Stewart on the way to backup Molina
-
- April
- 27
Brian Cashman indicated that the Yankees will send AAA catcher Chris Stewart here tomorrow. There is no question that Posada is going on the disabled list.
The Yankees will have one of their doctors examine Posada, likely on Tuesday. Then he will go see Dr. James Andrews on his own. It was Andrews who repaired his torn labrum in 2001.
Joe Girardi offered very little information. He scoffed at a (correct) New York Times report that Posada has a muscle tear. Posada himself later confirmed it. He also said he thought that rest would solve the problem and that Posada could be back in 15 days.
There is little chance of that. If you listen to the emotion in Posada’s voice or saw him talk on YES, you know this is a serious matter. Surgery is a possibility. This could be a serious blow to the Yankees. Hopefully, for Posada’s sake, it’s not.
“It’s really disappointing to work really hard and not feel good,†he said. “I worked really hard to be back at it. I want to apologize to the Yankees because they signed me to a good contract.â€
Pretty classy, that.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 7:11 pm by Peter Abraham.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Peter Abraham
So Stewart it is…and maybe, if Moeller clears waivers, he gets resigned to be at AAA.
Jeez, Pete, you really have it in for Girardi. At the time Girardi probably didn’t think he had a torn muscle based on the previous MRI I would think.
Molina will be fine, even as the primary backstop if Jorge’s injury is season ending as a catcher.
Question: If we get Moeller back he becomes the primary backup? I don’t know much about Stewart…
There is nothing in Pete’s post above to suggest he has it in for Girardi. You are projecting feelings that are not there.
I don’t think Posada knows exactly what it is. Don’t be so rough on Girardi. He’s doing the best he can under difficult circumstances.
Stewart is a good catcher the Yanks signed at the end of Spring Training. If Moeller clears waivers and resigns with the Yanks, he’ll probably go to AAA rather than risking exposing Stewart to waivers after a game or two.
Classy in deed by Jorge, taking a leaf out of Matsui’s book.
I saw Stewart play today. He was okay, but I was paying more attention to odd people in the stands: http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v234/137/36/5501136/n5501136_36232850_3608.jpg
and to Darrel Rasner than I was to Stewart.
Get well soon, Jorge.
Great line from Posada in Pete’s audio…he was asked if he would play 1B and he said “no, I’m a catcher.” “We have enough first basemen, we have 7 of them. We don’t need another one.”
Yup, a certain always injured pitcher could learn a lesson from Matsui & Posada.
Peter (like all beat writers) needs info from Girardi (or their team’s manager) in order to get a good story. If Joe isn’t being truthful then it makes Peter’s job a lot harder. No reason here for Joe to not be forthcoming.
Where does Posada say there’s a tear? He doesn’t know. That’s why he’s getting further tests done.
I think the Yankees beat writers miss Torre’s openness. Pete has made that clear and Tyler Kepner added the same sentiment on the NY Times Bats blog yesterday. Girardi and the writers will both need to compromise.
I have no problem with Girardi not saying whether Joba is or is not available before the game. Also, with Posada, how does anyone know anything (including Girardi) at this point. All we know is the original MRI plus Posada’s pain yesterday.
What could Girardi say that’s not speculation at this point?
Since no one will say it, I will;
It was a mistake to sign a 36 year old catcher to a huge contract the year after a statistical anomaly year.
Adding: I understand Pete’s frustration with Girardi. He and the other writers have a job to do, are on deadline, and have had a lot of late road games recently. Holding back on info, makes his job harder.
Nevertheless, Girardi has no obligation to give the opposing teams (via the media) info on Joba’s hamstring (if it’s a 2-3 day injury).
With Posada, he should be somewhat more forthcoming (if he knows anything) because it’s a DL injury and involves a player the Yankees just committed big money and 4 years to.
Ryan–who do you suggest the Yankees should have gotten to replace their emotional leader and rock? Not to mention someone who can give them .270, 20 HRs, 80-90 RBI every year?
I can’t blame Joe, he didn’t know if he could put it out there at that point. He doesn’t know what the teams plans were. If they wanted to make a trade etc. You can’t go out there and say yeah Jorge has a tear, that will only increase trade demands.
jennifer–I don’t see the Yanks trading for a catcher. Molina is serviceable for now. Why give up talent?
You guys want to something to chew on….Imagine if you’re a SF Giants fan…and you got to see Barry Zito get bombed yet again today. What’s his contract, $126M over 7 years, and he’s in Year 2? I thought he was overhyped two years ago, but this is ridiculous.
I do think Girardi is guarded, and will always be guarded in his assessments vis-a-vis the injury reports. It’s unfortunate not because it precludes a “good” story, but that it precludes a particularly accurate one. But eventually the actual story does come out, most of the time.
I don’t know that I would read into the severity of the injury itself based on Posada’s emotion; it could be total frustration – thinking you are healing, working hard, feeling a little better, and then not, all the while the doctors telling you it is relatively mild, or at the very least not very severe. So, I won’t take the leap until a definitive report emerges. It makes no sense to overreact or leap to conclusions.k
I was out of the loop all weekend (had a great time with my daughter and her friends), and was disappointed in yesterday’s results, and truly impressed by today’s effort by Wang. This offense needs something, for sure. Is there a day off before the Tigers
series? Frankly, in my mind, they have not really been home since the opening week of the season; I do not consider TWO games versus Boston at the Stadium to be a homestand; they barely got their bags unpacked before having to be up and out again; basically it was a road game played at the Stadium. I know it goes with the territory of Major League Baseball, but this team has not so far been afforded the same “break” as every other team has had by being able to play an extended run of games without having to board a plane. This is not insignificant.
And I don’t blame the Pope. The Pope also had a Mass at the Washington Nationals new Stadium the same week. Take a look at their schedule. Hardly a blip.
Since its still early, do you think Jorge would be available once the playoffs come?
Pete do you whine about your boy Bellicheck and his injury reports? He’s the master of disinformation. Girardi has no obligation to give you some type of detailed report.
Edit: If this is season ending of course.
Where is the proof of the tear?
keith – in what line of his post did Pete whine?
He didn’t. He pointed out facts…don’t project things that aren’t there.
“Joe Girardi offered very little information. He scoffed at a (correct) New York Times report that Posada has a muscle tear. ”
What a crap again. What did Girardi do to you? May be if you come clean on that we udnerstand where you are coming from.
Just two days back you made such a big stink about what Girardi said about Joba. You incriminated him that he was withholding information or not sharing every thing. Girardi said Joba is day to day. Joba pitched a very effective inning today and Girardi was right Joba was day to day. You owe Girardi an appology for all the accusations you made.
“Not to mention someone who can give them .270, 20 HRs, 80-90 RBI every year?”
