Wrapping it up from the Bronx
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 30, 2008 
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A couple of things:
The pitching matchup Monday in Detroit will be Sidney Ponson against Justin Verlander. Mussina, Pavano and Rasner will face Garza, Jackson and Kazmir in Tampa.
The Yankees are 13-14 this month. They have not had a losing record in August since the 1996 team went 13-17. That team won the World Series. That’s not going to happen this time.
A-Rod is 24 of 100 this month with 30 Ks and 11 GIDPs. He said he felt great at the plate today and didn’t have much to show for it beyond the RBI single in the first inning. It’s silly, I think, for people to boo him like they are. He’s at .305/.393/.575 for the season and that’s with playing much of the spring with a bad quad.
Oh, and he was the MVP last season.
Jeter needs nine hits to tie Lou Gehrig for the most at the Stadium.
Buster Olney’s blog on ESPN.com had a great stat today. Roy Halladay will try tomorrow to become only the fifth pitcher in the last 25 years to beat the Yankees four times in a season. The others: Chuck Finley (1996 Angels), Kevin Tapani (1991 Twins), Al Nipper (1987 Red Sox) and Floyd Bannister (1984 White Sox).
I’m off tomorrow in advance of the road trip. But we’ll get the lineup up in the morning.
Thanks for reading today. Getting 1,000+ comments on a holiday weekend is a testament to how much you love this team, even when they frustrate the heck out of you.
I agree about the arod booing.as I said yesterday he is just the easy scapegoat for fans who want to boo their team and he makes it easy there are plenty of other culprits on this team booing alex is the easy way out
we s*ck…really bad !
Good Lord. What does Ponson have to do to lose his rotation spot?
AL NIPPER beat the Yankees 4 times in a season???
Boy, the ’80s really did suck.
Go Yankees. No matter where you end up.
that last statement sure is true…i still do love this team no matter what
There is no leader on this team, those Heyman quotes this validate that. Nobody wants to get in the face of anyone because there are too many egos. They all want to play nice and get a long with each other and don’t want to look like a bad guy trying to boss everyone around. They are afraid to speak up. The problem is there are too many followers, and no leaders. Too many guys who want to ride the World Series train as passengers, not drivers. That is what is different from the 90s to now.
You take a survey of the team asking each player if they want to be up with the bases loaded, down by 1 and 2 outs in the 9th, most of them will say no because they don’t want to be booed if they fail. Most of these guys have the losers mentality.
Your manager should never be the leader of the team. If Pedroia dogs it, Varitek will be the one to set him straight, not Francona. Would any of our players have organized a boycott to Japan because the coaches are not getting paid the way the Sox did? No. Most of them probably wouldn’t even take the time to find that info. out. The difference between the two organizations right there.
Halladay tomorrow?
Rasner against Kazmir?
Ponson against Verlander?
Pavano (won’t get so lucky with the lazers he gives up) vs. Garza?
Looks like we won’t have to wait long to be put out of our misery.
Didn’t the Yankees take care of their coaches on that trip? The Sox didn’t want it coming out of their share.
Pete, people do not like Arod for some reason, it just is. And it’s not just limited to Yankees fans. I think it’s a reflex action at this point. It might not be right to boo him at every turn, but Arod asked to come back, decided to not shop his services around, and take the Yankees money. That money comes with the boos. He better get used to it, or ask for a trade. I bet he will ask to be dealt at some point during this contract. I’d bet money on it.
do you have a camera is the yankees clubhouse aj yanks??? you seem to be pretty darn sure about what you think.
Arod doesn’t care about the boos. I am sure he is used to it by now. He is going about his business and trying as hard as he can everyday…he never loafs or puts in on auto pilot. He missed being the hero today by about 2 feet. If that ball he hit were just a little to the left, the Yankees probably win the game right there…if it had been a little to the right, the game is at least tied. This loss was on the pitching staff again. Sure Cano messed up a play, but the pitcher have to be able to hold a 4 run lead that late in the game.
why can’t we find young pitchers who do well like bowden?
instead we have kennedy who can’t get major leaguers out and hughes who can’t get ANYONE out, not even minor leaguers.
I’m a little depressed.
Pavano (won’t get so lucky with the lazers he gives up) vs. Garza?
No its Mussina vs Garza.
I was at the game today with the mrs.
Alex did not lose that game today. Yeah, he did not have a good game, despite that RBI single in the first. That 9th inning AB was so typical of this past month. He can be frustrating as all get-out because of the talent that he has.
But the real goat today was Robinson Cano. Not Darrell Rasner – heck, he is what he is, and did the best he could for a few innings; and not an overworked bullpen. But if Robbie makes even the one out at first base – they were at the point in the game where they should have been collecting outs, and going to first, or taking time to make a better throw to second, was the prime directive. And then, the next half inning, strikes out with runners on base, on three horrible swings.
Robbie seems to be playing himself off the team in the off-season. And I hate to say that, I thought he would be a keeper.
Well, we`ll see if Girardi still thinks Arod should bat fourth. It is obvious he does not have the stomach to hanlde the spot. Today he got a gorund ball single and that was it. Came up in yet another big spot and cashed intwo outs, not one out but two. Please don`t buy Girardis propaganda that 2 feet would have given him a hit. He should be driving the ball every now and then. He struck out the at bat before on a worm killer that didnt even reach the plate.
I agree he works his tail off, and hes trying but he cannot stand the heat. Move him to the 2 spot in the order. Too many big spots are wasted on him this year.
He has not figured in any of their recent wins, and he has the talent, and most importantly the MOST opportunities to impact the teams offense.
The Boston series he had two doubles in a blowout, one was a groundball over third. He did nothing else. This series, another must win, in two games he has one RBI on a groundball single.
Tigers have been so disappointing this year. Remember when Steve Phillips said this was going to be the best offense in the history of baseball?
15/17 ESPN experts had them in the playoffs in some capacity and 8 had them in the WS.
sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview08/news/story?page=08expertpicks
“Robbie seems to be playing himself off the team in the off-season. And I hate to say that, I thought he would be a keeper.”
I don’t think management feels that way. Only the fans are ready to dump Cano. I’d be very surprised if Cano is dealt over the winter.
And from our seats behind third base, in the loge, I could see that play developing and I started to scream “No…” just as he threw it away past Jeter. Yeah, better pitching might have picked him up, but he made a bad play. When the team is depending on mediocre pitchers giving their all and overachieving, the defense has to pick them up.
“Well, we`ll see if Girardi still thinks Arod should bat fourth. It is obvious he does not have the stomach to handle the spot. ”
You must have sat out last year.
