Chris Stewart Archives

Nixy!

August 20, 2013

Without fanfare or drama, Jayson Nix has quietly made himself essential to the 2013 Yankees. When he was on the DL, there was a noticeable lack of depth on the team, offensively and defensively. He’s never going to be a star, but when he’s in the lineup he always manages to do something to help us win – never more so than today. The Yanks owe much of their doubleheader sweep of the Blue Jays to him. I’d really hate to see him DFA-ed when Jeter comes back.

Also an unlikely hero? Chris Stewart, whose homer in Game 1 saved the day. Well, Mo saved it literally, but Stewart’s homer was big. I’m not a huge fan of his catching ability (too many passed balls), but he’s given us much more than I expected this year.

Cano’s on fire, just as Soriano was during his run (which sadly appears over for now). And the starting pitching in the doubleheader was almost uniformly good: Nova in the opener and Hughes in the nightcap. The Jays were without Bautista after his injury and they’re not exactly tearing up the division the way they were supposed to, but today was all about beating a team we needed to beat.

The Yankees are still a long shot to make the playoffs – the Red Sox would have to start showing signs of a collapse and they haven’t – but at least they’re making the games fun again. I watched on and off throughout the day and I had the sense that they’d find a way to win – something I didn’t have a few weeks ago.

What An Entertaining Game!

July 20, 2013

Maybe there’s something to be said for approaching Yankees games – particularly games against the first place Red Sox at Fenway – with low expectations. When we scored the first run and then added a few more, I was so excited, as if runs were this rare phenomena.

And I loved watching Kuroda pitch. He really is an ace – just a pleasure to have on the team. I hoped he’d finish with a shutout because he deserved it, but I was happy he got the win and the run support.

And Chris Stewart’s double play. Wow. Tim McCarver, whose opinion I don’t usually pay attention to, couldn’t stop raving about how Stewart threw himself into the stands to get that foul ball, then wheeled around and fired to second to get the out. It was seriously cool. I haven’t been a big Stewart fan, but that play was impressive. (And speaking of FOX, what a relief not to have to suffer through Joe Buck.)

I think it was Jack Curry who said on the YES postgame show that the Yankees are treading water until Jeter, Granderson, etc. come back, and it’s true. They win a game here and there and then lose three, and consistency has been hard to come by with all the different players coming and going. But for tonight at least, life as a Yankee fan was very good.

“And the ball gets away from….”

June 7, 2013

I think Ken Singleton said that a zillion times about Chris Stewart during tonight’s loss to the Mariners. Granted the Yankees offense was somehow stymied by the once-competent Jeremy Bonderman and Kuroda had a meltdown in the fourth or fifth inning (can’t remember), but the fact is that Stewart is just not a great catcher. I’d rather have Romine out there.

What is there to say about this game? Not much. Preston Claiborne continued to impress, but the hitters must have eaten too much of Safeco’s famous sushi. (Wells has become the new Ben Francisco.) They looked sluggish and not into it, and neither was I. I went back and forth between the game and the replay of the Nadal-Djokovic semi-final at the French Open. Now that was a match and so much more entertaining.

"And the ball gets away from…."

June 7, 2013

I’m Telling You, The Yankees Are Made Of This!

May 16, 2013

That’s right, shattered glass. It’s insane. Andy Pettitte was cruising along tonight, albeit having given up a run, and then – boom – he was gone, attended to by the dreaded Stevie Donahue. Let’s see how long he’s out with this cockamamie trapezoid thingie. Ugh.

And Stewart. He was running the bases and he “felt something” that turned out to be a groin injury. Not good for a catcher. Come on, guys. Get it together and stop falling apart! I’m sick of this. Is Romine ready to catch CC and Kuroda and the whole staff? Who’s the backup catcher now?

Okay, rant over.

The Yankees dropped the series finale to the Mariners and they should have won it. The offense went to sleep, period. I did too. This game was too boring for words with only some moderate will-they-mount-a-comeback suspense at the very end. Snore.

I'm Telling You, The Yankees Are Made Of This!

May 16, 2013

Okay, rant over.

