Breaking News: A-Rod on disabled list
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- April
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The bad news keeps coming for the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez has been placed on the disabled list. He has a Grade 2 quadriceps strain.
“We have to get him right,” GM Brian Cashman said.
So much for the sunny prediction before the game that Rodriguez would be out only a day or two. It appears at first glance that the Yankees made a mistake in bringing him back as quickly as they did.
Rodriguez played a role in that decision, so he bears some responsibility. But the Yankees are 1 for 3 with key injuries so far this season. Derek Jeter was held out six games with his quad strain and appears OK. But Jorge Posada came back too soon, as did A-Rod. They both aggravated their injuries and ended up on the disabled list. That falls on Cashman and Joe Girardi, who have the final say.
Posada said he was in pain when he made his final throw on Saturday. A-Rod pulled up twice while running the bases on Monday night. He said afterward he felt “a pull.”
Cashman also said that there would have to be a discussion about whether Phil Hughes makes his next start.
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on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 10:54 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
this day just gets better and better…
girardi pre-game:
“It might be two days, but I’m not under the impression that it’s going to be long,” manager Joe Girardi said.
uh huh.
Is grade 2 bad?
What’s the time frame?
At least 2 weeks of Ensberg? Oh joy.
The doctor for the Yanks must be really bright..Lets Arod play when he said he was at 70%. Most of it is Arods fault he knew he wasn’t right and he went out there anyway. Looked terrible and now he is probably out for a month. Real bright for $28m you would think he would use his brain. Also Posada play when he thought he could and he couldn’t throw to 2nd base.
grade 2 is between 1 and 3, whereas 1 is mild, and 3 requires surgery. learned that from the ole google. we’re looking at weeks before his strength is back 100%
I hope it’s not like 2006 when Sheffield and Matsui were injured and missed most of the year.
Grade two is worse than grade one but not as bad as Grade three.
Like, Grade One = B+, Grade two = C-, Grade three = F.
Yeah, so the Girardi injury code works like this:
He’ll miss a day or two = he’s headed to the DL
Anyone looking to go to the game on Thursday? I have two tickets at face value.
Tier 13 Row J.
Reason #89374938743 why you can’t put your faith in stories that come out of Spring Training. Injuries and DL stints are still going to happen whether you are a green tea drinker or a hard ass.
Hey Pete,
Why is that the Yanks, and other teams for that matter, don’t just automatically send players for MRIs after any injury? It’s not like X-Rays or Cat Scans where constant radiation exposure can hurt you.
It just seems to me that with the money they pay these guys, the expense of an MRI is like a drop of water in the ocean and it would prevent making injuries worse.
Is there a reason they don’t do it?
anybody thinking that maybe girardi pushing people to get into tip top shape in the off season has taken some kind of toll on the players? Wonder if changing peoples regimen in the off season got a lot of people out of whack. There is just too many injuries going on all at once….
Betemit come up or off the DL??
he will fit right in, no plate discipline and a lot of K’s..
he sounds like half the team..
so who is being brought up? Eric Duncan, finally? see this is why we shouldnt had never gotten rid of Andy Phillips and Doug Mient.
Oh wow. We must be cursed. So, who’s the next go to on the DL?
Please ignore my previous post at the end of the game that said something along the lines of – PINCH HIT A-ROD AND TELL HIM NOT TO RUN
this is a HUGE blow…. we need the rest of the line-up to pick up the slack
while we’re making Joba a starter – can he hit?
Yeah it’s Girardi’s fault.
Injuries are part of the game. Take a look a Rotoworld.com and it’s injury report after injury report.
Just read that Tulowitzki left the game with a torn groin or quad.
Girardi should learn not to lie to everyone when other people know he is lieing because he looks like a moron. Just like when that whole mound thing happened with Posada and Moose he said I am not going to say what happened it is no ones business..well Posada said what happened. With Jeter and Posada he said it wasn’t a big deal with there injuries. People are going to find out eventually and he looks stupid. He doesn’t have to give out info if people aren’t going to eventually find out but otherwise he looks like an idiot.
