Hughes strikes out 12 in extended spring
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Apr 05, 2010 
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Phil Hughes struck out 12 through 8.1 innings of a simulated game today in extended spring training. The Associated Press has a few more details:
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees fifth starter Phil Hughes struck out 12 and allowed three hits over the equivalent of 8 1-3 scoreless innings in a simulated game.
The right-hander pitched against players from the Yankees’ extended spring training program on Monday.
Hughes was “very happy” with his control and the overall outing. He threw 70 of 100 pitches for strikes.
Hughes will rejoin the Yankees before tomorrow’s game in Boston. He will then travel with the team to Tampa, where he’ll make another extended spring training start before making his regular season debut on April 15 against the Angels.
the MelkMan draws a walk in his first at bat with the Braves
Good for Hughes
I’m not sure what that actually means, but it sounds positive.
MelkMan scores the first run:)
polanco had 6 rbi on opening day?
Lots of HRs being hit today. Nice weather everywhere and the balls are flying.
tampayank April 5th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
MelkMan scores the first run:)
**************************
Good for Melky
I’m going to miss him
we are going to miss melky.
Yay for Phil and Yay for Melky.
Clearly, Phil Hughes is ready for prime time.
what are the chances we put up runs tomorrow night off lester?
I hate these teases because I wish there were more details, lol. He was bound to overmatch these kids, so I suppose this was simply about getting innings in; sounds good, though. I wonder how his change was today.
Good for Phil but i would reserve judgement based on 12 Ks vs. our extended team. They arent exactly Pena, Longoria, Zobrist, Crawford, Upton, etc….
I won’t miss Melky; I’ll be glad to have Javy.
# champ809 April 5th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Crawford would enjoy the same spike in power #’s playing in YS that Damon did and in fact would end up with better overall #’s than Damon as he is a better player than Johnny.
Damon saw power spikes when he moved to Fenway and the Bronx the two parks with the shortest RF’s in the game. He may not hit 10 homers this season.
Crawford hits 15-17 homers now and would see a healthy spike in those #’s in the Bronx to go along with 50+ steals,110+ runs and GG D in LF for the next 4-5 yrs.
Just enough development time for the Heathcoats,DeLeons and Eduardo Sosa’s to be ready….
——————–
best post yet.
I don’t think anyone is judging Phil; we’ve already seen that he can get major league hitters out. It’s still a good outing.
or youkilis.
In the last thread it was asked what kind of pitcher Hughes is and he is a hybrid. Not power and not a soft tosser. Somewhere in between.
If he’s throwing 92-94 that’s plenty of fastball. His cutter is pretty solid. If he can continue refining curve and change then he’ll be right back to the type of guy who scout rave about.
As for Joba, count me in the school that just don’t see him being a starter again. In fact, I could be convinced that if this continues, he’s going to be pitching in the minors again this year to figure some things out.
Phil is a power pitcher.
Tampa is a decent hitters park too no? I dont think Crawford’s homers will rise more than maybe a couple.
Jason Heyward 3-run HR in his first AB!!!
Heyward. Daaayuum.
Jason Haywood, wow! 3 run HR in first AB.
“I won’t miss Melky; I’ll be glad to have Javy.”
It’s not multiple choice. You can do both.
Patrick, what I’m saying is that people gave up on him. I’m not saying YOU did, but pundits and scouts absolutely did.
Rich, that’s what I always thought, but SJ and CB (I think) said he wasn’t.
I agree that if Joba doesnt straighen it out before long, he will be back in the minors. Someone suggested bringing Clemens in to work with him. I think that is a good idea. Joba is a lot like Roger. Leave the needles at home though.
Pat, I haven’t thought about Melky since he left. I liked him, but I’m being honest – I won’t be thinking about him this year.
“I don’t think anyone is judging Phil; we’ve already seen that he can get major league hitters out. It’s still a good outing.”
Betsy,
I judged Hughes the night I saw him relieve Clemens in the ALDS against Cleveland. He was thrust into an elimination game and down a few runs and pitched outstanding.
He’s had setbacks, like many young guys do, but between that, the injury shortened no hit bid, and last years pen work, I judge him to be good and on the rise.
Jason Heyward couldn’t have wrote a better debut
Jason Heyward is so sick
Power pitchers only throw 95+, a la Joba Verlander, Jiminez, etc.
Tampa is not as good a hitting ballpark for LH hitters as Yankee Stadium. Not close.
No jetstream in right center in a dome.
Betsy
If a pitcher features a 92 mph FB, iit’s fair to call him a power pitcher. The rest is semantics.
“Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) says:
April 5, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I won’t miss Melky; I’ll be glad to have Javy.”
just mean.
Just finished watching Opening Day for the Mets. I know the team isnt that good, but I must admit the ballpark really looks nice on TV in a Day Game. I may be tempted to check it out this year if they are floundering tickets will probably be easy to get and a heck of a lot cheaper.
Lets see… catch ceremony pitch for Henry Aaron -check
Be on ESPN in my first AB -check
Crush a 3 run shot off a brand name SP in Carlos Zambrano -check
that was just picture perfect for Heyward
It’s all downhill for Heyward. Shouldn’t have done that, expectations will go through the roof.
Seriously, seems like a great kid.
I don’t know that we’ll be seeing Clemens around anytime soon. Joba’s got the best mentor available in Mariano Rivera.
Lesson #1. Trust your
cuttercatcher.William, that was some performance; it told me a lot about this kid’s mental makeup. 21 years old and to hold the Indians down like that in a packed stadium? I’m sure last year’s post-season performance was just a blip. I remember reading in the last couple of days that Phil has said he generally sits 92-94, occasionally touching 96. He can definitely get it up there, but hes got a terrific FB even at 92.
I don’t think Heyward will be hitting 7th in Atlanta’s lineup for very long.
the Braves will have good karma all season b/c of the MelkMan and Heyward is not too bad either
Heyward will be a Yankee by 2020. Book it.
Sorry if people think I’m being mean, but I’m not getting into an argument about this one. In an ideal world, the entire team would be kept intact, but it’s not – and I’m thrilled to have Javy. If the Yankees play the Braves, I’m sure I’ll feel a little regret, but life moves on.
Citi Field is a nice place to spend an afternoon watching baseball.
Heyward is a beast.
There is no jetstream. You know better than that.
Aesthetically, I think Citi Field is nicer than NYS.
Rich, I never even questioned that he was a power pitcher; it could just come down to peoples’ individual definitions of what a power pitcher is.
The black athletes are returning back w/ authority to baseball
Sabathia
Jackson
Granderson
Price
Howard
Fielder
Upton
Heyward
McCutchen
Citi Field is a very underrated park. It has a “homey” feel… like Camden Yards.
Just a great place to watch a ball game… and the shake shack is the best.
If you’re into fantasy baseball, get ready to sell on Jason Frasor; blown save opening day is never a good sign for a closer’s job safety, especially when that closer is Jason Frasor.
Patrick-
Buehrle gave you a really nice outing today. You almost pulled ahead of Erica?s Avengers
Saltalamaachia hits a walk-off HR against the Jays
And they were getting no-hit in the 7th too
From no hitter through 6 to getting walked off on. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2010 Jays.
Brandon,
You forgot BigMouth.
Christoper Smith, DeAngelo Mack, do you have what it takes?
Wow! Congratulations to Jason Heyward – what a debut!!! Nice.
—-
On a different topic altogether:
I have made a change to the start times for Guess the Line Up.
For day games (1 pm starts), lineup entries will be accepted from 8:30 am to 10 am. This is 3 hours before game time. We will see how this works out. I may have to make another change to day game submissions, including possibly accepting them the night before a day game.
For night games (7pm or later starts), lineup entries will be accepted from 12:30 pm to 3 pm.
These changes are being made because Twitter lineups are usually out there ahead of this blog. I want to get all lineups in before any possibility of a lineup being made public on a Twitter account. Chad suggested 4 hours before game time be the cutoff. For a day game, that’s kind of difficult (9 am easter time, and many people are in transit to work), which is why I may change that again.
I have also decided that if there is a last minute change to a lineup, if an entry matches that revised lineup they will get credited with a win, but so will the entries that matched the originally posted lineup.
Thanks!
I will repost all the official rules for GTLU tomorrow morning, but if you every need a refresher course, you can click on my name for GTLU rules and standings.
