Yanks to acquire Kerry Wood

UPDATE 5:27pm: Chan Ho Park has been DFA'd!

According to MLBTR, the Yanks have acquired relief pitcher Kerry Wood from the Cleveland Indians. More on this later.

A look at the newest Yankees: Lance "Big Puma" Berkman and Austin Kearns

Sometime this afternoon the Yankees will officially announce that they have acquired Lance Berkman from the Astros for Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes. In a separate deal, the Yankees traded for the Indians' Austin Kearns for a player to be named later, who will obviously be of little consequence.

Both of these are solid upgrades to the Yankees' league-leading offense. The big catch is obviously Berkman -- though many of us in Yankeeland were hoping for the Yanks to reel in Yankeeist favorite Adam Dunn in, clearly the cost was far too prohibitive for a player who will be a free agent after the season. Berkman may well have been the next-best bat available -- at least as far as cost is concerned -- and inserting the switch-hitting Berkman's .356 wOBA into the lineup will only yield good things, especially when one considers that the Yankees' lack of a real designated hitter since Nick Johnson went down has resulted in far too many plate appearances for the likes of Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena and Colin Curtis.

Here's what Berkman and Kearns have done during the last few seasons:

















Berkman's clearly been a beast throughout his career. I know he's been very good for a long time, but I have to confess I had no idea he had a career .410 OBP and .405 wOBA prior to looking at his numbers. Of course, injuries finally began to slow the 34-year-old this season, as he posted a .339 wOBA in April and .332 in June. However, Berkman seems to have picked things up considerably since then, with a .357 wOBA in June and a .392(!) wOBA in July. That .392 would be the third-best mark on the Yankees in the month of July, after Mark Teixeira (.487) and Nick Swisher (.431).

I don't think anyone expects Berkman to rake at quite that level for the remainder of the season, but if he can hit his ZiPS Rest-of-Season projection of .267/.384/.489 with a .383 wOBA and nine home runs, he'll still represent a huge addition to the Yankee lineup. Even if Berkman ends up producing in the .360 to .370 wOBA range while in pinstripes he'll be a significant upgrade. All the talk about the Yankees having this circular lineup will actually start being true again -- it's been quite frustrating to see the Yankees trot out below-average hitters in the bottom half of the lineup for much of the season; and Berkman helps significantly extend the batting order and put that much more pressure on opposing pitchers.

That they traded Berkman for Mark Melancon speaks volumes about how far Melancon's stock had fallen with the team. Once billed as the "Heir to Mariano," clearly the Yankee Hype Machine was in overdrive to try to build up Melancon's trade value. Hey, I'll admit I bought into it, although Melancon did have some pretty stellar minor league numbers even if he did struggle in The Show.

In 2008 at Trenton Melancon had a 1.81 ERA with a 3.05 FIP in 49,2 IP, and at Scranton a 2.70 ERA with a 2.44 FIP in 20 IP. In 2009 as Scranton's closer he had a 2.89 ERA with a 2.69 FIP over 53 IP, so clearly there's talent there. Unfortunately he wasn't given much of an opportunity to showcase it and the few times he did get called the the Bigs he looked pretty terrible. In 2009 the Yankees gave him 16.1 IP and he produced a 3.86 ERA (4.44 FIP) and 1.40 WHIP, and this season in just 4 innings he had a 9.00 ERA (4.86 FIP) and 1.75 WHIP. For whatever reason he apparently has been struggling this season back in AAA, with a 3.67 ERA and 4.03 FIP over 56.1 innings.

I'm certainly not heartbroken about trading a minor league reliever for an impact bat like Berkman's, although it'll be interesting to see whether Melancon can actually reach the potential so many saw in him as he developed in the Yankee farm system with the Astros. As a corollary, this could also mean that the Yankees are in fact done with Joba Chamberlain as a starter for good and are hoping that he can one day grow into the closer role. I remain in the "Joba needs to start" camp, but with each passing day it just seems less and less likely.

As for Kearns, he's never been quite the same player who set the league on fire his rookie year in 2002, posting a .394 wOBA over 435 plate appearances that season. After two injury-plagued seasons as a National in 2008 and 2009, he caught on with the Indians this year and hit out of his mind in the first month of the season (.463 wOBA). Needless to say he's come back to earth since then (.306 wOBA in May, .338 in June, .313 in July), but that doesn't mean he can't be a useful player. The veteran Kearns strengthens a rather thin bench, and he also won't kill you if you give him a couple of starts in the outfield.

I like both of these moves a lot, especially given the relatively low cost in players on the Yankees' side of the equation. Berkman is the big bat this lineup has sorely needed since Nick the Injury went down (speaking of The Stick, if he does end up making it back to the team before the season is over, that would fortify the roster even further -- visions of N the S working a pinch-hit walk in the playoffs are dancing in my head), and Kearns is a solid complementary piece.

I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees swing one more move before the deadline today at 4pm, although what that might be I really have no idea.

Wade Davis and Matt Joyce beat Phil Hughes and Nick Swisher 3-2

Man, this was a tough one. Phil Hughes was pitching rather well until he ran into trouble in the sixth. Armed with a scant two-run lead on a Nick Swisher home run, Hughes gave it all back and then some as Matt Joyce pumped a three-run bomb with two outs. Though Hughes ended up tossing a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER), the outing was a bit tarnished. Not to take anything away from Joyce, but a veteran starter probably doesn't surrender a go-ahead bomb with two outs.

As the Yankees decided to take one of their patented nights off on offense after plating two runs before Wade Davis could record a single out, Joyce's home run ended up being the deciding factor in the game, as the Rays won 3-2. Credit to Davis for hanging in there and throwing a great game (7 IP, 2 ER, 6 Ks).

Alex Rodriguez went 0-4 and jawed with the umpire a bit on a called strike in the top of the ninth that could've gone either way. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like A-Rod's really been getting crushed by the umps on that same borderline strike call during the past week. Looked like a ball from here.

In positive news, the Joba Chamberlain Redemption Project made some progress, as Joba pitched two scoreless innings of relatively high-leverage ball with three strikeouts.

