Fielder’s charge a blast from the past
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This story has some great details about Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder storming the Dodgers clubhouse last night trying to get at Guillermo Mota in retaliation for being hit by a pitch.
Somewhere, Mike Piazza was smiling.
In spring training of 2003, Mota threw at Piazza and the catcher charged the mound. Mota ran away. “Like a scared rabbit,” Mets manager Art Howe said. As the situation started to calm down, Jeromy Burnitz stood in front of the Dodgers dugout challenging somebody to come out and fight him. Nobody did.
But that wasn’t enough for an enraged Piazza. He jumped in his BMW, drove over the other side of the complex and burst into the visitor’s clubhouse. “Where’s Mota?” he demanded.
Mota had fled with teammate Brian Jordan. According to legend, Mota jumped in full uniform into Jordan’s Range Rover and they hightailed it back to Vero Beach. Piazza searched every room then left the scene himself.
The next day, we asked Piazza what he planned to do. “I would have killed him,” he said.
Mike was a placid sort, happy to read his New York Times every afternoon then go 2 for 4 with an opposite-field homer. But I do believe he would have done some damage had he gotten his hands on Mota that night. He had that look in his eyes.
So if Prince gets suspended and fined, I bet he gets a sympathy call from Mike. The Guillermo Mota Fan Club has another member.
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on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 1:30 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Being 2003 and all, I wonder if Piazza was really angry or he had the “roid rage” since he might have been one of the 100 or so players who made the steroid list for that year.
Come on MLBPA or MLB, release the steroid list so we could get on with our lives.
and the way he just walked right off the mound, too – Mota knew exactly what he was doing
In response to Pete’s last post;
Amen Pete.
Part of the frustration with this blog is reading people who are so damn concerned about 2011 and beyond.
Most of you don’t even know if you’ll be alive then.
Gammons, who I pretty much loathe these days, wrote a piece on 8/4 that talked about how most prospects don’t pan out. How Chase Utley never cracked any top prospect lists and how volatile and unpredictable they are. It was actually a good read, although strangely timed after the trade deadline where Boston traded a slew of prospects and was rumored to offer the farm for Felix or Halladay.
Hopefully, some of you can back off the A, AA bandwagon and enjoy this season and hope they play deep into the fall and win a title.
Mota talks a big game when he has a baseball to throw but any site of actually having to man up, he runs scared.
You think the Yankees prospects aren’t overhyped? Especially on this blog?
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The yankees prospects of course get overhyped on yankee blogs. But they don’t get the universal tug job that the Sox get on ESPN or Fangraphs/whatever.
In Bowdens debut I think he pitched 1 or 2 decent innings vs the yankees with a straight as an arrow fastball but a deceptive motion. Miller, Morgan, and Phillips raved for him.
They were raving for him even as Melancon made a really nice debut right after. Throwing 95 with movement and showing the nice curve.
Melancon got no props despite being a much more highly regarded prospect at the time.
Bard has raised his stock by producing in the major leagues, but he only solved his EXTREME control issues from the minors. He still has control issues, they just aren’t as huge. He has a 3.4 bb/9 right now. It as 4.7 last year in AA.
Papelbon had BB/9s of 1.7, 2.3, 1.0 the last 3 years.
Now he is a 3.9 and everyone is freaking out. Bard is right there with him.
repost
Not to defend Mota too much, but he only nailed Fielder because Fielder’s teammate decided to plunk Manny for the sole reason that the Dodgers had scored too many runs. Fielder should’ve known it was coming and taken it like a man.
Baseball players have seem to have no idea how to fight. I bet Piazza would have flailed away, inflicting little or no damage.
The only half-reputable move I’ve ever seen was Izzy Alcantra’s kick of the opposing team’s catcher. Knee up, good balance, then strike.
No well-placed blows before or since…all just senseless flailing.
Even Nolan Ryan did nothing more than deliver repeated noogies to a hapless Robin Ventura.
Baseball players should just leave fighting to those who know what the hell they are doing.
GLove,
I saw that column and its the most cogent thing he has written in years.
Folks get WAY too caught up in believing all of these prospects are going to be stars. They aren’t.
The key is to self scout well. Teams that really know their own systems, and can successfully balance hype from reality, is the key to getting the most out of your prospects.
