The Yankees sharp behind Wang
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- January
- 11
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Now here’s some quality blogging from The Replacement Level Yankees Weblog.
They broke down defensive zone ratings for games when Chien-Ming Wang pitches as opposed to when he doesn’t pitch. Turns out the Yankees actually do play better defense when the Wanger is on the mound.
My belief is that Wang’s sinker is such a good pitch that it’s difficult for hitters to do much with it. It leads to grounders and weak fly balls. This negates the relative lack of strikeouts.
I also suspect that Wang fields more balls than an average pitcher because of the sinker. He gets a lot of outs himself.
Anyway, good stuff from RLYB.
————
Don’t forget, spring training tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Ticketmaster has them.
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on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
RLYW has excellent analysis. I highly recommend a daily visit … of course, after a visit to your site Pete.
I more than understand the sentiment that he should not be a traditional “ace who is able to stop the bleeding” type of pitcher on a great team. He is still an elite pitcher in this league, and my hope is that he will continue to do in a Yankee uniform for years to come. He is a joy to watch out there (except in the 2006 Playoffs
)
Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they’re fascist. Throw some ground balls – it’s more democratic.
Crash Davis in Bull Durham
I more than understand the sentiment that he should not be a traditional “ace who is able to stop the bleeding†type of pitcher on a great team.”
(is that how you do the box thing?)
I don’t quite get what you’re saying…he should not be a “stop the bleeding” kind of pitcher? Do you mean he isn’t and we shouldn’t expect him to? Why not? Wang averages more innings per start over the last two years than any other yankee pitcher. And had a better ERA. And more wins than, I think, any other pitcher in baseball over the last two seasons — and not just due to run support. He pitched well and deep into games, frequently.
Chien-Ming Wang had a fingernail split that bothered him for the late part of 2007. Although he tried to pitch through it, the “bowling ball” affect of his hard sinker was evidently not there.
He’s healed and ready to start a new slate.
I wonder if Wang will win the CY Young this season. I hope he does or at least get a 20 win season.
Well, that wasn’t how you do the box-quote thing.
How do you do that?
Whozat this is how you do the blockquote
Type what you want to say here
Take out the dots I put in and you will see a blockquote.
Didn’t exactly work.
[blockquote] type what you want to say here [/blockquote]
Use the less than and greater than signs instead of the signs I use. Understand?
Yah.
I had tried [quote] (with angle brackets), but that didn’t work:-)
So, in addition to standard html tags, what other stuff does the board support?
strikewhat else?
Wang will one day win 20 games becausehe’s on a great team.He won’t get a Cy Young because the best defense for a team is strikeouts which the Red Sox did great at.You can’t be a Cy Young when you have about 199 hits in 199 innings.
arbitrary div’s?
Who cares? As long as he continues to pitch deep into games and not give up a lot of runs, who cares if he wins a Cy? I’d rather have a guy who throws lots of quick innings, gets his team back in the dugout and saves his bullpen. Wang’s done that for two straight years. Hopefully this fingernail thing won’t recur, he’ll work on another pitch he can use to force guys to swing at his sinker, and continue his excellence.
I recall some veteran pitcher or player (perhaps Jim Kaat) pointing out that fielders are often sharper behind a pitcher who pitches quickly, with control, and has a low pitch count. Makes intuitive sense — it’s very frustrating to watch counts building up to 3 balls/1 strike from the stands or on TV and perhaps it’s no different on the field. Pete, you might ask Jim Kaat for his take on this.
One thing to consider is that the Wanger throws a lot of strikes. This keeps the infielders alert and may account for some level of improved defensive support. I have no idea how to quantify this, it is simple anecdotal evidence from watching him pitch.
Oh, and I got my tickets for ST!
whozat,
It’ll probably drive Pete nuts, but whatever you can type in Word can be pasted here.
I’ve seen people use the registered trademark symbol, copyright symbol, spades, etc. Use insert symbol function or language bar.
e.g. ã¾ã¤ã„　ã²ã§ã
yeah, i’m not worried about Wang winning any awards for brilliance… i just want to seem him continue to pitch effectively.
my preference to trade for Johan isnt because i dont think Wang can be that prototypical ‘Ace’, but because having more top of the rotation arms together is better than having less.
but i feel confident the Yankees will win the game when he takes the mound on any particular night.
i wonder how cliche it is to say that the defense seems to be better on the days he pitches because the players come into the game knowing they’ll be busy that particular day vs. a pitcher like Moose who takes more time between pitches, and the defense may lose their focus, or however you want to refer to it as… or if there is any hard truth to that.
whozat,
Sorry, that was me.
Now I understand how people get those symbols into their posts! Word. Okay. Learn something new every day.
Regarding Wang, all I know is I like the way he pitches. I like that he gives the team a very good chance at winning every game he pitches. He’s consistent. His team likes playing behind him. He’s won 38 games in 2 seasons, which I contend is not a fluke.
No one ever said Wang was an ace on here and been taken seriously, but those who say “Wang is no ace” refuse to compromise on him. So because Wang isn’t an ace he is all of a sudden replacement-level? The guy wins nearly 20 a year, throws 200 innings and gives you an ERA under 4.00 so far in his young career. You can call him a #2 starter or use whatever other label you want, but his value is unbelievably high and that cannot be denied.
You do realize that Wang is a groundball pitcher and he is usually at the top of the league in DP’s which negates some of the hits he gives up. The bottom line is during his time with the Yankees he has been a well above average pitcher and one of the best in the league.
Do you not understand this or are you just looking for a reason to bash the Yankees? You should really go root for another team if you are so unhappy about making the playoffs for 12 straight years.
You really make yourself look like an idiot with all the complaining you do. – End Rant
In at least some respects, Wang reminds me of former Yankee pitcher, Eddie Lopat. Lopat had been around for a while before the Yanks got him from the White Sox. He gave up a LOT of hits and didn’t strike out many. Here’s a small capsule of his successful seasons with the Yankees:
Innings Pitched – Hits – Strikeouts
226 246 83
215 222 70
236 244 72
2234 209 93
His record during those years?
17 – 11
15 – 10
18 – 8
21 – 9
A big difference was that Lopat was a junkball pitcher, whereas as Wang, by comparison, can really bring it.
I’m a big fan of Wang. I think he has a great future as a number 3 or 4 on a Yankee staff headed eventually by Hughes and Joba, with IPK following in the rotation. Nothing wrong with that in my estimation!
Work fast, throw strikes and your defense will stay on its toes and make less errors.
Get behind in counts, walk people, work slowly, and your D is on its heels and more susceptible to making an error.
ace or no ace…
cy young or no cy young…
WANG HAS SAVED THE YANKEES A** THE LAST 2 YEARS!
without him, there is no possibility they could’ve made the playoffs.
i LOVE this guy!
nothing like the ole 1-2-3 DP when the sacks are jammed!
he’s my ace!
yanks 61, he’s got alot of tommy john in him too!
Wang not an ace? Okay by me. Slot him in as a #3 guy. He works fast, throws strikes, keeps the ball on the ground, eats innings. He’s young and strong, and can be a rotation mainstay for a long time.
speaking about defense…is it a given fact that offensive productions for pitcher and hitters will go down next year? since now more than ever players know that everyone is aware about steroids and HGH? just asking.
man are you pushing these tix or what? u getting some commission?
