Rays-Yankees: The Live Blog
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 15, 2008 
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Good afternoon and welcome to Legends Field. It’s sunny and 72 in Tampa and the Yankees will be playing their blood rivals, those hypocritical Tampa Bay Dirty Rays.
The National Guard has been stationed in foul territory, along with about a dozen policemen on horses. The Tampa Fire Department has hoses ready.
Michael Buffer just announced the starting lineups.
FIRST INNING
In all seriousness, Martin Short just threw out the first pitch. Martin Short? First Billy Crystal, now Martin Short. Dana Carvey must be next.
Given my choice, I would have taken the drive over to Lakeland to see Verlander vs. Joba. But because of the possibility of a fight, I had to stay here.
SECOND INNING
Ian Kennedy is struggling. He needed 18 pitches to get through the first inning and threw only 8 strikes. Eric Hinske took him out to right field to open the second. Now Chris Richard has homered to left. 2-0 Rays.
The very intriguing Brett Gardner reached on an infield hit in the first for the Yankees and stole second. The Yankees had him running again but Abreu lined to first and he was doubled off. Gardner is not a classic Yankees prospect but he’s a very interesting player. As Brian Cashman said, Juan Pierre who takes a walk.
2-1 Yankees as Posada delivers A-Rod with a sac fly. Shelley Duncan up.
Strike looking
Ball outside
Grounder to third for an error.
Nothing to see here, folks.
THIRD INNING
Only the Yankees need more than an hour to get through three innings of a spring training game. 2-1 Rays. Kennedy is a bit shaky but has fanned 5 in three innings.
FOURTH INNING
Line for Kennedy: 3 3 2 2 2 5 57 pitches/34 strikes
Line for Joba in Lakeland: 3 4 3 3 3 2
Not so great for either of them. It’s not the hits and runs as much as the walks that are a concern at this point. They need to do more with the number of pitches they will be allowed.
Rivera pitching now.
FOURTH INNING
Alex Rodriguez (10 for 21 this spring) singled. When Jorge Posada doubled, he went to third. Bobby Meacham waved him home then threw up the stop sign. A-Rod kept going and the throw beat him by five feet. Alex literally stopped so Josh Paul could tag him out.
Two things: Good idea by A-Rod and the Yankees are going to miss Larry Bowa. He is the best third-base coach in the business.
FIFTH INNING
Hawkins pitching.
SIXTH INNING
Here’s how Kei Igawa’s inning went: double, groundout, triple, double, pop-up, groundout. Now 5-1 Rays.
What were they thinking when they signed this guy?
SEVENTH INNING
All of the starters are out for the Yankees. Igawa getting a second inning. I’ll be running down to the clubhouse soon.
The immortal Hector Gimenez just took Igawa three quarters of the way up the batters eye in center field. That’s four EBHs in two innings.
Very funny, Pete.
Game’s on YES in case some people don’t know.
Go Shelley!!!
wow Yanks are beating Verlander up already, love it
Curtis Granderson took Joba very deep in the top of the first off a 97 mph fastball.
Joba got Sheffield to pop and an inning ending double play.
5-1
for some reason I knew he wouldn’t let that runner score
love that shelley got to put iwamua away …IPK …bit of a slow start
Why Kennedy always struggle in the first inning?
Is there a Gameday link please
brandon, it so great to see that he doesn’t panic, just gets it done
SAFE!! wow i love watching him run
BRETT !
Gardner looks like he has Jose Reyes speed.
damn you Jetes let it go !
Rays game on YES, Detroit game on gameday audio. Tough to do both! 7-1 Yanks.
It’s good to see Gardener out there trying to prove his worth.
Wow, Gardner will make the team!
I love Kennedy’s poise too. He is such an intelligent pitcher. He does struggle in the 1st sometimes and actually even in the minors there seemed to be one inning where he’d have more trouble than the rest, but he always limits the damage. There are a lot of major league pitchers (Jeremy Bonderman comes to mind) who have trouble in the 1st inning, but trouble for them often = several runs. I’ll take IPK’s troubles over that all day, he is smart and knows how to get out of them!
7-0 yankees in the first off verlander.
This is a very good example why you take spring training results with a big grain of salt.
Verlander is getting racked – but he still keeps throwing one fastball after another. He’s not truly pitching – seems like he’s working on building arm strength.
Morning all, just woke up. Can someone get me up to speed? I see that the split squad is enjoying their afternoon against Detroit.
oh did they luck out there !
anyway Jax he has Furcal speed a bit better but the Jose Reyes like guy is Abraham Almonte
Lets hope Ian settles down a bit this inning.
AS far as I am concerned, Gardener has done enough to make the team. Ofcourse he’ll be sent down. But he is definitely a major leaguer – I think if he played a whole year – I could see him bating .280 with 5 home runs 60 rbi’s and 40-50 stolen bases(9th in lineup) and play really good defense.
Is that good enough?…………..
Am I the only one who would like to see Gardner get the start in CF on Opening Day if Melky’s suspension is upheld? I know Girardi said it wouldn’t happen, but hopefully he’ll change his mind.
