Giambi: Respect the ’stache
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 24, 2008 
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Jason Giambi looks like the male lead in Naughty Nurses, Volume 2 with that new mustache of his.
But The Big G isn’t shaving any time soon. He’s 10 of 19 with six runs scored, four RBI and four extra-base hits in the last six games. His batting average has gone from .181 to .234.
“They’re starting to fall a little bit,” Giambi said. “I think a lot of that has to do with Kevin Long, Girardi and my teammates staying positive with me. It can be frustrating. It’s human nature to get frustrated when you do things right and you don’t get much for it. But they didn’t let me get frustrated.”
And the mustache?
“The ’stache is going to be here for a while,” he said.
————
Here’s what Ichiro told the Seattle writers yesterday:
“Playing on this team and seeing what is happening around me, I feel that something is beginning to fall apart. But, if I was not in this situation, and I was objectively watching what just happened this week, I would probably be drinking a lot of beers and booing.”
UPDATE: Check out the comments on this post. Some of the readers went and found some other memorable quotes from Ichiro. Good job, guys.
wow – hell of a comment by Ichiro
love the stache
Great post again Pete. Like Cano, you are on a hot streak too today. 3-3 with awesome posts!
Raises your average to .998.
(For some reason during football season, your average dips slightly, but I still love this site!)
if giambi hits all year like he hits lately just let him grow what ever he wants just he should hit
Ichiro always has good quotes. This is what he said about Cleveland last year:
“To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to. If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.”
I didn’t realize Ichiro had such an ego all of a sudden. They were bringing it up on the YES broadcast a bit, but I wasn’t paying much attention. This coming from a guy who just signed an extension with the club, so life must be pretty good there. I wouldn’t have minded it if the Yanks had managed to sign him as a FA.
Giambi is looking to go out in the highest note possible in ‘08.
He can’t possibly believe that his ‘09 option of $22 million will be picked up.
The ink is probably dry on his $5 million buyout and awaits Hal Steinbrenner’s signature at the end of the season.
Let’s hope Jason gets a ring for his final season as a Yankee.
Hah, Ichiro makes me laugh.
And I think we all know Giambi moonlights as an adult film star.
Giambi’s turn-around reminds me a lot of ‘06…he seems to start off really cold but once he gets going he’s an offensive force to be reckoned with…
That’s why you can’t count Giambi out…he’s streaky-when it’s a bad streak, it’s really bad, but on the flip side, once he starts hitting, you wouldn’t want to be the opposing pitcher…
Go Yanks!
As a Seattlite, it is good to see at least one person on the team realizes they are playing like crap. There is a difference between having an ego and knowing your manager and organization are worthless and have no plan to win now or in the future.
My favorit Ichiro quote, when asked at the beginning of the year about the outfield defense said, “I like having slow players in left and right field, that way I don’t have to worry about running into them.”
ichiro is verry funny
Peter,
Any chance we can use Ian Kennedy as a centerpiece of 2-3 arms to get Ichiro. We can also try to move Damon in a salary dump to a team looking for veteran leadership like KC, ChiW, TB… let’s take some low minor league injured prospect with high ceiling in return.
Has anyone else seen “Naughty Nurses, Volume 2,” other than Pete?
Andrew,
Japanese nationals are funny in that way. They say the right thing (see Matsui), but if they want to they will hit you with a backhanded compliment so sneaky you won’t know it hit you.
Ichiro’s quotes are refreshingly brutally honest. Sounds like a funny guy. When he signed that big contract last year, he must’ve thought he was signing up for more of what last year was. Seattle’s probably waiting out Sexson’s contract like we’re waiting out the Big G’s.
Seattle would want a ton of prospects for ichiro
It’s a good thing that I don’t know what Naughty Nurses is right?
Speaking of staches. Kevin Kennedy’s sporting a skinny Fu Manchu. He had a funny line about RJ: “This is not your father’s Big Unit”.
Yankee FANS … DON’T get too excited about this little scoring outburst. Seattle is probably the WORST team in baseball. Still no pitching.
I’d still think about maybe seeing that trade value giambi might have right now. May be a good time to see if we can get value out of him.
Naughty Nurses? Why are you breaking your own rule, dude? You’re setting a very bad precedent.
” It is a condition of your use of the comment features associated with the blogs that you do not: Use the site to post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, ………….. “
Yeah that Bedard he is awful.
