Rasner praises A-Rod, Girardi
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 29, 2008 
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The “It Is About The Money, Stupid” blog has an interesting interview with Darrell Rasner. He talks about his career, the guys on the team, Joe Girardi and some other topics.
Ras is one of those guys everybody around the team roots for. He’s been released, badly injured, DFA’d, you name it. But he always bounces back and puts himself in a position to help the team.
The writers spend a lot of time in the clubhouse. It opens to us 3.5 hours before the game and we’re in there up to 45 minutes or an hour afterward. Add in spring training and it’s a significant amount of time over eight months. You get a pretty good sense of the personalities.
Darrell always has something friendly to say and he never takes the question about his performance personally. He understands we have a job, just like he does.
Good job by IIATMS (seriously, you need another name for that blog) to open a little window on Rasner. It’s good to see a fan blog work hard to do something positive.
go Ras
Darrell mentions Alter Bridge in that interview. That’s so cool they are my favorite band!!
Rasner has really only had 2 so-so games. A victim of no run support but that’a an old song with this team.
One of the players, not sure who said he was our hard luck pitcher this year.
Pete,
You don’t like the name of the blog? It’s a bit long, I know. Maybe I’ll change it. Got a suggestion?
But truthfully, thanks for the kind words about it. Matt Sosnick said Rasner’s one of the best people he knows, period. Not just in the game, but ever.
I’m just a fan like everyone else in here but I was lucky enough to get an “in” to Rasner and he was kind enough to answer most of the Q’s I sent his way.
Take care and go Yanks.
Jason
IIATMS
“One of the players, not sure who said he was our hard luck pitcher this year.”
I think it was Damon.
Great interview with Rasner. It is really heartening on a few levels.
One, it’s good to read about a ballplayer who isn’t a jerk. We see that so much in the media. Secondly, it sheds a light on the Yankee clubhouse. It may seem childish – but I guess rooting for a bunch of professional athletes is childish – but it really makes me feel good that “my” team is made up of people who are really good guys. From the trip to Virginia Tech, to reading something like this, it makes me feel good to be a Yankee fan, even when we don’t win.
Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about rooting for the Mets and someone like Jose Reyes, after he pulled that stunt today. As a fan of baseball, that was distasteful.
“Rasner has really only had 2 so-so games. A victim of no run support but that’a an old song with this team.”
He posted an ERA of 6.5 in June.
I like rooting for the good guys in the game. Much better than rooting for the Reyes, Chacon’s of the world.
Cool interview and nice blog.
Rock on D-Razzle
What about Sammy Sosa.
Pete had a posted earlier today the pros and cons on signing Bonds to replace Zilla. But what about Sammy.
He’s younger, he had a good season last year, and he’s right handed.
We’ve been getting the short end of the stick versus leftys.
JNR98, thanks much for the interview with Rasner. Sounds like a good guy. (I’m with Pete on the blog name, though.)
what did reyes do earlier in the day?
Re: the blog name…. it’s not a 100% Yanks blog. The original genesis was the griping about the hypocrisies in sports. It’s morphed in to something a bit different as time has passed. But I’m a finance guy so the money theme fits me.
Thanks for the kind words everyone (aside from the blogname!).
Jason
just a fan
Late in the game, Melky hit a slow grounder to SS. Reyes nonchalantly fielder it, and made a poor throw to 1st that was high and wide of the bag. Maybe Delgado should have caught it, maybe not, but it glanced off his glove and into the dugout; Melky was awarded 2nd, and Reyes got an E6.
Reyes then threw a temper tantrum on the field, right there in the infield. Made a show of throwing his glove to the ground, waved his arms in the air and walked around the SS position. Clearly showing his teammate up. The YES crew of Cone and Singleton focused on it, as did Keith Hernandez on the SNY broadcast. It was the epitome of an immature, spoiled ballplayer.
Late in the game, Melky hit a slow grounder to SS. Reyes nonchalantly fielder it, and made a poor throw to 1st that was high and wide of the bag. Maybe Delgado should have caught it, maybe not, but it glanced off his glove and into the dugout; Melky was awarded 2nd, and Reyes got an E6.
Reyes then threw a temper tantrum on the field, right there in the infield. Made a show of throwing his glove to the ground, waved his arms in the air and walked around the SS position. Clearly showing his teammate up. The YES crew of Cone and Singleton focused on it, as did Keith Hernandez on the SNY broadcast. It was the epitome of an immature, spoiled ballplayer.
One easy way to fix the name is to get the quote right.
