Who is the guy in the Cano mask?
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 29, 2009 
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In three plate appearances against Edwin Jackson last night, Robinson Cano saw 27 pitches. He saw 12 pitches in the fourth inning and 10 more in the sixth. That played a huge role in driving up the right-hander’s pitch count. Jackson had to leave a shutout after six innings because he had thrown 117 pitches.
Cano is averaging 3.64 pitches per plate appearance. That’s not great, but it’s a jump up from 3.35 a year ago.
Cano is never going to be a patient hitter, that’s not in his nature. But he’s not not getting himself out by chasing bad pitches, which is what happened so often last season.
Because he is so skilled, Cano can get his bat on pitches over his head or at his cleats. But that’s just what the pitcher was counting on. Now, that little extra ounce or two or patience is making him a killer at the plate.
I was thinking the same thing. Last year, it looked like he was swinging at pitches from other stadiums.
Cano has finally realized that just because he can hit anything doesn’t mean that he should. Look for him to compete for this year’s batting title.
good points on cano pete. he’s making the pitcher come to him just enough – and like you said, cano doesn’t need much – where he can punish pitches. hopefully this continues.
on gardner, i don’t think it’s about giving up as much as it is that melky is playing so well right now (as you said). if we had no other options, gardner would have his chance to work through this. when melky cools, gardner will still get another shot to play. and when he does, he has to produce himself. otherwise, it will be him not earning playing time more than the yankees giving up on him.
I like this Canó.
Cano’s eye is night and day from that of 3 years ago. I knew he was improving, but his eye is better than some of the veterans who have the reputation for it. Maybe Giambi left his behind?
repost:
Good Morning everyone!
Still feeling the afterglow of a terrific win. A much needed shot in the arm. Most of us would’ve been satisfied with a win, but are any of you really surprised that Hughes stepped up? He’s always pitched well when needed (totally ignoring April ‘08).
Before last night, I was with Guiseppe. Hughes takes Wang’s starts, and goes down when Wang is ready. But I don’t think many of us were expecting last night’s Hughes to show up.
Now, I know Hughes isn’t going to pitch like this on a nightly basis. But what if he pitches close to it, with flashes of brilliance at times?
Options:
1. Send Hughes down to Scranton
2. Joba to bullpen
3. 6-man rotation skipping Joba’s starts once in a while to conserve innings for Joba (who would probably be a reliever for any postseason play).
As you can see, neither one of those options are appealing at all. And we want and need Wang circa 2006-2007. What both Joba and Hughes do in the next couple of weeks will probably determine their fates for ‘09.
The Detroit were really lauding Cano last night, not just for last night, but his overall talents and abilities. Most of the other teams announcers love Cano. Good thing the Yanks didn’t sell low on him last winter, is all I can say.
Cano started to do much better at the end of last season after Girardi benched him. Fortunately it has continued into this season.
Fran,
Being benched is humbling for any athlete. They don’t always respond in kind.
Whatever approach Robi’s taking, I hope he keeps it up. Hopefully, he can deal with the struggles as well. This has always been Robi’s achilles.
“Options:
1. Send Hughes down to Scranton
2. Joba to bullpen
3. 6-man rotation skipping Joba’s starts once in a while to conserve innings for Joba (who would probably be a reliever for any postseason play).”
Chances are that Hughes will be up for quite awhile, the better he pitches allows Wang to really get right. Also, some of our other starters will probably run into issues this year, whether it is a tired or dead arm, actual injuries, or innings limits with Joba. The “too many starters” issue always seems to work its way to “where did they all go?”
Keebler winning the MVP sparked Cano.
Maybe he’s getting ready to face this guy when he makes it back to the majors:
http://www.fannation.com/truth.....g-comeback
Just making my mea culpa on thinking Hughes and Wang were mechanically altered intentionally. The Conspiracy Theorist in me I suppose. Repost.
CB—Do you think that when we realize how much of a deep impact Hughes’ hamstring injury seemingly had on his pitching overall that we might draw a similar conclusion to Wang and his foot? I was clearly wrong to assume there was some nefarious attempts to change Wang and Hughes game last night just shows it may take longer than anybody expects to fully recover from such a serious injury. Maybe expecting Wang to be back to form anytime soon is a little optomistic.
If you didn’t see Cano’s interview with Kim Jones on the BP show last night, go check it out on YesNetwork.com
Unless he’s just talking a good game, he does seem to have put it all together this off season and is ready to take his career to a new level.
Another thing is that when Wang comes back and pitches like he has in the past, Joba can be sent down if Hughes is pitching better. The only thing that I think needs to happen is that they both need to play full seasons as starters to see if they can handle the work and be effective.
