Meetings can only go so far
-
- July
- 4
The Yankees have held two team meetings over the last 10 days after bad losses. This one was loud, players said. Joe Girardi is never profane and wasn’t this time. But he and his coaches were forceful.
There’s a problem with meetings, however. What happens if you lose the next day?
At some point a manager has to find a way to reach his players. The Yankees may not be a championship team this season. They are too beat up for that and the rotation is too thin. But also shouldn’t be a team on pace to score 200 fewer runs than last season. That speaks to effort and approach.
The Yankees have been held to two or fewer runs 28 times this season. That’s one third of the time. Jon Lester needed 105 pitches to throw a shutout. He’s good, but he’s not that good. The Yankees played like they had a cab to catch. Or Madonna’s limo.
“The Steinbrenners spent $200 million on us and we haven’t showed what we’re made of,” said Johnny Damon, one of the players who also spoke during the meeting. “I know this is one game and I know we have 75 or so games left. But we’ve got to do something soon.”
It sounds good that they had a meeting. But think about it for a second, nearly half the team are guys just thrilled to be there. Yelling at Betemit, Molina, Gardner, Moeller, Gonzalez, Ponson, Rasner, Veras, Ramirez, Giese and Robertson accomplishes zippo. They have nothing to do with what’s going on or can’t do much to change it.
Girardi has to connect with the core guys. Jeter, Damon, Abreu, A-Rod, etc. The team will rise or fall on how they play. Joe Torre always found a way out of the woods, now Girardi has to find his path. This is what managing is about. Strategy is 10 percent, the rest is getting your guys to play the game right.
Meanwhile the Yankees face Josh Beckett tomorrow and send Darrell Rasner against the Red Sox for the first time in his career.
Here’s Joe Girardi’s postgame interview session:
Thanks for reading today and check back tomorrow for a full day of holiday blogging.
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on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 12:48 am by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Tonight’s game could be ugly…
Your bias against A-Rod is really tired, man. He may be totally aloof with the media, but it shouldn’t affect your analysis. You should be above that. Yes, it’s unfair, but so is trying to blame this team’s under-achievement on Alex Rodriguez. Be fair, Pete. That’s not right.
I thought Pete wrote a simple opinion where is the name Alex in his post
Who do you think he hates more, Girardi or A-Rod?
Yes, because Pete clearly blamed everyone on Arod in this post. Well done.
Buster Olney expects moves
Is that a hint of A-Rod hate I see?
Ouch, Brandon, I just noticed you added the GIDP count to your handle. That hurts.
“The Yankees played like they had a cab to catch. Or Madonna’s limo.”
Zing!
Would anyone be for Melky and Abreu for Aaron Rowand, Erick Threets and Jack Taschner ?
Ouch, Brandon, I just noticed you added the GIDP count to your handle. That hurts.
It needed to be done
Umm Olney didnt say he expects a trade. He still thinks a pitcher is useless when our offense is bad, the other guy said he expects a trade
They just signed Aaron Rowand and they love him.
“Would anyone be for Melky and Abreu for Aaron Rowand, Erick Threets and Jack Taschner ?”
I was 1 of VERY few rooting for a Rowand signing last offseason
“Or Madonna’s limo.”
A throwaway line, yes, but insinuating A-Rod’s distractions right now would REALLY have an impact on the team while they play is stretching it a bit. [Which was insinuated on here a post or so ago] That is highly, highly unlikely. Hell, this is professional sports. The Lakers made a run to the Finals during that whole Kobe Bryant circus a few years ago. And that was a far uglier situation than anything contrived by the Rod within his wacky stay with the Yanks.
I just don’t think Alex should be blamed AT ALL for this team’s struggles. Doing such a thing has to indicate a bias, because it simply isn’t logical.
Arod deserves the abuse and then some. And I’ve got news for you: he loves every minute of it. What other possible reason could he have for playing house with a withered old seahag like Madonna? I’ll bet he tried Hillary Clinton first and got shot down.
They would have won if Gardner had started.
Classy, randyhater.
anyone want to guess how many times the Yankees will swing at the first pitch tomorrow? A-Rod swung at the first pitch something ike 3 times and made out twice.
Forget meetings they will have little to no effect. It has been painful following this team on a daily basis. Aside from the mediocre at best play, so much of the media is so stupid when it comes to the yankees its ridiculous. Joba should stay in the bullpen, the front page headlines every time arod eats a sandwich, the hate for girardi because he’s not saint joe. And the way anyone whos actually paying attention pulls their hair out when they hear another idiot say the bullpen stinks. It has been excellent! Its all crazy. Girardi certainly hasnt been great but jeeze let the guy settle in before you run him out of town.
What I want is Joe Girardi to show some guts. You know what would improve this team? Batting arod and giambi third and fourth no matter which is where. Taking Jeter out of the two hole because he has been a double play machine. Replacing Jeter and Abreu with better options with more range would make this team better although it will never ever happen. Sitting sending down or trading melky will make this team better (dunno if he’s got options). Calling up Juan Miranda to dh and split time at first with Giambi will make this team better. Calling up Jason Jones, Dan Mcutchen, or Alfredo Aveces when healthy to take a permenant spot in the rotation will make this team better. Jeeze its getting really hard to enjoy this baseball season.
