The Sunday Links
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 03, 2007 
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The Yankees could not hold onto a lead and fell to the Red Sox.
Doug Mientkiewicz spent the night in the hospital and will be on the DL after a scary moment at first base.
Roger Clemens is injured and won’t pitch tomorrow
The Sunday baseball notes takes a look at a pitcher from Westchester who won’t give up his dream.
That’s it for now. Off to Fenway early today for the big media game against Boston. My niece Leah will be making her first trip and is very excited.
Here’s my prediction for Clemens:
7/1 vs. Oakland
After that:
7/6 vs. L.A.
7/16 vs. Toronto (he avoids Tampa Bay’s artificial turf)
7/21 vs. Tampa Bay
7/26 at Kansas City
7/31 vs. Chicago
8/5 vs. K.C.
8/10 at Cleveland
8/15 vs. Baltimore
8/20 at L.A. (he flies ahead of the Yanks after his day game start 8/15)
8/25 at Detroit (he flies from L.A. to Texas to Detroit if he wants a Texas stopover)
8/30 vs. Boston at home, no Fenway morons
9/4 vs. Seattle
9/9 vs. K.C. for the third time
9/14 at Boston
9/19 vs. Baltimore
9/25 at T.B. if the Yanks don’t clinch the wildcard yet, simulated game at the Tampa complex if they do.
9/30 at Baltimore
17 starts in ’07, maybe 18.
11 at home & night, maybe 12 at night.
6 away & in the day, maybe 7 away.
No starts on artificial turf, possibly.
Minimal travel.
His only real roadtrip is N.Y.-L.A.-Texas-Detroit-N.Y. (if he wanted to stopover in Texas).
10/5 Game 3 of the A.L.D.S. (assuming an off-day 10/1,
Game 1 on 10/2, Game 2 on 10/3, and a travel-day 10/4).
Joel Sherman in the “NY Post” says the Clemens deal can be voided by either the Yankees or Clemens without any money exchanging hands, If that is true, then it time to say goodbye to a pitcher who injured himself doing his own workouts and gives a “tired groin” diagnosis. Cashman blew it not trading away Pavano for a box of stale doughnuts. The team blew it by not getting a steroid clause in Jason Juicehead’s contract. Wonder if George S Patton-Steinbrenner ever heard of the old military saying “never reinforce failure.”
Was reading the Boston papers on-line. Lowell’s response to hitting Cano was he was taught that in the minor leagues in the Yankees organization. Guess they stopped teaching that lesson when Cano was coming up and I’ve never seen Jeter use that move so he must have been absent from class that day.
“Lowell said he ran the basepaths like he was taught as a Yankee: no peeling off, no apologies. ”
understand something. mike lowell personally kicked the yankees #$%# yesterday. he was good with a homerun and good defense, but he had something else going yesterday. he played with some serious attitude and no apologies after being drilled by a wang pitch the day before. he wasn’t expected to play yesterday because of the hand injury.
lowell was a po’d human force field yesterday. cano naively strolled into lowell and lowell knoecked him on his $%$$#. what was cano thinking? first of all he could have thrown to either 2nd base to turn a close double play or throw to first base because lowell stopped with plenty of time for minky to throw him out at second. the last thing cano should have done is go near the still po’d lowell. cano assumed lowell would just take the tag like many major leaguers do ( and like cano would have taken the tag). he assumed lowell was playing by his nicey nicey style where you beat the other team by being good. make no mistake that cano is good. but do not make the mistake that cano is tough. cano plays soft. he needs to get mad and play the game with the toughness it must have taken to get off the island back home.
the yankees have to0 many soft players right now. they are not good enough to win just by being good. cano is too soft, abreau is too soft, mussina is too soft, torre is at this stage of his career too soft.
there is another kind of player that is tough on what they will take but who are soft on what they give . jeter will take a hit from other players(he’s as tough as they come on that) , but won’t hit other players. he’s soft on how he goes after other players. damon and matsui join jeter in the same tough /soft stlye.
the only hardnosed players that take a shot and also give it back are arod, posada, phelps, and ironically mientkiewicz.
cano and all the soft guys have to get ticked off and go on the attack. either that or be really good. my feeling is that you can’t always be good but you can always be tough.
i don’t like saying it, but the red sox play tougher and with more attitude than the yankees.
the yankees got slammed yesterday. it’s going to be interesting to see who fights back and who lays down tonight.
“Cashman blew it not trading away Pavano for a box of stale doughnuts. ”
this makes no sense.
you are conceding the fact that Pavano has no trade value but at the same time saying it was a mistake to not trade him.
Cashman could have traded him for a “box of stale doughnuts” provided he was willing to pay a large chunk of his salary.
when faced with those options, the yankees were better off holding onto him and hoping he could pitch for 1/2 a season and THEN be traded for a box of FRESH doughnuts.
“The team blew it by not getting a steroid clause in Jason Juicehead’s contract. ”
even though George consented to remove the specific steroids language, every contract has a generic “illegal substances” clause. the problem is not really the language in Giambi’s contract, it’s proving he did the steroids while under contract with the yankees. so far, his vague remarks do not serve as that proof.
“what was cano thinking? first of all he could have thrown to either 2nd base to turn a close double play or throw to first base because lowell stopped with plenty of time for minky to throw him out at second.”
yeah, i agree with this. i hate when Cano attempts to make the 4-3 DP himself. Varitek was running, he had time to flip to Jeter for the 4-6-3. running at the runner almost always leads to something bad happening. unless our guys are the baserunners.
Randy is right about Cano. He made the wrong choice there on the double play. Maybe he’ll learn from that.
Randy 1 …. We’ve disagrred before, but your comments on Lowell’s efforts yesterday were spot on. Obviously, Lowell didn’t come to the park hoping to collide with, maim and dismember Yankee players. But when the situation called for it, he reacted aggressively within the rules (written and unwritten) of the game. The Minky play was accidental and bang-bang, with Lowell running hard to try to stay out of a double play.
Re: The Cano play …. I’m surprised at how many people think it was dirty. Cano expected Lowell to just give himself up and concede the two outs, and Lowell wouldn’t cooperate. Cano(by his comments) still hasn’t figured out that Lowell was right and he was wrong in their respective execution of their assignments.
Lowell isn’t a dirty player. I’m amazed at the Yankee fans who don’t understand that his action were those of a winning ball player. I know that my comments will be ridiculed, but I hope that your’s will open some eyes.
I’m sick and tired Proctor already. This guy is horrible. Redsox owned him with 8+ plus era.. How many times already this year Yankees were leading and bullpen blowing the lead in top of the seventh ?
*Against Redsox
“I’m sick and tired Proctor already. This guy is horrible. Redsox owned him with 8+ plus era.. How many times already this year Yankees were leading and bullpen blowing the lead in top of the seventh ?”
maybe Proctor wasn’t the right guy to bring in then??
if you can look up these numbers, surely Torre has them right?
also, it was Proctor’s 4th appearance in as many games and 5 appearance in 6 games. maybe he was tired?
Proctor has thrown more pitches this season than all but 2-3 other releivers.
he is gassed.
and his defense didn’t really help him out either.
No, Hmm, Please , Can you look up Proctor era against Boston…
Agree with posts regarding Yankees soft attitude. Also, what the hell was Proctor doing pitching in a key spot with his hands tied (he could not pitch inside). If I’m a BOSOX hitting instructor I’m going to tell my players to ignore the potential of high inside heat and sit on pitches in and on the outside of the plate. Ridiculous, and shameful effort by the Yankees yesterday. They played soft, and as usual, Torre and his staff did not look prepared nor capable of handling in game situations. The Yankees try to be nice and classy and get their asses kicked by teams more interested in winning (legally by the way) then with being nice.
Peter,
Can you possibly verify the NY post writers claim regarding the Clemens deal can be voided by either the Yankees or Clemens without any $ changing hands.
