Oh, please, don’t let this happen next at Yankee Stadium…

Or, as my mother used to tell me when I was a small boy “If Neema Ghazi jumped off the bridge, would you do it too?” Via the AP -

Start spreading the news: Sinatra’s out at the Belmont Stakes.

The New York Racing Association says Frank Sinatra’s classic version of “New York, New York” is being replaced by “Empire State of Mind” as the music heard when the horses step onto the track for the $1 million Belmont on Saturday.

The change is being made because Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” has become a “quintessential 21st century theme song for New York City,” says NYRA marketing director Neema Ghazi.

“New York, New York” replaced “Sidewalks of New York” in 1997.

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Years ago (you may tell your grandchildren) Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez played on the same team.   Indeed, both were highly touted prospects, the #1 overall draft picks, and actually lived up to their hype.   Both broke into the majors as teenagers.   And both were All Stars before their 21st birthdays.   Strong up the middle?  The Seattle Mariners had the world’s best SS-CF combination ever.

But it was not to be—at least not for all that long.  Junior and A-Rod would both leave small market Seattle for the greener pastures of Free Agency and from there their careers would follow two very different arcs.  Griffey, playing for his father’s team in his hometown (he was a graduate of Cincinnati’s Moeller High School),  would be beaten down by injuries and—for the most part—mediocre teams over the next eight years.  A-Rod would sell his bat to the highest bidder, eventually landing the fattest contract on the fattest team, a two time MVP and World Champion with the New York Yankees. 

And it was not just their choices of teams that differentiated their legacies.    Due to his many injuries Junior became sort of a Pete Reiser-tragic hero figure—what could have been?   While  A-Rod, with his steriod admissions,  became more like a  Barry Bonds-tainted idol character—what should have been?

But, in the end, Junior and A-Rod will meet up in Cooperstown, former teamates wearing different caps and playing to different crowds, and their stories will be joined together again at last.

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Looks like the Yankees have a D.H., and ‘Sado is his name-o.

Via Frank Russo -

I spoke with my main Yankees source down in Tampa on Thursday who informed me that Jorge Posada will indeed, for now, be the primary DH, at least until the hairline fracture in his right foot heals more. “It’s not totally healed yet, and Joe (Girardi) doesn’t want to put him back behind the plate right away and have him aggravate it or make it worse,” our source told us.

Sorta explains why Chad Moeller’s still around these days too.

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Via BusinessWeek -

The U.S. government named baseball player Alex Rodriguez to a three-member committee representing Texas Rangers creditors during the team’s bankruptcy case.

Rodriguez, a former Rangers shortstop who now plays third base for the New York Yankees, holds the largest unsecured claim against his old team. He is owed $24.9 million in deferred compensation, according to court documents.

The U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Justice Department that monitors bankruptcy cases, said in court papers filed yesterday that it selected Rodriguez, 34, and two others to serve on the unsecured creditors committee.

Joseph Wielebinski, Rodriguez’s lawyer, said the committee met for the first time yesterday and chose law firm K&L Gates LLP to represent it. He declined to comment about the meeting or Rodriguez’s views on the bankruptcy. Jeffrey Fine, a bankruptcy lawyer at K&L Gates in Dallas, couldn’t be reached for comment.

The other two members of the committee are the president of Vratsinas Construction Co. in Little Rock, Arkansas, and a vice president of RTKL, an architecture and engineering firm, according to court documents.

Texas Rangers Baseball Partners filed for bankruptcy on May 24 to complete a sale to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and team President Nolan Ryan, who once pitched for the Rangers.

And, unlike the Feds in Buffalo, this time, the government had no problems connecting with A-Rod…

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The 2010 MLB Draft (45th June Amateur Draft) will take place on June 7th, 8th and 9th. The Yankees 1st pick, the 32nd overall, is probably their best shot at getting something out of this draft. I’ve seen all sorts of names in terms of guesses on who the Yankees will select. These include: Christian Yelich, Nick Castellanos, Zach Lee, Austin Wates, Ryan LaMarre, Gary Brown, Tyrell Jenkins, Matt Harvey and Kaleb Cowart.

