Thursday, May 10, 2012
Rays (20-11) @ Yankees (16-14), Thursday, May 10, 2012, 7:05pm
TBR:David Price (26, LHP, 5-1, 2.35) vs. NYY:CC Sabathia (31, LHP, 4-0, 4.15)
Lineups
Rays
Zobrist RF
Rodriguez 3B
Upton CF
Keppinger DH
Guyer LF
Pena 1B
Johnson SS
Gimenez C
Rhymes 2B
Yankees
Jeter, SS
Swisher, RF
Cano, 2B
Rodriguez, DH
Whatever, 1B
Granderson, CF
Jones, LF
Nun-E, 3B
Stewart, C
With a lefty pitching, no Brett Gardner today, which stinks. As does about 77.77777% of the starting nine. I’d assume neither Rafael Soriano or David Robertson is available tonight, which means Joe Girardi is expecting ‘length’ from CC Sabathia which means he’ll throw about 60 pitches in the first inning.
I guess that paragraph could be construed as complaining. My apologies to those who prefer to pretend this team doesn’t stink.
NY Times: Robertson Fails in Second Test as Closer, Giving Up 4 Runs
If Dave Robertson is going to follow in Rivera’s footsteps, then he, too, must learn this difficult trick. After blowing his first save as Rivera’s successor on Wednesday night, he has the opportunity to show the Yankees how he will respond.
One day after he pitched his way out of a jam to earn his first save of the season, Robertson put himself in the same situation Wednesday, but his good fortune ran out. He gave up four runs in the ninth inning — the first runs he allowed since Aug. 21 — as the Tampa Bay Rays stunned the Yankees, 4-1. The last three runs came on a homer by Matt Joyce.
Robertson was going to give up some runs at some point. It just stinks that it happened last night. Should the AL East come down to a game or two between Tampa Bay and the Yankees at the end of the year, we can look back at two costly blown saves. Last night’s by Robertson and Opening Day by Mo.
On a somewhat related note.
Players A, B, C and D
| player | PA | AB | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | avg | obp | slg | ops |
| A | 521 | 447 | 114 | 20 | 1 | 18 | 53 | 70 | .255 | .336 | .425 | .761 |
| B | 521 | 476 | 135 | 26 | 1 | 23 | 43 | 99 | .283 | .345 | .488 | .833 |
| C | 521 | 455 | 117 | 24 | 3 | 14 | 47 | 91 | .256 | .327 | .410 | .737 |
| D | 521 | 477 | 117 | 25 | 2 | 15 | 40 | 101 | .246 | .309 | .401 | .710 |
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Rays (19-11) @ Yankees (16-13), Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 7:05pm
TBR:Jeff Niemann (29, RHP, 2-3, 4.05) vs. NYY:David Phelps (25, RHP, 0-1, 3.74)
Lineups
Tampa Bay
Zobrist RF
Pena 1B
Upton CF
Joyce LF
Scott DH
Rhymes 2B
Johnson SS
Rodriguez 3B
Gimenez C
New York
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Swisher RF
Ibanez DH
Martin C
Wise LF
Sabermetrically aware baseball fans understand that W-L record is overrated. For example, did you know that there are 13 pitchers who are undefeated despite having a higher ERA than Jeff Niemann? That means Niemann’s effectively better than a theoretical undefeated pitcher, which makes him an even more difficult matchup than James Shields was yesterday.
Yankee win probability: -100.0%
The Continuing Evolution of Ivan Nova
Despite an unimpressive ERA of 5.02 and a still less than stellar FIP of 4.83, I think Ivan Nova has shown some genuine development this year, building on his strong pitching from May 28 (the day he really started throwing his slider to good effect) last season. It’s more apparent when you look at his peripheral stats than his RA/ERA though.
| Start | End | IP | H | HR | BB | SO | RA | ERA | FIP | xFIP | FB% | GB% | LD% | BB/BF | K/BF | HR/FB | BABIP |
| 2010-05-13 | 2011-05-22 | 92 | 101 | 8 | 38 | 52 | 4.97 | 4.39 | 4.23 | 4.58 | 30.4% | 51.4% | 18.2% | 9.2% | 12.7% | 8.4% | .305 |
| 2011-07-15 | 2012-05-08 | 153 | 157 | 17 | 47 | 108 | 3.89 | 3.83 | 3.96 | 3.88 | 30.2% | 51.1% | 18.6% | 7.3% | 16.7% | 11.6% | .300 |
FIP: Fielding-independent pitching
xFIP: Expected fielding independent-pitching
FB%: Percentage of batted balls that were fly balls
GB%: Percentage of batted balls that were ground balls
LD%: Percentage of batted balls that were line drives
BB/BF: Walks per batters faced
K/BF: Strikeouts per batters faced
HR/FB: HRs divided by fly balls
BABIP: Batting average on balls in play against
The key numbers here are the improved walk rate and strikeout rate, and that’s even more apparent if you look at just 2012.
