Game 64: Diamondbacks at Yankees
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 14, 2007 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Here is the lineup:
YANKEES
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez DH
Posada C
Matsui LF
Cano 2B
Phelps 1B
Cairo 3B
Pettitte LHP
Pregame chatter: This will be the first time all season Rodriguez hasn’t started at third base. He remains the only Yankee to have started every game. … The Yankees will face Doug Davis. … The players didn’t have to report until 11:30 and there won’t be any BP on the field. … Arizona has lost five of six.
UPDATE, 1:36 p.m.: Bases loaded, nobody out with A-Rod, Posada and Matsui due up? The Yankees should have gotten more than two runs. You have to step on Doug Davis’ throat there. The soft-tossing lefty could have been knocked out of the game. Instead he survived, albeit having thrown 36 pitches.
UPDATE, 3:05 p.m.: Got this press release from the Yankees: In a pre-game ceremony prior to Friday’s 7:05 p.m. game vs. the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees will honor the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, which made it to the NCAA Finals and the University football team, which won their first bowl game in school history. Head Women’s Basketball Coach Vivian Stringer and members of the team will be present and Head Football Coach Greg Schiano will throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.
UPDATE, 3:06 p.m.: That is a stupid bunt by Derek Jeter and I don’t care if they score two runs. They’re up 4-1 against a guy who can’t throw strikes. Why give up an out? Jeter is one of the best hitters in the game, swing the bat. The Yankees are not paying him $20 million to give himself up.
UPDATE, 3:09 p.m.: There you go, they get nothing. Bunting is such false hustle. Swing the bat. Just because they’re playing a NL team doesn’t mean they should play like one.
UPDATE, 3:47 p.m.: I have been getting e-mails recently from people telling me that the stats show Josh Phelps is a better first baseman than Doug Mientkiewicz. Meanwhile, Miguel Cairo just threw a one-hopper to Phelps and he never came close to catching it. Yes, the error is on Cairo, but a decent MLB first baseman snaps that up. Watch the games, statheads, watch the games.
Thanks Peter (and get some sleep tonight, will you?).
BTW – Saludos to all from Midtown!
Pete, I know having ARod DH was planned, but is there anything going on with Damon? He has been hitting better since being moved to DH and looked mostly OK in CF last night despite the tumble and scramble routine on Hudsons(?) single. I hope he is really mended and ready to go.
BTW – One of the nicest things about this Yankee winning streak is seeing different pictures or videos of the lovely Rachel Specter over at RLYW.
Dam I forgot that today was a day game, I was wondering how you had the lineup so early.
I have to figure out a way to watch some of it. Maybe i’ll hit a bar at lunch, but just to watch
no drinking.
any thoughts on maybe having basak start at third and keep cairo at 1st. he really is playing a great 1st, plus it would be fun having basak make his first start.
you could switch later in the game and move cairo to 3rd and bring phelps in.
just a thought.
They’ll probably switch the other way later, Cairo to 1st, Basak to 3B.
By the way, I think having Giambi on the DL, and taking advantage of the DH spot like Torre is doing is outstanding managing.
Am I the only person who much prefers “evil” a-rod? Now that’s he’s embraced the dark side and become Vader to Jeter’s Obi-wan he seems much happier and far better. I think it’s great.
And how is his nickname, league-wide, not “A-H*le”?
And I ask that with admiration.
rico, I think Damon is 0-11 right now. I guess Torre probably opted for Arod vs Damon for this game.
Arod needs some rest, good thing is we won’t lose his bat. Go Yankees!
Damon has been able to get away with a lot because of the winning streak, but c’mon we have catered to this guy so much i.e. took him out of the outfield so he could “rest his legs” and play DH, yet he has not been producing or getting on base even as a DH.
We acquired him to be our centerfielder who would get on base a lot and be pesky on the base paths. Not only is he no longer out centerfielder but his numbers (.254, 3 HR’s, 20 RBI’s, .346 OBP, 11 SB)are awful. For how much we are paying him this year has been very disappointing so far…
Damon gets benched also because davis is a lefty.
I hope they play Phelps the first two games against the Mets. Even though we’ve been winning every day the Pirates threw 2 lefties at us (including Maholm who stinks) and we didn’t hit them we beat there bullpen. Were gonna need the extra punch.
I hope this is the only game Phelps plays the rest of the week.
Where is he going to play? You can’t play him at first and sit Cairo, IMO, because you get killed defensively.
Phelps bat does not make up for his glove. He’s awful.
If Andy Phillips hit in spring training, Phelps wouldn’t have even made the team.
Nothing wrong with the lineup today. Gotta give Arod a little blow. For the Mets series, they just need to go back to the lineup that’s been effective during this streak.
No need to change things that are working.
Hate to say it but this is the house money game. At least Nieves is starting regularly now with Moose. I hated to see Nieves starting so many day games. Damon needs to get up to speed quick for 1B, because this DH spot should be taken every 5th day by Jorge and at least one other day a week by a resting regular.
Damon is actually pretty good if he could get his average up.
His isolated obp is .092, which is really great! If he were hitting .300 he would have a .392 obp! A career high.
Infact, his ability to get on base when he isnt hitting well has been a real asset and is the difference between him being a lost cause and him just playing average.
How ’bout giving Chris Basak a start at 3B and in the #9 slot and leaving Cairo at 1B and in the #8 slot? Phelps is a 2-run error, 3 Ks, and 4 LOB waiting to happen and when was the last time Cairo made a start at 3B? He’s not very good there to begin with. Basak’s played alot more at 3B than Cairo this year, and on inferior infields to boot. I mean if the guy can’t play 3B and bat 9th for one game, all you’d need for the rest of this month cuz A-Rod will probably be back at 3B every day for the rest of this month if not until the All-Star Break, why is he up here?
I just don’t get Torre. Cairo has been doing fine at 1B and the plate, the Yanks have won 8 straight games and gone 10-2 in June, and Torre weakens defense at 1B and 3B today. I understand resting A-Rod from 3B/ the field, but Phelps needs at-bats? So does Basak moreover the best Yankee defense overrides what Phelps needs. Too bad Torre is managing like it’s spring training or the Yanks have a 8.5 game lead on Boston and a 4.5 game lead on Detroit. It only takes an error by Phelps and/ or Cairo to mess up tody’s game, I hope neither make one cuz a loss with poor defense by Phelps at 1B and/ or Cairo at 3B would be terrible.
Pardon the ignorance but what is isolated obp?
OBP – AVG. BAsically, the on base % that is not acquired by hitting.
Curse the lack of editting. Another good stat is IsoP.
Isolated Power. Slugging – AVG, the amount of slugging that is not provided by singles, basically how much of a power hitter you are.
He’s not playing a minor league kid over Phelps nor should he. Phelps has more AB’s against ML pitching this year and its pretty clear experience does matter to Torre.
I am not a big Phelps fan but, Basak is the 25th guy on the roster. They aren’t looking to get him AB’s. He just a fill in guy. They aren’t looking to work him into the rotation.
Its kind of hard to argue with Torre’s moves the past month since just about everything he has done has worked out.
Jerkface
Your point about Damon’s isolated OBP is meaningless. Sure if he was batting .300 he would have the highest OBP of his career, but his average is FAR from .300. The reason his isolated OBP is higher this year is stritcly because he is getting less hits, meaning the isolated OBP has more opportunities to grow.
Torre Fixin Whats Broke:
How do you assume that Phelps is a 3 k 4 lob waiting to happen? His OPS+ is 93, Cairo’s is 51. If anyone is going to leave 4 on base and be worthless it is Cairo. Phelps has shown that he can hit the ball VERY HARD. He can handle any pitch in the strike zone, but he does chase bad pitches. You know what? So does Cairo. Cairo rarely works deep into counts because he is busy hacking away at anything. Cairo’s strength however, is that because he uses the bat more in defense than offense, he always gets a piece of things.