Spare Parts

August 5, 2012

What struck me about today’s victory over the Mariners, aside from how sweet it always is to win as opposed to the opposite, is that guys like Ibanez, Nix and Stewart made important contributions.

Ibanez has been a bona fide star over his long career, but at 40 he wasn’t expected to produce the way he has this season. I certainly didn’t expect it, especially after his horrendous spring training. He’s just so impressive, whether it’s clocking a ball into the seats or getting a hit after a tough at bat. A professional hitter, that’s what he is.

Nix has been a journeyman – nothing fancy, just a guy who keeps grinding in almost a Brosius blue collar way. His throws at third really impressed me today, and his offense has been a pleasant surprise.

And Stewart? I didn’t have a clue. I think many of us were wondering why Cervelli didn’t get the backup catcher job instead. But “Stewy,” as I’m sure Girardi calls him, manages to make something good happen whenever he plays. And catching Sweaty Freddy with all his walks and wild pitches can’t be easy.

Of course our regulars – from Tex to the back end of the bullpen – were great too. And the best part? We won a series heading into what will be a tough one against the Tigers. I am not looking forward to facing this guy tomorrow night.

First, The Bad News

May 10, 2012

Yup, Eduardo Scissorhands was in full view tonight. Those errors in the first couple of innings were painful to watch, especially the second one. I actually wondered on that throw if he was suffering from the Chuck Knoblauch Syndrome. He received pats on the back from his teammates in the dugout, but seriously. How long can he play third? (Or second? Or short?) And why is A-Rod DH-ing so often? (That’s another story; don’t get me started.) Clearly, Nunez has a nice bat and can run the bases. But just as clearly he’s not the guy I want out there when CC is pitching and doing his best to be efficient with his pitch count.

Now, onto the good news.

CC was a beast.

At first I thought he might get hit hard – his pitches were up – but he totally settled in and dominated, and was the essence of an ace.

Cano was the Cano we’ve come to know and love. He’s back. He looks great at the plate, just great, and not a moment too soon.

Soriano took command in the ninth even after pitching on consecutive days. I liked it.

And here’s another piece of good news: Chris Stewart always does something good with his appearances. Girardi can say all he wants that Stewart isn’t CC’s personal catcher, but who cares? Why not let the two of them continue their partnership if it’s working? Martin’s a big boy. He can handle it.

Of course, the news that Gardner has re-injured himself isn’t good news at all. It stinks. I don’t want to see Ibanez in the outfield – ever – and even Jones makes me nervous. I really like Dewayne Wise though.

Good, solid series win for the Yanks against a division rival. I’m happy right now.

Life Is Better

May 4, 2012

Sounds like we’ll be seeing Enter Sandman again after all. Not this season, but next. With the news that Mo does, in fact, intend to come back once he’s healthy, we can regroup after the shock of yesterday and focus on the immediate future without him.

Toward that end, the Yankees had a nice game in KC tonight. Early on, I thought CC might get hit hard but he settled right down and dominated after giving up the two runs.

Great to see Tex hitting the ball. Finally.

And Jeter continues to amaze. We all hoped he’d play at a high level, but go on a tear like he’s been doing? Including another homer tonight? Sick.

I was glad the Yankees called up Dewayne Wise. The kid can play the outfield and takes care of my defensive concerns, plus he got a hit tonight. I hope he hangs around awhile.

Chris Stewart is really a surprise. He seems to contribute every time he gets the opportunity to catch. Good for him.

And D-Rob. It was when he came in for the ninth that I felt the absence of Mo very keenly, even though it was a non-save situation, but I said to myself, “Get used to it. This is the new reality. It’ll be okay.” Robertson was more than okay. The way he handled the Royals in the ninth was very Mo-like.

CC, The Mood Elevator

April 29, 2012

He pitched like an ace today and made me forget all about the fact that Garcia’s going to the pen (I don’t really want him there any more than I want him in the rotation but whatever). He even made me forget that Swisher, following his big two-homer game yesterday, now has a strained hamstring. Well, he almost made me forget about that. Does it seem to anybody else that Swish has hammy issues a lot?