“Just read that Tulowitzki left the game with a torn groin or quad.”
this year gets wierder
weirder *eh who cares*
He didnt go for the MRI until once the game started so before the game he thought what he thought it happened the mri while the game was going on he didnt know
I’m predicting either Cody Ransom or Nick Green will be called up. maybe its too soon for Eric Duncan. I still wish that Andy Phillips and Doug Mint is on the team.
I think my friend Dan said it best:
G-d is a Rays fan this year.
I think they should just play the Attorney General at third for a few weeks and see what he can do. Like the energy and glove that he brings.
Ensberg looks just as bad as he did last year in Houston.
dang, not what I wanted to hear. Give Hughes another chance, please Cashman!
only jesus can save us now…jesus montero, low a charleston, come on up!
More roll players get called up? Yeah Ensberg Betemit and Gonzalez aren’t enough. Like we need more roll players.
Its Blowfish Time!!!
This is beyond bad. When are we going to catch a break?
Any reason why Chris Britton was sent down? I don’t get that move. (Unrelated, but I just saw now that he was optioned out)
Great Job at all that conditioning pre-season. It’s done wonders! Just think were we’d be without it..
Cashman Rafael Chaves your pitching coach in SWB worked wonders for Felix Hernandez, watever Eiland has done w/ Hughes I’m not blaming him , just maybe I think it’s time to give Chaves a shot a bringing back our Phil Phranchise.
I suspect Betemit’s eye will suddenly feel much better.
Hmmm, Detroit needs a reliever.
Send Farnsworth over to them for Inge.
From NoMaas:
Grade I: A mild strain and only some muscle fibers have been damaged. Healing occurs within two to three weeks.
Grade II: A moderate strain with more extensive damage to muscle fibers, but the muscle is not completely ruptured. Heals within three to six weeks.
Grade III: A severe injury with a complete rupture of a muscle. This typically requires a surgical repair of the muscle; the healing period can be up to three months.
Hughes sounds like he is ready to cry…Yanks better bring up someone to play 3rd or let Gonzalez play because I can’t watch Ensberg strike out in every at bat. He is has dreadful at bats and is an automatic out. Give Gonzalez a chance.
Bob, don’t forget Inge isn’t happy in Detriot anymore.
Man Hughes looked down in that interview. Poor kid!
Ed,
I know. And both he and Farnsworth have bad contracts. Seems like there’s a deal to be made there.
Although it’ll never happen of course.
Okay, I guess it’s time for a dose of healthy (and not delusional) optimism.
Have faith guys.
It’s still April for another 24 hours on the east coast, which means there’s still five months of baseball left to play.
Despite everything, we’re 14-14, and not 9-14 like we were last year (albeit having played more games).
Our pitchers are healthy. Perhaps not performing up to expectations, re, the kids, but they are healthy, and after last year, you know how much a healthy pitching staff matters.
Pettitte has, for the most part, been there when we need him, and Wang seems to have matured over night, turning from a ‘very good’ pitcher to a ‘why do you need Santana when you have this kid’ pitcher.
Joba has been, mostly, excellent and Rivera is setting himself up for a career year.
There are bright spots.
The Yankees have had mostly bad luck with the weather; hopeffully with the season moving forward this will change–you know the offense is too good to stay bogged down in this slump for too long. Melky Cabrera, especially, has been awesome this entire year–and he was supposed to be the ‘throw in’ in the Santana deal!
If anything, the baseball schedule makers have got to take notice at what this April has done to the Yankees–and hopefully stay away from something like that in the future.
Is there reason for concern? Yes, there most definitley is.
Is there reason to crawl out onto that ledge you’re on? Not quite.
Have faith guys.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we haven’t even completed the first quarter.
he didn’t sound like he was gonna cry, though he had the teary eyes, let him work w/ Pitching coach. Rafael Chaves in Scranton, he really needs it.
Again, he’s 21 people.
