Game 99: Yankees at Royals
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Blogroll, Misc on Jul 23, 2007 
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Here are the lineups:
YANKEES
Damon CF
Cabrera RF
Jeter SS
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Duncan DH
Clemens RHP (2-4, 3.88)
ROYALS
DeJesus CF
Grudzielanek 2B
Teahen RF
Butler DH
Gload 1B
Gordon 3B
Brown LF
Buck C
Pena SS
Perez LHP (5-8, 5.84)
Pregame chatter: Bobby Abreu (3 of 27 against Perez) is sitting so Duncan can play. … Carrie Proctor had a baby today, a boy who was named Cooper. Scott Proctor will be away from the team until Wednesday. … With the Cardinals having a day off, Dave Duncan and Chris Duncan will be at the game. … Joe Torre said Jose Molina would likely start on Thursday.
UPDATE, 7:55 p.m.: Phil Hughes was scratched from his start (it’s raining in Scranton) and will start tomorow, weather permitting.
UPDATE, 7:57 p.m.: Tomorrow is the 24th anniversary of the George Brett pine tar incident and the Royals are giving away t-shirts with pine tar stains. The PR people gave us all one. Pretty cool.
UPDATE, 9:05 p.m.: Tony Pena had dinner last night and lunch today with his son, K.C. shortstop Tony Pena Jr. This was the first time he had been able to see his boy play in person. “He’s my son; I’m his Dad. But when we go between those two white lines, I want to beat him,� he said. “Obviously I want him to do well and lose the game. I don’t want him to beat us. It’s tough for me.�
Pena is one of those guys who makes covering baseball fun. He always has something good to say. His kid just broke up Roger’s perfect game. So Tony is getting what he wants.
UPDATE, 9:46 p,m.: Here is some audio from Shelley Duncan. He is pretty psyched, his parents and brother are at the game.
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UPDATE, 10:42 p.m.: He’s the Viz and nobody beats him. Now it’s Mo to get them to within 5.5 games of Cleveland.
By the way, Johnny Damon is 6 of 12 with four doubles and seven RBI since Shelley Duncan came to town.
Congrats to Proctor…It would be a little rough if he was traded while away from the team, huh ?
Hey Pete, any ideas on a contingency plan if Phil Franchise’s start is rained out?
I don’t get that. Why would Abreu be sitting so that Duncan can play? Isn’t he sitting so that Damon can play?
I’m fine with Abreu getting a day off, all the OF need it every once in awhile. Congrats to Scott Proctor.
Abreu has had difficulty against cutsie lefties. they think it throws his whole swing off…
It is one game…
question. does anyone know Sterling’s HR call for Shelley. you know like for Melky it’s “The Melkman delivers”. I’ve been dying to know.
No worries folks, I’m sure Torre has Proctor on a rigid throwing program while he is away from the team.
It’s too early for Sterling, yet.
How ’bout:
“Shelly Dunks One”??
Not a bad deal, Shelley hit well this weekend, so you wouldn’t want to sit him right away. and in Triple A this year, he hit over .300 against lefties. Combine that with Abreu’s poor numbers against Perez and I think it’s a good call.
Damon in center? I’d put him in right and keep Melky in center. As for Sterling’s HR call for Shelley–I haven’t heard it. Some guesses:
“Shelley shelled one”
“A slam dunk for Duncan”
Am I close?
“Shelly bean”?
the abreu thing is fine. probably better to treat him with kid gloves the rest of the way anyway.
i’ll admit, i’m pulling for jon lester tonight. i don’t care what he does the rest of the way, but i hope the kid gets a W tonight.
Lets go Yankees!!!
Sterling hasn’t come up with anything yet, although he seemed to be itching to try something out yesterday. I wonder if he has to get them approved?? Ironically, one of my faves was last year’s “It ain’t easy being Green” for the immortal Nick Green.
“It’s a Duncan-Doodle Dandy!”
5-0 red sox in the 2nd. yup. the yankees have them shaking in their boots.
Abreu has been hot, but I guess a day off won’t hurt.
Any word on when Scranton may start up?
Shellacked by Duncan
I’m a little tired of this babying of Abreu. He makes 14M a year. He was a player that is supposed to hit lefties just as well as righties. Torre sits him vs Johan Santana and puts Thompson in his place. He sits vs Kazmir. And now he’s sitting against Odalis Perez that has a 5+ ERA? What a joke. I can’t wait for this season to end so that I can help Abreu pack his bags. Thanks for nothing Bobby, don’t let the right field wall hit you on the way out.
When a guy is 3-27 against a particular pitcher, it makes sense to sit him.
Its the luxury they have with another RH bat on the bench.
The Sox-Cleveland series helps the Yankees either way….as long as the Yankees keep winning. Personally, it wouldn’t shock me if the Sox swept them or win 3 of 4 because they are the better team.
The Indians have some internal strife going on in their locker room. Trot Nixon called a 20 minute closed door, players only meeting after the game last night.
They didn’t get back to Cleveland until 7 in the morning from Texas, mostly because that meeting took a long time and their charter left later than expected.
Evidently, some guys won’t sit on the bench next to other guys. Not the kind of stuff you want to see if you are a team trying to make the playoffs.
It wouldn’t shock me if the Indians went into a big swoon in the next month. They are a talented group but, maturity seems to be lacking with that team.
Right now, all the Yankees need to do is keep winning games and series. If they do, things will work out.
Kasey you are as aupbeat as ever..
if the Yanks lose tonight are jumping off a bridge??
well, well, well…Boston is demolishing Cleveland.
I hope the “all is well” crowd will now admit Boston is a good team and will not collapse because the Yanks scored a ton of runs for a few games.
Yeah, I think sitting Abreu tonight is probably a good idea. It certainly worked when they sat him against Kazmir, the following night he had 5 RBI I believe? Not that Perez is anywhere near as good as Kazmir, but especially if he has poor numbers against him, this can’t be bad.
Pete has it been decided if we’ll see any of Molina in the Royals series?
And 5 runs against John Lester certainly isn’t feasible!
Kasey won’t be jumping off any bridges if the Yankees lose because he will be too busy congratulating himself after prematurely declaring another one of his prognostications correct.
Melkman in right is the call as the stronger arm needs to be in right. Hopefully Damon can build on his recent and limited success and start slapping the ball around like the Damon of old. This way you can sit Bobby and bring him off the bench after Perez comes out of the game in the 5th (he is terrible).
Wow, where did you hear all that about the Indians’ internal strife SJ? Just curious cause a good friend of mine is a big fan of theirs and I’m sure would be interested in this information.
I always suspected that lack of maturity/experience might catch up with them esp. in the pressure of a pennant race. I think the FO may have suspected the same and brought Nixon on in part because he’s an experienced veteran presence, but even one guy like that can only do so much good…
T.J.,
Read Pete’s post: Molina will likely start Thursday.
I wonder how much authority Trot Nixon can have when he sucks as bad as he does right now. You would almost think that guys who slide as much has he did are coming off the roids.
“I hope the “all is wellâ€? crowd will now admit Boston is a good team and will not collapse because the Yanks scored a ton of runs for a few games.”
I don’t think anyone is expecting the Red Sox to collapse. But as someone pointed out yesterday, Boston is just 24-24 in the last 48 games. The Yankees have shaved 7 games off of their lead during that stretch. If they continue to play around .500 ball the Yanks can and will catch them.
Paul. yes you are a genius and you are right about everything. If the Sox crush Cleveland tonight that 100% guarantees that the Yankees have no hope will most certainly miss the playoffs, no matter if they win tonight and pick up a full game on the Indians. Paul you are the master of all that is correct in MLB and should be lifted to the position of Chief Know It All and Most Negative Person who ever pretended to be a Yankee Fan. It is such a tremendous joy to see you saying I told you so about the mighty Boston Red Sox and the, oh so tiny, New York Yankees. We are all so blessed to be able to share this Blog with you and we all wait with baited breath for the next bunch of manure that comes out of your mouth. Here’s a million dollars that bets that next load of horse hockey will be ready and waiting for all to read by the end of the game. Thank you so much for entertaining us all. We can’t wait to laugh at your next post, Mr. Wonderful !
Can somebody tell me what song they play at Yankee Stadium before the game. Not Star Wars though
the pine tar on that shirt is too high……
BBB,
Heard it on NESN, who is carrying the game on the Extra Innings Package tonight.
