Derek Jeter – Page 4 – Keefe To The City

Jul 29, 2014

Podcast: JJ Barstool Sports New York

JJ of Barstool Sports New York joins me to talk about the state of the Yankees, his chase of Brandon McCarthy’s wife Amanda and hanging out with Vidal Nuno at the bar.

The Yankees desperately need to win series and losing the opening game of a three-game set in Texas against the worst team in baseball wasn’t the best way to start a six-game road trip. Joe Girardi once again managed his pitching staff for tomorrow, which is something that would surprise Paul O’Neill, and the offense was nowhere to be found as the Yankees let another winnable game get away.

JJ of Barstool Sports New York joined me to talk about the state of the Yankees with two months left in the season, what moves Brian Cashman should make, JJ’s chase of Brandon McCarthy’s wife Amanda and hanging out with Vidal Nuno at the bar.

Blogs • Yankees

Jul 22, 2014

The Joe Girardi Show: Season 5, Episode 2

Joe Girardi blew Monday night’s game for the Yankees with his bullpen management in the sixth inning and his decision making set up another episode of The Joe Girardi Show.

I can’t remember the last time I was this devastated, upset, frustrated, embarrassed, angry, disappointed, sad and pissed off over a regular-season loss. Looking back, I’m laughing at myself for calling the June 24 loss to the Blue Jays the worst loss of the season because when you put it next to Monday night against the Rangers, it’s about as close as comparing the willingness to play through injury of Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira.

Monday night had it all. It was like a never-ending diner menu for every kind of negative feeling baseball can emote from a person, featuring five Yankees errors, two runs against a pitcher with a 10.05 ERA, one disastrous inning of managing and one big loss to the worst team in the entire majors. But because I can’t do anything about the physical mistakes (the errors) and can’t make the Yankees score runs against a horrible pitcher, I decided to focus on what could have been changed to prevent the Yankees from losing the game: the sixth inning.

It’s now been over three months since the last episode on April 21, but I felt after Monday night that it was necessary to fill in for Michael Kay on my version of The Joe Girardi Show.

Why did Shane Greene face Geovanny Soto?
Shane Greene threw 113 pitches on Monday. One hundred and thirteen. In his last start on July 12 he threw 106 and on July 7, in his only other start in the majors before that, he threw 88. How unusual was it for Joe Girardi (Mr. Conservative) to let a pitcher throw 113 pitches in a game? Well, the Yankees have played 98 games this year and here are each of their starting pitchers with the number of pitches they have thrown in each of their starts:

Masahiro Tanaka: 97, 101, 107, 105, 105, 108, 113, 108, 114, 88, 118, 106, 104, 110, 104, 106, 116, 85, 99.

Hiroki Kuroda: 91, 92, 97, 99, 91, 94, 108, 95, 98, 100, 94, 93, 90, 93, 107, 102, 109, 105, 103, 99.

David Phelps: 87, 70, 100, 104, 109, 92, 93, 102, 115, 94, 101, 107, 103, 98.

Vidal Nuno: 69, 72, 80, 82, 78, 81, 101, 101, 92, 92, 75, 107, 91, 89.

CC Sabathia: 99, 93, 111, 107, 106, 98, 77, 107.

Chase Whitley: 74, 71, 91, 83, 87, 82, 95, 87, 81, 74, 68.

Michael Pineda: 83, 94, 89, 37.

Ivan Nova: 88, 61, 97, 80.

Brandon McCarthy: 101, 99.

Greene’s 113 on Monday night represented the fifth time in 98 games (5.1 percent) that Girardi has left his starter in long enough to reach that number.

With the Yankees leading 2-1, Greene retired the first two hitters in the sixth and then gave up a single to Jake Smolinski on his 105th pitch of the game. At that time I expected Girardi to come out to get Greene. He didn’t. Greene walked Jim Adduci on five pitches to put two on with two outs and then I was certain Girardi would come get Greene at 110 pitches. He didn’t. Instead Larry Rothschild came out and talked to Greene briefly and turned around and went back to the dugout. Girardi stayed in the dugout and the bullpen door never opened. Three pitches later, Geovanny Soto singled to left. Tie game.

Why is Matt Thornton still being considered an “A” reliever just because he is left-handed?
The obvious answer to this question is that Matt Thornton is the left-hander in the bullpen and will face left-handed hitters. Some would say, “If you’re not going to bring Thornton into the game in that spot, then why is he on the team?” And to that I would answer, “He shouldn’t be.”

Matt Thornton is not good. Once upon a time Matt Thornton was good, but the last time he was good was in 2010. Since 2010, he has been “OK” and the last thing you want your left-handed “specialist” who will only be called on for one hitter or maybe two hitters in huge spots is to be “OK.” This year, lefties are hitting .277/.340/.277 against him and he has only struck out eight of the 55 lefties he has seen (14.5 percent). There’s a reason the Red Sox left him off their postseason roster last year and there’s a reason the White Sox traded him to the Red Sox in the first place and there’s a Red Sox didn’t care to re-sign him: he isn’t good.

But there was Matt Thornton being called on to face to face two lefties with runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth. And there was Matt Thornton giving up an RBI single to 20-year-old Rougned Odor and his 197 career plate appearances and there he was giving up another RBI single one a 1-2 pitch to Shin-Soo Choo.

Thornton left the game after failing to retire either lefty he faced and allowing both inherited runners to score to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead. Only in Major League Baseball, where Thornton is getting paid $3.5 million this year (and next year!), is it OK to not do your job in any capacity and then leave your workplace without holding yourself unaccountable for your actions. And that’s what Thornton did as he was nowhere to be found in the Stadium when the media went to ask him about his horrible performance. If Thornton worked a real-life, 9-5 job, an equivalent work day to his Monday night effort would have been showing up to the office at lunch time, eating fish that smelled up the entire place, taking a dump in the handicap stall in the bathroom and then going home for the day.

Why did Adam Warren relieve Matt Thornton instead of Shane Greene?
Who comes in to relieve Matt Thornton? Why it’s Adam Warren! You know him. He’s the supposed seventh-inning guy — the first reliever to be used in a big spot after David Robertson and Dellin Betances. The guy Girardi trusted more than Betances earlier in the year because he had been in the league longer despite having inferior ability and numbers to Betances (which is odd since Girardi didn’t trust Betances to be his setup guy earlier in the season because he’s a rookie while Warren and Shawn Kelley ruined games, but here he is trusting rookie Shane Greene to throw 113 pitches in his third career start).

So Warren, who Girardi didn’t turn to for either of the two right-handed hitters Greene was allowed to face at 105 and 110 pitches, comes in to face right-handed Elvis Andrus in an inning where the game has already changed and the Yankees have already given up the lead.

