Scott Proctor debuts with Dodgers
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 02, 2007 
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Scott Proctor made his Dodgers debut tonight, coming in the seventh inning to face Rajai Davis with two outs.
He threw one pitch, a ball, then Kevin Fransden was thrown out stealing second to end the inning. They pinch hit for him in the bottom of the inning and that was that.
Good luck to Scott. He was always a stand-up guy with the writers. He was given ample opportunity to throw Joe Torre under the bus the other day and refused to do it. I think Wilson Betemit will be a helpful player but it’s too bad Proctor had to go. He showed a lot of heart when he was with the Yankees.
Pete -
OK, so you were also thinking about old Scotty, eh? I just posted something about his appearance with the Dodgers tonight on the last thread, along with a blurb about how I went to see the Police (reunion gig) at Wrigley back at the beginning of July. Check it out!
I live in LA. the pitch he threw was a ball(no suprise). He will help the Dodgers and get plenty of action. The NL games are much different then what he is use to…
any chance abreu sits Thursday and damon and shelly are in there???
One thing about Bobby…he is certainly scared to death of that right field wall! Did you see that double Thome hit? If Bobby wasn’t so afraid of touching the wall, he could have had that ball…
Yeah, I thought a lot of Scotty, too, and was sorry it didn’t work out for him in NY. He has a lot of guts, and smarts too, as in not burning his bridges with the Yankees.
Burning his equipment, though, will go into my baseball memory books. That was really something!
I really like Proctor, he was a work horse.
I am a huge fan of Proctor,I know he sucked in the past weeks as a Yankee, but he pitched his heart out being a Yankee,now I am a Dodger fan,go go Proctor!
proctor was a cool dude. wouldnt be surprised if he becomes a starter and turns out to be pretty good at it.
By the way,hey peter~
Did you writers ask Joe what did he think about Proctor’s trade and how did he think himself about abusing Proctor’s arm?
I think Proctor is a decent guy, but I think it’s likely that Torre burnt him out, so it was time to trade him before he became worthless. Maybe I’m wrong. We’ll see.
Always liked Proctor. I would have much preferred if they dealt Farnsworth and cash for Betmit, but I am comfortable with the deal. I wish him nothing but the best.
i cried when i found out about this deal :’( i really miss proctor. i haven’t been this upset over a trade or FA since andy pettitte left in 2003. dodgers are officially my 2nd favorite team. i love you scotty! please do well with the dodgers.
Good luck Scott!
i hope it all works out for scotty considering he just had a kid.
Hopefully, Sparky does well in LA.
I hope the Yankees can get Damaso Marte or Troy Percival through waivers.
I hope he will do well in LA. I will certainly follow his actions. At least he got traded to another good team and not the Pirates or so.
Did ya’ll hear about the bridge that collapsed 8 blocks from Twins’ stadium?? That’s crazy. Collapsing bridges have been happening lately.
You are a good man, Scott Proctor. God bless you. I wish the very best to you (unless the Yankees meet up with you in a series) and your family. You were one of my favorite players on the Yankees.
E-ROC -
I heard about the bridge. What an awful tragedy. I’d wondered how far it was from the Twins’ stadium. Whenever I drive over a bridge, I have fleeting thoughts about just that kind of thing happenening. My heart goes out to those people who lived (and died) through it.
It seems such a long time ago when I thought Scott Proctor might have had what it takes to eventually be the heir apparent to Mariano. That certainy didn’t happen, but he had a lot of grit and gave his ultimate effort every time he got the ball. In that sense, he will certainly be missed. I also wish him well with the Dodgers. In fact, I was flipping over to the Dodgers-Giants game last night when I first learned of the bridge collapse, so I didn’t ever get to that game.
Scotty was emblematic of the post Championship teams, a role playing guy on a team that never achieved the synergy we came to expect between 1996 and 2000. Though departed, he will always occupy a few mental bytes along with Tanyon in the file where I keep the post 2000 Yankees.
Good luck Sparky P., and to Mrs. Sparky P. and the little ones. You had heart even if you didn’t have the greatest control. This New Yorker will proudly stand and clap for you if the Dodgers ever come to town.
DAMON NOT HAPPY IN NY??
Damon out of lineup, questions role with team
BY ANTHONY RIEBER
Johnny Damon looked at the lineup posted on the door to the Yankees’ clubhouse Wednesday afternoon. His name wasn’t on it. Shelley Duncan’s was, in the designated hitter spot.
Damon wasn’t happy. He wasn’t happy he wasn’t playing and he wasn’t happy Joe Torre didn’t give him a head’s up. He knows it’s only going to get worse when Jason Giambi comes back, maybe in a week. He said maybe the Yankees should trade him if they’re not going to play him every day now that he’s feeling healthy.
“As a player, you always want to know what your role is and what’s happening,” Damon said. “If I’m still out there on the margin, especially with Jason coming back . . . Anything’s possible. I know a lot of teams are interested. With Jason coming back and a number of outfielders going down, the Yankees could probably get a better player now than what they probably got offered July 31st.”
Does Damon want to be traded? He has a limited no-trade clause and two years and about $30 million left on his contract. With that contract and his uncertain physical status, it would be difficult for the Yankees to deal him.
“I wouldn’t say I would like it,” he said. “I signed here to win a World Series, but I’ve always been a guy if you’re not wanted in a place 100 percent, why stop the team from making something work?”
Does Damon not feel 100 percent wanted here?
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t know. You’d have to go ask some other guys, but I feel like what I can do on the field is something that can help the team win . . . Obviously, I feel like I’m producing and I’m doing my job out there. They see something different.
“I’ve been on a number of teams, so I never worry about moving. The first time you get traded it’s a big deal but after you’re on a lot of teams and you’ve been around the league for a while, you know it’s part of the game. You always want the guys you’re with to have the best team out there.”
After speaking with Torre following batting practice, Damon toned it down. He said Torre wanted to rest him before a day game Thursday and wanted to go with the hot hand in the rookie Duncan against lefthander John Danks.
[Wednesday night] “I’ll be a big cheerleader,” he said. “I’m OK. I understand the game. Unfortunately, I understand it too well.”
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....4512.story
Hey Pete:
What are the chances of setting up a registration process. I mean a full on, no webmail – only POP email, name, address, phone number, must reply to complete registration, jpeg image verification, troll killing registration process. I can tell you after last night, I’m up for it. Dealing with idiots while trying to enjoy a game makes it difficult to enjoy this blog.
Sounds like it might be time for Torre to have a team meeting to head off issues like this one with Damon. Damon’s right in that once Giambi’s back, there’s going to be a log jam. Players need to be reassured and reinforced as to their value to the team, even if they are not in the lineup every day. It’s going to be impossible to keep everyone 100% happy, because if you’re a major leaguer worth your salt, you want to play 100% of the time. Damon’s never struck my as a selfish player, but I can understand why he’d be upset — he’s finally getting it together and wants to be an active part of helping the team win.
Torre can’t win on these issues, it seems. He’s open for criticism no matter who he plays on whaever day. Probably a lot of angst (and this article) could have been avoided had Torre spoken to Damon before he posted the lineup. Ironically, I thought that was one of Torre’s strengths in dealing with his players. Maybe this time he assumed too much.
