WHY WE NOW CROSS OUR FINGERS FOR PINEDA

Michael Pineda has had his operation on his right shoulder yesterday and it’s safe to say…now we wait.  This story is coming from MLB.com’s Joey Nowak, read HERE.

There is not a ton of information coming out other than it was confirmed and that Joe Girardi said “I heard it went well.”  Actually, he said more:

“It was done Tuesday by Dr. Altchek and Dr. Ahmad. The rehab doesn’t start right now basically. We’re anxious to get this guy back and now he’s on the road to recovery.”

Remember, it was reported late last week that Curt Schilling of all people believed Pineda would be back sooner than the timetable of May 2013.  Read HERE.  Here is a Schilling quote:

 "He can be back better than he has ever been in 10 months... Maybe less, because he is younger. It is going to be 100 percent on him.... I was really surprised to see the 12-month-out thing."

Schilling had the same injury and procedure as Pineda.  We'll have to stay tuned for this one...Get well soon Michael... and fast! 

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WHY MANY WONDER IF SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MARTIN

Since Russell Martin joined the Yankees for the 2011 season, he has had varied measures of success.  If you recall, he had a bad hip that had to heal in the offseason and he started very well for us. This year so far, he has not performed as well as we are used to.  The numbers below are for April of each year in pinstripes.

As you can see, his April numbers this year do not match what he did last year.  But remember, Russell started out hot last year and then cooled off the rest of the year.  His slash line for all of 2011 was .237/.324/.408 which is somewhere north of this year’s start but still south of last year’s start.

My point is that Russell’s bat is a bonus at his position.  He is an above average defensive catcher. His caught stealing percentage is frequently above the league average.  He calls a very good game and communicates well with his pitchers. His fierce determination is a great motivator and is also a quality in the long tradition of gritty hard working Yankee catchers.

During the off season, the Yankees tried to negotiate with Russell to extend his contract.  They dangled $20M for 3 years in front of him but he did not bite. That deal may not have sounded good to him but if his hitting does not improve this season, the team might not consider going that high at the end of the season.  Plus the team has the added burden of wanting to stay below $189M in payroll for 2014.  If they really want to do that, they have some serious math to figure out.  Robinson Cano & Curtis Granderson are the likely top priorities as they should be.  Russell might already be gone by then.

Overall the Yankees hitting is feast or famine this year. We just dropped 2 to the O’s with nary a runner past first base in the second loss.  If Russell the Muscle and his pinstriped brethren want to be better than 4th best in the AL East, they better wake the bats up soon.  And don’t get me started on the starting pitching.  That’s another saga for another time.  Good night Yankee fans.



--Joseph Saucedo, BYB Guest Writer



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WHY NOTHING IN BASEBALL SURPRISES ME ANYMORE

There were quite a few stories swirling around Major League baseball in the past 24 hours, some Yankees related, some not, but hey, I thought I’d bring them to your attention just to keep you in the loop… that’s what we do here.

Mark Prior: The Boston Red Sox have signed former Yankees minor leaguer Mark Prior to a minor league deal.  Don’t forget, Prior was working his way back in the Yankees minor league system all last year and I was really hoping and praying for his sake, we’d get a glimpse of him last year at the major league level.  The guy last pitched in 2006 in the pros and had a slew of injuries along the way…even last year.  I actually felt pretty bad for the guy and it was clear I was the only guy that still had faith in him.  I like that he still believes in himself and for that, I hope he makes it back to the majors.  That being said, it’s now our job the hit him over the fence if he get’s there.  You can read about Prior from Jon Heyman HERE.

Brett Gardner: Marc Carig for the Star Ledger says that Brett Gardner is not likely to come off the disabled list Thursday which will mean more playing time for Eduardo Nunez or Andruw Jones in left field.  Look, I voiced my opinion on unexpected injuries in the Yankees outfield before. I hate to harp on it but this doesn’t surprise me. The Yankees had a kid named Justin Maxwell who had a dynamic Spring and they let him walk to the Houston Astros.  Maxwell was athletic and probably willing to ride the bench for an opportunity like filling in for Gardner.  Now we need to wait for Gardy to get healthy, use Andruw Jones, an awkward outfielder, and hope the ball doesn’t get hit out there.  Just sayin’, we could have planned that out alittle better.

