Game 114: Yankees at Blue Jays
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc, Podcast on Aug 08, 2007 
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Here are the lineups:
YANKEES
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Posada C
Matsui LF
Giambi DH
Cano 2B
Betemit 3B
Phillips 1B
Wang RHP (13-5, 3.49)
BLUE JAYS
Stairs LF
Overbay 1B
Rios RF
Wells CF
Thomas DH
Glaus 3B
Hill 2B
Zaun C
McDonald 2B
Halladay RHP (12-5, 4.13)
Pregame chatter: Alex Rodriguez’s left calf is sore after he was hit by a fastball there last night. Joe Torre said he unsure whether he would be able to pinch hit but believes he will be ready for Friday night. So that little incident back in May cost him, as it turns out. No word on any suspensions from MLB, but the Yankees expected Clemens to get as many as five games. … Melky Cabrera takes a 13-game hitting streak into the game. He’s 24 of 55 in that stretch with 14 extra-base hits and 15 RBI. … The Yanks have scored 88 runs in the last nine games. … Kyle Farnsworth has pitched six times in the last 21 games (6 6 5 5 3 6). … Yankees have won five straight and eight of their last nine.
UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: My point is only this: A-Rod yelled at Howie Clark with the Yankees up by three runs in the ninth inning back on May 30. It was a needless thing to do. Whether it was right or wrong, it obviously angered Toronto. The result is that he’s missing a game and Clemens could get suspended. So was it worth it? I don’t see how. The Yankees are in no position to replace Clemens with Jeff Karstens, Kei Igawa or Matt DeSalvo for a game.
He’s lucky the ball didn’t hit him on the front of the knee.
UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: Here is Joe Torre’s pregame press conference today:
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UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: Man, that Giambi is killing the Yankees. Getting on base before sonmebody hits a homer. How is that going to help the Yankees?
UPDATE, 8 p.m.: Bad night for CMW as he’s leaving everything up. He and turf are a bad combination historically. Looks like we’re going to see a lot of Jeff Karstens tonight.
UPDATE, 8:12: Going into tonight, Wang was 32-11 with a 3.58 ERA since the start of 2006. No pitcher in the game has more wins. He is deserving of a lot more respect than some of you are giving him in the comments. You’re making him sound like some bum. He was 10-1 in his last 13 starts this season. How much more of an ace would you like him to be?
He has a 3.64 career ERA on grass and a career 5.17 ERA on turf. Balls in the outfield keep going here, unlike they would on grass.
Wang had a bad night. Live with it. He and the Yankees weren’t going to finish the season undefeated.
UPDATE, 8:43 p.m.: Ian Kennedy against Pawtucket tonight: 6 5 0 0 1 9. For the season he’s 12-2 with a 1.75 ERA and has struck out 148 in 128.2 innings. If Clemens misses a start because of L’Affaire Rodriguez, he might be a better choice than Karstens, DeSalvo or Igawa.
UPDATE, 9:06 p.m.: Melky has now hit in 14 straight games, the longest streak of his career.
haha there u are Pete, let’s make it 6 in a row and 10 of 11 guys! Should be a fine pitching matchup.
should be a good game with Wang vs. Roy Rogers.
here’s hoping that Giambi creates a logjam of hits and runs.
go Yanks.
5 back. Go get Boston.
I see we are going with the full lefty lineup going against the tough Halladay. Heres to hoping that Wang throws a gem.
thnx for not playing me joe
I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe were just keeping Rodriguez out to calm things down.
A-Rod needed a day off anyway. No problem.
LET’S GO YANK-EES!
By the way if Clemens gets 5 games that means he will miss the start with is ..unfortunate..
I’m wondering if he will appeal right away and cut the length of the suspension and thus not miss a start. If he does take it(doubt it), I wonder who would make the spot start.
Really hoping it’s not DeSalvo or Igawa, both equally awful.
“I’m wondering if he will appeal right away and cut the length of the suspension and thus not miss a start.”
Starters don’t get suspensions less than 5 games, if he was to appeal it, he would either get it waved of just push back to a time when there is an off day and he won’t be skipped.
I have never seen the reason of even giving a starter a suspension because 9 times out of ten is does nothing to affect his playing time or the team.
Pete – A-Rod’s “stunt” didn’t cost him–Towers’ being a d*ck has cost him. Don’t blame the victim of a childish retaliatory gesture by a mediocre pitcher. Blame the jealous immature nasty pitcher.
now that farnsworthless has cleared waivers, can’t we put him in triple a and tell him to fix his attitude and trust his slider before he gets called up again? call up ramirez and let him strike out batters.
kd, clearing trade waivers doesn’t equal clearing waivers to be sent down, two different things. If the Yanks wanted to send Kyle down, they would have to DFA him, so he would have to accept assignment, which he can refuse. Plus, if anyone claimed him, the Yanks would have to pay his salary
zack, if somebody claims him, the yanks are off the hook for his salary. hence, he had no problem clearing waivers
Giambi better not mess up the chemistry with his inability to run and PED ways.
It’s good to have a guy like Karstens as your sixth starter, he’s not great but makes an extra day without Roger easier to bearthan if we had to use, oh, say, Kei Igawa.
Someone needs to drill Stairs.
do we see Chamberlain again tonight? I wouldn’t think so… thoughts?
No, let Chamberlain rest. I’m glad they used him like they did yesterday though…two innings is good experience, plus, he got to close the win out which has to feel good in your first MLB game, up by 7 or not.
About Jaba – stop f*cking posting that website link. It’s spelled wrong. Stop spamming. Bastard.
Motown Yankee Fan
August 8th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Pete – A-Rod’s “stunt� didn’t cost him—Towers’ being a d*ck has cost him. Don’t blame the victim of a childish retaliatory gesture by a mediocre pitcher. Blame the jealous immature nasty pitcher.
I am forced to agree with you, yet I have no facts to back this opion up. I also lost by handbook.
Here’s my prediction: Wang 7IP–Viz 1IP–Mo 1IP. Yankees 4 Jays 2.
Chamberlain isn’t available until Friday.
And “that little stunt in May” helped us win that game. Towers was way out of line.
I posted this in the previous post, but just I was curious of people’s thoughts when they were talking about the Yankees and whether or not they should pursue a trade for Santana either during the winter or before the trade deadline next year…
I’m just curious here, but with George ailing, if he relinquishes control this winter or next year, and Hal et al take over, is it written in stone that they will spend like George did to get Santanna or will they take a more conservative approach and try to reduce payroll significantly? How do we know the next generation of ownership will continue to spend like George did?
NJ
August 8th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Someone needs to drill Stairs.
…that someone needs to be Farnsworth,,,in the 8th inning, after we build a 7+ run lead, IMHO…
I somewhat understand the mentality of sending Farnsworth to Detroit… so that doesn’t come back to bite us in the tuckus.
but, in the same breath… I really don’t. What’s sending him there going to do? What, will he sit with Sheff and stew over their misfortune over not being on the team… the “Rocky” music will cue, and he’ll suddenly become the Caucasian Zumaya?
me no thinks so. He’ll still be erratic, and he’ll still pitch in the zone. And batters will still walk/hit off of him. If he can’t throw against the AL hitters here… what makes him able to do it with the Tiggers?
if they want him, trade him… and get a prospect that could potentially help the team in the long run. I don’t see that one coming back to bite us.
“I wouldn’t think so… thoughts?”
Negatory, batman. He threw 2 innings yesterday. Luis and Mo are good to go, and the Wanger is usually good for depth. Villone or someone might have to get an out or two in the 7th, but that’s ok. That’s what he’s there for.
No way Joba comes out tonight. He’ll come in on friday most likely…which reminds me: Is Hughes pitching friday?
Gotta plan my night around the game incase he is
Wonder what Clemens was saying to the ump after getting tossed. Whatever it was, I liked it. The Rocket let him have an earful and hopefully ignited a team that has already been on fire.
dude. stop with that jaba link already. you’ve posted it way too much. changing your name and lead in isn’t fooling anyone. plus, his name is joba, not jaba.
sunny – from what I’ve heard via mainstream, Hal’s not as invested in winning as his father is. He’s a shrewd businessman, but not as interested in the competitive sporting aspect.
I don’t know. I would think that the memory of George’s run owning the team would make anyone – especially an “heir” of sorts – really shy away from keeping his priorities. Since they wouldn’t want to be “another” George, regardless of how successful that made him.
I could be full of it – that’s my opinion as it stands tonight.
Ditto what Motown Yankee Fan said. The Blue Jays took their crack at him on Monday. That should’ve been it. If they didn’t like the hard slide, they should’ve remembered that hard slides are part of baseball, just like retaliatory pitches. You take your shot and that’s it. You don’t carry the grudge forever, unless of course you’re a pathetic team that can’t make the distinction betweeen anger for motivation and anger for pettiness. Their manager is a hothead and apparently sets a lousy example for their players.
As for what NJ said, no, no one should bean Stairs. It’s over and done with and the Yanks shouldn’t do anything dirty. If the Blue Jays want to continue the nonsense then the Yanks should react. But we’re the better team and we shouldn’t stoop to their pathetic level. F them; let’s go for the sweep and move on to taking down Cleveland this weekend.
Hobs – he is planned on Friday, yeah.
KAJ, I completely agree. But knowing Farnsworth, he would probably miss.
“So that little stunt back in May cost him, as it turns out.”
Grow up Pete.
Just got through all of those ridiculous SAWX blogs/sites. Spent a good hour reading through their nonsense and found their panic pretty amusing.
Two things-
They seem to be SO consumed with their fading division lead that they are not even enjoying the best part of the baseball season.
And secondly, I just finished reading the most ludicris thing ………
There are actually SAWX fans that are CRYING conspiracy theory! They claim that MLB actually set up the schedule (post all star break) to favor the Yankees, so they would be able to get back into the race.
As if the powers that be anticipated the Yanks would need to make up ground, so they gave them a stretch of playing sub 500 teams to help them out.
I love it.
GO Yanks, Go Wanger!!!!!!!!
ar
Just got through all of those ridiculous SAWX blogs/sites. Spent a good hour reading through their nonsense and found their panic pretty amusing.
Two things-
They seem to be SO consumed with their fading division lead that they are not even enjoying the best part of the baseball season.
And secondly, I just finished reading the most ludicris thing ………
There are actually SAWX fans that are CRYING conspiracy theory! They claim that MLB actually set up the schedule (post all star break) to favor the Yankees, so they would be able to get back into the race.
As if the powers that be anticipated the Yanks would need to make up ground, so they gave them a stretch of playing sub 500 teams to help them out.
I love it.
GO Yanks,
ar
Sunny – I gotta think that they move heaven and earth to get Santana whether it’s Hal or George. Cash understands who Santana is, and George is still the Boss.
And I say that with great hope.
Motown: It’s cause and effect. Towers hit Alex because of what he did. So yelling at Clark cost him a start and could cost Clemens a start. Not a good trade. In fact, it’s a very bad one. Maybe next time he’ll just run around third.
He “didn’t need a day off anyway” either. He’s out because he’s hurt.
Chamberlain has tonight off. That was the plan right along.
Hughes is starting Friday, yes.
whozat – thanks, Robin. I would agree. Ronny could get in and give it a whirl. Maybe the Kid’s inclusion in the bullpen has revitalized everyone else.
Sunny 615 -
I guess we won’t know until the time comes. You’d like to think they’d honor their dad’s legacy; but George had a passion for the Yankees, which we don’t know if his sons share. It will also come down to whether they want to re-invest money into the team or pocket the profits. I’d like to think they’ve got enough of George in them to keep putting a superior product on the market, and that they know that in order to do that in MLB, you’ve got to be willing to put up the money.
