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Twins-Yankees: The Live Blog

Peter Abraham
March
5

Sorry for the delay in starting this thread. Had a few calls to return.

It’s 68 and mostly sunny here at Legends Field as the Yankees take on the Twins. It’ll be Ian Kennedy against Kevin Slowey.

FIRST INNING
IPK allowed a hit by Brendan Harris but got Joe Mauer to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. This game is on ESPN and YES if you’re around a television.

The Yankees put two runners on with two outs but Jason Giambi struck out looking to end the inning.

SECOND INNING
He’s a bit crazy but Delmon Young is very talented. He crushed a 3-1 pitch over the wall in dead center to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. The Big G then actually left his feet to snare a line drive off the bat of Brian Buscher.

A little update for you: Hideki Matsui (stiff neck) took BP today on the field. He wasn’t swinging full go but he was at least out there after missing two days.

The Yankees have taken a 2-1 lead. Robbie Cano and Wilson Betemit had back to back doubles over the head of Carlos Gomez in center. Jonny Damon then delivered a two-out RBI single to right. Johnny Dangerously then stole second before Derek Jeter walked, showing his excellent intangibles.

Now Bobby Abreu will try and extend the inning.

He does, with a single up the middle. Gomez’s throw was about 25 feet wide of the plate. Jeter moved to third and Abreu to second. A-Rod struck out swinging to end the inning. 3-1 Yankees.

Kennedy is done. Heath Phillips is in to face a lefty.

THIRD INNING
I have yet to speak to Heath Phillips and couldn’t pick him out of a lineup. But he retired the side in order.

The Big G led off the bottom of the inning with a single, second to second on a balk and scored on Robbie Cano’s single to center. So in a span of a few innings, the Big G left his feet to catch a liner and scored from second on a single.

Dog, cats living together. Next on Action News.

FOURTH INNING
Joba Chamberlain now pitching.

Chamberlain needed 19 pitches to get through the inning as he fell behind every batter he faced and went to three-ball counts on three of the four hitters. But outside of two-out walk, he didn’t give anything up.

The Yankees got a single from Jeter in the fourth but he was stranded.

FIFTH INNING
More Joba for the Yankees.

It would seem that Joba is human after all. The likes of Brian Buscher singled to start the fifth. He came back to strike out Jon Knott then allowed a deep blast to right by Garrett Jones. And by deep I mean, the ball was crushed and bounced off the new patio deck.

Joba then came inside on the next hitter, Matt Tolbert, and hit him on the foot. Shaky outing for him, he’s falling behind and struggling with his command.

The Yankees went in order in the bottom of the inning. 4-3 Yanks after five.

SIXTH INNING
Damon (Curtis), Abreu (Lane) and Giambi (Duncan) are all out. Jon Albaladejo is on the mound. The line for Joba: 2 2 2 2 1 1.

Not sure how much live-blogging I have left. I’ll have to head down to the clubhouse soon to interview the players who have come out of the game.

Melky just threw out Minnesota pinch runner Jose Morales when he tried to tag up aned go from second to third. The throw beat him by about eight feet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 1:19 pm by Peter Abraham.
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412 Responses to “Twins-Yankees: The Live Blog”

  1. josh

    I love watching Kennedy pitch.. watch posadas gloves.. 4 out of 5 times it doesnt move an inch

  2. Lori

    Nice start for IPK!

  3. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    good point josh

  4. THU

    Nice inning there, nothign hit hard.

  5. Robert

    Does anyone have a link for the game? I don’t subscribe to MLB Gameday. Thanks!

  6. Hatred Games

    Pete, I know you’ll never heed to our advices on bettering this site, but I’ll throw this out there anyways:

    an auto-refresh feature would be real nice. You know, like those on game sites, automatically refreshes the page every 30 sec, or 1 minute, etc.

  7. YankeesBen

    I hope Damon has his swing back by opening day, so far he doesn’t.

  8. Chris

    http://www.myp2p.eu/competitio.....e=baseball

    go there– download the usee software…its all in taiwanese or korean or something but atleast u can watch wats goin on, its espns feed tho

  9. Jonathan Everett

    Damn work blocking mlb.com, can’t watch the freakin game!

    So thanks to you Pete for giving us the inning wrap ups.

  10. BBB

    Is anyone watching this on ESPN? Holy cow I don’t think I can take another year of their idiocy! Talking about “the Yankees might have to take Joba out of the closer’s role”…sheesh!

  11. Drew

    Hope YES is replaying the game tonight. I’m so stoked by that Bobby Murcer news :D

  12. mel

    P2P schedule:

    http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast......art=sports

  13. Peter Abraham

    hatred Games: What kind of comment is that? This blog has been around for 2 years and we’ve made many different improvements to make it a better experience for readers included getting a dedicated server, more links, audio, readers questions for players, mailbags, etc.

    I’ll never heed advice?

    Auto-refresh is usually used for scoreboard sites and I’m not sure the blog software we use has that feature. Sorry you have to click your mouse on occasion.

  14. al arodien

    Hatred games ; i cant agree more. We need auto rafresh. But we got to know that pete does the best what he could do! He is a champ in his field!

  15. Drew

    auto refresh just hangs up the page…are you too lazy to hit reload?

  16. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    BBB yeah i cringed when i heard them call joba the closer. i mean c’mon….

    but rick sutcliffe isn’t a yankee hater; unlike some of their guys

  17. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    He doesn’t even need to use his mouse to refresh. f5 works the same.

  18. Max

    What was that? Slowey whiffed Big Steriod to end the inning with 2 men on??

  19. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    And auto refresh on a blog is stupid. Say you are reading through the comments and it refreshes. It is not practical.

  20. Chris

    bahh i cant follow along with pete…i guess im on a delay, so giambi strikes out huh? oh yupp there it is…nice work big g

  21. gayle

    I have a really stupid question re innings limit. is it really an innings limit or more so a pitch limit? someone can throw more innings but less pitches Just curious as if some of these young guys work effectively with less pithces per inning perhaps we can get more innings out of them.

  22. Rishi

    So Michael Kay just said that th Twins traded Johan Santana to the RED SOX in the off season…is this not something he should get getting right?

  23. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Max do you have anything worthwhile to add? And have you ever heard the saying those living in glass houses should not cast stones?

  24. ItalianGreco

    Max, you are a tool.

  25. Chris

    Dont throw stones if u live in a glass house and if u have a glass jaw, ill break ur face

  26. Max

    jennifer: never heard that one. Seems kind of obvious though. Maybe they should get a nerf or something.

  27. rb15

    Wow, Max, it’s almost like you think this game counts or something.

    IPK’s doing well in getting hitters to GIDP, isn’t he? I have this image as that being part of his repertoire.

  28. josh

    wow, delmon CRUSHED that

  29. DMan

    A twins troll? I don’t remember seeing one of those around here before… Alaways something new at this blog.

  30. Max

    ItalianGreco: you like throwing that tool line around alot, huh? I think you are thinking about that too much.

  31. NJ in Tampa

    Delmon Young is a strong young man, thats for sure. Damn.

  32. Jax

    Kay: Hughes moved through the system more deliberate than Joba and Kennedy.

    Didn’t even mention the fact that Hughes was a HS pitcher.

  33. NJ in Tampa

    GIAMBI LOOKING ATHLETIC!

  34. mel

    TG he’s out of the division. haha

  35. BBB

    Nice catch BIG G!!!

  36. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    BIG G wow

  37. Max

    rb15: where did that ball just go? I saw it leave Kennedy’s hand. Then it was gone the other way off of Young’s bat. I think they call that a home run.

  38. josh

    nice play giambi

  39. gayle

    I have not seen Giambi jump that high since he has been a Yankee

  40. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Jax, you are asking Kay to state facts. You should know better. :lol:

  41. Chris

    since when did delmon young get so selective?

  42. Say it ain't so

    Auto refresh would get real old when you’re typing out a comment and the page refreshes and you lose every word of what you just wrote out.

  43. mel

    Look at those catlike reflexes from Jason!

  44. mel

    Look at those catlike reflexes from Jason!

  45. josh

    max u do realize how unfunny you are right? just comment whats the point in taunting? No one here cares about you or your team

  46. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Okay maybe if we ignore it, it will go away.

    Kennedy for one more?

  47. Y's Guy

    espn has girardi live this inning i guess you’re not getting it on yes

  48. Lori

    Wow – sounded like a nice catch by Giambi.

