The big man is ready
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Feb 28, 2010 
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CC Sabathia threw 28 pitches this afternoon. He got a swing on his second pitch and broke Mike Rivera’s bat on a fly ball to center.
“They didn’t take many swings,” Sabathia said. “But it’s good to have that hitter judge your pitches… It doesn’t matter whether they swing or not.”
Sabathia faced Rivera, Marcus Thames, Randy Winn and Nick Johnson. Thames popped one up into the cage, Winn hit a ground ball and Johnson (of course) took every pitch he saw. Rivera, actually, was the star of the show. After the broken bat, he grounded one to short, grounded one to second and got his revenge with a hard-hit ball to center field.
Is Sabathia ready to finally pitch in a game?
“We’ll see,” he said. “I feel good tough. Bullpens went real well. I get Monday off then throw another bullpen, so I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to it. Today definitely helped, getting back going and getting used to facing guys.”
And how does he feel about facing Roy Halladay in his first spring start?
“If I face him in the regular season I’ll probably be more concerned becasue I’d probably have to hit,” he said.
Maybe the pitchers are ahead of the hitters even if they don’t yet have their maximum fastball command.
Except for Arod; he’s already ahead of Young Master Philip.
Thanks, Chad! Nick is killing me here….
How about this: Joba might be ahead of Phil too… at visits to the training table.
Nick, I’m in the morgue now……..now you’re just doing this for your own twisted enjoyment, lol.
See, I really hate this. I am now paranoid about every pitch in BP….ugh.
Generally speaking hitters lag a little behind pitchers early in the year because it takes awhile to get their timing back.
CC vs Halladay is awesome even if the games is meaningless. Still wonder how great they would have been in the same rotation..oh what might have been. Glad to have held on to Montero just the same.
Unless Joba Chamberlain has a chronic shoulder issue or some other affliction that doesn’t forecast him as a career starting pitcher, the Yankees need to groom him to start.
Any other course, without such mitigation, is just wrong.
Glad to have held on to Montero just the same.
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Me too, but I have to conclude that the Yankees are dubious about him spending his career behind the plate.
Why is US Team sending only 1 FC in??
THis over rating of Canada is going to cost.
There is nothing to draw from an Arod at bat against Hughes when he likely knew what pitch was coming.
“Except for Arod; he’s already ahead of Young Master Philip.”
Damon passed the torch to Alex. Project Toughen Up 2010 is underway.
Blake, logically I know that……
Betsy,
What are you talking about? Did something happen today that I am unaware of?
I think the Yankees are committed to keeping Montero behind the plate but if they had a chance to get the best pitcher in baseball they would have done it. Doesn’t mean they don’t love Montero, just means there isn’t much more valuable than an established ace pitcher. I think Montero will have to prove 100% that he can’t catch in the big leaugues before they move him
at
February 28th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
“Except for Arod; he’s already ahead of Young Master Philip.”
Damon passed the torch to Alex. Project Toughen Up 2010 is underway.
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That’s right. What’s not being figured in the Damon/Boras demands were Johnny’s recruitment and toughlove fees.
That second period was one great period of hockey!
No, why do you ask, Jose?
blake
February 28th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I think the Yankees are committed to keeping Montero behind the plate but if they had a chance to get the best pitcher in baseball they would have done it. Doesn’t mean they don’t love Montero, just means there isn’t much more valuable than an established ace pitcher. I think Montero will have to prove 100% that he can’t catch in the big leaugues before they move him
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If the pitcher had been Felix Hernandez, I would concede the point.
USA is having trouble sticking the biscuit in the basket. a lot of rebounds, but, not a lot of good rebound shots.
Betsy,
You mentioned above being afraid of every pitch in BP. Did someone get hit by a ball off the bat? Sorry, I am out of the loop I guess.
Why? The US is playing stupid. Put some pressure on Niedermayer and Pronger. The US is not using their speed. They’re playing prevent as if the Canadians are Central Red Army.
Use your speed and get the late man into the play. What are guys like Rafalski for?
No, nothing like that Jose. This competition for the 5th spot has made me paranoid about every pitch Phil throws. He got hit hard by Alex today, so I’m trying very hard not to think he’s behind. Normally BP means nothing, of course….
this hockey game is so tense…cmon USA
GB they are peeling off prematurely like they are terrified of the counter.
