Game 29: Tigers at Yankees
-
- April
- 30
YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Molina C
Gonzalez 3B
Pettitte LHP
Andy Pettitte vs. the Detroit hitters.
Jeremy Bonderman vs. the New York hitters.
Notes: Chad Moeller is in fact back but no word yet on the corresponding move. … Thanks to Mike Dougherty for calling in the lineup.
UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: Joe Girardi got testy again today when asked about the status of Phil Hughes. How could he not have anticipated that question? Here’s what he said:
“These are internal discussions that are meant to stay internal. Hughes is in the rotation right now.” When reporters sought more information, it only got worse.
Right now? What does that mean? Either Hughes is pitching Sunday or he is not. It’s unfair to the player to leave him in limbo like that. And please don’t say maybe they don’t yet. They know. Whoever is pitching Sunday will throw a bullpen tomorrow.
Meanwhile, A-Rod took the blame for getting injured again, saying he came back too soon. He hopes to be back in two weeks. But while A-Rod may have wanted to play, it’s up to the manager to put him in. Many managers wait until the player tells them they want to play, then they wait an extra day.
UPDATE, 7:37 p.m.: For those of you wondering, Chris Stewart was optioned back to Scranton. To make room for Moeller on the 40-man roster, Sean Henn was activated off the disabled list and designated for assignment. Chris Britton was called up as well. He replaces A-Rod.
Not sure why they just didn’t put Bruney on the 60-day DL. Then again, if the vaunted “internal discussions” mean that Rasner is coming, they’ll need another spot.
UPDATE, 9:01 p.m.: The Yankees just announced that Phil Hughes has a strained right oblique and has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. So much for “he’s in the rotation right now.” Why the Yankees work like that, I have no idea. But this allows Hughes to chill out and get some work in without being demoted.
At any rate, they’ll need a starter for Sunday. Likely Darrell Rasner.
UPDATE, 9:16 p.m.: For the record, Girardi said Hughes was healthy when asked before the game. I guess Hughes got hurt while sitting on the bench.
UPDATE, 10:24 p.m.: Girardi now says that Hughes told them he was hurt yesterday. But this afternoon, when asked, he said Hughes was healthy.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 3:50 pm by Peter Abraham.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: 
| 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
another new lineup…wow
Good that Molina is healthy enough to catch.
did they say who the are bringing up for the A-Rod DL move yet??
I like Gonzalez at 3rd…good move…
Thank god Ensberg’s not at 3rd. Gonzalez will prove to be the better option.
I was wondering who the first person was going to be to complain about the lineup.
Chris it looks like you win the award.
tony - they’ve been saying Britton in the previous thread
second Rishi. Good to see Gonzo get some more playing time.
my thoughts on the first month, for the one of you that’s interested.
Glad to see the Attorney General at 3rd. I think he should get a few games there consecutively to see what he could do.
The Yanks are going to have to make a decision about what to do with Betemit soon. Personally, I like Gonzalez’s game better than Betemit or Ensberg.
I do wish that they would find a roster spot for Rasner. I think Sean Henn has had enough chances and should be cut from the 40 man roster to make room for Rasner.
GONZO !!!
Looks like everyone has hit Bonderman well. Matsui will have a monster game tonight.
GO YANKEES!!!
Good lineup given the injuries…
I’m going to the game tonight, leaving in about an hour. Hopefully Cano lights it up and breaks out of his slump!
Can somebody explain to me what Girardi is doing here? im getting FED UP!! First, he doesnt start Melky last night (the hottest yankee hitter as of late)
TONIGHT- he doesnt start Shelley, who scored half the runs and got on base 4 times last night!!!
C’MON JOE!!! what the hell is he doing?s
Duncan started last night because of the lefty on the mound.
Not starting Melky last night was absolutely ridiculous. Damon in left and Melky in center would have trimed at least 2 runs off the board last night.
Hit submit too early. I’m sure Duncan will play again tomorrow against another lefty.
Melky should have started last night, agreed, but Shelley does not have good lifetime numbers against righties.
Y’all are too hard on Ensberg, he’s a good player. He’s had 2 bad games and now he’s awful? Patience is clearly not a virtue held by many Yankee fans.
Ensberg’s a good player when he’s cycling.
I don’t know if Molina is healthy. He’s just gutting it out right now. His hamstring is still bothering him.
That’s why Girardi will have a hard time juggling the catching position in the next few weeks. He can’t overuse Molina.
I hope Moeller has a month of good games left in him.
No Arod. No Posada. The two best hitters on the team from last season out. Probably for a month.
The first baseman and second baseman are both hitting .150.
AG, a great glove but light bat, at third.
Molina, certainly not an offensive threat, behind the plate.
Unfortunately, injuries necessiate this lineup. Girardi has not choice.
My point. Don’t expect a lot of offense in the coming weeks.
If anything, the pitching is going to have to carry the day in May.
Its why if they get to June 1 within 4 games of the Red Sox, they should be overjoyed.
Looks like May is going to have to be a “stay close” month, unless some guys (namely Cano and Giambi) get very hot and Arod and Posada get healthy.
He’s playing this substitution game to a fault already. Yes, the yanks have too many potential powerhouse players but hes not giving anyone a chance to heat up…. EXCEPT of course giambi, who i think should take an extended vacation to Scranton.
“Yes, the yanks have too many potential powerhouse players but hes not giving anyone a chance to heat up”
Who do you think needs to be given a chance to heat up?
I think Canò will start to heat with the weather, but when it’s snowing in Syracuse on 30 April, I’m just beginning to think the big guy in the sky has it out for me.
SJ44,
I agree that pitching will be key in getting the Yanks through May. Giving Hughes and Kennedy a long leash is a luxury the Yankees cannot afford.
They need to get Rasner on the roster while he’s pitching well. You know it’s not going to last forever. Maybe by that time Phil have worked out his mechanical problems and be ready to roll.
Don’t feel great about Molina playing tonight if it’s true that he is still seen limping. Last thing we need is a 3rd re-injury.
The only problem with your request that Giambi take an “extended vacation to Scranton” is its impossible.
He has too much service time accrued to be sent outright to Scranton. He has to approve a trip to AAA and that will never happen.
They have 3 choices. Play him. Bench him. Release him. That’s it.
I don’t see the Yankees eating over 20 million dollars by releasing Giambi. Especially with Arod and Posada both out for probably a month.
At best, he should be in a platoon with Duncan.
However, given all the injuries, he’s probably going to be given every opportunity to find his stroke because their offense is dormant.
Not the best choices. Something to remember in the off-season when folks want to hand out 7 year contracts to players like chocolate.