So, for all those draft mavens out there, what do you think? Any predictions on who the Yankees first pick will be this year?

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Via My FOX Philly –

The married pitching coach for the Staten Island Yankees had his 2009 World Series ring and two cellphones stolen after he cavorted with two prostitutes in a Tampa motel room, the New York Post reported Friday, citing a television broadcast.

Patrick Daneker, 34, was drinking alcohol with fellow Yankee minor league instructor Carlos Chantres on Sunday at the Blue Martini Bar — where golf star Tiger Woods has been known to prowl — when they met up with two young ladies of the night that Chantres allegedly knew, CBS/Channel 10 of Tampa reported Thursday.

Daneker left the bar and got into a cab with the two women — described by the motel clerk as wearing “mini-skirts” — and headed back to his room at the Holiday Inn Express about 3am, the station said.

When they arrived, Daneker was seen getting cash from an ATM in the motel, according to a police report.

About 15 minutes later, the two women left the motel and Daneker stayed in his room, the clerk told police.

Daneker told the clerk he had been robbed about 4am.

Daneker told authorities he was “extremely intoxicated” and that he “messed around” with the two women, the station said.

But he also insisted that he had a “lapse in memory” and couldn’t tell cops any more.

Both Daneker and his wife, Bree Maddocks, refused to speak to the New York Post Thursday night.

Something tells me the Yankees won’t be in a rush to replace this ring for him…

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Via Clarksville, TN Online:

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) today introduced a new online campaign, “Healthy Competition: A Resource for Parents,” at TimeToTalk.org/healthycompetition that offers unique insight from Major League baseball players on raising healthy teens and student athletes. “Healthy Competition” is coupled with the Partnership’s prevention tools and resources at www.TimeToTalk.org, which help parents steer teens away from the risks of drugs and alcohol.

Through exclusive video interviews with Major Leaguers and dads Torii Hunter (LA Angels of Angels of Anaheim), Jamie Moyer (Philadelphia Phillies), Mike Sweeney (Seattle Mariners), Mark Teixeira (NY Yankees) and Michael Young (Texas Rangers), and strength and conditioning coordinator, Tim Maxey, “Healthy Competition” emphasizes the benefits of exercise and good nutrition and highlights the importance of playing fair and being a positive, pro-active team player.

“It’s an honor to join with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s popular Time to Talk program to share our personal fitness, training and nutritional experiences with parents trying to raise healthy teens and young adults,” said Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees first baseman. “With more than 70 years of Major League Baseball experience between us, there’s not much we haven’t faced trying to turn our dreams into realities. ‘Healthy Competition’ provides us with the chance to share some of our own stories with teens trying to make varsity or just looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. ”

Considering all the bad press Tex has been getting for his performance this season, it’s nice to see some positive stuff on him out there too…

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Has Armando Galarraga just been incredible since his perfect game was taken from him, or what?

I mean, first off, at the onset, when the call was made, his very first reaction was amazing. Could you have blamed him, if, at that time, he went all “George Brett Pine Tar Bat” crazy and had a meltdown on the field? Not me – in fact, not at all. But, Galarraga kept his composure, took it in stride, and retired the next batter.

And, since then, everything that Armando Galarraga has said and done has been the absolute epitome of good sportsmanship and grace. Now, there’s a wonderful role model for the kiddies out there (and, for some adults too!) as well as being a great spokesperson for the game in terms of setting an example.

Here’s a little Armando Galarraga trivia for you: Did you know he was once traded for a former member of Yankees? Yes, it’s true. On December 8, 2005, he was traded by the Washington Nationals with Terrmel Sledge and Brad Wilkerson to the Texas Rangers for Alfonso Soriano. (Later, on February 5, 2008, he was traded by the Texas Rangers to the Detroit Tigers for Michael Hernandez. And, that’s how he ended up in Motown.)

As I wrote yesterday, Armando Galarraga will probably be more famous for not getting the perfect game, given the manner in which it was “lost,”  than he would have been had the game made it into the record books. I just hope, in the process, part of that fame will always reference the astonishing class that he displayed during this whole event. It’s a wonderful story.

