Game 42: Yankees at Rays
-
- May
- 15
YANKEES
Damon LF
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Giambi DH
Duncan RF
Ensberg 1B
Cano 2B
Gonzalez 3B
Molina C
Ian Kennedy (0-2, 8.37) against the Tampa Bay hitters.
Scott Kazmir (1-1, 2.70) against the New York hitters.
Next time you’re mad about the Yankees, remember this story from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about a high school baseball player.
Notes: The Yankees have grounded into 11 double plays in the last six games. … They’ve also scored four runs in their last 33 innings while hitting 20 of 110. … Jose Molina got two bunts down yesterday. But he only has three hits in his last 42 ABs. … Joe Girardi is the Joe DiMaggio of lineups. That’s 37 in 42 games. Anybody know what the record is?
Back later with updates.
* * * * * * * * * * A-ROD UPDATE * * * * * * * * *
3:32 p.m.: Alex Rodriguez ran the bases for 14 minutes this afternoon and has been cleared to play in rehab games starting on Saturday. He will have his usual workout tomorrow in Tampa then play in an extended spring training game on Saturday, an intrasquad game on Sunday and an extended spring training game on Monday. If that all goes well, he will be activated for Tuesday’s game against Baltimore.
UPDATE, 3:39 p.m.: Jorge Posada threw again today. He will rehab with the Yankees over the homestand and if that goes well, start a rehab assignment. … Francisco Cervelli joined the team today and will travel with them to New York to get his wrist checked out. He hopes to be cleared to start working out beyond what he has been doing. … Kei Igawa was optioned to Scranton and will start tomorrow against Louisville. Means a few hits for Andy Phillips.
UPDATE, 4:25 p.m.: Well, they wanted Ian Kennedy to throw strikes. He did and Iwamura hit it out. But he recovered nicely.
UPDATE, 5:23 p.m.: There’s been a lot of things to like about Ian Kennedy today. One walk, working ahead, working at a good pace, etc. He’s throwing strikes. But four runs in four innings isn’t progress no matter how optimistic you want to try and be.
But at least he’s competitive, which is more than you say for Kei Igawa.
4-0 against Scott Kazmir? It’s not impossible. But the Yankees have scored four runs in their last 37 innings. What makes you think they’ll score five in the next five?
UPDATE, 5:28 p.m.: Here’s an interesting question, which roster would you want, Yankees or Rays?
1B: Giambi or Pena? Pena
2B: Cano or Iwamura? Cano
SS: Jeter or Bartlett: Jeter
3B: Rodriguez or Longoria? Rodriguez
C: Posada or Navarro? Posada
LF: Crawford or Damon: Crawford
CF: Upton or Cabrera: Upton
RF: Abreu or Hinske/Gomes? Abreu
DH: Matsui or Floyd? Matsui
UPDATE, 6:19 p.m.: The Yankees were 2 for 22 with runners in scoring position in this series before those RBI singles by Cabrera and Jeter. They need somebody to put a ball in seats to really make this a game.
UPDATE, 6:41 p.m.: The Yankees are a dull team at this point, which is worse than simply being a bad team. They’re also three outs away from last place in the AL East.
Not only do they badly need A-Rod back, they need him back in MVP form right away. Talk about pressure.
UPDATE, 6:54 p.m.: The Yankees leave The Trop having been outscored 15-6 in the series. They have lost three of five and six of the last nine. At 20-22, they’re a half-game into last place behind the Jays.
Now come the Mets.
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on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 12:48 pm by Peter Abraham.
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the only suprise is Molina. I thought he would get the day off.
Kazmir is tough on lefties so MR. Bail out Abreu gets the day off. watching him flail is to painful so thank you Girardi.
3 lefties in the lineup…
not exactly murderers row, but not many choices…
great story….makes you stop and think!
per NJ.como - Igawa optioned to make room for Kennedy…pretty obvious, I think
Someone tell Girardi to please stop OVER MANAGING! Enough is enough. How can anyone expect a team to win consistently if they can’t even have a consistent line up.
Peter, thanks for the link to that story. It puts life is perspective when you read a story like that.
“How can anyone expect a team to win consistently if they can’t even have a consistent line up.”
Yeah! Who cares if Abreu and Giambi stink against guys like Kazmir! It’s more important for them to have a “consistent lineup”!
I know Yankee fans aren’t used to platoons. But they’re not uncommon in baseball, and they make sense in a lot of cases. The Yankees need to know if Duncan and Ensberg can perform as platoon guys against lefties. If they can, it’ll really help this team address a weakness they had last season — and early this season. If not, then they know they need to look outside the organization for some helpful righty bats. I think these next several days are big for those two guys, with all the lefties out there.
peter- that story is really touchy!!
wow - what an inspirational story…thanks for sharing, Pete.
Surprise surprise.
Abreu not playing even though he is hitting .333 off Kazmir.
Giambi DH’ing over Matsui even though he is hitting much worse than Matsui both this year and career wise off Kazmir.
I thought Girardi was a stats man? What stats exactly is this doofus looking at?
Did I mention that Duncan does not belong in the outfield. Give Giambi the day off. DH Matsui. Keep Abreu in RF. Play Duncan at 1B. And get Ensberg out of there. Pretty simple Joe.
oh jeez, a daygame. i guess i know what i’m doing for lunch - going home to set up the tivo
Abreu has looked pretty awful at the plate lately. I can’t fault them wanting to give him a day off.
And, like I said, they need to know if Duncan and Ensberg are going to help them or not. This is the only way to find out.
“Yeah! Who cares if Abreu and Giambi stink against guys like Kazmir! It’s more important for them to have a “consistent lineup”!”
Hi, Did you miss that Giambi was batting clean up?
I wasn’t aware that they have faced Kazmir like pitchers the other 36 times.
only thing O don’t like is Matsui benched for Giambi
I*
(sorry typing w/ my left hand while eating)
Abreu may be looking bad at the plate, but so is Giambi. Giambi is 2-13 off Kazmir. Abreu is 3-9. I’d rather risk Abreu here.