I’d prefer giving Basak a shot at 3rd and leave Phelps at 1b and give him some ABs. He isn’t going to error every night that would be ridiculous. He just has to not get caught in a run down.
Mike:
You’re not understanding what the isolated OBP is. Its not high because he isn’t hitting. Its high because he is walking more and getting on base other ways than hitting. His avg has nothing to do with the IsoOBP.
Isolated OBP is the percentage part of the OBP that is UNRELATED TO HITTING. If Damon works out of his slump, he will be one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. We have to let him get healthy and work his way out of it.
Here we go again. You obviously know what this team needs better than Torre. Never mind that he’s starting a guy (Phelps) who is some caliber of major leaguer, over a guy (Basak) who is totally unproven in every way. The unproven guy HAS to be better, right? Why? Because it’s the move Torre’s NOT making, and whatever move Torre makes is wrong.
I will say this…Phelps does need to show something over the next few weeks to deserve his spot on the team.
I will also agree with you…why is he (Basak) up here? There seem to be several other more major-league ready guys (Thompson, Phillips) playing in AAA. Or they could give one of the Duncans a shot with the every day job and see if they’ve got something. Basak seems to just be taking up space.
Its sad that Joe always decides to “tinker” with the lineup when Andy pitches. I feel bad for him, he can be like 9-2 by now and be in the Cy Young race if they would play better behind him.
I wonder if Andy had more run support with Houston!
Someone look it up.
losing a-rod’s bat out of the line-up would be a mistake .
Did I ever tell you guys that Chris Britton is terrible and doesn’t deserve to ever be on this team. (Just making my obligatory Britton comment so the Yanks win).
No way do you play Basak over Phelps which is basically what you are suggesting. Basak’s defense at 3rd is probably more of a liability than Phelps at first and at least Phelps can hit, I’m sure Basak’s first major league game won’t be much better than watching Nieves. Basak is here as a late inning replacement in a blowout or if an injury took place. He isn’t even here as a sub, more as protection.
Hopefully Pettitte is on, I bet the bats are a little slow to start b/c of the quick turnaround. Hopefully not, Davis is their #4 or 5 (depending on where you think Owings is at) so they should be able to get 4+.
Miguel,
I agree, I don’t get why people get so excited about players they have never seen play. They automatically assume b/c a guy puts up so-so numbers in AAA that they HAVE to be better than what we have. I don’t get why they think Torre would put a player in the game that is clearly worse than someone else? I have just chalked it up to some people being that ignorant that AAA stats mean that much and that Torre constantly makes decisions that are wrong for the team.
I always feel so much better about the Yankees chances when the opposing starter is a righty.
So who is stuck at work, listening to the game on the radio?
Jerkface
Real simple: Mientkiewicz > Cairo > Phelps defensively.
Mientkiewicz is out, thus Cairo is the best option at 1B. An argument could be made that Andy Phillips is better than Phelps defensively, and Phillips isn’t even on the team. This isn’t even getting to real-life, present-day Cairo.
Cairo has been hitting and fielding much, much better than Phelps since he’s been playing 1B the most. The proof is in the number of starts he has at 1B vs. Phelps since Mientkiewicz has been out, try checking that and not OPS comparisions. Seriously, pull your head out of your ass and see what Cairo’s done at the plate and in the field since he’s taken over 1B. I mean have you been watching him at 1B during this 8-game winning streak? Obviously not, too busy bashing him cuz you got some hangup about a middle infielder holding his own at a power position which Cairo is doing excellently. Drop the stats and back of the baseball card nonsense and watch the real-life games.
Shove your Phelps’ OPS > Cairo’s. Cairo is a better more dynamic player than Phelps. He makes more contact (strikes out less), is faster, and is a better baserunner than Phelps. On the whole for his career, Cairo is a more patient hitter than Phelps. He can lay down a bunt and steal a base unlike Phelps. These are things you need from a #8 or #9 place hitting 1B when Giambi’s out for who knows how long and Mientkiewicz is out until my guess late July-early August.
Phelps can hit the ball VERY HARD. OOOOOH. What does that mean? A man can go 0 for 4 with 4 lineshot outs to the OF and it’d mean zip at the end of the day. Cairo can hit the ball VERY HARD if he’s given a pitch to, too. Since when have his hits been weak? Phelps also can’t field balls hit VERY HARD to him much less scoop up low/ bad throws which Cairo can do. No way Phelps makes that great dive for the liner which would’ve been a double CAIRO made. Phelps can handle the strikezone, are you serious? He’s a strikeout machine and much more likely to strike out 3X in a game than Cairo.
Um, Phelps is more likely to get “caught in a rundown” and screw up getting a guy out who’s “caught in a rundown” than Cairo.
How ’bout you drop your blind hatred for Cairo and get some common sense? Cuz anyone with common sense will say Cairo is the man at 1B until a much better option than Phelps is acquired or Mientkiewicz returns.
Jennifer,
At least you can listen to radio at work. I can only check the internets for updates.
Yo buddy, no one said Phelps was better than Cairo defensively and offensively he probably is a little better. Cairo has been swinging a hot bat so you stick with him. That being said, thats not the problem today, they need Cairo at third so your point is really not saying anything.
and I don’t think Torre plays people based on the liklihood of them getting caught in a rundown
It’s not always Andy…Jeter’s day off was when Moose pitched.
And the lineup isn’t being screwed with here as much as the defense…offensively, it’s just Phelps in for Damon, which against a lefty, makes some sense. The only way Torre’s lineup card can hurt Andy is if Phelps is a butcher today.
I’m surprised Joe hasn’t gotten criticized for cancelling BP. I mean honestly…”fixing what ain’t broke?”…he knows what’s going on with the team so much better than any of us ever could. He sees them in BP, taking drills, in the clubhouse, in his office. He’s always been good at taking the temperature of his team and if he feels 1/2 a day off will help A-Rod, and that Phelps is more ready to contribute than Chris “Who?” Basak, I just don’t see how anyone could feel like they are in a better situation to make that judgement. Whatever…
Thats stinks #9. I’d go nuts if I didn’t have a radio.
Miguel
Yeah I do know what’s better for the Yanks when I see Cairo playing excellent defense at 1B and hitting, fielding much better than Phelps. Too bad Torre wants to weaken defense at 1B today and you worship at his altar.
You sure don’t know what’s better for the Yanks today than me that’s for sure.
Basak unproven? So what’s he supposed to do? Sit on the fuckin’ bench the whole time he’s up here and play an inning at 3B here and there? Taking up a roster slot a releiver could use. Fuck that, give him the start at 3B, play him or send him down and call up Britton again. If Basak was good enough to be called up, he’s good enough to make a start at 3B, get some at-bats, and f.y.i. Basak has more current times experience at 3B than Cairo. He will not kill the Yanks at 3B. How do you know that? I’ve seen Phelps at 1B, you obviously haven’t. Phelps’s defense at 1B is much, much more likely to kill the Yanks than Basak at 1B. Basak can play any position save 1B and P, so he can’t suck defensively, so get a clue.
My point you obviously missed was Cairo at 1B has been working out just fine so no need to mess it up.
Even though I posted a suggestion that maybe starting Basak today at 3rd might not be a bad idea. I agree that the logic dictates that you start Phelps over Basak, its a very simply decision. A guy that has played in the majors vs. a lifetime minor leaguer. There is no reason to think Basak would be so much better then phelps and has earned the right to play…
that being said, my only rationale for starting Basak was that most likely neither Phelps nor Basak will offensively change the game, so why not give the kid his first major league start. i know we are trying to win games and you do that sort of thing when your up 10games in the divison, but wouldve been a nice thing.. Also, i just dont like switching cairo around from 1st to 3rd. I prefer he stay at 1st as he gets more and more entrenched there (dont want him changing anything right now)
Are you retarded? You must be.
I am not going to respond to that giant chunk of text because you won’t be swayed by rational thought, but I find this hilarious:
“On his whole career, Cairo has been much more patient than Phelps.”
