One pitch explains it all
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 30, 2009 
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The Yankees were down 1-0 in the third inning tonight. Joba Chamberlain had the bases loaded and a 2-2 count against Miguel Cabrera, one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball.
Make a mistake and it’s 5-0.
Jorge Posada — you know, the guy who doesn’t call a good game — signaled a curveball. It was exactly what Chamberlain was thinking. After showing Cabrera his slider and getting a check swing on the previous pitch, it was the perfect choice.
“I showed it to him for a strike early,” Chamberlain said. “They see a different tilt. Jorge had the whereabouts to call it and it was great. We were right on the same page. He put it down and we went to work.”
Chamberlain threw probably the best curve of his career, Cabrera swung through it and the inning was over. The Yankees then scored seven runs in the top of the fourth inning.
“You have to give Chamberlain credit, he threw a nasty hook,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
If Chamberlain is made into a set-up man, he’ll throw that curveball once a week and in time he’ll just give it up. It’s his third-best pitch and a set-man only needs two pitches. The reason a pitcher becomes a reliever is because he only has one or two pitches.
But Joba’s curveball is a plus pitch and his change-up is getting there. You just don’t take a pitcher with that kind of ability and waste him in the bullpen.
Joba has allowed two earned runs in his last 12.1 innings. He is 4-1 with a 2.85 ERA as a starter, striking out 91 over 88.1 innings.
The Yankees will pay CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett $39.5 million this season to be front-of-the-rotation starters. Joba is going to cost them $432,575 and he could well be even better than they are. That is how good he is.
The curveball should tell you everything you need to know.
This is the Joba I know. Dominate from that pitch on.
you are smart pete
I predict a 4 game sweep for the Yanks.
Angels just aren’t the same without Vlad, Lackey, Escobar, and K-Rod.
As long as Hughes can keep them in the game against Saunders, they’ll be all set.
It’s baffling that there are people who think he’s better off pitching 50+ innings a year instead of the 180+ innings he’ll impact as a very, very good starter.
Effective relievers can be signed and developed. Potential aces come out of farm systems once every five years, or more.
Chamberlain… When did he become a starter I thought he was a reliever? I think he should be in the bullpen.
I don’t predict anything with the Yankees – it would be nice to win a few more games in a row. It will be interesting to see how AJ bounces back from Saturday’s performance…..
“Jorge Posada — you know, the guy who doesn’t call a good game — signaled a curveball.”
———
Two things
1. Jorgy apparently called a pretty good game
2. When Posada called for something Joba wasn’t feeling, Joba shook him off and Jorge didn’t flinch. The idea that you can’t or shouldn’t shake off Posada is false. Joba is still learning to pitch and still shook him off with no problem whatsoever. Jorge kept putting the signs down until Joba got the pitch.
from last thread:
“the Yankee Thought Police who roam this blog with their night sticks”
You always say this term. What the hell does it mean?? What is a thought police?
Like, is it supposed to be a joke? Is it supposed to be funny? Its so unbelieveably corny and it makes me twitch and gives me heartburn.
I think you can come up with something a little more clever than “The Yankee Thought Police.”
I mean, c’mon.
That entire game turned on that one pitch.
Off topic: Pete, et al, do any of you make anything of BBTN’s speculation that Mo’s leg’s not right, or do you chalk it up to a) he hadn’t pitched in five days, b) didn’t have enough time to warm, and c) last season was so dominant that anything else will look mortal by comparison?
Rebecca–I say a and b. Cone and Singleton were talking to each other during his warmup and noticed he hadn’t gotten enough time to get ready in the pen.
Rebecca- BBTN tends to be anti-yankee and pretty over dramatic. Mo is fine he hadn’t pitched in a few days and he missed one in to a pretty good hitter in Granderson. It was right in his wheelhouse. Mo has another 2 years in the tank and hopefully Melancon is dealing by then.
While I agree that Joba looked terrific tonight, I wouldn’t get too carried away with the “he could be better than they are” stuff yet. Let’s see a couple more good starts eh? I’m with you though, KEEP HIM IN THE ROTATION. He’s got too much stuff to be wasted in the pen. He’d kick butt there, but still wasted.
Didn’t have enough time to warm up.
They are going to have to address the bullpen. It’s just awful.
Mariano shouldn’t have had to pitch tonight.
It tells you how little confidence Girardi has in those guys that he felt he had to use a not ready Rivera to finish the game.
Tonight’s Joba is a starting pitcher. The tentative, non-strikethrowing Joba is not.
They better find some bullpen arms though. If not, somebody is moving to the pen because ifvthis is all these guys have, it’s not good enough to be a successful team.
To all here at the LoHud…I understand that it’s sacriledge to even suggest that the Great Mariano Rivera may have slipped a notch in his 14th season…..I hope that this is an April illusion which it very well maybe….So when the movement returns and he’s back at 93-94 and is not serving up cookies I’ll hang my head in shame for even the mere mentioning of such a thing happening….
Pete, what are you talking about? Certainly it is more important to do excellent work 1 hour of the day rather than very good work 8 hours a day. You just don’t get it.