Not to mention someone who threw out only 23% of runners who attempted to steal on him. You sign someone to a 1 year deal and at worse case platoon, which is the same situation you’re in right now.
Doreen: Yeah, but the Nationals are 9-17.
You never pass up a chance to take a shot at Girardi. We’re not even a month into the season and already it’s gotten old. Get over yourself.
(correct)New York Times report?
Pete,
And how would you know this if there has not been an recent MRI to reveal that it is a tear? And how would the NY Times know? Maybe it is a tear, maybe it isn’t, no one knows for sure without a recent MRI.
You really do have a problem with Girardi don’t you. The NY Times has no idea if it is a tear nor do you.
Ryan –
If they Yankees offered the contract you suggest, he would be playing at Shea for the next 5 years. And the Yankees would have ____?
Elizabeth> Exactly what I was thinking.
Ryan–who do you suggest the Yankees should have gotten to replace their emotional leader and rock? Not to mention someone who can give them .270, 20 HRs, 80-90 RBI every year?
Not to mention with the possibility of who could’ve left last year. And having this young staff.
People tend to forget imo that the catcher is the most important player on the field.
“There is nothing in Pete’s post above to suggest he has it in for Girardi. You are projecting feelings that are not there.”
Really….
It is no just one thing, in which case you give the benefit of doubt. When it is done again and again, as I stated above regarding Joba, that benefit of doubt disappears.
Rebecca –
But they’re the Nationals!
No one expected them to do much better than that. They at least at the OPPORTUNITY to play at home more than the Yankees, and most teams do play their best in their home stadium.
Why not have Posada DH for the season and then have surgery when the season’s over? It obviously doesn’t hurt him to swing the bat.
I hope no one claims Moeller. If we can keep him I see him becoming the backup and Stewart’s stay will be short lived. But I do expect Cashman to make a trade, either for a good backup or for a guy that they feel can hold up as a starter.
Cool. Thanks for the news.
IM trying to figure out if Westerner is related to Pete or to Posada. Also its hard to take him too seriously when he says “Stewart is a good catcher the Yanks signed at the end of Spring Training”. Unless a career 680 OPS makes you good now?
I watched Girardi’s post game, when asked about the NY Times story he basically pointed out that there no way to know if it was tear because a recent MRI had not been done, dismissing the assumption and that claim by the NY Times.
The NY Times by Kepner is bogus. What exactly would you expect Girardi to say, “oh I think it’s a tear too?”
How stupid.
Lotsa negative comments. Too bad.
No need to feed the negativity by responding and defending.
As always, thanks for the info Pete. Sure hope Jorge’s injury is not as serious as people are fearing. Sure am glad we have Molina to back us up.
Because do we know if Jose can be the starting catcher for any length of time?
“Joe Girardi offered very little information. He scoffed at a (correct) New York Times report that Posada has a muscle tear. Posada himself later confirmed it.”
What more information is Joe Girardi supposed to offer? And how is the NY Times report “correct”? Did they give Posada a subsequent MRI and confirm a “tear” with the Team’s Physician?
No wonder Girardi scoffed at the Report – anyone in their right mind should!
Posada did not confirm a “tear” in his shoulder -at least during the interview I heard with Kim Jones. In fact he said at least twice “I have no idea” (if there is a tear).
Lighten up on The Manager, Peter!
Because then you put Matsui on the bench. That makes no sense.
Why not wait until he has it examined? Posada doesn’t know what is wrong. He’s not a doctor.
If it needs surgery, its best to get it done now.
Injuries happen. They are put of the game.
Its wonderful to second guess signing a guy who has been a horse for this franchise, coming off his best year.
Who in their right mind would not sign him? Especially when there wasn’t a competent everyday replacement in the marketplace?
Hopefully, its not a season ending injury. Molina can handle the job in the short term. The guy is an outstanding defensive catcher and a great caller of games.
Just means the other guys have to pick it up offensively. Its not like they don’t have any hitters left on the team.
Guys just have to raise their games.
Oh and that career OPS is his from his minor league career.
There is no confirmed MRI that Posada has a tear at this point.How can Pete say the Times is correct?
Joe Girardi offered very little information. He scoffed at a (correct) New York Times report that Posada has a muscle tear.
The most useless stat re: backup catchers is OPS.
You aren’t going to find hitters as backup catchers. If they can hit, they are playing everyday somewhere.
You want a good catch and throw guy who can call games. That’s what you get with a backup catcher. You aren’t going to find a bat at that position.
As for Petes complaining, this isnt specific to him but thats just how all reporters are. If someone gives them good info that person gets treated in a good life most of the time. If a person doesnt then that person is more likely to get poor treatment. Its nothing personal against Pete but its jsut one of those things where writers go on about their high journalistic standards over and over again and try to pretend that no one will notice they are human and dont live up to that.
If the most useless stat is OPS then explain why we dont have Wil Nieves still. He was such a swell guy as we were repeatedly told and wasnt bad with the pitchers. The fact is we cant have a total dead spot in the lineup. And with that OPS in the minors that is most likely what we are going to get. Also if he was so obviously good then I guess the rest of the league is just dumb and didnt want this good cheap backup catcher. Now could he end up great? – sure crazy things happen but to say you think he will be good based on absolutely no real information is just silly.
Wow what is wrong with Zito. I surely thought he’d go to the NL West and dominate. This is very strange.
We are talking semantics here. Every strain in a muscle is a tear. The degree of the tear is the question.
So, the Times report of a tear is correct. Its the degree of the tear, which determines whether or not surgery is needed to correct it, that is in question.
3 of the best orthos read Posada’s MRI. Its impossible for all 3 guys to have misread his MRI.
He had a small strain/tear in his shoulder muscle. If it worsened, they won’t know until they he has another MRI.
Guessing on what it is now is futile because nobody, not us, the Yankees or Posada, will know anything until he is re-examined and given another MRI.
My friend’s on a flight from Buffalo to Boston, and apparently Mike Lowell is sitting directly behind him, or the other way around.
Just think, they’ll actually be baseball played at 161st & River Ave in the Bronx on Tuesday.
Jorge Posada. Classy guy. Heal quick!
I did not read this blog until the end of last year, so I do not know if Pete was always so critical of Torre, but he definitely seems to find issue with everything Girardi says. I know it’s Pete’s blog and he can say whatever he wants on it, but this constant negativism towards Girardi is getting pretty lame, childish, and quite unprofessional.
So, no day off before playing the Tigers?????
Wow Pete, you sure stirred up a hornet’s nest. Does seem like you have a problem with Girardi’s no comments. Maybe you should comment on why you feel this way.
Pete:
What are the chances its season-ending? Is it possible his arm will never return to full strength? I’d rather see Posada playing 1st than getting run on all the time. There have already been teams that have totally embarrassed him.
