Posada out, Damon in for tomorrow night
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I talked to Jorge Posada on his way out. He’s a no-go for tomorrow night. But Johnny Damon says he will be in the lineup.
The Red Sox were overjoyed that A-Rod didn’t get to the plate in the ninth. As Alex said, Bobby Abreu hit “a missile” to end the game.
No postgame audio. It’s just a train wreck trying to hear anybody with so much media around in a tiny clubhouse. They were literally pulling key players out into the concouse for us to talk to.
Thanks for reading, catch you tomorrow.
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on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 9:37 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
train wreck’s a good way to describe this weekend in boston. up in heaven, lou gehrig can’t believe how little it takes for these yankees to miss a game due to injury.
The biggest flaw on this team in the lack of depth behind Posada. Nieves couldn’t hit a baseball sitting on a tee. At least we start to get some guys back next week.
i didn’t bother to look at today’s comments, as i assume they followed the pattern so far this season.
my biggest worries are the injuries and mo, that’s it. boston certainly doesn’t look dominant. if the yankees had a decent starting pitcher on the mound today, they’d have had a shot at winning the game. likewise, if mo hadn’t decided to morph into brad lidge, they’d have won last night. they’re nowhere near full strength and they’re in these games. that said, if mo doesn’t come around, and if they can’t stay healthy (somebody PLEASE fire marty miller), this is going to be the story this season. close, but not close enough.
as i said before this series started, i think we all needed to entertain the idea that they’d lose two out of three and possibly get swept. right now (again, that’s RIGHT NOW), boston’s the better ballclub. i don’t expect them to mount much offense against matsuzaka tomorrow, as they typically don’t fare well against guys they haven’t seen, and considering how good matsuzaka’s stuff has been thus far, i don’t expect that pattern to change.
a sweep isn’t the end of the world. it’s a drag, and i hope they get it together soon, but they won’t lose the division tomorrow. wang back this week, moose back (hopefully) next week. one would hope it’ll come together after that.
i’d rather damon not play tomorrow and get the hamstring looked at, but what do i know.
Didn’t Mo have a shakey start to the beginning of the season last year and with Boston as well? I think he will be fine, the injuries worry me a bunch, but hopefully we are getting them out of the way now!
Mo will be fine. He was not hit hard yesterday, just unlucky. His velocity is there.
And we start getting players back this week.
Great job Pete and enjoy the day before tomorrow’s game.
Hey Pete-
If Posada isn’t available for tomorrow, who was going to catch the bottom of the 9th had the Yankees tied it or taken the lead in the top half of today’s game? Phelps?
Brian-Phelps is the backup catcher for Nieves.
Good post, Kasey.
All I have to say about this weekend is remember “The St. Yawkey Way Massacre” sweep from last season and know that we can do it again.
Everything that has happened this weekend has set up a question someone posed (sp) the other day. If you had to choose one game to win what game would it be? I know I chose Sunday, the rookie against god (well god if you ask red sox nation). How beautiful would it be for Chase Wright to go out there and out pitch dicek?
Peter how bad is Posada’s bruise? He never wants to sit out!
Tell him to get his butt back out there WE NEED HIM!!!
I’m sure Posada would play if he could. I’d guess we’ll see him by next weekend.
in the offseason, i was hoping the yankees would sign former phillies catcher mike lieberthal to a short deal, two years maybe. but he decided to take the dodgers’ offer of one year at $1.25M and a club option for 2008.
lieberthal hit .273 last year for the phils in over 300 ABs. he has 9 ABs this season as the dodgers have a good young catcher in rick martin.
i think cash should be on the phone, looking to pry lieberthal away for two prospects. mike would get more ABs behind a 35-year-old catcher than a young kid growing into the job.
Maybe Posada can pinch hit, if he’s planning on playing Monday.
After all, he did hit a double after sustaining the injury.
I agree kerouac, but it’s Russell Martin, and he’s definitely going to be great.
jennifer,
i wouldn’t get my hopes up for wright outpitching matsuzaka if i were you. it’s a nice thought, though.
Wright may not outpitch dice-k, but there is a decent shot at another high scoring game. Neither team’s pitching has done much this series.
If the Yanks get swept, then they sure as hell better sweep Boston and return the favor.
