Today in the Journal News
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- July
- 26
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Alex Rodriguez hit No. 499 and Mike Mussina hit his spots as the Yankees stayed on a roll with a 7-1 victory against Kansas City
Jason Giambi starts a rehab assignment on Saturday. This notebook also has word of IRS troubles for a team employee and an update on Phil Hughes.
Robinson Cano is learning how to be selective at the plate.
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on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 4:12 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
the Yanks have made up *6* games on seattle in *one* week. hopefully, we’ll keep playing well!
_Giambi did base-running drills yesterday and said he felt no pain.
“I’m fired up. It’s gone faster than I expected,” said Giambi while eating a pizza._
Sounds like he’s in good enough shape to trade.
I know, he’d have to approve the deal, but does he really want to sit on the bench, instead of hitting behind Vlad, in Anaheim.
In the vein of A-Rod chasing 500 while Bonds chases the World’s Most Dubious Achievement, add this to the ever growing evidence of Bonds’ gentle side. During the recent HBO Costas-Schilling interview, 38pitches.com calls out Bonds (again) and throws in Canseco, and McGwire. Bonds responded, sort of, in that endearing way of his, which shows why so many people root for him.
According to the AP, Bonds said Wednesday that Costas was a “midget who knows [nothing] about baseball.”
On second thought, I guess Bonds isn’t wrong about everything.
Which leads me to the following proposal for the All Star Break next year: how about right before the Home Run Derby, they have a mud wrestling match between Big Bob Costas and Mikey (Loopy) Lupica? Winner gets the title of World’s Most Self-important Man under 5′5″ and the loser has to work for the Yankees as Acting Traveling Secretary for one year. (I hear the job may be open).
I posted these comments before but I think they are relevant here.Great win for the Yankees last night. This was against a major league pitcher too. As far as Giambi here is a few thoughts. This guy has not faced major league pitching for long while. Going to Tampa for a few games is not going to help him. Let him play the rehab route all the pitchers have. Let him play at Scranton for a few weeks and then if he is doing well bring him back. Right now the team does not need a player coming off the DL who has to play himself back into shape and get his timing. We have sat through that scenario over and over. It is now time to win not let out of shape players play themselves back into shape on the major league roster.
Is anyone still questioning Cano’s work ethic?
in response to the ‘trade Giambi’ crowd, there was actually buzz i read today about the Yankees checking in with the Braves to see if they were interested in Johnny Damon.
I guess if the Yankees feel Giambi will be healthy enough to come back within a week or so, he can take over at DH, and leave Damon expendable with Melky handling full time CF duties.
even more intriguing, the braves showed interested, but reportedly ‘not at that price.’
The anti Yank trolls and the people who said the season was over have been really quiet since the beginning of July.
Why could that be?
Schilling had his chance to say what he really felt when interviewed by Congress. He proved to be all bark and no bite. Just a loudmouth jerk with no substance. He was more embarrassing than McGwire that day.
He should keep his big mouth shut.
Giambi should help the bench become deeper and add power but he shouldn’t take at bats away and games away from Melky.
I think Torre has to reward defense and keep the best defensive team on the field.
IMO, I would rather have Damon than Giambi. I think Damon makes this team go more than Giambi does. Damon would allow us to be more flexible with the DH. It’s not like missed Giambi a lot considering the lefties in the lineup decided to start hitting again.
Finally, Cano is getting some instruction on being selective at the plate and it’s working.
Schilling is someone that needs to go away. He loves attention and HBO is dumb enough to give it him. I can’t STAND Bob Costas or Bryant Dumbel.
Who hates Bonds more?
Costas or Lupica?
There wouldn’t be a whole Bonds outcry if he wasn’t such an absolute jerk.
This is sportswriters who have been abused by him for 20 years finally getting even with his jerk attitude.
The thing is I don’t think Bonds cares in the slightest what they write about him or what people think. Hes not out to make friends and has never been.
If McGwire was aiming for 755 I bet there wouldn’t be this push against it. Its middle aged white sports writers who cant stand the fact that Bonds will be #1. That’s it. No one in this country cares in the slightest about juice.
just when you think you can predict baseball , you remember its baseball . moose wasnt lights out but he did get the big out when he needed it . meche looked good – not 55 mil over 5 yrs good but good none-the-less . i didnt think a-rod was going to hit #499 or any homeruns in k.c. but i’m glad he did . just for the record , its not that i hated a-rod but i expected more form the highest paid player in the land . that , and his interviews were terrible . now lets see if igawa can hold his own .