Pete:
Stop saying the same thing.We get it A-Rod is having a good season even though Abreu has more rbi’s and Giambi has one less homerun.
But A-Rod gets paid $27 million,he gets paid to hit like last year not like Giambi.I cheer him when he gets up but in the 9th with a man on first and second with no outs and you get a GIDP to kil the rally….BS.He has been horrible after the 7th.
If A-Rod hit like he did last year,a man worth $27 million we would be 1 or 2 games away from the wildcard.I hope you are at the games Pete when you talk this nonsense.
this is just unbelievable;
Kevin Youkilis is sick and Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew still on the DL
and yet the red sox are winning 7-2
IMO the guy to get in players faces, as well as wear his heart on his sleeve, is Posada.
Jorge always let it be known what was acceptable and what wasn’t and he usually let his play, never giving up an at bat, somehow always getting his doubles, lead the way.
The loss of Wang and then Joba hurt this team tremendously, but in losing Posada they lost their heart and soul.
Let’s just hope that the management of this team knows how correct some of these flaws.
This team stinks. Nuff said.
“Kevin Youkilis is sick and Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew still on the DL
and yet the red sox are winning 7-2″
This means nothing. BOS isn’t playing the same team we are. They aren’t getting the same pitchers on the same days that we are. Baseball is situational. You can’t compare us to them unless everything is equal and it’s not.
“The loss of Wang and then Joba hurt this team tremendously, but in losing Posada they lost their heart and soul.”
If that’s true, then Jeter is to blame. Jeter was named the Captain of the team. If the time has come for someone to step up and get in people’s faces and Jorge isn’t around to do it, then it falls on Jeter. And if he’s not doing it (we don’t know because we aren’t there), he should relinquish the title.
“This means nothing. BOS isn’t playing the same team we are. They aren’t getting the same pitchers on the same days that we are. Baseball is situational. You can’t compare us to them unless everything is equal and it’s not.”
true, but my point is that they are getting it done, and unfortunatly we aren’t
Boston beats up the bad teams.WE don’t.We get beaten by the Royals,O’s and Blue Jays.
any manager that allows another player to get into the face of a team mate, has no business being a manager. There’s a difference between getting into their face and talking to them the way he’d appreciate being talked to.
Boston beats the good teams too. If you consider us a good team that is.
Al Nipper?
He beat the Yakns four times in a season?
How many total wins did he have that year? 7?
POP – What’s Ponson got to do to lose his spot in the rotation? Well if he pitches worse than Rasner, he’s still got his spot unless someone else comes along to take it. Neither appears to be a threat to happen for the time being.
Actually, Ponson’s been pretty good more often than not. He’s not ace material. I think people thought as long as he wins more than he loses (back when he was aquired) that’s the miimum that can be expected of him. I think he’s surpassed that.
To whine that hPonson isn’t ace material (some might not realize they’re doing htis) is kind of like booing A-Rod when he comes to the plate (before he even hits) for batting .305 with an OBP just barely under .400 over the course of the season. By nature a ballplayer’s going to have some failures along the way. If you have reasonable expectatons of a player you might enjoy being a fan more.
At least some solutions to the Yanks problems this year I’ve read have been imaginative. One guy said Jeter should play CF, some average player (forgot his name) should be gotten to play SS. Aren’t people usually whining about Jete’s range? CF? I did laugh at that one. Out loud. Really.
As much as we’d love to see Joe call Robbie out for his bad play. Maybe he knows better than us. Maybe if he calls out Robbie he is afraid he’ll shut down and not play hard. Supposedly he doesn’t take criticism well. How interesting is it that some of his own teammates thought it was an awful idea by management to give him a big money long term deal.
Laura,
yup, last year (year of his contract) he did hit in the clutxh. However EVERY other year with the Yankees he did not.
All you would need from the 4th spot in the order is a hit “once in a while” when the game is on the line. If we had a guy in the fourth spot who is league average hitting with RISP we might only be 2 or 3 games out of the wild card.
He has virtually no impact on any games that are close.
I quite honestly have never seen this before. A superstar talent who does not impact his team.
I think hes a better hitter than Big Popi, but I could never imagine watching Red SOx highlights and not see Popi delivering game winning hits.
I could never imagine Popi or Wright, or Vladdy, not being involved in the teams victories. The guys hitting 3 and 4 get the most opportuniites.
“This means nothing. BOS isn’t playing the same team we are. They aren’t getting the same pitchers on the same days that we are. Baseball is situational. You can’t compare us to them unless everything is equal and it’s not.”
You’re right. Boston’s playing a first place team, the yankees played a 4th place team. Not to mention Boston started a kid from the minors.
What is shows is that all the whining about injuries is just that Whining. Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose.
Canos error was poor, but errors are part of the game. The cant allow all those runs, and they needed to score again and they didnt
mattr, you’re right, bad teams find a way to lose and the Yankees sure proved that point this year.
I think trading Cano would be a huge mistake.
Keep cathcing that butterfly.what ya need is a stieb slider to take the ankles out.everyboby knows like cohen- they came after orr’s knees with avengence.hello from up high.we’ll take any hitter you have.neil peart ny oct
I’m sitting watching the Red Sox game as though it actually matters.
I can’t decide whether I feel more like a crack addict or a pathetic hospital patient committed to watching slowly and excruciatingly as a loved expires from a terminal disease, while clinging to the deluded hope that he actually might recover and tormenting myself all the more by refusing to face the certain reality.
Found this at sportsillustrated.cnn.com (the link is under the picture of A-Rod):
http://vault.sportsillustrated...../index.htm
Change the names and it’s amazing how similar the story of that Yankee team is to this one. And this “vault” story is from 1965.
Kill Schill -
Very good description of waht if feels like to be a Yankee fan on August 30, 2008. Sigh.
Get some sleep.
Whoever says Mark Melancon needs to get called up…
Schill and Doreen – Sad but true.
I wish I could say something philosophical, but I’m not that smart.
Good night all. Let’s get’em tomorrow.
For those interested about seats for next year i the new stadium and are a season ticket holder (partial like me) you cango to yanees.com click on New Yankee stadium and fill out y out seat relocation questionairre. You have to do this by September 10th in order to be considered for relocation next year.
They say the stuff is in the mail but online seems to be the way to go.
Interestingly enough my seats which are second row left field section 24 box 100 will not be available to me next year as it seems all of the field level seats are for either full season or 41 game plan holders. The saturday plan that I have now will be upgraded to ALL saturday games (we normally do not get Old Timers Day) as well as 2 weekday game and the seats will be LESS money than I pay now but of course not the same location. and they cant gurantee you even comparable seats so they may be much worse. And if you dont like the seats they assign you and decline them for another location you go in to a pool of all those other people that want different seats then have to deal with senority, how far your current seats are from home p[late, how many rows you are from the fieldetc etc.