Oh, and Paul, count 90% of the people that read this post in the “all is well” crowd and none of your baloney is going to change that.
Cleveland seem to collapse in the second half every year, usually from some pull pen calamity.
Hopefully Trot Nixon’s team meeting is the start of the unraveling
5-2 Boston. So much for “demolishing”, huh?
Nobody knows?
well, well, well Paul…the lowly Indians ( who are so mighty and strong compared to the peons called the Yankees ) just scored 2 runs…this means that the Boston Red Sox are most certainly now so low that they must reach up, just to touch bottom and now it is the Indians that will with the whole thing. ( I wonder what will happen later in the game to change your tune ? Oh, I forgot…nothing will change your tune as the Yankees are just playing out the season with no hope to please you or anyone else for that matter ,,,,
It’s not like Abreu asked for the day off. He, like 99% of players, wants to be out there everyday. His three year splits (the quickest stat I could find) say he as a .820 OPS against lefties, .956 against righies. That’s not awful. This year, so far, seems to be the aberration.
Thanks for the Scranton update, Pete.
atta baby matsui…he is swinging the bat really well
whay did the team sign Scott Williamson today when they already have chris britton and edwar in the minors………this makes no sense to me
And 25 years from now the Giants will be handing out hypodermics to celebrate Barry Bonds Day…
Mike which song the one they play BEFORE they come out or the one they take the field to??
Heart of a Champion is the one they play before the come from the dugout and Get Ready for This is as they come on the field
At least we know that Duncan can do something besides hit homeruns and strike out haha.
Johnny Damon seems to have found something, thats 3 doubles in the last 2 games.
can someone please explain to me how the Yankees were able to score 4 runs on KC ? Didn’t King Paul of Negative Land tell us that the Yankees would be lucky to get a split in KC ? How can this be ? The Indians also have the bases loaded only down 5-2 to the Ultimate Juggernaut ( you can look that word up, Paul ) Boston Red Sox, too….What is going on here ? Could Paul be possibly wrong about something ? If Paul is wrong about something, What will I do ? Somebody explain all of this for me. I am at a complete loss….
Damn Cbssportsline isn’t giving my fantasy credit for Duncan’s hit, they list him as E. Duncan. Think it’s safe tp say Eric Duncan will never be the Yankees first baseman.
While I am always happy to see the Bosox lose, it is a nice story today with Lester making his 1st start in a year after fighting his cancer diagnosis.
At the same time, I am liking the nice story so far in Kansas City . . .
Thank goodness that Cleveland did not get any closer than 5-2 that last inning. I was more comfortable with Paul using the word demolish with that score anyway….
Boston is better than Cleveland, I’m ok with Boston winning the series. I think we lock up the wild card first then worry about the division. Michael Kay disagrees.
I watched every at bat of Duncan since he came to Majors.
On the first day, though he hit a home run, he looked like swinging at every thing undisciplined.
Since then what I observed is that Duncan does show some patience. Today’s first at bat, he took two balls and then hit the single. When he swings he may miss the ball and stike out. But he shows patience and his high OBP in AAA does not seem like a fluke.
It is a small sample and pitchers will adjust to him. Still, it is encourging to see his approach at the plate.
Jeff NJ….If Michael Kay disagrees, then you must be right on the money !!!
…. One more thing, he does not clog the bases. For a big guy he ran well and scored from first on a double.
We need to step on their throats here. Dont let them breath at all
Every one of us would prefer that Boston get swept and thus increase our chances of winning the division, but if the Indians lose today, I hope Boston sweeps so we make up a lot of ground. I’ll consider it a great comeback if we make the playoffs after many have written us off.
There are still doubters that we won’t make the playoffs? They are insane…………………..
If the Yankees win, it doesnt matter what happens in that series.
Tseng, speak for yourself, I’d rather Boston sweep Cleveland and we get in wild card position first. Then worry about Boston later.
BBFan, Duncan worked a walk from an 0-2 count yesterday, so you are right about his patience. I was at all 4 games this weekend, and although he so far has a tendency to swing at low, out of the strike zone pitches, I chalked that up to the excitement of being in the bigs. His explosion on the scene reminds me of Spencer. Let’s hope he does not party his way out of the bigs like ol’ Shane did.
Come on Cano. 5-0 here
Lester looks pretty good for a back of the rotation guy. He blew away Sizemore with the bases loaded, so he doesn’t seem like a guy who will just go into meltdown in a tough spot, like the Yankee starters (even the so-called number 1 guy Wang couldn’t handle the pressure in the 7th inning during his last start).
And I said the best the Yanks will do is a split, and I stand by that prediction.
Hey Paul, why dont you just become a Red Sox fan, if the yare so good. Why the negativity?
Paul, perhaps it is you who can’t handle the pressure of the Yankees creeping closer and closer to your beloved BoSox?
Seriously dude, go root for your team somewhere else, this is a YANKEE blog!
…He is a Rex Sox fan and trolling here…..
Paul, you are a glutton for punishment. Are You a troll, or are you a reverse-jinx Yankee fan (if I say they’ll do bad, they’ll do well)?
Oh, well then someone should tell him to tak a walk
Paul, why don’t you simplify all of your future posts and simply say this ( which is basically what you say all the time anyway ) Boston Rules, Yankees Stink. Just say that over and over and over and over and over and over…There is no way you are a Yankee Fan…You are a Yankee Hater, so why don’t you take your silly gloomy predictions, take your bat and ball and go home ?
Hey pete any contest to win the shirt?
“Paul, perhaps it is you who can’t handle the pressure of the Yankees creeping closer and closer to your beloved BoSox?”
I’m just a realistic Yankee fan who does admire Boston for at least taking those early season games seriously unlike Clueless Joe and company (not to mention Pete and many posters here).
realistic? get a life. Yanks win tonight, there is no reason to think they wont take at least 3 of 4.
Joke of the season, from Paul : “I’m just a realistic Yankee fan who does admire Boston…” LOL…you funny man, Paul, very funny man ! LOL !
“Paul, you are a glutton for punishment. Are You a troll, or are you a reverse-jinx Yankee fan (if I say they’ll do bad, they’ll do well)?”
I prefer to expect the worst and be surprised if something good happens.
And if I’m wrong and Boston collapses (I just don’t see it happening, though) and the Yanks go on a tear and win the divison, I’ll take every derisive comment that comes my way. But if I’m right and the Yanks don’t make the playoffs and these games meant nothing, then I’ll be here to accept my accolades.
I am glad for people like Paul, they are going to make it that much better for us when the Yankees overtake Boston.
I love Jeter, but he doesn’t even move at SS. He really needs to find a new position.
“I prefer to expect the worst and be surprised if something good happens”
Thats a great philosophy and an awesome way to live your life
Paul, go admire them elsewhere then. Most of us on here actually like to root for our team – a novel concept to you I’m sure – and couldn’t possibly be less interested in your particular brand of “realism.”
LET’S GO YANKEES!!!
Bob- There are 3 words that some up Paul. Red Sox Fan
Paul give me a break. Boston has played .500 ball for some time now. Why in the world would you be suprised if they collapse?
“I am glad for people like Paul, they are going to make it that much better for us when the Yankees overtake Boston.”
Not going to happen with Boston having Tampa to feast on for a ton of games.
Doesn’t anybody here actually pay attention to the schedule?
It is so nice to see Andy Phillips hitting well. I continue to say first base isn’t a position we need to upgrade.
Yeah Andy! That’s what I’m talkin about, keep the pressure on!!
Through 3, Rocket has given up a single hit, Perez has given up four hits and two walks. And Rocket and Perez have thrown almost the same number of pitches. Ah, baseball is a funny game.
Paul : “But if I’m right and the Yanks don’t make the playoffs and these games meant nothing, then I’ll be here to accept my accolades”
Paul, don’t hold your breath waiting for those accolades, you could seriously hurt yourself !
Winfield killed my seagull, Britton is hurt right now and you can never have enough relievers. And the Yankees are not going to bring up Ramirez again until Nardi tells them he is ready.
So Williamson is just another option and someone for Gil Patterson to work with. His K rate is still high and was clocked at 96 mph this year so there might be something left.
Paul- Boston has played UNDER .500 since the begining of June. Tell me why thats gonna change.