Oops. The 6-man I’m talking about doesn’t pitch every 6 days, meant that it would be share-time for Joba & Hughes. Since they’re dedicated to developing Joba as a starter. Yet, he didn’t have to do it in the minors-just sayin’.
Anyway, Mark in Tampa said it best, better to have too much, than too little.
CC, AJ, Joba, Andy, Wang. Now teams have to worry about Hughes? Oi.
Cano looks like he could be an MVP candidate this year. Once ARod gets back the 3-4-5 punch of Tex, ARod and Cano should prove very deadly.
Not following the other players around the AL too much, but early candidates would be Youk (avg), Quentin (ridiculous # of homeruns this early in the season), and Cano (cuz I said so).
It is pointless to speculate on a 6 man rotation until we KNOW there are 6 guys capable of pitching quality starts. Right now Wang is injured and ineffective. We have no idea what the Yankees will do until Wang proves himself. Maybe Hughes will stay in the rotation, maybe he won’t. It will depend on what Hughes does and what everyone else does.
Wang to pen to do long work if Joba and Hughes are effective. If Joba not effective then he gows to pen and Wang comes out. If Hughes not effective then he goes back down and Wang comes out.
If all 3 are effectove then Wang stays in pen and logs long work and is this years version of Ramiro Mendoza and gets spot starts if someone gets hurt.
Patrick,
Exactly what I said.
As you can see, neither one of those options are appealing at all. And we want and need Wang circa 2006-2007. What both Joba and Hughes do in the next couple of weeks will probably determine their fates for ‘09.
I think the Yankees should give consideration to giving breather/DL stints to every starter this year. The Red Sox do this and I think it helps the pitchers stay stronger later in the year. This way, if in the very improbable scenario that every starter is really healthy all year, you can rotate the six guys through, monitor the innings for Joba and Hughes, help keep AJ and Pettite healthy, and reduce the burden on CC after so many innings last year.
m,
You’re right that benching can have a negative effect, but in this case it worked.
Re: your other post about pitching, every time the Yanks think they have too much, some injury occurs and then it’s not too much anymore. I don’t think anybody expected Hughes up this early, but he was awesome last night and I hope he continues.
This is the real Cano! (I think)
Nothing against Pedroia he’s seems like a decent enough guy and he’s “wicked good yo” but it hurt me to watch him excel last season while Cano struggled.
IMO, Cano’s better.
Cano has played well so far this year but I think we should be cautious in jumping to the conclusion he has changed his approach to hitting or become more patient at the plate.
First, Cano has 6 walks (plus 1 intentional walk) in his first 91 plate appearances, not 8.
Of those 6, 4 came in his first 18 plate appearances. In his last 73 plate appearances, he has had 2 walks.
Not exactly evidence that he has become a more patient hitter.
Cano’s value has always been largely batting average driven, and from the majority of his plate appearances this year I don’t see any reason to think that is going to change.
I made this point a few days ago, but I honestly think that Phil not trusting his legs was a huge reason (THE reason, actually) why he struggled in August of 2007. He was much better in September and October because he was healthier and he had confidence that he could trust his leg and ankle (though I’m not sure he was completely healthy). As to last year, I suspect he was feeling the effects of the rib injury before that game in Chicago, but that’s just a feeling – I have no proof. He had a few terrible starts and people just freaked out – and he was 21! I never lost faith in him because most players don’t just lose their ability unless they have been really injured or they throw it away (drugs, etc…). Even during his struggles, he always had a great attitude and that will take you a long way; no one ever questioned his makeup.
That said, Phil will have his struggles -and he’ll learn from them. Maybe he’ll get knocked around next start, maybe the one after that. I hope people will show patience with him – he’s still so young. The stuff is there, the mental fortitude is there – Phil has what it takes to be a big success. Let’s enjoy the journey for now. When he does become a success, it will be all the sweeter for having witnessed his ups and downs. It’s an interesting process, watching a young pitcher develop…..
They won’t ever go to a 6 man rotation because that messes up the veterans schedule. That’s the wrong way to go.
Let’s hope the Yankees have the “problem” of 6 healthy and effective starting pitchers.
Usually, issues like this work themselves out because no team ever has 6 healthy and effective starting pitchers at the same time.
I agree that this is the REAL Cano! I still think the Yankees made a mistake last year by not letting him play winter ball. He did this year and, well, there ya go!
From the last thread – I think Melky is a FAR better CF (he just flat out has better instincts and a much better arm) and will hit better when he plays regularly. Gardner is a good 4th OF and great on the bases WHEN he gets on. To me, the choice is simple! You need a backup with Damon and Nady/Swisher in the mix – Gardy’s it in my book!
I believe Cano has six walks.