They often come back to bite you in the butt.
from peter a. :“Cashman has done a great job of reorganizing how the Yankees scout and develop players. Maybe the next thing to do is look into how they take care of them.”
thanks peter, where do i send you the money i said i’d pay you to say that ?
seriously the yankees need to hire an assistant gm that overhauls and oversees the conditioning , training, and medical staff. then that person should be in charge of everything created and everything would then go through him or her.
cashman is spread too thin to do it, which is why so many conditioning things things fall through the cracks.
that said, cashman has done a great job of reorganizing and scouting as you say. my point in criticizing cashman for conditioning problems was not to bash him on everything, but to point out an obvious place where the yankees could be made stronger.
blaming isn’t the point. getting better is.
Britton up for A-Rod. Haven’t seen anything announced about Stewart going back down yet.
Drive,
I agree. I always believe a pitcher has only so many good pitches in him over the course of a season. I’d rather see Rasner use those pitches with the Yankees than in AAA.
I also think guys like Rasner find ways to get to 5 or 6 innings per start. Its tough with the young guys. The effort is there but, they don’t know how to navigate the tough waters yet.
Its about treading water now. Its hard to do it when your #4 and #5 starters are winless and averaging less than 4 innings per start.
It will be interesting to see what happens after Kennedy’s start tomorrow. If he bombs, something has to change.
They can’t go through May without making some changes.
If buy “back” Pete means he’s in the clubhouse, I’d assume that means Stewart down for Moeller.
You know what? There is no reason that this lineup can’t score 7-8 runs. Most teams in the league would trade their whole 9 for the Yankees top 7 batters tonight. Let’s not start a pity party just yet, Pettitte will get us right.
Im not worried about our team especially our offense yet. A couple years ago we lost Matsui and Sheffeild for a long period of time and still treaded water. This team is better constructed for this than it was then.
My only beef is Giambi. How bad does he have to play before he is sitting on the bench? I dont care if Duncan or Ensburg are worst on first than he is. Girardi needs to balls up and make a statement. You earn your spot and if you cant hang on to it. Someone else will. Same goes for Hughes. I was impressed a couple outings ago. When it was cold and his defense wasnt helping him much. He still grinded. But yesterday was totally opposite of that. He looked like a deer in head lights. Defeated. Time for him to regroup in the minors.
I was very excited in the managerial change this year. But the more i see Girardi manage. The more of the same comes out. Its like Torre never left. Balls up!!
This is getting annoying very quickly. Can anyone explain how the Red Sox can get Mo(my nickname for Jon Lester), Bucholtz and Masterson to pitch well and sometimes even dominant while this season we have not gotten even one FREAKIN ONE decent start from either Hughes or Kennedy.
SJ,
Giambi’s OPS+ is 106.
Yes, he’s not tearing up the league (and he’s not worth $20MM), but he’s not the real cause of the Yanks offensive doldrums.
Hey, well, you know, instead of always focusing on what’s wrong with the team, we shouldn’t forget the things that are going right.
I mean, we have fourteen wins, right?
Phil and Ian have been bad, but Wang and Pettitte have been great and even Mussina is giving us what we need when he’s not pitching to Manny Ramirez.
Chin up folks, it’s not all bad!
Steve, it doesn’t negate your point, but Hughes was very good in his first start against Toronto…
I cannot agree enough that with the offense looking thin for the next month, we need to get the pitching straightened out fast.
I have faith that Kennedy is going to come through and deliver a decent start. I don’t know why, but I’m actually starting to think he’s going to “get it” quicker than Hughes. IPK has taken his lumps and seems to gut through things. Hughes isn’t gutting through anything right now.
If it’s Rasner, good. If it’s McCutcheon let’s do it. Try anything at this point. Let’s just not keep sitting on our hands with our fingers crossed that Hughes is the answer right now.
I tend to think a stint at Scranton might give him enough perspective and fire to fix and work on things so he doesn’t go through this kind of stretch in the bigs again.
If he is who you all claim he is, Hughes is going to hate the fact that he got demoted and he’ll be driven to get back up and prove everyone wrong.
So much of the game is mental. Maybe he needs to know it can all be taken away from him now.
Any time Cashman
if it needs to be posted in every thread for your attention it can be done.
Kay is unsure of Hugues’s upside. God that guy is dumb.
Chris
I stand corrected. I forgot about that one start.
agreed JRVJ.
his last week of games: .300/.417/.708
if girardi is going anything about giambi, it’s not going to happen now.
Someday (hopefully sooner rather than later), we’ll all look back on Phil’s early struggles and laugh. At Michael Kay.
Just read an interesting rumor…
According to buzz in the Bay Area, the Yankees and Giants are discussing a Giambi for Zito trade. The sticking point being how much of Zito’s contract the Giants would eat.
Assuming the Giants ate half the contract, would you pull the trigger on that deal if you were Yankee GM?
Not sure if you all caught my post in yesterday’s game thread, but Bob Costas did a live CostasNow yesterday focusing on sports and the media (including “new” media, like blogs)…it was a very interesting 90 minutes. The main topics I caught (missed the beginning) were: blogs, race, athletes and the media (changes through the years).
Caught the tail end of Michael Strahan calling out Chris Russo (both were there live). Looking to DVR it so I can catch the full conversation but it ended with Russo basically saying he didn’t say anything bad about Strahan’s performance in the Super Bowl and Strahan responding with something like - there iwas nothing to complain about, but if there had been i’m sure that’s what you would have focused on.
Really intersting stuff…
I’m sure they’ll replay it 100 times on the various HBOs, try to catch it if you can.
nooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Here is the link to the above rumor.
http://nyyu.blogspot.com/2008/04/giant-bino-giambi-headed-west.html
Frak it is amazing that if someone on a web site types it it automatically becomes a rmour.
Not in a million year does that deal happen and only in the world of the internet wouldit ever happen
One day I hope to open a game thread and see no complaints about the line up. Just once…
That rumor is BS.
Who is the Yankees MVP of April?
a.Melky
b.Wang
c.Mo
d.?
SJ you are correct about treading water but as is this team should stll hit.
damon, jeter, abreu, matsui, cano are all legit hitters who should hit. Melky is a good player and Giambi should hit 250 with some power. That lineup should produce even without arood and Jorge.
They did not play melky yesterday for 1 reason it is a damn long season.. they have 144 games to go.
again there pitching should be better then last yr…….
I am not sure what is up with Hughes I am suprised at the level of his struggling…….
Frak,
That rumor makes absolutely no sense whatsoever (it was probably made up by the owners of that site).
The Yanks have the money to pay Giambi this year, and will certainly buy him out next year.
Zito is a borderline No. 5 pitcher right now (he may well not be that good anymore). Even if the Giants ate 90% of his remaining contract, what possible reason would the Yanks have to take on that contract?
