Today in The Journal News
-
- May
- 15
The Yankees had a meeting then Mike Mussina went out and beat the Rays.
Hank hammered the Yankees but the manager and captain beg to differ. This notebook also has updates on A-Rod, IPK, Jeff Karstens and Jorge Posada.
Yanks-Rays at 4:10 p.m. today.
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Stat of the night thanks to Cody from Iona: The catchers (Molina, Moeller, Stuart) and third basemen (Ensberg, Gonzalez and Betemit) are 17 of 92 (.185) with 5 RBI since Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada went out with their injuries.
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on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 2:56 am by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
I wonder if they’re hitting .185 but still hitting the ball well…
The problem is not pitching. Despite injuries to key pitchers (Hughes, Bruney) and underwhelming performances from some of the youngsters (Kennedy), this is not about pitching. And even though we have two huge holes (Jorge, Arod) in the lineup, the Yankee win/loss record is NOT about pitching and injuries.
The starters and the bullpen have been magnificent compared to last year at this time. If I had to quibble, I would quibble with starting pitchers being pulled too soon (Rasner esp).
The hitting is atrocious. ATROCIOUS. Too many guys are hacking away at first pitches (this means you Mr. Cano) and others are just not performing at all. You can’t wait for the bats to heat up on their own. Something needs to be done on the coaching staff. They’re just not addressing the issues in the lineup.
We can’t wait for/depend on Jorge and Arod. When Matsui and Sheffield went down 2 years ago, everyone else stepped up to replace those mighty bats. No one has done it this year. It looks like no one knows HOW.
I don’t fault Girardi for changing it up to see if there’s something that can work but he changes it after a lineup does work and he sits guys who are hot and continues to send cold guys to the plate. So there’s a management issue there. But there’s also a coaching issue. Does Kevin Long work here anymore and what is it that he’s doing?
The other issue is fielding. The have to do something about the hole at 1st (where have you gone Dougie M?). And some of the errors are Bad News Bears type.
Torre’s style was too hands off and I thought we’d see more wonkiness from Girardi OTHER than changing the lineup every other day and pulling the starters too soon. THOSE are not the issues. Hitting and fielding are the issues.
Girardi was a brilliant, and I do mean brilliant, field manager as a catcher. We had hoped that would come to fruition as the Yankee manager. But this ever-changing lineup is not helping things and who knows if it’s hurting things?
The lack of hitting cannot be just a “cold bats”/injuries issue. There is something wrong in the coaching approach to this. Something is not working right. (Earth to Kevin Long…come in Kevin Long).
And do we have anyone taking responsibilities for fielding?
I think something needs to change and change soon on the offensive side (hitting) and defensive side (fielding). But pitching is not this team’s problem.
Good pitching beats good hitting but NOT when the good pitching side is not manufacturing any runs at all.
They’re wasting the efforts of the pitching staff and it’s a shame.
WOW !!!!
A whopping 20,936 saw last night’s game in 72 degree temperatures at Tropicana.
And the Rays are trying to sell the area on a new stadium ??
If they stop spending money on dumb cowbells it might help.
“What bothers me is that these guys are all working for me and my brother and they’re all making more money than we are. That’s what makes me mad. But while I’m confident they’ll come around, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this year. And if they don’t come around then changes will have to be made. I’ve just got to clean up the mistakes of the last five years and make us what we should be.”
http://tinyurl.com/5cj6wu
Hank is gonna make life interesting..lol
Pete,
The Post is reporting that McCutchen has been promoted to SWB. Can you verify that?
Wow! That Man Ram freak in LF in Boston is OUT of his MIND…
Dude jumps up to high five a Sox fan in the stands in BAL in the middle of a play…
How a town like Bah-stan puts up with his antics, I have no idea. I’m so glad the NYY don’t have to deal with garbage like that…
ha! i just saw a replay of that Manny play. awesome.
Relief is just a plane flight away. Igawa has departed for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
It should be to Low A Charlston so he doesn’t clog up a roster spot for a deserving pitcher at AA or AAA.
