Hughes and Chamberlain throwing BP today
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Feb 26, 2010 
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Today’s live batting practice assignments for Field 1 start with these two names: Hughes, Chamberlain.
Guess which field Joe Girardi will be watching.
Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain will face hitters for the first time this afternoon, but we’ve already seen that these batting practice sessions don’t tell us a whole lot about the hitters or the pitchers. Hitters are mostly tracking pitches. Pitchers are announcing what they’re about to throw, then trying to throw strikes.
That said, this is clearly the next step in the fifth starter competition.
Batting practice assignments
Field 1: Hughes, Chamberlain, Logan, Moseley, Ramirez, Melancon
Field 2: Igawa, McAllister, Noesi, Nova, Whelan, Bleich, Mitchell
• Pretty good first group of BP hitters: Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter and Jesus Montero. I’m not sure which field they’ll be on, but if they’re on Field 1, they should be facing Hughes. Fingers crossed!
• A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez and Wilkin De La Rosa will throw bullpen sessions today.
• Still no sign of Chan Ho Park in camp.
• Defensive assignments for today: Winfree RF, Laird 3B, Granderson CF, Gardner CF, Hoffmann LF, Nunez 2B, Thames LF, Winn CF, Golson RF, Corona 3B, Gorecki RF, Pena 2B, Curtis CF, Russo SS, Weber LF
• Granderson, Gardner and Winn all played left field yesterday, now they’re all in center field. Russo is at short and Corona at third, those are probably the infield positions where they have the least experience.
Obvious! Field 2, watching Igawa
McGwire – so he finally comes clean a month or two before his brother’s book comes out. Very magnanimous of Marky Mark.
So let me see…
We are to forgive Mark but he banishes his brother for writing a book that affirms Mark’s own story…that he took PEDS to recover from injuries.
iiicollies
February 26th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Obvious! Field 2, watching Igawa
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LOL
AJ and Phil today – a good day, lol.
I shouldn’t be that excited about Phil pitching BP, especially since the hitters aren’t going to be swinging at most of the pitches…….but I am. I suppose Phil will break out that change, lol. Interestingly, Neyer wrote a column on 2/12 on ESPN.com about how plenty of good pitchers never got the hang of a change. He said it’s a cute pitch, or something to that effect, but basically that it was hardly a make or break pitch.
Obvious! Field 2, watching Igawa
****************
When does his contract expire? Wonder if the Yankees will make an exception and re-neogitiate with him.
Doreen-
I am not going to lie. That recipe lost me at “parchment paper”, but I like the idea of some sort of cinnamon bun. I appreciate the input!!
Fran (the original) and OPPC member
February 26th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Obvious! Field 2, watching Igawa
****************
When does his contract expire? Wonder if the Yankees will make an exception and re-neogitiate with him.
*********************
Do they give bat boys long term deals??? LOL
Obviously, all appearances Igawa makes are token or obligatory. He stands as much chance of going to the Bronx in April as Mike Myers does of getting signed again.
Rick
February 26th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Obviously, all appearances Igawa makes are token or obligatory. He stands as much chance of going to the Bronx in April as Mike Myers does of getting signed again.
*******************
So basically, you are saying you will not be putting Igawa down when we play “Guess the Opening Day Roster”
erica -
Parchment paper just would make it easier to take out of the muffin pan.
But, I bet you can use a 9×13 pan, generously greased and put the sticky buns in that.
There’s a chocolate streusel cake recipe I found, but it’s not online anywhere. If you’re interested I’ll type it out and put on facebook or send you an e-mail.
Cupcakes are always fun, though!
The odds are definitely against Igawa but I would not be shocked if Girardi insists on a second lefty in the pen and that guy is Igawa.
I hope he is. At least get some value out of the contract.
Doreen
February 26th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Cupcakes are always fun, though!
**********************
You said the magic word. Now all I want is a cupcake. lol
So basically, you are saying you will not be putting Igawa down when we play “Guess the Opening Day Roster”
***********************
Erica,
And don’t include him on your fantasy team either
Erica -
Sticky buns using pillsbury crescent rolls:
http://www.pillsbury.com/Recip.....?rid=18928
“ESPN.com about how plenty of good pitchers never got the hang of a change. He said it’s a cute pitch, or something to that effect, but basically that it was hardly a make or break pitch.”