Now if the Giants were willing to send Lincecum back with Zito in exchange for Giambi, THEN the Yankees surely would be willing to take on Zito (and a lot of the money in his contract).
We dont need another contract mess in our hands.
No thanks to the over paid 81 mph fastball relief pitcher.
We’ll stick with 5 more months of Giambi. Besides, we have Igawa. No need for Zito.
So much bad info in that rumor, it doesn’t mention Giambi’s no trade, I assume Zito’s no trade, the said minor leaguers to go along, also not sure if the $5M option on Giambi for ‘09 is counting in the $20M.
Deals like that happen in the NBA, not in baseball.
“I don’t understand how he was the number one pitching prospect in baseball with a straight 91 mph fastball”
-Michael Kay
I would not trade for Zito under any circumstances.
Again almost all mega contracts are bad..good contracts are Vlad Guerrero, and Pujols and not many more.
Why would the Yanks trade for a pitcher that sucks and has 6 yrs. left on a deal, IT WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN..
6 YRS. GIAMBI HAS 4 months on his deal, which turned out to be a terrible deal……..
I would trade Giambi for Zito in a heartbeat.
Melky batting 6th? Love it.
all these announcer know nothing. singleton said maybe the yanks should convert Ohlendorf into a starter, NEWSFLASH he was a starter but has 2 pitchs so became a releiver.
yeah give up on a 21 yr. old stud(hughes) that would be moronic and we would regret it for about 12 yrs…….
S.o.S.
It has to be Wang.
He’s pitched lights out, improved his game, 5-0 record.
Mo is Mo, he’s MVP every month.
Jaewon you are a moron.. trade for Zito how about trading for andruw jones, schmitt and pierre also. then they could have the all terrible contract team..
Jaewon maybe the yanks should resign Pavano also…..
MORON
ANYONE PLEEEEEEASE GET IT TO CASHMAN ! THE YES NETWORK, ESPN’S KAY SOMEBODY
hell put it in Philip’s blog.
stuart,
No one is giving up on Hughes. It’s just where does he need to be right now: AAA or MLB?
SOMEONE GET HANK ON THE PHONE ! HE’LL GIVE ATTENTION
Scorpio I don’t know. I give him 1 more game but what the hell do I know…
I cannot understand what is up with him, end of last yr. he looked great…
“I don’t understand how he was the number one pitching prospect in baseball with a straight 91 mph fastball”
-Michael Kay
Blood pressure…rising….
Hughes sits at 93-94! What is this 91 nonsense!? Kay calls 75% of Yankee games, it’s his job to know everything about the Yanks. I expect him to be at least as knowledgable as the people on this blog and he’s not even close. I can give a pass to guys like Joe Morgan, Tim Mccarver, etc because they call games for all the teams in the league. Michael Kay has no excuse for being a moron.
My biggest reason for wanting Hughes sent to AAA now is, the things he has to work on can’t be done at the major league level.
When you are a pitching coach at the ML level, your priority is on the game and games at hand. Its about winning at the ML level, not development. Your time is limited.
If somebody needs to work on mechanics, pitch selection, etc, you have a side session and a bullpen between starts to do it. That’s it.
At the minor league level, you can spend more instruction time with Hughes. Or any pitcher for that matter.
Let’s use Darrell Rasner as an example. He’s journeyman guy. Yet, he has been dynamite in AAA so far this year.
Why? Rafeal Chaves has not only worked on his cutter, making it an effective pitch for him, he has also worked on maximizing his pitch count. That allows him to go deeper into games.
Is Darrell Rasner an all star? No. But, tell me right now if you would sign up for 3-4 quality starts in May if he is put in the rotation? I know I would. It may be time to give him that opportunity and see if he can do it.
At AAA, you can tell Hughes, “Ok Phil, tonight, we throw nothing but sliders and changeups in the first inning”. You can’t do that at the major league level.
How is he going to learn to pitch at the major league level? Especially in a pressure cooker like NY? I don’t know but, it seems to me that’s pretty tough.
At the major league level, its all about winning.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving up on Phil Hughes. I’ve talked to enough baseball people, folks who forgot more baseball than I will ever know, who think he can be a very, very good pitcher.
However, he has to get right and I don’t think he can get right pitching every 5 days at the major league level right now. Its way too tough to do.
That’s the thing Brandon. He was NEVER a sits at 89-91 pitcher. Never. They are tight lipped about it and I have to think it’s either because they changed something about him that made him a. lose command and b. lose velocity. If they’re the ones who made the change I can see them not talking about it, but they need to put it back. At this point Joba and Phil arent 1 and 1a theyre 1 and 2.
“how about trading for andruw jones”
I would trade for Jones, his contract isn’t bad. He is awful right now so I wouldn’t trade much but I’d get him if the price was right.
come join the unofficial Peter Abraham Blog facebook fanclub! (click link above)
Scorpio,
I have to go with(in order)
1. Mo(never seen an april like this from him.Best ever)
2. Wang(awsome month,but he’ll never be an ace off coarse)
3. Melky(most under rated player on this team)
I couldn’t post yesterday or today. So, my thoughts on things that have occurred recently (if anyone cares
).
1) I really feel Girardi mismanaged last nights game. He just didn’t put Hughes in a position to succeed. Our poorest defensive line-up playing behind him, a brand new catcher, a struggling pitcher. That’s definitely a recipe for a disaster and that’s what we got. I think things could have been greatly different if we play last night’s game with Hughes pitching and tonight’s line-up on the field. The ball that fell in front of Damon would have been caught by Melky and saved us at least one run if not two. There was also a ball that was just out of Hideki’s reach in left that I believe led to a run that Damon would have caught. Also, I remember a play down the line at third that Gonzo would have gotten to that Ensberg did not. It’s things like that which make me thing we have to let Hughes make at least one more start. Hopefully the next time out we do what we can to put him in a position to succeed.
2) Good to have Moeller back, especially after the debacle Stewart had last night. I, like Pete mentioned in the last blog, can’t believe I’m saying that though. The Yanks relying heavily on a catcher the Nats release? Wow.
3) With ARod going on the DL, Giambi and Cano really need to step up. Giambi has picked it up during the last week or so, hopefully he can continue that trend. Oh, and with ARod and Posada out, we really need his bat in the line-up so we’re going to have to hope he can give us something. I’ve also seen better at bats from Robbie recently, hopefully the results follow soon.
SJ,
True it’s tough to work on things in the majors but I’d like to see Hughes get one more start before they send him down. He has shown flairs of good pitching this year, they ought to give him one more shot.
Ok, I’m off to the game. Hopefully the traffic isn’t too bad, GO YANKS.
Don’t get mad at Michael Kay. He can’t even tell if a ball flyball is a “long flyball” or a pop up to SS.
