Greetings from Fenway Park
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 01, 2007 
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Here we are at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” according to the big sign on the side of the old dump. I didn’t even know there was a vote.
The clubhouse doesn’t open for another 35 minutes. I’ll be back later with the lineups and whatever news is going on.
For now …
The Yankees are 1-7 in division road games this season. That win came Wednesday against Toronto. They are winless in three games at Fenway Park.
Derek Jeter is 4 of his last 24 with 0 RBI.
The Yankees are 3-17 in games decided in one or two runs. Yikes.
fenway smells like pee .
Pete,
Where’s your patented cell phone photo of the field from the press box?
-saucy
Pete – thanks for referring to that plate as a dump – you have made my day!
SG:
How gracious of you, offering to procure prostitutes for the visiting players. But, please, don’t go to any bother just on our account. I’m sure A-Rod can make do with your mother or your sister since they probably look the part.
Cheers.
Peter,
With the DH spot opened up, could Posada see a little time there since Phelps can catch in a pinch?
What is with all the stupid A$$hole red sox fans on this blog, I mean pete does such a great job covering the team and providing information, but why do the red sox fans care so much about the yankees. I’ll bet they know more about the Yanks then the SAWX, maybe they should realize that they are more yankee fan than sox fan. This just shows you pete this blog is so great its even turning red sox fans into yankee fans
Well, that’s real supportive.
I’m starting to think you only cover them cause it’s the only job you could get. Mets fan?
Pete used to cover the Mets. Then he got a promotion.
Murphdog:
It would work if I wasn’t an only child and my mother were not in her 80′s. but maybe arod has a flare for the blue hair, it matches his smurf lips.
-cheers to you.
Pete:
You’re a good guy and you’re always on top of the news.
But the “Fenway is an old dump” dig was out of line.
Your reputation partly depends on your credibility, but both are undermined by arch rhetorical garnishes.
I’ll agree Fenway is a dump. Pete is credible here.
No offense, but Fenway seems to be in a lot better shape than Yankee Stadium.
And no, I’m not a troll.
SafeAtHome , have you ever actually had to sit in the 4″ obstructed seats at Fenway? It’s a nice place to go once to say you’ve seen it, but the facilities there are crap.
The Yankees record in one-run games should even out by the end of the season. Along with everything else that’s gone wrong this year, it represents a bit of bad luck.
“No offense, but Fenway seems to be in a lot better shape than Yankee Stadium.”
That’s probably why they’re building a new one. I doubt fenway will ever be replaced. It’ll be there till it collapses on itself.
Stephen you’ve obviously never been to either park if thats your opinion, Yankee stadium is not in the best of shape but Fenway is jsut as bad if not worse
I have been there and it is the most uncomfortable ballpark I have ever been in.
Safe at home: lighten up. and please don’t use phrases like “arch rhetorical garnishes”. I read that three times, and I still have no idea what it means, and thinking about garnishes made me hungry.
as a yankee fan stranded in boston (in order to go to school), i can personally attest the following about Fenway:
1) it IS an old dump
2) that being said, it does have a certain charm/history around it that makes it fun to visit occasionally, but it would suck to have go there all the time. the seats are cramped and small and the sightlines suck (awkward angels, poles blocking the view of the game.)plus, the Green Monster is an abomination that turns baseball into pinball and destroys the flow/integrity of many games.
3)the atmosphere outside the stadium is good (bars, sausage stands, etc)
4)parking is RIDICULOUS. prices are skyrocketing, i dont even know what they are now. basically, your a moron if you dont take the T.
all in all, its like that cousin you have that is a little odd/retarded and drinks too much at family functions. they are fun to be around once or twice a year…but if you had to see them all the time, youd want to kill yourself. that, my friends, is Fenway Park…the abnormal drunk cousin of baseball stadiums.
Ben, if this is merely “bad luck” as opposed top “bad play,” then the Devil Rays are the unluckiest team of the past decade. Essentially, they have become the same team: A lineup that looks good on paper but rarely produces like you’d think it would, a starting rotation that gives up runs and a bullpen that can’t hold leads.