I’m of the belief that you just take Cano as he is and not try to make him into something he’s not. He’s not a particularly patient hitter, but he’s shown improvement – that’s good enough for me. You don’t want to take away his aggressiveness – that makes him the hitter that he is. The important thing is that he hit rock bottom last year and learned from it. Kim Jones noted in her blog that Cano has a much more mature attitude this year…and I think others have noticed as well. He’s just so talented – and he’s young. He’s going to be a lynchpin in the lineup for a long time.
Love the skip to inning feature on mlb.tv. Just saw that Polanco at-bat. Boy, can Jose frame a pitch. They really got the call on that curve thrown inside to Placido. That happened to Youk, too. Who was pitching? Threw a slow, lazy curve and he jumped back? But he laughed about it.
I like this Cano, I hope he sticks around all season
give me cano at .300 25/90 and anything more is added bonus. even his fielding seems better so far. and he tends to heat up later in the season. heat up from .385?
As much as I like Cano, I don’t think he has changed much. I’m not sure where I read it, on some Yankee blog in the last few days, but Cano sees far less pitches and doesn’t hit with runners in scoring position (that last part is true of everybody though). Cano is batting over .400 with nobody on base and somewhere around .150 with runners on. Too many times this season have I seen him pop-up on the first or second pitch when there was an opportunity to drive in a run. Last night he may have taken or seen a lot of pitches, but it’s a fluke. I only hope that he makes more solid contact than he did last year and isn’t an automatic out when somebody’s on second or third base.
Cano looked great last night, those two ABs against Jackson cut a full inning out of what he would have been able to throw, allowing us to expose Detroit’s terrible bullpen.
And Phil threw a good game, what a curve he has. This was a big win for the team, hopefully they can turn it around.
Don’t worry — they won’t add up to six when Burnett gets hurt, Pettitte shows his age, Joba runs out of innings, and Hughes has his annual DL tour. We’ll be lucky if we always have five of them ready to go.
Phil Franchise is back!! That performance IMO was better than his 6 inning no hitter. His pitches were crisp and he wasnt affraid to throw strikes. No more nibbling and falling behind every hitter. Also, his fastball was a few notches better than last year(94). Good to see him fight and work back to expectation. I also think this will spark Kennedy and even Joba to pitch better. Again, you nibble, you fall behind. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!
Think of other young pitchers struggling when coming up. (kershaw, the kid with the reds) There is a learning curve and hopefully Phil has figured it out.
Cano is never going to be confused for Bobby Abreu as far as plate discipline goes, and he doesn’t have to be.
The “bad” Robi will creep up every now and then, as it did in Fenway this past weekend when he had a terrible at bat with the bases loaded, which he topped off by jogging to first base as a double play was turned. However, he also had five RBIs in one game.
Does Cano have more talent than Pedroia? Sure. Is he the better ballplayer right now? No. Who would you want up with RISP and two outs? Be honest.
I hope Cano finally realizes his talent. The perception of Cano is that he doesn’t burn to win, like Pedroia does. Whether that’s a fair perception or not is another issue.
Cano keeps giving quality at-bats like he has been, that perception – fair or unfair – will quickly go down the drain.
“Cano has played well so far this year but I think we should be cautious in jumping to the conclusion he has changed his approach to hitting or become more patient at the plate.”
Unless you, um, actually watch the games. He’s laying off balls, and even strikes, that last year he was attacking and grounding out weakly on. It’s a HUGE adjustment.
The ‘he doesn’t walk’ isn’t something I worry about when he’s hitting .385. IF his AVG drops to the .300 range, AND his walks don’t pick up, I’ll look at it more carefully, but if pitchers are throwing strikes, I’m not going to fault him for hitting them.
The test will be if he gets pitched around – can he lay off pitches?
It’s amazing what people chose to remember.
Cano always starts slow….never hits in April.
false. In his four Aprils, he has hit .316, .270, .151, and .381.
Which one doesn’t belong there?
The roster that gives the yankees best chance of winning it is??
Here’s mine.
DJ
DAMON
TEX
AROD
CANO
POSADA
MATSUI
SWISHER
CABRERA
RIVERA
JOBA
MELANCON
BRUNEY
COKE
ROBERTSON
RAMIREZ
CC
WANG
BURNETT
PETTITE
HUGHES
And I’m really tired of the ‘zOMG RISP’ stats. As if a guy standing on 2nd is different than a guy standing on 1st.
Cano’s hitting .700 with a man on 1st. .700. A 2.000 OPS. Sick. (only 10 at bats).
He’s hitting .273 with a man on 2nd (11 ABs).
.500 with man on 3rd (2 ABs).
.100 with man on 1st and 2nd (10 ABs).
.333 with man on 1st and 3rd (3 ABs).