According to articles I’ve read, Torre *did* in fact try to get a hold of Damon before hand, but wasn’t able to find him. Torre wanted to rest Damon for the afternoon game (today) and put in Duncan because they were going up against left-hander Danks. So after that, Damon seemed to be appeased.
Peter-
Speaking of Proctor, I have a weird question/statement. If Proctor had been made into a starter like they pondered in the offseason he might still be a Yankee.
Jason Giambi has progressed to where the Yankees conceivably expect him in the big leagues within a week. Exactly where he’ll play is another matter.
The 36-year-old slugger has been moving forward from a left foot injury, completing a rehabilitation assignment with Class A Tampa. The Yankees tentatively plan to move Giambi north to join Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday, which could soon create a roster crunch at the Major League level.
“It’s going to be a problem, but it’s a nice problem,” said Yankees manager Joe Torre. “It’s a nice problem to have more ability than you can play on a regular basis.”
Giambi has been sidelined since May 30, when he suffered a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot while running out a home run at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. Giambi is expected to briefly remain with Tampa, where he entered Wednesday’s action 4-for-13 since beginning the rehab assignment, before joining the Triple-A club as it opens a weekend series at home.
From there, the picture becomes unclear for the Yankees, who have been utilizing Johnny Damon as a designated hitter in Giambi’s absence while also promoting budding power threat Shelley Duncan, who served as the Yankees DH on Wednesday.
“Jason seems to be ready,” said Damon, who said he received word from Giambi through the players’ wives. “He says he’s ready to go. … We’d like to see a few home runs from him up here instead of down there.”
Giambi is expected to work out at first base on his rehab assignment to give the Yankees a better idea of his mobility, but that position is even more crowded at the big league level — Andy Phillips has performed more than capably after a late June callup, while Miguel Cairo and Wilson Betemit are likely to fill in the depth chart behind the starter.
Torre said that he didn’t know if Giambi would see any innings in the field when he returned to the Major League level, but did not want to tie his hands by ruling it out.
“The last thing we want to do is worry about what’s going to happen next week,” Torre said.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
Dude – thanks for the effort in posting articles, but a link will suffice – but I’m sure most of us have already read most of these articles already.
I’m sorry to see Proctor go. I know he did his best for the Yankees and wasn’t a jerk like some other reliever the Yankees should get rid of ASAP. Thanks for all your hard work Scotty, best to your family.
Proctor is a warrior. Wanted the ball and never complained or made excuses.
I guess there are two ways to look at it. One, Torre needs to do a lot of hand holding in the next couple of weeks (he talked about it during his pre-game yesterday) re: the lineup. In other words, he needs to be sensitive to the feelings of the players.
On the other hand, his job is on the line (for next season) if he doesn’t win games. That means, he has to put out the best possible lineup each night and not get caught up in feelings….especially from the players.
To me, the best possible lineup each night (when Giambi comes back) is with Giambi on the bench until some guys cool off.
It wouldn’t be in the best interests of the team to force Giambi back in the lineup (shades of Sheffield last year?) and sit guys who have been so hot, the Yankees have the best record in baseball since the AS Break.
You have to learn from your mistakes. Last year IMO) Joe forced Sheffield back in the lineup and it killed the team. Ironically, Sheffield STILL threw him under the bus for doing it.
I think Giambi needs to sit, and Duncan and Damon continue to DH, until guys cool off.
If not, then its a repeat of last year and that’s not in the best interests of the team.
Sunny,
Why post during games?
Don’t you actually want to watch games???
The last thing Torre should be caring about his hurting someones feelings by not playing him. Eveyr guy knows hes going to eventually get in there. There job as professionals should make sure they are always ready to go.
This is what having a good bench is all about.
amen to that pete. we should send him a card!
sunny what about my idea of a christmas card if the yanks win the world series
I agree that Giambi should begin his return as a reinforcement from the bench. But, when he’s recalled to the majors, who is going to lose their spot? Will they go with one less pitcher or one less position player? It seems to me that the most expendable Yankee is probably Shelley Duncan, and frankly, I’ve become a “believer” (I previously felt Duncan wouldn’t be able to produce up here – glad I was wrong) and would love to see this “kid” stay. Any thoughts?
I personally think Torre and the Yankees learn from their past mistakes, so I trust they will not force Jason in the lineup. Hopefully we’ll get a lead in the wildcard soon so Torre will be able to generously rest and work in everyone.
I certainly can understand Damon’s frustration though, he went from starting CF to starting DH to 4th OF/part time DH. His role has been rapidly reduced. I would not be surprised if he is traded in the offseason.
There is a big difference in the Giambi and Sheffield situations coming back from injuries.
Sheffield came back in September. Giving no time.
Giambi is back in August. More than enough time to get back into shape.
I don’t think Joe will mess with success.
Amen! I always liked Sparky, even when he sucked – you know he always had his heart in it. It was tough to hear he was traded.
It’s Damon’s own fault his role has been reduced. If he wasn’t hitting 250 he wouldn’t be in this position.
I think the team crosses this bridge ie Giambi when it comes to it. Not before. They have to focus on wins. Todays game. They can’t worry about some player that might be back next week.
Is Karstens up or in Scranton?
On MILB.com, He is listed as their strating pitcher tonight, but I thought I heard from Sterling that he is on the Yankee roster for today.
Karsten was promoted for Chris Basak.
Giambi will probably take either Duncan’s or Cairo’s spot. Given that Cairo is a “veteran”, it’ll probably be Duncan getting demoted.
Cairo can play multiple positions, while Duncan is strictly a DH, which is the same as Giambi. Duncan has options, he goes down when Giambi is activated, but I’m sure he’ll be called back up when rosters expand in September.
I am holding out hope Torre will do the right thing and keep Melky in CF full time, but we’ll all have to wait and see.
So MILb is wrong.
Karstens will be long relief just in case today.
JeffNJ –
I’m getting myself psychologically prepared to deal with Damon possibly being traded during the post-season, but you never know what will happen.
E-ROC –
Yeah, I figured Cairo could be expendable, but he’s been valuable this season, and I don’t think they’d let him go. Duncan can be temporarily demoted until the September call-ups. I guess it’s a good thing to have everyone being productive at once so that this becomes a more difficult decision than one would have thought.
I agree about this being a little different from the Sheffield situation. It’s more like the Matsui situation. Matsui came off the DL last year with enough time to transition back into the lineup (although didn’t he have a 5-hit night his first game back???). Giambi will have that same advantage. Actually, it’s to Torre’s advantage.
The YES network is for sale, is big Stein selling the Yankees next?
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/0.....tm?cnn=yes
Karstans is in the Yankees bullpen, not Scranton.
If they send down Duncan, it would be until September 1, when the rosters expand to 40. Unfortunately, he seems like the odd guy out, unless Cairo gets “hurt” in the next couple of days, necessitating a DL stint.
Yes, Giambi is back sooner than Sheffield. However, its awfully tough to miss 3 months of the season, at Giambi’s age and health, and come back and be effective.
Its going to be a logjam and somebody is going to get aced out and that’s unfortunate.
Now, to the REAL news of the day…..According to Fortune Magazine, the YES Network is on the market. The rumors are, the Yankees are asking 3-3.5 billion for the network.