I have to say this will not be an easy process for the Yanks offices and I am sure there will be some people that are not happy
Pete, while your offseason analysis has been “Sign CC”, you haven’t looked extensive at the real competitive disadvantage the Yankees have going forward. Take a look at the 2005 MLB amateur draft for example. The Red Sox drafted some of these players
player round
Jacoby Ellsbury (1)
Craig Hansen (1)
Clay Buchholz (supplemental)
Jed Lowrie (supplemental)
Michael Bowden (supplemental)
Pedro Alvarez (14th)
Allan Dykstra (34th)
Bowden won his first game tonight, and this is missing the 2006 picks, which look incredible. See for yourself:
http://www.soxprospects.com/dh0605.htm
Sure the Yanks got Joba that year, and I’m not picking on Damon Oppenheimer’s draft particularly, but this year the Red Sox spent a blue fortune, and the Rays got the best prospect in baseball.
Signing CC will forfeit the Yanks pick, while they will still have the Gerrit Cole pick. The Yankees had a terrible draft which more importantly showed an unwillingess to spend. They passed on most of the big name foreign talent as well. How about asking Brian Cashman how the organization views their commitment to player development? Even Billy Beane reexamined his farm system and his team’s priorities. Are the Yankees reexamining theirs?
When alex grounded into that dp, I’m sure most people yelled “unbelievable,” well I can tell you all something as I saw what happened I just laughed and said to myself: “f-ing BELIEVABLE” I knew it was going to happen, I just knew it. Anyway I have tickets to one more game at YS this season so at least I can look forward to that
“This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.”
It’s raining all over Yankee Universe after this one.
some of you know what you are talking about, the others have no freaking idea and should take up knitting
Signing CC will forfeit the Yanks pick, while they will still have the Gerrit Cole pick. The Yankees had a terrible draft which more importantly showed an unwillingess to spend. They passed on most of the big name foreign talent as well. How about asking Brian Cashman how the organization views their commitment to player development? Even Billy Beane reexamined his farm system and his team’s priorities. Are the Yankees reexamining theirs?
Check the Charleston and GCL team out, Red Sox management has been drafting since 2000, we stood in to pay attention to the draft more in 04′ but in 05 was when Oppenheimer took control of it.
Enjoy the knitting PUDGE, THE 08 CURSE.
Funny you should mention knitting. Sewing close enough? My girls are fooling around with the sewing machine. It’s pretty funny.
Brandon, Laird just hit a 420 foot bomb to dead center field in the top of the 10th, here in Savannah.. High Line drive
That’s just nasty GB, flyball is impressive straight LD is just nasty.
GB7,
Pick a thread, any thread.
Ask the fans around you if they’ve heard of Pete Abe and the LoHud blog.
Very disapointing loss today. Cano is usually pretty dependable a turning the DP. I didn’t see it but the way Sterling described it, the play seemed pretty routine. It proved to be Rasner’s undoing as he was pitching real well until then. I’m sure Robbie felt as badly as anyone about the play and probably didn’t want to say something he may regret later. Other guys do it all the time, so lets give him a pass on avoiding the press today.
once in a while
I want CC, Tex AND Sabathia in the off-season
Predro Alverez isn’t even in the Sox system. He doesn’t count. If he counts then I’m going to say Mark Prior is a product of the Yankees system. As he was originally drafted by the Yankees.
Craig Hansen? Bust!
Jacoby Ellsbury- decent little player but nothing special imo
Jed Lowrie- too early to judge
Micheal Bowden- future is a 4/5th starter. Sox version of IPK
Clay Buccholtz- Talented much like Hughes needs to develop. Much like has shown flashes and has thrown in some stinkers.
Yeah so where is the big edge at?
you want cc and sabathia?? thats asking alot
Bones I seriously believe Mike Jacobs or a Casey Blake platoon will be a Yankee next year
lester
pedroia
masterson
delcarmen
papelbon
youkallis
bard
A tight game is breaking open in extra innings.
Check out that Cabrera guy. Maybe we can use him?
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....a_rocaaa_1
Sanchez – 3 IP, 1 H, 4 K for Tampa
Jackson came off the DL and hit a walkoff RBI single in Trenton
Jonny Nunez continues to deal
Mel, this was my response to your post in the other thread. Take it easy on my. I’m trying to get my post count up so I can win the grand prize.
Mel, these people down here only know what’s written in the Atlanta Consitution. They think that Furman Bisher is still writing about Henry Aaron. Actully, old Furman is still going strong, writing a daily column and pieces for Sporting News at age 90.
Oi. Coke & Melon spoiled a great IPK outing. But it looks like they’ll get the win.
On my way out of the park…they’re killing the lights. Later.
“Check the Charleston and GCL team out, Red Sox management has been drafting since 2000, we stood in to pay attention to the draft more in 04′ but in 05 was when Oppenheimer took control of it.”
Not at all accurate. The Duquette era for Boston ended after ’02 and was notorious for it’s failure to build and maintain a decent farm system (Well, that and the notion that Jose Offerman was an adequate replacement for Mo Vaughn). Boston was ahead of the Yankees in recognizing the importance of doing so, but really didn’t get going til ’03 or ’04. Yankees were more like ’06, which is why Boston has an edge over them right now, especially in terms of postion players.
c’mon jacobs, end the game
The Curse of A-Rod : 4th year and counting!
“IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR! IT IS…. THONG!!!”
Heilman 3 straight walks to lose the game
Heilman walks in the winning run. Now that sucks. I wonder if Jerry Manuel will pass the credibility test.
i am intrigued by the ponson-verlander matchup on labor day
correction Heilman walks 4 straight to lose the game..HOW THE HECK DOES THAT HAPPEN ?
Any Yankee fan that truly believes that there is such a thing as a curse really should just become a Red Sox fan.
Jeter sticking up for Robbie when reporters asked about his “lazy” effort.
from NJ.com
“….. Jeter, the captain, defended his teammate, who has been criticized this season for too often making seemingly nonchalant efforts on defense.
“That wasn’t a lazy play,” Jeter insisted. “It’s a play he’s made 100 times. In that situation, (the throw)’s a little bit low, but no, you can’t say it was nonchalant or anything like that. It’s a play he works on, he’s good at it, just, in that situation, it was a little off.”
pat- Jeter isn’t credible either. He should have ripped Cano a new one.
Anyone going to tomorrows game?
