The Sunday links
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 22, 2007 
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Chase Wright is all that stands between the Yankees and a sweep after Jeff Karstens couldn ‘t get it done.
Jose Reyes is the focus of the Sunday baseball notes.
I really don’t want to have to listen to all of my arrogant Sox fan friends (some of whom I haven’t talked to in years) getting in touch with me just to brag about a sweep. I mean, yes, Friday’s game was basically given away, yesterday’s game had a AAA pitcher and a B-league lineup, and today’s game has a AA pitcher against Mr. Media, but they won’t care.
Who Do you think is better catching instructor and Current Redsox Bullpen Coach Gary Tuck or Tony Pena?
I would rather have Gary Tuck than Tony Pena as a Yankees catching coach instructor and return to the Pinstripes. I wish He never left. So far the Redsox leads the league in Pitching and their Bullpen is solid. I blame George and Cashman for this.
JB you have to be kidding me. He helped Jorge have his best defensive season last year! Tony has also helped out alot of the Latin players on this team.
“Jorge have his best defensive season last year”
I think it was fluke.. This year Posada struggled with so many past balls and Opposing baserunners run on him.
Reflaxion,
Interesting. I’ve never had a friend that even knew anyone who knew anyone who was a Boston fan. You must not be from my neighborhood.
from kerouac- “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.”
here’s a quick list below of catcher’s from about 100-200 at bats from 2006. some of these may now be starting,but their number of at bats say they were probably part time back ups. a tip of the hat to kerouac for pointing out that the yankees did have options last winter to strengthen their catching and they passed on it for some reason. for those of you out there that say there was nothing available or that hardly any teams have decent back ups, you might want to take a close look at this list and compare the averages with nieves lifetime sub. 150 average .
a team like the twins has a budget of maybe 60 million and they have a back up catcher with 6-7 years of continuous service with the team who hit .341 for 2006.the continuous service means he knows the pitchers. a revolving door at the back up position undermines the pitchers in subtle and not so subtle ways. look what happened with bard and wakefield last year.
it is a management mistake to think they can go with second rate back ups each year because the rest of the team is so strong. the yankees have the resources to be above league average at every position including back up catcher. there’s no excuse to be this bad in the back up catching position.
it’ s a management blunder.
2006 partial list:
mike redmond-min-.341
mark lieberthal – phi- .273
david ross- cinn-.251
laird -tx .255
blanco-chc-.241
jose molina-cal-.240
torrealba-col-.328
valentin-cinn.269
sntder-arz-.277
greeene-sf .289
bennet-sl- .223
treanor-fla.229
wilson-detroit-.283
paul-tampa-.260
rivera-mil-.268
fick-wash-.266
castro-nym.238
Please do not feed the Red Sox trolls.
Red Sox have a fantastic rotation.
Stop the denial. it’s true. hopefully when our rotation gets wang and muss back it’ll be decent, but it’s not red sox quality. just because youre a yankee fan doesn’t mean you can’t see the truth.
our bench is pathetic – kevin thompson is our best bat off the bench on days phelps starts – we really should have resigned bernie
Jb:
You are a lot better than me (and probably Voros McCracken and Bill James) if you can isolate and meaningfully compare the effect of catching instructors and then conclude that this is the reason for the Sox having better pitching than the Yankees. I think it may have a lot more to do with injuries to three of the Yankee starters than Gary Tuck, but what do I know?
And Jennifer is 100% correct about Pena’s positive influence on Po. It’s a little early to cement in the season’s totals for caught stealing and passed balls, don’t you think?
good point randy, we should have signed pratt
Gj:
Seriously, if the Sox rotation is so solid, how did a lineup without Jorge, Damon, Matsui and featuring Nieves, Cabrera, and Minky get 9 hits and 4 earned runs in 6 innings? Same question as to how Big Schill got touched up so badly the previous night. It’s too early to know what the Sox rotation will accomplish this year.
I have to say amongst all the other the sky is falling posts over the last few days the ones that really get me going are the we need Bernie ones. Please just look at his stats as a pinch hitter they are not good. So when people say they should have given him a contract what role do you have for him that would benefit us? When he does well it is when he plays everyday and that is for his offense. He does not have a good arm anymore. I would much rather have Melky’s arm out there.
