First place Yankees ready for a day off
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Podcast on May 28, 2009 
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Being tied for first place on May 27 is nothing to get excited about. There once was a time when the Yankees would have laughed at the idea of that being any sort of accomplishment.
But given all this team has been through, it’s a fine way to go into the off day.
“It’s where you want to be,” Joe Girardi said. “You want to be at the top all the time. We went through some times. It was two and a half weeks ago that we were really scuffling and we’ve bounced back very well. It has been a team effort.”
Most of the Yankees had fled for their private jets by the time reporters were allowed in the clubhouse. Only A.J. Burnett, Hideki Matsui and a few of the rookies were around. Burnett, to his credit, wasn’t in a particularly jubilant mood. Through he threw six shutout innings, he needed 118 pitches to get there.
“It’s a start,” he said. “Mechanically, I felt better than I have in a long time.”
Matsui said the adjustments he has made to his stance have paid off. He has more balance and a stronger base. Mark Teixeira (12 home runs and 27 RBI this month) wistfully said he hopes he feels this good all season. “Its unusual when you feel comfortable from both sides of the plate,” he said.
But the most significant story of this game may have been the two perfect innings thrown by Chien-Ming Wang. That’s what Girardi said and most of the players agreed.
“That was a huge building block,” Girardi said.
After a quick warm-up, Wang retired all six hitters he faced. He struck out two, threw 18 of 26 pitches for strikes and showed movement and velocity (91-92) with his sinker. Wang said the outing was good for his confidence and that he feels he can add another tick or two of velocity.
Asked whether he could adjust to the bullpen, Wang grinned. That is the last thing he wants to do. He reiterated that he wants to start and he feels he is ready to do so. But for now, he will he held in reserve.
But the chance will come. These things have a way of working out. It’s up to Girardi and Dave Eiland to find a way to keep Wang sharp so he is ready when that time comes.
Here’s Girardi’s postgame:
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Danny Cabrera and Cano are tight from their days in San Pedro Macrois
good game all around, and took two of three from a first place team on the road. It’s always good to win before an off-day
on wfan summers is going off on joba being a starter, how he’s below average, basically the same stuff francesa was saying today, ARE THESE PEOPLE WATCHING THE SAME GAMES AS I’M WATCHING?
He was below average yesterday but that has been the exception, not the rule
Sorry, I think for one night I’ll be excited. The Yankees haven’t seen first place for over two years…….they can pooh pooh it and they probably should, but fans are understandably happy…………
First place on 5/27 is the latest that any Girardi managed team is in first.
I feel good about this team now. Sure, the bullpen needs work but this is a talented group and unlike other Yankee teams, they look like they are loose and having fun.
on wfan summers is going off on joba being a starter, how he’s below average, basically the same stuff francesa was saying today, ARE THESE PEOPLE WATCHING THE SAME GAMES AS I’M WATCHING?
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Me? i can’t believe how everyone on both sides of the topic aren’t incredibly sick of talking about it.
The point is, AJ pitched shut out ball for 6 innings…..if he was happy, he’d have every right. I’ll take 6 of those innings any day of the week – right now, it appears he’s having mechanical issues, but tonight he made the pitches when he had to against a very good hitting team in a very good hitters park. I see no reason to denigrate his effort (not saying you are, Pete, just making a general point).
Go Yankees!
Those Taiwan fans and media are crazy. They just blame Yankees and say “Yankees would not let Wang return the rotation on purpose.”
private jets huh? must be nice, I never get how w/ just one off day most of the ‘big money’ players will disappear and go to other cities immediately around the country..figured they would avoid extra flights but I guess Net Jets travel is not to taxing…:)
Nice team performance, starting to get the comfort that this team can win just about every series and mix in a few good streaks to stay in 1st place
Thanks Pete for the Wang update. Good to know that he has alot of supporters in the clubhouse.
Agree 100%, Pete great post
Just go about the business. Don’t get too giddy, just keep clicking off series.
““Yankees would not let Wang return the rotation on purpose.””
I know the 20 + ERA and loss of velocity had nothing to do w/ it.
Its such a beautiful night in New York City. Im literally sitting on the steps on Union Square right now, doing some work and enjoying the surroundings.
You wanna know what makes it that much better??
YANKEES IN 1st! I love this city.
I have to feel good that we went into Texas, a big time hitters park against a GREAT hitting team and two of our starters allowed a combined ZERO runs!! Well 3 if you include Wang. Joba had just about nothing last night and really only gave up 3 it’s not like he got bombed.