Willie Aikens: Some of the older guys and gals may remember Aikens.  He was one of the player for the Kansas City Royals back in the 80’s.   I read a terrific piece today by SB Nation’s Amy Nelson who wrote about the hard life that Aikens had, self inflicted. He used drugs and eventually becoming a junkie and went to prison for a bit off and on.  But it was this quote that disturbed me: “Every day, every game of the World Series, I snorted cocaine.” He’s referring to the 1980 World Series where Aikens just kicked ass…a .400 average, 4 home runs and 8 RBIs, but he was a coke head.  I remember looking at his baseball cards as an 11 year old kid and was young enough to not know too much, but knowing the guy was a hot mess. You can see it in his 1981 Topps baseball card…I don’t think I was curious enough to know he was a coke head then, but it doesn’t surprise me.  That being said, Aikens is now clean and trying to help get young ballplayers who have an “itch” to dabble to change their minds and stay clean.  Read about it HERE.

Johnny Damon: The Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta said that he wants Johnny Damon to be the Indians lead off hitter this season. Read HERE.  I never saw that one coming.  Not only did teams pass on Damon, they weren’t going to pay $5 million for an old lead off hitter.  Props to the Indians for giving Damon a shot at lead off again.  You know I like Damon, just not at the price Scott Boras wanted for him.  By the way, Johnny Damon eventually signed with the Indians for …wait for it… $1.25 Million.  Damn I should have been Damon’s agent... didn't I say $1 or $2 million? You're Welcome.

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WHY THE YANKEES STUNK UP THE JOINT

When the Yankees lose, I get pissed.  That's it. The End.  I really don't want to write anymore when I watch the Yankees literally scratch together 5 hits all night.  I mean, the Yankees were shut out by the Orioles.  What the hell is going on? Where is Robinson Cano? Where is Russell Martin? Look, I know it's May 2nd, but this is when teams are supposed to start kicking into gear. Instead, we have stalled to Buck Showalter and the Orioles.  I want to punch a baby right now, I'm angry.

Ivan Nova snapped his 15 game winning streak.  His line looked like this: 6.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 K's.  Look, he didn't look great.  What can I say, Nova is allowed to have a bad start because he's been pitching well.  When you keep pitching bad, then you worry.  I'm not so worried about Nova as I am annoyed with the Yankees bats.  They gave us nothing...NOTHING.

Robinson Cano is lost.  I don't know what the hell is going on.  Ken Singleton, whom I have tremendous respect for said something that I don't believe.  He said the reason Cano didn't hit tonight was because it was a combination of bad hitting and good Orioles pitching.  I don't believe that. I believe that if there is good pitching down in the zone, Cano needs to hit it, that's his job. He's always been impressive when needed...why should this season be any different.  Yes, I believe in slumps, but Cano doesn't slump, that's the bottom line. If Cano gets on the road, I expect him to start hitting in Kansas City...end of story.

Not having Brett Gardner there, not having Nick Swisher there hurts this team, this is true, but what about Alex? ARod needs to step up, Russell Martin needs to step up.  Bottom line, the Yankees are in trouble, but we need to see what happens in Kansas City before we really start to panic. Look, I don't care what anyone says, we need an outfielder fast. We need a corner infielder fast, we need a winning streak.

The injury to Chavez is serious, make no mistake about it. The reason why it's serious? Well, only because it's Eric Chavez.  Mr. Fragile got hurt tonight with what is described as a whiplash injury and a possible concussion. Read HERE. 

Are you freaking kidding me? That's not only a day to day injury, I guarantee it will end up being a 15 day DL injury for this guy. Why? Because that's the kind of luck Chavez has! It sucks! When we know more, we will tell you.

Final Score: Orioles 5 - Yankees 0

I'm disgusted, we need to turn it around in Kansas City.

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YANKEES SIGN CUBAN ADONIS GARCIA

Just a quick note.  The New York Yankees have signed Cuban outfielder Adonis Garcia.  Garcia is 26 years old and was signed for a 1 year minor league deal that was worth $400,000. This is according to one of my favorite writers Marc Carig of the Star Ledger.  Read HERE. We first wrote about Garcia in a piece titled, YANKEE NUGGETS & THE FIRST OFFICIAL SPRING GAME.