.000 with man on 2nd and 3rd or bases loaded (2 and 1 AB, respectively – he does have a sac fly I believe).
Small sample sizes for the win!
http://www.baseball-reference......9&t=b
Benny – Everything but Joba in the pen.
I love hughes… till his next stinker…
Benny Blanco, you’re an idiot.
Joba. Is. Not. Going. To. The. Bullpen. You. Idiotic. Waste. Of. Human. Flesh.
Get it through your head.
Last night produced two really nice things. The outstanding pitching of Phil Highes…in particular, two of the at bats by Miguel Cabrera…the strikeout, but, especially the 6th inning jam shot on his hands. Very few pitchers can jam Cabrera that badly. I’m guessing that Cabrera’s hands are still tingling.
Cano saw 32 pitches in his first 4 at bats. In his 5th at bat, he only saw 3 but still hit it almost to the track in left center. Those were impressive at bats.
Robbi just keep it on… and get a little better with risp.
The outstanding pitching of ***Phil Hughes***
Wang will go to the bullpen. I’m surprised that wasn’t one of your options m.
Before anyone shoots me down, let me remind you that when I said Jeter should be leading off with Damon second, most of you shot it down.
Wang will be a weapon in a bullpen. You know how often a ground ball is needed late in the game.
Think about it: Mo, Melancon, Bruney, Wang, Coke, Robertson has the potential to be outstanding and present different looks.
Wang is not going to be turned into a relief pitcher. Get over that idea.
Cano: some more stats: http://www.fangraphs.com/stats.....osition=2B
Explanation of the stats: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs.....line-stats
O-Swing% Z-Swing% Swing% O-Contact% Z-Contact% Contact% Zone% F-Strike%
28.4 % 68.5 % 48.8 % 85.0 % 97.0 % 93.6 % 50.9 % 64.8 %
Basically, he’s swinging at fewer pitches, and making more (and better) contact when he does swing.
Wang will be traded before he turns into a relief pitcher.
I think the best course of action is there are no absolutes here.
What people in the organization say publicly in April doesn’t necessarily mean its set in stone for the season.
I don’t want to play the “what if” game but, I don’t think everybody’s roles are set in stone on this team.
Lots of things can happen.
Let’s hope they have so many options, they are dealing from a position of strength. That’s good news for everybody.
2 things.
Joba isnt going to the pen.
We have to have a better option than Ramirez. Im still hoping Veras turns it around and finds his control.
Once Wang gets his leg back and starts throwing his 95 mph sinker again. He will be back to throwing 7 strong for us.
Bullpen is for failed starters. Joba and Wang arent failures. One is still learning while the other is still rehabbing.
Yeah, what he said. ^^
Just kidding. Not dismissing what you’re saying. The thought never even crossed my mind.
If (big if) Wang get get back to last year’s form, he’ll be in the rotation. I think it’ll take away for him to get his mechanics to where they need to be on a CONSISTENT basis. Just hoping that Phil can bring his attitude, aggressiveness, and variety while he fills in.
The question is, and this is really getting ahead of myself, who pitches in the post-season. I know I want Hughes and AJ taking the ball for sure.
One thing that will not happen, and it is set in stone is, Wang is not going to the bullpen.
Joba will go to the bullpen before Wang goes to the bullpen.
One guys stuff translates to bullpen work and the other guys doesn’t.
Right now, Wang isn’t going anywhere except to pitch in extended ST games to try and get his mojo back.
They aren’t further messing with him by putting him in the bullpen.
Not for Joba, not for Hughes, and not for anybody.
*take awhile
I’m thinking that Hughes and Chamberlain will split starts and also do a little bullpen work, as well as take a start or two to give each of the rotation starters a breather.
Thanks for the response GB, I’ll remember to tell you to eat crow first when Wang moves to the pen for the good of the team later this year.
V
April 29th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Benny Blanco, you’re an idiot.
Joba. Is. Not. Going. To. The. Bullpen. You. Idiotic. Waste. Of. Human. Flesh.
Get it through your head.
V, relax!!! I was merely posting that to get some feedback. Pipe down! You dont have to resort to name calling if you dont agree with me.
SJ,
Are you referring to Joba possibly going to the pen? Wang?
Who did he hire as his agent?
“Unless you, um, actually watch the games. He’s laying off balls, and even strikes, that last year he was attacking and grounding out weakly on. It’s a HUGE adjustment.”
Um, unless you actually read Pete’s blog. I was responding to Pete’s point on Cano’s walks.
Actually, I’ve watched pretty much every inning this year. Cano’s results are certainly better than last year, and he seems to be attacking pitches with a lot more confidence and hitting the ball harder than he did last year.