“# Brandon Awesome (B/c the KING of AWESOMMMMMMMMMME is here!) April 5th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
The black athletes are returning back w/ authority to baseball
Sabathia
Jackson
Granderson
Price
Howard
Fielder
Upton
Heyward
McCutchen
”
need to keep happening….need to convince young black kids to pick baseball over football or basketball….think it can be an easier task in the South than in the inner city where it’s hard to sway them from basketball
“Brandon,
You forgot BigMouth.”
Oh ofcourse Mr. I guarantee Rollins
“He can definitely get it up there, but hes got a terrific FB even at 92.”
That’s right. Yankee fans we almost spoiled by him because of how quick he debuted. I think he turns all of 24 this summer.
My brother met him last year at a WB/S game. Pitchers track pitches in the stands. He said he couldn’t have been nicer. Makes it easier for me to pull for him.
Plus guys like
Matt Kemp
Adam Jones
Crawford
Dexter Fowler is coming too
and the elderstatesman like Rollins, Griffey, Cameron, etc.
The ball carries in right center field in the summer in Yankee Stadium. It carried that way in the old place.
You can call it a jetstream or not. Its semantics.
Either way, the ball carries in right center much better than it carries in a dome in Tampa.
Sounds like an `06 Phil Hughes start.
“The black athletes are returning back w/ authority to baseball
Sabathia
Jackson
Granderson
Price
Howard
Fielder
Upton
Heyward
McCutchen”
Isn’t Price biracial?
Again, Christoper Smith, DeAngelo Mack, do you have what it takes?
Man Zombrano is imploding
7 runs in, 1 out in the 2nd
He had a 3-run lead too
Damn Zambrano is getting waxed
Add Torri Hunter to the elderstatesman as well…
And the greatest player of our generation – Bonds.
boy zambrano is getting lit up like a xmas tree….my goodness he got slammed.
Could have sworn Atlanta was a pitcher’s park.
Some strange opening day starters
Derek Lowe over Hanson, Jurjens, or Hudson?
Padilla over Kershaw or Billingsly?
Jake Westbrook is starting opening day? Jon Garland?
Poor Lou. He has had to manage some bad teams in Chicago and Tampa Bay.
Brandon,
isn’t Chris smith out of baseball?
Chris Smith was cut by the yankees. I believe he’s out of baseball.
I could see Lou being our next manager.. the guy knows how to manage, he just never has had good teams. The two good teams he did have were Cubs teams who are cursed. The guy motivates his players, doesn’t tolerate complacency, throws water coolers, etc. and he is a great in-game manager.
I’d like to see what he could do with our talent.
William, I only met him at an autograph signing but I can tell you that he is extremely nice and down to earth. Phil used to have a web-site (which he’s forgotten about, lol, in his youth), but he would post there a lot and have contests. He’d talk about the Office, Food Network, his lousy taste in music (from my point of view) and he’s also hold contests. Winners would get really cool prizes like autotraphed baseballs, etc… He was just a regular kid; you’d never know that he was this big deal.
No thanks to Lou and to any hot-head manager…..
Why hasn’t “Melkman is in Hotlanta” showed up yet?
Think id rather Hughes to AJ tonight…..got a bad feeling about this.
lol, Brandon.
I was talking about Torii “Waah. The Yankees Payroll beat us. Again!” Hunter.
Look at how quickly Lou pulled Zombrano… after he gave up 8 runs and it was clear he had nothing.
Girardi would have left him in there until he gave up 12….
Isn’t Price biracial?
- – - – - –
Time for another Dave Chappelle racial draft?
‘Chris Smith was cut by the yankees. I believe he’s out of baseball.’
What happened to him CB?
Hughes building confidence is great. We already know he has the talent. If only Joba could learn from Phil. Or as others said Mo. Just like Phil did last year.
I feel bad for Jorge last night what a nightmare Joba, Marte and Park were. I hope Marte straightens it out. I have confidence in Park and little in Joba (raw talent), Marte is not as good as we would hope. I still think he is hurt.
Melk man that route running….
Peter,
Hughes would probably give us a better 5-6 innings than AJ would, but the bullpen would blow it anyway.
A starter needs to take us straight to Robertson or MO himself. Otherwise, it like a kid playing with a matchbox….
AL Comeback player of the year ??? Keep an eye on Alex Rios of the White Sox……..What I take away fron Hughes and his workout today, he threw 100 pitches……
Francessa’s show is starting now, FYI.
Brandon,
Smith was not only awful in the GCL over two seasons he evidently also ate himself out of baseball.
I believe he gained a huge amount of weight and was completely out of shape.
To be fair to Park, let’s see how he pitches against the Royals and A’s before we kill him. Not everyone can pitch against Boston. Same with Joba.
Even MO has what, 10 blown saves and an ERA around 4 against Boston? Aceves’ ERA is like 6 against Boston, as is Robertson’s. Coke blew a couple of games against them last year too. Proctor got OWNED by Boston.
It’s not fair to judge guys on what they do against Boston. Not everyone can pitch against them, especially early in the season.
“Francessa’s show is starting now, FYI.”
What is he going to do tell the audience? The Sox are better than the Yankees. The Yankees pen is a problem, the Sox are a lot deeper?
Way too much overreaction on the bullpen. Like they were not going to blow a 4 run lead this year? That will happen during a season.
Its all about taking 2 out of 3 every series in as many series as possible and going to the next town.
Thanks CB, and that kid was from Compton…..depressing story.
Remember watching some video of Chris Smith and he slugged like Bonds and choked up like Big Papi?
Of course, Pat – he was facing overmatched hitters; it’s still nice to see, though. I guess he’ll be dialed back a bit for his next outing and then he’s good to go.
Was Chris Smith the draft pick out of LA? Kid who hit like .750 in HS?
Betsy,
I remember his blog. It was pretty funny. i think guys like him make some of us prospect huggers. You hear the name drafted, follow development, and really hope for them to make it.
Especially when the talent meets the hype.
Yeah that’s sad about Smith. I saw the same video everyone else did when he was drafted, he looked extremely athletic.
Trevor, lol. I haven’t listened to one sports show today and I’m happier for it.
Francessa isin’t even talking Yankees… talking Tiger Woods, McNabb, Duke, etc.
Yes WB
Snot nose over Bel-air drop out.
Just wanna comment on some stuff:
- Swisher needs to get some blame for the triple, but he was playing Youk way over in RF and I don’t think he had the speed to cut that ball even if he ran back on it.
- Granderson is going to be great.
- Posada needs to work on his catching, he was bad at the end of the season last year and didn’t look great
- Marte to the DL, Logan up. Please!
- The rest of the BP gets a pass
- Heyward owns.
- Greinke/Verlander is a great match up, both guys throw hard and change speeds and have sick secondary offerings
- HUGHES is going to dominate April 15th
- Seems offense is going to be huge this year, a far cry from 2008
William Buckner, I agree; it’s so easy to follow these guys on the internet, too. Also, when they turn out to be really good kids, it’s very easy to root for them personally.
Just saw the highlight of that Heyward home run.
What a swing he put on that ball. Just beautiful the way he dropped the bat head and got it through the zone.
One of the issues that gets too much focus and disagreement between “traditionalists” and “sabermeticians” are walks.
Just the other day there was some conversation here going on about Austine Romine and his need to draw more walks vs. learning to get his swing down.
I agree that outs are precious and you must minimize them to win. At the same time walks aren’t skills that are wholly up to the player.
What is up to the player is strike zone command. And that’s a real skill – and one nearly every non-Vladamir Guererro player should try to develop regardless of what level they play at.
I bring this up because while Heyword’s homerun is going to get the attention the whole at bat was impressive and the pitches before were the ones that set up the long ball.
Heyward is a lefty batter. Zambrano tried coming up and in on him twice. Heyward laid off those pitches and took they for balls.
Behind in the count Zambrano came in with a low fastball that missed its spot and sat in the wheelhouse for left handed hitters. Heyward drilled it.
But part of why he hit that home run was because he had the strike zone command to drive the count in his favor.
Here’s the determination I made on the Yankees bullpen based on last night’s game. No determination. It takes me more than the first game of the season to convince me of something. Now, if the Yankees played one game season, I think I could figure something out. But i would have to be an outright psychic to know whether last night’s outing says anything determinative about any of the players who played for the pinstripes.