Try Britton in the 8th inning tomorrow.
“why can’t we find young pitchers who do well like bowden?”
You mean like Joba?
As to Jeter getting up in people’s faces: We have no idea, none whatsoever, what he does or doesn’t do or say in that locker room. Posada is the one who is known to confront people when there’s an issue. The well-documented problems with this team are inconsistency, underperformance, injuries, bad roster construction, and playing catch-up with competitors that have a few years’ head start in restocking/overhauling the farm system. None of these problems will be solved by Jeter engaging a false display of temperament so as to be seen as more of a “leader.”
Nick in SF,
We beg you, please come down from the tree!
Well I guess it wasn’t Jeter who gave those quotes to Heyman.
That means it either had to be Arod or Mussina.
Though it would be funny if Heyman went to someone like Britton, Rasner, Ponson, Ransom, Gardner etc. for a quote on Cano.
how is humberto sanchez pitching 5 innings right now….hes not stretched out as far as i know
Boston has several prospects that really look like they are going to hit.
Josh Reddick, Lars Anderson come to mind. Run those two kids through baseball-reference.
Don’t forget about Engel Beltre who was traded to Texas in the Eric Gagne deal. He’s having a nice season in A ball for an 18 year old.
You can talk about out trying to develop Boston, but that’s not going to happen in the next 1, 2, or 3 seasons. The guys they have already graduated are very good players who play the right way and the guys behind them match the kids the Yankees have down on the farm. The financial advantage of New York has to be leveraged to close the gap.
Col 88,
I think it was Giambi.
1. He’s got a big mouth.
2. He’s always ignored the code.
3. He dumped on A-rod in the SI article.
Just saw the ‘fight’ between the Marlins and Mets. Who didn’t the Marlin really go after Pelfry? It looked like he waited for the entire team to be out there to go after him.
“That means it either had to be Arod or Mussina.”
A-Rod went on record with quotes about Melky and Cano a few weeks ago. He said Cano is an amazingly talented player with incredible potential who needs someone to push him from time to time.
“I think it was Giambi.”
Oh no. Not the Big G. He’s such a great guy.
(in progress)
Humberto Sanchez -Tampa A
5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K’s
GO/AO 3-6
Mel, yeah I figured the second quote was one of Giambi/Damon about Pedroia and Cano.
The first one about the contract though seems Mussina-esque. Though that could be Giambi too.
Brandon not sure why Manuel intentioanlly walked two players which gave Heilman no leeway whatsoever especially after having to throw 8 pitches purposely out of the zone
pat,
You’ve got it thong. Err. Wrong.
Just saw what Joe said, Pete over reacted. All he said was Cano has a smoothness to him, like so and so. He wasn’t comparing him to him. Just said it wasn’t nonchalant. I think Pete’s criticism of Joe has really gotten out of hand.
gayle- I wonder if he is being toasted on the Mets blog.
It did sound Arod-like. However, I’m not sure if he would take the risk to make such strong quotes like that, even though it was off-the-record. The NY media has burned him before, you would think he’d be cautious.
i like jerry manual— he is a goofy guy.
too bad his bullpen sucks.
Jennifer,
I think you’ve got it wrong. As Pete has said, listen to the tape yourself. Everyone in the room heard it. They can’t all be wrong.
Don’t think it was Arod. It had to be a player that the media generally likes; like Damon, Jeter, Giambi.
mel- I just saw it on the news.
Jennifer if you read those quotes it sounded like Micheal Kay
It was probably Britton who gave the media those quotes as revenge for the way he has been used.
If it’s off the record, should those quotes have been printed? I’d never open up to someone who burned me, even in an anonymous way.
Don’t think it was Alex.
Your talkative ones are Giambi and Damon. It’s rare that you have a true Yankee (there it is again!) say nasty things about a teammate. Especially about a contract.
Moose is a different story though.
David Cone is pitching a pefect game through 4 on YES. Think he’ll get it?
I love Yankee Classics on YES. The Yankees always win.
Mel, I asked a guy whether he had ever heard of PA and, it almost got me strung up in a tree for mentioning the name A*B*R*A*H*A*M. It is not a readily liked name down here in the Deep South. They still refer to it as “The War Of Northern Agression”.
(still in progress)
Humberto Sanchez -Tampa A
5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K’s
GO/AO 3-7
jennifer,
I’m just teasing. Just a dig at the beat writers.
The first quote was from Chris Russo
The second was from Stephen A. Smith
Humberto Sanchez -Tampa A
6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K’s
GO/AO 4-7
(Ok enough sit him down he’s coming off TJS)
GB7,
So Pete is Dishonest Abe? Since he has a dishonesty radar? Just kidding, Pete. Love ya!
ah okay
I am listening to the entire interview now. It sounds like everyone was pushing Joe to rip Cano a new one. He refused. It doesn’t mean that he didn’t pull him behind closed doors and told him make sure you get one! He doesn’t seem to like throwing players under the bus to the media.
Why attribute quotes to the media guys? I thought it was Yankee teammates? Why the ruse by Heyman? Either he’s got the dirt or not.
That error obviously really hurt them but Girardi left Rasner in the game way too long. Rasner has been dreadful for most of the season I dont care how good he was pitching out there it was the 7th inning not the 5th get him out of there!!! You knew he was going to give up eventually. He gave up a hit to Batista who was something like 0 for his last 20, then he walked Zaun who was 0-20 also. After the hit he should of brought Bruney in.
Girardi is also using the bullpen WAY too much. No matter how much they want to try and win everyday..not that it matters now anyway, you cant abuse them. If you bring in Bruney and Marte let them pitch an inning no more of this 1 batter BS…it is ridiculous. Also he has to stop bringing in Ramirez late in the game. He is not good enough to be brought into the situations that Girardi has brought him into recently.
First you say he left Rasner in too long, than you say he uses his pen too much. Which is it?
Mel, you may think I’m joking, but, it is serious stuff down here. There are at least 10 grade schools in this area that have all of the pictures of the US presidents on the wall, and it goes from #15 to #17. A lot of people throw their pennies on the sidewalks or in the streets and refuse to carry $5 bills.
GB7,
I know you’re not joking. I grew up in the south (not deep south), but I know that the Confederacy and what it stood for will never die.
He did leave Rasner in too long. As far as the bullpen I was talking about recently not just todays game. The last 2 days he used Bruney, Marte and Ramirez for 1 batter. Then today Marte for 1 batter. Veras looked like he needed a day off and he brought him in to pitch the 9th after Ramirez gave up a hit. None of this guys are rested they have been in every game recently.