| Start | End | IP | H | HR | BB | SO | RA | ERA | FIP | xFIP | FB% | GB% | LD% | BB/BF | K/BF | HR/FB | BABIP |
| 2012-04-09 | 2012-05-08 | 38 | 51 | 8 | 11 | 36 | 5.02 | 5.02 | 4.73 | 3.64 | 36.4% | 44.6% | 19.0% | 6.5% | 21.2% | 18.2% | .381 |
Nova’s RA and ERA this year are skewed by a much higher than normal HR/FB rate and a well above league average BABIP against. Now it’s worth noting that he may have improved his walk rate and strikeout rate by attacking the strike zone more and is missing in the middle of the plate more often because of that, so he may still have some work to do to get those two numbers back down to respectability. From his interviews I get the sense that Nova’s an intelligent pitcher who is still honing his craft and has a pretty good chance to continue making the adjustments he has to make to become a better pitcher than he already is. I suppose I should mention that his overall fly ball rate has increased which is probably a bad thing in terms of his HR and XBH rate, but it should also lead to a lower BABIP against, particularly when he gets Brett Gardner back behind him in LF.
In a lot of ways, it’s more fun to watch a prospect who wasn’t really highly touted surpass expectations than a top prospect who comes into the league with guns ablazing, not that us Yankee fans would have any idea of the latter. We saw the development of Robinson Cano from guy the Yankees tried to trade about 20 times to an All-Star until he fell off the cliff after his age 28 season, and we may be seeing the same thing with Nova.
I’m not saying he’s going to be an ace, because it’s pretty freaking hard to become one. But he sure looks like a guy on his way to surpassing his 4th/5th starter “ceiling”.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Yankees.com: Ibanez’s homers return Nova to win column
Nova turned in arguably his best outing of the season during a rainy evening at Yankee Stadium, striking out eight and leading the Yankees to a 5-3 win over the Rays that saw former setup man David Robertson record his first save since Mariano Rivera sustained a season-ending right knee injury last week in Kansas City.
Raul Ibanez homered twice, including a long two-run blast, and Curtis Granderson belted a solo shot, his 10th of the year, to provide the offense as the Yankees toppled James Shields, posting their third victory in four games.
This game felt like a playoff game to me, and it was a tight one with a lot of tension and drama. Nova was very good except for the continued HR issue he’s been having this year, and he reward Joe Girardi’s faith by pitching out of a big jam to end the 7th in what may have been the key point in the game.
Robertson got his first save of the year, hopefully the first of many, although it took loading the bases and facing Carlos Pena to get it. I’m not worried about Robertson at all, but I do have concerns about the bridge to him.
And I have to say that I’m happy to see Ibanez exceeding my admittedly low expectations for him. He seems like a good guy and I hope he can continue to do so.
But mostly it was nice to finally beat the Rays after losing seven straight to them going back to last year, although some of those losses felt like wins.
Rays (19-10) @ Yankees (15-13), Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 7:05pm
TBR:The Undefeated James Shields (30, RHP, 5-0, 3.05) vs. NYY:Ivan Nova (25, RHP, 3-1, 5.58)
Lineups
Tampa Bay
Zobrist RF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Joyce LF
Scott DH
Keppinger 3B
Rhymes 2B
Rodriguez SS
Molina C
New York
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Swisher RF
Ibanez DH
Martin C
Nunez LF
Six times this year teams have tried to beat the Undefeated James Shields. Six times, teams have failed to beat the undefeated James Shields. He’s on pace to end the year 28-0, which would be the most wins ever by an undefeated pitcher. Let me be the first to congratulate him on such an impressive accomplishment.
Ivan Nova is no James Shields.
Yankee win probability: -100.0%
Yankees.com: Pettitte will make Yankees return on Sunday
NEW YORK—The Yankees plan to add Andy Pettitte to their active roster and have him pitch on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners, general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday.
“I think everyone is in agreement, he’s not going to benefit from any more time down there [in the Minor Leagues],” Cashman said.