And I really don’t think Ensberg has anything to offer offensively.
SNY getting too creative again
Pete - That was a great story. It should give all of us pause….
Gotta rest these players.
I want to just point out that while there is a plus with having Gonzalez at 3rd, putting Duncan in Right is a down grade defensive move. It doesn’t surprise me, as Kennedy is pitching. It seems like Girardi doesn’t think all that highly about the young arm. Why set him up with lesser defense rather than the strongest you can muster?
Thanks for the link from the Post Gazette. That was a 2 tissue read. What a remarkable young man.
Pelfrey is in trouble he’s already leaving the ball up and giving up flyouts…it won’t be long before the Nats figure it out
Just put on the Met game and the first thing I hear is Aaron Boone is playing first base because Nick Johnson was sent back to Washington for examination because he hurt his wrist.
I love Nick but put that boy in bubble wrap for his own good.
Molina stays today as Moller will start with rasner tomorrow he has been catching him for his first 2 starts why mess with it
Damn that story’s sad.
2 inning outing for Kennedy. Ohlendorf for 3 again? (But he pitched 1 inning last night.)
What an incredible and inspirational story, thanks for sharing it Pete.
Pete,
Thank you for that story. If anyone hasn’t read it yet, it is worth a read. It sure makes one realize that sports are just a game, as is life. My cousin lost her life to cancer when she was only 8 years old but she had a sense of maturity about her that I have never seen in anyone else, adult or child. Kids who have life threating illness are special kids…the rarely complain, rarely say why me, they realize how special and precisous life is…it makes all the money in the world look like pennies.
at this point Girardi should look to set a record for most lineups used in a season.
this is like a moment of truth for IPK. time to see if that great start at AAA really restored his confidence and he’s going to challenge hitters today, or of he’s just gonna go back to trying to be too fancy and being no where near the strike zone and throw 45 pitches in 2 innings.
is there a reason why the Yankees don’t activate Posada as a DH? Would be nice to have his bat in there, especially against lefties. does his shoulder injury prevent that?
hope IPK gets a win today!
They’d be carrying an extra player, likely losing a bullpen pitcher, who could only DH and would not be able to participate in rehab sessions and such. We also have a few people who use the DH spot, so it would be a waste.
Old man Torre would never do anything like this. NO WAY! I mean, I bet stupid Girardi would even move AROD around! Imagine him batting 8th.
Oh.
george: i don’t see what good it would do really. even if he can still swing a bat it would be best to just rest him entirely to make sure the shoulder can heal enough to get him through the rest of the season. besides, when he was used as a DH before he was going on the DL he just caused a logjam in the lineup. you couldn’t get Matsui and Damon both in the lineup with Posada DHing.
Girardi has been over managing all along. Hes got to stop trying to impress everyone with how smart he is. He does it with the lineup, and pitchers. Remember not starting Kennedy then brining him in a tie game? Matsui is his best hitter and should be in the line up everyday. Ensburg should get released. Let the rookie play, hes a better fielder, better hitter and can run and bunt.
“ER May 15th, 2008 at 1:23 pm-2 inning outing for Kennedy. Ohlendorf for 3 again? (But he pitched 1 inning last night.)”
That’s the spirit. Think positive!
(/sarcasm off)
from nj.com
“Testing his strained right quadriceps, Alex Rodriguez today did baserunning for the first time since going on the disabled list.
A-Rod wasn’t quite full speed as he ran through first (as if beating out a grounder) for times, turning at first twice, home to second twice and first to third twice.
“Perfect,” third-base coach Bobby Meacham said. “Just right.”
“
When you have your starting MVP 3B out and star catcher out, and no solid definite back-ups behind him, your gonna have many different line-ups. There are 3 back-ups for A-rod and 2 for Posada, how in the world can you use the same lineup day in day out.
I know it’s annoying, but stop bringing it up Pete there’s no way to have a solid lineup until they’re back.
Hey Pete,
through the first 42 games of the season, the 1998 Yankees, probably the greatest team of our lifetime, used the same lineup 2 days in a row a grand total of…
THREE times.
that’s right, Torre changed the lineup almost every day in the beginning of the year.
the 1996 Yankees used 131 DIFFERENT lineups throughout the season. 131.
in 2006, Torre used 120 different lineups. why? because like this year, there have been a lot of injuries to position players.
your harping on the revolving lineup is beyond boring. you are trying to make it into some sort of referendum on Girardi, and some of your posters are just eating it up, but you haven’t provided any sort of context.
and the context is that this isn’t really abnormal at all.
the team has scored 4 runs in 3 games and there is a lefty on the mound. if Girardi DIDN’T switch up the lineup, i’d say something was wrong.
i’m glad that when i checked in today it doesn’t seem like i have been missing much. just more of the same baseless complaints.
god i can’t wait until A-Rod and Posada are both back. if at that point Girardi decides to have a regular lineup and everyone is healthy: Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Matsui, Giambi, Posada, Cano, Cabrera.
SA,
ER is a Red Sox fan. He posts his predictions everyday in the game threads.
Yankee Lover:
Joe Torre and opposing manager did the same thing with their pitchers. Girardi didn’t start Kennedy because there was going to be rain and he felt the game would be delayed. If you watched that game with your eyeballs, you would have seen the lakes on the infield. It was horrible weather and I am surprised they didnt delay or postpone the game.
Oooooohhhh. I see. Thanks SJ44
Austin Kearns bad OF
# of different batting orders (slightly different than lineups, but Pete is using “batting order” interchangably with lineup here) before todays’ games:
Yankees: 36
Red Sox: 34
Indians: 34
Orioles: 33
so wait, what the yankees are doing really isn’t that wierd?
who needs facts!
Not sure how that article is relevant to being mad about the Yankees. Another cheapshot at the fans who voice their opnion on the Yankees, and have to have Pete throw it in their face every time. Nice.