I wonder if the people who were so adamant about trading or demoting Cano will still want that?
Patience is a virtue people.
I love this time of year with all the trade rumors flying aruond…
two that I thought were interesting (and probably meritless) were
if the Angels fail to land a big bat in Texieria, with Colon ailing and Santana blowing chunks (demoted), they’d probably want to keep as much pitching as possible and not trade away prospects for a Tex deal. So one possibility that could be had for just money would be… our Giambi. A Southern Cal resident and someone who might wave his no-trade for a team in first place. (Joel Sherman – NY Post)
“link to article”:http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262007/sports/yankees/mark_it_down_yankees_joel_sherman.htm
Another is Texas and Atlanta are working out a deal for Tex for Salty and two prospects. So it would seem that they are in the forefront of the Tex Mix.
And lastly, the Yanks apparently asked the Braves if they’d be interested in Damon. Very interesting. But the Braves apparently said “not for that price”. Plus, he has a partial no-trade, and I don’t know if the Braves are on that list.
Fun times to be had.
This is what Moose has to be now. He has to make the adjustments. If any pitcher can, its him. He doesnt have to be dominating. He doesn’t have to be an ace. He just needs to go out and have 6 good innings every start.
It helps when the team he faces is a free swinging squad like the Royals.
Was that 499/ remember he hit one in the game against Baltimore that has yet to be completed. I believe – and please correct me if I’m wrong, that those stats don’t count until the game is completed. At that point they become offical retroactive to the date of the beginning of the game. 499 could already be 500
As I said yesterday, if the Yankees aren’t in the running for Teixeira, I’m pulling for the Braves to get him because there is no way the Braves anti-up after 2008 to sign him as a FA. Then the Yankees can assess his value again, and perhaps add him at that time without a trade.
I think Damon would not be a problem to trade – he said to Kim Jones that he believes he can still play defense and wants to do so. So, if he gets the opportunity to go to a team where he will be guaranteed playing the field on a daily basis, I think an amicable break with the Yankees will occur. I like Damon, though, and part of me doesn’t want this to happen. But I think it’s more likely that Damon will continue to have health issues going forward, so it might be best in the long run.
The Giambi thing is interesting.
I feel like a kid on a roadtrip with all these trade rumors — “Are we there yet????????”
If theres one team out there that could use Giambi it is the Angels. That lineup is brutal besides Vlad.
Maybe a Santana for Giambi trade. We obviously don’t need his bat and another young pitcher wouldn’t be a bat idea.
MeYanks Fan –
They said that last night on ESPN. If A-Rod hits his next homerun Friday night in Baltimore as part of the suspended game, then the homerun from last night becomes #500. Actually, I kind of hope that’s what happens ’cause it would be a great story going forward. Plus it is kind of typical of the way this season has gone — nothing the way it was expected.
yep. Any homers he hits in that game would become the 493 ball. And this one would be 500… so it’ll be worth watching for that at the very least.
Right now that Santana is in the minors.
Why would the Braves not sign Tex if they got him?
An in his prime power hitter?
Its not like they have huge monies committed elsewhere especially if Andruw leaves. And Chipper is getting older. Tex becomes the rock. They’re going to have to sign someone eventually. May as well be Tex.
For the Yankees best case is Tex goes to Atlanta. Thats what I am hoping for. I don’t want us to over pay for him. Also as much as I like Johnny if we could trade him and get some nice prospects it would be great.
Can we stop the almost daily posting bashing the people who called out Cano and talked about trading or demoting him? From what I recall, Cano only slumped for a few weeks, culminating in one game, I believe against the Mets where he made 3 errors. It was ugly. As for trading him, I never thought that was a good idea, however if we were sellers this year, you would think he would be one of the most tradable parts, so it wasn’t completely insane to talk about trading him, in fact Phillips could play 2nd. Of course his value is even higher now, so actually if we were to trade him, now would be the time. Just for the record I don’t want to see him traded I’m a huge Cano fan.
Trade rumors are what they are. Rumors.
Linebrink has been involved in rumors for 3 years. The King of the rumor. He’s been going to every team except Milwaukee.
And where does he go?
Milwaukee.
Francis:
As I said a while ago, Cano isn’t going anywhere. At 24, he’s already been an All-Star, hit .342 in MLB (playing in the most recognized city in all sports), is developing into a top fielding 2nd basemen…….and he costs the Yanks $490,000! (By comparison, Miquel Cairo makes $750,000).