Joe worry about your team across town.
Of course Giambi is a porn star. His low production, bad defense and albatross contract have been screwing the fans for years.
Naughty Nurses, Volume 2 Peter? lol
Alright. Let’s go Pistons
anyone have more of these ichiro quotes they’re amazing
“Naughty Nurses? Why are you breaking your own rule, dude? You’re setting a very bad precedent.
†It is a condition of your use of the comment features associated with the blogs that you do not: Use the site to post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, ………….. “”
What part of the two words “naughty nurses” is dirty in any way?? Had he posted a picture of it then maybe…. Pete.. Please post a picture
“To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to. If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.”
After the snow series
Ichiro is exactly what the Yankees need…..another post-30 outfielder who’s peaked and has a long contract. can we throw in Joba WITH Kennedy in the deal as well?
Alanis Morrissette said it best: the only way out is through.
i’m sure someone else has said that as well.
I haven’t seen the past two games as I am in Rays teritory (Tampa), in fact I am going to see the Rays play Balty-more tomorrow. Shields vs. Cabrera and it should be a good matchup.
But it is great to see the Giambino and Cano start hitting.
Is Mussina a lucky 7-4? I think so.
It must be interesting for Girardi and Eiland trying to hold Joba back. It seems to me he is chomping at the bit to get in the rotation….I like that a lot.
“anyone have more of these ichiro quotes they’re amazing”
http://www.baseball-almanac.co.....otes.shtml
Maybe if Giambi grows a beard his defense will improve.
People, people, relax, Pete Abe is not breaking his own rules at all. Naughty Nurses, Volume 2 is a training film, in a way, something of a cautionary tale. If you thought the potential misbehavior of nurses could be fully explored in a single volume, you’re just naive about the health care industry. Or so I’m told, I haven’t seen it.
The Ichiro quote is great. There’s a sushi place I go to near where I live in San Francisco, it’s kind of a hidden place, pretty small, but it has a reputation of having a quality of sushi that rivals some of the more famous and much more expensive places.
Anyway, one night I went there for dinner and the couple that runs it was all excited, the Mariners were in town and Ichiro had been there, which means that somehow word of mough about it had filtered to him. Win or lose, the man knows his sushi.
Ichiro Quotes: http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse.....ny-things/
On performance-enhancing drugs: “When you take steroids, it’s not as if wings grow out of your back, and you start flying all over the place and stealing home runs (from hitters). The word ‘cheating’ doesn’t apply for me regarding steroids.”
Tiger Woods’ athleticism: “Tiger is a great golfer, but … when you say athlete, I think of Carl Lewis. When you talk about (golfers or race-car drivers), I don’t want to see them run. It’s the same if you were to meet a beautiful girl and go bowling. If she’s an ugly bowler, you are going to be disappointed.”
I would love to have Ichiro on the Yankees
On the other hand, I’m told that Giambi decided to grow out his mustache after a visit to his pal Hideki Matui’s audio-visual room.
So I just don’t know what to believe.
Oh my I can’t stop laughing about Ichiro’s ugly bowler comment. IT’S GOLD
Do you realize when he loses a step, he loses his game?
I’d love to have Ichiro just for the comments
also does anybody remember his comments when he first faced matsuzaka last year it was a weird commment something like let the fire arouse my soul it was sumthing weird like that
I wonder how Ichiro feels about his new long contract now.
Would have loved to have him on this team….he’d be a huge producer.
“I’m told I either look bigger than I do on television or that I look smaller than I look on television. No one seems to think I look the same size.”
“When you talk about (golfers or race-car drivers), I don’t want to see them run. It’s the same if you were to meet a beautiful girl and go bowling. If she’s an ugly bowler, you are going to be disappointed.”
On hotdog style players: “It’s a weakness to try to show yourself to be more than you actually are. To me, it’s cooler to hide yourself, even if you’re better than that. That’s a big difference between Japanese and American cultures. Sometimes, (Americans) try to make themselves out to be bigger than they are.”
On speeding up the game: “Yesterday when I played, inside my head I said ‘I want to go home quickly,’ and I swung and I was able to get a hit because I wanted to go home. Today I thought, ‘I want to hurry up and get something to eat,’ and I swung and got a hit today.”
On his impressions of Korea: “It smells like garlic.”
