Tag: Joba Chamberlain

ALCS 2010: What To Look for as the New York Yankees Return Home, Tied 1-1

After two games, the New York Yankees are tied one game apiece with the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.

There are a number of things that Yankees fans should be aware of as their team returns home for three games.

Starting Pitching

The Yankees starting pitching so far has, quite honestly, been brutal. In game one, CC Sabathia lasted just four innings, giving up five earned runs, six hits, and five walks. In game two, Phil Hughes found a way to be even worse, lasting four plus innings, giving up seven earned runs, 10 hits, and three walks.

The Yankees simply cannot afford more starts like this. If the trend of burgeoning ERAs continues, the Yankees won’t make it much farther in the ALCS. They can’t count on Texas Ranger bullpen implosions every night.

That being said, the Yankees starters are very capable of bouncing back. Andy Pettitte, who’s been very good all year, gets the ball in game three at the Stadium. Pettitte has been overshadowed by much of the national media; game three is the first landing destination of Cliff Lee, so naturally, there hasn’t been much talk about the Yankees wily left-hander.

Yet Pettitte is just as capable as anyone on the Yankees roster, and has as good a potential of bringing Cliff Lee’s postseason unbeaten record to an end.

And CC Sabathia will get a shot at redemption, that’s for sure. CC seems to be much better on short rest, for whatever reason, so look for a strong performance in game five (or four).


Offense

The Yankees have yet to put together a complete offensive display in either of the two games.

In Game 1, they were absolutely stymied through seven innings, and then exploded for five runs in the eighth.

In Game 2, they managed just two runs on seven hits and seven walks, leaving 12 men on base. Other than Robinson Cano, the Yankees are lacking serious points in the consistency department.


The Effect of the Stadium

So the Yankees haven’t pitched well, and haven’t hit the ball consistently. Fortunately, some home cooking is the best way to scrape away the rust and get back to playing great baseball.

The Yankees, like most teams, just play better at home. Their 52-29 regular season home record was the second best in the American League this year.

The short porch in right is always a plus, and look for Mark Teixiera to get his bat going. Through two games, Tex is 0-8 with two walks and one run scored. In 2010, Teixiera batted just .227 on the road, but his average jumps to .288 at home.


The Cliff Lee Effect 

Unfortunately, the Yankees have to go up against the mighty Cliff Lee in their first home appearance. But the Yankees are a complete, tenacious offensive team. I fully expect them to give Lee their best effort, and even if they aren’t able to score a handful of runs off of him, they can get him out of the game early. 

However, since Lee is almost always in the strike zone, the Yankees offense has to bring their A game with them. Long at bats and taking advantage of fastballs in the zone will be key in determining the outcome of game three. They can’t afford to leave myriad runners on base; they need to take advantage of the baserunners they do get.


Bullpen 

The Yankees bullpen has been very good so far. In two games, they have combined for nine innings of work, allowing no runs and just three hits and five walks. While the pen has been a strength so far, the early use could be harmful towards the end of the series, especially if Yankees starters can’t give them innings.

A start of seven or more innings from Andy Pettitte in game three would go a long way in conserving the arms of the Yankees pen; they’d have limited use in Game 3, combined with the day of rest as the teams travel to New York.


Yankees Fans Shouldn’t Panic

The Rangers are a great team, and there’s no shame in splitting on the road. Even if they do have to go up against Cliff Lee, the Yankees are still in great shape to return to the World Series.

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New York Yankees: ALCS Game 1 Grades—Sabathia Fails But Yankees Prevail

The New York Yankees won game one of the American League Championship Series 6-5, defeating the Texas Rangers at home in dramatic fashion.

After looking stymied by the pitching of CJ Wilson throughout the first seven innings, the Yankees staged a ferocious comeback, scoring five runs in the eighth inning to take the lead.

How did the Yankees perform? I’ve graded the performances of CC Sabathia and other contributing factors to the Yankees victory.

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Phil Hughes: His Long Journey to the 2010 Postseason Starting Debut Tonight

Phillip Joseph Hughes, better known simply as Phil Hughes, has had a very tumultuous career thus far and has hurdled many challenges on his way to his postseason starting debut tonight in the Bronx.

In high school, Hughes was a first team All-American pitcher, while posting a combined 21-1 record between his junior and senior years, including a perfect game.

Using their first draft pick in 2004, the Yankees selected Hughes 23rd overall out of Foothill High School in Santa Ana, California.

Coincidentally, New York was awarded the 23rd pick in that draft after losing Andy Pettitte to the Houston Astros, six years later and both pitchers make up two-thirds of the Yankees three man rotation in the playoffs. Personally, I think Houston got hosed on the whole deal.