I would agree with what MJ said, in the sentiment of what Peter said. Don’t touch Stairs… just get him out, along with the other 8. What’s done is done. If Clemens misses a start, and we lose tonight… what happened last night will hurt us in the long run. We’re still behind in both the wild card and the division.
Doreen – I would agree with what you said. That’s the one aspect of Hal being labeled such a solid businessman that he would recognize the wide scope that the team has in its business interests. I think the whole “YES possibly being up for sale” scare/tease/whatever just offered a potential sense of foreshadowing of the transition, whenever it happens.
here’s to George seeing #30, let alone seeing #27.
Good points, but the real question will be will Hal et. al. try to keep the team at the cap for luxury taxes or pay out the nose for obviously the best pitcher out there… I have to admit being a bit nervous about that and hope that big G hangs on to the team until 2010.
By the way, what good is Farnsworth if he doesn’t body slam a few Blue Jays?
oh, my… Pete, just put a disclaimer up next to your picture that you’re a Patriots fan.
and Patriots do not equal “all New England professional sports teams.”
Not sure why I am weighing in on this, but I have no interest in the Yankees spending $30M a year on Santana. Not that I think he would get that. I would do up to $19M for 4 years max.
In general I think the Yankees are moving away from the huge free agent contracts by drafting smart. If Hughes and Chamberlain pay dividends down the stretch this year, I think the Yankee brass will be even more for the change in strategy. As it is, I think we’ll see plenty of Hughes, Joba and Ian in the rotation next year along with holdovers Wang, Mussina and Pettitte. Then in 09 Hughes, Joba, Ian and Wang and probably a fill in the blank propspect will not require big money to spent on Santana. Call me crazy if you want to.
Pete, can you please remove the spammer from posting his gay jabachamberlain link? I have no doubt that LoHud tech guys can get his IP and ban it from posting. Honestly.
Pete – can you please ban the jabachamberlain spammer please? He’s annoying.
“Someone needs to drill Stairs.”
All I can say is that over-the-hill Canuck better PRAY Farnsworth doesn’t get in the game tonight. HE WILL CRUSH HIM!!! And simeltaneously finally be useful to the Yanks!
And just think…if Farns throws down tonight he would get suspended too…which would mean he couldn’t pitch for a couple of days! Two birds, one beanball!
“So that little stunt back in May cost him, as it turns out.”
Pete, if you’re going to write junk like this, on a blog or elsewhere, you should probably move back to a Boston publication, where they swallow this BS.
Roy Halladay vs. Seattle on July 22
IP H R ER HR BB K
9. 3 0 00 00 1. 3
MK, why are you saying that PA is a Red Sox fan???
Sunny615-
How long does the new stadium exempt the team from having to pay the luxury tax? Or do I have that wrong – is that revenue sharing? I get confused between the two.
Anyway, it sure looks like some of the things Cashman has done in the recent past are with an eye toward keeping the payroll, if not exactly “down,” well, then, not escalating. If they can shed payroll and keep themselves where they are are while still signing A-Rod, Posada, Mariano, and possibly a Santana in a year, I would guess they do that. I’m thinking, just going by the last off-season, they don’t want to go any higher than they already are.
It really is going to be interesting to see, won’t it?
The Boss is already gone in spirit and that has been apparent for quite some time. And I would think that it is evident that the powers that be are taking a more finanically austere approach to the bottom line. To wit, their not cutting Farnsworth loose and eating the contract and the relative lack of activity in the trading deadline frenzy.
Free agency this off season will be very intersting and should remove all doubt about which direction the team is headed.
It seems to me that they have already tipped their hand in allowing the threat to Arod and his agent to become public that if he opts out, they say they won’t be a bidder. Why would you let your threat get out in print if you had no intention of backing it up? Were they bluffing or do they really want no part of Arod at 30 to 35 million a year when they already have him at a significant discount?
Gimmie a break. How can people fault A-Rod for the “yelling”? I applaud him, he did what was necessary to win. That’s a winner in my book, you do whatever it takes to win. If your in the major leagues and can’t handle a little heckle, go back to the minor leagues. Whats the difference between what A-Rod did and stealing signs?
Bottom line MLB rules are ridiculous. A-Rod getting hit once is understandable, but then to get hit intentionally the 2nd time and no punishment to Towers, plain ridiculous. Not to mention Cano getting beaned, it’s almost laughable how the Yankees are the ones being punished.
Alex got hit ‘cus of what he did? Come on? What he did was make a good baseball play within the rules that led to more runs for his team.
Towers is a punk. He only started yelling when others got between him and A Rod.
Joba is the man.
Doreen – definitely interesting… but also definitely nerve racking – at least to me.
JeffNJ –
It would be really great if next year the homegrown Yankee pitchers perform well enough so that they don’t HAVE TO go after Santana. I sure hope that’s the case. And here’s to more smart draft picks in the future.
“Motown: It’s cause and effect. Towers hit Alex because of what he did. So yelling at Clark cost him a start and could cost Clemens a start. Not a good trade. In fact, it’s a very bad one. Maybe next time he’ll just run around third.”
This ‘logic’ is flawed. It is true that Towers hit A Rod because A Rod yelled at Clark. That does not mean A Rod was wrong and that he should not have done it. You don’t throw at people’s knees, and you don’t throw at someone 2 days in a row, and you don’t throw at someone who did something you didn’t like in the 6th meeting since the incident. Towers was out of line, end of story. A Rod did not make a “trade.”
Your logic can be applied to this situation. A Rod is in the grocery store, purchasing an apple. Someone who doesn’t like apples punches A Rod in the face. So A Rod shouldn’t have made that trade, because getting an apple isn’t worth getting punched in the face.
See? It makes no sense to condemn A Rod’s actions because of what Towers did and then consequently what Clemens had to do. If you think it’s bush league on its own, then OK. But it helped us win the game. And players use that type of deception all the time…for instance pretending a ball went in the outfield on a steal, pretending you have caught the ball when it went by you, the hidden ball trick, stealing signs, etc. There was nothing wrong with what A Rod did.
Jesse, one small point – their lack of activity at the deadline is not due necessarily to a different fiscal approach but rather the lack of decent trading options. The only exception would be Texeira, but I think that any person with half a brain would have hung on to Chamberlain and Hughes to get him.
Fear Factor,
I love it man, keep it coming. Prior to every game you give us a great line from a Toronto pitcher only to see the Yanks batter that pitcher later in the evening. Keep posting!
Josh – technically, A-Rod didn’t get beaned on Monday. He was thrown behind. I know that it’s a technicality, but it more than likely led to Towers doing what he did last night.
I would say I’d be surprised if MLB didn’t see what happened after Clemens/Torre was tossed, when Cano got hit… with no consequence. I wonder whether or not that could be a blessing in disguise. Maybe they go 4 games. (Fingers crossed.)
charlie and mk, if you’re gunna complain about pete, you should probably use a different blog. if you don’t like it, then why are you here?
I feel betrayed and hurt like that kid on the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation.
Foundation commercial, I meant to write.
This’ll be a pitching duel. Probably the first game in months where the Yankees don’t score 5 or more runs.
“brian bruney’s battered chair” – Pete, we’re just giving you a hard time. Don’t cry!
I see your point Frits…but by the same token if the Boss was still in charge would he not have been hot to get Gagne at any cost and then figure he can write a check in the off season for a veteran pitcher or two???
Jesse –
I don’t mind that the Yankees haven’t gone crazy in the free agent market the last couple of years. To me, they’ve shown remarkable restraint and just plain intelligence. Nobody out there was worth the money or the contract length constraints. I still believe if someone was on the market that the Yankees deemed to be a responsible and worthwhile investment they would do it, but there hasn’t been anybody that fits that description in the last couple of years.
They’ve been filling holes “from within,” and so far it’s been working out okay for them. Wang, Cano, Cabrera, even Duncan to some extent, have done well for them. Now we’ll see how Hughes and Chamberlain turn out. I think the Yankees have finally gotten smart, while a good part of the rest of the league has embraced the free agent market more and more. (Except for the smaller market teams that have excelled at turning out prospects.)
If Jeter had yelled like that he would be praised for being a real “winner” and “gritty” and “heads up.” The NY media has such a stupid double standard. If A Rod leaves, it will be completely the fault of the NY media. So stupid. The guy’s the best player of his generation, and yet sportswriters in NY feel the need to take cheap shots whenever they can.
“Maybe he’ll just run around third base next time.”
Maybe he should bake the Blue Jays cookies and sing bedtime songs to them too. They sure act like they need it. I really don’t understand how Alex continues to get the blame, and the awful, simply pathetic never-good-enough Blue Jays get off scot free when they do something much, much worse than yelling on the basepaths. The entire organization is an absolute mess. Maybe they get sympathy points, I don’t know. But it is mindboggling the unfair treatment Alex gets because other teams can’t handle him.
have you guys seen Roger’s new commerical with his wife? its pretty funny.
fritz- no worries man, it just gets old when people come here throwing the same comments to pete. if people want to bash him, at least think up some new stuff.
on another note, i’d love to see the yanks start every game by hitting the slowest batter in the lineup their first time up. that way, both teams get warned. it’s gotta be better than everyone throwing at the yanks, then us not being able to do anything about it without losing a pitcher
Peter – I see your point, but I have to disagree with you. While what Alex did in distracting Howie Clark may not be part of the “code”, he did not hurt anybody. (And, as a side point – if things were reversed and Alex had been the one to let the ball drop, he would have been the one to be criticized for not being professional enough and allowing himself to be distracted.) Towers threw with the intent to do physical harm. (Obviously, Litsch missing with his pitch yesterday didn’t suffice.)
Jesse – good point. Do you think Steinbrenner would have given up a Melky five years ago to get Gagne? A Kennedy?
I’m curious as to why everyone here again is portraying Pete as a Boston lover. Sure, he’s originally from boston but that was like 20 years ago. Does he like the patriots? Sure, but who cares? That’s football. Pete has demonstrated time and time again that his work here is first and foremost professional and he covers the team with objectivity that a lot of us fans lack. We can beeyatch and moan all we want about the punkness and crap that Towers and the rest of the Jays are fronting, but in the end, if this were Papi, Beckett and the Sox, we’d be saying something else completely – basically what Pete is saying about Arod- it was a stunt that cost the yanks arod in the lineup today and potentially one start for clemens which may or may not cost us a game. Especially with the hard teams we have coming down the pipe. Do I think we go shafted? Abso-freakin-lutely. No way the Jays should have gotten away with all the crap they did yesterday. But in the end, no arod and clemens may miss a start. If it were the Sox, and Papi was out and Beckett was going to miss a start, we’d all be first in line to say that Papi made a boneheaded move there and it ended up potentially costing the team. If we get away with a win and Clemens can maneuver the (maybe) suspension around starts so he won’t miss one, then no harm no foul. But Pete’s comment was not motivated by fandom towards any other team or hatred towards ours and any one thinking otherwise should spend some time reading his articles. He provides awesome audio from the team and gives us insights no other blog provides. Due yourselves a favor and get a clue before posting ignorant comments like that.
“Motown: It’s cause and effect. Towers hit Alex because of what he did.”
i normally agree wholeheartedly with you, but this is BS, dude. they threw at alex monday. that wasn’t enough to satisfy gibbons or his clowns, so they threw at him AGAIN tuesday. when is the message sent? as for alex costing clemens a game, clemens knows the rules and he knew the situation. it was his call to retaliate and i’d bet he doesn’t regret it one iota.
alex’s decision was stupid, sure. it was bush league. but toronto went way beyond sending a message. they made a point to throw at him until they hit him. this is why people assume you hate a-rod.
mr. chair – i’m new here, which is why i feel like that kid from the joe torre safe at home foundation commercial. i’ll forgive and move on, mostly because p.a. provides some good information
speaking of commercials, i really think i am going to use procede. giuseppe franco endorsed it, and he’s not going to put his name on anything.
frits, welcome. theres good info here, not just from PA, but also a couple of the posters, if you can put up with some of the bickering/trolls that tend to show up here.