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..there was this “Afterschool Special” that I would watch, in reruns, on a regular basis, back in the day…another “Lost” series…

Ah, good times.

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Since 2005, including today’s game, the Yankees have played the Baltimore Orioles 100 times. And, New York has won 64 of those 100 contests.

That’s, by far, the most wins, since 2005, for the Yankees against any one team. The next closest total would be the 55 times the Yankees beat the Rays (in 96 tries). And, after that, it’s 54 wins (out of 100 games) against the Red Sox and 53 wins against the Blue Jays (out of 90 games).

In terms of winning percentage, since 2005, against teams the Yankees have played 35+ times, it’s a different story. There, New York “owns” the Rangers (.689 W%), Royals (.683 W%), Twins (.667 W%), Indians (.641 W%) and Orioles (.640 W%).

But, overall, since 2005, all things considered, the Yankees have found playing Orioles to be much like Miles Monro found it when he entered a large phone-booth-like cylinder in the future…

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Due to my professional responsibilities I wasn’t able to watch today’s game (although I did follow via online gamecast).  In any event, the Yanks beat the O’s 6-3 to complete the sweep and to push their winning streak to five in a row.  No matter how bad the O’s are, it’s never a bad thing to sweep an opponent or to go 6-1 on a homestand.

The victory was not without highlights and lowlights although these are merely the impressions I’ve gleaned from the boxscore and not from any visual observations.

The Good: Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez

Robinson Cano.  Not even eight hours ago, I was writing about our burgeoning MVP candidate and his 16-game hitting streak.  Better make that a 17-game hitting streak, after Cano’s RBI double in the bottom of the 1st inning.  During this 17-game hitting streak, Cano has at least one extra-base hit in 10 of these games.  Not too shabby.

Alex Rodriguez.  With a 2-for-5 performance today, A-Rod has pushed his batting average back over .300 for the first time since April 24th.  Although the 2010 numbers still aren’t jaw-dropping by A-Rodian standards, Rodriguez has still quietly been putting together a nice season after a rough April:

April 2010: 22 G, 84 AB, .250/.337/.440, 2 HR, 14 RBI
Since: 29 G, 111 AB, .336/.406/.552, 6 HR, 29 RBI

I’d love to see Rodriguez go on a homerun binge but, really, anyone complaining about A-Rod in 2010 is probably not looking closely enough at how he’s been doing since May 1st.

The Bad: CC Sabathia

CC Sabathia.  It’s hard for me to kill a guy that I love, especially on a day when he pitched better than in previous turns through the rotation.  And although his line today read like a mostly-vintage Sabathia (7 3 3 3 1 7), he still allowed two more homeruns, bringing his season total to 12.  In all, Sabathia is allowing 1.38 HR/9 which is a lot higher than his career mark of 0.8 HR/9.  I don’t know what the problem is but I hope it gets fixed soon because the Yanks can’t expect to win in October without their ace.

Next up for the Yanks is a weekend in Toronto followed by another three-game set against the O’s at Camden Yards.

To those of you that might’ve watched the game or listened to it on the radio: what did I miss here?  Anything noteworthy to mention that didn’t show up in the boxscore?  If so, drop it into the comments section because I won’t be home early enough to watch the replay.  Thanks!

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I thought it would be interesting to look at all the “regular” first basemen in baseball ranked by OPS+ (to date). Here’s the list:

.

Mark Teixeira is pretty far down there. I’m pretty sure that’s not the production that the Yankees expected when they signed him.

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While baseball mulls a review of the Joyce call, Pete Abe tweets -

Yankees have asked commissioner to reverse decision to sign Kei Igawa for the good of mankind.

Now, that’s funny.

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Via Jon Heyman –

The Yankees have determined that they will likely pursue a reliever and a hitter at the deadline. They are concerned about reliever Chan Ho Park, whose velocity isn’t what they expected and are unsure whether Alfredo Aceves can avoid back surgery to repair a disc issue.

Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson, on the whole, have had some issues this season too. And, does anyone trust Damaso Marte? The Yankees starters have done a good job at hiding the team’s bullpen short-comings, so far. Hopefully, they can keep it up – until the issues in the pen are figured out.

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With a solid 9-1 drubbing of the O’s last night one would think there wouldn’t be much to complain about.  After all, the Yanks have now won four in a row and seven of their past nine.  Even still, a few things are on my mind.  I’ll start with the good stuff first, because wins are always better than losses, after all…

The Good: Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson & Phil Hughes

Robinson Cano.  Extend his hitting streak to 16 games?  Check.  Extend his multi-hit game streak to eight games?  Check.  Robbie Cano does it all once again and is truly having an MVP-caliber season through the first two months of 2010.

With last night’s 3-for-4 effort, Cano is now hitting .471/.471/.721 during his 16-game hitting streak with 3 HR and 19 RBI and an absolutely filthy .606/.600/.970 with 3 HR and 13 RBI during the eight-game multi-hit streak.  Yes, that’s 1.570 OPS.  For the season, Cano is now up to .373/.412/.632 with 12 HR and 41 RBI in 53 games.  Dare I say he’s the best second baseman in the game right now?

Curtis Granderson.  In the six games since coming off the DL, Granderson is hitting a cool .400/.478/.750.  He went 3-for-4 last night with two RBI and it looks to me like the injury is solidly in the rearview mirror.

Phil Hughes.  If patience is a virtue, Yankee pitching coaches (and Brian Cashman) should be nominated for sainthood because the patience they’ve shown with Phil Hughes is clearly paying off.  A seven-inning, 101-pitch outing for Phil Phranchise yielded another strong stat line (7 6 1 1 1 7) and lowered his ERA to 2.54 and his WHIP to 1.05.  Young Mr. Hughes is now 7-1 on the season and is making a case to his manager that he belongs on the 2010 American League All-Star roster.

The Bad: Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira.  Since 9/30/09, Teixeira is hitting an anemic .207/.325/.358 with 10 HR and 43 RBI in 71 games (including playoffs).  While it’s a bit unfair of me to lump the playoffs (.180/.282/.311) in with the regular season — because facing three rounds of better pitching is obviously not going to do wonders to anyone’s batting line — it goes back to my Facebook status update of about a week ago that Teixeira has been more or less absent since the end of last season.

Last night’s 0-for-5 did feature an extremely unlucky line drive that found its way into first baseman Ty Wigginton’s glove and, when you look at Teixeira’s miserable .225 BABIP thus far and compare it to his career (.304) and expected BABIP (.301 xBABIP), you really get a sense of the depths of his misery right now.  That being said, David Ortiz (.403 wOBA/1.1 WAR) — a guy that was rumored to be a candidate for the DFA list just a few weeks ago — is absolutely kicking Teixeira’s ass right now in the production department (.312 wOBA/0.2 WAR).  It’s infuriating.

I understand that it’s not Teixeira’s fault.  I understand that he’s a great player.  I even kinda (but not completely) like the guy and feel for him.  But JEEZ, it’s a results-oriented business and Teixeira’s been a non-factor from the end of last season, all during the playoffs and right up through last night’s game.

Will Mark Teixeira kindly pick up the white courtesy phone; the 2010 season is two months underway and we’d like to reach him as soon as possible.

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Hello, my name is Joseph Maloney, I want to first thank Steve Lombardi for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you from time to time on baseball and especially the Yankees.  

Kicking off my career as an author with such a strange first title, you may wonder where I am taking you.   The events that took place tonight in Detroit to near perfect gamer Armando Galarraga, took me back to another near perfect gamer, Milt Pappas, who like Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game by an  umpire’s bad call.   Bruce Froemming was the name of the  guilty party behind the dish on that day in September 1972.  Pappas,  who pitched for the Cubs, retired the first 26  San Diego Padres before running the count 3-2 to Larry Stahl (a former New York Met).   Froemming called the next pitch, ball 4.  The Cub catcher of the day, Randy Hundley, always claimed that Froemming not only got ball four wrong, but ball two and three as well.  Pappas stated at the time that all the pitches that were called balls were closer than Larson’s strike 3 (finally a Yankee reference) in 1956.