Mel, I love it down here, although I was born and raised in Southwestern Michigan. The only other place I’d rather live would be in Austin, Texas.
Did You want to see Britton out there?
Do not let Rasner start against Kazmir next Thursday. Bring up Victor Zombrano instead.
Let Aceves take Ponson’s spot.
-If Jeter fails to get the 10 hits he needs at the remaining home games, they should keep Lou Gehrig’s name on the record
What’s with Joe Nathan? Another blown save.
I just watched the movie “Lost Souls” (which is great, BTW) today, and that got me wondering exactly how signs of the antichrist A-Rod matches.
“Did You want to see Britton out there?”
That was actually who I thought Girardi was going to bring in to pitch. Considering Ramirez already gave up 2 runs..and he is an all or nothing guy and it seemed like Veras needed a day off.
Worst Yankees Manager ever.
He can’t even take a playoff team to the playoffs.
Nathan’s “save”: single, HBP, rbi (2) sac bunt on Nathan’s throwing error. Zero (0) outs.
2 rbi on a sac bunt throwing error? Where did he throw the ball?
E-Man August 30th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Worst Yankees Manager ever.
He can’t even take a playoff team to the playoffs.
Huh??????????????
Is that stat right? The Mets have 23 blown saves since the ASB?
Wow
Buddy,
I think he’s talking about Torre. Just kidding!
Pat,
Bunt halfway up the 3B line. Nathan fields it and throws to third instead of 1B. It boots off the base/3B, guy scores from 3B. Outfielder comes flying in to field it in that large foul territory and throws it home, but the guy had already scored after advancing to 2B on the sac bunt.
The HBP pushed the leadoff guy into scoring position. Nathan compounds the problem by not going to 1B to get the out there. Just a bad day all around for Nathan. But you’d figure he’d be able to get out of a 2nd & 3rd, 1 out situation, giving up one run at the most.
Video on the video tab of Gameday.
Is that stat right? The Mets have 23 blown saves since the ASB?
NY Mets BP
Jennings reporting that Phil Hughes is Scranton’s starter for Monday, Sept. 1st.
who ever said that the heyman qoutes sounded like michael kay, i agree with them
i also believe it was definitly not arod, the guy has had so much bad stuff said about him, i doubt he’ll say something bad about a team mate since he knows how it feels
i hope it was kay and not a yankee player bc those qoutes are unnessacary and there was no need to trash cano like that when most likely the person who said it isnt doing to hott either!! lol
Someone asked about Giese yesterday. Bullpen on Tuesday and expected back with the team soon.
“Your talkative ones are Giambi and Damon. It’s rare that you have a true Yankee (there it is again!) say nasty things about a teammate. Especially about a contract.”
The contract quote could have been from Andy, because no one would know better than a farm system Yankee of how the Yankees front office operates, while free agents are wined and dined and may have a less accurate perception. Andy seemed to have problems with his contracts with the Yankees–I remember reading a year or two ago in an article that the low signing bonus the Yankees gave him after the draft still rankled him. George never valued him as much as the shiny new toys, and there was the whole debacle about his 2003 contract offer over how they wouldn’t guarantee three years. I could imagine his being more sympathetic to Wang’s arbitration case because he’s been there. Plus he’s the only one of the “true Yankees” whose contracts was not mentioned. If it was him, it’s more a jab at the Yankees’ FO than at Cano, since they’d never made an exception before.
CC Sabathia is a must this offseason again Cashman should be placing players on waivers right now, Giambi, Damon, heck even Matsui sell the vets, I’d even dangle Nady you never know what a team will give up for him.
“CC Sabathia is a must this offseason again Cashman should be placing players on waivers right now, Giambi, Damon, heck even Matsui sell the vets, I’d even dangle Nady you never know what a team will give up for him.”
Great Mariano Duncan quote. Glad I had a bbq to attend tonight and didn’t have to yap on here all night. Nady is the only guy I wouldn’t give up unless the name on the other side of the deal was Zach Greinke or Jonathan Broxton.
Do you think any one interesting gets a September callup? By interesting, I mean someone we haven’t see this year.
Looks like Milb made a mistake… it was Noel Castillo who started today for Tampa, not Sanchez.
I’d trade Nady for some prospects. What about Nady for Tabata, McCutchen, and Karstens?
“I’d trade Nady for some prospects. What about Nady for Tabata, McCutchen, and Karstens?”
I lol’d.
“Do you think any one interesting gets a September callup? By interesting, I mean someone we haven’t see this year.”
Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves. Thats about it maybe Anthony Clagget gets the call.
I think Juan Miranda has an outside shot at a callup considering he’s already on the 40-man.
I’m really psyched about te NFL at this point. Soon hot stove will be upon us and the soft glow of Bob Lorenz and Tom Verducci/Jon Heyman can peak my interest in this team once again.
If they’d give me the axe, I’d drive back to Berkeley tonight and start chopping down those trees myself.
Whew, close game for the Bears.
Bad day for the Yanks, huh? I still think it will be ok, um, if we don’t lose any games in September.
“I think Juan Miranda has an outside shot at a callup considering he’s already on the 40-man.”
Very true. Since they are not going to sign Big G they should at least check out the internal options.
Miranda plays above average defense and has really improved his plate discipline in AAA this year.
“Bad day for the Yanks, huh? I still think it will be ok, um, if we don’t lose any games in September.”
Fingers crossed for a 20+ win September!
Looks like Milb made a mistake… it was Noel Castillo who started today for Tampa, not Sanchez.
WOW that’s not only a mistake but a complete F’n embarassment to MILB
“Miranda plays above average defense and has really improved his plate discipline in AAA this year.”
Absolutely. Give him a shot I’d rather see a team of guys like Ransom, Gardner, Miranda giving 110% than seeing Giambi, Abreu and Cano loaf around in September.
“Looks like Milb made a mistake… it was Noel Castillo who started today for Tampa, not Sanchez.
WOW that’s not only a mistake but a complete F’n embarassment to MILB”
Such disappointment. I thought Sanchez was going to be a reliever?
They did that with Melancon too a couple of months ago, they had him pitching 6 innings and he pitched 5 scoreless innings and gave up 7 runs in the 6th. I was so pissed at Tony Franklin I was like What the hell is he doing with our prized prospect.
Then it was revealed it was 3 innings for Melancon then Steven Jackson took over.
Either way it was an embrassment… how do you get Noel Castillo confused with Sanchez?
Al – I agree, bro. Bring on the NFL season… its been such a depressing summer. All we have to look forward to now is football followed by hopefully an active hot stove. Not to mention the winter leagues with guys like Brackman, Bleich, Garcia, Sanchez, Jackson, etc.