SJ: Melancon’s been pretty decent, no?
And I think Coke just had a couple rough outings but will be fine. the only ones that really worry me are Veras and Marte.
But I think once we get Bruney back we’ll be fine.
If Joba were able to come out of the pen, the Yankees wouldn’t have had to call Mo in at the end of the game cause he could have pitched the 8th or 9th. It would have been much better if we hung on to Karstens and Rasner to pitch 5 innings of 4 run ball so Joba could get a hold.
Pete,
You are at your best when you are discussing Joba.
Tonight reminded me of last season in Boston ( April ) when he was called to come in when he was not clearly ready and lost the game ….I’m not suggesting that he’s done at all…Bit I do think the timetable to locate a replacement needs to be accelerated though….Same goes for Derek which is going to be equally as difficult….
Melancon has pitched a couple of times Rebecca. It remains to be seen if he’s ready for a big role in the pen. Let’s see how he does once the league has tape on him.
Coke is ok. Just ok.
Bruney? On the DL and we don’t know if his elbow will hold up.
In the AL, you need 4 dependable arms plus a closer.
The Yankees have one dependable arm…. Mariano. The rest are either awful or works in progress.
God forbid if Mariano becomes human. Then they are in real trouble.
Either guys step up or they are going to have to find guts to cover these innings.
To be fair, you shouldn’t need to use your good relievers to protect a 7 run lead in the bottom of the 9th.
That was inexcusable by Albaladejo allowing 4 runs. Can’t fault Joe for going to Rivera… you want Veras/Marte/Robertson facing the top of the Tigers order? If they allow 1 baserunner, they need to go to MO anyway. Might as well bring in MO to shut the door.
After Bruney, Melancon, and maybe Coke, the drop off is steep.
Guys, not guts.
But, some of those guys could use some pitching guts too.
SJ: One would think with this team’s pitching depth they’ll be able to figure it out. They were last year with a crew that was basically the same.
Of course, having a long man would probably help. A lot.
Until Bruney comes back, this pen is very very thin.
They basically have to force-feed Melancon into big spots.
And I don’t even want to imagine what will happen if MO isin’t the same.
“Joba is going to cost them $432,575 and he could well be even better -then -they are. That is how good he is.”
Pete, Than v Then
You are a writer this is sloppy
BUT PETE! HE WASN’T HITTING 96-98 MPH! AN ELITE, “SPECIAL” STARTER HAS TO THROW HIGH OCTANE ON EVERY PITCH, OR HE IS JUST A “NORMAL” PITCHER!
I don’t see why this debate persists. Our bullpen isn’t all that great, and I wouldn’t trust anyone outside of Coke, Bruney, Melancon, and Mo to even find their way to from the pen to the mound…but it’s not like they’re THE worst in the league. And the Mets’ pen cost Johan a victory today, too. Guess it’s time to move HIM to the pen, so that they can improve it!
The bottom line is, Joba is a better pitcher than Wang. He’s a better pitcher than Hughes. He’s a better pitcher than Pettitte (right now). You simply do not…DO NOT put him in the pen. You don’t. You wanna make one of those guys a set-up man? Make Wang the set-up man. He showed in his last start that he can get through one inning without giving up a run.
And no, I don’t REALLY think Wang should be sent to the pen if he proves he can start and not suck again. That notion, right now, is almost as ridiculous as sending Joba to the pen because he’s conserving his arm by not emptying the tank over 2 innings. Until his 93-95 stuff stops getting people out, I’m just fine with him losing 3 MPH or so, and pitching 2 or 3 more innings.
Pat M
April 30th, 2009 at 12:37 am
Tonight reminded me of last season in Boston ( April ) when he was called to come in when he was not clearly ready and lost the game ….I’m not suggesting that he’s done at all…Bit I do think the timetable to locate a replacement needs to be accelerated though….Same goes for Derek which is going to be equally as difficult….
————————————————————
Yep. Now is the time to be grooming THE NEW CORE. They’re still looking for Bernie Williams, Jr. He’s at least 2 years from being that type. One year to adjust and one year to improve.
New SS – Carmen Angelini
He will replace Jeter
Wasn’t this the team with a surplus of arms in the minors capable of bullpen roles?
It’s still early, pull a Nationals-esque move and revamp some of the arms.
It will give some guys a shot to show us what they got while giving our current wastes of a uniform the time to get right, if that’s what’s needed.
Obviously, certain untouchables exist, and Melancon has been successful thus far, though I do agree with SJ in that, once teams get some film, they will be better prepared.
We are starting to role, the offense is starting to show life, and Alex is coming back soon, providing just a bit of added pop to the lineup.
I see the calendar rolling over the May, historically signaling the start of the season for CC and Tex.
The bullpen needs work, but we came out of a very tough opening stretch with only 6 games @ home and are 11-10 with poor starts from half the SP and our biggest offensive threat out. Not to mention Nady.
This will be a fun season, either way it ends.
“Either guys step up or they are going to have to find guys to cover these innings.”
