Mo on his game, hitters are not
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 06, 2008 
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The save is a pretty useless statistic. But check this out: Mariano Rivera didn’t pick up a save until April 28 last season. He picked up his third today.
Mo through 3 games: 3 1 0 0 0 4. Good start for him.
The Yankees are fortunate they’ve pitched as well as they have, especially out of the bullpen. They could be 1-5 or 0-6 based on the tepid offense. They are 7 for 45 with runners in scoring position (.155) and have scored 17 runs (2.8 a game).
UPDATE, 4:19 p.m.: I don’t watch a lot of games on YES. I had no idea that the postgame show is sponsored by Bigelow Tea. Hilarious.
yep,but Thanks to Wang’s pitching
We all know the bats will heat up eventually, and hopefully the SP holds together throughout the season, we’ll be fine
yea…the offense better start get going. Can’t have another slow start.
they will hit, they showed some signs today, cano with 2 and jeter and damon each got a hit..
only abreu arod and matsui seem locked in right now
The biggest difference between this season and past season’s is the depth they have in pitching.
Last year if this had happened with the offense/ good pitching they’ve faced they would have been 0-6 or 1-5.
I don’t understand why people keep insisting Matsui is a spare part.
Look around baseball and see how many corner outfielder or DH’s are likely to put up the numbers he has over his career.
He may be slowing down in the field but we still need to give him time to see how he comes back from his knee surgery.
In spring training it still looked like his knee was giving him trouble.
Given the overall age of his team Matsui is not a spare part in any way. You just cannot count on Giambi staying healthy and Damon is an injury risk as well.
Between DH and the outfield they are actually going to need Damon, Giambi and Matsui just to get through this season.
When you’re old you have to have depth. Ask the mets.
Those are some awfully painful stats…but it looked like Godzilla had some nice swings today. Robbie also had a couple of very good swings on the double and single.
Great game today, classic baseball.
http://nyyrollcall.blogsport.com/
If Mo keeps it up the whole season and there’s no real standout competition … maybe this is the year he gets his Cy Young?
It’s April, we can dream.
I’d rather see Wang keep it up and win it.
Many of the analysts always make a big deal out of a team’s record when they score three runs or less, which is really a useless stat because most teams really struggle when doing so, but the Yankees are 3-2 so far when scoring three runs or less. So the pitching is looking very good so far, outside of Kennedy’s clunker on Friday night.
“The save is a pretty useless statistic”
Agreed. But how much longer will it be until you finally see the light about how the win-loss record of a pitcher is also not very meaningful?
You know what they say. Good pitching beats good hitting.
As much as I love scoring runs, and you guys all know I do, if the pitching carries our team through April instead of A-Rod, I’m perfectly okay with that.
Our bats will come around. We’ve already started showing signs of life, even if not at the right time.
I mean, right now, Baltimore is 4-1, so that tells you how much the standings are worth today.
That we’re getting the pitching performances we are (everyone with the exception of Kennedy has had an okay showing–Mussina made one mistake and Burnett is simply a better pitcher at this point and Pettitte tired out, though with only nine ST innings who can blame him) is a very encouraging sign.
Bigelow Tea?
Don’t get it.
It’s off to K.C., Boston, and Tampa Bay. Time to get the whole machine working.
Bigelow still does a lot of the sponsoring. They also sponsored the weather report at the beginning of the game today, and I heard an ad with Joe Torre the other night on the radio broadcast where he said something along the lines of “I might be out West now but I still love my Bigelow decaffeinated Green Tea.” Amazing.
I gotta ask you guys something…….
How stupid does White Castle’s PR department have to be to equate eating their sandwiches with death????? Especially considering the almost anti-fast food climate that exists now.
Comments about how the Yankees are fortunate to be getting such good pitching really annoy me. Nothing about their pitching screams “luck”. If we are going to criticize the Yankees for not hitting (are we really worried about this? As soon as they heat up, they will score a bunch of runs and really make even good pitchers work their tails off), then we must give them credit for terrific pitching and not credit it to good fortune.
