Game 32: Mariners at Yankees
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- May
- 3
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YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Ensberg 3B
Molina C
Mussina RHP
MARINERS
Ichiro CF
Cairo 2B
Ibanez LF
Beltre 3B
Clement DH
Sexson 1B
Johjima C
Balentien RF
Betancourt SS
Hernandez RHP
Moose vs. the Seattle hitters.
King Felix vs. the New York hitters.
No notes at the moment. Back later with updates.
UPDATE, 12:45 p.m.: Not much to report so far. The Wanger said that cramp in his hand went away and he doesn’t expect any more trouble. … Kyle Farnsworth had a giant stuffed (as in taxidermy, not bread crumbs) turkey in front of his locker. It seems he shot it somewhere in the area last year, had it stuffed and is sending it back home. Morgan Ensberg, who lockers next to Farnsworth, eyed the bird suspiciously when he arrived this morning. “You think it’s easy to shoot something?” he said. “I have no idea. Not that I want to find out.” Ensberg asked me if I ever shot something. (I haven’t. Not yet anyway). That led to a discussion about how baseball draws all different types of people. Interesting guy, that Morgan Ensberg. … Jorge Posada has a “Retire 21″ sticker in locker in honor of Roberto Clemente. Wait a second, could that mean he doesn’t want 21 retired for Paul O’Neill?
Meanwhile, it’s cold and damp again today.
UPDATE, 1:27 p.m.: Anthony McCarron is covering the game today for the Daily News. He is threatening to do some in-game updates over on Blogging the Bombers. So check that out if you get bored.
Here is all you need to know about the Mac-Daddy: He’s the second-best sportswriter in his own house. He is married to talented Times football writer Judy Battista. Judy often writes about the not-so-mighty Patriots and really knows her stuff.
But at least Anthony is at the park, which is more than we can say for News beat man Mark Feinsand. Then again, perhaps he is on assignment chasing down the assorted goomahs of Roger Clemens.
UPDATE, 1;38 p.m.: Six up and six down for the Moose. As you watch the game today, watch how Mussina works higher in the strike zone on occasions and more inside. Dave Eiland is trying to get him to change the eye level of batters and to use his fastball on the inner third on the plate. The Moose has been pretty solid of late as he adjusts.
UPDATE, 1:52 p.m.: The Mariners have scored two runs in this series so far, both set up by stolen bases. It’s something to keep an eye on as Mussina is a little slow to the plate and Seattle has several guys who can run. Meanwhile Ichiro is 3 for 6 with three steals in two games so far.
UPDATE, 2:10 p.m.: Some aggressive baserunning there for the Yanks, which is the kind of thing they need to do with A-Rod and Jorge Posada out of commission for a while. Was that really The Big G we saw going first to third? Meanwhile, Hideki Matsui now has a 13-game hit streak, three off his career best.
The Yankees will announce a big crowd today, 50,000+, as every section has folks in it. But there are a lot of empty seats. The no-show factor was high with the unpleasant weather. But it’s not so bad if you’re sitting in the sun. At least that’s what Deano says from his seat behind third base, near the ballboy.
I know we have some other readers in the crowd today? How are you guys holding up?
UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: I believe I have hit upon the key to the season. Every time Hank Steinbrenner rips the Yankees, Mike Mussina pitches great the next day. Little Stein said Moose needed to pitch more like Jamie Moyer last month. Mussina went out the next day and held the White Sox to two runs over seven innings.
Then yesterday Hank went on about how the Yankees only win when Chien-Mig Wang pitches. Now Mussina has allowed one run through six innings against the Mariners.
This just in: Mussina is nine outs away from his third straight win.
UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Brutal outing for King Felix. He just got the ziggy in the sixth inning after allowing six runs on 12 hits, four of them for extra bases.
Those Yankee fans who wanted Mike Mussina and Johnny Damon released a few weeks ago look pretty silly now.
UPDATE, 3:12 p.m.: The Yankees are carrying an extra reliever, so it’s no big deal. But Mussina was only at 84 pitches. Let him go another inning. Maybe he asked out, I have no idea. But with the bottom of the order up, let him go back out there. It’s not like Hawkins needs the work.
At any rate, Mussina has a 2.50 ERA in his last three starts. 18 innings, 18 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts.
If you go back to last season, Mussina is 7-3, 3.86 in his last 11 starts.
Tell you what, when Joba becomes a starter it’s not the Moose who is going to the bullpen.
UPDATE, 3:39 p.m.: Fine job by Edwar Ramirez, walking two batters with the Yankees up 6-1. That got Joba Chamberlain up. Under the old Joba Rules, Chamberlain would have to come into the game once he warmed up. But under the new “We Trust Joe Girardi” Joba Rules, that’s not necessarily the case.
UPDATE, 3:46 p.m.: Joba is down and Jose Veras is warming up.
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on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Hey! How come Moose gets Molina on a day game after a night game? Phil could’ve used Jose(and some glasses and a new rib), but still…
mel-stop complaining about phil situation.
you guys make up so many excuses for the kid is incredible.
the guy was supposedly good last year but he still manage to give up 8 home runs in72 innings.
Look at King Feliz if you want to watch some real talent.
2006 20 SEA AL 12 14 31 31 2 1 0 0 191.0 195 105 96 23 60 176 6 11 816 2 0 4.52 4.43 98 1.335
The numbers of Feliz at age 20.
Yeah Mel,
where do you come off defending a 21 year old with less than a full year in the majors and injury problems? King Felix is almost as young and has almost not been in the majors for three years already! Not to mention he looked great out of the bullpen when the Mariners didn’t make the playoffs last year! The nerve of you to defend a Yankees starter with a broken rib and bad vision and a twisted ankle following up a popped hamstring last season. Some Yankees fans, I tell you. King Felix has his name because he’s the only young pitcher who can develop into legit ace talent, you didn’t know that? Where’s Johan?!
I’m looking forward to watching Felix play. I think that once Phil’s rib heals and he gets his new glasses, he’ll dominate.
5 3 4.46 13 13 0 0 0 0 72.2 64 39 36 8 2 29 58
The numbers of Phil Hughes at age 19. You see how fun this is, what?
Does that mean I’m going to get Rasner and Moeller at tomorrow’s game…i guess it makes sense to keep molina with moose as long as his hmastring is not acting up
today is the day that Giambi tries to bunt down the 3rd base line.
i can feel it in my bones.
Mel – I heard Moose has requested to have Jose, even before Jorge got injured.
what – how is that making up excuses? How is anyone supposed to pitch well with a fractured rib?
Heading out to the game soon. I’m piling on the long sleeves, it’s freezing here today and wet. PLEASE, no more injuries!
Giambi again ??? He’ll never get around on a King Felix fastball and those stonefingers at 1st base ??? OUCH !!
“what – how is that making up excuses? How is anyone supposed to pitch well with a fractured rib?”
He wasn’t pitching well BEFORE the broken rib.
We don’t know when he injured his rib. So you can’t say that.
what.
It was a joke. If you read between the lines you could see that.
Why are you telling me what to do? Or was it just another chance for you to complain about Phil? Again.
We get it. You don’t like Phil. You don’t like this team as it’s currently constructed. Maybe you should stop complaining. You complain up and down about this team day after day, thread after thread and I’ve never said one word to you.
Why you gotta bring up last year’s homerun totals? If you dig deeper, you’ll find that injuries changed his mechanics and for the only time in his professional life he went from a ground ball pitcher to a fly out pitcher. Look at the numbers. When he came back in August, he was returning to form. ie: groundball pitcher.
I’m not going to discuss this year with you because I don’t know all the facts.
Enjoy the game, and I hope you have a great day because life’s too short to be bitter.
oh – i haven’t been checking in for the last 2 days – did we figure out when the rib was broken?
“5 3 4.46 13 13 0 0 0 0 72.2 64 39 36 8 2 29 58
The numbers of Phil Hughes at age 19. You see how fun this is, what?”
Phil Hughes wasn’t in the bigs at age 19. Most of what he accumulated last year was. Most of his appearances last year were at age 21.
I just have to say after watching “Big Wheeling Farnsworth” just completely body Jeremy Afeldt because.. well i dont know why but it was pretty rough and tumble… im a Farnsworth fan. I never understood throwing to hit a guy in the head though. Behind the guy’s head isn’t cool either but Hernandez threw directly at Guillen’s head and that’s just never called for.
Good Morning.
Just for the record, until last night the last time the Sox and Yanks won on the same day was Tuesday, April 22nd.
Have a good weekend.
-dennis
Morning all!
Still on a bit of an emotional high from yesterday, so hopefully the Yankees win and I can kkeep the high. Though eventually I still have two papers to do so it’ll wear off, but that’s not the point.
I wonder how many of you thought we might come to a part in the season where Moose was going for his third straight win?
Vince- wow vince you look so dumb. well actually feliz wss in the majors at age 19 not class a…..learn your facts dude.
Joe, pick a lineup, and stick with it.
“Mel – I heard Moose has requested to have Jose, even before Jorge got injured. ”
Did you actually hear that? Or did you hear Kay parrotting (as he ALWAYS does) that Moose and Jorge have “had problems” in the past — despite Jorge catching the majority of Moose’s games every year they’ve both been Yankees.
Sorry about that last post. Started writing, stopped and started again and ended up starting the same sentence twice.
Phil had all but two appearances in 2007 at age 21. He and Hernandez are virtually the same age (Hughes is 2 months younger) but Hernandez got nearly 100 IP in the bigs at age 19 and is two years ahead of Phil in terms of having develpoed as a big league pitcher, so it’s not an entirely fair comparison.
Fredo corleone-That’s exactly why they call him King Feliz.
And not gay franchise. eeewww my rib, eeeww my hamstring….ewww what is’t going to be next with this dude seriously.
It is much easier to develop a kid in Seattle than NY or Boston.
-dennis
The PHranchise situation is unfolding in a strikingly similar fashion to the motion picture, Major League. I happen to recall the legendary feats performed by Richard “Wild Thing” Vaughn following a trip to the optometrist. So fear not, Yankees faithful, if movies are any indication of reality (which if you’ve seen Harold and Kumar in Guantanamo Bay you’ll agree with an emphatic YES) Phil will be back with a cool pair of specs and nickname fanning batters in no time. All kidding aside, after 31 games last year, the Yankees were 15-16, just two short seasons ago, 12-19. Both seasons they worked through their collective slump and finished with a good record. All things considered the season isn’t going as poorly as it could be with two all star caliber players on the DL and I’m enjoying watching the guys perform under pressure.
Whozat:
I believe Mel is accurate. Molina caught all Mussina’s starts before Posada was injured. Posada did catch a Moose start just before going on the DL.
Further, Posada only caught half of Mussina’s 28 starts last year. The contrast between those starts and the 14 where Molina or Nieves caught was staggering. His numbers in the games caught by Posada were brutal.
Fredo,
You’re right. It’s not fair to compare. Someone just brought up Felix to push their agenda here on the blog. Nothing more, nothing less.
Personally, I was disheartened by Phil’s performance early in the season. I thought it was mental because he did well in the fall and spring. Now, at least there are some explanations, not excuses, but reasons as to what was going on. The perfect storm maybe. If it’s true that they were tinkering with Phil’s mechanics, then that’s the catalyst right there. I don’t have all the facts, though, so I don’t want to speculate.
I’m just going to hope that we can get to Felix, no matter what Moose does on the mound.
Dennis might have the most obvious point of the day. Which doesn’t make it any less important.
Right you are Dennis, but in fairness to Hernandez, he’s a more talented kid than Hughes is. No matter where you are, coming up as a 19 year old and enjoying some modicum of success is an achievement.
a stress fracture is something that builds up over time…
it is commonly seen in patients who have suffered from severe coughing spells, whooping cough, or something known as “walking pneumonia”.
whether or not phil felt it or even knew about it, it definitely had something to do with his changed mechanics. his body was definitely compensating for the pain…whether he was consciously or subconsciously compensating his mechanics, we may never know.
but yes…i will be a phil hughes “fanboy” (as Abraham often likes to call us Yankee fans) and say that “The Franchise” was definitely injured for at least 2-3 starts before it became known.
in the playoffs last year, he was throwing 93-94 with very good control. this year he is topping out at 92 without any control. something has to be wrong.
Dennis,
There’s nothing wrong with Phil Hughes that can’t be fixed or healed can’t say the same for some “fans”.
Your kid did good last night, actually he’s been doing great in almost every start. Annoyingly so. lol.
“Dennis-Costanza (sox fan)
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
It is much easier to develop a kid in Seattle than NY or Boston.
-dennis”
All the excuses in the world. This is what I MEAN.
Anyone else thinking “Mad Dog” Vaughan?
“Joe, pick a lineup, and stick with it.”
Get all the injured players back and Joe will make your wish come true!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Further, Posada only caught half of Mussina’s 28 starts last year. The contrast between those starts and the 14 where Molina or Nieves caught was staggering. His numbers in the games caught by Posada were brutal.”
Yes. Because last year is the only year that happened.
I’m not saying that Moose and Posada work together perfectly. I am, however, saying that I’ve never actually heard that Moose has asked not to pitch to Posada.
I kinda liked last night’s line-up. I think the infusion of energy via Duncan & Gonzo helped give that “spark” Lil Stein spoke of.
But you gotta believe (or hope) that Giambi & Cano’s bat will come alive this century so…no complaints from me on the line up today.
“All the excuses in the world. This is what I MEAN.”
I’ve never understood the whining about “excuses” that sports people and some fans have. We’re trying to understand WHY something is going wrong. They’re not excuses, they’re explanations.
Hey, Hughes is way to talented to be pitching this poorly…what’s going on? Oh, all his bad starts were in rain and cold? Oh, he’s 21 and maybe the pressure of being The Guy Not Traded For Santana is getting to him? Oh, a cracked rib? Well, now we can understand why this problem is happening and have reason to believe that these are fixable issues. The alternative would be to brand every player who struggles as a “bust” and sound like an idiot by calling for them to be cut, traded, or shot. I’m sure glad I’m not like THAT.
“I think the infusion of energy via Duncan & Gonzo helped give that “spark†Lil Stein spoke of.”
I think the four errors had more to do with it than Shelley’s 1-3 with 2 Ks in the cleanup hole.
“I’m not saying that Moose and Posada work together perfectly. I am, however, saying that I’ve never actually heard that Moose has asked not to pitch to Posada.”
Yankees haven’t exactly been prone to offering information these days. Sometimes you have to go off of what you see. No question Molina is a far superior catcher to Posada, but he can’t hit, so Jorge had to get most of the games when he’s healthy. Not saying Moose requested it, but it sure looked for all the world like a “personal catcher” set up when the season started. Throwing Molina out there the day after a night game with an iffy hamstring and in the throes of a 0 for 23 would seem to back that up.
