Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 26, 2009 
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With plenty of help from A-Rod, Phil Hughes dominated the Rangers yesterday. Now it’s Chien-Ming Wang who has to wait.
Brian Bruney is back on the DL. This notebook also has updates on the rehab gang in Florida.
As the injured players return, the Yankees will be making some roster moves. You have to figure this is what we’ll see soon enough:
Jorge Posada in for Kevin Cash.
Xavier Nady in for Angel Berroa
Then it gets tricky. Do you keep Francisco Cervelli around when Jose Molina comes back? Given that Nady won’t be able to play the outfield for a while, you need to keep Brett Gardner around. It might be hard to keep a third catcher.
I can’t wait for Posada to come back.
From the other thread…..
Doreen,
Exactly. Folks get swept up in hype with every prospect that comes down the pike. The fact is, EVERYONE needs time to determine what kind of player they are going to be at the major league level. Its a huge adjustment and some take years, not days, to make the adjustment.
Last night David Price got stacked a 7 run lead and couldn’t get out of the 4th inning. He was at 100 pitches into the 4th inning. His so called “nasty” stuff couldn’t hold up and Tampa blew out their bullpen trying to save the game.
Eventually, Tampa blew a 10 run lead and lost the game.
Today, they have a gassed bullpen AND the thought of knowing they blew a ten run lead.
If that happened to say, Phil Hughes and the Yankees, there would be 5,000 posts on here calling Hughes a “bust” and demanding Girardi be fired.
David Price is a very talented kid. He is FAR from being ready to assume a role in that rotation. He struggled in Durham (AAA) this year.
He’s there because Kazmir is on the DL.
Tampa has a great offense and their pitching is a mess. Unlike big market teams, they can’t go out and get people if the guys they have now are either hurt or can’t get it together.
“That’s pitching,” said A.J. Burnett, who taught Hughes his curveball grip during spring training. “It was nice to see him throwing all his pitches and using the breaking pitch when it was 2-1 or 3-2.”
Maybe AJ Burnett can learn how to pitch from Phil Hughes
The tricky thing here is that you need to keep Molina, simply because Posada should start splitting his time almost equally between catcher and DH. And you need to keep Cervelli because he is providing the same surprising result as Cano and Wang did when they were both successful call-ups a few years ago. Lets remember, we were all surprised by Cano and Wang that year.
But, because things are the way they are, the most appropriate decision will surely be to send Cervelli down with the understanding that this will be Molina’s last year and either Posada or Molina will probably go down with injury again at some point this season, thus allowing Cervelli to return.
All I know is, I’m sure I speak for most when I say I enjoy Cervelli’s fire and his catching. It will be a shame to see him go.
M, thanks for the video! I love how Phil was mad that he was taken out – he’s a very competitive kid (but it’s generally hidden under his laid back demeanor)
Typical Boston athlete. No class pos.
Talk about your sore losers!
Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon took out his frustrations on Post photographer Anthony Causi Saturday night, hurling a towel at the lensman after blowing a save opportunity against the Mets.
Papelbon had just surrendered a two-run homer to backup catcher Omir Santos — leading to a 3-2 Amazin’ victory — when Causi had the audacity to do his job and photograph the closer as he sulked in the Sox dugout in the bottom of the ninth.
Papelbon screamed, “Don’t take my f- – -ing picture,” according to Causi, before throwing his towel at him
It should be noted: Papelbon missed Causi.
“I guess he missed with two pitches that night,” Causi cracked.
Papelbon then stormed off to a corner of the dugout, hiding from the lensmen working in the first-base photographers well.
Causi contrasted Papelbon’s behavior with that of Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. The fotog recalled taking a picture of Rivera last month at Fenway Park just after the ace reliever blew a save against Boston.
“He knew I was shooting him, and he didn’t say a word,” Causi said. “A true champion realizes you got to take the good with the bad.”
Papelbon flipped out again moments later Saturday, screaming at umps over a close call at first base.
I have to admit, I was one of those people who was wondering what the heck Cashman was thinking bringing up Cervelli, but he has really proven himself in the past few weeks. They definitely need to keep him up when Molina returns, but like you said Pete, how is the real question.