    These Cleveland announcers are TERRIBLE! Complaining about the number of former Yankees at the game – like Goose and Tino. Um, duh, they’re here as instructors. One called Guidry the pitching coach. Corrected by the other, who said “Ireland” is the current pitching coach.

  49. BBB

    MikeEff: Did you catch when they said Jeter hates the Twins more than the Saux because of losing out on the batting title and getting robbed on the MVP in ‘06? They weren’t actually serious, were they?!

  50. Y's Guy

    girardi “big bear showed some hops there!”

  51. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    BBB- no he was just kidding around with that i’m sure. these two are the best you’re gonna get from ESPN

  52. rb15

    Max, again, it’s almost like you think these games count. Didn’t the Twins lose to the Red Sox 6-1 just a few days ago? What’s your point?

  53. mel

    Every game thread has an Honorary Troll.

    It’s the only time you should ignore the guest of honor.

    Today’s Honorary Troll is the Sir Max.

  54. raymagnetic â„¢

    Please everyone let’s just ignore Max now. He was cute for a little while but remember what Pets said, “Do not feed the trolls”. Eventually he will go away.

  55. keith

    yea haha,

    “Ireland from Tampa Bay is the new pitching coach.”

  56. Lori

    Yeah – it’s going to be a fun season with Girardi as chief cheerleader!

  57. Andrea - anti-anti

    Cano looks speedier

  58. mel

    Are painkillers a PED?

  59. BBB

    I want my WB!!!!

  60. NJ in Tampa

    2 nice line drives there in a row from Cano and Betemit

  61. rb15

    Oh, OK. Sorry everyone. I guess I’ll just never understand the motivation.

    I’m excited to watch this game on my DVR tonight – I haven’t seen the Yankees on TV since last year’s postseason!

  62. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    he crushed that one!

  63. josh

    nice back to back crush shots

  64. mel

    Kay talking about CF concerns naming all the candidates. Could’ve been Melky Cabrera out there.

    Betemit’s having a nice spring. I like.

  65. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Good afternoon, everyone. 8)

    Bats coming alive so far this inning. Let’s see what Johnny’s got in the tank today.

  66. Max

    rb15: How does the fact that the Twins lost to the Red Sox a couple days ago have anything to do with what is happening now? Another brilliant comparison…

  67. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    thank you JD…

  68. mel

    Sorry, that’s CF concerns for Minnesota.

    Way to go, JD.

  69. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    hand little maxie a tissue, he must be crying right now

  70. Max

    RB15: “I haven’t seen the Yankees on TV since last year’s postseason!” (when they lost to the Tigers)

  71. BBB

    OK, with the props for Ca$h, ESPN is now redeeming themselves for calling Joba the closer before!

    Also, Brendan Harris’ defense makes me LOL.

  72. Rishi

    Max – do you do this every game? Post on a blog of the opposing team? Sounds a little sad.

  73. Andrea - anti-anti

    Haha. they’re talking about Queensbury. That’s such a nothing town. He could have said north of Lake George. North of Glens Falls. No one knows what Glens Falls is either, Kenny!

    And yes, Queensbury has YES.

  74. Lori

    “Have to wonder where Johnny Damon fits in this season”???

    “Matsui’s playing streak has caught up with him”

    Really. These guys make me miss John Sterling. Even Suzyn Waldman.

  75. Max

    Who is Max?

  76. mel

    You must be talking little league, the Tigers weren’t in the postseason last year.

  77. Clay Bellinger

    From the last thread, just because I am interested:

    SJ,
    Do you have any sort of link or reference that the Twins had an 8 figure profit last year? Just curious because I would like to see that info for all the teams.

  78. Andrea - anti-anti

    Good afternoon, Wolf

  79. josh

    wow what a pro throw by gomez…… hahahahahaha

  80. mel

    BBB,

    Can you explain?

  81. Dan

    Slowley really has me scared… hahaha

  82. gayle

    Tough day in the field for Carlos Gomez

  83. CB

    In terms of approach at the plate and plate discipline the team looks very good this early on.

    You can just see them making Slowey throw pitches and breaking him down as time goes on.

    Carlos Gomez looks great in center for the twins. Makes that Santana trade look even better!

  84. rb15

    Nice! I haven’t seen something like that since the last century possibly this century! ;)

  85. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Geez, what a horrible throw to home. I was worried about Damon getting caught there. Nice inning so far!

  86. S.o.S.27

    They sure couldv used Melky on that throw. Was he trying to hit Arod before he gets up?

  87. Kevin CT

    Lost to the Tigers? What?

  88. mel

    That poor CF.

    You guys ever notice that the strike zone for Giambi and Abreu is HUGE?

  89. Y's Guy

    queensbury’s the cheap place to stay when you go to saratoga!

  90. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Andrea – love the name . The anti-anti. :D

  91. mel

    I think Aunty-Aunty’s kind of cute, too. :)

  92. whozat

    “You guys ever notice that the strike zone for Giambi and Abreu is HUGE?”

    meaning that they’re big dudes, or the ump is calling the zone big, or what?

    I was noticing earlier that it looked like the ump was calling a lot of high strikes — not that he’s doing anything wrong, but just that he was calling the zone more by the book.

    Anyone see the same?

  93. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    gomez made a lot of mistakes and bad plays for the mets last year. he really is a AAA guy at this point, but the twins wouldn’t pay to keep their CF so they got stuck with this kid…a kid with promise, just not ready

  94. BBB

    Mel: Sure! But about what exactly, lol. Brendan Harris?

  95. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    i thought joba was up next? !

  96. S.o.S.27

    You guys ever notice that the strike zone for Giambi and Abreu is HUGE?

    I would have to say that Matsui seems to get at least one ridiculous strike call per at bat.

    Carlos Gomez? I see the Twins do their homework before they pull the trigger on trades. Maybe they should stick to just supplying the league the next best thing. Whens Maur or Mourneau coming?

  97. Dan

    Heath Phillips now pitching… I thought Joba was supposed to be the 2nd pitcher today

  98. DMan

    MikeEff-Shelley at First-

    I think Girardi is trying to get a lefty-lefty match up for this batter

  99. Potch

    Uh, wasn’t losing to the Tigers 2006?

    LAST year was the Indians.

    A troll with bad info. EVEN WORSE!

  100. YanksDude

    Clay: Check out the teams:

    http://www.forbes.com/lists/20.....peed=10000

  101. Peter Abraham

    Please ignore the trolls, folks. If you do, they’ll go away. Or their parents will get get home from work and make them do their homework, whatever comes first.

  102. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    nice K

  103. CB

    Kennedy has often been compared to the Twins pitcher, Kevin Slowey.

    Basically people say that both of them are guys who don’t have great fastballs and get by on their ability to pitch and smarts.

    Both are often guys who are said to project to be #4 starters at best.

    Even though this is just spring training, you can see the difference between them and why Kennedy is a better pitcher than his “stuff” indicates.

    He attacks the strike zone and doesn’t miss his spots often. Kennedy is a a pitchers pitcher but doesn’t nibble. You can see how rattled Slowey got when the yankees wouldn’t swing out of the zone.

    Even on Young’s homerun – Kennedy went after him instead of nibbling and walking him.

  104. gayle

    I think it was said earlier that Heath may get in before JOba due to him notpitching in the intra squad game

  105. Jerkface

    Oh Andrea, do I know you?

  106. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    really pretty play by the cap to get that out…

    nice 123

  107. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    makes sense, thanks DMan!

  108. Andrea - anti-anti

    Wolf: thanks, but i didn’t come up with it. I was just inducted into, and coronated VP of, the anti-anti coalition :)

  109. Yankee4life!

    Is Joba pitching today?

  110. YankeesBen

    Beautiful inning by Phillips, I like his performance till now

  111. Wolf In Pinstripes

    I thought so too, Mike. Nice inning of work from Phillips, though.

  112. josh

    Pete, trolls dont have mothers, they live under bridges

  113. Lori

    Thanks CB – always appreciate the spring training analysis of the young ‘uns! Certainly not going to get this from these Cleveland announcers.

  114. CB

    Girardi may have wanted to get Phillips into the game against the Twins regulars to see how he performed.

    With Joba it’s not really about seeing how he’ll perform this spring. It’s just about getting him work.

  115. Dee

    Did Kenny just call Patrick Roy “Patrick Lavoir”?

  116. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    nice to see big G go the other way!!