I have no doubts that Phil will be a #2/3 starter. With the ability he (and Joba) have they will be our #2-3 starters for years to come. For now, we have CMW as our Ace. Down the line we should have a very stellar staff. CMW, Joba, Phil, IPK, and one of the kids from AAA/AA…maybe even Andy yet. Andy is only 36 yrs old, he still has some pitching life left in that arm of his, and we could use an older steadying arm. I don’t like to dump on people when they are down (verbally, that is) I would rather see if there is anything that will put them back on track…Cano is one. Jason is not, he has had many chances to improve…about 3/4 years. 27/08.
Better 1-3 than a pop up by Giambi. Shelley’s also better at 1B but that’s just my opinion.
I was not making excuses for Hughes. I agree with Fredo that Felix is more talented than Hughes. He is also more talented than Bucholtz, Kennedy and Lester.
Regardless of his talent though the Yanks and Sox have to be more cautious with young talent as both markets are pressure cookers. I believe most scouts and baseball people will tell you that they would rather develop a kid in Tampa, Toronto , Seattle, Texas and so on.
-dennis
Listen Hughe will never be a better pitcher than what he was last year a 4 or higher era pitcher.
I said my opinion. I will never address this kid again.
i will let time be the one to do that for me.
“Not saying Moose requested it, but it sure looked for all the world like a “personal catcher†set up when the season started.”
Jorge hurt his shoulder in the first game of the season. He sat the next two days and then DHed a day. Caught two days, got a day off, caught again and then the DHing started.
So, this season is useless for determining whether Moose has a “personal catcher” or not. And, is it the pitcher’s fault if the manager decides that he works well with one guy and use that to give his primary guy days off? There’s a big difference between a pitcher going to the manager and saying “I don’t like throwing to Jorge” and the manager saying “Moose and Molina have a good thing going…I’m going to keep them together.”
Who is King Feliz???
It’s King Felix.
Jorge’s our guy. But you saw it with RJ, and you saw it last season with Mussina. It’s just obvious they felt more comfortable with the back-up catcher. Jorge’s got a strong personality and is quite stubborn. Admirable qualities, but we’re talking about old men here. They’re all stubborn.
If Jorge had been healthy this season, we would’ve seen Jorge taking a rest day when Moose starts. Coincidence of course, because the nobody from the Yankees would confirm the obvious. That Moose works better with the backup catcher.
“Or did you hear Kay parrotting (as he ALWAYS does) that Moose and Jorge have “had problems†in the past”
Anyone hear Michael Kay talk about Mussina on ESPN radio? His scathing criticism and deeply personal attacks of the Moose were well beyond what I’ve ever heard. Sounded worse that what I’ve heard from journalists disucssing cheaters, felons, wife abusers and more.
It was pretty shocking to me. (heard it a few weeks back)
I think also Molina pretty much let’s the vets call their own game. With Wang, Molina said he threw whatever he called. With Moose, that won’t be the case necessarily. Jorge like Mel said has a strong personality & when you don’t have it he’ll say so. Doesn’t always rub the right way with vets like Moose & RJ.
Yazman,
I read a book called “Tale of Two Cities” it chronicled the 2004 season btwn the Sox & Yanks. In it, Kay makes it clear he does not like Mussina. At all. Moose cut him off one time at an interview and Kay vowed to never interview Moose again.
Kay hates Moose.
The last Moose/Jorge game looked good to me.
“If Jorge had been healthy this season, we would’ve seen Jorge taking a rest day when Moose starts.”
We saw them together just the other week. And they worked great together. They worked together in the spring. Yeah, Moose had a bunch of bad starts with Jorge behind the plate last year. He had a bunch of bad starts THROUGHOUT last year. Every year, Jorge has caught more of Moose’s starts than the backup guy — at least I’m pretty sure that’s true. So, there’s never been any reason to think that Moose has, in any way, EVER requested not to work with Jorge…except that Kay insinuates it all the time. And we know that Kay personally dislikes Mike Mussina.
Good thing there are no notes pete, they’ve been “so and so on the DL”
whozat,
Chicken or egg debate here. Does Moose pitch better with the backup because he’s more comfortable or is he more comfortable because he’s pitching better?
Just kidding. I see your point.
Does anybody know the skinny on Mo Vaughn ??
LOL at the people who claim that needing glasses is an excuse. I wear glasses – my vision stinks. Does that mean I am less of a person? Does it mean that people who don’t need glasses are genetically superior in all ways to those that do? I guess I could try and be macho about it and not wear my glasses, but (a) the people on the road when I’m driving might not appreciate it, (b)my office mates might not appreciate it as I continually mistake their identities and bump into them on a regular basis and c)I very likely wouldn’t appreciate it as I personally think (and this could be a bias, I admit it) sight is one of the five senses and rather important in the scheme of things. I suggest pretending that everything you see is a blur and quite indistinct – then try watching tv, writing or driving like that. That should give you some idea of what it’s like to not be able to see clearly; maybe then the posters bashing Phil (I doubt it though) will quit it.
I just tune out the various bloggers/message board posters who already are inclined to dislike Phil because he cost them their precious Santana. OR, they are inclined to dislike Phil because they feel that he has betrayed them by not pitching like Sandy Koufax at 21…….oh wait, what did Sandy do in his first 6 years? OK – do not post about how Phil is not Koufax. Believe it or not, I understand that……very few pitchers in baseball history have been as good as Koufax was when he got his act together. The point is that fans seem to resent Phil because he has the audacity to be pitching like a 21 year old…….an inexperienced 21 year old at that. He never asked for the hype – unlike Joba, Phil is a very low-key, cool kind of kid. He never asked for scouts to follow him at every game he ever pitched in high school (which I’m sure was close to being the case) or for all the scouting publications to make him the #1 pitching prospect in baseball. All Phil did, all ANY of these kids do, is pitch/play to the best of their ability. That’s what he’s done since he became a Yankee – the kid works very hard at his craft and he worked particularly hard this off-season because of a frustrating 2007. The fact that he spent some of his $$$ to buy a house in Tampa to be near the Yankees facility tells me everything I need to know about Phil Hughes. Unfortunately, it seems like the baseball gods have it out for him injury wise, but sheesh – fans should at least appreciate that this very talented young man puts in the effort. You don’t think that Phil has been frustrated? You don’t think that Phil has been desperately searching for answers? It’s HIS career – he has known nothing but success since he was probably in Little League – so I’m pretty sure that as disappointed as fans are, Phil is slightly more so. So, fan resentment against this kid is, IMO, way out of line and I am disgusted. To be fair, I’m disgusted with so-called scouts and experts who are now predicting Phil to be at best a #3 or 4 starter. I guess Phil messed up their expectations, but lord knows how he did that. I’m sure they didn’t expect the kid to be up with the big club as early as last year – in fact, he wasn’t supposed to be up here until September. So, despite the fact that Phil was rushed, these so-called experts still expect Phil to pitch as if he was 31 instead of 21. Nice.
who died and made felix king?
So…about, you know, today’s game…
I think this is a lineup that Moose should be able to deal with pretty well, as long as he’s locating. This strikes me as a lineup that likes to swing the bat, and so he should be able to get them to swing at pitcher’s pitches. Except Ichiro. But he gets to EVERYBODY. Well…actually, he’ll swing at pitcher’s pitches and STILL get hits. Because he’s ridiculous. But, I feel pretty good about Moose’s chances today.
Is that you Mrs. Hughes? I think Phil’s mom is posting. LOL.
Michael Kay likes to hold vendettas, doesn’t he?
So, Betsy, tell me how you really feel. lol.
Support for Phil generally falls along gender lines. It’s a maternal thing.
I think the key for Moose today is to get Ichiro out to leadoff the game. Don’t let Ichiro beat you on the base path and manufacture any early runs that might be the difference with Felix going for the M’s. Moose seems to pitch a lot better when he is gets out of the first unscathed as well.
Here at the stadium it is freezing. Got some great photos from warmup. I would imagine as rasner has worked with moller before mel that is why he will catch tomorrow and molina will have off tomorrow
“who died and made felix king?”
Fair point. Silly nickname. Still not as silly as calling Phil “The Franchise” though.
I’m still surprised that it took so long to diagnose myopia (this coming from a guy who got his first pair of glasses at
Great win by Wang
Ichiro is awesome; glad that he can rack up some hits for my fantasy team while the Yankees still win
Also, Wild Thing for Phil later? Or wrong decade?
*first pair of glasses at eight, close parentheses
Thanks, Gayle, that makes sense. What’s Chad’s nickname? The Mole?
King Felix ? That’s funny. The Yankees are fixin’ to light him up today…..all of our wins come in bunches….I sense that we are about to string together a BUNCH of Ws !!!
“And we know that Kay personally dislikes Mike Mussina.”
Not sure he’s alone in that regard. I’ve always thought Moose was a bit of an ass and have heard noises he’s not massively popular among his teammates . Aloof, smartest guy in room syndrome, etc. Still doesn’t make Kay’s chronic beating of him on the radio right though.
I didn’t get my first pair of glasses until I was 16 and didn’t start wearing them regularly till I was about 20.
LOL Mel…………you could be right about it being a maternal feeling towards Phil, but I don’t understand why that would be the case. Still, I’ve decided that there’s just no point in getting upset at stuff like this. Nothing that we say or anyone else says is going to determine or make a difference in Phil Hughes’ career. It doesn’t matter what projections there are for him or who likes him or doesn’t – the only one that can determine that is Phil himself. This goes for any player, really. If he’s not going to worry what people are saying about him, then why should I? All I can say is that I look forward to Phil living up to his potential and quieting his critics.
On a general note, my father had tickets to last nights game and asked if I wanted to go. Normally, I would have jumped at the chance, esp. as this is the last year in YS. However, for the first time – I just had no interest. Normally, I have a great time at a game even if the Yankees are losing just because it’s a terrific experience overall and I think YS is a cathedral; however, I just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm. This season has been completely devoid of fun for me and I have a hard time getting excited given the staggering amount of injuries. I hate feeling this way ,so I hope the Yankees can give me some reasons to start feeling better about this season.
Amazing how a mediocre outing for Buchholz(5.1IP, 1ER. 4BB, 6K) would be considered a gem for either Hughes or Kennedy at this point.
I think Hughes is extreamly frustrated- more than anyone actually. You can tell. He’s not smiliing and joking about things, he’s extreamly pissed off at himself.
Plus, Santana isn’t wizzing people over. He’s just getting by. People expected him to abolish National Leaguers. And anyways, Cashman said it himself- long term. Can’t just call a month worth of pitching the decideing factor on a 21 year old’s life. This probably pisses Phill off the most. You can tell his character just by looking at him- it’s similar to most of the guys sitting on the bench getting mad at the fact that the team isn’t so hot (for now).
The fact that he has a stress fracture exaplins why he was doing so poorly: it’s not like the guy was completly lost.
And yeah, I’m a Hughes fan.
live from tier box 616. Its a chilly day. A few rain drops here and there but no tarp ok the field.
“We don’t know when he injured his rib. So you can’t say that.”
Fair enough. This lack of knowledge also means you can’t blame his results on the injury.
“today is the day that Giambi tries to bunt down the 3rd base line.
i can feel it in my bones.”
Even if Giambi bunted down the 3rd base line it would have to be a perfect bunt for him to get on. Too close to the pitcher or catcher and he will be out for a mile.
Finally, Tejada doesn’t tell a lie…
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....=280502118
Cr@p!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cano is back. 0 for 4 today again I bet.
Comparing any young pitcher to Felix Hernandez is misleading and pointless.
But it does set up a convenient straw man argument.
Hernandez was almost universally considered to be the most talented pitching prospect to enter the game in years. He was a complete outlier in term of his talent, stuff and maturity for his age.
Hernandez has more talent and more upside than Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Yovani Gallardo, Justin Verlander, Clay Buccholz, David Price, and on and on.
Until Joba exploded onto the scene last year there was no one even remotely in Hernandez’s class. Clayton Kershaw may join that select group but it’s still to be seen.
So Hernandez has historically great talent for a young pitcher. He’s a once in a generation kind of arm.
So saying Hughes isn’t Hernandez is a sort of meaningless statement. Saying Hughes is going to be a “bust” because he’s not as good as Hernandez is even more silly.
That’s like saying Jay Bruce and Adam Jones are disappointments and going to be “busts” because they are not Justin Upton.
man, summer is sure flying past fast.
20% percent of the baseball season is over.
Or that a SS/3B sucks because he’s no A-Rod?
Think you nailed it CB.
I noticed this Lance Berkman quote from the link Mel just posted:
“You can’t ever know what those families go through unless you’ve had a child afflicted with something like that,” said Berkman, who also met some of the children. “Any small thing that anybody can do to help alleviate some of that burden is obviously beneficial. It’s what we’re supposed to do.”
Now there’s a young man with his head on straight. MLB could use some more players with this sort of attitude!
Good morning peoples,
I just have a second get my fix in here. Brandon has been posting Phils change in pitching motion since his hamstring injury. I hope that they know that there is something different in his delivery and fix it. I still think he will turn it around.
Make that two people that think Mussina is a total ass. He shows it on interviews and worst of all on the field. Dont you dare commit an error playing behind him. Or he will make you pay for it by giving up a few runs. Just to spite.
I think Farns should do a body slam take down on Moose. Just have him run out of the pen after moose gives that dum look to his teammates and whala. Attitude adjustment.
GO SPURS!!GO RED WINGS!! AND SUPER GO YANKEES!!
Didn’t the Yankees actually outbid the Mariners for Hernandez but he chose the Mariners over the Yankees?
Or that guy sucks because hes no Jason Giambi at first.
That’s true, CB. It goes that way even for HOFers……Tom Seaver was a truly great pitcher, but he wasn’t Sandy Koufax. It’s still pretty good to be a HOFer.
If Phil turns out to be one of the relatively few aces in baseball, you know what? That’s a great, great thing to be. Same goes with Clay, Lincecum, Kershaw, or any of the other guys. Who knows? Phil may have a really great career – and it won’t matter if Felix is the best pitcher in baseball. Just to be considered one of the very best is a wonderful thing.
By the way, I saw on ESPN last night that Gallardo is very likely to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
CB-
According to Olney, Kershaw should be in the majors very soon working out of the pen & starting intermittently.
“This lack of knowledge also means you can’t blame his results on the injury.”
With an injury like a rib fracture you can’t ever definitively know when it happenned or what caused it unless it was the result of a specific, direct injury.
But there is circumstantial evidence you can look at.
Hughes looked very good in spring training (and by that I mean not just in games but his side work and sessions – Girardi and Eiland were very pleased with what they saw).