I don’t think Gardner should be a permanent part of the team yet b/c he’d barely play, I’d like to see him get regular AB’s in Scranton for a while longer, and then maybe even transition into being a bench player while he’s there. But why not put him on the ML roster for the days Melky’s inactive, then send him down? Is it an issue of not wanting to start his service time clock?
…or not.
Is there a Gameday link for the Tampa game?
you see how many people are blasting paully for not having a firm, definitive stance on “the slide?”
Kennedy has got to start getting ahead in the counts. He is throwing from behind and throwing too many pitches.
Pete!! Make them wait!! I’m stil at the airport filling out paperwork. Southwest lost my luggage.
that shouldn’t have made it over jeter’s head…. how windy is it?
damn wind
40 pitches in 2 innings. Yikes.
Bottom of 2nd
Joba walks Cabrera – no out
Guillen grounder to 2nd – DP 2 out (2nd DP for Joba)
Renteria SO on 98 mph FB – Wow – Standing there like he can’t believe it – Go Joba!!!
If anyone wants to give up their email address, I will email you my MLB account and you can listen to the Detroit game. Or – if you don’t have YES you can watch the Rays game on MLB TV. One or the other. I think you can have several on the same account at once because we’ve done it before. I don’t know if there’s a maximum though. Anyway, feel free to give up your address if you want.
trisha
well that would have been the end of the inn ing had this been at the stadium….
Trisha – Just a heads up, I’m not certain but I think you can only log into MLB Audio from the same account twice within an hour. In the past when I’ve tried to do it more frequently than that, I get some error msg about logging in too many times.
game day link:
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/#20080308
I love that snippit Kay just said about A-Rod. Shoes how dedicated he is to this team.
ALMOST an A-Bomb! Nice.
Trisha, I would LOVE that!
Could you email me at: johnmparsons@gmail.com?
Thanks!
I love when O’Neill makes fun of Kay.
LMAO, I love Paulie. “Did your parents buy you a notepad and pen?”
Thanks for that info. BBB. I am going to email to pique right now. If anyone tries and has trouble let me know. I will power down and just watch YES and let you use the account, and someone can keep us updated for the Tigers game. Pique, let me know if it works.
Trisha
Go Shelley!
wow. did you hear the reception for Shelley?
Shirley Duncan is a little bitch
that’s a 5 game suspension for hitting the third baseman
“Am I the only one who would like to see Gardner get the start in CF on Opening Day if Melky’s suspension is upheld?”
Gardner is not on the 40 man roster. Not a huge deal but given how short melky’s suspension is, gardner’s need to play everyday and the yankees general 40 man roster needs I don’t think it’s worth it for that short stint.
Shelley’s so dirty – his trying to hit Aybar with a linedrive. Throw him out!
So btw, did anyone notice that Justin Chamberlain has had 2 DPs already. Thank you CMW.
Guevara, let it go little buddy~
mlb.tv frozen for me. what happened?
nice at bat by your guy Brandon!!
ps Hypocritical? plowing a catcher is only debatable in “when” it is ok. not ok in spring? maybe you can make an argument. spikes high NEVER ok. has never been ok. never will be ok. not in the spring. not in regular season. not in playoffs. not in majors. not in minors. not in your grandmothers backyard.
it is absolutely awesome being in the heads of the Yankees. thanks.
Were those 2 DPs off Chamberlin on sinkers ?
Uh, what’s happenening to Joba? (In general I mean. I don’t care about the score of the game.)
Uggh, Gameday is so slow, it still hasn’t started the top of the 3rd! But Joba only threw 13 pitches through 2, that’s cool. Anyway…updates anyone?
“Being in the heads of the Yankees”. That’s pretty funny.
The funniest thing about this entire episode is discovering Rays fans actually exist. All of the Rays-Yankees games I go to in Tampa during the season have 75% Yankee fans at Tropicana Field.
I have never heard so much trash talk from fans of a last place team.
Devil Ray Guevara, no see you have to be a Yankee fan who remembered when it was okay to have two of your players sent to the hospital by a lunatic who was unhappy because he had a homer hit against him to understand why spikes high for a 10-week injury doesn’t really throw us.
what do you guys think of Porter, I say damn when I see Porter, because if he would learn how to field he’d be an every day type of player
whoops I meant the bottom of the 3rd…where is that edit button especially for hungover weekend posts
Also, is there really a Devil Rays troll in here? lol, will wonders never cease?
Actually I don’t know. I’m just following on gameday but they’re all groundballs to 2nd base so I’m assuming his using the 2 seamer Wang taught him.
“Uh, what’s happenening to Joba?”
Joba’s throwing fine. The wind is really blowing out pretty strongly.
He’s hit 99 on the gun.
Look at what Verlander did this game. Pitchers are just working on things right now.
Last run was a very bad decision by Ensberg. Granderson was on third, ground ball to Ensberg and he throws home.
Molina – smartly – did not block the entire plate. The last thing the team needs is another collision at home plate in spring training.
Guevera, the day the “Rays” and there “were stoked to win 70 games in a season” is the day any of your posts make any sense. Hint, it ain’t gonna happen. It’s funny to see Rays trolls though, never seen one before. I thought they were like leprechauns, but I guess not.