  117. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Giambi going the other way! The work with Long is definitely paying off!

  118. YankeesBen

    CB-
    Kennedy did struggle with his curve.

  119. Andrea - anti-anti

    Jerkface: don’t know.

  120. JoeT YANKEES - fan of the anti-anti

    I’m really excited to see the Big G this year, i think he stays healthy and has a great year

  121. JoeT YANKEES - fan of the anti-anti

    I’m really excited to see the Big G this year, i think he stays healthy and has a great year

  122. Matt

    There could be a problem trying to decide the bullpen southpaw problem with the recent outings of all except Henn.

  123. yuk

    yank2life
    no they sent him out to the minor league camp this am. phillips is taking his spot in the BP

  124. whozat

    I’m glad that Phillips got a shot at some big league hitters. Has Henn pitched recently? It really seems like Traber has taken the lead in the lefty competition, and Phillips hasn’t looked too bad either.

    That pitch to Jorge…wasn’t that kinda high for a strike?

  125. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Well Andrea, it looks good on ya. I’m with you guys in spirit. 8)

  126. Max

    I am so hurt that I am being called a troll. It make it hard to breathe I am sobbing so much…

  127. SJ44

    There are no links Clay. Teams don’t post the numbers. They are privately held companies.

    I’m in the business. I know the numbers because its part of my business responsibilities.

    From a general standpoint, here’s the way to look at the Twins finances:

    Revenues: 70 million from all of their broadcasting deals (local and national), all of their licensing deals (through MLB), the XM deal (which, along with the money from MLB Properties, has been a cash cow for every team in the league).

    Ticket sales, local advertising, marketing and Stadium Sales: Let’s say another 30-50 million.

    Their end of the revenue sharing money: Approx. 10 million.

    Total Revenues: Between 110-130 million dollars.

    Expenses: Payroll, team employees and overall office expenses: Approx: 90-100 million dollars.

    That leaves a profite of 20-30 million dollars.

    Not bad for a “small market” team.

    Two other small market teams, the Marlins and Rays, also exceeded 20 million each in profits last year.

    Teams aren’t losing money. Quite the contrary.

    They are making it hand over fist.

  128. S.o.S.27

    Question is what do we do if Giambi has a monster year?
    a.pick up his option
    b.let him walk

  129. Jerkface

    Andrea: Have you ever met Scott ‘Pizza Man’ Kazmir? :)

  130. Clay Bellinger

    YanksDude,

    Thanks, but I am not sure how to read the chart.

  131. CB

    “Kennedy did struggle with his curve.”

    He did struggle some with it – but that’ completely to be expected in his first spring training start against big league hitters.

    I was referring to his overall approach and his ability to make adjustments.

    Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff (as of course he won’t at this point in the year) he still stayed in command of the game.

    He didn’t walk hitters, he didn’t fall behind, he didn’t slow his pace or fidget on the mound. He got the ball and threw it and stayed poised.

    Those are all good signs. There were two very hard hit balls but again it’s only his first true start.

  132. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    SoS27: now THAT could be the 64,000 dollar question. wouldn’t it be great if he does

  133. Y's Guy

    how could gomez throw that badly? my niece has better aim. he was looking at giambi when he let it go!

  134. Clay Bellinger

    Thanks for the clarification SJ, but I don’t really see a 20 million dollar profit for a baseball team as raking it in. What does a 20 million dollar profit mean in terms of increasing payroll? It shouldn’t all go to that, right? I know the teams aren’t losing money, I get that.

  135. YanksDude

    Clay, if you sort it by rank, it might be more easily read.

    http://www.forbes.com/lists/20....._Rank.html

    (try clicking that one)

  136. Blargh

    The key is the rightmost column, in blue, the operating income for the 2006 season, before taxes/interest/depreciation/amortization

    It’s especially absurd for the Marlins as their 2006 opening day roster payroll was 15 million

  137. raymagnetic â„¢

    “Question is what do we do if Giambi has a monster year?
    a.pick up his option
    b.let him walk”

    I think he’s done with the Yankees regardless of what he does. I know the Yankees are hoping he has a monster year so he could possibly be a type A free agent, besides the fact that it’ll of course help the team this year if he has a monster year.

  138. YankeesBen

    CB-
    I definitely agree, I was just saying.

  139. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    getting betemit to two strikes and you pretty much know you can strike him out. he doesn’t have a good eye

  140. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Yanks are playing great ball so far this spring. They are working hard and taking nothing for granted. Hopefully they can keep that attitude throughout the regular season – if they do, it’s going to be a tremendous year.

  141. Blargh

    Ah, by rank would be networth
    Which is rather interesting is that if the Yankees are worth 1.2 billion (as of April 2007), and Steinbrenner’s worth 1.3 billion (as of September 2007), then the shipping business is relatively quite small.

  142. raymagnetic â„¢

    “What does a 20 million dollar profit mean in terms of increasing payroll? It shouldn’t all go to that, right? I know the teams aren’t losing money, I get that.”

    They definitely shouldn’t be decreasing payroll however if they’re making 20mil a year.

  143. whozat

    “Question is what do we do if Giambi has a monster year?
    a.pick up his option
    b.let him walk”

    Let him walk. He’ll be a type A if he has a monster year, so we can get back some draft picks for him. And, we have other guys that need to DH. And, I’d happily take that money and pay Tex instead. Then we can package Miranda and some pitching for, perhaps, an interesting youngish RF?

  144. DMan

    I think it’s great that Gimabi is rising to the challenge this year..

    Shelley had a great couple months for the Yankees, then they bring in Ensberg.. Giambi knows he really has to show the Yankees something if he wants to see the majority of the playing time at DH or 1B..

  145. CB

    “a.pick up his option
    b.let him walk”

    That would be a nice problem to have. But there is another option – Giambi has a $5 million buy out. That’s not insignificant.

    Now we know there’s no way they are going to pick up his full $20 million. But they could negotiate a deal for one year that builds up on his $5 million dollar option. If Giambi wants to stay he could sign a 1 year deal for say $12 million instead of paying him $5million to just walk away.

    Or they could just sign Texeira or Adam Dunn if they want to.

    Again, Giambi looks good right now. He’d be a huge plus.

  146. rb15

    I say let Giambi walk – I think the minor league prospects we have (Tabata, etc) can pick up his bat, and the last thing the Yankees really need is an aging first baseman with spotty defense. Even if he has a career year this year, I trust the law of averages in the end.

  147. Dan

    JOBAAAAA

  148. Y's Guy

    JOBA!

  149. whozat

    “getting betemit to two strikes and you pretty much know you can strike him out. he doesn’t have a good eye”

    Yeah, but he’s definitely a good bat for the 8/9 hole, against righties. He won’t walk much, but he’ll slug down there. And that’s totally acceptable for a guy in his role.

  150. raymagnetic â„¢

    “getting betemit to two strikes and you pretty much know you can strike him out. he doesn’t have a good eye”

    His lifetime OBP is 70 points higher than his lifetime BA so he has an okay eye.

  151. YanksDude

    If you sort by Revenue, the Twins rank 28th. The Yankees 1st. A difference of $171 million.

  152. Andrea - anti-anti

    Wolf: thanks!

    Jerkface: I have not, but that sure does sound like an interesting story!

  153. BBB

    OK now this is starting to irk me. When are they going to stop referring to Joba as the potential closer?! ESPN, Greatest Closer of All-Time. Greatest Closer of All-Time, ESPN. Have you met?!??!?

  154. whozat

    “I think the minor league prospects we have (Tabata, etc) can pick up his bat”

    ???

    What, next year?

  155. StandingO'Neil

    Dog, cats living together, Mass Hysteria!!!

    -Dr. Peter Venkman

  156. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    ok ray, i stand corrected . i’ve just seen him strike out a lot last year.

  157. mel

    I see a radar reading for Joba. Don’t recall any for the other pitchers?

  158. Clay Bellinger

    Ray,

    I believe their payroll only went down after the Santana trade. I guess time will tell if they were right not to match 137 million deal the Mets gave him.

  159. whozat

    “Dog, cats living together.”

    MASS HYSTERIA!

    mmm…Ghostbusters.

  160. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Joba literally looks like he’s playing toss with his pitches, yet the gun is apparently saying 91-92 mph. Wow. That’s pretty impressive when you realize that they aren’t out there trying to air it out at this point in ST.

  161. Y's Guy

    nice changeup joba!