In response to what he listens for when he taps a new bat and puts it to his ear: “The sounds.”
On what scoring runs early does to opponents: “To be able to get three [first-inning] runs like that I’m sure allowed us to give our opponents major mental damage.”
Explaining why he missed catching a fly ball: “The ball became the same color as the sky. So, I wasn’t able to see it … I was sending mental signals for the ball not to come my way, because during that time of day it’s impossible for me to see the ball so I lacked mental signals. I lacked in that area. Usually, I don’t send mental signals. So, because this is the first time, I thought, please don’t come my way.”
On how to break out of a slump: “If I’m in a slump, I ask myself for advice.”
On his personal battles with Dice-K: “I hope he arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger.”
On how he wants to become a pitcher at age 40: “Once I turn 40 I can become a pitcher. I’m kind of serious about it. But I’ll have to learn to throw a knuckleball. Right now, I could be a ‘normal’ pitcher,” who can top out at 95 mph with a fastball.”
On getting booed: “I actually welcome boos as part of the game. I really love to see that from my opponent’s fans. Last night I think that those fans didn’t boo hard enough.”
The rest of the beer quote
“Usually I enjoy Japanese beer, but given the situation, if I was objectively watching the game, I wouldn’t care if it was Japanese beer, American beer or beer from Papua New Guinea,†he said.
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/indiv.....statType=1
This is actually pretty cool.
Have Ichiro been saying these quotes in English or through a translator? If it’s being said through a translator, give that guy a raise! That’s a lot to remember.
I meant to say “Has”.
Yikes. The Tigers are pounding the Twinkies 19-3
:confused:
Let’s Go Pistons!
Don’t mind me..I’m testing
8|
>:|
8D
It varies- sometimes it is through a translator, other times himself-
Last night one of the local reporters asked if he was arguing balls and strikes with the umpire in English or Japanese- to which Ichiro gave him a look and said, “In English, of course, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to understand me.”
On his personal battles with Dice-K: “I hope he arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger.â€
That has to be through a translator, no? “Dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul”? The phrasing sounds like an elegant paraphrase of colloquial speech.
Alas, poor Yorick, perhaps you sell Ichiro short. His Shakespearian elequence knows no border.
Why no post-game audio from Girardi?
Anybody hear the post-game?
What’d Girardi have to say about Joba?
I was actually glad to see him work in and out of trouble, that’s what great starters have to do sometimes.
But Joba seemed upset by his outing…
My hate list:
1. Red Sox (most)
2. Lakers (essentially, I just hate the Rapist)
3. Pistons
4. Celtics
It’s ok to admit that you hate spending so much time in Canada, B.J. The Blue Jays pay you but the city of Toronto doesn’t own you.
maybe ichiro would like a trade?
Did anyone else see Peter Abraham, in the back when they were interviewing Mike Mussina. Funny to see him in the background holding out a tape recorder.
ya gotta love the stache..
http://zellspinstripeblog.wordpress.com/
Kevin
This guy Duchscherer is pitching a great game for Oakland. Becky for Red Sux looks worried. I love it.
Justin Duchscherer perfect through 5 against Red Sox.
ok I’m back..anyway
Trenton’s offense is starting to heat up they put up 11 runs tonight so far.
Austin Jackson is on FIYAHHHHH !
2 for 5 w/ a 2B, R, IBB
Jose Tabata
3 for 4 w/ (3)1B 3 R, SB, RBI
what’s impressive about it all infield singles, he hustled his but off today, now I can understand why some people say he has a bit of Jetes in him. I can’t wait for that power to return
OF Edwar Gonzalez 2 for 5 w/ a 2B, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI
OF Colin Curtis 2 for 5 w/ (2) 1B, R, 2 RBI
he continues to hit w/ RISP, going into today in he was 17 for 50 w/ RISP a clip of .340/.456/.520/.976
Melancon so far
2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K’s
1.29 ERA, GO/AO 2-2
Thanks for jinxing it!
Perfect game gone, he hit Varitek. No hitter!? Fingers crossed.
My favorite Ichiro quote was what he said about the earthquake in his home town in ESPN magazine recently. He sounded poetic.
“Perfect game gone, he hit Varitek. No hitter!? Fingers crossed.”
well now there is no chance in hell that it happens, not even the baseball gods can help him now tonight.
