You can’t explain some games
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- May
- 30
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How can you explain tonight? A guy with nine career steals swiped home.
A team that takes infield before the game commits two errors that lead to two unearned runs.
Jason Giambi steals a base then limps around the bases after hitting a homer like he’s Roy Hobbs.
Yet the Yankees lose in the end. “You want to keep it positive but it’s tough to keep it positive,” Jorge Posada said. “You continue to think ahead. It’s really, really tough right now, nothing’s coming our way.”
You can say that again. What a mess.
Here is Joe Torre:
And Andy Pettitte:
Have a good night, all.
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on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 12:08 am by Peter Abraham.
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iTunes
Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
It’s amazing how many things have gone wrong for this team this year.
pretty speechless…not pissed, just speechless.
As bad as the Yankees have played this year, I can’t see them being as bad as or worse than the 1990, 1991, or 1992 Yankees, with the ‘92 Yankees being the best team of the three at 76-86. I mean let’s put things into perspective here, folks. I just can’t see it with the talent they have on the field and their schedule after the series at Chicago 6/4-7. With the talent they have on the field esp. a front-four rotation of Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, and Clemens as of Sun.6/4, they should be able to at least equal the 1993 Yankees record (88-74).
I’m sure to draw “you’re crazy” replies from a multitude of Doubting Thomases, but here’s why the Yankees will win the 2007 A.L. Wildcard: Detroit’s remaining schedule vs. the Yankees remaining schedule.
Go to detroittigers.com and look at the schedule there. You’re an idiot if you think that schedule is easier than or as easy as the Yankees’. It isn’t. If the 2007 Yankees were in the 2007 A.L. Central, yes, they could be just as bad as the 1990-92 Yankees. They’re lucky they aren’t in that division.
Toronto and Baltimore are pretenders will swoon whenever they always do.
Minnesota doesn’t have the hitting beyond Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter or the rotation depth beyond Johann Santana to overcome Detroit, Chicago, or Cleveland.
Chicago’s good pitching won’t carry their anemic hitting all year and I don’t think their offense will carry bad pitching when bad pitching is thrown long enough. Ditto for Oakland.
to be a yankee fan living in NY right now- this team is losing in ways stephen king couldn’t come up with. then you switch channels and somehow the mets pull ANOTHER walk-off out of their sleeves. as i watched jose reyes bounding around in the dugout just prior to delgado hitting the game-ender, i couldn’t help but just crack up a little. i caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and noticed that i was smiling at a NY baseball club. i feel shame, but should i really deprive myself?
i’m starting to reflect on the last few years of yankee baseball. sure it was fun to watch a bully slam on the shrimps in the reg. season. that would have remained satisfying for a long long time. we were watching the power squad the boss always wanted. but were we watching a GREAT baseball club??? i do love good baseball, and i’m starting to feel shallow.
the yankees we are seeing this season are simply the yankees we have watched in the postseason since 2002: a fantasy team that can’t pry itself off the paper and into anybody’s heart or soul. you can’t love this team.
Torre said “both teams played hard”
Is he blind or just stupid?
The Blue Jays played hard and manufactured runs and took advantage of stupity by the Yankees.. mainly A-Rod.
A-Rod should have let that ball go foul. Things may have ended differently if he did. It was going foul, you let it go foul. Any competant 3rd baseman knows that.
A protest is planned for Yankee Stadium when the losers return from their road trip. No one with tickets will actually go into the stadium. All will stay outside and protest the embarassment being forced on us by the multimillionaires inside.
Chants will be had and will be loud enough to be heard inside throughout the game. The echo of the chants will be strong with all the seats being empty.
The gate of the Players parking lot will be blocked and no Yankee will be able to leave until they get out of their car and personally apologize for the fail they have been giving New York. They have to apologize to the fans, NY, the MLB, and to Steinbrenner. They will have to promise to play better, take extra batting practice, and learn discipline at the plate.
