Game 136: Blue Jays at Yankees
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 31, 2008 
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YANKEES (72-63)
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Molina C
Pettitte LHP
Andy Pettitte (13-10, 4.37) vs. the Toronto hitters.
Roy Halladay (16-9, 2.69) vs. the New York hitters.
Notes: Thanks to Jake Thomases for providing the lineup. … The Yankees are 2-3 on a six-game homestand that ends today. They start a 10-day, 10-game, four-city road trip tomorrow in Detroit. … The teams have split 14 games this season. The Blue Jays are three games behind the Yankees in the AL East standings.
CHASING LOU: Derek Jeter has 1,260 hits at Yankee Stadium. The record is 1,269 by Lou Gehrig. Today is the first of 11 games remaining at the Stadium.
TAKE A BIG CUT: Bobby Abreu has gone 104 AB without hitting a home run.
DOUBLE PLAY-ROD: Alex Rodriguez had grounded into 11 double plays this month. Over the last 20 seasons, the only other player to hit into that many GIDPs in one calendar month was Jose Guillen, who had 11 for the Mariners last August. No other Yankees batter has grounded into that many double plays in one calendar month since GIDPs were first recorded in the American League in 1939.
(This stat, I just learned, came from the hard-working people at the Elias Sports Bureau, the greatest of all the sports bureaus.)
ENJOY THE GAME: That’s it for me today. I’m not at the Stadium because of the 10-day road trip that starts tomorrow and will be avoiding the PowerBook all day. Play nice.
Not all GIDP are created equal. At least Saturday he hit the ball hard and down the line somehwat. It’s the weak groudners, pop ups and strikeouts that are most frustrating. I don’t think any fair minded fan would be critical of that at bat yesterday despite the result.
These guys must get sick of seeing the same lineup everyday
The players are the ones that requested that Girardi stop playing musical chairs with the line up.
Go Yanks!
“The players are the ones that requested that Girardi stop playing musical chairs with the line up.”
I thought it was Pete Abraham
Andy Pettitte needs to come up with a big game today. The Yankees will probably not score a lot of runs off Halliday, so Pettitte needs to hold Toronto to 2 runs or less.
“The players are the ones that requested that Girardi stop playing musical chairs with the line up.”
Yes, but the problem is that they waited too late to do it. If they had been using the same lineup for most of the season, I think we’d see better results. Of course, with the injuries, they couldn’t do it all year, but they could have done it sooner than they did.
Actually that is not accurate. They did not request the lineups stop changing. They said that they would be more comfortable after Joe asked them if they would like a more stable lineup. That’s a little different from going to Joe and requesting it.
Laura – you can’t blame the non-production on the different lineups.
I assume Giambi is at 1b and matsui is the dh?
Phil – 27 in ’08:
you might wan’t to change the 27 in 08 to 27 in 09.just an idea.
“Laura – you can’t blame the non-production on the different lineups.”
I think it might have been a factor. Frankly, I’m at a loss at what the problem has been the whole season. If someone knows the definitive answer, I’d like to hear it so that we can make sure it doesn’t happen again next year.
Two DH’s and no 1B. It’s going to be tough to get many outs with that alignment.
Is typing the lineup really that hard that Pete makes mistakes almost every time?
WOW…Abe got through a post without taking a jab at Girardi or repeating earlier posts to take jabs at girardi – by the way pete, sweet job yesterday suggesting that Girardi should hang Cano out to dry… now youve really lost it – you actually suggested that the manager put his player on the chopping block! Accountability? please, if you saw even the highlights of yesterdays game you know Cano did a horrific job on that play and that pretty much cost them the game. You said yankee fans are not dumb – then they dont need the manager to call out his own player in the post game.
unreal.
Hey Laura I’m standing by A-rod too! Go Yankees!!
Laura – me too. Alex is certainly not the problem. It’s not fair that he is taking all of the heat.
“Hey Laura I’m standing by A-rod too! Go Yankees!!”
Unfortunately, I think that we’re the only two. Us and probably his mother.
Wow, you too Fran? Our numbers are increasing!!! Pretty soon, we’ll have to start a support group.
I’ll stand by Alex too. He is getting way too much heat from everyone. He turns his head the wrong way someone will criticize him. Enough!
To nobody’s surprise, another article throwing digs at Girardi, and pining for a Jerry Manuel personality. In other words, somebody who will say something stupid that will write the article itself. Imagine calling a writer/collegue “a clown” in print, but getting huffy when his friends/acquaintances are dogged. Mariotti may be a jerk, but, is he any worse than the hacks like Heyman, Sherman, Matthews and Lupica? I wish somebody would call them clowns…even in print.
I enjoy this blog, but I see a lot of heat going on A-Rod. If you want to abuse him from yesterday, you are 100% wrong. The ball was hit extremely hard down the line but Bautista made a nice play, nothing you can do about it. Everyone likes to abuse the guy when he’s slumping a bit, but they cheer him and he’s everyone’s hero when he hits 54 home runs. Not fair to him because he is a great player and the yankees would be in major trouble with out him. Its enough already, he is one of the greatest players ever to play the game.
Count me in on the “I’m standing up for ARod” list!
PowerBook? Man, I can’t believe they haven’t upgraded you to a MacBook Pro Pete. Mine is sweeet!!!
“Mariotti may be a jerk, but, is he any worse than the hacks like Heyman, Sherman, Matthews and Lupica?”
I live in Chicago and yes, Mariotti was worse than all those guys. Aside from Lupica (who hates the Yankees for reasons unknown to me), those other guys don’t report stories based on some vendetta against a player or a team. Mariotti had a weird obsession with Ozzie. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. You’d think that Ozzie killed his dog or something. Making matters worse is that he would write trash in his paper, but didn’t have the cajones to show his face in front of Ozzie or the White Sox. That guy was a first class loser who should have been fired years ago.
Cano has the potential, but for some reason he’s not 100% mentally there all the time…same with A-Rod…I understand he’s the greatest player of all time, but 28 home runs by the end of August?..come on, man.
Of course I’m standing by Alex.
josh I’m not saying that Arod has had a good year. Far from it. But it happens. I don’t think he’s trying to have a bad year. He’s ours. Enough for me.
“I don’t think any fair minded fan would be critical of that at bat yesterday despite the result.”
I take it you missed the game log yesterday?
“I understand he’s the greatest player of all time, but 28 home runs by the end of August?..come on, man.”
Alex was on the DL for several games. That is why is HR and RBI totals are down.
“josh I’m not saying that Arod has had a good year. Far from it.”
Actually, Trisha, most MLB players would kill for a season like Alex is having. Batting .300 with 28 HRs and 80 RBIs. Not too shabby for a normal player. Unfortunately for Alex, those numbers are bad for him. He’s a 40+ HR 125+ RBI kind of guy. He probably would have had those numbers if he wasn’t injured for 20 or so games.
(I posted this down below and it sums up my feelings about this season and what’s left of my hopes and dreams. Anyway the only thing that will have changed in the post is that I was on my way to mass, and now I am back from mass.
)
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 “unacceptableâ€. 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.
Jordan, I’m not ready to put Rodriguez, Jeter or Pujols into the “one of the greatest ever” categories, yet. He is one of the best all-around players in baseball in generations, though. when he’s retired, then, that’s the time to figure out where he ranks, and, it has noting to do with winning championships, someone’s idea of what “clutch” means (and not defined by some New England weasel like Bill James). Right now, I’ll just settle for watching two of the best shortstops to ever play the game.
Arod is garbage…. BUT so is a lot of players on this team… But that will be changed come 09′ right Hank?
Hey sweet ! ACHOKE can break a record with one more GIDP today. I’m sure he has it in him. In fact I expect two.
I’ll applaud Abreu for getting hits instead of swinging for the fences and making outs. How many times are Jeter, A-Rod or Giambi going to think HR and try to pull outside pitches, ending up with weak ground balls? I’ll take a Giambi with 10 less HR and 25 more doubles any day.
Laura, you are right about Alex’s numbers. Unfortunately he had a bad year in terms of helping the team when it counted the most, with RISP. And naturally that’s what you want your clean-up hitter to be doing. So that’s what I meant when I talked about having a bad year. Heck if he did that in the 9 hole he’d be our MVP!
“How many times are Jeter, A-Rod or Giambi going to think HR and try to pull outside pitches, ending up with weak ground balls?”
You lost me when you put Jeter in your list. Jeter is the first one to tell you that he’s not a HR hitter. He may try to pull outside pitches on occasion (he is more likely to try and hit them to RF), but it’s not because he’s trying to hit a HR.
A-rod deserves all the criticism he gets. He is a cancer to this team. Honestly.. does anyone actually like him?
The amount of DP’s this year are crazy.
Barring a miracle finish. What a depressing September this will be.
SJ…where are you?
Roland
The more accurate statement is A-Rod deserves all the criticism he earns but not all the criticism he gets.
Anyone like this idea?
Because a certain 1b in the National League has developed a rather acrimonious relationship with the team he plays for because they refuse to tender him a long-term contract and put him through arbitration every year, would that team, in need of pitching, consider, trading him for
Phil Hughes, Jose Veras or Mark Melancon, and Juan Miranda or Austin Romine?
The player I’m thinking of is Ryan Howard.
I hope every one is having a great holiday weekend.
Roland, i like A-Rod. plays hard, plays well. sometimes he tries too hard and presses – definitely a flaw in his game.
but – well, one example: the Yanks would have been hunting and fishing in October 2005 and 2007 if he were as non-clutch as you all imagine.
“The player I’m thinking of is Ryan Howard.”
He’s more of a Whiff King than Giambi is. I think he’s on pace to break the strikeout record. I want no part of this guy.
I’m bowing out of the board now. Without Pete around, it becomes even worse than it normally is on game days.
Enjoy the holiday weekend, kiddies!!!
“A-rod deserves all the criticism he gets. He is a cancer to this team. Honestly.. does anyone actually like him?”
This is a silly question. Of course people actually like him, namely his teammates. Damon has said several times that no one works as hard as Alex does. Alex is doing what he did back in 2006; trying too hard. If he would just relax like he did last year, his results would be better.
From MLB trade rumors.
http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_10345901
Back to school shopping with the kiddies isn’t going to do itself so I’m out. Will have to count on Sterling for updates from the car (God help me!) Those of you hanging in root extra hard for AP and the group today. Go Yanks.
Why is it that some “fans” that supposedly know the game think that swinging the bat to hit the ball hard means that they are swinging for the fences? Giambi swings for the fences…Mantle swung for the fences and he admitted that…”When I swing the bat, I don’t want to just hit a home run, I want to see how far it will go.”
And, this one.
“I hated striking out, but I always tried to kill the ball. I wanted to make it explode”
Oddly, though, it’s unlikely he ever saw how far it went, because he never bothered to watch it, and just kept his head down when he ran the bases. I had the priviledge to see probably the longest home run ever hit by anyone. Bck in September of 1960, Mantle clocked one that measured out at 643 feet, to right center in Tiger Stadium against Paul Foytack.
His OBA is 100 points higher than his BA and he earns 100 walks every year. Admittedly, his BA is down this year, but his OPS+ is still 144. His defense also has improved. Finally he sees 4.0 P/PA, despite registering high strike-out totals.
You have to look at the larger picture.
He’d be a lot cheaper than Teixiera, and someone has to play 1B next year.
“You lost me when you put Jeter in your list. Jeter is the first one to tell you that he’s not a HR hitter. He may try to pull outside pitches on occasion (he is more likely to try and hit them to RF), but it’s not because he’s trying to hit a HR.”
