Game 29: Yankees at Orioles (updated with A-Rod pre-game audio)
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- May
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YANKEES (13-15)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Cervelli C
Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (1-3, 4.85).
Sabathia vs. the Baltimore hitters.
ORIOLES (12-17)
Roberts 2B
Jones CF
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff 1B
Wigginton DH
Montanez LF
Moeller C
Izturis SS
Pitching: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (2-2, 5.05).
Guthrie vs. the New York hitters.
TIME/TV: 7:05, YES.
THE STATE OF THINGS: The Yankees have lost five straight and nine if their last 13. It’s the longest losing streak of the Joe Girardi Era and the longest since the Yankees dropped seven straight from April 20-27, 2007. They are 5.5 games out of first place.
THE RETURN: Alex Rodriguez will make his season debut today. He had surgery on his right hip on March 9, about a month after it was revealed that he was a steroid cheat. A-Rod played in seven extended spring training games in and around Tampa. He was 7 of 38 with eight walks, eight strikeouts and four home runs.
HERE’S HOW MUCH THEY’VE MISSED HIM: The Yankees have used Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena and Angel Berroa at third base in the absence of Rodriguez. They have hit a combined .202 with a .248 OBP and a .283 SLG. They have no home runs and 10 RBI.
MOVES MADE: Catcher Kevin Cash was called up. Jose Molina is on the DL and RHP Mark Melancon was optioned out. There is a 40-man move as yet unknown. If they’re keeping Berroa around that wouldn’t seem to make much sense. But what does with that roster?
HOW LOW CAN CANO GO? Robinson Cano is 1 for 21 in the last five games with no runs scored and no RBI. His batting average has gone from .378 to .319.
DAMON HEATS UP: Johnny Dangerously is 8 of 13 with five extra-base hits and seven RBI in the last three games. He has homered in four of the last seven games.
MATSUI MATTERS: Godzilla has a 15-game hit streak as a starter. He is 21 of his last 60 with eight extra-base hits and 10 RBI.
PITCHING PROBLEMS: The Yankees have the second-worst ERA in the AL (5.77) and lead the league with walks.
AT LEAST THE FANS HERE LOVE HIM: Mark Teixeira was 4 for 16 before he hurt his left wrist. He is 15 of 80 since.
UN-CLUTCH: The Yankees have stranded 40 runners in the last four games and are 6 of 43 (.140) with runners in scoring position.
Back with much more later on. We’re hoping to bring you some A-Rod pre-game audio depending on what the circumstances are.
I’m also scheduled to be on ESPN News at 3:40 p.m.
UPDATE, 4:19 p.m.: The return of A-Rod has the national media out in force and most of the players are hiding out.
No press conferences until later, closer to BP. Alex is thinner than last we saw him. He seemed happy to be back. Short haircut, no frosted tips.
Cervelli said his experience with CC was limited to bullpen work in spring training.
UPDATE, 5:12 p.m.: A-Rod just said “no” asked if he took steroids in high school or as a Yankee.
He said be unsure of how he would feel on the field. Personally, he said he needed to straighten out his life.
“I needed to look in the mirror and grow up,” he said.
UPDATE, 6:06 p.m.: Terrible news for Ian Kennedy. He has an aneurysm and will have surgery in New York on Tuesday. The same surgeon that worked on David Cone, Dr. George Todd, will do the surgery.
UPDATE, 6:11 p.m.: Here is the audio of A-Rod’s pre-game press conference:
It was a very chaotic setting. Instead of having the press conference in the interview room at Camden Yards, which was unoccupied, the Yankees had Rodriguez meet with reporters in the dugout. There were dozens of TV cameras, radio reporters and print reporters pushing and shoving to try and get close enough to hear him.
Here’s the audio. It’s just the segment he did with the print reporters:
UPDATE, 6:21 p.m.: Just to Alex for a few minutes in the dugout during BP. He said that Chien-Ming Wang is working with the same rehab therapist he had — Dr. Mark Lindsay — and is making great progress.
“I’d still be a month away if not for Lindsay,” A-Rod said. “Wang looks different, he’s a lot stronger and his legs are better. He’s going to get back and be fine.”
Alex is an unusual dude. He’s standing there talking to Sweeny Murti and I when Jeter walked by. “You gotta help me out there, Jeet,” he says. “I’m going to be nervous. Very nervous.”
“What?” Jeter said with a quizzical look.
“Nervous,” Alex said. “I’m going to need your help.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Jeter said.
I have no idea whether A-Rod was kidding or not. It was hard to tell. I hope he was. Jeter looked at him like he was crazy.
UPDATE, 6:31 p.m.: Here’s the roster move: RHP Steven Jackson was DFA’d.
I have no idea why they’re keeping Berroa around. I guess in case Alex gets hurt again. I asked Girardi and he hinted that more moves are on the way.
UPDATE, 6:36 p.m.: A little more on Ian Kennedy. The aneurysm is under his armpit and it’s what was causing the numbness in his fingers. He’ll be operated on at Roosevelt Hospital on Tuesday. No idea yet on the timetable. But Cone came back fairly quickly, all things considered. He was out four months.
It’s a real shame for Ian, who pitched so well in winter ball and was off to a great start for Scranton.
UPDATE, 6:54 p.m.: Here’s a shot of Alex in the dugout.
I have a lot of newspaper work to do, but I will try and update the blog as needed. Enjoy the game. It should be interesting with everything that is going on.
Meanwhile, Steven Jackson had a 1.88 ERA at Scranton. He had allowed 16 hits in 14.1 innings and struck out only eight. But, still. I would expect some other club to want him.
They just introduced Alex and it was the usual amount of booing. Nothing more. They hate Tex more here.
UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: It’s like a movie. One pitch and he crushes a three-run homer. The Yankees have the lead for the first time since Saturday.
The crowd was booing when Alex came to the plate. There were approximately 30-40 people waving these large foam syringes around.
There is a a very sparse crowd here, fewer Yankees fans than usual. Lots of empty seats.
UPDATE, 7:26 p.m.: Wow, it would seem young Mr. Cervelli can throw the baseball. Even if the umpire blew the call. Jones was safe. But heck of a throw.
UPDATE, 8:25 p.m.: A-Rod will be the story of this game and rightfully so. But Cartsen Charles has arrived as a Yankee: 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. He’s mowing down the O’s. He has retired 14 of the last 15.
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on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 3:28 pm by Peter Abraham.
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iTunes
Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
“Alex Rodriguez will make his season debut today. He had surgery on his right hip on March 9, about a month after it was revealed that he was a steroid cheat.”
…along with the rest of baseball
Wow Pete, that sounds like a bad team.
Any word on Molina’s MRI?
Just win a game
Aunt Becca
Grade 2 strain. On the 15 day DL.
Pete, what is RISP line of Ransom, Berroa, Gardner, Molina and Pena? In other words, are all Yankees terrible, or is it just that those who are terrible are getting bulk of RISP opportunities?
Let’s make a fresh new start and win some games.Go yankees!
“What more does Melancon have to prove in AAA?”
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why do people say that?
the yankees at the mlb level are not some scrub team that young players can make mistakes for a few years before learning their craft.
there probably should be a quadruple A level for teams like the yankees who don’t have the luxury of young players learning at the mlb level.
the yankees still send up players who can’t bunt and pitchers who can’t throw strikes. very few come out of triple a ready to play. wang, cano, joba. who else ?
the twins do it right. their players stay down longer. their pitchers are about two years older than yankee pitchers when brought up for good. but when they are finally put in the rotation at 24-25 they are more seasoned and perform better.
Come on, win at least one game this week.
PeteAbe’s blog entry had no Angel Berroa jokes. What’s up with that?
I would give Cash the start over Cervelli
I hope the Yanks don’t let the media vulchers near Arod…Sherman, cough…
Cerevelli reminds me of Russell Martin
pete on espn news now
“Cervelli reminds me of Russell Martin”
We could only hope.
Perfectly said.
What has Melancon have “left to prove in AAA”. A LOT.
If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have put 10 of the 18 hitters he has faced on base in his time here.
I’m as high on Mark Melancon as anybody on this board.
But, you can’t saddle the manager with a guy who isn’t yet ready to assume the load you have planned for him. He’s not ready yet.
I don’t want to hear, “he wasn’t given an opportunity”. I say BS on that.
He WAS given the shot and showed he wasn’t ready yet.
As ready said, he’s not going to get 20 appearances in a row here unless he produces.
Its the same people that want Brett Gardner to have the same AB’s as Melky Cabrera to be “fair”.
Its not about fair. Its about production.
Melancon got a taste here and knows what he has to do.
Like Phil Hughes before him, he will be better when he comes back than he is right now.
Pete on tv (on the phone)!
I would have DH’d Alex just for tonight but I’m glad he’s back.
“Let’s make a fresh new start and win some games.Go yankees!”
Roger(the new amsterdam yankees )-
it’s a new opening day right.
send over some of that dutch national team spirit.
it worked for them.
CC to Cervelli?
“Cervelli reminds me of Russell Martin”
more like La Duca,one thing is for sure I bet he hits better than Molina.
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
what is pete saying? sorry, stuck at work.
Does anyone know what moves were made today?
Who is the back up catcher?
Who was sent down with A-Rod up?
Did Pete already tell us and I missed it?
“the twins do it right. their players stay down longer. their pitchers are about two years older than yankee pitchers when brought up for good. but when they are finally put in the rotation at 24-25 they are more seasoned and perform better.”
The twins do it right? oh yea…with all there success and rings they have accumulated over the past 15 years! haha
I bet Swish is happy to get away from Yankee stadium.
Home: 4/36 OBP: .360 SLG: .167 AVG: .111 0 HR
Away: 19/53 OBP: .424 SLG: .887 AVG: .358 7 HR
So we have Berroa, Pena and Arod on the 25 man roster? Why?
Here’s hoping the top of the line up does its job.
SJ
Why the imposter act? What do you get out of it?
” I say BS on that.” The real SJ would not speak that way.
Get a life.
Pete said Cervelli is catching tonight…Does anyone know if he is good at throwing out runners? Or will Roberts and Nick just run wild.
NY5
Melancon down to make room for Alex
Cash up no move made to get him on 40 man yet
Can Swish catch?
I agree we do not need to keep Berroa. If a-rod goes down, we can bring up kevin russo.
Nice job, Pete.
NY5,
Cash is backup for tonight.
Melancon down
Molina DL
Alex activated
Cash added (don’t know what 40-man move was made yet)
Does Cervelli speak fluent English?
If not, does a translator need to come to the mound when Cervelli/CC need to meet?
DFA Berrora and Call up Miranda.
Just seeing A-Rod in the line-up over the likes of Pena/Berroa is refreshing. However Posada and Molina out really hurts. I have heard that Nady might be back within 2 weeks is that even possible given his injury?
Arod b/c he’s Arod. Pena b/c he can field and hit off then bench, Berroa b/c the kids need to look at him and say “you see if he isn’t pink slipped, no way I will”
Duncan over Miranda.
Thanks Pat
“Pete said Cervelli is catching tonight…Does anyone know if he is good at throwing out runners? Or will Roberts and Nick just run wild.”
You don’t run on Cervelli’s arm, he can gun it.
And yes he knows english., Piazza loved him in the WBC for what that’s worth.
20+ innings at AAA, and Melancon is the best reliever ever to play at that level? Come guys, that is just stupid.
If I am the Yankees, I would have him come with runners on base much more frequently. He just didn’t have that experience before he came up. He has been good at working out of his own jams in the minors but he still has a lot to Learn.
Nice job, Pete.
Trisha, you’ll be happy to hear that the interviewer asked how CC would be pitching to a new catcher, now that Molina’s gone. He prefaced it by saying he was pitching better to lately (with Molina).
Pete said “Yeah…” Does he start every answer with that? haha. Said he doesn’t even know if Cervelli caught CC in camp because he was with the Italian team. Also said that he was batting .190 @ AA just a couple of days ago.
I see that Girardi has swapped Cano with Swisher in the lineup. Makes sense. When Robbie was raking, you wanted him to get up more often, and heck with the righty-lefty thing. Now that he’s slumping, breaking of the lefties becomes a priority.
If Cano’s slump goes on for another couple of days, I’d like to see Girardi give him a day or two off and put Pena at 2nd.
“Can Swish catch?
I agree we do not need to keep Berroa. If a-rod goes down, we can bring up kevin russo.”
I love Russo but he’s missed a lot of time and rushing Melancon did wonders. I wouldn’t move Russo too quickly. He needs to gets starts all over. His strength will be as a super utility guy, not our starting 3B/
I don’t think 4 innings can prove if someone is ready to pitch here or not. He was brought into very weird spots. 1 time it was with the bases loaded, 2 other in high pressure Sox games against the middle of the order. Does he need to throw 4 shut out innings. I think alittle bit too much was expected of him.
This team has to start playing like Yankees.
I’ve been around for Ruth, Mantle, Marist, Damaggio, Ford, Yogi, Whitey etc. and saw them all play. And this team is NOT playing like the greats before them. Those guys had heart and grit and knew what it meant to put on the pinstripes and represent the Yankees uniform well.
This group does not know how to do that. I suggest Girardi show these guys tapes of the old Yankees in the 20s and 30s and see how they played compared to the current team. These players have a lot to learn about being true Yankees.
“Duncan over Miranda.”
Shelley hurt his shoulder. So no and no he ain’t better than Miranda.
ARod/Melancon; Molina/Cash. That means nothing needs to be done with Berroa; he seems the likely target to DFA in order to put Cash on the 40 but it could be a minor league pitcher on the 40 that gets released or DFA’d instead or Nady to the 60 day DL.
Having both Pena and Berroa on the bench at the same time doesn’t seem to make sense, but they could (and should) have sent down Melancon earlier this week and brought up Miranda and did not, so who knows?
I love Russo but he’s missed a lot of time and rushing Melancon did wonders. I wouldn’t move Russo too quickly. He needs to gets starts all over. His strength will be as a super utility guy, not our starting 3B
Pena would go back to starting at 3rd.
Russo would be the back up. Unless he is going to be a starter one day for us, who cares if we move him slowly.
Marist? Damaggio?
Miranda is a 1st baseman and we do not need a third guy there to play first base.
Ask Melancon how often he came into the minors in games with runners on, the answer would be few and far between. Keep an eye on the SWB games he pitches, he will enter more games in thos situations.
CC and Cervelli need to make a code for Italian food.
Pizza=curveball
Cannoli=changeup
Ziti=fastball
Just no meatballs, please!
If I was manager I would start Cash rather than Cervelli. Not sure if anyone agrees with that but, at least Cash has a little experience. Unless its because he came off of injury list the yanks are being cautious so they put cervelli first?
Duncan has a sore shoulder: http://community.thetimes-trib.....ulder.aspx
Besides, both Duncan and Miranda have strong platoon splits and most relievers are righties. So I’d go with the lefty Miranda anyway.
Welcome back A-Rod! Put all this B.S. behind you and go out there and kill it.
RISP and bullpen have been the death of the yanks over the past couple of years.
The bullpen needs a bailout BAD!!
“Miranda is a 1st baseman and we do not need a third guy there to play first base.”
Our offense is anemic enough, Swisher as backup at 1B? I don’t want GGBG in the lineup if he continues to dig himself holes at the plate
i am an orioles fan!
“Miranda is a 1st baseman and we do not need a third guy there to play first base.”
You miss the point; Miranda’s use is strictly as a pinch hitter for Cervelli/Cash. JRod or Linden may be better in that role, but would require a separate 40 man roster move. Miranda’s the only hitter left on the current 40 man which is why he’s the most likely suspect in the guessing game we are playing.
A-Rod needs to hit 4 homeruns tonight or be booed tex style!
sarcasm
“The twins do it right? oh yea…with all there success and rings they have accumulated over the past 15 years! haha”
look at the stats and learn something:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....p;type=reg
baker 27
slowey 25
blackburn 27
perkins 26
liriano 25 ( he’s the exception because he was so talented)
garza 25 ( brought to mlb ready by the twins at age 24)
now that’s a young home grown staff and because they didn’t bring them up too soon their mlb meter didn’t start ticking too soon either.
hughes is already probably in his third year as far as time clicked off. all that time on the DL was time ticking off that the yankees don’t get back as cheap time. his free agency is going to come very young.
I think Cash gets the bulk of starts but he just was activated from a shoulder injury. don’t have a problem with Cervelli behind the plate.
Will Jeter ever go back to hitting line drives? He seems to hit it on the ground 85% of the time the past 2 years. I can understand losing some power and bat speed with age, but I never expected to see him look like this so quickly.
Randy I, Your comparison of the Yankee farm system and the Twins oganizational philosophy is night & day….There was a time when a player came to The Bronx, they played and were ready to play Yankee Baseball…It was a mindset, ask Mike Lowell….Cashman learned from the great Gene Michael, but has the daunting task of being a contender and yet produce a solid farm base….By the way, Stick learned much from the Dodger system and was a very good non hitting SS…Much like Mark Balenger…He always took time to work with the young infielders after practice during spring training….Had a good eye for talent and potential…
“Cervelli caught CC in camp because he was with the Italian team”
For some reason I thought I read somewhere that Cervelli i Venezuelan? Maybe half?
CaptainsCorner, Melancon just completely lost it though on the mound against the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Being in the Stadium that night it was hard to watch. He couldn’t throw the ball over the plate, period–he was either shellshocked from his poor outing against Anaheim, or who knows. It wasn’t pretty, though. It also really rankled me that the crowd turned on him when he walked the 3 straight guys. It gives Yankees fans as a whole a bad name when the bozo fans that know nothing about their own team start giving him all kinds of grief without either understanding or acknowledging that the guy is the future of the bullpen.
Might be time to give Robbie a day off to think about things. Now with ARod back, you can get Jeter and Cano a day off in the next week or so.
cervelli is the least of our problems.
they don’t hit with runners on unless you are johnny damon.
Tex’s friend writes: “Miranda is a 1st baseman and we do not need a third guy there to play first base.”
