Rumble in the Bronx
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Sep 30, 2009 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
The Yankees have talked about how they want to bring boxing back to the Stadium. Apparently, they already have.
LOVE the use of the huge foam finger.
In other news, the Yankees announced at a press conference this morning that they’ll be hosting a college bowl game at the Stadium starting in 2010. The game will feature teams from the Big East and Big 12.
Hilarious.
Man that was hilarious!
They spent most of the Sportscenter highlight on that fight…
Just gotta love the kids. funny funny.
now that the molina/posada debate has been settled…arent the yanks afraid of ruining the field with these football games? i know they can lay down new sod but ive never seen a good baseball field that is also used for football
Sam
Thanks for changing the subject. The last one is getting so old it’s painfull.
The Molina/AJ thing is a coincidence……though I think Po should have caught him last night. AJ enjoys throwing to Posada and specifically asked Joe to keep them together. We really shouldn’t have to rehash this again, but AJ pitched brilliantly in June and July and Po was the catcher. AJ also had a terrible start with Molina recently, before he started to turn things around. The point is, AJ has turned things around, but it’s because of him, not the catcher. Posada will be doing all the catching, for all the pitchers, and that’s the way it’s going to be.
Now that’s ultimate fighting!
Don’t let facts get in the way? Facts can be twisted to suit one’s purposes. LOL……Molina is not the cause of AJ pitching well recently, AJ is. It’s always about the pitcher. I love how AJ/Molina fans conveniently forget that AJ had a horrible start with Molina behind the plate recently…..and how they conveniently forget June and July, when AJ tore up the league. This has nothing to do with AJ being streaky (which he is). It has to do with the fact that a pitcher’s performance is all on him, not the catcher. That goes for CC, Andy, AJ and any pitcher in the league.
Aww, little boys – just so cute!
I was literally LOL when I saw that last night on BBTN.
Good catch, Sam. That was hilarious.
betsy, true…the pitcher ultimately has to pitch well to succeed…but a catchers pitch selection as well as thinking the same way his pitcher is goes a long way in how a pitcher feels and performs; dont underestimate a pitchers rythym…for whatever reason, molina/burnett- much better combo for the yanks
Ding dong the witch is dead, the big fat witch, the big fat witch, ding dong the big fat witch is dead!
This is indeed a glorious day.
Betsy, for the love of God, stop it and get off the dead horse. I was hoping we left that in the last thread. And last summer too.
Teddy Atlas analysis =]
That was fantastic…for just a minute, props to ESPN for that one and big props to Sam for linking it here!
Betsy, I have said from the start, the whole A.J./catcher thing should not be about blaming anybody… The idea is to make the Yankees the best team they can be.
Has A.J. had SOME bad starts with Molina??? Yes.
Has A.J. had SOME good starts with Posada??? Yes.
But baseball is about percentages, and the OVERALL results of A.J. with Molina vs. A.J. with Posada ARE NOT CLOSE.
That myself and many others obviously disagree with you (and Peter) is of no real importance.
That the YANKEES themselves (Girardi and Cashman, specifically) obviously disagree with you??? That ranks as a little more significant.
It’s not a coincidence that Molina has caught every single one of Burnett’s starts the last month… And if you think he’ll be pitching to Posada in the post season, I believe you’re kidding yourself.
Were those children under the O’Neill banner?
“And if you think he’ll be pitching to Posada in the post season, I believe you’re kidding yourself.”
I’ve got a $100 that says Molina starts ZERO postseason games.
Oh my goodness…another thread that I have to pass on? Beating a dead horse.
I love how they included punch stats in their analysis.
someone wrote that on a $100 bill? what are the chances? did you show it to Girardi?
Girardi should just be the starting catcher.
STATS Since the All-Star Game
ERA
Boston 4.65
Halos 4.17
Tigers 4.50
Yankee 3.91
Win and Loses
Boston 37-32
Halos 44-27
Tigers 36-34
Yankee 51-19
51-19, that’s pretty incredible. And remember how grim it looked after the sweep at Anaheim? That series seems like it happened 5 years ago.
“I’ve got a $100 that says Molina starts ZERO postseason games.”