I hear the Giants are looking for an impact bat. We could always try to give em Matsui… maybe for a low prospect or two…? I seriously doubt they’d give up Cain… even if we offered up to pay for Matsui’s contract…?
Interesting – I didn’t know that AJ taught Phil his new curve (but I’m not surprised – I thought this was a real possibility)
The “Rehab Gang.” Gotta love it.
Maybe Bruney wasn’t 100% forthright, but at least on two occasions he did come clean. I suppose he pitched through his tolerance level and then just realized he couldn’t do it. I feel so bad for the guy. He worked so hard to get himself in top physical condition – almost unrecognizably so from the guy who first joined the Yankees, and now this. I don’t know whether I want them to find something or nothing, to tell you the truth. Or if it’s something that it is not season-ending for him.
Well, the bullpen is going to have to really pull itself together for the time being. They’ve been better of late, so let’s hope that continues. Also the starters have been doing their part. I’m hoping AJ joins that party in his next start. And of course, hoping that tonight there are no repercussions for Joba from taking that hit on the knee last start.
Cleveland is an interesting team. Crazy win last night – and aren’t they the ones who went on an offensive spree during the first homestand at the new YS? Maybe it ISN’T the stadium, after all!
Considering how Girardi sometimes likes to DH Posada & start Molina, it would be ideal having Cervelli available as defensive replacement, allowing a pinch-hitter for Molina late in the game.
I would recommend carrying one less reliever, since there always seems to be one guy in the pen who rarely sees the light of day (Steven Jackson, Mark Melancon, etc.)
Pete (or anyone else), are there any pictures from the post-game interview yesterday with Phil Hughes and the belt slung over his shoulder? That would be a great picture to see, IMO!
I think you keep Molina and send Cervelli down.
Cervelli still needs more seasoning, especially with the bat, at the minor league level.
The good thing from the Yankees perspective is, they now know they have a young kid who could possibly be the backup catcher next year.
Let’s not totally forget what Molina brings to the table. He is a superior defensive catcher and gamecaller to both Jorge and Cervelli. He brings a lot to the table.
Sometimes, that’s forgotten when someone produces a small sample size of success. Cervelli is good, he’s not as good as Molina at this stage of their respective careers.
Posada should be the backup catcher to Cervelli.
Molina is not good. His defense this year has all been unremarkable, if not bad. We know he certainly can’t hit. He throws hard… great. That’s 10% of his job.
They can’t carry 3 catchers. Its impossible.
They carry 12 pitchers and you need all 12 in the AL.
That leaves 13 position players: Tex, Cano, Jeter, Pena, Arod, Posada, Molina, Matsui, Melky, Gardner, Damon, Swisher, Nady.
If anything, they will need another OF unless Swisher starts hitting.
A bench consisting of Nady or Matsui (whomever doesn’t DH), Gardner, Pena and Molina is very weak offensively. Plus, because of Nady and Matsui’s injury situations, they are short an everyday OF, unless Swisher picks up his game.
The priority isn’t carrying a third catcher. Its finding an everyday OF.
Sunny615, I thought you said the giants were looking for an impact bat, why would they want matsui? He only has brief fits of success when his knees are feeling healthy, and he can’t DH for the Giants, so he’d be a very expensive pinch hitter. If you wanted to trade someone, it would have to Swisher in that scenario. The Giants could use his pop, and he can play either corner OF spot or 1b (all positions that they need help in). Would it be wise for the Yankes to trade Swisher, no probably not. Nady won’t be able to play the field when he returns, so you have to play GGBG every day, I like Gardener a lot, but he’s not quite ready to be an every day player.
Speaking of draft… is there any scuttlebutt out there about who would fall to the Yankees? Any legit prospects by the time the Yankees draft?
molina’s defense is bad this year?hahahaha come on!I know he can’t hit but his defense is as good as it gets
1. Where do people gets these insane ideas of what an MLB bench looks like?
2. How is Jorge Posada so undervalued by Yankee fans? People look back at the offensive numbers before ARod came back and can’t figure it out—either that, or they praise Swisher. Newflash: a guy with a .990 OPS was on that team that isn’t on the team now.
As much as I like Cervelli, I’d rather they send him down when Molina and Posada are both back. Otherwise, he’s not going to get enough opportunity to play. He’ll be back. If not this season, well, then he knows he’s going to be given huge consideration for next season. If nothing else, they’ve forced a decision at season’s end about Molina, something that probably wasn’t an issue previously. I would be anything that extending Molina would have been a no-brainer.
