Rays-Yankees: The Live Blog
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- March
- 8
It’s windy and 62 here at Legends Field as the Yankees get set to face the Plain Old Rays.
It’ll be Mike Mussina vs. Matt Garza. Today’s game is on YES and WCBS so you shouldn’t need me to provide many details. But I’ll chime in from time to time.
UPDATE: The Yanks just made four cuts as RHPs Dan McCutchen, Steven Jackson, Scott Strickland and Steven White were assigned to the minor-league camp.
FIRST INNING
Thanks to Mark Carlson’s floating strike zone, Mike Mussina threw 21 pitches in that inning, 12 of them strikes. But he K’d Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd to work out of trouble.
SECOND INNING
Mussina has his act together in this inning. Gomes homered, but it was a pop fly that carried out on the wind. The Moose then K’d Longoria and Riggans looking on great curveballs.
THIRD INNING
Great outing for Mike Mussina: 2.2 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts. The run came on a wind-blown homer and one of the walks was a travesty. He threw 30 of his 54 pitches for strikes and had four strikeouts looking.
Mussina was able to locate his curveball and throw his fastball for strikes. Mussina was around 88-89, which is fine for him.
UPDATE FROM THE CLUBHOUSE:
Mike Mussina was pleased with his outing. Here’s how he answered some questions:
On the home run: “That was a fly ball to right. He inside-outed the thing. Bobby took three steps to this right and then turned around and started running. But that’s OK.”
On his curveball: “I was able to put it where I wanted to put it. I was able to dump it in there for strikes. Or I could throw it harder and get it down in there.”
On his arm strength: “It’s about where it should be. There will be more. 88 in March is OK. I can pitch with that if I can get the ball where I want to. 88 is fine in June. But there should be a little bit more.”
NINTH INNING
Does anybody want that last spot in the bullpen? Ross Ohlendorf just allowed a home run, a day after a rocky outings by Jose Veras and Brian Bruney. Could Chris Britton sneak in there?
This entry was posted
on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Kay just said the Rays will win 80 games.
Was the announcer Bob Shephards son?
The kid is pretty good.
Auh how cute, Jorge high fived her.
Nice. They rarely show the anthem and Mary-Olive did a great job. Adults try to do to many things with the anthem, like they’re on Idol or something.
Hope that Moose gets what he wants out of this outing.
Chime away, Pete. You’re more interesting than alot of the fluff YES feeds us.
“Kay just said the Rays will win 80 games.”
There’s been a lot of discussion on whether the Rays are for real this year because we’ve heard so often before about the young talent they have only to see the team finish in the cellar year in and out.
The Rays aren’t going to contend this year, but IMO the Rays are a dangerous and will be a factor this year.
There are at least two reasons to be quite concerned with tampa: 1. Their level of talent and its development; 2. The comparative impact that they will have on the AL east when compared to competition in the AL central and AL West
The first issue is the level of talent. Yes people have heard about talent in Tampa a long time. But its finally starting to come together.
More importantly the major difference between the young players Tampa had before (ex. Crawford, Baldelli, etc) and now is that now they have young pitching talent – they never had that before even when they had good position players.
As good as we think the Yankee’s young pitching is, Tampa probably has more high ceiling young pitchers than even the yankees do.
The yankees have more overall pitching depth, but in terms of premium talents, it is remarkable how much top flight talent tampa has. In particular, they have tremendous left handed pitching talent. Of the 5 to 8 best young left handed pitchers/ pitching prospects in baseball (majors and minors) Tampa has 3 of them.
No organization can match that.
Its this pitching talent that is the difference between the Tampa teams of before and now. That’s also the reason why they are going to put a team on the field that will likely be very good in the near future.
That future may not be now. But that gets to point number 2 – the impact that Tampa will have on the wild card.
Simply put the AL central has two very good teams and 3 very bad to mediocre teams. The AL West is just not a good division. The angels are the only good team, Seattle is decent, Texas and Oakland are awful.
It’s going to take 92-95 games to win the AL this year. Boston is the favorite. Because of the unbalanced schedule competition within your division is a big deal.
Tampa used to be a gimme in the AL east. It was a team either the Yankees or the Red Sox could beat up on during those 19 head to head games.
If Tampa this year even goes from bad to sort of mediocre, the yankees and/ or sox lose that cushion team to beat up on.
Cleveland and Detroit have the White Sox and Royals (and to a lesser degree the Twins) to fatten up on. The Mariners have the A’s and Rangers to fatten up on.
If the AL east only has the O’s as a truly bad team then it will be very difficult for the wild card team to come out of the AL East.
The competition between Seattle, Cleveland, Detroit, Yankees and Red Sox to either win their divisions or to make the wild card will be so fierce that every marginal game will matter.
Toronto is already heads and shoulders the best 3 rd team in any division in baseball. If Tampa is no longer a gimme, then its going to be tough for that Wild Card winner to come from the AL east becuase of the unbalanced schedule.
That’s the reality of the math.