CC was efficient for the most part and exuded confidence, and I never felt like the game was in jeopardy even though the score was close much of the time.

Speaking of the score, I should have had my 10 run-er in this one. The Yankees offense had SO many chances to knock in runs and failed. But it was great to see Cano hitting the ball with more authority and Grandy and Jeter just keep showing what they can do and Chris Stewart has turned out to be a nice pickup; CC clearly likes pitching to him.

All in all, a very enjoyable win today. Always great to take a series, and taking one from the Tigers is especially sweet.

Scary No More

April 23, 2012

Instead, the laughing lady is back because it turns out there was nothing to be afraid of in Arlington. Not with CC, Jeter and A-Rod on the case. (And Mo, although his outs weren’t very Mo-like; they were actual fly balls instead of his usual broken bat grounders.) Oh, and I need to give a shout-out to Chris Stewart, who’s really growing on me.

CC was more ace-like than he’s been in a while, and I felt relaxed with him out there – even after Hamilton’s homer. Good job by Girardi letting him pitch the eighth.

A-Rod’s homer was a nice display of power. He does seem to like hitting in Texas.

But Jeter was the story for me tonight. Yes, he made that error, but his offense is off-the-charts amazing right now. It’s like we’re watching a time machine or something.

What’s he’s doing to turn back the clock? He told ESPN after the game that he was just reverting to his normal way of hitting after having tinkered with his stance/swing early last year. Girardi thinks it’s the lack of pressure over the 3,000th hit milestone. But I’m convinced it’s because he’s got a secret new girlfriend.

Just kidding. I have no idea why he’s doing a terrific impersonation of himself from the last century, but I sure hope he keeps it up.

Looking ahead to the Japanese one-on-one tomorrow night, it’ll be the veteran…

Versus the kid.

I can’t predict this one at all. Kuroda has really been knocked around, but Darvish might be jittery with all that media in attendance. More importantly, the Yankees are notoriously inept at hitting pitchers they’ve never faced so Yu could dominate. We’ll find out soon enough.

Our Latest Hero

April 17, 2012

Actually, there were a lot of heroes in tonight’s entertaining victory over the Twins, but I enjoy giving shout-outs to the new guys. I admit when Chris Stewart came up with a chance to drive in runs in the third, I moaned about Cervelli and Jorge and didn’t give the poor kid a chance.

Wrong!

He came through, and his two-run single seemed to turn the game around.

This one was a tale of two CCs: the mediocre CC in the early innings and the dominant CC the rest of the way. Did he eat some of this in the dugout instead of sunflower seeds?

Whatever did the trick, he seemed to bear down and stop fooling around. And of course he had help both from the offense and defense (not counting A-Rod’s error). Gardner had a good night as did Jeter (again) and Andruw Jones, and I have to hand it to Eduardo Scissorhands for being the best bunter on the team.

I also have to say that for the first time in a looong time I felt sorry for an umpire. When Denard Span started yelling at home plate ump Greg Gibson and then Gardenhire took over the yelling, I said to Michael, “Who’d want to get yelled at like that?” Gardenhire seemed upset about the balk, so it was ironic that Gibson called a balk on CC shortly thereafter and there wasn’t a peep out of Girardi.

For anybody watching on YES, how funny were that bride and groom watching the game? I’m sure it would be a kick to get married at Yankee Stadium, but I’m less sure I’d try to squeeze a big, poofy wedding gown into those seats, even the pricey ones.

Baseball Can Be A Cold Business

April 4, 2012

Yes, it was heartwarming to see Andy Pettitte pitch a scoreless inning, but for Cervelli the game and its aftermath wasn’t much fun. After he hit a homer against the Mets, he was informed that he was being optioned to AAA.

I thought he had the backup catcher job locked up and so, apparently, did he. It seems the job will now go to somebody named Chris Stewart, newly acquired from the Giants for George Kontos.

Poor Cisco. He’s had – what? – like 10 concussions by now? He hasn’t always been the greatest catcher, no question, but he deserved to stay in the bigs if you ask me, which nobody is.

Oh well.

After tomorrow’s workout at the evil Trop, the season will kick off there against the Rays and all will be right with the world.