Game 31: Rangers at Yankees
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 08, 2007 
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Here is the lineup:
YANKEES
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Giambi DH
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Abreu RF
Cano 2B
Mientkiewicz 1B
Pettitte LHP
Pregame chatter: Little lineup shift by Joe Torre. … The Yankees have won 18 of their last 23 games against Texas including a three-game sweep last week in Arlington. …
like the lineup shift. hopefully they’ll get something out of the 7-9 holes tonight, but that part of the order looks pretty bleak right now.
Giambi 3rd and Bobby 7th.
I see Torre’s finally started reading the comments down here!
I think sending Abreu down in the order is a good move. He needs to figure out what is wrong with his swing and his confidence right now. And having Giambi in front of Alex should give Alex more RBI chances since Abreu’s been really hurting the team in that regard lately.
giambi should be in the 3 hole
Does this mean that Bobby will be more likely to bunt, now that he isn’t the #3 hitter????
about time abreu got a blow at the bottom of the order
Saucy –
I had the same stray thought as I read the lineup.
Finally, Abreu out of the #3 spot.
I guess him staring at a blatant strike 3 call to end the game last night was the final straw for torre.
Well, he had the day off yesterday. What better to do than goof off on the internets.
“A little lineup shift”, seems like a big deal when you move your number 3 hitter to 7. But hey, the Mariners moved Beltre from 3 to 7 yesterday and wouldn’t you know it, he came up with two outs in the 9th and smoked a Mo Rivera hanger over the wall. Hopefully the move will help us similarly.
I like the fact that they moved Abreu down, but I would rather see Matsui hitting third. He would be a great fit between Jeter and Arod and they’d still have Giambi protecting Rodriguez. Oh well, at least they finally moved abreu.
torre is so good… i was afraid hed be stubborn like most managers. he truly is the best pete, what do you think?
why cant i write anything?
I think Pete said it in a sarcastic way, Jeff.
Clearly, Torre senses the urgency here.
We can spout off, “its early” all we want. However, being 6 games out is a big deal.
He isn’t looking to “wait” for things to get better. He is trying to make things get better.
Whether it works or not, we shall see.
But, he is 100% correct in making the move.
Its time these guys put it in gear. They have already wasted 30 games. They can’t waste the next 30.
Good for Torre. Solid move.
SJ44 it’s early.
hahaha
Looking at the Yankees lineup, I don’t really think there’s a huge difference between 3 and 7. I mean almost everyone there can hit, so Abreu should take advantage of the opportunity to break out of is slump.
30 games. if this were football, that’d be the equivelent of 3 games. so we’d have a 1 and 2 record.
Pete, if the patriots opened next season with a 1 – 2 record, would you worry?
CountryClub:
I agree with you about Matsui in the 3 hole… but this is certainly an improvement nonetheless.
Interesting. Last 4 games, Abreu .368, a couple of doubles, and 4 RBIs. Giambi .181, no extra base hits and no RBIs. Matsui .307, 1 double, a home run and 3 RBIs.
For those who have wondered about “Jerome from Manhattan”, he just called the Michael Kay Show.
He is still alive but, he sounded dead on the phone. May be over-medicated.
Is Phelps still on the team?
“Is Phelps still on the team?”
He was last seen running over a catcher over and starting a beanball war.
Jeremy,
I love to see Phelps too, but Mient has to be given more time now that he started hitting. He made a nice scoop last night.
Seems to me Giambi in the 3 hole erases any speed arod has and makes an already sluggish team even more so. It’s not a huge deal, but if anything a lineup shift should make the offense more dynamic, not less. why not try damon, cano, jeter, arod, giambi, matsui, etc…? jeter is a different hitter than he used to be and getting cano a first inning at bat could help him find his rhythm. i know its lefty lefty righty righty lefty lefty, but at some point maybe this team needs to abandon the philosophy that accumulating statistics and playing conventionally will ultimately yield a postseason birth, and try to make their own breaks…we certainly haven’t gotten any by chance this season.
I would guess that Giambi’s OB% is why he is put in the 3 hole instead of Matsui. He probably will allow A-Rod to see more pitches too because he is selective.
Hopefully Abreu can pull himself together – - – Cano has been slow out of the blocks too.
I think it’s the 8 games in a row without a BB that’s the bad sign for Abreu.
Newsflash Cano looks terrible. he looks especially bad with runners on base…
I wonder what his career #’s are with men on base versus no men on base…..
Maybe play Melky a game for ABreu?????
Melky always comes with the energy….
speaking of speed, how come jeter hasn’t been stealing this season? i know he fouled on off his toe and got hit in the thigh, but he can’t still be slowed by that, can he?
I’m starting to wonder who is struggling more: Cano or Abreu. Maybe Robby might benefit from a little lineup protection. Look who he’s been hitting in front of: Melky, Minky, Nieves, etc. Maybe moving him down to 9th, with Damon behind him, would help get him going.
David Ortiz bats third in Boston. Doesn’t seem to hurt their lineup.