I would kill to have the YES feed right now. I’m stuck with Sterling and Suzie on audio.
Wow Jason really looks lean.
Giambi makes a nice throw.
How ‘bout Giambi makin’ the throw to second on the force! That’s certainly nice to see.
“It’s going to take 92-95 games to win the AL this year. Boston is the favorite.”
I meant to write, It’s going to take 92-95 games to win the AL wild card. Boston is the favorite to win the division.
don’t sell yourself short, Pete. We always need you.
wow how was that not a strike? That had great break!!
I’m hoping Strickland will stay in the organization and go to Scranton. He had a sore elbow early in camp and really didn’t have a chance to compete for a job.
He might be a useful arm late in the year if he can get healthy.
SJ – who are the favorites to make the team in the bullpen based on the early returns?
Mike’s pitches look like they have great breaks on them! He looks good so far.
JMO but, if the bullpen had to be set today, I think its the following:
Mo
Joba
Hawkins
Farnsworth
Traber
Karstans
Albaladejo or Ohlendorf (That’s a coin flip right now)
Put me in the camp of the Rays being a better team this year. They hit close to .300 and averaged almost 7 runs a game against the Yankees last year. They will hit.
They need a healthy Kazmire. But, their minor league system is loaded with quality arms and this will be the year some begin to make their way to the big leagues.
Good to see the umps went to umping school this winter.
Jennifer- And he is hitting 88 on the gun.
I can hear Joe yelling that a boy mikey.
Jennifer: did you ever figure out that thing with spam text messages?
That is about the 5th strike the ump has missed. I think Joe needs to get thrown out of his first game.
I’m not a fan of the home plate ump…some of those pitches look pretty good.
i dont put alot of value on pitchers in spring training, but watching moose reminded me of what i thought his biggest problem last year was.. it doesnt seem like he is ever able to put guys away.. even last year, he would always get pounded when there were 2 outs or going 2 strikes on a guy, you just felt he never had that “out pitch”.
first one was outside, next was borderline but the ump gave him one back on the outside pitch
I blocked them thru verizons site. But I still got more this morning. I called back and they blocked premium text messages. It better stop is all I can say. I’ll have to figure out what steps to take next.
Nibbles is a more appropriate name than Moose.
Despite the umpire, a good first inning for Mussina.
This ump is blind. Moose had at least 3 strikes not go his way.
I like the fact that Girardi is trying a new approach with Farnsworth and keeping his spirits high. I just hope, behind the scenes, that Giardi is telling him to lay off blaming Torre and calling out Torre.
not too bad 1st inning, topped out at 88 if yes’s radar gun is accurate.
Some of Mike’s pitches move so late that the ump doesn’t follow them all the way thru the zone and just calls them as a ball. This seems to have been the problem for as long as I can remember.
Better first inning against a better lineup for Moose.
Little more jump on the fastball. Excellent movement on the curve and changeup.
Despite getting squeezed, a much better start for him.
88 on the gun this early on the fastball. That my friends, is a very good sign.
I think Veras and Ohlendorf could step up in the bullpen.
What about Alan Horne? I have not heard much about him this spring.
pjh obviously you didn’t just watch. The pitches were breaking pretty late and the ump wasn’t following.
I thought it was a great first inning despite the ump.
Mike looks good. How far off is the YES gun?
Jennifer,
Over/under on first regular season game that Girardi gets tossed out of?
and 88 this early, you think he could get to 90 sj?
moose showed up the ump on a ball that was clearly outside. no wonder he didnt get the 2nd call.
The 3 missed calls dont make up for the fact that he went to a 3-2 count with nearly every hitter.
With Mussina, if the borderline pitches dont go his way, he wont be around too long.
Radar gun is off by at least 5 mph over, Moose is throwing heat at 83. nice.
Kenny talking about Garza getting a change of scenery might be good for him. Uhh, doesn’t Tampa play in a dome?
Jennifer: I was getting them from weird websites, and from Macy’s of all places. I called verizon and they stopped right away. I didn’t do anything through their website.
“you just felt he never had that “out pitchâ€.”
Well, then his FB was 84 MPH. Right now, you say that he could get it up to 88, though he was trading off control in order to get it there. But it’s his second ST outing. That bodes well. In three more weeks, it’s certainly reasonable to expect him to get command at that velocity, as his strength builds. That changes everything about his ability to pitch.
Did Anti moose just clone himself?
Andrea, he initially told me to go to their website, I told him I already did it. Than he said he could block premium text messages.
Darn I wish this rain would lighten up, I have errands to do!
moose cant really throw a fastball as his putout pitch anymore.. it just doesnt have the stuff anymore.
so i think he has to rely on off-speed stuff which is probably a lower % strike pitch ..
hopefully he figures something out. also, for a pitcher who now relies on changing speeds, i would like to see him pick up the pace a bit.. to keep hitters a bit more offbalance
Mussina is definitely not done. He will be a great 4 or 5. Hughes has to step up.
http://www.recreateyourlifenow.com
A-Rod double coming up
Wow, Bobby must have some eye or was just going to take that last pitch. Just stood straight up with his bat on his shoulder. lol.
