CC Sabathia threw 113 pitches today. He mixed speeds, kept the Rays off balance, and was generally awesome. How awesome was he? His hardest pitch of the day, number 113, was also the hardest at 98mph. Wow.
Eduardo Nunez update
Since taking over for Derek Jeter…
Batting .292
OPS .763
And importantly, only 2 strikeouts.
Yankees are 9-3 over this span.
Its going to be interesting when Jeter returns to the lineup.
CC Sabathia
This is why he is worth every dollar he earns for the Yankees. On being first to ten wins:
“I wish I could say it meant something, but it don’t. We’re here to win championships. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Jayson Werth
.236, 10hr, .338 OPB, .759 OPS. If he keeps at his current pace he will strike out 137 times.
Yeah, that contract is an albatross
Eduaro Nunez
Eduaro Nunez may be an adventure at shortstop, but he has been handling the bat exceptionally well since Derek Jeter got hurt.
In his last 7 games (approximately the time he’s taken over for an injured Derek Jeter) Nunez has hit .333, with one home run and two RBI’s and has an out of this world .945 OPS.
The Yankees can’t expect Nunez to continue to pretend he is Alex Rodriguez or Robinson Cano, but they have to like what they’ve seen with the bat from Nunez. He has hit the ball hard consistently,and has shown an ability to adjust as pitchers have developed scouting reports on his tendencies.
The Yankees are 4-1 without Jeter, and have scored 9.6 runs per game in his absence (aided by two, 12 run outbursts vs. Texas). But the lineup has seemed longer, and a little more powerful with Nunez at the bottom, and Gardner and Granderson up top.
Nunez won’t supplant Derek Jeter at shortstop this year, but if Derek Jeter continues to struggle the Yankees will have to at least consider playing Nunez more. Nunez is playing himself into giving Joe Girardi the ultimate headache. If Nunez keeps hitting, this could be very interesting.
On Baseball Realignment
The best baseball teams are not making the playoffs every year, and this is a problem. According to one ranking system, Toronto, a team that has not made the playoffs since 1993, has been a top 8 team in baseball three times since 2006- in the top 6 twice. Simply put, they are being penalized because of the division they play in, the big bad American League East. Toronto is the poster child for why baseball needs to change its playoff format.
What baseball needs is to finally do away with the division format and once again have just two leagues, the National and American league- this is a fair playoff system that rewards the best teams.
The reasons for this are obvious - the best teams are not only failing to make the playoffs every year, but bad teams are getting advantages because of their geographic locations.
2008 may have been the most glaring year. In 2008, according to ESPN.com’s RPI rankings, the American League East had teams ranked 1 (TB), 2 (Bos), 5 (NYY), 6 (Tor). According to RPI, baseball had 4 of the best 6 teams in a single division. Yet, two of these teams (New York and Toronto) were not even eligible for postseason play. If Toronto or New York had been in a different division the outcomes would have been different.
2008 was defined not only as a “down” year for the Yankees but an abject failure for not making the playoffs. Yet, the Yankees were still the 4th best team in the American league by record, and the 5th best team in baseball. Under a fair playoff system, they would have made it.
2010 was much the same. According to RPI the AL East had teams ranked 1 (TB), 2 (NYY), 5 (Bos) 6 (Tor). Once again Toronto is left out, and despite injuries Boston is penalized for playing in the East.
The divisions are a relic of a different time. Progressive change is needed. Let the best teams enter the playoffs. Lets have a more fair baseball playoff, and stop rewarding teams for their lucky division alignment.
Tough Knicks loss
Felton: “Losses like that, I’d rather get beat by 15, 20 points then to get beat like that.”
Knicks
With an impressive win vs. the Nuggets. Best news though? Locrkroom reporters say team is not giddy, very business like. They are beginning to expect to win now. This is a very good thing for this team.