Baseball America, a great publication, also isn’t the be all, end all when it comes to player evaluation.
You never saw Robinson Cano and Chien Ming Wang on any Top 10 prospect lists in 2003 or 2004 and they have had better ML careers than 75% of the hyped BA guys the last 5+ years.
Making long term evaluations on prospects is always risky.
Not everybody who is tearing up A Ball is going to be a star.
thanks to everyones help ended up getting 4 seats at 111. retail was 60 but got ripped off wateva. Like somebody said yesterday for these premium games buy them early as the event nears prices go up.
thnx for everyones help
I watched all the highlights. I doubt Manny was plunked on purpose. Mota’s a snake.
I couldn’t believe when I read this this morning that Guillermo Mota still had a job pitching in the majors somewhere. The guy has been mostly terrible in recent times pitching-wise, got a 50-game PED suspension and loves hitting guys on purpose. I guess he has that same deal with the devil that Vincente Padilla is still working with.
By the way, that was big yesterday. It gurantees that we go into the Boston series in first place.
Sounds like ‘roid rage to me…
So does Brett Marshall still have a shot at recovering his form? This is really a depressing development because he looked to be a kid with some talent. The Yankees draft position forces them to take risks – I really don’t want to see them drafting safe, mediocrities – but their farm system has been ravaged by injuries. This is going to hurt the big club for a few years now because these youngsters are losing precious developmental time. That means, more $$$ for free agents…… I’m so glad they stopped on McAllister.
Pete’s previous blog thread is spot on – it’s hard for me to enjoy the moment, I admit it. I think about what’s in the future and I think negatively (which I don’t like). It’s been a long time since the Yankees went deep into the playoffs and it seems like everything goes wrong for them (or they aren’t good enough), so I project the results from those years onto this years. This is a very good team – flawed ,yes, but unless you are the 1998 Yankees or the 1927 Yankees, you’re going to be flawed. I honestly thought this would be an exceptional team coming into this year, but pitching issues have sort of derailed that (not that they aren’t very good now) hope. It’s such a close race (and the WC is not a given at all – the Rangers are right behind us and the Sox) – I wish we had more breathing room. Oh well – I can’t ask for much more from the Yankees than they are giving us. Not only is this a good team, but it’s a fun team with good people. It’s really been a great year……
You think that the Mota-Fielder thing was interesting?
Let’s see if Jobamania tries once more to turn a baseball into an intra-cranial probe when he faces Youk.
With Piazza it very well could have been roid’ rage. I forget who said but there have been allegations made that I wouldn’t be surprsied to believe about Mike Piazza and steroids.
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports.....ll_up.html
That’s the link to the story saying that Claggett is getting called up for tonight’s game (per George King of the Post).
King speculates that Ransom is going, which will delight the millions of people that spend time posting about how he should be released immediately on this blog every day. King also thinks that the Yanks will demote Claggett after the Mitre game tonight and bring back Pena–this I don’t agree with, it seems like Pena should continue to play every day until the Scranton season ends.
Gotta think Claggett coming up would be to “shadow” Mitre and in case he blows up early, we can insert Claggett and not tax the bullpen leading to a huge Sox series.
Clagett’s on the 40man. Corresponding 25man move? DFA Ransom. Gotta be.
Can’t keep up with these new threads:
“Whatever the cause, you don’t believe the Yankees currently match the Red Sox system in quality or depth, do you? ”
KS,
Just saw your post from the last thread.
I agree with a number of the points you made.
But on the whole I do think you are drawing dispropotionately favorable impressions of Red Sox players compared to analagous yankee players. I think you’re taken players with huge question marks next to them as being much more developed or certain than they should be.
One thing you have to do when looking at the teams is to not create a hard boundary between the minors and majors.
For instance, you bring up Masterson and Bard as part of the Red Sox “system.” They are both on the major league roster. And Master son has been so for over a year.
I’ve found the discussions around bucchholz around the trade deadline remarkable. I like Buchholz. I think he’s very talented. But he has huge question marks by him. But for some reason people talk about him as if he’s had steady major league success – which he hasn’t in any form yet.
The only reason Buccholz is part of the sox “system” is because he miserably failed in his trial in the majors last year. You don’t give a system credit for one of it’s “stars” failing.
