Get well soon, Xavier Nady
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 27, 2009 
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You remember Nick Swisher. Funny guy, carried the team on his back in April. Xavier Nady? The Yankees are better off without him. Or so it seemed.
Yeah, not so much.
Swishalicious in May: 8 of 67 (.119) with three extra-base hits and eight RBI. He has walked 16 times and struck out 25 times. He has an OPB of .291 and a slugging percentage of .224.
Swisher was hit in the elbow by a pitch on May 1 and hasn’t been the same since. Whether that is a coincidence or not is something we plan to ask him today.
The Yankees were knock, knock, knocking on victory’s door in the seventh inning last night when he grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out. In the sixth inning, he took a called third strike with a runner on second.
Swisher is clearly a dude in dire need of a day off. Or maybe a few days off. But with Melky Cabrera likely on the shelf for a day or two with a shoulder injury, Swisher almost certainly will play today. This is where having a limited Hideki Matsui hurts what Joe Girardi can do.
Meanwhile, the wholly useless Angel Berroa remains on the roster. There still hasn’t been a reasonable explanation for that one.
Agreed, needs some time off.. His play over the past 3 weeks has been abysmal.
Amen Pete Amen.
When Nady gets back will he be able to play the field?
Ugh, just hearing the name Nick Swisher makes me cringe. Kenny Williams knew exactly why he was willing to get rid of this guy for Betemit and Marqez. This guy Swisher is the epitome of the cooler, have a rally going and he comes up it is guaranteed to be snuffed out with the cooler up.
Going over this guy’s career we shouldn’t be surprised he walks a lot, strikes out a lot, terrible contact rate and hits for a mediocre average. When Jorge is back I hope this is the lineup to bury this guy in the 9th spot and limit his AB’s with men on and killing rallies along with making him split more time with Gardner until Nady can play the field.
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
RF – Nick Swisher – S / Gardner – L
I doubt it’s the elbow.
There’s a reason the Yanks are his 3rd team in 3 years. This is what you get with him. Occasional hot streaks outweighed by horrible stretches like this.
Maybe Berroa can play OF. J/K.
It drives me nuts he’s on this roster. Just a complete waste.
Swisher is clearly in a bad slump and I’d guess even he would agree that he could use a day or two off. And I had forgotten about the pitch on May 1 – Swisher had been hot right before that and went cold right after that so there may be something to it.
I don’t think it fair to blame last night on Swish though. Yes, he hit into the double play, and struck out in the sixth, but he was far from the only Yank to have a little responsibility on him last night.
Texeira and ARod left Damon on second in the first last night – scoring the first run of the game might have changed the whole evening.
Joba messed up in the first last night after ARod had save his bacon.
In the second, Matsui struck out with Gardner on third.
Damon and Cervelli both also grounded into double plays to kill potential big innings.
Girardi inexplicably left the infield back in the seventh, down a run with runners on second and third. They scored on a ground ball to Jeter to open up the game.
Aceves and Coke didn’t exactly sparkle, either.
Swish could do better but last night was on the whole team.
any reason why john rodriguez or shelly duncan isnt up here yet?
No multi-hit games in the entire month of May, and 2 HRs. Unacceptable for a major league player making $6M this year.
Btw, he’s making $7M in 2010, $9M in 2011 and a $1M buy out for 2012. Awesome.
I hate to say it, but Swisher could have been the product of PEDs. His drop-off in production is in line with the MLB PED testing program.
how about a month off?
Swisher also hurt them defensively last night. He got in Gardner’s way on Byrd’s double or Gardner would have caught that ball.
On Salty’s tiebreking single, he got a bad jump on a very catchable ball and it fell in front of him.
At this point, Swisher is what he is as a player.
The real issue is the poor roster configuration that has him playing everyday.
They need another OF here immediately. They can DFA Berroa and bring in Linden, probably the more versatile of the 3 Scranton OF’s, to help out right now.
That puts Swish back to where he should be…..a bench player.
When Posada comes back, you DFA Cash and keep Cervelli here.
When/if Nady is ready, you take stock of where you are as a team. Perhaps you DL Matsui for a few weeks to rest his knees. Or, you DFA Linden. Or, a pitcher turns up lame.
Either way, especially with Melky now nursing a sore shoulder, they need another OF here so they don’t have to play Swisher everyday.
What surprises me most about Swisher isn’t his inconsistent bat (no surprise there), it’s his plodding speed in RF. He seems like he’s running in slow motion.
SJ44
May 27th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
On Salty’s tiebreking single, he got a bad jump on a very catchable ball and it fell in front of him.
——————————————————-
Excellent point SJ44. It was the Texas feed on Extra Innings last night and they didn’t really show many replays of it, but I kept wondering how in the world he didn’t get to that ball.
PEDs don’t increase your batting average. He might be a little TOO patient at the plate, digging himself in bad counts where he has to swing at a pitcher’s pitch. Maybe some rest, and some work with the hitting coach will do the trick.
This is an instance of Cashman playing the losing gambler doubling his bets. He had a bad, cheap player in Betemit that he could easily have just released. But that would have been an admission that his trade to get Betemit was pretty much worthless. So he takes Swisher’s contract off the White Sox hands and now faces far greater embarrassment if/when he has to DFA Swisher and the $20M he is owed.
Who else is going to take the contract? What good, really, is Swisher as a bench player? He’s a bad OF, which is not what you want in a 4th OF. His ability to play first is not that much of a plus. Other guys could fill in for a day or two in a pinch and if Tex suffered a DL injury they could call up Miranda. Swisher is a waste of a roster spot that they can’t afford for this year, let alone two more.
Red Sox Ray,
From a previous thread……
Most ML teams don’t draft for need. They basically rank the Top 200-250 players on their board and pick the best available player, regardless of need.
For teams like the Red Sox and Yankees, teams that don’t subscribe to paying the slot, they look for guys to drop because of signability issues. When they do, they snag them.
That HS OF I was talking about is also being eyed by the Yankees. I think both the Red Sox and Yankees are hoping certain guys high on their boards drop because of signability issues and they snag them.
Either way though, with very few exceptions, teams usually take the highest rated player on their board, regardless of position, when its their time to pick.
The interesting part of it is how evalautions can differ from team to team. Taking Strasburg out of the equation, because he is everybody’s #1 player, there is wide disparity with teams over how they rank the remaining guys in the draft.
That’s why the MLB Draft is such a crapshoot.
Angel Berroa is extremely important to the 2009 Yankees. He schedules the post-lunch, pre-nap bridge (Monday-Thursday) or canasta (Friday-Sunday) games, reviews all Yankee clubhouse meals for gummability and blandness, ensures that a comfy pair of slippers is placed in front of each locker in case that player wants to get the mail or shoo kids off of the field, and last but not least, is in charge of enumerating all that has changed in the world since the Roaring Twenties.
well nick gotta hit 250, hit 25 hr, 80 walks, nady more of an avg guy. get posada back please, he the key
Cashman should be fired for the way he’s constructed this bench. It’s absolutely ridiculous. It sure is easy for him to throw the Steinmoney around for FAs. But he cannot put together a 25-man to save his life. This is not a recent problem.
Berroa can’t be dropped.
The AARP will get involved and there could be an age discrimination lawsuit.
Boston had the same problem trying to get Johnny Pesky to retire. They finally named the foul pole after him.
Yanks need to sweeten the pot. Angel Berroa day is a start.
The Yankees are going to be in bad shape when Nady comes off the DL. Essentially you’re filling two roster spots with guys that can ONLY DH and/or pinch hit (Nady & Matsui).
I know Joe wants to have a deeper bench for the NL games, but one more injury in the outfield, and there’s going to be trouble…
Pete THANKS for the heads up on the Media Guide it is a perfect gift for my neice.
Yeah, with Melky hurt, Swisher not doing well at the plate and in the field, and Damon with shoulders that seem to need a day off now and then, the Yanks should try to get some OF help. Who wouldn’t mind seeing somebody replace Berroa’s spot ASAP? I mean, Berroa’s a freakin’ ghost, if they aren’t gonna play him more than once a week, get somebody who will.
I don’t have a problem with Swisher being on the team. If I’m Cashman, I’d make that deal again in a heartbeat.
However, without getting into another stathead argument, the guy isn’t an everyday player. He hasn’t been since 2007.
Offensively and defensively he has slid. Aside from looking at his numbers since 2008, watch the games.
For whatever reason, he has not played well in RF defensively so far this year.
I think part of the reason is because he plays too deep. He plays so deep sometimes that the only balls that will get over his head are doubles or HR’s.
That begs the question, why play so deep? Cut off the bloops and concede the balls over your head.
I don’t know if Swisher is just not comfortable playing in more in RF. Some guys aren’t.
Either way, balls drop in RF that shouldn’t drop.
You can live with his lack of offense if he is holding his own defensively. When he isn’t, its too much poor play to keep him in the lineup every day.
Swisher is being exposed as an everyday player
Chi Sox got rid of him because they couldn’t afford to pay a bench player almost $20 million over the next 3 years.
His best role was the “super-sub” off the bench.
Benny Blanco
May 27th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
any reason why john rodriguez or shelly duncan isnt up here yet?
===========
Neither of those players are on the 40 man roster. The Yankees would have to DFA or option other players off the 40 to make room. And considering their plight already with Wang and Swish eating roster space, they’ve no one they can use to make room.
I think pena, gardener, cervelli, molina, swisher are a more than adequate bench, our bench is the best it’s been since the 90s. It’s a little exposed now because of injuries, but I think it’s done the job (nady, posada, arod had to be replaced for long stretches).
