Game 41: Yankees at Rays
-
- May
- 14
YANKEES
Damon LF
Abreu RF
Jeter SS
Giambi 1B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Ensberg 3B
Molina C
Mussina RHP
Mike Mussina (5-3, 4.36) against the Tampa Bay hitters.
James Shields (4-2, 3.14) against the New York hitters.
Notes: The Yankees have lost two straight, three of four and five of seven. … The Yankees have scored two runs in their last 24 innings, hitting 13 of 79 (.165) in that stretch. … Jose Molina is 3 for 41 with one RBI. … Melky Cabrera is for 4 for 19 in his last five games with one RBI. … Kyle Farnsworth has allowed one run in his last 9.2 innings. … The Yankees are 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position in this series. … If you’re keeping track at home, that’s 36 lineups in 41 games.
Back later with updates.
UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.: Joe Girardi held a team meeting before batting practice. The gathering started at 4:53 p.m. and broke up just before 5:30 p.m. “I wanted to speak to the club,” said Girardi, who added that he spoke “from his heart.”
Girardi disagrees with Hank Steinbrenner’s take that the team lacks energy. He just thinks the Yankees aren’t playing very well.
To be honest, what do people expect? They don’t have Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, the back end of the rotation has been a mess and the bench has been virtually useless. Sweeny Murti figured out that the players who have replaced A-Rod and Posada have 5 RBI in the last 13 games. Talk about VORP.
There are 122 games left. Evaluate the Yankees when they’re whole. Didn’t anybody watch last season?
UPDATE, 6:28 p.m.: Here’s the pre-game audio from Joe Girardi:
UPDATE, 7:19 p.m.: The Rays announced 20 minutes before the game that they signed LHP Scott Kazmir to a three-year extension worth $28.5 million. There’s an team option in 2012 worth $11 million.
Another smart move by a franchise that hasn’t made too many mistakes lately. Kazmir is 36-30, 3.36 in his career.
UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: Word is that Hank Steinbrenner is in the house. Surely now the Yankees will win. Perhaps he’ll coach third for a few innings.
UPDATE, 7:39 p.m.: That was one of those “No, no, no, Melky, throw to second … hey, heck of a throw.”
The Yankees have scored two runs in the last 26 innings and hit 14 of 87 (.161). That’s hard to do.
UPDATE, 7:55 p.m.: The Moose has allowed 8 ERs on 25 hits in his last 26 innings. You’d take that from every starter.
UPDATE, 8:04 p.m.: Hank is a genius. Yankees lead 1-0.
UPDATE, 8:15 p.m.: Forget to mention this before but Jeff Karstens threw 5 innings in an extended spring training game today. “I got to 56 pitches and I felt great,” he said. “I gave up five hits but those guys swing at everything.”
Karstens will start a rehab assignment on Monday with Class A Tampa. He hopes to be ready for the majors within a few weeks.
Karstens could be used as a starter if needed. Or the Yankees could use him in the bullpen as a long man and dump one of the extra right-handers they’re carrying.
UPDATE, 8:21 p.m.: A little pop-fly double by Abreu makes it 2-0. Now watch the game change. The Rays can’t play the way they want to play down a couple of runs.
Moose needs to keep pitching well. But trailing by a couple takes away some weapons for the Rays.
These are two big innings for the Moose, who needs to show he’s not a five-inning pitcher.
UPDATE, 8:32 p.m.: The Yankees have to win now. The Big G just sprawled in the dirt to snare a ball and made an acccurate throw to Mike Mussina as he got to the bag.
When The Big G has a web gem, it guarantees victory.
Now he’s up. Maybe he’ll clock one.
UPDATE, 8:35 p.m.: Or maybe he’ll ground into the shift.
UPDATE, 8:45 p.m.: You might want to go batter to batter with him at this point. But leave the Moose in for the seventh. He’s cruising. He’s retired seven of the last eight batters and 12 of the last 14.
Nobody warming up.
UPDATE, 9:05 p.m.: This is an awful lot of faith to show in Ross Ohlendorf. Big spot for him. Obviously they’re looking for Floyd to ground into a double play.
Tremendous job by Mussina, five hits and one walk over 6.1 innings. No runs so far.
Only 87 pitches for Moose.
UPDATE, 9:10 p.m.: Nobody warming up. This inning is up to Ohlendorf. They’re taking a heck of a chance with a rookie.
UPDATE, 9:12 p.m.: Ladies and Gentlemen, the captain of the Yankees, Derek Sanderson Jeter. The statheads hate on his defense. But the man makes plays when the Yankees need plays to be made.
UPDATE, 9:36 p.m.: Back on the horse goes Mariano Rivera. Just a hunch, but he will be lights out. The man knows his business.
No fist pump from Joba. I was hoping he would leap into the stands and high five every Yankee fan here.
UPDATE, 9:45 p.m.: Four hits by Robbie Cano and he’s over the Mendoza line at .205. He’s 14 for 40 in May.
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How do all these lineup changes work out? Has the offense clicked into gear with one of these changes?
I understand splitting up lefty and righty batters, but still. Seems like much playing around for little or rather no gains.
I like Jeter in the 3-hole over Abreu until A-Rod gets back… we’ll see if it works.
Joe changes the line-up everyday, then do nothing but watch during the game.
is girardi reading this blog? didn’t i read some comments this morning about how Abreau works well in the #3 spot when A-Rod is in the line-up?
Hi Joe! (I voted “I’m pleased!”)
Man, why Giambi over Matsui? It’s not a big sample, but Matsui is 6/10….
why does he keep changin lineups.. my gosh
Giambi hitting clean up? The only clean up he will be doing is hitting into DP’s.
It will be interesting to see who leaves when A Rod comes back. My vote is to vote tonight’s 3rd baseman off the island. Alberto Gonzalez gives the bench more flexibility.
“why does he keep changin lineups.. my gosh”
Because he hasn’t found one that works yet.
“why does he keep changin lineups.. my gosh”
because two of our best hitters are on the DL. And they’re two of the guys one uses to split up the lefties.