Personally, I think Farnsy should have started the game tonight and pegged Blue Jays one after another!
Right now that is the best use of his “talents”
I don’t think Pete is a Boston lover – I mean maybe he is, but I don’t think that’s what motivated his “drinking the anti-Arod Haterdae” comments here. It is just abundantly clear to me based on these and past comments that he has some sort of a beef with Alex that’s on the level of Michael Kay’s hard-on for Mussina.
I really enjoy this blog and Pete’s work on it, and I know the majority of other posters do as well. But I don’t think that means we don’t have the right to question it if we feel he is being unfair to A-Rod in his blogging..
So should Arod stop hitting homeruns because pitchers might throw at him or his teammates? Ridiculous.
Re: Gagne, I read Francona said he didn’t plan to bring him in with runners on base, rather just to start innings. Quite a luxury. The Yankees cannot afford to have a reliever that delicate.
“Due yourselves a favor and get a clue before posting ignorant comments like that.”
Do yourself a favor and learn to write properly before calling others ignorant.
Pete’s remarks about A Rod were childish and unfair; they are representative of the awful double standard that exists. A Rod can do no right, according to the NY media.
The “choker” has better post season numbers than “Mr. Clutch” Jeter. Ever seen that printed in an NY paper? They are doing their best to run him out of town, even in the midst of a historic season. I am not sure why they hate him so much, but it needs to stop.
Bob from NJ,
The point is that Jeter wouldn’t have done that.
Read and article at another site someone posted…from Houston paper where Astro players were commenting on A-Rod’s “Ha!” incident. They all agreed Clark was the one at fault and that that type of stuff happens all the time.
Peter I disagree with you on this whole A-rod issue in that what Arod did was nothing that other players have been doing for years to get an edge. What the Blue Jays did was “childish” and bogus and if anyone should be suspended its Towers, what a punk. Instead of a suspension let him loose with the “bleacher creatures” for about 5 minutes.
That’s what I’m sayin’ TK – time for Farns to make himself useful for a change and eff somebody up!!
Anyone who will sit here and say they haven’t been waiting and hoping for him to throw down since he first donned the pinstripes is probably not being honest…
And just to add some more to this conversation, the Yankees and Jays were warned prior to the July series in NY that there was to be no retaliation, so these babies just waited until that series to retaliate. Kind of a childish way to be. I really don’t like Gibbons. And I wish MLB would do something to Towers. I had a difficult time explaining to my 9 year old that Clemens was going to get suspended, while no one from the Jays would, despite them throwing at the Yanks twice yesterday (although the Cano throw was questinable, but perhaps Robbie just reacted well.
Bob NJ,
“I am not sure why they hate him so much, but it needs to stop.”
Simple – they hate him cause they ain’t him!
“So that little stunt back in May cost him, as it turns out.�
That was good hard-nosed baseball, something the Yankees desperately needed at the time. We also happened to win that game.
Frits
No doubt he most likely would have.
Don’t get me wrong, I fully embrace the NEW way of doing business as I think it moves them beyond the renting of over the hill stars whose contracts become untenable when they physically begin to break down and are no longer getting the job done.
I thought the “HA!” thing only really put MORE runs on the board–weren’t they already winning at that point?
My husband and I had a conversation about A-Rod’s “hah moment” this morning. I think it’s probably relevant that A-Rod has a football background. My husband played both. He said in football, there are always incidences where players call out in order to distract. A-Rod’s actions were not saintly, to say the least, and maybe only a handful of other baseball players would do such a thing, but I don’t think he did anything against any rules and he did not physically harm anyone, and bottomline, the Jays’ shortstop should have made the play anyway, just as we all would have expected A-Rod to make the play should someone have yelled “ha” to distract him.
Anyway, what’s done is done, and I hope all the retaliations are done with. It’s childish and dangerous.
Good one bob… I’m so humiliated
How were Pete’s comments childish and unfair? In what way? He made a move that pissed the Jays’ off. Retaliation was coming. Everyone here and their mothers knew it. Just because the retaliation was moronic doesn’t mean Arod didn’t potentially cost the team now with him being hurt and Clemens potentially getting suspended as a result of his actions. Pete didn’t tell Arod to yell, nor did he tell Towers to be an @$$ and throw at Arod again. But the results are the same no matter what spin you put on it. Arod yelled, and the Jays retaliated and the Yanks are paying for it. How is that childish reporting or unfair? Did Arod yell? Is Arod out of the game for getting beaned? Is Clemens facing a suspension? Did the Yanks get hosed? Yes to all. Sounds pretty cut and dried.
What’s with Wang today?
You have got to be KIDDING ME
The blue jays lead off hitter is MATT STAIRS? That is absolutely PATHETIC.
There is still speculation on what he yelled, am I correct? Was it ever figured out what he actually said, it still looks like he yelled ‘mine’ to me. Which is slightly different than ha. Still doesn’t amount to being thrown at twice, once was enough.
What the…
WHAT THE HELL WANG ARGH
wow. wang looks pretty masterful so far. way to match up with halladay, “ace.”
wow. this is an inauspicious start for sure. Hopefully the Wanger can turn it around…
Oh my god…
I don’t get it – what’s wang with Ching ??
Umm . . . does Wang realize the game actually started? This isn’t batting practice. Let’s settle him down, readjust and stop this now.
Wow… Something in me feels like Jeter should have had that ball. It just seems like that shouldn thave gotten out of the infield
I really don’t think A-Rod yelled “Mine.” When they show replays, he doesn’t seem to be saying much of anything. his mouth just opens.
Poor Wang. What is going on with him?
“Something in me feels like Jeter should have had that ball”
Jeter just isn’t that good to his left.
But let’s look at it from the another aspect, if this had all happened to the Yankees, if someone had distracted A-Rod and he missed a pop-up, would the Yankees have retaliated, or acted like the Blue Jays have? I personally don’t think so and it goes back to
1. the jealousy and hatred people have for A-rod because life and riches seem to have come so easy to him
2. Torre for whatever faults he has is a very “classy” person and so is the organization and I don’t think he would have allowed that to happen.
3. The manager of the Blue Jays is the antithesis of Torre
as evidenced by his past behavior and why he was never fined or suspended for his pathological behavior is beyond me.
4. The Toronto org needs something to rally around to prove to their fans that they are still a viable franchise and A-rod is the perfect lightening rod. But it just shows what a classless, pathetic franchise it really is.
THERE’S the Wang we all know and love!
Now we are talking…
Matt Stairs looks like he belongs on the Red Sox. Maybe they’ll add him to other 9 outfielders on their roster.
I completely agree, Tim. If the roles were reversed, it would have ended in May. And if the roles were reversed, everyone would be on A-Rod’s ass for falling for such a “bush league” antic.
“Matt Stairs looks like he belongs on the Red Sox. Maybe they’ll add him to other 9 outfielders on their roster”
Would absolutely love that
Stairs ’07
.286/.353/.538
He is crushing the ball this year
Here’s the way I look at it.
Arod probably shouldn’t have done it. But, Toronto made WAY too much out of it. So much so, they lost this series, playing payback with Arod.
The Yankees, on the other hand, gained something from it. They defended Arod in a way they haven’t done in his four years here.
About a year ago at this time, the SI article came out and, from Joe Torre on down, various guys on the team took their “whacks” at Arod.
This year, they went to the wall for him. To me, that’s progress and the way they did it, will help the Yankees a helluva lot more the rest of the way than Clemens missing a start or Arod missing a game.
One could also argue that a day off for A-Rod in early August could be good for him (and Jeter if he’d ever accept it).
Wang will settle down. 6 IP 3 ER, now if we can score some runs against Halladay who completely owns the Yankees.
Bomb support — NOW!!!
One other thing….the Pete bashing gets real old.
Its his blog. He provides a forum for discussion and has his own opinions.
Debate them if you like but, really, can the personal attacks. Some of you sound like 10 year old babies.
The guy has put together the best Yankee blog on the ‘net, treat him with a little respect. Its not a lot to ask.
UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: It’s amusing that when anyone here disagrees with PeteAbe and he flips out and starts calling names and throwing insults at his own audience.
Detroit’s losing, 2-zip in the 2nd. (fingers/toes crossed)
Cool – platoon him with that RF Drew, I guess.
Peter, MLB stepped in and said that if there was ANY retaliation, there would be hell to pay. Who knew there was a time limit on that. A-Rod yells HA! and it is OK for the other team to fire a ball 90 mph at his legs ? That is just BS ! IF MLB did what it said it was going to do, after the first game when the pitcher clearly tried to hit him, but missed, they should have come down on Toronto and THEN that would have been the end of it. I respectfully disagree with you, sir.
“UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: It’s amusing that when anyone here disagrees with PeteAbe and he flips out and starts calling names and throwing insults at his own audience.”
I was thinking the samething..
Halladay is on tonight. But, either way, its a house money game for the Yankees.
Just keep winning series. If they come back in this one, great.
If not, no big deal. Head to Cleveland and look to win another series.
Pete
I have to disagee with you on this one yelling HA as someone is trying to catch a ball does not equal hitting someone in the knee and causing an injury. I for the life of me can’t understand why the former is considered ‘bush’ and the later is okay.
The only thing Alex hurt was the Bluejays’ pride and they are acting like little babies about it….
“Debate them if you like but, really, can the personal attacks. Some of you sound like 10 year old babies.”
So Pete can dish it out, but shouldn’t have to take it?
Robinson Cano . . . Don’t ya know! [doing my best Sterling impression]
YanksSox
August 8th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
“Matt Stairs looks like he belongs on the Red Sox. Maybe they’ll add him to other 9 outfielders on their roster�
Would absolutely love that
Stairs ‘07
.286/.353/.538
He is crushing the ball this year
DUDE, if you love your BoSux so much, why don’t you go over to one of your own blogs and exist only there ? Are you a glutton for punishment or just purely an instigator ? or maybe both ?
ROBBBIIIIEEE!!!!!!!!
While I don’t agree with Pete’s blaming of A-Rod right now, it’s his right to say stuff like that. This isn’t his newspaper–it’s not journalism. This is his blog. Opinions welcome.
Robbie sez: “This will not stand!” w00t!
So nice to have Giambi back in the lineup too!
Don’t worry CMW, they got your back!
Guys, don’t worry about this game. I have Halladay on my fantasy team. I also have Yovani Gallardo if anyone wants a comparison of how my pitching day’s going.
Giambi was on first, Cano was batting and it said “in play, run”… so in this case and only this case, I *knew* cano had homered because not even a Cano triple would have scored Giambi from first.
“One other thing….the Pete bashing gets real old.
Its his blog. He provides a forum for discussion and has his own opinions.
Debate them if you like but, really, can the personal attacks. Some of you sound like 10 year old babies.”
couldn’t agree more. i don’t agree with pete’s opinion on this one, but the conspiracy theorists and “love-struck fanboys” (hilarious) need to get a life.
i am, however, waiting on the “chien-ming wang just wins ballgames” post that should be showing up any time now. the guy’s been erratic for months and gotten by because his sinker is so good. today, it caught up with him.
*HIP
HIP
CANO!!*
man, didja hear the ball scream as it left the park?!
Hey Pete don’t make fun of me if I love to read comic books, by the way its really hot down here in my basement. I just think that a little commentary about how “childish” and overreactive those idiots on the Blue Jays were from you wouldn’t hurt your journalistic integrity. Would you react the same if it was Phillips not Arod?