Really? Seriously? For reals?
Phelps: 1277 ABs, 99 BB
Cairo: 2968 ABs, 178 BB
If you extrapolate out Phelp’s BBs to Cairo’s # of ABs he would have 230 BB’s. Almost 50 more than Cairo.
Also Cairo has only slugged over .400 twice, and both were borderline. Phelps has had a SLG over .420(and only 1 was over .420 the rest were all over .450!) for his career.
The only reason he isn’t putting up numbers now is because he doesn’t get regular playing time.
How’s that range to the left? lol
Also I would like to point out that when *I* said that Phelps should try not to get caught in a rundown, I meant defensively. He is giambi-esque with his throws, but he is by no means a bad scooper.
If Jeter can take over the run down at 2nd, and Cano can handle the first base side of things it won’t be a problem, but to rely on Phelps to make an accurate throw under pressure isn’t happening.
there.. cairo makes a good play at 3rd.. so much for weak defense.
i swear, cairo is the best defensive infielder we have this year. (although i dont think anybody turns a double play better then cano)
Basak makes that play, no problem
He’s not retarded…he’s a genius! Quick, someone get him a big-league managerial gig.
Sterling made it sounds like the play of the year, along with the comebacker to Andy. Were they really that good?
I’m with #9. No radio. Stuck in office.
the only reason I can really read this blog is because it’s black and white text. If I put gameday on, that’s kind of pushing it (low cube walls).
For all you who think Andy is getting hosed:
Andy understands baseball. He realizes its a long season. He knows people need days off. Torre has some logic in giving guys days off behind Andy and that is he has been our best pitcher from day 1 til now. Wang is looking good but Pettitte has been consistant if you take out that Red Sox start. Since Andy gives us the best chance to win while he is on the mound, Torre figures he can put a weaker lineup behind him than behind a guy who is struggling and needs all the help he can get. I don’t think Torre has it out for the guy. It makes sense if you think about it.
melky hitting .360 in the last 12 games.
not saying he can maintain that over an entire season, but given that, plus his season last year and his defense.. its hard to say he shouldnt be an everyday player in the future.
plus, this kid is what 21 or 22.
Damon might want to start thinking about contributing in some way or this guy might put him out of a job altogether. Melky looks good. Long at bat + hit
Radio and Gamecast. At work.
Melky just needs to start bringing some more power, and he will be the ideal yankee that everyone loves so much:
full of grits
plays the game the right way
pokes singles
That was a great AB. C’mon Alex!
This guy might have a short day
melky doesnt need to start hitting with power.. id rather he hit low .300s and just get singles/doubles instead of worrying about power numbers.
we dont need guys hitting 30hrs at every position. defense and hitting for avg. is what made us successful, not the long ball
Game is on Gamecast, $15 for the whole season. Not always the case, but today it is Sterling and Suzyn.
Uh, doubles are power? I want melky to be a 30-40 2B guy a year, he has a line drive swing, no reason why he can’t be a gap hitter. He has the speed for it too.
He just needs to slug around .400-.450 and his OBP will carry him to an .800 OPS, which is very good for a CF.
Yankee VIP,
So you wouldn’t take another young Bernie Williams if you could? I think this team was pretty successful with a CF with power and hit for a pretty good average
Jeff NJ – you say “Not always the case, but today it is Sterling and Suzyn” – you know you can choose Home or Away audio in Gameday, right?
for what it’s worth, i think andy used to be on the lucky end of run support, pre-houston.
That inning should have been better. Bases juiced, no out and only 2 runs off a guy who couldn’t find the strike zone.
At least they got 2. Not too long ago they would’ve got nothing.
oh what an awful call by Sterling “He makes the catch! and it comes out of his glove”
Dan, I do not. I haven’t used it too often.
yeah, cause there are bernies hanging around the corner everywhere that we can just pick up another bernie.. you should realize bernie was a special player and your not going to just find another guy like that.
bernie was never a power hitter.. he averaged 20 hrs and only hit 30 once in his career, and the power came later in his career.. Instead he was a high batting avg. guy that came through in the clutch with singles, doubles, whatever was needed. thats what you need.
if you think doubles are power.. then fine, ill give you that..
my point is, we became successful in the 90s cause we had guys that could hit for avg, put the ball in play and play defense… we never relied on the long ball.
as i say that, melky almost makes an amazing catch. (you cannot fault him for dropping that)
Uh-oh Melky…Cairo would have made that play.
how do you listen to this over the internet? wcbs website doesnt stream it…
Haha, Jeff, I was thinking the same thing.
a run? 2 basehits? We have to make hay while we are hot, I cant believe Melky dropped that ball, this is our hot streak until we play good teams, we need to sweep and catch the sux, cmon andy bear down, beat the d backs abd melky get some glasses you bum
k-
You have to pay – MLB sells “Gameday Audio” like Jeff said:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscri....._audio.jsp
It’s worth it – you can hear any audio from any game. The only thing that sucks is, well, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.
I would rather listen to pregnant alley cats fight over a dead rat then listen to boston suzee garble the language and poofy headed Sterling splurge all over short pop ups into the little league length short right field porch
Bernie almost hit 300 HR’s and had 450 doubles. I would say he had some pop. I didn’t say those players are everywhere but your argument doesn’t make much sense. Why would you not want Melky to develop power? You would rather have someone like a fatter, slower Kenny Lofton or a guy with a skill set similar although not as good as Bernie?
Yankee VIP: I want you to look again at the World Champion Yankee Teams. One year everyone was in double digits in HRs.
More over, the reason they were so good was because of their pitching. The pitching was amazing and included starters who helped take the yankees to #1 in strikeouts in the league, backed by DOMINANT relievers.
FireJoeMorgan just had a great piece on why the Yankees were awesome, and it wasn’t because they smacked singles.
http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2.....chine.html
Go here, skip down.
Is Suzie really from Boston? In a city of millions of people they couldn’t find a local female broadcaster?
Great starts to the last two innings then… fell apart. I dont like it.
how bad are the mistakes that Josh is making? Sounds ilke he’s made the second of the game.
O’Neil averaged 35 doubles, 22 homers, and 100 RBI’s over his career, which guys in particular were soft hitting singles guys? Brosius averaged 28 doubles 20 homers through his career
I love FireJoeMorgan
. Then again, I also love having a decent internet connection for once when the Yanks have a day game, so I could (theoretically) have a normal night’s sleep. Btw, we have got to take more advantage of this guy’s control problems, stupid little things like the Young hit, the Melky non-catch otherwise might catch up with us, and that’d be a dumb way to lose the winning streak.
Thats two bad AB’s by Posada. You got to at least get one of those runs in
Okay this guy is walking the ballpark. We have to eventually take advantage of this.
Who wins in a home run derby contest? A-Rod or Mini a Mini Ditka?
For all those trying to trade Clip the other day, I know a team that might need a quality pitcher.
Arod is a monster. I’m forced to gameday this game and my boss just watched by as he hit that double. I hope being a yankee fan doesn’t get me fired
Jennifer,
They’ve plated runs and we are in the third inning, i’d say they are taking advantage of his control problems…chill.
* 4 runs
who is the better defensive first baseman phelps or giambi? seriously
Nick
They are going to go through the order twice in 3 innings with only 4 runs, they had the bases loaded with no outs after the ARod walk and only got 1 run. I wouldn’t say they are necessarily kicking this guy when he is down.
Good call jennifer
Also they have now left 12 on base through 3
Andy must be thinking, “Here we go again.”
And they are winning 4-1. They aren’t all going to be masterpieces. You just grind it out and try to get a win.
They could have scored more you’re right, but 4 runs in 3 innings still isn’t too shabby. You people always try to find any possible negative you can. I don’t think most fans would complain about being up 4-1 after 3 innings.
Wasn’t saying that, but the way this guy is throwing he is very very lucky to have only given up 4.
