Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 23, 2007 
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The Yankees snapped their losing streak by beating the Giants last night. Barry Bonds homered for San Francisco.
Alex Rodriguez thinks Barry Bonds belongs in the All-Star game.
I also did a notebook led with a Johnny Damon update. But somehow it didn’t end up on our web site. Suffice it to say, it was informative and well-written. Man, you missed it.
Very nice win.
We got some heart.
Not to change the subject, but that Colorado series was a real thud on the season. After scratching their way back in it, the Yanks drop a full three games to the Red Sox and let them breathe a sigh of relief….5 runs in three games in Denver?
Good to get a win and stay above .500. Hopefully, Yankees can get some solid starting pitching over the next 5 games and start a charge toward the Wild Card spot.
Torre still amazes me with his bizarre pitching maneuvers!
I can understand pulling Igawa in the 5th (he lost the strike zone). Myers should’ve remained in the 7th or
Torre could have used Henn or Villone with a 4-run lead.
Neither pitcher has thrown in so long that they will likely lack control when they are used. Why are they taking up roster spots if they are not going to be used? I understand that Henn was just sent down and Basak kept on the roster. Another great move – he hasn’t been used at all. Why not bring up Shelly Duncan and use him for his bat at least? Torre hasn’t ANY hitting coming off the bench.
Can someone tell me how the decisions are made for roster moves – is it just the manager’s responsibility or do the coaches get involved too? And how much input does/should a player have in that process?
The only baseball player you will ever find who asks to go on the Disabled List is Carl Pavano.
Its not Johnny Damon’s decision to go on the DL. That’s up to the team.
You want to be ticked off at someone, be ticked off at the Yankees, not Damon. They decide who goes on the DL.
In looking back over curious personnel decisions the Yankees management have made both during the winter and in-season, the hesitancy to put Damon on the DL stands out.
What the hell is the reluctance?
Damon is a gamer, but he can only help the Yankees win games if he is reasonably healthy; which he hasn’t been all year. He should have been DL back in April.
The Yankees (Torre and Cashman) have this on their heads.
Sorry A-Rod,
But Barry Bonds deserves no special treatment.
He doesn’t belong in the All-Star game, he doesn’t belong in the hall of fame, and he doesn’t even deserve to be recognized when hitting 755 and 756.
He deserves NOTHING, he BELONGS in the hall of shame.
On Matsuzaka’s number of pitches thrown and the US baying there pitchers… We do baby our pitchers but the probability of Matsuzaka getting hurt with the # of pitches he is throwing each outing is way up. He is throwing 120+ pitches in 7 innings consistently….
they signed him to like q 5 yr contract they are not .5 yrs into it…He has alot of throws on his arm and he is not exactly a bug guy.
Igawa for 4 innings looked good, I am not sure what the Yanks thought he would be but they paid 1/3 or less then what Boston paid…If he can become a 7 or 6 inning 3 or 4 run guy they will be fine….he is there 5th starter until the franchise comes back…
I also agree Damon does not make his DL decisions, the Yanks do. They probably figure give it a few days if he does not feel better put him on.. WHo do we have to replace him???Brett Gardner(I would like to see what he can do), Kevin Thompson on a more regular basiss? They do not apppear to have any siginificant contributor to replace Damon at present…….
I’m scratching my head about this too. Why is Damon still “playing”? What is there to lose by putting him on the DL, using Melky in center, and bringing up the best minor league hitter available to DH?
LathamJoe: Myers is only supposed to be there for 1 or 2 batters – specifically lefties. Hence, title Lefty Specialist. When was the last time Mo was used, do you know – maybe Mo is more important to have constantly ready than Villone or Henn (Think Villone really needs a tune up? – he pitched in the 1-6 loss to colorado)? Do you consider Cario’s hitting off the bench?
If more people paid attention to what occurs instead of just spewing bs and whatever is going on in their mind at that paticular second out of their mouth, the whole world (not just baseball blogs) would be a more interesting place.
Stuart is right that there is no good bat to replace Damon (which is why I have nightmares of Cairo or Nieves DHing), but it’s not like we’re talking about one bad option and one good one. We’ve got two terrible options and we need to figure out which one is better.
Simply put, unless we replace him somehow, Damon must get better for this team to make the playoffs. I doubt he will get better if he doesn’t go on the DL.
My hope is that Damon goes on the DL, we bring up Duncan to DH as needed, and Damon returns healthy and productive for the rest of the season.
Like I said in my last post, we’re desperate, maybe more than most people realize. We’re not getting Bradley so we have to make due, and that includes putting Damon on the DL so he has a chance to help the team.
Col:
I’ve watched the Yankees since 1958. I’ve seen virtually every game (either at the Stadium, Live on TV or TV replay) since 1995. Obviously, Mo needs work, he hadn’t thrown since Saturday (when his command was off then due to inactivity). It was a given that he would work the 9th. My point is/was, that the remaining arms in the bullpen are being overworked – again – because Torre lacks trust in what he has on the roster. Not that Henn or Villone are lights out, but a fresh arm is a hell of a lot better than a guy(Proctor, Viscaino, Bruney) who’s coming in day after day. Bullpen arms get tired, ya know? . Torre is a notorious “dolt” when it comes to bullpen management.
If he’s not going to use guys – why waste the roster spot?
Yes, Miguel Cairo is a good utilityman – but not a pinch hitter who’ll deliver a big hit. The Yankees might have their worst bench since 1973!
And Myers was orginally a one batter specialist – until this year. Check out his appearances this season – He has pitched to more than 1 batter in at least 70% of his appearances. Lefties are batting .313, while righties are only hitting .169 against him. Maybe YOU oughta pay more attention before you criticize others, huh?
I actually think the Yankees would be smart to put damon on the dl. There is no need to call up an outfielder. We would be calling up a guy to dh and that would have to be Shelly Duncan. He now has 19 homeruns in AAA . He hit another one last night and had 4 rbi. I know this is AAA pitching, but I think he could fill in rather nicely as the Dh.
could the yankees take a flyer on elijah dukes?
he has such an upside it may be worth a minimal risk.
Dukes is a social pariah, both on and off the baseball diamond. He would be a poor investment for The Yankees and would not be worth the prospects that Tampa Bay would want in return.
Tampa Bay knows it isn’t going to get anything in return for Dukes, thats why they didn’t trade him they put him on the inactive list. They are hoping he’ll play well when they reactivate him, and stay out of trouble(probably not happening) and then try to trade him.
I agree, Section 344. His injured back, calves and other ailments prevent him from contributing on offense and defense like he did last season. Put him on the DL until he’s healthy and either use KT or trade for a “spare part” outfielder that can show some pop and play defensively.