The Rays are now only a game out of first place for the first time since Sunday, June 20. Not that the division will be decided this weekend, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the Rays' reactions, who acted as if they'd just won the World Series. I know they're riding a hot streak right now and the Yankees are the only team ahead of them, but a little restraint would be nice. Hopefully the Yankees can bounce back Saturday night and get that game back.

In transactional news, the Yankees have acquired both Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns in separate deals, and supposedly have a third deal in the works. We'll have more on the new acquisitions soon; if you need immediate info our friends at RAB have it covered as usual.

Photo c/o The AP

Series Preview: Yankees vs. Rays IV

The two best teams in baseball are back at it two weeks after the Yankees (65-36, 1st place in the AL East, 2 games up) took two of three (including an emotional win in the first game back at the Stadium after The Boss's and Bob Shepard's passings) from the Rays (63-38, 2nd place in the AL East, 2 GB) as they play a three-game set in Tampa Bay beginning tonight. The teams have split the eight games they've played thus far, no surprise given how evenly both sides match up.

Tampa Bay comes into the series like a house on fire, having won its last 8,000 games. OK, that's obviously an exaggeration, but they are riding a six-game winning streak and also managed to cut a game off the Yanks' lead in the process, so, similar to two weeks ago, a sweep by Tampa would land the Rays in first place.

In tonight's game Phil Hughes (4.04 ERA; 4.00 FIP; 4.13 xFIP) looks to continue to improve as he squares off against Wade Davis (4.32 ERA; 5.33 FIP; 4.97 xFIP). Hughes has had a rough month of July (5.79 ERA; 6.37 FIP; 4.87 xFIP) and really hasn't been very good since mid-May. We're entering uncharted waters with Phil as far as his innings go, and hopefully he can finish the year out strong. Davis has been the Rays' most disappointing starter, though he has significantly outpitched his peripherals in July (3.16 ERA; 5.65 FIP; 4.81 xFIP). He also has a propensity to give up the longball (his 1.50 HR/9 is the fourth-worst mark among qualified starters. Third-worst? Home Run Javy). If Hughes can keep it together I like the Yanks in this one.

The Saturday night game finds Javier Vazquez (4.54 ERA;4.93 FIP; 4.63 xFIP) facing Matt Garza (4.06 ERA; 4.52 FIP; 4.45 xFIP), fresh off a no-hitter. Vazquez has had a strong July, pitching to a 2.77 ERA, while Garza -- despite the no-hitter -- sports a significantly less-impressive 3.96 mark on the month. Javy got lit up in his first start of the year on the road against Tampa Bay; hopefully he's learned from that experience and can continue rolling, especially with the uncertainty from the #3 and #4 spots in the rotation. It seems that Garza can either be great or just OK; although the same could probably be said of Vazquez too. A pretty big toss-up, but I like the Yankees in this one as well.

The Sunday finale is a rematch of the first post-All Star break game, with CC Sabathia (3.15 ERA; 3.61 FIP; 3.91 xFIP) taking on James Shields (4.79 ERA; 4.20 FIP; 3.69 xFIP). Sabathia had another terrific month in July, pitching to a 2.30 ERA, although he hasn't been his typical sharp self in his three post-ASB outings, giving up four earned runs in each. Shields was pretty consistent in July, giving 6 to 6 2/3 innings per start and giving up between two to four runs in all five of his outings. This should be another good one and could well be decided by the bullpen. Although if CC is ready to start rolling again the Rays could be in trouble.

Here are the two teams' offense and pitching numbers:






Not a ton has changed since these teams squared off two weeks ago, although the Yankees' overall pitching numbers have declined just a touch. The Yankees still have the superior offense, although as we've seen firsthand the Rays aren't exactly slouches with the stick themselves.

This series, like they often do, will come down to pitching. As mentioned in the pitching match-ups, I think the Yankees have a slight edge, and should be able to take two of three. Of course, Tampa being the second-best team in baseball and all means they could easily take two of three themselves. I would be surprised if either team swept.

Photo c/o The AP

Seven-run seventh propels Yanks to 11-4 thrashing of Indians

The Yankees pounded the Tribe 11-4 last night, taking three of four from a rather hapless Cleveland team.

Despite the final score, this was a tense game until the top of the sixth. Dustin Moseley -- spot starting for the injured Andy Pettitte after Sergio Mitre showed he wasn't up to the task five days ago -- was fantastic, throwing six innings of four-hit, one-run ball. Moseley got into some trouble in the first, but once he settled down it was fairly smooth sailing. Between Moseley's effectiveness as well as the fact that starter Mitch Talbot had to come out of the game after the second inning with an injury, forcing Manny Acta to coax seven innings out of his comical bullpen, it would've been insane if the Yankees had not been able to pull out the victory.

Of course, the first five innings were a ridiculous exercise in frustration, as the Yankees managed to put runners on first and second with no outs from the 2nd through the 5th inning and somehow only managed to score one run. When Derek Jeter came to the plate in the 6th with two outs and a man on second, the Yankees were o-10 with runners in scoring position at that point in the game. Thankfully Jeter -- who I've really been riding the last day or so -- delivered, and the Yankees would never look back.

In the seventh, the Yankees would end up sending 10 men to the plate after Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez made the first two outs of the inning. As great as pitcher's duels can be, I personally love seeing the Yankee offense come alive and absolutely dismantle the opposing team, and so the seventh inning was a ball for me.

A-Rod knocked three runs in and came to the plate with the bases loaded three times, but obviously #600 will have to wait another day. Jeter and Curtis Granderson had two RBI apiece, while Tex and Brett Gardner walked three times each. Speaking of walks, Cleveland pitching handed out 12(!) of them, which Andy from NYaT was kind enough to point out tied the Majors' season high for walks issued in a nine-inning game.

When the Indians brought third baseman Andy Marte in to pitch the ninth, I thought for sure the Yanks would be able to pick up lucky #13, but of course Marte went ahead and retired the Yankees in order for Cleveland's first 1-2-3 inning of the night since the 1st.

