Tagged: Jarrod Washburn

Pettitte Comes Up Big at Home, Win 4-2

If you have been
following Pettitte at home this year then you might have joined me in a
sigh of relief yesterday as he put up his best outting at home since
his 2 run performance against the Rays on June 8th (that start was
sandwiched between two terrible starts, one against the Rangers and one
against the Mets…both loses). Andy looked great yesterday and showed
the Yankee fans what we have, pretty much, only seen on tv this year
during his away game starts, giving us 7 innings with 2 earned and a
hit/walk per inning…I would call that a great game. And I have to put
my foot in my mouth because yesterday
I was very skeptical in how Andy would perform at home and the Yankees
ability to win a tight game with Washburn on the mound. I was proven
wrong and I am glad to admit it and the Yankees now own a 7 game
winning streak and are on the brink of a potential sweep. It’s good to
see the Yanks beating the opponents they should beat, that’s what makes
championship teams. But they do have to figure out how to beat the Red
Saux.

I think I speak for most of the Yankee faithful when I say the
little skid they had against the NL East had us all a little nervous,
but now they are coming to true form and with everyone healthy they are
proving to be a force that most teams don’t want to mess with. The
lineup is definitely feared and up to any challenge and the rotation is
coming together with Wang and Pettitte, the scary part is that Joba is
now the question mark in there. If Pettitte can build off the great
start he had yesterday, the woes he has faced at home may have faded,
and he can get those ghosts out of his head. The key to Andy having
success at Yankee Stadium, and any pitcher for that matter, is his
ability to keep the ball low and cause ground balls. Pettitte had great
success with that last night and it is the key reason to why he won
that game, however he was facing a offensively depleted team so that
could factor into the equation too. Even though you have to expect a
bad outting here and there from an aging Pettitte we have to hope this
is a good start to him having strong pitching performances at home, we
can’t have two pitchers in our rotation being question marks. But the
offense have been lively and had clutch at bats in key moments to help
them pull out the victory.

No matter what the Yankee bats did last night Seattle always had an
answer for them in the top of the next inning, except of course in the
top of the 8th, after A rods homer. Side Track: In case you haven’t
noticed, or are just ignoring it, when Arod hits the Yankees win,
pretty funny considering he is on a 7 game hitting streak and the
Yankees have won 7 in a row (just coincidence…in the number that is).
When Arod is in the lineup it makes everyone around him better, just
look at the batters around him and what they are doing. But the key to
him hitting is him getting rest, let’s hope Joe Girardi sticks to his
guns and rests him even in situations like this where he is destroying
the baseball. They are facing a very shaky opponent on the mound tonite
in Jason Vargas so we might see Arod rested, or he could be in the
lineup as DH again, but he does need a rest, there is a big series
starting tomorrow afternoon. Anywho back to last nights game. Washburn
looked good and he pitched the way I expected him to, but he was just
outdueled and made a horrible mistake to Arod in the 7th to give away
the game. All the Yankee scoring came on towering homeruns in which
Washburn put the ball right down the middle of plate, if he doesn’t
make those mistakes he pitches a shutout, but that’s the story for any
losing pitcher I guess. The only thing I am a little bothered by is the
fact that these guys are leaving men on base, 7 to be exact but
surprisingly only 2 of them were in scoring position. Washburn, like
Pettitte, kept the ball down and got a ton of ground balls including 2
double plays, so at least Jarrod was pitching a good game because this
hasn’t been a trend lately as the Yanks have scored an average of 7
runs per game over their winning streak. Lucky 7’s! And you can’t
average that without driving in runners when they are on the base
paths, so we have to think that this is a one game occurrence. Our
offense is hot and can’t cool down against Jason Vargas tonite, a
pitcher who is coming off 2 horrible starts on the road against strong
hitting teams like the Yankees.

