Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Oct 13, 2009 
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Brian Cashman was made an expensive – but effective – overhaul of the Yankees pitching staff last offseason, and the Yankees starters carried them through the first-round of the playoffs. Chad Jennings looks back at the construction of the 2009 rotation.
If you read the story, there’s a graphic alongside it that lays out some interesting stats and numbers from the first round. My favorite? It’s the one that’s “99,470.”
That’s the combined attendance at Yankee Stadium in the ALDS. Man, it’s going to be loud there this weekend.
Betsy -
If you read what I wrote last night and yesterday afternoon, you know how I feel about “destiny.”
The Angels swept the Red Sox because the Red Sox played terribly. They played like a tired team, which they were. If the Red Sox were the Red Sox of old, that series goes 5. Angels may have still prevailed, but the Red Sox should have won at least one game at Fenway Park.
And you’re right; if fate and destiny and karma had anything to do with who wins WS, the Yankees CLEARLY were the karmic favorite to win in 2001.
Intelligent baseball fans know it will come down to which team is able to play their brand of baseball in the crispest fashion. The team that makes the least mistakes usually wins.
I am annoyed because I feel that Nick Adenhart’s death is being exploited, not by the Angels, who have every right to be motivated by this tragedy, but by the people who stand to make ratings/money by introducing a “hook” to the games to give “cusp” fans and playoffs-only fans and even some non-fans a reason to tune in.
They seem to need a storyline above and beyond two really great baseball teams putting their best on the line.
First let me say I feel terrible for Nick Adenharts family. But this is beyond asinine that they are calling the Angels a team of destiny because he was tragically killed when the season started. I mean were the Yankees a team of destiny when Joe Torre battle and beat cancer? How about Mel?
If the baseball gods were involved they’d let the Yankees win one more for George.
Doreen October 13th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Betsy -
If you read what I wrote last night and yesterday afternoon, you know how I feel about “destiny.”
The Angels swept the Red Sox because the Red Sox played terribly. They played like a tired team, which they were.
***********
It is funny that you say that, Dan S of the Boston Globe said Joe G was running his guys ragged to win the division while Tito was playing it cool and resting his guys.
One thing I am a little worried about is this long lay off between series’ only good thing is both teams will have to deal with it. I understand Joe wanting to give his guys a break. But I think he should still have them come in today for a little work. Although I’m sure some will anyway.
I’ll add to my point. Doreen and Besty are right. If there was anytime when the Yankees ‘should’ have won a world series, it was when NY was looking to baseball as a release, 2001. If any team was a team of destiny, coming back the way they did, at the time they did. It was the 2001 Yankees.
It is one thing to say you’re doing this for Nick, it is quite another to say you are a team of destiny because some jackoff got behind the wheel drunk and killed someone.
I think that a long layoff is a good thing for a veteran team like the Yankees. The pitchers are creatures of habit so they would perhaps prefer less rest, but the everyday players are enjoying this rest period.
The fans don’t need any rest. Friday night can’t come soon enough.
Is this the first time we are facing the Angels in the alcs?
So far, I haven’t heard any Angels players say anything about being a team of destiny. It’s media-driven. I’m sure they’ve asked the Angels about whether they think they are a team of destiny, but I can’t recall any of them saying the thought they were. It would be silly for them to say so.
So are we to assume, since the Angels are this year’s “team of destiny,” that the Yankees should not even bother to show up? Or can destiny be defeated? And if destiny is defeated, was it really destiny in the first place??
jennifer -
Was 2002 the ALCS against the Angels, or the ALDS against the Angels? I think it was the ALCS and then the Angels went on to win the WS.
Jennifer-I believe so, but I could be wrong.
No, I’m wrong. It was an ALDS series.
Doreen- You are probably correct that it is just a media driven thing. It was getting very annoying. Those commercials on TBS. From the Nick Adenhart one, to the Phillies looking to return. To the Dodgers having the crusty old Joe Torre looking to return to the ws (okay I added the crusty old part lol), but you know what I don’t recall seeing one about the Yankees.
Jus think about how silly that story will sound when the Yankees beat the “team of destiny”
We saw politicians trying to capitalize on 9/11 so why should we be surprised to see a team trying to capitalize on the Adenhart tragedy.
It’s a classic coping mechanism to try and turn something negative into a positive in some way, shape or form. I wouldn’t react to it in one way or the other.