I’m also looking forward to seeing our pitchers face the Mets to see if they are throwing as well as we all think. This lineup just isn’t very good and either were the Pirates. The Sox were struggling too. I think this is for real but it will be a good test this weekend, if they win that series I think all this hype is for real.
Kay, unbelievable. About the 2001 WS: the Yankees ended up winning – check that – LOSING those world series…He already did the Melky call today…
Hmm, I know who’s NOT having a good game ;o)
Kay has been setting up Flash this whole series re: RJ. “So when you knew that Randy was tipping his pitches would you approach him in the dugout?” Pregnant pause, then diplomatic response.
Nick,
The way I see it, wins are wins. It doesn’t matter who you play. Its not college football where you need style points to impress pollsters. Regardless of who they play, just win games and win series.
When the Red Sox were playing .750 baseball earlier in the year, they were doing it playing against teams that were beaten up physically. People didn’t care. They just counted the wins and praised the hell out of that team. Despite the fact, they have some serious holes on that team, as we are seeing now.
Just win series. They keep doing that, regardless of who they play, things will work out.
Yeah, but Kay pretty much said he’s tired — and looking at the D’Backs starter is putting him into a further coma. Gotta say, their description of Doug Davis was cracking me up, because I had the same thought — the guy looks like he has no energy at all.
It would have been nice to get more runs, but in the first inning they scored 2 without really hitting the ball hard. Too bad Posada missed his opportunities so far. And Cano.
Style points are for figure skating.
Just win. No one cares how you get it done.
New AB music for Jeter?
a little disappointing but the way the yanks are playing i wouldnt worry about it .
I agree, I’ll take a win anyway they get it but I also believe that a team only gets so many opportunities to score during a game and you never know how many runs they’ll need. Right now our staff looks like we have 4 Cy Young candidates but you know thats not going to last forever. 4-1 with a sometimes shaky pen is never real comforting. Unless Britton is on the hill then its a lock
Draft tidbit..Yanks signed their 21st round pick fro this year’s draft, 2B Justin Snyder, who was actually rated much higher but dropped due to signability concerns (could have returned to SDSU). Take a look at his scouting report below, gotta love the sabermetric profile in a middle infielder, he compares himself to Marcus Giles. He will start in High A at Tampa, so only two jumps to the show if he can hack it.
B-T: L-R. Ht.: 5-9. Wt.: 190. Birthdate: 4/8/86.Scouting Report: Snyder is a solid all-around athlete and grinder who should go in the first six rounds to a statistically oriented club. A three-year starter for San Diego, he has been the ignitor behind overachieving offenses. He’s a lefthanded-hitting second baseman who can play center field, as he did in the Cape Cod League last summer, but mostly he’s a top-of-the-order pest who draws walks (35 or more every season at USD, always ranking in the top five in the West Coast Conference). Despite his size, Snyder has solid gap power and won’t get the bat knocked out of his hands. He needs to play the short game better, particularly bunting, and if he does he’ll be a solid No. 2 hitter. Snyder runs well but isn’t as aggressive stealing bases as scouts would like. Defensively, he’s sound at second, where he profiles best, and quick enough to play center field.
Moose,
He may only be two jumps away but those two jumps may be awhile away if he doesn’t change positions
When the Yankees were really struggling this year, their biggest problem was an inability to win close games. You just gotta find a way to get a W–that’s what good teams do. To expect error-free games and blowout wins every day (hell, they’re on their way to winning 9 in a row and 12 of 14) is really unrealistic.
Its interesting they are starting Snyder in Tampa. Kevin Russo, the regular Tampa second baseman, made the FSL All Star Team this year.
His backup, Prilys Cuello, is only 18 and he was just called up from the Gulf Coast League team the other day. He is rail thin (they signed him last year) but, he can fly and really pick it at second.
Will be interested to see if they send Cuello back down now or play Snyder at another position.
Nick, you don’t develop players based on this assumption 0 his bat will largely determine if he can move off 2B. If he is ready and a 2B, he will have value – perhaps as trade bait, or if Cano makes a position switch or falters badly. The point is, I like the drafting of position players with more advanced secondary skills – it’s an area where the Yankees have mostly leaned the other way (‘toolsy’ guys with poor strikezone judgement with notable exceptions like Nick Johnson).
I never said guys like bernie and oneil didnt have pop.. but they are not your typical power outfielders (ala griffey, sheff, berkman, manny, vlad, ordonez, etc.)
In the 90s, we had a few guys that gave us low to mid 20 hrs, and the rest would give us mid teens. That is NOT a power lineup. that is a team that gets singles, doubles and hits for avg.
20 something hrs a year is not a power hitter in this day and age.
now this is a debate about semantic and you say doubles are power numbers.. fine, Melky should be a power guy. When you talk about power, its those guys above that i mentioned.
my whole point is when guys start trying to hit more for power and drive the ball, it can start affecting your BA, and lead to less hits… I would rather have melky focus on just hitting and maintain a .300ish avg then worry about “Power” numbers… if he can do both, even better.
Really, what is everyone’s obsession with power.. Look at Jeter and Ichiro, they are hitting machines and by no means are considered power guys, would anyone here say they want Jeter to change at all.
Moose,
I know, i agree. More just saying he’s got a road block in his way.
I’m finding it hard to criticize them for scoring 2 runs in the first. WOuld 5 be nice? Certainly. But its not like they stranded the bases loaded.
SJ Russo is a ‘fake’ All Star there is a dearth at that position in his league and his numbers are poor. Snyder is really interesting in that he bats lefty. If he can hit, that will add to his value greatly (needless to say, a big “IF”). Don’t know if he will make it, but like the trend both in terms of draft/sign strategy and player evaluation.
What a difference a winning streak makes.
A month ago people were quitting and saying trade everyone and rebuild.
Now people are bitching about not winning pretty and be only up 4-1 thru 4 innings.
See, that’s what I love about A-rod this year. His reaction on the foul pop shows he really wants every play this year, he goes all out.
Melky looks terrible batting RH, no power at all, it seems. Lefthanded, he looks like he could be really valuable and flashes real power at times. have htey ever considered having him bat LH vs. lefties?
Yankee VIP,
Nothing wrong with Jeet or Ichiro but if I had to pick ARod and Vlad or Jeter and Ichiro I think the whole world would pick the former. Power players are always exponentially more productive than players that hit for average. ARod is going to put up more RBI’s by the break than Jeter will have for the season.
Don’t the word “if” and prospects go hand in hand?
I do like the fact that we are drafting real talent and not worrying about the price.
You’re comparing Jeter to one guy who will go down as the greatest power hitter ever in A Rod and Vlad who will go down as one of the greatest hitters ever. Obviously you take the two latter.
Jeets and Ichiro are completely dif players than those 2.
Would a bloop single from Cano kill him today or something?
dan,
thanks for the link. just subscribed
I’m comparing the greatest power hitters at the position to the best players at the position who hit for high average? Our argument started b/c he said he would rather have Melky hit around .300 than hit for power and I disagreed. My argument is that power hitters are always more valuable than players who hit for average.
They are really going to need to go out and get a 1b. And soon.
Vlad……he should be a Yankee!
Whoever predicted 4 k’s for Phelps may not have been far off
In a perfect world I’d like Melky to hit 320 with 30 homers and an OBP of 420. But you have to be realistic. Hes probably a 15-22 homer guy. Tops. It is what it is.
320 with 15 homers and a high OBP isnt the end of the world especially for a CF with a great glove.
Yankee VIP,
EVERY BATTER SHOULD BE LOOKING TO DRIVE THE BALL.
Also
“The Yankees did not win those championships with “smallball” or “smartball” or “intelli-ball” or “think-ball” or “genius-ball’ or “Torre-ball” or “How’d-they-do-that?-ball.” They won with great starting pitchers (Cone, Clemens, Pettitte, Wells, Key, Hernandez), a 9-man line-up that grinded out long at-bats and walked a lot and hit for good power, and the greatest closer in the history of baseball.”