“No, Hmm, Please , Can you look up Proctor era against Boston…”
Proctor vs. Boston: 29.1 IP 8.28 ERA
what are you talking about? i wasn’t disagreeing with that part of your post. my point was that if Proctor has an era of over 8 against Boston, maybe Torre shouldn’t bring him in with the game on the line…
my other point is that Proctor is probably tired.
he’s thrown 483 pitches already and we’re only 1/3 through the season.
brian(red sox fan)-
i have no problem with you as a person, but when you cross the unwritten rules of going too far on an opposing blog then we are going to have our problems.
jeter would never say someone elbowed him. that’s where his toughness of taking it from opposing players comes in. cano needs a stern reprimand from bowa or someone he respects. he’s got to snap out of his lackadaisical play. being good isn’t enough to be a yankee.
one thing the yankees are missing in their organization right now is someone like clete boyer who was a key coach at all levels teaching all yankees how to be yankees. he was also a yankee third base coach and bench coach. peter a. should ask lowell about some clete stories to follow up on lowell saying he was taught to play the way he does in the yankee organization. clete was a quieter billy martin, but if you crossed him watch out. . he was billy’s third base coach for years at oakland . clete should have been a yankee manager, but he would never bow down to george. clete was in the yankee organization at least through ’96-97. jeter, posada ,bernie, lowell, rivera and,pettitte all had to be influenced by him. he was also the best fielding third baseman in history according to some baseball people.
if he had a few drinks in him you’d better not be an $%%^%4 around him, but there was no one better to teach the hardnosed yankee way than clete.
somehow i don’t think that kind of coach is there anymore. cano could have never came up like he is if someone like clete was there.
Off Topic:
MLB Trade Rumors had blurb on Dye for Abreu swap.
“Lots of good Jermaine Dye stuff from Rosenthal. About ten days ago, the White Sox kicked around the idea of sending Dye to the Yankees for Bobby Abreu. The Yanks covet Dye’s right-handed power, and Ozzie loves Abreu, his countryman. Rosenthal says the White Sox like the option of keeping Abreu for $16MM in ’08 if they so choose. That option comes with a $2MM buyout attached. The Dye/Abreu swap may be on hold because Dye is finally showing some signs of life. I have to be honest – I don’t understand the timeline here. If the Sox were considering this ten days ago, nothing Dye has done since should have changed their thinking.”
Peter..any thoughts?
hmmm ,
on another topic, i want to ask you about hughes and his mlb meter ticking while he’s injured. you said before that it’s true the service time meter is clicking away. how does a team stop that meter from clinging away? if hughes was out until the middle of next summer say, does it keep accumulating?
if so, cashman needs to figure out a way to get hughes back to the minor leagues. the yankees stand to lose a year at the other end of cheap playing time for hughes. this doesn’t seem like it’s helping with trying to keep payroll down so appropriate free agents can be signed.
Umpire bias…. nah
This from today’s NY Post
QUOTE
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06.....e_king.htm
One night after ejecting Proctor, one of O’Nora’s sons was escorted around the Red Sox clubhouse posing for pictures with players and collecting autographs. The boy was introduced by a Red Sox employee to *** Julio Lugo *** and *** Wily Mo Pena *** as “Brian O’Nora’s son� and they obliged by signing a baseball.
That was after this appeared…….
According to the Providence Journal, *** Bob Watson *** ignored umpire *** Brian O’Nora *** ’s recommendation that *** Scott Proctor *** be suspended for hitting *** Kevin Youkilis *** in Friday night’s game. O’Nora immediately ejected Proctor, but yesterday Watson, baseball’s top cop, informed Proctor that he wasn’t going to be suspended for a second time this season. The Red Sox are livid at Watson for not taking O’Nora’s report into consideration.
Most of these rumors are drummed up, seems as though nearly all of these are unfounded but if the WSox were interested in Dye for Abreu, why wouldn’t the Yankees jump on this?
I’d take it in a heartbeat, Dye is a gamer, Abreu is not.
Let’s be honest — and I say this as a third generation Yankee fan who grew up with the lousy teams of the late 60s — how many gamers are there on this team? People who play smart baseball and who put out every day? I feel ill at Rodriguez’s bizarre behavior (despite his total effort), Cano’s flaying at pitches and whining about Lowell, Abreau’s passivity at bat and fear anytime he gets within ten feet of the warning track, etc. etc. Sorry to say this, but randy is really 100% about Clete Boyer and playing like a Yankee.
p.s. and let’s not even discuss the moaning about bad calls.
Randy,
Hughes is on the ML roster, even though he is on the Disabled List (he was injured while being part of the ML Roster). So, his ML service time clock is off and running.
There is nothing Cashman can do about it. He can’t option a guy on the DL back to the minors.
Until he is healthy, his clock ticks.
Hughes’ status won’t hurt the Yankees re: free agents.
Let’s face it. Neither Arod nor Abreu will be back next year. That alone, frees up 32 million dollars.
No Clemens next year, another 19 million.
Pettitte has a player option for next year. If he decides to retire, add in another 16 million to the till.
JMO but, I think either Damon or Giambi are going to be gone next year. I would be surprised if both returned. Even if they have little market value, I think the Yankees will look to move one of them to free up more money.
At a minimum, that frees up 50 million with the possibility (if you add in Pettitte and either Giambi or Damon) to have as much as 80 million to spend in free agency.
Don’t have to spend all of it, obviously. But, they will spend a lot of it and Hughes’ status won’t affect their spending a bit.
“if hughes was out until the middle of next summer say, does it keep accumulating?”
yes, it probably would.
as soon as he is ready to go, they could send him down for a rehab start, and if he were to get hurt again, he’d at least be in the minors. but let’s say he were to hurt himself in the next few weeks and require surgery that would put him out until next year, i think the yanks would be screwed service time-wise.
someone can correct me if i am wrong.
i know you feel that there is much more than bad luck involved here, and you disapprove of the yankees’ approach to physical conditioning. that is not a topic i want to re-open now. while the hamstring injuries may have not been “luck”, i think rolling an ankle WAS just a stroke of bad luck for Hughes and the Yankees, and the fact that he is rehabbing while collecting service time is just another slap in the face.
on the other thread i dismissed the Dye for Abreu rumors b/c i can’t figure out why the White Sox would want to do that.
seeing that it came from Rosenthal/Rotoworld and wasn’t just pulled out of thin air, i will apologize to the original poster.
i still don’t get the trade from the White Sox perspective at all though.
Dye was better last year, he’s been “better” this year, he’s a lot cheaper, and probably plays better defense.
i think the Yankees would do that trade in a heartbeat.
Honestly, is there even really a “Yankees” way anymore?
That is simply a marketing drivel espoused by the team to assuage US into feeling like we are ” better” than other teams.
Our team as presently constructed BLOWS. We are a soft team of overpaid businessmen, the Red Sox as constructed have far more joy, elan, and spirit than we do.
I find the truth hurts, but we as fans need to accept there is NO SUCH THING as a true yankee anymore.
Times have changed, the yankees are a business now, with fortune 500 executives dressed in pinstripes reading the paper at their desk, conferring with their lawyers about stocks and deals.
Yankee Mystique and Aura?
D-E-A-D.
who’s coming up?
Arod opting out is highly probable, Arod leaving isn’t as certain, as undoubtedly Yankee brass realize Arod’s offense cannot be replaced. So bringing him back at 27 million + is not out of reason for these spending fools.
If Arod posts numbers similar to last year, and Arod opts out, Yankees let him go, if he posts numbers similar to 2005, the Yankees bite the bullet and re-negotiate.
The O’Nora stuff is disgusting. He should be suspended immediately. You just don’t do that. MLB fired Al Clark several years ago for asking players to sign baseballs and he would then use them for auctions to make extra money for himself.
With everything that happened Friday night, for O’Nora to do that (if the story is true) should be a fireable offense.
That said, bad calls aren’t the reason for the Yankees bad season. Its cost them 4 games this year. How about the other 9 1/2?
Its an old team, folks. Old teams get injured and old teams play “old” when most of the players on the roster are past their prime. Its also a soft team. That’s only going to change with a roster overhaul.
You aren’t making an old, soft team, young and tough. Ain’t happenin’.
Its why I laugh at all these ridiculous trades suggested by people on this blog.
Adding more salary and getting older isn’t the way to go this year.
The smart move is to clear the decks for next year. Move as many guys as possible between now and the dealine and show free agents the door is wide open for next year.