If you have a play by play guy who, after all these years, still can’t judge flyballs in his HOME ballpark, you can’t take what he has to say about a pitcher’s ability.
One more point I had, wanted to put it in a different post….
4) Pete was dead-on in his previous post that the next thing Cashman needs to address is the training/conditioning/medical staff of the Yankees. I’m a big believer in what Will Carroll writes for Baseball Prospectus and here’s a quote from him from his Team Health Reports before the season:
“The Yankees have a tendency to bring in players that are past their prime, which would make many think that I’d give Gene Monahan and his staff something of a pass for this team’s lower-third finish in Three-Year Rank category. However, while Monahan is almost an institution in New York, he’s not above some blame here. The team has been behind the curve in some ways, but perhaps most telling, it’s the area of maintenance where their results are the most questionable…..
So what’s the problem? I think it could be tradition. The Yankees operate in an older, smaller environment for their medical staff—something that the new park will correct—and tend to resist change. While the move last year to bring in new ideas with a new conditioning coach did not work, their quickly pulling the plug revealed the extent of the internal resistance. Most of the problem seems to reside in the organization’s upper levels; while solid injury statistics don’t exist for the minor leagues, at least anecdotally it appears that there’s been an increase in injuries at the upper levels. The team has actually had solid success with its Tampa rehab programs, which indicates they may already have all they need in place, but just need to better deploy their resources.
If nothing else, the Yankees could use the same financial advantages they have everywhere else to help solve this issue. More trainers? Sure. Better equipment? Sure. Better facilities? Already in the works, but sure. The one thing we’ve yet to see is an organizational focus on the issue, and that can only come from the top.”
1050 ESPN saying Girardi’s meeting with the press was heated and contentious.
Joe Girardi vs. Joel Sherman. Film at 11! lol
Can someone in the media ask Girardi this.. Why Giambi, why?
I just don’t understand. Is he going by stats or salary? The guy can barely field first base. He’s not hitting. He’s still pulling the ball. How long until this ends?
…and that Hughes is in the rotation now, but wouldn’t commit to his making a Sunday start.
Will YES have the tape on the pre-game show?
Well last night someone asked him a question regarding Phil, than Kim goes and asks the same thing!! I mean how to you expect him to react? If you keep gettting asked the same question of course it is going to tick you off.
Bruney is not having surgery - according to M. Kay show.
How much sense does this make? He had 2 doctors tell him he needed it and now it will be ok?
Giambi can’t possibly think that his 2009 option will be picked up to keep him a Yankee. His $5M buyout will be exercised and with any luck, some AL team will take him on the cheap with a contract not much over the minimum salary.
The front office has been chomping at the bit for a few years to rid the albatross contract from the payroll and move on.
TKinDC
Bruney really has nothing to lose by waiting for surgery. His only chance of making it back to the Yankees this season is to risk the one month wait and see if his foot heals, otherwise surgery means he’s guaranteed out for the season and most likely out of Yankee rotation forever.
rodg12-
good stuff from will carrol.
it’s not a criticism, but it’s important for everyone who likes will carroll to realize he’s a conditioning reporter. he’s not a conditioning expert. he has no degrees in the field at all.
that said , i like the info and observations that he puts out .
There shouldn’t be any question as to the April MVP. It’s Wang.
Without his starts, we’re under .500 and in worse shape than we were last April. He’s been everything we could have asked of him, matched p against some of the game’s best and won. Heck, he two hit boston and shut out cleveland.
Offensively, Melky is our MVP, but good as Melky is, he can’t pitch.
Here’s the thing….
Seems to me Girardi gets ticked off when folks ask him the same question over and over. He probably thinks they are trying to trip him up.
In most cases during a group interviews, guys just want clarification so they are accurate in what they will report. You will have some people repeat questions. Or, some come a little late to the interview and repeat questions.
Are some guys looking to trip him up? Perhaps.
Sherman is a pain in the ass. A guy who thinks he’s the 2,000 elephant in the room.
I could see Girardi getting ticked off with Sherman.
Guys like Pete, Feinsand, Sweeney, Kepner? They aren’t “gotcha” artists.
The problem though is that in these group settings, when you go off, EVERYBODY will write about it.
As I said the other day, 50% of this gig is being able to minimize distractions.
Personally, I don’t think Girardi should make Sherman feel important enough to show that he can get to him with his line of questioning.
By doing so, you can guarantee Sherman will do it again. It makes for news when a reporter can bait a manager into a tantrum. Especially in NY.
At the end of the day, it just makes for a distraction you don’t need.
Henn finally DFA’d
“Joe Girardi vs. Joel Sherman. Film at 11! lol”
I’ll for an extension if he punches him in the mouth
Thanks for the info randy.
Vince,
How sad to be a ball player and know that your team’s probably going to pay you $5M to go away.
Pay $5M to save $20M+? No brainer in this case.
Re: Girardi. If I had to deal with what he’s dealing with, I’d be bitchy, too.
Looking forward to a bounceback win from Andy. Seems like we’ve been asking that a lot lately.
So Joel was the reason for the blow up?
Good point Scorpio - I just think he is being delusional but there is no downside for the Yanks unless he could be back before the end of the year w/ surgery.
Also I think many of the normal beat guys are off this series Kepner is (curry is filling in) Ed Price is (Dan G filling in),Pete is,
think Feinsand and Kat are there not sure about George King . Sherman is a large pain in the but and remember he is a columnist not a beat guy so he always comes in with an agenda to back up whatever his colum agenda is
I agree with Scorpio. It doesn’t hurt if Bruney waits to see if he can give it a go.
If he waits a month and the injury doesn’t show signs of improvement, he can have the surgery.
What’s interesting is, with Henn DFA’ed today, they are at the limit on the 40 man roster.
If they are to call up Rasner (or anybody else for that matter), they will probably have to put Bruney on the 60 day DL to make a corresponding move.
Been in meetings all day, missed what going on…
whats happened with Girardi and Sherman???
Gammons has brought some sense to the MK show.
SIT GIAMBI FER GOODNESS SAKES!!!
Jax,
Agreed. Very good reporting by Gammons.
just DFA Pavano to make room dont seemuch point in keeping him on and taking a roster spot away
OOps also noticing that Cervilli at least on yankees/com is not listed on the DL could they do something with or is he actually back working at this point
I can’t listen to Michael Kay (I guess God likes me.) What did Gammons say?
They DFA’d Henn? Where was that reported? Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
SJ, where’d you hear that about Henn? Not that it surprised me, they can only hide him on the DL for so long. In the meantime, they should find room for McCutchen at AAA.
Gayle, Pavano is on the 60-day DL and therefore not taking a spot on the 40-man roster.
Yes, what did Gammon’s say???? I thought he was a Yankee hater.