As prefaced just before tonite’s game features CC Sabathia facing
Jason Vargas. The Yanks go for the sweep tonite with their stud ace
Sabathia and the Mariners put all their chips on Vargas as they hope to
salvage at least one game and try to stay a float and in contention in
the AL West. The advantage clearly goes to the Yanks in this matchup as
Sabathia is hitting his stride and is in mid-season form, if you
question what he is capable of click here.
Vargas is a journeyman pitcher, weird because he has only been in the
league for 4 years but has been on 3 teams, who has had minimal success
at the Major League level and is pitching pretty good right now but he
doesn’t have dominate stuff so the Yankee bats should be able to handle
him. Sabathia is coming off a great start against the Mets, giving up 1
earned in 7 innings, and is looking to build on it. He has been knocked
around at home, where he has inflated numbers, but has had  success
against Seattle, but that was a different time and place. CC should
have no problem handling them tonite, due to the fact that this team is
offensively inept and most of their power comes from the left side. So
I am predicting completion of the sweep tonite. LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Enjoy your long weekend…in case I’m not back…but let’s be honest…I will be.

What if Hughes Fails?

I know this is a touchy subject but I thought about it earlier and
it is something that the Yankees might have to really consider and
truly answer. Better yet what will they do if the unthinkable happens
and Huhges gets hurt? Of course this is all speculative and it can only
come true if the Yankees, in fact, do something with Wang that results
in him coming out of the starting rotation…more than likely this will
happen, especially if he continues to pitch the way he has…but in that
case what will happen to Wang then? This is my thought process:

Let me start off by saying that the Yankees, their fans, scouts,
everyone is high on Hughes, he is the future of the Yankees and will be
in the rotation for years to come. There is no reason to think that his
current stint in the bullpen is long term, it is just a fix and a
reason to keep him out of the minors, where he can’t grow or learn any
more, he’s too dominate down there and is just a waste of his and the
Yankees time. So finishing up this thought is that the Yankees will be
back in the rotation and probably this year…but what if…

Hughes Fails: What do the Yankees do then? Side
Track: I don’t usually use numbers in my Blogs but to be honest I am a
numbers ***** so this post will be full of them…enjoy!!..Although he
has been pitching very well as of late, including his last 4 starts and
2 relief appearances, we saw his ERA go from a robust 7.56 to a
manageable and acceptable 5.26 while striking out 29 in his last 27.2
innings, he does have the ability to get hit around and give up runs.
Let’s not forget the debacle in Baltimore where he gave up 8 earned in
1.2 innings (that was also his last loss), I know I am being picky but
I have to give examples from both sides. Assuming, again, that Wang
isn’t gunna be what we need him to be, we can’t run him out there every
5 days to get smacked around, Hughes will be in the rotation again and
can hopefully work on recent success. But what if he runs into trouble?
We saw it earlier this year, he would lose command and give up hits and
runs, he does look more confident now but teams can score on him early
on in games and he would have to be taken out…remember last year too?
Side Track: Injuries are generally to blame for last years performance,
and I believe it too…so we can kinda let him slide a little on that
one…But there is a possibility that he will fail…he doesn’t have the
cleanest track record in the Majors…although all points do point to
success what will the front office do if he fails or even worse than
that, gets hurt…

First: What to do with Hughes?

My inclination is to put Hughes back into the pen if this would
happen. I think he is great out of the bullpen and a huge asset for
their success…like I have said in the past he bridges the gap from the
8th to 9th and can be used in long relief if necessary too…He has too
much potential to be used as a long reliever though and I would rather
see him in an important role like being a set-up man for Mo. People
might want Hughes to be in the Minors but that doesn’t do anything for
him…he dominates AAA and he can’t learn anymore from being there…he
would have to stay in the pen and face major league hitters and in
pressure situations you usually end up pitching to the cream of the
crop.

Second: Who Takes that Place in the Rotation?

WANG: With Wang presumably in the minors or on the
15-day DL at this point and getting starts in AAA he might be the first
option for filling that role. Getting Wang the necessary starts that he
was pulled out of a few weeks ago may be the key to his success. Wang
was pitching to his big league potential in the minors which makes me
feel that it is more mechanics and nerves at this point. Check out his
stats here.
To break them down quickly Wang pitched 13 innings gave up no earned
runs, struck out 7, and threw a complete game shut out. If he can
replicate these numbers, if he is sent back down, over 5 or 6 starts he
may find himself back in the rotation.

