Yankees Thoughts-Phil Hughes, Carlos Silva, Manny Ramirez, and the Rest of the AL East
1) Red Sox Series/Upcoming Games
Don’t take the weekend’s series against Boston as a bad indicator of the season; before last year, the Yankees hadn’t won the opening series against the Red Sox since 2005, and the Yankees haven’t won the opening series at Fenway since 2006. The series, especially Sunday’s game, were wasted (particularly C.C. Sabathia’s pitching on Sunday) efforts to get a bigger, early jump on the underwhelming Red Sox, but they shouldn’t be taken as anything else but bad luck (no one expected Josh Beckett to throw a two-hitter) and Yankee underachieving. If the Yankees can’t take two of three from the Red Sox at home in May there will be cause for concern, but it’s too early in the season to make any assumptions based on the weekend.
New York needs to get back on track against the Orioles on Tuesday and through the series with the weekend series against the MLB-best Texas Rangers looming. The Baltimore games could be worrisome though, more a red flag then the weekend’s series against Boston–the Orioles started the season hot before running into the Rangers, and could easily knock off the Yankees the same way they did Tampa or the Tigers.
2) Phil Hughes
Hughes’s early season velocity problems have been well documented; his fastball velocity has reportedly dropped from 92 to 89 MPH. His lack of velocity is the prime reason for his 16.50 ERA in just six innings this season, giving up 11 runs in his two starts this season. Boston tagged him for six runs in just two innings, and he has been virtually unable to strike batters out, striking out just one while walking four. The same reports say Hughes has been tweaking his mechanics to hopefully fix his pitching issues, but it won’t be known if he returns to normal until his next start.
He makes his next start Wednesday against Baltimore, who have been carried in their first nine games by excellent starting pitching. The opposing pitcher, however, is Brad Bergesen, who only lasted 3.2 innings against Detroit in Baltimore’s first loss of the season, meaning Hughes could get the run support he needs to stay in the game early.
The lack of a big free agent acquisition this season means Hughes has no time to find himself and iron out his pitching woes. If he doesn’t right himself soon, New York could be force to take drastic measures. The issues here are double; if Hughes doesn’t return to form New York could have a another A.J. Burnett-style implosion this year, and could be forced to blow up their minor leagues and move Jesus Montero or Manny Banuelos for another major league starter.
3) Carlos Silva
New York signed free agent starter Carlos Silva over the weekend to a minor league contract, two weeks after the Chicago Cubs released him following a poor spring training showing. The Yankees will only pay him the veterans’ minimum, meaning Chicago is still on the hook for most of Silva’s $12 million contract this season.
Continuing to add veteran starters is a solid move by New York, especially with the back end of the rotation a sore spot for New York; Silva is another name added to what could possibly be a rotisserie of veteran starters in the back end of the rotation. It won’t be certain until fifth starter Freddy Garcia starts; his first start against the Twins was rained out and his next start is slated for April 15 against the Rangers. Hughes’s low velocity and high ERA were already touched upon, and Ivan Nova has a win but a 6.10 ERA in his two starts.
The issue the Yankees still have is the lack of a veteran left hander; veterans Garcia, Silva, Bartolo Colon and Kevin Millwood are all right-handed starters. It won’t be too problematic in the regular season, but aside from C.C. Sabathia, New York’s best internal left-handed option is Manny Banuelos, who pitched four shutout innings Monday night for the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
4) Manny Ramirez
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Manny Ramirez retired last week after the MLB notified him he would have to serve a 100-game suspension relating to the MLB’s drug policy, ending his career on an unceremonious note. Ramirez was expected to be Tampa Bay’s DH, but Johnny Damon looks to be taking over the DH spot in his absence.
This leaves left field open, but Sam Fuld filled in with a career game, almost hitting for the cycle in Tampa’s 16-5 win over Boston; he would have completed the cycle if he stopped at first on a ninth inning base hit, but chose to continue to second for his second double of the game, earning praise from the sports community. Fuld will continue to start in left for the next few games, but it’s unclear if he can sustain or even repeat his game against the Red Sox–he’s never been a regular player at the MLB level, so there’s nothing to compare Monday’s game to.
In the long term, Tampa will probably accelerate the development of prospect Desmond Jennings, meaning he’ll be in the MLB as fast as you can say ‘Rocco Baldelli comeback’ if Fuld falters. Despite last night’s game, Tampa still faces big holes in their lineup–Dan Johnson hasn’t been a regular starter since 2007 and is only batting .079, right fielder Matt Joyce is only batting .138, and Evan Longoria is on the 15-day DL. The best outcome for New York is to hope Tampa rolls over Boston in the rest of the series, and continues to fall in the standings early. By the time New York and Tampa meet on May 16, expect the Rays to have the lineup woes sorted out.
5) AL East
If anyone suspected Baltimore would be in first place in the AL East right now, they’re probably lying. The Orioles are 6-3, a game ahead of the Yankees and four games clear of the Rays and Red Sox. Baltimore started on a roll at 5-1 before running into the Rangers juggernaut, dropping the last two games of the series by a combined 16-1. New York catches them at the right time–in a two game losing streak–but Baltimore did sweep Tampa on the road, so the Orioles are a definite threat entering Yankee Stadium Tuesday night.
Behind Baltimore and the Yankees is the Toronto Blue Jays, sitting at .500 in the midst of a three game losing streak. The Blue Jays had a 7-0 lead over the 2-7 Seattle Mariners Monday night before blowing the lead, losing 8-7. Toronto plays Seattle for two more games before going to Boston for a four game series. Following those six, the Blue Jays make their first trip to Yankee Stadium. Toronto could be in a much longer losing streak by that time, especially after such a demoralizing loss Monday.
Tampa Bay and Boston started a three game series Monday, with a 16-5 beatdown by Tampa in the first game of the series. Tuesday and Wednesday’s games could be much more of a pitcher’s duel, with David Price and Jon Lester facing off Tuesday and James Shields and John Lackey pitching Wednesday. Both teams don’t meet New York for at least another month, but with both at 2-8, New York has an early chance to get a jump in the standings. New York’s schedule for the rest of the month is favorable for that; aside from the Texas Rangers, six games are against the Orioles, four are against the Blue Jays, and four are against the Chicago White Sox.
