04/11: Sickels on Cano
Posted by: James
Mr. John Sickels, one of the preeminent minor league scouts who resides over at the awesome MinorLeagueBall.com, has put up a comparison between Robinson Cano of the Yankees and Jorge Cantu of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I've really liked what I've seen of Cantu so I'm happy to read the comparison. John rates them in several areas but overall, he likes Cano just a little bit more:
It's certainly a good read and the comments look to be pretty interesting as well.
Advantage: Let's see. I rate them as even in background and intangibles. I give Cano a slight edge in tools. I give Cantu a slight edge in performance to date. I give Cano a slight edge in future projection. Overall it is very close, with Cano probably having a slight edge.
It's certainly a good read and the comments look to be pretty interesting as well.
04/11: Already?
Posted by: James
It was the first game of the season and already Bill Simmons is talking about Ortiz's "clutchosity" and A-Rod's lack of "super-clutchitude".
I get that he's a Red Sox fan. I understand and respect that, but man, sometimes, his double standard really bugs the heck out of me. Here's an example. In the Opening Day game against Texas, Boston was already up 3-0 in the fifth when Ortiz hits a two-run home run. That garners this reaction:
However, on the same day, we have A-Rod coming to bat with the bases loaded and the Yankees up 3-0 (in the fifth inning) against Oakland. All of a sudden, we're looking at someone getting garbage time stats and piling on numbers:
Wait, what just happened? What was the difference here? Second versus fifth inning? Millwood versus Zito? Okay, the bases were loaded but Sheff had just struck out and what Yankees fan hasn't seen the inning-ending DP with the bases loaded? How is this homer un which gave the Yankees the win different than the Ortiz home run that gave the Red Sox the win? Is it because it wasn't late enough in the game? Please.
After this article, Steve L. over at WasWatching put up a post looking at clutch hitting in the Torre era using some data from Baseball Prospectus' Baseball By The Numbers. A-Rod actuallys comes in higher than Jeter, although in far fewer at bats. Also, from the same book, an excerpt on ESPN outlining Ortiz' candidacy as the "Greatest Clutch Hitter in Red Sox History" comes up with this:
I get that he's a Red Sox fan. I understand and respect that, but man, sometimes, his double standard really bugs the heck out of me. Here's an example. In the Opening Day game against Texas, Boston was already up 3-0 in the fifth when Ortiz hits a two-run home run. That garners this reaction:
12:30 -- Big Papi, high and deep, toward the right field corner ... OFF THE FOUL POLE! 5-0, Red Sox. That was a moonshot. I'm really enjoying myself. Just opened a Miller Lite and everything...My buddy Hench and I exchange giddy e-mails about the Loretta/Papi ABs -- just two pros doing their thing and getting the job done. I'm talking about Loretta and Papi.
However, on the same day, we have A-Rod coming to bat with the bases loaded and the Yankees up 3-0 (in the fifth inning) against Oakland. All of a sudden, we're looking at someone getting garbage time stats and piling on numbers:
And if you don't think we're in "Cheap Grand Slam" territory for A-Rod right now, you obviously don't know the man very well. Is there any way I can wager on this? (emphasis mine)
Wait, what just happened? What was the difference here? Second versus fifth inning? Millwood versus Zito? Okay, the bases were loaded but Sheff had just struck out and what Yankees fan hasn't seen the inning-ending DP with the bases loaded? How is this homer un which gave the Yankees the win different than the Ortiz home run that gave the Red Sox the win? Is it because it wasn't late enough in the game? Please.
After this article, Steve L. over at WasWatching put up a post looking at clutch hitting in the Torre era using some data from Baseball Prospectus' Baseball By The Numbers. A-Rod actuallys comes in higher than Jeter, although in far fewer at bats. Also, from the same book, an excerpt on ESPN outlining Ortiz' candidacy as the "Greatest Clutch Hitter in Red Sox History" comes up with this:
When we analyze play-by-play data, David Ortiz does rate as a clutch hitter overall, but most of the damage was limited to just two seasons, 2000 and 2005. Take those two years away, and his lifetime clutch rating is essentially zero. He didn't rate as a clutch hitter in 2004 -- at least not during the regular season -- or in 2002. It isn't a bad track record, but if clutch hitting really exists, one would expect more consistency out of the "greatest clutch hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox."
04/11: Yankees Universe
Posted by: Patrick
Yankees Universe helps kids:
They are on sale at Yankees.com for $20 each, plus $5 shipping for the 1st shirt and $1 for each additional shirt. (Shipping rates for shipping to the lower 48 states, others are more expensive). They are available in dark blue with white text and gray with dark blue text.
... The Yankees, along with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, announced Monday a fundraising initiative to support research and treatment for children with cancer. They will be selling limited edition "Yankees Universe" T-shirts with all net proceeds being donated to the newly established Yankees Universe fund for pediatric cancer research, education and patient care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. ...