They would have won if Joba was in the bullpen.
and really, how much more of Latroy Hawkins do we have to endure before he gets DFA’d. Chris Britton when he finishes rehab, Scott Patterson, any of those guys have to be better than him? Even Melancon - put him on the Joba rules while he continues his recovery.
lets concentrate on the main reason the yankees lost, Jeter’s error in the 1st. that set the pace for the entire game and probably the series too.
They would have won if George Steinbrenner was still at the helm.
We get it Pete. Girardi closing the clubhouse inconvenienced you. The terse answers made your job harder. You’ll show him right?
No more veiled criticisms and snide remark, here’s your chance to wag the dog along with Sherman (stellar whining by Joel tonight)
They would have won if Joba was in the bullpen.”
Hope that was sarcastic because we were down 4-0 in the 2nd inning. And we didnt score. So how would we have won with Joba?
Were gonna win tomorrow, and not because of Rasner
what’s really sad is that with the way the pen has been pitching and how they’ve made due with the rotation, is the offense was up to snuff the Yankees would have another 5 wins easy, maybe 10. it’s not even that they can’t hit, the individual stats are pretty good it’s just NOBODY CAN COME THROUGH WITH THE BIG HIT WITH RISP, and forget about doing it with 2 outs! Sad to say, it seems A-Rod needs to play for another contract in order to be honed in enough to succeed with RISP. I find it maddening that some players in multi year deals wait until their walk year to turn it up a notch (yes that means you ’stache, and A-Rod last year, and Mussina before that).
David Robertson for Setup, get with the program dude. Everyone is doing “they would have won if’s” Now that you’ve ruined it I suggest you contribute a quality one.
lets concentrate on the main reason the yankees lost, Jeter’s error in the 1st. that set the pace for the entire game and probably the series too.
Captain routine 643 always has that excuse.
Oh ok that was really funny Dfox. Tell me another please
“We are going to play our guys the way we’ve been playing them and we got to get it done” - Joe Girardi post game.
Sherman is being kind of a prick here. I know he’s doing his job, but if someone talked to me that way that Sherman was after in plain English Joe told him it was between him and the team I would have booted him out of the room.
They are really easy look, Fire Girardi had a good one: “They would have won if George Steinbrenner was still at the helm.”
I’m so good I’ll do a second one.
They would have won if Shelley Duncan was in the lineup.
Actually Shelley Duncan got hurt the other day. Doesnt work. Try again
Arod is having a good year he and giambi need to be batting closer to Johnny Damon with a number 2 hitter that is going to produce more than Jeter has. Bobby abreu is no longer a number 3 hitter. Arod or Giambi, one of those two should be getting as many at bats as possible, ie one of them should be hitting every first inning. Our beloved leaders Posada and Jeter have been pretty terrible so far, (i wouldnt have an ounce of resentment towards either if they never got another hit btw) Cano and Melky were pretty much automatic outs from the first game of the season. Thats 4 guys have bad years plus the replacements for arod and posada were worse than god awful. Damon Giambi and arod are all having the best seasons. Forget whatever clutch means. Put the best hitters in the order closer together to MAXIMIZE the potential to score runs.
They would have won if Joe Torre was the manager.
Now you try I bet you can’t beat mine I’m on a roll.
Yeah the meeting was nice but it will only go so far when Rasner throws his 1st pitch of the game tomorrow..and it is hit for a double and he gets tattooed and they can’t touch Beckett. Olney made no sense in saying that moves will be made. There are no moves to be made!!! There is nothing that Cashman can do if Jeter continues to play like he is 44 and not 34. Arod can never get a runner in from 3rd. Cano shows up sometimes. Abreu seems to be in his own world sometimes. The only thing it shows the front office is that this group needs to be split up. In the off season Abreu and Giambi can not be brought back but there is nothing from an offensive point that they can do now..besides Gardner for Melky.
Even pitching wise no really good pitching will be available and even if they are Cashman will never let go of his prospects. He will be like mama bear holding onto her babies.
Just saw Pete on Sportscenter.
They had a clip of all the sportswriters standing outside the closed locker room.
He was standing behind Kim Jones. Nice move Pete
They would have won if Shelley Duncan was in the lineup.
Actually he sucks, and not just a little I mean alot .171 AVG in his last 35 AB before the injury.
The Yankees would have won if Stump Merrill was their manager.
Just saw Damon’s comments on ESPNews. It almost looked like he had been crying. ????
It almost looked like he had been crying. ????
You have to care to cry I don’t believe that.
Haha, good one Pepitone.
I have a really good one but it’s bordering on bad taste. Maybe I’ll post it.
“There is nothing that Cashman can do if Jeter continues to play like he is 44 and not 34.”
Jeter had an .800 OPS in the month of June.
“They would have won if Shelley Duncan was in the lineup.
Actually he sucks, and not just a little I mean alot .171 AVG in his last 35 AB before the injury.”
Do people actually not get sarcasm?
Do people actually not get sarcasm?”
Not in a situation like this
Jeter had an .800 OPS in the month of June.
Underachieving stat padded .800 OPS
It almost looked like he had been crying. ????
You have to care to cry I don’t believe that.
Good point.
His eyes were all red and watery looking though. Maybe his Lambourghini got scratched in the parking lot.
