LHP CC Sabathia

Some Notes:

Felt good to get my first AB’s since March. 1-2 with a double and a walk, I’ll take it. #Yankees in first place, I’ll take that too!

— Mark Teixeira (@teixeiramark25) May 20, 2013

– Coming into tonight’s game, the Yankees are 18-0 when they score first in a game and are 24-0 when they lead after seven innings. Something tells me they’re doing something right.

– The Yankees will skip Vidal Nuno‘s start, and will put him in the bullpen for the Orioles series. CC Sabathia is on the mound tonight, Phil Hughes (who had an atrocious start last time) takes the hill tomorrow while Hiroki Kuroda will pitch on Wednesday.

The Yankees had another successful week going 5-3 against Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle and Toronto. The week started out on the road as the Yankees completed a sweep against Kansas City on Sunday behind home runs from Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells and a solid outing from Hiroki Kuroda. The Yankees went on to split a doubleheader in Clevealnd after getting shutout but turned the table in the second game by shutting out Cleveand in Vidal Nuno’s first MLB start. On Tuesday, the Yankees had a huge come from behind win after training Seattle 3-0. In the seventh inning, Cano hit an RBI double that tied the game at and the Yankees went ahead on Lyle Overbay’s sac fly. However, the Yankees lost the next two against Seattle, including an embarrassing 12-2 loss on Wedesday, in which Phil Hughes allowed seven runs and did not make it out of the first inning. Fortunately, the Yankees got to beat up on Toronto two more times this year. Kuroda pitched a gem on Friday when he went eight inning without allowing a run in a 5-0 win. Yesterday, Cano pounded Brandon Morrow with two home runs in a 7-2 rout. This week’s nominees for Yankees Player of the Week are Robinson Cano, Hiroki Kuroda and Vernon Wells.

Robinson Cano- Cano hit .250 for the week with 3 HR’s and 10 RBI. His game tying RBI double in the seventh inning on Wednesday was one of the biggest hits for the Yankees this season. Also, Cano’s two home runs yesterday were obviously huge in the Yankees winning that game as well.

Hiroki Kuroda-  Kuroda was absolutely fantastic in his two starts this week. On Sunday, he pitched 7.2 innings, allowed two runs on six hits and struck out one in Kansas City. He was even better yesterday, as he pitched eight shutout innings and allowed only two hits. Kuroda lowered his ERA to 1.99 for the season.

Vernon Wells- Wells hit .308 on the week with 2 HR’s and 5 RBI. His best game was on Sunday in Kansas City when he had three hits, including a two-run home run.

With his two outstanding starts Hiroki Kuroda is your Week 7 Yankees Player of the Week. With today’s rain out, discuss the solid week that the Yankees had in the comments. It was a fun week because we got to see a lot of new young players come up and perform as well as the regulars.

Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Travis Hafner DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
Jayson Nix 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Reid Brignac SS
Austin Romine C

CC Sabathia LHP

Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Travis Hafner DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
Curtis Granderson RF
Jayson Nix SS
David Adams 3B
Austin Romine C

David Phelps RHP

Hiroki Kuroda P

Notes:

– Yesterday Chris Stewart went in for an MRI…and was listed on the BP hitting list today. Something tells me Stewart’s fine.

– Travis Hafner‘s not in the lineup again, but this time it’s because of the left hander on the mound. If he’s 100% tomorrow, he could possibly play.

– 15 years ago today, David Wells threw a perfect game. 17 years ago today, Mariano Rivera recorded his first career save. How time flies by so quickly.

LHP Andy Pettitte

- Ex-Yankee Hector Noesi will be on the mound for Seattle.  Aaron Harang was scratched.

- Andy Pettitte trys to right himself after a couple of rough starts

- Yankees called up Dellin Betances from Scranton and sent down Brett Marshall who was spent after throwing 108 pitches yesterday

- Jayson Nix gets his shot batting 2nd today.  Nix has had a very quiet season offensively but suprisingly, his .319 OBP% is 4th among healthy regulars behind Wells, Cano & Gardner.  Nix has hit 2nd 6 times this year and has hit .261/.293/.261 (6 for 23 with 5 Walks).  Not many Yankees have faced Noesi but Nix is 1 for 3 with a HR.

Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Stewart C
Alberto Gonzalez SS

Phil Hughes RHP

Notes:

– Travis Hafner‘s MRI revealed he has tendinitis. He’s icing his shoulder today and hopes to be in the lineup tomorrow night.