I’m not saying Fenway is (or isn’t) a dump. That wasn’t my point.
My point was that Pete should avoid statements like that since his reputation depends on an appearance of fairness.
Not a big deal…
i know a bunch of yankee fans will say Fenway’s a great place to see a game and bla, bla, bla. But i’ve always said they need to upgrade that place. they have garage doors and ladders along the outfield walls. it’s like a mario brothers ballpark. i know stadiums were built to how the cities would allow them to be built back then, but it’s 2007 for crying out loud.
I had box seats, (if you could call them that), at Fenway last series against the Yanks, that looked directly into the Yankee Bullpen. The entire game I had to watch everyone go up and down the aisle in the sections next to me as the game was going on. What a pain in the butt!
good post terry
Anyone here think Wakefield is due for a win tonight?
BX26, in fact I go to about 30 games a season in the Bronx and I’ll be at Fenway tomorrow for my yearly trip.
It’s an opinion.
The seating is uncomfortable, but the concourse areas, bathrooms and exterior are in better shape. In. My. Opinion.
“Fenway Park…the abnormal drunk cousin of baseball stadiums.”
Quite possibly the greatest explanation of Fenway ever
terry -
You can park at the Landmark Center mall (where the old Sears bldg used to be) for $25. Less than a five minute walk to Yawkey Way from there.
If you have a good seat in Fenway, it’s a great place to watch a game. If you’re down the RF line, it can be a pain to sit with your head swivelled to the left the whole game. They’ve done a good job the past few years opening it up, particularly with the picnic area under the RF grandstand.
I live directly across the Pike from Fenway and it is, indeed, a dump. On the outside, it is a disgusting, old, grimy building that looks as just old as it is, if not older. Inside isn’t much better. While they have made some improvements over that last few years, it is still the most uncomfortable place in the world to watch a ballgame and you can’t even see the mound from half of the seats due to giant poles obstructing your view. The sox desperately need a new park. Legends Field is, far and away, a much better stadium.
Wild scene in the Cubs-Braves game just now.
7-1 Braves in the 5h, and Carlos Zambrano (who was pitching today) approaches his catcher, Michael Barrett in the dugout after the inning.
A few words, then BAM, Zambrano starts swinging and they go at it right in the middle of the dugout before being seperated by players and coaches!
Take a trip out to the bleachers next time your there where the real fans dont care about what the bathrooms look like
SafeAtHome,
I don’t think that Pete’s comment about Fenway was nearly as offensive as the Red Sox owner’s description of Yankee Stadium a few years ago.
“My point was that Pete should avoid statements like that since his reputation depends on an appearance of fairness.”
it’s a blog brosef, think of it as a place where people chill and talk about baseball informally.
You guys miss the point about whether or not Fenway is a “dump” (it is; albeit a charming dump).
What I object to is Pete’s claim “I didn’t even know there was a vote.”
Hey, there doesn’t HAVE to be, Pete. It’s a sign on the side of the building. Not a ballot box. No one asked for votes. No one implied that appellation was derived from voting, or a consensus. It’s ADVERTISING, by a BUSINESS.
Park somewhere along Beacon Ave (metered parking till i think 6pm, could be 8) and take the C line in which is, or used to be $1.25. It may be a little more now but that’s way less then $25.
Pete writes this blog to be able to have freedom to say what he wants. As a Yankee fan, I not only don’t mind him calling Fenway a dump, I enjoy it. As I understand it the clubhouse is the smallest in the league, but the worst part is the annoying group of almost idiots who play there.
“Ben, if this is merely “bad luckâ€? as opposed top “bad play,â€? then the Devil Rays are the unluckiest team of the past decade.”
not really. when was the last time the Devil Rays scored more runs than they allowed? right, never.
i’m not saying ALL of the Yankees problems can be attributed to bad luck, but some of them can.