In 2005, his first full year as a professional, he split the season between Class A Charleston and Advanced A Tampa, posting a 9-2 record with a 1.24 ERA, certainly showing the Yankees that they might have something special there.

In November of 2006, after another strong year in the minors in which he nearly threw two no-hitters, Hughes was ranked as the Yankees No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, calling him “arguably the best pitching prospect in the minors”.

Hughes was invited to Major League spring training camp with the Yankees in 2007, and after starting the season in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, he was called up to the majors and made his debut on April 26 in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

However, he would bounce back from his first career loss with a strong outing at Texas, where he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but was removed after pulling his hamstring with one out and two strikes on future teammate Mark Teixeira.

2007 also marked his first taste of postseason baseball, where he threw 3.2 scoreless innings in an emotional game, relieving Roger Clemens, who walked off a major league mound for the last time in his storied and controversial career.

After Brian Cashman refused to trade him and Joba Chamberlain for Johan Santana in the off-season, injuries plagued Hughes for much of 2008 and he spent most of the year rehabbing in the minors and Arizona Fall league to increase his innings total.

Hughes started a hand-full of games in 2009 before being temporarily moved to the bullpen, where he flourished and remained for the rest of the season, becoming the 8th inning man setting it up for Mariano Rivera.

Despite his struggles in the 2009 postseason, he got his first World Series ring as the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the fall classic.

Heading into 2010 the Yankees needed a fifth starter to slot in behind CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett, and Javy Vazquez. Hughes and Joba Chamberlain were the two most likely candidates for the job, and whoever pitched the best in spring training would get the job.

Causing much debate amongst Yankees fans as to who should be the fifth starter in the weeks leading up to the season, the competition was rather one sided. It was clear that Hughes had out pitched Joba and was named the starter by Joe Girardi.

After being named to the starting rotation, Hughes never looked back, going 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA and legitimizing his ability to be a starting pitcher in the big leagues.

Along the way, Hughes has benefited from playing alongside some of the best in the pitching business. His cutter has matured to become his most reliable pitch, no doubt a result of a few side sessions with Mariano Rivera in the bullpen during 2009.

His knuckle-curve is also a deadly pitch for opposing batters, certainly something he may have worked on with Mike Mussina early in his career.

Now at age 24 and six years since being drafted, Hughes has become a complete pitcher and is set to make his first career start in the bright lights of the postseason, as the Yankees look to sweep the Minnesota Twins in the Bronx tonight and pack their bags for the ALCS against Texas or Tampa Bay.

 

 

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2010 MLB Playoffs: Cliff Lee Continues Audition for Yankees by Dominating Rays

Cliff Lee is flat-out dominant in the postseason.

Lee had a historic 2009 postseason for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts. He was 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in his two World Series starts against the New York Yankees. He earned the win in game one of the World Series in Yankee Stadium, and in his two game one starts last season he threw two complete games with a 0.50 ERA.

He was only the second pitcher in history to throw a complete-game victory with double-digit strikeouts and zero walks. He also was the eighth starting pitcher in postseason history to win at least four games with a sub-2.00 ERA.

Lee made his sixth career postseason start today in his win against the Tampa Bay Rays and was phenomenal. He only gave up five hits and one earned run in the seven innings that he pitched. He also had 10 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA.

Lee is just what the Yankees are missing.

New York is in desperate need of consistent pitching after CC Sabathia. They have pulled A.J. Burnett out of the starting rotation for the postseason, going instead with Andy Pettite and Phil Hughes. If Cliff Lee was in that rotation there isn’t a team in the American League that has the pitching to match.

The Yankees have been and continue to be the most likely destination for Cliff Lee’s talents next season. But the cost of his services continue to rise with every playoff pitch he delivers from the mound.

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New York Yankees Announce ALDS Roster; A.J. Burnett Is On, Javier Vazquez Off

The New York Yankees have released their 25-man roster for the American League Division Series which begins Wednesday in Minnesota. While most of the roster is as expected, there were some decisions manager Joe Girardi needed to make.

Girardi has chosen a three-man starting pitching rotation for this series. CC Sabathia will start Game One on Wednesday, followed by Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. Hughes gets the home start in Game Three on Saturday in Yankee Stadium.

A.J. Burnett, the struggling starter, is on the roster and could be used out of the bullpen. Javier Vazquez, starter turned reliever, has been left off the first round roster. This is interesting as Vazquez could have been useful out of the bullpen. Burnett is not the type of pitcher you would use in a tough spot.