Nice job with the joba comment : ie jumping into the stands and high fiving all the yankee fans. Great stuff
Goose is great but its a different era – right or wrong we have to deal with it.
its a beautiful day in the neighborhood, girardi and hank are geniuses, the pitching is stellar, the hitting is timely, and they’re playing day baseball. (at least it’ll be daytime outside the sarcophagus.)
damn, i spelled sarcophagus right the 1st try, what are the chances? Mentkievitz….Meientkawitch…Mintkavitch…
i can’t believe there are people calling for Doug Mientkiewicz.
Hey Pete…I was at the game last night and I was sitting near the Yankees bullpen. I noticed that Igawa sits totally away from everyone and he didn’t seem to have any interaction with the other pitchers. I know there is a language barrier, but my goodness…it was like he didn’t even exist. I did not see anyone even acknowledge he was even there. What is he like when he is around the other players and is there another Yankee in recent memory (besides Pavano) that has such an odd relationship with the rest of the team?
Just throwing this out there… any chance the Yankees try to trade Damon and pick up Ken Griffy Jr?
I could see the Yankees making a play to move Damon, but I dont see them making a play for Griffey. I would imagine a Damon trade would open LF for Gardner, or allow Matsui to play the OF more often, and keep open the DH/1B spot for Giambi and Posada, if Posada cannot come back and catch full time this season.
but, i will say that i dont see any of that happening, unless the Yankees were offered a player or package of players for Damon, or even Abreu or Matsui for that matter, to make it a no-brainer.
i dont see the yankees making any move with Damon, Abreu, or Matsui this season.
sj44 declared yesterday that no trades are made in may, so that’s that. and he knows ppl, so he has to be right.
that noise aside, another LH DH is just what this team doesnt need, and this guy has alot of baggage. (and im not talking just about his statements that he would never play for the yankees)
Regarding the Manny high-five play: that kind of nonsense gets a pass from the media, but Joba’s fist-pump is a big controversy? Yowza.
history proves SJ is right, and we’re halfway thru May of 2008, and he’s lookin pretty good there, too.
yeah, i know he explained to me how the ken griffey deal doesnt count yesterday. hoping he can explain this to me, too:
May 25, 1989 – The Montreal Expos trade pitchers Randy Johnson, Gene Harris, and Brian Holman to the Seattle Mariners for pitchers Mark Langston and Mike Campbell.
….well you see (insert mocking comment about poster’s age here) that doesnt count either, because…
“The Post is reporting McCutchen has been promoted to SWB.”
If that’s true, FINALLY!
TurnTwo – I mentioned Gardner in a post yesterday and people didn’t think he was ready for major league action. The reason why I mention Griffey is because he could be available without giving up much (just taking on his contract), he adds power to our power-depleted lineup (despite him being another lefty), and his contract would be up in 1-2 years at which time it would be ideal to move Gardner/Jackson into left/Center.
mccutchen to scranton fills the open start they had due to doubleheaders, but it probably spells very bad news for kei igawa. with the starts at scranton filled (and horne and karstens about to return) that likely means igawa isnt going back to scranton (unless they’re gonna use him in relief) so it’s likely he goes to trenton (or below) and maybe even gets dfa’d!
“that noise aside, another LH DH is just what this team doesnt need, and this guy has alot of baggage. (and im not talking just about his statements that he would never play for the yankees)”
“Sports Weekly reported Friday that Griffey’s top choice could be the Yankees, followed by the Diamondbacks and Braves. The newspaper reported on its Web site that Griffey would like to play for a team that has spring training in Florida since his family lives in the Orlando area.”
Had to go all the way back to 1989 to find a significant May trade? They can happen, but they are very unlikely. Especially now that there is a little more parody in MLB and teams feel they are in it.
Reds are an interesting situation because they have a new GM and are already willing to admit they aren’t contending. They also need to open a spot in the OF for Jay Bruce their stud prospect.
McCutchen promotioned, Igawa DFA, Yankees hitting with 2 outs and RISP!!! Is it Christmas morning?
Griffey will also want his 16 million dollar option picked up for next year before accepting a trade anywhere. I think the figure is 16 million, but I could be wrong.
McCutchen promotioned, Igawa DFA, Yankees hitting with 2 outs and RISP!!! Is it my birthday?
