The Royales with Cheese are in town for a three game series and they are an improved team.

Cliff has the series preview.

We kick back and cheer:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Over at PB, Jay Jaffe looks at Brett Gardner’s turnaround:

Gardner has reached base in 10 out of his last 11 starts. As hitting coach Kevin Long said last week, “He’s turned it around. He’s had several good games as of late, and he seems like the Brett Gardner we saw last year. Getting on base, causing havoc, playing great defense.” More specifically, Long noted that Gardner had shifted in the batter’s box: “Basically he moved up closer to the plate. In a nutshell they were pitching him away, and he was coming out of his swing and not able to stay tight and compact on the outside pitch. So he’s moved up on the plate, and that’s helped him a great deal.”

Tellingly, Gardner’s strikeout-to-walk ratio in those two small samples has improved, from 14/4 in the first to 10/10 in the second, and so has his rate of pitches per plate appearance, from 4.13 during his cold spell to 4.46 in his hot one. Overall, he ranks eighth in the league in P/PA at 4.30, down from last year’s league-leading 4.61, though that figure had more than a little something to do with his midseason wrist injury. Interestingly enough, the remade Curtis Granderson currently ranks a surprising second in the AL at 4.48 P/PA.

[Picture by Joseph Holmes]

For all the hand-wringing regarding Derek “4-3ter” Jeter, the Yanks are getting even less out of their DH, mainly in the form of Jorge Posada.

Posada’s current .152/.257/.354 line in 113 plate appearances is ugly enough.  Of the 173 players who have amassed at least that many plate appearances this season, Posada ranks dead last in batting average (Kelly Johnson is next in line, at a comparatively gaudy .175), tenth-lowest in OBP (though still higher than the $142 million man Carl Crawford’s .250), and 118th-best in slugging (between Michael Cuddyer and the recently-exiled Milton Bradley).

If we consider only DHs, Posada fares no better. Of the DHs with 75 or more plate appearances, Posada is last (out of 13) in BA, next-to-last in OBP (ahead of only Magglio Ordonez) and fifth-worst in slugging.  And its not like its all about age, as 4 other DHs are 37 years old.

We all know that offense is down again in 2011, and DHs are not immune to this, as they’ve hit a composite .257/.339/.394 so far.  But the question remains, could someone (anyone) provide more offense for a role that is ONLY about offense?

We know the Jeter slippery slope towards (and below) mediocrity still has a while to play out.   The Yanks have no better internal option in the near-term.  But what about Posada?  The Yanks owe him nothing after this season, and swallowing the remainder of his 2011 salary (roughly another $11 million) would certainly sting a bit, even for the Steinbrenners.  But the Yanks do have a viable DH option down in Triple A, and we all know Jesus Montero’s value is heavily tilted towards his bat.

Looking forward towards the July 31 trade deadline, promoting Montero to full-time DH now would allow for roughly 70 games/280 at-bats to showcase what he can do at the major league level.  Assuming the Yanks will throw enough money at Russell Martin to bring him back for 2012 (when he’ll still be only 29), Montero can be safely dealt for whatever needs the Yanks may have at that time (starting pitching most likely, and middle infield help better than Pena and Nunez).

Or . . . the Yanks could hold onto Montero through the end of the year (presuming he’s putting up a 800+ OPS), and then value the free agent market before involving him in a deal.

Rob Neyer wonders the same wonder as I do, and comes down on the status quo side:

. . . nearly all of Montero’s value as a hitter this season is due to his batting average … and batting average is highly subject to luck. Which isn’t to say Montero’s not a high-average hitter; he’s got a .315 career batting average in the minors. But he might not really be a .337 hitter in Class AAA, and he might not be a .300 hitter in the American League. And given the paucity of walks and power, if he’s not hitting .300 he’s not creating many runs. Not yet, anyway.

That said, I do not think the timing is a real issue. Since when do the Yankees care about someone’s “Super 2” status? Plus, the rules regarding such things might well be different after this season, since they’re a part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that expires soon. What the Yankees probably do care about is Montero’s development. Do they want a 21-year-old catcher serving as their primary DH? Alternatively, do they want their primary catcher learning on the job, while Russell Martin or someone else is DHing?