I don’t see why they’d feel that way – Canada does not have a speed advantage and for all their skill, they aren’t any super transition team.
Where did you read that Hughes got hit hard? And who doesn’t hit Alex hard?
oops..”who doesn’t Alex hit hard!”
The Yankees were willing to trade Montero straight up for Halladay and I don’t think that would have been an unwise decision if the Jays would have accepted.
There was a tweet about it and I read it on USA today………
llol soo it wouldnt be a good idea to hit a homerun off CC during batting practice?
Betsy
They pay Alex millions of dollars because he hits baseballs hard.
Phil is not the first and hopefully not the last to receive such a hello from Alex’s bat.
Regardless of what people say that prospects don’t have the value of established starters, no way would I have traded a 19 year old bat like Montero’s for a 33 year old pitcher. Short of the pitcher being a 25 year old Sandy Koufax, I wouldn’t trade that bat for an arm.
blake,
I would emphatically disagree.
Trading the team’s top catching prospect who has 80 power and the best bat in the system since Robinson Cano and probably the best power hitter since Mantle, for a 32-year old starter, when they have enough pitching to repeat, would have been short-sighted.
I am grateful the Jays declined.
CC, Swish and Joba on ESPN
GB7,
I can’t argue with your logic but in the Halladay/montero case I think maybe the Yankees were considering that a CC/Halladay combo may have gotten them a couple more titles before the core players got too old. Montero is a great prospect and I’m super excited about him but there is a chance that by the time he is great the championship window may have closed for this group. You could also argue that Montero would help start a new core but with the Yankees resources they can retool quicker than most clubs and therefore they can afford to think about now if the deal makes sense.
blake,
How in the world did we manage to win last year without Halladay?
That was actually a shot for the US from the blueline.
Cashman did offer Montero for Halladay but it didn’t happen so no point rehashing all that. I love the team for 2010 and the fact the hung onto the best bat in the minors is a great bonus.
They won because they were the best team in 2009. That guarantees you nothing for 2010 or beyond.
Not getting into a debate about this because it didn’t happen and doesn’t matter anymore.
blake
February 28th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
GB7,
I can’t argue with your logic but in the Halladay/montero case I think maybe the Yankees were considering that a CC/Halladay combo may have gotten them a couple more titles before the core players got too old. Montero is a great prospect and I’m super excited about him but there is a chance that by the time he is great the championship window may have closed for this group. You could also argue that Montero would help start a new core but with the Yankees resources they can retool quicker than most clubs and therefore they can afford to think about now if the deal makes sense.
————————————————————
I’m just as concerned about the next window as I am this one. Montero should be part of the next core. You’ll have Cano, Teixeira, Montero and a still potent Rodriguez bat, to go with a strong pitching staff. I’ll take 5 rotation pitchers that some might consider #2s and #3s over a a #1 and 4 #4s any time. NYY may not have a Jeter in the system, but, there’s plenty of help, not counting FAs and trades.
Getting sustained pressure finally, but why don’t those D pinch?
From most reports, the Jays were starting with Chamberlain or Hughes plus Montero and then more. It wasn’t going to be a straight one for one.
Point.
I also don’t get how a 32-year old pitcher gives you a better shot at multiple championships than a centerpiece player who can hit cleanup for 10 years. Especially a catcher.
But as the attempt has been made to pre-empt further discussion, I was happy to politely retreat.
But since it’s continuing…that is exactly the point.
Bod, The USA is turning up the heat…finally
FInally is right, Pat M.
Hope it’s not too late! No fourth man means no offense, fellas.
GB,
That’s perfectly logical and hopefully that’s whatll happen now.
Oooh. Moral dilemma for me.
Sid doesn’t score there. If US ties it, Canadian press will eat Sid alive.
Kane is some great young player. Hawks are lucky to have him and he’s probably why they’re the best team in the West.
I fear an empty netter spoiling my +1 — among other things
Ron WIlson is stupid.
The US should not have banked on creating their offense in the slot. They need to use the hashmarks and points more to open it up down low. They’re not going to jam on that defense if they don’t force it to move its legs.
Wilson always gets credit for being a genius, but it looks like he wants to make sure he at least loses respectably.
USA just doesn’t have the aggressive snipers that they had in 1980 like Johnson, Pavelich, Christian and Eruizone, Silk and Broten. This isn’t on Miller and the defense. It’s on the offense and the coaching.