“Bob- There are 3 words that some up Paul. Red Sox Fan”
NYR, what about Dazed And Confused? That works too, no? Or is Paul not even worth wasting a Zeppelin reference on…
“Boston has played .500 ball for some time now. Why in the world would you be suprised if they collapse?”
Boston has a solid offense and good starting pitching. Add in a good closer and very good setup guy. That will prevent any meltdown.
And they have got way too many “gimme” games vs the Rays.
The Red Sox won this divison months ago.
BBB- That works too, I dont think he is worth our trouble. If he is indeed a Yankee fan, whats the point if he cant have a little hope
Wow Cumberberg you aren’t kidding when you say baseball is a funny game. Who would have thought that they’d have the same pc.
paul, we’d be a helluva lot closer to the sox today if we’d played decently on our last road trip. yes, we swooned early, but even the sox are sounding jittery these days.
Paul than do yourself and everyone a favor and step away from the keyboard and tv. Since it is over why bother watching any Yankee games or talk about the Yankees.
“The Red Sox won this divison months ago.” dude, you know that it is better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt….Foolish statment by you, Paul. First off, the division is awarded to the team that actually wins it….not to the team that holds first place for the longest time. Hoe you could say the division was won months ago ?….so you are using plural then…so the Boston Red Sox won the division back in April or May ? Can you show me the trophy then, Einstein ?
Guys, guys, guys, we’ve talked about this. Ignore the Red Sox trolls and they will go away. They only show up when the Yankees are doing well because it’s in their nature to be defeatist.
paul, a yankee fan who admires the red soxs. This just in, there is peace in the middle east, we found WMD in iraq and the easter bunny came to my house ridding a unicorn.
Paul has a severe case of reverse-jinx-itis, with a dash of loving to stir the pot by waving the red flag (excuse the mixed metaphor). Just ignore him and he’ll/we’ll be better for it.
Guys,
The more you acknowledge trolls the more they will post and ruin this board.
We’re now discussing the red sox more than the yankees.
That’s exactly what they want.
Thank you Pete
Pete, two great minds…
chris,
i just assumed that if htere is anything left in that guy than he wouldn’t have been released. yeah 96 aint bad but kuh, kuh , kyle kan throw 100. the last thing the yanks pen needs is another guy trying to find the strike zone
I thought the Pine Tar game was in August 1983.
Good stuff so far Clemens…just one hit. With the Sox at CLeveland, its necessary that the Yankees win every game this series. Establishing their pitching would also be good. Maybe they can get momentum so when they play real teams, it will still be there.
http://www.beegcellent.com
Although I was just as guilty of it as anyone else, Pete and CB are right. The in-game blogs/comments have been a lot of fun the past week or so. Let’s not let this guy ruin it…skipping all his comments from now on, promise!
Let us focus on the game and Yankees please…..
Just IGNORE him.
Yeah Pete is right. I’ll bite my tongue next time and ignore.
“Since when is a distant 2nd place behind your dreaded rival “doing well?â€?”
That IS a bizzare statement.
just happened to glance at the CWS starting lineup, and geez how the mighty have fallen. not a single guy is hitting over thome’s .278…
Uh oh… Royals score… the sky is falling the sky is falling.
Have to agree with BBFan, let’s stick to the game. Clemens is throwing well, Yanks are hitting well, adn actually playing pretty decent defense.
White soxs are fighting the Royals for the cellar.
They have falled really hard since winning the world series.
That shirt is AWESOME.
Yeah, the White Sox are really hurting. It’s weird, too, b/c at first glance it doesn’t seem like the team has changed THAT much since their WS year, but I always kinda thought in the back of my head that maybe they were a one-win wonder anyway.
well, one big difference between the CWS and Royals. one of those teams has the fourth highest payroll in the MLB.
in Beijng for work and the hotel has a internet hookup for the flat screen….how great is room service breakfast and the Yanks on mlb.com ! life is good
This Paul guy and Beegcellent are starting to bother me.
I don’t enjoy the fairweather Boston touting during this current Yankee streak… Everyone knows the Sox are a good team. That’s why they are in first place — but they aren’t going to keep up the pace they had in the first half, consequently neither are the Yanks.
the Beegcellent links have got to go too…
Question for the group -
Assuming Phil comes back and pitches well…
Does Mussina have enough for the yankees to make their comeback for the division / wild card?
The offense and bull pen have had their well documented problems as had the 5fth slot.
Normally you wouldn’t worry so much about Mussina but given that they’ll need to play .650-.700 ball the rest of the season can they afford to have Mussina give them such inconsistent to poor performances every fifth day?
We’ve seen the yankees go through a number of ups and downs so I’m hesitant to say this ….
But the offense looks good and hopefully has corrected itself (fingers crossed)
What I like about the offense right how it’s diversified. Matui is supporting ARod with another long ball threat. Cano and Melky now hitting and Andy has really contributed.
We’ve also discussed the bull pen at length. We’ll see.
I hope between karstens coming back, possible trade, etc. something might happen.
Mussina worries me. They can’t afford a weak start as often as he’s given them one.
Timlin releived Lester. Now Indians will make their move!!!
the problem is that Torre would not sit Mussina no matter how badly he shits the boat down the stretch and they are into this guy for another year….ugly
The CWS won the WS in 2005 because they got career years out of practically every pitcher on the staff. The offense was pretty mediocre.
CB- 4 of 5 is .800
Stop the presses!! Jorge gets a triple!! Get that man some oxygen!!
Timlin blows away the Indians in the 7th.
This isn’t Farsny or Proctor in there.
CB,
I am too concerned about Mussina. Half of his starts, Offense will bail him out. The other half, Torre needs to have a quick hook. Also, he will be going against the fifth starter of other teams most of the time.
I meant I am NOT too concerned about Mussina.
Posada hits a TRIPLE??? Wow- talk about things going our way.
Mussina was throwing his fastball in the low-mid 80′s occasionally hitting 89-90. If he doesn’t get Maddux-like calls on the corners…he will get hurt badly. At this point he’s not a guy who can challenge hitters and come back from counts that are against him.. Without his control, he now has nothing.
That’s not something you want during crunch time.. but what can the Yankees do?
Posada with the afterburners getting a 3 base hit!
Re Boston, we all know they are nothing special and that the Yankees will probably catch them, however I think Cleveland is really mediocre. Playing over their heads until now, so don’t expect any miracles with them coming back tonight against Boston. Cleveland is riper than Boston for collapse.
i’d like another two or three runs, please. we seem to be leaving a lot of the boys in scoring position. i’d rather we use our “bullpen” tonight than go with viz and mo.
Go NYR,
That’s exactly my concern. 4 out of 5 is .800 which essentially puts enormous pressure on the other four starters one of whom is a rookie.
Another starter puts up a bad performance (which definitely is going to happen) and they are behind the eight ball for that series.
As BBFan said maybe it’ll have to be a combination of the offense and bull pen (scary thought)
Jorge didnt hit a triple, the right fielder played it into a triple
LOL I’m not sure I knew a Jorge triple was even possible!
Too bad we didn’t get that run in but at least Perez’ PC is now at like 87. Hopefully we can knock him out in the next inning and get to that middle relief, which can’t be much better than Tampa’s, can it?
I wouldn’t get too excited about Timlin. We’ll see if he holds up as he has broken down three times over the past two seasons. Granted anyone is better than Farnsy, but I would relax on the praise for Timlin.
Hey they called it a triple. It’s a triple. Give poor Jorge the triple. LOL
I am definitely concerned about Mussina but if Hughes is as goos as he looked against Texas, we can survive with Moose. He’ll have some good outings, some where he battles and some where he stinks. If the offense is clicking it can make up for his deficiencies. Would I prefer an upgrade? Sure, but I think we’ll be okay with him.
we’re missing chances. we shouldda knocked this chump out a couple of innings ago and started eating their pen.
Moose was throwing very hard vs. Tampa, hitting 89 -90 often. The thing is, he lacked command. If he can get his command, keeping that velocity, he can be very helpful doen the stretch
“Granted anyone is better than Farnsy, but I would relax on the praise for Timlin.”
True, but it just so shocking to see a relief pitcher not afraid to challenge hitters and throw strikes. Timlin is light years better than either Farnsworth or Proctor.
We will score some runs this innings and Duncan will be in the middle of it.