——–
Of course Albaladejo didn’t get the job done this time, and I may be in the minority at this point, but I still think the bullpen as presently constructed will be just fine.
I really think they were overused to start the season. Once the starting pitchers start to consistently give them 6-8 innings, the bullpen will come around.
Should they be able to handle the load? Sure. But that doesn’t mean they won’t pitch better when they aren’t being used as much as they have been.
Also, the Yankees have enough guys they can mix and match with. If they are still struggling in early June, give someone else a shot.
Mo gave up a walk-off to Scutaro last year as well as another somewhere, I forget. I believe he will be fine.
Remember, this wasn’t a save situation and statistically speaking….you get the drift.
SJ, I dont want to start up this debate, but Its late…there arent that many people on the baord and I just want your opinion:
It’s been asked a million times BUT, say Wang comes back and is Wang once again but Hughes has been great…How can we justify just sending him back to Scranton. If you, of all people, are worried about the bullpen (as we should be), then how can we NOT put Joba back in there.
I understand it will hinder his transition, but you said it yourself…we need guys there.
Robinson Carew
April 30th, 2009 at 12:47 am
New SS – Carmen Angelini
He will replace Jeter
————————————————————
Angelini’s closer to replacing the shortstop at staten Island. He’ll be moved to left field before he becomes a ML player.
Fans are willing to give CC and Tex “Get out of April Free” cards.
I think we should give the bullpen one too. They got used and abused for Wang’s starts and had to come in early on a more than a few starts by the other guys as well.
Dr. Cox
April 30th, 2009 at 12:13 am
from last thread:
“the Yankee Thought Police who roam this blog with their night sticks”
You always say this term. What the hell does it mean?? What is a thought police?
Like, is it supposed to be a joke? Is it supposed to be funny? Its so unbelieveably corny and it makes me twitch and gives me heartburn.
I think you can come up with something a little more clever than “The Yankee Thought Police.”
I mean, c’mon.
………………………………………….
And I will repost what I said in the last thread:
You always say this term. What the hell does it mean?? What is a thought police?
…………………………
OK, pal, here you go –
“Some of you are just down right stupid, it’s April and you guys are panicking about Mo.”
“Oh, please. Don’t be an idiot.”
“I come to the comment section and read nonsensical garbage, post after post.”
“You should be sterilized immediately.”
“TRISHA SHUT UP!”
and the inevitable –
“jen, do you think we can get him banned?”
—
Need any more examples, I’ve got plenty!
Pat M knows baseball, and for him to be called “stupid” because he made a comment about Mariano’s fastball is way, way over the top.
So, if any of these gentlemen, or ladies, feels it is within their rights to call me or some other Yankee fan who happens to disagree with their opinion, “stupid,” or “jerk,” then I will feel free to call them Yankee Thought Police. Got it?
Oh, and one other thing. The following comment by you will get you whacked by the Thought Police in the future, you can count on it:
“Dr. Cox
April 29th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Hmmm. She we start worrying about Mo?”
Great post, Pete.
You took out the Posada Truthers and the Joba to the bullpen crowd in one fail swoop.
The bullpen needs a healthy Bruney and Melancon – for starters. It’s not certain whether Robertson is ready to contribute.
It’s a shame that J.B. Cox hasn’t been the same since his surgery. He would be an option, but his AAA performance has not been good.
You need 4 dependable arms and a closer in the American League? Better tell that to the Red Sox. They’ve got DelCarmen, Ramon Ramirez and a Papelbon who hasn’t quite looked to be his dominating self recently. Their bullpen isn’t that great either. Every team has their problems.
“If you, of all people, are worried about the bullpen (as we should be), then how can we NOT put Joba back in there.”
——–
If the bullpen is more important than the rotation, might as well call Ian Kennedy up and put both Joba and AJ in the bullpen.
Rivera
Joba
AJ
Bruney
Melancon
Coke
“In the AL, you need 4 dependable arms plus a closer.”
When is the last time, the yankees had 5 consistently good bullpen pitchers? Tell me one team in the AL East that has this. For all of Fox and ESPN’s love of the Redsox bullpen, Papelbon, Ramirez and Delcarmen have been good. Saito and Okajima have been so so.
I’ll take my chances with this bullpen. With Bruney coming back in a few weeks and the starters doing their job, we ought to be able to drop two relievers. If Melancon continues to pitch well and just one other guy starts pitching up to his ability, what looks like a weakness now will seem like a strength.
Of course, you guys won’t be happy then because you’ll have nothing to bitch about.
The A-Rod **saga** never ends:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_.....ource.html
Sorry, Pete, but Jon Heyman already told everyone the Yankees have no shot at the post season without Joba in the bullpen.
CC and Tex have proven track records as all-star level talent.
Edwar, Veras, Coke, Robertson, Albaladejo, Melancon, etc. have no real track record. The first 2 guys have 1\2 a good year as our sample. And when you consider how much bullpens fluctuate from year to year (see Tampa, Cleveland last yr, Mets from 06 to 07 etc.), it really isin’t a safe bet to rely on these guys to perform. Such is the nature of erratic hard throwers with mediocre control.