Yes might it have been better than having Kevin Thompson in there yesterday but how many games do you think that is going to happen?? Matsui is coming back next week.
Quote from Torre regarding Wright, “I’m not guaranteeing he’ll win but he won’t beat himself.”
This sounds to me that Torre has a lot of confidence in Wright, which is good. Anyone care to make predictions on how Wright will perform? My guess is 6IP and 4ER, and we will be ecsatatic with him.
Unquestionably, the Yanks have questions about their starting rotation. It would be foolish to think that the Red Sox don’t have questions as well.
Schilling has lost his fastball and will rely more on the changeup that he worked on in Spring Training.
Beckett shows flashes of brilliance then gives up doubles to the Kevin Thompsons of the world. Last year proved that his fastball goes a lonnnng way when hit. Also, Let’s not forget that Beckett has been diagnosed with a skin ailment that contributes to his yearly blister problem. In his 4 year career he’s only pitched as many as 207 innnings once.
Let’s see DiceK’s second trip around the league before his Hall of Fame induction, ok? As a Yankee fan it was heartening to see him totally lose his composure the other night against Toronto.
Come off the ledge Yankee fans. Once they’re healthy Pettite, Wang and Mussina match up very nicely with Schilling, Beckett and DiceK.
Bernie on the bench? Bernie was an awful pinch hitter and he can’t run. Thompson is much better suited to that, and he’s only on the roster until tomorrow when Matsui comes back. Usually Melky is on the bench, and despite his slow start this year, he’s a player.
The Yankees’ questions about their starting rotation revolve around health.
The Red Sox’ questions about their starting rotation revolve around ability.
It’s a major difference, and one that should be glaringly obvious in May.
Ok Vin, here’s my Chase Wright prediction: 6 2/3, 3 ER, 5 K’s, 2 BB’s.
The Sox rotation looks solid on paper, but when they come and pitch against a team that has patient hitting they are not that good. If you looked at Schillings fastball it was not that fast, unless he dug deep and put something on it. Beckett was throwing heat, but we still hit him hard without many of our big hitters in the lineup. If the Sox are a dominant team then the Yankess should have never been in that game yesterday.
pete – beautifully written piece about chase wright. conveys what a young, small-town kid wright is without being overly dramatic. loved the line at the end about him flipping through all his text messages.
murphydog – you’re right. it’s not like we’ve lost these last two games at full strength. we’re starting two complete rookies back-to-back, we’re missing posada, damon, and matsui. and we’re still IN these games all the way through. i guarantee you that every other team in the major league would have gotten blown out by the sox if they were missing 3/5 of their starters and 3 all-stars in the lineup. i’m not making any excuses or trying to overglory things, but we should all take a step back, and realize that they’re playing full strength, while we’re wading in a mess of injuries. and yet we’re still very much in the game until the very end.
Exactly, murphydog & DL. As poorly as the Yanks have pitched, both games have ended with the tying run at the plate.
I’m curious as to why everybody thinks we’ll be fine once Wang and Mussina are back…Wang had a great year last year but he’s no Santana. After he has had a few back-to-back good years, then I think you can start viewing him as a dependable starter/winner. Until then, who knows…he could turn out to be the next Scott Erickson (another guy who made it big with the sinker, but only ended up being truly good for a handful of years).
As for Mussina…Face it, the guy is definitely past his prime. The odds that he’ll have a bad game and get shelled these days are just as good that he’ll pitch well. So, again, not a guy you can count on to be a consistent winner.
Pettitte is the only reason for hope right now…But isn’t everybody (like me) just waiting for the day when his elbow gives out again? Do you really think he can be productive for a full season with that cranky arm of his?
I despise Boston bitterly (like all Yanks fans should!) and will be pissed as heck when they destroy poor young Chase Wright today…But I’d honestly be shocked if they didn’t take the division by a comfortable margin this year. The Yanks’ pitching staff (from starting through relief) just doesn’t have enough quality and/or consistent arms, and the offense is too feast-or-famine. If they’re not hitting dingers then they’re not winning games…which, as we all have seen since 2001, might be fine during the regular season but will kill you come postseason!