SJ44,
Zambrano is hot tempered, but I like him…
“the abnormal drunk cousin of baseball stadiums.” – terry
“it’s like a mario brothers ballpark.” – saucy
Kudos for the apt, and hysterical, descriptions of Fenway. I wonder if you can flush yourself down the toilets and go into a time warp?
SafeAtHome, it’s a blog. Peter doesn’t have to be objective in this medium as he does in his articles. Blogs are platforms that allow mainstream journalists to express their personal opinions.
SJ44,
I was watching the game and turned it off after the passed ball and subsequent throwing error scored a run. Read your comment and was bummed I missed the fireworks! Turned it back on and what do I get? Sweet Lou biting his fingernails. Just saw the replay. Good stuff.
“Fenway Park…the abnormal drunk cousin of baseball stadiums.�
I picture the drunk guy in the movie Big Daddy, saying AMEN after that statement.
You can call Fenway a dump we don’t care, we call The stadium the Toilet, so it goes around.
And yes Wake is due for a win, but somehow I see him getting rocked again. Thought the warm air might help.
Karen, I think Pete was joking. Don’t take his posts so seriously. Lighten up, it’s Friday!
Zambrano is the perfect example of a guy folks fall in love with because of his “fire” and his stuff but, would be a total bust in NY, IMO.
He doesn’t win enough, considering his talent and, truth be told, the Yankees have been burned enough by NL pitchers the last five years.
Randy Johnson had “fire” too and he couldn’t succeed in the AL. I think Zambrano would fail mightily in the AL.
With his temper and the way he often melts down on the mound, he would get eaten alive by the media and this fan base. I wouldn’t touch him.
I’d develop my own pitching and use my free agent money toward everyday players, who are high character/high production guys.
Players like Torii Hunter and Ichiro are much better fits for the Yankees than Carlos Zambrano, IMO.
[quote=rocco]Park somewhere along Beacon Ave (metered parking till i think 6pm, could be and take the C line in which is, or used to be $1.25. It may be a little more now but that’s way less then $25.[/quote]
They’ve recently raised it to $2, but yeah, it’s still a helluva lot cheaper than parking. Although, good luck finding a spot, especially on a friday night and with the sox in town.
Real inteligent post there Jeff. That group of “almost idiots” that play at Fenway are 13 and half games ahead of your beloved Yankees so the Yankees must not even come up to the level of idiots!
hmmm, over the course of a season, one-run games should even out for most teams, and for all teams who score more runs than they allow. It’s a sabr maxim.
BX26 -
are you saying the bleacher bums piss in the seats ?!!?
That could easily be 17-3. One & two run games have gone the Sox way, but not the Yanks thus far.
Ya, there’s no time to miss any action, it would take to long in the middle of the innings (I am a proud creature by the way)
If’s, if’s if’s. But, it isn’t 17-3. Its 3-17 and, if you watch the games, its not a statistical illusion.
This team doesn’t do the little things to win close games. Especially, the low scoring close games. They don’t advance runners well. They walk too many people, especially out of the bullpen, poor defense, poor clutch hitting.
3-17. Its not a fluke. Its reality and its a big reason why they are in the trouble they are in this season.
I’m with you SJ44 on Zambrano; plus, he’s pitched 900+ innings between the ages of 22 and 25. Guys like that run into arm problems as they approach 30. This means, of course, the Yankees will sign him to an 8 year deal if he hits the free agent market this offseason.
not for nothing, but Zamboni’s also pitched for Dusty Baker. Surprised he hasn’t seen the DL yet.
I wonder if Barrett is really a jerk though.
Zambrano is definitely injured. His arm slot has dropped and his sinker is flat. I’d be shocked if he made it through the season without a lengthy trip to the disabled list. My guess is that he’s pitching hurt to preserve some shred of his market value, but his numbers are getting more and more atrocious with every start. Good thing that whole A-Rod for Zambrano deal didn’t go down this past off-season, eh?
Todd Drew:
Sure, Posada can DH a bit but Phelps can’t possibly be in condition to catch 9 innings. I don’t think he even got any time behind the plate in spring training.
