Update on A-Rod and the Wanger
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 07, 2009 
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This from the AP:
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez played what could be his final rehab game Thursday, going 0-for-2 with two walks and putting in three innings of defense.
Coming back from March 9 surgery on his right hip, Rodriguez said “not yet” when asked if a decision had been made about rejoining the Yankees for Friday night’s game at Baltimore. He said he would be involved in a conference call with team officials about his status later Thursday.
The three-time AL MVP did shake hands and thank support staff at the Yankees’ minor league complex for their work after taking extra grounders and batting practice following the intrasquad game.
Rodriguez credited Dr. Marc Philippon, who operated on the hip, and Dr. Mark Lindsay, a soft-tissue expert who has worked with him daily in Florida, for the success of his rehab program.
“They have worked (hard) with me,” Rodriguez said. “Philippon did a good job with the surgery. I feel blessed.”
Also, Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, on the disabled list due to weakness of the abductor muscles in his hips, allowed three hits over five scoreless innings in the extended spring training game. He struck out seven during a 72-pitch outing.
“He was fine,” Yankees vice president Billy Connors said. “Good sinker. He’s feeling good, too. He’s healthy. That’s the most important thing.”
Wang, who missed the final 3 1/2 months last season with a right foot injury, said he felt better and hopes to return to the Yankees after one or two more minor league outings.
———-
The abbreviated outing is a sure sign that Alex is headed to Baltimore. He’ll probably be on a plane within a few hours. It also sounds like CMW is making good progress. We’ll see what Joe Girardi says later on.
Finally, some good Yankee news. Hopefully X and Bruney can make it back soon.
Great news about the Wanger, really hope he puts together a few more strong outings in the bus leagues and gets back to the Bronx to get that bad taste of April out of his mouth.
Did Wanger ever actually admit himself that he wasn’t feeling right? All I remember is apparent confusion that what he was doing wasn’t working.
Did the Wanger take any BP??? We could use another hitter as well. Actually after last year no more batting for him. Should send CC up to get a sac fly or two. He could hit a bit in the NL, might as well. If Nick can pitch, CC can hit ha-ha.
We really miss George
He would not have accepted this kind of play
is this guy on the mlb network multitasking – he sounds like he’s not focused on the conversation
great news on arod and CMW, while this and the redsox player who cheated story has no bearing on tonights game, maybe the karma has changed and this team starts making its own breaks
Just need to go to TMZ’s site. If there’s an A-rod sighting in Baltimore, they’ll have it first.
Bowa talked to Colin re: Manny. Said other players need to step up, they’re tired of hearing that they’re only winning because of Manny. Sure there will be a team meeting. Doesn’t think the testing is done right because they don’t test for HGH. Curious to see what the substance was.
Manny: \”I\’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.\”
Oh boy!
If Billy Connors is working with Wang, he’ll come back worse than when he left.
good news form the evil empire.. if the pen does not turn things around when Wang comes back if he is effective they may need to look at moving someone to the pen.. .I hate saying that but if there pen is a sieve that is a problem..
I like Coke regardless of his mistake last night, i like his approach, i like his attitude , i just like him and think he can contribute… so they have 2 arms mo and coke just need 4 more..
fatcess is a moron as others have said. mo is 39, and threw 18 pitches in the 9th, say he pitched a effective 10th and threw 16 more pitches for 35 total and gets hurt, then what would fatcessa be saying?????
fatcessa sumed up ; likes nat mclouth, thinks the boston minor league talent is great(never seen any of them play), thinks johan santana is the best pitcher in 30 years, loves Coca Cola by the liters, beleives in the gritty gutty gamer mantra, and overall considering this is his profession is ill informed, does almost no research(prospects etc.) and needs to listen to callers before he blasts them..
I could do a better job then him drunk…..
In light of ever slugger now being tainted Jeter should be be awarded all MVPs from 1996 to now.
Interesting note of the 2nd game of the Scranton DH (Scranton won the 1st game, 7-2, with Casey Possum winning), Steven Jackson started the 2nd game. 2 innings, 2 hits, (1 homer), 1 run (earmed), 0 walks, 2 strikeouts. Scranton leads 3-1.
I have a sore throat.
Need to go book a flight to Florida. I hear that’s where you need to go if you want to find a doctor.
Source: Ramirez’s substance a sexual enhancer
LOS ANGELES – A source close to Manny Ramirez(notes) said Thursday that the illegal substance for which the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger tested positive was not “an agent customarily used for performance enhancing.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Major League Baseball notified Ramirez of the positive test after Wednesday night’s Dodger victory over the Washington Nationals. Ramirez admitted to having taken the substance in question and declined to appeal. His 50-game suspension begins today.
“The substance is not a steroid and it is not human-growth hormone,” the source said.
————————————-
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
Good news on A-Rod & The Wanger……The Bruney injury is a killer….Is there any updates as to what is wrong with him and how long before he starts rehab assignments……..I wonder if Manny had some left over bennies from the old days….
Im sorry but you know those 350 dollar seats are going completely empty while the bleachers packed with true fans that got screwed over in this process continue to overload the bleacher seats each night while thousands of seats go empty because of upgrades and lazy, rich people who will buy tickets for 80 games and go to 10 of them. This franchise is a laughing stock right now and i hope they really feel the heat for this mockery that they call ticket prices. All this dumn@$s organization cares about is getting butts into the seats behind home plate. As for the fans that used to have great 75 dollar tickets to 20 games or so and are now sitting in the bleachers unable to get upgrades at all in their price range are the ones that can really hurt this organization by not showing up next year unless things change big time. They said our seats would be comparable last year – I DIDNT REALIZE THAT THE BLEACHERS WERE CONSIDERED COMPARABLE TO THE MAIN SEATS DOWN THE THIRD BASE LINE MORONS!
Casey Possum? jk. My buddy lives there and is at the game and said Fossum threw a couple 50 mph curves this morning.
As far as Jackson, he deserves a shot. He could be an arm in the pen. I wouldn’t pigeoon hole Aceves in the the log role, could that be Jackson as well.
on the Tomko front I am for giving him a chance but he has never been a effective MLB itcher for any stretch of time. maybe pitching 1 or 2 innings will help him< ithink he is a hard thrower but he is not the messiah…
curious to see the roster moves friday. hoping for a berroa send down with veras(waive no options, fairly risky) and a Arod adding and a John Rodriguez adding. Wished they had a contact hitter they can add off the bench, are there any in AAA?????
Great post on the Murray Chass website today ripping Selena Roberts a new one. Good to see that not everyone in the journalism profession is blindly supporting the queen of the anonymous source.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
If it’s true, hahahahahhahahahahahahah
sorry about reposting that didnt see it above
Pete,
Is Nady Down in Tampa rehabbing yet? or has he even had the procedure done?
Clemens used to use Viagara we’ve leared and it wasn’t to enhance his sex life. So finding out that Manny may have tested positive for a sexual drug doesn’t clear him of being a cheat. Sorry.
Would keep an eye on Russo. He was just activated and is hot. They put a lot development into him this offseason as a super utility player for the OF and INF. He just had a horrible spring.
“Is Nady Down in Tampa rehabbing yet? or has he even had the procedure done?”
I may be losing my mind, but I thought I saw X in the dugout during yesterday’s game. Now I wish I had rewound the ol’ dvr to check.
I need a new outfielder for my fantasy BB team. I cant even put Manny on the DL.
Murray Chass:
Will Rogers, it is said, never met a man he didn’t like. Selena Roberts never met an anonymous source she didn’t quote.
Roberts has written a book about Alex Rodriguez, and it is a journalistic abomination. That phrase probably won’t appear in any advertisement for the book, but it should to alert prospective readers what they would be getting.
http://www.murraychass.com/?p=700
Silly question for all those (correctly) going on about how terrible Fancessa is: why do you bother listening?
Apparently someone needs to remind Mike that Mo had shoulder surgery is 39 years old and it was cold and rainy last night.
NY Post says that Arod will join the Yanks tomorow. It’s on the main page but there isn’t an article to click on yet. How exciting bring the circus back…
Manny tested + for a Womans fertility drug.
