The difference a manager can make
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 13, 2009 
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The Blue Jays are 74-49 (.601) since Cito Gaston took over last June. Only the Angels (73-47, .608) have been better since then. In Toronto, Gaston is seen as the savior of a moribund franchise.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are 104-90 (.536) under Joe Girardi and have spent a grand total of nine calendar days higher than third place in the last two years.
The Yankees start play today 6.5 games out of first. If they’re 10 out on June 1, what happens then? The last thing Brian Cashman wants to do is change managers in the middle of the season. Girardi is not responsible for injuries and the mass decline of the relievers and those are the two biggest issues. The talent level of the roster at the moment is shockingly low. The Yankees are loaded with AAA and AAAA players.
But if the Yankees don’t get started in the right direction soon, something has to give.
Back later with the lineups.
Yeah what will give will be Girardi being FIRED
Isn’t Cashman part to blame? Or is it good the 40 man roster is loaded with 27 yr old RH who will never be MLB pitchers?
If Hank was in charge, Girardi would be fired by now.
Fire girardi now!!! This team stinks and we need to do something!!!
I’d be more inclined to put the first 20% of the season on Cashman before Girardi. Roster is flawed on several levels and that’s his job.
Exactly. Gaston, Francona etc get the most or more out of their roster. Comparing the Jays roster to the Yanks roster over last season and the start of this season is not even close. Yanks have much more talent and experience even with injuries. Difference is Gaston squeezes more out of his players than Girardi does. Girardi needs to go
a $200 million dollar collection of players should win with a monkey managing them.
He needs to “motivate” players making $15+ million dollars?
definately could have spent his $$$ better, no question. The point is he has given Girardi more tools and better players than the team has shown the last year and a quarter. While Cash has not done a fair job, the team is still more talented than last yeares results, and this years record
And replace him with who?
The prolific winners that Tony Pena, Larry Bowa, or Bobby V are?
Cito had 2 rings and was responsible for the greatest seasons in the Jays franchise history. That would be like us bringing back Torre.
Girardi is a downer and brings nothing to the table. Flordia did the right thing when they fired him. He is horrible and needs to go. The Yankees coaching staff is not a strong point of this team. Ive said this before and Ill say it again. Bring in Buck Showalter to manage this team, or at least give Tony Pena a shot. Flordia won the WS years ago when they changed managers during the year. Eiland needs to go and I think Long does too.
Whats his job then? he has to motivate, he has to get the team to play to his potential and Girardi has been unable to do that.
“Bring in Buck Showalter to manage this team”
That might also cause a void at 3B, because there would be a strong chance Arod would kill himself.
Replacement will be tough, but at this point things are so bad with the team underachieving any change would be beneficial
“He needs to “motivate” players making $15+ million dollars?”
Who said anything about him needing to “motivate” players? Girardi has done a fine job in NY – it’s not his fault so many players have gotten injured the past 2 seasons. Nor is it his fault that the Rays FINALLY turned the corner last year. Hate on him all you want, but if the Yanks were in any other division last year, then they probably would’ve made the playoffs.
One thing this team has shown so far this year is that they ARE motivated. They scratch and claw their way back into seemingly every game… unfortunately the rotation has been inconsistent and the bullpen has been largely ineffective.
I’ve always loved Buck, but I wonder how well he would deal with the media.
Also, a Buck/ARod reunion would be very interesting.
Girardi is a huge disappointment as a manager. I thought he would bring so much more in terms of aggressiveness and fire. But he hasn’t. He sits and waits for 3 run homers, does not play small ball at all (never ever sacrifices with anyone), shows no fire or passion, and as someone else mentions, brings nothing to the table at all. He does handle the bullpen better than Torre, but that is his lone redeeming quality, and not enough.
But Cashman is the one who is truly to blame for this mess. He needs to go. If only Hank and Hal could be fired too.
Cashman assembled this team. If someone has to go it should be him.
The Yankee brass must be blind because they do not see Girardi as the problem but it all starts with him. The team does not play well for this man and he must be FIRED
The key would be to hire the right guy.
If Girardi tries to chew these guys out, they will become even more tight than they are now.
The best way to handle these fragile egos is to not handle them at all. Hope they start playing up to their talents and thats it.
Its over the yankees will not make the post season and toronto will what a shame… And pls dont say that its early we said the same thing last yr about tampa, this team outside of damon is just not tough and now with the clown girardi we are the bigest joke in baseball.
I just wish they would fire Cashman. How much rope does this guy have??? Year after year, bad signings, bad trades, bad everything.
“I’d be more inclined to put the first 20% of the season on Cashman before Girardi. Roster is flawed on several levels and that’s his job.”
Exactly… but even then, no GM could anticipate all these injuries.
If Girardi gets fired this season, that means in the last 3 years, we would have had 3 different managers… all under the same GM.
Is that how normal, winning organizations are run?
Its a joke. Girardi had enough talent last year to get into the playoffs and they didnt
This year he has enough talent to be at least above 500 and they are not.
Other managers/teams are getting their players to play to their potential/abilities Joe has not done that.
On the field he gets outmanaged all the time. He leaves pitchers in too long and makes a host of game decision errors.
I think the training, conditioning and coaching staff needs to be carefully evaluated. If all these accomplished players are suddenly getting injured or failing to perform, you have to wonder if there’s a problem with the people assigned the job of helping them stay in shape and perform to the best of their ability.
And no, Cashman is not at fault. This roster, on paper, rocks. If the players performed as well as the back of their baseball cards the Yankees would be well into first place even with the mediocre bullpen.
It comes down to the GM. What has he done w/ our minor league system over the last 11 years outside of Joba & Cano? Compare Cashman to other GMs over the past few years and there is no comparison.
I don’t Blame Giradi at all. He’s dealing with crap. The Yankees ONCE AGAIN have been hit with the injury bug . Our Bullpen is HORRIBLE . and our pitching hasn’t come around just yet.
He hasn’t made a managerial move that made us scratch our heads .! He’s made some little questionable moves” but every manger makes those . Some work out . .Some don’t.
The Players . including the 481 million dollar threesome Burnett . CC and Tex . .have to hold the account.
This team needs a SPARK ! changing the manger isn’t it . It has to happen within ! . Maybe a big win against Boston might do the trick !
The Yanks are hurt and for some reason are in love with Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez…. who suck the root.
A few things need to happen, if the yanks are not at 500 or a little above after the upcoming 10 game home stand
1. Fire Kevin Long.
2. Fire Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey
3. DFA Veras, Ramirez, Tomko, Berrora – Total Losers
4. Call up Melancon, D-ROB, Clagget, and J-Rod
5. Get Wang and Bruney Back
6. Closed door meeting were Girardi loses it on the team. and send a wake up call.
I thought you only fire a manager if the team doesn’t show any heart and passion. Well, the only good thing you can say about the team is that we do fight back and don’t just lie down. How many games so far have we tied/taken the lead late in the game?
It’s not like the team has quit on Joe, they just don’t have consistent pitching or a good lineup right now. Too many injuries and the new guys just haven’t adjusted to NY yet (which is something that has happened for years).
Biggest thing for the Jays so far. They score runs and last night was the first they faced the Yankees. Still have not played the Sox or Rays. They played the Royals and lost 3 of 4. Not discounting what they have done, but will wait and see on them. Scutaro as a leadoff guy and Aaron Hill on an unreal tear, would like to see for a full year. Cito plays a little aggressive. He also put a lot of faith in Lind who is crushing the ball. Rolen has been healthy for a change so far which probably won’t last. The impressive part is the pitching holding in with all their injuries and losing Burnett. But Cito definitely has them motivated that’s for sure.
It’s Girardi’s fault that Teix is hitting .190 and Burnett has a 5.5 ERA!!!
“This year he has enough talent to be at least above 500 and they are not.
Other managers/teams are getting their players to play to their potential/abilities Joe has not done that.
On the field he gets outmanaged all the time. He leaves pitchers in too long and makes a host of game decision errors.”
Come on, man… you really believe all that?! How much more is Girardi supposed to get out of AAA/AAAA “talent” like Gardner, Ransom, and Veras. Are you giving Girardi credit for Melky playing the way he has? and for Swisher turning the page from last year? and for Damon’s hot bat? etc… or maybe those guys busted their humps in the offseason and are focused in a way that is having them play well.
I don’t see Girardi getting outmanaged very often. It may appear as he is, until you realize that he has no better option in the BP, or no decent bat on the bench. Those types of issues are rarely the manager’s fault.
Where Girardi has failed this year, and I’m sure he consulted with Cash on this, is in not leaving ST with a long man. They got burned last year for not doing that, and it happened again. I bet that decision alone has cost the Yanks a couple games (when you factor in the impact on the BP).
i agree Nick . Its Not Giradis fault ! .
Look, EVERY team has injuries, even cluster injuries. The Blue Jays have half their starting rotatin on the DL. The Angels have been without Lackey and Santana since day one. Boston’s been without Youkilis for more than a week. The Yanks have to share the blame — Cashman for not effectively building a balanced roster and Girardi for not getting anything close to the maximum out of the players he has. Yanks need a change on the bench. Larry Bowa would light a fire under the butts of many of the guys on this team who don’t give the appearance of making the extra effort needed at this level. And the failure to produce in key situations has to also rest with the manager and the coaching staff — a lack of preparation and paying attention to detail that has given the opposing pitchers, rather than the Yankee hitters, those little added edges it takes to succeed in those spots.
I stand by Girardi until at least the end of 2010. That said, if they do not make a change then I would love to see Tony Pena get the job.
I understand all the frustration with the Yankees and that it’s a natural part of fandom. However….
When Joe Torre was the skipper the more recent teams started poorly, even without injuries. Yet Joe managed to squeeze just enough out of his players to get to the playoffs and no further. No Playoffs!!?! The chant then was “Fire Joe!” So you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t in this job. So, let’s be honest and admit this is all about the size and unrealistic nature of expectations as much as it is about actual performance.
Is this team with its aging and expensive stars really able to pull out and pass younger, more athletic teams like Tampa, the Jays and even Boston? No. You cannot blame Girardi entirely for this. It’s also Cashman’s fault, but two factors really dictate the present results.
1) The sins of the Father are visited upon the son. George didn’t plan ahead (killed the farm, went to FAs too often, etc) and kept the GM under house arrest. Once Cash took control the results were mixed. Still, it takes a while to turn an aircraft carrier around.
1) Post PEDs it’s a young man’s game again. The importance of shifting to younger and more athletic was only accentuated by the removal of PEDs from the game. Cashman was behind when this race started and got further behind because of the ban. Add that to some bad drafting and they are where they are.
Firing Girardi wouldn’t be unthinkable, and letting Cashman go wouldn’t be illegal. The Steins just better have two candidates with very high “VORP” for the skipper and GM jobs or last years’ finish will look good by comparison to this year.
What is amazing, Peter, is that you nailed it in the first line – “Amazing how much difference a manager can make,” and then go right back to making excuses for Girardi.
No doubt the Yankees roster isn’t what it was before injuries…
But look at the Blue Jays… Does that look like a team full of Hall of Famers to YOU???
Joe’s biggest flaw to me so far in his short stint has been the lack of being aggressive. Hit and runs. The small ball stuff. I still don’t understand why Gardner approach to slap grounders to the left side is good, but he never tries to lay down a bunt???? Other teams surprise the Yankees with steals of home etc, the Yankees dispite their struggles with getting in from third never attempt a squeeze play. And again, I guess part of the point which is difficult with a NY team with a big payroll, is leadership. I think Cito is the leader of that team with Halladay who is quiet. The Yankees leadership seems all over the map with Jorge seemingly the only one that sticks his neck out to ruffle feathers.
Hillary Clinton is speaking at Yankee Stadium right now for the NYU Graduation, and she gets louder cheers then the Yankees do in that Stadium. Its just crazy how bad this team is.
if Joe is fired who is the next Yankees manager? What are our options? I don’t think Donny would come back after not getting the job in the first place. So who is out there?
I know its hallady but we need to do a better job against him, we have faced him a zillion times cant we make an adjusment like take him the other way? he makes it look so easy its not normal, and how about tex starts hitting? slow start my foot we are in the middle of the season and he STINKS!!!
Tex was a stud a star in every other uniform he has worn.
AJ? yup him too. dominant in a Jays jersey.
CC? dominant in NL last year, maybe best pitcher in the game
so, now Girardi has all three, with a BETTER supporting cast for each player. All three last year were on teams not as good as the Yankees and these guys are not playing to their potential. Of course its the LEADERS fault. His job is to get the most out of his team. thats his job. The team is poorly managed, and is not being managed to its potential.
Girardi tries to fit in with the players and you can see they don’t respect him as the manager. He needs to go. I’m tired of the excuses,, get someone in here who knows how to inspire and motivate. I don’t care how much these guys are making, money doesn’t motivate people like purpose and duty. Just ask Tommy LaSorda.
Bring someone in who is hungry and has something to prove…bring in MATTINGLY. The man who should have gotten the job in the first place
Its nice to see all the 12 year old Steinbrenner’s on the blog today.
FIRE GIRARDI!!!!
FIRE LONG!!!!
FIRE EVERYBODY!!!!
TEAM TEAM LACKS MOTIVATION!!!!
Topics like this are wonderful for blog hits and terrible for any logical discussion of baseball.
If some of you think this team lacks “motivation”, you simply haven’t been watching the games. Either that or, you are so lacking in baseball knowledge, you are incapable of formulating any cogent thoughts.
Their problem isn’t motivation. Their problem is, they have too guys on the roster having to contribute more than they are capable of contributing.
Its not Joe Girardi’s fault Brian Cashman has assembled a 40 man roster resembling the Pittsburgh Pirates more than a contending AL Team.
Guys get hurt and Girardi’s options are AAA and AAAA players. That’s not good enough to get it done.
Take a look at the lineup last night and tell me what the whining is about today.
Did some of you really think they were going to beat Roy Halliday with that lineup?
Girardi certainly has no lifetime contract as Yankee manager.
Personally, I’ve seen things I like and things I don’t.
Would I fire him in season? Probably not. At least not right now.
Would I change pitching coaches in season if the pitching continues to be this bad? I’d give serious consideration to it because I think Scott Aldred is going to be a terrific ML pitching coach and Dave Eiland has to take some of the heat for the lack of performances from this staff. Particularly in not being able to pick up that Wang was not healthy and not being able to do things such as making in game adjustments when pitchers are struggling with release points, game situations, etc. That’s on the pitching coach. That’s what he gets paid to do.
I wouldn’t do ANYTHING though for a few more weeks and see how it goes.
There is too much of the season left to pack it in now.
For those who choose to, be my guest.
If you do though, there is no reason to post gibberish in here everyday. Just move on and talk about Mark Sanchez and the Jets.
Talk logical baseball in here, and not sophomoric swill.
If you do, you may actually learn something and ENJOY the games for a change.
“1. Fire Kevin Long.
2. Fire Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey
3. DFA Veras, Ramirez, Tomko, Berrora – Total Losers
4. Call up Melancon, D-ROB, Clagget, and J-Rod
5. Get Wang and Bruney Back
6. Closed door meeting were Girardi loses it on the team. and send a wake up call.”
All that happens and you can forget this season too much over haul there. There are changes needed but not all that. Harkey is so not a guy you get rid of, neither is Long. Another thing is we didn’t exactly go against a scrub.
i think a new manager would be very healthy for this club.
i don’t know if guirardi is the right guy but this team does not have the right feel to it.
girardi can’t tell the truth too save his life.
i would like too see a more laid back,honest,humble manager.
i don’t know who would bee a good fit but the blue jays have had a ton of injuries & keep playing well.
believe it or not managers make a difference.cito is a perfect example of that.
some managers just win no matter what.
they create an atmosphere that is condusive to winning.
they put everything in place both physically & mentally & the rest takes care of itself.
How would Mattingly’s approach be different from Girardi or even Torres for that matter?
The skipper can make all the difference in the right setting. But compare apples to apples. Forget comparing salary dollar for salary dollar or All Star to All Star. Go pound for pound in Expectation to understand the difference betweem managing the Yanks vs. managing the Jays.
Cito is a hero for cleaning up Gibbons’ mess, for getting the team in 1st place for a while and for bringing back some golden memories. Is he supposed to get to the WS or even the playoffs? No. If he does, then we can revisit this discussion. But for now, it’s too premature to be other than sheer speculation.
“bring in MATTINGLY. The man who should have gotten the job in the first place”
Not this again, and everyone knows he would crack under pressure. He’s at best an asst. manager not a heads up mgr. either hence Bloomqvist play 2 yrs. ago.
BRING BACK BUCK!
Hope that the Sr. Citizen is in the lineup tonight… can’t let him get cold by sitting on the bench for too long
Hey, I think Girardi has to go, but I cannot second guess hiring him. He looks like a real prepared guy, and I`m sure he is trying, but this is not the right fit. Maybe because he played with these guys, and he was Molina like in his ability? For whatever reason they need to admit its a bad fir, get someone else in and move on. I don`t think Torre was the answer either, its always been a tough thing in baseball to get a good manager and get success. Its not easy. Mattingly would be real short on experience, but the players would respect him more for sure. Eiland?? surprise pick as pitching coach, especially with the $$$ the yanks can throw around. Eiland was not a great pitcher in his day, and I`m sure he has the same “respect” issues that Girardi has.