Anyone got an update on the detroit game? Gameday is taking it’s sweet time.
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/gameday
Here’s the everyday link for mlb. I clicked on the one above and got a 4-1 score, then realized it was from last Saturday.
84 degrees, 17 MPH wind blowing straight out in Lakeland.
Not a day for pitchers.
What’s next, a Toledo Mud Hens troll?
Don’t take too much away from Gameday. He’s just doing the minimum. That was a full count with some fouled off balls and gameday showing it as a 3 pitch strikeout.
“Am I the only one who would like to see Gardner get the start in CF on Opening Day if Melky’s suspension is upheld?â€
———————————————————-
Well…. first off, is Melky gonna last at CF for the Yankees?
When comparing Melky to Garnder:
Melky: better arm, better pop(strength)
Gardner: better speed, better eye(OBP), slightly better D?
I can see Gardner as a #4 OFer, LIDR, pinch runner.
I dont know if he’s good enough to start, meaning I don’t think he will have quite as good an overall impact as Melky (who is barely a starter).
Other opinions?
Shelley is impressing me at 1B
Lakeland – Joba worked. 7-3 after 3, inning over.
WARNING. It’s just a Red Sox troll pretending to be a Rays fan. Ignore him.
Who is operating Gameday today, Manny Ramirez? Jeez I’ve never seen it take so long!
“Devil Ray Guevara”
By the way the team is no longer called the Devil Rays.
You might want to update your name and your website – which still has the old devil ray symbol on it.
The new tampa insignia is the very cool “ray of light.”
I guess your team is so desperate to increase attendance that they decided they needed to attract the fan base that would actually associate the word “devil ray” with satan and would get scared off.
I guess that’s why you get a whole 10,000 fans a game in one of the faster growing population centers in the entire U.S.
What a franchise. What a dedicated fan base.
I am a Melky freak. I’d go to the wall for that kid. Main reason I didn’t want Santana was I didn’t want to lose the Melk. Nobody takes his place.
Bottom of the 3rd – bases loaded (2 walks by Joba) – Guillen batting lefty fouls off a pitch announcers estimate as well over 95 – “You don’t see Carlos that late on a pitch.” – Grounds out to 2nd
7-3 Yanks
that was just NASTY Ian !
well even though he got behind a bunch of guys…he got a lot of strikeouts…not bad
I agree with Paulie: Shelley just seems to love baseball and live the uniform.
Andrea were people booing Shelley? Thought I heard a little, if they were, it sucks.
Glad to see IPK get out of that one but it wasn’t pretty.
*love* the uniform
OldYanksFan: I don’t know as much about him as others here, but I would say Gardner is an extra OF who is best used in situations requiring speed and defense, rather than a starter. From what I understand he’s a Juan Pierre type of player (but with potential for superior plate patience) and inasmuch as Pierre should not be an MLB starter, neither should Gardner. If he puts up far above average OBP then maybe he can start, but right now I’d take Melky over him. Yanks are gonna have a tough decision once Action Jackson is ready to take over in CF tho. Do they move Melky to left and keep Brett on the bench, or trade one of them…?
Was Joba throwing his change today? Or the 2-seamer?
Verlander’s done for the day. The announcers sound thoroughly impressed with Joba.
“what do you guys think of Porter, I say damn when I see Porter, because if he would learn how to field he’d be an every day type of player”
I think Porter definetly has potential. I don’t think his fielding is bad he’s better then some in MLB. He has a rocket for an arm. He is a big guy that could potentialy be a great back up. His stats show his bat stays steady hitting for average every year
Thanks Trisha! Listening to the Detroit game right now.. Works great!
I see potential in Gardner but I’d take Melky over him any day too. That arm’s crazy.
Joba’s done, Ohlendorf’s in. 3IP (he hasn’t been stretched out yet).
Pique – awesome! If you get tired of the Detroit game you can switch over to the Rays game on television, unless you already get YES.
To those watching YES – you see that new Rays stadium rendering we just saw? Our team helped pay for that.
Kennedy’s done too. Seems like he worked hard in his three innings. I am sure the Yanks would have liked him to go 4 with his pitch count.
I’m gonna cry if that happens w/ Mo
I wish that Hinske would just move out of the AL all together.
With Phil, Ian (and Joba) pitching, looks like there will lot of games in which the bullpen needs to start coming in during the 5 or 6th inning.
Brandon, same here, Mo’s my favorite.
The Rays have fans outside of the loud guy at Tropicana Field?
Who knew?
Such a basic baseball move. Grounding to the right side to bring in a run. You ever notice that the Yankees have a hard time doing that? Hopefully, it’ll improve under Girardi.
Ohlendorf puts on two with a missed groundball by Cano and one that gets through. 97mph sinker to the third batter, ground ball DP. Then, he gives up a 2-run homer to Granderson on a fastball up over the plate.
Ohlendorf’s was looking pretty impressive until he gave up the homer.
Angel…
I was unaware that the Devil’s Food Rays had fans in Tropicana, ever. I knew a few noisy, drunk people showed up and made a mess, but I knew nothing of any sort of fan base.
Go figure.
That might explain the Ray’s players behavior this year.
