It's going to be a long summer for Yankees' manager Joe Girardi. "I don't believe guys forget to hit in a year" has been his stock answer to reporters after games this season. I guess he doesn't want to admit that maybe the real answer is "Some guys' skills erode in a year and they can't do it anymore."
Carlos Beltran has been hampered by a bad elbow. Still, it's hard to make excuses for a guy who has a .155 batting average with runners in scoring position. Brian McCann was never as good as Yankee brass insisted - comparing him to Thurman Munson was unfair, since McCann has never hit .300 and driven in 100 runs or more for three years in a row like Munson did.
Alfonso Soriano just isn't same player anymore; neither is Brian Roberts, Derek Jeter, or Ichiro Suzuki. To expect these guys to hit like they did ten years ago is unrealistic. It isn't that they have forgotten how to hit. It's just that they can't do it the same way anymore due to their advancing age.
The Yankees came into the night with 326 runs scored, 20th in the majors. You are what your record says you are, so unless guys start hitting a lot better, their current 41-41 record will be 81-81 when the 2014 season comes to a close.
Showing posts with label Ichiro Suzuki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ichiro Suzuki. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
Yankees Girardi might as well throw away his binder
Yankees' manager Joe Girardi might not be using his trusty binder as much these days.
The numbers were impossible to ignore, but for the second time in five games Girardi refused to be seduced by them and didn’t start Ichiro Suzuki against Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester.
“I looked at possibly sitting down one of the other lefty hitters against Lester,’’ Girardi told reporters. “You look at Ellsbury and he has had success and you look at Brett Gardner and he has been playing extremely well and important at the top of our lineup. Soriano has had a double and homer in two games he has played against him this year. Part of it is, possibly you would like to give one of your lefties a day off and I am going to play the guys we have been playing every day.’’
So, Ichiro took a seat despite having a .340 (18-for-53) average against Lester. That came after Ichiro wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday night in Toronto against lefty Mark Buehrle, against whom he was batting .421 (24-for-57). I know the game has a heartbeat, but even I would have made sure Suzuki was in the lineup against Lester and Buehrle.
Soriano went 0-for-3 and is now hitting .273 (6-for-22) against Lester.
Girardi was correct saying Gardner has been very important to the top of the lineup, but he is 3-for-13 (.231) against Lester after going 1-for-2 with a walk. Ellsbury went 1-for-3 and is 4-for-9 (.444) against his former teammate.
A regular player in the big leagues since 2001, Soriano has had trouble adjusting to not playing every day. His last homer was May 17 and he is without a homer in 62 at-bats. His skills have eroded, and this is likely his last year in the majors. The Yankees are unlikely to get any significant production out of him for the remainder of the season.
The numbers were impossible to ignore, but for the second time in five games Girardi refused to be seduced by them and didn’t start Ichiro Suzuki against Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester.
“I looked at possibly sitting down one of the other lefty hitters against Lester,’’ Girardi told reporters. “You look at Ellsbury and he has had success and you look at Brett Gardner and he has been playing extremely well and important at the top of our lineup. Soriano has had a double and homer in two games he has played against him this year. Part of it is, possibly you would like to give one of your lefties a day off and I am going to play the guys we have been playing every day.’’
So, Ichiro took a seat despite having a .340 (18-for-53) average against Lester. That came after Ichiro wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday night in Toronto against lefty Mark Buehrle, against whom he was batting .421 (24-for-57). I know the game has a heartbeat, but even I would have made sure Suzuki was in the lineup against Lester and Buehrle.
Soriano went 0-for-3 and is now hitting .273 (6-for-22) against Lester.
Girardi was correct saying Gardner has been very important to the top of the lineup, but he is 3-for-13 (.231) against Lester after going 1-for-2 with a walk. Ellsbury went 1-for-3 and is 4-for-9 (.444) against his former teammate.
A regular player in the big leagues since 2001, Soriano has had trouble adjusting to not playing every day. His last homer was May 17 and he is without a homer in 62 at-bats. His skills have eroded, and this is likely his last year in the majors. The Yankees are unlikely to get any significant production out of him for the remainder of the season.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Yankees' bats aren't coming alive anytime soon
Yankee manager Joe Girardi is going to need more than his eternal optimism to get his team hitting. I don't think there are any answers in his trusty binder, either.
The Steinbrenner crew and dopey GM Brian Cashman may have had unrealistic expectations this past offseason. Carlos Beltran was aging and often injured, as was second baseman Brian Roberts. Outstanding hitters in their prime, yes, but they are both way past those days. Same with Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano. Comparing Brian McCann to Thurman Munson was a bit silly. Believing Mark Teixeira would drive in 110 runs a year after coming off a serious wrist injury at age 34 wasn't very bright.
As of this writing Derek Jeter has accumulated 216 at bats; is this enough for a hitter who missed most of the previous season to get their timing down? Let's hope not, since Jeter is batting .259 with only six doubles and one home run, numbers nowhere close to his career averages. Looks like his power is pretty much gone as he nears the age of forty.
Girardi was quoted as saying, "I don't believe people forget how to hit overnight" and while that is true, this may be more of a case of a group of players who just can't cut the mustard anymore.