But I’m not sure you can cherry pick his AB’s to make the claim that his overall approach is a lot didderent. He’s had AB’s where he’s seen a lot of pitches, and ABs where he hasn’t.
If he was really consistently taking significantly more pitches overall, he would be getting more walks than he is.
That said, I’m happy with Cano’s on-field results so far.
If Cano could learn a lesson in pitch selection by watching footage of Wade Boggs, he’d be unbeleivable.
Boggs would never swing at bad pitches. Down by 1 run in the 8th inning with two men on, Boggs could take a no ball 2 strike, 2-out pitch just an inch off the plate and he’d know for certain he’d just taken a ball. He’d foul off a few pitches then smack a 2-run double the other way if he didn’t draw a walk first.
If Cano could ever be that patient, with an eye that precise, he’d be in the mix for a batting title every year.
SoS,
SJ is saying Joba to the pen if anyone’s going there at all.
Sorry about your Spurs. First time in Timmy D’s career they went out in the first round. Condolences, man.
ok SJ44 you’ll be the 2nd one to eat crow when Wang moves to the pen.
You were the first one to shoot down my call for Jeter batting leadoff. You were wrong then too, can you admit that? Although in fairness, you consistently shoot down everything that I say.
Anyway, I’d rather not call names now, I’d rather we see how it plays out and then one of us admits they were wrong.
I’d rather get to the post-season and have that “worry”.
Right now, this team just needs to concentrate on winning games and getting better right now.
We talked all last season about the “post-season rotation”. How did that work out?
Get 20 games above .500, as Joe Torre used to say, then you can talk about October issues.
Wave – Agreed … pleased with Cano’s results so far. Can’t expect him (or anyone) to be like Boggs in his Boston prime.
ANSKY,
I bet Boggs got the close call, too.
During the Sox series, one of our guys got the call (wasn’t all that close), and the booth said that if a guy’s got the reputation for having a good eye, the umps sometimes let the batter make the call. (meaning if he took it, it’s a ball, not that he’d screech like those stupid umps do).
Alan Horne looks like he may be going for SWB this weekend but I hope he opens at Trenton given his velocity is not back. He’s a guy that could help us in the pen if he gets his innings up and they need to keep it in check.
Jeff NJ
April 29th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Thanks for the response GB, I’ll remember to tell you to eat crow first when Wang moves to the pen for the good of the team later this year.
————————————————————
And, what will you be eating when he doesn’t move to the bullpen for the year?
Jeff –
Wang to the pen = Joba to the pen in terms of dumb wasteful mistakes.
Barring recurring injuries to either of course, but Wang’s not on that boat. His injury is more like Hughes’ hamstring in that the injury has gotten better but for whatever reason he’s not ready to go 100% on it yet.
crow. feel free to call me out on it.
m,
Thanks. Last year its the Yankees. This year the Spurs. Being a fan of a successful franchise spoils you. Its title or bust. Whats next? Colts missing the playoffs? I think this will get the Spurs to cut some old dead weight and get them active in the market. Tim doesnt have many good years left. Im now rooting for my new second favorite team. Cavs(not the same yet). Who do you want to face? Houston or Portland? I think Denver is the team to watch out for.
Jeff,
There is no basis for Wang going to the bullpen.
He’s never pitched in the ‘pen in his life.
He is coming off serious mechanical issues that has affected his confidence and his head.
It doesn’t make any sense to further add to his changes by making a radical (moving him to the bulpen) change. That not only hurts Wang, it hurts the team.
If its about doing “what’s best for the team”, then Joba is going to be the guy moving to the bullpen if they ever have to make that choice.
You don’t move a guy who zero track record into a position that the other guy (Joba) had when he was the best setup guy in baseball.
Its not about making “predictions” and hoping they come true.
You also said all last year the offense wasn’t a “problem” and they would hit and dominate once the weather got warm.
How did that work out?
I hope the Yankees have the “dilemma” of having too many healthy and effective starting pitchers. If they do, man what a bonus for everybody.
Right now, that ain’t the case. Let’s hope Hughes and Wang make it one because then the team will be better off in the long run.
SOS: Seth and Sam Levinson, Posada’s agents.
Cano’s problem last year (and Melky’s too, indirectly) was Boy Genius Brian Cashman made him a multi-millionaire years before he had to and it went to his head.
I said it the day the extension was signed and I’ll repeat it now: keeping these guys hungry, motivated, and playing for pay is the way to fly.
Just look at the way J. Damon (who used to play through concussions back before he got his ticket punched) now takes off a Sunday night game in Boston with bumps and bruises.
I think Cano and Melky both got the message and are poised for big years. Let’s hope Cashman did too and refrains from doling out any more Win for Life cards to young impressionables.