There’s obviously a split among the commenters on Pete’s blog as to Swisher’s capabilities, some thinking he’ll come out of his slump and be the valuable player his pre-2008 numbers suggest he can be, while others think he’s the player he showed in 2008.
It’s pointless to constantly rehash it, but IMO the middle of a slump is a bad time to judge a player’s potential.
My feeling on Swisher defensively is that while he’s made some poor plays in the field this year, I’m not convinced he’s a poor fielder. He had the rep of being a pretty decent outfielder before 2008, and Ozzie thought he was good enough to try him in CF last year, so people who watched him play every day thought he was OK.
This year, I agree he has looked bad out there at times. I don’t know about last night – I’ve seen a lot of outfielders get in each other’s way, and I’m not sure about Salty’s single, I only saw it on TV and sometimes balls in front of an OF look catchable on TV when in fact they aren’t. But he is a little awkward, and that may make him look worse than he actually is – I don’t remember him not catching many balls I thought he should have caught. Plus, he may be letting his batting woes affect his fielding to some extent.
But I am dubious that Nady will be ready for the field anytime soon, so Swisher is our RF. And I do think he’ll break out of his slump.
He’s still better than Ortiz.
His defense has been terrible, at every position. Remember in Kansas City where he allowed that ball to go through his legs at 1B lead to 2 runs for Joba?
People in Spring were saying he was some great defender, he isin’t even adequate. He can’t even make routine plays.
Just because he can play different positions, doesn’t mean he is any good at them
does cervelli stay when molina comes back??
get rid of beroa,bring up an outfielder.
what about dh’ing posada,dl’ing matsui,keeping cervelli & molina as catchers.
it stinks that nady will have to dh for a while because it limits our options.
nady in rf,posada dh,cervelli & molina catching,swish on the bench sounds very interesting imo.
Just think if they hadn’t signed Teixeira. He would be the everyday firstbaseman.
Frightening thought, no?
Pete,
What minor leaguer should be sitting on the bench instead of berrora? Did the guy catch u stealing an olive off the buffet table?
This isin’t a slump… this is dating back over a calender year. He has had 2 good weeks to his credit. He was good on the opening road trip and the last couple of days of April. Since then, he has done nothing.
This is his 3rd team in 3 years. He isin’t a very good player, certainly not a starter on a good team. He can be good on the bench though
Getting a RF is right up there with bullpen help at the trade deadline
Cannot live with Swisher and his .220 hitting and shoddy OF play
At least the Yankees got Teixeira, think if Swisher was the firstbase player full time, as compared to having Teixeira there.
Swisher has his place, but being exposed by playing all the time is what is hurting him.
Swish needs to stop looking up for his grandparents and start looking at the ball when it’s pitched!
I don’t think the Yanks are going to pay Posada 16 mil to sit (if Matsui is DH’ing that day) while Cervelli or Molina catch. Posada, when he returns, is giong to be the everyday (almost) catcher. Cervelli will more than likely be optioned to AAA Scranton.
“and Ozzie thought he was good enough to try him in CF last year”
It was more true that Ozzie’s alternatives for center were such brutal hitters, he had no choice. In the end, he went with one of the brutal hitters anyway because Swisher was not very good in center and was only a marginally less brutal hitter with pop himself.
Sure, in Oakland he can just blend in and nobody will notice his slumps.
Not in NY. He had a chance to claim the RF job as his, and he failed. Now Cashman has to go out and shop for a RF bat because he can’t trust Swisher as an everyday player. Again, this is dating back to last year too.
The problem is, his “slump” has lasted since last June.
Since last June, he’s hitting .215. With the exception of a few weeks in April, he has not been a productive hitter since 2007.
The other problem facing the Yankees is that, they don’t really have the luxury of being able to wait much longer to see if he will snap out of it.
At some point, you have to get at least average productivity, both offensively and defensively, in RF.
If he can provide it, terrific.
If he can’t, they will have to find somebody who can.
No question they will have a dilemma with both Matsui and Nady being unable to play the OF due to their injuries.
It may mean they will have to go with Gardner in CF and Melky in RF. It may mean they will have to DFA Berroa and give Linden, JRod or Duncan a shot. Or, it may mean they have to go outside the organization to get a RF.
Right now, even Swisher’s biggest supporters have to concede he isn’t even an average everyday player right now.
Damon and Cervelli both also grounded into double plays to kill potential big innings.
*******
When Damon grounds into a dp you know it is bad.
JB May 27th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Swish needs to stop looking up for his grandparents and start looking at the ball when it’s pitched!
*****************
Grow up.
Swisher gave them more production in one month than Betemit did his whole time here
jennifer
May 27th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Damon and Cervelli both also grounded into double plays to kill potential big innings.
*******
When Damon grounds into a dp you know it is bad.
—
And so did Tex that cost us a win Sunday
is it stupid to try & bring up ajax to play cf or rf with melky playing the other???
send gardner,beroa down,swish on the bench.
dl matsui.if we get lucky maybe we only have to worry about trading for bullpen help at the deadline.
i know it might be a little to early for ajax & they are working on shortening his swing to cut down on so.
Damon has only ground into 77 dp
jeter 199
Swish needs to sit. He sat in the beginning of the season and when he had his chance he grabbed it and took advantage. Give him time to recharge, regroup. Maybe work on his hitting with Kevin Long. Of course nothing can happen until Melky gets better. Who thought Swish would at least get a sac fly last night after the groundout rbi on Monday? I did.
Doreen,
Thanks for that tidbit about Cash possibly playing 3rd. With a less than peachy Jorge and Molina, I do like having that third catcher. Much better use of a roster spot than Angel.
pat,
I loved your list of positives. I’m going to start taking note of those, too, to add to yours. You are going to continue to do that, right? *pat’s perspective (c)*
“Swish needs to stop looking up for his grandparents and start looking at the ball when it’s pitched!”
That’s classy.
What about calling up AJAX? The kid hasn’t gone below .360 BA all year.
The team to watch is Colorado. The Yankees could solve some problems by looking at the Rockies roster.
Huston Street is a free agent at the end of the year. He’s only 25 years old.
RAB had a very interesting story about looking into getting Street. I thought it made a lot of sense.
Colorado can get a young arm (they have no pitching in the organization) in return and the Yankees get a guy that can pitch the 8th inning and close when Mo is not available.
The Rockies get something for him rather than losing him for nothing.
Perhaps Matt Murton can be a throw in guy in the deal. That would give them a decent OF off the bench, who is a good defensive player.
Or, if they want to bump up the deal (give up more prospects), they could try and get Carlos Gonzalez. His lefty bat would be excellent in the new stadium and he’s only 24 years old.
Just a couple of options to throw on the table.
Wow. Harsh words all around. You know what that means! Swish is going to have a great night.
Actually, Swisher is looking at the bottom of the scoreboard. But he is thinking about them. And when he hits a homerun, it’s a great story.
Another team to look at is Cleveland. We might be able to get Choo & Pavano.
I’d take Brad Hawpe off the Rox hands…
Austin Jackson is not ready yet. Don’t look at AAA stats. Look at how he is getting his hits and how many K’s he has.
He’s still developing. There is no need to call him up when they have 3 OF’s with ML experience on that team.
With the way the roster is currently configured, its impossible to sit Swisher tonight. Melky is hurt and Matsui can’t play the OF.
They have an off day tomorrow. Swish will be in the lineup tonight because I doubt Melky will be able to play.
They do need though to get an OF here by the weekend. Especially if Melky is unavailable.
Its unfair to the manager to continue to short him on available bench players. The roster, more than the bullpen, has hurt the Yankees this season.
They have to fix it sooner rather than later.
“Right now, even Swisher’s biggest supporters have to concede he isn’t even an average everyday player right now.”
This reminds me of a story.
I had a dog once, a pretty good dog, had a lot of great qualities but she was a dominant dog and sometimes when I took her to the dog run she would take a dislike to a particular dog – usually another dominant dog – and she would go over to that dog and a ruckus would ensue.
Well, I’d take my dog away over to another part of the dog run, throw the ball and try to take her mind off that other dog, but pretty soon her head would start turning, she’d spy that other dog, her ears would perk up and off she’d go after that other dog. She just couldn’t get that other dog out of her head. There wouldn’t be anything for it but to take my dog back home.
SJ44, no offense but you kinda remind me of that dog I had. No matter what, you’re going to come back around and insist on having the last word about Swisher as a bench player. Well, we’ve all expressed our views and I just don’t see any point in arguing about it any more.
When Nady shows he can play in the field will be time to worry about it again.
Nobody mentions Austin Jackson. He’s hitting at a .358 clip and is supposed to be a good fielder and baserunner. Any chance the Yankees make a bold move and give him a shot?
and to think Swish was the original plan for first base…good thing we got Tex at the last minute
People need to stop with the “bring up Shelley Duncan” campaign. All you’re getting is the right handed version of Nick Swisher. A poor to less than adequate defensive outfielder, who can mistakenly run into a home run on occassion, but, is more likely to strike out. He’s 30 years old, and slow, but, hey, he’s a fun guy in the clubhouse and dugout.
Rodriguez is a better fielder, but, not that much better. His bat is more consistant, but, that’s not saying much when you’re comparing him to Swisher and Duncan.
The other is Todd Linden, who is the superior defensive outfielder of the three. He has the speed and glove to play all three outfield spots well. It’s his bat that has kept him as a career minor leaguer. He will have his strikeouts, too, but, not as much power. I doubt that he’s going to hit .330 in the majors. A .250 average is about what you can expect. If an outfield decision had to be made, I’d rather bring in Colin Curtis. He’s a AA player, but, he knows the strike zone, plays a good defense, and, he can hit.