“Today’s game is on YES and WCBS so you shouldn’t need me to provide many details. ”
Pete, some of us are too poor to afford a TV or radio. It would be great if you can provide updates. Thanks!!
Did Kay just say “gauche”? I’m impressed.
You can afford the internet and a comuputer but not an AM radio?
Kay always tries to sound smart.
YanksVIP: Moose can use the FB as an out pitch…if he sets it up properly early in the at bat. All depends on pitch sequence.
Jennifer: well, I hope it works itself out! You can’t very well pay for all those messages, plus it’s annoying!
mel: he certainly did say that. But you know if he had an MVP in anything, he’d carry it around no matter how gauche it was.
Unless somebody is a radar gun expert, please explain to me how the gun is off 5 MPH?
You don’t need a TV or a radio if you are on this blog…you can listen over the Internet radio feed.
Giambi has 12 gs? I didn’t realize that.
hey Pete,
on a side note, it would be great to get a story on jeter. i feel like there hasnt been a good indepth jeter story in a few years (understandable with all the new guys coming and going over the years)
Jeter has been playing baseball for a long time now and has had tremendous success very early on (not alot of goals left to play for really). and now alot of his close friends he came up with are starting to leave (mo, andy and jorge are the only ones left).. it must be hard to keep the competitive edge and fire going. the thing ny loves about jeter is his passion for the game.. he would always be the first out of the dugout when a teammate got a big hit.. standing on the top step.. that showed us he really wanted to win.. it would be interesting to hear if that fire is starting to dwindle a bit.
whats up with both teams wearing blue jersey’s?
3 run double for Robbie.
Alan Horne has not fallen off the team’s radar. There’s no real need to rush his progress. He may yet be heard from if he takes care of business at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. A late year callup is a good possibility.
thanks Bronxbyte
Or he’ll strike out with the bases loaded.
Well i’m out, rain lightened up.
The computer and internet connection is free for me. But can someone post the link to radio feed?
kay already complaining about long games.
swung at ball four.
Wind blown homerun. But somehow anti moose will blame the Mike.
Gone.
Can someone take the Moose out back and shoot him already? He sucked last year. I don’t see why this year will be any different.
He has 3 strike outs thru 1 1/3 inning. Jesus what is wrong with you people?
“Alan Horne has not fallen off the team’s radar.”
He hasn’t had any official appearances this spring, though I guess it’s not too surprising given that there are many other guys who are either closer to the bigs, have MLB experience, are out of options, or are not good enough to be starters long-term.
It’d be nice if he got a shot to make an impression on the big league coaching staff, though. Wasn’t he supposed to throw in that rainout, maybe? So he got into that intrasquad game?
Man, I’d love to go to ST. Maybe next year when I have a for-real job I can take a week off and treat my dad to a trip down there or something
4 so thru 1 2/3. HE IS AWFUL!!
See, the curve IS an out pitch…as long as he has enough of an FB to set it up. For some of these batters, it’s looked like enough.
SJ,
Are the Rays going to give Longoria the third base job or are they going to be cheap and delay bringing him up so that they delay his free agency years?
He doesn’t have anything to prove in the minors and they keep saying they want to win this year.
Despite the homerun, Moose is looking real good.
He is hitting 89 now.
Rob, are we watching the same game?? Moose is doing quite well. Who cares what happened last year, it’s now 2008.
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | March 8, 2008
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Could everyone take a cold shower and calm down a little bit about the 2008 Red Sox?
The Sox are good, no doubt about it. But this attempt to anoint them as the 1927 Yankees of the new century worries me.
Go to a news rack and check out the baseball pulp magazines. Just about everyone likes the Sox to finish first and win the World Series. Talk to citizens of Red Sox Nation, particularly the ones who think David Ortiz is the first lefthanded slugger in franchise history, and you get the feeling that a 115-win season is expected.
Two new books (at least) are scheduled to hit stores this spring: Michael Holley’s “Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston’s Rise to Dominance”; and Tony Massarotti’s “Dynasty: The Inside Story of How the Red Sox Became a Baseball Powerhouse.” Whoa. Dominance? Powerhouse? (Gulp) Dynasty?
“I’d call that poetic license on the part of the authors,” says Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino.
Since when do two championships in 89 years constitute a dynasty? Have we all forgotten that the Sox trailed the Indians, three games to one, in the American League Championship Series after losing to the Tribe at the Jake on the night of Oct. 16?
“We were nine innings away from being eliminated,” notes Mike Lowell.
The Florida Marlins won World Series in 1997 and 2003. That’s two in seven years. Why no dynasty books on the mighty Marlins?
This is not to be negative. The Sox have won twice in the last four years and they appear to be the best team in the American League at this hour. But astute fans with any kind of memory know how hard this is. The idea is to win enough games to be one of the eight teams playing in the postseason tournament. Then you try to be the hot team. The Sox have pulled it off twice since 2004, but they had narrow escapes both times.