Let’s not forget that it’s not all about lost offense if Posada is out for a long spell – somebody’s got to call the games, and you want somebody with Po’s experience with young pitchers like Hughes and Kennedy.
Wil Nieves isn’t still here for two reasons. One, while he didn’t hit, he also played poorly behind the plate.
Second, they were able to get Molina, which made Nieves expendable.
Tell me a team in baseball that has stockpiled 3 ML ready catchers? Guys who can catch and hit?
Its an impossible position to have ML ready depth because there is a shortage of catchers in the game.
Look around the game. Toby Hall, who can no longer play, is backing up in Chicago. Kevin Cash in Boston. Their AAA options are even worse.
These guys are worse than Wil Nieves.
Chad Moeller couldn’t even beat Nieves out in DC.
There aren’t a lot of quality catchers out there.
Instead of finding fault, look around and look for viable options. There aren’t any.
That’s why acquiring and signing Molina was one of the smartest moves Cashman has made.
Maybe Pete thought we wouldnt notice and starting adopting his beliefs, kinda like half the people who listen to M&MD and have started to believe that Joba shouldnt be in the rotation.
“Its nothing personal against Pete but its jsut one of those things where writers go on about their high journalistic standards over and over again and try to pretend that no one will notice they are human and dont live up to that.”
High journalistic standards, you are kidding.
I wish they show even half of those standards.
The recent Joba situaiton is a perfect example.
This whole thing above Girardi was blown out of proportion with that incident. All these self-righteous characters owe an appology to Girardi for what they did to him. But you know what, they have no shame, they can never pull themselves to do the right thing knowing to err is human.
For those interested in SWB action from today, recap and photos on my blog.
And now I’ll shut up and talk ML Yankees =D
Can Gonzo also play catcher? He has a great arm afterall.
Is there any rule against manager’s playing? Sure Girardi is old, but he’s got to be a serviceable catcher in case we need an emergency back up.
SJ44
I appreciate the information. But how do we know at this point it is a strain? How does the NY Times know?
Weren’t the Red Sox looking for a backup a few weeks ago?
Rebecca – Thanks for the pix. And the commentary.
Ross Joe actually joked about having Tony catch.
Bottom line everyone needs to step up their game to make up for Jorge being out, not matter the length of time.
Joe–Sure thing!
It wouldn’t be the first claim/article the NY Times has had the facts incorrect in recent history.
SJ – I didnt say that all teams have 3 catchers – i just pointed out that someone saying Stewart is good is a joke. He cant hit at all and none of us know about his defensive ability. And the fact that no team had signed him into spring training doenst say much for him.
Why is Pete still infatuated with classiness? It didnt help us win a title for the past 7 years. Also how exactly is Jorge being classy? All offseason he acted personally offended that we might not want to give a 4 year deal to a 36 year old catcher. Now that doenst make jorge a bad guy and I cheer him on in every at bat but lets not make him seem like he is giving back the money or something.
Every year there is surprise team that comes from nowhere.
This year that team can be Rays. They just swept Sox and are in first place in the east.
Wow, helno51, I didn’t know that you contributed to that contract.
Frankly, it doesn’t really matter right now whether Stewart is good; he just has to be there.
Also remember that Jorges classiness and love of the yanks did not prevent him from using the Mets as a bargaining chip. Again this doesnt make him a bad guy – just normal. But lets not pretend he is up for saint hood.
Ross, really? Lol
So, how about that Webb outdueling Peavy
Right now, the best team in baseball is the Arizona Diamondbacks.
be very glad they’re not in our division!
Doreen – I guess we all contribute thru ticket prices but I know what you mean. I just get annoyed hearing how Jorge (and various other yanks) are so classy all the time. Im almost positive Pete would take a bad team with all classy guys instead of a good team with somme issues. And as much as some might pretend otherwise we all want a winner.
Funny thing is – I was sure that of the two old schoolers we resigned… I thought hip hip would dominate and mo would kinds eventually crash and burn. Not vice versa.
Posada repeatedly said he didn’t know what his arm problem was. Didn’t say anything about a torn muscle. Last MRI he had showed a sprain. The ne thing that he said that was different than Giradi was that he felt pain yesterday when he threw to third on a strikout. Giradi said he felt weakness today. But I can’t fault Giradi much regardless what the reporters feel.
“But how do we know at this point it is a strain? How does the NY Times know?”
Posada has openly discussed the fact that he has a strain. It’s been extensively documented by all of the NY media back a few weeks ago after he had his mri.
“But the lingering weakness in his shoulder was diagnosed as merely a strain by Royals team doctor Steven Joyce. Posada is expected to miss no more than a week.
Advertisement
“Now that we know what it is, we can treat it a little better,” a relieved Posada said. “It could have been a lot worse.”
Girardi can and should handle injuries anyway he wants. But when he says one thing and the player openly refutes it a few minutes later it looks strange and creates stories where there aren’t one.
This tactic hasn’t particularly helped Eric Mangini. I’m not saying Girardi is anywhere near the Mangini level but seeing what Girardi said vs. what posada said it seems counterproductive. People are going to find out the story. Just say no comment instead of saying something is inaccurate.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080410/SPORTS01/804100430/1108/SPORTS01
Now the interesting question is what catcher gets called up to AAA.
“Imagine if you’re a SF Giants fan…and you got to see Barry Zito get bombed yet again today. What’s his contract, $126M over 7 years, and he’s in Year 2?”
That’s nothing compared to the utter waste that will be Arod’s contract in his final few years. Can you imagine a 38-42 year old fading slugger pulling in nearly $30 million year after year. Absurd.
Posada will obviously be missed if he’s inactive for a long period of time. That said, I believe that Molina is a better defensive catcher and as good a handler of the pitching staff.
Obviously, Jorge’ is a far superior hitter than Molina, but if this Yankee lineup hits like it should, scoring runs should not be a problem.
Jorge’ needs to begin OJT at First Base with Tino, where his future will be.
We know its a strain because that’s the original injury. Wasn’t that what Kepner reported? He reported that Posada has a tear in his shoulder muscle. That is correct information.
Now, others may like the word “strain” better. As I said earlier, its the same thing. It hasn’t healed fully. That’s what he has been playing with the last few weeks.
The question now is, has it worsened? We won’t know anything until he is re-examined. At this point, its just speculation as to whether the injury has worsened.
My $.02 on Girardi and the media.
Being the Yankees manager is the toughest job in sports. No coach or managers job in any sport is tougher.
You have a demanding and unrealistic ownership family. A demanding and unrealistic fan base and a demanding and unrealistic media monster to feed everyday.