I am starting to get really p-off.
We’re going to hear about the US “effort” and how they fought valiantly but couldn’t overcome the more talented Canadians.
The tactical mistakes made by US won’t even be noticed.
SCOOOOROOOOOORRRRRRRRRE!!!
JP’s kid!!!!!!!
USA! USA! USA!
USA!!!!!!!
Finally…it’s a 1980 Miracle.
SCORRRRRRRRRRRRE!!!!!
That’s very true, GB.
That US team was “cinderella”, but they had a bunch of guys who could finish who went on to pretty nice NHL careers.
Well, we’ve got ourselves a ballgame!
Now go out and get it, Wilson!
Parise and Kane can bury the puck.
They just need Wilson to allow his D to get involved.
I admit my Wilson bias. I hate the SOB.
Great hockey game. Is the OT same as NHL rules? 1 period and then a shootout if no one scores?
What a game!!
trisha – OPPC member who sees, hears, and knows all. 28 is on its way!!!!!
February 28th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
SCORRRRRRRRRRRRE!!!!!
====
Trisha,
Rally the squirrels on the terrace and bring it on home!
Do NHL owners/managers panic over their players participating int he Olympics the way that MLB ones do over the WBC?
i believe 10 minute OT and then shootout.
How long will it take Milbury to say something stupid.
Sudden death ot?
Not sure, Fran. I hate shootouts. I love those 6 and 7 period games. Those were classics.
It’s a sudden death game…just reported.
And I don’t even like hockey. But I love my country, and I love my country’s athletes (well those who are playing for my country) and Canada? Oh no no no no no.
I was already to go into my “so what, we won more overall medals” mode. I certainly didn’t think we were going to score. But then I truly don’t know the rhythm of hockey. When Fran said there was plenty of time, she knew exactly what she was talking about.
And yes, to show you that I share my emotions readily, I did indeed cry when we scored the tying goal.
Thank you, thank you!
Erica – always OPPC
February 28th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Do NHL owners/managers panic over their players participating int he Olympics the way that MLB ones do over the WBC?
====
Hell yeah. The next one’s in Russia. I’m hoping we go back to amateurs.
I know myself, I don’t like it a bit that Crosby and Orpik are playing in this thing. Especially Crosby.
Rish, I thought I heard them say something about 20 minutes and then a shoot out if it was tied. Something like that.
I can’t pull the patriot card today.
I admit I am rooting AGAINST Canada more than for the US.
Thanks GB.
Tricia, I know exactly what it is you’re attempting to convey…..Bod, did you ice-it when you were a kid ???
IT’s a 20 minute 4-on0-4.
Not to be a jinx, but that could favor the US.
Pat M,
I was a river rat, lol.
Unfortunately, we grew up where there wasn’t much natural ice. No rink in every town in those days.
Even though I’m a lefty, I bat RH. That’s from playing hockey, where you naturally shoot the opposite way. As a hitter, I made good contact, but I probably would have had more power LH.
“Trisha,
Rally the squirrels on the terrace and bring it on home!”
Bod, I absolutely couldn’t love you more if I tried.
Word.
Seriously, do you think any Canadian fan in that rink thought the game wasn’t over?
I don’t.
SA-WEET!
God but Herbie kicks Wilson’s butt.
If Herbie had been the Canadian Olympic coach, he’d be a God in America.
(I know that sounded Yogi-esque).
Trisha,
Right back at ya, doll.
Actually, those Canadian fans suffer from US paranoia, big-time. I’m sure they weren’t counting it.
Is anybody else sick of those snooty Canadian international travelers with their precious maple leaf patches sewn onto their backbacks?
Me too!
Go USA!!!
really – how do they keep losing the puck
Well, I guess the thing about “the first team to score has always won” still holds true.
So what? Hockey is their national sport, not ours. And anyway, we scored more overall medals.
Pat, of course that’s true….
errr, congratulations to our close friends and neighbors to the north.
If they had to win, at least my boy gets the goal.
Tomorrow this will be forgotten – well by everyone maybe but the hockey community. And it’s only the Olympics. It’s not like the Stanley Cup or anything. And USA tied it with seconds to go, so how about that!
(Vintage trisha)
congratulations to our close friends and neighbors to the north.
————————
great beer, great herb and great hockey.
what they do, they do well.
Wilson doesn’t get his own material.
