Thursday, June 30, 2011

ISSUE #14

Week Thirteen
“Mets vs. Yankees (take II)”

It's here, for the last times my friends and I want you to enjoy all the fireworks between this weekend’s Subway Series!

New York Yankees
(48 - 31)
1st place
 



 

Pitching
Pitching Stats
Totals47312284222709.0661306280652515433.551.29.246
League RankT22T10T216T20T29258689132210T11T8
Cory Wade
5
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
5.0
2
0
0
0
0
3
0.00
0.40
.125
David Robertson
35
0
1
0
0
2
16
0
0
32.1
23
5
4
0
20
52
1.11
1.33
.192
Luis Ayala
22
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
24.1
22
4
4
1
8
18
1.48
1.23
.256
Mariano Rivera
33
0
1
1
21
3
0
0
0
31.1
26
6
6
1
4
27
1.72
0.96
.230
Jeff Marquez
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4.0
5
1
1
0
0
2
2.25
1.25
.278
Lance Pendleton
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
12.0
8
3
3
2
8
7
2.25
1.33
.182
Joba Chamberlain
27
0
2
0
0
1
12
0
0
28.2
23
10
9
3
7
24
2.83
1.05
.228
Bartolo Colon
13
10
5
3
0
0
0
1
1
78.1
66
29
27
9
18
72
3.10
1.07
.227
CC Sabathia
17
17
10
4
0
0
0
1
0
122.0
119
51
44
5
30
93
3.25
1.22
.253
Freddy Garcia
15
14
7
6
0
0
0
0
0
85.0
84
34
31
9
27
56
3.28
1.31
.259
Boone Logan
28
0
2
2
0
0
2
0
0
19.0
17
8
7
1
9
15
3.32
1.37
.230
Hector Noesi
8
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
21.2
22
9
9
2
7
10
3.74
1.34
.268
A.J. Burnett
17
17
8
6
0
0
0
0
0
106.2
90
53
48
14
45
85
4.05
1.27
.228
Ivan Nova
16
15
7
4
0
0
0
0
0
86.2
91
47
41
9
35
48
4.26
1.45
.265
Buddy Carlyle
8
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
7.2
5
4
4
1
7
9
4.70
1.57
.185
Brian Gordon
2
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
10.1
12
6
6
3
3
4
5.23
1.45
.300
Kevin Whelan
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.2
0
1
1
0
5
1
5.40
3.00
.000
Rafael Soriano
16
0
1
1
1
1
9
0
0
15.0
15
9
9
1
11
10
5.40
1.73
.268
Amauri Sanit
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7.0
12
10
10
0
3
4
12.86
2.14
.353
Phil Hughes
3
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
10.1
19
16
16
4
4
3
13.94
2.23
.396
Batting
 Batting Stats
Totals2629416681122171154053125257131.259.343.450.793
League Rank29118T23T9111T95T29T11211
Eric Chávez
17
33
5
10
2
1
0
6
6
3
0
0
.303
.410
.424
.835
Álex Rodríguez
73
274
50
82
18
0
13
51
32
61
4
1
.299
.377
.507
.884
Robinson Canó
77
301
49
87
16
3
14
49
15
43
6
1
.289
.334
.502
.836
Chris Dickerson
27
18
4
5
2
0
0
3
1
8
0
0
.278
.350
.389
.739
Brett Gardner
77
231
41
64
12
4
4
18
28
46
17
10
.277
.359
.416
.774
Curtis Granderson
78
294
70
81
11
7
21
56
40
79
14
7
.276
.367
.575
.941
Derek Jeter
62
262
39
68
9
1
2
20
23
31
7
2
.260
.324
.324
.649
Nick Swisher
74
252
37
63
15
0
10
43
50
56
1
2
.250
.372
.429
.800
Mark Teixeira
77
288
48
70
12
0
24
62
42
50
2
1
.243
.352
.535
.887
Eduardo Núñez
46
103
12
25
4
1
2
12
7
9
10
4
.243
.291
.359
.650
Jorge Posada
63
200
19
48
10
0
9
27
26
47
0
2
.240
.329
.425
.754
Russell Martin
60
204
25
47
6
0
10
34
28
37
7
1
.230
.333
.407
.740
Andruw Jones
31
75
8
16
2
0
4
12
8
28
0
0
.213
.289
.400
.689
Francisco Cervelli
22
61
6
12
2
0
1
11
4
17
3
0
.197
.254
.279
.532
Gustavo Molina
3
6
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.167
.167
.333
.500
Ramiro Peña
9
15
3
2
0
0
1
1
1
3
0
0
.133
.235
.333
.569
Brian Gordon
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
.000
.500
.000
.500
VS.