Most notably, try and move Arod. Its over for him in NY for numerous reasons. Not the least of which is that he is so unpopular among his peers, he isn’t attracting any free agents to come to NY. We have seen enough in 4 years to begin “divorce” proceedings with Arod. Its time.
At the same time, hold onto your best pitching prospects and begin to get them ready to contribute sooner rather than later.
In other words, run the organization like the Angels. Competitive every year, aggressive in free agency AND have a great minor league system.
The Yankees are certainly capable of doing the same thing. If they do, this is a one year slide and nothing more.
If they make the same mistakes they made in the 80′s and when they broke up the Dynasty Team, then add 10 years to the rebuilding phase. All you have to do is look at the history of this franchise to confirm what I am saying.
Questioning Torre about his bullpen moves are meaningless at this point. Aside from Rivera, nobody in that bullpen can get outs when it matters.
Its just a very bad baseball team that is so beat up, physically and mentally, they aren’t going anywhere this year.
scratch that about Dye’s defense. looking at his ZR, it looks like Dye has been pretty bad this year.
i’d still do the trade if i were the Yankees though, just to swap lefty for righty.
Abreu has a NTC though.
Dye and Buehrle for Abreu and Mussina….Please!
Saying Kaddish (mourning, not Kiddish, blessing) — there are still true Yankees — Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettite — but they’ve become the minority. Note that each of them came up via the minors, bolstering randy’s point. You might include Matsui and the 2006 Damon, but how many others among the 25 really understand and *LOVE* the game? You’re so right about the lack of joy
“how many gamers are there on this team? People who play smart baseball and who put out every day? I feel ill at Rodriguez’s bizarre behavior (despite his total effort)”
this makes no sense. you are talking about 1-2 plays a-rod has made in the course of 50+ games. you are ill about 1-2 strange plays in the course of an otherwise excellent season? trust me, a-rod is the least of the yankees’ problems.
can someone define “gamer”?
how are a-rod and jeter not gamers? they play every single day every single season.
they play hard. sometimes they fail. they usually succeed.
is Matsui a “gamer”? i think so. same for Posada.
Bingo.
NO JOY.
This team has NO joy.
Also, when did the Sox Electrify the righ field fence, as surelt Abreu didnt want to get electified by the fence.
He is about the softest player I have ever seen, bring back Sheffield!
“Dye and Buehrle for Abreu and Mussina….Please!”
maybe the Sox will throw in Danks as well, but only if we include DeSalvo.
It doesn’t count towards the revenue sharing but Torre will likely be gone next year. there’s another $7 million (minus his replacement’s salary).
Predicting Carl Pavano would get injured is like predicting what will happen if an apple falls from a tree. The surprise was he managed to pitch 10 innings.
The Yankees aren’t going to give Arod a long term deal. They just aren’t and this week probably sealed his fate in NY.
More importantly, why would you? You can re-distribute his money and improve more areas of the team, thereby making it a better TEAM, than just giving Arod a bunch of money.
I’ll come out and say it. He isn’t worth the money, if your goal is to win Championships.
I am an Arod fan, and wish him well in his new locale. Too much drama, too much BS, and too little production when it matters.
Its not a coincidence he has never won anywhere, nor made the teams he played on better. Sometimes, you have to look at thing dispassionately and realize, for whatever reason, somethin’ ain’t right with the guy and cut your losses.
He is a great player. He will set a lot of records. But, there is a reason that, aside from Barry Bonds, he is the most hated guy in the game by his peers. I think all of us have been blind to it (or just chose to ignore it) and we can’t anymore.
This is about building a team that players want to come to for more than just money reasons. That’s why they are in the spot they are in right now.
Arod? Just not a guy folks warm to. Unlike guys like Jeter, Posada, Mo, Pettitte, etc.
He has to go. If Cashman could ever convince Boras and Arod now is the time, rather than the off-season, it would be a stroke of genius. They probably wouldn’t agree to a trade but, I would certainly explore it.
Hmmn, you are correct re: the service time issue with Hughes. As I detailed in an earlier post, Hughes’ status won’t affect what the Yankees do in free agency this off-season.
They have a lot of money coming off the books and if they move a few other bodies, it opens up even more opportunities.
I love trade requests like that hmmm.
Guys who are 10 and 5 and guys with NTC are just going to agree to these trades.
Plus, there is GIANT market for starting pitchers with 6 ERA’s and RF’s who no longer can hit AND are afraid of the wall.
Yup, burgeoning trade market with those guys.
This ain’t PlayStation people. Fantasy deals aren’t happening.
Money is not going to be an issue in rebuilding the team.
HOW they spend it will be the issue.
Hopefully, smarter than its been done in the past.
“Let’s face it. Neither Arod nor Abreu will be back next year. That alone, frees up 32 million dollars.”
Being that A Rod spent a lot of last month apartment shopping in the NY area, showing much interest in a multimillion dollar apartment, I’d say he has some desire to stay.
Let’s hope Cashman goes back to Scott Boras this winter and adds a few more over-the-hill players with contracts that are huge and have no trade clauses……..
Lots of guys have places in NY and play elsewhere.
When he opts out, the Yankees aren’t committing long term to him.
Its not like he doesn’t have enough money to carry two mortgages. lol
Stray rod is SO gone.
Gone gone gone. And good Mr April is useless when it matters anyway.
Soft Soft Soft
hmm —
i don’t think you read my post before shooting off criticism, so to clarify:
“Rodriguez’s bizarre behavior” goes beyond those on the field. i don’t blame him for the ny post’s nasty headlines. his personal business is his own. but i do blame him for being in the middle/creating a soap opera on a regular basis via his media comments.
i posted “there are still true Yankees—Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettite—but they’ve become the minority” I also posted that Matsui and 2006-Damon were gamers, and that Rodriguez gave total effort, so your criticism “how are a-rod and jeter not gamers? they play every single day every single season” is silly and non-responsive.
this is a recurring problem with the comments section. lots of good, smart contributions and then lots of knee-jerk uninformed ones.
hmm will likely underscore this by calling me a moron or a troll or a red sox fan.
I agree, SJ44. Some of these aging, one-dimensional veterans are untradeable. There are too many DH types on this 2007 Yankee team – Damon,Giambi,Matsui,now – Abreu, and Phelps (if you want to stretch a point). Of all that I’ve listed, I admire Matsui but ironically he is the only tradeable one of the bunch that will bring any reasonable return. The Yankees need to become more athletic and passionate and that will only happen with wise investments for free agents and cultivating what talent is found in the farm system.
Mussina, if he could be convinced to waive his “no trade”, would be an attractive pickup for an NL contender, like the Mets.
BTW, Dye is no “steal” for Abreu, but at this point, Jermaine’s attitude would be a welcome change on this Yankee Team.
And I’m not convinced that ARod will not be in New York.
Remember that ARod is the logical – and preferred – candidate to pass Barry Bonds as the first legimate non-steriod MLB player to succeed Henry Aaron.
George and Cashman are well aware of his potential box office and media draw as he continues his career in this regard. They surely do not want to be labelled (again) for making a huge blunder in personnel decisions by trading a Hall of Famer and potential all-time Homerun King.
SJ, what is your take on Al Horne? He sucked last night but has otherwise been amazing for Trenton this season. I say we get him up to Scranton, and get Kennedy and Joba up to Trenton. Lavigne is holding Kennedy’s spot in Trenton for him and it doesn’t look like Joba has much to prove in the FSL anymore. I think the Yanks are being overly cautious here and I would like to see them be a little more aggressive with their pitching prospects.
I do agree think the culture around the Yankees needs to change and, like it or not, it starts with Arod. Mainly because, EVERYTHING starts with Arod with this team. That’s one of the problems, IMO.
They have to get back to being more of a team rather than a group of stars. It hasn’t worked.
Its not a coincidence their performances have declined every year since 2003, their last WS appearance.
You can’t escape the fact that, 2004, greatest choke in history. 2005, 5 game ALDS playoff loss. 2006, 4 game playoff loss. 2007 (IMO), no playoffs.
You can’t ignore the trend when its gone on for 4 years.