No, probably not.

Opinions?

Robert Lipsyte thinks that Roger Maris should be in the Hall of Fame. Allen Barra does not agree.

I just don’t see a strong case for Maris, do you?

Here’s some Alex Rodriguez notes from Lo-Hud:

• The other two errors belonged to Brett Gardner, who failed to scoop the ball while fielding a single, and Alex Rodriguez, who made a nice play at third and then made a bad throw to first. “That play has to be made 10 out of 10 times,” Rodriguez said. “It’s just kind of an unusual play. I was almost getting ready to throw the ball to a kid in the stands.”

• Rodriguez and Long have been working on his leg kick, which has gotten too high. Both were encouraged by his at-bats today. “I was happy with all my swings today,” Rodriguez said. “I wish I’d get three or four hits, but the bottom line is we won a game. Overall, my balance was good, my strike zone control was good, and if I do that, there’s going to be a lot of damage.”

Nice line…Yanks need to get Rodriguez back in the groove in order for the Score Truck to be fully operational.

[Photo credit: Retro Illustration]

Derek Jeter had a nice weekend and a great game on Sunday.

Feels good.

Sunday’s game between the Yankees and Rangers was tedious, filled with fielding errors and bone-head base running. Can’t anybody here play this game? No matter which team you were rooting for, it was a long, frustrating afternoon. Here in New York, the only relief was the steady pleasure of hearing David Cone call the game with Michael Kay.

The Yanks were down 4-0 but crept back into the game and it held a 6-5 lead in the eighth thanks in large part to four hits by Derek Jeter and three by Curtis Granderson. Two of Jeter’s hits went over the fence, his first two home runs of the season. Now in the eighth, the bases were loaded for Francisco Cervelli who worked the count full and then hit a fastball on the sweet spot of his bat to dead center. I thought it was a sacrifice fly and then maybe a double but the ball cleared the fence. Whadda ya hear, whadda ya say, indeed! It was the first grand slam of Cervelli’s career and the first homer he’s hit since June, 2009. Mark Teixeira added a two-run moon shot and the Score Truck was in full effect.

Final Score: Yanks 12, Rangers 5.

Bombers tied for first with the Rays. Applaud, exhale, digest.

Dear Yanks,

Git ’em.

‘Nuff said.

The Score Truck’s lights … are shining bright … *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* … Deep in the Heart of Texas.

The Score Truck indeed bypassed Detroit and showed up in Texas. The good: In the first two games of the Yankees’ series in Arlington, they nearly doubled their output of the entire four-game set against the Tigers (9-5). The bad: On Saturday night, the Rangers’ Score Truck showed up too.

Rangers light up Bartolo Colón to take a 5-0 lead, Yankees rally to tie, Boone Logan doesn’t do the job against lefties Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis; Texas scores go-ahead run on a suicide squeeze and tacks on another, and the relief combination of Arthur Rhodes and Darren Oliver, who have the combined age of Yoda, kill any hope of another Yankee comeback.

That’s the quick and dirty. Diving into the game a bit more, some observations:

* Colón isn’t the power pitcher he once was. He can still throw 90-plus, but relies more now on movement and changing speeds — on his fastball. Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina were masters at fastball variation. But some nights are better than others. When Mussina had nights like this, Joe him as being “wild in the strike zone.” David Cone hinted as much with Colón, when after David Murphy’s solo home run, he noted that the home run pitch had “too much movement” and ended up too far out over the plate. This allowed Murphy to get his arms extended and pull it into the seats.

* Derek Jeter can hit the ball out of the infield, and hit the ball hard. Small sample size, yes, but nice to know it can still happen.

* The Yankees had another efficient night in terms of run / hit differential. Five runs on six hits, compared to seven runs on 13 hits for the Rangers. For the season, Yankees opponents have outscored their opponents 158-127, but have been out out-hit 265-249.

