Game 5: Rays at Yankees
-
- April
- 5
YANKEES
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui LF
Duncan 1B
Pettitte LHP
RAYS
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Pena 1B
Upton CF
Gomes RF
Aybar 3B
Bartlett SS
Riggans C
Johnson DH
Jackson RHP
Notes: Joe Girardi (illness) will be a game-time decision but it looks like he will be on the bench. … The Yankees have yet to drop a player to make room for Pettitte but it appears Jon Albaladejo will be optioned out. … Dionner Navarro cut his hand on the dugout railing yesterday and needed 12 stitches. He’s on the 15-day DL and Mike DiFelice is with the Rays as the backup to Riggan.
Yankees vs. Jackson: Abreu 0-8, Cano 2-8, Jeter 4-8, Matsui 3-9, Cabrera 3-7, Damon 0-7, Rodriguez 2-7, Betemit 0-4, Ensberg 0-2, Giambi 0-3, Molina 0-3, Posada 1-2, Duncan 0-2.
UPDATE, 12:51 p.m.: Joe Girardi is too sick to manage again, so Rob Thomson will be the main voice on the bench. Girardi is still in his office, we’re told. If he’s that sick, shouldn’t be home in bed?
Meanwhile, the Yankees have optioned Jonathan Albaladejo to Triple-A Scranton.
UPDATE, 1:00 p.m.: There’s a little wind but it’s a bee-yoo-tiful day here at the ballpark. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, green grass, the whole deal.
UPDATE, 1:06 p.m.: There were loud cheers for Andy Pettitte as he jogged out to the mound. He’s limited to around 80 pitches and the bullpen got knocked around a little bit today, so the Yankees could have some issues unless he goes five or six innings.
And we’re undway. Enjoy the game.
UPDATE, 1:11 p.m.: If you’re interested, and I can’t see how, famed Daily News writer Anthony McCarron will be doing a little live-blogging himself over at Blogging The Bombers. A-Mac is filling in for that lazy Mark Feinsand, who is supposedly spending the weekend with his wife and young son.
11 pitches for Pettitte in the first inning. … Meanwhile, Carlos Pena has nine HRs in his 13 games against the Yankees. … That is the infamous Elliot Johnson DH’ing for Tampa Bay.
UPDATE, 1:24 p.m.: A-Rod just hit a rocket to the base of the wall in left and Damon scored from first standing up. As Dom Amore of the Courant just noted, with Damon and Abreu running well, A-Rod could drive in 10 extra runs.
UPDATE, 1:32 p.m.: Check it out, the famed Yankees Chick was the subject of a piece in the Buffalo News. The YC often comments here. Why the Buffalo News would be interested in the California cutie, we have no idea. But good for her.
Meanwhile, Eliot Johnson came to the plate and nobody booed. Bad job.
UPDATE, 1:57 p.m.: The Yankees are up 1-0 and are playing terribly. They loaded the bases with one out in the second and didn’t score and Duncan just threw a ball into left field. Tampa has the bases loaded and no outs in the third inning and Pettitte already has thrown 35 pitches.
UPDATE, 2:00 p.m.: Wow, did James Hoye just blow a call at second on a force play. Break for the Yankees as they get an out while a run scores.
UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: You can’t let the runner go to third on that sacrifice fly. That’s terrible baseball by the Yankees. This game has not exactly been a clinic on fundamentals.
UPDATE, 2:19 p.m.: The Yankees are 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position today and 3 for 28 this season.
UPDATE, 2:44 p.m.: This will likely be the last inning for Pettitte, and that assumes he gets through it. He’s at 76 pitches.
UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: Well, Andy Pettitte was doing just fine until Jonny Gomes took him deep. Now it’s 5-1 and with the Yankees lifeless on offense again, they’re in trouble.
UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: It’s only 4.5 games but the Yankees have been outscored 27-13 so far this season.
Pettitte: 5 8 5 3 2 3. One home run, two hit batters. I have him for 86 pitches, 55 strikes. He wasn’t that bad but the 2-2 pitch to Gomes cost him a good outing.
UPDATE, 2:55 p.m.: Betemit hitting for Giambi. So apparently The Big G is injured. That didn’t take long. No word yet on what ails him but my guess would be something to do with his legs.
This is pretty grim.
UPDATE, 3:18 p.m.: Six up and six down by Brian Bruney, four by K’s. But Jackson has retired nine straight. Still 5-1.
UPDATE, 3:25 p.m.: Giambi has a sore left groin and is listed as day-to-day. Meanwhile, the Yankees won’t have Shelley Duncan on Sunday and Monday as he sits out his suspension. So that leaves them when either Betmit or Ensberg at first and a two-player bench.
But the important thing is that Duncan defended the honor of Francisco Cervelli in a spring training game.
UPDATE, 3:29 p.m.: Willy Aybar, whoever he is, just crushed one off Ross Ohlendorf. 6-1 Rays and the Yankees haven’t had a hit since the fourth inning.
UPDATE, 3:42 p.m.: The patient is alive. Three singles have loaded the bases with no outs against Trevor Miller in the 8th.
UPDATE, 4:04 p.m.: Bottom of the ninth, down 6-3. The Yankees will be facing Troy Percival.
Back later with some updates from the clubhouse.
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Peter Abraham
Yankees vs. Jackson: Abreu 0-8, Cano 2-8, Jeter 4-8, Matsui 3-9, Cabrera 3-7, Damon 0-7, Rodriguez 2-7, Betemit 0-4, Ensberg 0-2, Giambi 0-3, Molina 0-3, Posada 1-2, Duncan 0-2.
WTF. this makes absolutely no sense. This is like a team having stats like this against Farnswacker. How could a guy that can’t locate the plate or consistently throw strikes do this well against the Yankees? It’s mind-blowing. Please use the Danny Cabrera method with Jackson and let him implode. Robby, Melky and JD. please don’t swing at the first pitch today.
Good luck to Pettitte today. Good to see you make your season debut.
-fn
It should’ve been Duncan in LF, Giambi at 1B and Matsui as DH. Matsui is just brutal in outfield.
Cano will come around…it’s only been four games.
Matsui has had better luck with him, shouldn’t he be higher up in the lineup?
Maybe Duncan should have sat out his suspension first.
We are missing Melky in CF and based on the above stats, it might have been nice to have his bat today.
Damn straight Cano will come around, too many nervous nellies here. The Yanks will be fine.
Whether Duncan sat first or Melky is irrelevant…he’s miss 2 games regardless.
It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction that Jonny Gomes receives today. Say what you will about Shelley’s slide, but Gomes’s decision to charge toward Shelley didn’t exactly help matters. And it’s a stretch to say that the Yankees struggle against Jackson. No Yankee has even had 10 career at-bats against him. Those stats are a very small sample size, probably too small. Let’s just see what happens. Hopefully they can get it going today.
We always have problems with pitchers we haven’t seen much. IIRC, Jackson’s hamstrung us and he’s bombed against us. Hoping for the latter.
Andy’s record in games after losses is great. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure Kay will mention it! That record is part of the reason Andy was a number 2 in the postseason. Either to go up 2-0 or to pull even in a series.
Let’s go Yankees, let’s go. clap-clap…
Uh oh is that a lawsuit!? Thanks to the railing, we likely lost the game. The guy who came in place of Navarro gave the big blow.
One thing I have to say in LaTroy Hawkins favor– and I mean this all seriousness: he genuinely impressed me last night off the mound, if not on the mound.
He conducted his post-game interview with self-deprecating humor, graciousness, remarkable candor and affability.
It’s really impossible not to like the guy. Let’s hope he follows Viz’s trajectory last year, who also was dreadful early in the season.
BTW, is it my imagination or has Farnsworth’s velocity plummeted. Even his four-seam fastball registered in the low 90’s. Isn’t he supposed to throw that pitch in the high 90’s to be effective?
I like Duncan in there tonight and i hope they show a close up if Gomes gets on first. Who is the rays first base coach…think he could break up big country and thuggy?
Morning all
Kill Schill–I’m with you, Hawkins seems to be an utterly amazing guy. If only he could pitch as his personality deserves!
Let’s hope the Yanks’ get that offensive burst they really need. And I can’t wait to see the reaction for Andy.
Hey gang!
I guess you gotta post here for quite a while before you’re recognized as an official “voice of reason”. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the one who said from the first day that the Yankees would take it all. I’m the one who continues to say that I don’t break a sweat, and I don’t. I’m the one who can find any positive there is to find and always remembers that the Yankees are a powerhouse so will find their way. I would like to nominate myself as one of the forum “voices of reason” so that when people show up and said they’ve read the posts and can’t believe all the SKY IS FALLING IN posts, they’ll start to say “I read through the posts and was thankful to see _____________, ____________, trisha, ___________________, and blah blah blah were there as voices of reason.
Thank you, thank you!
Kill-Schill, great post. If the ingrate Yankee fans give Hawkins a chance, maybe he’ll come through. Cripes, baseball greats such as Arod and (gulp, but he was effective even if it was behind steroids) Clemens stunk up the joint for a while when they came to the Yankees. Imagine someone named LaTroy Hawkins who was booed before he even threw a pitch?
GROW UP Yankee fans. Or I hope someone you care about is treated as badly in life so you can see that everyone has someone who cares about them and hurts for people when they’re treated like crap.
The players try their best. Nobody makes the olympics every time out.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Trisha,
Not enough content in your posts. It seems that its important for you to be an authority in here.
I realize you are a fan, and appreciate that and do enjoy your enthusiasm from time to time. But when I skim through the posts, I look for insight on what I don’t all ready know.
“BTW, is it my imagination or has Farnsworth’s velocity plummeted. Even his four-seam fastball registered in the low 90’s. Isn’t he supposed to throw that pitch in the high 90’s to be effective?”
I would imagine that Farnsworth isn’t %100 yet. He couldn’t work out at all for 3 months in January due to a staph infection in his leg. Eventually he should regain his fastball velocity.
Trisha (voice of reason) – It was wrong of the fans to boo Hawkins just for wearing the #21. He had a good reason for choosing to wear that number. It had nothing to do with O’Neill. You have to give the guy a chance.
And even the fans who boo ARod. He is one of the best players in baseball today. Fans should appreciate what they are witnessing.
“I like Duncan in there tonight and i hope they show a close up if Gomes gets on first. Who is the rays first base coach…think he could break up big country and thuggy?”
Break up what? They’ll exchange smiles and have a quick chat like all base runners do with the infielders.
DL Hawkins, promote Patterson now.
Nominating yourself as the voice of reason is like nominating yourself for Miss Congeniality.
Its an award others should give you not one you give yourself.
thank you, Trisha and k-shilling.
go, Hawkins.
Repost from late in the last thread:
Jesse April 5th, 2008 at 10:50 am
If Matsui can’t play an adequate left field here, why would the Giants or any other NL team want to pick him up. Seems like he would be better suited to an AL club (Oakland??) as a DH and an occasional left fielder.
New post:
I thought I would never say this but…if it’s all about winning, there is a certain former LF of the Giants who is looking for work and would make a killer addition to the lineup. That would give fans something to really boo about, of course till he crushed a few HR’s.
Bullpen has allowed 8 runs, all charged to Hawkins and Farnsworth. Let’s go Patterson and Melancon!
Hmmm that didn’t take long 2 games……..