And the offense is struggling mightily. Guys have needed to be dropped in the lineup. And even many of the backups have needed to either sit or go on the DL, so that means even more lineup gyrations.
Swapping Jeter and Abreu is one of those tweaks to see if they can figure out a way to generate more offense. The vast majority of the tweaks seem to have been in response to injuries.
that too
Isn’t it cute how Hank will say something, umm, interesting and then has to come back the next day to explain himself? That he didn’t mean to call anyone an idiot for using Joba in the bullpen. That he didn’t mean to say, “Earn your pay you spoiled millionaires”. He meant to say, “If not this year, definitely next year”.
“Alberto Gonzalez gives the bench more flexibility.”
He can’t hit for anything. Though he has to stick around because without him there’s no backup middle IFer. I vote Shelley off the island. He’s done nothing to show me he’s useful/. At least Ensberg’s done something in the majors before. Duncan’s Kevin Maas.
Ensberg sat against two soft tossing lefties and is now in the lineup against one of the better young RHP in the AL.
Not sure I understand that.
I agree with whozat…. Shelley’s probably the one to go. He’s been riding the great two weeks he had last year for a while now and its time to move on. Gonna miss his enthusiasm though.
“Ensberg sat against two soft tossing lefties and is now in the lineup against one of the better young RHP in the AL.”
That seemed really odd to me as well. Like…why is he even here if he’s going to sit against exactly the kind of pitchers he’s here to hit? Seems like Girardi’s already decided to give up on him. Ok, but who else is in the organization that’s a better bet to help the team start beating some lefties?
I understand the sentiment about Shelley. I really like what I know about him. I don’t think that his intermittent ABs are enough to make a decision about him, however, he has not really contributed. He needs some regular playing time. Unfortunately, with Jason, Shelley’s not likely to see regular playing time. It’s a tough situation.
Typo - I meant that his intermittent playing time is NOT enough to make a decision about him.
For all those bashing Giambi he has been there only offense lately besides Matsui. He was the only Yankee with 2 hits last night and he has been getting on base much more consitently
“I understand the sentiment about Shelley. I really like what I know about him. I don’t think that his intermittent ABs are enough to make a decision about him, however, he has not really contributed. He needs some regular playing time. Unfortunately, with Jason, Shelley’s not likely to see regular playing time.”
I like what I know about him as a person. But, he’s not up here to be a regular. He’s up here to be a platoon guy, because his history suggests that hitting lefties is the only thing he does particularly well. That’s the role he needs to fill. If he can’t adjust to that, then…well…it doesn’t really matter what he’d do with regular time at this point. Until/Unless they decide to cut ties with Giambi, there won’t BE regular playing time. And nothing Shelley’s done has started to push the envelope on Giambi either.
Because he’s like the guy in your office that walks around hurriedly carrying a piece of paper.
He needs to look busy. He’s covering up the fact that he’s not in control, has no experience, and doesn’t know what works. He’s not managing, he’s flailing.
Does anyone think the Yankees have a “Guess the Lineup” lottery going each day? Now, THAT would be funny. Pete?
If you look at May so far, Giambi’s been useful at the plate, so…
“He needs to look busy. He’s covering up the fact that he’s not in control, has no experience, and doesn’t know what works. He’s not managing, he’s flailing.”
If you think that’s true, you’re not paying attention. At all.
Don’t know if anyone has asked this, but any reason Moeller is not being used? Maybe being saved for Ian?
whozat - I agree with you about Shelley. Also your last comment about Joe G. (I presume).
Maybe Girardi should just pick a lineup and stick with it. Stop playing games. Why is our #2 hitter hitting 3rd and our #3 hitter hitting 2nd? Why is Jason and his monsterous .190 average hitting cleanup and our best offensive hitter of late hitting 5th?
whozat,
It’s hard to argue about Shelley being the one to go. I wonder if there’s a bit of a hangover from the Spring Training incident. I’d still keep him for the time being because he’s about the only guy on the bench capable of hitting the ball hard.
Gonzalez has done nothing to warrant a demotion. He’s hitting .290 ( 4th on the team) with a .353 OBP ( 5th on the team). Ensberg, on the other han hasnt produced at all. His ‘05 season is irrelevant to ‘08.
whozat-
I’ve notice Giambi’s coming around a bit. Cano a little less so, but much better from the both of them overall in the last week, 10 days.
Yes Giambi has been hitting better as of late. But can someone please tell him that there are other things than hitting singles,homers and walks. DOUBLES!! When you smash a ball to the wall. Try getting to second.
DUNCAN=MAAS
So true.
I say from now on. We try to guess the lineup before its poster. Like a game of Bingo/Lottery. The winner gets one day to say anything on this board without being critisized.IMMUNITY.
“Don’t know if anyone has asked this, but any reason Moeller is not being used? Maybe being saved for Ian?”
Wasn’t he used for two games in a row just a couple days ago? He’s an inferior player to Molina…why would you want him used more often?
I dunno…2 lefties, a righty, 3 lefties, then 3 righties.
Doesn’t this help the opposing manager manage his bullpen better? Bring a lefty in for the top of the order and not have to worry about a righty for 6 batters??
This team REALLY misses Arod and Posada in that lineup. But the good news is this: when everyone is back, some teams are REALLY going to pay dearly when they face the Yankees. $30 million or not, Arod makes this lineup totally different.
“Ensberg, on the other han hasnt produced at all. His ‘05 season is irrelevant to ‘08.”
Totally agree Drive 4-5. I think he’s had the benifit of the doubt from day 1. His bat just isnt the same this year.
Agree Arod and Posada help but the starting pitching is really skating in all this. Wang obviously is doing great but the 2 thru 5 slots are getting less than 6 IP per start which compels this team to carry a bus station full of relievers. You keep asking for 3+ from yor pen 4 out of 5 nights, they are going to start getting tagged.
O’s are making noise about tying this thing up.
Id rather have Colt 40 Fineberg play 3rd base instead of Ensberg.
on another note….the picture of Mariano Rivera’s face photoshopped onto Steve Erwins face that they have on Nomaas is outrageous.