How you navigate those three ports have as much to do with whether or not you are successful in the job than deciding whether to put on the hit and run, bring in Joba and/or Mariano, etc.
I think Girardi and the media need to sit down and work some things out. Its a tough enough gig without Girardi making enemies over unnecessary stuff.
Perhaps Cashman or Zillo can broker it.
Now, that doesn’t mean Girardi has to tell the media EVERYTHING. He just can’t be wormy about it.
The Bruney stuff for example. You can’t tell the media there was “nothing structurally wrong” with his foot when they knew the night it happened his suffered a liz franc injury.
I’m not in the media and I knew about it. If I knew, I’m know Girardi knew.
That gets the media’s goat when you do stuff like that. It also makes them less likely to keep somethings off the record. Believe me, when it comes to the Yankees, there are things you want kept off the record that occur during the course of a season.
Telling the media who is available and who isn’t out of the ‘pen on a daily basis? I agree with Girardi. That’s not information that should be made public. Why give your competitors an advantage?
To me, you can broker “peace” between the factions by sitting down and working things out.
Believe me, the last thing Joe Girardi needs is to have the media turn on him. Especially over stuff that can be handled much easier than its being handled now. Its an issue and a distraction that isn’t needed with this team.
I know a lot of the guys on the Yankees beat. Trust me, they aren’t animals. They aren’t like the old days where guys were really two faced frontrunners who would do anything to stick it to people in the Yankees organization they didn’t like.
This is a group that isn’t asking for the Yankees to have an open door policy on everything. Just a little more give and take.
In the long run, that works best for everybody.
“So, how about that Webb outdueling Peavy”
Webb is having a monster year. He’s been fantastic. 6-0, 2.3 ERA and a WHIP less than 1.
He’s a great pitcher.
Moose call that is such garbage –
Firstly his contract is laid out so that he won’t get much more than 20 mil those final years – he’s getting over 30 right now… Secondly, with ARods physical shape and work ethic… He’ll be a beast for a lot longer than youd expect.
Yes a “strain” could be categorized as a “tear” but its severity of the injury that generally will dictate the treatment:
A physician categorizes sprains and strains according to severity:
A Grade I (mild) sprain or strain involves some stretching or minor tearing of a ligament or muscle.
A Grade II (moderate) sprain or strain is a ligament or muscle that is partially torn but still intact.
A Grade III (severe) sprain or strain means that the ligament or muscle is completely torn, resulting in joint instability.
You can likely rule out a Grade III tear with Jorge’.
I know it is only semantics but I really have a problem with this Posada thing.
if a strain and a tear are the same thing and it was widely reported when Posada got the first MRI that he had a strain and that was how it was reported why is it such a big deal that people are now classiying this as a tear and making such a big deal of it.
Is this a matter of Posada using a different word than the Yankees. it is not like he has had a second MRI since the first one where he classified it as a strain.
Sorry I am confused on this an what the media is having a problem with a why th NY Times story is now wing labeled correct if the strain and tear are the same things
An absolutely depressing bit of bum luck. Jorge is one of the warriors on this team and like Matsui some years back shows how classy he is in apologizing to the fans and team for his injury, something he needn’t apologize for. How strange this rash all began with an injury to Cervelli, a backup catcher.
Pete, thanks for keeping us informed. I was away for a while and missed the blog for some days. But did you list a post in memory of Danny Federici? Sad days on E Street.
hel – Stewart is a good defensive catcher…he is spoken well of by Rasner and Miley. Him being a good defensive catcher has nothing to do with his hitting or OPS that you throw out there. Who cares what his OPS is? Realistically, he’ll be warming guys up in the pen and only playing once per week…only to get pinch-hit for if the game is close.
“That’s nothing compared to the utter waste that will be Arod’s contract in his final few years. Can you imagine a 38-42 year old fading slugger pulling in nearly $30 million year after year. Absurd.”
A-Rod’s contract is front loaded. He makes ~$30-32 million the first few years. Drops down to about $20 million in the final years. Of course, there’s the $6 million bonus for each spot he moves up the home run list when he nears the top, which will probably be kicking in around then. The bonuses won’t be too bad though, as they’ll bring in more than from all the hype.
For all we know, A-Rod’s contract could be what a utility IF makes in ten years.
Basically, Girardi has two choices:
He can be up front and honest about all of the injuries and send the fan base into a panic one month into the season, or he can attempt to be cautious and try not to make a big deal out of it.
However, the way Girardi has handled the injuries so far, it makes it seem like any little injury cold potentially be huge but we wouldn’t know because Giradi won’t say.
That said, while Jeter and A-Rod each missed a few games, neither seem to have been hurt that badly.
Also, as SJ has pointed out, while the injury is certainly no fun, the Yankees are lucky they have the depth they do–just imagine if Cervelli wasn’t hurt…
…Tigers had first and second no one out and didn’t score. Totally pulled a Yankees.
Here’s the thing about Cervelli. Even if he was healthy, there was no way he was going to be an option this year. If both Posada and Molina went down with season ending injuries, Cervelli still wasn’t going to be an option.
He’s just not ready for that kind of action yet. Its impossible to go from A ball to the majors as a catcher.
Its just not done.
The injury hurt Cervelli’s development. You would have liked to have seen him start the year in AA and continue his developmental growth.
However, he was never going to be an option for catching work in NY this year.
Westerner – realistically did you expect rasner and miley to talk poorly of their teammate? I mean that usually goes over well. And they have also been his teammates for maybe a month? So I guess that solves it. the opinion of 2 people who have played with someone for 1 month proves it.
hel – They did, among other people: his manager in Texas, Ozzie in Chicago, etc. Why are you so against believing Stewart is a good backstop?
And, I have seen him catch a few games…he blocked balls nicely in the dirt, has a quick release on the ball to second, and comes out from behind the plate quickly on bunts.
SJ: Ah, I didn’t realize Cervelli was only in A-ball, I thought he was higher than that.
Stewart does not have to be an all star. He’s just got to be decent enough to let Molina take a day or two off.
Does anyone know, what’s the most games Molina has ever caught in a season?
Molina averaged about 70 games/season with the Angels before coming to the Yanks.
So Ozzie loved him and his abilities so much that he is still in Chicago right? And seeing a guy block a few balls? Is that really what you are going to do with? Watching someone play a few meaningless games is well meaningless. I have nothing against Stewart but Im not going to sit here and pretend that he has done anything in his career to prove he is going to be good. Its a proven fact that he cannot hit at all. His defense is an unknown at this point and I think we all would agree that we would have liked it if the yanks top young pitchers didnt have to develop by at times throwing to a guy who couldnt even find a job heading into spring training even though catching depth is awful across the majors.
You shut up what.