Kay didn’t even get to the Yankees till the 2nd hour of his show. Francessa isin’t starting with them. Tierney did like 2 minutes on them and moved on to other things.
Thank god so many other things are going on today that our brutal game yesterday is being buried.
Francesa did a tease on the Yankees
“we’ll get to them later, tough loss but it’s one game, let’s not make it a big deal”
Yeah Heyward is a stud. Enough said.
Jerkface, I completely agree on Granderson and, I think, on Marte at this point. The offense should be huge; the pen – I don’t want to overreact, but …oh, nevermind. I’ll try to be positive about it, lol. I would kill for Phil to dominate….I’ll take a solid performance from him any day of the week.
Well we might just have our own stud.
His name is Jesus Montero. Destroyer of tall fixed objects.
Some of you may have heard of him.
And the ones that haven’t will.
“Snot nose over Bel-air drop out.”
LOL. Too bad. I remember the concern being he didn’t play in travel leagues and they thought the competition wasn’t that good.
Hopefully he held on to some of that signing bonus.
I have no problem if Girardi throws Joba out there late in the game tomorrow night either. His stuff looks the best of any reliever. Robertson did OK too, but remember, he gave up the game-tying rocket single to Beltre.
Right now, Joba is our best option.
Then again, it is extremely unlikely AJ goes 7 strong, so chances are, we will need both Joba and Robertson. This is assuming we even hit enough against Lester to have a lead and/or AJ pitches well enough to preserve one.
“Hopefully he held on to some of that signing bonus.”
What does that do for me? hopefully he’s buying ice cream and mixing it w/ fried chicken…killed my dream of having a straight out of Compton plyr. on the Yankees.
“Hughes strikes out 12 in extended spring”
And this means what?
Marte faced one batter last night. He could be hurt but it also could just be that he threw 6 bad pitches. It is the first game for everyone. It is not fair to give certain players a pass but Marte is now deemed untrustworthy.
If he is healthy he has done nothing in his career to doubt his ability as LOOGY. Even with his abysmal ERA last year his line vs LHB was .120/.214/.280.
Remember when people said that Joba being in the pen will enable us to rest Rivera more because Joba could close games and take some of the load off Rivera?
From the looks of it, Rivera will be the one bailing Joba out in the 8th lol
Peter, the game is tomorrow night. I would take AJ over Hughes, I believe that AJ will master the Suxers, and I believe Lester will get lit up by the Yanks.
And I am not changing my story.
With our luck w/ position plyrs. Slade Heathcott prbly leaves baseball to become a porn star
Francesa did a tease on the Yankees
“we’ll get to them later, tough loss but it’s one game, let’s not make it a big deal”
That’s different than last year. When apparently the season was over in April. Red Sox won the division, Tampa WC. Yankees play golf.
“It’s not fair to judge guys on what they do against Boston. Not everyone can pitch against them, especially early in the season.”
That’s either very high praise for the Red Sox or a stinging indictment of the pitchers the Yankees think are good enough to be in a major league bullpen.
IMO, Marte looks hurt and Park looks like a total wuss….the kind of guy who looks beaten before he even throws a pitch.
Joba is the saddest case of all. There has to be something physically wrong with the guy.
Fenway is such a trash park. A-rod and Cano both got robbed of HR’s thanks to Fenway.
Chan Ho Park didn’t look great, but that HR to pedroia was garbage.
NJ, Granderson, Swisher, Teixeira, Cano, and A-rod all hit balls harder than Pedroia’s stupid pop fly HR.
Thats why I can’t get angry about losing. The yankees have like an .800 WP at fenway in september/august/october. We’ll get em when it matters.
Also I think the bullpen is better than shown last night.
“Then again, it is extremely unlikely AJ goes 7 strong,”
Why not? AJ can throw as good a game as anyone.
The problem with this series is that the Red Sox top three starters are far superior to what the Yanks have. AJ is probably good for giving up 5-6 runs in 4-5 innings if his meltdowns last season at Fenway are any indication.
“And this means what?”
That means that you should go back your Extra Bases blog, Pete!
“Way too much overreaction on the bullpen. Like they were not going to blow a 4 run lead this year? That will happen during a season.
Its all about taking 2 out of 3 every series in as many series as possible and going to the next town.”
How about way too much overreaction on the bullpen their very first time out this season? That’s even more hysterical!
“Why not? AJ can throw as good a game as anyone.”
Not at Fenway. Did you watch him pitch there last season? One thing goes wrong and it’s ballgame in no time.
Going off Jerkface’s post.
Park does not look nearly as much of a goat if the game last night is played in any other ballpark in baseball. It was a bad pitch but Pedroia basically hit a long pop up.
I am not concerned about Park or Marte. These things will settle themselves out as the season goes on.
Joba stuff looked crisp. Threw Beltran some nasty sliders, was hitting 96 in the 2nd inning of work. For some reason, they were able to him him, but his stuff looked great.
“The problem with this series is that the Red Sox top three starters are far superior to what the Yanks have”
Uh, what????
Here’s what we do.
Since the Yankees are playing the Sox to start the season.
How about we just snap our fingers and all our SP’s will immediately be in mid-season form.
Never mind a normal progression.
Forget it.
Just expect the world of them.
Right out of the box.
That makes perfect sense to me.
It’s the Sox. No margin for error.
The most hysterical thing about the mass BP panic is that if you go back 48 hours on this blog you will find numerous posts on how the Yankees have the best bullpen in baseball.
“Thats why I can’t get angry about losing. The yankees have like an .800 WP at fenway in september/august/october. We’ll get em when it matters.”
All the games matter.
“Also I think the bullpen is better than shown last night.”
What you saw last night is what you’re going to get. Park can’t handle the AL, Joba is just a complete, tragic mess and Marte is hurt. I suppose you can think Robertson is the answer, but even he gave up a rocket from Beltre to tie the game. Boston’s bullpen looks light year’s better (outside of Ramirez, who looks like he belongs on the Yanks).
hey all…so glad baseball’s back!! i sadly missed the end of the game…can anybody fill me in??
Park had a 92 mph fastball, a 90 mph 2 seamer, an 85 mph change up, and a 70something curve. His problem was that he kept leaving pitches up. His pitches all had nice movement. I think he will be better.
All of our pitchers were getting the ball too high last night. It could have had something to do with the bottom third of the strike zone being called a ball more often than not. It could have been too much adrenaline.
Robertson’s pitches were up, Joba’s, and Parks. I don’t count Marte he was everywhere. CC kept the ball up when he was getting tired.
They’ll work on it, and be better.
I just wish they could play! Stupid million off days
Park also gave up a single to Scutero and double to Youk. It was not only the solo HR…. They got 3 hits off him…
Austin Jackson doesn’t have a hit, Damon doesn’t have a hit, Verlander just gave up 4 runs to the Royals and is near 100 pitches in the 5th.
Think the Tigers are worried?
The Yankees lost a game to the likely Wild Card winner. The Tigers are losing to the royals.
Looks like everybody’s have fun this new season: the philly fans, Atlanta fans, boston fans, etc., etc.
Just except us.
rebecca = christina25
“Uh, what????”
I’d rank Beckett and CC about even. Lester is much better than Burnett and Lackey is better than Pettitte.
Rebecca-
IMO you couldn’t be more wrong.
What you see is what you get after a 1 game sample ?
Can I borrow your crystal ball.
I have other uses for it.
Park had a bad game, he was damn good as a Phillie’s SU man, he’ll bounce back.
Holy crap Jason Heyward struck out. I’m done.
I just got a job as a Yankee Stadium Security Guard.. literally drooling over the fact that I can see all 81 home games..
>.<
Jerkface April 5th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Austin Jackson doesn’t have a hit, Damon doesn’t have a hit, Verlander just gave up 4 runs to the Royals and is near 100 pitches in the 5th.
Think the Tigers are worried?
The Yankees lost a game to the likely Wild Card winner. The Tigers are losing to the royals
____________________________
well said!
Park also gave up a single to Scutero and double to Youk. It was not only the solo HR?. They got 3 hits off him?
–
Scutaro poked a high curve back up the middle past Cano. The pitch was high. YOukilis is a great hitter. Park showed promise, he was good last year, good in ST, decent as a reliever in his career, and has 4 pitches he can throw for strikes.