When Bleeding Yankee Blue knows more, we will bring it to you.

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WHY PHIL HUGHES REMAINS A MYSTERY

(Hughes leaving in 6th inning last night, 05/01/12)

So Phil Hughes pitched last night and suffered another loss.  But this time he wasn't shelled and knocked out in the second inning.  No, this time he made it into the 6th inning and, in fact, was one out away from finishing the 6th only down 3-1.  But, that did not happen.  Hughes proceeded to hit a batter with two outs and Girardi saw enough.  In came Boone Logan and the game basically got out of hand.  In the end you can blame Girardi if you want for not letting Hughes get out of the 6th, but at the same time, how can you blame Girardi?  I mean he has sat in that dugout for 2+ years watching and waiting just like us, the fans, waiting for Hughes to either dazzle or implode.  And last night Hughes did neither, which is maybe more frustrating to watch.

If Hughes got completely roughed up last night today's conversation among Yankee fans and probably Yankee brass might have been, does Hughes stay in rotation.  But after last night's game Hughes could have easily been on the winning side.  Although he gave up 4 earned runs (thanks to Logan), he basically surrendered 3 runs in almost 6 innings.  That's not really bad at all.  I mean, that's pretty much a line you would take from your starting pitcher 9 out of 10 times.  The Yankee offense had Brian Matusz on the ropes a few times and did nothing to support Hughes.  So was Hughes to blame for last night's loss, or do you blame the offense?

(Clemens in pinstripes)

Look, I personally think Hughes absolutely earned the right to stay in the starting rotation after last night's performance.  I know this may be an unpopular stance among Yankee fans.  In fact, this is even a topic Casey and I disagree with.  Hughes wasn't great last night by any means but he definitely was not awful.  It was somewhere in between but he pitched well enough to win.  As a huge Yankees fan and someone who really wants Hughes to do well I am gonna take a new approach every time Hughes takes the mound.  I am going to stop looking for him to give us a Roger Clemens-like performance.  I am going to just hope he gives up 3-4 runs in 6 innings and hope the Yankee bats knock in a minimum of 5 runs.  His mechanics seem to be okay.  His arm strength seems to be fine.  So maybe we have to accept that Hughes will just be a .600 career pitcher with a 4.60 ERA

And maybe if Hughes started to realize that die hard fans like me are not expecting anything from him other then keeping us in each and every game, he would pitch with less anxiety?  Maybe the Yankees should take the same approach with Hughes.  Just hand him the ball every five days and say, "Phil, just give us 6 innnings and keep us in the game."  I'd love to know what you all think about Hughes...does he deserve to stay in the starting rotation?

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


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WHY THE EDUARDO NUNEZ EXPERIMENT WILL WORK

When Eduardo Nunez took the outfield on Monday and Tuesday night, I smiled. Don’t get me wrong, I cringed too, but I smiled.  I knew what Girardi was doing and I liked it.  Eduardo Nunez will never be a great infielder.  He doesn’t have the glove, the instincts and the ability to be truly great like say… Derek Jeter.  Nunez can however become a pretty great outfielder.  Sure, he flashes the leather like Ahmad Abdul Rahim from the Bad News Bears, but I’d much rather have the guy taking drills and perfecting the outfield than “trying” to play the infield.  Why? Because the outfield is an easier position. Now look, this is my opinion based on experience, and there is absolutely no disrespect to the greats that have played outfield before him, but let’s face it, it all goes back to Little League. 

If a player had trouble with catching or making a fundamental play, the coach always threw them in the outfield.  When the ball goes out there, the object is the run after it, get it or catch it and throw it in the the cut off man quickly. It’s  simple stuff.  This is coming from a guy that played center field for years.  Sure, you need to cover a lot of ground out there and sure you need to know how to catch a ball, where to throw it in and where to play for certain players, believe me, I’m not downplaying it, I’m just saying the strategy is much different than the infield. It’s where Nunez belongs, maybe now and maybe for his career… we will see, because let’s face it, Alex Rodriguez is our 3^rd baseman for a long time, Derek Jeter has made it clear he’s not going anywhere and RobinsonCano and Mark Teixiera are most likely sticking around as well.  The point is, You need to get Nunez and his bat in the lineup. 