Bill Clinton’s famous 1992 campaign slogan was “It’s the economy, stupid”
So if you want to do a take off, it should be “It’s the Money, Stupid”
Not sure if you’ll get tons of readers starting out by calling people “Stupid” but at least it’s shorter.
BTW-Nice interview, really enjoyed it.
Sorry, I did not intentionally double post.
Uh oh..
http://www.baseballamerica.com.....66411.html
“The agent for Michel Inoa, the top Dominican Republic pitching prospect of the last decade, has told other clubs not to bother when the July 2 international signing period opens Wednesday.
That ship has sailed.
According to industry sources, Inoa, represented by Adam Katz of WMG, has agreed to terms with the A’s for a $4.25 million signing bonus. Other clubs pursuing Inoa, including the Rangers, Reds and Yankees, were told this weekend that the deal was done, and that A’s general manager Billy Beane would announce the signing this week.”
Is it too soon to blame Brandon for this?
If Billy Beane paid him that obscene amount of money, then you know he is going to be good.
Why would Beane go against everything his philosophy stands for if he wasn’t 100% sure he had the next King Felix?
well thats a bummer about Inoa, i was really hoping that yanks would get him, can’t believe the A’s got him, although he did command a ton of money, but still, he’s supposed to be great
And, alternate blog name suggestion:
“It’s Always About the Money”
mark,
could you check what i wrote you in the last post?
I don’t understand why the yankees wouldn’t just pay him the money, i keep hearing he is a once in a lifetime pitcher, etc., why wouldn’t they just up the A’s offer, 5 million bucks is certainly a lot cheaper than a pavano, igawa, or yu darvish deal, is there something the yanks know that we dont?
“Pete,
You don’t like the name of the blog? It’s a bit long, I know. Maybe I’ll change it. Got a suggestion?”
Who cares if Pete likes the name or not. Do you like the name of it? Make yourself happy is what I always say.
I’m sure there is more than just money to consider…like how prospects are nutured/projected success level/support through the system…not that I could give any sort of an As-Yankees assessment, but I’m sure there were other factors in the decision
oh man, I’m sorry Brandon
Baseball America piece that SA posted also mentioned that the Yankees apparently thought they had a deal with Inoa’s Dominican representation for $2.7M, but when his current agent was hired, he immediately moved the bar to $3.5M and the Yanks pulled out, perhaps on principal.
Anyways, good for the Athletics. More proof the revenue sharing thing works if teams commit their money to bettering the on the field product.
Not in the mood tonight
Gardner getting called up according to his hometown paper.
http://www.thetandd.com/articl.....394678.txt
We better get one of the big bats now…
Carlos Perez sounds nice and all… but not as the centerpiece of our Latin American coup.
Its funny… Morgan Ensberg’s salary ($1.8 mil) could be the difference between King Felix and the 2nd tier prospects.
anyone have any ideas as to who will be sent down?
Thank you Marc Brett has been freed from Scranton. I am so pumped for tomorrow. I hope he is in the lineup.
The latin guys are a complete crapshoot. More often than not, the best guys aren’t even on those top lists, so don’t go crazy over them not getting Inoa or a bunch of top guys. I think they’ll get Yorman Rodriguez, personally. We’ll have to wait and see, the Yanks will do well for themselves on Wednesday though.
Gardner isn’t coming up tomorrow to sit the bench. He’ll for 1000% certain will be in the lineup, probably in left field. Looking forward to it.
My guess is either Moeller or Christian get DFA’d
oh right, we were only holding the third catcher until after interleague
Welcome to the big club Brett Gardner.
Sorry about Inoa Brandon
Marc-
Thanks buddy, now I get an edge in all my fantasy bb leagues with the Gardner pickup.
Gardner being called up gives me a concern that Damon isn’t feeling well.
Hey, if the A’s are really paying that much for Inoa, they probably can’t afford the next three guys that we’ll snap up.
That’s one way to look at it.
Save the Gardner, Save the world, right?
Probably Christian for Gardner?
im excited to see gardner play again..i loved his intensity in sprint training
I think Gardner has more to do with Matsui than Damon – but what do I know…
Rebecca-
You are probably right unless Damon is going on the DL.
although I think Gardner is Jewish.
Girardi to the DL- Gardner coming up really has nothing to do with Damon. It has everything to do with Matsui. The reason Gardner didn’t come up this weekend was because they didn’t need a DH therefore there wasn’t a spot for Gardner to play. Cashman made it clear they wanted him to play everyday thats why they didnt call him up earlier and instead called up Christian.