Its also nice that Toronto plays with no pressure on them.
Its easy to compile wins when there is no expecation.
They were a fourth place team playing out the string.
Now that they believe they are a contender, let’s see how they do.
If they stay in the race all year, then you can say, “What a difference a manager makes”.
Then again, its awfully nice to have a team where the position players are all healthy and hitting at the same time and have Roy Halliday in the rotation to stop losing streaks.
Makes life a lot easier when those things take place.
Btw, I still think it is really, really early in the season. People are dogging the 3 new additions, but they are still a massive improvement over Rasner, Ponson and Giambi. A slow start should be expected to a team with a new look and a number of key injuries. Patience…
SJ44 May 13th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Its nice to see all the 12 year old Steinbrenner’s on the blog today.
***************
I think you about summed up most of the comments in this entry.
Tampa game and DJ Mitchell’s first High A start
Mitchell 4.0 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs 0, walks, 8 strikeouts, 0 HRA, 4.50 ERA
Montero is 3-3 with an RBI, Laird is 1-3 with an RBI, Hilligoss is 2-2 with a double and an RBI
Romine is 0-2 and 2 strikeouts. Montero is catching.
How is it Girardi’s fault that the rost is not performing to their best? Do you think guys like Teix who are slumping WANT to slump? Is it his fault that Posada and Nady are injured? Is it also his fault that CC and AJ aren’t playing to their abilities? Was it his fault A-Rod decided to wait until a few weeks before the season to have surgery? Is it also his fault he has to work with guys who play crap defense like Posada and Jeter and has to deal with a crippled Matsui?
If a majority of the players played to their averages, this team would be an absolute monster and everybody knows that. When we get Marter and Bruney back, those are two big vets in the pen. Posada comes back and stays healthy, another big switch bat. Matsui is turning things around and getting Nady back gives us options. A-Rod will return to form and Teix can’t stay this bad for the whole season. Getting CC and AJ to play to their ability will be a key too.
Can’t blame Girardi for this!
“I just wish they would fire Cashman. How much rope does this guy have??? Year after year, bad signings, bad trades, bad everything.”
Finally, someone who sees the light.
Cashman put this team together. You can’t blame him for the injuries, but when you resign Posada and Rivera at their ages; it’s a risk you take.
Not to mention the current roster moves have been a joke as Pete has pointed out (Berroa?).
It amazes me how Cashman is sometimes referred to as one of the better GM’s in baseball by some “experts”. Gene Michael built those championship teams, not Cashman!
“they create an atmosphere that is condusive to winning.
they put everything in place both physically & mentally & the rest takes care of itself.”
This is what I thought Torre was good at.
it is not only halladay that is beating us.
we even with injuries are getting beat by teams that we are better than.pitchers also.
the angels,jays & a few other teams keep winning despite injuries.
the rs also.
it is too early too know if girardi is the right man but after a while the excuses run out.
if this team does not get going something will have too be done.
our starting pitching outside of wang has been healthy & is underperforming.
we have an excellant team even with injuries.
damon
melky
swisher
arod
jeter
cano
matsui
cervelli
tex
sabathia
burnett
pettitte
joba
hughes
should be better.
My primary problem with Girardi is that he isn’t who I thought he was.
When you replace Torre, which needed to be done, you do it to change up the message, the voice delivering the message, and the approach.
Sometimes, through nobody’s fault, the same old voice gets tired… Players have heard it all before… That’s why, when you make that change, you have to go with a different personality, and that’s why I didn’t want Mattingly… They’d have been better off staying with Torre.
I thought Joe was that intense, firey, edgey personality that would change things up… Change the feel…
Instead, it appears, at least publicly, that he’s been doing a Joe Torre impersonation for the last year +.
All the Mattingly enthusiasts out there – if he were really serious about managing the Yankees, then why has he not managed elsewhere since? There have been a number of managing vacancies he could have filled over the past year and a half, but instead elects to be a hitting coach. I do not think this is someone that is serious about managing and I do not want to see him get his feet wet with the Yankees.
Donnie Baseball – Girardi got fired in Florida for telling the owner to stay out of it when there was an ‘umpire conflict’.
Before that, he’s taken a young Florida team whose collective payroll was significantly less than A-Rod’s annual salary (something like 2/3 of it) and had them in the thick of NL east race with only two weeks left in the season. I believe he was manager of the year that year, and for good reaon.
IMO, Florida ownership blew that situation.
And, as you know already, 10 years ago Girardi was a respected teammate of the core guys on this Yanks team too.
First thing to happen is FIRE KEVING LONG, HE STINKS. I can not take their offense anymore. If the pitching doesn’t start producing soon Eiland can go too. Joe Girardi has the year most likely unless they are way out at the allstar break then you may have to fire him also. The bottom line is the players better step it up.
SJ44 You want logic??? This team just stinks, stop saying that its early bec its not, every game counts.
What is wrong with people in here? Joe lose both his catchers, his 8th inning guy, his third baseman, his back up third baseman, his #2 starter. I know I am leaving people out. Let’s see Saint Joe or Terry do well without any of them. Please grow up. Baseball isn’t like your video games.
Not that I’m saying that Girardi should be fired, but there are tons of possible replacements i.e. Valentine, Mattingly, Pena, Bowa, Showalter, etc..
Spot on Jennifer! People need to chill out.
First of all, you can’t expect a team playing under 500 ball to miraculously be the best team in baseball and overtake 7 teams even if we are only 30 games in.
Second, its about respect. Everyone respects MAttingly. Players will listen to him, he has been there and done that when it comes to personal accomplishments. What insight does Girardi have for a guy in a slump? Torre had the respect of the players because of it.
Playing at this level is all about state of mind and pysche. Why do you think the Blue ays are in 1st place when their starting rotation is devastated? Why does the RS conistently beat our brains in when we are just as good as them on paper?
I can’t stand watching this team lose every damn night. If George was up to snuff, this guy would have been fired 2 weeks ago.
Good point SJ about Jays not playing under pressure, thats true.
Halliday is one pitcher, Yanks have supposedly two pitchers near his category. There is a big difference in the two staffs in potential and performance. I give the Yanks an edge in starting pitching.
Regarding lineup, everyone playing and hitting in Jays lineup true, and agree.
However the beat up Yankee lineup is still quite competitive and maybe better the Jays lineup offensively, potentially that is. As a matter of fact I think its significantly better, but the Yanks lineup is not performing and the Jays is. Credit the manager for creating the envoirment to get the team to play above or at their potential, and discredit the manager who cannot get his players to play to their potential
What is a new manager going to do bru? Specifically. Not, “I want a change because I want it now”, as most of the crybaby contingent, of which you are NOT one, are saying today.
Is a new manager going to put pixie dust on injured players and make them healthy?
Is a new manager going to make Brett Gardner a major league player or Jose Veras a strikethrower?
Look at the roster presently. Really look at it and tell me how much better this team should be right now.
Remember, Arod is back only 4 days from major hip surgery. He’s not Arod yet.
The guy is playing with a roster that’s not good enough for him to win.
As Murph said, Joe Torre had worse starts each of his last 3 years as Yankee manager than Girardi has had right now.
Unfortunately, this team has gotten slammed by injuries and the REAL underbelly of the organization, the lack of prospects in AA and AAA has killed them at the present time.
No manager can fix that. All he can do is play the guys he has and hope for the best.
I think we will have a much better picture of Girardi’s skills when they get healthier.
The problem with the team isn’t its manager. At least not at the present time.
Velocity report and stuff report GB on Mitchell ?
Reading the blog today makes you imagine a meeting between George and the Tampa Faction, or maybe Iago talking with Othello about Desdemona. As usual in Shakespearean settings, things end badly.
excluding the pen we are only missing wang,posada,nady & posada hasn’t been out long & swisher & nady are even.
there is a bad feeling too this team for some reason.
“Eiland was not a great pitcher in his day, and I`m sure he has the same “respect” issues that Girardi has.”
The Yankees had a great pitcher in his day as their last pitching coach and he seemed like a deer in the headlights when it actually came to fixing or teaching pitchers. I think it all depends on a coach’s ability to get the most out of their players. Eiland’s job is to prevent meltdowns like Hughes had Saturday in Baltimore from happening again (even though those kinds of things happened to Phil last year, but they found excuses like he was hurt or he couldn’t see the signs etc. to deal with them), and to keep his bigtime pitchers (like Wang, for instance, or even like Burnett’s performance in Boston) from completely losing their abilities overnight and flopping.
If that stuff isn’t straightened out, and the bullpen continues to pitch miserably, then I would say Eiland gets canned. He has too much talent on his part of the roster to skate by under the “injuries ravaging the team” blanket. Especially once they get Bruney back, if they continue to have the kind of pitching implosions that we’ve gotten used to this year, something will need to change.
If Girardi gets canned, it would most likely be Pena stepping in as interim manager. I think Eiland would follow Girardi out the door. Thompson, and Long are organizational guys ,so they would probably last through the season.
Fact is if the Yanks win tonight it will be all positive and happy comments about Joe tomorrow.
Get the lineup back together with all the major pieces in place and see what happens.
I’m not chilling out….tough crap. I’m pissed and tired of losing. Something has to change, put a head on a block already. 200 mil payroll and its whoa is me. Its sickening. I’ll chill out when we start playing like we are Champions..not this bunch of feel sorry for me losers
SJ
your opinion for sure. I look at last year too. Despite injuries theres still enough there to be better then they have been last year and this year. Arod out and Posadas injury aside they still have Jeter Tex Cano Damon, and say what you want about their ages, flaws etc they are still very good offensive players
wait till the end of the season and see if you can get Larussa and Duncan combo.
The Yankees rotation was complete trash last year. Everyone was bad except for Mussina. Injuries to Posada, Matsui, and Rodriguez, along with Cano and Melky completely crapping the bed really hurt the offense. They also had to deal with the Rays coming out of nowhere and winning the pennant. Saying Girardi should have got last year’s team to the playoffs is a stretch.
This year he’s got one of the most talented rotations in baseball and a lineup that can match up with anyone. I always think that managers get too much credit and too much blame, but he needs to figure out a way to get his talent to play up to its ability.
Maybe move Teixeira up to the 2 hole and let Damon hit 3 since he’s killing the ball anyway.
Donnie Dodger is being groomed to take over for Torre in LA
I don’t get the point of this post. The title is “The difference a manager can make.” Then you compare Gaston vs Girardi’s win totals. Then you say “Girardi is not responsible for injuries and the mass decline of the relievers and those are the two biggest issues.”
In your rush to be controversial!!!1!! I think you stumbled in ?schizophrenia
Gardner CF – Fringe MLBer/AAA
Damon LF – Great
Teixeira 1B – AAA effectiveness
Rodriguez 3B – Coming off injury
Matsui DH – Good, heating up
Cano 2B – Good
Cabrera RF – Hot but normally AAA
Cash C – AAA
Pena SS – AAA
From my count there are only 4 people on the lineup that should be there or are playing at a AAA level
It may not be girardi’s fault but it is his responsibility…
sj.
i am not saying for sure anything needs to be done.i don’t know for sure.nobody does but after a while if this team does not get better something needs to be done.
you do not stick with the same manager if he has the talent & is not getting it done.
you make it seem like an old lady off the street can manage this team.
how do you explain the angels,blue jays & so on.
i just don’t have a good feeling about girardi,that is all.
i might be wrong.time will tell.
i am not saying fire him now but we still have a lot of talent even with inuries.our starting pitching has been worse.
Once again, some perspective.
First, All Star lineups are getting tied up by Halliday. He’s one of the best. “The Replacements” (last night’s lineup) ain’t going to beat Roy or a lot of other pitchers for that matter.
Second, it’s one game. If they come back and win the next two, they’ve won another series on the road. So let’s stop the bellyaching and talk after this series.
*MLB level
Who is the second pitcher on the Yankees staff in Halliday’s league? CC and that’s it.
NOBODY else is close.
Please, enough with the “every game counts” crap. Its so mindless, it stops being funny after awhile.
They have 130 freaking games left to the season.
A few years ago, Baltimore was in first place until Late-June and the same whiners in here kept saying they are “for real”.
Last year, on this date, you guys also felt the following:
1. Mike Mussina was DONE.
2. Carlos Delgado was DONE.
3. Tampa Bay will come back to earth.
Have some of you learning NOTHING about baseball? Its a LONG season.
No, NOT every game COUNTS. It really doesn’t and no matter how much you write such gibberish, it doesn’t make it so.
SERIES count. Win as many SERIES as you can, and you make the playoffs.
Right now, unfortunate as it may be for some of you, the Yankees are in “stay close” mode. Given the number of injuries, and rising number of guys playing hurt, its really all they can do right now.
Let’s not forget, they WON the last series they played and if they can win the next 2 games, they win this series.
If they do that, do some of you still think the season is “over”?
This is why people laugh at Yankee fans nowadays.
Six weeks into the season, and some of you want to blow up the team because the season is “over” in your minds.
Its actually funny to read this stuff. Mainly because the people who say it daily in here, also come back with “best win of the year” when they win a game.
Matsui DH – Good, heating up “HURT, BREAKING DOWN”
Your right it will be positive if they start WINNING. Losing breeds contempt.
I so much want to talk about happy things but this team just doesn’t allow me.
Murph
team is under 500
with CC, Burnett Joba Petitte Rivera Jeter Damon Tex Arod/Posada at times, and Cano its makes no sense
There are significant problems with Girardi’s decision making. Specifically, in his bullpen management which is worse than Torre’s (who knew it was possible!). I think he probably should be fired soon.
SJ, dont bring up last year….WE FINISHED IN 3rd!!!!!111
Where did that get us?
If Matsui can hit .280 for power he would be extremely effective on this roster
jennifer May 13th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
What is wrong with people in here? Joe lose both his catchers, his 8th inning guy, his third baseman, his back up third baseman, his #2 starter. I know I am leaving people out. Let’s see Saint Joe or Terry do well without any of them. Please grow up. Baseball isn’t like your video games.
=======================================
Agreed!
Brandon aka MotherLover “It would be my honor to be your new stepfaaaaaaather”
May 13th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Velocity report and stuff report GB on Mitchell ?
————————————————————
No written reports on Mitchell today, and I can’t get a radio feed. In the 3 starts I’ve seen from him, he has been exceptional. His control is outstanding. 93-95 MPH fastball, sharp curve and slider. so far this year, including today 42 innings, 50 strikeouts and 6 walks.
“you do not stick with the same manager if he has the talent & is not getting it done.”
But the talent has to be playing, not on the DL.
I think that Cashman deserves more blame than Girardi. He has been stockpiling pitchers but left the team short on position players. Even the bench leaves Girardi with very few options. In a key situation who can he bring in to pinch hit – Berroa? Cash? Gardner? Might as well not bother.
“My primary problem with Girardi is that he isn’t who I thought he was.”
This might be one of the more narcissistic comments ever made on this blog.
It’s quite remarkable if you think about it’s implications.
But this is part of Girardi’s problem right now – perception.
It was something that by the time Girardi got the job how many yankee fans disliked Joe Torre and blamed him for the yankee’s failure.
In turn people hoisted upon Girardi this image of him as the anti-torre. The guy who will be “fiery,” will movtivate players through a hard edge, will be statistically oriented, won’t simply trust veterans, etc., etc.
Girardi was a kind of blank slate and so many yankee fans and people in the media projected their own ideal anti-torre yankees manager identity on to him.
And reality hasn’t been like that projected image and people are becoming upset to see empirically how Girardi manages.
It was either opening day or late spring training when people made a big deal about the fact that Girardi had a copy of the Baseball Prospectus Handbook on his desk. There was evidence that Girardi would be the statistical answer to Torre’s reliance on “trust.”
Interesting to note that Brett Gardner, a guy with a .273 OBP, batted lead off yet again last night.
An identity was projected onto Girardi – for a while that helped him out – but now reality is getting in the way and that’s going to make life hard for Girardi as people conclude he isn’t the same manager as the mental construct in their heads.
Been saying it all along. Fire Girardi, fire Cashman, fire everyone. They are all garbage.
Adam,
How is his bullpen management terrible? Most of the guys in there suck balls to begin with. With a healthy Marte and Bruney we can talk again.
“Look at the roster presently. Really look at it and tell me how much better this team should be right now.”
This team should be a hell of a lot better.
If Teixeira was hitting like he is supposed to, the offense is so much more productive. Having a .200 hitter at the 3 spot really kills an offense.
The pitching should be much better as well. CC has started to come around, but Burnett is not doing his part. This is a rotation that should be able to win a few games when the offense only gets 3 or 4 runs.
Obviously, there’s not very much Girardi can do about this, but the team isn’t playing nearly as well as it should.
He leaves starters in long enough for the game to get out of hand.
Doc,
Frankly, nobody cares how you “feel”.
There are analysts couches that will deal with your feelings.
This is a baseball blog and all we care about is talking baseball here.
It actually helps if you would make sense every once in awhile. Then, your opinions will actually have some merit.
Contrary to what some may want, they aren’t going to tar and feather the players today.
Believe it or not, that won’t work either.
I’d rather leave a starter in than go to Edwar or Veras
“Girardi got fired in Florida for telling the owner to stay out of it when there was an ‘umpire conflict’.”