Ryan Braun signed for 8 years $45 mil. not sure if that’s a smart deal on either part. well, for the Brewers it’s smart in the sense that they have him for the next 8 years for only between 5 and 6 mil a year but they coulda gonna a couple more years paying him the league minimum, while making sure he actually continues to play so well. as for him, i’m sure if he continued playing well he coulda made way more than between 5-6 mil a year in a few years.
I agree that the lineups are ridiculous.
You simply cannot sit Matsui and Abreu when you already have Posada and A Rod out. Especially against Kazmir. You may as well mail it in, just give the Rays the game. Its a disgrace.
Giradi is all about giving guys days off, how about giving Molina one? The guy has looked awful at the plate for the last 2 weeks and is used to playing part time. Start Moeller.
Instead we get a lineup that includes Duncan, AG, and Ensberg. Again Girardi decides to start the entire bench (except Moeller, which actually makes sense) on the same day against a premier pitcher when we have Kennedy starting.
I should bet my entire savings on the Rays. Its a slam dunk.
“oh jeez, a daygame. i guess i know what i’m doing for lunch - going home to set up the tivo.”
saucy,
You need to man up and go to your boss and tell him”Look. Iv been here for 10 years now and i think i should be rewarded for my seniority. I want mlb games on the internet. Make it happen or im out!”.
WARNING!! I reserve the right not to be blamed or sued if for some odd reason you get canned.
just like last night miggs, shields vs. moose, its a slam dunk, you should have bet your entire savings on that one
everybody join in:
‘thats why they play the games!’
That was a great story, but how does it relate to the Yankees specifically. Couldn’t it be linked to anything complaint, such as airport delays or lack sleep.
Come on Pete, don’t try to turn a story about a boy into your self righteous rant against people who aren’t satisfied with the performance of mege-millionaires.
Maybe you should show that story to them the next time they complaint about how tough they’ve got it.
i would guess the comfort level IPK has with Molina lead to Molina getting the start today.
Abreu got days off starting last year against real tough LHP, because it seemed as though when he’d face one for a game, it’d throw him off for the next week. i’ve got no problem with that.
Well, they say variety is the spice of life.
i think the point Pete was trying to make with linking that story to being mad about the Yanks was something like “don’t worry about baseball so much there are more important things.”
wow… great story
maybe we do get carried away with things sometimes
saucy,
1) get yourself a schedule and you wont have to go home every time.
2) you can program tivo from your computer
3)you could always go with the transisor radio in your shirt pocket with the (single) earpiece in the ear towards the window. this is how i listened to the world series from 1968 till they stopped playing day W.S. games.
I hope Ian does well today.
That lineup is…interesting
Why you making me cry Pete?
Re: lineups. Some of us “old-timers” remember Casey Stengel’s line-ups. Not only did he move people around in the line-up, but he was 3 deep at every position and he made sure everyone had some experience at these different positions. Plus he didn’t hesitate to adjust the pitching rotation according to the opponent and the situation. And he doesn’t have a bad Yankee pedigree.
I still think some of Girardi’s choices for certain pitchers are suspect. Take out offense, put in questionable defense.
It just seems odd.
Casey’s days are a long time ago, and those moves probably wouldn’t work in today’s game.
Jobalation machine
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=snibbe/080515&sportCat=mlb
Casey was a big believer in platooning positions. Its probably where Cashman got the thought that he could platoon 1st last year.
I think saucY and I both just assumed that it’d be a night game.
I mean why schedule a day game on getaway day for the Yankees when you don’t have to? I can only recall one other day game on a travel day.
“don’t worry about baseball so much there are more important things.”
Brian from PA,
The only thing more important than the Yankees winning are vending machines that work and dont steal your money when your hungry.
Although there’s fan frustration in seeing Girardi posting different lineups daily, there a method to his managing and it’s his thinking toward the big picture.
Because of no teams showing breakway positioning in standings, he has the flexability to see exactly what the entire roster can do and when the time is right (it will be soon enough) stable lineups will be seen more often than not.
They’ll be times later in the season when for example, Jeter and Cano can be spot rested and feel good about Alberto Gonzalez filling in temporarily. A-Rod and Jorge will not have the wear and tear they might have had.
A season of 162 games is long enough and Girardi will not want burned out players in September.
sos, i’m in market, so even if the company paid for MLB.tv, i think the yanks would be blacked out, even at work. i have a feeling downloading and using sopcast would raise bunch of red flags flags with the security people.
ham fighter, i really do need to just print off a calander, just marking the day games and tape it to inside of the cabinet door that holds my morning cereal.
Will Gonzalez be the one sent down once Arod comes back?
I wonder why the Rays went with a 4:10 start time - not a typical “day game” time…
no the authorities have said the lineup today is wrong. abreu got 3 hits in 9 ab’s off Kazmir he is a KNOWN KAZMIR KILLER.
9 AB’s is a huge smaple size… Giradi you know nothing read this blog and listen to the experts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even though Abreu looks like crap, it is a illusion listen to Eugie and Chris.
Eugie is upset you change the lineup after all if you hit in the 3rd slot opposed to the 4th it affects your success!!!Who the hell knows why but eugie thins it is not familiar like sleeping in someone elses house instead of your own..
Girardi please listen to these great baseball minds, come on… How di the Yanks succeed in 96 and 97 and etc. with Curtis, and Hayes, and strawberry not playing everyday but playing matchups..
giradi stop that…….
“I mean why schedule a day game on getaway day for the Yankees when you don’t have to? I can only recall one other day game on a travel day.”
or at least do the reverse and schedule 10 PM starts on the day after a getaway day. quite often it would be a friday night anyways
Wow…getting dicey in here today…
Another lineup? Where’s the breaking story?!
“Will Gonzalez be the one sent down once Arod comes back?”
i doubt it. i don’t think ensburg can back up 2B or SS. i think he may be gone once Betemit is back though.