He’s got a great bat and plenty of speed and if you can get him playing in the outfield from time to time and let guys like Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher rest once in a while, the team won’t skip a beat.  Hey, you don’t have to believe me, after all, this is my opinion and you can have yours, I’m fine with that, but it’s just how I feel and to me, it makes sense.

The Nunez experiment isn’t over by any means.  Sure, he banged into the wall Monday night, and had to run in and dive alittle (and made a nice catch), and while he looked alittle awkward, he looked good. Tuesday night, he made an error...a big one, but then I got to thinking... I’m not so sure guys like Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez couldn't have made the same of those plays either.  So yeah, Nunez in the outfield will eventually work…  you have youth, speed and you’re slowly going to see a transition from awkward to comfortable.  If Eduardo Nunez can play all three outfield positions, you’re going to see him getting plenty of playing time, rotating with GGS and getting plenty of at bats and chances to get on base and use that speed. 

Look, it may not be the perfect solution, but it’s a smart solution in my mind.  Look, the Yankees have a long term plan and Nunez will be apart of it, trust me,  they like this kid. They just didn’t like the errors which is why the outfield is a smart idea.  If the outfield can become Eduardo Nunez’s new home… well, we hit the lotto…I believe that.

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WHY BEING AN ORIOLE MAKES YOU SAD

I found this to be pretty funny.  One of my friends sent this over to me.  I guess this was a graphic on YES Network one night of Robert Andino and over the years, the guy looks more and more unhappy.  It's tough being a Baltimore Orioles, I guess.

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WHY IT'S ALL KATE UPTON ON DAN PATRICK'S SHOW

"How does this show not win an Emmy?" - Dan Patrick

This has nothing to do with the New York Yankees and everything to do with enjoying a good sports show. I work for a living and I never watch or listen to the Dan Patrick show even though I love the guy and his crew, the Danettes, so when I catch it on TV, it's enjoyable.  That being said, I found yesterday's show to be quite entertaining.

Dan is funny, he's always funny, and he's just so good at what he does. The Danettes are epic and a great compliment and today supermodel Kate Upton stopped in. Clearly Dan was nervous, so were the Danettes and in my opinion, there was 1 creepy moment where Kate was in Dan's side of the studio (it's separated by glass from the Danettes) and the dialog between Kate and Dan was strange:

 Kate: "We're not all in the same room."
Dan: "You can put your headphones onto hear them."

Now I love Dan and I know there was absolutely nothing wrong or suggestive with this dialog and conversation, but it was clear as a viewer, she wanted to have more interaction with the Danettes more. It seemed creepy for those few seconds, that's all. But it got way better. When they started the interview it was great, freaking hilarious actually.  5 dudes drooling over Kate Upton, every viewer was doing the same, trust me.
 
The best part had to be when Fritzy came in and was told to sing while Kate Upton danced.  The song he chose? Rick Ashley's "Never gonna give you up". (Ya'll remember her dancing at a basketball game on YouTube right?

 
Anyway, I was rolling. Fritzy couldn't come up with a better song? Come on... I was waiting for him to get Rick Rolled. Through all of this, I get a text from my buddy, who also had a day off today writing "How much you want to make a bet Christie Teigen calls in and says 'Are the Danettes cheating on me?'" (If you don't know, Teigen does Dans' show from time to time.)

Look, we're a Yankee site, I know. What does this have to do with them? Nothing, I have a vehicle to speak my mind. I love sports, I love the Yankees and I appreciate and respect shows like the  Dan Patrick Show. If you don't listen, you should, if you don't watch, you should.

Kudos to Dan and the Danettes, they do a great job. I mean, they even has Bob Costas on and Dan and him broke each others balls because Costas won like his 23rd studio award and Dan got the shaft. It's just funny, I love it.

Hey, Maybe Seton, a Yankee fan will give me a shout out, I found yesterday's show to be really really great.

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WHY IT WASN'T THE YANKEES NIGHT

Brian Matusz beat the Yankees tonight. That's it. The Yankees had runners on base, or lack there of and could not get it going tonight. Sure, it's baseball, sometimes that happens, but come on now, we're the mighty New York Yankees, and they are the Orioles.  Is it really possible that we can't go out there and beat them every time? I guess it is.