Why are they selling? My guess is, its threefold:
1. George is sicker than publicly known, and they are trying to clear the decks (from an estate tax standpoint) so, the family can still afford to own the team. The Robbie Family did not do this when their father (the former owner of the Miami Dolphins) was ill, they ended up getting him with an enormous estate tax bill, and they ended up having to sell the team AND the Stadium named after their father. Which, Joe Robbie built with his own money.
Looks like the Yankees are trying to avoid that type of mess.
2. The Network is VERY profitable. Certainly, from a cash standpoint. They probably want to cash in while at the apex.
3. With cost overruns (they are already a month behind schedule) and other costs, the new Yankee Stadium is going to cost a lot more money to build than originally projected. When its done, it will be a cash cow for the Yankees. However, you have to build it first and the rumor is the total cost may hit $1.5 BILLION dollars. That’s a lot of money and its probably a reason why you aren’t seeing the Yankees spending wildly (as they used to) and looking to develop more of their own players.
IMO, if they get 3+ billion for the network, they have to sell. That gives the Steinbrenner Family options when it comes to either keeping the team or selling it.
IMO, in order for the family to keep the team (after George’s death), they are going to have to sell the network. If not, the estate taxes with eat them alive.
The Yankees own 36% of the YES Network. To put over a billion dollars into the team’s coffers gives them a lot of options for the future.
“I’d wondered how far it was from the Twins’ stadium.”
It’s pretty close – its a major bridge in the cities. I still can’t quite believe it fell down like it did.
I love Melky in CF but I think he’s going to need to be squeezed out atleast for the present to get Giambi and Damon in the line-up. I figure maybe Melky will get into two games a week when Giambi returns. Everybody will probaly rest once a week for the rest of the season.
Could be a good idea so everyone is rested for the playoff run.
Personally, I would love to see the Yankees trade Johnny Damon. In fact, consider me fan #1 of the WHJDC. Despite his awesome 2006, I will always picture Damon and his idiot friends in their Red Sox uniforms. Plus, I have no desire to have an aging DH/4th outfielder on our team for the next two years(especially when he’s getting paid $13mil per)
i heard it was 8 blocks from where the stadium is located. the video footage on cnn.com is unbelievable to watch.
If Melky were to be squeezed out by the return of Giambi, I would be sick. As SJ44 routinely points out, the Melkman is hitting well over .300 as an everday player(.291 on the season) and he plays an awesome centerfield. I doubt Joe would not play Melky everyday…it just wouldn’t be right.
dontfirecash,
Well you dont sit a 50 million dollar contract do you?
Andy
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:36 am
Sunny,
Why post during games?
Don’t you actually want to watch games???
Andy – I sure would, but I don’t have the YES package (can’t afford it right now – got kids to feed), and can only “watch” on Gameday.
soneday… sigh
ben – sorry – I must have missed it – what was your christmas card idea?
Josh,
Tough question, but how can you sit Melky? The guy improves the whole chemistry of the team and plays phenomenal defense. Damon can probably catch most balls in the outfield that Melky would, but his pathetic throwing arm leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, the Melkman is hitting, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to take him out of the lineup.
Josh – I’d sit on a $250 million contract if it means we can make the playoffs and possibly the world series.
I totally agree with you, but I just don’t see how you can sit Damon and go with Melky, especially when our lead off hitter is Damon. It’s not fair but someone has to get squeezed out and it’s going to be the younger less experienced guy all the time.
It’s not fair, he plays hard, makes a contribution every night and lights a fire but you can’t upset the veterans.
The Yankees will have to make a bunch of roster moves if/when the add Hughes, Chamberlain, and Giambi. Anyone care to speculate on how the will get two spaces on the 40 man and 3 spaces on the 25 man rosters?
Chase Wright and DeSalvo will probaly be moved off the 40 man roster. Cairo, Duncan, and Henn will all disapear from 25 man roster.
Shelley Duncan will be back up Setpember 1st.
DFA Cairo and send down Henn, Bruney, and Basak, waive Farnsworthless.
Chad Jennings on SWB Yankee blog made an interesting point. He suggests getting rid of Cairo to make way for Giambi. I agree with him…Betemit can be the utility IF and while he doesn’t provide the same defense as Cairo he certainly has a better bat. Plus, as Jennings points out, how much would Cairo really play? Probably not a lot. That being said, Duncan will probably be sent down until Sept. 1.
haha and it looks like Sunny made the same point.
I’m with you on that one dfc. DFA’ing Cairo should be at the very top of Cash’s list of moves.
It makes sense to DFA Cairo, because Betemit basically does everything Cairo does (minus the speed but has more power), but it seems that Cairo is a Torre favorite, and I find it hard to believe he’ll allow Cash to make that move.
SJ44, I love the thought you have given to why the Yankees would sell YES, however I think you are missing something. The Yankees themselves are not itching to sell, it is the other investors, mostly Goldman Sachs that wants to take it’s profit and run. They are not a media company, they are a trading company. Thye made a killing in this investment and they feel it is a good time to sell. So I expect that 64% could be sold, but the that the Yankees are not in a rush to sell their 36%, it is the most porfitable part of their business. Of course knowing how much it is worth on the open market is certainly valuable for the Yankees to know.
Sunny,
You really need the Extra Innings package. A godsend.
Tell me about it Andy. Maybe next year… but my wife has issues with me already spending 3 hours in front of a computer “watching” gameday… she’d probably get really upset if I was glued in front of the TV for 3 hours… HA!
Cairo is a goner. With Betemit around they have nowhere to play him.
My wife knows better than to mess with me during any sport that is on tv.
Henn is going to be sent down for Chamberlain. Probably as soon as this weekend.
I’m from the school of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
I wouldn’t play Giambi that much and I certainly wouldn’t take Phillips off 1b and Melky out of CF.
We saw what happend last year with Sheffield and Matsui coming back from injuries.
Henn should be gone, since Karstens will now be the long man and garbage time.
“Kei Igawa pitched for Triple-A Scranton last night for the first time since being demoted to the minors for the second time this season. In five innings against Ottawa, he allowed three runs on nine hits (one home run), with two walks and three strikeouts.”
Seriously. How long before he is in middle relief in Triple A? The Scranton starters are heads and shoulders above him.
Good idea I never thought of getting rid of Cairo. Shelley brings too much power off the bench to send him back.
Joba was lights out again last night out of the pen.
Hopefully he’s here before the weekend.
Would be nice to see Hughes go 6 shutout innings on saturday and Joba fire off a clean inning.
Goldman poses some troubling questions over at The Sun this morning. The gist of it? Cashman is giving him a whole set of new weapons with which to battle for a playoff spot. But will Joe even think to use them? Some managers might take the ensuing logjam and turn it into an advantage. But some will adhere to old habits and be too inflexible to do anything but play the usual favorites…and leave a lotta those weapons on the bench.
The way Joe uses Betamit, Chamberlain, Edwar, Melky, and Duncan may significantly impact the team’s chances. And, as Goldman rightly points out, god helps us if/when Minky comes back.
He could rotate the outfield guys, Damon has shown he can play left. So you play him there from time to time, while spliting dhing with Jason. You cannot however, take Melky out of cf or Andy off 1b.
Since I’m bored, I thought I would take the opportunity to rip Damon a little more for his comments yesterday. “Obviously, I feel like I’m producing and I’m doing my job out there. They see something different.” Yeah Johnny, “they” see you hitting .251/.353/.356. I know he’s been hitting lately, but that line is beyond terrible. Another Damon quote: “I know a lot of teams are interested.” Yeah I’m sure there is a ton of interest in an aging CF who has two years, 26mil left on his contract. To those who like Johnny, sorry for offending, but I really dislike the guy.