And there are no position players currently in the Yanks MiLB system that approach Robbie’s talent.
I forgot about Mike Lupica. This clown just likes to pick on people when their down and out, exploit that individual’s flaws, and anything that’s remotely negative about a player. Has Real Sports talk about Josh Hamilton, Derek Fisher, Lewis Hamilton, or anything positive??
Anyway, Iggy needs a nice showing so he can dream about pitching pinstripes again. The skills to do well in this league are there; just needs to repeat his mechanics when he has runners on. We should get the sweep today. I wonder if Shelley will be starting today.
The people that called out Cano and wanted him gone should be called out.
These are the same people who thought the season was over in May and wanted to trade or DFA everyone.
They should be called out for saying such ridiculous things.
Craig, they may very well sign him. But historically, the Braves stick to a very strict budget and have let their own star players walk rather than sign them to a large contract in their free agency. And considering Boras is the agent involved, I would hedge my bets that they don’t sign him.
LathamJoe:
Thats exactly why the trade Cano people are out of their minds.
Trading a young, very productive player for what? A young, cheap, homegrown player. Something we don’t have much of right now.
Don’t forget all star berth. Don’t forget 2b. Don’t forget every scout says batting titles which he almost won last year.
Just because a young player struggles doesn’t mean he should be traded. it’s called making adjustments. The league makes it to the player. The player has to make it back. Cano is showing he is more than capable.
Relying and dealing with young players takes patience and time. Have some.
You can’t just keep letting stars go. Eventually you have to pay market rates for your stars or you end up like the Pirates and Royals.
Maybe the Braves don’t want to pay for over 30 stars but Tex is under 30. Already an all star. And if they trade Salty you have to think they’ll be committed to signing him.
If he goes to the Braves, he won’t be a brave after 2008. He’ll be an Oriole. I can see Peter Angelos signing him for a slight discount and be “tejada’s bud” to prove to Baltimorians – he’s serious about winning. He does that every couple of years to keep the fans at bay, and it seems like it’s time for him to play that game again. I can’t think of a worse owner than Angelos.
Igawa is terrible. I hope we saved some runs for him tonight.
Whatever scout reco’d him should be fired on the spot. He’s incapable of throwing strikes and keeping the ball down. He cannot get his off speed stuff over and what hitter can’t sit on a 90 mph straight fastball?
I would add Melky as another player who will (and should) be around for a while. I know there’s no way to accurately report the “enthusiasm” of a ballclub but you can’t deny the youth and talent (and speed) Melky and Cano bring to this team. I LOVE seeing those two get on either side of A-Rod whenever he hits a home run and jump up and down with him. These kids are working their tails off to improve as players (see Pete’s artcile re: Cano and Melky adopting A-Rod’s workout routine), and it shows.
Joba Chamberlain made his first start for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A) last night, striking out 10 in five scoreless innings.
And he’s not ready to face big league hitters in the pen????
He’s ready. And we may have found a nice late inning option. Someone that actually throws strikes!!
Wow! What a concept!
No question that Joba has the stuff to get MLB players out.
The issue is likely consistency and command – and making sure his arm is ready for the workload a MLB pitcher. Chamberlain has had arm issues before. Its quite a leap from Single A to the Majors in less than one season.
I hope they leave him in Scranton for the time being and see what he does over the next Month. Then think about a September callup.
I think Joba needs to continue to develop his third pitch, which is the changeup. He’s fine where is and besides, do u trust Torre with his arm.
I think the Braves are trading for Tex either the draft picks or to sign him. The Nats are trying to do the same thing with Dunn. Trade for Dunn to get draft picks or make the face of the franchise.
The only thing keeping Joba in Scranton is the opening of a roster spot. I would hate for him to be promoted at Bruney’s expense, but I guess with 3 lefties in the pen right now it could be one of them. I actually like most of the bullpen except Farnsworth, no one could actually like him. I just don’t know if they can trade him, although there is a rumor that Detroit asked about him. I personally with rather send him to a lessor team like Atlanta or even Tampa Bay.
I wouldn’t put Joba in the ‘pen though. Pitching prospects are so fragile. I would just be patient with Joba and the other prospects.
“If McGwire was aiming for 755 I bet there wouldn’t be this push against it. Its middle aged white sports writers who cant stand the fact that Bonds will be #1. That’s it. No one in this country cares in the slightest about juice.”