No one is exempt. Bullpen pitchers will have to apologize for losing games and not knowing how to pitch. They will have to promise to take extra throwing sessions and figuring out what they have been doing wrong.
Farnworth will have to give a 60 minute speech explaining each and every loss he has caused and how he is a fraud. He will have to put his salary in a escrow account and it will only be released when he pitches the way he is expected to pitch.
Giambi must stand there, motionless, and endure 50,000 people laughing at him.
Abreu has to give a 30 minute apology and answer all questions from the fans about his fail this season.
Torre will be sat down at a kid’s school desk in front of a blackboard and he will be taught proper bullpen management. He will be given a test at the end of the lesson and he won’t be able to leave till he passes the test with a perfect score.
If he fails during a game, he will take the lesson again and be tested again, this time wearing a girls catholic school uniform.
Cairo will be promoted to the new Mascot for the team. The Yanks need a fuzzy suited mascot and Cairo will have to be it. In between innings he will have to take the head part off, so everyone can see it is Cairo who is the new Mascot for the team.
DeSalvo will go on a reading tour for each and every blind center across America. He will visit the house of every blind child in America and read them a book.
Only when these demands are met, will the stands be full and the players allowed to leave the stadium.
Where was Pettite’s head with a runner on 3rd…certainly not checking him…at all….duh!
Get your head out your a$$ and get into the game…dude!
Pete, did anyone ask Torre why he didn’t argue the play at first where Phillips ran into Phelps that enabled Hill to go to third. Phillips was no where near the base line, and should have been called out. Just mind boggling to me how Torre didn’t argue it
One more thing:
‘Say the Yanks finally wake up and go 3-1 in the next 4 games (win over Toronto, 2 of 3 over Boston, not impossible with Clippard who’s been o.k and the front three going at Fenway) and Detroit flops vs. Cleveland (1-3) this weekend. The Yanks would be only 6.5 games behind Detroit for the wildcard with Clemens on the mound Mon.6/4 to begin the second two-thirds of the season. I’m feeling real good about them being 3.5-6.5 games behind Detroit at the end of the 6/4-7 Chicago series. I’d be happy with the holding at 6.5 through 6/7. Hell, gain even just 4 games on Detroit for 4.5 games back on 7/1 and I’m thrilled.
Go check Detroit’s schedule for June and you’ll see the Yanks could gain even more games.
I loved reading somebody comment it’s A Rod’s fault that Andy Pettitte didn’t get the guy stealing home. The war in Iraq must also be A Rod’s fault. How about world hunger?
Torre really needs to stop with the whole, “you gotta give credit to the way their guy pitched” spiel.
Thank God for fantasy baseball during seasons like this one.
How can u say its arods fault cuz he shouldnt have picked up a ball and thrown to first. If he didnt pick up that ball and it didnt roll foul – a run would have scored and there would have been someone on first and arod would have looked like a complete shmuck playing with no heart whatsoever. He couldnt let that ball roll foul.
No run would have scored. It would have still been as it was, with a guy on third. The man on 1st didn’t matter as the next batter hit a fly out and then they got the third out. No extra run would have scored.
The Damon acquisition – those who supported it, show yourselves
The absurdity that was the Damon acquisition has become one of the cornerstone’s of the Yank’s lost season. Why do I say this….well go ahead and read the recap of tonight’s Mets game and you will find REYES all over the Mets momentum and scoring.
“Reyes drew a leadoff walk from Benitez (0-3) and moved up on a balk”…………”Reyes provoked Benitez into balking him home…” “Reyes got on and ……..etc. etc.”
It’s called youth and ENERGY, things that tend to create victories, and things that Damon doesn’t have.
Who actually believed that Damon was going to be a great leadoff man for the Yanks? Who believed he would solve the Bernie pee-shooter arm in center? Just the other day he bounced a throw to the cutoff man.
The insanity of the acquisition was evident at the time and I said as much.
