Our man Francisco Cervelli is the subject of Steve Serby's Sunday Q&A this morning. Serby should have solicited our help in finding the appropriately dignified questions to ask Cervelli, but there is some stuff in there that is enjoyable.
Here is Cervelli talking about the fans.
Q: Why are you so popular with Yankees fans?
A: I don't know . . . maybe the energy or something like that (chuckles).
Q: Maybe one reason is when you wear that big helmet, you look like a little kid.
A: (Chuckles) Maybe, maybe. A lot of people have told me, "That's embarrassing." I say, "No, nothing big league is embarrassing. It's not the way you look, it's how you do in the field."
Inability to finish off hitters plagues Hughes | yankees.com
Twenty-one times on Saturday, the Mets extended at-bats with two-strike foul balls. Four times they delivered two-strike hits, and four times they came through with two-out runs against the Yankees' right-hander, enough to hand the Bombers a 5-3 loss at Citi Field.
"I want to be aggressive and throw strikes and not be afraid to miss," Hughes said. "But when I'm consistently missing inside the strike zone, they're going to make you pay. Now and then, it's fine, but to be constantly throwing the ball all over the place is a sign that you're just not that good that day."
My take: Hughes is justifiably proud of his fastball. I would love to see an occasional two-strike curveball or change, though, just to keep hitters honest. At this point I think they know the fastball is coming.
Humbled Teixeira 'can't get worse' | yankees.com
Following an 0-for-4 night with three strikeouts and a walk in Saturday's 5-3 Yankees loss to the Mets, Teixeira has one hit in his past 23 at-bats. His batting average is down to .204, and his on-base percentage stands at .325.
"I feel terrible," Teixeira said. "I can't get any worse right now. I'm going to take a step back and just get back to what I've always done, and that's produce."
My take: Tex needs to start hitting. The Yanks are hurting right now, and they need their big guns to pull them through.
Grand return will spell end of no-Winn situation - NYPOST
Curtis Granderson can't get back soon enough for the Yankees.
The injured center fielder went 0-for-4 yesterday in a rehabilitation start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and the Yankees are hoping he'll be back by Friday.
Because Brett Gardner shifted to center when Granderson went down, left field has been a problem since then, with the Yankees playing Randy Winn there nearly every day.
Last night, the problems cropped again. Winn got the start and went 1-for-2 and made a brutal play in the outfield.
Winn is quickly on his way to becoming one of the fans' least favorite Yankees. In the sixth last night, he badly misplayed a fly ball from Angel Pagan that was scored a double. Pagan ended up scoring an insurance run for the Mets in the inning.
Winn has been exposed as not playing well enough to be an everyday player. Overall, he's batting .213 with almost twice as many strikeouts (15) as RBIs (eight).
My take: I really don't want to bury Winn, who has had a good major-league career. It looks like the guy is done, however. He is useless right-handed, and even as a lefty can't catch up to a good fastball any longer. Have to wonder if he is playing his way off the roster.
Not Worried About Rivera - Bats Blog
Mariano Rivera has given up runs in three straight games, only the sixth time he has done so as a reliever. Therefore some are thinking his aura of invincibility is waning, his career is winding down, his age is catching up, and something must be wrong. Except every year Rivera seems to encounter a rough patch, and every year he rebounds and regains his indomitable form.
My take: Don't bury Mo yet. I still think his consistency is suffering from that two-week layoff, and that he will be fine. The only hit that really bothered me was the double by Ike Davis the other night. That was on a cutter buried in off the inside corner, yet Davis was able to get to it and hit it hard. Rivera threw that at 90 mph. No way Davis hits that if it's the 92-93 mph of a couple seasons ago.