Griffey’s best days are behind him
Griffey does not want to play in NY. He has a no-trade clause plus 10/5 rights. He has always resented the way the Yankees treated his father. I don’t know the specifics of what the bad treatment was other than not renew Senior’s contract when it was fairly obvious he was done as a player.
Griffey wants to retire as a Mariner and if the Red’s and M’s can come to terms, might send him there for a farewell tour.
Griffey is not needed by the Yanks. We need another old, fence-swinging, position limited, left handed player like we need….oh I don’t know another Igawa maybe?
I think there is still a spot in Scranton for Igawa. Karstens might come right back to the Yankees after a rehab session at the minor league stops. We can keep him as a true long man and get the bullpen back to 7 pitchers so Girardi can have a bench to work with.
I was at the game last night and the bad news was the flat tire on the way and the amateurish parking situation. Missed the start but did arrive in time to see Melky throw out a Ray at 3rd (worth the price of admission alone of course!).
My fellow Yankee fan asked what I thought the final score would be; he thought 7-4 Yanks and with the way things have been going I said 5-4 Rays.
Who would have thought Mussina would turn in another stellar performance to win a 2-1 contest. And Cano going 4-4 was a nice add on as well. And the Gman making a diving stop to his right and then recovering to throw out the runner at first. Wow! Not to mention the rally killing doubling off of a Ray at second by Jeter. One definitely had the feeling that last night was their night.
Joba was very intimidating as well as Mo.
All in all it was an exciting game.
Still it must be an uncomfortable feeling to be a pitcher for the Yanks and feel like you have to hold the other team to 2 runs or less to have a chance at a win.
Gardner has been havinga lot of 1-4’s the past two or so weeks, or so it seems, after having a real hot start.
i wouldnt be ready to call him up yet.
I just dont think Griffey is a good fit for the Yankees at this stage, given his age, injury tendency, and contract/option requirements that surely come with him.
Justin Christian has had a pretty good season so far from what i remember, so lets not sleep on him, either.
If the Yankees picked off anyone from the Reds, I’d think they would be more interested in Scott Hatteberg than Griffey.
ian, i spent all of 20 seconds looking up that trade, it was listed among the best/worst trades of all time.
as for what the newspaper said that griffey’s agent said…. bringing the yankees into the discussion to put pressure on seattle is the first thing they teach you at agent school (kindergarden level). when i hear griffey himself kiss up to old george and the yankee faithfull, ill believe it.
but i still wont want him in pinstripes.
he’s another way-beyond-his-prime, injury-prone, no-glove, swing-for-the-fences, big-contract guy with a very questionable desire to play .(mets announcers last week pointed out time and again his lackadaisical pursuit of several balls hit to RF).
“We can keep him as a true long man and get the bullpen back to 7 pitchers so Girardi can have a bench to work with.”
Who else is it that you’d want on the bench?
The problem with the bench is that they’ve been pushed to full-time duty. And that Betemit went on the DL.
“yeah, i know he explained to me how the ken griffey deal doesnt count yesterday. hoping he can explain this to me, too:
May 25, 1989 – The Montreal Expos trade pitchers Randy Johnson, Gene Harris, and Brian Holman to the Seattle Mariners for pitchers Mark Langston and Mike Campbell.
….well you see (insert mocking comment about poster’s age here) that doesnt count either, because…”
Wow – you found a SINGLE trade made in May, NINETEEN YEARS AGO – your single counterexample totally eliminates the general proposition that important trades are not made in May.
http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Dibble/2006/07/26/To_trade_or_not_to_trade
Actually, this trade is pretty good to analyze, not unlike the Tigers giving Smoltz to the Braves.
Trading blue chip prospects (Hughes) for proven All Star pitchers does not work out all that often…
Also, on May 25th, the Mariners were 23-24, and the Oakland Athletics, who would win the West with 99 wins, were 30-16. That’s a big gap. The Royals were also 26-19.
Given there WAS NO WILD CARD yet, it was definitely safe to say the season was probably over.
“ian, i spent all of 20 seconds looking up that trade, it was listed among the best/worst trades of all time.”
Point is that it was nearly 20 years ago. Significant deals very rarely happen this early in the season. Unless it’s for a quality righty 1B/OF, I don’t know that there’s a move I make.
