Moeller returns to Yankees
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 30, 2008 
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Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that Chad Moeller went unclaimed on waivers and is back with the Yankees.
That is good news for the Yankees, especially given the problems Chris Stewart had last night.
If he’s on the roster, I suspect Moeller could play tonight. Jose Molina was limping around pretty goood after the game in Cleveland on Monday. That hamstring may be bothering him again.
————
How has it come to this for the Yankees? People are thrilled Chad Moeller is back. This is a guy who was cut in spring training by the Nationals because they liked Wil Nieves better. A team with a $209 million payroll praying that nobody claims Chad Moeller. Amazing.
its a strange day when i get so excited about chad moeller, but…
OH YEAH!
That explains why Heyman said Moeller could be in the lineup tonight. Thanks, Pete.
yeh what the hell happened to Stewert last night ?
HA-HA Me too! Who would have thought that I’d be happy to have Chad back. Poor Jose
Get well soon buddy we need you!!
So they add Moeller to replace Alex (injury), send Stewart back down and then call up a pitcher? Veras? What do you think?
Uh oh, no time for Molina to get hurt. At least Moeller knows the pitchers, it’s a positive development.
And going into the season I thought their would be stability at the catcher’ position. Lets hope bright skies and warmer weather is ahead, too many hamstring/quad injuries.
I think the pitcher called up would be Rasner, work him through long man potential starter, like Mendoza.
Good! Wasn’t impressed with Stewart anyway.
45 minutes away from Jonathan Sanchez’s start vs Colorado I can’t wait
I’m not mad about the DFA anymore…
Maybe all the years of hard work on Moeller’s part is coming back to him. Good karma and all. I can see the headlines:
“Journeyman makes it to Yankees and wins WORLD SERIES!!!” woohoo!!
If there is a better option, I’ll cheer that one. Until then, a little Chad love is all good.
Hope they give Chad #21 – if anyone is worthy of wearing that number – it’s Chad!
The team had pitching injuries last year, position player injuries this year.
Good news is the organization has shown the ability to let pitchers who could help the big league team shoot through the minors in less than a year. Now I wonder if they would consider that for position players?
News on Molina’s hammy doesn’t sound promising.
Welcome back Chad.(I still can’t believe this news made my day)
You can only plan for injuries to a point. Good their third choice is back.
Stewert did good w/ Ohlendorf and Ramirez… IDK what happened w/ him a Hughes, I’m betting it was more Phil than Chris. I’d keep him and Moeller since Jose might need some DL or rest.
I’m beginning to believe Girardi was not ready for this job, injuries aside.
I can’t believe I’m even thinking this but…I miss Joe Torre…there I said it. I’m the first. Pete said this day would come, and it’s here.
Let’s not even talk about Cashman. I’m beginning to think Torre was hamstrung by his bonehead moves. Cashman is not the boy genuis everyone keeps touting him as.
Wow!! How did it get to be Wednesday already? (They said Moeller could clear waivers by Wednesday)
Well, we saw last night how important it is to have a good back up catcher. Stewart may be a decent catcher, but he sure wasn’t ready for last night. I suppose Molina is going to be sitting down for a few days now, too. If it wasn’t so frustrating, it would be comical. So far, just about everything that could go wrong for the Yankees has gone wrong. Well, that should mean there’s nowhere to go but up, right? I sure hope so.
I watched those videos of Phil. Personally I don’t know how you all can be so positive of what you saw, since the earlier video is so blurry – he looks like a blob on the mound, about 20 pounds heavier and no body parts at all are clear. But I guess most of you are so used to watching video of pitchers that you can make definitive judgments based on those few clips.
I wonder if Moheller still has the fire in them and his bat? Moheller did do good with his bat.
I think it’s time for the Yanks to decide whether to put Molina on the DL or continue to run him out there. I’d rather not carry 3 catchers, when not one of them will hit too well (to put it mildly). Either Stewart goes or Molina hits the DL, and then it’s time to call up another pitcher (maybe Rasner). I wonder how Chris Britton feels right now (besides hungry, that is).
