6 months ago: New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez stretches out during spring training baseball at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
about 1 month ago: New York Yankees starting pitcher Phil Hughes kneels behind the mound just before taking his first pitch against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning during a baseball game Friday, July 9, 2010, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Ken Davidoff, my least favorite writer in history of writing, (yes even worse than Duggan!) wrote this piece that I read in Newsday yesterday.
From the article:
Underlined one reason why the 2010 Hughes Rules have worked out considerably better than the 2009 Joba Rules:
Good fortune.
Well, Ken, here are some stats to show that Phil Hughes has actually pitched much better than Joba Chamberlain and that is the main reason why the Hughes Rules worked out better than the Joba Rules.
13-12: Phil Hughes has 13 quality starts this season. Joba Chamberlain had 12 all of last season.
4.10-4.78: Phil Hughes' 4.10 ERA is obviously much better than Joba Chamberlain's 4.78 ERA last season as a starter.
123-133: Yes, Phil Hughes has less strikeouts this season so far than Joba Chamberlain. By 10. Unless Hughes forgets how to pitch he will pass Joba in yet another category.
48-76: Joba Chamberlain walked 76 batters last season. With six starts left to tie Joba in starts on the season Hughes has 48 walks, 28 less than Joba had. Sure, Hughes could walk 4.6 batters per his next six starts (if he makes six starts) but it's questionable. Not the best stat to help my point, but I doubt Hughes will lose this category.
.250-.274: Phil Hughes' .250 batting average against so far is better than Joba's .274 as a starter last season.
These are only the basic statistics of baseball. Hughes will likely not make the six more starts to tie Joba Chamberlain's 31 starts of 2009, but if he did his numbers would not likely spiral out of control.
There's no such thing as good fortune in baseball. There is such a thing as being a better pitcher. There is also such a thing as winning games. Phil Hughes does that. For that, I appreciate Phil Hughes.
The 22-year old third-baseman also won the Rookie of the Year with a .291/.355/.523 line. He was promoted to Scranton a month ago but has struggled so far.
CC Sabathia. 8 innings of 1 hit ball. He was excellent. Curtis Granderson. Two home runs (once off of a lefty). He was also excellent. The Corpulant Chap and the Journeyman would be all the Yankees would need to finish off the sweep on this Joe West approved afternoon game.
Other than an early Jorge Posada home run, the Yankees bats were somewhat stymied by our old friend, Dallas Braden. However, the offense was able to sink their teeth into the A's bullpen and give Sabathia some more breathing room in the late innings.
4 wins is an excellent way to start off this home stand, and we welcome in the Blue Jays with another afternoon game tomorrow.
Think good thoughts.....imagine this is Joe Girardi taking the game ball from AJ in the top of the 9th of Game 3 of the ALCS after he just allowed a bloop single to break up his no-hitter.
No Ted Lilly and no Hiroki Kuroda make the Yankees a nervous, nervous team. I thought I'd try to put that in proverb form, so enjoy it. However, looking around at the other AL playoff contenders, the Yankees aren't alone in their rotation woes. By no means does that make me comfortable, but it does make me a little less uneasy.
If the season ended today, the Yankees would square off against - guess who? - the Twins in the ALDS, and would probably face Francisco Liriano and Carl Pavano in the first two games. I'm not worried about that, not with CC and (hopefully) Andy (not AJ) starting Games 1 and 2. Yeah, I know: back to back lefties are bad, Andy's a gamer and should be lined up to start Game 7, etc. I don't care. Let's focus on not needing a Game 7. From there, the Twins would be likely to start Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey in some order, who are both decent/solid-average pitchers, but don't really scare me. With AJ and (hopefully) Phil (not Javy) starting Games 3 and 4, I can live with that. If a few games have to be decided by the bats, I like the Yankees chances.
The same situation seems to play out against the Rays and Rangers. Both teams have two solid, above-average starters followed by two decent/serviceable ones. If the Yankees play their cards right, meaning getting Andy Pettitte back to full strength and including Phil Hughes in the postseason rotation, I'm actually not as worried as I thought I'd be.
On that note, Pettitte had a "great: bullpen session today. Expect a simulated game in a few days, followed by a minor league rehab start, and then he should be back in the majors in about 10 days.
Anybody else notice Curtis Granderson lately? He's posted a .793 OPS since the All-Star break (pretty good in a down year for offense) even though his BABIP is probably still a tad low considering his line drive rate and speed.
Here's a less than encouraging, but not unrealistic, spin on the upcoming Derek Jeter contract issue. I hate to admit it, but:
(The Yankees) can’t expect to pay Derek Jeter $18 million and A-Rod north of $25 million in 2013 and 2014 and compete at a high level (emphasis added). Even the Yankees’ resources are limited, and poor investments at such high levels are tough to overcome.
about 1 year ago: New York Yankees' Robinson Cano reacts after getting smeared in the face by teammate A. J. Burnett following a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2009 at Yankee Stadium in New York. Cano hit a three-run walk-off home run to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
Which second baseman would you like on the Yankees all-time roster? Vote! The top vote getter will be a starter and the second place vote getter will not be guaranteed a spot. Voting starts at 11 p.m. Wednesday and ends 11 p.m. Thursday.
