Comments on: Today in The Journal News

By: Poor Yorick

Poor Yorick — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:36:27 +0000

this was a great thread to read through.

randy and sj good as always, but jerkface articulated a different pov that made the converstion really interesting. is this the same jerkface who posts at nomaas? (can’t be too many guys who choose that handle.) would like to see more of him here, cause this particular conversation would be impossible over there. the place is too dogmatic – it’s the spanish inquisition of yankee boards.

By: JJJJ

JJJJ — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:30:57 +0000

Giambi’s D hasn’t been that much of a liability and not the reason for the poor record. His poor start to the year with the BAT was a problem….Cano hitting like Ray Charles is a bigger problem….ARod and Jorge going down taking away all of the right handed power is an even bigger problem….lack of hitting with RISP a bigger problem yet…and the two kids getting smoked every 4th and 5th day is the biggest problem! Let’s face it guys and dolls, there are MANY holes to fix on this team this year.

In house solutions? Not that many… yet. DFA Ensburg, send Duncan down, send Ross O down, DL Kennedy and trade Hawkins for a new ballgirl. Call up JB Cox, Lane, Gardner and either Geis, Melancon, Robertson or McCutchen. Jorge will be back soon…and hopefully we are still afloat at the trade deadline. We NEED a lefty in the pen….amongst many other components.

By: joeman

joeman — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:03:29 +0000

I hate to say it & I’m a true Key fan but DJ is starting to lose it,not the player he once was

By: younguns

younguns — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:30:50 +0000

Correction:

Defense is overrated only until youâ€™re routinely losing without it.

By: younguns

younguns — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:28:11 +0000

Oh how it makes me laugh to hear people here suddenly scream about just how important DEFENSE is at First Base!!

I remember fondly how the know-it-alls here were spouting about how much more important it was to have an offense-producing player at first & how these same people could not wait to show the door to Andy Philips & his glove last year.

What we now have is an offensive-minded player at first who can’t hit & who’s always been defensively-challenged. Oh, did I forget that he’s also making $22 million?

Defense is underrated only until you’re routinely losing without it.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:55:28 +0000

Ham_fighter: I wasn’t happy about those guys going either. People talk about how Philips didn’t have any pop, but I remember him being a spark off the bench when the team wasn’t doing well. And Doug Alphabet Soup’s defense at 1B was the best I’d seen in a long time. He couldn’t hit but I’d risk losing an at-bat in exchange for good defense on the other end.

By: ham_fighter

ham_fighter — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:47:19 +0000

one more thing, several people have said all this bitching about the bench is hindsight, but thats not true. several ppl on here besides me were outraged when they let both mienkiewicz and phillips go and i was saying all ST that we needed someone on the bench who could pinch run for all our slow-footed players.

By: ham_fighter

ham_fighter — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:45:03 +0000

obviously i meant to say milar was safe.

By: ham_fighter

ham_fighter — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:44:21 +0000

our poor defense at 1b HAS hurt us a few times this week. giambi’s throw to third vs. the mariners and in the same game a ball hit no more than 3 feet to his right goes through for a single. last night the same thing with betamit, a ball 4 feet inside the line, he doesnt even come close to which whould have allowed the go-ahead run to score had the ump not blown the call at home (milar was out!)

anybody who thinks our bad 1B play hasnt or wont hurt us isnt watching whats going on.

and for those who say 1B isnt an important defensive position, consider that teams are bunching thier LH hitters against us b/c we have no lefties in the pen and opposing managers are keeping a LH bat on the bench for late inning situations. thats why 1B becomes an important defensive position in late game situations.

1B defense may not be our worst problem, but to let 2 good defensive 1B go in the offseason and replace them with ensberg/betamit is ridiculous.

By: bigjf

bigjf — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:28:53 +0000

Brandon:

“bigjf as much as I rip Jason, he has improved immensely, he now is starting to hit like that Oakland player we paid for.”

Seems like that part about Giambi was pointed at me, unless you just like saying my name…Again, I never mentioned anything about Giambi this morning.