And how exactly would I collect were I foolish enough to make a bet with an anonymous internet poster?
More importantly, you REALLY think the Yankees have avoided using Burnett with Posada for the last month of the season, and now they’re just going to throw them back together in a best-of-5 playoff series?
I can’t think of many things more stupid.
Now that’s boys being boys….priceless.
By the way, I still don’t see how the Yanks are going to fit a football game in the stadium without moving the fences. That overlay Pete had awhile back had the corner of the end-zone literally in the dug out and in the left center field gap.
Now that we had a full season here, the dimensions (even though they ARE smaller) don’t bother me at all. I think they should leave them the way they are next year.
bru
September 30th, 2009 at 11:50 am
i think with burnett,molina,posada posada has a very strong personality that might conflict at times with burnetts.
with molina i believe burnett is more at ease with calling his own game
it does not mean posada cant catch molina or burnett cant pitch a good ame with posada.
i think it might be that for whatever reason burnett gives in to a pitch call by posada & when it goes bad burnett gets upset
burnett pitches at his best when his emotions are under control & for whatever reason he might feel more at ease with molina & his personality
you cant totally discount it.
sometimes when 2 strong personalities get in each others way
i’ll be very surprised if girardi starts molina in the first game burnett pitches, but a manager has to do what he feels in a short playoff series.
girardi has options and that’s why the yankees are a very good team.
i think it’ll get down to a gut level decision by girardi and he may have a different gut feeling each game .
girardi can go by his gut because he’s got as much catching experience as anyone on the planet and knows his and catchers.
i realize this is a blog and anyone can say anything they want, but i think people on both sides of the posada/molina/burnett issue should take the attitude of watching this situation with the idea of learning something.
i don’t care what anyone’s experience level is on this blog. no one knows this situation like girardi does , me included.
we know the questions and those are open to discussion.
i say watch what’s going on and learn something.
@ Bru
COMPLETELY agree… Not only that, there is no way Burnett trusts Posada to block the 2-strike curve/clurve in the dirt.
It’s a lot of things that lead to, as you said, an emotional guy being very uncomfortable pitching to Posada.
Doesn’t make EITHER of them a bad guy, and this should not be about punishing anybody or blaming anybody. This should be about giving the Yankees their best chance to win, and when Burnett is on the mound, that mean Molina behind the plate.
bru, I can totally discount it without any problem whatsoever.
The pitcher is the one throwing the ball. He makes his own decisions. Burnett implodes when his location is off and he leaks over the plate. No other reason. Mac can think he won this argument all he wants. Most people who read this blog know better.
@ Randy I
You make some good points… But the overall issue to me is, if they (Girardi/Cashman) intended for Posada to catch Burnett in the post season, it only makes sense to keep them working together in the final month of a regular season that was all but meaningless to the Yankees.
Even Peter, who was the greatest of the Posada defenders, admits there is an issue with Posada and Burnett.
It makes absolutely no sense at all to skip four or five chances to have them work together when there is nothing on the line only to throw the odd couple back together for game 2 (or 3) of a best-of-five playoff series.
“I can’t think of many things more stupid.”
I’ve got another $100 that says you can…..easily.
If you really want a laugh,check out these articles/titles at http://www.nesn.com
1.Beckett receives cortisone injections in back.(Beckett faults recent 10 game road trip and poor sleeping conditions as source of problems,that and getting to the next city at 5am)
2.With wildcard clinched,Red Slops look to snap losing streak(they’ve lost 8 of 10.) They thank the Angels for helping them back into the playoffs.Noting that they are facing them in the first round.
It’s easy to see why the Angels have only won 1 WS title.
They had already clinched,and could rest their starting players.Could’ve let the Rangers win to string out the RED SLOPS agony. Make the Red Slops use their regulars to clinch,ensuring their being worn out,but they let them off the hook.
Homefield was already decided so why not help out your own teams chances by tiring out the Red Slops,you face in the 1st round.Stoopid!!
randy l., nicely said. I’ll definitely have egg on my face if Molina starts for Burnett, lol.