Let him get away from this bad appearance before we declare him toast.
If Joba doesn’t get more aggressive and Marte can’t get unwild, I’d bring up Melancon and Marte.
Hey I’ve got a great idea! Rebecca can save us having to watch any games this season. Since she has all the answers, maybe what we should do is look at the ERA of all of our pitchers from last year and then just use that as to what they will all do at all ball parks! I mean hell, if AJ had trouble at Fenway, then let’s just put up an L for anytime he’s at Fenway!
Melancon and Logan I mean.
Basesloaded in the Royals Tigers game for the Royals.
Verlander is facing Billy Butler. Two outs. Verlander has already thrown around 20 pitches in the inning.
This is the sequence of pitches to Butler:
Fastball – 98mph
Fastball – 99
Fastball – 99
Fastball – 100
On the 5th pitch with Verlander throws a fastball at 100mph on the inside part of the plate and Butler puts a beautiful, simple inside out swing on the ball to score two runs.
Baseball is just a great game.
It might be nice if everyone didn’t inspect every single pitch that Joba tosses with an eye to deciding his future.
Can we give the guy a chance ?
Sheeesh.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
While stomping into Fenway is no picnic for any pitcher, Burnett said that he thought he was “overdoing it” and not getting ahead of batters in 2009.
“Do you chalk it up to, ‘He got too involved in the rivalry?’” Girardi said. “I don’t know. Do you chalk it up to, ‘He just had a bad year?’ I don’t know. Obviously we’re going to be able to find out.”
As part of Burnett’s preparation for Tuesday’s start, he planned on digging into the video archives and examining footage of those 2008 starts against Boston — when Burnett was 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA in four starts for the Blue Jays.
“I’ll watch last year’s too, but I’m going to watch ’08 last,” Burnett said. “If I leave a game and I don’t know what the problem was, I’ll go review it. I think we all know what happened last year. I’d rather see myself doing good, executing the right pitches at the right times against these guys.”
Park has to prove he can pitch in the AL. How do we know he isin’t one of many NL relievers who couldn’t hack it in the big bad AL?
Joba is fools gold at this point.. living off his reputation. Ever since his shoulder injury, he has been a mediocre pitcher. He was mediocre in the playoffs and he was bad yesterday. Who cares how his stuff looks if hitters have no problem hitting it?
Marte should have gone on the DL like yesterday
Robertson is fine
Mitre is a waste of space. And who knows the condition of Aceves’ back from day to day?
At this point, we have 1 reliable reliever leading up to MO. That could change, but I’m sure Girardi has no idea where to go tomorrow if AJ leavesafter 6 with a lead.
I hoping Austin Jackson will fail miserably today — that would ameliorate some of the misery of the loss from last night.
What a joke. More umpiring incompetence.
Nate McLouth dropped a fly ball clearly, but the umps called it a catch and double play because he McLouth threw the ball back in, and it got relayed to 1st for a double play.
Instead of 1st and 2nd 0 out, which it should be, it’s 2 outs and 0 on.
Umpiring at its finest, literally.
“The problem with this series is that the Red Sox top three starters are far superior to what the Yanks have.”
What a load of unsubstantiated bunk.
“Park showed promise”
What promise? He nearly sh** the bed on his very first pitch. This looks like a Veras type experiment that you can see is doomed to fail.
You can’t underestimate coming from the NL to the AL.
The Yanks have to win games like last night. When an AJ at Fenway meltdown is guaranteed the next game….
Joba is a much bigger concern than Park.
Joba was supposed to be our 8th inning guy.
Valerie – welcome back! It’s all good.
Heykelvinsays – I am jealous. Word!
“Looks like everybody?s have fun this new season: the philly fans, Atlanta fans, boston fans, etc., etc.
Just except us. ”
California, I’m having a blast, as always. Maybe it’s just you who’s depressed.
Stop being silly and try to pay attention. I’m going to try to learn you something. Okay, listen up. CC lost Opening Day last year. The Yankees went 0-8 in their first 8 games with the fenway fielders. They also lost 8 games in a row at one point. AND IN THE END THEY WON IT ALL! So try not to fret little one. If you’re ever getting discouraged, seriously, seek me out. I’ll help you out of your funk by providing you with FACT.
“I’d rank Beckett and CC about even.”
They’re not even. CC is much better than Beckett.
And Beckett himself knows it.
If beckett thought there was any chance he could command a $170 million deal he wouldn’t have signed the contract he just did with Boston.
Beckett traded a fifth year for the security of signing now with a team he wanted to play for.
But he was not leaving $100M on the table if he thought it was there to be had. But it wasn’t going to be because Beckett’s not in CC’s class and never has been either in terms of how good he is, how durable he is, or how much of an injury risk he is.
Am I the only one here who knows that yesterday was the first game of the season? There are 161 games left in the year, plenty of wins to get, especially versus the sox. We’re fine!
Halladay might win 25 games this year…seriously.
Blake-
CC might win 25 games this year. seriously.
Even though I like Beckett and Lester, I think they are overrated in the eyes of a lot of people.
trisha– thanks
The only thing about last night I am concerned about is Trisha’s win contest.
I now need the Yankees to go on a 161 game win streak. Seems doable with this team.
“On the 5th pitch with Verlander throws a fastball at 100mph on the inside part of the plate and Butler puts a beautiful, simple inside out swing on the ball to score two runs.”
Dammit! I have Billy Butler on my fantasy team and never got to set my lineup for the week because I was having too much Easter fun and didn’t get home in time.
Oh well.
Beckett is not even the best pitcher on his own team. He had no business be the Opening Day Starter.
Sorry but Lester is not over rated. He’s just getting better.
Rich, the Sox top 3 are better than the Yankees.
MTU,
Maybe..but he doesn’t get to face the nationals much.
The problem with this series are people analyzing it as if its in September have no idea what they are talking about.
Drawing season long conclusions over the first game of the season? Pure idiocy and nothing more.
I believe the 98 team went 1-3 to start off the season. We got the league where we want them!!
118 regular season wins!! You can cash that check..
SJ44–I totally agree.
At least last year, we had a significant advantage in every pitching matchup on paper in Baltimore. Even when we lost the first 2 games… we had AJ going against some guy named Alfredo Simon who had a 8 ERA the prior year. So we felt good.
The next 2 nights, we don’t have an advantage either night. It is debateable if we have an advantage with Vazquez over Price. Price owned us last year. We don’t have a real advantage until Saturday with CC vs. Wade Davis. Burnett vs. Shields is a toss-up matchup on Sunday too.
The best team in baseball is going to lose 65 times. Yankees showed a lot of positive last night. The only downside was the bullpen and it was an easily spottable and correctable issue (leaving the ball up).
Our 9 hitter showed what he can do, our new acquisitions proved their worth, our 5th hitter crushed the ball in every AB. The yankees showed numerous ways to score runs.
Blake-
That’s true.
But our team is strong enough that if CC gets going just a bit earlier it could happen.
Anyway, you know me. Optimist.
Does there seem to be a great deal of negativity out there to you ?
Blake, He might have to if the Phillies want to make the postseason…..Atlanta will be nipping at their heels
Halladay struck out 9 and threw 88 pitches. It’s as if he’s not human.
I can’t recall any pitcher who reminds me of Halladay. He is amongst the handful of most original pitchers I think the game has seen over the past several decades.
He has a real shot to win 25 games this year and have an era under 2.
Halladay is the most consistent, pure talent in the majors right now. Just incomparable.
It is too early to say whether the Sox top 3 or whole rotation is better than the Yankees top 3 or rotation and vice versa.
Vazquez was literally one of the best pitchers in baseball last year. Lets see what he does this year. Lackey also is in for a rough transition from the AL West pitching in Los Angeles and the AL East pitching in the dump that is Fenway.
“The only thing about last night I am concerned about is Trisha?s win contest.
I now need the Yankees to go on a 161 game win streak. Seems doable with this team.”
I gave you the chance to change it to 160 but you refused!!!
Valerie, there are probably more of us here who know how to keep our eyes on the prize than the others right now. It’s just that the others tend to be more vocal more often and so their constant worrying and whining just appear to be the overriding sentiment. Not so.
Anyway, wouldn’t you rather be with the core who kept the faith all last season and were rewarded handsomely than with those who vomited their way through the season, always doubting, and who were proven wrong in the end? Of course!