Macho overcompensation for the lack of Devil in their team name, lol.
RE: Mo. I’ll believe it when I see it. He said he was playing 3 more years then building a church after the 2001 season. He won’t leave with 2 years on his contract. Anyway, as much as he would love to have the final WS at the old stadium, he’ll love to have the first at the new one!
haha, guess thats what happens when you castrate a team name, all the *fans* come out of the woodwork.
what the hell did Granderson eat today
don’t worry Brandon, we’re gonna see Mo in the new stadium… even if we do win it all this year…and we have just as good a chance as anyone…better than most
I have a lot of respect for the Rays. Without a lot of resources they have managed to put a hurting on us quite a few times. They play hard and have some very good players. Credit where it’s due.
granderson is one of may favorite players in the game…and a classy guy as well
it was Porter !
They get plenty of resources… from the Yankees pockets.
By the way, I like that both teams have played the game without incident.
Yeah, and they lose good players as fast as they get them because they can’t keep them. Try being real.
Can’t keep them? Uh huh.
Was that the definition of out by a mile? Wow.
“what the hell did Granderson eat today”
Granderson has become a devastating hitter against right handed pitching. He destroyed right handers last year.
He had a .621 slugging percentage and an OPS of over 1.000.
To put that into perspective, David Ortiz last year had an overall slugging percentage of .621.
Granderson is terrible against left handers and that severely limits his overall production.
But he’s become an elite hitter against right handers.
Yanks laughing in the dugout. I guess Arod was goofing around!
I wonder if Arod was laughing at the way he stopped for the tag, it was like, “please don’t hit me”
lol A-Rod. Nice.
I’m still cracking up at the fans over there, WTF you want him tackle him
i love what a-rod just did. a nice way to show what jerks the rays are.
CB: the only other problem with granderson is that he does strikeout a lot..but, correct me if i’m wrong, i think he improved on that last year.
Meacham needs to work on holding and sending runners. Alex has pretty good speed and he was out by a mile. Should have held him up. At least Alex was smart enough to hold up and not get anyone hurt.
They had another lottery for the Yankee game here at VT, and luckily I won one! I’ll be there when the gates open at 12, 3 hours before the game trying to get some autographs and take it all in.
take the over or under that Igawa will hit a Ray today
While I appreciate the comments, are people really engaging with Rays trolls and insulting them?
Seriously, there are like 4 Tampa fans and 3 of them are relatives of the players. You give meaning to their existence by insulting them.
Until he does, they’re gonna miss Larry Bowa for that. I can only think of twice where runners got thrown out after he sent them.
I hate Michael Kay’s analogies. They’re just plain terrible.
Farnsy in mid-season form as he gives up an off the wall double to Miggy Cabrera
lol, I was just surprised that any Rays fans existed, much less bothered to post on here.
MikeEff:
Granderson still strikes out a lot, though he was better last year (still K’d 140 times.)
But even that is related to his extreme splits. He K’d around 20% of the time against righties (which is bad but not horrendous) and 34% of the time against lefties (which is just plain awful).
Granderson is a player that Austin Jackson is often compared to in terms of his mix of athleticism and power.
Anyone watching VT/UNC game? VT has them by 6 with around 15 min left.
do you mean that “shopping at Tiffany’s” reference Andrea? BARF.
Wow, Peter, that was cold.
Seriously, though, Tampa was improving even before this season and gave us fits the last two years. Their split squad is up 5-0 on the D-backs. Tampa’s gonna be legit this year with a mix of youth, vets, crazy manager, and Yankee $$.
When MK is talking about Generation Trey.. what the heck does he actually mean by that? Besides sounding totally pretentious which is something none of them seem to be.. it just sounds dumb. Most fans appear to loathe it and will never adopt it like he seems to be hoping, is he really that out of touch?
Kyle, is it on the telly? Nothing would make my day more than a UNC loss.
Thanks CB. i love watching that guy play… preferably not against us though
Angel,
That’s a two-man club there. Kay & Sherman. I heard Coney use it once, but I hope he was just trying it on for size.
mel, it’s on CBS in Blacksburg.
Just to go back to the Cabrera / Garnder discussion. Melky is having himself a heck of a spring. Two more hits today and batting int he mid 400s. I love Gardner and what he can bring to the table, but it seems Melky has continued to work on his game and improve. Hey, a little competition is always a good thing. BTW a bunch of the Yankee starters are having themselves great springs: Cabrera, Abreu, Rodriquez, Cano, Duncan, Giambi, Molina etc. Hopefully,the kids, who had three mediocre starts between yesterday and today will get their acts together.
mikeeff – one other thing on granderson and his strkeouts – its definitely a problem but his game is shaping into something like adam dunn or giambi’s in a strange way – even though he K’s a lot he still maintains a good OBP because he draws walks.
That makes the K’s somewhat more tolerable.
Angel, have you seen Mean Girls?
“Stop trying to make fetch happen, it’s not going to happen!”
Speaking of artist renderings check out these brand new ones of Yankee Stadium http://slidingintohome.blogspo.....ankee.html
my god give it a rest w/ the cigarretes commercial already !
Nice to see Farnsworth pitch around a 1-out double especially considering Detroit’s stacked lineup. Hopefully he can keep it up when the season starts.