"This is the Yankee universe," [Dr. Richard O'Reilly, chairman of the department of pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering] said. "And as far as I'm concerned, there's no better place to be."
"This is the Yankee universe," [Dr. Richard O'Reilly, chairman of the department of pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering] said. "And as far as I'm concerned, there's no better place to be."
They are on sale at Yankees.com for $20 each, plus $5 shipping for the 1st shirt and $1 for each additional shirt. (Shipping rates for shipping to the lower 48 states, others are more expensive). They are available in dark blue with white text and gray with dark blue text.
Posted by: David
The Spring Training rumors of an awesome lineup and good starting pitching returned to reality on Sunday afternoon as the Yankees defeated the Angels 10-1 in the series finale. The Yankees ended a four game losing streak and ended the road trip at 2-4.
A-Rod started the party in the second inning with a homer off of Bartolo Colon. Yankee fans may remember last year at the stadium, A-Rod connected for three dingers vs. Colon in one game. Posada then followed with his first of two homers, a three run shot to widen the lead to 4-0. The Yankees added another run in the inning to make it 5-0.
The early cushion was all that Mike Mussina needed as he surrendered only one run in six strong innings and escaped his only real threat by retiring Tim Salmon on a long fly to left with the bases loaded to end the inning.
The Yankees were helped late in the game by Robinson Cano who hit a two run double and A-Rod also added another RBI single. Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor worked two innings of scoreless relief before Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth to end the game.
Their were several milestones in the game. For Mussina the win was the 225th of his career. The homer for Alex Rodriguez was his 431st of his career and placed him at 36th on the all time list. For Posada, his first round tripper, the 176th of his career enabled him to pass Bobby Murcer on the all time Yankees list.
The Yankees have tomorrow off and will face the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday afternoon in the home opener. The series will also have afternoon games on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, then the Yankees will be on the road again as they head to Minnesota for the weekend and then Toronto after that.
A-Rod started the party in the second inning with a homer off of Bartolo Colon. Yankee fans may remember last year at the stadium, A-Rod connected for three dingers vs. Colon in one game. Posada then followed with his first of two homers, a three run shot to widen the lead to 4-0. The Yankees added another run in the inning to make it 5-0.
The early cushion was all that Mike Mussina needed as he surrendered only one run in six strong innings and escaped his only real threat by retiring Tim Salmon on a long fly to left with the bases loaded to end the inning.
The Yankees were helped late in the game by Robinson Cano who hit a two run double and A-Rod also added another RBI single. Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor worked two innings of scoreless relief before Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth to end the game.
Their were several milestones in the game. For Mussina the win was the 225th of his career. The homer for Alex Rodriguez was his 431st of his career and placed him at 36th on the all time list. For Posada, his first round tripper, the 176th of his career enabled him to pass Bobby Murcer on the all time Yankees list.
The Yankees have tomorrow off and will face the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday afternoon in the home opener. The series will also have afternoon games on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, then the Yankees will be on the road again as they head to Minnesota for the weekend and then Toronto after that.
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees fell to 1-4 for the first time since 1998 after a 3-2 loss to the Angels last night in Anaheim. The Big Unit pitched a decent game, going 8 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out eight. Derek Jeter hit his first home run of the season in the first inning and Hideki Matsui hit his 3rd in the 9th, but the Yankees' bats struggled a bit as the only player with more than one hit was Gary Sheffield.
The major play of the game was a two-run triple by Adam Kennedy that put the Angels up 3-1 in the bottom of the 5th inning. That would prove to be just enough for the Angels as Matsui's homer in the 9th was the only offense the Yankees could muster from that point on.
I know the Yankees are 1-4 now, but I really hope they don't start getting bashed in the papers already like they did after their 1-4 start back in '98. People were already jumping on the "fire Torre" bandwagon and they ended up winning 114 games. There isn't much you can gather from a team after its first five games of the season.
This afternoon's game at 3:30 will feature a nice pitching matchup between Mike Mussina and reigning A.L. Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon. Both pitchers will be looking for their first win of the season as Mussina earned a no-decision Tuesday night after allowing three runs on five hits against the A's at McAfee Coliseum.
The major play of the game was a two-run triple by Adam Kennedy that put the Angels up 3-1 in the bottom of the 5th inning. That would prove to be just enough for the Angels as Matsui's homer in the 9th was the only offense the Yankees could muster from that point on.
I know the Yankees are 1-4 now, but I really hope they don't start getting bashed in the papers already like they did after their 1-4 start back in '98. People were already jumping on the "fire Torre" bandwagon and they ended up winning 114 games. There isn't much you can gather from a team after its first five games of the season.