That’s why you just do your best to avoid the noise and always realize that when it comes to the Yankees, the only thing to fear is fear itself. (And the crazies who spin out of control per pitch!)
I don’t take any moral victories from losses (generally speaking), so I’m not going to do it here. Of course it’s just one game, but I still think the Sox are being underrated here.
# MTU (aka GBURL) April 5th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Sorry but Lester is not over rated. He’s just getting better.
I think he his sorry.
The next 2 nights, we don?t have an advantage either night. It is debateable if we have an advantage with Vazquez over Price. Price owned us last year. We don?t have a real advantage until Saturday with CC vs. Wade Davis. Burnett vs. Shields is a toss-up matchup on Sunday too.
–
Really? You think David Price out matches Javier Vazquez?
The Yankees always have an advantage over the opposing pitcher because of our offense.
Our rotation is a bunch of above average starters, 1 who is a bonafide ace.
We crushed Lester at the end of last season.
Betsy – Hughes rules (pleading the Fifth) April 5th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Rich, the Sox top 3 are better than the Yankees.
—————————-
Betsy, are you a Troll? (Or a level-headed fan?)
Betsy
No they are not.
CC > Lester
Beckett > AJ
Vazquez = Lackey
And that poster said “far superior,” which is goofy.
Why is everyone talking about pitching matchups? Who the hell else has a guy that hit 33 bombs at the #7 slot of the lineup? THIS TEAM IS LOADED this year!! As long as his name isnt Halliday, I dont care who the pitcher is on the other side. We will always have a chance to win, even if our 5th starter is throwing.
I don’t think it’s too early to say it; I think the Sox have a clear advantage.
Trisha–lol yeah, well I’m not all that concerned, I mean the Yanks have a tremendous team this yr. and panicking after the first game is just stupid…but I’m keeping the faith…can’t wait till tomorrow’s game!!
Joel Zoooombya just threw a pitch at 166 miles per hour that vaporized his catcher !!!!
Halladay struck out 9 and threw 88 pitches. It?s as if he?s not human.
I can?t recall any pitcher who reminds me of Halladay. He is amongst the handful of most original pitchers I think the game has seen over the past several decades.
–
Leiter brings up one of the things that makes Halladay unstoppable all the time, and its the one aspect that I think makes him one of the most dominant pitchers. All of his pitches have movement in varying directions, and he uses them to carve up the strike zone from every angle.
MLB Network had a really cool graphic which showed the movement in the zone after 7 pitches (long for a halladay ab!), it was insane.
I doubt any MLB starter gets close to the kind of zone dominance he can get with all his pitches.
Rich, I just completely disagree. CC and Lester aren’t THAT far apart, but CC is better than Beckett. I love AJ, but he’s …..AJ. Lackey gets the solid edge over Vazquez.
Betsy,
What are you basing this clear advantage on?
Whether or not the Sox top 3 starters are “better” than the yankees really depends on how you factor risk into the equation.
First off – the yanks top three does not include Pettitte. It’s CC, Javy and AJ.
The Sox top three might have more talent or might even perform marginally better.
But which top three is more likely to throw 600 innings?
What’s more important isn’t who is “better” it’s which will be more valuable.
# Betsy – Hughes rules (pleading the Fifth) April 5th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I don’t think it’s too early to say it; I think the Sox have a clear advantage.
We played one.game.
Austin Jackson coming up.
Strike him out, Zack !
Carl, so what? I thought that going into the season.
“Drawing season long conclusions over the first game of the season? Pure idiocy and nothing more.”
SJ, I will say it again. Simply amazing that anyone who can walk and chew gum at the same time would even attempt to do it with a serious face. To me it defies belief.
CB-
Carl seems to think that Lester is an over rated pitcher.
I know this is a loaded question but I thought you might want to share your opinion of John Lester with us ?
# Betsy – Hughes rules (pleading the Fifth) April 5th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Carl, so what? I thought that going into the season.
Well what are you basing it on?
I don’t see any reason to think the Sox top 3 starters are going to break down…
Bard > Joba
Okijima > Robertson
Schoenweiss > regular season Marte
Ramon Ramirez = Park
That;s where the Sox have the real advantage. They have a slight advantage in the rotation, but a bigger one in the pen.
The 2007 Joba ain’t coming back, folks. Don’t look at the name on the jersey, look at the results.
What am I basing it on? Performance, what else? You haven’t exactly explained why you think the Yankees top 3 is better.
Betsy
Both AJ and Beckett alternate good years and bad years. They are really pretty close.
You seriously underestimate the pitcher that Vazquez currently is.
Betsy!! The other pitchers havnt even thrown a pitch yet this year? Who the hell knows how Lester will do this year? He struggled off the gates last year. So if he continues that trend he still is condidered better than our top 2? If Lackey blows out his arm in April, will he be considered better than our #3 who happens to be the all time playoffs leader in wins? Come on. Your better than that!
Also, you think Lester is overrated, which to me doesn’t make any sense.
If Pete Abe had one smart post during his tenure, it was to demonstrate that Bard and Robertson have been equivalent pitchers.
I think Lester is outstanding.
CC is a better pitcher than Josh Beckett. In fact, its not close.
Javy Vazquez is as good or better than John Lackey.
Andy Pettitte is better than anybody the Sox put up in the 4 or 5 spot.
I’ll take Hughes over anybody the Sox have in the 5 hole.
They don’t have a “clear advantage” at all. If anything, its marginal at best, with a great chance they won’t have an advantage at all by mid-season since I believe the Yankee starters will throw more innings than the Sox starters.
Before anybody gets ga ga over John Lackey, he has pitched horribly in Fenway over the years and now has to face the AL East, not the NL West.
Before some of you put him in the Hall of Fame, how about we see how he does the first few months of the season?
“Halladay struck out 9 and threw 88 pitches. It’s as if he’s not human.”
I’d trade CC for him so quick it would make your head spin. Halladay is a true “ace”. CC is living off his reputation from his great stint in the NL with Milwaukee. Give me a guy who brings it from the first game to the last, unlike Sabathia who tanks it for the first month or two and then relies on gigantic run support to get wins.
“Leiter brings up one of the things that makes Halladay unstoppable all the time, and its the one aspect that I think makes him one of the most dominant pitchers. All of his pitches have movement in varying directions, and he uses them to carve up the strike zone from every angle.”
The fundamental greatness that is Halladay really derives from the combination of his Maddux like control coupled to the opposite movement produced on this two seamer and cut fastball.
It’s really amazing. Those two pitches move in exactly the opposite directions and with similar late life.
I can’t think of any pitcher who could do that while throwing hard and with such command.
On top of that he’s got a great hook and a good change that is simply devastating within the context of his repertoire.
If you were to draw up a near ideal pitcher he would be it. Perhaps a left handed version of him.
Sos, lol calm down. What’s your problem? Lester got off to a slow start last year – so what? He ended up having a great year. Why you would assume he’s going to regress is beyond me. No, YOU’RE supposed to be better than that, assuming Lackey is going to break down. How do you know how AJ will do? I think he’ll have a good year, but how good? I have no idea. What happens if HE blows out his arm? Or CC?
Spiderman April 5th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Bard > Joba
Okijima > Robertson
Schoenweiss > regular season Marte
Ramon Ramirez = Park
That;s where the Sox have the real advantage. They have a slight advantage in the rotation, but a bigger one in the pen.
The 2007 Joba ain’t coming back, folks. Don’t look at the name on the jersey, look at the results.
=======================
I think you’re forgetting the sox have a better offense as well.
The simple truth is they are better in EVERY SINGLE facet of the game.
Sheesh – it’s like it’s heresy to think the Sox have a better top 3. This after people spent all year bashing AJ saying he’s mediocre. If he’s mediocre or even merely just good, then the top 3 starters aren’t at all comparable.
Betsy,
Performance is quite a broad term. I could point to Vazquez’s performance in 2009 and easily say John Lackey was not even in his class as a SP.
Vazquez had a 6.6 WAR last year.
John Lackey: 3.9.
Rich, let’s see it. I’m sure he’s going to be very good, but everyone thinks Lackey is going to breakdown or stink? That I don’t get.
The bullpen “ratings” don’t pass the laugh test.
Some of you are really clueless when it comes to player evaluation.