Henn being DFA’s was on STar Ledger site (see links on the right)
I concur with SJ. There’s just so much time at the big league level for bumps in the road until it’s apparent that things get worked out at a lower level with no scrutiny, just progress for a player experiencing struggles. The risk of hurting confidence is just too damaging.
Phil Hughes needs 3-4 good AAA starts to get it together and put himself in a postition to contribute.
All reports show that Rasner is deserving of a chance through hard work. He could have accepted free agency at the end of spring training but his desire to remain a Yankee was first and foremost.
Gayle,
Pavano is on the 60 day DL list, and that doesn’t affect the 40 man roster (i.e., players get taken of the 40 man when they go on the 60 day DL list).
Plus, the Yanks (if memory serves me right) are trying to at least get some insurance money in re: Pavano, so they can’t just DFA him.
gotcha on the pavano thing didnt realize that even though you were on the 60 day you didnt take a 40 man spot. knew it about the 25 but not the 40
Whoa, they DFA’d Henn?
Dang, guy must have had no hope then. Well, I mean, he wasn’t any good, but still.
Girardi has a few things to learn about the media. But he can’t change his personality so I don’t expect the velvet fog of Joe Torre to suddenly reappear before and after the game.
It is pointless to fight or even be contentious with the media. Most of the reporters are just doing their job and want to make sure they get an actual answer. No matter what, you cannot beat people who buy ink by the barrel, as they used to say. Girardi can’t let himself turn into Nixon and start stonewalling or buy into the “us against them” mindset. The sooner Girardi realizes that Sherman’s going to find a source or quote or fact that allows him to write whatever he wants to write regardless of what Girardi says, the better he’ll be. If there gets to be a real problem with particular reporters, that’s Zillo’s job.
IMO, when dealing with the media, Joe G needs to take the same advice he’s giving his young pitchers: you control the game with your tempo, slow it down. Trust your stuff, throw strikes, and don’t try to be perfect.
(And Joe, try to have some fun for god’s sake. Watching you in the post game it looks like you’re trying to pass pineapples).
“Joe Girardi vs. Joel Sherman. Film at 11! lol”
Did Girardi go totally Artie Lange on him?
Gammons basically telling Kay that Hughes has been better in the past then what he has shown so far. Kay sounded surprise when Gammons said that there are GM’s that still think highly of Hughes.
It’s become clear that Kay doesn’t like Hughes. He doesn’t throw hard enough for him.
Patrick -
Kay has BECOME McCarver et al., because he has become all about himself these days. It’s about his analysis and his personality. I guess doing CenterStage and his radio show, he’s becoming a “broadcast personality.” I do not consider him to be the voice of the Yankees.
I am so uncomfortable with the fact the he seems to go out of his way to criticize the Yankees, while, as you point out, either not having all the facts, or choosing to ignore facts that would not suit the needs of his show (read ego). Yes, Phil Hughes has been pitching poorly. We all know that. But he showed definite signs last season, late last season, that he belonged with the Yankees, including “mentally.” And I would doubt that so many people would rate Phil as highly as they did (even if they did downgrade him somewhat, he was still pretty up there) if he was a total fluke.
At AAA, you can tell Hughes, “Ok Phil, tonight, we throw nothing but sliders and changeups in the first inning”. You can’t do that at the major league level
SJ44-
THAT’S exactly what I was wondering - whether that would be something that would be done at the minor league level.
Let’s take Gammons positive comments on Hughes with a grain of salt. He comes with his Red Sox nation baggage. It is in his interest for the Yankees to struggle.
I can’t believe that as a Yankees fan I’ve been reduced to finding solace in of all things– the team’s retention of Chad Moeller.
Alas, I have.
May this not augur a season of such meager consolations.
I can’t fathom an October without Yankees baseball. The prospect is too desolating to contemplate.
Bruney doesn’t want surgery - that is why he sought out so many opinions. He said his foot doesn’t hurt so he finds it hard to believe he’ll need surgery. He wants to see how it heals in the boot cast because if it does, he won’t lose the entire season.
Randy Johnson got touched up this afternoon in Arizona. 4IP, 9H, 6ER.
You have to admit that trade makes Cashman look like a genius. Ohlendorf, the former Attorney General, and a draft pick (for Viz).
Just giving credit where credit is due.
The jury is still out on the Sheff trade… We’ll see how good Sanchez is as he recovers from TJ surgery.
I would say the Jared Wright - Chris Britton trade has been about a wash.
Murph,
Completely agree.
I’m a huge Girardi fan. But, if he keeps acting like this, he will bury himself in this job.
He’s got to chill out. You would think Zillo or Cashman, or even Michael Kay (who is a friend of his) would remind him that fighting with the media is a losing battle.
Especially over the small stuff. The questions about Hughes? That’s really small stuff.
I mean, c’mon. Did he think it wouldn’t be a big topic of conversation today??
This is not a group of media animals. Compared to the old days (the Dick Young days. I’m dating myself! lol), Joel Sherman is NOTHING.
If he can’t handle Joel Sherman, he’s doomed.
The rest of the guys? They aren’t predisposed to dislike him. But, if he keeps losing it over the least little thing, and “misremembers” certain things, he’s going to end up walking the plank.
He doesn’t have to be Joe Torre. He just can’t be the Joe Girardi he was in Florida.
If he is, he’s one and done in this job and that would be a shame for everybody.
He’s too smart a guy. I hope he gets it soon.
m-dog:
Sage advice. Girardi has to develop a rapport with the beat reporters who want to make sure that he has the temperment to manage a team in the media capital of the world.
If you take the long view only W-L records matter, but the press can make your life uncomfortable in the meantime.
The good news is that ANDY P is on the bump tonight. The questions are a lot easier to answer after a win.
A few years back, Cashman saw the error of his ways with the approach in the farm system winning championships at all levels.
The teams do well in their leagues and many time reach a championship scenario but the No. 1 priority has been and will continue to be player development above all else.
Only sheer luck will see Randy Johnson reach the plateau of winning 300 games for his career.
Father Time has come calling and his aching back won’t allow many more innings.
“Girardi has to develop a rapport with the beat reporters who want to make sure that he has the temperment to manage a team in the media capital of the world.”
There are no beat reporters who WANT to make sure he has the temperment. It’s not their job to make sure of it, or even care about it. Further, they wouldn’t have the capability to do something about it if they did want to.
Fact is their job probably gets a lot easier if he does not have the temperment. Nothing makes a beat reporters job easier than an ill tempered manager.
SJ:
I remember Dick Young at the end, sort of like Lupica is now; bored with everything, smarter than everybody. Nasty man.