Jeff NJ
April 29th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
crow. feel free to call me out on it.
————————————————————
Sorry, but, I don’t keep track of such childish things as “Icalled it. I’m right.” It serves zero purpose. However, if it makes you feel better, have at it.
I need a little advice here. I have family coming in from out of town and I ordered tickets to a Trenton Thunder game. I did this online. The first time I tried to order, it told me the order did not go through for whatever reason, so I re-placed the order and printed the tickets.
Today I received an additional 12 tickets (the first order, that I never got a confirmation of) in the mail.
Do you think I stand a chance of getting a refund on the tickets that came in the mail? I’m willing to drive to box office to do it.
Otherwise, I have 12 extra tickets to the Trenton Thunder game for Friday May 29th.
If anyone’s interested.
Found Swisher t-shirts!! FINALLY!!
M – yes, sometimes it seemed like the umps would call a close pitch a ball if Bogg’s didn’t swing at it.
Okay, watching the 2nd batter of the 10-run inning. What the heck was Leyland doing throwing a guy who was in rookie ball last year into a scoreless game?
Doreen
April 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I need a little advice here. I have family coming in from out of town and I ordered tickets to a Trenton Thunder game. I did this online. The first time I tried to order, it told me the order did not go through for whatever reason, so I re-placed the order and printed the tickets.
Today I received an additional 12 tickets (the first order, that I never got a confirmation of) in the mail.
Do you think I stand a chance of getting a refund on the tickets that came in the mail? I’m willing to drive to box office to do it.
Otherwise, I have 12 extra tickets to the Trenton Thunder game for Friday May 29th. If anyone’s interested.
————————————————————
Did you call the Trenton ticket office and explain what happened? They should be able to void the unneeded tickets and send a cancellation/refund to your credit card. Just make sure you get a confirmation number from the ticket office and the name of who you talked to.
Billy,
I was thinking the same thing. But being that Horne has been injured and all of last year. Im not sure if he has enough innings to give the big club after working in the minors.
I’m really happy about Cano’s start and I don’t mean to brag but I called it
. I mean the guy hit .270 last year and was trashed. If you hit .270 and people say you suck, and you should be traded because your no fulfilling your potential, you must be one hell of a player.
jennifer where? I want a Swisher t-shit.
Yhe Wang to the bullpen idea should not not even be entertained here.
Joba to the pen is a bit closer to reality but not by a lot. Even if he stinks over the next month, I think they’ll be extremely reluctant to make that move.
How many Set-up guys do they need? Bruney -Melancon is un-proven but could end up being better than most.
The Pen has been great over the last week if you take away Sat when the Sox bats were on fire.
Doreen- Call them up and explain the situation. I’m sure they’d be willing to help you.
m
April 29th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Okay, watching the 2nd batter of the 10-run inning. What the heck was Leyland doing throwing a guy who was in rookie ball last year into a scoreless game?
————————————————————
Severe bullpen problems. Rodney is his closer and Zumaya is just off the DL again, and just pitched. Rookies is about all Leyland has.
“It’s amazing what people chose to remember.
Cano always starts slow….never hits in April.
false. In his four Aprils, he has hit .316, .270, .151, and .381.”
He finished those first 3 years at .342, .306, and .271. Compared to where he finished, those are slow starts.
Thanks, GB7. I will try that. It’s still a little early to call the box office. (The tickets say no refunds or exchanges, so, I’m keeping my fingers crossed, since it was a computer mix-up.)
Thanks, jennifer.
I don’t know if it was the contract.
Joba didn’t sign a long term deal and he got caught up with “big shot-ness” and had to be brought down a few pegs.
Evan Longoria signed a long term deal in his THIRD day in the big leagues and it certainly didn’t hurt him.
I think Robbie got caught up in the nightlife a bit and believing his natural talent was enough to get by.
Struggling is probably the best thing that has ever happened to him because it forced him to look in the mirror.
Some guys look in the mirror and live in denial. That’s ruined a lot of careers.
To Robbie’s credit, he looked in the mirror and made significant changes.
Workout regimen, hitting, diet, all underwent major changes and we are seeing very successful early returns.
His dad also deserves a lot of credit. He didn’t sugarcoat things and make excuses. He pushed him to work harder.
New York is a tough, tough place to play. Its tough for older guys and especially tough for young players because they can get caught up in the hype.
I don’t think there is a tried and true way of handling these things. However, I think a little failure is very humbling and the guys who work themselves out of it, usually have long term success.
“Today I received an additional 12 tickets (the first order, that I never got a confirmation of) in the mail.
Do you think I stand a chance of getting a refund on the tickets that came in the mail? I’m willing to drive to box office to do it.”
Trade em in for Legends seating?
