The Yankees, Unobstructed — April 25

If there's one word that best describes the Yankees' West Coast roadtrip, it would be "testy."

First, the Athletics' Dallas Braden got mouthy with Alex Rodriguez, because AROD ran across the pitcher's mound on his way back to first after a foul ball. There was some serious back and forth screaming, and after the game Braden claimed Rodriguez broke an "unwritten rule."

Like a religious extremist who was told the plot of a South Park episode, Braden overreacted big time.



Various player-reactions from around baseball, make this seem like one of those "unwritten rules" that only some guys know about. In fact, the guys who said AROD was being disrespectful tended to be former hothead-pitchers, and everyone else seemed unaware.

And how about Mark Teixeira's shoulder tackle of Angels catcher Bobby Wilson?

Up 2-1 in the top of the third on Thursday, Teixeira sprinted from second base to home on a Robinson Cano line drive single. The play ended in collision...



So, there are a couple ways to look at this. On the one hand, Teixeira had just been hit by a pitch, and is known for his — let's say, forceful — responses to being hit.

The Angels' Torii Hunter summed up this view:

"It's early in the game, the third inning, and you don't expect something like that," Hunter said. "The guy's upset. He's on a mission. Tex is a great guy, but even good guys get upset sometimes. I've been there."

Was Mark Teixeira'c Collision at Home a Dirty Play?

Going by that logic, this was a vicious and pretty unnecessary hit.

Teixeira's defense — that even though the ball hadn't gotten to Wilson yet, he had begun to turn as if he had the ball, so Teixeira had little choice. Both managers agreed with this assessment.

That said, I think Torii Hunter was right. Teixeira gets hit by a lot of pitches, and he always seems to take someone out when he does. After being hit by a Vicente Padilla fastball last year, Teixeira slid about six feet East of second base to take out a Texas shortstop break up a double play.

Moving on from the violence, here are some great Yankee numbers:

• In the last week, Yankee pitchers have managed a 2.83 era.

• The Yankees have the highest slugging (.455) in the American League, and the second highest on-base percentage (.371).

• They've also got, by far, the most triples (seven already!).

UPDATE - MON, APRIL 26: The BNN jinx continues, that incredible team era blew up yesterday, just hours after this post was published.

NOTE: Make sure to check back every weekend for The Yankees, Unobstructed, BNN's weekly Yankees opinion column.

For more of Graham Kates' sports writing, check out his True/Slant blog "Coaches in the Crosshairs" (http://trueslant.com/grahamkates).

The Yankees, Unobstructed - Oct. 23

Be afraid, be very afraid

The Yankees are returning to the Bronx this weekend, without the pennant. Although they are ahead of the Angels 3-2, there are a lot of reasons the Yankees and their fans ought to be uncomfortable….

• The Angels starter tomorrow, Joe Saunders, has given up three earned runs only once since August 6^th — that’s nine consecutive strong starts for Saunders.

• If this thing goes to game seven, the Yankees will pitch C.C. Sabathia for the third time this series. While the Big Man has been nothing short of dominating in his first two starts, the Angels are one of baseball’s elite offensive teams and there’s no telling how their hitters will handle facing the same starter three times in nine days. It could be hard for C.C. to avoid predictability.
  

• Nick Swisher’s occasional cold-streaks were tolerable all season long, because the man was a walk-machine. Swisher was second in the American League in walks during the regular season and 20^th in on-base percentage, but he has become an easy out this postseason. The Yankees need Mr. Twitch to anchor down the second half the batting order this weekend.

• We will not be able to rely on Alex Rodriguez this weekend. With a man on base or in many two out situations, the Angels will choose to take their chances against Hideki Matsui.
  

• Joe Girardi does not seem to have any concrete game-plan for the Yankee bullpen. If there is one guy who seems to be having difficulty handling the pressure of this stage, it’s Girardi. His decision-making has been erratic and reflects over-analysis. Some games he sticks with the starters too long (yesterday) and gives the bullpen too short of a leash (also Yesterday). Other times his starters have been given too short of a leash (Games two and three). Criticizing managers for their bull-pen decisions can often be unfair….but Girardi used four pitchers (three for just one out) through 7.1 innings in game three.