Alan – they are not leaving yet. One more game tomorrow night at the Stadium vs. the Rays.
how quick the attitude here changes, last night is all hands on deck, certain posters putting people on edge, anyone notice how we played contrast now w/ Girardi actually in the dugout, it’s not comforting w/o your manager and Joe Girardi just brings that comfort level to his players on top of the energy. The way he used Joba today was key the game needed saving there and he played the winning hand, Wang was on his game today, Robi is waking up even on the error throw by Jetes, yes that was Jetes error especially if Robi has to reach across for another step.
It’s nice to see us get back on track that’s 3 – 1 for Girardi as an in game manager. Alex and Matsui came up big for us. It’s going to be sweet once Joba becomes the #2 SP after the allstar break.
Wang looked exceptional today, stuff-wise and command-wise. Displaying an ability to bust lefthanders inside with his fastball may be the most encouraging sign of the season for Dave Eiland. The development of his slider/changeup is crucial as well, but it was the lack of an inside fastball to lefties which really seemed to propel offenses [particularly Cleveland last October] by allowed them to take outside sinkers into leftfield.
*allowing
Brandon I totally agree on the Cano error, it should have been on Jeter and I posted that in the last thread. Cano is doing just fine, 2 for 4 today. He’s coming on.
Brandon, I love your posts, but as a Phil guy I must protest. Joba will not be the #2 guy in the rotation – if it’s either one of them, it will be Phil, lol. Joba looks great in the bullpen, but it’s a whole different story in the rotation. Like Phil and all young pitchers, he’s going to go through his rough time; he’ll have to use his variety of pitches going through a lineup more than once. I already know what’s going to happen when he struggles as a starter; the national media will attack him (you know, the “what’s wrong with Joba? Why didn’t the Yankees leave him in the pen instead of messing with a good thing? He’s not that good) and fans will start blaming the Yankees for taking him out of the pen. Phil went through this last year with the media and Keith Laws of the world and it wasn’t pretty.
I was at the game. The hitters looked better today. The cf’er made a great catch (can’t remember on who). I came away from todays game feeling much better about the offense.
A side note, I made it to the stadium by 11, was able to get a spot in the lot that I wanted. And I stayed for the entire game, and flew home! I don’t think I’ve ever made such great time!
Jorge has also looked better the last few days. He hit a ball that any other day would have gone out! Let me tell you it was COLD and WINDY!!
Jennifer – Glad you had a good day at the ballpark. Was it as cold as they made it sound on TV?
in addition to stopping lefties from going the other way by throwing inside, it also stops them from moving closer towards wang to get the sinker before it sinks. throwing aggresively inside to righties and lefties is a key for wang.
Jeff I’ve seen this done to Cano and Soriano before that, see they are inexperienced therefore scoreboard guy gives them the error, Jetes throws a horrible forceout exchange where Robi has to reach for it barehanded and that error is assumed by the score keeper on Cano rather then Jeter, I got no problem w/ keeping errors but stay consistant w/ it, like the one hoppers on the ground those errors go to the thrower we know Jetes is the king at the hop throw but I’ve seen his 1B recieve errors for not catching them.
It bugs me but not that much, it bugs me when the fan takes a play out on Cano like that w/o knowing what the deal is in that situation, this is how he gets the bad fielding rep. While I’m watching that error exchange I have John Flatherty doing his best to BS me about that play. Just keep it consistant is the GG that important ?
Fran YES!! it was freezing!! I had a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and a down jacket on w/gloves! I felt like I was dressed for a football game not baseball game! It was nice for about 2 minutes when the sun came out. When it was windy it was awful! The only thing that made it worth it was a win!
Jenn did Alex call for that pop up ? I hearing he did
Great Job with the blog oh and very fun game to watch . Keep up the good work
Not sure, but that was scary! That was really Jeters ball since Alex went so far in the ss territory! They need to get that fixed cause someone could get hurt.
This is what I like to see though I’m still a bit concerned with the Yankee offense. Hopefully this is just one of those things.
http://WWW.ADIEHARDYANKEESFAN.BLOGSPOT.COM
Jennifer- I’ll bet the win made it that more bearable. Did you get your souvenir calendar today?
Brandon. Well I guess I wouldn’t care who they gave the error to if guys like Peter wouldn’t call him out on it.
Peter do you guys in the press box get to see replays besides those on diamondvision? Are there monitors in front of you? Serious question actually.