The most irritating thing is that Piniero’s comments didn’t fire up the yanks in the least. Boston has all the energy this series.
Even if Mussina and Wang come back and do well, there’s still the problem of awful number 4 and 5 starters.
this is not a good team Brian Cashman has assembled. 8-9 on monday…
Reality, do you really think people here don’t know who you are? You stopped using the Hello?Offense? name because you had gone too far and blown your cover as a Red Sox fan. Now you have this new name and were even called out by Peter himself to go away. Your tired act of pretending to be a Yankee fan and bashing the team from the inside is not appreciated. I’d almost rather you come clean and admit you’re a Red Sox troll and boast about how great they are.
As for addressing your annoying comments, let me just say, we swept you in a 5 game series last year basically ending your season, it was really pathetic. Oh and by the way their are what 17 more games between them? Ok you have a 2-0 lead, don’t start planning the duck boat parade just yet. Why would a loser middle reliever’s comments fire up the Yankees? And would them being mad have made Karstens throw a better pitch to Ortiz? Obviously not. Stop trying to create drama and go away.
starting pitching wasn’t he problem on Friday night, today yes.
once wanger comes back it will be
Wang
Pettitte
Moose
Kei
Rasner/Karstens/Wright
Keep your fingers crossed that Wright goes out and does well tomorrow night. Don’t forget we have Clippard and Hughes down in AAA. Hughes really turned it around in his last start.
I’m writing off the other guy until he decides he’s ready to pitch again, which likely won’t be till next march when he’s pitching for a new contract!
I hate that I’m answering you but last year when we won the division over you by like a dozen games, our fourth starter was Jaret Wright and our fifth starter was about 8 different guys including the now deceased Cory Lidle all of whom were mediocre. Oh and by the way Randy Johnson was our number 3 with a 5 ERA and we still won the division and tied the Mets for the best record in baseball. I’d say Igawa, Pavano, Wright and soon either Hughes or Clemens are far superior to last year. Oh and the offense is much better, like I said, enjoy now, it is only a matter of time before we rise to the top.
The Yankee pitching situation, once fully healthy, is significantly better than last year’s. And when you factor in the offense is better simply because Matsui will be playing games (nevermind a truly historic start by Alex), and you see why Yankee fans have great hope for this team.
Pitching and arguably 1st base are our biggest glaring holes. There wasn’t much of each over the winter so Cash got what he could. It sucks but hopefully the rotation gets its health together, the kids pan out/step up, Cash does something big at the trade deadline ala Abreu last year, or some combo of it all.
Looking at the Arod opt out logically – here’s what I thought makes the most sense.
First off – Arod WILL OPT OUT. He’d be foolish not too. Yes, it’s April but it looks like he’s going to have a monster year, he’s still in his prime, and this way can ensure one more huge payday.
If he doesn’t opt out and plays out his deal – he’ll be 35 (or 36?) at the end of the current contract. When he hits the open market then – there’s no chance he’ll command 25 million a year. He’s making alomst 28 million this year – very few teams can pay that as it is. I don’t think he’ll get THAT much more annually – but Arod on the open market will certainly get more years probably at a similar rate.
It makes sense – this way he could make 27-30 mill a year when he’s 36, 37, 38 years old as opposed to a (cough) paltry 12-15 mill a year.
Anyway – under the current conditions – Texas is paying about 9 million annually. So the Yanks for the next three years (including this year) are only on the hook for about 2/3 of his salary. The Yankees have deep pockets but if Texas is paying, why would they want to front the whole bill if Arod opts out?
Solution? Sign him to an extension as soon as the season ends. Tell Boras – don’t opt out. Tack on a 3-4 year extension on Arod’s current deal at let’s say 28 mill annually.
So Arod would have 3 yrs/81 million left on his current deal (the Yankees on the books for about 54 million, Texas for about 27 million).
If Arod then signs a 4 yr-112 mill extension on top of that – he’d be making bank well into his post-prime years.
To me that makes the most sense for the Yanks. This way Texas still foots part of the bill. In essence the money they’re paying from now until 2010 – would pretty much pay for Arod’s 2011 salary.
To me – this seems like the best course of action. Give him is money (that’s why he’d opt out in his first place) – but keep making Texas foot some of the bill for the next 3 years.
Thoughts? Comments?