However, I would be sorry to see Molina gone. He’s been a great addition to this team. He’s not a hitter, but back-up catchers rarely are. And you actually make a gain defensively when he plays.
@SJ44 Agreed. Cervelli is certainly solid and has proven that he has a future here. Going down to AAA will give him continued reps behind the plate, and he will be ready if needed next time.
Posada should back up Cervelli and Molina is not good? lol
Nice to see the non-baseball IQ folks on the blog.
I agree, SJ – Cervelli needs playing time. Also, all of a sudden people forget that before he was injured, Molina was considered about the best BUC in the game. Now he’d get Wally Pipp’d for Cervelli? Frankie has made one heck of an impression and I’m thrilled for him. I remember how he stood his ground at home plate during the collision with Tampa last spring – that showed a lot of fortitude and I’ve rooted for him since. Let him go back down and continue to work on his craft – he’ll be back again eventually.
I seem to remember Molina literally losing games with passed balls right before he got injured. He looked like he got very old all of a sudden. Couldn’t move at all. Jose benefits from the typical Backup QB Syndrome, where everyone wants to find faults with the borderline HOF player he backs up and celebrate any and all contributions he manages to make.
Well, this year you need to reserve the DH spot for Nady and Matsui, but NEXT year, i think Posada becomes the 75% of the time DH, with a few occassional starts behind the dish.
Goodness is there anyway we can get rid of Matsui and when Posoda, Molina and Nady are back the lineup can be
SS – Derek Jeter – R
LF – Johnny Damon – L
1B – Mark Teixeira – S
3B – Alex Rodriguez – R
DH – Jorge Posada – S
2B – Robinson Cano – L
CF – Melky Cabrera – S
RF – Nick Swisher – S
C – Francisco Cervelli – R
And then on the days Posada catches we can DH Nady until he is ready for the field. It is clear that Matsui has no place on this roster, he can’t play the field for defense, he can’t run, his only job is to hit and he isn’t doing that at all. What exactly is his role, to be the washed up former Japanese superstar that can’t recognize a fastball from a breaking ball. I would much rather a lineup sans Matsui, he is deadweight.
Cervelli would get more playing time in AAA than he would as Posada’s backup. Thats’ what he needs. It’d be better for him to go down when Posada & Miolina are healthy again. If he keeps playing and getting better, he’ll be back.
“Cervelli would get more playing time in AAA than he would as Posada’s backup. Thats’ what he needs. It’d be better for him to go down when Posada & Miolina are healthy again. If he keeps playing and getting better, he’ll be back.”
Its just that this team is playing so good with this kid behind the plate almost willing the pitchers to hit their spots in his glove, that going back to Posada and Molina knowing what the pitchers were doing makes me just a little queasy.
Odds are Cervelli will probably be sent back down when Posada and Molina are back, it blows bigtime to see that because the kid really is energetic behind the plate. It doesn’t seem like a chore for him to receive the pitches and then get the ball back to the mound and work on a quick tempo with the pitcher. Po and Molina will just drift back into the old ways, taking forever behind the plate, old habits die hard.
Matsui is slumping but he can still play.
Cervelli will go down when Molina and Posada are both healthy. SJ44, you say Molina’s game calling is superior to Cervelli/Posada. Yeah true but the bench is calling the game when Cervelli is catching. I’d say Tony Pena’s game calling is superior to all 3 of them!
A-Rod in a slump either at or below .250 = “The team is better off without him (insert gossip of choice) because he’s a prima donna”
Matsui in a slump either at or below .250 = “Dead weight”
Molina in a slump either at or below .250 = “Cervelli” (But if Molina were actually hitting .250 it would be a ‘hot streak’ not a slump)
Nady in a slump either at or below .250 = “Fire Cashman! Trading for Nady & Marte was stupid!”
Swisher in a slump either at or below .250 = “He’s the man, we need him starting every day” (Never mind that Swisher’s career average is somewhere in that neighborhood.)
Nothing against Swisher … just putting it all in perspective.
This is the final year of Jose Molina’s contract. If the Yankees feel Frankie Cervelli is a good backup to Jorge until Jesus Montero or Austin Romine are ready, he’s best served to spend all the time he needs at AAA for the rest of this year and be ready for 2010.
He’s made an impression which bodes well for his confidence.
ANSKY,
You left out one thing…..”(insert player flavor of the day) plays with so much passion, why take him out of the lineup. That’s the reason why they are winning”.
Forgetting of course, a guy named Arod got back into the lineup 18 games ago and they are “only” 14-4 in that time.
IIRC, Arod and Posada have barely been in the lineup at the same time this year. ‘Ya think the lineup doesn’t get deeper and more potent when Jorge comes back?
Especially important with Matsui and Swisher slumping.
LF Damon
SS Jeter
1B Teixiera
3B Rodriguez
2B Cano
DH Posada
RF Cabrera
CF Jackson
Bench: Swisher Gardner Cervelli Russo Pena
Rotation: Sabathia Burnett Wang Chamberlain Hughes
Pen: Rivera Melancon Coke Dunn Kontos (I want him in the pen or Garcia) Robertson Aceves
Matsui gone Posada could be DH alot next year. I’m guessing Damon is back for a year. Molina contract is up so Cervelli becomes the back up.
SJ – with Tex, A-Rod, Jorge all playing at the same time (even if they’re just having ‘normal’ seasons for them) plus Cano & Melky stroking it like they have been, that’s starting to look like a pretty bad-a$$ed lineup.
Of course, choosing to start a few guys who rarely hit over .250, are career backups, 4th OF’s or have less than a month’s ML experience instead is a much wiser approach.
You have no catcher in that lineup. Last I checked, can’t play the game without a catcher or someone is going to have to go to the screen and get the balls to throw back to the pitcher.
No Jackson!
I still need a little convincing that Melky’s going to stay this way and not come back to earth. But I’ll run with it while he’s on his game.
Maybe they’re saving the “C” spot for your nephew, SJ.
Posada is the catcher/DH.
Molina and Posada must be the two catchers once they are healthy, and I don’t think that they can carry 3. However, Cervelli has, IMO, gone a long way towards making the decision easy this off-season to let Molina walk.
LOL @ Pete’s report on Marte:
“Left-handed reliever Damaso Marte, who has been out since April 26 with shoulder inflammation, also is in Tampa. It is unclear when he will return this season. The Yankees seem to have little interest in his return.”
Dogu (doug I assume) – I tend to think that Molina was hurt before he went on the DL. He was definitely a little slow behind the plate and his throws didn’t have as much which would be explained by a leg injury.
The other option would be to dump Matsui and DH Posada primarily, with Damon, Nady, and Arod getting some DH time as well. The only thing is that I really don’t want to give up on Matsui just yet, I think he has at least one real hot month left in him. Also, Nady will need to DH for a while, most likely, so Posada has to catch if he is going to play.
ANSKY,
LOL. In my dreams. He’s at least 2, probably 3 years, from the majors in the right situation.
Its all fine and dandy for those who want to believe half the Yankees roster next year will consist of guys from Scranton and Trenton. Its just not realistic.
They will have to go and get a RF next year. Swisher is not going to be the starting RF next year and Nady will most likely be gone. That won’t be a guy from inside the organization.
Posada is catching next year just as Jeter will be the SS. Some folks will get themselves crazy over this but, the Yankees aren’t committing over 30 million dollars to both guys next year for them to be part-time players.
Next year will take care of itself. I’m more concerned about this evenings game.
In addition to the disaster in the 9th last night for Tampa, and Kazmir on the DL; Iwamura is out for the season with a torn ACL.
The Rays will come to regret trading Edwin Jackson, and wish they had traded Kazmir instead.
Matsui is going to turn it on again, he’s a streaky hitter, he’s not done
The Yankees aren’t “dumping” Matsui. This isn’t a video game.
They have 12 million dollars tied up in him this season, and he has been a great for business on and off the field. There isn’t a scenario you can come up with that will have the Yankees dumping Matsui in season.
They probably won’t re-sign him but, that’s an entirely diffferent deal than eating almost 8 million dollars (what is presently owed him) and letting him go in season.
Even in his slump, he has out hit Nick Swisher. How does Matsui get the short end of the stick from some of you?