Boy…that totally KILLED us, having the super slow Giambi on base when Cano hit that homer….we really need to send that lummox back to the minors !
I love how when people say anything remotely close to negative about A-Rod, even if true, they all come out and defend A-Rod(which if fine) to the death.
Of course, last year at this time people would be celebrating at the notion.
Quite a turn around.
“Giambi was on first, Cano was batting and it said “in play, runâ€?”
download sopcast and visit this website and you can watch the game
http://www.myp2p.eu/MLB.htm
Does it count if I actually *draw* comic books?
Kennedy is done for the night in Scranton. Another dominant start.
6 IP 0R 5H 9k 1BB
His cumulative line in three starts at Scranton:
17 IP 2R 12H 19K 5BB
He’s been nearly as good as any pitcher in the minors this year. Like Joba he started the season in A ball.
He’s been as dominant in AAA Scranton as he was in A Tampa.
He may not throw 99 mph but his numbers are hard to minimize.
I heart Giambi. I know a lot of you don’t, and that’s cool, but I am so freaking happy he is back!
babies ? babies ? nooooo….YOU guys are the babies !! ( babies ) LOL ! Is this what it has come to ? I don’t agree with you,,,so you are a baby !!! ( and what the hell is a 10 year old baby ?….isn’t that physically impossible ??? ) LOL ! too freakin’ funny !!!
“Ha!” is wrong, but a runner on 2nd base can steal the catcher’s signs?!?
In fact, this is considered so much a part of the game (stealing signs) that it just known to be another part of the game for the catcher to come out to the mound and re-set the signs.
That’s lame.
Ryan,
I would guess that the posts Pete has to delete (or keep from showing up on the blog because they are too vulgar) are a helluva lot worse than anything than anything he has ever said since he started this blog.
That’s what some of you don’t realize. The stuff he has to keep out of the blog is the stuff that degenerates things in here.
sunny615, very logical!!!
Let’s just get 2 runs every inning from this point on…
Wow – whatever Gator said to Wang last inning did the trick. He’s looking like the Wang we all know and love now . . .
sunny615
August 8th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Does it count if I actually draw comic books?
Sunny, if you actually *draw* in comic books, you can’t be a baby, so you are OK ! LOL !
Kennedy in the rotation next year? September call up?
Next year? I see Kennedy taking the spot start that might be needed if Clemens is suspended for 5 games.
Remember what I said last night about luck?
Don’t know if somebody posted it already
Kennedy’s line tonight
6 5 0 0 1 9
Looks like he wants to join his buddy Joba in NY.
Yes, another double play…
“Halladay is on tonight. But, either way, its a house money game for the Yankees.
Just keep winning series. If they come back in this one, great.
If not, no big deal. Head to Cleveland and look to win another series.”
SJ, I hear you saying this many times, and understand the point of winning series.
This is the wrong attitude in my opinion. In vegas and baseball there is no such thing as ‘the house’s money’. Once you win, its yours. That nonsense was designed by gamblers to feel better about giving the money back.
Each game should be treated individually and we should do everything possible to win, regardless of previous series success.
It’s not the houses money, its a game the yankees need to win period. We don’t need to stick to the ‘win series’ formula religously. A sweep here or there would be nice too. Lets face it, at 5 out, we are gonna need a couple of sweeps too.
BJ
haha beat me too it CB. I took awhile to post that one.
“i am, however, waiting on the “chien-ming wang just wins ballgamesâ€? post that should be showing up any time now. the guy’s been erratic for months and gotten by because his sinker is so good. today, it caught up with him.”
Your reaching friend. Minus his two starts off the DL in April, Wang has never had a month with a over 4 ERA this year.
3-2 with a 3.53 in May, 4-0 with a 3.56 ERA in June, 5-1 in July with a 3.03 ERA, and 1-0 1.29 ERA in Augsust. He’s given up 7 walks since the All Star Break(4 Games).
So exactly has Wang been “erratic for months”?
Kennedy won’t be a September callup. He is just about at his innings limit for the season.
Rotation next year? A definite possibility.
He can really pitch. The reports from that his stuff is “short” are laughable.
The guy has been lights out this year and, while he doesn’t light up the radar gun, he throws 91-93 and can throw 4 pitches for strikes anytime in the count. That’s why he is so good.
finally, that’s more like it.
Nice DP there. Go Wanger!!!
HA! blue-jays got crossed up, AGAIN
One other thing on Kennedy and his start tonight I forgot to include in my post.
In the 6th inning (his last inning of work) he gives up lead off hits to the first two batters. The outfielder misplays the second hit allowing the lead runner to advance to third. So its first and third and no one out.
He strikes out the next hitters in a row. One of the guys he k’d was recent major leaguer Bobby Kielty who was just cut from the A’s a week or two ago.
Luck ? are you gonna start THAT again ? We’re calling each other babies tonight…we’ve moved on… LOL !
“Kennedy is done for the night in Scranton. Another dominant start.
6 IP 0R 5H 9k 1BB”
Thanks for the update. I am actually gonna purchase a minor league package through MLB.com so I can start watching some of our young phenoms.
BJ
“Man, that Giambi is killing the Yankees. Getting on base before sonmebody hits a homer. How is that going to help the Yankees?”
chippy tonight. i like it.
when wang has a bad start, do you send him flowers or deliver them in person in the locker room?
HAYOH!
On the subject of innings, where is Hughes at inning-wise and where was he projected to be at the end of the season (150, 170?
BJ,
I am a realist. Its hard to sweep series against good teams on the road. The Blue Jays have the best home record in baseball the last two months.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love a win tonight. However, 2 of 3 is also ok by me.
They are in this one and, if Wang settles in, things get interesting. But, it won’t break me up if they lose tonight.
My mind’s already on the Indians! lol
Since it’s rip-on-Pete night, it’s obvious that Pete has a man-crush on Giambi.
Ian Kennedy is not going to be an ace at the major league level. His stuff just isn’t that good. He’s going to make mistakes, and those mistakes are going to get hammered. He won’t beat himself with walks, and he won’t give up many homers. But I’d say his ceiling is as about a #3, say, a little better than Pettitte this year. He was drafted because he was as close to a sure thing as there was in the draft. But he was a “sure thing” to be a productive, but unspectacular, major league starting pitcher.
Luck is an essential part of baseball, and the thing that makes it as unpredictable as it is. The goal is to create a team that has a strong chance of continued success despite the fluctuations of luck. Pitchers that strike people out are more likely to be consistent and effective than those that don’t. Guys that take pitches and hit for power are more likely to continue to be good hitters than those that don’t.
BBB—I’m with you right now on Giambi. I wasn’t too keen on him coming back, but when he said that he’d do whatever asked of him by Joe, I was really psyched that he wouldn’t demand to be shoved into the lineup every day. I like having different DH options. I like Shelley Duncan a lot. It would be sad to see him perma-benched.
Ryan,
Hughes has pitched 53 innings this season across four levels. He threw 146 innings in 2006. The idea would have been for him to increase by 25 or so innings to 170. That obviously won’t happen this season.
this goon needs one in the ear !
Ugh every count Wang has been down 1-0 or 2-0.
Even if Kennedy’s ceiling is a #3 pitcher, which I don’t know how anyone can project with any confidence at this stage, I doubt the Yankees or virtually any team would regret having taking a late 1st rd pick that turns out to be just a solid #3 starter at the Big league level.
Jeter’s throw should have been a LOT better.
Shut up, Kasey.
It’s ridiculous to rip Wang after his success this season.
Even Johan Santana has off nights.
This is so wang.
OK…like I said…we would have been better off plunking Stairs there….I would have to state obviously that the Wanger is NOT dealin’ tonight ! Fudge !
Anyone know the status on Wang’s fingernail? I don’t think I’ve seen an update since the All Star Break. Not trying to make excuses for this outing, but I found it curious that given the “state of the nail” that Wang would open the second half and Moose would get 10 days off.
Yikes, another RBI double….
This is why Wang is no ace. Atleast not on a team like the Yankees.
Gah, Wang is stinking up the joint tonite. What’s the matter with him?
“Shut up, Kasey.
It’s ridiculous to rip Wang after his success this season.”
easy, sweetheart. i’m giving PETE a hard time for his wang-love, and i’m doing so completely in jest.
wang’s a very good pitcher, but he’s been erratic with his control for well over a month now and gotten by on his sinker. tonight, he’s getting HAMMERED. period. they’re making him look absolutely pathetic.
Has anybody else noticed Wang’s struggles against lefties. The first thing I did after Pete posted the lineups today was to count the no of lefty hitters in the Toronto lineup. Lefties are 3-3 with a walk today.
“It’s ridiculous to rip Wang after his success this season.”
I will co-sign this one for sure. No matter what happens in the game tonight, everybody really needs to go easy on Wang and treat him with the respect that a pitcher who has won more games in the past 1-2/2 seasons than pretty much anyone deserves to be treated with!
Every starter is going to have an off-night and no team is going to win every game. What’s important is that the Yankees have been doing what they need to do: playing .700-ish ball and winning series!!
Besides, last I looked it’s only the 3rd inning. This one still isn’t over folks, plenty of time to change the game!!
kasey….THEY are NOT making him look pathetic…he is looking pathetic ALL ON HIS OWN ! LOL !
Wang’s a groundball pitcher, who relies on his sinker. He goes with it. He’s also a very good pitcher who can use that sinker to be one of the better pitchers in the league. But he isn’t a classic ace. Hughes can be. Wang just isn’t, by virtue of the kind of pitcher he is.
_This is why Wang is no ace._
You mean to tell me that an ace isn’t allowed to have a bad night?
That’s ridiculous.
Gotta pull him, doesn’t have it. Gonna be Wang’s shortest outing this year.
Get eyebrows warming.
Wang is absolutely HORRIBLE today he has NO CONTROL whatsoever jesus christ
Needless to say, we are gonna need those BIG “7-10 RUNS PER NIGHT” Bats tonight, huh ???
Well, 1 bad start tonight completely nullifies the other great starts Wang has had. How can we call him our ace when every outing he has isn’t lights out like those other ace pitchers like Santana? A REAL ace pitcher wouldn’t ever do this badly.
Please KJ. If Wang isn’t the ace, who is? Andy? Moose? Clemens? Or maybe it’s Hughes?
This is Wang’s first start this year without his good buddy Mike Myers. May we be seeing the ill effects?
Oh boy! There ya go! Crawl back into that 14.5 game hole where you belong.
Wang
Hughes
Chamberlain
is overhyped Yankee-speak for
Scott Sanderson
Mark Hutton
Domingo Jean
A suggestion: buy those cruise tickets for October, nuthin’ good will be on the telly.
wang looks good tonight.
DO NOT PULL HIM. Let him go and save the pen as much as we can. If it wasn’t Halladay we were up against I might think differently but I’m sorry. He made his bed let him deal with it. We gotta tough series with Cleveland coming up and I would like all our arms in the pen to be as fresh as possible.
what the HALE was THAT ? Did the coach just go out there and say…”You’re doing great kid, now walk a run into scoring position for us, while we warm up your replacement ” ???
And as far as Wang not being an ace, Halladay has had more than one game like this this year and he is most definitely the Blue Jays’ ace. We’re just not used to this from Wang.
Wang is the de facto ace. But an ace is a dude with dominant stuff, capable of completely shutting down an opposing offense with regularity. Wang just isn’t capable of that. He’s still a very good pitcher.
