作者LuisSeverino (Best Rookie)
看板NY-Yankees
標題[外電] 5 keys for Yankees to hold on in AL Ea
時間Sun Aug 16 23:55:28 2015
5 keys for Yankees to hold on in AL East
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @castrovince | August 12th, 2015
CLEVELAND -- The Yankees have been in the top spot in the American League
East every day since July 3, reaching the high-water mark that was a
seven-game lead on July 27.
Of course, July 27 doubles as the night Toronto made the Troy Tulowitzki
trade. You might have noticed that the Blue Jays -- and the complexion of the
East -- have changed considerably in the time since. The Blue Jays' sweep of
the Yankees last weekend proved that a real race is on, and now the pressure
is on a Yanks team that has seen its lead shaved down to just a half-game
(two in the loss column), with a weekend trip to Toronto looming.
Here are the five biggest keys for the Yankees in their bid to hold on to
first place.
1. Luis Severino sticking
The kid was solid again Tuesday night against the Indians, settling in after
some early traffic and allowing just two runs on seven hits with a walk and
two strikeouts in six innings.
Severino has more than the usual amount of pressure placed upon him as he
acclimates to the big leagues. You've got to go back more than 50 years to
find a real comparable in terms of a rookie taking on this prominent a role
this late in a season in which the Yanks are contending.
General manager Brian Cashman eschewed the short-term in-season upgrade via
trade in order to preserve his top prospects, Severino included, in part
because he believes "[Masahiro] Tanaka and [Michael] Pineda can match up with
anybody as long as they're at full strength."
But neither of those guys is at full strength, really. Pineda is on the shelf
until September, and Tanaka, of course, is pitching with a partially torn
right elbow ligament. The Yankees had been pitching Tanaka on five days' rest
this season, but the schedule now necessitates a more Americanized plan of
four days' rest, which Tanaka responded well to in Sunday's outing against
the Blue Jays (albeit on a limited pitch count). The Yanks lost, 2-0.
Anyway, the point is that the Yankees don't have a bankable front end of the
rotation, and as encouraging as things appear with the recent work of Nathan
Eovaldi and Ivan Nova and even CC Sabathia's last outing, there is an obvious
need for Severino to step up.
"We plan on him delivering," Sabathia said.
So far, so good.
2. Hit homers
Yeah, this sounds like a page from the Montgomery Burns School of Managing
("You, Strawberry, hit a home run!"). But the truth is that the Yankees were
built to either go deep or go silent. They've won just nine times all season
in games in which they didn't hit a homer. They've scored 45.8 percent of
their runs via the home run. Only the Astros and Dodgers have a higher such
percentage.
So as simplistic as this "key" might sound, it's true. The Yanks need to hit
home runs to win this race.
After the current road trip to Cleveland and Toronto wraps, New York will
play 28 of its final 46 games at Yankee Stadium, where the short right-field
porch suits a lineup loaded with lefties and switch-hitters. No team in
baseball puts a higher percentage of balls in play to the pull side (45.4),
and only the Astros (38.6) have a higher fly-ball percentage (36.8).
All but 10 of the Yankees' homers have come from guys 31 or older, and two
guys 35 and older -- Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira -- account for more
than one-third of the homer total. So the Yanks have to hope the season grind
doesn't wear down the older bodies in their lineup. Which leads to the next
point.
3. A-Rod's finishing touch
Rodriguez's contributions have already exceeded expectations.
"Everything we're getting from Alex has been obviously much-needed, special,
and I'm thankful for it," Cashman said. "But I can't say I anticipated that,
because who could have anticipated anything like that?"
As the season has evolved, A-Rod's impact has shifted from a pleasant
surprise to more of an expected (and necessary) element for the club's
success. But it's difficult to know what to expect from a 40-year-old in the
homestretch.
Rodriguez has six homers and an OPS north of .900 in the second half, but he
hasn't gone deep since July 27, and he's 6-for-32 with nine strikeouts in
August.
In the past seven years, only two players 39 or older have hit double-digit
homers in the second half -- Chipper Jones (10) in 2011 and Jim Thome (15) in
'12. Not once in that span did a 39-or-older player log an OPS of .900 or
better while playing in at least 45 games in the second half.
A more relaxed mindset and a move to designated hitter has clearly benefited
A-Rod's ability to sustain his performance. But the grind he'll face in the
final eight weeks will be another big test for him.
4. The top of the order
It needs to be on top of its game. Jacoby Ellsbury spent seven weeks on the
disabled list with a knee sprain. He's been back four weeks now, and he's
21-for-116 with six walks and only one (unsuccessful) stolen-base attempt
since his return.
"He's so important to our offense," manager Joe Girardi said. "Really, really
important."
The Yankees have gotten away from any kind of running game in the second
half. No. 2 hitter Brett Gardner attempted his first steal of the second half
on Tuesday and was thrown out. Of course, with both Gardner and Ellsbury,
there hasn't been much on-base opportunity, anyway. Gardner is 14-for-73 with
12 walks since the break.
"Those guys at the top, we definitely need to get going again," Girardi said.
5. The bullpen
What's that "BS" next to Andrew Miller's name in Tuesday's box score? We
haven't seen that all year, and obviously the Yankees don't hope or expect to
see it again.
Miller has seen slightly more traffic on the basepaths since his July 8
return from a forearm issue, but not enough to be outright concerned. It just
stands to reason, though, that the Yanks can't afford either Miller or the
oft-used Dellin Betances, who is on pace to reach 85 innings after tossing 90
in 2014, to go into any real ruts.
The Yankees have particular reason to root for Sept. 1 to arrive. It will
allow them to stop making their near-daily roster moves in the bullpen. This
club has played with what amounts to more than a 25-man roster because of
their constant maneuvering of a bullpen that has already employed a whopping
23 arms -- maneuvering necessitated by the struggle to get consistent length
from the starters. But until September gets here, expect that maneuvering to
continue, because the Yanks just began a stretch of 16 games in 16 days.
"We've gotten a lot of help from the Triple-A level," Betances said. "Big
power arms."
But the biggest and most powerful arms belong to Betances and Miller, and
they're the Yankees' most important keys of all.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/142665846/5-keys-for-yankees
簡單翻譯
1.Severino 要趕快適應(其實意思是整個先發輪值要穩定發揮)
2.砲火穩定輸出,內文有提到要利用洋基球場右外野
3.A-Rod 的表現
4.最近表現不太好的雙箭頭要好起來
5.洋基牌鐵牛陣(Miller趕快調整好狀態啊)
--
Luis Severino (twitter: @LuisSeverino94)
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 195 lb.
--
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推 noahlin : 8月輪值表現比預期好很多 輪值穩的話牛棚不至於太糟 08/17 00:07
推 chrisinptt : A-Rod 真的很關鍵! 08/17 00:07
→ noahlin : 打線還有待觀察 特別是A-Rod真的低潮好一陣子了 08/17 00:08
推 Scape : 來猜一下好了,A-Rod今天5打數2安打2打點 08/17 00:11
推 barry20025 : 雙鎖真的很操 尤其是小B... 08/17 00:18
推 helmet10845 : 打線… 08/17 06:55
推 ar001156 : 小B真的太操了 08/17 09:27
推 nelsony1216 : Miller加油 那天看他BS有小小心酸 08/17 21:49