My belief is that Wang’s sinker is such a good pitch that it’s difficult for hitters to do much with it. It leads to grounders and weak fly balls. This negates the relative lack of strikeouts.
—–
That’s your belief? Did you think of it all by yourself? I mean, it’s not like it’s been mentioned endlessly, by everyone, for the past two seasons or anything!
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3191472
Knoblauch’s wondering the same thing as us.
Yanks61…Actually, Wang reminds me of being from the same mold of Mel Stottlemyre. Stottlemyre came up in the middle of the ‘64 season and had that same hard devastating sinker, a good slider and good fastball. Tall, right handed and got nothing but ground ball after ground ball. Low walks, hits matched innings pitched and low strikeouts.
knobby’s making the rounds…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01.....f=baseball
he’s really dropped off the radar.
There’s a lot to like with Wang’s composure on the mound. If he’s rattled, he hides it good. As cool as the other side of the pillow.
Bernie and Green Beret – I like your comparisons better than mine! Yes, a little of Tommy John and a little of Mel Stottlemyre. Actually, I’m quite mad at myself for forgetting about Mel, because I’ve used that comparison myself in the past. And what a pitcher Mel was! Had he the Yanks of today behind him during his career rather than the Yanks of 65 – on, what might his stats have been like?! Well, actually a lot like Wang. We’ve got a VERY good pitcher in Mr Wang!
What’s crazy is that Knobby is only 39. If he hadn’t forgot how to throw to second base he’d probably be a borderline HOF. How does one suddenly forget how to throw a baseball straight?
random question…but has anyone heard anything yet regarding the Extra Innings cable vs. direct tv for 2008 ? It was truly a debacle last year…..
ray- Ask Steve Sax
Yanks61, If Stottlemyre had played longer than his ten years (half of ‘64 anf half of ‘74, and been with decent to good teams or played into the late 78’s he’d be in the HOF and closing on 300 wins. 163 wins in 10 years? With some of the worst teams in Yankee history. No question in my mind. Had sports medicine been then what it is now, Stottlemyre would have been back pitching in late 1975 at the latest.
Morning everyone!
Pending the commitment of one, the LoHud Fantasy league is now up to 24 participants!
We need six more to reach our goal! You guys are amazing!
Again, email me at rebecca@puristbleedspinstripes.com if you’re interested in signing up!
Now, to go eat breakfast…
Jake-
What are you smokin’, boy?
Jim,
I just want you all to know the truth.
first game i ever went to was in ‘64 vs. the senators, we came into the stadium from right behind home plate and i remember my eyes almost popped out of my head, it was SOOOO cool! it was like i had entered a cathedral! (sorry god, ill confess tonight)The game had already started and there was a rookie (stottlemyre) on the mound, but even at the age of 5 i knew to look out in the outfield to set eyes on Mickey Mantle in center field.
i was too young to know a sinker from a shin guard but i remember dad RAVING about mel the whole drive home. He was so psyched about that rookie (another new word for me).
one other thing i remember from sitting on the rail on the 3rd base side was alot of vitriol spewed in the direction of that “dodger” (spoke like a curseword) at 3rd base-Don Zimmer.
Nice scoop Jake, you beat out all the major Sports News sites.
Clay,
Wow man, we really miss you in the stripes.
Glad to hear I got the scoop first. Although, Spring, TX isn’t exactly “big.”
Rebecca,
Great work putting together a league.
Being as I am super superstitious (does that work?), I am not participating in fantasy sports for the first time in 6 seasons. The Yankees have not won a world series since I started playing fantasy baseball, so I have to try this.
rebecca
i think you should remove all the red sox from the draft, so nobody has to root for them
i miss bernie,
isn’t that a bummer when you have Red Sox on your team?
I don’t root for them, I just make sure that I get the really good ones so that I subconsciously know they’ll get me points.
I drafted Manny a few years back and he got hurt…I was really happy he got hurt and had a decent backup option.
dat was a very interesting post …wang is nice either way he has done very well the past couple …just a couple games that sucked this past yr i hope he keeps doing well and getting them ground balls we need him to be on his stuff again
Wow, Beckett got arrested for humping a lamb?
larry,
how do u know that your superstition isnt misplaced, after all the yankees havent missed the postseason the whole time you’ve played….
Larry try to draft Manny again, and while your at it 38pitches, and Beckett.
Jennifer/i miss bernie,
I can’t draft Beckett now! He raped a lamb!
The Yankees also didn’t miss the post season the 4 years before I started playing fantasy baseball and they won the world series 3 times in that 4 year span…
I would, however, be interested in talking fantasy shop. I have done very well since starting in 2002.
Would you believe it if I told you that A-Rod slipped to number 4 in the first round last year? I was praying to god he would last that long, what with his “down” year in 2006 (although i think he did pretty darn well).
larry
the did! that must’ve been awesome!
just kidding guy, i couldnt resist…
picking first is soooo hard, since you dont pick till the end of rd 2, that one pick pretty much sets your team for the whole season.
both times i won my league i picked last, frustrating to wait for but picking back to back (and belly to…sorry) i felt like i was really able to shape my team the way i liked.
ya, i agree that later picks are more valuable than havign the first. I like middle to late picks…like the 8th pick in a 12 team league.
We had a mildly nutty scoring system too. We tried to balance hitters and pitchers as much as possible, not an easy task.
It was valuable to have a deep staff with one or two solid closers rather than one dominant ace or two and then a bunch of mediocrity. Hitter wise, out of the nine slots, you have to have at least 6 solid bats to go anywhere.
Well this league is going to be tough. 30 teams!!! Teams will have eras of 6.00
~~ WANG HAS SAVED THE YANKEES A** THE LAST 2 YEARS!
without him, there is no possibility they could’ve made the playoffs. ~~
YES!!! Wang did save us the last 2 yrs… but he sent us home single-handedly last season too…..
One-pitch starter will always break your heart in the postseason…
I have to see if I can access my team from last year to see how it was done.
But I know we had head to head.
HEAD TO HEAD is the best! It keeps people interested and competitive as opposed to Points Only.
I hate rotisserie more than anything though…
Can you explain what rotisserie is.
Bernie – You were really lucky to get to your first game at five! I didn’t make it to my first game (at the stadium of course) until 1955, when I was eleven, but I had the same reaction as you to my first view of the field. Being a totally unreligious man, I always say that it was the closest thing I ever had to a ‘religious’ experience!
Like you, my first game was against the Senators and “Bullet” Bob Turley was on the mound. Not a rookie, but a new Yankee, having been traded in a huge deal with the Orioles the previous winter, one that included Don Larsen and quite a few others.
The Nats scored three runs in the top of the first when Mick missed a shoe string catch with two on, the ball went back to the monuments and the batter made it an inside the park homer. In my innoncence, I wasn’t at all worried and was rewarded for my faith. Mantle hit a two run triple in the bottom half of the inning and Berra followed with a homer into the lower right field seats. It was all the scoring in the game – Yanks won 4 -3.