No way in Hell do they need to bring in Austin Jackson. Breaking ball pitchers will eat him alive. It’ll take about a week for pitchers to discover that throwing him fastballs is suicide.
What’s scary about Swisher is that before we got Tex, they were planning on using him as the main 1B. Can you imagine what that would have been like? Thank God we got Tex.
I’m a big Swisher fan, but would agree he needs a day off. However, I think we are being a little too hard on him. He has been fine in the field and big when we needed him last month. I think we need to remember that according to a lot of players, he has given the clubhouse a new vibe and has really changed the energy. They’re visibly having more fun together, and it’s not just because they are winning (although clearly that helps). I think that’s worthy of a position. I think he’ll hit better with a little time off.
I will say one thing, if Swisher winds up on the pine he has nothing to b!tch about except his own atrocious level of play, he was running his yap when Nady was healthy about he doesn’t know how he will handle the bench, now he has gotten more playing time than you can shake a stick at and instead he is still living off of his performance in early to mid April. I mean his numbers since his hot stretch has been the stuff of MLB bums.
“Nobody mentions Austin Jackson. He’s hitting at a .358 clip and is supposed to be a good fielder and baserunner. Any chance the Yankees make a bold move and give him a shot?”
You are clearly new to this blog. We discuss AJ all the time. The prevailing thought is that it is too soon to bring him up. He may get the call when the roster expands later in the year, but I doubt they plan on bringing him up anytime soon.
“And so did Tex that cost us a win Sunday”
True but Girardi was a factor there too. 3-2 with a sinker ball pitcher you start to runners to stay out the DP.
Wave,
If you don’t like the posts, don’t respond to them. I’m not the only person in here today discussing Swisher’s merits as a player.
You also aren’t the person who decides the topics to discuss in here on a day to day basis.
Its doubtful Nady will be able to play the OF at all this year.
If that’s the case, do you really think the Yankees will just throw up their hands and say, “We have to play Swisher no matter what”? I don’t.
I couldn’t give you a date as to when they will remove him from the lineup. I will say that if he continues to hit some 80 points south of the Mendoza Line for another month, regardless of Nady’s status, they will make a move to find another RF.
I can’t wait for the trade market to heat up. I think this team will have a slightly different look by July/August.
A guy like Rodriguez of Linden needs to get called up ASAP – is Cashman confident enough in Alex’s health to DFA Berroa? This roster still needs some more versatility… especially in the OF and BP.
“Meanwhile, the wholly useless Angel Berroa remains on the roster. There still hasn’t been a reasonable explanation for that one.”
Didn’t Girardi say that they are keeping Berroa around until they make sure that Alex can play in the field on a regular basis? Looks to me like Alex is fine in the field. Send Berroa to the retirement home.
what a mess we will have when nady,posada,molina come back in addition to getting another of wether it be the minors or a trade.
nady & mats can’t play the of & we lose cervelli when molina comes back wich probably isn’t a bad thing but i like cervelli.
what about trading molina for an outfielder or bullpen & keeping cervelli.
bold i know but out of the question ???
This is now 2 games in 1 week that we gave away, we should of been in first place… using aceves in the 11-0 game was a big mistake and it came back to bite us… and now that melky is hurt swisher stayes in the lineup waghhh…
The Rockies would be a good match for the Yankees, agreed. The key is to make sure that the Yankees aren’t just salary dumped on by them and wind up with an inferior player, because I’m sure they would prefer to move a “higher-profile” guy who makes more money like Hawpe or Atkins before they moved any of their younger OF types. I remember seeing something that linked both NY teams to being interested in Atkins (who is having a terrible year), with the Mets looking at him at 1st and the Yankees presumably thinking he would be a full-time DH if Matsui was done and Nady couldn’t come back. I personally hope they avoid him like the plague. Any of the other names SJ threw around are interesting. I don’t know if any of them are ready to make an impact on a pennant race, though.
Mark DeRosa for RF?
Mark DeRosa for RF?
Looks like hughes is a texas killer and texas is a joba killer…
“Sure, in Oakland he can just blend in and nobody will notice his slumps.”
Well I wouldn’t say no one would have noticed. Swisher was well-documented as the object of Billy Beane’s obsession in Moneyball.
Wasn’t Matsui supposed to start playing the outfield in June? Whatever happened to that?
“and to think Swish was the original plan for first base…good thing we got Tex at the last minute”
Good lord, not to mention he was our cleanup hitter for many a nights in April, good thing we rode that hot streak while it lasted, he was even hitting clean up in some of the games in both of the Boston series and was less than impressive, no surprise. I shudder to think if Tex was not here and he was our everyday 1B from the get go. Hey no wonder he has to be the jokester, distract people from your awful performance where it matters, on the field.
I agree Angel is a waste of space. Send him down, bring someone else up. When Jorge comes back dfa Cash.
right on the money with this post. sj44′s comments are also dead on, as usual.
they need burnett to step up tonight. win the series and go into the off day thinking about how to best handle the OF and wang.
as much as i’ve derided wang here, i do think the organization has handled this very poorly, forced hand or not. if he’s going to get right, he needs to be working every five days.
If wang didnt pitch yesterday when will he pitch???
TIDROW
I wouldn’t be holding your breath on that one. I highly doubt we’ll see him out there at all.
They never should have brought Wang back. He wasn’t ready. When ever he has pitched in a game he has looked bad. Now how can they dl him? What injury will they make up to get rid of him?
There had to be someone down in the minors to bring up as a stop gap. Poor decision by Cash.
If you watch matsui run the bases, there is no way he will be in the OF by June. If they do it will be a mess, and he will probably end up hurt again.
“Wasn’t Matsui supposed to start playing the outfield in June? Whatever happened to that?”
That has two names:
Best Case Scenario
An Attempt to Maintain Leverage in the Trade Market
IMO, the only way Matsui picks up a glove this year is if 2 (or 3) OF go down in the same game. Wouldn’t surprise me to see Pena play a few innings in the OF before Matsui.
AJ needs to step up tonight big time and i think he will.
Time For #27,
Do you think that Nolan Ryan was looking at Hughes and imagining him in a Texas uni with a blue cap?
I really hope Hughes has arrived. I love him, but I need to see it a few more times because he’s teased us so many times.
But if Hughes can reach his potential with the Yankees, it’ll be great because the Yankees will be vindicated for keeping him off the table.
“If you watch matsui run the bases, there is no way he will be in the OF by June. If they do it will be a mess, and he will probably end up hurt again.”
LOL, are we that desperate for Matsui in the OF, he should probably be kept from there like the plague, if we think Swisher looks like he is moving with Cement blocks in the OF, imagine Matsui with two bum knees. These guys make Sheffield look like a gold glover.
vin- No team in their right mind would ever trade for Matsui. He can’t dh every day. What value does he have?
wang is what really concerns me.
he isn’t pitching that much at all.
he has to pitch somewhere consistently.
how did we get into this mess???
we win tonight & we win another series.that is the main thing.
burnett needs to step up.
“Mark DeRosa for RF?”
The problem with DeRosa is that at least 5 teams have an interest in him, maybe even more than that. Our package to get him would have to be pretty good and far and away better than everyone elses.
The Cubs have to be shooting themselves for making that trade with CLE. Dumb, dumb move.
Kevin Cash is garbage. Do whatever to get rid of him.
At this point, Cervelli is just as good as Molina both offensively and defensively but he is much younger, faster and has only an upside. Molina is on the downside of his career. Keep Cervelli up here and trade Molina.
Get rid of Swisher however you can. Gardner needs to play everyday.
And to think that many on this blog wanted to have Swisher as the everyday Centerfielder.
M I sure hope that hughes has arrived, maybe he will be for us like lester was last year for boston.
I wouldn’t say Swisher has to be a “bench player” but for now, he’s a guy that needs someone to split time with.
As for Berroa, what I don’t get is he’s there in case Arod gets hurt. Except, if he does get hurt again, Berroa still isn’t the answer at 3B or the bench.
For now, the answer is DFA Berroa, add Linden, split time with Gardner, Swisher, and Linden in OF.
My hope is they target a RF in June/July.
Anyway you cut it, Nady and Matsui are gone next year, so there is a need for a RF and/or DH going forward.
i just got a mental picture of matsui playing the of.
i can’t stop laughing.
read in the paper this AM that Matsui was taking some fielding in the OF yesterday with the longshot hope that he can play OF when they do interleague in NL parks.
I will believe it when I see it.
What the heck happened to Swish?
“AJ needs to step up tonight big time and i think he will.”
When it comes to Burnett I make no guarantees. That guy is beyond an enigma, His performance has been mediocre with a sprinkle of decent to good starts mixed in ala the first two games of the year. The fact that he hasn’t won in over a month is very strange for a top of the rotation pitcher. If he doesn’t step up tonight vs a rookie for Texas and pitch the Yankees to victory, I don’t know when he will put together a string of solid, consistent outings to go along with Sabathia.
“vin- No team in their right mind would ever trade for Matsui. He can’t dh every day. What value does he have?”
LOL – you misconstrued my point. I see how that could happen. I didn’t mean Cash could trade Matsui (I’ve never been a part of that idiotic bandwagon)… I was implying that if Cash goes looking for an OF and has given the impression that Matsui could play the OF for NYY, then the Yanks won’t seem as desparate. Obviously, with the way he’s running, I couldn’t imagine another GM thinking that Matsui could play the field.