Everyone needs to think back to where they were when they were 21. Would you have been able to walk onto the mound at Yankee Stadium with the “Franchise” label on you plus the pressure of having been chosen over Johan Santana?
Give the kid some time to grow up. He’ll get there, but it ain’t gonna happen over night and you really need to stop expecting it to.
Darrell Rasner clap clap clap-clap-clap!
Heh, I have just (as in, a couple weeks ago) turned 22…
My fastball clocks in at 26 mph.
So it’s safe to say, Phil Hughes is a better pitcher than I am =D
Poor Phil
Poor Alex
Poor..everyone. Ugh
We will survive
why do people keep suggesting getting rid of Farnsworth?? he’s been lights out and our most reliable reliever outside of Joba and Mo
and IF you’re going to trade him…. NOTT for Brandon Inge… we have ZERO use for him
Again, I blame weather- it has been colder than usual and every team is having injuries as a result. I don’t know how much can be “placed on” Girardi or Cashman. They are not doctors, they have to rely on the information they are given and if they have 2nd, 3rd or 4th opinions that all say they are good to go, and if the player says they are good to go, then what is a manager/gm to do? 3/4’s ofthe people on this board would be complaining one way or another- “Why are they playing hurt?”, “Why aren’t they playing?”, “Why are they on the DL?”, “Cashman screwed up by signing Posada and ARod to long-term deals…” the list goes on and on. They are on the DL, deal with it. I wish people would express greater interest in a $500 billion federal deficit, fiat money, a war, etc, etc. But if your little escape makes you want to focuson someone pulling a quad in cold weather, have at it.
I still believe in Phil Hughes… Let’s go kid
Zero use for him????
Last I checked our 3rd baseman and catcher were both on the DL and could be for a month or even longer.
Could you check what postions Inge plays for me?
Bob I understand that I just never liked him w/ Dave Eiland, there’s something I just don’t like w/ him and Hughes, I’d let Chaves work w/ him, I know he’s 21 which is the reason why we need to look into getting him right instead of continuing at this pace and hoping it just clicks. And that’s not a knock on him he needs to go to Scranton for a few weeks, have him work w/ Chaves.
Inge doesn’t want to catch and he can’t hit – we have Ensburg and AG that I would MUCH rather have play third base
I’ll take Ensburg/AG/Farnsworth on the roster over Ensburg/AG/Inge any day of the week
if Hughes dont make his next start, and if Igawa will be called up, all hell will break loose.
Do you guys think perhaps after seeing what April’s done to the Yankees, mlb might shy away from creating April schedules where there’s one day off in the entire month and most games are outdoors in cold cities?
Or do you think they say ‘whatever’ because it’s the Yankees and let fly?
Hey, I got no problem with sending him down if that’s what they decide to do.
I also don’t necessarily think it’s a bad idea to just let him keep starting up here. Eventually he’s gonna be better off for the knocks he’s taking. You see this all the time with young pitchers.
Just don’t have any patience for the people whining that he’s no good, should have been traded, blah blah blah.
And booing a 21 year old kid? Kind of sad if you ask me.
Rebecca – you know the answer to that lol
When I was 21 I was in the Army based on the Czech border. I really got hooked on that good German beer…
Regards Hughes, he doesn’t seem like the same pitcher he was last year, I think he needs some time in Scranton to get his confidence back and work on his location. Hughes is a long term investment and we need to keep the big picture in focus. I don’t blame Hughes as much as I blame Cashman for putting Hughes and IPK in a position were instant results were expected from them. Cashman has consistently failed to put together an effective starting rotation, and Hughes and IPK were simply rushed into slots that were intended to be filled by Pavano and Igawa.
Hey isn’t Betemit eligible to come off the DL tomorrow? Funny timing.