“Firstly his contract is laid out so that he won’t get much more than 20 mil those final years – he’s getting over 30 right now”
You do realize that the Yankees would be better off if they payed ARod less in the beginning of the contract and more in the later years, right?
The fact that it is front loaded is favorable to Arod, not the Yanks.
Here’s some new pics of the new stadium: http://tinyurl.com/63zymu
Westerner: Thanks. Doesn’t bode well if Molina needs to play over 100…or at least significantly more than 70.
hel – you mean like Moeller? It appears you have formed your opinion without any knowledge and you are entitled to it. Stewart can’t hit and can’t field…good research on your part before forming an opinion.
Becca – It will be interesting to see how well he holds up if Posada is out for 60 days +…but I never count out the Flying Molina Family of Catchers!
I’m sure someone mentioned it earlier, but Posada’s line about the Yankees having 7 first basemen is one of the funniest things I’ve heard this year.
Can I nominate this thread for the 2008 season LoHud Hall of Fame?
We have someone asking for speculation on whether Jorge can be back by September IF his injury is season ending (um, not if “season ending” means season ending), we have anger that Jorge was given a 4-year deal when Catcher X was available for much less money, we have anger that anyone would dare call Jorge “classy” when he has the gall to accept money for his services, and of course we have anger at our blog host Pete Abe for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which seems to be that he doesn’t spend enough time on his Yankee blog criticizing Bill Belichick.
No offense folks, but shouldn’t you get back to what you do best? Which is insisting that Wang isn’t an Ace after he pitches well and insisting that Joba has to be a setup man for the whole season because…. just because.
Jorge Posada is a World Champion, and when I say that about a ballplayer, it’s not just the rings; it’s the attitude, the personality. It’s a bad deal for him. For the Yankees, it would have been better to find out before Moeller was DFA’ed… but that didn’t happen.
I’m being only slightly facetious, as this is the team that rushed IPK and Hughes into the rotation, but it’s past time to promote Montero to the big club. (Okay, totally facetious, and a little frustrated for Jorge and for the team, and as a fan.)
Wow, they are making a lot of progress with the new stadium. It looks like it’s almost done.
Darn if Posada wasn’t right:
Giambi
Duncan
Ensberg
Betemit
Damon
Posada
Molina
have all played 1B in their careers.
I love Girardi but he really needs to loosen up a little. We all like to attack the media but the bottom line is that without them, we would be pretty clueless about what’s going on with our team. Pete is trying to do his job – get information to us. And anyone who has watched a Girardi interview knows that he is extremely guarded over things that he doesn’t have to be guarded about, he is vague about things the fans have a right to know, and he gets heated up easily.
Lots and lots of good things happening in the yankees minor leagues so far this year.
One that is not going real well is Jose Tabata.
He’s struggled a lot in AA so far and said that his wrist has been bothering him at times since he had hammate bone surgery in the off season.
There’s a;so been more and more stories bubbling up about the yankee brass not being happy with his conditioning and commitment.
Then last night Tabata just melted down after striking out. From Mike Ashmore the beat writer for the Thunder:
“YESTERDAY, he[Tabata] got frustrated and slammed his bat down and simply left. We can’t see inside the dugout from the press box. One commenter reports he is serving a one-game suspension, but I have not been able to confirm this. Hopefully will have more on this later.”
He’s very young (especially for AA) and seems to be going through growing pains – it’s the first time he’s ever struggled at the plate. Ever since he came into the yankee system he’s been the 3 hole hitter. A couple of games ago he was dropped down to sixth.
Some people were thinking he might be ready in 2009. Unfortunately, so far this year he’s taking steps back not forward in terms of his development.
http://thunderbaseball.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/game-25-new-britain-trenton/
Nick in SF: LMAO!
Westerner: And none of them are who we want playing first every day.
CB: Not very encouraging news, but it happens–not every prospect works out. That said, he’s not the only prospect in the system…
the comment about arods contract is false.arod is probably the only player in base ball that his contract is paid in full by the extra revenues he brings in.experts i hear say arod over 10 years will bring in 450 extra million dollars in the form of tickets and other stuff and the yankees after luxury taxes will pay arod around 420 million over ten years,don’t forget he will be chasing the hr record and will pass it bringing in huge money for the yankees.
i love how everyone here was bitching and moaning about how stupid the Yankees were for keeping Moeller around.
all last week.
looks like SJ beat me to everything i had to say. so, running the serious risk of redundancy, here goes:
pete does not “have it out” for girardi. in fact, throughout spring training, he was complimentary of girardi’s handling of the team, the media, and the pressure of being the new yankees manager. when girardi began to be defensive and dishonest with the media, pete’s tone changed. hardly shocking. thus far in his – albeit brief – career as a manager, girardi has proven to have a little trouble when it comes to the media relations aspect of the job. and, like it or not, it is part of the job. girardi also hasn’t been the inspirational force some touted him as upon his signing. fact of the matter is, this team looks possibly more lifeless than they did under torre. what does that tell you about the inspirational effects of girardi’s fiery (read: combative) personality? he was going to light a fire under these guys, remember? we haven’t seen that yet.
regarding posada, plenty will say, “this is why you don’t sign a 36-year-old catcher to a four-year, 52-million-dollar deal.” well, to some extent, they’ve got a point. yes, he’s been incredibly durable, and was coming off the best year of his career, but the law of averages was simply not in jorge’s future. should cashman and co have seen it coming? i don’t see how they could have, given the year posada was coming off of, and considering their other options at the position, but there is some credence to the notion that the length of the contract might have been a bit much. hindsight’s 20/20, i guess.
it’s too bad wang’s performance was overshadowed by posada’s injury. the kid was great again today, and thank god because the 2-5 spots in the rotation don’t exactly offer guarantees at this point.
Okay, I used to think that our Pavano contract was the worst in baseball, but it is looking to me like the Zito signing is much worse. The guy is 0-6 in the National League (or as I like to refer to it “The Other Minor League”). How was he so good in the AL and so bad in the NL?
“Joe Girardi offered very little information. He scoffed at a (correct) New York Times report that Posada has a muscle tear. Posada himself later confirmed it. He also said he thought that rest would solve the problem and that Posada could be back in 15 days.”
Pete gives us the flavor of things, like the real feel in the locker room or the word among the scouts, etc. With Posada-gate Pete is giving us the feel among the sportswriters. So take it for what it’s worth and don’t put too much on who is 100% right and wrong right now.
Rightly or wrongly, it’s not hard to see that Girardi rubbed the beat writers the wrong way on Posada. Girardi and the writers are still feeling each other out – it’s a “trust, but verify” relationship right now. Upon verification, Girardi comes out smelling a little less than candid on the Posada situation. But Girardi is smart and he’ll adapt and overcome as the season goes on. I hope.