So is it safe to assume that Igawa will be leaving to make room for Kennedy?
“Bring a lefty in for the top of the order and not have to worry about a righty for 6 batters??”
It would probably matter normally, but Tampa’s bullpen lefty has been pitching to both righties and lefties equally well anyway.
“some teams are REALLY going to pay dearly when they face the Yankees. $30 million or not, Arod makes this lineup totally different.”
Like Schilling said a couple years back. You have to take advantage of the Yankees when their hurt. If you dont and allowed them to hang around. It will comeback and bite you.
4 games out. With all the injuries and nothing from our 2 young studs. Arod coming back next week. I say we got em right wear we want em.
“Ensberg, on the other han hasnt produced at all. His ‘05 season is irrelevant to ‘08.”
He continued to be effective against lefties in both 06 and 07. Gonzalez has a whole 4 more hits than Ensberg in the same (tiny) number of ABs. And he’s never really hit particularly well in the minors. I think Ensberg has a shot to actually help this team against lefties this year. I think that Girardi has not deployed him in a way that would allow him to be able to make an informed decision on that. Despite facing a bunch of lefties in the last week, Ensberg’s gotten two ABs. He’s here to play against lefties. We won’t know if he’s going to help us unless he plays against them. Play him, and if he stinks, cut him.
Giambi should be hitting AFTER Molina. Matsui is a run producer and Giambi not.
If we’re ever going to get any consistency out of the lineup, the lineup needs to be consistent first.
“I think he’s had the benifit of the doubt from day 1.”
That’s because he hasn’t had an OPS under .830 against lefties for years. And he had a good spring. Why shouldn’t he have gotten the benefit of the doubt? He’s only, you know, performed well in an area where the Yankees have been weak.
“Like Schilling said a couple years back. You have to take advantage of the Yankees when their hurt. If you dont and allowed them to hang around. It will comeback and bite you”
This Yankee team probably isn’t as good as the Yankee teams of yesteryear. What they are mostly is a couple years older in the field and searching for reliable starting options on the mound.
Hey CB, I guess Girardi must have been listening to you. He’s batting Abreu 2nd tonight.
O’s have the bases drunk with the immortal Jay Payton up vs. Okajima. Okajima has struggled with inherited runners.
Looking at the BVP from James Shields against the NYY hitters - if there was a night to pounce on a pitcher it’s tonight. Let’s go!
Case in point.
6-3 Orioles.
GRANNY!!!!!
HA HA HA HA HA!!!!
I got the Sux anti-mojo!!!!!
If Girardi wants consistency out of the lineup, shouldn’t the lineup be consistent first?
Watching the O’s on MASN… that’s how I like it ! Grand slam off of Okajima !
I’m from Baltimore, pardon my excitement…
“Obaasan”
That’s Japanese for “granny”. Oka not so good today. 6-3 Baltimore.
Fredo - I take full credit for any and all Sux losses. Just because I do. I give them every ounce of my hate that I can muster. They can be doing fine until I tune in and then they fall apart.
Doing my part to make this a better country.
GO O’S!!!
GO YANKS!!!
Sox should have been out of the inning a couple different times. Pedroia effed up on a grounder and Hansen had Roberts struck out and the ump missed it, but as we all know here, when you’re playing bad that’s the kind of stuff that happens.
At least the Yankees have an excuse for their poor performance. The Sox are finding new and unique ways to lose every night and do not have reinforcements on the way.
it’s time for the veterans to get this team turned around. i have no doubt they’re working hard. they need to go out, play hard, and have a little fun.
Au contraire. Everything about Girardi’s body language and attitude with the press suggest he’s defensive, he’s been hiding stuff and he’s not relaxed. He doesn’t have experience, that’s just a plain fact, he’s barely completed one year in the manager’s chair.
The ever changing lineups are a futile attempt to find the magic formula. He’s under enormous scrutiny, and has impatient bosses — he has to appear like he’s doing something. Chances are, all the line up changes are doing is having a negative effect on the hitters.
He is trying far too hard, and he doesn’t have the answer.
Sorry dude, but that’s flailing.
He’ll be a good manager one day. But that day is at least 5 years away.
whozat,
Hate to disagree with you, but Ensberg is too one dimensional to be of value here. He’s slow of foot, doesnt bunt and plays only the corner positions. When A rod comes back, they dont need Ensberg at all. Using your logic about past performance, perhaps the Yanks should bring back Bernie.
Its amazing what a year makes in the bullpen. The White Sox a couple years back were unhittable and won the Series. Then we had the Red Sox shut down pen last year. Now it seems like their pen is blowing every other game. Maybe this is our year to have the bullpen be our strength?
GoSox -
Don’t force me to be fair and objective when it comes to the Sux! It kills my soul to do so. But I have to say that the Yankees really don’t have enough excuses as far as I’m concerned for not scoring runs. Two great players out of your lineup should not be all the difference. Hank is right. Yes we have players hurt but that means the rest have to play harder and smarter. He’s right.
HOWEVER, Manny being Manny really looked like a fool on that last play. When’s the last time someone threw their helmet at the first base umpire because they were called out at first? He’s really a jerk sometimes.
i wouldn’t get too excited to face shields, he’s really starting to put it together. his last start was a gem, 9IP 0R., his start immediatly before that one was his only clunker all year, 3.2IP, 7R. he allowed 3ER or less every other outing. take away that start against boston and he’s one of the best pitchers this season.
“He’s batting Abreu 2nd tonight.”
I think it’s worth trying. Abreu;s skills taking walks work out well for a #2 hitter. It’s also valuable as a #3 hitter as long as there is a quality clean up hitter.
Shields throw a ton of strikes. He’s not going to walk guys so they’ll need to get hits with men on base to score runs.
Jeter is hitting .452 with runners in scoring position this year. .452 - I know that sounds impossible given how few runs they’ve scored but it’s true. By far the highest on the team.
