Fanning the Flames

Brett Gardner was 2 for 4 with his 9th triple of the year last night. This raised his average to .297

Melky Cabrera is 1 for his last 18, dropping his average to .261, and also dropping his OBP to .312.


I'm just saying...

Melky's Time Running Out?

A couple weeks ago I jumped on the wagon with those fans who were seriously questioning if Melky should stay as the Yankees starting CF.

Since then he has hit a little bit better. In his last 13 games he's hitting at .348, which has raised his average to .270 for the season. But more times than not, he looks lost at the plate.

Enter Brett Gardner. The movement in his favor was small at the beginning of the season, but has since grown with both River Ave Blues and the LoHud blog seemingly jumping on board with the idea of giving him a chance.

And why not? Even if he can't hit higher than .270, he has speed and is a smart base runner. (So, for example, you won't see him slide head first into first base) He can steal, he can cover more ground in the OF and now in AAA he's even hitting for power and getting extra bases.

So far in Scranton Brett has hit .295 with a .414 OBP (compare that to Melky's .322) . He has already stolen 25 bases, and only been caught 8 times. He has also hit 9 doubles and 7 triples on the season.

It's hard to say how long he'll be ignored. One thing working heavily against him, is that he is a left handed hitter. The Yankees are so loaded with lefties, I'm not sure they want to add another one permanently into the lineup.

It'll be interesting to see what happens, but right now the call for him to come to the big league is getting louder. Melky should be hearing footsteps.


Just for comparison purposes:

Jacoby Ellsbury 2007 in AAA-
87 games, .298 Avg, .360 OBP, .380 Slg, 14 doubles, 5 triples, 33 SB, 6CS


Brett Gardner 2008 in AAA-
61 games, .295 Avg, .414 OBP,448 SLG, 9 doubles, 7 triples, 25SB, 8CS

What to do...

Well the great debate this morning is what is to be done with 21 year old Phil Hughes.

Hughes has been flat out terrible so far in 6 starts, as we all know. Everyone knows the kid has talent and can compete at this level, but it's not clicking yet. So whats wrong?

Well first, hes not consistent at all. He can't throw a few good pitches in a row. Hitters are being more patient and know if they wait a pitch or two, he'll make a mistake.

He also is getting rattled very quickly. You can see it on his face. He gets flustered and can't calm himself down enough to focus on the next hitter.

In my opinion this is pretty understandable. In his minor league career, Hughes was a beast. He dominated and hardly ever ran into trouble or tough situations. Hughes never got knocked around. He has never experienced this kind of adversity.

So what do the Yankees do? They can either leave him in the rotation and hope that a 21 year old kid can develop the mental focus a pitcher needs to succeed, or they can send him down to work the kinks out and bring up someone like Darrell Rasner.

Rasner is pitching like a man possessed in AAA. He's currently 4-0 with a 0.87era.

That might be best for the team, but what does it mean for Hughes? Does he develop any further in AAA? Can you teach a kid to deal with pressure situations in the minors?

It's a tough call, and I'm glad I'm not Yankee management today.