MYSTERY SOLVED: BEN FRANCISCO HAS NAKED PICTURES OF BRIAN CA$HMAN

Cashman on Francisco said with a laugh: “In terms of your fans’ comments section, just say, ‘I’m holding on to him to piss everyone off,”+

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 18, 2013

Cashman (2 of 2) on Francisco: If you are dealing with the feedback, ‘Why is this guy here?’ Just tell them that, just to shut them up.”

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 18, 2013

Cashman joked that he was holding onto Francisco “to piss everybody off.” He knows Francisco’s popularity with the fan base.

— Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) May 18, 2013

On May 17th…

1996: Mariano Rivera records his first career save vs. California/Anaheim/Los Angeles of Anaheim (W 8-5)
1998: David Wells’ perfect game vs. Minnesota (W 4-0)
2002: Jason Giambi’s “true Yankee” moment, 14th-inning walkoff grand slam vs. Minnesota (W 13-12)
2005: Carl Pavano complete-game shutout vs. Seattle (YES, THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED — W 6-0)
2009: 10th-inning, game-winning HR by Johnny Damon (the “walkoff weekend” vs. Minnesota)
2010: Marcus Thames walkoff HR off Jonathan Papelbon (W 11-9 vs. Boston)

So you might be bumming about Andy Pettitte’s latest injury, or Chris Stewart coming up lame, or most importantly, the Yankees losing two out of three at home to the Mariners.

But it’s not all bad!

The Yankees’ 25-16 record after 41 games is tied for their best record at the quarter point of the season in the Joe Girardi era. Considering all the injuries, this is a universally unexpected result that has Girardi taking the early clubhouse lead for AL Manager of the Year (despite continuing to give playing time to Ben Francisco). Take a look since 2008, from best to worst record…

2010, 2013: 25-16
2009: 24-17
2011: 22-19
2012: 21-20
2008: 20-21

Going a little further back, here’s the team’s best 41-game records since 1993, when the Yankees’ current string of winning seasons began…

1998 (of course): 31-10
1994: 28-13
2003: 27-14
2002: 26-15
1996, 2010, 2013: 25-16

In recent memory, the worst Yankee record at this point was the 1995 edition, which stood at 16-25 after 41 games. For those of you who recall, that team (in a 144-game season) was fairly underwhelming until a 25-6 stretch run carried them to the playoffs. So obviously, 41 games does not a season make. The 2008 Yankees didn’t make the playoffs with a quarter-year record around .500, while the 2007 squad did after posting an 18-23 opening mark — and that particular team would regress to 21-29 before the infamous A-Rod “HA!” game in Toronto. Generally, though, a start this good is a positive sign.

Game 39: Furbush gets waxed, Yanks beat Seattle (NYY 4, SEA 2)
Game Notes:
- CC Sabathia vs Felix Hernandez would be a great postseason pitching matchup, but since King Felix plays for the Mariners, we’ll all have to settle for plain old regular season games like this
- Raul Ibanez returned to the Bronx and homered in the 6th inning
- Robinson Cano went 2-3, including a game tying double in the 7th inning
- Curtis Granderson played his first game of the season and went 0-4 with a strikeout and a GIDP. Clearly the Yankees are better off without him

YES Player of the Game: Robinson Cano (.361 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Robinson Cano (.361 WPA)

Game 40: Phil gets whacked (SEA 12, NYY 2)
Game Notes:
- Phil Hughes got Michael Saunders to fly out to start the game, and everything went down hill from there – he allowed 7 runs in just 0.2 IP
- Raul Ibanez hit two home runs, including a grand slam
- Seattle reached double digit runs for the first time all year
- The two Yankee runs came on solo shots from Vernon Wells and Chris Stewart
- Yes, this game actually happened

YES Player of the Game: Raul Ibanez (.170 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Phil Hughes (-.441 WPA)

Game 41: Punchless Yankees drop game, series to Mariners (SEA 3, NYY 2)
Game Notes:
- Andy Pettitte exited after 4.2 innings with tightness in his back
- Jayson Nix hit second again because Joe Girardi hates Yankees fans
- Curtis Granderson went 3-4 and stole a base
- The Yankees finally found Raul Ibanez’s horcrux and the Dark Lord went 0-4 with 3 strike outs
- Seriously, why is Nix hitting second?

YES Player of the Game: Michael Morse (.194 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Carter Capps (.253 WPA)

The Yankees dropped two out of three to Seattle after taking the first game. This team has not lost three games in a row all season, and they’ll look to keep that streak in tact on Friday when they start a three game set against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yankees went 2-13 with RISP, including 0-3 by Girardi’s BFF Jayson Nix.

Best buddies: Girardi has used his beloved Nixy as the #2 hitter seven times already this season

CC’s results to date have been fairly strong and his fall from grace as an elite pitcher due to velocity concerns has yet to occur. However, if there is one thing to be concerned about with the sustainability of his 2013 performance to date it’s the following data point. Let’s play spot the outlier, shall we?

CC’s xFIP is not that far from his career average; however, the Left on Base %-age (LOB%) shown above is clearly above his career norms. It’s also distinctly above the league average for qualified starters in 2013, which currently resides around 74%.

Mean regression is not a guarantee. Nevertheless, this is something that’s worth watching.

Hughes: 0.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 run HR

So he made a farmer…and the crops continue to be harvested. Another homegrown product is getting a chance.

The oddly-released, then re-signed David Adams has been called up to the bigs (on his birthday!). The recently acquired Chris Nelson was DFA’d. Primarily a second baseman throughout his minor league career, Adams was transitioned to third base starting in 2012 and has also played a couple games at first base this season in Scranton.

There’s never been any questions about Adams’ bat (questions have been health). A career .296/.380/.450 hitter in the minors, the 26-year old has a current Triple-A line of .316/.407/.490.

Against LHP this season, Adams is hitting .333/.412/.567. Against RHP, he’s hitting .309/.405/.456. In 2012, it was .330/.386/.570 against LHP, and .295/.384/.396 against RHP. While he’s hit all pitching well, he’s been especially good versus lefties — an ability that would help this version of the Yankees, which has been awful against LHP (76 wRC+, 2nd-worst in the AL).

What this also means is that Ben Francisco has survived the cut once again! At this point, let’s just keep him the whole year for comedic value.