Results tagged ‘ teixeira ’
3 Games; 3 Walk-Offs
You could not ask for a more exciting weekend. The Yankees have played three games of this four game series against the Twins and have had walk-off wins in each of them.
Friday: MIN 4-5 NYY
Hero(es): Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner
Things were looking bleak for the Yankees when Johnny Damon was tossed by HP Umpire Wally Bell. The strike zone was very frustrating for Yankees hitters and it reached its climax when in Johnny Damon’s 2 at-bats, he struck out twice looking, both on questionable calls. You could say that Minnesota’s loss was all Johnny Damon’s fault as his ejection gave way to Brett Gardner. Gardner, who earlier this year lost the starting CF job to Melky Cabrera (stay tuned), went on to go 3-for-3 in that game with his biggest hit being an inside-the-park-home run. Gardner blooped Twins’ starter Francisco Liriano’s pitch down the LF line and once Denard Span overran it, you knew Gardner would be racing around the bases.
Well that made the score 4-2 Twins, but it would be Gardner again who sparked the Yankees rally as he led off the 9th inning with a triple and then was driven in quickly by Mark Teixiera to make it a one run game. Well after the Twins got 2 more outs and the Yanks added a baserunner, Joe Nathan intentionally walked Robinson Cano to load the bases up for Melky Cabrera. Well the Melk-Man delivered and on the first pitch he saw, blooped a 2-run, walk-off single to end the game.
Saturday: MIN 4-6 NYY
Hero(es): Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera
Everywhere around baseball, writers are saying that the person who would benefit most from A-Rod returning to the Yankee lineup would be Mark Teixeira. Well that became very obvious on Saturday as Teixiera went 4-for-4, drove in the Yankees first 4 runs, and ended up a triple shy of the cycle. He raised his batting average over 30 points. In the end however, it would be the higher-paid star that would end the game. In the bottom of the 11th inning, after Mark Teixeira drew a lead-off walk, Alex Rodriguez belted a 2-run, walk-off home run to win the game for the Yankees. It was just A-Rod’s second game at the New Yankee Stadium.
Sunday: MIN 2-3 NYY
Hero(es): Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira
What started out as a pitchers dual, this game saw some great defense throughout. After A.J. Burnett loaded the bases with nobody out, the Yankees brought in RHP Jonathan Albaladejo to try to work out of the jam. Well facing Denard Span, he threw a fastball down and in and Span hit a sharp grounder to first. However, Mark Teixeira showcased his defensive abilities as he made a great diving stop, but then (as he was pretty much lying down) made a good through to catcher Kevin Cash to record the second out. The Yankees would get out of the jam and then would also get out of a similar one the following inning.
That meant that in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning when Nick Swisher lined a base hit, the Yankees would pinch-run Brett Gardner. After a Melky Cabrera sac-bunt (the 3rd one of the game after the Yanks had just 8 the rest of the season) Francisco Cervelli hit one back up the middle. But this is when the Twins’ great defense struck. The ball hit off of the Twins’ lefty as Gardner was approaching third. Well Mijares threw home to Joe Mauer who started running to first and faked a throw. Well that fake was a good one as it caused Gardner to start running home where Mauer made a great diving stop to get him.
That play kept the game tied until the bottom of the 10th when Johnny Damon could wait no longer. After he worked the count full against Jesse Crain (the same pitcher who served up A-Rod’s shot a day earlier) Damon got a pitch down and in and he didn’t miss it. Johnny cranked it into the second deck (tagged the Johnny zone by a Yankees’ broadcaster) to give the Yankees the 3-2 win. It was Damon’s second walk-off hit as a member of the Yankees.
Two (Very) Rich Men, Two (Very) Sub-Par Debuts
When the Yankees signed CC Sabathia ($161mm) and Mark Teixiera ($180mm) to mega-deals this off-season, they marked one date on their calenders: April 6th. Well that day finally came today, but it wasn’t the Opening Day game they were expecting. Sabathia and Teixeira’s lines say it all:
Sabathia: IP: 4.1, H: 8, ER: 6, BB: 5, K: 0
Two very bad lines for two men with very fat wallets. Even though people expected a lot more out of the players than what the above, they had to have seen this coming. I mean think about it: each guy is really (maybe even overly) hyped. They both signed monster deals this off-season. They both have historically gotten off to bad starts. And they both said they would handle the New York media just fine; something that both of them will now have to do. It was a perfect storm.