Who was scared of those mighty Indians???
All the people who said the Yanks wouldnt make the playoffs should be ashamed of themselves for doubting this team.
Minky will be what he should be. A defensive replacement and lefty bat off the bench.
We all complained about how bad the bench was last month.
This is what’s called a good problem to have.
How many pithces did Joba pitch in the inning?
K/B ?
while it certainly looks like they can overtake the WC lead in time the way they are playing, in case you havent noticed, Queens, they arent in the playoffs yet…
I actually want to keep Cairo and Betemit. I like the idea of having 2 backup infielders. We need them to rest A Rod and Jeter during all the blowouts we will be inflicing on other teams for the next month. It definitely comes down to Shelley or Cairo, we need a 7 man bullpen as long as Myers is around.
Joba threw 13 pitches yesterday, 10 for strikes. He struck out the first two batters and got the third to hit a broken bat ground ball to the SS.
Minky should be DFA, along with Farns and possibly Cairo. If Jeter needs play DH for a day, A-Rod can always fill-in if Torre isn’t too keen on using Betemit.
dontfirecash,
Sounds like a MO performance; 2 K’s and a broken bat ground ball!
I forgot how they decide who’s in the playoffs in May. Or June. Or july. Or Aug 2.
The doubters should be ashamed to call themselves Yankee fans. But I bet they will be the first ones to shout with glee when they do pass Cleveland.
Its too bad Mad Dog isn’t on today or tomorrow, he announce the Yankees dead on Monday!
Marc,
Sorry, I told you the wrong number of pitches. Joba threw 15 pitches yesterday, 11 for strikes.(he threw 13 on Monday)
WOW. Shelley over Cairo already?? We know what we will get from Cairo. Great defense, speed and productive ABs. Shelley is poor defense, additional log jam and a lot of power (although, the jury is still out on this). So, if he runs into a slump or something, he’s almost useless. He’s been in minors until he’s 27 for a reason.
Dont get me wrong. I would like to keep him too. But not at the expense of Cairo.
Reg Damon, better shut up and play. You’ll be in the lineup that way. Not by whining. Isn’t it his responsibility to find out from Torre why he wasn’t playing yesterday and why he wasn’t intimated as such before going to the media? On second thought, if Johnny is what I think he is, his quotes might have been taken out of context by some media scum bag (Pete, yes there are some).
Duncan has options right?
My guess is he’ll go down next week.
Passer By,
Shelly provides right handed power, something the Yanks desperately need.
haha, well I shouldn’t say desperately, as they have hit 12 HR the last two games.
13
oops, thanks Marc.
Betemit replaces Cairo. Duncan actually can hit off the bench and he can play 1b or RF if need be.
Cairo is a goner.
At least til Sept 1
its a record
A guy like Igawa and any young pitcher can learn from what Andy P did last night. Grinding out a game. Getting tough with men on. Not giving up a big hit. Fighting thru it when you don’t have your best stuff.
He put on a clinic.
dontfirecash,
As hot as Shelley has been, he’ll not be able to sustain what he’s been doing (hopefully I am wrong). When that happens, he’ll be useless. It is not like we’ll lose him. He’ll just go down to AAA for a couple of weeks (after Giambi returns) and we’ll call him up in september. One other option is hold Giambi down in the minors for a little longer.
Minky’s glove is a luxury we neither need nor can afford. Just more deadwood on the bench. And it’s hard to imagine why we would need two utility infielders given that the starters rarely miss or need to miss games. Betamit is enough.
Passer by,
Giambi should stay down a little longer. He hasnt really hit well so far, he hasn’t even homered yet. What has he proven?
“Giambi should stay down a little longer. He hasnt really hit well so far, he hasn’t even homered yet. What has he proven?”
Marc,
I am okay with that as mentioned in my earlier post.
Let me put it this way. If Phillips loses innings to Minky. If Melky loses innings to Giambi. If Duncan loses innings to Cairo…
A whole lot of forward momentum will have been wasted.
IMO, Shelley has some pretty high value at the moment and could be used to get a pretty good reliever in a trade… just a thought.
“It wouldn’t be in the best interests of the team to force Giambi back in the lineup (shades of Sheffield last year?) and sit guys who have been so hot, the Yankees have the best record in baseball since the AS Break.”
The Yanks are the best team in baseball since the break. In the month of July guess who the top 5 players in terms of hits were in the AL. Hint: All Yankees. Arod was NOT one of them.
Giambi is NOT going to sit. He is too good, and a veteran player. Torre will “rest” him from time to time, but he will play most of it. Guys like philips and duncan are going gonna be warming the bench more. Who the hell knows what we are gonna do with Betemit. If we have a bad injury, it will look like a good move, otherwise, he is merely a waste of space on an already clogged line-up. Further, Duncan isn’t gonna get shipped the minute he slumps.
BJ
Harley,
You are only partially correct. The momentum will not be lost if the innings are shared. It will only be lost if the kids are replaced.
dammit. i forgot today was a day game. my car is in the shop so i can’t even go home lunchtime to set the tivo :/
Jeff NJ,
It’s likely that the shareholders agreement for the Yes Network has “Drag Along” and “Tag Along” clauses.
If there’s a “Drag Along” clause, it could mean that the Yankees will HAVE to sell.
the yankees are better off without both giambi and damon. both are selfish players who never should have been signed to begin with.
just think of how much better our team would be with about 35 million dollars in flexibility if we didnt have these two goofs.
melky >>> damon
phillips >>> giambi
I would like to apologize to all for losing my temper with the trolls lately. I am simply going to ignore them from now on, as instructed. I have a simple solution, too, that can make this blog way more enjoyable. If someone is coming on that is simply a troll and/or is simply slamming the Yankees over all or any part of the Yankee organization, simply ignore them completely. I am not saying that we can’t offer constructive criticism,,,but simply saying that someone needs to be fired or traded because that are not performing up to “our” ( and who are “we” anyway ? ) standards is just plain negative. If the regulars live by the rule, if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all….this blog environment will be, what IMO Pete wants, which is a positive place to talk about the Yankees…by true Yankee Fans that stand by their team, in good times and bad. Just IMO…what do you think ?
KAJ,
Agreed, but Damon still sucks.
passer by…
You’re right. I just fear that Joe isn’t creative enuf to figure out ways to share them. And needless to say, you can’t share innings if you’re not on the club (Duncan seems most likely to go, but if he’s doing so in order to keep Minky or Cairo active? That’s a mistake.)
seems like the biggest topic in this thread is who goes when giambi comes back.
my 2¢:
it’s cairo. betemit basically plays the same positions, minus cairo’s rare outfield appearances. cairo was what fit best in what we could pick up during the offseason, but we have someone better now.
though i’m not at all opposed to the idea of keeping giambi down in scranton until he absolutely dominates at that level.
Limiting what can be said on blogs is a bit of creeping censorship. That’s actually the best and worst part of a blog, anything can be said. Luckily with Peter being able to block IP addresses, there is some control. While it is usually best to ignore a troll, last night’s was particularly annoying and sometimes it is best just to collectively knock him on his ass. If an idiot wants to come on here and take on the entire blog and get attacked by 20 people, that’s his problem. If we take the attacks personally then ignoring is the better option.