It can be a huge weapon. Best one I’ve ever seen was Pedro Martinez’s during his half decade of unhittability in Montreal and Boston. Just an unbelievable pitch. However, it became a lot less unbelievable when he was no longer able to throw the 95 MPH cheese. Johann Santana had a great one at his peak. Whether he’s still got it remains to be seen. Neyer’s right to a degree though. How good the pitch can be is largely based on how good another pitch (fastball) is.
“When does his contract expire? ”
Can’t be soon enough !
this seems like an innocent time of the year with optimism the main theme, but at this very time last year, yankee management had wang pitching a normal program like everyone else.
the problem was that he had an undiagnosed major hip weakness that caused a downward cascade of events that ruined his season , jeopardized his career, and resulted in him no longer being a yankee.
my question is, are their any ticking time bombs the yankees haven’t checked out this year?
Doreen
February 26th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Erica -
Sticky buns using pillsbury crescent rolls:
http://www.pillsbury.com/Recip…..?rid=18928
***************
Wow, those look good. I don’t know if my cousin’s kids would eat the nuts though.
I am tempted to just buy a refridgerated package of Pillsbury cinnamon buns; bake and call it a day
Frank-
“It can be a huge weapon.”
Agree 100 %
Gagne when he was at his best also comes to mind.
Velocity differential and movement =
Disruption of hitter’s timing.
MPF are the split and palmball.
randy l.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:02 am
this seems like an innocent time of the year with optimism the main theme, but at this very time last year, yankee management had wang pitching a normal program like everyone else.
the problem was that he had an undiagnosed major hip weakness that caused a downward cascade of events that ruined his season , jeopardized his career, and resulted in him no longer being a yankee.
my question is, are their any ticking time bombs the yankees haven’t checked out this year?
****************
What a horrific thought-
Erica – always OPPC
February 26th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I am tempted to just buy a refridgerated package of Pillsbury cinnamon buns; bake and call it a day
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Now you sound like me. That’s my idea of bringing something for breakfast.
Randy-
Who is your choice ?
Letting Jeter Walk:
http://www.statisticianmagician.com/?p=689
And yes I would let him walk rather than way over pay.
Anybody a member of ESPN Insider? Was wondering about the article of Buster titled—Jesus Montero can hit — but there’s a catch
I don’t think there will be a 2nd lefty in the pen at least to start the season. If Logan impresses in camp, maybe. But they won’t break camp with Igawa as the 2nd loogy.
Robertson and Aceves both have reverse splits vs Lefties, and actually get them out quite well. Pretty sure your bullpen is going to be:
Rivera
Hughes
Marte
Robertson
Aceves
Park
Gaudin
Mitre will not be part of this bullpen, and Igawa would be insurance for short term relief in the event Marte’s shoulder acts up.
“What a horrific thought-”
i was trying to get my mind off of those delicious sticky buns doreen and you are talking about.
but seriously, did the yankees make some changes for this spring training after what happened with wang?
i hope so.
i realize you can’t prevent all injuries or identify all problems before they happen, but wang’s was fairly predictable. the yankees need to have a program that picks up things like what wang had.
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How Can We Possibly Let Jeter Walk, After All Hes Done For Us. He Practically Is The Face Of The Yankees. Im actually bidding on some of his memorabilia on Steiner Sports. Check this out, their having a Snow Day Sale on All Items!
Derek Jeter Hand Signed “Falling Into The Stands” 8×10 $299 (Reg. $500)
Click Here To View
http://alexander.lyris.net/t/1.....5/29929/0/
Igawa wouldn’t be insurance against a gentle breeze, or a wet noodle attack.
randy l.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:17 am
“What a horrific thought-”
i was trying to get my mind off of those delicious sticky buns doreen and you are talking about.
but seriously, did the yankees make some changes for this spring training after what happened with wang?
i hope so.
i realize you can’t prevent all injuries or identify all problems before they happen, but wang’s was fairly predictable. the yankees need to have a program that picks up things like what wang had.
*******************
Lets take that step a thought a step further-
I came out last March when the Yankees were trying to prevent A-Rod’s participation in the WBC that he had a bad hip. After some examination, it turned out he needed surgery, would miss part of the season, and his hip had actually been bad since the previous October!