1. Some middle aged white sports writers are less than perfect human beings and are clearly ignorant, shallow dumbasses. But you need to throw in the equally shallow, ignorant dumbass Stephen A Smith if you want to be fair. Regardless of color, people who issue shallow, ignorant, knee-jerk reactions blaming everything on race while rejecting cold hard facts are one of the biggest problems affecting this country. (Sheffield’s most recent attempt to play the race card is a perfect example of behavior that doesn’t help the situation).
2. If the US Congress is willing to make it a political issue, and they have, trust me, almost everyone (regardless of race color or creed) in this country is against the unfair advantages of steroids. In fact, doping is universally condemned in sports worldwide, not just in the national sport of the USA.
3. McGwire hit his HRs before the ‘roids thing was as public as it is now. Since the steroids balloon burst, McGwire has been uniformly attacked and belittled in the media for his “I’m not here to talk bout the past” performance in Congress. He’s also been denied entry to the HOF on the first ballot, something unthinkable at the time he broke the record. It flies in the face of the facts to conclude, therefore, that a presumed juicer like McGwire would be spared the wrath of the media and public if he were still playing and going for the career HR record
4. By most accounts McGwire is behaving like someone who knows they chose a dubious path and is acting somewhat contrite. He’s living on the down low, quietly donating time and money to various charities and avoiding boorish behavior, like referring to Costas – - who I don’t love – - as a “midget.” And that’s by no means the worst thing Bonds has said.
5. The Game of Shadows, plus the testimony of the former girlfriend, (forget the possible perjury and tax evasion indictment because that is as yet mere speculation) are tough facts to beat in the court of public opinion, where common sense prevails and there are no exclusionary rules and no dream team of lawyers to divert the jury’s attention.
6. The facts, not racism, explain why Bonds is experiencing less than a universal love.
Ummmm….murphydog, did you get enough off your chest??
How Do , Have faith in Cashman he’ll do the right thing. He’s keeping the young pitchers which is in the Yankees best interest. Have Faith . VERY NICE !!!
Joe (NY): Jim, rate the yankees draft for me. I’m hearing Angelini, Weems and Suttle are signed but just waiting the commissioners approval, that true? If so and if the yankees can sign Brackman too this has been a tremendous draft for them, your thoughts?
Jim Callis: I’m hearing the same, also hearing that Taylor Grote (8th round) is signed and I believe they’ll get Brackman done. I wouldn’t say “tremendous” but I would say “good.”
For E-Roc,
Real Sports actually did do a piece on Josh Hamilton earlier this year. It was before the season and focused on his drug problems, subsequent marriage, and really was quite well done. They were wrong about one thing and that was that they said he basically had no chance of making the majors. This was before he got picked up as a rule 5 guy. To me, his success this year makes his story even more compelling. The Yankees are calling Shelly Duncan “The Natural” well watch Josh Hamilton play. The guy is amazing.
murphdog,
Steroids were known during the 70’s and 80’s. Everyone knew about them. Ask the NFL and Ben Johnson and track.
There was steroids talk during the Bash Brothers in Oakland in the late 80’s.
It’s always been around. It was just a perfect thing to stick Bonds with.
I don’t know if its racism or whatever but these writers hate Bonds and will do anything to make him irrelevant.
If you don’t think the Bonds thing has a tinge of racism in it, you’re out of you’re nuts.
It’s always around these sports writers. 35 years ago a whole collection didn’t want Aaron to break the record. Now hes perceived as being a “good” black.
They just hate Bonds. If he was Tony Gwynn they would bury every juice story they could and pump him up.
Bonds has brought this upon himself by being a grade A jerk. But that doesnt mean these writers are justified in doing what they are doing.
Where was the outrage at the NFL? Merriman?? You didn’t hear a peep. Because these middle aged white sports writers don’t give two licks about the black NFL. Those players are cattle. But threatening cherished records in their pasttime of baseball??? No way.
Mark my words — Chamberlain _will_ be wearing Yankee pinstripes at some point this season.
I say that because both Cashman and Torre keep talking about him and view it as a “_possibility_”.
In PR speak, they are getting ready for his promotion to the Bronx as soon as he gets a few starts in Scranton and feels he’s ready for the big show.
I just don’t want them to push him. His development is far too important to risk pushing this kid before he’s ready.
I hope Bonds shatters this record.
I don’t care about steroids at all.
I think baseball should have had testing in 1987.
They can’t complain now and take away records when the guy hasn’t failed a test.
They can’t recreate history. Deal with it and move on. They should embrace it because they are turning plenty of African Americans off like myself.
