Today in The Journal News
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- June
- 5
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Mike Mussina pitched six strong innings as the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak. It was also a milestone night for Derek Jeter.
Jorge Posada needs surgery, but is back. This notebook also has updates on Jason Giambi, Brian Bruney and Dan Giese.
Jays-Yanks this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. We’ll also keep you updated on the draft. Check back later and all through the day.
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on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 3:32 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Like Mussina says baseball is a funny game…..I remember watching Josh Beckett his first year with the Red Sox and saying the Sox made a bad trade when Hanley Ramirez looked great and Sanchez pitched a no-hitter for the Marlins..then Beckett is dominant last fall as the Sox win the WS…..I mention this b/c if in a year or 2 Jaba is our ace, #1 starter in the playoffs vs. lets say the Angels and he shuts them down over 8 innings and we win that series and go on to win the WS we will all say that this time with Jaba was worth it…..we have all been clamoring for a #1 starter….most will agree that Jaba has the stuff to be a #1 so I will be patient and think about the future….its hard but I think we will all be happy in a couple of years with this move…any thoughts???
Mike Mussina has 259 wins. Huh… Sort of snuck up on us. He’s always just kind of been there. I would be hard pressed to come with a single time he made me say,”Wow!” Well, carry on, Moose.
The draft @ 2:00PM today :
All high school seniors, 2-year college players and 4-year college juniors and seniors are eligible.
Any player whose 21st birthday is within 45 days of today is elibible.
Select well Damon Oppenheimer and staff …
MELANCON EARNS WIN IN EXTRAS AS TRENTON DEFEATS CONNECTICUT 3-1 IN 12 INNINGS
Trenton scored the two go-ahead runs in the 12th inning and went on for a 3-1 victory over Connecticut on Wednesday night at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT. Thunder reliever Mark Melancon tossed 3 shutout IP to earn the win.
http://www.trentonthunder.com/
Mussina and Wang, pass the Golden Thong.
Jeff NJ June 5th, 7:59AM
Too bad Giese couldn’t have stuck around longer. I like what I’ve read. I’m sure he’s a good clubhouse guy, and at 31 he’s running out of time.
For those who believe Cashman is on a short rope, I suggest you read Kevin Kernan’s column in the NY Post today.
It will put that belief to rest.
wow, more good news out of trenton, kontos is really pitching well and melancon is lights-out! they may need to move melancon up to scranton pretty soon, he’s making aa ball look too easy.
melancon:(17.2IP, 10H, 2BB, 15K, 1.53era .068whip.
“we will all say that this time with Jaba was worth it”
I already think that, regardless of how it turns out.
“”The pitchers have to give me a chance,” Posada said. “But if they don’t give me a chance, I really can’t rush. I’m going to be under control and under two (seconds). That’s all they can ask of me.”
I don’t like the sound of this. Just hoping other teams don’t try to steal every other batter to wear out his arm. Posada saying he really cant rush is like Joba saying “I have a pitch count.” We all know what happened there.
sure would like to see them send melancon up to scranton before we go to the game on saturday!
iv been to 3 trenton games but haven’t seen him yet.
for you new jersey fans, it looks like aa senstaion alfredo aceves will be pitching in trenton on wednesday. (which is also melky cabrera bobblehead day!)
aceves: 23 IP, 18 H, 1 BB, 18 K, 0.78 ERA, 0.83 whip!!!
he’s also pitching this morning at 10:30 at connecticut.
i’m really concerned about jorge behind the plate. i think teams will run wild on him and i think if he gets pissed about it and tries to really blast one down to second, we will lose him for the season.
If you have XM satellite radio, the entire draft will be carried, today and tomorrow, on XM 188.
They also carry PGA stuff.
Go figure.
ACEves, hmmm I like the sound of that.
“I don’t like the sound of this. Just hoping other teams don’t try to steal every other batter to wear out his arm. Posada saying he really cant rush is like Joba saying “I have a pitch count.†We all know what happened there.”
Going to happen anyway, Russell. Teams ran wild on Posada last year when he wasn’t hurt. He’s just not that great it. He’s there for his offense and his knowledge of the staff and his ability to manage them thru games. His defensive skills as a catcher quite frankly are not very good.
Why? It doesn’t matter who the pitcher is, he always has to give the catcher a chance to throw out the runner.
“i’m really concerned about jorge behind the plate. i think teams will run wild on him and i think if he gets pissed about it and tries to really blast one down to second, we will lose him for the season.”