Betsy – Hughes rules (pleading the Fifth) April 5th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I don’t think it’s too early to say it; I think the Sox have a clear advantage.
************************
Betsy, I think you’re jumping the gun a little bit-Sabathia’s the only starter that’s pitched so far!
# MTU (aka GBURL) April 5th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
CB-
Carl seems to think that Lester is an over rated pitcher.
I know this is a loaded question but I thought you might want to share your opinion of John Lester with us ?
I’m not saying the man is a bad pitcher. I’m saying he is overrated. Did you read to forums last night? Tomorrow is already a loss because Lester is pitching. Hearing about him and Beckett in the postseason with Tampa and the Angels. It seems they wrap up the postseason every year before they even throw a pitch. Maybe its the mlbnetwork and espn. It gets annoying though.
I hate to say it, but I think the Sox-Yanks top three are evenly matched to Sox are better (pure talent wise)…CC isn’t as good as Beckett as of the past two years…that’s not to say the Yanks won’t outperform the Sox when it comes to pitching, I’m just saying strictly where talent is concerned…
“Vazquez = Lackey”
Not even close. Lackey has pitched brilliantly in post season games. Vazquez pitched decently in the NL last year. He’s a back of the rotation guy who seemingly always gives up the big hit.
Man. I sure would love to have that over rated Lester on the Yankees.
Since he’s so over rated I’m sure the Sox would be willing to part with him.
I can easily name 5 Left-handers in the AL who are better.
CC ……… Huh, can’t seem to think ……
Oh well, I’m sure it will come to me.
“We crushed Lester at the end of last season.”
Shhh!!! Don’t want to disrupt the reverie of those apparently held prisoner by the rapture.
If we’re going to assume Phil is going to be decent, then it’s only fair to assume Buchholz will be good/very good with last year under his belt.
Erin, lol, no I’m not. I thought the Sox top 3 were better going into the season; why would you think I’m basing it on one game anyway?
The Sox are “better in every single facet of the game”? lol
Looks like your parents wasted a good college education on you.
Go back to evaluating college football because your baseball analysis is a little light.
CC “tanked” last night? lol
Looks like school is out because the dumb posters are back!
Again MTU he is a great pitcher, but some make it seem like they have Gibson and Koufax at the top of their rotation.
the biggest question right now isn’t about the Yankees or the Sox…
it’s whether or not this blog is going to get continually worse until it’s too difficult to sift out the rational posts, or if a World Series win will help the perpetual and unnecessary pessimism recede.
it’s amazing how despite a terrible April in 2009, an 0-8 hole to the Red Sox, yet an eventual World Series win has had seemingly zero effect on the minds of the bridge jumpers so far.
I guess years of statistics, averages, and logic will continue to be thrown out the window on an at-bat by at-bat basis.
Help!
CC is definitely better than Beckett, Valerie.
“CC isn’t as good as Beckett as of the past two years”
Austin Jackson just adds to our misery.
carl-
“Tomorrow is already a loss because Lester is pitching.”
That’s an entirely different statement than running down an extremely talented pitcher.
On any given night any pitcher can be beaten.
That’s why they play the games.
And I’m hoping the next time the yankees face him is one of them.
AJax got his first rbi. Yay.
I took a glance at the tv – you know, he LOOKED like young Granderson.
BD, I’m sure that guy is a Sox troll.
“I know this is a loaded question but I thought you might want to share your opinion of John Lester with us ?”
Lester is a star. He is on track to become a great – not just good – but a great pitcher.
He mixes 5 pitches for strikes at least 3 of which are plus pitches and even has a 6th pitch he can go to.
On top of that he now sits 93-94 with his fastball.
And he’s left handed.
Lester is going to be one of the 5 best pitchers in the AL very soon.
Greinke gets his first no decision from the bullpen
Yeah, I’m sooo unhappy to have Granderson.
I’d take Vazquez over Lackey. Vazquez will give you 200 innings.
CC is better than Beckett.
Lester is better than Burnett.
The only clear advantage they have is Lester.
Beckett is an excellent pitcher…just saying…at the least, they’re evenly matched.
Josh Beckett hasn’t been better than CC the last two yesrs.
That’s not even remotely close to being true.
I guess you feel if you keep saying it, somehow it will become true.
This is the fallout as a result of losing a tough one last night……Amazing, just when you think you understand the LoHud, then this…….
Breaking News: Explostion at WV coal mine kills at least six.
Was Lester this highly regarded before he got cancer?
I try hard not to think about him – I would prefer not to think about anyone on the Sox, lol.
Pat M, I don’t see anything wrong with this debate. It’s hardly unreasonable to think the Sox have a better rotation.
SJ44 April 5th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Josh Beckett hasn’t been better than CC the last two yesrs.
That’s not even remotely close to being true.
I guess you feel if you keep saying it, somehow it will become true.
________________
Okay, that was very funny
Lackey is no longer going to be facing the Sox lineup in Fenway. He’ll have the home team behind him.
Lackey’s last 3 starts in Fenway:
7.2 IP, 3 ER (Sept 2009)
9 IP, 2 ER (July 2008)
7 IP, 2 ER (playoffs 2008)
Look at CC’s numbers pitching in NY before we got him… irrelevant.
Carl-
Gibson and Koufax.
Well if that’s the lefty comparison I’m afraid Mr. Lester falls short.
but then again almost all lefties would pale by comparison.
That is a one off.
CR9–that’s terrible
prayers for their families…
“I don’t see any reason to think the Sox top 3 starters are going to break down…”
You might not but the Red Sox do.
They put a clause in Lackey’s contract to protect them should he blow out his elbow.
They didn’t want to go to 5 years with Beckett because they were concerned about his shoulder.
Lackey in particular is a significant injury risk. He hasnt’ thrown 200 innings since 2007 and there was concern he might need elbow surgery last year.
He’s a significant injury risk.
What difference does it make which team has the better Top 3 in the rotation?
The Yanks have the better depth in the rotation and more depth overall in the bullpen. They are also going to score quite a few more more runs.
The Red Sox offense is built for Fenway and have a hard time scoring anywhere else. The Yanks can and will score a ton of runs regardless if they are on the road or at home.
This kind of stuff is a big reason why I tend to avoid the boards during a Yanks/Sox series.
Too much panic on nonsense when these teams get together. CB said it best the other day regarding this rivalry as it stands now. The Yanks just won the WS last year and are probably the best team in baseball right now. Yet, too many Yankee fans still obsess about the stupid Red Sox.
I’ll never understand it.
something has to be done with this place…its absolutely brutal to read through these comments…what a terrible shame for the smart, regular posters on here…
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....how_badly/
So off of one game, the Yankees are practically mortally wounded.
Beckett is better than CC? Beckett has had problems the last two seasons. There was no way of knowing what Beckett was going to show up. I would like to know exactly what anyone who says Beckett is better is basing it on, other than shivering fear of Boston.
Thanks.
Trisha–no shivering fear of Boston lol…but based on the comments I’m re-evaluating my position…I’ll let you know what I decide.
Franco-
Hoping you are feeling well.
Thanks for injecting that note of sanity into the discussion.
Why are people comparing CC to Beckett?
Beckett is the ace because of his ego, not his performance.
Compare CC to Lester… and the gap is not that large at all. Lester is a stud.
Beckett/Burnett is a more reasonable comp. and Beckett is slightly better.
Can Vazquez pitch a full season in the AL before we say he is better than a guy like Lackey who was the ace of a playoff team for 6 years? I know people are optimistic, but games are not played on paper. Vazquez has to go out there and prove it.
If you say Hughes is a stud, why can’t the same be said for Buchholz?
Andy is better than Wake/Dice-K
The Yankees have better depth if Andy pitches like last year and Phil is good. We don’t know that either will happen and Buchholz is a wild card. I really don’t get why it’s a problem for people to admit the Sox are good……..and I see nothing wrong with the discussion.
“Lackey is no longer going to be facing the Sox lineup in Fenway. He’ll have the home team behind him.”
——————————–
His poor numbers at Fenway are not really the concern.
It is switching from the AL West and Angel Stadium to the AL East and Fenway. Two differences that should impact his numbers.