Chan Ho Park did his thing in the ninth, giving up three runs, but thankfully even CHoP couldn't vulture this victory. Why is Park still on this team again? Additionally, aren't we trying to rebuild Joba Chamberlain? Seems like the 7th, 8th nor 9th innings would've been the perfect time to give Joba some low-leverage work. Oh well.

Photo c/o The AP

The Yankees and the home-road split

Most of the Yankee fans I know have had the same, lone (whiny, and I include myself here too) complaint about the 2010 team: the offense just hasn't clicked the way we'd hoped it would.

Yankee detractors can make the solid argument that Yankee fans are insane because the Yankees have the best offense in baseball, which is a fair point. But the counter-point this Yankee fan would make is that Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson have all had subpar offensive seasons. Imagine what the team could do if all its offensive gears were well oiled!

The team came back from the All-Star break and gave us all a glimmer of hope that the offense would come together in the second half. The Bombers pounded the ball on their nine-game homestand. With the exception of a two-run performance against the Angels and a four-run Saturday against the Royals, the Yankee offense put up anywhere between 5 and 12 runs in Yankee Stadium. Heck, even the struggling Curtis Granderson got in on the action.

Then the boys went to Cleveland. Sure, the team won the first game of the series, but it managed only three runs in that game and it took two home runs to do it. And let's not relive Tuesday's debacle.

To anyone paying close attention to the team's home-road splits, the offensive drought to start the series in Cleveland shouldn't have been a surprise. Here's why:

The above is the lineup the Yankees have used the most this season. The following players on that list have hit well on the road this year: Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano. That is all.

The Yankees throw up a completely different lineup at home. In the Bronx they really are the Bombers. Curtis Granderson and Francisco Cervelli are their worst hitters, and even they're not so bad in New York. But the real standouts are the guys who have been having subpar seasons: A-Rod, Tex and Jeter. At home those guys have been...A-Rod! Tex! And Jeter!

Take these guys out of the Stadium, and the lineup dissolves. Tex and A-Rod have been, at best, average on the road. Derek, meanwhile, defies description. I'd rather grant the opposition an out for his at-bats to avoid all the double plays he bounces into. But the pain doesn't stop there. Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner fall apart on the road as well, especially Jorge, who I'm willing to let bat outside the Bronx, but only on the condition he try to draw a walk every time. For those who wonder why the team puts up a lot of National League scores when they leave home, there's the answer.

Fortunately, the Yankees can pitch, which is why they are actually an excellent road team. Their 29-20 record away from home translates to a .592 winning percentage, which equals about 96 wins over 162 games. In all of baseball, only the Rays are better, at 33-18 on the road (shockingly, the Rays are better on the road than at home, where they sport a 28-20 record). So, despite their offensive struggles away from home, the Yankees are still the second-best road team in the game. But, man, imagine if that offense started clicking!

Yankee offense doubles output of first two games combined in beating Indians 8-0

After averaging two runs per in the first two games of this four-game set, the Yankee bats finally came alive in Cleveland, tagging Fausto Carmona for seven earned runs en route to an 8-0 victory. It was the team's first shutout since CC Sabathia's Father's Day victory over a month ago.

A.J. Burnett had the curveball working, which was a good thing considering Burnett told reporters after the game "When A.J. doesn't have his curveball, it's going to be a tough night." What A.J. failed to mention is why, for $16.5 million a year, he doesn't have his curveball every time out on the mound.

Ribbing aside, A.J. was very good this game, throwing 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball with 7 strikeouts. Believe it or not, A.J. actually has the lowest ERA of the starting rotation in July (2.00, to go with a 3.45 FIP and 4.78 xFIP), so I guess he's finally back on track after that execrable June.

Speaking of execrable, has anyone taken a look at Derek Jeter lately, because I certainly haven't heard much about his continued decline. Derek is "hitting" .274/.335/.388 with a .323 wOBA on the season. Additionally, his July wOBA is .275, after posting wOBAs of .382, .323 and .320, respectively, during each of the first three months of the year. This winter's contract negotiations are going to get contentious, and fast, as Jeter's probably looking for one more $100 million payday, and how on earth can the Yankees justify $20 million/year for a .323 wOBA shortstop who will be 40 when his deal is up?

And don't give me the whole "Jeter's one of the all-time Truest of True Yankees™, a Core Four™ member with Five Rings™ and the Clutchiest Clutch that ever Clutched in the postseason! You have to give him whatever he wants!" No, you don't. I will be eternally grateful for all that Derek's done throughout the course of his Yankee career. He's one of my all-time favorite players, a genuine class act, role model to children and adults alike and future Hall-of-Famer not to mention one of the best players to ever don a Yankee uniform. Jeter's had a storybook baseball career; but you literally could not make his career up if you tried.

HOWEVER, lest we forget, the New York Yankees have already made Derek Jeter a very rich man -- he is coming off of a $189 million contract, after all. As such, why should the Yankees have to pay through the nose for past performance? This is thinking that has gotten the team in trouble in the past, and can end up really hamstringing a roster. Do I want Derek back? Of course. In an ideal world, Derek agrees to a four-year, $40 million deal and agrees to hang it up and become a coach once he's done. Because he's not a $20 million player anymore. He's not even a $15 million player anymore. He's an aging shortstop who's looked slow in the field this year, swings at nearly everything, has no interest in working the count and taking walks anymore (a key component of being a leadoff man), and grounds out to short just about every time up.

I'm glad I'm not Brian Cashman. If I were Derek, I'd take the $10 million/year and run. Maybe Derek will be able to put his ego aside and realize that he's not worth what he thinks he is and sign a reasonable deal for the sake of the team. And then I'll run for President of the United States.

Anyway, what was I saying again? Oh yeah, I seem to have forgotten this was a game recap post. For a game in which the Yankees scored eight runs, nothing all that noteworthy happened. Curtis Granderson picked up another multi-hit game, so that's nice to see. Mark Teixeira continued his July surge with two more hits. Did you know that Tex has the second-highest July wOBA in the American League (.502)? I didn't either until I looked it up. Glad to have you back, Mark.

