Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Mar 10, 2010 
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Curtis Granderson is certainly focused on being successful as a Yankee, but he also realizes there are more important things in life than baseball. The son of two teachers believes so strongly in the value of education that he even wrote a book about it.
CC Sabathia had a rough outing against the Pirates at Steinbrenner Field, and the Yankees ace will spend the next few days working on a mechanical adjustment. The notebook also has news on the Alex Rodriguez-Dr. Galea saga, Hal Steinbrenner’s view on contracts, Francisco Cervelli’s noggin, Chan Ho Park’s posterior and a few other assorted items.
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Should be a pretty interesting day today in Lakeland, with the Yankees seeing old buddy Johnny Damon and – more importantly – the latest episode of “The Phil and Joba Show” taking place. I’ll have the lineup up when the clubhouse opens and plenty of updates throughout the day. So check back early and often.
Just to remind y’all that there will be no official GTLU-ST Edition today or tomorrow.
what a nice addition to the team Curtis Granderson is…both on and off the field.
Doreen
I guess I will have to practice GTLU on my own. I don’t usually read the over night comments, altho sometimes I will skim thru them. Your comments about Randy and LGY made me go back and read them…very entertaining
Love Granderson. Excited about him this year, excited about the whole team actually.
edwar ramirez was traded for cash
I was just thinking, as spring wears on the 5 fifth starter candidates will be throwing more and more innings and they won’t be able to throw in the same game. Joba/Phil are probably set to go 3 today and 4-5 next time out. That means Girardi will have to start paring down the competition for the fifth starter job.
I could see him telling us at the end of next week what we knew the whole time; this competition is between Joba and Phil.
But, sniff, sniff, he’s not outhitting Austin Jackson in ST, sniff, sniff. What was Cashman thinking?
You read some of the nonsense in the other thread?
I don’t know what happens to this place at night these days.
Its like an invasion of Troll Central.
Its a shame because its probably an indication that nightly game threads will be unreadable.
Very nice article on Granderson, but I don’t think it’s necessary to compare his contributions to those of other Yankees. I’m not quite sure I get why it’s particuarlly refreshing that he’s focused in on one particular cause; anything these players do to give back is wonderful. In any case, Jim Leyland must be an idiot to think that Granderson’s off-field activities in this regard have anything to do with his poor year last year.
Looking at it another way, it’s simply a matter of putting more guys on base in front of run producers like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. In the 2009 season, Curtis Granderson made 2.99 outs per game, while Nick Johnson made 2.48 outs per game (not taking into account activity on the basepaths). Over the full season, if Johnson is batting in the two-hole instead of Granderson that’s about 80 more times that Mark Teixeira comes up with a runner on base. Like those odds?
The speed factor will come into play at times (Granderson’s speed vs. Johnson’s lack of it). But Teixeira was much more productive last year with a runner at first than he was with a runner at second. Johnny Damon stole only 12 bases last year mostly because Teixeira was a better hitter with the first baseman holding the runner on the bag and creating a bigger hole. Teixeira’s OPS with a runner on first was .880, with a runner at second only .495 (one extra-base hit in 72 plate appearances).
Granderson’s slugging percentage is also significantly higher than Johnson’s (career marks of .484 for Granderson and .447 for Johnson). Granted, Granderson’s ability to get extra base hits with his legs is probably hampered with guys on base in front of him, but I like that 30-home run power he showed last year a lot better in the middle of the order than I do the top.
This is admittedly only a cursory look at some of the numbers, but this isn’t rocket science either. No matter what factors you want to take into account, the simple truth is Nick Johnson batting second will give the Yankees a more productive lineup than if Granderson is batting second.
pasted from an article
totally off topic…today is the 70th birthday of Chuck Norris
It’s not just here. I can’t believe there are people who don’t like the Granderson trade, but there are. On NYYFans, they’re updating Jackson’s stats in the Granderson thread – as if they mean something. If we had gotten Granderson for Jackson before last year, people would be ecstatic. The poor guy has one down year and now people think AJax is Mickey Mantle (and this after most Yankee fans were disappointed in his showing in AAA this year, with no power and tons of Ks). Even if AJax blooms and plays great the next few years, the only way this is a bad trade is if Granderson really is on the down side of his career. Forget IPK, too. Whatever successs he has, IMO, will be due mostly to the fact that he’s in the NL.
if you don’t feed the trolls & don’t let it bother you it will be fine
sj44
you do let it bother you
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....JGjsmpCzbI
Ace having back issues…
I really don’t understand the Yankees rushing Cervelli – and no offense, but Cervelli is no doctor and the fact that he thinks he’s ready to go means nothing.
Chuck Norris even at 70 could topple Fenway park with one roundhouse kick…I can’t believe he’s 70. That total gym thing he sells must be the real deal (that or his personal chef and endless hours to workout).
SJ44
March 10th, 2010 at 8:19 am
But, sniff, sniff, he’s not outhitting Austin Jackson in ST, sniff, sniff. What was Cashman thinking?
You read some of the nonsense in the other thread?
I don’t know what happens to this place at night these days.
Its like an invasion of Troll Central.
Its a shame because its probably an indication that nightly game threads will be unreadable.
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SJ, LMAO. It’s like trying to what your step around a stable lately. So much crap laying around.
Did you see that Houston Street was the next “cheater” connected to Galea?
upstate kate
March 10th, 2010 at 8:21 am
totally off topic…today is the 70th birthday of Chuck Norris
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Wow, he’s 70 years old?
Happy Birthday to Norris
my fantasy baseball draft is sunday night
i read an article about draft strategy & i am trying to draft the best team i can in wich i have controll of
the article says keep drafting the best players you can as long as their is a roster spot where they can play
example
the top 3 players that have the most points in my league are pujols,fielder,howard then tex i believe
so it says you can take pujols,fielder,howard because you can play 1 at 1b & the next 2 at utility
then move on to the next best players but don’t take a 3rd 1st baseman because there is no roster spot for him to play
i got pick 4,17,24,37,44
i will take fielder first then the next highest fantasy points player available going by last years points as long as long as i can play the player every day
any advise would be greatly appreciated
superman wears Chuck Norris pjs
corey haim died
Betsy, the only one rushing Cervelli back into harness is Cervelli. Girardi’s not likely to jeopardize his health. Girardi has probably had a few himself over the years after long years of catching.
trying to ***watch*** your step
GB, Joe intends to play him Friday, which I really think is completely ludicrous.
Betsy,
NYYFans.com is a place you should avoid.
All you need to know about the uselessness of the place is they have a thread comparing ST stats between the 2 players.
When you see something like that, you know its a place to avoid.
blake
March 10th, 2010 at 8:34 am
Chuck Norris even at 70 could topple Fenway park with one roundhouse kick…I can’t believe he’s 70. That total gym thing he sells must be the real deal (that or his personal chef and endless hours to workout).
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Looking at Christie Brinkley in that outfit she wears in that commercial would keep anybody young.
New Post: Lineup for today
“In the 2009 season, Curtis Granderson made 2.99 outs per game, while Nick Johnson made 2.48 outs per game (not taking into account activity on the basepaths). Over the full season, if Johnson is batting in the two-hole instead of Granderson that’s about 80 more times that Mark Teixeira comes up with a runner on base. Like those odds?”
It’s nowhere close to 80, Bru. Your analysis doesn’t allow for the fact that Granderson also averaged more PA’s per game nor the strong possibility that Johnson doesn’t make it through a full season. Based on their career numbers, assuming 600 PA’s per player (which is probably too low for Granderson and too high for Johnson), Johnson is on base 33-35 more times than Granderson.
GB7,
That is very true.