LOL.
Gameday popup highlight: “Varitek ruins perfect game”.
he stepped into it to…oh well P.S. Jeff Franceour when is this leaving Atlanta, he’s the white Vlad Guerrero
He stepped into the pitch? He shouldn’t have been awarded the base than. Total BS!
Brandon,
Funny video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrEdYueahO8
jennifer,
Watch the highlight on gameday (video tab).
Varitek turns his torso, but makes no attempt to get out of the way. If that pitch was up Varitek would’ve been called for it.
Lame. Just as wussy as fighting in full catcher’s gear.
that is so fake mel, but get him drunk he might actually attempt it
Oops. That wasn’t clear. It hit him in the thigh.
He shouldn’t have been awarded the base, he could have gotten out of the way, but moved his body so it wouldn’t hurt as much. If this goes all the way, I hope someone goes over to the other dugout and kicks his ****
mel, I understood, well only because I just watched it.
mel look at the video becketts catch
Brandon,
Yeah it was.
The short guy jumping into Kobe’s arms and the last scene with the sneaker was so funny.
Can the Pistons pull a Lakers? Down by 18 at the end of the 3rd.
The Big G does a great job impersonating Donnie Baseball.
jennifer,
Ouch. I guess he felt he deserved to take first base.
mel- no not really.
He just lost it!
“mel- no not really. ” That’s cold, Jennifer.
Okay, now we cheer for the shutout.
I can’t believe I’m cheering for the Pistons.
Nick in SF-
Are you talking about Sushi Zone, that is the best sushi I have had in my life.
mel- never forget that ‘man’ fought with his mask on.
mel-
Cool video with Kobe!
Buddy,
Thanks. Seen the one where he jumps the Aston Martin?
Beckett gives up #10 on the year.
glad to see him catching up to Johan
Wow, this guy Duchscherer really handed it to the Red Sox and that loser Beckett. Kudos to him. It would be awesome if he comes back for the 9th but he’s already pitched an unbelievable game.
Brandon,
Are you watching? Pierce may be hurt.
Duchscherer has one hit the sawx. a’s up 2-0
I really don’t want to watch this game, I might tune in what’s the score ?
So Joba had two strikeouts today.
The first one, he shook off Molina twice.
The second, he shook off Molina once.
So how come SJ44 and the rest of the hindsight nostradamuses are not griping about how a rookie shouldn’t be shaking off a veteran like Molina and Girardi and Molina should land on Joba with the wrath of god and the rest of that bull crap? Don’t they remember what happened last time with the walks and Delucci?
Oh I see, they kept silent because the outcome was good…
Shows how much the blog “experts” know.
Decarlman is aabout to give the A’s some insurance runs… A’s up 3-0 now.
2:17 left 87-78. Pierce got hit in the knee, but he’s still in.
wang is not an ace, Joba is only not allowed to shake off the catcher when he is planning on giving up homeruns. And yeah it’s pretty comical that some people even went as far as saying “next time he does it Girardi should tell him if he does it again he’s being sent to the minors”. What a joke. I’d actually have some respect for those people if they had the guts to say it the 99% of the time Joba gets the job done but they are hypocrites who only criticize when the results aren’t good.
Obese Poopi with the grand slam to compete a comeback win.
So guys, is Beckett not an ace for not giving his team a chance to win tonight?
Only a week ago, most of you here wanted the big G dfa’d despite a .800 OPS…. now hes up to .900 and in the top 25 in baseball. Big Papa is now at .806…
its amazing how fickle people can be. The guy has had a ton of bad luck with babip and now things normalise and people are eating their words
I wouldn’t want Huston Street as my closer.
wang is not an ace, that was a different scenerio and even after today’s game you can tell Joe is going to get him to listen to his catcher, he shook off Molina twice, he can’t continue that and be successful in this league as a SP. Who knows the hitters better Molina or him ? The trick will be now when he gets to 70 pitches how will he react in his patterns, he can’t pattern his pitches whenever he wants it’s not smart for his role. You show a change up or curve ball when you don’t have to then later on if a hitter sees you again he files it in memory how it breaks, how it drops the speed difference if it came off a shakeoff he sits on it the next time up. He’s doing the shakeoff less now so it won’t really be a problem under Girardi.
