Game 71: Padres at Yankees
-
- June
- 17
(Check all the updates for news. Lots of stuff today)
YANKEES (37-33)
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Pettitte LHP
Andy Pettitte (6-5, 4.64) vs. the San Diego hitters.
Randy Wolf (5-4, 3.83) vs. the New York hitters.
Notes: With CMW on the DL, Billy Traber has been recalled from Scranton. He comes equipped with a new slider. … The teams are playing for the first time since 2004 when the Yankees took two of three at the Stadium. … The Yankees have won four straight, five of six and seven of their last nine. … Pettitte was terrific in his last start, holding Oakland to one run over eight innings. He is 3-1, 2.74 against the Padres in his career. … Andy is tied with Ron Guidry with 170 wins as a Yankee. That’s fourth in team history. Lefty Gomez is third at 189.
Back later with some updates.
UPDATE, 5:10 p.m.: Dan Giese is officially the starter for Saturday. … Spoke to Chien-Ming Wang. He said he was injured while running on the grass past third base. It came when he pushed off his leg. He will have to wear the boot for 6 weeks even when he’s sleeping. He hopes to come back in September. “I’m going to do rehab every day,” he said. “I’ll try.”
Wang got a supportive text message from Larry Bowa, who told him not to let this injury keep him down. Ron Guidry, who is very close with Wang, called him.
“You can pitch,,” Guidry told him, jokingly. “But you can’t run.”
Wang also is in favor of using the DH in interleague games. “Better for the pitcher,” he said.
You have to feel bad for the kid. The Yankees fought him for $600,000 in arbitration. And now this freak injury will cost him money if they go to arbitration next year.
UPDATE, 5:15 p.m.: Don’t know if you’re watching Omar Minaya’s press conference. But it’s a total disgrace. He’s actually blaming the media, saying the atmosphere around the team forced him to fire the manager.
How can you be an executive in New York and think that way? Ask Ernie Accorsi and Jerry Reese, who stuck with Tom Coughlin and won the Super Bowl.
Minaya goes next. It’s just a matter of when. Over/under is the All-Star break.
UPDATE, 5:19 p.m.: Here’s Hal Steinbrenner on Wang’s injury:
“I think we’re going to stick to the young guys. We’re always out there looking, researching, doing our recon work, and we’ll continue to do that. Losing Wang hurts us, he’s our ace, but the good news is it looks like he’s going to be back before the end of the season, and I know we’ll need him.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries this year and every one of them’s upsetting, but you strengthen your resolve and keep pushing forward. We’ve been good at that all year and we’ll continue to do that, and we’ll be there at the end.”
UPDATE, 5:21 p.m.: Ian Kennedy is not under consideration to pitch the second game of that Mets doubleheader on June 27. The Yankees seem determined to get him some time in AAA. That’s likely a very good idea.
Meanwhile, I went to the Padres clubhouse to speak to Trevor Hoffman for my Sunday column. What a tremendous guy. We got to talking about Mariano Rivera and here’s what he said:
“It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as that man. I have tremendous respect for him. I’m hoping that sometime in the next three days I can shake his hand and tell him that.”
How great is that?
UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: Lots of people in the press room here at the Stadium watching Minaya’s presser. It has veered off the road from being simply embarrassing to being making you want to cringe.
The Mets are a Triple-A team playing in a big stadium. What a mess. It’s total clown college.
UPDATE, 5:35 p.m.: Morgan Ensberg was signed by Cleveland. This from the AP:
Former All-Star third baseman Morgan Ensberg signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday after getting cut by the Yankees earlier this month.
Ensberg was assigned to Buffalo of the International League. The Indians are looking for hitters with Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner on the disabled list.
The 32-year-old hit just .203 with a home run and four RBIs in 28 games for New York this season. The Yankees designated Ensberg for assignment on June 1.
The Yankees still owe him the remainder of his $1.7 million deal in case you were wondering.
UPDATE, 5:59 p.m.: OK, you’ll love this.
Mussina wrote “The ice cream is back” on his message board. The Moose made a deal with Girardi that if he got to 10 wins, they’d put the ice cream freezer back in the player lounge. Now there are incentives for 12 wins (donuts) and 15 (candy, maybe).
Mussina went on one of his Dennis Miller-riffs on how he’s pitched well for so long on Mountain Dew, donuts and M&Ms. It was very funny.
Just spoke to Brian Cashman. The Yankees are very, very, very intrigued with Alfredo Aceves and his potential as a starter. But they want to see him in AAA first. “At least a small sample,” Cashman said.
No draft signings in recent days. Gerrit Cole? “That’s going to take a long time,” Cash said.
UPDATE, 7:26 p.m.: Cashman said it was too early to discuss the idea of Willie Randolph rejoining the Yankees in some capacity. Then he said several times what a good baseball man he was. “There’s a lot of baseball left in him,” he said.
UPDATE, 7:28 p.m.: That’s three home runs in as many days for A-Rod. No. 13 this year and No. 531 career. Only 232 left to erase the stain on the game.
UPDATE, 7:31 p.m.: Not so fast, A-Rod. That’s No. 16 for The Big G.
Not a good audition for Randy Wolf so far.
UPDATE, 7:36 p.m.: Brian Bruney threw a 27-pitch bullpen session today in Tampa. The Yanks are hopeful he’ll return after the All-Star break. That would be a big lift.
UPDATE, 7:59 p.m.: You want more news? We got more news. Brian Cashman said the Yankees would stick with three catchers for a while longer. “We’re going to be very careful with it to make sure everything is OK (with Jorge Posada) and we’re protected going forward. We’re not a team that goes to the bench much. I’m not belittling the bench but we could stick with three catchers for an extended period of time just to be certain.”
Cashman even held out the possibility of keeping three catchers all season. But he cautioned not to read anything into it.
“Jorge is not having any complaints, he feels great,” Cashman said. “Muy bueno.”
Yes, he said “muy bueno.”
UPDATE, 8:08 p.m.: What do figure the Yankees would go in the National League? 161-1? No, let’s be fair. 140-22.