This is a wonderful day in Yankees history! We have our next Yogi Berra, our next Ellie Howard, our next Thurman Munson… our next Spongehead Cerone.
Well, go Yankees! Our best to Chad.
Baseball’s a funny sport. It never works out the way you expect it to.
Good thing it’s not a 16 game season.
Ed learn how to spell the guy’s name. No h in Moeller.
“Well, we saw last night how important it is to have a good back up catcher. Stewart may be a decent catcher, but he sure wasn’t ready for last night.”
Couldn’t help but notice Stewart was fine whenever the pitcher’s name wasn’t Phil Hughes. Young Mr. Stewart was a lot more ready for last night than young Mr. Hughes was.
Zero Tolerance… you’re hardly the 1st.
I too am glad Chad is back… but I also wonder why no one else picked him up just to screw the Yankess.
“They also have to find a veteran starter somewhere. I’d call up Texas and ask for Millwood at this point. At least he’d keep us in games most nights and Texas isn’t going anywhere.â€
Ken Rosenthal made a similar call in his new gossip column.
I surely hope the Yankees make a move or two to shore up the rotation. Whats up w/ Freddy Garcia? Could he eat some innings when he is healthy again and looking for work in June? Has he been signed?
What about a trade for a Millwood-esque type player? If it helps take off some of the stress not only on The Phranchise or IPK, but ALSO Wang and Pettitte, I’m all for it.
I’m not saying run out and offer the farm for an ace (As far as I know, there are none avail, they had a shot this past winter and opted to pass). But if a few prospects (a la Abreu trade) in conjunction with a salary dump can net a Kevin Millwood to eat 175 innings, then I’m all for it. As long as the list of players heading to TEX (or wherever, for that matter) doesn’t include Tabata, Gardner, A-Jax, and our prized pitching prospects.
And its almost become a foregone conclusion when Mussina, Pavano, Giambi and Farnsworth come off the books next year, the Yankees will go after CC Sabathia. And hopefully Mark Teixeira…
They need an innings eater. Period. Someone that can keep them in games and not blow out the bullpen by June. IMO.
Whats up with all the drive-bys on here against SJ44 today? Whose Cheerios did he go ‘wee-wee’ in ?!?!?
Easy, fellow fans. So much animosity and angst for a team at .500 after a crappy month-long schedule and a slew of injuries.
Take a page from Rebecca’s book. Ever the Optimist !!!
put me on the record as saying i dont miss joe torre one bit.
6.0221415×10²³
The Mole man!
Doreen good point. Hughes did look a little thicker on those videos now he looks very thin/slimmer. He did lose 10 pounds in the off-season.
A rotation of Sabathia, Wang, Pettitte, Joba, and Phil sounds nice for next year.
With IPK as the 6 man/long.
If Dandy Andy comes back, that is. If not, slide IPK into #5 and bump everyone up a slot.
“A team with a $209 million payroll praying that nobody claims Chad Moeller.”
That’s because Moeller has finally figured it out and is the next Yogi Berra. Only better.
BooYa! Welcome Back Chad!!!!
“put me on the record as saying i dont miss joe torre one bit”
in spirit yes, game management wise DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED !!!
Br Bomber:
Lot of money in Millwood. He’s on the books thru 2010. Not that money matters to the Yanks, but he’d potentially be holding back a younger arm.
I was also thinking that someone was going to pick him up just to screw with the Yankees. Maybe they just didn’t pay attention to how well he did for us. WELCOME BACK CHAD!!!!
why is Nate McClouth killing the Mets ?
JS54, it was just a typo.
Br Bomber, Kevin Millwood would also cost alot of prospects and no we don’t need to do that.
I do NOT miss Joe Torre. He’s the guy who left Joba flapping in the wind with the midges.
What Girardi did last night doesn’t rise to that level. It’s indefensible but not Torre/midge horrible. Torre was just phoning it in at the end. Girardi is OVERTHINKING IT if anything. Though I wish he’d OVERTHINK his use of Giambi.
OMG Moeller is back, our season is saved. Lol, was this even worth a topic, when our big name guys like Posada and A-Rod are out?