And about Moose, I do worry about him too a bit but I guess I think, or at least hope, that it’ll all even out in the end – i.e. for every one bad performance from another starter, Mike will give us good ones. I agree that at this age he absolutely needs to have control and be able to paint the corners, and that is somewhat troublesome, but I still think he can dig deep and find a good outing often enough for us to be okay. Don’t forget he is also often plagued by low run support and has made at least 2 starts this year where he gave up only 1-2 runs and left the game with a ND.
CB,
The biggest worry I have on this team is Mussina. He hasn’t been good in a year. Didn’t pitch great in the second half of the season last year, blew another 2 run post-season lead (third post-season in a row he has done so) and has been awful this year.
You can’t manufacture velocity. He can’t throw hard enough anymore to keep hitters honest and he knows it. That’s why he is whining at umpires from the first inning of every start.
I treat him as a fifth starter. A game they have to score a ton of runs to win. I have zero expectations he will be any better the rest of the season.
Its why Hughes is so important. If he can come back and pitch well, that’s 4 guys you bring to the mound with a chance to win. Its really all you can ask for.
The offense? Still too early to judge. Its impossible to judge an offense off the TB series because their pitching is so awful.
Tonight, its a tad frustrating. Three straight innings leaving RISP, which could have blown this game open. That’s kind of been the way they have hit this season.
But, there are real positive signs. Damon is starting to hit, Matsui is on fire, and Cano is beginning to show signs of life.
If they can milk Duncan for a few weeks and get some solid outings out of him, all the better.
With the Red Sox having 15 more games with the Devil Rays, its going to be tough to win the division. Unless, of course, the Rays play out of their minds.
I do think the WC is VERY possible, if Hughes can come back strong, Clemens, Wang and Andy are solid the rest of the way, another guy emerges (to join Viz and Mo) as a reliable bullpen option, and the offense can be productive.
I am not as sold on the Indians as everyone else is because they have fallen apart late in the year the past two years. That begins to weigh on a team.
Either way, the Yankees just have to keep winning. Usually, when you win, everything else takes care of itself.
… so much for my prediction…..
This is an A bullpen game. We should see Viz and Mo. Interesting to see who else.
SJ44,
I agree with your take. Mussina has to go through a major shift in the way he pitches if he’s going to be effective again.
He’ll have to learn how to pitch without his fastball like a jamie moyer. I don’t see that happening in season this year.
It’ll be a real challenge to win at that high rate with even one starter giving inconsistent performances. It’ll likely be on the offense. Hopefully this isn’t another spurt of runs. I don’t make much of the Tampa series either but even before then the bats looked better, especially matsui.
Question – would you give karstens a shot to be the 7th inning guy/ complement to Vizcaino?
Karstens will likely be up with the big club and there’s been a lot of talk about him as a “long man.” Given how bad the “short guys” have been do they try them there?
Yes, I’m concerned about the Moose, but I’m not comfortable seeing Hughes as our savior either. He’s had, what, 2 major league starts. He hasn’t gotten into trouble and we haven’t seen how he would react if he did. I’m certainly rooting for him, but I’d like to see all of our pitchers do well rather than pin our hopes on a yet untested rookie.
And Boston’s bullpen has been flawless in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, Clemens is going into meltdown in the 6th inning.
nice scoop at first by phillips
Jennifer,
Jorge should get credit for a quadruple. lol.
where is skinny and his slow driving
It looked like he was running in quick sand. Gotta love him though!!
We need to score some runs. Why stop at 4??
Sterling aka Harold Moskowitz on Shelley
“Shelley, you can’t be serious!”
Some meltdown by Clemens.
Yep, what a meltdown by Clemens. He’s at 74 pitches after 6 innings and has given up 3 hits, one a little dribbler down the line. With some great defense behind him (and the “neighborhood rule”), he’s looking fine to me.
They are seriously considering bringing up Joba to pitch late in games, despite his first, sub-average performance Friday night. Fastball/slider combo may make him good for that slot.
meltdown, shmeltdown. i wouldn’t be at all surprised if krazy kyle pitched the 8th though
don’t put it past joe
Good inning by the Rocket and the defense. Now all we need is a little insurance to put this baby to bed.
For those interested I read in the post that the Yankees will be showing a brand new Yankees Classic on August 6. It is the game they played after attending Thruman Munsons funeral.
IGNORE him. You guys have to exercise some self-restraint>
Thanks Jennifer. I remember that game – it will be nice to see it again.
SJ44 – good post.
Cleveland’s starting rotation is coming apart. Sabathia has struggled in his past two starts. Conditioning? Possibly.
Carmona’s cooled off too – he’s a solid #2 or 3 at this point. Byrd and Westbrook don’t scare me… and Cliff Lee doesn’t look like he’s fully healthy.
Bullpen-wise – The Yanks scored 6 of Borowski in the 9th (Arod walk off grand slam anyone?)
Mussina is a 5th starter at this point. Still – if Clemens, Wang, Hughes, and Petitte do what they’ve been doing we’ll be fine.
I’ll take 4 ER over 6 IP from Moose – it’s still better than Igawa.
SJ44 never writes one line entries. It is troll imitating him…..
No problem Lori.
Wait Till Next Year,
NY Newsday and the Bergen Record both reported that Cash said that Joba will not be brought up to the majors.
CB,
I wouldn’t use Karstans in the 7th because he is a touch and feel guy. They need him as the swing guy because you don’t have a lot of guys who can eat innings in the rotation.
He will be more valuable in the “Mendoza Role”, IMO.
The one thing Moose has to do is stop whining to the umpires. Its killing him. These guys will stick it to you if you continue to whine.
IMO, he is the biggest mistake Cashman made this off-season. Cashman should have offered 1+ an option to Moose. If he turned it down, sign Lilly.
Igawa was a bad move but, who knows, maybe the Yankees felt they had to do it to stay in the good graces of the Japanese for players.
Either way, giving Moose 2 guaranteed years was the wrong move and we are seeing the effects of that mistake this season.
SJ44, please don’t mention Lilly. That still ticks me off.
Good, I don’t think they should fool with Joba.
I can see Karstens definitely fits the long man/ swing role well.
They need someone else besides Viz to pitch later innings. I’m going to assume for right now nothing is available in the trade market.
The bull pen help will likely need to come internally from the system.
Doesn’t look like it’ll be Joba.
Who is it?
… There is another reason why Mussina is a bigger mistake compared to Igawa.
At least Igawa can be be sent to minors and he won’t hurt the team. Given his pedigree, unless hurt, Mussina will stay in the rotation even if he stinks.
…They can trade for Dotel. The price may be high.
sj44, hindsight is 20-20. cash had to sign mussina at that point. at the end of last season, who did cash have inked into the rotation? wang and….? pavano. hughes was supposed to stay in the minors. rocket wasn’t even on the horizon yet. igawa ended up being a cheap alternative (a very poor one) to lilly. cash had to do something to put a known quantity into the rotation. mussina has been disappointing this year, but i for one was glad when he was signed.
Yes Lilly wanted to come back to NYC, however he was looking for a 4 year 40-45 million deal…..That would have been a sick deal in 2 years…
So…the deadline is approaching. All we’ve heard so far are rumors. Nothing concrete. The Yankees would do well to land Teixeira. As each day goes by it seems a little less likely. But I also doubt Texas can refuse the wallet and prospects of NY. Some relief would be nice also. Let’s hope Cashman can redeem himself, and bring in a big name to save the season.
Igawa was a desparation move. The lack of starting pitchers does not, in and of itself, somehow justify throwing money away in that fashion.
Playing Brian Cashman…
This year – trade Proctor for Wigginton. Call up Britton. Call up Joba (people forget the Twins used Santana as a reliever – he was filthy – and then transformed into a starter… same with Liriano last year).
That means dumping Farnsworth. Ship him to the Rockies – eat his entire salary for this year – half for next year – that should fetch a couple of solid minor leaguers. Position players preferably.
Dump Myers too. Henn and Villone can fill his spot + Viz can get lefties out too.
Go to war with that team for the rest of ’07.
Now in ’08 – you have more flexibility in the pen. Not many high priced relievers. This way you can dip into your system and call up some of these young players because they still have options. Horne, Marquez, Ohlendorf, White, Wright etc – most of them will end up in the pen – can’t all be starters.
Trade Moose in the off-season if possible – he has a no trade but I think he’d OK a deal to an east coast team. Pitching starved Philly? Atlanta? Maybe Cleveland??