This entire inning was part of a much bigger problem, which is set innings for relievers because in real life (which is where games should be managed), the game needed to be saved in the sixth inning. Worry about the seventh and eighth innings (where the bases will be empty) when you get there and worry about how you will protect the lead in the ninth when you get there. Girardi went against his own formula by bringing in seventh-inning guy Warren in the sixth inning after he already let the game get away by overusing his starter and calling on a “B” reliever. So now, the same way Betances was likely unavailable on Monday night because of his 1 1/3 innings on Sunday, Warren is now likely unavailable for the following game after being wasted to hold a deficit rather than protect a lead or keep the game tied, which are both things he could have and should have been asked to do on Monday.

I always hope that my latest version of The Joe Girardi Show is the last one I will ever have to do because it would mean he wouldn’t have given me a reason to write another one. Unfortunately, I know that won’t be the case.

Blogs • KTTC Archive • Yankees

Jul 21, 2014

Another Sunday with John and Suzyn

The Yankees have never lost when I listen to John Stelring and Suzyn Waldman and write about it, so on Sunday, I turned to the duo with the Yankees looking for a sweep.

I couldn’t believe it had been over two years since the last time I listened to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman and wrote down my thoughts during a full Yankees broadcast. The last time I spent an entire game listening to John and Suzyn and then wrote about it the following day was June 5, 2012 and the time before that was June 29, 2011. The Yankees won both of those games (in the 2012 one Phil Hughes miraculously beat Justin Verlander), so with the Yankees needing to go on a summer run, I figured it was time to sit down with John and Suzyn and try to sweep the Reds.

Here’s what transpired on Sunday afternoon at the Stadium …

TOP 1ST
Suzyn: “And as Billy Hamilton steps up to the plate, stepping up to the microphone is the voice of the New York Yankees … here is John Sterling.”

John: “Well, Suzyn, I thank you.”

I picked to follow John and Suzyn for this game because I’m visiting my parents for the weekend (because being in the city on the weekends in the summer is miserable) and I knew I would be outside during the game and since I was going to have to listen to the game rather than watch it, I figured I might as well write about it too. (That and the fact I knew my girlfriend would be laying outside and would rather have me listen and write about the game at once rather than watch/listen to it now and then write about it later.) But I didn’t even factor in that with Hiroki Kuroda and Johnny Cueto starting, the game has a chance to move rather quickly without a lot of baserunners and pitching changes.

To prove my point, Kuroda strikes out Hamilton on a splitter to begin the game, and John reiterates my point.

“If you’re going to beat Cueto, the way to do it is to pitch great against him.”

Skip Schumaker strikes out swinging on a splitter as well and there are two away.

John and Suzyn start to talk about the Yankees defense and lineup, which is the same for the third day in a row. I will have to check, but I’m 99 percent sure it’s the most consecutive games Girardi has used the same lineup since 2009. But in the lineup today (and therefore the third day in a row) is Kelly Johnson, who I have been calling to be designated for assignment for a while now.

“Both Solarte and Wheeler will get time next week,” Suzyn mentions in reference to Johnson playing again, and this is when I wish I was the third man in the booth for the game, so I could ask Suzyn, “What has Kelly Johnson done to not only remain in the lineup, but to remain on this 25-man roster?” The answer to that question would be “nothing.” Johnson is hitting .223/.304/.383 and has just two home runs since May 3 despite being in the lineup to provide extra power.

John, who probably would like to share some choice words about Johnson’s play himself, chooses to change the subject and begins his mission to drive home the point that Johnny Cueto is very good at pitching.

“You know if you’re facing Cueto … Kuroda better pitch a terrific game.”

Kuroda strikes out All-Star Todd Frazier looking with a fastball on the outside corner to strike out the side in the first. So far, Kuroda has done just what John has asked of him.

BOTTOM 1ST
“We’ll give Cueto’s numbers … they’re fabulous!” is how John opens the bottom of the first of the broadcast before telling us Cueto is 10-6 with a 2.11 ERA, mentioning that Cueto should have a much better record, but has been screwed over by run support (like Kuroda). John does some math to share Cueto’s hits per innings pitched and then exclaims, “I have a great story, which I’ll get to in a minute.” That great story ends up being about Sterling asking Bob Gibson how he lost nine games during his 22-9, 1.12 ERA season in 1968.

Brett Gardner takes a called third strike and goes down looking (also known as a “Gardner”) on a 3-2 pitch. “I don’t really blame Gardner,” John says before sharing his logic that Gardner was looking to walk and happened to get a pitch on the inside corner. “I don’t really blame Gardner … if you can draw a walk … the pitch was on the inside corner … if you can draw a walk maybe the Yankees build a run.”

The Stadium crowd begins to overpower John and Suzyn and that means Derek Jeter, the only right-handed in the lineup, is coming to the plate. John continues to gush over Cueto while Suzyn compares him to Pedro Martinez and Luis Tiant.

Jeter works the count full before going down swinging on a “nasty” sinker down and in. Even with the first two out by way of the K, Gardner and Jeter forced Cueto to throw 12 pitches and that is a small victory against an elite pitcher. (Yes, I’m looking for something to feel good about knowing the Yankees might not score today.)

Jacoby Ellsbury fouls off the first pitch he sees and then …

“The 0-1 … swung on and lined deep down the right-field line … toward the wall … and it is … foul ball! It is off the wall. Didn’t go out. And Ellsbury missed a double by, I guess, inches.”

Ellsbury ends up hitting on a single on 1-2 pitch and even if the Yankees don’t score this inning, they have made Cueto work.

Teixeira lines out to end the inning and Cueto’s pitch count is at 16.

TOP 2ND
Jay Bruce flies out to right field to begin the second and Suzyn jumps into her “Scoreboard Update.” I went back and found what I wrote the last two times about Suzyn’s love for her “Scoreboard Update.”

Suzyn is giving her first scoreboard update of the day. The best part of the scoreboard updates is that John clearly hates them. He hates that his broadcast gets hijacked momentarily and hates that he has to interrupt Suzyn to give the play-by-play. It breaks up his flow and his rhythm and I kind of agree. And maybe the scoreboards can be taken out of the broadcast? I know it would be like taking away someone’s lines in a play in that Suzyn’s airtime would be cut down significantly, but it’s 2011. I don’t think anyone is waiting for Suzyn’s scoreboard updates to find out scores from around the league.

Well, it’s not 2014 and we are three years removed from when I first asked to have the scoreboard updates removed from the broadcast. I’m not sure how many Yankees fans are looking for the Giants-Marlins or Brewers-Nationals score, especially since I would assume only Yankees fans are listening to a Yankees radio broadcast. And if someone did want to know those scores, would they wait for Suzyn Waldman to tell them it or use one of the three billion forms of technology that could instantly give them the score they are looking for.