I’m not sure anyone is going to pay him that enormous sum. Teams (outside of the Yankes) are worried about the luxury tax, and may not want to tie up so much money in one player. When A-Rod gets into his late 30’s, that contract will be an albatross, and he won’t be able to perform at the same level. Besides, I think the Yanks will do everything they can to resign him or prevent him from opting out. Remember, Texas is paying 31 million of A-Rod’s contract, so that could help the Yankees offer him an extension. I doubt he will get more money from another team than the Yankees will give him. It just depends if he wants to stay in NY.
everyone seems to forget: it’s not up to the yankees or a-rod. it’s up to the fans, remember? it’s all on us.
must be nice to have the decision in the hands of millions of complete strangers.
If any player in baseball will continue to perform into the 40s, it is Alex Rodriguez. His swing is so naturally powerful that he should still be a devastatingly good DH late in his career.
Look at Barry Bonds, sure he has the steroids but a great function of his longevity is the fact that his swing is pretty damn amazing and he can hit a baseball. Alex is the same way and in much better shape than bonds ever will be due to A-Rod being a perfectionist.
Yankees need to pay this man some money.
Edit:
Also I don’t know if anyone has noticed but outside of Karsten’s crappy game the yankees pitching staff has pitched pretty damn good. Our problem the last few games has been bullpen.
Wang – Pettite is a great 1-2. Moose-Igawa is a good 3-4. If Pavano comes back thats another pretty good starter. He was hitting 94 on the gun afterall and had command of most of his pitches. Even if he doesn’t come back you can get pen Roger clemens in for 20ish starts at 3-4 era and / or a number of AAA pitchers.
Schilling looks mortal, we can get to Beckett, the only unknown is daisuke and after that its gravytrain. When Matsui is back our 6-7-8-9 hitters are going to be matsui, posada, cano, mientkiewicz/phelps compared to lowell-varitek-crisp-pedroia.
Our bullpen over the long haul SHOULD be better than the Sox. All they got is Okajima and Paps.
We have Proctor, Vizcaino, Henn, and Bruney, not even counting Mo! As long as they aren’t over worked all of those relievers have proven to be lights out.
By the end of the season we will see who is on top.
deki Okajima Interviewed
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....tra_bases/
Q: Your thoughts (Yankees-Red Sox)?
A: It’s like we just won the pennant.
Did you know you were going to pitch today?
No, I didn’t. But was ready.
When were you told to get ready?
After we came back on top. (7th run scored)
First batter was Jeter, what did you think?
Good hitter. Not a hitter that you want to face, but I pitched with my feeling.
First two pitches, you look like you were nervous?
I was trying to pitch quicker, maybe. I figured I had to try something.
Then you went back to your regular focused face?
(Laughs) Is that so?
Then you faced red-hot A-Rod. What were you thinking?
Ugh, please stop talking about A-Rod’s contract. It’s early in the season, and it’s bad enough we have to hear about it from the media everyday. I read this blog to hear from real Yankees fans, not from people just trying to kill time (the media, no offense Peter).
Karstens looked bad last night, but the Yanks were hitting Beckett all right, who was throwing pretty good gas, although his location was a little off. A-Rod, of course, continues to blow my mind.
APRIL 22 Mlb PREDICTIONS
10-7 white sox over tigers 9-9
8-10 marlins over nationals 6-13
11-7 orioles over blue jays 8-10
12-6 braves over mets 11-6
8-7 indians over devil rays 7-11
10-9 reds over phillies 5-12
12-6 twins over royals 5-13
10-7 astros over brewars 10-8
8-10 rangers over athletics 9-9
8-10 cardinals over cubs 7-11
9-9 angels over mariners 5-9
12-7 padres over rockies 7-12
12-5 red sox over yankees 8-9
11-9 diamondbacks over giants 8-9
7-10 pirates over dodgers 13-6
No one is more disappointed about this weekend than I am, but I think we all need to take a deep breath and understand that 16 games is only 10% of the season. Every team is going to go through a stretch where they play .500 ball. Be encouraged that we scored 11 runs off of Schilling and Becket with a lineup that was far from our best. Wang & Matsui are back this week. Mussina the week after. We’ll be fine.
Let me go slightly off topic today since I am reeling from the last two games. I wanted to supply a little distraction.