It’s not about who I want on the bench. Just that a 3 man bench severely limits a manager. I assume when A-Rod comes back they will send down a reliever for him, and it back to 7 guys in the pen.
“Dude jumps up to high five a Sox fan in the stands in BAL in the middle of a play…”
I saw that. To me that shows Manny only thinks about the moment and has little respect for his teammates b/c a stupid stunt like that could have costed his team a run. Sometimes I wonder if there’s anything between those ears.
Could someone post links if there were media coverage of it today especially by Boston press? I’m curious what the press there thinks.
“It’s not about who I want on the bench. Just that a 3 man bench severely limits a manager.”
It only limits him insofar as he’d need to use them to change the game. If there’s no one else you’d want on the bench right now, then who cares how many guys are on there? I wouldn’t mind still having betemit to use against righties. I wouldn’t mind if Duncan or Ensberg were showing that they could mash lefties and I could spot them for Giambi or Abreu. But…neither of those things is happening, and there isn’t a righty threat at AAA, so it’s not like this extra pitcher is keeping someone useful down on the farm.
There is no one in the farm I want to call up either right now. Although Gardner always intrigues me. But I also don’t want to send down Duncan or Gonzalez when A-Rod comes back.
o come on, the manny thing was great, give the guy credit! first off, it was an excellent running catch, knowing he was going to have to deal with the wall big-time. insead of crashing into it, which would likely have meant no dp, he does a little bo jackson and adds a little flourish. step back and look at that play again without your pinstriped glasses on.
if you cant appreciate a great play or a great player like that (he DID get the guy at 1B!), its likely you (would have?) HATED reggie and rickey!
my fellow manhattanite manny made another highlight-reel-of-the-decade play!
Igawa was DFA’d? Is there a link? Don’t play with my emotions.
Sorry 56. Not yet. With his contract it’s not going to happen. He’s got like 4 years left at 5 mill per. He’s going to be the wealthies man in Scranton for a long time.
another reason i so enjoyed manny’s play is that it came on a day the o’s completed a sweep of the sox!
its funny that you can almomst sum up manny a player (one of the greatest hitters of his time) in 20 seconds by showing those 2 highlight reel plays, yesterday’s atheletic and show-offish play and the ridiculousness of that cut-off play!
manny b manny!
i’ll take him making that play EVERY DAY if it means the sox lose again!
The absence of Arod and Posada will be felt the next few days as Yanks face 3 tough lefties in a row in Kazmir, Santana and Perez. Shelley Duncan will get his chance. He needs to give us a lift!
i agree… you can hate the saux and despise what Manny has done against the Yankees oer the years, but that play yesterday was fantastic.
Igawa wasn’t DFA’d not sure where that caem from. McCutchen wasn’t promoted either, in fact he got crushed at Trenton the other night.
“Just throwing this out there… any chance the Yankees try to trade Damon and pick up Ken Griffy Jr?”
Trade a younger better player to get a worse older player who’s having a worse year while playing half his games in a bandbox?
o, one last thing about manny…..
i HATE him, i HATE him, i HATE him, i HATE him!
i HATE HIS GUTS!
…and i hope the sox decline his option so we can sign him as our DH next year! (not much chance of that…)
“Igawa wasn’t DFA’d not sure where that caem from. McCutchen wasn’t promoted either, in fact he got crushed at Trenton the other night.”
source
“But I also don’t want to send down Duncan or Gonzalez when A-Rod comes back.”
I didn’t say they should. It’ll probably be a pitcher. But, I still don’t see how Girardi is being hamstrung by the limited bench right now.
SWB needed the starting pitching. They have two relievers starting. Assuming Igawa doesn’t get DFA’d and Horne comes back within the next week or two a rotation of Horne, White, Igawa, McCutchen, and Marquez is pretty good. Hopefully Marquez can improve.
I agree with Buck Foston. Manny’s head has never been screwed on straight.