Jen–Glad to hear the traffic wasn’t bad!
Okay, I’ve seriously got to get work done, and I mean actually get it done as opposed to saying I’m going to get it done and then not doing anything.
Great win. Hope for more of the same tomorrow. Let’s go Moose!
I’m sure the Yankees bats will come around..just need some time. Our bullpen looks great besides Hawkins and Farnsworth-less..I mean bruney and ohlendorf look terrifc. Joba and Mariano are creating flashbacks to the ’96 duo of Mo/Wetteland.
Hopefully Moose pitches well tomorrow. Go Yanks!
Kevin
Peter will be appearing on Sports Talk tonight on 92 WICB in Ithaca, NY at 6:40 p.m. to recap the first weekend of the baseball season. Tune in online at http://www.wicb.org.
Yep got my calender, I was hoping someone would forget theirs so I could get another.
Joba’s strikeout of Willy Aybar shows how much he’s developing as a pitcher and why he needs to be a starter.
He struck Aybar out on three different pitches. First pitch was a 76 mph curve ball. Pitch 96 mph fastball. Pitch 3 was an 85 mph slider.
The number of big league pitcher’s who could throw those three pitches you could count on one hand.
It’s early but Joba is throwing his curveball much more frequently this year out of the pen than he was last year.
It’s a terrific pitch and getting better. I’m happy to see him using it regularly as it keeps him moving forward to get back into the rotation.
The difference in velocity he generates between his fastball and curveball are probably the largest in all of baseball. 22-25 mph. That’s just unbelievable.
To me, the key to Wang’s success this year is the way he’s mixing his pitches while still being able to keep his two seamer down in the zone. If his slider and hopefully his change develop as pitches he’s going to continue getting better and better.
Hello to all –
I just got back from dinner (as I’ve found here on my Italian vacation to date, no carbohydrate shall go uneaten), and happily saw a 2-0 Yankee win, with great pitching from Wanger, Joba and Mo.
As said above (by CB, I think), it’s the pitching. Given how we’ve hit so far, we could easliy by 1-5, or 0-6. Instead, with great pitching from Wang, Phil, Joba, Mo, and, yes, even Bruney, we got three wins out of it. Ollie did give up a run the other day, but he was unscored on in his other appearance. Even Kyle turned in a good inning in one of the Toronto games, I think.
If we could win 94 games and make the playoffs with the pitching staff last year, we’re in good shape this year, even with improved teams in Tampa and very Toronto.
Stay optimistic.
Now, back to the the wife and a bottle of wine….
CB all that’s left for Joba is the change up same as Phil, I’m seriously starting to salivate at the idea of that 2nd half rotation w/ Joba in it.
Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, Chamberlain, (Kennedy,Horne,Marquez,Mussina)
Where can we find the stat of wins in low scoring 1-2 run games?
Jennifer glad you made it to and back with no issues!! The catch you are talking about was BJ Upton on Jeters ball. He is a really good outfielder has some nice speed.
What a relief to see Wang mixing his pitches today. He has really developed some of his weaker pitches and it’s going to make him a better all ’round pitcher. The way he was busting lefthanders inside without his pitches drifting back out over the middle of the plate was really encouraging to see.
Joba looked ridiculous. The sooner he gets to the rotation the better. Just hope the Yanks can successfully replace him a couple of months down the road.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standin.....d=20070930
18-21 in one run games last year.
Also glad to say that my fantasy team rocked this week. Unfortunately Drive 4-5 had a bit of a deficit ashe had Pedro go down early, Kennedy pitching a really bad game, Berkman hurt and Posada out for much of the week. Have to say I really like the CBS SPortsline showing the live scoring thing and I like that we ended up doing head to head scoring I like that system really reqards your players thus your team more so that just doing it by totals
Yankees gonna use Joba just like Twins & Santana. Reliver than dominant starter, cant wait!@#@$
http://tinyurl.com/69vrvo
gayle I stunk this week!!
Jorge, Ian, Halladay killed me this week!
Brandon,
Think back to that game McGowan threw against the yanks this week.
The biggest difference with him that game compared to last season was the confidence he showed in his change. Throwing change ups in that spot to ARod was very impressive.