That being said however, I would like to remind all of you that this is just Opening Day, it’s just one game out of 161 other ones. The only two reasons we care so much about these terrible performances are that Opening Day is way, way to focused upon; it’s just one game. The other reason is just because of how much coverage the two players are receiving and how bad their performances were. But the bottom line is this; one game isn’t going to kill you.
Bits and Pieces:
One of the things that made Teixeira’s performance stand out so much was the fact that Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon went a combined 5-8 in front of him and all he did was get one little walk; that’s a lot of runners being left on base…Nick Swisher pinch-hit in the 8th and lined a lead-off double right down the left field line in his first Yankee at-bat. Gardner (more about him later) bunted him over but then Jeter and, who else, Mark Teixeira failed to drive him in…..The Yankees escaped a huge fifth inning when Gardner turned a double-play when he caught the ball than threw the runner out at home to end the inning…..A-Rod should be back before Spring’s end.
One Heck of an Off-Season
After not making the post-season for the first time in what seems like a century, the Yankees set their sights on improving their ball club through the free-agent market. Well, that’s exactly what they did. By signing CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixiera, the Yankees have had, what I consider to be, the best off-season in team history. Never before have they spent so much money, to acquire such great talent. Now I’ve heard many people around baseball say that the Yankees are just going back to what they’ve always done. However, it’s not what they’ve always done. The Yankees used to be the club that signed the over-priced veteran to a contract that’s way to long. These players ranged from Kevin Brown to Randy Johnson, Ruben Sierra to Gary Sheffield, and of course, the infamous Carl Pavano. In fact, the only good signing the Yankees have had since the turn of the century, was when they signed Mike Mussina to an 8-year deal in 2000. But that’s just about it (unless you count Giambi who was probably one of the better 1-sided players around, but that’s not saying much).
So is that really the same as signing three of the best players in all of major league baseball? Are these signings really going to help the Yankees? Please leave your comments below.
Notes on Teixeira Announcement
Today Mark Teixeira was announced as the newest member of the New York Yankees (I’m sorry for not announcing this news earlier). At first he seemed a little tense, but after a couple minutes of being up there, he seemed to fit right in as he was beaming through the whole thing. And that’s pretty much how his basic season goes; he gets off to a bad start, but then comes through big at the end and produces good season numbers. Teixeira said it was mostly his wife’s decision for coming to the Yankees and he is glad to be here after idolizing them for so long as a kid. A few notes on Teixeira’s signing:
Final contract: 8 years, $180mm with a $5mm signing bonus
Teixeira will wear number 25, which is interesting because that not only used to be Joe Girardi’s number, but it was also worn by the man Tex will be replacing at first base, Jason Giambi.
In order to make room Teixeira on the Yankees 40-man roster, they designated Shelley Duncan for assignment.
Teixeira wanted #23 because he grew up idolizing former Yankees 1B, Don Mattingly. Who, interestingly enough, is the one that retired that number.
Teixeira Announcement Set For Tuesday
The Yankees have made plans to announce Mark Teixeira as the newest Yankee at a press conference on Tuesday. Mark is currently in town and will take a physical tomorrow. The Yankees reached an agreement with Mark Teixeira for an 8-year, $180mm contract.
Teams Avoiding Boras
With Mark Teixeira being the only exception, most baseball teams (including the Yankees) have been avoiding Scott Boras clients. In fact, Teixeira is really the only Scott Boras client to sign this winter. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett had different agents, and both Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe (Boras’ top free agents left) haven’t signed. The most likely reason behind this is the economy. Boras always advertises his clients to be worth more than they are. However, now teams don’t have the financial stability to go that high. Derek Lowe is a great example of that. Lowe is probably worth somewhere between $13mm-$15mm a year (Mets offer is 3-years, $36mm). However, Boras has been trying to get him between $16mm-$19mm a year, its just not happening. Boras needs to lower his demands, because he needs to realize that teams just aren’t going to pay that much.
He’s getting lucky with Manny Ramirez as now that the Giants are in it too, he can produce a bidding war between them and the Dodgers. The cool thing about that, is that which ever one gets him, pretty much gets the division.