As for what people say, not much we can do about it. I personally think that the people writing the blog articles need to be held accountable for their words, aka Jim Johnson’s false reporting the other night. That guy never even retracted his comments or said he was wrong. That pisses me off to no end. That’s why I challenged him, but he just called me names. Anyway, people say things on message boards with no accountability for better or for worse, but the blog writers should be held to a higher standard.
Damon is a very good 4th OF and leadoff hitter. He’s just starting to get healthy and hit and you have all seen what the lineup does when he is getting on and hitting and seeing pitches.
You have also all seen his defense in left. He can still track balls.
we’re going to scrw this team up already trying to add Giambi and forcing him into the lineup he’s not even hitting enough in single A. Shelley Duncan has earned his playing time, Betemit will too, Melky has earned his playing time. Giambi has been an utter mess this season.
Cairo is basically useless to this team now. He has to be the guy who leaves once Giambi returns. This is going to be the best bench the Yankees have had in years. Hopefully, Joe is able to use it to our advantage.
i skimmed through last night’s game thread and the troll that came by was by far the most annoying and idiotic of the season. honestly, i kind of get a kick out of the back and forth that usually goes on, but that was just painful. 3rd grade, tops.
” personally think that the people writing the blog articles need to be held accountable for their words”
agreed
to tell you the truth I don’t even want Giambi back
Giambi still has his amazing eye and will continue to get on base at an excellent rate. That alone makes him an extremely valuable player to this team. I just don’t understand people that don’t want him added to the roster, or think he’ll “screw up the team”.
CF Melky
SS Jeter
LF Matsui
3B Rodriguez
DH Giambi
C Posada
2B Cano
RF Abreu
1B Phillips
bench:
C Molina,
UTIL Betemit,
OF Damon,
1B/DH Duncan
that’s the team I want to see.
though i’m not at all opposed to the idea of keeping giambi down in scranton until he absolutely dominates at that level.
Unfortunately, once a ML player begins rehab (the DL stint ends), teams have to more than 20 days to activate him.
that first part was quoted tho:
“though i’m not at all opposed to the idea of keeping giambi down in scranton until he absolutely dominates at that level.”
Unfortunately, once a ML player begins rehab (the DL stint ends), teams have to more than 20 days to activate him.
thanks sunny.
“Peter-
Speaking of Proctor, I have a weird question/statement. If Proctor had been made into a starter like they pondered in the offseason he might still be a Yankee.”
Proctor and his straight as an arrow fastball, questionable control, and flyball tendencies would have been an absolute disaster as a starter. It never would have worked.
Aren’t people who write blog articles held accountable as it is?
This Johnson guy. Who takes him seriously? He has no credibility as a journo/blogger which is how a writer makes his living.
If Pete was doing things like that you think anyone would come here?
DJ YOU gave me a heart attack. I thought that was the lineup. I couldn’t figure out how Jason was already up here.
Adam he can’t score on a single, he can’t advance on fly balls, his legs are shot, he can’t field, his power hitting right now is questionable. Giambi is another potential swing for a HR or nothing player. Well I guess Shelley Duncan goes down to AAA sad because he actually showed something.
Good lineup, DJ
Can Damon play first base? At a certain point Phillips will regress and I think Damon would probably give us better production from that spot, if he was capable and willing to take on the position.
The same people complaining about Giambi are the same people who complained about how weak the bench was.
Now the bench is getting stronger and they don’t want people back.
Kind of ironic.
“Giambi is another potential swing for a HR or nothing player.”
Giambi will get on base at worst a .380 rate. That’s not a HR or nothing player. It’s a very valuable Three True Outcomes player.
Don’t sweat it – hopefully, they’ll push Giambi to as late a call up as possible, and then bring Duncan back up on Sept 1.
Phillips is fine at 1b. He’s giving great glove and if he hits like this Torre won’t sit him.
He’s earned his spot.
Can we all remember how much defense means?
Melky and Phillips have made this team better because of their super defense.
That all depends on what Giambi does when he returns. If he’s producing like he was in 2005, then I’ll be happy. If it was like he was producing in April and May, then I’d rather him sit. I still think the Angels would be a good resting place for him.
DJ,
Benching Damon makes only as much sense as benching Melky. It has to be a some kind of 4 man rotation of outfielders, 3 man rotation of 1B and 3 man rotaion of DH.
Actually its simpler than that, 1 of the 4 OF’s sits everyday. So each misses only 25% of the time. Giambi and Shelley shares DH. If Phillips comes back down to earth, then we need to platoon 1B depending on which is more important at that point in time (offense or defense).
Last month we had a bench with no power. No offense. Barely any speed.
Now we have true power hitters like Duncan, Giambi, Betemit. Speed with Damon. Versatile.
A good problem to have.
The team is clicking right now. Adding somebody like Giambi who hasn’t played for 3 months will mess up the chemistry, IMO. What about having Abreu on the bench and Damon CF with Cabrera in RF?
“I still think the Angels would be a good resting place for him.”
Why do people want to help out the competition? It’s not like they’d get anything for Giambi.
Joe may have a “problem” to sort out but it’s not the worst one to have, other than the demands of player ego maintenance.
My guess is that for the rest of the season: Damon plays DH, and some LF to rest Matsui. Melky in RF occasionally to rest Abreu (or to keep him away from tough lefties) with Damon in CF (God help us those games). Melky in CF the rest of the time. Giambi and Phillips will be in a loose platoon at 1st base, plus Giambi DHs when Johnny is in the field and on the other days Giambi rests and learns how to pinch hit. Matsui and Po are each candidates for DH work in the next two months, but with Giambi and Damon, there’s going to be no room for Po or Matsui at DH. Joe will rest Po using Molina as needed. Best part is that everybody can get rest during the dog days.
If Cash is indeed the “business first” GM he has shown signs of being with Bernie, Minky won’t have a place to come back to and both Cairo and Betemit aren’t necessary absent an IF injury so it’s probably bye bye Cairo (DFA?).
My only disagreement with the lineup above involves Duncan. He’s been fun, but his HRs have not come against good pitching and I think the experiment may be over once the Yanks return to playing teams over .500 and then we’d see Shel again in September. My guess is that they’d carry another pitcher in Shel’s place for now.
The thing with the OF is that Matsui, Abreu, and Damon are lefties. Melky is a switch hitter. But with Matsui mashing, I don’t think you want to remove him from the lineup. So that leaves Damon and Abreu who would probably see the brunt of the benchings when the Yankees face lefties.
Swapping Giambi/Duncan can be better suited depending on two things:
1) How they’re playing probably first and foremost. and 2) if they’re facing a righty (Giambi) or a lefty (Duncan).
Fielding at 1B isn’t that important if the guy doesn’t hit. Phillips is hitting close to an average 1B, but if he regresses at all we need to replace/platoon him.
“Matty H
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:29 am
“I still think the Angels would be a good resting place for him.�
Why do people want to help out the competition? It’s not like they’d get anything for Giambi.”