I later was fortunate to have gone to Ebbets Field (where the Dodgers Newcombe beat the Phillies) and the Polo Grounds. I also saw the Giants play in Philly the year after they moved to Frisco (which broke my heart.)In those days one could root for two teams in NY and the Giants were my ’second’ team; I remember many Dodger/Giant match ups and loved those old Jints; Mueller, Mays, Bobby and Hank Thompson, Alvin Dark, Johnny Antonelli, Sal “The Barber” Maglie, just to name a few. Happily I still had the Yanks when the Giants moved. Dodger fans were, on the whole, far more devastated, because they wouldn’t have had a second NY team.
Well, sorry for wasting everyone’s time with this trip down ‘memory lane.’It’s all your fault, Bernie!
I just caught the tail end of Hot Stove League on YES.
I find it interesting how pundits – whether sports writers of political writers – can prognosticate so authoritatively, though I guess that’s what the TV shows want. And I’m not railing against Jack Curry or George King, the writers who appeard on the show. Rather, my point is that most of these predictions are based on players having similar years and putting up similar numbers as last year. They seem to disregard the role that injury – last year or the potential for future injury in 2008 – or just being another year older (especially once you’re past 30) can have in athletic performance. Almost like fantasy leagues that are so popular.
But that’s why it’s called Hot Stove, I guess.
Anyway, just got my Yankee spring training tix, so I’m a happy man. Though dealing with Ticketmaster is an experience.
im a little worried about the 30 team thing though, that many teams you’re getting down to drafting reserves, middle relievers and platoon guys, you gotta be pretty hard-core to work your way through that.
iv always been a roto guy cause i started in the 80’s and that’s all there was.
we used to all go running for the sunday paper, cause that was you’re only chance to find everyone’s stats (3 day old stats at that) and you had to call in your changes for the coming week by 12:30 pm.)
but ill play any format and learn as i go…
this should be fun!
30 teams means there just might be a chance that you pick up Jason Lane! kidding…
So your opinion would be to split it into 2 teams of 15?
jennifer,
rotisserie is when each team competes for a certain amount of points in a given set of statistics each week.
for example, if you had the most stolen bases of all teams, you’d get 8 points, the runner up would get 7 points, and so on and so forth.
so it is like an overly complicated, annoying points only system…though you might be able to do rotisserie head to head.
does that make sense?
Clay you are probably right.
30 teams is a lot. Maybe we can set up the positions something like
2 OF, 1 CI, 1 MI, 1 C, 3 SP, 1 RP
So we aren’t drafting bench and part time players. Just an idea.
Got it, Last year my league did the rotisserie head to head.
If your team stole 4 bases and the other team stole 3. You won and got the 4 points.
I am open to ideas, I’ve never started a league before. I’ve always just signed up and everything was set up. So i’ll need input into what to do.
yanks,
too bad for any kids who cant put up with a couple of old yankee fans reminiscing on a rainy day in january. it beats talk of ped’s and trades that may or may not ever happen.
a couple of things… the senators we saw were 2 differen teams, yours moved to minn. and mine to texas.
also as a new philadelphian, i just went out in search of the old shibe/mack park location the other day (there is a church there now). wish i had seen it before it got blowed-up. (the kids seem to like that term) im an afficianado of ballparks and have been to 16, although several of them (the vet among them thank god) that are no longer with us.
fortunatly the young fans of today will have tons of great yankee stories to pass on in the future when we’ve gone the way of the polo grounds and ebbits!
i miss bernie,
Dude, I love hearing stories of old Yankee games…anyone who claims to be a fan of the Yankees and doesn’t enjoy stories of the Mick, Joe D., and Mel is an idiot.
I am also fascinated by the stories from those who actually saw these guys play…ya know, i was born in the 80s so i started out with guys like Donnie in a championship draught.
yanks, one other thing, my dad was a former Giants fan, who HATED the yankees until the NL abandoned him. He became a Yankee fan just to spite the National League. He swore he’d never buy a ticket to an NL game again, but my bro and i got him to break his vow and take us to shea to see the great (although past his prime) Willie Mays. (i caught dad’s eyes welling up when he saw him)
larry,
i always think its funny when guys who played in the past and we think of as gods are humanszed by those who saw them play. yanks saw mick misplay a ball (you mean god’s make mistakes?)
i saw mattingly’s first day, packed house opening day, mattingly strikes out with bases loaded twice, boots a ball at 1st and gets sent down…
someday people wont believe that arod got booed (just like Mantle did)
After all those crappy blog posts good to see some useful blogging by Replacement Level
Not to jump the rails but what do you (all and Pete) think about this on ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3191472
ant
first id say im glad that espn is keeping up with the ny times, although im sure the paper would prefer that it gets mentioned in pg 1 instead of 3. this is typical of espn, dont actually go get news, just read the paper and watch the tv and then call yourself the leader in sports.
good to see knobby’s doing well but i sense that his nonchalance and distance from the game comes from the sour ending to his career.
once again (everybody gets mad at me when i strongly condemn cheaters) another dissapointing blow as another player i really liked turns out to have been cheating. gotta wonder if it contributed to his career ending at 34 (throwing wasnt the only reason…)
Bernie –
My husband was in a fantasy league in the 80’s and for him it was the Sporting News once a week to get the stats. He stopped doing it when the internet came along not long after, and some guys had access and were able to get the stats more quickly and so had an advantage in trades, etc. My sweetie ain’t the kind of guy who’ll do that kind of thing on company time, so he just doesn’t do it anymore. But he ejoyed it when he did it. Even got me interested, though I’ve never been in a fantasy league myself.
How does drafing players work? (I’m kind thinking about this, but am more than a little gunshy.)
WEll it seems Joba will be in the Pen.Very stupid idea and just the start of the innings limited rotation.
http://www.rotoworld.com/conte.....?sport=MLB
They don’t need a 5th starter at the begining of the season anyway, so what the heck is the big deal?
First game I ever saw a game in person was yanks and white sox in chi. The great Mick was a rook. He was fooled on a low outside pitch and hit it with one hand…line drive to the opp field…hr! You could hear the people gasp. No one knew who he was at the time. Another time he hit one so hard that “The killer”… at 3rd…was knocked on his a**. What a great player. Sorry, I’m done.
actually, that article says he could be in the pen to start the season… how is that any different than what we already know?
McLovin
January 11th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
WEll it seems Joba will be in the Pen.Very stupid idea and just the start of the innings limited rotation.