Well he certianly isn’t put in a good position with the limited bench. He had to pinch hit the other night and was left only with the back up catcher on the bench. Until Posada comes back it seems pretty obvious we should be pinch hitting for the catcher late in close games. That leaves you only one guy on the bench. Same goes if you ever want to send someone out to pinch run.
ian, you left out karstens. all this speculation started when someone posted that the post said mccutchen was being promoted to scranton. if that was true, there wouldnt be a spot left for igawa. however, that was apparently not true, so all the speculatoin is moot.
“Until Posada comes back it seems pretty obvious we should be pinch hitting for the catcher late in close games. That leaves you only one guy on the bench.”
If we had any hitters that were better than Molina on the bench, I’d agree. But Duncan hasn’t shown me that yet this season, and Gonzalez hasn’t either. At least Molina can drop down a bunt.
I dunno…I’m just not really seeing how it’d be better for the team right now to have Nick Green or Cody Ransom over Edwar or Chris Britton. Though, with the NL games this weekend, maybe it would be. I dunno. It will hopefully be moot by Tuesday when ARod comes back in place of a pitcher.
“ian, you left out karstens.”
He’s not even started his rehab assignment yet, so it’ll be a bit before that becomes an issue at AAA, I figure.
what to you guys say to a-rod recording a video to congratulate manny when he hits his 500 home run??!!
i think it a great thing! just shows you even they are the biggest rivals you could still be friends!!…(and not like that stupid yankkee fan who killed a boston fan)….
The Rays have locked up Longoria and Kazmir for at least two years past free agency (assuming options picked up) and Brewers did the same for Ryan Braun.
Perhaps the Yankees should do the same for Wang (and should have this past offseason instead of arbitration?). Buy out his arbitration years with a couple 1 year club options, if he’ll take it. It’s not a -huge- gamble.
Now lets see what Fatso and Fruitloops have to say about Manny’s play. I’ll bet anything that they will not critize it, in fact they will talk about how amazed they are that he made the play. Meanwhile if Melky did it, they’d be screaming and carrying on how it is showing the other team up etc…
“I dunno…I’m just not really seeing how it’d be better for the team right now to have Nick Green or Cody Ransom over Edwar or Chris Britton. Though, with the NL games this weekend, maybe it would be. I dunno. It will hopefully be moot by Tuesday when ARod comes back in place of a pitcher.”
Well the NL games are in Yankee stadium so that doesn’t matter. But what exactly are Veras, Edwar, or Britton really bringing to the table right now? And I would assume Nick Green and Ranson would not be legitimate options. I’d also assume that we are probably the only team in MLB with a three man bench. A lot of that was neccesary because of starting pitching length but that seems to have corrected itself a bit. I dunno, I’m probably harping on nothing here but it just seems to me a 4th person on the bench is more useful than one of Veras, Britton, or Edwar. When A-Rod comes up I just hope Duncan or Alberto aren’t sent down because in my opinion they are much more useful right now than those pitchers.
Manny was showboating DURING a play. There is nothing awesome about it. I can’t understand why the same people who think Joba should go quietly to the dugout after a strikeout think what Manny did was hunky-dory. He was lucky to make the catch, and he should have just finished the play without the nonsense. He’s an idiot with a great bat.
Ellen, i think what Joba does is perfectly fine, and i also agree that Manny’s play was fun to watch. i dont see a problem with either play, as far as i’m concerned.
it’s still a game, and games are meant to be fun, for the players who play them and the fans who watch.
ok iv been way to ornery yesterday and today, im on vacay and im sick as a DOG and my brothers are golfing in ocean city without me ( i sound like moose in japan) so i’ve been a real butthead to ppl on here, specially sj a fine poster and generally upstanding citizen.
you guys are right, trades dont normally happen in may but here’s my take and then ill just take some dayquill and mellow out…
MOST of the time, teams dont make 180 degree turns at the beginning of may, but THIS year, the reds have apparently done just that. they started with a gm who had put together a more veteran team and hired a veteran loving manager Dusty Baker, to run it. they wanted to keep bruce, votto, volquez, cueto, keppinger and others developing in the minors (and not starting the arbitration clock). but b/c of injuries and slumps, the rooks started busting thier way up and succeeding right off the bat. now all of a sudden, there’s no reason to send them back down and the new gm sees a chance to pick up more young guys. (the league is now beating on queto and keppinger is back in aaa) but once the griffey thing hit the papers, now ALL thier veterans are in play, griffey, arroyo, dunn. and once all those guys are in play, alot of other guys all over baseball come into play, blanton, crede, sheffield, pierre/ethier/jones, garciaparra, kouzmanoff, ensberg, matsui, brandon inge, sexon/beltran as teams manuever to prevent being blocked by other possible moves. suddenly there is a trade market where none normally exists, in mid may. the tigers look horrible (WAY worse than the yankees), the padres are desparate and seattle already knows it has to rebuild.
