As Bachman-Turner Overdrive once said, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” This phrase applies to the 2010 New York Yankees. As mentioned in previous posts, this team is so far ahead of the ’09 championship team. A year ago, this team was only 8 games over .500. After taking 2 out of 3 against their crosstown rivals the New York Mets, they are 17 games over. All this quite honestly, without playing their best baseball. They lack their true DH, a productive everyday catcher, 2 corner infielders that have yet to play their best ball, a shortstop who knows he can elevate his play, and two important bullpen pieces out.
The 7-9 batters have been rather lacking on paper the last few weeks. We’ve seen Gardner, Russo, Pena. Gardner, Cervelli, Russo. You name it, we’ve seen it. Just wait until Jorge Posada and Nick Johnson are back playing everyday. Now, we’re not likely to see NJ for awhile, but even just getting Posada back fulltime will be a big boost. Don’t get me wrong, Gardner has been incredible, Cervelli has still shown flashes even during this “cooldown” period, but having a Russo or a Pena in there everyday is weak. Once this lineup has those two parts back, you know starting pitchers are going to grinded down, especially with Nick Johnson’s patience and great eye.
Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez haven’t taken off yet. I mean, can you EVEN IMAGINE, what this team would be doing if these two were even having just GOOD years? Let that settle in for a second. Coming into Saturday, A-Rod was homering every 28.9 at bats on average. That’s DOUBLE the amount of at bats for his career! Frightening I know, but like last year, we have to assume he’ll heat up after he is back to 100% from this hip/groin thing. As for Tex, his numbers are pretty decent since May 26th coming into Sunday’s game. While only hitting .264, he is getting on base at a .385 clip. Of his 23 hits in 87 at bats, 9 of them went for extra bases. If Teixeira doesn’t got 3 for 4 every game, people really only look at his batting average and consider him to still be struggling. But with that grand slam on Sunday, he’s starting to sharpen things up.
Mark Teixeira has struggled, and the Yankees are still winning a lot of ball games.
We know Derek Jeter can be better. He hasn’t batted below .300 since 2004. He’s never had a OBP below .352. He’s the consummate professional and hasn’t looked old and over matched. He’ll heat up at some point too; he’s as sure a thing as there is.
Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves return will be huge as well. Aceves was such a key reliever for the Yankees last year when they were looking for a go to guy. Phil Hughes wasn’t flipped yet. Brian Bruney was hurt. And it was Ace who got New York through May and parts of June. He doesn’t have the most devastating stuff, but his control is great. And Mitre has learned to control his sinker, which is his #1 pitch. When you can get your #1 pitch to go where you want it, all your secondary stuff can be mixed in accordingly and effectively. These two guys will provide some relief to a shaky bullpen outside of Mariano Rivera, and for now, David Robertson.
So all in all, this Yankee team is already off to a great start. They have the best record in Major League Baseball, even considering all the injuries and cold everyday guys. They arguably have the best pitching rotation in baseball. Their hitting still is top 5 in many major categories. This team is going to play even better and get even hotter. The 2010 New York Yankees, as I’ve mentioned, will be a special team…a team, that still hasn’t scratched the surface. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Filed under: MLB