Haha no, Brandon thought I actually believe Shelley Duncan was good for 6 homeruns tonight.
guys the weather is not going to be terrefic, i wonder if we get all the games in
BTW, you know the 5 stages of grief thing?
I know it’s just baseball, but tonight was fianlly the night I reached acceptance.
The season is over. There’s nothing you can do. Enjoy the other teams in MLB this year and hope this is the painful first stages of a new ear for the Yanks.
No Damon is one of few who do care. If you notice he actually talks to the media, he doesnt just make one small statement like Jeter, Posada etc. or say nothing at all like Arod, Abreu, etc. Damon is there every day taking questions. He cares
We were 10.5 games back today last year
Count of people who didn’t buy Pete a beer after the game:
1. Josh Phelps
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Freddy Sez
I live in L.A. and it’s 10:52 p.m. here. Are you guys posting from back East at 1: 52 am??
If so, I guess NY really is the “city that never sleeps.”
bang up reporting by joel sherman. that, joel, is why you will spend your whole career writing for a tabloid that is known more for its accuracy in the gossip pages than its accuracy in the sports page.
When Alex saids something people tell him to shut up , when he doesn’t he doesn’t care, 643 is a different story it’s like he rehearses in his mind like a quick downloading memory card what he’s about to tell the press, meanwhile they are hypnotized by those blue eyes
I live in Tahiti. Its 7:55.
“Jeter had an .800 OPS in the month of June.”
Big deal his all around game has been awful. He leads the team in errors and DP’s. He probably leads all of baseball in DP’s. He swings at every pitch he sees and I don’t even remember the last time he looked good at the plate 2 or 3 days in a row.
David Robertson for Setup, on a serious note, did you actually watch the game tonight? Did you see what happened when Jorge Posada hit that ball? He was so unbelievably frustrated that he wanted it to be a hit so badly when it was clearly caught. Would a player who doesn’t care be that frustrated after flying out? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player get that frustrated in my history of watching baseball games. The game was going terribly and at that point Posada was probably just thinking “wow, we can’t get a break”, and it put him over the edge.
Now, if that’s “not caring”, then I don’t know what is. Just because he can’t talk to people like Johnny Damon does, doesn’t mean he does not care. If you were watching the game and noticed that play, it’s pretty easy to see he does.
And now we’re going to say A-Rod doesn’t care? A-Rod might be the dirtiest player in the game, and that’s a good thing. He always wants an edge. Whether it’s a dirty slide, stealing catcher’s signs, yelling “ha”, the guy wants to win. If he didn’t want to win, would he try every trick in the book to get an edge against the opposing team? Would he continually look to steal bases and put himself in scoring position?
Those are the kind of things I look for in a player that cares. Not how long their answers are to reporters. Damon is great with the media, that’s his personality. Not everyone is as good around people as he is.
With all our prospects either hurt or overrated we can’t trade or get someone to fill a space up here.THis sucks.
Hopefully Cash has a Ace up he’s sleeve.
I can’t say that I believe these guys don’t care. Everyone handles things differently. Damon is a heart on his sleeve type of guy, but he is willing to be up front about it. Some people don’t ever do the public confession type thing. It does not mean that they don’t care, or that they are lazy.
The game is a grind as it is, when you are struggling as the Yankees have been its ten times worse.
i’m sure joe girardi was very hard on his team. i’m sure andy pettitte was extremely hard on himself. maybe he even threw out an “unacceptable” or two. at this point, it’s lip service and that’s all. girardi’s held meetings with this team before this year and we’ve all heard them spit out lines about how they need to step up or else…
well, they’re nearly 100 games into the season and it’s looking awfully likely that we’re going to find out what “or else” means.
and that’s fine. it’s just a shame this had to happen during the last year of the stadium. these guys look like they could not care less what happens on any given night. as much as damon or pettitte or anyone else can opine the lack of consistency, it’s pretty clear to anyone who watched lester breeze through a four-pitch inning tonight that this team has no fire, only the occasional spark.
too bad. i’d welcome some changes.
as for those who are, inexplicably, still willing to grill pete because he made a JOKE about a-rod, get a life. if it was any player from any other team, you would be having a FIELD DAY with this story. the fact is, the guy IS a distraction, and he comes up with a new circus every few months. it’s asinine. you think the other guys on the team aren’t tired of his act? come on.
as for damon crying, right. he was crying like a baby. tonight he’ll go dry his eyes with a succession of hundred dollar bills before he (probably literally) jumps into bed with his gorgeous wife. you can count on one hand the number of guys on this team who actually play like they care one way or the other about the outcome of the game. it’s pretty shameful.
I love reading how everyone is getting on Joel Sherman but no one is getting on any of the NY press for digging into Arods private life.
Thats a good post DFox.
Every game I watch, ARod is giving 100%. Remember the other day when he broke up the double play? Nobody else on this team does a slide like that.
I’m not saying he’s been hitting well with runners in scoring position this year, but the last problem with this team is ARod’s marriage issues. Bad pitching, bad overall hitting, a manager that makes foolish decisions, and a general manager who hasn’t constructed this team properly with no right handed hitting and a terrible rotation.
Oh ok Dfox I get it. So when Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Arod, Giambi etc pop out, they dont get frustrated? No one wants to get out, you always see a reaction from players when they get out. Arod wanting outside media with the seperation, Kravitz, Madonna crap shows the team is just his 7-10 job
While Jeter, Damon and Pettitte were talking to the media Arod was busy trying to find out what strip club was still open…Atleast he can explain to the media why $28m can’t buy a sac fly. This from the Star Ledger..