Dan Shaughnessy has an entertaining column in today’s Boston Globe re Hey-Rod’s scream. Some funny examples of past efforts to be tricky/dirty. And the NY Times writes about a minor league catcher who carved a potato into the shape of a baseball and threw the potato past 3B on a “pick-off” attempt. The runner trotted home and was tagged with the real ball. He was ruled safe.
From Kevin Thompson:
“It’s going to be great to be back in New York. There are no strip clubs in Scranton.
anyone who says its a dig to say its a dump hasnt been there. its a horribly derelict place. that said, i find it to be charming even though it is a shithole.
Zander,
Where’d you get that Thompson quote? That was too funny. I bet 24 of the guys in the Yankee clubhouse had a good laugh with that one.
not sure about scranton, but there are some gems in the poconos…
Zander,
Sorry, I wasn’t suggesting that Phelps would start behind the plate. But if Nieves were injured during the game we wouldn’t necessarily have to lose the DH spot.
“hmmm, over the course of a season, one-run games should even out for most teams, and for all teams who score more runs than they allow. It’s a sabr maxim.”
i was agreeing with you.
my point was that the yankees are nothing like the Devil Rays.
the Devil Rays usually give up 200+ more runs than they score. they haven’t been “unlucky”.
the Yankees have been somewhat unlucky in that they have scored more runs than they’ve allowed but have lost a lot of close games. most of that is from playing poorly, but some of it is bad luck.
SJ44,
I respect your opinion on Zambrano. You may have answered this question under the last post, but I’ll ask it again anyway… How quickly do you think Ian Kennedy can move through the system? I remember hearing that he was very polished coming out of USC. He seems ready to make the jump to Trenton. If he pitches well, Scranton by August?
Some of you take yourselves way too seriously.
Calling Pete “out of line” for calling Fenway a dump? Gimme a break.
the sports hernia does it again:
“Music most likely playing on a continuous loop inside Manny’s head”:http://thesportshernia.typepad.....ike_1.html
“Music most likely to be playing in Joe Torre’s head”:http://thesportshernia.typepad....._like.html
have a good weekend everyone.
Arn’t blogs where we go to get away from PC?
If red sox fans are going to be offended by remarks made about their team or their team’s stadium, then I suggest they stay off of YANKEES fan blogs. As a Yankee fan, I have zero interest in reading what sox fans have to say so I stay off of those blogs (yet they keep showing up here!). I’m all for free speech and all, but if you can’t take the stink, stay out of the sewer.
lee2:
so you can call peter FAT but he can’t call fenway a dump. i think your comment was way more out of line than his was.
strike that, make “Yankee Spankys”
Depends what their innings limit is for the season Todd.
Most guys have an innings limit and they try and ease them into pro ball. I am sure Kennedy and Chamberlain have innings limits this year.
To me, a realistic timetable for Kennedy would be, second half of the year in Trenton, begin next season at AAA, then see what happens.
With guys like Kennedy, Horne (because he missed a year with TJ Surgery), and Chamberlain, I think sometime in 2009 is a more realistic projection of when they will be ML ready.
Provided of course, they stay healthy and continue to improve.
Jeff Marquez could be a kid to watch (if he isn’t traded, of course) for a shot at the back end of the rotation, at some point, next year. He has been in the system for three years and has improved each year. Throws in the 90′s with a nasty sinker.
The two guys that interest me the most are two relief pitchers: Kevin Whelen in Trenton and David Robertson in Charleston. Especially Robertson. He has been unhittable at Charleston (0.30 ERA) and his stuff is the kind of stuff this bullpen lacks.
Whelen is just beginning to find himself as a pitcher. He started out as a catcher in the Tigers organization. He is another guy with a great arm and, depending on how they want to set up their bullpen next year, could vie for a spot on the roster sometime in 2008.
With starters, you have to stretch them out and monitor their innings load. Relief pitchers, especially those with nasty stuff,(like Robertson), or a power sinker (like Whelen) have a better chance of moving quicker through the system.