Mussina to his credit didn’t stink last night but before anyone wants to say he’s back to the old Moose look at the competition. When he pitches like this against a good team I’ll be convinced. Alex Gordon and Ross Gload looked like the only guys in their lineup that had a clue.
It is a pleasure to watch the Yankees offense. It is relentless now. I actually felt sorry for Gil Meche. He pitched his heart out throwing 120 pitches. It is obvious that they have no one in their bullpen or they would have pulled him an inning or so earlier.
If we win the Igawa start, then hopefully a win in the suspended game, what a great week for the team.
I’d be shocked if Joba isn’t in the pen by Aug 14.
I don’t think anyone is thinking that Mussina is back to 2002 Moose after one solid game.
There is no more boring story right now in baseball than Bonds.
I just don’t feel the rage that sports writers say is out there. No one I know cares at all if he does or doesn’t. or if Selig sees it or doesn’t.
Why don’t you want the team to push players?
Can we stop with the babying of players?
This never happend back in the day.
If he’s ready, hes ready. Let him make a difference. His development won’t be stunted if hes helping the big league club and becomes a dominating reliever.
Moose just needs to pitch like he did last night and it will be fine.
What 5th starter is better than him right now?
I would rather have Joba in the rotation than in the ‘pen. He might not react well to being put in the ‘pen. Has any seen what happen to Freddy Garcia? The dude pitched so many innings in his career that his arm finally gave out. That’s why we should be cautious with him. We’ll need him for next year, along with Ian Kennedy. I wouldn’t jeopardize that. IMO, we shouldn’t even chance it.
Just read the Kevin Long article… conclusions: Kevin Long’s Approach To Hitting = Good. Joe Torre’s Not-Knowing-The-Strike-Zone Theory = Bad.
I understand Yogi Berra was an aggressive hitter who amassed a tremendous amount of success from his approach to hitting. Robinson Cano is not Yogi Berra. Robbie’s major flaw in his game has always been and will continue to be his ability to get on base. If Long can teach Cano to be more selective, Cano will be a better player. I hope Joe understands that the more pitches Cano sees, the better the chances of Robbie has of getting a pitch to hit.
Pete:
What were the final results of the playoff poll that you did a month ago? I think its time to repost the same question, I bet you will get very different results.
Here’s to the irrational ones among us (the idealists) who ignored the “reality” of a “mediocre” team and kept the faith, in spite of some very dark times. There’s a long way to go still, but this team is capable of greatness and they have shown it…
(and they are capable of some “fist banging”, as well!)
_Why don’t you want the team to push players?_
ie: Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Jon Papelbon circa 2006, Francisco Liriano,
_Can we stop with the babying of players?_
No.
_This never happend back in the day._
Um, yes it did. Many times.
For every Cy Young or Walter Johnson, there were hundreds and hundreds of pitchers “back in the day” that blew out their arms from overuse early in their careers.
The difference is that you don’t really hear about those guys because there weren’t any journalists that did extensive reporting on the topic. Frankly, nobody cared.
Look at pitchers from Japan, those guys throw a lot more than they do here and have consistently shorter careers than pitchers in the US.
The NY Times just did a piece over the weekend about pitchers having TJ surgery at an alarming rate these days.
Why? Because of overuse and throwing too many pitches before their arms can handle it and have a chance to mature.
The kid was pitching in Class-A earlier this season and now he’s on the verge of pitching in the majors.
There is a reason why that mega jump is extremely rare.
Here’s another rumor – Detroit is interested in Farnsworth…
ahahah joe torre is nuts
“I don’t think he’s ever doing to know the strike zone, *which is not a bad thing*. Yogi (Berra) went though his whole career without knowing the strike zone,” Torre said. “You don’t want to keep him from being aggressive.”
“NY Post, Farns has the eye of the Tigers”:http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262007/sports/yankees/kyle_has_eye_of_tigers_yankees_george_king.htm
forgot to include the link – sorry
where is pollyanna
A-Rod did not hit a HR in that suspended game. He does have an RBI in it though, that after the game is completed, will of course be added to his RBI total…
Guys like Prior and Wood were always going to have arm issues.
Did pushing Santana, K-Rod, Smoltz, Clemens, Rivera, hurt them?
And I don’t think the Twins regret pushing Liriano. He would have needed surgery if he threw 150 innings in AAA too!
You can’t hold back talent. You can’t hold him back because you’re afraid of an arm injury.
Playing scared is stupid.