TRADE FARNSWORTH
Why is Ross Ohlendorf better then Jon Albaladejo who pitched great yesterday.Jon Albaladejo is the new Chris Britton.He has better stuff then Ross and Bruney but they like to keep the good players in the minors.
i think Hawkins is useless not because of one horrible game, or because he’s wearing #21, but because he looks exactly as he did when he was on the Orioles in 2006 – straight fastball, not very overpowering. basically, i’d actually distrust Farnsworth less.
well, i hope he proves me wrong.
Jason – Re: Cano
“He gets himself in terrible counts all the time… and he’ll just hack at the 1st pitch and be like “Oh well no big dealâ€. Anybody feel the same way about his approach?
Here are Cano’s ‘Hacking’ stats, swinging on first pitches.
3YRs: .381 .380 .587 0.967
2007: .423 .420 .730 1.150
So, basically, when Cano swings at the first pitch, he is ARod+
Whaddayathink Jason?
From NYT blog
Kennedy mentioned a start in the Hawaiian Winter League, where he pitched before the breakout 2007 season that vaulted him from Class A Tampa to the majors. In that game, he said, he gave up 8 earned runs in one and a third innings.
A few questions later, as the group interview was breaking up, Kennedy signaled that he wanted to get back to that previous bad game.
“By the way,†he said, which reporters will tell you is always followed by something interesting, “the next time I faced that team, after I gave up eight in an inning and a third in Hawaii? I faced them again and I only gave up two hits.â€
It was established before the season’s 1st pitch that the Yankees would not go 162-0 so ragging on Hawkins, Farnsworth, or any other Yankee that fail to perform up to perfection is pointless.
Being a game of peaks and valleys is clear indication that there will be other games seeing fans less than happy but when all is said and done the ultimate goal remains at championship number 27 in storied Yankee history.
Watching YESterdays I think it is way too early to have Joba on a show like that. He’s getting a lot of fame very early and fast. Almost too much imo for a guy who’s only pitched 26 innings in the majors.
Hopefully he remains humble and not let all of this go to his head.
Not to bring this up again, but did anyone complain about this?
http://cache.boston.com/images/bostondirtdogs//BDD_DM_oakland_4.1.08_wires.jpg
Duncan gets his debut. Good to see him!
Whoever said thos numbers against Jackson are bad, really? Most guys have fewer than 5 AB’s, and 4 of the guys hit him very well in limited AB’s.
This is the game where the offense goes craaaaaaaazy!
OMG! Why isnt this game on MLB Extra innings! I need an alternate way to watch! Help!
Oh, and hopefully Joe Girardi gets healthy!
To trade Farnsworth is one thing, who would take him is another…
Hope so! It is actually comfortable outside! Hope they will break out today. they will break out one of these days, and watch out!! I’d hate to be that pitcher!
Girardi out again today. Rob Thomson in the dugout.
Damn it must be killing him to miss games already!
Manimal-
Fox has exclusive rights for the afternoon games on Saturdays. It sux. Try MLB.TV
So is this game blacked out on mlb.tv?
If so, here’s a link for video: http://www2.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=9360&part=sports
Is that the real mel?
Not sure. I know it wasn’t last night.
Yankees haven’t officially announced the roster move, I wonder if they are thinking of doing something else?
It’s going to be a bumpy ride this seaon with all the kids pitching. We need Andy and Moose to right the ship after days like yesterday.
Hopefully Girardi is feeling better.
Let’s get a win today. Good luck to Andy.
Yes, Buddy! It’s me.
Who’s taking the 2 final spots in the West? Did you ever see anything so wild?
jennifer-
How do you like being commish in the fantasy league?
It’s a tough job, imagine if there were money involved.
mel-
It is pretty wild, keeps everyone on their toes. The Warriors may squeak in.
As long as FOX is scheduled to show a 3:55 game on Saturday afternoon (which is now every week this season), no game that starts between 1 and 7pm (eastern) can be shown on MLB EI.
Buddy- I’ve learned the hard way that cbssportline doesn’t actually have a commish. The rules are set up by cbs, so there are things that were automatically set up that no one likes. Like no dl spot, or you can’t change the teams daily.
BTW. I guess Buchholz won’t start the season in the minors. He’s on today against the Jays. Meanwhile, Colon’s in the minors. He needs to sign a major league contract soon or will be free agent per contract.
myp2p still has last nights game… wierd.
I could see Denver & Golden State beating out Dallas for the playoffs. Mark Cuban would not be a happy camper.
YEAH JOE!! GO HOME AND SLEEP!! No one will begrudge you!!
jennifer-
Since it was a free league, maybe the commish doesn’t have as many options as other pay leagues. It’s still fun though & I appreciate you setting it up.
Thanks
AH!!! Myp2p works! Thanks Mel!
Man, I feel bad for Joe Girardi. Tea really does help, and if he doesn’t like green tea he should try chamomille or peppermint.
Whats up with Flaherty’s hair?
Buddy,
All 3 teams scare the bejeezus out of me. Stupid Dirk played out of his mind last night. I can’t believe he has a sprained knee. I would love to see Dallas miss the playoffs. Just to see the crybaby go crazy. #2 payroll and miss the playoffs. The last time that happened? Red Sox ‘06.
OK so I guess the Saturday blackouts start when Fox starts their broadcasts.
Wow, it’s Saturday and MLB.tv didn’t black me out? That’s a first
Rocco, don’t know it is much darker, so either he’s dyed it or it was always bleached by the sun.
Hopefully some of the bats will come alive today in the nice weather.
My prediction for andy is 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K.
Manimal,
Is it in English? Also, no blackouts today on mlb.tv.
I can’t believe I’m not blacked out on MLB.tv. Not complaining!
Its the YES feed through ESPN Hongkong(supposedly) even though the commercials sound Brittish or Australian.
In short, Im watching yes without Guisseppe’s stupid hair commercials.
The unthinkable will happen – The Rays sweep the Yankees in this series. Write that on your collective forehead.
there probably is a 2-5 second delay though.
Good to see Pettitte working quickly. 2 quick outs.
Andy looks GOOD so far.
Steph: I think they only black out games that are actually on Fox.
Watch for the pickoff. It’s not a Pettitte start without a pickoff.
Wow, nvm HUGE delay. 30-45 seconds since Crawford JUST Grounded out but its better than nothing.
Nah, most all of the games are blacked out for me on Saturdays because I’m in California. Only ones after 4:05 PM ET are available.
Time for the bats to wake up.
Nice job by Andy
I was voted Voice of Reason in the prestigious Bayonne, New Jersey “Voice of Reason” contest of 1981, so if anyone is going to be called the “Voice of Reason” here, of course it should be me. Or at least I should get paid a dollar for anyone else who uses the phrase, as I patented it in 1985, along with “three-peat” (which I later, to my regret, sold to Pat Riley while chatting with him at a Springsteen concert).
Carry on.
Good first inning for Andy, and that first one is always good to get out of the way. It’s an encouraging sign that he is getting some ground balls.
Nah, most of the time, Yankee games are blacked out on Saturdays for me beacuse I’m in California.
Manimal,
No Guiseppe? I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.
Nice inning for Andy.
Geez, none of my comments are going through.
I don’t think I ever get to see Yankee games on Saturdays because of my area code. Since I’m in California, I usually get blacked out unless the game is after 4:05 PM ET.
Richard Gere was the original forehead writer in American Gigolo. Do you look anything like him?
Gameday is faster than my feed LOL.
Atleast Johnny didnt swing at the first pitch
Wow that was a filthy pitch to K Jeter.
Ill screen capture if you want.
“Here are Cano’s ‘Hacking’ stats, swinging on first pitches.
3YRs: .381 .380 .587 0.967
2007: .423 .420 .730 1.150
So, basically, when Cano swings at the first pitch, he is ARod+”
this is deceptive because the stats on an 0-0 count mean what he hits when he puts the ball in play on that first pitch. if he swings at a pitch way out of the zone and fouls it off or misses it,he now goes to an 0-1 count. he still hits well when he puts the ball in play in that count. but if he swings again at say another out of zone pitch and doesn’t put the ball in play and now has an 0-2 count, then like most hitters he’s not so good- .543 ops
i think it’s safe to say when he’s not behind in the count he’s a better hitter. but if a first pitch is a strike, why not swing. if it’s a ball probably no a good idea. it’s just not as simple as what he hits when he puts the ball in play in a certain count.
yeah jeter got owned.
‘atta boy A-Rod. 1-0.
A-Rod absolutely smoked that! 1-0 Yankees
Poor Navarro.
Yay Alex.
1-0 Yanks
THANKYOU alex. Jumpstart this offense PLEASE.
Way to go Alex.
I hope someone told him he needs to think linedrives instead of HR’s again because last year that helped him alot.
Kevin Long is a great hitting coach.
At least they got a run across.
Haha, that sucks for Gomes, but it’s great for the Yankees!
hahaha nvm, some commercials are in asian…
HA HA love it. Gomes you fool!!
Gomes just owned himself!
For some reason I’m blacked out on mlb.tv — is anyone else? Any suggestions for how to get in (that will work on a Mac)?
I’m surprised to be able to see the game on mlb.tv. I couldn’t do that the previous 2 years due to saturday games being blacked out. Did that change?
I applaud those fans for not touching it. They flinched away from it!
Not nice Jennifer, not nice at all
Steve,
I may not be correct because I heard it from someone else, but apparently because of FOX’s rights to Saturday afternoon games, games from noon to 6 are all blacked out.
That’s odd. I’m in California, so I figured I’d be blacked out on MLB.tv, but I’m not. I’m using a Mac as well…what system are you using? Safari?
Jon Albaladejo off the roster….after last night ?…what a BONEHEAD move !
You ever wonder if the way you view things are the same as people from around the country? No? Well, too bad. I do, so I’ll pretend some of you do too.
I live in the Washington DC area. I don’t hate the Yankees, but I’m not a die hard far either. I am a huge Scott Patterson fan and former INDY teamate. I’ll now fill you in on some views that me and most former teamates and friends agree on. Might not be correct, and might disagree with what the NY bubble think, but here goes.
Most people don’t actually hate Jeter, deep down people appreciate how he plays the game. But most also agree he is an overrated defender, though people are starting to see this.
Paul O’Neill is loved in NY which puzzles us. Most people I have come across saw a chronic whiner who threw little kid tantrums.
We ARE jealous that our team doesn’t have owners like George.
We always wonder why there is always talk about the Yankees not cutting a guy because of his big contract and we always ask the same thing…if you pay 200 million to win it all, why think twice about eating 5 million to replace a guy not performing (Hawkins, Farnsworth, etc). We always hear winning is the only consideration, right?
We ALL wanted Arod to leave NY. Outside NY and Boston, Arod is seen as the best hitter in the game, better than Jeter as a SS and a player anyone would love to have. To watch Yankee fans MURDER him for who-knows-why over the past few years really made me feel like you didn’t deserve him. I think this sentiment has changed for sure, which is good to see. A credit goes to Arod for taking it all and WANTING to stay. He should get a pass from fans for LIFE.
Hughes is VERY good. Command and stuff…very impressive.
IPK is VERY overrated (so far). We keep hearing about his incredible command. 13 bbs’ in 21 MLB innings and 50 walks in 149 innings in his minor league career with roughly the same rate in college does NOT point to a guy with great command. If you want to compare him to Mussina, check Mussinas walk totals early in his career as well as overall. Not even close. Lack of stuff plus fringe average command equals lots more outings like the one the other night. Great changeup, though.
Why is Jeter rated so highly as a contact hitter? Triple digits in k’s can NEVER equal a great contact hitter.
Cano is going to be a STUD.
What the HELL is Joba doing in the bullpen if he isn’t closing…especially when your starting 5 aren’t that great.