“Just don’t have any patience for the people whining that he’s no good, should have been traded, blah blah blah
And booing a 21 year old kid? Kind of sad if you ask me.”
oh I agree trust me I’d punch every single one of them
Rebecca, i think you expressed the long view of this very well.
this lineup is hardly horrific for a month or so:
Damon
Melky
Jeter
Abreu
Matsui
Duncan (or Giambi)
Cano
Ensberg (or Betemit)
Molina
Maybe we need Girardi to turn into Bobby Knight- wipe his butt with toilet paper and shove it in Hughes’ face and scream, “This is what you’re playing like!”*
*I was raised the old fashioned way- with anger, bitterness and abuse.
There is absolutely, positively no particular reason to think that Rafael Chavez is going to suddenly fix Phil Hughes.
Chavez is a very good pitching coach and respected around the game.
But so is Dave Eiland who knows Hughes better than anyone.
Eiland coached Phil in 2006 when he was the best pitcher in the minor leagues.
And Phil Hughes and Felix have very little in common as pitchers.
That’s not saying that chavez can’t help.
But it’s also very, very easy to overcoach a young player and get too many cooks involved.
Going down to AAA against lesser competition could help. But at the same time he is going to struggle in his transition to the pro game.
IMO they should keep Phil in the rotation. I’d give him a few more starts – as long as they don’t think his confidence is shot. Only they can know that. I don’t think that’s the case but obviously have no way of knowing. I wouldn’t make too much out of his post game press conference.
No team has pulled away in the AL east – they all are having problems. As long as that’s the case the yankees can continue to try to get better with an eye on the overall course of a long season.
that might be a little extreme but Giambi throwing some chairs in the clubhouse would be a nice wake-up lol
I’d give both Hughes and IPK one more start and if one of them keeps sucking it up, demote him and bring up Rasner. All you have to do is whack one of them and the other one will fall in line.
Unfortunately, the Yankees have made a concerted effort to short-circuit this kid’s career and I’m truly upset about it. The problem is, it’s not like Phil can overrule the organizational guys even if he wanted to. It’s HIS career and yet it’s all dependent on what King Nardi thinks. Wonderful. They never should have changed Phil’s mechanics and now they should let him go back to what was natural to him – we won’t see it, though, and we may have seen the ruination of a potential ace. I’m glad I didn’t see Phil’s face as he was booed off the mound; that’s an image I wouldn’t want to remember.
Thank you once again Rebecca, a lone voice of optimism.
I really feel for Phil, he is all messed up. He throws his curve and fastball, nothing else. Where is his change-up or slider? He is running out of time…fast! I hate to say it but, maybe he should go back down for a couple weeks. I never thought I would say that, he WILL come around…to much talent not to. Yes, he is only 21 but he can over come, just as others have.
Put Alberto at 3rd., I agree. 27/08.
I think it is clearly obvious that Hughes needs to work some things out especially with his fastball and get his confidence back in the minors. If he was pitching 5 or 6 innings every time out but giving up 5 runs then you would say ok eventually his outing will get better. BUT how much longer can this team afford for him to pitch 2 or 3 innings every time out and NEVER get out of the 3rd inning??!! It isn’t safe for him or good for the team. Olendorf is going to blow out his arm because Hughes can only pitch 3 innings and then Olendorf has to pitch 4 innings after him. Hughes has had 6 starts this year and only got into the 4th inning in 2, yes 2 of those starts!! The only start of his that was good was his 1st and after that it went down hill and he was awful.
i love hughes and i love ipk. i know theyre gonna be really good, or at least ive been brainwashed to think so and im fine with that. that said, i dont agree with the notion that they should be developed through the “trial by fire” method of going out there and wasting bullpen innings. our best bullpen pitcher, joba, is on an innings limit. every useless inning he pitches out of the pen is one less he can start in the second half. theres a reason why baseball has 3 levels of minor leagues. THATS where players develop and gain confidence. losing the game stinks but seeing phil so depressed is just as bad.
Sheffield drove to the ballpark with New York OF Johnny Damon, but said he didn’t get a good look at the new Yankee Stadium rising across the street. “Johnny Damon had so much tint in his car, I couldn’t see it,” Sheffield said with a laugh. “Maybe it was my glasses, I don’t know.”