I’m not sure what he is trying to do, but what he was doing for most of June July and early Aug was GIDP, mostly by trying to pull outside pitches.
Also, saying most players in MLB would kill for Alex’s numbers is irrelevant. Alex gets paid $30M, and hits clean-up for the Yankees. He needs to do better. At least just strike out so he doesn’t negate the on-base skills of those in front of him.
Can we send Cano some tapes of Pedroia? That guy probably has less talent than Cano, but he is trying his butt off on every play and every AB. How can Cano be so lazy? Maybe spending some time with Melky at SWB could help him figure it out.
“a certain 1b in the National League”
KS –
There was an item about the potential of the Phils shopping Ryan Howard this off-season. I think it would be FANTASTIC to have him in pinstripes. He absolutely mashes.
Who knows what it might cost – so the devil is in the details – but I think he is a great player who shows a lot of class and poise when I’ve seen him deal with the national media.
“Also, saying most players in MLB would kill for Alex’s numbers is irrelevant.”
Perhaps you missed the point of my post. Trisha was saying that Alex was having a bad year. I was merely pointing out to her that for anyone else, Alex’s year would be considered good. His year is only considered “bad” because he is capable of so much more and has done so in the past on a consistent basis.
“He’d be a lot cheaper than Teixiera, and someone has to play 1B next year.”
True, but I’d prefer it be someone who isn’t going to strikeout several times a game.
I am a supporter of ARod.
I questioned Pete so many times for his unfair criticism of ARod. In spite of his off year and time on DL, he is still the best player of the team this year.
I really hope that by the end of the season ARod will have 100 RBIs. That will continue his streak of 11 seasons in a row. He also needs to get two more HRs for 30, which I think he will get easily.
Pat, just for you…”There’s a high drive deep to left center, and it’s caught by Jeter in shallow center field. WOW. I thought he got all of that one,”
BobNH—- was there a purpose to that link? I didn’t find one.
I have no problem with criticizing ARod for his horrible year with RISP, although RISP is not the be-all end-all stat some seem to think it is. He’s had several important, productive AB this week without RSIP but they get ignored. What I have trouble with is character assassination and the brain dead notion that he has NEVER hit in the clutch. That’s preposterous, and any Yankees fan who watched last season would know that.
Kill, how could Howard’s defense have improved? He’s made the most errors in his career and has the lowest fielding percentage, and he still has a month to go.
a diehard perspective: in terms of whether the season is over, they’re now in territory where they need to go 8-3 road trip over the next 11 games – including the 10-game road trip – followed by a 9-1 homestand – something like that – to make the last week meaningful. that’s put them at 89-67.
unlikely, but doable.
“Pat, just for you…â€There’s a high drive deep to left center, and it’s caught by Jeter in shallow center field. WOW. I thought he got all of that one,—
You mean you don’t enjoy the suspense of waiting the minute it takes for Sterling to process a simple play?
It only bothers me when the games matter – now that we are in the shape we’re in with our record, Sterling’s ‘Mr. Magoo Syndrome’ is kind of endearing.
By the way, Robby not talking to the press probably tells you everything you need to know about whether or not Robby understood how badly his error hurt the team yesterday. Not saying that he shouldn’t have stayed to take the heat, just that it probably highlights just how much he understood that gaffe was enormous.
Trisha, I’m not so sure that Girardi or one of the other players didn’t stash him in the trainer’s room to keep the piranhas from gnawing at him. If anybody’s ever watched him being interviewed, it’s painfully obvious that he doesn’t understand everything that’s being asked, nor, does he answer them in the most clear terms. He’s not exactly thick skinned and idiots like the NY media would love nothing better than rip into fresh meat. Most don’t have enough writting talent to let the game write the story. They’d rather get the blood.
trisha, Robby not talking to the press means Cano doesn’t understand his responsibilities. he’s gotta go out there and give Bull Durham answers.
i saw bits of the post-game interviews, and Damon, Jeter, A-Rod all had to answer questions about Robby. Cano needs to be there to answer those – i suspect it annoys teammates when he doesn’t.
TK, I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s day by saying “Wowie Zowie”.
One of his buddies probably told him to get out of there quickly before the media hounds him.
GB — You are right about that home run trot buddy. Just doing the job.
86- The linked article suggested that the Yankees put a claim in on the Rockies’ center fielder, who cleared waivers recently.
you hope it doesn’t become a mets-like situation where the team was ticked off that the latin players like beltran, delgado, castillo etc. refused to talk to the media and they had to answer question for them.
but we don’t have anyone who has the guts to call out teammates in public like wagner did, so it probably isn’t a big deal.
David :
i don’t think advocating someone striking out is tha way to go.
arod tries to do much and let’s the pressure in some way affect him subconciously and conciously.
some players just have ice in their veins and arod is not one of them.
when the pressure is off and the team is doing well arod is at his best and at times comes through.
he is what he is and isn’t going to change.
he is a player that is going to 300/35 hr/115 rbi just rolling out of bed and when he is in the zone no matter what the pressure he is going to leave every and any other player in the dust.
right now he is not in that zone with his divorce among other things he has to work at getting there instead of it coming naturally.
“but we don’t have anyone who has the guts to call out teammates in public like wagner did, so it probably isn’t a big deal.”
Whether Wagner was showing ‘guts’ or stabbing a teammate in the back is a matter of opinion. Personally I prefer my closers to be dignified, professional and Panamanian
I don’t know if you guys visit the Yesnetwork boards but I been there plenty. My user name is crzyYankeefan and we started this support group called A-rods Army and many signed up for it. Unfortunately there is only a couple standing by the man. GottogotoMo was also a big supporter and shes’s still around if you want to know how to join. I don’t know how you guys can piss on a guy like Alex. Many other fans would LOVE to root for a 5tool player. He’s been great his whole career and no matter how bad he’s performed this year he’s still going to reach that 30 Hr mark and knock in about 100. Surprisingly his average is way high. Even the best ball players are prone to have bad years but in the end some can even come close to the numbers they put up!
I wonder if Guidry and Gossage would think about coming out of retirement next year to set uo the 7th and 8th innings for Rivera?
“To nobody’s surprise, another article throwing digs at Girardi, and pining for a Jerry Manuel personality.”
Don’t know about the Jerry Manuel personality thing (the Mets did improve over what they were doing for Randolph) but Girardi deserves some digs. Not because he’s a bad guy (he’s got a little “smartest guy in the room” thing going, but he’s a good guy), but because he hasn’t done an especially good job this year. Granted the circumstances weren’t ideal for him this year (following an HOF manager, team in transition, injuries, etc.) but the Yankees were 1 game behind Boston in the loss column entering August and it came undone on his watch. He’s not alone in blame by any means, but he hasn’t had a good year.
*Cant*
“I wonder if Guidry and Gossage would think about coming out of retirement next year to set uo the 7th and 8th innings for Rivera?”
Not comfortable with the idea of Melancon and Marte? I think they are going to be okay there in ’09.
“He’s not alone in blame by any means, but he hasn’t had a good year.”
I think that is a fair assessment – Pete seems to enjoy taking a couple shots at Girardi and I can understand the frustration with happy talk when the performance on the field is pretty questionable.
The personnel on the team is going to turnover so much this offseason that next year will be an opportunity for a fresh start and changed chemistry. That is why the big spotlight will be on Brian Cashman (assuming he’s still here, which I do.)
The first year he gets a mulligan. There will be more pressure next year.
the yankees when they were one behind boston in the loss column shoul of tried to make a trade for a frontline pitcher or at least a solid pitcher.
how can we let byrd go to boston while being content with ponson and rasner???
at the very least try to block him from going to boston.
it also looks like trading farnsworth might have been a bad idea.that was around the time they started falling apart.
The digs are seldom related to Girardi’s handling of the game, but, more on a personal level, such as integrity and honesty. That’s the sort of thing that no writer with common sense should even get involved in. It’s counter-productive and it doesn’t do much for getting any stories about the game stategy that SHOULD be part of the story. If a writer, just like an umpire with a grudge has no business being an umpire, then that writer should find another team to write about. As someone once said, “If you need to trash people and you have an agenda against someone, then you don’t need to be here.”
i just hope that the yankees can get the payroll down to where it isn’t so embarrassing and intelligently build a nice pitching staff.
i don’t know if signing sabathia and tex to anything over 5 years is a good idea.i would rather give them more money yearly than anything over 5 years.
if they have to give sabathia 6 years i would understand but both is asking for trouble.
they need an ace.i like our chances with a rotation of sabathia,wang,joba.as long as you have three potential aces or close to it it seems like the right formula.
any thoughts,who plays center field,first base,dh,do we trade damon,matsui???
For those that missed the pre-game with some bottled blonde on YES, Cano took full responsibility for the throw saying that he had more time than he thought and maybe was a little to far out for that kind of throw. He also said how he plays defense is his style of play and it won’t change (Nor, should it). He said he screwed it up. As for leaving without talking, the media mutts were all over Rodriguez for a long time, and since the vermin had the front doors blocked off and took so much time, he left, to which the bottled blonde agreed.
::cringe:: another day of mediocre play from the higest paid child in sports. when is girardi gonna grow a pair and drop a-clod to 6th and hit Nady 4th? It would send the right message and probably result in a few clutch hits for the yankees.(Just imagine if yesterday Nady was up with no outs in the 9th yesterday) This 10 years can’t go by fast enough.
i want to see girardi bat a-rod 9th
GreenBeret, about Howard’s fielding, I was say this:
One of the things reading Bill James has taught me is that a player’s errors is of zero value in judging his defensive ability because it doesn’t measure all the balls which he should have fielded but didn’t.
On the other side, he receives an error for muffing a ball that the average fielder at his position wouldn’t have fielded in the first place.
Then too, there’s all the problem about the subjectivity of a home-field scoring.
Zone-Ratings have their flaws as well, but probably evaluate a player’s defense more accurately than simply counting his errors.
I don’t know Howard’s zone-rating, and I hardly hold myself out as a scout, but I’ve watched about 60 to 70 Phillies games this year, more than any other team than the Yankees and Howard’s a deceptively competent 1B. He’s no Casey Kotchman or Mark Teixiera, of course, but he holds his own.
Above all, he turns the 3-6-3 and 3-6-1 double play well and has an accurate arm.
If the Yankees let Abreu and Giambi depart, they’re going to have to replace their 3 or 5 hitter or both.
Someone has to protect A-Rod in the lineup or he’s going to turn into a basket case.
Matsui, Nady, and Posada (who knows how his injury affects him next year) are good hitters. But the Yankees need another great hitter either in front of A-Rod or behind him.
You know what Alex is like, without a good hitter behind him, they’ll throw him garbage and Alex, in his need to please and to justify his contract, will start flailing at it rather than take the walk.
I like Alex a lot, but he’s the most insecure genius I’ve ever observed in any facet of life.
iris et al.
Many people who post here have been Yankee fans for years, having witnessed the greats going back, and for this writer, about thirty years.
Baseball, like all other sports but in a more subtle way, relies on team chemistry. It is what baseball is about, not the stats but the feeling, the mood, with your team and players. If fans feel this then players all the more.
The special chemistry was exemplified by a Willie Randolph perhaps, and there are many others but I bring him because his stats were never great, his home run output and rbi’s, not to brag about. But he had the Yankees chemistry thing. I rememeber countless times in the 8th and ninth innings with runners on base and Randloph getting done what needed to be done.