Abreu is hitting .378 with RISP but he’s so selective at the plate I’d guess that his .378 is related to him drawing a lot of walks with runners in scoring position decreasing the number of at bats he gets.
Matsui is only hitting .273 with RISP.
Where the team really gets killed with RISP is the 5th slot - Giambi is hitting a pitiful .103 with RISP.
yeah why change the lineup as is it is doing so well!!!!!!!
again are you morons… yeah sitting Ensberg is the reason they were not winning, we should tell that to houston and san diego maybe if they get him back there fortunes will turn for the better!!!!
the stupidity from the peanut gallery, is awesome…Girardi knows more about baseball then you buffoons so be quite….
who should hit 4th Molina? How about Ensberg??/ Yeah…….
“Using your logic about past performance, perhaps the Yanks should bring back Bernie.”
Yeah, he was great from ‘05 through ‘07.
Actually…he wasn’t. Ensberg, on the other hand, has been productive in a needed dimension (getting on base against and hitting against lefties) for the last several years.
“He’s slow of foot, doesnt bunt and plays only the corner positions.”
Who the hell cares about bunting and stealing bases? This team’s issues with scoring runs have WAY more to do with putting runners on base in the first place and hitting when they’re in scoring position. Sac bunting and risking the precious few baserunners they have would be dumb. We’re talking about a need for someone who can hit left-handed pitching to slot in SOMEWHERE on the field that a lefty currently plays. 1B would be fine.
If Ensberg’s “one dimension” is “gets on base against and hits lefties while playing better than Giambi at 1B”, then of course I want to keep him. If he can’t do that, then he’s gotta go. Only way to find out is to play him against lefties…which Girardi hasn’t done, which I disagree with.
All these line-up changes are giving me motion sickness. Sometimes change is just for change’s sake and evidence of not knowing anything better to do.
All of the Rays starters have been shining. Shields is one of their best starters and would have been further ahead if he wasn’t out for part of last season.
Please don’t think that we’ll take this game because it’s Shields on the mound. That is the last thing you should be thinking. If you want to consider that Moose has been pitching great and that maybe something might have set a fire under the Yankees offense and that is the reason we could take tonight’s game, that to me is legitimate.
People who underestimate the Rays end up with egg on their faces. They probably don’t have one bad starter at this point in time!
“again are you morons… yeah sitting Ensberg is the reason they were not winning”
Didn’t say that was the reason they’re not winning right now. However, I think that finding useful right-handed bats to swap in for one or more of the Yankee lefties would do a lot to help their issues with southpaws. Seems to me that’s exactly why Duncan and Ensberg were put on the team in the first place. Seems dumb not to deploy them in that role, unless you’ve already decided they’re not going to hack it. That’s all I’m saying. You’ve got two guys who are here to hit lefty pitching. Either play them or cut them.
if nl mvp ryan howard can bunt with RISP in the phillies game last night, there is no reason giambi can’t.
“Shields is one of their best starters and would have been further ahead if he wasn’t out for part of last season.”
Which part of the season did he miss last year? He threw 215IP’s and made 31 starts.
“if nl mvp ryan howard can bunt with RISP in the phillies game last night, there is no reason giambi can’t.”
I can guarantee that teams are EXTREMELY happy when they see Ryan Howard squaring up for a bunt.
“if nl mvp ryan howard can bunt with RISP in the phillies game last night, there is no reason giambi can’t.”
Unless, you know, he’s horrendous at it. Which seems pretty likely, given that I doubt he’s done it in 15 years.
SA-WEET!
Thank you Orioles.
actually it seems that the ray’s should be heavily favored tonight with shields v. moose, but im subscribing to the ‘thats why they play the games’ theory and predict a yankees in in a long, high-scoring game.
im sorry but this guy is a professional athelete being paid $20M and you’re saying he cant do what pitchers who cant hit .100 can do routinly in the n.l.?
I have a strong feeling Yankees are going to take tonight’s game. Of course that and 50 cents is worth a cup of coffee. But I also have a strong feeling that Hank’s words might act as a motivational tool and help some players get off the shnide.
We’ll see whether I need to eat those words at the end of the night. I just really feel we are going to win tonight. Hope I’m and that it’s not just transference euphoria from the joyful scene I just witnessed.
Hey, ever notice how the Sux get thug-like when things aren’t going their way? I seriously haven’t seen Yankee players react the way those guys do. MUY MACHO!!!
Oh no !!! ……. Bahhhstin again !
“im sorry but this guy is a professional athelete being paid $20M and you’re saying he cant do what pitchers who cant hit .100 can do routinly in the n.l.?”
Those pitchers practice bunting ALL THE TIME and have been for years, because they’re called on to do it frequently.
Giambi, as I said, likely hasn’t dropped down a bunt in 15 years. It’s a skill like any other. All asking him to bunt does is drastically increase the chance that he’ll make an out. The odds of him popping up or bunting his way to 2 strikes are WAY higher than him dropping down a successful bunt. I mean…guys who DO bunt sometimes screw it up plenty often. Take Melky for example.
wow! did kornhieser just say that the ray’s have never been 7 games over .500 and they are 6 over now! gotta squash them tonight.
chowdah -
Time for me to rollerblade with GUSTO!
later.
Trisha –
I want to know where you buy your coffee!!!
Which is more hilarious? Pavano missing ST games with bruised buttocks, or Buchholz going on the MLB 15-day DL with a broken nail?
ok before I go my last post until later
SJ since you said your going to Trenton soon pay attention to Reegie Corona 2 for 3 today w/ a double, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
2B Reegie Corona in his last 10 games:
.375 AVG, 12 for 32, 6 XBH, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 SB
9 games in May: .379/.455/.621 an OPS of 1.075
a light bulb may have started to glimmer in his head.
until later Lohud faithful.
whozat, considering the lingering issue of Wang’s fingernail, I’m going to keep my mouth shut about Buchholz.
“a light bulb may have started to glimmer in his head. ”
or, it’s a small-sample size fluke.