John only has to interrupt Suzyn twice while she gives the scores around the league, but then she goes into all the scheduled games and the pitching matchups, which irritates John to no end and she can sense it as she starts to race through them as if she is reading the side effects for some new erection drug at the end of a commercial.

“He is nominally the Yankees No. 1 pitcher,” John says of Kuroda, which gets me thinking.

I hadn’t really thought about the idea that Kuroda is the Yankees’ No. 1 pitcher since I have tried not to think about the state of the rotation at all since Masahiro Tanaka went on the diasabled list. But I guess right now, Kuroda would be the No. 1. If the Yankees were in the ALDS and it started today, I would set the rotation as Kuroda, Brandon McCarthy, Shane Greene and David Phelps (I think Girardi would flip Greene and Phelps) and that has to be the worst Yankee postseason rotation ever. That’s infinitely worse than Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, a 42-year-old Randy Johnson and Jaret Wright in 2006 and much, much worse than Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and an injured 44-year-old Roger Clemens in 2007. The only rotation that compares to it happens to be 2004 when the Yankees started Mike Mussina, Jon Lieber, Orlando Hernandez and Kevin Brown against the Red Sox. Hernandez had a 3.30 ERA in 15 starts for the Yankees, but the lowest after that was Brown’s 4.09.

Ryan Ludwick walks, but Brayan Pena flies out and Chris Heisey pops out to end the inning.

BOTTOM 2ND
“McCann has gotten up to .240 and that’s up!” John says and I’m not sure if he is being sincere or sarcastic about Brian McCann’s struggles. The good news is that McCann is 3-for-7 against Cueto in his career and all three hits were home runs.

No home run this time as McCann grounds out. Carlos Beltran follows with a strikeout and Ichiro falls to 0-for-17 with a ground out. This game might be over by 3:15 p.m.

TOP 3RD
It’s 1:44 p.m. now, which is surprising because the game has felt quicker. Suzyn starts the inning by reading the Yankees’ statement in response to the New York Post falsely reporting that the team hiked up ticket prices for Derek Jeter Day on Sept. 7. Suzyn is outraged at the Post’s accusations and puts on her Yankees hat to defend the team against the article since even if the Post is wrong in this case, the team has never doe anything wrong regarding marketing in the past. Like the Yankees would never honor their iconic retiring star three weeks before the end of the season to increase ticket sales and TV ratings for a September afternoon game against the Royals coincidentally on the same day as the first Sunday of the NFL season.

Zack Cosart grounds out for the first out, but Ramon Santiago, the 9-hitter, “rips” a double to right field and I immediately start to get nervous, and rightfully so, about anyone getting into scoring position with Cueto pitching. Why is it always the 9-hitters against the Yankees?

John continues to back up Suzyn and the Yankees by telling those who have a problem with ticket prices, including those on the secondary market by saying, “One thing about ticket prices to game … You don’t have to go” to the game.

John and Suzyn continue voicing their opinions on the Post’s story and you would think the Yankees asked them to pay to get into the Stadium on Sept. 7 with as angry as they are about it.

Hamilton flies out to the track and his long out had me worried as John’s voice began to pick up steam and I thought it was going to be 2-0 Reds.

“And did you know that Santiago didn’t tag?” John asks. No, I didn’t know because I’m listening to the game on the radio and I all about what happens in the game know is what you tell me.

Schumaker walks to put two on with two outs for Frazier, who struck out looking in the first. It’s never good when there is a game-changing and potentially game-ruining at-bat in the second inning, but that’s what the Yankees face with the Reds’ best hitter at the plate and best pitcher on the mound today.

The 0-1 pitch is driven to center field where Ellsbury evidently makes a diving catch after John nearly gives me a heat attack thinking the chances of a three-game Yankees sweep were over.

“He’s (Ellsbury) fabulous. He really is fabulous.”

BOTTOM 3RD
Brian Roberts leads off the inning with a base hit on a 2-1 pitch and here comes the legend to the plate.

“Now batting for the Yankees … Number 33 … Kelly Johnson … Number 33.”

Suzyn is quick to announce, “Kelly Johnson had a good afternoon yesterday,” which only makes me wish even more I was the third man in the booth to rebut her happiness. Because I have been so vocal about wanting Johnson designated for assignment, whenver he does something even remotely good, I get emails and texts and tweets from people saying, “So do you STILL want Kelly Johnson DFA’d?” The answer is “Yes” and always will be “Yes.” I’m wondering if Suzyn sent some of those emails or texts or tweets. And now I’m wondering if John has sent some too after he says, “Kelly Johnson can do some damage.” Damage? What damage? The man has two home runs since May 3! It’s July 20. May 3 was 78 days ago. Kelly Johnson has two home runs in over 11 weeks. That’s essentially half the season.

But back to Suzyn’s point … If anyone is given enough chances they will eventually come through. Whether it’s Johnson now or Randy Winn in 2010 or Nick Swisher in the playoffs … well, never Nick Swisher in the playoffs. But most players when continuously put into the lineup will eventually do “something,” but doing something once every couple weeks isn’t good enough when there are better options on the bench.

Johnson walks and I check my phone to see if anyone from the Kelly Johnson Fan Club has tried to contact me asking if I would like to rethink my membership and there are two on with no outs for the top of the order. Two on and no outs.

“Would you bunt?” John asks. “I would, by the way. I don’t think you get many runs off Cueto.”

No, I wouldn’t bunt with two on and no one out in the SECOND inning of a 0-0 game at Yankee Stadium. This isn’t Johnny Cueto against pre-July Masahiro Tanaka. This is Johnny Cueto against Hiroki Kuroda, who while good, can lose it at any moment in a game. Cueto’s pitch count is climbing rapidly and you have one of the team’s best hitters up. Why would you want to give Cueto a break and give away an out?

Gardner flies out for the first out of the inning. I told you he should have been bunting!

Jeter grounds out to third to put runners on the corners with two outs and you know John is thinking in his head that if he were the Yankees manager they would be 10 games up in the division with his decision making. (And I’m not so sure they wouldn’t be with some of the decisions Girardi has made this year.)

Suzyn takes the chance to throw in, “Kelly Johnson is a terrific baserunner,” in her bid to keep him on the Yankees forever.

Ellsbury walks and the bases are loaded with two outs for Teixeira, who I have zero confidence will do anything in this spot.

Teixeira swings at the first pitch and fouls it off because why wouldn’t you swing at the first pitch following a walk to load the bases against an elite pitcher, who clearly isn’t on top of his today game? Teixeira works the count to 2-2 and Cueto is now at 63 pitches, having recorded only five outs.

John reminds us of what’s at stake with the 2-2 pitch and why Teixeira is likely to see a strike.

“You go 3-2 and then you HAVE to throw a strike.”

Cueto throws a strike and Teixiera looks at it to end the inning.

TOP 4TH
“Scoreboard Update!”