Alex is the exact opposite. perhaps this began with the stupid interview he gave years ago that left his team mates with a bad taste for him from the get-go.
He plays for the Yankees but as far as jelling with the team, at the most difficult of times, he seems to be an opposing player.
And to those who claim that it is his insane contract which cause these flaps and horrid reactions from both fans and fellow players need not look very far for another superstar player and an outlandish salary, but with very different results: Reggie Jackson.
Kay is on espn news and about 2 talk Arod
Another day, another game. Go Yankees.
O/T For you fans of video games or just cool songs in general, here’s a neat video with the full track and how they made the Mercenaries 2 commercial. Song was inspired by Earl’s brother Randy’s famous line, “Oh no you didn’t”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCvIw7DMHXc
Kind of lol, as we have a couple of mercenaries who have stolen our money. Just kidding, enjoy.
Howard playing first base makes Giambi look like Don Mattingly.
The John Sterling jokes never get old. Keep ‘em coming, folks.
Are thier any truth to the rumors that we claimed Willy Taveras ?
Are there any truths to the rumors that we claimed Willy Taveras ? *
Oh wow 5 minutes into the game and no responses..
Brandon – I haven’t seen anything except for the mlbtraderumors mention.
1-0 ballagame over… Petttitte continues his bad pitching…. Good the soccer season is started over here in Europe;)
What was that Nady?
marvelous. Another tight strike zone and a play butchered by Nady in left. Pettitte is leaving everything up.
wow….first inning and the game is over already. how shocking.
Down 3 runs already.
Oh, wow. That last one was on Nady, but this is the difference between other teams and the Yankees. They have multiple hits in innings.
That’s why yesterday’s loss hurts, it puts a lot of pressure on Andy.
It’s not over, let’s go guys.
an other stinker by andy, he really doesn’t deliver this season as i would hoped he would.
Pettitte was pretty bad in his last start too. He certainly hasn’t been the big game pitcher that he used to be.
mel its over when it is the yankees, come on we saw that the entire season, i bet halladay throws 9 pitches in the first inning.
This of course is very not good, if you excuse my grammar.
Maybe Andy thinks that what Moose is doing this year with a dramatic comeback after a crappy year is so cool that he wants to do the same thing next year.
pettitte has to go.he has hurt the team all year.his era will be close to 5 by games end.
16 million a year is rediculous.
i can understand keeping mussina and maybe even pavano if he looks good in his last 4 or 5 starts but no pettitte.
the starting pitching staff would be good if it looks like sabathia,wang,joba,mussina,pavano/hughes.
Mel -it’s not over, but the Yankees are going to have to score at least 4 runs against Halliday. Not an easy task, especially the way the Yanks have been hitting lately.
I can see this team going in the tank on this road trip and possibly finishing the season with a losing record
I’m happy that Leiter mentioned it and we saw it for ourselves so I didn’t have harpies here too quickly. Yeah he’s getting jobbed on strikes.
My rotation for next year: Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, Chamberlain, Hughes….Pettitte should retire, and I am hoping Mussina does because who knows what he will be like next season
Scutaro should have been out on strikes and the play to Nady should have been an out, but the two hits to Rios and Wells were on Pettitte.
It’s unbelieveable how the GM and Yankees FO officials don’t put the players on waivers and have a Fire sale.
From Giambi to Damon to Matsui to Nady or Abreu or Cano… you dangle them and get value back in the form of prospects but yet here we go trying to save a season that’s already done.
30 pitches –
tidy
Totally agree with you Brandon. This season was truly over a long, long time ago
when will we ever see Cano dive for a ball? this guy needs a kick in the A**
Get ready for a 24 inch wide strike zone for Halladay.
Halladay is 16-9. So 9 teams have beaten his butt. Why not us.
Can we please get rid of Girardi?
Please.
Mel, that’s not why yesterday’s loss hurts.
Re: Taveras -
“Center fielder Willy Taveras knew he had been claimed on waivers Friday after checking his phone messages. He speculated that the Yankees or Nationals might have claimed him. While the team is unknown, his preference is.
“I want to stay here. We are playing really well at the right time,” Taveras said.
It’s highly unlikely the Rockies would trade the center fielder. They can just pull him back off waivers, using the knowledge of the teams that claimed him to pursue a deal in the offseason.”
Or I should say he’s been beaten 9 times – doesn’t have to be by 9 teams.
Halladay is 16-9. So 9 teams have beaten his butt. Why not us.
You sure you want to know ?
Much as I want to keep faith, we just dont have the players. So lets take a look toward next season.
2009 New York Yankees
-A monumental year for the Yanks. New stadium after missing the playoffs in ’08 for the first time in 13 years. This is a new era we need a fresh start.
Front Office: Brian Cashman’s contract is up this season. He has been with us for about 9, 10 years and although we have never won it all with him as gm. I would be reluctant to let him go, he knows the organization too well, and has a plan in place. These ridiculous contracts were more from the steinnbrenners than Cashman, even though he has made some bad moves.
-Re-sign Cashman 2-3 years
Coaching Staff: Long and Meachem got to go. They are Yes men and have not contributed to us in a positive way. Lack experience.
-Hire 2 MLB experienced coaches who have some fire.
Player Personnel:
-Buy out Giambi (Fred Flinstone), Let Abreu walk, Let Pavano walk, Let Moose walk, decline arb on Pudge let him walk, Marte arb, Nady arb.
-Depending on Arbitration and free agent signings we will have 3-8 picks in the first, compensation, and 2nd round.
-2009 Draft- Focus should be on corner IF/OF positions and power arms (as usual)
-Trades- Wilson Betemit and Matsui to the SF Giants for Simon Klink 3B S,R and Alexander Hinshaw RP L,L 6-4… We give up a good hitter in Hideki but we free up some room for our young guys. We can not afford to be a team full of DH’s anymore.
-Free Agent Signings- Re-Sign Andy Pettitte 1 yr. deal (Veteran leadership. Well respected Yankee). Sign C.C. Sabathia 6 yr. deal (A bonafide ace, gives us much needed stability in the rotation) Sign Adam Dunn 4 yr. deal (A lefty power threat we’ve been lacking, underrated defender) Sign Casey Blake 2 yr. deal (Great defender, can play 1B,3B,LF,RF, solid contact hitter, great chemistry guy) Sign Cesar Izturis 1 yr. deal (Great defender up the middle)
Rotation
CC
Wang
Pettitte
Joba
5. Hughes
Pen
LRP-Aceves
MRP-Ramirez
MRP- Robertson
MRP-Coke
MRP- Bruney
SU-Veras
SU-Melancon
CP-MO
Lineup
Damon DH (L)
Jeter SS (R)
Cano 2B (L)
A-rod 3B (R)
Dunn 1B (L)
Nady RF (R)
Posada C (S)
Cabrera CF (S)
Gardner LF (L)
Bench- Blake, Molina, Izturis Miranda
Impact Prospects- Jackson CF, McAllister SP, Cervelli C, Sanchez RP, Corona SS/2B, Pena SS/2B, Betances SP, Montero C, Romine C, Vehionacci 3B, Brackman P, Nova SP, Heredia SP, De La Rosa SP
Pitching and Defense WINS games. We need to get back to play small ball. the way we played baseball from 96-00
“You sure you want to know ?”
Nah!
But for giggles I’m going to check to see what teams they were, and how many ER he gave up.
Can we stop complaining about umpires? Believe it or not, they are not all out to get us.
bru,
Just skimmed you comment because it’s still hard to read. Good job on the paragraphs, but it’ll be easier on the eyes, if you do 1 space after commas, 2 after periods.
Grammar lesson over. The thing that stood out was your rotation with CC would be good. Just wanted to point out that any rotation with CC would be good. I still love Andy.
Are there two loud strike callers or is this the same guy?
Hey Roland – much as I don’t look at next year stuff I hope some of the people will. Looks like you’ve put a lot into your thinking. Good job just for that.
I want to be – Bobby’s girl
I want to be – Bobby’s girl
Trish – a few of Doc Halladay’s losses have been 1-0 complete games.
Hey we defeated halladay on opening day, Good times good times.
Try looking at pitch tracks, Josh. Look at the first pitch to abreu. Look at the pitches to scutaro.
The Spankees are closer to losing this game 12-0, than they are from winning it. Mark my words…A-Rod will choke away each AB he has today and we can stick a fork in this season FINALLY,,,,MERCIFULLY….END IT ALREADY….DISCONNECT the LIFE SUPPORT…..WE ARE DEAD !…..(ba-bye)
Thank you Roy….we love you, dude !
On baseball tonight they asked Gammons if he could sign any starting pitcher to a 4 year deal (regardless of contract status) who would he sign?
Shockingly, it wasn’t a Sawk – it was Doc Halladay.
Pettitte is done.
I truly believe this game is over. I will continue to watch it however.
the fork is firmly planted in this one.
Andy can’t blame that on the umpires. I am really disappointed in these big games.
PEDitte sucks. He’s no good without the HGH.
Give some of the young pitchers a chance i september… Ian Kennedy and P. Hughes needs experience, and now you have the chance to give som valuable innings at the big level..
**disappointed in Andy in these big games
andy’s not going past the fourth. is it too late to bring some guys up from the minors? perhaps they can get here by the 6th inning.
Doc has given up 5 ER 3 times this season and 4 ER 5 times this season. FWIW.
Way to take the sting out of yesterday’s loss off. Ug.
“Give some of the young pitchers a chance i september… Ian Kennedy and P. Hughes needs experience, and now you have the chance to give som valuable innings at the big level..”
I used to think this – but I don’t want to see them fail again – let them finish up the year on a high note in terms of personal development and success against AAA.
I would like to see Chase Wright or Aceves get a start or two just to see what they have.
I see Pettitte is like teflon, too. These last two starts have been awful. I know Nady should’ve made that play, but Andy had to step up against Boston and Halladay and spit the bit. If it comes to resigning Mussina or Pettitte, I go for Mussina right now. He reinvented himself.
Yea, Andy did not get a few borderline pitches. It happens, those calls can go either way.
It seems like there is not a single game without a complaint about the strike zone.
ENJOY THE GAME ( Pete Post )…now THAT is funny….12-0 folks…12-0,,,the end is near !
FWIW from Chad Jennings blog in SWB:
“Just throwing this out there: Phil Hughes is listed as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees starter for Monday, which is significant mainly because that’s September 1. As I’ve said a dozen times about scheduled starters, this stuff is very easy to change — five days ago, Alfredo Aceves was listed as Friday’s Triple-A starter — so take it with a grain of salt. For whatever it’s worth, though, Hughes is listed as if he’s not going up on the day rosters expand.”
Doc will give up runs when his team has a big lead. He throws strikes and challenges hitters more because he wants to complete the game. If he walks someone, you seem him get angry.
Eckstein was safe.
one of my favorite things to hear during a baseball game, when Yanks are at bat: splits the outfielders. I didn’t hear it this time, but the ball basically did.
Does Cano get booed when he steps up to the plate?
JB –
Rosenthal has Eckstein going to the D-Backs – makes sense to me if you guys get something for him at this point.
I agree with Bad Scooter: Moose over Andy if there is a choice in 2009.
I don’t think it’s happening because he is in the lineup today.
I agree with Scooter also. If there’s a choice, in my mind there is no choice. Moose comes back.