So much for getting your game face on before the game. You (Joe six pack fan) may be living and dying with every pitch but obviously the players see these games as just another day at the office to collect their check.
Damon’s choice of passenger is indeed strange giving how much Sheffield has bad mouthed the Yankees.
30 years ago you wouldn’t see an article like that. Thanks to free agency; we the fans are just suckers paying for the privilege of some mindless diversion that is not that meaningful to the players. The point of the games for them? The puffing of their individual statistics to flaunt to management while negotiating their next mega bucks contract.
Rebecca,
Well said…no one has run away with the division yet…we have as good a chance as anyone still…remember a couple of years ago when we went through injuries to Matsui and Sheffield?
We got through that, and we’ll get through this!
its really no ones fault, an injury is an injury you never know if someone will aggrivate it more or not. and hughes is unbelieveably terrible so far. Ive never seen someone miss their spots so bad since Hideki Irabu. David Wells would be a nice signing considering he might actually hit his spots.
Ouch! this hurts ! i have a bad feeling that wang or pettitte will get hurt and we will be done for the house that ruth build
Frank Discussion, can’t blame Cashman. I think the thought process of putting Hughes and Kennedy in the rotation was he probably assumed this offense was going to score a ton runs and cover up whatever mistakes both those pitchers make.
I don’t think Cashman thought that this offense would be this poor and that injuries would be a factor like this.
Have some faith in Ensberg, he had 2 line shots tonight to the warning track that would have been out in nearly any other ball park. Ensberg(.256/1hr/3rbi) is doin better than Cano(.156/1hr/5rbi).Which isn’t good but dont place the blame on Ensberg. Cano popped out with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the third tonight, that could have changed the game. Jesus save us!!! montero and the big guy!!! or get moeller back up here asap (like 1 1/2 weeks)
Pete writes: “But the Yankees are 0 for 2 with key injuries so far this season.”
O for 2 sounds bad, but 1 for 3 sounds better. Jeter had a quad problem too. He was held out just long enough, it seems.
2 for 4 sounds even better, Molina was hurt, and anything that goes wrong with him is a key injury too!
Betsy quit overreacting.
Paging Eric Duncan.
Jax, I agree to a point. The offense has been lacking, to put it politely, and you can’t control injuries. But I don’t feel that either Hughes or IPK are ready to fulfill this role right now. The decision to start these two was because his other options (Pavano/Igawa) were total failures.
Hughes needs to go down to Scranton.
If any of you think you’re watching a major league pitcher out there the way he is right now, you’re completely deluded.
Since when are the majors the place to let your kids come up and take their lumps? Are we the Pirates all of a sudden?
And isn’t that what the minor leagues are for? Young players finding themselves and taking their lumps?
He doesn’t have to pitch like an ace every night, but he needs to give this team some quality starts.
He is completely unable to do that right now.
Rasner, who I am no fan of, has pitched lights out at AAA and deserves a chance to come up and start and see if he can give this team some innings.
Hughes failures as a starter this April has messed with the pen.
I know the offense has been mostly limp, but I’m wondering if watching Hughes spit the bit start after start is draining the position players.
Either way, he’s had a month to show us he belongs up here and he has not done so.
They can give him another start or two, but I think he’s lost his confidence.
This is not the same pitcher that was brought up last year and pitched against Cle in the ALDS out of the pen.
As for separating him from Eiland being a bad idea, I get that, but I also see that he’s not making adjustments and he’s hurting the major league team by starting right now.
Make him the long man if you want to keep him in the majors and let him earn his way back into the rotation.
He should not be starting anymore until he proves he can get outs and pitch to his capabilities.
He’s pitching so far below his capabilities right now it’s shocking.
Igawa tonight: 5 7 4 4 2 3….