From time to time some posters here get on Pete for being biased or a Yankee fanboy or some other sports writing misdemeanor. None of it is true, of course. Pete’s straightforward and newsworthy. But repeated critiques of writing like Pete’s make me wonder whether any of the complainers are reading anyone else. I read other writing and I like Pete’s more as a result. One of the people I love to hate is Mike Lupica. Why?
“And yet.”
“And yet” was an entire paragraph in Loopy’s column today. He also started the immediately following paragraph with “And yet,” repeating those two words for emphasis I guess. Think of it. “And yet” as a paragraph followed by “And yet” to start the next paragraph. Wow. I mean, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, original gangstas of grammar abuse, didn’t have that kind of linguistic courage.
Loopy didn’t stop there, however. He also threw in a gratuitous comment about US Attorney General Gonzalez:
“You have to say, in the whole crazy grand scheme of things, that this wasn’t the best time in the world for Alberto Gonzales to get snippy with Sen. Specter, right?”
Sorry, but who asked you, Mike the Sports Columnist? It’s like the old show biz saying that comedians always want to sing and singers all want to tell jokes. Each should stick to his or her own specialty when they are on the job. Apparently some sportswriters think I care what their political views are. Well, I might be interested if those opinions contained more than a burb’s worth of thought.
Anyway, the next time you want to critique Pete’s writing I recommend that you look around for other potential perps, those who are so full of themselves that a puncture wound would do us and them a world of good.
Thanks for tolerating today’s rant. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming.
Here’s a Standing O for murphydog!!! 2 thumbs up..3 if I had an extra!!!!
No one should be shocked if DiceK shuts them down today, it is the first time they will see him. Than again if they STAY (the KEY is STAY) patient and get him rattled we will have a chance! I have a good feeling about Chase tonight. I’m sure his teamates are doing their best to make him feel comfortable. I also think they should give him a set of ear plugs to block out some of the noise in that park.
Murphydog your post is right on – Pete does thigns with a sense of humor tht is needed when all of us, me included, take things too seriously. One does not always have to agree with Pete to oike his stuff. I agree about Lupica – whatever one things of Mr. Gonzalez the place for that is the political columns not hteh sports pages whcih I read when I don’t want to think about politics.
Try reading BOB KLAPISCH’s articles. Last line in his column
“It’s hard not to think of Wright the same way tonight. Cashman says, “I promise you the kid isn’t going to be afraid,” although you get the feeling the Yankees would like to hurry up, get the sweep over with and pretend the weekend never happened.”
He is totally writing off this kid, giving him NO SHOT tonight. If Dicek can suprise the Yankees cause we’ve never seen him, why can’t Chase surpise the Soxs. We have alot more video on him, than they have on Chase.
vin, thanks for the correction on russell martin’s first name. i want lieberthal if the price isn’t too high on prospects.
we’re taking our lumps this weekend and will regroup next weekend in new york. tonight’s game is winnable but i’m not calling my bookie to put something down on the yankees.
we’re going to be fine once we put the rotation back together and get some continuity and consistency from the starters.
I have a feeling the Yanks are going to steal this one.
They are perfectly capable of pulling out a win and it doesn’t make a difference what the pitching match-up is.
I think NY hits Dice-K tonight and pull out a victory.
With Matsui coming back tomorrow in Tampa, is there any chance that Cabrera gets sent down instead of KT? Cabrera looks lost at the plate and should be playing everyday in SWB to work on his hitting.
KT is better suited as the 4th OF’er as he is a filler on the major league squad. He can play some defense and has very good speed.
Any chance Pete??
Thanks.
Lupica is a fool, I’ve noticed the spinkling of political commentary into his columns lately as well.
Because of the injuries we are also getting no run support from the bottom of the line-up. Melky I hope is in a slump, the first base situation needs to be fixed. Two concerns I have with this version of the Red Sox. The way they have used Lugo, Crisp and Cora with small ball and speed, and Okajima has looked very good in my opinion. I think they will try to use the same tactics this evening with Wright, bunting Crisp, Cora and Lugo.
The last couple yrs. our offense is nonexistant against pitchers we’ve never seen. It might be a long night. We need a “WIN” just for morale’s sake.
I know Johnny D is a “gamer”. It does seem like he’s been hurt alot since putting on the pinstripes? What do ya think?
test
testing
testing again