Change the culture, change the results. You change the culture by removing as many “me” players as possible.
Its doable, and you get a head start on it with some of the expiring contracts and opt out situations coming up.
If they are smart, this is easily fixable. If they panic, they will lose for years.
It revolves too much around Arod, Giambi and their foibles.
It also revolves too much around, “who’s coming in next to save the day”, instead of running a quality baseball operation.
Use the Angels as your model and you will be able to get this thing going in the right direction quickly.
Amen, SJ44.
sj44 and hmmm-
thanks for the info. you both know more about minor league rules than i do. but if the yankees do lose a cheap year from hughes’ 6 years of being under their control it may not hurt now or next year but it seems it does in the last year of the 6 years.
that seems like a long time from now , but it has to be a consideration when bringing up players. i’m just pointing out one more thing to think about when bringing up players when everyone agrees it’s probably too soon. losing a cheap year is one of the risks that has to be factored in.
Horne needs a full year in AA, IMO, because he is only a year removed from TJ Surgery. He needs to build up his innings, strength and pitch counts. Not yet ready for AAA. I think Jeff Marquez from the Trenton staff is more AAA ready than Horne.
I think Chamberlain needs a full year in Tampa for the same reasons. He missed the first month of the year with a hamstring and had shoulder problems last year. He needs to build stamina, pitch count and strength. I don’t think he is ready for AA at this time. But, he is going to be a VERY good pitcher, if he stays healthy.
Kennedy? He’s getting close to being ready. I think he is the most logical to go to Trenton for the second half of the season. He is a stud. The most polished of all the Yankee pitching prospects.
People think I am nuts but, I could envision a scenario in which Kennedy is in the rotation at some point next season. He’s that good.
He just has to build more strength and endurance. But, this time next year, its not inconcievable to see him as the #4 or #5 starter in the rotation. He is really, really good.
LathamJoe,
Here is my concern with ARod. So many holes on this team, his money opens other doors. He is a great numbers guy but, is he “the guy”? Is he the guy that can help rebuild this team? Especially if, you have to commit long term to him?
I am an Arod fan, not a hater. I just think his money can be re-distributed to fix other areas of the team.
Plus, and this can’t be discounted, too much diva goin’ on with him. Its tiring, its a distraction and, most important, it isn’t contributing to winning.
Its not going away. He isn’t ever going to be “low key”. Especially if he is in NY.
I just think its best for both parties to move on. No way would I commit long term to Arod. On and off the field, he just seems too unstable at this time to make that kind of commitment.
“but if the yankees do lose a cheap year from hughes’ 6 years of being under their control it may not hurt now or next year but it seems it does in the last year of the 6 years.”
totally. and if hughes is as good as advertised, it’s going to be expensive.
basically everything that could have gone wrong this year has.
Also, can somebody explain to me why Luis Vizcaino is still on this team. The Yanks actually have options at Scranton to replace this bum (E.Ramirez, Henn) so why don’t they go ahead and do it? The bullpen really needs to be overhauled. The only guys really worth keeping there are Rivera, Bruney and Britton. Proctor’s arm will probably fall off soon, Farnsworth sucks, Vizcaino blows, Myers blows, and Villone is not that good. Farnsworth might bring something in a trade if we eat part of his salary, and Myers could probably be traded. I don’t see anyone giving up anything for Vizcaino or Villone so they should just be released. It’s funny because going into the season most people(myself included) thought the Yankee pen would be a strength for them; that obviously has not been the case.
“hmm will likely underscore this by calling me a moron or a troll or a red sox fan.”
you’re a moron red sox troll. j/k.
seriously, i don’t think my post was that disrespectful. i thought you were referring the a-rod “HA” play when you said “bizarre behavior”, which i thought didn’t make sense.
here is what you said:
“People who play smart baseball and who put out every day? I feel ill at Rodriguez’s bizarre behavior (despite his total effort)”
i assumed you were talking about his on field behavior since the rest of your post was talking about playing hard and being a “gamer”.
if you were talking about his media soap operas, i will apologize. i can take it.
I disagree about the ARod analysis. If anything, this is Jeter’s , and to a lesser extent – Giambi’s team.
I am not a big ARod fan, but the press certainly has a lot to do with the distractions to this team and the fans perceptions of ARod as a “selfish player”. This guy is super talented, comes to the ballpark early and plays every day, hustles when he’s in the game and has put up fantastic numbers.
Yeah he’s got a “prima donna” attitude, but so did some of the 1996-2000 Yankees (Wells, El Duque, Strawberry, Gooden, Nelson, Fielder). However there was enough clutch players and stars to overcome any selfish play.
The Yankees haven’t won because their pitching has been inferior – plain and simple. Mo has been the only consistent “big game-tested” reliever during these
non-ring years. Pettite and Wells are the only
pressure-tested starters since 2001. Clemens and RJ, while certain Hall of Famers, have not been great overall in the post season.
Randy 1 – I assume it will make Hughes arbitration eligible a year earlier, also.
SJ44 – It’s always good to free up (dead) money from bad contracts, but there’s so much luck involved in when it is freed up. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox are going to spend it as it becomes available (especially after a bad year), but the available pool of players are becoming less and less desirable as smaller market teams tie up their good players (largely due to revenue sharing). So a team can get stuck with a Zito and lose out on a Beltran if the stars aren’t aligned.
Ichiro, Jones and Hunter will all be overpriced halfway through their contracts (see Johny Damon), but the Yankees will be tempted to get one of them simply because …. they can (not to mention knee jerk reactions to the Mets and Red Sox).
So you want to have the money when good young(ish) talent is available – which is becoming a less frequent happenstance.
No problem with Lowell’s aggressive baserunning yesterday, just as I didn’t have any problems with Alex’s slide into Pedroia last series.
“Change the culture, change the results. You change the culture by removing as many “meâ€? players as possible.”
i would think if you want to change the culture, the very first thing you would do is change the manager, no?
most of the complaints of late i’ve read are about the complacency, the passiveness, the lack of toughness and emotion.
i’m sad to say it, but the players MAY BE taking some cues from Mr. Green Tea himself.
i am NOT (totally) blaming torre for what has happened this year. the players haven’t done their jobs.
but if you’re complaining about being passive, i’ve never seen a more passive manager than Joe Torre 2004-2007.
“Use the Angels as your model and you will be able to get this thing going in the right direction quickly.”
i’d use the twins model before the angels,but better yet, i think a totally new model should be developed for the new world that baseball is in. i don’t think that salaries and revenues are going to go backward.
the indians and red sox are building quite the organizations. the yankees are going to have to use their vast fan base and resources to finance competing with these semmingly superior organizations. how does cashman build a great minor league system when the whole thing could come unglued if george suddenly died. there is no way the steinbrenner family will keep the team despite them saying they will. owners now have to be in the 5 billion dollar range to be heavy hitters. i’m not trying to be negative here, but the yankees need an organizational makeover from top down.
in the meantime, to switch gears back to now, i’d like them to knock the snot out of the red sox tonight. my motto is when in doubt ,play harder. that’s why i like the twins organization. they have a lot of toughness in it.it’s not coincidental that minkiewicz came up in the twins organization and went after a ball that all his instincts told him he was going to get hammered. i just wish he was a better player. that he’s tough enough goes without saying.
I would agree that there is no joy on the Yankees right now. Winning creates joy; losing sucks it away.
However, I am curious. When the Yankees appear to be having fun in the dugout during a came (which could be seen as trying to enjoy playing baseball, trying to stay loose), why is it that this is seen as somehow looking as if they don’t care about losing? How do you judge joy? Long faces – no joy, or serious because of losing? Laughter and looseness in the dugout – joy, or frivolity in the face of losing?
So what do people want? Long-faced and sullen because of their current situation? Or what? I’m really confused here, because this means there’s no joy, and no joy is not good.
I’m so up in the air about A-Rod. He had a monster April, and a so-so May. He is widely viewed as the best player in baseball, and although he ends up putting up great numbers over the course of a season, on a day-to-day basis, it’s not so clear how great he is. You can dismiss his personality as “A-Rod being A-Rod,” but how is that different from Boston and their view of “Manny being Manny”? And Boston has put up with Manny because he is extremely consistent offensively. Rodriguez, not so consistent. Add in the personal stuff, his high maintenance personality and “awkwardness,” is he worth it? Most of the times, I say, of course. But then, I’m not all that sure.
I don’t get really into the fantasy trades, because, it’s futile for me as a fan. I’m more of a reactionary fan, I guess, rather than proactionary one.
This season has turned into really, really, a mess. Plain and simple. Instead of every move they make turning to gold, they’re turning to dust. Post-season notwithstanding, the Yankees really had been stepping in it, season-wise, for the last few years (Small, Chacon, Abreu last season, whatever plug-ins they’ve gotten). It’s hard to stay positive when it looks like the seaason is imploding. The most disappointing aspect of the season to date, in my opinion, is the inconsistency (to say the least) of the bullpen, which I think most people thought would be at least pretty good this year, with some question marks, but on the whole better than last season. I don’t know how you fix that. The problem seems to be an inability or unwillingness to throw strike 3. They get to strike 2 a lot. Even 0-2 a lot. But they can’t put anyone away.
I certainly hope Beckett has a rare bad game today, because Andy Pettitte deserves it.
Joe Torre is an exceptional manager of personalities. For the most part, He has successfully soothed, conjoled, and satisfied the vast collection of egos on these Yankee teams since 1996. The team’s “winner” attitude, fostered by loyal hard-nosed veterans and enthusiastic youngsters, made them champions. Torre’s in-game management style has been on “auto-pilot” since he took over in ’96. The difference today is in the level of talent, big-game production and attitude of the players he has to work with.
*typo — during a *game*
Is there any word on Who is being called up to replace Doug? Also any word on the game? I hear we are supposed to get hit with the remnants of tropical storm Bob.
Hopefully, this game will be ppd. They could certainly use Andy to open in Chicago and forget about the “Great Japanese Pitching Disaster”.
Yeah I’m kinda hoping it gets called as well. Althought I don’t believe it’s been determined who will be called up to pitch on Monday.
regarding Hughes service time ticking away…. who cares.
it is really only a an issue of money. and if he is good, the yankees are gonna give him whatever it takes to keep him.
I am more concerned about his lack of pitching this year. he is not extending himself in terms of innings. the plan was for him to get up to 180 innings this year, that isnt looking like it is gonna happen. there are some studies, informal as they may be that show pitcher that jump more than 40 innings suffer particularly in terms of performance the following year. if he had increased his workload this year going over 200 innings next year wouldnt be an issue.
you know what irks me.. if it was arod, and not lowell that lowered his shoulder into the 2b, there would be 400 reporters going nuts with how bush league it was
“i’m sad to say it, but the players MAY BE taking some cues from Mr. Green Tea himself.”
i totally respect joe torre the baseball man but i think he’s a quart low on testosterone right now. rather than firing torre, the organization should be set up to use his experience at a higher level, a kind of council of elders, and i would like to see him resign if this doesn’t turn around in the next few weeks.
i wasn’t as keen on mattingly as i was girardi ,but mattingly made an interesting move when ,in the fiirst game, he brought rivera right in to nail down a win that was slipping away .that was a very decisive move.
some people say they wouldn’t want to bring mattingly into this mess. why not? how are we going to see how he manages?
Melky plays with yankee heart…
he plays hard, smart, and with energy, he is 22. Not a superstar but a piece to the puzzle.
vizciano makes peanuts and his contract is up at the end of the yr. DFA him, it is not that complicated…
Proctor is a decent pitcher, the D failed miserably yesterday.. Dye is Benji Molina slow but I would take him over Abreu in a second…More power and I am tired of Abreu after about 100 games…
I would trade farnsworth and there would be takers for sure….
things look bad right now but they are not that far off and should get more $ relief. I would let Arod go, it is just old already his act and distractions… He should go to SF…
Copy the Angels or the Sox!!!Why the ANgels hit lightning in the bottle 1 yr. and so did the sox.. Shilling appears to be losing it in front of our eyes and wakefield is wakefield, matsuzaka $120 mill. has a 5.00 ERA, I guess they have Beckett and Tavarez…..
The Angels saving grace was steinny wanting sheff over Vlad, that wa a fatal mistake…..the angels have great starting pitching and back of the bullpen guys, but there O stinks…..
id keep clip up for good now he should take mussinas spot in this rotation i dont want mussina anyway near the mound anymore his act has gotten so old i can barely remember when he was a decent pitcher hes definetaly a guy who shouldve went to padres and died the slow death in the NL west and id get what a can for farnsworth right now might as well have britton up but then again whats the point if it takes torre half a season to earn a guys trust only to burn him out in a month anyone in favor of giving joe a columbian necktie this fathers day say I
A-Rod, Torre, Opt-out.
Torre continues to throw A-Rod under the bus.
Every one knows what Torre did last year.
Regarding recent “Hah”, I have no issue Torre talking to A-Rod in private and telling him to stop doing it. Beyond that why did he have to go public about it?
A-Rod is a nice guy and tries to fit in and toed the partline he was Ok with what Torre said. If it was Reggie, he would have told Torre to take a hike!!!
In any case, I just do not see R-Rod coming back if Torre is still the manager. If it does not already happen during this reason, first order of business as soon as the season ends is to tell Torre to retire gracefully. If he does not, tell him he is not needed.
On another front, can any one understand Torre’s fascination with Proctor? Proctor is horrible against Redsox, which is ok just like Mo has his worst times againse Red Sox. Knowing that why does Torre bring in Proctor in a game that is still winnable? Amazing!!!!
I am one of a very few people here who still think that Yankees will make it as a wild card. Now I do not know with these ridiculous ingame moves by Torre. At least he is consistent in his moves – stubborn and clueless.
doreen-
i think lowell had a lot of fun last night after he wore his game face all day when he single handedly annihilated the yankees and set the tone for other red sox to follow.
it’s not that players shouldn’t be loose, but you have to know when to have gunslinger eyes and when to relax. players like cano are stuck on relax. it’s not that you can’t have a good time, but sometimes the most fun comes after taking it to the opponent.
andy does deserve a win tonight. i know he won’t lay down out there. he knows what happened yesterday. he knows tonight’s game is a gut check for the whole team. i’m especially curious how cano will react. he got knocked on his $%^%$ in front of the whole world and his bad throw set up jeter’s bad throw that got mienkiewicz killed.
cano better not have slept well last night.
you are all really missing the point. you gotta know that this is all an elaborate plan by cashman to make it seem like the yankees are dead to other teams. the yankees are doing awesome and will be fine. i’ve said it before, it’s like rope-a-dope. the yankees are resting now because everyone gets really tired over a 162 game period. so they are saving their energy and will fight back when the rest of baseball is least expecting it. the rest of baseball will be tired, the yankees will be strong. like when rocky would hold back and not fight left handed until his oponent was all tired out. then he brought it, the fury, the eye of the tiger.
it’s like the way the soviet union pretended to collapse, but you know they are going to come back and take us over when we least expect it.
cano let lowell flatten him, it takes less energy to let someone flatten you than to fight back. mientkiewicz (best wishes dougie, get well soon, you are great) will be avenged, but not just yet. like i’ve said before, it will be from july 15-august 15. and now it’s really great because clemens, who banged his fist on the table last week in scranton and terrified the global press corps, is pretending to have a groin pull, just so he can explode and bring the rage and the fury that much longer and intensely.
word on the street is that baseball players get really tired in august because the stratosphere is leaking through hole in the ozone layer and there’s not enough oxygenification during the games. only cashman knows about this and he is the architect of new baseball: save your energy, then explode in the month of the stratosphere-breathers. it’s brilliant. i look forward to his first appearance on oprah in october after the yankees win the world series while selling his book “how i made the yankees flip out and win again.”
you guys should listen to some music that will get you pumped, like “the final countdown,” by europe, or “without me,” by eminem or “tell her about it” by billy joel. you’ll want to do pushups like a porpoise in the midtown tunnel.
yankees fans get pumped.
clemens will bang his fist.
Regarding Hughes service time, a question to the knowledgeable people here.
Hughes was promoted to majors about a month into the season.
So, after the end of 2009 he will not have full three years service to be eligible for arbitration. Similarly, he would not be eligible for Free Agency after 2012 season as he will not have 6 full years service.
So, the question is how does it matter if he acrrues ML service time on DL?
“The difference today is in the level of talent, big-game production and attitude of the players he has to work with.”
i think it also has a lot to do with the increased quality of the competition and the unbalanced schedule, i.e. playing 20% of our games against Boston so far.
there is no doubt we are seeing more and more parity through revenue sharing and increased cashflow from lucrative TV deals.
over the last few years there has also been a huge gap in the quality between the NL and the AL. there aren’t too many truly bad teams in the AL anymore for the Yankees to beat up on. these teams gotten better with the help of George’s cash. not saying baseball overall isn’t better off, but the Yankees just aren’t going to be able to dominate for long stretches anymore. there simply won’t be enough quality free agents that are available to make it happen.
the yankees have to find other ways to flex their financial might. that means spending lavishly on the draft, the international FA market, and on truly ELITE FA talent. this is what i believe they have been trying to transition to over the last few years, but it should have started a few years earlier. there is only so much you can do in one off-season.
I feel like the Yankees will win the division this year.
Boston’s pitching staff has lost a lot of it’s april and early May dominance and the Yankee pitching staff is getting better.
Sure, Roger isn’t going ot be back for a little and Hughes is injured, but we really don’t need them. As long as the offense comes around, we can win games.
All that has to happen is Torre has to go to Bruney and Myers more often than Proctor and Viz. ANd he can’t be afraid to use Mo in the 8th or even the 7th.
So let me get this straight – Damon is hurting, Giambi is on the DL, Phelps is our every-day first baseman with his gold glove abilities, Roger Clemens is going to take 2 weeks to a month until he returns, and Scott Proctor is not Scott Proctor. What’s the solution Cashman?
Pollyanna, what is it that you are smoking? It’s damn sure can’t be legal.
Hmmm,
I didn’t count Torre in the mix because, IMO, its a foregone conclusion that he isn’t going to be back next year.
The players sitll play the games. Torre is the same guy he was from 1996-2003, when this team was really good. The difference is, he had better players and Mariano Rivera in his prime to clean up any bullpen messes.
As to who the next manager should be, I don’t necessarily buy the “fiery guy” theory.
Lou Piniella is pretty “fiery”, how’s that working out in Chicago. Same for Ozzie Guillen in the same city.
Guys like Bobby Cox, Francona, and Willie are more like Torre in the way they run their teams and their teams seem to play pretty spirited baseball everyday.
When it comes to manager’s, I believe there are horses for courses. Personally, I think Torre’s time had passed after last season. This was a “victory lap” year, and the fact George probably didn’t want to pay Torre for doing nothing this year, so firing him didn’t happen.
Who should the next manager be? Tell me what type of team they are building and that would determine who the next manager of the Yankees should be.
I think a “Mini-Buck Showalter” is in order more than a raving lunatic. This team needs to understand the word “team” again. That’s one thing Buck did well.
I agree with Randy. Joe Torre didn’t become stupid overnight. If you recall, Torre originally interviewed for the GM’s job in 1996. He knows the game.
I would love to have him back in a consulting capacity to help Cashman (or whomever occupies the GM seat) remake the team. If Cashman got fired, he would be one of the guys I’d consider for the GM job.
The guy has 50 years of baseball knowledge. You don’t just lose it overnight.
Re: Arod, sorry, he doesn’t have a vote as to whom the manager should be next year. He hasn’t done enough in NY to warrant that kind of juice.
Torre didn’t throw Arod under the bus. Arod threw Arod under the bus with his actions, on and off the field, this week.
If you are gonna aim the “gun of blame”, you have to hit the right target. Arod is responsible for what Arod did, and the reaction to it, this week. Not Torre.
heyheyhey,
You want Torre to use Mo in the 7th? That sounds like an AWESOME idea! Hey, better yet.. why not have him start and pitch complete games EVERY game?
I mean, it’s not like he’s a 38 year old whose arm gets “tired” or anything, right?
If someone could break Lowell’s or Youk’s arm, that would be appreciated.
heyheyhey, if we don’t improve the bullpen, it won’t matter what Roger Clemens or the rest of the staff does. They will pitch a good six innings, get taken out, and then watch the bullpen blow the game.
“So, the question is how does it matter if he acrrues ML service time on DL?”
it has to do with what is called “super 2″ status:
“Seventeen percent of players with two years of service time are granted Super 2 status, which gives them an early shot at arbitration. Generally speaking, those players fall into a narrow niche: The historical cutoff point is two years and 128 days of service, while the high side is two years and 140 days.
Anyone over that second point is all but guaranteed to be a Super 2 — anyone under the first one should fall short.”
Can anyone recommend a site where I can read about baseball contracts, arbitration, free agency, and the general rules? I’m quite clueless about the whole process right now.
“Torre didn’t throw Arod under the bus. Arod threw Arod under the bus with his actions, on and off the field, this week.”
Torre went on record to voice his displeasure with the way his comments were portrayed in the paper.
i think he and A-Rod discussed it and are on the same page.
i think it’s a non-issue.
Igawa isn’t pitching in Chicago tomorrow. He is pitching in Scranton right now. Gave up a HR in the first inning, FWIW.
So, today’s mystery is, who will be the starter tomorrow night in Chicago?
Carson, your best bet is probably to read through the collective bargaining agreement. i can’t find the new CBA, but here is a link to the previous one. it’s pretty similar to the new one, though i know a few tweaks were made, obviously with regard to PED testing, and free agent compensation:
http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/pdf/cba_english.pdf
“Igawa isn’t pitching in Chicago tomorrow. He is pitching in Scranton right now. Gave up a HR in the first inning, FWIW.”
really? this is pretty odd.
did the yankees sign Runelvys Hernandez?
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this, but the Post reported spotting Damon working at first base yesterday.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=2891888
hmmm,
Thanks for the clarification on Hughes service.
Another question I have: They get super-2 Status just based on service time? Does performanace matter at all? Like what they did relative to the league etc,.
Is it possible, Monday’s starter could be Chase Wright or Horne from AA? There could always be a minor trade before that, like Vizcaino and/or Kyle for a serviceable fifth starter.
so if hughes stays on the mlb roster this whole year, he’ll be a super two in 2010?
Performance doesn’t matter. Super 2 status is all about service time.
I think Damon’s future in NY, if he has one, will be at first base. Just a gut feeling, more than anything else.
With several good OF options on the FA market, I could see the Yankees giving Damon every opportunity to become a first baseman.
He is a good enough athlete and, truth be told, I have no problem with the effort he puts out everyday. The guys plays hard. He is just hurt a lot.
First base may be the most logical way to extend his career, and allow the Yankees to get production out of him for the final two years of his deal.
“They get super-2 Status just based on service time? Does performanace matter at all? Like what they did relative to the league etc,.”
since only 17 percent of the players can be super 2′s, performance probably does matter when drawing the line between who is in and out.
can anyone confirm?
Chase Wright pitched Thursday night for Scranton. Unless they want him pitching on short rest, I doubt he is the option.
Horne pitched last night for Trenton.
Steven Jackson pitched Wednesday night for Scranton and got shelled. I doubt he is the option.
Its a mystery right now. Perhaps Pete will be able to find out who it is when Torre meets with the media later today.
Frankly, I’m glad Lou Piniella is not the manager. Sure, he’s entertaining, but, I don’t know. I think there needs to be someone in the middle between Torre’s more laid-back, behind the scenes management and Piniella’s in-your-face, throw your players under the bus style (he tacitly approved of Zambrano’s fight with his catcher, saying, basically, he would have been upset with the catcher’s play as well). But NY does need a guy with Torre’s skill in both facing the media day-to-day, and protecting his players from the media, as well. I think it’s interesting that A-Rod is not (or does not seem to be) protectable. Whether that’s by choice or circumstance, or just a product of A-Rod’s “unique” personality, who knows?