I don’t care if he hasn’t given up a run all year down there, i’d still rather see PH and IPK out there…. I cringe at the sound of “Igawa”
Maybe the Yanks thought that Hughes was ready and if they did then that is fine….But I don’t understand why they thought that Kennedy would be also. Kennedy never proved himself he had 3 major league starts, was only in the minors for 1 year, he throws 80 mph and has to be absolutely perfect with his pitches and is not a top prospect. It seems like Cashman was hoping that they were, maybe so he wouldn’t have to spend money..but there was really no reason to think they would be.
Jax, you’re right – I know I’m overreacting, BUT I do not like the unnecessary tinkering with Phil’s mechanics.
At this point, he needs to go down to AAA – I can’t stand the idea of him being booed off the field again and as cool and mentally tough as he is, he’s still human and he’s still just 21. Phil is taking a beating – he needs to get back down to basics away from the spotlight.
Betsy I agree there was no reason to change his mechanics after the great year he had in 06. They’re trying to make him throw over the top and he naturally has a 3/4 arm slot.
It’s unnecessary.
Okay guys, I’ve got to get to sleep, but seriously, have faith.
It’s not like we’re playing in the NL West…
good point, Zona is NASTY, and possibly unbeatable in a short series with Webb and Haren going game one and two
My 2 cents: This is a transition year, wether we like it or not. Let these 2 young starters, Phil and Ian, pich every 5th day. I don’t mind having a bullpen full of right-handed short relievers. They are all basically auditioning for setup and closer of the future. They need this time. So do Phil and Ian. When Joba transitions in 2 months or so, we’ll see who’s the odd man out at SP then, and hopefully we’ll see who has stepped up as setup and possible closer for the future. It’s going to be a lump year all over, regardless. The bonus is, this team can still be good and compete. I love that.
What a horrible freaking year…I’m fine with being in “rebuilding” or “transition” mode, but being the walking wounded on top of it?! That’s a real hard pill to swallow…
P.S. – Now the Morgan Ensberg travesty will continue…AARGHH!!!
Here is part of an email I got from someone who knows about quad injuries:
G2 quad is weeks not days. 2-6 possible, 3-4 likely. Probably already compression wrapped to stabilize and limit swelling. Crutches are a good reminder not to overdo. Nothing else to do except ice and heat followed by lots and lots of electro/laser and massage. He has a HIGH pain threshold if he has been playing with a G2.
So is this more like a tear than a strain?
Arod has always said that he heals every quickly. I don’t think that he will get minor league at bats he will come back as soon as he is ready. My friend is a doctor and he said you are looking at about a month. 3 weeks on the short side and as long as 5 weeks.
london bridge is falling down
“So is this more like a tear than a strain?”
Yes, but not a full tear. He most likely made it worse by trying to play the other day and running, it obviously wasn’t a good decision considering he admitted he was only playing at 70%. Team doctors should of watched him better.
I really feel for Phil. He seems like a great guy and I hope that he can fix whatever is going on. It seems to me like he has no confidence in his stuff right now. I think Eiland needs to tell him to quit trying to pick at the corners like Maddux and throw strikes. Aside from Big G he has a pretty good defense behind him, just throw strikes and let them worry about fielding.
Someone brought up the point about him relying on two pitches. That also seems to be his problem aside from nibbling. People are just sitting on the fastball and he is doing nothing to shake them off of it.
Its barely a month into the season. Send him down until June and let Rasner show us what he’s got.
Did anyone else note how hughes sulked around the mound when things got rough.
Oh, and can we get rid of Betemit? AG is slowly proving he is a special player and I think he has rightfully earned WB’s roster spot.
I need this team to do well. Its the only thing I got going right now…
who’s with me?!?!
I read tonight that Betemit is going to Scranton this week to start playing rehab games so he’s not going anywhere yet.
rehab games? that must be one heck of a case of pinkeye!
It’s only April and the trade rumors are gonna start shooting out pretty quick.
“pat
April 30th, 2008 at 1:10 am
I read tonight that Betemit is going to Scranton this week to start playing rehab games so he’s not going anywhere yet.”
How the heck do you do rehab for pink eye? Seems a bit odd – no?
