Yanks Defeat A's 5-3

A revamped Oakland lineup with newly acquired veterans such as Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparra could not solve Andy Pettite over 7 innings last night. Pettitte scattered 9 hits and allowed just 2 runs. He has gone at least 7 innings in each of his three starts this season. He is the only Yankee starter to do so. Brett Gardner drove in two runs as did Johnny Damon, who hit the game’s only home run, which landed in the second deck in right (it was no cheapie). Mark Teixeira drove in the other Yankees run. Brian Bruney’s streak of 22 consecutive batters came to an end as he allowed a run on 2 hits in the 8th inning. Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera tied a record as Rivera saved a win for Pettitte for the 57th time. Wins and saves might not be the best way to quantify a pitcher’s effectiveness, but this record is a testament to the longevity and durability that both Pettitte and Rivera have displayed throughout their careers.

-CC Sabathia will start for the Yanks today, as they close out their first homestand. The A’s will counter with rookie lefty Brett Anderson. With a win the Yankees will go 4-2 on this homestand, not bad all things considered.

-Xavier Nady will not have to have season ending surgery after all. Instead he will rehab the strained ligament in his right elbow and should be back with the team for about a month or so.

-Chien Ming Wang, whose next start will be skipped, was sent down to Tampa to work on his mechanics as he tries to work out the kinks in his motion and delivery. The Yankees will also closely monitor his physical condition as Brian Cashman is not convinced that Wang is 100% healthy as the pitcher claims. The Yankees are 8-3 in games not started by Chien Ming Wang.

Jeter, Yanks Take Rubber Game

It was a night when the "old guard" came through as the Yankees took the rubber game in Tampa in a well-pitched, hard-fought 4-3 win. Derek Jeter singled in Ransom with the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth off of Rays closer Troy Percival. Andy Pettitte started, and pitched well over 7 1/3 innings of work, allowing 3 runs. Mariano Rivera closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the series and a winning road trip (5-4) to start off the year. Robinson Cano continued his hot hitting (.382) with a homer and a double. He looks like a changed man at the plate thus far. Next up is the home opener at the new stadium. More to come in a bit.

BOX

NY Ink

I came across this article by Kat O'Brien in Buster Olney's blog on ESPN.com. It talks about the numerous tattoos gracing the bodies of some of the Yankee pitchers.

I thought this was interesting. Obviously tattoos are becoming more mainstream with the growing popularity of TV shows such as Miami Ink and LA Ink. I also challenge you to turn on a NBA game and find a player without a tattoo. Sports team logos are becoming more and more common as well. ( I too have joined this category) Below are just a few pieces i've come across on the web that go beyond the simple logo and push the boundaries of baseball inspired tattoo art. Enjoy!

Rivera Rehab Right on Schedule

We could see the great Mariano Rivera make his spring training debut Monday against the defending World Series champion, Philadelphia Phillies. Rivera threw live batting practice on Wednesday and said he’s “feeling better and better” and he “has no doubts” about being able to come back better than ever. He is set to throw another batting practice session on Saturday before his scheduled spring debut on Monday. It will certainly be a welcome sight to see #42 back on the mound again, as he looks ready for another brilliant season to add to his brilliant Hall of Fame career.

The Yankees are off today, but travel to Ft. Myers to face the Red Sox in a spring training grudge match sure to set the stage for what should be another season long battle between the Yanks and Sox.

Mo Better with Age

The 2008 season was a banner year for relief pitchers. We saw a plethora of amazing performances. The most heralded of course came from Francisco Rodriguez setting the new all-time record for saves with 62. We also saw a new record for the most consecutive scoreless innings to begin a career by Oakland reliever Brad Ziegler. Ziegler also posted the lowest ERA of all relief pitchers posting a 1.06 ERA. Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge went a perfect 41/41 in save opportunities while posting a 1.95 ERA. As an encore he led his team to a World Series Championship while remaining a perfect 7/7 in playoff saves with a 0.96 ERA. We also saw the emergence of Kansas City closer Joakim Soria who posted 42 saves with a 1.60 ERA and the continued excellence of Minnesota’s Joe Nathan with 39 saves and a 1.33 ERA. With all these amazing performances it’s easy to overlook the year of Mariano Rivera. Arguably the greatest closer in baseball history, Rivera goes about his business quietly getting the job done year in and year out. He’s not the most flashy player, he’s a quiet, soft spoken guy who doesn’t throw the hardest and who doesn’t strike out the most batters. The loudest part of his game is when ‘Enter Sandman’ blares from the Yankee Stadium PA as he takes the mound. What did all these things cause though? I believe it caused most to overlook Mariano’s 2008 season, which I believe is possibly the 2nd greatest season ever by a closer.