You don’t a speed guy in the 3 hole. You need a run producer and Giambi is the guy to be in that spot.
They aren’t going to win games by stealing bases. They are going to win by hitting the ball.
IMO, this is the best batting order at this time for the Yankees.
Give it a week and let’s see how it works out.
You might have something there, Vin. But, also, Cano is not being very selective (not that that’s his strength).
SI- Tom Verducci -Top 10 franchise players
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....ers/1.html
Cabrera #ranks 1 follows by Grady Sizemore
Robinson Cano, 2B list as Honorable Mention. Where is Hughes? He’s not even listed on the list.
Nate Silver- Baseball’s 50 Most Valuable Players
Quote:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....index.html
No. 34. Phil Hughes, P, Yankees, Age 21
Is there a better metaphor for the trials and tribulations of a pitching prospect? Young stud pitching no-hitter in second major league start, tweaks his hammy on fluke play, out 4-6 weeks. We haven’t docked Hughes’ rating very much, since the injury did not occur to his arm. But the Yankees need to remember that many an arm problem developed because a pitcher’s lower body was out of kilter. Given Hughes’ impeccable minor league track record, the Yankees can afford to be patient.
No. 31. Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees, Age 33 (21)
Karma isn’t on Jeter’s side these days. First, he lost the American League MVP to Morneau last year, even though he led to the Yankees to the pennant and led the league with an 80.5 VORP. Second, he seems to have taken the worst of his feud with Alex Rodriguez, as no-more-Mr.-Nice-Guy A-Rod hit as many home runs in April as Jeter had all of last season. Jeter was an overrated player for a long time, particularly on defense. Dare we say he’s underrated now?
No. 27. Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees, Age 24 (NR)
Here is a rare species: the underrated Yankee. Cano hit .341 last year. Since World War II only eight other second basemen have hit .340 or better in a season in which they had at least 500 plate appearances, and only Rod Carew did so when he was as young as Cano. Although Cano could stand to draw a few more walks, if the upside is Carew and the downside is Carlos Baerga, Cano is going to wind up being a pretty darn good ballplayer.
No. 10. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees, Age 31 (3)
Yes, that might have been the best April in baseball history. Yes, he looks locked in at the plate — Rodriguez really does have a different look in his eyes than he did a year ago. But let’s keep this in perspective. Last year at about this time, when A-Rod was coming off a season in which he hit .321 with 48 home runs and 130 RBIs, we rated him as the third most valuable commodity in baseball. Since that time — since the start of May 2006 — he has hit .307 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs. The whole of baseball overreacted to A-Rod’s 2006, so let’s not overreact to one hot month in 2007. So why does A-Rod get bumped down to No. 10? Because as great as A-Rod is, there are a lot of other players in baseball who are nearly as great, and quite a bit younger. Would I take the rest of A-Rod’s 2007 or the rest of Grady Sizemore’s 2007? Probably A-Rod, but it’s close. Would I take A-Rod’s age-34 season in 2010, or Sizemore’s age-27 season in 2010? The answer is Sizemore, and I don’t think it’s remotely close. A-Rod might be the best player in baseball right now, but if we’re looking at a six-year time horizon there are at least a half-dozen guys ahead of him.
cano is struggling big-time. he looks horrible.
he’ll start hitting, but it would be nice if that happened soon.
Hopefully, everyone will find their rhythm soon. Arod and Jeter were carrying the team for almost the entire month of April. Good to see Mink starting to get back to form, hopefully Abreu and Cano will follow.
i agree its unconventional (even slightly illogical) to suggest moving cano up there. as for giambi third it doesn’t matter that ortiz is there for the sox because manny doesn’t run all that well either. arod can be a five tool player, but not with giambi on base in front of him. jason is getting plenty of rbi opportunities where he is, also.
cano has struggled, its true, but its been said that cano has issues with consistant concentration, and maybe it would benefit him to be thrust into the mix, instead of mixed in with pop outs to the second baseman. getting cano going is a big deal for this team…when he is right he is one of our best hitters against tough pitching.
it would benefit cano to stop flailing at bad pitches like a poor man’s soriano. that’s what would benefit cano.
when you’re 2 games under .500 and chasing a red sox team that looks very good, shifting the lineup is a good idea.
I think the biggest beneficiary of the change will be Matsui as pitchers will pitch carefully, arugably more carefully than before to A Rod. Then with Posada behind him, Matsui should get some good pitches. Last thing is, maybe Abreu can help spur a solid bottom of the lineup for a change.
i can see why the fans of Philly were happy to see bobby abreu go. He appears soft, laxadazical at times, and happy to take a walk or drop down a bunt. Right now, he is the antithesis of paul oneill.
How about moving Cano up to #2 and batting Jeter third? I know Joe likes the lefty-righty-lefty-righty thing all the way down the lineup. Or maybe you bat Abreu second. I personally like Giambi behind ARod for protection and it was nice the last few months of last year when 1-4 all were 400 OBP guys and were running the bases. Lots of pressure on the other team.
Let’s see.