  162. whozat

    Gah! Beaten to the punch!

  163. Yankee4life!

    Giambi looking like a cat at first!

  164. Andrea - anti-anti

    Joba looks like he’s throwing slower…

  165. CB

    You watch Joba pitch and you can just see the makings of a plus curve ball and change up.

    76 mph curve ball after a 97-98 fastball – just devastating.

  166. mel

    BBB,

    Can you explain this?

    “OK, with the props for Ca$h, ESPN is now redeeming themselves for calling Joba the closer before!”

    Also, “Generation Trey” is so gay, coming out of Kay’s mouth.

  167. DMan

    StandingO’Neil-

    Ghost Busters reference. Very nice.

  168. NJ in Tampa

    Andrea,

    ITS SPRING TRAINING. Of course he isn’t letting it fly yet. No one is.

  169. whozat

    Joba’s kinda all over the place today. Be interesting to hear his post-game interview.

  170. Andrea - anti-anti

    Did Kay actually say it’s sad that there aren’t any phonebooths anymore?

    Wow.

  171. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Mel – “Generation Trey” is tres gay no matter who says it. Even my own sentence there sounds gay.Oops.

  172. Andrea - anti-anti

    NJ in Tampa: calm down. I know. This is the first time I’ve seen Joba in ST. It’s weird to me!

  173. Yankee4life!

    Im not worried much about the speed gun yet or his control. Just his second outing.

  174. Andrea - anti-anti

    Wolf: I’m with you. “Generation Trey”? What does that even mean?

  175. whozat

    “Also, “Generation Trey””

    Did Kay “coin” this nickname? I don’t really back it.

  176. rb15

    whozat, yes. I think that I’d rather get the draft picks from Giambi’s free agency next year, plus clear out his salary for another potential free agent signing, and see how Tabata etc come along. If worse comes to worse, we can deal for one season without having a ridiculous bat in every single slot in the batting order.

    For me, a lot of whether to pick up Giambi for next year rests on his defense, not his hitting. He’s said time and time again – and I think his stats reflect, although I don’t have them in front of me – that he hits better when he plays 1B. So for me, the question isn’t as much, do you want Giambi in the lineup? It’s, do you want Giambi playing first base?

  177. Lori

    Okay – panic over. Joba is going to be fine, seems to me.

  178. YanksDude

    The Braves have the no-hitter thing going over in Winter Haven…that Jurrens was a fine pickup for them…

  179. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    I hate the name generation trey! Pete tell Kay that generation trey is stupid!!

  180. whozat

    “Im not worried much about the speed gun yet or his control. Just his second outing.”

    True, true. I’m just curious to hear if there’s stuff he was working on or what.

  181. rb15

    Trinity. Not trey. We should just call them the Holy Trinity. Trey sounds like some recruiting class of shooting guards.

  182. CB

    I don’t think Joba even went to the slider. Seemed like he was working on his curveball and change up.

    He’s got just fantastic stuff.

    The idea of keeping him in the pen is just insane. You watch him throw that 83 mph curve right on the corner and buckle Delmon Young’s knees because he’s looking fastball – there just aren’t many guys who can do things like that.

  183. DMan

    I think he coined it because it sort of sounds like “Generation Kay”..

  184. frits

    kay didn’t invent it. joel sherman did about a week ago. i was reading the article on the subway and i think i threw up a little in my mouth.

    generation trey. good lord.

  185. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Kay is so stupid. Can’t we get a better broadcaster?

  186. Yankee4life!

    I think “Generation Trey” was started by some writer from the Post. Joel Sherman I think.

  187. BBB

    Mel: Earlier in the game the ESPN guys were talking about Joba starting vs relieving, and they called him the closer. Not a big deal but I was kinda like, “ummm, Mo says hi?” But then later they started praising Cash and saying if he wasn’t making the decisions now, that we would have thrown a lot of $$ at a FA like Hunter or Andruw. I always love to hear Cash get the credit he deserves for the shift in philosophy, and ESPN doesn’t normally give it, so I considered it redemption for their earlier gaffe…but then they called Joba the closer again! :\

  188. Max

    Why don’t you see if Tim McCarver is available? He loves the Yankees. Not.

  189. mel

    I like the Big 3 even though one of them is not very big.

    No damage from Joba, but I bet he’s not happy about it. It’ll be an adjustment for him incorporating more pitches. Before he basically stood there and ripped 2 pitches. The amount of energy and your pacing’s different, too.

    Not worried at all.

  190. BBB

    Oh, and definitely count me in on the “Generation Trey sounds gay” (whoo that rhymed!) contingent. I prefer “The Big Three”….simple, classic, and, yanno….not gay. :)

  191. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Let’s just call them The Three Amigos and have them pose for pictures dressed like Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase.

    Hmm. I may have to work that one up in photoshop this afternoon. ;)

  192. Yankee4life!

    Kay is pretty good as a play-by-play guy.

  193. mel

    BBB,

    Thanks. I thought they actually retracted something. Kinda got my hopes up there. :)

  194. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Wolf who is who>

    Steve Martin-Phil
    Martin short_ Ian
    Chevy chase- Joba?

  195. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Yeah I just love those it’s high it’s far, it’s caught by the ss.

  196. S.o.S.27

    Damn!!Joba didnt strike out the side. Maybe he’s has the sophmore jinx.
    Hughes had 3 pitches out of the strike zone in his no hitter.
    Kennedy gave up a homerun.

    We’re in trouble!!

  197. Andrea - anti-anti

    Jennifer: relative to other play-by-play guys, Kay’s not t hat bad. Remember how much we all missed him when we had to listen to those fools on TBS?

  198. CB

    Interesting question for the end of the year – what do they do with Abreu? His contract is up at the end of the year.

    I don’t think either Tabata or Jackson will be ready next season. Or at the least, you can’t expect them to be ready to step in.

    Do you offer Abreu a two year deal for $28 million or so?

  199. Wolf In Pinstripes

    jen – I think you’ve got the matchups spot on there.

  200. BBB

    The only time Kay is really intolerable imo is when Moose pitches.

  201. YanksDude

    What about Bernie?

  202. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Ouch Jorge!

  203. Jimmy 27

    Generation Trey is horrible
    “The Big Three” is good
    Or the Kids…this takes into account all the kids in the system….is it just me or are we stacked or what?

  204. mel

    CB,

    Isn’t 2 years 1 too many? 1 would be perfect, but Abreu deserves more if he has the kind of year you’re thinking of.

    I said the other day that I’d like the Yankees to win it all this year (for obvious sentimental reasons). But on a more practical level, all the old paid mercenaries could get their rings and ride off into the sunset. Then you open the new stadium with Jeter, Alex, Mo, & Jorge surrounded by young players. That’d be fun to watch.

  205. BBB

    I would offer Abreu a 2-year deal if he would take it, and I would be willing to overpay a bit to get him to take such a short commitment, especially w/all that $ we have coming off the books after this season. I think him and A-Rod love batting next to each other in the order and so he would actually be very likely to take such a deal.

  206. Lori

    These Cleveland announcers just said the Joba “preferred” to work out of the bullpen because he gets to work more and can get groomed to move into the starter role.

    I hadn’t heard that before – can’t be right.

  207. S.o.S.27

    THREE HEADED MONSTER!!!

  208. BBB

    Man that was a beautiful K!

  209. DMan

    Yikes.. Remember a year ago when we were all watching and projecting the progress of Pavano?

    What a difference a year makes..

  210. EY

    Is it just me or is the velocity a bit lower for Joba? Good K there.

  211. whozat

    “Do you offer Abreu a two year deal for $28 million or so?”

    I don’t really think so. Even if he has a good year. With the young pitching, and perhaps Miranda (if they sign Tex), I think we could put together a package to get a solid RFer that’s on the order of 30 to hold down the position for two years or so.

  212. BBB

    :(

  213. EY

    Ouch! :(

    Looks like he still got some kinks to work out.

  214. Josh

    up send joba down, he cant play

    *rolls eyes*

  215. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Joba isn’t looking good.

  216. mel

    That’s how you finish off a batter. Nice, Joba!

  217. Josh

    omg that looked painful

  218. whozat

    “Is it just me or is the velocity a bit lower for Joba? ”

    It’s early March. Of course the velocity is lower than last year.

  219. EY

    HR, then HBP. Today’s not a good day for him I guess…

  220. Max

    What’s that? A 2-run job off Job-Ah?

