Yankees talk about the pitchers
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Feb 12, 2009 
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So here we are at Big Stein Field, waiting for the Joe Girardi press conference. The place, as always, looks good.
Girardi, the coaches and Brian Cashman and others are in a meeting discussing all the pitchers and catchers in camp. They’ll go over everybody else tomorrow. These are marathon sessions.
Wonder how long they spend on Kei Igawa? 30 seconds?
If spend 30 seconds on Kei Igawa, what do they talk about in the last 29 seconds after discussing him?
amen to THAT, SJ44 !
Can’t wait to hear what they say – anything that gets us closer to baseball!
Was Igawa even invited? He’s not on the 40-man.
How much is there to actually say about kei? I cant believe we spent 45 mil on a AAA pitcher? I wonder what other teams will actually want him for something in return if we pay off his salary. Im surprised they had enough to fill 30 seconds.
I want that bum traded before the season starts. Can’t we get a towel boy for him, at least ?
I thought kei was on the 40 man but even if he isn’t, he is still at spring training. There is something called a non-roster invitee.
what is hughes role going to be? bullpen for long relief or aaa and wait til someone goes down? is phil coke sticking with the same role as last year? who is going to be the setup man coming outta spring? how has mo been throwing since the surgery?
Ah, The rituals of Spring Training has begun……
It’s too bad Pete started a thread about AJ and it doesn’t seem anyone talked about him. This is going to be a depressing ST.
I’ll get this out of the way:
http://riveraveblues.com/
Check out the thread re: “THE BOOK”.
I don’t care about A-Rod’s personal life – and I don’t think most decent people will care. The other revelations about steroids are what worry me. If Alex has revealed all, then as the saying goes ” the truth will set him free”. If he hasn’t, then he’s cooked…and probably so are the Yankees. He’d better tell the team NOW what to expect from this book.
Back to baseball – AJ is probably the signing I am most interested in simply because he has the potential to be outstanding (or not, if he’s hurt). I honestly think that he has the mentality to thrive in NY – he clearly wants the big stage and that’s half, if not most, of the battle.
I hope we can talk baseball today – yesterday was a fun day on the blo – but I guess that will be impossible for the near future.
I can imagine how that will go:
Ok guys lets talk pitchers-
CC- Yeah hes great, he better be for those all those 0′s in his contract.
A.J.- Heres to his arm staying intact.
Wang- Its good to get this guy back, frickin’ interleague
play!
Andy- Yeah old faithful he played hardball and got burnt, good job boys.
Joba- Hes a starter! Put him in the pen! Hes a starter and thats final! Who invited Francesa to Tampa?
kei igawa, now there’s someone to root for who has never taken steroids- at least any good ones
i remember the pain i felt inside when i heard igawa was going to start last year.
Igawa
Betsy,
No matter what selena roberts says in that book, THE YANKEES ARE NOT COOKED. And there are no roids revelations coming after the 2003 season because with the start of testing, all the players who tested positive were revealed. There was no hiding and no anonymity anymore. Whatever garbage selena is relaying in that book, it took place BEFORE 2001. If she starts talking about arod in high school or his personal life, she will lose all the respect the media still maintains for her. And most every fan in NY already hates her. The only thing she still has going for her is the media is spinning her out to be some kind of amazing journalist – she will lose their respect if she starts throwing dirt on arod. It will make her look like she actually wants to hurt him and the majority of people do not like when people do that. She thinks she is going to destroy arod but in the end, i BET she just ends up destroying herself. And i cant wait!
Randy I,,,Looking at the bullpen session picture, do you you still get pumped even if you may have a tough getting down into position ???? I can hear your knees cracking & creaking from here…….Miss those days
Buster Olney has a blog entry today, more like a request, for someone in baseball to “step up and accept responsibility”.
Mainly, its a commentary as to why the players can’t “completely confess” about their PED use and his criticism of their inability to do so.
Buster is a smart guy and a good reporter.
However, he is asking the wrong group for help.
You want the complete, unvarnished, 100% truth from a player?
Simple. Call Jeff Novitsky and tell him you want the government to offer immunity to EVERY player who talks about PED usage from 1998-2007.
You get that, guys will talk.
You don’t, and guys aren’t going to put themselves in the crosshairs of the Feds. They aren’t going to risk getting indicted to satisfy somebody’s “need to know”.
This ain’t complicated folks. The Feds take priority over sportswriters/broadcasters.