The proper comparison for Buchholz would have to be Joba and Hughes. But that’s no longer even a matter for debate. Joba has thrown 30 starts and has an ERA of 3.4. Buchholz doesn’t have close to that kind of resume. Hughes as this point has shown substantially more than Buchholz.
Of all the rest of the guys you mentioned on the Sox the one who stands out is Bard. He is clearly better than any relief prospect the yankees have.
But that is one guy.
I am still completely unclear what makes Michael Bowden so special? Why is he such a name. I’ve seen him pitch. He’s a back of the rotation guy. Masterson can’t get lefties out and was a reliever. Lars Anderson has had an awful season.
Yet all of these guys are “names.” Why?
Why is it that the Red Sox called up Josh Reddick – a guy most people haven’t heard of from AA to fill in when Bay got hurt but wouldn’t call up the superstar prospect Lars Anderson from AA when Lowell got hurt and papi was doing nothing?
Right now, IMO, the yankees have more young talent than the Sox.
The Sox have no one remotely comparable to Joba and Hughes. The Sox have no prospect that is anywhere close to as good as Montero. They don’t have a guy who is as good as Jackson at a comparable level.
And on the whole, the yankees have more pitching in their system than the sox. And that is going to be the difference.
Oh yeah, Jobba vs. Youkilis should be fun.
Not a bad idea to put Youk on base anyway. He’s been tearing the cover off the ball.
uh-oh Pujols just got hit by a pitch – Wright better becareful!
Wait till they come to OUR house AGAIN
August 5th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
With Piazza it very well could have been roid’ rage. I forget who said but there have been allegations made that I wouldn’t be surprsied to believe about Mike Piazza and steroids.
***
I know several Mets fans who are petrified the 2003 list will be released with him on it before Piazza can be voted into the HOF
What is the over undr on IP/Runs that Mitre giving up tonight….I say 4IP and 5 ER minimum…Yanks better have their bats ready…
So, does Marshall have a chance to recover his form? It’s a depressing development as he looked to be a kid with some talent. The Yanks are caught between a rock and a hard place – their drafting position leaves them with no choice but to draft high risk players (or else pick safe mediocrities).
Pete’s previous blog post could have been directed to me. I have a hard time enjoying the moment because I’m thinking about how, in recent post-seasons (or last year) everything that could go wrong, did (or, the Yankees weren’t good enough). I’m projecting last years results onto this year…..I thought going into this season that the Yankees would be an exceptional team. Well, pitching injuries and lack of performance have derailed that hope, but it is still a very good team. It’s ok that they have flaws -unless you’re the 1927 or 1998 Yankees, every WS champion has flaws. I admit that I would have hoped for an easier path to the playoffs. The WC is not even close to being guaranteed to come out of the East as the Rangers are a very good team as well…..That said, this has been a fun year. Not only are the Yankees a good team, but they are a team full of good people……and I’ve gotten a great deal of enjoyment from them this year. I can not ask for anything more from them – this team simply does not quit.
Bard is good, but I heard isn’t Melancon rated very highly by the Yankees? doesn’t he compare at least favorably with Bard? People were talking about how he’d replace Mo as our closer one day.
SJ,
I usually don’t read Gammons anymore, but I clicked on that one and thought it was a great read since so many in baseball are drooling over kids who have proven nothing.
It seems like the importance and luster of winning a championship today is being dwarfed by hoarding kids with potential.
Makes no sense to me. You spend all the money to win a title. You want those post season games and the revenue and excitement they generate for your franchise.
Some kid pitching with both hands in Staten Island doesn’t do anything for the big club until he’s ready.
If we had to trade a slew of potential for a Halladay or Cliff Lee who we would have controlled through next season it would have been worth it.
Say what you want about Halladay, but he pitched a complete game last night and kept his team in the game. The guy is a horse.
If Mitre spits the bit again tonight people will be in a frenzy over who we could get on waivers when just a week ago if we were willing to trade some future potential we’d have that problem solved.
I hope Mitre has a good game tonight. We need the win. With a chance to go into the series this weekend up 2.5 on Boston, we really need the win.
Two examples of how you can have smart baseball people differ on prospects.