Joba Chamberlain came in and, much to the surprise of everyone, didn't blow the eight-run lead he was entrusted to protect, pitching two-thirds of an inning of scoreless ball. Sergio Mitre threw the last two frames, which seems like a bizarre move given that I assumed Mitre would be shadowing Dustin Moseley tonight, but I suppose two innings isn't that taxing and I imagine Mitre will be ready to go at the first sign of trouble.

Photo c/o Getty Images

Joba has been bad, but why are his peripherals so good?

Joba Chamberlain seems to be on his last legs, if not as a Yankee, then perhaps with the big league club for a while. For the first time since he made his debut in 2007, the team appears willing to deal the young pitcher. The ever-loyal Joe Girardi has even turned against him. He announced before and after Monday's game that Chamberlain has lost the 8th inning job, his second demotion this season.

For the foreseeable future, the once off-limits Joba is now just a reserve arm in the bullpen, to be used when needed, ideally when the game is not on the line. This stunning fall from grace warrants a closer look to understand why Chamberlain is struggling, and what, if anything, can be done about it.

Unfortunately, Joba's numbers don't paint a clean picture. His ERA is 5.95, which is atrocious, but his FIP and xFIP are 3.01 and 3.41, respectively, both solid figures. What's more is that he has improved his strikeout, walk and home run rates from 2009. In '09 he struck out 7.61 batters, walked 4.35 and gave up 1.20 homers per 9 innings. This season all three figures have improved, standing at 9.99 strikeouts, 3.61 free passes and 0.64 homers per 9 innings. Any pitcher who improves his ability to strike batters out while walking fewer of them and giving up fewer home runs should be having an improved season, except for Chamberlain, whose 2009 ERA was 4.75, a full 1.20 runs better than this year.

The story of Chamberlain's woes lies right where ERA and FIP diverge, in balls hit in play. Here a clearer picture of what's going on begins to emerge. This season Joba is getting hammered, but the ball is staying in the park. His BABIP against has exploded from .320 in 2009 to .399 this year. Opposing players are hitting like Robinson Cano in April against Joba if they put the ball in play, which pretty much means if he doesn't strike them out, because he has allowed only 3 home runs all season. Taking all at-bats into consideration, opposing players are hitting .299 against Joba.

Chamberlain may be getting unlucky (really, really unlucky). The discrepancy between his ERA and his peripherals is odd for any pitcher, but it is particularly odd for him. He's pitched well in-line with his peripherals every other season he's been a Yankee. If this is all due simply to luck, to the fact that balls hit in play against Joba are finding the gaps and not fielders' gloves, then he is suffering from an especially long string of bad luck. The concept of the small sample size is abused and misunderstood in baseball's statistical circles. Chamberlain's 42.1 innings pitched on the season are, by definition, a large sample of innings because the statistical rule of thumb is to cap a small sample at 30 observations, something we had from Joba a while ago. Chamberlain may still be getting unlucky, but the data now points to a trend that defies the conventional tools even informed baseball fans use for analysis.

Joba struggled last season as well, but his problem was clear in 2009. Although his fastball is famous for its speed, it has never been a strong pitch. When Joba was at his best in 2007, according to Fangraphs his fastball was worth 1.51 runs for every 100 pitches versus 5.09 runs for his slider, his out pitch. In 2009, his fastball slowed to 92.5 mph on average, and was straight as a string, to quote Michael Kay. As a result it was actually a liability, worth -1.21 runs per 100 thrown in 2009, versus 1.30 runs for his slider. Chamberlain uses his fastball to set up his slider, but with the diminished velocity it was getting hit more.

Continuing the trend established previously, Chamberlain has actually improved on the effectiveness of his two main pitches this year, but to ill effect. His fastball velocity is up to 94.4 mph on average. Although it is still a liability, it is worth -0.75 runs per 100 thrown this year, a considerable improvement from last year. His slider is better as well, being worth 1.40 runs per 100 thrown this season (I am using values per 100 thrown to adjust for differences in innings pitched). 92.6% of the pitches Joba throws are fastballs and sliders, so he is essentially a two-pitch pitcher, and has been for his entire short career.

Although these numbers are frustrating, they help explain why the Yankees may have continued to give the ball to Joba for so long. If you remove his inflated ERA, he's improved every aspect of his game this season. Unfortunately the results have been the exact opposite of what the team would expect.

One set of data does stand out that may help to explain Joba's struggles. Opposing batters are swinging at pitches he throws outside of the strike zone 28.3% of the time, the highest rate since 2007, and they are swinging at pitches he throws in the zone 62.4% of the time, the highest rate in his career. This translates to an overall swing rate of 44.8%, which would be the highest of Joba's career by far, if not for his 2007 campaign, when he got batters to chase pitches out of the zone 35.1% of the time, no-doubt fooling them with that nasty slider, and contributing to an overall swing rate of 47.2%.

The batters aren't chasing. They're hitting. Batters are making contact on 86.6% of the pitches in the zone they swing at, which is the 2nd-highest rate of Joba's career, and they are making contact with 60.6% of the pitches outside of the zone that they swing at, far and away the highest clip of Joba's career (his previous high was last season's 55.9% rate).

I don't believe that Joba is getting unlucky. It may be a baseball platitude to write this, but I watch the games. The hits he gives up may not be home runs, but they are laser beams the fielders can't get to. From looking at this data my conclusion is that the league may have caught on to Joba's diminished slider and straight fastball (Kyle Farnsworth had a plus-velocity fastball that wasn't very effective also due to its straightness) and as result batters are swinging more. Joba is getting more swinging strikes this year, but that is only because last year players weren't chasing outside the zone. This year they are, but they are often making contact, perhaps just enough to foul off his slider, if not crushing it. This may cause Joba, who remains a strikeout pitcher, to move away from his slider, his best pitch, and use his fastball or curveball to get the out. Of course, the problem is that both Joba's fastball and curveball have been minus pitches.

Yankeeist still believes that Joba is too talented not to straighten himself out, but he clearly has some work to do to regain the trust of both the team and the fanbase.

A closer look at the Yankees getting owned by pitchers making their Major League debuts

After spending a lot of time discussing Josh Tomlin's annihilation of the Yankees last night while continuing to bemoan the team's performance against pitchers making their Major League debuts, I was encouraged to take a look back at previous instances to see whether the stigma that the Yankees always get owned by rookies in their first career starts held true.