  221. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    I think every pitchers velocity is down at this point.

    Joba is a mess.

  222. Lori

    Joba warming up for the Red Sox.

  223. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    you gotta love that play by the melkman

  224. BBB

    LMFAO @ the ESPN guys saying Joba “threw at” that batter.
    Every
    Stupid
    Person’s
    Network, indeed!

  225. S.o.S.27

    CB-I don’t think either Tabata or Jackson will be ready next season. Or at the least, you can’t expect them to be ready to step in.

    We brought Melky in at his young age and he’s been good. Tabata and Jackson from what i here have more upside then Melk. Why cant they come in sooner rather than later? Who would have thought Melky would have been called as early as he was. I would roll the dice on one or both if they have a good year in the minors.

  226. mel

    Lori,

    Do you mean “Minnesota” announcers?

  227. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Well he is dealing with adversity.

  228. Rishi

    According to ESPN he’s supposed to be working on the change-up – it’s not like the game counts and he’s out there throwing his best stuff. They also have to face the Twins enough in the regular season that there is no reason to show them the good stuff.

  229. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Right Joba is going to throw a player in spring training. ANd he is going to throw at his leg.

  230. BBB

    Nice play Robbie

  231. whozat

    “We brought Melky in at his young age”

    Remember Melky in 2005? Both of these guys have plenty left to prove in the minors. A year at AA really isn’t enough. Especially when Tabata is only 19 and hasn’t shown power yet.

  232. S.o.S.27

    He was just clocked at 97 in the first week of March. I think he’ll be able to get to 99 by month end. Relax people he wont be human once the season starts.

  233. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Hey guys. Easy midterms are the best, especially when they let out in time for baseball!

    Anyway, I’m not too worried about Joba just yet–I imagine he’s using the game to work on his curveball and change.

  234. YanksDude

    When Joba was pitching for the Trenton Thunder in New Britain (Twins AA affiliate), he got torched by the Rock Cats. Gave up 3 HRs including back to back homers in the second inning to Matt Moses and David Winfree. Gave up 7ER in all. 7/22/07.

  235. The J Train

    why dont we just call them Joba, Phil and Ian. Generation trey sounds like a group of small time high school drug dealers who sell trey bags of dirt weed.

  236. SJ44

    This is what you do in ST. You work on your other pitches.

    Joba is throwing changeups and curveballs in counts that call for sliders and fastballs.

    That’s what you do in spring training.

    The velocity is meaningless right now. Nobody is at maximum velocity on March 4.

    Its all about building toward the season.

    Its good that Joba gets scuffed a bit. That’s how you get better.

  237. Dr. Cox

    J- Train:

    Awesome.

  238. Chris -Iowa

    I’m waiting for Delmon Young to throw a bat at someone… I hope I get to see that clip again today.

  239. S.o.S.27

    I know its spring training but thank god we didnt pull the trigger on the Matsui for Lowry rumor. This guy might as throw with his eyes closed.

  240. Chris -Iowa

    Giambi is going the other way pretty well today… chances teams actually have to play him honest this year?

  241. Dr. Cox

    You could tell by watching Joba he wasnt giving everything he had and was working on different things. In all honesty, he didnt look that terrible.

  242. SJ44

    After that 7/22 start, Joba got called up to the Yankees and the rest, as they say, is history.

  243. S.o.S.27

    Can someone please tell Giambi that if he runs on the balls of his feet rather than his heels. He might gain a step.

  244. saucY

    back from lunch – i know the game’s on, but did everyone drink a gallon of coffee while i was gone ;) hundreds of comments when i got back.

  245. whozat

    “Lowry rumor. This guy might as throw with his eyes closed.”

    Lowry? It sounds to me like something’s wrong with him, probably physically…I mean, what I read about that outing was just unreal. Throwing balls back to the screen? Whoa.

  246. Lori

    Mel – Yes I did. Can you tell I’m unfortunately not focused on the blog? Sorry folks :(

  247. BBB

    hahahahah sit the F down Mauer!

    DON’T RUN ON MELKY’S GUN!!!

  248. Dr. Cox

    Now if Melky can just start hitting….

  249. whozat

    “hundreds of comments when i got back.”

    We can all SEE the game today :-)

    I think that’s why it’s more active.

    Nice throw, Melky…bad call Twinkie!

  250. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    SJed agreed.

    Also, yeah, you don’t run on Melky. Everyone knows this.

  251. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    wont they EVER learn NOT to test the melkman?

  252. Rocco

    SJ44…

    but its March 5th!!!

  253. BBB

    ^ Pardon my exuberance about a simple out on March 5th.. just love watching Melky gun guys down :)

  254. whozat

    “Now if Melky can just start hitting….”

    His OPS is 1.400 this spring ;-)

  255. S.o.S.27

    Over under on Melky 12
    Yesterday i said under. Im changing it to over. Teams are that dumb.

  256. mel

    BBB,

    Thanks for the preview, you’ve done it twice now! mlb.tv is on delay.

    Good stuff. Just preview the good stuff, tho.

  257. whozat

    Actually, 1.425.

    I figure Alba goes to the minors, but I’d really like to see him and Britton get a shot, or at least build trade value and get flipped for something else.

  258. S.o.S.27

    bbb-DON’T RUN ON MELKY’S GUN!!!

    Gun doesnt serve him right.Lets change that to cannon.

  259. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Not too bad an outing by Albaladejo. I’d bite.

  260. SJ44

    I don’t know if Albie goes to the minors.

    I can see him making the team.

    Kid has a nasty sinker. Ball seems to have a natural sink to it when he doesn’t overthrow it.

    I think he is still in the mix for a bullpen spot.

  261. mel

    Abba-Dabba-Doo

  262. S.o.S.27

    Question for anyone.
    Why is Joba throwing 3 innings if he’s going to start in the pen. Shouldnt he be going one and done? Maybe if we keep his innings down in spring we can roll it over to the real games. :)

  263. The J Train

    thanks dr. cox…I didnt think many people here would get that.

    does anyone know if the game will be rebroadcast tonight on YES? Or will they be running one of their terrible programs instead….and when I say terrible programming, I mean Nets games, Yogi and a Movie, The White Shadow (which was awesome in its day, but now…I dont see any reason to put any 30 year old show back on the air), Yankees Magazine, any game from the 1996 world series(1500 times in 4 years of the network is enough)…well actually, anything other than a current yankees game

  264. BBB

    Actually I think I was wrong about it being Mauer Melky threw out, when they were recapping it they said “the pinch runner” and he was wearing a high jersey number, which Mauer doesn’t I don’t think…so, even more impressive if it was a guy who was in there solely for his speed :)

    I

  265. Jimmy 27

    Did anyone esle notice the Twins announcer commenting that Girardi may use the running game more citing Jeter, Cano and POSADA, like they are they yanks base stealers. Does anyone know who the color guy is?

  266. mel

    SoS,

    Joba threw 2. Trying to stretch him out…for the pen. lol.

  267. Rishi

    Rebroadcast on YES at 11 pm tonight

  268. Andrea - anti-anti

    The J Train: Should be on again at 11.

  269. mel

    Whoa!

    Reyes lost weight, too. Is Subway a major sponsor of MLB?

  270. The J Train

    cool, thanks rishi and adrea

  271. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Yay Robbie

    Yay bad DP

    Little things amuse me, what can I say?

  272. Lori

    BBB – The Twins announcer did get that right. Commented that they put in the pitch runner but sent him before he was warmed up.

  273. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    rebecca that was a bit of a laugh, wasn’t it?

  274. mel

    I dunno, that throw looked a wee high and right.

  275. whozat

    “Joba threw 2. Trying to stretch him out…for the pen. lol.”

    They’ve said repeatedly that they’re preparing him to start at the beginning of the season. Why? Well, what if someone else gets injured, or stinks? Also, it gives him more work on the arsenal he’ll need to use when starting, which is something that they want him to do at SOME point his season.

    And, SJ, yeah I can see scenarios where Alba makes the pen as well, Britton as well. But, if all is well with the starters and Joba winds up in the pen to start the season, and Traber looks good all spring, and one of the long-reliever guys stakes a claim…then they’re competing for one spot with Bruney, Veras, Ohlendorf and everyone else.

  276. whozat

    Yeah, Cox, it’s a poor offensive showing for Melky today.

    Betcha Joe gives him some extra bunting drills.

  277. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    I love Shelley, what can I say?