I know, he doesn’t play with “fire”. That must be it.
Bob Uecker(sp?) once said without a catcher there would be a lot of passed balls!
Swisher might be the RF next year, he’s in a slump now but he’s still a good hitter.
If Melky hits like this all year he will hold on to CF. Austin Jackson could come up and play LF. I’d be a bit scared of an outfield of Swisher-Melky-Jackson.
There are simply too many question marks to try and project the outfield next year. All we know is that Swisher, Melky and Jackson will be in the mix. I’m sure the Yankees will add players, maybe keep Damon.
i say we trade Melky while he’s hot, I think we all know he most likely can’t keep up this production.. any thoughts?
Patrick,
Since June of last year, Swisher is hitting .215. That’s either a year long “slump” or he’s that kind of hitter at this stage of his career.
Everybody thinks its the same guy who was a very good player in 2006-2007. He’s not been that guy for two years.
Unless he becomes that guy again, he’s not starting in RF for the Yankees in 2010.
I’d say you keep hot hitters on your team and not deal them off. Especially when your in house replacements aren’t better.
So Wang “has to wait” for Hughes to “pitch himslf out of the Rotation”??
Don’t understand what the Yankees are going to do with Wang….sooner or later he gets a start…..I think it’ll be June 1st….not May 31st at CLEVELAND…Hughes will get that start!
When will A.J. Burnett have another Quality Start??
Just Wondering?!!
Unless his knees restrict him, Matsui can get hot at any time and be a large contributor to the team.
It’s been seen many times in his years as a Yankee.
SJ44,
I am not giving up on Matsui, and I don’t play video games. I simply stated that as an option, and then followed it by saying that I don’t want to give up on him yet. But, watching him try to hit is painful, especially the body language he shows after his at-bats lately. He has never looked defeated before, even when he was struggling mightily in early ’03-remember Groundzilla? Now he has that look like he doesn’t have any answers. I do know that he is still a professional hitter and I feel that he will have a very good hot streak in him this year. And by dumping him, I don’t mean they would eat his whole salary just to be rid of him, but they would certainly have to pay some of it.
SJ44, He was a great hitter in April. I’m not writing him off. It seems you have already made up your mind about him. I think he will end the season around .250 with a .370 OBP and around 30 HR. We’ll see how it turns out..
any kids on A or AA teams that can make a run at the 8th inning job later on this year? Could be a starter ala Joba a few years ago.
Patrick,
He was a great hitter for 2 weeks in April. Since then, he is barely batting .170.
Over the course of a calendar year, he is hitting below .220.
Anybody can have a good two weeks. We are talking about a guy that has had a bad calendar year. That’s a lot of AB’s that have been unproductive.
He only has one HR in the most HR friendly place in baseball. You don’t see that as a bad trend?
The guy has been a terrible hitter for a year. I hope he breaks out of it because the Yankees need him to be productive.
Aside from 2 1/2 weeks of this season though, he has shown no signs of doing so.
Mark,
Matsui has a full no trade clause. Because of his knees, he can’t play the OF. What kind of trade value do you think he has even if he consented to a trade?
SJ44,
Very little, hence the term dumping. Again, I don’t think he is going anywhere during the year, but definitely won’t be back next year. The fact that he is a DH only would probably keep him from being traded, since only an AL contender would have any use for him, and that’s not happening. The most likely scenario is that he splits time at DH with Nady, PH the other times, and the Yanks hope he gets hot and having two DHs on the roster doesn’t come back to hurt them. I am assuming they don’t want Nady doing much throwing for a while due to the elbow.
I am a huge Cervelli fan, but I agree that if both Posada and Molina come back healthy, Cervelli should be sent down to AAA to get a little more experience.
He’ll be back though — either Posada or Molina will come up hurt again at some point later in the season or at the end of the season a decision will need be made re: the future of behind the plate.
The most sensible thing to do would be for Posada to face facts and realize at his age he is primarily a DH. Then you cut loose Matsui, have Posada as your primary DH and Molina and Cervelli as your catchers.
SJ, I was all for trading Matsui and Nady in the off season in a salary dump to use that money to sign Manny. Obviously that wouldn’t have worked out too well for us but my idea about getting rid of Matsui was right on.