To be serious, the Astros aren’t very good and the Padres are dreadful. But the Yanks have outscored their NL foes 27-5 the last four games (so far, anyway).
Meanwhile, Giambi is never going to shave. The power of the ‘stache could supply energy to several Third World countries. That seems pretty obvious at this point.
UPDATE, 8:47 p.m.: Here’s why I love the people who comment on my blog (for the most part): Folks are discussing the pitchability of Alfredo Aceves.
Meanwhile, Andy Pettitte has allowed one run over his last 14 innings and fanned 13.
UPDATE, 8:49 p.m.: Journal News operatives just snuck into Brian Cashman’s office and stole his list of possible trade candidates for the rotation. Here it is:
Randy Wolf
UPDATE, 9:09 p.m.: I do believe that is it for Pettitte. Another great outing for him. 7 5 0 0 1 9. Last two starts: 15 10 1 1 2 15. Jose Veras up next.
UPDATE, 9:36 p.m.: A-Rod has shown off his arm tonight.
Meanwhile, Robbie Cano is 5 for 8 since starting Saturday’s game on the bench. Guess a little break was beneficial for him.
Some skinny guy wearing No. 42 is up for the Yankees. Mo hasn’t worked since Thursday in Oakland.
UPDATE, 9:53 p.m.: Talk about setting the tone for the series. You score eight runs and your pitchers strike out 14.
Thanks for reading. Back later.
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on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 3:42 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Anybody know how Traber has been in AAA?
the opening day lineup! I think thats 4 times all season? love the creativity…
Oh, by the way, when are they cutting Moeller? It seems like Posada is 100%.
Athletics, Padres, except for the weather, the uniforms, the league, and Billy Beane, they’re basically the same thing.
Traber was awful in AAA, cant believe he’s back up here.
TRABER!?
WHAT!?
Over Robertson!?
That’s just disappointing right there.
Billy Traber, oh god.
bill madon is now on 1050 he as angry as i ever saw him about the willi stuff!
Eric: They aren’t while Posada’s arm is still not at full strength.
RG, that may be the same players, but certainly not the same order as opening day.
Traber is surely going down when CMW’s turn in the rotation comes up.
Traber. lol. Nice outing against Norfolk on Sunday. Three hits, two runs in 2/3. Great new slider:)
maybe it was as simple as Billy Traber is on the 40-man, Robertson isnt yet?
Actually, better question, why isn’t Moeller starting against this guy?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/p-pvb.cgi?n1=wolfra02&year=0#choice=&throws=&minPA2=0&minPA=0&n1=wolfra02&as=pitcher&year_game=career&opp_id=NYY&orderby=Name
Rebecca-
He’s been an everyday player for a week now. He’s not 100%?
oh yeah…haha stupid comment. its pretty rare in that sense too though, isn’t it?
Anybody know how Traber has been in AAA?
Near putrid.
Eric: They’ve subbed for him in late innings because people can run rampant over him.
He’s healthy, but not 100%.
Jeez Bill Madden sounds like he wants to kick someone in the a..hole, no my questionn is conspicous by his absence where is Mike “I love my Mets” Lupica when he is needed
no= now *
“CC Sabathia is a better pitcher than Eric Bedard. There isn’t a single person in baseball who would take Bedard over Sabathia, regardless of how much CC weighs.”
This is like the Melky vs Beltran discussion – it isn’t just who is better, but the question is who is a better deal.
How attractive is CC at Johan money? Not very
CC is attractive at the right contract, So is Bedard. It just depends on the price.
Well.. It’s a lefty in the bullpen.. So, that’s something…
Up until Sunday Traber’s numbers were ok but misleading. Robertson has eaten up big innings in big spots. Traber will still be used ineffectively against lefties even with his new slider.
Eh F… it I’ll write it over.
Jeez Bill Madden sounds like he wants to kick someone in the a..hole, Now my question is conspicous by his absence where is Mike “I love my Mets†Lupica when he is needed
Maddon was on fire this morning – you would think the day would give him time to cool off a little bit
Maybe Traber will get one chance to show what he doesn’t have, then be sent down for good.
Somehow I doubt this brand new slider is going to make him a great pitcher.
LHB have a .283 AVG vs Traber
“Maybe Traber will get one chance to show what he doesn’t have, then be sent down for good.”
thats my guess… one final look, and away you go with your 40-man slot.
Maybe they’re bringing Traber up as the righty specialist?
Maybe this is Traber’s last audition for the big league club. If he’s awful this time up he’ll be DFA’d thus clearing a roster spot.
This is going to sound a little bit crazy, but isn’t it the least bit possible that the Yankees front office has some iota of knowledge about how to run a club?
Could there possibly be a rational explanation for all of the moves that the team makes?
It’s very frustrating watching the yankees call up loser after loser from AAA when there are clearly better arms to choose from. Who’s next, Kei Igawa?
for all those who think some of the young guys should get call ups…
remember, innings limits, mental makeup, etc… all goes into the decision making
M&MD were talking to Cash yesterday – needling him about failing to sign a real lefty in the past few years.
Cash seemed to concede the point. The good ones are too hard to get, but he’ll keep trying.
So when i see Traber up today, i hope Cash keeps on looking.
Traber is terrible. Get Marte already
“It’s very frustrating watching the yankees call up loser after loser from AAA when there are clearly better arms to choose from.”
Dave Robertson is not on the 40 Man roster. Therefore if they called him up someone would have had to be DFA’d or some other roster machinations would have had to take place.
Yeah the Yankees are stupid. Who makes these terrible bullpen decisions? How does that person still have a job?
Come on. Maybe this is a boring approach, but I trust Cashman to make these moves.
Bill Maddon is a scab. Crossed the picket line.
Yanks at A’s? It’s like deja vu all over again!!
Erick Threets had better luck in minor league ball than Traber
BTW incase anyone cares Jun. 15th
1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
PT/S: 14-9, GO/AO 1-1
Yeh you go Erick !
Marte? Robertson has clearly earned a shot. He’s never had TJS so nothing should hold him back. He’s turned it around as far as control. Maybe he gets his shot after Billy blows his chance with yet another org.