I would however like to see the NY Media go one week of covering the Yankees without mentioning payrolls, individual salaries or cumulative spending since the last W.S. Title. Obviously Lupica would have to be sefated for that to happen, but I can hope, can’t I?
By the way, wasn’t Gardenhire a class act throughout the ALDS? To me he and Scioscia are the best managers in the game.
Aura?
81 hours and 24 minutes until Game 1!!!!
mystique?
Okay I just looked on baseball reference.com we’ve never played the Angels in an ALCS. I think our problem was we always ran out of time with the Angels, playing them in the DS. Hopefully this time is different. There is something very different about this team, there is a never say die attitude. In past years, they’d get scared being down in the playoffs. Now they seem so at ease.
Okay, I don’t know what got caught in the filter.
Doreen,
Can Destiny beat Aura & Mystique?
86w183
You know for all the mentioning of the Yankees payroll and buying players we have a number of homegrown players on our roster. The difference between the Yankees and other teams, is they take care of their players, while other teams trade them away. IT isn’t the Yankees fault.
I’d be curious side by side, who has more homegrown. The Yankees or Angels.
I’d bet the Yankees.
m -
Hmmm – well, At YS, I think Aura & Mystique can beat Destiny. On the road, they’ll have to rely on Pitching & Defense.
Doreen,
Sorry, that if that joke falls flat. Darn filter.
Going back to sleep, took a long “nap” from 8-12 last night.
Looking forward to your “rant” of the day when I wake up.
Gardenhire was the opposite of class act in my opinion. He cried and whined about how the missed Maurer double cost them a run when not only is that not the point but its not even the truth. If Maurer is on second Tex is way off the bag and he makes that play on Kubels single if you want to pretend everything would happen the same way. If they couldn’t score with bases loaded no out, how are they going to score with man on second one out?
That is the real story.
Jennifer -
I’m beginning to think lately that when people (media?) refer to “homegrown” players, they are referring to rookies or guys who haven’t yet reached free agency and a salary level in the stratosphere. Because it seems to me they tend to ignore that Jeter, Mo, Posada, Pettitte are homegrown anymore. They also don’t seem to count middle relief pitchers, where the Yankees happen to have a preponderance of homegrowns. They don’t seem to count back-up and bench players, either (Pena, Cervelli), come to think of it, or players on the DL (Wang). And I think they just don’t like Robinson Cano.
Okay it appears I might be wrong.
m -
I got the joke.
(I think lace & stilletto needs to be recruited to squash Destiny.)
Doreen,
Were the Yankees really the karmic favorite to win? Was 9/11 enough to get the Yankees past the label as the corporate monster? Karma ABSOLUTELY played a humongous role in that series. We don’t win three games home without it. The only reason we lost that series was because of that persona away from home. We couldn’t lose in the Bronx. It was against all that is holy.
That just my hummble opinion…and I’ll stick to it.
Angels 13 homegrown, Yankees 14.
I am counting anybody who made their ML debut with the team, so that includes Matsui, even though not technically homegrown. Also includes Pettitte, since he was an original.
Mark- did you go off the 40 man? I started to go through it and was going based on the yankees 25 in the playoffs, but since I didn’t know the Angels I gave up. You can’t really count Matsui. He never spent any time in the minors.
For all the talk about the Angels dominance, they have only beaten the Yankees in two 5 game series. 2002, in which both teams were totally different; and 2005, which could have some relevance, but not much, IMO. Those are also the ONLY years that the “playoff toughened” Angels have advanced past the ALDS.
Also, in the regular season, the records are pretty close to .500, it only seems the Angels are so tough because the Yankees record against everybody else is so dominant over multiple years time.
I do think the aura and mystique thing has been played out and lost it’s well….aura and mystique. That wasn’t karma. The karma of the late 90′s teams was teamwork. No one bigger than the team. That’s what worked. The fact that they took that page out of the dynasty Yankees teams playbook kind of made it look like the aura and mystique thing.
jennifer,
That is from the current active playoff roster. I certainly will count Matsui, but even w/o, it is even. Granted, the Angels do have some pitchers who threw only a few innings with other teams, before becoming regular MLers with the Angels. Still, to listen to ESPN, etc, you would think that the Yankees have nothing but FAs, and any young guys they have are because they rigged the draft.