“And to think that many on this blog wanted to have Swisher as the everyday Centerfielder.”
I will admit at first I was one of those idiots, boy was I ever wrong, that would have been scary to watch. I seriously underestimated how poor a player he really is. I thought he just had a bad season in Chicago, but alas that was no bad season, it was his game.
If Gardner and Melky have good seasons this year and Jackson shows in his time in the minors and maybe a September callup to the majors he’s ready to play in the bigs any chance these three guys could be the Yankee staring outfield for 2010? I’d love to see it. And if so who would play center?
Here comes the “Francesa Thread”
“If wang didnt pitch yesterday when will he pitch???”
Girardi said tonight.
I have no idea why Berroa is still on the bench.He can’t bat, run,or field. A guy like a Shelly Duncan or John Rodrigues would be much more useful.
Dave eiland said that aj is very close to being dominant for some reason i believe him.
We’re a game out of first near the end of May.
A-Rod’s back, and beginning to look like himself at the plate again.
Tex is starting to warm up too.
His D is 1,000 times better than whatever played 1B last year too.
Starters are getting their acts together.
Just in time because the bullpen’s in bad shape.
There are injuries to some guys, some guys have had struggles.
We have yet to see A-Rod, Tex and Posada playing at the same time.
But remember we’re only a game out of first.
There are 110+ games to go.
The season’s looking good.
If some of the problems get resolved – not even all of them – NY will win the East.
Time,
Speaking of Lester, anyone have a clue as to what’s up with him this season? Strange, we don’t hear Gammons mentioning his name at all.
Oh! Someone mentioned Keith Law earlier and it was driving me crazy because he said something last night when he was on with Jason Smith.
Thinking of Gammons brought it back. Jason Smith was asking about Ortiz. Saying there’s all kinds of theories, he’s old, it’s the wrist, steroids.
But Keith Law said something very interesting. He said that with older “athletes” like Ortiz who aren’t very athletic and don’t play a position (read: fat) when they go down, the decline is very fast. They literally just lose it. I thought that was a great possible explanation (I still think it’s PED related), but Ortiz is old, out of shape, has a lingering wrist issue, but the main thing is he’s lost bat speed IMO.
“Here comes the “Francesa Thread” ”
Not for me. I’m not listening to him today. I usually get a chuckle out of his crazy rantings, but after how poorly Joba pitched last night, Francessa will be unbearable today.
i live in miami so i’m not sure of this – but swish seems like a party boy – can anyone in the ny area (or anywhere else)confirm or deny this? if he’s burning the candle on both ends (like cano and melky have in past years)maybe he needs to spend some quality time at home at 2 and 3 in the morning instead of getting his grey goose on at that time…
ha ha Francessa killing Burnett
“he came here to win games, not run to the bakery”
LOL
“If Gardner and Melky have good seasons this year and Jackson shows in his time in the minors and maybe a September callup to the majors he’s ready to play in the bigs any chance these three guys could be the Yankee staring outfield for 2010? I’d love to see it. And if so who would play center?”
Garnder’s speed and glove will keep him in center. Melky’s arm will be perfect for right field. Jackson in left. But these are big ifs.
I agree. John Rodriguez or Duncan should be up here at some point, preferably after Thursday (as I am going to see them in a AAA game). They both have been tearing up the minor leagues.
Francessa is right. Put up or shut up time for Burnett.
Hr has an ERA over 7 since he won his last game. Time to step up.
Last year AJ was 3-4 with 4.94 era, after 9 starts.
steve May 27th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
ha ha Francessa killing Burnett
“he came here to win games, not run to the bakery”
LOL
——-
I cracked up when I heard him say that too. He is really killing A.J., and rightfully so.
“Not for me. I’m not listening to him today. I usually get a chuckle out of his crazy rantings, but after how poorly Joba pitched last night, Francessa will be unbearable today.”
You know reading the papers today about Joba, Francesa is warmed up and ready to make his case for Joba to the pen.
vin – Oh lol. Although I don’t think any GM would buy Matsui playing the outfield. They only need to watch him running the bases.
And lord help us if we see Matsui in the outfield. As bad as Swish has been out there I’d take him in a heart beat over Matsui.
Cal- and now Sweeny is on the bandwagon.
“But Keith Law said something very interesting. He said that with older “athletes” like Ortiz who aren’t very athletic and don’t play a position (read: fat) when they go down, the decline is very fast. They literally just lose it. I thought that was a great possible explanation (I still think it’s PED related), but Ortiz is old, out of shape, has a lingering wrist issue, but the main thing is he’s lost bat speed IMO.”
He’s younger than Derek Jeter.
William Buckner,
But wouldn’t Pena be able to cover for A-rod if he got hurt?
Berroa is so far down the bench, he’s literally the last guy off of it.
Without Nady & Matsui in the field we literally only have 3 OF, that needs to be fixed.
Matsui’s knees are shot, and I wouldn’t risk Nady’s career by forcing him into the field.
Here we go again, Jobber in the bullpen. He says he has gained more “converts” on this notion.
M,
What do you mean, he’s old? He’s only 33…
God if I could mess him up I would. If I could mess up Francesa I would.
“ha ha Francessa killing Burnett
“he came here to win games, not run to the bakery”
LOL”
ROFL, Doesn’t Burnett know that is Francessa’s job, don’t want anyone else getting hold of his cream cakes. In all seriousness Burnett does need to put up or shut up. A solid 7 inning, 2 run effort tonight, nothing less.
How in the world hasn’t Cash DFA’d Berroa to bring up J-Rod/Duncan/Linden. I could care less which one gets brought up but one needs to to start right feild to give Swish a break. So what Posada and Nady are coming back. Neither can play RF.. They need another outfielder (not dh) wayyyy more than they need a back-up back-up infielder.
Fat waste of air.
if joba goes to the pen….90 percent of this blog will jump off a cliff.
I think Matsui is gone after this season, and depending on how Nady comes through this procedure the Yankees might just resign him.
Who gives a what francessa says??? he thinks he ownes new york… get lost or maybe get a job on XM…
“Here we go again, Jobber in the bullpen. He says he has gained more “converts” on this notion.”
——————–
If Joba has a good start the next time out Mike will start off his show with “And that is why Joba needs to start”.
Hey – AJ deserves all the bashing he gets. He needs to step up. He is the weak link on the staff. Can’t blame Francessa for getting on him
Christina I was just about to post about that lol. Mike really wants to see Joba back in the bullpen. He also said about Tomko starting. Utter nonsense yet again being said yet again.
Not listening to Mike today.
Berroa needs to go. We’ve been talking about this since A-Rod came back. What are they waiting for?
Maybe he’ll be gone when Posada is ready and they will have 3 cathers for a while. I think Posada should only catch every other day anyhow.
If Melky is not ready to play come Friday, they need to get another outfielder up from AAA. Swish should be a part time player, not an every day starter; it’s hurting the team now.
What are they going to do with both Nady and Sui both on the team? At least one needs to be able to play in the field or that is not going to work.
This roster is not making it easy for any in game moves. Something has to give!
At least Little G is coming around…
He makes a good point about Aceves, though we have all made the same comment.
“If Joba has a good start the next time out Mike will start off his show with ‘And that is why Joba needs to start’.”
Mike will never concede.
It’s no wonder that Michael Kay’s show is getting more popular now in NY. Mike must think that what he says goes and if you disagree with him then you have no knowledge of the game.
mike, Joba doesnt “rule” anything…lol
Ace and Vin,
I don’t believe that’s his real age.
But anyway, K-Law did mention players approaching their mid-30′s.
Now, granted, he’s talking about guys who don’t play the field and are basically out of shape. We’re not talking about the A-rods and Jeters who work hard to stay in ball shape.
It does look pretty bad when the guy is running around with pies when he has a 5.32 ERA with a 7.00 ERA.
Hey, if you want to be a goofball. That’s fine. That’s good. But you are getting paid $82 million to be a 1-2 punch along with CC. Step up, we need you.
“…but Ortiz is old, out of shape, has a lingering wrist issue, but the main thing is he’s lost bat speed IMO.”
I wish I were as “old” as Ortiz. He is 33. He is in about the same shape as he always has been since donning the RS uniform.
Having that quick a fall off isn’t normal for a 33 year old. When you hear the excuses being made about his conditioning and lingering wrist issue, that is going out of the way to explain the big drop off while avoiding steroids and other PEDs.
what radio station is kays radio station and what time does he come on the air
Mike is pretty funny today actually
His Burnett to the bakery rants are priceless.
“He says he has gained more “converts” on this notion.”
who are his converts Sweeny “Little Birdie” Murti…..come on nothing like 5 hours of Joba to the Pen garbage……
Trevor – I have no idea why you wouldn’t want to listen to Mike. I mean it makes perfect sense what he’s saying. Instead of grooming a 23 year old potential ace to be just that, we start Tomko, get down by 5,6,7 runs by the 5th and then turn it over to Veras. This would do wonders to bridge the gap to Mo!!
Listen you fat piece of crap b/c I know you read this blog too, your going to die one day and Joba still won’t be in the pen.
“what radio station is kays radio station and what time does he come on the air”
1050AM ESPN Radio. It’s from 2-7.
How about Cashman be creative for a change and go out and get some bullpen help, that doesn’t involve moving Joba back to the pen?
Unless he thinks Vera$, Tomko, Phil “Proctor” Coke, and Aceves are the answers…..