“So where was A-Rod? Where else but sneaking out a side exit before the media could get into the room — hardly an uncommon occurrence these days after losses like this one.”
Look fellas, Derek Jeter may not be the player he once was, although there is still a lot of baseball left to play, he is a legend in Yankeedom, and you don’t just dump legends. Move him around in the lineup, give him a couple of days off, but he’s not going anywhere. Even though Bernie wasn’t doing much, I liked having him around. Same thing with Mantle when he was just a shell of his former self. Those kind of guys deserve our respect, and our gratitude for many years of enjoyment. That’s another reason I really miss Joe DiMaggio coming out before Yankee games to throw out that first pitch. The classy “Yankee Clipper.” Those guys are priceless, enjoy them while you can because they won’t be around forever.
I think that Girardi was also making a veiled attempt at Cashman to get off his ass and do something to improve this old, stale team. He said several times that he hasn’t spoken to his GM yet. Cashman overvalues his players so much that it has kept this team at a standstill for 8 years. Make a bold move for a change instead of calling up some stiff from the minor leagues when he feels a change is needed. Try to trade an Abreu, Cano, Cabrera, Damon, or Jeter(oh my God), for a Holliday, Orlando Hudson, Atkins, some decent bench players like Catalonotto and a catcher who can actually hit the ball.
Pepitone the fact we are actually taking it lightly on Jetes is what bugs me any other player has that year, we’re ripping him, I don’t care what name is on that lineup card he’s played like Julio Lugo this year.
Last thing we need is Matt Holliday.
Patrick, that slide is a perfect example. I remember seeing the replay and I was like “wow, what a cool slide, he really took the guy out”. He will do anything to win. And like you said, who cares what he does outside the ballpark? Maybe some of the crap with Madonna can overshadow how badly this team is playing.
David Robertson for Setup, you completely avoided the point I made. You stated Jorge Posada doesn’t care because he doesn’t give long answers in interviews. My question was would a player who doesn’t care argue a fly ball? A 5 year old could see that the frustration of the game got the best of Posada there because he obviously cared that the Yankees couldn’t get a break in the game. If he doesn’t care, then I guess he just enjoys arguing that routine fly balls aren’t outs. And I’m not even sure what point you’re trying to make about A-Rod. He plays harder than anyone on the field, and that’s all I care about. He can go and sleep with as many models as he wants for all I care. But when he’s sliding into second base and practically kicking the guy covering to stay out of the double play, that’s all I need to see.
Brandon, please, Julio Lugo isn’t even in Derek Jeter’s zip code.
Oh wow Arod almost kicked a guy at 2nd base to be safe what a player.
Newsflash people! Blaming Cano isn’t going to work anymore. He had a bad April and that’s about it. Since the calander flipped to May he’s been good and has steadily improved. Not to mention the 2 hits off a lefty tonight and the continuing solid defense he’s shown, unlike Captain Double Play whose range or lack thereof has been a liability for years and now the throwing errors are starting to pile up now too.
Here are your team leaders 86 games in
Avg: Matsui, Damon, A-Rod
RISP: Damon, Matsui, Posada
Slg%: A-Rod, Giambi, Damon
OBP%: Matsui, A-Rod, Giambi
OPS: A-Rod, Giambi, Matsui
K: Abreu, A-Rod, Damon
BB: Giambi, Damon, Abreu
TB: Abreu, Damon, A-Rod
XBH: A-Rod, Abreu, Giambi
GIDP: Jeter, ABreu, Matsui
SB: Damon, ABreu, A-Rod
When Arod wins a game for the Yankees this year, come call me.
“But also shouldn’t be a team on pace to score 200 fewer runs than last season. That speaks to giving a damn.”
Really? Really?? You think the Yankee players don’t care? Are you nuts? Who is it exactly that you think doesn’t care? Abreu? Jeter? Melky? Cano?
Jeter is having the worst offensive season of his career which is not too surprising considering his age. Melky has been a horrible offensive player since the end of April and looks like he doesn’t deserve an everyday spot in the lineup. Cano has had an awful season, and he is being exposed for his lack of plate discipline. Abreu is in decline - he is getting older and not walking as much as he used to. Matsui has knee injuries. Posada missed over 40 games, and even when he is healthy the offensive blackhole that is named Jose Molina is still hurting the team plenty with too much playing time. The bench has largely been disappointing, especially when Morgan Ensberg was getting regular AB’s. Shelly Duncan had no business wasting so many ABs on the major league level. ARod missed about 25 games.
There are you reasons for the disappointing offense. There are so many of them staring you in the face, yet you still lean on that crutch of “they don’t care enough”. That is a bunch of BS. Name me players who you honestly believe don’t care. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here seeing the real reason why the offense is struggling.
“So where was A-Rod?”
Did they need him to say no comment again? Keep personal questions out of the clubhouse and you’d probably keep players in them.
Oh or, if the Yankees lose and Arod is available for comment and says something other than “Tough loss, we’ll just have to play harder tomorrow”
Brandon, please, Julio Lugo isn’t even in Derek Jeter’s zip code.