– Chris Nelson‘s name is no longer on the roster–and David Adams’s name replaced his. My hunch is telling me Nelson is the roster move.

Yesterday was basically the whole season for the New York Yankees in a nutshell. They finally got Curtis Granderson back from the disabled list, but lost Travis Hafner due to a sore shoulder. So, they did not gain a whole lot there. Then, they were down 3-0 to King Felix and the Mariners, before clutch hits by Robinsonn Cano and Travsi Hafner got them a 4-3 lead that Mariano Rivera saved in the ninth inning. This formula has gotten them the most wins (25) in MLB and the best overall record (25-14) in the AL. They have never gotten healthy this year, but their pitching has been outstanding, and they have managed to hit just enough.

There was great anticipation yesterday as to where Granderson would bat in the lineup and who among Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells would sit. With Hafner hurt that got delayed a few days, but it is still definitely worth pondering.

It seems pretty obvious that with Granderson returning Suzuki’s playing time should be cut dramatically. Wells has earned the right to play every day and Gardner’s defense is very valuable in centerfield, although I am still not a big fan of his at the plate. Suzuki has been terrible at the plate this year, as he has hit .246/.289/.341/.630 (63 wRC+) in 137 at bats. For comparisons sake, Chris Stewart had a 65 wRC+ last season, so Suzuki is hitting at a backup catcher’s level in right field this season.

This is not terribly surprising, as Suzuki has been in a steep decline for many years now. Even in his prime Suzuki never took walks for hit for power, so if he is not hitting at least .280 he provides little offensive value. The Yankee’s upper hierarchy signed him to a two-year contract most likely because they wanted the added revenue if Suzuki reached 3,000 hits in a Yankees uniform. Hopefully, nonsense like that, and Suzuki’s stature as a Hall of Fame player, does not stop Joe Girardi from putting him in his rightful place on the bench and as the team’s fourth outfielder.

Last night, Girardi chose to leave Cano 2^nd and bat Granderson 4th. It is unconventional to hit your best player second, but lone behold Cano was up with the game on the line in the seventh inning. Now, that you could obviously write that off as just a coincidence, but getting Cano the most plate appearances possible is not the worst thing in the world. Ideally I would like Granderson 2^nd and Cano 3^rd because Granderson is a great fastball hitter and he would see tons of them hitting in front of Cano. However, the problem with that is with Gardner leading off you have three lefties in a row at the top of the lineup, so you can see why this is a very tough lineup to juggle.

With David Adams potentially coming up today you have three guys for two spots in Adams, Chris Nelson and Jayson Nix if Ben Francisco gets cut rather than Nelson. With the way Adams is hitting at Triple A (.316/.407/.490/.897) he deserves a chance to start at third base everyday, which leaves Nelson and Nix to battle it out at shortstop. There really is not big difference between the two. but I think Nelson brings a little more to the table than Nix. Nelson is hitting .296 over his last seven games for the Yankees and adds a lot more speed than Nix. Nix has struck out way to many times for a non-power hitter and only has .626 OPS this season. I am not saying Nelson is a whole lot better, but I would rather see him play

So, here are what my lineups would be, assuming Hafner is healthy.

Vs. Righties

1. Gardner CF

2. Granderson RF

3. Cano 2B

4. Wells LF

5. Hafner DH

6. Adams 3B

7. Overbay 1B

8. Nelson SS

9. Stewart C

Vs. Lefties

1. Gardner CF

2. Wells DH

3. Granderson RF

4. Cano 2B

5. Adams 3B

6. Suzuki LF

7. Nelson SS

8. Overbay 1B

9. Stewart C

I put Ichiro in against lefties because his platoon splits are actually a lot better vs. lefties this season and more because the Yankees really don’t have anybody else. Getting Youkilis back against lefties would be a big helps.  What would your Yankees lineup be? Discuss it in the comments.

Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Jayson Nix SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Nelson 3B
Austin Romine C

CC Sabathia LHP

Notes:

– As you can tell by the lineup, the Grandy Man has been activated and Vidal Nuno has been sent to Triple-AAA. This move caused outcry to Yankees fans as they wondered…why is Ben Francisco still here?

Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix 3B
Robinson Cano DH
Vernon Wells LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Ben Francisco RF
Corban Joseph 2B
Alberto Gonzalez SS
Austin Romine C

Vidal Nuno LHP