Bruce grounds out to Teixeira for the first out as Suzyn continues to run off the scores from around the league.

Ludwick doubles to put another runner in scoring positions and after the Yankees missed a chance to open up the game in what might be the only chance they get against Cueto in the bottom of the third, I’m now just waiting for the Reds to take a lead they won’t relinquish. And with Brayan Pena, who hit two home runs against David Phelps on Friday night, coming up, I’m beginning to think he would be the perfect person to ruin this Sunday.

Pena strikes out and Heisey grounds out to short on the first pitch to strand Ludwick at second and for now I can breathe easily.

“At the end of three-and-a-half, no score on the New York Yankees radio network driven by Jeep.”

I’m not sure why Sterling always says “no score” when it’s 0-0 since there is a score and the score is 0-0, but not even that minor pet peeve can upset me after Kuroda leaves another runner in scoring positon and is at just 57 pitches through four.

BOTTOM 4TH
Brian McCann opens the inning with a base hit to right field, and according to John, McCann has been hitting .316 since June 29. Even with 80 percent of the Opening Day rotation on the disabled list, the Yankees don’t have a chance in the “second half” if McCann and Beltran don’t start hitting the way they were expected to when they signed $80 million and $45 million deals respectively. And if they do, in this year’s AL East, I think the Yankees could very well get by and reach the postseason with a makeshift rotation as long as their offense is in order.

Beltran hits a 3-2 pitch into a double play to erase McCann and Ichiro turns his 0-for-17 into an 0-for-18. The Yankees might have missed their chance to get to Johnny Cueto.

TOP 5TH
Cozart hits a ground ball to second, which Roberts boots for his ninth error of the season. Sure, it’s only his ninth (which is a lot when you’re coming from seeing Robinson Cano every day) and that means he obviously doesn’t make an error every game, but it does feel like he makes an error every game.

Santiago wastes no time laying down a sacrifice bunt to move Cozart to second as Dan Martin of the New York Post monotones his way through the fifth-inning segment reminding everyone why he went into print media and not broadcasting and why this segment should also be cut from the broadcast.

Hamilton pops up in foul territory for the second out and Kuroda is one out away from stranding another runner at second and bailing out Roberts, who is unlikely to make up for mistake at the plate if Cozart does score.

Schumaker makes Roberts pay with a two-out hit to score Cozart and give the Reds a 1-0 lead and even with the sun shining on my face, a beer in my hand and baseball in my ears, my mood has suddenly changed into the day-after-Labor Day depression.

Frazier grounds to short on the first pitch, but the damage has been done.

BOTTOM 5TH
Roberts makes up for his costly error by striking out to lead off the fifth, but fan-favorite Kelly Johnson walks following a seven-pitch at-bat. Gardner walks on six pitches and with just one out in the fifth, Cueto is now at 94 pitches, which makes me at least a little happier.

The crowd start to get loud as Jeter walks to the plate and Sterling tells us what’s at stake if the Yankees can’t tie the game or take the lead before the late innings.

“You don’t want to go to the ninth inning down,” John says by alluding to the fact that Aroldis Chapman would be waiting in the bullpen and is well rested, having not pitched all weekend. But do you

Jeter delivers on a 1-1 pitch and Sterling is jacked up.

“Here comes the 1-1 .. swung on and lined to right field … there is a base hit … Kelly Johnson rounding third … Bruce fell down … the throw into the infield … and all the way to third goes Gardner. It is a base hit and an RBI for the Captain! EL CAPITAN!”

Before John said “… and an RBI for the Captain” how was I supposed to know that Johnson even scored on the hit? Oh well. Tie game!

“That was worth the price of a ticket for most people here,” Suzyn responds.

With Gardner on third, Jeter on first and one out, John goes over every possibility and I mean ever possibility for Ellsbury to get the go-ahead run in from third, and Ellsbury takes the easy way with a base hit on a 3-2 pitch. Gardner scores, Jeter goes to third, the Yankees take a 2-1 lead and there’s still just one out for the heart of the order.

Unfortunately the heart of the order beats like that of someone who has lived off the McDonald’s value menu, Slim Jims, hot dogs, and Mountain Dew for 16 years as Teixeira and McCann strike out to end the inning.

TOP 6TH
“Scoreboard Update!”

John recognizes that other AL East teams are winning today after they all won on Saturday and says, “The Yankees would be smart to win today.”

Kuroda needs 10 pitches to eventually strike out Bruce and I’m beginning to think we are at the end of the line for Kuroda’s day after watching last Sunday’s game slip away because of a tired starter (Chase Whitley) before the rain came. If there’s ever a day to go to the bullpen early, it’s today. But I know Girardi wont.

Ludwick strikes out and swinging and Pena grounds out to end the inning. I guess Kuroda isn’t done after all.

BOTTOM 6TH
Beltran strikes out to start the sixth against left-hander Manny Parra, but Ichiro singles to break his 0-for-18 slide, which brings a smile to my face. Ichiro isn’t supposed to be an everyday player, but with Beltran unable to play right field or throw a baseball and Brian Cashman deciding Alfonso Soraino should be designated for assignment over some other players, Ichiro has been put into a regular role. And like Soriano, Ichiro might be playing a role he is destined to fail at. He is now 40 and showed earlier in the season how effective he can be when used as a fourth outfielder, but some more intelligent general managerial and managerial decisions have made Ichiro the everyday right fielder.

Roberts singles to left field in an attempt make up for his earlier error (it doesn’t) and there are two on and one out for the immortal Kelly Johnson.

Nevermind. Johnson gets called back to the bench for Zelous Wheeler, who should have been starting the game to begin with (or Solarte). Suzyn tells John how Zelous says his mom just made up his unique name and John sarcastically responds, “His siblings are Joe and Bob and Frank.” Wheeler strikes out looking.

Gardner hits a grounder to third, which is booted by Santiago (I guess were are now even on errors) to load the bases with two outs for Jeter. Parra won’t be allowed to face Jeter and Bryan Price brings in right-hander Sam LeCure.

“The bases are F.O.B.,” John says coming out of the break from the pitching change. “Full of Bombers.” (I actually don’t mind this acronym from John. It’s not as good as David Cone’s “the bases are drunk,” but it’s not terrible.)

Jeter grounds out to short on a 2-1 pitch to keep the score the same: 2-1.

TOP 7TH
Heisey flies out to left to open the inning with an out for Kuroda and Cozarts pops out to second. Two outs and no one on and Joe Girardi is taking out Kuroda for Dellin Betances. I like this move because if Kuroda were to give up the game-tying run this inning, after I thought he was tiring last inning, I would crush Girardi for waiting too long. It’s never too early to bring in Betances.

Kuroda’s final line: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and 99 pitches. A great start to the “second half” for Kuroda after what happened at the end of his second half last year.

