Posts (page 2)

Who should be the starting centerfielder?

The folks over at SNY's Wheelhouse discuss (hat tip to Was Watching):


Yankees CF

Post a comment Tags: video, melky cabrera, brett gardner

CC struggles, Yankees lose 7-4

CC Sabathia had a rough day on the mound today. His line: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.


He gave up three singles, a double, and a home run to Gary Sheffield in the second inning. Alfredo Aceves followed and allowed two runs. All in all, it was a rough day for the Yanks, as they ended up losing 7-4.

Just 26 more days until Opening Day...

Post a comment Tags: cc sabathia, alfredo aceves

1 for 2 ain't bad

Back on December 17th, I wrote:


"I think there is no question that signing Manny would be a better investment than Teixeira. Teixeira, while younger, will cost over $100 million more, and the Yankees will be obligated to him for nearly a decade. Plus, Ramirez is a better hitter overall. 


It will be interesting to see how this whole mess unfolds. My prediction: Tex re-signs with the Angels and Manny re-signs with the Dodgers."


Well, at least one of my predictions was right.

Looking back on it -- and I'm sure a lot of you will agree -- I'm glad the Yankees signed Teixeira and not Manny. He's going to be a star here.

Post a comment Tags: manny ramirez, mark teixeira

Girardi: A-Rod doing well

Alex Rodriguez left Joe Girardi a message today, and from the looks of it, the surgery went well.

"He left me a message," said General Joe. "He sounded good. Said: 'I'm doing well.' Good to hear from him."


As River Avenue Blues suggested yesterday, the 2009 season -- at least in terms of injuries -- is very similar to 2003, when Derek Jeter went down on Opening Day (remember Ken Huckaby?) Erick Almonte had to fill in for a month and a half, and the Yankees still managed to go 25-11. Perhaps the same will be true for the 2009 Yankees, with Cody Ransom taking the place of Erick Almonte.

Post a comment Tags: alex rodriguez, derek jeter, joe girardi, cody ransom

Have you subscribed to our RSS feed?

One of the aspects of the internet I recently discovered was the use of Google Reader and RSS feeds. It's very convenient because it takes your favorite websites and blogs and puts all of the new entries in one location.


That said, if you haven't subscribed to our RSS feed yet, you should. You'll get all of the content here delivered right into your RSS reader without having to click on the site everyday.

And, I'm not sure if I say this enough, but thanks for reading. I know there's at least a few of you out there that read TBI on a daily basis. Thanks for coming back. And if you're new to the site, hopefully you'll stay here throughout the season- it will be a good time.

Post a comment Tags: rss feed

Spring Training Leaders

I'm not big into Spring Training stats; it's one of the reasons why I don't post many game recaps in February and March. Still, I was a bit surprised when I checked out some of the leaders thus far for the Yankees in Spring Training. Here are some of the leaders in important hitting and pitching categories (to make it more even, I narrowed it down to hitters with more than ten at bats and pitchers with more than three innings pitched):


Batting Average

Angel Berroa - .500
Eduardo Nunez - .500
Mark Teixeira - .500

Home Runs

Brett Gardner - 3
Angel Berroa - 2

RBI's

Angel Berroa - 5
Alex Rodriguez - 5

At Bats

Brett Gardner - 21
Cody Ransom - 20
Angel Berroa - 18
Melky Cabrera - 18

Innings Pitched

Dan Giese - 8.1
Ian Kennedy - 7.2
Brett Tomko - 7.0

Games Pitched

Steven Jackson - 5
Dan Giese - 4
Mark Melancon - 4
David Robertson - 4

ERA

Phil Hughes - 0.00
Mark Melancon - 0.00
Chien-Ming Wang - 1.80

The games and stats start to gain significance towards the end of March - right now, it's about staying healthy and getting ready for the season.

Post a comment Tags: statistics, spring training

How good is Mariano Rivera?

Rivera Saves Game 3
Rivera Saves Game 3

In short, very.


He is unquestionably the greatest relief pitcher of all time, given his longevity, durability, and success from April through October. And, in my eyes, his 2008 season was the best season ever by a relief pitcher.

Rivera, who was 38 last year, posted a 1.40 ERA in 64 games. In 70.2 innings, he allowed 41 hits, 11 runs, while walking six and striking out 77. That's better than a 1:12 walk to strikeout ratio: it's absolutely mind-boggling.

Rivera posted a whip of 0.665. It was the sixth season of his career where his WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) was below 1.000. He also posted an ERA+ of 317, which was the best mark ever in the history of the game.

Want more stats? These are his career postseason marks:

W-L: 8-1
G: 76
ERA: 0.77
SV: 34
IP: 117.1
H: 72
ER: 10
BB: 16
K: 93

Rivera has pitched in 26 career postseason series, and yet he has allowed just ten earned runs.