I used Baseball-Reference's Play Index tool and came up with eight such instances during the past 10 seasons in which the Yankees have faced a starter making his Major League debut. Admittedly I'm not quite an expert with the PI, and so it's possible I'm leaving someone out here, but hopefully this is close to a complete list (the highlighted starters are pitchers who got the win):








The Yankees are 2-6 in games started by pitchers making their Major League debuts since 2001. While that's obviously a small sample, it still lends credence to the idea that the Yankees have an inordinate amount of difficulty beating rookie pitchers. In fact, they haven't beaten a rookie making their MLB debut since 2004, when they pounded Eduardo Villacis. Since then they're on a six-game losing streak, and have been held to eight runs by the opposing starter over those six games.

Here are some random factoids from these eight games:

- The May 1, 2004 game was won by Jon Lieber.

- The June 22, 2002 1-0 Yankee victory over rookie Jake Peavy was an absolute gem by Ted Lilly, who tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts!

- Gustavo Chacin's opponent in the September 20, 2004 game was Javier Vazquez.

- Anibal Sanchez's manager in the June 25, 2006 game? Joe Girardi, natch.

- Dan Giese of all people started the June 21, 2008 loss to the Reds.

And if we go by WPA, Josh Tomlin's superb performance last night was the most dominating start by a pitcher making his Major League debut against the Yankees of the last 10 years. Wow.

Photo courtesy of the AP

Yankees do their thing against starting pitcher making his Major League debut, which is to say, absolutely nothing

Can someone please explain why the Yankees -- currently in possession of the best wOBA in Major League Baseball (though maybe not for much longer after tonight's fiasco), not to mention one of the top two offensive teams in the American League every year except 2008 (when they were 5th) since the 2002 season -- get completely shutdown seemingly every single time they face a rookie starting pitcher making his Major League debut?

Pretty much every Yankee fan I know jokes about this all the time, but it long ago ceased being funny. While I have to imagine there have been times the Yankees have teed off on guys getting their first taste of The Show, this has been a real issue for the team for as long as I can remember. Not to take anything away from Josh Tomlin, who was absolutely and utterly spectacular in his Major League debut, but how can a team like the Yankees, with all of their advance scouts, absurdly prodigious hitters and presumably limitless technology that should in theory enable them to properly prepare for every starter they face, look so very poor against guys who have never before pitched in the Major Leagues? It is absolutely baffling.

That all being said, my hat's off to Tomlin, who had about as fine a debut as one could hope in picking up his first career Major League win as the Indians beat the Yankees 4-1. Tomlin pitched seven impressive innings of scoreless ball while surrendering only three hits. The Yankees couldn't do anything against his array of off-speed junk, which, come to think of it, is probably exactly why Tomlin was so successful. The Yankees' other kryptonite is slow-pitch garbage (see Moyer, Jamie and Matsuzaka, Daisuke, among others) -- combine junkballing abilities with a pitcher the Yankees have never seen before, especially when it's a guy making his Major League debut, and I'm actually shocked that Tomlin didn't Perfect Game the Yankees with 27 strikeouts.

CC Sabathia was good but not great, and was essentially done in by his defense in the 4th, as Francisco Cervelli -- speaking of Cervelli, I hope the fans' love affair with Frankie is finally over, now that Cervelli has shown he can't hit, field or throw runners out and may as well be a bullpen catcher -- dropped a throw from Alex Rodriguez at the plate that would've kept the game scoreless. The Yankees then fell victim to one of the few umpires I've ever seen that didn't give the "neighborhood" call, as Robinson Cano failed to step on the bag at second while turning a double play. To add insult to injury, the runner at first was also called safe, though replays showed he was out. So instead of being out of the inning, Sabathia had to deal with the bases loaded and still only one out. That he only gave up one more run was rather impressive, and both runs scored that inning were actually unearned.

Sabathia later gave up two more runs in the sixth, which effectively put the game out of reach given that the Yankees had no interest in dispelling the can't-hit-rookie-pitchers meme.

The Yankees actually brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth for what felt like the umpteenth loss in a row, and had three(!) chances to send the game to extras with a three-run bomb after Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter reached base with no outs, but Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and A-Rod couldn't get it done. Obviously you can't win 'em all, but it's still disappointing when your biggest bats can't come through with the game on the line.

So while Tomlin certainly gets all the credit in the world, it was quite frustrating to see the Yankees not only lose with their ace on the mound -- this was Sabathia's first loss since May 24 against the Mets -- but also drop a game against one of the worst teams in the American League. I figured the Indians would pick up a win in one of these games, but definitely not the Sabathia start. Given that A.J. Burnett and Dustin Moseley start the next two games, at this point the Yankees should be elated if they split this series.

Image courtesy of The AP

Has Jon Lester become the best pitcher in the American League?

At the present moment, only two pitchers in the American League have a higher WAR than Jon Lester and his jaw-dropping 4.2: Francisco Liriano (5.1!) and Cliff Lee (4.3).

Before I go too much further, I have to admit that I've been a huge Lester fan for a while now. I know that sounds like anathema to a lot of Yankee fans, but how can you not root for a guy who beat cancer? Plus, he's flat-out awesome at pitching. If I were a Boston fan I would be giddy every fifth day getting to watch this guy pitch.

Anyway, here's a glance at what Lester has done during his career, courtesy of Fangraphs:








It's really a thing of beauty, isn't it? He's done exactly what every General Manager in the game dreams that their young arms will do: Gotten significantly better every year he's pitched. Not only that, but he's compiled these jaw-dropping numbers in the AL East.

His 2008 breakout season was insane: 210 IP of 3.21 ERA ball, worth 5.1 WAR and $22.8 million. If that weren't enough, he was even better in 2009. Though he pitched seven less innings, not only did his strikeout rate explode from 6.50 to 9.96 K/9 and BAA fall by .009 points, but he pitched to a 3.15 FIP! Only four pitchers in the AL had better FIPs, and only one of those four was in the AL East: Roy Halladay. Lester was worth an obscene 6.2 WAR and $28.1 million in 2009. Would you like to know how much Lester was paid last season? $1 million.