I thought for sure he’d get another start in the minors, but I was clearly wrong. Hopefully he’s ready.
The Postseason Implications of This Week’s Series with Tampa Bay
The Yankees begin a six game homestand tonight with Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay is tied for first place with Baltimore, but it’s a pretty safe bet that they’re better than Baltimore and are a bigger threat to the Yankees’ chances at winning the division.
At the beginning of the season, the Yankees projected about three games better than Tampa Bay (94 wins vs. 91 wins) but the Rays now have a 3.5 game lead and the Yankees are a bit weaker with Michael Pineda on the shelf. Based on what’s happened so far and playing out the rest of the season according to how the teams project going forward gives me a final AL East standings projection that looks something like this.
| TM | W | L | RS | RA | Div | WC1 | WC2 | PS% | W+/- | RS+/- | RA+/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rays | 91 | 71 | 761 | 682 | 44.6% | 26.0% | 12.8% | 83.4% | 2.1 | -4 | -1 |
| Yankees | 91 | 71 | 833 | 718 | 42.8% | 26.0% | 13.2% | 82.0% | -3.7 | -4 | 6 |
| Red Sox | 84 | 78 | 841 | 769 | 6.9% | 9.2% | 16.6% | 32.7% | -7.1 | 12 | 35 |
| Blue Jays | 82 | 80 | 773 | 755 | 4.9% | 8.3% | 13.4% | 26.6% | 1.2 | 0 | -21 |
| Orioles | 78 | 84 | 719 | 783 | 0.9% | 2.3% | 4.8% | 8.0% | 8.3 | 6 | -36 |
W: Projected final 2011 wins
L: Projected final 2011 losses
RS: Projected final 2011 runs scored
RA: Projected final 2011 runs allowed
Div: Division win percentage
WC1: Wild card win percentage
WC2: Wild card win percentage
PS: Postseason percentage (Div + WC1 + WC2)
W+/-: 2012 revised projected wins minus 2012 pre-season projected wins
RS+/-: 2012 revised projected runs scored minus 2012 pre-season projected runs scored (positive means they are projected to score more)
RA+/-: 2012 revised projected runs allowed minus 2012 pre-season projected runs allowed (negative means they are projected to allow fewer)
The pitching matchups for this series are as follows.
Tuesday, May 8: The Undefeated James Shields (5-0, 3.05 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (3-1, 5.58 ERA)
Wednesday, May 9: Jeff Niemann (2-3, 4.05 ERA) vs. David Phelps (0-1, 3.74 ERA)
Thursday, May 10: David Price (5-1, 2.35 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (4-0, 4.15 ERA)
So here are how the standings and postseason odds change based on the various potential outcomes of this series.
| Rays 3-0 | W | L | RS | RA | Div | WC1 | WC2 | PS% | W+/- | RS+/- | RA+/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rays | 93 | 69 | 761 | 682 | 61.0% | 18.8% | 8.3% | 88.1% | 3.8 | -4 | -1 |
| Yankees | 89 | 73 | 833 | 718 | 26.2% | 28.5% | 17.0% | 71.7% | -5.3 | -4 | 6 |
| Red Sox | 83 | 79 | 841 | 769 | 5.6% | 11.7% | 15.4% | 32.8% | -7.5 | 12 | 35 |
| Blue Jays | 83 | 79 | 773 | 755 | 6.2% | 10.2% | 15.1% | 31.5% | 1.5 | 0 | -21 |
| Orioles | 78 | 84 | 719 | 783 | 1.0% | 2.8% | 5.4% | 9.2% | 8.3 | 6 | -36 |
| Rays 2-1 | W | L | RS | RA | Div | WC1 | WC2 | PS% | W+/- | RS+/- | RA+/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rays | 92 | 70 | 761 | 682 | 51.9% | 21.4% | 12.5% | 85.7% | 2.7 | -4 | -1 |
| Yankees | 90 | 72 | 833 | 718 | 36.4% | 26.4% | 14.6% | 77.4% | -4.3 | -4 | 6 |
| Red Sox | 83 | 79 | 841 | 769 | 5.6% | 10.5% | 16.7% | 32.8% | -7.4 | 12 | 35 |
| Blue Jays | 83 | 79 | 773 | 755 | 5.4% | 9.6% | 12.9% | 27.9% | 1.4 | 0 | -21 |
| Orioles | 78 | 84 | 719 | 783 | 0.8% | 2.0% | 6.5% | 9.3% | 8.0 | 6 | -36 |
| Yankees 2-1 | W | L | RS | RA | Div | WC1 | WC2 | PS% | W+/- | RS+/- | RA+/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 91 | 71 | 833 | 718 | 44.7% | 24.9% | 13.9% | 83.5% | -3.4 | -4 | 6 |