Melancon has the best shot just because of his pedigree but that’s about it. Bruney obviously is very good too. Just have to hope that another one of those guys from that bunch can step up.
Oh boy
let the ARod posts commence!
Pete,
cue up the ARod threads…. hope you’re ready for this
“Edwar, Veras, Coke, Robertson, Albaladejo, Melancon, etc. have no real track record.”
——–
right, but you throw 6 guys at the wall and hope 2-3 stick.
then you call up a few more guys from the minors and throw them at the wall…
repeat as necessary
man… Arod is so screwed…
“Ed – the new age of the Yankees is here
April 30th, 2009 at 12:56 am
The A-Rod saga never ends:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_.....ource.html
”
the smear jobs are expected, I wouldn’t believe everything in that book
“The book, published by HarperCollins and set to be released May 12, also details Rodriguez’s long relationship with Angel Presinal, a Dominican trainer banned from clubhouses after a steroid incident in 2001.
As the Daily News reported in January, Presinal was seen with Rodriguez as recently as last year. Presinal was not charged.”
—————
David Ortiz hangs with him as well. I wonder if Selena mentions that in the book.
It appears the book is littered with our favorites:
“anonymous sources”
“unnamed Yankee players”
“unnamed persons familiar with…”
I gotta write one of these books. You don’t actually need real people to write this stuff. Just make it up with anonymous sources.
tampayank
the smear jobs are expected, I wouldn’t believe *anything* in that book
__
Fixed.
Long men are usually just inconsistent starters and journeymen. We need quality guys who can get a k when you need it or at least 3 outs. I’m not convinced on the long man thing ..you can always call up a guy in a pinch, which is exactly what they have done.
Tonight made a lot of people eat crow….the joba and posada nay sayers.
SJ44,
Marte started late because of the WBC and waslights out for 1 inning in Boston. I think he’ll be fine.
Veras started a little shaky, but has been used as a long man twice already
Robertson, Albaladejo are wild cards but I like their stuff. I think they can get some big outs once they get their feet wet a little more.
Ramirez was big last year but, he one guy I’m not too high on. He’s got 2 pitches and hitters can just sit on one of them.
Listen, if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens can be raked over the coals for steriod abuse, and Michael Vick gets thrown in federal prison for dog fighting, then why shouldn’t Arod be held accountable for his transgressions.
The fact that Selena Roberts still has a job after the Duke Lacrosse fiasco is astounding.
tampayank,
I don’t believe it too. If it was the truth then why wasn’t it out before?
“Listen, if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens can be raked over the coals for steriod abuse, and Michael Vick gets thrown in federal prison for dog fighting, then why shouldn’t Arod be held accountable for his transgressions.”
———
anonymous sources have claimed Pepitone cheated on his taxes last year.
man, this is easy.
If ARod failed a league drug test, that’s one thing. Selena Roberts is going after the guy and making personal attacks on him. It’s a bit different.
She has a history of making stuff up. See Duke, Lacrosse.
I think the reason why this “bogus” report is out because ARod is nearing his return.
Pepitone April 30th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Listen, if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens can be raked over the coals for steriod abuse, and Michael Vick gets thrown in federal prison for dog fighting, then why shouldn’t Arod be held accountable for his transgressions.
She came out and said he failed a test. He admitted to it. She should be done with it, but now she wants to profit off of him.
A-Rod admitted steroid use, Clemens and Bonds didn’t. Vick was convicted of cruelty to helpless animals.
What is you point, Pepitone?
Pepitone:
Obviously this blog is full of stupidity. Its a sports blog, with sports fans who are extremely passionate about their team. Stupidity just follows. Ive come to accept it and even embrace it. Who wants a board full of SJ44′s, where everyone knows everything about everything. it would be boring. No offense, SJ.
The only thing I take issue with is the term “Yankee Thought Police.” It is just so- lame. I bet you are a father or a grandfather because only a man with children would think that’s funny. It is ridiculously corny and I just feel that to be effective (which is what you want to do or else you wouldn’t continue use that dumb-a$$, dorky, corny term).
Its so lame man, soooo lame. Come up with something better.
I missed Joba’s “one pitch” b/c I was buying my ticket at that moment… we’d seen that Cabrera had come up to bat as we approached the ticket window, but by the time we were inside, Matsui was leading off the 4th.
What I could see for sure is that Joba definitely dominated the 4th-7th innings. He was hitting the corners, throwing gas, in so doing, making the Tigers look stupid.
Coke did fine. Albaladejo was horrendous… 17 pitches, and 11 of them balls. We could see Mo warming in the ‘pen, but I couldn’t say for sure if he had “enough” time or not.
It sounds like many of the claims she makes can’t even be backed up.
For example:
Another student said the son of coach Rich Hofman admitted he saw Rodriguez use steroids.
Hofman said it was news to him. “Whatever he was doing, he was doing it somewhere else,” he said.