Who Should Cleanup For The Yanks?
This is one of the lesser-talked about things of the Teixeira deal (which is expected to be announced sometime next week): Who will bat cleanup? Teixeira or A-Rod? Well you can break it down a couple of ways:
1. Who’s the better hitter?
Well that question is pretty much a given; A-Rod. Yes Teixeira also is an excellent hitter, but A-Rod is better. Over his 6-year career, Teixeira has a .290 AVG, 203 HR, and 676 RBI. In that same time, A-Rod has a .301 AVG, 255 HR, and 734 RBI. Those are true statistics of a number 4 hitter.
2. Who will benefit more from having the other one batting behind them?
This question is a little hard to determine. Obviously, both would benefit greatly by having the other bat behind them. But the question is, which one would benefit more? I look at it as who is more comfortable in what spot? Well, A-Rod, after he left Seattle, has been a number 4 hitter and has batted cleanup for the Yankees ever since they got him (with a couple of stints as #3). Teixeira on the other hand, has spent most of his career as no. 3. While he was in Atlanta, he batted behind Chipper and that worked out o.k. However, when he got to L.A. and started batting 3rd, in front of Vladimir Guerrero, he reached his peak. Tex batted .358 with 13 HR and 43 RBI in 54 games as an Angel. If he could do that in front of A-Rod, that’s an unstoppable 1-2 punch. One that’s as good (if not better) than the Ortiz-Manny combo that the Red Sox had a couple of years ago (they didn’t have it at all in 08).
However, in the end, this isn’t a question for the media to decide; it’s up to Joe Girardi.
Teixeira Signing A Lot Like A-Rod Deal
When Mark Teixeira turned down the Red Sox’ offer for the Yankees’ something about it seemed very familiar. In fact, it was just like when the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez in February of 2004. A-Rod, like Teixeira, was a star player and a great hitter who played for the Rangers (Teixeira didn’t go from the Rangers directly to the Yankees like A-Rod). In fact, they both played on the same team in 2003. A-Rod was traded and Teixeira signed as a free agent, but they both could’ve gone to Boston, but didn’t. In the offseason between the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the Rangers were shopping Alex. The Red Sox picked him off the shelf and began to move towards the cashier. However, the deal came up a bit short.
Right around that time, someone said, “hey, wouldn’t it be great if Alex Rodriguez came to New York and just moved to third base?” It seemed unlikely though, as the Rangers had just named A-Rod the captain of their team. But the Yankees swooped in and within about a week, they traded Alfonso Soriano to the Rangers for A-Rod (one of those rare, good player-for-good player deals instead of prospects).
For a while, the Red Sox were seen as the front-runners for Teixeira, just like with A-Rod. However, the Yankees jumped in right at the end and nabbed him for $180 million, $10mm more than the Red Sox were offering.
A-Rod has put up very good numbers in his time so far in the Bronx (.303 AVG, 208 HR and 616 RBI in 5 seasons). However, he’s also attracted a lot of controversy too. Lets just hope that Teixeira only does the first one.
Baseball Needs Yankees
By signing A.j. Burnett, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees have spent $423.5MM in contracts. This has caused many team’s owners and general managers, and some players (Torii Hunter), to hate the Yankees even more. Brewers GM Doug Melvin has said, “At the rate the Yankees are going, I don’t think anyone can compete with them. Frankly, the sport might need a salary cap.” The “salary cap” idea got a lot of discussion. However, with many GMs supporting it, they’re were many against it who were fine with the Yankees’ spending spree. One GM said that this was “the Yankees way of competing,” and that they “paid their price with that luxury tax, so who cares?” That is something that the baseball world has come to realize. The Yankees seem to have an infinite budget, and with the New Stadium (60% bigger than the old one and more expensive) , $88.5MM coming off the books, and after not making the playoffs last year, the Yankees were determined to sign the best players, and they had the budget to do it. However, that is there way of playing the game. Many other teams do it differently such as the Rays who have the second-lowest payroll in baseball, and yet last year beat out the Yankees and the Red Sox (#s 1 and 3 in payroll) for the AL East and won the pennant. Its just the way life works.
However, baseball needs the Yankees. They need that team to hate. They need a Goliath. And now that the Yankees have made half of baseball hate them again, there can be a David.
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