| Rays | 91 | 71 | 761 | 682 | 40.4% | 24.5% | 13.2% | 78.1% | 1.8 | -4 | -1 |
| Red Sox | 83 | 79 | 841 | 769 | 7.9% | 9.9% | 16.1% | 34.0% | -7.2 | 12 | 35 |
| Blue Jays | 82 | 80 | 773 | 755 | 5.5% | 8.4% | 12.7% | 26.5% | 1.2 | 0 | -21 |
| Orioles | 78 | 84 | 719 | 783 | 1.5% | 3.0% | 5.7% | 10.2% | 8.2 | 6 | -36 |
| Yankees 3-0 | W | L | RS | RA | Div | WC1 | WC2 | PS% | W+/- | RS+/- | RA+/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 92 | 70 | 833 | 718 | 52.1% | 22.1% | 11.3% | 85.5% | -2.6 | -4 | 6 |
| Rays | 90 | 72 | 761 | 682 | 33.9% | 26.6% | 15.7% | 76.2% | 0.8 | -4 | -1 |
| Red Sox | 84 | 78 | 841 | 769 | 7.7% | 11.2% | 15.1% | 34.0% | -7.1 | 12 | 35 |
| Blue Jays | 82 | 80 | 773 | 755 | 5.1% | 7.6% | 14.5% | 27.2% | 1.2 | 0 | -21 |
| Orioles | 78 | 84 | 719 | 783 | 1.1% | 2.4% | 6.4% | 10.0% | 8.4 | 6 | -36 |
Sure, it’s early. And yes, the Yankees play the Rays enough times over the rest of the season to make up any ground they lose in this series, but this is still a pretty important series. You might even say it’s the most important series of the season so far.
Monday, May 7, 2012
David Robertson’s Heat Maps
Although there really isn’t a lot of data on Robertson to this point in the season, I do think his pitch location is worth noting. He seems to be nailing that outside edge vs. LHB consistently.
However, it’s right handed batters that are really coming up empty against Robertson this year; he’s faced 21 RHB and struck out 11 of them.
David Robertson vs. RHB
| P | PA | AVG | OBP | SLUG | wOBA | BABIP | K% | BB% | HR% | HR/FB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Season | 464 | 108 | .237 | .343 | .409 | .334 | .345 | 30.6% | 13.0% | 2.2% | 7.7% |
| 2010 Season | 661 | 155 | .250 | .329 | .364 | .302 | .316 | 23.9% | 9.7% | 2.3% | 8.3% |
| 2011 Season | 612 | 130 | .186 | .292 | .257 | .257 | .286 | 32.3% | 12.3% | 0.9% | 3.3% |
| 2012 Season | 93 | 21 | .105 | .190 | .158 | .170 | .250 | 52.4% | 9.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Robertson has thrown 106 cutters this season, recording nine strike outs and yielding five hits in 22 plate appearances. Batters are chasing the pitch out of the strike zone at a rate of 26.7%. Last season, his chase% on cutters was 19.3%.
Similarly, his fastball is getting batters to chase 31.4% compared to 20.3% between 2008 and 2011. Robertson has recorded eight strike outs on his fastball this season while giving up two hits in fifteen plate appearances. He’s actually relying on his cutter more as he’s thrown only 74 fastballs to this point. His cutter and fastball come in at roughly the same velocity (92.7 MPH and 93.0 MPH respectively since 2011). Batters might be finding it difficult to identify between the two pitches, resulting in his fairly high strike out rate to this point. I remember Russell Martin mentioning last season that Robertson’s cutter explodes at the end, much like Mo’s.
Robertson only started throwing the cutter last season; I can’t help wondering what part Mariano may have played in helping him develop the pitch.
Poughkeepsie Journal: Andy Pettitte says he’s ready for the big stage
“I’m going to let them, let everybody, know what we’ve got going on,” Pettitte told reporters in Rochester. “I feel like I’m ready, and I think they’re ready for me to come up.”
In his sixth minor-league start since coming out of retirement in March, Pettitte pitched five innings for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Only three of Pettitte’s five runs were earned, but he gave up eight hits and walked two. He allowed 10 hits in his previous minor-league start in extended spring training.
Pettitte hasn’t gotten really good results over his last two starts for AA Trenton and the AAA Barnstorming Yankees. He’s allowed 15 hits and 9 runs over 10 innings while walking 3 and striking out 8. That doesn’t really mean all that much though, since he’s probably working on getting right physically and less concerned about shutting down the other team.
That being said, I’m guessing the Yankees will have him make one more start in the minors before recalling him. They still have to get him on the 40 man roster and they probably don’t want to make a roster move until they have a better idea of the health of Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher. David Phelps has probably also earned at least one more start to show the Yankees a little bit more about what they might have with him.
I suppose they could move Cesar Cabral and/or Brad Meyers to the 60 day DL in a pinch to handle the 40 man roster situation, but I’m not sure who would go from the 25 man to get Pettitte on. Probably Cody Eppley.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Yankees.com: Hughes makes Yankees’ outburst hold up
KANSAS CITY—Phil Hughes brought more than just an extra-zippy fastball with him as he returned to the mound for the seventh inning on Sunday. He seemed to be carrying a few extra ounces of his manager’s trust.
Hughes’ strong effort earned him a chance to head back out and wrap up an impressive day of work in which he made a big lead stand up for a 10-4 win over the Royals that figures to keep him in the Yankees’ starting rotation.
I just finished watching my DVR of the game, and Hughes looked the best he’s looked all year. He was hitting 95 in the 7th inning and was actually somewhat efficient for most of the game, getting through several innings with fewer than 20 pitches. I’m still not sure he’s going to end the year as an effective member of the starting rotation, but over his last four starts he’s walked 4.4% of the batters he’s faced while striking out 21.1%. A ratio like that is generally an indicator of someone who can be a successful pitcher, even if his 7.52 RA over that stretch disagrees.
The lineup looks a lot better with Nick Swisher back in it, and hopefully he’ll be joined by Brett Gardner soon, and then maybe the Yankees can move out of fourth place.
Yankees (14-13) @ Royals (9-17), Sunday, May 6, 2012, 2:10pm
NYY:Phil Hughes (26, RHP, 1-4, 7.48) vs. KCR:Luke Hochevar (28, RHP, 2-2, 7.36)
Lineups
New York Yankees
D. Jeter, SS : .390/.425/.585
C. Granderson, CF : .279/.385/.596
A. Rodriguez, 3B : .260/.368/.400
R. Cano, 2B : .255/.303/.355
M. Teixeira, 1B : .229/.265/.390
N. Swisher, DH : .284/.355/.617
R. Ibanez, LF : .239/.288/.418
R. Martin, C : .206/.349/.368
D. Wise, RF : .250/.250/.500
Kansas City Royals
J. Dyson, CF : .278/.300/.361
A. Gordon, LF : .265/.353/.451
B. Butler, DH : .298/.342/.519
E. Hosmer, 1B : .192/.270/.385
M. Moustakas, 3B : .304/.360/.533
M. Maier, RF : .222/.349/.389
C. Getz, 2B : .314/.364/.471
I. Falu, SS : - /- /-
H. Quintero, C : .217/.288/.326
How often does the pitcher with the 7.36 ERA have the edge over his opponent?
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Yankees.com: Yankees can’t overcome Kuroda’s early exit
Alex Gordon tied a career high with four hits and Billy Butler drove in three runs, helping to lead the Royals past the Yankees, 5-1, on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.
The Yankees got an ineffective start from right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who was chased in the fifth inning and needed some good fortune to escape with only three runs (two earned) charged to his ledger.
New York was unable to manage a hit until the fifth inning against Royals right-hander Felipe Paulino, who was sharp in his first start of the season after beginning the year on the disabled list.
Well, that was disappointing.
Kuroda wasn’t awful, but he was pretty bad. Paulino looked really sharp. The Yankees had their chances, though. One of the dumber moments happened with the Yankees down three in the sixth. Granderson led off the inning with a double. A-Rod hit a fly ball to right and Granderson foolishly tried to move to third on Francouer’s arm, which is right up there as the very best in all of baseball (really, the one elite skill Frenchy has). He got thrown out for the second out. Cano, of course, followed with a single.
At least Martin showed signs of life. We have to now hope that Phil Hughes can help the Yankees salvage a split. The offense better show up tomorrow.
Yankees (14-12) @ Royals (8-17), Saturday, May 5, 2012, 7:10pm **Game Chatter/Liveblog**
SP: Hiroki Kuroda (37, RHP, 2-3, 3.69) vs. SP: Felipe Paulino (28, RHP, 0-0, undef)
Lineups
New York Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Russell Martin C
Dewayne Wise RF
Eduardo Nunez 3B
Kansas City Royals
Jarrod Dyson CF
Alex Gordon LF
Billy Butler DH
Eric Hosmer 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Mike Moustakas 3B
Humberto Quintero C
Chris Getz 2B
Alcides Escobar SS
My wife’s at a bachelorette party for a friend of ours, so I’ll try to liveblog this bad boy. Wise gets his first start for the Yankees.
(Click Comments to read more)Friday, May 4, 2012
Yankees.com: CC wins fourth straight after Yanks erupt late
KANSAS CITY—Eduardo Nunez’s go-ahead RBI triple opened the floodgates in a four-run seventh inning as the Yankees rallied to top the Royals, 6-2, on Friday at Kauffman Stadium.
Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter also homered as New York snapped its three-game losing skid behind eight strong innings from ace CC Sabathia, who won his fourth straight start.
That was a much needed win, more to regain sanity than anything else.
Also, For now, Robertson, Soriano will split ninth.
This seems like a good idea if it means using Robertson in the higher leverage situations.
Yankees (13-12) @ Royals (8-16), Friday, May 4, 2012, 8:10pm
NYY:CC Sabathia (31, LHP, 3-0, 4.58) vs. KCR:Bruce Chen (35, LHP, 0-3, 4.23)
Lineups
Yankees
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
7 outs
Royals
Dyson CF
Gordon LF
Butler DH
Hosmer 1B
Francoeur RF
Moustakas 3B
Pena C
Getz 2B
Escobar SS
Two soft-tossing lefties square off in KC. A loss puts the Yankees at .500.
USA Today: Reggie Jackson: Rivera ‘would definitely like to’ pitch in 2013
New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera privately told friends he planned all along to continue pitching at least one more season in 2013, and now that he’s facing season-ending knee surgery, Yankees executive Reggie Jackson believes he’ll definitely try to return.
Hmmm.
MLB: Gammons: Civil Mariano garners respect like no other
“Good call,” laughed Showalter. “Mariano Rivera. Remember the name.”
A year later, in 1995, Showalter brought Rivera to the Yankees. Seventeen years later we all remember the name of the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history. I’ve never forgotten that moment in Spring Training, because in more than 40 years of covering baseball, Rivera is the person I most respect. “I think everyone who knows him feels the same way,” Derek Jeter said this spring.
I know Peter Gammons isn’t a particularly popular writer around these parts, but he’s always been one of Mo’s biggest boosters and I thought this was an interesting article.
YES: Rivera on torn ACL
I’m not the emotional type, but I teared up a little watching this. According to Mariano Rivera he has both a torn ACL and meniscus. I have no idea how hard the rehab for that is, but I’d imagine it’s not easy.
I really hope this isn’t the end for Mo. I didn’t want him to retire after this year, but I figured at least we’d have the chance to appreciate his greatness for another five months. Now that’s gone, and frankly it changes the entire season for me. The Yankees are still a good team. You could make the sacrilegious case that David Robertson is better than Rivera, and the Yankees will lose little in the closer department. But Rafael Soriano isn’t as good as David Robertson. Then again, Cory Wade is better than Soriano so the 7th inning got upgraded.
But it’s not about wins. It’s about no longer watching someone who may have done his job(even if you discount the job itself) on the baseball field better than anyone else ever. How many current fans can say they saw the best player ever in his role ply his trade? Yankee fans can.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Yankees.com: Mariano twists right knee while shagging flies
KANSAS CITY—The Yankees prepared for Thursday’s game against the Royals with their fingers crossed after closer Mariano Rivera crumpled on the outfield warning track while shagging fly balls during batting practice.
The club said that the preliminary diagnosis of Rivera’s injury is a twisted right knee, but the 42-year-old all-time saves leader is being sent for an MRI during Thursday’s game.
He was examined on-site at Kauffman Stadium by Royals associate physician Joseph Noland, as well as the Yankees’ training staff.
Once this happened the result of tonight’s game seemed meaningless to me. Here’s hoping we get good news.
Anyway, the Yankees lost, the first home game the Royals have won all year in 11 tries. I’d be shocked if they didn’t win their second tomorrow.
Update: Lohud: Jennings: Torn ACL diagnosis for Rivera
The early diagnosis for Mariano Rivera is a torn ACL. He will be checked again in New York, but this almost certainly means hes out for the season.
You know what? Eff this season.