Roger was a pimp
Wouldn’t it be fairer to say that they’re 1 for 3 with injuries given that Jeter has come back ok (for now)?
it is still early. rebecca’s right about that. nobody’s running away with the division and, despite the bevy of obstacles, the yankees are hanging around .500. however, if they don’t figure out how to hit with men on base, or how to get something out of the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation, they’re going to stay around .500 for a while.
a few things have become abundantly clear:
joe girardi is not the miracle cure. he’s not even really an upgrade over torre. the bullpen is handled in much the same way, the offense looks just as lifeless, if not moreso, and did matsui really need two consecutive days off, lefties or no? did cabrera really need a night off tonight? while these decisions didn’t necessarily lead directly to losses, were they really necessary moves? did they help the offense in any way? matsui was riding a hitting streak and cabrera has arguably been the team’s most consistent offensive contributor. if the love affair with girardi isn’t over yet, it’s going to be soon.
hughes and kennedy aren’t ready. most everyone knew that about kennedy but hoped otherwise. the extent to which hughes has been awful has been a shock to most everyone. as pete said, he’s just not the same guy. and if his body language is any indication, he’s got zero confidence right now. how long can you let the kid stay up with the big club and get his head bashed in before it becomes detrimental to his development? i’ll be surprised if hughes and kennedy don’t get at least one more start each, though. if the yankees organization is anything, it’s stubborn.
i still think this team makes the playoffs. it’s just looking less and less like a sure thing right now.
On a lighter note, Zach McAllister is tearing it up in A ball by going 8 strong innings tonight.
Also, what we’re seeing is the worst case scenerio that was presented before the year began. Hughes and Kennedy are getting hammered. On the other hand, with the exception of one game and one pitch, Mussina has been good. Not great, but good. The hitting has been awful and that ties to the pitching – It doesn’t matter if Phil Hughes gives up 5 runs to Baltimore if the offense only scores 2. The pitching hasn’t been so much the problem as the offense not performing to expectations.
Now that all the roses have been laid out, lets say what this really is: REBUILDING. I have a suspicion that many posters here aren’t aware of the period 1982-1993. Missing the postseason for one year won’t be the end of the world. Hughes will be good. Kennedy will probably be. Joba will be a starter and will most likely be very good. Wang is already there. I’m disgusted that the “fans” at the stadium booed Hughes tonight because they don’t recognize what this is: rebuilding.
I don’t expect the Yankees to win the World Series this year. I don’t even expect them to be in the postseason. Hughes, Kennedy, (and yes) even Joba are going to take their lumps this year. This is what will prepare them for the future. The starting pitching will be unreal in 2009-2010.
B.
Dr. Cox,
Sorry. Some of us have teams in the NBA playoffs.
However, I will hold your hand re: the Yankees. I want them to do well because the last year at Yankee Stadium should be special.
Too bad about Alex. He’s a nice little player.
I’m not admitting failure re: Hughes. But if it’s best to send him down to get back on track, then so be it. It seems to be a confidence issue and that can be fixed in Scranton.
Go Yankees!
felix142,
True we’re in the process of rebuilding but I wouldn’t concede defeat for this season just yet-I mean really, it’s only April 30th! And we have a better record than last year at this time-didn’t we make the playoffs last year?
Have faith…rebuilding and making the playoffs are not necessarily mutually exclusive…we’ll just wait and see…
GO YANKS!
mel,
I wonder if we’d have had the same result tonight with Hughes if Molina had been behind the plate…I wonder if we’d be talking about confidence issues…
That lack of communication between Hughes and Stewart was mind boggling…I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before…
I say we give Hughes another shot, but this time let’s field the best defensive team on the field that we can-that means Melky in CF and Molina behind the plate…and then we’ll see…
GO YANKS!
Dynasty,
You’re right. Key injuries to teammates, tough scheduling, and mother nature aren’t excuses, but certainly are contributing factors.
I say it’s confidence because he’s healthy. I also know that he’s pitched well in the majors and can get guys out when he trusts his stuff.
