Sweeny Says: Burnett, Colon and Garcia: Yankees' Trio Better Than We Thought
By Sweeny Murti
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I realize we are only one-tenth of the way through this baseball season, but how many of you out there really thought that A.J. Burnett (3-0), Freddy Garcia (1-0) and Bartolo Colon (1-1) would account for half of the Yankees' win total at this stage (5 out of 10), while CC Sabathia (0-1) and Phil Hughes (0-1) would account for zero?
True, the Yankee offense (3rd in the AL in OBP and 1st in SLG) has helped these guys out a great deal. But Yankee fans were so fearful of these guys even taking the mound, it seemed as if the Yankees would lose 58-0 if they even threw one pitch in a game. A long way to go, indeed. But you couldn't have asked for a better start from the questionable part of his rotation.
Burnett seems to be in a peaceful place right now, far from the self-destructive place he was in late last summer. Beyond that, has really clicked with Russell Martin, and the new catcher has helped get Burnett do what nobody else has managed to in over a decade in the majors—throw the changeup. Burnett has thrown 10-16 changeups in each of his last three starts because Martin keeps calling for it and is giving Burnett the confidence that it can be an effective pitch for him.
Garcia and Colon came into spring training as non-roster invitees, part of the refugee camp the Yankees opened that was essentially Plan B in the absence of Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte. I'm not saying these two guys will be starting in the playoffs. I'd like to see them make it past April. But for two guys who served as punch lines and punching bags all spring, they have provided more in the last week than most people thought they would provide all year.
Sabathia is just fine, and soon he will even have some W's to show for it. Hughes, you have to believe, will figure this thing out, and when he does you'll remember why you liked him so much to begin with. Nova was destined to be inconsistent his first full year. You should be prepared for some good and some bad from him the rest of this year.
*And do we think this is a good time to give Brian Cashman just a little bit of credit for his off-season moves? The Yankees have gotten early season contributions from Colon, Garcia, Martin, Eric Chavez, and Andruw Jones. Colon and Chavez both nearly retired, but have already turned in game-winning efforts.
*Sometimes it happens. Mariano Rivera blows a game, like he did in Toronto Tuesday night. And when it does happen there is nobody to get mad at, nobody to blame, nobody to burn in effigy. Rivera blows a game, and you come back tomorrow and hope you're in the exact same position as you were the night before.
Has anyone in New York sports ever earned the benefit of the doubt more than this man? Owner of 566 saves in 634 chances, a success rate over 89 percent. He's also 42 for 47 in the postseason. Can you ever really blame the guy when he blows a game?
*Derek Jeter is now 64 at-bats into the season, batting .219. He followed a 5-for-14 stretch with a 2-for-17. There is a yellow caution flag out on Jeter now, I'll admit. Until he gets some hits to fall that will be the case.
Scouts I spoke to recently told me his legs are more important than his hands right now, that a player's legs will go before anything else does and that will be the surest sign that a player is in a decline he cannot pull out of (think Bernie Williams). Jeter is still clocked running to first base in 4.3 seconds, which is major league average. Yes, he was faster in his prime, but his legs aren't gone yet.
*It is somewhat amazing that Jorge Posada can be hitting .160 (8-for-50), but with 7 walks and 5 home runs his OPS is still .736, right around league average.
*Nice to see that Jesus Montero didn't let losing a major league job affect his start to the season at AAA. In his first 11 games for the Scranton Yankees, Montero is batting .423 (22 for 52) with 1 home run and 4 doubles.
*There are still 3 months before any real activity heats up on the trade market. But I asked one AL executive this week how many starting pitchers and how many lefty relievers he thought would be available approaching the July 31st trading deadline.
The answer was about a dozen starting pitchers and about half a dozen lefty relievers probably available. I was also reminded that not all available players get dealt, and not all are upgrades on what a team like the Yankees might have at the moment.
It's going to be a long ride. Try to stay with me. And if you see Neil Keefe, give him a hug.
Sweeny Murti
yankees@wfan.com
www.twitter.com/YankeesWFAN
Can Burnett, Colon and Garcia keep it up? Let us know in the comments below...
