Today in The Journal News
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- June
- 29
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Mariano Rivera got his 500th save and Chien-Ming Wang was grateful for it.
Sam Borden writes that Mariano Rivera was the greatest bargain ever.
Derek Jeter was back in the lineup. This notebook also has updates on Johnny Damon and Jose Molina.
Hideki Matsui is glad interleague play is over with.
The Mets continue to sputter. Ernie Palladino has the story.
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on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 8:00 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Sucks we have a day off today
Told you anything less than a sweep against the Mets would be uncivilized!
Right again
Good article by Sam – Mo walking last night was hilarious. It’s funny that that is what he wanted to talk about – interesting that many pitchers get a kick out of hitting. Trevor Hoffman can keep his record – the record books say one thing, the history books say another. There’s only one “greatest closer ever” and that man wears 42 for the Yankees. I loved his comment on ESPN that he doesn’t play for records, he plays for the NY Yankees. I wish I had listened to Suzyn Waldman’s post-game show (good job, YES) as I would have killed to hear reactions from the players. The few we got are great – and just show how beloved Mo is.
http://www.recordonline.com/ap.....4/-1/rss02
You suffered through injuries and an 0-4 record with a 6.62 ERA, unexpectedly returning to Triple-A Scranton last year. How difficult was that?
“It was tough, for sure. Coming into the season, I had high expectations for myself. To go through the struggles I did, to get hurt and then miss time, it was tough. But I just took it as a learning experience. All those bumps in the road kind of act as another step for me to get where I ultimately want to be. I went through some tough times, but I feel like I’m better because of that.”
**I love his attitude – and I agree. These bumps-in-the-road will end up making him tougher and a better pitcher for it.
Nice to hear this morning that Aaron Boone made a strong recovery from open heart surgery and has been cleared to begin working out with no limitations.
Great post by Pete in the last thread. In the 30 years I’ve been in the sports business, Mariano is on a very, very short list of the best athletes and people I’ve ever been around.
None of his success has changed him. Its amazing to have the success he has had and he is the same guy he was when he was in the minors. That’s very, very rare, especially for a guy who achieves this success in NY.
Nothing that will be said about Mariano over the next 2 days will be enough. He is one of the five all-time greatest Yankee players and when you look at the history of the Yankee franchise, that’s saying something.
Mariano’s two at bats were the best things on TV in years!
I don’t know how anyone can watch these games in NL ballparks and still prefer the DH. Nine on nine is what baseball is all about. Give the union an extra roster spot or two or maybe free agency after five years instead of six but it’s time to get rid of this 36-year-old gimmick.
In the five game winning streak Alex is 7-for-15 with nine walks. That’s an OBP of .667. He’s also slugging .867 over this stretch.
Staff ERA is down to 4.47 and Wang is “down” to 10.06. Six of the seven guys in the bullpen have relief ERA of 3.31 or better.
86w183
Isn’t it funny how overall they’re not doing all that poorly, even though, game-by-game (well, at least if you read the game threads
) it didn’t always look that way. I was kind of surprised to look up and see they were 6-3 on the road trip. All’s well that end’s well, right? Even Mariano the Great said, it’ s not how you win, it’s THAT you win.
This team still leaves too many men on base. They need a #5 hitter in the worst way.
SJ — I agree. Safe to assume your other four are Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D. and the Mick?
It’s choosing the next five that would get a lot of differences of opinion.
I’ll take Ford, Berra, Guidry, Jeter and Mattingly.
Definitely time for Jorge at “5″ for now with Cano sliding to “6″ or “7″… boy was he awful last night.
OR would it make sense to fool around with Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Alex, Tex as the 1-5?
Mariano is just amazing. Simply the best.
That for the link for that Youuuuuuse Q&A Betsy.
Betsy, I heard the postgame and Suzyn said that the players were lined up in 2 rows and when Mariano came in he walked between the rows and the team was applauding him. Then they each took turns congratulating him.