Oh, by the way, he throws only one pitch (for the most part).

Even though the Sandman will be 39 this year, I'm sure he'll be back to his old tricks again in 2009. We will never see another one quite like Mariano, and as Yankee fans, we should enjoy his dominance and savvy on the mound while we can.

Post a comment Tags: statistics, mariano rivera

Sunday Baseball Notes

Every Sunday here at The Bronx Insider, I will list five stories around baseball that catch my eye. I also award a quote of the week, a link of the week, and a who's hot/who's not list. It's my way of recapping the week. They continue every Sunday throughout the regular season. Here is this week's:


1) Baseball commissioner Bud Selig continues to defend his role in the steroid scandal. Said Selig, "What I could do unilaterally, I did almost immediately. All I could do at the end of the last decade and the beginning of this century was to clean the sport up. And so I've done that." I don't think Selig is solely to blame for the "Steroid Era." Everyone -- the union, the owners, the media, the players, the front office -- is to blame. The most important thing is that the issue has (for the most part) been tamed, and steroids no longer play a significant role in the game.

2) The Dodgers recently signed Manny Ramirez to a two-year, $45 million deal. Manny will play an important role on the Dodgers, but their success is ultimately going to come down to how their young players perform. With the departure of Brad Penny, Chad Billingsley and Hideki Kuroda will need to anchor their rotation. James Loney, Blake DeWitt, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, and Andre Ethier have formed a solid core for the Dodgers, and all need to repeat the success they had in 2008. Maybe it's because of their Brooklyn roots, but the Dodgers are one of a few National League teams that I root for; hopefully, they'll be playing in October once again.

3) I'm not a huge fan of the WBC, but I'll still be rooting for Team USA. The team came up big in yesterday's 6-5 win against Canada; home runs by Adam Dunn and Brian McCann were the difference. After the game, Jake Peavy said, "This is a playoff atmosphere. Everything is on the line." Well, maybe not everything, but I get your point Jake.

4) Joel Sherman of the Post believes the Yankees will be fine without A-Rod. He offers this stat: During the 1996 and 1998-2000 seasons, there were 152 instances of a player hitting more than 30 homers. None came from a Yankee, and yet they won the championship in all four of those seasons. Granted, Cody Ransom is no Scott Brosius, but I think he'll be able to fill the void aptly. He made a Shelley Duncan-esque debut last year, and hopefully he'll be able to hold down the fort in the month of April (unless the Yanks make a move and sign or trade for a third baseman).

5) Pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel are trying to blend in among the nearly 200 players at the Pirates minor league camp. What makes them so special? They are the first two players from India to come to a major league organization. They were scouted in India after winning an Indian reality television show. I first heard of this on Sportscenter, which did a great documentary on their journey from India to America. Hopefully they will master their skills and make the big club in the near future.

Who's Hot: Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, Angel Berroa, Jorge Posada, Shelley Duncan

Who's Not: Alex Rodriguez, Joba Chamberlain, George Kontos, Alfredo Aceves

Quote of the Week: "To be honest, it's like drinking water from a fire hose." -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, on trying to deal with the news of the torn labrum in Alex Rodriguez's hip, which will require surgery either during or following the season.

Link of the Week: Click here  

Post a comment Tags: sunday baseball notes

A-Rod opts to have surgery

Alex Rodriguez has opted to have arthroscopic hip surgery on Monday, according to ESPN. He is expected to miss six to nine weeks.


The surgery A-Rod will receive is a "hybrid option," and so he will miss less time than previously reported. The "modest" surgery will repair the labrum without being overly invasive. As a result, A-Rod will miss significantly less time, but he will have to have more surgery in the offseason. Yesterday, a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that, "It would be like using a nail instead of a steel girder to repair it. Eventually the nail would have to be replaced with the steel girder."

Of the three options, I think this is the best one for Alex Rodriguez. He will most likely miss the entire month of April; however, he will be able to play the final five months pain-free. I would take five months of A-Rod at 95% than six months of him at 70-75%.

Brian Cashman had this to say: "The surgery that will just repair the labrum tear right now would shorten his rehab. Then following the conclusion of the season going in and repair the remaining aspects that need to be repaired."

Of late, the Yankees have struggled in the early months of the season. Check out their records in April:

2008: 14-15
2007: 9-14
2006: 13-10
2005: 10-14
2004: 12-11

Without A-Rod, the Yankees may or may not continue this trend next month. With an improved pitching staff and the addition of Mark Teixeira, I am confident that the Yanks can hold their own sans A-Rod.

Post a comment Tags: injury, alex rodriguez, brian cashman, mark teixeira

MLB Network discusses Mark Teixeira

The MLB network recently discussed the influence of Mark Teixeira on the Yankees' lineup. Check it out:



Post a comment Tags: video, mlb network, mark teixeira