_________________________________________So…what’s your point? The Ytanks are not going to let Chamberlain and Hughes go over about 150 innings this year and Kennedy about 175-180 innings. They”’ pitch some of the innings out of the pen to keep them sharp and Mussina will pick up the remaining starts/innings, as long as he’s healthy and effective. It helps to lengthen the pen and gives it extra quality.
doreen
it was so hard to get stats (let alone injury reports) that there wasnt alot of player changes. when i came back to playing in the late 90’s it was a revalation to have all the stats at my fingertips and be able to change players AFTER THE LINEUPS WERE POSTED FOR TONIGHT’S GAME!
the way the draft works is pretty simple. each player only plays for 1 team, the teams are randomly chosen (out of a hat in the old days) in a draft order and starting with #1 they each pick a player, the draft order being reversed in round 2. so the guy who picks 1st doesnt pick again until pick #60 in this case. the guy who picks last gets picks #30 and 31.
each team drafts a certain # of players according to thier postions (based on a min. # of game played at that position last year). it ususally goes something like 2catchers, a 1b, 2b, ss, and 3b, plus one guy who either plays 1b or 3b and another middle infielder, 4 OF (doesnt matter which position) 5 SP, 3 RP and 2 other P’s (doesnt matter which pos).
what you do to prepare is rate each player according to the expected draft order regardless of position, and another rating players by pos. in the beginning you draft the best player, later you have to draft the best player for the positions you have left. thats the simple version, but draft strategies are more complicated than electoral vote strategies for prospective presidential candidates.
thats about it and its a load of fun, except for the people who start out slow and quit, and of course the one’s who take it WAY too seriously.
hahaha! “as long as mussina is healthy and effective”… hahaha! this is going to be a long season
ken, that was great! funny how in those days you really never heard of a rookie until they showed up in your program. the average fan couldnt tell you where thier teams AAA (or D) team was located. nowadays we argue the merits of trading a guy whos in A ball.
Chicken Little
ã¾ã¤ã„　ã²ã§ã = Matsui Hideki
Good thing you didn’t say “æ¾å‚ 大輔”
baseball expert
hahaha! this is going to be a long season
_____________________________________________________
Only if they allow you to remain posting. Your idiocy will get on everybodys nerves. They can only laugh at you so much.
When your BP is a disaster like ours is right now.. of course you don’t close the door on Joba being a setup man to Mo (although, I personally feel Mo should be a setup man to Joba) … especially when Joba has never pitched more than 115 innings in his career and that was once in ‘05.
Nothing is set in stone.. it depends on any SP or RP we can still land. Our BP might not be all that bad, but then again it can be REALLY bad.. it does have that potential.
the pitchers that I am most concerned about right now..
Edwar Rameriz ( I think this kid is total trash )
Latroy Hawkins ( Can he be any worse than Viz? )
Sean Henn (Is he really still taking a roster spot? )
Kei Igawa ( If Brian didn’t blow the money on Kei, we would have a better approach to Santanta)
Britton and Bruney don’t do it for me either.. but the 4 above are who I am already mad it this year and the season has not even started..
My question is, and Ken Rosenthal asked this on XM before: so what do the Yankees do if/when Wang and/or Pettitte miss any length of time due to injury?
Now you’re relying on 3 young kids who have innings caps, a league average (at best) Mike Mussina, and basically the same level cast of characters they ran out on the mound last year.
for everyone’s sake here, if the Yankees dont go out and get another veteran/proven arm, you better hope Wang and Andy stay healthy or this season could be lost in a hurry.
♪Chiming♫ in a little late, but Jeter has said a couple of times that the infield loves playing behind Wang.
Ya greenberet7 IM the idiot. But you’re the one who is expecting mussina to be healthy and effective. Ya, good luck with that.
Rebecca and Jennifer:
Count me in on the league. I will email you when I am able.
My first Yanke game was 1970. Doubleheader against the Red Sox. I was a city kid (Irvington NJ) and my jaw dropped walking in from the center field bleachers because I didn’t know grass could be that green!
Munson hit his 1st MLB home run two rows in front of us in the left field “Box Seats”. Later, I was siting right next to the Red Sox bullpen and dropped my program. Sparky Lyle (then a red sox) picked it up and handed it back to me. I had to promise him not to boo them anymore, and I agreed because I really wanted my program back. It was a truly great day for me.
One year a guy in my league made something like 50 changes to his roster. It was insane.
gb please dont feed the trolls
kennedy, tabata, and horne for santana! melky for a reliever. do it, cash.
“WEll it seems Joba will be in the Pen.Very stupid idea and just the start of the innings limited rotation.”
Did you even bother to read the whole article?
“Cashman also offered that Chamberlain could be skipped over a start occasionally, or that a sixth starter could be used at times. These potential options have yet to be fully discussed, and Chamberlain will “prepare as a starter” during spring training.”
I’m willing to guess that you didnt read the whole article, which by the way is only 3 paragraphs long. Secondly, Joba’s probably the least likely of the three to be able to start and finish the season in the rotation being that he’s been pitching as a reliever since last July. Thirdly, as of now the Yankees have 6 starters and somebody’s going to have to either go in the pen or down to the minor leagues.
TurnTwo:
I totally agree with you! It’s what I have been saying all along!
If we pass on Santana, we are passing on a lot more than just a few wins. Unfortunately it may take all the Santana Nay-sayers until the middle of the season to find out how much of a mistake passing on him really was.
Bernie, Larry, Ken777, thanks for sharing your memories as well! Like Larry said, I love hearing people’s impressions of the guys that make Yankee history so great and that help to make baseball the greatest sport going.
Happily, living outside the States as I do,I also have good folks like you and so many others on this blog (and other blogs) to keep the excitement alive. This new generation, like the new Yankee fans of 77/78 are indeed lucky, Bernie, to have witnessed some of the greatest Yankee players and teams ever. Finally, I have to say, I’m really enthusiastic about these Yankees and the Yankees that will soon be with us. It’s great to be a Yankee fan!
TurnTwo: But what can ya do about that? That’s a potential problem for all teams
Ranting Guy,
I was Chicken Little last night. Too much gloom & doom and troll action last night made me flip out and I forgot to take off my chicken suit.
Is that Hideki’s name in kanji?
yanks 57,
at the risk of sounding like a whiney old geiser, wasnt the old stadium much more impressive than the ‘rebuilt’ one? hoping that the new one has more of that feel.
We’re up to 28! This is going to be amazing, and really crazy at the same time.
And I can’t believe…Josh Beckett arrested…I could say it’s too good to be true, but that’d be juvenille…
mel:
æ¾å‚ 大輔 = Matsuzaka Daisuke
Geezus this is a long a$$ winter… the season can’t start soon enough.
“My question is, and Ken Rosenthal asked this on XM before: so what do the Yankees do if/when Wang and/or Pettitte miss any length of time due to injury?”
Couldn’t this question basically be asked for any team? What if the Red Sox lose Beckett for 10 starts, are they still the same team? What if Cleveland loses Sabathia, are they still the same team? Every team is in the same boat when it comes to their number one or two starters.
honestly, is it really possible that ALL of the games are legends field are already sold out?
in 4 hours?
you have got to be kidding me.
Furthermore, what if the Yankees did land Santana and Santana and Pettitte got hurt and missed a length of time, wouldn’t the Yankees be in trouble in that case as well?
patch, just wait till the regular season tickets go on sale. i wouldnt be suprised if the yanks sell every ticket this year!
ray: the same team? no, but could you argue they’ve got veterans in the rotation who can handle a bump in workload, where the yankees are working with pitchers who are on a strict innings cap, thus better equipped to handle it?
i think that goes for most of the serious contenders, sans the Tigers. I really dont like their staff depth much at all.
Patch
Very possible, it was probably sold out 2 hours ago.
This is the problem with most current day Yankee fans. It is not this year we should be concerned about when it comes to Santana it is year 4,5, 6, 7 of the contract he wants when we are paying him 20 something million dollarsand he is broke down or not what he has been the past few years. Signing for big bucks for a long term contract for a pitcher AND giving away high end prospects just is not looking long term. Again you never know about prospects but I believe that looking at prospects versus committing 7 years to a pitcher are both crap shoots.
Fleas wrote:
I totally agree with you! It’s what I have been saying all along!
If we pass on Santana, we are passing on a lot more than just a few wins. Unfortunately it may take all the Santana Nay-sayers until the middle of the season to find out how much of a mistake passing on him really was.
Blargh,
DÅmo!
“no, but could you argue they’ve got veterans in the rotation who can handle a bump in workload”
If Beckett gets hurt the Red Sox have a lot of question marks in their rotation as well. Curt Schilling hasn’t exactly been a model of health lately. Which Dice K is going to show up, pre or post all star break? Wakefield is Wakefield, you never know what you’re gonna get. And then they have Lester and Buchholz.
I’m just tired of the doom and gloom posters when it comes to the Yankees. It’s still only January 11th and every team has question marks. There are no perfect teams and there never will be.
raymagnetic –
Haven’t you heard? Santana is injury-proof!
fleas you are dumb/bad. please stop
doom and gloom? I’m just raising some questions to keep discussion going on a boring Friday afternoon at work.
29!
I miss bernie-
I went to my first game at the old stadium in June of ‘66, and sat smack behind one of those giant posts they used to have. That’s one feature I hope they don’t re-create.
Turn Two,
Was talking about the guest blog thread. It was horrors. Dialogue is good. Trolling is bad.
Doreen,
I know, Santana is LEGEND.
who is this santana of which you speak?
TurnTwo,
I’m not referring to you when it comes to the doom and gloom. I’m referring to McLovin and baseball expert and the tons of other folks who come here to spread negative energy.
over his career, Johan has very rarely missed a start, let alone a significant period of time, due to injury, and has never been on the DL.
seems like a pretty reasonable calculated risk to believe he’ll pitch more healthy innings next year, and for the near future, than not, right?
gotcha, ray.
jim pa
i know you’re right but back then there were few games where the crowd was so big that it mattered, you could always move. in the 70’s there were usually so few people in the bleachers that you could buy a “yankee joint” in the back row and smoke it right there and nobody cared. of course most of the people who paid the $3.50 for the bleacher seats walked right into the grandstand as sat in the reggie section in RF
B’ah!
I see that tickets are already available on craigslist at 60 bucks each.
WHAT A CROCK!
haha, baseball expert? I think not…
i miss bernie
I think they are talking about Carlos Santana, I hear he plays a mean guitar.
jennifer, yeah, especially after you smoked a yankee joint.
Mel –
I can type Japanese on my home computer (wife is Japanese) but not at work. I wanted to type Matsuzaka’s name (nice catch Blargh) in hiragana but I had to clip/paste it from a Japanese language website instead. Unimportant details … but it all just shows what you (as chick little) were saying, which was basically anything you can clip can get pasted here.
I can’t read kanji yet. Just hiragana.
TurnTwo,
We can assume that Santana won’t get hurt next year based on his track record but again anything can happen.
baseball expert
January 11th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Ya greenberet7 IM the idiot.
__________________________________________________
You’ve finally said something that everyone can agree on.
You’ve finally said something that everyone can agree on.”
can you stop with your personal attacks on me. you’ve been at it since last night with your different names.
anyways, i saw this- A source told FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal that the Brewers and Mike Cameron have come to terms on a one-year deal.
nooooo……. it’s gonna be a long year.
ray, sure… thats life.
Scandal notwithstanding, we’re all hoping/expecting a solid season from Andy Pettitte right?
Johan Santana, in Year 6 of a contract extension given to him now, would be the same age as Andy Pettitte will be this season.
We’re not talking about Randy Johnson or Kevin Brown here,players well past their prime when the Yankees acquired them.Santana’s best years may still be ahead of him.
GreenBeret7
Did you sign up to join our fantasy baseball league? I believe we need one more.
Ranting Guy,
ãŒã‚“ã°ã£ã¦ã€€ãï¼
“over his career, Johan has very rarely missed a start, let alone a significant period of time, due to injury, and has never been on the DL.”
Or, you can say “wow, 900+ innings over the last four seasons…that’s a lot of pitches logged on his arm”
It seems to me that both points of view WRT Santana’s injury prognosis are valid. Yes, he’s been durable…but, because he’s been durable, he’s accumulated a lot of innings and that could catch up to him.
btw, regarding yesterdays trade rumor…
murray chass said his sources with the mets said no way they’d go beyond 4 players, and a twins source told him the mets were not being seriously considered. sounds like a deparate attempt to prod the yanks into jumping back in.
i think its a game of chicken at this point, a deal is going to be made before ST, but each side is still holding out for thier best interest.
jennifer,
I haven’t sent my e-mail addy to you yet. Is it too late?
I am so sick and tired about hearing about Santana. Maybe a trade for him would be more attractive if he was signed at a reasonable rate. But they’d have to give up the farm, than pay him a kings ransome. His 20 a year would turn into a lot more than that becuase you’d have to replace the players you traded with more old over paid players.
I just wish he’d be traded to the Giants or some team that we’d never have to face unless it was the WS.
Drive 4-5
I believe we are at 29 at the moment. And we have 2 maybe’s, so even if we hit 30 it doesn’t hurt to have other names incase people drop out.
jenn’s post brings up a good question, which AAA… i mean NL division are we playing this year?
Brewers seem to have signed Cameron:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3192184
Bernie, Jim PA. – In the late 50’s, early sixties, we were always ‘trading up’ for better seats during the game. In doubleheaders, we almost always had scored box seats in the lower lever by about the 4th/5th inning of the second game. First game I went to (the Senators game I spoke about before) my uncle bought us lower level box seats at the gate, day of the game, about 20 rows, I think, behind the Yankee’s dugout. Can you imagine doing that today?!
Yeah, the poles were a horror, but the old Stadium definitely had more character.
Night all.
“Johan Santana, in Year 6 of a contract extension given to him now, would be the same age as Andy Pettitte will be this season. ”
yes, but they didn’t have to commit to this year’s deal six years ago. They committed to it last year, after two durable years of mostly-success.
You mean for inter-league??
Houston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego and of course the Mets
cashman did a great job getting outmaneuvered by a scrub team like the brewers. 1 year deal for cameron? thats a steal for a player whos as good if not better than melky. He could have sent melky somewhere for a reliever. Give yourself a pat in the back, cashman. Now please go join the dodgers.
I was thinking about going to Houston. A co-worker of mine is going, booked the hotel in Dec and hotels were completely booked. They asked what was going on, why everyone was booking.
yanks, if i remember right, they didnt sell the tickets at the gate but in those little red kiosks on the sidewalk outside the stadium, right?
troll, you’re assuming that cashman actually had any interest in signing pedboy in the 1st place. you dont think that rosenthal rumor about the yankees could have come from somewhere else, like cameron’s agent now, do you?
“expert”
The more you post, the more you look like a fool.
How do you know Cameron wanted to come to the Yankees. Do you think because the ole’ mighty Yankees come calling everyone wants to sign with them. Maybe Cameron didn’t enjoy his time in NY and didn’t want to come back.
You don’t know what the Yankees plans are. If Cameron is soooo great, why wasn’t he signed 2 months ago?
Well, I guess Melky’s safe for now.
“cashman did a great job getting outmaneuvered by a scrub team like the brewers.”
Or, maybe, since Cash couldn’t promise playing time, Cameron decided to go somewhere he was sure he’d play
Baseball Expert – as good is not better than Melky EXCEPT he missed the first 25 games for using speed and he is 11 years older,doesnt have as good of an arm as Melky either.
i miss bernie
You must have missed the link I posted the other day. A friend of a friend took pictures at virtually every ball park, including YS. He had some cool shots. I dont have the link here, I’ll repost it again tonight or tomorrow.
whozat,
I’m not knocking Andy, but I’d be very surprised if Johan Santana doesn’t win at least the 29 games in the years you are comparing.
Now if we could only get him to shut down a playoff quality lineup.
Jennifer,
If you still need someone to finish the league, sign me up.
I just started Grad school so I’m probably not going to be able to spend a lot of time researching. I can almost guarantee my team will be easy to beat.
has there ever been a troll here more unappropriately named than “baseball expert”? LOL
My Seats at Legends Field (all games):
http://gallery.mac.com/mikeisg.....olor=black
“I’m not knocking Andy, but I’d be very surprised if Johan Santana doesn’t win at least the 29 games in the years you are comparing.”
This is why I always quote previous posts. Which post of mine are you responding to? I’m confused.
i miss bernie – stop calling me a troll. im just a concerned yankees fan. a team cant go into a season with young untested rookies and have a crap bullpen (except for mo but he might finally turn into crap this year)
What is the definition of a troll?
jen, thanks id love to see them. i have a pretty good collection of old yankee (and dodger) shots, including a great one of dimaggio cooking spaghetti at toot’s shorr’s.
My best is this awesome Bambino portrait which hangs proudly in my living room, as an ametuer photographer,i cant believe how great a pic it is, regardless of it being the babe.
i will scan some and post them somewhere soon.
Is it someone who criticizes any Yankee move or non-move?
Fleas,
I saw your gallery last time you posted them Nice Pics!
What type of camera do you use?
I will be there 3/15 for the game against the Rays!
Just what we need, another guy who has used PED’s!!! Good for the Brewers.
2 minutes have gone by and of course, no answer…
make it 3 minutes
“I’m not knocking Andy, but I’d be very surprised if Johan Santana doesn’t win at least the 29 games in the years you are comparing.â€
Do you mean that in years 4-5 of Santana’s hypothetical deal, you expect him to win 29 games? Sure, that’s reasonable. But, with Andy, they KNEW. And, more importantly, they knew he’d been healthy. With Santana, we don’t know any of that. If he stays healthy the whole time, yes it’s likely that he’ll be great when he’s 32-33, and still very good when he’s 34-35 and good when he’s 36. But committing to those back end years NOW is a move no non-desperate team wants to contemplate.
bernie-
You’re right about the ticket booths, and as yanks61 said, it was very common to trade up. When we were teenagers in the mid ’70’s we would grease the ushers, move down, and if people did show up for their rightful seats, we were just moved again. Pretty cool. Hey, I miss that!
make it 4…
5
“What is the definition of a troll?”
Someone who posts messages on an internet board (often anonymously, but not always) that are deliberately inflammatory because they find it entertaining to annoy other people.
6
ok expert i will stop calling you that, and i welcome everyone, but c’mon man you have been making every post an attack, calling the whole team crap and all. almost everyone on here is respectful of other’s opinions, agreed with or not, but you go way over the line most of the time. remember the yanks had no pitching last year either but how much did they end up behind the GREAT boston red sox?
where do I find this ignore button you all seem to have?
Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29
aren’t we all anonymous here?
Yanksrule57
That was my fiancee’s Nikon Coolpix (dunno the model number).
However, it was recently replaced with a Canon Rebel XTI.
Aren’t we all anonymous here?
Within the community of this blog we have names that people come to recognize over time. So, no, if you post with the same identity here all the time, then you are not anonymous. You just don’t use (usually) use your given name, or at least not your full name.
i have never seen so many so-called experts, no wonder redsox fans hate us
“aren’t we all anonymous here?”
Actually, many of us here are pseudonymous. You don’t know who I really am, but you can connect all of my posts together. On some other boards, people actually reveal their real names and such.
espn says brewers have come to terms with cameron, so much for him being the stop gap before AJAX
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3192184
“i have never seen so many so-called experts, no wonder redsox fans hate us”
See, now this sort of a thing…very trollish.
If Cashman HAD signed Cameron then trolls would say “Cash gave a 35 year old suspended for the first 25 games a two year contract?!?”
dont feed the trolls
Hmm, if Cameron did get a 1 year deal with the Brewers, then there’s a hypothetical situation that I wonder about.
Hypothetically, if Cameron were to get busted for banned substances again and gets the 1 year suspension, what does that mean for the team, contract and roster wise? The policy mentions that suspension is without pay, so money’s no problem. But would he be stuck taking up a roster spot? Or can the team do something while he’s under this hypothetical suspension.
jennifer- Hip Hip Jorge
January 11th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
GreenBeret7
Did you sign up to join our fantasy baseball league? I believe we need one more.
____________________________________________________
Jennifer, I would love to join you, but, I’m not sure that I’ll always be available with the chemo and such. I’d hate to start and have to drop out in the middle. It’s you other guys/gals decision, though.
If that’s a troll, then what would an upbeat, happy person be, a gnome, a fairy?
whozat…some people , with their holier than thou attitudes, are quick to label people trolls for disagreeing or offering an opinion different from the norm. A troll is someone who is not a Yankee fan but comes in here to stir things up by baiting Yank fans, not a true fan who might have a different, constructive opinion.
Jim PA -
That’s an easy one – Rebecca – Optimist Prime!
Whozat -
PSEUDONYMOUS! Love it! We are all pseudonymous here.
Wonder when the Twins will stop asking for Reyes.THis Santana thing is getting some wacky rumors.
i dont think the yanks had any contact with or interest in cameron. ken rosenthal is, to my knowlege, the only person who said they did and that just so happened to come the day before he signed with the brewers. agents call reporters all the time and say they’re negotiating with the yankees to drive up the terms of an agreement with another team, boros has made a great living doing just this. cameron made no sense with the yanks, and there was no room on the roster for him. it was a rediculous rumor in the 1st place.
joltin joe, when you come to a Yankee forum and categorize the whole team as being garbage, which is what “baseball expert” did in a previous post then you are a troll.
Rebecca,
I think we irritate people with our Pollyanna optimism as much as the doom & gloom irritates us.
raymagnetic,
just speaking from prior accusations made against myself.
jj
so when expert says that the whole team roster is crap that is a constructive opinion from an ‘expert’, not an attempt to “bait yankee fans by stirring thing up?”
where did he say that? about yanks being “crap”
IMBernie, the beat writer for the Brewers, Tom Hardicourt i believe is his name, also said the Yankees were the Brewers biggest competition for Cameron. I find that Rosenthal is more right than not right when it comes to rumors and such.
It may be entirely possible that the only ones from the Yankees interested in Cameron were Hank and Alex.
Mel -
I think you’re right about that (pollyanna optimism as irritant).
When I was in college, I annoyed all my friends because I showed up for my 8 a.m. classes at 7:15 in the student center with a smile on my face and all cheery. I was just glad to be there. They insisted that no one could be that cheerful in the morning. But I was!
jj
he posted that gem yesterday, and several times called cashman an idiot. im not going to go find the posts for you but others will verify it if u ask.
GreenBeret7
Oh i’m so sorry
I hope you get better! I think we are probably at 30 now. ALthough I can’t say for 100%.
Turn Two, I heard the same thing. Unless it all comes from the same source of misinformation, he sounded pretty certain the Yankees were deeply involved. In fact, he made it sound imminent.
joltin joe: http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....ent-241133
Doreen,
I think that would irritate me, too. j/k.
We need our own name, huh?
hope and dope? (most people we’re doing the latter anyway with our head in the sand attitudes)
some of cashman’s moves turned out to look idiotic, is something wrong with saying that?
If the Yankees play better defense when Wang is on the mound, then there is no excuse of bad defense for his 19 ERA in the playoffs.
and we got all those made from scratch “recipes”. lol.
turn 2
casting no aspersions on rosenthal, if my scenario is correct, there is nothing wrong with him running with the story, especially on a dead baseball day in january. as i pointed out earlier murray chass said today the he thinks yesterdays santana to the mets rumor was just a bluff from smith aimed at the yankees and fed through the local twins beat writer. again nothing wrong with the reporter running with the story. this is the way thing are played out in mlb and in sports journalism today.
Mel,
I don’t know. I just find it just as easy to look on the bright side. How about “cheer and mirth?”
Patrick,
We’ll call those two games “outliers”.
Something about this team. Couldn’t hit in the playoffs since ‘04. I think it’s pressure. Hopefully, there’ll be a new clubhouse culture.
Doreen,
Duh. It has to rhyme.
Either Beer and Cheer (not a drinker myself)
or
Berth and Mirth
jennifer- Hip Hip Jorge
January 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
GreenBeret7
Oh i’m so sorry I hope you get better! I think we are probably at 30 now. ALthough I can’t say for 100%.
_____________________________________________________
Not a problem, Jennifer, and, thanks for the concern. I’m going to be just fine…too mean and crusty for anything to happen. Eventually (40-50 years), I’ll just nasty away. Will you guys be posting weekly standings and totals on this board or someplace you can link? Next year, hopefully, you’ll do this again, and, I’ll join.
“A troll is someone who is not a Yankee fan but comes in here to stir things up by baiting Yank fans, not a true fan who might have a different, constructive opinion.”
On this site, yes, that’s true.
However, there are some people that have highly negative, NON-constructive opinions. They use hindsight to criticize moves that seemed reasonable at the time and complain that Cash “isn’t doing anything” about this or that part of the team without even beginning to suggest WHAT should be done. Just that he should “make some trades” or sign so-and-so who will probably be good next year, but got a REALLY ill-advised contract somewhere else. Or, a guy who signed with team X to close for them…somehow, Cash should have signed that guy.
Etc etc.
Anyone seen bobcat lately? He had this place hopping!
Calling out bobcat….here bobcat…here bobcat…come out,come out wherever you are….
And, Doreen, pseudonymous is a real word:-)
Computer researchers use it to describe privacy and security systems all the time.
Our prayers are with you GreenBeret7!
Patch
January 11th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
“honestly, is it really possible that ALL of the games are legends field are already sold out?
in 4 hours?
you have got to be kidding me.”
Patch,
I was on the Ticketmaster website at 10am and 1 second trying to get tickets. There wasn’t one Red Sox ticket available. Not one. Where did they all go? How could this be? I tried non-stop from 10am until 10:30 – couldn’t even get a solo seat.
Around 10:10 I manged to get a pair of tickets to the Cleveland game. Top deck, left field, last section. That was it. I had hoped to go to the Cleveland game on March 16th and the Red Sox game March 17th. At least I got one of them.
So at 10:30, I went on E-Bay. Sure enough, a pair of Yanks-Sox tickets were listed – starting price of $300. It’s just amazing.
from what i read in the morning, this blog gets really wierd at night, the trolls come out of the woodwork.
whozat,
hindsight is 20-20.
have you seen the “Great Debators?”
By the way… no… I did NOT bid on those Red Sox tickets. $300 for a spring training game? Come on.
deep to left,
that yank-sox game is an away game, not for sale on yank site, right?
i got 2 for opener right behind plate
“hindsight is 20-20.”
It is, and that’s sort of my point. Even the Pavano deal, which has unquestionably turned out to be a disaster, made sense at the time. In fact, the Yankees paid a bit less than other teams were offering. They were desperate for pitching, and teams (Sox, Detroit, others) seemed to agree that he’d be a 2-3 starter.
So, lambasting Cash for making that deal doesn’t really make sense.
Haven’t. I heard it was kind of formulaic, but good.
i miss bernie,
You’re right about that. I’m in a totally different time zone, so that’s who I’m stuck with. It was good for a while, but the last two nights have been vile for some reason. I think it’s because the Bobcats beat the Celtics.
jennifer- Hip Hip Jorge
January 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
GreenBeret7
Oh i’m so sorry I hope you get better! I think we are probably at 30 now. ALthough I can’t say for 100%.
___________________________________________________
Drive, I much appreciate that.
On the other hand, I’d as soon somebody e-mailed me a home cooked meal. Microwaves are good for popcorn….but…
Yes, I’m officially the world’s worst cook. Thank God for can openers and my 39 year old Betty Crocker GI Cookbook.
Joltin,
The Yanks-Sox game on March 17th is at Legends Field. It’s a home game.
Sorry…that message was for Drive…computer is acting like I used it to cook on.
deep,
i’m glad i spend my ST time on the east coast. i can wake up in the morning, pick up the paper and decide wether to go see the dodgers, cards, mets, marlins or orioles, often a day AND a night game and there is usually some room to stretch out in the sun. spring training isnt what it was 20 years ago but away from the yanks-bosox, it is still pretty casual. im not going to spend my vacation paying through the nose to squeeze into legends field.
last year i got to see el duque up close (still love that guy) and in the DAYTIME. at night i can always check in on the yankees on the computer. its getting really hard to see the yankees in fla or in NY these days.
whozat,
sometimes i wonder if anyone is scouting some of the pitchers we have picked up, such as farnsworth, what reliever cannot pitch on back-to-back days?, igawa, now possibly hawkins.
The Great Debators follows the formula but after seeing No Country and There Will Be Blood , it was a welcome relief, inspirational.
Sure if you’d like I’ll post standings. I don’t think you can post links to it since it will be a private league.
deep,
looking forward to yanks-astros on 3/3 in kissimmee, not on sale yet.
i was VERY dissapointed in “no country”.
violence for violence’s sake. i’m sure it went over well with the ‘blew em up REAL good’ crowd.