The only reason I can see for taking Burnett over Javier Vazquez or Ivan Nova is the question marks surrounding Pettitte and Hughes. Burnett provides insurance in the situation that Pettitte struggles through his latest injury and Hughes does not perform well.

The bullpen will have just one left-hander in Boone Logan. Royce Ring had an outside chance of making the roster as a second lefty specialist but Girardi decided against that. The Minnesota Twins have a lefty heavy lineup.

Read the full article at Double G Sports.

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New York Yankees’ American League Division Series: Who Makes the 25-Man Roster?

It only took six days for Joe Girardi to finally realize the Yankees needed to start winning games or they wouldn’t be going to the playoffs.

On Sept. 20, I wrote how there was a very real chance of Boston pulling within 4 1/2 games of New York with a sweep at Yankee Stadium and that Girardi needed to stop counting his chickens before they hatched by throwing Chad Gaudin and Jonathan Albaladejo into every game and continuing the farce of Phil Hughes’ innings limit.

The skipper finally wised up by allowing Hughes to start Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox instead of spot starter du jour Dustin Moseley.

Hughes delivered six solid innings of one-run ball and the Yanks got a win they needed badly, despite Mariano Rivera’s third blown save in his last six opportunities.

Girardi even managed a good game, pinch-hitting and pinch-running at the right times and playing small ball with steals of third and bunts.

The result was New York’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot being cut to one, which means if it wins any of its final six games or if Boston loses any of its final seven, the Yankees are definitely in. Worst case scenario is a Wild Card tiebreaker with the Red Sox on Monday.

This doesn’t mean Girardi should begin resting starters again and forget about winning the division to lock up home-field advantage, but it does mean we can start taking a look at what the Bombers’ American League Division Series roster should be.

 

 

 

 

Lineup

SS Derek Jeter (1)

RF Nick Swisher (2)

1B Mark Teixeira (3)

3B Alex Rodriguez (4)

2B Robinson Cano (5)

C Jorge Posada (6)

CF Curtis Granderson (7)

DH Lance Berkman (8)

LF Brett Gardner (9)

 

Rotation

LHP CC Sabathia (10)—The big lefty will start Game One of the ALDS on Oct. 6th and the Yankees should use him again on short rest in a possible Game Four on Oct. 10th. That would line him up to start Game One of the AL Championship Series on full rest Oct. 15th.

LHP Andy Pettitte (11)—It doesn’t matter if the Yankees use back-to-back left-handed starters; it’s more important to have their two best guys pitch four of a possible five games.

 

Pettitte was certainly not as good in his last start against Boston as he was in his first outing back from the DL vs. Baltimore, but he’s had a great season and will have another chance to right himself in his final regular-season start Wednesday against Toronto. He would be able to pitch Game Five on normal rest and we’ve seen what Pettitte is capable of in decisive playoff games.

 

 

RHP A.J. Burnett (12)—Burnett has had a very inconsistent year, but he’s had a more stable 4.33 ERA over his first five starts this month. He is 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three outings against Texas this season and 1-0 with a 1.54 in two starts vs. Minnesota.

 

Bullpen

RHP Mariano Rivera (13)

RHP Phil Hughes (14)—Hughes has pitched well in his last two starts, but I’m sure the Yankees are shutting him down for the rest of the regular season, so I don’t know if I’d want him starting Game 3 of the ALDS on 12 days rest. He’s 1-2 with an 8.04 ERA this season on at least six days rest. Hughes hasn’t made a single start against the Twins or Rangers this year, but he’d definitely be an asset as an eighth-inning guy or a long man.

RHP Kerry Wood (15)—I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Wood’s performance since coming over to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline. He’s allowed just one run on 14 hits in 25 innings (0.36 ERA), but he needs to cut down his walks (15).

 

LHP Boone Logan (16)—Lefties are just .197/.291/.224 against him.

RHP David Robertson (17)—His 1.47 WHIP is way too high for a reliever, but he should be used when the Yanks need a strikeout because he has 67 in 57 1/3 innings.

 

RHP Joba Chamberlain (18)—The Twins’ roster is 6-for-27 (.222) off him, but Texas kills him (.391 avg). I’d seriously consider leaving him off the roster if the Yanks play the Rangers, but it’s looking like they’ll play Minnesota.

 

RHP Ivan Nova (19)—Hughes would be the primary long reliever, but Nova has proven he can hold a good team down for three or four innings much better than Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin, Dustin Moseley, and Javier Vazquez.

RHP Sergio Mitre (20)—Mitre has somehow put together a 3.51 ERA and 1.15 WHIP this season, but I wouldn’t trust him in any situation other than a blowout. He allowed one run on four hits in five innings in his only appearance against the Twins, and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless vs. the Rangers.

