The Road Well Traveled

Thanks to the pitching of A.J. Burnett and the bat of Nick Swisher, the Yankees finished off a three game sweep of the Oakland A's on Wednesday to turn what was a poor starting road trip into a positive 4-2 record. The Yankees now head to one of their house of horrors, Anaheim, to face the Los Angeles Angels with a chance to win at least five of nine on the trip and with a very good chance to win six since CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon will start two of the three games (Ivan Nova starts the other).

The Yankees got great pitching in the Oakland series and that continued yesterday when Burnett shook off some early struggles (including a 2-run home run by Josh Willingham) to give the Yankees seven solid innings in a 4-2 win. The Yankees trailed 2-1 when they put two on with none out against A's starter Gio Gonzalez in the 4th inning. That's when things got a little weird- Swisher showed bunt on the first two pitches (both balls) - only third base coach Rob Thomson hadn't given him the bunt sign. While A's pitching coach Ron Romanick was telling Gonzalez to throw strikes (he had thrown six straight out of the strike zone), Swisher found out from Thomson that he had misread the signs. So then all Swisher did was rip a three run home run into the left field seats to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Burnett then made it stand up by shutting down the A's lineup with the exception of Coco Crisp, who had two hits and walk, but was stranded at third after tripling in the 5th and at second base after he swiped it in the 3rd.

Joba Chamberlain worked out of a two on, one out jam in the 8th when he speared Conor Jackson's line drive and turned it into a double play. Mariano Rivera breezed through the 9th for his first save since May 10. It came in his 1,004th appearance, tying him with Goose Gossage for 14th place on the all-time list.

Notes

Derek Jeter had one hit, leaving him with 16 to go to the 3,000 mark. The captain has a 7 game hitting streak in which he's hitting .333 (9-27).

The Yankees have beaten the A's 10 straight times, the longest current streak of any team in the Majors.

Nick Swisher has a modest six game hitting streak, all on the road trip. He's 6-20 (.300) with one hit in each game.

Rain Moves Yankees Into 1st Place

The Yankees and Red Sox waited 3 1/2 hours before last night's was finally called. (Nice job jerking the fans around even if the fans up there are jerks.)

In the meantime, Bruce Chen of all people pitched a complete 2-hit shutout of the Rays to give the Yankees a half-game lead in the AL East.

The Yankees will play their regularly scheduled game at 4 pm thanks to the bozos at Fox. Andy Pettitte will face Tim Wakefield. The knuckleballer will be filling in for Clay Buchholz, who was scratched due to a sore back.

The nightcap will pit A.J. Burnett against Daisuke Matsuzaka. The game is scheduled to start at 9:05 pm. Again, thanks to the idiots at Fox since the first game doesn't start until 4. The second game will be televised on YES.

This is Burnett's last chance to step up and basically force his way on the ALDS roster. (By the way Bruce Chen has more wins than Burnett.) If it's me, Burnett isn't coming close to being on the ALDS roster.

The Red Sox will also be without Adrian Beltre all weekend. He's gone home to be with his wife who is about to give birth. Since he's a free agent, Boston may have seen Beltre in a Red Sox uniform for hte last time.

Yankees 1st Report Card

Did this for Baseball Digest.

Making the Grade - April

May 5th, 2009

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: a.j. burnett • andy pettitte • April Report Card • Brian bruney • cc sabathia • chien-ming wang • Derek Jeter • Making the Grade • mariano rivera • nick swisher • Pitcher of the Month • Player of the Month

I’ve named this segment after one of the best “worst” movies of all time. Check it out some time if you can find it.

It’s time to review how the Yankees did in their first marking period, better known as the month of April. It was an up and down month, but a 3-game winning streak enabled the Yankees to finish above .500 at 12-10. That left them two games behind the first place Red Sox and Blue Jays entering May.

Player of the Month

Nick Swisher

No question, Robinson Cano’s numbers - 17 game hitting streak, .366-5-16, 18 runs - were tremendous, but without Nick Swisher the Yankees wouldn’t have finished the month with a positive record. Swisher filled the void left first by Alex Rodriguez, and then by fellow outfielder Xavier Nady. He led the team in home runs (7), RBI (19), runs scored (21), and OPS (1.144).