They are in the way right now as keeping Cervelli would allow us to DH Nady against lefties and PH for Molina later in the game. A DH combo of Nady and Matsui hurts us defensively. Problem now is DHing Posada is difficult with only 2 catchers especially with their injury history as you knwo we would end up having to bat the pitcher in a tight game when Molina comes up lame and Posada has to move from DH to catcher in that game.
Neither one is tradable right now so we will have to go with 2 catchers and sit Posada when he needs a rest.
sign Joe Mauer next season, let nady go to FA, put Posada as a back up catcher/ DH, and trade Matsui.
Problem solved, everyone wins.
As we saw with Texiera, hitters who look hopeless can get hot.
But do we think that Swisher can get his act together? His history would say that maybe the two good weeks was a fluke. With Tex, his history said that the slump was a fluke.
With Matsui, the jury is still out. But he is too expensive to keep as a mediocre DH. And anyway, your DH should be able to maintain a pretty good average. Isn’t that the whole point?
Matsui’s knees may just be a game-to-game proposition we have to live with.
I think the body language you’re talking about expresses Matsui’s deep pride and sense of responsibility to the Yankees. He does not accept failure easily. It kind of makes me sick inside when people say we need to “dump” him.
I probably wouldn’t consider re-signing him, because he’s not versatile enough anymore , but he can certainly help us win a championship this year, and what a great sendoff this would be for such a loyal, dignified player.
When he’s feeling better – knock on wood – he’ll stop trying to pull everything. He’s looked very frail before and then goes into a hot streak, as Mark in Tampa and Vince already mentioned.
You can all be for trading anybody you want. If a guy has a full no trade clause, its rare he waives it in his last year with a team.
That’s why trading Matsui, aside for making blog conversation, is not rooted in any logic. Whether that’s in the off-season or in season.
Nobody was taking on money in this off-season. Not with the economy in the shape its in. Its why so many free agents took such a hit.
The Yankees certainly aren’t going to eat any money, nor should they, right now.
Its not realistic to expect them to do so.
Ray,
You also wanted Manny here at any cost. How would that have worked out right now?
The last thing this team would need is yet another PED case to deal with involving one of its players.
As of today, they are in the playoffs. Given everything that has happened so far, that’s not a bad spot to be in at the present time.
“I think the body language you’re talking about expresses Matsui’s deep pride and sense of responsibility to the Yankees. He does not accept failure easily.”
I agree with you 100% on that. I have a soft spot for Matsui as much for apologizing to the team and fans for hurting his wrist as I do for his production against the sox. But, you can’t hang on to everybody forever. I don’t mean disrespect to Matsui in saying dump him, but if there are better options, sentimentality goes out the window. I don’t know that there is a better option right now, though, the best thing to do may be to keep running him out there. At least when Nady comes back, Girardi can put Matsui in against matchups that may favor him a little.
The good news is that the Matsui dilemma is just a very tiny version of what the sox are going through with Ortiz!
Damon is also 36 years old and in the last year of his contract. He’s having a great year so far but at the end of the season the front office may decide they don’t want to pay 13 Million or more a year to offer him another two or three year contract. N
SJ44
May 26th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Ray,
You also wanted Manny here at any cost. How would that have worked out right now?
The last thing this team would need is yet another PED case to deal with involving one of its players.
As of today, they are in the playoffs. Given everything that has happened so far, that’s not a bad spot to be in at the present time.
—-
I agree and obviously Manny would have been a mistake (for 50 games anyway
).
The main problem now is that we didn’t know that Nady could become a defensive liability and we will pay for that as we have a 2 headed dh that can’t play the field, at least right now. If nady can eventually throw it will give us a little more flexibility that could clear up a spot for Cervelli which allows Posada to DH more.
The only one I could see going down is Gardner if that all happens.
Sandy
May 26th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Damon is also 36 years old and in the last year of his contract. He’s having a great year so far but at the end of the season the front office may decide they don’t want to pay 13 Million or more a year to offer him another two or three year contract. N
—–
If Damon wants to continue being a Yankee next year he will be accepting a Abreu type of deal.
If the Yanks aren’t sure about Posada they may in fact keep three catchers for a while. They did last year with Moeller.
Swish hit the ball hard a couple of times yesterday. Let’s hope he’s coming out of his slump.