John Lackey is a very good pitcher, as I’ve been watching him ever since he came up in 2002…..However, Lackey’s effectiveness is establishing the inside part of the plate with his breaking ball which is very good….However, he’ll make at least 3-4 mistakes a game that he will not get away with in Fenway like he did in the heavy Marine air in Anaheim….I expect for him to become a outside pitcher in Fenway after he serves up a few 8 irons over the Green Monster by May………Besides, he’s one breaking ball away from a barking elbow…..
Valerie, CC is infinitely better than the Beckett of the past two years!
Betsy-
OK. I’ll say it. The Sox are good.
But I’ll say this too. We’re better !
Here’s more details on Hughes:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
I’ve never been overly impressed by Lackey and didn’t have any trepidation when Boston got him.
Bob Costas is gonna call the Yanks/Sox game on mlbnetwork. Can’t wait
MTU, I never said the Yankees weren’t good…..This is a very reasonable discussion; too bad if some people can’t handle it.
“The Yanks have the better depth in the rotation and more depth overall in the bullpen.”
Yanks bullpen is a disaster. Boston’s is not.
Trisha–Okay…
Carl April 5th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Bob Costas is gonna call the Yanks/Sox game on mlbnetwork. Can’t wait
************************
Carl, I’m just thrilled I don’t have to watch it on NESN tomorrow night.
“Vazquez pitched decently in the NL last year.”
That’s not factual:
As LGY pointed out, Vazquez had a 6.6 WAR last year.
That’s stellar.
Lackey owns Alex though.
I did not read this, but heard from a friend…
ESPN NY Andrew Marchand talked about how CG answered the questions last night about whether he can hit LHP and whether he can replace Johnny Damon’s clutch hitting.
Because he failed to continue the 9th inning.
__
Over one game, and 2 ABs. The name of the article is Granderson’s Debut a Tough Ride, or something like that.
How a HR in your 1st AB and a BB is a tough ride is beyond me.
Betsy-
I don’t disagree with you about the discussion, and yeah I think I can handle it.
Can’t speak for anybody else.
I have confidence in our team.
CC pitched 27 more innings than Lester did last year.
That is a full 3 games more of pitching from the best pitcher on your team. That is a significant difference and one of the main reasons CC is in a class of his own in the AL East right now.
Can we please get off the Beckett is as good as C.C.? He isnt even better than Lester. Just ask yourself one question.
Who would get more money in free agency if they were both to file today? Nuff said.
C.C. is better than Lester(hes their ace)
Beckett is slightly better than AJ
Vasquez is better than Lackey(i give him a month before hes in street clothes)
Pettitte is better than fill in the blank
Hughes is your daddy at the 5th spot
Yanks bullpen is a disaster. Boston’s is not.
–
Okajima has been figured out. Ramon Ramirez is terrible. Bard is hittable. Delcarmen is a headcase. Papelbon is losing effectiveness. Schoenweis is not good.
Ok!
MTU, I know you can handle it – I wasn’t directing that comment to you.
SJ, the people who come across with the idiocy are second only to the people who link to the stuff, IMO.
Valerie, because these posts go so quickly I don’t get to see what was posted when I was posting. I certainly wasn’t referring to you about the shivering fear of Boston. But it is here, alive and well. The same people who needed to remind this forum on a per game basis about how good Boston was last season are doing it again.
I on the other hand had no fear of Boston last season and made no bones about it – not based on any false bravado but rather on paying attention to both teams. Whoever said it earlier was probably right – there are still Yankee fans who have some permanent fear of Boston and it just won’t go away. It doesn’t matter who is in their rotation, who is in their bullpen (they probably can’t even name the bullpen) or who their position players are. They just KNOW Boston is going to hurt us.
YAWN!
rebecca is new? Not Rebecca or becca?
If so, good to have you.
As for the difference in the front ends. The Sox are not far better. CC is better than Beckett. AJ can be better (or worse) than Lester, depending on the day. Lackey’s pretty good. Let’s see how he pitches in the sardine can. Andy has what very few have, the ability to do more with less.
“Okajima has been figured out.”
-
By whom? He’s still the best reliever in the major leagues.
And Wally Matthews said something about how CG and Cano showed their inability to hit in the clutch….
even though Cano drove in a run and advanced the other runner.
Nice win by the Sox today ………
Some people saw CHoP last night and have already concluded he sucks.
Way to go.
Did anybody see Park in last years WS’s ?
Did he suck then ?
I don’t think so.
Hey, maybe we’ll get that guy, right ?
What a novel thought.
The Yankees front 3 (CC, AJ, Javy) pitched 656 innings last season
The Red Sox front 3 (Lester, Beckett, Lackey) pitched 591 innings last season.
That is a difference of 65 innings or a little more than 7 games.
Trisha–It’s all good…Boston has been our nemesis for literally decades, so I get why it’s easy to be afraid of them. It’s just important to remember how good we are, not necessarily how good they could be. We won the world series and there’s a very good chance we will win again, so the fear is unwarranted. Like I’ve been saying, we’re one game into the season!! Plenty of time to show Boston what we’re made of…and definitely plenty of time to prove all the critics (Yankee fans included) very wrong…
“The Red Sox offense is built for Fenway and have a hard time scoring anywhere else. The Yanks can and will score a ton of runs regardless if they are on the road or at home.”
GF, said the same thing this morning.
Both teams have been about equal over the last 5 years. They all make for good games. Don’t think ANYONE will run away with the AL EAst.
Trisha
Were you directing the idiocy comment at me? For repeating what those idiots Matthews and Marchand wrote.
Chris– best reliever in the major leagues????
By whom? He’s still the best reliever in the major leagues.
–
I know this isn’t a real reply, but his WHIP has increased each season. Its 1.26 last year (2 this year lol small sample) his K:BB decreased each season. His K/9 was its lowest last year. H/9 and HR/9 increased each season.
He is strictly a loogy now. And bad vs the Yankees.
Boone Logan is like that free small tube of toothpaste you get from your dentist. Worth very little.
Okijima is now the best reliever in the majors? lol
You can’t make this stuff up folks!
Idiocy in full bloom! lol
If you are going to compare the top 3 Yankee starters vs top 3 Red Sox, lets put them in the right order shall we?
Sabathia vs Lester – slight advantage Sabathia due to # of innings pitched but if you are talking about a single game I’d say push
Vazquez vs Beckett – Hard to say but if Vazquez is anywhere near as good as last year he’s better than Beckett. I doubt he’ll be that good so another push
Burnett vs Lackey – again, too hard to call because Burnett is inconsistent and Lackey has injury problems over the last few years. push
So (in my opinion) it comes down to the back of each rotation and that’s where the Yankees hold a big advantage.
We can talk about bullpens all day long but the fact is, there is huge variance in relievers from year to year. It’s impossible to predict bullpen performance unless you are talking about the best of the best closers ie – Rivera, Papelbon, Nathan, Soria. Everyone else is essentially a crapshoot.
Im going to go out on the limb and say we can lose the first 8 games to boston and still win the season series + #28.
Out went the Bambino curse and in came the TEIX CURSE. They are back where they belong. First loser.
That’s the Phil Hughes we know: he can dominate minor league hitters!
The pen has a lot of ? marks.
Jobber didn’t look good at all.
Park is an NL pitcher
Marte is injured
Those were supposed to be 3 of our big 4 arms along with Robertson. Yet 3 of them them are question marks.
Bard wasn’t pretty but he got the job done, which is more than our relievers can say.
meanwhile, Phil Coke is clocking it up to 96 mph.
The thing about this blog is people get to express their opinions both good and bad. No one should be shut out for expressing their opinions. But some people get so repetative (Trish) though that gets sickening. e.g. – its only one game, CC lost his first game last year, Yankees lost their first game last year, etc, etc. etc. People like to express themselves on each and every game thats all it is.
Costas should do all nationally televised baseball games.
BTw, any of you hear Johnny bench in the booth today of the reds game? He does one of the best Harey Careys I’ve ever heard…maybe he should be the ex big red machine member on Sunday night baseball.
# Bob April 5th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
“The Yanks have the better depth in the rotation and more depth overall in the bullpen.”
Yanks bullpen is a disaster. Boston’s is not.
————
Um, yeah. Of course you can make that conclusion on April 5th. LOL.
The RS supposedly had the best bullpen in the major leagues by a wide margin last season and eventually got exposed in the second half of the season.
Okajima is not the same guy. Papelbon is also not the same guy and Theo and Co. knows it. Bard got lit up like a Christmas tree against the Yanks.
