Rain in Kansas City
-
- April
- 8
It’s raining in Kansas City but it’s supposed to let up before the game starts. It’s 44 degrees at the moment.
The clubhouse doesn’t open for another 30 minutes. So it will be a little while before we get an update on Derek Jeter’s status and the lineups.
On a tech note, I’m told the comments editing function does not work on Internet Explorer yet but they’re working on it.
If you’re having any blog issues, please let us know.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Pete, Glad you made it to KC ok.
Cool editing function!
Go Yankees!
Wow, editing does work!
“On a tech note, I’m told the comments editing function does not work on Internet Explorer yet but they’re working on it.”
That is why people should use FireFox.
From the last thread: SJ, thanks for the insight.
Pete, you would know, did A-Rod spend any time at short this spring?
great they go from bad weather to worse weather.
http://tinyurl.com/5nh8hq
Yahoo thinks ARod could replace Jeter at shortstop if the Capn needs DL time
Pete,
Since its a day game, and if you already had your fix for Gates BBQ, head to Lidia’s for Italian food tonight.
Great restaurant, not expensive, and its in the Warehouse District. Not too far from the Westin.
You can only have so much BBQ. lol
id do it, it means betemit can play his best position at third
The radar looks like it will clear off. It’s a 4 start, not a one start so they should be fine.
What would happen to the performance of my computer if I downloaded Firefox? Those of you who use Firefox, what is the advantage over IE7 or Safari? I know this is a baseball blog, but if you can give me a quick answer, I’d appreciate it. If it’s complicated, I understand that you wouldn’t want to bother, and I wouldn’t want to “clog the blog” with unimportant stuff.
I’d much rather see Ensberg than Betemit at 3B, bat that’s me.
“Yahoo thinks ARod could replace Jeter at shortstop if the Capn needs DL time”
Everyone thinks it. The question is how he’d take to it after several years of not playing there really at all. Word was he’d gotten too muscular, but last year he dropped some mass to be quicker on D and at the plate, so maybe that’s not so much true any more. The other aspect is if working to get back into the groove at SS would impact his performance at the plate.
This is KC’s home opener so I am sure they want this game to be played. And I believe this is the Yankees only trip to KC, so a rainout would mean a doubleheader and I am sure the Yankees don’t need that. That would really mess up the rotation.
“Those of you who use Firefox, what is the advantage over IE7 or Safari?”
The biggest advantage over IE is that it’s generally more secure. It’s also compatible with a wider array of websites than Safari. Some sites that are “designed for IE” will still work in Firefox, while that can sometimes not be the case with Safari.
Also, there are a wide variety of plugins available for FF that do cool things.
Doreen-
Generally firefox is thought to be safer and easier to use.. Speed wise I think its about the same as IE..
Not really sure about Safari.
Doreen: The advantages to Firefox are a) tabbed browsing, and b) add-ons, such as adblocker, which block all the nasty pop-up ads or let you remove the ones that are really annoying. There’s also foxytunes, which lets you play your itunes in your brrowser, among others.
It is much much healthier for your computer than IE–very, very little malware.
I hope we get an on-time start today, I’m pretty excited to see Phil pitch.
Edit: to try the new edit function. pretty sweet if I do say so myself.
This might have been addressed earlier, but does anyone know why I get a black line above my posts?
Rebecca, IE now has all those options with IE7 Pro. IE7 has really closed on the gap on Firefox. They’ve actually passed the CSS/HTML test that no browser has been able to pass including Firefox.
Big improvement on previous versions.
KC’s pitching has been decent so far. Lets see if we can get some runs early on these guys.
Rudy: Yeah, but I still use a very not IE compatable mac =P
myrtlebeachfan,
Didn’t see the new thread…
Thanks so much for that terrific run down of the Charleston game last night. That was great. That team is just loaded with talent and its nice to be able to hear a bit about how they look.
If you happen to some other games I’m sure many of use would appreciate hearing about them, particularly if you happen to see one of Betances’ or Heredia’s games.
Much appreciated.
Why didn’t I know about this blog a year ago, you people make me so proud to be a yankee fan. Man….. keep it up people. I be here before, after, and am not going to lie sometimes during class. Pete, you’re the best.
Yeah: Be careful. It’s seriously addicting.