I was thinking about this the other day: Why doesn’t Thurman Munson ever get mentioned with the all-Time Yankees? He may not be in the HoF, but, from what I understand he was the soul of the 70s Yankees.
On the farm — Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero both homered yesterday! On the down side Zac Kroenke was not good giving up four runs on three hits ( one a HR) and a walk in two innings. The runs were unearned, but he still wasn’t good.
fran- I heard that too. I would have loved to see video of it. Shows you the admiration his teammates have for him.
Tom in NJ — I have seen many times where Thurman has been mentioned prominently. Yes, he was the Captain and a key to the 1976-78 run but his career was cut short and right now would probably rank fourth among All-Time Yankees catchers behind Berra, Dickey and Jorge
My Top 10 Yankees: Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D, Mick, Yogi, Jeter, Mattingly, Whitey Ford, Bill Dickey and Bernie.
I’m talking about guys who did their damage as Yankees over the majority of their careers.
Guys like Reggie, Goose and others had HOF career but, spent less than 10 years as a Yankee. I’m talkin’ career Yankees in making my list.
Left out Mariano on my list! Dickey and Bernie are tied and add Mo to the list! lol
Best news to come from last night is that CC is telling AJ to use his change up more.
Great ability and great character aren’t connected and really when you think about it there’s no reason to expect they should be. In fact it’s probably a fine thing that good qualities are spread around rather than being concentrated in a few superhumans. But what a pleasure it is to see one of those rare examples.
I never refer to him as Mo. Haven’t for years. ‘The great Mariano Rivera’ has been his rightful moniker for a long time.
CC isn’t the only person on the Yankees telling AJ to use his changeup more. Posada, Girardi, Eiland and Cervelli have told him the same thing.
Who is on the list as the Yankees all-time 2nd basemen? Bobby Richardson? Newly enshrined HoF’er Joe Gordon?
SJ44 it seemed weird because he was said in a interview how throwing a change up doesn’t make him “scared” and not “aggressive”. If you haven’t heard the interview you should check it out.
http://www.wfan.com/pages/223566.php
first link on the right
Jennifer, video would have been great.Too bad that YES did not have a postgame last night.
Carl June 29th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Best news to come from last night is that CC is telling AJ to use his change up more.
————
I heard that too. I sure hope Burnett listens to him.
It’s such common sense that I have no idea why he hasn’t thrown it more often.
He doesn’t have to throw it 20 times a game. Hell, 6-10 times a game would do wonders for him.
It would make him that much tougher to hit and a little less predictable.
Mo definitely has been one of my favorite Yanks, and for a long time. A consummate pro, win or lose.
Great to see Wang take another step on the comeback trail. The team needs him to just be himself and he’ll be good for 16-20 wins a year. First 40% of this year has been a loss for him of course, but if he’s OK now he should win 10-12 games with a normal (for Wang) ERA from here to end of the season. That’s attainable and would be a huge success for him. If he does that, the Yanks better re-sign him and make him happy.
Mets have definitely been scuffling, but that’s NOT to take away from Mo’s milestone or Wang’s first comeback win. I haven’t looked at the LoHud Mets Blog but my guess is that it isn’t any prettier than when they Yanks are going through a bad stretch here.
When Sherman sticks to reporting instead of opining, his blog is a good read-
Yanks were called about DeRosa’s availability and didn’t see a fit.
Yankees officials say there is no current plan to trade Molina so Cervelli could remain back-up.
Yanks in no rush to bring up Jackson. They think he needs the full year in AAA and possibly a little more seasoning there next year too.
Alex’s willingness to take walks is a good thing because it means he trusts his teammates can get it done and isn’t trying to do it all himself.
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports.....a_yan.html
I’d say Tony Lazzeri for 2B.
SJ We mostly agree… except I have Guidry in my top ten with Dickey and Bernie looking in. They would be in my top 15 along with Ruffing, Lazzeri and maybe Earl Coombs
Wfan actually had an angry intelligent Met fan. Stop the presses!!