Mike is right.
what radio station is kays radio station and what time does he come on the air
1050 ESPN 2 o’clock
thanks ace
Mike – “every day we get 1 step closer to reality which is Joba to the pen”
Is he far off?
Ortiz is Mo Vaughn 2.0.
I was new to Boston in ’95 when Canseco and Vaughn were the talk of the town. I was invited to an event where both were present. I walked by them in the hallway, Canseco looked 11 feet tall, but Vaughn came up to mid-chest. Vaughn was wider across than he was tall – reminded me a bit of good old Anthony Mason.
Anyway, when Vaughn declined he declined. Ortiz is probably very similar, including the Puerto Rican Protein shakes.
By the way, 110 games to go and we are in the playoffs. Not all looks good on the team with injuries and underperformance, but not all that bad.
By the way II, who will take .260, 2 hrs, 20 rbi, a bunch of stolen bases from GGBG. Not horrible. He has been hitting the ball better lately.
Mike wants
CC
WANG
BURNETT
PETTITE
HUGHES…
IMHO, thats still a very good starting five.
JoeT- exactly.
We need to move Jobber to the pen to be the heir apparent to Riverer and keep Yuuuse in the rotation.
And I love the Red Sox. Lestah, Pedroier, Mastahson etc. Great young playahs
I hate to tell you this Seaside, but Cashman and creatvity have never been a strong point.
I think Francessa is more concerned about being proven right than he is about doing what’s best for this team. The guys’ ego is out of control. On a side note; wasn’t Cervelli a shortstop at one time? He seems to be athletic enough to maybe play 1st base so as to make himself more versatile and heighten his chances of sticking with the team after Posada and Molina return.
Benny, but you have to look long-term for the Yankees and Joba’s career. If you put him back in the pen this year, you are basically either keeping him there long-term or starting this process out all over again for 2010. He will never reach his innings at this rate.
“Is he far off?”
Mile and miles away. no one in the Yankees brass has signaled or hinted at Joba going to the BP, no one, not the manager, not the owner, not the GM, not the scouts…so who’s going to force thier hands a fat tub of grease w/ headphones ?
Has anyone ever figured out why Francessa adds “R” to anything that ends in the letter “A”?
And everything that ends in “R” is turned into an “A”?
Benny what do you do next year when Pettitte is gone?
Wow… this Holland kid sounds nasty
This may be a long night for the offense.
“I think Francessa is more concerned about being proven right than he is about doing what’s best for this team.”
I disagree. While I dont agree with everything mike says, he does have some strong points.
Come playoff time, joba wont be pitching in the rotation anyway.
“Mike – “every day we get 1 step closer to reality which is Joba to the pen””
He so bad wants to be the guy to say i told you so….
“Goose was right…He is born to be a relief pitch not a starter….yes he has 4 pitch’s but he is a 5 inning pitcher and that does nothing on this team… Bronson Arryo is at least a 6 inning pitcher…..”
If Joba truly loved the fans he would have pitched 8 scoreless last night.
Swisher’s whole act is great when he is hitting .360 but when you hit .230, the nonsense gets old in a hurry.
“They give them a changeup before they come to the majors now”
I guess Yuuuse didn’t get the memo (either did Burnett after 10 years).
Much Ado,
I’m sure PEDs are in the weapons cabinet of many of these guys, but the most lethal weapon lost to Ortiz is Manny Ramirez.
No way to replace that kind of protection.
Just one question on Joba reaching his innings. How is he going to meet his innings target by pitching 4-6 innings each start with most of them being on the low end this year so far? I really don’t understand on how these teams baby their players in the majors more than they did in the past. I would rather see these players being developed in the minors and then brought up when ready.
Tidrow – most catchers were middle infielders at one point. Jose Molina was I believe a 2nd baseman. Sure handed middle infielders with no range = catchers.
Let me make that 20 year old sure handed infielders with no range = catchers to avoid a “Jeter behind the plate” movement
If for some reason you are going to remove Joba from the rotation at this point in his development, you send him to Scranton, or you trade him. He would start on 29 other teams. It is not about this year. It is about the next 15. You don’t stunt his growth as a Starter, cause your bullpen sucks.
“Huston Street is a free agent at the end of the year. He’s only 25 years old.”
Don’t think he’s a gree agent til after the 2010. This is only his 5th season in the bigs.
Francesca is an idiot….. Yes, putting whipped cream in a pie is definitely something that’s distracting him. Franny has a stick up his but – what a miserable person he must be to be around. The team loves it, period – it makes them happier (as does the belt thing). After the Phillies game, AJ was dejected and he wasn’t planning on doing his pie routine. Guess who egged him on? It was Mo……Mike gave his opinion (and, by the way, he said a week or so ago that he had no problem with it) and that’s all it is. I don’t think AJ or the Yankees will be listening to him.
Free agent
I guess Mike didn’t see the game in Fenway last year?? or this year after the first inning against the Sox in YS??
all this swisher talk is great but be real. they are 2nd in baseball in runs scored with swisher in the lineup almost everyday.
humm seems to me the pen is the problem. let’s look at the last 2 losses.. philly sunday, tomko on the 11th and last night tie game in the 6th or 7th I forget and the pen gives up 3 runs.. I am against moving joba to the pen but what the heck are they doing with Wang???
the berroa on the roster and tomko on the roster make absolutely no sense. they are both old, not improving, and not trusted. why not bring up melancon and pitch him, see what he has also why not bring up a OF they have 3 or 4 vet outfielders who have occasional power and can do some things..
linden, rodriguez, or duncan can run into a pitch on occasion and can pinch hit for the cather or be a late inning replacement on occasion..
the berroa and tomko places on the roster are moronic…
they need to figure out what to do with wang and if they cannot get any relief consistency they need to think about moving joba. the reason i even say that is i read joba has gone 6 innings or more in 1 of his 9 starts, last night 4 innings, he is making it painful on the yanks.. his 1st inning bs is getting old and his variability in velocity is also confusing……..
And here come the droves of 60 yr old fans who call up to agree with Mike……
The only person can keep Joba from the rotation is himself.
Solve the first inning issues and be more economical and he’ll be a front of the rotation guy for years to come.
If he can’t solve those in the next year or so, he may end up like Papelbon.
Ortiz is going through what DelGado went through when he had surgery on his wrist. Didn’t it take him a good year and a half to return to form?
in regards to Matsui in the field, I believe it was in Pete’s notebook that he will begin practicing in the outfield shortly to get ready for inter-league play…yankees have (i think) a 9 game road stretch where they have to play by NL rules…this whole no DH in the NL thing really needs to go.
SJ, one thing I am puzzled at. What does it mean when Eiland says that AJ’s shoulder is flying open and that it means he’s lazy and unfocused? I find it hard to believe that AJ or any pitcher wouldn’t be concentrating as hard as he can on the mound…He’s trying hard, he’s just not doing as well as he can (AJ looked totally different in ST and his first few starts). Thanks!
I have no idea what Francesa is saying, because when I turned it on, he melodramatically enunciated “Joba…in…the…pen.” at which point, I immediately turned him off.
rmel
Did he really say that? or are you joking?
Coach- well said. People fail to see it isn’t only about this year it is about the next 10. If you put him in the pen, you can forget about him ever starting.
Mike never said he had a problem with AJ pieing guys. Infact he said today it was fine
But if he wants to do it, he needs to start stepping up when we need him to on the mound. Ultimately, that is what he gets paid to do.
Francesca sounds like a cult leader – he’s winning converts, lol.
Mike is rooting for Joba to go to the ‘pen because it is in his best interest.
If Joba goes to the ‘pen he will claim it as his doing. He is rooting for Joba to fail as a starter.
F’ him.
I never understood why the Yankees put an “innings limit” on Joba. Shouldn’t it be a pitch limit for the season? I mean one start he can go 7 innings and throw 90 pitches, but another start he goes 4 innings and throws 100. Shouldn’t they have a season long limit on the number of pitches they let him throw as opposed to his innings?
Why isn’t mike talking about the wonderfull mets??? he always talks about the yankees in the 3 o’clock hour… oh… they lost yesterday and “joba was bad”… I HATE YOU MIKE!!!
Goosage isn’t a scout…are these the people in the Yankees brass chirping to Fatcessa ? Goosage means nothing to our scouting program… WTH is he talking about t-shirts now ! god is he a waste of space.
“We’re not talking about the A-rods and Jeters who work hard to stay in ball shape.”
I do agree with Law’s assessment. However, the PED use and wrist injury are also to blame.
From a statistical standpoint, my opinion is that the PEDs transformed him from a guy with a .830 OPS (quite good) to a .900 (very good). That’s kind of like going from Ben Broussard numbers to Matt Holliday’s.
Manny Ramirez hitting behind him and the dimensions of Fenway pushed him to become a 1.000 OPS guy.
The wrist injury and the lack of “juice” have teamed up with his age and decay to turn him into a shell of his former self. And to think, just a couple years ago there were rumblings about him making it into Cooperstown (mostly from ESPN, of course).
just my daily reminder that all of you hating on Francesca and posting his crap on this board are promoting his show and are responsible for him having a job. just stop it already
TIDROW
I believe Delgado broke his wrist. Not the same.
“I guess Mike didn’t see the game in Fenway last year?”
He saw it. He claimed Joba “wasn’t dominate”.
Kevin,
They’re shooting for 30 starts for Joba. A lot of us thought that was ridiculous because it’d push him over his limit. Looks like the total number of innings won’t be a problem.
“If you don’t like the posts, don’t respond to them. I’m not the only person in here today discussing Swisher’s merits as a player.”