We don’t need singles hitters.
We need HITTERS.
Which we have… in SPADES.
“In 2000 they won 87 games and got to the WS from a very weak AL East. They scored 871 runs, allowed 814 .
In 2002, the first year with Giambi, they went 103-58. They scored 897 runs, allowed 697.
In 2003, they went 101-61. They scored 877 runs, allowed 716.
In 2004, the first year with Sheffield/ARod, they went 101-61 again, scored 897 runs, allowed 808.
In 2005, 95-67. Scored 886 runs, allowed 789.
In 2006, first year with Damon: 97-65. Scored 930 runs, allowed 767.
So. To sum up. More “potent” pretty much every year since 2000. Just haven’t won the WS, due mostly to thinner pitching, better competition, and bad luck (esp. 2001, 2004).”
Moose,
I don’t disagree re: Russo.
Usually, they start newly signed guy in Staten Island or the Gulf Coast League.
To start him in a pitching heavy league is a tribute to his talent, IMO.
That’s a tough league to start out in. If he does well in the FSL, that would be impressive.
A huge mistake by the Yanks. Not signing Vlad and taking a 36 yr old Sheffield.
Global,
To bad Cash wasn’t in charge back then. He really wanted him. Big George wanted Sheff
Small ball is such a BS term.
Its really code for “great pitching”.
Great pitching lets you play for 3 runs. You can hit and run. You can take a shot on the bases.
But if anyone tries to tell me the Yanks from 96-2001 were a small ball team I’ll laugh at them.
Look at the lineup. They might not even the 50 homer bop but Knoblauch, Jeter, O Neil, Bernie, Tino, Cecil, Straw, Justice, etc could all flat out rake.
Vlad + A-Rod would have been sick. Although I do like Sheffield.
We should have signed both of them!
payroll 5000 billion
I think a Melky batting .300 would be more valuable than a more powerful Melky who hits .250. Sure, power bats are a valuable commodity, but we need balance. If there’s no one on base for the power hitters, it just isn’t as effective. Can’t rely on either type of play all the time.
Actually, Anaheim got Vlad for a bargain rate.
Like Sheff says, those Latin players are docile and easy to control.
What a nut job.
I’m watching Gameday & see “injury delay”. Who’s injured?
Why can’t he hit .280-.300 with 25 homers and 90-105 RBI’s? Does he not have the skill set for this. He is a big boy with some speed, I don’t see why he can’t hit the ball hard eventually when he gets another year under his belt? Is he going to hit .330 like Bernie? No but he can be a very good 5 or 6 hole hitter some day.
Melky gaining some power and hitting line drive doubles isn’t going to make him become a .250 hitter. What the heck?
The line of thought some of you guys have about ‘scrappy singles hitters’ is disturbing.
TXYankee, Orlando Hudson hurt his knee, the Dbacks took him out.
We could have had Vlad, and Beltran (instead of RJ) in our outfield. That makes me sick.
Jerkface-
Damn you make me laugh!!!
Well Jerkface,
of course I would love Melky to gain power without losing some of his speed, hit .290 and hit out 25-30. And it might happen, who knows. I’m just saying, should I be given the choice one way or another, I’d go for the average here.
Putting aside the obnoxious way that *some* people on this blog “talk” to each other, I’m wondering why Jerkface today — and many others in the past — feel it is acceptable to disagree with people by asking “are you retarded?”
Surely those people would not use parallel language relating to race or gender or sexual orientation, or would at least understand how unacceptable it was and what a complete ass it makes them out to be?
Are you that pathetic?
No way does this team sign Vlad and Beltran and trade for ARod, thats being unrealisitic, just b/c all three were possibilities doesnt mean that all three could have happened in the same scenario. There are limitations guys
was cairo safe?
great, just what we need a gamechanging decision
the umpire was not in the correct position to make that call. Cairo was “just” safe.
His foot clipped the plate just before he was tagged on the back.
A win is a win, but we are lucky we aren’t playing a good team today
Cairo clearly slipped his foot in there b4 the tag! bad call.
The umpire was in front of the play. It was close enough to call either way, though.
It was a tough call though.
Nice snag Jeets!
The ball wasn’t hit very deep to left to begin with.
Nice, Jetes!
can you imagine that line-up?
(I will, just for the sake of imagination.)
SS Jeter
CF Beltran
RF Guererro
3B Rodriguez
DH Giambi
LF Matsui
C Posada
2B Cano
1B Minky-san
wow. That would have the potential to being pretty formidable.
wait. We already have a pretty formidable lineup.
go Yanks.
How’s that for range from Jeter?!
he was safe..
I like the bunt to put them up by 4 or more.. I disagree….
I found this on another message board. This trade proposed by a Red Sox fan shows how far out of reality most Red Sox fans are. To make it worse, this guy was serious and wrote tons trying to defend it and show that the Rangers and Twins would do this.
Red Sox Get:
Torii Hunter (Min)
Mark Teixiera (Tex)
Akinori Otsuka (Tex)
Twins Get:
Mike Lowell (Bos)
Wily Mo Pena (Bos)
Kenny Lofton (Tex)
$$$ (Bos)
Rangers Get:
Coco Crisp (Bos)
Kevin Slowey (Min)
Joel Piniero (Bos)
Oswaldo Sosa (Min)
That’s now 19 calls on the bases and at home against the Yankees this year in 63 games.
The umpires across MLB have been awful this year on the bases.
Diaz wasn’t in the proper position to make the call and he blew it. An ongoing theme this year with the umpires.
Completely agree, Pete re: Jeter and bunting. I never have understood it and never will.
For a smart player like Jeter, its a dumb and has been for the last 12 years that he has done it. Makes no sense at all. Especially with a 4-1 lead and the chance to blow open the game. Why concede an out? Crazy.
I’m watching the game on DirectTV. Very close play. Don’t think you can tell by the replays. Umpire not in the best position to make the call. Unfortunately, the camera angle wasn’t the best angle.
7 strong by andy
this games ours
9 in a row baby
The Yankees would never have all three of those players on this team. It is unrealistic, there are limits to spending. If they sign Vlad for 5, no way they sign Beltran for 8 and even if they wanted to the Mets were dead set on getting him and probably would have kept matching the Yanks bid. If somehow they got both of them they wouldn’t have traded for ARod.
Isn’t it a lot better to watch the starters pitch 7 or 8 than see the relievers like Myers come in during the 4th. Anyone who says success doesn’t come from pitching is crazy.
No doubt that it doesn’t make sense for Jeter to give it up so easy. He should ask himself, WWAD? Or maybe just ask Mr. Rodriguez when he sees passes him walking into the dugout.
Oh but by the way, not to jinx it, but they are not losing today. A month ago they would have, not today.
First off Torre ordered Jeter to bunt like he ordered Jeter to bunt earlier in the game, I don’t wanna hear “Jeter bunted on his own.” you Torre apologists. Jeter was batting .329 coming into that at-bat in the 6th with the Yanks up by only 3 runs thus I doubt he was up there to bunt on his own.
Second Torre not Jeter cost the Yankees a chance at a rally in the 6th.
Last do what you do best Torre: fill out the lineup card and sit there until you have to go to the bullpen, you so-so, lucky, blessed horse’s rear. You can’t even do that properly (Farnsworth bringing the tying run at the plate in the 8th two nights ago, Mo almost burned for the final out of last night’s game up by 5 runs).
Pettitte for 8? I could see Torre calling it a day and going to Proctor
You know its panic time in Boston when the fantasy multi-team trades take place.
They all have the same theme. Give uss (Red Sox fans) your stars and take on our crap.
What’s even better will be the “inside moles to Theo” on SOSH who will tell everybody about all these 15 player trades Theo is working on at the deadline and none of them ever take place.
With so many teams in range for the WC, you won’t see a lot of deadline deals involving star-type players.
The Red Sox are in the same position as the Yankees re: trades. If they want to give up Lester, Buchholz and/or Bowden, they can fill some holes.