Are you really his ex-Indy teammate?
Alby was cut because of the number of pitches that he threw last night.
come on Andy
I hate this. Challenge the #9 hitter, dont go 3-1. Challenge him.
Not exactly sure why you took all that time to say something no one would care about?
In case you didn’t know Mo is our closer, Joba is going to be a future ace. He is only in the pen to help get his innings totals up.
I’m trying both Firefox and Safari but can’t get in
is anyone else having a problem with the blog timing out?
4seamed, that’s a great insight. Mind letting us know which team you were with?
Joba will be in the rotation eventually but right now we really need the help in the bullpen, especially the back end.
Hm…are you in the Tri-State area?
It is being awkwardly slow but not timing out.
Thanks 4 seamed.
Getting an outside perspective every once in awhile is nice.
” Alby was cut because of the number of pitches that he threw last night.”…………please explain, thanks…
Same with me. The Blog has been slow, but not timing out
Steph, No, I’m not in the tri-state area. I’m in Massachusetts (unfortunately!). I wonder
if it’s a Red Sox thing, which REALLY would piss me off.
First inning: Alan Horne’s Triple-A debut. First pitch flyout, strikeout, strikeout. Eleven pitches, seven strikes. The guy can pitch.
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/Blogs/SWBYankees/tabid/552/Default.aspx
Thomson knew that Alby would be cut after the game, so he sent him out after he took Kennedy. He let him work a few innings, and since Alby is not a starter or a long reliever, that was a lot of pitches for him. He was out there to eat innings and keep the pen fresh while he was here. The Yanks wouldn’t cut Farnsworth or Hawkins, so it was pretty obvious they’d cut Alby. He’ll probably be first in line for a call-up after that performance should a reliever be sent down or one gets injured.
jennifer-
jennifer…im pretty sure you have posted on this blog over 8 million times so i guess im not sure why you are concerned about what im doing with MY time. thats like brian bruney asking me why I didn’t just have a side salad instead of french fries.
and that is my point with joba…why is he being wasted in a set up role? if you want to move him to closer, theres more value there, even if it is less than if he were starting.
gamechannel on yanks, gameday on Scranton. I hate saturday games not being shown on extra innings. Horne 2 K’s through 1 so far.
Hm…that’s really odd. I’d call MLB.tv customer service and ask. I don’t get why you wouldn’t be getting it since I’m further away than you and getting it.
Ha Ha Gomes stinks.
To be honest, I don’t think he lost that ball at all. It seemed like it was just carrying and maybe the wind moved it a little bit.
Horne looking good so far
Haha, maybe Gomes’ suspension *should* have been two games.
Poor Gomes. Almost feel sorry for him. But I want a Yankee win, so yes! Matsui gets away with a deep fly!
Nice hit Shelley. Come on Damon.
Duncan singles and the bases are juiced for Johnny!
You don’t get it do you? We have a closer! Joba can only have 140 or so innings. If he starts, he would be way over that. they are starting him in the pen and than will move him to the starting rotation.
Get it now?
Ugh Johnny. It’s up to Jeter now.
I’m getting it in California as well. I had made plans assuming it was blacked out but those have been canceled.
For whatever reason, Duncan has a confidence about him. He had it from the first of his spring training at bats. I hope he maintains it and produces because of the Yankees lack of RH power other than A-Rod. (Ensberg TBD).
Ugh, a pop out to short. Hopefully Jeter takes advantage of the opportunity.
come on Jeets.
Damon fails to come up with a big hit again, what else is new?
Enough talk about Matsui being a “spare part”, Damon is the one who is expendable.
Big waste by the Yanks. Jeter K’s
well that was a wasted opportunity
Global Warming, “a big hit”???
The 2nd inning of the 5th game of the season against the Rays. Typical Yankee fan panic nonsense.
With fans like these its no wonder the Yankees never have had patience to stick with young players.
A real missed opportunity there. Offensive funk or not, you have to find a way to get at least one run with a bases-loaded, one out situation. Let’s hope that it doesn’t come back to haunt the Yankees.
Can’t like the average’s with RISP so far eh?
John where you have been the past year and half?
People talk about trading Matsui all the time when it’s Damon who has been below Par.
Get glasses.
“IPK is VERY overrated (so far).”
Baseball America ranked Kennedy as the 16 th best pitching prospect in all of baseball (45th best overall prospect overall).
Baseball Prospectus ranked Kennedy as the 12th best pitching prospect in all of baseball (34th best overall prospect).
Those are two outside perspectives that people give quite a lot of credence to.
To make things worse, Horne is getting tagged a bit in Scranton right now.
jennifer
where are you getting that I’m not aware that you have a closer? I also know that you have an average at best rotation and a guy like joba being wasted in a setup role. 140 innings…great, so make them count. you would get more use out of the guy having him skip a turn in the rotation ever 3 starts or so to keep his innings down while getting something from him. what would you rather have…20-25 starts from a potentialy dominant starter in a rotation that is average or infrequent work as a setup guy only to be sent down to the minors only to start in the second half of the year. winnings games in the first half is as important as winning games in the second half.
i think there is more of an injury issue going from a short inning reliever to the minors to starting in the second half as well.
make the 140 innings count at least.
It seems like every starter the Yankees have faced has a 95mph fastball and a nasty offspeed pitch.
Oh God!
Ouch, Duncan throws the ball away.
damon and matsui are expendable if Brett Gardner and Shelley duncan can prove them selves in the majors.
I still pick shelly over duncan
Rays have lost a catcher and Gomes has been humbled and now Shelly.
lets get this over with please
yikes
Very ugly playing by the yankees, make all the excuses you want.
4seamed – You don’t know what you’re talking about. If you want Joba’s 140 innings to count, YOU PUT HIM IN THE BULLPEN!!!
How do his innings count in a game he starts against the Royals where the Yankees score 10 runs in the 3rd inning???
If he’s the 8th inning guy, HE ONLY COMES IN WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE… Think about it!
you are right, Kennedy is not overrated as a prospect. his uncanny command is what i was really trying to stress is overrated right now. his strikout numbers and hits per 9 numbers are awesome. but with his stuff, he is going to struggle in MLB if he doesn’t start showing the commnand we hear about so often that he has never actually shown.
Damon’s success with bases loaded was with the Red Sox. Since he came here, he’s been an almost automatic pop-up/strikeout/GIDP… usually after we have to see the 2004 highlight, which makes it feel worse.
Total disagreement with you, John. Damon is the proof that we *should* be pushing younger players. I’d rather see a Melky or an A-Jax or a Gardner fail in spots like that (we can call it growing pains) than a player who had great success with another team but who has generally been a disappointment for us.
the offense is terrible because of the cold weather right sj44?
I wish Melky wasn’t suspended.
Ach. No fun. Melky in center, Crawford would be out.
Yankees, come on, let’s actually do this offense thing next inning, okay?
damon needs to retire
2-1 Rays on the fly…I can’t wait until Melky is back
Huh, a sac fly, who would have thought. Damon, you should really watch a tape of that.
Here is an idea, why don’t you guys just ignore 4seamed?
Kennedy has made 4 major league starts. Only 1 was bad and that was last night. His other 3 starts he had shown good command he is known for.
Greetings Yankees Fans…. got to see the Rockies get thumped yesterday, very gratifying.
On a different note, Pete brought this up with some points on the site. The Yankees have become one of the worst fundamentally hitting teams in the majors. The plate discipline seems to evaporate when runners are in scoring position. Sure they work the count but when faced with RISP, what happens.
Hopefully this is an early season – working out the kinks – but if not, teams like the Devil Rays are going to beat them consistently.
thats just not true, he will pitch in games that arent on the line, i promise. just like closers arent always saving games with 1 run leads, joba will pitch in plenty of games that are not that close. also…keep underrating the royals or ANYONE else, and youll end up like detroit just did.
when you start, the game IS on the line every time you start the first inning. giving an offense like the yankees 5 or 6 great innings to start is going to add more value, I THINK, than pitching in the 8th INFREQUENTLY. especially when its a rotation that could really use a quality starter. although it would scare me to have three guys that young starting.
Jax…until last night, kennedy had 9 walks in 19 innings. 3 good outings, but not great command.
Posada saves the inning
this is gonna be long game
Joba pitching the 8th and Mariano in the 9th makes the other team have to try to beat us in 7 innings.
DJ… So you’re one of those posters who like to make up stats cuz you think i wont look it up???
Damon 2006 w/ bases loaded – AVG .478
Damon 2007 w/ bases loaded – AVG .333
So, you can take that “only with the Sox” nonsense and put it to rest.
So Ajax should be playing in the majors? Hell, why have a minor league system at all. They don’t need to learn in the minors? Draft ‘em and throw them in the lineup.
Everyone knows the Yanks “will get it going”. But you have to admit, if we dig ourselves a hole like last year, we may be out of the playoffs with how strong the Central can be. That’s why people get pissed, only if it is 4 games into a season. All the W’s and all the L’s count the same wether it’s April, or September.
Joba in the bullpen also takes some pressure off the other young starters with their innings limits. If you have Hughes or Kennedy pitching a great game, and it’s 3-2 or 2-1 or 2-0 going into the 8th, you don’t have to squeeze that extra inning out of them because the idea of Farnsworth pitching in a close game terrifies you.
“his uncanny command is what i was really trying to stress is overrated right now.”
The people at BA and BP are pretty good at looking at BB/9 ratios. It’s not really that difficult to find out and Baseball Prospectus is pretty good with that statistics thing.
So clearly the people evaluating him know what his walk rates have been in the minors.
Despite that scouts regard him highly and they regard his command highly.
Is Kennedy an elite level talent? No. Is there a very good chance he’ll be a good to very good major league pitcher as long as he stays healthy? Yes.
And what you’re not seeing is how Kennedy fits in with the yankees future staff.
Wang, Hughes and Chamberlain are going to the front 3 of the staff. So at best in the future Kennedy will be their #4 starter (this year he’s penciled in as their #5).
So they need him to be #4 at best. I’ve never read or seen anything where people don’t think he’ll be at least a very good #4. Never.
And then consider this – there is a good chance the yankees sign CC Sabbathia this off season. Alternatively Pettite has already said he wants to come back next year.
So Kennedy will likely be their #5 starter next year.
And the only reason Chamberlain is in the pen is because of his innings limit (which is only 140-150). They are treating him like the Dodgers did with Broxton last year.
who do you guys think is better, AJaxGardner.
This game has been really frustrating and it’s still early.
Well I guess they were going to get us back for the break we got with the call at second.
That wasn’t a swing…and A-Rod K’s.
Thoughts from all, is it me or do most of the Yankees seem to be over swinging or just not picking up pitches? This offense is very disorganized in their approach.
these umps have been terrible this season, not just against the yankees, but against both teams
Yay Cano gets his 2nd hit of the year.
That could have scored A-Rod. Oh well. Cano singles and Giambi goes to second.
Nice to see Robbie break through with a single. Hopefully that will calm him down and get him into a rhythm.
Not even close Jackson is a better prospect then Gardner.
There is no comparison between Jackson and Gardner.
Jackson is on an entirely different level of prospect.
Jackson is a legitimate 4 tool player (he may never be a great hit for average guy).
Gardner has one outstanding tool – speed.
If you’re a one tool prospect that tool had better be your bat like a Billy Butler or a Matt LaPorta otherwise your future is dicey.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Yankee offense. I think they’ve faced some good quality pitching so far.
But Yankee fans like to panic, so go ahead and freak out.
