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Torre includes Bernie; Shelley to DH?

Peter Abraham
October
1

Joe Torre was at a school in New Jersey today opening a shelter for victims of domestic violence. In a classy move, he invited Bernie Williams to come along with him to speak to the kids.

Williams will be honored at the charity dinner Torre hosts in Manhattan next month to benefit his foundation.

Little by little, the Yankees are drawing Bernie back into the fold. Hopefully this leads to a “Bernie Williams Day” at the Stadium next season.

There was a little baseball talk at the event. Torre said he expected Hideki Matsui to be ready for Thursday. But he mentioned the idea of having Shelley Duncan be the DH against C.C. Sabathia.

It’s an intriguing idea. Matsui is 0 for 9 against Sabathia in his career, has been slumping lately and is gimpy. Duncan is 10 for 33 against lefties with three homers this season.

However, Matsui has a .895 OPS in 151 postseason ABs. It’s not an easy call. I’d give the kid a shot. Assuming he doesn’t spontaneously combust on his way to the plate, he could run into one.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 3:43 pm by Peter Abraham.
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66 Responses to “Torre includes Bernie; Shelley to DH?”

  1. Joe_Southern_ NH

    Any start times yet Pete? I heard 3pm they were suppose to announce them?

  2. John in Ohio

    Totally agree with giving Duncan a shot against Sabathia. If he catches one early, his enthusiasm gets the guys sky high right off the bat (so to speak).

  3. Global Warming

    No way I sit Matsui for Smash Duncan.

    Matsui can rake in the postseason.

  4. YankeeDudel

    I am glad to hear they are trying to make nice with Bernie. When are you going to collect on your dinner bet? (I believe in Spring Training you bet another writer that Bernie would not play for the Yankees this year).

    I would go with Duncan as DH. You need a little magic to win in the playoffs.

  5. Rockin' Rich 27/07

    Bernie is a true Yankee and needs to be around the team (and vice versa).

    (And I say “Go Shelly!” too.)

  6. mike f

    shelley is a must. why put a slumping lefty with a bad knee up against a dominant lefty starter? i love matsui, but use him to his and the teams best advantage. not just because he’s the “trusted veteran”

  7. Joe from Long Island

    Matsui’s knee could have affected his swing. I bet Torre looks at Matsui in BP on Tuesday and Wednesday and then decides. If Matsui is less than 100%, I bet he goes with Shelley at DH.

  8. jennifer 27 in 07

    Wow Mike on WFAN is far behind the times. He was going on and on about TBS HD not being on cable only on direct tv. I know i heard a few days ago that cablevision got the rights for HD. He just announced after talking about it for 20 minutes that Cablevision just announced they are broadcasting in HD.

  9. jennifer 27 in 07

    Yankees could be all day games!! wtf!! they want the angels and soxs to be prime time. I hope they get zero ratings!!

  10. jennifer 27 in 07

    Yankee stadium during the day is not the same as a night game. Espically in the playoffs!! How the heck am I going to work if a playoff game is going on. :(

  11. Drive 4-5

    Shelley has an idea at the plate. He’s not araid to work the count. Who knows..he could be this year’s Divisional Championship version of ’98’s Shane Spencer.

  12. G. Love

    I actually go with Shelley at DH. I don’t know why, but that crazy eyed kook has post season hero written all over him.

  13. Dave

    if any of them are 4 o clock games please tell me its thursdays game? That is the only day that should be a late afternoon game. Why the heck would they make friday a day game and thursday a nite game?

  14. The Count of Montefusco

    BER-NIE BASEBALL!

    (Thwomp-thwomp, thwop-thwop-thwomp)

    BER-NIE BASEBALL!

    (Thwomp-thwomp, thwop-thwop-thwomp)

    BER-NIE BASEBALL!

    (Thwomp-thwomp, thwop-thwop-thwomp)

  15. Jeff NJ

    Thursday is the only one that will probably be at 8. I have tix for game 4 Monday, guess I’m taking the day off.

  16. The Count of Montefusco

    BER-NIE BASEBALL!

    (Thwomp-thwomp, thwomp-thwomp-thwomp)

    BER-NIE BASEBALL!

    (Thwomp-thwomp, thwomp-thwomp-thwomp)

    BER-NIE BASEBALL!

    (Thwomp-thwomp, thwomp-thwomp-thwomp)

  17. saucy

    they should play all of our games at 7 and all sox-angels games at 10.

  18. jennifer 27 in 07

    Yeah they said Thursday’s game would be the night game.

  19. jon

    Where are you guys getting these times from? They’re not posted anywhere as far as I can see. Every game time, even MLB.com is TBD.

    And they’re not stupid – the Yankees will have as many night games as any other team.

  20. jennifer 27 in 07

    They shouldn’t even show the soxs games on tv. I know I won’t watch.

  21. Drive 4-5

    Where is everyone finding the game times??? There’s nothing on mlb’s website!