The Yanks’ pen was a disaster early last season and turned it around. This current group has much more depth.
I guess we’ll see.
Trisha ;
Everything about Boston is media enhanced and that combined with delusional thinking explains why there’s been 2 world championships in 91 years.
They’ll never get over the little brother syndrome. It’s taught from before the age of reasoning.
Fact of the matter is that both the Sox and the Yankees are good teams.
Over the years you could barely fit a knifeblade between some of the differences.
But the season isn’t gonna be won or lost by what we do against the Sox.
IMO it’s gonna be won or lost by what we do in between.
We’re gonna feast on winning series.
And lay waste to the weaker member of the species.
That’s where it’s at.
And by the way. The Rays are a very good team. Don’t sleep on them either.
In the end. I believe we’ll come out on top.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Hopefully Vasquez will not be like the last time the Yankees had him!
“That’s the Phil Hughes we know: he can dominate minor league hitters!”
lol
Valerie, the point you just made is the very point not to fall into any worry trap. Boston has been the Yankee nemesis for decades? I would turn that around to say the Yankees have been their nemesis for decades. 27 world series wins, 40 pennants and 48 playoff appearances vs. 6 world series wins, 10 pennants; 19 playoff appearances.
I just can’t get too excited.
All of the guys we let go are looking great today – Melky, A-Jax, Damon, Bruney, now Coke, etc.
And those smiley faces
She must work at WalMart.
Verlander 100 mph
Zumaya 102 mph
Coke 97 mph
Perry 98 mph
Now that’s pitching.
CR9 – not directed at you, no!
Eroc-
Well I’m glad they had a nice day.
Their ex-yankees.
Does that automatically mean our guys suck ?
Woowzer.
“The Yanks’ pen was a disaster early last season and turned it around. This current group has much more depth.”
What really turned it around was moving Hughes from starter to the main set-up spot.
If the bullpen has a few more meltdowns and nobody seems to want to take the bridge-to-Mo role, would the Yanks consider moving Hughes back to the pen?
Watching the current motley crew of relievers on the Yanks, I suppose Robertson looks like the best candidate.
I kinda wish all the games were day games.
Are people honestly rooting against the guys the Yankees traded away?
Whoever wanted to compare Detroit’s opening day to the Yanks had better rethink that.
Tigers have stormed back and will be getting a nice win.
I’m pulling out my Ouija board to see what the Yankees should do about their terrible BP.
If they don’t do something very soon it’s gonna be all over.
Hurry Cash. Save our season. Please.
And Damon had a nice clutch RBI double. The Yanks will really miss his clutch hitting.
We should have kept Damon. Gonna miss that dude.
The Tigers can have Coke.
Poor Greinke. I think I’ll adopt him.
“Whoever wanted to compare Detroit’s opening day to the Yanks had better rethink that.”
The word think is in you post. That’s kind of ironic.
Rich-
“The Tigers can have Coke.”
I would have rather they had Pepsi than Coke.
Ouija board
=======
MTU (aka GBURL),
I got one!! That is an abreviation for Oukajima!! Man, i think iv finally got your style down.
One day evaluations are hysterical.
I wonder if you geniuses will be around in July dispensing such baseball wisdom.
The guy the Yanks will ultimately miss will be Ian Kennedy….Shame that Arizona demanded him in order to get the deal done…..He’s going to be good
MTU
OK, No Coke, Pepsi.
/ SNL
S.o.S-
If you’ve got my style down I’ll have to pray for you.
Please tell me you don’t understand anything I say.
It’s your only hope.
YankeeStan, I find the posters most critical of my posts are those who want to reserve the right to puke their way through the season and act like frightened schoolgirls.
Have a ball.
Pat M.-
I’m with you on Kennedy. Bailed to soon on him IMO.
Trisha–good point. I guess it depends on how you look at it…
Nice analogy Trish.
Trish says = Confucius says
“I?m pulling out my Ouija board to see what the Yankees should do about their terrible BP.
If they don?t do something very soon it?s gonna be all over.
Hurry Cash. Save our season. Please.”
Here’s the message you are getting.
A….R….E
Y……..O…U
S…..E….R…I.O….U…….S?????
I…T….’……..S
O….N..L…..Y
T…H…….E
F..I….R….S…….T
G..A…..M…E
O….F
T…H……E
S..E…..A……S………O….N!
D..O..R..K
Even Kyle farnsworth is having a good time.
MTU,
Touche!
Will all of naysayers out there please consult with me again around September so that we can continue our discussions on how much the Yankees suck.
Thanks.
YankeeStan, my only counsel is against premature panic. And if I repeat myself it’s because the frenzy that overtakes this board at times in unbelievable.
The Mets have won 5 openers in a row. It cleary essential to win that first one to have a successful season.
Trisha-
here’s the message you’re getting.
I WAS ONLY KIDDING. DORKETTE.
If Farnsworth is having a good time I couldn’t be happier for him since I rooted for him when he was with the Yanks.
This isn’t about the Yankees up and everyone else down by the way. We want other teams to be competetive since it’s a lot more interesting winning against teams that are competitive.
New Post: On the run
MTU – I was being funny. I knew you weren’t being serious. So I was using your vehicle to make a point to the people who are panicking about our pen!!!
trisha-
All good then. Sorry.
Ouija board
=======
Now how the hell am i suppose to tell my kids that those words say weegee? I dont think any alphabet soupe would ever look like that even by accident. Its time to rewrite the dictionary and put that word right behind FAVRE(pronounced farve?) in the re-due pile.
MTU – not a prob.
I even tried the use/overuse of the dots to make it look like a ouija answer!!!
“I don’t think it’s too early to say it; I think the Sox have a clear advantage.”
Betsy,
I’m curious….what exactly are you basing that opinion on?
It’s obviously not based on their respective careers…
CC is a tier ahead of Beckett who is more rep than performance.
Beckett’s 1st season in Boston he pitched to an almost 6 era even though he won 16 games. He was terrible. The next season he won 20 games but CC won the CY young becaus he had the better season even though he only won 19 games. The last 2 seasons Beckett hasn’t been in CC’s class not in the reg season nor the postseason.
CC is a top tier starter and Beckett is a level lower.
In fact the proper way to judge them head to head is
CC vs. Lester- Lester is the “real” ace of the staff even though Becks pitches in the #1 spot in the ‘ro because of seniority…….CC is better than Lester adv. Yanks
AJ vs. Beckett- personally i see this as more of a pick ‘em than maybe most because “good” AJ is every bit as dominant as “good” Becks however I will recognize that Beckett is more consistant than AJ and so gets the slight nod….. adv. RedSux
Javy vs. Lackey- If you compare their careers thay are almost breakeven however I give javy the adv. here just becuase in his 1st season pitching in the AL East he was an all star at the break and on his way to 20wins until he got injured. Lackey has never pitched in this division and it’s a different animal….much tougher deeper lineups, smaller ballparks and so the jury is out. He’s yet to throw one pitch in this divison yet and yet you talk as though he’s owned this division. It’s really laughable.
I have to be honest I find you confusing you are effusive prasing Boston’s team and yet the Yanks don’t measure up and you always reserve judgement or praise in regard to your own players( at least those not named Phil Hughes) or are very critical and totally down.
ex. Marte must be injured or sent down because he was a little wild in his FIRST outing of the year and yet I didn’t see where you felt the same way about Okajima who gave up two runs in the game. Marte saw very little action in ST and his ’10 season consists of all of about 15-20pitches.
seriously if I just jumped on this sight and hadn’t been following you for the last 2 yrs I would think that you were more RedSux fan than Yanks fan. Not quite as bad as rebecca who is clearly a “troll” but seriously!
Again I ask what are you basing your opinion on about the top 3 comparisons? Because 20 people came on ESPN and said it so it must be gospel?!
Pettite btw is our #3 only because of the LH/RH/LH/RH thing and out of respect. In the real scheme of things the real pecking order of our ‘ro is CC/AJ/Javy/Pett/Hughsie and some would argue that Javy is potentially #2 and AJ #3.
Don’t mean to sound mean but…
Did ANYONE notice that on opening night Michael Kay opened the broadcast with the following line, ” it’s a beautiful night in BALTIMORE as the New York Yankees….
I just thought it was kinda funny – check it out.