Off day tomorrow, so the Yanks can empty the pen tonite
Halladay is having an off year. He’s also striking out fewer hitters. There’s a meaningful connection there.
its the turf’s fault
Somebody wake our brain-dead manager up.
oh well – can’t win them all
We need to get Myers back here to take care of Wang – just send Farnsworth out- I would rather have Myers here taking out Wang for dinner than Farnsworth pitching. Its a win/win situation.
Ugh….. what is Torre waiting for….
I see Wang as the type of guy who isn’t going to completely shut down a team in each start but will give up few runs. Consistency is usually the name of his game. I’ll take it. I really don’t mind getting 6-7 innings of 2 or 3 run ball most starts.
I’m sorry, but Wang deserves much better than what some of you on here are currently giving him.
The guy is great for us practically every time out. Show him the love he deserves, quit hating on him and take his ONE ridiculously infrequent bad outing like a damn man! Jebus!!
So why didn’t Jeter try the DP there? Then we would have been out of the inning, or at least have the guy NOT in scoring position from 2nd base.
Yankees are done. There goes the sweep. 8-2 and Halladay on the mound.
jeezus cripes – wang is pulling a clemens imitation from last week
I’m a big Wang fan, he is our ace, didn’t have it tonight. It’s time to change the channel on this game though.
I hope CMW didn’t break anything when he kicked that garbage can when walking down to the clubhouse.
KAJ,
Still don’t think it will be 7 by the 28th
OK…this is officially sick now…Torre again waits until the starter has put us in a HUGE HOLE ( a la another 8 runs given up, just like with Clemens ) and now comes Karstens ? I’ll say we can put a 10 spot on the board tonight, but will it be enough ?????
halliday just needs to put it in cruise control now.
im better than wang
the ace! so dominant! mowing ‘em down!
it’s the turf, though. wang and turf are a bad combination. nevermind that most of toronto’s hits have been doubles in the gap or down the line on balls hit in the air. it’s probably just the turf.
everybody’s allowed a bad night. wang’s was definitely that.
LOL Karstens looks really stoned in his GameDay pic.
no I don’t – the sox haven’t won tonights game yet.
Atleast 3 runs in that inning are on Jeter. I know you guys are going to jump on me for saying this, but Jeter is not even an adequate defensive shortstop now.
YanksSox….you are a dreamer…it will only be 5 or less by the end of the night ( Boston will get schooled again tonight at LAA ) and just because we only win 2 out of 3 doesn’t put a damper on anything pal ! You can ignore your rear view mirror and laugh when the car comin’ fast on your tail gets slowed a bit….it don’t change a thing, dude….we are coming for you and your beloved Sox and your team is ripe for the pickin’ !!!
I guess karstens forgot where the strikezone was being out for so long
“but Jeter is not even an adequate defensive shortstop now.”
BBB says
‘Your mom’s not an adequate shortstop’
WHERE WAS THAT 0-1 pitch to stairs, this ump is lost.
HIT HIM, Karstens ! HIT THIS DUDE !!!
Everyone has bad nights. This is Wang’s. That’s baseball.
Big picture, they won the series. Last week, Clemens got hammered last week and he rebounded nicely. Wang will do the same.
First start all year he got knocked out early. Happens to the best of them.
I have to laugh at people that say Kennedy’s stuff is “not good”.
How many times have you seen him pitch this year? I have seen him pitch 6 times.
You don’t have to throw 98 to have “good stuff”.
You do realize, he can throw 4 pitches for strikes in any count. I have seen him throw 3-0 changeups, 2-1 sliders and breaking balls, and he can spot his two seamer and four seamer on both sides of the plate.
Not a lot of pitchers can do that, which is what makes him a special talent.
To project his “ceiling” smacks of too much Baseball America reading. They have been saying that about him all year.
I don’t think anybody would have projected him to be this dominant at 3 levels of minor league baseball this year.
I don’t know what his ceiling is but, he sure as hell has “good stuff”. He’s been one of the five best pitchers in minor league baseball this year.
The kid is most likely going to be in the Yankee rotation next year at 22 years old. You don’t get there unless you have good stuff.
While Peter has his monthly hissy fit about A-Rod, he’d rather assume Cairo at 1st has meant more to the Yanks than A-Rod’s Ha! moment:
W-L pre-Ha!: 21-29
W-L post-Ha!: 41-21
It all began May 30 (following a five game losing streak) it’s all about the power of Ha!
“everybody’s allowed a bad night.”
Good, Kasey, we agree. So why the hate? Why the “the ace, so dominant” snarkiness? Why can’t people just be grateful for the multitude of fantastic outings and wins Wang has given us and will continue to give us and let this one go w/o disrespecting him in the process?
_but he’s been erratic with his control for well over a month now and gotten by on his sinker. tonight, he’s getting HAMMERED. period. they’re making him look absolutely pathetic._
Pretty hard to argue how “erratic” Wang has been when he has a 10-1 record since May coming into tonight.
I’ll take that kind of erratic pitching from my ace anytime.
i’m a huge wang fan. but tonight is concerning, not just because it is a bad night (everybody is allowed one, especially him), but because wang has only had one dominant start since the all-star break (kc last friday). in his other five starts since, including tonight, he’s given up 3,3, 4, 3, and now 8 runs, at least. prior to tonight, none of those are bad starts, but none of those are classic wang type starts either. the ball has been in the air a lot more than usual too, which is even more concerning. i’m not saying there is anything to this, it could just be a bad stretch, but it was nice to rely on wang every fifth day as a dominant starter, not just a good one.
wow – a hold. Lot’s of ground to make up and against Toronto’s ace –
A good series nonetheless. Honestly I gave us a 50-50 shot even if Wang had his best stuff today. Doc has been too good for too long.
nite.
I still have hope for this game
Baseball America is the recognized expert on minor league prospects. I certainly trust them before I trust you. I also trust the research of Baseball Prospectus.
Kennedy has a fastball ranging from 88-91, which isn’t great for a righty. It doesn’t have great movement. Nardi really helped him figure out a good curve, and he has a plus changeup. He’s also a short righthander, which can be a major knock against him, both durability and hittability wise.
That package spells #3 or 4 starter in big, navy blue letters.
“BBB says
‘Your mom’s not an adequate shortstop’”
LMFAO YanksSox you pitiful masochistic pud, YOUR mom isn’t even an adequate streetwalker.
Wow, from the sound of the board you would think the Yankees are in one of their 10 game slides. For those who are forgetting, Yanks were 5-1 on their home stand and have already won this series. Losing tonight holds no where near the importance as being ready to take 2-3 from Cleveland. Even better, a sweep there would be more beneficial than a win tonight.
thats brutal, what is this ump watching? wang was bad but call it both ways.
Sterling is senile. Jeter is a bad defensive shortstop. Fields balls that he gets to, but that isn’t the point. The point is that the average major leaguer would have reached Wells’ two-run grounder. He is the worst defensive player on the infield, except for Posada.
The umpiring is sickening tonight. Throwing out Abreu was a joke.
Ron…..Tom Glavine was a # 3, no fast ball to speak of at all, and neither did Maddox…..But they pitched, hit their spots at will, great command of all three pitches….Bottom line great control……Kennedy possess those pitching skills…Not saying he’s a 300 winner or a HOF at all, that’s not my point….He is however going to be an outstanding MLB pitcher….He has three very good pitches…..Check out some video of him, you’ll be signing a different tune…..
Wang and then Karstens each threw balls right down hte middle of hte plate called balls. this guy blows. I said it 15 minutes ago and that Abreu call was just brutal.
These umps are dirty commies. Last night Clemens gets ejected for defending his team, tonight Abreu gets ejected for arguing a RIDICULOUS call, and Towers is sitting in the dugout picking his nose. Unf’nbelievable.
On the bright side though, hopefully we’ll get to see Krazy Kyle kick some over-the-hill Canuck ass tonight!!
Ken Singleton is drunk.
I love this team! They will be good for a long time. The rotation next year is going to be younger and better.
Considering where they were in April and May, this team has impressed me to high heaven and the front office changed personnel where necessary FROM WITHIN!
2007 is a major success regardless of what happens in the post season.
BBB, you’re out of line tonight. It is only appropriate to bring up another bloggers mom when we’re playing the Sawks. Didn’t you get the memo?
hey, what the hell??? did they make giuseppe franco an umpire???
Ron, regarding Jeter, what are you talking about? While his range to second base is not as good as it is towards 3rd, I just don’t see how you can make that statement if you have watched Jeter throughout his career.
yeah I can’t wait for a Farns sighting. Should be exciting.
This game has the makings of a Meatloaf night. “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”.
Don’t worry Tampa Bay is up 3-1 on Detroit. I hear they’ve got a really reliable bullpen.
ughhh to Jeff Karstens…I’d like to see Ohlendorf instead.
So I suppose Matsui is a horrible fielder next to Jeter because he couldn’t get to that ball in the gap?
Man Pete sounds aggravated tonight. He is wrong about the A-Rod thing though. The Yankees were only up by two at the time and were in a huge losing streak. That broke the game open and assured that they won so despite what people say, it helped the team. Torre said it best, if A-Rod was the third baseman on that play and someone else yelled “Ha” A-Rod would have been beaten up in the press for letting something like that distract him. Also missing a game and possibly having Clemens suspended is not a result of A-Rod yelling “Ha” it is a result of the Blue Jays intentionally hitting A-Rod and Clemens sticking up for a teammate.
On a different note, Jeter has looked like he is hurt for a week or two now. He is not moving well at all and his head seems like it is not focused on what he is doing out there. Not turning a double play or at least taking the force at second with Wang on the hill was a mental error and cost us some runs. He needs a couple days off.
You, and Baseball America, are wrong about Kennedy. He doesn’t have an 88 MPH fastball. He’s been throwing above 90 all season.
Its wonderful that you consider Baseball America so “expert”. Dosen’t mean they can’t miss on prospects. I bet they still think Daniel Bard is a better prospect than Kennedy. How’s that working out? When it comes to evaluating Yankee prospects, they have been a year behind the times.
Its only been the last three months they have actually recognized how good these young pitchers have been and have written accordingly about them.
They are always slow to come around when they miss on a player. That’s the way they have been since the inception of the publication.
Like I said, how many games have you watched Kennedy pitch this year? I have sat in the scouts section for the starts I have seen him and have seen the radar gun readings. He has been consistently 90-92 all season, with movement on his fastball.
Its the reason why he now has 148 K’s in 128 innings this year. He freezes a lot of hitters with his moving fastballs on the inner half of the plate, especially to lefties. That sets up his curveball.
If his fastball had “no movement”, he would have been hammered by now by minor league hitters. Hitters are hitting .145 against him this year.
His size? Lots of pitchers are small in stature. One just won his 300th game.
Just because he isn’t 6-3, 230 and throw 95, doesn’t mean he isn’t a terrific prospect.
If he “only” projects to a #3 starter, that means he will “only” make about 100 million dollars in his professional career, if he performs like a good #3 starter.
I’d say, that would make him an excellent pitcher for the Yankees.
Frank Thomas’ milkshake brings all the boys to the yard…
In re: Kennedy, you can’t complain about a 1.08 ERA in Scranton and great numbers in Trenton. What do you want him to do? Trade Farnsworth for us??
Guess we can’t win every game. Idk about this Karstens kid. He just doesn’t seem to have the stuff.
*Andrea* – is Singleton really a drunk?
tonyb,
If he’s masochistic enough to troll here then he deserves what he gets.
That dude isn’t a blogger, he’s a troll. And as far as I’m concerned these pansy Sox fans who ONLY show up when the Yankees are either getting ready to face a tough pitcher or in the process of losing, get what they deserve. I have no sympathy for any of them. Normally I try to stay above the fray, but sometimes (like today) I will say something back. Maybe in some measure of justice, I *won’t* bring up a troll’s mom the next time the Yanks play the Sux, but I’m not calling the waaambulance for this troll either.