Seriously, did Freddy Garcia get lost at sea somewhere?
Is it when faced with the option of having Stewart catch more games…
Yankees hopes Hang on a guy named CHAD!
I would like Girardi alot more if he’d quit messing with the lineup everyday.
that being said, these are my top 3 Girardi bonehead moves as manager:
#1 Not walking Manny (easy & obvious)
#2 Walking Hafner to load the bases for rookie pitcher who had no control, to pitch to Victor Martinez who has better #s than Hafner in the bottom of the 9th..huh??
#3 Giambi. On First. Enough already.
Bronxbomber77
I was just thinking myself that there’s so much anger here today. Not just toward SJ44, but in general. It almost seems like some here are taking these unfortunate events on the Yankees personally – as if their life or livelihood depended on it.
And I know Phil Hughes hasn’t done nearly as well as people had hoped or even expected, but the negativity is palpable. I sure hope he goes nowhere near his own blog in the next couple of days or he may have a breakdown.
I give Rebecca a lot of credit for keeping on keeping on – injecting some positivity against all odds. I am more in despair of the mood of the fans than I am the state of the Yankees. I feel pretty good that things will straighten out for the team, but I don’t know about some of the fans out there…..
Jax – so 10 pound were his, and 10 pounds from the camera, right?
Scorpio, I can’t give you Giambi on 1st. The Yanks have huge amount of money invested in him this year and they need to try to get some use out of him. That’s not Girardi’s fault. What I don’t like is putting a bat like Matsui’s on the bench in the middle of a hot streak. You don’t want a day off in April when you’re hitting the cover off the ball.
Britton replaces Alex
Moeller replaces Stewart
THE MOLE MAN!
I don’t like Moeller’s game calling, I feel its fastball heavy, but he is way better looking receiver than Stewart.
“#3 Giambi. On First. Enough already.”
This is on Cashman. For the size of the payroll not having an MLB firstbaseman is inexcusable. Giambi’s bad, but he’s still the best alternative. Bam Bam Duncan sure isn’t the answer.
“but he is way better looking receiver than Stewart.”
did you say this when he was catching Ohlendorf and Ramirez ?
Maybe they’ll let Britton pitch this time.
Guys, I have a quick question. Do you have to be accompanied by an adult to get into the stadium?
My cousin’s friend is trying to find someone to give his tickets to but I don’t know if I’ll be able to go; I’m only 17.
According to ed price the wonderful chris britton is back
bigjf,
agree, my list could’ve gone on but i didn’t want to get carried away. i was not happy about matsui sitting for 2 days either and yesterday why bench melky, that move cost 2 runs yesterday.
i hear ya about Giambi @ 1st but when does it become too costly? i guess we’ll see.
I’m only 17.
They aren’t going to give you a problem at 17 lol
17 can get in no adult needed
BigJF — I think this yo-yo string they have Britton on is about to get played with again — if he’s hungry, it’s because he wants to get on the mound and show what he’s all about. He may be a big guy, but then, look at all the GREAT big guys pitching (Sabathia comes to mind….)
you sure?
I don’t want to go all the way there and not be able to get in. I’ve always went with older people so I never really asked.
Scorpio,
I don’t know at what point it becomes too costly, but at the very worst he’ll still have a decent OBP. They certainly need to try him in the field past April and May, I would think.
Chris Britton is back? I thought he couldn’t get recalled until 10 days after he was sent down?
“I’m only 17.”
Fortunately for you, most Yankees games are rated PG-13.
You should be fine.
Well – they don’t check ID so you’d probably not have any problems
…
actually, my cousin’s been going to games alone with friends since he was 16 and has never had a problem
so, bring an ID? I look real young.
bigjf – he can come back to take the spot of someone going on the DL
I don’t miss Torre. Joe G has made some decisions that I disagree with, but the season is still young. I’m going to give him a full season before I start calling for his head.
since arod got moved to the dl britton can go before 10 days
yankee stadium is supposedly rated G. you should have no problem getting in.