JB –
Either that or someone is praying he doesn’t pull a muscle today –
“Eckstein, 33, is almost certain to be traded before the deadline for setting postseason rosters at midnight Sunday. While talks are fluid, the Jays currently are more inclined to trade with the D-backs, sources say.”
from mlbtraderumors.com
Can we get rid of John Sterling and Micheal Kay after this year ?
I too would bring Moose back over Andy. Moose has kept the Yankees in every game he has pitched. Right now he is the only starter that I feel gives the Yankees a great chance to win.
“The Spankees are closer to losing this game 12-0, than they are from winning it. Mark my words…A-Rod will choke away each AB he has today and we can stick a fork in this season FINALLY,,,,MERCIFULLY….END IT ALREADY….DISCONNECT the LIFE SUPPORT…..WE ARE DEAD !…..(ba-bye)”
Lol, Don Vito, no more “Yankees are going to win every remaining game” style predictions?
Yay, at least Chicago has taken the lead 2-0. I see my former “oh no” player Jim Thome hit a homer.
When they had an agreement for Stairs, they wouldn’t even use him for pinch hitting. So I don’t think any Eckstein deal is done. He is a class B free agent, so the Blue Jays would want at least a minor prospect.
“Can we get rid of John Sterling and Micheal Kay after this year ?”
That would be the best example of addition by subtraction ever.
(I assume you aren’t looking for Suzyn to stick around an be a Vin Scully, one-man booth)
TK you assume right
if both Pettite & Moose want to come back in 2009, bring ‘em back. Pettite’s had a bit of a down year so far; but still it’s nice to have him filling a slot in the rotation
Sabathia/Wang/Moose/Pettitte/Joba – that rotation should win a lot of games. and then you have some depth if/when someone goes down.
i have absolutely nothing to say about this team.
Roland
I just wanted to say that the Yankees need to let Andy go to Houston and retire. He doesn’t want it anymore. His actions are speaking volumes and a big NO on Adam Dunnn.
It’s difficult to take remarks seriously by some clown when they use terms like “Spankees” or “Red Sux”.
Looks like I may have spoken too soon – we’ll find out soon. Bases loaded for the Sux with 2 down.
Best post of the year by Randy I.
What a great moment. Crede caught a liner. Chicago lives!
Nice AB by Johnny, great running down the line.
“Best post of the year by Randy I.”
Do you mean this is Randy’s best post? Au contraire – he didn’t even mention innings eaters anonymous.
Damon deserved that.
Thank God that was foul. Phew! But that’s what we need to be doing, only executing properly when we do it.
That’s why it was the best, TK. First post of the year not touting the exploits and virtues of having Livan Hernandez in the rotation.
Oh well.
One of the things that has really hurt Yankee pitchers, besides bad pitches would be pitch counts, not by too many balls and walks, but, every team seems to have an inordinate amount of foul balls.
you feel bad for the people who bought the tickets
“every team seems to have an inordinate amount of foul balls.”
Moose had a huge problem with this last year – and runs into it against teams like the O’s for whatever reason.
If you aren’t a power pitcher – an Andy isn’t anymore – your stuff has to be on to miss bats. I think Andy must be having some sort of physical problem – but maybe he is just not good enough any more to miss bats.
nhr arod
Arod
Halladay is ticked that Wells didn’t catch that. lol
GB what I don’t understand is how are they keeping these vets off waivers, we know this season is over wouldn’t it be smart to dangle the big time players w/ remaining value, take guys like Nady, like Giambi, Betemit, Damon, Abreu or Matsui heck even Andy.
Man Pluck Do Alex !
Anyway any of those players can fetch something nice.
Good that it was with nobody out. Maybe that will energize the hitters.
one day and two at bats tooooooo lateeeee….
ARod gets the Yanks on the board. Waiting for someone to complain because it was a solo shot!
Fran –
Arod has had some good AB’s these past two games. His approach is good, going to CF and right CF.
Arod has had some good AB’s these past two games. His approach is good, going to CF and right CF.
Just in time to watch the Red Sox dance in our grave
Way to go, Alex!
Hey, whoever doesn’t want Andy back is crazy.
He stabilizes the rotation and the worst case scenario he’s an innings eater. Can you imagine a rotation where Andy Pettitte is your #4-5 guy? Well, if Joba and Wang were healthy that’s where he’d be.
Can’t believe people pining for crap like Livan Hernandez and Jarrod Washburn.
Apparently Nady hasn’t gotten the memo that Halladay is unhitable.
Scooter as Kim Jones said today, and it is one of her better statements, not all DP are created equal (or she might have said “the same” I forget). Well the theory was sound, I remember thinking when she said it. Arod’s DP in the 9th yesterday was more a credit to Bautista than anything else. It wasn’t one of those when the hitter rolls over on the ball.
Did anyone else hear Suzyn Waldman rip on Alex after he hit the home run? She said: “That’s obviously the product of the count.”
Robby up – geeze can you imagine…
We’re getting some hard hits off Doc. If we can hold the Jays at 4, this might get interesting.
Here’s my thought. I know the Yanks have played below par all season and haven’t shoen much life, but I’m not giving up just yet. I’ve seen too many times a team win 4 straight and the team their chasing lose 4 straight. It can happen.
The Yanks play the Sox the last 3 games of the season. If their within 3 games, it’ll make interesting at least. We have to pick up 4 games in 24 games before we face the Sox. Wishful thinking? Sure, but this is why I’m a baseball fan.
Did anyone else hear Suzyn Waldman rip on Alex after he hit the home run? She said: “That’s obviously the product of the count.â€
Wow someone needs thier Roger Clemen’s fixing
Cano is such a dope!
woohoo! way to swing at something by the toes!
Waldman needs to look at where that pitch was….low and on the outside corner.
Boo on Cano (in the other inning) and Jose for swinging at the first pitch.
You’ve got someone at 3rd. Take some freaking pitches. Balk, passed ball, wild pitch scores a run.
Solution to Yankees troubles: find a way to get Arod 12 at-bats a game, all with no one on base.
Go Yankees.
Who is Suzyn Waldman? That home run was all A-Rod.
Waldman was probably busy thinking how many ways Roger Clemens would hit that ball better.
The only thing that Zooboy (wonder if that’s a telling sign as to his preferences) and booo has ever swung at it their own shadows….and they lost.
“It’s silly, I think, for people to boo him like they are. ”
Maybe they are reading your blog Pete. Would explain alot.
“Who is Suzyn Waldman? That home run was all A-Rod.”
Radio announcer for the Yankees/embarrassing front runner
They just asked Peter Botti if he knew who the Yankees would call up from Scranton – he said that Girardi wouldn’t confirm anything – ‘but he generally wouldn’t even confirm that today is Sunday’.
Zing.
JB, if you don’t know who Suzyn Waldman is, count your blessings. She is one half of the Worst Radio Broadcast Team in major league baseball (history).
pettitte is keeping us in the game…lets go offense!!
TK, funny report. Thanks for sharing.
A-Rod is a great player (by the numbers)and there are not many who can match him by pure numbers. However, he is not a winner. There have been many “great players” throughout basesball history who couldn’t win because they were not winners.
This season is a perfect example of his inability to be that special player-a leader. In a year that most of our stars are down, A-Rod could have stepped up and carried this team. Instead, he fades into the background and comes up short. He is just not the type of person to lead a team to a championship (like Paul O’Neil, Big Papi, Ruth, Reggie Jackson, etc.) This is not a slam on him, just the cold hard facts and a truthful assessment on his make up as a player.
We should not look to him to lead this team but just play a role. Unfortunately, he is getting paid like a special person capable of leading a team to a world championship-that is the mistake of management. In December, when A-Rod opted out of his contract, that was the Yankees opportunity to divorce themselves from him. They chose not to and now for the next 10 years we will be without a championship. I hope he (A-Rod) makes me eat my words. But somehow I doubt it.
Pettitte seems to have settled down after that first inning. Two of the hits were on him, though it wasn’t a good pitch to Barajas had to be caught. The homer was just a bad pitch…another two strike hit. Hopefully, it’s not too late, today.
And a great point from Fred from Jersey. Pete does stir up the pot a bit and then wonder why fans get so riled up. Any remember the Ian Kennedy post-game fiasco? Pete rightly noted Ian’s nonchalant (shall I say “smooth?”) answers after being hit around, and then a few days later Pete told everyone to “just calm down.”
wow. that was a really ambitious swing by Jeter.
JB, if you don’t know who Suzyn Waldman is, count your blessings. She is one half of the Worst Radio Broadcast Team in major league baseball (history).
And still going….
Oh this is so damned sad.
Rodriguez doesn’t need to be an outfront leader. That’s what they’re paying Jeter 23 million a year to be.
wow. that was a really ambitious swing by Jeter.
Would love to hear what Suzyn saids there
“And a great point from Fred from Jersey. Pete does stir up the pot a bit and then wonder why fans get so riled up.”
Don’t forget the instant diagnosis of Joba’s shoulder on the blog – Ready! Fire! Aim!
Blue Jays announcer Jesse Barfield pulled the lever. I wonder if Pete was impressed? lol
WTF is Jesse Barfield pulling the stupid lever? a reminder of an awful Yankee trade – Al Leiter for Jesse Barfield.
did leiter just say- nice snatch?
Look at that. cano doesn’t even bother diving for that one either..just so he wouldn’t get dirty. Showboat.
give andy credit?? are you serious mike kay??
get a clue
“Don’t forget the instant diagnosis of Joba’s shoulder on the blog”
I stand by my diagnosis that Joba has a Lisfranc Shoulder injury and they just won’t tell us the truth.
And, as I type and send it, the showboat dives for one. Useless.
good inning by cano
Pudge, that sounds like something David Cone would say!
“Look at that. cano doesn’t even bother diving for that one either..just so he wouldn’t get dirty. Showboat.”
GB – I’m with you.
Pedroia sycophants who idolize ‘grittiness’ make me hurl.
I wish he didn’t make that error yesterday, but it doesn’t mean he lacks character or desire – it just means he messed up.
“give andy credit?? are you serious mike kay??
get a clue”
he deserves credit…he could of collapsed but he kept us in this game and gave us to this point 6 innings…offense needs to pick him up
Having Barfield pull the level was a nice homage to the dark days of the 1980s and early 1990s. What, Ken Phelps wasn’t available?
Pedroia isn’t gritty. Eckstein is gritty!
“I stand by my diagnosis that Joba has a Lisfranc Shoulder injury and they just won’t tell us the truth.”
Wow Superman – I didn’t know you’re X-Ray vision worked on a broadcast – thank goodness for HDTV!
King Joba: can the Yankees divorce you?
Alex is responsible for ALL of the Yankee runs thus far today and is 1 for 3 (.333) and you are still bashing him. To say that he never comes through for the team is an out right lie and distorted reality. Is he struggling a little this year? Yes but ONE player struggling alone should not make or break a TEAM (see Boston, Tampa etc..). There were many who struggled last year and Alex carried them on his back, why can’t any of his teammates do the same when he is struggling? And don’t talk to me about money because ALL of them who make millions to play are overpaid!!
if 4 innings over 6 innings deserves credit, im trying out tomorrow
guys making a ton of money and has pitched like a$$ all year
Pluck Do Giambi !
I like that it was with nobody out.
Good job G-man!
giambis living off the foul tip thats dropped by the catcher!!
2nd time in the last few days
big G earned that one, that’s for sure.