The Sox are good. No doubt. They have the kind of relentless lineup coveted by Theo Epstein. They have depth and experience in the starting rotation and bullpen. They have a dominant closer, a good bench, and a manager who knows how to get the most out of his players. But like any team, they are susceptible to injuries, slumps, and old age.
“You need good health and good luck, just as you need good talent,” says Lucchino.
Here’s some news for you nouveau fans who came on board in 2004 and remain blissfully unaware of what it’s like to struggle and wait: The Detroit Tigers are really good. The Indians are good. So are the Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays, and, yes, the New York Yankees are still to be taken seriously.
“Expectations are a lot higher,” acknowledges Alex Cora. “The first question I got last year, after the plane ride home from the World Series, was, ‘Are you guys gonna win it again?’ ”
Boston’s Too-Great Expectations are easily explained. Much of it has to do with the way the Sox finished. After falling behind the Indians, they won their final seven playoff games by an aggregate score of 59-15. It was 7-1, 12-2, and 11-2 over Cleveland, followed by 13-1, 2-1, 10-5, and 4-3 over Colorado. Absolute carnage. On the grandest of stages. We were left with a memory of a team that looked like it could play until Christmas and never lose. Apparently, this caused a number of fans to forget about the daily struggle that is baseball.
“I think people expect us to win every single game,” says Kevin Youkilis.
Not going to happen, people. The Red Sox will lose some games this year. Every team in major league ball averages at least one loss every three games.
Bet you spoiled newbies have no idea that the 2001 Seattle Mariners were eliminated by the Yankees in the playoffs after winning 116 regular-season games. The 1969 Orioles won 109 games, then lost the World Series in five games to the miracle Mets.
Again, the Sox are good. But they are not far better than all the other teams.
“Anyone who thinks we are that much better just doesn’t know much about baseball,” says Youkilis. “There’s a lot of great teams out there. We feel we can match up with them and we feel we’re a better team top to bottom, but don’t forget what happened to the Patriots.”
It’s nice to have so many fans associate the Red Sox with clutch play and championships. Nobody misses the angst that dogged the team for 86 years before the miracle of 2004. But it’s important to remember that there are 29 other teams in baseball, several with big payrolls, stocked with great lineups and a few healthy arms. The Sox are good, and if they’d acquired Johan Santana, they could have been the best Red Sox team of all time. More than most teams, they are protected from the inevitable land mines on the path to 162 games. But they are not a slam dunk.
“Our job in management should be to control expectations,” says Lucchino. “I suppose a little bit of excess is inevitable, as long as we don’t fall victim to it ouselves.”
The Sox are good. But they are not a dynasty. Not yet. Not even close.
no real need for horne to impress anybody. he spent the entire 07 season at trenton and won pitcher of the year. he is going to be in scranton this year, he is not going to be converted to relieve and he’s not going to go north as the long man. it would be nice to see him but he’s really not competing for a spot now.
Mussina looks good. He is locating his pitches. 4 of his 5 strikeouts were call strike 3.
Dee the haters aren’t watching the same game as us. 5 strike outs thru 2 innings. He has movement on his pitches and has a decent enough fb to survive. But if you are a hater you ignore the facts and only look at a wind blown homerun. All you have to do is watch the outfielders to know they never thought it would go out.
Rob
March 8th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Can someone take the Moose out back and shoot him already? He sucked last year. I don’t see why this year will be any different.
**********************************************************
Yep Rob. You must be the originator of “hope springs eternal”.
“he’s not going to go north as the long man. it would be nice to see him but he’s really not competing for a spot now.”
No, but it always helps a young player to have been seen by the major league coaching staff when the inevitable spot-start or bullpen opening shows up later in the season.
Even if he’s starting well in AAA all year, if there’s a pen opening in July, I’m sure Horne would be just fine with getting Joba’d in there. Especially if it’s a short-reliever job, where he’d get to pitch frequently instead of rotting in the pen.
Not with Moose. He’s done. We’ve been through this the last four years. He sucked in 2004. He sucked in 2005. And he sucked in 2007. The only year he was decent was 2006, and he quickly revert back to form – sucking and bitching.
bronxbyte, that book sucked the first time you posted it.
That kind of “expert” analysis is what’s sorely lacking here.
The guy has 5 K’s in two innings, has looked much better than his first outing, yet he is “done” by some people.
Thank God you aren’t Dave Eiland.
CB,
That’s the big question. The Rays aren’t tipping their hand right now.
Personally, I think he will start at third. I can’t see the Rays being that cheap.
They have already moved Iwanmura and the kid is too good to go back to AAA.
He has decent in 2006? What!? Do you even know what you are talking about?
2007 he was hurt the entire year!!
“sucking and bitching”??
Rob, Moose is FAR from sucking and the only one bitching here is you!
Jennifer, I know, I was thinking the same thing about the wind on that lucky HR.