IGAWA: Now I know it’s gunna be hard for anyone to
swallow this one but if something was to happen to Hughes, such as an
injury that sidelines him for any period of time this might be the
person they call up. Igawa has been a HUGE and i mean HUGE bust for the
Yankees, after the Red Sox signed Dice-K the Yanks felt compelled to
sign a Japanese born player, and it blew up in their faces. But hear me
out, Kei, although not having a great season by any stretch (see stats here)
he is one of only a few starting pitchers in the Minors that has major
league experience. There are some more young guns down there, but they
are probably too young and immature (in a Major League sense) to get
called up. There is one other veteran down there, Casey Fossum, but he
has had limited success in the Majors and that was while being in the
bullpen as a reliever. The truth of the matter is that Igawa has had
some success in the Majors and might be the best choice if Wang isn’t
available, at least until they can find a long term solution. He would
probably be more likely to come up in the event that Hughes gets hurt
and they need someone in the rotation right away.

Trades: The Yankees are no strangers to making
trades before the deadline and spending money to keep their team
winning and in the playoff hunt. If all these situations fail or they
decide that Igawa or other youngsters in the Minors can’t cut it you
might see the Yankees hitting up small market/falling teams that can
use money and prospects. Unfortunately this wouldn’t happen to later in
the year but as of right now here is who they can go after, in my
opinion.

First off you can forget every team in the AL East so here we go…

AL Central:

Kansas City: Now most people are going to think I’m
gunna say Greinke, nope, no way! The Yankees will not give up the
prospects or money for what the Royals will want for him. I can see the
Yankees going for the once Mets prospect Brian Bannister…he has put up
decent numbers this year and is a good 5th starter for the Yankees and
it will cost them a little bit but I don’t see it being someone like
Kennedy or Jackson. Keep an eye out…see his stats here

Cleveland: Too young, and no one really going after…we’re not gunna go after Pavano again are we?

AL WEST:

Seattle: The one guy on this team that is always mentioned in trades is Jarrod Washburn.
The Yankees have pursued him in the past so I think they could look his
way if need be. The thing going against the Yankees is that he is
having a great season (click on his name to see stats) and Seattle is
giving him a ton of money, that more than likely the Yankees would have
to swallow. If the Yankees take the load of his money they might get
away with just throwing some secondary AA players at Seattle.

Oakland: Too young to deal with, no track record and no need to go after youngsters down the stretch.

NL East:

Washington: The only team in the East I think the
Yankees will deal with. They have youth in their rotation but all of
their numbers are inflated, because of the bandbox they play in, but
there is some talent in that pool. More than likely the Yankees
wouldn’t deal with them because of youth but if the Yankees were
willing to deal Swisher they can take a shot at Lannan as long as
prospects are going with him…Not likely to happen at all but that’s the
only deal I see happening there.

NL Central:

Pittsburgh: This might be a stretch, but the
Pirates have to be kicking themselves that they are using a huge chunk
of salary on a pitcher that isn’t pitching to his potential. Ian Snell
is a guy who has a whole lot of potential and isn’t doing much with it
this year, he isn’t making much money is Pittsburgh which might make
him more attractive to other ball clubs and lets the Pirates go after
position players to build their offense back up. Let’s face it the
Pirates aren’t going anywhere this year so I can see them shopping
Snell for some AAA batters to get their offense back to it’s glory
years.

NL West:

Arizona: The only person I can see the Yankees going after from the NL West is Doug Davis.
The main problem is that Davis is a lefty and do they really want 3 in
their starting rotation? The Diamond Backs also always find a way to
squirm back into the race in the NL West due to the fact that it’s a
horrible division. I don’t see this happening at all but it’s worth
mentioning, it will cost the Yankees a lot due to the fact that Davis
is having a pretty good year and he is getting paid a good amount.

I really don’t see the Yankees shopping anyone but you never really
know. Out of all these players I can see the Yankees really going for
Washburn (I know a lefty too) but he always comes up and it won’t cost
them as much as some of these other players will.

Of course all these situations are merely based on speculation and
may never come to fruition and hopefully never will. I like Hughes A
LOT!!! so I hope I’m not coming off as someone who doesn’t want Hughes
on the team. But these things do happen so I wouldn’t be surprised to
hear these things talked about soon if things don’t work out right.