Bigjf:
Technically he fills Arod’s spot. 10 day rule is waived in case of injury.
don’t worry – just go
they won’t say anything just walk on in…it’s not like you are trying to buy beer – they’d ID you there
oh ok…thanks guys…now I have to go call him and tell them I’m gonna take them…they better not lose either lol
“why is Nate McClouth killing the Mets ?”
He’s killing everyone so far this year.
yodido,
I’m hoping Britton does get a chance to prove himself. I believe he can do well, as he has in the past. Girardi wants guys who can throw strikes? Britton is one of them. I’ve been hoping to see Britton make it with the club since they first traded for him. Same deal with Albaladejo.
…But fat jokes are still a must. They were with Wells and Colon, and they are with Sabathia as well, despite how good he is.
“so, bring an ID? I look real young.”
Dude, just show up and bring your ticket. You’re not going to have a problem.
“Seriously, did Freddy Garcia get lost at sea somewhere?”
No. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s finished.
Thanks for clearing up the DL rules, guys. I forgot about that part.
Britton replaced ARod. When you replace an injured player, you don’t have to wait the required 10 days to be recalled.
Doreen,
I wouldn’t sweat it if folks are mad at me. I don’t! lol
Seriously, its just baseball talk. If folks are incapable of debate without finding a bad guy, that’s on them, not me.
No season goes smoothly and there isn’t a team in baseball that doesn’t have issues. I just discuss how to solve them.
Getting Moeller back is nice.
Who would have guessed the Yankees would have used 4 catchers before April 1? Amazing.
Dan Graziano is a hoot
Looks like the catcher position is like the past 2 years starting pitcher position.Believe me I do not miss the days of Tim Redding, Sean Henn, Chase Wright, Tyler Clippard, Daryl May
Oh the pain on that one
they’re not going to care about 17–just don’t try buying any beer!
I am trying to remember if I went to any events on my own that young…I think I went to some minor league games, maybe…but basically, they just care that you have a ticket.
I don’t think there’s an age limit.
****
I’ve been told I’m good at looking at the big picture, being the opposite of detail-oriented.
Maybe it’s the history major thing, but the fact is you never know how something’s going to end up till a while after the event. Just look at last year–how we started so slow and still won 90 games.
Anyway, I won’t panic after one month. That’s not looking at the big picture.
Chris Stewart handled every pitcher well but Hughes. Stewart never saw a pitcher on the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre staff before April and they raved about his work.
It seems more like Hughes crossed up Stewart than the opposite.
So Pete is blaming Stewart for Hughes bad pitching.
I just put on the Mets game and they have a Molina catching. Is this a relative of the 3 brothers or just a coincidence?
guess at line-up
Damon – LF
Jeter – SS
Abreu – RF
Matsui – DH
Giambi – 1B
Ensburg – 3B
Cano – 2B
Moeller – C
Cabrera – CF
WTF Pagan
“I just put on the Mets game and they have a Molina catching. Is this a relative of the 3 brothers or just a coincidence?”
Not related.
“So Pete is blaming Stewart for Hughes bad pitching.”
Contributing factor Excuse.
Ok, that left out the ‘not equal to’ sign, heh.
Contributing factor (not equal to) Excuse.
“I just put on the Mets game and they have a Molina catching. Is this a relative of the 3 brothers or just a coincidence?”
coincidence he even said sometimes when people ask if he’s a relative he lies and saids he’s a cousin
I don’t think Pete is blaming Stewart but it doesn’t help that he’s the 4th catcher Phil has been paired with.
Phil never had issues with Posada, Molina or Moeller so I wouldn’t say that it was all Phil’s problem with the crossups.
The Mets are getting one hit, I am amused.
