Observations From The New York Yankees Recent Success
The New York Yankees have finally made it to .500. This is unfortunately both great news and slightly unexpected. Though the season is still young it’s very good to see the bats starting to wake up. It’s good to see the Pitching, the supposed strength of the team keeping the Yankees in games. And while they have beaten the Indians twice in a row, they also got to Verlander in the final tilt against the Tigers. Though they beat the heck out of the Indians, the Indians took a shot at The Yankees.
(EDITORS NOTE – Listening to that Audio over the radio made me think that Youkilis was dead. Suzyn Waldman. Broadcast Journalist.)
The Yankees need to stay at or above .500 until the Walking Dead come back in order to make a real run at the East. If they can get through April and some of May with a record of about 18-16 then they may well be on their way to the playoffs. Yes they lost 85 homers with the loss of Tex, Grandy and A-Rod but they also lost 394 strikeouts and NO ONE wants to mention that.
A few observations so far.
ICHIRO
Ichiro looks a step slower. It’s doubtful he’ll struggle at the plate this greatly all year, but just using AWtFGP, he just doesn’t seem all right. Balls that he usually would be able to run out for a hit are no longer hits. That swing/move to first seems smaller and harder. The Yankees Need Ichiro to have his legs.
It prompted me to ask ESPN’s Wallace Matthew:
@espnnyyankees does Ichiro look a step slower or do I have a bad tv?
— AFR Sports (@AFR_Sports) April 10, 2013
Which lead to this response:
@afr_sports your TV is fine
— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) April 10, 2013
EEK.
VERNON WELLS
He will probably not bat .360 for the whole season, so we should expect some regression toward the mean, but 5 of his 9 hits are for extra bases (including two homers). So if he can struggle but stay at .300 with some power, until Granderson arrives, then you already got everything you needed. If his play doesn’t drop off, then Girardi will have a big decision to make about who will be the 4th outfielder.
More importantly, if he plays solidly and bats around .300 or can keep his OBP around .420 then it will make the inevitable trade of Granderson (and Granderson must be traded) a little more palatable. Especially because it is this writers opinion that the Wells trade was made to facilitate the Grandy move.
ANDY PETTITTE
Two starts does not a season make, but so far, the Old Man’s still got it. One good sign – he’s been hittable, a whip of 1.13 and an average of .241, buut he’s getting outs and double plays. He’s not dominating with blazing fastballs. He’s pitching smart and getting good defense behind him. Two things that are not likely to go away. Of course, the issue becomes – if he pitches this well all year and he wants to pitch next year, how does he fit into the $189 million lock? How can you tell him to walk?
KEVIN YOUKILIS
Yankee or not, I still hate Kevin Youkilis’ stance. All the stupid moving parts. Just hate it. But I wish him success and hope he hits .500.
(EDITORS NOTE – Look at this stupid thing. Just, I mean…God.)
To Contact Carlo or any AFRSports columnist, please E-Mail: Contact@AFRSports.com
Comments
Get With The AFR Program!