They Hughes threw a very good game against the Blue Jays to start the season.
After that game he was an entirely different pitcher. In particular, he completely lost his command – something that he’s shown no proclivity for doing in his entire command.
When a player looks entirely different from one point in time to another and is later discovered to have an injury of uncertain development it’s not unreasonable to think that there’s a high probability that the injury occurred at some point in between the change in performance.
Incidentally he is on a 150 innings cap.
I don’t think Moose is an ass and I don’t care what Kay thinks either; it’s hard to take a guy seriously who is judging Phil to be a #4 at this stage.
Moose has taken it upon himself to be sort of a sage to the young kids and that is very generous of him; not every veteran pitcher does that. Ok, he’s definitely got his quirks and I can see how he might rub some the wrong way, but I think he’s a good guy. Also, he’s hilarious.
Speaking of Giambi…I can’t wait until this season is over and we can dump his space-wasting butt! So what if he hits a homerun every now and then…He is otherwise a shell of the offensive machine he once was (primarily with Oakland, not so much in his tenure with the Yankees), and a laughable liability on defense.
I would like to add that Felix’s first full year he went 12-14 with a 4.52 e.r.a. Not Ace like.
Also. Can we do away with the nickname franchise. Too much pressure for a 21 year old to handle.
Sweeny was on the FAN this morning talking about Phil H’s delivery change. Apparently he used to be a predominantly fastball and slider pitcher with a 3/4 delivery. When he added the nose to toes curveball (i love that term) he converted to coming straight over the top because a) it allows for greater consistency with all of your pitches and b) the curveball doesn’t sweep across the plate.
I’m no expert on pitching mechanics (or anything else for that matter)
but this seemed to make some sense.
Hi Everybody…
I am going to my first game, of the year, this Thursday the 8th.
Does anyboby know, or can you make a quess, who will be pitching?
I am really hoping for Wang, I have never seen him pitch. And, of course he is doing so well this year.
Thanks.
NYPD-
Always trying to stir it up. I wouldn’t call that outing by Buchholz mediocre, much better than that.
Re: Clayton Kershaw…So, the Dodgers have already won 7 straight and now they’re going to add this phenom to the mix? Joe Torre is no doubt enjoying life in LA better and better by the day! (Meantime, he’s probably bemused by all the Yankees struggles this year.)
If we are keeping Giambi at first for his homerun power. Why not get the old Tony Clark to be our hit or miss guy? At least he brings a decent glove to the games.
20% of the season is over and it feels like they’ve only been playing in winter!
CB – Phil said he thinks his injury is related to a mechanical flaw…..possibly due to the change in mechanics that Nardi and Eiland forced on him?
While he’s unable to throw, Phil and the Yankees can still use this time to their advantage. I really want him to go back to his natural delivery; I’m no expert – I know less than zero about mechanices. All I know is that it is common sense for a body to be healthier when it’s doing what it wants to do. In Phil’s case, apparenly his natural motion was to have a 3/4 delivery – and it worked, since that is the delivery that gave him his exceptional velocity and command. The Yankees were fools to change it and now they have time to review all the video tape in the world and to realize they made a mistake. Let Phil watch his best games, both minor leagues and with the Yankees, and get some positive vibes going. He’s a tough kid – this adversity is going to make him a better pitcher, I’m certain of it.
Richard C-
You will be seeing Mussina vs Byrd.
Yeah, I want to see him go back to the 3/4 arm slot when he comes back…
Hey, CB, I was wondering what you thought about the following.
I was trying to figure out last night the earliest possible date the Yankees could transform Joba into a starter without exceeding his inning caps (^120 innings) before (i) the season ends; and (ii) allowing enough latitude for post-season play (which is a question in itself about the caps’ application)
The other imponderable is whether the transition innings count against the cap and where the Yankees plan to pitch him during that period and how those innings count.
Assuming 120 total innings, my calculation puts the earliest possible date to start Joba no earlier than July 1st.
That would allow him approximately 16 starts, assuming 6 innings per and totaling 96 innings, and allowing the Yankees to skip him or to tailor his innings in September, as necessary for a pennant race.
Wang is starting Wed the 7th, so most likely you’ll see Mussina.
Any idea why this game isn’t on TV at all?
Right Betsy I wouldn’t have sacrifice velocity, command and movement on the fastball just so he could have a true 12-6 break on the curve. That makes no sense.
Just let the curve be 1-7 break with good command and movement on the FB.
Thanks.
Go Moose!!!
” I wouldn’t call that outing by Buchholz mediocre, much better than that.”
– No, no, you’re right, however, I expect him to pitch even better at this point.
Trust me, after I get a chance to evaluate the game and take the emotion out of it, at this point in Clay’s career, I will take that outing every time.
Let’s go Tampa Bay Rays!
The game should be on YES
Yup Jax – the Yankees are trying to make Phil into what they want him to be instead of what he is. What he IS is a young man who was the #1 pitching prospect in baseball and a projected ace. That wasn’t good enough for the Yankees?
Kill-Schill,
I keep hearing that his cap will be somewhere in the 140 mark. Dont know how true that is.
“I would like to add that Felix’s first full year he went 12-14 with a 4.52 e.r.a. Not Ace like.”
That’s what so funny when people look at young pitchers and are quick to write them off as overhyped or as busts.
Hernandez was the single most talented young pitcher to enter the game in years. He was on a completely different level.
Despite that otherworldly talent Hernandez struggled.
Many, many yankee fans would have labeled Hernandez a “bust” at that point, especially after Hernandez got so much “hype” when he was signed and in the minors.
But that would have been exactly the wrong conclusion to draw. Hernandez’s struggles just tell you how hard it is to learn how to pitch – even when you sit 94-97.
And let’s forget Hernandez’s first couple of season because he was so young.
Let’s look back at last season. Hernandez last season was 21 and had a substantial amount of experience behind him – he had already thrown 275 pro innings entering last season.
So what did the most talented young pitcher to enter baseball do in his third season with 275 innings under his belt?
Hernandez last year went 14-7 with a 3.92 ERA and a whip of 1.38.
Those are good numbers but hardly spectacular and in no way were they “Ace” levels of performance.
They are solid numbers.
Again, if Hernandez was on the yankees last season and had put up those numbers droves of yankee fans would have dismissed him as being over rated and something of a bust because he clearly wasn’t an “Ace.”
In no way would I ever dismiss Hernandez based on his recent past performance. He is an absolute star in the making.
But young pitching takes time to develop. Ace pitchers don’t just appear out of nowhere. They develop over time – even when you are the most talented pitcher of your generation – even then it takes time.
The yankees did go after Hernandez very, very hard when he was on the international market. Hernadez for whatever reason chose to sign with the Mariners.
He’ll be a free agent when he’s 25 or 26.
CB-
You glow over Kershaw, the debut by Scherzer was really amazing.
Didnt Randy Johnson struggle his first few years due to control problems? Most consider him the best lefty ever.
(Meanwhile, how great a name is “Ball Star†for a blog? Much better than “LoHud Yankees Blog.â€)
.
so PETE…how about we change the name of the blog then ??? You can allow each blogger one suggestion, then you can pick out the ones that the higher-ups have no problem with…then LET’S VOTE !!! How does THAT sound, ALL ?
i heard what is negotiating with David Wells as we speak.
it’s amazing how many fans think the rules should be different because we’re the NY F’N Yankees. we get old. we need to get younger. those young players don’t all develop the same. let’s have this conversation in three years, and i’ll buy you a cup of coffee is Hughes isn’t making 30 starts a year by then.
David Wells? I love the guy, but he has nothing left.
Maybe, as a lefty specialist he might have a modicum of a value.
As a starter, however, I can’t believe The Boom would perform any better than IPK or even Igawa, for that matter.
since it goes without saying that good eye sight is essential to be a professional baseball player it goes without saying that every team should have eye exams and eye conditioning programs for it’s players.
it’s not only 20/20 or better that’s important. players see speed differently too. the more a player relaxes, the better he sees the ball. bobby murcer used to tell a story about feeling relaxed like he was in a rocking chair to slow the ball down.
when you see a relaxed player at the plate ,you see a player who is giving himself the best chance to see the ball.
i guess the question is are there any other yankees whose eyes are not what they should be ?
“i guess the question is are there any other yankees whose eyes are not what they should be ?”
Cano thinks every pitch is a strike?
“it’s cold and damp again today.”
Heheee
“Apparently he used to be a predominantly fastball and slider pitcher with a 3/4 delivery. When he added the nose to toes curveball (i love that term) he converted to coming straight over the top because a) it allows for greater consistency with all of your pitches and b) the curveball doesn’t sweep across the plate.”
The yankees did absolutely nothing wrong with developing Phil and changing his mechanics.
All high school pitchers generally have major problems with their mechanics. Those problemlls must be fixed (one of the main reasons its better for young arms to go to the minors rather than college, IMO). High school pitchers get by on talent. They have to learn how to pitch.
The yankees have a very rational, structured development program. One of the best things about it is that they have a unified organizational strategy in place to develop young pitchers through.
In general, when a pitcher enters the organization they will watch him for one month and just observe. Don’t do much with him. After that month they determine where his weaknesses are and change them.
This organizational philosophy was largely developed by Nardi Contreras who is one of the best pitching development guys in the game. The yankees are very respected in this arena right now. Gil Patterson, also an excellent development coach, was basically the #2 guy to Nardi (Patterson also worked closely with Phil). Patterson was hired this off season to oversee the entire pitching development system for the A’s.
Part of that organizational philosophy is to favor curve balls over sliders. Why? There is some thinking that curve balls put less stress on young pitchers arms than sliders. Also, by making the curve ball the organizational priority the young yankee pitching receives similar instructions at every level – from the Gulf Coast League to AAA.
This makes a ton of sense – at every level the coaching focuses on the same philosophy. As the young pitchers go up the system they aren’t jerked around – they are taught the same way.
They are taught to emphasize fastball command, then the curve ball and then the change. A slider is added at the higher levels if needed.
That’s been an important reason for their success with young pitchers recently.
The best example of this was Joba. When Joba was drafted he was a guy who threw 93-94. Nardi looked at him throw for a while and then broke down and rebuilt his mechanics.
It was only afterwards that Joba became the Joba we know now – it was only after working with Nardi and changing his mechanics that he was able to comfortably throw 95-98 for 100 pitch starts.
Now even with Joba they emphasized his curve. But his slider was so good they didn’t ever ask him to stop throwing it.
The yankee’s pitching development people are excellent. If it was a change in phil’s mechanics that led to the rib injury it had nothing to do with that initial change in his mechanics when he came into the organization.
It probably had to something to do with the injuries last year.
People aren’t fully understanding how bad last year was for Phil. It wasn’t simply the injuries – it was the lost development time.
Phil’s been with the yankees for 3 full seasons. Of those 3 seasons one (last season) was largely a waste. He gained little experience and his mechanics may have gone out of line.
yankees fans should cheer for Kyle. The problem has never been his work effort, or desire to win. If this team is going to have success he is an important piece of the puzzle and deserves our support as much as Jeter, Joba, or Rivera.
KS,
I was thinking the same thing as you with respect to Joba in the rotation. I think late june/ early july. I was also guessing they’ll give him around 15 starts or so.
They’ll start transitioning him earlier. The transition innings will count against his cap.
That’s why I anticipate that they’ll stretch him out at the major league level like the dodgers did with Billingsley.
Is anyone finding this on TV? I have the MLB package and it isn’t on…….!!!
CB, it’s great that Nardi’s philosophy worked for Joba, but it has not worked for Phil.
It’s already unnatural enough to pitch – Phil is naturally inclined to pitch one way and that’s how he should be doing it. He never had any arm injuries as a youngster – fatigue, I believe, but no arm problems – so it’s really strange that the Yankees would do what they did. To be honest, I don’t want Phil to adjust to this new delivery – his old one is what scouts loved and clearly they thought he was an ace-type prospect with what he was bringing to the table. That should have been good enough for this organization……
I understand scrapping the slider, but Phil by all accounts had a smooth, repeatable delivery. There was no need to change it at all….and if he doesn’t feel comfortable with it, why should he be forced to pitch that way? I don’t like the fact that they have an “organizational philosophy” because it means they are forcing this same philosophy on each pitcher, no matter how different they are from each other. I’m never going to agree with the change in Phil’s natural delivery.
Miguel Cairo!
I can’t believe I’m applauding a strike out of Miguel Cairo.
Weird.
“You glow over Kershaw, the debut by Scherzer was really amazing.”
Buddy,
I brought up Scherzer’s name here the other day on a discussion about whether the diamondbacks are for real (which i think they are).
Scherzer has a terrific fastball and is a great weapon to add to their pen.
But Scherzer is nowhere even close to Kershaw. Scherzer has a great fastball but very poor secondary pitches. He’s got nothing like Kershaw’s curve ball.
Scherzer is a great example of a the kind of power pitcher many of the people who want to keep Joba in th pen think Joba is.
Scherzer can throw 95-97 but only has one pitch. He was drafted as a starter but it become apparent that his future was most likley in the pen.
That’s part of the reason why Scherzer’s value as a prospect took a big hit – it became more and more probable that he was going to only be a reliever because of his lack of secondary pitches.
That’s the kind of power pitching prospect that gets put in the pen – the guy who gets by on one outstanding pitch. But at the same time those pitchers are much, much less valued than the ones like Kershaw and Chamberlains – guys who not only have the power arms but the repertoire’s, stamina and command to start.
It is much easier to get a a Scherzer than a Chamberlain or Kershaw.
You know how Bernie and Paulie have their own band thing?
Morgan and Mussina could start their own comedy troupe.
Let’s go Yankees!
Nice Johnny!
I hope Ensberg can re-learn how to hit like he could a few years back. If he could hit .250, he could walk enough and hit for enough power to be worth his while. He sounds like a fun guy to talk to in the clubhouse.
Nice Johny Damon. now get stranded at 2nd.
1-0…good start
Yah Bobby!
Ground-Ball Jeter does it again.
good work jeter and abreu
nice baseball
MackNova: I just looked at your blog–am I seriously not the only Yankees-Jets-Nets-Devils fan out there?
These first 3 at bats, against Felix, bode really well for the Yankees doing what they need to do. Great baseball in the first 3 at bat.
Rebecca: Discounting the state of New Jersey or something?
Blargh: You might have a point. I’m from North Jersey, so I keep forgetting that south Jersey even exists as an entity!
Good afternoon all!
Go Moose! Go Yanks!
well…atleast they made felix work……
and for what doesnt work…High socks for giambi. That only worked for arod jason
Betsy,
Phil was drafted #23 in 2004. Before he entered the yankees system he was considered a good prospect but not a great one.