I would have thought they would do some serious overhaul to their injury evaluation then
(And I am sorry, you will not be able to try the sticky buns)
randy l.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:17 am
i was trying to get my mind off of those delicious sticky buns doreen and you are talking about.
**********************
I’m glad I’m not the only one who was getting hungry.
Randy-
I assume “strength testing” would be part of that ?
Do they give bat boys long term deals??? LOL
Only until their voices change …
mtu-
hopefully no one is as bad as wang was, strength testing of wang was later done and it showed he had the weak hip.
the red sox to my understanding do a lot of this kind of testing .
i just think it wouldn’t hurt for the yankees to get with the technology and do it too.
i mean if they are going to dabble in advanced stats maybe dabbling in advanced medical technology might be a good idea too.
The Yankees had no offseason surgery on the big club that I can think of.
Fingers crossed; Shouldn’t that bode well for their overall health since their offseason program was one more of maintenance than rehab?
Randy-
Absolutely !!!!!!
What’s interesting is that john lester has piched over 400 innings in the minors to the tune of a 3.33 era. Which means has learned to become a very good pitcher though 4 years of seasoning in the minors.
However, Joba has only pitched 80 innings in the minors and is basically learning on the job in the major leagues.
You could make the argument that if he is the 5th starter, he could have a break out year.
Randy-
And if you want some candidates:
These guys need to be watched extra
carefully. IMO
Robertson
Bleich
Aceves
And of course:
Garcia and Horne.
“What’s interesting is that john lester has piched over 400 innings in the minors to the tune of a 3.33 era. Which means has learned to become a very good pitcher though 4 years of seasoning in the minors.
However, Joba has only pitched 80 innings in the minors and is basically learning on the job in the major leagues.”
That’s in large part the difference between a kid coming out of school and one coming out of college. Plus Lester probably put in close to 100 “starting over again” after the cancer thing. Hughes did 330 in the minors after being drafted out of high school.
mtu-
joba’s shoulder?
that would be my first pick
it’s odd how he’s lost so much velocity.
Chan Ho Park has better arrive soon. He’s over a week behind all other pitchers.
Randy-
Didn’t that same thing happen to Verlander ?
But then he managed to recover.
I hope the Yankees are firmly convinced of the value of preventative
medicine.
Strength testing would seem to be warranted.
They use it all the time in PT after an injury to gauge a patient’s progress.
I see no reason why it could not and should not be done proactively.
Cleaning up Joba’s mechanics might help as well.
YankeesPR http://twitpic.com/15gc5e – Derek Jeter takes batting practice at GMS Field.
half a minute ago via TwitPic
Reply Retweet YankeesPR http://twitpic.com/15gbzg – Jesus Montero and Curtis Granderson talk hitting
1 minute ago via TwitPic
I saw Igawa throw a bullpen session in Tampa recently but didn’t hear him. There was no pop in the catcher’s mitt and he’s still throwing high in the strike zone.
It seems like the only one that talks to him is his interpreter.
I doubt that Joba’a shoulder was the cause of his decreased velocity as a starter last year. He improved immediately once he was put in the bullpen for the playoffs. My sense is that his velocity problem was more one of his attitude and demeanor as a starter.
mtu -
seems like something gave verlander a bit of a setback, but i’m not sure what it was.
matuszaka was diagnosed with the red sox strength testing and it didn’t save his year, but he didn’t keep pitching without rehab so maybe it helped him out for the long run.
the red sox at least have him this year unlike the yankees with wang.
the yankees have vazquez so they have survived not having wang, but it cost melky.
that was one short term cost in not diagnosing wang’s weak hip last year.
off to play golf.it’s almost 60 degrees right now so it’ll be good for golf now. you wouldn’t believe how bad the weather is down here . just brutal. i mean you can’t even play in short sleeves before noon
The thing about the “question” – IF the Yankees have or have not re-evaluated how they handle or screen for injuries, it will remains a purely speculative question.
There are no circumstances in which they will publicly disclose how they deal with these issues internally, including whether or not they made any changes.
It now and forever, unknowable.
Ledger_Yankees Hughes throwing to Jeter http://tweetphoto.com/12578853
“My sense is that his velocity problem was more one of his attitude and demeanor as a starter.”