Why don’t we just have Farnsworth and Myers pitch to Giambi? Maybe Proctor can throw a few pitches. Or have Hughes simulate some at bats. Give him some at-bats against talented pitching.
If that’s not an option, then Scranton sounds great. Giambi has always been a very productive MLB player, one of the best, so he will have no trouble finding his groove. I hope Giambi hits 20 more home runs and shuts everyone up.
How does pitching in the pen effect the long term development of a pitcher?
It doesn’t.
He’s 21 years old. He needs to pitch. And if its at the big league level, so be it.
Should Seattle have left Felix Hernandez in the minors these past 3 years? Should Detroit have kept Verlander and Zumaya in the minors?
Should Anaheim have kept K-Rod in the minors in 2002?
Should the Yanks have kept Mo in the minors in 1996?
No, but if he does hit one in the make up on Friday (eighth and ninth innings to play) The homerun actually counts as his 493rd and the one he hit yesterday becomes his 500th… MLB rules… wierd.
“A-Rod did not hit a HR in that suspended game.”
I didn’t see anyone saying he did. They’re saying he could still hit one. He still has at least one AB in that game in order to do so. Its hypothetical.
If Chamberlain is ready he has to come up.
It stunts his development if hes sitting in Trip-A when he should be up here.
Pitching in the pen is different from pitching as a starter. As a starter – you’re expected to go through a lineup a minimum of three times and to do that – you’re going to need more than two pitches – especially an offspeed pitch to keep hitters from getting a good reading on your fastball and timing your pitches. In the pen, you don’t need a third out pitch but you’ll be expected to be able to warm up in 15 minutes or less which is different from the regime of a starter. And in the Torre era, there is the potential of abuse.
Felix has experienced arm troubles as has Liriano, Wood, Prior. Some due to motion and mechanics, but also due to their arms not ready to bear the burden of such a heavy workload. Verlander experienced arm tiredness dead arm) towards the end of last season. Wang did too in his rookie season. There’s a lot of potential problems of throwing pitchers out there too young.
Kenny singleton and Joe Girardi almost called it yesterday during the broadcast when A-rod hit no. 499.. They were saying that A-rod had good swings in the previous 3 at bats and he had already seen the pitcher 3 times and add to the fact that Meche was tired a bit (at 115 pitches)… They said this is the time when good hitters take good pitchers deep and boom A-rod hit one out.. Its good to listen to these people than the espn shmucks a.l.a steve philips, chris berman, rick sutcliffe etc..
I would still trade Cano for a Texiera, Oswalt, Dontrelle. I was one of the more vocal critics of his and the fact is he took the first half of the season off. From what I know, he was read the riot act by Torre and Jeter about the partying and not showing up for day games and finally realized he was playing himself off the field and out of NY if he kept up the big league-itis he was showing.
Do I think he learned his lesson for good? I don’t know, but I don’t think he’s a vital cog in the Yankee offense. I just don’t. He hits in the bottom of the order because when he is moved out of the non pressure spots in the order, he fails.
I do think his play has been excellent of late, but that doesn’t take away the fact that the guy treated the first half of this season like a spring break vacation. Should he be applauded for finally buckling down and doing his job? Who knows what our record might be if this version of Cano decided to show up before July. It’s not all his fault, but he is a very attractive trade asset and I have big reservations about giving Cano a multi-million dollar contract someday since I think he’ll lose his desire once he gets paid.
If Alex hits a homerun tonight and one tomorrow night as part of the suspended game, than last nights homer might be 501.
blackaccord—I actually like Rick Sutcliffe. I like Harold Reynolds too.
Love how Cashman continues to say about Hughes stuff like we’ll see where he is after this start. I understand hes just trying to calm us down from looking at him as a savior, but we all know that just like us, Cashman is counting down the days to when he can yank Igawa out of the rotation. Just continue to find it kind of funny.
Can we have Shef for Farnsworth? Or better yet, Shef’s backup from last night. Ryan Raburn 2 HR & 6 RBI, 10 for 20 in 9 games.
The racism argument with regards to steroids is such bunk. With Bonds, it’s a black man trying to break a black man’s record. Bringing racism into this is pointless in my opinion.
I happen to be middle-aged and white Rufus… and in my eyes, Aaron will remain the all-time home run king, in spite of Bond’s numbers because he’s a cheater.
And Maris remains the single season homerun record holder in spite of the numbers put up by the Three Musketeers of Cheating… Bonds, Sosa, and that white man, McGuire.
I don’t care about Lupica, Costas or any other sports writer. I’m a baseball fan… and I’m repulsed by these cheaters and their “records”.