Zillo can talk with Girardi some more and maybe even Kay can “dutch uncle” him a little. The guy who would be a perfect foil for Giradi is Ken Singelton. Calm, smart, been there. Doesn’t get too upset over silly stuff, seems to enjoy himself. Joe should try a little “Singy” next time.
But none of it will work however until Girardi realizes it’s all beyond his control. He just has to do his job and let the rest go.
“He doesn’t have to be Joe Torre. He just can’t be the Joe Girardi he was in Florida.”
SJ, I agree he doesn’t have to be Torre. That said, what makes you think the Joe Girardi he was in Florida isn’t…well, Joe Girardi. He’s always had the “smartest guy in room” thing about him and he’s always had a bit of a temper.
Doesn’t mean he can’t do the job, but his personality would seem to dictate that the media will be an issue for him from time to time.
“Fact is their job probably gets a lot easier if he does not have the temperment. Nothing makes a beat reporters job easier than an ill tempered manager.”
It makes it easier only insofar as it gives the writers a whole new line of stories to write so they won’t be caught short on material. But their primary job is to get the day to day stuff done and a bunker mentality manager really interferes with that. Before you know it, nobody wants to talk on the record, an enemies list is drawn up, insiders start leaking about how tough the manager is to deal with - and if Girardi thought they were trying to trip him up before, getting too defensive is effectively the same as being adversarial. Then they will be trying to mess with him.
Fredo Corleone:
I do agree with you. Joe needs to find a way to chill out or he will only make it worse for himself.
should be yet another interesting night for the Yankees… Pettitte better pitch like he’s capable. i don’t want to see any crap like his last start.
In fairness to Girardi, in last night’s post game, I thought he was working very hard to maintain an equilibrium, if not a cool. The only time he got testy was on a repeated question that had to do with what they’re going to do about Hughes. The thing is, with a question like that, of course he’s not going to give the media any information before it’s been discussed, and certainly not before it’s been discussed with Hughes. He did say that (though not in those exact words, obviously). Perhaps he just needs to find a key phrase that he can match with a beguiling smile - “Come on, guys, you know I can’t answer that yet.
” That kind of thing.
He tries be too precise while at the same time, not wanting to divulge any information until it’s absolutely air tight. And I really do believe he does not want opponents to know exactly what hand he’s playing. That’s not a bad thing, but he has to learn how to sell it.
It’s very, very obvious the man hates losing and so any interview after a loss is going to be a tough one. There’s a very, very obvious answer to this dilemma — simply win every game from here on out!
I could not take listening to Kay on the drive home. He was raising my blood pressure
Agreed Murph. Obviously better to have a working relationship, especially as a beat guy. My post was more about discounting the notion that it was the beat writers job to manage his temperment.
I think to some degree he’s digging a bit of a hole with these guys already. He’s been fairly disingenuous about the injuries and gets short when things don’t go well. Some postings by this blog’s fearless leader suggest he’s less than thrilled with Joe G.
What does it say about the fact that I’m not bothered by the way Girardi’s acting?
If you lose a game, I expect the manager to be angry and get testy.
I’d make a horrible manager, I guess.
You know what I don’t get about Kay - is why the Yankees keep him around when, IMO, he is extremely unsupportive of the team. I’m not saying that he has to be an idiot and gush over the players like the White Sox announcers do (after the game, I think Hawk goes and gets the guy’s autographs!), but it seems to me that Kay is more negative than the average team announcer. Yet the Yankees keep him on each and every year. I don’t get it.
Fredo -
You call it being disingenuous, I call it playing your cards close to your vest. But I do think Girardi, again, needs a canned phrase for that too, that’s a little less off-putting - “We really don’t know the extent, but as soon as we do, you guys will be the second to know. :)” instead of the answers he’s been giving which not only give out no information, but seem to be patently false.
Rebecca -
I’m not particularly bothered by him, either, but I don’t have to put a story together for the next morning’s paper. This media has been very spoiled by Joe Torre’s laid-back demeanor. Can you imagine if they had hired Lou Piniella a couple of years ago??????!
Fredo,
Agreed. He’s strange in some ways with media dealings.
He has no problems with new media. He does a weekly show on the YES Network (I don’t know many managers who do that) and also does a weekly Q&A on Yesnetwork.com.
It seems he is comfortable only in controlled media settings.
Well, NY ain’t that kind of market. If he is going to look to control information with the NY media, or control the media at all, he’s doomed.
Like Murph said, that’s when factions form and the info is going to get out anyway.
Its best to say nothing than either lie, mislead, or get angry with the media. Especially on the small stuff.
When you think about it, he really shouldn’t be testy now. They have a lot of injuries. Yet, the team is hanging in there.
Is it a perfect team? No. Is it a team that should cause media confrontations? Nope.
Plainly put, its an area he has to improve on. Stop playing word games and stop sweatin’ the small stuff.
I my goodness I actually agree with Chris Russo. Now that’s a first.
M&MD saying Phil Franchise Hughes is heading down to minors and Rasner is going to come up. Wow. The more poorly Phil does, the more you think about Santana. Its almost impossible not to.
The roster is at a weird crossroads, and that’s why I think us Yankee fans are having a hard time understanding. Most of the roster is aging and ready to carry us to a World series, and other areas are incredibly young and inexperienced (i.e. Hughes and Kennedy).
It also doesn’t help that we have a new injury every few days. Maybe that candy and ice-cream kept our boys healthy. Who knows…
murphydog
You are right about Lupica. He has turned very nasty and sour.
Time for him to hang em up. Still got the talent but the desire is all gone.
Laura -
I agree 100% with you on that. And Kay just keeps getting worse. Like he’s testing the waters, to see just how much negativity he can get away with.
I’m all for constructive criticism and I certainly don’t want blatant homerism, but there’s got to be a happy medium, and he’s getting farther and farther from it, in my opinion.
rodg12,
Good points…I don’t understand why Melky wasn’t in left and Molina behind the plate…if Molina was injured then if makes sense, other wise…
No excuse for our best CF sitting, especially with a young pitcher who needs all the defensive support he can get…What’s the rational behind all these days off anyway?
In the old days did guys like Joe D, or Yogi get all these days off? I could be wrong but I wonder if they did…
ADave -
Is that M&MD’s opinion, or had a decision been made?
There you go, Brandon. Thats just proof that his mechanics are off. Some idiot obviously messed with them. And who ever did should be sued and fired, even if it was Eiland or Girardi. Im sorry, you just do not mess with a dominant pitchers mechanics. Hughes was a dominant pitcher in 2006 and in 2007. That was obvious in the results. This season has been nothing but a disaster so far for the kid. I honestly think that he should be sent either to the bullpen or to Scranton so he can get him self together and to get back those mechanics that made him into the dominant pitcher he has been for the past few years in the minors and even in the majors.