Go into the season with Wang, Petitte, Hughes, Chamberlin, and an open audition for the 5th spot. Karstens? Mussina if you can’t dump him.
Give Posada a 2yr-28 million dollar contract. He’s having a big season in his walk year. You’re not getting him for cheaper. Give him a vesting option based on ABs for a 3rd year.
Rivera – 2yrs for $25M. He hasn’t lost it. And you have to overpay to keep him. At least until Whelan’s ready.
Find a way to keep Arod in pinstripes. We know the details and what’s at stake.
Pick up Abreu’s option. Given the age of the outfield. We can’t go in with Matsui, Damon, and Melky. If someone gets hurt – we’re screwed. If Abreu comes back – Melky still gets 400 ABs. This way you can monitor Austin Jackson and Tabata too. They’ll likely be in AA ball so you can better project them for the future.
Perhaps – if you can find a taker for Damon do it. Especially if he has a big second half.
I’d play Melky in CF. I think Damon has a half-season left after ’07. He’ll be deadweight in ’09. Cut your losses.
Find ways to play Posada at 1B. That could be your answer at 1B. Slowly transition him to first and find a back-up catcher who can play 60 games. That’s the big challenge. Saltamacchia from Atlanta would be nice. I’d be willing to give up Kennedy to get him. You can play Salt at C some with Posada too. Then gradually get Posada to play 1B where he’d get spelled by Phillips. You’d need a third catcher. But pretty much Salt, Posada, and Phillips would be your C/1B triumvirate.
Giambi DHs. Hopefully he gets hurt – and then we’re done wiht his contract. I’d say move him – but it’s not realistic.
Cumberberg,
My move would have been Lilly. He was willing to take less money to sign with NY.
I would have told Moose, 1 year + and an option or no deal. If it was good enough for Pettitte, it should have been good enough for Moose.
The signs were there with him that he was on the downside. Back for one year? No problem with that at all. Committing to 13 million for the second year? Not a good move, IMO.
Didn’t like it then, don’t like it now.
But, what can you do? What’s done is done.
Can’t ask for anymore from Roger. I’ll take 2 runs over 7 innings every night from him. This team pounded the ball in Detroit this past weekend. That’s a solid effort.
Now, the offense needs some tack on runs. Can’t depend on the bullpen to hold this lead. Gotta make it easier for them.
Mussina has a good run left in him soon. He has pitched too long and it’s not like he ever really had much power to rely on. He varies his speeds and hits his spots. No reason he can’t be competitive.
I see a resurrection from Moose soon. Just like Vizcaino, Abreu, Matsui, Cano, Damon and Mo. Hang in there Yankee faithful.
Beeg, sure TEX would be interested in having some of our prospects, but there’s no way Cash is gonna be interested in giving them up. That leaves George’s big fat wallet as the sole motivator, and I don’t care how much $ we give them, the Rangers won’t give up one of their best guys without solid on-field return, so I’m afraid to tell you to forget it, it just ain’t gonna happen.
“I see a resurrection from Moose soon. Just like Vizcaino, Abreu, Matsui, Cano, Damon and Mo. Hang in there Yankee faithful.”
Incredibly idiotic.
Mussina is toast. He just can’t afford to throw 88mph. He doesn’t have that running fastball like Maddux, so it’s pretty much batting practice now.
SJ44 – Re-signing Moose was at the time a better option than Lilly or Meche. Lilly’s blossoming in the NL remember that. And I’m not sold on him for 4yrs. Especially with the young arms coming up. Moose would have gotten more on the open market – the Yanks went for a sure thing. On the decline yes, but a finesse pitcher who knows NY.
I wasn’t thrilled either – but slim pickings. Meche and Lilly scared me for 4-5 years as opposed to 2 for Moose. Like I said – Moose will have value in the offseason – if he waves his NTC (last year of deal, pitching is scarce) – you’re telling me Philly wouldn’t take a vet like Moose?
SJ44, Part of me suspects that the Yanks were not hard over on Lilly because they’d already traded him away and to bring him back at high cost (even if he’d been willing to take less than what the Cubs offered) would have been a loss of face for the Yankee brain trust. Here’s a guy used to pitching in the heat of the AL East and motivated enough to play for the Yanks that he was asking for less money. I still can’t believe we went for Igawa instead.
Anybody else still want to trade Cano…he has already proven as a great 2nd half player, and was struggling but still hitting .260. You guys were nuts calling to trade a 24 year old 2B who will hit .300 and have 85 RBIs on a so called “down” year.
Forgot about Igawa in my “playing Cashman” … Send Igawa to an island with Sam Militello, Wade Taylor, and Jeff Johnson. Some of you may be too young. But it was only 15-16 years ago – when that’s who the Yankees started – ON CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS!
Would Igawa benefit more from being moved to that middle reliever position instead of going back to Tampa or Scranton? He has to be better than double K, and could be a good set up for Viz or Mo.
Kamienecki was in that group, too.
BD – Not a chance. Relievers need to throw strikes. Igawa walks the ballpark. You’d trust bringing him into a game with runners on? Don’t think so
Cumberberg, I agree with you. There’s noone whose posts I look for more than SJ, but at the time I thought Mussina for 11 mill or whatever seemed good too. I thought he was consistent for them last year, though I didn’t realize how bad his second half was. I really thought he’d be fine as long as he had his 4 days’ rest, no rain delays, and no A-Rod errors. He hasn’t performed, just like a lot of the vets. I’m starting to become convinced he won’t be better, but isn’t he supposed to be one of those guys that “knows how to pitch”? Who knows. It really does seem like he should be the 5th man in the rotation, but let’s say the Yanks make the playoffs. They’d go with a 4-man rotation, and what are the chances they’d choose Hughes over Mussina?
Apologies if someone’s already posted this somewhere, but what are the rules for the suspended game against the O’s? Starts in the 8th with Jeter on 2nd and 2 outs, right? Any limitations on who can pitch? Is Mora allowed to play or does his ejection stand? Are the lineups fixed?
who is getting the 8th. i can’t watch these games!!!
viz…got it
Kammy was in that group. But he hung around for a while. Those other guys came and left. Kammy pitched in a playoff game in 95, got hurt in ’96 I think. Then went to the O’s for a few years I believe
I think the reason they didn’t sign Lilly was because he was a player they would have to keep in the rotation for the 4 years. That was too long with the kids coming up. With Igawa they saw a lefty strikeout pitcher, who would probably be replaced in the rotation by Hughes. The folly of this was counting on Pavano to be healthy, but they gambled that Carl was working hard in the offseason and luck alone would say he would be healthy and willing, he wasn’t. Igawa will be very successful when he gets to the bullpen. He usually does pretty well first time through a lineup. That’s my take.
Good point, but I think I would trust him for an inning or two in the middle more than I would expect a win out of him from the beginning. And if I had a choice between farnsworth or Igawa to come in in the 8th, I take Igawa. I would follow up my choice by going to bed. But it would still be my choice.
“people forget the Twins used Santana as a reliever – he was filthy – and then transformed into a starter… same with Liriano last year”
How did that Liriano move pan out again?I seem to recall TJ surgery. Let Joba pitch in AA and have him ready to start next season.
Not so sure the Teixeira deal can’t be done. The Yankees have been fine dealing prospects for 10 years now. New York is the city of instant gratification. They can’t afford to wait and see how prospects pan out. The fans, and management both want a run at the division this year and that’s a fact, as it has been for two decades now. Texas has dipped Teixeira, Sosa, and others into the trade pool. I don’t know why Texas would trade Teixeira, but then again they have one of the worst GMs. Every year they have good hitting, but pitching doesn’t seem to matter to them. They never go after any pitching, and it’s no wonder why they’re bottom dwellers out west.
I remember Johsnon, Taylor and Kamienecki sweeping a series at Fenway, and they were heralded as stars of the future.
Let’s all hail the mighty Red Sox, who demolished the Indians 6-2 today,…all hail the Red Sox, Paul….They have had the division crown won since April….all hail Paul and his ability to be the most negative person in the universe….all hail Paul !
Liriano had an injury history from when he was in the Giants system. That’s why they traded him for AJ Pierzynski.
How’s Santana worked out btw?
People forget the Yankees had a starter in ’95 – he was so-so. They moved him to the pen in September and he was the team’s best post-season pitcher that year.