Sort of like what Huston Street did in Oakland a few years ago.
Nobody talks about Robertson but he is nasty. 94 MPH fastball. Slider 86-88 and a nasty demeanor. He has the makeup to be a dominating relief pitcher, IMO.
I am going to be interested to see how much longer he stays in Charleston. I would think, at some point, he is Tampa-bound.
If he gets promoted to Tampa, and pitches well, he is a guy a lot of people are going to hear about next year. I think he has the chance to be an outstanding relief pitcher at the major league level.
Wow, a cheap shot from a writer who covers a last-place team that plays in one of the worst ballparks in America. Well played, Peter – way to raise the bar.
SJ44,
Wow, thanks for all the information and insight. I’ll keep an eye out for Robertson and Whelen. I’d love to hear anything you can pass along about Humberto Sanchez. People in my neighborhood are excited about him and are hopeful the Tommy John surgery will solve his elbow problems.
This is what the VO (read by Bob Costas) will say in the middle of the 2007 New York Yankees World Series Championship DVD…
“And who knew, on June 1st, a warm summer night would heat up the Yankees in Fenway and turn their season around. The spark? Kevin Thompson, a triple-A kid with big dreams and the biggest swing of his career…”
Boy, you guys in Boston sure are sensitve.
Buck up, little crimson, there’s no crying in baseball!!
Fenway and Boston in general is equivalent to being in a gigantic Abercrombie and Fitch Catalog/Fraternity party. Jeez. This one time I tried playing “lets count how many minorities are in the stands”… long story short, there were more minorities on the field. Then the chowdahead in front of me has the nerve to turn around and say “that’s how we like it, and if you don’t like it, maybe we should sent you back to guantanamo”. i guess he mistook my indian appearance for being middle eastern (not that it would make it right). i love ryling up all the mass-holes, even if we are in last place…i especially love all the racial taunts i get in the stands. in my opinion, everyone in new england needs to take a geography lesson…india has nothing to do with the middle east…plus the fact that i was born in this country.
anyways, off to the game in a few minutes. i’ll count how many racial taunts i get walking down Mass Ave with my Yankees cap.
Yanks take 2 of 3. It’s a lock.
With Sanchez, its all about how he comes back from TJ Surgery. If he comes out of it ok, he has an outstanding arm and can be a successful ML pitcher.
Was it gamble to get him? Yes. But, sometimes, to get a top end arm (the guy was a Top Ten prospect in ALL of baseball before he was hurt) you have to roll the dice.
Personally, I think his future is as a closer or an 8th inning guy. I think the Yankees still see him as a starter at the moment. Until we see how he is after his rehab, that’s up in the air.
He is young enough and talented enough to be an impact arm. We just have to hope the surgeon did his job.
Plenty of guys his age have had TJ Surgery and have come back stronger than ever. That’s got to be the Yankees hope with Sanchez.
It would be a great story if a kid from the Bronx makes it to the Yankees. I can’t remember the last Bronx-born guy who played for the Yankees.
The challenge is, a lot of these arms aren’t really going to be ready until 2009. Between now and then, you have about a season and a half of baseball to play.
How the Yankees fill in the holes between now and 2009 is going to be the challenge for whomever is calling the shots.
I have no doubt, some of these prospects are going to be dealt for additional help in other deficient areas of the team. I do hope though, they take a more balanced approach (like Gene Michael did when he helped build the Dynasty) and not just trade all of them. That would be a mistake.
At least they are building depth in the farm system. That’s important. If they can have another good draft this year, that would be 3 good draft’s in a row, and that’s how you build depth throughout the system.
SJ44,
Again, thanks for all the information. You should be on the Journal News’ payroll.
Zach in Back Bay-
Great story. It’s also Effed-up. Crap crosses all class lines. These upper crust preppies are the sames ones who say racism no longer exists. moreover, even if you were of Semitic, Persian, or Arabic descent, you’re still an American.
No wonder Tom Brady proudly wears Yankees blue!!