Again thanks for welcoming me to WasWatching.

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Wow.

Move over Richie Garcia and Don Denkinger…

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Please consider taking the following poll:

Thanks in advance. And, please feel free to add comments on your opinion in the comments section.

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Is it just three teams on Roy Oswalt’s wish list? Via MSNBC -

A source tells Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse that Roy Oswalt would only approve a trade to the Phillies, Yankees or Cardinals.

We’ve already heard him linked to a number of teams, but the teams mentioned above are three of the most likely teams to reach the postseason. That being said, the Yankees are an unlikely destination due to the depth of their rotation and it’s unclear whether the Phillies or Cardinals would be willing to take on Oswalt’s considerable pricetag. Oswalt wil get a chance to control his own destiny due to his no-trade clause, but finding the right destination won’t be easy.

Then again, Adam Kilgore reported that:

Oswalt, who has requested a trade from the 17-34 Astros, said he would be willing to play “anywhere” he can contend. He cited the Nationals’ offensive potential and the ensuing call-up of phenom Stephen Strasburg as reasons for his potential interest in playing in Washington.

In the end, it has to be a team who can afford Oswalt and who has prospects to trade. That does cut down the field.

Let’s put it this way…it’s a good thing that the Tampa Bay Rays don’t have any money – because they have the prospects to deal. Adding Oswalt to Matt Garza, James Shields, and Jeff Niemann would allow the Rays to move David Price or Wade Davis to the pen…and that might just make them untouchable this season.

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Richard Griffin writes:

The Jays didn’t just sneak up on the American League in April and May. They emerged from the shadows armed to the teeth, minus former ace Roy Halladay but swinging the home run lumber with reckless abandon, taking no prisoners, bludgeoning opponents to their knees.

Heading into the third month, the favourites must look north with a renewed combination of fear and respect.

Griffin then lists five reasons, each, on why the Blue Jays are real this season and on why they may come back down to earth. So, how about you, Yankees fans? Do your fear the Jays this season?

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Via Ben Nicholson-Smith:

Seven teams are interested in Mexican right-hander Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 6’4” teenager is part of this year’s July 2 class, so he will be able to sign exactly one month from today if the Mexican team that controls Heredia’s rights makes him available. The Pirates, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, Rangers and Mariners are interested, but acquiring the 15-year-old pitcher could cost as much as $2MM.

Craig Calcaterra sums this one up nicely:

In other news, someone born in 1994 is going to be a millionaire in a couple of months, which is probably the hardest thing for me to get my mind around in all of this.

And, there’s no truth to the rumor that Luis Polonia is scouting this kid for the Yankees…

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Some interesting advice via former big leaguer Brent Mayne -

This title may be misleading; I’m not going to tell you how to wear your uni.

However, I am going to tell you, as goofy as this may sound, it matters how you present yourself on the baseball field.

Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re taking the time to read this, I’m assuming you have aspirations of advancing levels. Maybe it’s from Little League to Pony, high school to college, or from the minors to the Big Leagues.

If this is true, you have to accept that every time you step between the white lines you’re being evaluated by people that may be giving you your next playing opportunity.

Some of these coaches, scouts, etc will only get to see you play one or two times. And during these couple brief encounters, they’re going to make judgments on not only your playing ability, but also what type of person you are (your intangibles.)

Now we both know this is impossible. It’s impossible for them accurately assess what type of person you are by watching you play in one game, right? Yes, you’re right, but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t matter. They’re gonna make that decision. Period.

And the way they’re going to grade your intangibles is by how hard you run out ground balls, how you handle adversity (are you a helmet thrower?), how well you communicate, your general vibe, and yep…how you wear your uniform.

Like I said, I’m not here to tell you how to wear your uniform, and I’m certainly no Ralph Lauren. But just pay attention. If you have absolutely no clue, ask your girlfriend or your mom.