That doesn’t make any sense, does it? If I don’t like the posts, aren’t I more likely to respond to them? Aren’t you? Isn’t anyone?
And I disagree that the Yanks will necessarily make a move in RF. If it comes to that, they can carry below average production in RF and still win, as they have shown lately. Getting a better RF may cost more than the Yanks are willing to spend.
At some level of poor production in RF the Yanks may find they want to make a move but I think they are a long way from that and since I believe Swisher will pick it up my guess is they do nothing all year.
Take out the Yankees and AJ had an ERA over 5 last year in his “career year where he learned from Halladay”.
It was off-season fodder for the naive, nothing more. This is what AJ is and what AJ will always be. A mediocre 2 pitch pitcher with suspect control.
“William Buckner,
But wouldn’t Pena be able to cover for A-rod if he got hurt?
Berroa is so far down the bench, he’s literally the last guy off of it.
Without Nady & Matsui in the field we literally only have 3 OF, that needs to be fixed.”
M,
that’s my point. If Arod goes down, Pena is the temp solution. Berroa couldn’t beat out Ransom, couldn’t beat out Pena.
Unfortunately what will happen is when Nady is ready, they will DFA Berroa, and will carry two DHs, which cripples Girardi.
If this is Matsui I hope he gets fluids drained from his knee and goes to the DL.
Could he be released later this summer?
bodhisattva – you’re the smartest person here. I only still have it on because my jaw is on the ground listening to this garbage
nick swisher absolutely killed us last night. how does 13 hits = 3 runs?
and whats the point of haveing wang as a long man if you’re not going to use him? did joe ever say why he never used wang?
m
Would love to have you add to the list. There are good things happening to this team too but the bad things sweep them under the rug sometimes.
Manny Banuelos gave Charleston a solid 5 inning start today: 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run (earned), 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.
The bats are jumping in the bat racks. Dan Brewer has another 2 hit game with an RBI single and an RBI triple. Jose Pirela has two hits and an RBI, Catcher Mitch Abeita has a 2 run double. Neill French has a couple of hits. Mesa has no hits, but last night had his 11th homer.
Danny Kapala (out of Notre Dame) is starting his third inning of relief. 2.1 innings, 3 hits, 1 run (earned), 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.
Jennifer:
I understand what your saying but the yankees will deal with that problem when it arrives. I want to see joba succeed, but I dont want to joba turn into mr. no decision this year because he cant go deep into games in order to get qualify for the win.
Francessa is right— if Burnett wants to be this clubhouse clown, that is fine.
But he better start stepping up on the mound. His ERA is over 7 since he last won a game. We need him tonight to get us back on the winning track. If not, it is another series lost and officially the start of a slide.
Time for Burnett to step up in a big way.
the only thing I will agree with fatcessa about is burnett needs to pitch much better.
of there present starting rotation he has the worst ERA. hughes has a better ERA.. the pie’s and all that I think are good but burnett needs to cut down on the walks and reduce the homers and pitch better.. he is suppose to be a #3 starter be needs to pick it up…….
Francessa is wrong about Joba
But he is 100% right about Burnett.
TIDROW
Also I find it very strange that as soon as Willie was gone he magically found his stroke again. Strange huh? Personally I think he was dogging it cause he hated Willie.
I like the idea of Joba being a stud pitcher in the rotation. I also like the idea of him being the set up man and replacing Rivera when that time comes.
Bottom line this year is that Joba will not pitch in the playoffs as a starter anyway and once his innings are used up then he goes to the pen.
So unless we trade for a very good set up man then he will end up in the pen sooner than later and then we will see his value.
If he does good again then they can figure out in the off season if they can get another starter and keep Joba there or go get another reiever and put Joba back where they think he is better.
It will all work itself out.
““I guess Mike didn’t see the game in Fenway last year?”
He saw it. He claimed Joba “wasn’t dominate”.”
That was ONE game!!! When Joba was in the pen, he was dominate EVERY game. This team needs Joba contributing to wins 3 days a week, not 1. The team needs a stable bullpen right now, not another starter who struggles to give you 5 innings every outing.
Chrios from NJ wrote: PEDs don’t increase your batting average.
Um … lok at Giambi’s averages on PEDs. A hard grounder that a SS can go to his left to snare? If you are stronger due to PEDs, it gets past the same SS. Please get your head out of the sand. PEDs help in many ways, not just homers.
Benny but if move him into the pen you can forget him ever being a starter.
AJ Burnett has a 5.32 ERA. Since he last won a game, his ERA is 7. He is the weakest link on the staff. Everyone else has stepped up recently, he has not.
Francessa was not off-base at all. It looks bad when you are throwing pies at guys when you are not carrying your weight and have the worst ERA on the staff.
here is Sweeney’s NEW TAKE on Joba and him going to the pen
http://www.wfan.com/pages/4479.....Id=4071614
Is this Eric guy part of this board? I know somebody mentioned Huston Street on this board yesterday.
AJ Burnett played well only on his contract years. Last year he knew that he wanted to opt out and get a nice fat contract. He did the same thing when he was with the Marlins before he landed his contract with Toronto. Pretty soon he is going to find an excuse to go to DL because he cant deal with negativity. When Cashman signed him a lot of the talkheads said it was too much given his history. Five years was too much. At the end of 5 years its going to be one of the worst contracts they signed.
I really want to call Mike and be like hey, how long have you been doing radio?? Were you as good in your first year as you are now?? Do you think maybe we should let him progress a bit and see how it works??
Swisher and Matsui are hurting us big time. One seems broken, the other broken down.
Then again, it’s the bullpen that truly sucks. And I don’t see that improving any time in the near future.
How do you propose they fix the terrible bullpen?
We’re not winning anything with this bullpen as presently constructed.
>But he is 100% right about Burnett.
Burnett is allowed to celebrate a walk-off WIN with his TEAM.
YOU LOSE AS A TEAM, YOU WIN AS A TEAM.
YOU FALL, YOUR TEAM IS SUPPOSED TO PICK YOU UP.
You don’t get shunned to a corner if you pitch poorly and suddenly your right to celebrate a team win is revoked.
“That was ONE game!!! When Joba was in the pen, he was dominate EVERY game. ”
I seem to remember when the league figured him out Boston,Cleveland,Chicago and Delgado in the Mets would tell you otherwise, there is an adjustment period you and that fat basterd on radio don’t understand.
“I really want to call Mike and be like hey, how long have you been doing radio?? Were you as good in your first year as you are now?? Do you think maybe we should let him progress a bit and see how it works??”
PLEASE DO IT
stuart-
Tomko is a very interesting case. I’d have thought that if he was to have a roster spot, it would have been as a long man as he has been a starter most of his career.
Yet when the Yanks needed a long man last Friday, they called up Wang instead. You would have thought that role would have gone to Tomko, but in fact the Yanks have used Tomko as a short man all year.
That doesn’t make any sense to me – we now have Wang on the roster and no place to put him, and we have Tomko who will hardly be used.
And Berroa – that continues to mystify me. If Melky can’t play for a while, my guess is that the Yanks do nothing and DFA Berroa when Posada comes up. That means, until Melky can play, we essentially have no offensive help on the bench at all and no back-up OF.
It’s just inexplicable to me.
jennifer
May 27th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Benny but if move him into the pen you can forget him ever being a starter
OK, jenn… then we have a hughe gaping hole in the 8th.s
I wish I could get through.
Swisher deserves to be killed for his ABs yesterday.
However, even if he gets a sac fly in to tie the game at 4, we still lose. The bullpen gave up 4 runs in the last 3 innings. Maybe even more if Veras or Tomko came in the game.
Swisher is exposed big time, but he is not the problem. The bullpen is. We’re going to score plenty of runs. But so will the other team against us.
“I seem to remember when the league figured him out Boston,Cleveland,Chicago and Delgado in the Mets would tell you otherwise, there is an adjustment period you and that fat basterd on radio don’t understand.”
How long does this “adjustment period” last? Bc he’s been a starter since June of last year? He’s a good starting pitcher through roughly 4-6 innings, at BEST, baring one or 2 of his 21 starts. He’s won fewer than 8 of his 21 starts. Where is the Johan Santana/Doc Halliday you said he was? He was LETHAL in the pen. He is good at best as a starter, if you can overlook that he’ll give you 6 innings on his best day.
I have no problem with AJ celebrating.
However, when you are performing as poorly as he is (highest ERA on the staff, 7 ERA over the past month) and are goofing around, it just looks bad. Especially on a team like the Yankees.
If he wants to be a clown, let him start pitching well. He doesn’t even have to be great— just pitch to his usual mediocre 4 ERA career, then he can do what he wants and nobody will care.
Am I the only one who wants Joba to remain a starter AND to go to the bullpen? What if by the time August rolls around he will have made about 19 starts (about 110 IP)? I would guess is IP limit is about 130, excluding post season. Does he then move into the bullpen to finish out the year? Who knows what his role would be in the playoffs, if they make it.
To me the biggest goal for guys like Joba and Hughes is for them to reach their IP limit, because they clearly have the talent to succeed. They just need to continue to learn to “pitch” and to be able to be relied upon as full-time starters in the future.
Benny,
If for some reason you are going to remove Joba from the rotation at this point in his development, you send him to Scranton, or you trade him. He would start on 29 other teams. It is not about this year. It is about the next 15. You don’t stunt his growth as a Starter, cause your bullpen sucks.
Some of you may not like what mike has to say but he has been doing this for over twenty years. Can we at least have a little respect for him..geesh.
