OR THOSE? There’s also no denying the likes of Mark Teixeira (above left) and Alex Rodriguez, who haven’t seen the field yet this season, will make the team immeasurably better, the Post’s Ken Davidoff says. (Anthony J Causi)
OR THOSE? There’s also no denying the likes of Mark Teixeira (above left) and Alex Rodriguez, who haven’t seen the field yet this season, will make the team immeasurably better, the Post’s Ken Davidoff says. (Anthony J Causi)
Here at the traditional Memorial Day weekend milepost, we know little for certain about these surprising Yankees, besides this:
They’re the most popular Bronx baseball team in a long time.
They don’t hit too many home runs, don’t make too much money, and don’t fall short of ludicrously high expectations. Most pertinent, they don’t motivate the masses to say, “We need Jeter, A-Rod, Teixeira, Youkilis, etc.!!!”
To the contrary, the latest working theory I’ve heard while stumbling through Yankee Universe is that some fans don’t want the injured guys to come back at all, that the Yankees are better off with the “fun” current group.
There’s an easy response to those folks: Be careful what you wish for. The more players the Yankees can activate off the disabled list, the higher chance they will have at turning this special start into a special season.
There’s nothing fun in an undermanned team turning a fast start into a heartbreaking finish. Just ask the 2007 Mets.
Entering tonight’s series opener with the Rays at Tropicana Field, the Yankees (28-18) have scored 195 runs and allowed 172, meaning they have overplayed their expected (Pythagorean) record of 26-20 by two wins. That’s a tribute to manager Joe Girardi’s button-pushing and the bullpen’s excellence. It also means the Yankees have played with scant room for error.
On their disabled list, the Yankees have a catcher (Francisco Cervelli), a first baseman (Mark Teixeira), two shortstops (Derek Jeter and Eduardo Nunez), a third baseman (Alex Rodriguez) a dual-corner infielder (Kevin Youkilis), three starting pitchers (Ivan Nova, Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda) and a reliever (Joba Chamberlain). Chamberlain and Nova are probably the closest to returning, Jeter and A-Rod the furthest. Teixeira will start his official rehabilitation assignment Tuesday at Double-A Trenton, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said yesterday.
The pitching staff has held up quite well, putting together a 3.58 ERA that ranked second (behind Texas) in the American League entering yesterday’s action. Nevertheless, Chamberlain can help the bullpen, and Nova can replace Vidal Nuno in the starting rotation until Pettitte returns (soon, the Yankees hope) — at which point the team would have the interesting decision of keeping the disappointing Nova or the successful David Phelps as a starter.
Teixeira, should he complete his rehabilitation in good health — no guarantee, as Cashman conceded earlier this week — would replace Lyle Overbay, who has earned the Yankees’ eternal gratitude with his last-minute production but who looks pretty cooked (eight hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly in his last 42 plate appearances).
The Yankees hope they will have multiple transitions to endure and decisions to make as guys gradually come off the DL. All won’t go smoothly. We already have seen Curtis Granderson, the one big name to return after an extended absence, pick up four hits and a walk in his first 24 plate appearances over six games.
Then Granderson surged Wednesday night in Baltimore, delivering a single, double and home run, and there’s your lesson. The Yankees can withstand a few (or many) awkward re-introductions as long as the returning player gets enough coverage from his teammates. The Yankees went 3-3 as Granderson worked to rediscover his plate timing.
When the Yankees announced last month Jeter had sustained a new fracture in his left ankle, Cashman said, “I’m happy with Nixy. I’m happy with Nuny. But I would be happier with Derek.”
Nunez is down, too, with Reid Brignac now on the scene. Jayson “Nixy” has been needed at both shortstop and third base, with rookie David Adams providing a welcome burst at the hot corner. They all deserve credit. None, however, should be regarded as superior to the injured player he’s replacing.