I bring that up because it shows you a lot about how a fourth pitch fits in when a pitcher already has great stuff.
Marcum doesn’t need to have a killer change in order for the change to be a killer pitch for him.
What I mean by that is that he already throws three plus pitches and his fastball sits at 92-95. Given that the hitter already has to worry about the quality of those three pitches it is very, very difficult for them to deal with even an average change up.
Joba has much better stuff than marcum. So in the same way, just the fact that he has the change up in his aresenal – regardless of how good it is in isolation – is an enormous weapon.
Joba’s change is already at least a league average change. In the context of his other three pitches it is going to be devastating and it will get better. From everything I’ve read and seen Nardi and Eiland fully expect his change up to become a plus pitch as he gains some experience.
This is a big if – but if Toronto can stay healthy and get Ryan back – the dynamics of the AL East race may change. This may become a division that’s decided by pitching, especially starting pitching, much more than it has in the past.
The yanks are going to need Joba in the rotation.
Peter,
Any thoughts on whether Harden is really being shopped? Classic high risk/high reward kind of trade if we are interested. What do you think it would taken given his injury history versus his ace potential?
Ronnie I was going to post that last night when I came back from Saturday night activities, Joel Sherman is the biggest you know what when it comes to his column, now after the last 2 – 3 months when we all have been saying how Joba can make the transition and gave examples like Billingsley, like Liriano like Santana last night in his column he writes that info as if he were Christopher Columbus to the system
NO SH** ! Joel Sherman here we were saying this and all you wrote was it’s impossible I don’t think it’s ever happened before and now he discovers that it can and writes it like it’s new. Give me a F’n break
I just realized the Sux were SWEEPT!!!
CB your right on point as usual but so true I never thought of McGowan’s fourth pitch like that, interesting when it comes to the AL East becoming a power in the pitching department.
So on pace for 460 runs this season. I don’t mean to brag, but that’s what I predicted at start of the season.
Theo Epstein: “Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina spent the whole time bitching about it … and by the time the Yankees team got back from the trip they were all using it as a crutch.”
Kevin Youkilis: “It’s probably the best thing for us right now. A lot of us are tired. We’re ready to go home. All these different countries, different currencies, I’m kind of sick of it.”
J.D. Drew: “That’s kind of to be expected with the toll the trip takes. We’re finally at the end of it, so it’s back on track when we get to Boston.”
Theo Epstein: “A few bad apples can spoil the bunch.”
your crystal ball sucks then
RW: After Pavano, I don’t think the Yankees will bite on ANY pitcher with even a minor injury history!
Okay, they probably will sooner or later, but I think it’s a long time before they take that risk again. Never mind that Harden is in Oakland, which is Billy Beane territory and what the Yankees would have to give up would far outweigh what they would get in return.
Countdown: It’s all well and good that the Sox were swept, but they weren’t just swept by the Rangers or the Royals; they were swept by a team in our own division that has been making a lot of noise about their ability to contend.
Great that the Sox lost, but in the long run the best results for us may have been a 2-1. If Toronto stays healthy, either the Sox or us might very well be fighting them (not the Tigers) for the Wild Card.
yeah this yrs. team is not better then last……..
having joba in the 7th or 8th is no better then Myers, kyle, and the Viz.
Joba should be a starter next yr. for sure, guys like Cox, Melancon, and others can fill his role in the 8th not as good of course but they are much better arms then the rap the Yanks have thrown out there the previous 5 or so yrs.
Giambi is done after this yr. so Matsui can full time DH next yr. the last of his contract. Damon will be in his last yr. also…
Just because Matsui has driven in over 100 runs in his 5 full season does not mean anything , I am sure all the scholars on the site can name numerous guys who are better(laugh)… Usually the scholars pick a Yankee killer who is very avg…
If this team avoids injuries bad injuries I expect good things also look at the talent waiting at SWB and Trenton, beats the tim redding, darrel may, etc. days………
Okay I’ll bite. Why are saves useless stats?
Hi Everyone –
I’ve been away pretty much all weekend and wasn’t able to see either game. I did hear about the scores, though. So far I haven’t bothered to read any posts beyond this thread.