“We knew that Betances would come in in the eighth,” John says. “I’m a little surprised two outs and no one on for Santagio.

“This is the only thing I can think of, John,” Suzyn says. ” He had just hit 100 pitches and Joe maybe is thinking ‘What if it’s a 10-pitch at-bat?’ Maybe it’s 10 more pitches. They’re being very careful with Kuroda. They don’t want him to lose his stuff by the end of the year. Maybe that’s it.”

There’s just so much here I don’t know where to begin. If Suzyn thinks that Girardi took Kuroda out because of the fear of a 10-pitch at-bat then I don’t even know what to say. And if Girardi actually did take Kuroda out for the fear of a 10-pitch at-bat then I think I need to go off the grid and the Yankees need to find a managerial replacement today. How often do 10-pitch at-bats happen? What’s the chance of a 10-pitch at-bat happening? Is there a place that offers odds on something like this because I have a lot of money that needs to be made.

The part about the Yankees not wanting to burn Kuroda out is sadly 100 percent true. Kuroda is 39 and is on a one-year deal and likely will retire or go back to Japan after this season. The Yankees should be using his arm up until it’s hanging from his body. Not only to get the most use out of him, but because they are trailing in both the division and wild-card races and need to win games. We don’t need Girardi not using Kuroda the way he didn’t use Mariano Rivera, so he can now play catch with his kids or the way he is giving Derek Jeter rest with only now 65-plus games left in his baseball career.

“No,” John responds, “I think you’re on to something.” (He sounds sarcastic. I’m hoping he was being sarcastic.)

Betances gives up a single to Santiago (once again the 9-hitter) and Suzyn offers the closest thing to “You can’t predict baseball” that we have heard all day.

“Strange game this baseball.”

John starts to think about what Suzyn said some more.

“I really think you’re onto something, Suzyn,” John says. “I think that was it.” (Please tell me you’re just effing with Suzyn, John. Please tell me you aren’t serious.)

Hamilton strikes out on a 1-2 curve and the Yankees are six outs away from sweeping the Reds.

BOTTOM 7TH
Hamilton loses an Ellsbury fly ball in the sun as John screams, “He lost the ball! He lost the ball!” and Ellsbury coasts into second with a “double.”

Teixeira flies out to right field as John gets excited and the Stadium gets excited, but Ellsbury moves to third with one out. McCann grounds out to first for the second out and Ellsbury is held at third as “the heart of the order” continues to barely beat.

Beltran walks with Ichiro on-deck and Suzyn gives us LeCure’s thought process.

“I think this is probably a good trade in LeCure’s mind,” Suzyn says. “Ichiro for Beltran.”

Ichiro grounds out and LeCure made the right trade.

It’s been exactly one month (June 20) since I was listening to John and Suzyn and Suzyn was saying how Joe Torre used to like to get above .500 in increments of five games. On June 20, the Yankees were five games over .500. They lost that game 8-0 and are 10-13 since. Six outs to go from getting three games over .500.

TOP 8TH
Schumaker leads off the inning with a single and with Frazier up, Schumaker tries to steal second, but he gets caught in a rundown. And if you think John Sterling calling a home run for a foul ball or a foul ball for a home run is incredible then you have never heard him give the play-by-play for a rundown.

“And there he goes .. and they have him trapped. They have him trapped. A throw to Teixeira … now back to Roberts who runs him back to first … now … back to … Betances … who tags him out. Well, they didnt do it very well, but they got the man. Betances at the end tagged him, who flipped to Jeter who tagged him.” So Betances tagged him and Jeter tagged him? Double play? Real life? The actual play was recorded a caught stealing, 1-3-4-1-6, so John basically nailed it.

One out with Frazier up.

“You see the stat?” John asks. “In Betances’ last 24 at-bats against right-handed hitters, right-handed hitters are 0-for-24.”

Two pitches later, Frazier hits a home run to tie the game at 2. So much for that stat.

“You know what it does, this happens all the time, it takes the win away from Kuroda,” John says angrily. Who cares about Kuroda’s personal record? Yes, he deserved better, but I don’t care about what Kuroda’s record is, I care about the Yankees’ record, as does every Yankees fan and as should John and Suzyn.

Bruce grounds out for the second out.

“You do have to feel bad for Kuroda,” Suzyn adds. “Every single time he pitches his heart out.”

Ludwick flies out to right field to end the inning.

BOTTOM 8TH
The home run was the first Betances has allowed since May 17 and just the second all year.

“I guess Robertson would pitch the ninth” John suggests. I would hope so unless Joe Girardi would like to lose even more games this year without using Robertson because the Yankees DON’T HAVE THE LEAD!

Jonathan Broxton strikes out Roberts and Wheeler singles to left. With the go-ahead run on base, Gardner pops up and Jeter grounds out. The day-after-Labor Day depression feeling has returned.

TOP 9TH
I don’t trust the Yankees in extra-inning games, mainly because I don’t trust Girardi’s bullpen management in extra-inning games, so it would be nice if the Yankees could win it in the ninth because they would have already used their best two relievers if it goes to the 10th.

“Just in case the Reds take the lead,” John says, “They have Chapman up.”

“Isn’t it funny how it works out?” Suzyn asks. “The eighth inning, which is Betances’ inning, he had the big hitters. He had Frazier, Bruce, Ludwick and Robertson has the bottom of the order here. It’s funny how sometimes that works out.”

“Yeah the eighth inning is sometimes more important than the ninth,” John answers. “I agree.”

And I agree too. And that’s why set innings for relievers shouldn’t exist. But that’s a story for another day.

Robertson gets Pena to ground out to second, strikes out Heisey and gets Cozart to pop up to first for an easy 1-2-3 inning.

BOTTOM 9TH
John starts the ninth with his own personal scouting report on Chapman.

“If you’re wondering what does he throw … he throws hard. Really hard.”

Suzyn has left the booth to go down to the field to get the Player of the Game once the game ends and John loves every second of having the booth and the game to himself.

“The Yankees could have avoided this,” John says and he’s right. They were five outs away from not seeing Aroldis Chapman for three games and an entire weekend and now they not only have to see him, but they are faced with possibly going to extra innings without their best two relievers.

Suzyn chimes in from the third-base camera well, which must upset John that she is still on the air.

Ellsbury singles to left field on the ninth pitch of his at-bat after fouling off fastballs at 102, 101 and 100. All nine pitches were fastballs and all nine were between 100 and 102. His single came on one at 101.

I don’t think Teixeira has a chance here, but I hope I’m wrong.

Ellsbury steals second.

“We remarked how many foul homers Teixeira hits because he’s too quick,” John says, “Well, maybe against Chapman he will hit the ball fair.”

John starts to go over all the possibilities of how Teixeira can move Ellsbury over to third, but let’s be honest, none of them are happening.