Robertson could easily be added to the 40-man roster by moving Wang, Hughes or Alby to the 60-day DL
just let edwar pitch to the lefties why does the lefty specialist have to be a lefty if a right hander gets the job done better?
let edwar pitch to the lefties why does the left specialist have to be a lefty if a right hander can get the job done better
“Could there possibly be a rational explanation for all of the moves that the team makes?”
For answers to this and more, go to 46millionforigawa.com (:
They’re playing the Oakland Athletic Padres. Got it.
I wouldn’t have brought Traber up over Patterson if it was an issue of who was on the 40-man. Ah well. Good luck to him!
This front office kills me. Traber is a major league reliever – in fact he was supposed to be our lefty specialist. He couldn’t get an out and was sent to AAA. I’d rather see Scott Patterson than Traber.
“For answers to this and more, go to 46millionforigawa.com (:”
At the time they signed Igawa it was a rational move. Cashman thought he was getting a back end of the rotation guy for 4 mil a year.
There was never a time Cashman thought Igawa would be some sort of an ace. Turns out he was wrong, but the thought process behind the move was rational.
Fredo I actually thought that was a site 46millionforigawa.com
We SHOULD take 2 out of 3 here with an obvious loss with Rasner on the mound tomorrow.
raymagnetic there is no excuse for Igawa I’m sorry man. Jene Afterman or no, Igawa should have been a big no.
Eh, at least it wasn’t Neagle or Hampton
Jene Afterman is the assistant GM Micheal Kay (No she doesn’t schmooze players she just finds Igawas)
This from Chad Jennings last night:
I’ll throw out another wild card option.
Billy Traber hasn’t been particularly dominant in Triple-A. There have been plenty of times he’s been flatout bad, but the Yankees are about to face San Diego and Cincinatti.
The Padres best hitter—Adrian Gonzalez—is a lefty, as is Brian Giles. The Reds have Griffey, Dunn, Bruce, Votto and Bako all batting from the left side. I’m not saying Traber will go up, just throwing it out there.
Are Erick Threets and Livan Hernandez related? It seems like they are the worst two pitchers that get mentioned on the blog 100 times/night.
Brandon,
Igawa has been terrible. But at the time he was signed Cashman envisioned an inning eater back of the rotation guy for 4 mil a year.
Why is that concept so difficult to understand?
Willie Randolph’s first words as he exits
Um, Padres?
Raymagnetic he sucks for his price. Literally has to be the worst signing that keeps getting sent up and down the minors in baseball, to say Barry Zito can outpitch him is an embarrassment in itself.
Billy Traber’s last 10 appearances at Scranton :
W L ERA SV ING H ER BB K WHIP
201.98213.2153313 1.36
So, he has been fairly good over the last 3 weeks. Plus, he is already on the 40 man. This move makes sense in the near term.
Robertson will be up sooner than later, and most likely at the expense of Traber or Olly.
Igawa’s signing was bad.
That said, there have been worse.
We cant just keep bringing up our prospects till they are ready. We cannot keep rushing them and then saying they suck when they aren’t ready. We already screwed up with Kennedy who I think should have started in teh minors regardless of last season. Minor leaguers need more than a year. Robertson probably just needs time. Plus, like someone mentioned, if Traber sucks pitching in the majors again, then we cut him and open a roster spot.
Adrian Gonzalez vs LHP on the road
.278/.350/.574 an OPS of .924
7 HR, 20 RBI, 26 K’s
not literally the worst signing. mike hampton and barry zito trump igawa in both length of contract and total dollar amount committed. igawa sucks, no doubt, but hampton and zito were worse as far as contracts go.
Willie handled himself with dignity and class…much more than you can say for the Mets.
Heck, Igawa’s not even the worst signing the Yankees have made in the last four years…yeah, you know who I mean.
Someone say my name?
Anyone want to tell me why we are STILL holding on to 3 catchers ?...this is crazy…get rid of Molina and bring someone up already….SHEESH !...
any chance Carl Pavano replaces Wang in the rotation?
there…I said it.
Hey Carl buddy, how goes the rehab? Working hard at not over-exerting yourself? We know how badly you’re wanting that new contract, since you’re laying the foundation for it right now.
Why would they get rid of Molina when he’s signed for 2/4? Moeller will be DFA’d, and they will likely lose him to waivers.
Carl P.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Someone say my name?
Right on cue
“Raymagnetic he sucks for his price. Literally has to be the worst signing that keeps getting sent up and down the minors in baseball, to say Barry Zito can outpitch him is an embarrassment in itself.”
Brandon,
Read this slowly. Yes Igawa does suck at any price RIGHT NOW because he hasn’t shown he can get major league hitters out consistently.
When he was signed he was signed to be a back end of the rotation starter for 4 million a year.
Do you not see the rationality behind that thought process?
Kei Igawa was a strikeout champion in Japan. The Yankees thought he would have some use in the majors. Hasn’t turned out that way but hindsight is always 20/20
“We cant just keep bringing up our prospects till they are ready.”
27 –
Any special formula you would like to share to determine readiness?
Cano, Joba, Wang? Ready
Melky, Ohly, Veras, Edwar? Not ready, then ready.
Hughes, IPK? Ready, then not ready.
My point is that it is awful tough to tell. That is why they pay people to evaluate talent.
we would need a lefty to face a Griffey or Dunn this coming weekend
We got to do something with these sucky pitchers like Traber and others clogging our 40 man. Get Igawa off it, if we get lucky, someone takes his contract, if not oh well because he wont take a spot.
Moeller will be DFA’d, and they will likely lose him to waivers.
Maybe an under the radar 1 for 1 trade to the Giants for Erick Threets.
Rebecca (and Ray to some extent),
Forgive me, but who has been a worse free agent signing that Kei Igawa?
You can’t say Pavano. If he wasn’t injured, he would be in the major leagues pitching right now. He started opening day last year and his contract is for less money than Igawa’s.
Igawa cost the team 46 million and he’s healthy and cannot pitch in the major leagues and pitches to a 3.5 in AAA.
It’s the worst free agent signing in history because the guy had zero track record in major league baseball to warrant the money and the roster commitment.
At the time he was signed he was counted on to be a back of the rotation starter which he has not become.