I was in Chicago during all of the deadline stuff. I was talking to one of my scout friends at the Sox-Yankee game TR night and he offered me some insight on the Sox-Indians talks.
He told me that Mark Shapiro would “walk away” if he had to take Buchholz for Martinez. He LOVED Hagadone and Masterson and was unwilling to take Buchholz and Masterson in the deal.
Sure enough, Mark got what he wanted because the Red Sox were desperate for a bat.
Now, if you listen to a lot of the Red Sox shills in the media, you would think its a “win” for them not to have traded Buchholz. The facts however, are the Indians got EXACTLY what they wanted for Martinez.
BA released its revised prospect rankings for the Pirates, post-trades. My nephew is ranked third, with this caveat:
“Tony Sanchez has to hit in order to justify his #4 selection in this years draft. So far, he is hitting .342, the highest of any of the signed drafted players thus far. Even so, the Pirates still took him too high”.
How does that statement make sense? If he hits, it justifies his ranking. He’s hitting but, its still not good enough?
That’s what happens with some members of the media when something occurs they hadn’t played on. In this instance, my nephew going #4 overall.
If the kid is at this early stage the #3 prospect in the ENTIRE organization, guess what? The pick was legit. If he declines next year, you re-evaluate.
However, its pretty tough to quibble with a guy being the third best overall prospect in an organization who has only been in the organization for a little over 6 weeks.
but I heard isn’t Melancon rated very highly by the Yankees?
–
Melancon was rated VERY highly by the yankees. All the interviews about him suggested he completely dominated their team psyche evaluations and graded out to be a closer type. Supposedly has amazing composure and mound presence.
I would like to see that translate into results in the majors. Hopefully now that he has a couple good appearances in a row he will get into a groove.
He probably needs 2 or so seasons working under Mariano before I’d even think about making him the closer.
Claggett up, Ransom out?
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports.....ll_up.html
“King speculates that Ransom is going, which will delight the millions of people that spend time posting about how he should be released immediately on this blog every day. King also thinks that the Yanks will demote Claggett after the Mitre game tonight and bring back Pena–this I don’t agree with, it seems like Pena should continue to play every day until the Scranton season ends.”
Thank god! and Thank god it’s not Shelley Maas. El Nino doesn’t need much more AAA.
That’s hilarious – go Mike!!
I believe in leaving the game on the field and if Prince was that angry he should’ve done something on the field and not storm their clubhouse. At the same time, if you’re man enough to throw the retaliation pitch then you don’t run away from the consequences
Melancon is a bit overhyped but most unbiased scouts think he will be an 8th inning guy in the future. I think that sounds pretty reasonable.
I think they are an exceptional team, betsy.
The way I look at it, the pitchoing was a bit worse than expected (and wouldn’t be if not for Wang). The offense is better. The bullpen started off bad but has improved a lot.
If we win 100 games, and we might, we could be an exceptional team. I expected this team to make the playoffs. Once there, anything can happen.
I never expected them to be the 98′ Yankees though. Expecting that is sort of like expecting a perfect game; teams like that come once in a blue moon and it’s unfair to compare other teams to them.
CB, Joba and Phil’s success in the pen have hurt their rep to some degree. Because of their dominance there, it makes their ups and downs as starters seem worse than they really are. The expectations for Joba grew so out of when he was in the pen, that anything less than perfection as a starter (Mike Francesca, are you reading this) is considered a disappointment. I explained about Phil in the other threads – he’s been through the wringer, with experts and scouts giving up on him. He’s going to be up and down next year, too – so we can expect the same handwringing over him that we went through earlier this year.
Bucholz threw a no-hitter and I think that buys him a great deal of grace. Maybe it’s the fact that he has a great change instead of FB that intrigues people more …who knows? In the end, I also think that the Sox are put on a pedestal by the media and baseball experts alike. That’s what drives everything……
Melancon is a bit overhyped but most unbiased scouts think he will be an 8th inning guy in the future. I think that sounds pretty reasonable.
–
I don’t know how a guy with a 92-95 fastball, curve, sub 1 whip that gets K’s and ground balls without giving up HRs could be considered overhyped. I mean, I guess this blog could have overhyped him, but where is this hype coming from?
I usually saw him ranked reasonably in the top 10 of yankee prospects by most places with the caveat that he can be a great setup man and potential closer if he develops to his potential.