I had a problem with Damon since the “I’ll never play for the Yankees” event, and to me, 2006 would be Matsui at CF (of course I didn’t know he would get hurt duh) and Bernie LF, so the Yankees could try to sign Wells or Hunter, but yeah, that wouldn’t work either. I started to like him last year, his playing, his attitude and I still do. I think he can sparkle the team, but he’s hurt and he needed to go to the DL like 20 days ago, but now, the team can’t afford playing without him. So, I didn’t support his signing, but I support him since last year and now.
Let’s Recap:
Andy left the game with one out in the eigth and a man on third. The score was tied at 2-2, and Toronto’s 2 runs were UNearned on errors by Jeter and Arod. Scott Proctor took over in relief, yes the same guy that walked in the tying and go ahead runs on Sunday. He promptly surrendered a sac fly to put Toronto ahead. The run was charged to Andy, so he took the loss, 3-2. His ERA is 2.51, in the AL east! That’s just amazing! What’s more amazing is he has only 3 wins. He should have eight or nine at this point. Oh well, guess he should have stayed in Houston.
How exactly is the Rocket going to save the season if the offense can’t score runs, the defense surrenders unearned runs, and the bullpen can’t hold the lead??? Seems like a waste of 28 million dollars to me.
Boston won again, and we are now 14.5 games back. Even if Swine Flu hits the Boston clubhouse and they lose 20 straight games, at our current rate we’d still be 8.5 games back. Looks like Swine Flu isn’t the answer. Let’s pray for Polio!
Thank You. I can go to bed with at least one good laugh tonight.
The ball would’ve rolled foul thus A-Rod should’ve let it roll foul. I saw this in real time and instant replay. He didn’t let it roll foul, he (like an idiot) picked it up and made a play at 1B for the first out and allowed the man on 2B to go to 3B with one out/ the sacrifice bunt to be successful when it shouldn’t have been. Had he let it roll foul, the batter has an extra strike on him and more pressure to move the man on 2B to 3B. Maybe the guy pops up the ball, no man on 2B to 3B. Maybe he fails to bunt, strikeout. Maybe it’s a bad bunt, A-Rod to Jeter at third. We’ll never know.
A-Rod cost the Yankees this game and b.t.w. “NICK”, A-Rod was just as responsible as Pettitte for allowing Hill to go steal home cuz he (A-Rod) wasn’t paying attention to Hill’s lead and didn’t even try to alert Pettitte of it. He fell asleep out there. In case you haven’t noticed, Pettitte is a lefty which means his back is turned to the runner on 3B so the 3B needs to call out something to signify a throw over to 3B. Hill should’ve never been allowed to take the lead he did in the first place.
Other creative ways to lose…
My son’s LL team lost tonight 5-4 on a wild pitch thrown while attempting an intentional walk. Look for this play at a Yankees game near you soon!
It’s pretty demoralizing, what’s been happening lately. But, I’ve been a Yanks fan since the early ’70s. Despite the run in the late seventies/early eighties, they’ve disappointed me more than they’ve won for me over the years. The last ten years have been great, and I still haven’t given up hope this year. But let’s face it, we’ve gotten spoiled and maybe it’s not in the cards this year.
You know, it’s times like this when the men are separated from the boys. Yes, the Yankees are struggling like never before. Are you still a fan? Yes, the Yankees can’t win a series. Are you still a fan? Yes, on paper the Yankees should be 6 games in first but instead are sitting in dead last alongside such unlikely partners as the Devil Rays. Are you still a fan? Stay true to your colors. The Yanks will come around again. Maybe not this year. Don’t be a fairweather fan. It’s fine to enjoy watching other teams play, but don’t give up faith and don’t give up support. That’s what being a fan, regardless of team, is about.
Go Yanks.