Very simple guys/gals. The media is out to destroy A-Rod he is a tragic hero if sorts. I for one wish him the very best and I hope he can carry this team through October because at that point smear books and yellow journalism will take a backseat to us winning number 27!
Al from BK,
I agree.
However, I also hope ARod did not lie about his steroid use. If he has been using with the Yankees, and facts come out to support it…
OUCH!!!
Wouldn’t LoHud Thought Police be more appropriate?
Also, Joba in the bullpen never melted steel either.
RE: ARod book…I’m honestly at a point where I don’t care what’s in the book and what may or may not be true. Past is the past. Just play ball. Unless he fails a test from here out, it’s a dead story to me.
BDave, there’s also this one:
“Although the slugger insists he dabbled in steroids only while with the Texas Rangers, the book “A-Rod” strongly suggests he didn’t give up performance enhancers when he came to New York.”
Then, the ridiculous, “He was tipping pitches in blowouts so players on the other teams would do the same for him.”
No quotes….just rumors. They don’t think that Buck Showalter wouldn’t have seen that?
Bruney, Robertson, and Melechon are keepers….Veras is all over the place, he can be real good as well as real shakey…..Right now and it’s early, but the pen has several guys you just don’t know from outing to outing what you’re going to get…..One thing is I doubt Giradi will want to call Edwin to face the Angels during this homestand considering how they tee off on him…..Yanks go with CC, AJ, Pettite & Phil vs Anaheim…Pen should be well rested again….How many games will Molina catch vs the Angel jackrabbits
Robertson needs regular work. He’s not getting it.
Tori Hunter is going to put 1 out in every game the way he’s been hitting in the new launching pad haha,
So disappointed…in Cleveland’s bullpen. Coulda gained on Boston.
I’m not jumping on Mariano because he’s the G.O.A.T.
But in Boston the excuse was a 2 inning outing. Today, he didn’t have enough time to warm up (even though we saw him warming up earlier in the inning).
Mariano will tell you that the location on both homeruns was bad, bad, bad.
Yes, it was Alby’s fault. And no harm, no foul. But Mo will say the two homeruns were on him. So no need to make excuses for him.
LoHud thought police is right on…..However the point Pepitone was illustrating was quite accurate…..Nick in SF once again comes through…..Clutch
I think the bullpen will be fine too. Like someone else said, provided Bruney’s injury really is as unserious as the Yankees say and Melancon is legit (all signs seem to point to yes), plus Mo and Coke, all we really need is 1 more pitcher to step up. I know he’s still raw but I’d like to see Robertson get another good look. I like a lot of what I’ve seen in the past. I even think Edwar can be a respectable/useful arm if used correctly and carefully.
I read on MLB Trade Rumors today where the Yankees were listed as a team who might be interested in trading for RPs available at the deadline like ____ (insert garbage vet reliever here -Doug Brocail, etc.) I think it would be ridiculous for the Yankees to give up talent to get guys like that when they have multiple arms on the farm that could produce the same or better results, with seeimngly new possibilities springing up all the time like Mike Dunn.
I am very confident in the pen, it just needs to solidify and be managed correctly by Girardi. Hopefully the latter is not easier said than done.
“The only thing I take issue with is the term “Yankee Thought Police.” It is just so- lame. I bet you are a father or a grandfather because only a man with children would think that’s funny.”
……………………..
Where did I say I was trying to be funny? Give me the exact quote, otherwise you are arguing with a strawman.
“It is ridiculously corny and I just feel that to be effective (which is what you want to do or else you wouldn’t continue use that dumb-a$$, dorky, corny term).
Its so lame man, soooo lame. Come up with something better.”
……………………….
You call yourself “Dr. Cox” is that pseudonym, or are you just naturally attracted to the monicker “Dr.” I ask because you write like one of my students in High School. Plus, your argument is just as juvenile. In reality, it isn’t an argument at all, just a rant.
So, no, sorry, I rather like the term “thought police.” I think I will continue to use it as long as certain people on this blog think it is their responsibility to control/censor the thinking, and comments, of the rest of us.
Pat M: I definitely agree. No Edwar against the Angels. It is failure waiting to happen. Since Girardi seems to be very concerned with matchups this year, hopefully he’ll realize that is a bad one.
Also, to the person who said Carmen Angelini was our SS of the future, what about Garrison Lassiter, he looks pretty good in his 1st year and hopefully is a bit of a better fielder than Angelini appears to be.
Pepitone,
So how ’bout them Lakers?
Until (if) Mo’s velocity picks up he has to stop throwing his low 90′s fastball up and over. He needs to keep everything in or low and his movement will be enough but he is not throwing it hard enough to stop them from extending their arms up away and blasting homeruns.
Nothing against either one of you, but I find it ironic that someone who coined the term ‘morality police’ is getting riled up about the ‘thought police’.
M,
forgot about that one haha. I should’ve named it like “Pete’s Morality Groupies” or something like that,
It’ll be fun watching the morons try to spin Joba’s performance tomorrow.
with the bullpen i think it is just a matter of the cream rising to the top & using pitchers properly.
for example.using coke & marte against lefties & not youk,bruney in the 8th,melancon possibly in the 7th when bruney returns.
i also think if wang gets shelled one more time he should be our longman.