Mike is right as much as I hate to admit it.
1) Joba is a 5 inning starter with a 4.00 era. True
2) He no longer has the “mystique” that surrounded him in the 8th inning. True
3) MO + jOBA = best closer and set up in baseball. true.
Jon Ringland,
Look up Johan, or Halladays 1st 21 starts….
“*How long does this “adjustment period” last? Bc he’s been a starter since June of last year?* He’s a good starting pitcher through roughly 4-6 innings, at BEST, baring one or 2 of his 21 starts. He’s won fewer than 8 of his 21 starts. Where is the Johan Santana/Doc Halliday you said he was? He was LETHAL in the pen. He is good at best as a starter, if you can overlook that he’ll give you 6 innings on his best day.”
He’s been removed from starting for atleast 1 yr. & 1/2… it doesn’t just reappear, ask Roy Halladay, as CC Sabathia etc… there are many SP that had a readjustment period, Zack Greinke took nearly 4 yrs.
You need to let Joba throw 120 pitches.
Yesterday, you should have kept him out there and challenged him to will himself to the game, rather than babying him. 84 pitches? C’mon. See if he settles in and gives you a couple scoreless.
100 pitch limit for a fastball power pitcher is 5-6 innings most nights.
People need to realize Joba; as well as Hughes are a work in progress. This is what developing pitchers look like. Joba spoiled alot of people with his early success as a reliever and it is unrealistic to expect him to carry it over to his role as a starter. He’s been pretty impressive as a starter if you ask me. He may not go deep into games but you can count on the fingers of one hand the games he’s started that he never gave his team a chance to win. The guy is an ace in the making. People just need to be patient. The bullpen will be fine without him. I know many don’t want to hear it but these guys go through slumps too. I really believe if given time Veras, Coke, Aceves and whoever else is out there will straighten themselves out and pitch effectively if Girardi shows faith in them and keeps trotting them out there.
We need to dl wang and bring up melencon, wang will never fix his problem in the majors.
Coach,
What if Phil wins his next three starts, and Wang starts to pitch better. what are your suggestions?
“Zack Greinke took nearly 4 yrs”
Zack Greinke took 4 years bc he had psychological/anxiety issues. Benny’s last post states the facts as succinctly as possible. Joba is more valuable to this team in the pen, set up now and heir-apparent to Mo. Plain and simple.
then you send someone down. you cant continue to stunt growth. he has to reach his innings limit, or we will never ever know.
Jonah, Halladay, Greinke etc. were not playing in the biggest media market in the world, on the greatest franchise in sports where you must win the World Series every year.
Why do people even continue to bring up other guys? NY is a completely different animal. The pressure to win, plus the exposure is 100x greater than teams. You think Greinke gets as many chances in NY as he did in KC? He probably would have gone in the Abreu trade in 06.
TIME FOR #27
May 27th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
We need to dl wang and bring up melencon, wang will never fix his problem in the majors.
———————————————-
How do you DL Wang again? What phantom injury do you come up with? In April when he was sent to the DL it was a stretch back then, but today it will be even more of a stretch.
What people failt to realize is when Joba first came up he was an unknown, no one in the league knew him, no one. Once the scouting report went out on him the league adjusted, now Joba as a SP you can’t make your assumption of him as a SP in a small sample of 169.2 IP, I mean give me a break that’s ridiculous.
“Zack Greinke took 4 years bc he had psychological/anxiety issues. Benny’s last post states the facts as succinctly as possible. Joba is more valuable to this team in the pen, set up now and heir-apparent to Mo. Plain and simple.”
Actually Greinke was mechanics too, Benny’s last post basically was one sided, anyone that thinks a SU man is more important than developing a shutdown ace is completely lost. Plain and simple, 169.2 IP in the majors, that is not enough of a sample to make a judgement on him at all.
The whole AJ rant by Francesa is nonsense.
For some reason Mike and his flock think AJ pieing guys has a causal effect on his pitching.
Its as if they believe once he stops pieing guys, he will pitch better.
One has nothing to do with the other. All the whining about pieing guys does is give Francesa and his flock something to complain about with the guy.
He has to pitch better. No question about that. However, after 9 starts last year, he was just as inconsistent.
The hope is, tonight is the beginning of his turnaround. That’s all you can do. The rest is out of everybody’s control.
Betsy,
The best way to view pitching mechanics is like a golf swing. Golf, like pitching, has a lot of moving parts and each guy has certain keys he must utilize in order to keep his mechanics as tight as possible.
With AJ, its all about his front shoulder. When its closed, his stride to HP is much more direct and his stuff has that late movement along with command in the strikezone.
In other words, when he is right, he is unhittable.
When he gets lazy (not “lazy” in the true, not caring sense but, “lazy” with regard to his mechanics), his front shoulder flies open, especially when he is throwing fastballs, and he loses his command.
That leads to bad counts and trouble.
CC had the same problem in his first two starts.
Sometimes, catchers call more breaking pitches early in games to keep a pitchers mechanics tighter. Last night, Cervelli tried that tactic with Joba when his mechanics were all over the place in the first inning. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
In AJ’s case, he has to be very aware of opening up too quickly. When he does, his front (left) shoulder is pointing closer to first base than home plate. That’s when he gets out of whack.
Charleston and Manny Banuelos get the win, 7-2.
Mitch Abeita added a solo homer to his 2 run double. Almonte, Brewer, Pirela, French and Abeita all had 2 hits.
The problem is the Yankees (and the players) were so mesmerized by what Burnett did against us that it really skewed their perception of him. They thought that is the AJ they were getting all the time and he would finally pitch up to his stuff.
When that is your thought process in evaluating FAs, you almost always get burned. He dominated you, so that means he will dominate everyone the same way! Did they bother to look what he did against the rest of the league, or the fact his career ERA is almost 4, most of it in the NL?
Kevin in the 908 ———————————————————————
How do you DL Wang again? What phantom injury do you come up with? In April when he was sent to the DL it was a stretch back then, but today it will be even more of a stretch.
You make up something, the fact is something is wrong with him and they needto fix it.
I don’t think Joba should be in the bullpen. I certainly don’t think Joba should go to the pen now. Maybe temporarily in September, if he is going to exceed his IP limit otherwise.
However, until Wang shows he can pitch effectively, all this talk about Joba going to the pen is way premature. Without Wang, we only have 5 starters with Joba and Hughes both.
Until there’s a surplus of starters it is pointless to argue over where Joba belongs.
Flame away, but I also agree that Joba would be far more valuable to the Yankees in the bullpen. I am perplexed that the zeitgeist here is so unanimous that he should be a starter.
Joba is not going to put those video game numbers he put up in late 07.
Out of the pen he would likely have a 2 or 3 ERA. Which he could duplicate that when he’s starting.
they need to take the training wheels or jobe to an extent or end this starting routine..
i am not saying let him throw a 130 pitches or anything like that but he needs to go 6 innings more often if not all the time, else what good is he doing them…
i know he was off his game yesterday but he threw only 84 pitches they could have at least gotten 5 out of him or maybe 6.. he gave up 3 runs in 4 innings not 7 runs…
again i really like this team and see some great things occuring but; berroa, tomko, and what to do about wang are issues.
for all the matsui is shot talk, really he is still hitting 250 with occasional power, if all shot players did that you win the championship. add an outfielder, try melancon again he got 4 innings.. tomko is not the long man because in swb he was the closer, he is a good AAA closer but this is the majors…
waive cash when jorge comes back.. you say what if cash gets claimed, I say so what they have pillitere, stewart, and can sign moeller if he gets waived by baltimore when weiters comes up on friday.
cervelli, pena, melky, and others have added energy the yanks have not had in years.
gardner for all the negaitivity on him, has been on a hot streak and is a legit big leaguer, you can see it. will he be a star? I doubt it but his speed can be an asset and he can be an asset as a 4th outfileder, pinch runner, etc…
this team has huge potential, I just do not understand some of the roster logjam and stupidity….
again I talk to Joba if I am management and figure out where his head is and make him aware that his present performance is really hurting the team. he does not give enough innings as a starter to hide there weak pen and making it hard for them to stay away from moving him to the pen to solidify it…………….
joba has incredible stuff I do not understand the velocity fluctuation at all………
AJ had a 3.86 ERA in July and a 4.43 ERA in August
Where is this myth that he had some great 2nd half? He had a great September.
The league never I repeat never adjusted to Joba Chamberlain as a reliever. He wasn’t perfect but was as close to lockdown as you can get in his role as setup man for Rivera.
The question regarding Joba right now is it is apparent that The Yankees want this guy as a starter which is fine. I’m all for him being under the learning tree and developing on the major league level. The issue then becomes how do you fix the bullpen?
Now has baseball reached the point where in order to succeed you have to shrink the game to seven innings with a lockdown closer and a lockdown setup man or can you get by with a lockdown closer and a reliable setup man? Because there are guys out there in the latter categories we can trade for that can setup for Rivera and get the job done eight out of ten times.
The question becomes is it necessary to have Chamberlain fill that roll and get the same job done ten out ten times?
Thats really the only question before the fanbase here.
“What people failt to realize is when Joba first came up he was an unknown, no one in the league knew him, no one. Once the scouting report went out on him the league adjusted, now Joba as a SP you can’t make your assumption of him as a SP in a small sample of 169.2 IP, I mean give me a break that’s ridiculous.”