Look, there’s a million different ways to wear a uniform “the right way.” But use some common sense. If you’re a bit on the chubby side, you may want to stay away from the skin tight-high sock low-waisted look.

If you’re long of body or short of leg, do something that’ll make your legs look longer. Simple stuff like that.

The fact is, your appearance is probably the first thing scouts are going to notice. Recognize this and make sure your look accurately represents the player you are, or want to be.

Too bad some big leaguers won’t read this memo…

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Who’s the Best. Pitcher. Ever.?  Javier Vazquez, that’s who.

Hyperbole aside, over his last five appearances (four starts), The Best Pitcher Ever™ has compiled the following pitching line: .202/.270/.348 in 26 IP.  This has translated into three wins, a 2.77 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 23 K/8 BB ratio and only 2 HR.  Now, I’ll grant that Vazquez’s ace-like performance last night was against the worst team in baseball but, considering the depths of his ineffectiveness this season, any progress from Vazquez is like a ray of sunlight.

The Yanks won 3-1 in an otherwise ho-hum game where O’s phenom Brian Matusz kept Yankee hitters off-balance for most of the night.  It was nice to see the old-school formula for victories make a rare appearance: strong starting pitching, a quiet inning from the setup man and the usual brilliance of our closer.  I’ll take that every single time.

I’ll be at tonight’s game and I hope for more of the same.

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Via mlb.com –

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left Wednesday’s game against the Orioles after three innings with a bruised left foot. X-rays taken at Yankee Stadium were negative and Teixeira is considered day-to-day.

Teixeira fouled a ball off his left foot in his first at-bat, which caused the bruise, according to Gene Monahan, the Yankees’ head athletic trainer. Teixeira was then hit by a pitch from Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz.

Teixeira stayed in the game but seemed to wince as he jogged out a grounder back to the mound facing Matusz in the third inning.

Looks like Tex will have to keep his left foot out for while when doing the Hokey Pokey. Hey, at least it’s not broken.

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Following up on the news from two days ago, we have more great news to share. Yes, we’ve added another author to the team here.

Joseph Maloney – who some may know via comments left here under the user name “Joseph M” – has agreed to provide some content to the blog going forward.

For more information on Joseph Maloney’s background, or to see our other author bios, please see this link.

And, please join me in welcoming Joseph to the WasWatching.com team!

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Another month down, hopefully 5 months to go.

Steve’s Win Expectancy for the Yankees this month was 17-12.

May Record: 16-13 (vs CWS, 1-1; vs BAL, 3-0; @ BOS, 2-1; @ DET, 1-3; vs MIN, 2-1; vs BOS, 1-1; vs TB, 0-2; @ NYM, 1-2; @ MIN, 2-1; vs CLE, 3-1)

Season Standings: Tampa Bay (34-18); New York (31-20); Toronto (31-22); Boston (29-23); Baltimore (15-36)

Team Offense: .822 OPS

The Good

• Nick Swisher-Somewhere around the middle of the month, I thought I was going to have to leave this section of the Month in Review empty, but it wasn’t until the month was nearing to an end that I realized how excellent Nick Swisher has been in May.  I mean, it wasn’t Robinson Cano April good, but I think we can all take a line of .374/.441/.670
• Robinson Cano-Really, in the first 16 games of May, Cano was having a pretty pitiful month.  His OPS was .616.  In the last 13 games of the month; however, Cano busted out a 1.201 OPS with .727 of that coming from slugging.  Overall, he posted a line of .336/.381/.509.

The Mediocre

I was surprised by the amount of mediocrity this month.  I felt like every time I turned on the game, the Yankees weren’t scoring or runners weren’t on base and gross.  Looking at the numbers, however, made me realize that very few players, if any, had awful months.  Which makes sense considering the team’s OPS for May is higher than the one for April.  What I suppose it came down to this month, is the lack of timing.  Try hitting with runners on, guys.  Thanks.

• Marcus Thames played in 18 games this month and he only managed to bat .222 and slug .311.  His saving grace in May was that he did get on base at a .373 clip.
• Derek Jeter-His batting average wasn’t so bad, but he slumped badly in the middle of this month.  Overall, his OPS was .702.  He has already started heating up again, so hopefully his June will be much better.