The next couple of years will be interesting in The Bronx. I’m hopeful they’ll turn things around at least enough to make it interesting this year, and also keep it interesting next year, all the while developing the plan to become a strong team from top to bottom (from minors to majors and all areas in between). They have and should use their money to address all areas of weakness in the organization and they should get rid of baggage. As fans, we may have to forget the personalities in the uniforms. The priority has to be the team. And hopefully, the Yankees will make good choices. Cashman, bless his soul, seems to be able to put sentiment aside when necessary (e.g., Bernie).
The quotes from Torre and the players after yesterday was that they believe they have that “fight” back. I just hope yesterday’s loss, especially after watching Minky go down and hearing that Clemens will be delayed, won’t take the burgeoning spark out of them. ‘Cause it would be really easy to understand if they succumbed to the “what’s next” feeling that everything seems to be unraveling, both things that should be in their control, and things that are not.
At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if Monday’s starter is Proctor.
P.S. I think Cashman fought to keep Torre in part because he knew Piniella would be the replacement, and he does not want Piniella to be the face of the Yankees.
Pete when will we debate the Mike Lowell tackle in the base paths being bush league ?
I believe, Matt DeSalvo can be brought back up without spending the required days on the minor league roster if he is replacing an injured player. Mientkiewicz is now that injured player. My guess is that DeSalvo starts tomorrow.
Becasue Minky got injured, they can get DeSalvo back. Normally when someone is optioned, he can not come back for 15 days unless there is an injury on the ML team.
Brandon, I think Torre’s comments foreclosed that debate.
The rumors of Piniella replacing Torre seem like a million years ago. I agree he would have been a bad choice, but really, could things have gone much worse this season?
At least the Yankees know Torre will be gone next year and can plan accordingly. They can seek out a manager carefully rather than desperately.
Torre just likes keeping this teams mentality into a bunch of robots, I think the NBA playoffs took the spotlight off that play but later on tonight and especially tomorrow we will hear more about this.
I do find it fascinatin how Joe doesn’t stick up for guys not named Jeter, Mariano or Jorge.
I like the idea of Damon at first. For the reasons stated, but also because, although Teixiera might be on the market, I don’t think it’s a good idea to trade for someone who will be a free agent in 1 1/2 years unless you can guarantee that he’ll sign an extention. The Yankees don’t have a lot to deal right now and would have to give too much for Tex in view of that uncertainty. Damon at first would buy them more time, and hope that they either still have a shot for Tex as a FA in 2009 or some alternative comes to light in the meantime.
I’ll tell ya, this year has become quite a learning experience for me.
DeSalvo can not be brought up as an injury replacement for Minky before his 10 days are up. It has to be pitcher-for-pitcher or position player-for-position player.
“I believe, Matt DeSalvo can be brought back up without spending the required days on the minor league roster if he is replacing an injured player. Mientkiewicz is now that injured player. My guess is that DeSalvo starts tomorrow.”
ahh, you are correct.
yea.. Igawa has pitched 3 or 4 innings of 1 run ball.
desalvo for another outing, that means more walks and very few strike outs, that means trouble…
he alredy lost to the whitesox if I remember correctly..
not good. I knew the Hughes injury was huge, god they can use him. think about it the Yanks need a 20 yr old rookie arm, bad..
there pitching situation is catastrophic……they have no real 7th and 8th inning guy 50 + games into the season….they have a 44 yr old 4th starter if he pitches and rookie 5th starters and a 37 yr old 86 mph 3rd starter, besides that everything else is fine….
As I said above, DeSalvo is not an option. Clippard can pitch Monday on regular rest though, then Chase Wright could pitch on Tuesday on regular rest.
“I do find it fascinatin how Joe doesn’t stick up for guys not named Jeter, Mariano or Jorge.”
That is exactly the point I was making earlier regarding A-Rod.
Sure, A-Rod created the mess for himself. But Torre either support him or if does not want to, which is his right, just shut up his mouth and do not discuss a private conversation with media.
He is not dump to not know that media will have field day with his comments, especially his beloved news paper he does advertisements for.
enough with the Arod soap opera. how about making some trades..again we do not need to trade the farm at all to try to improve there position..
they cannot give up on the season yet. how about Dye for Abreu> How about Farnsworth to Philly or Motown or Atl for something. How about giving Britton a try? How about giving Shelly DUncan a try for Minky or moving Damon to 1B and trading for a right handed OF?
They can make some moves and try to improve and not trade any top level potential guys…
waive vizciano etc.
let’s shake things up on the margins…let’s try
I think what John D said will be the most probable scenario for starting pitchers next week.
great clippard on monday and wright on tuesday, what a friggin mess…….
What can you do? There are so many injuries and there is only so much you can plan for and overcome.
carson-
if no one mentioned it ,this is the best site i’ve found for contracts:
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/
john D, cashman said that desalvo can come up for the injured minkchayvich. also, desalvo currently is not with the AAA team in Rochester, so it seems it will be him Monday.
nyy 7,
its MIENTKIEWICZ not MINKCHAYVICH.
Randy,
Thanks for the link, but I was actually hoping to learn more about the contract process, as in, what is arbitration, how many years till someone can become a free agent, what is a “super two”, etc.
The collective bargaining agreement that someone linked to earlier is a good source, but is quite boring to read through. Anyone have an “easier read”?
i hate 8:00 pm games on sundays.
Randy, I am sure you have lot of company on that one.
jason, i know.
“i hate 8:00 pm games on sundays.”
especially when they’re aired on ESPN
Randy 1,
I think everyone who buys their own baseball tickets agrees on the 8:05 p.m. Sunday games. But we are just fans. We don’t get a say, we just pay the freight.
Amazing on the contract site how many of the Yankee low pay guys are actually more then pulling there weight.
Wang $400k or so, Proctor the same, Melky, cano, and then you have the Moose $11.5 mill, Giamby, etc…
Jason you mean ESPN aka NESN
I would guess that Phillips and Desalvo are coming up. Igawa is pitching today and phillips isnt playing for scranton.
well at least we know Igawa won’t be here. Thank god.
from pioneer press, “Mauer was hitting a puny .353 when he went to the disabled list four weeks ago. In stepped Mike Redmond, who has collected hits in 17 of the 19 games Mauer has missed so far, who has batted .389 over that span, who has planted doubt in the all-star catcher’s mind: “I just hope they have a spot for me when I get back,” Mauer said Friday.
Sure, Mauer was joking, but those sort of jokes seem to be made a lot about the 36-year-old backup catcher.”
also, the twins are on an 8-2 run after gardenhire and the whole team went ballistic when they thought pierzynski spiked morneau on purpose. whether he did or not the twins used their anger to fuel some wins.
things are a little different in yankeeland on back up catcher and on chanelling anger.
I don’t understand the complete and utter hatred for Igawa. He pitched in 6 games, 3 were pretty good and 3 were awful. He did seem to miss some bats and with some tweaking could be a decent 4 or 5 starter. He has more of a ML future then some of the other rookies we brought up.
Igawa with Scranton today.
7 IP
6 H
2 ER
2 BB
9 K
Yep, that’s it. The Yanks are 13.5 games behind the sox because of Wil Nieves.
i’m sure we all hope igawa is good. the yankees were counting on him. because he let them down, he’s not to popular with fans.it’s that simple.
dc yank-
you’re right. redmond didn’t help the twins at all.
If that was the case than the fans would hate about 20 guys on our big league roster as of now.
Nieves plays once a week. Posada is putting up great numbers. There are much bigger reasons as to why the team sucks.
Regarding Igawa, it is Yankees fault.
Just like they did with Contreras and Irabu, they should have started him in minors, get some experience in American baseball and then brought him to Majors. The biggest problem for him is the size of the baseball, diferent from in Japan.
Still it is not too late.
He will ultimately become a good 4/5 starter once he gets some experience in AAA and get used to the size of American baseballs.
Get a clue Randy. What does the Twins situation have to do with the Yanks? Mauer is out and Posada is healthy. Like I said, Nieves isn’t the reason why the Yanks are struggling. Keep searching.
I’d rather have Igawa than Desalvo starting.
Redsox are also trying to monopoly baseball by spending money and win championship by themselves… That’s enough..