  278. BBB

    Lori: Thanks. ESPN keeps getting stuff wrong today! I just wish it wasn’t the middle of the day, then I could play the “do a shot every time ESPN gets a fact wrong” drinking game…I would be hammered right now!

    They just said, Yankee fans were booing everyone in May, till Shelley came up and injected life into the clubhouse.. lol, May = late July? I guess they need to work their kinks out in spring just like the players do!

  279. S.o.S.27

    Betcha Joe gives him some extra bunting drills.

    I think its going to be like the movie MIRACLE. After the game is over and lights are out, Melky will be stuck doing them.

  280. mel

    Boston was cruising along 2-1 when all of a sudden they gave up 5 in a frame. All unearned. Baseball’s a funny game sometimes.

    Lester had a much better outing today.

  281. Scott

    Go Twins!!!!

  282. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Who’s pitching now?

  283. Andrea - anti-anti

    How do you have 5 unearned runs?

  284. saucY

    was thinking the same thing Andrea.

  285. YankeesBen

    Posada needs to practice his throwing

  286. SJ44

    Exactly Whozat.

    Girardi has said from Day One they are preparing Joba to start.

    Its the reason why he is pitching each time Kennedy pitches.

    Its the right way to go. Prepare as a starter and see where you are later in the Spring.

    I think people in the media make too much of this Joba stuff.

    The idea is to get him ready for the season and maximize his innings. Its that simple.

    The Yankees have had an entire off-season to create a plan.

    Its best to just sit back and see how it shakes out.

    Right now, nothing is, nor should be decided by March 5.

    Not a good inning for Nick Green. He keeps the glove down, he tags out the runner on the SB attempt. He kicks around a ball he should have had.

    He’s never been a guy that has impressed me that much. Just seems to be a career AAAA type of guy.

  287. whozat

    “How do you have 5 unearned runs?”

    Truckload of errors, or maybe an error on what should have been the third out. I think the latter basically means that they decide the inning should be over, so any runs after that are unearned. But I could be wrong.

  288. Patrick

    Reasonable arguments are not tolerated! Joba sucks he should start the season in rookie ball. He was only throwing 91 pffff what a scrub.

  289. mel

    Andrea,

    There was a HPB, walk, 4 hits, and an error. Don’t know how it went down.

    Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
    Lester 3.0 4 1 1 1 2 0 11.25
    Okajima 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
    Delcarmen 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
    Lopez 1.0 4 5 0 1 0 0 0.00
    Hansack 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.50

  290. S.o.S.27

    Scott
    March 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
    Go Twins!!!!

    We’ve mentioned this earlier. But maybe as a twins fan this is their regular season. Scott, I hope you guys win the rest of your spring training games and are spring training champs.

  291. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    mel: Any other team I’dd feel bad for Lopez, but dude, it’s your own fault you’re on the Sox :-D

  292. Rishi

    and Edwar with the strike out to end the inning…

  293. YankeesBen

    Patrick
    March 5th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
    Reasonable arguments are not tolerated! Joba sucks he should start the season in rookie ball. He was only throwing 91 pffff what a scrub…….

    I don’t know if that is supposed to be funny, but he reached 96 a few times. even 97 once.

  294. mel

    Why does Kay have to remind everyone about Ramirez crying?

  295. SJ44

    Twins fans really are treating this as a “big game” in here today.

    Kind of sad when you think about it.

    I have this vision of a kid in full Twins gear, watching the game on the edge of his seat and praying for a win.

    Like it defines their year. That’s pretty sad.

  296. Pete the repeat parrot

    As said several times before, the Yankees have some good young arms competing for spots in the bullpen.

  297. YankeesBen

    Here is how the sox gave the runs; ground out, error, ground out, walk, HBP, and a big 3 Run triple by…. ANDY PHILIPS!! ,followed by a bloop single.

  298. SJ44

    IMO, the radar gun should be banned for ST games.

    It means nothing. Guys aren’t at their full levels this early in the year.

    In fact, injuries occur when you try to amp it up this early.

  299. YankeesBen

    Oh sorry my bad thats a different Andy phillips,

  300. BBB

    Awww man did I miss the Edwar inning? Must have been a quick one, I just ran to the store for a hot second. How did his fastball look?

  301. rb15

    Andy!

  302. Andrea - anti-anti

    Edwar Ramirez is so weird looking.

  303. Jimmy 27

    To anyone listening to The twins radio cast:
    Do you agree that John and Suzyn are gems?
    These Twins guys could be plugged into any teams game and no one would know the difference.
    John and Suzyn are ENTERTAINING and despite what critics say they do know their stuff. They are not perfect but they are ours.

  304. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    YankeesBen: Ah, you had my hopes up!

    BBB: He’s pitching now. Lead-off walk.

  305. S.o.S.27

    bbb-got up to 91. Pretty good.

  306. Rishi

    No worries – he’s still out there…

  307. BBB

    Oh nevermind, he’s in for another one. woot!

    Meanwhile, why does everyone keep picking the Tigers to win the division or even make playoffs for that matter? With a questionable rotation and a late inning relief tandem of Todd Jones and…who? Jason Grilli? LOL.

  308. Andrea - anti-anti

    YankeesBen: aw you, got me all excited about (formerly) our Andy!

  309. S.o.S.27

    93 on the last pitch.

  310. The J Train

    this has nothing to do with the game or baseball for that matter, id just like to share that sometimes I wish I was a west coast Mexican gang banger.

  311. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Ramirez seems to have gone Ankiel…

  312. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    BBB: I am WAY with you on that.

  313. The J Train

    you mean he’s hitting home runs now?

  314. SJ44

    Nick Green throws a routine DP ball in the dirt and Edwar still can’t finish hitters with a good fastball.

    I think his lack of fastball command is what will keep Edwar off this roster. Its just not good enough to be a consistent performer in a ML bullpen, IMO.

    Gotta have more than a changeup to get hitters out at the ML level.

  315. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    NICE play.

  316. fleas (almost always negative)

    You can auto refresh the blog for whatever time interval you want just adding a simple HTML meta tag. I personally wouldn’t do it, that’s about as obnoxious as using or

    anyhow ..

    that would refresh it every 5 seconds. If hatred really wants to he can do that for himself by saving the page and adding that.

  317. fleas (almost always negative)

    heh it ate my html

    meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”5″

  318. Lori

    Jimmy – I’ve been complaining about them all game. When do John and Suzyn start? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss them.

  319. S.o.S.27

    sj44,
    I thought if he couldnt come in this year with a better and more consistant fastball that he wouldnt make the team. He was either feast or famine last year. No consistancy. We have IMO Veras who should get a fair chance to ear that spot.

  320. BBB

    Yeah, great catch by Colin Curtis (I think? Unless ESPN is wrong again)…so far what I’ve seen and heard of him this spring has been pretty impressive. I have seen him play in Trenton and he didn’t stand out then, but maybe he can develop into something.

    Meanwhile, Edwar’s fastball just still doesn’t have what it needs. Bums me out, I want to see this kid succeed SO bad!! I guess this is why they say to root for the laundry and not the individual. Some players just get you tho, and Edwar is definitely one for me.

  321. Wolf In Pinstripes

    I couldn’t resist after the discussion of the nicknames for the Big Three earlier.

    Check it out – The Three Amigos: http://www.clubbronx.com/weblog.php?w=1

  322. mel

    fleas,

    Do you have the tag to bury a link in bolded text?

  323. The J Train

    War! what is he good for?

  324. mb

    Did they really just say they don’t have the Yankees making the playoffs this season? Boo!

  325. TurnTwo

    absolutely nothing! say it again noooow!

  326. SJ44

    Even though its early, I think the roster is beginning to take shape.

    Position players who are already set: Giambi, Duncan, Cano, Betemit, Jeter, Arod, Damon, Cabrera, Abreu, Molina, Posada.

    If Matsui is healthy, he’s set. If not, he starts the year on the DL. Right now, I consider him a DL guy until he begins to play.

    Pitchers who are set (barring injury, of course): Wang, Hughes, Pettitte, Moose, Kennedy, Chamberlain, Rivera, Farnsworth, Hawkins, Rivera.

    By my count, you have two position players (one when Matsui is healthy) and two relief roles open.

    One of those relief roles will go to either Traber or Henn as the lefty specialist.

    So, in effect, we are only talking about 2 open spots (3 if Matsui starts the year on the DL) open for battle on this team right now.