A WILD PITCH! A WILD PITCH! A WILD PITCH! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! A wild pitch and Ellsbury moves to third with no outs.

“Well, let’s face it,” John says. “If the Yankees don’t win this game now, they’ll have stubbed their toe.” That’s a nice way to put it, John. I would have used a different way of putting it, but we’ll go with “stubbed their toe.”

Teixeira strikes out. Of course he does.

“1-0 to McCann … and the pitch .. swung on … a high fly ball to shallow right … coming in is Bruce … and … the ball is DROPPED! THE BALL DROPPED! BASE HIT! ELLSBURY SCORES! BALLGAME OVER! YANKEES WIN! THEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!”

After John gave his replay play-by-play of the play (or what every other play-by-play man does as a play is happening in real time) he went on to say, “Isn’t that amazing? I mean isn’t that amazing?”

Eighty percent of the Yankees’ Opening Day rotation is on the disabled list and with 65 games left the division is there for them to win. So yes, John, it’s amazing.

Blogs • Email Exchanges • Yankees

Jul 18, 2014

Yankees Need to Go on a Reds’ Run

The Reds’ season was spiraling out of control just three weeks, but now they are back in playoff contention. The Yankees need a similar run to save their own season.

Three weeks ago the Reds’ season was falling apart fast. They were 35-37 and 8.5 games back in the NL Central. But today as post-All-Star break baseball begins, the Reds are 1.5 games back in their division and 1 game back in the wild card. What am I getting at? Well, the Yankees are in a similar position to the one the Reds were in on June 20 and they will need a run of their own this summer if they don’t want to miss out on the postseason for the second straight year.

With the Reds in the Bronx to begin the “second half” and a 10-game homestand for the Yankees, Brandon Kraeling of Red Reporter joined me to talk about Todd Frazer’s emergence as an All-Star, what it’s like to watch and root for Aroldis Chapman and how Alfredo Simon has gone from AL East mop-up man to NL Central starting pitcher and somehow an All-Star.

Keefe: I remember the summer after sixth grade watching Toms River, N.J. run the table in the Little League World Series and pulling for them in the United States tournament because they were somewhat local as a Tri-state area team. Todd Frazier was the leader on that team and it’s still weird to see him now playing third base for the Reds.

As a former first-round pick, I wasn’t sure if Frazier would ever become a star in the league after hitting .249/.318/.446 in his first two-plus seasons and 318 games with the Reds. But this year, at age 28, Frazier put it together and has turned into a star and an All-Star and an underdog Home Run Derby runner-up. In 94 games this season, Frazier has already matched his career high in home runs (19), which he reached in both 2012 and 2013 and is hitting .290/.353/.500, well above his career average in all three categories

The picture of a 12-year-old Frazier standing with a 24-year-old Derek Jeter in 1998 became a storyline of this year’s All-Star Game with Frazier making the All-Star Game for the first time and Jeter playing in the Midsummer Classic for the last time and like Frazier playing for that Toms River team and now playing against the Yankees and Jeter, that picture is something I will never get used to.

Did you ever think Frazier would become the player he has turned into this season?

Kraeling: That old picture of Frazier and Jeter paired with the All-Star game this year is one of those things that makes baseball great.

I think the player we’ve seen Frazier become was always what we talked about as a best-case scenario for him. As we followed his ascent through the Reds minor league system, we’ve always kind of hoped he could become more of a super utility guy; a guy who can play a number of positions, hold his own in the middle of the lineup, and provide a little pop.

I can’t say we ever expected him to be among the top home run hitters in the NL midway through this season, especially after the “sophomore slump” he went through last year. That’s a huge credit to him, with the amount of injuries that the Reds have had, that Frazier has been able to step up and shoulder some of the offensive responsibility there. He’s carrying this lineup right now.

Keefe: Last Thursday before the All-Star break, the Reds got into it with the Cubs and the benches cleared as Aroldis Chapman and Anthony Rizzo were the focal points of the incident. I didn’t watch the game because I was busy watching Joe Girardi manage the Yankees’ bullpen to a loss with a three-run lead and nine outs to get. (They lost 9-3.) What exactly happened with the Reds and Cubs? Who was at fault?

Kraeling: I think that incident ended up being a little overblown. It isn’t uncommon for opposing players to take exception to Chapman’s wildness and claim that it’s intentional, and the Rizzo situation was one we’ve seen a couple of times already since Chapman’s been up. Chapman barely knows where the ball is going half the time, and it happened in a tie game so there’s no doubt in my mind he wasn’t trying to hit anybody.

Then again, I’m sure it depends on what side you’re on. The Cubs announcers were claiming that Chapman was looking for blood, and I never got one bit of that listening to the Reds broadcast.

That being said, Rizzo was out of line with how he reacted. He was going back and forth with the Reds all inning after his at bat, and angrily walked toward the Reds’ dugout after the inning was over, almost making it all the way to the rail before other players intervened. I’m surprised he didn’t get thrown out, and it’ll certainly provide another storyline the next time these teams play.

Keefe: Speaking of Chapman, here in New York we have Dellin Betances embarrassing nearly every hitter that steps in the box with 84 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings (206 batters faced) and a ridiculous 13.7 K/9. But what’s even more ridiculous is Chapman is striking out hitters more often than not with 60 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings with 111 batters faced. The only time I really watch Chapman is when the Reds are playing a national TV game, I’m bored and watching random games on MLB TV or I have thrown the Reds into a parlay and watch them because I have money on the line, but when I see numbers like that, I feel like I need to start watching Reds games when there’s a save opportunity on the line.

How fun is it to watch Chapman and to have him on your team?

Kraeling: It’s an absolute blast. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs with Chapman, but he’s one of those players where you drop whatever you’re doing whenever he comes into a ballgame (it reminds me of Mo Rivera on that front). One of the things I enjoy most as a Reds fan is getting to watch the reactions of opposing fans (and players, honestly) when he’s hitting 102 on the gun without much effort. Being at the stadium, he brings so much energy when he comes in, if only because we can see his superhuman arm in the flesh.

On the other hand, when he’s not on his game, he’s just as bad as he is dominant. Sometimes it seems like he can lose focus mentally in an instant, and it can really be a roller coaster ride when we see him in a game. Walking the bases loaded and then striking out the side isn’t out of the question for Chapman. It makes things exciting, that’s for sure.

Keefe: The Yankees need to not only start winning series, but they need to start sweeping series and winning games in bunches starting right away in the “second half.” The problem with that (along with the fact that 80 percent of their Opening Day rotation is on the disabled list) is that they will be facing a red-hot Reds team this weekend at the Stadium and Johnny Cueto is starting on Sunday. Cueto is 10-6 with a 2.13 and leads the league in complete games (3), innings pitched (143.2) and hits/9 (5.8). Not exactly what I want a Yankees team that has trouble scoring against No. 4 and 5 starters to be seeing three games into the stretch run while chasing five games in the East.