OK… maybe a silly question, but regarding the 40 man roster…
What determines whether a player is on the 40 man other than a major league contract (Brackman, Miranda) and being on the big club? I guess my question is why are the following players on the 40 man? Were they all signed to major league contracts?
Jeff Marquez, Steven White, Chase Wright, Francisco Cervelli)
Doreen it’s Francesa assumption it’s not factual.
How behind am I? I just noticed Cabrera is batting SIXTH!
Thanks, Jax.
SJ44,
Yes, Joe’s handling of the media is curious…especially when you consider how long he’s been in this town and since he was Joe Torre’s bench coach…if anyone handled the media well it was Joe T…
Get mad at what happens on the field…show frustration about injuries, but don’t come across as angry with the media…I don’t see how that helps anyone…
Laura - Aside from Kay’s issues with depth perception on flyballs, I think he calls a nice game. I disagree that he’s unsupportive, but would agree he’s no Hawk. For my money, I don’t want my play by play guy be a company suck up. Just want to call him as he sees it and not be afraid to call out a Yankee when they’ve done badly or praise the other team for doing well. At least he’s believable. You listen to Sterling with the TV on and you wonder what the hell he’s watching. His calls are borderline fiction at times.
Doreen:
Your way of addressing the issue changes it from disingenuous to what it should be. It was subtle things like that which made Torre’s ability to deal with the media so strong.
Chad Jennings on SWB says that Britton is back (replacing Alex) and that Henn was DFA’d so that Moeller could go back on the 40 man.
I got pissed when he says its important that Phil still believe in himself. You might have helped him out with that one Joe by not having Damon in centerfield and Stewart behind the plate.
I know I’ve said that ONE HUNDRED TIMES but I can’t stop saying it. Pete, you gotta ask him about this! (and Giambi and why he’s not sitting).
Doreen,
Girardi does have a catch phrase. It’s “obviously”.
He should use it like this:
“Obviously, I can’t share that until we’ve talked to the player.”
“Obviously, you think I’m an idiot if you think I’m going to answer the same question asked a different way.”
“Obviously, a stupid question gets a stupid answer.”
I think you get the idea.
“I don’t understand why Melky wasn’t in left”
I meant in CENTER!
Re: the Santana deal…….Melky would be in that deal. Imagine this season without Melky. Not pretty.
I don’t think Johan Santana would be happy with Johnny Damon in CF. lol
Add to it the luxury tax implications, which do matter, it just wasn’t a workable deal.
I don’t give up on Hughes or regret not making the deal because April has been a bad month for Hughes.
That deal had too many implications, many of which weren’t in the Yankees best interests, to rehash it everytime Hughes has a bad outing.
I know I’m not going to change the minds of some. Just pointing out some issues with the deal.
Hey, Melky is tied for the team lead in HR…
Anyway, more moves are coming. Right now, as Jennings points out, there are five catchers on the 40 man.
I feel bad for Phil.
Wait, did someone just say Phil got sent down and Rasner called up? Or are they speculating?
I like A-Gon at third..A-rod who?
This Francessa guy is killing me. Classic case of drawing the wrong conclusion from the evidence shown. “None of the starters are going 5 innings so we need an 8th inning guy.” NO what that proves is that you need starters to go deeper into games and to have a long reliever.
Speculation Rebecca.
If you think Joba is THAT good he has to be in the rotation so that you dont end up with a starter that goes 5 or less everytime.
M&MD were speculating based on Cashman’s comments last night and his pre-game comments today.
Rob he says that because it doesn’t support his argument that Joba should stay in the pen. lol
Got it give to him, he’s really sticking to this “Joba needs to be in the pen” non-sense. No matter what kind of information he gets about Joba as a starter it’s still “he needs to be in the pen.”
“This Francessa guy is killing me. Classic case of drawing the wrong conclusion from the evidence shown.”
A scientist is conducing an experiment. He cuts off one of a frog’s legs and says “Jump, frog, jump.” The frog jumps and the scientist makes a note.
The scientist cuts off another leg and says “Jump, frog, jump.” The frog jumps and the scientist make a note.
The scientist cuts off the third leg and says, “Jump frog, jump.” The frog manages one more jump and the scientist makes a note.
Finally, the scientist cuts off the last leg and says “Jump frog, jump.” The frog doesn’t move. The scientist says again, “Jump, frog, jump,” and still the frog doesn’t move.
So the scientist writes a note in his journal: “Frog with no legs deaf.”
That scientist was Mike Francessa.
If Mo broke his leg and could never pitch the same again (god forbid/ knock on wood) I MAY be able to see using Joba as the closer. But three years in the 8th inning? Albie/Ohlie guarantee get the eigth inning with a lead more often than not.
He talks about how important the 8th inning is and how we dont have pitchers going deep into games well I know how you can save quality pitchers for the 8th inning. Have a guy who can pitch 5-7 innings every time out. Joba may be able to do that for you.
My thoughts:
Phil to AAA for May with Rasner replacing him on the big club.
Let Kennedy try to work himself out. Mussina said he is close and it more a matter of trusting himself and altering pitch sequence and style. Also, if you have to mess with someones head, I would choose Kennedy. Lower upside, older, more experience (college).
June Phil back up and the Joba covnersion begins.
I was watching the Mets get pounded this afternoon and I thought Darling was great in the booth. What impressed me was they allowed calls to the booth during the eight inning. So I was thinking how much fun that would be if the folks here on the blog were able to actually call Kay during a game. I think after one call he would end that feature. I think Kay likes to harp on the negative in regards to the Yankees. Seems like he’s auditioning for espn.
its ok. have no fear fellow yankee fans. the Charleston Riverdogs are absolutely stacked. pitching, hitting, theyve got it all.
look for the yankees to become absolutely filthy come 2013…
lol
Jason - I have to agree with you on all of that. I just don’t want to see Joba stretched out in the minor leagues, stretch him out in the majors and whoevers turn in the rotation it is comes in as the long man after Joba…. it would be a waste to have Joba stretched out in the minors, we need those innings
addition to the last comment - give Phil at least 1-2 more starts before sending him down though
I’d give Phil one or two more starts if I knew Molina was going to be behind the plate both times. If that can’t be the case, however, might as well start the AAA healing process now.
How funny is it that the Mets had as many errors (3) as runs (1) plus hits (2)…
I waffle on giving Phil more starts. Seattle would be next and they are not a great hitting club, but if the issues are mechanical, pitchability (or more precisely throwing his 3 and 4 pitches in a game) why wait.
Agree on Joba - You can probably creat a plan over about a month that would do the trick.
I waffle on giving Phil more starts. Seattle would be next and they are not a great hitting club, but if the issues are mechanical, pitchability (or more precisely throwing his 3 and 4 pitches in a game) why wait.