New York Mets
(41 - 40)
3rd Place


Batting
Batting Stats
Totals275436772713827503392915508322.264.336.388.724
League Rank13810151T25103T111T15T541711
José Reyes
77
341
65
119
21
15
3
32
26
26
30
5
.349
.393
.525
.918
Ronny Paulino
34
104
9
36
7
0
1
9
7
16
0
0
.346
.387
.442
.830
Chris Young
4
9
1
3
0
0
0
2
0
4
0
0
.333
.333
.333
.667
Ike Davis
36
129
20
39
8
1
7
25
17
31
0
0
.302
.383
.543
.925
Daniel Murphy
76
261
33
78
13
2
4
32
17
34
4
4
.299
.344
.410
.754
Ruben Tejada
37
119
11
34
3
0
0
15
13
24
0
0
.286
.358
.311
.669
Carlos Beltrán
78
284
42
80
21
2
11
53
40
46
3
0
.282
.372
.486
.858
Justin Turner
51
187
23
50
12
0
2
33
16
23
6
2
.267
.337
.364
.700
Ángel Pagán
50
186
28
49
8
3
2
24
24
20
13
4
.263
.346
.371
.717
Josh Thole
59
174
13
44
8
0
1
21
24
25
0
2
.253
.342
.316
.658
Mike Nickeas
8
20
3
5
1
0
1
3
3
4
0
1
.250
.348
.450
.798
Fernando Martinez
9
20
3
5
2
0
1
2
1
6
0
0
.250
.286
.500
.786
Scott Hairston
47
78
10
19
4
1
3
12
8
21
1
0
.244
.322
.436
.758
Willie Harris
59
120
20
29
5
0
1
10
14
40
3
3
.242
.336
.308
.644
Jason Pridie
50
116
17
28
5
1
3
13
11
35
4
0
.241
.305
.379
.684
Jason Bay
54
199
29
47
4
1
4
21
25
54
8
1
.236
.323
.327
.650
David Wright
39
146
23
33
8
0
6
18
25
43
9
0
.226
.337
.404
.741
Lucas Duda
25
62
7
14
5
0
0
9
5
13
1
0
.226
.286
.306
.592
Brad Emaus
14
37
2
6
0
0
0
1
4
9
0
0
.162
.262
.162
.424
Jonathon Niese
16
31
0
3
0
1
0
0
2
19
0
0
.097
.152
.161
.313
Chris Capuano
16
24
1
2
2
0
0
0
0
16
0
0
.083
.083
.167
.250
Chin-lung Hu
22
20
2
1
0
0
0
1
1
11
1
0
.050
.091
.050
.141
Dillon Gee
14
21
2
1
0
0
0
1
1
11
0
0
.048
.087
.048
.135
R.A. Dickey
15
25
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
0
0
.040
.077
.040
.117
Mike Pelfrey
14
26
1
1
1
0
0
2
1
7
0
0
.038
.074
.077
.151



Pitching
Pitching Stats
Totals413921103435715.1706351322862485544.051.33.257
League Rank15T13T13T13T11T13T152120192025T101822T19T21
Chris Young
4
4
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
24.0
12
5
5
3
11
22
1.88
0.96
.146
Mike O'Connor
9
0
0
1
0
1
2
0
0
6.2
5
2
2
0
3
8
2.70
1.20
.200
Taylor Buchholz
23
0
1
1
0
0
5
0
0
26.0
22
10
9
5
7
26
3.12
1.12
.234
Bobby Parnell
19
0
2
1
0
0
2
0
0
20.0
21
9
7
2
9
24
3.15
1.50
.263
Jason Isringhausen
32
0
1
0
0
3
15
0
0
25.2
18
10
9
4
11
21
3.16
1.13
.200
Dillon Gee
15
12
8
1
0
0
0
1
0
76.0
60
30
28
5
30
51
3.32
1.18
.217
Francisco Rodríguez
37
0
1
2
20
3
0
0
0
37.0
39
15
15
3
15
41
3.65
1.46
.271
Jonathon Niese
16
16
7
6
0
0
0
0
0
98.0
100
47
40
9
32
79
3.67
1.35
.265
R.A. Dickey
17
16
4
7
0
0
1
1
0
102.2
107
49
43
12
33
71
3.77
1.36
.268
Pedro Beato
27
0
1
1
0
0
3
0
0
35.1
26
20
15
2
11
20
3.82
1.05
.211
Tim Byrdak
34
0
1
0
0
1
4
0
0
19.2
20
9
9
2
9
25
4.12
1.47
.267
Chris Capuano
17
15
7
7
0
0
1
0
0
90.2
99
45
43
13
24
77
4.27
1.36
.277
Dale Thayer
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
4.0
5
2
2
0
0
1
4.50
1.25
.333
Ryota Igarashi
15
0
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
11.2
12
6
6
1
11
15
4.63
1.97
.250
Mike Pelfrey
16
16
4
6
0
0
0
1
0
96.0
101
54
51
14
25
53
4.78
1.31
.266
D.J. Carrasco
16
1
0
2
0
1
1
0
0
20.0
22
13
13
4
9
9
5.85
1.55
.293
Manny Acosta
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8.1
13
9
9
4
3
5
9.72
1.92
.351
Pat Misch
6
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
7.0
11
8
8
1
4
5
10.29
2.14
.344
Blaine Boyer
5
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
6.2
13
8
8
2
1
1
10.80
2.10
.433


