With all the discussion of 2011 awards, I haven't heard much mention of Ivan Nova for Rookie of the Year. Puzzling as it is, Nova HAS flown under the radar as not only one of the best rookies in the league, but has been one of the best pitchers in the league. Nova was sent down to the minors a few months ago to make room for Phil Hughes, who had been coming off the DL at the time. Nova was reportedly upset, and rightfully ...
Mickey Mantle was criticized severely for striking out so much during his career, but in the 1950s and 1960s, the "experts" didn't know that a strikeout was merely an out. Players of Mantle's era considered striking out an embarrassment. After striking out, many players would hang their heads as they returned to the dugout. Mantle struck out an average of 115 times over a 162-game season, which was more frequently than Willie Mays (83), Hank Aaron (68), Ralph Kiner (82), Roger Maris (81), Frank Robinson (88), Harmon Killebrew (113) and ...
The best phrase to describe the pair of young pitchers in the Yankees rotation should be polar opposites. Despite both arriving on the Yankees MLB team, they took completely different roads to reach where they are today. Most intriguing is how the trend has continued. One of them is making the most of his shot at the majors, and the other is making daily bids for his spot in the rotation. Phil Hughes was the American, drafted young and coaxed along in the minors. He quickly became one of the ...
With roughly one month remaining in the MLB regular season, the AL MVP race is still quite a mess.Jose Bautista has the support of the sabermetric community, the Red Sox have three viable candidates in Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez and even Justin Verlander, a pitcher, is drawing consideration from a number of sources.However, we shouldn't forget about the Yankees' Curtis Granderson, who is having the best season of his career. Let's take a look at how realistic of a shot he has at taking home the hardware ...
During most his career, Mickey Mantle was ranked among the top two or three players in the game, right up there with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Over the last few decades, evaluating players statistically has resulted in Mickey Mantle becoming better in 2011 than he was when he was an active player.This is not an attempt to claim that Mays, Aaron or Mantle was the greatest. During the 1950s, the most important statistic was batting average. The best hitters were considered those who batted at least .300. Anything less ...
Is New York Yankees television commentator Michael Kay jealous of John Sterling?The New York Yankees radio announcer—known for many things, not all of them complimentary—is identified with two calls. One of Sterling’s calls usually occurs at least once a game, while the other is heard about 95 to 100 times a season. Whenever a batter hits a deep fly ball that might be or actually is a home run, Harold Moskowitz— sorry, John Sterling raises his voice to inform listeners “It is high, it is far, it is—caught at the ...
The rumors have been swirling for quite some time that the Yankees were considering bringing up top pitching prospects, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, to pitch out of the bullpen in the playoffs. After much thought, the Bombers thought the better of it and will not promote the two young starters.Banuelos and Betances have shown quite a bit of promise this year. Both have seen themselves promoted to Triple-A, one of their goals to reach this season. That being said, both still have a ways to go before they will ...
AJ Burnett went into Thursday's start against the Boston Red Sox as the odd man out in the New York Yankees starting rotation. After changing his mechanics three days ago and holding baseball's best offense to two runs in 5.1 innings yesterday, Burnett has bought himself time in September to prove that he can contribute in the playoffs.Burnett mentioned to the media that he changed his delivery by eliminating the twist, and by simplifying the motion he can focus more on the location of each pitch. However, the new delivery has lowered ...
Yes, that's right, you read that title correctly. With his first good start in months, it's painful to say that A.J. Burnett has slightly cracked open the door to a playoff start. There's no doubt Joe Girardi and the Yankees were intrigued by what they saw from Burnett last night in the Yankees 4-2 win over the Red Sox. What may have been most important for Burnett was that his pitches looked sharp. The problem is, how much can the Yankees rely on that to happen on a more consistent ...
Jesus Montero is a New York Yankee. Despite going 0-for-4 in his big-league debut, Montero is finally getting his chance, and Yankees fans have reason to be excited.But how will Montero fare in his first month on the job, as New York cruises toward the playoffs? How quickly can he adjust to big-league pitching and actualize some of his tremendous potential? Will his power materialize in this short audition, or will we need to wait until 2012 to see that skill on display?Count this as one voice in support of ...