But also pitching this weekend against the Yankees is Alfredo Simon, who I miss dearly from his time in Baltimore because whenever he came into the game it meant a Yankees rally or comeback. It blew my mind that Simon was an All-Star this year, going 12-3 with a 2.70 ERA so far after being a reliever for nearly his entire career.

Are you surprised that Simon has not only become a reliable starter, but that he’s doing it at age 33?

Kraeling: Absolutely. I think the job that Simon is doing is one of the most surprising performances in all of MLB this year. You have a guy who Baltimore gave up on and the Reds got off of waivers, who was a productive member of the Reds’ bullpen the past few years but was never really spectacular. He prepared this spring as a starter with Mat Latos hurt, but wasn’t necessarily in the Reds’ plans for the rotation to start the year.

Oddly enough, if former Yankee Brett Marshall hadn’t hurt himself in his last start of spring training, he would have been the 5th starter for the Reds over Alfredo Simon. Funny to think about.

We’re fully aware that midnight is coming and that Simon could turn into a pumpkin any minute now, but we’re enjoying the ride right now.

Keefe: On June 20, the Reds were 35-37 and 8.5 games back in the NL Central and playing themselves out of playoff contention with the real halfway point of the season approaching. Since then they have gone 16-7 and are not only 1 game out of a wild-card spot, but they are now just 1.5 games out in the division. Over the last three weeks the Reds have essentially saved their season and it’s something the Yankees will need to do in the “second half” if they are to get back to the postseason.

In the last four years, the Reds have reached the playoffs three times, losing in the one-game playoff last year and in the NLDS in 2012 and 2010 and going 2-7 in their nine playoff games. I’m guessing you had postseason aspirations for this Reds team before the season started and still do now that they have repositioned themselves nicely for the last two-plus months of baseball.

What exactly were your expectations for the Reds entering the season and have they changed? Were you losing hope before they recently turned it around?

Kraeling: It’s been a really weird season for the Reds. I think we had similar expectations before the season as we have in the past few seasons, in that the Reds should compete for the division title. However, I think there was a little bit more pessimism with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Brewers making moves to improve in the offseason and Walt Jocketty standing pat with his Reds roster. The biggest offseason acquisitions for the Reds were Brayan Peña and Skip Schumaker. Seriously.

Blogs • MLB

Jul 14, 2014

The 2014 All-Animosity Team

With Major League Baseball ready for the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, It’s time to announce the 2014 All-Animosity Team.

The Midsummer Classic is this week and that means it’s time for the four longest days of summer: the four days without baseball. I mean real baseball and not the Home Run Derby or the All-Star Game because without real baseball to watch and talk about, the baseball world becomes talking heads spending Monday and Tuesday debating who should and who shouldn’t have made the All-Star Team and how the All-Star Game can be fixed. And then those same talking heads will spend Wednesday and Thursday spewing meaningless “second-half” predictions and giving us their “midseason” awards for Cy Young and MVP.

Instead of complaining about the Home Run Derby format or Chris Berman’s broadcasting techniques and instead of debating if the Home Run Derby messes up a hitter’s swing or if the All-Star Game should determine home-field advantage, I thought now would be the best time to announce the one midsummer roster that matters: the 2014 All-Animosity Team.

It’s the Fifth Annual All-Animosity Team and once again the team consists of one player at each position, along with a starting pitcher, a closer and a manager from around the league. The standards to be considered for the team are simple and only one of the following three requirements needs to be met.

1. The person is a Yankee killer.

2. The person plays for the Red Sox.

3. I don’t like the person. (When I say, “I don’t like the person” or if I say, “I hate someone” I mean I don’t like the person who wears a uniform and plays or manages for a Major League Baseball team and not the actual person away from the game. I’m sure some of the people on this list are nice people. I’m glad we got that out of the way since I can already see Player X’s fan base in an uproar about me hating someone who does so much for the community.)

So, here is the 2014 All-Animosity Team with the winners from the previous years also listed.

C – Mike Napoli
(2013 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2012 – Matt Wieters, 2011 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2010 – Jason Varitek)

Jason Varitek hasn’t played baseball in four years, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in Miami and Matt Wieters had Tommy John surgery. Usually if I’m having trouble, I can always turn to the Red Sox, but A.J. Pierzynski just got cut and David Ross isn’t worth giving the time of the day to. With a limited number of unlikeable catchers, it was hard for me to not break my own rule of not putting any Yankees on the team and put Brian McCann in this spot. So while Napoli has never caught in any of the 214 games he has played for the Red Sox and hasn’t been a catcher since 2012, I’m penciling him in here.

Even with David Ortiz saving the Red Sox’ season against the Tigers in the ALCS and then hitting .688 in the World Series, Napoli was the face of the 2013 Red Sox. With his Duck Dynasty beard, he became the face of a team built on the notion of “We can win a championship if every single thing goes our way” and every single thing did go their way for the whole season as they got bounce-back seasons from their entire roster and overachieving seasons from several players who had become perennial underachievers.

After agreeing to a three-year, $39 million deal and then having that deal voided because of a failed physical, Napoli was almost not even part of the 2013 Red Sox. He signed a one-year, $5 million contract with $8 million of incentives and then went on to hit .259/.360/.482 with 23 home runs and 92 RBIs, which isn’t very impressive, but what is are his 2013 numbers against the Yankees: .375/.453/.804 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs. This year, Napoli has cooled off a little against the Yankees (.306/.405/.667), but he still has three home runs against them and one game-changing home run against them when he got a two-strike fastball from Masahiro Tanaka in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium a few weeks back before calling Tanaka “an idiot.”

1B – Chris Davis
(2013 – Chris Davis, 2012 – Adrian Gonzalez, 2011 – Adrian Gonzalez, 2010 – Kevin Youkilis)

I wasn’t going to put Chris Davis here with a .199 average at the break, but after his two-run home run against the Yankees in the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday Night Baseball gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in an eventual 3-1, rain-shortened win, I had to. Eff you, Chris Davis. And eff you, rain-shortened losses in a huge division game that is the difference between being three games back or five.

2B – Dustin Pedroia
(2013 – Dustin Pedroia, 2012 – Dustin Pedroia, 2011 – Dustin Pedroia, 2010 – Dustin Pedroia)

For as long as I have an All-Animosity Team and for as long as Dustin Pedroia is the second baseman of the Red Sox, he will be in this spot. So as I have done the last few years, I will just put down what I have about Pedroia.

Pedroia is like Tom Brady for me. He has that winning instinct that you just don’t see all the time these days, he plays hard and he’s the type of guy you want on your team. But if I didn’t put him here again it would just be weird.