With Matsui out, there’s a place for him to play everyday.
I like the blog name. It stands out.
What kind of projection can we expect from a player like Gardner?
He is only hitting .298 in the minors.
Buddy, you think this is a quoata call-up?
Or a quota. Either way.
YankeesTech – Minor league stats can be deceiving (in both ways). Remember Jeter in 93-94, he couldn’t hit a ball out of the infield and made a throwing error a day even down in single A lol, look how that one projected.
Yeah but he’s got a .415 OBP. Add 32 SB, and 58 runs in 79 games, and we’ve got a decent lead-off guy(if Damon IS that hurt)
Is there any other source that Garnder has been called up
Rebecca- I think the story has to be right. I mean I would hope the paper wouldn’t make up quotes from Brett, Miley, and his Dad, but hey you never know.
Rebecca, that paper has quotes from Gardner directly. He’s been called up, the New York beat writers will get wind of it in the morning. Sunday nights are generally really slow. Don’t need another source, that has quotes from Gardner saying it’s true and that Miley told him.
It’s a little late for April fools, right?
Who has Pete’s cell phone #?
Rebecca-
Are you itching to blog about Gardner?
YankeesTech, he has a tremendous eye at the plate and can steal runs on a consistent bases. He’s lightning fast. I’ve seen him at AAA score on routine grounders when he was at 2nd base before the grounder.
When has the Times & Democrat been wrong on a scoop?
Its copy-editing, however…
““It really hasn’t set in yet,†Gardner said as his team traveled back from it’s game against Buffalo.”
I checked the Onion and it wasn’t there about Gardner. Might be the real deal
So you think Gardner is going to be the regular DH? Damon normally plays left. Or do you think Damon is going to the DH more than playing in left?
The Yankees are still lefty heavy, so Gardner isn’t changing that.
If Damon isn’t playing left, then I think its due to his arch problem.
I wonder if they are sending down Christian then, because that would make it 5 outfielders on the team, which seems like too much to me.
Hey, Is Gardner gonna start immediately in the outfield, or will they just use him sparingly off the bench?
Will Gardner start right away?
If it were me, I’d put Gardner in CF(or at the very least, SOMEWHERE in the OF-his arm is better than Damon and Abreu)
Maybe Damon can’t play the field & will DH with Matsui out.
Is Gonzo still on the team? If he is maybe he gets sent down because we have a glut of infielders, too, with Betemit (tape rule shot!) and Jorge.
Our outfield’s really hurting.
“If it were me, I’d put Gardner in CF(or at the very least, SOMEWHERE in the OF-his arm is better than Damon and Abreu)”
Better than Abreu? Go to be Rafi
Rafi, do you really think Melky should lose his job to an unproven minor leaguer? And so should Bobby Abreu? I hope you were kidding.
I have an idea. We let him prove himself like every other minor leaguer has to by letting him play in left field when Damon needs the day off and is DHing.
His arm doesn’t touch Abreu’s.
Gardner should/will be playing CF full time before long.
His arm is better than Abreu’s? Being better than Damon isn’t saying much, but Abreu has a pretty decent arm.
I wonder if this is more of Girardi’s tough love stuff… sending a message to Melky to start producing more at the plate to earn his keep.
It just seems a bit strange bringing him up when Christian wasn’t up all that long and Cashman saying he needed regular at bats. As a 4th OF or a 5th OF he won’t get them.
Maybe the Yankees think that Inoa is all hype and not worth the money.
Moeller could be DFA’d.
if gardner is comming up that tells me matsui is in trouble
Every scouting report on Gardner says his arm is just average.
I didn’t say that he should start instead of them, but there are 4 guys to split between the 3 OF spots and the DH spot…I’d prefer Damon to DH of the 4 of them.
DFox-they’re not calling him up to sit on the bench and spot-start, they’re bringing him up to start. Based on that, I’m gonna go with a combo of what I’ve seen and heard from scouts who say that his arm would be the best in the Yankees OF(yes, even better than Melkys).
There are a number of moves the Yankees can make, but this makes me think that Damon isn’t healthy. I don’t see the Yankees bringing him up to sit on the bench.
The other possibility is that it is to showcase him for a trade. Playing him the majors and him doing well enough could increase his trade value.
I just don’t see the Yankees standing pat with the rotation they have right now unless they are conceeding the season.
