Mark Melancon's MLB debut: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K, 1 BB, 22 PT, 12 ST. Not bad; what I loved the most about his appearance was the way he shattered Ellsbury's bat. I like the way he attacks the zone and I'm hoping they keep giving him the ball and he keeps showing the form he displayed tonight. So obviously, I'm impressed with him.
Girardi, however, has done some things lately that have not made sense to me. The "experience" card he is trying to play with Angel Berroa (by the way, it could not have been more annoying to listen to Steve Flipping Phillips pronounce Berroa's name like he had wings tonight; for the record Steve-O, its pronounced "on-hell") is not really working. It may not have mattered in the scheme of things tonight, but he made two errors in the 3rd inning that ultimately cost the Yankees a run. I don't care if Ramiro Pena won't hit, he needs to start because of his defense alone. Berroa is someone I like as a backup middle infielder, but he didn't look good at third. Another thing that I scratched my head about a bit was him having Posada catch Burnett after the Yankees had won his previous three starts with Molina catching. I'm not sure that Molina is quite at the "personal catcher" status with Burnett yet, but the Yankees really needed that game, so why mess with what had been working? I also think Girardi may have a bit of a man crush on Gardner. Forgive my lack of explanation, I just had to get that out in the open. And I love Gardy too, but he has to get on base more...he is no use to the Yankees if he can't get on and steal bases.
Kudos to Melky Cabrera. He has produced when in the lineup. He's hitting .303 with 4 bombs and went 2-4 tonight. It's not like we didn't believe he could be a serviceable outfielder, he just needed to show it. Now people are seeing why Cashman wouldn't just trade him away this winter. Obviously having too many good players is a luxary you want to have.
This might be the year that Robinson Cano puts together a season from start to finish, that is representative of what we all think he can do. This also may be the year that he wins the batting title that everyone thinks he can win. He's off to a ridiculous start; he's hit safely in 17 of 18 games, is currently riding a 13 game hitting streak and leads the Yanks in average, home runs, RBI's and OBP.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Hughes pitch on Tuesday. If he pitches well, he may force the Yankees to keep him in the rotation, which may, in turn, lead to Joba heading back to the pen if Wang returns to form. (Note that this is purely speculation on my part). I have been a big proponent of Joba as a starter, but he just doesn't look like Joba in this role. I want to see the fist pumps and the 99 MPH fastballs. Imagine...Melancon, Bruney, Joba, Mo...be right back, I just drooled on my keyboard. As Buster Olney says in his blog, it may just make the most sense in terms of need for Joba to be in the pen.
Not that anybody is reading my blog, but if anyone does happen to see this, you need to read Peter Abraham's Yankee blog if you call yourself a fan. He's great.
Girardi, however, has done some things lately that have not made sense to me. The "experience" card he is trying to play with Angel Berroa (by the way, it could not have been more annoying to listen to Steve Flipping Phillips pronounce Berroa's name like he had wings tonight; for the record Steve-O, its pronounced "on-hell") is not really working. It may not have mattered in the scheme of things tonight, but he made two errors in the 3rd inning that ultimately cost the Yankees a run. I don't care if Ramiro Pena won't hit, he needs to start because of his defense alone. Berroa is someone I like as a backup middle infielder, but he didn't look good at third. Another thing that I scratched my head about a bit was him having Posada catch Burnett after the Yankees had won his previous three starts with Molina catching. I'm not sure that Molina is quite at the "personal catcher" status with Burnett yet, but the Yankees really needed that game, so why mess with what had been working? I also think Girardi may have a bit of a man crush on Gardner. Forgive my lack of explanation, I just had to get that out in the open. And I love Gardy too, but he has to get on base more...he is no use to the Yankees if he can't get on and steal bases.
Kudos to Melky Cabrera. He has produced when in the lineup. He's hitting .303 with 4 bombs and went 2-4 tonight. It's not like we didn't believe he could be a serviceable outfielder, he just needed to show it. Now people are seeing why Cashman wouldn't just trade him away this winter. Obviously having too many good players is a luxary you want to have.
This might be the year that Robinson Cano puts together a season from start to finish, that is representative of what we all think he can do. This also may be the year that he wins the batting title that everyone thinks he can win. He's off to a ridiculous start; he's hit safely in 17 of 18 games, is currently riding a 13 game hitting streak and leads the Yanks in average, home runs, RBI's and OBP.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Hughes pitch on Tuesday. If he pitches well, he may force the Yankees to keep him in the rotation, which may, in turn, lead to Joba heading back to the pen if Wang returns to form. (Note that this is purely speculation on my part). I have been a big proponent of Joba as a starter, but he just doesn't look like Joba in this role. I want to see the fist pumps and the 99 MPH fastballs. Imagine...Melancon, Bruney, Joba, Mo...be right back, I just drooled on my keyboard. As Buster Olney says in his blog, it may just make the most sense in terms of need for Joba to be in the pen.
Not that anybody is reading my blog, but if anyone does happen to see this, you need to read Peter Abraham's Yankee blog if you call yourself a fan. He's great.