He became a great prospect only after he came into the yankees system. The most important part of Phil improving his game was the development of his curve ball.
Phil had the best curve ball in the minor leagues in 2006. That along with his fastball command is what turned him into a top notch prospect.
Phil’s slider was only an ok pitch. Nothing close to what his curve became.
If Phil’s having problems with his mechanics now its because he’s gotten away from what he was taught in the yankees system – not because of the changes they made, changes which made him a much better pitcher with a much higher ceiling than when he entered the system.
Back to work Mussina
Rebecca, nope. I remember reading the blog here before, seeing you were a fan of those teams. Every time I see someone who is a fan of those 4, I can usually remember because we are a rare breed. Sure a lot of NJ people love the Nets and Devils, but Jets and Yankees on top of that is an interesting mix.
And thanks for clicking.
a bit warmer now. Hey pete is that you behind home with the silver laptop sitting next to a guy with a blue skullcap?
That’s interesting, CB. The curve is my favorite pitch, and Phil does have a really beautiful one, so I can’t complain. However, something does appear wrong mechanically – what’s up with his command? I know Phil didn’t just lose it.
With all my venting, Phil was getting MLB hitters out last year and he had an outstanding WHIP and K/BB ratio. So, even with the new mechanics, he was doing well…….Even so, his command wasn’t as good as was advertised in the minors. Does that all still stem from his injuries (if so, I would hardly be surprised)?
Last year was a lost year for Phil and it sucks royally that he prepared himself extra hard, spent extra time in Tampa, and now this year is a bit of a lost year as well. The only good thing is that now he will be forced to spend extra time in the minors and hopefully this time the Yankees will keep him down there until he is fully ready.
Moose is Loose! MOOOOOOSE!
Okay, let’s get some more run support for Moose…
Couple of things with the sun coming out it is getting a bit warmer. Lot more fun sitting here with damon in left. Can’t believe all after attending almost every saturday game since 2005 this is the first time damon hasd been in left.
Bummed there was no flyover but such is life.
Moose so far so good throwing first pitch strikes – are you watching ian kennedy
Back to work bats and get more runs
betsy. Try to enjoy baseball. Just a suggestion.
Just joining up. No television because of the FOX blackout – but I have MLB TV. Go figure!
Here’s my mini prediction. Mike Mussina should be giving up his first hit in the third inning because that wad Michael Kay just said “Mike Mussina is perfect through two.”
GRRR!!!!
Is anyone finding this on TV? I have the MLB package and it isn’t on…….!!!
You can Thank Fox and their 3 pm game against Cubs v. Cards for that. Some agreement that MLB and Fox have that no games will be on Saturdays that Fox shows games.
There it is, 1 pitch Cano… I think Cano needs to stop trying to be Giambi and be more like Melky.. that way he can get a hit from time to time instead of striking out or grounding out…but then again, Giambi at least sees more than 1 pitch.
Cano is just dreadful right now.
girardi should fine Cano for every first pitch he swings at….im a true believer in NOT swinging at first pitches.
Hernandez 23 pitches after first and then has an 8 pitch second thanks to Cano’s first pitch ground out. Not sure if that is the way to come out of a slump.
On my scorecard, I already have 0-4 for Cano.
Moose today:
6 6H 3R 3ER 2BB 1HR 5SO
The only way you swing at the first pitch is if you know that the guy is a strikeout king.
If Hernandez is, then there is not a problem.
The game today is on YES for anyone in market.
I HATE YOU MICHAEL KAY, YOU FAT IDIOT!
Fran, Mel, Jennifer – did you see it with your own eyes?
Just amazing.
Rebecca, is your YES broadcast breaking up? mine is really bad today.
Felix Hernandez is becoming a very different pitcher this year compared to what he was before.
Hernandez’s top speed today – 94.
This year Hernandez has been throwing significantly slower than he has in the past. He’s no longer trying to throw 97-98.
This entire season he’s throwing a lot more sinking 2 seam fastballs rather than his four seamer. His change up is a much better pitcher.
He’s now sitting more 92-94 than 94-97 which is where he used to be.
His strikeouts today have both been on off speed stuff.
It’s interesting to see the evolution of a young pitcher. Here’s a guy who can easily throw 96-97 deep into games who is now electing to throw more slowly to pick up movement.
It’s not about the radar gun. Hernandez is learning.
Ichiro is kind of annoying. It’s like a scientific impossibility to get him out.
Scorpio: Not having issues.
“People aren’t fully understanding how bad last year was for Phil. It wasn’t simply the injuries – it was the lost development time.”
well, there is no doubt the yankees rushed him last spring, so it’s on the yankees and whoever was in charge of that decision.
a cheap year of his service time ticked off too. it’ll continue ticking away as long as he’s on the disabled list. as soon as he’s healthy , he needs to be sent to the minors to stop the mlb service time meter. he can then be brought along at his own pace. if he has a relapse, which is always possible, while in the minors it won’t affect his mlb service time.
the yankees have to stop needing hughes to stop the bleeding for the mlb team. his development needs to be independent of that. that might be a bitter pill to swallow for those who counted on hughes, but it’s obvious always pushing him ahead isn’t working.
even if it takes him two years in the minors to mature, he’ll still be buchholz’s age. i don’t see a problem with that. the alternative is to continue rushing him and end up with nothing.
i really think the best decision for the yankees is to write hughes off for this year unless while back in the minors, he is just dominating. then if it’s the end of august, bring him back up.
the sooner cashman forgets hughes for this year, the sooner he’ll quit being delusional about the rookies and get working on getting some starting pitching.
Cano probably should have had that..
Mike Mussina clearly likes a challenge. First pitching to Manny. And now with Miguel Cairo on deck he pitches to Ichiro.
Johnny Damon?
Didn’t the blog DFA him 3 weeks ago?
heck yes!!! 2-1! GO YANKEES!
“well, there is no doubt the yankees rushed him last spring, so it’s on the yankees and whoever was in charge of that decision.”
Last spring? You mean when their pitching staff was hit by a mind-boggling array of ridiculous injuries? When they had not one, but TWO backup starters knocked out for the season by comebackers? How do you plan for that sort of thing?
The issue wasn’t Phil coming to the majors…it was Phil losing the time to injury. He can dominate AAA hitters. We already know that.
2-1 yanks
Let’s go Bobby!
Yankee Diva
Dur to Fox broadcasting a game later this afternoon, we’re blacked out.You (I assume)live outside the New York territorial restriction that is set up by mlb. I live in Mass. and get blacked out of every Saturday Yankee game on YES. It’s always been that way with the mlb package.
I’ve watched just about every game this season, and I gotta say, the Yankees are finally putting some good wood on the ball and it’s paying off. It’s really nice to see; something hopeful.
MLB Blackout rules are ridiculous.
I shell out $160 for the Extra Innings package and yet I can’t watch a Saturday Yankee game at 1PM because FOX has a game on at 4PM.
I hate following games on gamecast.
way to screw your fans Bud.
TKinDC
It is only 1 game for Damon. Let’s wait until all the facts are in.
Matsui!
And now, it is “I hitting the ball hard but just at people” Giambi…This is really where ARod and Posada kill us by not being present.
Damon has been hitting the ball well since that Baltimore series.
So I guess the offense got the memo that there was a baseball game today…
based on Giambi’s salary, anyone know what the Yankees are paying him to strike out versus walking?
If so Rebecca, should be delivered daily for the next month.
…Yeah, definitely got that memo.
Melky!!! Man, I love this kid…….and I love his aggressive baserunning when Ichiro overran that ball
Giambi should be at 17 walks to 12 strikeouts now
lets go morgan!
make them pay!!
Since when does a .153 average warrent an intentional walk, even if he is left handed…
Dear Robbie, this is 1st base. This is what it feels like to get on base.
Sincerely,
Your batting average.
IBB Cano? wow…Ensberg is actually doing better than Robbie, right?
c’mon Morgan
“I HATE YOU MICHAEL KAY, YOU FAT IDIOT!
Fran, Mel, Jennifer – did you see it with your own eyes?
Just amazing.”
What are you talking about?!
Hey Pepper,you need to relax.
Well that was fun
If Hernandez was on the yankees I’d love to see how many comments would be up right now saying Hernandez is overrated, a bust, rushed to the majors, losing velocity, etc.
Seattle is built to win now. Their goal was to win this season – that’s why they made the Bedard trade.
Young pitching – it’s frustrating even when you have a golden arm like Hernandez does.
Hernandez this year is trying to pitch to contact more – good strategy in general so you can go deeper into games. But it’s a killer when you have a bad defensive team behind you.
4 runs already through 3 innings off of “king” felix
ill take that!
I guess I’m the only one who respects the baseball superstition of never saying the magic word/words before the end of the 5th and wants a contract put out on Michael Kay.
Good inning, great piece of hitting by Melky, really good to see Damon and Jeter driving the ball against a good pitcher.
Anybody know how many Es committed by the Mariners so far this year?
Now, I want to see the Mariners NOT score. Even if Moose gives up some baserunners, just get the Yanks back to the plate up 4-1.
mel – Kay once again talked about the “perfect game” and the next inning, right on schedule, Moose gave up a hit.
I’m a calm kid but I swear I am the equivalent of every angry/rabid fan on this forum, put together, whenever Kay pulls that crap.
You guys think maybe Melky is trying to say “Thanks for not trading me and please let me keep my spot?”
whozat -
rushing him to plug a hole at the major league level is exactly my point. it’s stupid. so what if there’s a hole. hughe’s development is more important that plugging a hole at the mlb level.
at the time hughes was brought up to the yankees, i was in a triple a manager’s office after a game, when i asked the manager why he took out a pitcher( of hughe’s level) after 76 pitches. he said because the weather had been so bad that his pitcher didn’t have a base down yet to throw any more pitches than that. he added he’d be fired if he would have let him go 3 more pitches.
hughes was so unready to be brought up when he was last spring that it was totally irresponsible at the time.
it is a myth that hughes has nothing to prove at triple a. for one thing he needs to prove he can pitch two months in a row without breaking down.
forget the yankees, what about hughes the kid? is this good for him? i don’t think it is.
the yankees need to stop asking for him to solve their problems. he needs to think about one thing and that is phil hughes. if he takes care of himself and gets it together at his own pace, that is the best way he can help the yankees.
There are four players many wanted to be DFAed. Girardi kept playing them and got some abuse from some bloggers. Let us see how are things with them now.
Damon: He is doing well. Having a good game today. he also bring good defence in the LF.
Kyle: He is proving that Girardi’s faith in him was correct. The cutter might have made the difference, but he has been unhitable lately and is not causing much anxiety to us with the walks. With Bruney out and the monor leaguers (Meloncon, Cox,…) not ready yet, we need him to perform like this.
Mussina: He is doing great as a 5 or 4 starter. Initially he drew the Aces of the other teams and it showed in his record.
Giambi: One failure so far. If he does not turn around by the end of May, he needs to be sent to the bench.
Girardi knows what he is going. We need to be patient.
Any comments?
I counted 24 errors by the Mariners prior to this game (6 by Beltre, 5 by Betancourt alone)
What was that book that Micheal Kay just referred to about Mussina? Living on the brink?
Trisha – I’m with you: everyone knows what’s going on, just be quiet about it…
Trisha, it’s got to get past three or four innings at least before you start worrying about superstition.
Shout out from Afghanistan its 11:15 pm and this is a great game!
Rishi-it is 24 errors so far this year for Seattle
it’s not so much the no hitter as much as it is the runs scoring…I’m not expecting a no-hitter, but he says it and then the runs score/runners get on – it’s annoying
Melky has certainly opened lot of eyes this year offensively. If he continues to develop like this he will be a very good player for a long time for the Yankees. His early years are so similar to Bernie, even if he develops to be 80% of Bernie, with his cannon of an arm in the field he will be as valuable as Bernie. Time will tell. I blieve he will be.
BBFan -
My only comment is that you are right on the money and those who were calling for those particular heads have to be accused of knee jerking.
“Girardi knows what he is going. We need to be patient.”
Yep.
“Good inning, great piece of hitting by Melky,”
That at bat was a good example of how Melky this year is a more mature as a hitter than last year.
Situational hitting has not been a real strength of melky’s.
He was patient there and didn’t try to do to much. No impatient flailing at pitches.
Afghanistan: In the military? If so, stay safe and thanks for your service.
Nice Moose!
Thanks, S.A. – any idea where that ranks? Feels like a lot (though I guess it’s less than 1 a game on average)…
Girardi needs to let Gonzalez play 3rd base until Arod comes back. He can hit, Ensberg is dreadful. It is an accomplishment when he actually makes contact. That is like the 5th time that a team has pitched around other people to get to him and he makes out every single time.
Also Molina should be spliting time evenly with Moeller. Molina looks awful at the plate and he is not used to catching this much. Girardi is using him too much and he is probably exhausted.
Bob, it is saturday and I am working again – 5 weeks straight of 7 days a week…
Venting on the Yankees inept hitters saves lives.
“Trisha, it’s got to get past three or four innings at least before you start worrying about superstition.”
Unless I’m misunderstanding you this is backwards. It is not supposed to be spoken until the end of the 5th inning.
“Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember”
By John Feinstein
And hey from Shanghai. I’m “watching” the game on Gameday. Good to see the Yanks get to a good pitcher early.
CB I have noticed a lot of these hard throwers around the league (Verlander,Bonderman,Hernandez…) are trying throw 2 seamers for more movement and ground balls.
Maybe after Joba has been starting for awhile he will start to want to throw the 2 seamer. I know he has already talked to Wang about how to throw the 2 seam FB.
Way to prove our idiotic “co-owner” Hank wrong, Moose!!
Rishi, I just want to choke him. Yeah I thought the same thing about the run and all the hits.
To the good, I also think with certain pitchers getting that hit over with quickly is not a bad thing because otherwise they might try to be too careful and really ruin the rhythm of their game.
I guess I should thank big mouth…
Does anyone know if “Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember†is a good book?
The Amazon reviews make the book seem mediocre. Plus, I remember last year..Moose wasn’t as bad as this year. This year probably would be the year to write a book about him.
Rishi-They are way up there
The Marlins have 30 so far this year
Nice, hopefully this is the start of Derek heating up.
“Way to prove our idiotic “co-owner†Hank wrong, Moose!!”
May be, the comments of our exciting, fresh breath of our “co-owner” lit some fire in the belly of Moose and that is why he is pitching better !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jax,
Not sure but I think part of the movement to the 2 seamer on the part of some of these pitchers is related to how bad bull pens are now.
That’s what I was wondering with the Detroit guys in particular.
It’s very hard to work deep into games when you’re striking out a lot of guys.
The difference with Hernandez is pretty dramatic.