Actually, I think dumping an albatross of a contract that is Giambi’s is a good thing. And giving up a pure DH is not hard to replace. Given our situation, it allows for more flexibility for Damon/Matsui/Duncan to fill in at the DH spot while keeping Melky full time.
dontfirecash,,,,,no, you’re supposed to say: ” I have nothing positive to say about Johnny Damon, so I will remain quiet on that subject “…..LOL ! ( Oh, and by the by….while I respect your opinion, I have to disagree with you. I think Damon is coming around and if he can keep his “recent mojo”,,,he is valuable to the team. With Giambi coming up and Duncan’s power off the bench, I think he is going to see limited playing time and just hope that he responds to that challenge….all IMO, of course…
“What about having Abreu on the bench and Damon CF with Cabrera in RF?”
Yeah. That’s smart. Take out the #3 hitter who when he hits, we win.
Damon whining is kind of funny considering he really has not performed until Duncan was called up…
Going through the motions anyone?
Like the Angels would pay any of Giambi’s contract. Get real.
Damon just started waking up in the last 2 weeks. Where was his out-of-shape $52 million bat for the first 90 games of the season. He’s lost playing time because he wasn’t hitting and because Melky is far superior both defensively and offensively as an everyday CF.
IMHO JD needs to keep his comments to himself right now and be grateful for the opportunities he gets for the rest of the year.
Go Yankees!
Probably not, but like I said, it’d be nice.
Good morning, lots of great comments.
-Best of wishes to Scotty, he really was a trooper. Either pitchers sign a “don’t bash Torre” agreement before they leave or he and Tanyon really love the man.
-re: Damon. Love the guy. He just isn’t media savvy and hasn’t learned to contain his opinion yet. He’s the first to cheer the good or make some unreasonable predictions. Which is o.k., but he needs to understand that the Yankees talk softly and carry the big stick. What I don’t like is that he is the leak on this team. Remember when things looked really bleak? He was all, “I don’t know if we can catch them” It was like 2 months into the season and he already sounded defeated. You want dirt, go to Johnny. That’s what I don’t like about him, otherwise he’s a great guy.
-Until Jason hits some out of the park, he should not be forced into the lineup. That’s his job, take some walks, get some hits, hit ‘em out of the park. Harsh, but we went through this last year with him and Sheffield.
-I’m still amazed at how consistent Posada has been this year. The whole team should have one year contracts, so that they lock in like Posada. lol.
-Matsui’s on an unbelievable rampage.
-2 GAMES BACK!!!!!
This is what Torre gets paid to do. Manage ego’s. It beats having Chris Basak and Nieves on the bench, don’t ya think?
I wonder how the comments would go if Damon said he was pleased about not playing and losing time.
Don’t you people want gamers who want to play?
How is that whining?
SJ44,
Great post and analysis on the teams financial future.
What appears to be going on is Hal Steinbrenner will run the baseball operations for the family. In the past he has not wanted to do the job. The question is, when George eventually passes, will the family sell the team?
Also, when they sell Yes, will they need to trim the payroll? I think this is already in the works evidenced by Cashmans discipline re not trading the young pitching talent.
Damon not media savvy???
Have you been living on this planet for the past few years???
Besides, if the Yanks put Giambi on waivers and no one claims him, how does that change anything? But if the Angels are desperate enough (losing out on the Tex mix), and decide they want a lefty Powerbat behind Vlad’s (a righty), Giambi, who lives in SoCal, might waive his NTC, and go. Everything seems to fit except the exorbant money owed Giambino. Much like the Manny situation a few years ago when Boston placed him on outright waivers. Nothing happened so he kept playing. Couldn’t hurt.
It’s a lot easier to talk about selling 3 billion dollars worth of an asset. A lot harder to actually do it.
Jonah,
Not media savvy in the Yankee way, meaning you don’t make bold statements (like we’re going to take the division) and you don’t air your gripes to the media. Gotta problem? Go talk it over with Joe. Don’t talk to the media guys in the clubhouse.
actually mel – it was Matsui and Sheff last year, not Giambi.
giambi either walks , k’s or hr’s . he cant go from 1st to third or score from 2nd on a single . everybody on this team ,besides jorge , can run . giambi’s coming back does not help this team .
Giambi is a legit hitter. A legit power threat. A proven player. Now you want to unload him because of what? Bad vibes? From the guy whos most loved in the clubhouse? And not only that. But trade him to a team you will play in round 1 of the playoffs! Smart.
How about seeing how things shake out. Having a strong major league bench is a good thing right?
In 96 we had Fielder and Tino manning first. Straw, Raines in the OF. Why can’t we have that now?
sunny,
I thought Giambi had a wrist thing last year?
Just saw a story on how Gary Sheffield’s right shoulder is giving him problems (again), and how he’s having one cortisone shot after another but it’s not solving the problem. Wow, does this sound familiar to anyone? Couldn’t be happening to a nicer guy, in my opinion…
Not only does Torre love Cairo, but the rest of the team has grown accustomed to him and they really respect and like him.
It is unlikely Cairo goes down, even if it is the most logical thing to do.
Cairo doesn’t go down before Betemit gets a chance to “audition”.
Damon still has some value and I like having a strong bench. I see him more as the bench fill in guy than Melky who has to play more to stay productive. Too many lefty bats anyway, let him spot Matsui and shuffle into centre when Abreu sits. And even at DH Giambi should get some days off and will need run for a lot.
Proctor was a work horse and nice guy. The fire was classic as well. I dont blame Cashman for trading him though. I thought his quote about Torre when he was traded was a classy thing. He had to feel rattled and must wonder if he’d still be here if he pitched less, but was respectful and thankful to the manager who he broke into the team with and who gave him the ball in big spots. I hope he does well.
BTW Pete has asked us to post links to stories not copy and paste em here. For copyright reasons and out of respect to original writer. Cheers.
P.S. – It is strange to see Damon whining. He’s the last guy I expected to pull the tired old “play me or trade me” nonsense!
“giambi either walks , k’s or hr’s . he cant go from 1st to third or score from 2nd on a single . everybody on this team ,besides jorge , can run . giambi’s coming back does not help this team .”
Hahahahahahahahahaha. Is it 1983 again?
Just because Torre “loves” someone doesn’t mean that guy won’t get sent down for a few weeks to help the team.
This isn’t little league.
The team at the moment has chemistry and is winning games. A lot of people here have deja vu feelings about his return because of last year when Matsui and Sheff came back at the end of the season and dried the team up. His production this year has been really off and as of yet, there’s no proof that he’s back to last years production. I remember Cash and Torre saying the same thing last year – a good problem to have. Our lineup was unbeatable. Didn’t exactly turn out that way. If something’s not broke why fix it? But if he is what he used to be, then fantastic. But right now, he’s a $20 mil player who walks, homers, or strikesout and can’t play any position or run faster than a one-legged chicken on xanex. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any doubts about his return. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong.
“Cairo doesn’t go down before Betemit gets a chance to “auditionâ€?.”
His audtion is that his career numbers, and current season, are far more valuable than Cairo. We didn’t just trade Proctor to carry two utility infielders.
mel – he did. But i thought you were referring to the long recooping of Sheff and Matsui. My bad.
I don’t see how wanting to play and keep up a good streak is whining.
Damon loves to play everyday and is actually healthy and contributing.
I’d be more worried if he was fine with losing time.
Rufus what the hell are you babbling about
Jason Giambi was batting .177 in May , Doug was hitting better than him at one time. He’s batting .255 as a DH, what do you miss about that ?
Cashman traded for Betemit to replace Cairo.