Here is a little information for you rob so you have a clue.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching?sort=ERA&split=0&league=al&season=2006&seasonType=2&type=reg&ageMin=17&ageMax=51&hand=a&pos=all&minip=0
I don’t care about a a Spring training game against a perennial last place team. I care about:
2004: 4.59 ERA
2005: 4.41 ERA
2006: 3.51 ERA
2007: 5.15 ERA
The only thing that explains that 2006 is his new changeup. As soon as folks figured that out he was done – see 2007. His 84 mph fastball sure ain’t getting faster. What’s he going to do – throw an eephus?
SJ,
If they don’t bring up Longoria their whole spiel on being serious about winning looks real thin.
Iwamura at third base isn’t so great a bat. At second he’s a nice plus. Longoria at third for them has a lot of pluses.
And I know Longoria is a professional now, but to be sent down for such a blatantly non-performance reason would have to be frustrating. I could see him carrying that with him for a while.
It’ll be interesting to see how Price looks. Not sure about so many people being thinking he’ll be in the majors by the summer but I guess we’ll see.
Yup, jennifer, he had one decent year in the last four. Give that man another 20 million!
stop walking off the field moose! that is bush league.
Oh god, what part of he was hurt all of last year don’t you understand. He had an injured groin, than back, than hip. Than he hurt his foot! He didn’t complain because the Yankees had so many other problems.
And incase you didn’t notice the rays have a good hitting team.
A nice outing by Mussina. He was locating well and hitting 88 on the gun according to YES. A huge improvement over his last start.
What is bush league about walking off of the field?
Price is going to be in the majors this season? Wasn’t he just drafted?
Lol, a pop fly that carried out. Peter, you’re priceless. Here, I thought that’s what a home run was.
Moose looked really good today.
Right. I suppose Moose was hurt in 2004 and 2005 too. He’s D-U-N, dun. Finished. Finito.
I really hope he retires. Otherwise we’ll get his craptastic special for three months before they decide to DFA him in June.
So much wrong with the whining, its actually funny.
He was throwing 87-88 today. He wasn’t throwing 87-88, at any point last year. He is doing it this early in the spring. That’s a good sign.
If the guy pitches well, he’s done. If he doesn’t pitch well, he’s done. He can’t win with some either way.
He’s gonna be in the rotation. The way I see it, you can either accept that fact or complain about it.
I’ll take the fact that he pitches much better today and hope he can build on it.
Very strong outing for Moose, particularly for his second outing of the spring on a relatively cold day in Florida.
Much better than outing one and something he can build on.
The league average #4 starter in the AL had an ERA of 4.88 last season. #5 starter – 6.02.
Hughes and Kennedy will pitch well. Moose is going to wind up as the ”#5” starter.
Then Joba will slot into the rotation. If moose can given them above average innings while he’s a regular part of the rotation then after as a spot starter to decrease the workload on the kids, that will be a very valuable role he’ll fill
dont tell me you guys wouldnt be ripping beckett or pedro if he showed up the ump 3 times in 3 innings.
Fran, I saw a couple 89s as well. He looked great.
im very encouraged by that outing; he clearly was getting squeezed by the umps but still did a great job with better velocity. nothing not to like there
Me thinks we have Red Sox trolls in here today.
Thats it I give up!! You just can’t reason with some people.
Um, the YES gun is faster than every other gun out there. Moose is sitting at 82-83 mph this year and will hit 84 mph.
Okay, it will be worth having him on the team if he really does start throwing an eephus.
SJ, You got that right. They are just here to push buttons, and it’s worked.
You can’t reason with a troll.
shove it sj im not a troll, i dont like anybody showing up the ump
well that was a fun inning
Rob, what kind of work do you do? Can we come over to your job and watch you work and offer our criticisms? We only want to watch you labor a way for a little while and then write a blog about your work habits.
i guess the umps need to dedicate some of spring to squeezing pitchers and blowing calls
Moose walked off because his pitch count limit was up. Great outing.
Why should Moose retire? He’s healthy, throwing strikes and getting outs, and don’t discount his experience. Who else is supposed to replace him in the rotation if he retires? The 3 kids are very promising but them alone can’t fill all the innings. We need Moose.
Not a Mussina fan, but good outing by him today.
yeah, i was an ump, and they need spring training too and they dont need moose showing them up 2 or 3 times an inning.
Can someone give me the url of the audio feed. I got to wcbs but was only listening to news (not what I wanted). Also in case I fail with the audio what is the url of the gameday on mlb?
jmo – What made you think that SJ was referring to you and not someone else? There have been a couple of antagonists here today.
Bronx Born –
If you want to pay me 11 million/year, sure.
I completely agree Dee.
good inning for britton
Mussina will get 3 more starts in building his pitch count up to 90 pitches. All indications see him on target as the 5th starter.
I always forget about Britton, Joe never gave him a shot to succeed. He did pretty well when he was with the O’s. Maybe he can take ahold of a relievers spot.
Telling me to shove it when I wasn’t even referring to you is pretty funny.
If you have that much of a hair trigger temper, you probably aren’t that good an umpire.