“I was thinking the same thing. But being that Horne has been injured and all of last year. Im not sure if he has enough innings to give the big club after working in the minors”
There are more options though for the bullpen than just at SWB but who knows what Steven Jackson can do? My buddy has seen Trenton a few times and said Michael Dunn is pitching really confident. He keeps pitching like he is and he will be in SWB by mid summer at the latest.
Garcia should be active fairly soon but they are tight lipped on that.
If Bruney was out for the season, Joba to the bullpen wouldn’t be farfetched. Now would the Yankees do it? Probably not. They did say they were committed to developing Joba as a starter. But they’ve been known to make panic moves from time to time.
glad hughes ended up with a good night last night and I hope it continues, but one night does not have me ready to give up on Joba has a starter. I recall both Hughes and Kennedey last year pitched well for the most part, but they would both have 1 blow up inning in each start that would cost them the game. Hughes pitched great last night, but he started to have what looked like one of those blow up innings, and fortunately was able to get out of it. if he continues to get out of jams, or just not get in them, over his next couple of starts then my confidence in him will continue to build, but even then I don’t think Joba has had enough of a sample as a starter to justify moving.
and he can be so much better than he is now, he now has to learn the league is seeing him as a threat and put pitches in his memory bank, there was one AB that I paying attention to, the one AB when Robi had RISP vs Edwin Jackson it was a 12 pitch AB and the good he drove the count from 1 – 2 to 3 – 2 now the bad he forgot how good he was in the AB vs Jackson. In 1 – 1 Jackson snapped a filthy slider Robi fouled off and he saw that pitch again in 2-2 and it was a ball, 3 – 2 pitch 12 I think Jackson snapped it again and threw it down the knees Robi was thinking fastball instead of this pitcher doesn’t want to pitch to me. It’s a new mindset someone is going to have to tell him about. When your that good they rather walk you then go for the challenging K. All in all not much bad you can say about the new Robi Cano.
Bronx Jeers -
“Sorry, but, I don’t keep track of such childish things as “Icalled it. I’m right.” It serves zero purpose. However, if it makes you feel better, have at it.
And the name calling begins. I’m childish. By the way, your hero SJ44 referenced something from last year, is he childish?
Anyway, I’m offerring my opinion on Wang. Truth of the matter is someone is always hurt and six starters are needed so the question is probably moot especially being that there is not much depth after those 6 starters.
record last night:
“The Yankees became the second team in major league history to break a scoreless tie with a 10-run inning after the sixth inning. The first occurred during a Dodgers-Reds game in 1919.”
Jeers,
I don’t know if “Joba to the bullpen” is making any traction.
I do think if the following occurs:
1. Wang comes back and Wang in a month.
2. Hughes puts together 5 starts that show he belongs in the rotation. He doesn’t have to pitch 20 shutout innings. He does have to show he can handle a starting spot.
3. Joba continues to be a somewhat pedestrian starter with less velocity.
If those things occur, then I think the discussion becomes a bit clearer.
Here’s what I don’t know about Joba…..
Is he holding back because he is fearful of his shoulder?
Is his velocity diminished because he is still building strength? If the answer to that is, “yes”, than his shoulder injury was more serious than they said last year because there really isn’t any reason why he isn’t throwing harder (if he is healthy) right now.
Is he holding back because he wants to go deeper in games and believes this is the way to do it?
Those are three pretty important questions we need the answer to before there is any discussion about moving him.
GB7,
Robertson came in to clean up the mess. He was a starter, but maybe had health issues or squeezed out of the rotation?
I would’ve sent him before the rook. Against the Yankees in a scoreless game? Though, Swisher hit a good pitch and it clearly could’ve been a different inning if he had gotten Swisher out.
Boy, Berroa runs like the wind!
so should we wait to see if Hughes can have the same results for more than one game before we completely rip Wang to shreds??
I’m curious what it would take, if anything, for fans to have some patience.
Every day it’s something new.
“The question is… who pitches in the post-season. I know I want Hughes and AJ taking the ball for sure.”
Awwwww, Mama Bear!
“If he was really consistently taking significantly more pitches overall, he would be getting more walks than he is.”
——–
Cano is still swinging at far too many pitches out of the strike zone but at least he’s fouling most of them off.
If he could ever learn to take those pitches, look out…
If Joba is “pedestrian,” (good word, SJ44) Hughes is doing very well, Wang is Wang, and the others are what they are expected to be, what are the chances that Joba goes to Scranton rather than the bullpen?
I’d rather see that.
“Okay, watching the 2nd batter of the 10-run inning. What the heck was Leyland doing throwing a guy who was in rookie ball last year into a scoreless game?”