Say what you will, but at least the Sox are giving a shot at keeping a piece of baseball (and their) history alive, rather than the lazy-ass Yankee ownership that could have taken the real Yankee Stadium and rebuilt it into something beautiful, rather than destroying generations of history.
Soon, rather than the House that Ruth Built, we’ll have McPark version XXIX or whatever — just another Baseball-stadium-themed amusement park
And they started it on the anniversary or Ruth’s death, just to twist the knife a little.
- Other Pete
Resentful Yankee fan in Boston
SJ:
Excellent intel.
SJ:
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. You need your own blog.. I love reading your thoughts on our farm system, and I see others do as well.
Have you considered writing on MVN along with EJ Fagan, or even just starting a free blog? I’m sure you’d have a bunch of interested readers..
I agree the last few drafts have been good, and I think we are in good shape with pitching prospects, but I would like to see a real emphasis on position players in the next draft, especially IF and C.
“but at least the Sox are giving a shot at keeping a piece of baseball (and their) history alive”
Wrong.
http://www.ballparks.com/baseb.....bosbpk.htm
Boston doesn’t have room for a new ballpark. Plus, the roads there follow nonsensical cowpaths, so a new ballpark would just be a new retarded cousin of a baseball stadium.
It’s got quirks, and from those quirks we derive a little ‘charm’, but there are millions of ballparks better to watch baseball in than Fenway or current Yankee stadium. And a new Yankee stadium is being built. That leaves Fenway near the bottom of the barrel.
SJ:
Gotta say, Carson’s right.
Clearly, doing your own blog would be a lot more work than just chatting among us here, but you definitely do your homework and could carry the burden of providing enough original content. Besides, it’s clear you love this stuff.
I would bookmark a SJ44 blog.
I’d rather do it here. I’m too lazy and travel too much in the summer to do a blog. lol I’d always been late in updating it and that wouldn’t be right.
My one hobby is the Yankees. I guess I am a frustrated GM at heart. I like the idea of building a team and think for too many years they ignored the farm system. So, I decided to so some homework on it, follow the drafts and see how they select and develop players. To my surprise, the last couple of years have been outstanding for the Yankees.
Cashman has made mistakes but, the work he has done to overhaul the farm system is not one of them. It went from being one of the worst in baseball to being in the Top 7 (According to Baseball America) in two years. That’s impressive. Especially, when you consider that, honestly, our AAA prospects (with a couple of exceptions) are not very good.
You can use the farm system in two ways. To add players to your parent team or to package them to improve your team via trades.
To ignore it altogether, which they did from 2001-2005, is why they are where they are right now this season. They can’t make the same mistake again.
Its so much easier to post the info here, when I have the time.
Catching is an interesting position when it comes to the draft. Its tough to draft catchers. Its a tough position to project out. The Joe Mauer types come along once a decade.
You usually find them in two ways. One, through the undrafted Latin American signings or by someone changing positions, as was the case with Posada, who started as a second baseman.
I am real high on Cervelli, who playing for Tampa (A) He is very good.
But, unless you have some Molina’s hidden somewhere, its real tough to find good catchers these days.
Absolutely in agreement about SJ44 having a blog!
Regarding TJ surgery:
I wish I could remember the name of the doctor they interviewed on MLB This Morning on XM, but it was about a month ago. What he was saying regarding how pitchers seem to come back even better after TJ surgery was that it had more to do with the rehab than the surgery itself.
What he said was that pitchers would “throw,” and use simply their God-given talent, everything be damned. But once they have the surgery, they have to learn how to pitch, PLUS they have to learn how to take care of their arms and their bodies.
SO, the key to Sanchez coming back is his rehab and how seriously he takes it. From what I understand he was slightly overweight. If he really does the work after the surgery, he will more than likely be in very good shape to pitch, and then it was certainly worth the gamble by the Yankees.
Hey, they really didn’t want Shef around anymore, anyway, so why not?
Refresh my memory: Whelan came from where?
Fenway is still standing for all the reasons Andrew cited.