TK, you’re right, and, nobody knows that better than Robinson Cano. He said so to what’s her name in a pregame interview…that he screwed up by not knowing how much time he really had to turn the DP. He also explained his leaving without talking to the piranah.
okay so now he’s responsible for HALF of the Yankees runs thus far
Yanks are right back in this game.
its not the fact that he gave up 4 runs in 6 innings which is bad but that he gave them up so early in the game and did not let it unravel any further…if you dont agree that he let us compete in this one then there isnt much hope
“he deserves credit…he could of collapsed but he kept us in this game and gave us to this point 6 innings…offense needs to pick him up”
I agree especially seeing that he gave up the runs very early.
I’m convinced that Cano is just dumb enough to play himself into a winter trade.
He must have been dissed by too many NYC hotties and wants a change in scenery.
95 pitches for Doc – how did those old-timers get so many CG’s?
I seriously believe Long is half the problem w/ this offense, you got 2 consecutive players swinging at 1st pitches like it is the plan to do that when the pitcher’s count is up. I have never seen so much stupidity in patience per AB, part of me is wishing the Dodgers Donnie Baseball returns next yr. as our batting coach.
next 10 pulls of the stupid Metlife lever:
10: Ed Whitson
9: Tony Womack
8: George Frazier
7: Kevin Brown
6; Ken Phelps
5: Dallas Green
4: Edgar Martinez
3: Steve Sax
2: Cliff Johnson (for cleverly injuring Gossage in 1979)
1. Felix Heredia
Robbie’s seen a pristine average of 2 pitches per AB. Can’t get much worse than that.
andy still deserve credit??
hes a hack
TK, a higher mound, no DH, less great players (segregation, no Latin American influence, no Japan influence), among other reasons. It is a great question and fun to reflect on the old-timers. Some of those guys, even in the 1960s and 1970s, were throwing 30 CG a year.
“I seriously believe Long is half the problem w/ this offense,”
Long was here last year when we scored 968 runs, right? Although I think Donny would jump at the chance to come back in and he clearly demands a lot of respect from the players.
Once we get Bowa and Mattingly back – it begins to look a little dicey for Joe Girardi. No?
ANDY PETTITTE
LOL!!!
where are the boos??
yankee fans- SHEEP
That wasn’t a big run. That was a HUGE run.
This team is listless. Sure we’ve had some injuries but so has every team. Red Sox, Rays and Angels have all had injuries but somebody stepped up. Nobody on the Yanks want to step up. They are happy just jogging on and off the field with their don’t care attitude and their bank accounts full of Steinbrenner money.
ACHOKE is the worst offender. He hits his homers when they don’t matter and then disappears late in the game. And yet he prances around the field with his chest puffed out like he is all that. He is not a true Yankee.
Big Game Andy, RIP.
Travis –
Plus they were essentially pitching for their dinner every year with no guaranteed contracts – a little bit different than Pavano.
The fact that the ‘win’ stat only requires 5 IP is in there too I think.
I just saw the logo ad on the YES screem mentioning the “Ask Kim Jones Mailbag” site. Can only imagine the questions that don’t get answered…
“Kim, do they honestly pay you to think up these stupid questions, or, do they have an unemployed 5 year old writing them for you?”
Please don’t resign Pettitte. Since he can’t shoot himself in the ass anymore, he is useless. Also, Michael Kay calling him a saviour for pitching into the seventh..What a piece of crap he is
George, you aren’t THE George Frazier, are you? Because he’s the ONLY one who would remember himself.
GB –
Veras pitching for the 3rd straight day.
Oh well.
when it rains, it pours.
“Robbie’s seen a pristine average of 2 pitches per AB. Can’t get much worse than that.”
He’s clearly pressing – but P/PA is not a big deal if you hit the snot out of the ball
Good point, TK. These old-timers all had to work during the winters to put food on the table.
In their favor back then, also, was that there was bullpen specialization. Frankly, I wish I was watching 1960s and 1970s baseball right now.
Well, looks like Faris “Beuller” didn’t give the board a day off.
Bueller? Bueller? BUELLER?
“Can only imagine the questions that don’t get answered…”
GB –
You you’re saying that ‘Kim – what is you position on nature vs. nurture’ or ‘Kim – Discuss man’s inhumanity to man’ are not stuffing that mailbox?
Sorry, Trisha…couldn’t pass up the dig.
WTF is girardi doing putting in Hit Me Veras in the game… guess he already considers this game lost.
GB – it would have killed his soul not to be able to come here and play the role of the entitled.
welcome to hurricane girardi
lets keep the kids from the minors coming
lets see what they all have and use the rest of this season for it
tell pettitte that hes pitched his last game as a yank, tell ponson and rasner adios
Yeah, TK…Questions that will never see the light of day on that site. The questions are endless.
GreenBeret7:
did kim turn you down for a date or something or are you still upset at pete for yelling at you?
these attacks on kim seem so personal and mean spirited.enough already.
Chicago leading 3-1 in the 6th.
Sorry, Travis…never saw the movie….only the ads. Not my kind of movie.
Just checking up on the game. Looks like once again our big important veterans failed to show up.
Pettitte is done. He either needs to retire, find his mistress again, or go back on HGH. He has normally been a decent second half pitcher but he stinks this year.
The rest of the team, well they have been beaten to death. But the whole ARod signing looks like a really bad deal.
Interestingly, Sporting news has a possible roster for 2009.
Damon
Jeter
Teixiera
KRod
Matsui
Giambi
Cano
Posada
Cabrera
Pitchers
Sabathia
Wang
Chamberlain
Burnett
Hughes
A few I agree with but I don’t see how resigning Damon and Giambi and then adding another waste of contract like Teixiera makes sense. You would think that between Damon, Giambi, ARod, Posada to name a few, the Yankees would have learned their lesson on overpaying aging veterans.
“In their favor back then, also, was that there was bullpen specialization. Frankly, I wish I was watching 1960s and 1970s baseball right now.”
LaRussa ruined baseball to a certain extent. Uber-Specialization.
Chicks dig the long ball though – so lower the mounds, juice the baseballs, bring in the fences and away we go.
whoever starts the wave at a yankee game should be banned for life
And Pettitte is why we didn’t get a front line starting pitcher over the winter???
A case can be made that he is the reason why we failed to make a run. His second half has been flat out brutal.
Trisha… no need to scoreboard watch! This team is utterly awefull!! A squad of premaddonas. Giradi sucks as a Manager
Give it a rest, Bru. Spend more time on learning sentence structure.
Pitch counts were irrelevant in the old days, or even 25 years ago. Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton were still throwing 130+ pitches during outings in their late 30s in the 1980s.
Bullpen seriously needs September callups. Veras, Marte, Bruney, Rivera in way too many games lately.
Andy
Green Beret is a total jerk. Has been all season long.
Ron – I hear you but it is as much to see the Sux are losing as anything else.
This team has no heart. No fight. No grit. They go down and they never come back up. You want to see a gritty team go look in Queens. You don’t hear them complain about injuries and they have Luis Ayala closing games.
Jays were down 6-2 yesterday when they came up in the 7yh. Do we have any fight left?
I know Trisha. I am just giving you a hard time
. I am just so frustrated with this overpaid lifeless team.
I hope so Scooter. I hope so.
“premaddonas”
Unfortunately – A-Rod is mid-madonna this season – hopefully next year he will be post-madonna and he’ll hit w/ RISP.
Gotta go to a BBQ – enjoy the rest of the game folks.
gb: i’ll work on the sentence structure but show some class instead of sounding like a 2 year old child filled with anger and the needing retribution.
Huge news in Boston. Coco cut off his cornrows.
Ron, I think that every person on this forum feels the same way, even if they might use the exact same adjectives.
nice to see veras rebound 2 days in a row after that terrible boston game.
but our pitching still blows
TK – chicks dig the long ball? How sexist!
Sorry, Nate, but, I haven’t been here all season long. My apologies to those who love inteviewers that ask inane questions that most 12 year olds wouldn’t ask.
*might not use
Andy Pettitte. $16 million well spent. Back on the juice, loser.
Why not PH for Molina in that spot? He has no chance against Halladay.
Nate I think you’d get a lot of objection to your characterization of GB.
Meanwhile, holy you know what. Could we make it any easier for Doc???
Damon in a hurry to make outs, get back in the locker room and count his money.
Nice inning.
way to go with the bats boys.. What was that a 3 minute half inning? Thank god football is starting
We just need more high-energy gamers on this team. If Gardner could actually hit, even .270 with 10 HR power, he could be that guy.
Orlando Hudson would be a great guy to have.
That should be Cashman’s objective. Only A-Rod, Jeter, and Posada should be penciled into the lineup next year. Everyone else should be shopped (including Nady because he is a Boras client and might demand a huge contract at the end of the yr). Abreu/Giambi are obviously gone but they are not the only guys who should go.
This team is just too old and lackadaisical.
panayioti,
Damon is not a FA this offseason. He has one more year left on his deal.
The Rays deserve to win the world series this year. I’ll be rooting for them all the way. (I’m thinking we don’t realistically have a prayer. Obviously if things miraculously turn around I”ll be rooting for us…)
Hey Jeter in a hurry, too. Ata boy Captain. Hurry up and make outs so you can start tipping your cap to the Blue Jays.
team has no heart… blah blah blah… like this hasn’t been said 3 months ago… time for us all to wake up and smell the puke and accept that this team is going to end the way it started… mediocre.
I can’t question Johnny Damon’s desire and professionalism. He’s made mistakes this year, but he plays hurt and he faces the music in good times and bad.
The Devil Rays may be the 2008 version of the 1069 Mets. They just took longer.
How can your favorite player on the Bulls be Dennis Rodman. I guess Jordan wasn’t any good. I guess this team could use someone with Rodman mentality. Winning
Pettitte really killed us this season. Absolutely killed us.
Marte did his best to help.
“Abreu/Giambi are obviously gone but they are not the only guys who should go.”
Giambi is a goner, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees try to get Bobby to stay with a short contract.
***or the 1969 Mets, for those too young to remember the 1069 Mets***
at this time we should hope that min and cws keep winning so bos does not make the playoffs.
Roland
Pavano going is a given, and firing Meacham is almost equally obvious. The only potential player upgrades I see there are adding CC (but then you say let Moose go) and letting Giambi go (but you replace him with Dunn) and letting Abreu go (but you trade Matsui for a 3B and P we don’t need, and replace them both in the lineup with Gardner and Melky, who are both borderline major league ready/able as of this year).
IMO, you’re keen on some of the problems but a little fogged on the solutions.
Can we get Pettitte some juice?
“Pettitte really killed us this season. Absolutely killed us.”
No, that would be injuries, lousy baseball execution and no offense.
Abreu is gone. They don’t need to pay a RF 15 mill a yr for 15 home runs. That is a power spot. And it is Nady’s next year with Matsui/Damon sharing LF.
Impressive ML debut for Aceves.
did leiter ever get his sunglasses back after he dropped them on the screen yesterday???
rackem,
thanks. I thought he was in the last year of the deal.
nice first inning for aceves…i wasnt aware he threw 94…i liked what i saw
Nice job Aceves!
stop defending pettitte people
geez you sound stupid
“No, that would be injuries, lousy baseball execution and no offense.”
And how has Andy’s second half been? In every must win game how has he pitched???
Don’t kid yourself. It is all about starting pitching and our big game guy has absolutely killed us.
No team blames injuries. That is a worthless excuse.
keep the kids coming!
use the rest of this putrid season to see what the kids got
goodbye andy, rasner, ponson
So, does Aceves get a start in Tampa or Seattle, now that he’s gotten his feet wet against a Major League team? One more relief appearance against Detroit and yeah, I would.