Still, the Yankees may have a decent shot at winning the American League East Division, since the Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox, and Orioles are mediocre in their own right. The Yankees' pitchers have been doing a decent job for the most part, so if opponents can be held to three runs a game, the Yanks' offense should be able to manufacture enough runs to win more games than they lose. A total of 85-86 wins might be enough to win the East this year so the race will probably go down to the last days of the season.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope the Yankees start tearing things up. It would make for a more fun summer. Right now it looks like it may be kind of boring.
The Steinbrenner crew and dopey GM Brian Cashman may have had unrealistic expectations this past offseason. Carlos Beltran was aging and often injured, as was second baseman Brian Roberts. Outstanding hitters in their prime, yes, but they are both way past those days. Same with Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano. Comparing Brian McCann to Thurman Munson was a bit silly. Believing Mark Teixeira would drive in 110 runs a year after coming off a serious wrist injury at age 34 wasn't very bright.
As of this writing Derek Jeter has accumulated 216 at bats; is this enough for a hitter who missed most of the previous season to get their timing down? Let's hope not, since Jeter is batting .259 with only six doubles and one home run, numbers nowhere close to his career averages. Looks like his power is pretty much gone as he nears the age of forty.
Girardi was quoted as saying, "I don't believe people forget how to hit overnight" and while that is true, this may be more of a case of a group of players who just can't cut the mustard anymore.
Still, the Yankees may have a decent shot at winning the American League East Division, since the Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox, and Orioles are mediocre in their own right. The Yankees' pitchers have been doing a decent job for the most part, so if opponents can be held to three runs a game, the Yanks' offense should be able to manufacture enough runs to win more games than they lose. A total of 85-86 wins might be enough to win the East this year so the race will probably go down to the last days of the season.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope the Yankees start tearing things up. It would make for a more fun summer. Right now it looks like it may be kind of boring.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
These Yankees are boring on and off the field
Ichiro Suzuki's walk-off home run that won Tuesday night's game for the
Yankees in the Bronx was a rare moment of excitement for fans. During April and
May journeymen like Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, and Jayson Nix provided clutch
hits that kept the team in first place or close to the top. Above average
starting pitching and solid effort from the relief corps helped a great deal as
well.
However the month of June has seen the Yanks swoon. Timely hitting has dwindled, and the team has struggled to score runs. Mediocre pitching from one time Golden-Boys Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain hasn't helped. Andy Pettitte hasn't been as sharp in the last few starts, so age may finally be catching up to him. And, of course, the continued absence of injured players such as Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson has hurt the offense.
Brett Gardner has played well, but at this point in the season one of the fastest runners in the major leagues ought to have more than 11 stolen bases (and not been nailed 6 times already). Gardner has to get into scoring position; it's still easier to single someone in than it is to hit a home run.
The 2013 Yankees aren't a very exciting team to watch. Yankee Stadium will have even more empty seats by August if things don't turn around.
With the exception of outfielder Zoilo Almonte there isn't going to be much help coming up from the minor leagues, the result of scouting ineptness by general manager Brian Cashman and his baseball cronies in the front office.
Off the field, the headlines featuring Alex Rodriguez are simply uninteresting. At least with the late 1970's Yankees there was some passion involved, and much humor to be found in all the shenanigans. Rodriguez is a dullard. A seemingly compulsive liar, he's a boring person, and was always an over-rated player, even when he played with Seattle back in the 1990's.
The current team will probably stay in the wildcard race until the end of the season since the other American League East teams aren't that good, either. And if Curtis Granderson and Derek Jeter can come back sometime during the summer and play at their high levels of the past, maybe some excitement will return to Yankee Stadium.
However the month of June has seen the Yanks swoon. Timely hitting has dwindled, and the team has struggled to score runs. Mediocre pitching from one time Golden-Boys Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain hasn't helped. Andy Pettitte hasn't been as sharp in the last few starts, so age may finally be catching up to him. And, of course, the continued absence of injured players such as Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson has hurt the offense.
Brett Gardner has played well, but at this point in the season one of the fastest runners in the major leagues ought to have more than 11 stolen bases (and not been nailed 6 times already). Gardner has to get into scoring position; it's still easier to single someone in than it is to hit a home run.
The 2013 Yankees aren't a very exciting team to watch. Yankee Stadium will have even more empty seats by August if things don't turn around.
With the exception of outfielder Zoilo Almonte there isn't going to be much help coming up from the minor leagues, the result of scouting ineptness by general manager Brian Cashman and his baseball cronies in the front office.
Off the field, the headlines featuring Alex Rodriguez are simply uninteresting. At least with the late 1970's Yankees there was some passion involved, and much humor to be found in all the shenanigans. Rodriguez is a dullard. A seemingly compulsive liar, he's a boring person, and was always an over-rated player, even when he played with Seattle back in the 1990's.
The current team will probably stay in the wildcard race until the end of the season since the other American League East teams aren't that good, either. And if Curtis Granderson and Derek Jeter can come back sometime during the summer and play at their high levels of the past, maybe some excitement will return to Yankee Stadium.
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