If A-Rod lets the ball go and it doesn’t turn foul, you have runners on the corners with no outs. If there was any uncertainty, you’ve got to make the play. I have no problem with him taking the out at first. Proctor is a strike out pitcher. His job was to get the 2nd out without allowing a ball to the outfield. He didn’t get it done.
The steal of home… eh. The guy got a great jump as Pettitte wasn’t looking at home. They started yelling and since he wasn’t looking at the plate, his first thought was that they called a balk, which caused him to hesitate momentarily. It was a good play and timed perfectly. From what I can tell, Phelps and A-Rod did their jobs. Andy might have held him on a bit more, but the guy has what, 10 career steals? It was just a great gamble on Hill’s part.
AS I PONTIFICATED ALL DAY LONG ON THIS SITE AS WELL AS REPLACEMNET YANKEES ( TWO BEST FORUMS ) THE CLUB WILL BE MAKING A SOLID RUN, GET BACKINTO CONTENTION BY THE allStar break….5-6 GAMES BOSTON…2-3 GAMES WILD CARD…..TOO much talent, and the rotation will be heavy on the back nine of the season and for the stretch run….GONE TO HELL IN ORDER TO GET TO HEAVEN…..2007 yankee baseball season….
hey B-Line…good points you make. i truly love the yankees and have watched all but two of their games this year…but i’ve been so bummed out by watching lately that tonight i watched the mets instead…and WOW. they really DO have energy and drive out there. i didn’t get the thrill like i do when the yanks win…but man it WAS a pleasure to watch some good baseball from my home town
“Ben May: It’s amazing how many things have gone wrong for this team this year.”
It’s also amazing how bad they’ve played. You make it sound like it’s all been bad luck.
Jimmy
I have a problem with A-Rod taking the out at first for these common sense reasons:
1. There was a man on 2B and no outs. By taking the out at 1B and not letting the ball roll foul, you allow the man on 2B to go to 3B and now it’s a man on 3B and 1 out in the 8th inning of a 2-2 game. You put the other team in position to score a run with just an out and unfairly put your pitcher in position to have to get a strikeout or some other out which prevents the man on 3B from scoring.
2. The ball was rolling foul. They were playing on artificial turf, not grass where the ball could slow down on it or roll onto the dirt then roll up the line fair, like tons of foul balls on grass fields do. The instant replay showed the ball was rolling foul wayyyy before it reached the midway point between 3B and home, you didn’t see it, I did, too bad for you. I mean it almost hit the baseline. Too bad the yes men in the YES booth didn’t say “I think A-Rod could’ve let this ball roll foul, let’s check the play.” Too busy lamenting Proctor giving up a run-scoring sac fly that might’ve never happened if A-Rod used common sense and realized the situation by letting the ball roll foul.
If he had let the ball go foul, what you don’t understand is that it would have only been strike 1. The next pitch would have been bunted, too. Sure, he may not have gotten it down, but chances are he would have, he is a good bunter. The fault is not Arod, it is Joe for bringing in a fly ball pitcher (coming off of a stomach virus, no less) in that situation. Quit trying to blame everything on Arod, he is the least of the problems with this team right now.
I agree, the Arod bashing is it a bit ludicrious. Without him they’d be at least 10 under. Tough season, it happens. Unfortunately with a 200mm payroll its not easy to watch.
I’ve never seen anything like Bobby Abreu though – wow. And he was a hugh help last year – but damn talk about losing it quick. At least hes not on the books for 08.
UNCYankee:
Wow. Your 6:36 am post is so typical of the dilettante nonsense that goes on around here. Proctor is a fly ball pitcher and it’s Joe’s fault? You just took someone to task for second guessing A-Rod on not letting that ball roll foul and then you come up with this gem? Talk about contriving a way to blame somebody.
Proctor is not a fly ball pitcher. He is a strike-out pitcher. So is Bruney. Want to second guess Joe in a way that at least makes sense? Then second guess him for not bringing in Bruney. But then admit that you are only second guessing Joe and admit further that over time in tight games Proctor has earned Torre’s trust with a record of success. Given the rest Proctor just had for his stomach problem, if Proctor says he’s ready, Torre had every reason to believe Proctor was ready. Proctor missed his location, they are not machines.