———
Detroit’s bullpen is awful. They used their 1st rd pick last year on a reliever – Perry. If they had better options, I’m sure Leyland would ahve used them.
That’s why getting to Detroit’s pen is the best way to beat them.
Thank Cano for those long at bats that got Edwin Jackson out of the game!!
“The Yankees became the second team in major league history to break a scoreless tie with a 10-run inning after the sixth inning. The first occurred during a Dodgers-Reds game in 1919.”
———————
Boston Dave,
Im glad we’re finally in the right side of record books this year.
Jeff NJ
April 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
“Sorry, but, I don’t keep track of such childish things as “Icalled it. I’m right.” It serves zero purpose. However, if it makes you feel better, have at it.
And the name calling begins. I’m childish. By the way, your hero SJ44 referenced something from last year, is he childish?
Anyway, I’m offerring my opinion on Wang. Truth of the matter is someone is always hurt and six starters are needed so the question is probably moot especially being that there is not much depth after those 6 starters.
————————————————————
I didn’t call you childish. I said that keeping track of how many times you’re right (and, usually ignoring how often you’re wrong) is childish. Nobody cares how good your crystal ball is.
Your/you’re/you = anybody…not just you.
Molina should start over Posada.
Wang should go to the bullpen when he gets back to pitching like he has throughout his career.
Ramiro Pena should start 3 days a week when Rodriguez gets back.
Maybe Bret Gardner should DH?
J.B. (Dunmore, PA): Do you see the issue with Wang as being a temporary thing or might this mark the beginning of the end for his career? Sometimes once a guy gets something into his head he just can’t overcome it. Just ask Mark Wohlers.
Steve Phillips: (1:10 PM ET ) His problems are physical, not mental. I broke down the tape of his delivery this year compared to 2008, and there are some rather dramatic changes. His foot injury has caused him to change a number of things in his delivery in order to compensate for the doubts he may have in his foot’s stability. He just needs to prove to himself that the foot can handle his weight and the torque necessary to push off the pitching rubber. Once he regains that confidence and gets back to his old delivery, his sinker will get back and so will his old effectiveness. Don’t give up on him yet.
Boston Dave -
It’s what happens after he fouls those pitches off. If he’s fouling off a lot of pitches (instead of striking out or hitting into an out), he’s extending the at-bat, increasing the number of pitches thrown/seen, AND if he ends up with a hit or walk, then I’m all for fouling off the close pitches.
m
April 29th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
GB7,
Robertson came in to clean up the mess. He was a starter, but maybe had health issues or squeezed out of the rotation?
I would’ve sent him before the rook. Against the Yankees in a scoreless game? Though, Swisher hit a good pitch and it clearly could’ve been a different inning if he had gotten Swisher out.
Boy, Berroa runs like the wind!
————————————————————
I can only assume that other than Molina, everyone else due up that inning was a switch hitter and he didn’t want to use his two left handers (Seay is the other) that soon. Would be interesting to know what Leyland’s real thinking was, but, it’s doubtful anybody had the guts to ask him. Are you volunteering for the one-way suicide mission?
Every day it’s something new.
—————–
BD,
At least it isnt the sky is falling and its a MUST win or die. Id prefer having the we’re swamped with talent/not enough space conversations instead.
new post
Rishi: it’s funny, Steve Philips contradicted himself there. He said it’s physical, not mental, and then he cited mental reasons (“compensate for the doubts “, “prove to himself”, “regains that confidence”) for the changes in Wang’s delivery.
“I know I want Hughes and AJ taking the ball for sure.”
Then you’ll be the first one bashing his inexperience. Careful what you wish for. I love Hughes as much as the next frat dude. But let him continue to pitch before we put him out there for a game 7, brah.
He was so patient the first few games-four walks in three games-I thought we had an all-new Cano on our hands. Of course now he hasn’t walked in nearly 10 days. Not that I’m complaining. .381 would be a pretty great OBP for him. Yet that’s just his BA.
He’s had AB’s where he’s seen a lot of pitches, and ABs where he hasn’t.
*********************************
Maybe I’m reading that wrong and it IS early in the season, but wouldn’t that tend to indicate to me that his approach has changed somewhat for the better? In that he’s more selective situationally in when he chooses to work the count. Sometimes the way a pitcher is throwing you have to swing and get a hit earlier in the count otherwise you find yourself quickly in an 0-2 count hole. Where as other times the way the pitcher is pitching you need to wait for a pitch you can hit and can afford to take a few more.
I could be wrong, of course – just an observation.
Personally, I still feel Pedroia > cano, but cano can eventually turn it around. Agree with me mr greenberet?
Cano is going to be (and already is) an AMAZING baseball player. The Robinson Cano of last year was not the true him. What you see this year IS.