Until that changes, if it ever does, don’t expect guys to tell everything. They would nuts if they did.
PAT M.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Ah, The rituals of Spring Training has begun……
————————————————————
Pat, can you give a scouting report on some of the Yankee kids that have crossed your path….such as Kyle Higashioka?
Just the ones that are still in the system and any kids that appear to have something going for them for upcoming draft.
“Ah, The rituals of Spring Training has begun……”
i’m still waiting for the annual ‘gary sheffield losing his mind’ spring training stories…
“i BET she just ends up destroying herself. And i cant wait!”
Your right dave. I can understand her wanting to expose him on the steroids that is just being a good journalist. However once I heard that she was going to question his sexuality and talk about his family I lost any respect that I had for her. I just hope A-Rod has a big season to throw this back in her face.
30 seconds? I don’t even think anyone can get Kei out before being shot down.
I still don’t see how AJ is ahead of Wang in the rotation. Can someone try and explain that one to me? AJ had 18 wins once, last season. Wang had 19 wins twice and was on pace for at least 20 before he got hurt last season.
Speaking of Kei Igawa, What’s Ian Kennedy doing?
Trade scenarios
Dukes?
Chone Figgans?
You think Cashman wished he let the Padres take Igawa and his remaining salary in 2007?
Mike Francesca just said that ESPN has a report from Radomski that A-Rod’s own teammates leaked his name…..wow. I’m sick about this. I don’t know if that means Yankees or his ex-teammates on the Rangers, but either way……wow.
Dude, AJ and Wang are 2A and 2B, it doesn’t matter if you Wang 2 or 3 in the rotation, you just hope they make 30 plus starts each during the year!
I heard that selig said he would think about suspending arod for his peds use before 2004. That would be a first since this scandal first arose, if he did that. Not only will he look terrible for the ridiculous double standard but the players association would never allow that to happen. One, if selig wanted to suspend players for peds use, He should have started it when the first player was revealed. Arod is not the first. Two, there was NO baseball rule against PEDs at the time. So one what grounds would this suspension take place.
There is a very good American law that says people can not be punished for a crime if that crime was not illegal at the time it took place even if it is illegal when people find out about it. This all comes down to the fact that selig has still not accepted his own responsibility for this mess. Actually, out of everyone, selig is the most guilty and the biggest reason this is happening right now. If he wants to suspend someone, he should suspend himself or better yet he should resign. What a hack… He should be resigning in disgrace this year and not making 18 mil.
E-Man
February 12th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I still don’t see how AJ is ahead of Wang in the rotation. Can someone try and explain that one to me? AJ had 18 wins once, last season. Wang had 19 wins twice and was on pace for at least 20 before he got hurt last season.
————————————————————
What damned difference does it possibly make which pitcher is 1, 2, or 3? They’re all exceptional pitchers, exceptional talents.
I don’t think you set up the rotation based on wins. I think you set it up based on style of pitching.
For example, if you slot Wang between CC and AJ, that’s three different looks you give a team over a 3 day period.
A lefty with a big fastball, breaking ball and changeup. A righty with a hard sinker that makes hitters feel like they are hitting a bowling ball. Follow it up with a righty throwing easy 95-98 MPH gas with one of the best breaking balls in the game.
That many different looks is what makes hitters struggle against good pitching.
Why all the vitriol over Igawa? He’s not very good, has no command of his pitches, but at least he was able to take the mound for us, so in that respect, he was a better investment than Pavano’s 40 million.
I too am increadibly excited to see Burnett pitch, he always gets up for a big game, and every game with the Yankees will be a big game, he could be special.
Selig should resign, he can’t make ARod the scapegoat for admiting he f ‘ d up when there are 100′s of others who are guilty and won’t get suspended.
ARod should make a huge donation, $25 million, to prevent drug abuse in sports.
Not sure if anyone saw this yet, but Keith Law just said it in his chat over at espn:
Stouffer (DC): Keith, if you had to redo your top 100 prospects list right now, are there any changes you would make?
Keith Law: (1:08 PM ET ) I think I was too hard on Jesus Montero’s positional question. He should have been 15-20 spots higher.
Betsy,
How would Radomski know? Also, SI is not going to put out that story based on heresay (what ballplayers say) evidence.
They have to have something more concrete.
A ballplayer may be someone who originally tipped her off.
However, without more tangible proof, that story never sees the light of day.
Meaning, someone who has the list and/or the test results is the main source(s) of the story.