Additionally, he's under contract for three more seasons after 2010 (with a $13 million option for 2014), and will be paid $28.75 through 2013, which means he nearly outplayed the entire value of his five-year contract in one year. So not only might he be the best pitcher in the American League, he might also be the best value, too.

And despite those eye-popping 2009 numbers, he's arguably having his best season ever this year. Though the strikeouts are a tick down and the walks a tick up, his HR/9 has nearly halved itself from 0.89 to 0.46 while his BAA has plummeted from .245 to .207. His 2.92 ERA is good for sixth-best in the AL and his 2.89 FIP is third, again behind Liriano and Lee.

Here are the top 10 WARs for American League pitchers in the last three seasons:











And here is, by my count, the top three cumulative WARs in the American League over the last three seasons:










Now if Doc Halladay had compiled the 4.8 WAR he's accumulated this season with the Phillies in the American League, he'd be the top dog on this list, with 19.5. And if you add Lee's 2.4 with Philadelphia last year to his three-year AL total, he'd be second with 18.1. Which can't help but reopen the old question from this past offseason of Why on earth didn't Ruben Amaro do whatever it took to keep both Lee and Halladay? I would've been freaking the heck out this past offseason had I been a Philly fan, having missed out on the chance to staff one of the most devastating one-two combinations in baseball history!

Also, you may notice down there in ninth place is Gavin Floyd, also a former Phillie. Granted, Floyd's last season in Philadelphia in 2006 was pretty terrible (-0.7 WAR) and I doubt anyone could've foreseen what Floyd would end up becoming, but it's still pretty ridiculous to think that the Phillies hypothetically could've had three of the top 9 in AL WAR over the last three seasons in their starting rotation.

But I digress. This is supposed to be a post about Jon Lester, after all.

As you can see from the above chart, one could make a very strong case for Lester as the best pitcher in the American League. I know Greinke has him beat by 2.1 WAR over the past three seasons, but Greinke's also had the benefit of making most of his starts against lesser competition in the AL Central, while Lester not only pitches in the strongest division in baseball but does so in perhaps the friendliest offensive home ballpark in the league. And he's a year younger than Greinke!

In any event, with apologies to Zach Greinke, I think it's safe to say that Jon Lester has become the best pitcher in the American League. Although if there's one other important bit to be gleaned from that cumulative WAR list, it's that I now want the Yankees to sign Cliff Lee this offseason even moreso than I did previously, which I didn't realize was possible.

Photo c/o Getty Images

Granderson bails Yankee offense out with another game-winning home run in 3-2 Yankee victory

So I know Curtis Granderson's first season in pinstripes hasn't gone quite the way many of had hoped/expected, but it's hard to deny the man's had something of a flair for the dramatic, between blasting a home run off Josh Beckett in his first Yankee at-bat, hitting the game-winning home run off Jonathan Papelbon in the third game of the year, cracking the go-ahead bomb in the second game of the Mets series at home and pumping the go-ahead shot against Arizona in the desert, nearly half of Curtis' 2010 home runs have been very memorable.

And so Curtis once again bailed the Yankee offense out with a mammoth go-ahead two-run jack in top of the eighth, leading the Yankees to a 3-2 victory. Jake Westbrook had somehow allowed only three hits at that point, and so it wasn't terribly surprising that the Yanks were down by one. Still, it was Jake Westbrook, and it almost seemed comical that the Yankees were once again barely mustering any runs for Javier Vazquez, who also pitched quite nicely himself -- sign me up for 7 innings of two-run ball all day every day. If not for Grandy's home run there's an excellent chance we'd all be grumbling about how on earth the Yankees could only muster one measly run against the Indians. Nick Swisher knocked in the Yankees' other run on a solo blast, his fifth of the month.

The bullpen also acquitted itself nicely, with David Robertson tossing 0.2 scoreless innings, Boone Logan retiring the one batter he faced and Mariano Rivera picking up his 21st save. Interestingly, Joe Girardi did not go to Joba Chamberlain in the eighth inning in this one. While I'm sure many Yankee fans breathed sighs of relief, Joba's going to need meaningful work of some kind to be an effective option down the line, although he obviously hasn't done much of late to be trusted with a one-run lead.

On a side note, congratulations to Matt Garza on throwing the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay history. Incredibly that's the fifth no-hitter of the season, and it must be nice for Tampa to finally not be in the receiving end of a no-no.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Series Preview: Yankees vs. Indians II

The Yankees (62-35, 1st place in AL East, 3-game lead) head to Cleveland to play four games against the sad Indians (41-57, last place in AL Central) for the final time this season. Last time the two teams squared off during Memorial Day Weekend the Yankees won three of four, and really should have swept if not for an epic meltdown by Joba Chamberlain.

In tonight's game the Yankees will send the enigmatic Javier Vazquez (4.68 ERA; 4.93 FIP; 4.60 xFIP) to the mound against Jake Westbrook (4.74 ERA; 4.59 FIP; 4.44 xFIP). Vazquez was cruising in his last start before completely unraveling in the fifth, though one would hope that he has enough to keep the Indians' mediocre offense at bay. Jake Westbrook is having a fairly typical Jake Westbrook season, and the Yankees always seem to hit him pretty well, so this one should be in the bag for the good guys.

In the second game, CC Sabathia (3.18 ERA; 3.64 FIP; 3.88 xFIP) faces rookie Josh Tomlin. Ordinarily Sabathia against anyone makes a Yankee fan feel pretty damn good about their team's chances, although unfortunately the Indians are countering with a pitcher making his Major League debut, and we all know how that tends to go for the Yanks. Just once I'd like to see them welcome a kid to the Majors with an absolute pounding.

In Wednesday's game A.J. Burnett (4.77 ERA; 4.75 FIP; 4.78 xFIP) goes up against Fausto Carmona (3.51 ERA; 4.00 FIP; 4.52 xFIP). Burnett seemed to recover in his last outing against Kansas City, but I'll need to see a string of solid performances before I start to regain confidence. Carmona is probably the Tribe's best starter, but the Yanks haven't had too much trouble getting to him the past few seasons, and should be able to do so again at hitter-friendly Progressive Field, or whatever the hell they're calling the ballpark in Cleveland these days.

