Not back…yet July 15, 2008
Posted by Pablo Zevallos in Uncategorized.add a comment
Well folks, I last posted on June 20th that I was going away to Ecuador for almost a month. But, among other things, I´m having the time of my life, so I extended the trip until August 7th. With that out of the way, back to baseball.
Since the last time I´ve posted, there hasn´t been much in the way of good things to say about the Yankees. They´ve lost embarassing games to the Reds, Pirates, Mets, and Blue Jays. The only bright spot was an 18-7 victory against the Rangers on 07/02, and the 4-game streak against the Red Sox and Rays. We have Sidney Ponson and Darrel Rasner posting terrible peripherals in the rotation, while the offense can´t hit or score after Johnny Damon (shoulder) and Hideki Matsui (knee) went down. Melky Cabrera continues his 3-month slump. And Cano started his umpteenth mini-hot streak before cooling off again. Thus, the Yankees lose close games.
However, there are bright spots. The bullpen has been great, and (gasp!) Kyle Farnsworth has been near-great in the bullpen. Dan Giese has been good in limited duty since moving back to the pen, and Jose Veras has been a stud. While it´s clear that LaTroy Hawkins and Billy Traber have no place on this team, on the bright side, one of the young relievers was promoted. David Robertson, 23 and with a stud curveball, was promoted on June 29th, and while he hasn´t been used much (8IP since then), he´s been great in that time. Moreover, Mike Mussina has continued his dominance in the rotation, and Andy Pettitte has been dependable. Joba needs to throw more strikes but otherwise seems to have grasped the art of starting and is excelling at it as well. A-Rod and Jason Giambi have slowed down a bit but they keep producing in the Yankee lineup.
Justin Christian and Brett Gardner were called-up from AAA Scranton on June 25th and 30th, respectively, to replace Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. Christian, the former Indy Leaguer, is hitting .222 in 18 ABs. Gardner has been a disappointment with the bat, hitting .167 in 36 ABs, striking 11 times (almost 33%). Ian Kennedy was activated from the DL on June 24th and sent to A Tampa (ouch) to regroup on mechanics. He will be forced to pitch his way back through the system and regain confidence. Three days later Ross Ohlendorf was sent down to AAA in favor of Billy Traber. Ohlendorf is starting but is still viewed as a reliever.
Back with more tomorrow.