AJ has a little Nuke LaLoosh in him. But, being on this team is the best thing for him.
Between Girardi, a former catcher, as his manager, veterans like Posada, Molina and CC offering advice, if he listens he will be a better pitcher.
He is throwing the changeup more and that’s all he really has to do. Give the hitters a little bit of a different look.
I’ll tell ya though, if that curveball is as sick as it was Saturday night, adding the changeup will almost be unfair.
95 MPH fastball, nasty hook AND a change make you the best pitcher in the game. Sick, sick stuff from AJ when he is on.
Rivera is the greatest NYY player, this generation.
may as well, clarify it
I think Lazzeri was a SS.
Funny thing is, Wang was better in Atlanta than he was last night. Last night, he had no sinker. Everything was up.
The good thing is, Jorge went to sliders, two seamers and mixed in a couple of changeups and got him through the outing and a win. That’s what a veteran catcher does when his starter doesn’t have his best pitch.
Its still building blocks for him. They really, really need him to be get back to his old self.
If he does, they are the team to beat in the East the second half of the year.
“None of his success has changed him. Its amazing to have the success he has had and he is the same guy he was when he was in the minors. That’s very, very rare, especially for a guy who achieves this success in NY”
nice post
randy,
I went to sleep before I read your response last night so I’m digging this argument back up. The guys from Fire Joe Morgan actually did release their identities – http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2005/04/about-us.html
They are all fairly prominent writers for TV shows. And just to be clear, they didn’t create the website to get Morgan fired and they rip all sports media, not just Morgan.
Joe Morgan was a great baseball player, obviously. Maybe he knew baseball back in his day but the game has changed and he hasn’t changed with it. The guy is a blowhard, a borderline racist and really really unintelligent.
He was great at playing baseball but he says some really stupid things..
Congrats to Mo, the greatest closer ever!
SJ, Tony Laz was a 2B.
SS in those days was Mark Koenig [and for a brief time, Leo Durocher!!]
Tony Lazzeri was a second baseman for 1,456 games and shortstop for 87 and 3B for another 166.
He was a career .292 hitter with 178 HR and over 1,000 RBI.
He did, however make a lot of errors.
I would love to see Wang stay with the Yanks and succeed short and long term, but I don’t see the Yankees committing big dollars to him(relatively speaking). I can see a 4/40M type of deal, but no way AJ type money. I think the first half of this season will scare them from ever making that type of deal, even though it may be unfounded. It seemed like the margin of difference for Wang was very small, @4MPH and bad command, between being the 19 game winner we know and being historically bad.
FI,
Not the greatest closer, the greatest relief pitcher.
I like that A-Rod is taking his walks as well. But I think we can all agree that Cano hitting behind him is not going to get it done.
It’s nothing against Cano but he is just not a good situational hitter and never has been.
People always suggest that he should be moved up in the order but we always see him struggle when that happens.
Posada is the better option to hit behind A-Rod or Matsui if his knees are holding up and he’s feeling good at the plate.
Those guys have always been good situational hitters and pose a much bigger threat and presence hitting behind A-Rod than Cano in that spot.
These days, I try to refrain from watching ESPN baseball games and Baseball Tonight at all costs.
I guess because I know many of the people involved, and their agendas, coupled with the fact the telecasts have rapidly gone downhill for years, it seems like a useless exercise to me.
Last night though, I decided to watch both Baseball Tonight and the entire game to see if anybody got any better now that the MLB Network is in full swing.
Gammons is still Gammons. Can’t complete a sentence without a Red Sox referernce in it.
Kruk is a waste of airspace. Joe Morgan talks and says nothing. John Kruk, like Rick Sutcliffe, talks too much AND says nothing.
Jon Miller is just a parody of himself at this stage of his career. Its sad because he was a great broadcaster at one time. Now, he is just a bad, bad listen.