Team Pitching-4.25 ERA

The Good

• Phil Hughes-He had a hiccup against Boston where he went 5 innings and gave up 5 earned runs, but even still, he was in line for the win in that game when he left.  He also did not have the best of outings against the Mets where he went 5.2 and gave up 4 which earned him his only loss of the season.  Generally speaking, though, Hughes had a very good month.  He posted an ERA of 3.03 and went 4-1.  Overall, for the season, he has a 7-1 record.
• Andy Pettitte-Pettitte had one awful outing against Tampa Bay when he went 5 innings and gave up 6 earned runs.  This gave him his only loss for the season.  The rest of Pettitte’s month; however, was very good.  In no other start for May did he give up more than 2 runs, and during the one outing he gave up 2 runs, he still went 8 innings.  For the month, Pettitte was 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA.

The Bad

• CC Sabathia-I think a lot of the disappointing win totals, particularly in the center of the month, had a lot to do with CC Sabathia’s bad pitching.  He posted a completely unSabathia-like ERA of 5.15 over 6 starts.  His outings were also shorter which meant the Yankee bullpen had to be depended on for more innings than one may want.
• Chan Ho Park-After having a fabulous outing against the Red Sox in the beginning of April, Park went on the DL with a hamstring injury.  He came back a truly terrible pitcher.  For the month of May, he has a 9.39 ERA.  Opponents have a 1.088 OPS against him.  That is a shocking amount of success.
• Joba Chamberlain–Joba is not having a very good month, or really a very good season so far.  He seemed to have lost his dominance, and I think he is on the verge of losing his 8th inning spot–if he hasn’t lost it already.  Just looking at May, however, Chamberlain has an ERA close to 8.  His worst outing came on Saturday, May 29 when he gave up the lead (and 4 runs) to the hapless Indians.

Someone Call the Medic

• Chan Ho Park came off the DL, though it probably wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he went back on it.
• Curtis Granderson went on the DL May 2 and stayed there until May 28.  I was happy to get him back if only because it meant Thames would not be in left field anymore.
• Nick Johnson, much to the shock of, umm, no one, went on the DL May 8 and will likely stay there until the end of the season after having wrist surgery.  To be honest, even though I had him as having a “bad” April last month, I think the top of the order is missing his OBP.  Although, it just be that the offense was missing all the regulars.
• Alfredo Aceves went on the DL May 12 with a bulging disk in his lower back.
• Jorge Posada went on the DL May 20 with a hairline fracture in his foot.  I think this might have been the biggest blow to the lineup, not having Posada really shortens the lineup, at least with power, quite a bit.  Luckily, Francisco Cervelli has been filling in admirably.
• Several players including Nick Swisher, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte all missed some playing time this month without needing a DL stint.  Hopefully June will be a healthier month.

Odds and Ends

• Kevin Russo has made his major league debut, and played very well in the light of all the DL stints.  I am especially happy about his play in the outfield considering he was an infielder in Scranton.
• The Randy Winn era came to a close when Granderson was ready to be activated.  Brian Cashman said prior to the season that he signed Winn with the expectation that he could play decently everyday should an outfielder go on the DL.  Well, outfielders and designated hitters went on the DL, and Winn did not play decently.  The Yankees chose to stick with Kevin Russo on the 25-man than Winn.

Highlight/Lowlight

• Highlight-May 17, 2010. This was an ugly game, and probably shouldn’t be in the highlight section, but I really did love this game.  After winning by a score of 6-1, the Red Sox came all the way back in the 8th inning to take a 9-7 lead.  In the bottom of the ninth, Alex Rodriguez hit a home run against Papelbon to tie the game, and 3 batters later, Marcus Thames hit a home run against Papelbon for the win.  I think I just love Papelbon struggling.
• Lowlight-May 16, 2010. I had a lot to choose from this month.  I decided to bypass the May 18 loss against Boston and the May 29 loss against the Indians, and went for this loss against the Twins.  This one seemed more gut-wrenching since Mariano Rivera was on the mound and 1. walked in a run and 2. gave up a grand slam.  Ouch.