The team needs someone better than Pena or Gardner to pinch-hit for the catcher in late innings. Position does not matter.
yeah and apparantly from the last few games/years Jeter can’t hit a sacrifice fly…and everyone still gives him a pass
Earl, I agree that swagger and attitude is a big thing missing from the Yankees for the past 3-4 years…ever since the Sox came back from being down 3-0 against us no one has looked at the Yankees as a team to be feared, and the Yankees players have looked like they are trying too hard not to lose as opposed to trying to win…
BillDev, as a Yankees fan I am looking forward to crashing the party this weekend. I know the O’s fans outnumbered the Yankees in the opening series, but this weekend it will be you that is outnumbered in your own building…that can not feel good
number 2 for prez
May 8th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
“the twins do it right. their players stay down longer. their pitchers are about two years older than yankee pitchers when brought up for good. but when they are finally put in the rotation at 24-25 they are more seasoned and perform better.”
The twins do it right? oh yea…with all there success and rings they have accumulated over the past 15 years! hahaha”"
Great point, Randy, the bar is down to the left.
Cervelli was born and raised in Venezuela. His father is Italian.
“don’t have a problem with Cervelli behind the plate.”
Cervelli has had so few starts above A level (I think I’m right on that), I’m worried major league pitchers are just going to overpower him at this point in his development. That’s why I’d go with Cash for the bulk of the starts. Hopefully I’m wrong about Cervelli.
lay off tex, you know he did have that 3 run double. and that is the only hit with risp in the last 30. but he still had that one.
someone making 180 mil shouldnt need alex behind him to be able to hit the ball.
rock the sox,
Yes, I think he’s half-half. He said he’s a Venezualan at heart, but he was happy to play for the Italian team (presuming there was no spot on the Ven. team).
Tex’s friend writes: “Miranda is a 1st baseman and we do not need a third guy there to play first base.”
The team needs someone better than Pena or Gardner to pinch-hit for the catcher in late innings. Position does not matter.
__
On second thought, maybe Mirandi can start at first until Tex remembers how to hit.
All the people complaining about Cash not playing, calm down. He’s just joining the team today. At least Cervelli has been around for a couple of days and might have at least caught CC or some of the other pitchers in the bullpen at some point to at least familiarize himself with them a little bit.
The idea that Cash should immediately be behind the plate is a little reactionary and making something out of nothing, IMO. He is going to play, but let him get situated for a day, and maybe wait until tomorrow night so he can catch Hughes who he most likely caught once or twice or is at least more familiar with from his time down in AAA.
This is both funny and sad at the same time, Canseco called a press conference last night. Picture linked.
http://www.faniq.com/blog/Jose.....Blog-23596
The real question is Sabathia going to earn his money or not? He is living the life of luxury, lording over the common man, and he is stinking up the joint. Win or opt out in 3 years.
Cash/Cervelli, it really doesn’t matter. Neither is going to contribute offensively. Just hope they can at least catch the ball and that Cashman is on the phone.
“Cervelli has had so few starts above A level (I think I’m right on that), I’m worried major league pitchers are just going to overpower him at this point in his development. That’s why I’d go with Cash for the bulk of the starts. Hopefully I’m wrong about Cervelli.”
I am just talking tonight at least. I was impressed with Cervelli with how he framed the pitches, etc. That’s a good skill. Hopefully he’s not overmatched at the plate but he was at AA.
randy your obsession with the Twins is unhealthy.
You are right though, they do a good job of developing young pitching. Unfortunately in recent years they have done a horrible job of getting good value from trades.
I would prefer Melancon to stay in the majors. He dominated AAA, the only way he’s going to get better is to get major league innings. Send down Albaladejo or something. Oh well, at least now Melancon will get more consistent work.
pat — You know the guy doesn’t even want to be there. He is sitting in the second row off to the side. He could have had front row center.
Would much prefer that Kevin Cash works with CC and AJ
Who likes to eat……….Pete Ab does…needs to get on biggest loser and stop shoveling Donuts down his gullet.
Cervelli played for the italian team on the WBC?remember the dutch catcher Kenley Jansen?now that’s an arm!
Pat, I could give you a transcript of that press conference and I’ve been here in VA the whole time. here it goes…
it started with Canseco stepping to the podium. He proceeded to take a sip of water and then said, “see I was right guys!” He answered all 0 questions that were asked of him, but was sure to mention that he would be writing another book on the prevalance of steriods in the White House shortly after training and fighting 18 midgets in a MMA match. Sadly, no one was left to hear him pimp himself as the one “reporter” was actually a hotel guest who realized he was in the wrong conference and quickly departed.
(sorry, slow work day guys)
Bring Back Sal Fasano!
Blue Jays Rule is an a-hole!
kick him out!
Cervelli has nothing left to learn in Italy.
Maybe Cervelli will be the next babe Ruth.
We can hope.
Pete,
I love your blog and the info contained therein, however, recent comments like “since he revealed he was a steroid cheat” and the sarcastic tone of every “Joba should start” post are really making you sound a little silly, IMO.
Tex stop crying your team is over paid over rated deal with it im sure you could stand to shed some 2 stay off the cheese steaks
Tex, no response is the best response in this situation…John, we’ve been down this path before and it leads no-where
“Who likes to eat……….Pete Ab does…needs to get on biggest loser and stop shoveling Donuts down his gullet.”
Do yourself a favor, go to the nearest busy street and walk into traffic.
“Would much prefer that Kevin Cash works with CC and AJ”
Lance, like someone else said maybe they started Cervelli tonight over Cash because of Cash just coming off the DL. They could be being cautious right now. I’d much prefer Cash over Cervelli to catch for AJ & CC but, we got to give the kid a chance.
hokiehill
Him standing at the podium was the funniest part. Why not just go sit next to the one guy who showed.
Blue Jays Rule
May 8th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Tex stop crying your team is over paid over rated deal with it im sure you could stand to shed some 2 stay off the cheese steaks
—————————-
I guess they don’t teach grammer in Canada.
How sad is it that there are no Blue Jays blogs? You’d think they’d have some people jump on their bandwagon with their hot start outside the AL East.
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Cervelli C
This is a GOOD line-up
WAKE the HELL UP and hit!
id rather push u into traffic dont hate on me please
Adding A-Rod won’t matter if only Damon hits in the clutch, and the bullpen woes just continue to heighten. Although, if A-Rod does disappoint, he can do no worse than Tex. They’ll be lineup buddies for the next 8 years, affording the Yankees great flexibility to do other things with their roster.
Thanks Bob go play in traffic 2
Pat, 2 reasons…
because if you were that guy, wouldn’t you run away?
it’s also likely that in Canseco’s mind, the room was full of well respected baseball figures applauding him for being the savior of the game…
Blue Jays Rule,
1st of all the Blue Jays haven’t even versed there own division yet so enjoy the ride while you can.
well they played vs. the orioles.
We have lost 9 of our last 13
A 4 game losing streak, 4 game winning streak, and a current 5 game losing streak
Interesting. Who is this Rodriguez fellow they got to play third base?
Blogs are taxed heavily in Canadia. I don’t blame them for coming down here to blog.
“The twins do it right? oh yea…with all there success and rings they have accumulated over the past 15 years! hahaha””
Great point, Randy, the bar is down to the left.”
tantron willoughby-
i’ll restate the twins pitching stats for you. i assume you can read baseball stats.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....p;type=reg
baker 27
slowey 25
blackburn 27
perkins 26
liriano 25 ( he’s the exception because he was so talented)
garza 25 ( brought to mlb ready by the twins at age 24)
Central Division titles (4) 2006 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002
there’s a high standard on the blog and that means you have to back up what you say with facts and links.
if you can’t do that you’d better stick to baseball talk radio.
you’re picking an argument you can’t win. anyone who knows baseball knows the twins develop more players than almost anyone. they accomplished the 4 recent division titles on half of a big market payroll .
it’s an odd year, so expect big things from a-rod.
First, I want to thank the Good Lord and Mother Nature for giving me a great day to move our daughter out of her dorm today. We all know that dry days have been few and far between, so today as much, much appreciated.
Next I want to say what a class act Pete is for posting his review of Selena Roberts’ book here. It must have been quite a disappointment that the book didn’t live up to what he thought it would be. And I mean that sincerely.
Mariano – I think he’ll be okay, but I also think we have to start expecting less than perfection from him. He’ll still be better than most closers, but I think vintage Mo outings will be fewer. And that’s really to be expected. He is older, and he did have surgery. It will be interesting to see how the Yankees deal with it.
Which brings me to Melancon. I’m glad they sent him back down. He will eventually be a great addition to the team. Clearly he was not ready. His first inning was his best. After that, he didn’t do as well. He’ll go back and work on some different things now. Plus, now he really does have some solid experience to draw on.
Last night’s game was as deflating as any I’ve watched in recent time. One would hope that there’s only up to go from this point on. But they’ve taken quite a few major hits injury-wise. More than reasonable people would expect. Though, I think a better 3rd catcher should have been paramount for Cashman this winter (the only complaint I have), because although Posada hurt his hamstring, there was no guarantee his shoulder would rehab as well as it did.
The Yankee organization, if it is serious about rebuilding its farm system, and rebuilding “the Yankee way,” is going to have to have the guts to stick with the plan even in lean times. Patience and perserverance does pay off. They need to resist rushing their players. I do not want to see Austin Jackson in NY until September as a special invitee. I don’t want to see Melancon until he’s learned almost everything he can in AAA.
I’d love for them to be able to draft some good position players, but the Yankees are in the unenviable/enviable position of finishing the last 14-plus years with very excellent records. Hurts the draft order. And teams like the Rays get first pick on guys like Longoria. And the Rays seem to know who to target in the draft – they make few mistakes. I doubt most Yankees fans would be willing to suffer a few last-place finishes in order to get a great draft pick. So, they have to really do due diligence on the secondary type guys. Mattingly and I believe Pujols were not high draft picks. So player evaluation is key.
I sure wish there was a way players could come to NY and perform like the always have from the get-go. It’s not to be. Tex, CC and AJ will come around. I hope AJ is correct – that when the Yankees get it going, it will be “ridiculous.” It’s going to need to be.
I’m excited to see ARod back. Hope all goes well.
Alex running go patterns on YES. No sign of a limp.
yeah and the Yankees have 0-5 against Boston just got pounded 2wice and about to lose a series to the O’s. Only chance you have of winning tonight is to have Peter Ab eat Jeremy Guthrie.
LOL Mike was mid convo w/ Sweeney Murti and Alex gets on the field EVERYYYYYYY THING PAUSED…he’s here do you see him, we see him on YES, Yes Sweeney we saw him. He’s running …LOL Attention whore
“it’s an odd year”
Oh, it’s an odd year for sure! And it’s looking like it’s going to be a long one as well.
The Yankees will win tonight now that the great one is back
Just ignore the nitwit from Canada. Like the Blue Jays he’ll go away soon.
Who is that guy walking with A-Rod on YES?
Is that Kevin Cash?
“yeah and the Yankees have 0-5 against Boston just got pounded 2wice and about to lose a series to the O’s. Only chance you have of winning tonight is to have Peter Ab eat Jeremy Guthrie.”
It doesn’t matter how you start but, how you finish. You Blue Jays are going to slow down and hit a slump somewhere down the road. The Yankees will come out of this.
Doreen, normally I would think that Cashman would be long gone before the Yankees’ brass has the patience to wait for the young guys to come around, but let’s remember, Hal is far different from George and while Hank proved to be a hot head last season, he appears to understand that baseball matters are better left to people who know what they are doing/talking about. The biggest test will be the patience of the fans and we are already failing that one.
“Randy your obsession with the Twins is unhealthy.”
patrick-
lol. i’m just very good friends with their triple a manager and pitching coach so i started following them closer. once i did, i came to like what i saw. if i wasn’t a yankee fan they would be the team i’d root for.
if you weren’t a yankee fan you’d probably root for the rays because they are more statistically adept. i like their organization too.
Yankees will win the east by 4 games.
“Who is that guy walking with A-Rod on YES?”
#67? A coach maybe?
Short haircut, no frosted tips.
———————
Darn, and I just had mine done today in honor of the occasion.
No Boston is a far better team good luck on an outside shot for the wildcard 200 million later and out of the playoffs again…..the losing continues
Pat, thanks for that link on the Canseco press conference…
I also liked reading the article on that site on cricket in Panama.
“Alex is thinner than last we saw him.”
Like David Arias in Minnesota?
Forget about him Brian. Let the lone Blue jay talk all he wants. All bark no bite, Like a little annoying Chihuahua.
“Blogs are taxed heavily in Canadia.”
nick in sf-
you sure you don’t mean ” bogs” like cranberry bogs?
Hokiehill -
My thinking is that if Hal (and Hank) didn’t buy into whatever Cashman’s long-term plan is, he wouldn’t have come back (to write the story -:lol: ). But if the Yankees don’t even contend this year, injuries and, all, I think all bets could be off as far as who survives the off-season. Not much is accomplished changing gears mid-season, in my opinion.
Want to win $20,000?
Easy-peasy. Check this out. John Tesh, yes, he’s still alive, is having a contest. Put rap lyrics to his NBA theme song and post the video on his Facebook page.
http://tinyurl.com/john-tesh-raps
It’s legit. Watch his video, it’s pretty funny. Unfortunately the people who would try this are probably too young to know who John Tesh is. lol.
Why is Jose Veras used in games other than garbage games ?
Why hasn’t he been DFA’s yet ? What’s the holdup ?
Blue Jays Rule?
They still have fans?
Melancon was a beast when I saw him here in Detroit, early last week. I’m pulling for him.
If Cervelli has only seen CC in ST, whose responsibility is it to call the game? I’m guessing Sabathia’s, but what’s the protocol?
Blue Jay trolls aren’t a common commodity. It’s like a Bigfoot sighting.
“Cervelli has nothing left to learn in Italy.”
nick in sf-
argghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!!
just kidding
“The return of A-Rod gas”
John,
If you have been reading this blog awhile or if you have ever e-mailed Pete and disagreed with his opinion, then you know that he thinks very highly of his own opinion and anyone who disagrees with him gets disparaged. I enjoy the information in the blog as well, but I don’t care much for Pete’s attitude. Too bad, because otherwise this is the best Yankees blog out there.
I saw Blue Jays fan in Astoria Queens back in 2006.
Oh wait that was a Brewers fan sorry.
I roomed with a Expos fan in college.
Glad Arod cheated the game and everyone is still happy…….go Yankeeeeees
“The return of A-Rod gas”
huh? you mean like this?
http://tinyurl.com/qwxej5
Just saw video of Alex walking in with someone. Was it Jason Zillo?
I am Canadian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du-3DZILy2M
‘remember the dutch catcher Kenley Jansen?now that’s an arm!”
roger-
he was the one who threw guys out at second from his knees if i remember right.
Interesting synergy.
Opening Day was a month ago, in Baltimore, with CC on the mound.
The “new” Opening Day (now that Arod is back) is in Baltimore, with CC on the mound.
Hopefully, with better results!
lets go for it and trade for a catcher. bring salty here from texas.
You people with your teasing. Of course there are Blue Jays fans, but they’re protected under the Canadian Endangered Species Act. Dave Winfield almost went to jail for killing one.
Probably better to start talking after you have played the Yankees, Sox or Rays and actually won a series. The did play KC and lost 3 of 4. So nice job beating up on some of the West teams.
I’m betting that CC will say no to a lot of Cervelli’s calls.
I mean shake him off a lot.
SJ44 -
Like a Mulligan!
Wouldn’t that be nice?
But no Posada or even Molina kind of spoils the homecoming.
Arod cheated the game???
I guess as a Jays fan you obsolve Roger when he was there, Greg Zaun, Troy Glaus, Canseco, David Segui, Glenallen Hill, etc.
McNamee was also employed by the Jays
Very funny. I would say maybe the championships were tainted by heck when’s the last time they have won let alone make the playoffs.
“lets go for it and trade for a catcher. bring salty here from texas.”
How about we give Cervelli and Cash chance. Let them both catch a few games then make your opinion. Stay positive
CC will give us 8 innings of 2 run ball.
Alex will go 0-3 with a walk/run scored.
Not since 1993 have the Blue Jays won the American League East division. In fact, they’ve only been crowned the Eastern division champion five total times since the division’s inception in 1969.
I will predict one of the Yankees will hit the B&O Warehouse much like Mr. Griffey Jr used to so often…
Berroa is 3-5 with a double off Guthrie
He should be playing
SJ44
May 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Interesting synergy.
Opening Day was a month ago, in Baltimore, with CC on the mound.
The “new” Opening Day (now that Arod is back) is in Baltimore, with CC on the mound.
Hopefully, with better results!
————————-
Just to be fair we gave everyone else in the division a head start. lol
“Let the lone Blue jay talk all he wants. All bark no bite, Like a little annoying Chihuahua.”
Even the lone blue jay fan makes the chihuahua look good. We all know he all bark and no bite. He wouldn’t come to face anyone on this blog in person
JB,
You forgot Clemens. He got shot up in Skydome, err, Rodgers Centre.
Alex has hit .200 against Guthrie. Don’t be looking for miracles tonight.
Doreen,
For a second I thought you were going to thank the good lord for making you a Yankee fan.
Randy l,
You have nothing left to learn on this baseball blog, time to start your own blog so you can wax poetic about Livan Hernandez (former Twins pitcher too)
randy
‘he was the one who threw guys out at second from his knees if i remember right?’
haha yes that’s him.We have our own molina!He’s with the dodgers now
This is a huge series for the Yankees. It could make things look a bit better by Monday.
Yankees have weaker pitchers against them. Hughes and Joba need to have solid games.
Rays face the Sox so any win will gain some ground on one.
Jays will have the weak A’s but will be a nice stretch after that us, White Sox, Red Sox, Braves, Orioles and then back to Boston Angles and KC
Alex live from the dugout on espnews. now.
And of course, Kim Jones is on her fifth question.
thanks for the heads up, m
people kill me when try to analyze alex’s physique.
“he looks thinner” “He looks bigger”
Alex .200 against Guthrie or any of Pena, Ransom, Berroa in general?
How about Cano, lefty vs righty and has an .053 against Guthrie??????
I honestly think it will not be Arod’s series at all, but I think him in the lineup, Tex will have a big weekend down there. We shall see.
Pat Venditte article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4145564
You guys need to quit ragging Randy about Livan Hernandez. Hernadez was Randy’s childhood baseball idol when he was growing up.
everyone, please do not feed the birds, they will keep coming back if you do.
NP, Rishi.