I mentioned this earlier. I was listening to the radio and they said Steve Phillips mentioned that the league was on pace to score 1000 runs less this year than 06. Pitchers are throwing less velocity. More injuries and the top 5 of 8 teams in the leading the league are the youngest. Meaning they didnt and couldnt afford to go to performing enhancements. He also said that the weather was not the reason. Thoughts?
Brandon,
He also made 3 errors today, leading to 5 unearned runs.
I really wish people would stop harping on the Sox. As of right now the Yankees are chasing the Rays. The Rays are a good team. I’ve said it before on here, they’re the East Coast Angels. They will be a thorn in the side of the Yankees for years to come unless the Yankees can field a more athletic team.
This is a demanding sport, if you continue to put a team of guys who can’t run or field out there you will get burned.
Back to what I first said…enough with the Red Sox obsession. They’re a very good team and might very well win the division, but enough already. When did Yankee fans turn like this.
so i jumped in here to see if anybody had commented on manny’s high-5 today but didnt find any. add another to the MbM highlight reel!
“Which is more hilarious? Pavano missing ST games with bruised buttocks, or Buchholz going on the MLB 15-day DL with a broken nail?”
C. Kaz Matsui having some type of hemroid problem and the team didnt lie about it. Embarassing.
If i had to chooce from the two. Pavano’s buttocks.
george brett missed a ws game b/c of hemroids, but this year’s current frontrunner is felix pie of the cubs missing a few weeks this season b/c of a twisted testicle which required surgery!
The Kaz Matsui “anal fissure” was definitely the best DL in MLB history.
Abreu stinks period. He lost his ability to take walks. If I believed he could regain it then I would bat him lead off. Force him to concentrate on getting on base instead of whatever he is doing now.
“twisted testicle”
Im affraid to ask how he did that.
Steve Phillips said baseball is down 1,000 HR’s since 2006.
and the average velocity for pitchers is down. He said the steroid era is over.
I don’t know if the steroid era is completely over. but it does appear a lot of players are off the juice. and overall play looks down this year.
Anyone watching Kim Jones’ interview of Johnny Gomes? The guys has a “you know” count of 30 per minute.
“Abreu stinks period. He lost his ability to take walks.”
His OBP this month is .440, over 100 points higher than his AVG. His OPS this month is over .900, and I just read an article that put his defense tops among RFers according to the fielding bible.
So…I guess I wish the whole team stunk that badly.
Ys Guy -
A couple of people here mentioned Manny’s antics today.
Let’s go Yankees.
What did Manny do this time?
“What did Manny do this time?”
Who cares?
offense will explode 2nite!
May 14th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
manny made an excellent running catch to rob mallar of an xbh, kicked off the wall and high-fived a fan in the bleachers before turning and throwing for a dp at 1b! CLASSIC MANNY!
SJ…
Isn’t Corona pretty young and a decent prospect? This is his 1st yr. at Trenton I think.
He is not a retread no talent guy is he?
I thought i saw him play in Staten Island about 2 yrs ago….
I am not saying he is the next jeter but he is progressing, is that accurate???
thanks…
Manny was also safe at first on that play in the 8th inning …
Doreen,
It hard to believe he purposely did that. Heres my take. Manny sticks his glove out while jogging. Catches the ball. Kicks the wall while high fiving an O’s fan. Throws the ball back in thinking its 3 outs and gets the dp. That sounds more like Manny.
SoS27 -
I didn’t see it, so I couldn’t say, but your way sound much more believable!
“Isn’t Corona pretty young and a decent prospect? This is his 1st yr. at Trenton I think.”
He’s young. He’s never hit much. I don’t know that he was ranked on any of the prospect lists this offseason.
The Yankees are only 4.5 games out despite appalling play. The pitching has been good considering the injury to Hughes and Kennedy’s loss of nerve (which he will get back).
I am actually optimistic that this team will make a good run this year and am very glad they did not get Santanna. If they did they would probably be in the same place and he would be taking the same lack of run support as Wang.
So cheer up.
Manny is in his own little Manny world..
Must be an interesting place
Definitely an interesting lineup for tonight. Hope it works.
Have you look at Abreu’s walk rates? AL/NL 12%/16% BB/K career 11/13 this year 16/32 and yes Abreu STINKS as an all around player! He is so over rated it’s sad that people think he is a great #3 hitter.
hopefuly his speech will inspire the team.
I wonder if Mussina can pitch past the 5th inning for once.And yes the Yankees for the past three years started off badly but soon that will not hold up all the time.
SA,
As crazy as it sounds, sometimes I wish he were in our world.
Doreen - believe me I have to WILL myself to go blading after coming home from work. Luckily I have a partner who goes with me so it makes me more fun. The problem is that we had to kick off for quite a while because I was having a house built and then ended up with a builder who took the money and ran.
So we’re just starting to get back into it, so you know how that feels. I will say, though, that it is really one of my favorite things to do when I am up and running!
And of course my favorite moment is when we’re done and I come home and jump into the shower - right now!
LOL mel.
I also hope the mini-meeting inspires the team..wakes them up…something.
I would like to see signs of life. I know they can do it, but boy the past 2 games have been hard to watch.
Manny did another thing today that was weird. He threw his helmet at the first base ump in the 9th when he was called out at first. Then he started bitching at the ump. Remy said he was lucky he didn’t get tossed.
Mr. Exceptional - I will invite you to skip over my posts, sincerely, because I live to trash the Sux. You haven’t walked a mile in my RI Yankee shoes, living in Sux territory and so growing up in the heart and heat of the rivalry.
Guess what? I don’t care about any other team and what they do. As long as the Sux lose and if they finish below the Yankees, I can breathe.
Doreen - the gusto part of my blading was because the Sux lost…
GO YANKEES!!!
GO MOOOOOOOSE!!!
Be back in a few.
“AL/NL 12%/16% BB/K career 11/13 this year 16/32″
Which of these ratios are which? Are those first ones league average percentages? Abreu’s numbers in his AL career versus NL?
What are you trying to say? Also, basing ANY argument about ANY player with Abreu’s track record on this April is pretty dumb.