1 HR, 19 RBI .268/.357/.335
vs
4 HR, 35 RBI .279/.342/.384
Hi Neighbor
Brandon didnt say Lugo=Jeter this year, he just said their stats were scary close
I don’t blame ARod for not answering questions about his marriage. He’s at work. What does his marriage have to do about the loss to Boston?
When I’m at work nobody asks me about the girls I’m sleeping with the night before.
Can we stop being stupid? Anyone who doesnt think arod is the best player on this team knows alot less about baseball than they think they do. Enough with the big hit and clutch talk its so dumb
I dont blame him either, but he says nothing when asked about the game.
What Buster Olney didn’t say is how many of the Yankees have no trade clauses.
Jeter
ARod
Damon
Matsui
Giambi
Abreu
Mussina
All have no trades. How you going to make big changes if you can’t trade any of of your players.
Jeff is totally right. Get off ARod’s back already. He isn’t the problem.
Maybe if the Daily News and Post hadn’t run stories about Madonna/his marriage he’d answer questions about the game.
Second time the Post and the News have broken the code. They tossed pictures of him up last year with that blonde pig in Toronto.
“All have no trades. How you going to make big changes if you can’t trade any of of your players.”
Because were not SELLERS at the deadline, were BUYERS. Were not going to sell the veterans, we want to buy them. And it usually doesnt work with Veteran for Veteran. If we are buying, we are giving up young talent
Eh its not like he refuses to answer why he struck out or anything he’s just trying to give the answer he thinks people want to hear. He gets killed for everything already now we have to criticize his postgame analysis?
Patrick Bateman:
No offense who you are sleeping with are not seen on the front of the DAily News.
A-Rod is sensitive and I know after awhile it starts to get to him.You think he can just be a normal guy.But no he has to just step in crap all the time.
Maybe if the Daily News and Post hadn’t run stories about Madonna/his marriage he’d answer questions about the game.
Second time the Post and the News have broken the code. They tossed pictures of him up last year with that blonde pig in Toronto.”
Dude its every day. Not just today, not yesterday EVERYDAY. Before During and After every affair he has had. He is the best player in the entire league but he really needs to let these fans what is going on
haha i wish it was. that was off limits in sports for a long time with the writers now its not apparently which i think is wrong. sure he steps into crap. ill never hate him, he takes too much crap and of course is the greatest player ive ever seen on my favorite team.
What are you talking about?
The Daily News and the Post both ran big stories on ARod and Madonna and another story about the marriage. Two personal stories in two days.
Both were front page stories on the websites because the stories broke late.
Go watch Superbad, because you have no clue what you’re talking about.
We win 12-5 tomorrow all 5 earned against Rasner
What are you talking about?
The Daily News and the Post both ran big stories on ARod and Madonna and another story about the marriage. Two personal stories in two days.
Both were front page stories on the websites because the stories broke late.
Go watch Superbad, because you have no clue what you’re talking about.”
Are you a legit retard? I said several times Arod doesnt talk about the damn team. I dont give a sh it what he says or doesnt say about Madonna or whoever he is banging. His manager is Madonna and Lenny Kravitz manager, its kind of obvious this was setup to get Arods name a household name to non baseball fans and women who didnt already know who he was. Madonna and Lenny have no publicty at all so this is all great to them
I’m not talking to you Robertson. The post was to McMoron.
“he really needs to let these fans what is going on”
As soon as Jeter tells us about his vacation with Jessica Biel, how he worked out his tax evasion issues and what happened between him and Vanessa Minnillo, A-Rod can tell us what’s up with his marriage.
Oh ok, then my bad
he was talking to someone else, I thought he was talking to me
got it. i dont even really bother getting into the arod controversy, ill watch tmz for that. what i wanna hear about arod is on the field for the most pat.
Seriously, how many people really care about what ARod has to say?
Have you ever listened to a Derek Jeter interview? He uses thousands of words to say nothing meaningful in every single interview. He is the master of saying nothing. If anything, you should thank ARod for not wasting your time.
And consider this: ARod has a history of saying lots of dumb things or lots of thing that make him look lika an idiot. He is a lot smarter now. The less he says the less likely he is to stick his own foot in his mouth. It’s a very smart move.
Jeter has always been like that Druid.
He just bombs you with the same typical canned stuff he’s been using for years.
“One game at a time”
“Still a lot of games left”
“We haven’t gotten in a groove yet”
LOL, yeah that sounds just like him.
Jeter is the worst interviewer. Girardi was the same way before tonight. Damon actually says alot though
Damon isn’t a great speaker, but he does speak his mind.
Giambi is a good interviewer.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Wang once.
Damon stutters every word he speaks, but speaks the damn truth.
Yeah Giambi is good too. Melky is rarely heard either.
I enjoy Moose’s interviews. He doesn’t shy away from giving a real d@@khead response when Kim Jones asks him one of her typically dumb questions.
As funny as it gets:
And look at the SCREAMING cover
http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/07/04/gal_frontpage_0704.jpg
This is hysterically funny.