I’m a Giants fan so obviously its going to be fun defending our title, but the Jets with Favre will be very intruging as well– especially the NE/Chargers games. NFL is going to be king in this town this fall.
The problem with the offense this year is that too many at-bats were given to crappy players.
The bench guys (Ensberg, Betemit, Duncan, Gardner, Ransom, Sexson, Gonzelez, Moeller, Stewart, Christian) combined for over 600 plate appearances this year with slightly worse offensive numbers than Melky Cabrera. 600 plate appearances weith that kind of performance is brutal. Melky has had about 440 plate appearances with that kind of garbage production.
And Jose Molina has had over 260 plate appearances of even worse production than that.
And Pudge has been even worse than Molina in a little over 50 plate appearances.
And of course Melky was a disaster.
And Cano, while better than the previously mentioned dudes, has been a far below league average hitter this season.
So here’s the problem – those crappy guys have combined for almost 40% of the team’s plate appearances this season. Think about that for a second.
So you can complain all you want about aging players like Matsui or Damon or Abreu or players in decline like Jeter or unclutch players like Giambi or Rodriguez. But those guys haven’t been the problem. It’s these other dudes that have essentially wasted 40% of the team’s plate appearances. The Yankees need to find a way to vastly improve the bench for next season, hope Jorge stays healthy and can catch regularly to prevent Molina from killing the offense again, hope Cano bounces back, and find a better everyday outfielder than Melky. Because those are the areas of the offense that really need the improvement.
It would also help if the farm system had some legit reinforcements waiting in the wings besides Austin Jackson.
That’s a lot of ABs for guys who are around the Mendoza line.
Just got home – this game does not sound like a pretty one. I’ll consider myself lucky I missed it.
But how do the Sox even manage to win? They have Bowden, in his MLB debut, pitching instead of Beckett. Lowell, Youk, Drew, and (yes, Manny) are not playing. Then they have three rookies – Ellsbury, Bailey, and Lowrie – in the lineup. And the hobbit (aka Pedroia) is hitting CLEANUP.
How?! Oh and they’re playing a first-place team.
yankee “fans” really are ridiculous towards arod. he has the numbers, plays well in the field (ok not so much on foul pop flys) and works as hard as anyone in the game. hes got 2 mvps in the bronx yet he gets booed as if he were a red sock. when ortiz hit 160 to start the season did he get booed? yankee fans even know the booing gets to him but theyd rather put all the blame on the best all around player we have. even after we all witnessed one of the best seasons any baseball player has ever had last year. i dont remember the numbers but his 9th inning stats last year were off the charts, so to say he cant do it in the 9th is just wrong
It’s too difficult to accept that Yankees can’t play playoff games this year.
Who can save Yankees?
Who can help Yankees?
How to build Yankees to be a champion team?
I really don’t want to see Yankees’ failure again in next year.
stick a fork in em…
Girardi has been a disappointment. Giving him a C- would be generous. He never set this team in the right direction from the get go.
Injuries happen to every team. Girardi doesn’t get through to the players and coddles too much. He gives excuses – not reasons.
It is so disheartening to read newspaper accounts of Alex’s last at bat that state simply, “Alex Rodriguez hit into a double play.” I think that while it is certainly accurate, it is not a true depiction of what actually occurred.
Not that it matters, because the game is history. But it surely doesn’t help matters with fans, especially any who depended on accounts in the morning papers to let them know what happened in the game.
At least the Star Ledger’s account was more detailed.
Question: Are there reports who report the game based on a boxscore? Who weren’t actually at the game?
Eyes of realism -
No one knows what Girardi says in the privacy of his office. His policy is, at least as I can tell over the course of the season, to not denigrate his players in public. I really don’t see what’s wrong with that policy. Just because the public wants to have it’s red meat doesn’t mean Girardi (or any manager) should throw it to them.
The front page of the NY Times sports section reads, below a picture of Alex with hands atop his head:
“Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees blow another one.”
I don’t know – call me crazy – but wasn’t it Cano who made the game-changing error? Wasn’t it the bullpen who couldn’t hold a lead? Didn’t two other hitters come up in a bases loaded situation and fail to get the job done?
RE: Pete’s sympathetic comments about ARod:
ARod’s getting paid to be better than everybody else around him. He’s paid to be the self-proclaimed (by himself, Boras, and the media) “best player in baseball”.
To me, that means having the ability to do “the right thing” in nearly every AB, whether it be a productive flyout, a groundout to the infield behind the runner, a hit to the opposite field, a sacrifice fly, or…behold!…a line drive to the wall! Everything doesn’t have to be a home run, or in attempting one, flailing at tailor-made pitches that end up costing runners and outs.
To me, he’s somewhat less than The Legend of ARod. He’s a bit better than the average ballplayer, and worth no where near what he’s being paid. Frankly, I’d rate his idol Cal Ripken above him.
FrootyFrank, nice to read some ANALYSIS in the middle of all the hankie-wringing.
And GB7, Mel, Tank, Brandon, etc., glad you broke up the rehashes with actual INFORMATION about our farmhands.
Whether I agree with anyone’s analysis or can validate their information or not, analysis and information are what I read for. Not putting down anyone who comes here mainly to share the emoting and groupie-speculation, but for me it does get repetitious after a while and I appreciate those who also engage their minds!
Thanks for making the comment section worth reading for me this morning!
Now I’m off on my usual Sunday occasions and will be watching the game later, but look forward to more good comments when I get back.
“so to say he cant do it in the 9th is just wrong”
Of course he can. But he ain’t doing it right now when the team needs it.
Oh, yeah, one more thing:
Hey, Doreen, would you like it better if the NY media beat down Cano like they’re so capable of doing, with a headline like “Robinson Cano and the NY Yankees blow another one”?
