Pinstriped Bible: FanPosts

Where does Nova fit?

2013-05-19T02:06:01Z

Today, David Phelps continued showed everyone that he really has a bright future as a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. Throwing a career high 7 innings allowing only 1 and striking out 8 Blue Jays hitters.

Earlier in the season I preached to take Phelps out of the bullpen and give him a chance to start. He was finally given his chance when Ivan Nova went down with an injury. Since then, he hasn't disappointed me.

Phelps just seems to be getting better with every start and he's slowly bringing Yankees fans away from believing that Nova was the better option to begin with.

In his first start against the Houston Astros, Phelps gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings. Second start against Colorado, only 2 runs in 6 innings. One run in 6.2 innings against the Indians. And today, 1 run in 7 innings against the Blue Jays.

Without Ivan Nova the Yankees rotation has still been stellar. Hiroki Kuroda is pitching like an ace. Sabathia has been acceptable. Phil Hughes put together a run that showed his true ability. And Andy Pettitte isn't pitching like he's the leagues oldest starter.

Nova on the other hand, wasn't very impressive before his injury. He showed inconsistency in his starts. One day he'll look a good as he did in 2011 and other days, he'll make wonder what happened.

He only started 4 games this season before being placed on the DL with right triceps inflammation on April 27th. But in those 4 starts, he allowed 12 runs in 16.2 innings.

Now Phelps on the other hand, started his 4th game of the season today against the Jays. Phelps' ERA as a starter this season is 2.84. That's about 4 runs less than Nova's 6.48 ERA.

Any way you look at it, Phelps has out pitched Nova through the same amount of starts and there's no way that the Yankees can take him out of the rotation.

For Nova, he's likely to return sometime while Andy Pettitte is still on the DL.Vidal Nuno is currently holding Pettitte's spot in the rotation while he's out.

Though Nuno has pitched well and even threw five scoreless innings in a start for the Yankees on Monday. I'd have to assume Nova would get a chance over Nuno.

But when Pettitte comes back, what happens to whom ever is occupying his spot? If Nuno is pitching well and Nova isn't, do they send him down? What if Phelps regresses as a pitcher and falls into rough slump? Do they go with Nova then or would they let Phelps ride it out?

They've let Nova ride out his struggles as a starting pitcher. Either way, I find it very difficult to see how the Yankees could ever move Phelps back to the bullpen. That's not where he belongs.

Maybe throwing Nova into the bullpen will be a good thing for him. The Yankees have done it before with Phil Hughes and he had success. Phelps pitched well out of the pen. And Adam Warren has also been impressive working as the long relief man this season.

Although it would be easy to slot Nova back into the rotation and push Nuno to the bullpen for the time being. But I think that the best idea would to send Nova straight the bullpen and let him find himself as a pitcher.

Let Nuno start as many games as he can before Pettitte returns. Let him prove he's capable of starting games for a big league team. He showed us on Monday in Cleveland that he can pitch, so let him show it again.

One things for sure, the Yankees will certainly have a problem on their hands when all of these pitchers return. But it's a problem that many teams would love to have.

It seems like everyday the Yankees are brought a new problem to deal with. Yet, if you look at the AL East standing. You'd have no idea that the Yankees had any problems in the first place.

Have no fear. The youngsters are here!

2013-05-16T19:37:30Z

I'll be honest. Coming into the season, I wasn't exactly confident in where the Yankees would stand as a ball club. I knew it wouldn't be easy to watch, given all the injuries and the lack of spending. I knew that we would have to meet some new, young faces.

But as I write this, the Yankees are in first place and we've already seen a handful of players make their major league debuts this season. And ya know what. I'm very happy with how the young players have performed.

Preston Claiborne was called up on May 3rd to replace an injured Joba Chamberlain. Claiborne made his major league debut on May 5th against the Oakland Athletics, in which he pitched two perfect innings out of the bullpen.

After Wednesday night, he's appeared in 5 big league games and has yet to allow an earned run. Only 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, and not a single walk over 7 innings this season.

"He's been in some tough situations," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's not like we put him in when we're down six runs to just go out and get some work. He's done a really good job. I've been really impressed with what he's doing."