So Melancon is apparently overrated?
From what I’ve seen of Melancon I really like him.
SJ,
For your nephew’s sake, let’s hope he never gets overhyped. It seems like that is a bit of a kiss of death in prospect ville these days.
.342 right out of the gate is exceptional and if he were a Red Sox prospect Gammons would be touting him the next Johnny Bench, lol.
I really hope Joba continues his dominance. He always pitches well vs. the Sox so I expect him too.
Recap of today’s appearance by the ever enlightening Al Leiter:
MLB Network Al Leiter joined the show to discuss big topics in baseball …
– Leiter said that he is in favor of Hank Aaron speaking up and asking for authorities to release all the names on the 2004 anonymous MLB drug test.
Leiter is frustrated that his whole generation is thrown into the same category … as potential steroid users. Leiter says he took the famous test in 2003. He said he got a list of things players shouldn’t be taking. And they were told that it was anonymous. Leiter said he thought he was just a number and the names weren’t attached.
Leiter also explained that they were getting subpoenaed right after the test because of the BALCO case and asked by the government not to throw out the test.
Leiter said that he’s never had a teammate come up and tell him he used performance-enhancing drugs. Leiter says he had a strong hunch, but until you see the guy use a needle, it’s all speculation.
– Leiter says that as a pitcher, sometimes you have to throw at guys to protect their hitters. Leiter said younger pitchers get “a little nod” and “you kind of know what you have to do.”
Leiter said that pitchers have to think about the overall team even if it puts them in a bad position.
“I don’t advocate anyone ever throwing above the shoulder,” Leiter said, “but there is something to be said for protecting your player.”
piazza roid rage
“uh-oh Pujols just got hit by a pitch – Wright better becareful!”
Him and Murphy,
LaRussa: “My motto is you hit one of our guys, we hit two of yours”
It’s time to play “Guess the Line Up”
Post your line ups to me here (or new threads as they come up) with players AND positions
Please note- I am extremely busy today so it is very important you make sure I have your line ups when I post the people in so far. Also do NOT post on an old thread if there is a new one.
Guess the Line Up ends at 3:40. No submissions allowed after that time
Many people were upset that the yankees didn’t get jarrod washburn at the deadline.
Some even suggested that it was wrong of the yankees to not trade Austin Jackson for Washburn.
Washburn is a free agent at the end of the year. So trading for him is more accurately trading for 12 starts. That’s it. That’s what you are going to get from him in terms of a trade.
And if you trade for 12 starts every one of those starts had better be very, very good.
Now that’s a tall order. But that is also why mid-season trades turn out so badly so often. There’s just not a lot of chances the player being traded for gets.
12 starts. That’s what you’re trading for. There’s no guarantee of the a post season. 12 starts.
Last night Washburn made his debut for the tigers in the heat of a pennant race and got bombed.
Detroit was playing the awful Orioles who just got shellacked by the sox. They have completely given up on competing in baltimore.
They called up a rookie to start last nights game.
That was Washburn’s daunting competition. The O’s and a rookie pitcher making his big league debut.
And Washburn goes out and throws 5 innings and gives up 6 runs.
A gutless performance.
And that gutless performanc is 8% of the total games the Tigers will get from Washburn.
When trading for veterans people often assume that the gutty veterans like Washburn are a “given” and all the risk is on the prospect side.
But the fact is there is risk on both sides and guys like Washburn aren’t guys you can count on as given.
11 starts to go for the tigers to derive some value…
Itg’s heaven BP filler for Cody and no Shelley. The FO is growing a brain.
“Claggett up, Ransom out?
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports…..ll_up.html”
sweeeeeeeeet.
“It’s time to play “Guess the Line Up”
Post your line ups to me here (or new threads as they come up) with players AND positions”
You left out an important detail in the Mota-Piazza confrontation: Mota throwing his glove at Piazza before turning and scampering off. One of the most wonderful moments I’ve ever witnessed.
“I mean, I guess this blog could have overhyped him, but where is this hype coming from?”
Yankee fans that expect him to be Mariano 2.0
That’s not going to happen..
Guess what Brandon?!?!