———————-
That would be awesome if that was the case.
randy,
Lets talk some sabermetrics so I can get riled up a bit. Then you can catch me and we can see if I can throw 98 MPH.
I think the mostly like answer in regards to Chamberlain is “all of the above”.
It’s probably part conditioning, part recovering shoulder, part mental approach, part inconsistent mechanics, part sometimes power pitchers just have offish years, and maybe a little bit of we might never see the September 2007 Chamberlain ever again.
The half-full view is all or most of the first five can be corrected.
AJ spent the off season working on his change-up and don’t freak out when you see who he worked with.
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde.....ked_o.html
As Betsy has pointed out a few times Joba was actually not very good when he went back to the bullpen.
Most starters that go to the bullpen see an up-tick in their velocity, but his velocity was still down from his previous bullpen stints in 2007 and 2008.
His pitches were still flat, his fastball had little movement, and his slider was not breaking like it used to.
The only thing that changed from 2009 Joba starter to Joba bullpen was a few MPH, he fist-pumped once or twice, and that disgusting hat.
Ledger_Yankees 31 pitches for Hughes, last two pitchouts. He drew only seven swings. about 1 minute ago
Joba’s velo was just as sub Joba standard in the in pen as it was in the rotation. It’s funny how some people try to load their dice with this bullpen crap from last year.
“seems like something gave verlander a bit of a setback, but i’m not sure what it was.”
Youth and innings, IMO. He threw just under 120 in the minors in ’05 and then pitched two 200 IP seasons consecutively. In both of those two seasons, his numbers suffered pretty significantly after 110-120 IP. Then it all seemed to catch up with him in ’08. All part of the growing pains for young pitchers. Saw it with Hamels last year. Tossed 260+ in 2008 and didn’t have much in the tank last year and had a Verlander ’08-type season.
Ledger_Yankees Chamberlain throwing now 8 seconds ago
For Stuckey:
“Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.”
St. Thomas Acquinas
Just coming on to say I still support Kei Igawa. You know if there’s a player that fans decide to trash I will always take up for that player.
After all, he’s a Yankee isn’t he?
Ta
Ledger_Yankees Posada had to jump out of the way of a Joba fastball. Whoops. 31 seconds ago
“There are no circumstances in which they will publicly disclose how they deal with these issues internally, including whether or not they made any changes.
It now and forever, unknowable.”
stuckey-
like it was “now and forever, unknowable” last year ?
they had no program to check out wang or arod and we found out they didn’t check didn’t we?
so we absoutely will be able to tell if another injury happens that could have been prevented with prehab and the use of advanced medical technolgy.
the only thing that is ” now and forever, unknowable” is why some people are such pompous……………… ( fill in word the filter has just learned) .
caveat – that is, a player who is universally trashed. There are people who don’t care for Robby, but just as many do, so I don’t feel the need to continually hop to his defense. I do love Robby, by the way.
Just got back in from shoveling. Not so bad. Lots of pushing, not a lot of lift, carry & toss this time!
Erica -
You can leave out the nuts, and if you want, substitute choc. chips.
“they had no program to check out wang or arod and we found out they didn’t check didn’t we?”
How and what did we find out Randy?
support him all you want, igawa sucks and was a total waste of money.
let’s go yankees-
ok, but i have to go.
those charts that give run expectancy of .9116 for a runner on first with no outs is inaccurate because all kinds of runners on first are measured slow, medium , and fast.
the reality is a fast runner will have a greater run expectancy than a slow one. they just average all the kinds of runners together.
very sloppy analysis.
this is why a good manager could go against the charts in a specific situation and beat the system.
i’ll be back at four . looking forward to seeing your answer.
or attempt at an answer.
“the only thing that is ” now and forever, unknowable” is why some people are such pompous……………… ( fill in word the filter has just learned) .
i’ll be back at four . looking forward to seeing your answer.
or attempt at an answer.”
Hypocrisy is alive and well…
“Joba’s velo was just as sub Joba standard in the in pen as it was in the rotation. It’s funny how some people try to load their dice with this bullpen crap from last year.”