But you can see that he’s going to become a better pitcher for it (though I’m surprised not to see him mix in more hard 4 seamers just to show the hitters).
The other thing with hernandez might be his health. He’s had problems with elbow soreness the past couple of years. Wonder if he’s trying to take a bit off.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Joba adds more of a 2 seamer. Ultimately with him the thing I think we’re going to see is a real mix of 4 pitches. In particular, as a starter I think he’s going to throw the curve ball more and more with fewer sliders. The curve is a less stressful pitch on the arm in general.
Anyone know big mouth’s email address at YES?
I emailed Jim Kaat when he was still with the Yanks, and since YES didn’t give out individual email addresses, I used every combination of his name that you can think of! One of them worked. I just forget which one. Interestingly enough, it was about the same topic – not saying the magic words too early in the game. Kaat had been doing it. He was actually gracious enough to both email me back AND never do it again!
…. I meant fresh breath of air “co-owner”. Sorry for the typo.
BBFan –
In Moose’s defense, he did manage to win 250 games in his career without the benefit of Hankenstein’s pep talks. Moose is a consummate pro IMO.
BBFan,
That is true, he has been pitching better since that comment of him wanting Moose to pitch like Jamie Moyer!
Giambi = black hole in the line up.
THIS IS NOT BAD LUCK – this is hitting it into the shift – this is lack of ability or lack of desire to hit it to the left side.
HE WILL NOT HIT IF HE CONTINUES TO HIT INTO THE SHIFT.
ahh..
i wish we had gotten at least one run there
TKinDC,
I was joking as you can see with all the exclamation marks at the end.
hey yankee fans…who just grounded out to the right side?
and there is Giambi… fantastic!!!!!
Giambi’s not really hitting into hard luck, Kay. He’s just hitting it exactly where they expect it.
I have more of an issue with that poor AB by Matsui. Oh well. Woulda been REALLY nice to drive Felix from this game.
man…they gotta get him out of the 5 spot…he should be batting like 8th…seriously
I’d like to try to bat against a 62 mph curve…I wonder…
Normally, I am very positive, to a fault, and show lot of patience with the players based on thier long track record.
I am slowly losing my faith/patience with Giambi.
Where is Betemit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“man…they gotta get him out of the 5 spot…he should be batting like 8th…seriously”
They could move Melky up. Seriously, he’s the only better option than Giambi right now.
BBFan – cool – for whatever reason I have appointed myself the lone representative of the Moose Defense club
From the Daily News blog:
2:04 p.m.: Minutia, minutia, but fun to kick around nonetheless: Johnny Damon hit a one-out double in the third, giving him 400 for his career. They took the ball out of play so he could have it as a souvenir. Derek Jeter, the next hitter, ripped a double of his own and got an RBI and an even better nugget – it was the 390th double of Jeter’s career, moving him past Joe DiMaggio for sole possession of fifth place on the Yanks’ all-time list.
For you milestone maniacs, it is the second straight game that Jeter has passed DiMaggio on an all-time list – Friday it was runs scored.
“I’d like to try to bat against a 62 mph curve…I wonder…”
If you also have to concern yourself with a fastball that’s even 85mph, I figure it’s still hard to be able to wait on something that slow.
Not in the military just a different kind of american. Thanks- safety first dodging a gnarly dust storm right now… and its blowin harder than moose’s pitches. Of all sports caps the yankees are the most popular emblem worn in Afghanistan.
Good to see Damon’s swagger back he is such a good hitter. He knows how to be a leader with the bat.
In left field it is great now there is sun. Like I said before having johnny out here is certainly fun the guy is never still always interacting with fans. Someone after an out asked him to pose for a picture and he obliged. I guess when you are up by 3 and have scored 2 and doubled twice you can do that. The ibanez play never saw that before. Also I know cairo was not what one would call a major player but when announced no reaction whatsoever from the fans
Moose should be good for 6 today. He’s at 71 pitches, if he can dance through the heart of the order one more time, I’ll take that in a heartbeat.
At this point I just feel bad for Canò
That was a good swing for Robbie. Hated the swing on 2-1, but he hit that ball well.
I don’t know if this will make any difference, but the yankees may want to consider letting Cano play an active winter ball season this year.
Cano wanted to play in winter ball but the yankees generally don’t like their players to do so much for injury reasons ( a lot of those fields in the DR, Venezuela aren’t great).
But if Cano is going to be this out of whack to start seasons they need to rethink what he’s doing in the off season.
Getting him work over the winter may be something to consider.
TKinDC -
You can be the lone representative to that club but know that a lot of us here have your back. I’m a Moose lover!
Off to a birthday party.
GO YANKEES!
DARN GIAMBI!
CB –
Wasn’t Robby scorching the ball in spring training? I can’t figure out what might be wrong with him but it seems to have taken on a life of its own.
Awesome. Thanks Morgan.
CY Moose anyone?
where can I find what Robbie is batting left handed vs right handed…maybe he’s better off staying on one side of the plate for a while. The Coach.
“Wasn’t Robby scorching the ball in spring training?”
It’s true, he was. I dunno if a winter-ball stint would really help. A lot of it is just heinous luck — his BABIP is absurdly low, and his LD% is just as good as it ever has been. But there’s got to be a mental component to it as well, and I dunno what’s going to get him out of that.
“where can I find what Robbie is batting left handed vs right handed…maybe he’s better off staying on one side of the plate for a while. The Coach.”
baseball-reference.com, I think. Also, yahoo sports.
The Yanks shouldn’t have given Cano that contract.
They gave one to Cano…he’s stinking it up.
They didn’t give one to Wang….he’s dominating.
With Robbi, honestly, I think it’s the weather. He’s never hit that well in April, and this year the weather has been pretty awful for most of the year.
Doesn’t make it right, but it’d be my best guess.
Meanwhile, I don’t know what Moose had for breakfast, but I know I want it.
“where can I find what Robbie is batting left handed vs right handed…maybe he’s better off staying on one side of the plate for a while.”
Oh…wait. I thought you meant AGAINST lefties vs righties. Cano isn’t a switch hitter.
where can I find what Robbie is batting left handed vs right handed…maybe he’s better off staying on one side of the plate for a while. The Coach.
when did Cano become a switch hitter?
Tk,
Robby was fantastic this spring. That’s very true. I was thinking he’d get off to a good start this season.
It’s just concerning this has happened two years in a row.
It may very well be that he just can’t hit unless it’s very warm weather. Either that or in the cold perhaps he falls into bad mechanics and can’t break out of them.
Whatever it is this is just brutal for the team. When Cano doesn’t hit it’s particularly bad because he doesn’t walk either.
His OBP is .212. That’s hard to believe.
“Meanwhile, I don’t know what Moose had for breakfast, but I know I want it.”
A bowl of Awesome with a sixer of whoopass.
Mike Mussina…Wow.
MMOOOOOSSEEE!!!
Gameday has Moose at 84 pitches. Getting 7 innings from him would be HUGE.
“His OBP is .212. That’s hard to believe.”
Well, that’s like…60 points higher than his average, right? That’s not bad.
Im at the game right now on my cell im freezing the sun doesnt help at all when you are in the shade… Moose looks great !
Team Errors:
Worst: Texas 31
Best: SD/STL 12
Avg. 19
Seattle: 26 (including today’s 2)
MOOOOOOSE!!!
Bob – they gave a big contract to Mo
Seriously, it wasn’t that big a contract to Cano and it doesn’t look to me like he has gotten fat. Unfortunately for him even when he is playing great his demeanor suggests he couldn’t give a rats rear-end what happens.
P.S. Yankees: 15 errors
I feel like Mussina has finally embraced the idea of a more crafty approach to pitching as opposed to last year where he continued to work primarily off the fastball as if he still had the same stuff as when he was in his twenties.
Moose is an Ace!
first hit simce april 13 for Molina and Damon parks one!
“Gameday has Moose at 84 pitches. Getting 7 innings from him would be HUGE.”
’strue. It’s the 7-8-9 hitters too. I’d run him out there. But, apparently JoeG disagrees. I think it’d be better to push Moose for some more pitches lest he turn into an 80-pitch kinda guy…especially with this newly larger lead
Yeah!!!!!!
“Well, that’s like…60 points higher than his average, right? That’s not bad.”
True. Relative to his BA it’s ok. But it’s just objectively awful. Getting on base one out of every five times is tough.
JD is on fire.
This game just keeps getting better!
Methinks the King will be dethroned soon.
““Meanwhile, I don’t know what Moose had for breakfast, but I know I want it.â€
A bowl of Awesome with a sixer of whoopass.”
If that’s what Moose had, what the heck did Johnny have?
Great job outta Moose today
How do you have a No. 5 hitter with a .156 batting average and refusal to hit away from a shift ? It’s easy. Just give him an albatross contract.
man, the bats are starting to wake up!
“The Yanks shouldn’t have given Cano that contract.
They gave one to Cano…he’s stinking it up.”
It’s very common that after players sign a new contract they put a ton of extra pressure on themselves to live up to that contract.
hmmmm I thought he was a switch hitter..thanks for the info
nice Johnny!
6-1 yanks
Jeter with a 3 hit game
J.D. and D.J. killing felix today
what: “Look at King Feliz if you want to watch some real talent.”
Where is this ‘King Feliz’ and how can I go about looking at him?
Because I’m looking at King Felix right now, and he’s not impressing me.
“True. Relative to his BA it’s ok. But it’s just objectively awful. Getting on base one out of every five times is tough.”
Oh, no doubt. But it’s not like he’s walking terribly infrequently. Also, he’s apparently not seeing fewer PPA than in the past. I think they talked about it on RAB.
“hmmmm I thought he was a switch hitter..thanks for the info”
You must not follow the Yankees much.
Cabrera’s a switch hitter. Cano’s always been a lefty.
I hope Girardi doesn’t use Joba in this game if the score holds.
They don’t need to use him up 5 runs.
Give the ball to Ohlendorf to get him a late game inning.
Veras is on the roster – give him a shot in a low pressure inning up 5.
No fair peeking, there is only one batter on either team who is hitting over 300.
Godzilla!
I can’t believe that Ichiro is hitting .282 – the guy never seems to get an out. I would imagine the ratings for this game in Japan are American Idol-esque.
“But it’s not like he’s walking terribly infrequently.”
Compared to his normal walk rates, that is
To be fair, Paul, I used to confuse Cabrera and Canò when they first came up as well.
wow…
who would have guessed that the yanks would have 12 hits off of king felix
great game so far boys!
whozat- I catch most of the games….but I was wrong for the first time in my life…you just happenned to be able to see it.
With R-Rod and Posada out, others have to step up their play.
Damon certainly did, erasing any doubts expressed that he is washed out. I wish Giambi will prove us wrong and step up his play.
“Give the ball to Ohlendorf to get him a late game inning.
Veras is on the roster – give him a shot in a low pressure inning up 5.”
Give moose some more batters, then finish it with LaTroy and Veras. Didn’t Ollie throw 3 during Kennedy’s start? I can’t imagine he’d be available. Or was that Hughes’ start?
our top 4 hitters have 10 of the 12 hits
Is Felix okay? They should check his eyes or ribs. Something’s got to be wrong. lol.
I would love to see Moose come out for the seventh, at least to start.
“Give moose some more batters, then finish it with LaTroy and Veras. Didn’t Ollie throw 3 during Kennedy’s start? I can’t imagine he’d be available. Or was that Hughes’ start?”
Oh I agree. I’d have moose pitch the 7th as well. I was referring to the 8th/ 9th.
I take back the ohlendorf comment. I forgot he threw those 3 innings on the 29th (hughes game i think). Give him the day off. He needs it.
I’d like to see Ohlendorf get some late inning appearances but I don’t think they’re going to change the way he’s being used.
Let’s go Hawkins!
shift Giambino right into the dugout. He thought if he wore his socks up to his knees it’s change his stance/swing?
I disagree with this choice. Moose was cruising, and the bottom of the order is up. Maybe he wants to try to give hawkins a good shot at logging a good inning.
Haven’t followed Big Poopi at all lately. What’s his average now? I’d guess he probably got it back up to .300 at least, unlike Giambi.
After Thurday, and looking ahead to Bedard and Felix, things looked really bad. These 2 wins (hopefully) have been VERY big… and will put us at .500.
Without Po and Phil until the ASB, and ARod until God knows when, it’s still gonna be a very rough first half.
was Molina in place on that overthrow?
I can only fpollow today’s game on Gameday. Moose threw only 84 pitches. Does anyone have an idea about why they wouldnt let him pitch the 7th?
“I’d like to see Ohlendorf get some late inning appearances but I don’t think they’re going to change the way he’s being used.”
I’m desperately hoping that the starters will be going deeper into games regularly and they won’t feel like they need to keep him in reserve for 2-3 inning stints.
Again…boo on Giambi.
Hm disappointed to not see Moose out for the 7th. What gives? If the 5 run lead holds up until the 8th, I would bet money Girardi doesn’t bring Joba in. That would be Torre-esque.
“I can only fpollow today’s game on Gameday. Moose threw only 84 pitches. Does anyone have an idea about why they wouldnt let him pitch the 7th?”
I can only assume it has to do with JoeG wanting to give Hawkins a shot at an easy inning. Thanks Defense!
There’s no other reason that makes sense…he K’d the side around an error and the bottom of the order’s coming up. Why would you NOT put him out there for at least a few more hitters?
“Haven’t followed Big Poopi at all lately. What’s his average now? I’d guess he probably got it back up to .300 at least, unlike Giambi.”
No. Ortiz continues to be very bad. He’s only hitting .198. Not Giambi bad but bad.
there was room on this roster for wilson betamit, but not for doug mientkewitz?
no crystal balls but I was rooting for Menky too
“there was room on this roster for wilson betamit, but not for doug mientkewitz?”
A guy who can tolerably handle multiple positions, and has power from at least one side of the plate vs a guy who hits an empty .270 and plays one non-premier defensive position?
Thanks whozat,
Let’s hope there is nothing physically wrong with Mussina. Unless Mussina told Girardi he was out of gas, it makes no sense at all to give up an opportunity for one of our starters to go 7 innings.It’s not like the bullpen needs the work.
when you know you’re gonna have giambi on the roster, you had to think, we need to keep either doug or andy phillips, and alot of ppl said it at that time.
streeeeeetch
Good job pitching around the error, LaTroy!
well, no runs were scored. WooHoo!
Excellent. Let’s see Ramirez for the 8th. 5 run cushion to see how he handles an MLB club’s meat of the order.