Angels, come on dudes
Kasey:
Wang’s that kind of pitcher, isn’t he? He can throw a two-hit gem, or as it were, a four-hit gem, and get completely overshadowed by something else. It’s why we have the ace/not an ace debates.
Fact is, he’s won more games over the past two years than any other pitcher.
He is quickly becoming a rock. Kind of like Pettitte, but right-handed, with a sinker instead of a cutter, and still has to learn the pick off move of DOOM.
Did you all discuss this during the game (wasn’t able to follow along today)…any thoughts on this from Buster’s blog:
• The Astros got very upset with the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright after he threw a pitch behind the head of Brad Ausmus. It’ll be interesting to see how Bob Watson handles this because, recently, he gave Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth a three-game suspension for throwing behind the head of Manny Ramirez. Based on the logic used in that decision — assuming he determined intent — he would give a starting pitcher like Wainwright a six-game suspension. What is interesting is that in the cases of both Farnsworth and Wainwright, the pitcher was not ejected.
Would it be a terrible idea to sign Mike Piazza to an incentive based contract to back up (maybe even split time) Molina for the rest of the year? That is of course assuming Posada is out for a really long time.
Jonathan: Yes. Piazza is 39, can’t throw nearly as well as Posada (which says something), and would command the type of money we get lambasted for.
rebecca,
the wang debate stemmed from the fact that, prior to this season, he wasn’t really a strikeout guy and, as a primarily sinkerball pitcher, when he was up in the zone, he wasn’t just hittable, he got his (expletive) handed to him. it also made it difficult to depend on him when he pitched on turf. however, as he’s started mixing up his pitches more this season (his slider was unreal today), he’s been able to keep hitters off balance, which makes his sinker all the more effective because they can’t just sit on it.
the debate took a whole new turn last year when he (expletive) the bed to such a monumental degree against cleveland. you expect an “ace” to step up when it matters most – as pettitte did – and wang was absolutely godawful in the postseason last year. just embarrassingly bad. hopefully he gets a chance to redeem himself this year.
i agree with ghirardi about releasing comments and making statements when being asked questions,here is an example,a reporter asked ghirardi if kennedy would remain in the rotation.ghirardi said i havn’t even talked to my coaches and players or my gm.why does the media think that they deserve an answer before anyone else and on top of that ghirardi just doesn’t know.it makes me laugh at the arrogance of reporters that think people have to be the way they wan’t them to be.how would they like it if ghirardi wen’t to their workplace and harassed them?i agree fans need information but for reporters to expect the manager to make a decision about pulling a pitcher before the pitcher or anyone else knows is absolutely classless.they will know after everyone else that should know before the reporters knows.ghirardi shows class.why should a reporter know before anyone else including ghirardi?
2-0 Angels
This Angels – Detroit game is pretty good so far.
kasey: Agreed, he was horrible in October, but people forget in 2006 he had the only win in our postseason.
I think–at least I hope–that he’ll be able to redeem himself this October.
And I agree as well that learning the other pitches will help him immensely.
4-0 Angels
Is it just me or does Verlander seem a little bit like Chamberlain? Obviously Joba is a bigger guy but they seem to have the same type of stuff. Mid to high 90s fastball hard hard breaking stuff… He is getting hit a bit here tonight but he’s still real good.
4-0!yay
Rob that’s what the scouts say. Joba has Verlander stuff. The only difference I see is Verlander looks like he uses his curve-ball as his primary breaking pitch and Joba uses his slider.
6-0
Yeah I notice that watching him tonight. Joba seems to have the same type of curve as Verlander…. tight hard with some nice break as opposed to a big looper.
Tell you what, if Joba could be NY’s version of Verlander i’d take that in a heartbeat.
Rob: I think any of us would.
I don’t care how many 1B they have, I’d rather keep Posada in the lineup as the 1B than any of the others. If it means sending someone down to keep Jorge while adding another catcher, so be it. The only case I’d want him to go to the DL is if his shoulder is in bad pain just doing regular activities or swinging the bat. Then I understand, but if I’m Girardi and Jorge can swing the bat without pain, I’d find a way to keep him in the lineup.
But then it must be pretty bad if Jorge is already resigning himself to the DL for the first time in his career…
Tonights Verlander outing just saved my week in the fantasy league. It is amazing how 1 pitcher can make up a huge amount of points whereas if one of your offensive players has a great night doesnt rate as well. Next year I will have to draft looking more at pitching lol (although I am happy with my pitching) and would be happier if Phil gets going
That idea about Girardi activating himself to be a backup catcher is making more and more sense. =P
I disagree with those who suggest, as above, that a disadvantage of adding Stewart to the 40-man roster, for the next few days at least, is that he may be exposed to a waiver claim and lost to the organization if the Yankees, in the interim, find someone they like better going forward. Actually, as long as Stewart stays on the 40-man roster, he can be optioned back to SWB and recalled to New York after 10 days at SWB an unlimited number of cycles during the 2008 championship season without ever being exposed to waivers. He is not out of options. Stewart first appeared on a major league 40-man roster on 11/18/2005 when the White Sox purchased his contract from AA Birmingham. Thus, his first option year was 2006. His second option year was 2007. Every player gets at least 3 option years. His option years couldn’t possibly have been exhausted prior to this year. Waiver/Option-wise, Stewart is perfectly positioned to ride the SWB-New York shuttle if the Yankees decide they need him to do so. In this respect, he has an advantage over Moeller, who must go through waivers every time the Yankees need to send him to Scranton.
Yesterday, a poster on this blog claimed that a disadvantage of purchasing the contract of Rasner and adding him to the 40-man roster for what might turn out to be a short-term assignment in long relief in New York, or as a starter while Kennedy gets straightened out, is that Rasner might be lost to the organization by a waiver claim if the Yankees had to send him back down. This argument is not based upon fact. The truth is that Rasner, like Stewart, has at least the 2008 season as his remaining option year. In the event that the Yankees purchase his contract and bring him back to both the 40-man and 25-man rosters, they can shuttle him back and forth between New York and SWB an unlimited number of times (subject to the 10-day recall rule) without having to ask waivers. They would only have to ask waivers if they were going to take him off the 40-man roster again like the Nationals did when the Yankees claimed him some years ago.
I doubt that this post is enough to bring back many of those who have already left the ledge from the exterior side, but I do my best to contribute some factual information. And, let’s give the Yankees’ front office some credit. I strongly suspect that the fact that Chris Stewart had an option year remaining weighed heavily in his favor when the Yankees, less than a month ago, were choosing to sign him, as opposed to other alternatives like Fasano, to fill the open catcher spot at Scranton. And the Yankees carefully managed Rasner’s injury rehab last season so as not to use up an option year in 2007. When they had the 40-man roster jam in December and Pavano would not vacate a space on the 40-man, I am sure that the remaining option for Rasner, plus his cooperative attitude, kept him with the organization. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he will be a major factor at the major league level in 2008, but I think most would agree that he has been a pleasant surprise so far at Scranton.
the reason Girardi would naturally do nothing but scoff at the way the NY Times made it sound like the “tear” was breaking news is that the only facts at hand at the moment are below, published a couple of weeks ago…in the NY times!:
“Jorge Posada’s shoulder is improving, he said, but it is an issue that seems likely to linger. Teams use the term “strain†as a nicer way of saying “tear,†and Posada’s is in the subscapularis muscle. Building and sustaining strength in the shoulder could be a season-long challenge”
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/bruney-gets-the-game-to-mo/
fortunately, neither the fans nor, most likely, Cashman, care about the media’s negative spins of Girardi.
Peavy is a far better pitcher than Webb. San Diego’s offense is a joke. Seriously, who is their best hitter? Greene? Giles? If anybody needs to sign Dunn or Crede or Furcal, a good bat, after the season is over it’s the Padres.
Just found and posted about 15 more pics that can been seen here. Sorry, if I had known I was going to find this second batch I would have posted them together. My bad. Anyway, hope you enjoy them.
http://tinyurl.com/3sofzo
“No offense folks, but shouldn’t you get back to what you do best? Which is insisting that Wang isn’t an Ace after he pitches well and insisting that Joba has to be a setup man for the whole season because…. just because.”
This is Lohud blog HOF material right here as well.
So when are we creating this LoHud blog hall of fame, anyway?
And what’s the criteria for election?
Rebecca- Do you believe you fit that criteria?
I don’t understand why people get upset that Girardi and Cashman are so guarded about injuries. Is it really that hard to understand that you don’t want the competition to know where your areas of weakness are while you are trying to address them?
I saw someone already brought this up, but Pete loves Bellichek and he is notorious for flat out lying about injuries.
what.: Oh, heck no.
So when are we creating this LoHud blog hall of fame, anyway?
And what’s the criteria for election?
If you have to think about a poster’s qualifications, he/she doesn’t belong! It must be very selective!
But what about guys like Bobcat? Flashes of greatness but he couldn’t sustain the mystique and the dominance over a long period.
I dunno, what do you guys think?
Verlander is having a very bad year so far. ERA 6.5! Don’t know what it is exactly but he’s not throwing nearly as hard as he used to. Now he’s sitting 92-94 instead of 94-97 as he was in the past.
It’s pretty obvious that Wang has ace type stuff…He’s clearly the ace of the staff right now-look at some of the gems he pitched this year against good teams, i.e., Boston and Cleveland, however…
To compare him to Pettitte is simply not appropriate yet…that is another level-when he does the kind of thing he did today in the postseason, then maybe we can start making comparisons with Pettitte…
Hopefully he’ll get the chance!
whoever’s watching the game on ESPN: Is it me or did the shot of Jered Weaver sitting on the bench like that make him look like a serial killer?
umm, guys, is this correct?
http://www.scoreboard.msnbc.com/msnbc/main.asp?frames=0&sport=mlb&cat=PRa&lg=AL&rank=009
Does Cliff Lee really have an ERA of 0.28?
Does Cliff Lee really have an ERA of 0.28 over 30 innings?
The Posada injury may lead him to become a 1B for the rest of his career. It’s possible that the strain put on his shoulder going forward may be too much to handle as a catcher but could be manageable as a 1B. We need a 1B to replace Giambi sooner rather than later at the very least starting in 2009. Again, DFA Giambi. This is the risk you take when you have 7 of the 9 position players (including DH) over 30 years old.
i really hope posada’s career as a catcher isnt over. when will jesus be ready? bring him up for a few games give him a taste!
Rebecca – mlb.com shows the same thing…
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=424324
Here’s the breakdown:
DATE OPP W L ERA SV IP H ER BB SO
APR 06 @OAK 1 0 0.00 0 6.2 4 0 1 4
APR 13 OAK 1 0 0.61 0 8.0 2 1 0 8
APR 18 @MIN 1 0 0.40 0 8.0 2 0 1 8
APR 24 @KC 1 0 0.28 0 9.0 3 0 0 9
Totals 4 0 0.28 0 31.2 11 1 2 29
rebecca,
cliff lee has been bizarrely good so far this year.
Good line from a recent BP article:
“Pardon me for asking, but has someone secretly replaced opposing lineups with a bunch of Double-A hitters any time Cliff Lee has taken the mound this year? I realize this is a somewhat bizarre conspiracy theory, but in my defense I’d like to present you with my evidence: his numbers.”
How amazing has cliff lee been?
“We have game logs going back to 1956, courtesy of Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference.com. Since 1956, do you know how many pitchers had made three straight starts with 8+ innings,
Rishi: DANG. Can we sign him? Please?
number 8: Jesus is 18, 19 years old and in A ball. There’s a not even quantifiable jump from A to ML.
sorry the link:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=852
CB: That is utterly insane. Something tells me the law of averages will bite back in a big way, but as long as Lee can ride this…
Looks like 2007 was an off year:
2005 CLE 18 5 3.79
2006 CLE 14 11 4.40
2007 CLE 5 8 6.29
i realize that i just like his name. instead of all these roster moves and flights to and from scranton why doesnt girardi get behind the plate for the rest of the season? i think the old man’s still got it!
Wow, pudge has a cannon behind the plate. He is no spring chicken either.
OMG. Joe Morgan. I can handle bad announcing…but how the (explicit) do you misquote Yogi’s most famous quote?
I really think Joe Morgan is drunk all the time. He can barely speak.
Yeah between that and talking about how his daughter is being recruited by every college that has a “big time gymnastics program” he is not having a good couple of innings.
“Peavy is a far better pitcher than Webb.”
nonsense.
Peavy might be better, but right now NO ONE has a better rotation than Arizona.
Webb, Haren, Owings…and this is even without Doug Davis!
according to this article Chris Stewert may be better than Moeller and stops the run game better.
Chris Stewert
Brandon: possibly, but the article is from 2006 so it might be a little dated.
Interesting thing about the catching situation:
When Moeller caught Wang, Wang got blown out of the water…
However when Molina caught Wang, Wang throws a two (shoulda been a one) hitter.
Then Molina catches Wang today, and Wang serves up a shut-out.
