Disclosure: This post
was written after Sunday’s rainout and the editor of this blog failed to post
Nate’s Takes during the usually scheduled time – Monday morning.
After a tough series in Boston
the Yankees had an OK homestand and continued to keep pace with Boston in the AL East race. Mariano Rivera struggled in three
straight outings causing Yankee fans to once again wonder if he was done. Curtis Granderson continued to crank
home run after home run and the rotation seems to get more crowed be the day. With
Alex Rodriguez days away from joining
the lineup here are my takes.
Rivera has had blimps in August before. I refuse to believe
that he is done until it actually happens.
Should A-Rod be the Yankees’ full-time DH when he gets
back? This would make Eduardo Nunez and Eric Chavez as a platoon at third base. I think this would give A-Rod
more of a chance to stay healthy the rest of the year and have a productive
postseason. I can’t believe he isn’t even halfway done with this horrendous
contract yet.
ESPN defensive stats showed Granderson as the worst
defensive center fielder in baseball this year. I didn’t see that one coming. He
seems to get to a good amount of balls in the outfield, although this year he
did have a few misplays.
Nunez is
starting to remind me of a young Robinson
Cano. He can hit the ball anywhere, but fails to show great plate
discipline. That does not mean he can’t be a productive player. I am surprised
the Yankees farm system doesn’t put a higher emphasis on plate discipline like Boston’s does.
Any chance Rafael Soriano will opt out of his contract if he has a good
final few months? Yankee fans can only hope.
I hate to think this way, but could we be watching CC Sabathia’s final few starts in a
Yankee uniform?
Freddy Garcia not
disclosing how he cut his hand reminds me of A.J. Burnett not telling the media how he got a black eye. The
Yankee PR department continues to do a great job since 2004.
With a rain out Sunday, the Yankees will push their rotation
back one day. Burnett will try to
finally win a game on Monday against a pretty bad Royals team (he did). If it were up to me the Yankees should have
just skipped A.J. this time through the rotation. The Yankees will play 15 out
of the next 18 games on the road as they enter the worst part of the schedule. With
the wild card basically locked up all that’s left is to chase Boston for home-field advantage in the ALCS
(hint, hint).