How would that be different than if he’d just chosen to have the surgery? He’d have been gone for the season anyway.
I also think Carl Pavano could learn a thing or two from Jorge.
“i’m really concerned about jorge behind the plate. i think teams will run wild on him and i think if he gets pissed about it and tries to really blast one down to second, we will lose him for the season.”
Agree that they’ll run wild on him, but Posada is a pretty bright guy with a very measured temperment. I don’t think he does anything stupid.
“i’m really concerned about jorge behind the plate. i think teams will run wild on him and i think if he gets pissed about it and tries to really blast one down to second, we will lose him for the season.â€
i kind of agree with this… he’s already acknowledged that he’ll need surgery to repair the shoulder after the season, so isnt it really a matter of time before one of these throws that he tries to make will be the straw that broke the camel’s back?
i personally think Jorge should start getting reacquainted and comfortable with his 1B mitt, or warm that pine for the DH’ing he’ll be doing.
I would think they wouldn’t let him play if they think he could do serious damage making a throw.
That said, like you said he won’t do anything stupid.
I just realized next week the Yankees play in Oakland. Damn 10 pm games.
i know its not a good option, but id just not put him behind the plate. use him at dh or 1B or off the bench as a ph (we will have 2 other c’s anyway). i know this limits them alot, but i think its better than risking losing him for the season.
Looking back at drafts past on baseballreference.com last night.
I still get a chuckle when looking at the ‘06 draft where the Yanks grabbed Joba in the sandwich round with the 41st pick (which they got for Tom Gordon). Not that the Sox are losing sleep over much the past few years, but selecting Kris Johnson, a soft tossng lefty who’s doing moderately well in AA, with the 40th pick (which they got for Damon)when they could have had Joba must give someone up there nightmares.
Hopefully Jorge will be well enough to catch the entire season. I predict we will see an improvement with the pitching staff. Jorge knows who’s face he can it in, and how to handle them. We are hearing more this year how he is a vocal clubhouse guy.
Just watch! They turn it around tonight!
remember the last time he came back after resting it, im pretty sure it was tampa who was running wild, then he threw a guy out and he went on the dl a couple days later.
also, how much is it going to hurt us if he’s behind the plate and cant throw anyone out? or how much will it hurt if the pitchers try to speed up thier deliveries to give jorge a chance to throw a guy out?
i understand why they want him behind the plate, it would be nice to get molina out of he everday lineup, but this seems really risky.
jorge is such a gamer, when the game’s on the line and he needs to throw a guy out, i cant imagine him just letting the guy go, he will push it, because he is a tough and proud guy.
“i know its not a good option, but id just not put him behind the plate. use him at dh or 1B or off the bench as a ph (we will have 2 other c’s anyway). i know this limits them alot, but i think its better than risking losing him for the season.”
Can’t do that w/o losing a bat somewhere. Damon is actually having himself a pretty nice season so far and Giambi and Matsui are hitting well. Melky’s weakass bat is the weak link, but you can’t sit him since he’s the only player on the team who can cover CF effectively.
“i know its not a good option, but id just not put him behind the plate. use him at dh or 1B or off the bench as a ph (we will have 2 other c’s anyway). i know this limits them alot, but i think its better than risking losing him for the season.”
agreed. i think you have to value his bat much more at this point than his ability to call a game behind the plate. if you have any hope to make a run for the playoffs, you cannot afford to lose Jorge again this season, and you need him at as close to 100% as possible.
with Giambi now nursing that stupid foot injury you know he cant play 1B everyday, or else you risk losing potentially the best bat the team has had this season so far. he’s now your everyday DH. who plays 1B? Shelley? Betemit?
perfect opportunity for Jorge to be in the lineup everyday w/o having to make 150 throws with that injured shoulder a game.
“Melky’s weakass bat is the weak link, but you can’t sit him since he’s the only player on the team who can cover CF effectively.”
i might add, though, that Melky seems to me to be a completely different hitter from the left side than the right. he looks much more comfortable and confident.
I have to say I’ve never seen Melancon pitch, but from everything I’ve read and by tracking his outings this kid is the real deal. He’ll be pitching in the Bronx at some point soon and help in solidifying the bullpen. He’s a stud. Very important piece for the 2008 Yanks, book it.
The thing about guys like Mussina and Jeter, they are so good at what they do and have done that there is a tendency to remember the bad games and failures. Their personal victories and achievements are so numerous they run together and are difficult to remember most of the time.