If not, they aren’t improving that team too much at the deadline.
Unlike the Red Sox, the Yankees have fewer holes. If they can upgrade the bullpen and find one more bat (if Giambi is out for the year), they will make a go of it.
The Red Sox are not going to find two bullpen arms, a SS, RF and CF at the deadline.
Jeter has control when he bunts most of the time
SJ,
I agree, but how many stupid trades were proposed on here during April/May??? I bet they were saying the same thing about this board back then
I think Jeter’s bunt was a great play. They have a 3 run lead with 3 innings to play against a light hitting team. They don’t need a huge inning. By putting the runners in scoring position with 1 out with your 2 hottest hitters coming up will more than likely give you at least one more run. I think it’s worth giving up an out to put yourself in that situation, instead of gambling that jeter can move the runners up by swinging away.
I’m not a “The Yankees have first dibs on every MLB superstar” kinda guy, but for the sake of this discussion, it should be pointed out that the Sheff, Guerrerro and A-Rod acquisitions were all in the offseason following 2003, and Beltran and RJ was following 2004. So whoever suggested that they could’ve had Guerrero and Beltran is technically correct…they trade for A-Rod, sign Guerrerro instead of Sheff, and then sign Beltran instead of RJ AND Damon (following the 2005 season). It would be more expensive but it could have been done. Personally I think that’s getting a bit greedy…we’ve had some serious firepower in the lineup the last few years. It’s the acqusitions of guys like Jaret Wright that really annoyed me.
Civil Discourse,
I was genuinely concerned that our friend Torre Fixing Whats Not Broke had a damaged brain.
Please do not suggest that I was saying that out of malice, for my heavy heart could not take it.
Unfortunately, I would think the Red Sox are more likely to get Teix than we are. Good news is no way Boras lets him sign a long term deal without testing free agency in 17 months.
Nick B.-
Exactly. And maybe now that the bullpen doesn’t have to come in say in the 4th, 5th or 6th innings every other day hopefully they can figure out an individual role for them, which should only make them better.
I’m not usually one to complain, because this game is what we want, good pitching and timely hitting… but, *MAN* is this game *BORING*…
Lowell has been the Red Sox best hitter. Youk is having an All Star year, they have Ortiz at DH. Why do they want Tex? They could use a CF more than they could use a 1B, or a time machine to go back and not sign Nancy Drew. What a bad move that was. Every GM in baseball probably questioned that one.
Classic Torre whiner right there. Jeter is on his own in that situation. He has always been and he says so everytime he is asked about it.
You gotta love somebody whining about the manager in the middle of an 8 game winning streak.
“The Red Sox are not going to find two bullpen arms, a SS, RF and CF at the deadline.”
I would say all they really need is a centerfielder and 1-2 bullpens arm at this point compared to the Yanks with a 1st Baseman and 1-2 bullpen arms.
Holes are pretty even
There, thats all I have wanted all day, a couple more runs so I can relax. Matsui is having a great day.
wow…i just took another look at that guy’s trade proposal. he’s got the Sox getting perhaps the two biggest chips at the trading deadline without giving up a single prospect. it takes all kinds of people…
Regarding the Rutgers press release, is Don Imus going to be in attendance?
wait I don’t get it..are you complaining that Torre overmanages or undermanages?
Why are the Red Sox in better position to get Tex than the Yankees? You think Texas is going to give him away?
If they want to trade Youkilis, they can have Tex. Absent that, Texas is not going to take some Single A pitcher and Coco Crisp and give Tex away.
They aren’t going to take Lowell and lose him to free agency at the end of the year.
Texas can always fire Ron Washington at the end of the year, and give Tex whatever he wants. They aren’t going to give him away and the Red Sox are actually in a terrible position to acquire him unless they want to give up Lester and Buchholz.
If they do that, they can have Tex. That would be a terrible trade for the Red Sox.
Miguel,
Three team trades with those big of names happen all the time, what are you talking about
I’m not a big scoreboard watcher in June but wouldn’t it be great if Beckett got shelled tonight? There would be a lot of worried Red Sox fans out there if they lose two in a row to the Rockies with their 1-2 punch going
They can’t win with Julio Lugo as SS. He’s awful.
When you look at that team, you have Lugo, Crisp and Drew who aren’t hitting a lick.
Do folks really believe Dustin Pedroia is going to hit .320 all season?
You can’t win in the AL with three starters hitting under .240. Especially a guy (Drew) they are counting on as a run producer.
Its tough to fill those holes at the deadline. It will be interesting to see what they do.
IMO, if they stay all year with the team they have right now, they will have problems.
I’ll take a boring Yankee victory anyday….still WAY better than spending the day on the beach.
SJ,
I agree but Lugo might be producing the closest to league average for a player at his position. He might not even be there biggest problem. Drew is not producing close to a player of his caliber should and Crisp may be one of the worst hitting CFers in the league. That team is far from perfect but if their rotation stays healthy they should stay competitive
I hope this game puts the nail in the coffin regarding Phelps playing 1B.
Phelps gave Cairo that E on purpose so that they could turn 2 next play. He’s that good. (giving you a hard time Pete)
8 IP 1 R 101 Pitches. Wow this staff looks good.
Jer,
Cairo can’t play everyday and stay healthy. He went on the DL last year after filling in for Robbie. Phelps will get some time at 1B. Cairo also will give ARod, Jeter, and Cano days off every now and then.
damn, phelps can’t pick anything over at first
you have to make a perfect throw everytime
i can’t wait for the day when phelps is no longer a yankee
What a gem by Andy.
Time to think of some words rhyming with “nine” for the headlines tomorrow…
How many days has it been since Henn, Villone, or Vizcaino pitched? I don’t mind giving Proctor a few extra days off and giving one of the other guys some work.
I’ll definitely take the boring games anyday as well, as long as they’e winning games…… and this definitely is not a bad way to spend my day working from home, not bad “background noise……….”
I hope Farnsworth pitches the 9th…
Nine is fine
Proctor has only pitched 5 times this month. He could use a little work even if he was overworked earlier. I bet he throws Viz
SJ is right, the sox are in terrible position to get Tex and their fantasy season is about to come back to reality…
I’m ready for them to bring up Andy Phillips. good D at first and can fill in at a couple of other positions if need be. he’s like Chris Basak, only better.
I think both Alex and Abreu need at least a days rest. They both have up their game and could use a break to be fresh the rest of the month. The Yankees seems to be moving forward and not looking back on the down month of May. They are playing to win as a team. You can see it now they have each other’s back. Matsui is back on on a roll. The pitching is better. I don’t see no turning back right now.
Oh and Thanks Pete for your updates because you keep it real and give props where it’s due. I like the fact you are not a brown noser to just one player and you give honest opinions.
Kudos to you Pete for making a Yankee fan proud
Lugo is hitting under .220 and has 11 errors. I don’t think that’s the league average for a SS.
I guess a better way of looking at is to look at the teams the Red Sox are battling with for a playoff spot. The Yankees, Indians and Tigers.
Lugo is clearly the worst SS out of those teams. One could argue Drew is the worst RF out of those teams (if Trot Nixon can stay healthy).
One could argue Pedroia is the worst second baseman out of those teams.
Those are big holes in an AL lineup.
They need their pitching to be lights out or they need reinforcements to overcome that for a full season, IMO.
Not saying they can’t but, its tough.
let’s go A-Rod…pad those stats like only you can buddy.
Why would you bring in Proctor?? Use Vizciano(sp?) or Farnsworth for the garbage time.
Did Ripken ever just DH as part of his streak? Does that count? This really has no relevance but I was just curious
I don’t understand why Peter would refer to bunting as “false hustle”…what is that all about?
Anyone else disagree with this?
In certain situations in doesn’t make sense, but overall and if timed right, bunting can be a very effective strategy.