Year
Series Winner
Yankees W
Mets W
1997
Yankees
2
1
1998
Yankees
2
1
1999
Tie
3
3
2000
Yankees
4
2
2001
Yankees
4
2
2002
Tie
3
3
2003
Yankees
6
0
2004
Mets
2
4
2005
Tie
3
3
2006
Tie
3
3
2007
Tie
3
3
2008
Mets
2
4
2009
Yankees
5
1
2010
Tie
3
3
 2011
Yankees
2
1
Overall
Yankees (6–2–6)
47
34


Projected Pitching Match-ups

July 1st Friday Night at 7:10pm on WPIX/YES
Yankees @ Mets
Ivan Nova 7-4, 4.26 vs. Jon Niese 7-6, 3.67

July 2nd Saturday at 4:05 on FOX
Yankees @ Mets
Bartolo Colon 5-3, 3.10 vs. Dillon Gee 8-1, 3.32

July 3rd Sunday Afternoon at 1:05pm YES/SNY
Yankees @ Mets
Freddy Garcia 7-6, 3.28 vs. R.A. Dickey 4-7, 3.77

 
          No real seat-fillers this weekend looking at both teams starting pitchers on paper. I tend to disagree. Unlike a few weeks ago when I had no faith in the Mets pitching whatsoever the match ups this weekend look very interesting. I’m glad CC isn’t pitching…the Yankees have their 3,4,5 going this time around and it all brings the level of talent to some sort of an odd a balance. It's understandable that the powerhouse of a lineup in the Bronx, with the league leaders in team homeruns at 116 on the season, stand far better than the rest. Every Met fan in the universe would take any one of the Yankees starters (excluding the Captain’s sub Nunez of course) and place them right in the lineup immediately and be ecstatic about it. The Yankees are the better team...too bad a team that’s hot can beat any great “paper” team at any time. The Mets are sweltering of late and it’s due from a surge of offense. The Mets are raining runs down on opponents and shocking solid teams like Texas and Detroit.  Scratch out yesterday’s game against the fantastic Verlander (even though the Mets did produce 10 hits in the game) and you have a sick Queens stretch. In their four games from last Saturday to Wednesday of this week the Mets scored 52 runs (14, 8, 14, and 16). It’s remarkable and I think this type of pressure from the Mets offense can continue against these Yankee pitchers. Coming home to try and get these Met fans revved up.
            The Yankees have been quietly winning at home themselves, winning 2 out of 3 from the Rockies and sweeping the Brewers with no trouble. All this helps them to hold on to a slim lead in the AL East since last Saturday. CC struck out 13 yesterday, but all that means it he will be nowhere in sight this weekend. Ivan Nova and Jon Niese should be a decent battle. Nova faced the Mets last time pitching into the 7th inning surrendering 11 hits and 3 ERs.  He had a no-decision in the game. Niese on the other hand has pitched well, taking his ERA down to 3.67 working his way to a winning record at 7-6. How will he fair against the Yankee lineup…ah, I’d be happy with a “quality” start.
            Bartolo Colon will return from his short DL stint to face the growing fame of Dillon Gee for game two. Colon won his last three starts before heading to the DL against Oakland, the LA Angels and Cleveland. He has a sharp 3.10 ERA, but how well will he pitch after such a layoff. If the Mets do it right the hit him early and make him throw plenty of pitches. Dillion Gee bounced back from two bad starts with a win his last time out against the Rangers. It will be fun to see how true his 8-1 record is after playing in a series like this. There will be more cameras, more pressure, larger crowds and overwhelming excitement.
            The for the rubber game we get to see a May 20th rematch of Freddy Garcia verses R.A. Dickey.  Dickey is better than his 4-7 record like Nova is not as good as his 7-4 record. The game was great and was the only Met win of the weekend. Dickey pitched 6 innings giving up 1 run and struck out 6. Freddy Garcia had a good thing going him-self on May 20th in the Bronx, but gave up 2 ERs in 7 innings. That was all it took and the pitching duel came out Mets. So I love that this game is Sunday, but in all honesty it should be Sunday night.
THE EDGE: (Last Time) Yankees 70% to 30%
THE EDGE: (This Time) Mets 65% to 35% - With no CC and AJ on the hill it just doesn’t seem right for the Yankees to win with their starting pitching this weekend. On the Mets side, with no Mike Pelfrey they have another positive point going into the weekend. Huh, kinda funny.