Interesting how when the tables get turned Maddon turns into a big baby. During spring training barreling over a catcher is playing GOOD HARD BASEBALL. But a baserunner going in hard into second is trying to hurt someone.
Btw I’d like to see the video, anyone know where I can find it?
i’m aware that if he dh’s someone else sits, thats why i said i know its not a good option, but i think its the best option given the circumstances.
found a picture.
http://multimedia.heraldintera.....052008.jpg
Looks alittle like Shelley
i still say cervelli blocked the plate and got bowled over as a result. tough to break a wrist, but if you block the plate, you have to expect to get knocked down.
I think Cano is worse than Melky. If Cano could get straightened out we wouldn’t be concerned about what Melky is doing. Could it be that Melky is trying harder to help pick up his buddy?
The baseball draft tends to be very unpredictable because of the slotting system.
Once again, there’s a lot of turmoil at the top.
Buster Posey a catcher from Florida State has been rumored to be Tampa Bay’s choice as the #1 pick (him vs. high school shortstop Tim Beckham).
But evidently last nigh it came out that Posey was asking for a $12 million dollars to sign.
That is an outrageous amount of money, especially for the type of talent he is. He’s not a front ling pitcher and he’s not a once in a lifetime kind of athetic talent. Last year, Matt Wieters, also a catcher, and a much better prospect than Posey, got a $6 million.
What makes this interesting is that no one is going to believe Posey is serious. Agents do this all the time. They try to price their players out of the budget range of certain teams so that they fall lower to teams they have an informal agreement with to pay that player X amount – with the X amount being greter than what the commissioner’s slotting system dictates (even the slot for the #1 pick).
It’s going to be an interesting day.
http://baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=893
“Melky’s weakass bat is the weak link, but you can’t sit him since he’s the only player on the team who can cover CF effectively.â€
i might add, though, that Melky seems to me to be a completely different hitter from the left side than the right. he looks much more comfortable and confident.
I agree with that. Im afraid that little streak of Hr’s actually made him believe he was a power hitter and he is over swinging from both sides.
Caught some of that game last night. Think Maddon may have been a little frustrated over Upton getting tossed earlier in that game. Don’t agree with his assessment of the play with Crisp/Iwamura, but I like Maddon. Think he’s done a great job.
BTW, anyone ever check out Upton’s arm from center??? Makes Melky look like Damon by comparison. Incredible outfield arm.
Y’s Guy, yes Cervelli was blocking the plate, but putting your shoulder down and doing a football tackle isn’t quite the same as a normal running over the catcher.
Maddon just can’t take Hard Ball played against his team, but thinks its fine going the other way.
im not worried about melky at all, he’s doing great in my book, playing very good D, runners dont even think about running on him anymore, and he’s contributing what he can at the plate. this is CF after all, its more important to go get em than to him em out.
but if jorge is limited to dh/1B, you have to make a decision occasionally to sacrifice his D for some offense, especially against lefties.
Did Posey shoot up the draft boards? And wasn’t even considered a top first round pick earlier this year?
Jennifer – there’s a prelude to the Crisp slide. In the sixth inning, SS Bartlett dropped his knee in front of the bag (and on Crisp’s thumb) on another steal attempt. Crisp took exception, and went in hard later in the game. He had hoped that Bartlett would cover again, but the second baseman covered instead.
W/O getting too much into the unwritten rules, the protocol for tagging runners out on the bases is different than at home plate, where the catcher is “allowed” to block the plate (even before the ball ariives).
Happy draft day everybody!
i disagree about cervelli, when a guy blocks the plate, he’s gonna get hit. most catchers not wearing pinstripes said when it happened that he shouldnt have blocked the plate in ST, but since he did, he should have expected the crash. that was just 2 aa guys trying to impress thier managers with hard-nosed play in a ST game.
duncan’s slide and apparently crisp’s slide were just dirty plays.
Posey had an enormous year. He’s a golden spikes candidate. On top of that he’s had a great finish to the season. He’s considered a no doubt top 5 pick, probably top 3 and was the guy TB supposedly liked the most at #1.
I think Cano is worse than Melky. If Cano could get straightened out we wouldn’t be concerned about what Melky is doing. Could it be that Melky is trying harder to help pick up his buddy?
When Cano is on his game, he’s a top flight hitter. When Melky is on his, he’s still a barely average MLB offensive player.