Is anyone aware that Pettitte is a lefty? His back is to 3B!!! What the hell was A-Rod supposed to do? Where the hell was Minky/Phelps on that??
K/9:
Proctor 5.47
Bruney 9.00
Its hard to rip on Torre for bringing in Proctor. If he brought in Bruney, and Bruney gave up the run, the same folks would rip on him for not bringing in Proctor.
I am assuming people who post here have watched the games all year. Who, from Mo on down, in that bullpen has given you ANY confidence they can get consistant outs this season?
Its one of those years where, no matter what they do, it ends up turning out badly.
They pinch hit for Minky, Phelps can’t dig a ball out of the dirt (a play he HAS to make), and they give up a run. If Minky is in the game, he makes that play and Pettitte is out of the inning.
Its been that kind of year.
The Arod bashing? That cracks me up. Without Arod, they are the worst team in baseball this year. Three guys have hit all year….Arod, Posada and Jeter. Arod has also played an excellent third base this year. So now, he is the “goat” because he didn’t let a bunt attempt go foul on strike one? Folks are really reaching here.
What’s next, rip Posada if he goes into a slump?
Let’s face it, this is what happens when you load up on older players, give them no trade clauses, and they can no longer play.
You end up all getting old, hurt or both, at the same time, you have no roster flexibility, and your season goes down the tubes.
The key now is to not make any moves that negatively impacts next season. If they can manage to do that, its a step in the right direction.
We have enough bad contracts on this team. We don’t need to add more of them in the failed belief this team is a contender.
From all accounts that I’ve read, Phelps was shouting, A-Rod was shouting and Posada was shouting. Pettitte thought the ump had called a balk, which delayed the throw home by a split second, because Pettitte hesitated. The only reason the Yankees SHOULD have expected that kind of play was because it was so unexpected from a team that doesn’t like to steal.
Its’ getting very tiresome, all the crying over spilt milk, the blaming, the finger-pointing every game. I know it’s a way to vent frustration, but it’s still sometimes harder to take than the losses themselves. Let’s face it — the entire team can share in the blame for each and every loss. And the bottom line is, if they were hitting the way they are “supposed” to hit, the games would not be thisclose so often and a freak play isn’t going to make the difference.
The “stat game” works both ways.
Rios was 0-7 lifetime against Proctor going into that AB.
Let’s not make Brian Bruney out to be something he’s not. He’s ok, not great and everytime we annoint someone, they end up being unable to live up to the billing.
Bruney is effective in limited work. Everytime Torre has tried to extend him, and pitch him in bigger situations, he has had trouble throwing strikes.
As I said in another post, with the way the season has gone, if he puts in Bruney, he also comes up short.
Its hard to fault a manager’s choice when the guy he brought in to get Rios has gotten him out 100% of the time.
SJ44 –
He’s still gotten Rios out 100% of the time, since Rios did not get a hit there. Unfortunately, the out produced a run, and the strikeout or pop-out would have been the preferred “out of choice” in that situation.
And it is true that this season, every time you think you can count on something, well, you can’t. So, maybe, let’s all count on the Yankees losing and they won’t (pure ridiculousness, I know!) – the power of negative thinking. Because, even in the midst of another improbable loss, I’m sitting there saying, “this is the inning,” like some kind of mantra. It hasn’t been working.
Ken Singleton pointed out how quickly the Yankees’ games have been going — as a rule, you used to be able to count on a Yankees game going a good deal over 3 hours. Last night’s was over before the 3-hour mark, and most lately have been the same. This speaks to the fact that the Yankees are not working the count, taking a lot of pitches. However, I am thinking that after all these years of making that their game, it’s taken the league until now to figure out to throw first-pitch strikes. And it seems to be working. Now, the Yankees have to counter-adjust, and once they do, they’ll then be able to manipulate the games back to their own comfort zone, because if they start hitting the early pitches (get hits, that is), the opposing pitchers will not necessarily keep that strategy. Do I make sense?