3B – David Wright
(2013 – David Wright, 2012 – Robert Andino, 2011 – Kevin Youkilis, 2010 – Chone Figgins)

David Wright is the face of the Mets. And for that alone, he gets this spot.

SS – Jose Reyes
(2013 – Jose Reyes, 2012 – Jose Reyes, 2011 – Jose Reyes, 2010 – Jose Reyes)

Sometimes I miss the days of the Jose Reyes being the Mets shortstop when Mets fans would try to engage me in fights about Reyes being better than Derek Jeter. And sometimes I miss the days when Mets fans would call WFAN and talk about how Reyes is “the most exciting player in baseball” as if there were any true way to measure a statement like that. But I always miss the days when Mets fans would call and say the team has to re-sign Reyes before he hit free agency after the 2011 season. Since Reyes left the Mets for free agency and signed a six-year, $106 million deal with the Marlins (and was then traded to the Blue Jays), he has played in 332 of a possible 420 games and has become a shell of his former self offensively, even playing for an offensive power like the Blue Jays.

I can only dream about the state the Mets would be in right now if they had Reyes playing shortstop a $16 million per year for an under-.500 team trying to rebuild and can only imagine the types of calls that would be flooding the sports radio phone lines with the trade deadline looming and Mets fans waiting on hold for hours to share their fantasy trades for Reyes. I miss the days of the Jeter-Reyes debates, even if they were one-sided and ended the same way as all the Jeter-Nomar debates, and I miss Reyes being a Met and giving that fan base years of false hope.

LF – Wil Myers
(2013 – Carl Crawford, 2012 – Delmon Young, 2011 – Manny Ramirez, 2010 – Manny Ramirez)

Here is what Wil Myers has done this season: .227/.313/.354 with five home runs and 25 RBIs.

Here is what Wil Myers has done against the Yankees this season: .375/.429/.813 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

That means 12 of Myers’ 45 hits (27 percent), four of his five home runs (80 percent) and 14 of his 25 RBIs (56 percent) have come against the Yankees. Excuse me while I throw up.

I watched Myers round the bases on his inside-the-park home run from Section 203 at the Stadium on May 4 and watched him encourage all of 203 to continue to taunt him as he continued to beat the Yankees. Unfortunately, he is 23 years and will likely taunt me for years to come.

CF – Adam Jones
(2013 – Ben Zobrist, 2012 – Josh Hamilton, 2011 – B.J. Upton, 2010 – Vernon Wells)

I was shocked to realize Jones hadn’t been been part of the All-Animosity Team before, given his knack for killing the Yankees offensively and defensively. This year Jones is hitting .324/.359/.514 with two home runs against the Yankees and it’s usually Jones in the middle of any Orioles rally against the Yankees or the one killing a rally with a Web Gem. I miss the days of a young Adam Jones, who hadn’t realized his power yet and could easily be struck out in a big spot.

RF – Nick Swisher
(2013 – Nick Swisher, 2012 – Jose Bautista, 2011 – Magglio Ordonez, 2010 – Magglio Ordonez)

Before the Yankees started a four-game series in Cleveland last week, Nick Swisher was hitting .197/.287/.317 with five home runs and 39 RBIs in what was becoming a disastrous season for the Indians’ highest-paid player making $15 million this season. Swisher’s struggles this season brought a smile to my face the same way I was smiling when he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the one-game playoff last season.

But during the four-game series against the Yankees, Swisher went 5-for-18 with two home runs and five RBIs, including the two-strike home run against Tanaka in his last start before he hit the disabled list. And since the start of the Yankees series, Swisher is 9-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBIs. There’s nothing quite like the Yankees letting a sub-.200 hitter in July get hot and start to turn his season around againts them, especially when it’s the hated Nick Swisher. OK, maybe “hated” is the wrong word to use when talking about Swisher since he is extra sensitive.

SP – John Lackey
(2013 – Josh Beckett, 2012 – Josh Beckett, 2011 – Josh Beckett, 2010 – Josh Beckett)

I never thought any pitcher other than Josh Beckett would earn this spot, but Lackey had been knocking on the door for a few years and finally busted it open this season.

Let’s put aside his personal life issues and even his double-fisting beers in the clubhouse and even his belittling of the media, who do sometimes need to be belittled, and let’s talk about Lackey’s contract status.

Lackey signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Red Sox from 2010-2014 with a club option for 2015 at the league minimum is Lackey misses significant time with surgery between 2010-2014 for a pre-exisitng elbow injury. Lackey did miss time because of surgery and missed the entire 2012 season and is now saying he will never pitch for the league minimum ($500,000) and will retire before doing so.

John Lackey is pure scum on top of scum and I’m not sure how he has a single fan. He signed a five-year, $82.5 million A.J. Burnett deal before 2010 and in the first two years he went 26-23 with a 5.26 ERA. Then he missed the entire 2012 season. Last year he went 10-13 with a 3.52 ERA on a division-winning and World Series-winning team. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that he is upset that he would only make $500,000 next year, but it’s a little ironic that he didn’t think he should only be making $500,000 when he had a 1.619 WHIP in 2011 or when he threw zero pitches in 2012. Poor John Lackey.

CL – Fernando Rodney
(2013 – Fernando Rodney, 2012 – Jose Valverde, 2011 – Jonathan Papelbon, 2010 – Jonathan Papelbon)

It was actually hard to fill the closer role this season, but watching Rodney celebrate saves over the years and then turn in an ugly line (1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP) in two appearances against the Red Sox in the ALDS en route to their third championship in 10 years was enough to put him back on the team.

Manager – Mike Scioscia
(2013 – Mike Scioscia, 2012 – Bobby Valentine, 2011 – Mike Scioscia, 2010 – Joe Maddon)

I really wanted to put Mike Matheny here for his managerial decisions in the World Series, especially his decision to bring in Seth Maness and his awesome pitch-to-contact stuff to face Jonny Gomes in Game 4. Thanks, Mike! But I don’t care enough about Matheny or the Cardinals for this spot considering how many choices there are from the American League.

This spot has gone to Joe Maddon and Mike Scioscia and the legendary Bobby Valentine (whose Stamford, Conn. restaurant I ate at on Saturday and it was actually good) in the past and once again it goes to Scioscia, whose Angels are finally playing up to their payroll for the first time since 2009. And because the Angels are looking like a lock for either the West or the first wild card, that means we are going to have to hear about how great of a job Scioscia did in 2014 despite having Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols in his lineup. Don’t forget, no team goes first to third and plays fundamentally-sound baseball better than Mike Scioscia’s team!

Tag: Derek Jeter

Podcast: JJ Barstool Sports New York

The Joe Girardi Show: Season 5, Episode 2

Another Sunday with John and Suzyn

Yankees Need to Go on a Reds’ Run

The 2014 All-Animosity Team