Kuzul

In the Yankees' world these days, good health is hardly anything to take for granted. But if we're willing to live in a fantasy world for a moment and employ ceteris paribus, or hold all things constant with good health, the Yankees have to be pleased with the performance of their top three starting pitchers so far.If CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda can avoid the injury bug, the Yankees will have a very formidable trio atop their rotation. It's those other pesky two slots in the starting rotation that are causing manager Joe Girardi and the Bombers' fans agita these days. Between homegrown products Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova, the Yankees are in a constant state of wonder and analysis attempting to figure out why their performance varies so greatly from month-to-month and even game-to-game during the course of the season.In Hughes, the Yankees have a pitcher who seems to fit the description ...

If you're still waiting for the New York Yankees to make a blockbuster trade this offseason that will position them as front-runners for the American League pennant, then now is the appropriate time for you to return to your normal daily activities.This is 2013, a new time for the Yankees. A time defined by a businesslike approach to personnel—one which means less spending and more saving in order to get under the luxury tax threshold before the 2014 MLB season. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is really handcuffed right now. What's so remarkable and hard to comprehend for Yankee fans is that things have changed dramatically from the way they were for such a long time under the reign of George Steinbrenner. Now, ownership has mostly delegated decision-making authority for player personnel to the GM. Yet ownership is also quite frugal compared to where it was just a few years ...

The New York evening was growing older, fans getting restless and the Yankees looking for someone to step up and lift them one step closer to the postseason. Leave it to their dedicated, hard-working catcher Russell Martin to deliver the big blow in last night's enormous 10-inning victory over Oakland.Russell Martin?Yes, the much-maligned catcher has become a critical part of the Yankees' success late this season and his contributions have helped bolster the lineup just enough to get the Bombers on a nice win streak. Martin has a nearly .900 OPS in the month of September (.896 to be exact) and has cranked out some enormous home runs.From a momentum-shifting, three-run shot in Baltimore two weeks ago to help lead the Yankees to victory, to a game-changing, opposite-field three-run shot last Sunday against Tampa, to last night's walk-off bomb deep into the left-centerfield seats at Yankee Stadium, Martin has been ...

The Yankees have blasted their way to the highest home run total in the majors, and they're currently tied for first in team OPS. Yet they have had odd struggles batting with runners in scoring position. This problem has plagued the Bombers all season long and they enter this series at just 17th in the majors.The Yankees are 8-4 against Boston this season, with six games left in the season series. The Red Sox come in with nothing to play for other than personal pride and the chance to give their fans something to cheer about by putting a dent in the Yankees' postseason hopes.The 2012 season did not start out with low expectations for the Sox—in fact, quite the opposite. Boston was considered to be a front-runner to win the division. Injuries, clubhouse discord and poor performance has derailed the Sox season.Ownership also blew up what were the Red Sox earlier this ...

Entering play on Saturday, July 21st, the New York Yankees have the best record in baseball, surging of late, winning nine of their previous 13 games. The Bronx Bombers lead Major League Baseball in home runs, are eighth in team batting average and first in OPS (on base + slugging percentage).However, the Yankees are second to last in the American League while batting with runners in scoring position (RISP). Huh?Of all the major sports, baseball is the simplest to quantify and to project team and individual performance. It's a sport that is eminently easy to follow statistically, given its large sample sizes and isolated moments of game action.Baseball's statistical projections and prognostications are mostly based on past performance and studying trends. In certain respects, this differs very little from the methods behind predicting stock market successes or failures.These trends project whether a player or team will perform at certain levels given their age, health and ...