TORTORELLA FOR JACK ADAMS

Though he has a reputation for his temper and fire, John Tortorella should certainly be a finalist for the Jack Adams award, coach of the year, for his success with the Rangers. I agree with the NHL's choices of Dan Bylsma (Penguins) and Barry Trotz (Predators), but I disagree with the choice of Alain Vigneault (Canucks). Vigneault coached a team with 5 players who had more than 50 points, 3 with over 70. They also had 7 players who were over +15. It is safe to say  they didn't lack fire power, unlike the Rangers who only had 1 player who had more than 50 points and 1 player who was over +15.

More importantly, Tortorella got the most out of his players, even some who had been written off as busts and some who were considered too young or inexperienced for the NHL. Two of these players who had been written off were former 1st round pick Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust. Boyle's career high in goals before this year was 4. This year, his fourth, he scored 21. This was the first time he showed his first round promise. Prust's previous career high in goals was also 4.  This year he scored 13. Both played very well on the defensive side of the puck, too. The success that Prust and Boyle had can both be attributed to the increased faith - as shown in minutes on the ice - shown by John Tortorella.

Two other players also made names for themselves with Tortorella's help, both rookies - D-man Ryan McDonagh, and Center Derek Stepan. McDonagh became a steady force on defense for the Rangers, teaming up with another kid, Michael Sauer, as a highly effective defensive pairing, while Stepan made his presence felt immediately, with a hat trick in his first NHL game. He went on to score 21 goals during his rookie season. The amazing part was that both of these players were in college less than a year prior to their debuts. A lot of the credit for their success can be given to John Tortorella, who did an amazing job managing their ice time.

Though I believe Tortorella deserves to be among the finalist for this award, I'm in the minority. I tweeted my opinion to several reporters who cover the Rangers, and they thought differently.

Andrew Gross of the Bergen Record in New Jersey tweeted back, "I think he did a heck of a job with this group but, no, I wouldn't put him in the top three for Jack Adams."

Arthur Staple of Newsday tweeted "Debatable... Did he do a better job than Boucher and Bylsma? Not sure about that."

Adam Rotter of SNY tweeted "he was considered one at one point, but then they struggled down the stretch. He was probably top 5."

TIME TO LEADOFF WITH GARDNER

Since Derek Jeter went on the Disabled List on June 14th, the Yankees have gone 6-1. Though it isn't a direct result of his absence, it is partly a result of his replacement at the top of the lineup. Since Jeter's injury, Brett Gardner has gone 10-21, and has only struck out 3 times. Though Jeter gets more hits than Gardner, he no longer can steal bases, which is Brett Gardner's specialty. Also, Gardner's .371 On Base Percentage is much higher than Jeter's .324. Jeter's OBP is even less than that of Robinson Cano, who is one of the best hitters in the American League, but whose On Base Percentage is not expected to be high because Cano doesn't walk very much.

Also, Gardner's Batting Average of .293 is about a third of a percentage point higher than Jeter's .260.

It is safe to say the more productive leadoff hitter is easily Brett Gardner. It is time for Joe Girardi to take a stand and put Derek Jeter in the 7th hole where he belongs.

JOBA CHAMBERLAIN: THE MODERN DAY KERRY WOOD

When Kerry Wood was called up to the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs in 1998, he was an instant phenom. 13 years later he is a brittle set up man with a medical bill that almost equals his salary.

His story is similar to his former Yankee teammate Joba Chamberlain. Like Wood, Joba came on the scene like a ball of fire and looked like either a future ace, or the heir to Mariano Rivera's throne as the closer of the New York Yankees. Then, the Yankees made a string of mistakes in terms of how they handled their young phenom, starting with a set of rules on how they can and can't use him, AKA, "Joba Rules." It only got worse from there. The Yankees kept changing him from a reliever to a starter or the other way around. In 2010, he finally was given a permanent role as a reliever, but he struggled mightily, posting an ERA of 4.40 while struggling to find consistency. Though at the start of the current season he began to show progress, he was stricken with elbow pain and will be under going Tommy John surgery on Thursday.

One can only wonder whether he will ever pitch for the Yankees again, and if he will ever return to form. If you look at the story of Kerry Wood, the outlook is bleak.

FUTURE CLOSER: ROBERTSON OR JOBA?

In my most recent post, I gave three options to replace Mariano. Here I will be examining arguments for David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain. I counted out Delin Betances because he hasn't had any major league experience.

David Robertson: PROS: He has been very solid out of the Yankees bullpen from 2008-2010, making steady progress each season. This season, Robertson is making a name for himself with an ERA of 1.16 with 38 strikeouts thus far. Also, when pressure mounts, he seems to remain calm and get big outs. His fastball has also gotten faster. Against the Angels, even though he struggled with his control, he was throwing his fastball at 94-96 MPH, which is as hard as I've ever seen him throw.

CONS: He walks a few too many batters and sometimes makes his outings nerve wracking event by allowing runners to reach base. Don't get me wrong, this is a problem many closers have had, it's just a little concerning.

Joba Chamberlain: PROS: He has an amazing fastball, hovering between 95-98 MPH. His slider has insane bite and it makes for a hard off-speed adjustment for opposing hitters. Though he suffered setbacks that would have ruined most other pitchers' careers permanently, he has fought through them to become a stellar reliever.

CONS: He is somewhat of a headcase because of constantly being switched between the rotation and the bullpen. Though it is hard to blame him, being a headcase is not good for closers.

MY PICK: Robertson

3 INTERNAL RIVERA REPLACEMENTS

For the last 16 years, Mariano Rivera's value to the New York Yankees has been indescribable. But watching him struggle last night against the Mariners has made me think about what will happen  when Rivera  is no longer around. As stable a force as he is, he is mortal. Here are 3 possible internal replacements.