SJ- I agree 100% Wanger needs to be in between CC and A.J.
Selig is not gonna suspend A-Rod. He never failed a test post 2003 and he admitted outright on national TV. Somehow I dont see Selig having a good case for suspension.
Jim (NJ): Steroids, Aids. This used to be my favorite time of year.
Keith Law: (1:05 PM ET ) Seriously. My TV hit on Monday was 90% A-Rod/steroids. Blame the mainstream media writers who still think that steroids (or HGH) are huge performance enhancers.
“Back to baseball – AJ is probably the signing I am most interested in simply because he has the potential to be outstanding”
What … Teixera and CC dont have the potential to be oustanding??
Dennis (Santa Clarita, CA): The A-Rod story strikes me as one of the more anti-climatic sagas of the past few years. What seems to have slipped by with almost no comment is that the Yankees were aware he tested positive when they signed him. So pretty much the palyers didn’t care, the teams didn’t care and clearly Selig probably hadn’t even raised to a level of consciousness capable of pondering of caring.
Keith Law: (1:20 PM ET ) And the statistical record say any benefit he derived was negligible. Yawn.
SJ44, I hope you’re right – additionally, I find it hard to believe players would out other players.
Ok, back to baseball, lol:
GreenBeret, I agree with you completely. This rotation has the potential to be lights-out. SJ, great points as well. Andy should benefit quite a bit from this – the “soft” tosser of the bunch.
What do you guys think about the pen? Think Robertson has a shot to make the team? How about Alabadejo? I really like him – he can be such a useful pitcher for this team.
So what pitchers haven’t been seen yet? CC, Andy, Marte, Veras and Mo? Am I missing anyone else?
I agree with Joe Monte that Selig should be ousted. He very obviously did a TERRIBLE job with regard to the issue of steroids. The fact that MLB became so tainted under his watch should not be excused, rationalized, or forgiven. AFter all, preserving the integrity of the game his his single greatest responsibility.
As for A-Rod, having him fork over money to this or that organization isn’t going to make any difference. He has been tainted and always will be. There is absolutely nothing he’s ever going to be able to do about that. Personally, the issue seems silly to me. I don’t look to ballplayers as role models. I look to them for entertainment, not guidance. I figure that ballplayers have always done whatever they could to get an edge. And steroids had not been banned by MLB back in 2001. Sure, they were illegal, but so is under-age drinking and cheating on taxes. How many pro ball players did those things? So I don’t care. And, I don’t think the steroids use in A-Rod’s case made any real difference in what he accomplished on the field. I also think that a LOT of the other players whom A-Rod was facing were juicing, so the playing field wasn’t quite as un-level as some would think. After all, if a juiced batter is facing a juiced pitcher and a juiced-up defense, who, exactly, has an advantage because of steroids?
Al,
He doesnt have a good case for suspension but he said today he is thinking about it. I dont know what there is to think about and frankly, he should not be saying that at all even if he didnt mean it.
So who where the 4 players that outed Arod according to Radomski?
Dave, what I meant was that CC is a known quantity – so is Tex. AJ is something of a question mark, but if the answer is positive, he will absolutely flourish in NY. He’s intriguing, at least to me. I have a very good feeling about him.
I’m looking forward to seeing all three of these guys in pinstripes. I just hope one day that the media will start giving us some baseball stories…..
Keith Law just called Bill Madden one of the “blathering idiots in NY” who are talking about releasing Arod. lol
On the topic of Selig suspending him: “That’s one of the dumber memes of the week. They can’t punish Arod. Period. So stop bringing it up”.
Keith bringin’ the heat today! lol
SJ,
I agree 100 percent. She had four sources so one of them could have been an ex-teammate but the main source was not a baseball person. It had to be someone that had access to the list – likely someone involved with the legal process because even the testing itself was anonymous. It did not become known which players were positive to anyone outside of a select few until the government issues a warrant and seized those documents. So it really could only be someone involved with the government/legal process.
The reason why I can see burnett in front of wang is because of injury risk
you have CC and Wang who always pitch deep into games, maybe they want to give the bullpen some rest between AJ and Andy
Keith Law is going to work. Disproving all the hear-say
“What damned difference does it possibly make which pitcher is 1, 2, or 3? They’re all exceptional pitchers, exceptional talents.”
So AJ, Wang and CC it is!
AJ, CC, Wang?
Pettitte, AJ, CC?