  22. Stephen

    I don’t like Shelley at DH. Say what you will about Matsui’s season, I trust him as a situational hitter more than Duncan.

  23. jennifer 27 in 07

    I am getting the information from the radio. They want the Angels in primetime for the west coast.

  24. jennifer 27 in 07

    4pm is deadly at Yankee Stadium! Leftfield is terrible. Not a good idea. :(

  25. migames

    well, we all know who is america’s team, they even have their own president. Its in vouge to like the red soxs, I wonder if all of them forgot that they finished 3rd last season….

  26. Drive 4-5

    jennifer,

    If voice on the radio is Chris Russo, I’d consider the source.

  27. Gayle

    As we have seen by their horrible reporting about the TBS HD thing lets not count on Mike and the Dog for anything until it is announced officially by MLB

  28. passer by

    “I am getting the information from the radio. They want the Angels in primetime for the west coast.”

    Doesn’t that mean that the Angels Vs Sox will start late in the night thus leaving the 7:00 pm slot open for yankees? This makes most sense for TBS. If they play yankees in the afternoon they are guaranteed to miss their biggest market.

  29. saucy

    good thing i asked to use a vacation day next monday

    bad thing my boss hasn’t responded to my email yet and he’s on vacation next week :?

  30. Nigel

    Playing Shelley is an intriguing idea…..until you realize that he’s 6 for 33(.182) since August 15.

  31. The D train

    I wouldn’t let Matsui’s 0 for 9 vs. Sabathia be the deciding factor because he normally hits lefthanders well but another day of resting the so-so knee isn’t the worse idea. Shelley is anxious to shine.

  32. Dr. Acula

    _I actually go with Shelley at DH. I don’t know why, but that crazy eyed kook has post season hero written all over him._

    http://tinyurl.com/325zdl

    LOL!

    You ain’t kidd’n

  33. Drive 4-5

    I guess one thing we should worry about is Bud Selig’s ability to make sensible decisions when it comes to broadcasting.

    Remember, these are the same fools that last winter signed an exclusive deal with DirecTV for the rights to the baseball package. They never even considered the millions of cable subscribers until Selig & Co were overwhelmed with protests.

    These are also the same fools who brought us November baseball.

  34. jon

    Yeah, doesn’t make sense at all. If the Yankee game is on at 4 EST and the LA/Sox game is 7 EST, then only 1 team’s fans can watch their team’s game (Boston). Everyone else is at work.

    If it’s Yankees at 7pm EST and LA at 10pm, then everyone can watch, just Boston will have till stay up late.

    That’s a no-brainer from a viewership standpoint.

    And they know the Yankees have the biggest audience anyway. I still say the Yankees will play at night for most, if not every game.

  35. MJL

    I can’t even remember the last time the Yanks played an afternoon game in the playoffs. I’m sure it was last year but still, anything other than Yankees at night just doesn’t seem right.

  36. migames

    i thought something else brought us november baseball

  37. jennifer 27 in 07

    Very true I thought of that after I posted. LOL

  38. migames

    I can’t even remember the last time the Yanks played an afternoon game in the playoffs. I’m sure it was last year but still, anything other than Yankees at night just doesn’t seem right.

    wasnt the jeffrey maier a day game? i remember watching it in the late afternoon

  39. Ranting Guy

    Starting Duncan at DH against CC is a chance. It’s a chance for him to to come up big too. Sure, Sushi’s slumping & hobbled but you can’t give up on a guy like that.

    If the situation calls for Sushi to PH for him (Injuns pitching change/Duncan or CC not doing well/anything else) then Torre can put Matsui in for the DH’s 3rd or 4th plate appearance. If not, there’s a game 2 coming up.

  40. Janosz Poha

    I’d rather watch Shelley flail at breaking balls than Matsui yank double-play grounders to the 2nd baseman. ;)

  41. keith

    ? the playoffs don’t end until novemeber this year either.

  42. jk

    Time Warner added TBS-HD today.

    Give Duncan a shot. Their record vs lefty’s in road games is abysmal this year. I would start Betamit over Minkaveitch as well.

  43. jennifer 27 in 07

    If I recall correctly the game Mike pitched last year was a day game.

  44. jennifer 27 in 07

    JK do you like watching people strike out? NO to Wilson!!

  45. Carmine

    Yankees were eliminated in a day game last year. Game 2 was also a day game.

  46. Gayle

    Yes game 2 against the Tigers was a day game for sure. I was there it might h ave been because it was a rainout game and if I recall the next game was the next night in Detroit or something like that

  47. Carmine

    Yeah, I was at Game 2 also. It was a makeup of the previous night’s rainout.

  48. cc

    I thought “included” meant Joe put Bernie on the postseason roster! (j/k)

    Did Bernie attend to the event in NJ or was he just invited?

  49. DesignatedBlogger

    You think Bernie will be added to the post season roster?