Nice deflection on the Manny question. “Mm. No. I’m just hear to do what I can for my team.”
raymagnetic -
Right now, I’m asking the good Lord why on earth I couldn’t have stayed being a casual fan!
but that Kim Jones – she is very aggressive with the questions
there’s a high standard on the blog and that means you have to back up what you say with facts and links.
How many World Series Rings do the Twins have? Thank you. Case Closed!
*here
Alex said ‘hear’, but he doesn’t speak english very well?
Twins are the model franchise
We should try to emulate them.. do so much with little talent, execute fundamentals etc.
Doreen
May 8th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
raymagnetic –
Right now, I’m asking the good Lord why on earth I couldn’t have stayed being a casual fan!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I’ll second that
Its like a feeding frenzy. LOLOL
“You have nothing left to learn on this baseball blog, time to start your own blog so you can wax poetic about Livan Hernandez (former Twins pitcher too)”
raymagnetic-
actually, i need way more seasoning sparring with the statistically adept . i was making great progress when many of them ran away after they looked so bad on the hughes/kennedy fiasco .
i’m glad some of you stayed. seriously though, the sparring from different points of view is what makes this a great blog.
Alex certainly takes the heat off the rest of the team having to answer for the loosing streak and poor play.
The Blue Jays have yet to play any of their 54 games scheduled against the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays this year… let BJ fan spout off… his team’s 15 minutes are about to run out.
“How many World Series Rings do the Twins have? Thank you. Case Closed!”
you mean your mind’s closed?
“but that Kim Jones – she is very aggressive with the questions”
I don’t really mind her. I think she knows a lot about the game. It seems like the players at certain times get annoyed but, over all I think she is very intelligent. She’s just doing her job.
Doreen,
Hopefully you’ll be happy to be a Yankee fanatic again soon. They have to win again one day, don’t they?
Randy,
You can’t get rid of me that easily. This blog is like arguing with sports fan in a bar most nights. Great place to hang out and talk baseball.
“Alex certainly takes the heat off the rest of the team having to answer for the loosing streak and poor play.”
That’s why I said the guy who benefits the most from Arod’s return is Teixeira, he doesn’t have to press and feel that he has to get that runner in or else, when Arod is right behind him. I fully expect Tex to take off.
The point is, with the Yankees resources, if they could really focus on the things Randy l talks about, they would be unstoppable.
We don’t know exactly what they do or don’t do, so I reserve absolute judgment, but it makes sense.
Parity has put the Yankees at a disadvantage in the draft and with the luxury tax and revenue sharing. But so far, there’s no rule about spending money to improve the organization in other, more fundamental ways.
raymagnetic -
The law of averages would seem to favor the Yankees winning a game one of these days.
“You guys need to quit ragging Randy about Livan Hernandez. Hernadez was Randy’s childhood baseball idol when he was growing up.”
gb 7
yeah , well yours was abner doubleday. i didn’t know they had green berets in the civil war.
did you figure out yet how to hook up a usb cable to that dictionary you got on sale at books a million the other day ? your spelling seems better so i’m guessing yes.
Alex didn’t really give the media anything – good for him.
randy,
“if you weren’t a yankee fan you’d probably root for the rays because they are more statistically adept. i like their organization too.”
I do like how the Rays have run their organization in recent years. The culmination of their plans last year was fun to watch. They are only going to get better as the year goes on and should be a powerhouse for awhile.
I hate to say this but I do also admire the Red Sox. They run that organization extremely well.
I see why you like the Twins so much. Some things they do are excellent but some things make me scratch my head and wonder..
They do a great job of developing talent but I am a bit troubled by Gardenhire and Bill Smith in recent years. Nick Punto has a major role on that team which is scary to me. They also didn’t get much for Garza and Santana.
So do we go to Mariano tonight in a save situation for a 3rd straight game? Or do we let Veras or someone try to close it out?
It appears that YES network has priority. Jones always gets the first few questions in and then the other stations get their turn. She did butt in later with another one.
TV portion of the interview was very short. Zillo kicked them off the clock quickly and swiftly so the beat writers could -start feeding- talk to Alex. Feinsand with lots of face time. Saw Hoch, but not Pete. TRO?
Sure is great to see #13 back in the familiar 4-spot.
“Cervelli has nothing left to learn in Italy.”
Funniest line of the night, thanks Nick
i just hope arod doesnt go out there and try too hard. can’t wait to see what happens. let’s hope for a start to nice winning streak..
lol francesa thinks we need a 8-0 or 8-1 win
ya ok that helps
what this team needs is a 1/2/3-0 win, where the runs come from CLUTCH hits
“So do we go to Mariano tonight in a save situation for a 3rd straight game? Or do we let Veras or someone try to close it out?”
You are assuming the Yankees have the lead in the 9th inning. hahahahaha
Alex was talking about his 07 season which i felt was a great sign. he has his head in the right place and you can tell he put some high expectations to be near 07-like
Mr. Burns
May 8th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
So do we go to Mariano tonight in a save situation for a 3rd straight game? Or do we let Veras or someone try to close it out?
Veras pitched 2.1 innings last night
Here’s a question about the Rays.
Suppose they start having winning seasons on a consistent basis and lose their early round draft picks. For a few years they should be okay, ’cause those good players will hopefully still be around and playing well. But what then? How are they going to make sure that what’s happened to the Yankees doesn’t happen to them? (Eventual farm system depletion.)
Hows about using starters as releivers?
Instead of throwing a bullpen, or on the side, have them throw an inning of relief, say 20-30 pitches.
Pettitte did it a few years back.
Just a thought, most likely a silly one.
Pete,
Any updates on the 40-man roster move? Who’s it going to be, AAA pitcher or Berroa?
The way we everyone is talking about Tex needing Alex to take the pressure off of him….did we pay $180 million for a complementary player? He’s a very good player, but if he depends on the protection of a superstar for most of his numbers – then doesn’t that tell you he’s somewhat limited? Alex won’t always put up such prodigious numbers – he’s going to slow down at some point, probably midway through Tex’ contract. It would be reassuring to know that Tex could put up his usual numbers without Alex behind him. I thought that he would be the future face of the franchise – but I think you need to either be like a Jeter (rings, etc…) or a superstar…
Yankees could really use CC giving one of his CC performances tonight, complete game shut out. I think Mike’s right on this one. 8-0, little bit of offense from everyone, Arod back in the lineup and looks healthy, big game from CC, no need to go to the pen. It would be a great win before Hughes goes against Eaton who is terrible.
Doreen,
They will have to follow Oakland’s model of trading players before they reach free agency to restock on prospects. Or get really great scouts and pay above slot in the draft. Or pony up the cash and sign their young players long term.
The scary thing about the Rays is they still have one of the best farm systems with a ton of pitching on the way. I could see them being playoff contenders for the next 5 years easy
lol francesa is grilling this guy who called in
“ya ok that helps
what this team needs is a 1/2/3-0 win, where the runs come from CLUTCH hits”
Well, with the chance of no Mo tonight, a close game in that park against the lineup that always seems to kill the Yanks is not a good idea. I get your point, but I guess we shouldn’t care what kind of win they get as long as they win. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Betsy, it was a good interview for Alex. He just basically repeated the same stuff over and over.
sauCy,
I’m glad I’m not the only one who clicked on that link about the Panamanians…..that was some junk….in the trunk
# talltenor May 8th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Melancon was a beast when I saw him here in Detroit, early last week. I’m pulling for him.
If Cervelli has only seen CC in ST, whose responsibility is it to call the game? I’m guessing Sabathia’s, but what’s the protocol?
Being a former catcher Girardi probably calls the game from the bench. In this situation, either the pitcher or pitching coach calls the pitches.
Doreen,
Don’t you think it’ll be tough for them to pay Kazmir, Price, Upton, Crawford (FA), Pena when it’s time?
And, in hindsight, they made a mistake signing Burrell so early. 5M/1 of Bobay Abreu vs. 18M/2 for Pat?
Someone commented on Chad Jennings blog that Claggett was DFA’s. I don’t know what his source is.
“I needed to look in the mirror and grow up,” he said. ”
Yes, yes you do.
How many players aren’t “complementary players”? It’s a team sport. Tex carried the Braves two years ago after the trade and put up ridiculous numbers for half a season. Last year on the Angels he was great and helped lead them to the playoffs. I don’t think anyone is saying Tex needs another bat to be productive, but a lineup needs players to pick each other up because all slump. If you have a 100 rbis in a 162 game season that doesn’t mean you produce runs for the team every night with the bat single handedly.
While this is an interesting blog and I commend Pete for his tireless effort in giving us updates, one thing bothers me. We are almost all Yankee fans and while I “get” that it is not a prequisite that pete be one it is troubling to think he is likely hoping for A-Rod to stink up the joint- he can protest all he wants to the contrary but his posts strongly point to a dislike that goes beyond any professional boundaries in this one area- frankly I don’t buy the A-Rod is a loser stuff- he is flawed but I think he fell to what has ailed the whole team, no matter how the personnel changes- the scar tissue residual of 04- nobody has done squat in the playoff since and A-Rod in the Minni series and the first 3 games of 04 was stellar…in any event welcome back A-Rod- play well and here’s hoping the team starts projecting the “back of the baseball card” theory.
“I needed to look in the mirror and grow up,” he said. ”
I certainly hope he has/will
Mo set up for Joba? If Mo wants to be a setup man in his late years hey go ahead. But this also means that Wang needs to come back and be healthy and Hughes HAS to pitch some what manageable.
Tom in NJ, Pettitte actually did that twice last year. I don’t think its such a great idea though..in a pinch maybe. But, side work isn’t as taxing and there is no potential to over throw or get stuck in a jam.
when is the press conference scheduled?
“I needed to look in the mirror and grow up,” he said.
Please tell me he didn’t say this with a straight face!
Can someone please explain the logic of sending Melnacon down, when it’s long past time to DFA Veras and send Ramirez down? Why not give Melancon a chance to grow into a major league role; his ceiling is infinitely higher than theirs. Yeah, he looked ridiculous against the Sox, but he was incredible in Detroit. Just one more decision of Cash and Joe’s that just doesn’t compute…
Joel Sherman is a real tool. Just came on Kay’s show and bragged about how he pushed A-Rod’s buttons and got him to answer a question about his alleged use of roids in high school. And of course he thought A-Rod had rehearsed everything before speaking to them.
Never thought I’d miss having a catcher like Matt Nokes (or Mike Stanley, for that matter).
We’ve been spoiled by having Posada.
I think Mariano learned the googly from his Panamanian cricket buddies – he’s still trying to perfect it.
“He said be unsure of how he would feel on the field. Personally, he said he needed to straighten out his life. ”
what?
Andy pitched in relief twice in ‘07, but I think that was when the bullpen had no lefthanders?
Sam: Because he needs to pitch as much as possible and won’t get the opportunity here.
He’s still a work in progress, not a finished product. IIRC Yanks did this with Jeter and Mo, so…
“I think Mariano learned the googly from his Panamanian cricket buddies – he’s still trying to perfect it.”
Too bad his googly keeps getting hit for SIX.
“Parity has put the Yankees at a disadvantage in the draft and with the luxury tax and revenue sharing. But so far, there’s no rule about spending money to improve the organization in other, more fundamental ways.”
doreen -
i hate the whole idea of parity, but the yankees could really separate themselves from other teams if they invested heavily in their conditioning , injury prevention , and performance .
are you getting ready for the new season opener tonight?
i am.
i think alex is a going to make a difference.
he can have a good night in two ways.
he can hit himself or he can help teixera get better pitches to hit.
if alex goes 0-4 and teixeira gets a couple of hits he’s helping.
Teixeria is a complimentary player.
He was in a loaded Texas lineup
Hit between Chipper and McCaan in Atlanta
And was hitting behind Vlad in LA
He has never been in a situation where he had to carry a team. He is a “blend in” player like Abreu was.
Joel Sherman is my least favorite writer of all the local papers. He never has any useful insight. It seems over the years he gets less and less info from a guy “covering the team.” Which probably means he has no connections to the team to feed him info or cares for him either. All he does is have a problem with them no matter what he writes. Who cares. His “inside info” is always a day late and a dollar short. Just like his ridiculous article on Girardi’s opinion of this book which has turned out to be tabloid stuff anyway.
Viper, he’s a real good blend in player
CC needs to pitch a complete game, even in a save situation.
Can’t use MO 3 days in a row. Threw 18 pitches Wednesday, 24 pitches yesterday… can’t abuse his weak shoulder.
Viper – who isn’t a complimentary player though? Vlade didn’t carry the Expos anywhere of note. Arod with the other Rangers guys got them no where. Manny was a compliment to Ortiz. Manny and Arod could carry teams in spurts when hot. Manny had Thome and a great lineup on the Indians. I mean what team doesn’t have a lineup where players compliment one another?
CC needs to go 9, and A-Rod needs to go deep
If you wanted a guy who could carry a team you should have signed Manny.
Teixeria isin’t that type of player. He’s a good player, not a great one.
Benjie Molina is a free agent after this season.
DH Posada, and sign the Molina who can hit.
Why are Veras, Albaladejo, and Edwar still on this team?
Tex has had a ton of walks, the compliment is now he will see more pitches and his approach will be as it should as Arod is batting fourth. Just like if no one is behind Arod he will see less pitches to hit. That’s always why you want a well balanced lineup because no one player, no matter how good can carry a team.
Melancon appears not to be ready but he showed a flash of what he will be when he is. A-Rod will relax everybody else, and that will make him worthwhile even if his timing is not there yet. I did appreciate Pete’s book review- showed some class to go against his grain- was shocked like everyone else by Mo last night- but have total confidence that he will figure it out- and even if we can now see flickers of the end, we should know we will not likely see his like again- to me he has been for a long time the greatest of the great…
“He has never been in a situation where he had to carry a team. He is a “blend in” player like Abreu was.”
Sugar blends in dessert, try taking the sugar out and what do you have?
Calling someone a blend in player isn’t an insult at all. It takes the right blend of players to build a championship team.
AZ Four
How is Manny carrying a team right now? He’s suspended 50 games and the Yankees would surely be done. He also managed to quit on a team as well.
Manny didn’t have any rings without Ortiz.
I understand the comments on Tex, he isn’t Manny or Arod. But few are. Who else Puljous?
Tex is as much of a superstar as David Wright.
“He had surgery on his right hip on March 9, about a month after it was revealed that he was a steroid cheat.”
WAY TO RUB IT IN PETE!!! Just in case we forgot – right?
Anyhow, even if arod starts out struggling, it will probably help the lineup no matter what. One, arod struggling is better than berroa at his absolute best and two, whether arod struggles or not, his obp will definitely be over 250 which is what his replacements were about averaging. That is something god awful.
As for the catcher, I REALLY dont see how in the world cervelli is the answer. He was doing terribly at double A trenton so to expect him to hit in the majors is just nuts. Cervelli was hitting UNDER 200 in trenton in 60 at bats this year. Does that sound like he will do well up here?? Does it?? I dont think so. I know pj pilletere is not on the 40 man but i think it would be worthwhile to bring him up in berroa’s place. The guy doesnt have hardly any triple A experience I know but what he does have is a 317 average in scranton this season so far and cervelli was sucking so bad that pilletere is basically the starter there before cervelli was called up and pilletere moved back to double A.
So the guy who was hitting 190 for trenton gets called up and the guy that was hitting 317 for scranton gets demoted to trenton just because the yanks dont want to make a 40 man change? Im not saying pilletere will succeed up here but what I am saying is that cervelli WONT. Any which way you slice it, we are not in a good spot catcher-wise and a trade has become pretty much the only option ala Pudge last season. I know pudge didnt work out but that is exactly the type of trade we need now except hopefully this time it works.
Red Dragons
“Why are Veras, Albaladejo, and Edwar still on this team?”
Girardi is hoping they become what they were last year, average.
Malusis + BT + Pete …I’m still shocked.
Al from BK May 7th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
I couldn’t think of a more embarrassing team to root for. The Nationals are bad, but at least their payroll is low. I believe this will be my last night here for a while.
—————
Does this sound familiar, Al from BK?
Teixeira is a little bit more then a complimentary player. He’s that second tier type of player. Not really a superstar but a very good player.
Ex. There’s Pujols Ramirez Arod etc… and then there’s a drop-off. Then you have players like Teixeira Beltran Wright etc…
Someone like Swisher is a complimentary player or Nady.
hardwired, thats a great idea considering molina isn’t getting old himself…..
lol genius
“Why are Veras, Albaladejo, and Edwar still on this team?”
Leave flaco and Alba out of this. Veras is a different story.
Unless subpoenaed, Alex should from this point on answer any questions regarding what’s in ‘The Book’ with the words ‘no comment’. He’s gone out and said he didn’t juice in HS or in NY. Beyond that, he should just move forward and not look in the rear view mirror.
Play ball, Alex. Play ball.
She came out with weak writing based on assumptions, opinions and such. If she suddenly comes out with solid proof, deflect the answers to her and move on. She’ll write what she thinks regardless of what he says. Ain’t worth the distraction.
Play ball, Alex. Play ball.
Top level superstars : Arod, Big Albert, Manny, maybe Miguel Cabrera
Where does Tex fit in? David Wright, Longoria (for now), Soriano, Howard, Utley, Berkman, Mourneu
Funny people complain about needing to build a Bernie, Paul O’Neil, Jeter type squad to win and then complain a guys not a superstar, but would totally fit the mold and have more skill than Tino. He just needs to prove he can fit in and win like they did.
randy I agree totally with you. The Yanks could really help themselves by investing in those areas. I also think they should spend a LOT more money on hiring the absolute best scouts and instructors. Even with Cashman at the helm it’s obvious that this team struggles to find and develop young talent. The Red Sox are at the end of the draft every year like us and they have a lot stronger and balanced farm system. They also excel at finding guys that will work well in their system/team.
‘They do a great job of developing talent but I am a bit troubled by Gardenhire and Bill Smith in recent years. Nick Punto has a major role on that team which is scary to me. They also didn’t get much for Garza and Santana.”
patrick-
i like what the rays are doing also.
the trade for garza wasn’ as bad as it looks on the surface.
brendan harris is not bad .
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....yerId=6022
delmon young is only 23. .743 ops last year . good defensive player.
that was a trade that helped both teams though it helped the rays more last year. garza is a funny guy. i was in the twins clubhouse when he pitched a game the year before he was traded and he had all the signs of being a clubhouse cancer with a really bad attitude.
he did have a meeting with himself i heard and was better as the summer went on. he definitely had more to learn that last year at triple a than he thought. it paid off with him being ready and more mature when he got his chance with the rays.
i think the twins could have kept him and he would have been fine with them.
the center fielder gomez they got in the santana deal can fly and is a very good defensive player.he’s going to be there for a long time.
