Catching Up...
It's been a while since I've had time to write one of these.
The Yankees have started winning again (playing the AAA Mets helps). Today, they acquired Erik Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates. I've never been a Hinske fan, but I think it's a good move. It gives some punch off of the bench, and with Nady not coming back, they need that. Plus they only gave up two marginal prospects for him. Besides, the fact that they traded with Pittsburgh, the Pirates only take on crappy prospects in return so what the hell. Hopefully this will be the final bell for Cody Ransom.
The Joba to the pen debate has died down with Phil Hughes doing as well as he has. That said I'd still rather have Joba in the pen and Hughes in the starting rotation. I understand that in the long run both guys are projected to be starters, and sooner or later if you want them to be, you have to put them there. And yeah, I see that Joba's stats (mainly his ERA) seem to imply that he belongs in the rotation moreso than Hughes does at this point. But Joba's WHIP isn't great (he gives up way too many hits), he doesn't go deep in games (he averages just over 5 IP per start), and if you believe his IP limit is 150 for the season, he's already half there, which means by the end of August or mid-September he'll be in the bullpen anyway, so you may as well put him there now. They're not going to take off the bib they put on him when they called him up a couple years back, and it's not like he would sniff a start in the playoffs anyway, so why not do it now? Sure, the arguement has got harder since Hughes has turned unhittable in the pen, but really, that's the point. I think Hughes is the better longterm prospect anyway, and Hughes doesn't come with as short a leash as Joba does. Any sign of trouble with Joba and he's always pulled from the game. He's only pitched beyond 7 innings twice this season, and you may as well save his arm as much as possible for the games that are important in September, and hopefully October and beyond. I guaruntee you'd see his velocity go back up as well. Quickly.
I have to admit, as much as I like what Johnny Damon offers, and what Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte have done for the Yankees in their careers, I can't wait until their contracts are up after this season. This year has proved how important youth is to a team full of veterans. It'll be nice to (hopefully) see Austin Jackson in RF next year. And Nick Swisher on the bench. He's a likeable player. But man he sucks something fierce in the field. They may as well had signed Adam Dunn in the offseason instead of acquiring Swisher. Their BA suck about equally, neither one of them can field, but can you imagine how many HRs Dunn would hit in the new Yankee stadium? And how fun would it be to watch a back-to-back fireworks show of ARod, Tex, and Dunn?
That's enough for now. It's almost game time.
The Yankees have started winning again (playing the AAA Mets helps). Today, they acquired Erik Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates. I've never been a Hinske fan, but I think it's a good move. It gives some punch off of the bench, and with Nady not coming back, they need that. Plus they only gave up two marginal prospects for him. Besides, the fact that they traded with Pittsburgh, the Pirates only take on crappy prospects in return so what the hell. Hopefully this will be the final bell for Cody Ransom.
The Joba to the pen debate has died down with Phil Hughes doing as well as he has. That said I'd still rather have Joba in the pen and Hughes in the starting rotation. I understand that in the long run both guys are projected to be starters, and sooner or later if you want them to be, you have to put them there. And yeah, I see that Joba's stats (mainly his ERA) seem to imply that he belongs in the rotation moreso than Hughes does at this point. But Joba's WHIP isn't great (he gives up way too many hits), he doesn't go deep in games (he averages just over 5 IP per start), and if you believe his IP limit is 150 for the season, he's already half there, which means by the end of August or mid-September he'll be in the bullpen anyway, so you may as well put him there now. They're not going to take off the bib they put on him when they called him up a couple years back, and it's not like he would sniff a start in the playoffs anyway, so why not do it now? Sure, the arguement has got harder since Hughes has turned unhittable in the pen, but really, that's the point. I think Hughes is the better longterm prospect anyway, and Hughes doesn't come with as short a leash as Joba does. Any sign of trouble with Joba and he's always pulled from the game. He's only pitched beyond 7 innings twice this season, and you may as well save his arm as much as possible for the games that are important in September, and hopefully October and beyond. I guaruntee you'd see his velocity go back up as well. Quickly.
I have to admit, as much as I like what Johnny Damon offers, and what Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte have done for the Yankees in their careers, I can't wait until their contracts are up after this season. This year has proved how important youth is to a team full of veterans. It'll be nice to (hopefully) see Austin Jackson in RF next year. And Nick Swisher on the bench. He's a likeable player. But man he sucks something fierce in the field. They may as well had signed Adam Dunn in the offseason instead of acquiring Swisher. Their BA suck about equally, neither one of them can field, but can you imagine how many HRs Dunn would hit in the new Yankee stadium? And how fun would it be to watch a back-to-back fireworks show of ARod, Tex, and Dunn?
That's enough for now. It's almost game time.
Hopefully Hinske can help us by giving Swisher a day off here and there. Hinske has been all over the place over his career and has been pretty solid all around.
-Dillon
http://dillonm.mlblogs.com
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Hinske is nothing great, but they don't need great, they need flexible. When your best power option on your bench is Cody Ransom, yikes! Actually, I'd feel a lot better if Nick Swisher was that guy coming off the bench like he should be--he's not an every day player; he fields like he's got two left feet, two eyes covered in cataracts, and the arm of an 8-year old girl--but if this is what we're left with, it could be worse. I really like the Hinske trade. He's played for two different teams in the AL East and he's proved that he can hold his own. You can't ask for more.
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