But there’s two more reasons:
1) The owners haven’t been able to figure out how to squeeze public financing out of the State for a new park.
2) The even harder sell, however, is that for any new Fenway Park to be worth building, it would need a bigger footprint. That would require the acquisition of some of the surrounding, privately owned property. The Sox no doubt don’t want to pay extortionate prices to grab up surrounding lots. Rather they want Boston to take that private property from the owners and give it to Lucchino and Company using eminent domain, based on a very controversial 2005 US Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. New London. In Kelo, a local government used its power of eminent domain to take private property from one owner and give it to a private land developer. The Supreme Court said that’s OK if the project creates jobs, increase tax revenues and revitalizes depressed areas.
SJ,
I have read a couple of articles about Francisco Cervelli on PinstripesPlus, but not enough to be able to form an opinion.
What is his story, and how far out is he?
Doreen,
Absolutely correct. Rehab is everything in TJ Surgery. Some guys (like John Smoltz, who had it when he was 36 years old) come back better than ever because they work their tails off.
Sanchez definitely has to watch his weight. That’s going to be very important in his recovery.
Joba Chamberlain, one of the top Yankee pitching prospects, pitched at 300 pounds in his soph year at Nebraska. He lost 30 pounds for his junior year (his draft year) but was still overweight and he ended up hurting his shoulder.
He went from a Top Ten pick to a second round pick and the Yankees drafted him. Cost him a million dollars in lost bonus money.
The Yankees gave him above the slot money (lower first round money) under the orders he had to lose weight. He lost 40 pounds, is now pitching at 230, and has been lights out so far this season.
He is throwing 96-97, touched 100 on the gun in one start this year, and hasn’t had any recurrance of his shoulder problems.
Sanchez needs to look at Chamberlain as his role model for fitness. If he works at it as hard as Joba has, he will not only recover, he will be a very good ML pitcher.
Cervelli hits RH, has a great arm, and plays with a lot of energy. He is only 21 years old and his defensive skills are above average. He has a lot of potential.
I think they are surprised he has hit as well as he has (The Florida State League is known as a pitchers league), and how he hits will determine how fast he moves along in the system.
As we know, catcher is wide open in the Yankees system. If he hits, he will move up quickly.
With position players, how they hit at AA tells a lot. These days, most teams best pitching prospects are in AA. If a guy is young enough, and hits enough in AA, he is a prospect.
I think we will have to wait until next year to see how Cervelli (and Tabata for that matter, IMO) hit before we get an idea of how good they can be.
So, SJ44, you’re saying that right now, the better pitchers are in AA and not AAA? That’s interesting. It’s also another knock against Shelley Duncan IMO.
In the last couple of years, we’ve been going to a few games in Trenton. It’s really a wonderful experience, seeing these guys at this point in their careers. My husband and I like to try and pick out players with think have that certain something. We saw Hanley Ramirez 2 years ago and didn’t really have clue who he was, or what kind of prospect he was, but man, he was awesome in an all-around way. Last weekend, the Thunder were out of town, so we went to see the Lakewood Blueclaws, who are a Phillies affiliate (in fact, Ryan Howard rehabbed there recently). Doug Drabek’s son was pitching. I mean, it’s just a great experience.
Anyway, I really do appreciate your knowledge of the Yankees minor leagues specifically. It is fun and exciting to follow. And especially now, with the big club having it’s troubles, it gives you something to root for as a fan, even if it’s a couple of years away. But, I think if you have knowledge, those 2 years goes quickly.
Thanks Doreen. Glad to do it. Its baseball the way it used to be and in its purest form. The players haven’t been spoiled yet, the games are affordable (especially for families) and its an overall nice experience.
A lot of teams today put their best pitchers in AA for full seasons and use AAA more as a place for guys who are either very close to getting the call up or, honestly, are there so they can trade them.
If a kid is real good in AA, the only way he ends up at AAA for a full season is if the parent club is loaded with pitchers or he needs a little more seasoning.
Most scouts will tell you, AA is what seperates the men from the boys re: prospects.