LMAO at the quote. Alex is being brainwashed with Kabbalah. I call BS, this is looking more and more like a publicity stunt
I don’t even work tomorrow and that headline screams BS, so now Alex is being brain washed by Madonna, what’s next Madonna worships Satin….I mean oh brother. There making him seem like a zombie and Madonna as the pod leader
OK, these guys don’t belong on the team and need to go: HAWKINS, FARNSY, CABRERA and PONSON. This team can get rid of these guys and get something for most of them. ( Obviously, Sir Sidney will net us a bag of balls ) The Red Sox are banged up and were on a 5 game losing streak, throwing a fairly good, but not great by any means, pitcher at a lineup that just broke out for 18 runs the night before and the Yankees laid an egg. I hope this is the straw that breaks the camels back and everybody higher up is AS PO’d or more PO’s than Girardi. We need offense and we need an Ace. We likely are not getting Wang back this year and Andy is a #2 or #3 pitcher. Make the moves needed to get CC and Tex NOW ! Cut your losses with the 4 that I mentioned above. This team CAN play better now and needs to. It is not impossible that they win out, the last 9 games before the All-Star break with the TALENT that they have ….. what would be nice to see for a change is that talent being realized every game. The pitchers can be better, but more than anything, the offense needs to focus EVERY AB and go back to working the count and MAKING the opposing pitchers MAKE PITCHES. This team, with the proper plate discipline can be a very scary lineup to face EVERY night, if they just remain patient. I have confidence that last night was the “line in the sand” that needed to be drawn. Let’s have some heads roll, let’s go out and make some big trades and let’s have Girardi light the fire that needs to be under his players every single game.
How well did Joe Torre “get through to these guys” in the last 4 post-seasons? To the tune of a 4-13 record.
Its not the manager. Its the players.
Its a bad team. Period.
Some members of the media are just like the fans. Seduced by names.
When you have Jeter having the worst year of his career, Posada and Wang hurt, Cano, Cabrera and Abreu’s numbers down, Giambi hitting .170 w/RISP, Matsui out, and Rasner and Ponson in the rotation, a bullpen with Kyle Farnsworth and LeTroy Hawkins in it, explain to me what Girardi can do?
Look at the roster. Its filled with rookies, underachieving veterans, outright bad veteran players, and some stars. Its not a winning roster.
So, that means it HAS to be Arod’s fault and Girardi’s fault, correct?
Really, that nonsense has to got stop.
The team played the same way under Joe Torre the last 3 years. They then went into the playoffs and played like garbage. Also under Torre.
The difference? The AL is more balanced this year and the Yankees have stopped hitting, limiting their blowouts wins.
Its what happens when you ignore drafting good players from 2000-2005 and expect over the hill veterans to carry the day. You are now left with a void between your better prospects and your major league roster.
You don’t fill that by making idiotic trades for veterans. You fill it by getting rid of as many veteran players as possible, get younger, and begin rebuilding in season rather than in November.
Pete, you are right in the sense that you can only hold so many meetings. You also can live in the past only so long when it comes to players. Guys that used to be good don’t get it done in present time.
Back up the truck at the deadline, be sellers, and sell whatever you can to begin the rebuilding process. That should be priority #1 with this team. Not trying to salvage this season.
Its not like this group of players have playoff pedigree. Unless of course you think 4-13 in the last 4 years is impressive.
SJ,
I totally agree with you. the yankees have to consider rebuilding and that means getting rid of some of the veterans in season for some valid prospects. i only hope that the yankees have someone who can evaluate talent in trades. i am not sure they do.
That’s right Rick. Now we are getting somewhere other than folks who post the “they did it last year they can do it again” nonsense day after day.
Do the Yankees have enough pro talent evaluators inside their organization? That’s a very legitimate question.
If I was the Steinbrenner’s, aside from moving as many guys out of here as possible, I would be looking high and low to add more people to the pro player evaluation side of the organization.
Can’t run it like a Mom and Pop business anymore. They need more people evaluating players everyday.
The Rays for example have 9 people in their front office going over numbers, tapes and evaluations everyday on veteran players. The Red Sox have even more people on the pro player evaluation side. IIRC, the current number of Yankee officials doing the same is 5. They added a numbers guy this off-season. I’m not sure if they added anyone else in season.
Its an arms race and the Yankees lead in one area…..wasted salary.
That has to change and this year is the year to change it.
Forget all the nonsense about how this team has a big run in them.
For arguments sake, let’s say they do. What’s THIS team’s playoff pedigree? 4-13 in the last 4 years. Haven’t won a post-season series since the ‘04 ALDS.
With those numbers, do you really think this team, which is the softest Yankee team in years, is going to get it done?
Its why I say, now is the time for the organization to move forward and not backward.
Most fans are amazingly forgiving when it comes to rebuilding. IF they see a plan, they will buy in.
What most fans hate is when you look like you have no plan.
Not every veteran on this team is sought after by other teams. But, are. Yes, even the guys with no trade clauses. If they refuse to waive them, let the fans know which guys refused to do it.
I’m not talking about DFA’ing LaTroy Hawkins. I’m talking about moving out guys who actually have value. That’s how you get players attention.
You have to at least make the effort though and stop saying the cliche, “we are better than this” nonsense. No, they are not.
As Bill Parcells always says, “You are what your record says you are”. That applies to this team.
Rick you are so on the money. Does anyone here think Cashman can make a good trade that isn’t a salary dump for the other team? Cashmans’ trade history has been spotty at best. I think he’s the main culprit in this Yankee decline. He should have gone out the door with Torre.