What was his name?? Oh right – MARIANO RIVERA.
You can move guys from the pen to the rotation and vice versa
Cashman would have been raked over the coals if signed Lilly, Menche….Lilly is having a nice season so far in the NL, however year 3, year 4 he’d be a bad contract that would be totally against the plans for the rotation in a fews years….Also consider the luxury tax implications…Yeah Igawa looks shakey right now, I still contend that he’ll improve next year….He needs to understand pitching in the MLB….His big problem for the most part is that he doesn’t know how to pitch effectivley when he’s ahead in the count…He nibbles way too much…..
Wade and JJ, ugh, why don’t you throw in Andy Hawkins as well!!!.
Viz looks sharp
SJ44 said:
“When a guy is 3-27 against a particular pitcher, it makes sense to sit him.”
No it doesn’t. Just because something is done doesn’t mean it “makes sense.” This is an underpowered sample, from which these drastic conclusions cant possibly be drawn.
“Right now, all the Yankees need to do is keep winning games and series. If they do, things will work out.”
That reversal of attitude happened sooner than even I expected.
“The biggest worry I have on this team is Mussina. He hasn’t been good in a year. Didn’t pitch great in the second half of the season last year, blew another 2 run post-season lead (third post-season in a row he has done so) and has been awful this year.”
Last week you wanted to boot Cano and Proctor, now Mussina is keeping ya up at night. Earth to SJ44, Moose has never been a velocity pitcher. His numbers really aren’t terrible. Not great admittedly, but certainly good enough to be a solid 5th guy.
Your comments and banishments curiously come right after a players worst slump or game. Remember the diatribe on how the yanks must trade Cano about a week ago?!? How do you feel about that insight now?
In Moose’s case, he has had roughly 4 or 5 bad outings this season. Thats it. He hasn’t been stellar, but the yanks could easily have won any of the other outings. The game against tampa was certainly his worst, and its no wonder that your anti-moose rant is logged at this time. I bet he turns it around, becoming a valuable pitcher down the stretch. We are gonna need him to pitch some big games for us, and I am confident he will rise to the occasion.
To really be able to evaluate talent, you need to be able to see through the slumps, even long unbearable slumps to realize you have a gem that can turn it on when it counts most.
BJ
he’s the Viz !
Damn that is nice. A reliever not named Mo getting outs, throwing strikes!
Re: Mussina – “blew another 2 run post-season lead (third post-season in a row he has done so)”
Unless I missed something, he didn’t actually blow any leads in ’04. In 3 starts: lost 2-0 in ALDS Game 1, left in the 7th inning with an 8-3 lead in ALCS Game 1, and left in the 7th with a 4-2 lead in Game 5.
Very strong inning by Viz.
His improvement couldn’t have come at a better time.
How good does the Randy Johnson deal look now?
Greatest Game to sum up the early 90 Yankees…Andy Hawkins pitches a No Hitter……….and loses 4-0.
Oh the good ol days!
Will said:
“Anybody else still want to trade Cano…he has already proven as a great 2nd half player, and was struggling but still hitting .260. You guys were nuts calling to trade a 24 year old 2B who will hit .300 and have 85 RBIs on a so called “downâ€? year.”
If you refer back to my comments last week, I upbraided SJ44 in obstreperous fashion at the though of such a foolish move. You would be hard pressed to come up with a trade even remotely attractive enough to move this guy.
I don’t even care so much about his bat, his defense has been absolutely terrific. Why anyone would want to trade a young great fielding 2nd baseman in this league is beyond me. One that almost won the batting title last year no less.
Cano is perhaps one of the last guys on this roster that you move.
BTW, for all of the tempering of our offense against Tampa, name another team that scored as many runs against them this season over 3 games. They stink, but our offense is terrific.
BJ
Moose is done…..He’ll have an occasional decent start, but he hasn’t been the same since his groin injury last mid season….He may be able to get away with that weak shit in the NL….Maybe Philly or Pittsburgh would welcome him being he’s from the Keystone State….Put a fork in him, he’s done man…..
Your 1991 Yankees
http://www.baseball-reference......1991.shtml
Seeing John Habyn there crack me up. I remember Stump Merril abused him – I mean he pitched him all the time. Imagine what Torre would do with Habyn – only kidding!
I can’t fathom there’s some Yankee fans who don’t remember Hensley Bam Bam Muelens.
They just know going to the playoffs. Boy – there were some lean years.
Nokes, Espinoza, Barfield, Mel Hall.
That team was gross
I could see a trade for Teix happening at the midnight hour…the rumor is the asking price is coming down. Just like the Abreu situation last year, Cash can afford to wait patiently and then pounce at the last moment with a low ball offer and hope the Rangers bite. Originally, they notified Cash it would take Hughes or Joba, of course Cash politely declined. Cash is in the driver’s seat…the Rangers need to make a deal, not us. This resurgence and the emergence of Shelley and Phillips gives us all the leverage. I could see a last minute deal for Teix, where we eat his whole salary and send two of second tier pitching prospects, Proctor, and a fourth throw away.
Cumberberg – Here’s the rule for the resumption on the Baltimore game:
4.12(c) A suspended game shall be resumed at the exact point of suspension of the original game. The completion of a suspended game is a continuation of the original game. The lineup and batting order of both teams shall be exactly the same as the lineup and batting order at the moment of suspension, subject to the rules governing substitution. Any player may be replaced by a player who had not been in the game prior to the suspension. No player removed before the suspension may be returned to the lineup.
A player who was not with the club when the game was suspended may be used as a substitute, even if he has taken the place of a player no longer with the club who would not have been eligible because he had been removed from the lineup before the game was suspended.
Pete -
Might be time for everyone to give a little love to Kevin Long:
Gets Cano back into the cages early before games; Cano heats up
Fixes mechanical flaw in Abreu
Works with ARod before season; ARod career year
Duncan still has a long-ish swing, but he’s better than he was at Trenton two years ago. His hitting coach last year? Kevin Long
Now Damon is starting to hit the ball with some authority again
I could be wrong, but I just don’t think the Texeira deal can happen without a deal that would wind up hurting us big time down the road.
Despite the nice run we’ve been having lately, the fact remains that even if we make the playoffs, this team is just not a championship caliber team, and adding another bat is not going to change that. Ouw pitching is just way too unreliable. You can’t get yourself a title with two good relievers and two reliable starters (yes I am calling Hughes unreliable, not yet anyway).
Plus there’s the fact that we are due for a bit of a rebuilding phase. Just look at our roster. we’re not getting any younger. Coughing up prospects for rental vets is a bad thing to do in that situtation.
I wouldn’t mind having Texiera, but I just think the price would be too high, even if it does go down a bit.
Ahhh…the 1991 team…Poor Bernie got abused by those jerkoffs Mel Hall & Jesse Barfield.
We, as a blogging community, should buy him a housewarming gift. A candle or some potpourri. Something to say “welcome home A-Rod.”
For all the Cash haters – he has been trying to do the impossible – Contend in NY and rebuild on the fly.
The young pitchers are coming. Wang and Cano and Melky are here.
I trust him – the way he’s stocking the system – with Wang, Hughes, and Joba. By ’09 they’ll be scary again.
Scooter,
That’s an excellent point. Thanks for bringing that up.
How much flack was Kevin Long taking earlier in the season?
You didn’t even need to mention all of the off season work he did with ARod.
ARod loves the guy – said he was the, “best kept secret in all of baseball,” and many people were demanding “accountability” for the lousy hitting by having him fired.
Dare I say it? Clutch-Rod – with RBI #100
Welcoming gift – how bout a t-shirt for Cynthia Rodriguez.
It will say “THANK YOU!”
Or one of those classy pastel sweatshirts with GREENWICH CT written across the front.
Every Yankee has a hit, and Damon has 3 of the current 12 hits for the Yankees.
Wang is just a middle of the rotation guy on a good starting staff.
You can’t say clutch-rod until he does it in the postseason.
Moose has never been a hard thrower? He was throwing 94-96 when he was with the Orioles.
In his four years with the Yankees, he was consistently 91-94. Last year, he was at 90 most starts.
This year, he is 85-88 and 88 is on good days. The few times he has touched 90 this year, they were pitches out of the strikezone.
He’s not even close to the same pitcher he was and he was a hard thrower.
Take a look at Ian Kennedy in Trenton. He throws like Moose did in his first 4 years in NY and its a helluva lot harder than 85-88.
Sorry, but I see Moose as a #5 starter at best. At 13 million a year, too rich for my tastes.
Nobody Beats the Viz.
I wouldn’t be willing to move any of our top prospects…but I would be willing to move one of these guys: Horne or Kennedy, with one of these guys: Clippard or Wright, with Proctor, I used to like him a lot, and still do, but Joe’s overuse has taken it’s toll. I see him breaking down in the next few years, other teams are still high on him so if not in this deal we should move him for Betemit or Wigginton to shore up the bench…throw in an extra mid level prospect and Texas might take that…
It would be worth 1.5 years of Teix, I think. He’s a gold glove fielder, switch hitter, with power, at a position of need. Obviously we’ll still have some pitching issues, but I’d rather get Teix than a guy like Dotel, who isn’t much of an upgrade over what we have now.
I think the pendulum has swung too far, now prospects are being overvalued and older players undervalued, the opposite of a few years ago. Even if we can’t resign Teix, we will get draft picks for him, which will be a nice change from giving draft picks away.
Yesssss!!!
….I guess Duncan has to get the chance to bat again!!!!!
Tack on runs are so sweet –
About Moose, I would guess that if anyone can figure out a way to make the adjustment to a loss of velocity he’s the guy.
People get down on Moose cause he can be a prima donna and too particular about things, but I think he is still capable of being a 3 or 4 caliber guy if he gets his head right. Joe has had a quick hook with him lately and we’ll have to cope with that until he works through this slump.
I’m sorry, you’ll have to show me video to prove to me that Moose ever hit 96 on the radar. Especially over the last 6 plus years as a Yankee. Not that I really want to defend him, I was at the playoff game he blew that basically ruined the playoffs last year. I said at the time I didn’t want him as any better than our 4th starter and guess what, that’s what he is right now, and soon to be 5th. We can live with that. Anyway, my point is, there is so much instant analysis, but seasons are long and I believe Moose has at least a productive streak left this season. A few days ago you were talking about how we had 2 problems, Farnsworth and Damon. I notice you don’t mention Damon as a problem any more. I suspect Moose will turn it around and you (and the board) will be on to calling out someone else.
The only way I go after Tex is if he signs an extension. If not, its not worth it, IMO.
If he wants to sign an extension, that’s a whole different deal because at 27, its rare to find a power hitter on the market that young. Especially, a SH.
That would enable the Yankees to keep Melky in CF next year, keep most of their pitching prospects, and really set up the future nicely.
Horne or Kennedy? It would definitely take one of them to get him. Its the right thing to do if he wants to stay in NY. The reports say he wants to go home to Baltimore. We shall see.
Paul — if you think Wang is a middle-range starter on a good team… you are showing that you just don’t know baseball.
He throws mid-90′s with one of the most devastating sinkers you can find anywhere in the major leagues right now… gets 7IP a start, and rarely ever has a truly bad start.
and he’s what, 27?
If you would pick Lester of Wang — you’re crazy
He will never agree to an extension before the trade, but if he leaves after 1.5 years we will get draft picks compensation for him. Now that the Yanks have shown they are serious about the draft and competent, that shouldn’t be ignored.
Horne or Kennedy, Wright or Clippared, Proctor, and a throw away are worth it for 1.5 years of Teix plus draft picks. If we resign him then it’s an added bonus. It will probably take more than that package to get him, at which point I’d say no thanks. But if they get desperate enough at the last minute, it could work.
I agree, no Tex without an extension. I bet Texas can’t trade him and eventually just resigns him. Every team is fluch with cash now and most good free agents seem to resign with their current teams. This upcoming crop may be one of the worst in a long time especially if Zambrano and Mo sign.
Texiera for Proctor, Clippard, and another minor leaguer — would be a steal…
Clippard doesn’t project to be anything to special to me.
Since I brought up the Moose subject…
Moose has always been a pitcher who has pitched off of his fastball. It set up the rest of his repertoire.
He’s lost a considerable amount off that fastball now. SJ44 is absolutely right – he’s down into the mid-eighties now.
That’s a problem. He has to be perfect with the rest of his pitches/ location otherwise he gets hit. That’s the story of his year so far. Needing to be perfect is a tough way to get by in the American League.
He might figure out another way but has been unable to so far this year so I see little reason why it’s going to snap into place all of a sudden in August.
That said, I liked Cashman’s signing of him in the off season and don’t blame him for it. It was clear by the numbers/years being thrown around the free agent pitching market was going to be ugly.
Mussina was signed very early before the free agent market really got under way and I think he could have signed for three years if he’d really tested the waters.
As it is Mussina hasn’t been very good and his starts are an obstacle the offense will likely have to overcome.
SJ,
I don’t dispute his velocity is down. Thats what happens when you get older. Roger isn’t exactly flamethrowin either. My point is that the Moose can and is still a very important part of this team. He has been successful on the mound far more times this year than he has failed.
I am in agreement with you on him being an expensive number 5, but until I get the bill, I’m not gonna lose sleep over that contract. I can think of much more colossal wastes of money the cash man has signed over recent years than a near career hall of fame pitcher with big game experience and success.
Imagine the scenario if and when we make it to a 7 game series in the playoffs. We will have Wang, Pettite, The Rocket, Hughes, and The Moose. That is one hell of a rotation, I don’t care who we face. Hughes needs to get here though.
Sit tight on the moose, he will make ya proud.
I was wrong about Viz, and his resurgence is tremendous for this team. I think its perhaps one of the most important differences in this team. I still want to see him do well in more low scoring one run games. That is what October is about, not winning two blowouts against the bad news bears.
BJ
The KC broadcaster sounds respectful of the Yankees, unlike everyone else in baseball. He actually sounds happy that the Yankees have scored only 9 tonight. KC’s moving on up, they’ve actually earned the right to laugh at Tampa Bay. lol. KC is only 9 games under .500 and have the same record as the White Sox. Crazy.
Mussina is done….He hasn’t been the same since he came of the DL last summer….He was really a cheap two year stop gap much like Pettite….Maybe he’ll accept a trade to Philly or even Pittsburgh, being he’s from the Keystone State….He could get by in the NL, just like Lilly…..Any thing more than 2 year deals this past off season would have blocked the future wave of quality young arms that are getting real close……Moose is done, put a fork in him…..Just remember game 2 in last’s years ALDS…..
SJ, if he ever wants to win anything in his career I’m sure he could be talked out of Baltimore. I get the hometown thing, but they are and have been for a while one of the most ineptly run franchises around. They have nothing. I’m sure after spending his entire career in Purgatory (aka Texas), he’s hungary for the postseason and not another loser.
I also agree with you on the extension. I didn’t quite realize how young he is and if we can get him locked up, he could be a nice asset for the future.
But, unless the price comes down a good bit from “Joba or Franchise” AND we can lock him for a while I still think it’s a moot point.
Go look at his playoff game in ’95 with the Orioles Jeff. The game he has the 14 K’s. Consistently 94-96.
Folks forget just how hard Moose threw when he was in Baltimore. That’s why he was such a hot commodity as a FA. He had velocity and the assortment of breaking pitches.
He was above 92 all night the night he almost had the perfect game in Boston. That’s how he amassed so many K’s in his career.
Except for Roger Clemens, its tough to be a power pitcher at 37 so, Moose has had to re-invent himself over the years. Just hasn’t “aged well”, unfortunately.
“KC’s moving on up, they’ve actually earned the right to laugh at Tampa Bay.”
Good one.
The Viz and the Vil ! Great night again to be a true Yankee fan. Of the 4 teams we are fighting for the 2 playoff spots ( the wild card and our division, of course ), we are gonna pick up a game on 3 of them ( Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland ) Another great game, another great night ! The sweep or 3 out of 4 ? I’ll take the sweep !
What did the Yanks telecast show for Clemens’ fastball?
The Royals gun had him at around 90 for the whole game.
Just five games behnd in the loss column for WC with 63 games left.
Still not convinced we are a serious playoff contender?
I think part of the reason Moose is so cranky after losses esp. ones involving poor defense is that he has some crazy rare streak going. Like consecutive 15 win seasons? I was reading an article about Wil Nieves and he was literally upset because they had done some nice things together. He credited Wil for getting him through some tough games. There was a quote from Torre (?) that he wasn’t anticipating any problems getting used to Posada. Like Mike hasn’t worked with Jorgy all these years?! Moose is a good pitcher and deserves some slack, but he’s such a downer. Ugh.
Well anyway, we have now won 15 of 20. Think about that. That’s a .750 clip for 1/8 of the season. We also cut the Cleveland lead to 5.5, that’s the closest it has been in a long long time, I’m sure we’ll hear soon. Tomorrow is a bit of a must win with Wang pitching and then Moose and Kei in the next two. Figure we’ll split those last two, so to continue our winning series we need Wang to win tomorrow. I will say this though, if Wang matches is last outing 3 ER’a in 7 innings, I think we’ll win handily, the offense is flying right now.
CB said
“He might figure out another way but has been unable to so far this year so I see little reason why it’s going to snap into place all of a sudden in August.”
This simply isn’t true. I appreciate your analysis, but you and SJ44 are getting too caught up in his most recent and immediate failure.
The Moose has pitched effectively more often than not this year. Citing velocity numbers isn’t enough to declare him a failure. He has had 4-5 bad games. The rest were all winnable.
Prior to his tampa meltdown he pitched 7 consecutive games of 3 earned runs or less. He has 8 games of 2 earned runs or less and 11 with 3 earned runs or less. The meltdowns have been bad, skewing his numbers a bit. Not a great season by any means, but far more effective than the velocity nazis would have you believe. Certainly better than number 5 starter numbers. He is giving a good shot to win roughly 70% of the time, and with the way this team is hitting, even better than that.
Further, a solid bullpen would have saved him even more of those earned runs, something that seems to be coming to fruition of late.
We don’t have anyone else even close to a velocity starved moose to even consider replacing him with.
Leave the Moose alone, he will be fine.
BJ
BJ,
Besides, isn’t it illegal to kill a Moose?
Nobody beats the Viz. Nobody. Not even Crazy Manny.
Clippard and Proctor for Texeira would be great, but it ain’t going to happen. Sox want him, and will make a stupid trade (Gabbard, Lester?) to get it done. We’re not going to match that, so hope he goes to the Dodgers.
BP is starting to settle–that’s the real problem with this team.
If Torre and Guidry can keep Viz fresh and on target, and get one of the other motley crew to pitch the seventh with consistency, I think they may have it in them. If they pull this one out, Torre deserves manager of the year. He won’t get it of course, sicne the Yankees are supposed to win every year, but nonetheless he will deserve it.
If they get to the playoffs, ARod will go nuts–and it will cost the NYY about $30 million more.
To the Red Sox trolls: if they are in first place come October 3rd, I’ll tip my cap, and hopefully watch the Yankees kick the crap out of them in the ALCS. However, that’s a big, big if. Pitching two near rookies (plus a Japan first year import) in your rotation, huh–where did I see that earlier this year???
Clippard’s a #5 guy. He’s a big league pitcher though. Good trading chip though. Kennedy too I think is expendable in the right deal. The Yanks are hyping him – he’s not a hard thrower. Probably to build his value up.
They did it with Eric Milton too. Remember he was an untouchable. So was Brandon Claussen.
Milton fetched Knobby. Claussen got Neagle in 2000.
Kennedy could bring a nice return.
Let’s put things into perspective….In the first round of the playoffs, teaans generally go with a 3 man rotation….As of now, it would be Wang, Pettite, and Clemens….Agree or disagree…..
Gagne’s in the middle of blowing a 4 run lead.
As a Sox fan I have always respected Mussina as a player so just replying to this message with the old “Red Sox troll” accusation won’t be very creative or accurate. That being said I think it is wishful thinking to say that Moose will be fine. He simply is not the pitcher he used to be. If one does not want to talk about velocity then lets talk about his record and his ERA. His record is 4-7 and his ERA is 4.97 and those stats are not really much better than other number five starters. Tavarez who Yankee fans love to slam has a record of 5-8 and and ERA of 5.27 not to mention that two of his wins were against the Yankees.
tonight the yanks started 6 of the 9 guys were from there minor leagues.. I thought they buy there whole team!!!!!
jeter, posada, cano, melky, duncan, posada, all were developed in house. damon and hideki were FA and Arod in a trade…Not bad………….
6 of 9 guys from the farm………..
joe torre just said that johnny damon will be at DH tommorow..so shelly sits..
Terrible baserunning by Jose Lopez of Seatller just idiotic..
Moose could still be a decent pitcher if he was a little smarter.. I know he went to Stanford but he is not a smart pitcher.. He can throw 88, you can win at 88 with off speed stuff.
Maybe he will retire after this yr….
yeah right stuart..and leave 11 mill on the table
Jon,
I like Shelly and have followed him all year at Scranton.
That said, if Damon is going to hit he absolutely needs to play.
They are a much better team with him effective and in the line up.
He looks like he’s heating up. Not just the past two days. The yankees coaches have been saying for almost two weeks that they can see a difference in his at bats and it was only a matter of time before he started hitting.
Joba and kennedy at triple A, yeehaw
joe,
you bet!
http://blog.nj.com/timesupdate....._erie.html
Pat M…Disagree. Most teams go with a 4 man rotation. The rare exceptions that go with a 3 man rotation are the teams that have several horses in the rotation, because going with a three man rotation means somebody’s gonna have to go on 3 days rest. Given the age of the Yankees starting staff, there’s no way the Yanks would do that.
However, Wang, Pettitte and Clemens match up well with anybody’s 1-2-3, and Mussina could POTENTIALLY match up well with another team’s #4.
If Hughes is really good when he comes back, he could potentially earn a start in the postseason, Wang got the ball in Game 2 in 2005 as a rookie so the precedent is there. But i would think it’s Moose’s job to lose.
Starting pitching isn’t the problem…if this team can get to the postseason, I think an 8th inning guy is the biggest need in terms of making a run in said postseason.
they get promoted?
Here’s a full version of that same story:
http://www.nj.com/thunder/time.....038;coll=5
Whelan has been promoted back to Trenton after his mechanics were fixed at Tampa. I would assume he’ll return to the pen
Brett Smith has just been demoted to Tampa (to fix mechanics as well)
At Trenton:
Jones
Marquez
Horne
Clippard
Wright
Jackson
At Scranton:
Chamberlain
Kennedy
Ohlendorf
DeSalvo
White
Karstens
Hughes
Hughes probably bumps Igawa back to Scranton. Karstens at some point will be a long guy in the pen in the Bronx.
We could see Ohlendorf move to the Scranton pen – a power arm with a 94 MPH sinker recovering from a bad back. We could see him as a factor in the Yankee pen before September.
Very big news. To disrupt clippard and wright’s development that way isn’t an easy step to take.
Really speaks to how much they believe in chamberlain and kennedy.
They’re proabably seeing if they fit in for the rotation next year or possibly addition to a play off roster.
Why did Clippard get droped to AA?
AL
He had some relatively poor numbers since being demoted from the Bronx. In part, it’s a way for Clippard to rebuild his confidence, and find what was working earlier in the year, with the Trenton pitching coach Eldred
Here’s more info from Scranton Yankees beat writer Chad Jennings:
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....fault.aspx
CB hit the nail on the head here – it’s not so much that Clippard and Wright have been bad… more that Chamberlain and Kennedy have been so good
Scooter,
I completely agree on ohlendorf. I hope this was all his back and he starts throwing well again (first two starts in scranton since coming back – mediocre). I’d like to see if he can help in the pen in the majors.
His stuff says he should but the performance hasn’t been there. Hopefully the back was the cause and its’ better now.
Clearly the organization has to believe in ohlendorf because they didn’t send him down (or is Cash trying to insist on making the RJ trade pan out more?)
Al,
Clippard has unfortunately completely lost the plate. His call up was unfortunately a major set back in his development.
He lost his command in the big leagues and it didn’t come back in Scranton.
That said, Chamberlain and Kennedy are considered the future of the organization along with Hughes.
The system is overflowing with very talented arms and the numbers game is becoming something of a problem. Only the very elite prospects are going to be moved through the system unimpeded.
I wonder if any of the quitters have jumped back on the bandwagon yet?
I’m STILL not over that pine tar call being reversed. All these years later. How can a league president over-rule his umpires? Shouldn’t he show support for them? All they did was follow the rulebook. Yanks went downhill that season after losing that game.
I’m still bitter.