  327. mel

    Wolf,

    Great work in such a short time.

  328. Lori

    Wolf – Looks great – Send it to them – I’m sure they’d sign and then you can auction it off.

  329. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    SJ: I assume you meant someone else aside from Rivera the second time, so, who? :-D

  330. raymagnetic â„¢

    “Did they really just say they don’t have the Yankees making the playoffs this season? Boo!”

    It’s trendy to say the Yanks won’t make the playoffs. Most of the folks at ESPN thought they wouldn’t make it last year as well. Rob Neyer is the only one I’ve seen so far say the Yankees will win 95 games like they always do.

  331. Andrea - anti-anti

    Wolf: that’s hysterical. I hope you don’t mind if I post that, giving you credit of course.

  332. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    nick green hasn’t made much of a case for himself…

    at the plate and certainly not in the field.

  333. BBB

    SJ44: If you had to guess right now, who do you think that last relief spot would go to? I’m inclined to say Veras, but I don’t think Albaladejo or even Bruney are out of the equation yet. Also what is your take on McCutcheon, how soon do you think he could help the major league team and in what role?

  334. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Thanks mel and Lori – it’s what I do, so I HOPE it looks good.

    Lori – if I could get them to sign that, it would get framed in my house. ;)

  335. Mike

    Good analysis SJ44. All teams should be so lucky.

  336. YankeesBen

    SJ-
    check that you two Riveras, is there one I don’t know,

  337. mel

    Who’s the former #1 pick from the Mets who’s trying to get the lefty spot?

  338. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Wo0lf–That’s great!

  339. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    ohlendorf making his case…

  340. Lori

    Wolf – that’s too bad bc I would be bidding! :D

  341. Rick

    SJ,

    Nice analysis. I am not sure about the bullpen though. Depends on the Chamberlain situation. If he is in the pen then kennedy will be in the rotation. girardi wasn’t so sure on espn about chamberlain. I have a good feeling about ensberg too.

  342. The J Train

    Id like to see more of stephendorf. I think he can be a very good reliver in this league for a long time.

  343. saucY

    so that answers the question of who pitches the dreaded 8th inning – the other Rivera!

  344. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Andrea – of course, you’re more than welcome to. It’s got my website addy on the bottom, so it would be free press for me. LOL

    Lori – maybe I’ll have to print up a few of them and send them to be signed. I wouldn’t want to make money off them though – I’d just give them away through my site or something.

  345. SJ44

    Ah, the lack of an edit button bit me in the butt again!!

    The pitching staff has 9 set guys: Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, Kennedy, Moose, Hawkins, Joba, Farnsworth and Mo.

    I think the tenth guy is going to be a lefty, with Traber having the edge right now.

    I also think they will carry a long guy and I think it will be Karstans.

    So, in reality, we are talking about one open slot for the bullpen.

    That leaves Ohlendorf, Veras, Albie, and Bruney (IMO) fighting for that slot.

    I don’t see Edwar or Britton in the mix. I think both guys start the year in Scranton. Dan McCutcheon will start the year in the Scranton or Trenton rotations. His timetable depends on how he pitches this year.

    If he pitches like he did last year, he will definitely be one of the guys talked about for a late July callup to help out in the bullpen.

    I know Girardi loves Ohlendorf and I do too. Stuff-wise, he is just nasty.

    If he pitches like he did today, he’s may be the guy that gets the spot.

    One thing I like though. We have some very nice options from a pitching standpoint this year. The career AAAA guys are out of contention for a change.

    The national media may not know the names. However, there is TALENT among those arms.

    Better yet, I believe there is a manager and staff in place to bring the best out of these guys.

    I really like the direction the Yankees are going in right now.

    Just gotta be patient and allow for growing pains.

  346. BBB

    SHELLEY baby!!!

  347. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Shelley is insane.

  348. Wolf In Pinstripes

    Whoa! Shelley MASHED that puppy!!!

  349. mel

    Wolf,

    You should e-mail Phil through his site or post a link in the comments. That could be Phil’s random picture of the day!

  350. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    thank you shelley.

  351. Y's Guy

    save some for the regular season shelly, you’re on the team!

  352. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    Wow they are falling like flies.
    http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/ne.....p;c_id=nym

    That stinks!

  353. gayle

    Duncans ball should land here in the city in about an hour that ball was crushed

  354. The J Train

    what was stephendorfs velocity at last year as a reliever? Upper 90’s with sink, correct? If thats the case, I think he can be very usefull…if its straight, however, its a different story. When I played pro ball, Seth McClung was the hardest thrower I had ever seen in my life and I just couldnt understand how he didnt have success…then I realized his pitches were 101 mph, but straight.

  355. mel

    I like Ollie.

    There’s too much at stake and too much talent behind him to take Henn up north. Leaves him open to getting picked up, but not a terrible loss if he does. Sometimes these guys have a better chance with other organizations.

  356. Big V

    This Blog is so overrated. I was under the impression this blog would help me win and influence people, make me happier, get me dates, and change my life.

    Instead all I get are updates with no auto refresh. Talk about bait and switch and deception. This blog is overrated just Joba!He is a lot like Pete, he has no control, people are taking him deep and he has lost too much weight.

    Send him back to Double AA where her can get depressed and gain weight and get back to 100 mph. THis Pettite is ruining the team with all these workouts – these pitchers will be great at running marathons but are running out of gas on the mound.

    I want fat guys like Britton, Bruney and Wells. THrow heat often and drink lots of beer.

    I’m so depressed. Love you Pete

    Big V

  357. MikeEff-Shelley at First

    Gayle :)

    Jenn: alou is a great hitter, but he’s just too much of an injury risk to lean on as a LF guy

  358. Wolf In Pinstripes

    I’m a step ahead of you, mel. ;)

    Tough break on that third strike call for Lane there. He’s just one of several guys that are making a good case for grabbing that last roster spot. Swing the bat, bro – that’s what’s in your hands for.

  359. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    Well we had to lose one game. :D

  360. fleas (almost always negative)

    I have to say my negative comment of the day:

    Edwar Rameriz was left go twice by the angels for a reason..

    HE is GARBAGE!

  361. Doreen

    Wolf -

    Awesome!

  362. fleas (almost always negative)

    mel,

    I am not sure what you mean by “Do you have the tag to bury a link in bolded text?”

    bury?

  363. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    Anyone know when Jorge is going to be on One Life To Live?

  364. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Better take care of the losing now than in October, I always say :-D

    Anyway, I think we were like 9-7 in ST in 98 or 99 or something…shows you how much it means…

  365. saucY

    we lost?

    minnesotans, hide your Yankee caps!!! ;)

  366. mel

    Jennifer,

    But it’s a productive loss. It showed that we got some pretty good arms.

    Girardi’s choice will be hard.

    I’ll go with SJ’s scenario. Karstens as long reliever, Traber as the lefty. Ollie’s a good choice, but Veras threw well over the winter and Mo’s high on him. I haven’t seen Veras this spring, but I do know that he lost the strike zone at times last year.

    Gut instinct gives the nod to Ollie.

  367. SJ44

    Of the 3+ hours of listening to the babble coming from Thorne and Sutcliffe, Girardi said someting that made my day and they both missed it during their interview with him:

    “We have made sure we communicated to our pitches that walks are not what we are looking for from them”!!!

    THANK GOD.

    The one thing that has bugged me to no end about Yankee pitching the past 3 years, especially out of the guys in the bullpen not named Mo, are walks and pitching from behind in the count.

    Its a 3 year problem that had gone unaddressed by the previous regime. Much like the fitness and fundamentals.

    Its one thing to complain about it. But, its your JOB to DO something about it. That hasn’t been the case since 2005. That’s now changing.

    The guys who will win the remaining slots in the ‘pen will be strikethrowers. That’s why Ollie is so impressive. Eiland has harnessed the movement on his sinker and his velocity hasn’t suffered on the fastball.

    Its why I love Eiland. He is a technician as a pitching coach. Something that has been needed at the ML level for a very long time.

    When you look at the younger arms: Hughes, Kennedy, Joba, Ohlendorf, these guys throw strikes. Not a lot of walks. That’s what is exciting about them.

    I really think the national media are sleeping on the Yankees this year. They get so caught up in what they percieve the Yankees don’t have, they are missing what the Yankees do have this year.

    Its just a matter of the pieces coming together, staying healthy, and getting off to a good start. If they do, they are going to be a very dangerous team as these young guys get their sea legs at the ML level.