Somewhere near 50% of the roster can look at the standings then look at themselves in a mirror and ask how much have they done to vault this team ahead on a daily basis.
A season squandered.
To all you doom and gloomers…..I’ll be ready for your “I was wrong” when this year’s Yankee Team makes it at least to the AL Championship….and I’ll be the first to say that you are right if they fall short….’nuff said.
Pete wrote:
“Strategy is 10 percent, the rest is getting your guys to play the game right.”
I agree that the role of the manager in the AL is pretty small, tactically speaking, on a game-to-game basis. Setting the tone, maintaining the big picture, interfacing with upper management is really the job. But this collection of players was not put together by Girardi and there is only so much Girardi - - or anyone else - - can do with this group.
As SJ suggested, no amount of coaching will change the personality or skills of the core players - nor should it. When you assemble a team and pay over $200 million for it, you should not be counting on Joe Girardi to off-set and correct fundamental flaws in that team. That team should more or less be able to self-correct. It should not go down in a hurry swinging at bad pitches against a kid who was good, but by no means Sandy Koufax, in a series at home that they need desperately to win if they want to get past the Sox to even have a shot at the Division. Last night was gut check time. Guess what? No guts.
Jeter mentioned the word “intensity” in his post game interview. I was frankly shocked. He said in sum and substance that he hoped that tomorrow (today) the intensity would be better. This team just doesn’t seem to be willing to do the hard work of standing in the batter’s box and swing only at strikes. My biggest question is: Where did the grinders go?
Given the no-trade clauses, it’s going to be hard to have a fire sale, but Cash should seek ownership’s permission to be very creative in moving players. If an opportunity comes up to improve the team for 2009, take it. There is no point in waiting for this team to wake up. They’ve had too many wake up calls as it is.
If you think that is negative talk and want to cheerlead your way around that, knock yourself out. The fact remains that this team as constituted doesn’t work and no amount of denial will change that. There is no miracle second half in this team.
Let’s see LITTLE LEAGUE
Managers (Coaches) manage and coach.
BUNCH YOUR BEST HITTERS - give them the most At Bats
Keep it simple - See the Ball Hit the ball — Catch the Ball throw the Ball - notice the Yankees nearly botched the Pettit Pick-off
DO NOT SWING AT THE FIRST PITCH after the picther has walked the two guys in front of you (Jeter)
Do not GUESS after the pitcher has missed low and away by a mile — he likely has no control and you can’t assumne a fat FB will find the strike zone (Arod, Posada). PATIENCE - do not try to do too much
Every out is precious do not give them away with unwarranted sacrifices
When 1 RUN will win or play for 1 run
Can any figure Cano — he is seeing fewer picthes 1 walk no walks and is streaking??
Melky a ONE TOOL PLAYER - ARM — sell him
Olney — MAKESOME MOVES - yeah Duh like trade IPK and Melky for Santana -
THIS OLD AND AGING OFFENSE NEEDS DOMINANT PITCHING — or OK write this season off to rebuilding — BUT START rebuilding — WTF are the clows on the bench here for they are not part of the future (except maybe Gardner)
Since CMW went down - OH COACHING - Nat League 3B coaches don’t send picthers — YA KNOW it is better than 75% that CMW does not recover his form from that inury and trying to work off that foot will lead to other injuries. WITHOUT THE POWER ON THE SINKER he is TOAST - Pettit and Moose are unlikley to have a next year like this year — so as to rebuilding for 2009 — Hughes and IPK unproven - Pettit likley gone - Moose can he be Jimmy Key; CMW might be done. Abreu, jeter, Matsui, Posada, Damon (Giambi can the miracle continue), ARod aging - defense - sloooowwwweeeer — offense sloooowwwweer
GIRADI IS A NOVICE and the vererans do not RELATE to HIM. Or to the coaches - the guy at 3B is woeful - learning on the job?? JETER is disinclined to lead when he is going BAD.
NO COACHES n MANAGER - NO LEADERSHIP — No Trades — NO WAY OUT — excpet to build from within — we might look bad for several years but if the talent is really there then stick to the plan — BUT IT TAKES TALENT TO SELECT TALENT — where is that TALENT
If Jeter mentioned anything about players needing to be intense, his name better be at the top of the list, because, he’s about as intense as a dead cockroach.
Its time to shop around some of the veterans, specifically I’m thinking Mussina and Giambi. Their value will never be higher than it is right now - let them stand behind their no-trade clauses and tempt the wrath of Yankee fans.
“But think about it for a second, nearly half the team are guys just thrilled to be there. Yelling at Betemit, Molina, Gardner, Moeller, Gonzalez, Ponson, Rasner, Veras, Ramirez, Giese and Robertson accomplishes zippo. They have nothing to do with what’s going on or can’t do much to change it.
Girardi has to connect with the core guys. Jeter, Damon, Abreu, A-Rod, etc. The team will rise or fall on how they play.”
Completely agree. Molina, Moeller, Veras and Giese especially I think are good examples of decent players trying their best day in and day out in whatever role throw at them to try to contribute. They have nowhere near the raw talent of some of our core guys, but they try hard and remind me of the types of non-household name Yankees we had in the 80’s who contributed to championships. They may not be great everyday, but I can see them pushing themselves to give 100%, that’s all I can ask for as a fan.
