Goodbye to Randy Winn and his .261 wOBA. Thanks for the two months of replacement level play, Randy.

While we endorsed Brian Cashman’s major moves of the offseason, one of the areas that we strongly disagreed was the bench construction. The Winn signing in particular didn’t make sense because — a) He didn’t fill a need. b) There were better options available.

Meanwhile, our top offseason bench target, Reed Johnson, is tearing up LHP with a .341/.383/.500 line and playing excellent defense in the corner OF spots.

With Thursday night’s 8-2 loss to the Twins, the Yankees have averaged 2.5 runs over their last six games. Even though they’ve squeaked out 3 wins, it’s frustrating to watch.

Yet despite their offensive struggles, the Yankees still boast the best bats in MLB, ranking first in runs per game and OPS+, among others. However, when compared to the 2009 team, there is something clearly lacking, and that’s power. Whether it be the injuries, reduced output from Arod, Teixeira’s horrid season to date, bad luck, whatever…the Yankees are not slugging like they did last season. Have a look:

ISO:
2009: .195
2010: .166

Home Runs Per Game:
2009: 1.51
2010: 1.13

Runs Per Game:
2009: 5.65
2010: 5.43


Runs?….Runs?….

Getting better with age…Mo locks down two one-run wins on the same day, and Andy goes 8 innings allowing only a deuce.

While perusing our community forum, we came across this post linking to a Washington Post sports blog. According to the article, MLB “expert” analyst and white-haired casanova Steve Phillips said on WFAN that the Nationals should trade super-phenom Stephen Strasburg for Houston’s Roy Oswalt.

But let me ask you this: Do you think that Strasburg is going to be Roy Oswalt in his career?”

And even if he is, if I think that I want Roy Oswalt to help me win this year, you know what? I’m one of the guys, I make that deal..

So this got us thinking…what would it take for the Yankees to get Strasburg?

The hindlimbs of a squirrel are generally longer than the forelimbs, and they have four or five toes on each foot. Their paws on their forefeet include a thumb, although this is often poorly developed. The feet also have a soft pad on the underside.

They are predominantly herbivorous, subsisting on seeds and nuts, but many will eat insects, and even small vertebrates. As their large eyes indicate, squirrels generally have an excellent sense of vision, which is especially important for tree-dwelling species. They also have very versatile and sturdy claws for grasping and climbing.

We checked in with longtime friend of NoMaas and Co-Editor in Chief of Baseball America, John Manuel. First, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be conducting a post-draft interview with John to get his thoughts on the Yankees’ picks. Also, while we had his ear, we asked for quick thoughts on some pitchers who’ve been all over our Minor League Player of the Week awards — Graham Stoneburner, Hector Noesi, and Jose Ramirez.

Graham Stoneburner, 22, RHP, A+
I haven’t spoken to any scouts about Stoneburner this year but our reports on him have been good in the SAL. I haven’t heard much about his two starts at Tampa. He still sounds like the same guy; like the arm, still a bit skeptical with his past labrum issues and small stature.

Hector Noesi, 23, RHP, AA
Noesi’s a nice back of the rotation option, we’ve got an organization report coming on him this week. Breaking ball’s a bit short if I recall.

Jose Ramirez, 20, RHP, A
Ramirez looked very good to the scout I talked to who saw him in April, said his velo was a bit down from what we had in the Handbook but that was to be expected so early in the season. He liked the arm action, body, looseness, all that.

Ramirez has the highest ceiling of the trio to me. Most likely to be a starter.

Powerful performances from prime positional prospects permeate this week’s edition of NoMaas’ MLPW.

Minor League Players of the Week:

Pitcher:
Adam Warren, 22, RHP, A+
12 IP, 5 K, 4 BB, 5 H, 1 ER

This was a bad week for worms. In his two starts this past week, NoMaas interviewee Adam Warren generated a whopping 26 groundball outs (18 of which came in his May 17th start) versus only two outs through the air. While his strikeouts numbers aren’t exactly what you’d want (6.49 K/9 in ‘10), they’re perfectly acceptable given his penchant for limiting walks (2.5 BB/9, 2.64 K/BB) while inducing grounders (2.38 GO/AO). Warren’s work on the year is certainly impressive (6-3, 1.93 ERA, 3.15 FIP) and if he continues on this dominant path, a promotion to Trenton would probably be in the works at some point this summer.

Position Player:
Austin Romine, 21, RHB C, AA
.458/.458/.667 in 24 PAs

Austin Romine was NoMaas’ Positional Player of the Month in April.

Another great week from Romine, whose line on the year is a robust .326/.386/.508. While his numbers aren’t likely to stay that high (.396 BABIP vs. .325 career), he’s not going to fall off of a statistical cliff like A-Jax last year. As you can see from his line, he hasn’t taken too many walks as of late, but his free pass numbers are still up from what they were last year. Romine’s home run total isn’t on 2009’s pace, but his doubles are piling up and as things get warmer, we can probably expect to see some of those two-baggers turn into round-trippers.

Consider this: Baseball America ranked Austin Romine as the 86th best prospect in baseball coming into 2010 after he posted a .763 OPS in Hi-A Tampa. Now, he’s at AA, a level many regard as where the wheat gets separated from the chaff, and he’s got a .895 OPS. If Romine had just repeated his average offense from ’09, he would’ve warranted consideration as a prospect in the upper half of those hundred players. With his work this year, Austin Romine is cementing himself in that top 50 and putting himself in contention for an even stronger ranking.

Honorable Mentions:

Brandon Laird, 22, RHB 3B, AA
.375/.444/.500 in 27 PAs
Trenton’s 3-4 of Laird and Romine is killing right now.

Rob Lyerly, 22, LHB 3B, A
.350/.435/.550 in 23 PAs
Lyerly showing some of the power the Yankes envisioned when they drafted him.

Jesus Montero, 20, RHB C, AAA
.263/.440/.474 in 25 PAs
The Jesus makes his first appearance on MLPW.

Romulo Sanchez, 26, RHP, AAA
6 IP, 7 K, 6 BB, 1H, 0 ER
Sanchez impressed in his 3.2 scoreless innings with the big league team.

Since going 15-7 in their first 22 games, the Yankees have gone 11-11. That doesn’t seem too bad, but 10 of those 11 losses have been in the last 15 games, including Sunday night’s defeat to Los Mets. It’s official, the Yankees are slumping for the first time this season.

Bringing back a NoMaas feature from last season, we examine how each Yankee is tracking defensively, according to UZR/150. UZR/150 measures how many runs above or below average a fielder would be at that position over the course of 150 games

As a team, the Yankees have a +5.0 UZR/150, 4th best in the AL. As usual, the Rays are first with +8.0.

UZR is not a fan of Robinson Cano, as this is the third straight year he comes in as a below-average 2B. He may play second like he’s Skip to My Lou, but UZR remains unimpressed. It is worth noting, however, that Revised Zone Rating (of Hardball Times fame) puts him 4th best in the AL, while leading 2B with 14 plays made outside his zone.

The Jeter defensive renaissance continues, although he’s been dinged a tad on his range.

Vazquez allowed only 1 hit through 6 innings, before having to leave the game.

When you’re trying to break a losing streak, it’s always nice to play the Mets.