It may be a small sample size, but that doesn't take away the fact that he's pitched well when needed. Mariano Rivera won't be here next season and Claiborne could make a case to become to closer of the future, if not a huge piece of the bullpen puzzle.

Another impressive pitching piece is Vidal Nuno. Nuno made his debut back on April 29th against the Houston Astros.

He threw 3 shutout innings that night and just like Claiborne, he's been perfect since then. Nuno made his 1st big league start on Monday for the Yankees in the 2nd game of a double header with the Indians. Tossing 5 shutout innings, Nuno continued to impress the Yankees.

Unfortunately, Nuno was sent down by the Yankees on Tuesday. When he'll be back, we don't know. But when he he does return, the 25-year old lefty will be ready to go.

"It was good, just knowing that I can pitch up here; I showed everybody that I belong here," Nuno said. "It's just day by day and start by start. That's what I can handle, and that's what I'm thinking. I don't think anybody is thinking anything else."

I heard so many good things about Nuno when he was called up. His ability to throw strikes and attack the zone. His teammates would compare his control, to that of a video game. Just setup a spot and he'll hit the glove.

Speaking of gloves, 26-year old infielder David Adams made his major league debut for the Yankees Wednesday night. A man that was nearly sent to Seattle in a Cliff Lee deal, he's finally getting his chance to play in pinstripes.

"We like his bat," Girardi said of Adams. "We've always liked his bat, so he's going to get a shot. He knows how to play the game, we like the way he swings the bat and he's had success in his career offensively. We think he can help."

He showed off his bat on last night, as he collected his 1st major league hit. A hard lined single into center field off of the Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma in the 6th inning, making his 26th birthday even that much more special.

Adams started and played 3rd base in his major league debut. In my opinion he did a great job at 3rd base. He showed a good arm from deep in the corner and made all the plays he attempted.

Now, these are just a few of the guys that have began their big league career with the Yankees this year. But these are the guys that have stood out the most in my mind.

People always say that the Yankees farm system isn't in a great shape. But I disagree. I don't care if the Yankees won't ever spend millions of dollars again. I'm excited for the future, and the future is now.

Poll

Who will have the better career in pinstripes?

Neat Graphic - Fly Ball Location

2013-05-13T14:33:31Z

In case it hasn't caught on here, they're doing really cool stuff at Baseball Heat Maps. As the amount of publicly available data and tools continue to expand, we should be able to ask and answer increasingly complicated and interesting questions and hopefully this is another small step of progress.

What first caught my attention was the Pitcher Hit Location tool, which allows for us to create a more nuanced batted ball profile for pitchers.

This data isn't as good as we'd like it to be, because the truly advanced tools - Hit F/X and what have you - remain unavailable to the public. What I will be using is essentially a compilation of the "red dots" that MLB Gameday produces.

Those things. Unfortunately, Gameday measures where the ball was fielded and not where the ball first touches the ground - which would be a more useful dataset. Equally unfortunate is that given the variance in stadium conditions and the measurement method used, the data is not tremendously precise. If you've ever watched a game with Gameday open, I'm sure you've noticed that the dots do not seem to perfectly agree with what you just watched.

But it's close enough and it's what we've got, so as long as we understand to look for the broad strokes and not overstate our findings, no one should get hurt using this tool.

More specifically, I wanted to compare Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia. Why? Because Ivan Nova allowed a staggering 87 extra base hits and a .511 slugging percentage and because CC Sabathia is better and left handed.

The above mentioned tool from Baseball Heat Maps allowed me to split the field into ten zones - five across and two deep. For example, shallow left field, deep left-center, etc. Then, filtering by batted ball type (pops, liners, home runs, and flies) will divide up the final locations of balls hit in the air.

The cutoff between shallow and deep was 275 feet from home plate and the data pulled was from the 2012 season alone.

To wit:

I didn't include the numerical values in each zone to avoid clutter, but the height of each bar represents the percentage of allowed balls in the air that ended up in each zone.

It has been observed in the past that pulled fly balls often do a lot more damage than fly balls to the opposite field, which are often mishit. We can further observe that Sabathia - a lefty who will face a majority of right handed batters - generated a lot of shallow fly balls to the right side of the field, which is a sign of effective pitching.

