Some things to be positive about:
(1) Just a little over .500 but in 1st place and 1st place means playoffs. That's all that matters--that we get in the playoffs, not that we win 120 games.
(2) Ellsbury will be back, hopefully by the end of June if not before.
(3) Tanaka's back today. Huge shot in the arm. Ivan Nova's about to start his rebab assignment and might be back in about a month too. Tanaka, Pineda, Nova, CC, Warren (who's been good btw, esp. at home). Provided there's no more setbacks for Tanaka and Nova comes back close to where he was before, that's good enough to win with. Huge getting Tanaka and Nova back... It's like making a trade for 2 starters w/o giving up a thing!
(4) Drew came through last night finally but he's been AWFUL. Listening to the Michael Kay show yesterday--they had Cashman on and he flat out said 2B is a problem and hinted that we may see Refsnyder sooner than later. Ref's had a rough 10 days or so but on 5/22 he was at .300. Hitting .276 now, not terrible considering he got off to such a rough start. Was reading an article where he said he's not worrying about making mistakes at 2B anymore--that he's gonna go out and "play 2B like he plays it." F it--good for him. That's how ya gotta approach it...He's got 11 errors but a lot of those were made early on. He's also had quite a few great plays over there. It'll come. Offensively he's ready. I think we could be looking at Gregg Jeffries worst case, hopefully Ian Kinsler eventually, all the way up to Dustin Pedroia if everything breaks right. Kay made a good point, saying you can't just "bring up the kids" while competing for a pennant--you need stability, I get that, but if Drew's only gonna hit .160, that's a problem. Kay said yesterday that he has the worst average in the entire league, maybe in baseball, out of anyone with enough ABs to qualify for the batting title.. Ref can offer way more than that--just needs to get to a point where he's at least serviceable at 2B. I think he's close--most of his problems seem to be throwing. He's a good athlete with range at 2B. Made a diving play to snag a line drive up the middle several games back that was UNBELIEBVABLE!! Surprised Pirela hasn't stepped up and performed better..
(5) Didi's starting to hit a little bit now. He's a good SS -- rangy with a dynamite arm. If he can start contributing with that bat, that'd be huge. I actually like his swing. He's got potential at the plate, just might take a little bit. Starting to see some progress now. Eventually Didi and Refsnyder could really transform the bottom of the order into a real strength. He shouldn't be feeling any pressure. There's been no mention of Jeter at all and nobody's expecting a thing from him after such a poor start. Only way to go now is up!
(6) Wow, David Carpenter has been TERRIBLE, huh? Dude can't get anybody out. I can't figure it at all -- his stuff looks good enough. Chris Martin was just activated--they're easing him back at AAA right now. When he comes back, he'll be an upgrade over Carpenter for sure. Martin was lights out early on, then faltered a little before going down with the elbow tendonitis. I like Martin a lot. Great pickup. Meanwhile, Shreve's been very good.
(7) Some nice depth to fill in if need be -- this dude Flores looks good in the OF (esp. defensively), Heathcott looked good before going down and I still like Bryan Mitchell a lot. Mitchell could be a better option as a long man for us over Rogers and Capuano (feel like every time Rogers pitches, all he does is pour gas on the fire). Assimilating Warren back into a bullpen role (where he was good last year) and letting Mitchell start is another option (probably not, Warren's been good as a starter this year, esp. at home, but it's an option to consider). God forbid we have anymore setbacks with the rotation, I'd like to see Mitchell get a shot over Capuano. Cappy had his chance and didn't do anything with it. Let Mitchell take a crack at it next. He just threw 8 innings of shutout ball his last outing. Was reading somewhere that he could be another Shane Greene--a guy that was mediocre for some reason throughout the minors but eventually found it at the higher levels. I agree with that. Better stuff than Greene too. His overall numbers at Scranton are decent: 3-4, 3.20 ERA in 10 starts, .225 BA against, 0 HRs in 50 IP.
That just kills any flexibility we'll have over the next couple of years. He's got the worst contract on the team, probably one of the worst in baseball. At least A-Rod and Tex are producing...I really wish that in the future, when they choose to sign another player to a big-money deal, they decide to frontload the contract. It makes much more sense to pay a player the bulk of the money when he's at his best, not when his skills have eroded. You'd also want a chance to move a guy toward the end of a big deal if the need arose or to transition him into a lesser role without thinking about the money he's set to make, that you need to get some kind of return on the monster investment.
No official word yet but I have a feeling he's gonna need TJ surgery..
That's the good news...
Said it at the time -- how the F do you deal a young, front-end lefty starter for 2 relievers you didn't even need?!? Now one of those relievers, David Carpenter, has been DFA. Very surprised about that btw. Flash was saying it on the telecast -- we could've just optioned Jacob Lindgren back to AAA to make room for Tanaka and not lost anyone but chose to designate Carpenter for assignment. I know he's been awful but to just cut the guy loose like that? I mean Martin's not even ready yet. Betances is the only important righty in the pen right now I believe (Rogers is trash). Shows what the Yankees thought of him and his ability to turn it around...Shreve's been decent but come on, dude's a middle reliever/long man. Banuelos at AAA this year for ATL btw: 4-0 in 10 starts, 2.39 ERA, 52.2 IP, .226 BA against. Win some, lose some--we definitely lost out on that deal. Supposedly we have 10 days to trade Carpenter -- hopefully we can get something for him. Deal should've never been made. We had plenty of young, promising relievers from both sides -- Branden Pinder(R), Danny Burawa(R), Lindgren(L), Tyler Webb(L) -- we didn't need Carpenter or Shreve. The only way you deal Banuelos to ATL is if you get Justin Upton back in the deal, or maybe a Craig Kimbrel, not for what we got. How bad did they want Banuelos? I mean we just gave him away..SMH man..