I haven’t been able to figure out what these people saw in his relief performance last year either. Yeah, there was a slight uptick in velocity, but I’m pretty sure that would be the case with virtually any starter who was only called on to pitch one inning. I think the difference was that relieving is an easier task and it simply masked some of Joba’s flaws. He still got hit at a pretty high rate and, anecdotally, appeared to still lack confidence in his stuff (I’m thinking of that AB vs. Feliz where he was able to get ahead with the fastball, but then insisted on throwing the slider–out of the zone–until Feliz could sit on a FB and hammer it.) It’s been discussed here before how Joba’s stint in the bullpen and his ability to dominate with the slider in the dirt has really worked against him. The book is out on him now and it should be obvious to everyone, him included, that guys are laying off that slider knowing it won’t be a strike. Should he regain some of that lost velocity the slider may regain some effectiveness, but I think that will only come through improved mechanics/fitness/approach etc., not by deploying him in short burts.
Doreen
February 26th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Just got back in from shoveling. Not so bad. Lots of pushing, not a lot of lift, carry & toss this time!
Erica -
You can leave out the nuts, and if you want, substitute choc. chips.
************************
Well, now you are talking!!!!
“I haven’t been able to figure out what these people saw in his relief performance last year either.”
As has been astutely pointed out previously, it can be interpreted that way if it seemingly supports your preconceived notion.
New Post: A few more pitches, but not many swings
I mentioned this a few days ago, about only 3% of his pitches being his changeup. It’s strange that he’s afraid to use it, because it’s so good. He was talking about leaning it from Halladay when he split a fingernail in 2008 and couldn’t throw that nasty curve. He said his problem was that he didn’t know from day-to-day which way the change-up would break…down and left or down and right.
pat
February 26th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
AJ spent the off season working on his change-up and don’t freak out when you see who he worked with.
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde…..ked_o.html
————————————————————
I mentioned this a few days ago, about only 3% of his pitches being his changeup. It’s strange that he’s afraid to use it, because it’s so good. He was talking about leaning it from Halladay when he split a fingernail in 2008 and couldn’t throw that nasty curve. He said his problem was that he didn’t know from day-to-day which way the change-up would break…down and left or down and right.
randy,
Obviously individual situations of players deviate from the “norm” which is all the study purpoted to find.
It would not be a very worthwhile analysis if they just pinpointed Carl Crawford for example as not many people would care. That is up to the Rays to do.
There are plenty of other factors to be considered in-game. It is just a general reference. Or a general starting point to then dig deeper and make decisions.
Like I said last night, it is just supporting evidence. No matter how big Girardi’s binder gets, you still need him there to make decisions and decide what is or is not relevant.
thrill, there are fans who only support players when they are achieving and there are fans who support players through thick and thin. I’m more the latter than the former.
change obviously, to of course. sounds better.
“How and what did we find out Randy?”
this fastball down the middle is too good to pass up.
we found out they didn’t do strength tests in wang’s hip because they let him pitch while his hip was at about 50% strength. had they done strength teats they wouldn’t have let him pitch. he would have immediately went into rehab for the hip.
arod’s hip coach saw wang 6 weeks to two months later when arod and wang were rehabbing together in tampa. he diagnosed visually the problem.
the yankees then finally did testing and found the major hip weakness.
of course pat m and i were talking on the blog half way into spring training that there was something major wrong with wang because his arm slot was almost a foot high. i could see it with my eyes and pat m agreed.
i thought the yankees were on purpose raising wang’s arm slot and that turned out to be wrong as it was the hip problem that changed the release point as CB turned out to be right later on in some of the best blog discussion ever on the blog.
but the point is my lowly bullpen catcher eyes knew there was something very wrong going on with wang last spring training. why didn’t the yankees?
so yeah, we know the yankees didn’t do strength testing until inadvertently wang and arod’s hip coach crossed paths.
even the great stuckey would admit that was a little late.
trisha,
Great to see you.
How are the squirrels?
MTU – STA was a reluctant ‘rebel’, incensing the Church. I really love the quote.
One of my father’s favorite thinkers.
The Joba stuff is concerning. I am awaiting more information, but do not like where this appears to be going. Time will tell how he has been handled.
Who should be the 5th starter?
Chime in here:
http://newyorkstateofsports.sp.....r/blog.htm
5th Starter?
http://newyorkstateofsports.sp.....r/blog.htm