For those of you proposing a total dismantling of this team, you need to put the crack pipe down. We don’t need an entire team of unproven youngsters. We need a nice balance of veterans and kids.
You are going to see Cano out of here too. He is the one young player they can move and get something of value back.
here comes the now or never inning. middle of the lineup.
Anyone expect a team that trots out Ponson and Rasner for 20+ starts each will win 90+ games?
Really?
I don’t care if this team scored 900 runs. It wouldn’t happen with this starting pitching.
Start Aceves tomorrow instead of Ponson.
did kay just say the yankees are in a penant race?
what kinda crack is he smoking?
“Abreu is gone. They don’t need to pay a RF 15 mill a yr for 15 home runs. That is a power spot. And it is Nady’s next year with Matsui/Damon sharing LF.”
I don’t see Matsui playing the field anymore. And we can keep Abreu and have him come off the bench. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our bench stinks.
Cano for a young CF.
You can find anyone to play 2b.
j,
how many now or never innings can a team have?
GreenBeret, those 1069 Mets played real station-to-station baseball, what with the chainmail and all.
West, the pitching hasn’t been the problem this year.
“No team blames injuries. That is a worthless excuse.”
And people who think that injuries should be ignored don’t know baseball. Would we have a rotation of Rasner, Ponson and TBA if we didn’t have injuries? Nobody is saying that it’s all on injuries. My post mentioned three factors, but to act like injuries have nothing to do with our current situation is ludicrous.
good hopefully PayRod is out for the season
that should stop him from pulling off next time.
“I don’t see Matsui playing the field anymore. And we can keep Abreu and have him come off the bench. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our bench stinks.”
And Abreu would DEFINTELY sign here to come off the bench. Give me a break. These guys want to play. And he’ll come off a yr of leading us in RBI’s. I don’t think he’d take kindly to being a platoon player.
You don’t bring back RF’s who hit 15 homers a yr.
You fill the bench in with quality veterans. Not 16 mill a yr players. Moron.
“Sorry, Nate, but, I haven’t been here all season long”- green beret 7
nate, it just seems that way.
green beret’s bad mood is understandable though.
i mean, there’s no denying he’s an all in yankee fan, maybe a little misguided, but still a true yankee fan so why would he be in a good mood?
plus he’s still ticked off that the twins went 14-7 when livan started. he really gets upset when reality doesn’t fit his baseball theories. of course that’s enough to annoy anyone. it just happens to some of us more than others.
6 more hbp’s and we are all set!!
Someone explain who you plan on playing at second base if they deal Can? Also explain how you can trade a player that you think is no good, a bum, useless and still expect to get somebody back that’s any good. Love the minds of those that think out loud for no reason.
5 more hbp’s!!!
***Cano***
nady goes yard here
anyone with me?
“Cano for a young CF. You can find anyone to play 2b.”
But can you find anyone to hit as well as Cano? The answer to that is no.
“And people who think that injuries should be ignored don’t know baseball. Would we have a rotation of Rasner, Ponson and TBA if we didn’t have injuries? Nobody is saying that it’s all on injuries. My post mentioned three factors, but to act like injuries have nothing to do with our current situation is ludicrous.”
And Boston has lost their starting SS, ace pitcher, their best hitter for two months with a wrist injury that won’t fully heal, their 3b has been banged up all yr, RF has a hernia, lost their #2 pitcher for a month, their bullpen has been terrible, their young kid pitcher was brutal, their C is hitting 200, and they traded their cleanup hitter because he was a cancer.
Are they complaining??? How are they doing? Did their owner say they were done?
Again blaming injuries is a terrible excuse.
“You fill the bench in with quality veterans. Not 16 mill a yr players. Moron.”
Wow, you called me a name. Very mature. Like to see you do it to my face, coward!
“Again blaming injuries is a terrible excuse.”
Gary gets it right.
“But can you find anyone to hit as well as Cano? The answer to that is no.”
I think I can find any 2b who can beat Cano’s OBP of .300.
Which is downright awful.
I get it, Laura. You are a Super Fan who thinks this team was one or two injuries from winning 100 games. But you are delusional.
i know people want to be true fans but why is anyone still at this game??
this game is OVER
“Again blaming injuries is a terrible excuse.”
Right on. You play hard. You have depth. You survive.
I’ve been asking myself the same thing about this blog and my continued participation, Pudge.
Why did we resign A-Rod?
excuse me while i go puke. Whoever pitches the ninth better hit a batter
“Are they complaining??? How are they doing? Did their owner say they were done?”
Hard to complain when you are 7 games up in the WildCard.
Yes, BOS had major injuries as well. The difference is their side players stepped up. Ours did not. Like I said, we have several reasons for sucking this year. Injuries was *one* of them. Plain and simple.
Unless the acquire a corner outfielder in a trade, I’d keep Abreu. His defense is lacking, but he’s a far better offensive player than Xavier Nady. Nady had a nice run, a career year. But Nady isn’t close to being the offensive player that Abreau is. Nady doesnt work the count and is a sucker for high fastballs. He could make for some nice trade bait,something the Yanks are lacking.
As I was watching today’s game it came to me that this could be one of Andy Pettitte last starts in Yankee Stadium. He’ll probably get 2,maybe 3 more. It was a nice run Andy and I thank you for a lot of great memories. But I would not bring him back in ’09. Andy ran out of gas and actually looks and performed older than his age.
Laura – Standing by A-Rod because at this point, someone has to!
August 31st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
“Pettitte really killed us this season. Absolutely killed us.â€
No, that would be injuries, lousy baseball execution and no offense.
Laura, you got 2 of the 3 right. Injuries cannot be the blame for the poor performance of this team. Every team goes through injuries and most teams, those that are truly the good teams, figure out a way to overcome them or tread water until the injured come back. This team did not. They were not built that way. Outside of the starters, there was no additional support.
But instead of injuries, it should be poor managerial moves by Girardi, lousy baseball execution, and no offense.
At the end of the day, Girardi is not the one who pitches or hits, but his managerial moves, in game decisions, and constant line up tinkering based on less supporting facts than a politician will use, have cost this team plenty of games this year.
And Randy is the only one that honestly believes that the Twins won those 14 because of Livan Hernandez instead of in spite of him.
i guess they are staying to watch aceves
***or despite Hernandez***whatever.
i might just be trying to find positives but i am throughly impressed with aceves!!
Thank goodness Aceves got called up before Sept. 1 — he’s eligible for the post-season roster.
ill say it one more time
keep the kids coming!!! andy, ponson, rasner, take care!!
Remember how everyone thought Edwar was the second coming of Mariano when he struck out three Twins in his debut? Just saying.
Pudge – if the game is over why are you still here? To harass people and make them feel worse than they do?
Good job if that’s it!
My apologies to Cceves. He impressed me a lot more than the game I saw him pitch in Tampa. Great start to his ML debut.
whoever thought that was foolish travis…
Boston isn’t complaining because they know not to. When Wang went down, Hank immediately went on to say how stupid it is to have pitchers hit. Well Boston lost Colon swinging a bat, while Wang was just sprinting. Yet, they’re not complaining. Instead, they have other guys step up.
And they are only two games up in the wild card.
***Aceves***
Nick what are you smoking..postseason?????????
impressive debut for aveces. where was he two weeks ago? lol.
trisha,
to bring some intelligence to this board
oh and there is no traffic at home
“And they are only two games up in the wild card.”
True. I tend to forget about teams that aren’t named Yankees.
way to swing 3-1 robbie
Careful, Ron, you can get hurt walking around with your sarcasm meter turned off.
did roby hit that flyball deep?, i dont have the game on.
Good God…somebody is actually comparing Colon to Wang?
That doesn’t look right, but, those are the names.
Start spreading the news
the yanks seasons over
they wont be a part of it
post season
base ball
bryan cashmans gotta go
should be leaving today
impressive debut for aveces. where was he two weeks ago? lol.
I step out to buy some drinks and miss his debut
Cano’s fly pushed Wells back to the center field wall.
aveces had a nice 94 mph fastball sharp and i mean sharp curve and sinker.
Top of the 9th, Chicago still leading 3-1.
Start spreading the news
the yanks seasons over
they wont be a part of it
post season
base ball
bryan cashmans gotta go
should be leaving today
Not up to you NEW YORK !
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
YORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
YORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK
DA DUM..
Another game..
Another loss..
$209 million and we are going to finish fourth. Horrible.
GreenBeret – I don’t know what your problem is. I’m sure Boston would much rather have Colon pitching than Clay (which would’ve been the case in the past few weeks if he was not on the DL). May I remind you the guy did win a Cy Young Award?
Anyway, I was just saying that Hank responded like, “Oh look Wang got hurt running – lets blame the NL rules for that.” Injuries are never an excuse.
Just came by to see if Trisha complained about the umps. And she did!
You never disappoint Trish. Keep up the good work
Josh – injuries are never an excuse but they are a reason. So it’s not complaining, just explaining.
I understand that Trisha, I don’t know why GreenBeret seemed shock that I mentioned Colon.
mattr I’d invite you to kiss a part of my anatomy but I’m afraid I’d get a disease.
Oh yeah, the umpire issue, when it was an issue, was also noted by Al Leiter. So why don’t you take it up with him? I’m sure he’d consider your point absoutely brilliant.
Bye now.
Well, Aceves sure looked good in his debut…
I have to take the Yankees going with Ponson instead of Aceves or Hughes tomorrow as a sign that they’ve given up on 2008 and are now looking towards 2009. I find it baffling that they didn’t tried to replace Ponson and Rasner with alternative options sooner – replacing Wang and Joba with those two probably adds up to their wildcard deficit – plus or minus a couple of games
I know the hitting hasn’t been clutch this year, to say the least, but I really wonder about whether all the injuries have taken their toll on team spirit and chemistry. There is a certain element of envisioning success – ’seeing’ what you want to happen making it more likely to happen. And I just don’t see that mentality or spirit on this team. Remember in 1996 Mariano Duncan – We Play Today, We Win Today…? This team just doesn’t seem to believe.
So a lot of work in the offseason isn’t just filling holes with top talent – it’s finding the right mix of players who will create magic together.
hey atleast we wont be the only team sitting out the postseason. prennial contenders will be also.
Well, this is the 59th game where the Yanks offense has scored 3 runs or less. So far, that’s 43.4% of the season.
awesome
Perhaps they can do something on this road trip. Maybe ARod gettin away from New York for a bit will get his mind right. Maybe the expanded bench will help.
Aceves looked impressive. Joba will be back in the pen.
It looks bleak, but perhaps the turning of the calendar to Sept. will do something. Strange things like that happen in baseball. One month a team looks lost, then all of a sudden…
I’m afraid all of these postgames are going to start to melt into each other – not that they haven’t already.
When Aceves got called up, I was hoping that think-outside-the-box Girardi would be creative with him and perhaps make him Rasner’s *pre-emptive* long man yesterday. Perhaps let Rasner go 4-5 innings on a short leash and then give 2-3 innings to Aceves.
I guess the game was too important to monkey around like that.
Mr. Exceptional well rosters are going to expand also so that may give us more options and at least help us to rest our pen. I know it ain’t over til it’s over. I’m always willing to listen.
Hey Mr. Exceptional. Get a grip, it’s over. Fourth place is where we will end up.
Hi Gang -
I didn’t see any of the game. My daughter told me it was 4-0 at the end of three and I know nothing more than that. I skimmed briefly and it appears it wasn’t a good result.