But no one will bury him, because they lost valiantly.
We actually had the great Herb.
.
“what they do, they do well.”
Yeah, and don’t forget the Candian side of Niagra Falls.
Or something.
What a hockey game! New post up with audio coming soon.
Great game by both teams. This is one of those “It’s a pity that either team had to lose) games.
Besides, Singha and Ommegang beat Molson.
Magic Hat, made in Vermont, is pretty damn awesome too.
You know Bod, they did lose valiantly. If Canada had tied the score with 24 seconds, it would have taken a little shine off the eventual win. Maybe not a lot, but some. Well I think it would have. Yes, it would have. So EFF EM.
Yeah but Wilson sucks.
Trisha,
It’s not about the players’ effort. It was stellar. The goaltending was dynamite.
It’s the tactical decisions. They were poor.
Herbie would have pulled the “upset.”
Ah, well.
Did we sign DePaula yet?
GB, funny, Fran said the same thing and said she would feel bad for whatever team lost. I said I wouldn’t feel a bit bad for Canada. And that is totally unlike me.
So I think I’ve figured something out. It’s my nationalism that trumps all! Even though the Jays aren’t an American team I do think of MLB as American and the teams part of American culture. So when teams lose in the majors, I do feel bad. But this? Not at all.
Now I consider that a victory because it shows I do have killer instinct when it comes to sporting events!
Cool.
Trisha,
Now didn’t you shed a few tears for Little Dusty when he popped out to end that ALDS?
Well I think their players are goofy looking and the audience really sounded ridiculous singing the National Anthem because all they wanted to do was belt it out. No reverence. And they even rushed it at the end. Idiots.
Next!
the goal tending and defense by Team USA was spectacular. Luongo had a lot of problems with long rebounds, but, the uSA offense just couldn’t jump on enough of them. Love great games and great hockey games. The USA has been producing a lot of top talent over the last 30 years. Mark Howe, Neil Broten, Brian Rolston among the best.
“Now didn’t you shed a few tears for Little Dusty when he popped out to end that ALDS?”
Oh Bod, just thinking about that moment leaves me breathless. I think I have known the absolute zenith of joy, and then something like the Little Dusty moment happens.
Just goes to show you can always learn!
Brett the Jet, too, and Mike Modano, who’s still playing. They could have used Modano, IMO.
It’s too bad this country just doesn’t care about the game.
Trisha,
We’ll have to reprise your brilliant composition ‘Dusty at the Bat’ at the appropriate moment.
trisha – OPPC member who sees, hears, and knows all. 28 is on its way!!!!!
February 28th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Well I think their players are goofy looking and the audience really sounded ridiculous singing the National Anthem because all they wanted to do was belt it out. No reverence. And they even rushed it at the end. Idiots.
I don’t know, Sis.
I appreciated their exuberance in singing their country’s song. It’s been my experience at baseball and football games, that few fans actually sing. Now soccer, that’s a different animal all together. It was pretty cool hearing 30k+ belting it out prior to every Sounders matche at Qwest last season.
now that johnny damon is an afterthought, how cool is it that nick the stick is back on the yankees? i liked nick alot when he was here before and followed him in montreal and washington. there has been a significant number of yankees fans like me who have wanted to see nick come back home for several years now.
i think nick is his own guy and wont get caught up in trying to ‘make up’ for damon and i see him being a big contributor this season. its a great deal for nick and for the yankees that he’s back.
cant wait to see him in pinstripes again!
Sis, sorry about that. My computer froze up, probably at the sound of the Canadians singing their National Anthem!
Seriously, I beieve the National Anthem, if sung at all, should be sung with reverence and not sound like some pool hall drinking song. They were probably half looped anyway. Besides, you’re just sticking up for them because their your next-door neighbors.
By the way, I’ve gone on record as picking the Mariners as the team to win the wild card in 2010 (if they don’t take the division that is!)
We’ll have to disagree, Sis.
I guess I just prefer the type of enthusiasm the Canadians displayed during a their National Anthem (is WAS a hockey game after all, not Sunday school
) to the what I’ve witnessed at some American sporting events – ranging from complete disinterest all the way to disrespect (leaving a hat on, talking, texting, etc.).
Anyhoo – I’ve never been to a hockey game in person and don’t follow it, but I enjoyed watching this one … even if it was only snippets streamed over the computer as I spent a Sunday afternoon at work