He’s still a young guy and something like that could turn him into the 2B version of Ed Whitson. On the other hand, ARod’s a veteran of both baseball experience and the rigors of NY media attention (which he came to NY to bask in, anyway). ARod can take it — there’s some question whether or not Yankee fans should wish that kind of attention on Robinson Cano. At least, to my mind, there is.
some say look at all the boston red sox prospects that end up bring good compared to the yankees.
it is early and cano had a few great years,joba and others worked out well for the yankees.
buchholz stinks right now,cano put up better numbers in the past that pedroia did ever and is only 2 months older than him plus the yankees prospects are brought up at an earlier age than the red sox ones.
they both have always produced nice prospects.
the yankees need to keep doing what they are doing with their farm system.
they have tons of pitching prospects,brackman is the one i like among a few others,ajax a nice outfielder and montero a nice catcher who is doing very well.
it is the pitching that sepparate the two clubs.
boston has been 5 or 6 deep with at least 3 pitchers who are among the best,becket,lester,dice-k.
the yankees have joba,wang and will probably sign at least one frontline pitcher so they only need a few to step up from the minors.
nobody knows what hughes will turn into but he just turned 22 yrs old.some pitchers need more time to develop and he is one of them.
when he learns a few other pitches besides his curveball and fasball he might be ok,only time will tell.
some pitchers start off great and then hit a wall like buchholz,he had a no hitter in his second game and now he is in the minors all messed up.i read an article about him yesterday and he said he lost his confidence and he is 2 years older than hughes.
if a pitcher hits 25 or 26 years old and still is struggling in my oppinion he is finished but usually around 24 yrs old you can tell what you have.
the yankees have a lot of pitchers that you will be seing in the next few years like melancon,brackman and several more so be patient.
Karen -
No, I wouldn’t have wanted them to beat down Cano. In a perfect world, I don’t want them to beat down anyone. But it’s not a perfect world. They could have just said, “Yankees blew another one” and that would have been a very apt description of what happened – enough went wrong and enough people failed in key spots to warrant a “team” headline.
My gripe is that again they placed all of it on ARod in the headline. That is all. I have said I agree with Girardi’s policy of not denigrating his players in public. I actually like Robinson Cano and think he is a very talented young player, who may need a push every now and again, but is worth the extra maintenance. And I posted as much last night and even before that.
I do agree with you that ARod is expected to do more and it leads to larger disappointment when he comes up short and it’s all part and parcel of carrying the weight of “greatest player in the game” title as well as the salary that goes along with it. I don’t think it’s necessary to blame every loss on him, though. That’s all.
I’m trying to figure out where “Karen” came up with a quote thar Rdriguez ever called himself the “best player in baseball”. Boras and the media pukes are the ones that hung that tag on him and the fans or anti-fans picked up on it. However said that it came from Rodriguez is a bald-faced liar.
Doreen –
Good morning.
Someone once told me you have to read several newspapers in order to find out what really happpene. Your observations, above, reminded me of that, with respect to Alex and Cano.
It was a tough game. It’s almost as if the error was a sign to the team that “Here we go again”. Rasner, maybe running out of gas on a warm day, couldn’t recoup – after all, he’s not a Wang, Joba or Mussina.
Just one more agonizing game in a season too full of them.
Doreen
The headlines are usually more infuriating than the stories themselves. Writers pick a theme and only use the quotes and stats that support that theme. While what they write are not lies, in many cases it is only the half truth.
Like most things in life, there are 3 sides to every story.
Karen
No doubt A-Rod has had a bad year with situational hitting but money has nothing to do with success just expectations. I’d be willing to bet that if money had anything to do with it, A-Rod would have been eager to write a check if it would have bought him a hit in the 9th yesterday.
If you expect A-Rod “to do the right thing” in “nearly every AB”, you are going to be disappointed for a long time coming. They give men plaques in Cooperstown if they ONLY fail 7 out of 10 times offensively over the course of a long career. Baseball is a game of failures.
If Boras and the media call A-Rod the best player in baseball, that is not self-proclaimed. If A-Rod has called himself them best player in baseball (which I don’t remember him saying) that would be repeating what others have already said and then it would be “arguably the best player in baseball” and still not “self proclaimed”.
Good Morning Joe from Long Island -
I was told that same thing, though it was with respect more to politics than sports. But the more sources you have, the better you’re able to put the story together yourself — unless, of course, you actually saw the story unfold yourself.
It’s really clear that Rasner is not a guy who can go long (past 5) in a game. That’s too bad. And frustrating because his pitch count was really good yesterday, and I can see why Joe would try to get one more inning from him. And if the double play is made, or even if they got one out from that play, the whole complexion of the game is different. You’re right. He’s not Wang, Joba or Mussina. He wasn’t able to brush it off or, as you said, he just got gassed.
Good morning GB7 -
I see you survived the sand gnats?
I don’t know how much of today’s game I’ll be able to sit and watch – having company. I’m undecided about whether to keep it on in the house and take an occasional look, or keep it off altogether and just watch the (Who But) WB Mason Encore??? Decision, decisions!
Maybe Halliday won’t be quite on his game today. Hopefully Pettitte is on his. Go Yankees.
This has just been a whirlwind of a disappointing season all things told. You remember that every facet of the team has had a period or five of very poor play. There was a point in time when our starters were not going deep into games, and of course that placed stress of the bullpen. Then when the starters were doing their job, either the pen would implode or the offense would sputter. The offense unfortunately sputtered more than typically happens in a baseball season and so a lot more pressure was put on the starters and pen. One thing all three did manage to do in synch, at various times, was not get the job done.
Wish we could have done more, injuries notwithstanding.
Here’s the toughest part to take. Because we are deficit spending, any error will be magnified beyond belief. So we probably will need to remember that because with every game virtually a must-win, any blip that really is part of the game and wouldn’t have been a big deal in the course of the season of course now is “unacceptable”. And it is really unreasonable to expect a team that is hanging on by a thread to be perfect in every aspect, every game. It just ain’t gonna happen. The injury factor looms large at this point because we are trying to get decent baseball players to be excellent baseball players – I’m talking about the replacement factor. What we need to succeed is a team of excellent ball players who are infallible in their playing, and I don’t think that’s what we are sitting with right now, especially when you add in the wear factor.
When we lost yesterday’s game and the Sux won theirs – why are they winning someone asked – they certainly have the confidence factor on their side after they came and took two our of three from us, plus they had the benefit of knowing we had already lost – an added incentive – and the AL Central isn’t the strongest division in the AL. Likely it is the weakest of the three.
I have come as close as I can to fully acknowledging that this is a lost season. Until the Yankees are eliminated I can’t throw in the towel, but I certainly realize the unlikelihood of them coming through this and making the playoffs.
Although with Joba and Giese coming back…
On my way to mass. I think I’ll pray for the “strength” to accept and deal with the fact that it just may not be our year.
Karen
You may want to have a chat with Pete if you have a problem with writers taking shots at Cano in headlines because he may not be able to handle it.