SJ,
I didn’t realize Lugo was that bad. Really haven’t seen his stats for awhile, I thought he was playing better than that at least. Drew struggling is only going to make it harder for him b/c fans are going to be all over him and he isn’t a pressure type player. He’ll fold quickly
wat i find funny is where are all those ppl who were saying we cant catch the sox. lets settle for the w.c.
no way!!!
we gonna beat those sox and take the division!!!
GO YANKS!!
the womens rutger’s b-ball team should thank imus for their time at yankee stadium . without him , nobody would care about a team that lost .
There goes A-rod, padding those 9th inning stats again… what a jerk!
Anyone that says Phelps is a better first baseman than Cairo or Mientkiewicz are obviously doesn’t watch baseball.
In this case, it didn’t work out, though with a different call at home, maybe things are different.
What i find interesting is that Peter said “I don’t care if they score 2 runs…” I WOULD’VE. He looks at it as the Yankees should mash against a weak pitcher. I look at it like, 1 or 2 more runs against this overmatched a lineup are some serious insurance runs.
But this is all academic…we got this one.
18 baserunners? It would be fun to have a team like the Yanks in the NL. They would win 120 games
Nick, I know. Obviously Phelps is going to be there with Cairo until we find another solution, but his defense is terrible. I just don’t understand all those people who clamor for Phelps to get more playing time and then watch him bungle plays.
Yeah, where’s A-Rod when you need the big hit?
hey no comment,
they aint gonna be no bottom 9th inning. this is the 8th!
and what do u have against a-rod?
he is great!
an aaaaaaaaaaaa bomb by aaaaaaaaaaaa-rod!!
wait a second here, is this actually a Pettitte game with some run support?
Nick B.
your comparison of a Jeter/Ichiro combo vs. A-Rod/Vlad is interesting.
How many people wanted A-Rod last year. 35hrs and 121RBIs sounds like great power numbers, but at .290 BA and his clutch numbers, how much did we hate him last year. As much as I like his HRs this year, tell me whose isnt more impressed with him just getting base hits, hitting sac flies, walking or whatever when it counts with guys on base. .. He is not just crushing solo HRs.
Vlad is an amazing hitter, .325 career hitter, its not just his power numbers, and that is what makes him so dangerous.
Im not saying I want melky to be a soft singles hitter like an eckstein or some utility infielder. I want him to focus on hitting above .300, however which way he does that.. if that means he just hits singles and doubles to all fields, thats fine with me (similar to the way jeter does).
Jeter is the epitome of a hitting machine and has never been or tried to be a power hitter. early in his career people questioned whether he would be great cause he didnt hit for power.. well so much for that. nobody in their right mind would trade what jeter had done at the plate over the years for more “power”.
The final point on this debate is that everything is relative.. When you have a Arod, Abreu, Matsui, Posada, etc on your team, you can afford to have Melky be more of high avg. hitter cause you have other guys that provide the power…If Melky was on a team and was the star offensive force, then yes.. I agree you want more pop and power from him.
That was a bad throw by Cairo to the right side of the bag into the path of the runner, Dangerous territory.
Pete, I don’t know who is emailing you, but no defensive metric I’ve seen says that. What one can argue is that since 1B is way to the right on the defensive spectrum (above only DH) that offense is at a premium for that position. Hence, Phelps better offensive numbers compensate for his somewhat lesser defensive skills. That is a valid point. I don’t have the numbers right now, but Minky and Miggy are way, way below the average AL 1B in offensive production. Phelps is too, but not nearly as much.
hey Y…we are just jokin around. A-Rod=2007 AL MVP.
Jer,
I agree, I don’t think he is good but he has to play. They only have 25 guys and Basak isn’t really bringing much help. I wouldn’t mind Cairo playing everyday but he needs a day off now and then as do other guys. Hopefully Minky gets back soon but injuries usually take longer in this organization.
Hey Pete,
Thanks for mentioning *Rutgers*
I mentioned this before, but I never thought Rutgers would get this type of recognition and it is GREAT.
I hope you can get some comments, quotes from Schiano tomorrow..
I don’t understand this move at all…
I kid… I kid because I love
Yankee VIP you have a bias’d, or at the very least skewed view of A-Rod. And Vlad. Please stop talking about clutch and doing what it takes to win and being impressed about a walk. A-Rod crushing the ball all over the field is impressive. A-rod walking isn’t.
2006 close and late stats
A-rod: .279 .353 .519 .872
Vlad: .297 .355 .450 .805
Look out!
Miguel,
Thank you. I totally agree. 2 runs is better than none, right?
But getting past that, why would anyone ever refer to bunting as “false hustle”?
Cash has decisions to make in the next few weeks, as the trade deadline appears. He has to figure out who has a definite role on this team and what roles still need to be filled. He can’t make a decision on Phelps if the guy never plays. Right now, Phelps’ only positive attribute is that he can be an emergency catcher. (it would have to be a serious emergency). I’d rather have Phillips, or better yet, a better player entirely.
Yankee ViP,
I can agree with that. I know no one admits to booing ARod but I have loved watching him play since he was in Seattle. He just has everything you could ever want in a player. I always hated when he would get boooed b/c he was obviously trying and wanted to succeed. Him failing + getting booed just made matters worse. If fans would have staid behind him I think he would have turned it around last year. People are idiots, what was booing actually doing? Making the team worse. Yeah you paid for a ticket so you can do what you want, congratulations way to help the team lose. I’m not saying this towards you but just those people in general.
Just b/c Proctor was once over worked doesn’t mean he needs a week off. He has to pitch every now and then. If he didn’t throw in the game I bet he would have thrown in the bullpen. There is nothing lost.
Proctor hasn’t pitched since the 10th. Get him the work now so he’s sharp for the Mets.
I do pay attention to stats, but anyone who claims Phelps is better than Mientkiewicz is clearly misusing the statistics. I’d love to know which stats allegedly say that. Number of errors or something? That’s an awful way of determining the ability of a first baseman, as many of the poor plays they can make result in someone else getting an error on the throw. Likewise, someone who can scoop every ball they get but have zero range aren’t nearly as good as someone who may make a couple more errors because they get to balls they have no business even reaching.
pete really seems to have it in for phelps. he just constantly rips his defense. oddly enough, he never rips damon’s defense. how about last night, when damon played center b/c posada was dh’ing so that rain man mussina could throw to nieves?
damon’s arm clearly cost the yanks that first run on the sac fly. melky wouldn’t have definitely gotten him out, but he would’ve at least had a chance. damon’s throw barely made it to the infield, but you didn’t hear a peep out of pete. and damon makes a lot of money to be an everyday player, yet everyone’s content with him DH’ing in the second year of his 4-year contract. phelps, on the other hand, is a backup player out of whom not much is expected, and he plays his one or two games a week and gets ripped to shreds.
The way Michael Kay called that error by cairo sounded as if he clearly thought Phelps was at fault and should have picked it up.
1B is a tough defensive position to assess. Is there a stat that says how many errors a 1st baseman saves. If Phelps plays 20 games and every throw to him is perfect, he looks great. If Cairo plays first and every throw is way off line, how do you judge that… Even if Cairo makes great play after great play.
Phelps has shown he is the worst defensive 1b on this team ( i think giambi does a better job scooping balls then phelps).
You cannot compare Cairo or Minky to other 1b offensively, since other teams put their big power hitters at 1b (but we have that at other positions)… the rest of our lineup is stacked, you can give up some offense for defense….
Thank goodness Pettitte got the win.
Divine at Nine
Have a good afternoon, everybody.
Grenn Tea,
You are right but I don’t think anyone thinks Damon is a good defensive player nor is making those arguments. I think Pete rips Phelps b/c people go out of their way to try and prove things with stupid stats. A lot of people on this board live and die by numbers.
9 in a row, everyone!
2 games over .500, and Pettitte has an ERA under 3. Great game by him.
Nine in a row! Let’s go for 10 now
.
For all the big contracts pitchers got this offseason, Andy has been an amazing deal.