I mean look at this guy Jackson… He’s throwing 96mph with a NASTY slider! I don’t care if he isn’t a household name. He’s going to be tough today.
Like Sonnastine was yesterday if you take away that one inning? Dude, you don’t think it has at least a little with the Yankee offense struggling, than you are high!
Well, we made Jackson throw over 65 through 3, so we’re at least working the count.
And A-Rod should have walked.
Be good Andy
Edwin Jackson was once considered the best pitching prospect in all of baseball.
At the time Scott Kazmir was considered the second best pitching prospect in baseball.
Jackson has a great arm and is only 24. He’s shown no signs of putting it together but he has very good stuff. He shows flashes of being very good and then falls apart.
A Jackson is too far away still to expect anything out of him.
Ruben Rivera was twice as talented, 10 times more hype. A ton more minor league production. Was supposed to be the next Mickey Mantle but never made it.
Until a guy rakes in AA, don’t expect anything.
Dang, I definitely didn’t want Johnson to get his first hit against the Yankees.
Rebecca’s right, the pitch count is at a high rate for Jackson. That tells me that even though the Yankees aren’t scoring much, guys are working counts, drawing walks, and seeing the ball well. When you are seeing the ball well, that means that an offensive outburst isn’t far away. Give it time, this offense will bust loose and start absolutely raking.
CB,
I love that you bring up LaPorta. The kid is a player. I remember when he hit a 500 foot HR in the college world series a few years ago. He hit a GS the other day in his first at bat in AA for the Brewers. I’d love to see us go out and make a trade for him since he already has Prince Fielder infront of him.
Nobody’s panicking, John. There are actually viewpoints that fall between “Everything is OK!” and panicking. Stop looking at everything in black & white and don’t be such an ass toward people who express a viewpoint.
Nice pick off Andy!
Please see my comment at 1.12 PM.
Haha, and Johnson gets picked off. Good.
Good job Andy
Can’t get P2P to stay buffered…any suggestions?
Just heard Pettitte pick off Johnson…wish I could see it.
Rebecca, you get a smiley face for today! Good call!!
NJ in Tampa: Who would you give up for him?
Good to see Andy get it together this inning, I was a little worried starting right from the wannabe-hr Gomes hit.
3-28 with RISP….pitiful
SDJohn, Sonnanstine isnt bad… he’s erratic. he happened to be “on” yesterday. He’s probably “on” one out of 5 starts and the Yanks caught that start and still scored 4 off him.
Hey, last year when the Yanks were smashing the ball all over the place he pitched 8 innings of 2 hit ball allowing no earned runs! It happens!
I thought being an a$$ is what internet message boards are for???
NJ in Tampa,
No way they are moving LaPorta. If only….
You have to give the Brewers so much credit for drafting him at #7 last year. After they made that pick everyone was just scratching their heads.
But as usual the Brewers know what they’re doing in the rule 4 draft. What a pick. He really does seem like a more athletic Billy Butler (not that that’s a high bar… but good enough to play the field).
I saw what LaPorta did that first AA game as well. He’s just got a special bat. What he did last year in A ball was jaw dropping.
I don’t know if you saw this but the Brewers have LaPorta playing right field now in AA to see if he can hack it there.
How about those corner outfielders- LaPorta and Braun.
The Brewers are still discussing what to do with Fielder. If they aren’t able to sign him to a long term deal they may wind up trading him.
steve r – The voice of reason post was a joke
fran – Thanks for getting the joke!
Just got in and I can’t get YES. Might break down and pay for mlb.tv. DAMN!
Toronto just took the lead. 4-2. Only “good” thing about being in the Sux market.
If you want Toronto updates let me know. Otherwise I’ll just listen to Sterling and Waldman til I decide about MLB tv and watch Toronto on television.
wow!!!! That’s all I’m saying
No doubt it happens. But you can’t have it both ways. Burnett, Halladay, McGowan. All legit pitchers. but don’t forget we did face people out of the pen, in all of these games. NOT EVERY pitcher we have faced has had there A number 1 stuff, it’s impossible for that to happen for 4 games straight. All relievers, and starters. We are in a funk offensively. If you don’t see that, you are not watching the same games. And, I really have to disagree, Sonnanstine is bad. We had 1 good offensive inning in 4 games. Don’t think I’m ready to jump off the roof or anything, we will come out of it, I just hope it’s not like last year and too late to come back and win the division. We’ve been down this road before.
Nice call on the pick off Rebecca. As alway on top of things…
Since you have the mojo today how about predicting something good for the bats?
Matt LaPorta may be the best pure hitter in the minor leagues. They aren’t going to trade him unless we send back Chamberlain or Hughes.
Rebecca,
To get a talent like LaPorta you’d have to give quite a bit of talent back. I’d guess you’d have to look at what the Brewers weaknesses are and offer talent to them at those positions so its hard to say. LaPorta rakes though, and he’s a good kid off the field which is just as important.
“Matt LaPorta wasted no time making a splash in his Double-A debut Thursday, drilling a grand slam that powered the Huntsville Stars to an 8-2 victory over the Mississippi Braves.
LaPorta singled in the third inning, then broke the game open by capping a five-run fourth. The 23-year-old outfielder made his professional debut last season with Rookie-level Helena, where he hit .259 in seven games. He dominated after a promotion to Class A West Virginia, batting .318 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs in only 23 games. “
Ack, nobody can even move Matsui over. Now Jeter’s up with 2 out.
suit up for another year of holding your breath.
What’s wrong with the Yankee’s bats? Oh, it’s early.. right. Same thing they have been doing for four years. They cannot hit.
They hit in spurts.. and miss in bigger spurts.
Our pitching is phenomenal as well. I am so glad to have Cashman at the helm making decisions..
It’s not just a season that is at stake, it is the Yankee’s legacy.
Yea they moved him to the outfield but I don’t know if he’s good enough of a fielder to stay there. He was naturally a catcher but when he was at Florida they moved him to first base. Obviously with Fielder at 1st they moved him to the OF so we’ll see how that goes. There is no question the kid can rake though.
They look awful today…
I understand that it was hard to put up runs in the first three games because of the three quality pitchers. But against Jackson?
This is not a HR hitting team anymore, the steroid era is over and age matters.
Arod is our big bat and that is it. This team can be successful, but they need to do what they did the other night.. small ball!! That is why I wanted Brett Gardner up.. he’d inspire the small ball.
What an embarrassment that a team like the Rays is owning the Yankees… heh
Agree with SDJohn… not in a panic or freaking out, it is more that these are not good swings and they are not solid hits. Now, yes, you will say, there have been those that have hit is hard. And without a doubt you are correct. But, there is too much of letting the ball get on top of the plate, flailing at sliders that are out of the zone.
Now if they are drawing walks, that tells me they are able to distinguish a ball that is out of the zone, but what about those borderline pitches, those are the ones they are not able to judge and are popping them up, lazy fly balls, weak grounders… In the past four games, they have had many chances to get a run or two, RISP with less than 2 outs and they are just not getting it done.
The problem is that this is a consistent thing. Sure they score lots of runs but over the course of the year, even last year, how many game did the lose because they could not get the tieing run or get the extra run or two to change how the other team has to manage.
Pettite trying to keep them in the game.
I sure hope it warms up soon. The failure to move runners over is alarming. Nothing factual to back it up, but I seem to recall plenty of time the leadoff man gets on and then stands on the base as the following three hitters all fail to move him over or manufacture any offense.
SDJohn, you’re right. Its pretty unlikely that everyone would be “on”. But I’ve watched the games too. Every opposing pitcher is throwing NASTY strikes.
Everyone of those bullpen guys in Toronto was great. Throwing hard on the corners. What are the Yanks supposed to do? You can’t wait them out b/c they’re throwing strikes, but if you swing your swinging at tough pitches.
You run into these stretches every once in a while and it just happened to start off the year this year.
If Toronto pitches like that they are going to win the AL East. Its doubtful they will keep it up though.
3 for 28 this season?
Same as last postseason.
Kyle: not just terrible today, but everyday. The BP looked good except for Hawkings, Farns, Kennedy…
and they didn’t look bad, they looked horendous.
However, our bats are just as dead as they were in the post season.. heh
Well that was a waste of $20! I am blacked out of MLB TV also.
Last year they moved LaPorta to Left field. Which was understandable give they’re in the NL and have fielder. Left field is the second easiest defensive position to play.
He did OK in left.
But then in the off season they moved Braun off third to left. That really created problems for them.
Right field is much harder to play and that’s a real question as to whether he can play there at all.
If he can’t stick in right I could see them trading Fielder – they’re concerned about his price and his weight.
Fleas,
Owning is a pretty strong word bro. And just to give you a heads up, Gardner himself, would not be able to “inspire” small ball. Sorry.
Time for a DP from Pettitte
Trisha,
Fox owns all game rights before 7pm on Saturday’s. That means that if they’re not playing it, you can’t watch it anywhere else. It really sucks.
Anyone else really missing Melky in center field?
I just bought the MLB package for TV yesterday and the game is not on there either.
Sucks “watching” gameday.
Anyone got a pitch count on andy?
Crap.
Wow.. YES just showed the goof by Gomes from matsui… what has happened to matsui.. he is really pulling off the ball and looks uncomfortable with his swing
Ok, Matsui should not be playing in the outfield. Period.
Gomes gets his homer. 5-1 Rays
Matsui couldn’t get that?
And that is why you never laugh at the other team when they mess up. Always comes back to bite ya.
still dont want santana?
MLB.com 119 hi def 119 per year. good deal
the weather is not that bad today. High 50’s..close to 60
This offense is just asleep.
Yikes. Oh Andy.
5-1 now jeez
He’s nearing 80 pitches
Well, this is simply bad luck.
Upton’s ball bloops in and now Gomes hits it out by about 2 inches… Ugh.
anti-Mussina – can Santana hit the ball?
Hey Jennifer
Is Gomes still a fool?
19 runs over two games by the Devil Rays. Ouch!
5 runs off of 7 hits… Yanks 1 run off of 5 hits…
81 pitches for Andy so far
Still don’t want Santana for what it would’ve cost.
Fleas, what are you talking about? Yankees legacy???
santana can pitch more than 5 innings
Yankees looking OLD and uninspired…God, I’m in FLA and have to listen to the idiot TB announcers…can we all agree the Damon signing was terrbile? It’s like he got ancient overnight…so far in ‘08 without A-Rod we’d have a non-existent offense.
What does the order of the bullpen look like today?
Four more innings after yesterday’s game – we are going to start taxing arms.
Pete brought up the possibility of trading matsui before the break. I think he just needs to be DFA’d… he just looks old…. really old…
John. I appreciate your optimistic view and all, but baseball is a game of inches. Not simply bad luck, we are not playing well.
sdjohn
Well here’s some content for you that I brought out before yesterday’s game but it didn’t get much play. A generic comment: Tampa Bay has really good starting pitching and has found a way to own the Yankees. It’s foolhardly to underestimate this team. I’ll stay with that comment.
Content about the Yankees? I don’t see the need to make individual proclamations when I’ve seen all of 4 games. I’m not a pitch-by-pitch or AB-by-AB commentator.
Looks like being blacked out isn’t always a bad thing.
We have too many old outfielders. Other then Melky, everyone else is south of thirty.
So can Hughes. And he can do it for the next 15 years.
Santana
Pettitte
Mussina
Hughes
Igawa
Or
Santana
Pettitte
Wang
Mussina
Igawa
Both with Damon in center and matsui in left.