Melky was hitting well in the beginning of the season. As Cano has been doing poorly, Melky has fallen off. If Melky is pressing trying to pick up Cano a bit, he will see his hits going down.
Melky was able to fly under the radar because most of the team wasn’t hitting.
But as that changes, any flaws Melky has at the plate will stand out even more.
im a huge yankees fan and i took a ton of crap for saying the cervelli play was clean, but iv been a big baseball fan for 40+ years and ive seen this block/crash thing played out 1000 times with the uni’s changing colors every time. my opinion has always been the same, if you block the plate, expect to get hit, thats what they taught us in little league when i was a kid (collisions were legal in the valley stream mail league back in the 60’s)
if you dont think guys should bowl of a catcher blocking the plate in an exhibition game, check out the pete rosecrash at the plate in the all star game and tell me if he dropped his shoulder.
CB, SJ44,,,,I posted late last night ( NY time ) some feedback on Gerrit Cole…It’s on the Game Day site…..Also in today’s Orange County Register, there’s a featured piece on him……I’l catch up with guys later….I’ve got to catch a flight to San Fran….Go Lakers……
Melky was a major part of the offense, such as it was, during the first month. I don’t expect a ton of hitting from Melky, but he can hit for some power. He may show some improvement once Posada is back and has some more protection around him.
I don’t think Melky is a great hitter, but he is decent and had been doing it from both sides in the early part of the season.
Pat M.,
I looked for your post this morning as I figured you might not have gotten a chance to put it up until late.
Thanks so much. That was a great take on Cole. He does sound like the real deal.
The only problem now is that if he doesn’t fall far enough it just makes it that much worse….
If the tigers pick him this year I’m not going to be happy.
here is the article PAT M. is referring to…
http://www.ocregister.com/arti.....llege-high
Y’s Guy, I’ve been a baseball fan for even longer. Cervelli’s blocking of the plate didn’t warrent the hit he got. You don’t see many players bowling over catchers who are blocking the plate these days, and most times, if they have the ball, it doesn’t work.
“SS Bartlett dropped his knee in front of the bag (and on Crisp’s thumb) on another steal attempt”
did he hurt widdle coco’s feelings?
we’ll just have to agree to disagree then. your observation that guys dont do it as much anymore is true, but the rules havent changed (although i wish they would call interference on the c when he blocks the plate w/o the ball)
alot of catchers dont block the whole plate anymore, alot of times they just block the front half or try for the swipe tag. and runners dont crash them anymore for fear of injury. but that doesnt change the rules.
The Rays are making quite a number of enemies of the teams they face. No?
Good stuff, thanks Pat M.
I believe Melky is 10 for his last 25. I don’t think he’s the problem with the offense.
With all the names on this team, if Melky has to be the offensive force, they have problems.
The Yankees usually go the college pitcher route, unless someone exceptional (like Hughes) drops to them.
It will be interesting to see if anyone falls today. Lots of talk that we won’t see as many guys falling as previous years. It seems more team are ignoring Selig’s slotting desires.
Buster Posey is a stud. He started out as a SS at FSU. He was fast enough to beat some of the RB’s at FSU in foot races as a freshman.
He was moved to catcher and has a plus arm. His bat is off the charts.
He played in the best baseball conference in America and hit .470. That ain’t bad.
He’s probably the closest to ML ready among position players in the draft.
The Rays have a lot of heat on them to draft him since he’s somewhat of a “hometown” kid. Will be interesting to see if they do.
can someone tell me how this happens? For any of you going to the Scranton game this Saturday (Pete, I don’t know if you’ve seen this yet), I just looked up the rotation and who we will be seeing. None other than the masterful Kei Igawa
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....pdate.aspx
We miss Horne’s first start back from the DL by ONE day! I hope this applies to someone here, cause I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening.
Melky has been productive he has 26 RBI’s hitting 9th with Molina hitting 8th.
Melky is not the next superstar CF but he is more then adequate…
“Thanks so much. That was a great take on Cole. He does sound like the real deal.”
Some mocks have him out the 1st round. Violent delivery, not very mature physically and even less so mentally.
In case anyone didn’t catch it. From mlb.com (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/transactions/index.jsp):
Cincinnati Reds
Placed INF/OF Ryan Freel on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring; Recalled OF Corey Patterson from Triple-A Louisville.
BTW, anybody hoping Eric Hosmer drops, forget it.
The Royals were in Fort Lauderdale en masse meeting with him and his family the last two days.