 

Bench

DH Marcus Thames (21)—He’s hitting .300 against lefties, so he should start against southpaws or pinch-hit for Berkman or Granderson when a lefty reliever comes in late in a game.

 

C Francisco Cervelli (22)—Burnett has a 4.31 ERA in 23 starts with Cervelli behind the plate as opposed to a 7.28 mark in eight outings with Posada.

IF Eduardo Nunez (23)—Nunez is hitting .298 and has been successful in all five of his stolen base attempts.

 

OF Austin Kearns (24)—Kearns is hitting just .239 with the Yankees, but he can be used as an extra outfielder. He hits .286 against the Twins’ current staff and .290 vs. the Rangers.

 

IF Ramiro Pena (25)—He has stolen six out of seven bags.

 

Off the roster

RHP Javier Vazquez—He allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings in his only start against the Twins this year. Vazquez made two starts against the Rangers, giving up 10 runs on 14 hits over 9 1/3 innings (9.64 ERA). He has a 6.09 ERA since July 21st, so the Yanks should cut their losses on this deal.

RHP Chad Gaudin—He yielded a run on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings vs. Minnesota. Gaudin made two relief appearances against Texas, going 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He’s surrendered 12 runs (nine earned) over his last 14 1/3 innings since Aug. 24 (5.65 ERA).

 

 

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

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New York Yankees: Four Days, Three Wins, One Surreal Goodbye and They’re Hot

Who’s the hottest team in MLB right now?

 

The answer is the New York Yankees.

 

Anyone who tells you otherwise is a Yankee-hater, because you either bleed pinstripes or you burn them. It is that simple.

 

Looking back to just 7 days ago, things were not going so well for New York who finished 2-8 on a road trip from hell. The nickname “Bombers” was starting to refer to bombing games, instead of balls out of the park.

 

Lots of factors come into play regarding the Yankees resurgence of winning four of their last five games.

 

The first two wins were in Baltimore, but it was followed by a loss last Sunday allowing the O’s to avoid another sweep.

 

 

Heading into the toughest, most critical series of the season, a four game set against the Tampa Bay Rays, Yankee fans would finally get some answers.

 

Nick Swisher put it in plain and simple, “I think we all pretty much know what’s at stake,” Swisher said. “Take the Rays and us and line us up, and let’s see what happens.”

 

What has happened is the Yankees have played all around great baseball. Not just winning, but beating the Tampa Bay Rays.

 

It seems the surreal dedication and tribute to the late, great George Steinbrenner before Monday’s game definitely reminded the Yankees and its fans what would be the biggest way to honor their beloved Boss. Win, win and keep winning until #28 is a thing of the past.

 

Also, major credit also goes to Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman.

 

 

GM Cashman and Skipper Girardi’s pick-up of RP Kerry Wood has completely changed around the bullpen, both Wood the individual and as a mentor to Joba Chamberlain.

 

Everyone knows Joba hasn’t had the easiest time out of the bullpen, understandably with what the 24-year old has been through.

 

This is a place Wood has been, the new hero to struggling middle reliever who used to have potential. Since joining the Yankees, Woods’ arm is back to his former days, finally getting recognition as a reliever because he realizes how much he was needed.

 

Wood has pitched 23 innings as a Yankees, striking-out 26 batters, with one home-run, one earned run hit against him and a ridiculous .39 ERA. Batters have a .167 average when Woods is on the mound.

 

Joba looked like Wood’s been rubbing off on him, proof was just last night.  In the eighth inning Joba took the mound, loaded the bases but worked his way out of it by fanning the next two batters to close the inning for Mariano.

 

 

In his last 24 appearances dating to July 28, Chamberlain has posted a 1.50 ERA, allowing four runs in 24 innings.

 

Fact is the bullpen is the core of any team in baseball. If you have a solid group in the middle of games to eat innings and win is the most undervalued, virtually going unnoticed a lot of the time.

 

Cashman did his job grabbing Wood and this is in the top three reasons as to why the Yankees have a chance to repeat in 2010.

 

The line-up Girardi used in Tuesday night’s win against the Rays is by far the strongest.

 

Three major positives factors, starting with Jeter at the top who is finally leading-off like the Captain again, which is a huge sigh of relief in New York. Swisher is on fire again, since coming back after receiving cortisone shot for his knee. Granderson is making-up for lost time smacking in two homers in the first win against the Rays.

 

The rest of the line-up all hit, getting base runners home and when the Yankees click like this it will be challenging for any team to defeat them.