Crap. How’d they score last inning? I changed the channel without realizing and didn’t know why the commercial was lasting so long.
Also, this may not be entirely popular, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing Igawa get some innings tonight. He would have been better than Hughes on Saturday too.
Ian Kennedy is like a young Mussina. He is a definite, high ceiling prospect. If Clemens gets suspended, I’d sure as hell rather see him pitch in his place than Karstens. I have seen him pitch 3 times, and he was dominant each time. You don’t have to throw the ball through a wall to be a front of the rotation starter (See Glavine and Maddux).
It’s popular coming from the Bill James mindset to call Jeter a terrible fielder with “zone ratings” and such. Personally, I think Bill James is really overrated and is given far too much undeserved credence.
Peter, on your 812pm update…100% agree with you…PLUS,,,if we just score 2 runs per inning for the rest of the game and totally shut down the Jays,,,we walk away with a 12-9 win anyHOO ! ( we can dream, right ? )
I assume you are joking frits. Otherwise, I seriously suggest your looking into psychiatric assistance.
SJ44 is best friends with arod! he is above us ordinary fans
Wang is the ace, people just expect Ace’s to never have a bad outing, which is completely unrealistic.
According to the Elias SPorts Bureau, Wang was actually 6-2 with a 4.05 ERA in 9 career starts on turf before tonight. Not sure where you are getting your stats, but I work for ESPN.
*This year* – The way I see it, Igawa has more upside than Hughes.
SJ44 is really friends w/ a-rod?
Jeter’s range to his left is definitely sub-average. But his range to the right is great, and he makes 3 plays better than anyone in the game: the over the shoulder catch, the jump throw from deep in the hole and throwing across his body on slow rollers. All told, he is a fine shorstop defensively (he was voted the Gold Glove last two years, folks).
pete,
i’ve been reading this blog for a long time now and i rarely make comments. but your defensiveness and sarcasm are becoming a little tiresome. of course, you can always reply “it’s my blog, go somewhere else if you don’t like it,” but i’m not sure if you have anyone you work with that has pointed this fact out to you, that is why i felt the need to mention it. anyway, thanks for providing all of this valuable info for us and giving us this forum, i do greatly appreciate your hard work.
thanks,
drew
“That dude isn’t a blogger, he’s a troll. And as far as I’m concerned these pansy Sox fans who ONLY show up when the Yankees are either getting ready to face a tough pitcher or in the process of losing, get what they deserve.”
I don’t troll here, I usually don’t even talk about the Sox and give input on the Yanks. I have been here all year, the Yanks hit there highest point last night and this morning and I was here all day, actually expecting the Yanks to win tonight.
Don’t get so angry that Pete has banned me, for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
“[Igawa] would have been better than Hughes on Saturday too.”
OK, this blog has taken a turn for the weird! Between comments like this and Wang’s incredibly uncharacteristic outing, I am ready to call tonight something out of the Twilight Zone and go catch up on back episodes of Top Chef. Later peeps, will be back to enjoy Farnsy kicking Stairs’ ass when he tries to charge the mound after getting beaned!
edit: hasn’t
Igawa has more upside than Hughes? Now I know you are joking– or incurably delusional.
Have not been able to read all the posts. Had to listen to the Jays announcers on XM so I did not see any of the game until now.. I am sure the trolls and the Kasey types are out in force now..
CMW pitched terrible, you cannot win when your starter gives up 8 in 3 inning..
The announcers said on 1 play Jeter threw to 1st instead of getting the force at 2nd. they say he looks a little off tonight. any comment on that? Also the Jays announcers said the ABreu pitch was a ball, any comment on that?
Karstens is not the answer they need 1 more arm at least for the pen………………………
Tom Glavine is shoved down people’s throat everytime a Kasan Gabbard throws out a few good outings. Glavine is the exception, not the rule. Dozens of pitchers, from Horacio Ramirez to Brad Halsey, have been compared to Glavine, for the simple reason that they are lefties that don’t throw hard. Kennedy’s righthanded anyway.
And don’t give me Maddux comparisons. Maddux had a nasty 2-seam fastball and could hit a teacup-sized spot in the zone whenever he wanted to. Few pitchers have that kind of command.
They have that Britton dude. You know, the one that threw 50 innings of 3.50 ERA ball for the Orioles last year?
We’re down 7 runs. We gotta have something to laugh about
Has anyone seen that video clip of him doing those weird exercises going up the stairs of the stadium, where he bends down and touches his left foot with his right hand and vice versa? It was a part of his pre game warmup, and I wanted to slap him.
I’m glad to see that smug f*** McDonald boot a ball. In the words of King Alex, “HA!”
SJ44….Thank you for shedding some additional light and insight in regards to Ian Kennedy……As I mentioned before I watched this kid from his days in youth ball all the way to USC….He has what it takes….I always thought he was more complete than Phil was in HS…..
frits- yes, they were childhood friends
Karstens may be pitching for his spot on the roster tonight. Either being replaced by Ian Kennedy for the start that Clemens will miss for his suspension, or by Edwar Ramirez or Chris Britton. They can get multiple innings from Villone +/- Brower if need be.
5-1 D-Rays!
Wow, you Sofa Scouts (exception SJ44 and a couple others) get vicious when the Yanks are losing.
How do you sleep at night?
Pete,
I love Wang and believe he is ace level material, even if he isn’t the prototypical ace with high K totals. I also know that the turf hurts him.
However, you can’t be blaming it tonight? There was maybe 1 ground ball (the one to Jeter’s left) that could have been an out. All the other balls were hard hit to the outfielders. Maybe he wouldn’t have gotten hit quite as hard on grass but he still would have faired poorly.
He didn’t have it tonight. No shame in that.
Britton just came off the DL, Ron.
Sofa Scout.
Farnsworth the Brawler – that’s pretty sweet. i’ve loved a-rod since i was at the stadium for the playoff game against the Tigers that got rained out and he threw us a baseball while he was taking extra fielding practice. we were sitting in the box seats and we were some of the only people there. what a guy! that night ended in ignominy when it got rained out and i had to fly back home on a red eye the next morning and missed the game. ouch.
Chein Ming-Wang is our ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball. When he doesn’t have his best stuff, and leaves the ball up, he gets in trouble. Hopefully, after watching him pitch for 2 1/2 years now, you all know that.
10-1 in his last 11 starts. 19 wins last year. Maybe the same this year.
Even if we traded for Johan F’n Santana, Wang starts Opening Day next year.
david: i have mono so not at all. geeze whats up petes you know what today he is spitting hot fire at you guys doubting the yankees. its about time cause im sick of you bandwagon guys jumping on and off the bandwagon. you laughed at andrea BBB rocco and i wehn we said it wasnt lost when they were down and now you crawl out of the woodworks saying go yanks then they lose and youre on their case again… oh yea matt stairs is a punk
I cant wait to pitch!
guys ron is the least jerkish sox fan here
this stinks
we coulda taken the WC lead tonight, now we’ll have to weight atleast 2 days. Waaaaaaaaaa
no top cat thats a good thing everyones watching them now if they made a huge run now they might slump later id rather have them win .666 than win 7 of 10 lose 3 of 4 win 10 of 10 lose 7 of 7
they no longer need to sprint they have lead marathoners in their sights they can pace themselves now
David: while I agree that some of the “sofa scouts” are a bit harsh, and at times, uninformed, I don’t know if it’s fair to really call them “sofa scouts,” since the entire point of a message board is to voice opinions. Everyone can have opinions, enlightened or not.
Then again, you have the right to voice your opinion of distaste. You just seem a bit angry. Trying to lighten the mood!
Clemens may not miss a start. Even if he gets 5 days with an appeal that could be dropped around off days, the Yanks could set it up so he just gets an extra day of rest. Yanks have off days on both September 6 and 10.
Kennedy probably would be the best choice but do the Yankees want to start another pitchers MLB clock this year? That’d be Hughes, Joba and Kennedy all coming due for paydays at the same time. Not like the Yankees can’t afford it though.
*Andrea* – asking again if its true that Singleton is a drunk? a la Harry Carey?
I’m angry because everyone keeps dissing Igawa.
Jeter is having an off night.
i will turn it around tonight
Karstens BA against is over 400%… he is so avg(at best)…
Kennedy’s #’s in AAA are phenomenal… experts tell me when I should believe the #’s and when they mean nothing???
The guy is like 23 and dominating..
As I said earlier the Jays announcers said Jeter looked off, bad play by Derek…
Ahhh, Geez. Indians is also losing. we could have passed them too.
Doesn’t CM know about Lee’s press-on nails??
waaaaaaaa
Boston Yankee: sorry to hear about the mono. This is not a pretty game, but they won the series. Let’s be happy about that!
more Toronto fans there tonight than the past 2 nights. Think the brawl had anything to do with it?
Andrea, I’ve got no problem with people voicing their opinions. It’s when some people read a few minor league stats on line and suddenly they think thy should take Brian Cashman’s job.
I don’t go to a New Britain Rock Cats game and then come back suddenly thinking I’m so much smarter because I saw some minor league dudes toss a ball around.
SJ44 is not a Sofa Scout. He’s been out there, talking with scouts, and has been around long enough to understand what the game of baseball is and what it is about.
The internet has made just about everyone an expert on anything they want to be an expert on. It’s quite annoying.
The Yanks are losing tonight. So What? You can’t win them all and they will very surely be there at the end.
jeter parties too much… he needs to be more dedicated
frits: sorry, I didn’t see the question the first time. I don’t KNOW that he’s drunk, but someone I was talking to told me he sounded it, and I have to agree. First, he’s quieter than normal, and he’s also stopped a few thoughts mid-sentence. I think if I had to sit in a booth with Michael Kay all night, I’d probably sneak in a flask as well
somebody give karstens a dollar so he can go out and buy a strike
_they no longer need to sprint they have lead marathoners in their sights they can pace themselves now_
can Fransy pull a Jeff_Gillooly a kneecap Detroit.
I think I’m done with this blog. I rarely comment, but I check multiple times during the day and again during the game for news. But I think tonight is it for me. Pete, you’re great at giving us insider information, and that’s why I came, but when you analyze, you tend to turn into a prick. The “fanboy/comic book” comment was the tipping point for me (and I don’t own a single comic book). It’s too bad, I really liked your site, but too many times in the last few weeks I’ve found myself disliking you. I can’t support that.
Take care, man. You’re a good reporter. I just wished you’d stick with it.
Dan
Karstens will be looking for a apartment in scranton..
he is not that good… if he cannot get his offspeed pitch over he is very very hittable..
David: I hear you. Just don’t get so miffed about it! And you’re right. They can’t win them all. They’re playing with not their best roster right now (A-Rod out, Abreu out, Damon out, who hasn’t been hitting but is speed on the bases), and Wang had a bad, bad night, so it’s not surprsing that this game isn’t going well. But wouldn’t it be great if they could turn it around and win this?
What’s the deal with Jeff Karstens? I thought he was very highly touted in the beginning of the season…
Good riddance Dan.
Thanks Andrea…That’s hilarious. Remember this: no matter what, he can’t possibly be worse than Joe “They need to score more runs than the othe team if they want to win” Morgan and Jon “OMG BIG PAPI (girlish scream)” Miller.
Lets face it, Wang has looked like crap the past 4 or 5 starts now, numbers not withstanding. I don’t think he has any clue where the ball is goign when he releases it.
Pete, say what you want, but I think the consesus here has been, each time you bring it up, that what A-rod did was not outside the rules. How is his play any different that any oteher attempt to decieve a player (e.g. hidden ball trick, etc.).