He’s a AAA insurance policy that really isn’t insurance since he can’t pitch effectively in the majors.
It’s the worst signing in the history of baseball. Maybe that awful Albert Bell deal from the Orioles is comparable but they got actual production out of him.
And to compare Igawa to Zito is so far off base. Zito earned the contract with his history in Oakland. Did they overpay? Yes. But at the time he was a free agent he was a known commodity with a successful track record and no indication he was going to go south.
What a bunch of nerts. Traber is obviously bad. But he has lots of MLB service time. He’s on the 40-man roster. You can’t throw away an LHP reliever for nothing until you’re absolutely sure.
There’s no point in bringing up someone who’s a medium to high level prospect and a) exposing him while using him as your 12th pitcher b) never finding opportunities to use him and disrupting your normal rhythm
Yea I get in TKinDC. However, we need these kids to get hit around a little in the minors first. The first time these prospects mess up, they implode and they need a chance to gather themselves. Better they get that out of the way in the minors so we dont deal with what happened to Hughes and Kennedy this year. They never experienced failure, and they couldnt’ get themselves back together. Plus, 30 innings is not enough to prove ready for the next levle.
“Billy Traber has been recalled from Scranton. He comes equipped with a new slider”..
Wow Wee! Lefties hitting .283 against him at AAA. Betcha he’ll be lights out against Dunn Griffey!
I’m really happy to see Traber back up here. He has looked really good in the minors of late, and didn’t get much of a chance in the majors because of his DL stint. Hopefully he can be a quality pitcher out of the Yanks bullpen.
Kevin
Igawa cost the team very little in real costs since most of the money invested in signing him was sunk cost and immaterial to the team’s luxury tax obligations. For what he was paid, they were basically hoping for Jaret Wright who could actually throw innings. It hasn’t even been that good, but the money invested is a drop in the bucket.
Moeller will be DFA’d here very shortly, as Chris Stewart is already at Scranton (and is on the 40 man) in a worst case scenario.
I believe either Gardner or Jason Lane will be brought up to take this spot. Gardner acts as a speed guy off the bench, and can spell Melky in CF. Lane can play the corner OF, as well as 1st Base.
We shall see.
Technically, Igawa’s contract is 20 mil. The posting fee does not go to him but rather his Japanese team. He only gets 20
Gardner isnt getting called up Aero.
You dont waste an everyday player because you need speed. Plus, Cashman said Bernie Castro is the guy if we want speed. You don’t hurt Gardner
Gardner will come up when there is a chance for everyday play. That is what I want to see. I am like everyone in that I want to see him just not as a bench player for his speed.
PS Robertson has walked 14 in 26 IP in Scranton. That suggests that he’s either pitching around minor league hitters, or unable to throw strikes consistently.
Is there really a point in letting him pitch once or twice out of the New York bullpen at home? At best, he gets two or three innings in. At worst, he’s exposed, walks four or five guys, or has a week that hampers his development.
Pavano’s contract isn’t smaller than Igawa’s. The Yanks paid 26 million of that 46 million total just to talk to Igawa. His actual contract is only 20 million.
Nobody is ever guaranteed when you sign them to a contract. Well, nothing is guaranteed about a player, period. That has been proved countless times in baseball.
The Japanese leagues are a bit of an unknown in the US, but the guy was dominant in Japan. That is why they signed him. They knew they weren’t going to get anything like Dice-K, but it was their response to that signing and their wanting to fill a void in the rotation. How was signing Igawa out of Japan much different than signing the young 16-year-olds out of the Latin countries? You never know how they will pan out! Every team makes its mistakes. The Yanks made a big one.
Mike Hampton’s 8 year/121 million is far worse
Bernie Castro is injured, so if they need speed and want to call it from the minors right now, it’d have to be Gardner.
I think Gardner is “ready” and should be a call-up as soon as possible. Matsui should be perm DH, Giambi at 1st. Gardner would play semi-regularly in CF, and to spell others in the OF (Provided he could play the corners)
They’ll just argue that Pavano and Hampton’s contracts weren’t worse because they’d be pitching if they weren’t injured.
Y not Threets or Robertson WTF!
Isn’t the Omar press conf in 15 mins? Anybody know if it is going to be on TV (SNY)?
Maybe instead of retiring, pettitte could be the lefty reliever next season.
It’s kind of hard to recall a guy who doesn’t even belong to your team.
ESPN will probably be broadcasting the news conference.
Put it this way. These two men have identical WHIPs (within 0.01):
Kei Igawa
David Robertson
The stats from 26 IP are not adequate to have predictive value. We know he has good stuff because he Ks a lot of guys and because he’s hard to hit. But down in Scranton, even old Kei gives up less than a hit an inning. We need to know why Robertson has nearly 3/5 of Igawa’s walks in only 3/10 the innings.
call me crazy, but igawa could very well be a #4 or #5 guy, just not on the yankees. and you can’t sign a #4/5 for $4M anymore. it’s the way it is now.
personally, i think his failures have had a lot to do with the change in culture, and in addition, the extra pressure of NY (but that is not an excuse). go do a youtube search on him and watch him in the japanese league. he really looks like a different person. relaxed, seems to be having fun, and actually seems like a leader.
SNY will have it, and I am sure Mike and the Dog will have the audio.
just saying- just stop saying!
“Forgive me, but who has been a worse free agent signing that Kei Igawa?
You can’t say Pavano. If he wasn’t injured, he would be in the major leagues pitching right now. He started opening day last year and his contract is for less money than Igawa’s.”
Well I never said where Igawa’s signing ranks but it is obviously a bad signing. Definitely not the worse however. Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton have something to say about that. Barry Zito will soon join them. But anyway, I’m talking about the validity of signing him. Dick K had no track record either. He pitched nearly 200 innings last year. Hideki Matsui had no track record and he’s done okay over here. Hindsight is always 20/20
“And to compare Igawa to Zito is so far off base. Zito earned the contract with his history in Oakland. Did they overpay? Yes. But at the time he was a free agent he was a known commodity with a successful track record and no indication he was going to go south.”