No Thanks.
It’s game 5, we’ll be fine.
Looks like the New York Weaklings woke up the tampa Bay sleeping lions who they can’t handle.
They asked for kennedy, melky, and a top prospect
the rotation wouldve been:
santana
wang
pettitte
hughes
mussina
Santana would have cost a lost LESS than you people believe.
Trust me on that. Kennedy, Cabrera, +1 would have gotten him. I know that from a Twins source. It was discussed in Cashman’s final Call with Bill Smith. I quite Cashman, “We are going to pass bill, but I appreciate it”. That was when Bill before taking the Mets offer asked for Kennedy, Cabrera, +1.. he was desparate to NOT take the Mets deal, but Brian blow him out of the water…
You really think the Yankee PR wouldn’t make it look like they were “asking to much” to quell the noise from the fans? You probably believe that there are still WMD’s in Iraq too.
the wind blew gomes’ ball. the way pettitte stared looked like disbelief. the yanks will probably hit that jet stream too.
john
I’m with you. Bloops can bring bad luck.
I also will not chance my mind about Santana no matter what.
Well, if it’s anything like last year, this is what will happen. We will make a push, get to within a run or so, than our offense will stall , and a reliever will give up a big blow, and boom. On to hoping for a split against the Rays without even facing there #1 pitcher. OUCH.
anti-mussina, you are correct. They did. Although people here are in denial. They believe everything that the ever-so-powerful PR machines puts out there.. “Wang, Kennedy, Cabrera” that is a crock of crap…
The Twins never asked for that.
SDJohn, I don’t think its just optimism.
The best team in the league every year only wins 60% of the time. Great teams don’t dominate like in other sports b/c there is so much luck involved.
Jeter hits a screaming line drive with 2 on and its an out.
Upton hits a blooper prolonging an inning for a BARELY home run.
Can you really call that “bad” play?
Another pop up….. that is the 5th on this game, how can this be seen as anything other than bad hitting, bad offense, bad approach.
maybe he made the switch because Giambi can’t hit a lick at the plate? makes sense to me
trisha:
Are you saying that TB owns the Yanks?
We were above .500 against TB @ home and away last year…so, no way do they own us.
They do have some solid young arms and great young players..a team thet’ll definitely “surprise” some AL teams in ‘08…and if they’d spend a little $$$ they could possibly contend over the next couple of years.
I know it’s still early, but this Yankees offense is frustrating to watch
So fleas who did they ask for? Were you on the phone?
Is it already starting? Jason hurt?
will NY ever play good in april…christ, awful start
not signing santana will lead to cashman and the yankees’ demise. good-bye cashman.
another 1-2-3 inning for the yankees. hmmm but its because of the cold weather, right?
Oh and what a shock Wilson struck out. Well at least he fits in with the rest of the team at the moment. I think they forgot which team they are facing.
They fall behind 5-1 and start swinging at the first pitch. We’ve seen this movie before.
Jackson just threw a 97MPH fastball on the corner to strike out Cano… He is just “on”.
It doesn’t matter what an offense does when a pitcher is doing that. Thats where the saying “good pitching beats good hitting” comes from.
Wow… Steven Jackson IS really the pitcher everyone says he is…. just over powering the Yankees.
Let’s see what he does against better hitting teams like Boston, Toronto, Detroit…
Trisha,
“I also will not chance my mind about Santana no matter what.”
sounds to me like you are an emotional fan, and not a pragmatic one.. remember, pride comes before the fall.
I hate that about human beings, we think that we are not allowed to change our mind from our initial thoughts.. and really that behavior is nothing more than self-defeating..
It’s okay to change your mind people.
So many people hold on to their “Point of view” because of pride, even when they know they are absolutely wrong and hurting others for doing so.
Why do people find it so hard to admit they were wrong?
Stop dreaming about Giambi.
He is done.
Batting 6th or 7th, this is his right spot.
No, some of us still don’t want Santana. And even if we did, Superman’s not around to spin the earth back in time.
Please, guys, get over it.
We didn’t get Santana.
Everyone who thought we should have- opinion noted.
Whining about it won’t change that now.
Unless you think the Mets might consider trading him, why beat a dead horse?
Santana wouldn’t have helped them hit with runners in scoring position.
Bruney’s in and K’s Johnson
Trisha,
I don’t underestimate them at all. The Rays do have good starting pitchers, we just haven’t faced them, and we are still flailing at the plate. They have owned us because they are exact opposite. Fast, young, and continuously put pressure on the defense. We are none of the above. That plus the fact that Kennedy and Pettite weren’t at there best and whaddya have. down 2-0 in a 4 game set, facing there 4-5 pitchers! Don’t forget, losses in April, mean just as much as losses in September. That coupled with the fact of how tough the East has become, and how strong the Central can be spells trouble.
This team is very frustrating to watch at the moment. But they will break out one of these days.
PepperBrooks, if he throws like this he will shut them down too.
Jackson’s history says he probably won’t be throwing 97 on the corners every time out though…
Good start by Bruney. Gets Iwamura to ground out to second.
Oh come on Shelley doesn’t throw the ball in the cf we aren’t down by 4.
“The Twins started the winter meetings asking the Yankees for Hughes, one of baseball’s elite starting prospects, Kennedy, Cabrera and pitcher Jeff Marquez. The Yankees said no, offering Hughes, Cabrera, Marquez and a fourth player.”
“The Twins backed off of Kennedy and asked for infielder Mitchell Hilligoss instead. One problem: By the time the Twins countered, the Yankees had a Dec. 3 commitment that veteran free-agent lefthander Andy Pettitte would return.”
“GM Brian Cashman never wanted to include Hughes. Once Pettitte was back in the fold, Hughes was off the table for good.”
“On Jan. 29, Smith spoke with the Yankees in a last-ditch effort to get them involved, and asked for Chien-Ming Wang, Kennedy, Marquez and Cabrera. Wang, the runner-up to Santana for the 2006 AL Cy Young, had been among players the Yankees had been willing to discuss early in the process. This time, the Yankees weren’t interested.”
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/15142571.html
I’m happy with who we’ve got and who we didn’t (Santana). It might seem like we made a bad choice but we’re only 5 games into the season. We’re gonna be fine.
Let the kids grow and mature and let the offense wake up. Once these happen, we’ll be fine.
if we traded for santana….hughes’s win woulda been washed out but santana woulda got a W…melky won that game for us against toronto with his defense and bat..he wouldnt have been here….so hyopthetically IF we traded for Santana we’d be 1-3 right now
john and not to bring up bad memories but I remember a postseason game when Tony Clark hit a ball that ended up being ground rule double that if it stayed in the park would have scored Matsui and we would have won the ACLS.
Sometimes luck counts.
Is there any GAWD FORSAKEN reason that KEVIN LONG is still our Hitting Coach!!!!!!!
C’mon now.. I thought he would have been gone for sure after last year…
BRING ON PAVANO!!!
Who are you, and what have you done with Brian Bruney?
what a surprise… april 5 and the bullpen is already taxed.
Bruney has a nice 1-2-3. Good to see
ALCS that is.
“Santana wouldn’t have helped them hit with runners in scoring position.”
Actually, Santana is a pretty good hitter.. the way this team is hitting right now.. he might be out hitting them all.
trisha the umps also should have used discretion and said that he would have scored even though it bounced in the seats. As far as I am aware they are allowed to do it.
UGH don’t even get me started on that game.
If we traded for Santana, we’d have to see Damon and Matsui in CF and LF on a near-daily basis.
John,
We are talking in cirlcles now. I’m not calling those 2 instances bad play. Overall, we have looked lethargic at the plate, and just plain scary of D. 2 good starts, 2 bad starts. OVERALL I do call it bad play, do you call it good?
On a good not, Horne looked solid. 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER’s. Struggled a bit in the 2nd, but came back nicely.
Damn Bruney looks like an entirely different person…about time he woke up and realized he was eating his way out of $Millions$.
Yanks SP, IMO: Pettitte will be fine, Hughes is a stud, Wang will be solid as usual, Mussina is DONE, Kennedy is a HUGE ???…gotta keep Joba in BP…no one else can handle 8th Inning.
Problem Spots: 1B is a MESS…OF, beside Melke looks OLD…lots of good teams in the AL (Bos, Clev, Det, LAA, SEA, Tor)…gonna be a long season?
haha @ rebecca “Who are you, and what have you done with Brian Bruney?”
Listen – at least we have won two games and are healthy. Ask Detroit if they want to trade places at the moment.
Red Sox are losing a may drop to 500, Cleveland is 500, Seattle is 500. The hitting is miserable (what happened to spring training), and things don’t llook pretty, but it is early and everyone is getting working into shape and into the season.
See where things stand in a month before finding the nearest bridge.
Nobody will know if the Santana non-trade was smart until around 2013.
Santana could win the Cy Young this year and it still doesn’t make it a bad decision for the Yanks… You have to see how Hughes turns out and that could take a few years.
John… agreed. But it is just curious and frustrating that these mediocre pitchers that get thumped consistently by Boston, Toronto, Detroit, WhiteSox, etc, over the past four years look like Cy Young candidates against the Yankees.
The trend is that playing the Yankees are where has beens or on the fence talent keep their jobs.
Doesn’t make sense if this team is so offensively stacked as most opinions state.
Fact is they are not a good hitting team, defined as “situational”, “RISP” – working the count they are still very good. OBP, the same. But, working the count for back to back walks only to see it evaporate by a DP and then a strike out… 3rd place AL East
John:
“Nobody will know if the Santana non-trade was smart until around 2013.
Santana could win the Cy Young this year and it still doesn’t make it a bad decision for the Yanks… You have to see how Hughes turns out and that could take a few years.”
Do you read? The final trade package that Cashman refused to give up for Santana, did not include Hughes, he was yanked after the winter meetings..
The final package was ..
“Kennedy, Cabrera, Jackson”
Trisha,
I read that Tony Clark post and got mad all over again. That was horrible.
Stop dreaming about Jeter, either.
He is old and terrible.
Just took a look at the standings and if the season ended at this very moment, it would be the:
Orioles, Rays, Royals and Angels in the playoffs.
Wow!
another 1-2-3 inning!! what a surprise!
The Yanks are back to swinging at the first pitches…
Fleas, that was just a rumor, confirmed by neither ballclub. Considering what the Twins got for Santana (as they held Gomez in very high esteem), I find it unlikely that Hughes wasn’t involved.
P.S. I have no worry about Hughes.. he will shine without doubt. He already is.
Kennedy did not have a *bad outting* he had a minor-league outing.. and it was his first start of the season. That does not look good… how could you keep kennedy off the trading block when you have both Hughes and Chamberlain to keep?
Horrible decision..
But they score more runs more often than any of those teams… Since we are all Yankee fans we notice them struggle. We don’t watch all of Toronto’s games so we don’t notice it.
The Yanks have THE most dominant offense of the last few years. The question has been, can they play small ball against great the great pitchers you see in the playoffs.
Thats why I actually love what I see so far. The Yanks took 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays where the Jays were pitching as good as anything the Yanks will see all year.
Ron,
Keep getting brainwashed by the HUGE Yankee-PR machine.
There are some of us here, that do have connections to what happens in Yankee-Land other than our televisions.
IT’s okay though.. believe what you want, since even if you gave me the benefit of the doubt, it would not get us Santana, its over.
The final package was Chien-Ming Wang, Kennedy, Marquez and Cabrera.
You keep on forgetting WANG
This is not a pleasant start to the season. Then again, they probably looked worse last year, and that worked out better than hoped.