Agree on Joba - You can probably creat a plan over about a month that would do the trick.
Mel -
You crack me up!
Hype-
If you’re 17, you’ll probably need a parent or guardian to get into the stadium. Usually they check id’s for people at the gate, which is why you’ll see long lines there. It might be best to come another weekend when a parent/guardian can accompany you.
So what can we do to lure Micah Owings to the Yankees?
Okay, so the pitchers don’t hit in the AL generally, but I know that there is a way to lose the DH and it would be so freakin’ awesome…
Rebecca -
I heard (on XM morning baseball show) that Micah Owings hurt his ankle the other day after hitting a double (his 3rd hit of the game). I didn’t follow up on that, though.
Just watching the pre-game on YES. According to Kim, Brian has said there are on-going internal discussions re: Phil Hughes as to whether he works out his problems in the starting rotation, bullpen or AAA. They will decide before his next start.
Also said Alex made the injury worse by coming back too soon. Said they will be mmre careful with returning players from now on.
Uh Oh - Our boy Jose Tabata appears to be on double secret probation. Four days out of the lineup - suspension, off day, two dnp no reason given.
Just checked. Looked like Owings could be available, Rebecca. He’s supposed to make his start on Friday. Dodged a bullet!
Good! Tabata has a bit of an attitude give him a few days to calm down and clear his head.
Kim Jones said Bruney has decided not to get surgery on his foot to see if there is a chance he can come back in August.
Never thought I would say this, but I feel for Bruney, especially the new slimmer better Bruney. Sounds like he is worried about losing his job next year if he gets surgery and can’t pitch for the rest of this season.
Oh man. You see how people wanted Santana?
I want Owings like 2389723x more than anyone that wanted Santana. Just cos.
Like, I’m salvating at the thought of him in pinstripes.
(Yes I know Arizona wouldn’t give him up in the Johnson deal, but that’s not the point!)
Hey guys just got in. Haven’t had a chance to read all the comments so hopefully I don’t repeat anything.
1) Love the lineup today. No complaints. I like the energy AG brings. Hey, at least Matsui and Abreu are in there.
2) I am still completely satisfied that the Yankees didn’t pull the trigger on the Santana deal. Even with the obvious emergence of Cabrera, I’m still not convinced Santana is going to be better than Hughes over the next 6-7 years. I understand the kid has looked really really bad at times this year. But I saw that game last year against Texas, that magical 7 innings. I also watched his games in September last year and that relief appearance against Cleveland in the playoffs. That talent doesn’t just go away. He’s in his own head but I think he’ll work his way out of it. Also, not only are Santana’s numbers down and home runs up, he’s pitching in the NL now. Imagine what his numbers would look like in the AL.
3) Mo is my MVP for April. Other guys have played well, but to me this one isn’t even close. He’s throwing the ball as well as he ever has.
4) Not too many people looking to DFA Mussina these days. Funny what a few good starts will do for you.
5) I don’t think the Yankees can use injuries as an excuse for their record so far. Every team has injuries. Look at the Angels. They lost their top 2 starters (Escobar, Lackey) and are still 6 games over .500. Imagine where the Yankees would be if Wang and Pettitte had been on the shelf since Opening Day? But I do think the road schedule and no off days has hurt the team, and that’s why a win today makes the record 15-14 for April. I’ll take it, it could be much worse.
Also in the pre-game, Bob, Kenny and Kim couldn’t seem to say Phil Hughes’ name without mentioning AAA. I think the writings are on the wall.
If that’s the case, good luck Phil and hope you work things out down there and come back soon.
Okay, Rebecca - I have to ask - why Micah????
Like Brandon said maybe he needs to get away from Eiland. Who apparently tinkered with his mechanics.
Yeah, I really hope that the fix whatever is broken with Phil. I usually don’t agree with mike and chris but Phil’s fastball hasn’t looked as explosive as it had. It’s pedestrian and that + a good curve isn’t going to win many major league games. I think the team is going to be fine but the change in Phil scares me because he is the first guy that I followed since we drafted and went specifically to see him play in the minors. I’m worried that a trip to AAA won’t help unless he fixes whatever has changed, which it seems like the Yankees are ignoring.
Paging Mr. Contreras, Mr. Nardi Contreras to AAA Scranton!
Let’s get his head straight before we do lasting damage. Same for Tabata. These kids are really young for their respective levels. To misquote Yankee legend - 100% of the game is 1/2 mental.
Get their minds in the game before turning them loose.
Anyone play golf - anyone try hitting a golf ball (that is not moving or looking to swing back at you) when having seven different swing thoughts. Never works.
Phil needs to have it ingrained with repeated success what he will do and just trust it and let it rip.
Doreen: Because he can flat out mash!
Okay, my friend wants to hack into my mlb.tv account to watch an out of market game, so I will have to give up the computer for a bit…GO YANKEES, back later =)
Disagree with Bruney. If drs recommend surgery, get it done. He’ll try to come back and reaggravate it. There’s no guarantees he can come back by August anyway. He’ll be like Schilling. In a holding pattern.
He might find the bullpen kind of crowded in August anyway. Hopefully some of the younger pitchers will be making an impact by then.
Michael Kay has never liked Phil - nothing he says is a surprise. Well, gee Mike - go ask all the scouts who raved about Phil and ask THEM what they saw. Oh wait - they don’t know anything about baseball. I just don’t want to hear Kay sing Phil’s praises when he eventually pans out to what we all expect him to be.
When are they getting Minky and Marte from the Pirates?
Dee - I agree. Although they said the Yanks have yet to decide, I would be very surprised to see Hughes starting in the major leagues on Sunday. I expect it to be Rasner.
“miggs 3) Mo is my MVP for April. Other guys have played well, but to me this one isn’t even close. He’s throwing the ball as well as he ever has.”
Good to see posting here my brother. BTW. I cant believe your considering moving out of s.d. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.
It’s YANKEE time!!!
I really hope Phil gets things straighten out.
Listening on the radio to the vitriol some fans were throwing his way really made me feel for the kid. He is just a kid.
If I hear, “We could’ve had Johan Santana” one more time…..grrr
Game time!
Let’s go Yankees! Let’s get a win today!
Wow. 20 years since Bull Durham. Geez… I’m old.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_en_mo/bbm_bull_durham_s20th
Rebecca-
Will you shut up already about Micah Owings?
Hughes and IPK should stay with the big club.
Everything will be fine.
Let’s go Andy!
how do we get michael kay to stop saying “generation tres”?
Suzyn W wants Phil to wear special goggles so he can see the signs from the catcher at night. - - I just got this mental image of Phil pitching with a coalminer’s helmet with flashlight.
ridiculous.