When I got home today, my husband told me about Wang and Joba. The first reaction I had was, I wonder what all the “Wang is no Ace” people are gonna say!
Since he’s been with the big club, he has ALWAYS given the team a chance to win. And after the last 2 games, it was a big win, even given the newness of the season. My husband was so, so impressed with what Joba did today. I wish I had seen it.
I have no doubts that the Yankees will start hitting. Some of you seem to think that today’s game showed that the bats might be coming around. I surely hope so. The Yankees are not a cold weather team. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. I hope the game is on replay tonight; I’m looking forward to watching it.
CB – I always look forward to what you have to say. It’s usually pretty encouraging, always enlightening. Joba is going to be a force to be reckoned with as a starter, but isn’t it fun to watch him from the pen right now? I guess the difference is that out of the pen, there’s no holds barred, so it’s pure Joba. As a starter, it’s going to have to be meted out a bit differently, ’cause it’s gotta last longer. But, as he matures, he’s going to be awesome. (HA! Going to be?! He already is – especially when I think that he’s just a couple of years older than my daughter!)
I will say, though, I am very, very glad I wasn’t on this blog during yesterday’s game. I don’t think I’m even going to go back and read the posts!
I’ll just stay in this very good mood knowing that at least today’s result was positive.
DJ – didn’t you hear? Jet lag is not a big deal!
At least that’s what I heard from just about every Sux fan loser I used to post with on the Times. You know, ha ha ha listen to trisha. Making up excuses for the Yankees. (Even when I quoted players from the Mets and Cubs who said that their seasons were ruined by having to start in Japan.)
No big deal starting the season in Japan.
Next!
Doreen, you’re going to LOVE today’s game. Vintage Yankees.
Trips across the International Date Line do take their toll. Regardless of Theo’s aggressive tone, the teams that do make the Japan tip will need weeks of readjustment. M sleep cycle is still totally out of wack after arriving back from Sydney last week and my exercise regimen is still not at 100% because of fatigue.
It’s not a crutch, it’s just the way it is.
“It’s not a crutch, it’s just the way it is.”
Of course your’re right, but you’re not dealing with a group of brain surgeons when you look at the fenway fools who couldn’t shoot straight that posted on the NY Times YANKEES forum. (That should tell you something right there.) In fact one slithered over here today. Get your snake net out if you hear the hiss of something named PK. But gee, since they were so convinced that jet lag was nothing but a joke, I’m afraid we’ll have to stay with that version…
Rebecca,
I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t think Pavano is a fair comparison only because the upside to Harden is so much higher. In Harden you have a potential ace at a reasonable price because of the injury history. Pavano’s upside was never that high.
Your comment about Beane, however, is a concern because he will surely try to create a competition between us and Boston, just like Minnesota did. But, we know how well that worked.
Anyway, we finally have the pitching depth to take some occasional risks on a player like that. A rotation of Harden/Wang/Hughes/Joba is worth pursuing, if the price is right.
great posts throughout tonight, guys and gals. thoroughly enjoyed reading.
A friend of mine from my drawing-room, let’s call him Master Kill-Schill II wanted to know why Kim Jones is single. Let me go on the record as saying, “Kim, he’s fantastic and I highly recommend him.”
BTW, Kim, your questions have improved over the years, but might I recommend on your next day off listening to Suzyn Waldman’s post-games on WCBS. They are a model of clarity and incisiveness worth emulating.
Suzyn surmises every question a fan would want to ask Girardi or the game’s two or three critical players and then distills the answer into a succinct and pithy summary she manages to encapsulate in about 90-120 seconds.
Kim Jones looks a little hard up Pete. I’d be careful.
Next time Kim Jones calls can you ask her if she still thinks that Eli Manning is a bust? She was quite adamant about it on WFAN…
LOL, Kim Jones called you? That’s hilarious!
Keep it up Kim!
They don’t air the post-game shows from YES on MLB.TV either, so me no see ‘um.
And the Ft. Lauderdale radio station that aired yesterday’s game went to network before the 9th inning and never came back!
I had to listen to the rest of the game through my computer so I could continue to avoid the play by play from the Schmenges on FSN on the Rays’ broadcast.
Dwayne Staats is the biggest puker the world has ever known.