On Kennedy –
I enjoy Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus a lot. They’re fun reads.
That said, taking what they say as the definitive truth on prospects is a stretch. Even BA and BP don’t claim such a mantle because they are often wrong and they admit it.
If you took someone like a Kyle Farnsworth and Ian Kennedy, put them side by side, Baseball America would undoubtedly say Farnsworth was the much better prospect because he has the higher “ceiling.” He fits the mold – 6ft 5in throws 97+. Huge “projectability.” A Can’t miss.
Luke Hochevar, Jeff Nieman, Mike Pelfry, etc. are all supposed to be much higher ceiling than kennedy is.
We’ll see. Go back over the last five years and see how many prospects have gone from A ball to AAA in a single season. Not many. And by any set of projections there is no way Kennedy should have been able to do that.
Yet he did. Now in Scranton he is as dominant as he was in Tampa. And its not like he did this in a vacuum like an Edwar Ramirez. Kennedy has dominated every level of competition (except his now fabled junior year at USC). That should mean something when you evaluate a prospect.
Take a guy like Franklin Morales from Colorado. Thows 97+. left handed, futures game. Supposed to be the whole package. But people all over baseball are perplexed as to why he doesn’t strike more people out. It doesn’t compute. He’s struck out 81 hitters in 101 innings.
Kennedy despite the “average” fastball everyone is always talking about (which is not 88-91 – he’s hit 94 and is usually between 90-93) has struck out far more hitters and been much more dominant. He has one of the best K/9 inning rates in the minors.
How do you explain those types of things? Projections are of limited value with outliers. Kennedy looks like he may be one.
I don’t profess to know how good Kennedy is going to be. But I also know that given the tremendous success he’s had at every level of baseball and the extraordinary numbers he’s put up this year its difficult to dismiss him as a “number three starter” what ever that term means.
Tonights game was a great example. In the sixth inning, his last inning of work, the outfielder boots the ball making it 1 and 3 with no one out. Kennedy then proceeds to strike out the next three hitters to get out of the jam. He has done this often this year. He is at his best when he needs to be. That is a sign of a special pitcher.
And the rest of baseball is finally taking notice. This is what Baseball America said about Kennedy last week:
“As good as Chamberlain has been this season, Kennedy, who was taken 20 spots ahead of Joba in 2006, has performed just a little better. Well, OK, a lot better. Over the same three levels as Chamberlain, Kennedy, 22, has gone 11-2, 1.76 with 135-41 K-BB in 118 innings. Opponents are hitting a mere .171 off him. In his first Triple-A start, Kennedy pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and walking two.”
http://www.baseballamerica.com.....64578.html
thanks for the well wishes i started feeling it last tuesday then on the way up here to our summer house my mom dragged me to the er and SUPRISE. kind of ruined the vacation but atleast im up here. its in upstate on lake ontario, oswego. It is quite lovely. im actually not watching on yes i have my binos out and am watching across the lake
SJ44, provides some good insights but is also a little full of himself. If he was as great as he says he’d be a scout and not blogging all the time.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if Clemens is suspended, all it will likely do is push his start back a day. He’ll appeal, and when the stars align (i.e., immediately after a start), he’ll drop the appeal and serve the suspension. As long as they work it so Mussina’s boxers don’t get in a bunch, it should be fine. And in the long run, Clemens proving both to the rest of the league and A-Rod that his teammates have his back, makes the ends justify the means.
P.S.: God, let us see Farnsworth tonight. It’ll be fun.
At least Cleveland is a puddle jump flight….BP optional tomorrow…..
Boston Yankee-
_to our summer house_
yeah, it’s HOT. Right now I’m also blogging from my summer home{{cough}} corner bar.
Brain c if what you say is true we are in all kinds of trouble. okay so my positive thing of the game: melky extended streak. you guys?
this is un watchable and if the Yankee announcers talk about they are hitting well today I am going to gag.
the mcdonald pitch was right down the middle everyone hits that in the big leagues even John Mcdonald.
now the havent pitched in 4 day excuse…
Karstens should go down he cannot strike anyone out… Villone is journeyman all the way..
why not take posada out????
frits: none of them are as bad as Tim “It doesn’t SMELL like a long rain delay” McCarver. GOD I hate him.
Boston Yankee: good think they opened the roof so you could see!
All I have left to say about this game is that Torre better not bring in Vizcaino tonight.
OK…silver lining for tonight…Karstens shows that he needs to be sent down and kept down…If you have a constant ERA of over 10, you are NOT a major leaguer. Farnsworth still has a chance to come in and throw a couple of innings to A) get used up, so Torre can’t use him when it matters and B) so he can fire a fastball at the legs of Matt the Goon Stairs, then run full out right at him and throw him to the ground…..would that be fun or What ? Oh, and don’t worry,,,,Boston is gonna get swept by LAA tonight…so we’ll still be in super shape after all is said and done tonight…only 5 games back ant LOTS O BALL 2 PLAY, folks !
hmmmm… man, I hope this stinker is limited to this nine innings.
big sigh of relief for the day off tomorrow… I think. Not sure if that will help or hurt.
does sj44 have his own blog?
what is going to happen to karstens and villone after this?
Dan:
Are you seriously that sensitive? I make one little crack on the A-Rod fanboys and you’re never going to read the blog again?
This is a blog by a beat reporter, not a collection of press releases or a fan web web site. If I can’t make a few comments now or then, what would be the point?
I’m not sure what you’re looking for, but good luck finding it. Sorry, but I’m not going to become some ass-kisser.
kaj detroit is losing too
andrea: you win.
top you can have mono in my upstate house if you please you can give me a fakie and ill chill at the bar! id give anything to get out of this house. i need to pack and all this crap.
We forgot that designating Cairo for assignment means we lost our best potential position player mop up reliever. WE need Cairo in the 7th!
_Sorry, but I’m not going to become some ass-kisser._
I’d kiss kim jones’ ass (sheepish grin)
okay… 12 down. We can come back from this.
sammy: who knows
frits: I think we all win whenever we don’t have to listen to Tim “he wears his hat like a lefthander” McCarver.
This just needs to be over. Day off and move on to the next series.
Matsui’s July is extending into August!
Peter: not gonna lie, it’s nice to see you defend yourself. We may not agree with you all the time, but it is YOUR blog.
heres a riddle how many single homers does it take to over come a 10 run margin?
top cat that is gross youve had too much to drink if youd do that lol
We need Cairo
Boston Yankee: agreed. Kim Jones is a troll. And not the blog kind of troll.
I just find it strange that you would automatically assume A-Rod fans are fan boys that sit in the basement and read comic books. I understand why some people are so quick to come to the defense of A-Rod. He is easily one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game, but he certainly doesn’t get the credit and take a ton of abuse just because he makes alot of money.
glad Jorge and Jeter are getting a couple innings off…but why, oh why is villone still in?
dont tell my dad or friends but id rather with hazel. SHHHH SHHHHHHH SHHHHH. id be really rude to her after but i try to hide it but i have TORONTO FEVA!
Idiots (like me) who read a blog during a Yankee game are different than comic-book fan boys who sit in their basement….how?
Okay, I will give Torre credit for taking Posada out. Any chance to rest him is good. Good job by Joe.
Man, folks got to lighten up. Its one game. They won the series. What’s the problem?
For the regulars, we know the trolls come out when the Yankees lose. Just ignore them.
Tonight is a “tryout” game for some guys. For Karstans? Probably means Edwar will be getting the call and Jeff will head back to Scranton. Can’t pitch like that and expect to be on the roster for the stretch run.
If you can’t throw the ball over the plate, its pretty clear, patience is running thin with the Yankees for guys like that.
Villone? The fact that he is left handed, and Sean Henn also can’t find the strikezone, probably saves him. I doubt a decent lefty reliever is going to slip through waivers. That means, we are stuck with Villone the rest of the way.
An easily forgetable night.
Re: Kennedy, its funny to me when people talk about his size. I can name a ton of pitchers his size who have had successful ML careers. Four off the top of my head, who aren’t Greg Maddox or Tom Glavine. David Cone, Mike Mussina, El Duque, and Dennis Leonard, for you folks who remember the Royals of the 70′s. His size isn’t going to hold him back. The key is staying healthy.
The kid is very, very talented. He isn’t just winning, he is dominating at every level. I don’t care what team you root for, or how big he is, that’s impressive.
Re: Wang, pitchers are going to have bad nights. I saw a game earlier in the year when Halladay gave up 8 in under 2 innings. Wang had his night tonight. Gallardo gave up 11 runs today against the Brewers. Somehow, I don’t think the Brewers think he is a “bust”.
Its the ebbs and flows of the game.
OK, 7th inning, losing by a wide margin…seriously, where is Farnsworth???
oh c’mon Andrea, Kim’s a hottie, she’s troll looking.
and B Yankee, I gotta hook ya up with some frisky chicas.
BBB
Tonight, I think Farnsworth gets to be the 8th or 9th inning guy!
should read: “oh c’mon Andrea, Kim’s a hottie, she’s _not_ troll looking.”
Boston Yankee
August 8th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
kaj detroit is losing too
SWEET !
and did you see that…Peter said @$$ !!! LOL !
Leiter’s math skills need work… he needs to stop with this silliness… he should feel embarassed.
YankeeJosh
August 8th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
BBB
Tonight, I think Farnsworth gets to be the 8th or 9th inning guy!
DUDE,,,,he needs to be in their RIGHT NOW ! Why are they wasting a decent pitcher like Villone right now when they can burn out Farnsy ??? EEDIOTS !!! LOL !
SJ44: my problem with Wang’s performance is basically that it’s so unexpected. I don’t blame him–he’s entitled to an off day and it’s expected, but he’s been having some not good innings a lot lately. Again, It’s not like I think he’s a bad pitcher now. But I really want to know if there’s something wrong with him right now. He’s never been this shakey, in recent memory. Is there something still wrong with that finger or the nail?
Anyone else think 10 runs is a good possibility with these guys?? C’mon Yankees!
God damn Villone is lucky he is left-handed.
Make that 11 runs
SJ44 = The Voice Of Reason
Top Cat: i will ignore your correction and go with your original statement that she is troll looking
I just dislike how she has that dopey smile when she talks to players. Shut it. They don’t like you. I LOVE when she was interviewing Shelley Duncan one day and people came and dumped water on him and she kept asking him stuff and he just interruped and said “ok, I’m gonna go over there now” and just left.
we only need two quick touchdowns and for the defense to make a goal line stand and we have a shot to pull this one off !!!
Let’s pool our money together and send Farnsy 10K to plunk Stairs in the 8th !!!
Ron Guidry…5-10 165 ….Sandy Kofax 5-11 180, perhaps the greatest pitcher ever….Well he was the best I ever seen….
Tampa is smashing detroit 7-1 in the motor city, no less.
Well, as long as Boston loses tonight. There’s nothing funny than seeing them fall apart.
The Yankees need someone to eat innings. Wang and Karstens didn’t do it. If Farnsworth comes in now he’s good for one inning and then another pitcher has to come in to get burned. With Myers gone, Villone is taking one for the team.
Wang should quit smoking. I always had brittle nails (for lack of a better name) when I smoked. After I quit smoking, I never had them.
That’s what I’m sayin’ KAJ! It is up to Farnsy to make this game exciting…and in a good way for once!
How is this Kozlowski character at Scranto? He’s got good numbers and he’s left handed; he’s also 27 but what the hell..He’s gotta be better than Villone or Henn.
8 runs in 2 innings (wang), 8 runs in 1 inning (Clemens). You just don’t see this kind of outings from true aces like Dice-K, Beckett, and even Wakefield.
hmmmm, I’m a brittle-nailed smoker too, I never really considered that that could be the problem. I thought Wang quit smoking cigarettes though? Could have sworn I read somewhere that he only chews during the season..