Anyone expecting Teixeira or A-rod or any other position player to carry the team is being silly. In baseball there’s only so much one guy can do.
Teixeira is basically Jason Bay with a better glove. He is not an ELITE hitter like Manny/Pujols/Rodriguez, he’s a very good hitter.
“So the guy who was hitting 190 for trenton gets called up and the guy that was hitting 317 for scranton gets demoted to trenton just because the yanks dont want to make a 40 man change? Im not saying pilletere will succeed up here but what I am saying is that cervelli WONT. Any which way you slice it, we are not in a good spot catcher-wise and a trade has become pretty much the only option ala Pudge last season. I know pudge didnt work out but that is exactly the type of trade we need now except hopefully this time it works.”
Don’t know too much about Cervelli but, I think Cash will be fine. The at bats may not be there but, then again there was nothing really coming from Molina’s bat either. Give them both a chance. Let them both catch a couple games each before we start making judgments about who is going to be good & who won’t/
Patrick, did you forget what arod did to this team in 07?
i heard but didnt see that veras looked good last night. Is that true? Maybe he is turning the corner. unlike edwar, i actually have some faith in veras who has already dominated in triple A and put up a very nice 3.6 era last season in almost 60 innings. I know relief pitchers are volatile and have said it about 1000 times on this blog but its clear that veras has the talent to do well in the majors and has yet to show that talent this season. Edwar put up similar numbers last season but i just like veras’ stuff better. Albadejo has not proved a thing up here and should be demoted IMO. I also think 3 catchers is a VERY good idea right now -cash, cervelli and pilletere are all going to be bad alone probably but together they may be unstoppable.
Well, probably not but it seems like a good idea at the moment with open roster spots. Scranton is also 22 and 5 and dominating with almost every single player in that lineup hitting over 300 and killing the ball so if we want to bolster the bench to pinch hit for any of the catchers above – we should call up duncan or miranda or rodriguez etc. Just saying there are a ton of bench options in scranton and we are not taking advantage of our minor league depth at the moment. We could always have 3 catchers on the roster and then, just pinch hit for each one of them throughout the game. That would be absolutely idiotic but whatever works.
“i was in the twins clubhouse when he pitched a game the year before he was traded and he had all the signs of being a clubhouse cancer with a really bad attitude”
Garza got into a physical fight with Navarro and Maddon told him to do something about his temper or he’s gone. They got him a therapist and from what I understand he has his emotions more under control. He writes his kids names and quotes in his hats and looks at them when he feels he’s about to lose it. Kudos to him.
randy,
I agree the Twins didn’t get totally fleeced but I’m used to them being on the winning side of trades almost all the time.
The jury is still out on Delmon Young but I don’t like what I’m seeing. I understand why they traded Matt Garza, prior to being traded he basically had a great fastball and that’s it but that obviously changed.
Gomez is okay but he is really nothing special. I see him someday being a Carl Crawford MAYBE. Which isn’t bad but they should have gotten more for Santana. In hindsight they should have taken the Yankees or Red Sox deal (in my opinion). The Red Sox were offering Lester and other prospects at one point.
I’d bet Teixeira on the 3rd tier of players
1st tier is obviously A-Rod/Manny/Pujols… and prehaps guys like Vlad in his prime and Miguel Cabrera, Longoria as well as other guys from the 2nd tier list
2nd tier is Youkalis, Beltran, Chipper, Adrian Gonzalez, Vlad, Morneau, Hamiltion, Berkman, Hanley, Carlos Quinten, Longoria
3rd tier is JD Drew, Derek Lee, Teixeria, Vernon Wells, Utley, David Wright
I dont know what we are gonna do…i mean cervelli and cash are our catchers?
The Yankees were the only thing that brough enjoyment to my life, now this is gone too…
Edwar has a 2.06 WHIP
Pete… thanks for all your hard work. When I watch this team play, I see a more resilient team than years past (last 2-3 yrs). The offense doesn’t give up everytime our starting pitching spots the opposing team 3-4 runs. Instead the offense, with all its inefficiencies in scoring the man at third with less than 2 outs, has been resilient and tends to come back. The problem is when the offense comes back, the pitching can’t hold the score. I still have faith in our pitching rotation, but someone needs to light a fire under their @sses and get them to pitch to their potential.
“Patrick, did you forget what arod did to this team in 07?”
He had a great year but it’s not like the rest of the team was crap around him. Posada also had a fantastic year, Joba helped the team get into the playoffs, Abreu/Jeter/Cano all had very nice years.
I think some people are being really unfair to Teixeira.
No, he didn’t hit well when A-Rod was gone but he probably wouldn’t have hit well in April even with A-Rod behind him.
I mean, didn’t we know back in December that he was a slow starter?
Why does anyone think this season would be any different because he put on the pinstripes and A-Rod out of the lineup?
I do agree that Teixeira is not a superstar – but the guy is still a helluva player. He doesn’t have to be on a one-way ticket to the Hall of Fame to be a great player for this team.
‘Blogs are taxed heavily in Canada. I don’t blame them for coming down here to blog.”
Good point Nick in SF.
Unfortunately, the same will probably be true here as well very soon.
It’s early, but right now Bobby Abreu is hitting well over .300 and swiping tons of bases. No power, but other than that he’s productive. Cost: $5 million per.
Mark Tex is doing his best Dave Kingman impersonation, though with a slightly lower average and less power. Cost: $20 million per.
It’s still rather early, but it gets late early out here.
Pete on SNY Wheelhouse now
if arod hits as good as he did in the detroit series a few years ago it will be an upgrade at 3rd. Pena did fine but he has zero power and you cannot have that at 3rd..
at 250, 30 hr pace and 90 rbi pace it is a huge improvement and arod will do better then that. pena at ss or 2B would be ok with his lack of power.
Pena long term may be an option but not yet but keep him up he has speed, can play 2b,ss, and 3b and is a switch hitter… he is a good bench piece…
what is the other move the yanks made????????????????????/
OK, over/under on the number of mirror jokes after A-Rod said that?
Teixeira in the “3rd tier” of players? Have you looked at his career offensive numbers and compared them to past players?
“UPDATE, 5:12 p.m.: A-Rod just said “no” asked if he took steroids in high school or as a Yankee. ”
““I needed to look in the mirror and grow up,” he said.”
Oh lord, just stop Alex.
still nice to have ya back.
one man cant carry a team?? i BELIEVE arod was that man in 2007. With him, we made it the playoffs. Without him, we wouldnt even have finished in the top three in the division most likely. That is what the mvp award is supposed to signify – sometimes it doesnt, like pedroia winning it but sometimes it does like alex winning it in 07. It should mean that the team would not have made it anywhere without that player on the team.
Tex is upper echelon talent. He is one of the top 15-20 position players in the game because while he doesnt have the bat to hit 50 plus homers or hit 350, he has the combined assets of a solid bat and an amazing glove. He isnt one of those players that scammed his way into a glove glove award, he IS a gold glove first baseman and thats what makes him one of the best players in the game. Yea he sucks right now but usually players play to the back of their baseball card come the end of september and you can be sure that Tex won be hitting anywhere close to where he is right now at that point. iF TEX isnt our second best hitter by the end of the season, I will be pretty surprised unless someone else has a career year who we never expected (matsui or damon.)
Did Jr.GM Class let out early today?
Hey guys, I think Mo and the bullpen are really going to force the Yankees hand into putting Joba into the pen.
I’d far rather him be a starter but with Mo a ? and the rest of the bullpen a little more than that, I think that with four good starters when Wang comes back, and even w/o him three, and an offense that will be seriously boosted with ARod’s return the Yanks have no choice but to stick Joa in the pen. Thoughts?
A-Rod is back now, no excuses
Teix has to start earning the $180 million we are paying him
JD Drew 3rd tier star!!!!!!1
what have you been drinking… Bobby abreu is better then JD Drew today……..
Tex is a perrenial 120 RBI producer, and I really think he’ll come out of it and remember how to hit breaking pitches.
No question that Abreu today is better than Drew. Drew’s only edge over Abreu is on defense.
“Al from BK May 7th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
I couldn’t think of a more embarrassing team to root for. The Nationals are bad, but at least their payroll is low. I believe this will be my last night here for a while.
———————-
Does this sound familiar, Al from BK?”
I meant that I wouldn’t be posting in game threads. Mostly I just wish to avoid homer scrubs like you who like to condescend on a public blog.
“Hey guys, I think Mo and the bullpen are really going to force the Yankees hand into putting Joba into the pen.”
I don’t think so.
Lots of typos, unlike me.
“Did Jr.GM Class let out early today?”
no , i think cashman is still in there.
sorry, couldn’t resist
I wouldn’t say Beltran is a better player then Teixeira. Beltran’s been around longer. but looking at both their career numbers they’re about the same.
Only big difference between the 2 is Beltran is faster/steals bases.
Both second tier IMO.
Brandon “THE CIRCUS IS BACK !”-All right. Reasons?
Bobby Abreu was also 36 years old, couldn’t play defense, and the Yanks already had a DH named Matsui.
One could argue Abreu would have been a great signing had Matsui not been on the team – but the Yanks already had six outfielders/DHs on the roster (Gardner, Damon, Nady, Melky, Swisher, and Matsui).
Abreu is a DH. He’s no longer a position player. That’s why the Yanks didn’t resign him.
Patrick -
Thanks.
I think it is so freeing that to other teams, it is enough to field a team that mostly always contends, sometimes gets to the playoffs and occasionally gets to the WS.
With the Yankees, the pressure is always on. Too much.
“I needed to look in the mirror and grow up”
So that’s where the pictures in the Details magazine came from…it all makes sense now. I thought he was kissing the mirror, though. Funny stuff.
On a serious note, here’s to Arod staying healthy and having a great year!!!
Ths Ynkee team has a lot of heart, but I would trade it all away for a bullpen and some starting pitching, or in other words, pitching.
IPK had an aneurysm in his pitching shoulder, similar to David Cone. How scary! I hope he gets well.
wow, ian kennedy has an aneurysm in his pitching shoulder. He undergoes surgery next week…
I meant that I wouldn’t be posting in game threads. Mostly I just wish to avoid homer scrubs like you who like to condescend on a public blog.
—————-
Really? Now I’m a homer scrub?
Uh, what does that mean?
If it means that I don’t spout insane retarded nonsense every time the Yanks lose a game (or the opponent takes a lead for that matter) – then I guess you’re right.
dave that’s pretty bad logic, there are a lot of key players on a playoff team.
For 2007 fill in the blanks,
“With __ we make the playoffs, without __ we don’t.”
The following players are all answers:
Chien-Ming Wang
Derek Jeter
Robinson Cano
Joba Chamberlain
Bobby Abreu
Jorge Posada
Andy Pettitte
“Tex is upper echelon talent. He is one of the top 15-20 position players in the game ”
Tex is a very good player but he’s simply not elite. Look at his stats, they are similar to Jason Bay’s. Would you pay Jason Bay $180 million? Tex is a better defender and he’s a switch hitter but that’s it.
I’m not saying the Yankees shouldn’t have gotten Teixeira. I’m saying that nobody can expect him OR ANYONE ELSE to carry a team. That’s simply not how baseball works.
Add a to Ynkee.
BRING UP SHELLY DUNCAN!
aardvark – I have never seen worse rankings in my life. I hope you dont play fantasy baseball and if you do, I hope those rankings didnt make it anywhere near your draft strategy. How do you come off putting david wright and chase utley with jd drew who may have that kind of talent but has never put up anywhere close to wright and utley performances. Wright and utley are in the top ten best players in the game and that wont change anytime soon i dont think. Derek lee should also be nowhere near those two. Utley and wright are also better than anyone you listed in your second tier and those guys are all over the place in terms of rankings. You need to do some more research and get back to us.
Need to move Jobber to the pen
Teixera is better than Beltran……..
I wasn’t trying to be harsh on Tex and I realize that one player can not carry a team (though some like Alex, Manny, Pujols can do more than their share). I just wonder now if it was the best allocation of resources to spend that much $$$ and tie up that many years for a guy who is just very good and not great.
Patrick-Your point is fair, but I still think you underate Tex. We can’t EXPECT Tex to carry a team, but he has had some monster seasons and generaly drives in 120 or so runs, so we know he COULD, just like ARod in 07.
I wasn’t advocating (nor ever advocated) for Abreu to be resigned. He is too old. However, he was a good, solid 3rd place hitter. Tex is supposed to be more. Baseball card figures or not, he has really let the team down nearly 20% of the way through the season.
“All right. Reasons?”
He’s a SP.
I think a 300 avg., 120 RBI’s and 30+ HR’s is great.
What is this “tier” nonsense? It’s so arbitrary.
Beltran is a better player than Mark Teixeira. Why? He plays excellent defense at a premium position.
Tex is very good at first but a great CF is much more valuable than a great 1B.
Tex is actually a better hitter but combine the baserunning and defense and I’d take Beltran.
Brandon “THE CIRCUS IS BACK !”-That isn’t a reason. Why shouldn’t he be moved?
I hope you don’t think I’m trying to beat you down to make my point, I really would like to know.
Teixeiramvp -
Tex has driven in 120 RBI or more twice. RBI’s are a pointless stat anyways. Tex is an impact player for sure but he’s not an elite player.
To me an elite player is someone like Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez (lol), I’m sure I’m forgetting some.
We all knew that Teixeria was good and not great.
But his contract is the going rate for good players.
The best player in baseball gets $300 million and when Pujols hits the market, he will get a monster contract too to be the 2nd highest player.
Manny, when he signed his contract with Boston, was the highest paid player at the time. Even now, he is the 3rd highest position player annually.
Teixeira has been a great ballplayer.
Who cares what tier he fits in.
Patrick – i SEE what your saying with the first part of your comment. As for the second, i think tex’s value is beyond the stat line unless you are looking at defensive metrics as well. He is going to win many more gold gloves in his career and win them because he deserves them. That is why he is in the upper echelon. As far as offensively, yea tex and bay are pretty close but tex has him beat because he provides so much with his glove. As for what kind of contract bay will get compared to tex, we will only have to wait until this coming off-season when the sox and yanks are both going to be bidding for his services most likely. My guess is it wont quite reach tex’s numbers but it wont be that far off.
Best of luck to IPK on a full recovery.
Mark Teixeira is not an ACE!
Patrick,
Agree 100%. Beltran plays a much more premium position and puts up comparable numbers.
He also makes $60 million less than Teixeria.
Not even close, give me Beltran.
“With the Yankees, the pressure is always on. Too much.”
Yes I agree, I kind of don’t like it. I’m happy if my team gets to the playoffs. That means they have a shot at a championship.
Yanks strat their 09 bounce back this series….Just a couple of good spins through the rotation will set things in motion….Certainly will take the pressure off the lineup and the bulpen as well….
mel,
and 
at the same time.
So
that CC said what he did about Molina catching his games.
So
that Molina is not there to catch any games for a while.
Okay, so here’s my positive spin on Cervelli and Cash catching. Cervelli because he is cute and Italian – having nothing to do with anything. Just wanted to say that.
Okay, positive spin: because both Cervelli and Cash are “novice” catchers (meaning not your first-string or first-string backup), our starting pitchers are going to have to start calling their own games by and large and I would THINK will feel comfortable shaking off these catchers. So there should be no saying things like “I threw pitches that I don’t ordinarily throw” after a bad loss. Joba, darlin that he is, shakes off catchers easily. The new “kids” that aren’t part of the Yankee system haven’t done so quite as easily. And Andy? He’s on his own. If he allows someone to call the whole game and isn’t comfortable with the pitches, that’s on him.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
GO YOU LIMPING AND UNDERACHIEVING YANKEES!!!
We need CC to be sharp because if we know anything about BMore it’s they sure know how to score runs.
Patrick-Twice. In six years. Including last year. And by the way, that is an important stat because it means you’re directly contributing to success. That alone not being great doesn’t mean you’re bad, but if it’s good then you’re doing well.
I was not for bringing back abreu, i just think he is a better player the jd drew. abreu is 35 plus the yanks need to get younger and he is a bad fielder.
i thin ktexiera will work out like most fans with brains think he will, but so far he has been pathetic.. why is that a wrong statement. in his first 100 or so at bats he has been horrible, by the end of the season he hopefully will be the real mark texiera.. baseball is a long long season………………..
“when the sox and yanks are both going to be bidding for his services most likely.”
Gee I hope we don’t bid on Bay, like you said his defense isn’t all that great. The Yanks need to get younger and I agree Tex is a superior talent. However, he is more comparable to Jason Bay than he is to Albert Pujols.
Best wishes to Ian Kennedy for a speedy recovery.
Lucky for him, they caught it.
Baseball card figures or not, he has really let the team down nearly 20% of the way through the season.
————
How has he let the team down?
Everyone knew he was a slow starter. He probably would have started the season slow regardless if A-Rod was injured or not.
Yankee fans knew what they were getting when they signed Teixeira. He’s not going to change as a player or his historical tendencies because he now makes more money and put on the pinstripes.
Teixeira will put up the numbers that he’s supposed to this season. But Yankee fans think giving someone more money is going to make them perform better in April when they usually don’t.
Teixeira’s issues were also exacerbated with that wrist injury. He just started to do his normal drills a week ago because he was unable to do them for a over two weeks.
Wrist injuries are death on hitters.
cerevilli is venezualian i think so i doubt he is italian. he also is 23 so he is a work in orgress…
Well, there goes the Yankees pitching depth. After Aceves, they have nobody left that would be close to ready for the majors or worth calling up(Igawa, Jason Johnson)
Better pray AJ Burnett doesn’t get hurt, or it’s gonna be a long summer.
The fact that Beltran does it in centerfield makes him more valuable
Tex has been pathetic. It’s all a matter of him turning it around or not. If he does, he is a success. If not, a bust.
Took a break for dinner. How dare I, right???
Anywayyyyyyy -
m – I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the Rays take a home town discount. But otherwise, I suppose they could stand to lose a few to free agency.
randy l -
Parity is unAmerican!!!!! And yes, I’m ready for Season Opener Round 2!
gregory yea you are right forget wang will always have a 34 era, the world is gone mad the yankees have no hope, cancel the season…….
Best wishes to Ian Kennedy.
But boy, what a body blow to the Yankees organization
“Better pray AJ Burnett doesn’t get hurt, or it’s gonna be a long summer.”
Judging by his track record in his career, I wouldn’t bet anything on it.
Wang will be back.. but will he be effective?
Franco-Even Pete just said on the wheelhouse tat the Yanks have to start being concerned and that he was worse than ws expected.
Doreen – about the pressure. That is right on the money. And there is nothing that we as fans can do but lament it. When you hear Jeter and Posada saying that the season is a failure because they didn’t win the world series (not that they didn’t make the playoffs, but that they didn’t win the world series) you know that’s the attitude that permeates that clubhouse. Arod picked up on it quickly. Everything is getting that ring. Of course I am happy they aspire to that but sad that I have to believe it takes away from the joy of playing and the joy of achieving whatever they can as a team, even if it isn’t the brass ring.
Anyone want to respond to my post on Joba?
Oh no, poor Ian. How terrible – I hope he comes through surgery and recovers quickly. How long was Coney out after his operation? Jeez……..
“Patrick-Twice. In six years. Including last year. And by the way, that is an important stat because it means you’re directly contributing to success. That alone not being great doesn’t mean you’re bad, but if it’s good then you’re doing well. ”
Yeah but you’re making it seem like he’s guaranteed to drive in 120+ which is not true at all.
RBI’s are fine and all but I’d rather look at other stats that zero in on exactly what he provides the team as an individual. RBI’s are too dependent on the rest of the team. I’m not getting into this argument, some people like RBI, I’m not one of them.
If that’s their idea of sucess, good for them. It means every year they are hungry for a champonship.
Only they can decide if it’s taking joy out of the game. Personally, I’d be more driven to suceed and have a better time because of it. Not to say I wouldn’t fold under the intense pressure.
Patrick-That is true. But 95 to 100 is not a stretch. And that is very good.
Franco-Even Pete just said on the wheelhouse tat the Yanks have to start being concerned and that he was worse than ws expected.
——————
Well, even Pete has said that the Yanks are a better team without A-Rod.
Pete may cover the team but he’s not always right.
Teixeira will turn it around. Mark my words.
Beltran has about the same HR/RBI totals as Teixeria, except Beltran steals about 20 more bases and does it as a CF.
Teix has a .287 career average, Beltran’s is .282.
You take the CF over the 1st baseman 10 times out of 10
So is the 40 man move just putting Kennedy on the 60 day dl?
I hope for the best with Ian Kennedy.
Whoa – I hope IPK’s surgery and subsequent recovery go well. Scary, indeed.
Someone on this blog predicted that IPK might have this exact problem after he was initially diagnosed over a week ago. The Yankees medical team is really pretty crappy that it took them this long to figure it out.
Anyways, best of luck to Ian, I’m sure he’ll be okay.
GF, I agree, but you’d have to admit that Tex has had an unsually horrible start – it’s beyond slow. However, he’s more than very good at 1B – IMO, he’s better than Tino. He’s a great defensive 1B
The news about IPK is devastating – to Ian and the team. This just kills their dept. It’s getting to the point where I wonder what each new day will bring in terms of bad news.
Who care how tex is ranked overall he as top 5 at his position and that is all that matters
Terrible news for Ian Kennedy. He has an aneurysm and will have surgery in New York on Tuesday. The same surgeon that worked on David Cone, Dr. George Todd, will do the surgery.
================================
Oh Damn. Best of luck to Ian.
I’ve lived in Venezuela and there is a huge Italian population there. I was constantly meeting old Italians who had been living in Venezuela for years and couldn’t even speaking Spanish. So yea, it’s possible Cervelli is of Italian ancestry.
“Patrick-That is true. But 95 to 100 is not a stretch. And that is very good.”
A chimp could hit 95-100 RBI in the middle of this lineup. RBI tell me nothing about how good a player is.
“Gee I hope we don’t bid on Bay, like you said his defense isn’t all that great.”
patrick-
don’t we want the red sox to have to pay top dollar for bay ?
the only way to do that is for the yankees to get in on the bidding.
Franco-I agree 100% (and we’re better with ARod). However, so far he has had his worst start. Worse than expected. And that is below expectations. But he will turn it around.
Patrick-That is a totally unfair comment.
Why could “a chimp” srive in 95 to 100 runs?
That makes no sense to me at all.
Well this just completely kills our depth
If we need a starter, who is there? Eric Hacker? Igawa?
Tomko is not stretched out in AAA…..
srive=drive.
Lol glad to see Alex is laxed joking with Jeter…..at least i hope its a joke
Beltran is probably more valuable then tex because he plays CF that is correct. the only down side is since he plays CF there skills usually diminsh faster because it is a position of speed and Beltran is in the decline phase already. tex should not start declining for 2 or 3 yrs…..
Wow awful news for Ian. Hopefully he can recover from this and resume his baseball career. But first thing is first, hopefully the surgery goes well.
beefy thanks for the insight..
I feel bad for Kennedy but from a team perspective I’m glad they can’t try him out in the rotation. I know others disagree, and they’re allowed, but I think he’s an awful pitcher.
Mark- Probably.
Wait a second, where the source to the Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm like Cone and is going to have surgery?
There has not been reported anywhere, and until it is, I’m taking that with a grain of salt.
Kennedy just said a week ago that he has a vasospasm in his finger and the doctor prescribed medication to clear it up.
http://community.thetimes-trib.....-quot.aspx
Chad Jennings is on top of everything related to Scranton and he has written anything about Kennedy and surgery.
I’m calling BS on the aneurysm report.
Scranton is starting to stretch out Stephen Jackson it seems. He made an emergency start on Thursday, then they decided they are keeping him in the rotation.
“If we need a starter, who is there?”
Hopefully Wang will be ready to come back soon. Sweeney said this afternoon that the Yanks are very pleased with Wang’s rehab and if all goes well he could be back in about a week and a half.
Nat May 8th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Well this just completely kills our depth
If we need a starter, who is there? Eric Hacker? Igawa?
Tomko is not stretched out in AAA…..
Wang/Hughes, Aceves, Kei Igawa
Giuseppe, it was on WFAN.
you guys realize Tomko has to be with the major league club by june 1st or else he’s a free agent right?
Mark- Actually
Just got the official transaction from the Yankees.
Steven Jackson (right) was designated for assignment to make room for Kevin Cash on the 40-man.
I don’t know what that means for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rotation and we likely won’t know for a few days. If Jackson clears, he can return to his spot starting role. I’m surprised by the move and can only imagine Jackson is stunned. He’s been pitching well down in Triple-A.
I guess they didn’t get the news on Ian till after they made this move.
They also can’t trade Ian kennedy for a catcher now, can they?
(Which I personally didn’t want, by the way.)
Would be the best thing for all involved for him to be a free agent.
The 2009 New York Yankees are leading the league in at least one category: number of games deleted from the DVR w/out watching.
On the plus side, it leaves more room for 30 Rock, The Office and Lost.
Alex sounds a little insecure. I wish I could feel bad for the guy but he has done all this to himself. I think he was looking for Jeter to give some visible support.
Let’s win tonight!
btw beltran is 32 and tex is 29.
how much longer can beltran patrol cf?
3 years max in my opinion………
Steven Jackson DFA’D guess there goes my theory of them stretching him out to be a starter lol.
Giuseppe Franco
Why exactly would Pete lie about this.
I heard Melancon was moved down. That is an awful, awful move if true (WFAN mentioned it). We have a bad bullpen, so you send one of our best prospects down after like what? Three, four outings? I understand we needed to get a catcher up. Fine. Send down Albie or Veras. Not our best prospect.
Well as Pete said, Joe hinted more moves were on the way. So I guess someone else will be up.
Yikes, let’s try that again. Too many mistakes for one post.
———————–
Wait a second, where’s the source to the “Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm like Cone” and is going to have surgery?
That has not been reported anywhere, and until it is, I’m taking that “news” with a grain of salt.
Kennedy just said a week ago that he has a vasospasm in his finger and the doctor prescribed medication to clear it up.
http://community.thetimes-trib.....-quot.aspx
Chad Jennings is on top of everything related to Scranton and he hasn’t mentioned anything about Kennedy having an aneurysm and needing surgery.
I’m calling BS.
Ah, Jackson sent down.
Good.
Put Melky in the 3rd spot in our lineup, and he will drive in 85-90 runs.
If you’re questioning my reporting on Kennedy, get bent. Do you think I would report such a thing if I didn’t know that?
He has an aneurysm under his armpit and is having surgery on Tuesday. Girardi told us.
————-
My bad, Pete. I didn’t even see your report above.
I thought it was a troll spreading baloney.
Wow, Pete. Annoyed?
So Kennedy will go to the 60….
Berroa has to be soon to be DFA’d
means two more position players have to be added to the 40.
HAHA. I can totally see Jeter looking at A-Rod like a moron, and then saying “You’re F’in kidding right?”
Lol I dont care if arod dates Farrah Fawcett, just drive in those runs.
How could the Yankees misdiagnosis this with Ian? That could have been a fatal error on their part – pretty disgraceful.
Giuseppe Franco you know what assume means right
Best of luck to Ian. Horrible.
Good stuff Pete.
Alex is an unusual dude.
He’s not a BAD dude.
That’s always been my point about him.
randy l.
May 8th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
“You guys need to quit ragging Randy about Livan Hernandez. Hernadez was Randy’s childhood baseball idol when he was growing up.”
gb 7
yeah , well yours was abner doubleday. i didn’t know they had green berets in the civil war.
did you figure out yet how to hook up a usb cable to that dictionary you got on sale at books a million the other day ? your spelling seems better so i’m guessing yes.
————————————————————
All hooked up and ready to go with the dictionary. As far as Ol’ abe and baseball goes, that old bushwacker had nothing to do with it. I should know because I helped Alex Cartwright lay out the diamond at Elysian Fields in Hoboken. For those that don’t know who Alex Cartwright is, he’s the oldest of the 4 brothers of Adam, Hoss and Little Joe. That Ben sure got around, huh?
Kay has always said that Alex really isn’t a bad guy, just an odd one.
HEY PETE!!!! I’m curious, when you talk to alex in person do you mention all the trash and name calling you spew about him on your blog? I’d bet not. Spineless jellyfish. Be an honorable man and speak no harm behind peoples’ backs.
Would someone more Medically inclined please give me a brief overview on what sort of rehab Ian has ahead of him?
“Put Melky in the 3rd spot in our lineup, and he will drive in 85-90 runs.”
insert Cartman’s mom, “What? what? what? WHAT?!”
Melky is way too inconsistent to ever hit anywhere above 6th in the lineup.
I wouldn’t bat him third at Scranton. Maybe Trenton…
With an aneurysm, it will at least open up a spot on the 40 man roster, because they’ll almost have to put Kennedy on the 60 day DL.
Is Cone doing the broadcast tonight? Guess not – I see it’s Singy and Kay. Cone would have been ideal to give some info on what Kennedy might have ahead of him.
correction, make that Kyle’s mom.
Jones-Pete never calls ARod a bad guy or player, he says (while I disagree, but that’s besides the point) that the signing of any player that’ll laste into the late thirties or more is a bad move because the risks outweigh the possible rewards. He also said that with the injury his point is magnified. Other than that, he’d report stories about him that came out. Nothing more.
what is the book on steven jackson??? i thought he was doing fairly well at AAA
does he have any upside??
thanks.
“I have no idea why they’re keeping Berroa around. I guess in case Alex gets hurt again. I asked Girardi and he hinted that more moves are on the way.”
Which of course makes me want to see Berroa kept around. I don’t know exactly what it is with me and reclamation projects, but anytime fans and/or the media get down on a player, that player gets my total support. I think I’ve always had a social worker mentality.
Teixeiramvp (I’m keeping the faith) (Not the troll)
May 8th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Ah, Jackson sent down.
Good.
————————————————————
Jackson had already been “sent down” a week ago.
what it does do is that it opens up the possibility of a multi-player trade.
jennifer May 8th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Giuseppe Franco
Why exactly would Pete lie about this.
——————
I didn’t question Pete’s reporting. I never saw his report until after he chimed in and thought I was questioning him.
I thought it was a troll spreading BS because it hadn’t been reported anywhere.
That IPK has an aneurysm is pretty surprising news. I hope everything goes well for him. i KNEW he was on the dl but I guess it took a while to diagnose. Its not so often someone gets an aneurysm at IPK’s age.
I hope alex was joking too. Be nervous for what? Hes only been playing baseball in front of crowds his entire life. And i doubt he meant the interview which he has also been doing most of his life. Very strange. Im sure he was joking and he didnt give the appropriate facial expessions but who knows?
As for who we should pick up for berroa, I am REALLY hoping its miranda or duncan. Both of them could really bolster our non-existent bench. With cervelli and cash starting, we need a pinch hitter option and either one of those are decent. Im betting miranda is more likely because he is on the 40 man but damn shelly is doing well this season. He has turned into babe ruth in scranton.
Does anyone know the record for roster moves made in a single day? We are making a lot today.
Hobs
in Cohn’s case it took about three months for him to come back. i doubt IPK will pitch for the Yanks again this year
Maybe keeping Berroa around for the weekend to make sure A-rod is good to go. 2 spots on the 40 should open soon. Kennedy unfortuantely will go to the 60 day dl, and Berroa will hopefully be DFA’d soon. I would guess Tomko added to the 40 man, and then maybe either Shelley Todd Linded or John Rodriguez added to the 40 to add some power to the bench.
You mean to tell me they examined Ian Kennedy for a week or two now and they couldn’t find this? Are you kidding me? How do you miss something like that? Poor kid. I hope everything goes well and wish a speedy recovery
Damn Pete, I know someone just questioned you but chill lol. It isn’t that serious.
Hope A-rod does fine tonight in his return, and once again lets go Yankees 2009.
Cone
GreenBeret7-You’re right, my bad. I thought he was saying Jackson down, Melancon up. But Melancon is down too. What a terrible move by the Yanks.
“Its not so often someone gets an aneurysm at IPK’s age”
I’m wondering if he had any underlying medical problems
Pete said “get bent” I love that
stuart -
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....-cervelli/
Uncle E
I hadn’t heard that expression since high school!
I’d rather Pena than Berroa………..
Doreen
ah the 80s a loosey goosey time
Just got home from work. TGIF!
1. Sad news about Kennedy. But, it was diagnosed, and now it can be fixed. Don’t know if he can come back this year. I really hope he can resume his career.
2. Disappointing about Melancon, as hoped he could some of the deadwood in the pen. But, if he’s not quite ready, he’s not ready. Doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t be. I’m stil hopeful, as I don’t trust Veras and Edwar show.
3. Alex isn’t the only one who needs to get it together. There are a few guys who need to step it up. Not to do too much, if you know what I mean. Just play to their more than adequate capabilities. I know, easier said than done.
4. Please win tonight. I can’t stand it anymore.
pena has had his horrible glove experiences as well…
Pena over Angel “error a day”Berroa. And I know Pena’s defense has not been sterling, but I’d still rather him over Berroa.
One final thought before dinner – I really don’t understand some of the moves the team makes with the roster. But as CB pointed out a number of days ago, just because you don’t have the information and don’t understand the reasoning, doesn’t mean that someone is stupid (or words to that effect).
But I sure hope someone has a plan. I can’t take much more of the Veras, Edwar and Berroa show.
This reminds me of the awful years when CBS owned the Yankees. Until they develop a meaningful farm system (like the Red Sox have), the Yankees are doomed to .500 teams.
Uncle E -
Late 70s!
Even loosier and goosier!
Joe from LI –
I don’t think any of us could take another loss.
I thought the jokes last night were great, by the way. It lightened the atmosphere and got away from the futility of the situation both in the game and here.
Uncle Ellsworth
May 8th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Doreen
ah the 80s a loosey goosey time
————————————————————
The first time that I ever heard the term “loosey goosey” was in the late ’50s. Dizzy Dean used that term a lot when describing a team on a roll or a player.
Anyone else think Joe G looks like he’s lost weight – face looks thinner than usual. Think he’s sleeping much?
GreenBeret7
May 8th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Uncle Ellsworth
May 8th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Doreen
ah the 80s a loosey goosey time
——————————————————————————————
The first time that I ever heard the term “loosey goosey” was in the late ‘50s. Dizzy Dean used that term a lot when describing a team on a roll or a player.
I dig it daddio
Doreen – its all the good ol days
whos got a joke?
I’m just floored about the news about Ian….From a so called blister to an anuerysm in a weeks time is perplexing….Get Bent, that goes back to the 60’s
“you guys realize Tomko has to be with the major league club by june 1st or else he’s a free agent right?”
Then I say get Tomko on the 40 man roster. From what I understand Tomko has been really good in Scranton. Isn’t that what we’re looking for, to keep good pitching around? And with Kennedy going down, you definitely want to keep Tomko around!
My opinion.
Too bad on IPK.
But who are we kidding…the guy is a AAAA pitcher.
I do wish him the best though…a speedy and healthy recovery.
Thats terrible for Ian. He really was progressing and doing great down in AAA. Thats a lot for a 24yr old to go through.
Everyone please stop looking at Tomkos Scranton #’s and actually look at his baseball reference page.
Why designate Steven Jackson when you don’t have to. Why wasn’t Kennedy just put on the 60 day DL?
The Yankees have really botched their 40 man roster. They added Melancon too it, gave him a few appearances, and then sent him down. It’s about evaluation. If Melancon wasn’t ready he should have stayed at AAA. If they feel he is still ready, he should stay up here and hopefully improve. On top of that, the Yanks started his arbitration clock early for just a few appearances.
We’re running out of options. Tomko may be our only one left.
This is CC’s 7th start. It’s time for him to start pitching the way he’s supposed to. He’s been as dominant as any pitcher in baseball over the last 2 years.
The rotation has the talent to be dominant. Once they start pitching like they can, it takes pressure off the bullpen and the lineup.
“This reminds me of the awful years when CBS owned the Yankees. Until they develop a meaningful farm system (like the Red Sox have), the Yankees are doomed to .500 teams.”
extremely unfounded… .500 team based off of what? your silly fantasies?
look at pete in the dugout trying to listen to jete and arod chat.
How long ago was opening day? Why do I want to click THERE to see pics from opening day?
On another note, let’s see what CC the pitcher has today and “an A-BOMB from A-ROD” (sponsored by RIP-FUEL) can do at clean-up.
Pete you still rock!!
great way to start the inning jeter
They just said Guthrie has been horrible his last couple of starts. He hasn’t won since his 2nd start of the season and he has given up something like 20 runs. Too bad now we know to expect a good game from him tonight. I would rather he had like a 0 era then maybe the Yanks would have a chance. We know they don’t hit guys with 5 eras.
And the trend of Murphy’s Law contiues as all teams miraculously play their best defense vs. the Yankees.
With this team, whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The cycle has got to be broken.
Damon hot or what?
Jeter really needs to look at pitches..His recent at bats have been very poor…
Man, 1 more at bat until HE bats
I’m glad we got a first basement that’s tied for 5th in the AL in walks. Money well spent.
Murphy’s Law-We need some poor unsuspecting Oriole to make an error.
this pitcher won’t last 2 innings
CaptainsCorner-Didn’t he go 2 for three yesterday?
Here we go
This pitcher stinks.
WOOOOOOOOOOOO
interesting
What a situation for Alex to come up in, lol -
Mixed reviews?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD
good gods!
wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WEre better without him! take that haters!!
LOL
ALEX!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow…
ARod –
I AM LEGEND!!!
Oh my gosh!
F YEEEEEEEEEEEEAH
That is what movies are made of!
Go figure. Another no pressure home run by Rodriguez, huh, PA?
Go figure. Another no pressure home run by Rodriguez, huh, PA?
Hi Alex!
I am so pumped up right now
WOW! ARod! Welcome back!
haha one swing! one freakin swing
Hallelujah !!!!
unbelievable
you can not make this stuff up!
Welcome back Arod…I definitely don’t mind seeing his face again..
Amazing!
You can’t start any better than that!
Go Yanks!!!!
were my eyes deceiving me or was that on a 98 m.p.h. fastball?
Whoa Alex! When was the last time CC worked with a lead?
I like the bat toss. Get some mojo back.
This is just too much.
Selena Roberts just regurgitated a little bit.
Okay, I was wrong. Maybe he can hit Guthrie.
Hey guys, the season is not over. ARod gives me hope.
alex has a bad pitches per at bat ratio
If Red Sox fans are watching be warned.
Wow, that was amazing. Maybe he’s on the juice again.
that was a ball
Wow Arod!
and that is exactly why all the doom and gloom stuff was ridiculous
Took one pitch to out homer Ransom, Pena and Berroa.
Hooray they allowed the Yank fans in the building!! The Yanks must feel like it is a home game not like that new ballpark in the Bronx.
who needs steroids
Gameday indicated not one pitch to Cano was in the strike zone.
Dee, don’t forget, you still have the effects of steroids on you even when you stop taking them. You remain strong for a wile if you keep lifting.
I wonder if O’s fans are embarrassed by all the empty seats?
There will still be media after the game that will hound Alex about the dumb book rather than his 1st at bat.
He’ll be smart enough not to want any discussion about the book.
come on CC
Nice job so far, CC
$160 million ace…….
Stop crying the game just started.
what a throw.
it takes guts for a kid to make that throw.
lol trail foot.
Come on CC.
Good throw Cervelli.
I’ll take it. Its time for yanks to catch a break.
Close call. Can you imagine, one day your playing in AA hitting ,190 and the next day you are catching CC Sabathia. Nice gig.
If I was writing the script for this game, CC would have had a 1-2-3, but I’ll take it.
pat
May 8th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I wonder if O’s fans are embarrassed by all the empty seats?
**************************************************
Not embarrassed enough to stop booing like morons, apparently.
“I am so pumped up right now”
alex probably is too … in a different way.
One of the great moments in Yankees history. Sterling called that one amazingly.
Perhaps ARod’s blast broke the Murphy’s Law Curse, proven when Cervelli got that guy out on a close call.
Arod looked extremely focused in his AB. He was all over it.
pat
May 8th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I wonder if O’s fans are embarrassed by all the empty seats?
————————————————————
I’d think that it’s Yankee fans that should be embarrassed for not turning out at YS II.
Sterling had a lot of pure emotion in his call… Legendary moment
15 pitches for CC
Sometimes it’s nice to get a gift from an umpire.
joNES acted like it wasnt even close – to me, that play looked bang-bang. That was the first close play that we actually got called in our favor in weeks. Its been one terrible call against us after the other. We deserved that one!
I think we witnessed a small bit of history.
Would be nice to see the Yankees tack on some more runs instead of letting Guthrie settle into a groove – they could have done more with that first inning
Dee, don’t forget, you still have the effects of steroids on you even when you stop taking them. You remain strong for a wile if you keep lifting.
5 years later?
Ima go back and listen to that sterling call after the game.
554
great timing for Alex’s return…Yanks stink, Manny got nabbed and his return can possibly save the Yankees! good damn start!
Cervelli has to be bunting.
Who is this Melked Man?
The 2006 .360 obp Melky might be back!
great bunt
nice bunt!! when’s the last time we could execute that?
Cervelli has a little speed.
Hey, Randy l -
maybe they’re starting to teach bunting? Pena bunts pretty good adn that was a nice one by Cervelli.
time for a little redemption here Jete
Hey, Cervelli doing his job nicely.
If only Damon bunted.
A-Rod is going to strike out in his next at bat and I don’t care because the first one was nice.
Not the best start for Jeet.
NYYanksFan-Exactly.
come on Johnny D!!! our only “hot” guy now
Good eye Johnny.
Jeter’s Future Wife-And ARod.
Jeter is KILLING ME in Fantasy
wear him out…
Let’s get ARod up here with the bases loaded.
Ah.
Got his pitch count up though.
“maybe they’re starting to teach bunting? Pena bunts pretty good adn that was a nice one by Cervelli.”
doreen -
you just may be right. very nice bunt.
that was a nice blog moment huh with arod and the home run.
we’re all going to remember that one.
that throw by cervelli took guts too because a bad throw and a run scores. a lot of mlb catchers eat that ball.
randy l.-Years and years later when we all have great grandkids (or possibly for some now) we’ll be telling them this story.
Tex **looks at arod’s homer and says “gosh darnitt, i’ve been trying to do that for weeks.”
47 pitches for Guthrie after 2 innings. Not bad.
I’m going to get a link to yesterday’s blog page on here just to show the total attitude change of everyone.
Unreal.
Cervelli has a canon arm. If it wasn’t for Tampa taking him out in spring training last year, he would have been at AAA last year and ready to take over for Molina.
So far, Rodriguez has made two plays and dove for another. He proved, at least so far, that he can still turn on a pitch.
Randy l =
It WAS a nice blog moment. A bonding moment.
23 for CC
CC!
Filthy just filthy.
23 starts by sabathia without giving up an extra base hit to a lefty hitter ?
is that even possible ?
if it is true, maybe we need to move him to be the lefty situational guy to compliment joba when he’s the 8th inning guy
If the Yankees pitchers could only pitch inning #1 like it counted…
Atta boy CC. 24 pitches for him total
Next inning he’s up again.
Great job there CC
9 innings for Sabathia… we cant trust anyone in the pen including Mo.
And Swisher should be the closer! ERA = 0.00
randy – did I see that correctly? You actually like a product of the Yanks’ farm system? And a catcher, to boot?
big papi has yet to homer and arod comes back out of the gate and crushes one.
Come on Tex.
Got to do better.
Call him A-Roid whatever you know he loves this attention.
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200...../#comments
Yesterday’s game thread.
Lowest of the low.
“Selena Roberts just regurgitated a little bit.”
And OF COURSE my phone rings as Arod comes to bat and I don’t get a chance to hoot and holler with all of you – though I did to the person on the phone who could care less about baseball so didn’t have a clue why I screamed!
Okay, I called it and I am going to stick to my call. I truly think that it is easier for CC to pitch to a rookie where he realizes he’s the stud and will feel free to call his own pitches. That’s not to take anything away from Cervelli.
While it is really an awful situation, maybe there is some kind of gift also being given to us with the rookie catchers and the stud pitchers now FEELING in control on the mound (the psychological component, not to say that they weren’t in fact in control before.)
And how about Arod homering without the specter of him being juicing? Pure talent. Anyone who would think he is still on the juice is on beans.
So far it feels really really good.
Omg he sucks.
Wow he swung at an awful pitch.
First day rust.
randy l.-Years and years later when we all have great grandkids we’ll be telling them this story.
Teixeiramvp (I’m keeping the faith) (Not the troll)-
you’re right. except for green beret 7 . he can tell them now. he’s so old he might even be able to tell his great grand kids now too.
doreen-
very nice moment. might be the turning point of the year.
Nasty pitch by Guthrie
Nady still hanging with the team.
randy l.-If the year turns around that will be seen as a landmark HR in Yankee history.
And, the bloom is off of the rose for Rodriguez. No 1.000 average or 600 homers for him this year..
Nasty change
“While it is really an awful situation, maybe there is some kind of gift also being given to us with the rookie catchers and the stud pitchers now FEELING in control on the mound (the psychological component, not to say that they weren’t in fact in control before.)”
trisha-
it’s not a so much matter of being in control as being in sync. when a catcher is tuned into the pitcher the catcher calls the pitches the pitcher wants. it does take a lot of thinking off the mind of the pitcher when he can trust the catcher to call a good game.
the catcher can be thinking about the hitters and their tendencies and the pitcher can be focusing on making the pitches. that’s the ideal.
I love DA MELK!
I just can’t say it enough and I’m so happy I am having reason to keep chirping it lately. I love the way he plays center, I love his one-handed catches, I love his confidence in the field, and I love that hitters won’t run on him. I’m also pleased with his plate performance of late also.
Ooo it feels nice to be able to write a positive post with the Yankees leading!
Definately a mistake. Should have buried two straight pitches at his feet.
“Kennedy has spoken with Cone, currently a commentator with the club’s YES Network.”
I wonder what Coney had to say.
There are not many unfaithful here, which makes the blog move slowly. Which is fine, I’d rather this than have loads of people glooming and dooming.
Rather fittingly, the faithful few get to see The Home Run.
Swishaaaaa
randy, I agree. And I think that Jorge is such an imposing catcher that pitchers might not always feel the comfort to call him off or to ask for different pitches. He is so used to calling games that he calls with a “confidence” that may be intimidating. Over the weeked SJ noted that Jorge and CC (?) were definitely not on the same page and that it was a problem since we were getting bulldozed.
Maybe a catcher like Cervelli who obviously does’t have the experience of a Posada concentrates harder on what the pitcher wants and calls for those pitches. (I think I am feeding back to you what you just said.) That of course makes for a perfect situation.
Swish!
What is Cano doing?
are you serious?
BUNK!
And he would of scored lord have mercy.
come on cc give me some fantasy points.
he has been killing me.
cc & cueto going for me tonight.
Stupid.
Swisher needs to stop making dumb mistakes. Getting thrown out of yesterday’s game as an example.
That play was on Thompson. Interference by coach
Cano did his job there. but maybe we have “Opposite Cano” this year? He hits in April but slumps the rest of the year.
I’m sorry, not Swish’s fault, it’s the moronic third base coach.
Brett Gardner days in center continue to dwindle
Brett Gardner days in center continue to dwindle
Absolutely, ridiculously, stupid
Teixeiramvp.. thats how it works around here during game threads.
Some people live to be miserable. They’re very vocal when the team is losing. Conversely, they have very little to say when thats not happening.
Never saw THAT before. Good call,though.
Wow, I just tuned in.. If there was ever a more grand entrance into a season then I want to know.. Arod The Great bring us back from the depths of a slow start… Busted hip,comes back and hits a HR in his first at bat.. Amazing!!
3b coach made contact w/ Swish.
yikes
Grats cervelli!
Cervelli!
STUPIDEST AND MOST POINTLESS RULE IN THIS GAME
there ya go Cervelli
this should have been a big inning but Swisher ruined it.
Well, it’s on both of them. Swish wasn’t paying attention or didn’t call time or whatever. And then Thompson pushed him.
Come on Captain
Bad job third base coach.
Let’s hope that run doesn’t come back to bite us.
That hurts
A-Rod now has more homeruns than David ortiz
Doreen-He would have made it back anyway.
i ran over a third base coach once and was out, but yakking and getting picked off.
don’t think i’ve seen that before.
It’s good to see the clubhouse equipment manager finally issue No. 29 to Cervelli to break the hold onto the number by Igawa.
It gave people something to complain about. Very self-sacrificing of Swish. He took one for the mental health of this blog.
Way to go Swisher. There is no way you can blame ANYONE but him on that play. Regardless of what was going on he was not paying attention and thats his fault.
man that pick off hurt
Is the Jeter leadoff experiment working? under .270 now..
Jeter hasn’t done anything in quite a while
Cervelli looks like one of those guys you don’t want to start a fight with
Go to a baseball game and there’s a good chance you will see something you’ve never seen before.
I hope the team just doesn’t sit back and let Arod do the work from now on.
STUPIDEST AND MOST POINTLESS RULE IN THIS GAME
So the 3rd base coach should be able to help physically push a player to the base when he is mentally absent? That makes sense.
It’s true what they say, if you watch enough games, you will see something you’ve never seen before.
Swish was too busy bs’ing. You can bet he won’t do that again.
bru – the baseball gods taketh and the baseball gods giveth. While I have a ridiculously bad fantasy team in general, I have Melky and Swish and I have Cliff Lee and James Sheilds both pitching tonight. It’s very early but right now my team’s Avg is a ridiculous .7143!
Some of you may remember this Mantle moment….1963 ? Mantle had broken his foot at Baltimore’s old Memorial Stadium….After a few months out, Mantle is called upon to pinch hit. He hits the game winning dinger…..I can’t recall if it was the first pitch like Alex’s homer, but the Stadium went crazy and the Yanks pulled away from the pack and won the pennant …lost to the Dodgers in 4 straight in the Series…..
Terry from NH May 8th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Is the Jeter leadoff experiment working? under .270 now..
=====================
As leadoff hitter, he hasn’t GIDP as much.
CC’s being economical today. 44 pitches
It gave people something to complain about. Very self-sacrificing of Swish. He took one for the mental health of this blog.
============================
Pushing the runner back to third base isn’t any different than helping the runner up when he stumbles and falls.
“Is the Jeter leadoff experiment working? under .270 now..”
Yeah it is. The whole reason he is leading off is because “Captain Clutch” has a habit of hitting into double plays.
‘So the 3rd base coach should be able to help physically push a player to the base when he is mentally absent? That makes sense.”
just think how much fun it would be to watch the third base coach tackle runners who try to go through stop signs.
a whole new part of the game would open up.
This team has a great jive to it tonight.
By far this is cc’s best outing.
Pat M-The difference: People love Mantle, people hate ARod.
Then again, that may just mean we win the series instead of lose…
49 pitches for CC. Very nice.
I like that synergy SJ44 mentioned with another CC start in Bal. I don’t think A Rod will ever be more popular with the home fans then when we get back to the stadium, may even help move some seats.
Jeter’ll heat up.
“just think how much fun it would be to watch the third base coach tackle runners who try to go through stop signs.
a whole new part of the game would open up.”
Maybe they can intercept throws from the out field as well. I think youre on to something.
Pat M
May 8th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Some of you may remember this Mantle moment….1963 ? Mantle had broken his foot at Baltimore’s old Memorial Stadium….After a few months out, Mantle is called upon to pinch hit. He hits the game winning dinger…..I can’t recall if it was the first pitch like Alex’s homer, but the Stadium went crazy and the Yanks pulled away from the pack and won the pennant …lost to the Dodgers in 4 straight in the Series…..
————————————————————
Yep. Went back a tried climbing the chain link fence to catch a Brooks Robinson homer. Too bad, because he was off to one of his best starts ever.
Not that anyone cares of course but I thought I would tell you that the Rays are leading 2-0 in the 4th.
Damn YES is scooping me!
Jeter in leadoff is neutral, but Damon hitting 2nd is a huge success if you ask me.
Some guys were saying on CJ’s blog they didnt see keeping De la Rosa on the 40. Up at Trenton, six ks in three innings isn’t too bad. They have put a lot of time into developing him into a pitcher. That’s wasn’t going to happen.
Tex is looking worse and worse by the day.
Bad call by the ump.
do you think it’s tex’s wrist or just a terrible slump
Bs calls man
ARod gets a free pass the rest of the day.
Ball to Tex, strikeout. Ball to A-God, strikeout.
The magical mystery strikezone returns.
Wow that was so far inside it was in the batters box.
I think we need computers calling balls and strikes. I’ve resisted it. But I think I need to embrace it.
I know my HDTV isn’t 3D – but how was that pitch a strike? It looked like it was on the line for the batter’s box.
those were two very lousy strike 3 calls.
Was tex’s strikeout pitch about 10 ” outside?
sorry that was not a strike. not an excuse but not a strike either
Dee-I’m kind of hoping slump, but it is BAD.
“It gave people something to complain about. Very self-sacrificing of Swish. He took one for the mental health of this blog.”
I think we have a bunch of perfectionists here is all I can figure because the disgust that came out in the posts after that really were a bit over the top.
In the world of people being human and “we all make mistakes” the guy made a mistake. Or do the complaining men think that baseball players are wind-up machines immune to error?
According to Gameday, that strike three to A-Rod was way high and inside.
i have a feeling CC’s going to have that 1 inning where things get out of hand. That’s what’s been happening to him this year. I’d really like to get some more runs.
Sweet-lou
“As leadoff hitter, he hasn’t GIDP as much.”
Can’t GIDP if the #9 guy is never on base.
joe-
i have an HDTV. a very nice one in fact. and those were clearly not strikes. but when do calls ever go in the yankees favor? oh well.
Same with tex, it was in the other batters box.
GB,I just knew you’d fill in the blanks…..Maybe , just maybe this will finally jump start the club…..CC needs to set the table for the other starters….
Hmm. Why are the doom and gloomers never around when the Yanks are winning?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:
get rid of the home plate umpire. we need robots and lasers determining balls and strikes.
The good part about not getting down on players who are struggling is that you never have to turn around and say “boy was I wrong!”
Or do the complaining men think that baseball players are wind-up machines immune to error?
****************************************
That.
That and they’re paid like kings to play a kids game so by God, they’d better NOT make mistakes.
The first thing you learn when you start playing baseball is to protect the plate with two strikes. You can’t do that with that bat on your shoulder.
that kid is awesome..
I really am not liking this umpires strike zone tonight. Both the Tex and A-Rod call weren’t exactly hitting the corner
Nasty man.
“that kid is awesome..”
He is and that seat didn’t cost $2,500
Nice stuff Sabathia
Billy – yeah, protect the strike zone, but not the batter’s box.
CC is dealing.
CC looks terrific. We have to give him his props.
CC is flat-out nasty tonight. Fifty-eight through five innings.
ARod could ground into five double plays today. On this day, he is King.
And of the 58 pitches, 41 for strikes.
Bad umpiring is like death and taxes …
there are no $2500 seats anymore
58 pitches for CC. Two thumbs up so far
CC with 58 pitches thru 5..Being economical and effective and showing what we’ve been waiting for. People will say it’s the Orioles, but they hand the Yanks their butts at the beginning of the year.
Come on Matsui you’re better than that.
question obviously I cannot see the game how did swisher get picked off 3rd?
thanks
Trenton has the lead…Vazquez has a grand slam. Wilkin De La Rosa has been promoted and pitching great through 4 innings. 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 WP and 7 strikeouts.
Great job so far CC.
SWB has put a seven spot against one of the most overrated pitching prospects in baseballl Homer Bailey, three RBIs by JRod.
if it wasn’t for ARod Guthrie would be shutting us down.
stuart-He was talking to the third base coach, and they tried a pick off. He was back in time, but the third ase coach pushed him, which was illegal, so he was out.
(So I turn the station in time to see that the Rays are leading 3-0, and there was a pickoff play of Mike Lowell, who somehow fantasized that he could run. And from having nobody out with Jason the Mennonite on 3rd, Shields finds a way to keep the suxers from scoring.)
GB not sure if you read CJ’s blog but one of the posters on there blasted Wilkin’s spot on the 40 man earlier today. I had a big chuckle.
“UPDATE, 8:25 p.m.: A-Rod will be the story of this game and rightfully so. But Cartsen Charles has arrived as a Yankee: 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. He’s mowing down the O’s. He has retired 14 of the last 15.”
I hear you Pete. A-Rod has me giddy but I’m excited about CC the most.
texiaeramvp you ever see that happen before?
anyone complain?
thanks..
Cano! Bring him in Melky!
maybe w/ AROD back some Rich Fairweather fans will buy up the expensive seats at the Stadium…you could never watch baseball and still know who AROD is
That lady is weird.
Nice Cano
The beast has awoken.
Go Cano.
wait to the game is over to celebrate CC, I want a CG shutout or at least 8 innings.
it is not over not even close..
GB7 – Pete said the other day that Cash got really animated in discussing Vasquez. He might be the position player version of Aceves this year.
Pat M
May 8th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
GB,I just knew you’d fill in the blanks…..Maybe , just maybe this will finally jump start the club…..CC needs to set the table for the other starters….
————————————————————
I hope so, but, I sure wish they’d have 2 or 3 innings where they’d string 4-5 hits in a row together. They’re limiting their damage to one inning, lately.
stuart-No, I’ve never seen anything even remotely similar happen.
And a lot of people complained, myself included.
I think this ump may have dropped some acid before the game
hey buddy, call the plate in the middle
If i ever start imitating a pitcher as he is stretching, please slap me, profusely. As hard as you possibly can.
omg that was a ball!
Should have been a walk. What an idiot behind the plate.
CC is not even close to good start magnitude.
He can’t have the big inning.
Anyone catch that weird woman they were showing? Scaaaaary!
Guthrie at 102 pitches
i meant did girardi and the 3b coach argue???
Anyone catch that weird woman they were showing? Scaaaaary!
=========================
LOL. Yeah that lady was freaky!
Did anyone notice the triumverate celebrating in the dugout after Arod hit his homer? He was in the middle of Melky and Robby and they were jumping up and down like kids with Arod having a hand on each of their heads. They always looked to Alex as a mentor. This can be nothing but good.
stuart-He talked with the ump, then nodded and walked away.
Meanwhile, I relly hope CC doesn’t blow it. He looks good now.
Doreen
May 8th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Anyone catch that weird woman they were showing? Scaaaaary!
Only have radio – what’s the deal with her?
Pete, CC looks great so far. But he has “arrived as a Yankee?” Really? The guy has been a disappointment for all but 1 start this year. Let’s see a few of these starts in a row and then we’ll talk about him “arriving as a Yankee.”
Billy
May 8th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
GB not sure if you read CJ’s blog but one of the posters on there blasted Wilkin’s spot on the 40 man earlier today. I had a big chuckle.
————————————————————
Last year, I watched De La Rosa in most all of his games while in Charleston, first as the 8th inning setup guy and when they moved him into the rotation. For a kid that’s only been pitching for less than two years, he’s got 3 plus pitches and a 4th that was getting close. His only real issue other than lack of pitching experience is sometimes, he gets a little wild….not 5-6 walks wild, but, two in an inning type wild.
S.A.–It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Calm down. May 8th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Anyone catch that weird woman they were showing? Scaaaaary!
=====================
LOL. Yeah that lady was freaky!
************************
You mean you don’t follow the stretches that the players do?
If I was Guthrie, I’d be keeping an eye out the window tonight.
That lady is obviously batsh*t crazy.
Uncle Ellsworth
She was doing every stretch the O’s players did.
Tex, I didn’t realize you had complained about Swisher. Sorry, I blamed only the men here.
hardwired May 8th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
If I was Guthrie, I’d be keeping an eye out the window tonight.
That lady is obviously batsh*t crazy.
lmao
trisha-I really feel like this will be like ST. You know, hover around 500 and then we’re off!
“Last year, I watched De La Rosa in most all of his games while in Charleston, first as the 8th inning setup guy and when they moved him into the rotation. For a kid that’s only been pitching for less than two years, he’s got 3 plus pitches and a 4th that was getting close. His only real issue other than lack of pitching experience is sometimes, he gets a little wild….not 5-6 walks wild, but, two in an inning type wild”
Any innings cap? Could he be a guy that could move to the pen if needed ala Joba and Price to keep his IP in check?
C.C !!!!
trisha-Hey!
Uncalled for.
Still shaking my head that wack job, stretching lady.
Uncle E -
One of the Orioles players was going through some stretches (arms) and this woman in the stands was doing EVERYTHING along with him. Weird.
Gotta go now guys.
Go A-Rod!
Go Yankees!
jennifer May 8th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
You mean you don’t follow the stretches that the players do?
==================================
Only when there is a full moon.
CC! Looking good dude
Today would be a better time than ever for a CG shutout.
Thanks Jen Doreen
I’ll check it out on the DVR
DonnieBB, I think I agree with Pete that CC has arrived as a Yankee.
We talk about defining moments and the player then “arriving as a Yankee.” So I don’t personally feel CC has to have several overpowering outings for him to arrive as a Yankee. We know we got the goods when we got him. We were waiting for him to show up as the CC the baseball world has adulated all these years. Tonight he did.
I have a big problem with the Michael Kay’s and Yankee beat writers of the world who talk about when the new players “earn their pinstripes” and talk about “signature moments” and “arrivals”.
On the Yankees, signature moments happen in the playoffs, I’m just looking for consistent production to get us to the playoffs.
I’m liking me some Cervelli so far.
Should have been 6 ks.
CC dealing, A-God back and hits a home run. Now if only the rest of the offense wakes up…
“I have a big problem with the Michael Kay’s and Yankee beat writers of the world who talk about when the new players “earn their pinstripes” and talk about “signature moments” and “arrivals”. ”
Agreed they are trying hard to manufacture Teix’s signature moment.
Oh-Oh: man on first, Jeter up.
Cervelli with a walk
I certainly understand that point, Trisha (although I really hate the whole “he is now officially a Yankee” garbage because the minute they are signed, they are a Yankee). However, we didn’t sign the guy to dominate every few starts. We signed him to dominate almost every start. If throws 7 strong (1 or 2 er) next time out then I will believe that he is back to his normal self.
Let’s not forget that he was out-pitched by Matt Palmer his last time out. Yes, I know the offense was terrible that game. But he gave up 5 or 6 runs last start.
Went back through my notes from April 29, the day Ian Kennedy (right) came back to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and spoke about his relief at being diagnosed with vasospasms. In retrospect, this is the interesting quote.
“They thought it came from up in this area (shoulder), maybe an artery,” Kennedy said. “I guess that’s pretty common with pitchers and I think with some volleyball players. That motion, things can get pinched, but they put me through that motion and there was nothing, which is really good. I had three or four tests to confirm that.”
Obviously, the doctors missed something through those first few tests. Maybe their first hunch was correct.
“Right away they thought something similar to what David Cone had,” Kennedy said.
Back in 1996, David Cone was diagnosed with an aneurysm. Oddly enough, Cone’s diagnosis came on almost the exact same date — 12 years earlier — as Kennedy’s. For some background, and some idea of what’s about to happen with Kennedy, here’s a New York Times story on Cone’s injury.
I’m hardly a medical expert, but the Cone injury sounds remarkably similar to what little we know about Kennedy’s injury. The good news is that Cone was back on the mound by the end of the year — he missed four months — and still had some very good seasons ahead of him. The surgery was in 1996, and Cone finished top six in the Cy Young voting in 1998 and 1999. Surgery is a scary thing, and the word aneurysm is terrifying, but there is plenty of reason to believe Kennedy can bounce back and get himself on track in short order. Let’s all hope that’s the case.
http://community.thetimes-trib.....-cone.aspx
“I’m liking me some Cervelli so far.”
So far, so good:) He has earned another start tomorrow in my book. I was am very impressed with how he frames pitches. That’s a skill that you can’t really teach.
Tex, I was joking with you. I specifically mentioned “the men” on the forum when I talked about it.
Billy
May 8th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
“Last year, I watched De La Rosa in most all of his games while in Charleston, first as the 8th inning setup guy and when they moved him into the rotation. For a kid that’s only been pitching for less than two years, he’s got 3 plus pitches and a 4th that was getting close. His only real issue other than lack of pitching experience is sometimes, he gets a little wild….not 5-6 walks wild, but, two in an inning type wild”
Any innings cap? Could he be a guy that could move to the pen if needed ala Joba and Price to keep his IP in check?
————————————————————
I haven’t heard, but, he had 107 last year, so, I’m guessing 140-145 innings.
That is the best Jeter can do
That would have been a hit for Jeter 2-3 years ago.
SA- Good point. Crazy things happen in a full moon. I can usually tell walking around the city. All the crazy homeless people come out.
the orioles announcers just said jeter has a chance at the hall of fame.
do ya think?
“haven’t heard, but, he had 107 last year, so, I’m guessing 140-145 innings.”haven’t heard, but, he had 107 last year, so, I’m guessing 140-145 innings.”
Sounds good. Thanks. Could he be a pen guy, you think?
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05.....urysm.html
An article describing what Ian will go through.
Damon is the man!
Johnny’s the man right now…..
DonnieBB – you are right about what CC did before this, but I think I am also falling back on what is known to be his slow starts so am feeling this is probably a great sign that he is on his game. Of course only time will tell.
Unless there is a reason for it unknown to me (like he posted he wouldn’t be here) I find it really interesting that Al from BK hasn’t been heard from. I don’t think I remember him ever being absent from a gamethread. And it’s far too coincidental for me that he’s nowhere to be seen when the Yankees are doing a great job. Makes me think he is born to complain!
If he excused himself from tonight’s game, I owe him an apology.
Damon!
WOW! A catcher who can run! As Pete would say, what a concept.
wow Damon is leading the team in RBI.
SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH
“All the crazy homeless people come out.”
There but for the grace of God go we, Jen.
In A-Rod we trust. (And CC, too.)
Fair enough, Trisha. I hope this gets him going. If so, we are in decent shape!
As I type, Tex goes down looking again. Man he is just completely lost.
I love Tex, but he just looks flat out bad at the plate right now.
nice to see Tex get “protected” by A-Rod. sheesh….
Thanks for the links jennifer. I feel bad for Kennedy. This must be so scary for him.
2 run home run I’m calling it.
Tex really struggling right now…
*“I needed to look in the mirror and grow up,” he said.*
I trust every possible joke, sarcastic comment, and expression of disbelief was made about that.
CC’s performance thus far is very encouraging!
question. for tex’s struggles…why still bat him 3rd?
Fail on my part.
SOB – 3-3.
There goes my fantasy team. Shields has started to implode.
5-3.
Tex isn’t even walking anymore…
Maybe he should get a night off?
Why does it look like this is Teixeira’s first game of the year?
Tex the Terrible.. so much for the Arod protection.. Jeter has been softly hitting the ball lately..
Boston 5-3 now.. Bay 3-run shot and then Drew 2-run shot off Shields.. it was 3-0 Tampa..
Anyone see Star Trek?
“for tex’s struggles…why still bat him 3rd?”
I’ve been asking the same question for weeks now. I assume the answer is that he makes a ton of money and you don’t want someone making as much as he does batting 6th or 7th in the lineup even if it’s only for a short time.
What about moving Tex down in the order (6th or 7th) and hit Melky, Jeter, Damon, ARod?
Can Cliff Lee feel more snake bitten?
He has allowed one run through 8 innings. The score? 1-0.
I’d rather have Cano in the 3 spot till Tex gets it back together
CC’s off-speed stuff is ON POINT.
For Charleston, David Phelps is pitching a great game, also, but, the score is 0-0 in the 7th.
Angelini is 1-3 with a single and a steal….and, yes, his 17th error.
Phelps’ Line:
7 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 3.44 ERA
Cano is slumping.
Yay, Singleton just mentioned the game (and the Strawberry homer) that I wrote about in my guest post. What a shot is was.
C effing C
Cano isn’t hitting right now either. Damon is on fire and driving in runs like crazy. He also has hit the ball out quite a bit. Melky is on fire, too.
Melky-Jeter-Damon-ARod-Matsui-Tex-Cano-Swisher-Cervelli
GreenBeret7,
What exactly is Angelini’s ceiling? All I saw is an error from him in the box score. Is he a bust? Thanks!
Well done so far tonight CC
Billy
May 8th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
“haven’t heard, but, he had 107 last year, so, I’m guessing 140-145 innings.”haven’t heard, but, he had 107 last year, so, I’m guessing 140-145 innings.”
Sounds good. Thanks. Could he be a pen guy, you think?
————————————————————
Definately. He set up last year for about 3 months, and then went into the rotation. He was almost automatic in the pen, but, like Chamberlain, what a waste of an arm.
Nick in SF
May 8th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Yay, Singleton just mentioned the game (and the Strawberry homer) that I wrote about in my guest post. What a shot is was.
Nick which game?
GB I see Sublett’s avg is starting to climb a bit.
Blackdragon905
May 8th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
GreenBeret7,
What exactly is Angelini’s ceiling? All I saw is an error from him in the box score. Is he a bust? Thanks!
————————————————————
In my amateurish opinion, no, but, he’s also not a shortstop, and I think that’s killing his offense.
“Definately. He set up last year for about 3 months, and then went into the rotation. He was almost automatic in the pen, but, like Chamberlain, what a waste of an arm”
I wasn’t talking anything long term. I just meant what they did with Joba and the Rays did with Price for the stretch run. I agree with the arsenal I have heard about for WDR, that would be a waste.
wow, this is nice, no bridge jumpers.
btw… Happy Birthday Rickles.
Hate to say it, but the offense still very suspect.. Arod’s blast really the difference tonight.. Can’t forget Damon’s recent tear.. This game belongs to CC.. Finally seeing the product they paid for..
Billy
May 8th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
GB I see Sublett’s avg is starting to climb a bit.
————————————————————
I saw that. 2 more doubles tonight.
video clip of A-Rod’s epic HR:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....p;c_id=nyy
What exactly is Angelini’s ceiling? All I saw is an error from him in the box score. Is he a bust? Thanks!
——————————————————————————————
In my amateurish opinion, no, but, he’s also not a shortstop, and I think that’s killing his offense.
——————————————————————————————
Oh, I didn’t realize that. What position is he suited for?
Uncle Ellsworth: A Yankee game in Oakland in 1998. Strawberry came into the game as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 9th with the bases loaded and the Yanks down 5-1. He hit a grand slam and the Yanks went on to score 5 more runs in the inning and win the game 10-5. It was a double-header and he homered in the nightcap as well. Yankee Stadium West was rocking.
Cano’s got 2 hits. Yay.
And if not for the Swisher/Thompson “thing,” that would have been a productive inning.
Not a bad night.
Swish went from .400 to .266 pretty quickly..
On another subject, I hate Jason Bay!!
Here’s my guy’s *minors report* that he posted today. For anyone who is interested. I thought of it when someone asked about Angelini.
“In Charleston, stop the presses, *Carmen Angelini* got a pluckin hit. Wow. So far this guy is a stupendous bust much like Vechionacci is. *Hector Noesi* on the other hand is really surprising me with another great outing. Hector threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings yesterday giving up 2 hits, 2 walks and striking out 7.
In Tampa on Wednesday top pitching prospect *Dellin Betances* finally got his head out of his butt and threw a decent game. This is the first game since his first outing this season that he showed me at least something. His line of 6IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K while not spectacular at least is something to build on. Tampa hitting for the most part with the exception of *Montero* is sucking schlitz. I was high on prospect *Addison Maruszak* to begin the season, but right now batting .144 approaching the telltale 100AB mark all I want to do is shove my boot up his backside.
Trenton sucks too and lost again yesterday to bring their seasonal record to 11-13, good for last place in the North Division. *Alan Horne* who I’ve been so high on for several years now continues to struggle, but I’ve not given up on the kid yet.
Scranton continues to be the real light of the Yankee farm system so far this year. Yesterday they swept a twinbill with Indy winning 7-2 and 9-3 as they continue to bludgeon the opposition into submission.”
“Definately. He set up last year for about 3 months, and then went into the rotation. He was almost automatic in the pen, but, like Chamberlain, what a waste of an arm”
Nick that was a great guess post. I really enjoyed it. Reminded me of when Straw went off in the day-night doubleheader at Camden.
I keep wondering why Tex keeps hitting 3rd despite his struggles. I’ve come to the realization that logic, like crying, has no place in baseball. These guys are complete creatures of habit. Mo’s that GOAT. But take Mo out of the last of the ninth, save situation, and he’s almost ordinary. Makes not sense to me, but as Sterling says every came you can’t predict baseball.
Which is good; because as bad as things seem, and despite all the unfolding evidence, I got a funny (as in, optimistic) feeling about this season.
Billy
May 8th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
“Definately. He set up last year for about 3 months, and then went into the rotation. He was almost automatic in the pen, but, like Chamberlain, what a waste of an arm”
I wasn’t talking anything long term. I just meant what they did with Joba and the Rays did with Price for the stretch run. I agree with the arsenal I have heard about for WDR, that would be a waste.
————————————————————
Maybe a late September callup, but, I wouldn’t think so. Hopefully, he can make a ST push next year.
“In Tampa on Wednesday top pitching prospect Dellin Betances finally got his head out of his butt and threw a decent game.”
You guy clearly doesn’t understand pitching with that post. Betances is logging innings and is putting it together. I wouldn’t say his head was in his butt.
Thanks Nick I think I remember that one
He hit a Walkoff in a saturday game I was at.
DT
what happened with Big Joe? Did he answer the Figga question?
I’m betting his nickname was “go”
CC has been outstanding.
Thanks, Billy, I appreciate it.
I don’t know if it’s Nick’s birthday or if it is the real Don Rickles’ birthday, but if it is Nick, happy birthday!
What a catch by Granderson.
Blackdragon905
May 8th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
What exactly is Angelini’s ceiling? All I saw is an error from him in the box score. Is he a bust? Thanks!
——————————————————————————————
In my amateurish opinion, no, but, he’s also not a shortstop, and I think that’s killing his offense.
——————————————————————————————
Oh, I didn’t realize that. What position is he suited for?
————————————————————
I’d move him to the outfield, if it was me. He’s great tracking pop-ups and flies into short left and center. Really good arm, but, on the infield, it’s more shotgun than rifle. 5 out of every 12 pellets hits the target.
CC & AJ will be fine. But I really doubt Tex’s ability to hit any ball as a Yankee. Even with A-Rod back.
Big Nasty 9 pitches!
“btw… Happy Birthday Rickles.”
Thanks, DT!
Although I’m a bit confused.
Great job CC
CC is absolutely FILTHY tonight. He’s not even at 95 pitches.
The solution to our bullpen problems? Have the starter throw a complete game.
Sabathia needs to go for the complete game
I’m not worried about Cano at all – all hitters go through this. Some on another board I frequent mentioned that he’s gone back to his old stance – I can’t tell (I’m terrible at that sort of thing), but if true, I wonder why. Jeter and Cano are slumping, but it’s important that the others pick them up because when those two heat up again, others will cool down.
CC is giving the kind of performance we needed from him – in turn, the team looks a lot better. If we could get these kinds of starts on a fairly consistent basis, things will look up. That said, I’m still euphoric about Alex’s HR – maybe that’s a sign that better days are ahead. Heaven knows this team needed a boost……….
Billy all I know is that he watches the minors daily and then posts. He’s been doing it for years so I figure he knows something about baseball and the players. Sometimes he emotes his frustration with certain players he expects more from.
Hughes needs to back this up tomorrow. 7 ip, 2 er from Phil. I’ll sign for that!
Thanks for the link to the A-rod homer, Sweet Lou.
I got stuck at work, and missed it live.
CC is in the groove. Cervelli looks to be doing a decent job too.
I give credit to Arod. He’s probably calling the pitches.
De La Rosa still has 6 inning shutout going with 5 hits, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts in his first AA game.
carl, that catch was amazing. Two hit CGSO for Verlander.
Granderson is very very quick. I’ve always liked the way he plays the game.
Betsy: Cano was in his old stance when he was raking, but it was his old old stance when he was good. Kevin Long let him slowly move back to his old stance as he got more confidence, but with less moving parts and a better stride.
The slump isnt a product of that.
It was only a matter of time before CC turned it around in a single game and this is definitely it. WOW – I knew there was a reason we gave him boatloads of money and call him our ace. He is incredible right now.
And trust me, teixeira will go on a similar hot streak and it will be just as awe-inspiring as CC right now. After a player has been in baseball for a few years and became the best in the game, they dont just lose it usually. Both of these guys will be well worth the money this season by september’s end Im sure. We will have to see about october.
“btw… Happy Birthday Rickles.”
Thanks, DT!
Although I’m a bit confused.
The real Rickles turned 83 today. Heard it on the radio.
“Sometimes he emotes his frustration with certain players he expects more from.”
I buy that but I think Dellin is not just any pitcher. For him that game on Wednesday was great. He’s a tall guy with a lot of moving parts. The biggest thing with him is that he’s healthy.
DT – you are so damned funny!
If A-Rod didn’t play today, we would be leading 1-0 today and CC would be walking a tight rope game
Jeter is as far away from good as you can get
“DT
what happened with Big Joe? Did he answer the Figga question?
I’m betting his nickname was “go””
He never answered. Didn’t expect him too.
If he kept that up, I was going to say DT stands for Dick Tracy. Yeah, I’m more famous than him. And Tess is hot too.
I really like the way CC has handled his lack of success to date, with the NY press. I think others have noticed the same thing. He doesn’t get terribly down on himself and continues to note that it’s a long season. That is probably his confidence in his ability shining through.
I like that very much.
Jen, thanks for posting those links. I know Ian must be devastated, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I hope he can think positively.
I’ve only caught part of the game, but you’d have to be impressed with Cervelli – he’s barely had time to get to know anyone and CC is throwing a game like this? I’m happy for the kid – I still feel the reverberations of that collision at home plate. It set him back a whole year – just terrible.
Ah, wikipedia gives me the aswer. How long have you been keeping that up your sleeve, DT?
And thanks anyway, Trisha. CC’s performance is the best non-birthday present I could ask for.
2 singles to the first two batters and then basically a near perfect game for Sabathia. One 3-2 walk. I can only see it on MLB Gameday, but even there it looks beautiful.
It really is much nicer here when the Yankees are winning. Remember this feeling.
Anytime a pitcher can hold this Baltimore team to 1 walk and 2 hits in 8 innings, he’s done a Hell of a job.
“what happened with Big Joe? Did he answer the Figga question?
I’m betting his nickname was “go” ”
no way, had to be newton.
Anytime anyone can hold ANY TEAM to 1 walk and 2 hits over 8 innings – he has done an amazing job. But one with a good hitting line up is even more impressive.
DT
May 8th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
“DT
what happened with Big Joe? Did he answer the Figga question?
I’m betting his nickname was “go””
He never answered. Didn’t expect him too.
If he kept that up, I was going to say DT stands for Dick Tracy. Yeah, I’m more famous than him. And Tess is hot too.
I always thought you might be Dick Tidrow- ha
so he wasn’t called “Go Figga” ?
Hey, I wrote to the ESPN Answer Guys and asked if they could help me with my roster. This is part of the answer: “Your offense is horrible especially your outfield. I am not even sure there is a way to fix that.”
I am hopeful I will end the season in 10th place (out of 10).
Come on lets go CC!
LOL. They didn’t spare your feeling at all, did they Trisha?
Brutal honesty there.
Um..
I don’t think it’s fair to have any expectations from Phil and certainly not that line (though I would love it, lol). I’m just going to hope he has good stuff and keeps us in the game – this is all a learning process for him.
Think I’ll see Star Trek tomorrow….
Come on cc. lets get it done. No pen you finish!
First guy is on Jeter’s range. Second one is on Johnny getting a bad break on the ball. Both of those could have been outs. CC’ll get out of this.
Damon is not a good LF.
Angel, I thought it was hysterical!
To paraphrase Chester Nimitz wire to Bull Halsey during the Battle Of Leyte Gulf, “Where is Damon…The world wonders.”
that was huge.
so he wasn’t called “Go Figga” ?
Trick Question.
His nickname was Mike. Short for Michael.
I wanted him to scurry through the internet for an hour trying to find it so he could impress us with his faux celebrity status.
I do like Go and Newton. What a creative bunch.
This is CC’s game. You don’t bring anyone in from the pen.
is mo warming up?
thanks.
Come on CC, don’t walk Markakis.
Just say no! To Mo?
Why am I all of a sudden starting to get this queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach?
Nothing that a few successful games in a row won’t eradicate…
1. I think this Cervelli kid has a future in baseball.
2. I wonder where Pete has been. I realize CC has made it a quick game, but still.
Wow, Verlander has really found his groove again. You have to wonder how a kid with that much talent could flounder for so long……….
Jerkface, thanks! What do you think Cano’s slump is a product of? Just the usual cooling off period that every player has……? I just don’t want him to get into any bad habits – if he remains consistent in his approach he’ll rebound soon enough.
Trish, I think all of the new guys have acquitted themselves very well as far as their approach goes. They’ve all been accountable, which is extremely important – especially in NY.
Randy – what are you doing here?
I figured you were the Yankees third string catcher by now.
You and Cashman couldn’t come to terms huh?
stuart – yes
do you think Cervelli will be catching Hughes?
That pitch from CC just isn’t fair. Just absolutely SICK break on the pitch. The Orioles may be a last place team, but that’s on their pitching. Their offense is good, and CC has absolutely owned them tonight.
The spooky thing is, I look a lot like Don Rickles. Here’s a side-by-side. I’m on the right:
http://tinyurl.com/q6fgzf
It is CC’s game. You let him finish.
I don’t remember when the last time a Yankee game ended before 10pm.
“Wow, Verlander has really found his groove again. You have to wonder how a kid with that much talent could flounder for so long……….”
Because he is an uncoachable jerk. Ask anyone around baseball.
Finish em off CC!
DT
May 8th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Randy – what are you doing here?
I figured you were the Yankees third string catcher by now.
You and Cashman couldn’t come to terms huh?
Randy was about to sign the contract but dropped the pen
Let me say this without taking a thing away from CC’s stupendous outing.
It’s much easier to pitch your game with a 3-0 lead than losing 0-3
De La Rosa is still cruising with a 5-0 lead for Trenton. 7 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
I played fantasy last year. I sucked at it. I didn’t have a bad team, but i’d get home too late from work before the games started that day to change my lineups around, lol.
’bout time.
Hell yeah!!!!!!!
MONSTER. ANIMAL! Awesome!
THE WAR HOSS!
Great job, CC! And major props to Cervelli.
I love the emphatic shoulder shrug thing CC did in celebration. haha
Great game CC.. exactly what the team needed..
“I figured you were the Yankees third string catcher by now.
You and Cashman couldn’t come to terms huh?”
i was doing well until i signed the contract “randy l.”
turns out the rumor is true that brian reads the blog.
That’s the CC I ‘campaigned’ for!!!
I hope that puts him ahead of Phil Hughes on the playoff-starter depth chart.
A game without Veras or Alby. Girardi is going to need methadone.
CC fired up
INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!
The spooky thing is, I look a lot like Don Rickles. Here’s a side-by-side. I’m on the right:
LOL… thanks for that ya hockey puck.
The Yankees always win on Rickle’s birthday. It’s gold Jerry gold.
I think Cash, the vet, needs to catch Hughes
Yes -CC!
For anyone here who doesn’t mind sappiness, I started to cry when I saw CC’s and Cervelli’s reactions.
There is something dramatically wrong with me. (no extracurricular comments necessary.)
Woohoo. Nicely pitched game by CC.
Trisha agreed, I think this game belongs to A-Rod as much as CC. Whatever, a win!
a two hour 30 minute game?
now that’s different.
Man that was just what the doctor ordered.
Huge sigh.
CC threw a great game.
Alex got the big hit.
A good clean game.
CC what a performance, this is what the Steinbrenners paid for
I think you are going to see Francisco catching a fair amount. He did a great job today.
I think this Cervelli kid has a future in baseball.
At least as a backup….called a nice game of course with CC’s help
We won!
http://chinasonparade.com/HappyDance.gif
“a two hour 30 minute game?”
I was just thinking the same thing and a win to boot.
It’s all about C.C. Doesn’t matter who’s catching with the stuff he had tonught.
The offense needs to show up tomorrow and crush Adam Eaton.
I said this a couple of times the last 48 hours but you could see Sabathia was about to go on a roll.
Although he lost the game, he was good against the Tigers and pitched a good game against the Angels as well.
That’s a tough lineup to dominate and he certainly did that. Good for him.
I’ve said it a number of times, get the rotation rolling and A-Rod back and everything else will start to fall into place.
“I think Cash, the vet, needs to catch Hughes”
I disagree. I think Cervelli deserves another shot and Cash hasn’t been active long from a shoulder injury. If you are worried about pitch calling, they can call some from the bench.
“I played fantasy last year. I sucked at it. I didn’t have a bad team, but i’d get home too late from work before the games started that day to change my lineups around, lol.”
Angel, I believe my initial drafting is now legend. I concentrated on pitchers and good defensive position players!!!!! I didn’t know how to do it and obviously never bothered finding out. So you can see why the Answer Guys said what they did. And truth, the few times my team actually ended up doing well, I moved players around but them forgot to hit “submit”!
I believe the owners in my league are thrilled that I am part of the league!
Three or more guys on this team get hot — any of CC, AJ, Joba, Andy, Hughes, (Wang eventually) — and it’s a different kettle of fish. Could happen…
“do you think Cervelli will be catching Hughes?”
Cervelli was great tonight, but I think whoever caught Hughes in AAA this year will get the start. Not sure if that’s Cervelli or someone else.
new post by Pete.
Scorpio, I am actually going to be able to have a Friday night out! I will watch the postgame and then vamoose.
If Cervelli hits, it will be his job to lose. Cash is a defense first catcher so any offense would be a bonus.
For all you “season is over” bridge jumpers –
the Yankee magic number for playoff elimination remains at *125*. (of course if Sux win – it’s down to 124, and then you’ll have something new to complain about)
Cervelli has been very impressive. He is an excellent defensive catcher. It really does not matter if he hits, but if he does that is a bonus.
CC lived up to his billing tonight. Nasty.
“The Yankees always win on Rickle’s birthday.”
They’ve won a bunch of times on my actual birthday, probably more than has any other franchise. If it happens again this year, I can guarantee that a lot of us will be even happier than we are today.
(hint: I’m a Libra)
Something to build upon, especially the starters….The kid looked very comfortable and very confident….A catcher thing, a different breed……CC has arrived
If Cash caught Hughes in AAA, it might be a good thing for them to pair up.
he did better with Cervelli than he did with Molina
Trisha – great, enjoy! it’s Friday & your job is done here. lol.
“If Cash caught Hughes in AAA, it might be a good thing for them to pair up”
Hughsie was dominant in AAA whether he worked with Cash or Stewart. Cervelli gets the start, Cash is coming off a bad throwing shoulder, he will be the backup.
who was that rod somethin guy that hit the HR for us?
Scorpio – my job is done “there” too!
It’s been quite a week!!!
Thanks.
Reegie Coroa hit a 3 run homer for Trenton. 9-0.
Venditte blew the 1-0 save in Charleston. Tied at 1-1 in the 10th.
Montero is 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, but, Sublett is 3-5 with a homer and 2 doubles. Tampa leads 8-6 in the 9th inning.
“For anyone here who doesn’t mind sappiness, I started to cry when I saw CC’s and Cervelli’s reactions.
There is something dramatically wrong with me. (no extracurricular comments necessary.)”
Nothing wrong with you at all, Trisha. I didn’t cry, but I felt a bit overwhelmed watching CC do “the shrug”, and Francisco pump his fist. I love the fire. I love that these guys get THAT pumped up after a win on May 9th. I got chills watching it.
Where are all the CC haters now?
Pete,
Just out of curiosity… how do you look at Alex in the eye and ask him questions when you talk so much smack about the guy on your blog? Just an honest question. Usually it’s the columnists that get the gall to talk smack about a player because they aren’t around them often.
CC even mowed down the trolls and the bridge jumpers.
Let’s not be having big “O’s” over Cervelli. He’s never really shown that he could hit, and, though he had a really fine defensive game, he’s just not that special. also, don’t expect Rodriguez to come in a rip everything over the wall.
“Let’s not be having big “O’s” over Cervelli. He’s never really shown that he could hit, and, though he had a really fine defensive game, he’s just not that special. also, don’t expect Rodriguez to come in a rip everything over the wall.”
Cash hasn’t really shown that he can hit in the majors either though. Cash is coming off a shoulder injury as well. I think Cash gets the majority of the starts but if one of them gets hot with the bat (not likely), they get the edge.
Huge effort by CC.. we have that type of talent that on occasion maybe 10 times a year our starters should just dominate a team.
thanks CC we needed that now everyone relax and let’s just play good baseball.
eaton tommorow for baltimore is terrible they should kill him, please…
the pen looks much better when your starters pitch like this………cerevelli is 23 so he has a ways to go but if he defends well anything else is icing…
greenberet you are correct cerevelli has never hit but remember he is 23 yrs old… i am not saying he is johnny bench but give him 2 or 3 years…
Nick in SF
May 8th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
“The Yankees always win on Rickle’s birthday.”
They’ve won a bunch of times on my actual birthday, probably more than has any other franchise. If it happens again this year, I can guarantee that a lot of us will be even happier than we are today.
(hint: I’m a Libra)
===========
The George Brett Pine Tar game fell on my birthday. Not a happy memory because they reversed the call.
To this day, my brother always sends me a card that reads “Happy Pine Tar Day.”
Was at the game down here tonight. Even though it wasn’t, the HR felt “historic” and I was glad to be present. CC was fine. Hope we can build on this.
My boy Sublett is starting to heat up. De La Rosa, 6IP, 0R, 8H, 10Ks. Nice AA debut. He could be a fast riser.
Dude
He was out. Jones slid over the bag and Cano got him. Watch the tape.
And to think, Kennedy was the sticking point in a Santana trade.
GB7
I fail to see where Cervelli is not very good. He was converted to catcher. 2007, in 88 games he had 24 doubles and a 384 OBP and batted 278, got hurt for a month. People don’t hit many HR’s in Tampa. In 2008 he got hurt, broken wrist. If he’s good defensively where is this that he is not very good. Granted he came from AA but then so did Pena and he hasn’t embarassed himself. We know what the Yankees have in Cash, not very much, why not give the kid a chance and if he’s not hurting the team, he’s developing. HIs forte is supposed to be his game calling.
This is the type of game we needed!