” Yeah, but I still use a very not IE compatable mac =P”
Using a Mac-based Mac instead of a Intel-based Mac?
Can anyone tell me when Johnny Damon’s and Matsui’s contracts are up?
It seems like Matsui is signed through 2009, is that correct?
And Damon is the same?
Abreu is done after this year, i believe.
SJ44,
You’re the man on the blog, but I’ve got to call you on this one:
You can NEVER have too much BBQ.
as much as i wanna see a game this afternoon a rainout wouldnt be so bad to let the club (jeter) rest
Yep, Damon and Matsui are signed through ‘09
“IE7 has really closed on the gap on Firefox.”
Yeah, but it still runs ActiveX controls. I really, really don’t want anyone else to be able to run code on my machine that has privileges to alter my filesystem.
Also, FF3 is in late beta, and that passes Acid2.
Why not just put a ‘preview’ button next to the ’submit comment’. Then the next window should read ‘preview only’ with the same ‘preview’ and ’submit comment’ buttons at the bottom. This way you can keep previewing until you are happy with the final piece. This way your post is not put up until you feel it’s right.. rather than going back to edit something that’s already posted.
Blargh: Yep, mine’s a Power PC-based MAc.
Doreen,
I don’t know if you’re like me, but simpler is better!
Where’s jennifer? Is Firefox still giving her problems?
Thanks Blargh.
I just keep looking at our young OFs in AAA and wonder when we can make room for them.
I didn’t mean IE7, I meant IE8. IE7 is only decent with IE7Pro, which is an add-on. IE8 is supposedly as-good, if not better than FireFox3 accordingly to the reports. My apology.
Hopefully Jeter’s injury is minor, although he rarely takes himself out of a game, which makes me think it may be a little more serious. Betemit has really struggled and looked overmatched last night with the 3 Ks. More importantly who bats second? melky?
To me moving ARod to short stop is a non-issue.
ARod has been fairly vocal about shortstop being a chapter in his past. That’s more than understandable. He was a gold glover there in the past and switched positions. That’s not something you want to revisit - even on a short term basis because the skill sets required for both positions are different, especially in terms of range.
I’m sure that if Alex thought he was going to play SS again he would have tried even harder to not gain more weight. But he’s probably tailored his training program with third base in mind. He probably would have changed his regimen dramatically if he was still at short to try to maintain his range.
ARod didn’t play any short in games in spring training so it’s not like they were making this a contingency plan. It’s not fair to him to ask him to do that now.
And most importantly moving to short can only distract him at the plate. The offense is off to a slow start - the last thing they need is ARod having to deal with those kinds of defensive pressures.
And if Betemit can’t fill in at SS for a week then there’s almost no point of him being on the team.
Betemit won’t be great there but he’ll be OK on a short term basis. Hopefully with some at bats he comes out of his funk at the plate. He looks like he’s trying to jack the ball into the stands with every swing.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3335043
Doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know.
Richard B,
In a perfect world we’d all proof our stuff before we post. lol.
Someone said last night to click on your name or the time stamp of your post to edit. My name was not an option and the time stamp did nothing. I’ll just wait until the tech guys take care of it.
How picky are Yankee fans? We want perfect pitching, fielding, hitting, and blogging!
I said this before when we were talking hypothetically about who would bat second sans Jeter a week or so ago: I think that, at least for a short time, Bobby Abreu could bat well second. He’s a lefty, he gets on base, he sees a lot of pitches, he doesnt ground out often, and he can run. Put Cano in the third spot, A-Rod fourth, go from there. I know that A-Rod likes to bat behind Abreu, so Abreu batting second wouldn’t last forever - but for a few starts, it could be OK.
How about perfect post-game dining?
CB: I think the major concern isn’t Betemit at short for a week; it’s what if Jeter’s injury is serious enough to warrant the DL and thus Betemit’s (albeit current) inability with the bat continues to make him an almost-automatic out?
I know its early, but i love the sight of the Saux in last place…
2008 American League - Standings
EAST W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK L10
Baltimore 5 1 .833 - 5-1 0-0 32 26 Won 5 5-1
Toronto 4 2 .667 1 3-0 1-2 32 17 Won 3 4-2
NY Yankees 4 3 .571 1.5 4-3 0-0 23 29 Won 2 4-3
Tampa Bay 3 3 .500 2 0-0 3-3 32 26 Lost 2 3-3
Boston
Here’s my thoughts on who should play SS if DJ goes down a while:
GO TIGERS!!!!
