First Pitch: Nothing to worry about
June, 27, 2012
6/27/12
7:00
AM ET
By
Wallace Matthews | ESPNNewYork.com
Tim Farrell/US PresswireThings are just peachy in pinstripes these days.Just about everyone is healthy. Just about everyone is hitting. All five of their starting pitchers are performing well. And even their RISP management has improved.
When things are going like this, it makes you wonder just how good a season these Yankees will wind up having.
Then again, considering the pessimism that is the nature of most fans, it might also be a signal to start wondering how long it can all last, and where the next crisis will come from.
You want to create problems, you can obsess over Cory Wade, who had an awful ninth inning last night, turning a 6-0 laugher into a 6-4 head-scratcher.
Since May 28, when Wade allowed a walkoff home run in Anaheim to Mark Trumbo of the Angels, he is 0-1 with two blown saves in 12 appearances, a span of 8-2/3 innings, in which he has allowed four home runs. Worst of all, his ERA over that period is a whopping 10.38.

AP Photo/Kathy WillensNow 38, Derek Jeter still has some skip in his step.
But you know what? Over the period of Wade's decline, the Yankees are 19-6 and have gone from third place in the AL East, 2-1/2 games back, to the top of the division, four games in front of the Orioles.
With Joba Chamberlain and David Aardsma making progress in their attempts to return from Tommy John surgery, Wade has another month at least to work out his problems in games like last night's. So if that's the biggest problem we can come up with right now, well, the Yankees don't have any real problems at all.
Yes, Russell Martin's back in still a little sore, and Joe Girardi now acknowledges there's no way Brett Gardner is coming back before the end of July, but so what?
The way things are going, I wouldn't expect the Yankees to be very active at the trading deadline unless catastrophe strikes in the next three weeks.
Tuesday night, they went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They got a timely hit with the bases loaded. They even got a home run, for a change. The fact that it came from Alex Rodriguez is also encouraging, even if their slugging third baseman is still hitting HRs less frequently (1 in 20 ABs) this season than in any other season of his career other than 2011, when he hit just 16.
Those are pretty meager problems for a club with one 40-year-old, one 38-year-old and one 37-year-old in its everyday lineup and another 40-year-old in its starting rotation. And a club that lost a 23-year-old starter in spring training and its future Hall of Fame closer a month into the season.
The general rule of thumb is, if things seem too good to be true, they usually are.
Right now, things are really, really good in Yankeeland.
Which leads us to the Question of the Day: How long do you think they will stay this way? And if trouble is on the way, where do you think it will come from? You know where to tell us, and how.
Up now: Johnette Howard's column on Derek Jeter, who celebrated the big 3-8 yesterday. Plus, some blog items from last night's 6-4 win over the Orioles.
On deck: Quick turnaround for today's 1:05 series finale against the Indians, Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.29) vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (7-5, 4.59). The inimitable Andrew Marchand will have all the news from the clubhouse starting from when the doors open at 9:20 a.m. A little later, Mark Simon will have a What2Watch4 in today's game. I'll be live chatting Yankees at noon, so please join in. And as always, thanks for reading.

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Matthews: Yanks take lickin', keep on tickin' http://t.co/38gHGSzrJM
about 9 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Postgame notes: The Forgotten Man http://t.co/GXTEaZ4ZeJ
about 9 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- AndrewMarchand Andrew Marchand
Matthews: Yanks take lickin', keep on tickin' http://t.co/qmB43wRAMp
about 9 hours ago
- AndrewMarchand Andrew Marchand

- AndrewMarchand Andrew Marchand
Granderson fractures pinkie after hit by pitch http://t.co/3qj0uhWnTP
about 9 hours ago
- AndrewMarchand Andrew Marchand

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Rapid Reaction: Yankees 9, Rays 4 http://t.co/BcfA34ckdO
about 11 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Grandy just walked through with a huge wrapping on his left hand. Needless to say he did not look happy
about 11 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Phelps has a right forearm contusion, x-rays negative
about 11 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Phelps went for precautionary x-rays, girardi said he didn't think it was anything serious
about 12 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Girardi on how long Curtis will be out: I'm not gonna speculate. I'll let the doctors tell us
about 12 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Granderson fractures pinkie after hit by pitch http://t.co/pU6Xa6jLwe
about 12 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
I think we can all resign ourselves to at least two more months of the Ben Francisco Treat
about 12 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
RT @DanBarbarisi: Granderson's Fractured fifth metacarpal is same injury that A-Rod suffered last year, when HBP in Seattle. Missed 36 game…
about 12 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Granderson has a fractured left fifth metacarpal, or pinky
about 12 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
J-Nix has a triple, single, walk, 2 RBI and a run scored tonight
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
best news of the night @boomerangdrinks I just can tell now Cancer can be beat I did it thanks to God!!! after 8 horriblemonths
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Don't. Blame. Me.
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Ichiro replaces Granderson in right in the bottom of the 5th
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Note to Yankees: Stop scoring now. Phelps has everything he needs already
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Ramos walk forces in Granderson; wonder if he'll return to the game in the bottom of the inning? Yankees up 6-0
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews

- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
Advice to @cgrand14 : stop getting hit by pitches. Now.
about 13 hours ago
- ESPNNYYankees wallace matthews
TEAM LEADERS
| BA LEADER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Robinson Cano
|
|||||||||||
| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| HR | R. Cano | 13 | ||||||||||
| RBI | R. Cano | 34 | ||||||||||
| R | R. Cano | 26 | ||||||||||
| OPS | R. Cano | .902 | ||||||||||
| W | H. Kuroda | 6 | ||||||||||
| ERA | H. Kuroda | 2.67 | ||||||||||
| SO | C. Sabathia | 56 | ||||||||||





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