OFF TOPIC: Did anyone see the Zambrano incident?? The umpire looked like he bumped the Big Z and Z got tossed for it…. then the poor poor gatorade machine (which is pretty awesome btw)
He probably would have been tossed anyway, but it definitely looked like the ump initiated contact–it will be interesting to see if Big Z gets suspended for this
Tampa Yank – I think I heard on the NESPN Broadcast (UGH!!) that CC is going to the Cavs/Magic game tomorrow night
I don’t know if any of you guys saw it, but the Orioles pied the guy who hit the winning home run today. Unbelievable. They seem to be completely obsessed with mocking the Yankees. But I guess there’s not much else to do when you’re in last place every single year. F that team.
I think Girardi is right in saying that this is a building block for Wang. Now he’s had two outings in blowout situations, the 2nd outing built on the 1st. He showed improvement and better consistency from his last outing. Definitely helps his confidence and the Yankees confidence in him.
I think the next step is getting him into a game thats a bit closer or for more than 2 innings. A few more building blocks and we’ll have a house
IF Matsui gets hot wow. Posada will be back Friday. This lineup will be deadly.
JGS – He’s going to get suspended too. He went insane, threw the ball into the outfield and beat the hell out of the cooler. The ump may have initiated the contact and nothing will happen to him. This ump does not necessarily deserve to be suspended, but I just hate when umps in general are allowed to do just about anything and nothing happens to them, but the player has to sit for 3 games.
Joker, the pie thing has been a baseball tradition for a long time – they weren’t mocking the Yankees……
Go Wang!!
He will be back to the pitching rotation soon!
If anyones in the city around Union Square and wants to come talk Yankees, please feel free to come meet me.
Im working on my novel in the park and Its such a beautiful night. Makes you appreciate being alive.
Big Unit 300 wins.
AL All-star voting:
Mauer
Youkilis
Kinsler
Longoria
Jeter
Bay
Hamilton
Ichiro
Only 2 teams represented by more then one person (Youk, Bay and Kinsler, Hamilton) when is the last time you saw that?? It seems like the last 5+ years (at least) has been a lot of Yanks and Sawx
I don’t know, but after the Huff incident I find that to be a little suspect. Eh, whatever, we’re in first so they can have fun in the basement.
Fail he got 299 lmao
Wang looked like the old Wang tonight. Tons of nasty sinkers. Get that guy in the rotation ASAP!
Dr. Cox, enjoy the city, nothing better than seeing NYC @ night, well seeing it w/ a female and finding out the Yankees are in first is better.
JoeT–
usually contact with the umpire means automatic suspension regardless of anything else
you’re right though, he went nuts and probably would have gotten suspended regardless but I’m wondering if they tack on more days to that because of the contact with the ump–which they shouldn’t, as he didn’t initiate it
a 3 game suspension is meaningless for a starter though–we’ll see what he gets
299**
yeah just in general I through out the 3 games…. Starters, IMO, should be suspended no less then 8 games. That actually makes you miss a start instead of appeal, pitch, drop the appeal and push your start back a day.
The only all-stars we’ll have are probably Jeter and MO
Cano has to leapfrog Pedroia and Kinsler
Tex has to leapfrog Cabrera
Damon has like 10 guys ahead of him
CC has 10 guys ahead of him
A-Rod won’t get voted ahead of Young by the coaches
Those Taiwan fans and media are crazy.
———–
Um, you can’t really blame them.
To us, Wang is just another ball player, but to them, he is a fellow countrymen.
It’s natural for them to care more about Wang’s wellfare than the team’s.
Summer time in the city…. nothing better
Starters, IMO, should be suspended no less then 8 games.
_____
Couldn’t agree more
Exactly
I’m sure Berroa’s parents are ticked off at how little playing time their son is getting too. Same thing with Wang and his countrymen
Regardless of the significance of this game, it’s still a great win. Seems to me that this team has something that it hasn’t had in a couple years – chemistry. The young kids are hitting, the veterans are doing what is expected, and the guys actually look like a cohesive team, not just a bunch of all-stars thrown together.
Hopefully Wang can get a few more solid innings soon. I’d love to see him back in the rotation.
Nah–I’m sure Berroa’s parents, with full knowledge that their son has no place on a major league roster, are happy for whatever he can get
I know most parents think their kid is MUCH better then he actually is, but there is NO way Berroa’s parents are that delusional.
Here’s a question, on the off day, does Angel share a nursing home room with his parents??
You guys are assuming Angel’s parents survived Emancipation…
Man Kevin I didn’t want to get too mean with it – but that was AWESOME!!