I’ll be shocked if they don’t take him at #3.
If the Tigers take Cole, I hope Josh Fields is available. I’d grab him if I am the Yankees.
Great arm and could be ready for the bullpen very quickly.
cam, ill be there, too. its just what happens when you try to schedule a road trip to a game several weeks in advance.
i live in philly, so i can choose who i go see in trenton on a game by game basis, but picking a date out a month or more in advance means you get pot luck on who the SP is and even who’s on the team.
we should all wear cool shades, though!
looking forward to seeing pete and everybody who’s coming, and thanks to ron for setting it up.
“Melky is not the next superstar CF but he is more then adequate…”
Not really. He needs to be getting on base more. And his improvement at the plate is directly correlated to facing right handed pitching more frequently. He was having good ABs early against lefty pitchers; he’s been in a slump from the right side and he really needs to turn that around.
I hope Tanner Scheppers falls.
I know theres virtually no chance, but maybe some people will be scared by his shoulder injury.
“BTW, anybody hoping Eric Hosmer drops, forget it.”
Doesn’t sound like there will be too much in the way of “signability issue” guys dropping to the low end of the 1st. Sounds like even the Pirates will pony up for Alvarez.
I’ve read that the Royals have Hosmer as the top overall player on their board. That’s how much they like him. They’re also not afraid about dealing with Boras.
Though if Posey doesn’t go 1 or 2 I wonder if the Royals take a flier on him?
Speaking of the royals – I was really surprised to see Billy Butler struggle so much and get sent down to AAA. If there was a young player you’d think would hit Billy Butler was the guy.
Fredo –
On Posada: I wasn’t questioning Posada’s overall ability. I was questioning his ability to play up to his level. Posada is not a poor defensive catcher.
On Melky: Yanks should give Gardner a shot. Mix and match a little bit. Obviously you can’t take Damon out of left but a combo of Melky, Damon, and Gardner in the late innings to protect a lead would be awesome speed in the outfield.
” The Rays are making quite a number of enemies of the teams they face. No?”
bartlett was trained like everyone one in the twins organization to do the little things that win games. when a runner chooses to slide head first it gives him an advantage over the runner who goes in feet first.
bartlett took away that advantage by dropping the knee. sounds like a heads up play to me.
Randy – If Coco’s feelings are hurt now, they’ll be hurt even more after the expected brushback in tonite’s game. I had hoped that our beanball wars with these guys was a thing of the past (transferred to Shelly and the Yankees), but I fear a resumption is in order.
Cam – Igawa is elite. You should be so lucky =X
Tanner Scheppers medicals are still very hazy.
Yesterday Keith Law said Scheppers had an impingement in his shoulder that was affecting his rotator cuff. How much it was affecting it he didn’t say.
He did say that Seattle’s doctor’s though the impingement was within reason to still draft him. But its hard to see a team taking a guy with any kind of rotator cuff injury or potential injury in the first round.
It’s one thing to take a chance on a guy with elbow problems. Shoulders are entirely different.
Interestingly, Law also said that Scheppers’s agents were still asking for top 4 money – as in top 4 pick money, not top 4 round money.
Something is going on with that. Again, this could be a lot of smoke and mirrors to get him to fall.
“use him at dh or 1B or off the bench as a ph (we will have 2 other c’s anyway). i know this limits them alot, but i think its better than risking losing him for the season.”
Who would you sit between Matsui, Damon, and Giambi. At the present time none of them deserves not to play.
The only way I see him DH’ing is if they play against lefties.
Randy, I really don’t think that play was bad, but seeing how fired up the Saux became, and how those two teams are not exactly friendly anyway, it seems the Rays are making other teams angry.
That play wasn’t a big deal. What it lead to could be.
Randy – Our respective loyalties aside, don’t you think that the prevailing protocol is that fielders don’t “block” the bases? Very few do it, regardless of the type of slide, and I vaguely recall a dustup a few years ago on a pickoff attempt, where the fielder all but sat on the base as he waited for the ball to arrive. The runner was called out, but there was a lot of jawing and milling about afterwards.
With as well as the Rays have been doing to this point, they are a target anyway. Expect to see them played much harder because of their “hard” play.
Who knows, maybe the Rays will have teams playing as if they are in a hockey game.
ray, i said above that against LH pitchers you have to just bite the bullet and put damon in CF or sit giambi and put jorge at first.
the first thing i said was that they were bad choices, but anything is better than losing jorge’s bat for the season.
