IN PRAISE OF GIRARDI/HERE COME THE RED SOX
In our last entry, I went on at great length about the untimely manifestation of Coffee Joe earlier this week. I meant to provide perspective by also mentioning some praiseworthy things that Joe Girardi has done this year. In the heat of the moment, I lost track of that goal and didn’t go beyond my indictment of Coffee Joe. I want to correct that now. He has, within certain limitations, constructed an excellent batting order this year. The main innovation has been batting Nick Swisher second. This is an untraditional choice, since nine times out of ten managers will still bat a banjo-hitting middle infielder second instead of a power bat. Swisher has completely changed his approach this year. He’s walking less but hitting for a higher

Arizona Diamondbacks
Stephen Drew: You hear the shortstop brought up in trade rumors from time to time. The problem with J.D. Drew’s little brother is that with a trade from the generous Chase Field he will disappear. This year, he’s hitting .291/.372/.464 at home, but only .259/.323/.367 on the road. His career home/road split is .288/.353/.481 at Chase, but only .253/.305/.402 on the road.

Chris Snyder: In the offseason, I talked about him being a good add for the Yankees, and he still would be one given that he is signed through 2012—though he can be bought out for that last year. He would be able to augment Jorge Posada, or spell him when he’s only hitting, and perhaps hang around after Posada’s contract ends in 2011 to tutor (and provide competition for)

THE SLUMP!

Can we call what the Yankees are going through right now, with the Yankees pushing past four runs just once in the last seven games a slump? Sure we can, because it has gone on a lot longer than that. After hitting .286/.367/.452 in April and May and scoring an average of 5.7 runs per game, they dropped off to .245/.333/.401 and 4.8 runs per game in June. It wasn’t just the Mariners or the six games played without the designated hitter in NL parks. The Yankees didn’t hit much in the first half of the month, then slid off as the days went on.

You can pick a half-dozen culprits. Brett Gardner (.383/.472/.533) and Robinson Cano (.333/.398/.510) had good months. Mark Teixeira was about average for an AL first baseman, which isn’t saying much this year. Everyone

DIET STRASBURG
His debut won’t get the same hype as Stephen Strasburg’s, but when Jake Arrieta makes his Major League debut, the Yankees will be seeing the pitcher who is perhaps the next-best prospect at the moment. Take that statement for what it is -- there is a huge gap between Strasburg and the next-best guy, but all that means is that Arrieta is just your standard pitching phenom, someone who in any other year you would be very excited to follow. He throws in the mid-90s, with his best non-fastball offering being a slider. Walks are his Achilles’ heel.  

The 6’4” right-hander has dominated the International League, compiling a 1.85 ERA in 73 innings for Norfolk. He’s walked 34 (high) and struck out 64. The Orioles now have three top pitching

Instead of fretting too much about what was a very bad weekend, let’s look on the bright side for a change. Francisco Cervelli has an amazing, nigh-unprecedented ability: everything his bat touches turns into a hit. His nickname shouldn’t be Frankie, it should be “King Midas.” King Midas Cervelli is batting .354 overall and .403 on balls in play. This is clearly the supernatural at work.

I’ve observed before that Cervelli’s Minor League track record was both limited and not terribly impressive. The native of Venezuela hit just .273/.367/.380 in 221 games, his training period having been attenuated by injuries and call-ups. The on-base percentage suggested he knew a little something about the strike zone, but not in the Ted Williams sense of knowing something