Are Berroa/old jokes allowed after hours?
Berroa was around when Dinosaurs roamed the earth. He was the one who tipped off archeologists about their existence.
Nick they’re encouraged at all hours.
I think there’s a youtube video of Angel in his 15th major league season getting a hit off of Satchel Paige
That’s no fair, Paige was just a rookie.
The government first used Carbon Dating on Berroa.
I really want to add on his wikipedia page under the Yankees section to include “UPDATE 5/28/09: Is inexplicitly still a member of the team”
Trivia Question: Who is the only player to play in the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, and the new Yankee Stadium??
“If Mauer reaches the FA market, Bostom seems inevitable for him.”
Don’t count the Mets out. They’ve seen the benefits of a catcher who can play a little offense before, they have the money and a pitcher who knows Mauer that might be interested in making a recruiting call on their behalf.
I’d love to see Mauer go to the Mets…. don’t have to face him
Mauer come to the yanks please.
Who is the only player to play both before and after the Industrial Revolution?
I believe Angel ran a thriving family business with his children and grandchildren at that time
“Dr. Cox, enjoy the city, nothing better than seeing NYC @ night, well seeing it w/ a female and finding out the Yankees are in first is better.”
Brandon,
I couldnt agree with you more. Although there is a sense of freedom being by yourself sometimes. Expecially on a night like this where Im working on my novel in the middle of the Square.
Dr. Cox, I’m just a block away from Union Square, I’d love to walk over and talk some Yankee baseball.
Alas, it’s not the real Union Square, just the SF version. To celebrate the win and the two Matsui homers, I treated myself to a late supper at one of my favorite ramen/sushi places. Still a wait to get in at 11.
Gotta love Lou Pimiella. After the game, he said that Zambrano needed to tone it down a bit. Priceless quote of the year, so far. He’ll have better quotes, I’m sure.
***Lou Pinella***
“Those Taiwan fans and media are crazy.”
I’m from Taiwan. ya…I think some of them are crazy!
especially, media!
keep on with the berroas jokes lol
who cares about the all star game voting is a joke.
wang’s performance was the big news tonight.
bye to berroa, tomko, and tomko. call up jorge, a OF, and melancon. next to go bye bye is veras he is a joke, all that stuff but no clue………..
i menat cash not tomko twice…
cervelli deserves to stay up…
It’s ok if Tomko goes twice.
berroa, tomko, veras, cash for ortiz…. lol still a no brainer for the red sox
If it came down to having either Wang or Joba in the ‘pen, I’d choose Joba.
Funny… if it came down to having either Wang or Joba in the rotation, I’d choose Joba for that, too. Funny how better pitchers look more attractive, regardless of role.
Isn’t Joba expected to hit his inning limit sometime later this year? Anyone knows how many innings Joba has thrown and how many he’s expected to throw this year?
They would need someone to replace him when that time comes – Wang’s time will come for sure. I am a Joba starter guy, but when he nears his innings limit, I think that would be a good time to put him in the pen for the rest of the year’s playoff drive and Wang can take his place. No time to trade Wang for random pieces as some stay-at-home GMs have proclaimed.
EY, it depends what they’re using. If they go by the fifteen percent rule, his cap’s around 135. If they go by the Verducci Effect rule, his cap’s around 145. I’m assuming they’d want him for the playoffs, although he almost certainly would be used out of the pen there if the other four are healthy. For now, he’s pretty much on pace to hit his cap around the end of the year, and that’s assuming he misses no starts, certainly not a given with the big boy. If they stay careful with him, there’s no reason he’d run out of innings before the year’s over. Hell, if he keeps pitching as inefficiently as he has, the Yankees won’t even have to actively try to limit his innings. He’ll do it himself.
Wang needs to start, period. Send Hughes back to AAA unless he continues DOMINATING… anything short of really good outings & see ya at a further date Mr. Hughes
Hughes should be the odd man out and sent back to Scranton when Wang is ready to go.
You cannot have too many starting pitchers in this league. Any one of those guys could go down at any time and Hughes would be the guy who gets slotted back into the rotation.
No switching roles back and forth.
you know the times are good when you’re having a surplus of good starting pitchers
>you know the times are good when you’re
>having a surplus of good starting pitchers
it’s even better times when those good starting pitchers are pitching good starts.