That means I don’t really care and always believe that the Yanks will make the best decision. I truly am so aware of my limitations in knowing what is best for the team and so really end up with no opinion whatsoever. My strength is cheering on the team on the field.
However, I can understand those of you who like to play around with that stuff. I’m just not one.
But I am serious when I say GO TIGERS!
and, I agree - A-Rod has no business playing shortstop at this point. He hasn’t played for more than a few innings since 2003, his body is different, his training regimen is different, his fundamentals (planting feet before throwing, etc) are different. That’s why we have Betemit. A-Rod tends to be enough of a headcase anyway, without being asked to randomly switch to a position he hasn’t played in five years and fill the captain’s spot.
i really think there is a better chance of Bernie Williams playing short than A-Rod doing so.
“I think the major concern isn’t Betemit at short for a week; it’s what if Jeter’s injury is serious enough to warrant the DL and thus Betemit’s (albeit current) inability with the bat continues to make him an almost-automatic out?”
Why don’t we worry about that if it becomes an issue? We’ve debated all the possibilities now and anything else is pure speculation. ARod at SS, Betemit/Morgan at 3B. ARod at 3B, Betemit at SS. ARod at 3B, Gonzo at SS.
We all know all the tradeoffs.
Rebecca: I know. Lol.
Thanks for the context Rebecca. I thought the issue being discussed was what to do now.
If Jeter does have to go on the DL I’d bring up Gonzalez. Quadraceps injuries are better than hamstrings but they can be very tricky as well (ask Carlos Beltran).
If Jeter needs to be put on the DL I’d bring up Gonzalez and give him a shot not only because there’s no doubt he can handle the position defensively but because it would help on the off chance Jeter’s injury doesn’t respond and he misses more time than they think.
If it does take three weeks or so neither Betemit nor ARod will be the solution. But estimates for quads can be off the mark so they might as well get Gonzalez up earlier.
I also think Gonzalez could be added to the 25 man roster for the playoffs so I don’t think it hurts to get him into some major league games now.
bronxbomber77,
It’s very nice. Of course, the espn dudes blame the trip for the slow start. Well, we had cold weather. So it evens out. There are many reasons for the slow starts.
I’m mucho encouraged by our pitching, which has always been our Achilles.
Even nicer than those standings was seeing Manny Delcarmen cough up a granny and seeing 3 of those runs charged to Beckett.
They’ll bounce back of course, so I’ll enjoy their slow start while it lasts.
They’re having their ring ceremony before today’s game. Did ya ever notice that teams don’t play so well after those things? Go TIGERS!
Hopefully Jeter won’t be out for too long.
I was using Firefox for quite some time but switched back to IE. It now has the tabbed browsing and a lot of the Firefox add-ons I don’t find useful. Also some sites don’t translate properly in Firefox.
jay: bring back bernie! and retire his number!
(kidding, on both counts).
whozat: But I thought speculation was our pride and joy?
LOL they are playing the Superman theme as an intro to Shea’s home opener
Due to the shortening of the summer season (because of global cooling), MLB should really seriously consider shortening the total number of games from 162 to 150 and start the season during mid-April.
BTW, there’s a nice article at mlb.com about the Three Amigos.
If Mrs. A-Rod goes into labor before Jeter gets healthy, the infield could be Giambi/Duncan, Cano, Betemit and Ensberg for a game or so.
over/under Oli Perez blows this game today
Off to work… catch y’all tonight after the game!
Go Phil Hughes, you can do it !
Go offense, you can do it !
Go defense, you can do it !
Go Jeter’s Quad, you can do it !
Go Yankees !
They talked about shorting the season for years but not to delay the start of the season. It’s always been proposed with the intention of allowing the playoffs to start earlier. Anyway you slice it, the owners will never let it pass. The 12 games you wish to cut off would result in maybe 500,000 less tickets sold. Thats a lot of money to lose for the teams that don’t make the playoffs.
Pat: You know, I completley forgot that.