Per ESPN
Fainaru-Wada saying it’s HCG. Female fertility drug used to mask steroids when coming off a cycle. Where’s the Viagra story coming from?
HCG linked to Giambi and others accused of using steroids.
who cares about the circus? how does that affect you in any way? these are pros and they should be able to deal with the media. having him back cannot hurt this team and that big team chemistry everyone preaches that has led us to 13-14.
HA HA!
Manny is pregnant, NOT a Roid user!
Manny being Manny wanting to be the first pregnant ball player in major league history.
A-Rod back and Manny testing positive? Wow interesting day, release Ortiz’ name while you’re at it.
steven j-
I do remember that conversation on this blog – about players using viagra (or similar) as perfomance enhancers of the baseball variety.
Interesting, anyway. Must be banned for a reason.
Good news about CMW. I guess it’s good news about Alex. I know he’s needed, but I wonder if waiting one more week would have been better? We’ll soon see, I suppose.
That’s suspicious itself. A womens Fertility Drug? Giambi tested positive for that too during the Balco stuff.
Manny just wanted to be the next octomom…
“Manny tested + for a Womans fertility drug.
Per ESPN”
How is this a big deal?
He didn’t take steroids or HGH. He took a woman’s fertility drug. Embarrassing, yes. But nothing to be outraged over and to say that his legacy will be tarnished. He didn’t cheat.
my guess is that the drug he got caught for is used as a masking agent for anabolic steroids
Wally Matthews -
How the heck did the Yankees pass on Santana?
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....349.column
fertility drugs are masking agents for other things (PEDS) so he looks even worse now IMO…
morning star, i made the same point one post ago…if everyone who complained about Fransesca stopped listening he would go away. From now on if you post about that terd, you need to preface the post with, “I’m an idiot for listening, let alone commenting on this idiot, but…”
Pat M,
Injury updates….
Nady: If his experimental treatment takes, he will be able to swing a bat in a week-10 days. If that happens, he could be back in 3 weeks.
Arod will be back tomorrow night.
Wang: Two more starts in the minors, then they will see. If his velocity and movement continues in a positive direction, he too could be back in 3 weeks.
Bruney: Elbow area still sore and has been shut down from playing catch. Until he can play catch pain free, he won’t be cleared to go to flat ground, back to the mound, rehab assignment, etc.
Best guess? Don’t expect him for another 4-6 weeks at best.
Marte: No word yet on his status.
Hope that helps.
would there be any other reason for taking a woman’s fertility drug?
Thedrug that ESPN is saying he used is indeed used to hid Steroid use…..That’s why it’s banned
The drug Manny used is a female fertility drug used by steroid users to get their testosterone levels back up after coming off steriods.
Blackout read a little about HCG and some of its uses one of which is a taken by people coming off steroid cycles
How is this a big deal?
He didn’t take steroids or HGH. He took a woman’s fertility drug. Embarrassing, yes. But nothing to be outraged over and to say that his legacy will be tarnished. He didn’t cheat.
____
This is a drug linked to masking steroid use. Ask giambi if it is a big deal.
“He didn’t take steroids or HGH. He took a woman’s fertility drug. Embarrassing, yes. But nothing to be outraged over and to say that his legacy will be tarnished. He didn’t cheat.”
That’s a little shaky to say with certainty, chief. More and more likely it’s looking like Manny got caught masking whatever he was using to deal with his various aches and pains at this late stage in his career.
“How the heck did the Yankees pass on Santana?”
We already did this last night, they shouldn’t have but lets hope CC settles down and becomes our ace.
would there be any other reason for taking a woman’s fertility drug?
___
exactly!
T.J. Quinn is a great reporter.
What the heck is he doing at ESPN?
Get a grip.
If an athlete is taking a women’s fertility drug, unless he is having problems getting pregnant, its being used to mask steroid use.
Geez, I get the “spin” from Red Sox fans but, really have a clue.
there is no other reason a healthy athlete would be taking a female fertility drug.
SJ44, Thanks….What is Bruney’s injury ??? Sounds like inflamation of the elbow tendon……
Manny taking a woman pregnancy drug?
Just Manny being Manny… nothing to see here. He didn’t take steroids like Clemens/ARod/Bonds
This is Pete’s comment in the last thread:
“A-Rod admitted it?
He told Gammons he used a substance from GNC.
Then he told the press conference it was an OTC product from the Dominican. He said he had no idea what it was. Oh, and he used it for three years. He never used the word “steroids.””
I realize it’s a waste of time to try to expect Pete to get facts right when it comes to ARod – but I didn’t see anyone else correct him on this, so for the record:
ARod never said what he took came from GNC. He declined to go into specifics about what he took with Gammons. He was talking about GNC when he was talking about how it’s a different era now.
Also, he DID say in the press conference that it was drug with the street name of “boli.” He may not have used the word “steroids”, but he “knew it wasn’t tic tacs” and it was completely clear that he was apologizing for knowingly taking a banned substance.
Arod back on friday
Per ESPN
People take estrogen to mask raised testosterone. Steroid test measure ratios, therefore if testosterone is high and estrogen is high, ratio will be 1:1, not 6:1.
now of course you know you can get female fertility drugs from GNC…
just kidding
Manny looking quite guilty.
Jackson has now pitched 4 innings with 4 hits, 2 strikeouts. 3-1 Scranton. 56 pitches, 34 strikes. Looks like they may be trying to stretch him out to start. Then again, it could be just a one time deal, but, it’ll be interesting to find out if there might be a shift for another option or to up his trade value.
Bill Plaschke was killing Manny
Said he wants him off the team and he ‘disgrace LA’ and wants him thrown out of baseball. He was heated
Yes, getting Johan Santana would have made all the difference last night. He hits what with RISP?
BTW, how did the Mets do in the playoffs with Johan Santana last year? Just wondering.
Wally,
There is a dead horse outside the Newsday building. Try beating on it for awhile.
Could Roids be the reason that Manny waited so long to sign a contract? Wait till it is out of his system?
so mlb network taped 1 one-hour show on this and are recycling…not the way to be “the source”
How many games do you get for doobage?
Pat M,
Strained flexor tendon in the right elbow.
Gotta say, this Manny stuff REALLY helps Arod.
If he can keep himself off Page 6, given the problems with this team, if he comes back and plays like ARod and acts like a human being off the field, its all setup for him to be a hero.
It really is. He helps this team, the redemption story can begin to be written.
For once, he actually gets a good break here. Hopefully, he takes advantage of it.
SJ , Your backhanded comments are simply the best….
One other note on the 2 Scranton games, Shelley Duncan hasn’t played in either game. Make whay tou want out of that.
Santana is just a monster. Last 20 starts – 25 earned runs.
Nothing bad to say about him, he is the best pitcher in baseball. He wouldn’t help us with RISP though, that’s the root of the problem. He also can’t pitch in relief.
GreenBeret7
May 7th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
One other note on the 2 Scranton games, Shelley Duncan hasn’t played in either game. Make whay tou want out of that.
~*~*~*~*~*
Facinating
manny got caught for HCG, hcg is a female fertility drug that is used to cycle off steroids. It naturally “jump starts” the production of testosterone again.
You think this will ever come out if Manny still with the yankees?
It is upsetting to hear that Bruney has had this injury since spring training and he tried to pitch threw it all of this time.
Bruney said he pitched with elbow pain throughout spring training. Bruney admitted it “probably wasn’t smart” to pitch through the injury during spring training, and that a team doctor warned him of possible repercussions if he continued to throw. “The doctor said I was rolling the dice, that I could have blown out my elbow,” he said.
———————————————————–
If he would of taken some time off right away then maybe he would be pitching right now. Players lying about injuries is obviously not the smart thing to do.
sj, you know more about arod than anyone and have previously said his personal life is a mess. do you think he’ll come back with a clear mind and get after it? or will he be distracted?
still? he was never on the yankees
Shelley coming back? We need more hitters, and we do not need 8 relievers now that we have aceves. But, do not send robertson or melancon back. Get rid of veras or albie.