Phil Hughes was not good tonight. Maybe he was OK, but he wasn't good.  I don't care what Joe Girardi suggests about Hughes having better command of his fast ball, maybe he did but his line tonight looked like this: 5.2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 6 K's. He's a strange case right now.  Not sure what to make of Hughes.  Sure, you can make the argument that it's the beginning of May and it's still OK if Hughes is still working out some kinks.  But let's be honest, this is a guy that's having some trouble still and how many more starts do we need to wait for him to be "back." 

There is a double standard in my opinion when it comes to Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes.  Hughes is home grown, the Yankee brass haven't given up on him yet. Freddy Garcia? Well, the bullpen is purgatory for him before he's released, I believe that.  Keep your eyes on Hughes, if he continues to give up a lot of runs, we have to ask ourselves some serious questions, like "Should Hughes be the guy in the pen?"  Stay tuned for that.

Eduardo Nunez had a misplay in the outfield, but it's going to happen when you're are an infielder and then they move you to the outfield.  I believe in the Nunez Experiment and sure it will take time, but don't get on his case yet, don't forget, Hughes was the one who let up for 4 runs before Nunez even made that misplay. 

Offense tonight was flat but there were moments.  Curtis Granderson had a solo shot and that was it.  Alex Rodriguez had an opportunity with the bases loaded and popped up. Come on Alex, you're a major league ball player, you need to hit that.  Derek Jeter of course had 3 hits tonight.  The Captain is just amazing. 

Final Score: Orioles 7 - Yankees 1.

Tomorrow Ivan Nova goes for the Yankees...damn I could use another win!

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WHAT IF HUGHES & PETTITTE DON'T PAN OUT?

Look, we’re Yankee fans... we think too much, or at least I do.  Even if we’re humming through the season, every once in a while there is a thought that will pop into my head about a player or position which will trigger internal conversation…with myself. NERD! I know you want to yell it...so do it, what do I care.  I’m a fanatic and I also happen to be a blogger, so that helps, I guess.

I was thinking about the recent move involving Freddy Garcia.  The poor guy can’t even get to the third innings and was continually gets roughed up every outing.  Enough was enough.  Hell, BYB saw it coming weeks ago and finally, the Yankees made their move, moving long-man Boy Wonder into the starting rotation and sliding Freddy Garcia to the bullpen. Read HERE. It’s business... nothing else. David Phelps has proved himself and Garcia hasn’t. So now we look forward to see what Phelps can do.

But that’s only the first step.  If Garcia can’t handle the starting rotation, what makes you think his new long-man role will be any better?  After all, we have a championship to win and we don't need dead weight. You have to have that in the back of your mind. Also, think about this...Could an unstable Garcia destroy the amazing flow of our brilliant bullpen?  You hope it doesn’t happen, but you just don’t know. 

And that brings me to Phil Hughes, who actually has the bullpen experience and has been successful in that role.  I have suggested numerous times that Hughes needs to be a long man pen guy and this season and beyond.  I feel as though his starting days are long gone.  Read WHY THE PEN IS WHERE HUGHES BELONGS.  Hughes has proved to me that he in fact should be there.  His starts have been lousy too and with Andy Pettitte is literally salivating at the idea of return to the Bigs.  Remember, he stated yesterday that he was ready to "Help." Read HERE.  It's my take that if Phil Hughes does lousy, there will be movement of Hughes. If David Phelps gets shelled, he may be the one to get back to the pen in his original role.  The whole thing is nuts I know...plus, everyone expects Pettitte to come back and all will be butterflies and lollipops again for the Yankees rotation.

But think about this... what if Andy Pettitte doesn’t pan out either? Then what? I know, speculation.  Well, again, I'm a fan and I think too much I guess, but I'm not the only one. We get a ton of email from BYB readers that give me scenarios as well.   I got a really fun email  from Travis Lincoln today. He's a nice guy, he comments from time to time, and he always puts together stuff to think about.  I guess he and I do the same thing.  Travis wrote:

“…What about this... Sign Roy Oswalt (if he will), release Garcia. Then, move Oswalt into Freddy’s spot in the rotation. Then we move Hughes into the bullpen (It’s my opinion that he performs better there anyway.) Pettitte takes Hughes' rotation spot and slide Phelps into the long man role again and leave Hughes knocking out a couple innings in relief. “

Thanks Travis.  Yes, there are plenty of great ideas… I could actually get behind this one as well. 