My brother-in-law is here – a diehard, diehard Yankees fan. Even he has given up the ghost. Sigh.
I’ll catch up later. Meantime, I don’t know what to say….
How does “the ghost” get to post and have nothing show up for a screenname?
I’ll still be following every game through the end of the season, but it’s gonna be weird. I’m trying to think back to the last September with meaningless Yankee games but 1993 was so long ago I cant! lol. All I know is my kids were still in school and I didnt have gray hair ( or as much of it). Man this stinks.
It should be an interesting off season with dead bodies littered along the road back. I think it’s safe to say the Jason Giambi sighning didn’t work out as planned lol.
Hey the Mets BP won today
trisha – I am a Sidney supporter and also believe Arod will start to hit.
August 31st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Josh – injuries are never an excuse but they are a reason. So it’s not complaining, just explaining.
Sorry, injuries are NOT a reason. Using injuries is like blaming the umpires. Injuries must be over come just like an inconsistent umpire. If you cannot over come those two, then you do not belong in the majors. Pick a slow pitch softball league or do what Girardi was best at, broadcasting.
A team must have the fire, desire, and thirst for winning. They cannot sit and expect handouts.
I have to take the Yankees going with Ponson instead of Aceves or Hughes tomorrow as a sign that they’ve given up on 2008 and are now looking towards 2009.
I would agree w/ that if players like Giambi, Matsui, Nady, Abreu, Pettitte were placed on waivers but they haven’t even attempted this.
For those that have an interest in the Charleston kids playing here, this evening (about 7:00), I’m going to put up the highlights of the game from historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA.
This year has been a torture to Yankees fans.
After all, the season is almost over. At least to Yankees, it is.
Cashman needs to go, so does Girardi.
The bad news: the last time the Yanks finished in double digits out of 1st place was in 1992.
The good news: the team that finished in last place in 1992 was the Boston Red Sox.
There… feel any better now?:)
Pettitte is a washed up hick.
panayioti
Of course they’re a reason. And the more you have of them the more of a reason they become. It is crazy for you to suggest that in the toughest divison in the AL, FOR EXAMPLE, a team losing its entire starting rotation and four of its best position players to injuries should be able to overcome that and end up winning enough to make the postseason.
I am not saying that is what happened to the Yankees or anyone else, I’m saying that at some point those things have an effect and nobody can draw a line and say “this many injuries to this many players of this calibre” is not a reason to lose but “this many injuries to this many players of this calibre” is.
Desire, thirst and other things notwithstanding, some players just cannot fill in for the quality and calibre of those who go down. And as I said, the more of the better that go down, the harder if becomes.
well i have to say i was a pessimist today and after the first inning i turned of the tv, at least we didnt get shut out :/
and boston is on its way to lose so no ground gained, none lost, if anyone still cares lol
Anyway, I’ve been watching the Sux game and missed our postgame, I think. I can’t imagine there were any words of wisdom that made a difference but if anyone watched it and has any highlights/lowlights, feel free to post them.
Drive 4-5:
that doesnt make me feel any better lol but what does make me feel better is the fact that the red sox finished 3rd place in 2006 in our division, and then came back in 2007 and well you no what happened, i dont like talking about it lol
so i sense good karma for the 2009 yankees
great read off msnbc
A FREE PASS FOR JETER BUT NOT FOR A-ROD
Alex Rodriguez is being publicly humbled in New York. No surprise for A-Rod as he knows the rules of Gotham: He who takes the money gets both the glory and the grief. And coming up short so often in the clutch can bring a whole lot of grief one’s way. But a double standard exists in New York and don’t think it’s not at the root of some of A-Rod’s issues.
Tuesday night the Yankees had Andy Pettitte pitching in the opener of a survival series against the Red Sox. In the third inning, Pettitte jammed Jason Bay who hit a 26-hopper/roller up the middle. Derek Jeter never touched the ball, making a very late and futile dive as it bounded past him into centerfield for a RBI single. Pettitte slammed the air in frustration.
Those who try to analyze defensive play and performance through stats have long exposed Jeter’s lack of range. It is not a welcome topic of conversation in New York. In Tuesday’s game recaps, A-Rod was tormented for his offensive failures. Not one word was written or spoken about Jeter’s glaring defensive weakness that set up an important inning for the Red Sox.
Trisha, Girardi didn’t say that much, but, definately was the most negative nothing during his year in NY.
Was Aceves fastball really at 94 mph?
Possible player for trade is Garrett Atkins of Rockies, since they can’t afford to sign both Holliday[ whom they're likely to try and keep] and Atkins to extensions. Atkins could move from 3rd to 1st, as could A- Rod. Would also be interested in Ryan Spilborghs for CF.
Only way Pettitte could/should be brought back is on a possible July-September 1/2 year contract as he clearly has faded down the stretch.
Would offer Abreu arbitration, but doubt he would accept it. Although he leads in RBI’s, clearly he is not the same offensive threat he used to be. And his defense really is offensive.
Can’t believe some interest in bringing Pavano back. Why would he play for us for a 2 year contract at 7M/year, when he automatically gets 13M if we pick up his option?
If can’t get CC would be interested in Sheets, Dempster[ whom the Cubs might not resign] or Penny[if deemed healthy and option not picked up].
Do we want to pick up Marte’s 6M option as a situational reliever? Would he take 8M for two years guaranteed?
Teixeira would be fine for only 5 years-do not want 7-10 year players on the team, that when they stop producing you can’t unload them.
JB you were wrong. Eckstein was just traded.
You gotta have faith, hope you end up being right. Sux of course are making things testy.
YES! Sux lost the game.
and boston is on its way to lose so no ground gained, none lost
How many times have said this especially this season, it is the biggest reason why I said it was over 2 weeks ago. I still don’t know how the vets are not on waivers, don’t know how long they will wait to do a fire sale they only have less than 24 hrs. to market thier players on waivers.
What GI Joe said makes sense to some extent, this team is down whoever is still hitting and playing to thier ability are showing thier real character just like whoever isn’t is too but it’s too late the Fire Sale should have been underway since Monday.
trisha,
I would counter and say, it shouldn’t become harder if the team is built correctly. It is harder for the Yankees because they are filled with one dimensional players, including the bench. They are not filled with “baseball” players, including the farm system.
The Yankees lost Hughes, Kennedy (kind of), Chamberlain(for a month so far), and Wang. The problem is with that line up to begin with. 2 of the 4 have no business pitching in the majors. So losing 2 of them is not a huge loss.
But more so, I am still trying to find where “most of their better players went down”. The Yankees only had 5 players(not pitchers) that were worth anything. 3 of them have just had horrible years. The others have fallen to the laws of averages either because of age, ability, or a combination of both.
Thanks GB. Happy I didn’t watch it and watched the end of the Sux game instead.
Oh well, onward and upward. Every game is a must-win, so tomorrow is a must win.
Check you out later.
’09 keepers: Jeter, A Rod, Cano (too young to give up on,needs a kick in rear), Molina, Posada, Damon, Abreu, Joba, Moose, Wang, Veras (too good an arm to give up on) and Mo.
It’s very unfortunate that Matsui is under contact,but he could still be productive if healthy.The problem is that the Yanks need to become quicker and more athletic. Matsui is a stion to staion guy and the opposite of what they need.
If we can get a couple of major league ready players back, I will trade Cano and sign Orlando Hundson. Even today, when he grounded out to 2nd he did not go full speed to first. This guy is just lazy. he may be good wiht bat for half a season, but his OBP is horrible.
Robertson and Aceves were supposed to be 88-91 guys, yet they have hit 94 with regularity up here.
Lets see Joe Girardi show or CW preview show ?
panayioti – read my post again. I gave you a hypothetical and never said anything about the Yankee players who were injured. The point is that injuries can be a reason that teams don’t excel, especially if they are in a highly competitive division.
I certainly would never say the entire reason for this season’s poor showing lay with the injuries, but I would say they were a contributor. That’s all.
Joel Sherman suggestions from the Post Today:
- A few Yankee officials floated the concept of signing both Sabathia and another high-end starter such as A.J. Burnett and then using the young stockpile of pitching GM Brian Cashman has been hoarding in recent years to address other areas. For example, try to replicate the Edinson Volquez-Josh Hamilton deal from last offseason by using someone such as Phil Hughes to find a young, controllable center fielder or first baseman (Hughes for Joey Votto?).
- ROBINSON CANO – If he is the second baseman next year, fine, he still has the capability to be both a batting champ and Gold Glove. But the Yanks should investigate his market in the way Tampa did in turning a high-end young hitter (Delmon Young) into a young front-of-the-rotation starter (Matt Garza) last offseason. Cano for Zach Greinke, Chad Billingsley or Matt Cain anyone? To replace Cano, the Yanks could sign free agent Orlando Hudson, who I have heard was heartbroken when the Mets enlisted Luis Castillo long-term because he wanted to play in New York. Hudson is a defensive magician, a switch-hitter and – unlike Cano – a guy who brings high energy and concentration every day. Hudson is expected to make a full recovery from a dislocated bone in his left wrist that was operated upon earlier this month.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08.....htm?page=0
Drive 4-5:
i agree with you bseides one point, what about nady? you dont think he should stay?
BBFan, Hudson is asking for a long term contract at 13-15 million a year. he’s not worth half of that. No deal.
Well I’ve throw in the towel. I hung in there as long as I could but I now am convinced it’s over.
Pavano should offer to play for his buyout and try to make up to the Yankees for $ 29.95 M of virtually nothing. If not, toss him out. Two starts do not begin to compensate the Yankees for the useless four year sisaster he’s been.
Tomorrow should be Ponson’s last start, Rasner should be done. Give these opportunities to Kennedy, Hughes, Aceves, Wright… some young guy(s) who might be more than a mediocre journeyman. No, Aceves doesn’t throw 94, but you gotta love the movement he had on his pitches.
Would like to see Melky get some serious playing time down the stretch… let Damon, Matsui, Nady and Abreu share three jobs. Ditto Miranda instead of Giambi.
Might as well make the best of a bad situation.
Was Nady’s ground out freaky… just like A-Rod, except for the mindless, classless booing, of course.
BB, I have always loved Orlando Hudson. I just don’t know if picking up a 31-year-old is what we need to do.
PUDGE, THE 08 CURSE
Here are the shortstops with a lower zone rating than Derek Jeter: Michael Youn, Jose Reyes, JJ Hardy, Ryan Theriot and Stephen Drew.
I think it’s safe to say most teams would take any of those players at shortstop.
Sabathia vs. Karstens went head to head today in Pittsburgh.
Sabathia – 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K (117 pitches)
Karstens – 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
you gotta have faith (arod breaks my heart)
I think Nady could be very good trade bait. His trade appeal could be at it’s peak. The yanks dont have too many reasonable contracts that are under their control in ’09. I’d shop him around. If there’s intrest, trade him. If not, he’s not a terrible player to have.
pettitte – 4.52 ERA and 6+ ERA after the ASB… all for $16 million. what a waste of money.
big game pettitte has expired.
Drive 4-5 I guarantee thier RFg and FPCT % is better
I’d shop Nady around just because its unlikely we re-sign him in 09, not with Boras as his agent. He’s going to want a 7 year deal.
I wonder if Cashman even investigated who his agent was and his service time before giving up Tabata.
if i was they yankees i would not sign sabathia specially after the idiot of bob melvin making him pitch when the game is already over
Sabathia vs. Karstens went head to head today in Pittsburgh.