First Base
           It’s become a fact…Mark Teixeira is a power hitter. Nothing more and nothing less. If he is not busy hitting a smash over the wall he will probably ground out into a shift defense or just simply strike out. The last option being the most common. Four out of his last five hits have been HRs and he leads the majors with 25 for the season. Daniel Murphy dug himself out of a slow first month subsequent to taking over Ike Davis’s role at 1st base. Sadly Ike is still out and not sure if a return to 2011 will be in the cards. Regardless, Murphy has been just over and just under .300 with his batting average like a bobbing head in a bucket filled with apples and water. He has been a surprise of late in the field not letting the game over take his emotions and instead letting the game come to him. Big Tex has 25 bangers (worth repeating) so far this year, but Citi Field puts a little twist in the story. It’s a hit the ball in the gap kind of town and Tex will either hit it well over your head or miss the ball completely.
            THE EDGE:  (Last Time) -Yankees 85% to 15%
THE EDGE:  (This Time) - Yankees 75% to 25% - As much as Tex does nothing, when he does do something it still completely overpowers what the Irish contact hitter brings to the plate.

Second Base
          Well the circus at 2B for the New York Mets has settled a bit. Terry Collins likes Turner there, but David Wright went down soon after Ike Davis and this needed to be switched around again. J. Turner graciously moved over to third base while the young rookie prospect Ruben Tejada gets some well deserved playing time. He’s a solid option, but far from great…almost as far from really good as well. Robinson Cano is a really good second baseman. Cano is having somewhat of a slow or quiet year and he is still batting .290 as the Mets rookie respectfully sits at .281. The difference is the production numbers. 15 RBI’s and a .276 batting average won't scare the opposing team. I will give Tejada some fielding points in this battle because I still have no stomach for Cano’s lackadaisical play defensively, but this is still a no brainer.
            THE EDGE: (Last Time) - Yankees 100%
          THE EDGE: (This Time) – Yankees 90% to 10% - Robinson Cano will continue to be an amazing ball player for one of the most historical teams in sports…next year, who the hell knows if we recognize the 2B playing for the Mets.

Short Stop
           The Captain will be missed, by the hottest and most exciting player in baseball right now will be playing for the New York Mets at this position. Jose Reyes cannot be stopped and the fact that he will be leading off in Citi Field opposed to anywhere else makes the Spanish speedster even more dangerous. He was the quickest met to 100 hits EVER a couple of weeks ago. He drives runs in, steals bases and more importantly has a .397 OBP (on-base percentage) Jose is unstoppable until he signs a new deal where ever that might be. On the Yankees left side of the field they have a replacement player playing. E. Nunez is nothing but false hope. He has filled in for Jeter with kind of a non-existing role. My opinion, because that’s what some of this is about, is that I don’t trust anyone on my team that can’t throw a baseball to first base. The kid has been throwing the ball since diapers I’m sure and now in the chance of a lifetime…short-stop for the New York Yankees and you can’t make a dang play without incident. As Charles Barkley would say, “That’s teeerrrrribull”.
            THE EDGE: (Last Time) Mets 65% to 35%
         THE EDGE: (This Time) METS 100% - Unreal what a couple of weeks can do, huh? Last time these two teams met Jose Reyes was just getting started and he has been on fire ever since. 15 triples currently leads the Majors and personally is a ridiculous stat to have close to the halfway point in the season.