Girardi got fired from the Marlins for poor decision making (destroyed Josh Johnson’s arm!) and his inability to work with upper management (aka the guy’s that built the team he was winning with). I think he’s learned his lesson from the latter part and is willing to work with Cashman, but his decision making is still in serious question.
trade matsui for jonathan sanchez
“I understand all the frustration with the Yankees and that it’s a natural part of fandom. However….
When Joe Torre was the skipper the more recent teams started poorly, even without injuries. Yet Joe managed to squeeze just enough out of his players to get to the playoffs and no further. No Playoffs! The chant then was “Fire Joe!” So you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t in this job. So, let’s be honest and admit this is all about the size and unrealistic nature of expectations as much as it is about actual performance.
Is this team with its aging and expensive stars really able to pull out and pass younger, more athletic teams like Tampa, the Jays and even Boston? No. You cannot blame Girardi entirely for this. It’s also Cashman’s fault, but two factors really dictate the present results.
1) The sins of the Father are visited upon the son. George didn’t plan ahead (killed the farm, went to FAs too often, etc) and kept the GM under house arrest. Once Cash took control the results were mixed. Still, it takes a while to turn an aircraft carrier around.
1) Post PEDs it’s a young man’s game again. The importance of shifting to younger and more athletic was only accentuated by the removal of PEDs from the game. Cashman was behind when this race started and got further behind because of the ban. Add that to some bad drafting and they are where they are.
Firing Girardi wouldn’t be unthinkable, and letting Cashman go wouldn’t be illegal. The Steins just better have two candidates with very high “VORP” for the skipper and GM jobs or last years’ finish will look good by comparison to this year.
”
Post of the Year and it should be required reading for all Yankee fans.
SJ –
2 issues:
1) Joba has the potential to be Halladay good. He is not there but he is the other guy in the rotation that may be a shutdown # 1 in the future.
2) I seem to recall you being very high on DJ Mitchell last year after the draft. He has done nothing to dispel that so far this year. Thoughts on him?
Yankees should keep Eiland and fire Long. The Yankees can’t hit when it matters and can only pile up runs if they’re up a ton.
The season is still early, but not that early…like Pete said.
The Yankees still need to find an identity.
This is not on Girardi.
The extent of key injuries effects the team beyond coaching and managing. A-Rod’s hip. Nady’s elbow. Marte’s arm. Posada’s hammy. (Matsui’s too?) Molina’s quad. Tex’s wrist. Wang’s foot not being 100% ready. Damon being Damon.
Part of Wang & Marte might rest on Eiland, but how honest or aware (Wang) are the players regarding their injuries or problems?
Cano & Melky are hitting. Other guys? Beyond the injuries and slow starts by Jeter & Tex, what can the coach or manager do in a matter of weeks if the guys he’s given as replacements are a year or more away from having ML skills/experience?
Experienced guys like Jeter and Tex in hitting slumps is as much if not more on the players than the coaches. The coaches can help them figure it out, but those kind of players know what they’re doing.
“How is his bullpen management terrible? Most of the guys in there suck balls to begin with. With a healthy Marte and Bruney we can talk again.”
It’s his refusal to try out other arms besides Veras and Alby. And that he doesn’t seem to understand guys’ roles (lets Marte face too many righties, brings Edwar in for long relief, continues to use Veras in big spots, etc.)
I really wanted Girardi, the problem as I see it over the past two seasons is that you have an unproven manager who was once a fairly mediocre MLB player trying to manage a group of players who for all intents and purposes have excelled in baseball far beyond Joe Girardi. I think the resent this about him.
Sure he played on championship teams and he had the big hit in the playoffs, but really what was Joe G’s MLB career besides that one season?
If you are Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, etc do you really “Listen” to this guy?
I wasn’t the biggest Joe Torre fan but after he won in his first couple of years he became “proven”.
The Yankees manager needs to be someone who is proven, someone that was either an excellent MLB player or coach..someone with a proven track record in either category. Someone who is respected by these guys.
Girardi looks lost sometimes, and makes many puzzling moves to boot.
With that said, I don’t think a firing right now makes any sense at all, but if they are 10 games out June 1…then all bets are off, heads should roll.
with or without our injuries we have gotten beaten a lot of times that we shouldn’t have.
halladay i can understand but cleveland,kc & some of the games we gave away like the one in kc is what will do this team in & has in the past.
a good team finds a way too beat the lesser teams & up too this point we have not.
i don’t know if girardi is the right or wrong guy & i am not saying fire him now but if he did get fired i would not be upset.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t be playing better.
But, to think they are going to be a juggernaunt with the injuries and present situations is just not logical.
What about Tampa? They are healthy. They have the best player in the AL (Longoria) right now and they are in 4ht place.
No panic on their end. Why should there be panic here?
I guess if you believe they will never get healthy this year, Mark Teixeira will never hit, CC will never win, and the pitching will stay in last place in the AL, I can understand all this emotion.
I happen to think differently and believe they will get healthy in another 3-4 weeks. At that time, Wang, Posada, Bruney, Marte and perhaps even Nady will be back.
Arod and Tex will be better.
If those things happen, do you not think they will be a better team? If that happens, we are in EARLY JUNE.
If they are 5-6 games out of a playoff spot in June when the injured return, do you still believe the season is “over”?
“team is under 500
with CC, Burnett Joba Petitte Rivera Jeter Damon Tex Arod/Posada at times, and Cano its makes no sense”
Agreed. There is lots of talent on the roster, true. But the talent has to perform. The Manager can’t flip a switch on each player. It’s as much about age and athleticism at this point as anything Girardi is doing. But no excuses. If the Steins want to change managers or GMs that’s up to them.
Just know that there is no skipper or GM waiting in the wings with a secret anti-aging/anti-injury/turbo performance boost formula that takes effect before Memorial Day.
“I really wanted Girardi, the problem as I see it over the past two seasons is that you have an unproven manager who was once a fairly mediocre MLB player trying to manage a group of players who for all intents and purposes have excelled in baseball far beyond Joe Girardi. I think the resent this about him”
You are an absolute clown. Some of the best managers were not great players. A player doesn’t care as long as they are winning.
New Brandon, exactly how does a batting coach train hitters to “hit when it matters”?
It’s unbelievable how people are reacting on this blog.
Teams aren’t born with chemistry and production from everybody from the start, it gets better as time passes on.
I’m not worry about this team once Teixeira, A-Rod, Burnett, Swisher and the bullpen start producing on a regular basis, this team will be good and fun to watch again.
STOP panicking they will come around, they always do anyway, and just know they play seven month not two.
Girardi didn’t get fired for “ruining Josh Johnson’s arm”.
If you are going to post BS on here, you are going to get called on it.
In that SAME GAME, Oliver Perez also came out and pitched another 3 innings after the rain delay.
Josh Johnson didn’t hurt his arm in that game. Another unfounded, urban legend.
He got fired because he told the owner to “shut up” when the owner was screaming at the HP umpire over balls and strikes.
Since I live in South Florida and know most of the guys on that team, I know of which I speak.
Take a good look at the Marlins right now. They are in freefall and many believe Fredi Gonzalez, a nice guy, is in over his head.
If you want to whine about Girardi, be my guest.
But, at least get your facts straight or you will get called out on them.
“No written reports on Mitchell today, and I can’t get a radio feed. In the 3 starts I’ve seen from him, he has been exceptional. His control is outstanding. 93-95 MPH fastball, sharp curve and slider. so far this year, including today 42 innings, 50 strikeouts and 6 walks.”
I asked you about him going to Tampa recently and you thought it would be a while away. What are you thoughts on the move?
Cashman constructed this club. In my mind he is far more responsible than Girardi for the team’s decline over recent years. This team, as it currently stands, is not a playoff club, and that is an indictment of Cashman. We’re old, injured, lack depth, and have a lousy bullpen. Much of this is Cashman’s doing.
SJ, fine disregard my feeling of anger and angst. But you can’t deny that something has got to change. The team needs a kick in the pants, Torre used to do it all the time. I havent seen Girardi do it once. The 98 team changed direction after a team meeting when they again started off playing like crap.
By the way, what comment have a made that wasn’t baseball related? If you don’t like people going against your sage comments, you don’t have to get personal.
Funny how all we heard in spring training was what good chemistry this team has. Pete had a post up a few days ago about chemistry still being good.
The fans perception of chemistry is based on only one thing – WINS.
Interesting how the Red Sox have become the Yankees of the 90s with a combination of veterans, gritty players and younger kids.
The guy who has probably been their most clutch player – Jason Bar – is very reserved and is just a professional player.
Tl1125 – “STOP panicking”
Sorry, dude … I hear ya … that would make sense. But it ain’t gonna happen here. Not on this blog.
People looking for Girardi’s head don’t understand baseball. It’s not his fault that he’s managing the Pittsburg Pirates. If anyone should be canned its the pitching coach. He clearly has no effect on these guys.
As for Donnie Baseball, LA may be grooming him to replace Torre, but I’d be willing to bet that if the Yankees went into panic mode, fired Girardi and offered Donnie the job, he’d take it.
GreenBeret7
Hopefully he could change the hitter’s mentality to go the opposite way etc. instead of having everyone swing for the fences.
Seems like Yanks don’t win without hitting a few homers to get the offense started.
I’m kinda glad someone else took Gardner in my fantasy league. I almost picked him up.
Bobby V should start dropping some hits. He’ll be Billy Martin Lite.
I miss Joe Torre
“You are an absolute clown. Some of the best managers were not great players. A player doesn’t care as long as they are winning.”
If you read my post than you would have read that I stated either proven as a coach or player, not necessarily both.
Thanks for the degrading comments. Shows your maturity for sure and class.
Girardi stinks, take the beer goggles off.
Never fails, does it. Mitchell got hammered in the 5th inning. Final Line: 4.1 innings, 6 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts. Not sure exactly why he was promoted, except for his Charleston numbers, but, he’s really inexperienced.
i think if this team can get & stay healthy it will start winning but we have too get it going soon.
we can’t keep spotting the division leaders 6-10 games at every year.
lets go yankees.
Whether or not it’s Girardi’s fault is irrelevant.
The Yankees cannot go through a season waiting for this team to get healthy and wake up. They need to put fans in seats. Look at stubhub, the secondary ticket market. You can go to a game for a fraction of what tickets originally cost. That’s an indicator the team cannot ignore.
If the team is treading water and playing a few games below .500 on June 1 there will be pressure to prove to the paying customers that ownership is trying everything to change the situation.
It’s either the manager (and coaches) or it’s the players.
It’s cheaper to lop the manager’s head off first and see if that satisfies the blood lust.
I don’t agree with that, but it’s how it works here in NY. All of you defending Girardi know this. It’s not fair, but if the team keeps floundering and going up and down the team will be forced to make a move.
I think SJ is right and Eiland’s head is firmly on the block. He may be the first to go and it may be soon. There would be no worse condemnation of him (and Girardi to an extent) if Wang comes up from Scranton and pitches well.
All that tells you is the pitching coach screwed up big time in not being able to realize this about one of the organizations top starters.
Long won’t go anywhere because of his ties to Arod and because he appears to have helped Cano.
I think Eiland and Harkey go first if anyone is getting fired.
After that, it’s probably Girardi if the team can’t come around.
Cashman is King on the question of why this team is where it is right now. Girardi is just playing the hand he was dealt. He’s not playing it well, but I doubt a replacement would do much better, unless he’s able to tap the Fountain of Youth as the clubhouse water source.
GB – Most of the runs were allowed by the relief pitcher (although he let the runners on base).
If they are 5-6 games out of a playoff spot in June when the injured return, do you still believe the season is “over”?…Let’s just hope that it’s only 5-6 games back.
The only thing I want is a team that puts forth a good effort each night and wins series.
I would love a winning streak every now and then but winning series will do for know.
I also agree that firing people in season, with a good portion of the team has been or is on the Dl…would look like panic and right know IMO they need to just hold the fort until the other guys come back.
As for the off-season…everyone from the coaches to the front office to Lonn Trost should be looked at.
What is a kick in the pants going to do? Really, why does this team need that?
What have you seen to make you think they are going through the motions?
They come back almost every night and have chances to win games. Do you not see effort?
You know what they DO NEED? Not to get beaten up by its immature and uninformed fan base after EVERY FREAKING LOSS.
This team IS playing hard.
Unfortunately, they have a combination of slumping, pressing players and injuries all hitting them at the same time.
If some of you actually had a clue about baseball, you would realize that giving them a “kick in the butt” is precisely the WRONG strategy right now.
You do that when you don’t see effort. When you see guys pressing, you ease off the throttle a little bit.
No kick in the butt anywhere is going to make about 30-40% of the current roster better players.
Really, stick to video games until the team starts playing better. Then you can come back and tell us how these guys have shown “heart”.
I’m surprised to see so many clamoring for Buck Showalter. Would Buck and A-Rod carpool to the stadium everyday?
I agree that Cashman is more responsible than Girardi for an old, brittle roster.
However, Girardi has clearly seemed overmatched by the job. Torre remained calm and confident in ’07 as the team started slowly, but Girardi seems like he’s about to explode, or implode, from the pressure. Pete’s documented a thousand cases where he can’t bring himself to be straight with the press. It’s not that he’s made some terrible tactical error, or that he needs to hold more meetings. It’s simply that there’s a palpable lack of leadership that the players have to feel.
He should go.
With the right leadership, there’s plenty of time to turn this season around.
billy
May 13th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
“No written reports on Mitchell today, and I can’t get a radio feed. In the 3 starts I’ve seen from him, he has been exceptional. His control is outstanding. 93-95 MPH fastball, sharp curve and slider. so far this year, including today 42 innings, 50 strikeouts and 6 walks.”
I asked you about him going to Tampa recently and you thought it would be a while away. What are you thoughts on the move?
————————————————————
I didn’t realize that they were going to move him that fast, and, it makes almost zero sense. 6 Pro starts isn’t enough for somebody who started pitching 2 years ago.
Chemistry is about getting the job done and pulling together. The Yankees may have well-matched personalities from what little we are allowed to see. Swisher is funny, CC is a mentor, Jeter is steady… but that’s like naming the 7 Dwarves.
Chemistry, IMO, is being able to pull together, put everything out of your mind except winning and get the job done. Desire and personality are parts of it, but talent and application of that talent is really the only chemistry that matters.
Can you as a team manufacture the big moment and seize on the various opportunities, however slim, that may come your way in a game? Can you pick each other up from failures, can you put away a young but talented pitcher who falters before the bullpen can rescue him, can you advance the runner, can you get that ground ball double play on cue or get that strikeout in a tough spot. Can you summon the Genie when you need to? That’s baseball chemistry, IMO. But it’s also alchemy: Can you turn that sawdust into gold?
I think a big problem for guys like Texiera and Cano last year is that they feel the manager is going to play them no matter how badly they play. That has the mess with a player’s mental attitude knowing no matter how much they screw up they are going to be in the lineup the next day. When the Yankees were the model franchise in the 90′s Torre manged with a total merit system. Everyone forgets that he routinely benched Wade Boggs, Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez in the playoffs in ’96 when they were slumping. They all sat on the bench and shut their mouths too because the message on those Torre teams was that NO ONE is bigger than this team. Unfortunately when Torre tried to go back to that winning strategy and moved Arod down to 7th he was crucified for it. Since then the Yankees have become a team of feudal lords. Girardi needs to get back to a meritocracy. Bench Texiera when he’s slumping and make him earn his way back into the lineup. If he wants to cry about it hand him a tissue.
GreenBeret7
Although, the pitching has been more the problem…Not the hitting.
DJ Mitchell needs to stay in Charleston all season.
He hasn’t been pitching that long in his career.
Charleston is the best place for him in his first full year of pro ball.
He’s got a nice arm and a great cutter. Just be patient and let him develop.
Charleston is perfect for him right now.
GLove,
Exactly. That’s why I think Eiland is not long for the gig. Also, because they have somebody most people in baseball think is going to be an outstanding pitching coach in AAA right now in Scott Aldred.
You fire Girardi if he loses the team. So far, nobody with any credible sources is saying he has lost the team.
Until that happens, he stays.
No question, the team has to play better. But, no manager can make a guy hit or make a pitcher throw a strike.
All he can do is keep the atmosphere around the club less tense so guys have a better shot at performing.
Especially important with a team like the Yankees, whose fans and media treat a loss in May as if they lost the World Series.
Jeter: old
Damon: amazing but more injury-prone than when he was younger
Tex: will hit eventually
A-Rod: superstar but choke artist
Matsui: old
Cano: good, not great
Cabrera: average
Swisher: mediocre player but cool guy to have on the team
Gardner: nothing special
Catchers: old, roster-fillers
Sabathia: a horse, but the Red Sox eat his lunch
Chamberlain: the future
Burnett: slightly above average
Pettitte: old
Hughes: not ready for prime time
Wang: post-injury, a big ?
Rivera: old
rest of the bullpen: awful
Girardi: how much difference does a manager really make?
sj what do you think about bringing in peterson the pitching coach if he is available???
My two thoughts this afternoon:
1) Is our penchant for bringing in big new pieces every year (Teixeria, Sabathia, Burnett, Sheffield, R. Johnson, Vazquez, Giambi, Mussina, K. Brown, ARod, etc.) one of themain reasons for our recurring slow starts? It takes time to get used to the enormous expectations and the fan’s passion, not to mention the desire for the players to feel like they are earning their high salaries. It would be interesting to see how they would start a year that had no significant changes in the off-season.
2) Lets call it what it is, we are a rebuilding organization that is probably at least 2 more years away from having numerous good options in AAA when players on the major league roster are hurt or under-performing. On the signings of Teixeira, Sabathia, and Burnett, while they cost a lot of money, they are just plugging holes that were left by upper managements deficiency in building the organization through the draft and international free agents. We have shiny new pieces to talk about during the winter, but once the games start, we have no core of players in their prime who have come through the organization and lead the team to the playoffs. We have a roster of high priced free agents and AAAA players, excluding Cano and Joba.
Maybe I am all wrong, but this is what I see.
Caesar
Unless things change soon, by All-Star break I believe Davey Johnson will be managing the Yankees.
Personally, I think Cash money has done a good job, other than hiring Joe G and I’m not sure that was his decision. He gave Joe G plenty of talent to perform and it has been questionable at best. I think I remember this winter when almost everyone was excited about CC, AJ, Andy, Swish, & Tex. What other team added this kind of quality to an 89 win team from the previous year.
Who would have thought that keeping Damon, Melky & Cano would turn out to be this good so far?
Where the blame goes IMO so far is the Pitching situation. Wang & Marte were injured and the team didn’t know it. No long man until May. Running Bruney out the 1st 2wks of the season more than any other NL or AL team relief pitcher. Pitching Veras 2 games of more than 3 innings each within 3 days and he hasn’t been right since. Letting Wang go and flounder his last time out for 8 runs w/o even talking with him. WOW! The dictator mentality of being in charge & no one trusting him has played out and it is not pretty. IMO, if Joe G stays the team will struggle, but because of the talent they may still make the playoffs. If Joe G is replaced on or before All Star break & someone not named Buck and probably named Davey will turn this around. It happens all the time.
What irks me most is using (or not using but occupying a roster spot) guys like Berroa when a kid named Eric Duncan could have been tried at really no loss. Kind of like Bailey in Boston. Maybe it is the spark Eric needs in his still very young career. I remember several years ago Eric hit like crazy in ST. And don’t get me started again on the 13 pitcher thing. And one more thing, Joe G had a big say in the 40 man as well.
ESPN’s Baseball Podcast called the Yankees a 4th place team which may lose 90 games this season. More proof that ESPN is not the place to go for a rational baseball discussion.
“I think a big problem for guys like Texiera and Cano last year is that they feel the manager is going to play them no matter how badly they play. That has the mess with a player’s mental attitude knowing no matter how much they screw up they are going to be in the lineup the next day. When the Yankees were the model franchise in the 90’s Torre manged with a total merit system. Everyone forgets that he routinely benched Wade Boggs, Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez in the playoffs in ‘96 when they were slumping. They all sat on the bench and shut their mouths too because the message on those Torre teams was that NO ONE is bigger than this team. Unfortunately when Torre tried to go back to that winning strategy and moved Arod down to 7th he was crucified for it. Since then the Yankees have become a team of feudal lords. Girardi needs to get back to a meritocracy. Bench Texiera when he’s slumping and make him earn his way back into the lineup. If he wants to cry about it hand him a tissue.”
On the money Ghost. This is where the “manager” earns his keep. Francona does a good job with this.
I think the question is whether girardi is the right manager for this team. When healthy and players are solidly producing, this team is built to have deep starting pitching, and a grind it out, see a lot of pitches type lineup. So then, what kind of manager should a team like this have? With the Yankees, the manager needs to manage personalities/egos, deal with the media pressure/scrutiny, and I guess keep players comfortable/ take the pressure off the players. I’m not sure if the answer if yes or no whether girardi brings these qualities, to be honest. While I’m not ready to give up on him, I’m starting to lose some faith.
The injuries are not his fault, but this team and manager don’t seem to have an identity. However, with toronto’s rise in addition to Boston and the Rays, the Yankees can’t dig themselves in too big a hole. I think his job security is at a very delicate spot right now. A couple more games out of first and…
Where has Girardi been tense this year? Nobody has seen that.
He’s been much looser than he was last year.
Are we going to start making stuff up to make a pointless point?
The obvious solution is to fire everyone.
Who would replace them? Oh, don’t ask me such silly questions.
Ghost–
I must have missed when he “routinely” benched Oniell and Martinez.
The only reason he sat Boggs for Hayes was for defensive purposes. Not for some junior high disciplinary move.
“A-Rod: superstar but choke artist”
No, this is the funniest comment today.
Wow 72 wins…will that give them a shot at the next Stephen Strasburg or Wieters??
Laughing at a post saying Yanks went with to many FA`s instead of the farm. Looking at last nights lineups Yanks had 5 so called FA`s or trade guys in their lineup Damon, Tex, Arod, Matsui, Swisher, thats 5 —Red Sox? the “model franchise with the model GM” had 6 Lugo, Ortiz, Bay, Lowell, Drew, Green
The Yanks are hurt and for some reason are in love with Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez…. who suck the root.
A few things need to happen, if the yanks are not at 500 or a little above after the upcoming 10 game home stand
1. Fire Kevin Long.
2. Fire Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey
3. DFA Veras, Ramirez, Tomko, Berrora – Total Losers
4. Call up Melancon, D-ROB, Clagget, and J-Rod
5. Get Wang and Bruney Back
6. Closed door meeting were Girardi loses it on the team. and send a wake up call.
i love these guys fire bullpen coach? mabye fire security guard!!
CB
May 13th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
“My primary problem with Girardi is that he isn’t who I thought he was.”
This might be one of the more narcissistic comments ever made on this blog.
It’s quite remarkable if you think about it’s implications.
But this is part of Girardi’s problem right now – perception.
It was something that by the time Girardi got the job how many yankee fans disliked Joe Torre and blamed him for the yankee’s failure.
In turn people hoisted upon Girardi this image of him as the anti-torre. The guy who will be “fiery,” will movtivate players through a hard edge, will be statistically oriented, won’t simply trust veterans, etc., etc.
Girardi was a kind of blank slate and so many yankee fans and people in the media projected their own ideal anti-torre yankees manager identity on to him.
And reality hasn’t been like that projected image and people are becoming upset to see empirically how Girardi manages.
It was either opening day or late spring training when people made a big deal about the fact that Girardi had a copy of the Baseball Prospectus Handbook on his desk. There was evidence that Girardi would be the statistical answer to Torre’s reliance on “trust.”
Interesting to note that Brett Gardner, a guy with a .273 OBP, batted lead off yet again last night.
An identity was projected onto Girardi – for a while that helped him out – but now reality is getting in the way and that’s going to make life hard for Girardi as people conclude he isn’t the same manager as the mental construct in their heads.
========
This is an extremely thoughtful read on how fans/media operate.
Girardi as a kind of super-cerebral Billy Martin – but he isn’t. The cerebral part is authentically who he is, the other is a psychological straight jacket fans and media have fitted him for.
It points up the same flawed thinking of media/fans in general: that “emotionalism” provides a winning edge. Kicking over water coolers, kicking up dust is better than a player having enough range to stay on his feet and make a play.
This is valid – and only up to a certain point – in football. It does nothing for baseball at all. It’s too slow and methodical, too reliant on precision, focus and skill. What good did it do Piniella that he is a visceral manager? Chicago still got swept out of the postseason.
Girardi does stick up for his players more than Joe did, however. That – and pitching inside – is far more relevant than fan-pleasing histrionics. Joe T was too concerned with being viewed as baseball’s ambassador – it trumped his being a loyal manager who fights for his players. Case in point: going out of his way to throw dirt on Rodriguez over the “Mine!” incident, while old-timers chimed in ‘ happened all the time in my day.’
Girardi’s support of his players is an admirable – and necessary – trait in a manager.
i do have to agree that the roster has been handled poorly.
gardner,beroa should not be up.
try duncan,either one or both,miranda & others & trim the pitchers down too 12.
I would love for them to get rid of Girardi… bring Willie in or Donnie Baseball…. anyone but him and his staff.
How long is Girardi’s contract?
I vote for Donnie Baseball as manager, Willie as bench coach, Tino Martinez as 3B coach and Paul O’Neil as 1B coach. Then you can make David Cone the pitching coach. ALL Winners!
Who remembers the days when the Yanks were the New York team that would grind a 4-3 win out in 10 after trailing 3-2 late?
I miss 1998.
I’m not sure it’s all Girardi’s fault. Some of the decisions made by the organization in the off-season are coming back to haunt us:
When is Mark Texiera going to start playing like a $180 million player? Under .200 after five weeks — come on!
We were so quick to let Bobby Abreau and Jason Giambi go — how smart does that look in retrospect?
CC and AJ need to start pitching up to their potential.
Injuries and a worse than pedestrian bullpen are killing us. Injuries are what happens to an older team.
Two of the best players this year are Cano and Cabrerra. Last year we were ready to throw both in the trash can because they couldn’t — and didn’t seem to want to — get it
together. What’s motivating them? Can it be bottled and given to some of the other players?
Damon is solid. Jeter is looking a little tired. Swisher is a fun guy, streaky but strikes out too much. Gardner can’t get on base enough to use that great speed of his and his throwing arm is pitiful. A-Rod hopefully will get his bat together. First at bat homerun was amazing. Since then, zip.
I like the spirit shown by Cervelli during the few games he caught. For a rookie catcher, the guy shows maturity and seems to have his act together. I hope he gets alot more play while Posada and Molina are out.
SJ44
May 13th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
DJ Mitchell needs to stay in Charleston all season.
He hasn’t been pitching that long in his career.
Charleston is the best place for him in his first full year of pro ball.
He’s got a nice arm and a great cutter. Just be patient and let him develop.
Charleston is perfect for him right now.
————————————————————
I was shocked to see him be promoted that fast. As good as he is, it’s senseless. Tampa’s not that desperate for starters.
How do you expect the team to have an identity when you turn over the roster and add expensive new pieces every year?
Its what you guys wanted, right?
Do these guys get any adjustment period? Or is it, just KILL them right out of the gate. Like you guys now do to Tex, who gets the Arod treatment at home.
Didn’t everybody want CC and Tex? Or, because both guys have been slow out of the gate, do you want Cashman “fired” for signing them?
When half the team turns up lame by Early May, what do you want Joe Girardi to do?
Here is the list of guys he has had to play because of the injuries this year:
Brett Gardner
Angel Berroa
Kevin Cash
Francisco Cervelli
Jose Veras
Edwar Ramirez
Jonathan Albadeljejo
Cody Ransom (before he was hurt)
Phil Hughes
Mark Melancon
David Robertson
Ramiro Pena
Anthony Claggett
That’s a nice AAA roster. Most of those guys are either too young to contribute or are career AAAA players.
ALL of those above guys have impacted more games than Arod has so far this year. That’s just to give you a little perspective.
Two words few of you will listen to but would serve you well if you did:
Be Patient.
That’s really all you can do right now.
“”"njtv
May 13th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
The Yanks are hurt and for some reason are in love with Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez…. who suck the root.
A few things need to happen, if the yanks are not at 500 or a little above after the upcoming 10 game home stand
1. Fire Kevin Long.
2. Fire Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey
3. DFA Veras, Ramirez, Tomko, Berrora – Total Losers
4. Call up Melancon, D-ROB, Clagget, and J-Rod
5. Get Wang and Bruney Back
6. Closed door meeting were Girardi loses it on the team. and send a wake up call.
i love these guys fire bullpen coach? mabye fire security guard!!”"”
Is this guy serious?????
Pena has done a respectable job. Good utility infielder to give the oldsters a chance to rest ocassionally.
GB,
Only thing I can think of is, maybe they felt the Charleston team was not that good this year (especially defensively) and that would hurt his progress.
I think high A Ball may be too high for him right now.
On the other hand, they promoted Austin Jackson to Tampa a couple of years ago, despite struggling in Charleston. They felt he needed better competition and it turned his entire career path in the right direction.
Perhaps they are hoping for the same with DJ.
Boston wanted no part of Teixeria and now we can see why
As usual, Theo outsmarted Cashman. Theo doesn’t build teams around $180 million dollar overrated stars. He builds TEAMS with young, hungry players and solid role players (Drew, Bay).
In ten years A-Rod will have every record in the book and the Yankees will still have 26 rings.
SJ, the proof is in the pudding and right now the pudding tastes pretty moldy. Effort? Sure, they give plenty of effort when they are getting blown out for the 9 games so far this season. Yeah, Girardi isn’t the reason why Veras can’t locate his fastball or Tex pops up to the 3rd baseman for the 20th time.
But you know what? He is the reason why Veras has been marched out there more times then he deserved and why Tex still bats 3rd in our lineup.
I’m not saying those were the wrong moves, but there is accountability there.
I hope you are right and I have egg on my face in a month. I will continue to play video games, but I will also continue to watch the Yankees. Day in and Day out, like I have done for the past 25 years since I was boy.
At 36 with a family and a very nice life, I find your comments very offensive towards me. Trying to demean someone based on their beliefs or feelings says something about you, but alas, I’ll try to be more objective in the future.
Boston wanted no part of Teixeira?
Wow, this place gets dumber by the minute.
I don’t agree with the guy who said “bench Texiera” (who do we have to replace him?). But for crying out loud — WHY IS HE STILL HITTING THIRD IN THE LINE-UP? Every time he comes up to bat you can pretty much go — oh no, here we go again!
You are not talking about some rookie or just off the bench player. This is supposed to be a superstar with a $180 million contract. Someone needs to figure out what is wrong with this guy.
Antone–
Boston wanted no part of Tex, huh?
What world are you living in?
I think if there is anyone who needs to be fired, it should Lonn Trust – aka the ANTI CHRIST!!!
Boston wanted no part of Teixeria and now we can see why
============================
Huh?
SJ44
May 13th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
GB,
Only thing I can think of is, maybe they felt the Charleston team was not that good this year (especially defensively) and that would hurt his progress.
I think high A Ball may be too high for him right now.
On the other hand, they promoted Austin Jackson to Tampa a couple of years ago, despite struggling in Charleston. They felt he needed better competition and it turned his entire career path in the right direction.
Perhaps they are hoping for the same with DJ.
————————————————————
I hope that’s the reason, but, he’s going to run out of innings by mid-season. I think he only has about 150 innings of college pitching over two years and less than 100 last year. Damned, what an arm, though. Tyson needs some real help in Charleston, mainly infield instructors. Joseph is there along with angelini and Maruziak. That’s not good. Gotta love Brewer’s and Mesa’s bats, though. They do need to fix Mesa’s approach, but, what power.
I understand why the more rational posters on this blog try to calm down the hysterics, but saying we just have to “stay close” when you have to BE close to STAY there (and we’re not), or saying “it’s early” when it’s mid-May and approximately a quarter of the season is gone — these are not the ways to reassure.
Antone, Boston wanted everything to do wiuth Tex and were pissed we stole him away…we just overpaid for him. Noone wants to win more than the Yanks, other teams are more worried about their bottom line.
Torre goes out to LA and leads the Dodgers to the NLCS past the 100 win Cubs last year, with the same team that missed the playoffs in 07.
and this year, he has the best record in baseball and is going to win yet another division title and probably have the best record in the NL.
Sometimes the grass isin’t always greener. Not saying Girardi is a bad manager, but Torre was SPECIAL. He had the midas touch. We always overachieved with him at the helm. Look at the rotations he took to the playoffs. He wasn’t a stat guy, he knew how to handle the team through crisis, and the players BELIEVED in him. He had an aura around him that he would lead the team to the playoffs, and never failed.
Here’s something positive: Yankees fans should be excited about the fact that Ramiro Pena and Phil Coke have (so far)distinguished themselves as useful parts of the major league team. Pena is the best backup IF they’ve had on this team in a while. He is above average defensively and can get a hit every now and again. Coke has been the best guy in the bullpen not named Rivera. Those are two things that of course get no attention in a city and fanbase more obsessed with trying to get Joe Girardi fired, and happy to rip the “new guys” that are paid the big bucks but don’t have amazing stats starting on April 3rd.
Does anyone know a good Panamanian Cricket blog?
Doc–
If you are 36, with a nice family and life, why dont you focus on that for a few months, and check back in August.
Yes, Girardi is not responsible for injuries. But he is responsible not taking steps to make his lineup better, not taking any tactical strategy to manufacture runs.
He is even worse than Torre. He should be fired. So is Cashman responsible for the farm system and expensive but very old team, should be fired, too.
tex is in a slump.
he is playing in ny & just signed a 180 million dollar contract & is a human being.
there is nothing too figure out.
it will take time.
Um, roster full of aging position players, overpaid pitching, an ineffective bullpen, and players with a history of injury, lack of depth of position player prospects in the minors…yup, sounds like Cashman should be gone.
How many more years are we going to hear the “Cashman just got full control of the team, let’s wait and see what he does” nonsense? This guy has had 100% control for years now with the highest payroll in baseball and continues to plague the team with payroll inflexibility and a team that looks like they’re going through the motions.
Who are Girardi’s options besides Veras?
You think Girardi wants to use the guy?
He stayed an extra inning with Burnett last night because he was avoiding using the guy at all costs. He wouldn’t use him Sunday in Baltimore, went an extra inning with Coke, and Coke turned up lame. He’s trying not to use the guy but, sometimes he has no other choice. Like last night for example.
When people say, “why is he using him”, what are his options?
He doesn’t have any because the GM stayed pat with the pen in the off-season.
He can’t just manufacture players out of the woodwork.
Doc,
Go back and read your posts and ask yourself if you aren’t over the top.
NOBODY likes when the team is losing. Perspective though, isn’t a bad thing.
If your feelings are hurt, I apologize.
However, this blog often get populated by absolute idiots after a loss.
You don’t seem like one so, don’t play to them.
Most, if not all of the baseball discussion here is very good.
Its when it degenerates into moron central, usually in the game threads, this place goes off the rails.
Some of us regulars are sick of that stuff. That’s why we come out aggressively against it.
Like I said, be a little patient and let’s see how things play out over the next 3-4 weeks.
We will have a better indication of where things are at that time.
Wow…this place has really gone off the deep end today.
I thought everyone would be a bit more subdued after last nights loss, considering who the opposing pitcher was.
Now all of a sudden I have to read about how “Boston wanted no part of Teixeira” and Theo this and Theo that.
I hope the same people who are hammering AJ for his contract aren’t the same ones who want Joba in the bullpen!
SJ44
May 13th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
How do you expect the team to have an identity when you turn over the roster and add expensive new pieces every year?
Its what you guys wanted, right?
Do these guys get any adjustment period? Or is it, just KILL them right out of the gate. Like you guys now do to Tex, who gets the Arod treatment at home.
=================================
I believe is an under-appreciated explanation for the quality of neutrality or diffidence, even, that seems to pervade this team’s start.
A team such as the Red Sox may have some injuries, but they are returning essentially the same group. Not only are the Yankees adding pieces – those pieces are expected to fill major roles. Aside from the wrist ailment, there’s a palpable sort of toe-in-the-water quality to Teixeira.
Wasn’t it rather ardent for him to tell Jeter “You ARE a great player”? That’s his way of acknowledging that there is a hierarchy in place in that clubhouse and on the field that is formidable and which has a history. It’s a careful navigation for these new guys, and the leavening process is going to take its own course.
I believe that is exactly what we are seeing, and why, to a certain extent, even the ABs feel disconnected. Agree, these players have been thrown together and are finding their way to how the pieces relate in a team context. Can’t rush that, regardless of the standings.
“He builds TEAMS with young, hungry players and solid role players (Drew, Bay).”
When in the world has JD Drew ever been considered hungry?! He is universally known (and occasionally ripped) as being Mr. No Emotion, Cool-Calm-Collected…the only time he’s ever been anything close to hungry has been when he’s played for a contract.
Similar to Jason Bay, a guy who was acquired by trade because his earlier team didn’t want to pay him his upcoming bounty that he’s going to receive this winter. The fallacy of the “young, hungry, homegrown” Red Sox needs to die once and for all.
Theo is going through the same motions as Cashman, the difference is that Theo has gotten all the breaks in the last few years and Cashman has gotten to deal with all the hip, shoulder and leg injuries imaginable, thus magnifying his mistakes and leading to a daily drumbeat of how he’s incompetent and should be fired.
Question for SJ,
You either have some good internal contacts in the organization or a great feel for how they do things. Either way, I am interested in your opinion. Joba is currently on pace for about 175 innings pitched. We have heard the number 150 thrown around as the Yanks target for Joba this year. Would they stretch him to 175? We they skip him a start here and there to keep him around 150?
Thanks.
“Boston wanted no part of Teixeira and now we see why”
Am I on the YES network boards? Holy cow!
is there any other options in aaa or lower like igawa,etc…
why did robertson get sent down??
Twi City May 13th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Torre goes out to LA and leads the Dodgers to the NLCS past the 100 win Cubs last year, with the same team that missed the playoffs in 07.
and this year, he has the best record in baseball and is going to win yet another division title and probably have the best record in the NL.
Sometimes the grass isin’t always greener. Not saying Girardi is a bad manager, but Torre was SPECIAL. He had the midas touch. We always overachieved with him at the helm. Look at the rotations he took to the playoffs. He wasn’t a stat guy, he knew how to handle the team through crisis, and the players BELIEVED in him. He had an aura around him that he would lead the team to the playoffs, and never failed.
**********
Oh wow.
1. Torre only made the playoffs because of Manny.
2. How are the Dodgers doing now that Manny is suspended?
3. Torre had the midas touch? What? 8 years in a row with out a ws win, 3 without making it out of the first round. Yep Midas touch.
4. we made the playoffs with good rotations, Pettitte, Mussina, Wells, Roger.
Joe Torre was “special”? Ok.
How “special” was he from 2004-2007?
His team started this slow, some even slower, than this present time.
His teams, ALL favored going into the playoffs, from 2004-2007, blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox and didn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs in any of the last 3 years of his time in NY.
If you think that’s “special”, then you and I have different meanings of the word “special”.
The bullpen is killing the starter’s ERA.
Burnett should not have been in the 8th inning yesterday, but Burnett at 90 pitches > Anyone in the pen.
CC should not have come out for the 7th in the Oakland game after he had already given up 5 runs. But CC on fumes > anyone in the pen.
CC should not have been in the 7th inning for the Angels game over 100 pitches, but CC over 100 > anyone in the pen.
Andy should not have been in that Angels game after he gave up all those 2 out hits, but you take the chance of him getting out of it rather than exposing the pen for 3.1 innings.
The starters have not done their jobs, but Girardi’s utter lack of faith in the pen (and rightfully so, they all stink) is making him extend the starters.
SJ on fire again. good job. last night one of the astute fans wanted to fire lon trost also. the cfo the money man, since when does trost make personel moves??
Tex needs to pick it up…the thing I am dissapointing in is the starting pitching there is no excuse for there terrible performance. I also thin kthey have more talent presently then you do but whatever..
CC, AJ, joba, and the gang should be a top tier staff end the story…….
For Tampa, Montero is 4-5 (all singles) with an RBI. Austin Krum is starting to hit again. 3-5 with a triple and an RBI
“Girardi is not responsible for injuries and the mass decline of the relievers and those are the two biggest issues.”
Of the 2 of them, Cashman would be more to blame based on those two issues. You can bank that injuries will happen during the season, and having a solid bench is how you prepare for that. Our bench looked solid to start the year, assuming only outfielders were injured…as far as the pitching goes, it’s difficult because the pen went from being a strength to being a glaring weakness in less than a year…not sure anyone could have seen that coming.
Zach in Port Jeff
You aren’t kidding. What the hell happened to this place, and who are all those people posting nonsense.
Last night Doc was dominate! The only way we were going to win with that lineup against him was for AJ to pitch a shut out. People really need to chill.
walter bunk.. aj gave up 3 runs and threw less then 90 pitches going into the 8th that is a bad example. aj needs to put up a zero he did not…………..
Was absent for the bad part of the game and the aftermath, so I’m coming on this a.m. to take my lumps. We weren’t winning that game, but AJ needed a better showing than that.
Any news on matsui? Who’s pitching tonight? Go Yankees.
(i don’t care who manages, i want the injuries and losing to stop!)
Injuries are not an excuse. The Red Sox have been playing w/o Youk and/or Pedroia the last week and are still within a game of first place not to mention Dice K hasn’t been available and Lester/Beckett have been dissapointments so far but Francona FINDS ways to win w/ Nick Greene as their shortstop???!!!!! I don’t think a mid season firing would be a bad thing, it may light a spark…I think Girardi may have been a big mistake, especially since he played w/ Posada and some of the old guard still on the team…please prove me wrong Girardi with a 10 game winning streak
Manager candidates: Billy Eppler( If AJ Hinch can make the switch, why not Eppler?) Don Mattingly. Larry Bowa. Yogi Berra(how can you not suggest him?) Paul O’neill(He’ll throw a water cooler at you if you mess up). Derek Jeter (Player/Captain/Manager. He can do it, he IS America, He is New York, He is the Yankees.) Nick Swisher (what can’t he do?) Chuck Norris( Win or die). So…there are my thoughts. Also Texas hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. He’s the best in the game. If we can hit we can win..right?
no kidding . .how’s Torre doing without Manny ! . . Enough said .
I don’t think there is any plan in place to overuse Joba this year. In fact, given their awful history with pitching injuries and their lack of development of younger arms, I would say they would venture on the conservative side with him.
I don’t know what his innings number is this year. Frankly, I think that’s an arbitrary thing because there are “innings” and there are INNINGS, if you know what I mean.
Roy Halliday can throw a 9 inning complete game and use 95 pitches.
If a kid like Joba goes 5 and throws 108, which outing is tougher?
The whole innings count thing is so arbitrary to me. I think its more about number of pitches and innings than just innings alone.
lol this is from John Heyman’s Twitter:
yanks honcho lonn trost seems to favor a fan caste system: how about this for caste systems? yanks near AL’s bottom rung
about 3 hours ago from web
i am glad montero is a stud and developing but he is 2 years away best case scenario….
jennifer,
Off the top of my head: 1-5 with a suspended manny?
They both should go. Girardi can’t get the team moving and Cash made terrible moves
Cashman always dodges the bullet. While Torre was terrible at managing a bullpen, he was good at keeping his players focused and loose. Girardi is Cashman’s hire. George wanted Mattingly, and Cashman was able to talk Girardi into the picture. This is all on him.
If this season fails, both Cashman and Girardi should hold hands and walk into the sunset together.
Billy Eppler is now a managerial candidate?
Really, don’t you have some homework or something.
That’s as dumb a post as, “The Red Sox had no interest in Mark Teixeira”.
Stuart,
I wouldn’t fire Lonn Trost because of the on field product.
The stadium, and his response to the issues surrounding it?
Let’s just say, if I was the owner, he and I would be having a sitdown today.
i really hope cash isn’t starting behind the plate today.
Not to hijack the thread into something other than Fire Cash/Fire Joe talk, but let’s kick around tonight’s game.
Matsui has a slight hamstring pull, Jeter an oblique problem. Let’s assume that Jeter can play, but Matsui can’t. If you are Joe Giaradi, do you:
(a) DH Swisher, play Jeter at SS and Gardiner in CF or
(b) DH Jeter, put Pena at SS, and Swisher in RF or
(c) Pena 3B, Jeter SS, Swisher RF and ARod DH?
Discuss.
We need a winning streak-just so that some sanity and smiles can return around here.
Winning makes everything better. Go get em tonight Andy.
SJ-I’d like to know your thoughts about Joba going to the pen once Wang gets back. Girardi hinted to this a couple weeks ago and does have the innings limit.
I really like Joba as a starter, personally and would rather them have Hughes take his lumps in the pen…but I’m just a clown.
children, children
it is all about the pitching. burnett gave up 5 runs in 7.2. not 3 runs in 7. he was at 90 pitches, even if we had a lead he would have been in the game. 5 runs in 7.2, cannot give him a pass.
we were supposed to win this year because of our pitching. it was common knowledge that while A-rod was out, we would have to win low scoring games and win with good pitching. we didn’t create this vaunted rotation so we have to score 6-7 runs every night
Thanks SJ, Yeah I know I was over the top. Just way too much pent up frustration at this team. It’s the same thing every year….start off slow, turn into world beaters by June. I still have that sour taste in my mouth from last year though. It was the one year since the late 80′s where they just couldn’t catch up again. The hole was too deep.
That being said, I don’t want them to think that its ok and they’ll come around. If they get too complacent its going to turn into 08 before we know it.
I hope Girardi can command these guys, I just don’t like what I see. I mean, it rubbed me the wrong way last year when to start the season off he was too sick to manage. I’ve never heard of a manager being too sick to even take the field. From there, its just been little things where I kind of frown….the way no one makes eye contact with him when he tries to congradulate them or he just looks to giddy out there….I don’t know Mattingly was always my guy and maybe that one poster I few days ago is right. The guy who replaces the legend never succeeds but the guy who replaces the replacement does.
I would like to add that I was all for firing Torre, his stay in NY was just worn out.
New Brandon we haven’t been introduce, I’m Brandon aka ML for now
GB give me your take on Manny Banuelos and when is the next time your seeing Charleston play ?
matsui said he was fine, he could have played it was just a precaution.
We don’t need to see more of gardner, to be honest he should be in AAA because he is useless up here.
Hopefully jeter can play otherwise just swap in pena.
When is Marte coming back? He is very important to the pen
S.A.–Let’s get ready to rumble!
May 13th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
We need a winning streak-just so that some sanity and smiles can return around here.
Winning makes everything better. Go get em tonight Andy.
S.A. I agree.
BUT I still think you should be fired.
Last night’s lineup was a good example of Girardi’s shortcomings as a manager. Because Jeter was unavailable, he thought it would be a good idea to bat Brett Gardner leadoff against Roy Halladay? And have Kevin Cash catching? My lineup would have had Damon leading off, followed by Melky in CF with the rest much as it usually is with Tex, A-Rod, Matsui, Cano, Swisher, Pena and Cervelli. Who knows if they’d have fared any better, but having Swisher on the bench and both Gardner and Cash in the lineup was foolish. And when are they going to get rid of Angel Berroa and bring up someone that could pinch hit or fill in off the bench? If A-Rod has a setback, Pena can go back to third. We really need an option, someone who might actually be able to fill in and get a hit.
PaulydaGoat look up the box scores. Early in the playoffs Torre pinch hit for Paulie and by the end WS Straw and Fielder had basically replaced both because they were more productive.
Probably D: Berroa at third, Pena at short, Arod at DH for the next couple of days.
That gives both Jeter and Matsui two more days to heal and stay off the turf.
Not the optimum lineup but, the best they can do, given the injuries.
They both should go. Girardi can’t get the team moving and Cash made terrible moves. Dodgers got Eithier for Bradley. Sox got Bay for Manny. We got nothing for Sheffield
I’ve been away from the computer for a bit so I am just catching up but I really want to comment on the “Boston wanted no part of Tex” post.
From a Sox perspective I can tell you most assuredly that Boston was drooling over the possibility of signing Tex. The above statement is just plain foolish.
I really think Tex will come around and be a pivotal player for you guys.
OTHER than Arod, who hasn’t been a professional between the lines, five iron? The closest you may be able to say is Swisher, and he’s been a BADLY NEEDED breath of fresh air on the team. And SJ, good call on that Girardi firing. I’m in SoFla too, and that Josh Johnson story is absolute BS.
SJ I really wish Berroa weren’t here. I mean srsly I’d rather put Reegie Corona out there than him.
Uncle Ellsworth May 13th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
S.A.—Let’s get ready to rumble!
May 13th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
We need a winning streak-just so that some sanity and smiles can return around here.
Winning makes everything better. Go get em tonight Andy.
S.A. I agree.
BUT I still think you should be fired.
===============================
You need to be fired too. We all should!
Let’s meet up and all go to the Unemployment office together.
Carl- I don’t think anyone cares. I actually think you are the first person to ask about him.
Our current DL
Brian Bruney
Damaso Marte
Chien-Ming Wang
Jose Molina
Jorge Posada
Cody Ransom
Xavier Nady
Players playing with injuries we know about
Johnny Damon- shoulder
Jeter-oblique
Nick-elbow
Mark- wrist
Those are just what we know about!
Our current DL
Brian Bruney
Damaso Marte
Chien-Ming Wang
Jose Molina
Jorge Posada
Cody Ransom
Xavier Nady
Players playing with injuries we know about
Johnny Damon- shoulder
Jeter-oblique
Nick-elbow
Mark- wrist
Matsui-hammy
Coke- Back
Those are just what we know about!
Firing Cashman isn’t the answer. You don’t turn a season around by firing the general manager. Besides, what move didn’t he make that would help us right know? I’d still take CC over Johan, he is a year younger and built like an ox.
Why not make Paul O’Neill the manager?
He can inject some life into this team and teach these guys how to win and play with passion. He is a winner and a warrior.
Jennifer, I hope you aren’t using injuries as an excuse. No one in baseball cares how many Yankees are on the DL, matter of fact it just makes them salivate to play us.
I read this thread.
The migraine that I had for three days that had finally disappeared this morning?
It’s back.
Some of you have a lot to learn. and I mean a lot.
Doc,
The biggest problem with this team, and something Joe Girardi has nothing to do with, are the injury situations every year.
Every year, this team seems to have half its lineup on the DL and the other half playing hurt by Mid-May.
Its happening too much for it to be a coincidence.
Some of it is, the “Curse of Carl Pavano”. Too many guys not ‘fessing up to injuries because they don’t want to have the “Pavano Label” placed on them. That’s why Marte and Bruney are on the DL right now.
Its also why a guy like Tex, eager to prove himself as a worthy teammate, played with a wrist injury that has messed up his stroke bigtime.
The other part of it is, the poor job the Yankees do recognizing that players aren’t right, healthwise.
How does Wang leave ST with a bad foot? How do they not know his strength wasn’t there? That’s on the medical and training staff.
How do you not give Arod a precautionary MRI after his post-season physical? Its stuff like that which makes some of us really frustrated at the way the Yankees handle injuries.
Girardi? Honestly, aside from the usual 10-12 year olds whining about him, the jury is still out on the guy.
He’s in a bad spot. He was hired by Cash and has huge loyalty to him. Rightfully so.
He was given a list of things he has had to change about himself this off-season and has done so. That’s a positive.
He also knows he was given a roster that has been crap since the injuries hit.
He is a guy that needs to succeed here or his future managerial opportunities dry up.
So, he doesn’t have the standing to speak up and demand some moves be made and has to eat it when he’s given some of the crap he’s been given for the roster.
That’s not a great place to be in if you are the manager.
The challenge for him right now is to not lose the clubhouse. If he doesn’t, and a combination of better health and better play hits this team, they will survive this bad patch.
Cashman isin’t a bad GM, he is just terribly unlucky. Burnett was the only questionable signing, but that was more for health and length of contract, not so much performance.
Did he know that Teixeria would hit .190? Burnett would have a 5 ERA? The pen which was among the best in baseball last yr would be the worst this year? That Wang would forget how to pitch?
He is unlucky. Whereas Theo is lucky. Cashman is not the problem. His 40 man roster construction is flawed but he is not a bad GM. He isin’t terribly creative, but he spends money on the best players.
Just saw Pete’s post on AJ now – lol. He didn’t like the AJ signing and he’s been trying to justify that opinion for tw days. Yesterday he said that you never know if AJ is gonig to give up 1 run or 5 – which is ridiculous and if Pete had looked at AJ’s starts (except for Boston), he’d know that. Now Pete wants us to start boo hooing because Derek Lowe would be much better in the AL East. I don’t think so…..
AJ’s been solid – nothing spectacular – but the season is hardly over yet. I think we can wait awhile before we judge him a bust.
When are the players going to be held responsible for the play? Cashman gave us a line up of:
Jeter
Damon
Teixeira
Rodriguez
Matsui
Posada
Cano
Nady/Swisher/Caberera
Starting pitching
Sabathia
Burnett
Pettitte
Wang
Chamberlin
Bullpen
Marte
Burney
Riveria
The only questionable additions are:
Veras (who can be on or off)
Ramirez
They should be much more than 15-17 with that line up. But due to injuries and just flat out poor play the team isn’t better than the record. Girardi can ‘motivate’ them until he is blue in the face but if the PLAYERS don’t get the job done on the field the record isn’t going to improve.
Not to mention weren’t the Yankees just as bad the last two years Torre managed them? At some point its not the manager its the players.
Teix might be one of those guys who takes the entire year to figure it out in NY. He may end up only hitting .230 this year.
Many players have down years. Cano and Swisher did last year. A-Rod did in 06 (by his standards)/
“Why not make Paul O’Neill the manager?”
B/c he doesn’t have the time. He doesn’t even want to do YES games on a regular basis what makes you think he’l;l commit to day to day managing ?
Brandon aka MotherLover “It would be my honor to be your new stepfaaaaaaather”
May 13th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
New Brandon we haven’t been introduce, I’m Brandon aka ML for now
GB give me your take on Manny Banuelos and when is the next time your seeing Charleston play ?
————————————————————
I can’t really give much of an opinion. I’ve only seen him pitch once. For an 18 year old, he did quite well. Right now, he’s thrown too many pitches out of the strike zone, but, not walking many. It just runs his pitch count up pretty quick. He was impressive, though. Maybe my opinion would mean more when I’ve seen 4-5 more starts.
If you look at AJ’s career, he has always been inconsistent. Pete is right, we don’t know if he will give up 1 run or 5. We also don’t know which inning he will lose it.
He is not the problem though, but Pete was right on with his assessment.
SJ: Seriously, I think you are going to give yourself a concussion, hitting your head against the wall today. I know I will after reading some of the ridiculous posts in here.
Let’s see: Girardi can’t “fire up” the team. The players “have no heart”/are being “complacent”. Other teams have injuries too. Tex should be sent to AAA(!!!).
Unfortunately, it seems that a section of the fan base thinks the team should be winning every single game, via no-hit shutout, with each batter hitting 3 hrs each. Anything less is DISASTER. It’s the same section that thinks the team can just buy any player that may come on the FA market (and then kill him when he slumps or ‘underperforms’).
I just wanted to say that I appreciate your insight and information. The bridge jumpers can all jump. It’ll let us other fans get more discussion in.
If Paul O’Neil becomes manager, can he manage from under his banner with Ransom Sucks as his bench coach?
LOL @ a sox fan bringing a voice of reason on the Texeria battle. Thanks ray. im
“Why not make Paul O’Neill the manager?
He can inject some life into this team and teach these guys how to win and play with passion. He is a winner and a warrior.”
I challenge anyone to come up with a dumber post than this. Ugh.
Epstein has GMed circles arould Cashman the past few years. While Cashman hangs onto an aging core and blows wads on free agents, Theo finds role players who can do the job. Look at the benches and bullpens on the two teams. The Red Sox still win when their regulars are injured… why is that?
Phil,
What’s comical to me is what has caused this meltdown….Roy Halliday dominating the Yankees.
Hell, Doc does that when this was a 900+ run offense.
How could he NOT dominate the lineup the Yankees put out there last night! lol
I don’t have my head in the sand about the issues surrounding the team.
However, when you give the manager the options Cash is giving him right now, Miller Huggins isn’t going to get more of these guys.
Somehow, someway, they have to stay close until reinforcements arrive. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
“LOL @ a sox fan bringing a voice of reason on the Texeria battle. Thanks ray.”
It is embarassing that the Sox fans who come here make more cogent points than 90% of the Yankee fans. Guys like Ray and Dennis know they’re appreciated here – I hope.
“Probably D: Berroa at third, Pena at short, Arod at DH for the next couple of days.
That gives both Jeter and Matsui two more days to heal and stay off the turf.
Not the optimum lineup but, the best they can do, given the injuries.”
I should have put a Berroa option in there, but I keep forgetting he is on the roster. Although I wonder, what is better (or less worse) defensively – Pena at SS, Berroa at 3B, or the other way around?
Zolio
May 13th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
If Paul O’Neil becomes manager, can he manage from under his banner with Ransom Sucks as his bench coach?
classic
The catchphrases of the day should be “tread water” and “get healthy”…as opposed to “fire the manager” and “theo epstein is god”.
Vin,
Read the entire thread. That post is “logical” compared to others! lol
aardvark
“why is that?”
Luck.
Just out of curiousity…
Where is the O’neil banner anyways? It is at Gate 6, or outside the stadium on River Ave?
If Paul O’Neil becomes manager, can he manage from under his banner with Ransom Sucks as his bench coach?
============================
Zach in Port Jeff
May 13th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Just out of curiousity…
Where is the O’neil banner anyways? It is at Gate 6, or outside the stadium on River Ave?
it is inside in “the great hall” which is behind first base
what lies beneath
FIRE EILAND NOW!
Would Sojo make a good manager here?
He is a firey personality, his teammates loved him (Posada raved about him this Spring), he has shown he is good with young players
Did I miss the memo about today being riot gear day on the Lohud Blog?
Cashman is responsible for this roster. Where are the everyday prospects besides Jackson? That’s not on Girardi. The same group that hated Torre want Girardi gone. Bring in Buck, Mattingly, Bowa, Davey Johnson, Bobby Valentine, etc. What can they do? Are they witch doctors and can heal all players on the DL?
If the starters and relievers were pitching better maybe the Yanks could win some low scoring games.
While injuries are part of the game, the Yanks have been hit with a slew of them. Not an excuse, just a fact.
Buck Showalter got a raw deal here in 95
Time to come full circle and let him manage this team and lead us to the playoffs.
Jonathan Niese looks like a stud. watching the Mets/Braves now.
Give the Mets credit… they find guys who are not as heralded (Niese, Pelfrey, Parnell) and turn them into excellent pitchers.
IIRC, Sojo wasn’t the greatest as 3B coach.
Maybe this was discussed yesterday, but am the I only who think the Jays have staying power in the AL East? They have a solid lineup (perhaps a little too RH’ed). I guess the big question is: can their starters hold it together until guys get healthy? Aaron Hill seems to have really turned the corner. The AL East has the following 2B:
Pedroia
Cano
Hill
Roberts
Iwamura
not a bad collection of talent.
aardvark:
Really? “Epstein has GMed circles around Cashman”? Every GM has hits and misses. Tell me how these moves turned out for Theo the wonderkind:
Matt Clement
David Wells
Edgar Renteria
Eric Gagne
Wade Miller
JC Romero
Joel Piniero
Chad Bradford
Wily Mo Pena
Some hit, some don’t. Bay looks better than Nady because Nady is hurt.
Cash definitely could have done a better job with the bench, but when you are down to Catchers 3/4, and your 3rd option at 3B (before ARod’s return), there’s only so much you can do.
“While injuries are part of the game, the Yanks have been hit with a slew of them. Not an excuse, just a fact.”
And they’ve been injuries to key contributors. Both catchers are down. Our SS is now hurt. Our everyday DH has tightness in his hamstring to go along with his bad knees that are being held together with masking tape. Our 3B is not playing at 100% and it shows. Our number #2 starter is on the DL trying to find himself. Add in the sucky bullpen and several players performing below average (yeah, I’m talking about you, Tex!!) and it’s a miracle we aren’t in last place.
No interest in Tex in Boston? I live in Boston and believe me the coronation for him was all planned.
Girardi needs to be given a chance but I would like to see him take a few chances with an undermanned team. He can’t wait for the big inning to occur with big boppers because many of the boppers are on the DL or are not at 100%. When you have guys like Gardner and Pena in the lineup you have to bunt, hit and run, take the extra base, etc.
Of course, since we are talking about the Yankees, Girardi will get crucified if he takes chances and fails.
As for the roster, he needs to go to Cashman and demand more help. Berroa is a waste of a roster spot. Bring up another young guy or look outside the organization for help.
“If Paul O’Neil becomes manager, can he manage from under his banner with Ransom Sucks as his bench coach?”
Whatever happened to that guy ? Joe Francisco, I guess he met a worthy opponent under the Oneill banner
SJ44
Who died and appointed you the moral arbiter of this blog?
You are clearly very bright, informed, connected, and have excellent insights often based on both your educated eye, and your years of experience much of it hands on.
Bravo.
Sadly there are many other fans here, some of them almost as educated and brilliant as you, who also care deeply about their favorite team.
When they post their opinions, they are also participating in what they believe is a forum where all voices are heard.
Lay off beating up all the folks who have opinions that you deem to be not correct, or worthy, as they might not support or buttress your insights.
The Yanks kind of stink this year.
Why?
A lot of reasons.
It is a fact so far.
Will it continue all year?
NO ONE KNOWS.
And EVERYONE has an opinion, so let them all talk, otherwise, why not just start your own blog, which actually might be a good idea, as you are the end all be all of all that is right and just.
Simple question, Fernando Tatis = Steroids ?
Brandon, was that not the funniest SNL episode in like 10 years? Justin Timberlake should host each week.
“Give the Mets credit… they find guys who are not as heralded (Niese, Pelfrey, Parnell) and turn them into excellent pitchers.”
Pelfrey not heralded? He was the 9th pick of the draft in ’05.
nice try buck
SJ i agree on trost but it is because of his utter lack of sympathy for the avg. joe, terrible pr moves, and his mistakes on the stadium. i have not seen the stadium in person so obviously i am not an expert on it. trost is the classic rich guy who has no clue how others live, i see it every day in business, why do people forget where they come from so easily?
but obviously trost has no involvement in the baseball operations…
another great epstein signing is the great julio lugo, he is a real stud and performing at such a high level…
people want to rest matsui for days because he had a cramp in his calf!!!!besides being expert gm’s we have many doctors in training on this site………….
Vin, I advise you NOT to read earlier posts in this and other threads. They’ve already put down 1 regular member with migraines.
“Brandon, was that not the funniest SNL episode in like 10 years? Justin Timberlake should host each week.”
My girl had me watch it, he killed it w. MotherLover I never thought d… in a box would be topped but it certainly was.
Various artists performing Stand By Me in different parts of the world (including the country of Amsterdam) all mixed perfectly together
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741
Morons aren’t welcome here. If you can’t figure that out right now, I can’t help you.
Nobody is looking to stifle baseball talk here. Certainly not me.
We are going to stop moron talk.
Just read the thread. You are a smart guy. You can distinguish between the two.
Don’t like it? Take it up with Pete.
He built the blog to what it is based on fun, enjoyable baseball talk. Not Idiot Central.
You may not like my methods but, unless Pete himself stops me, I’m calling out the folks who contribute nothing to this blog but misery.
This is not a shrinks couch. You have the YES Network Blog for that.
“Simple question, Fernando Tatis = Steroids ?”
Wouldn’t be a surprise. Interestingly, he’s already played 5 positions this year.
brandon, u lie. d in a box will never be topped!!!!!!!
LOL. I can’t believe Boston had Joel Piniero penciled in as closer at one time…
I’m sure they felt same way when they heard we once had Bubba Crosby penciled in at CF.
Niese is a “stud”?
4 runs in 4 innings now equals a “stud”?
Imagine if the Red Sox landed Tex and he was struggling over there the same way he does here. Theo would have been crusified and they would have said that they got jinxed because Lowell wanted to stay and they traded him. Boston was going crazy about signing him. Anybody that paid attention to the news would know that. For some reason I didnt think that Tex wanted to play for the Red Sox and I had a feeling he would end up with New York. I’m happy that they didnt get him. I wish that the RedSox is going after Adrian Gonzalez and somehow they trade for him. He is a stud and he has 11 homeruns in a pitcher’s park. Imagine him at Fenway.
“Vin, I advise you NOT to read earlier posts in this and other threads. They’ve already put down 1 regular member with migraines.”
I’ve been tracking this thread from the beginning, and I really appreciate how it started off so manic, but the sensible folks have managed to steer it in the right direction. Takes some diligence, but it’s possible. Unfortunately, the game threads may be a lost cause.
It’s crazy the way people cast the blame on Cash and Girardi. How many Cash-bashers here honestly foresaw on March 30 that the Yankees would be this bad? I’m sure nobody. This team looked great, stocked with All- Star talent.
Now Girardi – he cannot be blamed for having to put a AAA team on the field every day.
THE ONES WHO ARE TO BLAME ARE THE COACHES, TRAINERS AND CONDITIONING PERSONNEL. Their job is to keep the guys in shape so that we don’t have pulled hamstrings, sore elbows and sore obliques (what the hell’s an oblique anyway??) every day. And as Pete mentioned in a post last week, someone has to be blamed for not seeing the injuries to A-Rod, Wang and Marte earlier.
It’s easy to say that ultimately the leaders are responsible, but the problem has been injuries and underperformance, and the people who supposed to helping the players stay in shape should be blamed!
And you can’t compare the state of the Yankees’ injuries with Toronto, Boston, the Angels, etc. No team is as banged up and has lost so many key players as the Yankees.
“My girl had me watch it, he killed it w. MotherLover I never thought d… in a box would be topped but it certainly was.”
I agree. MotherLover was funnier. The entire episode was a chuckfest, which is rare for SNL these days. Hopefully, Will Farrel can bring the funny this Saturday as well.
Well said SJ. If anyone who posts here wants to whine about the way things are going, fine. But don’t expect everyone to tolerate or accept it. There’s no rule that says anyone here has to accept what anyone else says, other than Pete. We’re free to agree/disagree on whatever BASEBALL topic is of current news. (That’s for the “socialist in chief” comment I read earlier today. I’ll keep my thoughts on it to myself.)
Well said SJ. If anyone who posts here wants to whine about the way things are going, fine. But don’t expect everyone to tolerate or accept it. There’s no rule that says anyone here has to accept what anyone else says, other than Pete. We’re free to agree/disagree on whatever BASEBALL topic is of current news. (That’s for the “socialist in chief” comment I read earlier today. I’ll keep my thoughts on it to myself.)
“And you can’t compare the state of the Yankees’ injuries with Toronto, Boston, the Angels, etc. No team is as banged up and has lost so many key players as the Yankees.”
Well, LAA has had at least 3 of their top pitchers out of action at the same time so they were pretty banged up as well. But in terms of position players, no team has been hit with the injury bug like we have.
Can we have a Lohud Blow Retreat underneath the O’Neal banner??
How amazing would that be.
Are you guys saying that SNL is worth watching again? I haven’t seen more than 10 minutes of an episode in probably 7 years. I got Jimmy Fallon/Horacio Sans (sp?)/ Tina Fey overload and I just couldn’t recover. I’m willing to give it another chance…
Laura and Brandon
I’m not sure about Justin’s singing etc. But I know he is one of the funniest MFs I’ve ever seen. Guy is a comic genius.
i avoided getting upset last night by looking at the lineup and the match ups and assuming a likely loss.
there’s always a chance, but 70% of the time toronto was going to win that game last night.
it’s losing the ones they are supposed to win that gets me.
Vin
SNL
sometimes there are some really funny bits but as a whole it still stinks DVR it.
SJ
I hear you, and actually agree with your thoughts and methods more than you think.
And yes some comments here are sophomoric, but not because they are in opposition to the tone and tenor of yours.
It is just that I have learned that there are folks here and in life that are a bit meeker as it were, and to Nuke them when they have good intentions, and I am not referring to the clearly addle -pated ones, is only going to drive away the posters, or worse create a kind of lock step mentality, where they either genuflect at the temple of SJ, or they are excommunicated and publicly censured.
Without picking apart every single roster move, etc, it is clear that for the last few years the Yankees fall short.
They sign and re -sign big names, we are told they are great, the masses are appeased, and then they do not win.
Is it the managers fault? Players? Press? Fans?
Well, only one team can win every year, that is true, and that has not been the Yankees this CENTURY.
SOMETHING has changed.
It does seem that the Yankees way of doing things is a bit antediluvianated.
Resigning stars based on their past performance is passe.
I wish the Yanks would be more like the Sox and cut lose players they deem going downhill, or at least not “WIN” all the biddings by paying more than other team are willing to for the ” names” and then getting stuck with albatrosses.
Will CC,Tex,Burnett,A-rod end up being Albatrosses?
IMPOSSIBLE to say, BUT
The Sox( for example) By jettisoning Pedro,Nomar,Damon et al, by setting an absolute number that they would not pass, and signing their young guns to long term contracts, SEEM to be more with the times, based on the bottom line, 2 WS this century.
Anyway’s, I hope your nephew gets drafted in the first round and is a superstar
Dr. Cox
May 13th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Can we have a Lohud Blow Retreat underneath the O’Neal banner??
How amazing would that be.
NO RETREAT! NO SURRENDER!
If anyone gets canned this year, it has to start with Cashman. Enough is enough with him flying under the radar!!!
Let’s look at the team out of ST and the team now:
Projected out of ST:
Starters: CC, Wang, AJ, Pettitte, Joba
Bullpen: Mo, Marte, Bruney, Coke, Veras, Ramirez, Albie or Aceves
Infield: Tex, Cano, Jeter, Arod, Ransom
OF: Damon, Cabrera, Gardner, Nady Swisher and Matsui.
Catchers: Posada and Molina.
Now, let’s see what changed from March 1 to now….
Arod needed major hip surgery and his just coming back.
Wang fell off the map and is trying to work his way back.
Nady blew out his elbow making a routine throw.
They brought up Hughes and he hasn’t yet been consistent.
Bruney and Marte are on the DL, Mariano is still working his way back and the bullpen has fallen off the rails.
BOTH catchers are out.
Tex is hitting .190
Jeter, Matsui, Damon and Swisher are all playing hurt.
You get hit with all of this at the same time, its pretty tough to just say “overcome it”.
That’s why they have to stay close until they get guys back.
Is it a challenge? Yes it is.
But, its really the only thing they can do right now.
I’m not sure how anyone feels about Scott Kazmir but, the rays aren’t going to be able to afford him even though he signed an extension. They still got other players and his salary is to high to cover all that. I’m just asking do you think they Yankees should look into picking him up? Or is that a crazy idea all together?
“It’s crazy the way people cast the blame on Cash and Girardi. ”
Well, in all honesty, Cash has to take the blame for the roster. It’s the GMs responsibility to make sure that the roster is full of compotent replacements for injured players. Our roster is a who’s who of AAA players, who aren’t ready for primetime. That’s on Cash.
How about we look at the conditioning? All these injuries seem like stuff Yankee trainers SHOULD be catching or doing something to prevent.
All these hamstring injuries, seems like there is a lack of conditioning with this team.
Other Phil,
I knew somebody was going to call me out for Epstein’s follies (Gagne, et al). Thing is, what did Theo give up for that admittedly less than stellar group? I think you can call Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena a wash. Probably Lugo was his worst signing. But Theo has been way ahead of Cashman in identifying future needs and filling them. He didn’t hesitate to cut fan favorite Trot Nixon loose and bring in JD Drew, who doesn’t have great stats but does seem to get some big hits in big games. He let Pedro walk at the right time, and ditto, much as I hate to say it, Damon. The Crisp for Ramon Ramirez trade is looking pretty good. But the Nomar Garciaparra trade in 2004 is what made him legendary. Theo is a cold-blooded realist who doesn’t let sentimentality get in the way of baseball operations. Want to know why he’s better than Cashman? Compare the contracts of the two teams’ aging catchers.
“I’m not sure about Justin’s singing etc. But I know he is one of the funniest MFs I’ve ever seen. Guy is a comic genius.”
He would do well as a host of a variety show or one of the late night talkers.
Epstein is far and away doing a better job than Cashman. Anyone who says otherwise is in another world.
“brandon, u lie. d in a box will never be topped!!!!!!!”
oh no.. trust me watch Mother Lover. Laura I never really cared for JT but he’s a hilarious guy, SNL has never been that funny, even that 34 DD implant skit. Uncle Ellsworth definitely.
To be upset by losses that come in bunches is rational. To question the overall direction of the team based on visable trends is rational.
To be *particularly* upset by last night’s loss, with the lineup we put out and facing the pitcher we faced, is not particularly rational.
The Yanks could have won that game. All they needed to do was – in any combination – have scored more runs and/or allowed the Blue Jays to score fewer.
As it happened, Roy Halladay went 9 innings in dominant fashion and we might have been lucky to even get one run across.
They could replay that game every five days with the exact same personnel and I’m afraid Toronto would win more than half of the time. I’m sure AJ would be better sometimes, and Halladay would be worse. But more than not, the Blue Jays win that game.
It’s just not something to get all upset about.
“sometimes there are some really funny bits but as a whole it still stinks DVR it.”
Exactly. That’s what made Justin’s show stick out. It was a rarity in that it was funnier more than it sucked. LOL!
DCJ,
I like KAzmir he’s on my fantasy team. He’s in a little slump but, he’ll come out of it. Of course the rays can’t afford him no one goes to there games. I wouldn’t mind Kazmir coming here at all. I doubt Andy will be back next year and unless they got someone down in AAA that can get the job done Kaz may not be a bad option. I could be crazy too though
“To be particularly upset by last night’s loss, with the lineup we put out and facing the pitcher we faced, is not particularly rational. ”
I wasn’t upset by yesterday’s loss simply because it was a game I knew we’d lose. Halladay owns us. He has for the last 3 or 4 seasons. That’s not something that’s going to change overnight.
“Are you guys saying that SNL is worth watching again? I haven’t seen more than 10 minutes of an episode in probably 7 years. I got Jimmy Fallon/Horacio Sans (sp?)/ Tina Fey overload and I just couldn’t recover. I’m willing to give it another chance…”
No, only that episode, other than that SNL has been a snooze fest. JT gave it life this past week.
SJ44
May 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Now, let’s see what changed from March 1 to now….
Arod needed major hip surgery and his just coming back.
Wang fell off the map and is trying to work his way back.
Nady blew out his elbow making a routine throw.
They brought up Hughes and he hasn’t yet been consistent.
Bruney and Marte are on the DL, Mariano is still working his way back and the bullpen has fallen off the rails.
BOTH catchers are out.
Tex is hitting .190
Jeter, Matsui, Damon and Swisher are all playing hurt.
You get hit with all of this at the same time, its pretty tough to just say “overcome it”.
That’s why they have to stay close until they get guys back.
Is it a challenge? Yes it is.
But, its really the only thing they can do right now.
————————————————————
It’s like I said the other night. Come about 1 June, this team will appear to have made a series of huge trades. Other than Nady, almost all of them will return from the DL and the nagging injuries.
“I wish that the RedSox is going after Adrian Gonzalez and somehow they trade for him.”
Nice grammar, chowdahead. Go back to Cask and Flagon for yet another round.
aardvark,
You can’t compare the two aging catchers at all. Using this example to compare the Cash and Theo is absurd. Jorge’s ’07 stats were way better than any year Varitek had. Posada also became a fulltime catcher later in his career. His legs don’t have as much mileage… Varitek’s contract year was god awful at the plate and his defense below average at best. Posada when healthy. Theo actually had no plan B for the aging Varitek so he was forced to sign him…..
The Malkovich episode near Christmas was good too.
The two kids that were “getting a calculator” cracked me up to no end – it was O’Neill Banner funny
“It’s like I said the other night. Come about 1 June, this team will appear to have made a series of huge trades. Other than Nady, almost all of them will return from the DL and the nagging injuries.”
Agreed. However, the question remains how far back will they be at that point and will they be able to make their now traditional run at 1st like in previous seasons? Only time will tell.
The question is, if you could go back in time, would you dig up a hydrogen bomb and blow up this roster or do you think that the Yankees can still win it all in this timeline?
“The question is, if you could go back in time, would you dig up a hydrogen bomb and blow up this roster or do you think that the Yankees can still win it all in this timeline?”
Nick, don’t get me thinking about LOST. I’m already nervous about it as it is.
“Wouldn’t be a surprise. Interestingly, he’s already played 5 positions this year.”
Vin, his sudden power is what make me think that. I srsly believe Fernando is on steroids but again who isn’t.
“Exactly. That’s what made Justin’s show stick out. It was a rarity in that it was funnier more than it sucked. LOL!”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I think I’ll save the disk space on the DVR. It is such an interesting show, in that it goes from being great, to average, to terrible, to average to great every 8 or 10 years. It’s so cyclical.
“I think you can call Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena a wash”
A pitcher with a winning record for a guy no longer in MLB is not what I’d call a wash.
If you guys are looking for something to blame, blame age.
The Yankees have too many players on the wrong side of 30 which means increased risk of injuries.
Yes, Wang and Nady and Bruney are young, but they’re not 22 year old studs, either.
No team has ever won a World Series with a 35 year old shortstop.
We are beginning to see why.
“The question is, if you could go back in time, would you dig up a hydrogen bomb and blow up this roster or do you think that the Yankees can still win it all in this timeline?”
I’m just hoping time starts skipping again, and we can all be transported back to 1996.
I think they can win with the lineup Cashman intended to field come the 09 season.
Damon
Jeter
Tex
Arod
Matsui
Posada
Cano
Nady
Melky/Swisher
CC
Wang
Burnett
Pettitte
Joba
Could win it all
ever hear that saying the harder and smarter you work the luckier you get?
everyone agrees the yankees are very unlucky .
it’s the yankees own fault if they are in a endless string of bad luck.
there’s one way to change it.
work harder and work smarter.
Laura – Plug it in, change the world!
May 13th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
“It’s crazy the way people cast the blame on Cash and Girardi. ”
Well, in all honesty, Cash has to take the blame for the roster. It’s the GMs responsibility to make sure that the roster is full of compotent replacements for injured players. Our roster is a who’s who of AAA players, who aren’t ready for primetime. That’s on Cash.
————————————————————
If the players were as good as the ones that they are replacing, they would have been in the majors before now. Virtually all of them were All-Stars, or should have been. You don’t just pull that from the minor leagues. They replaced 2 catchers. Name another team that has to go four deep in one position like catcher. They did the same thing at third base. In the bullpen, they went 8-12 deep. Name another team they drafts as low as the Yankees do and go that deep into the system and still stay afloat.
Cash and Berroa aren’t exactly ideal, but, no team goes that deep for utility infielders and catchers.
How many teams with a 35 year old shortstop were good enough to win a World Series but were undermined by that one weakness? What’s the sample size on that stat?
Grrrr.
I usually check out the It is high website once a day and I often find things worth posting but I realize it’s not for everybody’s taste.
Anyway I thought everybody might get a kick out of this.
http://tinyurl.com/pbg2bf
Nick in SF is off his game today, where’s funny Nick
m
May 13th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
jennifer,
Off the top of my head: 1-5 with a suspended manny?
Well, that doesn’t jive with being 6-4 in their last 10 games. They lost a couple of heart breakers too. It is wierd how many Anti-Joe T people there are. I believe a great manger makes a difference of 5 to 10 games a season. A lousy manager has no bottom. Joe G is bottomless.
Does anybody remeber one of CC’s early games when the yanks were winning by 9 or more runs. CC pitched over 120 pitches that game for no reason! The next game he struggled. I wonder why. Just because you don’t like Torre, don’t put the blinders on and say Joe G is doing a good job!
SJ
I love almost everything you write. But, there is no way I can agree with you on Joe G being loose! Comparing Joe G to last year I believe you when you say he is better this year, but that is like saying this year the he is the tallest dwarf! I am not impressed. I was totally not impressed last year or even when he destroyed all those pitchers arms with the Marlins. He is the wrong man at the wrong time. I really believe Davey johnson will be here soon. Just my guess.
the only problem is they are not staying close. The next 2 games will me telling. Taking 2 from Baltimore isn’t exactly a great sign and they were man handled by Boston and TB. They barely squeeked out that game on Saturday
aardvark:
That’s my entire point re: ‘that less than stellar group’. What did they ‘give up’? Every team has to give up something. Without going through each one, many of those specific ones were FAs, so cash; cash which could have been used for someone else. IIRC, there were some HERE that wanted Clement. There were MANY that wanted Gagne (and they traded farm talent for him).
How about the players that Cash got that contributed? Chacon. Lieber. Sturtze. Quantrill. Gordon. Molina. Boone. Proctor.
Every team hits and misses. The Red Sox have had success recently, so Theo gets all of the kudos. But it’s not like the Yankees have been a bottom feeder for the past decade.
Bench depth seems to be his weak spot, but Cash has certainly performed pretty well, especially given the environment he’s in.
Me = be. Darn iPhone
Randy,
Exactly. I will also add, don’t live in denial.
3 weeks with 13 pitchers on the roster? That’s denial. They needed another bat on the bench and they didn’t give it to Girardi.
Right now, especially true with Jeter, Posada, Matsui and Swisher hurting and Tex slumping, they need a professional bat on the bench.
A guy they can use to PH and/or to fill in at times in the lineup.
Brett Gardner serves no useful purpose on this roster right now.
Not when you have 3 former major league players all hitting over .300 in Scranton.
Nobody can tell me with a straight face that JRod, Duncan and Linden are not better options than Gardner right now.
I’ll a step further….
If they DFA’ed Gardner tomorrow and called up one of those 3 guys, the bench is not only better but, it wouldn’t impact their future one iota.
Now, before Brettisgod loses his mind, I’m not advocating DFA’ing Brett Gardner.
They can make another roster move to add one of the “Scranton 3″ to the roster.
However, the fact that neither of those guys are on the 40 man roster what’s so frustrating.
Its poor management of the 40 man roster and its impacting the team in a negative way.
The fact that its STILL going on frankly, is inexcusable.
Watching Pena in the field is a thing of beauty. So smooth with the glove.
Just glides all over and gets to everything and has a cannon arm
Brandon: I have a headache and I have all these conflicting time-travel theories and fears of paradox running through my head. The two might be connected. I’ll try to be funnier later, but you really can’t force it.
People are not really upset about the loss last night. It is the cumulative failure that is beginning to worry and frustrate a lot of fans.
Sure it is relatively early in the season, and sure we have had quite a few injuries. So have Toronto and Boston, by the way, but comparisons are odious.
Most fans expected to come out of the gate strong, and we are 5 games out of the wild card, and there are 5 teams ahead of us. Perhaps the high expectations were unreasonable, but that doesn’t change the fact they existed. The collision of hopes with reality has been depressing.
Posada is out indefinitely. There is a nagging worry that if doesn’t get back for 6 weeks, we could be 10 games out of the wild card by the time he returns.
We thought we had a killer pitching staff. As of today, it is last in the AL in ERA. Obviously, we all think it will pitch better, but again the collision of our hopes with current reality has been depressing.
The Yanks’ roster management since the start of the season has been mystifying and frustrating to a lot of fans. There is again a nagging worry, maybe baseless, that the Yankee front office is not doing everything it could do to put the best active roster out there.
The Stadium seating brouhaha has left some fans feeling unloved.
So, it’s not surprising there are a lot of negative comments. Hopefully, the ship will get turned around and when (and if) it does the negativity will dry up.
so i decided to take a break from studying, and found “funny” Nick disappeared? lol.
Davey Johnson has no chance to manage the Yankees.
He has no allies in the organization. That’s not going to happen.
I was umm waiting to bring this up, remember when Ellsbury stole home and the blog was saying if Joe Torre were manager that wouldn’t happen ?
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=phi
“Cash and Berroa aren’t exactly ideal, but, no team goes that deep for utility infielders and catchers.”
GB, I’m not saying that I expect the Yankees to maintain an Alex Rodriquez caliber player in the minors just in case A-Rod gets hurt. You can’t replace guys like that. Jeter, Posada – they don’t have clones just waiting around to be used. However, you have to admit that our pool of players sucks. Yes, we get shafted in the draft because of where we finish in the division. However, we are the richest team on the planet. You can’t tell me that Cash couldn’t have spend some coin and got better replacement players than the ones we have now.
No team has ever won a World Series with a 35 year old shortstop.
This is NOT true.
Facts please
Nobody has ever won a WS with a 35 year old shortstop, but, nobody’s ever won with a 50 year old pitcher or a 45 year old catcher, either.
lots of doom and gloom, if the Yanks continue this slide, anyone think they’ll start to be 20K crowds at the palace by June?
Brandon, that jus came back to bit their a$$. lol
May 13th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Nick in SF is off his game today, where’s funny Nick
——————————————————–
Great, another guy on the DL?
What is it a bruised humorous bone?
rumors are that the tigers could cut Maglio. If so, the Yanks should be all over him. He has the potential to be a power bat, RIGHT HANDED!! and he plays the outfield, that is a perfect match for the yanks right now…yes he is off to a slow start
I am and have been as optimistic as they come.
You can call me whatever names you want, and I won’t meet you underneath the O’Neill banner, I have a family to feed and bills to pay.
With that said, I love the Yankees. Have been a fan for a long, long time. I like them when they stink and I like them when they don’t stink.
You can tell me until your blue in the face that “they will turn it around”…I believed it last year because they did it the year before in dramatic fashion.
I don’t believe it anymore. Someone said it well last night in that we’ve been brainwashed by excuses..oh they are all injured and they don’t have this guy and they don’t have that guy…you know what? Youkilis has been out, but the Red Sox keep winning. Toronto last most of it’s pitching rotation and guess what? They’re winning…and if you think they are going to “go away” then maybe you didn’t watch the Rays last year.
I like this group of guys, I do think they are capable. But if they do not go on a 7-10 game tear in the next 2-3 weeks, you will be watching American Idol or whatever reality show debuts in October, not the Yankees in the playoffs.
tampayanks,
Exactly. Nobody is going to show up if we are sputtering with a .500 record in the middle of the summer. Not in this economy. We are not even getting full houses for Red Sox games, who is going to watch us play the Tigers in Mid-July?
That’s why they may have to fire Girardi/ Just to show the fans they are doing something to win so people keep coming to the ballpark
“No team has ever won a World Series with a 35 year old shortstop.”
We’ve been hearing that factoid mentioned a lot since the season started. I really don’t buy it – not it’s factuality, but it’s significance. How many of the following SS were the main reason their team went to and won the WS?
08 – Rollins (certainly the best of the bunch)
07 – Lugo (OPS+ of 65 in 2007)
06 – Eckstein (series MVP – as was Scott Brosius once upon a time)
05 – Uribe
04 – Cabrera
03 – Alex Gonzalez
02 – Eckstein
01 – Womack
Granted, those guys all brought something to the table (defense, speed, good bat), but the fact is misleading simply because you don’t see many 35+ SS in the game.
Larry Bowa was the SS on the 1980 Phillies.
If Nick goes on the DL, THAT’S when I will concede the season is over.
There is NOBODY who can replace Nick. He’s the franchise player of this blog.
Gotta find a way to keep him healthy.
“rumors are that the tigers could cut Maglio. If so, the Yanks should be all over him. He has the potential to be a power bat, RIGHT HANDED!! and he plays the outfield, that is a perfect match for the yanks right now…yes he is off to a slow start”
He’s no better than Swisher right now. The yankees need to get younger and quicker and unfortunately that is impossible for this season.
Bowa was 6 weeks shy of his 35th birthday when they won the WS.
If the Tigers are willing to shop Cabrera, then I will listen
He can slide right into DH next year for the next 10 years.
Larry Bowa was 34 when the Phils. won in ’80.
Pee Wee Reese was 36 in ’55 when the Dodgers won it in ’55.
Scooter was 35 and 36 when the Yankees won in ’52 and ’53.
Didn’t Josh Towers say that Tony Pena quit on the Royals?
Why would we want that as our manager IF Joe gets fired?
Torre says Cash picking Girardi for the manager job over Mattingly was the right call.
“One interesting thought from Joe Torre on this subject: Torre said he wasn’t surprised that Brian Cashman chose Joe Girardi over Mattingly as the Yankees’ manager for 2008 (and beyond – for now). Said Torre: “It didn’t surprise me that Cash sided with Girardi, because I knew how (Cashman) felt about experience – which I felt was the right decision, anyway.”"
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....948.column
If there are 20 k crowds maybe they’ll drop ticket prices
“If the Tigers are willing to shop Cabrera, then I will listen”
They won’t and aren’t. And really he doesn’t improve us defensively at all.
“He can slide right into DH next year for the next 10 years.”
Really so we shore up DH for 10 yrs. like we don’t have enough of those.
The Yankees don’t need a right handed bat. Especially a 35 year old outfielder with bad knees, showing no power, hitting .240 and making 18 mil a year for the next 3 years (last year – 2011 is option). They also aren’t giving him away.
Tom in N.J.
May 13th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Larry Bowa was 34 when the Phils. won in ‘80.
Pee Wee Reese was 36 in ‘55 when the Dodgers won it in ‘55.
Scooter was 35 and 36 when the Yankees won in ‘52 and ‘53.
Thanks Tom
Wait? what happened to Magglio?
“Really so we shore up DH for 10 yrs. like we don’t have enough of those.”
Yep. Posada, Jeter, Miranda, A-Rod, so on so for.
SJ: Gee, thanks =P
Tino Martinez. When he’s ready, I think he would make a great manager.
7 guys from the opening day roster are on the DL. That’s a lot to overcome.
Nobody is saying there aren’t danger signs.
All some of us are saying is, the season isn’t “over” and mass firings today won’t change anything.
Some just need to contain their Inner 80′s Steinbrenner’s and chill out.
Mass firings won’t change the teams on field fortunes. Guys coming off the DL and getting back into the lineup will help more.
If this team shows no semblance of mounting a pennant charge by mid June and are 10 games out, there will be more than rumblings about a managerial change.
“Tino Martinez. When he’s ready, I think he would make a great manager.”
He needs to start in the minors first.
Donnie Dodger is NOT coming back
The new manager will be Pena. He won manager of the year in KC and the players love him. He will loosen up the team. Rather than fabricate the camaraderie with dry humor, Pena will dig deep into the souls of each player and get them to fix whatever is wrong with their swing.
Does anybody here watch FRINGE? The big belief on FRINGE is that there is an alternate universe that we can cross over to and interact with. I have a feeling that on FRINGE, the Yankees are in first place by 10 games.
The Varitek/Posada comparison is appropriate for two reasons. Both the Yankees and Red Sox will soon need to groom replacements. Over the past few seasons, the Red Sox have overcome long-term injuries and stayed competitive EXCEPT for two periods when Varitek went down. He contributes to winning even when he’s hitting .200. Posada is equally important to the Yankees even though he as much a liability on defense as Varitek is on offense. But the Yankees are saddled with Posada for four years of what is sure to be a decline. The Red Sox invested far less, in terms of time and money, and thus have more options.
whose watching the Mets game now? Escobar just threw out Reyes at 3rd by 2 feet. wow.
Bringing in Mattingly to be the manager over Pena is like the Knicks bringing in Pringles over Mark Jackson
Don’t look at the name, look at who will connect best with the players.
For all of his immense talents, Jose Reyes has to be the dumbest ball player since Marv Throneberry.
That’s true, but I would trade Jeter for Reyes right now in a heartbeat
He would add so much to this lineup. 70 SB speed, yummm
What you talkin’ bout Pete…Swisher sez Joe G is the best manager he ever played for!
The Red Sox have no catching options. That’s why they brought Varitek back.
They have nobody in the minors who is thought of as a quality ML catching prospect.
The Yankees have 3 (Montero, Romine, Higatosha) and 1 (Cervelli) who is thought of as a quality future backup catcher.
One position the Yankees have fortified themselves better than the Red Sox is the catching position.
Who is the guy in the booth in the Mets game? Is that Bill Maher?
“Bringing in Mattingly to be the manager over Pena is like “the Knicks bringing in Pringles over Mark Jackson”
Yup.
“For all of his immense talents, Jose Reyes has to be the dumbest ball player since Marv Throneberry.”
That boy needs a change of scenery, he needs a Girardi/LaRussa type.
SJ – The Sox might have your nephew in a few weeks!
If Wright or Delgado were any type of team leaders, they’d take Reyes into the shower room and beat the crap out of him until he gets a clue about baseball. He’s been coasting on talent for years.
“All some of us are saying is, the season isn’t “over” and mass firings today won’t change anything.
Some just need to contain their Inner 80’s Steinbrenner’s and chill out.”
———————————————————–
Ok I’ll chill out but there’s NO WAY I’m taking off my white turtleneck.
Delgado is the reason that Reyes is like that.
Vets who have won like Sheffield and Cora need to take Reyes under their wing and teach him how to play the game right
GB, Delgado should definitely do that. He’s like what? a 15 year vet?
“Great, another guy on the DL?
What is it a bruised humorous bone?”
nick in sf has nothing to learn on the DL.
Brandon aka MotherLover “It would be my honor to be your new stepfaaaaaaather”
May 13th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
“Bringing in Mattingly to be the manager over Pena is like “the Knicks bringing in Pringles over Mark Jackson”
Yup.
“For all of his immense talents, Jose Reyes has to be the dumbest ball player since Marv Throneberry.”
That boy needs a change of scenery, he needs a Girardi/LaRussa type.
————————————————————
He needs a Billy Martin type that would knock some sense and pride into him. Jim Leyland or Guiilen are probably the only ones that fits that bill, though, I think Guiilen is all mouth .
Don’t remind me! lol
Could be. Although, they have been pretty quiet on him in the last month.
Seattle could spoil that plan at 27.
Their current farm director used to be his catching coach when he was a kid.
The draft is a funny thing though. You just never know how things break with some teams.
SJ44
May 13th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
The Red Sox have no catching options. That’s why they brought Varitek back.
They have nobody in the minors who is thought of as a quality ML catching prospect.
The Yankees have 3 (Montero, Romine, Higatosha) and 1 (Cervelli) who is thought of as a quality future backup catcher.
One position the Yankees have fortified themselves better than the Red Sox is the catching position.
————————————————————
One other young catcher is Jose Gil. a ton of power, but, still has some holes in his swing, and, not a bad defensive catcher.
“The Yankees don’t need a right handed bat.”
….very true, i mean their 2 right right handers right now are jeter who is hurt and a 34 year old 3rd baseman coming off hip surgery
then they have switch hitters…which leads me to the next question, have you seen one home run hit to left for any yankee this season? because i don’t remember one
joe
May 13th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
“The Yankees don’t need a right handed bat.”
….very true, i mean their 2 right right handers right now are jeter who is hurt and a 34 year old 3rd baseman coming off hip surgery
then they have switch hitters…which leads me to the next question, have you seen one home run hit to left for any yankee this season? because i don’t remember one
————————————————————
NYY isn’t giving up talent for the priviledge of paying him 18 mil a year. If you don’t think that Jeter, Rodriguez and the switch hitters aren’t going to hit homers, you’re sadly in need of help.
Fact is I would rather all these players be hurt now and have a strong 2nd half. This team when fully healthy and playing to their CAREER AVERAGES not just their potential is extremely competitive and can steamroll just about any team. Watch if everybody comes back to form the win streaks that will be formed.
What is just more than abundantly clear and as pete said, its not girardi, its the injuries number one and the pen number two.
But there are ways to try to address those issues. One, there is clearly something wrong with the medical staff the yanks have. They just dont ever seem to know whats going on with the players at any given moment. Things get overlooked, players play injured and get worse and in the end, it seems like the player and not the doctor is making almost all of the decision on the yanks when a player is hurt.
There seems to be a very apparent lack of communication between the two sides if nothing else. So what should the yanks do? How about re-arrange some of the trainers on staff or add somebody to try to be a better route of communication between the players and the staff or talk to the medical staff about what the heck is going on with 10 injures in one month. Is it too much of something or too little or just a breakdown in communication and thats all. Because no other team seems to have the rampant injury plague that we get burned with every year and despite the fact that the age of the team is getting younger each year on average, the injuries pile up more and more.
Secondly, the yanks can continue to get younger and away from the past their prime injury prone talent that used to seem like NY was a magnet for. Instead of re-signing damon next year, how about we look at crawford or bay who are both significantly younger? We should def say goodbye to matsui and pettitte and replace them with ajax and hughes. That takes about 40 years off the total on the team. And there is another thing brian can do to take care of the second problem, How about next off season instead of saying the pen is fine because they didnt suck last year add another decent reliever or two. I mean the market was so dead last year that relievers costs were basically chump change for the yanks who are hauling in money by the truckload now Im sure.
And one more thing we can do – STOP SIGNING OLD YANKEES FOR WHAT THEY DID FOR US IN THE PAST and start giving them the money that they could actually deserve for future performance. Giving posada at 37 a four year deal which just asking for an old injury prone talent on the roster well past his prime and hogging the dh spot like no other. Jeter is up next and only time will tell whether the yanks have learned their lesson after posada. Will jeter be offered a fair value for what he will give us beyond that day he signs the contract or will he be offered up much more for all he has done for us in the past. NEWSFLASH though – jeter is absolutely fine monetarily and has been well paid for all he has done for us already while he was doing it. He wants to stay a yankee for his whole career, the yanks should offer up whatever the highest bidder offers him that isnt the yanks and he will take it Im sure.
“which leads me to the next question, have you seen one home run hit to left for any yankee this season? because i don’t remember one”
Really, you don’t remember A-Rod’s first swing of the season in Baltimore on Friday night?
I brought these records up earlier this year. You should have also included Gibbons Mgr record with the blue jays to paint a better picture. Every team has injuries and under performances, you can’t use that as an excuse. Torre was blamed for alot things by the same people who protect Joe Girardi. Girardi is responsible for many things, the most important being in game moves.. Whether to swing away or bunt, whether to take out a pitcher or leave him in, who to bring in, what lineups are set vs a certain pitcher, etc. Girardi was sold to us that he would be a small ball manager. He’s been everything but.
This new stadium now could factor into the manager decision. If it becomes a HR park, the hitters might get into the swing for the fences thinking and carry that on the road too. What they need is a manager who gets them away from that thinking. Who? I don’t know but I do know it’s clearly not Girardi.
Atlanta Bullpen <<<<<<<<< Yankees bullpen
melky hit one to leftish…
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....statType=1
and so did tex.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....statType=1
i thought this was home home runs only…
Its time to stop blaming the manager who is just handed the team and start blaming the way the team is actually constructed. The yanks werent much better when torre was around I remember that much. Yea they would go on ridiculous runs but that was after playing horrendous baseball for the wide majority of the season and with teams that were also riddles with injuries and overcome by old age playing against younger, more athletic teams. And then, after the run we would just drop the first series without a fight. Is that any better?
First I´ve really enjoyed teh coverage this season by our peteabe.
second, i think it´s really hard to justify firing girardi before questioning cash´s skills. ok, girardi is showing himself to be about average and sure we can compare him to these savior managers out there who are in reality quite rare. but we have a 200 million dollar payroll and a team that many free agents are willing to take less money to play for (although we all know some aren´t). i think that it is worth questioning here whether cash is a below average gm. and i also really hate the arrogant statements he makes to the media in which he basically takes all responsibility for past and future success and blames everyone else for failure. I just think it´s not fair to expect girardi to be one of those rare managers that turnsç teams around and then not ask anything at all from Cash.
All I´m saying is that equal thought should be given to possibly saying good-bye to Cash.
Jeter- 0.300
Damon- 0.289
Teixiera- 0.287
Rodriguez- 0.306
Matsui- 0.294
Posada- 0.277
Cano- 0.303
Nady- 0.280
Cabrera- 0.270
Average BA- 0.290
Sabathia- 17 wins
Burnett- 18 wins
Wang- 19 wins
Pettitte- 15 wins
Joba- 12 wins
Total wins= 81 minimum
If they all played to their averages and the pitchers played to last years level this team would own so hard
Jeter- 0.300
Damon- 0.289
Teixiera- 0.287
Rodriguez- 0.306
Matsui- 0.294
Posada- 0.277
Cano- 0.303
Nady- 0.280
Cabrera- 0.270
Average BA- 0.290
Sabathia- 17 wins
Burnett- 18 wins
Wang- 19 wins
Pettitte- 15 wins
Joba- 12 wins
Total wins= 81 minimum
If they all played to their averages and the pitchers played to last years level this team would own so hard
Looking at the 2000 team, the stats look to be strinkingly similar in both pitching and batting… lots of guys underperforming but they still got it done
Looking at the 2000 team, the stats look to be strinkingly similar in both pitching and batting… lots of guys underperforming but they still got it done
“Its time to stop blaming the manager who is just handed the team and start blaming the way the team is actually constructed. The yanks werent much better when torre was around I remember that much. Yea they would go on ridiculous runs but that was after playing horrendous baseball for the wide majority of the season and with teams that were also riddles with injuries and overcome by old age playing against younger, more athletic teams. And then, after the run we would just drop the first series without a fight. Is that any better?”
Yes it was. Watching .600+ baseball and having hope is alot better than watching less than .500 baseball and having no hope.
I’ll try to be funnier later, but you really can’t force it.
—————–
Nick,
What are you talking about Nick? I guess we went to different comedy schools. I was taught the only way to be funny is to force it. Hell, i cant immagine being funny without trying.
I really don’t want to hear people saying this is Girardi’s fault. Wangs implosion is his fault? The bullpens inability to throw strikes? Injuries to Posada, A-rod, Molina, Nady, Bruney and Marte is his fault? Burnett’s struggles? Tex not being able to hit above the Mendoza line? No. If they were playing sloppy, looking lackadaisical, then yes, I could see that. Being horribly unlucky and under performing players is not the managers fualt.
Cashman is one of the worst GMs in the AL. He’s only good at signing players to bloated free agent contracts. He has no conception as to how to build a bench or a bullpen. Cody Ransom when he knew that a-rod would be out for an extended period of time? No viable backup for Posada when he’s coming off major surgery? Not making sure that Wang was rehabbing or throwing after major surgery? A bench of Angel Berroa and Ramiro Pena? Having no one in the bullpen other than an older Mo, and not grooming anyone to take over in a couple of years? A horrible minor league system? cashman is the problem,and Girardi has not distinguished himself with overmanaging and terrible strategy.