This afternoon's game at 3:30 will feature a nice pitching matchup between Mike Mussina and reigning A.L. Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon. Both pitchers will be looking for their first win of the season as Mussina earned a no-decision Tuesday night after allowing three runs on five hits against the A's at McAfee Coliseum.
Posted by: Patrick
Tigers reliever Todd Jones has an article at Yahoo! Sports talking about why most players have trouble saying goodbye. He relates it to Bernie.
It's a short article, worth a quick read.
Bernie is a true pro. Look at what he did this offseason: signed a one-year deal, welcomed his replacement in center field and became the most decorated fourth outfielder in the game. He's quiet, professional, just doing his best. That's the stuff guys who get their numbers retired in Monument Park do. So was his mistake getting older. He sure ain't playing for the money now.
It's a short article, worth a quick read.
Posted by: David
What has happened to our beloved Yankees in the last three games. In the opener they got great pitching from Randy Johnson and great hitting from Matsui, A-Rod and basically the whole team. The last two games in Oakland they suffered from poor fielding, lousy relief pitching and poor clutch performances. Last night in Anaheim it was more of the same.
The Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4-1 on Friday night which was the home opener for the Halos. Shawn Chacon pitched OK, but he was not the same pitcher that Yankee fans enjoyed last year. It started in the first inning when Chone Figgins got on to start the bottom of the first and then Orlando Cabrera followed with a home run to left to give Anaheim an early 2-0 lead. Chacon would surrender two more runs in a six inning stint but labored during most innings.
With the Yankees behind 3-0 in the fifth, Bernie Williams reached on an error by first baseman Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon followed with a double up the gap in right to score Williams. Damon was left stranded when Jeter and Sheffield both made outs to end the inning.
Anaheim tried everything they could to let the Yankees back in the game in the seventh. J.C. Romero replaced starter Kelvim Escobar and struck out Robinson Cano to start the inning. He then walked Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon to bring the tying run to the plate in the name of Derek Jeter. In came Scott Shields and the usual strong relief pitcher walked DJ to load the bases. What more could the Yankees need? The bases were loaded and due up was Gary Sheffield with only one out. Shields induced Sheff to hit into a inning ending around the horn double play ball.
In the eighth the Yankees were retired in order by Shields and Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) saved the game in the ninth by pitching a perfect inning. All night long though the Yankees seemed flat and lackluster and just couldn't get the big hit or make the big pitch when they needed it so desperately.
Perhaps the Big Unit can return the Yankees to the win column tonight by pitching like he did last Monday evening against the A's. The Angels have been a thorn in the side of the Yankees during Joe Torre's tenure. They are one of the few teams during this time that have managed a winning record against the Bronx Bombers. Yankees Broadcaster Michael Kay commented last night that the Yankees just do not match up well against a team like the Angels that play sound fundamental baseball and nibble a team to death.
Well die hard Yankees fans, the season is still very early, but speaking for myself only I hope we see a better effort starting tonight.
The Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4-1 on Friday night which was the home opener for the Halos. Shawn Chacon pitched OK, but he was not the same pitcher that Yankee fans enjoyed last year. It started in the first inning when Chone Figgins got on to start the bottom of the first and then Orlando Cabrera followed with a home run to left to give Anaheim an early 2-0 lead. Chacon would surrender two more runs in a six inning stint but labored during most innings.
With the Yankees behind 3-0 in the fifth, Bernie Williams reached on an error by first baseman Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon followed with a double up the gap in right to score Williams. Damon was left stranded when Jeter and Sheffield both made outs to end the inning.
Anaheim tried everything they could to let the Yankees back in the game in the seventh. J.C. Romero replaced starter Kelvim Escobar and struck out Robinson Cano to start the inning. He then walked Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon to bring the tying run to the plate in the name of Derek Jeter. In came Scott Shields and the usual strong relief pitcher walked DJ to load the bases. What more could the Yankees need? The bases were loaded and due up was Gary Sheffield with only one out. Shields induced Sheff to hit into a inning ending around the horn double play ball.
In the eighth the Yankees were retired in order by Shields and Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) saved the game in the ninth by pitching a perfect inning. All night long though the Yankees seemed flat and lackluster and just couldn't get the big hit or make the big pitch when they needed it so desperately.
Perhaps the Big Unit can return the Yankees to the win column tonight by pitching like he did last Monday evening against the A's. The Angels have been a thorn in the side of the Yankees during Joe Torre's tenure. They are one of the few teams during this time that have managed a winning record against the Bronx Bombers. Yankees Broadcaster Michael Kay commented last night that the Yankees just do not match up well against a team like the Angels that play sound fundamental baseball and nibble a team to death.
Well die hard Yankees fans, the season is still very early, but speaking for myself only I hope we see a better effort starting tonight.