Wow – I am impressed with Keith law today. First, he says montero should move up the list 20 spots. Then, he takes a shot at madden’s moronic statements and for a finale, destroys any of seligs credibility in making that statement. GO KEITH!!!
SJ – to follow the flow of pitching you get a lefty in Pettite separating AJ and Joba (flame thrower). And then back around to lefty CC. A very balanced and versatile rotation that has the potential of three dominant strikeout pitchers, a ground ball machine and a crafty veteran.
I think this will be the pen:
Mariano Rivera
Brian Bruney
Damaso Marte
Edwar Ramirez
Jose Veras
Jon Albaladejo
Alfredo Aceves
“I don’t think you set up the rotation based on wins. I think you set it up based on style of pitching.
For example, if you slot Wang between CC and AJ, that’s three different looks you give a team over a 3 day period.
A lefty with a big fastball, breaking ball and changeup. A righty with a hard sinker that makes hitters feel like they are hitting a bowling ball. Follow it up with a righty throwing easy 95-98 MPH gas with one of the best breaking balls in the game.
That many different looks is what makes hitters struggle against good pitching.”
That makes sense but you’d agree that Wang should be the #2. Early reports according to Eiland is that AJ will be the #2 guy.
A lot of people don’t like Law. I love reading him because he’s snarky, isn’t filled with sports cliches, and isn’t a puppet to his bosses at ESPN. In other words, he’s not another brain dead Bristol, CT cheerleader.
He knows his stuff and isn’t a suckup.
Two things that rate high on my meter when I evaluate media people.
bETSY,
I was kidding with you. I know what you meant. Your right-AJ could be great. I just dont share the same high optimism that you exude but there is no reason not to be optimistic right now. Im just more of a realist than an optimist in general. I know, its sad.
Ninja- Thats good but take out Edwar and put in Coke/Melancon.
Law has been rightheaded on this issue.
btw, the book publisher is, of course, gonna say the human unmade bed has more to report on ARod and steroids in her book. He can’t allow anyone to have the impression that they don’t need the book.
Betsy,
I agree with you. They’re all great players, but Tex will be workmanlike, putting up consistently good numbers. CC is CC, everyone’s used to what he does. But AJ’s stuff is what baseball people talk about. Let’s hope we see it.
Producer of a local radio show is an Angels fan. He said, “I don’t know what they’re thinking, but Abreu is the left-handed bat they need”. It was kind of a “don’t get me wrong, I like Abreu, but I’m not too excited” kind of tone that seems to be prevalent among the Angels fans. I think they all assumed they would get Teixeira back.
Has Boras never done a trade with a 72-hour window for an extension? That’s the only reason I can think of why the Angels didn’t do it that way.
Otherwise, nothing is guaranteed and you can’t hold it against a player if he went somewhere for geographical reasons.
SJ,
With the role Law is on today, I am beginning to appreciate him a heck of a lot more.
and someone just commented on K-Law’s snarkiness…he really is among the more interesting reads out there
Betsy
February 12th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
SJ44, I hope you’re right – additionally, I find it hard to believe players would out other players.
Ok, back to baseball, lol:
GreenBeret, I agree with you completely. This rotation has the potential to be lights-out. SJ, great points as well. Andy should benefit quite a bit from this – the “soft” tosser of the bunch.
What do you guys think about the pen? Think Robertson has a shot to make the team? How about Alabadejo? I really like him – he can be such a useful pitcher for this team.
————————————————————
Agree that if Pettitte is as healthy and effective as he was prior to July 26″ of last year, he would seem to be the beneficary of the different looks. Pity they team that would draw Wang, Pettitte and Chamberlain….three entirely different looks….brains and brawn.
I’d prefer Albaladejo over Robertson, right now. Robertson still has some work to do to go along with the talent. Albaladejo is one reason why I expect either Ramirez or Veras to be traded before the end of ST. If Melancon is spectacular, maybe both Veras and Ramirez get moved, though, I’d think that only one by ST and one around mid-season. Young, cheap, effective.
Our starters are going to produce amazing #’s of grounders.
I think it depends on matchups E-Man.
Personally, I’d lay it out the way I did in the earlier post.
I know Eiland said in January AJ is the #2 starter but, that doesn’t mean anything. That’s just PR talk.
I think when they get down to working matchups, I think they will look to balance out the rotation with pitchers that give them different looks.
Either way, it beats having Ponson, Pavano and Rasner (with Igawa in reserve) to choose from this year.
I’m here in ft. Lauderale does anyone know if the oriols spring training is open for the public?
This is why I never understand when people post here and complain about Keith Law being anti-Yankees when he doesn’t gush over a prospect. The guy, to me, doesn’t seem like he is biased at all and he strikes me as one of the few level-headed people talking about this whole steroid situation (Neyer another one). He is, if anything, anti-idiocy and refuses to over-hype anything, be it a controversy or more importantly to his specific focus, a prospect. These are very rare traits for analysts over at the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
Bill (Chicago): If steroid/HGH provides, as you claim, “negligible” benefits, then why do athletes continue to take chances by using them? And do you feel that Barry Bonds hitting 73 HRs compared to what he would have hit sans ‘roids is “negligible”…
Keith Law: (1:34 PM ET ) This is easily one of the stupidest arguments made in favor of steroid usage. Athletes use steroids because they BELIEVE they will help. People take echinacea because they think it will cure colds, despite copious evidence that it does nothing. That “immune system booster” Airborne is useless, yet it’s sold in every drugstore in the country and has to be racking up millions in sales … even though it’s a vitamin C megadose which can actually reduce your immune system’s ability to fight off an infection. Athletes who take steroids are just as dumb as people who take Airborne or echinacea or who buy into Ponzi schemes, and the fact that there are people who do these things doesn’t make doing those things smart.
I just dont like that burnett is 32 and has yet, to show his true potential. Plus, the injury history is disconcerting.
But it doesnt matter as first and foremost, I am a yankee fan and I will root my heart out for AJ. I do think there is a ton of talent there and I just hope the yankee are lucky enough to watch AJ take the next step in his career. 32 is not young but it certainly is not old. And its not like AJ has not shown a thing but somewhere in there is an ace waiting to come out – a little less injury and a little more control and he will dominate.
Rishi,
I was just going to post that entry.
Pete ought to take that entry and tack it to the top of his blog.
It would educate more people on this issue than the pages of nonsense being written by many, many people on this subject.
I get the fact that myth-busting is tough for some people.
However, Law knows his stuff and knows more on this subject than 99% of the “investigative journalists” currently going through present and past players garbage looking for clues of PED use.
i fear that people are taking the burnett/shilling analogy too far. yes, aj has great stuff and has been inconsistent. i hope people realize that he will continue to be that way and take the good with the bad. an 11 strikeout game followed by a 5 inning shelling is not out of the question.
he’s a piece of the puzzle
no shortage of arms in the pen. Personally I would sell high on Veres and Ramirez. I see them both blowing up this year.
John (NJ): Any chance the Feds shake down Selen Roberts for her sources? Those people have committed the biggest crime in this whole story.
Keith Law: (1:40 PM ET ) There’s no federal shield law, right? Not only do I expect her to be asked to divulge her sources, the only correct ethical course of action for her is to divulge them. From a normative point of view (rather than a legal one), the benefit from producing this information does not, in my opinion, justify how the information was obtained (the sources violated a federal court order) or the invasions of A-Rod’s privacy and that of the other 103 players. I’d really like to see the leakers face the consequences of their actions, which I can only imagine were done out of spite. This wasn’t exactly Watergate – did anyone hear the news on Saturday and think, “Wow, baseball has a steroids problem? That’s news to me!”
Dave,
He didn’t show his true potential last year? He was one of the 5 best starters in the AL for most of last year.
If he has a 2009 like he had 2008, the Yankees are going to be in awfully good shape.
MO
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.c.....p?c_id=bal
open to public once players report
SJ – I totally agree…I’m learning things in his chat today
I think it’s just fun to point fingers at others (esp when you can get paid a lot of money to do so)
dave- I think AJ is hungry to win something. Everyone knows he can pitch and I think he is finally in it to win a championship and after all isnt that the primary goal of this organization?
Pls help! Does anyone know if the oriols spring training facility is open to the public?
Rishi,
He topped himself with that entry.
Another one that should be tacked to the top of this blog.
Pete,
If you are reading, any chance you get Law to do a live chat with you if he is in town during ST?
The guy is actually someone who has something interesting to say and won’t be PC.
I think it would make for an interesting interactive experience.
Someone get a hose Law is on fire!
Thanks yankeeray
Reports are that Coke will be a starter this season.
No need to rush Melancon. Let him start in the minors, and maybe Cashman frees up some space with a trade or perhaps someone gets hurt. That’s the time for callups.
Let’s not forget that Ramirez struck out 63 in 55.1 last season, and was arguably our 3rd best reliever behind Mariano and Bruney.
Also, when discussing the bullpen from last season to this season, let’s not forget that Latroy Hawkins and Ross Ohlendorf pitched a combined 81 innings for us last season, and we still had a good bullpen.
Igawa’s only highlight as a Yankee
4/28/07
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxe.....YA2007.htm
mo york
February 12th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Pls help! Does anyone know if the oriols spring training facility is open to the public?
—–
Mooooooooo
it’s above. Always open to public until games start then its still open to public but you have to pay
Wow Yankees let you in for free while the O’s charge
Bill Philly: Is it just me or are the ESPN and SI baseball writers sniping one another? Today alone Verducci criticized Peter Gammon’s interviewing prowess, and today ESPN’s Neyer took a piece about Abeu’s defence written by SI’s Heyman and basically called Heyman an idiot for not realizing abreu was a terrible defensive outfielder.
Keith Law: (1:50 PM ET ) Well, there’s a real discussion to be had about the SI writers’ original story, which I hinted at above. I haven’t seen either of the pieces you mentioned.
Law seems dead-on today. While i wouldn’t go so far as to say, roids does nothing for the power of a player it certainly seems evident that roids doesnt necessarily turn you into a better baseball player on the whole. Just because mcgwire use roids and hit a ton of homeruns, doesnt mean roids helped him all that much. i mean he has 1600 career hits over 16 years – thats pathetic. His swing and his huge build made him a swing for the fences or dont get any of it type hitter. He sacrificed his batting avg to hit homers. He likely would have been a big power guy without the roids. Arod was already one of the best if not the best player in baseball when he signed with the rangers. Did he turn into some sort of ridiculous monster?
He played in a ballpark where righties hit more homers and he hit a few more homers than his career avg. Bonds is really the exception and not the rule. But an argument can still be made that bonds was well established as one of the best players in the game before he even touched the roids. People like to bring up the fact that he hit 73 homers in a single season and never broke 50 before or after and that is difficult to explain. But frankly, does anyone really think that was the only year he was on roids? Did he take massive doses only that year and become a machine? Im sure there was more involved than him just taking roids and jacking 73 homers – maybe he changed his work ethic or hit the gym 20 times a week instead of 7.
Maybe he went on some ridiculous protein diet. Maybe he altered his swing and his mechanics to get more lift on the ball and hit more fly balls than grounders. Roids does not make every day people, great at a sport and they dont make average baseball players, amazing and they usually dont make superstars some sort of divine power.
They increase muscle cell mass and increase the amount of muscle cells whereby a muscle is able to generate far more power so an increase in the power of a hitter can be an expected effect but i SERIOUSLY doubt it makes people hit better in general or walk more or play better defense for the most part. iT does not make guys stop getting injured and if anything leads to an increase in injuries. It does not stop aging or regression at some point although it appears to be able to aid players in prolonging their careers. But mcgwire, bonds, arod and clemens were all some of the best in the game at certain things long before they ever did anything with roids and it that fact should be pretty clear.
Law is on fire today. It’s great that analytical baseball minds like Law and Rob Neyer will be voting for the Hall of Fame years down the line.
The more people like Law and Neyer that vote for the Hall of Fame, the less of a joke the voting process will become.
Getting back to the rotation and the bullpen, I think slotting Wang betweeen C.C. and Burnett makes all the sense in the world.
I also believe that Mark Melancon will absolutely make the team out of spring training and by July will be the set-up man to Rivera.
He’s a power pitcher with a hammer curve. He’s also ruthlessly efficient, with a terrific GB to FB ratio. He’ll be this year’s X factor (Although I hate that term.)
Anyone else feel that way?
I know you all wanted a moritorium on the steroid talk, but some of these are too good to pass up
jennifer
February 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Wow Yankees let you in for free while the O’s charge
—
games aren’t free? just the first few players work outs
I know that silly.
I thought you were talking about workouts.
GB7,,,,I’m off to a meeting, the kid to watch is Kyle Hig…Outstanding catcher and heady ballplayer….Much better catcher than Austine, more power, very sound ballplayer…He caught Cole inthe Orange County All-Star game and went deep …..
