Tag Archives: Yankees

How the Yankees are pulling it off

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As of this writing, the New York Yankees are in first place in the American League East with a 25-14 record, despite the fact that they are supposed to be old, injured and dysfunctional. I mean, that’s what everyone was saying (or at least thinking) before the season. It’s what I thought, what you thought. Heck, it’s probably what the Yankees themselves thought.

And yet, there they are, in first place. Again.

So how are they doing it?

I have four theories, and three of them are actually legitimate theories and not me trying to be funny!

1. Pitching

While injuries ravaged the lineup, the pitchers have been comparatively unscathed. Sports Illustrated noted, for example, that the starting rotation is sixth in the American League in ERA, and, of course, Mariano Rivera still exists. Seriously, that guy is not human. No guy can be that good and that classy for so long and still be human.

Anyway, if you have good pitching, sometimes it doesn’t matter what type of offense you have. And the Yankees have had good pitching.

2. The Last Stand of The Old Guys

Hey, remember when everyone was joking about the fact that the Yankees acquisition of Lyle Overbay, Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells had locked up the 2006 World Series for the Yankees? Yeah, well, they are hitting a combined .276. Go figure.

3. They are winning the close ones

Much like the Orioles last season, the Yankees record is actually better than their Runs Scored vs. Runs Allowed would suggest. In fact, if they were playing to their pythagorean record of 22-17, they’d be either one game behind or would be tied with the Orioles (depending on whether you assume the Orioles would be playing to their pythagorean as well). So why do they have a better record than they “should”, anyway? It’s probably because they are 8-2 in one-run games. This fact and Mariano Rivera are probably related.

4. A Deal with the Devil

The dark truth, however, is likely more terrifying than you can imagine. You know all these injuries the Yankees have had? They actually are sacrifices to some sort of devil, demon, or other evil entity in exchange for a hot start before Jeter and friends return from the DL.

Or maybe it’s one of the first three. Yeah, probably.

Random Thought: Have more MLB-Service Academy games

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Sorry that the remaining predictions aren’t up yet- it will be tomorrow during my preview spectacular. Instead, a random thought:

As I mentioned earlier today, the Yankees were playing Army at West Point.I watched some of the game, and it was, far as I could tell, pure class, with the respect between the two teams evident throughout.

So, what I’m wondering is: why can’t this be something done regularly? There are three service academies in Division I, would it not be a good idea to have MLB games at those academies every spring so long as the schedule of the academy team and MLB team allowed? Couldn’t the Orioles play Navy at Annapolis, or the Rockies play Air Force in chilly Colorado Springs? Or maybe have the Nationals rotate with the Orioles at Annapolis? Or maybe have the Mets go to West Point?

Actually, scratch that last one. The men and women of our armed services deserve better than the Mets these days.

Just a random thought.

“Wait, Mo, don’t go!”

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Not many players are sad to see Mariano Rivera retire- at least, not many outside of players who call the Bronx home, but maybe these players are less happy than others- since they have the best Batting Averages of active (Omar Vizquel is counted by Baseball Reference as active since the 2013 season hasn’t started without him yet) players against Rivera, with a minimum of 10 plate appearances (counting both regular season and playoffs).

PA AB H HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Paul Konerko 14 12 5 1 3 1 0 .417 .429 .667 1.095
Jason Kubel 13 12 5 1 4 1 4 .417 .462 .667 1.128
Aubrey Huff 21 20 8 2 4 1 5 .400 .429 .800 1.229
Ichiro Suzuki 16 15 6 1 2 1 1 .400 .438 .667 1.104
Carl Crawford 23 22 8 1 2 0 5 .364 .364 .545 .909
Brian Roberts 18 17 6 0 2 1 2 .353 .389 .471 .859
Bobby Abreu 10 9 3 1 2 1 2 .333 .400 .667 1.067
David Ortiz 35 33 11 1 4 2 5 .333 .371 .515 .887
Alex Rodriguez 16 12 4 0 1 3 2 .333 .438 .417 .854
Omar Vizquel 18 18 6 0 3 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667
Kevin Youkilis 15 12 4 0 1 0 2 .333 .467 .333 .800
Michael Young 25 25 8 0 3 0 4 .320 .320 .360 .680
Nick Markakis 20 19 6 0 0 1 4 .316 .350 .421 .771
Vernon Wells 21 19 6 1 3 2 1 .316 .381 .632 1.013
Joe Mauer 13 13 4 0 1 0 2 .308 .308 .308 .615
Ramon Hernandez 21 20 6 0 1 1 3 .300 .333 .350 .683
Ian Kinsler 10 10 3 0 1 0 6 .300 .300 .500 .800
Casey Kotchman 11 10 3 0 1 0 2 .300 .300 .300 .600
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/10/2013.

Picture of the Day: Chien-Ming Wang

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From back in the day (2007) comes this photo of Chien-Ming Wang, taken by Keith Allison and used under a creative commons license. Wang pitches tonight for Team Chinese Taipei in the WBC.