Gardner’s legs are his strength. He’s the fastest baserunner in the organization,[6] has 80 speed on a 20-80 scale, and has solid baserunning instincts. He’s adept at picking spots, knowing when it’s more valuable to the team for him to use the threat of a stolen base to get the pitcher to throw fastballs to the heart of the order.
He has outstanding plate discipline, draws a good number of walks, and uses the whole field while making consistent, hard contact. Baseball America rated him as having the best strike zone discipline in the Yankees minor league system after the close of the 2006 season.
His speed and excellent sense in the outfield translate to an outstanding defensive game, among the best in the Yankee farm system. His arm is average, though fairly accurate.
Josh, tells you Matsui is in trouble? Huh? Some people read too much into things. All it tells you is what you already know, that Matsui will be out for at least the next 10 days, and if they play it smart, likely until all star break. Don’t read into it
Of course inoa wasn’t worth the money
Gardner’s legs are his strength. He’s the fastest baserunner in the organization,[6] has 80 speed on a 20-80 scale, and has solid baserunning instincts. He’s adept at picking spots, knowing when it’s more valuable to the team for him to use the threat of a stolen base to get the pitcher to throw fastballs to the heart of the order.
He has outstanding plate discipline, draws a good number of walks, and uses the whole field while making consistent, hard contact. Baseball America rated him as having the best strike zone discipline in the Yankees minor league system after the close of the 2006 season.
His speed and excellent sense in the outfield translate to an outstanding defensive game, among the best in the Yankee farm system. His arm is average, though fairly accurate.
Buddy: Not especially.
I would imagine it’d be Gardner for Christian at this point. Can’t see Moeller being DFA’d.
Girardi to the DL, Damon has absolutely nothing to do with this. Nothing. What’s so hard to understand? They said they werent going to bring him up unless he would play everyday. With Matsui out, both he and Damon could and will play everyday. Christian is going to be the one riding the bench or going back to AAA. This is a move they likely decided to make when they put Matsui on the DL, but didn’t need to make because of not having the DH
I think its likely that Matsui is going to need the operation on his knee. That was why Christian was brought up, though. You have Posada, Damon, Giambi who can rotate DH assignments.
I guess we’ll find out tomorrow, but it just seems to me that his call up points to something with Damon or Abreu being hurt.
Btw, what’s the 40-man move? There’s no available spot anymore, is there?
Rafi, your post is the first time I’ve ever heard Gardner’s arm being raved about. Every thing I’ve heard about him says he has an average arm. Nothing like Melky’s cannon arm, and not as good as Abreu’s.
the 40 man roster move will likely be Moeller or Christian getting DFA’d, therefore they’d have to clear waivers to go to AAA
Wang is listed as 15 day DL, they could change that to 60 day DL.
That roster is a bit crowded with players who aren’t likely to be coming up any time soon. That has to make it tough to make moves.
Christian won’t get DFA’d, he would just get sent down to AAA.
Christian was only brought up over Gardner at the time because A) The Pirates were throwing lefties in that series so they wanted the right handed bat B) They didn’t want to call Gardner up because once Damon was fine (which they knew he’d be ready to go for Thursday/Friday) the person who was called up would sit the bench for the weekend and Cashman clearly has said they arent going to bring him up because they want him to play everyday and get the at bats. They didn’t really care about getting Christian the at bats everyday so thats why he was called up last week instead of Gardner. Now that Matsui is on the DL and Interleague is over, there’s a spot for Gardner to play everyday
Maybe they will DFA Hawkins. That’s another possible move, though I tend to doubt it.
Marc, it still doesn’t make a lot of sense, unless one of the outfielders isn’t going to playing their normal position. Gardner isn’t a likely candidate for being the DH.
If Gardner did get called up there are several 40 man moves that could be made.
One of Hawkins, Chris Stewart, Moeller, or Traber will probably get DFA’d.
Damon probably becomes the regular DH with Gardner playing left field assuming Matsui will be out a while.
Rasner – good guy, great guy, great story –
He has no suff — some location — results too many basreunners — last 8 strats were all against weak teams and his era was over 6 –
Yesterday could easily have bee putting the Yankees in a 7 – 0 hole AGAIN
Pitchers need to miss bats — unless they are Tommy John, Jimmy Key or CMW — and CMW can be great if he can find and locate a deceptive out picth – he is trying; hope rehab sdoes not set that back too much
Rasner does not have the velocity to be CMW like – he is a slower IPK with at the moment better location — and therein lies the misplace hope for IPK — he is not much better than Rasner
Nice interview.
Ughgh
:frown:
:cries: