Results tagged ‘ Nick Swisher ’

Chat or Chuck: Reed Johnson

The NY Post is reporting that the Yankees are in serious talks with the agents of free agent outfielder Reed Johnson. The Yankees have been in search for an outfielder, as it seems Johnny Damon will not be returning. With Granderson in center and Nick Swisher in right, left field is weak with just Gardner. Would Johnson be a good choice?

Chat:

  • He has hit over .300 twice in his career.
  • He hits .313 against lefties in his career and could fill in for Granderson who is weak against lefties.
  • Gardner may not be consistent enough to start everyday in left.
  • He can play all three outfield positions.
  • He most likely won’t require a long term deal.

Chuck:

  • He hit just .255 last year.
  • He really isn’t a strong enough player to start in left, at least not any stronger than Gardner.
  • The Yankees have some other options for left within their system.

Chat or Chuck?:
Chuck. If anything, I would like to see the Yankees go after another pitcher. The Yankees were lucky enough to make it through the playoffs with just three starters, and you have to think that won’t work again. Last year, everything went right, you have to expect some adversity. And right now, the Yankees pitching depth can not deal with that as easily as the outfield can. Bottom line, a pitcher will help this team more than an outfielder right now.

POLL UPDATE: 100% (7 votes) of you think that the Vazquez trade was a good idea. 

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Poll of the Day:
Should the Yankees sign Reed Johnson?(polling)

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The Buzz: Melky/Gardner to the Cubs?

Melky:Gardner 12:20.pngI was surprised to see a report in the Daily News today that the Cubs might make a move to send Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner to Chicago in exchange for a pitcher. According to FoxSports.com, the move would be initiated by the Cubs GM.

With the recent loss of the Cubs OF Milton Bradley and the Yankees shortage of pitchers, coupled with the fact that the Yankees have extra outfielders and the Cubs have extra pitching, the deal would make sense.

As the Yankee outfield looks right now, its Granderson in center, Swisher in right and Melky in left. Gardner and recent Rule 5 draft pick-up, Jamie Hoffman, would be the fourth and fifth outfielders respectively.

Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lily, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells are the Cubs top pitchers. Zambrano is a head case that I don’t need to watch everyday, freaking out in the clubhouse. Dempster had a great year in 2008, but is iffy otherwise. Lily is a solid, veteran starter. Wells is an extremely young starter who seems to have a lot of potential.

So, in the rumor stages of this deal, you can pick which pitcher you would like to see. Either way, the Yankees need pitching. As it looks right now, these options on the Cubs look a lot better than what’s left on the market. Neither Gardner or Cabrera is going to be a huge difference maker, but will the Yankees be willing to give one of them up?

UPDATE 8:58 p.m. Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Yankees talked to the Cubs about a trade for Zambrano. No talks are active as of now. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated also tweets that if this trade were to happen, the Yankees could go after Jermaine Dye to fill in for Melky/Gardner.

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Poll of the Day:
Should the Yankees trade Melky/Gardner for a pitcher?(online surveys)

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Yankees give thanks

A table of Yankees got together for Thanksgiving. They went around the table saying what they were thankful for. Here’s what they said:

Alex Rodriguez.gif
is thankful for Kate Hudson. And Luis Castillo for dropping that pop up.

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is thankful for Lou Gehrig’s career being cut short, giving him the chance to break his all time Yankee hits record.

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is thankful for championship number 27. Had the Yankees not won this championship, his job would be in serious danger.

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is thankful for the Yankees didn’t just send him down to the minors. His 4.75 ERA was rough to watch all the way through.

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is thankful that the Yankees have a disgusting amount of money, making it remotely possible that they will offer him a contract, after having an ERA over 9.

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is thankful for Xavier Nady’s injury. He’s also thankful for his wit, which has made his atrocious defense and lack of postseason production, almost tolerable.

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is thankful that MLB didn’t fine him an amount that actually matters to him for his fight with Jesse Carlson of the Blue Jays.

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is thankful for his record breaking RBI total in the final game of the World Series. That may be a great ending to his Yankee career.

I am thankful for…

All of my readers that make writing this blog all worth while. And, of course, #27! Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

What are you thankful for?
Write a comment on this entry saying what you are thankful for this thanksgiving. Help spread the holiday spirit!

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CC and Yanks Power Into ALDS

Twins Logo Special.jpg 2009 ALDS.gifYankees Logo Special.jpg
Game 1: NYY Leads 1-0

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The absence last year didn’t last to long. The Yankees finished this season with the best record in MLB. The expected postseason drought was non-existant in game one. The big offseason gem — C.C. Sabathia — made the start for the Yankees, and he was dominant. He went 6.2 innings, giving up 8 hits, 1 earned run, struck out 8 and walked none. He gave up another run which was unearned. C.C. certainly answered any questions about his sluggish postseason history.
The other question, of course, was Alex Rodriguez. He, too, had many many questions surrounding him, and he, too, answered them. He went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s. When was the last time Alex Rodriguez had 2 RBI’s in a postseason game? 2004 against the Red Sox! I think we may see a different Alex Rodriguez this postseason.

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Jeter also had 2 RBI’s. He was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and 3 runs scored. He also added a big home run two-run home run in the 3rd inning with the Yankees down 2-0.
Swisher got the Yankees ahead for the first and final time in the 4th inning, with an RBI double down the left field line. 
Hughes, Coke, Chamberlain and Rivera all bridged together the final 2.1 innings, with Rivera pitching the ninth. It seemed as though Girardi wanted to just get everyones feet wet in the playoffs, and really wanted to win the game.
Twins starter Duensing was great the first time through the order, but the Yankees got to him and limited him to just 4.2 innings pitched, and knocked him around for 5 runs.
Player of the Game: C.C. Sabathia: W, 6.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
The Wrap-Up: This was a big game for the Yankees. For the last couple of years, the Yankees have just gotten knocked out in the first round. Last night, the Yankees gave themselves a great chance to win this series. A-Rod and C.C. both proved that they will have no troubles in the postseason. That was the only question that needed to be answered, all they need to do now is just play!
Coming Up Next:
Game 2 in New York. It will be Burnett vs Blackburn. New York leads the series 1-0. After this game, the series moves to Minnesota. 
Poll of the Day:
Who should catch A.J. Burnett in Game 2?(online surveys)

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Update: Swisher Out on Fly Ball

BOS 2 NYY 1 BOT 5

In the bottom of the fifth inning with nobody out, Swisher was on second base and moved to third on a fly ball. An appeal was made and Swisher was called out. On the replay on ESPN, it showed that, by the naked eye, he did not leave to early. I understand the umpires are human and they make mistakes. I have no problem when they miss ball and strike calls by a half and inch or they miss a call at first by a split second. They are human and it’s nearly impossible to be perfect, and they do a great job. In this case, that call is virtually never made, and if you are going to make it, you better be 100% sure you are right. There was no way he was clearly out. You couldn’t even be sure by the slow motion close up. So, unless you are sure, you can’t make a call that is never made especially when you can’t even tell on a close up.
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Bombers Bats Overcome Shaky A.J.

Yankees Logo.pngYankees 9 Orioles Logo.pngOrioles 6

Vote for the 2009 Season Awards.
* Line Score


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Yankees  0 2 1 0 2 1 3 0 0 9 12 1
Orioles  1 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 6 13 1

* Box Score


AB R H RBI BB SO #P AVG OBP
D Jeter SS 4 0 1 0 2 1 28 0.333 .399
J Damon DH 5 0 1 0 1 2 28 0.288 .368
M Teixeira 1B 4 1 0 0 2 2 30 0.281 .380
A Rodriguez 3B 5 0 1 1 0 2 17 0.269 .400
J Posada C 4 3 2 3 1 1 23 0.28 .357
R Cano 2B 4 2 3 2 1 0 12 0.32 .350
N Swisher LF-RF 5 1 1 2 0 2 17 0.248 .368
E Hinske RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 15 0.241 .323
J Hairston Jr. LF 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.286 .392
M Cabrera CF 4 1 2 0 1 1 20 0.273 .333


* The Starter
A.J. Burnett: 5.1 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR

* Wrap Up
Yankees now go 36 games over .500, the most since 2000. Burnett has been pretty horrible lately and is going to need to get on track. Boston beat Tampa, but who cares. If the Yanks keep winning, it wont matter anymore. The Yankees maintain their 6.5 game lead in the east.

* Coming Up Next 
Sabathia (15-7, 3.56) vs. Berken (4-11, 6.33)

* Player of the Game: You Vote!

Who is the Player of the game?
Jorge Posada
Robinson Cano
Nick Swisher
Eric Hinske
  

Pettitte Flirts With Perfection, Yanks Take Opener

Hairston boots Pettittes perfect game, Yanks still get it done.

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Yankees Logo.pngVS Orioles Logo.png

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Wow. It seems like I start every entry with those words. This team seems to always amaze. Pettitte flirted with history tonight. He pitched 6.2 innings before Hairston booted the ball and then Markakis, on the next at-bat, hit a clean single to cap off the hopes on the no-hitter. You can blame Hairston, but he’s been so great for the Yanks, you really can’t get down on him. Plus the fact that he made a bad pitch to Markakis. He pitched great and thats the bottom line. He gave up just two hits, one of them a home run by Mora in the eighth, but that was all.
Swisher and Cano both had two RBI’s on the night and Damon had an RBI as well. Swisher was just a triple away from the cycle, but I don’t think anyone expected a triple from him. 
In the ninth inning, Bruney came in with a four run lead. Good job by the Yankees having Rivera warming. You had to think that Bruney would blow it. He got one out, but also gave up a hit and a walk. All of the sudden, it was a save situation. Rivera came in and got Markakis on a pop up and then struck out Reimond to end the game. 
Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte: W, 8.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, HR
The Wrap-Up:
Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It’s starting to get a bit boring with all of these wins. Pettitte was great again, and boy it would be a big lift if he can keep this up. The Yanks hit another high water mark, 35 games over .500. Boston was off so the Yanks have a 6.5 game lead in the east. 
Coming Up Next:
September begins! It’s gettin’ close. Tomorrow A.J. Burnett (10-8, 4.10) goes against Baltimores Hernandez (4-6, 4.24). Boston is in Tampa.

A Bite Off The Big Apple is on Twitter ~ Vote for player of the game. ~ Vote for 2009 Season Awards

CC Out Duels Beckett, Earns Series Win

Yanks pound out five homers to take rubber game in Boston. 


Yankees Logo.pngVSRed Sox Logo.png

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Why do we even try to predict baseball? Anyone you ask would have said that todays game would finish, 1-0 or 2-1. Nope, it finished 8-4, not to mention the five home runs the Yankees hit of Josh Beckett. Don’t you find it interesting how the Yankees can’t hit Luke French, but have no problem hitting Josh Beckett? Pretty odd.
It didn’t take long to see what kind of game it was going to be. Jeter led off the game with a home run to right center on the first pitch of the game. Matsui led off the second with a homer. An RBI single by Teixeira and an RBI ground out by A-Rod, gave the Yanks two more in the third. Cano hit a shot in the fourth, and A-Rod hit a two-run blast in the fifth to give the Yanks their seventh run. Then, what a surprise, Matsui went yard (again) in the eighth to cap off the Yanks eight run, five homer outburst. 
The Red Sox scored on RBI’s by Baldelli and Varitek in the second, a run scored on a Robbie Cano error in the fourth, and a sac fly by Baldelli in the sixth. 
Lets talk about the Yankee defense today, it was terrible! Countless pop-ups were dropped, players were huddled up watching fly balls hit the ground, it was atrocious. This entire series has been very sloppy for both teams. If you hurry up, I bet you can get a job playing some defense for the Yanks. 
Beckett threw 120 pitches and gave up eight runs in eight innings pitched. He has now given up eight home runs in his last two starts. Lots of eights. 
CC, on the other hand, was pretty good. He gave up four runs in 6.2 innings, while striking out eight batters. Good job by the Red Sox taking pitches and fouling off some tough pitches. 
Hughes pitched a scoreless inning and a third, and Mariano nailed it down with a scoreless ninth. No save, but I’ll take it. 
Player of the Game: Hideki Matsui: 2 for 4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SO
The Wrap-Up:
Keep winning series, that’s what it’s all about. The Yankees are now 7.5 games ahead of Boston, and I think that Red Sox will finally tell you that the Wild Card is their goal. The Yanks are looking good, that’s all there is to it, all you can ask for now is that they don’t pull a 2008 Mets. 
Coming Up Next:
The Yanks are off tomorrow before starting a six game home stand beginning with Texas. The Red Sox open up a set against the White Sox in Fenway. 

8/23 Line-Ups

Yankees (77-46):

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Player Pos AVG vs. Beckett
Jeter SS .331 .298, 14 for 47
Damon LF .284 .273, 12 for 44
Teixeira 1B .288 .125, 2 for 16
Rodriguez 3B .264 .282, HR
Matsui DH .263 .261, 3B
Swisher RF .251 .294, 5 for 17
Cano 2B .314 .341, 14 for 41
Cabrera CF .270 .333, 12 for 36
Molina C .250 .154, 4 SO
Sabathia P


Red Sox (70-52):

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Player Pos AVG vs. Sabathia
Ellsbury CF .297 .333, 1 for 3
Pedroia 2B .300 0 for 9, 3 SO, BB
Martinez 1B .292 .167, 1 for 6
Youkilis 3B .308 .333, 4 for 12
Bay LF .257 0 for 6
Lowell DH .301 .154, 5 SO
Baldelli RF .263 .227, 5 for 22
Varitek C .222 .077, 3 SO
Gonzalez SS .210 0 for 6, 2 SO
Beckett P


8/23 Yankees vs. Red Sox Preview

Each team looks to restore some order in series and salvage final game, win series.


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Yankees @ Red Sox
8:05 pm ET
Yankees Probable Pitcher:

CC Sabathia.jpg
C.C. Sabathia
#52 LHP
(14-7) 3.58 ERA 178.2 IP 140 SO 1.125 WHIP
Last Game: 8/18 @ OAK: W, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 2 HR
@ Fenway (Career): 4 GS (1-2) 3.00 ERA 1.233 WHIP
Vs. Boston (Career): 9 GS (3-5) 3.57 ERA 1.127 WHIP
Vs. Boston (Season): 2 GS (1-1) 2.45 ERA 0.818 WHIP
Team Record:
In Starts: 15-11
Run Support:
In Starts: 5.55 Runs/Game
Opposing Hitters (Red Sox):
Most PA: David Ortiz (25)
Best BA: Kevin Youkilis (.333, 4 for 12), Jacoby Ellsbury (.333, 1 for 3)
Most H: David Ortiz (7)
Most HR: David Ortiz (2)
Notable Stats:
Last 7 Stats: (6-1) 2.86 ERA 50.1 IP 45 SO 

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Red Sox Probable Pitcher:

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Josh Beckett
#19 RHP
(14-4) 3.38 ERA 162.1 IP 149 SO 1.133 WHIP
Last Game: 8/18 @ TOR: ND, 5.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3 HR
@ Fenway (Career): 57 GS (29-16) 4.33 ERA 1.204 WHIP
Vs. Yankees (Career): 16 GS (9-4) 5.03 ERA 1.464 WHIP
Vs. Yankees (Season): 4 GS (2-0) 4.12 ERA 1.417 WHIP
Team Record:
In Starts: 18-6
Run Support:
In Starts: 5.51 Runs/Game
Opposing Hitters (Yankees):
Most PA: Derek Jeter (50)
Best BA: Robinson Cano (.341, 14 for 41)
Most H: Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter (14)
Most HR: Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon (2)
Notable Stats:
3rd PA in G: .291 BA, .350 OBP, .419 SLG
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