it is unusual this time of year but this looks to be an unusual year. and please dont tell me (again) ‘thats not how things are done’, i cant imagine how many times branch rickey or billy beane must’ve heard that in thier brilliant careers. i think cash can be on that level of brilliance, plus he has more chess pieces to play with than ANYBODY. I think the time could be right to make a move.
as i pointed out yesterday, the genius of stick michael that MADE the dynasty was not just hoarding young talent, but deciding which ones to keep (bernie/jorje/mo/derrick/andy), which ones to move (springer/davis/kelley/other guys nobody remembers) and which guys to go get (oniell/tino/key). the reds are in a very similar situation right now. i realize stick did all this with almost no pressure to win (yankees sooooo sucked at the time), but cash is just gonna have to deal without that luxury cause rebuilding just aint gonna happen.
cash doesnt have to make any trades right now, even if the market is unexpectedly open, but he’s gonna have to sift the wheat from the chaff at some point or all we’re gonna end up with is one or two young all-stars on a very old team. i think he’s smart enough to pull it off, he’s been groomed by stick himself to do it, but i’m beggining to wonder if he’s got the cajones to actually make the moves that put us over the top.
2nd of 5 straight wins this afternoon!
“I can’t understand why the same people who think Joba should go quietly to the dugout after a strikeout think what Manny did was hunky-dory.”
Red Sox fans.
“and not like that stupid yankkee fan who killed a boston fan”
As much as it is unfortunate that there are Yankee fans who would do something so careless, it is also unfortunate there are boston fans who are DUMB AS HELL.
Russell: on Mike & Mike this morning, they were falling all over themselves about it. Their attitude was that they “should” be condemning it, but gosh, Manny is just so endearing that they can’t. It was nauseating.
Ellen – those guys think their opinion sets the standard. Mad Dog is a flip flopper and his big friend drives me nuts with his philosopher talk. However, what else do Yankee fans have to listen to in the afternoon?
I’m not a red sox fan, but you guys have to lay off Manny. He high-fived a guy. It didn’t take away from the play. Remember when Don Mattingly ate popcorn out of the bag of a kid in the first row? The two incidents are exactly the same.
Leave him alone, you vultures.
Vultures? Because I think Manny is an idiot? Really? Boy, there sure are a lot of us vultures out there. BTW, this is a Yankees blog. Anti-Manny sentiment is not out of place here.
Actually, I take that back. How about this, “oh that Manny, what a card!” Maybe he can ask A-Rod to record congratulations on his outstanding high-five ability. Better?
When did I say anything about you thinking of Manny as an idiot? Try and understand my point before you diverge into a different discussion. I, too, think Manny is an idiot. He’s a bad left-fielder who eyes his homeruns far too long.
There, now that we’ve got that out of the way…
Manny’s High-Five is the same exact situation as Mattingly and the popcorn.
They have NOTHING to do with Joba, nor should they be compared. Joba’s fist-pump has been talked about because it shows up the hitters. Do you really think that Manny was trying to or even accomplished showing up Kevin Millar, his long time friend of Red Sox past?
It was just a subtle funny moment in the game. Leave it at that. Instead, people are making it seem as if the guy caught the ball and then set it ablaze with fireworks.
Ellen,
One thing I agree with you on though is that the whole “A-Rod Congratulate Manny” thing is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
Disregard “The Rivalry”, AL East Baseball, etc…Just think..A-Rod isn’t a retired hall-of-famer…he’s just a guy on a different team. A-Rod congratulating Manny would be like Mark Buerhle recording a video congratulation for Clay Buchholz. It’s just extremely stupid.
Brent: I agree, and that is a great example.