Touching story Pete… but do you really believe that folks here need links to real-life tragedies to be able to put Yankee woes in perspective? It would be sad to think so.
I don’t think today’s players would accept Casey’s methods, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work. Billy Martin, Casey’s protege, did many of the same things.
“Although there’s fan frustration in seeing Girardi posting different lineups daily”
and here is my question:
why? why the frustration frustration?
i just posted the facts that Torre used to juggle the lineup almost every day, yet no one got up in arms about it until someone started posting the lineups on a blog and making snarky comments about it.
“Its probably where Cashman got the thought that he could platoon 1st last year.”
or maybe from Torre platooning Curtis and Ledee?
just because the Yankees have generally had an all-star at every position the last 4-5 years doesn’t mean it was ALWAYS that way.
even the championship teams sometimes got by with a platoon at one position.
I think Ensberg goes after ARod comes off the DL. My two cents - why send down Gonzalez when he has the skills to play 3B, SS and 2b, can steal a base, and lay down a bunt. He has probably reached his potential with regards to batting and keeping him in AAA makes no sense when we projects to be a backup in the majors anyway. Ensberg, while better defensively than Betemit can’t hit a lick anymore. The yanks invested in Betemit but also showed their hand when Jeter was injured and Betemit didn’t play SS. This team can’t afford to have Betemit AND Ensberg on the team when ARod comes back, but I have been wrong before.
yeah the players would revolt if you platooned them.. they would be willing to forgo there pay and get suspended for the principle!!!!!!!!!!!
these are different times, didn’t you see Jeter change the lineup yesterday and refuse to hit and run!!!!!!!
The patients run the asylum now.. again girardi listen to the players and our astute bloggers they know all………
“Girardi please listen to these great baseball minds, come on… How di the Yanks succeed in 96 and 97 and etc. with Curtis, and Hayes, and strawberry not playing everyday but playing matchups..”
beat me to it.
thank you stuart.
it’s amazing how short some of the memories are here.
If we were ten games over .500, everyone here would be waiting in anticipation for the lineups to see how creative Girardi is. Cano’s struggles have nothing to do with the lineup. Giambi’s refusal to attempt to avoid the shift have nothing to do with the lineup. And of course the absence of Alex and Jorge have no correlation to rotating role players into the lineups or giving the older guys a breather.
A lineup will never be posted that does not get at least one “wtf” on this blog.
“And of course the absence of Alex and Jorge have no correlation to rotating role players into the lineups or giving the older guys a breather.”
seriously, you’d think by the responses here that Girardi was breaking up an offensive powerhouse.
no one is hitting. the offense has been terrible.
what would people say if Girardi kept running the same lineup out there day after day while the offense kept struggling?
no need to answer that, they’d piss and moan for him to “shake things up”.
That was a very beautiful story.
i think pete’s not being around the yankees in the 90’s is starting to show a little. i believe torre is the only yankee manager he’s worked with.
56bomber said it all right there.
Its amazing to me to listen to people complain about the lineups everyday.
They are missing their two best hitters and they haven’t hit as a team all season.
Why wouldn’t you experiment with the lineups?
Especially, as Hmmm estutely points out, its not exactly something different than what has been done in the past with Torre.
Just complaining for the sake of complaining over this stuff.
Sad & touching story. But it’s pretty condescending for it to linked on this site under the advice to maintain perspective, I’m sure Yankee fans do watch the news & read the papers in “real” life.
This is a baseball blog, let’s keep THAT in perspective.
Ranting & raving about your favorite team on a fansite does not make one incapable of the sensitivities & perspectives of this world.
Back to BB…no Matsui??? Arghh, Girardi!!
really ensberg, duncan, gonzalez, etc. these guys are not exactly monster players..
they really miss AROD.. if they had Arod especially against a good lefty it makes a big difference.
these guys have nothing to do but bitch about Girardi using 37 lineups but if they were healthy he would have probably used about 7 different lineups….
Arod cannot get back soon enough and I agree with others keep AG up(speed, versatility, can bunt), say adios to Ensberg(slow and low OBP with mucho K’s) they have 3 other guys that already do that…..
could Pelfrey ?
nevermind..
think we got it bad? the tigers are 16-24, in last place 5GB and have won only 2 of thier last 10. and now kenny rogers just gave up 3 runs in the 1st! also note that the yanks were 8 out at this time last season!
My goodness. Will someone score a run in this Mets/Nats game
Pelfrey is pitching a no hitter into the 7th. and Aaron Boone gets a hit as I type that.
Well there goes that
SJ Posada is not there 2nd best hitter……
I like Girardi I can think of only a few things I have disagreed with this yr.
It would be great if they could bloop and bleed there way to a win today..
Stuart,
He was last year. In terms of coming up with the big hit, not having a lot of 0-fer days, and being dangerous from both sides of the plate, he’s their next, best threat after Arod.
The other guys in the lineup are too inconsistent. Too many highs and lows.
You know what you are going to get from a healthy Posada everyday. Not sure you can say the same thing about some of the other guys in the everyday lineup.
stuart,
in your whine fest!!!!!!!!!
take the time to learn the difference between THERE and THEIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they’re is not wear, i mean their is not we’re, i mean there is no where?
There is no there, there.
wasnt that someone’s description of oakland?
in 1998, this was the Yankees most common batting order (again, batting order, not lineup):
“Knoblauch
Jeter
O’Neill
Martinez
Williams
Strawberry
Curtis
Posada
Brosius”
this was the MOST used batting order.
it was used 8 times in 162 games.
To Jeff:
You must be a miserable bastard. If you can’t make the connection Pete was trying to make, you’re hopeless.
royals have bunted 4 times already in the 2nd inning and they’re killing the gambler. he looked like cy young against us…
“Eugie is upset you change the lineup after all if you hit in the 3rd slot opposed to the 4th it affects your success!!!Who the hell knows why but eugie thins it is not familiar like sleeping in someone elses house instead of your own..”
