That has been, by far, my biggest annoyance with NJ this year. He has looked at a lot of called 3rd strikes. His job is to get on base, not to leave Jeter stranded. I'm fine with him working walks, but swing at damn strikes! His 2-run double the other day was on a first pitch fastball. Pitchers know you're looking to take them deep in the count, so they're going to pound the zone with fastballs the first couple pitches, take the goddamn bat off your shoulder if its there to swing at
That would probably get me to change my opinion about him a bit. I still want a DH who hits 30 home runs, but I'll take a guy who swings at strikes and makes contact. I don't necessarily have a problem with walks. My big problem is the "whole picture" with Johnson. If a power hitter walks a lot, I expect that his ability to run around the bases will be meager. I also expect that guy to put the ball in the stands. If a guy walks a lot but doesn't hit for power, I expect him to be able to make good contact and at least move around the bases. Johnson just stands there with the bat on his shoulder with that little bit of ass stain on his upper lip. He either walks or strikes out. Let's be honest, you can train a monkey to just stand there watching pitch after pitch. As far as him getting early strikes, even if he weren't known for going deep into counts, he's got Tex and ARod hitting behind him. There are few guys in the majors who are going to more hittable pitches over the course of a season. #2 in the Yankees' lineup is a dream for anyone who can make contact. Ugh, and his face just angers me. He strikes out and you can read it on his face he's thinking to himself "Huh? Strike...three? Oh. Okay George...Where're the rabbits?"
RE: Gardner I wanted to look at his last few games regarding strikes. 5/3: Four strikes looking 5/2: Six strikes looking, one strike swinging which was the third strike (could be foul tip?) 5/1: Five strikes looking, bunt foul, two fouls It looks like he's finally developing into a player the Yankees would want to start. He was already starting-caliber for most teams before this season.
I still think this is the real source of your dislike. Yeah, his K% and his K-looking % have been abnormally high this year, though. I have to imagine it will go back toward his career norms. (Although even if it doesn't, I still say strikeouts are overrated as a negative for a batter.) His job is to get on base, period. And his style for getting on base has him looking at a lot of pitches. That means a lot of Ks. Usually, he doesn't K this often. Maybe he's adjusting to being a full-time DH. Or maybe he's just slumping badly. Who knows? All I know is that I'm thankful for a guy who is still able to provide solid value to the team while in one of the worst slumps of his career. Once those line drives he's been hitting start to fall (and they will), I think more people will come around on him. It's the shitty part about slumping at the beginning of the year.
It's quite unfortunate Tex and ARod are doin jackshit at the plate while the Yanks are getting such great pitching to start the season.
Why? They're 18-8. If they were losing 2-1 games, I'd agree, but hell, take the good pitching now while the bottom of the order is getting it done. One Tex and A-Rod start mashing, you're not going to need the good pitching.
True. But you'd like to see them get it together soon because I don't expect this immaculate pitching to continue from everyone.
Of course it won't. And the lack of hitting from the middle of the lineup won't last forever, either. Every season has ups and downs. I remember last year some people wanted to blow the team up because they lost four games in a row. But they're playing well right now and winning despite Tex and A-Rod not hitting (and actually, Tex has been hitting pretty well so far in May). They're getting contributions from just about everyone else. Let's enjoy it.
That actually makes it a good time to slump. And Tex has been hitting the ball so far in May. What did he say? I think you're going to be surprised. CC is CC. The guy is going to eat tons of innings and pitch Cy Young-level ball every 5 days. AJ found his curve again last night. He told Kim Jones that was his best curve since he was back with the Jays in '98. Andy may slow later in the year, but right now, he'd be the ace of most MLB staffs. Vag-quez bites, but it is what it is. Hughes has ace stuff. The only thing that might slow him is if they have to cut down innings later in the year. Otherwise, the kid is solid. By the time any of the pitching becomes a real issue, everyone will be hitting. Keep in mind too, last year at this time, Cano wasn't crushing everything thrown within 8 feet of him. This lineup is crazy deep. Just appreciate it. :up:
I'm calling this now: Cervelli will be the full time catcher soon. Posada will DH and Alio won't have to deal w/ Johnson anymore.
I doubt that happens this year unless an injury absolutely prevents Posada from catching. I don't think Cervelli is going to keep up anywhere close to this level of production with the bat. Enjoy it while it lasts.
funny i was saying the same thing about gardner Why won't Cervelli keep it up? He's hitting the ball square, he has speed and can beat out certain infield hits, he has the passion, I think he can keep it up. I like him as a full time player. They are going to have to transition sometime. Why not use an injury as an excuse... Jorge won't like it but he can't throw anyone out anymore and everyone seems to like throwing to Cervelli better
Yeah, but that's because you were completely ignoring Gardner's history and projections, while I wasn't. :smile: (Actually, I strongly doubt Gardner continues to perform at this high of a level, either.) I think you're speculating a bit about who likes what and whether that affects the performance. And they might have to transition sometime, but I think they're more likely to do it when it's necessary rather than when it's just possible, especially if you're considering the best plans for the team for the long haul of the season. Because he's not that talented of a hitter, no matter his "passion." I'd imagine he has the potential to be a league average bat, at best. And right now he's hitting .387 with a .941 OPS. There's no way he continues to hit like that. Not even close. I get it. He's fun to watch. I agree. He's probably my favorite position player on the Yanks. But let's not delude ourselves. We didn't find the next Joe Mauer. Actually, if you think he's going to keep it up, he'd be better than Mauer. For reference: Mauer's career OPS: .892. It ain't happenin'. ETA: He hasn't even played enough for there to be much of a book on him. If you started him every day, soon pitchers would adjust, and you'd see him struggle. Probably a lot. Because it's in handling those adjustments that the talent really shines in baseball. The worst major league player can hit a grooved 95mph fastball a fair amount of the time. The great hitters are the ones who can recognize pitches early enough (or react quickly enough) to make the most of the pitches even when they're fooled.
Gardner has a 100% contact rate at pitches in the strike zone this year. Thats right folks, he has yet to swing and miss at a strike this year. His overall contact rate is ~92%, good for 10th in the majors. For the 2010 season, Gardner has struck out in just 12% of his at-bats, compared to his career average of 20%. Hes making way better contact, and turning that contact into infield singles and beating out throws. not to even mention his basestealing.
I don't know. I would love to see Cervelli take over for Posada (at least split duty 50/50) but I doubt it'll happen. You can't have both of your catchers in the lineup at the same time, and it appears the Yankees won't even consider promoting Montero yet. Clearly they're going to give Montero every opportunity to show whether he can play catcher before taking the plunge with him. As much as I'd like to see Johnson out of the lineup, there's only way that's going to happen right now, and I don't wish injury on anyone.
I'm not sure what this means, but Accuscore has been projecting more homers for Cano than anyone else in the lineup for at least the last few days (it's a projection service that simulates games thousands of times). You never would see Cano projected for more than A-Rod or Teixeira last year, assuming all three were in the lineup.