  50. Neil

    Hey guys I am in class right now. Just wondering if the official start times had been posted yet. Buster Olney said by 4:00. Also it was pretty awful walking to class through the middle of the Red Sox rally at Boston city hall.

  51. scarletknight64

    The original time for game 2 last yr was at night. We sat there until 10PM and then it was postponed. Odd but Fox announced the game was called before they ever said anything at the Stadium which really annoyed everyone in my area.

    The makeup was set for the following afternoon.

  52. Drive 4-5

    The Red Sox media blitz like to portray them as “America’s Team”. The reality is that this year Boston drew a whopping 35,000 more fans on the road than the yankees did. But after you take into account the 17,000 seat difference between Yankee Stadium and Fenway, the Yankees actually drew more fans on the road than the Red Sox in games against the rest of the teams. MLB ought to put the team that really is “America’s Team”, the New York Yakees, on in prime time

  53. nicole

    mlb has the weds times up – but not the thurs times yet
    but on tbs’s schedule there is a 3:30, 7, and 10;30 time – my guess is the phillies/? probably gets 3:30; yanks/cleveland 7; and cubs/dbacks 10:30

  54. nicole

    take back the last post:

    mlb doesn’t have updated info on their frontpage, but when you click the division series link you get all the time
    http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/ps/y2007/index.jsp

  55. mel

    Everybody loves a winner, those who don’t are just jealous…or idiots.

  56. jennifer 27 in 07

    scarletknight64 Yeah I called my cousin who was at the game and told her the game was cancelled. She thought I was bsing, said nothing was said. I told her that i swear up and down fox said it was cancelled. THey didn’t hear for almost another 30 minutes.

  57. jon

    ridiculous:

    Series begins Thursday

    Game Matchup Day Date Time ET TV
    Gm 1 NYY @ CLE Thu Oct. 4 6:30 pm TBS
    Gm 2 NYY @ CLE Fri Oct. 5 5 pm TBS
    Gm 3 CLE @ NYY Sun Oct. 7 6:30 pm TBS
    Gm 4* CLE @ NYY Mon Oct. 8 6 pm TBS
    Gm 5* NYY @ CLE Wed Oct. 10 5 pm TBS

  58. jon

    Alright, I guess it could be worse. And the games will probably start half an hour or an hour after those times. But where are these coming from? I don’t think a baseball game has ever started at most of the times listed.

  59. corsari

    CC is a very tough lefty, put Duncan in the lineup and let Matsui focus on Friday (or pinch-hit on Thursday). That´s what I´d do anyway.

    Would I be far off if with this ALDS roster:
    Starters (5): Wang, Pettitte, Clemens, Moose, Hughes (will likely be in bullpen);
    Relievers (7): Villone, Veras, Ohlendorf, Farnsworth, Vizcaino, Chamberlain, Rivera;
    Catchers (2): Posada, Molina;
    Infielders (6): Mientkiewicz, Giambi, Cano, A-Rod, Jeter, Betemit;
    Outfielders (5): Abreu, Cabrera, Damon, Matsui, Duncan.

    I think the position players are pretty obvious. Just like a rotation of Wang, Pettitte, Clemens and Moose (with Hughes as spot-starter/long-relief). The bullpen has a few questionmarks in my opinion. Mo, Joba, Viz, Farnsworth, Villone are obvious choices. I hope Ohlendorf will be there too and the last spot would be Veras´, I think. And Kennedy possibly for the ALCS.

  60. corsari

    How could I forget about Edwar. Guess the excitement has gotten to my head already lol. Ramirez for Veras then.

  61. David

    “spontaneously combust on his way to the plate.” LMFAO

  62. MMF

    12 pitchers in a short series is completely unnecessary, especailly with two built in of days.

    How come no one is suggesting Duncan at first base?

  63. LAS 2.0

    Well, Shelly was recently quoted as saying that he never just dreamed of playing in the majors, he dreamed of playing in the World Series. Maybe playing him in the playoffs will be the road to making his dreams come true!

  64. Boston Dave

    im not sure i want edwar in there. i wish the yanks had a better lefty specialist right about now for Sizemore and Hafner who seem to K against any good sidearm lefty.

  65. Boston Dave

    WOW, Holliday didnt get the plate….. ouch

  66. chris in fairfield

    c.c. has held lefties to a .203 ba . i say play as many right handed bats as you can .

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Chad JenningsChad Jennings joined the The Journal News in October 2009, having spent the better part of seven years covering baseball in Scranton, PA. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and an award-winning beat reporter and features writer. E-mail me at cjennings@lohud.com
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Sam BordenSam Borden is an award-winning journalist who joined The Journal News and LoHud.com in January 2008. He covered the Yankees for the New York Daily News from 2004-06, and has also worked as a columnist for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. E-mail me at sborden@lohud.com
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Sam BordenJosh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. E-mail me at jthomson@lohud.com
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