MOBoy - Moose has been GREAT!
Fran, I’m calling this a definite win. I’ll have to see what wrong score comes to me in the next little while.
“His OBP this month is .440, over 100 points higher than his AVG. His OPS this month is over .900″
Wrong.
last 7 days ba .217 obp .308 ops .656
last 14 days ba .311 obp .426 ops .870
Those do not add to what you say. What is true is how inconsistent Abreu really is. Abreu is turning in to Bernie William last few years either red hot or cold as ice.
“I wonder if Mussina can pitch past the 5th inning for once.”
He’s done so five times already.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_gamebygamelog.jsp?playerID=110029&statType=1
Look at his numbers for May.
.333/.440/.476
This is my first time today checking into YankeeLand. Wow, I guess I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!
Hey, let’s look at the bright side: tonight we have a chance to gain ground on Boston AND the division leader!
On the other hand, you know what they say: it’s always darkest just before it goes completely black.
What in the world is VORP?
Doesn’t mean Abreu wasn’t awful the last two days, but so has everyone else been. Putting the onus on him particularly seems pretty random.
Abreu has not come close to his NL level in BB its down 25% in the AL. This year he is taking BB to K’s at a 16/32 rate when for his career it’s 11/13.
The guy is not even close to being a good player anymore. He is either great or terrible. I prefer a more consistent player.
“What in the world is VORP?”
Value Over Replacement Player.
The idea is to figure out how much better a given player is at is position versus a generic, readily available fill-in.
VORP=value over replacement player.
“The guy is not even close to being a good player anymore. He is either great or terrible. I prefer a more consistent player.”
You’re basing this on what…last year and one month of this season? Gosh could ANY of this be due to the fact that his team has struggled out of the gate again and he’s been pressing — like everyone else on the team? Nah. He’s probably just turned into a wholly different player.
Given that, once he got out of his epic funk last year, he was the same kind of player he’s been for a while, I’m going to consider last April/May an outlier. And, also, given that he’s really not doing poorly right now except for his strikeout rates…I’m once again not really going to be worried.
If Bobby Abreu is your biggest concern on the may 2008 Yankees, you’re an insane person.
They don’t have Arod and Posada. BIG FREAKING DEAL! They should still win! Those two do not break our line up. We still have more than enough all stars to get the job done. I’m getting tired of people bringing up those two up like they’re make or break. This is the Yankees people, not a 1 or 2 all star low market team.
The freaking Rays are in first place.. Where’s there Arod and Posada?
Please let there be some freakin’ offense tonight
Trisha -
Especially after work, you have to take your motivation where you can get it!
I haven’t had my blades out in so long, I’m not sure I’d know what to do with them. It’s a fn way to get a workout, if I remember
Did anyone see Jeter’s pregame handshakes with the rest of the team? Bush league. /sarcasm
Seriously, I hope the team wins tonight because as boring as this team has been lately, the discussion in here has been equally boring as well.
Everytime I’m about to cook up some Chef Boyardee I have to calculate its Value Over Replacement Pasta. Usually it’s pretty high and I have a yummy snack.
On the other hand, Jose Molina’s Value Over Replacement Posada has been pretty low.
Jennifer -
If you’re here tonight, I wanted to tell you, my family is planning a trip to Toronto this summer (although in August not when the Yankees are in town) and we’re also taking a side trip to Niagara Falls (Canadian side). Here is link of falls tours. We’ve decided to try the Maid of the Mist thingie.
http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/allexperiences.html
Good luck and have fun.
lol
I love how at the end of that audio clip you hear Girardi talking over Danity Kane’s “Damaged”… “Do-Do You. Got a First. Aid. Kit. Handy?”
hahahahaha
Let’s go Mussina.
Jeter!
MEMO:
TO: THE YANKEE HITTERS
FROM: THE FANS
RE: HITTING
—-
Please beware that you are allowed to score runs.
Thank you.
Manny being Manny…
http://tinyurl.com/3ngwvv
I’m out. Good luck to Moose & the Gang. And you guys, too, of course.
whoaaaaaaaa big cat! nice pounce!
Wow, careful there Giambi. Don’t wanna hurt something.
“The Rays announced 20 minutes before the game that they signed LHP Scott Kazmir to a three-year extension worth $28.5 million. There’s an team option in 2012 worth $11 million.”
And everywhere, Mets fans die a little inside.
I know! The plan is to lull the Rays into thinking this is going to be a quiet night and then - whoosh, second time through the lineup, a Yankee tornado!!!
“Where’s there Arod and Posada?”
BJ Upton? Carl Crawford?
Are you SERIOUSLY asserting that you don’t get how losing ARod and Posada is a HUGE hit on the Yankee lineup?
Hahaha. I hope that’s the plan Doreen. I really do.
Oy
“They don’t have Arod and Posada. BIG FREAKING DEAL! They should still win! Those two do not break our line up. We still have more than enough all stars to get the job done. I’m getting tired of people bringing up those two up like they’re make or break. This is the Yankees people, not a 1 or 2 all star low market team.
The freaking Rays are in first place.. Where’s there Arod and Posada?”
Christ, at least someone has some sense here. ENOUGH WITH THE A-ROD AND POSADA EXCUSE. Because that’s all it is, AN EXCUSE. There is NO REASON the lineup WITH or WITHOUT A-Rod and Posada should score ONE RUN IN TWO GAMES.
The team without those two is more than capable of scoring runs and winning games. The bottom line is that THEY AREN’T. They’re not playing how they should be playing. That’s it. That’s the end of it. The season is 1/4 over, enough with the excuses. If the team can’t score runs without those two in the lineup, they don’t deserve to make it to the playoffs.
Doreen, it definitely is a fun way to get a workout! In the groove I absolutely love it. Getting back into the groove, not so much.
I will go where the brave dare not go and make some predictions that would seem to make little sense based on the recent history of our Yanks.
1. Moose is going to pitch a shutout.
2. Yanks will start getting to Shields around the 3rd inning.
3. Yankees will take this game.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
And oh yeah - if we take this game I will definitely credit Hank. He’s the one who created Jaime Mussina!