This time I am referring to you.
“anybody showing up the ump”
Even if the ump is incompetent? You wanna call a tight zone, fine. But keep it consistent.
How do we feel about Britton? That near-homer to Upton at the end of the 3rd was not too awesome, but I thought the 4th inning was solid. He won’t break camp with the team, but I’ll continue to be confused if he gets stuck in AAA putting up great numbers all year again.
Agreed desti, if we can have Mike as our 5th starter at a 4.5 era, that would be great!
Don,
WCBS’s website doesn’t broadcast the games. The only audio feeds via the internet are through mlb.com.
Gameday url:
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/#20080308
lol why did a rod run there? i can’t believe he made it
moose should get 4 more, he’ll likely pitch in the servies in miami before opening day
Rob, so you feel that because Moose makes that much money, you have the right to carp about him?
Among A-Rod’s attributes is his excellent baserunning ability. Not blazing fast – just smart fast.
Pete: “Mussina seemed to be 91-92”
How correct is this?
In 2008, still not one reliable radar gun. Kind of sad how little technology has come after 5000 years of civilization.
That was a sneaky little slide.
“in the servies in miami before opening day”
What are the servies? Forgive my ignorance
sadasd
The red sox had probably the best pitching in baseball last year.
Their fifth starter spot basically gave them an ERA of 5.1 or so.
Then Tim Wakefield had an ERA of 4.74 and Jon Lester also 4.74. That was basically their #4 slot.
Yankee fans often don’t have any perspective on what league average performance is because we’re so used to demanding 25 all stars on the roster.
Thanks CB
Don,
If you’re interested in listening to the games look into the mlb audio package. It’s a great deal.
“In 2008, still not one reliable radar gun.”
They’re reliable enough to give you a ticket
It’s really hard to clock such a small object, especially when you don’t know exactly where to point it until it’s almost too late.
Nice 1-2-3 for Farnsworth.
Is there any way to get this game on gametracker? If so, what is the link?
Really good pitching today by the Yanks.
Beckett did not make his start today. He tried to warm up and had back problems.
And just like that JMO is gone. It’s nice when people own up to what they say.
right here, whats the problem?
Wow did Farnsy just get 3 outs with 5 pitches? NICE!
CB,
Yeah, I see that the mlb audio is only $15 so it is a good deal: the trouble is that I am in Europe. Once the regular season starts with so many night games I will not be able to take in so many games as they will start at late hours, but still I may end up buying the audio.
C’mon Yankees what happend to our offense!
Mike are you surprised? The Mussina hater is gone too. Gee I wonder why, he had a great outing and there is nothing to complain about.
Who the heck figures the rays to win 88 games? How many wins do they think will come out of the east?
hey jenn, i think that they will feast on the O’s and they should be able to beat up on the royals, twins, rangers A’s and their share of blue jays games. ( also the red sox when they have kazmir pitching against them.
hopefully they wont get too many off of us
http://nyyanks23.wordpress.com/
Karstens is throwin 91-92. Last yr post broken leg he was 85-87. Huge difference in his stuff
“Who the heck figures the rays to win 88 games? How many wins do they think will come out of the east?”
PECOTA. It’s a complex (and proprietary) statistical model that’s used to project players’ numbers, and then (I believe) they run several season-long simulations to project team performance.
The model takes into account not only the players’ track record in the past, but also uses some kind of model based on “similar” players from the past to project future performance. So, they’d try to find other players like Cano, say, in the past that were his age and then use the arc of those guys’ careers to try and predict how Cano will grow as a player based on what he’s done to this point.
Given all that, the system works best for guys who are similar to guys in the past and who have established track records. If you’ve got some kind of 21 year old phenom that burst onto the scene last year, it’s really hard for PECOTA to project him because there haven’t been a lot of other guys like him before and he doesn’t have that much history.
So, a team like the Rays is really hard to project. They have a lot of talent, and guys with interesting minor-league numbers, but the players haven’t been around too long. So, PECOTA has less data to work with, fewer comparables to look at, and thus generates results in which one cannot place as much confidence.
It is unfair that they are sending down Steven Jackson when he did he was bit given a chance to pitch in an official spring training game.
Good grief…Sterling is telling listeners the he wants the Yanks to carry two LOOGYs.
edit…listeners that he…
JMO – I asked why you thought SJ was talking about you with his troll comment. He later mentioned that in fact he wasn’t talking about you. Neither comment received a reply from you.
I wouldn’t really call it a problem though.
“It is unfair that they are sending down Steven Jackson when he did he was bit given a chance to pitch in an official spring training game.”
Well, as the starters begin going longer, spring innings will be fewer and farther between. They need to see what they can see from guys who’ve done it in MLB a bit, guys who are out of options, etc etc etc.
Jackson isn’t going to beat out all the other righties, and this way he actually gets to pitch. He made a good impression on Joe G. With good performance in the minors in the early going, he can put himself on the radar for a callup. Great camp for him, I think.