And in the finale, Dustin Moseley (4.22 ERA; 5.73 FIP; 4.70 xFIP) gets the nod over Sergio Mitre against though the Yankees haven't officially announced it yet, Sergio Mitre (2.88 ERA; 4.67 FIP; 4.58 xFIP), world beater of world beaters, is expected to take on Mitch Talbot (3.89 ERA; 4.44 FIP; 4.88 xFIP). Talbot actually pitched pretty well against the Yanks back on Memorial Day, giving up three runs over six and a third innings, but his bullpen blew the game wide open. Despite a sterling effort in relief on Saturday, I'm not sure how much of an upgrade Moseley is over Mitre, but I guess at this point anything's better than Mitre. If Moseley gets in trouble, Mitre will almost certainly be the first man out of the 'pen.

Here are the two teams' offense and pitching numbers:






You don't need me to show you the numbers to know that the Indians are having another bad year. When you're hanging around the bottom three in the American League in both wOBA and FIP, you're going to have a tough time winning a lot of games.

Much to my enjoyment, the Yankees have finally returned to their rightful perch leading the American League in wOBA after trailing the recently limping Red Sox offense for the past month or so. Interestingly, the Yankees' offensive numbers have all risen for the most part since the All-Star break, while the overall pitching numbers have fallen. While I do love having an offensive juggernaut, it'd be great to see the pitching get back to what it's been doing for the majority of the year.

If you read the series previews you know that I typically refuse to call a four-game sweep no matter how bad one's opponent might be, because even the Indians are fully capable of beating the Yankees at least once in a four-game set. That being said, the Yankees have to take three of four when facing competition as weak as Cleveland, and really should sweep after all is said and done. While the Mitre start is cause for concern, even he should be able to at least keep his team in the ballgame against the Indians.

Granderson hits two bombs as Yanks blast KC 12-6

Though not quite on par with last year's eight-game winning streak, the 2010 Yankees have acquitted themselves quite nicely since coming out of the All-Star Break, going 6-3 over their last nine games.

The homestand was capped by a 12-6 win over lowly Kansas City yesterday. Phil Hughes was slightly better this time out, throwing 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball in a rain-shortened appearance, although surrendering a home run to light-hitting Scott Podsednik is borderline unacceptable. That Podsednik would go on to hit a second home run off of Joba Chamberlain in the eighth is absolutely disgraceful on the Yankees' part. There's been a lot of virtual ink spilled on Joba and his struggles of late, and at this point I'm not sure what the Yankees should do with Chamberlain. Thankfully the Scotty Pods home run came after the Yankees had padded their lead, but it would've been insanely frustrating had it tied the game. I still believe that Joba is too talented to continue having such poor results, but at some point he's going to need to start showing all of his supporters that we're not crazy.

Sean O'Sullivan was unable to replicate his "The Yankees have never faced me before" magic in his second straight outing against them, with five innings of five-run ball. That's more like it.

Nearly the entire offense got in on the action -- save Jorge Posada and his 0-5 -- highlighted by Curtis Granderson's first multi-home run game as a Yankee. There was a scare in the bottom of the eighth as Alex Rodriguez took a pitch off his hand, but thankfully it wasn't as serious as it initially appeared.

All in all, it's been a solid stretch for the Yankees, as they managed to pick up a game on the Rays. Additionally, the Yankees have done exactly what I asked them to do back on July 6 with regards to putting some distance between themselves and Boston, as the Red Sox have fallen from 3.5 games back on that day to 8 games back. I will never count Boston out until they are mathematically eliminated, but it's still nice to see such a wide gap at the present time.

Also, Dan Haren for Joe Saunders and a couple of minor leaguers? Really, Arizona? Those minor leaguers better be incredible, because otherwise this is an absurdly lopsided deal -- that practically feels like the Yankees centering a trade for Haren around Sergio Mitre.

Is the Sergio Mitre Era over yet?

Get well soon, Andy.

Filling in for the injured Andy Pettitte, Sergio Mitre was horrendous, digging the Yankees an early hole from the get-go en route to a 7-4 loss. Though the team made a few valiant attempts to dig themselves out, it's pretty hard to win when your starter gives up seven runs, even if only five of them were earned. Dustin Moseley deserves props for his relief work, pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings for the remainder of the game.

Royals starter Kyle Davies wasn't great (5 1/3 IP, 4ER), but was effective enough on the afternoon. The offensive fireworks were provided by Mark Teixeira, who recorded his third multi-home run game of the year, giving him 20 on the season. Tex actually came up as the potential tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Joakim Soria, and was called out on a very close play at first that looked like it could've gone either way.

Had Tex been called safe, Alex Rodriguez would've come to the plate with the bases loaded with a chance to win the game with a grand slam that would have also been his 600th career home run, not to mention moving him one behind all-time leader Lou Gehrig in career grand slams. So yeah, it was a rather frustrating call by the ump, but that's baseball.

The Yanks look to take the series tomorrow afternoon with Phil Hughes on the bump. Hughes only has two quality starts in his last six outings, and with Pettitte out the Yankees really need Hughes to regain some of that dominant early-season form. In a bizarre twist of fate, they'll be facing Sean O'Sullivan for the second time in the last six days. O'Sullivan was apparently traded from the Angels two days after holding the Yankees to two runs over six innings on Tuesday. The "we haven't seen him before" excuse holds absolutely no water this time around.

Yankees, rain, punish Royals

The Yankees beat up on the Royals for the 2nd night in a row. Brian Bannister gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st, which was more than enough for the Bombers to take care of business. A.J. Burnett, meanwhile, bounced back nicely from his atrocious outing last week. He only lasted 5 innings in a rain shortened performance, but allowed no runs on only 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3.

Alex Rodriguez was 2-4, but neither of those 2 was home run number 600. Fans at the Stadium didn't go away empty handed though. Milestone seekers got to see Jorge Posada pick up his 1,000th career RBI. Robinson Cano, meanwhile, is just 2 hits shy of 1,000 for his career.

The Yankees continued to beat up on the Royals after an hour and half rain delay that started in the bottom of the 5th. The final score was 7-1 in a game that was never close.

Kyle Davies takes the mound today against Sergio Mitre in the one game the Royals may realistically be able to take at the Stadium. At this point every Yankee fan following A-Rod's pursuit knows that Davies was the Royal to give up Alex's 500th home run. Game starts at 1pm.

A-Rod hits number 599 in run away victory against Royals

There was a time when this one was close, but the Yankees ran away with it late, against the very Royal bullpen I talked up yesterday. The story of this game was the hitting. Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher had 2 hits each. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez had 3 hits each. The top of the order combined for 6 extra base hits, including A-Rod's 599th career homer and an inside the park job from Derek. When the top of the order does that the Yankees win.

CC Sabathia had his strikeout pitches working, but the batters for both teams had it working as well. CC struck out 9 and walked only 4 in 6.1 innings of work, but he allowed 11 hits and 4 runs (3 ER). He also threw a season high 120 pitches in a game that was close until the bottom of the 8th.

David Robertson once again got the ball in perhaps the highest leverage situation of the game. In the 7th CC put the tying and go-ahead runs on base, prompting a call to the bullpen. Robertson inherited 2 base runners and needed to get 2 outs. He delivered, lowering his season ERA to 4.76.

Joba Chamberlain struggled again in the 8th inning. He allowed no runs to score in what was then a 2 run ball game, but he loaded the bases and never looked in control. Despite all his talk about Joba needing to earn his job, Joe Girardi has yet to turn to anyone else in the 8th inning.

The Yankees scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to run away with the game. A-Rod came up with Tex on 2nd base and an opportunity to hit his 600th. The crowd wanted it, but they would have to settle for an RBI double, Alex's 3rd extra base hit and 4th RBI on the night.

Not even Chan Ho Park could blow a 10-4 ballgame in the 9th inning. The Royals were the Royals.

Alex will try again for number 600 tomorrow night. A.J. Burnett looks to bounce back against Brian Bannister. Forget the pitching. All eyes will be on A-Rod and what he does with the bat. Here's hoping for a quick 600th and another strong outing from the offense.

Series Preview: Yankees vs. Royals

The Yankees play the Royals today for the first time this year in game 1 of a 4 game set at the Stadium. Kansas City comes in as, well, Kansas City, with a 41-53 record overall. Bruce Chen (5-3, 4.06 ERA) takes the mound against CC Sabathia in the series opener. Although coming off a Yankee win (no-decision for the big guy), CC is looking to rebound a bit from a shaky outing Friday against the Rays.

For those of us watching Alex Rodriguez's every at-bat (I count myself in that category), Chen has apparently owned A-Rod. Alex is 5-22 against the lefty. Fortunately, the red hot Mark Teixeira has beat this guy like a drum. Tex is 7-11 against Chen with 6 (yes, 6 of his 7 hits off this guy have gone yard) home runs. Also, Derek Jeter is 11-28 against Chen, which ain't too shabby. The Yankees have faced Chen before so they should win this one.

On Friday A.J. Burnett will try not to hurt himself against Brian Bannister (7-8, 5.65 ERA). Hopefully good A.J. will show up, but who knows. The key to this game will beating up Bannister, not getting through to the Royals' bullpen. KC has a surprisingly good bullpen (more on that in a minute). This one could go either way, so I'm sticking with the home team.

On Saturday Sergio Mitre makes his triumphant return (Andy Pettitte, get well soon) against Kyle Davies (4-6, 5.45 ERA). This one has slug fest written all over it. I see neither of these guys lasting more than 5, with each giving up at least 4 runs. I'll choose the Royals here because I trust their bullpen more than ours.

Phil Hughes pitches against Anthony Lerew (1-4, 8.54 ERA) in the series finale. On the one hand, this is Lerew's first year as a starter in the AL and the Yankees have never seen him before. On the other hand, he's terrible. I'm going with the Bombers in this one. I don't think it'll be the rout that it should be, but this pitcher stinks and Hughes has a habit of coming back against bad teams. I also think it helps that the Royals have yet to face him this year.

So, about that Royals' bullpen, or why I don't think the Yankees will sweep. The worst pitcher this year in the KC bullpen is Blake Wood with an ERA+ of 90. Joakim Soria, the KC closer, has a 178 ERA+, and is one of the best closers in baseball. Rob Tejeda is pitching to an ERA+ of 132. Lefty Dusty Hughes has an ERA+ of 94, which should be good enough to strike out Curtis Granderson. Finally, Kyle Farnsworth (yes, him) is dealing, with an ERA+ of 174. The Royals have 3 relievers with an ERA+ above 100, 2 with an ERA+ above 170 (!), and 2 more who are just below average but still reliable.

The Yankee bullpen, on the other hand, has God, and then one other reliever with an ERA+ above 100 - none other than Boone Logan! (God, by the way, has ERA+ of 405!) Technically Damaso Marte, Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre all have ERA+'s above 100, except one of them is a starter now and the other 2 are hurt. After that the next best Yankee reliever is David Robertson, who's ERA+ is 82. An ERA+ of 80, you may recall, is replacement level. And before you say that Robertson has been stronger of late remember that his WHIP is 1.67. It's just a matter of time. Bluntly, I think the Royals can beat the Yankees in a close late inning game, even at the Stadium, unless they give the rock to Farnsworth.

To throw a little more fuel on this fire, the Royals can hit. They hit so well that they are leading the Major Leagues in BA at .281. Only 3 everyday Yankees are hitting better than that. For the record, I stand by my earlier prediction that the Yankees take this series 3-1. I'm just pointing out that it isn't the romp it should be. The Royals are bad because their starting pitching sucks, but they can hit and their bullpen is flat out better than the Yankees'. That 3-1 prediction could easily turn out to be 2-2 if A.J., Mitre or Phil can't get the job done. Tampa, meanwhile, has an off day before going to Cleveland for 3.