As a reliever, he was throwing 97-100 MPH with a devistaing breaking ball. You can’t scout that, you can only hope to hit it. As a starter, he’s throwing 91 MPH and avergaing 20+ pitches an inning, limiting him to a 5 inning pitcher bc he cant throw his secondary pitches for strikes. He’s completely lost his edge and that aura of invincibility he had in the pen. Its really a shame how he’s being mismanaged.
“Joba is more valuable to this team in the pen, set up now and heir-apparent to Mo. Plain and simple.”
This kind of philosophy is what prevents the Yankees from developing their own starters. Impatience.
If it was 1995-96, these same guys would be calling for a 23 year old Andy Pettitte to be a “lethal” lefty 8th inning specialist because Wetteland had no dominating set-up man.
TIME FOR #27 – Feel free to make the call and say that…. I’m not going to waste my breath talking to him lol
So AJ stands between us winning the series and losing 2 consecutive series and starting a “slide”?
God help us.
“Benny’s last post basically was one sided, anyone that thinks a SU man is more important than developing a shutdown ace is completely lost”
We have a 160 million dollar shut down ace! And an 80 million dollar shut down ace! What we dont have is a stable bullpen. We have an aging closer with no apparent apprentice. And we have a 23 year old GEM who was blowing people away in the set up role, and putting up league average numbers as a starter. Come on, man.
Brandon, I understand that joba is ace in the making , but look at it this way.
CC is signed for 7 years. He’s our ace.
Burnetts signed for 5 years = solid number 2-3
Wang= former ace.
How many aces does one team need?
“If it was 1995-96, these same guys would be calling for a 23 year old Andy Pettitte to be a “lethal” lefty 8th inning specialist because Wetteland had no dominating set-up man.”
You mean besides that guy…whats his name…Mariano something?
Better have Wang warmed up along with AJ today
If he doesn’t have his FB command early (and he hasn’t had it very often this year), this is going to be a 2 inning outing for AJ. Texas in Arlington will tee off him.
the league didn’t know Joba.
the guy has 3 plus pitches; fastball, curve , and slider.. if he pitches the way he can knowing him is irrelevant…..
again joba has the talent to be a elite elite starter but he nees to figure things out soon, and the yanks have to change how they handle him. no dallas green 160 pitches but 84 because he was inneffective!!!!!!!!
I take him out after 4 last night if they had a pen like they did in 98, not this pen……………a bad joba is better then anyone in ther pen except a healthy bruney and Mo…..
Its completely untrue that the league didn’t adjust to Joba as a relief pitcher.
For the last year, the book on Joba, regardless of his role, has been, lay off the slider because he can’t throw it for a strike consistently.
Whether he starts or relieves, guys have been laying off his slider because he hasn’t thrown it consistently for strikes.
When he has, he has been outstanding. The Red Sox start for example. Lots of called third strikes on sliders because they laid off it and he was locating it in the strikezone.
Last night? He couldn’t locate his breaking pitches consistently for strikes.
Several times he got to 0-2 on guys and couldn’t finish them because they laid off the slider and breaking pitches at 0-2 and 1-2.
Before you know it, hitters are back in the count and make him work harder.
Last night, he was gassed after 84 pitches. Its not always the number of pitches. Its how hard you have to work to get outs. He had to work very hard last night.
This is all part of the process of developing a young pitcher. If you don’t have the patience for it, don’t watch the games.
There isn’t a pitcher in the game who has ever amounted to anything that didn’t go through this. Beckett, Halliday, Smoltz, Maddox, Santana, CC, the list goes on and on.
This is the process of developing a young arm. They have good days and bad days.
You live with them and continue to work with the guy to get him better. That’s the best way of handling him.
If Joba continues with 30 pitch innings and 3 earned over 4 innings, then I hope he goes to the pen so I don’t have to suffer through the games he starts.
There’s more than a few of you that need to go to your rooms and drag your Malibu Barbie and Ken dolls out, to see if they can teach you anything about life. Take your box of Kleenex with you. Baseball is clearly lost on you.
Jennifer:
“Swish needs to stop looking up for his grandparents….”
IMO, your comment was a tad callous and totally uncalled for.
New post is up.
Swisher’s been horrible lately, but he strikes me as a streaky player and can get hot again soon.
Considering there are no alternatives his being in the lineup is a moot point. He killed us last night though and you could see on his face that he knew it.
What I’m more concerned about is Joba.
I haven’t seen the electricity in his pitches that used to be there. I’m not even talking radar numbers.
In the past his slider was FILTHY. His fastball seemed to rise as it got closer to the plate.
Everything looks muted and capable now.
Was that the plan? Take a wild stallion and break him down like this?
I don’t want him in the pen. I want him in the rotation mowing people down with some of the best stuff in the league.
Most of this season his stuff has looked competent, but not dynamic by any stretch. That said, he’s pitching well…just not dominant.
I defer to some of the more knowledgeable sorts on here…do you think he’s injured or has lost some stuff or is this the Eiland plan at work for Joba?
If Pettitte was in his rookie season right now, most would want him gone back to the minors, because he’d never succeed as a starter. 220 major league wins later…..
“If it was 1995-96, these same guys would be calling for a 23 year old Andy Pettitte to be a ‘lethal’ lefty 8th inning specialist because Wetteland had no dominating set-up man.”
I don’t know if lethal lefty 8-inning specialists existed then. I think they were just relievers who happened to be lefties…
Since when does pie-ing the hero in a walk-off win (a very definitive act) qualify as being the clubhouse clown?
Why you people continue to listen to “Franceser” is astounding to me.
And lately every afternoon has become the transcript and reactions to a show I don’t care to deal with. It’s headache and agita inducing.
I suppose some of you must enjoy the outlet that screaming at your radio/tv gives you.
Enjoy.
I’ll check back later – when the coast is Francheser free.
Current Moves:
DFA Berroa – Bring up J-Rod/Linden
DFA Tomko – Bring up Melancon
Near Future Moves
When Nady is ready make up an injury for Wang on the DL
When Posada is ready DFA Cash
When Molina is ready demote Cervelli
This seems pretty good.
The negativity with Joba as a starter doesn’t make sense to me.
On an ERA basis, he’s been our second best starter this year.
On an individual game basis, leaving out the start where he got hit and came out in the first, he has three excellent to very good starts, two bad starts and three average starts (in which I include one “quality” start.
In those eight starts, he has pitched at least 6 innings four times, and gotten us into the 6th inning twice more.
For a pitcher Joba’s age, those are excellent results so far.
Plus, if you move Joba to the pen, exactly who is our fifth starter right now?
“aura of invincibility”
oh GOD, please dont give me that fatcessa crap. joba is a starter, end of story. Towards the end of the year and in the playoffs (IF we get there) then yes of course he is going to b in the bullpen b/c of his innings limit.
the yankees believe he is a starter and thats all that counts. our bullpen is a mess, tell me how ONE person can make our bullpen great? it doesnt matter that we have the greatest 8th and 9th inning combo when no one else in the bullpen can keep a lead!!!
“tell me how ONE person can make our bullpen great?”
Mariano Rivera. You dont win ONE world series without that man. Thats how one person can make a bullpen great.
Joba stays in the rotation unless the Yankees need a closer.
So far that is not the case as Mo has done fine.
Joba was pulled last night because he did not have it and they need to limit his innings when he does not have it.
Wang should have pitched last night but Joe does not trust him in a close game so he went with Ace. Ace should not have pitched the night before knowing that Joba does not go deap into games.
After the fact it is easy for us to see that Joe made some mistakes. If Ace had pitched well we would not be talking about how Wang should have pitched.
If AJ does not pitch 7 innings, Wang better be out there starting the 7th, regardless of the score…
“You mean besides that guy…whats his name…Mariano something?”
You mean the failed starter who had a 5.51 ERA in 1995?
Minor league pitchers turning things around.
Zach McCallister with 7 shutout innings last night. Wonder if he’ll get promoted to Scranton or spend the entire season at Trenton.
Christian Garcia has thrown 9 scoreless innings at Trenton in his first 2 starts. If he can finally stay healthy he could be a fast riser.
DJ Mitchell was much better in his 2nd start for Tampa the other day. Hope he continues to excel there the rest of the season. Also at Tampa, Tim Norton has been very impressive sionce coming back from shoulder surgery, though they ar limiting him to 2 inning stints. Time to stretch him out a little more.
“You mean the failed starter who had a 5.51 ERA in 1995?”
He was just in an “adjustment period”. Shoulda left his as a starter, right?
“He was just in an “adjustment period”. Shoulda left his as a starter, right?”
Sure, if Joba has a 5.51 ERA or thereabouts at the end of the year, THEN this argument will have some merit.
“Sure, if Joba has a 5.51 ERA or thereabouts at the end of the year, THEN this argument will have some merit.”
His ERA is 4 and hes a 5 inning pitcher. My argument has much merit.
Mo was also 26 in 1996 when he became Wetteland’s setup man. Gives Joba a couple more years to see where he really belongs.
An ace is infinitely more valuable than a setup man.
“His ERA is 4 and hes a 5 inning pitcher. My argument has much merit.”
If it keeps up for 2 years more, sure.
You can always turn him into a reliever later. But you won’t be able to turn him back into a starter if you make him a reliever now.
time to bring up Austin Jackson and lets see what he can do. sure, he’s young, but natural talent will take over
rather have anyone, except swisher, he’s cool for someone coming off the bench but thats it,
200 million dollar payroll and i have this loser playing everyday in right????????????
i dont CARE WHAT HE DID IN APRIL BTW SO STOP BRINGING IT UP – SINCE IT S APRIL
PLAYOFFFSS!!! (THATS WHAT I FEEL LIKE)