Posted by: Patrick
From SI.com:
Very good to hear that it was a successful operation. I was born with a heart murmur, myself. Luckily, it wasn't as serious. Prayers and best wishes from all of us at YanksBlog.com for a speedy recovery and a long, wonderful life.
Via Sean.
The infant daughter of New York Yankees reliever Scott Proctor was released from a hospital Thursday after she underwent successful surgery to fix a serious heart ailment.
Very good to hear that it was a successful operation. I was born with a heart murmur, myself. Luckily, it wasn't as serious. Prayers and best wishes from all of us at YanksBlog.com for a speedy recovery and a long, wonderful life.
Via Sean.
04/06: Fabian's Prospect List
Posted by: James
Just a quick note that Fabian, formerly of Minor Yankee Blog, has posted a quick Top 25 Prospect list over at RLYW. I know we've gone through quite a few top prospect lists throughout the past couple of months but there are a couple guys on here that the general Yankee fan might not have heard of yet. At any rate, it can give you a better idea of names to look out for as the minor league season starts today. Here we go Colombus Clippers/Trenton Thunder/Tampa Yankees/Charleston Riverdogs, here we go!
Posted by: Michael
Derek Jeter said it best.
"Everyone keeps talking about our offense, but that doesn't win games; pitching and defense does," Jeter said. "We're not always going to hit every game."
With Chien-Ming Wang on the mound, and the Yankees off to a 4-0 lead, I was pretty confident in the game last night. Matsui hit his second home run of the season, and Sheff smoked a laser into the leftfield stands for his 450th career home run. That home run from Sheff was a three run blast. It had the makings of the opening night game. But it all came apart due in part to an error by Jeter in the fourth, which he bobbled it off his face (yes, his face), and tried to shovel it to Cano, led to the A's rallying for three runs. The A's tied it up in the 5th.
It stayed tied until the 8th inning when Wright gave up a leadoff triple to Milton Bradley. Payton up next hits a grounder to Cano, who boots it, and allows Bradley to score the go ahead run. Seems like when the errors come it means doom and gloom to the pitcher, as Wright immediately gave up back-to-back singles to Kendall and Scutaro. The A's took a 6-4 lead. Myers comes in strikes out Kotsay. Myers is replaced by Flash's replacement Farnsworth. A wild pitch, and a walk loads up the bases for Frank Thomas who blasts a double into deep center to score three more runs to make it 9-4 A's. Farnsworth! Don't make me start shouting your name in disgust as I once did Heredia's.
Sloppy defense and sloppy pitching will doom you every time. I'm still trying to make sense of the way Torre is handling the bullpen. Am I looking for fault from Torre? Not at this point. Just some putrid pitching. If Farnsworth doesn't come around by the time they return to Yankee stadium, expect a Loaiza type welcoming.
Today the Yanks are off, but play resumes tomorrow night as Shawn Chacon takes on Kelvim Escobar in opening the series against the Angels in Los Angeles, make that Anaheim, or how about just Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Game time is 10:05pm ET
"Everyone keeps talking about our offense, but that doesn't win games; pitching and defense does," Jeter said. "We're not always going to hit every game."
With Chien-Ming Wang on the mound, and the Yankees off to a 4-0 lead, I was pretty confident in the game last night. Matsui hit his second home run of the season, and Sheff smoked a laser into the leftfield stands for his 450th career home run. That home run from Sheff was a three run blast. It had the makings of the opening night game. But it all came apart due in part to an error by Jeter in the fourth, which he bobbled it off his face (yes, his face), and tried to shovel it to Cano, led to the A's rallying for three runs. The A's tied it up in the 5th.
It stayed tied until the 8th inning when Wright gave up a leadoff triple to Milton Bradley. Payton up next hits a grounder to Cano, who boots it, and allows Bradley to score the go ahead run. Seems like when the errors come it means doom and gloom to the pitcher, as Wright immediately gave up back-to-back singles to Kendall and Scutaro. The A's took a 6-4 lead. Myers comes in strikes out Kotsay. Myers is replaced by Flash's replacement Farnsworth. A wild pitch, and a walk loads up the bases for Frank Thomas who blasts a double into deep center to score three more runs to make it 9-4 A's. Farnsworth! Don't make me start shouting your name in disgust as I once did Heredia's.
Sloppy defense and sloppy pitching will doom you every time. I'm still trying to make sense of the way Torre is handling the bullpen. Am I looking for fault from Torre? Not at this point. Just some putrid pitching. If Farnsworth doesn't come around by the time they return to Yankee stadium, expect a Loaiza type welcoming.
Today the Yanks are off, but play resumes tomorrow night as Shawn Chacon takes on Kelvim Escobar in opening the series against the Angels in Los Angeles, make that Anaheim, or how about just Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Game time is 10:05pm ET
