton was in plenty of time to get the batter for the double play.

But the runner on third did not begin to run home until the ball was already in the short stops glove for the first out, and Murton threw home to Higashioka to get the runner at home for the third out.

It was the first time for many jubilant RiverDogs in experiencing a triple play. It was all the talk in the clubhouse after the game.

And it was the second triple play for the organization this year, the first being turned by the parent club in Oakland.

But despite the defensive heroics, this day belonged to Stoneburner.

He was in control all day, and was still gassing the ball to the plate late in the game. During the bottom of the seventh inning, I was down behind home plate amongst scouts and the radar guns.

With one out and two strikes on the next hitter, Stoneburner fired an up and in fastball past the swinging No. 5 hitter, Darrin Ruf. All the radars showed 95 MPH on which was Stoneburners 95th pitch.

RiverDogs manager Greg Colbrunn, a 13-year Major League veteran, was impressed with his young starter. “He’s got a chance to move through the ranks pretty quickly,” Colbrunn said.

When Stoneburner was asked if he thought he could be promoted soon he said, “No, I don’t have any control over that, except for performing. So I just keep my mind focused on what I have to do and let everything else take care of itself.”

When I mentioned that the Yankees have made it a yearly habit of promoting their top Low A pitcher each of the past two seasons (Zach McAllister in 2008 and David Phelps in 2009), he added, “I try to just keep it as simple as can be and pitch well. If I get called up, great. If I don’t, then I’m gonna stay here and hopefully continue to do well and every time out there, and just try to compete.”

Charleston scored its first run in the sixth inning when Zoilo Almonte doubled and came around on a single by Paredes. Then in the seventh, Charleston tacked on an insurance run when Higashioka walked on a close 3-2 pitch, advanced to second on a ground out, and went to third on a bullet, line drive single to left field by Landoni, the second baseman.

Landoni was then picked off first, but stayed in the run down long enough to see Higashioka score from third. Interestingly, Landoni was almost picked off on the prior pitch, too.

Those two runs helped Stoneburner garner his first ever professional victory. When asked if he was getting frustrated after pitching well, but not getting any marks in the win column he said, “I just try and go out there and keep the runs to a minimum and do my best to put my team in a position to win. I don’t worry about wins and losses too much because I can’t control it. It’s good to get a win, but it’s really not the priority.”

This is the second dominant performance this season for Stoneburner, who set down 20 men in a row against Rome on April 24, but received a no-decision.

Stoneburner is completely wrong about one thing. He does have control over whether he gets promoted or not. If he keeps pitching like he did today, the Yankees organization will have no choice but to start the promotion train.

And the young, talented Mr. Stoneburner will have a first class ticket to Tampa.

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We are here with our second installment of the Clint Eastwood crusade regarding the New York Yankees. If you missed the first installment, click here .

The Yankees sit at 17-8, a full game behind the American League East leading Tampa Bay Rays. While the Yankees are home against Baltimore for the next couple games, then have a short road trip to Boston for three games and four at Detroit, Tampa is embarking on a nine-game West Coast road trip.

While playing Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles, the Rays will face their first extended trip of the season. A great pitching matchup is tomorrow night with Matt Garza versus Cliff Lee .

If the Yankees play good baseball over the next two weeks, they could vault into first place if the Rays have a usual West coast trip of around .500 baseball.

THE GOOD

1) Derek Jeter – He might be on every good list this season. Over the last 14 days, Jeter is hitting .400 (10-for-25) with a slugging percentage of .640 with a double, triple and clutch two-run game-tying home run this past Friday night.

The Captain also has eight RBI in that span. While not a typical rah-rah guy, Jeter is always the first out of the dugout and was clearly happy for Nick Johnson (scroll down a little to the photo) on Sunday when NJ had a big RBI hit.

Jeter keeps the positive attitude on this team running smoothly.

2) Robinson Cano – Robbie is 20-for-48 (.417) over last 14 days, with 12 runs, two doubles, a triple, five homers and 11 RBI. All these numbers are better than almost the entire Houston Astros team.

Cano’s slugging percentage of .813 these past 14 games is higher than the Kansas City Royals third baseman Alex Gordon’s FIELDING PERCENTAGE for the 2010 season .

Cano was voted the American League Player of the Month for April.

3) Brett Gardner – He is surpassing all expectations. Finally he has been given a good shot at being an everyday player. Why did anyone think this kid wasn’t going to be able to get it done?