We need to capitalize NOW.
hey all.
okey dokey Yankees. let’s see some run scoring in tonight’s game, just for a change of pace.
Dr. Cox, I don’t want to hear that you’re switching from this game to watch Ugly Betty or some such.
risp and no rbi’s what else is new
Someone is really going to have to tell me when they play Ensberg over Gonzalez. I still don’t understand.
Trisha:
Those are some solid predictions and I actually agree with them for the most part.
However, just as you predict the Yanks will get to Shields in the 3rd I believe the Rays will get to Moose around the 4th or 5th. Once they get on base, they will run the hell out of Mussina.
that is the very reason the yankees are not going ANYWHERE this season, hitters like ensberg who choke if a man gets on
Endsberg strikes out, then grounds out. Way to go.
gee how bout that…men at 2nd and 3rd and neither of them come home.
Dang it
Nick:
Not tonight. Its man night in my house and what I say goes.
Translation: The woman is out with her sister so I am home alone. But im not whipped or anything…
yankees scoring a run from 2nd/3rd ? HA
it will never happen.
Now now, the journey of a million miles begins with a single step. Prior to this you didn’t even see Yankees on the base paths.
Patience young grasshoppers.
Dr. C - this will be interesting to watch based on our respective predictions. I can tell you this. If Moose does allow baserunners I will have no difficulty believing they will run him ragged. These Rays have no quit in them!
stupid Rays fans don’t even heckle correctly. they say “Yankees suuu-uuuck” and it sounds stupid. it’s supposed to be “YANK-EES-SUCK”. i mean, come on. blue jays fans do it wrong too.
fools.
….
DA YANKS!
Brian HAHA. It is just like Morgans blog entry telling fans how to heckle properly.
GIDP, way to go Moose!
“UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: Word is that Hank Steinbrenner is in the house. Surely now the Yankees will win. Perhaps he’ll coach third for a few innings.”
Pure genius… Great line!
Brian -
And we Yankees fans should know!
Double play proved muy importante.
Very nice!
Melky!! What a throw!
Ankiel-esque!
Give Hank a bat and let’s see what he can do
Wow, you never want to make the third out at Mo Ensberg. Great play by the Melkman!
And that’s the power of DEFENSE!
A spark from the Melkman, I love that kid.
Too bad about Kazmir. I always had an eye to his free agent class.
Melky ur great
someone call the cops because Melky Cabrera has a gun!
DA MELK! DA YANKS!!
I’m liking what I’m seeing.
Dr. C - I am going to hang in to the end of the 5th to see how much our stuff is solid. Then I have to do one of my quick errands and it’s back.
Nobody is going to convince me that these Yankees haven’t woken up a little bit because of Hank.
Melky rocks
Trisha:
We’ll see how much Hank can scare them straight as opposed to his old man.
And if they cant get up after that play by Melky then I dont know what will do it.
Hmmm. Well I said AROUND the 3rd…
What is really amazing about that is there was basically a 10″ (or so) radius where Melky could have put that ball to record the out.
I just wish the Yankees hadn’t made two outs in the time it took me to type the above.
I like the way this Shields kid pitches. Challenges every hitter and just throws strikes.
the offense is national league bad
Looks like the Yankees are making another Cy Young pitcher out of Shelds
the NL seems to be slugging more this year. now, i don’t have a whole lot to backup that claim because i don’t pay much attention to the NL, i’m just going by the fact that i’ve seen a lot of high scores in NL games when i check the scores at the end of every day. man, wouldn’t it suck if this is the year the NL finally beats the AL in the ASG…at Yankee Stadium?
Has there been a GREAT Yankee moment in the last 5 years?
The only one I can think of was Boone’s HR…
Maybe Alex’s 3 HR and 11 RBI off of Colon???
“Has there been a GREAT Yankee moment in the last 5 years?”
Um, did you not see Giambi make that defensive play in the first inning?
Matsui’s granny his first AB at the Stadium?
How about da melk robbing Manny’s homer?
Jeter diving into the stands to catch a ball against the Sux while Nomar sat on the Sux bench with a booboo?
im getting really desprite early in the season… im really starting to think the Yanks should spend big money next year if they don’t get a lick at the post season
And Arod taking that snotnosed hayseed Papelsmear deep with his walkoff. Yes indeed!!!
Dr. Cox–
Hpw about the Boston Massacre II a few years back? That was a great weekend to be a Saux-hater. The NYY basically knocked them into 3rd place for the rest of the year with that 4-game sweep.
It was…. beautiful.
As was the A-Rod bomb off of Papelbon in the rain to take the lead. That was a Yankee moment, IMHO.
Great job so far Moose
“Jeter diving into the stands to catch a ball against the Sux while Nomar sat on the Sux bench with a booboo?”
There ya go. Oh and Of course Giambi in the first inning…haha
The AL is slugging and scoring less, than it usually does.
http://tinyurl.com/6ptf7m
Good call Trisha! I knew there was a defensive play I was forgetting.
The Melky rob of Manny at the wall by the bullpen was great. True bliss!
See, this is why I asked that questions. All of you are bringing up great memories that are making me believe and realize that it is only May 14!! We got this!!
Keep em comin…
Trisha;
After that homerun he covered the camera with his hand. Classic.
Hey Pete - if the Yankees have a “let a fan hit clean-up day” at the stadium, enter me in the contest please
I think the only thing injured on Nomar during the night of Jeter’s dive into the stands was his ego.
Truly a classless guy, by all accounts. After four years of bartending my way through college in Boston in the late 90’s, I saw Nomar out and about a few times. He was a classless jerk with fans.
And that was in his hey day when Nomar was NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-MaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !
God I hated him. Crappy tipper too, FWIW.
The Boston Massacre II was a fun couple of days.
Good times..good times
bb77, boston massacre was a 5-game sweep. 2 double headers in 3 days.
Hey Dr. Cox–
How about the game last year when Bobby Abreu ran full steam towards the wall, jumped up, CRASHED into it, and mad ethe catch to save the ga–
Ohhhh…. wait.