So then you won’t be bashing Cashman if he signs a known quantity with a proven record who completely bombs? I seriously doubt that.
And by the way Zito has declined steadily since he won his Cy Young award. That contract will go down as the worst ever when it’s all said and done.
“Robertson could easily be added to the 40-man roster by moving Wang, Hughes or Alby to the 60-day DL”
It’s not as easy as it sounds. Let’s say you put Hughes on the 60 day DL and bring up Robertson. Then you have to make room for Hughes on the 40 man roster when he comes back. Which means someone has to DFA’d and clear waivers. You can’t just send Robertson back down, he’d likely be claimed off waivers.
I agree with the previous posters that Traber is being given another shot because if he fails again, he will be released. Then, there’s your roster spot.
I read in an earlier thread that Toronto may listen to offers for Burnett. I went to the MLB trade rumors site and didn’t see this possibility mentioned. Does anyone know anything about this, and if it is true why would Toronto be willing to deal Burnett. I don’t know how he has done against the Yankees, but he is usually tough on the Sox.
Wow some dude from Newsday said they waited at the hotel till 3am local to speak to players, some expressed shock, none said Oh i’m sorry for Willie, none expressed regret. Very Nice classy players.
Bernie Castro is hurt? Since when?
Robertson is on a schedule, he can’t be called up yet.
Robertson is on a schedule, he can’t be called up yet.
“so if they need speed and want to call it from the minors right now, it’d have to be Gardner.”
Justin Christian is just as fast and no one considers him a prospect, so it doesn’t matter if he rots on the bench. That said, carrying worthless bats on the bench is pretty pointless.
(the 121 million value for Hampton includes his ‘09 buyout; from ‘01 to ‘08, he gets 115 million including his signing bonus. For ‘09, there’s a 20 million team option or the 6 million buyout…so 121 mil in the end if he’s bought out as expected)
At starstruck.com you can buy yankees apparel and at the checkout can receive a free dvd with the code: FACE2008.
Didn’t Chris Jennings write on his blog a few days ago about Bernie Castro being hurt?
“Bernie Castro is hurt? Since when?”
Last week sometimes. It was on Jennings’ blog.
Now is the time to keep this hot streak going and make a run for it. Nobody is feeling sympathy for us with Wang out. The Red Sox are playing without Schilling, Matsuzaka, and Colon, Ramirez, and Ortiz now yet they keep winning. We have enough options to hold down the fort for the time being.
Kennedy will be back in a few weeks, Hughes in August, Wang in September. We will have plenty of options from the minors too. Imagine if we can stay close until August and get those reinforcements. Think of a playoff rotation of:
Wang
Pettitte
Chamberlain
Hughes/Mussina
That’d be pretty deadly with our bullpen and lineup shaping up as they have.
In 2004 we had Brown out and Vazquez struggling mightily, yet we made the playoffs with a patchwork staff and were 3 outs away from the world series.
In 2005, Wang, Pavano, and Wright were all out at the same time along with Mussina, yet with patching it together with the likes of Small and trades for Leiter and Chacon, we came 1 game away from advancing into the championship series and won the division on the 2nd to last day of the season in Fenway.
In 2006, we lost Sheffield AND Matsui until late August/early September. Johnson was getting hit around to the tune of a 5.00+ ERA and Jaret Wright and Pavano were out as usual. Yet we didn’t give up when we lost 2 of our biggest clutch offensive players. We made a good trade for Abreu and Lidle, swept Boston in 5, and got beaten by a surprising Detroit team in the playoffs.
In 2007, we lost Hughes and Pavano in their 2nd starts and Giambi, our best hitter in April, went down with a foot injury. Along with this, our entire lefty portion of the lineup was struggling until July and we were in fact .500 essentially at the all star break. We had no set up man we could rely on. Yet we played .700 ball and made the playoffs, and were a few midges away from maybe making it out of the first round.
This season is hardly over. We will get Wang back in September, just in time for the playoff run, and since nobody is running away with it this year, we are right up there near the top of the wild card yet again. We’ve weathered Posada and A-Rod, a much tougher stretch than losing a guy every 5th day, especially with the depth of pitching in our minor league system. Albaladejo and Bruney are out, yet Ramirez and Veras have filled their roles and even done better than they have. A testimony to our incredible depth. The season as it will be until August or September starts tonight, but there is no way we are done and in fact I think that we will hold our own and have our full team together for the playoffs, where we will be a dangerous opponent.
I doubt that the Jays would deal within their own division…
Castro pulled up lame going into 2nd on a double late last week.
Ray: Yankees won’t trade for Burnett—you don’t trade within your own division.. Bbesides, Burnett has a long, long injury history.
I am going to start the Aaron Harang movement the Yanks need to get this guy. He would be alot cheaper than C.C. and I know everyone says that they wont trade him but for an IPK or Horne who can start very soon I think they would. I believe that they would love a young rotation and thats already in progress with Cueto and Volquez so why not shed salary and pick up a couple of pitchers who can start right away and were total studs in the minors?
Yeah, you guys don’t excel in roster management. It’s a different discipline from talent evaluation.
And for the record, Kei could definitely be a serviceable #5 starter. It would be as simple as pitching lower in the zone and lowering the terrible walk rates at the MLB level. He didn’t get hit as hard as you might think last year, and when he did, it was largely a function of pitching up and pitching from behind in the count.
Whether or not he ever gets the ball down will be an open question. But if you can sign me a league average 5th man for $4 million, be my guest.
Christian has an 85% success rate. If you want a pinch runner to let rot on the bench, there’s your guy.
RSM-
What are you talking about Robertson has options he can be sent down without going through waivers
“I am going to start the Aaron Harang movement the Yanks need to get this guy. He would be alot cheaper than C.C”
Why would he be cheaper? He’s under team control through 2011 at pretty reasonable prices for a proven, reliable, GOOD starter.
Stop looking at guys in a vacuum. Look at them in terms of their contract. Harang is a WAAAAAY more attractive trade target than CC.
>>Christian has an 85% success rate. If you want a pinch runner to let rot on the bench, there’s your guy.
Robertson’s stuff is nasty and moves a ton which results in some high walk totals. His control has been better as of late.