So clearly, there’s something going on: whenever Molina catches for Wang, Wang takes steroids and then Molina bribes the umps.
so true Rebecca but Rasner’s ERA is a big telling to his game calling, add he’s hitting .300 w/ a .404 OBP % what the hell is going on down there
I trying to find his defensive stats for 07′ & 08′
Rebecca,
What did Morgan say exactly? I missed it…
We need to trade for Bengie Molina or Gerald Laird of the Rangers ASAP we need to blow the doors off our farm system and save the season fast! Unless you guys don’t mind missing the playoffs with a 200 million dollar payroll! Cashman needs to earn his paycheck for once!!!
ok Bengie Molina makes no sense, Gerald Laird is expensive. So far I’d say he is earning his check, Morgan Ensberg filled in when Alex was out, Gonzo filled in when Jetes was out, BP has depth, OF depth in the minors. Yeh I’d say I’m not worried.
PS- IF Posada can no longer catch that eliminates the Yankees signing a Superstar like Mark Texiera what is wrong will you people ? If Jorge cant catch I prey he’ll retire or at-least slink away like Pavano!
Dynasty, instead of “It Ain’t Over til it’s over”, Morgan said “What’s that Yogi said? It’s never over…”
Pete…the fans do not need Girardi to publicly confirm every bit of information regarding every injury.
Maybe Cashman has a deal on the table for another catcher, maybe there are other reasons not to disclose.
I understand the media needs these confirmations in order to be first to get a story out (I’m sure your boy Kepner and the Times were patting each other on the back today) but the fans don’t care…the fans just want to see the Yankees win.
Conceal all the injury info you need to Joe G…the truth is gonna come out sooner or later. An hour or two either way doesn’t matter to the fans…maybe to the competing newspapers…but not to the fans.
“PS- IF Posada can no longer catch that eliminates the Yankees signing a Superstar like Mark Texiera what is wrong will you people ? If Jorge cant catch I prey he’ll retire or at-least slink away like Pavano!”
If he can’t catch he moves to 1B and gains more durability that way. As for Texeira “SCOTT BORAS” yeah …
I could see Posada retiring if he can’t catch–I don’t think he likes the idea of 1B/DH.
Bengie can still hit and the rangers are about to have a fire sale making laird very affordable don’t forget they have salty waiting in the wings for the job! As for as Cashman goes all i have to say is Sheffield, Pavano, Kevin Brown, Moose, Giambi, and Passing on the best pitcher in the league Santana! By my Calculations he owes us money!!!!
You dont let a snake like Boras get in the way of signing talent like Big Tex a gold glove switch hitting first baseman
Tex who might hit 24 – 25 million per season please he’s not worth that, you’d be a fool to pay that. As for Bengie absolutely ridiculous man you are seriously starting to sound like a spoiled Yankee fan, we have a system, we have the fill ins and it can be fixed in house.
Pete, there’s no issue here.
http://tinyurl.com/55e5ns
“After the initial M.R.I., the Yankees said the injury was a strained shoulder. But a strain is a euphemism for a tear, and Posada seemed concerned about the extent of it.”
A strain is a torn muscle, much like a sprain is a torn ligament. Even Kepner made note of that. The subscapularis tear WAS the initial reading on the MRI done ealier – maybe “shoulder strain” was a less terrifying way of saying it to laymen. It absolutely means the same thing to doctors and other health care providers.
Muscle tears generally heal with time but you can certainly reaggravate it. The question is was whether they should have just taken a more safe approach to have Jorge rest and rehab for a few weeks and have him test it out. From what I read, the indications for surgical repair are if there’s full thickness tear (meaning belly of muscle torn through and through), tendon tears and if patients fail rehab (which in normal people generally takes 4-6 weeks).
Here’s an article on emed. Just jump to the part where it says treatment.
http://www.emedicine.com/sports/TOPIC115.HTM
Fix this in house are you joking? Besides Montero we only have journeymen pitchers who can at best tread water on the major league level. You have to take advantage of what the market has to offer and right now there are better options to get via trade then call up. You cant have Chad Moeller or Chris Stewart catching when you are spending 200 million on payroll. Hank needs to take control of this team and pull the trigger on some must have trades to shore up the bullpen and get a serviceable catcher.
PS- Why is Ray King not a Yankee yet he is a lefty long reliever who fits the bill for what the yankees need out there right now.
Brandon: No need to waste your time on him; he’s just tweaking the sensible people here
Thanks Rebecca,
Here’s something else attributable to Yogi:
“I never said most of the things I said.”
we’ll agree to disagree
and Ray King are you serious, yeah that makes sense
a LH specialist who has a career average 3.94 BB per 9 IP, meaning each relief appearance there is a 1/3 chance he walks somebody !!! It’s up to 4.81 BB per 9 IP this season oh and that little stat 8.29 hits per 9 meaning he allows a hit every inning and that’s in the NL
Blargh I was bored
Blargh and Brandon what is wrong with you? this is the problem with the Yankees and their fans. We have been so successful that we have become lazy and arrogant you refuse to admit we made a horrid mistake signing posada for another 4 years. We need to go out like and make the moves other teams make to put themselves in a position to win. This youth movement the yankees have committed to cant impede us signing and trading for producing veterans.
We don’t have a lefty reliever or a long man we dont have any of the key elements of a bullpen. Remember this when A-rod and Jeter are playing golf and counting their money in october and the fans crying in our soup!
“This youth movement the yankees have committed to cant impede us signing and trading for producing veterans.”
wanna bet ?
“Remember this when A-rod and Jeter are playing golf and counting their money in october and the fans crying in our soup!”
ok then.
I love how some yankee fans feel like this youth movement which has blown up in our faces is a return to our championship year formula heres 2 points
1- We had Veteran pitchers and young postion players todays team is the exact opposite and it dosent work the same way .
2- Key parts of those teams were aquired via the trade IE- Paul O’Niell and Tino just to mention two
Wow. Interesting how Posada – who didn’t know how serious the injury is – is now being talked about never returning behind the plate.
Isn’t that quite a jump? Think for one minute before you start down a path like that. If he can’t throw from Home to Second, why do you think a move to First would help him out? He still needs to throw sometimes, plus it means move movement.
This “chicken little” reactionary stuff from some Yankee fans is what gives all Yankee fans a bad name.
Problem with getting a catcher in a deal is that teams know the situation and will no doubt try and hold the Yanks hostage in trade talks, so I can’t see that happening.
If posada is out for the year, any chance they would sign piazza?
I say no to Piazza. He can still hit, but his defensive skills are diminished and has one of the worst throwing arms of any catcher around. I’d take a shot with Damian Miller though.
Helno:
“And the fact that no team had signed him (Stewart) into spring training doenst say much for him.”
– Helno- Do some more research. Stewart was released from the Rangers at the end of Spring Training and became a free agent, signing with the Yanks days later. At least try to get your facts straight before you judge a guy. From what I’ve seen, the guys got a great arm and calls a good game. Threw out Sizemore twice in one game with the White Sox.