TOUGH WEEK!
A-Rod was incredible last year and Posada would have gotten serious consideration for MVP had A-Rod not won it. In one week, both of these guys are put on the DL. Bruney has been very impressive so far this season, giving up both of his runs on 2 home runs in 1 appearance out of the 11 innings he’s pitched. He might be out for the year.
It’s a shame that our outfielders are pretty much the only guys hitting right now because otherwise I’d like to see the Yankees bring up Gardner to get some small ball going with our 2 best sluggers out. Too bad he doesn’t play 3rd base or catch. It would be nice if Cano got into one of those grooves real soon.
“You’re right. Key injuries to teammates, tough scheduling, and mother nature aren’t excuses, but certainly are contributing factors.”
True, but they are contributinng factors for a lot of teams. Red Sox schedule in April was brutal. Three series in 3 continents to start the year, just finished playing 20 days in a row, flu bugs, couple missed starts by Beckett, etc. The Angels have played the season without last year’s #1 and #2 starters. Tribe has had issues, Tigers, etc. Lot of teams have had injurues. Lot have played in the cold. That’s April for a lot of clubs this year.
Hughes will be fine. Kennedy will never be better than a 3rd starter.
Fredo -
And the Red Sox aren’t running away with anything, either. True, they’ve won a couple more games than the Yankees. True, they’ve also had a brutal schedule as far as days off go, but they did get to play a few more home games (which could be the difference in the wins column). No one is running away with anything, and this is the silver lining to the Yankees cloud.
All these misfortunes are happening early in the season when there is ample to time to heal, re-adjust, re-assess, get their act together, so to speak. That’s a silver lining, too.
As poor a start as Hughes and Kennedy have gotten off to, a few well-placed hits by the offense could have afforded a couple of wins for each of them. The offense shares the blame for this. I know I expected them to have a rough road of it; I expected them to be making mistakes, having to make adjustments — learning on the job. BUT I expected the offense to cover for them by scoring enough runs to allow them the luxury of working through the hard times. That hasn’t happened, and I seriously don’t blame Cashman for that. It was a calculated risk, and with a team that scored over 950 runs last season, one I would take every time. Now, Hughes has been a far cry from what was expected, but his first start of the season was very good and he would have won with even a little run support. Kennedy should also have at least one win. And frankly, I’ve seen more signs of Kennedy improving – he gets more confident as he gets into a game.
I think Hughes has never experienced this level of frustration. He has never had to deal with hitters of this caliber and sending him to AAA won’t solve that part of it. He’ll get through it, but booing him is not going to help. We should be partners in his development.
SJ44 and/or CB –
If you’re reading this morning, I have a question for you. Until the last 2 days I hadn’t heard anything about Phil Hughes’ mechanics being changed. Was it? And when was it, if it was? Thanks.
Steve Balboni -
I think it’s perfectly okay if Kennedy is “never better than a 3rd starter.” I don’t think he was ever projected to be an ace. You usually don’t find 5 aces on one team, although those Baltimore Orioles of old, and the more recently the Atlanta Braves came pretty close.
I don’t know if this was discussed more in the comments in the game post, but why the hell would Girardi let Stewart start. Did Molina need the day off already? Why not let Stewart catch these guys in the bullpen on their throw day before catching them in a game. Or why not let Stewart catch Pettitte tonight, as he is a more seasoned veteran. Stupid decision to me.
I think it’s more than pink eye. From the Times…
Betemit is on the disabled list with a condition he said was a corneal ulcer in both eyes. He had conjunctivitis over the winter and had trouble adjusting to new contact lenses this spring. Glasses were uncomfortable, he said, and a doctor determined this week that he was not a candidate for laser eye surgery.
Thank you RustyJohn! I have the unfortunate task of dropping both Posada & Hughes from my fantasy team, but as I look for available replacements its amazing how many players in the league are on the DL. Its slim pickings.
But I admit – I am now kicking myself for not drafting Wang, and he was available up until the latter rounds.