  368. Doreen

    fleas –

    Could you please, please, please phrase your negativity just a bit differently? Edwar Ramirez pitch(ed)(es) like garbage, but Edwar Ramirez is NOT Garbage.

    Thanks. :)

  369. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    Ollie as in Olendorf?

  370. mel

    fleas,

    Like Dr. Acula would post something like “Here’s the picture” and you click on “picture” and it linked you to another url. I want to know how you can put bold text instead of a url.

  371. Y's Guy

    i have the mets winning 80 this year even with a cy for johan. they are heavily dependant on pedro and el duque, alou and delgado.

  372. mel

    Jennifer,

    Yes. Sorry, I’m the only one that calls him that. The “dorf” makes me laugh.

  373. Y's Guy

    sj ,
    it was “big bear shows some hops” that made my day!

  374. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    mel: You mean like this?

    Less than sign, a href=http://www.urlgoeshere.com, greater than sign, text you want the link to appear as, less than sign, backslash, greater than sign.

  375. MikeEff - Shelley at First

    what happened to Dr. Acula?

  376. SJ44

    One last thing from me today, then I have to run.

    Mo pulled Eiland and Mark Newman aside the other day to rave about the talent and work ethic of one of the kid pitchers.

    It was Mark Melancon.

    That’s the kid who will be in the bullpen in July and the national media (who don’t know Yankee prospects) will say, “Where did the Yankees get that kid”?

    Mike Francesa though will tell everybody he knows everything about Melancon.

    I can’t wait for the minor league season to start for a number of reasons:

    1. To watch Melancon’s progression to the Bronx. I’m convinced more than ever that, if he stays healthy, he will be in the Yankees bullpen by mid-late July.

    2. Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata’s progress in Trenton. Its one thing to hit in Single A. AA seperates the men from the boys on the prospect side. These two may be the two youngest kids in AA this year. If they play well in Trenton, its really going to be exciting setting their timetable to the Bronx.

    3. Watching Jesus Montero and Austin Romaine catching in Charleston. I don’t know another team in baseball that has 2 catching prospects this good on the same team. The crazy thing is, both kids are UNDER 20 years old! That’s gonna be fun to watch this summer.

  377. rb15

    mel, i think you can do something like this, where [ =

  378. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    mel: You mean like this?

    Less than sign, a href=fullurlhere, greater than sign, text you want the link to appear as, less than sign, backslash, greater than sign.

  379. rb15

    hrm. again:

    [ a href = "http://www.website.com/jpg" ] text you want to be bold [ / a ]

  380. SJ44

    Romine, not Romaine. The kid is a catcher, not a piece of lettuce and I need an edit button!

  381. saucY

    mel – i bookmarked this, compliments of sunny615

    http://picasaweb.google.com/su.....5693050610

  382. Jeteupthemiddle

    Once again, if anyone would like to participate in a Joba Chamberlain community projection (where you predict his stats for the 2008 season), please do so at my blog.

    http://jeteupthemiddle.blogspo.....-2008.html

    My goal is to get a bigger sample size than I did last year.

    I don’t care how you come about your numbers, just please try and make them realistic don’t predict 270 innings in 30 starts and 0 earned runs.

  383. rb15

    mel, if you combine what Rebecca and I just posted, it will work.

  384. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    Testing

    [www.yankees.com]

  385. mel

    I’m with SJ. The number one reason is depth. If someone doesn’t work out or, heaven forbid, gets hurt the Yankees can go to the well.

    Last year we had to rely on the likes of Ramirez, Henn, and Bruney. If you can call it relying.

    This year, a lot of good young pitchers are making their way back from injuries.

    I’m also interested to see how LaChoy does. Could be a real x-factor there especially if outpitches Krazy Kyle.

  386. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    testing

  387. The J Train

    Mark Cougar Melancon

  388. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    I know this isn’t baseball related. But Patrick Swayze is dying. :(
    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335210,00.html

  389. mel

    bad apple

  390. The J Train

    I guess there wont be a Roadhouse 3

  391. mel

    Thanks, everyone! I feel so kewl. 8)

  392. the early view

    Pitchers making cases to stay : Albaladejo, Karstens, Ohlendorf, Veras, and Traber.

    Need to see more of : Rasner, Patterson, White, Jackson, Wright, and Phillips.

    No wiggle room : Bruney, Britton, Henn, and Ramirez.

    Mysterious : Farnsworth and Igawa.

  393. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Jen: I’d be careful, they got that from the national enquirer!

  394. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    train, that is just wrong!!

  395. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    It is all over the internet on reputable sites.

  396. Spidur

    Jennifer – I don’t think Jorge’s going to be on the actual soap. I found this bit here:

    Starting on March 3, 2008, AMC’s Cameron Mathison (Ryan) and Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) and OLTL’s John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex), David Fumero (Cris), Bree Williamson (Jessica), and John Brotherton (Jared) will appear in “Endless Drama,” a series of commercials about the drama brought to ESPN’s 2008 Fantasy Baseball. Also in the ads are Major League Baseball players Torii Hunter (LA Angels), Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies), Jorge Posada (NY Yankees) and Hanley Ramirez (Florida Marlins).

  397. JGNYC

    Swayze is going ghost.

  398. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    spidur, I thought I read it was on the actual show. I guess I’m wrong.

  399. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE!

    http://onelifetolive.about.com.....211;HK.htm

    see.

  400. Jax

    Jorge a soap star now.

  401. The J Train

    How long until there is the Patrick Swayze Pancreatic Cancer Foundation is founded by someone close to Swayze who could have cared less about pancreatic cancer before he Patrick died from it is founded. Over under is 6 months…place your bets

  402. Bronxbyte

    Show me a pitcher with the mindset of throwing 1st pitch strikes and I’ll show you a pitcher on the north side of success.

  403. JBRO

    Apparently I got some camera time…

    When Shelley hit that home run in the 9th I(from what I was told was the only one jumping up and down) was two rows up when you saw him touch home…

    I had kind of crappy seats at first, but when the minor leaguers started to play i moved up(behind the twins dugout). The security gaurd was a nice guy and started talkin to me. Turns out he lived on the same block my mom grew up on it Brooklyn. I was being pretty loud and ‘teasing’ the twins. And he kept on telling the florida yankees fans around me that this is what the real NY Yankee fans were like. After a while he told me and my buddies to move closer. We were sitting front row, it was pretty awesome…

  404. raymagnetic â„¢

    “How long until there is the Patrick Swayze Pancreatic Cancer Foundation is founded by someone close to Swayze who could have cared less about pancreatic cancer before he Patrick died from it is founded. Over under is 6 months…place your bets”

    What difference does it make? Seriously in your lame efforts to be funny you really come off as a crass idiot.

  405. Karma

    Oooopss!!

    Maybe we should have traded for Santana!!

    Watch, he’s gonna win 23 games for the Mets, this year.

  406. Spidur

    I wasn’t trying to prove you wrong, Jennifer. I just don’t watch soaps, and when I did a search for it all I found was info on the commercials. Believe me, I’m a Jorge fangirl so I’m just as interested to know when it will air.

  407. Karma

    I wonder if the Russians are behind Swayze’s illness. They’ve been trying to get him ever since “Red Dawn”

  408. Y's Guy

    karma
    what does 23 wins in aaaa convert to in a real baseball division?

  409. Karma

    Y’s Guy-

    it converts to his Cy Youngs wins: 19 in 2006 and 20 in 2004.

  410. Max

    Gee Wiz. The lowly Twins upended the Almighty Yankees. How about that?

  411. youngtimer

    I know I’m really late but I had to put in a BIG CHEER FOR MELKY! GO MELKY! WOO HOO! Check out that kid’s arm!

  412. mickey's monkey

    What’s with this Heath Phillips character? He looks like he’s about as well-conditioned as the late john Candy, and can’t break a pane of glass with his fastball, but he keeps getting people out. Is he any good? does he have a shot at a spot in the bullpen?
    And what of Billy Traber? I know he struck out the side yesterday. How hard does he throw?
    Does he have a shot?
    Traber, Phillips, and even (dare I say it?) Igawa (yesterday, at least) have been getting guys out.
    E-Ram and Albaledejo didnt look too good today.
    What’s gonna happen with this bullpen?

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Thoughts and discussion on the 27-time World Champion Yankees.

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About the authors
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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