I also wouldn’t make decisions based on sentiment – which is why I would likely not re-sign him.
But he’s here now, and when he’s in a groove he is very valuable – especially considering how well he handles LHP. I find myself grinning when teams bring in LHRP to deal with Cano and Matsui.
The LH power option we have is Juan Miranda. Last time I checked, he was regularly pounding his nemesis – LHP. He was out for a while w/a bad back, but has since returned.
This guy is a loaded gun, especially for our stadium. If he could learn to play COF, he’d be incredibly valuable to us as a DH/OF/PH. They’re doing this with Eric Duncan – moved him from INF to LF – I don’t see why we can’t try this w/Miranda.
If you’re the Yankees, you can never have too many lefty power guys, especially ones who hit lefties. I would love to see this guy come up here at some point.
As much as I don’t like it the writing is on the wall Cervelli will be sent down when Posada/Molina plus Nady are back.
So that means we will be looking at
SS – Derek Jeter – R
LF – Johnny Damon – L
1B – Mark Teixeira – S
3B – Alex Rodriguez – R
C – Jorge Posada – S
2B – Robinson Cano – L
CF – Melky Cabrera – S
DH – Hideki Matsui – L / Xavier Nady – R
RF – Nick Swisher – S
With a bench of
OF – Gardner – R
IF – Pena – S
C – Molina – R
DH – Nady – R / Matsui – L
Its clear watching this that Cervelli will be the odd man out in order to keep the tandem of Nady/Matsui who are strictly DH materials.
YankeeRay
).
May 26th, 2009 at 10:52 am
SJ44
May 26th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Ray,
You also wanted Manny here at any cost. How would that have worked out right now?
The last thing this team would need is yet another PED case to deal with involving one of its players.
As of today, they are in the playoffs. Given everything that has happened so far, that’s not a bad spot to be in at the present time.
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I agree and obviously Manny would have been a mistake (for 50 games anyway
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I wanted Manny signed, as well. The thought of Manny hitting behind ARod…..well, just ask David Ortiz what Manny meant to his career, and ARod is on another level. You don’t even worry about the righty/righty there, lol.
It’s entirely hindsight to use his getting busted as a reason to have not signed him – unless you’re psychic. The correct argument was that we already had too many DH/OF types – albeit all of them vastly inferior to this nonpareil hitter.
And lol, Manny’s long rest will probably prolong his career and keep the Dodgers going longer. Less wear & tear on him, as being in NL doesn’t ever offer him DH reprieve from fielding. He’ll be shiny brand-new for stretch run and postseason.
listened to the game on the radio yesterday…5th inning and feinstein (sp?) was in the booth – suzyn asked him why the yanks aren’t sending wang to scranton…mark answered that wang is out of options and suzyn replied “really?”…how can she not know that??? even sterling said that no matter how bad wang has been pitching, another team would pick him up as soon as he was optioned (master of the obvious). i’m having a real tough time listening to the games lately…
The one good thing about this too many DH conundrum is that if one guy isn’t getting it done, then another guy will get his shot. Right now it would be nice to have say Nady around to give him more at bats since Matsui is playing so poorly, but we don’t and so Matsui kept getting AB’s. These things have a way of figuring themselves out when guys step forward and earn their keep.
Look at Hughes, he is making the decision tough, if he had gone out there and got lit up, they would have thrown Wang back into the rotation probably in Cleveland, but now no chance of that. As a fan competition is good, look what it made Melky do. Always nice when guys can’t rest on their laurels, not even the most accomplished veteran.
The veterans players are always going to get first dibs but if they aren’t hacking it and other guys are stepping up and helping the team, which is what matters in the end then guys need to be humble and produce when their turn comes.
MG – Sterling is by far the worst announcer in baseball. The other day he made the worst call I’ve heard in a while.
Situation was Damon on second with I believe 1 out, Teix at the plate. Teix singles to left and here’s the call:
Lined it is a base hit to left field, Damon will score, Teix to first and the throw home is…. is…. is…. IN TIME
the “is…is…is…” was when he was waiting for the ump to make the call (who was waiting to see the ball) but he called the play that Damon was going to score like it was a no brainer and then nonchalantly drops in that there was a throw home.