I certainly feel that after Girardi’s choices last night he deserves some criticism. Melky in my mind has been one of the best, if not the best, all around player so far this year. He should of not been out of the game considering a very fragile pitcher was taking the mound. It weakened the outfield against a very strong offensive team. It would have cost Giambi to sit. I know he has stepped it up a bit but Melky has been hitting rather well. Damon in left is a defensive upgrade over Matsui in that spot. Melky in center is a defensive upgrade over Damon. And Melky batting is an upgrade from Giambi at this point IMO. Toss in having Stewart catch Hughes and you have some seriously questionable decisions on Girardi’s part. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt because I don’t really know how each of them are feeling (Molina) and what is really going on behind closed doors. But at face value, he made a bunch of costly decisions last night.
i used to go to yankees games all the time by myself (with friends, i mean – or at least, without my parents) when i was 15, 16 years old. no problem. just don’t do anything stupid once you’re inside.
“The Mets are getting one hit, I am amused.”
no Rebecca they are getting one hit and pimp slapped
Holy Schnikes Brandon !
I had no idea how long Millwood’s contract was!
I thought he was up at the end of this year, but I just looked at Cots and it said:
Kevin Millwood rhp
5 years/$60M (2006-10)
signed as a free agent 12/05
$15M signing bonus (payable 2011-2015)
06:$6M, 07:$7.5M, 08:$8.5M, 09:$11M, 10:$12M
no problem Bx
It’s Yankee Stadium not the China Club!
Just 5 weeks ago when Francisco Cervelli went down with injury and Cashman claimed a released Chad Moeller from Washington, many on this board said, “Chad who” ????
Being that nothing is etched in stone in this game, Yankeeland now knows exactly who Chad Moeller is.
$200 million payroll and people are excited about Moeller. I wonder who boston, nym, detriot would turn to if they lost their starter and their back up was banged up.
oh guys, one more question:
The tickets are pretty far up (Tier Reserved) but can I still go for BP and not have to wait all the way up there? Like, can I move up or enter through gate 6 or something?
Will,
Last Saturday’s game with Kennedy on the mound Girardi benches Abreu, Matsui & Cano. I don’t care if they’re facing a lefty/righty you have to put your best guys out there especially if pitching is suspect.
Girardi’s moves when the kids are on the mound are HIGHLY questionable.
Melky’s 21, he thrives on playing everyday. He doesn’t need a day off, all it can do is throw off his mojo.
This is probably the strangest baseball season of my life. Living in a blackout area for the Yankees, I’ve only had the pleasure of following the Red Sox. Most of the Yankee baseball “coverage” I read these days comes from the internet. I visit LoHud almost daily now and have felt far less dissociated from the game. At the same time I’ve visited blogs before and never in my life have I browsed a blog like this one. These blog entries are like forum discussion topics. But I digress. With these constant updates I feel more in touch with Yankees baseball even though I no longer live in the metropolitan area. I thank you, Mr. Abraham, for your dedication to Yankee baseball.
Go Yanks.
Hype,
At 15 I used to cut High School and go to Yankee day games by myself just to watch Mattingly hit.
You’ll have no problem getting in.
Better yet, let’s guess Pete’s lineup:
Damon- 1b
Jeter- SS
Abreu- RF
Matsui- DH
Giambi- DH
Ensberg- 3b
Cano- 2b
Cabrera- LF
Moeller- C
Phil Hughes – Left out.
It’s far too early to tell if Girardi will do a better job than Torre. It’s also not a fair comparison, in general. It’s inevitable that they’ll be compared constantly, but you can’t compare Torre’s first few year’s to Giarardi’s, the personnel was not the same. Further, Girardi is in his second year managing, Torre came here with a ton of experience (albeit a lot of losing experience, as a manager).
But for anyone that insists on comparing the most that can be compared, apples to apples… Compare this year to last year. So far, we are doing MUCH better than at the start of last year with virtually the same roster. But again, too soon to say that means anything at all.
lol @ Zero Tolerance
No offense G. Love (especially since you and I are probably about the same age from what you said about going to watch Mattingly, give or take 5 years…), but that was long enough ago to mean things could be different now.
I’d say call the Stadium and find out. There’s a customer service number somewhere on yankees.com. If I had to guess, maybe 16 would be the minimum age unaccompanied, if not 18…
Wheeeeeeew !!!!! … what is that horrific stink on the L.I.E ? Reports say it’s coming from Flushing near Willets Point.
Would someone tell Kay to shut up? “Hughes is a number 4″
Goodness gracious.
Kay said that?? Suddenly he’s a talent scout. That idiot is no more qualified for his own job than I am. All he does is listen to other people and spit back out what he hears. He never played, doesn’t have any knowledge that he wasn’t “told,” not taught.
Will anyone call him on that when Hughes starts to dominate again in next month?
MORON.
**than I am qualified for HIS job…
Michael Kay is a nice guy but he spouts off like an AK-47
“A team with a $209 million payroll praying that nobody claims Chad Moeller. Amazing.”
Why exactly is this amazing and what does “payroll” have to do with anything???
Who could have expected Jorge Posada and Molina (a more than viable backup who can start for any other team) to have health issues at the same time.
The Yankees should be happy to find anyone who can catch the ball at this point…and maybe throw.
…because they have a 209 million dollar payroll, are they supposed to have an allstar catcher as a 3rd backup?
jeez.
“A team with a $209 million payroll praying that nobody claims Chad Moeller. Amazing.”
this post makes no sense.
NY Post is reporting that Girardi and Hughes are claiming eyesight problems at night. Hughes couldn’t see Stewart’s signs even though he had whiteout all over his fingers. Not Stewart’s fault.
Just got my first HDTV and the Mets suck in Hi Def as well…
I’m going to go to a game wearing a “Mrs. Moeller” t-shirt.
A team with a $209 million payroll praying that nobody claims Chad Moeller. Amazing.
Yeah, Pete, they should definately have 10 mill a yr backup players. Especially 4th string catchers making 10 mill a yr. Maybe they should trade for Pudge just to be the 3rd string guy.
Jax April 30th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Would someone tell Kay to shut up? “Hughes is a number 4″
Goodness gracious.
At this point calling Hughes a #4 is being GRACIOUS.
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.
Your all missing the point! Hughes has been unable to spot his FastBall in recent starts. Meaning, He has no idea where it is going. He has a Superb Curve Ball, but you cannot survive in the Bigs with just that one pitch style. Sorry, they gotta send the kid down to recapture a FastBall, and soon. We got problems, a couple Starters, and then we address the Bullpen, Our middle and Long Relief Pitchers are terrible. So inconsistant. To date, Girardi shows nothing, looks like he is being USED by the players. They are taking advantage. The team attitude has become lousy. They should be ashamed! Thats Classy Clems opinion.
How ironic it is…when i saw the post i was thrilled to see him back
AWESOME news!
GIRARDI ! Imagine. a players manager with the NEW YORK YANKEES? Thats simply rediculous! He’s gonna get run out of New York real quick if he doesn’t become a manm soon …He got away with that sit back style in Florida, with a bunch of young players. Here, he has established major leaguers, who are taking advantage, and making him look like a fool. Wake up Joe! Smell the Roses! and then decide if you want to be a LEADER, or a a LOSER???? Thats Classy Clems opinion.
Pete: I’m laughing on the outside and crying on the inside -your add-on comments while hilarious, are sadly true. This looks to be a LOOONG May.
brace yourself for some serious whining.
What does it matter if there is a $120 million payroll or a $209 million payroll? How many third string catchers are out there that are better than Moeller? Mike Piazza? They have the one of the top 3 catchers in the league in Posada and their back-up would start on a few times? Are they suppossed to have Victor Martinez as a 3rd string catcher?
Great back-up catchers that the Yankees should have before adding Moeller…
Guillermo Ouiraz
Kevin Cash
Shawn Riggins
Rod Barajas
Toby Hall
Kelly Shoppich
Vance Wilson
Miguel Olivo
Mike Redmond
Mike Napoli
Jamie Burke
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Clearly the Yankees have been outsmarted and outmanuevered by all these other American League teams.
A team with a 209 million dollar payroll should have Mike Piazza (who can’t catch or throw) or Sal Fasano (who has a moustache).
I’ve never seen a crossup that was the catcher’s fault. It is the pitcher’s fault 99.9% of the time. Thats just a fact of the game, a catcher knows the signs and gives them to the pitcher. If the pitcher sees it wrong (in this case over and over) its his fault.