Girardi will obviously be the one calling the shots and if he chooses Molina I will trust his judgment. I’m always for learning something. As your an ex-catcher, I value your opinion rather highly. If you say their could be something to it, I believe it. My contention is that it is blown out of proportion and the actual impact is minimal at best.
randy
The point you make is something that seems to be lost by many posters here on this subject.
Any of us can have an opinon on this subject, but thats all it is.
Joe is in the clubhouse with these guys and has the true handle on this situation. To me he is much better suited to know what the best choice is than any of us can possibly know.
haiku-man,
That would be logical, but against all that is holy with the baseball gods. Teams don’t throw down for nobody.
Mac, I do understand….I just disagree with the AJ/Molina/Posada thing. Oh well – I think reasonable minds can disagree, right?
DB
Why help out the team that owns ya!!
“My contention is that it is blown out of proportion and the actual impact is minimal at best.”
That’s where I fall as well. Posada was Burnett’s primary catcher in June and July when he was pitching at his best this year. Molina caught him exactly zero times over that stretch. Also believe that in the postseason, you use your best lineup, which in the Yankees case includes Posada.
Um, no Ditmars…if you don’t like what I have to say, don’t read it. I was not able to post on the other thread before this new one opened………It’s not your job to police the blog.
JOEY FRANCISCO WOULD BE PROUD!
UNDER THE O’NEILL BANNER!
FOAM FINGER FISTICUFFS!
“haiku-man
September 30th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
If you really want a laugh,check out these articles/titles at http://www.nesn.com
1.Beckett receives cortisone injections in back.(Beckett faults recent 10 game road trip and poor sleeping conditions as source of problems,that and getting to the next city at 5am)
2.With wildcard clinched,Red Slops look to snap losing streak(they’ve lost 8 of 10.) They thank the Angels for helping them back into the playoffs.Noting that they are facing them in the first round.
It’s easy to see why the Angels have only won 1 WS title.
They had already clinched,and could rest their starting players.Could’ve let the Rangers win to string out the RED SLOPS agony. Make the Red Slops use their regulars to clinch,ensuring their being worn out,but they let them off the hook.
Homefield was already decided so why not help out your own teams chances by tiring out the Red Slops,you face in the 1st round.Stoopid!!”
—————————-
“Hello, you play to win the game!”
Ding Dong, there are plenty of people who agree with me here, not that that matters. You can think the Yankees agree with you all you want – you’re reading way too much into these last few Molina/AJ sstarts, but that’s up to you.
I still have yet to see a response to the stats that AJ had his best pitching of the season when he pitched to Posada…….
If Pete leaving won’t kill the blog Posadagate will.
The only thing bad about Molina in the line up is…he strikes out a lot,and calls a good game.It’s like a NL game where you know the pitcher is an automatic out.
No policing, Betsy, it’s just that it’s a dead horse and has been for months. Why the constant rehashing?
I suppose I can skip over your comments, but if you have something new and interesting to say, I would not want to miss it.
DB
September 30th, 2009 at 11:59 am
bru, I can totally discount it without any problem whatsoever.
The pitcher is the one throwing the ball. He makes his own decisions. Burnett implodes when his location is off and he leaks over the plate. No other reason. Mac can think he won this argument all he wants. Most people who read this blog know better.
———————————————————–
maybe
jeter,arod,cano all throw the ball differently with tex at 1b
it is a mental thing that cant be discounted
ulimately you might be right but certain personalities have to be massaged
tiger woods brings out the best in others like nobody else can
burnett simply might not like the way posada treats him
we just dont know
that is all i am saying
at work some manaagers & personalities get in my way & do more harm than good
i got transfered to a store that was having audit & inventory problems.
my first day i was asked what i needed to pass these audits & i said give me 1 year to do it my way & after that make a decision
long story short we consistently have the best scores in our 16 store market.
all of this after i had to listen to managers who had very strong personalities & influence
you have to be open to everything
AJ was talking a bit about his performance last night, he put the causes on himself.
During the whole ordeal about him and Jorge there was some heat of the moment feelings and comments made that allowed for there to be perceived discontent. In part, that is driven by how the reporters are taught to go after stories, and even more so by how the TV opinion makers go about their jobs. If there isn’t much of a story then its a cover up type of mentality.