Of the deep balls allowed by Sabathia, the vast majority were allocated to left-center and center field. Almost none were hit deep to right and right-center. Given the dimensions of Yankee Stadium, there is an obvious benefit to doing exactly that.

In the past, Brian Cashman has said that Sabathia and other lefties have an advantage in Yankee Stadium when compared to their right handed counterparts. This quick and dirty analysis seems to back that up, in that we would much prefer Sabathia's distribution to Nova's, even if we just focus on location and ignore the fact that Nova gave up so many more deep fly balls. Especially with Brett Gardner around to run down mistakes in the expansive left-center gap.

From the other side, Nova was not particularly effective at keeping the ball in the middle of the field or close to the infield. Comparing to CC Sabathia is unfair to most anyone, and the lefty-friendly dimensions of the stadium are obviously outside his control, but this was the obvious killer of his 2012 season. He set a career high in K% and a career low in BB%, but ended up with a 5 ERA because of all the big hits that he gave up.

To some extent, we can remain optimistic for positive regression from Nova. He does not have a pre-2102 track record of allowing lots of home runs like, for example, Phil Hughes does. I just hope that he gets back to what made him successful when he first came up - using the late life on his fastball to keep the ball in the infield - and not what has seemed to get him in trouble - trying to strike everyone out with his breaking balls.

What first caught my attention was the Pitcher Hit Location tool, which allows for us to create a more nuanced batted ball profile for pitchers.

The cutoff between shallow and deep was 275 feet from home plate and the data pulled was from the 2012 season alone.

To wit:

I didn't include the numerical values in each zone to avoid clutter, but the height of each bar represents the percentage of allowed balls in the air that ended up in each zone.

Umpire Evaluation Project

2013-05-10T21:02:34Z

via yourkillinmesmalls.files.wordpress.com

Are these guys really just bad at their jobs, or is there more to this? Please post in the comments if you're interested in helping track missed calls in Yankee games.

There's not a ton of missed calls, I would say roughly two per week in games your team plays (roughly 30 across baseball), so this wouldn't take much time at all if you're already watching the games and noticing these things. I will provide all data and analysis at the end of the season to anyone who wants it.

Ideally I would like to be able to do this for all 30 teams over a full season, but at least I am going to try to get volunteers from 5-8 teams this year, then maybe expand to 30 next year. I'm already tracking it for the Rays since I see every game. So far, we are at 8 missed calls against and 1 for.

This would be an example of what I'm looking for:

OAK at CLE

5/8 - Rosales bats in top 9th with 2 outs, bases empty, OAK trails 4-3. Rosales hits HR about 2 feet above yellow line off railing to tie the game, ball bounces back onto field, initially ruled a double. Umpires use video replay, determine inconclusive.

Umpires involved: HP--John Tumpane. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Doug Eddings.

Other examples of incorrect calls would include: all safe/out calls, fair/foul calls down the line, tagging/re-tagging bases on fly balls, bases awarded when the pitch did not hit the batter (i.e. faking getting hit from pitch), balks, etc. As a rule of thumb, if you're unsure, mark it down. I should stress that we need to track both calls for and against your team to determine the balance, so you have to be unbiased as far as admitting that they got a call wrong that helped you as well as all the ones they get wrong that go against you (those are the easy ones!).

The Yankees are in first! That's a huge deal.

2013-05-10T20:59:47Z

Today is Friday, May 10th and the New York Yankees currently occupy first place in the AL East. This is huge for so many reasons.

For starters, the Yankees aren't even suppose to be near first place, let alone in it. Unless I'm mistaking, the Toronto Blue Jays were picked on paper to run away with the AL East crown. I know I certainly picked Toronto to win at least 95 game. Now I would be surprised if the Jays even won 80 games.

Never would I have thought that with all the talent that Toronto acquired over the offseason they would be in such a shape as they are now. It's not like injuries are killing them, Jose Reyes is the only major star injured.

Going back to my season predictions, I had the Yankees finishing 4th in the east. Mostly in part because of the superstars on the disabled list when those picks were made. Now it seems as if the Yankees shouldn't even be a team in the AL East after the many more injuries they've suffered in-season.