At every level he has played, Brett the Jet initially struggles, then improves the second time through that level. He was not given the full chance last season and this season is actually his second time through. 

Over the last week (since he has been playing every day) Gardner has put up a line of .476 BA/.522 OBP/.667 SLG/1.188 OPS. What? Are you kidding? Nope.

4) Nick Swisher – He was hitting coach Kevin Long’s major off-season project, and in a conversation I had with Long in January, he predicted Swish would hit .280 or better.

So far, so good. Swish has hit .409 (18-for-44) over the last two weeks with three doubles, a triple and three homers. He has a slugging percentage of .727 during that span.

With the Yankee bullpen needing relief, there is no word whether Swisher will take the mound.

5) CC, AJ, AP, PH  – Over the last 14 days, the top four Yankee starting pitchers are a combined 6-1 with a 2.50 ERA, averaging just under eight innings per start. And that includes part of a West Coast road trip, too, which is where that loss (Sabathia) came from.

6) Bench – Francisco Cervelli, Marcus Thames, Randy Winn and Ramiro Pena all have contributed, and when each has been moved into a starting role, they have all come up with big hits, included Winn’s three-run homer last night.

As long as Thames stays mostly at DH, he will be OK. Cervelli and Pena provide good defense and speed on the bases. Don’t laugh, Cervelli is very quick.

7) Mark Teixeira – Ok, he hasn’t been great over the last 14 days, but over the last week, Tex has sent a message to the rest of the American League.

I am back—almost.

He has hit for a line of .333 BA/.407 OBP/.417 SLG and while is not all the way back, Yankee fans are pleased the calender has turned its page.

8) Alfredo Aceves – He has quietly become the same pitcher he was last season—middle inning shutdown support. Six and a third innings these past two weeks with a 1-0 record, zero runs and a WHIP below 1.000.

THE BAD

1) Alex Rodriguez – No walks over the last two weeks. What? Oh, right, the red-hot Cano is hitting behind the struggling Alex. Remember that happened a few years ago when Hideki Matsui was hot in the No. 5 hole and Alex got all the pitches he wanted to pop up to the infield.

Alex’s only two RBI this past week were the result of sacrifice flies, and while I am glad he is getting the runs across from third with less than two outs, I would once in a while like to have a bomb launched for a big inning.

2) Jorge Posada – First the hitting. Bad over the last two weeks. Mired in a long slump, he still made my April All Star team . But Posada has just hit .185 BA/.241 OBP/.444 SLG/.686 OPS.

Second, the injuries. Contusion from being hit by a pitch then a strained calf. Maybe all this rest early on will help the 38-year-old stay fresh the entire season where he can have a monster October.

3) LH Relievers – I do not like either Damaso Marte or Boone Logan, and have no confidence when they enter games. Combined this past week, they have made seven appearances (3.2 IP), allowing seven base runners, four earned runs for an ERA of 10.00.

Lucky for them David Robertson was worse and got the loss in both games the lefties appeared in and let get away.

THE UGLY

1) Nick Johnson – He has finally started to swing the bat to get hits, and unbelievably, he has gotten a couple of them. What a concept!

It is OK to take pitches as long as they are out of the zone or good pitchers’ pitches, but only when NJ stops taking pitches down the middle will he even begin to get a ticket out of the UGLY category.

2) David Robertson – I like David as a pitcher but he is going through a small slump. Unlike some people who recommend not giving him another chance for awhile in a tight spot, I believe only giving him more work will get him into a good groove.

He needs it, as his ERA of 12.71 is very unsightly.

3) Curtis Granderson – Back to his old ways of striking out and not hitting lefties, then he gets hurt and causes roster changes and reports of the Yankees age and eventual demise because of all their injuries.

4) Anybody else? Hmmm. Let me think. Oh, yeah. That guy .

I know Javy Vazquez is being pushed back from his scheduled Boston start, but all the calls for him to be traded to the National League because he is not an American League pitcher is insane.

Coming into 2010, Vazquez had a worse record in the National League, with a career NL ERA of about a half run less. It is not like his split is 80/20.

And even if an NL team wants him, what do you think the Yankees will get for him? A Double-A semi-prospect?

Let him make another 5-7 starts at a minimum before any changes are made. Jeez. It is just five starts.

Anyway, if he continues to stink, put him in the pen to sit, bring up a kid from the minors and allow for some system development.

And then take the draft picks next season when a NL team signs him.

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