Among the core guys, Jeter is an obvious one to get called out. But Posada is getting me worried as well. I wonder how much more hurt he is than we actually know. He has not been great defensively since returning from the DL. And he really needs to work on his swings, he does not seem to have a good eye for pitches these days. He was never as good as say a Giambi when it comes to reading pitches but now he’s almost as bad as Cano which is alarming to me.
If Jeter mentioned anything about players needing to be intense, his name had better be at the top of the list. He has as much intensity as a 25Watt, burned out lightbulb. Perhaps he should stop trying to break Wilt Chamberlain’s self-proclaimed record with the women and concentrate on throwing to first base and getting the ball out of the infield.
“Can’t run it like a Mom and Pop business anymore. They need more people evaluating players everyday.
The Rays for example have 9 people in their front office going over numbers, tapes and evaluations everyday on veteran players. The Red Sox have even more people on the pro player evaluation side. IIRC, the current number of Yankee officials doing the same is 5.”
sj-
i’ve been saying this for the two years i’ve been on the blog. baseball is really big business now with the added complexity of revenue sharing. the best thing would be for the little steins to sell the business to a multi billionaire who loves baseball who then creates an up to date a business model.
since that’s not going to happen until george dies, what’s the next best thing? i think they need someone above cashman like lucchino who has been around the game ,but who is really world class in business to oversee everything. and actually someone even better than lucchino because he’s getting to be too old himself and dated.
a lot of running a successful business is letting nothing fall through the cracks. it seems the yankees are always playing catch up now on all levels. it is the sign of a poorly run business. george was a neat freak who wouldn’t let anything be amiss if he saw it.
the kids just don’t have the drive or passion to do the same. if they did,they would have been in the business before this.
think about it , they passed on being involved in baseball most of their lives. they are not as interested in the game as you and i are.
i can honestly say that if a hank , hal, cashman troika stays running the yankees, i’ll channel my baseball interest in something other than the yankees because these three have no clue what it is to be a yankee.
under them there really is no yankee team. who are these coaches that cashman has hired? what do they know what it s to be a yankee? they are all journeymen coaches who have had little success in the game.
that’s not the yankee way.
the yankee way is do what it takes to win all the time, every day, every year.
this team run by hal, hank, and cashman is a sham. they can’t fix it because they are the problem.
fire cashman’s butt, and the team immediately gets better. that’s the clearest signal that things are going to be different. cashman is a drag on the franchise. the sooner people see that the better.
Arod’s problems is not a distraction with the team. His marital issues became known less than a week ago. They’ve been playing inconsistent all year.
Ah the familiar hangover from a loss with the decrees that the season is over - heads need to roll - throw the bums out - yada yada yada.
Maybe this year will not have the dramatic turnaround that we saw last year. But to say that it isn’t going to happen is sort of like the old Jack Buck line “I cannot believe what I just saw”
Hello? It just happened last year. Not to mention the fact that last year’s situation was much more severe than this year’s.
Oh well - I guess it is more fun to call for people’s heads.
To the substance - if adding more people will help to improve the scouting and decision making then that sounds like a great idea to me.
As SJ explained - there are not going to be any giant upheavals in the line-up and I don’t think they are going to get CC at this point. About a quarter to a third of the payroll is going to reach the end of their contracts in this year and next.
I would assume that we are going to get Fuentes from Colorado or Mahay or something like that.
We’ll get of our asses today and play harder I believe. Beckett has been less dominant this year. Let’s win one today and worry about that rather than a knee-jerk trade for Livan Hernandez or firing Cashman
I have to wonder if the split ownership is part of the problem. I think Hank and Hal are so different in their approach to things that it creates a stalemate.
With the Santana trade (and I am not of the group that felt that making the trade was in the best interest of the club), had it been only Hank at the helm, I think it would have happened. I think Hank is more along the line of George, but not all the way. Hal is a lot more conservative with the moves and costs.
Cashman has become almost too conservative. He has over valued some prospects and that hasn’t panned out. He has also directed the drafting to become far too heavy with selecting pitching and not position players. While the spot in the draft makes it hard to pick up the highest rated position players that doesn’t mean you pass on almost all position players. I think Cashman is too fearful of trading away a prospect that might end up doing really well, almost to a point where its handcuffed him.
I see the need for wanting to rebuild a farm system that was in big disrepair. You use it to help the team. That means both developing from within and trading pieces that will fill holes that you don’t have prospects in place for.
I don’t think Cashman is comfortable doing this.
First thing they need to do is get rid of that idiot Cashman.
What about bringing in Bonds to help with the offense? Matsui will be out for the year the way it looks now. It wont cost anything but money. Cashman has to try something to get this team going.
Joel Sherman shows the world he’s nothing but a A wipe. This season was lost when Cranky Hankie outbid himself & signed A Rod. The disaster continued when Cashman signed Hawkins, the same Cashman that signed Igawa & payroll thief the great American Idol Pavano, lets not forget Farnsworthless. Cashman also passed on Ted Lily go figure.
MoBoy(aka McLovin)
July 4th, 2008 at 2:32 am
I was hard pressed to take anything seriously you said before, but after seeing Superbad - it’ll be even more super hard to.
I don’t know what’s worse. This team’s playing, or all of the idiots calling for the Yankees to make impossible moves.
it’s not about winning the next game. it’s about playing up t your capabilities.