CB-
Yeah his medicals are a little up in the air..
But he really just started pitching. He doesn’t have as many innings on his arm as a lot of guys. He’s pretty new to pitching.
It could just be a case of needing to build arm strength.
Who knows though? It’s just so hard to judge.
Let’s hope that Yonder Alonso drops to us. I mean, there is no way it happens, but one can hope.
“On Posada: I wasn’t questioning Posada’s overall ability. I was questioning his ability to play up to his level. Posada is not a poor defensive catcher.”
Disagree Russ. Doesn’t block the plate well, routinely is at or near the top of the league in passed balls and only Greg Zaun was catcher for more SB’s aganst last year.
He not hideous back there, but he’s ranks in the lower half of the AL catchers defensively. His bat and ability to handle the staff more than outweigh his defensive deficiencies, but they exist nonetheless.
If the Rays don’t know how to win, expect them to see knocked down a few pegs by other teams.
@ Y’s Guy: Yeah, I was afraid something like this would happen though. I’m driving 2 hours to get there so I was hoping I’d at least get to see some promising kid or something, but my luck would be Igawa. I think it makes it worse that Horne is pitching the next day. Why do these things happen!? Ahhhh! And yes, we should all wear the coolest shades we can find.
@ Russell NY: Oh, I know he’s elite. An elite piece of poo!
“ray, i said above that against LH pitchers you have to just bite the bullet and put damon in CF or sit giambi and put jorge at first.”
I didn’t see this until after I posted.
“the first thing i said was that they were bad choices, but anything is better than losing jorge’s bat for the season.”
I still don’t think it’s a good move, you’re going to lose a good bat regardless if he’s hurt or if he’s DH’ing or playing 1B.
cam, im hoping they send melacon up to scranton when trenton finishes with connecticut this morning. but i doubt it.
Unfortunately for Posada and the Yanks the top 2 teams in the league in Stolen Bases are in AL East. It’s going to be an adventure for the Yanks when Posada is catching.
Also one more thing to worry Posada is that even though he had a similar surgery in the off-season in 2001 and recovered quickly from it. Now it is different. In 2001 he was 28 years old. At the end of the season he will be 37 and I think it will take longer to recover as you get older unless u r Clemens.
Melky’s offense is not our problem. We have a .300 hitter in Cano batting in the low .200s. He is more of a problem than Melky.
“He not hideous back there, but he’s ranks in the lower half of the AL catchers defensively. His bat and ability to handle the staff more than outweigh his defensive deficiencies, but they exist nonetheless.”
By David Pinto’s probabilistic model of range, one of the better defensive statistical approaches, Posada was the 5th best defensive catcher in baseball.
That model has limitations in assessing catchers.
So if you can use another method to also see what kind of defensive player Posada is.
By Clay Davenport’s runs above average system at Baseball Prospectus Posada was -4 runs worse than a league average catcher in 2007. In 2006 Posada was 9 runs better than a league average catcher. In 2005 he was 3 runs worse than a league average catcher. This system takes into account throwing/ stolen bases against.
And not that its a great stat, but last year Posada had the 4th highest fielding percentage for any AL catcher.
Posada may not be a top 5 defensive catcher but there’s no evidence to indicate that he’s “hideous.”
He’s probably around league average or a little better.
Y’s guy, that would definitely make up for it a bit. It would definitely be nice to see someone who could impact the club this year. As it is now, I’m most excited to see Gardner, but also very curious about Duncan since he’s been doing pretty well lately.
“Our respective loyalties aside, don’t you think that the prevailing protocol is that fielders don’t “block†the bases? Very few do it, regardless of the type of slide”
brian (red sox fan)-
i agree not many infielders do it , but that’s the reason the twins are always a decent to good team. bartlett didn’t get to the majors by not doing the little things. it’s old school baseball. coco should know to slide with his fist closed.
the problem the red sox are having with the rays is that the red sox are a macho team and the new rays are trying on the macho act. two machos don’t mix well. i think they should have a big brawl and take no prisoners. don’t worry about injuries. who’s tougher is at stake. i’ll bet beckett could take kazmir.
What CB said ^^ lol
Any chance today that, right before picking, the Rays say something to the extent of “We are giving the Yanks our #1 pick because we don’t want to upset them and have our luxury tax taken away” ?
“Tim Beckham will be No. 1″ in the draft today by the Rays.
Keith Law: