Surrender the yogurt, ma’am
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 13, 2009 
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Here we are at the Amos Otis International Airport in Kansas City waiting for a 7 a.m. flight to Tampa on Southwest. Most of the beat writers are on this flight as there are only so many ways to get from Kansas City to Tampa on a Monday morning.
Memo to the kids in journalism school who think this is a glamorous job: Switch to economics.
It’s cold and rainy in Kansas City and hopefully it’s warm and sunny in Tampa. It was only 12 days ago that the Yankees pulled out of Tampa after nearly eight weeks of spring training.
The Yankees are 3-3 on their nine-game road trip. If they come home 5-4, there should be no complaints. Meanwhile they will get their first look at Alex Rodriguez today since he left camp on March 1. A-Rod is scheduled to work out at the minor-league complex around 11 a.m. and then watch tonight’s game against the Rays.
It has been out of sight/out of mind with A-Rod these last six weeks. The players never talk about him and Joe Girardi seems to get only occasional text messages. Kevin Long appears to be the only person who speaks with him regularly.
At some point soon (a week?) he’ll play in games and then it’ll take another week or so for him to be ready for big-league pitching. I think there’s a decent chance he’s ready around May 1. Given how overmatched Cody Ransom looks, the Yankees need him back.
It’ll be interesting to see what degree Alex has changed — if any — since he has been away. All of his shenanigans have made him a national punch line at this point. You would think he would want to put all that stuff behind him and just play baseball. But given his well-documented need for attention, who knows? If he showed up today with Lindsay Lohan, would you be surprised? The sad thing is, you wouldn’t be.
Meanwhile, I just went through the security line. The woman in front of me had a container of yogurt in her bag. The TSA officers found it and confronted her.
“What is this, yogurt?” she was asked.
“Yeah, I forgot I had it. Sorry,” the woman said.
“You can’t bring this on the plane,” she was told.
“I know. I’m sorry,” the woman said.
“Do you surrender the yogurt?” she was asked.
Do you surrender the yogurt? Now there’s a sentence I had never heard before. Thankfully, she surrendered the yogurt and nobody had to taser her. Because clearly when the terrorists strike again, it’ll be via yogurt-wielding Midwestern women.
Thanks for reading. At some later today, we’ll check in from Tampa with the lineups and a report on A-Rod first day on the field. He’s supposed to take some grounders and hit off a tee. No doubt this will be well-chronicled by the nation’s media.
Hopefully A-Rod just stays quiet. Great job, Pete!!!
Alex could say nothing and still be written about as needing attention. Kinda like while he’s been gone. Go figure. We need stricter gun laws to get rid of all these guns being held to some journalists’ heads forcing them to write about Alex.
I’d say he’s a sports world punch line. The sports world continues to think everyone thinks like them instead of realizing they are a small niche. Most people couldn’t give a rat’s behind about Alex–in a good or bad way.
Sometimes I feel like the only person in America that doesn’t have drama or see drama when they travel through the airports. Knock on wood.
Economics? Stop setting people up Pete!
Pete,
I hardly ever comment but I read the blog every day. You do a tremendous job and I always turn to you for Yankee news.
I just wanted to say that the yogurt story had me laughing out loud for a good 2 minutes. The same way you had never heard “Do you surrender the yogurt?” before…I’ve never heard/seen “yogurt-wielding” used anywhere before. Good times…
Don’t be so hard on the TSA guys Pete. I know I felt much safer on a recent flight when the security folks pried the shoes off an 80+ nun!
Funny stuff, Pete.
I am a yogurt-eating person, and so now I will be extra-careful about not taking my yogurt with me to the airport. Who knew??
Another game yesterday, apparently, where there was some good to be taken away even amidst the unsatisfactory results. I can’t really fault Girardi’s moves – you can second guess from here to forever, but I don’t think there were blatent mistakes. And if Veras and Coke were able to do what they’d done in recent games, all is good. I just hope that it doesn’t turn into a trend – 3 good games, 1 bad, you know?
It would have been a really nice win to get, though, no doubt – coming from behind to get to Meche. Joba pitching pretty well. Still, I’ll take 2 of 3 any day. And, when I saw yesterday’s lineup, I had little hope of a victory anyway, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t sting so much.
It has been kind of blissful without a lot of ARod musings in the papers, here and elsewhere. But, ARod is missed and he can’t get back soon enough, as far as I’m concerned, shenanigans and all. The paper this morning speculated Tex would not play today, either, but the last word is Tex’s, of course, later today after he tests out the wrist. But I agree with him – better to miss 2, 3, even 4 games now than even more later on. (I knew an injury-free spring was too good to be true!
)
I hope everyone enjoyed their day yesterday, Yankees loss notwithstanding.
Pete, do you think Arod will be on the bench or watching from somewhere else?? I think the bench of course, he is part of the team but I have heard others say the Yankees may not want him there, I doubth that, they know they need him.
There is absolutely nothing glamorous about the KC airport. Worst airport ever.
“Memo to the kids in journalism school who think this is a glamorous job: Switch to economics.”
Too late for that!
Commish
Same with the Toronto airport at least the terminal I was in. Flight was delayed for hours. Although their was a bar right next to our gate. After the anger of being delayed wore off, everyone had a good time.
Clearly you have missed your calling. The whole yogurt vignette was hysterical. I hope you continue to fill in blog space with more of your observations about episodes of humanity at its quirkiest.
I was at the airport and a woman with a styrafoam coffee cup went through the line and they guy said, “Take your top off” (meaning the lid on the coffee cup). She thought he meant her clothing. The ensuring conversation and dialogue was worthy of an analogy to “Who’s on first?” I only wish you had observed it because I cannot do it justice in the retelling.
If you want to speculate negatively, Pete, that’s your business. If you want to imply that Alex’ teammates don’t miss or care about him because they don’t talk about him, that’s your busines. What are you going to do, keep track of his behavior on a daily basis to see if he’s good enough to for the media?
You should be thankful she surrendered the yogurt instead of cutting the cheese.
Beautiful. Pete, if you ever make up LHYB blog T-shirts, “SURRENDER THE YOGURT” needs to be emblazoned on the back.
I myself have a TSA story, short version, I was flying to Boston very shortly after 9/11, and for some reason kept setting off the metal detector. They removed me to a small private room, with a TSA supervisor and a small National Guardsman with a very big rifle. The TSA guy told me “Sir, there seems to be a problem with your pants. Please remove your pants and place them on the table.” Turns out that my pant cuffs were held together with safety pins (hard times) and that was what set off the metal detector. So I was pantsed by Uncle Sam.
Anyway, I am definitely going to try to make this the next great American catchphrase.
Surrender the yogurt,
Guy Incognito
Heh, you want a good TSA story, try passing security in Dublin when you’ve got a dagger in your (checked) baggage…
That was fun!
a-who?
Fabulous, Pete. That’s a line that just sticks with you (Do you surrender the yogurt?). The whole scenario is just so absurd. Do you think we’ve over-done it a tad?
Oh, and the sneakers on an 80+ nun…come on! Can we please hire some folks with common sense in airport security??
Per Girardi, Ransom is going to be in the lineup tonight. Why is Pena on this team if he’s not going to play? That said, Pena against Kazmir or Garza scares me – I trust Cody more to put a decent at-bat there (not that the chances are good) than Pena, who will be completely overmatched.
Tuesday’s a very interesting matchup. This is going to be a very tough series to win, but if we do, that will be big.
Everybody who is not Pollyanna knows that his teammates do not miss or care about AR. They do miss and care about the production he brings to his spot on the team, especially when that place is being held in his absence by Cody Ransom. If it were being played by a young Cal Ripken, they would have nothing whatsoever to miss.
VRSCE — I missed your post earlier. V. funny!
i know we need him but it was a really nice a-free month or so!
HB lady rebecca!
Joey’s Poodle: I’ve missed reading your good sense lately. Sadly, it’s rare here.
Yankeelover — pretty dang funny in your retelling, nonetheless. But I agree, Pete is a natural-born story-teller. So funny in his clever phrasing.
Eeps. Need to fix that. No longer the birfday girl.
“Mark Melancon: replaced Jackson in the 8th inning with 2 men on base and 1 out. Melancon got 2 strikeouts for the final 2 outs of the 8th. Melancon threw a perfect 9th adding 2 more strikeouts. In his 2 games Melancon has 3.2 IP, 0 hits, 7 K’s, 0 walks.”
im not one to rush prospects but if he keeps this up he should be up by the AS break or right after.
I think they were worried about an Activia moment in the terminal or on the airplane…looking forward to getting A-Rod back in the lineup, baggage and all, although even with Ransom under-whelming, I dont feel like offense has been an issue at this point.
Funny how people are mad that the Yanks took 2 out of 3 from a good KC team. Yeah they should have swept but you can’t be mad about winning a series.
Looking forward to a nice rebound start for my boy Chien-Ming tonight!
I posted this last night, but since it was three am, I’m not sure many people got to see it…
Why not to freak out about the Yankees in April http://tinyurl.com/denbfp
“User Image
albrightmk wrote:
That’s one blown game already. Joba should be the 8th inning stopper. It also would prepare him to be the heir to Mariano’s closer role when he steps down. I think Joba is much more valuable in the 8th inning role (or even the 7th and 8th innings) than as a 5th starter. Maybe after a couple of more late inning breakdowns, the Yankees will make the move.”
One of the comments on the Post article today…ugggghhh….morons
Ham Fighters
April 13th, 2009 at 8:40 am
a-who?
the guy that usually plays 3rd base, that will never hit .50….ever, and the guy that makes plays a 3rd…
thats who!
excuse me…. .050
Instead of being concerned about Ransom, perhaps they need to find out what the guy that’s 1-17 with 1 walk, 12 groundouts and 4 strikeouts in his last 18 at bats is doing and stop being concerned with what Rodriguez is doing. .
Amen GB7
Yogurt is a weapon of mass destruction
3rded GB7
“You would think he would want to put all that stuff behind him and just play baseball. But given his well-documented need for attention, who knows?”
Pete: This all depends on the agenda of the media. If they choose to ask him baseball/ hip questions then everything will be fine. However, if they continue to ask him questions about his past steriod use, or questions about his PERSONAL life, then get the popocorn ready. This circus is coming back to tampa. Let the man breathe for once, he just got back in tampa.
p.S ask baseball questions please!! Pretty please with sugar on top
Benny ( it’s Game time) Blanco
April 13th, 2009 at 9:13 am
“You would think he would want to put all that stuff behind him and just play baseball. But given his well-documented need for attention, who knows?”
Pete: This all depends on the agenda of the media. If they choose to ask him baseball/ hip questions then everything will be fine. However, if they continue to ask him questions about his past steriod use, or questions about his PERSONAL life, then get the popocorn ready. This circus is coming back to tampa. Let the man breathe for once, he just got back in tampa.
p.S ask baseball questions please!! Pretty please with sugar on top
————————————————————
That’s too much to ask for. You can’t slip in snide, catty digs into a real baseball story.
“perhaps they need to find out what the guy that’s 1-17 with 1 walk, 12 groundouts and 4 strikeouts in his last 18 at bats is doing”
You see anything in particular, GB? Or is it just a garden variety slump?
Jennifer-
Never had the pleasure to fly from Toronto. But, the unique thing about KC is that any bars/restaurants/shops they have (which are scarce and horrible), are before security. So, if you get delayed (which I ALWAYS am there) you would need to leave that gate area to check them out. Then go through security again.
“Funny how people are mad that the Yanks took 2 out of 3 from a good KC team.”
Good KC team? I thought they played the Royals all weekend.
I don’t mean to sound like “crazy in game posting guy” but Phil Coke has me concerned. Thats 2/3 bad appearances. He did well last Sept and in March, but thats suspect. Could he be a fraud?
National security at it’s finest.
we will sweep tampa.
Using the word “fraud” in April makes you the crazy in game posting guy. Give the guy a break.
Steve B
April 13th, 2009 at 9:19 am
“perhaps they need to find out what the guy that’s 1-17 with 1 walk, 12 groundouts and 4 strikeouts in his last 18 at bats is doing”
You see anything in particular, GB? Or is it just a garden variety slump?
————————————————————
Whatever the reason, that’s a lot of ground balls. Two of the hits are infield and two others snuck through the Baltimore infield on the ground. Nothing is in the air, and nothing being hit hard. ?Don’t know if he’s hitting on top of the ball on purpose or if he’s just screwed up right now, but, it’s killing the offense with Matsui slumping and Teixeira out. One well placed hit yesterday would have turned that game around. Everyone knows thar Ransom is maybe a .240 hitter and Cabrera is unpredictable, but, Jeter is the offensive key.
Coke’s first appearance was fine. He was left out a little long, and a fan interfered with Damon. In fairness to Coke, he shouldn’t have even been in the game yesterday. But he was, and did not locate well. It happens.
Garym(Yanks and More)
April 13th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Pete, do you think Arod will be on the bench or watching from somewhere else?? I think the bench of course, he is part of the team but I have heard others say the Yankees may not want him there, I doubth that, they know they need him.
I think he will be on the bench. I doubt he will be, dare I say, a distraction.
is arod aloud in our dugout tonight or do they not want the distraction?
“But given his well-documented need for attention…”
–Or, given your well-documented player envy? Sorry, but I don’t find it sad that I wouldn’t be surprised if one celebrity was found in public with another.
Pete,
I am one of those kids in journalism school, and i’m still psyched to get out there.
Steve: A lot of people think the Royals will challenge for the AL central.
Of course, this involves them scoring more than 14 runs in six games, but that’s not the point…
Whats makes me laugh is that some people actually think arod could be a distraction in the dugout. Last time I checked, he never shoved a traveling secretary, nor did he start fights with teammates in the dugout.
Say what you want about him off the field. But at least when its gametime he’s all business.
Welcome back Arod!
Rebecca:
People can think that to their heart’s delight. Fact is, they have two starters who have no business being in the bigs, they play lousy defense, and if they don’t get a little help via walks/bad defense, they struggle to score.
That is not a good baseball team.
I have never been a fan of this mix and match philosophy. If a guy is a major leaguer he should be able to get lefties and righties out. No reason to take Marte out yesterday. Leave him in and see if he can get the guy out. If he gives up a hit, then take him out, but at least give him the opportunity. Worst case, he gives up a homer and the game is only tied. As for Ransom, what scouts predicted would happen is happening. He is getting nothing but breaking balls and change ups, seeing fastballs only out of the zone. Until he can lay off them or hit them, thats all he gonna see.
They are the 2nd best team in the central, what does that say about the central.
Benny ( it’s Game time) Blanco,
i agree with you, but i thought cash and giradi just don’t wan’t to deal with him and the press until he’s fully back.I think they will make an excuse.
Searching for blog hits….
Need more blog hits please….
Oh wait, I’ll just rip A Rod. That’s good for a few hundred comments. Works every time.
Just kidding, Pete. Well sort of.
“That was about as flagrant as anything I have seen in this game, and it’s unfortunate,” said Scioscia. “Usually the pitcher will show a little bit of remorse. … We didn’t see any of that from Beckett. There were some things that happened on the field that were disturbing and I feel the league has to look into it.”
http://www.projo.com/redsox/co.....f14db.html
the red sox have lived off this sort of thing for a while. it’s a little difficult to intimidate other teams when your star player is not much bigger than most team’s bat boys. there’s no manny who used to smack the other new “star” youkillis around when he got out of hand. no trot nixons. just a worn out varitek.
a youkillis /pedroia led red sox just does measure up with the bad ass team that the re sox used to portray. there no longer is anyone one to back up beckett when he headhunts. jd drew, ellsbury, jason bay,lowrie ? i don’t think so.
the red sox can still win without the thuggery , but beckett needs to get the message that there isn’t anyone behind him when he cheap shots tough teams like the angels. i mean what’s pedroia going to do … talk them to death ?
Pete, I read your blog every day but it is painfully obvious that you don’t like Arod and are compelled against journalistic integrity to bash the guy every chance you get. He has done nothing in the past week to deserve a lengthy negative post, yet, here it is.
Arod moves his toe–bash him for moving it the wrong way. Arod does nothing–bash him because if he *were* to do something, you can bet it would be BAD.
Get off it already dude. It’s getting old fast.
Steve B: Being a good baseball team =/= winning the AL Central…
What a lot of people are not seeing is that the Yankees are scoring runs at a brisk pace this year. Yesterday’s 4 runs were the lowest total of any game this year. And this is without A Rod, and without Tex for the last two.
Bottom line, this team is far from an average offensive team. Its above average, and its not even close. People will bring up the RISP garbage, and I think its just that… garbage. Over time these numbers will even out, they always do.
Also, seems they’re much better at getting the runner over this year (small sample size not withstanding), and getting down a bunt.
We’ll see how it all plays out. But Pettitte seems on a mission. CC and AJ are too talented to fail regularly as long as they stay healthy. If Wang’s sinker sinks, 100 wins should be a realistic and very attainable goal.
Mark Melancon should be up soon
Forget what questions the media ask, they’re “just doing their jobs.” It’s completely up to A-Rod how he responds and hopefully he can show the restraint to respond only to baseball related questions. As far as the “Yankees don’t want him around” angle, I doubt and hope that’s not the case. I know the steriod thing was bad and an un-needed distraction, but the guy is their team mate and will be for a long time, so I hope most of the Yanks are doing the smart/right thing and welcoming him back with open arms and support. I think the one thing that can help A-Rod the most, aside from himself, would be the media and fans seeing him in the dug-out mixing it up and having a good time with his teammates.
Marco, just leave it alone already…complaints about Pete’s unfondness of A-Rod are as trite as the snide comments themselves…
and while you may not like it, anyone who doesn’t agree with the fact that A-Rod has been a distraction and his own worst enemy is not paying attention. I just hope he gets the support he needs and doesn’t make anyone look stupid for giving it to him.
miggs: To echo that sentiment:
Yanks this year have scored 5, 5, 11, 4, 6, 4. Through this time last year, they scored 3,2,3,4,3,2.
That’s 35 runs to 17.
35 to 17.
And that’s WITHOUT Alex Rodriguez, and for two games now, Mark Teixeira.
Add in that the starting rotation over the last four games gave up 2, 1, 0 and 1 ER all into the sixth inning or longer.
What do you get?
A team that’s not going to lose very often.
I like the optimism miggs and rebecca, but I’m not buying any ticker tape until I see how the Yanks fare against teams not named the Kansas City Royals. TB will be a great test.
Pete,
I appreciate all your hard work bringing Yankees news to us fans, but I’m a bit concerned that these airport stories are getting longer, more frequent and more tiresome. I mean, really, airport security?
Combine that with the seemingly narcissistic line about the glamor of your job–you’d have to be quite starry-eyed to think there is glamor in being a beat writer for a community daily–and you seem in danger of falling into Peter King territory. Here’s hoping you remember what you do well: cover the Yankees with energy and integrity.
Best,
JAZ
Sorry, apparently -this- means cross-out.
Rebecca,
Nice blog post, very convincing argument.
Steve,
The Royals are better than you think. We faced their two worst starters but look at their top 3, pretty good if you ask me. They also have some young guys with high upside. A lot of people think they can contend in the Central.
And what’s your point about arguing the Royals suck? The Yanks still took 2 out of 3, it’s not like they lost the series. You can never expect a sweep, no team is so bad that a sweep is guaranteed.
One thing I love about this Yankees team is the rotation. There will never be a time where our starter is clearly outmatched (barring injury). There were a lot of games last year where you knew that the offense had to do something really special to keep us in the game.
Pauly: Point, but I guess that’s why there’s this series against the Rays, no?
“And what’s your point about arguing the Royals suck? The Yanks still took 2 out of 3, it’s not like they lost the series.”
I understand winning the series is the important thing. Yankees are to be commended for doing so. Winning series against inferior teams is huge for any team that is championship driven. One of the problems for the Yankees last year was they didn’t necessarily fare as well as they should have against bad teams.
As for my point? Simple. The Royals are a bad team. I know they are fashionable pick to be “this year’s Rays”, but that’s hogwash. Good front three and a superb closer, but below average in every other regard. I’ll eat my socks if they finish better than 3rd in the Central and think 4th or 5th is the more likely result.
“35 to 17.
And that’s WITHOUT Alex Rodriguez, and for two games now, Mark Teixeira.
Add in that the starting rotation over the last four games gave up 2, 1, 0 and 1 ER all into the sixth inning or longer.”
rebecca-
good point and it’s why this team seems much better than past years. i personally hated first base being a throw away position the past few years and going with green rookies for 40 % of the rotation.
with teixeira and a solid 5 man rotation this team is a major upgrade over the past few years. i think when a starting rotation keeps a team in almost every game, it creates an atmosphere where players start to do all the little things to win games.
good starting pitching gets players’ heads into the games. my only concern is injuries to the starting five. hughes, despite a lot of blog confidence in him ,still needs seasoning at triple a. i think the team would be weakened dramatically if hughes, say, replaced burnett for any extended time. then the yankees would be back to two young innings limited pitchers. not good.
but who knows, maybe these 5 starters can run with the ball and stay healthy. if they do, i think the yankees will work everything else out and be very strong all year.
my only problem with that is that i’d have to put up with cashman for a few more years
i’m pretty sure “surrender the yogurt” is the name of a film they used to show late at night on cinemax.
if they finish the road trip 5-4, i don’t see how anyone could complain. reactionary yankee fans and national media members hungry for a story were ready to pronounce the team dead after the 0-2 start and again after last night. nevermind the fact that the red sox have looked largely abysmal and their core group of offensive talent isn’t getting any younger. and yet, with a combined record of 5-7, i think you’d have to be crazy not to believe both the red sox and yankees will be right there october 1. both teams are too good not to be. in my opinion, the only thing that would keep either team out of the postseason this year is health, and there’s no way to control that.
i think they’ll drop two of three to the rays and go home 4-5 but even then, the season won’t be over.
Pauly: Point, but I guess that’s why there’s this series against the Rays, no?
Yup, that’s why I said “TB will be a great test.”
“my only concern is injuries to the starting five. hughes, despite a lot of blog confidence in him ,still needs seasoning at triple a”
Always need to be concerned about injuries, but so does everyone else. Certainly taking some comfort in the notion that in Hughes, the Yankees have a better answer for an injury than almost every team in the game.
randy: At least we have the luxury of Joba as our number five starter!
IIRC Burnett’s start, the Yankees have gotten FOUR quality starts in a row, nevermind the outcomes of the game.
The Red Sox and the Rays haven’t done that.
In another way, the Yankees are fourth in the AL in runs scored (Toronto, Texas, and Detroit all have more…which one doesn’t belong there…), and 7th in runs allowed, but one must remember 17 of those 27 runs came in games one and two.
Who started the rumor that the guys don’t want A-Rod sitting in the dugout with them? Does Alex have some personal hygiene problem that I don’t know about?
It is amazing how people try to ascribe their own hatred of Alex onto the team. How is Alex sitting in the dugout bad for the team? Anyone with a brain knows that it’s actually the best thing for the team. Alex has been on his own island since the surgery. He might even feel a little bit like an outsider. The last thing the Yankees need is an A-Rod looking for MORE attention. Alex will most likely be sitting with the guys in the dugout and I’m sure that they will be happy to have him there.
Joey’s Poodle, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled, but you’re just spouting the company line that everyone expects and wants to hear about Alex….let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good story.
GreenBeret, I normally agree with you, but not this time. Jeter will come out of his slump – I’m not concerned at all about him; every player has a few of these a season. I suggest that Jeter has earned the benefit of the doubt. Ransom is not playing particularly good D, which is the worst part of his poor play. We could live with him hitting .240 or so, but .200 or whatever he is now is barely tolerable.
good starting pitching gets players’ heads into the games. my only concern is injuries to the starting five. hughes, despite a lot of blog confidence in him ,still needs seasoning at triple a. i think the team would be weakened dramatically if hughes, say, replaced burnett for any extended time. then the yankees would be back to two young innings limited pitchers. not good.
I agree Randy. Yesterday David Cone said that he thinks the Rays’ should keep David Price in the big leagues and have him skip a start every once in a while to keep his innings under control, and then extended this point to the Yankees, who according to Coney, should skip Joba & go with Hughes every once in a while. He called it a “quasi-6 man rotation.” He was basically making the argument that managers should let young pitchers learn how to pitch deep into games, which is definetley well-taken. I personally think that they should leave Hughes at Triple-A for the whole year and only call him up when they want him to stay as a regular member of the rotation. You don’t want to mess with a guy’s head like that by bussing him back and forth to Scranton.
doreen:
this has probably already been commented upon, but:
“I just hope that it doesn’t turn into a trend – 3 good games, 1 bad, you know?”
If the Yanks win 3 out of every 4 games for the rest of the season including the playoffs and WS, I think they have a good chance for #27, you know?
Go Yanks!
“Certainly taking some comfort in the notion that in Hughes, the Yankees have a better answer for an injury than almost every team in the game.”
you’re dreaming. hughes hasn’t done anything yet.
Amos Otis International Airport. Haha….nice.
1) The players never talk about him and Girardi only gets occasional texts from A-Rod. The contrary part of me says: The players are trying to get the season going and support career-minor-leaguer Ransom during his Cinderella month in the bigs. Why would they talk openly about missing Alex while Cody fills in? As for Girardi, is there any reason that A-Rod should be checking in more frequently when everybody already knows his re-hab schedule? He’ll start checking in when it gets closer to rejoining the team.
2) Long is the only guy who talks with him on a consistent basis. Contra: But probably not too many Yankees besides Jeter talked to Posada on a regular basis while Po was out last year.
On the other hand, without knowing the off the record stuff, you gotta trust the guy in the locker room when he reports the vibe. Pete is “boots on the ground” and knows more than he can say.
And beyond that: Go Navy SEALS. Can we get one of them to throw out the first ball on Thursday?
Betsy
April 13th, 2009 at 10:32 am
GreenBeret, I normally agree with you, but not this time. Jeter will come out of his slump – I’m not concerned at all about him; every player has a few of these a season. I suggest that Jeter has earned the benefit of the doubt. Ransom is not playing particularly good D, which is the worst part of his poor play. We could live with him hitting .240 or so, but .200 or whatever he is now is barely tolerable.
————————————————————
I didn’t say that Jeter wouldn’t come out of it, but, he’s not even hitting the ball hard. Easy rollers to the middle infielders. Yes, he’ll come out of it, but, right now, he’s killing the offense. With Rodriguez and Teixeira out, if he isn’t hitting, he, just like Gardner, they need to be bunting for hits and let the others do the job.
Is it time to put Ramiro Pena in at 3d base?
“you’re dreaming. hughes hasn’t done anything yet.”
I know he hasn’t. But while he hasn’t shown he’s ready to come up and be consistent big league starter yet, he has demonstrated enough to be considered a reasonable fill in for an injured pitcher at the big league level. I think the Yankees look at him as the #6 starter right now. How many teams have better than that? I think Atlanta might and maybe Boston if Smoltz comes back really healthy. Otherwise, I don’t see anyone.
I read this while being on hold for the past 45 minutes, and its totally changed my mood right now. Thanks for the morning laugh! “Surrender the yogurt!”
“Is it time to put Ramiro Pena in at 3d base?”
Yes. At least he can be counted on to make good plays in the field. Ransom looks bad in the field and at the plate.
steve b-
i will give you that if hughes replaced joba (because of injury) it wouldn’t be so bad. then there’d still be just one young pitcher in the rotation.
i like hughes and think he’s going to be very good if he gets the seasoning he needs. if anyone besides joba went down, i’d prefer that cashman fill the spot with a veteran pitcher he’s acquire by going outside the organization who can go six innings almost every start.
i just do not want to see joba and hughes going back to back this year in the rotation.
Tomorrow line-up suggest
1.Jeter SS
2.Damon CF
3.Swisher LF (Swisher is execllent than Gardner and Melky.)
4.Teixeira 1B(should put him on #4)
5.Matsui DH
6.Nady RF
7.Cano 2B
8.?Angel Berroa is execllent than Ransom.?3B
Yankees should give Berroa a chance to prove himself again.
9.Molina C (He is a good catcher than Posoda.)
Joe West, crew chief from the Red Sox-Angels game yesterday, on why 3 Angels and no Red Sox were ejected:
“The Angels were the aggressors,” West said. “That’s why they were ejected. They were the aggressors and Beckett was warned.”
So, I guess throwing a 95 mph fastball at somebody’s melon after time has been called is not considered aggressive behavior.
How dare security do their job. Let’s ridicule them.
My wife and eight year old daughter were traveling and my daughter was eating yogurt while sitting on the plane waiting for take off. She had to surrender the yogurt as “it is considered a gell.” I am amazed that it made it through the xray but then was considered a security issue while she eating it. I guess they thought she may be gassing up?
I think some version of the “Do you surrender the yogurt?” line will become a Yankee blogging meme for the remainder of the 2009 season. Had me cackling like a schoolboy.
“i’d prefer that cashman fill the spot with a veteran pitcher he’s acquire by going outside the organization who can go six innings almost every start.”
Obviously a little easier said than done. Not too many teams willing to move a consistent 6 inning guy these days. I’m sure the Athletics would have liked a guy like that. Instead they have two 21 year olds in their rotation due to injuries.
JoJo: I didn’t get to see SC last night. What the heck happened?
Pete, good news about Alex.
I believe you when you say that the team is in a good place. No off the field distractions and questions about Alex. You’re in the clubhouse, and I think you have the best feel for the team out of everyone who participates on this forum.
Of course they need Alex, and want him back as well. But there is no denying that life went on without Alex. The team didn’t fall apart. The world didn’t end. Other personalities and new stories presented themselves. And we still gobbled it up.
I’m hoping for a few things when Alex comes back. First, that it’s a successful return. Second, that it’s a peaceful one. I hope that the writers can resist trying to kill the guy. Let him come back and just be one of the guys. Of course, that requires that Alex wants to be just one of the guys, too.
Bottom line, we want to hear about the Yankees. Not the “Days of Alex Rodriguez”.
Been reading this blog for a while and it’s great, but I’ve never posted yet.
I wouldn’t have surrendered the yogurt! What does that say about our CULTURE? :p Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Keep up the great job on this blog!
Wait, wha? Jeter’s in a slump?
Pauly:
Abreu was at bat. Beckett took awhile in the stretch then as he started Abreu sought and was granted time. Beckett continued with the pitch and whistled one in the neighborhood of Abreu’s head. Benches emptied.
“Not too many teams willing to move a consistent 6 inning guy these days.”
the trick is getting the crummy ones who can go six innings. they’re more available
“If he showed up today with Lindsay Lohan, would you be surprised?”
If she can play 3B, put her in and Alex, Mark and Cody will all root her on from the dugout.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....=290412103
Here’s the video of the first brawl. Like I said last night, even if you give Joshie the benefit of the doubt, that ball was nowhere near the mark, and Abreu was out of the box.
Paul,
New inmates at the asylum are always welcome.
randy
I don’t think they can get Livan.
yeah, it’ll be tough to pry Livan from the Mets’ dying hands. I’m telling you, there’s not much behind Johan in that rotation.
I think that the biggest problem in that RS game was that Beckett couldn’t stop running his mouth. He kept things going by confronting the Angels. He was one of the agressors from what I saw.
I’m sorry, but Beckett should have been ejected for that throw.
I mean, dude, if it was Joba he’d have been suspended three games!
The Sox play the Angels 9 times. The first 2 series are @ Anaheim. Fun times for the Sox.
“I don’t think they can get Livan”
maine yankee-
no, he’s an untouchable crummy pitcher after throwing SEVEN shut out innings before giving up two runs in the 8th inning and winning the game
hey, have you noticed it’s a little quiet up there in maine. down here on cape cod my red sox friends are being unusually quiet for some reason.
oops. Even if you give Josh the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t see that time was called, where was that ball? Outside the box. Varitek was still in his crouch, why wasn’t the ball thrown to where it was supposed to go?
m: But the Sox don’t go west after mid-May.
randy
I enjoy local talk radio when things go like this for the RS. It’s funny though, if they can they try to trash the Yankees to divert attention from their own flaws.
As far as Livan, haven’t you heard even an old pitcher can have a good game in the NL.
Rebecca,
At all? No Seattle, no Oakland, no Texas, no interleague?
“The Sox play the Angels 9 times. The first 2 series are @ Anaheim. Fun times for the Sox.”
Not so much, but looking at their schedule, they don’t have to go the left coast again after May 17. Those trips can be a bitch. Yankees have to go out for 7 games in August and 6 more in September. Oddly enough, both of those trips are immediately followed by a three game set with the Red Sox. Not very kind scheduling.
Alex has never been “one of the guys” and it is wishful thinking to even suggest that he ever will be or that somehow the media should treat him accordingly. His numbers are astounding in any context but he is not a guy who has seemingly ever contributed much to the fabric or chemistry of a club which is exactly why the proverbial beat has gone on in his absence. I look forward to his return from an offensive standpoint but he is not equipped to blend in from a personality standpoint and so I think the notion of a quiet return is a pipe dream.
I’m glad to see that Abreu has taken his BOS hatred with him to his new team.
If it had been anyone else other than Beckett, they would have been tossed.
“The Sox play the Angels 9 times. The first 2 series are @ Anaheim. Fun times for the Sox.”
Not so much, but looking at their schedule, they don’t have to go the left coast again after May 17. Those trips can be a biatch. Yankees have to go out for 7 games in August and 6 more in September. Oddly enough, both of those trips are immediately followed by a three game set with the Red Sox. Not very kind scheduling.
m: Texas, I think, and that’s it, and I hardly count Texas as ‘west’ since the games start as 8. And it’s AL East/NL East in interleague this year.
Economics?? I would trade my corporate job for yours anyday Pete.
Economics?? I would trade my corporate job anyday for yours Peter.
Even if the ball was thrown up at Bobby by mistake all Becket had to do was keep his mouth shut and it wouldn’t have reached the point it did. Beckett has a real problem with temper and also not able to keep quiet when he should.
Anyone remember him yelling at Joba for throwing at Youk? He was like a raging maniac.
The Mets rotation is paper thin beyond 1 so, while I hear a great deal of white noise about their upgraded bullpen, closers and setup men are tough to use in the sixth inning while trailing by 4. The Mets have not established a culture of success and their personnel changes will not produce results until there is a pervasive change in that regard…and I hope they take their time.
New Pinstripes,
Just as I feared.
I was trying to be tactful, too.
Thanks, Steve & Rebecca. Well, we still have to win the games on our schedule. And we still have to cheer for the Sox to lose the ones on theirs.
Interesting to see how Lester pitches tonight. He didn’t pitch too well in his first start.
m: Yeah. The way I look at it is that if the Yankees go out ever day and try to win THEIR games, then everything else will fall into place. They have no control over what the Sox or Rays or O’s or Jays do, so, at this point, why worry about it?
“Beckett has a real problem with temper and also not able to keep quiet when he should.”
He does have a little Clemens in him, doesn’t he?
MaineYankee,
Exactly. If the pitch was thrown by mistake, then he should’ve shown a little remorse like Mike Sausage said (anyone hear that clip of Cowherd?). Maybe he has anger issues and didn’t like it when Abreu got mad at the fact that he nearly got clocked.
“Anyone remember him yelling at Joba for throwing at Youk? He was like a raging maniac.”
What are you saying? Perhaps Mr. Beckett was once “young and stupid?” Nah, only the Yankees do that stuff.
“As far as Livan, haven’t you heard even an old pitcher can have a good game in the NL. ”
maine yankee-
old? he’s younger than jeter .
he just pitches like he’s old : slow , slower, and slowest
at this point he’s more like a knuckleball pitcher than anything.
Just being realistic. Taking 2 of 3 vs. the Rays is acceptable.
The Yankees won the season series against the Rays last year. Not the bad blood between these 2 teams compared to the Rays and Boston.
He does have a little Clemens in him, doesn’t he?
Probably has a little MacNamee in him too, if you catch my drift.
McNamee*
BTW, noticed from the box score that Nick Green got his first start for the Sox yesterday. He played SS, and is sporting a .667 batting average.
Over-analyzing 101: Areas of Concern.
Derek Jeter BA 231. OBP 286 (Mr. Can’t do no wrong)
Cody Ransom BA 050 *rubs eyes* OBP 136.
Hideki BA 143. OBP 217
GGBG BA 238 OBP 273
Any thoughts?
“BTW, noticed from the box score that Nick Green got his first start for the Sox yesterday. He played SS, and is sporting a .667 batting average.”
Wait, what happend to the future HOFer, Jed Lowrie? Is he (GASP) not as good as advertised?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....erId=29074
“I’ve never hit anybody in the head, and it’s not really on my list of stuff to accomplish. But people can think what they want to think,” Beckett said. “I know Bobby Abreu. He knows I’m not trying to hit him in the head. Obviously, there’s been a lot of emotion in this series with them — not only facing us, but obviously the tragedy that all of them went through.”
What are you saying? Perhaps Mr. Beckett was once “young and stupid?”
no , we’re saying he’s not young , but still stupid.
actually i thing ignorant is a better way to put it.
As far as the young and stupid idea, I think you can take out the young part and you have it right.
randy- I think Livan has been drinking from the same fountain that Berroa has. I recall people saying Berroa look like he was 50 in ST.
Pete knows there is no blending in when you are Alex Rodriguez and the media wouldn’t have it any other way. Very disingenuous to feed the machine and whine about it at the same time.
Classy, classy comment from Josh Beckett right there….
Even if we have a lead late in the game, I have no confidence in anyone in the pen outside of MO to close the deal.
Our bullpen against Crawford, Upton, Longoria, Pena, Burrell is not a good match up a all
The good thing about Livan Hernandez is he never gets hurt. The bad thing about Livan Hernandez is he never gets hurt.
Last year he gave up 300 baserunners in 180 innings. Think about that for a minute. How he ended up with a winning record is a mystery.
Oh, Beckett, that’s class. Trying to evoke the name of a fallen Angel to deflect from what you did. Stay classy, Josh, stay classy.
Benny,
I have blind faith in Jeter… he’s earned it.
IMHO, the worst thing Girardi can do is bench Ransom. The guy needs to know he’s got the job until Alex comes back – I think he needs that comfort level.
I’m hoping that double Matsui hit on Saturday will signal his turn around… we’ll see in Tampa though.
I’m afraid GGBG isn’t much more than a .240 hitter. With any luck, he can keep his OBP north of .320.
The KC airport is set up strangely. Rather than checking in at a general security check point, you check in at your actual gate. Really odd. So if you are sitting in the gate and need to get something to eat/go to the bathroom, you need to bring your carry on stuff with you and go through check-in all over again.
“Surrender the yogurt, ma’am”
I’m no Constitutional scholar albeit I am quite adequate in quantum theory and microbiology. However, doesn’t the 39th amendment protect our right to choke down the yogurt of our choice?
Pauly
How could you possibly insinuate the RS having a connection to McNamee. They have been clean in all the investigations. Didn’t you know if any RS took PED it was before they were their or after they left.
I’m suprised Ray hasn’t chimed in. I would think he would feel the bad vibes even if he wasn’t checked in.
Has A-Rod been off limits to the media while rehabing? I was just thinking we haven’t heard one thing out of him and found that suprising considering everyone is still talking about him? If he has been off limits was that his doing or the Yankees? If he has not been off-limits, then why not interview with him? Is the “working hard on rehab A-Rod” not as interesting as “steriod/prostitute/”team cancer” A-Rod”??
Now we know— do not trust Coke in big spots. Marte is a safer bet.
Girardi, like us fans, sipped the Phil Coke kool-aid way too soon. It’s an unwritten rule never to trust September or Spring Training numbers, yet we get burned by it year after year, it’s incredible.
“Over-analyzing 101: Areas of Concern.
Derek Jeter BA 231. OBP 286 (Mr. Can’t do no wrong)
Cody Ransom BA 050 rubs eyes OBP 136.
Hideki BA 143. OBP 217
GGBG BA 238 OBP 273
Any thoughts?”
I’m not so worried about Jeter or Matsui. Ransom is what he is, but if this continues for another week it’s time to give Pena his AB’s.
I wrote this the other day. Any day TB or Boston can’t put more daylight between us and them is huge. Come around May 1st this team is going to be very dangerous offensively.
The rotation is just sick and if they stay healthy this could really be a GREAT team. My concern remains the pen. I think the sooner they bring up Melancon the better. We shall see how that turns out. I also don’t like that Joe hasn’t assigned roles beyond closer. I really think the 8th inning need to be defined too.
““I’ve never hit anybody in the head, and it’s not really on my list of stuff to accomplish. But people can think what they want to think,” Beckett said. “I know Bobby Abreu. He knows I’m not trying to hit him in the head. Obviously, there’s been a lot of emotion in this series with them—not only facing us, but obviously the tragedy that all of them went through.””
Yes, and if elected I promise to bring about world peace, promise not to use my position as the most powerful person in the world for evil, and end global warming.
Benny:
IMO, Ransom and Gardner won’t be very good major league hitters and Jeter will find his way to his career norms when all is said and done. Would like to think Matusi will too, but at times, I wonder.
Derek Jeter: ” I sense a disturbance in the force.”
Giradi: “begun training Alex has.”
*enter vader theme*
“Is the “working hard on rehab A-Rod” not as interesting as “steriod/prostitute/”team cancer” A-Rod”??”
BINGO! No one wants to write about ARod the professional, great ballplayer. That’s what Pujols is for.
Benny
Are you saying Girardi has trouble structuring sentences???
Cashman was asleep at the wheel when Omar stole JJ Putz from Seattle. All Omar had to give up was Heilman and Endy Chavez. We couldn’t have put together a better package than that?
Now Jerry Manual can just sit back and watch him blow away hitters in the 8th and Mets fans know the game is likely over after 7 innings… whereas we have to mix and match and sweat for the 8th inning in a close game.
TSA officers are a joke. If they weren’t doing that for a living, they’d be asking you if you wanted fries with your order.
Cody Ransom is so lousy, it’s painful to watch. He hurts the team in all facets of the game. He’s definitely among the bottom 10 major leaguers (of course, we know he’s not truly a major leaguer).
Honestly, I don’t even want this guy on the bench. He’s so overmatched it’s not even funny. Someone please pull the plug on this Frankenstein-like experiment.
The pen will be fine. It was just bad luck that Veras and Coke couldn’t get 1 out yesterday. If there really is a problem with a pen, it’s a relief to know that Robertston, Melancon and others are just a phonecall away.
Z-man
Frankenstein could really hit.
Benoit: LMAOL. Are you suggesting that giradi has trouble structuring sentences???
Since the yankees are known as the evil empire. Lets have some fun with this.
In the star wars universe who would the players be??
i.e Joba Chamberlain = Jabba the hut, or Chewie
Nick Swisher = Han Solo
Jorge=??
Mariano ?
Derek = Luke Skywalker
Alex=??
I need some help people..any thoughts.
he was just a touch slow on the basepaths.
Rez, the pen will be fine when it’s not being over-managed.
And we’ve got a heck of a lot of pitchers in AAA ready to heed the call if somehow the bullpen does a 2008 Mets.
“It was just bad luck that Veras and Coke couldn’t get 1 out yesterday.”
Bad pitching moreso than bad luck. These guys aren’t “money in the bank” relievers. They’re going to be hit or miss depending on the day. I’d like to have seen Joe G stick with Marte, a more proven guy, but I can to some degree understand why he went the way he did.
True, Brad, you know he’d at least reach the Mendoza Line. What’s even worse about Ransom is that he constantly has a deer-in-the-headlights look. There’s no way the Yanks can go another 4 weeks with this disaster. Put in Pena, or Pena’s mom . . . either is an upgrade.
sarcasm alert: Josh is just a very competitive, spirited guy. Abreu, on the other hand, is a noted hot head. Bobby obviously over reacted to Joshie throwing the ball over his head.
Most of the people I have seen get drunk and start brawls in bars are competitive, spritied guys too until someone grinds their teeth down on the curbstone. Josh is just a well compensated punk. Think about it: Joshie knew that his teammates would never let someone lay a hand on him (and that Abreu is no fighter), so he decided to push his luck and get in Abreu’s face, when he, Joshie, was in the wrong. All Joshie did was motivate the Angels to come after them all year long. Joshie will get his one day.
Dear MLB,
When Bobby Abreu actually shows an emotion during a game, it is a big deal. Now, didnt Joba get suspended for throwing near Youkilis’ head? So i should assume Beckett will be suspended too for 5 games = 1 start?
Steve B — very good point. Most of our set-up men will be hit or miss all season. I’m afraid it’s like a roll of the dice. Bruney is the best of the bunch, but he’s no sure thing either.
“Last year he gave up 300 baserunners in 180 innings. Think about that for a minute. How he ended up with a winning record is a mystery.”
patrick will say wins don’t matter
i know how livan does it, but it’s a secret known only to those who think wins matter.
… kind of a field of dreams thing. if you believe, the wins will come.
Erg. Posts not getting through the filter, yipee.
True, Brad, you know he’d at least reach the Mendoza Line. What’s even worse about Ransom is that he constantly has a deer-in-the-headlights look. There’s no way the Yanks can go another 4 weeks with this disaster. Put in Pena, or Pena’s mom . . . either is an upgrade.
__
Or give A-Rod some HGH in the leg and get him out there.
The Abreau-Beckett incident appeared to be no big deal but you couldn’t blame Bobby for giving Beckett the look. Beckett took it to the next level by making a huge deal out of it by coming in and challenging him. I think the Dog is right in saying that he knew his teammates wouldn’t let anyone put a hand on him.
The old “I am going to get my big brother and then you’ll be in trouble” cowardly move.
Benoit: LMAOL. Are you suggesting that giradi has trouble structuring sentences???
Since the yankees are known as the evil empire. Lets have some fun with this.
In the star wars universe who would the players be??
i.e Joba Chamberlain = Jabba the hut, or Chewie
Nick Swisher = Han Solo
Jorge=??
Mariano ?
Derek = Luke Skywalker
Alex=??
I need some help people..any thoughts.
Jorge would be the dude that rides with Lando Calrisian on the millennium falcon in Return of the Jedi with the huge ears.
Yogi is obviously Yoda
Arod would prolly be Princess Leia
i’m just hoping livan doesn’t ever have any food taken away at an airport check in .
things could get ugly.
“Now, didnt Joba get suspended for throwing near Youkilis’
head?”
Yes, but it was two fastballs and the location was high and sort of behind.
Joshie wasn’t throwing full speed. This doesn’t mean, however, that the Abreu incident improved or changed Joshie’s rep with the League or the 29 other teams. Gotta figure that the Home Plate ump was p.o.’d that Joshie took advantage of Abreu being restrained in order to raise the confrontation level instead of letting things cool down.
Look, he’s a punk. Without his 24 Red Sox body guards coming to his “defense” yesterday, different result. BUt everybody will file the event away for future reference.
Jorge= R2D2
Pettite= C3PO
And I agree Yogi = Yoda
MO = OBI WAN
lol Randy I
But whatever foodstuffs Livan brings into the airport doors with him is usually somewhere in his digestive tract long before the time he hits the check in.
I think one big mistake Beckett made was getting Sciocia stirred up. He is from the old school and I think he could deal with this later. You don’t see him that upset very often. Whatever Beckett said to him really set him off.
“patrick will say wins don’t matter
”
For the most part I’d say wins don’t matter and I think Livan’s season last year shows that. He didn’t pitch particularly well but got wins. However, in general a pitcher with lots of wins is usually a good pitcher. Wang won 19 games two years in a row because he was good.
randy, I know you put more stock into the Wins statistic for starting pitchers. You say its a secret but seriously why do you feel this way?
LOL, Livan the cheeseburger mule.
NO Tex tonight either?
So we have $435 Million not starting tonight. Or if you go by season, we have over 50 million not playing (Alex and Tex). Is that more than the entire Rays payroll?
Abreu was about to charge Beckett, but then decided he was too close to the right field wall and thought better of it. True story.
“NO Tex tonight either?”
Has he been ruled out already?
Yes, Tex has been ruled out, although I think he may be available for PH duties. I wonder if he was going to get examined by the Yankees doctors today……
“You don’t see him that upset very often. Whatever Beckett said to him really set him off.”
I agree that old school Sciocia’s reaction is a good barometer of when a player crosses the line. Problem is that until pitchers start hitting in the AL again, Mike’s only recourse is to help his guys figure out a way to hit Beckett’s pitching. (IMO, the Angels don’t have enough offense to start hitting Sox and putting them on base just to get back at Joshie, but I may be wrong). The A’s will use it for motivation. Francona shold know that it’s tough to win on the road without stirring up the opposition when you come into their house.
I think Teixeira was supposed to see the doctor today, no?
Seems stupid to make him available to pinch hit. If he can’t do so comfortably early on, why risk using him at all?
I’d hope he gets the once over…..twice, from the Yankees’ medical staff today.
“So we have $435 Million not starting tonight.”
Or we could put Tex in the lineup and risk aggravating the problem
JOJO April 13th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Joe West, crew chief from the Red Sox-Angels game yesterday, on why 3 Angels and no Red Sox were ejected:
“The Angels were the aggressors,” West said. “That’s why they were ejected. They were the aggressors and Beckett was warned.”
So, I guess throwing a 95 mph fastball at somebody’s melon after time has been called is not considered aggressive behavior.
—————————
Wow that guy is more of a fool than I thought. Plus Josh had the you know what to be like what? Whats your problem? he took steps forward towards Bobby.
The yankees are not messing around with Tex. I’m sure he has gotten an MRI already.
Where was Tex ruled out already?
Amos Otis Int’l Airport … good one. George Brett would have been too obvious.
“Surrender the yogurt????”
I can’t remember where I heard this… but I believe a great philosopher once said –
“Yogurt brothers in the stormy night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender”
I’m not criticizing Girardi for bringing in Veras yesterday, but did the Yanks really pay Marte $12MM over 3 years just to get lefties out?
Does anyone out there know if there are any non-closer relievers with a bigger contract than Marte (not counting relievers who got their current contract when they were a closer)?
And Patrick, wins do matter, because they are wins. (They beat the alternative.) Wins aren’t the best indicator of how good a pitcher is, because they are subject to so many extraneous variables, but they do matter.
“Surrender the yogurt????”
I can’t remember where I heard this… but I believe a great philosopher once said –
“Yogurt brothers in the stormy night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender”
- – - – -
Quite, my good man DT, quite.
Tex was at the minor league complex for treatment this morning.
Some other guy showed up too and is stretching and jogging.
Let us know if you were on the plane w/ this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiVcnJ5iLqs
Lol..
I will say ahead of time I am an Arod appologist about most things.
One thing that concerns me, though, is that there really does seem to be a different dynamic without him. New guys are getting used to each other, the new starting rotation seems to be rounding into shape, and they really seem to get along. If Arod were to come back with the same attention-craving attitude, I wonder how much backlash he would get from teamates that may have decided enough is enough.
The saving grace here is that Ransom hasn’t done anything with his opportunity. Can you imagine what the headlines would be is Ransom started out hot and the Yankees were 5-0?
“I know you put more stock into the Wins statistic for starting pitchers. You say its a secret but seriously why do you feel this way?”
patrick-
i’d like to tell you, but the AOBC( ancient order of bullpen catchers) would track me down and force me to listen to recordings of bill james and readings from moneyball until my brain turned to mush.
then they would take away my catcher’s mask which i’ll need if gb7 ever finds out where i live.
pat- I hope that other guy can play third base. We sure could use one now.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4062693
funny article, never mentions that the Angels won. And Joshy better be suspended.
Is anyone certain whether Tex has actually been ruled out tonight?
AOBC ( ancient order of bullpen catchers )
Our bullpen will be alright. Girardi is testing things out to see who should fill what roles and who he can trust. Eventually our bullpen will be our strength with the only problem being how to get guys enough work…what, with our starters going deep in games and all.
“funny article, never mentions that the Angels won. And Joshy better be suspended.”
Bet he doesn’t. And I bet Hunter might.
Amen, JOJO
Steve- You are probably right, and Torri and co better be screaming from the hills.
Plus the article was inaccurate as far as where the ball was. When I saw it it looked like it went right by the brim of his helmet. Not exactly the above his head that nespn said.
This line-up without Tex is just awful, sure Posada and Swish are good but neither of them should have to carry an offense and Matsui is invisible.
randy
From some of your posts I thought they had already tracked you down.
Jennifer:
Beckett appearently was warned. That will likely be the end of it for him. Suspensions are supposedly based on umpire reports and for whatever reason, the umpire did not believe Beckett was acting with malice.
Hunter made some umpire contact. Wasn’t heavy contact, but contact nonetheless. That may earn him a sit down.
Any word on today’s line up yet?
Very funny randy, but if you refuse to explain I can only conclude that there is no good reason you value Wins as a statistic.
WYH,
I am arguing that quoting how many wins a pitcher has is not related to that pitcher’s actual performance. A team’s wins are important, not a pitcher’s wins.
“Girardi, like us fans, sipped the Phil Coke kool-aid way too soon. It’s an unwritten rule never to trust September or Spring Training numbers, yet we get burned by it year after year, it’s incredible.”
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Oh pleeeease…Girardi made the correct move. Sometimes the textbook decision doesn’t work out. Thats baseball. Girardi should only become concerned if this happens a few more times. I would put him out there again the next time the same situation arises.
“From some of your posts I thought they had already tracked you down”
maine yankee:
if you’re referring to the “brain turning to mush” part of my comment, just remember, i have 63 first cousins within twenty miles of where you live
“I am arguing that quoting how many wins a pitcher has is not related to that pitcher’s actual performance.”
Don’t need to look far for explanations. Santana allowed zero earned in 7 IP with 13 K’s and took the loss. Joba allowed one earned over 6 and did not get a win.
maine yankee-
don’t take that the wrong way. i just mean i’ll send them all over to your house for dinner. what’s really bad is that generation is all red sox fans.
This is pathetic. Did you guys actually watch the Sox/Angels game? The umps arm went up to call time at the exact same time Beckett went into his delivery. With that timing, I think the worst thing any pitcher could do is to alter his delivery in any way because doing so would put quite a bit of stress on the body….so he let it fly. It happened to be “near” his head. Just as that pitch from Clemens in ’03 was “near” Manny’s head.
Sports fans are ridiculous (both Sox and Yanks fans in particular and, as you can see, I’m a Sox fan). You know if that was Joba on the mound and the same situation occured with Youkilis at the plate (aside from the little altercation in the past), Yanks fans would have Joba’s back. These guys are good enough where if Beckett wanted to hit Abreu in the head, he would have.
Beckett was merely stating a fact by bringing up the Adenhart tragedy. He wasn’t blaming that situation on Bobby’s reaction.
randy
I think I can find enough Yankee fans for protection here.
My wife might not like to have to cook for that many. She might be down to the Cape in a bit of a rage. You wouldn’t want that.
Sox Fan
I think the problem was more what Beckett said after more than the pitch. He has a history of letting his mouth be a problem.
Laguaria airport, Summer 2006. Piece of cheesecake from Carnegie Deli in my carry-on bag. TSA pulls the bag from the X-ray belt. Pulls out the cheesecake. My heart stops. My stomach drops. I’m prepared to snarf the whole thing right there if I have to. TSA guy says “you’re going to have to surrender the cheesecake.” My heart stops. My stomach cries out “noooo.” I say, “I’ll eat it all now.” He says, “ah just fool’n…go ahead.” I thank him, board the plane, and have my cake, and eat it too (when I get home).
“Given how overmatched Cody Ransom looks, the Yankees need him (A-Rod) back.”
Pete – Is Ransom playing himself out of the utility infielder position? Is Pena a better all around solution for the Yankees and, if so, does being a part time player in the majors a long term detriment to his development?
totally missed the angels/sox recap. just watched clip. what a punk josh is. i’d buy his explanation (holding the runner and time being called…), if he didn’t act like an ass after it happened.
I just read the yogurt bit…ROFL!!