Brandon: 5:1
I have to go with Mel on this one, you can NEVER get enough BBQ. If youre in the area go check out Big Ed’s BBQ in Old Bridge. All you can eat ribs, chicken, pulled pork and a pretty cool atmosphere.
I had 5:1 too Rebecca
i clicked on rebecca’s espn link and noticed ESPN is using the fenway scoreboard as part of their ad for ‘Baseball Tonight’. yet another example of how ESPN
(post was cut-off)…
yet another example of how ESPN loves the red-sox.
when does the MLB network start up?
saucY,
You’re so paranoid! I think because it’s “quaint” (hand operated?), they’re the champs, and they opened in Japan.
But yeah, it’s irritating. Especially, since this is the last year in Yankee Stadium AND the ASG is being held there.
Still can’t figure out why we end the season on the road. The Mets should’ve deferred…
“over/under Oli Perez blows this game today”
Please no (fantasy team ;-))
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/04/08/2008-04-08_wright_boards_train_to_last_shea_opener.html
LOL How lame!
I agree that if Jeter’s injury keeps him out longer than expected, and I really hope it doesn’t, that Gonzalez has to get the call. Defense at shortstop is key to the flow of the game, especially with Wang, Mussina, IPK being ground ball pitchers. This lineup can succeed without a bat for a little bit but poor defense at short can lead to some ugly games.
With all that said lets hope he is just out for the KC series and ready to battle the Sox on Friday!
I wonder if Detroit can finally win a game today..
Go Tigers?
I think ESPN was just doing the Fenway for the ‘old time’ sake, but I have to say, it is a little annoying.
You can estimate what a team’s W-L record will be pretty well based on the number of runs they score and the number of runs they allow.
A lot of people have been uneasy about the yankee’s start, especially the offense.
But here’s how early it is - based on the number of runs scored and allowed so far this season, this is what you’d estimate the records in the AL East to finish at:
TOR 121-41
BAL 98-64
TB 94-68
NYA 65-97
BOS 57-105
Somehow I don’t see Toronto winning 121 games and I don’t see boston winning 57.
The AL East has gotten off to a very odd start. You really can’t derive many lessons from how things have gone so far. It’ll level out as teams settle in and play to how they’re expected to.
Last night’s game was hopefully a good first step for the yankee’s offense.
And in case you’re interested Detroit’s record projects to be 26-136. Again, that tells you how early it is.
http://www.replacementlevel.com/index.php/RLYW/comments/kansas_city_here_we_come
a quick question for Pete and everyone reading the comments. It’s a bit silly but I set a goal to watch (or see in person) all 162 games this year. So far I’m 7/7 but today I don’t have a tv. Would catching the game on the radio keep my streak in tact or not? Just wanted to see you guys think.
(http://www.angrybrownguy.com/?p=259)
OPS, I think it would make sense if they utilized all the warm weather and domed stadiums as much as possible during the first week or so. It wouldn’t stink if teams like Tampa, Texas, Toronto, Anaheim and Minnesota all played like 7 or 9 home games to start the season. Most players would like the opportunity to fine-tune their skills when they can still feel their fingers and it might help with all the strains and pulls that come with cold weather play.
Just something to think about.
I don’t recall a big hullabaloo about this:
Anthony, Boca Raton, FL.: In Hughes first start his fastball was topping out at about 91 mph (when scouting reports say it should top out at 94 mph). Is this a reason for concern or do expect his velocity to pick up as the season progresses?
Rob Neyer: (12:46 PM ET ) It should absolutely be a concern, and I don’t think it will just pick up on its own. Something has to change, physically or mechanically or metaphorically.
Anyone else having trouble getting posts posted?
No streak would be broken. YOu can’t watch a game on the radio. Espically with John behind the mic. Yesterday he made me think that Bobby’s ball bounced off the top of the wall and came back. Well I saw the replay and it hit the top 1/3 of the wall and bounced away from the of’er.
Success !
So can one of you “regulars” be kind enough to outline the rules of the road here. If Pete Abraham posts a new blog, is the expectation that everyone flock to it, or may and should discussion continue on preceding topics?
Thank you
ABG: Get MLB.tv or Sopcast. Will solve your problem.
mel: I wouldn’t worry about Phil’s velocity. Rob Neyer didn’t mention he was pitching in frigid conditions.