Meanwhile, are Tim Byrdak, Jason Grilli and co. now among the guys the Tigers will be relying on to pitch important innings?
Jetes hitting into DPs
brett’s hit wasted….
Oh, and I’ve been missing Bowa since the day he left. Quite frankly, Meacham as the 3b coach scares me.
Just got home and started to watch the Tampa game, although it sounds like it was pretty quiet.
Doesn’t seem like either starting pitcher did very well.
We should start to see improvements from them the next start.
igawa off to a great start with a leadoff double…
bbb
Me too!! I wish Bowa stayed.
Who starts tomorrows game?
BBB you’re not kidding about Bowa…today wasn’t the first time he has made bad decisions about sending the runner.
hey jenn. well Ian did get 5 Ks…but he got behind a lot
my god Igawa
Pete -
And what you said was also insulting. We Yankee fans are the luckiest in the world to have both the history and the resources we have had. How do you think a team like the Rays has felt when they can barely afford players and certainly can’t afford to make mistakes the way the Yankees can. You know, we’re all bonded by a game we love dearly. Maybe we can try a little civility and understanding. Maybe if we had the resources and history of the Rays we also would be the “three or four fans”. I would think we would want to be afforded some respect. The only time I can think of when the respect rule is relaxed is when it comes to the Sox and their fans…
igawa throwing batting practice.
Igawa is in mid-season form. Why does Cashman insist on keeping him?
I admire Cashman’s patience with Kei Igawa, but enough is enough.
Please Michael Kay, no more talk about how great he was in Japan. This is NOT Japan.
I like the lights underneath the restaurant shining on the monuments. That’s the first time I saw that.
i can’t even watch this pitiful pitcher…i’m listening tho…
What a shock!!
Poor Kei, like the little girl with the little curl. He can be so effective – and he can also be so terrible. And while we continue to treat the DRays like they barely exist, they continue to clean our clocks…
even Tino is criticizing his pitches, he’s mouthing how it has no movement down the middle
LOLgawa.
I would like to think one of the benefits of being the Yankees is the ability to “take care” of obvious mistakes like the Igawa signing. It is clear the guy needs to be operating in a different situation, be it team, league or country, for his own good as well as the Yankees’.
Jennifer- I think Wang starts tomorrow and Pettitte Monday vs. Boston
Jennifer–
Wang’s pitching tomorrow
I’m just happy for the first season in a long time there’s some actual juice to a Yankees vs. Tampa game.
I don’t think I’m alone in saying most of those games are just tedious to watch, especially 19 games every season against them.
Usually, the only time any of us got pumped to see the Yanks play those losers was when we were trying to clinch a post season spot against them in September.
At least now, we really want to watch them get spanked.
Just watched his first inning of work, some things he can learn from that inning, never forget that there is a runner on base! And even if you get into trouble you can get out of it without giving up a run!
Someone hit a homer in Detroit. A Yankee. Kyle someone.
Kyle,
Thanks. CBS is showing some meaningless Big 10 Game.
trisha
You are sounding like Kay.
Derek “The GIDP Machine” Jeter just set a record for spring training DPs. Ooouuuuch.
Anson went yard !
Damn gameday audio is taking forever to load.
I’ve been trying for 10 minutes, want to hear some of the tigers game.
Farnsworth: 8 strikes, 0 balls?! Pitched 2 innings and worked around a hit in each, including a leadoff hit w/a pinch runner brought in??
Gameday is just messing with me, right??
trish: if Yankee fans started “admiring” what the Rays have done with their limited resources, it would be a bit condescending. I’m not sure that would be much better than just treating them as a division rival.
Other newer teams have done quite well for themselves. The D-Backs managed to win a world series, and they were a new team with limited resources. The Rays aren’t as underdogged as one would think.
I just get tired of the money excuse. It gets old. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, but you’re not going to get any more resources if you can’t get fans interested in your team.
Kyle Anson?
so wang will be pitching against the indians tomorrow…interesting to say the least
And when you always pick first, of course you’ll have nice minor leaguers.
(at least you should)
if you “have never heard so much trash talking from a last place team” that is just because you weren’t a yankees fan back in the 80s
may not be many of us but we are real fans…not like 90% of the people on here that jumped on the Yankees bandwagon in the 90s. No?
for those babies in here too young to remember, NYC was a Mets town in the 80s. Yankee stadium couldn’t sell out a game, much less a season.
Jennifer – He he he. It really isn’t easy trying to watch the game on YES and listen to the other game in the background. Wait. I had to wait to hear who was up to bat next to know whether the homer was for us or Detroit! Though I should have known by the lack of enthusiasm in the way the broadcasters called it…
if Igawa, had been pitching to billy crystal, i bet crystal gets a hit.
I truly, believe this.
I like this kid Gardner!! Bring him up!!
Who did Anson replace? Gameday showing Cano up.
vinny I bet it would be a homerun!! Even deeper than the one that Joba gave up.
meanwhile…can you guys believe we’ve only scored 1 run against their B grade pitchers…
what’s up with that? we got brett, jeter, bobby, a-rod, godzilla, jorge, shelley…i mean cmon
and here we hit into yet another DP
I bet I could get a hit off Igawa, or at least draw a walk.