What? I don’t speak gibberish.
The only thing i would want Girardi to do more of is play more small ball. Stealing bases,moving runners over and showing more emotion in the dugout. I do like when he goes out to argue a play. Seems much more intense than Torre. Thats refreshing.
Does anyone know when the time table is for Joba becoming a starter?
sos, there’s about 1000 baseball writers (including our esteemed mr.’s abraham, jennings and ardsmore trying to find that out and still nobody outside the yankees hierarchy knows the answer
and washington is on the board
Personally, I don’t mind all the lineup shifts. At least it shows Girardi is thinking and trying to come up with something to win that day.
I think the whole theory that if Damon, Giambi, Matsui, Abreu all play every single day at the same positions is suddenly going to make them and the team more productive is false.
If you haven’t noticed, the old guys look old. They can barely handle being productive with the days off they are getting to rest up.
How in the world are slow older players on the decline supposed to suddenly regain the fountain of youth by using them more?
I’m pretty convinced what we’re seeing this season on this team and many other teams is the reality of a sport where amphetamines and other PED’s are no longer being used as prevalent as before.
5 years ago, a 34 year old player looked a lot younger than they currently do now.
funny, watching this tigers-royals game is almost a mirror image of watching the yankees and rays play. the royals are doing everything right and the tigers cant get out of thier own way. if you only saw this game you would pick the royals as by far the better team. the tigers look so slow and sluggish and defensivly challenged, while the royals are flashing timely hitting, productive outs and general athleticism.
even though they look terrible, i still think that every loss by the tigers puts the yankees closer to the PS.
and i just LOVE watching kenny (mr. anti-october)Rogers get killed. i hope you choke on your yankees WS ring you didnt deserve!
ham fighter,
I thought Cashman was a big fan of this blog and read it? Besides, i believe we have under cover Yankee scouts and players that post here. Damn if they all dont know the answer,then who does? Hank are you reading this!
yeeeeeeeeeeup
“The only thing i would want Girardi to do more of is play more small ball.”
This is such a buzz word these days. First of all, when you play for one run, you usually only GET one run. With young pitchers that are likely to have hiccups and old pitchers who can sometimes succumb to a bad inning, you really don’t want to be playing for just one run unless you absolutely need to. And, furthermore, this team really isn’t built for it. Matsui, Giambi, Cano…these guys are NOT good bunters. Matsui and Cano ARE good hitters. They usually get a hit 30% of the time, but they’ll probably botch a bunt if they try it.
Also…when you’re struggling to get guys on base, does it really make sense to risk them by trying to steal?
Smallball only makes sense late in games with a team that is configured that way. This team is configured to crush you with OBP and extra base hits. Problem is that the guys high in the order aren’t getting on base enough and the guys in the meat of the order aren’t getting XBH enough, or hitting with RISP. Timely hitting is the cure to what ails this team, not bunting.
Michael Kay is giving Mussina some props right now.
who saw that clothesline on Reyes by Guzman
SA you know it’s killing him inside
sos, anybody who started as a yankees fan in 86 deserves some dap b/c all the real bandwagonners were going the other way as that was the mets year of glory. (are you listening dear brother?)
also, if cash is reading this blog, he’s definetly got thicker skin than i do.
Isn’t signing a 16 year old for that money just a little risky? Or is it just me?
Brandon and SA, you think Michael Kay just threw up a little in his mouth?
LOL
Oh I know Brandon. It must be painful for him.
But he is saying..nice things about Mussina.
Hello twilight zone.
Shame on anyone who criticized Pete for linking that article. There’s never a good time to discuss cancer but it’s a relevant topic in each of our lives. It’s never a bad thing to step back and put priorities back in order. Thank you, Peter.
Now that I’ve read the article and got that off my chest I’ll stop worrying about how this hardly intimidating lineup is going to score enough runs to offset Ian Kennedy. Good luck, and Go Yanks!
Joe-he probably threw up on Don just now
Poor Don.
whozat, you are obviously NOT watching this tigers game and the pressure the royals are putting on the tigers had them throwing the ball all over the yard. i’m not saying the yankees should bunt 4 times in 2 innings, but there seems to be a shift going on away from bashing and back toward moving runners and productive outs. i realize the season is only 1/4 concluded but i have heard alot of ppl saying the same thing, that the power game is diminishing b/c of steroid testing.
It is risky, but better then 75 million just to talk to one.
I wonder what Reyes did now?
“Isn’t signing a 16 year old for that money just a little risky? Or is it just me?”
better than throwing it at a guy like Jaret Wright.
it’s increasingly looking like the only way to get top-tier talent is to develop it. So, if you’re going to spend lots of money…spend it on acquiring potential young hotshots.
There’s that
And ye olde inflation; it doesn’t stop!
GLove, I think you’re on to something.
I remember when I was a kid, a ballplayer in his mid-30s was at the end of his career. 35 was old. Then, over the past decade - 15 years, player performance continued at a high level as guys hit their late 30s, and in some cases even 40. We all figured it was better conditioning, or at least I did.
Well, the conditioning programs ain’t what they used to be, because we’re seeing the older players suddenly start playing like guys their age did in the 60’s and 70’s. Look at Jason, Sheffield, Frank Thomas, Sosa, etc. Look at how the Rays and the Royals are running circles around the more vereran teams.
Lack of “chemistry”? Or lack of steroids and amphetamines? We’ll probably never now for sure. But I think the balance of power is changing to younger and better naturally conditioned teams.
BTW, if that’s the case, don’t expect our Jason to suddenly turn it on. I bet Cash is pondering this exact question. The GMs know what’s going on, I’ll wager.
cant wait for arod to come back
Jeter in the 3 hole? I wonder if Jeter will take a different mindset to at-bats in the 3 hole. Rather than slapping the ball somewhere, looking to drive runners in. Also, since he is the best hitter in the line-up with A-Rod and Posada out, shouldn’t he hit third? Or does Joe want to keep Abreu as comfortable as possible?
