07/10: Fixing The Yanks
Posted by: James
Update: Lirano is in! He will be taking the place of Jose Contreras, who pitched on Sunday.
I begged, I pleaded, I voted...but somehow Francisco Liriano, who didn't make his first start until May 19th, 42 games into the season, and among AL pitchers, ranks 1st in ERA (1.83), 1st in WHIP, (0.97), 2nd in WPct (.909), 2nd in BAA (.201), 6th in SO (102) and ranks 10th in W (10), just didn't make the roster for the AL. I'm not touching Mark Redman but to me, Mike Mussina clearly has better numbers than Mark Buerhle and Francisco Liriano's numbers are clearly better than Mussina's! Ahh - Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Does not compute!
This can only be avenged in one situation. Liriano must get the ball as often as possible in the 12 games the Twins have left against the White Sox...and in those starts, I'd like to see shut outs (of course, this would help the Yanks in the WC chase as well so perhaps this is a little selfish on my part).
Anyway, because of this, my already tepid interest in the All-Star game is down to practically none so in a search for something baseball related to think about, I wanted to throw this back out there. WasWatching.com had a post recently detailing the Yankee problems, which Steve defined as:
Now, it's been 5 days since then (and Melky has picked it up a little, Phillips continues to struggle and Jaret Wright surprised everyone by going 6 innings) but for the most part, the problems remain the same. We are halfway through the season now and if the playoffs started today, the Yankees (3 games back of the Red Sox, 6 games back of the wild-card leading White Sox) would be on the outside looking in. So, the question becomes - what do you do now? Do you make a move or stand pat believing that this team can stay in the race long enough for Matsui and Sheffield to come back? If you make a move, do you go for a big-time star (ex. Abreu), middle of the road (C. Wilson) or scan the waiver wires? And don't forget about the pitching either. First off, I would read Steve's post (it's his usual well-constructed, reasoned writing) and then let me know where the team goes from here.
I begged, I pleaded, I voted...but somehow Francisco Liriano, who didn't make his first start until May 19th, 42 games into the season, and among AL pitchers, ranks 1st in ERA (1.83), 1st in WHIP, (0.97), 2nd in WPct (.909), 2nd in BAA (.201), 6th in SO (102) and ranks 10th in W (10), just didn't make the roster for the AL. I'm not touching Mark Redman but to me, Mike Mussina clearly has better numbers than Mark Buerhle and Francisco Liriano's numbers are clearly better than Mussina's! Ahh - Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Does not compute!
This can only be avenged in one situation. Liriano must get the ball as often as possible in the 12 games the Twins have left against the White Sox...and in those starts, I'd like to see shut outs (of course, this would help the Yanks in the WC chase as well so perhaps this is a little selfish on my part).
Anyway, because of this, my already tepid interest in the All-Star game is down to practically none so in a search for something baseball related to think about, I wanted to throw this back out there. WasWatching.com had a post recently detailing the Yankee problems, which Steve defined as:
1. Offensively, Bubba, Melky, Bernie, and Andy Phillips are not cutting it.
2. On the mound, Jaret Wright and Shawn Chacon are offering very little.
3. Defensively, A-Rod is under-performing at 3B and Bernie is a nightmare in RF.
2. On the mound, Jaret Wright and Shawn Chacon are offering very little.
3. Defensively, A-Rod is under-performing at 3B and Bernie is a nightmare in RF.
Now, it's been 5 days since then (and Melky has picked it up a little, Phillips continues to struggle and Jaret Wright surprised everyone by going 6 innings) but for the most part, the problems remain the same. We are halfway through the season now and if the playoffs started today, the Yankees (3 games back of the Red Sox, 6 games back of the wild-card leading White Sox) would be on the outside looking in. So, the question becomes - what do you do now? Do you make a move or stand pat believing that this team can stay in the race long enough for Matsui and Sheffield to come back? If you make a move, do you go for a big-time star (ex. Abreu), middle of the road (C. Wilson) or scan the waiver wires? And don't forget about the pitching either. First off, I would read Steve's post (it's his usual well-constructed, reasoned writing) and then let me know where the team goes from here.
Seamus wrote:
The Yanks are 3 games behind only because the Red Sox got so hot in the month of June. You can't blame Melky Cabrera and Bernie Williams for Boston winning 12 in a row. The Yankees have the 5th best record in baseball and would be leading in 3 of the 6 divisions. It's like this: there's always room for improvement but if the team ahead of you keeps winning at about a .700 clip, you're not going to catch them.