“sometimes i wonder if anyone is scouting some of the pitchers we have picked up, such as farnsworth, what reliever cannot pitch on back-to-back days”
I think someone scouted Kyle, saw his “stuff” and recommended him. But no one looked at the numbers.
Igawa is a project. I expected him to be better than he was, but I’m willing to hold off another year. If he can repeat the mechanics he developed in the minors and keep the ball down, he could actually be solid. He struck out a lot of guys, he just also walked too many and would throw pitches up when he got in trouble.
Don’t know if this is new but Pittsburg seems like the halfway house for released Yankees these days.
http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb......p;c_id=pit
ok i am getting excited about one thing….
LETS GO GIANTS, KICK SOME COW-A$$!!!
Legend’s Field sells out instantly every year. I know people who even line up at the ballpark at 7AM on the day they go on sale and they are lucky to get seats.For those who can’t get tickets to games there, try the Rays,Phils and Blue Jays websites.
This morning I got tix online for the Ray/Yanks game on March 12 at Al Lang Field.This could be your last chance to see Al Lang Field, a Spring Training site for the last 84 years for a variety of teams including the Yanks and Mets.
Taking in the pitchers and catchers workouts at Legends Field in the days before the position players arrive is a great take-in. It’s cool to watch up close the Yanks projected rotation all warm up simultaneously in the bullen ( It has 5 pitching rubbers and mounds). You can get close and watch the fielding drills on the practice field too.
I miss Bernie,
Yeah, I know what you mean. Legends Field is turning into big business.
Flying down from the Albany area for a few days to get some sun, play some golf, and see one spring training game will still be a nice break from the long bleak winter up here.
A few springs back my wife and I lucked out and got to see the Yanks play the Braves at Disney on St. Patrick’s Day. The Baseball Tonight guys were there, and the teams had special occasion hats (the Yankees was white with green NY, which they wouldn’t wear for the game). I bought one for the wall of my bar. But it was a split squad that day, and they lost, unfortunately…
Picks for the weekend?
Patriots over Jags
Colts over Chargers
Giants over da ‘Boys
Packers over Seahawks
deep, i KNOW you need the spring vacation, i just moved to philly from colonie this year. i havent seen a snowflake yet. (kinda miss them)
igawa keeping the ball down is difficult for a guy who cannot concentrate. the guy just looks stupid. sort of like an old jerry lewis movie, absent minded professor or something like that.
I didn’t mean to say the entire team is crap. The offense is very good but the pitching is going to be a disaster. Pettitte is getting up there, mussina is done, wang is going to be wang, 3 rookies….. I think its going to be a transition year which means 2nd place. But I guess this is what cashman wants.
GB7,
I’m very sorry you’re undergoing chemo. Best wishes for remission and a speedy recovery.
l miss brnie
No Country, i did not get. i mean one guy has the money then another who cares.
Baseball Expert has resurfaced with an apology.
mel, u been talking to my bookie?
Deep to Left,
I’m flying out of Albany on March 12 to do exactly that!
Listen, the Yanks are evolving man. If they don’t win it this year, it’s not the end of life as we know it. As long as they continue to grow , pick up the needed parts, which they will as they have the resources. That’s why we are a true dynasty even if we don’t win the whole ball of wax each year.
re: Spring Training tickets – I tried to get two tickets to the 3/15 game at 10:05 this morning, and all that were available were seats in the second (top) level in right field. crazy!
“But I guess this is what Cashman wants”, what does that mean?
expert, hate to say it, but i agree with your assesment. but i think its still better in the long run. but i, like hank and others have gone back and forth. getting johan would counter the sox getting beckett but im not big on santana/wang/pettite/joba being better than beckett/dice/buckholz/fakeblood either, especially since joba may end up in the bullpen out of necesity.
i think the yanks are going to get some solid contributions from either karstens, igawa or horne that are going to make up alot of whats missing though, and i cant see farnsworth being as bad this year as last.
keep the kids.
Does anyone remember a guy named Pollyanna Porkchop? He was cool.
mel,
I second those picks!
we were good enough to finish 2nd after a horrendous start.
picking up where we left off, we should finish ahead of the redsox this year. the playoffs are another thing, depending on your pitching at the time.
i miss bernie,
haha. I wasn’t necessarily going out on a limb.
The wild card in the Dal/NY game is the young QB’s.
Will Romo have a tequila hangover (what was he thinking?) or will Bad Eli show up?
I’m also hoping for SD upset, but I doubt it.
i hear the dinnertime bell sounding, it’s dying down up in here.
Eli’s coming!
Drive 4-5 :
There’s new seats added at Legends this year to the left of the 7 bullpen mounds. Nothing like standing above those mounds watching the throwing sessions with coaches everywhere and the starters and relievers working in separate groups whether it’s in the pen or fielding fundamentals and on base situations on the other fields.
It gets baseball back in the blood again.
mel, i think romo will be fine, but i think the giants will keep him in the pocket better, where he is less effective. the giants have been able to connect on alot of long balls each time they’ve played and i think that will happen again. im picking the giants because i’m a fan, but i think it will come down to turnouvers.
mel, check pete’s new post, hes making the same picks as us. now im worried…
Clare
January 11th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
GB7,
I’m very sorry you’re undergoing chemo. Best wishes for remission and a speedy recovery.
______________________________________________________
Thank you, Clare. Your thougts are appreciated. Things happen, but, I didn’t survive 6 combat tour to give up easily. Things are going very well, though. I figure the Yanks still owe me 15 more titles, so I’m hanging around for that.
“You can’t be a Cy Young when you have about 199 hits in 199 innings.”
Truly brilliant McLovin.
You can, however, win a CY when you give up 238 hits in 241 innings. (Sabathia, 2007)
I’m curious.
When Wang got one of his 32, league leading GIDPs, is that almost as good as a strike out?
I’m curious.
What’s an Ace?
Aside from the fact that Wang is not one.
There are 30 teams in MLB.
In 2007, Wang was tied for 23rd in ERA.
In 2006, he was tied for 15th in ERA.
If there are about 180 SPs a year, where does Wang place?
Don’t forget Wangs 199 hits in 199 innings but her’s Pete’s Cy Young.
“Steve
January 11th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Does anyone remember a guy named Pollyanna Porkchop? He was cool.”
Yea – what happened to porkchop? Quite the creative writer
“…….and Clemens will pound his fist……”
We could use some porkchop musings to lighten up the blog a bit.
Old Yanks Fan-
But Unlike WAng Sabathia had 200 strikouts in 240 innings.Rather then 104 strikouts in 199 innings.
“I’m curious.
What’s an Ace?”
according to most of the posters here, there are exactly 2 aces in mlb, Josh Beckett and Johan Santana.
GB7
Best of luck, speedy recovery.
I did over 42 years…rangers. God speed, will pray for you.
better the the other people here who say the two Aces in baseball are Pettitte and Wang.
One things is for sure if we had Beckett(a postseason big game pitcher) we woud have WON the World Series.
The price increase of spring training tickets is atrocious. 31 dollars now to see a game where the starters play for 3 innings.
.