* If Boone Logan can’t serve the LOOGY function, and Lance Pendleton isn’t an option, then something has to give. His performance in the 10-inning loss to Minnesota at Yankee Stadium on April 6, led ESPN New York’s Rob Parker to include him among the “Bad Yankees.” Left-handed relief was also an issue two years ago, when the Yankees won the World Series, with Phil Coke was a combination LOOGY/Mike Stanton type. Coke yielded 10 home runs, six of them to lefties.

The Logan piece is significant because he couldn’t do what Colón did effectively in the third inning: put up a zero after the offense did him a solid. David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain cleaned up the mess Logan left, but the damage had already been done.

* Courtesy of Wally Matthews: Russell Martin made six outs in his four at-bats.

* Jorge Posada is now hitless in his last 13 at-bats, with 5 strikeouts. Overall, the 7-8-9 hitters were 0-for-9 Saturday with two walks and three strikeouts. The issue: there isn’t a better DH option. Andruw Jones is hitting .226, Jeter isn’t hitting for any power to merit his placement as a DH, even periodically. The Yankees will likely ride this out for as long as it takes and hope their big bats can come out of their funk.

As starting pitching goes, so goes the Yankees. Mr. Ace Man goes tomorrow. A 3-4 record on this road trip looks better than 2-5. It’d be nice to come back home still in first place. No better guy to have on the mound to give it a go.

Never mind the napkins…

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Jorge Posada is swinging the bat better from the left-hand side of the plate this week (although he is hitless from the right side this season). He thanked manager Joe Girardi for sticking with him. The Post has the story. Posada has already been relieved of his position as catcher and I could see him unceremoniously benched in favor of Jesus Montero come the middle of the summer if he doesn’t start hitting.

Derek Jeter is another case entirely. I just got back from the vet with one of my cats and the vet, a die-hard Yankees fan, spent most of the appointment talking about not giving up on Jeter even if he’s no longer a great player.

He told me how all he hears on talk radio is shouting about how the Yankees should trade for Jose Reyes. I haven’t listened to that noise but it doesn’t come as a surprise. Part of it is our insatiable urge to tear people down. Jeter is lordly and cool–so controlled–and has enjoyed such great fortune over the course of his Hall of Fame career that is must be delightful to some–they can have at him now that’s he’s vulnerable. As is the case with most great players things will likely not end well for Jeter.

There is no place to move him. So, like Cal Ripken, Jr, Jeter will be called selfish as his skills decline if he’s not prepared to be a part-time player. The rub is that the same characteristics that made Jeter great–the skill, drive, ego, the competitiveness–can turn on him, make him out-of-touch, or worse, a detriment to the team’s success.

It must be the hardest thing for a player to admit he’s losing it, that he’ll never be what he was, and also the easiest things for fans to see. You can’t blame him for not being ready to call it a day yet, and I don’t think you can blame management for giving him some leeway here. We’re not dealing with absolutes and in Jeter’s case there is more to the story than simply what is best for the team on the field. You may disagree, but that’s just the cold, hard truth of it.

If the Captain doesn’t improve offensively I can see Girardi moving him down in the line up this season but I don’t see him being replaced as the regular shortstop. If he has a lousy season, that will be addressed this winter. In the meantime, the Yankees are going to play with an average shortstop. Okay, you may argue he’s below average, but he’s the also most famous Yankee since Mickey Mantle and that’s part of the equation. I’m rooting for him, and will not be surprised if he has a couple of big moments left. If he doesn’t, so be it. Then it’s up to the rest of the team to pick him up.

Yanks return to the scene of the crime. At least they are out of Detroit. Let’s hope for a mess o runs, piled high and deep. Yeah, and another good start from Ivan Nova would be swell too. Here’s Cliff with the preview.

Don’t burn the brisket and Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photograph by Steve Perille]

So just how long should the Yankees wait before making some kind of move with Derek Jeter and/or Jorge Posada? While it’s become fashionable to proclaim both players as fully cooked and ready to begin their five-year waits for Hall of Fame consideration, those calls convey ignorance and a lack of knowledge about the Yankee organization. First off, it’s foolish to make full judgments based on the first month of the season. The same people that always cry out “sample size” conveniently forget about the principle when it involves players they don’t like. Jeter has been so reviled by some in the Sabermetric community that they’re ready to drop the guillotine at a moment’s notice.