I still think this team needs to walk more.
ham fighter,
Steven Phillips mentioned that runs or homeruns(not sure which one)were 1000 runs less than 06. Time to find a Ricky Henderson or Vince Coleman to add to this lineup. Gardner?
“whozat, you are obviously NOT watching this tigers game”
True.
However, it’s also the case that the Royals players are different from the Yankee players. You can’t just magically turn a team into a bunting-and-running team. You know what happens if Matsui or Giambi bunts? He probably gets thrown out at first, unless he pops out to the catcher. Melky’s a guy who REALLY should add bunting to his game, and Brett Gardner had better be good at it.
“I still think this team needs to walk more.”
Yep. Jeter and Damon definitely haven’t been on base enough. And Abreu too, though it’s not surprising that he’s swinging more without ARod behind him.
“it’s increasingly looking like the only way to get top-tier talent is to develop it. So, if you’re going to spend lots of money…spend it on acquiring potential young hotshots.”
and the good thing is he is potentially more durable then the future MLB FAs, we have innings caps here in the states when you go into college, in Latin America we laugh at the word innings caps
the only problem I have with the lineup is I have to refer to it the first time through because it’s not automatic. Other than that, I really don’t care. Sometimes the changes are notable, but most of the time, no so much. At least to me.
Here’s hoping IPK has a good day.
“in Latin America we laugh at the word innings caps”
You have that backwards. Less abuse at a younger age correlates with better future durability.
WILLIE HARRIS STRIKES AGAIN !
Giambi should be using steroids this season, its the leaset he could do.
Speaking of the Mets. Does anyone here think that Cashman made the right choice not signing Beltron? I for one didnt want him to for all that money and a 270 hitter. That had one good playoff run to sky rocket the demand. He’s batting .240 and i dont believe he’s hit over .270 since.
Oh and im glad we’re done with the Wright and Reyes are better than Jeter and Arod talk.
the lineup ‘controversy’ is really ridiculous. as hmmm pointed out so well, this is buisness as usual for the yankees, even though it hasnt been the case during pete’s time with the yankees.
also, the only significant change he’s made all year was yesterday when he switched abreu and jeter. up until then, whenever damon, jeter, abreu and arod did play, they batted in thier regular position. does anybody on this team other than posada really deserve thier own regular spot in the lineup. maybe when cano starts hitting or when matsui starts hitting for power you could make the case that they should settle somewhere, but not right now.
when they announce your name, you step in the box and hit the ball.
damn Washington took out the rabbit trick gloves in the 9th
Uh oh. The WFAN phone lines might explode with upset Mets fans.
I really think Willie is in trouble.
I hope the Yankee fans have something to smile about later.
“I remember when I was a kid, a ballplayer in his mid-30s was at the end of his career. 35 was old. Then, over the past decade - 15 years, player performance continued at a high level as guys hit their late 30s, and in some cases even 40. We all figured it was better conditioning, or at least I did.”
Is this even true though? Right now I could probably google a dozen players off the top of my head that played well into their late 30’s.
I would also suspect that a lot of them are some of the all time greats. The greater a player is I would imagine the slower the player’s decline will be.
Babe Ruth was a great hitter at the age of 39. Hank Aaron was a great hitter at the age of 39. Bob Gibson was still a great pitcher at the age of 37.
There are dozens of other examples of guys like that who are in the hall and who played well into their late 30’s.
Even in the so called steroid era there weren’t a great many players in their late 30’s and early 40’s still putting up monster numbers.
I can name only 1 hitter and 1 batter who have been over the age of 40 still putting up monster numbers in recent years. Perhaps it had more to do with their overall greatness than any PED.
Funny Moose story on M. Kay. Cash offered Moose 2 yrs/$18M on this last contract and Moose said do you really think I would accept less than Carl Pavano? Cash came back with 2 yrs/ 24M. Too funny.
Moose makes me laugh more and more each day.
“Does anyone here think that Cashman made the right choice not signing Beltron? ”
06 and 07 were really good years for Beltran. Pretty good OBP and very good SLG. I think I’d have rather had him and some league average pitcher instead of Randy Johnson.
the Yankees need to be on thier toes vs that Mets team, they are hungry for a win after today.
“I really think Willie is in trouble.”
If Willie is in trouble then Omar better be in trouble as well. This is the team he put together.
Well, just glad it’s not my money
I’m a little unclear as to how folks expect Girardi to play small ball with this team.
Jeter is still hurting. Damon doesn’t get on base enough as a leadoff hitter. He is also playing with a groin injury and if you have noticed, hasn’t taken sufficient leads at first in 3 weeks. He’s more station to station everyday.
Abreu can’t bunt. Nor can Giambi, Matsui and Cano.
If Cabrera reaches base, they can have Molina bunt him over. That’s about it.
Still means somebody has to drive them in. That’s been their problem all year (lack of hitting with RISP).
This isn’t a small ball team. Its also not a healthy team.
To put guys in motion and do all these other things folks want to see, you have to have the guys to do it.
The Yankees do not.
Recently, everytime Girardi has even tried to hit and run, guys haven’t put the ball in play.
Will they run more? I expect they will once they get healthy.
That said, its not going to make them more of a smallball team. Not unless they find those type of players and I don’t see that happening during the season.
I was having a bad day until I read that story.
“I really think Willie is in trouble.”
“If Willie is in trouble then Omar better be in trouble as well. This is the team he put together.”
Oh I totally agree. Omar was the one who put that team together. But if they are gonna make a change, and it’s between Omar and Willie. I can see them saying bye bye Willie.
Let’s hope Rasner can do well tomorrow… Tim Redding and some guy named Jason Bergmann who had an 11 ERA shut them down these last 2 days.
OTOH, lets hope Santana and Perez don’t shut us out.