The April Edition

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Chris Dial recently posted about getting people to join SABR. And, he had a nice link to an entry that Tom Tango authored on the topic back in December 2008.

Heck, it was a subject discussed at NetShrine back in 2001 – as to whether it made sense to join SABR or not.

Anyone out there among the readers of this blog who are SABR members? Anyone who’s elected to pass on joining in the past? If you had to offer a pro and/or con of joining, what are they?

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I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw Andy Hawkins make this cut…

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Via the Daily News –

[Nick] Swisher, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two runs as part of the Yankees’ 18-hit attack Monday, finished May with the most hits of any calendar month of his career. For the month he hit .374 (34-for-91) with 24 runs, six doubles, seven homers and 17 RBI in 25 games. His previous best months were also in May when he had 32 hits in both 2006 and 2007.

Very quietly Swisher has climbed near the top of virtually every Yankee batting category as he goes into tonight’s game with the Orioles second on the team in homers (nine), third in runs (34) and total bases (94), and fourth in hits (53), doubles (10) and walks (32). Mostly due to his magnificent May.

Swisher, personality-wise, is far from my favorite Yankees. Despite his usage of “team first” clichés, I’ve always felt he puts on too much of a “Look at me!” show. But, that said, if he’s going to hit like he’s been doing lately, he could play only wearing his jock-strap while sporting a temp-tattoo promoting a casino on his back and it wouldn’t bother me.

To date, the Yankees would have been in trouble this season if not for the way Swisher has been batting. And, he does deserve credit for that.

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So, I guess that June 1st is the “official” opening for this one…this season. Via Andrew Marchand:

So when is [Derek] Jeter comfortable with moving from shortstop? When a reporter broached The Conversation before a game last week in Minnesota, Jeter didn’t want to talk much about it.

Reporter: Have you ever thought about playing another position?
Jeter: “Why would I?”
Reporter: Well, Ernie Banks, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr. all switched from shortstop.
Jeter: “I’m not thinking about that.”

Then, politely enough, Jeter asked for the interview to end, if moving positions were going to be the line of questioning.

The issue is the strongest dynamic of Jeter’s offseason negotiations. It is almost impossible to imagine Jeter leaving the Yankees, but it is not implausible to envision him at another position, even if he says it hasn’t crossed his mind.

The real questions for Jeter’s upcoming negotiations are the amount of years he will have and the position he will play by the contract’s expiration date. Will Jeter demand to have the length that Alex Rodriguez’s contract has? A-Rod’s deal takes him until he is 42.

One prominent agent thought Jeter and the Yankees will likely come to a four-year, $20 million-plus per season agreement. That would keep Jeter as a Yankee until he is 40. Others feel they could work out some personal service contract that could make Jeter a Yankees employee for life.

The one that will rage on the talk show lines through the next few years will be this one: Where should Jeter play?

The Yankees have no vacancy signs on first, second and third for at least the next five years. The outfield could be an option, but if they sign Carl Crawford this offseason, it eliminates left. With Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner, center may not be available. Maybe he plays shortstop and DHs more. Where he should eventually go is another 1,000-plus word story for another day.

It is possible that [Brian] Cashman has already broached the topic with Jeter, though there is no evidence of it. One thing that Cashman, like Jeter, doesn’t want to have is a conversation about The Conversation.

“That is not a productive conversation to have with you or the public,” Cashman said. “There is nothing beneficial.”

Cashman added, “We intend to try and re-sign him back this offseason.”

I wonder if the Yankees might consider, down the line, making A-Rod a full-time DH and having Jeter move to third? Ideally, it would have been nice to be able to move Alex to first, and Jeter to third…or have Jeter play first…but, Tex is going to be around for a while.

Of course, after 2013, Robinson Cano will be a free agent. So, maybe the Yankees plan is to have Jeter play SS for the next three seasons after this year and then have him move to second when/if Cano bolts for bucks?

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