Third Base
            Justin Turner was moved from 2B to 3B to keep Ruben Tejada in the starting lineup. He’s filled in with sparks of decent play, but in no means can he match a man like Alex Rodriguez. The future Hall of Famer has become a double and singles hitter this year helping his average over .300 of late. A-Rod only has 13 home runs so far this year, but his production is on full blast. He is everything the Mets owners wanted David Wright to become. David flirted with greatness and I’m a big fan, however, since that ball hit the eyebrow-kid in the head a couple years ago things have never really been the same. Plus, the kid will still be out this week on the DL so Turner will be at 3B for the Mets. 
            THE EDGE: (Last Time) Yankees 60% to 40%
          THE EDGE: (This Time) Yankees 95% to Mets 5% - What the hell am I supposed to say. If A-Rod is playing, he’s more superior by far. Mets get 5% for the soreness and oldness the papers around New York have been writing about Alex these past two weeks.

OUTFIELD
            I can’t tell you why Curtis Granderson has a ridiculous amount of home runs already this year. I also can’t tell you where in the world Jason Bay’s talent went. I can tell you that Brett Gardner has his bat back and surged in June thus far. I can also tell you that Carlos Beltran is once again trade-bait because of his reliable production numbers in the first half this year. I can’t understand why Nick Swisher continues to smile at his lame play, the same way he smiled the past couple of weeks while he was on his first good stretch of 2011. However, I do completely understand why Pagan is not batting .300 like last year; he’s simply not as great as he looked in 2010… (I think we all secretly knew this). Looking on paper, the Yankees have the edge. Swish, Grandy and Gardner send off a bigger threat then the Mets tri-fecta they start most nights. I do like Pretty Pirdie off the bench way better then Andrew Jones and I did factor those two in for this weekend. Beltran is batting .281 with 12 HRs and a whopping 54 RBI’s and still Granderson is considered to be doing better. Curtis has been a quiet mouse of late, but he has more confidence than ever before. One player will start out on fire this Friday and that will be the deciding dynamic in these two hot & cold outfielders.
THE EDGE: (Last Time) Mets 55% to 45%
          THE EDGE: (This Time) Yankees 59% to 41% - Angel and Jason could light a fire in Citi Field, but the way Swisher has come around the past two weeks and Gardner finally getting on base it all might be a bit too much for Mets pitching.

Catcher
            Russell Martin was on fire…way back in April. He dealt with back issues in May and some of June…now comes the beginning of July. What’s to be expected of any four of these catchers in New York baseball? Cervelli is doing nothing this year besides giving Martin a day off. Josh Thole has had a day here and there were he smacks 3 hits in a game, and then falters the next three with strikeouts and double plays. Ronny Paulino is such a question mark he’s been screwing with my head ever since he was a prospect for the Pirate system many years back. All four are playing under the “threat meter” at the plate of late, but all have very respectable potential.
            THE EDGE: (Last Time) Yankees 61% to 39%
          THE EDGE: (This Time) TIE at 50/50 – The way Martin has been slumping and the platoon that’s going on in Queens just can’t give anyone a straight
reading on who will perform better.

Bullpen
            Yankees: No Joba, no Soriano, no lefties, no good.
            Mets: Izzy + Parnell + Rodriguez = Old flame throwing mess. Take Mariano Rivera out of this picture and you end up with two sloppy bullpens. 
            THE EDGE: (Last Time) Yankees 82% to 18%
          THE EDGE: (This Time) Yankees 55% to 45% - If it wasn’t for Mariano Rivera, I would have found a way to put both team’s bullpens under the 50 % mark.
(Subway Series I prediction, 3-0 Yankees)
(Subway Series II prediction, 2-1 Mets)

_____________________________________________


Adam Hammer’s Loose Lips
-          The American League continued their dominance of the National League this week. After winning 2 out 3 against the Reds, the Orioles have asked to switch to the National League.
-          The Yankees held their annual Old-Timers Day game this weekend. Derek Jeter made a surprise appearance. He went 0-4 with a double play and was struck out looking with the bases loaded by Al Downing.
 
-          Sports, has always been full of upsets. The 1969 Mets, the 1980 USA Men’s Hockey Team, David Ortiz VS The Led Rox Chinese Buffet and a new chapter has been written. The mighty Pirates beat the Red Sox, taking two out of three over the weekend. Local Pirates fan Court Shantz was so emotional he cried. He cried so much that he became dehydrated. He was pronounced dead shortly after.


And now for your reading pleasure…



***
The Future; According to the Late-Great George Carlin
“- All farming will cease and the land will be used for loitering.”

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkLt9OXFQ0M&feature=related


Last Quip by Doctor KAS – “Count your fingers, count your toes…make sure they’re all there when you wake up Tuesday Morning.”


 
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