“Geez, I get the “spin” from Red Sox fans but, really have a clue.”
Kinda like the spin that every time a Yankee surfaces in this scandal, you and Patrick and a few others say, well, it has yet to be proven how much steroids helps you. Suddenly, you hypocrites don’t seem to be tired of discussing steroids.
No one who played the last 15 years should be voted in the Hall. and if some clean players get punished in that they can thank their union for blocking steroid testing.
I’m laughing at the latest development. Manny is a womanizer. He was cheating on his wife for years. I think that was the reason why he wanted to move to California. To find all kinds of girls and not worry about the media printing stories about his affairs.
“http://www.murraychass.com/?p=700″
Great article, thanks Tom in NJ. Must read…
Gammons blaming Player’s Union on ESPN Radio. He won’t admit Manny looks guilty as hell.
You guys need to go to the YES site and read Jim Kaat’s blog titled, “Pitch to the count and the scoreboard”.
If you want to learn about pitching read it and memorize it.
Its the best piece written about pitching, and how its being taught (wrongly) I have read in years.
GREAT stuff.
Clomid is a masking agent but it is FDA approved for use in men as a way to raise low sperm counts.
Tex’s friend (Best starting 5 in the majors)
May 7th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Shelley coming back? We need more hitters, and we do not need 8 relievers now that we have aceves. But, do not send robertson or melancon back. Get rid of veras or albie.
————————————————————
I didn’t say that. I just said that he didn’t play in either game, one of which had a left hander starting.
Gammons protected A-Rod too
He is a schill for these players. He sympathizes with them. Atleast he is consistent though.
so tj quinn is saying he never failed a test, his blood test showed high levels of testosterone, mlb questioned it and looked into it and then they found documents of him taking HCG
And of course Manny only started cycling this year, right, Christina?
Why would they send a guy not on the 40 up? Isn’t Miranda on the roster?
Someone’s going out when A-rod comes back. Berroa?
I dont have any clue about elbow injuries…
Do flexor tendon injuries ever require surgery?
pat,
Are they saying that Manny’s trying to have kids?
How does a women’s fertility drug raise sperm count?
GB I wouldn’t consider trading Steven Jackson when the pen has shown as little as it has. Jackson deserves a shot up here along with Aceves. He has been a starter in the past and they were desperate for an arm given playing a twinbill and so many injuries in the rotation.
Imagine if A-Rod comes back and starts out in a deep slump as he tries to get his timing back?
Call up Shelly Duncan— he could provide some spark and fire to the team that we need
Wow Manny was using a fertility enhancer? Just wow…It’s funny and sad at the same time……and no, it’s not good news.
Very good news on Wang and Alex, though I still think it’s too soon for Alex to return. He’s not really had that many at bats – he’s going to be very rusty. I also expect him to get booed if he doesn’t get off to a good start
apparently if you are using the hormones to procreate, you need an MLB exemption…Manny did not have one
Pat M,
Just callin’ em as I see them.
JMO but, I think Arod finally gets it.
He’s jettisoned some hangers on, is actually listening to those who used to be in his life, and I think he sincerely wants to write a MUCH better chapter to his story than what’s been written the past few years.
The true test though will be when he is back with the Yankees.
Everybody finds “Jesus” in Tampa, working with kids and being in a dead town.
Its when he is back with the Yankees we will see if he is sincere about making positive changes in his life and sticking to them.
The way the season is shaking out, its all there for Arod to return with a clean slate.
The Selena Roberts book has bombed.
Manny flunking a test takes the national heat off him.
The team REALLY needs him.
Contrary to a lot of what’s been written, guys on the team like Arod. They really do.
More importantly, they KNOW how much he is needed. So, they will circle the wagons around him and provide cover.
He just has to do his part. Play hard, be accountable and conduct yourself like a human with “regular” people.
Do that and this season will be remembered as the “Redemption of Arod”.
Trenton was shut out and Ryan Pope was hammered, but, Kevin Whelen was great in his two innings. 0 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. 2nd game coming up.
SJ:
“For once, he actually gets a good break here. Hopefully, he takes advantage of it.”
Part of me is right there with you, wishing this guy the best. He is set up to be the hero, if only….
But the rest of me thinks it’s like Charlie Brown running up to kick the football while Lucy is holding it. He gets close and she pulls it away, every… single… time.
Good news on Wang and see ya soon Alex
SJ44:
Just read the blog, thanks for the heads up.
I’m not sure what ‘pitching to the count’ or ‘to the scoreboard’ means though. The message I’m getting from reading it sounds like ‘attack the strike zone’ to me. Are they the same thing?
thanks sj
“apparently if you are using the hormones to procreate, you need an MLB exemption…Manny did not have one”
Considering Manny was caught with female hormones, he’d also need a uterus if he was taking them to procreate.
Great response, Tom in N.J.
What’s the purpose of having Rivera if you’re not going to use him? The dumbest argument I’ve heard is that he’s 39. Let’s forget that he’s being paid 15 million dollars to do exactly this.. If he was hurt or just not feeling right, that would be fine but if this was a Girardi decision, how do you defend the guy?
“And of course Manny only started cycling this year, right, Christina?”
Honestly Mel, I hope he did just start this year. Otherwise MLB’s testing is a sham.
I’d not be surprised if Rodriguez comes back with a couple of homers in the Baltimore series, and then cools down for a week or so. His first few games will be strictly played on a big adrenaline rush. He did the same thing after missing those 24 games early last year.
“Considering Manny was caught with female hormones, he’d also need a uterus if he was taking them to procreate.”
I always thought it looked like he had Man(ny) boobs!
SJ,
I hope you’re right. He managed to stay out of the limelight in Colorado and in Tampa – there were no pictures published of him out at the clubs while rehabbing – which definitely took some restraint (because rehabbing has to be boring as hell, and there’s so much downtime).
Bruney was an idiot for trying to pitch through it. I understand trying to play through some pain, but knowing that one bad pitch could ruin your career and devastate the team is sheer stupidity. Now the Yankees are in deep because he didn’t tell them about this…….Sheesh.
Tom in N.J.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
“apparently if you are using the hormones to procreate, you need an MLB exemption…Manny did not have one”
Considering Manny was caught with female hormones, he’d also need a uterus if he was taking them to procreate.
*~*~*~*~*~
There is a way to use this hormone to increase sperm count according to ESPN (trust me, I’m no expert…I’m just repeating what I’m hearing) – but I did post the same thing you did earlier.
“Imagine if A-Rod comes back and starts out in a deep slump as he tries to get his timing back?”
Imagine it?
You can count on it.
Well maybe not a “deep” slump but the guy’s naturally gonna have a re-adjustment period.
Hasn’t really seen ML pitching in 7 months.
I was just trying to be silly Rishi.
Breaking news A-Rod returning. Sorry if late.
2 financially impacting things related to Manny:
1- The Dodgers make out as they are off and running and will no doubt win the NL west even with Manny being out 50 games. They end up saving 7mm on the seasons payroll due to the suspension.
2- Manny will come cheaper next year as I still want the Yanks to sign him
http://www.nationalmedicalclin.....ments.html
What it does is jump-start the body’s natural testosterone-creation process after cycling off the ‘roids.
GB,
Steven Jackson had a strong spot start but JB Cox did his best to mess it up. Cox could only get one out? At some point the Yankees have to get another arm in the SWB pen instead of Cox. Hopefully they try one of the excess RH starters on the 40 man.
Manny cannot possibly explain this away and it will be fascinating watching Theo Gammons… I mean PETER Gammons try to cover for him once it is made even more clear why this substance would ever be taken by a man.
I’m not enjoying this… but I must admit enjoying watching all the sanctimonious members of the media who villified Alex have to deal with this one.
Manny should actually get far more criticism and vitriol than Alex since he is caught with a banned substance years AFTER drug testing.
Journalists could learn a thing or two from Murray Chass. Apparently, not all media think selena roberts is a godsend who can do no wrong. Nice to finally see one person in the media or questions selena’s credibility and liberal use of anonymous sources to put it lightly. I KNEW this book would just end up a bomb exploding in selena’s face instead of arod’s. She is just not that good to write an entire book on the subject of arod’s steroid use and his lifestyle without it looking like an attack book and is trying to get rich off arod destruction.
“Breaking news A-Rod returning. Sorry if late.”
OMG!!!!!!!
I hadn’t heard that. AWESOME news.
A pitcher pitches with aches and pains all the time, probably over half of his games in a given year. Depends on where and how much pain and how much he can handle.
Are the Dodgers off the hook for the money? Doesn’t make sense that they would be. Where does the salary go?
“Hasn’t really seen ML pitching in 7 months.”
Won’t see any this weekend in Baltimore either.
It will come down to whether you want to believe Manny or not. Just like you could choose to believe Arod’s story or not…or Clemens…or Palmeiro…or Bonds…or Tejada…or Pettitte…or Ankiel…etc…
I, for one, believe everyone of these guys was attempting to gain an advantage and got caught.
SJ, Earlier I made the comparison of the Manny / Alex situation to the Boggs / Rose issue from 20 years ago….The spotlight shifts from one to the other…..Manny and Roberts book give Alex the platform to reinvent himself….Your assessment on this is clearly a break for # 13….
Tankus
May 7th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Call up Shelly Duncan—- he could provide some spark and fire to the team that we need
——
We could use him for the next Red Sox series in Fenway as his size will be needed when the bean balls start.
Jennifer:
Ramirez loses roughly $7M in salary as part of this suspension.
Don’t give Chass to much credit. Chass is just jumping on the Jason Whitlock bandwagon that has been driving for a while. Whitlock was relentless in his attacks on Roberts.
m
No one said that about Manny. Just know from a friend whose husband and her both took it. Helped her produce multiple eggs per cycle and it increased his sperm production so I know it has legal applications.
It’s amazing to me how oblivious St. Joe Torre is to his players frequently using PEDs over the past decade.
Returing firday is breaking news on espn news.
Its admirable that Pete wants to see this event clean up the game but NO ONE is going to clean up baseball.
There is no integrity left in the game.
And while I agree with Pete that more players should just say what theyve done instead of dancing around it, I’d also like to see some beat writers tell us they knew these guys have been juicing for years and just protected them the same way Selig, the managers, and everyone else in baseball has.
Jennifer when suspended it is without pay which will be approximately 7.7 million he will not get during this time. The Dodgers keep the money I believe
I can’t read Kaat’s article now, but I think it means that if the team has a sizeable lead, just throw strikes and if a few solo HRs are hit, so be it. No walking, no nibbling – be aggressive. If it’s a close game, adjust accordingly.
That makes sense and it was why I was disappointed with AJ last night…..and why I have been CC/Andy as well. They know the Yankees are having a very difficult time scoring runs and instead of holding the team down, they just give up tack on runs (many times walking batters). It’s disappointing.
I agree with SJ. First off, I’m thrilled the Roberts book has tanked. Alex just needs to say as little as possible to the media and he’ll be fine. His teammates missed him and they really need him……
Arod should text Manny today thanking him for taking a tiny bit of the heat off of him tomorrow…Even though I am sure the media idiots like Sherman will be ready to go in full force.
“I, for one, believe everyone of these guys was attempting to gain an advantage and got caught”
Agree steven J. Still, the number of guys attempting to gain an advantage and did NOT get caught dwarfs the number of those who have.
np,Tom…just checking
it is interesting that Chass basically says he has zero respect for Roberts and she has limited baseball knowledge..moreso because he would be the first “NY Times colleague” to come out against her
jennifer
May 7th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Are the Dodgers off the hook for the money? Doesn’t make sense that they would be. Where does the salary go?
————————————————————
The salary (about 7-7.5 Mil) will go back into the team’s player payroll, which gives the Dodgers that much to go out and rent a one year player.
Canseco thinks 100% of star players are on steroids.
No Betsy, he wasn’t an idiot.
You folks KILLED Carl Pavano DAILY for not pitching through things. You all wanted him to “tough it out”.
Now, you want to kill Bruney for TRYING to tough it out?
Can’t have it both ways.
The guy knows how much he is needed. Like Johnny Damon, who is playing with SEVERE shoulder pain right now, guys want to be part of the solution.
Therein lies the rub.
The peer pressure is to tough it out and help the team because everybody is playing with some type of pain.
The flip side is, how much risk do you put on the line to play with pain.
I guarantee you Betsy that if Brian Bruney shut himself down in ST with this injury, and was seen laughing on the bench, the blog and talk radio community would be KILLING the guy for not “toughin’it out”.
Sometimes, its best to try and understand the athlete’s perspective. Its not as black and white as you may think it is.
““Hasn’t really seen ML pitching in 7 months.”
Won’t see any this weekend in Baltimore either. ”
Uh oh… this team seems to better against ML pitching anyway.
Interesting:
http://deadspin.com/5244230/th.....eing-manny
SJ44, thanks for pointing out that Kaat Blog entry. It was excellent.
SJ44, thanks for pointing out that Kaat Blog entry. It was excellent.
SJ, good call on that article. I am no pitching coach, but it would seem that Kaat is spot on.
What manager has admitted to noticing PED use? Torre is no different than anyone else. If Tony LaRussa didn’t see it having managed Canseco, McGwire and now Pujols, nobody will. And yes, I did say Pujols.
Murph,
I hear ya. I am hoping he sees this is his last, best shot to rebuild his career and reputation.
I completely understand anybody’s reluctance to buy into the “New Arod”.
At this point, he has to show us by actions and not just words.
Wait – Is Manny really a woman?
“the number of guys attempting to gain an advantage and did NOT get caught dwarfs the number of those who have.”
Agreed, Steve B.
SJ bringing the goods as usual today. Nice posts man!
That’s true, SJ – and I’m not an athlete so I can’t pretend to know how they feel. Think about it, though – because he pitched through this, Bruney is out for a long time……how does he help himself or his team?
I still don’t get it… did they ever figure out what was wrong with Wang? All of a sudden he goes down to AAA and pitches well. Did he need arm strength, was it his foot, what was it?
What Kaat is saying is, early in the game, pitch to contact.
Dare hitters to beat you by throwing more strikes early in the count.
Since the failure rate of even a good hitter is 70%, the odds are that if the ball is put in play, its to the pitchers advantage.
Also, early in the game, even if you give up runs, your team still has a chance to come back and win the game.
The pitches you save early means, you can go later in the game, hide a hideous bullpen, and, when you are stronger late, can finish more games and hitters.
It will also cut down on walks. Especially leadoff walks, which often leads to rallies.
Its an “Old School” philosophy of pitching. But, its put more pitchers in the Hall of Fame than many of the guys who are teaching different pitching principles these days.
IMO, its the correct way to teach and develop young arms.
They did say it was some sort of a strength issue and that he was getting physical therapy
1 thing we have to say about A-Rod, the man does work hard and put in the hours to make himself a better player. That can not be denied.
I will welcome him back with ‘open arms’. This team needs his bat and veteran leadership on the field. We can no longer go on with a rookie like Pena at 3rd.
“I still don’t get it… did they ever figure out what was wrong with Wang? All of a sudden he goes down to AAA and pitches well. Did he need arm strength, was it his foot, what was it?”
AAA? Wang is pitching EST games. A bunch of young kids.
There is integrity in baseball just like there is in all other sports where guys are using PEDs, uppers or anything they can think of to get an edge.
Guys were using drugs and cheating in the 1930s and have never stopped. If you think the steroid era is the only one in which athletes have bent rules and used substances to get an edge then you need to grow up and go over it.
Competitive athletics has NEVER been completely clean and never will be. As has been said many times, if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’. Steroid users of this era or no bigger cheaters than the pill poppers of earlier years.
Hell even today guys continue to use chewing tobacco and dip snuff to get the buzz from a drug… nicotine. It has never had a damn thing to do with just chewing or the flavor or the culture or anything else.
I miss ARod so much. Cant wait to see him.
“Now, you want to kill Bruney for TRYING to tough it out?”
SJ, I think that at the very least, Bruney is obligated to let the Yankees know some pain exist and let them make a determination.
The Yankees KNOW Damon is playing thru pain.
There is a difference between toughing it out and being stupid. Especially when talking about an injury that can get worse without it being addressed. IMO, Bruney falls on the wrong side of the tough/stupid line. Nobody’s going to think less of him if he sits a week to 10 days in spring training, especially when it’s measured against missing 30-45 days of the regular season.
ESPN is saying ARod is playing tomorrow. No Yankee confirmation – 660
Betsy,
He thought he could pitch through it. It happens.
From the team perspective, they WANT players to be COMPLETELY honest with them re: injuries.
But, athletes are human beings.
No matter what they say, most of them listen to talk radio and scan the blogs. They know what’s being said.
So, they try to tough it out when they really shouldn’t.
That’s the problem.
I can’t kill the guy for that.
If the bullpen stinks because one guy got hurt, then you don’t have a good bullpen.
Other guys have to pitch in. On good teams, that’s what happens.
Thanks for the explanation, cheers
I have been around a lot of athletes. The hardest thing is learn when you can tough it out. Bruney’s career almost ended because in Arizona they said he couldn’t tough it out and was a bad apple.
SJ there is always a built-in rant available for ripping a player no matter what he does. Tough it out? You’re hurting the team. Don’t tough it out? You’re weak, just want to be paid, selfish and a jerk.
I personally think there is a faction of sports media that caters to that faction of sports fans who are bitter, broke and jealous. And anyway they can find to rip a player over a profession that know nothing about when it comes to excelling in they will do it.
SJ – Thanks for the link to the article. I think it even goes beyond the instruction to the mentality. In my opinion one of the biggest problems for guys like Kennedy and Hughes when they first came up was that they were scared of contact. Scared perhaps because they didn’t trust their stuff to get big league hitters out. Scared to give up runs. This was magnified when runners got on base and when the heart of a good hitting teams order came up. They tried to become even more fine – walking guys and falling behind.
I know Girardi has been preaching to throw strikes but these guys have to follow through. They also have to know they will not get slaughtered for giving up a solo home run.
Coke made an excellent pitch that the current best home run hitter in the game hit out. Pena one that battle. Hitters get paid too. I don’t think you can criticize Coke for that pitch – he threw it directly to within centimeters of the target.
Hughes has shown much, much better pure stuff this year then his injured year last year. Make the hitters earn their way on base. Joba as well. Lets see a guy hit his 96 mph moving fastball, or sick slider or curve or change.
That is Mo. He doesn’t try to strikeout the side (although he gets his share). Here’s the pitch, it will be a strike, try to hit it past the infield.
I’m seriously tired of NY Media (i.e. Mike Francessa) saying that Yankee Stadium is too expensive, empty, etc. They still have the highest average daily attendance. Shut your faces.
I wonder if Girardi is still going to tell the reporters today that he doesn’t know when Arod is coming back. Even though Arod could be on a plane coming to Balt. as he speaks.
hey RussW210,
Wang is not at AAA you clown:) Not even close. He’s at EST. A long way from being back. He can’t be rushed at al.
86w183
I’m sorry but thats bull. I’m not denying that athletes have been cheating since the invention of the sport, but the best of the best – guys like Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams, Robinson, etc) – did not use. Period. The best players in the sport, the guys that hit .400, the guys that got a hit in 56 games straight, the guys that could pull a ball to right field with only one arm working properly – those guys never used. The best never did. Now, all we have are all of our best players only getting that label because they are using.
I dont care if these guys do real drugs.. I loved the Mets in the 80s just like everybody else! But lets keep the ones that help them hit out of the sport before we claim it still has integrity. Those days are over, its no a sport, its entertainment.
“Hell even today guys continue to use chewing tobacco and dip snuff to get the buzz from a drug… nicotine. ”
What?
Russ,
He was diagosed as having weakness in his hips, which basically put himself out of alignment and impacted his foot and his delivery.
They are treated it with water/pool therapy to strength the hip muscles and core area.
Basically, that puts his entire body back into alignment and he can get back to delivering the ball from his natural delivery.
Look how jacked manny’s arms are:
http://deezshirts.com/home/wp-.....shirts.jpg
There is his supplier (sarcasm)
I hope A-Rod is playing tomorrow, but more importantly on Saturday…since I will be in Baltimore to see the Yanks live for the 1st time this year! Woooohooooo!
Mike is being totally blind. So because Manny is a “goofball” he couldn’t have taken steroids?
Unless he’s trying to get pregnant there is no other reason why an athlete should be taking women fertility drugs unless he covering PED usage.
Someone mentioned Jason Whitlock earlier…
This is from his latest article:
“Some of my critics are troubled by my focus on ESPN. They wrongly believe I’m hostile toward ESPN because I split with/was fired by the network. I chose to liberate my mouth from ESPN because the network’s business relationships with all of the major sports leagues stand in the way of free, creative speech. I’m occasionally hostile toward ESPN because it’s an arrogant, reckless, destructive monopoly, and I still enjoy being a journalist from time to time. ”
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....urnalists-
SJ, you, as always, are awesome. Great insights.
The main problem with coaching pitching now is everyone is more interested in “stuff.” Good velocity, good break. People are under concerned with the ability to throw strikes.
Sandy Koufax, who had maybe the greatest two pitches ever, was once asked “what is your best pitch?” Thinking his response would be either fastball or curveball. He said, “strike one.”
Leo Mazzone had the right philosophy. Learn to throw a fastball for a strike to all zones and work off of that. that made a lot of guys that didn’t great “stuff” millionaires.
This is kind of the problem with the Yankees pen now. They don’t attack the zone. When a pitcher is ahead in the count, the batters avg drops dramatically.
Well put. Thanks SJ.
SJ – Someone put up a link to an article that compared his delivery this year to last year. Among other issues was posture. I would imagine with a hip issue it would affect the posture which in turn would affect the mechanics.
Are there any whispers that he has simply “lost it” or is it pretty universal this is an injury that led to mechanical issues?
I brought up Whitlock before. He has been all over Roberts since the Duke debacle. He doesn’t hold any punches. I just don’t think Chass desrves loads of praise. He was a little late to the party.
Five iron,
Great points. Coke made a good pitch last night. Pena just beat him. That’s baseball.
Here’s what happens though.
The “goat” gets ripped by fans and talk shows. Unless he is tough enough to remain strong, blow off last night (yes, kiddies, you FORGET bad performances fast. That’s how you become a good relief pitcher) problems arise.
You start trying to be too fine, fall behind in counts, and you get drilled.
Sometimes, the other guy is just better in the confrontation.
Last night, it was Pena. That’s the way it goes.
Can’t change the way you attack hitters though.
If you do, you won’t last long in the show.
Vin,
You think Whitlock was talking about the bias Yankee coverage on the network?
Kevin Russo drove in the tie breaking run in the top of the 7th inning. He’s hitting everything since coming back. 45 at bats this year and a .467 average.
Jackson’s have a bad day, so far. 0-7 with 3 strikeouts.
I don’t know what you guys think of Kevin Russo but he’s a guy the organization has put a lot of effort into devoloping. He’s a super utlity player and was just activated at SWB.
He’s very hot and just had a one-out single with a guy at 3B for SWB. Imagine that hitting with RISP, granted it’s AAA but still.
SJ – Someone tell that to Melancon. From all I read he has a great head on his shoulders. Would love to see him bounce back from the walks and start throwing strikes again. I don’t believe he ever had control issues in the minors.
Re. Coke – I really like how he came back and put away the next 3 hitters. He didn’t let the hr get to him. Would have certainly been nice if they scored the run in the 9th so h would not have been needed or at minimum got one run across in the 10th, but not in the cards.
Jason Whitlock is the best sports columnist in the country right now.
You don’t have to agree with everything he says.
However, he’s agenda free. He isn’t “bought off” by anybody. That’s why he left ESPN.
ESPN bought off just about every major sports columnist in the country for their variety of shows. Consequently, they just began to parrot the company party line.
Love Brett Farve.
Hate Arod and Barry Bonds.
Love everything Red Sox.
Hate everything Yankees.
Jason hated the simplicity of these positions. He wanted DEPTH and CONTEXT to stories.
ESPN doesn’t do depth and context. That’s why he left.
He’s one of the last, independent sports voices in America.
Kind of sad when you think about it.
billy – it is also one ab. But Russo played winter ball and played all over the field. One thing the Yankees seem to have is a slew of utility infield types: Pena, Russo, Malec (to a lesser extent), Corona, E. Nunez, Snyder, Hilligoss.
SJ, I really think players ought to not read the newspapers and listen to sports radio. The media will pump you up when you’re good (and that can lead to a swelled head) and tear you down when you’re bad. I remember last year in ST, Ian Kennedy admitted that he pays attention to these things whereas Phil said that he didn’t – doesn’t read the papers, doesn’t listen to the radio. I always thought that was a healthy attitude Phil had.
Agreed SJ44.
I would have loved to see Jason on one of those E360 roundtable discussions on NESPN blasting the stories that were being discussed.
I’m not saying that Ramirez was clean. He may have been using steroids when he was with the Red Sox. Like I said on the previous thread it wouldnt suprise me if the majority of the players did steroids. Players like Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, Posada, Matsui, Ortiz and many others. Carlos Pena is another player I’m suspecting. He went from team to team not being able to hit many homeruns then all the sudden he goes to Tampa and starts htting like crazy. At this point It wouldnt surprise me if 90% of them taking some type of performance enhancement.
Said this before, You can play thru pain, you just don’t play when hurt….It’s a fine line…
Alan Horne on the mound right now for Trenton.
Just back from serious injury and still awhile to go – but he has the stuff to help the pen by mid-summer.
What is Sanchez’ eta? He was reassigned to Trenton. Is he close?
SJ:
I’ll pull for the guy anyway, much as it will hurt when Lucy pulls that football out… again.
Contrary to F.Scott Fitzgerald, I do believe there are second acts in American lives. If I didn’t believe that, I couldn’t do what I do. Everybody screws up, some screw up bigger than others. But pay your dues and you can come back. Maybe not as big or maybe just different, but he still has enough to come back.
(He’s got to have the “ganas”!)
“billy – it is also one ab. But Russo played winter ball and played all over the field. One thing the Yankees seem to have is a slew of utility infield types: Pena, Russo, Malec (to a lesser extent), Corona, E. Nunez, Snyder, Hilligoss.”
Yes it is one at-bat but in a tie game, I think that speaks volumes. Russo is more than just an infield type. He’s extremely versatile and is more than adequate when he’s played outfield.
I just think we will be seeing him at some point.
Five iron,
The problem with the Yankees, and developing young pitchers is, there is little room for error. That’s wrong.
Melancon stunk last night. But, has he been any worse than Jose Veras this year? No.
Put him back on the mound and see if the other night was an aberration or if it means he needs more AAA time.
Guys are going to have bad nights. That’s baseball.
Its how they bounce back is when you determine if they have the goods.
Phil Hughes is a classic example.
Last year, he would have melted down in that first inning against the Red Sox. This year, he battled.
He got hosed by the HP umpire and kept grinding.
The RESULTS, which is all some folks concentrate on, weren’t there the other night.
You know what? The RESULTS will be better if he continues to attack the zone and stays tough.
Joba has that toughness. That’s why he is special.
You need to develop young players. They don’t all come out of the minors finished products.
Can or will this franchise be patient enough to do so? Time will tell.
Also, thanks for the recap of Kaat’s article, SJ. It makes a LOT of sense…..I think that means that ERA for pitchers is overrated then. Let’s say CC goes out there and does exactly what the article suggested – and ends up with a 5.00 ERA but he’s had his share of wins or at least kept teams in the game. That would mean he’s done a good job…….but his numbers will look like garbage (and most fans will judge him on that).
Did I hear correctly? Francesca can’t/doesn’t believe the story about Manny using steroids? I guess Manny, McClouth and Arroyo are untouchable in his world.
billy – agreed. He has been hot all year and the Yankees seem to be high on him. He probably needs a bit more time back from the injury.
Just my guess but I think we get a few roster moves tomorrow when Arod returns.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....168084.htm
Scranton just hit Indianapolis with a 6 spot topped off by a 3 run homer by Miranda. Jackson has struck out again. 9-3 Scranton.
“Jason Whitlock is the best sports columnist in the country right now.”
Yeah no… His recent article was surprising (mainly because he was against Sharpton) however this guy always seems to bring race into the issue. One of his main points about why Barry Bonds is hated so much is because he’s black.
The question is will fans be patient. I think the Yankees will be patient with Joba and Phil….but as to Phil? We’ve already seen that they won’t. He’s 22 and already he’s a bust/overrated/mediocre/use whatever terms you want. I found a lot to be encouraged about by Phil’s game against the Sox. Last year, no way he makes Youkillis look that bad – he also made some very good pitches to very dangerous hitters. IMO, Phil (and any young pitcher) will learn more from those games than he will from starts where he dominates. He’s a smart, mature kid with a level head on his shoulders and a world of ability. If the Yankees don’t mess him up, he’s going to be an excellent pitcher.
Francessa said he was shocked, he didn’t even talk about Manny aside from 5 seconds at the beginning of the show.
Article about “switch-pitcher” Pat Venditte:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4145564
Michael Kay dislikes Joe Torre and he doesn’t even hide it
I love it lol
Given the spring Russo had, they will wait on him but everyone raves about him up and down the organization. As long as he can play an adequate outfield in sport start, etc, that versatility is huge.
I don’t get caught up in the morality of PED use. I really don’t.
In many ways, without boring the readers here, I think its the most overblown story in my lifetime.
I don’t look at players and ask, “Is he using”? I really don’t.
I love sports. I love the game. I enjoy great performances.
Guys who use? You do it at your own peril.
Take a look at the Steelers Dynasty teams of the 70′s. A team many thought was loaded with PED users.
Look at the team photo of the ’76 Steelers. At least count, at least 15 of them died young.
Is it worth it? I don’t think so but, its not my life.
I just don’t let it get in the way of my enjoyment of sports.
That Kaat article/blog post was a very good read
SJ – I am with you 1000%.
I have been fascinated by the psychological aspect o player development.
Remember last year after Kontos almost got traded – he was pitching decently before, but was lights out afterwards. Saw some quotes and he said something clicked and he felt he belonged.
It seems in the last 2 drafts and IFA periods a lot more emphasis has been placed on character. That is in part why Tabata is gone and you get guys like Melancon, Romine, Montero, Sosa, Mitchell, Marshall and even Gardner (although he lacks the necessary physical tools) who are determined to make it at any cost.
Coke is a battler, it took him years to make it. Melancon is reportedly a great character guy. To be successful in any field you have to take action. Sometimes that action leads to failure. What will determine ultimate success is how the individual learns from and reacts to failure.
Tankus May 7th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Francessa said he was shocked, he didn’t even talk about Manny aside from 5 seconds at the beginning of the show.
=============================
I’m not listening to Francesa, but for real? How is he not talking more about this? Whatever!
Russo plays more than the outfield. He plays all of the infield spots, too. His defense is good at some about and average at the others. Randy Velarde type player.
The great part of Scranton having guys do well is knowing thanks to a BS 40 man roster, it does us no good.
Seriously though, 13 pitchers, smart. Especially when at least 3 of them are just useless.
Ideally these guys can continue. As a season ticket holder in S/WB I enjoy watching guys who won’t get the chance to contribute to NY.
Barry Bonds IS hated in large part because he’s an arrogant black guy.
If he was white, or say, acting like Brett Farve, his coverage is completely different. Let’s not kid ourselves here.
Betsy,
First time I saw Catfish Hunter pitch live for the Yankees, he gave up 3 solo HR’s in the first inning.
There was only about 10,000 people watching him at the time. Yankee Stadium was not “the place to be” in the Mid-70′s.
Anyway, he comes off the field in the first inning, I am sitting behind the Yankee dugout, and Craig Nettles said to him, “I think the last one was hit off the end of the bat”.
Catfish starts cracking up.
He goes on to pitch 7 more innings of shutout baseball and gets the win.
Could you imagine in today’s world if Catfish Hunter walked off a mound after giving up 3 first inning HR’s LAUGHING??
It would make the Joba Chamberlain fist pumping “controversy” look tiny.
We are in a different time Betsy. Better in many ways, worse in others.
Just gotta ignore the noise and enjoy the game.
Its a LONG season and we aren’t even at the quarter pole yet.
Any word on why shelley duncan isnt playing? do we finally have a power hitter on the bench?
“Yeah no… His recent article was surprising (mainly because he was against Sharpton) however this guy always seems to bring race into the issue. One of his main points about why Barry Bonds is hated so much is because he’s black.”
==========================
His recent article against Sharpton was surprising? Please tell us why it was surpring?…Because he was against Sharpton?
You do realize what you’re saying, right?
Manny lied
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3958555
go to about 8 mins.
The problem is that Hughes needs to be perfect everytime out because this team is in a tailspin at the moment and when he doesn’t do well, it hurts us because we need to win games. The other starters, bullpen, and the offense are not doing him any favors and are putting the pressure on him. He can no longer just blend in, he pretty much has to be a solid contributor.
Also when he doesn’t do well, the mediots will continue to bring up Santana and how the Sox youngsters dominate and ours flop etc. and I’m sure Hughes hears that too.
The atmosphere right now is not conducive to development. It is a depressing/panicky mood where he has to pitch above his capabilities at the moment because nobody else is picking up the slack. Every game is a “must win”. Fans are booing and frustrated. Managers job is on the line.
Ideally… CC, AJ, Pettitte are all on a roll. Joba is pitching well. Bullpen does well. Offense starts to score runs. Then Hughes can just blend in as the #5. Now? He is expected to do more than he should. Hughes is going to be a stud, but this is not a good situation for him right now.
Tomko shuts ‘em down to end the game….perfect with 2 strikeouts. Kroenke gets the win with 1.2 innings and walking one with one strikeout. 9-3 Scranton.
Zach – Don’t bother. “E-Gawa” has shown through a multitude of posts that he disagrees just to disagree. He doesn’t speak from any point of knowledge.
“How is he not talking more about this?”
Francesa is completely ignoring it. All of about 2 minutes he’s talked about it.
I’m not listening right but I’m not sure has he heard the ESPN report about what Manny took. So he’s said that he doesn’t think of Manny as a PED user.
Shame Spencer—–
Delude yourself if you want, but you know nothing of what anyone has ever taken or not taken. Illegal amphetamines are just as much cheating as illegal steroids.
You know what the national media reaction towards steroids is these days? It’s Swin Flu hysteria.
The only problem is most of the sanctimony over steroid use is coming from the same people who covered there eyes, ears and note pads in 1998 and continued to do so until the leaking of Grand Jury testimony in the BALCO case.
Catfish lost the first five starts in 1975 after he signed that huge 2.5 million dollar contract…..He went on to win 35 games or so…….Michael Kay lettered in marbles when he was at Fordam…..I’m certain the Future HOF’er Joe Torre could care less about that putz…….
Tampa has won 5 of 7 and is starting to heat up.
The Yanks better get their act together soon. This isn’t 2007 anymore… the division is LOADED. Not going to win 13 of 18 games against Tampa/Baltimore/Toronto every year like we did in the past.
I know there was a bit of discussion here yesterday on Kroenke. Does he have any shot as a loogy? He has nice numbers this year but will his stuff translate?
Check that on The Catfish….25 games or so…Yikes
“Tomko shuts ‘em down to end the game….perfect with 2 strikeouts. Kroenke gets the win with 1.2 innings and walking one with one strikeout. 9-3 Scranton.”
Why isin’t he here yet?
Let’s see….
Alex comes back, they DFA Berroa.
That leaves a spot on the 40 man roster for Duncan, with a pitcher (Albie or Robertson?) going back to Scranton, which would add another bat on the bench.
Could be.
Sounds like Tomko is going to get a shot at some point, according to Tyler Kepner. That means another 40 man roster move is going to have to be made.
That will be a more interesting roster move.
Here’s your Best Sports columnist, Jason Whitlock’s finest:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....about-Babe
“Also, let me add that I don’t have much of a problem with white sports fans protecting the legacy of their athletic icons. Black people (and other racial groups) do the same thing.
As a kid, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird met on the basketball court, I kept my own stats because I was convinced the scorers cheated Magic. ”
“Are white fans really outraged by guys like Barry Bonds, or do they maybe just feel a little inadequate? “
No score in the Trenton game. Horne has two innings in, 1 hit, 1 strikeout. It’s a beginning…nothing more.
SJ – Girardi intimated yesterday that big roster moves were coming. I think we get a couple of moves today/tomorrow. It is a good time for some house keeping.
Easy decision… just DFA Veras. I would DFA Albaladejo but he still has an option left, so might as well just send him down.
They also need to make a roster move to get John Rodriquez or Vasquez on the roster, as well as a Kevin Russo.
Also no need to have Hacker on the 40 man
GB – I think Horne might help this year. He is far away having to come back from significant injury. But he has stuff. Before last season he was the next in line. He had good stuff hopefully it will be regained.
I admire columnists who are not afraid to discuss race openly. It’s important, and it’s useful.
As most here probably know, I don’t hate any of the steroid/PED users at all. There was clearly a pro-steroid culture in MLB from the nineties till testing in 2004. Baby Doc Selig is the main culprit with the MLBPA sharing that status.
Race is a factor in how Bonds is viewed, but so too is his rudeness, arrogance and 24/7 Prima Donna act during is SF playing days. It’s much the same reason why Bob Knight gets less credit than his coaching record warrants…. it’s hard to root for a pompous ass.
This speedy recovery better not be the result of some banned substance.
E-gawa -
Did you even read that whole article or just pull out some quotes to support you argument?? That article is spot on in most of the things it says.
Wow Kay just said that Arod is vindicated by Manny. I quote” Atleast A-rod admitted it” Please this man should be embarresed for this comment.
As I said in the post, you don’t have to agree with everything he writes. However, he pulls no punches, plays no favorites and EVERYTHING is written well.
He takes no days off with fluff in his columns.
The guy is great. I wish he had a bigger forum because he forces people to think and not just parrot the swill they are fed by ESPN and their cronies on a daily basis.
Travis, if Phrancise can find a way to be productive now IN THIS environment, it will go a long way toward his development. This is reality, you cant always set up situations the way you want them to be.
Just gotta take the ball every fifth and go battle. As long as he does that, he’ll be fine.
PS SJ, reading that Kaat article is gonna so help my MLB 2K9 pitching
Horne will not help tne New York Yankees this year. He might help the Trenton Yankees.
He’s just another marginal RHP who shows flashes of brilliance but will never be more than a 6th inning guy.
Before you ask, I’ve seen him pitchin person at least eight times. He’s okay, nothing more.
it just started pouring rain here on LI – how is it looking in the BX
Kay has no credibility… he is a Yankee/YES Network schill.
He has 0 objectivity… atleast Francessa is objective.
I don’t really understand Shelly Duncan over John Rodriguez or Todd Linden, other then the fact that Duncan has been there before in the clubhouse. He doesn’t offer much defensively and is all or nothing at the dish.
86 – Horne will at minimum help SWB. He will probably be there in a month or two.
I agree that Horne is a bullpen guy, but probably better than a 6th inning guy.
When did you see him pitch? If it was last year he was injured.
He has 0 objectivity… atleast Francessa is objective.
===================================
Francesa objective?
86w183, we can argue all we want.. but guys were NOT pumping themselves full of testosterone in the 30s. If you really think drugs like coke and meth are somehow performance enhancers you’re crazy.
We do agree however that the guys (like Pete) who are all up in arms over this and the other steroid scandals are full of it. These drugs clearly have been around for a long time and to pretend the people that followed them into the locker rooms every day didnt know is ridiculous.
Whitlock has integrity hoooooooha!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that is fed up with ESPN.
The Big Brother of sports. I’m not just talking about Whitlock lots of people here are fed up too.
So there is hope.
We have soooo many bench options. It is painful that we have gone 3 weeks with this putrid bench.
Rishi, it rained for 10 minutes then stopped i think we’ll be aight
^ Talking about in Long Island
SJ,
Agree completely with you on Bonds’ treatment and race and I’ll leave it at that.
As for Manny, the real story is he was using a masking agent. Clearly, someone somewhere is still educating these guys how to cheat the test.
Unfortunately, that person is really stupid and didn’t realize the masking agent would trigger a positive.
Can’t wait to hear the explanation for Manny’s trade from Boston was his “roid rage” outburst at the Red Sox employee over the ticket situation in Houston last year.
The Red Sox will try to distance themselves from this and it will be “we knew Manny was doing this and that’s why we traded him and paid his freight to LA”…
If Manny was using in Boston he wasn’t the only one.
Just makes that whole Mitchell Report more of a farce that seemed to target NY baseball teams.
Big surprise considering Mitchell’s standing with the Red Sox.
I was reading about HCG.
“As such, hCG is commonly used during and after steroid cycles to maintain and restore testicular size”
Manny concerned about the size of his sack?
Maybe he wanted to turn it Dodger Blue?
k, keith – i just saw the cloud come in and the rain come in in like 10 minsl…we’re still getting rain where I am on LI
Great news on Alex. Do the Yankees DFA Berroa tomorrow when Alex comes back or send Pena down to the minor leagues so he can play every day?
“E-gawa –
Did you even read that whole article or just pull out some quotes to support you argument?? That article is spot on in most of the things it says.”
Yeah I did read it and it’s BS. Yes, anyone that goes near Ruth seems to get hammered but it’s not a color thing. Unless of course, my TV was broken and Roger Maris is actually black? Mark McGwire too? Cmon.
“Manny was using a fertility enhancer?”
Would this have anything to do with the stuff Jose Canseco was caught trying to smuggle? Wasn’t that stuff what former steroid users take because steroids had shriveled their junk into dried up little raisins?
Of course he WOULD need a prescription for it wouldn’t he?
Not trying to beg the question to start something up … I really don’t know.
Whitlock is and always has been one of the finest writers in the sports…..I think from a small Mid-West town…Always writes a great piece blending sports with American culture
Ravech asked John Kruk what Joba gave us on Wednesday before showing the highlights, and Kruk responded “nothing”.
That alone should tell you all you need to know about ESPN.
Rishi where on the island do you live?
Bill Simmons on the Manny stuff:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....ortCat=mlb
I’m 10-15 min north of the Roosevelt Field Mall, Keith
Does anyone know if the Yankees are doing anything for those who bought the expensive single game tickets? Thanks.
ESPN is a joke. If it weren’t owned by Disney, I have no doubt that it would sink quicker than a Chien-Ming Wang fastball.. one from last year, that is. =P
Oh, I live in farmingdale around 15-20 mins east of roosevelt field
Trenton tied at 1-1, in the top of the 4th, Corona’s RBI double. Horne has 3 innings, 2 hits, 1 run (earned), 2 walk, 2 strikeouts. Has allowed two steals. Everything after getting first two batters out other than first inning double.
E-gawa
to ignore racial biases in this country (or any other country for that matter) is absurd. unfortunately it will only be black sports writers (the few that exist, that is) that will ever write about these clear biases, creating the illusion that these men are somehow overly sensitive to racial issues. bonds being black has changed how he is perceived by the public.
E-gawa -
You have a point on Maris, but no leg to stand on with McGwire. He was absolutely revered during 98 when he broke the record. Even though reporters found obvious evidence of PEDs in his locker. What do you think would have happened if Bonds would have had andro in his locker?!?!?!?! Cmon is right.
When Alex comes back they will probably send down Pena. Wait 10 days and if Alex is still healthy dfa Angel.
If you cant or wont talk about an issue of race, it will still be there. Its good to see at least SOMEONE has the cojones to do it. The only way to overcome an issue is to DEAL WITH IT. Sweeping it under the rug just makes it bigger when it comes out.
rodg12,
It wasn’t just McGwire in 98.. It was Sammy Sosa too. Remember that.
Jennifer, that actually makes sense. They do have to make sure that Alex is ok to play mostly every day.
thanks for the link, SA – thoughtful read
One more thing : GB7, how are you getting the minor league updates?
DFA Berroa.
Of course he’ll be hitting .320 for the Sox in 2 months.
I hope the Yanks hace a good road trip and Alex contributes. I’m thinking about his return to the stadium. I say he gets a positive reception.
It’s funny because as the clean guy and leading the Yanks in every offensive category, he’s booed.
Now that’s he’s exposed as some sort of monster he’ll be respected.
Unless he sucks. Then he’s gettin booed. We may love our fallen idols but there’s a limit!
Shame—- Never mentioned recreational drugs… I mentioned amphetemines. Popping amphetemines before a game is a more IMMEDIATE, direct PED than using steroids. Players have been popping pills forever.
Five Iron — I saw Horne in college and with Tampa. He’s not bad, but I never saw him as a MLB starter. He is very much like all the other RHP in the system…. better than some, worse than others.
“E-gawa
to ignore racial biases in this country (or any other country for that matter) is absurd. unfortunately it will only be black sports writers (the few that exist, that is) that will ever write about these clear biases, creating the illusion that these men are somehow overly sensitive to racial issues. bonds being black has changed how he is perceived by the public.”
To assume there is a racial bias is just as absurd. I think alot of people still recognize Hank Aaron as the HR king.. Last I checked, he isn’t white.
new post
Joekuh – Be a man and put your name on it
May 7th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
One more thing : GB7, how are you getting the minor league updates?
————————————————————
Radio feeds on the computer.
3-1 bottom of the 4th for Trenton lead. Fortenberry with sac fly and 22 year old catcher Jose Gil with RBI double.
SJ,
Great post about Kaat. I always liked him.I wonder why he never got a shot as pitching coach somewhere. He would have made a good one. Maybe he just uses too much common sense
Egawa
Pointing to Hank Aaron is a cop out. The game got its first black player not much more than 60 years ago, its a long road to real equality.
guys like gary sheffield are unfortunately the only ones who have pointed out the lack of inner city funding for the development of young, black, american players. meanwhile they spent millions on developing latin players from outside the US because they are easier for the mlb to take advantage of because of their economic situations. the fact that the mlb only has 8% of african american players tells you all you need to know.
Shame Spencer,
What does that have to do with anything that was said above? You’re taking this to something completely different.
Manny being Manny. Manny trying to be prettier and walk sexier.The guy is a joke and should be forever banned from mlb. To use anything after all this hoopla means you are either just ignorant,arrogant or simply stupid. To bad to, he is quite a hit machine.
Who knows what he’ll do when he gets back out there for us, but Wang is taking some steps it seems. That was good news posted about him. The most important thing is that he gets all his strength back before he returns. It sounds like he is on the right track. He could potentially stabalize our rotation if he comes back and is the Chien-Ming that we know.
This has probably been discussed on the previous thread about Manny and the use of HCG to reverse the effects of PEDs, but I attached this short article anyway. Notice the “increase in body Hair” with HCG.
http://www.nationalmedicalclin.....erone.html
Have the Yanks scored in the 1st inning yet this year? Seams like we are always behind right out of the gate.
Where is this Cervelli kid? Put him in already, give him a shot. Also I always hear that Molina is such a great defensive catcher which is why we deal with his aweful bat…. I never see him throw anyone out, he has let up some past balls…? Just dont see what’s so great about him defensively.
I am so happy to learn good news from Wang
Hope Wang can return Big leagus ASAP.
Wang Go Go Go …
I am from Taiwan.
I am so happy to learn good news from Wang
Hope Wang can return Big leagus ASAP.
Wang Go Go Go …
I am from Taiwan.
I am glad this happened as it is a reflection on the Red Sox and how they won a World Series with a tainted ball player.
who likes to eat……