Joe Morgan just doesn’t belong anywhere near a broadcast booth. He is unprepared, says really dumb stuff showing his unpreparedness and is just a very, very bad broadcaster. Hall of Fame player. Hall of Shame broadcaster.
The guy who surprised me was Steve Phillips. He actually put together some cogent, non-agenda thoughts both on Baseball Tonight and the game broadcast.
Could have been an “off” night for him. Or, he may have taken the critics suggestions to heart, ditch the Anti-Yankee agenda, and just talk about what he sees and knows in the game.
He will probably get reprimanded by the heads of the Clown College up there but, he wasn’t a half bad listen last night.
The capper was Jon Miller seriously suggesting that Arod move to CF so Jeter can move to third! At least the other two shot him down immediately on that.
SJ,
MLB Network is the way to go. I live out of Market, and saved some money on Extra Innings this year due to a baby on the way, and MLB Network is superior. I love thrusday night games with Costas and Kaat.
SJ44 -
I totally agree about Steve Phillips last night. He corraled the conversation a few times to keep it meaningful. I didn’t feel any bias at all, and I was ready for it. In general, I found last night’s broadcast to be more tolerable than they have been in the recent past. I had been choosing to miss ESPN games altogether rather than suffer through the insufferable!
I can’t hear Sterling but judging him from what I read here it seems to me he and Miller are similar. Too many times Miller made mistakes about what player was up or on base.
I used to like Miller but he seems to make less sense the more I hear him.
Morgan seems like McCarver to want to let people how good they were and less willing to just talk good baseball.
When McCarver talks outside a game broadcast about the game and the players he played with and against it is enjoyable. Like listening to history of the game. He played in a time of some of the greats.
living out of market and not willing to spend for the baseball package, I’ll take what I can get…but SJ, you’re dead on about ESPN’s broadcasters…and Coach, you’re right about MLB Networks game coverage. I will have to say though, that I haven’t been much of a fan of anything else on MLB network…
On the lineup discussions, move Cano out of the 5 hole is probably a smart move, but I wouldn’t recommend blowing up the lineup completely as some have suggested, especially now that they have warmed quite a bit. I imagine, or would hope, that we’ll see either Posada or Matsui in the 5 spot with Cano 6th or 7th now that Godzilla is back…
That Alex to CF stuff was comically absurd. Has he ever seen Alex on a fly ball? He looks like a giraffe on roller skates! One position change that will NEVER happen is Alex to the OF.
Costas and Kaat is a terrific listen. I actually kinda like Kruk, though.
A couple of thoughts on your list of great Yankees.
We are very fortunate to have seen some of the greats play in our lifetime.
Also it also shows the media bias that the Yankees buy all their talent.
Steve Phillips suggesting that Jeter can get to 4K hits last night. Morgan did make an interesting point though. He disagreed with Phillips, but not for the thought of him getting there. Joe said that the only way he could get there is if he was moved to another position. He used Cincy moving Rose to 1st so he could just keep on hitting as a good example. They then started a conversation about moving Jeter to another position and his overall longevity. I actually enjoyed hearing them go back and forth over that. It was interesting.
I can’t stand when people talk about moving Jeter off SS. For the last year and a half he’s been average defensively. This year he’s been a bit above average. It’s just so premature to even think about moving him from SS. If he regresses back to 2005-2007 levels of defense then I’ll listen.
Kinda disappointed that ESPN didn’t show the first overall draft pick of the NHL draft NYI John Tavares!.. Damn them!
He did throw out the first pitch last night.
86, actually Alex has looked better on them this season. Thank the infield instructor for that. I know his name was mentioned last week, just cant remember what it is right now. I’m SO glad to see Wang finally get a win, he deserved it. The Mets weren’t chasing his low pitches, but he still got through the lineup.. It was good to see.
I still haven’t seen him go back on a bal in the air and catch it without breaking into a cold seat.
For Jeter to get to 4,000 it’ll take two more years as SS followed by 4-6 years as a DH.
glad to see jeet back in the line up