“What are you talking about Robertson has options he can be sent down without going through waivers”
If they wanted to get him off the 40-man, they’d have to pass him through waivers. That was the context there…moving someone to the 60-day DL to get Robertson onto the 40 man means needing to open a 40-man slot when that player is ready to come off the 60-day.
Rebecca-
Optimist Prime-Mission 2708June 17th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Ray: Yankees won’t trade for Burnett–you don’t trade within your own division.. Bbesides, Burnett has a long, long injury history.
Rebecca….does this mean that we can’t trade Lugo to you guys for Arod?? Just kidding!!!!!
ok gotcha
But Robertson will be up here at some point either this season or next season
Well so far no one will ever confuse Omar with Cash.
I’m an avid Cashman supporter, but he seems extremely slow when it comes to cutting ties with mediocre players/calling up guys performing well in AAA. Calling up Traber makes absolutely no sense at all when you have a guy like Robertson completely schooling AAA hitters.
This move is extremely puzzling.
he looks like he is going to pee in his pants
Ray: Sorry man.
Didn’t think it was fair to the team to have his job status hanging over the team.
Um very easy you tell the team, that he is the manager for the year.
“When he was signed he was signed to be a back end of the rotation starter for 4 million a year.”
$4 mill a year plus close to $30M posting fee. It was a disasterous and somewhat reactionary signing that does not appear to be at all logical.
I agree, Jennifer – he’s a terrible speaker and he’s not really making any sense
I don’t bash Cashman for Pavano. Everyone in the league was going to sign him.
Did I love Pavano before we signed him? No. I didn’t see him as a pitcher worth the cost, but I never said it was Cashman’s fault for how he panned out.
He wouldn’t have been one of my top picks in the free agent pool though.
Igawa is more of an organizational failure. When you have Ted Lilly willing to come here and wanting to come here and you pick a guy from Japan when Japanese pitchers have been much more hit and miss than position players and on top of it, you bank on the guy to be in your rotation, it’s a bad job. There is no other way to put it.
Lilly historically pitches very well in the AL East. He handles the Red Sox and when he pitched against Toronto with the Cubs recently he pitched a great game. He’s not a #1, but he’s 3-5 depending on performance since he K’s a good number of guys.
He also wanted to be a Yankee again. I think Torre had a huge hand in stopping that, but Cashman went along with it and signed off on Igawa who may never show a dividend at the major league level.
The moves I bash Cashman for are Igawa, Farnsworth, Kevin Brown (which may have been George’s move, I don’t know) and the plan for this off season which included the 2 kid pitchers as rotation givens. Those are my major gripes with the guy who seems to have done a 180 in how this team does business.
I support building up the farm to help the team and use as trade chips, but I don’t support putting all your faith in the farm since historically more prospects fail than succeed.
As for Hampton and Neagle being worse than Igawa, those are close. Maybe they’re worse, I don’t know. I just think 46 million for a guy (no matter how you chop up the money they spent as sunk costs) that cannot pitch in the major leagues is one of the all time worst moves in baseball.
He doth protest too much about whose decision it was…
Omar’s press conference is on now.
He’s speaking on a LAA podium and in front of LAA logo wall papers b/c he’s using the Angels’ press room. So weird.
He’s taking full responsibility for the firing decision, he emphasized this repeatedly. He said he decided not to leave Willie hanging.
Its like he is repeating everything he says.
Omar sounds insanely nervous
He is scared to death.
Ray,
The jays seem to still be in the race, but it’s probably because Burnett can opt out of his contract at the end of this year. P.S. He kills the Yankees
Does Omar always sound so defensive? The questions haven’t even started.
minaya is a moron
Omar looks so scared. He knows he’s next to go.
Omar isnt acting soo strange… He is gonna get royaly screwed with the press
I want everyone who is defending Igawa to look at some tape. He does not have the ability to keep the ball low in the zone it is impossible for him. If he could do that then maybe he is a 5 but he has yet to do that and the reason why his numbers at SWB are solid is because minor league hitters for the most part cannot hit breaking stuff. He does have a good change but up here in the AL East that high change isnt swung on and missed its put in the seats. That is the truth about Igawa and the reason he was good in Japan is because most Japanese hitters are not much better than AAA hitters, with a few exceptions and those exceptions come to the states. Ichiro, Matsui, Johjima, Iwamura, Fukudome these are guys who were the elite hitters in Japan and unfortunately for Japanese pitchers they rarely face the best anymore. This domination of inferior hitters inflates Japanese pitchers stats with a few rare exceptions Dice-K, Nomo in his prime Japanese pitching talent doesnt translate here.
Man… Omar is making a fool out of himself right now. How many times is he going to say that it’s his decision…
“Calling up Traber makes absolutely no sense at all when you have a guy like Robertson completely schooling AAA hitters.”
Or, maybe, Cash is a bit more cognizant of the fact that 25 or so innings at AAA (with a bunch of walks) does not indicate that a player is ready for the bigs—as well as the attendant tradeoffs of roster management issues.
As for Traber…the AAA pitching staff has been so thrashed by callups and injuries that both Heath Phillips and Billy Traber have been called upon for multiple multi-inning outings, and not just LOOGY work. Traber’s splits against lefties are uninspiring, but he HAS thrown well over his last 10 outings (13.1 IP) 13K’s, 3 BB, 3 ER, 15 H.
Maybe he doesn’t make sense as a LOOGY, but maybe he makes sense as a decent middle reliever.
Who is this ‘Wooly’ he keeps mentioning? Sounds like Wooly was the scapegoat. At least Omar admitted that.
“And then I said, ‘Willie.’ Because, you know, Willie and I talk. We talked. I said, ‘Willie.’”
Man, does he know how to say anything other than, “I said to Willie…” He is a terrible speaker…
Liar Liar pants on fire
I reviewed all those areas,, and then i reviewed some more
gayle—- HA!!!
I can’t believe this guy actually doesn’t see anything wrong wtih the way he did this….he didn’t want to leave him hanging?!?!?!? He’s been dangling like a worm on a hook for WEEKS
Since it was your call, then your the ass hole who fired Willy in the most awful way possible.. You should be ashamed of your actions
Man this press conference performance will get Omar himself fired even faster. He looks utterly incompetent.