Alright I’m off to the pub to watch the Arsenal beat Liverpool (hopefully) and then the Yankee game straight after.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!!!!! and Yankees
the umps this year seem really quick to call a HBP. if anyone is watching the mets phillies game, do you agree that the pitch that “hit chase utley” didn’t look at all like it hit him? also carlos pena had two HPB’s on saturday and only one looked like it actually hit him. there was a questionable HBP in one of the blue jays-red sox games too. weird.
testing
Rebecca,
That’s what I mean. If there were any cause for concerns, it would have played out here ad nauseum and panic would have ensued.
any sportswriter with an eye for readership would say that hughes’ velocity is a problem. if nothing else, it gives them a story to put in the hopper for a slow day. saying it’s not a problem makes it a non-story.
Can one of you “regulars” please explain the rules of the road here. If Pete Abraham starts a new blog is the expectation that all flock to it, or may discussion appropriately continue on prior topics.
Thank you
also, something has to change “metaphorically”? what does that even mean?
Rebecca, I got MLB.tv but local blackout in effect for all Yankee games cause I live in Jersey.
OT, but..I just realized that this blog sponsors Farnsy’s Baseball Reference page. That’s awesome on so many levels.
just heard
Hughes vs Lester on Sunday night baseball
ABG: Ah, yuck indeed. Why not try sopcast? I’m not sure how, exactly it works, but I know it does.
I tried to tell Neyer that Hughes was sitting 93-94 in his final spring start but apparently my question didn’t go through.
I think Neyer was being sarcastic - he has been increastingly snarky in his chats for some reason.
i need to get on the phone with mlb.tv customer service today and make them get it working!!! for some reason it works for me when im using my laptop at my college but not at home. it says every single game is blacked out or they are doing maintanence. for the first week of the season i had the free preview of Extra innings on digital cable and yesterday’s game was on ESPN2 so today is my last chance to get on the phone with them. not looking forward to it, 2 years ago i had to call customer support for MLB.Tv and was on hold for 2 hours. i can’t test it out now for the mets-phils game because it’s blacked out anyway because i’m in the Phils market. gotta wait for the Red Sox game at 2.
Sopcast hasn’t been working for MLB games. Messages are shown about people who stream any MLB games getting their accounts closed. It was only a matter of time before MLB started down that road, once the word started being posted on popular boards like this one.
NH Mike -
I’ve always thought that the “why doesn’t MLB use all warm weather and dome sites the opening week” just isn’t a persuasive argument. The weather this week in the northeast isn’t that much different than last week - and no team is going to wait until the third or fourth week of April to have their home opener. Look at how much the Red Sox are complaining about being on the road for 19 days (similar to Yankee complaints the year they went to Japan). Would you want your team to play the first 12-14 games on the road?
Now, since the major problem this time of year is temperature, maybe a few less night games would help matters along.
Soo… Bill Buckner is throwing out the first pitch at the Sox game today.
Thats rpetty interesting.
Neyer’s response sounds tongue-in-cheek, to me. Hence the “metaphorically” comment.
Bill Buckner??? Lol.
maybe they figured since the Sox have won twice now they’ll forgive him.
Mel…
“Something has to change, physically or mechanically or metaphorically.”
Or a properly calibrated radar gun. It amazes me that we have to keep a Rosetta stone to equate the YES gun to the ESPN gun to the NESN gun…..ad infinitum
I AM A REDSOX TROLL
ONLY HERE TO ANNOY YANKEE FANS
JUST IGNORE ME
Well, until there’s a real problem, I won’t worry about Phil’s radar readings. Hitters & catchers have always said his pitches seem faster.
“I don’t recall a big hullabaloo about this:”
no hullabaloo b/c he was throwing 94 in his last ST start. go back and look at Gameday. 94 and hits 95 in the 5th.
it was cold.
Mussina picked up a MPH or two last night from his first start. Joba was throwing mostly 94 in his first appearance or two.
Mussina threw a lot less fastballs (38% as opposed to 60% in his first start).
Smilineyes - flock!
GO SHEFF!!!
And wouldn’t you know that since I’m in their market I can’t access MLB TV to pour out all of my good energy in the SUX direction!
DRAT.
Keith - thanks for the response.
I’ll flock.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Hope they play.
http://nyyrollcall.blogspot.com