I don’t like A-Rod, but he seems like the best thing to root for on this year’s club.
Moose was 4th in AL ERA last year. Wang was 2nd in AL Cy Young voting.
You can say “he’s no Santana” about either of them, but you can say that about every single pitcher in the Major Leagues, with the exception of Santana.
Everyone said Wang was lucky in 2005 and would fall apart in 2006. Now they’re saying he was lucky in 2006 and will fall apart in 2007, and I put about the same amount of faith in this prediction as I did in the last one.
chicago dave – you don’t think things will become better when wang comes back? i don’t think you need 5 solid years to be considered a dependable starter or a winner. he won 19 games with less than stellar defense, had a few complete games including a shutout…those aren’t fluke stats. i remember a quote from jeter last year saying that when wang takes the mound, all the yankees feel like they have such an incredible advantage even before the first pitch is thrown out. that’s how much faith they have in this guy.
Wang has been incredibly solid for two straight years. Last year wasn’t a flash in the pan. Erickson’s sinker was thrown 95 mph.
Pete-
over at YF v SF, they called you unprofessional for calling soxfans a bunch of drunks for giving beckett a standing ovation. pretty childish on their part. thought you might want to have some kind of response or at least check it out.
i mean, this is a pro-yankees blog what’s unprofessional about being pro-yankees?
If the shoe fits…
How can anyone look at Beckett and Schilling’s performances this weekend and still tow the “OMG RED SOX ROTATION = TEH BESTEST!!!1″ partyline?
* How can anyone look at Beckett and Schilling’s performances this weekend and still tow the “OMG RED SOX ROTATION = TEH BESTEST!!!1� partyline?
I think it’s something in the water supply.
Gibb,
Peter does not need to respond to anyone. He is a good baseball writer and does a great job for fans in the Bronx.
I agree…do not take the bait Peter.
after all yankees lost the series but i think that don’t to be worried about cuz the yankees entered to this series with the lack of important players of the line up meanwhile boston set all the meat in the grill, yankees lost the series because iof one accident with mariano that i think it won’t happen again this year and a rookie pitcher woh is still need more otuings to be the pitcher for a fenway game, so we are still waiting for wang, mussina, pavano i think with them the series should be different. so i think red sox are the ones to be worrried cuz two of their aces recieved 11 runs in two games i think thta is not good, lets wait for the coing weekend it will be a whole different thing,
and for today matzusaka is going down, he’ll face his destiny with the yankees he’ll be a complete choke a waste of money, from today he weill desire to go back to japan, i really mean it, a-rod, is going to welcome him.
Let’s return to the “good old days” and trade right now Ohlendorf for Jake Westbrook. Maybe a Steven Jackson for a John Wasdin while we’re at it.
Cashman has been rightfully praised for being committed to holding on and developing the Yanks pitching future. As part of the process there will be bumps in the road, especially when the veterans they were relying on get hurt.
Here’s a glimmer of hope for the future. Phil Hughes and Russ Ohlendorf’s combined pitching line from their last starts: 12 innings pitched, 1 run, 4 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts.
Gibb:
These are the same pizza-loving fans from the Angels game and the ones that threw beer on Sheff in right field. I cannot imagine why anyone would call them drunks.
There’s no need to respond to the boobs at YF v SF. The facts are pretty plain. When Sox fans gave Beckett a standing O for a 9 hit 4 earned run performance against 50% of the regular Yankee lineup, they gave him more effort than he gave them. See you next time, Joshie.
Is it possible that we might win 1 game? Or will we give this game away,also? Boston has showed me nothing. The Yanks have just showed LESS. There are quite a few Sox fans in my area who can’t wait to break my chops. I take it. I can’t wait to give it back!!!
I just hope we don’t get killed tonight. I keep seeing Dice-k pitching a perfect game like that movie The Scout. If Chase Wright makes it past 2 innings, I will be very surprised. Can’t recall a Yankee pitching staff this bad in quite a while. Thanks Cashman.