Nate’s takes: Colon, Long, Tex, Hughes & Gardner

All right, now that I’ve introduced myself let’s talk about this season. First I just wanted to say that anything that has happened in the first three games means very little. As fans, we tend to overreact to small sample sizes so I will do my best to keep things in perspective.

In a wild first three games that featured home run after home run, the Yankees have to be happy with taking two of three from a potential contender. Although Sunday’s game wasn’t pretty from the pitching side, Yankee fans are drooling over what this offense can do this year. I have made a list of my observations so far in this young season.

Guest Blogger Nathan Hirsch makes his debut on lenNY’s Yankees

Hey readers, my name is Nathan Hirsch and Lenny has given me an opportunity to do some guest blogging. The idea is for me to make a weekly post every Monday morning. Hopefully I can help Lenny expand and improve on what has already been a successful blog. Every week I would like to do a summary of the week that was, along with a look ahead at the upcoming schedule. For this post, I would like to introduce myself and hopefully get to know some of the readers.

Kevin Long: Derek Jeter will hit in top 3rd

Finally, the Yankees are pondering the idea of moving Brett Gardner to the leadoff spot, as one of my Twitter followers pointed out. My idea was to put Gardner first, Nick Swisher or Curtis Granderson second, and then some combination of Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Kevin Long’s idea, however, has Derek Jeter in the top three no matter what.

Mark Feinsand of the Daily News also wrote that he’d expect to see Jeter move down only to the two spot, not seventh like I expected.

A-Rod: Mark Teixeira is gonna have a ‘monster season’

John Harper of the Daily News wrote this morning about the possibility of moving Robinson Cano higher in the order. I have pushed that idea ever since last season ended, but Alex Rodriguez gave me a reason to think otherwise.

“I can see why you might want to make the move,” Rodriguez said, “but we won a championship this way in 2009. We led the league in runs last year, too. And here's the big thing: Tex is going to have a monster season.”

The only more valuable source than A-Rod on the matter is hitting coach Kevin Long, and he agreed Mark Teixeira could have a big year.

Derek Jeter is keeping the change in his swing from the end of last year

Derek Jeter this morning gave me a reason to believe he can have a comeback season in 2011. Jeter will continue to work at the swing adjustment he made last September — eliminating his stride — which helped him finish the season with a .342/.436/.392 hitting line in the last 19 games.

Hitting coach Kevin Long says the change is a result of the rising popularity of the cutter — especially with lefties like Jon Lester.

A.J. Burnett Featured Card of the Week

A.J. Burnett is this week’s featured Yankee card.

Post: Yanks, Long reach three-year deal

One week after letting go of pitching coach Dave Eiland and then re-signing manager Joe Girardi, the Yankees have agreed to re-sign Kevin Long to a three-year deal, according to the New York Post.

The Post reported Long will receive a raise from his previous deal, which earned him $400K annually.

The Post also reported bullpen coach Mike Harkey is a “strong candidate” to replace Eiland as pitching coach.

Nothing here is official, but assuming it’s true, I of course am not complaining. Several Yankees raved about Long the past few years. And I can’t say I’ve heard the same about Eiland.

As for Harkey, here are his career pitching stats:

A-Rod breaks out in Royal dismantling

While I was at Citi Field watching the Mets get embarrassed by rabid Phillies fans, the Yankees were at work in Kansas City. Alex Rodriguez powered the charge with his fourth career three-home run game and five RBIs in an 8-3 blasting of the Royals.

Best of All: It was A-Rod’s best game all season, and he put it all together in his last three at-bats. Even better news: A-Rod is saying Kevin Long found something in his swing that made the difference tonight.

Long has also made a big impact on Curtis Granderson, who slugged his 11th homer and hit two balls to the warning track tonight. I’m starting to think the new Yankees team MVP is K-Long.

Jorge Posada also homered and reached base in three out of five chances. Every Yankee hitter had at least one hit tonight.

Worst of All: Phil Hughes pitched a quality start, but didn’t strike out a single better.

Coming Up: The Yankees look for the series victory Sunday afternoon. Be sure to join the conversation with me on Twitter!

Discussion: Team chemistry and “clutch”

I hate to deviate away from the Yankees when they’re winning like this, but sometimes I like to analyze general baseball issues too. Give this article from The Faster Times a read: Can Team Chemistry and Clutch Hitting Be Analyzed Better?