You are still banned!!! HAHAHAHAHA
Erica-
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Texeira 1b
A-Rod 3b
Matsui DH
Cano 2b
Swisher LF
Melky CF
Molina C
Brandon… I’M AWESOME ! SOMEBODY FIND ME THE REAL CC SABATHIA !!!!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
“uh-oh Pujols just got hit by a pitch – Wright better becareful!”
Him and Murphy,
LaRussa: “My motto is you hit one of our guys, we hit two of yours”
——————————–
Looks like Ludwick got hit, too – someone’s going to end up on the DL today
If Melancon can turn into a reliable 8th inning guy by next season, not unreasonable, it will make the Yankees a MUCH better team in 2010.
CC-AJ-Joba-Hughes, with Aceves-Coke-Bruney-Melancon and Mo in the pen gives them 9 pitchers with considerable talent on the staff.
Seven of those 9 would be under 30. That’s impressive.
Clagget?
Well, all right.
Here’s an idea: We’re stuck with Kei Igawa. The Yankees won’t (and rightly so) put Igawa anywhere NEAR their starting rotaion. Why not try him in the bullpen?
Roid rage?
Erica my lineup guess:
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Hairston 3B
i do not like cody ransom. thx
WTTCTOHA-
You have two left fielders.
SJ-Would you conisder it unreasonable to say that his ceiling is of an above average closer?
“Looks like Ludwick got hit, too – someone’s going to end up on the DL today ”
That would just be cruel , Niese is already on the DL.
Erica not cool
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Texeira 1B
A Rod 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Ransom DFA
If Claggett is coming up, they may still have concerns about Aceves.
Erica (sorry for the typo)-
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Texeira 1b
A-Rod 3b
Matsui DH
Cano 2b
Swisher RF
Melky CF
Molina C
Wait, one problem with adding Igawa in any way is that he’s not on the 40-man roster, so it would require another move to be made just to promote him. You could argue that DFAing Ransom and adding Igawa to the 40-man + promoting him makes sense, but I think for the short-term Claggett is fine. If they determine that Mitre is not going to cut it, we’ll see what happens.
CB,
Just to play devil’s advocate, on the flipside what if Austin Jackson turns out to be Gerald Williams or Ricky Ledee when he’s promoted to the majors?
Brandon-
If you will stop making annoying joke line ups and honor “Guess the Line Up” as the serious sport it is, I will reinstate you
If I was Girardi I would not use Rivera and Hughes tonight. Even if it is a save situation. You want both Hughes and Rivera avaliable for all 4 games against the red sox.
I don’t know if Melancon’s ceiling is as an above average closer.
I think its more accurate to say he can be an elite setup guy.
His arm action scares the daylights out of me. Love his competitive fight and toughness, but his arm action isn’t necessarily build for the long term.
If he can become a solid 8th inning guy over the next couple of years, that’s a win for the Yankees.
Igawa is banned to SWB for life (or the end of his flushed contract, whichever comes first)
Sorry, banished to SWB
Erica,
My guess:
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez DH
Posada C
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston 3B
Even when the Mets win, they lose
“The O’s and a rookie pitcher making his big league debut.”
In all fairness, this was a very high end rookie pitcher.
Also disagree with your assessment that the team has mailed it in. Organizationally, they’ve put a postage stamp on the ‘09 season, but the players have been coming to play. They’re simply cursed by geography. They’re about a .500 team in games not against the AL East.
Claggett doesn’t have anything to do with Aceves. Its better to burn him rather than Aceves tonight if he’s needed. This way they can save him for the Sox series fully rested.
Chances are Claggett is only here for a day since I doubt they will carry 13 pitchers for the Sox series.
I just think that because we’re stuck with him is it unreasonable to believe he could have sucess out of the pen? Lots of pitchers that can’t start can be good bullpen guys. Look at that guy on the Phillies, Chan Ho Park. Couldn’t pitch at all as a starter but is doing fine out of the pen.
Gotta love the position the Yankees are in. They simply need to play slightly better than .500 ball the rest of the way and they’ll end up with 95 wins.
I’m assuming they’ll do better then that. So 100 wins isn’t out of the question.
G Love:
Still not worth 2 months of Washburn.
new post on Claggett
Igawa’s issue is the same starting vs. relieving:
He can’t throw strikes, and when he does, they’re fat & he gets bombed.