Randy I,,,Looking at the bullpen session picture, do you you still get pumped even if you may have a tough getting down into position ????”
pat m-
i looked long at the bullpen photos with hughes and joba throwing to the two catchers. that was the gig . once the novelty wears off though it is an unbelievable amount of work. in a typical day a bullpen catcher in spring training will catch multiple pitching sessions and throw any number of long toss sessions with pitchers and players.
the longest days i ever had was when i was catching jack armstrong at 9:00 am at McKechnie Field in Bradenton(pirates) before then going through regular team workouts and then catching a kid named terry gilmore at 6:00 pm over at ed smith stadium(white sox) . armstrong started the national league all star that summer and gilmore was the winning pitcher at the triple a allstar game.
after a while , by the time i would get to gilmore at 6:00pm , i would lob the ball back to him underhand which was pretty funny. i wouldn’t have traded a moment of it though. it was right up there with the best of times in my life.
as far as my knees, i picked up this exercise called a “russian pistol” about 15 years ago that i still do every day that keeps my knees in great shape:
http://www.mikemahler.com/imag.....pistol.jpg
(i do them without the kettleball )
even one a day withe each leg is enough to maintain the strength and balance necessary to keep doing them.
I’m her in ft.lauderale and I was thinking about checkin out the oriols place but they got a AAA team who will I meet there…..what a shame
Oden (Motown): Keith, I am not asking you to call out a colleague (well I guess I am!), but yesterday Rob Neyer posted this after an article suggesting A-Rod’s admitted PED use perhaps only helped him with an extra homer or two: “Even if you assume that performance-enhancing drugs have had a measurable impact on statistics — which is far from settled, by the way — you wouldn’t expect to see a particular player do extraordinarily unexpected things. It’s safe to say that if Alex Rodriguez had never broken a single law or a single rule, he would still today be on track for 800 home runs.” I think it is safe to say that Mssrs Bonds, McGwire, and Clemens all did extraordinarily unexpected things. I also think it is safe to say that if PED’s didn’t have a noticeable impact on statistics, players wouldn’t use them (I do realize there is no way to have an authoritative study done, using lab rats or human guinea pigs isn’t the same as World Class athletes competing on the highest level). Would you please share your thoughts on this matter?
Keith Law: (1:58 PM ET ) I’ve covered a lot of this, but it’s worth pointing out that Clemens’ career path isn’t that of a PED user; he became a command/control guy in the 2000s, rather than returning to form as a power guy. Perhaps he used something that kept him healthy, but I’ve never quite understood why people get so outraged over that. If something keeps you healthy, or helps you recover more quickly, isn’t that a Good Thing? What’s next – banning cortisone? ibuprofen? ice?
Rishi,
His stuff is too good today not to post it.
You can’t stop him. You can only hope to contain him.
This Law chat is great
Klaw on fire today. I’m loving it. His snarky comments and unwillingness to conform to the usual ESPN talking-head mentality are two of the main reason I like him. On top of that, he’s a good talent evaluator.
SJ,
I have no doubt the yanks would be happy with a repeat of last years performance but I still contend that AJ did NOT show his true potential last year.
Maybe against the yanks he was lights out but he was not one of the best pitchers in general overall. Otherwise, wouldnt you think he would finish in the top of the cy young voting or at least make it to the all star game? He didnt even rank in the cy young voting at all.
Frankly, despite AJ’s 18 wins, he was not much more than a little better than average last year. He let up 211 hits and 86 walks in 221 innings for a 1.342 whip and a 4.07 era. He did have 231 strikeouts which is fantastic but that walk total is really high for giving up pretty much a hit per inning. its no question he continues to struggle with control at times and that walk total was good for fifth in the league. He also threw 11 wild pitches which was the fourth most in the league. The whip is not impressive because there was just too many walks.
AJ does have great potential but I dont think he showed it all last year despite the calling that he had a career year. Actually, last year was not his best year in terms of stats. He put up far better numbers in 20055 although he was n the NL east instead. I just think AJ still has to prove he can harness his potential. A 1.342 whip and a 4.07 era is not jaw dropping stuff. It is just alright.
“The more people like Law and Neyer that vote for the Hall of Fame, the less of a joke the voting process will become.”
excuse me while i throw up:)
Roger Maris was on PEDS!!
Can we infer from the fact that these were Maris’ home run totals by year that he was on PEDS in 1961:
14, 9, 19, 28, 16, 39, 61, 23, 23, 26, 8, 13, 9, 5
Of course not.
There is a tremendous amount of variability to performance from year to year. To me further muddies the water about effect of PEDS. Perhaps the added confidence in thinking that PEDS will enhance performance is as much to blame as the physical itself.
All of the workouts are free to attend, but the concessions are open as well, which is nice. Furthermore, the Yankees intra-squad game is free as well. It is played usually about 1-3 days before the first ST game. I have gone to it for about the last 5 years or so. Most of the starters play until they get 2 ABs. Seats are first come, first serve.
Ninja,
Are those reports of Coke being a starter current? With Andy in the fold, I think they’ll utilize him as they did last year. As a badass reliever.
He was not throwing 95 as a starter, so he may be one of those guys who can air it out as a reliever.
As for the steroid/hgh/performance argument, you have to admit there’s some connection, however small. First, if they didn’t help they wouldn’t be banned. Second, (I know I’ve posted this many times), but 14 of the last 26 MVPs have admitted to or have been strongly linked to PEDs. Of course, that could be coincidence. Or that could mean that there are a lot of good players taking the stuff for no good reason.
Can we safely assume that Waveyouhat is the only one on this blog that really cares about A-Rod’s personal life? Of course he’s going to get all riled up about that statement. But believe me, it’s true.
” A 1.342 whip and a 4.07 era is not jaw dropping stuff. It is just alright.”
dave-
what stood out was his second half. that ‘s what shows his upside.
dave,
Are you saying that AJ didn’t show his potential because he didn’t have a great game every time out?
Did CC show his potential in ’07 or ’08? He was the poster boy of inconsistency last year. You do realize CC had an ERA of 13+ to start the season, right? But he still averaged out thanks to his domination of the NL.
All these guys need to be given the benefit of the doubt. You never know what happens when you put on the pinstripes. Some aces have crumbled and some nobodies elevated themselves into Yankee lore.
Wow, in the last 30 minutes Keith Law has not only jumped off the charts in terms of how much I like him but I think he is slowly becoming my hero. i NEVER thought I would hear an actually smart, honest opinion regarding selena roberts until she ends up destroying her own reputation, The fact that Law can see through all selena’s BS and the fact that she is a fellow reporter and get into the nitty gritty details involving the crime to write the story being worse than the story itself is amazing. BRAVO KEITH LAW BRAVO! You just negated any stereotypes I had previously about the media in general by going against the grain. If only more media-type had that kind of confidence to question the methods of their peers without being forced to do so as a group. iTS nice to see someone in the media actually thinking the stuff that seems so obvious to some of us bloggers.
Roger Maris was on PEDS!!
Can we infer from the fact that these were Maris’ home run totals by year that he was on PEDS in 1961:
14, 9, 19, 28, 16, 39, 61, 23, 23, 26, 8, 13, 9, 5
Of course not.
There is a tremendous amount of variability to performance from year to year. To me further muddies the water about effect of PEDS. Perhaps the added confidence in thinking that PEDS will enhance performance is as much to blame as the physical itself.
————————————————————
Just to keep you straight….the 9 + 19 + 28 in 1958 was the same as the 28 you posted next. He was with Cleveland (9) and KC (19) in ’58. That was the 28 that you also posted.
Rconn,
For every law and neyer, there will still be ten complete morons who get a vote for the hall. So in general, i DOUBT the process will improve until they take the HOF vote away from the BBWAA which hopefully, will be soon. I dont mind them doing any of the other voting but this is far too important. When a guy like maddon, comes out the day arod is acused of using roids and before even hearing a response or verification or looking up which roid it was or how long he took it or the kind of effect it may have had on his game, he immediately writes a story on why arod wont get his vote for the hall of fame. iT is that kind of ignorance that should take the HOF vote away from the writers.
Mel,
The plan with Coke is for him to be in the AAA rotation. Its much tougher to develop a LH starter than reliever. If he doesn’t pan out as a starter, they can always put him back in the ‘pen.
Who do you think is snarkier? Keith Law or Simon Cowell?
All pitchers and catchers report for physicals tomorrow. Other position players could be arriving at the minor league complex across the road at any time to join the early arrivals.
Why waste 30 secs of one’s life on Kei Igawa anyway? It’ll be the most frustrating and useless 30 seconds ever.
The pitcher I really would love to hear reports on this spring is Mike Dunn.
He’s the converted outfielder who throws gas and pitched in AA.
We should also really see which Edwar/Alba/Veras shows up to pitch this year.
I am also very interested in Coke/Melancon potential, but before they are promoted, they should just continue to refine in AAA until the need via injury/trade/poor MLB performance neccesitates it.