When spring training started, Alex Rodriguez was the only Yankee that was expected to miss a large part of time beacause is hip surgery he had in January. But by April 1st, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teixeira wouldn't be listed on the Opening Day lineup.

Ben Francisco was batting 6th in the Opening Day lineup and Lyle Overbay was starting at 1st base. Overbay had made the team just days before the opener. Vernon Wells also wasn't on the team with a week to spare and he's been one of the teams best hitters since coming over from Los Angeles.

The Yankees weren't given much of a chance to win before spring rolled around, mostly because of their aging roster and a lack of offseason spending that was suppose to hold them back from competing with the teams that did spend, such as the Red Sox and Blue Jays.

So imagine how many people killed them off once Granderson, Teixeira, and Jeter suffered injuries once the spring started. I know for sure that I had little hope. My expectation for where the Yankees would stand on May 10th, was 3rd place at best.

As the season continued the Yankees were able to tread water. But over the recent weeks the injury total has grown. With players like Joba Chamberlin, Ivan Nova, Kevin Youkilis, and Francisco Cervelli all suffering injuries of their own. The bleeding just doesn't seem to stop, yet the Yankees keep winning.

The Yankees have done more then just tread water, they're winning games and winning series'. With Granderson close to returning and Teixeira not far behind, the already imposing Yankee lineup can only get better from what they already are. Even if what they already are, is a 1st place club battling against the proving Red Sox in the AL East.

Which Yankee comes back better?

2013-05-07T20:21:52Z

As we all know, the Yankees have quiet a few of their big stars on the DL. Some are close to returning (Grandy, Teixeira). Others still have a ways to go (Jeter, A-Rod). Of course none of us can wait any longer for their returns. But the question is, who comes back most productive? By productive I mean better than their current replacement player and their numbers compared to previous years.

As Granderson continues his rehabing in Florida, the current stock of Yankee outfielders are playing as if Grandy was still in the lineup. Vernon Wells is playing like the all-star Blue Jay he was a few back. Ichiro's bat is finally starting to wake up after a slow April start. Brennan Boesch hasn't been terrible. Ben Francisco, yah he's been terrible. As far as the numbers go, we know that he's going to strikeout a lot. But since he's been a Yankee his homerun production has sky rocketed to the point that he ovbiously won't match that this season. I'm predicting that the homerun total lands somewhere in the 20-30 range, with about 60-70 RBI's and batting average of about .240-.270. Those might be around the final numbers we see from Vernon as well.

With the way Lyle Overbay is playing I'm not sure I even want Teixeira back. Just kidding, I rather have a completely healthy Teixeira over an Overbay any day of the week. I'm not putting down Lyle in any way, don't get me wrong he's doing a fantastic job for the Yankees this season despite not being on the team less than a week prior to Opening Day. Comng back from such a wrist issue isn't easy for any power hitter and it's imporntant that he doesn't come back until he's fully healed. I can live with Overbay until he does. But if a completely healthy Teixeira can produce 30-40 dingers a year, than a Teixeira that's missed the first two months will probably hit 15-25 homers, with a total of around 40-50 RBI's and a batting average of .240-.260. It's not classic Tex, but it will do.

We all know that A-Rod isn't what he use to be. I'm not entirly sure he'll be anything when he returns. Coming off his 2nd hip surgery, it's will be extremely difficult for a power hitter such as A-Rod to return to even the form we've seen of him the recent years. I think we've seen the last of the 30 homeruns a year A-Rod that signed a 10-year contract with the Yankees in 2007. If he comes back after the all-star break (which will be forever know as just a 4 day break for A-Rod) and hits more than 10 homeruns then I'd be shocked. At this point, obviously Youkilis or anybody else is a better option at 3rd. I belive that A-Rod should comeback to a DH role only and only against lefties, so Hafner can play against righies. But with his numbers this season, I'm guessing 5-10 homeruns, with 20-30 RBI's and a .230-.250 batting average.

Now for the biggest question of them all, Derek Jeter. At 38, going on 39 by the time he's expected to return. Jeter is not a better defensive option than Eduardo Nunez. Especially with the defense that Nunie has been playing thhis year. But on offense, I'd rather had Jeter obviously. Jeter is coming off one of his best offensive season's in a while, as he led the league in hits (216) for only 2nd time in his career (1999). As long as he can get a good amount of rehad at-bats, I don't doubt that he'll return to be a .300 hitter once again. Of course me along with everybody else is wonder how he'll fair at shortstop, if the Yankees even let him play there. His range has already been limited over recent years and after this ankel issue, I don't think he's going to comeback as the 30-year old Yankee shortstop that's diving into the stands for every ball. I do believe that Jeter comes back in a productive way. Just not as a shortstop.

So who's more productive? We can cross out A-Rod, Jeter won't be as helpfull if he isn't playing the field, Tex won't come back as easy with the wrist tendon tear, so that leaves Grandy. He'll slide right back into the Yankees outfield and pick up right where he left off as the Yankees top power bat.

But what are your opinions? Who plays the more productive role among their return?

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

But what are your opinions? Who plays the more productive role among their return?

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

Girardi for Manager of the Year.

2013-05-04T00:44:32Z

I know it's early and there's still a lot of baseball left to be played but is it crazy to suggest that Joe Girardi is the early season favorite for AL Manager of the Year?

Think about it. With all the injuries that the Yankees have suffered and continue to suffer, the Yankees are still playing very well. Plus it just seems every move that Girardi makes pays off. Whether it's Cano batting 2nd, Hafner playing against lefties, and yes, even playing Ben Francisco.

Thoughts?

I know it's early and there's still a lot of baseball left to be played but is it crazy to suggest that Joe Girardi is the early season favorite for AL Manager of the Year?

Thoughts?

Visiting the pitcher rule question

2013-05-03T20:36:52Z

Everybody knows that only two visits are allowed to the mound in an inning per pitcher, with the second visit requiring that the pitcher be removed from the game. The question I have pertains to player-managers, particularly infielders. Infielders frequently visit the pitcher, especially with runners on base. If the manager is playing an infield position and makes one of those visits, does it count as an official visit? Or is there a designated coach in the dugout for making those visits?

Clay Buchholtz accused of spitballing

2013-05-03T06:12:22Z

by none other than jack morris.
full details are available here:

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/9236955/boston-red-sox-manager-john-farrell-miffed-jack-morris-allegations-clay-buchholz

i wonder, could it be true? i havent really watched him, though i never though you could tell these days if someone is spitballing based on the break in his pitches. the gist is that jack morris watched the film of his most recent start, saw him go to his forearm alot, and felt convinced that he was adding something to help him pitch. he mentioned this to the red sox, who promptly denied it. they claim that he is only using rosin, and its the same thing hes been doing for years. again, i havent really seen him pitch, i couldnt really know even if i did. is his stuff that much better? he's a guy whose always had the talent. i am far from convinced of the validity of such a claim, but jack morris does have some weight behind his words. do you guys think there is anything behind this? if there is, what should his punishment be?

by none other than jack morris.
full details are available here:

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/9236955/boston-red-sox-manager-john-farrell-miffed-jack-morris-allegations-clay-buchholz

Looking Back at April, and Ahead to May

2013-04-30T16:35:21Z

While I do the math over at my blog, I just wanted to stop by to say that the Yankees are exactly where we should expect them to be. Winning two out of three from the scrubs and playing .500 against the contenders over the course of the season has been enough to win the division for the last decade.

I expected the Yankees to go 16-9, they went 15-10. They should go 19-11 in May, which would keep them on pace to win 100 games (five more than the 95 I predicted for the team a little over a month ago). Obviously, the Red Sox, Orioles and Yankees can't all finish with more than 100 wins, but the AL East's big dogs haven't really started fighting each other yet.

Sure, there are reasons to think it won't work. I had the Red Sox as non-contenders at the start of the season, and so far they're the best team in baseball. No shock that they've done it with strong pitching- they've allowed the third fewest runs in the league.

What'll make May really interesting for Yankee fans is the stretch from the 7th-22nd when the team plays 17 games in 16 days; after an off-day, that run is followed by another stretch of 17 consecutive games (that's 34 games in 34 days, for those of you keeping score at home).

So long as the starting pitching holds together, the Yankees will be fine. Because great pitching beats great hitting (and vice versa).

Time to be creative?

2013-04-27T18:04:39Z

What a season of injuries: Losing the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Francisco Cervelli. Now throw in the possibilities of losing Kevin Youkilis and Ivan Nova MRI will determine their fate. Personally time for PET Scans, the Yankees need to do one on all their current roster. (Yes I said PET scan it can even detect a pin head of cancer in 3D mind you.)

What could help this current rooster:

IN HOUSE

1. I am amazed at how well Eduardo Nunez has played defensively. His offense is still not up to par but is improving. Still not patient enough and definitely a free swinger. He is keeping Derek's position warm till he can return. This is his make it or break it year with the Yankees. So far so good and just might be Jeter's replacement.

2. Austin Romine is on the way and will open eyes once he earns Joe's trust. More importanly will allow minor league catchers to advance to higher levels. JR Murphy to triple A and Gary Sanchez to move up to double A. Get these guys closer to the big leagues.

3. David Phelps has earned the right to be the number 5 starter. Of course if he falters then Chien-Ming Wang is very close to being ready to fill that role if needed. Michael Pineda looks to be coming around nicely but more like a July or August addition. Time for Vidal Nuno to be added as a long reliever, spot starter and for left handed match ups.

4. Ben Francisco looks over matched. For whatever reason, Joe does not play him much in the field. Time to look at Ronnier Mustelier. He can play the corners. Most likely will fair better at the plate than Ben has. Plus he will allow Jayson Nix to return to his utility role. With Youk a possible addition to the DL list, time to let the Cuban play and see if he has a future in baseball. If nothing else to replace Ben on the Yankee roster. Provide so many more options for the Yankees. He has proven he can hit at any level.

Outside Help:

When the Yankees look outside the organization they need to look at future needs and who might be available. For example Jurickson Profar is by far best future short stop in baseball but very unlikely that the Yankees have what the Rangers want for him. Just very unlikely to happen. Specially considering the rivalry that has grown between the Yankees and the Rangers.

1. Asdrubal Cabrera is a switch hitting short stop that is about to be replaced in Cleveland. He just entering his prime. Often makes high lite reels with is incredible defense. Yet the consistency, of his defense is not there on a day to day basis. He is a switch hitter and would improve tremendously in Pinstripes with a much more proven line-up around him. Above average power and base stealing abilities. He will be a free agent in 2014 and still only 29. Worse case scenario is he becomes a super utility type for the Yankees. He is becoming more and more expendable to the Indians as he is being pushed by Francisco Lindor. Most likely may require Yankees to give up a couple top 20 pitching prospects. Indians need pitching help fast. Their rotation will have them looking up this year at the central division. Instead of looking down on them.

2. Chase Headley has played all of the corners. Had a break out year last year. He slides easily into the Yankees line up as A-Rod's replacement, back-up at first, corner outfield positions and an ocassional DH. Even won a glove glove at third last year. With his switch hitting ability he becomes a true must have for the future. In 2014 he will become a free agent at 30. Jedd Gyorko is pushing hard for more playing time, Padres need pitching and outfield help. Would require at least a top 20 pitcher and a top five outfielder mimium. San Diego will be looking to improve their future very soon.

3. Giancarlo Stanton would be an incredible addition to any line-up. Best young power hitter in baseball period. He would thrive in a Yankee lineup. Most likely his arrival would mean good bye to Curtis Granderson after this season. Surely would have to give up at least 3 of our top ten prospects. Simply put Stanton needs to go. He will bring in some proven talent and future talent for the Marlins. Remains to be seen if Cashman can pull off this deal or even if Yankees have the prospects or talent to make it happen.

What could help this current rooster:

IN HOUSE

Outside Help:

The Yankees are dropping like flies.

2013-04-27T00:32:00Z

Cervelli suffered a fracture in his right hand and will require surgery. He is expected to miss at least 6 weeks. It's a tough break for such a hard worker in Cervelli. He had missed the WBC in order the win a starting job with the Yankees. He had started off great for the Yankees early on, with the bat and certainly behind the plate.

Yankees Triple-A catcher Austin Romine is expected to be brought up as Cervellis replacement. He was pulled mid-inning in tonights game in Triple-A. Chris Stewart will presumably take over the role as the Yankees starting catcher.

Things got worse in the 3rd inning after Rajai Davis singled up the middle off Ivan Nova, causing Girardi and the Yankees trainer to come out to check on the young pitcher. After just a couple seconds of discussion Nova was pulled from the game after throwing only 54 pitches. David Phelps has entered the game as his relief.

It's been recently learned that Nova left the game with pain in his right elbow. He will undergo an MRI tonight as we can expect some final results soon. But the question will raise as to who would take his spot in the rotation should he need to be placed on the DL. It would seem most likely that David Phelps would take over, or maybe even Chen Ming-Wang who's currently down in Triple-A. But after only 2 starts it might be unlikely to see Wang just yet.

All these injuries coming at the worst time for the Yankees as they are suppose to make a decision on Saturday whether or not they should place Kevin Youkilis on the DL after missing the last 6 games with a back injury.

For more updates, follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

Things went from bad to worse on Friday when 5 pitches into the game, catcher Francisco Cervelli was struck on his right (throwing arm) hand by a foul ball off the bat from Rajai Davis. Cervelli was forced to leave the game, with Girardi making the switch to bring in Chris Stewart. Cervelli suffered a fracture in his right hand and will require surgery. He is expected to miss at least 6 weeks. It's a tough break for such a hard worker in Cervelli. He had missed the WBC in order the win a starting job with the Yankees. He had started off great for the Yankees early on, with the bat and certainly behind the plate. Yankees Triple-A catcher Austin Romine is expected to be brought up as Cervellis replacement. He was pulled mid-inning in tonights game in Triple-A. Chris Stewart will presumably take over the role as the Yankees starting catcher. Things got worse in the 3rd inning after Rajai Davis singled up the middle off Ivan Nova, causing Girardi and the Yankees trainer to come out to check on the young pitcher. After just a couple seconds of discussion Nova was pulled from the game after throwing only 54 pitches. David Phelps has entered the game as his relief. It's been recently learned that Nova left the game with pain in his right elbow. He will undergo an MRI tonight as we can expect some final results soon. But the question will raise as to who would take his spot in the rotation should he need to be placed on the DL. It would seem most likely that David Phelps would take over, or maybe even Chen Ming-Wang who's currently down in Triple-A. But after only 2 starts it might be unlikely to see Wang just yet. All these injuries coming at the worst time for the Yankees as they are suppose to make a decision on Saturday whether or not they should place Kevin Youkilis on the DL after missing the last 6 games with a back injury. For more updates, follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

What will happen when Granderson returns?

2013-04-26T19:27:12Z

Well first, let's just get this out of the way and say that when Teixeria returns, there's no doubt that he'll resume his duties as the starting first baseman, hitting 3rd or 4th in the lineup. Which in the end, will likey leave Lyle Overbay at the odd man out on the Yankees bench making it very possible that he won't stick around for long when Tex returns.

The biggest questions lie in the outfield. As it stands, the Yankees starting outfield lines up with Vernon Wells, Brett Gardner, and Ichiro Suzuki. So heres the big question, who get's the boot in the outfield? First, we can say it's likley wont be Gardner. The Yankees need his speed at the top of the lineup and considering the age of Wells and Ichrio, Gardner is a better defensive option.

Vernon Wells in my opinion like Gardner won't be benched. Wells is having a good season early on and the Yankees certainly would wouldn't want to take him out of the lineup. He's a gold glove left fielder and has also been showing to be useful in the outfield with his glove, after making several nice plays this season.

So that leaves us with Ichiro. Some people might be thinking, "No, not Ichiro!". Well it might have to happen. Off to a sluggish start, it wouldn't hurt at all to move to 40-year old Ichiro to the bench. He wouldn't missed in the lineup as much as Wells or Gardner, but he would leave his gold gloves on the field.

Yet in the end, non the these guys would even have to leave the starting lineup. The DH role is a likely spot for maybe a guy like Vernon Wells. Ben Francisco is currently the DH against righties and we all know theres no way he stays around once Granderson returns. You can move Gardner to left, Grandy in center, and Ichiro will stay in right. Wells will DH then play in the outfield in order to bench Ichiro against lefties.

But then what happens to Travis Hafner? I thought he was the DH against right handed pitchers, you might say. Well thats when Girardi makes the deciscion to go with the hot hand. Platoon them at DH and just play the hottest hitter. Simple.

We can agree to disagree. If you can agree mith my views, then share this story. If you don't agree, then tell me on twitter, @GavinEwbank2013. Until next time, Go Yankees!

We're only a few days way from May 1st as April starts to close. The excitment that Yankee are feeling is that when May rolls around, we're going to get some of our stars back. But what's going to happen when they do. Who's getting cut and who's moving to the bench? Well first, let's just get this out of the way and say that when Teixeria returns, there's no doubt that he'll resume his duties as the starting first baseman, hitting 3rd or 4th in the lineup. Which in the end, will likey leave Lyle Overbay at the odd man out on the Yankees bench making it very possible that he won't stick around for long when Tex returns. The biggest questions lie in the outfield. As it stands, the Yankees starting outfield lines up with Vernon Wells, Brett Gardner, and Ichiro Suzuki. So heres the big question, who get's the boot in the outfield? First, we can say it's likley wont be Gardner. The Yankees need his speed at the top of the lineup and considering the age of Wells and Ichrio, Gardner is a better defensive option. Vernon Wells in my opinion like Gardner won't be benched. Wells is having a good season early on and the Yankees certainly would wouldn't want to take him out of the lineup. He's a gold glove left fielder and has also been showing to be useful in the outfield with his glove, after making several nice plays this season. So that leaves us with Ichiro. Some people might be thinking, "No, not Ichiro!". Well it might have to happen. Off to a sluggish start, it wouldn't hurt at all to move to 40-year old Ichiro to the bench. He wouldn't missed in the lineup as much as Wells or Gardner, but he would leave his gold gloves on the field. Yet in the end, non the these guys would even have to leave the starting lineup. The DH role is a likely spot for maybe a guy like Vernon Wells. Ben Francisco is currently the DH against righties and we all know theres no way he stays around once Granderson returns. You can move Gardner to left, Grandy in center, and Ichiro will stay in right. Wells will DH then play in the outfield in order to bench Ichiro against lefties. But then what happens to Travis Hafner? I thought he was the DH against right handed pitchers, you might say. Well thats when Girardi makes the deciscion to go with the hot hand. Platoon them at DH and just play the hottest hitter. Simple. We can agree to disagree. If you can agree mith my views, then share this story. If you don't agree, then tell me on twitter, @GavinEwbank2013. Until next time, Go Yankees!

Recap: Cano and company back Kuroda, beat the Blue Jays.

2013-04-26T16:35:56Z

The trend of bad 1st innings from a Yankees starting pitcher continued on Thursday after a 2-out walk to Jose Bautista led to a Edwin Encarnacion HR to give the Blue Jays an early 2-0 lead.

Brett Lowrie added to that score in the 2nd with a solo homerun to the short porch in right, to pull ahead 3-0 for Mark Burehle.

Burehle was working well until the 2nd inning when Vernon Wells shot a deep flyball into monument park, putting the Yankees on the board, 3-1.

Next inning with two on base Robinson Cano blasted his 7th homer of the season, pulling the Yankees ahead 4-3. Francisco Cervelli added another solo homerun an inning later.

That run support was all the Hiroki Kuroda need after he rebounded from a shaky first couple of innings, the go 6 strong, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.

"This might just be his best performance of the season." Said Joe Girardi. Even without any of his pitches, Kuroda found away to shut down the Jays and make outs.

After surrendering 6 hits in the 1st two innings, the Blue Jays were unable to get a hit off Kuroda while he had retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.

"Considering how it started," Kuroda said, "I think I was able to put together a decent outing."

Kuroda's counterpart Burehle went 5.1 innings, surrendering 5 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 3. He's now 0-2 against the Yankees this season.

The Yankees bullpen made easy work of the Blue Jays. With Joba, Robertson, and Mariano Rivera tossing 3 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 combined hit, sealing a 5-3 Yankees win.

The win makes the Yankees 3-1 against the struggling Blue Jays this season. Game 2 of this series will take place Friday night in the Bronx with Ivan Nova and Aaron Laffey facing off at 7:05 ET.

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