Quick Notes:
OK, the Yanks sweep a series against Seattle and look like a baseball team for a change. It's tiring trying to watch a wasted April every season. That said I wanted to give a shout out to...
The Melk Man. He leads the team in HR's with six and has been very consistent at the plate so far this season. I expected him to become more of a doubles guy as he matured, but Melky's lifting the ball better so they are carrying out of the park instead of being fly ball outs. 15-22 HR's is not out of the question of all of a sudden.
Last April he batted:
- .200, 75 AB's, 15 Hits. 1 Double, and 7 RBI's.
This April he batted:
- .299, 87 AB's, 26 Hits, 2 Doubles, 5 HR's and 12 RBI's.
He started May in great shape with a HR and 3 RBI's.
Who would have thought that on May 4th, the big three would be Wang, Pettitte and Mussina? That's not a good thing. Mike's off speed pitches seem to have a little extra movement this year that has really made him much more effective so far. Will it continue? Who knows, but his change up visibly seems to knuckle around before it gets to the catcher, fooling hitters so far.
Last April
- 2 GS, 0-1, 6 IP's, 11 Hits, 6 ER's, 9.00 ERA
This April:
- 6 GS, 3-3, 32.1 IP's, 36 Hits. 17ER's 4.76 ERA
He started off May in fine fashion with a win against Seattle. 6IP's 7H's 1R, 5K's and the big stat: 0 BB's. Getting the ball over the plate has its advantages even with below 90 MPH stuff. Did you see that IPK?
Darrell Rasner proved that point today also. 0 BB's kept him out of trouble, focused and in the game after an expected nervous beginning and guess what? He earned himself a W. I thought he was pretty decent last year when he came up until he broke his finger. He doesn't throw hard, but showed no fear and really commanded his pitches. More shall be revealed.
Yes, it's a PA first, Kyle Farnsworth gets some props. Defending him against the idiotic rants of Steve Phillips doesn't count. In his last five appearances he hasn't given up a run:
- 5 IP's, 3 H's, 8K's, 2BB's, 0 R's
Kyle's control has been very good lately, he's added a new pitch, his fastball is popping for a change and Joe Torre isn't here. In Kyle's mind, Torre didn't use him properly, or something. Sure thing Kyle, just keep it up. The 64K question as usual with Farnsworth is--- will he be able to do it on a consistent level all year. Can he finally be counted on? I won't bother throwing up a poll question on that one yet because I already know the answer.
There are others to talk about, but I chose this group today for my Quick Notes segment.