I wonder if Bobby’s reputation as a patient hitter affects pitchers as they continue to help him earn that reputation?
Mel -In NY, the VT/UNC game is on ESPN. VT is up 59-56 with a little over 4 minutes left.
We have a Met troll: Devil Ray Guevara
Andrea, I hear what you’re saying, but it’s hard to know what comes first if you know what I mean. If you followed the Rays, which I did only as they’re an AL team and I watch lots of AL games, not just the Yanks, they have had very good teams but their pitching – mostly relief – has done them in so much of the time. They haven’t had a lot of trouble scoring, and they are like roadrunners on the base paths! Meanwhile the Rays first-round draft prospect (pitcher) looks phenomenal.
yeah Jax, we saw her whining about stuff earlier…
Guevara said: “if you “have never heard so much trash talking from a last place team†that is just because you weren’t a yankees fan back in the 80s”
The yankees had the highest winning pct. of any team for the entire decade of the eighties. They would have made the playoffs multiple times had the wild card existed back then.
Hey guys. Am I missing much?
Jax I’d say you’re right. No Rays fan has a handle on the history of the Yanks in NY, nor do they care. The thing that always amazes me is how fans from the Mets and Sox have the need to hang out on Yankee forums. Truly I have never spent a minute of my life on any baseball forum other than a Yanks forum. That damned green-eyed monster (and I don’t mean the wall at fenway field) will do it all the time!
Can he at least throw one good game, so maybe we could trade him!
Wait, a Yankee, Met, Red Sox, and Devil Ray all rolled into one? Huh!
trisha: it’s true. Maybe that’s why the Rays were looking into Barry Bonds though. As much of a jerk as he is, he got butts in the seats in San Francisco.
Mike: I think they’re just messing with their heads…let them think they “won” now, then when the season starts they’ll whup them like it was a Giants/Bucs playoff game
Mel: I think it does, same with Damon’s reputation as a pesky/distracting (for lack of better adjectives) baserunner. Pitchers have seen Abreu turn an 0-2 count into a BB so many other times, and they’ve seen Damon get in so many other pitchers’ heads when he is on base, that it’s almost like they talk themselves into letting it happen to them too.
Mel, I would say it isn’t a Rays fan. Just my uneducated guess. Haven’t been following closely enough to see exaclty what it could be. Sure it’s not a Yanks fan!
“I don’t know if he’s trying to stir things up or not,” the Bosox closer said. “I sure as hell don’t care, because he sure as hell hasn’t stepped on a baseball field. He needs to just stick to pencil-pushing, I guess.”
Hammerin’ Hank fired back yesterday.
“Being insulted by Papelbon is like being attacked by a mouse,” Steinbrenner told The Post.
Thanks, Fran.
““Being insulted by Papelbon is like being attacked by a mouse,†Steinbrenner told The Post.”
ROFLMAO!! You go Hank!
Andrea, absolutely. To tell you the truth, I was almost hoping they’d sign him only as pennance to Bonds, meaning that you couldn’t lose your hero status much worse than that. Nobody deserves a bigger fall from grace, in my estimation, than Bonds. (Now I am not meaning to trash the Rays, kids, other than to say that for Bonds going to the Rays would have to be a come down.)
Igawa – holy crap.
Why did Papelbon have anything to say about Hank?
K-IGGY looks Scranton bound to me.
trisha: we can’t hate on the Rays too much. Our beloved Tino was there for a time. But I get what you’re saying.
Part of me can’t help but think that Maddon and the Rays FO loved this entire “feud.” I don’t know that anyone has ever talked so much about the Rays during the Spring as they have this year.
Can I refill your eggnog for you, Igawa? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?
put him on a plane to tokyo, not a train to scranton…
Igawa should be optioned to the Staten Island Yankees.
chevy chase – xmas vacation, sighting
lol.
SI? What about to the River Dogs.
Andrea I definitely agree. When the whole thing happened, I actually kind of understood why Maddon didn’t take his guy to task or show any sympathy to the Yanks. He had to support his guys and get them to continue to play hard. And let’s face it, he hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to be in the middle of any “meaningful” controversy.
ESPN reports Bud Selig is considering a proposal from four un-named teams in the ALE to subsidize up to 60% of Igawa’s salary if the Yankees will guarantee he will make at least 20 appearancee out of the pen.
Cashman and the Yankee lawyers are negotiating to come up with an acceptable definition of “appearance.”
Andrea: I think they loved every second of it, it’s probably the most exciting thing that’s happened to them since they have been in existence!
On a random note, question for all: who would win the battle of the cool ‘staches, Todd Jones or Sal Fasano? Any other good ‘staches around the league that I’m missing?
Do we all remember the Igawa who came into the game after Rassner got hurt and absolutely shut down the Red Sox? Where is that Igawa?
Hanks is such a jackass. I wish he was smart like his brother and stayed away from the media.
He should stay above all the stupid verbal spats with Boston players or their front office.