Raymagnetic, I understand your point, but I’m not talking about Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Bob Gibson. I’m talking about Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, who, as SJ44 has pointed out, have been two of the worst hitters since last summer. I’m referring to somebody’s post, above, wondering about Bobby Abreu’s declining power and OBP.
Are these related to less PEDs? I don’t know. That’s the crime of all this, that we have to wonder about it and potentially tarnish players’ reputations.
Enough of my rant.
whozat,
I know he’s been decent. But was he really worth over 100 million? What does he have 3 more years left? I guess im a bit gun shy when it comes to 7 year contracts. We’ve been burned before.
As a new dad, that linked story makes me want to go home and hug the heck out of my son. I swear I wasn’t this emotional before fatherhood.
IPK you better challenge hitters today!
well at least the mets get thier misery in fast, that game only went 2:30.
Thanks for the link, Pete. Places things in perspective.
” But if they are gonna make a change, and it’s between Omar and Willie. I can see them saying bye bye Willie.”
The Mets fans gripe all the time about having a Yankee as their manager. It warms the soul!
Willie is in a tough spot and if the Yanks put a hurting on the Mets this weekend it could get REALLY hot for him.
willie got booed heavily by the home folks last night as he came back from pulling hielman from another disaster.
sos..home runs are on pace to be down by 1000 from 2006! steroid error is over. Yanks need speed on the bases…baseball is going back to small ball. Not only are home runs down but so is pithers velocity
Sayonara Kei Igawa!
sorry i meant steroid era…ha!
how many home folks could there have been ? I mean it was Weather Day at Shea, so it was basically 5th graders and junior H.S. kids at the park in Shea
Let’s not worry about the met’s today we have our own issues, kennedy needs to step up tonight and let’s hope robbie can start hitting like his normal self, I would like to see more hit and runs and SB, girardi looks like torre in that dept.
There is one player who can go a long way making the Yankees a small ball team and that is Brett Gardner. Later in the season I would like to see him up as the 4th OF. Matsui should be the everyday DH. Also a real 1B man would be nice. This means cleaning the roster of the fat around 1B, Giambi, Duncan and Ensberg. If there was a real 1B like Textiera, that frees up space for all types of roster additions.
whozat I kind of said that the innings cap isn’t that enforced in Latin America, therefore they are use to throwing lengthier starts before they reach the states, the younger age means less burn on the arm, for a SP like Inoa it’s like endurance training over there. They build you up to be a horse in the states. Am I wrong on this ?
woah, Bergmann shut down the Mets? my dad met him at the iron pigs game last week. nice.
Thanks Sara,
Another stat i heard on the radio is that 5 of 8 youngest teams are on top of their divisions. Reasons being they were not risking missing an opportunity to play by taking or getting caught taking p.e.d. Hence less injuries.
pat
Get the book On the black. Half of it is about Mike!
Sara, in theory you were right, the era was an error.
I think Bergmann is a Rutgers grad…
Whozat…
I couldn’t agree more:
“06 and 07 were really good years for Beltran. Pretty good OBP and very good SLG. I think I’d have rather had him and some league average pitcher instead of Randy Johnson.”
Beltran’s number with Mets:
2005 151 G16HR 78 RBI 17 SB .266 avg .330 OBP .414 SLG
2006 140 41 116 18 .275 .388 .594
2007 144 33 112 23 .276 .353 .525
2008 39 3 23 3 .241 .363 .423
AND— he was willing to take LESS money to become a Yankee. All but begged the organization.
Instead, The Boss got RJ.
brandon, i think you missed that i said it was last night. they drew 48,500.
great news on a-rod!! cant wait!!!!!
HR hitting is dropping alot now,(POST PEDS) so the sluggers that use to be sluggers are hitting into more outs or a few XBH, I think the speed game is going to be key to a winning team especially this season. I mean that Mets vs Nats game is a perfect example, last 2 yrs. that game is 10-9 today good pitching shuts you down for real.
OK I’ll be back later people. GO YANKEES !
Seems like ARod is close to returning - that is great news.
Now let’s hope that Kennedy has a good start.
“06 and 07 were really good years for Beltran. Pretty good OBP and very good SLG. I think I’d have rather had him and some league average pitcher instead of Randy Johnson.”
right, but where on earth would they have been able to find that league average pitcher?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/vazquja01.shtml
good news on Alex, Cervelli is back ? I thought out until June atleast, strong kid.
ham I know but it sure as heck didn’t look like it. OK now I’m gone
If HR were down because of decreased PED use, it wouldn’t just be in the AL.
To wood is good
Nah, not miserable at all. In fact, pretty happy overall. The only thing that irritates me a little are hypocritical people who moan and groan (about things much less important than baseball) but don’t feel others have the same right.
You must be a relative of Pete.
Even trying to compare anything about the Yankees with that young man is foolish. If you’re going to post the story, then post it, but leave the comments about it relating to a fan reaction aside, unless you’re willing to compare it with any rant, even ones related to airline delays or hotel staff (a favorite of Pete’s).
Good news about A-Rod. Can’t wait to have him back.
Let’s go Kennedy and Let’s go Yankees!
What’s all the fuss over lineup changes, the greatest platoon strategist of them all was our own Ole Perfessor, Casey Stengel?
When arod and posada are back, it’ll be like a .100 point bounce to those places in the batting order, not to mention the additional power.
Mike and the Mad Dog is starting on WFAN.com
I think A-Rod being out is the main reason for the lineups. Once he returns you will likely see a consistent lineup.
since it came up: when the yankees traded vazquez for randy johnson and gave johnson that 3 year extension, there was alot of discussion about which guy would win more games over the life of rj’s contract. well, this is the year that contract would have ended (i think they extended him again when they got him back) and as of today….its a dead tie, 41-41.
Prediction on Kennedy today.
6 innings
2 runs
5 hits
1 bb
4 k
Wins his first game of the year!!