Doreen,
Works for me! lol Seriously, it gets to the point where discussing strategy is meaningless.
In two games, they couldn’t hit two guys (McGowan and Marcum) who aren’t any good. I mean, come on, they are batting around .150 their last 5 games. Not winnin’ a lot of games hittin’ like that.
This team, rightly or wrongly, was built around offense. If they can’t hit, which they can’t anymore, they aren’t winning.
They NEVER win 3-2, 2-1 type games and haven’t for years. Their pitching and defense aren’t good enough (and haven’t been for years) to win those type of games.
That’s why I am done with discussing pitching moves. It becomes a waste of time.
None of these guys in the bullpen are that good, which is why Torre keeps shuffling the deck. Just when you think they CAN be good, they end up blowing up in a big situation.
Its the way its been all year. Even with Bruney, the new “hero” of the bullpen, according to some.
Torre has tried to extend him, and put him in bigger situations. When he does, he ends up walking people.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Bruney is ok. Not great, not automatic, merely “ok”. That said, I am not ready to claim Torre made a “mistake” by not bringing him in last night because, when he has done that with him (game in the balance situations) in the past, he hasn’t gotten the job done.
There is more to the game than just reading a stat sheet. Like, WHEN does a guy compile his numbers. For the most part, Bruney has compiled those numbers in softer, easier situations than last night.
Its hard to kill Torre when the guy he chose (Proctor) was (and still is) 100% effective against the guy he faced (Rios).
It gets back to offense with this team. If they don’t hit, they don’t win. They didn’t hit again last night. That’s why they lost the game.
I had a coach who used to say “if shoulda was a horse we’d all take a ride.” I was never really clear what that meant but now I sort of get it, because the Yanks just invented another way to lose. Steal of home. No interference call at first. But most of all, no timely hitting.
Let’s face it, this team should score WAY MORE than two runs. As Doreen and others have pointed out, if they have 5 or 6 runs when those plays happen, WHO CARES?
But blaming A-Rod for the loss? If he walks at the end of the year we will be very sorry.
As for all you arm chair managers:
Don’t second guess the bunt. If it went foul it was only strike one. Who knows what happens if A-Rod lets it go?
And the replay showed Phelps and A-Rod screaming at Andy on the steal of home.
Somewhere, somebody has voodoo dolls of the whole team, with the pins all set…
Jimbo –
It’s Manny!
How does Kevin Long still have a job?
What does it accomplish to fire Kevin Long? Do you really think its his fault guys aren’t hitting?
People who are looking for Kevin Long to get fired are just looking to find a scapegoat.
25 players are responsible for where they are right now. Not the Kevin Long’s of the world.
How did it work all those years when George fired pitching and hitting coaches at a whim? Did it make the team better?
Its not Kevin Long’s fault they aren’t hitting. ‘Ya think he is telling Robinson Cano, for example, to swing at every pitch in the dirt, which he has done, all season?
There is no magic “fix” here. If Long gets fired, and folks think this team will automatically start hitting, they must have missed the 1982-1992 years with the Yankees.
Firing the coaches accomplishes ZERO.
We don’t need to bash ARod here in the blog anymore. His wife Cynthia will be doing that as soon as she sees the covers of the NY Post this morning.
SJ, I just don’t know what to do anymore. I am an ardent Cashman defender, but in reality it is more about his concept than his recent performance. We don’t have one role player on this team, the bench depth is ridiculous. And here’s the real problem, if we do nothing, we are probably a worse team next year. Besides some of the young righties, there is very little future here still. The only choice is to spend as much as possible on draft research, pay the kids what their agents demand, trade whatever we can for youth and then wait 2-3 years for the team to recover. The future is not that bright, the present is like being in a coal mine.