Nick in SF
April 30th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Wouldn’t LoHud Thought Police be more appropriate?
…………………………..
You know what, Nick, you are right. Since neither the Yankees, nor Pete is censoring anything, the term is misleading. Moreover, since the majority of LoHud posters are not like that, maybe we should just call them, Thought Police. That creates more of a distinction from the rest of us who do not fear differences of opinion.
Thanks
“t’ll be fun watching the morons try to spin Joba’s performance tomorrow”
You mean the Lohud Legion of Lunatics?? Yea, they’ll be out in full force tomorrow.
Although, If Wang comes back healthy and deals like we all know he can and Hughes continues impressing, I may have to join that Legion.
AROD QUESTION ABOUT THE ARTICLE
I think i’m retarded right now i can’t figure out the nickname they gave arod that season, can someone help me out?
m, Lakers breeze through Dallas, however The Denver Nuggets will be a handful….The perfect tuneup for Cleveland….
BBB, I’m a better fielder than Angelini. Lassiter is playing out of position at third to make room for Angelini.
Angelini is not improving this year. In fact, he’s getting worse. It really is affecting his hitting, because he does have a lot of talent…just not at shortstop. Left field would be perfect. He’s got a great arm, just extremely erratic. He tracks flies almost as well as Jeter, and he has a lot of speed.
m
April 30th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Pepitone,
So how ‘bout them Lakers?
………………………….
Hey, m -
So far so good, huh? I still don’t like their penchant for giving up big leads, I think it will bite them down the road if they don’t deal with that second units penchant for going to sleep on defense.
Otherwise, looking good.
Pat M,
Gotta get through Portland/Houston winner first. I forgot to answer SoS’s question of who I’d rather face.
Portland is young & athletic, and we haven’t won at the Rose Garden in years. But they’re young & inexperienced as well.
Houston is more dangerous, and playing at the Toyota Center is no fun. And Yao is beasting.
I’d take my chances with Portland. Plus they play uptempo like Denver does. Liked them much better with Iverson.
GB7,
I saw those. If that’s the best the book can do, it won’t go far.
Unless of course the media decides to report the claims without the contradictions. But they’d never do that…
kevin has some good stuff up on his site…
huge a-rod news:
http://nyyankeesrumors.com/new.....e-yankees/
demolition photos:
http://nyyankeesrumors.com/yan.....tos-42709/
“I’d take my chances with Portland.”
——–
It will be Houston but Portland has a better chance of beating LA, IMO.
The season series was 2-2 and Portland took a game at the Staples Center. If any team has the Lakers number in the West, it’s Portland.
Of course Yao is playing better than ever…
Pepitone offered poor analogies to support his point and he was called on it. It’s laughable that anyone would defend him.
Boston Dave
April 30th, 2009 at 1:40 am
GB7,
I saw those. If that’s the best the book can do, it won’t go far.
Unless of course the media decides to report the claims without the contradictions. But they’d never do that…
————————————————————
Nahhhh….they’d never do that….not the media.
Besides…she’s such a “well respected writer”. at least as far as the media is concerned, she is. They always admire any writer that can take a kernal of truth and fabricate an entirely different story, and sell the garbage for profit. As far as SI, goes, they stopped being a reputable sports publication years ago. They’ve become National Enquirer with a shiny cover.
m, Lakers get Dallas,
what is that nickname they gave arod in the article in the nydailynews
I really couldn’t care less what is in the book because Roberts doesn’t have a whole lot of credibility in my mind after the Duke Lacrosse fiasco.
In a perfect world, the book will be perceived as a total hatchet job by Roberts and make A-Rod into a sympathetic figure.
Will it happen?
I tend to doubt it.
People like that kind of tabloid trash which is why the Enquirer still makes money and doesn’t need any evidence to support their claims.
Sometimes I just like to think our culture is smarter than that once in awhile.
Pat M,
Are you saying Houston beats the Nugs?
m, Lakers get Dallas, Denver gets the Portland / Houston winner….Neither will get past Denver I believe….Hughes & Joba threw the best games for the Yanks this season with a combined annual salary of less than million….Not bad…
Oops. I meant you think Dallas beats the Nuggets.
Here’s the bracket:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/bracket
the one advantagee over previous years with the pen is they have some stud starters who should go deep into games and they have not had that in yrs..
Melancon is the key if he is the stud they think that will help a ton….
When Arod comes back I keep Pena on the team…
on bbtn the dope phillips still wants Joba in the pen, how was this guy a gm?????
Do you think his in the SNB booth because Joe Morgan demanded they give him a partner that makes him look smart by comparison? Only the two engage in an epic battle of fail and Jon Miller wants to jump out the window?
And obviously, Pena sticks. Berroa gets optioned back down to Kansas City.