The pitching hasn’t been the problem, except for Hawkins and Kennedy. We know the bats are going to wake up. It’s just maddening waiting for it to happen.
Hell, it could happen in the next few innings. The Rays are no strangers to blowing 4-run leads.
Another awful day of frustration. Oh boy.
Has anyone else noticed how short our games are becoming? Bad approaches by all the batters. Where’s the patience?
what’s so dominant about it, john?
damon – old, injury prone
jeter – no power, DP boy
abreu – gets on base but no power
arod – good player but often chokes
giambi – injury prone
cano – no plate discipline
posada – due for a down year
matsui – washed up
melky – average
Bruney K’s Pena
First time I have seen Bruney. Not the same pitcher as last year, so far. Nice to finally see someone other than Joba and Mo, do something from the pen.
This team is doing the exact same thing they did last april, which is suck. What they’re setting up is a 20 game streak where the bullpen is killed towards the end, pressure mounts on the starters, they don’t react well, our pen gets shelled again, and we dig a hole.
Offensively, this team is the same as last year only one year older. We don’t have the resources in the minors: Hughes, Kennedy, Chamberlain to fall back on this time and pick us up like we did last year. Our front line needs to hold.
It’s early, yes, but having so many players struggle offensively early seems to be our MO lately. It’s just really frustrating to watch.
Fleas, I find your name ironic, because while what I said was a fact, that the players involved were confirmed by neither team, you just cited a rumor.
And they did ask for Wang in several of the rumored deals. That was a non-starter.
Kennedy had an outing where he failed to locate his pitches. When you have stuff like his, and that happens, you don’t have much of a chance. If we see three starts in a row with no fastball command, then I worry.
Right now it’s looking like Hawkins for Vizcaino may be a wash. Viz is signed for longer and get whacked just as hard. He was also awful in spring training. So I can’t really blame Cash for that one. It’s lose-lose either way, but we get to cut ties with Hawkins much earlier.
SA:
“The final package was Chien-Ming Wang, Kennedy, Marquez and Cabrera.
You keep on forgetting WANG”
Right, and there are still Weapons Of Mass destruction in Iraq.
WAIT STOP THE PRESSES – BRETT GARDNER HAS HIT A HR.
quick call him up.
Upton K’s
Meanwhile, as we whine, Brian Bruney is dominating.
Can anybody get Barry Bonds phone number for Cashman?
If Giambi is out for any length of time, he is going to need it.
Gomes grounds out-2 very good innings from Bruney
Ron,
Believe everything you see on TV and read on the internet. Trust me, it makes life a lot less painful. Wait, it seems that is what you are already doing.. nevermind.
If the Yankees had traded for Santana, they would still be losing today.
True John. I agree. Most players will eventually put up there average numbers. I have no doubt the Yanks will put it together, but what wins championships? Pitching, defense and timely hitting. Wang, Hughes looked good. Kennedy, Pettite not so much. Bullpen has looked really good except of course farnsy and Hawkins. Defense has looked horrible bro, you can’t deny that. Jeter is losing his range, and when we have Matsui and Damon in the outfield, we may have the worst defensive outfield in all of MLB. Thank god that won’t happen often. I also agree with you about Santana, I was against it from the start. But before we talk about scratching out wins in the playoffs against great pitching, we better make sure we don’t dig ourselves to big a hole to climb out of.
Some players still trying to shake the rust off… Lets not panic yet.
Fleas
Is your sources name “Max”?
“The question has been, can they play small ball against great the great pitchers you see in the playoffs.”
No, the question has been can their starting pitching match the opposing playoff teams?
The answer the last couple of years? A big NO.
That is why the Santana trade was such a missed opportunity. Say what you want about not judging this trade til a couple of years now but the truth is that this team is in “Win Now” mode. It’s been that way for a decade and it’s going to be that way for a couple years with the signings of A-Rod, Mo, and Posada.
One pitcher in Santana can make a world of difference in the postseason. We have Santana instead of Wang last year and we win that series against Cleveland. No doubt about itt.
We could of made that trade with Minny and still had one of the best farm systems in baseball. Hughes, Kennedy, and Melky arent the only young studs we have down there.
Fleas: Did you read the article from the star tribune that I linked @3:03pm that went into detail about the Santana trade? I’m guessing no.
Here is a link to it. Try actually reading it.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/15142571.html
Btw..your name Fleas…perfect for you
Ouch. Toronto’s putting up a 4 spot. 9-2 Jays.
We are certainly getting to see how the BP strategy is working.
anti-mussina,
LOL, whats so dominant about it?
That line-up nearly scored 1000 runs last year with an injured/gimpy Damon, Matsui & Giambi!!!
The only comparable offenses are the Sox and Tigers.
Methinks you are a bit of a spoiled fan. Try telling a Royals, Orioles, White Sox, Twins, Mariners, A’s, or ANY of the 15 NL teams fan that the Yanks don’t have a dominant offense.
A hole – Yeah if todays scores hold up 1/2 game behind Boston. Don’t worry about the rest.
Boston has some real issues with hitting depth in the lineup and in the bullpen behind Papelbon.
Fleas and anti-mussina – when Pete mentions trolls to be ignored, he’s talking about you.
Everybody else, please ignore these fools. Do not respond to them. At all.
We really need to get a message board style ‘ignore function’, or this blog is doomed.
Fleas, you win.
The award for most annoying poster.
you guys seem to be forgetting that we still have three innings to play.
Find me a lineup better than the Yankees. The Tigers are not even close. The only people that think they are those that don’t get how you score runs, or understand peak seasons.
Granderson – quite good, but hurt, can’t hit lefties to save his life, will probably need to be platooned (look it up)
Polanco – a good contact hitter
Ordonez – he isn’t going to even approach last year’s numbers, his BABIP was off the charts, and it’s coming way down
Cabrera – a butcher at third, but a great hitter. A-Rod’s better, but that’s no fault of Miguel
Sheffield – already hurt, almost 40
Renteria – also coming off what’s likely a career year, moving into his mid 30s
Guillen – still injury prone, only average production for a 1st baseman
Pudge – might have more homers than walks. An OBP black hole at this stage of his career
Jacque Jones – very impatient, showed very degraded skills as a Cub
My point is that you can find weaknesses in every lineup. But if we get reasonable numbers out of our guys, I think offense will be the least of our problems.
another 1-2-3 inning!? im shocked
Global Warming – Santana might not have beaten the Indians last year. He has how many World Series rings? What exactly is his record in the playoffs? I didn’t want him, period.
Giambi has a sore groin. How you get hurt DH-ing?
Giambi left with a sore left groin
Another pop up…. Anyone listening to YES? Seems they are seeing the same thing we are discussing. Mediocre pitching, terrible hitting.
Bonds can probably still hit, but where the hell would he play?
Global warming,
Dude, let it go. Santana isn’t coming here, and I’m glad as hell for that. Hughes is a stud, and will continue to get better. and he comes a mere 19.5 million less per year. We would have to watch Damon in center and Matsui in Left daily. That alone would give me a migraine every day.
On another note, stop saying don’t panic. There are many many different mindsets in between all is good and the sky is falling. Geez
Suzyn Waldman: Giambi has a “sore groin muscle” – day to day.
YES just reported Giambi has a sore left groin. This is not good.
Oh by the way, Toronto is up 10-2 on Boston.
Sheesh!
Rebecca’s a lot closer to Buffalo than YC.
Maybe I should write something on her for the LA Times.
So it’ll be Ensberg or Betemit playing tomorrow
Um, Girardi, why is Bruney STILL in the game?
giambi is hurt!? im shocked
Scratch that, Gameday was being slow.
Giambi’s groin could put him on the DL.
three innings 25 pitches… really working the count. Well, if we can get 1 from Tampa, we will only be 1 game under .500 with the big games coming up.
Thomson will NEVER be hired as a major league manager. lol.
“Boston has some real issues with hitting depth in the lineup and in the bullpen behind Papelbon.”
You mean Papelbon and Okajima.
And Giambi’s probably going to be on the DL. Good thing we still have Matsui…
SDJohn, how can you make any evaluation of the rotation after 1 round through the rotation?
As you said this outfield won’t be seen again barring injury or another suspension. I think defensively Damon, Melky & Abreu is an above average major league outfield.
You know what? Maybe the Yanks don’t make the playoffs this year? I know some fans think thats a catastrophe but if Hughes, Kennedy and Joba really develop but the Yanks miss the playoffs I wouldnt be upset.
So Giambi is headed for the DL, Matsui plays like he is on it, so does Damon…Where did all our talent go?
I always thought that it was Torre’s fault that this team came out of the gate slow and sometimes during the season looked dead..But now I see that I was wrong, that is how this team is. Getting behind and mailing the game in. I would bet that Girardi is on the bench tomorrow
anti-mussina
“They asked for kennedy, melky, and a top prospect”
fleasBag
“Trust me on that. Kennedy, Cabrera, +1 would have gotten him”
I don’t trust you because obviously you can’t read or understand a radio interview. Cashman himself said the last ‘demand’ was Wang, IPK, Melky + 1. And if that 1 was Melancon or Horne, it was that much worse.
Why do you idiots keep making up trades when Cashman told us what the deal was?
Santana is a great pitcher, but way to expensive in terms of talent and contract.
Ohlendorf serves up a homer to Aybar
Heh. Maybe they should have left Bruney in
This is embarrassing.
Not the Yanks play, but the posting in this thread.
DH/PH Bonds
Pitchers aren’t afraid of Shelly, Betimit, Ensberg etc…
They would squirm a bit facing Bonds. I think the pucker factor would increase substantially with him in the lineup.
John
I think that is the PERFECT mindset. For the first time in a long time Yankees have talent AND youth to look forward to. If they finish .500 this year and win 3 or 4 world series in the next 10 years you wont remember 2008 all that much. Lots to look forward to.
sd john Sorry to bring that up. I still haven’t gotten over that game either. That was also a game where Yanks hit everything on the screws and right into the gloves of the “opposition.”
jennifer as well as I do with being able to look at the big picture, the crap that we went though in those games is purely unbelievable.
You may all hate me for saying the following but I now sometimes wonder about the karmic effect of things, especially in light of the information we’ve gotten about some of our guys. I happen to think that payback has been meted out and it’s time for things to go back to even.
However, I celebrate that the Sux started in Japan because unless they turn out to be the great exception, they’ll be paying for that trip for a long time to come.
If Giambi goes on the DL, they might bring up Gardner.
OldYanksFan – he’s the best pitcher in baseball thats why hes expensive.
This is pathetic.
I know all the “it’s early” stuff, but if we can’t scratch out more hits and runs against Tampa Bay than this, we’re in for a long season.
I don’t understand why these guys have troubles getting out of the gates every year.
Almost all of them look lost at the plate. They’re all pulling off balls and reaching for pitches out of the zone.
It starts at the top and Damon and Jeter look awful to start the season. Absolutely awful.
Giambi is hurt? What next am i gonna hear that Shaq is on the decline, or there is some kinda basketball tourney going on. That Syracuse football is declining, or that the Knicks are a bad basketball team. I’m absolutely shocked.
SDJohn,
Let it go? I made one post about it. By the way, what are you babbling about?
Hughes? Nobody is talking about Hughes being traded.
I said time and time again in spring training that it is going to hurt this team that they do not have a real 1st baseman on this team. It already did in this game. Also I could not believe that Girardi was playing Giambi every game at 1st base..I knew it would only take a couple of games before he was hurt. What part of Giambi can’t play the field and stay healthy doesn’t this organization understand.
Not to sound preachy but IMPLORE Yankee fans not to judge this team until we are at least out of April.
In baseball you play 162 games because it takes A LONG TIME in this sport to figure out what kind of team you have.
If the Yanks are playing .500 ball on May 1st thats fine.
A-Rod calling everyone off of a pop up? What is happening to this team?
;>) Toronto 10 Boston 2 ;>)
Bottom 8 and the Rays lead 6-1
It’s mainly the trolls and the fair-weathers that are having the freak outs, but some people are just jumping the gun. I think the Yanks will turn it around…I’d just like it to be sooner rather than later.
Giambi is always hurt. Glad it’s the last year on that ridiculous contract.
Chill Pepper,
Take a deep breath and relax. It’s a loooooonnnnggggg season. When you lose a few games, things look worse than they are and when win a few things look better than they are.
Just less than 24 hours ago we were all happy with taking 2 out of 3 from the Jays and now we’re in big trouble because we might lose 2 straight to the Rays? It’s too long of a season to get too high after wins and too low after losses. Relax and enjoy the season because we’re going to win around 95 games and lose about 67 when it’s all said and done.
You want to know what will help lead to being lost at the plate? The strike zone changes pitch to pitch. It has all week. This officiating is god-awful.
Jesse: Bonds would never be welcomed in NY.
SDJohn: Syracuse football ain’t declining. It’s dead.
UPDATE, 2:19 p.m.: The Yankees are 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position today and 3 for 28 this season.
At this rate, they will be .500 in 2 1/2 weeks – May 1st.
“I said time and time again in spring training that it is going to hurt this team that they do not have a real 1st baseman on this team. It already did in this game. Also I could not believe that Girardi was playing Giambi every game at 1st base..I knew it would only take a couple of games before he was hurt. What part of Giambi can’t play the field and stay healthy doesn’t this organization understand.”
And if the organization understands it? Then what? Should they send a squadron of Ninjas down to Atlanta to steal Teixeira in the dead of night?
I thought the Yankees would be a little more motivated after what went on in spring training, but apparently it just pumped up the Rays. Oh well it’s early.
Go Yankees
Please Yanks: don’t waste the single.
i dont get how kevin long still has a job.
Oh geesh. People already talking of missing the playoffs with 157 games left. Just laughable.
V: A squad of ninjas to steal Teixeira? Can I use that in my blog? I’ll credit you!
A-Rod singles and Abreu goes to second.
YEAH BUST OUT THE STEROIDS!
Betemit gets a single to load the bases. Robbie…please!
Rebecca – go ahead
Bases loaded none out….
It’s not that you lose two in a row to the Rays, it’s HOW you lose two in a row, being shut down by crappy pitchers, having your pitching getting crushed by a so-so offense. That’s what concerns us.
Yanks will not miss the playoffs.
Not that I want Giambi hurt but you think Shelley Duncan can’t play first???? Or Morgan Ensberg???? Actually the criticism I heard was that we had too many first basemen!
I’ve always supported Betemit being on the team. Good job Wilson.
John,
I have been saying for a few years that the Yankees are building a team to win in 2009 to coincide with the opening of the new stadium, and I’m fine with that. We continue to put a contending team on the field, but besides the big 3, what else has really changed with this team? we have built a helluva farm system, and we have alot of dead weight coming off the books after this year. good free agent class this year. We will put a championship team on the field next year, no doubt in my mind, IF Hughes and Kennedy develop, and Joba comes in the starting rotation.
Your talking to a guy who lives and dies with every pitch. I’m a huge Syracuse basketball fan. We have been slightly average the last few years. It doesnt mean I get less upset when we blow 11 point leads with 3 minutes left, or 21 point leads in the 2nd half of games just because were an average team. I get mad when my team doesn’t play well. I’m one of the most competitive people you would ever want to meet, that’s just me. Doesn’t mean I’m a bad fan, just into it. No more of a fan, no less of a fan, just a different mindset.
Quick Question: Was Jeter’s error last night a fielding error, or a bad throw?
I know its a little off-topic but…I didn’t see the game and it just crossed my mind?
Cano is pressing!!! Why? Just be patient you %#$$%#$%#$ *$&#$#$
The umps continue to be awful…didn’t look like Robbie had a full swing there.
Rebecca,
I have been a Yankee fan since the mid 60’s and I would be very loath to see BB in a Yankee uniform myself but they may find at some point that they cannot stand on ceremony or principle or otherwise he’ll be hitting his 20+ homers for some other AL team that wants to win now and damn the torpedoes!
Hell, I can’t believe that I am typing this but this lineup obviously needs someone “nasty” in there that can make the other teams pitchers think twice.
Robbie, I love you, but you have got to learn to clutch.
Oh boy…Cano K’s. Georgie’s up
Cano’s in his 4th year. I wish he could hit better with bases loaded.
what kind of hitter doesn’t hit well with the bases loaded? what kind of crap is that!?
Hmmm. A granny would have been nice.
Would someone stop putting “Lunesta” in the Gatorade so this team wakes up ?
The typical spoiled Yankee fan assumes they make the playoffs because its their right.
A true fan from before this run since ‘95 knows that nothing in this sport is guaranteed.
i wish we had bonds batting there instead of cano.
Cano doesn’t look like a #6 hitter right now. He needs to swing the bat less. I’d rather see him take three straight strikes than look as bad as he just did.
Cano looks like he spent all offseason reading his own press clippings…you have to at least hit a SAC FLY in that spot…especially down 5…damn!
Cripes at least he could have made a productive out!
For example, take a lesson from Jorge.
2 down, 3 to go.
Georgie delivers a 2-run single! Yes!
nice job jorge
GEORGIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rebecca,
Syracuse football is not dead. 6 wins this year, mark it down. Decent recruiting class came in, we will be back. Of course the days of winning the BE and getting into major bowls may be a few more years down the road. Have faith in GROB.
Wow, these umpires are absolutely horrid.
John–I’ve been a fan since I was 10, in ‘96, but I don’t assume the playoffs are our right.
I haven’t done that, anyway, since 2000.
Not all of us are spoiled =D
First pitch to Matsui was definitely not a strike.
The umpires make baby jesus cry.
Finally, a hitter who doesn’t try to do too much. 4 – 29 with RISP
Matsui K’s
John stop with the holier than thou attitude.
Comparing the teams now in this era to those of the past is just unwise.
Expectations are higher, payroll is higher, talent is better.
It’s just not the same.
SDJohn: Sorry, but in my four years at Syracuse we had ONE season over .500 and were 8-7 at that.
It just doesn’t inspire a lot of faith. And they extended Robinson.
So tired of Matsui…
go ahead and retire matsui. man, this guy got washed up quickly. he’s definitely no ichiro.
Godzilla! What a force. I think that now that he has healed from his injury last year, he looks more like his old self. Got to put fear in ML pitchers to know that they have to face Matsui.
John -
I admit it, I think the playoffs are our right. But I back it up with my knowledge of the team. That we will make the playoffs is definitely my reality. It certainly doesn’t bother me if others don’t share that reality.
A marathon, not a sprint.
hey anti-mussina. when you have a $215M payroll and charge your fans outrageous prices, playoffs sure as hell better be guaranteed.
Money gets you into the playoffs, but can’t buy you a championship. I don’t blame the Yanks if they don’t win the WS every year, but they sure as hell better make the playoffs spending that kind of money. No excuse.
Now this AB is huge, because they already have the baserunners set up.
1-0 count let’s go now.
Global Warming, I was responding to the poster who was disgusted when i mentioned missing the playoffs.
I guess you are like him who thinks the Yanks have some kind of right to be in the playoffs. Mentioning missing it is traitorous. Fine. Live in your Yankeeland fantasy.
Rebecca… sorry about Robinson. He was horrible with the Broncos and can’t coach are recruit. Definitely a bad call by Cuse.
G-Men: ypu’re just spoiled because of the greatness of the G-men
Lets Rick Roll the Mets!
Go here and Vote
http://digg.com/baseball/Digg_users_unite_Let_s_Rickroll_the_NY_Mets_all_year
Robinson inherited Pasqualoni’s mess. Got to give him a few years with his type of players before we slam him. He did well this recruiting class keeping the kids close to home. Now if we could only get some O lineman, we may actually have a chance for Andrew Robinson to throw downfield.
That’s good news for yankees.
This means that we may not stuck with Giambe in this season.
Giambe needs sometime to prove his power usually, like Ortiz, Manny and other sluggers.
After DL (if he goes to), he still needs time for that.
Also, his power is less than before.
Matsui is enough for our 5th hitter.
He already proved it many times.
I bet he’s gonna do again this year.
I really don’t understand why everybody so afraid of his struggle in last September.
The cause of this is very understandable and easy to solve.
trish and G-men, its totally your right to have that opinion. you could have a billion dollar payroll, its still guarantees nothing. It gives GREAT odds, but no guarantee.
The opinion of some “right” to be in the playoffs is just not in line with reality in a sport where so many things can adverse things can happen.
Duncan grounds out to third to end the rally
nice try duncan… atleast you didnt strike out like that retard cano.
SDJohn: I wish I had you faith.
Anyway, I’m not a huge football fan as is. I’m more distressed over basketball. We got shafted in 07 out of the tournament and injured out of it this year. Totally not fair.
Who was pitching for the O’s on Alex’s walk off last year? Was it Reyes?
bases loaded and 2 runs… Yep… offense is ready to bust out.. only a matter of months before that happens.
SDJohn… On Robinson, you may be right about the mess he inherited but he is not a good coach. He might turn out to be a good college coach but he is not the kind of coach that is going to elevate a program into a consistent winner, not defined by winning more than you are losing. At best, he is a 8-9 win coach that will get some bowl bids, but the early bowl bids, not a national title contender.
Lol…don’t worry Pete, I’m sure that when the Yanks can only field 8 players due to suspensions that all the “fans” will start cursing Duncan for bein a moron.
John, of course I know what you’re saying. I know all too well that payroll doesn’t necessarily equate with making the playoffs! Just ask Baltimore and the Dodgers.
That said, I believe the personnel we have will get us into the playoffs. On top of that, I believe it is our personal right.
Chris Ray, i think…
Thanks John.
I didn’t think it was Reyes but I was hoping.
2 pop ups for Alex in 1 game. How could we lose this one?
Nice reach by A-Rod to get Crawford
Laptop’s line from Boston
5.0 6 4 3 2 7 0 89-57 5.40
trisha, I’m with you. I think they WILL make the playoffs.
I just don’t think its a “right” haha…
But whatever, its sports, its all in good fun…
Good pitch by Ohlendorf to get Pena
Well, so far the bright side of the game is that Ohlendorf and Bruney looked great today…
We’ll need them if Girardi can’t get Farnsworth to be effective…
John, now you’ve got it!
As far as I’m concerned, this team will be in good shape if they can play .500 ball in April.
Brutal schedule with tough opponents and roughly 3 weeks without a day off.
Be patient. They will be fine.
What a joy to have an effective bullpen again, with the belief that the manager won’t be burning out arms by going with the hometown favorite du jour!
Damon flies out
And now I take the gloves off. Hey Yankees! WIN THE NEXT TWO DAMMIT!
I’ve always been extremely generous with being happy for the Rays when they take games, but enough is enough.
HMPH!