Cashman isn’t responsible for the on field play. That’s on the players. You have place the blame where it lies.
There is NO EXCUSE for this team to be 21-29. They aren’t a playoff team but they are a heckua lot better than 21-29. That’s on the players. The effort of some is inexcusable.
Want more “role players”, then you have to have less all stars. That’s the tradeoff. I’m all for that but, there are problems getting there.
Who do you get to waive their no trades, will guys do it, and is there a market for them if they do waive their no trades?
This isn’t hard to figure out. Its an old, injured team, full of guys past their primes, several of whom carry BAD contracts.
This is the byproduct of wasting development years from 2001-2005. Its why there aren’t any quality position prospects in AAA to help out right now.
The good thing is, they are beginning to have more roster flexibility for the future. Abreu is done after this season, most likely ARod too. After 2008, a load of guys come off the books.
Its going to take time to fix things because things didn’t get broken in one year. Its been covered up due to a dynamic offense, Mariano Rivera and, frankly, some very good luck. However, we have seen this coming for at least the last 2 years, if folks were really paying attention.
It may have hit quicker for some. But, for others, this isn’t much of a surprise.
Cashman’s challenge is being able to see his entire project through. If he can, and they make some better decisions in the next go round of free agents, this is fixable for 2008 and beyond.
IMO, this year is a lost cause because I don’t think its wise to give up the few assets you have in the farm system to try and save this season. The risk doesn’t warrant the reward.
I also don’t think this team deserves to get help this year. Too many “mail it in” performances to suit my tastes.
I just hope a couple of guys begin to show something so they become more desirable on the trade market and they give some of the younger pitchers more opportunities as the season progresses. At this point, that’s my only hope for this season.
Its just one of those bad seasons that everybody has once in a while. The Red Sox and Braves had it last year. Its the Yankees turn this year.
SJ44 – you’re probably right about firing coaches, though the threat can sometimes be useful to rally the team. Seems like Torre is not likely to last much longer if one believes the writers, though, and if the team can’t rally around him, then they’re not going to rally around Kevin Long.
I think someone suggested the following a while back: fire Long, move Mattingly back to hitting coach and bring in Girardi as bench coach. People seem to think he offers a spark that’s lacking. Don M. might not accept the “demotion”, though, although it could be presented as an emergency reassignment of the best guy for the job.
Probably there is no magic personnel move. Count me as a fan, win or lose I’ll be rooting from up here in Soxland. I hope Ray of Hope & company are right — if we can come back this year, it’ll be one for the ages.
Why would Don Mattingly accept a demotion? That move doesn’t hurt Long. It KILLS Mattingly. That would be disrespecting Mattingly in a very public way. You can’t do that.
That stuff is all BS. You mean to tell me the players need a coach to be fired to “rally them”?
I don’t buy any of that nonsense.
If these guys need somebody like Kevin Long getting fired to rally them, then its a sorry bunch of players, lacking SERIOUS character.
You don’t whack a guy like Long to send a message.
You want to “send a message”? DFA a top player and eat the money.
How about this, if you are interesting in sending a message.
DFA Jason Giambi tomorrow. Say, the hell with the money, we’ll pay it. We don’t want to put up with him anymore. The on and off field stuff is too damaging to the organization. Goodbye.
That would send a “greater message” (if that’s the big goal here) than to fire a coach who has no impact on wins and losses.
You want to scare players? Something like that does it.
Fire Kevin Long? Means nothing to these guys.
Deep breaths, SJ – read the last paragraph again.
I’m not advocating anything, just mentioning a previous idea. My only agenda is I’m a Girardi fan and would like to see him back in the Yankee organization somehow.
Regarding character, it seems to me that the team has not dealt well with adversity for quite a while. Swagger and a sense of entitlement only keep things going when they’re already going well.