*he is*, not *his*
Stuart,You’re talking about the Mets..That should say it all about Phillips….m, I’m confused about the brackets…Lakers should get the next lowest seed, which would be Dallas….It’s late, meds are taking their toll…That 15-5 streak I spoke of earlier today, we’re in the early stages of it….
Pena is so funny. He looks like some college kid who just rolled out of bed with his bed hair. Doesn’t even have a ballplayer’s body.
He’s looking more and more comfortable out there everyday.
I don’t know what you guys saw, but Phillips said right off the bat he’s a Joba in the rotation guy. But he can see a scenario where he helps the Yankees in the bullpen. All the qualifiers we talked about last night. Hughes, Wang, etc., etc. I think we should all keep an open mind when it comes to Joba.
BTW, what happened to Joba in the 3rd?
It looks like Shelley Duncan has some competition for AAAA player of the year. Jake Fox in the cubs organization has 12 (!) homers this year in 19 games.
Word to your mother! Tell it like it is Pete.
Brian… I tried to post it for you, but I guess there’s a censor working.
So I’ll describe it, family-friendly-like.
The first word means female dog.
The second word means mammaries.
Does anyone think Cano could challenge for a batting title this year?
M
Philllips started out saying that but by the end he said Joba should move to the pen…
He only moves to the pen for the playoffs or if there pen is so atrocious they have no other options and they are not even close to being there…
stuart,
hahas. I was tuning him out by that point.
Joba’s always started off rough and gotten stronger as games go on? Hughes seemed to have the same problems before.
I don’t know if he felt less tight working with the lead, but Joba’s velocity seemed to pick up?
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/
Kepner talks about keeping up with the Molinas (Jose following what his bros do each day).
Quote from Mo:
But on Wednesday, with a six-run lead and two outs, he was simply trying to throw strikes when Curtis Granderson went deep.
“Just trying to get the ball over the plate,” the ever-unflappable Rivera said. “He connected. Simple as that.”
(over the plate and at the hips?)
m, I think Joba stopped pitching defensively…He was aggresive in his approach once he felt secure with the lead…He needs to have that approach everytime he toe’s the rubber
Definitely, Pat M. All the pitchers could learn from each other.
I think Phil needs to help Mo with his cutter.
Slow night, so I’m signing off.
Pete,
Dan Patrick said tickets to Springsteen in Charlotte for under $10 on Stub Hub. For the rest of yous who complain about the empty seats behind the plate? $400 on Stub Hub.
“what is that nickname they gave arod in the article in the nydailynews”
———-
more fodder for the Fenway fans to use on their signs
ARod will need to shut people up with his play or else it’s going to be a long season for him.
“what is that nickname they gave arod in the article in the nydailynews”
b*tch t*ts
not necessary
I have seen comments refering to Yankees piking up Ryan Freel. Im for it. 1=let the kid Penya advance at the aaa level. 2= Perfect utility guy ,plays second ,third,ss and all the outfield. Plus he is very fast. Pinch runner. Love the site big Yankee fan. This is our year. My only concern is a good bench guy and i think this is the answer. What are your thoughts positives,negatives. Just concerned that were rushing Pena and Berroa is no good plus Ransome back healthy doesnt fix our bench,utility guy. Orioles also want to get rid of him.
Two useful series this weekend. RS vs Rays is always a win-win for NYY, but this time, either the Rays slow the RS down or they really dig a hole for themselves early in the season.
NYY get a chance to break the LAA ‘spell.’
Of course just as it’s announced that Alex will be back in about 1 week, excerpts from the book leak. From what I saw on ESPN News everything quoted was “Alex may have”…
Well that also means he may not have.
All “unnamed sources” and “may haves” – there is no proof, no positive tests. IMO just another way for Roberts to go after ARod.
Selena Roberts is pathetic
lol wow that lady is unbelievable..why is this even being talked about, theres no proof, nothing..he MIGHT have..Until they prove it this means nothing.
Now that Alex has been proven to be a liar once, Roberts can print all sorts of garbage and people who love to hate A-Rod will belive it.
Dont forget to tip your waitor or waitress more than 15%, especially in hooters. I may write a book about it if you dont
wow! i can’t wait for pete’s 7 posts today about alex
Forget A-Rod.. I have a man-crush on Nick Swisher.
First, he opens Wall St with green numbers, then rocks up on this away trips and decides to pump them all over the place. The icing on the cake is some good D.
New favorite player.
Very well said pete. While the mainstream media and some fans continue to debate it and mainly argue for the move, you are one of the few that has always said and continues to say that joba should stay put until he shows he cant be a starter. As far as I can tell, those that seem to know a heck of a lot about baseball and the yanks in particular are the same ones that dont even consider joba to the pen a decent debate at this point as it is so clear he should be given a chance to start based on his stuff and makeup alone while those less informed seem to always be the ones bringing up this nonsense day in and day out endlessly ie the vast majority of people which is why there is even still a debate.