On YES, Michael Kay said that Henn would probably be the left handed pitcher in the roster because he is out of options and if they send him down they expose him to waivers and will probably loose him. I don’t care if they loose Henn. I am not impressed with him at all. He has not gotten any better over time.
If I was Traber, I’d be PISSED if Henn made the MLB roster over me.
Not a bad AB for Miranda against a lefty. Smoked that ball and showed a good eye.
whozat – I agree. Traber has shown a lot this spring.
Baseball America recently ranked the farm systems of all the organizations.
The top 5 were:
1. Rays, 2. Red Sox, 3. Reds, 4.Rangers, 5. Yankees
They also recently ranked the best 5 organizations by pitching alone:
1. Tampa 2. Yankees 3. Orioles 4. Rangers 5. Oakland
This is a good thing for the future of the Yankee’s Sox rivalry.
The sox are very strong developing position players. Mixed record with pitching.
Pitching is what wins and the yankees have really moved past the red sox in that regard and are catching up quickly on young position players.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2008/265726.html
Kay is out of his mind. Yes, Henn is out of options – so that’s enough reason to keep him on the 40-man roster? Henn may actually get picked up off of waivers, but I can’t see a firestorm of teams clamoring for him based on his track record with the Yankees.
FORT MYERS, Fla.—Josh Beckett’s back went into spasm while warming up for Saturday’s spring training game. The Boston Red Sox ace left without facing a Florida Marlins batter.
more stories like thisBeckett seemed to lose his footing on his last warmup pitch and called catcher Jason Varitek to the mound. Beckett put his right hand on the lower middle part of his back and soon was joined by manager Terry Francona and teammates. The right-hander walked to the dugout without an apparent limp.
Beckett was the only 20-game winner in the majors last season.
Manny Delcarmen replaced him on the mound.
Beckett out with back spasms …..
http://www.boston.com
YES’ gun was working and he was hitting 88 in inning 1 and 2 and 86 in inning 3. Moose hasn’t hit 92 in years.
does anyone know what score and inning it is?
2-1 Rays bottom 7
LC –
2-1 Rays, going into the bottom of the 7th (yanks batting).
thanks
David Price in the game. Best lefty pitcher to be drafted in a long time. Some say the best college pitcher drafted since Mark Prior. Many people think he’ll be in the majors by summer.
Wow, David Price looks absolutely filthy…
someone said yes’s gun had mo at 100 yesterday, so if they had moose at 89, id guess he was around 85-86
John Sterling just said that the yankees have their own left handed pitcher that they drafted in 2007 – Andrew Brackman.
Brackman of course is right handed.
There’s no explanation for this radio team.
How many wins is PECOTA projecting for the Yankees this year?
Listening on the radio. Sterling is downright horrible (in other words, in midseason form). Goodness the mistakes he’s made today.
Freaking filthy..
Thank goodness the Rays won’t have Price in the starting rotation this year. This kid throws heat.
Yeah, Sterling said Brackman is going to the minors. Umm. No. The guy will miss the whole year due to TJ surgery.
did sterling do any numbers from Mame today?
Again, this is why when people say Tampa Bay is going to be a dangerous team in the near future they’re right.
Its only a taste but you see what price has. With him in the rotation with Kazmir – that’s too talented lefty starters.
They have another terrific lefty, Jake McGee how throws in the mid to uppper 90’s.
No team has 3 lefty arms like Kazmir, Price, and McGee. They could get hurt or not pan out but Tampa has unbelievably impressive talent.
wow at price! no one came close to touching his heat, and was the gun right on yes?? did he throw a 60 mph change up to strike out duncan on the outside corner after 2 inside fastballs at 98 and 99? unreaaal!
Wow.. just.. wow.
I don’t know about the rest of him, but his stuff is definitely major league ready.
Imagine a rotation with Kazmir and Price..
“Imagine a rotation with Kazmir and Price.”
Imagine a rotation with Kazmir, Price, Wade Davis, James Shield and Jake McGee or Jeff Nieman.
Kazmir, Price and Davis are all considered to have #1 type stuff. McGee is still working on secondary pitches but has one of the best fastballs in the minors and is lefty.
This team is loaded with arms. Loaded. Price was considered not only your run of the mill #1 pick but an exceptional player even when compared to other #1’s.
He was just dominant in college and has everything you want – fastball, secondary pitchers (throws 4 pitches well), command and poise.
Ok, I haven’t been watching. How did TB score its second, and how did NY score its first? Anything exciting?
that thud, is the sound of baseball fans, jumping on the TB bandwagon.
they will no longer be the punching-bag, in the AL East.
karstens gave up a single and a walk, the bunted the guy over and he scored on a fly to short center
Price > ( Joba + Hughes ) * 2
Miranda = robbed
Don’t forget the Rays have Garza in the rotation.
“How many wins is PECOTA projecting for the Yankees this year?”
PECOTA loved the yankees this year. Projected them to win 103 games I believe.
PECOTA picks the yanks to win the AL East.