JMO,
I’m still scratching my head about letting Andy Phillips go and signing Morgan Ensberg. Phillips is actually better and was popular with the fans. It made no sense at all.
betamit’s been so versitile they had to come up with an excuse to dl him. he plays 2 positions poorly and a.g. is a much better choice. its not about this guy is better than that guy, its about constructing a winning team. giambi’s out there b/c there are no better choices defensivly when you’re up by 4 or 6 runs.
Edwar and Veras to finish it.
Got to save Ohlendorf for tomorrow if Rasner implodes..!
Is it Veras-time for the 8th? Might as well:)
Just got in and put the game on. Obviously another good outing for Mussina.
The Yankees hit Bedard last night and “King” Felix today – two pitchers you wouldn’t expect them to hit. Nice job by the Yankees so far.
Melky is awesome.
Melky is a hoot
I am developing a serious man-crush on Melky.
What are Gardner and Jackson going to do if he continues to be a solid consistent all-around pro?
atta boy Melky
“Haven’t followed Big Poopi at all lately. What’s his average now? I’d guess he probably got it back up to .300 at least, unlike Giambi.”
Ortiz is hitting .198 going into tonight’s game. He’ll turn it around but he hasn’t looked too good thus far
Hawkins did exactly what he was signed for. He’s done his days work.
Edwar / Veras to wrap it up.
A few more runs wouldn’t hurt. This team needs to learn how to put a team away.
just a matter of time…c’mon Rob
If it’s King Felix, what does that make Melky? They look alike in their gameday pix.
“giambi’s out there b/c there are no better choices defensivly when you’re up by 4 or 6 runs.”
At this point even Shelley is a better defensive player at Giambi.
Everygame he makes at least one terrible play that gives the other team extra outs, even it its a play where the error gets charged to some one else as happened with that throw from Jeter.
At worse Giambi should have stopped the ball and kept it in front of him.
My guess is La Troy will pitch 8th and if the score stays same, either Veras or Ramirez for 9th.
big props to moose. iv been skeptical about whether he was going to be better than last year and he’s really pitching well.
“Phillips is actually better”
That is just patently false. Ensberg was an all-star in 05 and had a nasty shoulder injury that destroyed his performance. If he’s gotten right, it’s worth the shot. Phillips is a AAAA player. There’s just no comparison.
“betamit’s been so versitile they had to come up with an excuse to dl him.”
Um…no. He actually had corneal ulcers. It was true.
“El Cambio” is warming in the pen.
Robbie
keep your chin up high
be brave and then be strong
My thoughts exactly Colin. Both Alba and Britton went over 40 pitches 2 days ago. If we can finish with Ramirez and Veras, the bullpen will be fully rested for Sunday.
“What are Gardner and Jackson going to do if he continues to be a solid consistent all-around pro?”
A problem everyone’d love to have.
whozat,
If this was 2005 , I’d agree. But it’s 2008 and Ensberg is just another slow bat clogging up the lineup.
I feel bad for Robbie.
I know I am frustrated watching him at the plate..I can only imagine how he feels.
That said, I can’t imagine that Ensberg gets much more than another month to show if he’s going to return to his lefty-crushing ways.
Damon has the highest OPS on the team right now – .935. That’s about 50 points higher than matsui.
He’s been on fire the past two weeks. Good thing his bat woke up when ARod and Posada got hurt.
La Troy was atrocious the beginning of the season.
But since then, he has strung together number of very effective outings.
What do you think of his signing? Especially letting Vizcaino go and getting that supplementaty pick. I think it is a great job by Cashman.
glad somebody is waking up…
strikes Edwar
4 pitch walks will not get it done
Kay can improve his head by putting a bag over it
“If this was 2005 , I’d agree. But it’s 2008 and Ensberg is just another slow bat clogging up the lineup.”
He’s not supposed to be the everyday 3B. He’s supposed to hit lefties and play decent corner IF. His career track record suggests he can do that. Of course he’s exposed as an every day guy. But it was worth the contract to see if he could regain that form now that he’s a year removed from that nasty shoulder problem.
People fall in love with guys like Duncan and Gonzo who show up and get hits but NOTHING indicates that these guys will be able to figure out major league pitching once it adjusts to them. If Ensberg still sucks when ARod gets back, cut him. Who cares?
“What are Gardner and Jackson going to do if he continues to be a solid consistent all-around pro?”
———————————————
Bobby might not go for a 1 yr contract after this year, and the Yanks might not want to commit to 2 or 3 years for him. Both Matsui and JD’d contract are up after 2009. We have lots of room for Melky, AJax, Tabata and Gardner as a 4th OFer IF these guys are good enough to keep us from going after a impact FA.
Vizcaino was signed for ridiculous money in the off-season and I agree Cashman did the right thing there. – especially now that we have proven that picks can actually not be thrown away like in the bad old days.
I always thought of Hawkins as a loser, but hopefully he will get the job done this year.
“People fall in love with guys like Duncan and Gonzo who show up and get hits but NOTHING indicates that these guys will be able to figure out major league pitching once it adjusts to them.”
I mean, look at Duncan this year.
Edwar really not getting it done.
c’mon edwar
“Both Matsui and JD’d contract are up after 2009. We have lots of room for Melky, AJax, Tabata and Gardner as a 4th OFer IF these guys are good enough to keep us from going after a impact FA.”
Great point – can you imagine the Yankees having an economically sound outfield together with an economically sound rotation? That would be a completely amazing transformation.
Are you KIDDING me!?!??!!
Thanks, Edwar. Thanks.
Seriously, Joe? Not even WILLING to give ANYONE other than Joba a shot at this spot? You’re still up FIVE RUNS!!!
Why is Joba warming up? Where’s Ohlendorf? Ridiculous!
Bring back the Joba Rules.
Doug Mientkiewicz has only played in 23 games for a terrible Pirates team – he’s gotten 46 at bats and I don’t think he’s been hurt.
He’s hitting .198 with a .261 OBP and a .281 Slugging percentage.
He’s not even good enough to play for the pirates or produce in the NL central.
Andy Phillips is back in AAA for the Reds.
Is YES Network glitching?
Not really liking what I’m seeing from Edwar right now.
Edwar has more types of pitches than I remember…
not on my tv their not..directv
edwar..jeez
I do not blame Joba awarming out.
Joe is giving every chance to Edwar to get out of his mess. But once bases are loaded, the game is on the line and you need your best to close it out.
Would you like to lose the game by giving chance to others? We do not have that luxury at this time.
“Seriously, Joe? Not even WILLING to give ANYONE other than Joba a shot at this spot? You’re still up FIVE RUNS!!!”
It’s really hard to watch this bull pen management.
Joba is such a security blanket. Girardi has no tolerance to do much other than just insert Joba into the game.
Much of this jam gets back to Girardi taking Mussina out after 6.
Ramirez still does not have the command necessary to succeed in the major leagues with his fastball. Great change up but it’s just wasted because he can’t throw his fastball for strikes.
Absolutely awful job here.
whozat,
I agree Ensberg had a heck of a year in 2005. But that season came out of nowhere.
He drove in 101 in ‘05 and but only 60 in ‘03 and 66 in ‘04.
In ‘06 he was even worse, driving in omly 58.
He’s a .264 career hitter. Nothing terrible, nothing great. The same can be said for Andy Phillips, only he’s 2 years younger
“Would you like to lose the game by giving chance to others? We do not have that luxury at this time.”
I believe that there are other pitchers who can come in and get two outs before giving up five runs.
Edwar must weigh about 100 lbs – he looks like a stick on the mound
AMEN!
It is too bad that Edwar isn’t performing better – seems like a good guy.
“He drove in 101 in ‘05 and but only 60 in ‘03 and 66 in ‘04.
In ‘06 he was even worse, driving in omly 58. ”
Who cares about RBIs? He was on the Astros. Most years they have a terrible offense.
Go look up his OBP and SLG against lefties and then tell me if you think he could perform well as a platoon corner IFer against left handed pitchers.
CB,
I agree. Why in the world did Girardi take Mussina out after only 84 pitches? It wasnt like Mussina was out there stressing all day. It will be interesting to see what Joe has to say. Let’s hope there wasnt a physical reason.
Alright he got out of it. I hope Girardi isn’t too scared to bring out Veras for the 9th. If this was last year, we would surely watch Mariano get burned even tho he pitched yesterday. Make the right move Joe!
It’s really funny to think back to last year when Edwar was putting up those video game numbers in the minors and so many people thought the yankees were just too stuck in their ways, too dependent on veterans to give him a chance.
He’s just does not have enough command of his fastball. This year in AAA he’s been even better than last year in AAA.
But he still doesn’t have the stuff to make the jump to the majors.
He needs to stop throwing that change up in AAA and force himself to work on this other pitches. Its obvious that AAA pitchers can’t hit the change up . It’s also obvious that he change up alone won’t get it done in the majors.
i just want gonzales to back up the if positioins, if he doesnt hit, thats fine, we dont need him to.
“I believe that there are other pitchers who can come in and get two outs before giving up five runs.”
Name one who has done it consistently other than Joba and Mo. Not just one game, who has done it consistently that can be relied on in bases loaded close game.
“Alright he got out of it. I hope Girardi isn’t too scared to bring out Veras for the 9th. If this was last year, we would surely watch Mariano get burned even tho he pitched yesterday. Make the right move Joe!”
Veras is warming in the pen.
“i just want gonzales to back up the if positioins, if he doesnt hit, thats fine, we dont need him to.”
Until someone has to miss significant time. Then you want someone who’ll hit.
“Why in the world did Girardi take Mussina out after only 84 pitches?”
The prevailing thought on Mussina is that he loses his stuff after 80 pitches. Though I completely agree and think Girardi should have at least gone batter-to-batter with Moose in the seventh, I doubt it is anything physical but merely taking him out on a positive note.
Pete, it is amazing how often you find it necessary to preen about like you have a clue. The “we trust Joe Girardi” rules ??? No, they are the “Joba’s not a rookie approaching his inning limit” rules. Moron.
“He needs to stop throwing that change up in AAA and force himself to work on this other pitches. Its obvious that AAA pitchers can’t hit the change up . It’s also obvious that he change up alone won’t get it done in the majors.”
Very good points.
I would not be surprized if he is demoted tomorrow to make room for Rasner.
“Name one who has done it consistently other than Joba and Mo. Not just one game, who has done it consistently that can be relied on in bases loaded close game.”
Get two outs before giving up five runs? Pretty much every pitcher on the team.
Yankees got nine relief pitchers on their roster and we’re worry about pitching Mussina beyond 84 pitches. At his age, Moose is going to need those pitches later on in the season.
“I would not be surprized if he is demoted tomorrow to make room for Rasner.”
Betcha it’s Britton. Someone just doesn’t like him. I’d demote Edwar, though. If he’s not going to use his fastball, he’s not going to help the big league team.
By that I meant I completely agree Moose should have started the seventh, though it is not a big deal either way.
“If this was last year, we would surely watch Mariano get burned even tho he pitched yesterday. Make the right move Joe!”
No. I don’t think that’s accurate at all. Girardi has been very, very conservative with his bull pen management all season.
He has certain guys he “trusts,” and certain guys he will use again and again.
There has not been any kind of marked difference in the way Girardi and Torre manage the pen.
Girardi getting Joba up and throwing that last inning just shows you how gun shy he is about trying anything different.
He has a recipe to win games and he’s going to stick with it, it seems.
That means Ohlendorf is going to continue to be wasted in long relief, we’re going to keep seeing Farnsworth pitch in big spots and if any hint of trouble stirs lat in the game – even with a 5 run lead Joba is in the game.
Remember the game Joba threw the 8th inning after the team took a 5 run lead (think it was against chicago?)
And it really does matter how Joba is used now because of his innings cap.
One inning used now of Joba is one less inning you have of him during the pennant run.
We’ve seen this all before.
Now that the 5 run lead is in tact for 9th, I expect to see Veras, not Joba. Joba will pitch tomorrow unless it is a blowout and then the much needed off day.
“Yankees got nine relief pitchers on their roster and we’re worry about pitching Mussina beyond 84 pitches. At his age, Moose is going to need those pitches later on in the season.”
That’s not really how it works. My thought is that he’s never going to be able to throw 100 pitches consistently if he doesn’t get stretched out that far in games that he’s already rolling.
whozat,
I see your point about Ensberg vs lefties. I also understand that he’d be better as a platoon player. But so far, he’s not hitting anybody and what’s worse, doesnt move runners over. He looks old and slow and the Yanks have a bushelbasket full of them.
Not to get away from the discussion of the game, but Freddy is getting awfully annoying and it seems to be at this time of the game his frying pan gets the loudest. Where is he at this point of the game? The press box?
Go Yanks!!!!!
How is Edwar not performing better? The last time I looked he had a 0.00 era between here and Scranton. You looking for negative numbers?
“Not to get away from the discussion of the game, but Freddy is getting awfully annoying and it seems to be at this time of the game his frying pan gets the loudest. Where is he at this point of the game? The press box?”
LOL. Comment of the day award goes to Kevin
“That’s not really how it works. My thought is that he’s never going to be able to throw 100 pitches consistently if he doesn’t get stretched out that far in games that he’s already rolling.”
Moose can’t throw 100 pitches consistently and said so two years ago.
“Under the old Joba Rules, Chamberlain would have to come into the game once he warmed up. But under the new “We Trust Joe Girardi†Joba Rules, that’s not necessarily the case.”
You are absolutely right. The Joe you have man crush could not be trusted by Cash and Nardi. They trust the current Joe and it speaks volumes.
“How is Edwar not performing better? The last time I looked he had a 0.00 era between here and Scranton. You looking for negative numbers?”
Given the performance I just watched, he certainly does not appear to have become any better this year. He walked a guy on 4 straight pitches, then walked the next guy, and then came within one pitch of walking the bases loaded before getting out of the inning. Against teams that have an offense — unlike the Mariners — that’s going to be a problem.
“Moose can’t throw 100 pitches consistently and said so two years ago.”
He seemed surprised that he’d only gotten to 100 pitches twice last year. So…
Look, he clearly wasn’t out of “stuff” at the end of the 6th.
zero=zero=zero era.
“He seemed surprised that he’d only gotten to 100 pitches twice last year.”
This was in the post-game interview after the outing against Chicago.
Ball Game Over! Yankees Win! THAAAAAAAAAAA YANKEEEES WINNNNNN!?!
” “If this was last year, we would surely watch Mariano get burned even tho he pitched yesterday. Make the right move Joe!â€
No. I don’t think that’s accurate at all. Girardi has been very, very conservative with his bull pen management all season.”
CB, I don’t agree. Last year when Viz got hot, he would often pitch 3 days in a row. He got overworked and then lost his stuff. This happened twice. I don’t think any reliever on the active roster this year has gone 3 days in a row and not many have gone even 3 out of 4. Also very few are going back to back. Girardi is under pressure to win games, but he did a better job of going to Bruney early in the season and even today giving the heart of the order to Edwar in the 8th is something I believe Torre would not have done.