Sayonara.
New Thread
NO MORE LINE UPS HERE
You can’t trade Austin Jackson for Jarrod Washburn.
You trade Austin Jackson type prospects for the Roy Halladay’s of the world, not Washburn.
That’s overpaying IMO.
If Mitre can’t do the job, then you go in a different direction.
The fifth starter is not going to decide the pennant race.
Of course you use Rivera and Hughes tonight if needed. Worry about tomorrow tomorrow. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; if we could more or less gurantee a win by using them today, you have to. What if we don’t need them tomorrow? Even if we do I doubt they’d be burned out.
Mr. MVP – SS
Mr. I Own Roy Halladay – LF
Mr. Gold Glove – 1B
Mr. Lets Rest My Hip So I Can Massacre Boston – DH
Mr. Hip Hip – C
Mr. Rocky Road Redemption RF
Melky’s Translator 2B
Mr. New Guy 3B
Mr. I yell spanish obscenities when I do something good CF
Clearly, I’m not too busy at work today
We need to stop worry about “saving” people for the Red Sox series.
This game in Toronto counts just as much as the next 4 vs. Boston.
Brad Penny is pitching for the Sox. Tampa has a great shot at getting the W. Us beating Toronto then would give us a 2.5 game lead.
Every game counts.
Well since you asked, then lets be fair. The Yanks won’t win every matchup, but neither do the RSox. I’ll take the Yanks version!
1. Who are the Yankees equivalents to:
Bowden, Aceves
Bard, Mark Melancon
Buchholz, Kennedy
Masterson (gone), Coke
Hagadone (gone), Brackman (Here)
Lars Anderson? Jesus Montero
?, Austin Jackson
2. Then on the major league roster, Who are the Yankees equivalents to:
Youklis, Soriano/ARod
Papelbon, Hughes
Lester, Joba
Ellsbury, Melky
Pedroia? Cano
?, Wang
?, Gardner
?, Austin Romine
mets are just unbelievable…castillo gets hurt yesterday…niese falls to the ground in agony today, hamstring…now sheffield is hurt again…insanity
“Just to play devil’s advocate, on the flipside what if Austin Jackson turns out to be Gerald Williams or Ricky Ledee when he’s promoted to the majors?”
Sure. That’s possible.
That’s why I said there is risk on both sides.
But when discussing “prospects” all too often people dismiss the risk associated with players like Washburn just because they are veterans.
What if Washburn turns out like Eric Gagne?
At the time of the Gagne deal many people who derisively dismissed “prospects” thought it was crazy that the yankees didn’t trade Kennedy and Melky for the great gagne.
Think about how much Mekly has helped this club this year.
But at the time people were dying over the fact that the yankees were “letting” the magnificent, earth changing gagne go to the sox. How could they?
How could they keep hugging their prospects like that! Gagne!!!!!
We saw plenty of that.
And again. When you trade for a veteran mid-season it is 100% put up or shut up time because it is all about short term, what are you doing for me right now. There’s no projections needed.
12 starts.
And in his debut – against a joke of a team that is throwing out a rookie starter – Washburn does not show up. Gutless performance.
And if had done that for the yankees, yankee fans would be livid. Incensed.
One of his 12 starts was completly gutless. And what Austin Jackson does or does not become does not change the fact in any way that one of those 12 starts was equivalent if not worse than what Mitre could have given them.
Those are facts now. Not conjecture.
Aceves hasn’t pitched since July 31st. They are clearly trying to reduce his workload.
Get Marte back up here and re-sign Vera so YES can start showing those cha-cha commericals with those dopes.
Wow you Yankee fans really cannot wait till L.A. comes there? Good luck as it seems like you have to get past both of the So Cal teams. If Mota hit him that is part of baseball. As for baseball players cannot fight maybe true but they can use a bat as when Juan Marichal of San Franciso hit Johnny Roseboro of the Dodgers some 40 years ago.
It seems as though the Dodgers are living up to the reputation of their fans all of a sudden? This is why I don’t go to Dodger baseball games, the fans are low life thugs and it appears the actual players are no better.
Why didn’t Piazza do anything when Clemens threw at him? Cause he would only “man up” when it’s a skinny opponent. I hate you Piazza.