His critics will quickly add that Jeter’s poor performance is a continuation of his 2010 finish, but his overall 2010 numbers were hardly as bad as what he’s done early in 2011. On the whole, Jeter was a passable player in 2010. So let’s give it more than a month before we proclaim a death knell. I would suggest the Yankees give Jeter at least until the end of May, if not until the middle of June, before they drop him to a lower spot in the batting order. And if his lack of hitting continues beyond that, let’s say into July, then it would certainly be fair for the Yankees to consider removing him entirely from the starting lineup.

There is another reason to have patience. Who exactly is ready to step in to become the starting shortstop? Bucky Dent and Tony Kubek are not available. Eduardo Nunez’ throwing problems make it clear that he’s not ready NOW; he might be later this season, he might be in 2012, but he’s clearly not ready at the present time. Ramiro Pena, starting at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, is an excellent defensive shortstop but isn’t likely to represent any improvement over Jeter’s current hitting. Are Yankee fans really ready to wade through a bottom-third of the lineup that has both Pena and Brett Gardner? I know I’m not.

Then there’s the case of Posada, who’s coming off a respectable season in 2010. Would it be smart to give up on Posada so quickly, especially when he’s at least shown significant power over the first 30 games? I don’t think so. I would suggest a similar timetable with Posada. If he’s still struggling badly at the end of May, it would be fair to consider a platoon with another player, perhaps Andruw Jones. And if Posada is still struggling into July, and the Yankees are in danger of falling out of contention, then yes, it might be the right time for a total replacement.

In the case of Posada, the Yankees DO have tangible replacement options. Jones is one; the other is super prospect Jesus Montero, who is close to being ready to hit in the major leagues, if not handle regular catching duties. (Montero is finally drawing a few walks and has his batting average up to .372.) Montero could be just what an aging offense needs, particularly if Jeter’s punchless hitting continues. The problem with demoting Posada is what to do with him? Teams do not need backup DH’s who cannot play the field and cannot run the bases. Unless the Yankees change their mind about using Posada as a backup catcher, he could become a roster albatross by the middle of the summer.

It’s certainly possible that Posada and Jeter, who’s been nicknamed “Captain Groundout” by Rob Neyer, might be done as useful players. It’s just too early in a long season to draw that conclusion once and for all. So let’s give it a little more time before we make them walk the plank…

(more…)

No showing from the Score Truck, a bad throw by Derek Jeter’s sub, and the Yanks wasted another decent start by A.J. Burnett as they lost to the Tigers, 6-3. Eric Chavez was hurt and there are hard feelings all around as the Bombers limp out of Detroit. I missed the game and got nuthin’ fuh ya, man.

Tomorrow is a new day…deep in the heart of Texas.

Time for a big start from A.J. and some big hits from the Yankee hitters.

It’s an afternoon affair at Comerica and we’ll be cheerin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Image via Tropical Toxic]

Here’s George King with the latest on Phil Hughes…

[Photo Credit: NJ.com]

Freddy Garcia pitched a nice game tonight–made one big mistake to Magglio Ordonez is all–but the Yanks were shut-down by Max Scherzer, who was awfully good, allowing just four hits. Rough night for visitors as the Yanks lost again to the Tigers, this time 4-0.

Bombers turn to A.J. Burnett tomorrow afternoon and we’ll go to sleep praying for a Motor City pit stop from the Score Truck.

Meanwhile, as an aside, I used to have a clean dislike for the Angels. They gave the Yanks a hard time, sent them home twice in October. It was easy to hate them. But now, it’s something different–I curse them because they can’t beat the Red Sox. They’d be losing right now if the game wasn’t delayed by rain. Chumps.

Fab Five Freddy G is on the hill for the Yanks tonight. I have a bad feeling about this one, but I’ve been known to be wrong, uh, often. Let’s hope that’s the case and…

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Kevin Long on Derek Jeter.