Thats right E– good looking out!
“BJ Upton? Carl Crawford?
Are you SERIOUSLY asserting that you don’t get how losing ARod and Posada is a HUGE hit on the Yankee lineup?”
Give me a break. Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, Cano, Matsui, Cabrera. All bums? Not capable of scoring runs?
What is that… 6 All Stars and one future.
Once again, We’re the freaking Yankees not some low market 2 all star team. Arod and Posada are nothing more than an excuse.
Just got in. I see that I haven’t missed much in the way of offense. I am surprised that the Yanks haven’t touched Shields yet. They have a really good record against him. He has yet to defeat him.
In days of old when Yankee bats were bold and runs were of no concern,
The Yankees would hit and never spit the bit,
And watch opposing pitchers burn.
Well I think I will run out and do my errand now so I get back sooner. Looks like the Yanks are pushing the envelope with the offensive outburst I predictged…
GO YANKEES!
I’ll be thinking about more of our great plays. I know there were a ton.
Okay here’s one I’ll leave you with, even though it was a while ago. How about Giambi’s defining moment as a Yankee? When he hit a homer (was it a granny) in the bottom of the 14th at the Stadium against Minny, in the pouring rain, to win the game for the Yanks.
He had been HORRENDOUS up to that moment, and I remember having tears coming down my face when he did that because that’s what sometimes happens to me when I am very happy or amazingly overwhelmed by something.
(You should have seen me the night of Aaron bleepin Boone!)
Is there a World Series in May that the Rays have won ? These announcers are clowns and if I have to watch another dogpile for a 10th inning win in May…I am going to get sick….If Mo was not Mo he would put one in the back over the course of the season of every clown that ran out on the field
A TWO OUT HIT!?!?!?!?!
Trisha…wait…
1-0
There it is!
That qualifies as a Great Yankee Moment Mach May 2008.
FLIPPIN YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m so happy I waited around. Dr. C, this counts as “around the 3rd” yes?
ROBBIE CANO DON’T YA KNOW
Yes, first to score again. Our record is great when we score first.
Nice job Cano!
The Yanx take the lead for thr 1st time in this series !!!!!
Incredible.
Nice Robbie!
Yankees must win 29 in a row!
Cano must’ve been reading the comments section on this blog lately. Doesn’t want to be optioned to AAA.
Hey, Ill give it to you…
But lets hope my prediction does NOT come true now.
BX 12 Fordham RD
They usually say, “Act like you’ve been there before,” but with the Rays, they really haven’t. Their win last night put them in first place with a tie for the best record in baseball. Did they overreact - yes and no.
whoa. Did we just score a run?
(Evening all, been a while!)
Yeah, let’s hope…
Well I think we’re gonna get more from Shields, so even if yours is true, we still should be okay.
ok mike, there’s your run…now go win us a game.
Doreen….so based on that they will openly weep in September when they are 14 games back ?
My take on the Rays right now:
Let them have their moral victories. Its good for their team and good for their struggling fan base. We all know that if people claim to be Rays fans its only because of what they are doing now…but isnt that how all teams get fans?? By winning??
I say let them have their moment and shove it down their throats when September-October comes.
Doreen, I have no trouble whatsoever with those Rays kids celebrating like it’s their last day on earth. When you have had to put up with the abuse they have from being considered the dregs of the league for so long, and then you’re on top of your game and something you probably thought you’d never see - first in the AL East - you have earned the right to party hearty. Good for them I say. They deserve the feeling.
Giambi is just painful to watch….
instead of counting sheep when I cannot sleep I just count salary coming off the books next season…
“Farnsworth, Giambi, Pavano….” all the way to $80m
Wow - a 2 out RBI. You would think the Yankees dodn’t think they existed anymore.
2 out hits are how teams win.
nice Moose!
You know who the Rays remind me of? The 2001-2002 New Jersey Nets.
Sure, the nets had the Jason Kidd trade, but they had been perennial doormats, and all of a sudden their team turned around in a hurry. It was a lot of fun to watch.
The Rays are kind of fun to watch this year, if we ignore the whole AL East competition thing.
“I say let them have their moment and shove it down their throats when September-October comes.”
OK, but maybe the cowbell-down-the-throat shoving can come a little sooner?
BX12 -
Could be. But, then, they HAVE been THERE before.
Just trotting out my new tagline!
Be back.
If our pitchers can’t hold on to this one run lead they simply don’t deserve to win. They’ve been whining about run support and now that they’ve finally got it they need to shut up and close the deal. It’s ridiculous to expect the offense to put up runs every day. Bats are fairly small and the ball’s pretty small too and there’s a lot of area for the pitcher to throw to, so I don’t see why Wang and the others expect to get wins when they give up 1 or 2 runs per game. They’ve been spoiled into expecting 3-4 runs or something per game which is ludicrous considering the money we’re paying for this offense.
(It’s a joke)
Rays are going to have an economic day of reckoning when these kids all need to make more than a Home Depot cashier in a couple of years….Kazmir, Longoria…are stitched up but the others are going to need theirs…
They draw 12,000 a game and are lucky to have PBS air their games…..
“Looks like the Yankees are making another Cy Young pitcher out of Shelds”
Um…he’s actually really an excellent pitcher. I think _he’s_ the one who’s made himself good.
“Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, Cano, Matsui, Cabrera. All bums? Not capable of scoring runs?”
No one’s saying they’re not underperforming, however, that’s a lineup that’s REALLY vulnerable to lefties, first of all. And Cabrera is not a future all-star. Jeter’s not taking his walks, so he’s getting on base at really an unacceptably low rate, Damon was on fire for a while, but the middle of the lineup was struggling to drive him in. And we know all about Giambi’s problems.
Should they be scoring more? Yeah. But, saying that the loss of your two best right-handed bats and replacing them with replacement-level guys is just an excuse? Ridiculous.
Trisha-
They were so ecstatic, and I know they were a bit over the top for a regular season game, but it must be so much fun for them right now.