It’s not just the middle aged white sportswriters that don’t like Bonds. You can single out Costas and Lupica if you like, but there are plenty of minority sports writers that feel the same way about Bonds… because he’s simply impossible to like, root for, or interview. You shouldn’t confuse disliking rotten people with racism.
From the minute Bonds breaks this record, I’ll be rooting for that non-white Alex Rodriguez to hurry up and dethrown Bonds. I’ll bet he’ll have a lot of middle-aged white sports writers rooting for him too.
Rufus: I’m confused by this statement of yours: “They just hate Bonds. If he was Tony Gwynn they would bury every juice story they could and pump him up.” Funny, I thought Gwynn was African American. By the way, I remember the Aaron chase. Do you? It wasn’t the sports writers that were writing racist things, it was the dumb white crackers who were sending Hank death threats. Exactly which white racist sports writers are you talking about?
Why don’t you take a minute or two and address the facts I raised that strongly suggest it’s not about color instead of just repeating yourself?
Craig: I believe I said that the issue of steroids was not as out in the open when McGwire and Sosa did their single season HR thing as it is now. I didn’t say that no one inside the game knew about it. The public was not aware of it and the media was not yet writing about it in as much detail or with as much evidence as they do now. If steroid use was, as you contend, such a well known fact in and out of the game at the time, why didn’t somebody object then?
But that’s all changed. The cat is out of the bag now thanks to Canseco, Game of Shadows and BALCO and Giambi and that’s what’s different. Now MLB is “investigating” PEDs and penalizing players for using them.
Besides, how is it that Bonds is being singled out for his race, not for steroids? Aren’t you overlooking the 400 lb gorilla? McGwire didn’t get into the HOF on the first ballot because everybody now knows just assumes McGwire took steroids. Seems like the point is that baseball fans don’t like cheaters whether they are white or black.
_Should Seattle have left Felix Hernandez in the minors these past 3 years?_
Wasn’t Felix on the DL this season with a sore arm?
_Should Detroit have kept Verlander and Zumaya in the minors?_
Zumaya has been on the DL for 3 months.
_Should the Yanks have kept Mo in the minors in 1996?_
Actually, he was in the majors in ‘95. He also had TJ while he was in the minors.
“I would still trade Cano for a Texiera, Oswalt, Dontrelle”
one of these things is not like the other.
Murphydog,
I read the six points you brought up about Barry Bonds earlier. I just wanted to say that those facts AND racism may be why Barry is not universally loved.
You can not discount race in the public perception of Bonds. Racism cuts our society deeply today and is a more complex issue than maybe it’s ever been because so much of it is all tangled up with immigration and the war.
Over the past few weeks, Mike Lupica in the Daily News and Murray Chass in The New York Times have written columns (Chass’ even had quotes from the Commissioner) that said “It’s not about race.�
Chass actually wrote that it can’t be about race because “this is a case of one black man breaking another black man’s record.�
It’s ridiculous to cast off a complex issue like that. To say anything in this country is not about race is to ignore everything from racial profiling to poverty to voter disenfranchisement to Hurricane Katrina to the war against immigrants to Sean Bell to Amadou Diallo.
Racism is a huge issue in every corner of this country and it certainly influences how Bonds is treated. It influences how all of us are treated.
The Bonds argument lives on. LOL, ESPN even held a “Bond’s Town Hall” meeting to discuss Barry Bonds. That’s hilarious. Is it really that serious now?? ESPN is becoming a joke. That meeting consisted of:
Dusty Baker – Former MLB player/manager and ESPN analyst
Ellis Burks – Former MLB player, teammate of Bonds (’98-’00)
Bryan Burwell – Sports Columnist, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Buster Olney – ESPN The Magazine Senior Baseball Writer
Kirk Rueter – Former Giants pitcher, teammate of Bonds (’96-’05)
Juan Williams – Senior Correspondent, National Public Radio’’s Morning Edition
Lance Williams – S.F. Chronicle staff writer and co-author of “Game of Shadows”
I didn’t know Barry Bonds was that important to everybody. This is so annoying. Don’t we have other things to talk about. What about Biggio, A-Rod, Griffey, Glavine, and Clemens? Why not celebrate those guys?
Anyway, GO YANKEES!!!
If anybody is interested in what was discussed at the meeting, the link is:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/.....t_id=16642
Amy Nelson at ESPN kept track of what was said.
Hey Pete,
What’s your take on Barry Bonds breaking the Record??