My predictions/hopes for this series:
CC starts 1,4, and 7
Bruney on and Marte out
Yanks win it in 6 after splitting the first two at home and then taking two games in the land of the rally monkey
DB agree. except for splitting first two at home.
jennifer
October 13th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Doreen- You are probably correct that it is just a media driven thing. It was getting very annoying. Those commercials on TBS. From the Nick Adenhart one, to the Phillies looking to return. To the Dodgers having the crusty old Joe Torre looking to return to the ws (okay I added the crusty old part lol), but you know what I don’t recall seeing one about the Yankees.
==========================================================
I saw a “Joba” commercial the other day, in the vein of those you’re speaking of, highlighting his dad Harlan as being his “catcher” and how Harlan struggled as a single dad who was also handicapped.
It’s a story, designed to boost ratings and tug heart-strings.. as are the Nick Adenhart and Joe Torre commercials.
I think those media-driven story lines are targeted to the fringe fan who isn’t knowledgeable about the teams playing and Hey! Look! There’s tragedy and triumph in baseball!??! I should watch this stuff!
Seriously, is there anything on those voiced-over-two-hankie-sob fests that we as serious fans didn’t already know? Course not.
*I don’t mean to sound crass or unsympathetic to Nick Adenhart and his family. I just think it’s kind of pathetic that MLB is trying to capitalize on any emotional angle to gain ratings.
jennifer, That would mean winning in 5….I’ll take it.
Ryan
October 13th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Gardenhire was the opposite of class act in my opinion. He cried and whined about how the missed Maurer double cost them a run when not only is that not the point but its not even the truth. If Maurer is on second Tex is way off the bag and he makes that play on Kubels single if you want to pretend everything would happen the same way. If they couldn’t score with bases loaded no out, how are they going to score with man on second one out?
That is the real story.
———————————————————-
i never heard a manager say such nice things about the yankees
gardy said it is not about payroll the yankees are great players with class
who cares what he said about a foul ball
i think our pitching is to strong
Lee23, I kind of like those commercials. I think they are done pretty well and show the passion of baseball. I really liked the Lincecum one.
From a fan of one team perspective, I can see what you mean though.
DB,
I like your predictions.
Jennifer yes this is the first time we are seeing the angels in the alcs
Thanks Fran, thanks for the congratulations on winning the fantasy league. It was a lot of fun, hopefully you invite me again next year. Maybe we could get LoHud involved and have them give a prize to the winner…media guide or what not.
I don’t dislike them DB, I just think with the Adenhart one and the Joba one, they’ve crossed a line into exploitation for gain.
The Lincecum one was insightful, you’re right. I didn’t know that stuff about his dad.
So yeah, I see the value of the spots, but on the down side, they can be a platform for other media to use the “team of destiny” storyline for profit (i.e. to sell newspapers, etc) capitalizing on a tragedy and dismissing a season of hard work and determination to make a more sexy read.
But really – “at the end of the day” – it doesn’t matter.
Come soon Friday
DB,
We’ll definitely have to do it again next season.
Have the start times for the Friday and Saturday games been made official yet?
Weather might be an issue this weekend, looks like rain fri-sat in the Bronx.
Fran the start times for Fri. and Sat. were announced as 7:37 PM for both games.
Fran
7:37 both days
Thanks Andrew and Pat.
Destiny will have as much to do with the Angels winning as Kate Hudson will have to do with Alex hitting. Zero. Although both seem to be most peoples answers for everything short of world peace and curing cancer this week.
It may be fun to joke about but very dismissive of the talent and effort of the players.
And besides, we all know those things are intangibles and the only one allowed to have those are Jeter.
Andrew GTLU Bronze Medalist
October 13th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Fran the start times for Fri. and Sat. were announced as 7:37 PM for both games.
****
The Fox tv schedule shows 7:37, however mlb.com still said TBA. Apparently, it is still quite a mystery
Are the start times official?
I just checked the MLB site and it’s still listed as “TBA”.
I guess Wagner won’t be replacing Papelbon. Sounds like he is retiring
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ru.....mlb,195621
“99,470.” ?
Capacity according to the Yankee website is 52,235.
There were tickets available for last Friday’s game on Ticketmaster. Legends seats.
There is nothing available for this Friday’s game.
“Man, it’s going to be loud there this weekend.”
Are you kidding? It was like the durn US Open there for the DS. New Yankee is a freaking joke.
I wished I had said this: Is it Friday, yet?
Well, I guess I just did.