For starters lets first take a look at Mo’s 2008 season. He was 39/40 in save opportunities. In 70.2 innings pitched he allowed 41 hits while amazingly only walking 6 batters. He also struck out 77 hitters while posting a 1.40 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Rivera ranked first in the majors among relief pitchers in WHIP (0.67), OBP Against (.190) and Tough Saves with 5. His 1.40 ERA ranked 3rd among all relievers.
Now to stack Rivera’s ‘08 season up against arguably the best season by a closer of all-time. The 1990 season of Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.



Clearly Eck had the more dominant year. Now lets match up Rivera’s ‘08 season with the best seasons from the great closers of the past and present.



I think the number that clearly sets Mo apart is the WHIP, or his Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched. Rivera’s ‘08 WHIP was .11 points lower than the next closest of 0.78 by Billy Wagner in 1999.
Why is WHIP such an important number? Well basically because it judges how many base runners have been allowed. As we all know, especially late in the game the more base runners you allow the less successful you are going to be. Looking at Rivera’s ERA of 1.40 it is the lowest of any of the closers of his era. Of all the closers his ERA in 2008 only trails Bruce Sutter’s 1977 season and Rollie Fingers 1981 season. Now without going into the pros and cons of comparing players from different eras of the game, the ERA differences can possibly be attributed to the drastic difference of the game from the late 70s to today. Clearly the parks are much more hitter friendly and without citing steroids, the players are more physically gifted than they were 30 years ago.

I think matched up against all these numbers Mariano Rivera’s 2008 season does stand out as the 2nd greatest season by a closer we’ve ever seen. Was his season overshadowed by K-Rods 62 saves? Certainly. Was Mo’s greatness, dwarfed by the Yankees failure to make the playoffs for the first time in 12 years? Of course. Will we ever here Mo speak out or look for praise for his historic 2008 performance? Absolutely not, and that’s quite possibly the greatest thing about him.

-Robb Lennahan

Joba Would be Bullish in the Pen

The topic of where Joba Chamberlain best helps the Yankees, as a starter or reliever, has been one that has been discussed seemingly since the day the burly righty joined the big ballclub in late 2007. The argument of sabermetricians, that the more innings you can get from the dominant righty the better, favor Joba staying in the rotation. While his numbers from last year were very similar as a starter and as a reliever; I believe Chamberlain would best help the Yankees as a relief ace setting up for the great Mariano. His football-like mentality, his effectiveness, and his dominant stuff are best suited to be utilized out of the pen.



Joba also ran into some arm issues at the end of last year due to his conversion from reliever to starter. Some would argue that the torque put on his arm while throwing the curveball as a starter could be the root of his late season rotator cuff issues from a year ago. As a reliever, Joba will not have to rely on using the curve. His explosive fastball and devastating slider will be more than enough to get the job done late in games. Joba will also have the ability to go more than one inning out of the pen at times. This is a luxury that cannot be matched by other relievers at Joe Girardi’s disposal.

Joba coming out of the pen will also open up a chance for Phil Hughes, who still projects as an above average Major League starter to go into spring training and battle it out for the final spot with the promising Alfredo Aceves, and Ian Kennedy, who had a strong showing in the Puerto Rican Winter League this year. If Joba remains in the rotation Hughes will become nothing more than an insurance policy in case a starter goes down during the course of the season. Not a bad insurance policy to have, but Hughes has shown the potential to be so much more than just an insurance policy. Along with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League this offseason, Hughes has committed himself to a stringent workout program to keep himself in shape and hopefully, injury free for the upcoming season.

With Joba in the rotation, the Yankees will rely on the like of Brian Bruney, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Damaso Marte to serve as the bridge to Mariano. While these relievers got the job done for the most part last season, none provide the versatility or pure stuff that Joba does. More so, Joba can take over the closers role once the great Mariano has called it a career. Although Rivera has shown no signs of slowing down, it’s only a matter of time before the greatest closer of all time bows out. The Red Sox had a similar quandary with Jonathan Papelbon. They decided he could best help the club coming out of the pen. All Papelbon has done since then is become one of the top closers in the game today.

-Favad Ali