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AL East Race: Ten Reasons the New York Yankees Need the Division More Than Tampa

Last Monday, the Yankees visited the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. for one of the most anticipated series in the 2010 season.

The race has been tightly packed all season, with no team leading by more 2 1/2 games since July 26.

In the last five days, there have been three flip-flops for the division lead. With another four game set about to happen between these two teams in Yankee Stadium, you can expect the seesaw to keep on tilting.

One team will come away with the division, and it will be by a very small margin. Here are 10 reasons why the Yankees need the division more than Tampa Bay.

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MLB: Second-Place New York Yankees Fall To First-Place Rays

Fourth devastating outcome in a row for the New York Yankees, third walk-off loss, and no longer do they hold the best record in baseball.

That honor now belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays, who take a half-game lead in the AL East standings.

The Yankees just can’t seem to catch a break, as things just keep getting worse.

Monday’s pitching match-up of CC Sabathia vs. David Price lived-up to all the hype. Both leading Cy Young Award candidates, who equally proved why on the mound.

Both starters were excellent at keeping the game scoreless through eight innings. Price and Sabathia put their respective teams in positions to win, and the bullpens continued where the aces left off.

That is until the Yankees’ fate was again placed on the wrong arm of Sergio Mitre, who gave up the walk-off home-run. This leads me to wonder what skipper Joe Girardi was thinking using Mitre in the bottom of the 11th inning?

Girardi can’t seem to comprehend that Mitre is not good. He never really has been his whole career, except in 2007 when Mitre was a Florida Marlin, and Girardi was the Marlins manager.

Even back than, Mitre only pitched 150 innings total and struck out 80. That was over three years ago, and since arriving in New York, Mitre hasn’t been helpful, and has been the opposite of productive. That is a fact.

The minute I saw it was Mitre coming in the 0-0 game, my first thought was, “where is Joba Chamberlain or Dave Robertson?”

“Not available,” according to Girardi, and many will wonder why not?

Neither Robertson, nor Chamberlain pitched on Sunday afternoon so why couldn’t they throw in for a couple outs?

At such a critical time of the season, with first place in the AL East on the line, I thought Girardi would do whatever was needed to get the win. Especially following the blunder at third base by Brett Gardner, who tried to steal third with two outs. What was Gardner thinking?

He wasn’t because that was just dumb.

The Yankees could have used a positive night after being swept in Texas over the weekend.

Instead, the Yankees are getting more frustrated. It is all over the players’ faces, and it is heartbreaking to watch as a fan.

Walk-off wins are inevitably tough for the losing side, so the Yankees can’t be happy at all right now.

As a Yankees fan, it sucks to watch four losses in a row.

So many questions start mounting up as to whether the Yankees can turn it around or has age finally come before beauty?

Let’s hope this is just a slump, but clearly something is not working and the Yankees need to fix it ASAP.

Trying to stay positive but it is getting more difficult with each walk-off loss.

Hopefully, Yankees rookie Ivan Nova can continue throwing well on the mound, and that the bats back him up for a needed win on Tuesday night at the Trop.

PLEASE VISIT LADY LOVES PINSTRIPES….

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New York Yankees Need To Get Rid of Joba Chamberlain at Least By Next Season

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been one of the most overrated prospects over the past couple of years.

He all made us say “wow” when he came out of nowhere in the 2007 season, pitching the year with a ridiculous ERA of 0.38.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman didn’t know what to do with him except to keep his innings limit. 

In 2008, Joba pitched 100.1 innings with an impressive ERA of 2.60. It seemed like Chamberlain is heading for a great career as a starter, until he failed at that the next season.

In 2009, Joba was a starter throughout the entire season, and we know how that turned to be: a 4.75 ERA season with 76 walks allowed in only 157.1 innings.

After that year, Yankees fans thought that Chamberlain should just be a dominant reliever like he was and help out of the weak bullpen. He also did not win the starting job out of spring training, and it seemed like a relief.  At least then Joba would be useful. We, Yankees fans, were wrong. 

Even pitching out of the bullpen, he has an ERA of 4.73 with four losses. Adding to that, there’s also something that the stats don’t show, and it’s that Joba gives up the big hits. That includes giving up hits with runners in scoring position after taking over another pitcher that had left.

But even with all this, he still has plenty of value to be part of a trade for a superstar player. The Yankees almost acquired Dan Haren at the trade deadline, but stubborn Brian Cashman held onto Chamberlain, who was wanted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the deal was never completed.

At home games, when fans in the bleachers see Joba in the bullpen warming up, they automatically say something like, “we lost.”

The point is that Chamberlain should be out of New York by the start of spring training in 2011.

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