Sabathia – 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K (117 pitches)
It should have been a no hitter, watch the replay
One thing else about Cano-Hudson…if you believe in and follow the Bill James BS ratings/matrix about reange, Cano has more range and his fielding average is the same as Hudson’s this year. He also doesn’t hit as well for power or average and unless to think that his more strikeouts, and handful more walks and 3 more steals are worth it, then trade for them on your fantasy league. All of this in a weaker league and division.
Wild Idea
Sign Chipper Jones and trade Cano, move Jeter to 2nd.
I’m ready for 2009:
Out with Rasner, In with Wang.
Out with Ponson, In with Chamberlain
Out with Pettitte, In with Hughes
Out with Giambi, In with who the hell ever.
Out with Pavano, In with Don Zimmer.
Out with crappy bathrooms, In with cupholders and HD jumbotron
and please…please get rid of Bobby Meacham,
Forget bringing Larry Jones in. What good is a 36-37 year old 3rd baseman going to do?
Why would you people really get rid of Nady? Trade Matsui if you ask me and keep Abreu. We need a bat like Abreu, he works pitch counts…and has some speed. Nadys fairly young and a decent OF. I think if anyone gets shopped this offseason its Matsui
charleston didn’t qualify the postseason?
Forget bringing Larry Jones in. What good is a 36-37 year old 3rd baseman going to do?
Another bubble gum card player ?
I agree I’m getting tired of this. It’s simple it’s called rebuild.. Say it w/ me Yankees fans RE (this is the delusional fan World) no no no no no Re-Build
R E ( W – O)
R – E – B – U – I – L – D
Nadys fairly young and a decent OF
Makes him a prime choice to also be dealt, can rope some good future talent.
aceves looked good, better than hughes or kennedy
aceves looked good, better than hughes or kennedy
You seem to forget Kennedy’s debut and Hughes
This is too small a sample size for Aceves.
OK I’m out.
IMO, Joba’s injury took the sails out of the team. After he came out of the game, the whole dugout looked so deflated. Even Girardi had a somber look on his face instead of his up-tight look.
I don’t think the team recovered from that. Joba was very important to the team on the field and livened up the dug-out. Our best win of the year was the game before against Anahiem. But after that first Texas game is when we really started to reel.
okay so these are the free agents after the 2008 season:
First basemen:
Rich Aurilia (37)
Hank Blalock (28) – $6.2MM club option for ’09 with a $0.25MM buyout
Sean Casey (34)
Tony Clark (37)
Carlos Delgado (37) – $12MM club option for ’09 with a $4MM buyout (unlikely to vest)
Nomar Garciaparra (35)
Jason Giambi (38) – $22MM club option for ’09 with a $5MM buyout
Wes Helms (33) – $3.75MM club option for ’09 with a $0.75MM buyout
Eric Hinske (31)
Doug Mientkiewicz (35)
Kevin Millar (37)
Richie Sexson (34)
Mark Teixeira (29)
Daryle Ward (34)
Second basemen:
Jamey Carroll (35) – $2.5MM club option for ’09 with a $0.15MM buyout
Ray Durham (37)
Mark Ellis (32)
Mark Grudzielanek (39)
Orlando Hudson (31)
Tadahito Iguchi (34)
Jeff Kent (41)
Felipe Lopez (29)
Mark Loretta (37)
Aaron Miles (32)
Nick Punto (31)
Center fielders:(not much to choose from)
Rocco Baldelli (27)
Mike Cameron (36) – $10MM club option for ’09 with a $750K buyout
Jim Edmonds (39)
Mark Kotsay (33)
Corey Patterson (29)
Starting pitchers:
Kris Benson (33)
A.J. Burnett (32) – can opt out after ’08 season
Paul Byrd (38)
Roger Clemens (46)
Matt Clement (33)
Bartolo Colon (36)
Ryan Dempster (32)
Josh Fogg (32)
Jon Garland (29)
Tom Glavine (43)
Mike Hampton (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Livan Hernandez (34)
Orlando Hernandez (43)
Jason Jennings (30)
Randy Johnson (45)
John Lackey (30) – $9MM club option for ’09 with a $0.5MM buyout
Jon Lieber (39)
Braden Looper (34)
Rodrigo Lopez (33) – club option for ’09
Derek Lowe (36)
Greg Maddux (43)
Pedro Martinez (37)
Jamie Moyer (46)
Mark Mulder (31) – $11MM club option for ’09 with a $1.5MM buyout
Mike Mussina (40)
Carl Pavano (33) – $13MM club option for ’09 with a $1.95MM buyout
Brad Penny (31) – $8.75MM club option for ’09 with a $2MM buyout
Odalis Perez (32)
Oliver Perez (27)
Andy Pettitte (37)
Sidney Ponson (32)
Mark Prior (27)
Kenny Rogers (44)
C.C. Sabathia (28)
Curt Schilling (42)
Ben Sheets (30)
John Smoltz (42)
Tim Wakefield (42) – perpetual $4MM club option
Kip Wells (32)
Randy Wolf (32)
those are the main positions people want to change right?
well i thought that these lists would help people get more predictions for next year
Dan, the only thing that hurt Charleston was the infield dense…the team’s only real weakness…Synder, Angelini and suttle have 83 errors between them from 2nd, SS and 3rd base, respectively, to go with Romine’s 19 passed balls and only catching 20% of base stealers.
***infield defense*** not dense…most of the time.
Yankees announced that they are now taking orders for the “Official Book of Excuses for 2008.”
Edited by Kim Jones (“I heard them all”), the first 50 people to order can get their copy signed by the player or coach of their choice. There is also consideration of adding a DVD on hitting with runners in scoring position, but that decision isn’t final.
back -
By any chance is there a “How to run into walls” tutorial by Abreu available for purchase as well?
50 ways to tip your cap?
Back bench, the first book is being inscribed to Robinson Cano by former coach Larry Bowa. This is a family blog, so I can’t tell you what he wrote.
you gotta have faith (arod breaks my heart)
From your menu I’d sign Clemens, Jim Edmunds,Kenny Rogers,Kevin Millar,El Duque,Mark Grudzielanek and Jamie Moyer.
How could you gp wrong with a team who’s average age is 41? lol
Seriously, what the list shows is that the Yanks are gonna be able to buy their way out of this mess. Other than the obvious choices ( Tex, CC, Sheets, Burnett) there’s not many free agents who can help for more than a year or 2.
Hughes and Sanchez are heading to the AFL, per Jennings. Not really a suprise.
“what the list shows is that the Yanks are gonna be able to buy their way out of this mess.”
I meant NOT gonna be able to buy their way out of this mess
Well good fans the season is officially over. 2-4 on a homestand that you need 5 wins from.
I hope the front office has a good plan. Like the Sox after 2006.
Went to the game today. A couple of observations.
First of all, Arod did not get booed at all today.
Second, the Yanks are what 7 to 8 losses behind in the Wild card? They are probably what 3-5 losses from being in position to do something right? I put those on Girardi. Two reasons. First of all his managerial odd decisions. Secondly, if you remember in April, May, and June when the Yanks got behind in the division early, Girardi continued to be “non chalant” in managing. He had no sense of urgency, sat guys who were hot, allowed bullpen tryouts etc, and his answer was always “we have time, theres a lot of baseball left to play, these guys have gotten off to slow starts before” etc
Well, I`ll bet Joe wishes he had a few of those throw away games from early in the season back.
I think that Abreu needs to come back. Aside from leading the majors in hitting with RISP, he is so consistent.
I think they should re sign Mussina as a # 5 starter and let Petitte go.
Colin Curtis, Tim Battle and Mitch Hilligoss, and Seth Fortenberry need to be going to the AFL or Haiian League, too. Help them iron out a couple of glitches in their swings.
***Hawaiian***
I don’t know much about the AFL, but it seems like this is a good thing for Phil because he simply needs to pitch. He’ll be going up against some very good prospects and it’s a great chance for him to work on his secondary pitches. One question – do any innings accumulated in the AFL count when Phil comes back to pitch for the big club?
Sherman wants the Yankees to trade Phil again? LOL Same old, same old with him. It’s not happening, so the guy just wasted valuable (well, not so valuable maybe – we are talking the NY Post) space.
Sherman’s suggestion to trade Hughes for a position player if we sign 2 pitchers (CC and Sheets or Burnett) is really not that out-outlandish at all. Infact, thats the smart thing to do. Figure out the best way to maximize your commodities and improve the big league club and get younger. It’s not like he suggested trading Hughes for a 29 yr old Santana and giving him a $150 million doller contract. He suggested trading him for a young, stud cost controlled position player and make our own Hamilton-Volquez swap.
I honestly think the only untouchable player on the roster aside from the usual Arod, Jeter, MO, Posada is Chamberlain— I believe Cashman would investigate moving everyone else for the right price.
Sherman is usually a tool, but that article he wrote was very insightful.
Pettitte is the highest paid pitcher in the American League and he is pitching like a poor slob.
Worst Yankees Manager Ever.
http://arusahni.net/blog/images/comicguy.gif
Not really sure if the AFL is the best place to “work” on things, the whole league is a bandbox and teams send their best hitting prospects there. It’s basically like AA/AAA.
I’d imagine they send him there more for evaluation than to work on things. We sent Ohlendorf/White there last year because they wanted to see how they stacked up against good competition.
the AFL will be a good test for hughes and kennedy. they won’t be facing 27 yr old minor leaguers like they would be in AAA. they are facing cream of the crop young position players that are close to ML-ready
Dave, I don’t read anything Sherman says and I regret reading that post that quoted from him. He’s never liked Phil to begin with, starting with his debut. The Yankees have invested a lot in Phil and to suggest trading him (regardless of the return) because he’s 22 and has struggled (at times, not ALL the time like impatient fans and media types would suggest – of course, at 22, Phil is over-the-hill and over-hyped; his best days are behind him, lol) is foolish, IMO. It’s also moot. I don’t think they are signing CC (a real longshot, IMO), nevermind CC and Sheets.
Pettitte needs to leave or take HGH.Sherman isn’t to crazy on what he said.Joba is the true Ace.Hughes should be given a chance but Kennedy should be traded.He’s minor league numbers are too god to say he won’t be a good pitcher.
It’s the Yankees fault for rushing these guys.
I could see them trading Cano for a young pitcher (Cain, Billingsly, Kershaw etc.) and trading Hughes for a stud position player. If we don’t get CC, that becomes even more true.
This off-season will define the Yankees for the foreseeable future. Are they going to be a playoff team on the up-rise and start the new stadium off on a good note while reclaiming our spot at the top of baseball? Or are they just going to re-create the redundant mediocrity of the 80s facilitated by failed prospects and over the hill allstars with no direction?
i agree 100%. joba is the true ace and our crown jewel. everyone else should be traded for some young hitters. a good showing in the AFL will propel their trade value
we also need to let pettitte walk, he is finished.
Just because Joba is being called a “true ace” doesn’t mean that Phil can’t be one. Fans just don’t have the inclination to be patient with young players and Phil is just the perfect example of this. People remember his bad starts and not his good (conveniently) and they forget that this kid was the #1 pitching prospect in baseball. Scouts LOVED him and for good reason. I don’t envy young players with the Yankees; if they struggle at all when they are called up, they will be labled as busts and ripped apart by the fans.
bring up hughes let him pitch
If anyone cares to read the updates from the Charleston kids final game, it’ll be on the next thread.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye!
:angry:
:anger: