Game 45: Yankees at Rangers
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- May
- 25
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YANKEES (25-19)
Jeter DH
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Swisher RF
Pena SS
Cash C
Pitching: RHP Phil Hughes (2-2, 7.06).
RANGERS (26-17)
Kinsler 2B
Young 3B
Hamilton CF
Cruz RF
Blalock DH
Byrd LF
Davis 1B
Teagarden C
Andrus SS
Pitching: LHP Matt Harrison (4-3, 4.71).
TIME/TV: 2:05 p.m. (ET), YES.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After a stellar 8-2 homestand that got them back near the top of the division, the Yankees open a seven-game road trip with a Memorial Day afternoon game before a sellout crowd at Rangers Ballpark.
SURPRISE, SURPRISE: The Rangers lead the AL West at 26-17. They have won 12 of their 21 including eight straight at home, their longest streak since 2005.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: The last time Phil Hughes pitched in Texas, he no-hit the Rangers for 6.1 innings then left the game with a hamstring tear. That was May 1, 2007.
CLEAN PLAY: The Yankees have not made an error in 11 straight games, which seems to be a franchise record. They are 22-6 when they don’t make an error.
HOWDY, TEX: Mark Teixeira was 18 of 39 (.462) on the homestand with six homers and 16 RBI. His batting average went from .203 to .268.
ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL: Alex Rodriguez is 10 of 53 since returning, but seven of those hits have been home runs.
WELCOME BACK: Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez played significant parts of their careers in Texas. Tex was here from 2003-07 and A-Rod from 2001-03. Teixeira figures to receive a warm welcome from the fans. But the hatred for Alex is thick here and figures to be increased given that he admitted using steroids while a member of the Rangers. This could be a long three days for him. But A-Rod mashes (.329/.411/.643) at Rangers Ballpark.
HOME ON THE RANGE: The Yankees are 13-3 in Texas since 2005.
REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS GOOD? Nick Swisher is 7 of 61 (.115) with three extra-base and five RBI since May 1 when he was hit in his right elbow. He has fanned 24 times.
PATIENCE, BOYS: The Yankees drew two walks against the Phillies and whiffed 24 times.
HEADS UP, MR. OCTOBER: A-Rod has 560 homers, 12th all-time. He needs three to catch Reggie Jackson for 11th place. Mr. October, one would think, will have plenty to say about that.
UM, GODZILLA? Hideki Matsui is 3 for 22 with one RBI in his last six games, was 5 for 31 on the homestand and is 6 of his last 42 overall.
REHAB CREW: Jorge Posada, Xavier Nady, Jose Molina, Cody Ransom and a partridge in a pear tree are among those reporting for rehab duty in Tampa today. Some (or all) of them could get in extended spring training games today or tomorrow.
SHAMELESS PLUG: I’m scheduled to do a few minutes on SportsCenter at 1:45 p.m.
Back with much more later on.
UPDATE, 11:25 a.m.: Brian Bruney is going on the DL. They’ll get a pitcher here for tomorrow.
UPDATE, 1:33 p.m.: Bruney said his elbow was hurting him when he came off the DL and he didn’t tell the team. “I thought I could pitch through it,” he said.
He said the plan is to get a second opinion. “We need to figure out what it is,” he said.
They can’t get a pitcher here today. But somebody (Ramirez, Albaledejo, Melancon or Robertson) will be here tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Girardi indicated he’s willing to use Aceves in late-inning situations as Wang is available as a long man. Wang is in the bullpen at this point until they need a starter. There is no timetable for him to return to the rotation.
The Yankees will be wearing red caps today with a stars-and-stripes NY on the front. It was mandated by MLB for Memorial Day. Personally, I think teams like the Yankees and Dodgers should not mess with their uniforms whatsoever. But nobody asked me. The Yankees wearing a red hat is a travesty. The stars-and-stripes NY is fine. But a red hat?
U. of Texas QB Colt McCoy was watching BP. He already has a NFL-caliber girlfriend.
SportsCenter at 1:45. Check it out.
UPDATE, 2:08 p.m.: We’re underway here in Texas. Somebody with the Rangers has a good sense of humor. They were playing The Kids Are All Right by The Who. When A-Rod left here, he made a dismissive remark about playing with a bunch of kids. They never forgot that.
That’s a nine-game hit streak for Jeter.
UPDATE, 2:22 p.m.: Nice start for the Yankees as they tattoo Harrison early.
Meanwhile, interesting start for Hughes as he returns to where he was once dominant. If he no hits Texas for 2.2 innings, does he get to celebrate a no-hitter? I guess not. Be kind of neat if he did.
UPDATE, 2:41 p.m.: Nice work by Mr. Hughes there as he wiggles out of trouble in the inning with some well-located breaking pitches.
Much like Joba, only a rockhead would want this kid in the bullpen. The Yankees have to give him ever chance in the world to be a starter because he has that sort of talent.
UPDATE, 2:59 p.m.: Nice inning by Hughes, who has tossed 37 pitches through three innings. His breaking stuff has been good and his fastball has late life.
UPDATE, 3:12 p.m.: Gotta love plate umpire Tom Hallion and his emphatic strikeout calls. If you’re going to do that impossible job, you need to have conviction.
Meanwhile, Hughes (or “Hughsie” if you’re Joe Girardi) is dealing. 4 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts and only 47 pitches.
UPDATE, 3:33 p.m.: Here is what has impressed me about Hughes. He has put a runner in scoring position with less than two outs in three of the five innings he has pitched and not allowed them to score. That’s pitching. It’s great to see Hughes doing what he is capable of doing.
UPDATE, 3:35 p.m.: Kris Benson on to pitch for Texas. I’m sure by now his attention-seeking wife has started calling New York tabloids to try and get her photo in.
UPDATE, 3:47 p.m.: Think A-Rod likes hitting here? He’s 4 for 4 with two doubles and four RBI. Yankees now rolling, 10-0. They should let Hughes go as far as he can. He needs innings and they need to rest that bullpen up for the rest of the series.
UPDATE, 4:10 p.m.: It’s 10-0 and we’re in the seventh inning. Time to watch and make sure A-Rod isn’t tipping pitches to Michael Young. Hmm, he just adjusted his hat. Maybe that’s a sign.
UPDATE, 4:11 p.m.: I’m just kidding, calm down.
UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: Hughes rolls through another inning. Not a creature is stirring in the bullpen. Hughes thrown 13.1 scoreless innings in this ballpark. That’s impressive.
UPDATE, 4:37 p.m.: The Yankees have scored 11 runs despite leaving 10 runners on base. They finish with 19 hits.
Meanwhile, Hughes will not get the chance to finish his shutout. That’s too bad.
His final line: 8 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 1 HPB. He threw 101 pitches, 65 strikes.
UPDATE, 4:41 p.m.: Alfredo Aceves? Girardi said before the game that Aceves is a guy who me might use in late innings with Bruney out. OK, that makes sense. So why use him to mop up in an 11-0 game?
With Joba going tomorrow, they’ll need the bullpen given his propensity for throwing a lot of pitches. It doesn’t make sense.
Regardless, 11-1. Yankees win. Check back later for more.
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on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 10:15 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Welcome back Pete.
i would like to see Yanks go at worse 4-3 on this road trip. 5-2 will be ideal. The opposition is strong.
I wish YES would stop harping on Alex’s place on the all-time HR list. Like Bonds, the numbers don’t matter anymore, in a historical sense.
All Alex can do for his legacy now is win a championship (please!), because his eventual HR total will never be seen as legitimate.
I hope with this road trip, Alex will start geting hits and creep his average up.
Welcome back, Pete!
What was that about Danica Patrick???
Sorry, didn’t see the new post from Pete.
With all the agita over Wang, and what makes him tick – one thought came to mind.
At what point does one make the calculation that – no matter the reason – that Wang isn’t going to regain his magic, and that it’s time to make a change? I know this may seem coldhearted, but baseball is, after all, a business. At what point do you say that he’s not going to get it going and recapture what he once had here in NY, and it’s time to make a deal while he still is a valuable chip?
We know the issues in the OF. Austin Jackson – and I hate thinking of any young player as a savior – is a year away, at least. Anyone think Wang could bring back a good young starting OF?
I think Phil Hughes is going to be watched very carefully tonight, for a lot of reasons, one of which may be for the Yankees to figure out just how expendable Wang is.
And lest anyone think I’m hating on Wang – I’m not. Based on what I’ve read, he seems to be a great guy. But at some point, if what randy I indicates has some truth to it, you have to think that if the Yanks can’t fix him, better for both parties for him to move on.
“All Alex can do for his legacy now is win a championship (please!), because his eventual HR total will never be seen as legitimate.”
That is true.
However, if he exceeds Bonds record by, let us say 50 HR, there will be some discussion. Unlike MCGwire and Sosa, given his natural ability Alex will get some consideration. But he has to exceed Bonds by a wide margin.
Matsui and Swisher has become automatic outs
If godzilla is injured, he needs to tell us or go to AAA league and practice. He looked overmatched yesterday and was swinging at above shoulder high fast balls. Hard to believe he is this bad. Swisher needs to see a doctor for his head.
I’ll take the partridge on the pear tree over Nick Swisher, please.
“At what point does one make the calculation that – no matter the reason – that Wang isn’t going to regain his magic, and that it’s time to make a change?”
joe in long island-
what could the yankees get for wang right now?
seriously.
i think they’d have trouble getting a decent 5th starter for him.
that’s a real shame considering he was a high #2 starter only a year ago.
the reason i’m making a federal case about wang now is so there isn’t a slow erosion where everyone gets used to him being bad and forget how good he was.
he may, as you say, not come back to the pitcher neil allen created. i think right now he’s closer to the pitcher he was before he was taught the sinker minus a few mph. i think eiland is more comfortable teaching the traditional wang who didn’t have the nasty sinker.
eiland could probably get wang without the nasty sinker back to being good enough to be a #4 or #5 starter. in the short run even a 5.5 era guy will look like he’s making progress.
as far as a trade, since the yankees would only get a 5th starter and eiland at worst can make him into a 5th starter, why trade him?
From the other thread….
Randy, wouldn’t you say you are oversimplifying it a bit?
For example, Steve Blass. He became completely unable to throw the ball over the plate and it ruined his career.
He had numerous pitching coaches try to help him. Ultimately, Blass himself was so spooked about being unable to throw strikes, he couldn’t do it and it ruined his career. His mind took over his body and nobody could help him out of that rut.
My point with Wang is, you can have Neil Allen behind him watching every pitch. But, if he isn’t confident enough with his foot, nobody can help him. Right now, it seems his mind is winning out over trusting his mechanics and his foot. That’s the challenge facing him right now.
His stride? A legtimate point. But, it all comes down to confidence in his foot.
He’s getting closer but, he’s not quite all the way there confidence-wise.
I say this because his ball had more sink on it in his last appearance than it had all year, with his velocity reaching 93. Again, baby steps but, positive steps forward.
There are so many moving parts to his delivery, even when he’s right, its a challenge.
When you put his foot into the equation, its a problem.
The Yankees didn’t change his arm angle. His arm angle is a result of his delivery being messed up due to a serious foot injury.
I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. Clearly, he wants to be in NY to work things out instead of Scranton.
With his mind being as much an issue as his foot, perhaps its best he stay with the Yankees. He can work a few innings a week out of the pen and that, along with his supervised side sessions, may get him back on track.
Its certainly worth a try, IMO.
wow at the lineup. Bad lineup
Happy Memorial Day everyone. Such a nice day today.
Hopefully the Yanks can start a new winning streak today. Nervous for Hughesie, hopefully he can keep us in the game. The Rangers are not going to be easy.
Who would have thought that melky would be hitting 6th this year…
If anyone costed us more it was Matsui yesterday, IDK what is up w/ him but his bat just disappeared …..John Rothstein is saying the Yankees should take his jersey away I just can’t do that to Matsui but damn is he an automatic out or what, I mean Swish atleast draws a walk every once in a blue. We should have taken 2 out of 3 from Philly then we wouldn’t have to hear how Philly was 1 BS away from sweeping us while we went 8-2 in this home stand.
It is great to have you back Pete. Not a knock on sam borden et al, but your attention to detail is what separates you from the others. What otheres may consider minutia we as hard core yankee fans crave. Just a big THANK YOU.
” But at some point, if what randy I indicates has some truth to it, you have to think that if the Yanks can’t fix him, better for both parties for him to move on.”
joe-
i didn’t read that last part closely enough.
the yankees could easily fix wang.
it’s really simple.
get his velocity back up to 96-97 with his natural long stride.
then do what neil allen did which was have him throw with the grip he taught him, take the shorter stride allen says is essential, and throw the ball.
that’s it.
if wang doesn’t come back, it’s because of the yankees not knowing what wang did when he had the nasty sinker.
just had a thought. guidry coached him for two years and 19 wins a year and he knows allen well. guidry has no conflict of interest. he doesn’t work for another team. bring him in as a consultant and see what he knows about what makes wang’s sinker tick.
eiland is still in charge, but some input from someone who had success with wang couldn’t hurt.
Melky should be hitting 5th. This is what’s known as a breakout season for da melk man
cervelli should be playing.cash brings nothing to this team
welcome back pete. You were missed.
why not dh posada,dl matsui,carry cervelli & molina as the 2 catchers,send gardner & beroa down,bring up a player or two???
Not a bad lineup. However Cash continues to catch Hughes. He’s an automatic out. It’s like the pitcher hitting but in the AL.
Phil in Texas – makes me nervous because all I can think about is what happened two years ago. This will be a great test for him – I’ll take 4 runs in 7 innings, something where at least he keeps the team in the game. The Yankees’ offense is so odd – they score a few runs, then sometimes seem to take the rest of the game off until the late innings. I’m not saying they’re not trying, but many times they let a pitcher off the hook. I love the comeback wins – they have a ton of heart – but they’re not going to be able to do that all the time. They are behind a lot and that’s a problem. It would be nice to have a game or two where everything clicks at the same time – the SP and the offense.
wang’s grip is different????
how did this happen??
Welcome back Pete! Glad to have you back!
randy – that’s a good thought about Guidry. Despite the criticism that all he did was sip coffee, the guy didn’t achieve his own success by accident. And, unlike Neil Allen, there’s no conflict of interest and no ill will. Given how many special advisors they have – heck, even Tino worked with Tex two weeks ago – it seems like it would be a natural.
Girardi obviously has a hard-on for Nick Swisher. I know there’s a LHP going for Texas, but Gardner is actually batting 50 pts higher than Swisher vs. lefties.
Randy,
If it was that simple, wouldn’t they have already done it?
What if Wang’s body is willing and his mind isn’t?
That could be part of the problem.
We don’t know if he really has confidence in his foot enough to just let it fly.
Remember, he said he was “fine” all spring and clearly he wasn’t “fine”.
This is no different than a player telling the medical staff he is “fine” when he isn’t.
I think if we were to rank his issues, mechanics would come in second to his mind. His mind has to be convinced his body is ok. When that happens, his mechanics won’t be an issue.
That’s the challenge for him right now. That’s why the other night was a small step forward for him. The key is, building on it. Hopefully, he can.
Joe,
I wouldn’t give up on him. That’s a 19 game winner, and solid #2 starter on your staff. If it takes another 2 months, you make it a priority to get him right.
Not only does he have no trade value right now, it makes little sense to trade him. When he’s right, he’s their second best pitcher.
The key is to get him right, not to give up on him.
welcome back, pete.
i don’t know how many follow music closely on this board but jay bennett, who played an integral role in some of wilco’s best albums, passed away last night. in my opinion, that band was never the same after parting ways with bennett who some may remember as being the cinematic foil of jeff tweedy and his massive ego in the documentary i am trying to break your heart.
as for the yankees, a 4-3 road trip would be fine but they’re capable of better. yes, texas has been good but these pitching matchups are all, theoretically, winnable games.
Welcome back, Pete!!
What is with Girardi’s love for Kevin Cash, that ex Red Sox reject stinks behind the plate and brings nothing on offence.
Here is Cervelli a young, 23 year old guy and he needs another day off and to split time with Cash, are you kidding me. You would think you would want Cervelli making as many starts with Posada and Molina coming back soon. I just don’t understand what is the love affair for Kevin Cash, he sucks.
Oh please, can the small sample sizes.
Brett Gardner is not a good hitter. Swisher may not be much better but, he’s more of a threat against a lefty than Gardner.
The more some of you whine about the lineups, the more you show how little you know about the game.
I’d say Girardi has been pretty solid with the lineups since they are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. That’s not an accident.
Today, he gives Jeter a half day because he has logged a lot of time lately. Pena, someone with more range, can play a lightening fast infield better than Jeter and he sits a cold Matsui.
He wants Cash to catch Hughes because he wants a veteran to work with a kid.
Its actually pretty logical when you think about it. Which, some of you need to do instead of going into automatic whine mode whenever a lineup is posted.
if we can get wang fixed by the second half it would be like trading for a good pitcher but giving up nothing.
we are hanging in there without him.imagine a good or great wang for the second half.
Exactly when does Cashman do something to fix the pen? It hasn’t been killing us, but it will…
Pete, any update on what is going on with Swisher and Matsui? Are they hurting or just slumping?
hasn’t cash been catching hughes??
why not give cervelli a shot???
nothing to lose & they can bring cash in if it is a disaster.
i just think cervelli should be given a shot to catch hughes because hughes has not been that good with cash.
Yeah Pete, as you pointed out Swish has been awful since he got hit on the elbow. Is it still bothering him? Is he hurt?
not much cash can do to fix the pen.
a trade will cost us a lot & we have tried everybody in addition to a ton of injuries.
now if you wan’t to beat on cash for not getting an arm in the offseason i understand.
I like the idea of bringing Guidry in to work with Wang. He could tell some old stories about the Bronx Zoo years and Wang could nodd.
(Seriously, whatever it takes, but I don’t buy this premise that Dave Eiland is trying to start from scratch with Wang, nor do I buy the premise that the only reason we aren’t seeing the old Wang is that Eiland hasn’t said the magic words yet)
There is no trade market right now so, “fixing” the pen will have to come from within.
With the way things are going, finding an OF is going to take priority over finding a relief pitcher.
They can’t go the entire year with Gardner and Swisher playing almost everyday. Neither guy is good enough to play everyday. Before the stat heads go crazy, Swisher is hitting under .220 since last June. He’s not in a “slump”. Slumps don’t last a calendar year. He just isn’t an everyday player. Couple that with Matsui and Nady being limited for OF play due to injury, all it takes is Melky getting cold to show how much playing an OF short each day can come back to haunt the Yankees.
Unless Swisher magically becomes the player he was 2 years ago, or Nady’s elbow can allow him to play the OF everyday, they will need to get an OF at the deadline.
“The Yankees didn’t change his arm angle. His arm angle is a result of his delivery being messed up due to a serious foot injury.”
sj44-
we’re all thinking on this a lot. getting wang back is a very big deal.
i can see how what i’m saying sounds like oversimplifying , but wang is one of the few cases where a pitcher was changed for the better overnight.
steve blass developed a phobia and couldn’t throw strikes. wang can throw strikes. they just don’t have the nasty sink to them any more.
i agree he was better last time out, but that was from regular starts in a rehab situation. i just don’t see him getting regular work in the pen.
i think you agree his fastball has to get back to 95-96 with his four seamer and long stride for him to be pronounced healthy.
i took an extreme approach of blaming the yankees for raising the arm slot to get the issue raised with eiland or the yankees. it worked . sam borden after seeeng so much debate on the blog about wang asked eiland about the release point. eiland said the release was indeed to high and it would come down as his mechanics improved.
what we talk about here on the blog ,if it’s a high level debate over a legitimate issue, can get back to the yankees. i say keep up the debate from all sides of the issue and be part of the solution.
i suspect this is going to be a long drawn out battle over wang. i’m clearly on record that there’s an easy fix and that is to go retro and use neil allen’s original instructions. i don’t think the yankees are using those now.
for instance,i never hear about the absolute need to shorten wang’s stride that allen constantly drilled into wang because wang couldn’t feel himself lengthening his stride.
Why is Kevin Cash still here, the guy does nothing, the only good thing he did was that sequence w/ Mo to adjust and get out Jason Werth, other than that he’s been a complete zero .000/.___/.___
“hasn’t cash been catching hughes??
why not give cervelli a shot???”
He caught Phil in the Minnesota and Baltimore wins on the homestand where Hughes pitched 5 innings, 6 hits, 3 ER’s in both games.
So maybe that is why Girardi decided to start him. Fact is this guy cannot even handle the bat so I hope he knows how to lay down a bunt if a man is on in front of him and he calls a hell of a game.
would it be stupid to bring up ajax for a few weeks & put him in rf or cf??? or someone else???
if something is not working,no trade market why not try froim within & maybe we get lucky if not make a trade at the deadline.
Just for fun….
Who is the laziest yankee blog host.
Obviously, Pete is the most active one.
RAB is not far behind.
The new guy Erik at Newsday is pretty active too.
I vote for Mark Feinsand as the laziest.
He posts once in a blue moon.
Swisher is a much, much, much better hitter than Brett Gardner – I can’t even believe there is a debate about this. I do hope his elbow is ok – maybe he should have it checked out again.
Cash is awful -I guess I could go either way on this. However, he’s playing too much for my liking – every other game, it seems like he’s in the lineup. I’m not complaining, just saying that I would like to see Cervelli in there more often.
“He caught Phil in the Minnesota and Baltimore wins on the homestand where Hughes pitched 5 innings, 6 hits, 3 ER’s in both games.”
So… you telling me Cisco can’t catch Hughes ? so basically Phil is now Mussina who needs a cady…god the guy does nothing, can’t throw out a runner, can’t run, doesn’t block balls, can’t H….IT at all ! Just why !?
Swisher has been BAD lately, but he’s George Herman Ruth compared to Betemit:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....yerId=4968
Garbage in, garbage out…
This pen is going to kill the Yankees – it’s just brutal. Aceves is good now, but who knows how long he will keep this up? Coke seems fragile and is inconsistent. Bruney can’t be relied on – I can’t believe he hasn’t been DL’d (the Yankees are ticking me off here – the guy is feeling pain and there’s a reason for that. Instead of just assuming the MRI caught everything, how about sending him for more tests? The pain is just a symptom -SOMETHING is wrong with Bruney’s elbow)……
“So… you telling me Cisco can’t catch Hughes ? so basically Phil is now Mussina who needs a cady…god the guy does nothing, can’t throw out a runner, can’t run, doesn’t block balls, can’t H….IT at all ! Just why !?”
I’m not disagreeing with you man, I agree but that is the reason why Girardi apparently seems intent on starting him, because of the average outings Hughes had with him catching, the 5 innings, 3 ER’s. Haven’t we figured out Girardi by now.
Waaaaiiiiit a second, randy. You said several times that the Yankees were *deliberately* changing Wang’s arm slot. A couple nights ago you said you were “all in” on that.
Now are you saying that you only took that “extreme position” so that it would somehow get back to the Yankees and influence their thinking?
What?
I’m glad you wrote to Sam about your concerns and I’m glad he asked Eiland about it so we could clear up a little blog mystery. Are we supposed to think that, by virtue of Sam asking the question, you/we helped fix Wang?
“Swisher has been BAD lately, but he’s George Herman Ruth compared to Betemit:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....yerId=4968
Garbage in, garbage out…”
Wow, that guy is truly a bum, hope the White Sox enjoy that stiff. What did we ever see trading Proctor for Betemit. Eek.
wang is fixed??
news to me.
Regarding Cash at catcher, I think Girardi is being very cautious and it is required.
They can not afford another catcher going down until Posada comes back as it will require a move on 40. When thre are day games following night games, Girardi is giving a breather to Cervelli. It is the right thing to do.
Welcome back, Pete!
Hope you are all enjoying your holidays
Wang is being fixed.
It’s a process.
Pen is much easier to fix then our OF problem, so I agree if they make a trade, they should target an OF’er.
Nady coming back is going to complicate things. That will give them two guys on the roster that are DH’s.
The roster could be a real mess. Very little flexability.
“The roster could be a real mess. Very little flexability.”
Things have a way of working out. Every thing will be alright
uh – did I miss something (haven’t been paying as much attention in the last day or so) – why is Pena at SS? a day off or something elsE?
ah – missed the DH – sorry…thought I checked that first
posada & molina are almost back but i agree with a day after a night game but havn’t we learned anything from last year???
you play the better players & right now cervelli is better than cash.
cervelli hasn’t caught all that much.
i like the idea of dh’ing posada if matsui can’t get it together & going with molina ,cervelli as the 2 catchers.
if cervelli struggles make a move again.
why not make some other moves like bringing up ajax,eric duncan,miranda,etc ?
The Yankees have five walk-off wins in May, the most walk-off wins in one month since September 1988.
Hughes and Cervelli had one bad game. That was enough for Girardi to have Cash catch Hughes every start.
“I’m not disagreeing with you man, I agree but that is the reason why Girardi apparently seems intent on starting him, because of the average outings Hughes had with him catching, the 5 innings, 3 ER’s. Haven’t we figured out Girardi by now.”
I mean when Posada returns and I dislike everything about him as a catcher other than he can hit, if Cisco gets sent down before Cash I’m keying GI Joe’s family van.
“Hughes and Cervelli had one bad game. That was enough for Girardi to have Cash catch Hughes every start.”
Which makes no sense b/c on that day he clearly just didn’t have it.
Welcome back pete
“The roster could be a real mess. Very little flexability.”
Things have a way of working out. Every thing will be alright”
Exactly if Matsui and Swisher continue to not hit, then there won’t be any mess, other guys will get playing time while they are relegated to pinch appearances depending on the daily lineup.
If it means sitting down Matsui for a while to DH Posda one day, or Nady another day, while Jorge catches, or Gardner getting some time for Swisher now and then it will work itself out and I look forward to having the option of Posada and Nady back if nothing else than to maybe wake up Swisher and Matsui from their deep slumber of automatic outs every game.
“I like the idea of bringing Guidry in to work with Wang. He could tell some old stories about the Bronx Zoo years and Wang could nodd. ”
nick in sf-
.. or guidry could call neil allen, his good friend, off the record so no one gets fired, and ask for some ideas. i suspect that’s exactly what he did when he was telling those old funny stories while wang was winning 19 games two years in a row for him.
there is a value in the old stories:
http://www.baseball-reference......1988.shtml
if you look at the 1988 yankees roster, you will notice that neil allen, dave rhighetti, ron guidry, al leiter. tommy john, richard dotson were all on the same team managed by billy martin and lou pinella.
they don’t just tell old stories when they meet. i saw dotson in the early 90’s spend twenty minutes showing allen the circle change he threw to maybe help allen attempting a comeback for arm surgery. dotson i was told had one of the best circle changes in the game. dotson threw his circle change a bit differently than standard.
allen couldn’t throw it after hours of trying . the point is these guys talk about more than just what they did going out at night. the sinker allen taught wang had a yankee pedigree that went back to the bullpen of those late 80’s yankees. don cooper, the white sox pitching coach was also a member of that bullpen a few years earlier. even eiland himself was there in 1988 . there is a network of knowledge and a fraternity of pitching coaches that is not apparent unless you see it in action.
so guidry having some history is not a bad thing.
Welcome back Pete.
Wow you guys are still talking about Wang? I thought Dave Eiland detailed the problem pretty well. I’m surprised that didn’t put to rest the whole arm slot issue. We aren’t going to know anymore until Wang gets in some games.
I’m looking for a nice outing from Hughes today. Lets say 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K
If anyone is interested, I have a 9am appt with Dr. Stuart Hershon tomorrow. Anyone have any questions they would like me relay?
Cal, that’s going to be tough when Georgy returns
Matsui/Nady/Swisher/Posada – They are all basically DHs right now.
“Why is Cash still on this team?” Who else is available? Jorge? Jose? Neither, so Cash is still needed. I hope that was a hypothetical. And you guys really expect Cervelli to catch 2 day games in a row?
lol @ Nick. I was thinking the same thing. We should all be so outrageous, so we can cure cancer, fix the economy, and slow down global warming.
The thing I most looking forward to is having JoPo back not only so he can hiot but so we can get rid of Cash.
I totally understand why he is catching today makes sense he has caught Hughes in the past and you do not want to catch Cervelli every day asyou wil probably expose him as well just like playing Swish everyday does BUT Cash just cant hit a lick and I am not that impressed with him on the defensive level either so not quite sure what he brings other than a warm body that has played the position before and maybe at this point that is all we need until the calvary returns.
I am actually more worried about Matsui who has looked absolutely awful since that imediate gratification when he had his knee drained. He looks like he did prior to that when he was all arms and no legs. It is really sad to see how quickly he fell. He used to rake on NL pitching not so much anymore an his bats just look horrendous but we have no other options really at this point until we get some bodies.
“If Cisco gets sent down before Cash I’m keying GI Joe’s family van.”
Not even Joe Girardi would be that foolish to do something like that when Posada and Molina comes back. I say they go with the tandem of Posada, Molina, Cervelli at catcher. Let Posada early on any way when he return get most of Matsui’s at bats at DH and let Cervelli and Molina catch and hit 9th. Matsui has to keep his spot, he is not untouchable as the DH. A DH has one job to hit, if you aren’t doing it and their are better options for the teams success, the manager must utilize those options.
Doris,
Can you ask Dr. Hershon why Wang’s arm slot is raised?
Have been to all 3 games and a Trenton game in-between – love what I saw again from Mike Dunn out of BP
– so haven’t had much chance/time to weigh in.
Not sure why people are sniping at Randy l., however.
The guy had some information, and instead of making oblique references he came clean with who his source was and was direct about it. He also had a theory.
More importantly, it was interesting stuff – and rather than claiming to have the answers, he exhorted reporters to explore the question with the Yankees.
I credit Borden for taking it to Eiland.
Most reporters do not touch this kind of stuff – for one thing, most probably know they can’t frame the response they’d get correctly, and, what readers don’t realize – editors don’t WANT reporters to get into technical, insular stuff, because the dumb down status quo guides the editor’s “not to lose” sort of prevent defense approach to reporting.
So good job Randy for giving us the Neil Allen scoop openly, and to Borden for actually taking it to Eiland.
M- will do
“Now are you saying that you only took that “extreme position” so that it would somehow get back to the Yankees and influence their thinking?”
nick in sf-
now you’re catching on. it worked too didn’t it?
when was the last time our blog debate has been directly carried to a yankee coach?
i think al of who took part in the debate should be proud of ourselves. we should thank sam borden too.
nick, you don’t think i’m always going to say exactly what i think do you? baseball is sometimes about deception to get the effect you want
I know we went 8-2 on the homestand but for some reason im very down on this team…. i have a bad feeling about this road trip… this road trip is the season!!!
“Matsui/Nady/Swisher/Posada – They are all basically DHs right now.”
And who is the best of the lot and we know can hit consistently, Jorge Posada. He gets first dibs over all those guys mentioned and its not even a debate about it.
bodhisattva, how was Dunn’s control on the fastball and tell me if his SL improved..also a report on our future SS Eduardo Nunez and OF Colin Curtis
nick in sf-
and without your humor and enthusiasm providing opposing thoughts to mine, it wouldn’t have been such a good debate, so kudos to you too.
“I know we went 8-2 on the homestand but for some reason im very down on this team…. i have a bad feeling about this road trip… this road trip is the season!!!”
I could walk you to the roof
Thanks for the lecture, bodhi, but it missed the mark.
Randy, if you read the thing I wrote just after the section you quoted you’ll see that I endorsed the Guidry idea, though I know not whether it’s necessary.
That’s a tough lineup. Good luck to Hughes. Really he’s going to have to have everything working with good command.
“Wow you guys are still talking about Wang? I thought Dave Eiland detailed the problem pretty well. I’m surprised that didn’t put to rest the whole arm slot issue. ”
patrick-
go out and throw the ball around a bit. it’ll get your brain connected to the real world of baseball objects. no , the wang arm slot issue isn’t put to rest. it’s still not right. but any thoughts from you on how to get it right would be most welcome:)
At worst the yankees will split the road trip. I think phil will pitch well today and the yankees will pay back cleveland for blowing them out in the stadium.
This roadtrip is the “season”?
Really? Wow, somebody better tell the rest of baseball.
If this is the Yankees “season”, they may be done for the year by June 1.
randy, thanks, and I appreciate your contributions too, as always.
I think the issue we’ve put to rest is whether Eiland was deliberately screwing with Wang’s mechanics to re-make him. Eiland wasn’t.
The question of whether the Yanks can fix Wang and/or Wang can fix himself is, unfortunately, still open.
Doris, prove it that you have an appointment with Dr. Herson? I don’t believe you, just like I didn’t believe you when you said that Jeter held your kid while you took their picture at Starbucks a few weeks ago. j/k
Coincidentally, just got an email from a buddy in Taiwan about this subject:
“Taiwan’s media talked about Wang a lot recently, that’s for sure. One article talked of Girardi’s ill communication with Wang. He didn’t “talk” with Wang about any decision how to use him as starter or reliever but just “told” him. Wang didn’t know he will do another rehab until he read the newspaper!! I don’t think it’s healthy to the relation between Wang and the coaches. In the old days, Torre will talk to him, Gildrey will talk to him, but now there’s none. That’s why Brunett said he wants to learn Chinese to help Wang.
Wang’s problems with the heights of his folding arms and raising legs are obvious. But last time he showed lots of improvement, almost like that of the old days. I am quite optimistic about his condition now. After several games, he will definitely get better. But now the Yankees must decide how to use him as a long reliever or a starter. After all, these two roles are quite different. And discuss with Wang before making up their mind. So far, they have done none.”
You think NY Talk radio and fans are fickle and bridge jumpers. Spent last night listening to Philly radio and not only do they want Lidge relieved of his closer spot (ok that I understand based on how he is pitching) they want him sent down to the minors. Forget about the fact that you cannot send him to the minors unless he is hurt they dont care. It has gotten so bad they are counting down the games until JC Romero comes back, yes JC romero who all of a sudden last year found something after he was relesed by a few teams.
the wang discussion is fascinating and enlightening but this thing is clearly as much mental as it is arm slot and stride. before he was DL’d/sent down, he was insisting there was no problem with his mechanics while eiland and girardi were saying the exact opposite. in my opinion, wang’s immense failure to pitch during his first three starts rattled him to such a degree that he refuses to look objectively at the situation and maintains a belief that if he just keeps pitching to major league hitting, he’ll be fine. it’s a combination of a complete lack of confidence and an inability to acknowledge that he’s lost all confidence. it’s a pretty dangerous little cocktail of delusion he’s been drinking for a couple of months now and, until he takes some responsibility and looks objectively at his mechanics and results, he won’t be the same. this is something that could turn around out of nowhere with one start, or it’s something that could stick with wang a lot longer than any of us would like to believe is possible.
Swisher RF
Pena SS
Cash C
Harrison is salivating at the thought of this lineup
He gave up a HR to one of if not the best HR hitter in the game. Philly fans need to calm down.
“One article talked of Girardi’s ill communication with Wang. He didn’t “talk” with Wang about any decision how to use him as starter or reliever but just “told” him.”
that’s probably because it’s not an issue that was up for discussion. it’s not girardi’s job to coddle wang’s fragile ego. it’s wang’s job to get himself right and pitch, and he clearly hadn’t done that yet. it’s bad enough that wang is so busy feeling sorry for himself that he’s forgotten how to pitch, he’s got the entire nation of taiwan heaping sympathy upon him. lame.
“go out and throw the ball around a bit. it’ll get your brain connected to the real world of baseball objects. no , the wang arm slot issue isn’t put to rest. it’s still not right. but any thoughts from you on how to get it right would be most welcome:)”
Haha randy I throw the ball every day, something I’m not sure your old bones could handle
It seems you didn’t read the last sentence of my thought there, the one about having to see Wang pitch before drawing any more conclusions.
My point is that the debate no longer has any legs. Eiland knows about the release point problem and is doing something to fix it. That debunks the theory that the Yankee coaches are deliberately making him change his release point. Wang’s mechanics are still messed up due to his injury and it’s going to take some time to fix them.
At this point it’s pointless to argue back and forth, we need to see Wang get a start.
“Harrison is salivating at the thought of this lineup”
Can’t say anything positive about Cash, but Swish is salivating at the thought of hitting away from YS.
Long flight in to Dallas last night and playing an afternoon game facing a young mediocre lefty.
Expect one of those usual “lethargic” games today where they look a step slow and Harrison shuts us down easily.
Cashman controls the roster, not Girardi.
If Cervelli gets sent down, that is because Cashman doesn’t want to DFA Cash and lose him.
El Nino has really cooled off. He is an automatic out now
And why was he swinging at the 1st pitch yesterday?
SJ44,
Here’s an article about the top 5 catching prospects in the draft with video.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....p;c_id=mlb
Doris
Could you ask Dr. Hershon why Derek Jeter made an exception for you and your baby and took a picture with you?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....170803.htm
Brandon,
After seeing him earlier in the year, when he was stellar, hadn’t seen him during rough patch and wondered what was going on. Was more yeoman like this time around – only 1 K but also just 1 BB through 3 – but didn’t have any command issues w/FB, although clearly it wasn’t as amped as earlier, before he ran into the bad spell, due to crummy weather and not getting enough work. His slider is just nasty – right now he could make ML lefties look stupid w/it. What’s nice about him too is he can hit 97 but he’s an agile kid off the mound (converted pitcher). He only has about 25 inns at AA, and although it’s a small sample size, I haven’t seen him have the command issues that his number of BBs would suggest.
Why should the coaches ask Wang if he wanted to go to the pen?
We needed him in the pen after Joba got hurt and the bullpen was toast. They didn’t want to deviate away from the plan, they had to.
But right now, he is in limbo. When does he pitch? Is one good relief stint all he needs to get his job back? I don’t think the Yankees know what the next step is. He is just there trying to fix himself while occupying a 25 man spot. Couple that with Bruney’s injury and then pen is pretty thin every night. Yesterday, the only available relievers were Tomko, Veras, and MO.
I have seen enough from Eliand. He is screwing around with Wang. Release points, mechanics, arm slots etc.
Bring up Scott Aldred and Nardi and have them work with Wang to get him back on track. Eliand is in way over his head.
kasey: my buddy (a big Yo La Tengo fan, btw) loves Wang and roots for the Yankees, but he hardly speaks for the whole nation of Taiwan. Anyway, it’s Girardi’s and Eiland’s job to get the most out of Wang just as it’s Wang’s job to get himself right. They all have a part to play.
“I think the issue we’ve put to rest is whether Eiland was deliberately screwing with Wang’s mechanics to re-make him. Eiland wasn’t.”
nick in sf-
that’s good to know right. our debate got an answer. we should try do more of that.
maybe eiland just needs to be asked the right questions. it’s interesting how sam thought that what he was asking eiland might be too complex for the average fan, but i think the average fan would like this kind of info.
i can see how a reporter has to be careful asking mechanical questions because they are actually crossing over to analysis in their questioning rather than just reporting on what’s happening.
eiland may have welcomed a question that had a little more to it. he might get tired of dumbing everything down.
Does anyone know what became of the Gehrig weathervane bat?
Seems to me that it should be enshrined in the Yankee Museum or atop the flagpole. The thought that it may be some exec’s booty is offensive.
This may be my new obsession.
Pete who would know about such things?
Perhaps you are blind because if you have “seen enough”, its already been established Eiland is NOT “screwing around” with Wang’s release point, arm slot, and mechanics.
Another clueless 10 year old joins the blog. Welcome.
ralph,
Seriously? Didn’t Aldred & Nardi work with Wang already? The Yankees deemed him ready, that’s why they activated him, knowing that he couldn’t be sent back down.
I think SJ’s explanation is the simplest and closest to the truth, Wang’s not trusting the foot yet, pushing everything else out of whack.
We saw the exact same thing from Hughes when he came back from his foot/leg injuries.
Why was Wang warming up in the 9th yesterday? He pitched 3 innings on Friday… they were going to bring him back on only 1 days rest?
Nick in SF in Santa Rosa
May 25th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Thanks for the lecture, bodhi, but it missed the mark.
=========
It didn’t for me – I’m interested in baseball and baseball observations. I realize you have your community here and your sort of roles within it, but I’m not all that interested in that, to be honest. In fact, nothing I say here is really personal, my interest and focus is the information and opinions about baseball.
My point
Be patient, work the counts and wear out the starter… get to the Texas/Cleveland pen
The starters have to keep it close so we can rally
RE: The bullpen…
The bullpen is short because of the Joba 2/3 inning the other day. Plus Bruney hasn’t pitched in 4 days due to painful elbow. So why is he still being carried? DL Bruney and get the problem diagnosed thoroughly. Bring up Robinson from SWB. If after Hughes pitches today, they are going to slot Wang as a starter, send down Hughes and bring up Melancon for another shot. Let’s see if Robinson and Melancon can throw strikes better than Veras and Edwar.
Bottom line is the starters have to go deeper into the game. CC’s been good lately, but AJ, Joba, Hughes/Wang have to throw “strike one” more often and not pitch from behind in the count.
SoCalYankeeFan
Thanks to all the Vets out there and especially the ones that didn’t make it home.
a 3-4 road trip would mean after the 9 game win streak, we went 4-6 in our next 10.
I think it’s hilarious that all you non-baseball professionals are basically saying that Eiland has no idea what he’s talking about just because Wang hasn’t been able to put it together yet. Newsflash: he’d been working with other pitching coordinators in the minor leagues and his release point and mechanics are still off. Let the professionals do their jobs without all the whining. Eiland knows what’s wrong and so do the rest of the Yankees’ pitching coordinators – it’s just a matter of Wang taking that advice and putting it in action. He’s the only one who can do that.
I think Hughes will pitch well today
What the offense does against Harrison is a different story. They are playing in a pinball machine. How hard is it to jack a few out of here and get on the board early?
Bruney going on the DL – Pete update
Sorry, bodhi, but your point included a pointed reference to “sniping” at randy without being aware, seemingly, of the details and nature of the back-and-forth on this topic that several of us have had, from several different angles, over the past few days and weeks.
I don’t suggest that you need to read every post from the last 4 days to comment on this topic, but characterizing the nature of the conversation today without knowing its context didn’t play well.
Parenthetically, doesn’t the “OPPC member” tag in your name have a little to do with the community here that you just said you’re disinterestd in?
Damn Bruney on DL is a hurt to us, Mo, Aceves and Coke are on the clear but the rest of the bullpen has to step it up.
Hopefully Hughes gives us 6 innings, 7 innings would be ideal.
I knew it couldn’t be good when Bruney was still having pain, but it is odd that nothing is showing up on the tests. I hope that they don’t being Edwar back up to take Bruney’s spot.
“El Nino has really cooled off. He is an automatic out now
And why was he swinging at the 1st pitch yesterday?”
That’s a given seeing he hasn’t played in awhile.
It was a cookie and he drove it, had there been 1 out instead of 2 he’s the hero.
And there is no one out there for Cashman to get. This is our bullpen for better or for worse.
I fully expect a .500 road trip, anything more than that is gravy.
Bring up Mahlanson. Let him learn on the job
Mahlanson with growing pains > Tomko
I’m glad Bruney’s on the DL. Was totally wary of his availability when he was clearly experiencing pain. Wouldn’t want to make any condition even worse.
“Hopefully Hughes gives us 6 innings, 7 innings would be ideal.”
The chances of that are virtually nil against a hot Texas lineup.
I’ll gladly take 5 IP 3 ER, because it means the Yankees are still in a position to take the game.
We play 7 games on the road trip, so we will either be over .500 or under
I will say 3-4. Lose 2\3 in Texas, split 4 in Cleveland
I hope Robertson gets the call up. He’s been pitching well. Albaladejo absolutely not ditto for Edwar too.
“Bring up Mahlanson. Let him learn on the job
Mahlanson with growing pains ”
Ok…uh No.
yea bring up melancon. if they had a arm yesterday or bruney could have pitched we would not have seen the great Tomko.
a 35 yr old who has never done jack, he will be off the yanks squad within 4 weeks…
maybe wang was doing a bullpen session brain surgeons…………..man we have a lot of pitching coach’s that blog on this site…………..
“Haha randy I throw the ball every day, something I’m not sure your old bones could handle ”
patrick-
that was kind of what a 6′3 smart ass mets fan ( mets hat on backwards) said last year after he volunteered to my 88 year old father that arod sucked after he overheard my father say he was going up to watch arod hit.
the dude was siiting in one of my gallery chairs on top of it. i walked behind the fence and grabbed my catcher’s mitt, a glove and 50 balls and flipped the glove with a ball in it into the guy’s lap and asked him if he wanted to play catch.
his two friends egged him on. after my third warmup throw knocked the glove back into his face , he decided that this wasn’t going well and he quit as his friends were having laughing fits rolling on the ground.
i went over shook his hand and said let’s start over and we all had a good laugh. his friends said the 50 balls in a milk carton was the first giveaway that he was in trouble.
so you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover. i may have made that same mistake with you. glad to hear you throw every day.
i also agree it’d be interesting to see wang start. what i’m going to be looking for when he does is seeing if his velocity is coming back number one and his arm slot lowering number two. if these two things don’t improve he really should go back down on rehab in scranton until they do.
Hopefully Hughes can give them at least 5 innings. It would be nice to see him continue to improve. I hope he saw what happened against the Orioles. Every pitch he left up went over the fence. This ballpark is the king of laughing pads.
If the Texas hitters try to work Hughes’ pitch count, which seems likely given our pen woes, that could potentially work to his advantage if he’s aggressive and effective in the zone. If he’s aggessive and ineffective… could be fireworks.
“yea bring up melancon. if they had a arm yesterday or bruney could have pitched we would not have seen the great Tomko.”
Tomko allowed 1 run and it was in his 2 IP vs one of the best FB hitting lineups in all of baseball and he’s being ripped like he gave up a GS.
Melancon is not ready, IDK how many times ppl need to hear it or see it before they understand he needs innings in AAA and more experience before he comes up again.
Pete, how was your suspension? Can you and the rest of your compatriots quit dancing around with the furlough. You were suspended for misbehavior on the blog, and now we can all expect to see a non-arrogant, non-insulting, non-suicide encouraging Pete.
Just kidding, Pete. Welcome back!
Nick in SF,
WIth all due respect, I was focused on the interest I had in hearing the Neil Allen stuff and the fact that the reporter actually followed through and asked the pitching coach about it.
This type of thing rarely happens in sports reporting. It could be because of the “free form” blogging offers reporters.
“Anyway, it’s Girardi’s and Eiland’s job to get the most out of Wang just as it’s Wang’s job to get himself right. They all have a part to play.”
your buddy was referencing an article, correct? wang has been lionized in taiwan. i have to assume there’s not a whole lot being written about how the nation’s prize is impeding his own progress.
and i agree that girardi and eiland have a job to do, as well. but how were they to know joba would get hit with a line drive? or that wang wouldn’t show enough velocity and mechanical improvement over two AAA starts to earn a chance against ML hitting? what’s girardi supposed to say, “gee buddy, we’d love to have you up here but we drew straws and you lost out. sorry, big fella!”
i’m sorry. i’m not going to feel sorry for a guy who is so obviously in his own head right now. if he can’t get past his pride and see his own role in this, he’s beyond what eiland and girardi can do for him. i don’t think he deserves to be coddled because, obviously, there was a point – which he may or may not have moved past – where he was unwilling to objectively examine what he was doing wrong out there. he’s been too busy having his feelings hurt because he got sent down and used in relief that he has yet to improve a mechanical flaw which he may or may not even acknowledge exists at this point. i hope he gets it straightened out but his attitude is going to play a large role in that and, thus far, it has been poor.
i see bruney is also unable to get past his mental block and is now being DL’d due to inexplicable pain. good stuff. maybe a-rod ought to bring his psychiatrist up to deal with some of this stuff. it’s laughable.
bodhi’s comment more than likely was directed at me, too.
I just told Nick that when randy l said he took the extreme position that the Yankees were deliberately changing Wang’s arm slot in order to bring attention to the problem, I had the same reaction that Nick did. “Wha’?”
All it took was a simple e-mail from randy l to Sam to get the question answered, not outrageous theories. That’s the whole point. And yes, Sam deserves props because he approached Eiland when others probably wouldn’t have.
What some of us were trying to say is that there’s no conspiracy theory involved. Just a frustrated pitcher probably hearing a hundred different opinions in a language that probably sounds like cacaphony.
btw, randy l, I know how you feel. I’ve been on the other end of a number of similar exchanges with Nick.
Good story randy. I love hearing about smug met fans getting schooled
Bruney back on the DL? damn it
And with all due respect right back, bodhi, if your comment had only been focused on Neil Allen and Sam without the addition of the ‘what’s with all the sniping’ angle, it would not have drawn the reply it did.
Melancon is ready, as long as he’s given innings. You can’t bring him up and pitch him, and then let his rust for days on end. If Girardi uses him, there’ll be no issue about getting innings. He’s as polished as they come and ready for prime time.
Tough test for Hughes today… Rangers are red hot.
We need to pound Harrison
Brett Tomko? Seriously, Brett freakin’ Tomko??? He shouldn’t be on the roster, let alone be used with the game on the line. Wake up! It can’t be a surprise – - he’s been doing this for 13 years!
Brandon -
Tomko only pitched one inning and looked awful. He had no business on this team when he was called up. The guy has a terrible track record – he’s not going to suddenly become good at 35.
A guy like Tomko can easily trick you into thinking he has talent – he throws 94 MPH. He dominates during spring training games & against minor league hitters. The reason why is simple – he is a veteran who can fool inexperienced hitters. When he got 2 strikes on Carlos Ruiz, he didn’t have anything to go to put him away. With two outs and nobody on, he was scared to throw a pitch to Chase Utley. This is not what I want in a relief pitcher.
Would Melancon or Robertson done any better? I have no idea. But at the very least they would have gained experience that they could use for future outings – Tomko gains nothing from his awful performance. The organization gains nothing from his awful performance. He hasn’t been a major league quality pitcher in a long time – and even when he WAS, he still wasn’t all that good.
If anyone needs a good laugh…
Papelbum tried to hit a photographer with a towel(and cursed at him) after his picture was taken when he blew the save against the Mets. Gotta love how much class this guy has. Picture included..
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....170861.htm
Nick Swisher is becoming the Melky Cabrera of last years line up in this line up.
He was hot the first 1 1/2 weeks of the season.. he’s been cold since. How long is going to take to let Gardner have his shot for a little while?
m
May 25th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
bodhi’s comment more than likely was directed at me, too.
=========
My comment wasn’t “directed at” anyone personally, which was my point.
Huge bummer about Bruney. I wonder who they will call up tomorrow. I am heading now to see the AAA Yankees so maybe I will hear something when i’m there about who they might call up. Does anyone know how Melancon has been doing?
“I think it’s hilarious that all you non-baseball professionals are basically saying that Eiland has no idea what he’s talking about just because Wang hasn’t been able to put it together yet.”
dan-
i’ve caught pitchers who have won over 2000 mlb games and been in spring training for pitchers and catchers as a bullpen catcher several times.
i am close friends with the guy who taught wang the sinker , worked for two years under tony cloninger( 15 year yankee pitching coach), been roommates with rick petersen, ross grimsley,and have other friends who are pro pitching coaches.
there is a huge amount of thoughtful opposition to my position on wang on the blog.maybe you might want to take the time to read it before spouting off.
Melancon or Robertson would be better than Cashman’s pet project Albaladejo. What we thought was our bridge to Mo are both on the DL now…I agree that the trade market is not yet jelled, and we would end up over paying, but how long is Mo going to last with these two inning stints?
Seems like maybe (and I admit I don’t know) it’s time to sell high on this young catcher with Jorge and Molina on the mend…
I asked Paul O’Neil the most under the radar player during the championship years (through another blog) and he replyed Mike Stanton. We need a Mike Stanton, someone who can pitch effective innings and stay healthy.
WSelcome back Pete–with all the rehab going on you wonder what ever happened to our new Carl Pavano look alike–Marte? Does anyone know if he is through for the season?
Melancon’s WHIP is 0.96, and his BB-K is 4-21, 11 hits in 13.2 inns. Been better vs. RHB. Let him “learn” vs. ML hitters. He’s ready for them.
Tomko has been on 12 teams in the last 12 years. His career ERA is almost 5, most of it in the NL.
He is awful. How Cashman thought he was the answer because he dominated in ST is beyond me. Josh Bower/Traber part 2.
the boos for Arod will be louder than usual today
I dont understand why Kevin Cash is getting another start. The next start he sees should be at Camp Tijuana.
You saw yesterday exactly why Tomko has been released by like 10 different teams and has never had much success anywhere.
He throws 94, has some nice movement and a pretty good changeup. But he has poor mental makeup. Two out, nobody on and he is trying to pitch around Utley? He has no confidence he can get him out. Then he walks another guy and gives up the RBI hit to Ruiz 0-2. All with 2 outs.
Just because he throws 94, doesn’t mean he is any good. The last thing you want is for him to be pitching in late/close games.
“We play 7 games on the road trip, so we will either be over .500 or under
I will say 3-4. Lose 2\3 in Texas, split 4 in Cleveland”
Is that like a hope for the best, but expect the worst type of thing, or do you just have no faith in this team?
We just went 8-2 in our park which is being called the ultimate hitters park while mashing an exorbitant amount of home runs.
And you dont think they can replicate that in Arlington or at The Jake?? Please. Have some faith in your team.
Im calling a win in both series. Maybe a sweep of the Rangers and AT LEAST 3/4 from the terrible, terrible Tribe.
Nobody can convince me that Tomko is a better use of a roster spot than Melancon.
Robertson should be up here too.
“Let him “learn” vs. ML hitters. He’s ready for them.”
My sense is he pitched a little scared in his short time up earlier. He obviously pounds the strike zone in AAA. Is he ready to bring that agressiveness to bigs this time? I’d rather see him get hit in the strike zone than walk guys. Seems more mental than physical with him to me.
Why are all our young pitchers headcases? Phil Hughes, scared to throw strikes. Ian Kennedy, scared to throw strikes. Melancon, who is supposed to have top notch mental makeup, comes up and he is afraid to throw strikes. It is unbelievable.
Melky Cabrera is on his way to being an AL All-Star. Who saw this coming?
What are they putting Bruney in the DL with? Sore elbow? Wasn’t he MRI’d several times with nothing found? Don’t want him pitching hurt, but it would be nice to know what the injury is. That kind of info would probably be helpful in his rehab.
m: I like the parallel you draw between me helping randy and me helping you.
bodhi: “sniping” wasn’t directed at anybody and that was your point? If not anybody, then… everybody?
kasey: ok, no sympathy for Wang! Nonetheless, they need to get him fixed and proper communication seems crucial. Is that ‘coddling’? I don’t know, whatever. Just get it done.
I’m going dark now, so everyone can have their individual last words.
Enjoy the game.
It really is amazing how the pitchers who were known for their excellent control and pounding the zone come up here and are afraid to throw strikes.
Are the strike zones in AAA that much more liberal than the ones in MLB?
“Melky Cabrera is on his way to being an AL All-Star. Who saw this coming?”
So far, just you. He’s playing well. Much better than last year. He is NOT playing near an all star level.
If they lose today. that means they are 1-3 since the win streak ended
don’t want this to turn into a slide. get back on the winning track.
Welcome back Pete.
randy l., You obviously have an informed opinion on Wang. The Yaks have nothing to lose and a terrific pitcher to gain by taking a different coaching approach with Wang.
Another informed opinion that I agree with is David Cone. Cone says that Hughes should stay in the majors this year. As Cone calls it, “it’s all hands on deck”. The Yanks are in desperate need of good arms in the pen. When they have one in front of them thye should use it.
I think Melancon is ready. I said before I think his nerves got the best of him.
He even admitted in an interview that he probably gave big league hitters too much credit. Which would explain why he fell behind so many hitters.
If he can eliminate that thinking he will be fine up here.
“If they lose today. that means they are 1-3 since the win streak ended”
Wrong attitude. If they win, they’ll have taken 11 of 13. Winnable game today. Sabthia gave the bullpen a decent breather yesterday. Another 5 or so decent innings from Hughes should position the Yankees reasonably well.
“This type of thing rarely happens in sports reporting. It could be because of the “free form” blogging offers reporters.”
bodhisattva – OPPC member-
sam borden actually said he noticed the lively debate we were having about wang’s release point. i’m not sure my email had anything to do with it.
so the blog itself got sam’s attention and he asked eiland about the issue. i agree that’s very cool.
if we push the limits of the blog and take on issues that have some substance to them , either sam or pete is going to see that and just may ask questions influenced by the blog.
separate from my position on the wang debate, i think it’s great we’re actually getting our discussion into the clubhouse.
why in the world are you guys complaining about melancon not being able to throw strikes??? HE PITCHED 3 INNINGS…dont you think it is likely he had some nerves…get over yourselves this is insane
Joba, Santana, Liriano, Halladay, Billingsly, Wainwright,
A lot of successful starters pitched out of the pen when they first came up.
Gardner is such a waste of a roster spot
What does he do well besides run? We don’t have the luxury right now of carrying a pinch runner.
Eventually they are going to have to get more arms into the bullpen. They can’t continue to just go with a long man in Aceves, Veras, Coke and Mo. We have seen Ramirez and Alba they weren’t good. What are they losing by not giving Melancon and Robertson another chance?! Melancon was brought into 4 games. 2 times against Boston, then against the Angels with the bases loaded. What a way to work a kid into the big show. They should try giving him a real chance.
Sportscenter? Isn’t it the same one that has run since this morning?
sportscenter runs live now u didnt know that?… so they update all the time
I am sure some will be upset here but it will be Albaladejo who gets called up for Bruney. The only ohter choice is Robertson.
lol. Front page of mlb.com, “Wandy Rodriguez is one of only 5 pitchers with at least 8 quality starts” and below that is the line score. Given a 2 run cushion, Wandy proceeds to give up 5 runs in the bottom of the first.
randy l,
We have it on good authority that the Yankees read the blog, so I’m sure they’ll credit you when Wang is fixed.
Bruney has got to be the dumbest guy on the team. How many times will he hide injuries before he realizes that if your elbow hurts when you throw it probably won’t go away with a shot of whiskey and a good night’s sleep?
The pen is a mess right now, it needs to be reconfigured
Tomko should not be up here at all. He isin’t good as a short man. We already have 2 long men (Aceves/Wang). He really serves no purpose.
You can’t count on Bruney at all… who knows how this injury will play itself out.
“Could you ask Dr. Hershon why Derek Jeter made an exception for you and your baby and took a picture with you?”
i’ve never seen a baseball player let a photo be taken of him and a woman and a baby- for obvious reasons
Those red hats are going to look pretty hideous. Yankees wearing Red hats should not be happening.
UPDATE, 1:33 p.m.: Bruney said his elbow was hurting him when he came off the DL and he didn’t tell the team. “I thought I could pitch through it,” he said.
How dumb can you be?
“We have it on good authority that the Yankees read the blog, so I’m sure they’ll credit you when Wang is fixed. ”
is that why i never get a christmas card from cashman ?
Pete Abe on espnews, now
If Chris Shearn held his pinky up to his lip, he would be a spitting image of Dr. Evil.
“If Cervelli gets sent down, that is because Cashman doesn’t want to DFA Cash and lose him.”
is it so bad to lose Cash?
ESPN is running college lacrosse. Sportscenter isn’t on.
randy l., What was Eiland’s response when Sam asked him about it?
Is he ready?
May 25th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
“Let him “learn” vs. ML hitters. He’s ready for them.”
My sense is he pitched a little scared in his short time up earlier. He obviously pounds the strike zone in AAA. Is he ready to bring that agressiveness to bigs this time? I’d rather see him get hit in the strike zone than walk guys. Seems more mental than physical with him to me.
=================
What you saw, in those two NYS performances, were an anomaly.
Did he appear scared to you, in his first ML outing, vs. the Red Sox at Fenway? When he retired Ellsbury, Pedroia and Ortiz?
In his 2nd inning of work, he loaded the bases, he went GO, K, GO to get out of his jam. That’s the kind of poise, and steely demeanor, he has.
vs. Detroit: GO, K, GO: vintage Melancon – what we can anticipate.
He then pitched against the Angels. They brought him in w/bases juiced and he faced Matthews, and he threw him first-pitch down the middle. If anything, you can throw a dishonest first pitch to Matthews and let his over-aggressiveness take over to get you ahead.
Didn’t pitch again until four days later, and he had no command, and was admittedly too fine – but never “scared” to throw strikes – he pitches a lot to contact and both his command and demeanor are impeccable.
Sure, he has to make adjustments, and he’s a guy who makes them while he’s on the mound. He just needs his one-way ticket here.
i’m watching espn news channel right now, and i believe the sports anchor is robert flores (found it on their website, i have no idea who this clown is). anyway, isn’t this guy supposed to be somewhat objective? he called texiera’s broken bat home run “ridiculous” and that “it’s time to move the fences back.” he stated that he has never seen that in “(his) entire life.” what in the life of robert flores (reading from a teleprompter and watching video highlights) qualifies him to make such a statement? in what world is robert flores the authority on what is/isn’t ridiculous in major league baseball? can robert flores put his money where his mouth is and hit a home run if it’s so “ridiculous?” how come on sunday many more bats remained unbroken yet there weren’t any other home runs? why did robert flores fail to mention that the ball was hit on the sweet spot on the bat? did robert flores watch the same game i did, or did he specifically watch the same video highlight package used by the other half a dozen espn anchors that i heard comment on it during the previous 10 sport centers? did robert flores here al leiter comment during the live game broadcast that he once had a broken bat home run hit off him during his career? well, al leiter only pitched in the major leagues for 18 years, who the heck is he to comment? robert flores had never seen anything like that in his “entire life.”
randy l,
Yes, that explains why I get one and you don’t. Teddy’s a cutie!
BTW, Pete. That was a weak appearance. iPhone not working so well and only one question? TJ Sullivan sounded weak and only got one q&a, too. Was it a teaser or do they need to squeeze in the other 9 hours of content?
if espn is college lacrosse and espn2 is first take.. how is pete on sportcenter??
Pete, hope you didn’t work up too much of a sweat with that grueling interview. Another good job by ESPN trying to find a story that really isn’t there.
I turned on SportsCenter just for you, Pete. Great job representing the Yanks! Also, you did a much much better job articulating yourself that the Rangers beat writer, so be proud of yourself. Let’s get a win today!
i havnt read anything in here yet and im sure its been mentioned, but i really hate seeing cash in the lineup…
ps – i just heard you (Pete) on the same channel on the phone with co-anchor Sage Steel, an unbiased journalist who delivers the scores and highlights without giving her “ridiculous” opinion on whether or not ballpark fences need to be moved.
great call Pete
corshep:
the interview was on ESPNEWS. sorry you missed it.
How can you hold the Gary Matthews pitch with the bases loaded against Melancon?
If Veras, Edwar, Tomko, Albaladejo etc. were put in the same situation, the result would likely be the same, if not worse.
His only ‘bad’ outing was when he walked the bases loaded against the Sox. But how many times have Veras, Edwar, Albaladejo etc. done the same thing?
The problem is that guys who are proven mediocrity are getting the same opportunities and more rope than a young stud with potential like Melancon.
Following up on your Yankee uniform “unchanged” standard thoughout the decades, I have always wondered why MLB sells a Yankee t-shirt with the number 2 or 13 or whatever and puts the players name on the shirt also. I would love to wear a “2″ Yankee t-shirt WITHOUT Derek’s name plaster on it. Conversely, I would never buy a Yankee t-shirt with a player’s name on it.
Hey Pete,
Any chance you ever get your face on ESPN. This was the first of your appearances I’ve seen, so maybe your face has appeared before. But if not, you should lobby to get some face time, you deserve it.
Bruney said his elbow was hurting him when he came off the DL and he didn’t tell the team. “I thought I could pitch through it,” he said.
He said the plan is to get a second opinion. “We need to figure out what it is,” he said.
================================
Bruney you need to tell when you are in pain
damn! can anyone sum it up for me?
Sportscenter highlights:
#9 Wright stabs the line drive and Papelbon reacts.
#7 JD & Ruiz’s WWE @ the plate
Baltimore ties it up. 1-1 top of the 2nd (programming reminder: Yankee win + Toronto loss=WC lead for Yankees)
Great, now every homerun hit in the new stadium is going to warrant an ESPN roundtable discussion.
Cant they just go back to talking about Joba fistpumps?
Hughes better pitch well today
we better score runs
and we better win
“Gardner is such a waste of a roster spot
What does he do well besides run? We don’t have the luxury right now of carrying a pinch runner.”
There’s not alot you can do when your manager sits you on the bench in place of a guy (Swisher) who’s hitting .105 the past 2 weeks.
they should have blue hats for some teams and red hats for other teams. get some variety. might help move some merch too since some people won’t want a NYY hat in the enemy color. i’m sure red sox fans weren’t particularly ecstatic about having to wear blue last year. everyone likes to see patriotic things, but people like variety too.
corshep, here you go:
Sage Steele:
What are the expectations of A-Rod returning to Texas?
Pete:
Same old, same old. He’s been back awhile, got bad receptions in Baltimore and Toronto. Texas might be worse, but it’s nothing the Yankees haven’t seen and it’s nothing A-Rod hasn’t seen.
Pete got shafted with one stupid question. He deserves better.
Wow those red hats…..
Frank in Chatham,
I enjoy having the name of players on the back of my navy Yankee t-shirts. I am not a professional baseball player, I am simply wearing a t-shirt bearing the colors of my team and numbers/names of my favorite players. If you want to be so authentic, why would you care whether a t-shirt has a name on the back of it and not the fact that the Yankees never wear solid navy blue on the field during actual games? Shouldn’t you be more concerned by the fact that you can’t find a white t-shirt with navy blue pinstripes?
The Yanks look ridiculous wearing those red hats.
that’s so lame.. thanks tho avi!
here’s to hughes going 6-7 inning!!
let’s go yanks
UPDATE, 1:33 p.m.: Bruney said his elbow was hurting him when he came off the DL and he didn’t tell the team. “I thought I could pitch through it,” he said.
He said the plan is to get a second opinion. “We need to figure out what it is,” he said.
this is a real problem within this organization.
Yeah, Colt McCoy’s girlfriend is ridiculously smokin. They kept showing her during Texas’ bowl game and she is amazing.
Dr. J
May 25th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
How can you hold the Gary Matthews pitch with the bases loaded against Melancon?
If Veras, Edwar, Tomko, Albaladejo etc. were put in the same situation, the result would likely be the same, if not worse.
His only ‘bad’ outing was when he walked the bases loaded against the Sox. But how many times have Veras, Edwar, Albaladejo etc. done the same thing?
The problem is that guys who are proven mediocrity are getting the same opportunities and more rope than a young stud with potential like Melancon.
==================================
Emphatically agree. The time is NOW.
Let’s see if he comes up. I’ve seen a great deal of him and this isn’t someone who needs to “mature” in AAA.
My God, those hats look stupid. I’m all for patriotism, but seriously, the hats don’t look good on top of our blue uniforms.
” What was Eiland’s response when Sam asked him about it?”
rachel-
UPDATE, 1:11 p.m.: Since several of you mentioned it – and I’m all about obliging the loyal readers – I chatted briefly with Dave Eiland this morning about Wang’s issues with his sinker. Specifically, we talked about his release point and arm slot.
Eiland said that yes, there’s clearly a difference in Wang’s release point from when his sinker was consistently good to right now. What they are working with Wang on, Eiland said, is “staying over the rubber” longer. As you all know, Wang has a very deliberate wind-up – he raises his leg incredibly slowly and does a little “tap-tap” with the ball before throwing. The problem, according to Eiland, is that the “tap-tap” is coming a little later and Wang’s lower body has already started to push forward toward the plate. That means he’s forced to release the point at a higher point and thus, there’s no bite on the sinker and it hangs up.
If Wang is able to stay over the rubber long, Eiland said, the “tap-tap” will take place with his body still in one location – as opposed to the lower half having already started forward – and his release point will be lower again. That’s what they’re focusing on now.
Sorry if this is a little more technical than some of you might be interested in – I know it would be for me – but since Wang’s issues have been dissected by many on here, I thought those of you curious might find it interesting.
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....ent-807277
JETER! Lets go Yankees!
Atta boy Captain.
ooo jete’s getting hot again – not that he’s ever not
nice hustle damon!
Tex up then A-Rod niiiice. Lets see what they give them.
Dr. J,
The “bad” outing vs. the Sox came after not pitching for 3 days. Young guys need to have the ball more often. Mike Dunn is another good example. Bad weather and postponed games recently had him pitching so out of character.
People screaming Melancon isn’t ready based on those last two outing up here just aren’t familiar with him.
The grass plays extremely fast here…
that was the crawl like a dog play
Tex!!!
Great start!
Nice. we’re seeing some good pitches here
Nice start!
Looks like Hughes will have a nice cushion early.
What a start!!!
Alex!!!!
safe!!!!
What a nice beginning to this game. Hopefully Hughes doesn’t start the same way. Crazy things happen in this ballpark…pitching wize
I have a feeling this is going to be a slugfest today.
Give Kinsler credit on that one.
i get to watch the yankees feed and the rangers feed
Lets go Melk
Bad break for Robbie.
send em home Melky
Hey hey hey! Just joining up. First things first.
Welcome back Pete!
Next – told ya we’d keep on keeping on!!!!!
Yesterday I said I totally believe we’d take this series in Texas. That hasn’t changed. The Yankees are here to stay, whoo hoo.
Why did the hats have to be red? Why couldn’t the teams use the red, white and blue emblem, but on their regular hats? That’s what they did last year. Since when does the color red mean patriotism?
“What a nice beginning to this game. Hopefully Hughes doesn’t start the same way”
I do not envy him today.
A-Rods reaction wasn’t that bad. I guess Fenway will be the worst.
I would have liked to have gotten more than that, but that DP by Robbie was a rally killer. Good play by Kinsler to make that play.
Good start…
Let’s Go Yanks!!!!!
Be good Hughesie
“A-Rods reaction wasn’t that bad. I guess Fenway will be the worst.”
A-Rod got a good share of boos, but he’s used to that here. What I didn’t get was why were they booing Tex? He didn’t leave here on bad terms. They traded him away.
AB – if you’re here, I had Elvis Andrus on my fantasy team at one point but dropped him a while back.
Yankees look pretty goofy with those caps. JMO
“Why did the hats have to be red? Why couldn’t the teams use the red, white and blue emblem, but on their regular hats? That’s what they did last year. Since when does the color red mean patriotism?”
The hats are red because the money earned from sales of the hates goes to a military charity fund. If they reused the hats from last year, not as many people would buy them, and less money would be earned.
There actually ARE stars and stripes on the logo. They had to alter things a little in Cleveland, using their big C logo, because of the outcry that the flag on Chief Wahoo’s face was offensive.
these hats are ridiculous
Steve B
May 25th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
“Melky Cabrera is on his way to being an AL All-Star. Who saw this coming?”
So far, just you. He’s playing well. Much better than last year. He is NOT playing near an all star level.”
The Texas play-by-play guy introduced Melky as performing at All-Star caliber. So make that two.
Trevor
May 25th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Those red hats are going to look pretty hideous. Yankees wearing Red hats should not be happening.
————————————————————
I like and appreciate what MLB is doing with the hats. Get over yourself. Go out and do something for the USO or some organization like that. They can always use help or donations. Then, go have yourself a steak and a drink that consider yourself lucky.
Nice play Cano
Actually the teams last year all wore navy blue hats, it just looked the same since the Yanks always wear the dark blue. Teams like the A’s and Angels looked unnatural so now it’s the Yankees’ turn.
Excellent fundamentals by Phil.
“I do not envy him today.”
Why don’t you envy Hughes, Brandon? Because Texas is hot (meaning playing well), or because you just think he can’t get the job done?
Any team can be shut down with good pitching. Hughes pitched a gem last time out. Why wouldn’t you think he could do it again?
Or is there another reason you don’t envy him but I just didn’t mention it?
Good first inning by Phil.
randy l., If he clearly has such mechanical issues I don’t understand why he is on the roster now. Unless it is so Eiland can work with him on a consistent basis?? He needs to be pitching in the minors every 5 days to get his mechanics to where they need to be. He is a mess and it doesn’t help that he doesn’t seem to be that bright when it coming to pitching.
hughes looks big
Hughes is a big guy who is also a good athlete. 12 pitches, that’s very economical.
good first inning for hughes. encouraging.
Nice first inning for Phil.
Those hats are wrong. Just wrong.
The Yanks look very odd in red….
“The hats are red because the money earned from sales of the hates goes to a military charity fund. If they reused the hats from last year, not as many people would buy them, and less money would be earned.”
Not sure about that one, Donnie. I wouldn’t buy this hat, but would get the navy one with the red, white and blue logo on it.
How did Phil look that inning, Veloicty, pitches?
I only have access to Gamecast and it looked like he was down in the zone, by I don’t get pitches or speed.
Thanks.
good job hughsie.
Nice first inning by Hughes. Way to follow up getting 2 first inning runs.
Braggin’ on the nephew again.
Boston College received its first invitation to the NCAA Baseball Tournament today since 1967.
First time since Lyndon Johnson was President that BC is going to the tournament.
They are in the Austin Regional (Texas is the #1 seed) and will play Texas St. on Friday.
Quite an accomplishment for these kids and Austin isn’t a bad place for us to hang out for a weekend.
Should be a lot of fun.
“Hughes pitched a gem last time out.”
if i’m not mistaken he gave them 5 IP and 3 ER. that’s being a little liberal with the term “gem,” in my opinion. hughes was effective last time out.
Just trying to read through some of today’s posts.
“Bruney said his elbow was hurting him when he came off the DL and he didn’t tell the team. “I thought I could pitch through it,” he said.”
I find that not just a problem in the Yankee organization but throughout the game. How many players decide to go out there and try to play through the pain? I wish Bruney had said something, though.
The booing for Arod didn’t seem that bad. Maybe it is because most of the fans are Yankee fans.
“Get over yourself”
Oh please! If I think the hats are hideous they’re hideous. It’s MY opinion. I think it’s ridiculous that the Yankees have to wear red hats.
Next thing you know they’ll require all teams to have a third jersey. Like the NFL.
trisha,
Don’t know that he pitched a gem, but you had to like the velo and late life that allowed him to put up 9Ks against a dangerous lineup. His tighter curve has also been deadly.
92-93 for phil.
kasey, i totally agree with you. 5 innings 3 runs isn’t exactly a gem, and it isn’t really what the yankees are looking for. 5 innings 3 runs isn’t that bad for the 5th starter, though. But i’d like to see better.
omg CASH!
The blind squirrel finds a nut.
“Boston College received its first invitation to the NCAA Baseball Tournament today since 1967.”
sj44-
that’s awesome, and it can’t can’t hurt your nephews draft placement for him to get more exposure.
where was that yesterday you bum
Cash got a hit? It’s a miracle.
“Not sure about that one, Donnie. I wouldn’t buy this hat, but would get the navy one with the red, white and blue logo on it.”
I wouldn’t buy it either, but there are people who will buy any “special edition” thing, and also people who will buy them just to support the charity fund. While you and I think the hats are ridiculous looking, there are people who likely don’t, or people who don’t care and would wear them as a way to denote their support of the military. Plus, the market for “Yankee hats that aren’t the right color” is huge, so ours will sell, regardless of how they look on the field. To each his own, I suppose. But no, I won’t be buying one, either.
These red hats look terrible.
1.1 more Phil!! lol
These Rangers are good fielders. LAA better watch out. Winning the West may not be as easy as they thought.
five iron from fenway (from NY)
May 25th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
How did Phil look that inning, Veloicty, pitches?
I only have access to Gamecast and it looked like he was down in the zone, by I don’t get pitches or speed.
Thanks.
====
Throwing mostly 92, mostly FB. Good way to get the mojo working and he only threw 12 pitches.
It is unfortunate that a hit by Cash gets wasted. I don’t know when we might see that again.
They need to pound Harrison before he settles in.
The red hats suck. Wearing an American flag on the uniform isn’t enough? Come on. There are plenty of ways to honor the vets without crapping all over tradition.
“Plus, the market for “Yankee hats that aren’t the right color” is huge, so ours will sell, regardless of how they look on the field.”
Very true. I can’t tell you how many people I see with odd colored NY hats…and I’m in Chicago!!!
I wouldn’t buy this hat – but keep in mind it won’t look AS ridiculous wearing every day street clothes as it does wearing the road grey’s
Congratulations to your nephew, SJ. I’m sure he’s excited to be a part of the first team to get an invite in so long. That’s something special he’ll be able to talk about for the rest of his life, regardless of his success past this point in his career.
Nelson Cruz is on fire.
Texas loves the 1st pitch….
Boys, boys, boys! Okay, since I like to keep the troops happy let’s try this.
Hughes pitched a comparative gem last time out, looking much better than he had been and giving Yankee fans hope that he had turned the corner. Heck some posters were actually thinking he was rotation ready!
With that said, I have every reason to believe that he has what it takes to beat this team.
Does that work for ya?
Randy,
Its great for the kids. The ACC Tournament was attended by 4 GM’s, as well as most of the scouting directors in the game.
It was huge for him. Its been a pretty exciting few days for both the team and him as more teams are getting into the mix.
I definitely believe the additional exposure will help him.
Especially if he has a shot at playing against the #1 team in the country.
Come on Phil.
Oops. Let’s settle down, there, Phil.
“With that said, I have every reason to believe that he has what it takes to beat this team.”
Truthfully, I think about 3/5 times Phil faces this lineup, he’d get pounded.
Let’s just hope today is one of the 2/5.
Oh man. Right on the elbow. That didn’t look pleasant.
Way to set up the double play Phil
Didn’t Byrd kill us last season?
“Nelson Cruz is on fire.”
Impressive fielding too.
Phil I don’t envy you vs these guys.
yeesh. Come on Phil
well, he had one good inning. so that’s… nice.
Come on Hughes….Eiland should come settle him down
Byrd is one of the hitters that is real trouble. No way to defense him.
What the hell happened? He did so well the first inning.
Phil is starting to lose it.
SJ – great to hear about the invite! This also tells us that it’s the real SJ posting!!
Don’t be surprised if Byrd’s got the green light…
how does a guy go from looking great one inning to looking absolutely lost the next? people calling hughes’ mental makeup into question are getting all the evidence they need. this kid’s focus is questionable sometimes.
A DP would be pretty big here.
Get him with the hook, Phil.
I will translate what Eiland just said to phil. “ta ta ta ta todayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy jr.”
Yeah Phil! use that fastball
we got lucky there!
He whizzed one on the outside corner there. Brilliant.
Cut back nice!
Wow, that ump was very animated. There’s a guy who likes his job. LOL!
Phil is getting behind. Pound the zone.
Roger(the new amsterdam yankees )
May 25th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
we got lucky there!
=======
Had nice movement back in and besides, the universe owes him a couple of calls
Dat’s my boy.
In the name of full disclosure, I have to admit I dropped Phil from my fantasy team a while ago, not because I didn’t think he could eventually turn things around but because when you are on 10th place out of 10 you really need to try to turn things around quickly!
Bod – Thanks for the info.
Hughes control isn’t as sharo as in his last start.
People who call for Cash to be sent down should look carefully at that AB by Byrd. He got Phil a strikeout in a big situation.
Nice pitch by Hughes….He just has to concentrate a little more in these situations. So 1-0 doesnt turn into 3-0.
***sharp*** as in his last
cash flashing that arm
Nasty hook.
NASTY!!!!
Nasty Hook
It seems like everytime there is a steal against Cash he drops the ball..Posada please come back soon…
“People who call for Cash to be sent down should look carefully at that AB by Byrd. He got Phil a strikeout in a big situation.”
And the curveball drop
Curve looks pretty good today.
Come on phil…you can do it.
Beauty. Not much chance, though, for Cash there. That aside, Cash’s “veteran” leadership didn’t help he and Tomko communicate well enough yesterday to keep the go-ahead run off 2B. I would prefer to see Cervelli getting as much time as possible. It’s an investment in both present and future.
kasey I have seen some of the Yankees top pitchers look fabulous one inning and lost the next. The kid’s 22. (I think he is). I always find it’s best to look at this stuff over a spectrum as opposed to under a microscope because the microscope really limits the overall information.
If Hughes can get Teagarden, it’ll be a huge confidence booster for Hughes.
PHILLY!!!!
Good way to get out of a nasty jam.
That’s making adjustments, Phil!
wow good job by phil!
Phil K’s the side. Nice.
NICE!
Way to bounce back Phil, atta baby!!!
WOW
Way to work back franchise!!
2-3-4 coming up = 3 runs
HUGHES ROCKS!
Throwing another gem – er, I mean, so far so good.
“I would prefer to see Cervelli getting as much time as possible. It’s an investment in both present and future.”
QFT
Great job Phil !
Wow! Phantastic!
Someone must have toughened Phil up before the game.
I heard Eiland was toying around with the a fake mugging outside the hotel in Dallas.
Looks like it worked.
What did Eiland say to Hughes?
Nothing, he gave him a note that said “you are Phil Hughes”
nice job coming back there by hughes.
Phil 31 pitches through 2inn.
Wow – last week and now 2 innings in to this one Phil has got the K working. Really nice to see that come back.
Will the Yankees tack on some more runs now or did we get are share in the first?
Masterful job, Phil. That was a great job all around. Good pitch sequences, good job commanding the fastball, and great job doing it all under pressure. Anyone who wanted to give up on this kid was crazy. I say that, knowing that he might go back out there and have a rough inning at some point in the game, or his next game, or the game after that. But the fact remains, Hughes has great stuff and knows how to put it together.
Terrific composure by the young man. 3 K’s by the free swinging Rangers. Great idea to rope-a-dope them with the fastball and breaking stuff.
People who call for Cash to be sent down should look carefully at that AB by Byrd. He got Phil a strikeout in a big situation.
_______
and if Cervelli was catching maybe he’s not in that jam to begin with?
Phil Hughes: Wang can kiss my /….
Uncle Ellsworth
May 25th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
What did Eiland say to Hughes?
Nothing, he gave him a note that said “you are Phil Hughes”
======================
Lol. That would be cool if true, but I don’t think Eiland has the drama gene in his nature.
Damon yeah!
Someone must have toughened Phil up before the game.
I heard Eiland was toying around with the a fake mugging outside the hotel in Dallas.
====================================
LOL
Wow, Mark got his average up to .272. A-Rod is his favorite player. LOL!
Zach in Port Jeff
May 25th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Someone must have toughened Phil up before the game.
I heard Eiland was toying around with the a fake mugging outside the hotel in Dallas.
Looks like it worked.
========
Maybe the folks yanked the trust fund.;)
mark’s at 272.
That’s solid work by Hughes. Texas can really hit so, anytime you keep them off the scoreboard in an inning is a positive.
Getting to Harrison more would be nice. I’d love to see them give this kid a bigger cushion than 2-0.
Harrison is quicker to the plate in the wind-up then the stretch
Okay, guys! Let’s pound this guy into submission.
Frank Zappa is coaching in Texas?
Let’s go RUNS!!
Someone must have toughened Phil up before the game.
=============
I’m thinking if Hughes doesn’t get that outside strike call on that 3-2 count he probably crumbles last inning. Just my gut feeling. I don’t think he’s weak minded I just think he’s lost confidence. I remember he pitched very well in his only playoff appearance for the Yankees so he’s got a winner’s heart.
Alex yes!!!
nice alex, very nice
Great work by the lineup – Harrison’s at 44 pitches without an out in the third. they’re wearing him down
You mean Cervelli wouldn’t have called for Phil to hit Blalock?
alex!!
A-Rod comes through.
A-Rod’s not a fan of the Mendoza line.
nice job by the heart of the order so far today.
Yanks brought their hitting shoes with them to Texas.
Cano oh my!!!
If alex starts to get hot, which he will, FORGET ABOUT IT. Opposing teams will be crushed.
Robi triple
Robbie Cano!
wow this looks like a fun game!!
hopefully it goes above the 3 I predicted lol but so far I am right
Yes! Robbie!
Would be a beautiful thing if we could get 6 or 7 out of our Kid today. While I’m rooting for runs, I don’t want Hughes to sit for too long.
Minny leading 1-0.
“Phil is lost out there”
“Cash should be sent down”
I can always count on this forum for a good laugh. He he he.
By the way, Cash caught Hughes’s last outing. Is it possible that Girardi liked the way they worked together and figured he’d try it again?
This is a lot of fun.
They’re pouring it on!!!!!1
JoeT 28 in 10!! MELKY FOR MVP!! May 25th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Way to work back franchise!!
2-3-4 coming up = 3 runs
You called it!
Melky can’t get the run in.
hughes is interesting to me. i’m not saying he belongs in the bullpen – i think that’s absurd – but everyone expects this kid to be a top of the rotation guy at some point in the future, but when was the last time he really dominated a lineup? the no-hitter in texas? sure, he struck out nine last time out but he also gave up three runs and left before the sixth. to me, that’s not dominance. maybe he just needs more time under his belt, or a full season at AAA, but i’m not seeing brilliance from him so much as effectiveness.
Come on, guys. Plate Robbie!
“Is it possible that Girardi liked the way they worked together and figured he’d try it again?”
No
They called that a triple for Robby?? I’ll take it for the extra fantasy points lol
I love how the “Work thE Count” crowd is silenced by first and 2nd pitch ropes from ARod aND cANO.
wait, i thought we dont hit pitchers we’ve seen before? whats going on here?
A whole week with no snide Arod remarks and two references in on thread. LOL Pete let go of the anger man just let it go.
wake up swish!
wake up swish!
GJ swish/cano
we’ve never** seen before
Nick should buy that SS a beer after the game.
Thanks for the run Elvis!!!
Pena should try to get on, I don’t want Cash leading off the next inning…
They’ve seen Harrison before. Last year.
Great hitting today. Glad to see we haven’t had to have the not hitting with RISP talk in a while. I wonder how many players LOB the yanks have had this year as opposed to last year by this point.
The Ghost
May 25th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Someone must have toughened Phil up before the game.
=========
I’m thinking if Hughes doesn’t get that outside strike call on that 3-2 count he probably crumbles last inning. Just my gut feeling. I don’t think he’s weak minded I just think he’s lost confidence. I remember he pitched very well in his only playoff appearance for the Yankees so he’s got a winner’s heart.
=======
Nah, I think Hughes has turned a corner in terms of trusting what he throws. His confidence has been fine since they brought him back up. Agree on having a winner’s heart. He’s just too self-flagellating at times, but being a perfectionist is part of that winning nature.
Can someone in the Yankees brass please institute a “tell us you’re hurting or else” clause? They could call it the “Pavano Porsche Policy”, and if you’re found to be lying, you get shipped to Cleveland.
Look, I know that today’s major leaguer is a precious flower who can lose his hammy running out an infield single, or tear some fiber coming out of his shoes with an 0-2 count in the eigth. But this “it hurt, but I didn’t tell anyone” stuff is garbage. A guy like Bruney should know how important his status is to the management of the bully. Look Brian, if you’re noodle is throbbing, just sit it out until it gets better. The lying just hurts guys like ARod, who probably could’ve came back a week or two earlier if management could trust his word over theirs. It takes the trust away from the players, and the players are really the only ones who know how they feel.
“You’re not helpin em Brian, you’re hurtin em!”. See you in July Brian.
“He’s letting his bat do his talking. Since hes come off the DL it’s talking real loud.”
I wish we could channel all the posts from after yesterday’s game, with everyone who just knew the Yankees were going to go into a swoon and Texas was going to steamroll the Yankees.
The faith of a mustardseed can move mountains. But heck, they’ve earned a lot more than a mustardseeds’ worth of faith I think!
(Does a mustardseed actually have faith? Hmmm)
Hughes needs a shutdown inning, then the Yanks go out in the 4th inning, score 5 runs, and then, slowly pull away.
Hughes is only 22, I’m pretty sure most of the really good pitchers in baseball showed flashes of brilliance but were highly inconsistent, which has been what Hughes has been. Let’s not write him off being a very good pitcher just because he hasn’t mowed people down every time out.
Scorpio,
oh okay, that explain it then LMAO
wow i get home and Find that it is 6-0
Phil should just pound the strike zone.
“They’ve seen Harrison before. Last year.”
He shut us out last year 1-0 I think.
Nice D Al
One thing is certain, Harrison is no Hamels.
Is it me or is that curveball snappin’
The curve is really biting.
stopping the game at 3 is ridiculous – This is something for BEFORE the game starts
Can we trade Phil to Texas? He loves it here
Laura – Win together, strike out alone!
May 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Nick should buy that SS a beer after the game.
————————————————————
Swisher may not be hitting, but, the Yanks don’t need him to go to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
trisha,
mostly everyone said that the yanks will only be able to pull out one win, hopefully the yankees will prove them wrong
Yankees with red hats weird
Great lockdown inning Phil, that’s what we are talking about.
37 pitches through 3
>Hughes needs a shutdown inning,
well, there ya go
While I agree that Bruney should have told someone that he was hurting, I’m not surprised that he didn’t. These guys want to play at all costs. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Alex is keeping a little secret to himself about how much pain he’s in.
Brandon –
I think you are correct cause I remember being pi$$ed that a rookie shut them out.
the stoppage is going to work out PERFECTLY though – still a before the game thing, but at least Phil doesn’t have to stand around waiting
That’s pretty funny about Swish and Elvis Andrus GB7, definitely don’t want Swish in the slammer.
Jeff in Canada – absolutely agree with your post on Bruney.
What I missed about Pete – really funny stuff, great updates
What I didn’t miss about Pete – constantly stirring the pot causing more consternation than friendliness in the forum at times
JMO
carl May 25th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Can we trade Phil to Texas? He loves it here
===============================
LOL
Hughesie looking good so far. Very nice to see
Let’s tack on few more runs
ugh, the red hats are just……….wrong.
If Hughes pitches a great game today what happens with him and wang?????
“Swisher may not be hitting, but, the Yanks don’t need him to go to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
GB, how old is that SS?
Brandon “Would love to meet Tim McCarver under the Oneill banner”
May 25th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Is it me or is that curveball snappin’
=======
It’s him.
Economic pitching from Hughes. He’s at 38 through three. That’s just barely over 12 an inning. Kid looks like he’s rolling at this point.
Jeff Burroughs was the Rangers’ first AL MVP.
another nice inning from hughes. impressive so far.
Laura,
I agree. Its really hard for guys to say they are hurting.
That said, this “Curse of Carl Pavano” stuff hurts the player and the Yankees.
Nobody will think Bruney is soft if he is hurting. You do more damage to yourself, and the team, when you aren’t honest about being injured.
Now? I shut down Bruney until he is pain free, regardless of how long it takes. Its best for him and the team at this point.
Great work by Hughes so far. With Wang iffy and the bullpen a mess, a big outing here by him would be HUGE.
Elvis Andrus kinda looks like Greg Oden.
Cash can’t even work the count, come on.
Elvis Andrus born August 26th, 1988 – He’s 20 for another few months
GB7,
Been meaning to ask you. How has Pirela looked at SS?
LOL Jared Saltlacakia according to John
Man I wish we could steal Feliz from them, would they take Matsui or Nady for Neftali ? (yeh I know fantasy)
Laura – Win together, strike out alone!
May 25th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
“Swisher may not be hitting, but, the Yanks don’t need him to go to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
GB, how old is that SS?
————————————————————
20 years old. He won’t be 21 until August.
you gotta have faith – is exactly right. You gotta have faith! That’s the best lesson of all.
I remember some posters saying we were going to get swept in Texas because Texas is a “good team” and we can’t beat “good teams”.
Anyway, so far so good, right?
you gotta have faith – is exactly right. You gotta have faith! That’s the best lesson of all.
I remember some posters saying we were going to get swept in Texas because Texas is a “good team” and we can’t beat “good teams”.
Anyway, so far so good, right?
Yankees and red do not mix at all. But the Rangers look just fine. Maybe if they had coordinating socks and wristbands it would work.
Nice game so far.
Harrison at 70 pitches
bodhisattva – OPPC member
May 25th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
GB7,
Been meaning to ask you. How has Pirela looked at SS?
————————————————————
I’ve only seen him once, but he had an error in that game. He has 4-5 in ten games at Charleston. He’s another youngster, but, not all that specual, at least, so far.
“20 years old. He won’t be 21 until August.”
Oh, I didn’t know that. Okay, Swisher can buy him a Pepsi after the game.
Trisha,
Someone also said we were facing their “two best pitchers”. While I’ll give them Millwood, I have no idea what they were talking about with the other two.
So really, anything negative that was said yesterday about this series should be ignored, clearly.
Josh Hamilton has some bat.
Dusty & Co. up 3-1. C’mon Twinsies.
I’m cleaning up here and just found crumpled printout: Cashman Prefers Youngsters to Johan.
Don’t get lazy Phil
Sox took the lead 3-1
Liriano has 7Ks already (4th inning)
“That said, this “Curse of Carl Pavano” stuff hurts the player and the Yankees.”
Oh, absolutely. If Bruney had mentioned it earlier, maybe they would have found out by now what’s wrong with him and he could have been on the road to recovery sooner. Now, we have no idea when he’ll be back. Bad move on his part, but not surprising for a guy who wants so badly to pitch.
I dont know how crazy this sounds, but would you consider taking a flyer on Betancourt from Cleveland if the asking price is low (hopefully just a salary dump).
I know his numbers are less than stellar this year, but maybe he just needs a change of scenery?
Thoughts?
Nasty oooweeee
NASTY!!
PHILTHY curve for the PHRANCISE…
Man, boy!
Curve is curving.
yeah phil!!
That ump looks like he’s going to wrench his back with that strikeout call.
Beautiful, beautiful pitch there. Great job, Phil. Just one more.
That looked like a lesley nielsen Strike out call
Thank you Enrico Palazo
Phil is bearing down after these leadoff hits. Love to see that.
Way to battle Phil after the leadoff double, that’s how we like it.
“Someone also said we were facing their “two best pitchers”. While I’ll give them Millwood, I have no idea what they were talking about with the other two.
So really, anything negative that was said yesterday about this series should be ignored, clearly.”
Donnie, I remember you calling them on it yesterday. Great catch, by the way.
I’d want you on my team any day, any time.
Phil looks good today
Keep it up dude!
Great work again by Hughes. This is how a young guy grows as a pitcher. Working out of jams.
So far so good. Great to see.
Hughes has secured himself another start. Wang will need to continue to work out his issues in the pen for the time being.
47 through 4. 31s 16 b
give phil some runs early and he settles down. he’s looking really good. in fact, i thought he looked good towards the end of the last start too. he’s mixing up his pitches now. i like it.
This ump must really love Phil b/c he’s really giving him the Naked Gun treatment
Phil has been phantastic so far!
As dangerous as the Rangers are, the fact that they are overly aggressive, is playing right in to Hughes hands, so far. The trouble is, that makes it difficult to judge just how well Hughes will do later, against other teams. Is he really getting things straightened out? We’ll find out on Saturday.
Without the benefit of actually seeing anything, Phil looks great today.
The ability to put hitters away with a strikeout to me stands out. He and Kennedy (remember him) never seemed able to put guys away with 2 strikes.
Throw strikes and give us 7 or so innings would be absolutely ideal.
BTW – this team is good. When Posada comes back, and Arod coming along the lineup will be sick. CC has been great, Joba as well, Pettite has battled and Phil has shown he can be a back end of the rotation guy at minimum this year. If we can get AJ some dominating starts and the Wang back to Wang nice.
They also seem to have the ’90s era intangible of being able to come back late and close.
Can we have Hughes pitch severday vs Texas?
Number 13 is starting to get hot……
That’s how you silence those boos, Alex! Next time, let me see you Jack one out!
3-3…. NBA Jam Style – HE’S ON FIRE!!
Phil Hughes pitching another gem. Of course it’s easier to pitch your game when your team spots you a nice leadc.
I was one of the people who has said that I believe Hughes will lead the Yankee rotation at some point. I still believe it. I see GREAT stuff from him. Because he’s not flashy doesn’t mean his stuff isn’t nasty.
Alex needed this. He loves this park, and really looks like he’s about to go on an absolute tear.
“I hope with this road trip, Alex will start geting hits and creep his average up.”
Looks like I had a good premonition about Alex
Robi ven aca ke lo tuyo hoy
I’ve only seen him once, but he had an error in that game. He has 4-5 in ten games at Charleston. He’s another youngster, but, not all that specual, at least, so far.
=======
Thanks. Have never seen him, but heard they’re high on him as a toolsy guy w/speed and power whom they think will translate well to SS, because of range and arm.
What is Alex’s AVG now?
Christian Garcia with 5 scoreless for Trenton he is kicking some butt today.
Anyone have info on how he looked?
Uncle Ellsworth
May 25th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
What is Alex’s AVG now?
232.
Alex is at 232
Milk man is a different player this year
How long before we hear he was out late, drinking?
Cabrera’s gonna get a $100 fine for the ugliest turn at first.
Cano is having a field day with Melky there. LOL
LMAO!
i really hope that edwar gets called up again.. so he can prove everybody wrong… just like he proved to the angels that he could make it to the major leagues..
great stuff from hughes so far. another few innings of this and he actually will have thrown a gem.
it’s got nothing to do with being flashy. mike mussina wasn’t flashy but when he was on, hitters looked absolutely baffled. i’ve seen that happen with hughes exactly one time, and it was in texas a couple of years ago. he has been, at times, very good. but watch cc sabathia pitch and then watch phil hughes. to tell that same sort of dominance exists in hughes, right now, seems unfounded. he may well become a very, very good pitcher. outings like this are a great starting point. but will he lead the staff someday? i don’t see it at this point. it’s still very early in his career, though.
Melky should tell Robbie “At least I got on base”.
Swisha!!!
yeah swish!!
Swisher!
Holy crap!!!! Swisher !!!
Way to go Swish.
good for Swish…finally a nice hit
thanks for the info on Alex
thought it may be higher after 3 for 3
Swishy!
I still cant believe everyone was calling melky a 4th outfielder. How old is melky? 23?
Way to get off the schnied Nick, hopefully that gets him going.
“May 25th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
i really hope that edwar gets called up again.. so he can prove everybody wrong… just like he proved to the angels that he could make it to the major leagues..”
um, last i checked, edwar has had several chances to “prove everyone wrong” and all he’s proven is that is fastball isn’t good enough to set up his change-up.
Hopefully Ramiro aka El Nino can get in on this hit parade
Mark-Cant Touch This (Milk man Rules)
May 25th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Milk man is a different player this year
=====
Yep, and he started to turn it around when he was called up late last year. His plate approach changed back to what it had been earlier in his still very young career. It’s interesting how virtually no one bothered to notice – because they were dead set against even the idea that a 23-year old might have a growth spurt or two in him.
I believe after the road trip arod might be at 280 and higher.
Is Melky on the All star ballot?
I still cant believe everyone was calling melky a 4th outfielder. How old is melky? 23?
________
24
Sorry, I’m just reading Pete’s updates. I didn’t realize that Bruney is going on the DL.
Boy I hope they can get him straightened out.
Didn’t I tell ya that every time I benched Swisher he’d hit for you? Well I have even better news. I dropped him. Expect an MVP performance the rest of the way.
This approach by Texas is odd. The kid gives up 7 and you leave him in? Shouldn’t you bring in a reliever to stop the damage?
Melky is 24 going to be 25 in July.
Edwar walked 4 batters the other day in the minors.
“Christian Garcia with 5 scoreless for Trenton he is kicking some butt today.
Anyone have info on how he looked?”
high ceiling when healthy might be above Hughes in stuff, he has an AJ Burnett type ceiling but also an AJ Burnett health line…. His fastball was at 91-92 mph in his last start….when 100 % the kid dials it up mid 90’s ..I doubt we’ll ever see that again.
Benny Blanco
May 25th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I still cant believe everyone was calling melky a 4th outfielder. How old is melky? 23?
======
He’ll be 25 in August.
Not everyone.
Wow, Nino drilled that one.
Pena would have 2 HRs if he was at YS.
That’s the second warning track shot by Pena. He needs just a little more juice to get one out.
can we wait just a bit before proclaiming melky cabrera a future hall-of-famer or AL all-star? please? is that too much to ask? did nobody learn from last season? remember when he was a rookie who was a “five-tool future star?” let’s just wait a while before we build a monument? is that okay? he’s playing well. i hope he keeps playing well but let’s just cool off.
“I still cant believe everyone was calling melky a 4th outfielder. How old is melky? 23?”
Not everybody!
aw, almost nino.
Edwar walked 4 batters the other day in the minors.
==============================
Oh Edwar.
People think Milky is old because he came up so early, and Cano is only 26
“Wow, Nino drilled that one.”
Just missed it, I love his approach.
No it wouldn’t have left in YS either
Pena’s swinging the bat well, just not strong enough to get the extra 15 feet on the fly. Two to the warning track in left.
lol @ Cano in the dugout with the play-by-play. Nice to see Swish with the rbi hit.
I can understand stretching your starters out, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of keeping your team in the game.
“UPDATE, 3:12 p.m.: Gotta love plate umpire Tom Hallion and his emphatic strikeout calls. If you’re going to do that impossible job, you need to have conviction.”
And a flexible back.
Damn, I really thought Pena had gotten that one. He’s really driving the ball today.
I’d also like to point out that we have 7 runs, and none of them are on home runs. This kind of “small ball” production that has seemed, at times this season, to be almost impossible for us, looks to be finally coming together.
Is Wang available for 2 innings today?
Laura – probably the wrong choice of word given the climate of the game today.
so if you think about it cano and milky have 4 or 5 more years until they hit their prime
Uncle Ellsworth
May 25th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Is Melky on the All star ballot?
======
No, Gardner is. You can always write him in. There’d have to be a real push by Yankee fans to do any damage, however. We don’t have front office-induced promptings to vote in our players as it is. In other ballparks, they’re on a crusade to get their HT players in.
We fail our players in this.
Sox up 5-1.
Nino needs to hit the gym in the offseason. A bit more pop would do him wonders.
Phil is putting Texas to sleep
I love the fact that we have scored 7 today without hitting a HR, shows how balanced our offense can be.
Edwar walked 4 batters the other day in the minors.
==========================
Personally, when I saw that line, I smiled. I am in no hurry to see him back in the Bronx anytime soon.
“It was huge for him. Its been a pretty exciting few days for both the team and him as more teams are getting into the mix.”
sj44-
i’ll be tuning in to watch him play. i remember you didn’t think BC would go this far. it sounds like your nephew and BC have some good mojo going on.
This start has to be a tremendous confident booster for phil.
Am I the only one who’s drooling over the score (and inning) and who’s pitching? This game couldn’t get any better.
“No it wouldn’t have left YS either”
Well it’s at-least a double at YS.
bodhisattva – OPPC member
May 25th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Uncle Ellsworth
May 25th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Is Melky on the All star ballot?
==
No, Gardner is. You can always write him in. There’d have to be a real push by Yankee fans to do any damage, however. We don’t have front office-induced promptings to vote in our players as it is. In other ballparks, they’re on a crusade to get their HT players in.
We fail our players in this.
Agree completly
Sorry Melky
Phil is getting lazy now.
Teagarden was waiting on that curve. You hate to see that on an 0-2 count.
“Laura – probably the wrong choice of word given the climate of the game today.”
Only if steroids are foremost on your mind, which they are not for me.
kasey
May 25th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
can we wait just a bit before proclaiming melky cabrera a future hall-of-famer or AL all-star? please? is that too much to ask? did nobody learn from last season? remember when he was a rookie who was a “five-tool future star?” let’s just wait a while before we build a monument? is that okay? he’s playing well. i hope he keeps playing well but let’s just cool off.
=======
Melky isn’t surprising me; I expected this from him. No one here, unless I missed it, is calling Cabrera a HOF.
No one needs to cool off, either. Melky is making stupid people who leapt to judgment about him, look like the arrogant idiots they are.
His bat and glove are having their say, and I say, let him shout about it and thumb his nose at all the blowhards who gave a 23-year old with ability up for dead.
You go, Melky. Stick it to them, boy.
thats what i was thinking, a little more muscle pena and that would have gone out!
“No one needs to cool off, either. Melky is making stupid people who leapt to judgment about him, look like the arrogant idiots they are.”
the kid has a good couple of weeks and all of a sudden he should be on the all-star ballot. that’s not leaping to judgment? it goes both ways.
Hughes’ first start against Baltimore really screwed up his ERA, but besides that one start he has averaged about 2-3 runs over 5-6 innings. That’s about as good as you can expect from a 22-year old pitcher.
Oh yeah, he has also faced the Red Sox, Tigers, Orioles, and Rangers. It doesn’t get any tougher than that.
Thinking he had power was one one the fatal flaws of Rey Ordonez. NB El Nino.
BOS up 5-1.
Melky’s had more than a good couple weeks, he’s had a very nice season.
hey kasey: ummm… last i checked, edwar has a better era than albaladejo, veras, melancon (which everyone for some unknown reason loves), clagett, and even wang!!
He sissy slapped him 93 mph low in the corner.
Thats what im talking about Phil!
Hughes’ last 2 starts: 1 BB, 14 K’s
Wow
oh my.
RS
i didn’t even realize hughes’ ERA was so high. yeah, that throttling he took from the orioles hurt him.
he’s pitching great today, though.
Franchise at 64 pitches.
Way to go Phil, way to challenge Kinsler and beat him.
Ever since Damon made those comments about Hughes needing to limit the damage, he’s done so.
K to Kinsler – Nice!
Let’s see how it goes third time through the line-up.
Can someone give me the update on what Phil is throwing – speed, pitches etc.? Thank you very much.
the kid has a good couple of weeks and all of a sudden he should be on the all-star ballot. that’s not leaping to judgment? it goes both ways.
____________
Okay which cf should be on the ballot for the American league??
Hughsie is impressive today.
Phil is going 8 today.
Phil is going 8 today.
That was a good sequence Kinsler was waiting curveball like TeaGarden and Phil adjusted FB …TOUCH THAT !
All three hits were doubles, when Phil “got lazy” and left something up. The thing is, he didn’t get SO lazy as to leave it in, “Hit it to the moon” territory.
What impresses me more is that, after each one, he’s said, “Screw this noise”, and just mowed guys down.
I liked the 6.1-IP-No hitter, and his first start against Detroit, but I’d say this is probably the best start of his young career so far. Detroit isn’t patient, and doesn’t hit like Texas. The fact that he’s shutting these guys down like this is VERY impressive.
“hey kasey: ummm… last i checked, edwar has a better era than albaladejo, veras, melancon (which everyone for some unknown reason loves), clagett, and even wang!!”
if only ERA told the whole story. veras is awful, i wish he played elsewhere. melancon pitched poorly when he was up, no argument there. he’s in AAA where he belongs. it’s also where edwar belongs.
wang suffered a freak foot injury. what’s edwar’s excuse?
If he continues to pitch like this, the Yankees will have somewhat of a dilemma on their hands. What do they do about Wang? They can’t leave him in the bullpen. They also can’t put Phil in the pen either. If Phil is pitching better than Wang, doesn’t he deserve to be in the starting rotation?
Melky SHOULD BE on the All – STAR ballot which is a different discussion than whether he should be an All-Star.
Gotta love Hughes’ aggressiveness when he has a runner on and two strikes on the batter, today. No fooling around with nibbling off the plate. “Here it is. Hit it if you can.” Completely different from the middle of the second inning when his pitch count was 27 pitches and 16 strikes with 11 balls.
Doesn’t look like Wang is getting back his job anytime soon.
Fun game, gotta love this to start a road trip.
“wang suffered a freak foot injury. what’s edwar’s excuse?”
How about he’s just not that good?
let’s go jeter chants are audible on YES
Chris Carpenter pitching a Perfect Game, starting the 7th.
““Here it is. Hit it if you can.” ”
Then he unzips his zipper and saids HA !
“Okay which cf should be on the ballot for the American league??”
check out a couple of guys you might not have heard of, as they don’t play for the yankees.
adam jones
torii hunter
Larussa will probably pull him with 2 outs in the 9th and do some sort of quadruple switch.
Why?
Because Larussa knows Baseball!
Brandon “Would love to meet Tim McCarver under the Oneill banner”
May 25th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
“Christian Garcia with 5 scoreless for Trenton he is kicking some butt today.
Anyone have info on how he looked?”
high ceiling when healthy might be above Hughes in stuff, he has an AJ Burnett type ceiling but also an AJ Burnett health line…. His fastball was at 91-92 mph in his last start….when 100 % the kid dials it up mid 90’s ..I doubt we’ll ever see that again.
===================
yes but unlike AJ, has a sick change to go with his equally sick curve and FB. If he could JUST GET AND STAY HEALTHY. Even though his FB has lost some ticks, it’s an unwieldy, exploding thing for hitters. Guy is INSANE.
I am seeing him next Saturday at Trenton. Would have attended his 1st start, but didn’t want to miss Hughes’ (9K) start at home, as they’re lined up to pitch on same days. Can’t wait to see him. Let’s all pray for him to get his arm strength back and stay healthy. He could be in that bullpen this year, if all goes well.
“Doesn’t look like Wang is getting back his job anytime soon.”
He’s going to have to earn it from the BP
Hughes’ fastball has been sitting at 91-92 according to the YES gun, dialing it up to 93 a few times. His curve has been a lot sharper & he’s been able to consistently get it over for a strike. He’s mixed in some cutters but hasn’t been throwing it as much as he has in past starts. He has also gotten a number of first-pitch outs because Texas is up there swinging away. Part of it is a testament to Hughes being around the plate all day long, though.
“May 25th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Doesn’t look like Wang is getting back his job anytime soon.”
fine by me. let him sulk in the ‘pen until he guts up and figures out what his problem is.
If he continues to pitch like this, the Yankees will have somewhat of a dilemma on their hands. What do they do about Wang? They can’t leave him in the bullpen. They also can’t put Phil in the pen either. If Phil is pitching better than Wang, doesn’t he deserve to be in the starting rotation?
———————————————————–
That’s a good problem. Too many starters usually fixes itself, either by bad performances or injury.
if you would follow the yankees you would know he had bursitis in his pitching shoulder. he only pitched around 6 innings in spring training.. he is barely getting his arm strength back. just wait and see when edwar comes back up…. he is working on his control… once he gets that back he will be the pitcher once again that had that scoreless inning streak last year
Chris carpenter was perfect through 6, I turn it on and they break it up
It’s great to see Tex at 270
Nice!
8-0
Tex!!
“Melky isn’t surprising me; I expected this from him. No one here, unless I missed it, is calling Cabrera a HOF.
No one needs to cool off, either. Melky is making stupid people who leapt to judgment about him, look like the arrogant idiots they are.
His bat and glove are having their say, and I say, let him shout about it and thumb his nose at all the blowhards who gave a 23-year old with ability up for dead.
You go, Melky. Stick it to them, boy.”
Testify!
This should be the automated response to every ridiculous, nonsensical remark made about the guy. And with this group, it should be copyrighted.
bodhisattva, if Garcia gets his arm strength back the 7-9th inning is over.
“That’s a good problem. Too many starters usually fixes itself, either by bad performances or injury.”
It is a good problem to have. However, I worry about Wang’s mental status. Languishing in the bullpen can’t be helping his confidence level. Seeing Phil wheelin’ and dealin’ can’t be good for him either. Wang is too good for us to lose.
“Okay which cf should be on the ballot for the American league??”
check out a couple of guys you might not have heard of, as they don’t play for the yankees.
adam jones
torii hunter
__________
Yeah last time I check each position has more than just 2 players on the all star ballot. No one year is proclaiming melky is great, were just saying he has had a very good year so far, YEAR, not just a couple good weeks as you seem to think.
our lineup is starting to look very scary.
lol i’ll take it mark.
“he is working on his control… once he gets that back he will be the pitcher once again that had that scoreless inning streak last year”
i applaud your delusional support of a pitcher who just walked four in a minor league outing. who, after his vaunted scoreless innings streak last year, was relegated to mop-up duty. why? because hitters sat on his WELL BELOW AVERAGE fastball and crushed it. who was brutal this year, to the point that he and veras were a running joke on this blog.
you keep pulling for him. god knows he needs it.
Teix with a classic “Damon blooper” for RBI #36
Donnie
May 25th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
All three hits were doubles, when Phil “got lazy” and left something up. The thing is, he didn’t get SO lazy as to leave it in, “Hit it to the moon” territory.
What impresses me more is that, after each one, he’s said, “Screw this noise”, and just mowed guys down.
I liked the 6.1-IP-No hitter, and his first start against Detroit, but I’d say this is probably the best start of his young career so far. Detroit isn’t patient, and doesn’t hit like Texas. The fact that he’s shutting these guys down like this is VERY impressive.
===========
And for a change, the kid has some early offensive support. He and Kennedy were always walking a tight rope when they attempted to break in. What’s more, we had some AWFUL fielding behind them, adding to their woes as green boys.
We are so much better behind our pitchers these days.
Niiiiiiiice!
Tex is unbelievable. Finally a free agent who is the real deal. Hits for average, power, clutch and is an unbelievable fielder
Alex!!!!!!
A-Rod 4-4
WOW A-ROD!! Way to heat up!!
Christian Garcia, still only 23, seems like he’s been around forever! He has a great repetoire, I am one that would support a conversion to the pen as the season progresses. He has the ability to pitch in the Bronx this summer
A-Rod is on fire.
Arod 4-4…yikes
So nice to see Tex and Arod pouring it on the Rangers.
Wow, Alex. I mean, just Wow!
Okay this is a game with Hughes’s pitch count that maybe you want him to complete the game. no pen.
and the hits just keep on comin
AROD!!!!
ARod unstoppable today
.
Now my question here, do you yank Phil or just let him finish the game ?
So much for Alex only hitting homeruns.
brandon if his pitch count is low. Let him finish. The pen needs rest.
“Yeah last time I check each position has more than just 2 players on the all star ballot. No one year is proclaiming melky is great, were just saying he has had a very good year so far, YEAR, not just a couple good weeks as you seem to think.”
yeah, but ichiro will be in the mix, as well. melky’s having a very good season so far and it’s a testament to his work ethic that he didn’t let losing the starting job effect his play. i hope he keeps it up, as the yankees need the spark he’s providing.
texas may hate arod, but arod loves texas.
Should put *sigh* Angel at third for the rest of the game and give A-Rod a break
Obviously I love all the hits and runs.
But you gotta wonder what this long break will do to Hughes.
“Melky’s had more than a good couple weeks, he’s had a very nice season.”
Don’t respond to such drivel with facts, it only encourages them.
Remember when Kris Benson was in New York and was known more for his wife than his pitching? Well done, Jim Duquette–your one year running the Mets really made a lasting mark.
Let him pitch a complete game.
It’s got to be satisfying for both Tex and Alex to come into Texas and get hits. It really puts the booing fans in their place.
The great thing about Phil pitching well is that you don’t need to rush Wang, he can take his time in getting himself straightened out. That’s a great luxury to have.
You know, when Alex hits like this, it makes me sad. Not because I’m not happy his hitting well, but because he didn’t NEED steroids to be good. Why did he do that to himself? To his career? It’s just depressing.
Adam Jones has turned into a very nice ballplayer. Yes, he has good numbers, but, having watched him on TV when they’ve played the Yankees, he looks even better. He’s just starting his career, but, right now, he can play for my team.
Jackson – Careful. I wrote that about Garcia after his first start and got lambasted.
Now I have never seen the kid pitch, but according to some reports he has the best curve in the entire Yankee organization and a killer change. Lots of talk about him having better stuff than Hughes. If he has better stuff than today’s Hughes sign me up.
Health is the only issue.
Had a few more walks then one would like today but only two hits.
“brandon if his pitch count is low. Let him finish. The pen needs rest.”
I’m thinking the same plus he developes endurancce and arm strength for his next start.
Alex’s BA is now .246.
Jackson Melian big time bust
May 25th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Christian Garcia, still only 23, seems like he’s been around forever! He has a great repetoire, I am one that would support a conversion to the pen as the season progresses. He has the ability to pitch in the Bronx this summer
=======
Oh yeah, baby! I mean, put your hands together and PRAY that this kid can stay healthy. When I’ve seen him pitch live, I’ve chuckled watching him.
You know, that sort of grandparent chuckle.
That’s how good he is.
LET ME BE MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Don’t respond to such drivel with facts, it only encourages them.”
i know, chris! i got so worked up, in fact, that i lost my head and posted this nonsense:
“yeah, but ichiro will be in the mix, as well. melky’s having a very good season so far and it’s a testament to his work ethic that he didn’t let losing the starting job effect his play. i hope he keeps it up, as the yankees need the spark he’s providing.”
the audacity!
Donnie – it’s called greed. One of the 7 deadly sins.
# Donnie May 25th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
You know, when Alex hits like this, it makes me sad. Not because I’m not happy his hitting well, but because he didn’t NEED steroids to be good. Why did he do that to himself? To his career? It’s just depressing.
I don’t even think he knows why. Oh well he was always great, and will continue to be great in my eyes.
Dunn today: 2 IP, 1H, 3K.
“LET ME BE MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
These caveman commercials are really overplayed…
“You know, when Alex hits like this, it makes me sad. Not because I’m not happy his hitting well, but because he didn’t NEED steroids to be good. Why did he do that to himself? To his career? It’s just depressing.”
That’s why I don’t think about it. It just makes me mad. But all is not lost. I still say that when Alex’s turn comes for HOF consideration, he may get in despite what he’s done. We’re talking at least 15 years from now. Things will be different then and maybe so will people’s perception. It would help if Alex beats Bond’s record by a lot.
Check out that huge foam cowboy hat behind home plate….THAT THING IS AWESOME!
what is Hughes pitch count?
Joe from Long Island,
He already had that huge contract…He didn’t need anything else.
Wow, the Red Sox get so many breaks. They miss Halladay in each of their first two series against the Jays, and now Mauer isn’t playing for the Twins today. Against the Yankees he was still in the lineup as a DH when he got a day off catching.
the fact that the Yanks put Garcia on the 40 man showed me a lot about their continued faith in him. I was very relieved that day.
73 pitches for Hughes.
you hate to see a leadoff walk in a 10-0 game. it happens but hopefully that long inning didn’t hurt the kid. he needs to eat up a couple more innings here.
five iron from fenway (from NY)
May 25th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Jackson – Careful. I wrote that about Garcia after his first start and got lambasted.
Now I have never seen the kid pitch, but according to some reports he has the best curve in the entire Yankee organization and a killer change. Lots of talk about him having better stuff than Hughes. If he has better stuff than today’s Hughes sign me up.
Health is the only issue.
Had a few more walks then one would like today but only two hits.
=====
Five Iron,
He is just that good. He’s also a good athlete and can field. The change and curve are both ridiculous, and he gets Ks with both. If you are in Tri-State area, try and see him if you can. He’s riveting.
“Check out that huge foam cowboy hat behind home plate….THAT THING IS AWESOME!”
Not if you are sitting behind it.
Are we ever going to just appreciate a 4-4 effort without talking about the S word? Or is it still a fresh wound?
You and me both, Jackson.
To say it was a terrifying time would not be overstatement.
Rangers are making it easy for Phil.
lets go orioles!
Phil is dealing today.
Hey, Alex caught a pop up cleanly. This park is a God send for him.
The Yankees have a lot of faith in Veras and Veras has shown that he knows how to be effective. Control has been a problem this season but he owes no apology for yesterday’s outing. One step at a time.
I do not consider anyone who supports a struggling player “delusional”, myself included. Perhaps we are impressed enough by the postive stuff we have seen before from Veras to believe he can get it all back.
I have always been a big-picture person, so waiting and watching works for me. I’ve seen things turn around with players enough to know that it can happen.
Jesus, its SO different on this board when the Yankees are winning.
You don’t have the moron crew and the chicken littles flocking about.
I wonder where that “Yankees Guy” is today?!?!
Garcia went 5 IP, 4 K’s 2 H in his 2nd start for AA TRE.. he walked 3 today.
Hughes at 83 pitches. Not sure he can do a complete game, but he’s got at least one more inning in him.
Phil hurling a shutout against probably the most explosive offense in baseball. Very impressive.
Brandon “Would love to meet Tim McCarver under the Oneill banner”
May 25th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
bodhisattva, if Garcia gets his arm strength back the 7-9th inning is over.
====
Preach, brother! Amen.
i was talking about edwar but, sure, veras has shown he knows how to be effective. he has also shown he’s about as inconsistent as a pitcher comes and that’s not really a quality you want to see.
at some point, you accept that these players are what they are. for veras, maybe the jury’s still out but to think edwar is going to suddenly add velocity and movement to his fastball AND learn how to command his pitches is asking an awful lot.
>Jesus, its SO different on this board when the Yankees are winning.
It’s deeper than that.
The pitcher is pitching well. The defense is defending well. The hitters are hitting well.
Can’t complain when there’s nothing to complain about.
Brandon “Would love to meet Tim McCarver under the Oneill banner”
May 25th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Garcia went 5 IP, 4 K’s 2 H in his 2nd start for AA TRE.. he walked 3 today.
=====
I’ll take that line.
Another thing about Garcia that stats don’t properly reflect: his stuff is so electric and has so much movement, umpires will often get fooled themselves, calling strikes balls. This happened to him last year at Trenton. What happened was the thing snowballed, because he had to throw more pitches, and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy, as his command got away from him. He battled back and got out of trouble with little damage.
I like winning but the hippy stuff on this blog is a little sickening to read. You can be critical and question moves and still be a fan of the team.
We don’t even need the long ball.
I want Hughes to go 8. He needs a quick inning.
On a hot day in Texas almost two years ago, a young pitcher lost his no-hitter, lost his health, and eventually lost his way. Now, back on that same field, has Young Master Philip found his way back to being good ‘ol Phil Hughes? I would sure like to think so (although I haven’t been able to, ahem, watch the game).
For a while, Phil has looked softer than that stuff they drain out of Matsui’s knees. But soft don’t play in Texas. Wholehearted congrats to Phil on this outing (so far). Does it change any big-picture equations? I would not guess, but it’s great to see regardless and at least has to expand the short-term options moving farward.
Happy Memorial Day!
Bod – I am in NY (Long Island) for the weekend, but live in Boston.
I have been really trying to take my daughter (age 60 to a game). We were not around for the SWB/PAW series in RI. But I will check schedules to see when Trenton plays in Portland. I think it would be great to watch a minor league game.
I follow the minors religiously online (here, some other sites, Pinstripes Plus) but never get to see the kids live.
Remember a year and a half ago we were talking about the tree amigos – well it looks like so far we have 1 definate – Joba, 1 getting really close – Phil, and one on the DL – Kennedy. Two out of 3 aint bad.
But wait: Possibly in this order for starting pitching: Garcia, Macallister, Nova (if he ever learns the infamous pitchability), Betances, Brackman, Heredia, Mitchell, Marshall, Banuelos, Vizcaino.
ramiro…..!!!!
So who do we think they are going to bring up to cover Bruney. Alby? I’d actually like to see them give Melancon another try.
Now THIS is a gem by Hughes.
bodhisattva, can he stay healthy that’s all I ask
Its 83 degrees out there. What a great day to watch the Yankees play
tomorrow is a telling day for this bullpen. If Alba or Edwar is recalled, it will be disheartening. I really believe Robertson should be given a real opportunity.
Cash showing some life, a 2-4 day.
2 hits from the catching position?? I thought Cash was starting??
Cash is clearly on roids.
So close Jete!
Jeter crushed that one.
bad job baserunning Nino
“bad job baserunning Nino”
They’re not taking 3rd on a flyout in a 10-0 game.
If Kevin Cash goes like this, there is a good possibility it is Cervelli who will ebe sent down when Posada coems back. They would like to see Cervelli play every day and continue developing and become backup catcher next year.
hey what about sending hughes down!!!!!
weren’t there many scholars saying at 22 he will never pan out!!!!!!!
the guy is 22 and has a chance to be real good, he deserves to start over the present Wang.
imagine a laugher they have had very few this year…….
“tomorrow is a telling day for this bullpen. If Alba or Edwar is recalled, it will be disheartening. I really believe Robertson should be given a real opportunity.”
Robertson hasn’t been that sharp since his demotion. Melancon has 18 K and 4 BB in his last 10 appearances. He’s got to be the guy.
The problem is they put the All-Star ballot together way too early. It should be June 1st. the way it is now, well, it’s merely a popularity/vote gathering contest based on the opening day starting lineups. It’s joke. I used to be a conscientious objector, but if that’s they way MLB wants it, I will oblige and vote for my deserving Yankees first, other players who are clearly having excellent years next. And I will use all the e-mail addresses at my disposal to stuff the ballot box, too.
The Yankees, by not doing the “vote for our guys” thing, are actually correct, but not on the same page as MLB. I stop short of urging them to follow the crowd though. We as fans are more than capable of mounting a campaign for our Yankees players.
This is such a nice game. Looking forward to seeing how Phil pitches in the 7th.
you dont take 3rd in a 10-0 game…one of those unwritten rules.
“For a while, Phil looked softer then that stuff they drain out of Matsui’s knees”
Come on I’m eating.
Is the longest Hughes pitched 7 inning against Cleveland?
It should be Robertson that gets recalled tomorrow, but it will probably be Albaladejo. Girardi for some reason has more faith in him, even though he has never really distinguished himself save for having bad control and being extremely hittable. Robertson has his own problems with strike-throwing sometimes, but he can strike people out and he has never really gotten a long look as an answer out of the ‘pen.
I wonder if there will be thought of using Garcia out of pen?
He would be an interesting option.
“CLEVELAND — Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his left knee.”
Ouch, you gotta feel for the guy…
great post, nick. funny stuff.
“you dont take 3rd in a 10-0 game…one of those unwritten rules.”
Clearly missed the joke.
Chris
Testify!
This should be the automated response to every ridiculous, nonsensical remark made about the guy. And with this group, it should be copyrighted.
=========
I’m mainly talking about the people who used epithets like “lazy”, “stupid”, and other mean-spirited, unsubstantiated garbage. The sort of bonding hate-fest that took place on here, and other sites, was unreal.
What’s telling is those people were invested in a negative outcome for Melky, and you can tell who they are by their current silences and/or stingy praise.
Bleep ‘em; Melky wins.
I think you see George Kontos out of the pen in NY before you see Garcia (at least this year). Kontos has been really good recently and I have seen some suggest that his stuff would translats really well to the pen.
Imagine back to the Pirates trade. The Yankees ended up keeping Coke and Kontos.
alright let’s get over this little hump here, phil
Terrible news about Aki. That was a crazy play and it definitely looked like he was going to be out a while but I was hoping it wouldn’t be that bad. Hope for a speedy recovery.
Nice work there by Hughes in the 7th!!
sorry about the technical issues. I’m still recovering from my week off
Alex having a great day
Okay two pitches inside. One that supposedly hit tex (don’t think it did), and one that would have hit Alex if he didn’t get out of the way. Does Hughes hit someone? or is it best served cold?
5-5 A-Rod. And no Homer. Wonder if he’s in a slump?
Nice work A-Rod!!
With all of our injuries this year, it’s good to see Angel out there without a walker
A-Rod might be batting over 250 by the end of the day!
You know, I didn’t say this before but I had a feeling early today that Alex would start hitting in Texas. Cool.
Phil seemed to have gotten stronger, does anyone else think so? Do you think he’ll come ut for the 8th? Impressive day for Phil.
5-5
Clearly with the way Hughes is pitching he gets another start. Sorry Wanger. You stay in the pen.
A-Rod is at .259
Berroa pinch runs for A-Rod, evoking memories of when he pinch ran for Gehrig in the late inning blowouts of that magical 1927 season.
That mustache/beard combo, with the sunglasses, looks like one of those joke things. Ugly!
Jenn – definitely does not throw at anyone, he’s pitching a gem and there’s no reason to mess with that now. I don’t think there was anything behind it, but if for some reason the Yankees do, they’ll take care of it tomorrow with Joba on the mound. Phil needs to work on his game now and not worry about hitting anyone
Let Hughes come out for the 8th. Bring that e.r.a down.
““For a while, Phil looked softer then that stuff they drain out of Matsui’s knees”
Come on I’m eating.”
Oops, don’t let a type make you ill!
’softer *than* is what I meant.
Sorry guys, I tried to post this and it nearly brought the blog down.
So sorry, my intentions were good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEMVwZRJ-UQ
Glad to see this thread made it back from 1977.
What a great day for Alex Rodriquez. He’s on his way back!
The Yankees just need to get healthy and keep hovering around 1st place. The Otiz dilemma will come to haunt Boston. They can’t peddle Lugo or Ortiz without eating a lot of salary through 2010 and they’ll overpay in talent if they attempt to get a DH and put Ortiz on the DL.
The Rays are more of a team to be reckoned with.
mercy call
*typo*
It’s hot in Santa Rosa today.
That looked very outside.
I think Tom has dinner plans. that was a ball.
GAMEDAY SAYS: WHAT?!!??!
Five Iron,
Kontos has earned his stripes, working his way up, very consistent. Can’t speak about him, though, having never seen him. Have you? I know his slider is his sig pitch, and also has very good CB.
Garcia, though, is an animal. That I can attest to.
Hallion will strain an oblique doing that one of these days…
Sac fly 3 rbis for swish gj
“Can’t complain when there’s nothing to complain about.”
First time here?
Nino should focus on hitting line drives, not fly balls, seems like he’s getting under these pitches.
When Hughes is on he’s on. 6.1 0R vs Tex. 7 ip 0r vs Clev. 6ip 0r vs Det. And so far 7ip 0r vs Tex today.
The sox are WAY more dangerous then the Rays. With absolutely ZERO production from their best hitter coming into the year, they’re still running up the win totals.
The Rays have Kazmir out, Percival might be done and now Aki is done for the year. David Price will probably more then fill in for Kazmir but you cannot say the Rays are more dangerous IMO.
Bases loaded, nobody out and only one run scores? What bums!
(j/k)
This is great because it still keeps Wang as the go-to long man should Joba or Burnett lay an egg tomorrow or Wednesday and not go more than 5 innings. Obviously, it’s more important to see Hughes dealing, but him eating 8-9 innings really helps the set-up of the bullpen over the next few days.
Never imagined Alex bill be at .259 after today’s game. And, Tex is at 275.
By the time the road trip is over, both may be hitting above 280.
Phil Hughes starts thus far:
DET 6inn 2hits 0runs 2bb 6k’s
BOS 4inn 7hits 3runs 4bb 2k’s
@BAL 1.2inn 8hits 8runs 2bb 0k’s
MIN 5 inn 6 hits 4bb 2′ks
BAL 5inn 6hits 3runs 1bb 9k’s
They just announced that Iwamura has a torn ligament and is out for the season. That may sink Tampa’s hopes of returning to the dominance of last season.
Man, that Kinsler is a hacker.
MIN 5 inn 6 hits 3runs 4bb 2’ks **
Andrew
May 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
It should be Robertson that gets recalled tomorrow, but it will probably be Albaladejo. Girardi for some reason has more faith in him, even though he has never really distinguished himself save for having bad control and being extremely hittable. Robertson has his own problems with strike-throwing sometimes, but he can strike people out and he has never really gotten a long look as an answer out of the ‘pen.
======
That would be very disappointing. I would bring up Melancon. The SWB guy is speculating Robertson, too. I think the command issues of Robertson last season were from fatigue more than anything else. Love his CB. Much rather see him than E-Ram or Alby, but I’m hoping for MM.
This is just so exciting to watch. Wow.
I don’t think they are going to let Phil pitch the 9th since he’s so close to 100 pitches. I say let him go, but nobody asked me.
Giradi better let him complete the game.
LOL
http://www.theonion.com/conten....._rss_daily
3 more outs Hughsie
Phil keep it up! One more inning!
“They just announced that Iwamura has a torn ligament and is out for the season. That may sink Tampa’s hopes of returning to the dominance of last season.”
Maybe Tampa will take Berroa for one of their relief pitchers, since clearly Bruney is not right.
Let Hughes finish what he started!
Phil going for the CG shutout.
What’s his pitch count?
Do they let him start the ninth???
Hughesie saving the bullpen today also
Phil is at 101.
1 more?
Gardner got a good jump on that one. Nice paly. Glad Yanks have him playing less shallow these days. Looks like the Kid is going to pitch a CG.plus-100 pitches but pretty much low-stress throwing.
# Benny Blanco May 25th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Phil Hughes starts thus far:
DET 6inn 2hits 0runs 2bb 6k’s
BOS 4inn 7hits 3runs 4bb 2k’s
@BAL 1.2inn 8hits 8runs 2bb 0k’s
MIN 5 inn 6 hits 4bb 2’ks
BAL 5inn 6hits 3runs 1bb 9k’s
__________________________________________
That Boston game should have been a lot better if the umps didn’t screw him over.
CGSO for Phil would be nice, they should let him go back out for the 9th.
101 pitches.
I’d same game for Mr. Hughes.
I’d say GREAT GAME for Mr. Hughes.
“3 more outs Hughsie”
Can you imagine the story to this one, I mean we all know what happened his last start in Texas but he is 3 outs away from making a big statement.
Hughes has dropped his ERA almost 2 runs today. Great game at 101 pitches.
guess not…hand shake from Girardi.
COME ON GIRADI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oooh, Hughes not liking that handshake.
I called it. No Hughes for the 9th.
Phil’s ERA is now lower than AJ’s
It’s now 5.16
gem from hughes. great, great game.
Losing Iwamura is not going to sink the Rays…..are u serious???? Hughes looks great; will the same idiots be killing him if he has a rough outing in Cleveland. The big picture is always key. Not 1 start, not a month-how about ya look at the entire year!!
discretion is the better part of valor
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo
GI Joe WHY
And LOL Phil didn’t want to shake his hand
did u just see that
Hughes is pissed
Looks like Girardi is pulling out Phil.
I have to leave for now but I am trusting that there will not be a 12-run comeback for the Rangers.
I hate negative complaining and I don’t want to be one of them, but if you will indulge me for just a minute I really need to vent. My fantasy team is just not working. Granted it’s my first venture and I didn’t even really know how to do it (nobody told me you shouldn’t draft pitchers first or pick people for defense!)
But even when I do have some good players, I either don’t get to submit the lineup in time, I bench the wrong players, or my pitchers don’t come through.
Sorry for whining. Thanks for listening.
GO YANKEES!!!!!
lol cash
I agree with the move to pull Phil. A shutout would be nice for him personally, but in reality there is more to potentially lose than gain by sending him back out
Girardi just being cautious. Can’t fault him.
Kudos to Joe for understanding that day game following day game, plus travel, was not a good recipe to have your 34 year old SS in the field. Glad he yanked Alex, too.
i think that great that hughes did not want to shake Girardi’s hand, and then Girardi bugged out like he was eating something extremely unhealthy
Somebody needs to drug test Kevin Cash.
D-Rob or Melancon I would take in a heartbeat over El Flacco or Alby. My guess is that they would rather rebuild Melancon’s confidence for a while longer in AAA before giving him another shot in the Bronx. His first go-round was ugly and he seemed to shy away from attacking ML hitters. I think once he does get re-called he won’t have that same problem, but they probably don’t want to take the chance as of yet.
D-Rob’s hook is a nasty one, and when he is locating his fastball he is extremely tough on righties. I just hope that out of those two, if one of them is called up, GI Joe & Co. give them a fair shake at logging valuable innings out of the ‘pen.
Thar Cash REALLY makes thing happen out there!
Damn you GI Joe
“By the time the road trip is over, both may be hitting above 280.”
And Cash might get above .150
“Maybe Tampa will take Berroa for one of their relief pitchers, since clearly Bruney is not right.”
TB will take Berroa off of our hands if we throw in A-Rod and 50mil as well.
How is that a hit?
somehow, today, all of cash’s weak hits are getting him on base.
Why use aceves today WHY
Why waste Aceves here?
who is El Flacco?
Phil didn’t look pleased. I wouldn’t, either. Chances for a CG shutout don’t come too often, but you have to practice due diligence.
Jeter with the DP. I’m shocked.
“David Price will probably more then fill in for Kazmir but you cannot say the Rays are more dangerous IMO.”
The thing about the Rays is you get the feeling they’re couting on Price to jumpstart the team and be a savior. He has been hyped up a ton, and while he very well may pitch great and rack up wins, it could also be a huge letdown if he doesn’t turn in a great season.
I also think the Red Sox are more dangerous, but not just because of Ortiz. Lester, Beckett, and Dice-K have all been disappointments so far, and they have still found a way to win in many of their starts. If those three start pitching like they did last year, the Sox can easily roll off another 11-game winning streak.
Watching this game has me feeling a little nostalgic. From Nolan Ryan to that awesome Lone Star on the infield, Dr. Pepper, Coke in bottles, and that super cool mustache on Maddux.
Great, great game from Hughes. Cash had the LoHud reverse-curse working for him.
Wonder if Nolan Ryan’s going to give Cashman a call about Hughes, Alex, and Tex? They look right at home.
Hey, so much for jet lag, huh?
11 runs and 19 hits, with nary a homer. Must be the park.
“Phil didn’t look pleased. I wouldn’t, either. Chances for a CG shutout don’t come too often, but you have to practice due diligence.”
My respect for that kid just went higher, 11-0 he doesn’t care, he wants a CG SO to his name.
Gosh, I hope the can save some of this for tomorrow.
could someone please calculate hughsie’s era minus baltimore start? I’m curious as to what it is.
El Flacco, the king of the BP fastball, Mr. Stick Figure Fury, Eddie Ramirez.
Phil pitching to his potential. What a great day.
“Hughes has dropped his ERA almost 2 runs today.”
That’s nothing, Wang dropped Brad Lidge’s ERA on Friday night.
Laura – Win together, strike out alone!
May 25th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Glad to see this thread made it back from 1977.
====
A good omen?
testing
m -
I had a fleeting thought before — I was wondering who, if anyone, would suggest a Hughes for Hamilton trade today?
Oh, LOL. I get it now, El Flacco, funny but true.
looks like Hughes wants his e.r.a to go below 5. Why not let him go batter by batter?
Hopefully Alfredo’s Sauce can throw something like 8 pitches in this inning so he’ll be available again in this series.
I’m sorry Girardi should have let Phil go for the complete game shutout.
looks like hughes wants his era to go below 5.
could someone please calculate hughsie’s era minus baltimore start? I’m curious as to what it is.
including today, 3.21
if I calculated correctly.
That Nelson Cruz is ridiculous.
>:(
Fire Girardi.
Oh, Aceves. You silly bastard.
Why is Hughes out let the kid finish the game. I hate this about baseball with all the pitch count nonsense.
why not let him go batter by batter?
“I’m sorry Girardi should have let Phil go for the complete game shutout.”
Girardi would be crucified if Phil pulled something on his 110th pitch.
Let Phil finish next time
Good job kid btw trade some of the dumb posters on this site for a tub of double bubble (Morticia, BJ44, )
GI Joe: Good job Phil *extends hand*
Phil: What ? what are you doing ?
GI Joe: Good game kid save it for another day
Phil: Get that hand out of face skip
GI Joe: Com’on Phil cut the tough kid act your not tough
Phil: Skip I’ll kick your a..
GI Joe: You want to get sent to Scranton ! Shake my hand kid !
Phil: *shakes hand* screw you
What’s 10 more pitches for Hughes gonna do? He made it that far so why not finish the game?
I think Byrd has dinner plans. LOL!
Nice win
GJ Yankees!
This would of been a perfect inning to pitch Tomko or Veras. No reason to waste Aceves with a 10 run lead. Hughes looked upset to not be finishing the game.
O er in 14.1 ip vs Texas for Phil
2nd place now.
Nice work by Hughes. Don’t know why he wasn’t allowed to finish his game. He looked pissed.
Girardi had to pull Hughes after he hit 100 pitches. If God forbid he gets injured in the 9th inning of a 11-0 game, the bridge jumpers here would all be calling for his head.
A-Rod goes 5-5 and says F-U Mr. Hicks and your feelings of betrayal!
great game today!
So, minus BAL start Phil would be 3-1 3.21 era.
I can’t blame Hughes, and I can’t blame Joe.
Picture perfect Memorial Day game. Offense put the game away early, Hughes didn’t give Texas an inch, game wasn’t even 3 hours long…what more could you ask for?
“I can’t blame Hughes, and I can’t blame Joe.”
Exactly.
>Girardi would be crucified if Phil pulled something on his 110th pitch.
Because, automatically, once you’re over 100 pitches in a game you will pull something.
Brandon “Phil Hughes does not shake hands after 8 IP ”
—————————————————-
LOL
Brandon “Phil Hughes does not shake hands after 8 IP ” May 25th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
GI Joe: Good job Phil extends hand
Phil: What ? what are you doing ?
GI Joe: Good game kid save it for another day
Phil: Get that hand out of face skip
GI Joe: Com’on Phil cut the tough kid act your not tough
Phil: Skip I’ll kick your a..
GI Joe: You want to get sent to Scranton ! Shake my hand kid !
Phil: shakes hand screw you
===================================
Why did Girardi waste Aceves today?
“>Girardi would be crucified if Phil pulled something on his 110th pitch.
Because, automatically, once you’re over 100 pitches in a game you will pull something.”
If he did pull something, half this board would be calling for Girardi to get fired. It’s due diligence.
I can imagine it now.
“IT WAS 11-0! FIRE GIRARDI!”
“Why was Phil still in there? No reason for it, and now he’s out!”
“Hughes should have never come out for the 9th”
“Girardi is a moron. Why risk an injury?!?!”
and so on and so forth.
Veras pitched the last 2 days… can’t use him again today
Hope Joba continues this tomorrow.
It’s great to see Hughes get mad at not being able to finish up, but, no big deal. He’ll have his chances. His big issue will be backing this game up Saturday with another one that’s close. Brilliant, impressive performance by Hughes. Rodriguez was equalle impressive with 5 great at bats. A nearly flawless game all around.
Good game by Phil, if you can’t let him finish the game after he has had an easy day and if he can’t throw 110 pitches the Yankees might as well put a bubble around him.
Rodriguez was ***equally*** impressive
Jesus….a nearly flawless game and people still find nothing to complain about, but, still do. Complete games don’t mean what they used to.
Good game by Phil, if you can’t let him finish the game after he has had an easy day and if he can’t throw 110 pitches the Yankees might as well put a bubble around him.
—————————————————
I kinda understand. The yanks Finally have the original starting rotation not on the DL (Plus Hughes). I guess you play it close to the vest for now.
I would’ve let Phil pitch. It’s not like he labored much. The way this club swings, it could’ve been just 3 more pitches.
CG shutout opportunities don’t come around often.
If Aceves would have come into a 2-1 game tomorrow and given up that HR, everyone would rip Joe for not using him for a while. He needed the work, especially now that they are planning on using him as a 1-2 inning reliever rather than a long reliever.
It seems like Wang will continue to stay in the bullpen with the way Hughes is pitching lol Maybe he can be a sinker balling long reliever. I wonder what there plans are with him. He can’t work on his mechanics if he is chilling in the bullpen.
What are you people talking about, Aceves threw 8 pitches, don’t understand how that is considered “wasting”. They are trying to turn him into a reliever, how else is he going to do that if he only pitches in long relief?! His arm is never going to become capable of the day-by-day bounce back unless he pitches like all other short relievers.
wohoo second place baby!
kasey
May 25th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
“No one needs to cool off, either. Melky is making stupid people who leapt to judgment about him, look like the arrogant idiots they are.”
the kid has a good couple of weeks and all of a sudden he should be on the all-star ballot. that’s not leaping to judgment? it goes both ways.
=======
Not at all.
Cabrera’s change in approach accurately predicted the results he’s now getting. What illuded you and others was the changes he made and was implementing before your own eyes. It’s the approach – not the results -that will tell you what’s to come.
It was a no-brainer to predict the harvest. People here were just too energized by hating him to remember that baseball isn’t concerned about their emotionally driven agendas, just like Alex’s bat doesn’t give a bleep whether people think he’s a “phony.”
All that stuff is noise. Melky has always been able to hit, since his days in the minors. He got rushed up here, and had to take his hard knocks while manning the most famous position in sports. He’ll have his dips, but they will be short-lived.
This is the Melky Cabrera I expected to see. He’s been doing it since being recalled at the end of last season, through Winter Ball, ST, and the season.
>If he did pull something, half this board would be
>calling for Girardi to get fired. It’s due diligence.
I would love to slap the **** out of Girardi for ever managing his team with that thought process.
“I gotta pull you kid”
“Why? I could pitch the 9th.”
“I know, but if you get injured, people will blame me.”
“But I could get injured at any point. Why suddenly is it a big deal?”
“100 pitches.”
“100 pitches?”
“100 pitches.”
“FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU”
Aceves has had the last 3 days off
He is no longer the ‘long man’, Wang is.
Rather than being happy about an 11-1 win and being bakc in 2nd place, we have the usual suspects whining that someone didn’t achieve a personal milestone.
Aceves said the other day that his arm is used to pitching every 5 days and he can’t pitch day to back days often like a reliever would. He said maybe once in awhile. So I don’t know what Girardi is talking about.
today was a very good day for the yankees and good for hughes. it couldn’t happen at a better time. if he’s a solid #5 then wang can be given the time he needs to get his strength back.
hughes finally arriving will back up into the rest of the staff. he’ll still have his rough spots , but this has to be sending shivers down the red sox spines.
Getting the feeling Hughes just needs some big league innings to adjust to being a consistent MLB pitcher?
Complete game shutouts are the most overrated stat in baseball.
Even if he was available, no way you use Veras in an 11-0 game. Blowing a lead like that would destroy his confidence.
So much for the idiot that kept mentioning that the Yanks always went into a long losing streak after a tough loss. I assume that his rock must have fallen on him.
I just got back from a day with my family and heard in the car that Phil pitched a 3 hit shut out. That’s just fantastic, both for the team and for him. I’m really happy for Phil……and for this to happen where he suffered severe injuries, it’s all the sweeter (and against a very powerful lineup). Can anyone tell me more about the performance? How was Phil’s stuff, etc…..? Thanks!
What a great win for the Yankees. They had a tough loss yesterday, but they came back like champs today. I give them a LOT of credit.
Rachel – Aceves followed that up by saying he needs time to get used to it, but will do whatever to help the team.
Veras has thrown the ball well the last few times, he is probably back in Joe’s circle of trust.
CG may be worthless and overrated, but it would’ve been great for a young pitcher trying to find his way.
No one’s getting pissy. Just saying it would’ve been nice.
How many pitches did Phil throw today? I really don’t care about the CG shutout – maybe Joe felt that Aceves needed an inning, maybe it was just very hot and humid there. Are people complaining? Whew….
lol Wow
The way some of you guys are talking about it, you would think he pulled Hughes when he had a no hitter in the 9th.
We won the game and our young pitcher was fantastic, be happy. Stop looking for things to complain about.
Andrew
May 25th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
D-Rob or Melancon I would take in a heartbeat over El Flacco or Alby. My guess is that they would rather rebuild Melancon’s confidence for a while longer in AAA before giving him another shot in the Bronx. His first go-round was ugly and he seemed to shy away from attacking ML hitters. I think once he does get re-called he won’t have that same problem, but they probably don’t want to take the chance as of yet.
=====
Melancon did fine in his first outing, up at Fenway, and threw a bad pitch to Matthews at home with inherited BL.
They waited 3 days to put him in again, and his command wasn’t there. He’s fine. If they had kept him up, he would have been fine. He’s a fast learner. I wouldn’t have demoted him, because there’s nothing, technically, he needs to work on. He just needs to face ML hitters.
You’re right – he won’t have the same problems he encountered in the last two appearances. Time to put him back out there.
Too bad Pettitte can’t be the odd man out in the rotation when Wang comes back. Not a bad lefty long reliever. It stinks that Hughes has to go back to AAA lol
If aceves and Coke can split the 8th inning, depending on the batters, NYY will be fine. The key to the Yankee success is to give them more than one run to work with. They need more games of tacking on runs, rather than one big inning and shutting down.
No one’s complaining, Betsy. Just saying it would’ve been cool to let Phil go nine, when just a few weeks ago he couldn’t get out of the second.
Honestly, I think Girardi pulling Joba after 5.2 innings when he had 12 Ks was worse than what he did today pulling Hughes.
If only Melky had Gardner’s leadership qualities
Girardi wasn’t even mad in the postgame, he said he loves to see that competitiveness.
A total non-story. Back to 2nd place, slowly but surely climbing back to the top
m
May 25th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
CG may be worthless and overrated, but it would’ve been great for a young pitcher trying to find his way.
No one’s getting pissy. Just saying it would’ve been nice.
————————————————————
Go back and look at some of the remarks made by some of the board wizards. as Girardi just said, he loved that Hughes was upset, but, they need him all year, not for just this game.
Andrew, That’s good. They just have to work him in slowly so he doesn’t hurt him arm. Since he is not used to pitching that way and that often.
Hughes’ ERA is lower than Burnett’s now
He ain’t going nowhere. Let Wang take his time.
If Hughes continues to pitch the way he has been no way do they send him down. He’ll stay and they’ll work it out.
Joe Mauer takes Papelcrapper deep.
mauer bring the twinks within 1 with 2 outs left in th 9th
Joe Mauer goes deep off pap. 6-5 boston
Should have been Dhin
The real hero is Damon— his comments and source of leadership was the reaso nfor the Hughes resurgence.
Now he needs to call out Burnett
Great game by Hughes, Joba can follow his lead tomorrow, like last time in Detroit.
Damon says A-Rod doesn’t get the WWE belt after the 4-4, Hughes did LOL
papelbum gives up another homer LMAO
Hughes is wearing the belt on the postgame ha ha
Hughes is holding the belt on camera
Phil’s got the belt on his shoulder during the interview!!!
Hughes has the belt on his shoulder during the interview LOL
Phil got the belt all is well in Yankeeland
7*7
That is funny.
Hughes sporting belt during interview.
Take your time Wang…
We should sign Joe Mauer no matter what. I hope the twins don’t give him the franchise tag.
“The real hero is Damon”
Wilson: you are correct, sir!
Also, Damon does a lot for the Wounded Warriors charity (hope I got the name right), so I give him props for being a team ‘hero’ for a lot of real heroes on Memorial Day.
Hughes looks good with the WWE belt.
He passed the 100 pitch makr which he hasn’t done often. Going another inning was too much risk with almost no reward.
Aceves can’t take four days off if he’s going to replace Bruney so getting him out there was the right thing to do.
Great to see Hughes make us of his changeup in this one. Might be the best game he has pitched including the abbreviated no-hitter. If Wang gets straightened out the Yankees will have an unbelievable asset to make moves with. If not, Hughes has pretty much re-established himself.
I watched the game at Mickey Mantle’s with a Yankees fan from San Francisco — not Nick (lol) — and had a great time. Much more fun than Friday night at the Stadium.
aw, Hughes is so happy
I missed Joe’s comments, but I’m glad he understood why Phil was upset. In fact, I read that Phil didn’t even shake Joe’s hand at first……..that’s not Phil, he’s a good kid. However, if it’s true, I hope Joe would understand that it was in the heat of the moment.
I would assume Joe was concerned about the heat. M, I would have loved to have seen Phil get the CG shut out..are they worried about him throwing over 100 pitches? I’m not going to kill Joe……it still would have been nice.
The Over Manager JOE, just had to pull Hughes out of a game that was *clearly* under his control.
From Swishers twitter
Today we honor those who paid with their lives to keep us safe and free. Check out http://www.strikeoutsfortroops.org. I’m proud to be a part of it
Jonathan Sanchez has Atlanta scoreless through 5… could we get him for Igawa/Nady??
No way Wang displaces Hughes as of the moment.
I’m one of CMW’s most staunch supporters, but the Yankees can afford to let him get a few more innings out of the bullpen with this performance from Phil, which is a great thing.
Betsy- yeah he said he understood. Liked that Phil didn’t want to be taken out. Said it was hot, at 100 pitches, not worth pushing it. we need him.
For those that still whine about Yankee stadium and home runs, Mauer just hit another one. 11 in 81 at bats. He has a career high of 13. He’s never even had another double figure home run total. 400+ feet to right center.
IT’S THE BALL….NOT THE BALLPARK.
GreenBeret7
Aren’t homeruns up everywhere? I thought someone mentioned a while back that the ball could be wound tighter. Why doesn’t anyone look into that? I guess the easiest thing is the blame the Yankees and the park.
Poor baby Ortiz he wasn’t in the lineup today because Francona thinks he has no chance to hit a lefty pitcher..AwWWWww
LOL can’t wait to watch the interviews later on YES.com – I’m listening to them while on the computer, but I’m not paying much attention. Phil with the belt for the first time (and yet Suzyn Waldman’s star of the game was Tex…..lol)
Who is Jeff Baily? He hit a shot against the twins. HMM
Jays on a seven game losing streak and fading fast.
five iron from fenway (from NY)
May 25th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Bod – I am in NY (Long Island) for the weekend, but live in Boston.
I have been really trying to take my daughter (age 60 to a game). We were not around for the SWB/PAW series in RI. But I will check schedules to see when Trenton plays in Portland. I think it would be great to watch a minor league game.
I follow the minors religiously online (here, some other sites, Pinstripes Plus) but never get to see the kids live.
Remember a year and a half ago we were talking about the tree amigos – well it looks like so far we have 1 definate – Joba, 1 getting really close – Phil, and one on the DL – Kennedy. Two out of 3 aint bad.
But wait: Possibly in this order for starting pitching: Garcia, Macallister, Nova (if he ever learns the infamous pitchability), Betances, Brackman, Heredia, Mitchell, Marshall, Banuelos, Vizcaino.
========
Five Iron,
Trenton appears to be at Portland June 5,6,7. Maybe you get to take in Garcia – not sure how those days would line up for him to start. I’ll just be happy if he’s still in the rotation by then.
vb03
Doesn’t look good for them now.
“Jays on a seven game losing streak and fading fast.”
And, we started that streak for them….
Who will/did they bring up for Bruney?
Robertson, Melancon, Fossum?
Great minor league hitting today by Romine, Montero, Jackson, and Shelley Duncan.
Hughes was terrific with 1st pitch strikes to an aggressive swinging at 1st pitch tough Texas team. Location and variance in his selection were key. The only thing I noticed was his fastball was clocked around 91 mph and very rarely at 93. Any concern, or is he just becoming a more complete pitcher?
jennifer
They’re not doing so hot, suddenly everything is cooling down at the same time, except for a certain Harry Halladay.
jennifer
May 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
GreenBeret7
Aren’t homeruns up everywhere? I thought someone mentioned a while back that the ball could be wound tighter. Why doesn’t anyone look into that? I guess the easiest thing is the blame the Yankees and the park.
————————————————————
Definately. When a guy like Jason Bartlett, who has never had more than 5 in a season and 11 career in 1700 at bats, now has 7 this year, something’s up. His last one was 12 rows deep to the opposite field in Miami, not counting his 2 doubles high off of the scoreboard in left center. a career .280 hitter is hitting .380. He’s a nice little player, but he’s not .380 nice.
new post ———–>>
Jen, thanks! Joe, as a catcher, understands pitchers and how competitive they are. It IS a good thing that Phil wanted to stay in – and being that Phil is a good kid and never shows up his manager, Joe obviously understood that. I like that Joe laughed it off (as I read elsewhere)………
Only the Yankees can find controversy in an 11-1 win. Phil didn’t need to extend way beyond 100 pitches. Sure a complete game shutout would have been fun, but how much would a 3 or 4 run inning ruined the great feeling from a big time performance.
Girardi did the right thing, Phil reacted the way you’d want a competitor to react… that’s perfect.
My only concern is the lack of HR in that bandbox.. what’s up with that? lol
Hughes on the phone at MLB Network.
i love the blog but is it humanely possible to second guess more than pete? i think the aceves move is fine. i would have left in hughest, but i am cool with aceves.
“IT’S THE BALL….NOT THE BALLPARK.”
I don’t know about that. How many righty hitters hit broken bat homers[Teixeira} into the left field bleachers in old Yankee Stadium? Less steroids and more homers in the new park. You can’t get away with too many bad pitches, and lefties plus righties with inside out swings are lofting balls to right field that are carrying into the seats.
*RS*
Maurer played for the twins today,he was their high performer 1-1 Hr,R,2Rbi
One more game that Hughes has shown that he can be a major part of this rotation for those that wouldn’t give him a shot. Once he is allowed some time for some struggles he will get it together. The biggest difference the last two games seems to be confidence. His fastball is a lot better than last year and the cutter is keeping hitters somewhat honest on it and works as an offspeed. He’s using much more of the plate too. He hit Blalock, but before was strictly aiming strikes which you can’t do. I believe he will get to a point that he will be consistently giving good starts not just flashes. Again, like many of his games, he is starting to pitch out of jams. Game could have been different if he gave up those runs in the second.
If Girardi had used Tomko today and Aceves yesterday perhaps we would have another win
I wasn’t here earlier but the red caps could symbolize the blood shed by veterans who have died in war. At any rate I’m proud that the Yankees slugged it out today after yesterday’s tough loss.
—-Quoted from earlier ——
# Laura – Win together, strike out alone! May 25th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Why did the hats have to be red? Why couldn’t the teams use the red, white and blue emblem, but on their regular hats? That’s what they did last year. Since when does the color red mean patriotism?
kasey,
I agree with you that it’s wang’s (as well as Yankees’) job to get himself right. But I hope that you take the report from Taiwanese media as a grain of salt. From other reporters I trust more, I believe that even though wang hopes to start soon, he is either sulking nor complaining about the current situation like the report suggested. I guess the reporter probably just asked Wang “did Girardi discuss with you before he made the decision?” and Wang just answered “no” in a typical very wang-ish way. Then the reporter could go on to make up all the stories based on a “no”!!
“I think teams like the Yankees and Dodgers should not mess with their uniforms whatsoever.” You are why people hate Yankees fans!
HepSuepeBedfitilla
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