• The Yankees have been through worse than losing a 3-1 League Championship Series. Let's not relive that in this column — Tim McCarver mentions it every five minutes during his broadcasts. That’s enough of a reminder.

NOTE: Make sure to check back on Fridays for The Yankees, Unobstructed, BNN's weekly Yankees opinion column.

For more of Graham Kates' sports writing, check out his True/Slant blog "Coaches in the Crosshairs" (http://trueslant.com/grahamkates).

The Yankees, Unobstructed - Oct. 16, 2009

Pennant Time

Game one of the American League Championship Series is schedule to start at 7:57 p.m. tonight. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. Right now weather.com says there is a 60% chance of precipitation this evening — but if the game is played, I'll be live-blogging the game right here on the Bronx News Network starting at 7:50. Feel free to join in on the comment board and throw down your own input!

In the meantime, let's compare the the Angels and and the Yankees, position-by-position.

C - Edge Angels - While Jorge Posada gets the edge over L.A.'s Mike Napoli for his strong finish to the season, he also has to sit out A.J. Burnett's starts — and Jose Molina is no Mike Napoli.

1B - Slight Edge Yankees - The Yankees have Mark Teixeira and the Angels have the surprisingly strong Kendry Morales. This is actually a pretty close call. Morales ended the season with 34 home runs, 108 rbis and slugged .569. Teixeira hit 39 home runs, 122 rbis and slugged .565. Tex gets the edge because he is among the best fielding first basemen in the game, and because most of his production has come since May.

2B - Slight Edge Yankees - Robinson Cano has turned into one of the elite second basemen in baseball. He gets hits and he has impressive range in the field. That said, Howie Kendrick is a fine hitter and as good of a fielder as Cano.

3B - Edge Yankees - Here's the deal. Comparing Alex Rodriguez to Chone Figgins is like comparing "LOST" to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" — both are terrific TV shows, but they're in completely different genres. When Figgins gets on-base, he gets in scoring position and then the Angels bats drive him in (to the tune of 114 runs this season). A-ROD on the other hand, compiled thirty home runs and 100 rbis, while missing a quarter of the season. During that stretch, he was the best player in Major League Baseball. Rodriguez was also the best hitter on the Yankees during the Division Series.

SS - Edge Yankees - Derek Jeter has had one of his best seasons. Little argument here.

LF - Edge Yankees - Johnny Damon hits better in Yankees Stadium than anyone. Period.

CF - Edge Angels - Torii Hunter is a better fielder than either of the Yankees Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner center field tandem. He's also a better hitter, gets on-base more and hits for more power.

RF - Edge Angels - In Anaheim, Bobby Abreu has continued his career-long assault on baseballs. His numbers are better than Nick Swisher's in every category other than home runs.

SP - Edge Angels - The Angels starting rotation is far deeper and more reliable than the Yankees'. That said, the Yankee hitters have actually had a fair amount of success against all four of the Angels starters....Unfortunately, Angels hitters have been just as good (if not better) against Yankee starting pitching.

Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia, has yet to prove his cold-weather chops and tonight might be a good chance. If he can't, this could prove to be a long winter for him and the Yankees.

RP - Edge Yankees - The Yankees' bullpen came together well this year. It took until last week (literally), but the Yankees have pieced together a reliable three-inning bullpen tandem now that Joba Chamberlain has joined Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera in the waiting room. That said, the Angels' eighth and ninth inning pitchers — Darren Oliver and Brian Fuentes — are mean lefties and should be feared.

Series Edge - Slight Edge Yankees - The Yankees finished the season with the best record in baseball, and they did so in convincing fashion. These are the two most well-constructed clubs in the Major Leagues, and I expect whichever team is victorious, will also come home with the World Series.

Remember to check back with the Bronx News Network throughout tonight's game as we get our live-blog on.