Edwar’s control will get better if he is ever used regularly. Until he gives up a run, you have to be impressed.
“zero=zero=zero era.”
And if ERA were the best predictor of relief pitcher performance, your comment might mean something.
A number of times already Joba has been warmed up and never came in the game. The sooner he gets into the rotation the better.
My guess is next month he’ll start to be stretched out come July he’ll be starting.
I was just looking at some stats – the yanks at 2.98 have the second best ERA from the 7th inning on (Rays are best at 1.63 ).
Another win for the Yanks. They look like a totally different team than the one that played Detroit. That’s what good starting pitching and a few key hits will do for a club. Going for the sweep tomorrow.
americanbear,
Look at how Girardi has used Ohlendorf. It has been brutal. Ohlenforf has thrown more innings than almost any other relief pitcher in baseball.
“Edwar’s control will get better if he is ever used regularly.”
He’s had a whole two days since his last appearance.
CB: I think it was a good decision by Girardi to see Joba warming up in the bullpen.
Consider: Edwar gives up a homerun to Clement. Then it’s a 6-4 game with Sexson up (who can hit homeruns) and Edwar needing 2 more outs. Girardi goes to Joba to get those last two outs AND… he’s warmed up, ready to go. This is instead of what we saw a lot of with Torre… going to Mo without any warming up.
Using Joba without any warm-up…that’s going to be an injury.
Veras will be a nice addition to the bullpen. I hope he can hang on with the team.
Veras really has terrific stuff. He has a dynamic arm, throws multiple pitches well, sharp breaking stuff.
But for some reason just hasn’t put it together yet. The elbow surgery set him back a lot.
He wasn’t that great in spring training but was very good in AAA so far this year.
I hope they don’t send him down tomorrow when Rasner is activated.
I’d like them to see if he’s corrected the problems from Spring Training and figured things out in AAA.
He’s got a very good arm.
Mussina was being Mussina, but he admitted his misgivings on pitching 100 or more pitches a game on a consistent basis before he signed his last contract and now he’s at least two year older.
Good win
“Another win for the Yanks. They look like a totally different team than the one that played Detroit. That’s what good starting pitching and a few key hits will do for a club.”
The key hits have been great, and against legit pitchers. And Wang and Moose have been good, no doubt, but the Mariners offense is VASTLY inferior to the Tigers. I’d be psyched for the sweep going into the off-day, and I just hope they can keep the situational hitting going.
“Consider: Edwar gives up a homerun to Clement. Then it’s a 6-4 game with Sexson up (who can hit homeruns) and Edwar needing 2 more outs. Girardi goes to Joba to get those last two outs AND… he’s warmed up, ready to go.”
If you’re that concerned about Edwar, then start warming up Veras earlier so he never has to face Clement.
I kinda like Mo’s zero era, don’t you?
CB, it’s true but at least Ollie was a starter up until last year. If any reliever can go 100 IP, it’s a guy like that. I don’t think Joe wants to overwork him, but at least he is getting days off. It’s more a result of the poor starting pitching. I would also like to see him given a shot at the late innings and that may happen if the SP gets ironed out. But Joe has tried- he did bring him in the 9th of a tie game and Ollie lost it.
“Look at how Girardi has used Ohlendorf. It has been brutal. Ohlenforf has thrown more innings than almost any other relief pitcher in baseball.”
What other choice Girardi has?
There was no long man in the BP.
Starters, especially the rookies were bombing in the second or third inning.
On the roster, Ohlendorf happens to be one with starting experience.
It is importat we show patience. Once the roster is set well, if Girardi is still managing the BP this way that is when I am willing to find fault with him.
Also, there is no gurantee that Ohlendorf will prove to be the guy to b trusted in 7th/8th inning, though I agree we would not know until tested.
Rotation :
Wang
Andy
Joba
Moose
Rasner, Hughes or IPK
Once we get Joba in the rotation and WHEN ( let’s project positive ) Moose keeps up his fine pitching, then having to select a #5 starter from Rasner, Hughes (when he is off the DL) and IPK (hopefully after HE comes around),,,,is NOT going to be a bad thing.
Once A-Rod and Posada come off the DL as well, this is going to be a well-oiled MACHINE !
The wins in bunches continues tomorrow and when CLE get to town, there needs to be some POUNDING done on them as well..
“If you’re that concerned about Edwar, then start warming up Veras earlier so he never has to face Clement.”
That is the difference between Joe T and Joe G.
Joe T would have done exactly what you suggested.
Joe G, instead let Edwar work out of his mess.
This is how you build confidnece of the people.
“I think it was a good decision by Girardi to see Joba warming up in the bullpen.”
Not when he’s a 22 year old who is on an innings cap and who you are going to have to depend on as a starter in the second half.
It’s always a good idea for short term thinking to have Joba up.
There aren’t 3 pitchers in all of baseball who have better stuff in baseball. So of course he’s always the best choice. You can’t do better.
But every time you use him now is one less time you can use him later on. It’s like borrowing from a credit line – eventually it hit zero and your stuck.
And when you’re up by 5 runs – even with men on base – that is not the time to keep drawing on the luxury of having joba in the pen.
If you seriously think that Joba has to be in the game because the other team COULD hit a multiple home runs then you can concoct any type of scenario you want to always have a reason to get him up.
That’s the problem – he’s always the best answer for one game.
But it’s the whole season you have to be worried about and even more it’s his whole career you have to be concerned about.
One inning of joba now is simply one less inning in September. Up 5 it’s not worth it.
If Girardi’s gets that panicked that he changes mind set from a mop up situation where Ramiriez is Ok to a game on the line mentality where Joba is needed that’s a problem.
There are potential solutions – many potential solutions – to get 2 outs that are somewhere between Edwar Ramirez and Joba.
Nice victory, good job by Joe. Let’s get Silva’s uncharacteristically low ERA up to his career average tomorrow (or at least headed in that direction).
whozat: So you’re suggesting to let Edwar walk two men on base and then take him out? That’s exactly the type of move Torre makes last year, which almost everyone here blasted him for because it’s not going to build a pitcher’s confidence. Then we see Veras go out there and give up a homerun. Joba comes in next, not warmed up. And Mo is used for the 9th.
“One inning of joba now is simply one less inning in September.”
At the same, one guranteed win now is same as the one September.
“But Joe has tried- he did bring him in the 9th of a tie game and Ollie lost it.”
Look at his pattern of usage before that game. He threw 50 pitches/ 3 innings two days before that game.
Being a starter is completely different from being a reliever because you have scheduled days off. And ohlendorf stopped being a starter almost a year ago. He’s only thrown 1 innings stints for most of last season, winter ball and spring training this year.
There have been many instances where ohlendorf throws 50 pitches and is asked to come back into a game with one or two days rest.
That’s just crazy. It’s managing with the notion that if this guys arm blows out so be it. That’s exactly how torre managed Scott Proctor.
“What other choice Girardi has?
There was no long man in the BP.”
Have Cash go get him Rasner from AAA to be the long man?
“whozat: So you’re suggesting to let Edwar walk two men on base and then take him out? That’s exactly the type of move Torre makes last year, which almost everyone here blasted him for because it’s not going to build a pitcher’s confidence. Then we see Veras go out there and give up a homerun.”
No! I’m fine with seeing if Edwar can get out of it. But, if you’re saying that it’s the right call to get Joba up at that point, then you believe the game is on the line. If you believe the game is on the line with 2 on and a five run lead, then I still submit that getting Veras up before Joba is the right idea.
“Have Cash go get him Rasner from AAA to be the long man?”
How do we know he did not try?
During the ST, Girardi did say he wanted a long man, but it did not work out as Rasner was horrible and Karstens got hurt.
The point is with what he has, Girardi did a good job under the circumstances. Judge his moves when the roster is set well.
It is easy to criticise, but we can not have it both ways or all ways!
“How do we know he did not try?”
???? Because, if he’d told Cashman that he needed Rasner in the pen as a long man, he’d have had Rasner in the pen as a long man. It’s not like Rasner is a guy whose development process Cash wants to protect.
“At the same, one guranteed win now is same as the one September.”
Go look up what the probability is of a team winning when they are up by 5 in the 8th inning. It’s probably over 99%.
And if you want you can even look up what the probability for a team winning with one out and a man on 2nd and 3rd or one out and the bases loaded.
The overwhelming probability is that you will win the game regardless of who is pitching even with the bases loaded and one out.
That’s why it’s silly to burn any of joba’s innings when you are up by 5 runs – you could put Farnsworth in the game and the most probable outcome is that the yankees would still win the game.
Putting Joba in these games is often like killing a gnat with a howitzer. Sure it’ll work but eventually you run out of shells.
There are options in between Edwar and Joba you can turn to.
But it seems like Girardi is doing the very conventional, by the book strategy of ok, this is my “8th inning guy” so now that it’s the 8th inning and there’s some trouble i have to get that 8th inning guy up.
It’s just very, very conventional by the book, conservative managing.
That’s usually fine to do – but not when a young pitcher is on an innings limit.
There’s an opportunity cost for every time Joba is used. So it’s not simply a calculation of saying a “guaranteed” win now is the same as a win in September.
It’s not if you could manage the game in May by conserving your resources so you can also win the game in September.
They were lucky that Edwar got out of it.
I have no problem with what Girardi did this game. He gave Edwar a chance to get out of the inning but he had Joba ready in case he was needed. He didn’t panic and use him too early but if Edwar blows up (which he did plenty last season) it’s smart to have Joba ready.
I thought for sure Girardi would put Joba in for the 9th because thats what Torre would have done.
I’m glad guys like Hawkins, Veras, Ramirez could get some work even though it would have been nice to see Moose go 7.
I’m hopeful Ohlendorf can become more of a short innings reliever but it doesn’t look thats going to happen
“Look at his pattern of usage before that game. He threw 50 pitches/ 3 innings two days before that game.”
This is true, however it’s the only time this season he’s brought in Ollie after a long relief appearance (over 30 pitches) with only 1 day rest. I didn’t say I agree with everything Girardi does, but the moves he makes make more sense to me than what Torre did. Days of rest for relievers is where I see the biggest difference, with a few exceptions scattered here and there. Scott Proctor got worked like a water buffalo on a rice farm, often being called upon 3/4 days and even 3 days in a row. Ollie could use some rest, but everyone else has been managed decently.
???? Because, if he’d told Cashman that he needed Rasner in the pen as a long man, he’d have had Rasner in the pen as a long man. It’s not like Rasner is a guy whose development process Cash wants to protect.”
Still, you do not know if he tried. A lot goes into these moves and added to that Rasner was not on 40. For all we do not know, Cash might have told him to wait until he sorts some things through.
See, your points make lot sense to me, but blaming Girardi for why it did not happen does not make sense.
CB
You make some good points but you say that there are options between Edwar and Joba. Who? If Edwar gets in trouble, say he walks Clement on that 3-2 count then gives up a hit all of a sudden it’s men on 1st and second 6-3. Obviously this is a huge hypothetical but in that situation there is nobody I trust except for Joba and Mo.
Those two guys are the only ones that are guaranteed to stop the bleeding. I’m glad Joe gave Edwar a chance, hopefully more guys in the bullpen can become reliable and start to get a longer leash.
Gotta boogey, going for the sweep tomorrow!
CB,
I agree with most of your points.
But, look at it this way.
If the bullpen blew this game, which was prety close because of Edwar’s ineffectiveness, every one from media to the bloggers here would be crucifying Girardi for not using Joba.
Was Joba safety blanket, yes. I do not see an issue with how Girardi managed bullpen today. No quesiton, he warmed up Joba, but he showed enough restraint not to panic and let Edwar work out of his Jam. Torre would have never done that.
Good win today. The Yankees have come back from a crushing three game sweep to beat two very good starting pitchers. I think once the Yankees make a decision on first base where Giambi is a liability and then gets AROD back, they will be fine and competitive.
“Was Joba safety blanket, yes. I do not see an issue with how Girardi managed bullpen today. No quesiton, he warmed up Joba, but he showed enough restraint not to panic and let Edwar work out of his Jam. Torre would have never done that.”
I agree.
Hopefully in the future some of these guys other than Joba can step up and gain confidence in themselves and also with Girardi. There is some big potential in Ohlendorf, Edwar, Veras, Alba, Farns I think they could all be very good for us this year.
“every one from media to the bloggers here would be crucifying Girardi for not using Joba.”
Just because you lose a game does not mean you made the wrong decisions. Who cares if the media would crucify him? He needs to use his other relievers. You can’t just go to Joba and mo every time things get a little dicey.
“There is some big potential in Ohlendorf, Edwar, Veras, Alba, Farns I think they could all be very good for us this year.”
And the only way to find out is to TRY them in tight situations.
watching him pitch today, and seeing that we’re still going to need that bridge to the young guys to continue for the next few years, had me pondering this question today…
…..if he continues to show he can adjust his style, is there another two-year contract for the Moose next year?
whozat May 3rd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
“There is some big potential in Ohlendorf, Edwar, Veras, Alba, Farns I think they could all be very good for us this year.â€
And the only way to find out is to TRY them in tight situations.
Um hello. Proving it in NONTIGHT situations is how you get the responsibility to be in tight spots.
good win today.
OK me being sick today, I skimmed through some comments, this one I couldn’t stand for.
you put yourself in this kid’s shoes, this kid was scouted since he was 14, signed at 16 yrs. old, touted highly, picked up, pack his every day life to go to the U.S. and become a ML player, left his family in Venezuela, so at 19 he struggles, searching for answers, what this event is suppose to tell you is he is no quitter, he could have walked away but he didn’t. He also could have had a mono-tone reaction about his performance at this level and just said well I’m young that’s why I’m struggling, he’s 19 for him to have this reaction means he actually gives a damn about how he’s performing, busted his wrist last season played w/ injuries till the end of the season last year.
Jose Tabata spoiled, are you serious, from where this kid came from, from what every fan and reporter saids about him one of the most humble, hard working kids in this system. And you call him spoiled. Do some background check on where he came from and what he did to get to this point, then sit there and tell me he’s spoiled.
Pete, I always used to enjoy reading your blog but not so now. Your negativity comments toward Girardi are unbelievable!! Why do you ALWAYS have to take shot at Girardi?? If you so in love with Torre, why don’t go to report for the Dodger instead!!! Just stick to reporting the news instead of taking shot at Girardi!! Thank you!
“Um hello. Proving it in NONTIGHT situations is how you get the responsibility to be in tight spots.”
