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※ 編輯: yyhong68 來自: 140.109.231.95 (07/12 21:29)
07/11/2006 1:33 PM ET
Yankees ahead of '05 pace
Joe Auriemma
A healthy, rejuvenated roster coupled with the key addition of Johnny Damon
to an already potent lineup equaled preseason predictions of a ninth
consecutive division crown for the Yankees. Despite a multitude of injuries
to pivotal players early in the season, the Yankees currently stand at 50-36
and are only three games behind the division leader Red Sox at the All-Star
Break.
During the first half of play, the Yankees have been a compelling team to
watch on an everyday basis. They lost Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield — a
tandem that last season that combined for a .298 average with 57 home runs
and 239 RBIs — to wrist injuries for the long-term. The Yankees still have
pitchers on the disabled list — Carl Pavano and Octavio Dotel — and every
one of their starting position players has missed at least one game due to
an injury. They have won and lost with inconsistent pitching; the team has
scored plenty of runs yet has gone through anemic stretches; and they have
won very big games against the league's best and played lackadaisically
against the league's worst.
Yankee management may have panicked in years past and traded prospects for
top-notch talent, but their decision to stay within the organization has
paid off. A terrific mix of veterans and untested, gritty minor league talent
has proven to be a winning formula in the most turbulent first half in recent
memory.
Continued Success
Although the Yankees trail the Red Sox by three games, the team is still
very much in contention for a playoff spot. The makeshift 2006 Yankees
are statistically better than the team that won the division last season.
At the All-Star break a year ago, the Yankees had played 86 games and
posted a record of 46-40 and stood in third place — two and a half games
behind the first-place Red Sox. With a healthy lineup, the Yankees were
hitting .277 with 113 home runs and 478 runs scored (5.6 runs per game).
They had a .358 on-base percentage and 52 stolen bases.
This season, they have won four more games than the 2005 team through
the exact amount of games played at the break. As a team, they are
hitting .282, with 103 home runs and 479 runs scored (5.6 runs per game).
The team has a .362 on-base percentage and a .443 slugging percentage.
The injection of youth and Johnny Damon to the lineup has made the Yankees
a real threat on the bases paths. Their 75 stolen bases are 23 more than
last year's total at this time.
Last season's pitching staff had a 4.52 ERA. The starters won 43 percent
of their starts and had a 4.59 ERA. The bullpen had a 4.37 ERA, while
blowing 21 saves, trying to get the game to Mariano Rivera, who only had
four blown saves the entire season.
The Yankees pitching staff this season has also been extremely unpredictable.
They have a combined ERA of 4.30 with the starters winning 44 percent of
their starts and a 4.57 ERA. The bullpen has already blown 11 saves, while
Rivera has only contributed to two of those missed opportunities. The pen
has a combined ERA of 3.82, which is quite impressive considering their
former setup man, Tom Gordon, is having an All-Star season in Philadelphia.
The 2006 Yankees have to contend with something that last season's team did
not: an AL Central that has become a powerhouse division. Last season, the
Yankees were only two games behind the wild card-leading Twins, giving
the team two opportunities to make the postseason for the 11th consecutive
season. This season, the defending champion White Sox (57-31) have a six-game
edge on the Yankees in the wild card standings. With the Twins (47-39) and
the division-leading Tigers (59-29) currently playing at an extremely high
level, the Yankees' only hope may be to catch the Red Sox (53-33) and hold
off the Blue Jays (49-39) to win the division. This will not be an easy
task, being that the Red Sox still have good pitching, clutch hitters and
the best defensive team in baseball. A positive sign for the Yankees is
that although the Red Sox had a 12-game winning streak at the end of June,
they stayed within striking distance.
Team Grades
The Offense: B+
The Yankees offense has been terrific considering the obstacles they have
had to overcome. They have gone through some dry spells, but are still the
fourth highest scoring team in major league baseball.
The top of the lineup has capably set the table for rest of the order to
drive them home. Johnny Damon has proven why he was so coveted in the
offseason. His .291 average, .367 on-base percentage and 63 runs scored
have stabilized the leadoff spot. Damon has also given the Yankees some
unexpected pop at the top. In 148 games last season he had 10 home runs,
76 RBIs and stole 18 bases. This season in 82 games, he already has 11
home runs, 44 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Derek Jeter has just
been Derek Jeter. His .345 average is second only to Joe Mauer's .378
in the American League, and since the 2005 All-Star Game (156 games) he
is hitting .328 with 13 home runs, 85 RBIs and 111 runs scored.