A guy that hits home runs and walks at a ridiculously amazing rate is extremely valuable. Are you guys morons? Strikeouts are just outs. As long as he gets on and hits home runs, Giambi WILL help this team.
I dont think the team needs to trim payroll, I think the team wants to trim payroll. Having $20m per contracts doesnt help you win. You cant move them and it reduces your flexibility. Big contracts go to vets anyway. We need younger hungrier players.
The rotation being cheaper is great, and will allow us to spend on other positions, or go after Santana.
But I dont think they are panicing about payroll. Remember 2 months ago they gave Clemens $18m for 4 months work.
The sad fact is that, due to the money Giambi is still making, there is no way he won’t be back in the lineup (on a regular basis) the moment he’s done with his rehab assignment. I have a feeling Joe will now play Damon more as well…which only means that Melky will be back to riding the bench. It’s a damn shame…
making giambi,damon,and abreau compete for two positions( with melky being in somewhere every night) puts the pressure on the veteran players and tells them to put up some numbers or sit.
the way to identify a real yankee is to hold a player’s feet to the fire and see how they react under pressure because being a yankee means you have to bring your a game when it counts. some players can do it, and some can’t. if giambi ,damon , and abreau show signs of resenting having to earn a spot,they are showing they don’t belong.
to me, one of the values of bringing up young players is to light a fire under veteran players. competition identifies who really wants to be there. i see the logjam as a sign that the team is in good shape.
i like the team cashman has assembled right now, but someone needs to remind him next winter that the season starts in early april and not august 1. that said, the yankees seem poised to make a run, and if they do ,cashman will deserve some credit for the late season push. better late than never.
I guess people like Brandon forget what a threat and what kind of hitter Giambi is.
Or does a small sample from May define everything?
If that was the case maybe you should trade A Rod too after his 0-20 thing going on right now.
We all cried about how bad the bench was. Now that it is good we are trading guys for a bag of balls.
I have no problems with what Damon said. He wants to play. Folks questioning his desire have short memories. The guy plays hurt all the time.
If Johnny Damon never played for the Red Sox, folks wouldn’t be ripping him. Its the dumb obsession some fans have with the Red Sox that have folks upset with Damon.
We can’t kill Carl Pavano for not attempting to play, then kill Johnny Damon for WANTING to play. Can’t have it both ways, IMO.
Damon will be fine. He has never been a clubhouse cancer or clubhouse lawyer.
Re: the team and the payroll, I think a lower payroll gives the Yankees more flexibility. It will always be high. However, topping 200 million each year isn’t necessary. There is a LOT of fat (in terms of wasted money) on the payroll.
Too much payroll limits, not expands, moves. Look at this off-season. They are going to need a TON of money to re-sign Arod. To do so, they are going to have to reduce payroll in other areas.
That’s why I believe you will see two, perhaps three, rookies in the rotation next year and another one or two in the bullpen. Those kids are not only talented, they are cheap. Its the trend throughout baseball and the Yankees are starting to join that party.
Whether the network is sold or not (or the team for that matter), you can run things more efficiently. I think that’s their goal.
As far as a buyer for the network, if they are serious about selling, it will be sold within six months. Its the most profitable regional sports network in the country. Today’s media market is very aggressive with regard to sales/mergers.
They won’t have a shortage of suitors and they won’t have a problem selling. Its just a matter of how much and when will it close.
Since the partners of the team have not received a profit distribution in years, I imagine that’s a motivating force for some right now with regard to the sale of the network.
The new stadium will be a cash cow, provided the construction costs do not strangle the franchise. The sale of the YES Network virtually assures that won’t happen.
If the stadium is profitable quickly, it won’t affect the day to day operations of the franchise.
“Rufus what the hell are you babbling about
Jason Giambi was batting .177 in May , Doug was hitting better than him at one time. He’s batting .255 as a DH, what do you miss about that ?”
If we’re going to use meaningless small sample sizes, he had a .900+ OPS in April. And batting average isn’t worth discussing with a guy like Giambi. His value comes in other ways that you’re apparently not intelligent enough to understand.
I have no problem with Damon wanting to play. It’s the way he phrased his comments and the fact that he popped off to a reporter that bothers me. Just because Duncan gets in for a few days straight shouldn’t be that big a deal to Damon. Regardless, to be saying things like “somebody else must want me” just because you have sat a handful of games just isn’t professional. That’s not how a veteran should handle these situations.
Brian,
Everyone but Johnny sees that he’d be the ultimate bench guy on this team. The problem is that he’s a vet getting a lot of money. And if we didn’t have Melky, there wouldn’t be any problem. Just stick Johnny out there and make up the runs his noodle arm gives up with our bats.
But the hole that the team dug themselves into, partly because of Johnny struggling with injuries, doesn’t allow the luxury of going with offense instead of defense at CF and 1B. They’re fighting for a playoff spot and sacrifices have to be made. Cleveland and Seattle are not going to move to the side and let the Yankees run away with the WC.
I like Johnny and could even accept him playing in the field, but I didn’t like his grumblings. He griped, talked to Joe, then softened his stance. That whole problem could’ve been avoided if he went straight to Joe.
LOL……difference w/ Giambi and Alex is that Alex has hit all season a mere 20 ABs is not a reason to trade him. He’s not injury prone , he can field his position and has exceeded expectations this season. Giambi let me count the ways, not a sure bet HR hitter anymore, can’t field, can’t run, paralyzes the lineup .
ex. Giambi has to play DH because he can’t field and stay healthy at 1B anymore, his legs are shot (foot), this puts Matsui in LF, Damon who can’t field CF anymore in CF, and Melky the one arm people don’t run on in the bench. Yeh this makes sense.
i cannot believe that the yankees are going to play giambi. He is a plodding, base to base DH. I also do not feel that he is a winning ballplayer. “if it aint broke, why fix it?” another cheesy quote….if you dont learn your lessons from the past then you are doomed to repeat it
do not play giambi…put him on waivers, and trade him!!!
These clogging the bases arguments need to stop. It’s been disproven countless times and is just a meaningless old cliche.
I have no doubt Giambi has value, but he also has detractors as well. His pluses are that he’s an on-base machine (assuming he can return to form), but he’s also a liability in the field and can’t run. How is the team currently constructed? These past two games aside, the Yankees do better when they can get on base and score from a single or double. If Giambi walks, and then Cano (or whomever) doubles, 10 times out of 10, Giambi will be held up at third. That’s a liability. With the Yankees current record in low scoring games, I’d rather have that run.
http://www.insidethebook.com/e.....eclogging/
Guess what, slow runners don’t “clog the bases” for speed guys!!! Stop the cliches.
Playing in LA and playing in NY are two different stories that’s why I said “audition”. I agree that Bettemit replaces Cairo, but Duncan does not replace Cairo. People forget that Cairo did a great job when Minky went down, on both sides of the ball. That’s why Joe likes Cairo, he’s a versatile team player (who can catch in a pinch lol) without an ego. Every team needs one of those.