Picture of the Day: Robinson Cano

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Continuing the international flavor of the Pictures of the Day, here’s a picture of perhaps the best player who will be suiting up for the Dominican Republic this year: Robinson Cano.

This photo is used under a creative commons license and was taken by Tom Thai.

Famous for Something Else: George Halas

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George Halas is best known for being a Hall of Fame coach and player in the NFL, primarily for the Chicago Bears. But he also had a short baseball career with the Yankees:

(Go below the jump)

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Late World Baseball Classic news for January 13, 2013 (Part 1 of an undetermined number)

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Okay, late news on the World Baseball Classic:

  • As a patriotic song once said, “The Yanks are coming, The Yanks are coming!” In this case (according to Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com), it’s Mark Teixeira (who played for the USA in the ’06 classic) and Andy Pettitte (the first starting pitcher to be firmly said to probably be in the WBC). Given the fact that usually very few Yankees play in the WBC, this could be a credit to the pull of Joe Torre.
  • Miguel Tejada hasn’t received a invitation to play for the Dominican Republic yet, apparently, so some of his fans are starting to campaign for him on Twitter.

More news as it happens

The Yankees are just sleeping

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When I was younger, I had a thing for Godzilla movies. But I sort of realized that, at the end of each movie, there probably should have been a scene where the Japanese government realized that Godzilla was going to come back, and that he wasn’t dead, he was just sleeping.

The same could be said of the Yankees this offseason. So tight have their pockets been that Brian Cashman apparently went to the Winter Meetings without authority to sign free agents. Names like Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez went elsewhere, and the big names like Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke have been almost entirely unconnected to them. They haven’t been in for any trades. The only player they seem to have officially been in pursuit of so far is Kevin Youkilis.

But, rest assured, they have a plan. A horrible plan. Much like Godzilla no doubt dreamed of stomping Tokyo or Osaka as he slept between B-movies, the Yankees have dreams as well, and it involves a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement.

You see, there is a threshold of about $189 million dollars. If a team is above it, they have to pay luxury taxes, and a lot of them, and the penalties accrue based on how much and how long the team is over it. The Yankees, as they have been going, would have been paying up to a 50% luxury tax.

But if a team goes under it, the formula for luxury tax resets. They could then proceed to go over the tax threshold and not have to pay close to the luxury tax amount they  would be paying if they didn’t reset the clock.

If what I’m reading is correct, this would mean that they’d be relatively unencumbered in the 2014-2015 off-season in their quest to stomp Tokyo, or at least the American League, free to spend, spend, spend without much worry about all the taxes they’d be inflicted upon.

And here comes the part that is terrifying for the people of Tokyo, or at least the American League: Justin Verlander could be a free agent after 2014. So could Clayton Kershaw. And Felix Hernandez. And Chase Headley, Johnny Cueto and Elvis Andrus.

In other words… they Yankees could spend and attempt to buy a pennant in a way even George would find crazy.

And that is why they are sleeping.

Winter Meetings Actions and Reactions: Part 4

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Action:

Reaction: It is true. The Yankees apparently were in on Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez, looking to get them to fill the black hole that has now emerged at 3B now that Alex Rodriguez is hurt. Neither of them signed: Keppinger went to the White Sox, and Chavez went to the Diamondbacks. And, let’s face it, even if you are a true seamhead, you may have trouble remembered who Jeff Keppinger even is.

So, the third choice (assuming that they even went after Keppinger and Chavez, as some say they never even made an offer to them) is… Kevin Youkilis.

How the mighty have fallen. How the mighty have fallen.

Action:

Reaction: Jason Bay isn’t what he used to be back during his days as the Pirates’ designated All-Star, having been worn down by age and injury, but really, the Mariners need all the help they can get and it’s just a one-year deal. Maybe if he shows flashes of his old self the Mariners will be able to flip him at the deadline for some prospects.

Action:

 

Reaction: In other words, if you are breathing and can throw a baseball with anything resembling Major League ability, the Twins might offer you a contract. And can you blame them? The Twins had a 4.77 ERA last season, only two starters had winning records, and that was in a cavernous pitcher’s park. They need one or two starters to eat innings, protect the young arms, and possibly act as trade-bait if the Twins are out of it mid-year.

 

The Spoilers

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The resurrection of the Baltimore Orioles, it could be said, began last September. Buck Showalter had said early on that he would be playing his regulars in games against contenders, while using the September call-ups in the games against also-rans.

By comparison, the Yankees, who had stitched up the division by the final series against the Wild Card contending Tampa Bay Rays, decided to send in the call-ups.

So, it was a study in contrasts. When Boston arrived for the series that would decide their season’s fate, they ran into a team with Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and a mindset that essentially said “This is our World Series.” The Rays, meanwhile, were basically facing a Yankees team that was playing Spring Training baseball.

And so as we barrel through September with several races still close, the question becomes: will the potential spoilers this year be like the Orioles, or like the Yankees?

(jump)

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