The Celtics already 16 championships. Patriots won 3 already, they sign high price free agents this offseason. Going after Moss and premiere defense on the free agent Markets.. I hope Patriots doesn’t win Superbowl this year.. The Redsox won World series in 2004.. Enough Already. I’m sick it… Boston is not the only town in America become greedy and all their whiny fans wants championships for every sports team in Boston
sw,
Everything you said about Boston applies to NYC and its fans as well.
nieves does have the worst luck in baseball because almost all of his outs are put in play(27-30). he’s not as bad as he looks.
” What does the Twins situation have to do with the Yanks?”
maybe the fact the yankees are chasing them.
“keep searching”
i’m still searching for something that shows you have a baseball IQ greater than a peanut.
igawa was also on a once a week rotation and he frequently went over 130 pitches an outing for a number of games in a row. his control and arm strength is based on a lot of throwing. he’s not getting it here. of course it’s hard to let him go 120 pitches when he’s getting hammered.
A lot of commenters here got on Igawa as early as his first spring training start. I think expectations for him were extremely high because he was supposed to be our answer to Matsuzaka.
Of course, he would be a disappointment even if Matsuzaka didn’t exist. But it’s too soon to count him out forever. If he meets his projection of being a decent back-end guy, suddenly Cashman looks like a genius. If he doesn’t, who knows – his contract is so low that it’s possible we could still get some value for him.
As for Matsuzaka, obviously he’s a much better pitcher than Igawa, but if the Sox weren’t playing so well, he would look like a bust so far too.
Stay on topic Randy. You compared the Twins playing well because thay’ve had a backup catcher get a few hits while Mauer is out to the Yanks struggling because Nieves is our backup catcher. Please explain your thought process.
The Yanks can’t be 13.5 games out because we’ve trotted out rookie starting pitchers half the time or because Mussina has struggled or because Damon, Giambi, Abreu and Cano have underachieved or because our bullpen has been bad et al, it has to be because we have Wil Nieves as our backup catcher. I get it now.
Randy, I agree with DC Yank. Right now, our catching is not the problem, it is acually a plus. What the Twins are doing does not in the least bit concern us. Until we get to .500 and start playing to our full potential, which WILL happen, we cannot worry about any team but this team.
No, I don’t think so..
But Yankees haven’t won world series for last seven years.
Jets =superbowl title drought for nearly fourty years
Giants – nearly 18 years without superbowl title
Knicks – fourty years without Nba title
White Sox were 1-6 on their just completed road trip. Bats are slumping and bullpen coughing up leads. Hopefully we can do some damage after Pettitte spins a gem tonight.
uh, sw, the Yankees haven’t won a WS in the last SIX years, NOT seven.
It will be seven.
Was at the Scranton game today here in Rochester. Igawa looked decent. Averaged between 88-91mph throughout most of the game. One of his two earned runs was walked in with the bases loaded. His delivery definitely looked smoother and somewhat improved. Rochester’s lineup is light offensively, so were he facing a stronger lineup, he might not have been as fortunate.
Phillips was out of the line up today. He coached first base for a few innings, and warmed up the pitcher in between a couple of innings. No sign of DeSalvo at all.
Shelley Duncan is knocking the cover off the ball, and Angel Chavez continues to hit. Basak looks ok too, but Eric Duncan just doesn’t look like he has what it takes. Sardinha is struggling, as is A. Gonzalez. Not too many guys who look like they can help, but I think S. Duncan is worth a look.
“It will be seven.”
shut it
“Stay on topic Randy”
how is “Get a clue” and “Keep searching.” staying on topic ?
“Please explain your thought process.”
redmond would have about 7 more hits than nieves has had in the time nieves has played. he throws out runners at a 50% rate and nieves is 0-5 so that’s 2-3 more thrown out runners if redmond was here. i can’t find his catcher era but i’ll bet it’s a lot better than nieves’ catcher era.
posada is playing too much. fatigue increases the likilihood of injury. posada needs to be rested more than he has, but they can’t do it. this is going to come back and haunt the yankees if posada keeps playing at this rate.
the twins take care of the little things because they have no choice. you might have noticed they finished a game off of the yankees record last year with 1/3 of the payroll. there’s a reason to pay attention to the twins if you want to figure out a way for the yankees to transition to a team that doesn’t buy all it’s players. every player that comes up in that organization can bunt, even ortiz or mauer or morneau, and do the little things like situational hitting.
the little things win a game here and a game there. the difference between nieves and redmond probably amounts to two games at the end of the year. you do enough of those small things and you beat teams with three times your payroll. two games can make a difference especially when you take the attitude that small things matter to every part of the mlb operation.1- 2 games for back up catcher,1-2 games for utility infielder, 2-3 games for a fourth outfielder. that’s 4-6 games from your bench.
so how does your minimalist approach go with small things not mattering?
When Roger does start his first game, here’s hoping the first, second and third batters will lay down bunts.
A real team will do that.
It’s called trying to win.
if the first batter lays down a bunt, i’m guessing the second won’t have to to get to first.
Edwar Ramirez allowed his first run today at AAA. His AAA stats are 10.2 1 1 3 17 0(IP R ER BB K HR). The fact that this guy is pitching in Scranton while Luis Vizcaino or Kyle Farsworth is on the major league club is a joke. The bullpen sucks so why doesn’t Cash try to breathe some new life into it. If Torre would ever use Britton and Ramirez was called up it could help to desuckify the pen.
I really can’t understand not giving Cris Britton a shot. His numbers with Baltimore last year were respectable. He HAS to be better than Vizcaino!
“redmond would have about 7 more hits than nieves has had in the time nieves has played. he throws out runners at a 50% rate and nieves is 0-5 so that’s 2-3 more thrown out runners if redmond was here”
i’m not going to step into this argument, but you are reading this stat wrong.
Nieves is not 0 for 5, he’s 5 for 10.
Redmond is 8 of 17.
FWIW, Nieves has thrown out a higher % of stealers.
in fact, Nieves’ 50% is second in the AL, second only to Joe Mauer.
Before Cahse Wright was called up, many here were screaming why he was not called up. Now we know the end result.
Same thing seems to be happening with Edwar Ramirez.
Ramirez fast ball is even slower than Chase’s.
He does have a good change up just like Chase.
Why are people so confident that he will be successful at major league level?
Britton already proved he can be succesful at ML level and he has a very good fast ball as well. It is mind boggling why Torre does not give him a chance. If Clemens were to be ready for tomorrow, Britton would be sent back after today’s game. Now, may be he will stay for a while and get his chance to prove he belongs here.
hmmm-
always like getting your info even when it corrects mine. you are right about nieves’ throwing. i misread it, but i didn’t misread his hitting. my main point still stands that redmond is worth 2-3 games over nieves by the end of the year. as an aside, do you know any site that has catcher era stats. i couldn’t find them on espn or mlb.com.
did you also notice what i said in nieves’ defense. he’s had really bad luck because he’s put about 27 of his 30 outs into play. he must have hit a lot of “atom balls”. i’m not against nieves. he seems like a nice kid, but i want the yankees to play every edge they can. i don’t think nieves is a .100 hitter because of all the balls put in play. .200 doesn’t look out of his reach. that’d be enough to keep him. he’s not going to stay if he’s hitting .100 for a whole year.
i think espn has catcher’s era. Nieves’ is 4.75. Posada’s is 4.70. that seems statistically identical to me.
“did you also notice what i said in nieves’ defense. he’s had really bad luck because he’s put about 27 of his 30 outs into play. he must have hit a lot of “atom ballsâ€?.”
i did, and i agree with you. i can think of 2-3 well hit balls that Nieves was robbed on. that first series in Fenway comes to mind as well as that ball that Erstad tracked down on the warning track in Chicago.
i agree that Redmond is clearly better than Nieves. but i also agree that Nieves might not be as bad as he seems b/c of his luck so far.
i’m not saying he’s good, but he might be “passable” instead of “awful”.
i would like nothing better than for nieves to be passable or to turn out better than passable. i’ll look and see if i can find those catcher’s era stats on espn just because they can be interesting. it doesn’t help nieves’ era lately that he’s been catching mussina . that’s why catcher’s era can be misleading, but it’s still a good stat. one more thing to look at.