Highlights
3 Hits, 5 RBI in first win of season, 11-2 at Orioles
3 RBI, 3 runs in 6-1 win at Royals
1 RBI, 3 runs in 11-0 win at Tigers
2 HR, 4 RBI in 8-6 win at Tigers
MLB Player of the Week Award

Worst Player of the Month

With Alex Rodriguez out, not much was expected of Cody Ransom, but the Yankees got even less before a torn quad shut Ransom down for the next several months. He hit just .180 in April and that was after going 6-20 (.300) in the last 6 games. Ransom’s OPS was a mere .546 and he drove in just 6 runs, 3 of them in one game. His defensive game let the Yankees down too (.946 Fielding PCT).

Pitcher of the Month

A.J.Burnett

It may seem odd for a pitcher with a 5.40 ERA, but A.J. Burnett won the award hands down. Burnett’s ERA, of course, is warped because of the smackdown he took in Boston (5 IP 8 ER). He stopped a pair of 2-game losing streaks and threw 111 pitches in a no-decision (the Yankees eventually won) against the Indians to rest the Yankees beleaguered bullpen.

Highlights
2-0, 5.40 Yankees are 4-1 in games Burnett starts
8 IP 3 H 2 ER 9 K in 7-2 win at Rays
5.1 IP 2 ER 6 K in 11-2 win at Orioles

Worst Pitcher of the Month

34.50. That’s all you need to know. Chien-Ming Wang.

Biggest Win of the Month

April 15 at Tampa Bay - The Yankees were in the finale of the opening 9-game road trip and were clinging to a .500 (4-4) record. Andy Pettitte pitched a great game, but the Yankees trailed the Rays 3-2 after seven innings. Back to back doubles by Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon to start the eighth tied the game at 3-3. Then in the top of the 9th, Cody Ransom reached on a one out double, and two batters later, Jeter came through again with the game winning single.

Worst Loss of the Month

Some fans will think it was the 22-4 opening day humiliation or the 16-11 Saturday loss to Boston that started as a 6-0 Yankees’ lead. Clearly though, the Friday night game (April 24) in Boston takes the cake. A bitter cake.

The Yankees led 4-2 in the ninth with Mariano Rivera on to close things out, but Jason Bay smacked a game tying 2-out, 2-run home run. Kevin Youkilis homered off Damaso Marte in the 11th inning for a Boston victory that set the tone for the rest of the weekend series. It also again showed that Rivera is very mortal when facing the Red Sox.

Most Devastating Injury

A-Rod’s hip issues occurred in Spring Training, so he doesn’t qualify. (sorry Selena Roberts, I know you were counting on it.) Xavier Nady’s elbow strain hurt the offense, but Swisher picked up much of the slack. Without a doubt, the key injury was to Brian Bruney, the lone effective set up man to Mariano Rivera. Bruney recorded a pair of wins and had four Holds.

Clutch Performer

Derek Jeter

The Captain, Derek Jeter, got this one. His 9th inning home run against the Rays on April 14 busted the game open in a 7-2 win. The next night Jeter singled in the game winning run in the 9th inning, which enabled the Yankees to take 2 of 3 from Tampa Bay. Two nights after that, he gave the Yankees their 3rd win in 4 games with an eighth inning, game winning home run against the Cleveland Indians.

Report Card

Robinson Cano A+
Nick Swisher A
Brian Bruney A
Johnny Damon A-

Mariano Rivera B+ (that Boston game took a serious hit on his grade)
Derek Jeter B+
A.J. Burnett B+
Jorge Posada B
Jose Molina B
Andy Pettitte B
Melky Cabrera B
Ramiro Pena B
Joba Chamberlain B-

Hideki Matsui C+
Jonathan Albaladejo C
Phil Coke C
CC Sabathia C
David Robertson C

Mark Teixeira D (Walks and Defense saved him a little)
Brett Gardner D (Steals and Defense kept this, barely, from an F)
Edwar Ramirez D

Cody Ransom F
Damaso Marte F
Jose Veras F
Chien-Ming Wang F
Angel Berroa F (was only 4 games, but it showed plenty)

Incomplete
Xavier Nady
Anthony Claggett
Mark Melancon
Phil Hughes