Omar is reviewing the overall review of the eval-review-uation.
Dee—
it truly is amazing the Mets knew about this press conference since last night (early this AM). They very easily could have gone to Kinos as soon as it opened this Am and gotten a logo for the podium as well as logo backdrop. Looks very lame that they have this with the Angels logo behind them.
he’s tap dancing, not really saying anything..has he never learned to let the people ask the question before you answer it?
ARX
Totally right!
I think J.B. Cox, when he comes off the DL, will be a better option. He’s not a strikeout machine, but his numbers are excellent.
ok so now it is the media’s fault he got fired in the middle of the night.
Wow whomever briefed him for this press conference did a horrible job.
I guess the environment made his decision not his brain
We’re working on not releasing information. I love it Omar.
gayle,
Well, they want to make it appear that even though it was Omar’s decision, it’s actually the Angels who are the bad guys.
What was ‘Mike’ right about?
Is Johan Santana second guessing himself for saying yes to a deal with the Mets or will his contract make him get over the fiasco he’ll see unless dealt elsewhere ???
Igawa got paid to be a #4/#5 (and failed miserably)
Hampton got paid like a #1 among #1’s….and has pitched in fewer games than Pavano has since 2005. That’s just beyond failing miserably.
Has Omar ever had to conduct a press conf on a less than easy topic? He’s terrible at it
This is like the Clemens @ Congress fiasco.
Wang is incredibly mature. I’m glad he’s a Yankee.
i can’t say that Willie would be the manager for the rest of the year cause if we lost 15 in a row, he wouldn’t. um okay!
But now he can say that Jerry will be the manager for the rest of the year. That makes a lot of sense.
“I think J.B. Cox, when he comes off the DL, will be a better option.”
‘strue. And poor Chris Britton is eligible to come off the DL tomorrow. I wonder if he’s ready, and if they’ll just send him right back to AAA if he is. I would like to see Hawk shipped out to make room for Britton or Cox as soon he as can be. I may also like to see Ollie sent to AAA to get back in the rhythm of short relief, and work on his splitter…if someone down there is still making a case to come to the bigs.
Guys Omar loves Willie Randolph.
Gayle,
All I know is the LA Angels are firing some guy named Wooly, and it’s this gray-haired guy’s decision and his decision alone…
I have to leave work, but this sounds sooo good.
Don’t expect a Christmas card from your friend, Willie.
If we had a ‘Wooly’ or ‘aksed’ drinking game, we’d all be passed out by now.
Ok now it has gotten absurd. if the Mets lost 15 in a row that is why Omar could not say that Willie was the manager for the entoire year but he is proclaiming that Manuel will be the manager for the entire year no matter what.
Bottom line they should have gotten rid of Willie at the end of last year for better or for worse.
Now Omar brings up the whole racial thing god this is just so bad there really are no words.
Ohh, he’s going to paint himself into a corner.. Oh he just did it.
Soo he choose Willy casue he was an African American when he decided to hire the new Mets Manager.. WHy cant Omar say Willy was not getting the best out of our players..
Dee – too funny…
Now he says that he hired Willie because he is black…
Oh, Cot’s Contracts lists Colorado as the one who’s paying Hampton’s buyout of next year; why’s that?
George W Bush can talk circles around Omar. OK. OK. OK. OK.
Now race doesn’t matter. I didn’t want to bring this back up but… yeah i do think that Omar especially goes after Hispanic players.
I wouldn’t ask Omar Minaya to take out my garbage much less make personnel decisions for me.
He’s a 2nd class hoot for a general manager.
Someone get Omar another bottle of water.
This is a “we” decision? I thought he was saying it was his decision?
He pulled the race card? Oh, here we go again. Let me guess. Somehow this is MLB’s fault now.
He has to be the manager of the year or he’s not going to be the manager? Gee, that’s fair.
Everyone who complains about Cashman’s vanilla press conferences and public statements, particularly about his ability to speak words and say nothing much should really listen to Omar’s press conference.
The Met’s public face and public relations as an organization are just mind bogglingly awful. From Jeff Wilpon to Omar – just terrible in the public spotlight.
Anytime they have to say anything they just make it worse for the team. Omar just sounds awful – unsure of himself, defensive, halting and dodging questions.
It’s hard to believe the mets could be so bad at this kind of thing after so many years of going through similar kinds of things in new york.
I’ll take vanilla over evasive and panicked any day. No way any mets fan can have any confidence in the GM, ownership or organization after listening to this pack of nervous lies.
“I don’t believe in firing a manager at a game in uniform.”
Yeah, so sending out an email and firing him at midnight my time is the perfect way to handle it.
So do the Cashman haters hate Hal, too, for not being pro-active?
“I don’t believe in firing the manager at the game in uniform.”
So firing him after a win, at the hotel, at midnight like a thief in the night is much better? Gotcha. This is pure comedy gold here.
That would be more disrespect to fire him in uniform, but its fine we couldn’t fire him Sunday, and I came to my “decision” Monday morning. Omar your doing “great”
“If only Willie would have just ageed to be called Guillermo, he would still have a job” -Omar Minaya
CB,
He looks like a chronic in rehab. I’m expecting him to start picking at his skin at any moment.
OK good one Omar now challenge the media to check the facts of what he is saying. Why do I think that for some reason this will turn even worse very very soon?
lol, Al Sharpton!
Where’s Anna Benson when you need her?
Omar Minaya is the quintessential stick your foot in your mouth general manager.
There’s Double A GM’s that have a better handle on a team than Minaya has.
He can’t talk his way out of a Shop-Rite brown paper bag.
Omar does have a point. He sent that e-mail @ midnight. Not 3 in the morning.
That makes it a little better.
Omar just rose to his level of incompetency.
He has no business being a ML GM. He isn’t good at it.
Not at building a ballclub nor as acting as the face or voice of a franchise.
He may be a nice guy but, so are clubhouse attendants.
That doesn’t mean they are fit to be general managers.
y’all supposed to be big willie, y’all ackin kinda silly.