Joe L,
Couldn’t disagree with you more re Cano. I have been playing and watching baseball for over 40 years and swings like his are rare. He has the potential to be a Rod Carew with more power. Remember this only is his 2nd full season in the bigs. All players go through slumps and/or adjustment periods. Cut him some slack on a poor couple of months, Jeez.
BTW, As far as pressure positions in the lineup go, where exactly in the NY Yankees starting lineup is there a non-pressure position? This team is under a microscope and pressure to perform unlike any team except maybe the Red Sox. Listen to the announcers in places like KC and Tampa and they gush over pitchers with 4.50 ERA’s and batters hitting over .275 . This kid has proven he can handle it in NY and he is a cornerstone for the next 10 years at 2B. Trading him IMO is short-sighted and will not return long term equal value.
From the Tampa Dispatch:
“Ron Coomer continues to rake for the Tampa Yankees (A). The rightfielder had a stink with the Yankees in 2002, playing in 55 games, but has been out of baseball since 2003. Upon Coomer’s unofficial retirement, he focused his time on training horses in his home town of Crest Hill, Illinois. However, his passion for horses did not fill the void that baseball left.
A 9 year MLB veteran, Coomer decided to give America’s past time another try in 2006. Coomer personally called Yankees GM Brian Cashman as they had forged a bond while Coomer was a Yankee in 2002. Cashman granted Coomer a tryout and his work effort and experience secured him a roster spot on the Tampa Yankees (A).
Coomer’s 2006 minor league stats (.258, 9 HRs, 37 RBIs) were good enough get him another roster spot in 2007. This year, in 65 games, Coomer has amassed 11 Hrs and driven in 35 RBIs while batting .297.”
–> I don’t understand why this guy isn’t promoted to the big leagues?? He has plenty of major league experience and the Yanks could use a strong bat off the bench. He could spell Abreu every now and then as well as DH.
I’ve said this before, the Yankees don’t need to make trades this year to bolster their playoff run. With guys like Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy and Coomer in the minors, we are a few minor league promotions away from making the best trade deadline “moves”.
Yanksrule57 — Believe me, I see your point. I’m a Yankees fan. However, Cano, to me, isn’t what you build your team around. If he doesn’t hit well over .300 his value to the team is lessened. He doesn’t possess incredible speed and isn’t a threat to steal. We’re still waiting for him to deliver on the power numbers. I see think he’s good defensive (actually better of late) and he’s a good hitter, but he has hole in his game. His on base percentage and ability to learn the strike zone and take walks had regressed this season.
My whole point on trading Cano has always been to sell high and get a true cornerstone player for him. I’m not talking about trading him for Dye or Matt Morris. I’m talking about using him to get a top Starting Pitcher or Positional player. Texeira is a better hitter than Cano. Would I trade Cano for Texeira? Yes, but I wouldn’t give anything else up. If Oswalt or Johan hit the market, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t trade Cano for one of them. That’s just silly.
I realize Dontrelle isn’t performing well so maybe he isn’t worth it, but I do think trading Cano for a top flight pitcher or hitter would be a great move. I think once Cano gets the big money, he’s going to struggle. The first half of this season was just ugly for Cano. There are reports that Cashman and Torre talked about actually sending him down at one point.
I want him to do well and play at his capabilities, but no one here can tell me that he was doing that until recently.
The Star Ledger says the Yanks are shopping Damon. Atlanta interested but Yanks would have to eat some $$.
Post or Daily News reports Tigers interested in Farnsworth
E-ROC:
Bonds isn’t that important. It’s the fact that Baseball and America have racist skeletons in their closets, so racism is always going to be there in the background like the banjo music in “Deliverance” or maybe something even sadder, like Adagio for Strings which you hear at the end of “Platoon.”
I don’t buy it in Barry’s case for reasons I gave above. But it’s usually nearby, looking for an opportunity. We just have to make sure we don’t give in and allow it to do its damage. Equally important, however, is not to give it power or credit it for something it didn’t bring about. Can’t feed the beast.
Joe L.,
Good points all, this is why I love this blog!
We’ll just have to see where Cano is on his career arc. I think he has more upside than you do, but I can’t fault your thinking.
If Cano can master his plate discipline, takes his walks and is a career .300+ hitter what would stop him becoming lead off? Cano doesn’t steal enough, but i think that’s mainly down to the fact he doesn’t look too. He’s not Jose Reyes but he’s swiftier than most. He could be a very effective stealer in the mould of A-Rod if he learns.