Andrea, that shelley story is funny. At least he didn’t TAKE her OUT with a slide (high-five, notwithstanding).
passer by – he did quit smoking during the season. he chews now. from what i’ve heard.
damon at first!
I really hope that Farnsworth pitches tonight. He needs the work, and all he
deserves at this point is mop-up duty like this.
its funny how some of the “fanboys” identified themselves when pete made no indication of anyone specific.
still LOL @ “ass kisser”
melky 14 games, love that kid!
Andrea,
All good pitchers go thru this at some point in the season. Doc Halladay did earlier in the year, Santana has been real shaky (until tonight) for almost a month, Josh Beckett is 3-5 after starting out 10-0.
Wang will be fine. With him, its location. When everything is up, because he pitches to contact, that’s trouble. From the first hitter tonight, everything was up. Had a feeling that would be trouble.
If Wang is a problem, then we are in good shape. He will be fine.
I shake off games like this after a series is clinched. Off day tomorrow and a big series in Cleveland. Wouldn’t shock me if everybody’s focus was a little off tonight.
At this point, its all about big picture. Win series and move on. The Yankees are doing what they have to do.
My only concern for the team right now is, they are an arm short in the bullpen. It really shows on nights like this. They need one more guy because Karstans can’t cut it.
Edwar, Britton, Ohlendorf, the return of Bruney? I don’t know but, they can’t go to Cleveland with Karstans. Will be interesting if there is another roster move before Friday.
ah ha sheffield!
BBB,
I am not 100% sure that somking is the reason. But, in my case I never had problems with nails after I quit. So, why not Wang try it. His fingers are worth millions. And even if it turns out that smoking is not the reason, its still good.
hahaha top cat i have mono
maybe he should use a cigarette holder, like FDR.
or maybe he should wear gloves, like Audrey Hepburn.
Love how defensive of wang you got, pete. look back at your posts and ask yourself, did josh phelps deserve more respect than you gave him? or edwar after he cried, did your post measure up to an acceptable level of respect? i won’t even mention the level of ‘respect’ you paid arod over the last two years. your buddy had an off night, he got criticized for it. suck it up. he’s been erratic and up in the zone for weeks. tonight, it caught up with him. hopefully he’ll be better next time. he’ll have to be or you may have to come to his defense again. anyone saying he is not an ace is insane or joking. go easy.
passer by – he quit during the season. k?
This is a forgettable loss…..Losing 3-2 or so will eat away at your soul…..Screw it, move on…..
kaj ill give ten bucks to the cause stairs is a punk
Boston Yankee-
Oh, I see, you’ve _already_ hooked up with some frisky chicas. There’s alot of that going around, ever since the sprung Paris.
frits,
I would like him to quit altogether. Not just during the season.
and here is Krazy Kyle.
and here he is… if he crosses up moline, then what
stairs…..must…..feel…..pain….
“passer by – he quit during the season. k?”
Frits, does he still smoke in the offseason though? B/c if he does, the negative effects of cigarettes are not gonna go away just because you haven’t smoked in 6 months. I actually think passer by makes an interesting point, maybe it’s worth looking into. I know quitting is hard but if Wang quits, I will quit!
Anyway, normally I wouldnt split hairs about something like this but it’s not like there’s much in-game action to discuss right now..
haha top i feel like junk but they were worth it. but top if i ever hit up nyc well go get some party girls
“it’s not like there’s much in-game action to discuss right now..”
OMG I lied…Farns in and Stairs the next batter!!! Throw down Farnsy, THROW DOWN!!!!
i feel like whenever al leiter has to talk about mechanics he uses baby talk: herky jerky, keep it out of the no no zone, keep it out of his happy space
farnsy….you failed us !!!!
bbb that would be too perfect no way would farnsowrth find a use for himself
Ok, NOW I am officially going to start calling him Farnsworthless. Cause he now officially is! I gave him the benefit of the doubt and waited for him to kick someone’s ass…well he just had the golden opportunity and didn’t do a damn thing!!! Gaaaah what a $#@^!
And to add insult to injury, he picks NOW to have a 1-2-3 inning. Farnsy, you’re officially ugly and I hate you!! :\
Chad Jennings the reporter who covers the Scranton Yanks had some interesting notes on the game Kennedy threw tonight:
“It was his [Kennedy's] 23rd game of the year overall, and he’s given up more than two runs only twice. A scout covering the game raved about him, calling Kennedy “polished.” His finest moment came in the sixth inning when he had runners at the corners with no outs, and went on to strikeout the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters. Impressive stuff.”
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....fault.aspx
i dont know if he smokes during the off-season, and i couldn’t agree more that he should quit altogether. i’ll see what i can find about season v. off-season…i do know, from personal experience, that chew can be a type of reverse-gateway to get you off cigarettes. unfortunately, i always thought chew was MORE addictive than smokes. so, for whatever thats worth…
bbb i thought you had a think for kyle
Wang shouldnt pitch on turf. He is a sinkerball pitcher and the groundballs go crazy fast with crazy hops and the balls that hit into the outfield go even farther once they land. He needs to pitch on an actual field, outside. It would be beneficial to throw him a simulated game and bring up a Kennedy or have Joba start instead. Seriously.
good stuff CB. Other than Kennedy it was a rather dull night on the farm as AJAX didn’t do anything, Tabata was 1-3 and no other big pitching prospects played.
They won the series. That’s all they need to do the rest of the year.
some dude on baseball tonight, not the host or olney, said that chamberlain shouldn’t have used his slider last night because now “other teams have tape on him” and they know what’s coming. wtf?
So, fulsome defense of Wang, very little when it comes to A-Rod. Come on, Pete. You might pretend otherwise. Blaming A-Rod for Clemens’ suspension is absurd, and suggests a sometimes casual acquaintance with the history of the game.
Pop quiz. Melky faked a catch in the outfield yesterday. Should the Pissy Jays throw at him? How about twice on consecutive days? If so, and suspensions result, is it Melky’s fault?
“It’s amusing that when I mention that A-Rod just may have done something wrong, the love-struck fanboys respond then go back to the basement to read more comic books.”
That’s mature. I’m glad we can discuss the matter like adults.
Oh, and as far as Wang goes, he hasn’t been lights out in a while, has fought thru average stuff in many of his previous starts. And he handed the game away tonight in a couple innings.
I love the kid. But he needs to get back to where he was before.
drew August 8th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
pete,
i’ve been reading this blog for a long time now and i rarely make comments. but your defensiveness and sarcasm are becoming a little tiresome. of course, you can always reply “it’s my blog, go somewhere else if you don’t like it,� but i’m not sure if you have anyone you work with that has pointed this fact out to you, that is why i felt the need to mention it. anyway, thanks for providing all of this valuable info for us and giving us this forum, i do greatly appreciate your hard work.
thanks,
drew
I echo those sentiments… I too admire the blog and the hard work and efforts by Pete, but Drew’s right… “the I’m smarter than you/told you so” angle is a pain.
SJ44 is right. they need 1 more arm in the pen at least… bruney is better then Karstens the only thing Karstens has on Bruney is length. I think the ycannot call up Bruney for 10 days…..
How about big boy britton or Edward..
Kasey the reason Pete is easier on Wnag is simple you give the guys who produce more slack. the guy won 19 games last yr. Josh Phelps was in AAA last yr.. minor issue.. then again to you Clemens and Desalvo should be treated the same!!!!!!
Give the Yanks another 2-3 years and I think we’re going to see a really good club. Guys like Cano/Melky/Wang I believe are the tip of the iceburg that we’re only starting to see now. Check out the minor league club standings. Just about every team in the Yankees farm system right now (from AAA down to rookie) is in first place in their division. You don’t have first place teams if you stink or have bad players. You may not know many of these players names now but I think in a couple of years you’re going to … ESPECIALLY the pitching.
I hope that angels will kick boston ass.
“Kasey the reason Pete is easier on Wnag is simple you give the guys who produce more slack.”
i guess that also explains his posts regarding a-rod, then?
i think pete does great work. GREAT work. this blog is incredibly informative and enjoyable. usually the first site i visit every day.
but today’s posts were ridiculous. it’s a-rod’s fault the jays decided throwing behind him wasn’t enough, they needed to actually HIT and possibly injure him? it’s a-rod’s fault that clemens is old school and decided to retaliate, knowing FULL WELL what the punishment would be? that’s an absolute crock.
when you add to that that pete absolutely leapt to the defense of wang, who it just so happens he helped write a book about, and criticized people here for not being “respectful” enough of wang, it became almost comical.
take a look at wang’s last 7 or so starts. with the exception of KC, the guy’s given up 3 or more runs every time out. he gets away with it because he’s got a great sinker and can get the DP at any time, but he’s been falling behind hitters and putting a bunch of guys on base for TWO MONTHS. today it caught up with him. but, clearly, it’s the turf. balls roll faster on the turf, which turns singles into doubles. never mind that wang gave up 8 runs in 2+ innings today. nevermind that every ball was absolutely SMASHED. it’s the turf, and we should be more respectful of pete’s boy when criticizing his absolutely AWFUL performance today.
i make jokes about wang here because pete is so clearly a fan of the guy. nothing wrong with that. he’s a very good pitcher and, by all accounts, a great kid. but to say he’s earned more respect than to be critized by a bunch of fans on a baseball blog, especially considering the huge amoutn of sarcasm pete sprinkles throughout his posts, is absolutely laughable.
wang had a rough day. hopefully, he’ll go back to giving them 6+ innings and 3 or so runs. personally, i’d like to see him do better than that, but the guy wins games and his ERA is respectable. he’s earned the right to an off night. but let’s not pretend he’s been absolutely lights out and tonight was a freak thing. he’s been teetering on the brink and getting out of jams for two months now. tonight, he couldn’t do it.
he deserved the criticism and pete, of all people, should be able to handle it when a player – even if it’s one of his favorites – gets criticized.
No matter what A-Rod said on the base path Howie Clark should have called “I got it, I got it” long before A-Rod was near him. You call for it, you make the play. It’s called fundamental baseball.
I’m glad A-Rod sat out this game. The Jays couldn’t throw at him again unless they try to hit him in the dugout.
wow, I am not seeing my post.
amazing
All the morons that think Wang’s an ace,
You just saw all the reasons why pitchers with below league average strikeout rates do not have long, successful careers.
13 win and 1 rough outing?
I will take Wang as my ace anyday!
I enjoy this blog, it’s the first site I check after coming home from work. I don’t always agree with Pete’s opinion, but I respect it. This blog is among the most informative and insightful out there, and kudos to Peter for a job well done. Keep up the great work, it is appreciated.
Now, how about that Cano ???
How do you guys know Wang smokes or smoked?
Pete, I enjoy reading your comments, but some of your petty barbs and sarcastic ripostes are really starting to wear thin. When you say, “So that little incident back in May cost him, as it turns out,” how do you not expect to be slammed? That statement is RIDICULOUS. So, basically, you are blaming A Rod for the fact that Toronto tries to bean him twice in consecutive games and he winds up injured? Do you realise how absurd that sounds?
Going back to last week, you had some “witty,” sarcastic banter about how “bad” Damon is, with his terrific plays in the outfield and his 3 runs scored … Again, this just smacks of pettiness. Damon’s been a bust for the better part of the season, the fact that he’s turned it up a bit of late is nice, but it doesn’t undo the mediocrity of April-June.
You seem unable to let things go with A Rod, (I fear we’re never gonna hear the end of you needling him), yet, when others “can’t let go” regarding Damon’s poor start, you vilify them.
Do you see a problem here?
LC