A’s 3 Sawx 0
1 hit for the Sawx… Sorry Duchscherer… you were close.
ONLY 5.5 games back now.
Wang vs. Washburn on TBS tomorrow. Day game. Be there or be square.
See ya.
wang is not an ace and David:
For the recored, in the last game that Joba shook off the catcher several times it was obvious he was shaking the catcher off to throw the slider. It was a pattern. The catcher and everyone else in the stadium saw it and Joba got beat that game because the opposing batters figured it out too. He’s a very inexperienced pitcher who is going to make mistakes like that at the MLB level and when he does he needs to be instructed not to make the same mistake again.
Yeah, as a one or two inning relief pitcher, 99% of the time he gets the job done because 99% of the time he’s thrown his fastball or used his slider in an appropriate situation. When he makes an obvious rookie mistake, that you two apparently don’t understand, Joba needs to be taken down a peg. It’s part of the learning process for a pitcher with the very limited MLB experience Joba has.
You two “experts” could learn something from SJ.
ummm Oakland won BTW
If not for Varitek’s HBP and Papi’s hit, Duchscherer would have thrown a perfect game… wow.
Brandon, what are you talking about? There was no difference in the scenario. Some people are missing the point. As we saw today, Joba can shake of the catcher. I don’t care if he’s doing it less. If he’s doing it less, that’s because he wants to, not because Girardi told him to. Girardi can’t say “you can shake off the catcher but only do it at the right times and not too often”. That doesn’t work. Joba Chamberlain is either allowed to shake of the catcher or he’s not. As we saw today, he is. He never did it a lot. He still doesn’t do it a lot. But the bottom line is Joba is allowed to shake off the catcher where he feels necessary and that’s not changing whether people think it’s right or not.
Has any team ever thrown a no-hitter and been no-hit in the same week??
Duchscherer’s line:
8 1 0 0 0 0 0
Wait murphydog, hold up… I think you had a memory lapse, so let me fill it in for you.
No matter how you want to twist the game where Joba got beat, he got beat on ONE pitch. He got beat on a fastball up that MOLINA called. So don’t try to twist it to make it seem like he got beat on a slider or something that he called. I repeat, Joba got beat on one single pitch, a fastball.
why does Beckett not look like Beckett this year. (he pitched well today, but still)
Anyhoo….Any Bay Area Yanks watching the series with the A’s in a couple of weeks? Where are the good seats to watch? I’m psyched! watching my first live Yankee game in almost 10 years!
David I seriously don’t understand what you said, as a rookie Joba does not know the hitters, Murphy Dog’s post basically saids it as it is.
“Joba shook off the catcher several times it was obvious he was shaking the catcher off to throw the slider. It was a pattern. The catcher and everyone else in the stadium saw it and Joba got beat that game because the opposing batters figured it out too. He’s a very inexperienced pitcher who is going to make mistakes like that at the MLB level and when he does he needs to be instructed not to make the same mistake again.”
simply put
Joba should watch Bull Durham a few times and realise it’s the catcher that calls the pitches. Maybe Crash could tutor him,,,,,,,
Brandon, what are you talking about? I don’t care if Joba knows the hitters or not (and that’s not for you to say, pitchers are briefed EXTENSIVELY on all the hitters before the game, he should have an idea of what he needs to do). The bottom line is the only pitch where it looked like he didn’t know the hitter was the fastball to David Dellucci that was smacked out of the park. Molina called that pitch. I’m not going to say Molina didn’t know the hitter, but Joba couldn’t have made a worse call himself if he shook Molina off.
Let’s consider the “who knows the hitter better” argument. If Molina knows the hitters so well that all pitchers should listen to him, why doesn’t the the rest of the staff all have a lower ERA than Joba since they don’t ostensibly shake off Molina as much.
Oh I see, it’s dependent on the pitcher’s stuff and ability to locate his pitches.
So there Joba was, striking people out left and right for months, shaking off catchers merrily without nary a whimper from SJ44 and crew. Then the first time a non-midge related bad outcome occurs, the newsgroups experts pile on him…perhaps not as much to blame Joba, but mainly to try to make themselves sound observant and smart (I’m sure that’s not hard to do, what’s the average IQ of the average sports blog reader anyway, 85?).