Can Willie throw out the first pitch next Friday afternoon vs the Mets?
OMG this is too funny!
“The fact is, OK, the biggest fan of Wooly Randolph, is Omar MinAAAYA, OK?”
Well, he sent it at 3 am ET, but it was midnight out here in the West.
Mel,
This is just cringe inducing to listen to. Its one of those things where its just embarrassing to be part of even as a listener. Just completely humiliating all around.
We take being yankee fans for granted way too much. The mets have an enormous payroll, a cable network and a new stadium on the way.
And this is the best they can do for their fans. The best face they can offer the public.
Omar’s evasiveness is only going to make this worse. This is not a finished issue and this press conference only makes things worse.
This could engulf their entire season. Could get better under Manuel. But it’s going to be clear to everyone that Omar’s not in control and the players will sense that.
The players are listening to this. Can’t be inspiring any confidence.
Hey, that would be a fun idea. I’m all for Willie throwing out the first pitch.
ok here we go again liar liar pantson fire.Tony B was tlaking with Manuel before Willie got fired.
Pete, I honestly hope Hoffman gets his one on one with Mo. They are both tremendous closers and assets to the game. Please let us know if it happens.
Steph,
I was just kidding. A little poke at the person, with their east coast bias.
Even “Iron Mike” Tyson is cooler than Minaya.
He’s ready to bite a sportwriter’s ear off at this press conference and he doesn’t even have a full contingent of writers out in L.A.
“You ask the questions, I’ll give you the answer to the best of my ability.”
That’s not a promising response given how this wreck is going…
Happy Tuesday.
I have always been pretty apathetic about the Mets even though ‘86 was difficult. I now despise the organization. I posted a few weeks ago that I was ticked when the Mariners fired their hitting coach in Toronto a day and a half away from traveling back to Seattle after a long road trip. This is much, much worse. The Subway series will now be a moral challenge but I will pull for the Yanks. I hate the Mets. In fact I “Trisha” hate the Mets now…
Have a good night. -dennis
not sure if this was mentioned in the earlier section ( i am sure it has been)
get rid of bobby m. and bring willie in to coach 3rd base!!!!
how great would that be
“He’s actually blaming the media, saying the atmosphere around the team forced him to fire the manager.”
It is a lousy excuse to give on the part of Omar.
But truth of the matter is there is some truth to that statement. Some memebers of the media are totally irresponsible and they will do nay thing to sell papers. There is no accountability.
Haha, well, I guess dear Omar got caught up in the technicalities of the time zones:)
steiiny finally has figured it out, buying high priced guys or selling the farm for talent DOES NOT WORK.
Randolph got screwed but he in the long run will be better off, the management did not back him.. Minaya could have put this all to rest a long time ago but did not..
I would not be against getting Arroyo/fat guys franseccas love child if the price was relatively cheap and fair…
the offense needs to carry the team until hughes or Wng come back….
You know what the funny thing is (well not that funny). If only Omar had done this over the weekend and ot in the middle of the night under a clouod of suspicion this press conference would have been totally different and not so confrontational.
What an idiot in terms of media relations or at least not seeing further how he did the firing would mean as much as IF he did the firing.
Wooly Wooly Wooly
Wang sounds really disappointed you can tell he loves to compete. Trevor Hoffman sounds like a gentleman, just like Mariano. Hal Steinbrenner should give us an example of these “young guys” that everyone loves to mention. Hughes- out til August,IPK- rehabbing out til July(likely), Horne- Just got back into games a few weeks ago not close, McCutchen-Not ready,Aceves- Not at all ready,Igawa- Nuff said, Giese-NOT a “young guy”, he’s a journeyman. Who exactly are these “young guys” Hal and Hank are referring to, they should review the minor league roster before they start bragging about their “internal options”. There is no one ready to pitch in the Bronx until after the ASB, I guess a month of Dan Giese is a fair replacement for CMW.
Not only is Omar a clown, he’s a dumb clown.
How come no one has asked why Alomoar was kept and the first base coach was let go
Meanwhile, I went to the Padres clubhouse to speak to Trevor Hoffman for my Sunday column. What a tremendous guy. We got to talking about Mariano Rivera and here’s what he said:
“It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as that man. I have tremendous respect for him. I’m hoping that sometime in the next three days I can shake his hand and tell him that.â€
How great is that?
That absolutely made my day.
Wooly ok Wooly ok Wooly ok Wooly ok …
Maybe that’s the problem, Omar, you keep hiring from within is like inbreeding.
al take a pill…
Horne is a legit prospect and they have others…sorry replacing your #1 starter is not a simple thing to do, at least not in the real world.. in fantasy baseball it is a move away but this is not fantasyland…
The Wilpons need to send a security guard in that conference room and carry Omar off the stage asap. He is one step away from offering his opinions on whether OJ did it.
Huh, Willie is ‘Wooly’ in espanol as well.
How sweet. He thought about it on Sunday night and wanted to sleep on it. He felt bad about firing his friend.
Watching this Omar press conference-I feel like I need to shower
So much garbage being spewed..someone call a garbage removal company
I need to learn spanish so badly….I picked up the words ‘easy, friend, manager’....thats about it :/
Eh, I summarized what he said in Spanish.
raymagnetic,
I agree with your statement about Kei. Hindsights 20/20. As much as i hate watching him pitch and never want to mr. sunglasses pitch here again. It wasnt an obvious mistake when we signed him. His career era was only a half run higher than Dice k. Strikeout champ,young and a lefty for half the price of Dice. It was either sign him or Lilly which was havnt injuries as of late. Also would have been more of a hit on the luxury tax.
We should have Randolph be an honery coach on the A.L. team. Wearing of coarse the pinstripes.
Is “ax” a word? As in, if you “ax” me?
It’s only a matter of time – Omar’s going to get fired and they are going to blow this team up yet again.
How many times can the Wilpon’s reside over this kind of mess.
It’s the same pattern over and over and over. And they just don’t get it.
The one constant through all of these disasters is the ownership. Everything else changes – the pieces move – but there is no difference.
$140 million payroll and this is what they have to show for themselves.