It discusses two controversial subjects that I always love to discuss. I’ve touched on team chemistry on this blog before, and I still stand by my opinions, but not so much on the idea of “clutch” players.

The Faster Times article links you to an article from the Wall Street Journal yesterday about Francisco Cervelli’s clutch hitting. You can look deep into the numbers, and I mean, really deep, but in some situations I think observational analysis is more valuable than statistical analysis.

“[Cervelli’s] at-bats throughout the season with runners in scoring position have been real good,” Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said. “Some people really bear down and they seize the moment, so to speak, a little bit more than others, and he seems to be one of those guys.”

I think Long describes clutch hitting perfectly here. Broadcasters will toss around that term loosely, but isn’t being “clutch” really just seizing the moment?

I believe team chemistry can generate wins, not just vice versa, and I believe some players are better at seizing the moment than others. I’m also willing to bet that, although they may seem like unrelated ideas, these  two concepts go hand in hand.

I’d love to hear your take on both these concepts in the comments.

Discussion: Time to tell Jeter to slide over?

Matt Imbrogno of The Yankee U thinks it’s time to move Derek Jeter out of the leadoff spot. He makes an extremely reasonable case — be sure to read the whole thing — but I just don’t think it’s quite time for the Yankees to lose hope in the Captain and make room for Brett Gardner.

Imbrogno’s post brought me back to an article by Joel Sherman from a couple weeks ago, which featured hitting coach Kevin Long sticking up for Jeter. To me, the really key part of Sherman’s article — and this really tough debate — lies right here:

… Long said this decision cannot be made on paper, not when a decision like this would disrespect such an important figure and unsettle the clubhouse.

“If this room is not happy, you don't win games,” Long said.

Also, there is wonder if Gardner is emotionally prepared to handle leading off in a pennant race. After all, in the two-week period in May in which he was elevated to be the primary No. 2 hitter, Gardner's at-bats progressively worsened and he hit .233 in that span.

“Every time we have moved Gardner to the top of the lineup he has been awful,” Long said. “I think there is a progression in these things. I think it would have been a disaster to hit Robinson Cano fifth two years ago, but now he is great at it. I think Gardner will eventually be terrific as a leadoff man.”

In Sum: Even though Gardner might have Jeter beat for the leadoff spot on paper, the move wouldn’t be healthy for the clubhouse. Also, in situations this year when Gardner has hit high in the order, his great numbers haven’t carried over, which is why Long thinks moving Cano up in the order would’ve been a mistake two years ago.

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I’d like to hear what readers think of this great debate. How many stick up for Jeter, and how many agree with Imbrogno — that it’s time for a change?

Royals-Yankees series preview

The Yankees cap a nine-game homestand with the Royals this weekend with a four-game series in the Bronx.

The Royals have the top team batting average in baseball but rank fifth worst in team ERA. They’ve won just two of their last nine games separating themselves in the bottom of the pack in the AL Central.

The Yankees’ pitching hasn’t been the same after the All-Star break, but they’ve managed to win three out of five games against contending teams.

The Royals will be no slouch this weekend, as life begins without Andy Pettitte on Saturday.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Royals starters	Yankees starters
Thurs., 7:05 p.m.	Bruce Chen (5-3, 4.06)	CC Sabathia (12-3, 3.13)
Fri., 7:05 p.m.	Brian Bannister (7-8, 5.65)	A.J. Burnett (7-8, 4.99)
Sat., 1:05 p.m.	Kyle Davies (4-6, 5.45)	Sergio Mitre (0-1, 2.88)
Sun., 1:05 p.m.	Anthony Lerew (1-4, 8.54)	Phil Hughes (11-3, 3.99)

Players to Watch:
Royals: David Dejesus. He’s hitting .320/.386/.446 and the Yankees have been linked to him this year as a possible bench utility player.

Yankees: Nick Swisher. He’s got three multi-hit games in his past five and he’s hitting .358/.419/.642 in July. Mark Teixeira is another guy to keep an eye on, especially after hitting coach Kevin Long revealed the flaw he discovered in Tex’s swing.

Prediction:
The Royals’ pitching is really hurting lately, but the Yankees have pitching issues of their own. Something tells me a bad series this weekend could trigger a rushed move. I’ll say the Yankees split the series, based on the last round through the rotation.

Kevin Long for MVP: He fixed Teixeira!

Read this nugget from Mike Mazzeo of the Star-Ledger.

Now that is a valid excuse of a coach being the main cause for a player’s turnaround. Sorry, A.J. Burnett, but I don’t think Dave Eiland made close to the same impact on you that Kevin Long made on Mark Teixeira.

There you have it, K-Long for MVP!

Just like last year

The Yankees continued last year’s trend of winning by way of the walk-off in the 2010 spring opener against the Pirates.

Also like last year, we found the final blow could come off anyone’s bat. Today, it was off the bat of Colin Curtis (not to be confused with Chad Curtis). Here’s a brief Q&A with the young hero.

But sadly, Curtis received no pie to the face from A.J. Burnett. Apparently, however, Burnett was pied by Kevin Long at the arcade trip yesterday.

Also, everyone looked good on the mound except for Jonathan Albaladejo. Remember, though, it’s the pitchers that are ahead of the hitters at this point of the spring. Never liked big Alba anyway.

Good stuff, Yanks.

Photo

Music to my ears

Robinson Cano's hitting struggles in 2008 didn't magically fix themselves. If you don't believe in magic, that credit belongs to hitting coach Kevin Long. And he's at it again this year.

Long has already spent time in the batting cage this offseason with Nick Swisher, who hit to the tune of .241 last season and .128 in the postseason.

"Swish is a fastball hitter, and in the playoffs, he got a steady diet of offspeed stuff," Long said. "They were able to throw them for strikes, and Swish's swing has a lot of movement to it. The new mechanics are going to control some of those movements and put him in a better position."

I already smell a turnaround from the lovable right fielder.

Next up this week for Long is Alex Rodriguez. Hip surgery this offseason could have slowed him up this year, but Dr. Marc Philippon gave him good news.

Long said there is no reason to expect that A-Rod won't hit the ground running in 2010, noting that the Yankees figured out how to tweak his rest regimen during a June series in Atlanta -- when he was hitting just .207 -- and reaped the rewards through the rest of the year.

Beautiful. But Long's not done yet.

Next week, he plans on spending time with newly acquired outfielder Curtis Granderson, who has had some series issues against left-handers in the past.

"He's obviously more productive against right-handed pitching," Long said. "My job is to try to get him to feel as comfortable as possible, without forcing it. I don't know what he's done in the past, but I'd really like to get a sense of his mentality against left-handed pitching."

Just imagine if Granderson improves his numbers against lefties a little bit. He's already crushing righties - and in Yankee Stadium - he could be in line for a huge year if Long can fix his Achilles' heel.

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While you're reading this, I'll be at Madison Square Garden watching the Knicks, hopefully enjoying a blowout victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Granderson will wear No. 14 (Update on Johnny talks)

Today was Curtis Granderson’s first press conference as a Yankee. Since he couldn’t have No. 28 because of Joe Girardi’s stupid system, Granderson settled for half. Fourteen was also his number in high school, so I’m sure he’ll be fine if there was any superstition around No. 28.

This is more good news on the Yankees’ front:

Eager to get started, the new center fielder, who batted .183 vs. LHP last season, has already spoken to Kevin Long. The two plan on meeting this winter, either in Chicago, where Granderson lives, or in Arizona, where Long is located. Alex Rodriguez said hitters can expect a 10-15 percent jump in production thanks to Long, and believes he will help Granderson improve on his weaknesses.

Win.

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Meanwhile, talks have stalled with Johnny Damon. It’s pretty simple, Damon (probably Scott Boras) is selling him at too high a price and the Yankees feel they have the flexibility to stand pat. However, Jorge Posada thinks the deal will get done. He also agrees with me about signing another starter to allow Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes to move to the bullpen (sorry to sound like a broken record).

Kevin Long Featured Yankee Card of the Week

If you are asking yourself, “What’s Kevin Long doing on a baseball card?” You are not alone. The hitting coach for the Yankees somehow found his way onto a baseball card. I have tons of manager cards, but this is my one and only hitting coach card.

Long may not be fully responsible for one of the best offensive clubs in baseball, but he may have played a big role in Robinson Cano’s turnaround season. As a team, the Yankees rank either first or second in the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs and runs. Sounds like Long’s job is safe, for now.