You can’t take Hughes out of the rotation right now. If you toss out the first Baltimore game he pitched, he’s pretty much gotten the job done. Over his last two starts he’s been very effective.
I don’t know how to deal with Wang, but I wouldn’t take Hughes out of the rotation when he is pitching as well as he is.
This narrative that Melky freaked out over Gardner in ST and magically improved his plate mechanics and discipline overnight is fanciful.
Melky made adjustments AFTER HE GOT SENT DOWN LAST YEAR. He did not suddenly panic when threatened in ST, as the story goes.
He was a different hitter when he came back up at the end of last year, through Winter Ball, Spring Training, and has maintained that discipline. Melky has some bat speed and was always a contact hitter.
Last season’s little power surge threw off his mechanics, as happens to YOUNG players. He was 23, and didn’t know how to accommodate the newfound power. He got LONG in his swing, off balance, making that stupid upper-cut swing that nearly knocked him over; that was an aberration for Melky. He is a guy who has used his lower half to hit previously.
You see now the line drives are coming out of his bat; that was predictable, considering his adjustments. He is not going to revert to that guy from 2008. He will rebound much more quickly when he dips or gets into poor habits.
Agree to Cal!
Since now Bruney is going to DL again, I think now Yanks may be looking for some aid on RP.
Any possibility trade CMW for one or two RPs? It’s not so difficult to find some teams which need SP at this moment.
To Wanger, it’s better to find somewhere he can pitch every 5 days. To Yanks, it’s good to get some quality RPs to help the poor pens.
How about this? I see that a win-win play.
Since i was 12 i’ve been listening to Sterling . .I can’t afford the MLB Package or Yes. so being from Rhode Island the only way to follow the Yanks is by listening to John.
In my mind . .He’s the BEST . I KNOW he mess’s up a call once in a while . (nobody is perfect ) But his homerun calls are the best ! . and he’s never boring !
I remember every World Series in the 90′s i’d always run upstairs and tape Johns final call of the game ! .
its my own opinion . but i enjoy John
I believe that Cervelli needs to go down when both Posada and Molina come back. He needs AB’s at this stage of his development and he won’t get them sitting on the bench in NY. He appears to have a bright future and with more seasoning together with the valuable experience he is getting now, he will be more than ready when he comes back.
Cervelli goes down when Molina and Posada are back. That’s a relative no brainer. 3 Catchers? Nah I’d rather have Cervelli get regular work in AAA and keep the extra pitcher. Its possible that he’ll stay up a little longer just to ensure that Posada and Molina are healthy. It would be pretty bad if one of them went down again.
As for Posada as the DH. I really don’t see that happening that often. I think between Matsui and Nady the DH position will be in pretty good shape. Matsui won’t continue to struggle like he has and Nady should be at least decent if he does. Given that we might as well give Jorge the full day off or save him to pinch hit for Molina late in the game.
If the Yanks dangled Wang they certainly should be able to get a major upgrade for the bullpen and possibly more. It would be a risky maneuver, but worth thinking about at least. Gotta be careful about “selling low” however.
Cold Wang, Swisher and a young arm or two get the Yanks a quality RF for the long term and a good set up man? From whom?
It’s tough to manage a roster with possibly carrying two guys (Nady/Matsui) who can’t be traded and don’t do anything but hit (if that). Still, Molina stays and Cervelli is the everyday catcher in Scranton when Jorge and Jose are healthy
I wonder if the disappearance of Abreu has helped both Melky and Cano. Bobby was a nice guy but he was not a good role model. He was a talented by somewhat lazy player and I wonder if they both tried to emulate him in his off the field habits
As much as I love Cervelli, he’s going back down to the minors when both Posada and Molina get back. I hope Posada has been watching Cervelli though because that’s the kind of energy the Yankees have been lacking for half a decade. Posada’s talent has never waned but his fire needs a little stoking. He needs to forget about those 4 rings and get real hungry for number 5 because if he doesn’t watch out Cervelli’s going to eat that lunch for him.
When Wang is ready they need to sit Andy. He is a good stop gap, but really is not the future.
“Do you keep Francisco Cervelli around when Jose Molina comes back?”
Yes, you keep Cervelli. If they keep Molina, the Yanks deserve the “old” tag they get from everyone.