There is no question the Yankees will do well this season.  There is alittle worry about the holes in the rotation.  I mean, as I predicted, CC Sabathia has spend the first month of April just finding his way like he always does and now he’s rolling.  Hiroki Kuroda either shits the bed or dominates, but you just don’t know what you’re going to get. Thankfully, yesterday he dominated.  Ivan Nova is impressive and will have a bad outing once in a while, but he’s got the confidence of a veteran and you need to love him and give him more respect, there is no denying that. If Pettitte pitches well when he comes up and Hughes can turn it around, everything will work out... but man oh man... they say having a lot of pitching is a good problem...well... I have headache.

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THE BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE NEWSSTAND IV

It's another round of the Bleeding Yankee Blue Newsstand, and it's become more popular than I thought it would be...that's a good thing. Thank you.

THE BABE'S HAT UP FOR AUCTION:  Remember that Babe Ruth hat that David Wells had? It's up for auction.  According to the New York Post, it's supposed to go for at least $300,000.  Read about it HERE. Look, my take on this is easy, if you can afford it, you best be trying to bid on that piece of history.  I love everything about Babe Ruth, but I clearly cannot afford anything like that.  Very cool.

(Hat in photo, not the actual hat)
The auction has other items as well, the Post says: "The auction house opened bidding and the online sale goes through May 19. Other notable items in this baseball sale include there is: "A 1920 Yankees jersey worn by Ruth is expected to fetch more than $1 million. The cap worn by Bobby Thomson when he slugged, arguably, baseball’s most famous home run, could go for $100,000. The Flying Scot’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” won the 1951 National League pennant for his New York Giants. The 1968 road Yankees jersey, worn by Mickey Mantle when he hit career homer No. 535, should also reach six digits."

THANKS FOR THE SHOUT OUT: It's nice to be acknowledged when you get something right or fun that no one else has and thanks to this blog HERE, we got props. Boom!  Full disclosure, Steve Skinner is a Guest writer for Bleeding Yankee Blue, but that being said, it's a respect thing and I wanted to give him a proper thank you. He wrote a piece about Derek Jeter and how a week ago when Jeet was asked about if 3000 hits distracted him like Joe Girardi suggested, he dismissed it.  Skinner then was nice enough to credit
BYB for our video nugget.
 
 "As reported in Bleeding Yankee Blue, Jeter dismissed the theory that his struggles last season were the result of the pressure surrounding his reaching 3000 hits and that they were a “mechanical thing”.  What ever the case may be, our beloved captain – a New York Yankees legend – is back." I appreciate it...Thank you!

JUST A BIT OUTSIDE... No, Bob Uecker isn't a New York Yankees and there is only 1 reason why I'm putting Uecker in this Newsstand... I loved him in Major League and I did him as a broadcaster.
Dave Martin of the Epoch Times, read HERE had this nugget and I'm happy to report that Uecker was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Congrats Bob!

 MOVING DAY:  Here's a nugget I missed... so sue me, I'm busy.  I didn't realize this happened, but it's important just the same.  Apparently Robinson Cano has moved into Jorge Posada's old locker at Yankee Stadium. ESPN has the story HERE. According to ESPN, "...Cano had, without asking, been assigned his old corner locker, a place of honor. 'Jorge told me, 'Now you've got to make me proud,'' Cano said with a laugh."

HARPER UNDER A MOON: Bleeding Yankee Blue is excited about Bryce Harper, because as you know, we love baseball and respect the game and the talent of so many of these players. We have a great piece in the BYB archives about Harper titled WHY BRYCE HARPER COULD BE A YANKEE, check it out.  Anyway, Harper had his first hit in the majors 2 nights ago and someone decided that mooning the camera would be funny.  See if you can find the "Where's Waldo" moment in this screen grab.

For more of the Bleeding Yankee Blue Newsstand, check out I, II and III.

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