Hopefully the great failed experiment that is kei igawa is now mercifully at an end
Nice story Pete…
put things into perspective… but damn man, I’m crying like a little boy
“Hopefully the great failed experiment that is kei igawa is now mercifully at an end”
I don’t understand why they don’t just DFA him and open up a spot on the 40 man roster. He has no value.
well, here we go….is it the ian of last year or the ian of this year?
im with brandon, i say he commands the strike zone and this becomes a pitchers duel that is settled after both starters have left.
C’mon ian, show em what you really got!
Just jumping in with today’s game prediction.
I know I already said it but I’m saying it again. Kennedy will show us why he was considered to be a hot prospect.
Yankees will eventually get to Kazmir.
Yanks will take the game.
Talk to you later.
GO YANKS!
i’m willing to bet he didnt say anythnig to anybody about making them look stupid today!
Come on Ian, you can do this, you are so much better than Kei Igawa!
…. Or not.
I have to sell two tickets for Monday afternoon June 9th.
Face value is $95. Section 26 down the left field line. Field Box tickets a few rows from the field. The seats come with 2 tickets to the Stadium Club.
Anyone interested?
OH, how I’ve missed you, IPK!
Yikes! hopefully he won’t be scared out of the strike zone now.
Is it too early for scotch?
Bring back Iggy…
Nooooo IAN!
He looks like he’s about to vomit.
oh boy, here we go again.
What me worry?
IPK will not be lasting long if he tries to live there.
It’s never too early for scotch!
I predict Kazmir will show why he’s the future best pitcher in the majors.
Looks like par for the course with Kennedy.
And this season just keeps getting better. Think this lineup can come back from one run?
With this offense, this game is almost certainly over already.
Tagline change.
Well, he’s already pitched a whole inning…
Kennedy looks much better so far. He’s throwing strikes and challenging hitters and got pretty squeezed that inning I thought. Even the HR was on a pitch off the plate inside that he somehow hit.
Well, except for the lead-off homerun, looked pretty good to start. I know, that sounds a little like, “So how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?”
Can someone tell Iwamura that flipping the bat the way he did is showing off a pitcher. If pumping fist is than bat flipping is as well.
Remember, in Rasner’s great first start back up from the minors he gave up a two-run dinger in the first inning and then shut the Mariners (I know, the Mariners) down. I’m hoping IPK can follow D-Razz’s lead.
I wonder if a pitcher could shut this team out on 60 pitches.
Lori: You know, I think that line’s become the unofficial LoHud motto for the season.
How much longer can this team endure a minor leaguer like Shelley Duncan starting games? If we want great attitude, let’s just bring back Don Mattingly and start him. He’s as good today as Duncan.
Maybe he won’t give up six runs in three innings.
Probably not.
That slider should have been strike 3 on Upton. He got squeezed there.
Kazmir threw 16 pitches in the first inning.
For us to wear him down, we need him to throw 20 pitches per inning for 5 innings, not 15 pitches per inning for 6 innings.
Not Giambi jumping on a first pitch or Shelley hacking at a 3-0 or 3-1…
Well Kazmir has 32 pitches already.
Giambi jumped on the first pitch because he has the eye of an eagle and the strength of a lion.
The gun shows 88 for Kazmir. Is it just me or does it look like its going faster than that?
No way, Cano struck out? Imagine that.
Did sterling said that cano is the hottest hitter on the team???..
yes’s gun is always wrong
S.o.S.27(bandwagoner since 86) May 15th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
The gun shows 88 for Kazmir. Is it just me or does it look like its going faster than that?
Gameday has him regularly topping out at 92mph with his fastball…
The pitch was outside, and further outside even than some of the pitches that were called balls for Kennedy.
Cano struck out because he has the speed of a cobra
okay, ian has now lowered his season era!
Vrsce you are great
“Cano struck out because he has the speed of a cobra”
lol. The hard shot hit by floyd was caught by a cheatah.
Anyone here know why Yahoo MLB always displays balls to the outfield as “deep”, even when they’re not?
Every homerun that’s hit is displayed as “deep to center”, or “deep to left”. I think that goes without saying, no?
Never have I seen a description that said: “flied out to center”. It’s always “deep center”.
Although, Shelley’s ball was described as “shallow left”.
Now, if they’d labeled it as “deep shallow left”, I would’ve really lost it.
Cant say he isnt attacking the hitters today.
6 innings 2 runs folks. Bank on it.
well, Kennedy looks good. Aside from the leadoff homer of course, but i liked how he kept his composure and got 3 quick outs afterward, and now had a good 2nd inning and is throwing strikes. very, very promising.
now for some offense!
BTW, if there is a Dunkin Donuts near you- free 16 oz ice coffees today until 10pm.
“So how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?”
A little known fact: Mrs Lincoln actually did love the play.
Nice inning for Ian
The Ghost of Andy Fox,
Is Michael Kay still taking off from the YES booth? Maybe he works for Yahoo on his off-days?
25 pitches, 17 strikes. lesson learned?
The yankees will never score again!!!
“BTW, if there is a Dunkin Donuts near you- free 16 oz ice coffees today until 10pm.”
I actually got one this afternoon. I left a dollar tip, which works out to be an infinity plus a dollar tip.
Wait a minute - I take it back - “A. Gonzalez flied out to right”.
My bad.
This ump is really giving Kazmir some calls.
everybody was speculating on monday what would happen if santana pitched vs. kennedy tomorrow and what that might say about the non-trade, especially if kennedy got shelled, but….
what if the yankees young arm (rasner) sticks with the cy santana tomorrow and the yankees win. do the mets fans start weeping and wailing that they should have stuck with thier young talent. might make some ppl rething santana’s vorp value, eh?
Amazing how locked in Molina was before the injury. And how lost he looks post injury. Hope he finds his mo-jo soon.
and of course, once again our offense can’t get a hit to save its life. Oh well. Maybe we’ll win.
Yahoo MLB: “J. Damon flied out to deep center ”
Was his ball hit “