Got to slot Wang back into the rotation. This guy has carried the rotation for 2 and 1/2 years. He was on his way to another 18 – 20 win year until that freak injury. When Wang is right he is an innings eater. With him and CC in the same rotation they can hide the Yankee pen problems. Looking through the schedule I was thinking the Yankees were targetting the middle of the next month for Wang’s return against the Nationals but they activated him in a panic move which now leaves Wang sitting around not knowing when he is ready to pitch. Hopefully he can claim his job and be that dominating force. The team is much better with Wang in the starting rotation
I dont post frequently and I havent read all that was written before me, but Wang is one of my favorite MLB players. This guy is a trooper, a grinder, gritty and gutty, and all those other adjectives. Just an absolute pleasure to watch him pitch (tonight at least) and to watch his demeanor off the field.
Tex and Arod have been pretty damn impressive lately. If they can get Matsui swinging the bat well, wow. Where is the weak link in the lineup once Posada is back? Hell even Cash is pounding out hits right now. Melky gets hurt and Gardner comes in and we don’t miss a beat. Outside of Swisher this offense is really clicking. Let’s keep it going. I think Cleveland is due to like, get swept, because they suck but have won a few games lately against a team they own (the Rays). They “Tribe” is due to lose some more games I think.
Yeah – let Wang start against a National League team so we can admire his ability to sprint around the bases. That is, unless, the Nats are coming to the New Yankee Stadium, and I’m too lazy to look up their schedule at this time.
Congrats to the Yanks and their fans and their first place’dness at the end of May. Been a long time coming.
Dr. Cox – you mention you’re working on a novel? In the middle of Times Square? Is it about an author who works on a novel in the middle of Times Square?
If I’m not mistaken, he said Union Square… which is of course a far better location, to write a novel and do many other things.
Hey sevrox
Yeah – The Nationals are playing in New York that was pretty much the basis of my thoughts. A really weak NL team in New York = confidence builder for Wang
Just so you know NYC has more than one square, Union square is a park pretty much the complete opposite of what times square is.
Gary
May 28th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Go Yankees!
Those Taiwan fans and media are crazy. They just blame Yankees and say “Yankees would not let Wang return the rotation on purpose.”
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Gray, where do you get those information???????!!!!!! I’m a Taiwanese and a big Wang fan as well, but up to now have never heard that kind of news from media. As for fans’ comments, those are personal opinions.
Well, being born in the Bronx and raised in coastal North Carolina must have dulled my NYC geographical senses. Like many people on this blog, I generally don’t think too much before posting.
I was simply impressed with how many times Doc Cox had to tell the blog readers the fact he was working on his novel in a square somewhere in NYC. How Romantic!
Pete,
Special thanks to you for the Chien-Ming update.
“”on wfan summers is going off on joba being a starter, how he’s below average, basically the same stuff francesa was saying today, ARE THESE PEOPLE WATCHING THE SAME GAMES AS I’M WATCHING?
————-
Me? i can’t believe how everyone on both sides of the topic aren’t incredibly sick of talking about it.”"
I agree!!! Its amazing that most people won’t just let this thing play itself out. Either Joba will develop into a good starter or he won’t. If he does develop into a good starter then he will remain in the rotation. If he doesn’t then they can move him to the bullpen. In the meantime they don’t have anyone else to plug into his spot in the rotation so he will continue to start.
Nick in SF
answer to your trivia?
is it Jamie Moyer???
Umz
May 28th, 2009 at 4:11 am
I dont post frequently and I havent read all that was written before me, but Wang is one of my favorite MLB players. This guy is a trooper, a grinder, gritty and gutty, and all those other adjectives. Just an absolute pleasure to watch him pitch (tonight at least) and to watch his demeanor off the field.
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Yep!! Chien-Ming is such kind of good kid, I appreciate his composure, hard working, advancing himself, humble attitute and always concern other people.
Let’s all be happy for Wang. I am. Did you see the shot of Eiland in the dugout after Wang got his first out? Looked like he cocked his head and said, Not bad! to someone on his left (Girardi?). I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief now, he’s on his way back. Wang is a well-liked player, and everyone wants to see him do well. GO WANGER!
yankeefan718
May 28th, 2009 at 12:52 am
on wfan summers is going off on joba being a starter, how he’s below average, basically the same stuff francesa was saying today, ARE THESE PEOPLE WATCHING THE SAME GAMES AS I’M WATCHING?
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What do you expect from that gimmicky windbag.
Wang obviously has figured himself out. Something has clicked for him; you don’t gradually, piece by piece, return to form, you just internally get it; he forgot how to ride his bike and now he can again.
Just needs to build velocity. Good to have you back, Wanger
Great post Pete. It is crazy to see that Wang should be traded on the posts yesterday, and Burnett is a bust. Wow what one game does to most people.
Everyone contributed… except Veras.