His story headline for today is “Cano throws away game, possibly season”. That could be misunderstood to mean that Cano is responsible for possibly throwing away the season.
arod probably should of taken that last pitch because of the possibility of a double play.if he gets on it is bases loaded no outs but he hit it hard at least.
this is just not the yankees year.their lack of clutch hitting and especially pitching is what did them in.
girardi made some mistakes like falling in love with the lefty righty matchups and not putting the best team on the field everyday.
he will learn from this but i think he did the best for what he had and give him a c+ or b-.
losing wang and joba hurt and if they had both of them cobined with a true ace they battle for the division.you don’t need aces 1-5 but the 4th and 5th spot hurt them all year and sometimes 2 and 3 spots also.
they would probably be better off letting all the free agents go and partially rebuild to get a little younger and quicker,get a few good bunters on the team.
it is frustrating seeing a 210 million dollar team finishing third.
i could of built this team better,i believe.
i would trade cano,hughes and another prospect for the best pitcher i can get,if he is not good enough then i don’t make the move.a pitcher that is around 25-27 years old,kashmir,peavey,along those lines.
getting an infielder is easy but getting pitching is hard.
i would try to build a downright nast pitching staff 1-5 and go for position players with the highest obp i can get.
not much needs to be done here.a center fielder,first baseman,maybe a catcher and or corner outfielder depending on abraeu,nady.
nady to first base?,posada to first,dh posada?,only time will tell.
i would catch posada only a few times a week and call cervelli up,platoon matsui,posada at dh.if abraeu comes back maybe move him to first base or put nady at first unless they just don’t mind spending money and sign a first baseman like tex wich would be a nice quick fix and fixes a lot of the problems.now you can dh posada,nady in right if abraeu doesn’t come back and maybe trade matsui.
the better the pitching is the more they can take a gamble on putting melky,gardner,christian in center field.
if they go out and get sabathia and sheets then i would use one of them until we see how ajax turns out.
baldelli might be a one year option,the yankees just have to make sure they have a lot of red bull in the clubhouse,he is only 27 yrs old and won’t be to expensive.those are the types of players that the yankees had sucess with,oneil,hayes,brosus,etc……. not a 15 million dollar player at every position
“I don’t know – call me crazy – but wasn’t it Cano who made the game-changing error?”
Yes.
“Wasn’t it the bullpen who couldn’t hold a lead?”
Yes.
“Didn’t two other hitters come up in a bases loaded situation and fail to get the job done?”
Yes.
I won’t blame A-Rod solely for yesterday’s debacle, but he definitely shares the blame.
Maybe Girardi is to be blamed for the 9th inning. After all, I really dislike his idea of only working with Brett Gardner in the bunting department.
In the 9th, with men on 1st and 2nd, no outs, and arguably the best player in baseball at the plate, I personally think that there should’ve been a call from the bench to advance the runners with a sac bunt. 1 out, men on 2nd and third with 1st base open is a really good situation.
Maybe Girardi likes his chances with A-Rod in yesterday’s 9th inning situation. Maybe he will let A-Rod swing away and go for the win (which he did). But going for the tie in that situation, just ensuring a position in which you can tie and possibly win, would’ve been a good move. “All or nothing” is a philosophy that allows for strategy. It is not a strategy itself.
I really dislike this idea that Girardi has about hitters stepping into the box with absolutely no idea how to lay down a bunt efficiently. I feel that it is inexcusable to allow a major league baseball player to be fundamentally incapable as a hitter. You’re a baseball player, you have to be capable enough to play all of baseball. You have to be capable enough to do everything a hitter is supposed to do. Not just swinging away. You should know how to put a bunt down. Everybody should know how to bunt efficiently. Not just Brett Gardner– everybody.
“Johnny Damon feels uncomfortable when he has to bunt”, “Robby feels uncomfortable when he has to bunt”… are you serious? Give me a break. There should be no player in major league baseball that steps into the batters box and doesn’t know what he’s doing or is uncomfortable with doing what he is supposed to do. As a manager, if your players can’t bunt, you better fix that. Or else, what the hell are you doing exactly?
/rant
i would shut joba down now.
i wouldn’t wan’t to have this terrible season ending with joba getting hurt and being nervous all winter.
good point about bunting.
arod should have bunted or tried for a walk.
with a walk you have bases loaded and no out,if you fart,you score.
a lot of work in the offseason.
Good morning, Doreen. Yes, I survived the sand gnats (both the insects and the team Charleston played – Savannah Sand Gnats), but, I had to buy out the existing stock of calamine lotion at WalMarts. I have the final game coming up tonight. I’m going to take a machine gun with me tonight and shoot those things down. They’re getting bigger by the day. I swear I saw Swastikas and Rising Suns on the wings of those things.
It was a great finish to the game, though. NYY has some good looking young players coming up, hopefully by mid 2010, pitchers and hitters. The trick is to keep the pitchers healthy. I think you’ll get a chance to see some of them in Trenton by mid season next year, a couple in Scranton. You’ll definately see Wilkins De La Rosa next year, pretty early, I think. He’s making the Florida State League hitters look silly. You won’t get Montero, Laird or Romine next year, until late, unless Trenton has injuries. Defense is what needs to be improved but the bats are for real.
Peter, silly for the fans to boo AROD with those numbers? For someone making 5 mil, with an occasional hit in the clutch, a non-incendiary off-the -field presence, humility, perhaps; but not for someone making 25mil +, being the face of the most storied franchise in sports history, in the greatest city in the world in the sports capital of the world, ABSOLUTELY NOT. He is getting off lightly. Most simply put, this man is a disgrace and a sad commentary on our times. Tommy Henrich where are you????
For those of you who are not up with Yankee lore, Tommy Henrich was known as “Old Reliable” dubbed as such by Mel Allen for his ability to get a hit when the team needed it. when Tommy came up and the Yankees needed a hit in the late innings, you could take it to the bank…Ole Reliable would usually justify his moniker. He was also a very humble man, and a consummate gentleman.
Mel Allen had catchy nicknames for everyone. Henrich was a solid player, but, he was no more reliable than Charlie Keller and the rest.
beefeater
August 30th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Laura,
yup, last year (year of his contract) he did hit in the clutxh. However EVERY other year with the Yankees he did not.
All you would need from the 4th spot in the order is a hit “once in a while†when the game is on the line. If we had a guy in the fourth spot who is league average hitting with RISP we might only be 2 or 3 games out of the wild card.
He has virtually no impact on any games that are close.
I quite honestly have never seen this before. A superstar talent who does not impact his team.
I think hes a better hitter than Big Popi, but I could never imagine watching Red SOx highlights and not see Popi delivering game winning hits.
I could never imagine Popi or Wright, or Vladdy, not being involved in the teams victories. The guys hitting 3 and 4 get the most opportuniites.
_________________________________________________
Hey Beefeater, how did Jeter do in his last contract year (1999)? One of the best seasons of his career. I guess he was just playing for the big money, huh?
correction ***2000***