Yankees @ Indians 7/4-6

I liked AJ more when he only imploded against good teams.

 

How can we say AJ imploded? He gave up 3 runs. He was also pitching a one-hitter for the first few innings. Not that I think the Yankees would have won had Wade still had a 0.00 ERA, but losing that game shouldn't really be pinned on AJ. How about throwing around some blame to a lineup that was getting no-hit for what, 5 innings?

Garcia gives up 3 runs in 5 innings and he's a hero. AJ gives up 3 runs in 7 and he's a goat. Come on. I understand AJ is getting paid to be a top-end guy, but just how good is he expected to be?

For all the credit everyone gives CC, they both have 18 starts. While Burnett has given up 15 homers to CC's 5, Burnett has only given up a total of 8 more earned runs. CC's WHIP is 1.21 while Burnett's is 1.26. CC's average against is .251 to AJ's .225. Obviously AJ's 17 additional walks cause issues, but that's going to happen when you have a curve that flies around like a knuckleball.

I'm not saying AJ is an ace, but I just can't understand why he gets such a bad rap. Not this year, at least. He's pitched like a #2, and had he gotten the run support CC has, he'd arguably have 5 more wins (giving him a total of 13 to CC"s 11).

It puzzles me as much as Yankees fans that think having Jeter back is worse than letting Nunez and Pena stay at short. I get the desire to drop him in the lineup, but anyone who would rather have the E twins than a guy who makes every out within his "limited" range is out of their minds.

 

Jeter should be batting 7th not 1st. My only complaint. He's a very solid defensive SS which is valuable in itself.

 

As I said, I get the desire to drop him in the lineup. (I personally wouldn't do it, but I understand the argument/reason.)

 

How can you say he didn't implode? He was cruising for 6 innings, then gave up 4 runs in the blink of an eye. This is what he does. He can fall apart at any given moment, no matter how well he's pitching. No one thinks Garcia is a hero for anything, but there's no point in getting aggravated with him. Once he starts to struggle, he's gone.

You can't compare AJ's stats to CC's and brush past the fact he's given up 10 more homeruns in 16 less innings. Sabathia also had 3 starts early in the season where he gave up 3 earned runs in 18.2 innings and he didn't get a single win.

AJ will always get a worse rap he deserves. His talent is all-world, right up there with the best of our generation. But he'll never be able to put it together, and there's always a new reason. He's a middle of the rotation starter who has the ability to dominate at any given time and has also fallen apart in big spots. In 2009 he was fine as the #2 starter because we had a great #3 starter behind him. Hopefully Hughes comes back strong and pushes Burnett to #4 starter, that will give us a huge advantage.

 

In an inning that should have been over. Granted, you still have to fight after things go wrong, but at what point does Girardi get raked over the coals for allowing him to continue when he's starting to flounder?

AJ also lost to the Indians in a game he gave up a single run in 7.2.

I didn't brush past them, but I pointed out that he hasn't given up all that many more total runs. It doesn't matter if they clear the fence or roll to the wall, a run is a run.

Obviously if AJ is our 4th starter we're in amazing shape. That has more to do with the fact that it will mean our best prodigy is pitching great and our bionic man continues to buck the odds though.

 

He has a much lower BAA and has pitched 19 less innings, yet has given up 8 more runs (and 10 more home runs). This is the AJ we all know, the opponents either hit nothing or hit everything hard. CC, especially this year, has given up a lot of soft singles.

But you're right about Girardi. At some point he has to shorten the leash on Burnett. We can all see when he's about to go bad. Although in fairness to Girardi last night, he was working with a short bullpen and needed to take a chance.

 

Right, and that's really a key component in the equation. It's not hard to tell when AJ is about to collapse, so it's on the manager and pitching coach to make the call to the pen. As for the short bullpen, it was only Mo that wasn't available. They could've gone to the pen and no one would have held it against them. Instead, they let AJ go two batters too far (arguably at least 3).

Also, let's not forget that Burnett was out of that inning, but between Gardner and ARod, neither made the last out. Not that it excuses AJ giving up two walks and the long ball, but he should've been on the bench at that point.

Yet Girardi yanks out CC or Colon when they're pitching brilliantly. Go figure.

Speaking of CC, he was an absolute ace last night. What a performance. Lance Pendleton also made it easy to decide who goes to Scranton tonight to make room for Hughes.

Hughes is back! I'm not going to lie, I'm excited to see him return.

Let's also remember that Ian Kennedy was part of that trade. He's 8-3 with a lower WHIP than CC.

Still, in hindsight it was a fantastic trade for the Yankees and knowing what I do now, I'd make it in a heartbeat. I give Cashman credit for this one.

 

From the AP preview. WTF?

 

...in the NL, of course. I doubt that's a coincidence.

 

Arizona is a hitter's park. On the other hand, the NL West is notorious for having lower ERAs than there should be due to San Diego, LA, and San Francisco being pitcher's parks and the fact that San Diego and San Francisco don't have hitters (LA's offense is mediocre, although not quite as bad as the previous two).


Kennedy's pitching well, but he does play in the most pitcher-friendly division in baseball.

 

Masterson pitching a gem thus far.

 

How did Phil Hughes look? Missed most of his start

 

Terrible first inning, solid the rest of the way.

He really needs to get that hard curve back to put hitters away, other wise he's just an average middle of the rotation pitcher.