Non-tight spots like still having a 5 run lead in the 8th inning? Even IF there are some guys on base, this is clearly a spot where a Jose Veras could get a shot, if you don’t think Ramirez can get it done.
Typical of the commenters here usually that they find something to complain about even in a great win. Joba stretching and throwing a few pitches isn’t worthy of being bitchedd about. But hey when you got a room full of arm chair managers who couldn’t pick Veras out of a lineup what ya gonna do?
Edwar Ramirez is garbage. Britton should be used more then Edwar. The Yankees treat Britton as if he has aids or something. Give the guy a chance
“Edwar Ramirez is garbage. Britton should be used more then Edwar. The Yankees treat Britton as if he has aids or something. Give the guy a chance”
he got 3 outs, what is your prolem w/ him
problem*
I think a 5 un lead in the 8th is a good spot for a young, unproven reliever to start making his mark right??? A 5 un lead in the 9th for Veras is a good start too right??
What? Do you want these guys to be thrown into the fire right away? Moronic.
Socal:
Um, how exactly did I rip Girardi? I didn’t mention his name during the entire post other than to say the Yankees trust him more with bullpen mgt than Torre. But, please, don’t let that stop you from imagining things.
You can’t win with some people. Next I start a blog there’s going to be a reading comprehension test before you’re allowed to comment.
When Pete doesnt like someone ie Farnsworth, Igawa, Pavano, Girardi, either personally or whatever it really comes out in his writing.
2 GO a K for Veras who wouldn’t take that from a reliever, actually Veras’s slider is very impressive, w/ him my guess is he gets strikeout happy and that’s when he gets hurt, because his slider is a tough one to center.
I see why Pete doesnt like Girardi. He wants openness and honesty from his prime source. And he gets Kremlin esque non info.
On dumb things like minor league call ups.
Girardi needs to be a little more open. It aint state secrets here.
he walks to many people. he is a one trick pony who will be exposed. i really dont think his combinaton of pitches will be effective in the bigs. i also think he gets nervous on the mound.
his innings would be better served giving opportunities to britton or veras.
Just back from the game, it was a classic. It was jacket weather and the sun didn’t really poke out, but it was warm enough. Personally I’ll take a game like that over a 95 degree day in July any day.
Gotta love Moose, he has really reinvented himself. At this rate, we may have to sign him for another year.
By the way, when Joba got up in the pen, the fans went nuts. The RF bleacher bums started chanting, the LF bleacher bums were crowding the front area with the cameras to get a shot of Joba the Heat. That kid causes quite a stir, talk about star quality.
“he walks to many people. he is a one trick pony who will be exposed. i really dont think his combinaton of pitches will be effective in the bigs. i also think he gets nervous on the mound.
his innings would be better served giving opportunities to britton or veras.”
can the kid get more innings before we rush judgements on him, he’s throwing the fastball added a cutter that he’s throwing for strikes BTW, and Girardi tested him today, he saw kid is on the corner what’s he going to do now when put Joba to warm up, give up or get the outs, Edwar passed today’s test, he got the outs. Veras was fine in 9th he’ll get the 8th inning auditions when he shows more samples.
“By the way, when Joba got up in the pen, the fans went nuts. The RF bleacher bums started chanting, the LF bleacher bums were crowding the front area with the cameras to get a shot of Joba the Heat. That kid causes quite a stir, talk about star quality.”
Jeff it is gonna be fun watching him pitch as a starter
britton deservees to get a shot just like edwar does. i think based on his stuff brtton is going to pan out to be a better reliever.
i wish there was some way we could make a friendly bet on who would pan out to be better.
i’ll give it you that he “passed the test” but walking 2 batters with a 5 run lead is not what you want to see. i just dont think he has the necessary control to be a FB/ change up guy. the change up is a feel pitch and i think this combined with his control/nerves will spell trouble in the future. if he falls behinds in count he is going to get rocked.
Dude guys, did you see this?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3379864
Julio Franco retired!
Niko:
A brilliant comment. Clearly I have it out for Pavano, Farnsworth and Igawa. They’ve all done such positive things for the Yankees in the three seasons I’ve been covering the team and I’ve ignored all of them. My personal dislike for them shines through.
It’s very funny that people think I don’t like somebody personally. Obviously a little sarcasm here and there flies over the head of some folks. Yes, I go home and get all steamed up over my personal dislike for Kei Igawa.
I would prefer to see a player do well because I’d like to cover a winning team. More people read about winning teams and that’s good for me. I’d also like the player to answer questions and be accessible. Beyond that, I really don’t care what they do.
hey i just got home from the AAA game. the yanks won 15-s. in case anyone’s interested:
jeff marquez started and gave up 6 runs (4 home runs) in 5 2/3. right before he got pulled he threw the ball away on an easy grounder and the runner got to third; justin christian had a 2-run double, 2-run homer, 2 singles (i for an rbi), and an rbi groundout; matt carson had 3 singles (1 for an rbi) and a triple; wilson betemit had a single and a double from the right side and a 2-run double from the left;
eric duncan came in the 7th and had a 2 run single; billy traber pitched 2 1/3 and gave up 2 runs.
i left in the 8th
sorry that should be 15-8
“Non-tight spots like still having a 5 run lead in the 8th inning? Even IF there are some guys on base, this is clearly a spot where a Jose Veras could get a shot, if you don’t think Ramirez can get it done.”
Theres no reason to complain, he left Ramirez in to work out of the jam. Girardi would have pulled him if it got out of hand and in that case it wouldn’t be a 5 run lead any longer. Why bring Veras into a close game with men on base when he is known for being someone that walks a lot of batters? I’m all for giving other pitchers a chance but if Edwar hadn’t gotten out of the jam, Joba was the correct choice.
That was Veras’ first outing of the season for the major league team. I’d rather let him gain some confidence in a 5 run ballgame with a clean inning than bring him in with the game on the line. What kind of manager brings in the guy that just was called up in a game deciding situation? Now that Veras did well, he will get more opportunities and if he continues to do well he’ll get the ball in tighter spots. You saw how Bruney gained confidence with Girardi before he got injured and how Albaladejo is doing the same thing now.
King Feliz just finished pitching in Nashville (had to do a lot of Googling to figure out he pitches for them). 8 innings, 3 hits, one unearned run, 12 strikeouts and no walks against the hard-hitting Las Vegas team.
Mr. what. schooled us all. This King Feliz is indeed a premier talent on a level Hughes cannot even dream of. Thank you for educating us, what.
couldn’t have said it better myself Patrick
Rebecca, about time !
A13, Dan McCutchen should be in AAA and that’s no knock on Marquez but he shouldn’t be in AAA right now unless they are trying to teach him a new pitch which Rafael Chaves is known for that ability, he taught Rasner the cutter. And is getting Igawa to hit the strike zone more often than not..I still don’t trust Igawa BTW
and I don’t understand what they are doing w/ Eric Duncan why limit him to 1 AB in the 7th and not give him 4 ABs in the game ?
Brandon – First the other Duncan gets the ABs and now Betemit. It is unfortunate, because outside of yesterday he has really been hitting the ball very well lately.
I know he started at third and has played first. What is his defense like at first? It would be very nice to have to choose between Miranda and Duncan as the left handed part of a platoon or more.
Jennings loves his glove at 1B, and yeh I can’t believe I read his lines and it said in his last 30 ABs batting .367 why sit him, and no offense but for Ransom ?
3 doubles 1 triple and 3 homeruns.
Good K 13 / BB 11
Log jam is why he’s sitting. They’re getting AB’s for guys who will contribute in the majors.
I love Mussina, and he’s pitching pretty good right now (especially if you take away Manny Ramirez’ last 4 AB’s), but I’m extremely worried about his 85mph fastball in warm weather.
It was definitely jacket weather, but really nice when the sun came out (my seats are on the 3B side). Minimal traffic, no rain, and a Yankee win… perfect day.
Anyone watching the Derby?
Real World – He is still only 24 and having himself a very nice season so far. This is a big, big year for him, but if he can put it together I would not count him out.
and they’re off!
It amuses me how they have like a three hour telecast and the actual race is two minutes long.
“King Feliz just finished pitching in Nashville (had to do a lot of Googling to figure out he pitches for them). 8 innings, 3 hits, one unearned run, 12 strikeouts and no walks against the hard-hitting Las Vegas team.
Mr. what. schooled us all. This King Feliz is indeed a premier talent on a level Hughes cannot even dream of. Thank you for educating us, what.”
can Neftali get above A ball before we deem him King anything, I’m glad Texas has a hard thrower in thier system but no way no how can 1 start deem him King anything. Think about this the Atlanta Braves traded him, I understand he has a 98 mph fastball but his secondary pitches are very raw and he’s 20 yrs. old, he needs to get it soon before his window as a SP closes.
Neftali Feliz
there are alot of these guys Betances can hit 98 mph he’s in A ball, McCallister can touch 96, Michel Inoa at 16 UDLFA for 08′ is hitting 94 mph w/ more polish, the Yankees signed Arodis Vizcaino at 16 because sits at 94 mph, potentially means they have 4 – 5 more miles coming soon to thier game.
Feliz very good hard thrower, I don’t know if he’s a King anything right now.
can Neftali get above A ball before we deem him King anything, I’m glad Texas has a hard thrower in thier system but no way no how can 1 start deem him King anything. Think about this the Atlanta Braves traded him, I understand he has a 98 mph fastball but his secondary pitches are very raw and he’s 20 yrs. old, he needs to get it soon before his window as a SP closes.
there are alot of these guys Betances can hit 98 mph he’s in A ball, McCallister can touch 96, Michel Inoa at 16 UDLFA for 08′ is hitting 94 mph w/ more polish, the Yankees signed Arodis Vizcaino at 16 because sits at 94 mph, potentially means they have 4 – 5 more miles coming soon to thier game.
Feliz very good hard thrower, I don’t know if he’s a King anything right now.
Pete…thanks again for covering today’s game AND for today’s posts….Have a great night, sir !
Great game. Two in a row. 1 over .500. We’re on a roll now.
Pete,
Why do you get into arguments with people in the comments section over the same things(Girardi bias)? There’s bound to be some idiots out there anyway. Why even bother?
sad. Poor Eight Belles
Justin Christian hits a HR and shows off the hops
Eight Belles, wow.
Where is Doug Mankowitz and why can’t we have him back?
I was at the game today and I was FREEZING. Anyway, what is going on with Giambi? Please, someone [Pete, or anyone] explain his new little “socks-up” habit??
I also couldn’t agree more about Doug Mienkewitz [or however it's spelled!]
Giambi is trying to pull a A-Rod and wear his socks up and see if he can have an MVP season.
at this rate, I can’t see any major teams picking up the past-declined Giambi.
I’m scare of horses.
D. Mientkiewicz .191 .283 .255 .538
Pitchers no longer have the fear of Giambi with a bat in his hands.
His bat speed has slowed and he stubbornly hits into the exaggerated shift rather than keep the opposition guessing by slapping a pitch down the left field line for an easy base hit when the situation call for it.
Live by the long ball – die by the long ball.
Oooooooook, Brandon. Sorry, I don’t care about Tabata’s background when he’s on the field. That’s all I’m going to say about it – you obviously like him, no problem. I respect your opinion – too bad you can’t respect mine. End of story.
One more thing, Brandon – I don’t need to see a player throw his bat and storm off in a huff to show me that he cares. That does not impress me in the least – it’s completely unprofessional. Given that he was suspended, I guess you probably the think the Yankees did the wrong thing?
Kevin Brown punched a wall in frustration once – is that supposed to impress me? He went on to miss months of playing time – yeah, that really helped the team. Phil is only 21 – when he’s struggled, did you ever see him throw his glove down on the ground and storm out of the clubhouse? How about Ian? Sorry – I’m not buying what you’re selling. I’m also not going to get into a pissing match with you. Wake me up when Jose shows that he wants to be a professional.
Did Tabata voice his anger in an…innappropriate way?
“One more thing, Brandon – I don’t need to see a player throw his bat and storm off in a huff to show me that he cares. That does not impress me in the least – it’s completely unprofessional. Given that he was suspended, I guess you probably the think the Yankees did the wrong thing?”
first off Betsy I didn’t mean to offend your opinion, second Tabata didn’t show anyone on the field up (he went into the lockerroom when he smashed his bat), I know it doesn’t impress you about him actually being real and that wasn’t the problem. I took offense to the spoiled brat comment you made. That is something Jose sure as hell isn’t. When Kevin Brown punched the wall it was w/ his pitching hand (w/ a 20 MIL dollar fallback), it showed stupidity, Paul O’neill is loved for the temper tantrums he threw, Tabata actually had a whole different experience, in AA he was struggling at 19 yrs. old, if he doesn’t make it he doesn’t have anything to fall back on here in the U.S., this kid is from Venezuela it’s either make it here in baseball or become a never was, spoiled brat is a seperation w/ him, I take offense because I’m part latino I know what these guys go through I’ve seen the ABCD camps in the Dominican Republic I’ve seen 15 yr. olds pluck from thier family because a scout wants to rob talent for the cheapest price they can get. I think you’d see it different if you saw what they go through or from where they came from to get it going.
Tabata takes this game serious, he works out day to day but no one ever reports his good work ethics, you always have to ask a Patrick Teale in the know or a field director to know that he actually isn’t lazy. That’s the part that upsets me, he then shows he’s human, that baseball actually matters to him and then people want to label him w/o knowing the whole story. You know how much this kid signed for a 16 ? $500,000 chump change, because I bet most if not all of that money went towards his family, getting his mom a house, buying a little bit of land the rest, daily expenses. That’s why it gets to me when we call players likr him spoiled.
anyone think the Yanks should go after a free agent pitcher? it’s worth a shot. Maybe give ‘em chump change and see how he pitches.
Brandon, I’m sorry for going off on you like that – we just had a misunderstanding.
I appreciate your filling me in on Jose’s background and no – I can’t imagine what it must be like for a baby like he is to carry the hopes and dreams of his family on this back (maybe the hopes and dreams of his whole town). I didn’t consider how big of a deal it is for him as a Latino because I don’t judge people on their race or ethnicity; therefore, I never considered treating Jose any differently than I would anyone else. If Phil had done what he did, I would have been very disappointed. However, knowing what I know now, I have to say that it sure appears that I jumped the gun on him without knowing the pressures that are burdening his young shoulders. I hope he’s going to be ok and I hope the Yankees understand what the kid is going through. Jose also needs to understand that slumps happen and he’s going to be ok, but then – I can understand why he’d be afraid that he might not be. When you’re mired in a terrible slump and you are not a veteran with a proven track record, it’s easy to think that this is all there is – that you just can’t hack it at the highest levels. Then, the fear comes, the fear of your dream dying.
If Jose is really a decent kid, I’ll be rooting hard for him.