I like the matchups this weekend. Hopefully we hit Tommy G hard and give Clip some support.
anyone else think Andy can make a run at the AL Cy Young this year? 2.93 ERA after today, he should be more like 6-2 or 7-1 than 4-4….
Pettitte Cy Young
A-Rod MVP
Pete,
Your Phelps/Mientkiewicz obsession has really gotten old. The point is that if he played everyday, Phelps would produce more runs than Mietkiewicz would save. Those are the stubborn facts.
Detroit is losing
Chris,
That’d be great, but Haren, Verlander, and Lackey are having really good seasons so far.
Why is Andy Phillips not on this team right now? Phelps is worse than I thought at 1B, not having seen much of him before this year. Phillips is hitting in the minors and played Gold Glovish defense last year. Give him a chance.
Green tea,
“UPDATE, 7:36 p.m.: Safe to say either Melky Cabrera throws out the runner here or they never even try to tag up.”
Peter Abraham from yesterday’s game commenting on Damon’s defensive shortcomings.
While I agree that Peter dumps on Phelps a LOT, Phelps has been MUCH worse than Damon (IMO).
I’m in love with Andy Pettitte!
If Jeter didn’t win MVP last year and Andy didn’t win the Cy in 1996, I’m not gonna hold my breath for any more Yankee individual awards.
RE: Phelps: I still think the 1B plan for this season (superior defense at first because there’s so much offense everywhere else) is still a good plan. That last loss to the Red Sox showed how crucial defense can be. I want Phelps waived (do you think Baltimore would take him back) and Phillips called up. Phelps was a nice experiment…maybe we get a righty-hitting masher real cheap, to go along with a predominantly lefty-hitting team. But I think the experiment has shown its results.
Congrats to Andy Pettitte on another quality start, and to the Yankees on 9 straight.
It will be very interesting to see if Damon starts at first when the Yankees head to NL parks.
It also could be interesting to see if Jorge Posada plays some first occasionally on days off. Jorge was a 2nd baseman, and Flaherty seemed to hint that Jorge does take reps at 1st
Here’s the thing – Phelps really isn’t good at digging balls out at first. If infielders start getting tentative throwing to first, that can have a big impact on our infield D.
If Damon can play 1st, it means Phelps can DH
The Josh Phelps Fan Club cracks me up.
Johnny Damon can’t throw. When healthy, he catches everything in the OF.
Damon is a much better hitter than Phelps.
Phelps can’t catch, throw or hit. Yet, folks defend him as if Torre is keeping down a Cecil Fielder clone.
You can’t be comparing Damon to Phelps and not expect folks to call you on it. Its an absurd argument. Damon is three times the player Josh Phelps will ever be.
Andy Phillips is a better player and should take Phelps place on the roster.
I don’t understand why they are so resistant to making that move. Phelps doesn’t do anything that Phillips can’t do. Defensively, Phillips is light years better than Phelps. He is also more versatile as a pinch hitter. A role a guy off the bench needs to be able to do.
Phelps was a Rule 5 guy for a reason. He is a very limited player.
As far as Proctor in the 9th, Torre has to get him some work. The guy had only pitched in 5 games all month and hasn’t worked in 4 days. Relief pitchers can get rusty if you drydock them too long.
They won 9 in a row and every button Torre has pushed this month has worked. For the Torre Haters out there, don’t work so hard to find fault with everything. Be happy they look like the Yankees again.
The more you struggle to find fault with some of these minor moves, the less water your arguments will hold when he makes some moves that are truly head scratchers.
Thankfully, we haven’t had those for several weeks. Let’s hope that keeps up.
Scooter,
No way Posada plays 1st? Why would he, Nieves isn’t helping anything in the lineup.
I don’t think Damon is ready for 1st yet. There is a learning curve there and I haven’t heard anywhere that he has been working at all there.
Phelps will probably never DH on this team unless someone gets hurt or Torre wants to give someone a complete day off, both of which I hope never happen.
I could catch balls at first if they all threw them right to me. It doesn’t matter who plays first if that is the case.
I’m going to be at the College World Series all weekend so someone needs to take my place and say something bad about Britton before the game to keep this streak alive. Might as well be a little superstitious about the winning streak. I’ll try to log on before I go to the game and fill my role.
Here is the problem with some of the statheads. They take a small sample size and try to argue, “If Phelps played all year, he would be more productive”.
Extrapolating stats don’t always lead to a simple conclusion, as some of you are trying to argue.
Phelps isn’t a guy that can play everyday. He hasn’t been able to play everyday his entire career, which is why he was a Rule 5 guy.
When Minky got hurt, he was hitting .285 for the last month he played and had more RBI than Abreu and Giambi COMBINED during the period.
The fact is, Minky was playing very well when he got hurt. Much better than Phelps has looked at any time this year.
Some guys can’t play everyday. Phelps is one of them.
FWIW, Cairo also can’t play everyday. Which is why they are going to have to make some kind of move soon to upgrade first base. At least Cairo can catch the ball. Phelps can’t do it and looks like a fish out of water at first base.
The more he plays, the more his flaws are exposed.
Honestly, an average first baseman digs out Miggy’s throw and also makes the play on the swinging bunt earlier in the game.
He just isn’t a good player. Cherrypicking stats aren’t going to support your claim because people watch the game and can easily see his flaws.
Its not that tough. Just watch the games.
Thank you for calling out Jeter on that bunt play. It is just idiotic and he does it all the time. Someone should really tell him to stop it.
As for the Phelps being a good firstbaseman because of the stats, please do not link all “statheads” with people that think Phelps is a good firstbaseman. It’s completely absurd. I like stats as much as anyone and I have said from the beginning that Phelps is a terrible firstbaseman. Saying that, Cairo has to make a good throw in that spot. He had a ton of time.
Just a couple of things:
First: How about “Nine and D-Andy” for the headline?
Second: Chris NY — I kind of have to agree with you that the game was sort of boring. I had to listen to a part of the game on radio in the car, and missed the last 2 innings, but I had the thought that the Yankees seemed a tad off today, like they didnt’ get enough sleep. Not way off, but the timing wasn’t spot on. Still, a good game, if this is how they play when they’re not on, wow. (The gray day didn’t help either.)
Third: I can’t figure out why Phelps is still there, either. At first, at least he hit some. Now, not so much and his fielding is clearly sub-par. If they’re not going to after Teixeira, they need to bring up Andy Philips. He’d be more than fine, and he’s got some pop. I felt awful the way his spring turned out – who could concentrate on landing a spot on the team when you’re a little pre-occupied with whether or not your mom’s going to live? I think there’s probably some red-tape type things, though, and perhaps they have to make sure he’ll stay up here, or something like that? Don’t know, just guessing.
“Watch the games, statheads…!!”
Murray Chass, is that you?
SJ –
Some folks can’t play every day, tis true. An argument that would sit somewhat more effectively if you hadn’t used the opposite tack to justify Minky’s May of Magic.
But yes, some folks can’t play every day.
The only issue about Phelps is that he can produce more than Cairo when you factor in offensive runs produced as well as defensive runs saved.
I do, however, prefer Cairo to Mientkiewicz, who I wish a speedy recovery, but don’t want to see him in a Yankee uniform again.
I’m all for calling up Phillips to play 1B the majority of the time. It’s inexplicable that that hasn’t happened yet.
Gotta love the watch the games insults from Peter. People who site stats watch more baseball than most. We just use more than our eyes to evaluate players.
I’m watching the games, Peter, and while Mink’s pick moves may be better than Phelps’s, his range certainly is no better. Remember when Mr. Defense didn’t play the line for the XBH vs. Boston, giving up the winning run?
DFA Mink.
Pete,
100%, no doubt, the three firstbaseman are good. But if I have to make a choice. Doug Mientkiewicz better than Cairo, Cairo better than Josh Phelps.
I hope your are just talking about defense, Jack, in which case that’s the least important part of playing 1B.