The Tampa Bay outfield is ridiculous. Even their backups are black holes in the outfield. Poor Miranda got robbed twice today.
Re: Tampa Bay
There’s got to be some benefit to finishing dead last in the majors year after year. Their farm system is it. All those losing seasons had to pay off at some point.
What will suck for them is that they won’t be able to hold on to any of these guys once they hit FA.
Kay sounds like he’s saying “chevell-y”
OUCH!
cervelli = catcher of the future. If he survives, this game.
Slight correction: they’ll be able to hold on to them, but the owners choose not to spend money to put a competitive team on the field. They don’t want to hold on to them, they’d rather increase their net profits.
WTF was that? it’s a f******* spring training game! barreling into the catcher? you have to be kidding me.
hope cervelli is ok.
girardi did not look happy.
The Yankees will remember that play.
“There’s got to be some benefit to finishing dead last in the majors year after year. Their farm system is it. All those losing seasons had to pay off at some point.”
True. But then compare them to other perennially bad teams that pick high. The padres, royals, orioles, etc.
Yes high picks are part of it, but they do an excellent job every year of not only selecting talent but developing it in their system.
One thing they’ve done – they haven’t gone cheap in the draft. They’re committed to it and they’ve generally taken the best talent available unlike many other teams.
Keeping the players will be tough but they’ve done a great job building up their talent base.
did YES announce, Tabata was in the game? Didn’t know he was, until he caught that fly ball.
Kay was just saying that Carl Crawford ran over the Houston catcher in an exhibition game earlier this week. When the Houston manager complained Joe Maddon said “We are playing every game like a regular season game”.
I am sure that the Yankees will remember that play.
Cervelli looked less happy.
Completely unnecessary collision! It’s ST baseball not the Superbowl for heaven’s sake. But I like seeing how Girardi immediately ran out there to check on Cerveli. Caring manager.
I just got in and heard the good news about Moose’s velocity. This year could be a bit reminiscent of ‘06 for him. If his fastball is up at 88-89 now, that’s an excellent sign. That will give him the option of slowing down his off-speed pitches more, making his fastball look even faster to a hitter. With the velocity on his fastball being up and his ability to outthink the opposition, he could have a fine year.
guy’s trying to make the major league roster, you think they’d have said, ‘way to pull up, kid’ if he let himself get tagged out?
so is the game over?
4-1 rays, bottom 9
Y’s Guy, I hear where you’re coming from, yes his job was on the line. but that wasn’t even the most effective way to get the safe, as shown by the result.
Pete
Please get us an update if Cervelli is OK.
Yeah, Ohlendorf gave up a 317-foot “blast” to right. Let’s throw him out with the garbage. Good thing you’re not an overreacter, Pete.
That collision is reminiscent of Detroit Kittens’ Pudge Rodriguez’s bulldozing into Posada last year—also a spring training game. Regarding Moosina, he won’t be healthy all year long. Look for him to miss significant time this year.
That collision is reminiscent of Detroit Kittens’ Pudge Rodriguez’s bulldozing into Posada last year—also a spring training game. Regarding Moosina, he won’t be healthy all year long. Look for him to miss significant time this year./
The Yankees historically do not have good won & loss records in spring training. Evidently the Grapefruit League Championship has never been high on their list.
I remember a few years ago when Dimirti Young of the Tigers barreled into John Flaherty in a ST in Lakeland Florida….Yankees werent to thrilled.
Young said after the game it was to make a point that the Tigers were not a team to kick around anymore.
Is it me or does Mussina tend to be a sour grape and blame other people for his mistakes [and basically not take responsibility for anything!?] Does ANYONE AGREE WITH ME?!
I heard that Cervelli was run over. You can be sure this Joe won’t take it. Payback is best when served cold. It is absolutely unnecessary to barrel over a catcher in a spring training game!
Ohlendorf is going to make the team out of ST.
Ease up there Jay. Many here seem to have a big ything for Ohlendorf, and that’s great. But Pete’s point wasn’t really directed at Ohley so much as the set of contenders come up short against AAA hitters lately. He didn’t use the word “blast”, and it was Hector Gimenez, not Upton or Pena (or Gomes) that hit it.
Look, Ohley looked good to close last season, but he hasn’t faced 1st string hitters yet this spring, so let’s not just hand him the job. Frankly Patterson has faced tougher guys so far with good success, but few are running him up the flagpole. Not that he should be a front runner – he hasn’t faced a AAA in games that count yet. But compare these 2 guys numbers, even Ohley’s relief numbers only. Patterson, admittedly at a lower level, was far more dominant. Let’s let this thing play out a bit.
I’m sure the Yanks management hasn’t made a decision yet – why should we. Staffing and roster decisions are best made when the need is there and with patience. The results out of spring aren’t necessarily what we’ll be pulling for in September, so let’s pull for everybody. Nobody’s a bum until they play their way out of a job.
Sorry for the typos – I’m on the West Coast, but it’s still getting late. The comparison should have been last year’s numbers, and Patterson hasn’t faced a AAA hitter yet.