The really annoying thing is that wang is not even close to coming back and does not even have a date around which he may return yet. But that doesnt stop people from trying to make the all six pitchers are healthy and doing well, what do the yanks do scenario all day today. It is just ridiculous to just plain expect this to happen and it is ridiculous to debate it more than a month before it is even possible that it does happen. But people will find any excuse in the world to bring this argument back up and even hypotheticals will be enough to carry this thing on all year.
What the joba to the pen people hardly ever take into account is three things. One, while the pen has been pretty awful so far this season, that was the yanks strongest asset last season and it is pretty much the exact same guys. Two, bruney has just shown absolute dominance so far this year and he shouldnt be out long. Why do we need joba back in the pen when we have bruney doing the same thing he did? Three, I am 99 percent sure that melancon is the best reliever to come out of the yanks farm system since Mariano moved to the pen following his arrival in NY from the yankees farm system. This guy has amazing talent and enough poise and presence to appear like it would take a heck of a lot for him to get rattled which is ideal for a closer.
Im not saying he should take over for Mo just quite yet but Im assuming he is a real possibility in the future and he is ready and already in the majors right now. So we have melancon, bruney and mo who can pitch the 7th, 8th and 9th which makes the yanks have possibly the best shutdown relief corps in all of baseball this season barring injury. Add to that, the same names that helped form one of the better pens in baseball last season and I think that is a recipe for success this season despite what has happened so far. Considering that bruney has been injured and melancon just came up, i think the pen will show vast improvement once those three are all back on the team. Im just saying – the pen is far too strong to think we NEED joba back there and the argument that the pen has sucked so far is completely irrelevant.
Just think if the Mets moved Santana into the bullpen they may not have blown a lead in yeaterday’s game. He’d dominate the 8th.
I’m betting there aren’t too many real doctors who haven’t read Orwell, or would call him “corny.” Anyway, Dr. Cox, for yr edification:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Police
Pete, you keep saying “this is why you don’t make him a setup man” blah blah blah. Of course you don’t make him a setup man. That would be silly. No team would do that.
Mariano Rivera is turning 40 years old!!!! Yes it is a personal milestone, but it also signifies the end of an era is coming soon. And we as a team do not have anyone who has proven that they can absolutely, positively dominate in high pressure spots in the late innings of games. Except, wait, a young fella named Joba has indeed proven he can do so. That is why you have him in the pen. Because when the curtain closes on the career of Mo, the Yankees are going to have a HUGE, HUGE hole in their team. If Joba moves out of the rotation, you have what? The need for a fifth starter?
Joba has what it takes to be a top line starter even without the 98mph heater. In pressure situations, he transcends the predicament by inducing double play balls or going after the hitter and challenging them, or blowing their minds with that incredible curveball. Yes Virgina, there is another homegrown Yankee pitcher!!!!!
Vince, I’m afraid that Joba is a top of the line starter and it is quite evident by his pitching performance and warrior like competitiveness. I see him as a future Curt Schilling. He is definitely wasted as a reliever. We will never have another Mariano especially the one from 96′ to 2000′. No need to waste Joba in relief. Joba will win 200 plus games mark my words.
Yeah, but Joba wasn’t comfortable until the Yanks staked him to a 7-1 lead. I think Joba should be a starter, but he needs to have more confidence in a close or tie game. Hopefully, being down 0-1 with the bases loaded and striking out Cabrera will give him some confidence.
What if joba’s body can’t handle the workload of being a starter?
cano and markakis arent tied for the lead in hitting streak, zimmerman is at 18 with the nationals.
Just because Jorge called for that curveball from Joba does not change the fact that he does not call a good game. We don’t use one pitch sample sizes. We use years and years and the plain and simple fact is that Jorge’s catchers ERA is always higher than anyone else who gets any kind of playing time. The more playing time the backup gets, the more obvious it is. Girardi in the late 90′s, and Molina the past couple of years are great examples. Both had/have at least a full run lower ERA’s than Jorge. It is what it is.
OMG! I am in heaven. I have actually found a website and writer that believes in Joba as a starter as I do. I finally resigned from the Yankee home page because I got so tired of “the Joba to the bullpen” remarks. So many people made a play on my nickname “Joba2bAce” until a YANKEE FAN used Joba2the bullpen. I lost it. I told him what he could do to himself (the first letter only)and the horse he rode in on. I am a 71 year old widow and a Native American. I have a lot of ethnic pride in what Joba and Jacoby are accomplishing in the MLB.
It was evident that Joba was not pitching well in ST,and he didn’t win a game until his 4th start yesterday. I read an article that AJ had taken Joba under his wing about the velocity of his pitches as the Toronto ace had done to him. First people complained that Joba would throw his arm off now they are concerned he isn’t throwing hard enough. No one seems to remember the pitcher that Joba was last year only that “other people” say he should be back in the pen.
I have made the same analogy that if you wanted a fastballer in the pen why not AJ or CC. One very intelligent poster made the remark that starters have more value than closers. Which they do, we all know that.
Joba has never been sent down to the minors (i.e. Hughes, Kennedy, et al) never figures in any trade talk. management has other plans for him.
But you know all this – - thanks for listening. I like your article and you have another fan!