1. Joba Chamberlain: He may be a bit inconsisent, but seems to be regaining his old form. His fastball speed is back to the 95-98 MPH range, with a good slider that is capable of fooling hitters. To me he seems like the most likely replacement option.

2. David Robertson: Though it seems more likely that he would be a setup man, he has closer capable fastball speed with good control of his pitches.

3. Dellin Betances: He has yet to make his major league debut, he is big, has a great fastball, with very good control of his pitches. He is an intimidating presence on the mound with a lot of upside.

Honorable Mention: Manny Banuelos, Andrew Brackman

I'm not saying Rivera is done, but someday he will be and the Yankees need to prepare for that day.

TURN OF EVENTS FOR POSEY?

Since joining the Giants last season, Buster Posey has been the leader of the Giants in every facet of the game. He's been the Giants' best hitter, a great fielder, and has earned the trust of every pitcher on the staff. This made the news that Posey is out for the season with a broken leg so devastating. It may get worse though, as there has been some debate over whether or not he should be a catcher at all and this confirms to me that he should be moved to right field. He still has a good arm, which every right fielder needs, he can still hit, and can still be the on field leader, just not of the pitching staff.  The point being that catchers have more colllisions and take more of a beating than any position on the field and Posey is just too valuable.

Most catchers play many years behind the plate, Yogi Berra played 18 years at the position and won three MVPs, bu he was not the only power hitting offensive player on the Yankees. Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella, even Jorge Posada had long and successful careers as the backstop. The Giants, however, lack enough power at the plate to risk Posey's future health.

Maybe a season without him will convince the Giants of the same thing. He is far to valuable to this team to have this reoccur and if that means not being a catcher, then so be it.

MESSAGE FOR GIRARDI: - TIME FOR CHANGE

The Yankee organization is too loyal to their aging stars and they must make some changes if they want to contend for the World Series again this year. What you need to do, Joe Girardi, is take some risks and never mind upsetting the veterans, Posada and Jeter specifically. The Yankee lineup must undergo a makeover.

NEW LINEUP:


1. Curtis Granderson, CF: He is like a poor man's Ricky Henderson in terms of power and speed, which is good to have at the top of the lineup.  He gets a lot of hits, too.

2. Nick Swisher, DH/RF: Though he has been struggling mightily, it might be worth showing some faith in Nick Swisher. Lets not forget, he did hit 29 home runs last year.

3. Mark Teixeira, 1B: Tex has been hitting well of late, but he still needs protection from either Cano or A-Rod. He could back up A-Rod and be backed up by Cano.


4. Robinson Cano, 2B: With Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada struggling, it becomes easier to pitch to Cano because you don't have to worry about who lurks in the on-deck circle. He might see better pitches if A-Rod was batting behind him. Not to mention, Cano has a .316 average, with 8 home runs and 29 RBI in 30 games in  the cleanup spot in his career.



5. Alex Rodriguez, 3B: With two guys who need protection batting in front of him, A-Rod must be the one to provide it.

6. Derek Jeter, SS: Though Jeter cannot be counted out completely, it is clear that he isn't the player he once was. He must accept that fact and do what is best for the team.


7. Russel Martin, C: Not much to say here. Martin remains a clutch, stable force in the Yankee lineup.

8. Jesus Montero, DH/RF: If it was up to me, Montero would have been in the majors for about a month and Posada would be benched.


9. Brett Gardner, LF: The reason Gardner is batting ninth is because he is good at getting on base with his speed, which is a good way to close out the lineup.

Note: Like I said, I would have benched Posada a month ago, but if he isn't hitting by mid season, I would try to convince him to retire and/ if it didn't work, I would release him and buy out his contract.

BOSTON SERIES PREVIEW

Game 2: CC Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett

Even though in his last start against the Red Sox, CC Sabathia didn't have his best stuff and was beaten by tonight's starter Josh Beckett, he still only gave up 1 earned run. Also, the Red Sox were more desperate to win because going into that game, they only had 1 win. I believe Sabathia will build off his final few innings in his last start against Detroit and pitch well.

Meanwhile, I also believe Beckett will pitch very well against a struggling Yankee lineup and make this game interesting.

Prediction: Yankees 4-2

BOSTON SERIES PREVIEW

Game 1: Bartolo Colon vs. Clay Buchholz


The Yankees hit Buchholz well, with an overall batting average of .314, and 17 RBI. Also, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano began to come around last night, each blasting a home run in an 11-5 Yankee loss.
Also, Bartolo Colon has held this Boston team to a.169 average against him over the course of his career.


PREDICTION: Yankees 7-3.

 

IVAN NOVA: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Last night may have been the best start of Ivan Nova's young career. He gave up only 1 run (0 earned) in 7.1 innings, while only walking 1 and giving up 2 hits. The part that was most impressive, was that he got 16 ground balls, with only 3 fly balls, because he was in complete control of his sinker, which had a lot of great late movement. Inducing that many ground balls is Chien Ming Wang like, while his fastball was like Josh Beckett's. Could he be similar to both?

Nova has a hard sinker, which can cause hitters to roll over on them, hitting the top of the ball into the ground instead of connecting with the sweet spot of the bat. He also has a swing and miss fastball. When he really reaches, and is in mid season form, he can hit 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. His velocity is already showing signs of improvement. Last night, he hit 94-95 miles per hour a few times. He had been throwing 91-93. Don't get me wrong, he isn't going to strike out twenty batters in a game, but he might strike out 6-8 and get plenty of batters to ground out.