And going back to the Delucci nonsense. Joba didn’t blow the lead because he didn’t listen to Molina. He blew the lead because he couldn’t locate his pitches. The hindsight nostradamuses here seriously want to argue that if he had not shook off Molina, then what Joba threw instead of balls would’ve been guaranteed to be strikes?
Please.
David -
It’s pretty clear that you’re the one who doesn’t get it. You know why he HAD to throw that fastball? Because no one would swing at the sliders. Why? Because they knew they were coming. How? Because every time he’d shake off the catcher, it was to throw the slider. And, as a reliever, he’s not throwing his slider as a strike anymore, he’s using it as a swing and miss pitch. If they don’t offer at it, it’s pretty much always a ball. Thus, he had to throw the fastball because they wouldn’t offer at anyone else.
That’s called “insightful analysis”. Your point (DUUUUUH DELLUCCI HIT A FASTBALL DUUUUUUH) is…not so much.
“wang is not an ace and David:
For the recored, in the last game that Joba shook off the catcher several times it was obvious he was shaking the catcher off to throw the slider. It was a pattern. The catcher and everyone else in the stadium saw it and Joba got beat that game because the opposing batters figured it out too. He’s a very inexperienced pitcher who is going to make mistakes like that at the MLB level and when he does he needs to be instructed not to make the same mistake again.”
What kind of non sequitur crap is this? So you are seriously trying to claim if he had listened to Molina, he would’ve been guaranteed to throw strikes. I see you dwelled into the psyche of Joba: “oh gee I’m going to shake off Molina so I throw a ball on purpose” And Delucci hit a good pitch that was well located, sometimes the ball hits the bat even though the pitcher threw a good pitch, that’s called baseball. Learn it.
“Yeah, as a one or two inning relief pitcher, 99% of the time he gets the job done because 99% of the time he’s thrown his fastball or used his slider in an appropriate situation. When he makes an obvious rookie mistake, that you two apparently don’t understand, Joba needs to be taken down a peg. It’s part of the learning process for a pitcher with the very limited MLB experience Joba has. ”
See above.
“You two “experts†could learn something from SJ.”
Here’s another place where you’re wrong. Unlike SJ the pompous self-appointed “expert” (lol) and his groupies such as yourself, I don’t come here seeking to impress others and preach from a pedestal on the evils of baseball players for not being as smart as blog “experts”. My favorite hobby here is to expose hypocrisy and irrational bangwagon-ism, which you have just illustrated amply via your post.
“I don’t come here seeking to impress others”
Speaking of hypocrisy…
My god first of all it was a Yankee Stadium HR, you tip your hat at that point, but you failed to mention Sizemore’s AB when Joba shook off Molina and Sizemore knew it’s not a fastball so he let him throw the curve, then laid off the slider, instant BB, Carroll then laid a bunt to move Sizemore into scoring position, Peralta was the next batter from pitch 3,4,5 & 6 it was shakeoff FB to CB, shakeoff FB to SL, shakeoff FB to SL, shakeoff FB to SL, then he threw a FB for a strikeout instead of trying to get him to hit it to his infielders. Eiland came in told him throw your fastball, two pitches 2 out, then Dellucci an experienced batter just beat him because he missed the inside corner. (Molina called he right pitch he missed his spot) but the 2 batters that got on could have been prevented.
Jesus isn’t it just simple to know a 22 yr. old is does not scout hitters better than his veteran catcher or are you guys believing Molina is there just because he catches a ball.
“It’s pretty clear that you’re the one who doesn’t get it. You know why he HAD to throw that fastball? Because no one would swing at the sliders. Why? Because they knew they were coming. How? Because every time he’d shake off the catcher, it was to throw the slider. And, as a reliever, he’s not throwing his slider as a strike anymore, he’s using it as a swing and miss pitch. If they don’t offer at it, it’s pretty much always a ball. Thus, he had to throw the fastball because they wouldn’t offer at anyone else.
That’s called “insightful analysisâ€. Your point (DUUUUUH DELLUCCI HIT A FASTBALL DUUUUUUH) is…not so much.”
it’s like trying to prove the sky is blue
whozat, I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. He had no control that night. None of his pitches were working. And don’t give me that slider balogne. If he’s throwing the slider well they still swing at it. Like wang is not an ace said, his problem was that he couldn’t locate that night. You’re right, they all knew he couldn’t locate his slider, that’s why Dellucci was sitting on the fastball. When Joba’s slider is working hitters swing.
So yeah, he tried to go to the slider, he didn’t have it, so the knowledgeable veteran catcher called the fastball that he had to know Joba probably wasn’t going to be able to locate and Dellucci was sitting on it…
But it doesn’t really matter what anyone here says. The bottom line is Joba is allowed to shake off the catcher, Girardi doesn’t have a problem with it, and we’ve seen no signs that it’s going to change so it’s a moot argument.
relax on giambi being back the guy is hitting less then 240, do it for 2 months not 2 weeks.
cano is a piece of work. this is why people get so mad at him 4 hits again and tommorrow he can get out 3 times on 4 pitches.
baltimore is starting to comeback to reality fast…..they cannot hit at all..
“I don’t come here seeking to impress othersâ€
Speaking of hypocrisy…”
Ah the old combo. Unable to contest my arguments with reason, so result to non sequiturs and ad hominems. A strawman is coming up every second now.
Look, I can’t help it if you find my post impressive.
“May 24th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
My god first of all it was a Yankee Stadium HR, you tip your hat at that point, but you failed to mention Sizemore’s AB when Joba shook off Molina and Sizemore knew it’s not a fastball so he let him throw the curve, then laid off the slider, instant BB, Carroll then laid a bunt to move Sizemore into scoring position, Peralta was the next batter from pitch 3,4,5 & 6 it was shakeoff FB to CB, shakeoff FB to SL, shakeoff FB to SL, shakeoff FB to SL, then he threw a FB for a strikeout instead of trying to get him to hit it to his infielders. Eiland came in told him throw your fastball, two pitches 2 out, then Dellucci an experienced batter just beat him because he missed the inside corner. (Molina called he right pitch he missed his spot) but the 2 batters that got on could have been prevented. ”
Let’s assume what you said is the exact sequence (and train of thought for the parties involved) as transpired.
Then we can draw 1 of 2 conclusions:
* there’s a rule in baseball that says catcher’s first choice must be a FB, that’s how Sizemore and Peralta automagically know it’s not a FB as soon as Joba shakes off anything.
corollary: Molina is a moron who always calls for a fastball as first choice, so anytime the pitcher shakes off anything the hitters know what’s coming.
Or maybe there’s a more plausible conclusion.
It would not have made a damn difference if Joba got his breaking balls over, or Delucci got under that last Joba FB by another 0.5 of an inch.
Ichiro is a funny guy. He’s got quite the sense of humor. I like him as a player.
I hope Farnsworth grows a moustache. That might help. Unfortunately Girardi believes in him while the rest of us wish he would just go away.
Ichiro in Japanese: “I hope he brings out the best in me. I look forward to the challenge.”
Shakespeare Generator Translation: “I hope he arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger.”
http://tinyurl.com/3sptmd
Lets be clear… SJ and everyone else who thinks Giambi is a detriment to the team are absolutely right. He has been hitting recently but his history shows that he will stop soon and/or get injured. The point being missed is that his defense is abysmal. Stats dont tell the story on the impact of his inability to make basic throws, lack of range, etc. If he was exclusively a DH his negative impact would be mitigated. But he’s not. Matsui and Damon are superior players to Giambi and would have to split time if he dh’d. I still think Duncan can contribute if put into a real platoon with Giambi/Abreu/Damon. Matsui should be in the lineup as much as possible. He is a superb situational hitter who is improving as he regains strength from injuries.
Saw a post re A’s vs Yanks. I will go to at least one game. But this year the Yanks come into town only once and during the week. Usually they come on the weekend and it seems more often recently – twice. That said, the A’s park is awful. It is a lousy football stadium that also has baseball. But I am going with my long time friend who is also from New York. If anyone wants to get together for a Yankee game – let me know. shawnbak@gmail.com
On Ichiro
A couple of years ago Ichiro was with Costas on HBO and was asked the funniest joke he’d ever heard in English. It’s linked here on Youtube (*be forewarned, technically speaking, there is an obscenity) and may not be as funny out of context, but if I recall, it was the only English he spoke in the interview and at the time it may have been the funniest thing I’d ever heard. Stomach hurting, tear jerking funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtImIqR5neU
If there were one player in baseball (besides Jeter) that I’d pay a service fee to see play, it’d be the Great Ichiro.
First ballot.