6.91 runs per game, for the next 55 games….Yankees do that and they hit 1000 runs for the season….anything is possible with the mashers we now have on this team….and add Giambi to the mix….averaging 7 runs per game is not impossible with this bunch…and think how that run support is going to help Mussina especially ( but think of it…Mosse, Clemens, Pettite, Hughes and Wang…all getting around 7 runs per game of support ? ) This is going to be fun to watch ! ( sincerely,,,,”Dreaming cuz I can !” )
Adam what a horrible arguement how about the fact if Crisp gets on base and Ortiz is up the run has a better chance of scoring then vice versa. The arguement is Giambi can’t run anymore he got hurt in a HR trot for christ sakes !!!!
so if Giambi bats 5th leading off an inning his walk has how many % a chance to score over it being vice versa, how about runner on 1st he’s the second guy up draws a walk so now a # 7 batter or 8 or 9 is the lead RBI man, if Giambi can’t hit he’s useless.
Averaging 6.91 runs a game for the rest of August while playing Cleveland, Detroit, the Angels and the BoSox would be quite a feat, indeed!
What we need is the pitching to continue to be good this month (and in September, of course)…That will be the difference-maker!
Tom Tango, the author of that “horrible argument” is widely considered to be one of the smartest baseball analysts around.
We should get Giambi one of those two-wheeled scooter contraptions that police ride around on (at least they do in Chicago, don’t know about NYC!!). That would improve his mobility considerably! HA!!!
this is going to be last season all over again ala Melky to the bench Matsui and Sheff forced back in lineup, and last I checked they had great OBP %
Jason Giambi will be utilized much to the same way Strawberry was used, partime Dh , Left handed PH….Johnny Damon has become the 4th OF……I still think Abreu is gone, and maybe Damon as well…..Aaron Rowland would be a nice fit….As SJ pointed out, the cost for the Yanks pitching is going to slice off major $$$’s when the Youth movement is in full swing….Just as they did in the mid 70′s & mid 90′s, build a solid core and then add the needed pieces via Free Agency….Buying the biggest & brightest toy every winter hasn’t been working…..Back to the blueprint of Yankee success…Cashman must have been paying attention back in the days of Michaels & Watson
adam is a real douch who knows nothing . from espn to , sports illustrated to wfan radio all say the same thing :dont mess with the chemistry and giambi is a base glogger . now should i believe you or a professional sports analyst ? let me answer that . i’ll believe the analysts .
“espn to , sports illustrated to wfan radio”
haha. Three bastions of great baseball anlaysis! hahahaha. Just because the mainstream media needs to use cliches and dumb down their analysis for people like you doesn’t mean they’re right.
Giambi is a tremendous offensive machine. Those of you who don’t understand this simply don’t know enough about baseball. Last year he batted a mere 250 with 106 strikeouts. On face value, that looks terrible, and most would clamor to trade someone of this caliber.
Digging deeper you see he had slugging and on base percentage of 558 and 413 respectively for an OPS of near 1.0. Those are hall of fame numbers folks.
Granted he cant field well or run, but to deny his tremendous and time tested offensive production is simply ludicrous. He can be a tremendous addition to our already explosive offense.
I agree with letting the hot hands play things out until tinkering is necessary. But Giambi needs to and should play regularly. Torre will make it so.
A much better question is what to do with guys like Betemit (waste of a trade IMO) Minky, Cairo, and Duncan. Add to that Damon and there is a real crowd. There is no room or need for all of them. Rotating out guys like Matsui, who should not sit at all the way he is hitting is not a good solution.
BJ
Duncan goes down. Henn goes down. Cairo would have to go through waivers in order to be sent down. Doubtful since Torre trusts him too much and he does a good job.
Phillips will sit more once Giambi comes back and be a late inning replacement once Giambi gets back into his groove.
Damon will play more left and Matsui will DH, Damon may even be a late replacement for him along with being a PH and occassional DH. They can rotate the 4 outfielders depending on the team they are playing and how each player plays against the opposing team. It will keep everyone rested for the stretch as well.
They may hold off on Giambi and Minky as long as possible so they don’t disrupt the team now that it’s hot or wait for one of the other guys to slump. Don’t expect Phillips to maintain his current hitting and he won’t displace Giambi or Minky in the lineup as most think he will. He was hot for 2 months last year and then funked out.
Did everyone forget Damon had a broken bone in his foot and couldn’t work out over the winter so it would heal ? That’s the reason he was a little over weight and out of shape for the start of the season. Then he got hurt, probably trying to do too much. If anyone recalls the team needed him and that’s the reason he didn’t go on the DL. There was no Duncan at the time and Giambi was still with them before he got hurt. Short memories for some here.
The clogging the bases thing is funny.
People forget that getting on base is the hard part. It’s easy after that. While speed is great, what good does it do if you can’t get on?
All this rotation with the outfielders, DH & IB looks good and sounds great, providing there’s a righty on the hill….The soft underbelly of this team is too many lefthand hitters, that’s why Duncan & Philipps have to be able to contribute…..Betemit is a key pickup….
I agree with BJ. I can see Betemit being tested to see what he has to contribute at this time. They know what to expect out of Cairo. Benemit could be the longer term Cairo since he’s basically the same as a fielder and he’s a better hitter. Duncan will be back when the rosters expand if and only if he continues his hitting, otherwise he’s really a non entity once Giambi is here. They have more than enough power then regardless of the righty or lefty issue.
There will be a lot of lineup manipulation from now until the end of the season. No one will be a lock and many will be rested as much as possible.
Don’t expect Farsnworth to be traded since they A: Got rid of Proctor and B: Few want him at his salary and the Yankees aren’t going to eat it when they feel he can provide them decent pitching. They may be able to get him to correct himself a little so they can utlize him more effeceintly. It’s possible, might not be probable though.
I disagree pat m. The team wasn’t hitting on all cylinders in the first half of the year, except Jeter Arod and Posada. All these other guys hit lefty’s well enough for that not to be a real problem. If they continue to hit they way they are right now, it won’t matter what lefty is facing them. They’ll hit.
Damon was not a good get for the Yankees. He is a pro and loveable even for a former Red Sox – he is a game but he was areaction to blowing the Beltran deal and the lunacy of Torre continuting to play Bernie (despite having Lofton — remember)– abetted by the Yankees fan love for Bernie
Torre has done a lot for the Yankees but he got the best of the Core – had get out of jail card with Mo, and got great years from average players at the right time and some lucky hits – at the right time —
All of that is part of Yankee glory but it does not make him a good tactical manager – he is awful given the talent he has and wastes — he must have been abused as a verteran player — (maybe some research there — or his brother was)
He kills releif pitchers — if he doesn’t crush their confidence he ruins their arms
Maybe Casman has it figured out — you have to FORCE Torre to play young players — Jeter had the fortune to get a season when the starting SS got hurt; Melky the same way; Cano almost did not get back into the lineup after faltering, except for th totally abysmal play at 2B.
There is no certainty that Jason will start hot – and Damon may be needed, bu keeping Damon to see Torre sit Duncan and Melky will be a disaster
Tell ARod to try to hit everyhting to RF — that homer will come easy and then on to 600
Proctor will be missed
And just to rile folks — the Yankees should have traded either Hughes or Chamberlain if needed for Texieria — picthers — and since they didn’t they should trade one for Santana
Unless they are going to get a manager who can handle young pitchers and the demands of the fans, Steinbrenner and a penenat race — and do without a young 1b, and patch with an aging C, SS, LF, DH, and HR power at 1 posiiton (unless Matsui can be July 2007 for the good part of a year)
Any truth to Damon asking to get traded? SI.com says he did.