AJ pitched well. He also didn’t like coming out of the game and yet Girardi giving him the reason smoothed things over very well. AJ commented on it, and I think the respect level rose from AJ toward Girardi for giving him the big picture answer while letting him know his confidence in AJ was high.
I think Girardi, for all his faults, both perceived and imagined by us fans, has done a very good job growing into the job. His way of doing things seem to be evolving and becoming more effective.
These remaining games seem to be filled with interesting things to watch for. Some of the smaller role players getting a chance to perform in set situations, young players getting a moment to shine, so they aren’t really meaningless. They may not mean anything to the overall standing, but this is the final polishing before the big show… the post season.
When the red slops show up all refreshed,you’ll see a lot of Angel gnashing their respective teeth.
Now 3 year olds are fighting over who should catch AJ? Did the redhead or the kid in the Yankee cap want Posada?
I’ll take the same tactic as the dad in the video. Ignore that a conflict exists and let them work it out for themselves without my input.
Betsy,
What will you say if Molina is the starting catcher for Burnett’s first playoff start?
randy
One more thing to add to your post. Not only was Girardi an accomplished catcher, Tony Pena was as well.
Seems to me between the two of them they might know the best choice.
Halladay vs Wakefield,hope they bunt him all night with that bad back.
bru, not a very good analogy. Jeter, Cano, and Arod throw better because Tex is a human vacuum. He saves their errors. Not the case with a pitcher. Posada isn’t Tony Pena back there, but he can hold his own. I think he has one more games with his arm than lost more games with his glove.
The Angels have clinched, I would presume they are resting players and setting up their pitching as well. The Sox will have a hard time getting by them this year(IMO)esp w/ the Angels’ running game.
It will be interesting to see who catches AJ in his last start.
did Texas win?
“Halladay vs Wakefield,hope they bunt him all night with that bad back.”
Be Wakefield’s last start of ’09 whether they bunt or not. Sure seems like they prefer hitting homers to bunting of late. Saves time, yet gets good results.
We expect the Yankees to pick the series that starts Wednesday or Thursday?
This is how I feel about the Molina/Posada thing.
http://tinyurl.com/nkwbrw
“we know the questions and those are open to discussion.
i say watch what’s going on and learn something.”
Randy I is on target here. You have two pretty good catchers in Girardi and Pena calling the shots here. They know the situation and will figure out the best plan of attack.
On another topic, and I’m sure this has been asked and answered before, but why doesn’t YES have a “K-Zone” or something like it? Its not like they can’t afford it, and with the quality of pitching the NYYs have now, I would really like to see how good CC, AJ etc all are.
“but why doesn’t YES have a “K-Zone” or something like it?”
It’s not especially reliable might be their reason.
raymagetic -
Amen!
“Randy I is on target here. You have two pretty good catchers in Girardi and Pena calling the shots here. They know the situation and will figure out the best plan of attack.”
Could not agree more.
And for at least the last month, they have judged the situation, figured out the best plan of attach, and decided to have Molina catch every one of Burnett’s games.
DB
September 30th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
bru, not a very good analogy. Jeter, Cano, and Arod throw better because Tex is a human vacuum. He saves their errors. Not the case with a pitcher. Posada isn’t Tony Pena back there, but he can hold his own. I think he has one more games with his arm than lost more games with his glove.
————————————————————
what i am saying is that burnett got unraveled on occasions with posada catching & posada might have taken a stubborn attitude that might have negatively affected burnetts performance & molinas easy going attitude may not
i am not saying i play molina over posada because no way i would but i would monitor the situation closely.
there clearly was an issue that posada admitted to & i think his stubborness was what he was referring to.
simply put
girrardi had to work on his personality & other things when everybody was saying that players are the only reason why a team wins or loses
if that is the whole picture then why did or should girrardi have to change to get the best out of his players??
it does matter.
how much & how often is what we dont know
Well, we could settle this argument by letting Posada and Molina don the foam number one fingers and battle it out like the little boys did. Winner gets to catch AJ.
Blanco,
Yes it is Joba Time today. Wonder who is behind the plate?
This is a funnier video than no maaas . org gave Pete Abe
video isn’t working here.
stupid espn…