The last few weeks have just seemed like an extended version of the last few failed playoff series — Joe T. stone-faced with his arms crossed, and the players staring at their feet. I could be wrong about the “body language” since the team meeting, though, since I don’t get to see many games up here.
I’d like to see Girardi as the next manager…..not bench coach.
I’d like to Girardi take over this team from spring training 2008, and be given the reigns to do things his way, with a younger, more athletic, hungrier team.
I wouldn’t want to saddle anybody with this year’s team. Its too unlikable (from a baseball perspective) for a ton of reasons.
The politics that are the Yankees seem to have pitted (unwittingly, perhaps) Mattingly vs. Girardi as the next manager in waiting.
I think Girardi, with the right type of team, is a better fit than Mattingly. But, it seems George really likes Mattingly.
That’s going to be a tough call. I can’t see Mattingly sticking around if he gets bypassed for Girardi as the next manager.
Its not like he came back to be a hitting coach or a glorified Don Zimmer his entire coaching career.
If it was me, I’d hire Girardi next year. But, I’m not the owner and it seems the owner wants Mattingly.
Hopefully, it doesn’t get ugly.
Re: swagger, I think this team is shell shocked to see where they are right now. Their swagger/confidence is gone.
Its like they have been hit repeatedly with so many body blows, its only a matter of time before they get knocked out.
Confidence is a big thing in sports and, we are seeing a team that plays with ZERO confidence.
Its like they walk around with a black cloud under their heads, waiting for bad things to happen.
I saw something very telling last night. When Andy gave up the first run of the game, he reacted about as demonstrative as I have ever seen him.
At first glance, you think, “its only one run”. But, Andy realizes they don’t hit, so that run is huge.
That’s how little confidence guys have in each other.
Its not surprising, given the results so far this season.
Some of these guys have never experienced such failure in their major league careers as they are experiencing this season.
It plays with your head and it definitely affects you.
Does anyone know:
Have the Yankees relievers been more effective when starting an inning as opposed to coming in with someone on base?
I ask because, if they have been, why let a starter extend into the 7th or 8th inning, when they’re tiring, on a hitter-by-hitter basis, if your bullpen is not able to be effective with inherited runners?
Back to topic: SJ — they are SOOOOO shell-shocked it’s not funny. I used to think it was a particular kind of win they needed to snap out of things, but I think it’s just going to have to be a methodical stringing together of at least 3 wins for them to stop feeling like they’re behind the 8-ball.
One thing that strikes me when looking at the players is that “deer in the headlights” look. Total disbelief that this is happening. There seems to be little or no emotion(other than Proctors punch of the wall) at all. At the conclusion of the game they sit in the dugout as if they can’t understand how they are losing. They need clubhouse presence ala O’Neil, Tino, some fire,not Jeters I am at a loss, comments. They fail on so many levels. They don’t move runners over, when they do, they make that un productive 2nd out and follow with an easy third out. They have too many short comings to be contenders(bullpen,injuries,too many lefty bats)but they are better than this.They are beginning to look like they come to the ballpark expecting to lose ala Stump Merrills Yankees. There is no overnite cure, no one man who can save their season.They have to build from within and forego the immediate “puzzle piece” fix. Face it people the run is over,the ship be floundering. Deal who you can that has no future with us, get prospects and buckle down the hatches…
Did Joe explain why it was the right move to go with a guy with a 5.33 K/9 and a 0.47 G/F when you need either a K (preferably) or a groundball? Genius Joe really has this game figured out! Only a moron would think that Proctor and those numbers have a better chance of keeping the guy at 3B than a guy with a K/9 of 9.00…
Keep on not giving the team the best chance to win Joe. At least they are really motivated by your speeches….
I think it can actually be explained quite easily…(1) The Yankees are just not that good a team; (2) The Yankees have no faith in themselves and have created an atmosphere that is very comfortable with losing; and (3) Every team that plays the Yankees is aware of (1) and (2).