The rest of the lineup has been shifted due to the absence of Matsui
and Sheffield. The American League All-Star starting third baseman,
Alex Rodriguez, had a rough first half but posted respectable numbers,
hitting .282 with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs. A-Rod has been the target
of an almost nightly Bronx cheer, with accusations of him not coming
through in clutch situations. He is hitting .303 with runners in
scoring position, but only .170 in close and late situations
(7th inning on, with the team either leading or trailing by a run,
or tied), with one home run and 14 strikeouts. Against division rivals
he has also struggled, hitting .222, with three home runs and 12
strikeouts versus the Red Sox and .176 with two home runs and four
strikeouts against the Blue Jays. He finished the first half by going
0-for-11 against the Devil Rays in Tampa.
Jason Giambi is only hitting .260, but has 27 home runs and 72 RBIs.
In fact, since last July 1, Giambi is hitting .270 with 54 home runs
and 137 RBIs in 157 games played. He is putting up the type of power
numbers the Yankees need in a lineup that doesn't possess many power
hitters.
Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams have also played well.
Cano is hitting .325 in 69 games and in only his second big league
season, looks like a seasoned veteran at the plate. Jorge Posada,
hitting .279 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs, has also been flashing
his gun behind the plate, throwing out 36 percent of would-be base
stealers. Bernie Williams has unexpectedly been thrown into the role
of starting outfielder again and has handled it well. He is batting
.282 with six home runs and 35 RBIs, but is only hitting .214 at home
while hitting .346 on the road.
Melky Cabrera and Andy Phillips have been the big surprises to date.
Cabrera, who was brought up last season as a 20-year-old and looked
overwhelmed in all facets of the game, has matured greatly in one season.
He is hitting .275 with three home runs and 28 RBIs — even better is his
.321 average with one home run and 26 RBIs with runners in scoring
position. His fielding has been superb and he is tied for the American
League lead with seven outfield assists. Phillips, meanwhile, is
proving to be a solid defensive first baseman and has shown signs of
pop in his bat. He is only hitting .250 with five home runs and 17 RBIs,
but has provided some very meaningful hits.
The Pitching: C
Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang have been the Yankees' most consistent
starters. Mussina, who is certainly in contention for the AL Cy Young Award,
has anchored the rotation with a 10-3 record, a 3.24 ERA and seven straight
victories from April 19 to June 5. He has also served as the Yankees'
"stopper," going 5-1 after Yankees losses. The Yankees can only hope he
does not relapse to last season, where he went 4-3 with a 5.16 ERA after
the All-Star break.
Wang is 9-4 with a 4.00 ERA and over his last 10 games, is 4-2 with a
3.38 ERA and one save. More importantly, he has gone seven or more innings
in 11 of his 19 starts this season, affording much-needed rest to a taxed
bullpen.
Randy Johnson's 10 wins still put him in position to win 20 for the
fourth time in his career, but his seven losses and 5.13 ERA are causes
for concern. He has played a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act all season.
The Big Unit has shown signs of being the great intimidator he once was,
but has not carried it over from game to game. The Yankees need him to
perform as he did in the second half last year, when was 8-2 with a 3.31
ERA.
The rest of the starters are a crapshoot. Shawn Chacon is just 1-2 in
his last seven starts with an 8.68 ERA, is on the verge of officially
losing his starting job and perhaps being traded. Jaret Wright has pitched
great in his last four starts, going 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA and 21 strikeouts,
making his job more secure than Chacon's. However, Wright has yet to register
a start of more than six innings this season, and has pitched into the
seventh inning only once.
Once again, the bullpen — aside from Rivera — is suspect. Kyle Farnsworth,
who was supposed to replace Tom Gordon as the main setup man, is 2-4 with
four blown saves, a 4.31 ERA, and a 1.51 WHIP (walks and hits per innings
pitched) ratio. Scott Proctor, who pitched lights out his first 17 games,
with a 1.42 ERA and one home run allowed, is 0-for-5 in save opportunities
with a 7.28 ERA, and has allowed eight home runs in his last 26 appearances.
Both Proctor and Farnsworth are tied for the AL lead in appearances,
with 43, exactly half of the Yankees' games thus far.
The two lefties — Mike Myers and Ron Villone — have been solid. Myers,
the lefty specialist the Yankees coveted over the last couple of years,
is holding batters to a .213 average, with his only major blip coming
in Boston, when David Ortiz homered off him on May 1. Villone has been
a serviceable swingman, going 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA and a .201 batting
average against. The hope is that the Yankees will get Octavio Dotel
back soon to relieve some of the overworked arms from the first half.
Overall: B-
The Yankees have held up well, considering the adversity that's afflicted
them. They certainly have their flaws, but are still only three games behind
the Red Sox, who could have run away with this division in June. It is truly
a credit to the team and coaches that they continued to win when the outlook
was bleak.
With some good luck in the second half and a schedule that has them playing
13 of their last 20 games at home, the Yankees can absolutely come back and
win the AL East.
Joe Auriemma is an associate producer, researcher and writer for the YES
Network. He can be reached at jauriemma@yesnetwork.com.
http://0rz.net/581B5
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