Simply put, he is an embarrassment.
this little Iggy went to market
this little Iggy stayed home
this little Iggy had roast beef
this little Iggy had none
and this little Iggy went
wee wee wee
all the way back to Japan.
trisha: I hate to be so pessimistic about it, but I think you might be right.
How the heck did Kay just pronouce Tabata? That cannot be right.
Actaully I like Hank. He reminds me of his father. I love his father. It’s about time we get back to the feisty version of the Yanks.
Trisha that was the game that Jeff got hurt in, not Darell.
Old Yanks fan. :LOL:
BBB: Fasano always has the best ‘stache.
Only way Yanks can get a run – have someone drop a pop-up. Jeesh!
Jennifer, I was going to say either Karstens or Rassner. Drat! Meanwhile, Karstens has never been the same.
I hope the Yankees are smart enough not to get involved in the posting process for pitchers ANYMORE!!
Maybe just me, but I thought Maddon came off pretty classless in his comments to the media right after Cervelli’s injury. First he runs and hides from the NY media then when he finally did give quotes, all of a sudden he had mad jokes. I think even if he was going to stand by the play, at least show some modicum of respect or concern for Cervelli’s well-being. I can’t imagine Girardi reacting like him if the sitch was reversed.
BBB i’m gonna go with fasano as well…just can’t stand todd jones
Jennifer I believe SI is a lower level then Charleston that’s why I picked it.
THE FEAR OF BEING WRONG
________________________
Cashman needs to do two things.
1) Trade Farnsworth – right now while he has some value and stop trying to ressurect this guy. It is OK to be wrong – cut your losses now.
2) Trade Igawa: HE may still be tradeable – Consider the 25mm a bad stock trade. It happens just like Pavano. There is no room for him anyway. Either trade him now or trade hm after he dominates AAA – but unload him. Stop fearing the backlash – the signing wasn’t that bad at the time – who knew the three amigos would be this good, and with Horne, Brackman etc on the way. It is ok to be wrong.
Clean house Cash – it is ok otherwise these two losers might come back to bite you this year and you then should be fearful of being viewed as the next Isiah Thomas.
BBB–the whole reason this thing got out of hand was because maddog maddon not only defened his player, but showed no concern whatsoever about cervelli. then despite all his tough talk about “playing hard” he calls the commissioner’s office to make sure that warnings are issued before the game last week. then he calls duncan a borderline criminal.
this guy has been a total jackass
Jax
Oh I thought Charleston was low a. My mistake.
Hank is Sonny Corleone
Hal is Michael
Steve Swindal is Fredo
not a bad day for Igawa at all
One single
Two doubles
One triple
One home run
A FULL CYCLE
OMG i didn’t even realize that Brandon. + a walk
Anyone see this? Kazmir will miss opening day start – but it doesn’t sound serious.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3295069
Brandon: LMAO!
Josh Phelps at bat for the Cards against the Mets. Let’s see how he does for an NL team!
“maddog maddon”
And yeah, his reaction was really what got me pissed off too…before his antics I was only bummed about Cervelli and how it would affect his development, only when I heard him making jokes and foaming at the mouth over his love of ‘hardball’ did I start looking for blood. I guess he thinks prospects are only important when a team would go 1-161 without them, like his.
LOL @ Igawa pitching for the cycle…jeez. Yanks should bring him to VT and let the locals take informal BP off him as a fundraiser for the school. $5 per at-bat; if Igawa can’t help us then he might as well help raise money for a good cause!
Phelps struck out on 4 pitches against Aaron Heilman. Haha.
GO JOSH PHELPS!
ooops.
lol MikeEff. It’s ok. I was rooting for him too. And of course he’s got his post-Yankee facial hair.
I’m listening to the Yankees Tigers game, and apparently there is a strong breeze out to center which is aiding the offenses.
I am still mad at Phelps for that game vs Seattle where he barrelled into Johjima, who wasn’t blocking the plate, for no reason. It was a bush league play (see, Maddon, some of us are consistent in this regard) and iirc, Proctor ended up getting suspended over it b/c he threw back at the M’s after they beaned Phelps.
11-6 Yanks
BBB: I can’t be mad at Phelps. Too many people mocked him. Therefore, I had to like him.
I love the teams where the switch hitters have the helmets with 2 ear covers. The Rays, Phillies and Cardinals, so far, I’ve seen with the double eared helmets. They make me laugh.
trish…who gave up the runs to the tigers other than the 3 from joba?
Could the Big 3 be going through a dead arm period?
i was one of the staunch defenders of phelps here as well…mainly because pete bashed him relentlessly for no reason. and remember, at the time, dougie wasn’t hitting at all and a lot of us were wanting phelps to get more at bats.
BBB- i do agree though that that play at the plate was uncalled for.
Andiamo, yeh that was my guess, I think it’s better for now than the season.
Mike – Ohlendorf and Strickland. As much as people are down on Farsnworth, I still think he has something to contribute. I want to watch him under Girardi.
Farnsworth and Bruney did a good job. Veras in now.
listen i’m all for farnsy if girardi can get good stuff out him him. too bad about ohlendorf today; i hope he makes the squad–thanks trisha
I am usually like that too as far as defending the players that get bashed on here (coughNievesDeSalvoClippardcough) but I never warmed up to Phelps for some reason, even before that Seattle play. I think cause I always looked at him as the guy who stole Phillips’ job, and I felt so bad about Andy not making the team cause of his mom’s accident. Then when the season started, every time Phelps made an error I’d be all, “well if ANDY was playing…” lol.