Pepper,
He won a national championship at D coordinator in Texas. I’ve gotta say though, it he doesn’t get at least 6 wins this year, he will get the ax. This is the year you will see cuse above .500. And I’ll say something else, you just watch out for Syracuse baseketball next year. Seems like I’ve been saying that for a few years, but this time I mean it!! Go Yanks
Sorry If I don’t agree with the Majority here. I prefer not to be part of the sheep.
The Yankees need a new name, it should be “The New York 0-2 Yankees”
I’m disgusted.
BOO JETER!
Jeet pops out to second
Not that it makes it any better but I remember Jackson really having some filthy pitches last year.
With 5 games in the books,
Total number of walks by Yankee relievers =
1
Hey Fleas -
I never think of myself as being part of the “sheep”! But it is a lot nicer to be in with the majority if I am.
Well McCuthen pitched really well in AA. 5 innings, 3 hits, 7 K’s NO ER’s. Jackson followed with 2 good innings,2 hits, 2 K’s. But our hitting prospects must be watching there counterparts on the big league club. Nothing for Jackson or Tabata today.
Sux lost 10-2.
girardi should go on the DL.
Sux just lost 10-2.
At least the minor leaguers look pretty good today
Abreu K’s to end the game
michael k keeps saying “the jays” …
Awful game.
Awful day for Jeter.
Awful offense.
Hope this gets better
Then who would the Yanks call up to manage?
Sorry for the double post. It didn’t look like it was posting.
Sheets is a good pitcher. We need to find a way to win tomorrow. Hopefully CM will be on.
GO YANKEES!
IP H R ER BB K HR Season ERA
A. Pettitte (L, 0-1) 5.0 8 5 3 2 3 1 5.40
B. Bruney 2.0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0.00
R. Ohlendorf 2.0 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.25
If Giambi goes on the DL, who do you think the Yanks call up?
Trisha there are born leaders and followers, I prefer not to follow just because everyone else does. If I agree with everyone else, I can follow too.. but people here can be delusional and overly optimistic at some times.
It’s funny because they get more upset over the fact that someone disagree’s with them, then the actual point being disagreed. That is what I can’t tolerate and refer to as sheep.
pat:
If the Yankee’s were smart, they would start training Garner for first base.
If Giambi goes on the DL, I think Gardner might be called up
err Gardner.. maybe I am just in awe of his speed. He was real fun to watch this spring…
Just ask Mick The Quick, he loves Gardner.
They could add another pitcher, but I don’t see that happening, so I’d guess Gardner…but they’d have to make some room on the 40-man for him. If they were going by who’s on the 40-man, we’d have Alberto Gonzalez up
Fleas, I’m used to finding myself in the minority. It never bothers me because I do think things out and I do have a rationale for my thinking (as opposed to going on pure emotion – if I did that I would be thinking the Yankees were going down the tubes!) So it’s kind of nice when I’m in a place where others agree with me. I’m comfortable enough in my own skin that I take no humbrage if people disagree. It’s their right!
i think matsui should retire so the yankees can sign bonds.
Time to sign Barry Bonds.
” But the important thing is that Duncan defended the honor of Francisco Cervelli in a spring training game “….great point, Pete….No reason to tank the season, but 2-3 with 2 straight losses at HOME vs this AAA team really stinks. We can come back and win the next 2 though…..Giambi hurt ?…what a surprise, huh ?….Oh, Well….let’s take 2 in a row from these iceholes and MOVE ON !
Jeez, the threads are getting painful. I’ll be the driver of the “It aint over ’til it’s over” Bandwagon if anyone wants to jump on. By my estimation, there’s still 157 regular season games to be played. You guys are all going to drive yourselves crazy with your pessimism or, on the flip side, arguing with those who think the season’s over.
Don, if you think this is a AAA team that “really stinks” your baseball IQ is slightly below average.
Mel-173*: I’m already in the passenger’s seat and waiting for you to take off on the drive.
Right, well, that wasn’t what we wanted, I’ll admit. However, I am WAY behind on my thesis and need to get some significant work done. I’ll catch you all later, or tomorrow.
trisha, well good for you. I mean that. Others here should be more *like* you rather than you like them.
I am a troll because I’ve hit the disinformation on the head and told people the truth. Also I am a troll, because I don’t jump on the bandwagon..
BTW, People really need to learn what a “troll” is. Go check wikipedia. I am a responsible poster. Just because I can be negative, doesn’t make me a troll.
You know of all the teams we have to play Tampa Bay is one of the teams I like to face the least. No lie. Now you know why.
They have starting pitching, they have offense, they are really fast, and now they have confidence. I’ll be happy when this series is over.
The Yankees are 2-3. The Red Sox are 3-4, the Tigers are 0-4. Meanwhile the Royals are 3-1 and the Blue Jays are 4-1.
Clearly a week does not a season make. Don’t panic, the Yanks will be fine.
fleas,
Who called you a troll? You’re a Yankee fan, right?
And by Blue Jays I mean Tampa Rays . . .whoops
Fleas – you’re like Eeyore. Everything is negative. Go away. Thank you.
“The Yankees are 2-3. The Red Sox are 3-4, the Tigers are 0-4. Meanwhile the Royals are 3-1 and the Blue Jays are 4-1.
Clearly a week does not a season make. Don’t panic, the Yanks will be fine.”
Clearly, the Royals and Blue Jays will be battling it out in the ALCS to see who gets to face the winner of the Pirates and Nationals NLCS
Mel,
It doesn’t matter who called me a troll. But “V” seems to be living in lala land where he expects to find treasure while wearing mascara and blush.. It’s obvious that I should just put him on my ignore list..
In fact, I just did.
Bonds would be a good sign, plus he could start getting used to wearing stripes.
GO Memphis!!
Fleas, I just saw your post to me about Santana. I am never afraid to admit I am wrong, when I believe I am wrong. Let me tell you who Santana is to me – a pitcher who is in his decline. His ERA has grow over the last several years and he is nowhere near the deadly pitcher he used to be. So since I have gotten tired of the Yankees trading away their future, and because I am totally committed to Melky Cabrera, the last thing I wanted the Yankees to do was trade away more of our future for a pitcher I believed had already seen his best days.
My thinking, my right to think that way. Therefore you won’t see me admitting I’m wrong on this since I don’t believe I am. I’d rather have our young guys for a good long time than Santana for a season or two (in terms of what he might bring).
Your free preview of AL East standings at end of 2008 championship campaign — from top to bottom
1. Toronto
2. Tampa Bay
3. Baltimore
4. New York
5. Boston
Your free preview of AL East standings at end of 2008 championship campaign — from top to bottom
1. Toronto
2. Tampa Bay
3. Baltimore
4. New York
5. Boston
The order on the AL East seems upside down… Amazing…
1. Tampa Bay
2. Baltimore
3. Toronto
4. Boston
5. Yankees
Fleas,
You have the right to say what you want. But we do, too.
We see the bad. ALL of it. We just choose not to complain about it on an open forum because it’s non-productive. It doesn’t make us stupid sheep. And if you’re telling us we’re wrong all the time, it kinda makes you a reverse troll. You know what I mean?
Positive vibrations, dude.
Mel
Save me a seat. I’ve been along for the ride since the late 70’s. For many years it wasn’t very crowded but it was always fun.
The Yankees are flat this series, yes but one thing to pint out: the Rays are not a AAA team. Their young players are starting to fulfill their promise. They might finish third this year, and the Blue Jays are better, too.
It’s a very tough division this year. I don’t see either Boston or New York cracking 95 wins.
I’m no panic-monger, but the Yankees are in trouble, not because of anything learned through the first five games but from we already knew: They don’t have an ace in the rotation.
Wang makes a good #2 starter. After him it’s big drop off.
Pettite was a decent #2 in his prime, which is long gone.
Mussina is our #3 despite the denial of some.
This leaves the team in the position of needing Hughes to be a monster this year for them to have a shot at a World Series. I’d put that at about a 20-percent chance, tops.
mel-driver
Steph-riding shotgun
pat-bringing snacks?
I think you ought to chill. Too early in the season for life boats. You’ll have a better idea of how things will play out by All-Star break.
Of course Tampa will probably have both Price and Longoria by mid-season.
All we need now is someone with a few adult beverages for the good days, a little gren tea to calm the nerves on bad days and we’re good to go.
“Of course Tampa will probably have both Price and Longoria by mid-season.”
Price has a bad arm right now. He’s not even pitching in games now so I highly doubt he’ll be called up mid-season. In fact knowing how Tampa sent Longoria down to delay his arbitration I don’t think Price will e called up at all except for a cup of coffee in September.
HaHa. Dontrelle throwing a no hitter. Meanwhile CC put up a 3-spot in the 1st.
Wow Bard just made a nic play for SD. Caught the ball, slid into the dugout. Ran back to the plate to keep Furcal at 3rd. Torre’s out of the dugout questioning about it being outside the line of play. Sigh. I wish he had stood up for Joba.
They ruled in the Dodgers favor.
Who’re we cheering for today? I have no bracket, so I’d like to see Kansas & UCLA.
mel, steph & pat-
Make room for me. I’ll bring some drinks & the hibachi.
Giambi’s injury doesn’t sound serious.
cut hawkins and call patterson.
cut farnsworth and call j.b cox
trade mussina and bring in sabathia for next year
cut giambi and get teixeira.
i dont know why hawkins and farnsworth are still in this team
Because it is one game. I guess we should cut Damon, Jeter, Cano etc cause they haven’t hit a lick.
“But the important thing is that Duncan defended the honor of Francisco Cervelli in a spring training game.”
I couldn’t disagree more…
The Yankees Chick is severely overrated and wears enough eye makeup to be in an emo band.
bronxbomber77,
Can you explain? Pete was being sarcastic. So your comment’s kinda like a double negative. So I don’t know if you’re disagreeing with him or his sarcasm.
SDJohn …..Tampa DOES stink and IS just a hair above a AAA team….They have a good shot at losing 90 plus games this year and the NYY should be killing them, NOT losing to them 2 straight at home. But I agree that there is MUCH baseball to play,,,I am just not happy with this “limping” out of the gate…NOR, I bet are any of the NYY players, coaches, managers, owners, fans….etc….right ?…Let’s smack the snot out of these wankers the next 2 games and get the stars in the universe properly aligned again…OK ???
Good Night, ALL ! 
Re: Trisha (AKA Bert) – Wait until she nominates herself as Queen.
You folks don’t know what you are in for.
Mel,
I totally don’t not disagree with him…
At the time of the brawl, after a few brews too, I might add, I was all ‘ra-ra’ and ‘go Shelley, whoop some butt…’
But now given the current situation they are in…. makes me wonder if it all was worth it.
OT. I live in tampa and YES is blacked out whenever we play the Rays. the Rays telecast is unwatchable. I have long since turned off the sound but the picture portion makes me want to retch as they constantly show Maddens face, pan the Rays dugout, and show replays of Ray homers vs the Yankees. What a bush league operation. I am almost ready to move back to NY so i don’t have to put up with this fiasco 19 times. Thanks for letting me rant.
Damon seems to lunge and flail at pitches and Matsui is aging fast but both are under contract through 2009 @ $13 M per each season. Declining contributions.
MT
April 5th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
The Yankees Chick is severely overrated and wears enough eye makeup to be in an emo band.
Seriously…You wish your chick was as hot as the Yankees Chick.
Factor in that she knows more about baseball than you and she’s a 10… Yeah, a 10.
Did you get hit in the head by a flying rubbadonga? Or are youy always this unintelligent?
Hey Yankee fans. Don’t let these first 5 games turn your spirit. The season is young. Our Yankees have many more opportunities to get on a roll and give us hours of joy.
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