Anyway guys, I’m off like a prom dress, bout to go enjoy some QT with the new(ish) Radiohead album. Have a good one all!
Mike I agree about Ohlendorf. It’s going to be interesting to see who ends up in the pen. We certainly have a lot of contenders for the spots!
Down to the last out in Lakeland.
Mercifully we won a game finally. 11-7 final score.
Have a great night, all.
i hear somebody yelling in the stands “HOW MANY RINGS YOU GOT?” pretty funny
I hope Jose gets back to staying back on the ball his timing is off. Thank god it’s early.
Scranton
Trenton
Tampa
Charleston
Staten Island
Gulf Coast League
Dominican League
Glad this is spring training because I wonder when they will beat the Rays – hope this is not 2005 all over again.
MikeEff
I heard that too
Well its time to pack for Tampa……Flight leaves at 630AM….Hope to meet up with jayDestro and perhaps fleas.
yankeesrule57 if you are going tommorrow,then I ll check later tonight on here.
good idea UtilityMan we could send Igawa to one of those. I suggest Dominican League since our prospects will start believing in their quest to becaome ML stars hitting off of him.
Im glad I dont have to watch him pitch tommorrow versus the Indians.
I was there on 2/29 when he pitched against USF and gave up the Grand Slam to the college kid…..after walking 2 and hitting one batter..I said to fans around me…I could see a GS being hit here…….
they must have looked at you like Nostradamus (I know I screwed that spelling up but I’m tired)
trisha – Are you still giving out audio/tv info?
if so:
obliviuscaesar@gmail.com
close enough Brandon
Ill check back later.Good Afternoon all…….
Trade Igawa for whatever you get – even a bunch of tees to hit off of
You gotta love Hank Steinbrenner letting the Rays know who signs their checks: Yankees, Redsox, Dodgers and Mets.
Also, I have 5 open slots in a 12 team league (may go down to 10) on Yahoo! fantasy baseball. The draft takes place on March 21st which is next Friday. By Sunday night I will publish the league to open it up.
League ID#: 117326
League Name: Performance Enhancers
Password: clemens08
League URL: http://baseball.fantasysports....../fmart2008
I can’t speak for that which is remembered by Yankee fans young enough to be called “babies,” having followed the Yankees since 1962, but I don’t recall New York being a Mets town during the 1980s. Some of us like to look at the numbers—-real numbers. My source is Baseball-Reference.com which is linked on this blog:
Home attendance 1980 Yankees=2,627,417 Mets=1,192,093
Home attendance 1981 Yankees=1,614,353 Mets= 704,244
Home attendance 1982 Yankees=2,041,219 Mets=1,323,036
Home attendance 1983 Yankees=2,257,976 Mets=1,112,774
Home attendance 1984 Yankees=1,821,815 Mets=1,842,695
Home attendance 1985 Yankees=2,214,587 Mets=2,761,601
Home attendance 1986 Yankees=2,268,030 Mets=2,767,601
Home attendance 1987 Yankees=2,427,672 Mets=3,034,129
Home attendance 1988 Yankees=2,633,701 Mets=3,055,455
Home attendance 1989 Yankees=2,170,485 Mets+2,918,710
Total Home Attendance for Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=22,077,255 Mets=20,712,308
Total Regular Season Wins During Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=854 Mets=816
Last Place Division Finishes During Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=0 Mets=2
Division Championships Won During Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=2 Mets=2
League Championships Won During Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=1 Mets=1
World Series Won During Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=0 Mets=1
Number of Playoff Series (Division,League, or WS)Won During Decade of 1980′s
Yankees=2 Mets=2
Number of Playoff Series (Division, League, or WS)Appearances During Decade
Yankees=4 Mets=3
Many forget that there was a division series in each league following the strike-interrupted 1981 season, although the regular wildcard did not get established until the next decade. I have even seen some on this blog imply that the Yankees never appeared in the postseason during the 1980′s even though they were division champions in 1980, and division champions and American League champions in 1981.
It’s always hilarious in reading the attendance figures of a Rays box score at Tropicana Field.
The inflated figures include players & coaches of both teams, trainers, batboys, ushers, grounds crew, broadcasters, janitorial crews, concession workers, security force, and those singing the National Anthem.
Dee
March 15th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Angel, have you seen Mean Girls?
“Stop trying to make fetch happen, it’s not going to happen!â€
LOL, yes. That is how I feel about Generation Trey.
Mel,
If figures Joel Sherman would adopt it too. I hope Coney didn’t like how it fitted when he tried it, lol.
how do you people watch spring training games? ZZZZZZ…With all the great college hoops going on today Im in ncaa heaven…UNC!!! HAHA DOOK lost.
The mets are an inferior organization. Ownership is terrible, GM a nepotistic maniac, and the players care more about dancing and showboating than winning games in September. Johann will blow out his arm in year 2. Ian Kennedy will be a hall of famer. Trust me! The ladies do